01-19-2014, 12:00 AM
Wolves and Mythology
RAGNAROK
The Twilight of the Gods, Ragnarok was the time spoken of in Norse myth when the forces of evil would rise and march against the gods of Asgard, led by the renegade Loki. On Midgard, the Fimbul Winter would come, an axe age, a sword age, when brother would kill brother, and peace and goodness would pass from the world. Above, in Asgard, the gods would march to meet the frost giants, and the awful children of Loki, Jormungand the world serpent, and Fenrir the wolf, as well as the Evil One himself. The giants would swarm across the Rainbow Bridge, which would break under their assault.In Ragnarok, all the gods were fated to die in different ways, and also all the mortals of Midgard, except for two, who would live on and recreate the race. Balder, the shining god slain inadvertently by blind Hodur, at Loki's urging, would return to lead these people to a new age.
FENRIS
The great wolf who lay bound in chains in Asgard, the labour of which cost Tyr his hand. Fenris was to rise at the onset of Ragnarok, and destroy the world, in concert with Niddhogg and the other enemies of the Norse gods.
Fenrir
by Micha F. Lindemans
Fenrir (or Fenris) is a gigantic and terrible monster in the shape of a wolf. He is the eldest child of Loki and the giantess Angrboda. The gods learned of a prophecy which stated that the wolf and his family would one day be responsible for the destruction of the world. They caught the wolf and locked him in a cage. Only the god of war, Tyr, dared to feed and take care of the wolf.
When he was still a pup they had nothing to fear, but when the gods saw one day how he had grown, they decided to render him harmless. However, none of the gods had enough courage to face the gigantic wolf. Instead, they tried to trick him. They said the wolf was weak and could never break free when he was chained. Fenrir accepted the challenge and let the gods chain him. Unfortunately, he was so immensely strong that he managed to break the strongest fetters as if they were cobwebs.
After that, the gods saw only one alternative left: a magic chain. They ordered the dwarves to make something so strong that it could hold the wolf. The result was a soft, thin ribbon: Gleipnir. It was incredibly strong, despite what its size and appearance might suggest. The ribbon was fashioned of six strange elements: the footstep of a cat; the roots of a mountain; a woman's beard; the breath of fishes; the sinews of a bear; and a bird's spittle.
The gods tried to trick the wolf again, only this time Fenrir was less eager to show his strength. He saw how thin the chain was, and said that was no pride in breaking such a weak chain. Eventually, though, he agreed, thinking that otherwise his strength and courage would be doubted. Suspecting treachery however, he in turn asked the gods for a token of good will: one of them had to put a hand between his jaws. The gods were not overly eager to do this, knowing what they could expect. Finally, only Tyr agreed, and the gods chained the wolf with Gleipnir. No matter how hard Fenrir struggled, he could not break free from this thin ribbon. In revenge, he bit off Tyr's hand.
Being very pleased with themselves, the gods carried Fenrir off and chained him to a rock (called Gioll) a mile down into the earth. They put a sword between his jaws to prevent him from biting. On the day of Ragnarok, Fenrir will break his chains and join the giants in their battle against the gods. He will seek out Odin and devour him. Vidar, Odin's son, will avenge his father by killing the wolf.
