Old Norse Religion
Loki's Children
The Evil to Come
By: Eric A. Anderson
The Fenrir Wolf
Fenrir was the eldest of three children between Loki and the giantess Angrboda.
Fenrir took the form of a wolf while his younger brother Jormungand took the
form of a serpent and his younger sister Hel was half alive and half dead.
The gods feared them all and captured them in middle of the night from Angrboda's
hall. The gods then brought the three monsters back to Asgard where they threw
Jormungand into the ocean and Hel into Niflheim where she rules until Ragnarok.
They kept Fenrir in Asgard so that they might keep an eye on him.
Fenrir grew so large and fierce that only Tyr was brave enough to feed him.
After some time the gods decided to bind Fenrir, as killing was forbidden
in Asgard. So they made a chain of iron links called Lęding and challenged
Fenrir to be bound by it to see if he was stronger than the chain. Fenrir
took the challenge and broke the bonds with no problem.
The gods then quickly made another chain from larger links, larger than even
anchor chains, and they called it Dromi. The gods then took it to Fenrir and
challeneged him to break that chain. He too broke it with no problem, for
he had grown even stronger since his breaking of Lęding. The gods where truly
frightened after Fenrir broke Dromi that Odin sent Frey's servant Skirnir
out into the nine worlds to find someone to make a chain strong enough to
bind the giant wolf.
Skirnir then went to the land of the dwarfs in Svartalfheim where they made
a silk rope called Gleipnir. Gleipnir was made from the sound a cat makes
when it moves, a woman's beard, the roots of a mountain, the sinews of a bear,
the breath of a fish and a birds spittle. That is why these things are very
rare in the world today.
Skirnir then returned to Asgard with the silk rope and gave it to Odin, where
he and a group of gods invited Fenrir to break it on the island of Lyngvi
in middle of Lake Amsvartnir. Fenrir took the challenge but when he saw Gleipnir,
he suspected that magic was involved and hesitated until Tyr offered to place
his right hand into Fenrir's mouth. Fenrir was bound, but when he could not
break the rope, he bit Tyr's hand off. The gods then took a chain called Gelgja
and tied it to Gleipnir, then tied Gelgja to a boulder called Gjoll and drove
Gjoll one mile into the earth. After that was done, they placed an even larger
boulder called Thviti on top of Gjoll. The gods then gaged Fenrir with a sword,
it's tip on the roof of Fenrir's mouth and the hilt on his lower jaw and that
is where he will be until Ragnarok.
When Ragnarok comes, Fenrir's chain will break, and he will join his father,
brother, sister and the giants in the mighty battle that will end the nine
worlds. Fenrir and Odin will be the first to engage into battle, but in the
end he will swallow Odin, killing the Allfather. Odin's son Vidar will then
come forward to tear Fenrir apart avenging his father and killing the wolf
son of Loki.
He was also called the Fenris Wolf.
Jormungand, The World Serpent
Jormungand was the second eldest child between Loki the Trickster and the
giantess Angrboda. Kidnapped by the gods, he was cast into the waters that
surround Midgard. There he laid until he grew so large that he ate large whales
and was able to wrap himself around the world and bite his own tail.
Thor and Jormungand would meet three times, the first time when Thor, Loki
and two human servants traveled into Jotunheim, the land of the giants, and
to the great hall of Utgard. There, the giant master of the hall, Utgard-loki,
put the travelers to great tests, one of which was for Thor to pick up his
cat. Thor was only able to just lift the cats foot off the ground before admitting
defeat to the task. It was later revealed to Thor, Loki and the others that
this was only a magic trick, and that the cat was really Jormungand the Midgard
Serpent.
The second time that Thor and Jormungand met was when Thor and Tyr traveled
to the giant Hymir hall to get a large cauldron to brew ale for the gods.
While there, Hymir and Thor went out fishing for food. Thor killed Hymir's
prize bull to use it's head for bait. Thor cast his bull headed line into
the water where Jormungand took the bait and bit hard onto the bulls head.
Thor dragged the mighty serpent up and out of the water where he towered over
the boat that Thor and Hymir where using. Thor then grabbed his hammer Mjollnir
and threw it at the head of Jormungand, but Hymir cut the line because he
was afraid of the World Serpent, and Jormungand sank back into the water before
the hammer hit, leaving a very angry Thor.
The last time Thor and Jormungand would meet is at the time of Ragnarok, the
twilight of the gods. Jormundgand will join up with his father Loki, his brother
the Fenrir Wolf, his sister Hel and her army of dead among others. Thor and
Jormungand will battle as Thor will finally throw his hammer at Jormungand,
smashing his head and killing him. But before the World Serpent dies, he will
drop his poison on Thor, where he will only take nine steps back before he
too dies.
Hel: Goddess of the Underworld
Hel was the youngest of three children between Loki and the giantess Angroboda.
When the gods kidnapped all three children, Hel was cast into Nifilheim to
look over the dishonored dead, or those that died of illness or old age, sharing
whatever food she had with them.
It was in Nifilheim that she built her hall called Eljudnir, and within she
had a manservant and maidservant named Ganglati and Ganglot, who's name means
tardy. They where so slow that no one could tell that they where moving. On
her table sat Hel's plate which was called Hunger, her knife which was called
Famine. In her hall was her bed named Sick Bed and her bed hangings called
Glimmering Misfortune.
Hel herself was very odd, yet horrifying looking monster. Half of her face
was lovely and fair to look at, taking after her father, while the other half
was ugly and misshapen like her mother. From her waist up her skin was pink
and alive while from her waist down it was dead and rotting
When the fair god Balder and his wife Nanna died, they went to Hel's hall.
Nine days later, Balders brother Hermod rode Sleipnir to Nifilheim and spent
the night with his brother. The next day Hermod met with Hel and express the
grief the gods had because of Balders death, and if she would let Balder go
back to the living world. Hel agreed to let Balder go if everyone in the nine
worlds truly did grieve him. Hermod returned to the living world and informed
the gods of the agreement. The gods managed to get all things in the nine
worlds to grieve, except for one giantess named Thokk, who was really Hel's
father Loki in disguise. Because of Loki's act, Balder would remain in Nifilheim
until Ragnarok.
Hel will make her last stand at the twilight of the gods when she brings her
hoard of dead up and out of Nifilheim to join her father and the other giants
in the final battle of Ragnarok. Unlike her brothers Fenrir the Wolf and Jormungand
the Serpent, we do not know how she will meet her doom on the field of Vigrid.
Other names she was known by are Hell and Hella. She was also described
as being half black as night, and half white as snow in some accounts.
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