Hati- Norse CreatureCreature · Beast
Also known as: Hati Hróðvitnisson
Description
The hateful wolf who runs before the moon, gaining ground each night as Máni flees across the sky. At Ragnarök, Hati's jaws finally close and the night sky goes dark forever.
Mythology & Lore
The Chase
While his brother Sköll runs after the sun, Hati chases Máni, the moon, across the night sky. His name means "the hateful one." His patronymic, Hróðvitnisson, names him Fenrir's son. The Gylfaginning says he runs before the moon and will catch it. Snorri also names a being called Mánagarmr, the Moon-Hound, who will swallow the moon and gorge on the blood of dying men. Whether Mánagarmr is another name for Hati or a separate creature, the Gylfaginning does not settle.
The Ironwood
Völuspá stanza 40 describes an old troll-woman sitting in Járnviðr, the Ironwood, a dark forest at the world's eastern edge. She nurtures the kin of Fenrir in wolf-shapes. Among them, one in troll's form will seize the moon. Hati comes from this place: bred among wolves at the boundary of the world.
Ragnarök
Hati overtakes Máni at last. Sköll swallows the sun. The stars vanish. Total darkness falls, and in that darkness Fenrir breaks his bonds.
Relationships
- Enemy of
- Slew
- Associated with