Ragnarok
by Micha F. LindemansRagnarok ("Doom of the Gods"), also called Gotterdammerung, means the end of the cosmos in Norse mythology. It will be preceded by Fimbulvetr, the winter of winters. Three such winters will follow each other with no summers in between. Conflicts and feuds will break out, even between families, and all morality will disappear. This is the beginning of the end.The wolf Skoll will finally devour the sun, and his brother Hati will eat the moon, plunging the earth [into] darkness. The stars will vanish from the sky. The cock Fjalar will crow to the giants and the golden cock Gullinkambi will crow to the gods. A third cock will raise the dead.The earth will shudder with earthquakes, and every bond and fetter will burst, freeing the terrible wolf Fenrir. The sea will rear up because Jormungand, the Midgard Serpent, is twisting and writhing in fury as he makes his way toward the land. With every breath, Jormungand will stain the soil and the sky with his poison. The waves caused by the serpent's emerging will set free the ship Naglfar, and with the giant Hymir as their commander, the giants will sail towards the battlefield. From the realm of the dead a second ship will set sail, and this ship carries the inhabitants of hell, with Loki as their helmsman. The fire giants, led by the giant Surt, will leave Muspell in the south to join against the gods. Surt, carrying a sword that blazes like the sun itself, will scorch the earth.Meanwhile, Heimdall will sound his horn, calling the sons of Odin and the heroes to the battlefield. From all the corners of the world, gods, giants, dwarves, demons and elves will ride towards the huge plain of Vigrid ("battle shaker") where the last battle will be fought. Odin will engage Fenrir in battle, and Thor will attack Jormungand. Thor will victorious, but the serpent's poison will gradually kill the god of thunder. Surt will seek out the swordless Freyr, who will quickly succumb to the giant. The one-handed Tyr will fight the monstrous hound Garm and they will kill each other. Loki and Heimdall, age-old enemies, will meet for a final time, and neither will survive their encounter. The fight between Odin and Fenrir will rage for a long time, but finally Fenrir will seize Odin and swallow him. Odin's son Vidar will at once leap towards the wolf and kill him with his bare hands, ripping the wolf's jaws apart.Then Surt will fling fire in every direction. The nine worlds will burn, and friends and foes alike will perish. The earth will sink into the sea.After the destruction, a new and idyllic world will arise from the sea and will be filled with abundant supplies. Some of the gods will survive, others will be reborn. Wickedness and misery will no longer exist and gods and men will live happily together. The descendants of Lif and Lifthrasir will inhabit this earth.Ragnarök does not mean "Twilight of the Gods"; that phrase is the result of a famous mistranslation. "Ragnarökr" or "Ragnarøkr" means "doom of the powers" or "destruction of the powers" (where "powers" means "gods").
Lif and Lifthrasir
by Micha F. LindemansAfter the final, terrible battle at Ragnarok the entire cosmos will be destroyed. The only humans who will survive this destruction are Lif ("life") and Liftrasir ("eager for life") because they hid themselves in Hodmimir's Forest, the forest that the flaming sword of the fire-giant Surt cannot destroy. There they sleep through the destruction of the earth and when they awaken, they will find the earth is green and verdant again. Lif and Liftrasir will become the progenitors of an new race of humans, and their descendants will inhabit this world.
Fenrir
Norse mythology, a monstrous wolf who was a major threat to the gods until they found a way to chain him, using a magic fetter. The name Fenrir means "from the swamp." Also known as the Fenriswolf, he was the offspring of the trickster fire god Loki. His sister was the goddess Hel and his brother the evil serpent Jormungand. It was because of Fenrir that the god Tyr lost his right hand. The Vikings believed that during Ragnarok, the battle that would take place at the end of the world, Fenrir would swallow the principal god Odin; Odin's death would be avenged by his son Vidar.
According to the myths, the evil Loki himself gave birth to Fenrir, after eating the heart of a giantess, the witch Angerbotha. After his birth, the gods received prophecies of disaster concerning Fenrir and his siblings. Even when Fenrir was a pup, the only god courageous enough to approach him was Tyr.
Despite the dire prophecies, according to the 'Prose (or Younger) Edda', the gods could not kill Fenrir because it would have defiled their sanctuary. But they sought some way to tie up the beast, who grew noticeably larger each day. They attempted to restrain him with two different iron fetters. The wolf broke the first, called Leyding, with a single kick. The second fetter, called Dromi, was twice as strong. The wolf strained a bit at this one but soon broke it as well. Then the gods became more afraid of the wolf's power. Odin sent Skirnir, Frey's messenger, down into the world of the dwarfs and had them fashion a magic restraint called Gleipnir. It was made of six ingredients: the sound of a cat's footfall, the beard of a woman, the roots of a mountain, a bear's sinews, a fish's breath, and a bird's spittle. When it was done, Gleipnir was smooth and soft, like a silken ribbon. Skirnir brought it back to the home of the gods, and they took it to the island of Lyngvi by the lake Amsvartnir. They called the wolf, showed him the silky band, and challenged him to test his strength again.
