In Norse mythology, Víðópnir (Old Norse pronunciation: [ˈwiːðˌoːpnez̠]) is a mythological bird inhabiting the top of the Norse world tree, Yggdrasil — sometimes positioned on the brow of another cosmic bird.

Representation

According to the eddic poem, Fjölsvinnsmál, Víðópnir or Víðófnir [ˈwiːðˌoːvnez̠] is a rooster that inhabits the crown of the world tree, variously represented as a falcon, sitting between the eyes of the cosmic eagle Hræsvelgr at the top of the tree of life, Mímameiðr (Mimi's Tree), a vast tree taken to be identical with the World Tree, Yggdrasil.

Sources

Viðópnir occurs in one Norse medieval source aside from Fjölsvinnsmál, a tiny phrase in Snorri Sturluson's Eddu-brot, where it guards the gate to the lands where in Hél's Hel or Hell lies, the six-metre high Icelandic waterfalls of Gjallandi (literally, "the yelling").^[1] Hel was one of the children of the trickster god Loki, and her kingdom was said to lie downward and northward.^[2]

Viðópnir seems rather identical to Veðrfölnir and the eagle.

See also

• Veðrfölnir

References