Nidhogg Lore

[Onizuka]

Hello, voidsent fellas.

Yesterday I've completed a post in my journal about recent discoveries during the sidequest “What Glitters Always Isn't Gold” and I also opened a Topic here in General Discussion to see if other adventurers paid attention to the informations found in the Divine Impetus, where I believe that “god of dragons” is the yet to be mentioned in Eorzea Bahamut.

This said, a few days ago Oliver Goodfellow released a very interesting article for The Raven and the wyrm Nidhogg was mentioned for the first time.

Yet another theory, originating from the Holy See of Ishgard, claims that the phenomenon signals the awakening of the great wyrm Nidhogg, who has lain in deep slumber for the past two decades.

Just a while ago, though, I discovered some possible discrepancies in the translations. In fact, Nidhogg (ニーズヘッグ) is mentioned only in the English and French version of the article, while in the German and Japanese one there's only a mention to a “dragon” or “evil dragon”:

イシュガルドの天文学者が、「邪竜復活の兆しである」とする学説を発表したこともあるが、この説を本気で信じているのはイシュガルド人くらいのものだろう。

And in the French version, Nidhogg is referred to as “le roi-dragon”, that should mean “The King of Dragons / The Dragon King”, while in the English version this was translated as “the great wyrm”.
Therefore, I was wondering:

1. Why the germans and japanese followers of The Raven were left out of this information (that is, the Nidhogg name), and in case can they be updated with it?

2. Is “The King of Dragons / The Dragon King” (“le roi-dragon”) the true title of Nidhogg, rather than just “the great wyrm”, or is it correct the latter?


I don't know if the LOC Team knows anything on this matter, as the translations are probably handled by different people, but I thought I'd give it a try.

Thanks if you could provide some clarifications. That article was a very good read.

Cloudio Onizuka, lore-hungry adventurer

[Catapult]

Just chiming in.

The concept behind the dragon king instead being called the great wyrm is likely due to a desire to convey intended meaning rather than litterally translating terms. To describe Nidhogg as a great wyrm is to add a layer of importance to his existence beyond simply being a king among dragons (a rather transient concept in western lore). I wouldn't be surprised if the Japanese term worked in a similar way within their own cultural connotations.

The German article indeed refers to "the ressurection of the dragon" rather than "the awakening of the great wyrm Nidhogg," so your comment is quite valid.

On a side note, I also suspect that the name Nidhogg is a reference to the being in Norse mythology that gnaws on the roots of Yggdrassil, the world tree. Much like Odin and Shiva etc are references to mythology themselves.