Huginn & Muninn

This article contains lore based on real-life sources fromNorse mythologyas introduced from the God of War Norse era.

Huginn and Muninn are Odin's eyes and ears. This pair of ravens fly all over the realms, serving as his personal spies and bringing him precious information.

Quick Answers

What are the meanings of the names Huginn and Muninn in Old Norse?

Huginn and Muninn, in Old Norse, translate to 'thought' and 'memory' or 'mind' respectively. These ravens traverse the world, Midgard, gathering information for Odin.

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How do Huginn and Muninn serve Odin in Norse mythology?

Huginn and Muninn, translating to 'thought' and 'memory' in Old Norse, are ravens serving Odin in Norse mythology. They traverse Midgard, gathering information as Odin's personal spies. Odin enhanced their intelligence and abilities through experiments, binding them to his will.

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What is the significance of Huginn and Muninn in the God of War Norse era?

In the God of War Norse era, Huginn and Muninn are Odin's ravens, functioning as his personal spies. They traverse the realms, collecting valuable information. Odin captured their flock, ate most of them, and subjected Huginn and Muninn to experiments, erasing their memories and binding them to his command. These experiments endowed them with exceptional intelligence, including the ability to comprehend and converse in human languages.

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What realms do Huginn and Muninn travel to gather information for Odin?

Odin's ravens, Huginn and Muninn, traverse the realm of Midgard, collecting information for Odin. These ravens, signifying 'thought' and 'memory' in Old Norse, function as Odin's personal informants. Following their capture and experimentation by Odin, their memories were erased and they were bound to his will, resulting in augmented abilities.

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What is the runic spelling of Huginn and Muninn?

In Norse mythology, Huginn and Muninn are the names of Odin's ravens, with their Old Norse meanings being 'thought' and 'memory' or 'mind', respectively. They are known for their role in collecting information from around the world, specifically Midgard, for Odin.

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In Norse Mythology

Huginn (Old Norse for "thought") and Muninn (Old Norse for "memory" or "mind") are a pair of ravens that fly all over the world, Midgard, and bring information to the god Odin.

In God of War series

Background

At one point, Odin captured their whole unkindness (a flock of ravens). He cooked most of them and ate them as supper, except for two of them. He then experimented upon these ravens, wiping all their memories and even binding them to his will. The two ravens would eventually be named Huginn and Muninn, and both would serve as Odin's own magical pets and spies across the Nine Realms, reporting to their master of happenings.

In God of War: Ragnarök

Huginn and Muninn made their first appearance in God of War Ragnarök right after the beginning of the game's story. They can be seen entering Kratos and Atreus' cabin along with Thor, with both ravens also observing the conversation between the Ghost of Sparta and God of Thunder. After Odin shows up, he summons the two ravens and they vanish into his forearms as tattoos.

In The Runaway chapter, Huginn follows Atreus on his runaway until he finds Chaurli, who was abandoned by Freya and almost died due to Fimbulwinter's cold. After managing to save the large creature's life, Atreus' heard something knocking on the window. It turns out to be Huginn, who had awaited him. With a flock of ravens, Huginn then teleported Atreus to Asgard after the latter was ready and agreed to do so, although Atreus landed badly. After arriving in the realm, Huginn guides Atreus on his way to meet Odin. Later, Huginn can be seen arguing the Odin in his study room, much to the All-Father's confusion and annoyance.

During Atreus' journey in Asgard and his mission to find and complete the Mask of Creation, it was with Huginn's help (and the All-Father's permission) that teleportation was enabled for Atreus (along with Thor, Thrúd and Heimdall), transporting them from Asgard to other places or realms. After a failed mission on Helheim that resulted the freed of Garm, Odin lets Atreus go back to his home and tasked Huginn to await him in Atreus and Kratos' old home in Midgard.

Much later in The Realms at War chapter, Odin summons Muninn to distract Freya in order to stop her from magically choking him with Odin's Noose. This also gives Odin time to cast a spell, breaking the ground and sending them all falling down to The Rift, with Muninn managing to retrieve the noose from Freya. During the intense battle against Odin, the All-Father summons both ravens to aid him in the battle; however, Huginn got shot by one of Atreus' arrows and Muninn was caught and had his neck snapped by Freya, enraging Odin. After the destruction of Asgard, it turned out that Huginn was one of the survivors of the event of Ragnarök and can be seen perched on a tree branch in Hodmimi's Holt.

Description

As Odin's own magical pets and even his favorite servants, these two ravens had unique features. Huginn had black feathers and was dotted in red. Muninn shared the same features except for the color of his feathers, which were blue instead of red, also Muninn's beak has scarred. Both ravens have two things in common: their icy blue eyes and their being bound to Odin's will. The All-Father also experimented on his pets and granted them magical abilities: Huginn and Muninn are able to understand and even speak any language spoken in the Nine Realms and can fly much faster than any other raven. They seem to also have authority over all the other ravens, as evidenced by Huginn when he summons a great number of them to teleport Atreus to Asgard.

Gallery

Huginn and Muninn Game design

Freya breaking Muninn's neck

Photo Mode

Portraits

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Credits: @DiogOliveiraVP

Panoramas

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Credits: @RWGamethology

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Trivia

• Huginn and Muninn are real characters in-game, and must not be mistaken with the Eyes of Odin, the icy ravens Kratos can kill throughout his journey.
• Due to Odin's experiments on the two ravens, Huginn and Muninn possess great intelligence. They are able to understand and even speak people's languages. Their abilities are also greatly enhanced as they can fly all over the realms much faster than the other ravens.
• Huginn and Muninn seem to have a high-level of resilience as well, as Huginn survived an arrow shot from Atreus.
• The two ravens are often seen on the background, observing the scene with their bright blue eyes.
• Huginn and Muninn are one of the few - if not the only - characters Odin has a genuine affection for. Witnessing his magical pets taken down by Atreus and Freya during their final battle deeply infuriates him.
• Huginn and Muninn seem to have authority over all the other ravens, as shown when Huginn summons a great number of ravens to teleport Atreus to Asgard.
• Huginn and Muninn are bound to Odin's will, so much so that they can vanish into his forearms as tattoos.
• Like Odin, Huginn and Muninn do not make any appearance in God of War (2018).
• The two ravens can be summoned by the All-Father to attack his enemies if necessary, as demonstrated when he was battling Kratos, Freya, and Atreus.
• Mimir states Huginn and Muninn can transport Odin anywhere in the Nine Realms, except the Realm between Realms, as this is prevented by Dwarven enchantments and the very nature of Yggdrasil itself. However, Odin found a workaround to these restrictions as when disguised as Tyr he hid Muninn in his arms and put him into the broom closet, thus allowing him to transport himself to Sindri's house in the Realm between Realms and Asgard.