Fenris redirect here. See Fenrir (disambiguation) for other uses.

An illustration of Tyr and Fenrir from Our Fathers' Godsaga (1911) by Viktor Rydberg

In Norse mythology, Fenrir or Fenrisulfr is a wolf, the son of Loki and the giantess Angrboða. Abraham Viktor Rydberg ( Jönköping, December 18, 1828 &ndash Djursholm, September 22, 1895) was a Swedish Norse mythology comprises the indigenous pre-Christian religion, beliefs and Legends of the Scandinavian peoples including those who settled on Iceland The Eurasian Wolf ( Canis lupus lupus) also known as the Common Wolf, European Wolf, Carpathian Wolf, Steppes Wolf, Tibetan Wolf In Cryptography, LOKI89 and LOKI91 are Block ciphers designed as possible replacements for the Data Encryption Standard (DES Angrboda ( Old Norse Angrboða 'Harm-foreboding' appears in Norse mythology as a giantess Fenrir is bound by the gods, but is ultimately destined to grow too large for his bonds and swallow Odin whole during the course of Ragnarök. Odin (ˈoʊdɪn from Old Norse Óðinn) is considered the chief god in Norse paganism. In Norse mythology, Ragnarök (rɑgnɑrɔk Old Norse "Final destiny of the gods" refers to a series of major events including a great battle foretold He will be slain by Odin's son, Viðarr, who will use a shoe made throughout time using the pieces of leather waste left over from repaired shoes to hold the lower jaw while he grasped the upper up, tearing the beast apart and avenging his father. In Norse mythology, Víðarr ( Old Norse, possibly "wide ruler" is a god among the Æsir associated with vengeance

Wolf images on the Ledberg stone. The Ledberg stone is an image- and Runestone located Östergötland, Sweden.

Fenrir has two sons, Hati ('hate') and Skoll. In Norse mythology, Hati Hróðvitnisson (first name meaning "He Who Hates Enemy" is a wolf that according to Gylfaginning chases the Moon across For the moon of Saturn named after Skoll see Skoll (moon. In Norse mythology, Sköll ( Old Norse "treachery" is Skoll chases the horses Árvakr and Alsviðr, that drag the chariot which contains the sun. The Sun (Sol is the Star at the center of the Solar System. Hati chases Máni, the moon. In Norse mythology, Hati Hróðvitnisson (first name meaning "He Who Hates Enemy" is a wolf that according to Gylfaginning chases the Moon across In Norse mythology, Máni ( Old Norse "moon" is the Moon personified 'Skoll', in certain circumstances, is used as a heiti to refer indirectly to the father (Fenrir) and not the son. A heiti ( Old Norse heiti, Modern Icelandic pronunciation, pl This ambiguity works in the other direction also, for example in the Vafþrúðnismál, where a confusion exists in stanza 46 where Fenrir is given the sun-chasing attributes of his son Skoll. In Norse mythology, Vafþrúðnismál ( Vafþrúðnir 's sayings) is the third poem in the Poetic Edda. This can mostly be accounted for by the use of Hróðvitnir and Hróðvitnirson to refer to both Fenrir and his sons.

Learning from the prophecy of the sybil (cf. Völuspá) and from his contest with Vafþrúðnir (related in Vafþrúðnismál) that the children of Loki and Angrboða would bring trouble to the gods, Odin had the wolf brought to him along with his brother Jörmungandr and his sister Hel. Völuspá ( Prophecy of the Völva) is the first and best known poem of the Poetic Edda. Vafþrúðnir ( Old Norse "mighty weaver" is a wise Jötunn in Norse mythology. In Norse mythology, Vafþrúðnismál ( Vafþrúðnir 's sayings) is the third poem in the Poetic Edda. Odin (ˈoʊdɪn from Old Norse Óðinn) is considered the chief god in Norse paganism. Jörmungandr, alternately referred to as the Midgardsormr or World Serpent, is a Sea serpent of the Norse mythology, the middle child of the See also Death in Norse paganism In Norse mythology, Hel (sometimes Anglicized or Latinized as Hela) is the ruler of Hel, the Norse

After casting Jörmungandr into the sea and Hel down into the land of the dead, Odin had the wolf raised among the Æsir. In Old Norse, áss (or ǫ́ss ás, plural æsir, feminine ásynja, feminine plural ásynjur) is the term denoting one of the principal Only the god Týr was daring enough to feed the growing monster. The gods, urged by the wolf's increasing strength and by prophecies that he would be their destruction, attempted to bind the great beast. Twice he agreed to be chained and twice easily burst out of two successive fetters. The first, made of iron, was called Lœðingr. The second, also of iron, but of twice the strength, was called Drómi.

