Shield-maiden with family ties, but at first does not usually act directly. She is more inclined to incite her male relatives to action than take up arms herself. Guðrún is no shield-maiden, and Brynhildr mocks her for this, saying, "Only ask what is best for you to know. That is suitable for noble women. And it is easy to be satisfied while everything happens according to your desires." In her later marriages, however, she is willing to kill her children, burn down a hall, and send her other sons to avenge the murder of her daughter, Svanhildr. In the world of
Rati (Norse mythology) Rati (Norse mythology) In Norse mythology, Rati is the name of a drill or auger that was used by Odin during his quest to obtain the mead of poetry from the giant Suttung with the help of Suttung's brother Baugi. According to the "Skáldskaparmál" section of the "Prose Edda", Odin instructed Baugi to bore a hole with the auger through the mountain Hnitbjorg where the mead was kept. When Baugi told him that the hole had been drilled, Odin blew into the hole and the stone bits blew back at him. In this way he realized that Baugi had not