Fenrir is the great wolf in Norse Mythology who breaks free from his chains at Ragnarök, the twilight of the gods, kills Odin, and is then killed by Odin’s son Vidarr. Fenrir is the son of the trickster god Loki and brother of the World Serpent Jormungandr and the jotunn Hel.

He is also known as the Fenris Wolf (also given as Fenris-wolf) and Vanargand (“monster of van”) usually understood to mean “creature of expectation” because he was prophesied to participate in the destruction of the gods. His name is pronounced Fen-rear, and he was born of the union of Loki and the giantess Angrboda. A prophecy foretold that the children of Loki would cause the gods of Asgard trouble and so they were taken from Jotunheim, land of the giants where they lived with their mother, and brought to Asgard. Odin then hurled Jormungandr into the sea, dropped Hel into the depths of the realm of Niflheim, and, eventually, had Fenrir chained to a rock. All three children would avenge themselves at Ragnarök.

The story of Fenrir, like all of Norse Mythology, survives today through a Christianized lens and it is difficult to tell what aspects of the tales were original Norse beliefs and what are later interpretations. There are a number of wolves mentioned in Norse Mythology (notably Fenrir’s sons Hati and Skoll) but it is thought that most, if not all, were originally Fenrir as some tales attribute to him certain actions later given to Hati and Skoll.

THE FULL STORY OF THE BINDING OF FENRIR IS GIVEN IN THE 12TH OR 13TH CENTURY POEM MALSHATTAKVAEDI FROM THE ORKNEYS.
Although Fenrir is understood as an antagonist of the gods and one of the “villains” of the story of Ragnarök, the original story makes clear that Odin’s and the other gods’ treatment of the great wolf contributed to his siding with the forces of chaos against them.

The World of the Myth
Before the beginning of time, there was only the World Tree Yggdrasil and the misty void of Ginnungagap bordered on one side by the fiery realm of Muspelheim and on the other by the ice world of Niflheim. The fires of Muspelheim eventually began melting the ice of Niflheim and the giant Ymir emerged along with Audhumla the cow. Audhumla licked the ice for sustenance and revealed Buri who then mated with the giantess Bestla. Bestla gave birth to Odin, Vili, and Ve, the first of the gods, while Ymir, through self-fertilization, birthed the giants.

Warriors Fight a Wolf & Giant Snake
Warriors Fight a Wolf & Giant Snake
J. Paul Getty Museum (Public Domain)
Odin, Vili, and Ve attacked and killed Ymir whose gushing blood drowned all the other giants except for Bergelmir and his wife who fled on a raft and would generate more giants who would swear eternal enmity with the gods of Asgard. From Ymir’s body, Odin and his brothers created the world of the Nine Realms:

Asgard – Realm of the Aesir, joined to Midgard by the rainbow bridge Bifrost
Alfheim – Realm of the Elves
Hel – Realm of those who died of illness or old age and then of most people
Jotunheim – Realm of the Giants and Frost Giants
Midgard – Realm of the Humans between Asgard and Jotunheim
Muspelheim – Realm of Fire, the fire-giant Surtr, and Surtr's forces of chaos
Nidavellir/Svartalfheim – Realm of the Dwarves beneath the earth
Niflheim – Realm of Ice, Snow, and Mist near Muspelheim
Vanaheim – Realm of the Vanir
They then created the first man (Ask) and woman (Embla) from an Ash and Elm tree, respectively, and ringed the realm of Midgard with a high wall to protect the helpless creatures from the giants. After humans were created, the gods made animals and then Bifrost, the rainbow bridge, which joined Midgard to Asgard. The Nine Realms would exist until the day of Ragnarök when all would be destroyed in a great battle between the gods – the forces of order – and those of chaos which included the god Loki and his children.

Fenrir’s Character & Name
Although in the present day Loki is often represented as a personification of evil, he is never depicted that way in the original Norse tales. Loki is a trickster god who upsets the established order but these types of deities (or spirits), in any culture, encourage change and transformation. Loki, therefore, is not evil; he is only a serious bother to gods and humanity by introducing the unexpected – and almost always unwelcome or even tragic – to the ordered worlds.

Loki’s children had no part in this, however, and seem to have been completely innocent until abused by the gods of Asgard. The full story of The Binding of Fenrir is given in the 12th or 13th century poem Malshattakvaedi from the Orkneys and is alluded to in the Poetic Edda’s Voluspa and the Prose Edda. Scholars usually claim that the wolf was chosen as the gods’ antagonist because the people of Scandinavia understood wolves as dangerous predators but the story itself does not support this as Fenrir is depicted as living peacefully among the gods as their pet until he is betrayed by them.


At the same time, however, his name is thought to be derived from a creature of the fen, a marshland, associated with evil spirits and danger. Scholar Rudolf Simek comments:

The meaning of the name Fenrir has not been fully explained, but the most likely explanation is the link with Old Norse fen, `fen, marsh’…Thus, Fenrir was originally a `fen-dweller’, an appropriate name for such a monster. The myth of Fenrir is associated with the eschatological complex of concepts surrounding Ragnarök which developed in the 10th century. However, the myth might have been influenced even earlier than this by south-eastern thought, such as the Caucasian legends of the fettered giant. (81)

The “fettered giant” Simek references is the Titan Prometheus of Greek Mythology who was bound to the Caucasus Mountains by Zeus as punishment for giving humanity the gift of fire which, formerly, was reserved only for the gods. Prometheus is not only chained to the rock but a giant bird swoops down each day and eats out his liver which, because he is immortal, grows back each night only to be torn out and eaten the next day. The Greek tale features someone unjustly bound and tormented by the gods and the Norse story of Fenrir echoes this same theme.

The Binding of Fenrir
The Binding of Fenrir begins with the gods learning that Loki’s children are being raised by their mother Angrboda in the giant’s realm of Jotunheim. A prophecy informs them that these three children will one day cause the gods great distress and so Odin either sends for them or leads the expedition that takes them from their mother. The three children are Fenrir the wolf, Jormungandr the serpent, and Hel, a goddess who is half living woman and half a blue, decomposing corpse.

Odin fighting Fenrir
Odin fighting Fenrir
Emil Doepler (Public Domain)
Odin is disgusted by Jormungandr and hurls him into the sea. He sends Hel to the dark realm of Niflhel (usually given as Hel) below the icy world of Niflheim where she is given “charge of the Nine Realms”, usually understood to mean she is to preside over the souls from those realms who died of old age or sickness. Fenrir is kept by the gods as a pet and is raised by them, but he begins to grow at an alarming rate and only the god Tyr is brave enough to feed him which encourages a friendship between the two.

As Fenrir grows larger and larger, the gods remember the prophecy and think it in their own best interests to bind the wolf. They invite Fenrir to a contest of strength, telling him they don’t believe he will be able to break free of the fetter known as Loeding. Fenrir allows himself to be chained and then easily breaks his bonds. The gods then forge a stronger chain they call Dromi and try again but Fenrir breaks these chains just as easily.

FENRIR REMAINS CHAINED ON THE ISLAND OF LYNGVI UNTIL THE DAY OF RAGNARÖK, THE TWILIGHT OF THE GODS.
Odin is det