Which rooster wakes the heroes in Valhalla before Ragnarok?

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Which rooster wakes the heroes in Valhalla before Ragnarok? Gullinkambi is the golden-combed rooster associated with Valhalla and the warning crow that signals Ragnarok.

Gullinkambi appears in Völuspá, a poem preserved in the 13th-century Poetic Edda from older oral traditions. Its crowing is one of three rooster calls announcing the catastrophe. The other named rooster is Fjalar, who lives in the forest of Galgviðr; a third, soot-red rooster is associated with Hel.

The wording about “waking the heroes” is a popular way to summarize the omen. The warriors in Valhalla are the einherjar, warriors chosen by Odin who prepare for the final battle. Gullinkambi is not the rooster that causes Ragnarok, but a herald whose crow marks its approach. The name means “golden comb,” and the bird is sometimes given the alternate name Salgofnir.

Source: Wikipedia · fact-checked Sept. 2026

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