Odin then had the dwarfs forge the chain Gleipnir ("deceiver" or "entangler"). Dvergar or Norse dwarves ( Old Norse dvergar, sing dvergr) are highly significant entities in Norse mythology, who associate Gleipnir is the binding that holds the mighty wolf Fenrisulfr in Norse Mythology. It appeared to be only a silken ribbon but was made of six wondrous ingredients: the sound of a cat's footfall, the beard of a woman, the roots of a mountain, bear's sinews (meaning nerves, sensibility), fish's breath, and bird's spittle. Skírnir, Freyr's messenger, brought it back to Ásgarðr. "Frey" redirects here For other uses of Frey and Freyr, see Frey (disambiguation. This article is about the realm of Norse Mythology For other uses of the names Asgard, Asgaard and Asgård, see Asgard (disambiguation

Then, in the island called Lyngvi ("Heathery") in the lake called Ámsvartnir ("Red-black") (places unknown to us), the gods challenged Fenrisulfr to break this chain also. But the wolf noted the thinness and fineness of construction of Gleipnir and not unreasonably suspected a trick. He agreed to make the test only if one of the gods was willing to place his hand in the wolf's mouth during the binding as a pledge to free him if he failed to break the chain. No god was willing to do this, until Týr stood forth and placed his hand in the wolf's mouth. Fenrisulfr strained to burst the chain but the more he struggled the tighter he was held. When the gods would not free him, the wolf bit off Týr's hand at the wrist, the point afterwards called "the wolf joint". The wolf in his rage then tried to bite at the rest of the gods, but then they thrust a sword in his mouth to keep him from biting at his bounds.

A river flows from bound Fenrir's mouth in this illustration from a 17th century Icelandic manuscript.

Then, as told by Snorri in Brodeur's translation:

When the Æsir saw that the Wolf was fully bound, they took the chain that was fast to the fetter, and which is called Gelgja 'Thin', and passed it through a great rock—it is called Gjöll 'Scream'—and fixed the rock deep down into the earth. In Norse mythology, Gjöll ( Old Norse meaning "resounding" is one of the eleven rivers traditionally associated with the Élivágar, according Then they took a great stone and drove it yet deeper into the earth—it was called Thviti—and used the stone for a fastening-pin. The Wolf gaped terribly, and thrashed about and strove to bite them; they thrust into his mouth a certain sword: the guards caught in his lower jaw, and the point in the upper; that is his gag. He howls hideously, and slaver runs out of his mouth: that is the river called Ván 'Hope'; there he lies till the Twilight of the Gods.

It is prophesied that at Ragnarök the wolf will at last break free and join forces with the enemies of the gods and will then swallow Odin himself whole. After that Viðarr, Odin's son, will slay the wolf to avenge his father. In Norse mythology, Víðarr ( Old Norse, possibly "wide ruler" is a god among the Æsir associated with vengeance

Týr losing his hand is a scene that has provoked the imagination of artists throughout the centuries. This illustration is from an 18th century Icelandic manuscript.

Reinterpretations of the legend

Many books, television serials, roleplaying games and video games use the name "Fenris" or "Fenrir" in reference to a wolf or wolf-like character, including Harry Potter, Doctor Who (as Fenric), Final Fantasy, the Narnia series, and the Xbox 360 video game Viking: Battle for Asgard (as Skarin's Father), while several modern comic books and fantasy novels have specifically reworked the story of Fenrir. Harry Potter is a series of seven Fantasy novels written by British author J Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The Curse of Fenric is a serial in the British Science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast Viking Battle for Asgard is an Action adventure / Hack and slash video game developed by Creative Assembly and published by Sega A comic book (often shortened to simply comic and sometimes called a comic paper or comic magazine) is a Magazine or Book of narrative

In Mike Carey's fantasy comic book Lucifer, Fenrir appears with the Anglicised name "Fenris", and his role in the book is similar to his role in mythology, as he attempts to trigger the destruction of creation. Mike Carey (born 1959 is a British writer of Comic books, Novels and Films. Lucifer is a DC Comics character that starred in an eponymous Comic book published under the Vertigo Imprint. In the Ragnarök manga, Fenris Fenrir is the reincarnation of the wolf Fenrir, while in Mythical Detective Loki Ragnarok, Fenrir is freed from his bindings and comes to Earth as a small, black puppy to find Loki. is a Manga by Sakura Kinoshita published from August 1999 to October 2004 In volumes 5 and 6 of the Japanese comic book Oh My Goddess!, by Kosuke Fujishima, a giant wolf by the name "Fenrir" embodies the "programme for total destruction of the Earth" and calls himself "the Great King of Terror". A comic book (often shortened to simply comic and sometimes called a comic paper or comic magazine) is a Magazine or Book of narrative also known as Ah! My Goddess!, is a Seinen Manga series by Kosuke Fujishima currently serialized in Kodansha 's monthly is a Japanese manga artist. Born in Chiba, Japan, he first came to public attention as an editor of Puff magazine his first job after completing In the Guilty Gear X manga, Guilty Gear Xtra, a young boy named Tyr has a giant dragon named Fenrir sealed inside his right arm. subtitled By Your Side, is the second full game in the ''Guilty Gear'' series. ˈmɑŋgə is the Japanese word for Comics (sometimes called komikku コミック and print Cartoons In their modern form manga date from shortly

In the novel, The Sight, by David Clement-Davies, the wolves believe in a male sun god Fenris, and a female moon god Tor.

In World of Warcraft, Fenris is one of the final bosses in the Shadowfang Keep, a dungeon in the game. World of Warcraft (commonly acronymed as WoW) is a Massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG He is portrayed as a large worg.

Other names and spellings

• Fenrisúlfr
• Hróðvitnir ("the famous wolf")
• Fenris wolf (an English translation of Fenrisulfr)
• Fenrisulf (an anglicized form)
• Fenris (not found in the Old Norse sources)
• Fenrisulven (modern Norwegian, Swedish, and Danish form)
• Fenrisúlvur (Faroese)
• Fenrisúlfur (Icelandic)
• Vánargand (from Skáldskaparmál)
• Vánargandr