Huginn and Muninn are the two ravens of Odin in Norse mythology, who also bears the epithet Hrafnáz "raven god".
Huginn belongs to the Old Norse verb huga "thought, to think", the stem-related noun hugi "thought, sense" is in turn the basis for the name Huginn. Muninn belongs to the Old Norse verb muna "memory, to remember".
Huginn and Muninn in the Eddas
In writing, Odin's association with ravens is tangible in skaldic kenningars of the 10th century. The names Huginn and Muninn, however, appear only in the tradition of the Song-Edda and the Snorra-Edda.
Snorri Sturluson ascribes to them a function consistent with the meaning of their name:
"Two ravens sit on his [Odin's] shoulders and say into his ear everything they see and hear. Their names are Huginn and Muninn. At daybreak he sends them to fly over the whole world, and at breakfast time they return. From them he learns many tidings."
Fun Facts about Odin's Ravens
Hugin and Munin can be found today in the logo of the University of Tromsø in northern Norway. Two central streets on the university campus are named after them.