Fenrir was suspicious because of the thinness of the band. The gods agreed to free him if he could not break out of the fetter himself, but Fenrir was still reluctant to have it put on him. He asked that someone put their hand into his mouth as a pledge that the gods were acting in good faith.
None of the gods was willing to take such a risk, knowing full well the deceit, but then Tyr stepped forward and put his right hand into the wolf's mouth, making the sacrifice that would keep the gods safe. Fenrir was bound with Gleipnir, and he tried with all his might but could not snap it. The gods laughed to see the wolf's distress--except for Tyr: Fenrir closed his mouth on Tyr's hand at the wrist.
Once the wolf was bound, the gods took a cord, called Gelgia, that hung from the fetter, and threaded it through a great stone slab called Gioll. They fastened the slab deep into the earth. Then they took a huge rock, called Thviti, using it for an anchoring-peg.
The wolf, in his anger, struggled violently and stretched its jaws frighteningly wide, trying to bite them all. The gods thrust a tall sword into Fenrir's mouth as a gum prop, with its hilt touching his lower gums and the point touching his upper gums. Fenrir continued to howl horribly, and saliva ran from his mouth. In this subdued condition, according to the myths, the terrible Fenriswolf would remain until Ragnarok, when the gods and the giants would fight to the death.
Fenrir appears in both the 'Poetic (or Elder) Edda' and the 'Prose Edda'. According to the 'Prose Edda', by the time of Ragnarok, the wolf would have grown so large that when he opened his mouth, his lower jaw would be against the Earth and his upper jaw would scrape heaven. Flames would burn from his eyes and nostrils. At Ragnarok, the wolf would break loose and join the giants and other monsters in all-out war with the gods. Fenrir would kill Odin by swallowing him. Odin's son Vidar would then come forward and step with one foot on the wolf's lower jaw. Vidar would be wearing a thick shoe made of all the accumulated waste pieces that were cut from the toe and heel of all the shoes ever made from the beginning of time. Thus securing the wolf's lower jaw, Vidar would grasp his upper jaw with one hand and tear his mouth apart, killing the beast at last.
Compton's Encyclopedia Online v3.0 © 1998 The Learning Company, Inc.
RAGNAROK
The Twilight of the Gods, Ragnarok was the time spoken of in Norse myth when the forces of evil would rise and march against the gods of Asgard, led by the renegade Loki. On Midgard, the Fimbul Winter would come, an axe age, a sword age, when brother would kill brother, and peace and goodness would pass from the world. Above, in Asgard, the gods would march to meet the frost giants, and the awful children of Loki, Jormungand the world serpent, and Fenrir the wolf, as well as the Evil One himself. The giants would swarm across the Rainbow Bridge, which would break under their assault.In Ragnarok, all the gods were fated to die in different ways, and also all the mortals of Midgard, except for two, who would live on and recreate the race. Balder, the shining god slain inadvertently by blind Hodur, at Loki's urging, would return to lead these people to a new age.
FENRIS
The great wolf who lay bound in chains in Asgard, the labour of which cost Tyr his hand. Fenris was to rise at the onset of Ragnarok, and destroy the world, in concert with Niddhogg and the other enemies of the Norse gods.
Fenrir
by Micha F. Lindemans
Fenrir (or Fenris) is a gigantic and terrible monster in the shape of a wolf. He is the eldest child of Loki and the giantess Angrboda. The gods learned of a prophecy which stated that the wolf and his family would one day be responsible for the destruction of the world. They caught the wolf and locked him in a cage. Only the god of war, Tyr, dared to feed and take care of the wolf.
When he was still a pup they had nothing to fear, but when the gods saw one day how he had grown, they decided to render him harmless. However, none of the gods had enough courage to face the gigantic wolf. Instead, they tried to trick him. They said the wolf was weak and could never break free when he was chained. Fenrir accepted the challenge and let the gods chain him. Unfortunately, he was so immensely strong that he managed to break the strongest fetters as if they were cobwebs.
After that, the gods saw only one alternative left: a magic chain. They ordered the dwarves to make something so strong that it could hold the wolf. The result was a soft, thin ribbon: Gleipnir. It was incredibly strong, despite what its size and appearance might suggest. The ribbon was fashioned of six strange elements: the footstep of a cat; the roots of a mountain; a woman's beard; the breath of fishes; the sinews of a bear; and a bird's spittle.
