The son of Loki, he turned rather nasty and had to be chained up. One adventurous day Odin chanced upon Loki’s monstrous brood. He cast Hel into Helheim, and slung Jormungand into the sea, but brought Fenrir the puppy back to Asgard where an eye could be kept on him. After all, he might prove useful as a guard dog.

Tyr was given the job of kennel master, but as Fenrir grew at an alarming rate and became ferociously menacing, it became apparent he could not be taken for walkies much longer. Worse, the Gods heard a prophecy that the creature would one day destroy the world.

It was decided Fenrir should be restrained. After twice snapping the chains with which he was entwined with a leer that said ‘Now what?’, Fenrir caused great alarm. So the Gods called in the technical experts known as dwarves. Instead of a heavy-duty macho chain, they forged a very slender little ribbon which hardly seemed up to the job. It was fashioned from the following magical ingredients:

The Sound of a Prowling Cat
The Beard of a Woman
The Roots of a Mountain
The Sinews of a Bear
The Breath of a Fish
and the Spittle of a Bird.

But strangely enough this silly little ribbon was infinitely tough and more than enough to keep Fenrir restrained.

Fenrir, however, declined to be trussed until Tyr placed a hand in the wolfish mouth as a gesture of trust. The creature was bound over and now has to keep the peace. He also kept Tyr’s hand which he bit off.

When Ragnarok comes, Fenrir will finally manage to break his bonds and join the giants in their final battle against the Gods. Odin will go the way of Tyr’s hand and be swallowed alive before Fenrir is finally dispatched by Vidar’s avenging sword.

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Article last revised on August 06, 2018 by Rowan Allen.
Editors: Peter J. Allen, Chas Saunders

References: Coming soon.

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