In Norse mythology, Fenrir ( Old Norse: " fen-dweller "), Fenrisúlfr ( Old Norse: " Fenris wolf "), Hróðvitnir ( Old Norse: " fame-wolf "), or Vánagandr ( Old Norse: " the monster of the river Ván ") is a monstrous wolf.

Fenrir is attested in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the Prose Edda and Heimskringla, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson.

In both the Poetic Edda and Prose Edda, Fenrir is the father of the wolves Sköll and Hati Hróðvitnisson, is a son of Loki, and is foretold to kill the god Odin during the events of Ragnarök, but will in turn be killed by Odin's son Víðarr.

In the Prose Edda, additional information is given about Fenrir, including that, due to the gods ' knowledge of prophecies foretelling great trouble from Fenrir and his rapid growth, the gods bound him, and as a result Fenrir bit off the right hand of the god Týr.

In the Prose Edda, Fenrir is mentioned in three books: Gylfaginning, Skáldskaparmál and Háttatal.

In chapter 13 of the Prose Edda book Gylfaginning, Fenrir is first mentioned in a stanza quoted from Völuspá.

Fenrir is first mentioned in prose in chapter 25, where the enthroned figure of High tells Gangleri ( described as King Gylfi in disguise ) about the god Týr.

High says that one example of Týr's bravery is that when the Æsir were luring Fenrir ( referred to here as Fenrisúlfr ) to place the fetter Gleipnir on the wolf, Týr placed his hand within the wolf's mouth as a pledge.

The Æsir said Fenrir would quickly tear apart a thin silken strip, noting that Fenrir earlier broke great iron binds, and added that if Fenrir wasn't able to break slender Gleipnir then Fenrir is nothing for the gods to fear, and as a result would be freed.

The cross features various figures depicted in Borre style, including a man with a spear facing a monstrous head, one of whose feet is thrust into the beast's forked tongue and on its lower jaw, while a hand is placed against its upper jaw, a scene interpreted as Víðarr fighting Fenrir.

If the images on the Tullstorp Runestone are correctly identified as depicting Ragnarök, then Fenrir is shown above the ship Naglfar.

In reference to Fenrir's presentation in the Prose Edda, Andy Orchard theorizes that " the hound ( or wolf )" Garmr, Sköll, and Hati Hróðvitnisson were originally simply all Fenrir, stating that " Snorri, characteristically, is careful to make distinctions, naming the wolves who devour the sun and moon as Sköll and Hati Hróðvitnisson respectively, and describing an encounter between Garm and Týr ( who, one would have thought, might like to get his hand on Fenrir ) at Ragnarök.

John Lindow says that it is unclear why the gods decide to raise Fenrir as opposed to his siblings Hel and Jörmungandr in Gylfaginning chapter 35, theorizing that it may be " because Odin had a connection with wolves?

Fenrir has been depicted in the artwork " Odin and Fenris " ( 1909 ) and " The Binding of Fenris " ( around 1900 ) by Dorothy Hardy, " Odin und Fenriswolf " and " Fesselung des Fenriswolfe " ( 1901 ) by Emil Doepler, and is the subject of the metal sculpture " Fenrir " by A. V. Gunnerud located on the island of Askøy, Norway.

In the Poetic Edda, Angrboða is mentioned only in Völuspá hin skamma ( found in Hyndluljóð ) as the mother of Fenrir by Loki.

In chapter 34 of the book Gylfaginning, Hel is listed by High as one of the three children of Loki and Angrboða ; the wolf Fenrir, the serpent Jörmungandr, and Hel.

* Loki has three malign progeny by the giantess Angrboda: the wolf Fenrir, Jörmungandr the World Serpent, and Hel.

* The wolf Fenrir was bound by three fetters: Loeding, Drómi, and Gleipnir, of which only the last held him.

According to the Prose Edda, Odin took Loki's three children by Angrboða, the wolf Fenrir, Hel and Jörmungandr, and tossed Jörmungandr into the great ocean that encircles Midgard.

Upon arriving in the future, the party learns of Thor's history: It was one of the three ancient civilizations, the other two having been Odin and Fenrir.

by Kōsuke Fujishima contains many elements of Scandinavian folklore, most notably the three leading female characters, who are named after the Norns, and many Scandinavian creatures are present to an extent, such as Sleipnir, Fenrir, and Garmr.