The gods tried to trick the wolf again, only this time Fenrir was less eager to show his strength. He saw how thin the chain was, and said that was no pride in breaking such a weak chain. Eventually, though, he agreed, thinking that otherwise his strength and courage would be doubted. Suspecting treachery however, he in turn asked the gods for a token of good will: one of them had to put a hand between his jaws. The gods were not overly eager to do this, knowing what they could expect. Finally, only Tyr agreed, and the gods chained the wolf with Gleipnir. No matter how hard Fenrir struggled, he could not break free from this thin ribbon. In revenge, he bit off Tyr's hand.
Being very pleased with themselves, the gods carried Fenrir off and chained him to a rock (called Gioll) a mile down into the earth. They put a sword between his jaws to prevent him from biting. On the day of Ragnarok, Fenrir will break his chains and join the giants in their battle against the gods. He will seek out Odin and devour him. Vidar, Odin's son, will avenge his father by killing the wolf.
Ragnarok
by Micha F. LindemansRagnarok ("Doom of the Gods"), also called Gotterdammerung, means the end of the cosmos in Norse mythology. It will be preceded by Fimbulvetr, the winter of winters. Three such winters will follow each other with no summers in between. Conflicts and feuds will break out, even between families, and all morality will disappear. This is the beginning of the end.The wolf Skoll will finally devour the sun, and his brother Hati will eat the moon, plunging the earth [into] darkness. The stars will vanish from the sky. The cock Fjalar will crow to the giants and the golden cock Gullinkambi will crow to the gods. A third cock will raise the dead.The earth will shudder with earthquakes, and every bond and fetter will burst, freeing the terrible wolf Fenrir. The sea will rear up because Jormungand, the Midgard Serpent, is twisting and writhing in fury as he makes his way toward the land. With every breath, Jormungand will stain the soil and the sky with his poison. The waves caused by the serpent's emerging will set free the ship Naglfar, and with the giant Hymir as their commander, the giants will sail towards the battlefield. From the realm of the dead a second ship will set sail, and this ship carries the inhabitants of hell, with Loki as their helmsman. The fire giants, led by the giant Surt, will leave Muspell in the south to join against the gods. Surt, carrying a sword that blazes like the sun itself, will scorch the earth.Meanwhile, Heimdall will sound his horn, calling the sons of Odin and the heroes to the battlefield. From all the corners of the world, gods, giants, dwarves, demons and elves will ride towards the huge plain of Vigrid ("battle shaker") where the last battle will be fought. Odin will engage Fenrir in battle, and Thor will attack Jormungand. Thor will victorious, but the serpent's poison will gradually kill the god of thunder. Surt will seek out the swordless Freyr, who will quickly succumb to the giant. The one-handed Tyr will fight the monstrous hound Garm and they will kill each other. Loki and Heimdall, age-old enemies, will meet for a final time, and neither will survive their encounter. The fight between Odin and Fenrir will rage for a long time, but finally Fenrir will seize Odin and swallow him. Odin's son Vidar will at once leap towards the wolf and kill him with his bare hands, ripping the wolf's jaws apart.Then Surt will fling fire in every direction. The nine worlds will burn, and friends and foes alike will perish. The earth will sink into the sea.After the destruction, a new and idyllic world will arise from the sea and will be filled with abundant supplies. Some of the gods will survive, others will be reborn. Wickedness and misery will no longer exist and gods and men will live happily together. The descendants of Lif and Lifthrasir will inhabit this earth.Ragnarök does not mean "Twilight of the Gods"; that phrase is the result of a famous mistranslation. "Ragnarökr" or "Ragnarøkr" means "doom of the powers" or "destruction of the powers" (where "powers" means "gods").
Lif and Lifthrasir
by Micha F. LindemansAfter the final, terrible battle at Ragnarok the entire cosmos will be destroyed. The only humans who will survive this destruction are Lif ("life") and Liftrasir ("eager for life") because they hid themselves in Hodmimir's Forest, the forest that the flaming sword of the fire-giant Surt cannot destroy. There they sleep through the destruction of the earth and when they awaken, they will find the earth is green and verdant again. Lif and Liftrasir will become the progenitors of an new race of humans, and their descendants will inhabit this world.
