Rátatǫskr

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Authors: Youla Azkarrula, Susanne M Hoffmann


Rátatǫskr, painting by Jessica Gullberg for Stellarium.
Ratatoskr generated by perplexityAI

Rátatǫskr (ᚱᛅᛏᛅᛏᚢᛋᚴᛦ), the squirrel, is a Norse constellation mentioned in the Rímtǫl glosses, which dates back to the 11th century CE and is an Old Norse calendar of 52 weeks (364 days).

Concordance, Etymology, History

Origin of Constellation

Rátatǫskr is the squirrel that scurries along the World Tree, carrying messages between Nidhögg, the serpent, and the eagle (Sturluson 2017[1], p. 30). Cassiopeia lies on the Milky Way between the constellations representing the eagle and the serpent.

Identification

Transfer and Transformation of the Constellation

nothing known

Rökstenen, rune stone near Ödeshög in south Sweden (CC BY Bengt Olof ÅRADSSON)

Religion/ Tales/ Mythology

All HIP Stars within this constellation

Convex Hull for the stars inside Rátatǫskr (CC BY Jakob Eyermann).

References

  1. Sturluson, S. (2017) The Edda of Snorri Sturluson. Translated by K. Simrock. Bibliographically updated edition. Stuttgart: Reclam.
  2. Digitalis Solutions (website) on Norse