Sköll

In Norse mythology, Sköll (Old Norse: Skǫll, "Treachery"[1] or "Mockery"[2]) is a wolf that, according to Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda, chases the Sun (personified as a goddess, Sól) riding her chariot across the sky. Hati Hróðvitnisson chases the Moon (personified, as Máni) during the night. Skӧll and Hati are the sons of the wolf Fenrir, and an unnamed giantess. In the Old Norse religion, it is foretold the wolves will chase the sun and moon across the skies until Ragnarök, at which point the wolves catch up and devour the celestial beings.

"Skoll" redirects here. For other uses, see Skoll (disambiguation).

The Wolves Pursuing Sól and Máni by J. C. Dollman, 1909
Far away and long ago by Willy Pogany, 1920

In Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda, the mention of Sköll appears when describing the story of Sol, who drives the chariot of the sun in Norse Mythology. The wolf is seen chasing her after she receives her chariot to carry the sun. "[Sun] goes at a great pace; her pursuer is close behind her and there is nothing she can do but flee. … There are two wolves and the one pursuing her is called Skoll [Treachery] is the one she fears; he will catch her [at the end of the world]."[3]

In Norse Mythology, Sköll will catch up to the sun the day that Ragnarök begins. This idea caused plenty of panic to arise in the event of a solar eclipse, which were taken as a sign that Sköll had caught up to the sun and Ragnarök was on its way. When that happened, people would create as much noise as possible to scare off the wolf so it would drop the sun and continue the chase.[4] The same can be said about lunar eclipses believed to be caused by Hati.

According to Rudolf Simek, it is possible that Sköll is another name for Fenrir, and, if so, "there could be a nature-mythological interpretation in the case of Sköll and Hati (who pursues the moon). Such an interpretation suggests the wolves may be intended to describe the phenomenon of parhelia and paraselenae or Sun dogs and Moon dogs, as these are called 'sun-wolf' in Scandinavian languages (Norwegian solulv, Swedish solvarg)."[2] Rudolf Simek theorizes that Sköll, Hati, and Fenrir are one in the same, deriving from the Hyades star cluster found in the constellation Taurus. The stars form a "V" shape that could have easily been interpreted as the mouth of a wolf.[5]

See also

Notes
  1. Orchard (1997:150).
  2. Simek (2007:292)
  3. Dawson, Patricia A. (2015). Myths of the Norsemen (1st ed.). Cavendish Square Publishing. p. 35. ISBN 9781502609939.
  4. Guerber, Hélène Adeline (1911). Myths of the Norsemen: From the Eddas and Sagas. Harrap. p. 9.
  5. Silva, Gabriela Ribeiro Da Silva (2020). MITO NÓRDICO E A CONSTITUIÇÃO DO REAL SEGUNDO ERNST CASSIRER [NORTH MYTH AND THE CONSTITUTION OF THE REAL ACCORDING TO ERNST CASSIRER]. Universidade Federal da Paraíba.

References
  • Orchard, Andy (1997). Dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend. Cassell. ISBN 0-304-34520-2
  • Simek, Rudolf (2007) translated by Angela Hall. Dictionary of Northern Mythology. D.S. Brewer. ISBN 0-85991-513-1


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