In the first of two stanzas mentioning Fenrir in Vafþrúðnismál, Odin poses a question to the wise jötunn Vafþrúðnir:

From stanzas 22 to 24, more details are given by Odin about Valhalla: the holy doors of the ancient gate Valgrind stand before Valhalla, Valhalla has five hundred and forty doors that eight hundred men can exit from at once ( from which the einherjar will flow forth to engage the wolf Fenrir at Ragnarök ).

In stanzas 54 and 55 of the poem Völuspá, a völva tells Odin that his son Víðarr will avenge Odin's death at Ragnarök by stabbing Fenrir in the heart.

In stanzas 51 and 53 of Vafthrúdnismál, Vafþrúðnir states that Víðarr and his brother Váli will both live in the " temples of the gods " after Surtr's fire has ceded and that Víðarr will avenge the death of his father Odin by sundering the cold jaws of Fenrir in battle.

In stanza 40 of the poem Völuspá, a völva divulges to Odin that, in the east, an old woman sat in the forest Járnviðr, " and bred there the broods of Fenrir.

" Further into the poem, the völva foretells that Odin will be consumed by Fenrir at Ragnarök:

Towards the end of the poem, a stanza relates sooner will the bonds of Fenrir snap than as good a king as Haakon shall stand in his place:

Fenrir appears in modern literature in the poem " Om Fenrisulven og Tyr " ( 1819 ) by Adam Gottlob Oehlenschläger ( collected in Nordens Guder ), the novel Der Fenriswolf by K. H. Strobl, and Til kamp mod dødbideriet ( 1974 ) by E. K. Reich and E. Larsen.

( According to the prose introduction to the poem Tyr is now one-handed from having his arm bitten off by Loki's son Fenrir while Fenrir was bound.

In chapter 34 of the Prose Edda poem Gylfaginning, Skírnir is also sent to dwarfs in order to have them to make the restraint Gleipnir for the purpose of binding the wolf Fenrir.

The poem continues, and Haakon becomes a part of the einherjar in Valhalla, awaiting to do battle with the monstrous wolf Fenrir.

The poem continues, and Haakon becomes a part of the Einherjar in Valhalla, awaiting to do battle with the monstrous wolf Fenrir.

The poem continues, and Haakon becomes a part of the Einherjar in Valhalla, awaiting to do battle with the monstrous wolf Fenrir.

High follows this prose description by citing various quotes from Völuspá in support, some of which mention Fenrir.

Some of them may even have many heads, such as Thrivaldi who had nine of them, or an overall non-humanoid shape ; so were Jörmungandr and Fenrir, two of the children of Loki.

This ambiguity works in the other direction also, for example in Vafþrúðnismál, where confusion exists in stanza 46 where Fenrir is given the sun-chasing attributes of his son Sköll.

Depictions of Fenrir have been identified on various objects, and scholarly theories have been proposed regarding Fenrir's relation to other canine beings in Norse mythology.

Fenrir has been the subject of artistic depictions, and he appears in literature.

An illustration of Víðarr stabbing Fenrir while holding his jaws apart ( 1908 ) by W. G. Collingwood, inspired by the Gosforth Cross

In the stanza that follows, Vafþrúðnir responds that Sól ( here referred to as Álfröðull ), will bear a daughter before Fenrir attacks her, and that this daughter shall continue the paths of her deceased mother through the heavens.

However, the Æsir brought up the wolf " at home ", and only Týr had the courage to approach Fenrir, and give Fenrir food.

The gods noticed that Fenrir was growing rapidly every day, and since all prophecies foretold that Fenrir was destined to cause them harm, the gods formed a plan.

They brought Leyding to Fenrir and suggested that the wolf try his strength with it.

Fenrir judged that it was not beyond his strength, and so let the gods do what they wanted with it.

At Fenrir's first kick the bind snapped, and Fenrir loosened himself from Leyding.

The gods asked Fenrir to try the new fetter, and that should he break this feat of engineering, Fenrir would achieve great fame for his strength.