Hugin and Munin

A plate from a Vendel era helmet featuring a figure riding a horse, holding a spear and shield, and confronted by a serpent, accompanied by two birds. The image has been thought to depict Odin with his horse Sleipnir and his spear Gungnir with Huginn and Muninn flying above. In Norse mythology, Huginn and Muninn (sometimes anglicized as Hugin and Munin; /ˈhuːɡɪn, ˈmuːnɪn/ or /ˈhjuːɡɪn, ˈmjuːnɪn/; roughly "mind and will" – see § Etymology) are a pair of ravens that serve under the god Odin, flying around the world (Midgard) and bringing him information. Huginn and Muninn are attested in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources: the Prose Edda and Heimskringla; in the Third Grammatical Treatise, compiled in the 13th century by Óláfr Þórðarson; and in the poetry of skalds.

In the Poetic Edda, a disguised Odin expresses that he fears the ravens may not return from their daily flights. The Prose Edda explains that Odin is referred to as Hrafnaguð (O.N.: [ˈhrɑvnɑˌɡuð]; "raven-god") due to his association with Huginn and Muninn. In the Prose Edda and the Third Grammatical Treatise, the two ravens are described as perching on Odin's shoulders. Heimskringla details that Odin gave Huginn and Muninn the ability to speak.