Fjalar (Old Norse:Fjalarr[ˈfjɑlɑrː], "deceiver") is the mythical redrooster that is said to herald the onset ofRagnarök inNorse mythology.
TheOld Norse nameFjalarr has been translated as 'deceiver' or 'hider'. It probably derives from an earlierProto-Norse form reconstructed as *felaraʀ.[1][2][3]
Three other unrelated figures bear the name Fjalar in Norse mythology.[4] It is an alias ofSuttungr in theHávamál ('Sayings of the High One') version ofOdin's theft of themead of poetry.Fjalar is also the name of one of the dwarfs who made the mead of poetry from the blood ofKvasir inSkáldskaparmál ('The Language of Poetry').[4][5] Finally, inHárbarðsljóð ('The Lay of Hárbarðr'), thejötunn who succeeded in deceivingThor is also named Fjalar. In Snorri's version of the Thor's journey, however, the jötunn is namedSkrymir.[4]
Peter H. Salus and Paul B. Taylor argue that "of these four, probably only one (the dwarf) is actually named Fjalar, the cock and the two giants are called Fjalar because of their cunning."[4]
InVöluspá (Prophecy of theVölva), Fjalar is portrayed as a beautiful red rooster who crows the onset ofRagnarök, sitting near the herdsmanEggþér who is joyfully striking his harp.[6][5]
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