Sköll

In Norse mythology, Sköll (Old Norse "Treachery")^[1] is a wolf that chases the horses Árvakr and Alsviðr, that drag the chariot which contains the sun (Sól) through the sky every day, trying to eat her. Sköll has a brother, Hati, who chases Máni, the moon. At Ragnarök, both Sköll and Hati will succeed in their quests.

Sköll, in certain circumstances, is used as a heiti to refer indirectly to the father (Fenrir) and not the son. This ambiguity works in the other direction also, for example in Vafþrúðnismál, where confusion exists in stanza 46 where Fenrir is given the sun-chasing attributes of his son Sköll. This can mostly be accounted for by the use of Hróðvitnir and Hróðvitnisson to refer to both Fenrir and his sons.

Popular culture

• Sköll is the name of a rare wolf character in World of Warcraft. The area he appears in is strongly influenced by Norse mythology.
• In one episode of Tiziano Sclavi's Dylan Dog, the Nightmare Investigator, Sköll and his brother Hati, were used as characters in tale N°289 "La via degli enigmi" ("The Way of Puzzles") and N°290 "L'erede Oscuro" ("The Dark Heir"); in which they are evil creatures who serve the main antagonist.
• In the 2nd season episode "Død Kalm" of The X-Files, Special Agent Dana Scully tells the story of Sköll in a voice-over.
• In the Anita Blake novels the Skoll and Hati are the enforcers of the Ulfric (Werewolf leader).
• In the MMORPG Runescape, Sköll and Hati appeared during January 2011 and could be fought by players for in-game bonuses.
• A.A.S.R.Skøll is the name of the Amsterdam Student Rowing Club Skøll
• Sköll is the surname of the norwegian bassist Hugh Steven James Mingway who has played in Ved Buens Ende, Arcturus (band) and Ulver.

Notes

References

• Orchard, Andy (1997). Dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend. Cassell. ISBN 0-304-34520-2

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hati_Hróðvitnisson