Fenrir
Norse mythology, a monstrous wolf who was a major threat to the gods until they found a way to chain him, using a magic fetter. The name Fenrir means "from the swamp." Also known as the Fenriswolf, he was the offspring of the trickster fire god Loki. His sister was the goddess Hel and his brother the evil serpent Jormungand. It was because of Fenrir that the god Tyr lost his right hand. The Vikings believed that during Ragnarok, the battle that would take place at the end of the world, Fenrir would swallow the principal god Odin; Odin's death would be avenged by his son Vidar.
According to the myths, the evil Loki himself gave birth to Fenrir, after eating the heart of a giantess, the witch Angerbotha. After his birth, the gods received prophecies of disaster concerning Fenrir and his siblings. Even when Fenrir was a pup, the only god courageous enough to approach him was Tyr.
Despite the dire prophecies, according to the 'Prose (or Younger) Edda', the gods could not kill Fenrir because it would have defiled their sanctuary. But they sought some way to tie up the beast, who grew noticeably larger each day. They attempted to restrain him with two different iron fetters. The wolf broke the first, called Leyding, with a single kick. The second fetter, called Dromi, was twice as strong. The wolf strained a bit at this one but soon broke it as well. Then the gods became more afraid of the wolf's power. Odin sent Skirnir, Frey's messenger, down into the world of the dwarfs and had them fashion a magic restraint called Gleipnir. It was made of six ingredients: the sound of a cat's footfall, the beard of a woman, the roots of a mountain, a bear's sinews, a fish's breath, and a bird's spittle. When it was done, Gleipnir was smooth and soft, like a silken ribbon. Skirnir brought it back to the home of the gods, and they took it to the island of Lyngvi by the lake Amsvartnir. They called the wolf, showed him the silky band, and challenged him to test his strength again.
Fenrir was suspicious because of the thinness of the band. The gods agreed to free him if he could not break out of the fetter himself, but Fenrir was still reluctant to have it put on him. He asked that someone put their hand into his mouth as a pledge that the gods were acting in good faith.
None of the gods was willing to take such a risk, knowing full well the deceit, but then Tyr stepped forward and put his right hand into the wolf's mouth, making the sacrifice that would keep the gods safe. Fenrir was bound with Gleipnir, and he tried with all his might but could not snap it. The gods laughed to see the wolf's distress--except for Tyr: Fenrir closed his mouth on Tyr's hand at the wrist.
Once the wolf was bound, the gods took a cord, called Gelgia, that hung from the fetter, and threaded it through a great stone slab called Gioll. They fastened the slab deep into the earth. Then they took a huge rock, called Thviti, using it for an anchoring-peg.
The wolf, in his anger, struggled violently and stretched its jaws frighteningly wide, trying to bite them all. The gods thrust a tall sword into Fenrir's mouth as a gum prop, with its hilt touching his lower gums and the point touching his upper gums. Fenrir continued to howl horribly, and saliva ran from his mouth. In this subdued condition, according to the myths, the terrible Fenriswolf would remain until Ragnarok, when the gods and the giants would fight to the death.
Fenrir appears in both the 'Poetic (or Elder) Edda' and the 'Prose Edda'. According to the 'Prose Edda', by the time of Ragnarok, the wolf would have grown so large that when he opened his mouth, his lower jaw would be against the Earth and his upper jaw would scrape heaven. Flames would burn from his eyes and nostrils. At Ragnarok, the wolf would break loose and join the giants and other monsters in all-out war with the gods. Fenrir would kill Odin by swallowing him. Odin's son Vidar would then come forward and step with one foot on the wolf's lower jaw. Vidar would be wearing a thick shoe made of all the accumulated waste pieces that were cut from the toe and heel of all the shoes ever made from the beginning of time. Thus securing the wolf's lower jaw, Vidar would grasp his upper jaw with one hand and tear his mouth apart, killing the beast at last.
Compton's Encyclopedia Online v3.0 © 1998 The Learning Company, Inc.