Introduction
Fenrir is a monstrous wolf, son of Loki and the giantess Angrboda, who grew so large and dangerous that the gods, fearing a prophecy of the destruction he would bring, resolved to bind him permanently. His eventual breaking free at Ragnarok, and his killing of Odin, is one of the central, most anticipated events of the Norse apocalypse.
This article follows Old Norse mythological tradition, chiefly the Poetic Edda and Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda, noting where the two sources differ.
Family
- Father: Loki
- Mother: Angrboda
- Siblings: Jormungandr, Hel, Sleipnir
Raised among the gods and growing fear
The gods initially raised Fenrir themselves, but as he grew at an alarming rate, and given prophecies that he was destined to bring destruction upon them, they resolved to bind him. Two ordinary chains, Leyding and Dromi, Fenrir broke with ease, even enjoying the display of strength.
Gleipnir and Tyr's sacrifice
The gods had the dwarves forge Gleipnir, a slender ribbon made from six impossible ingredients: the sound of a cat's footsteps, a woman's beard, a mountain's roots, a bear's sinews, a fish's breath, and a bird's spittle, giving it a magical strength no ordinary material could match. Suspicious of a trick given its unimpressive appearance, Fenrir agreed to be bound only if a god would place a hand in his mouth as a pledge of good faith. Only Tyr was willing; when Fenrir found he could not break the ribbon, he bit off Tyr's hand.
Ragnarok
Fenrir remains bound, with a sword wedged in his jaws to keep him from biting further, until Ragnarok, when he finally breaks free, his lower jaw scraping the earth and his upper the sky as he advances, and kills Odin in the final battle, before being killed in turn by Odin's son Vidar, who tears his jaws apart.