What is Heiðrún?
In [[Norse mythology]], '''Heidrun''' (commonly pronounced as HI-TH-RRUN) is the great [[Wild goat|goat]] of [[Valhalla|Valhala]]. The [[Einherjar]], warriors who died in battle for [[Odin]], get their [[mead]] from this animal. She lives at the top of Valhalla. Heidrun eats leaves from the trees on the top the fortress. == ''Poetic Edda'' == In the ''[[Poetic Edda]]'' Heiðrún is mentioned twice. She is described in the ''[[Grímnismál]]''. {| | : Heiðrún heitir geit, : er stendr höllo á : ok bítr af læraðs limom; : skapker fylla : hón skal ins skíra miaðar, : knáat sú veig vanaz. | : Heithrún, the goat : on the hall that stands, : eateth off Læráth's limbs; : the crocks she fills : with clearest mead, : will that drink not e'er be drained. - ''LMH's translation'' |} == Portrayals == [[File:AM 738 4to Eikthyrnir Heidrun.jpg|thumb]] In most [[Portrait|portraits]] that show the goat, she is shown as a very large creature standing on top of the roofs of Valhalla. She is seen in a way similar to [[Ratatoskr]], the [[gossip]] loving [[squirrel]] that tends the [[Yggdrasil|world tree]]. Because of this, some [[Historian|historians]] think that Heidrun would eat the leaves from the upper branchs of Yggdrasil that are pushed to Valhalla. This may mean that [[Asgard]] is also up there. The Norse were very vague about where they thought the realms were on the tree. {{Stub}} [[Category:Norse mythology]] [[Category:Legendary creatures]]