Not long ago, we talked about the mythological origins of Jormungandr, one of the three sons of Loki and Angrboða. It’s time to go, with God of War Ragnarok getting its first real shot at the movie ad announcing its November 9 release date. Exploring Fenrirscourge of the gods.
mythological origins
Fenrir is a central character of Norse mythology, as evidenced by various written and iconographic testimonies. The eldest son of Loki and Angrboða is Jormungandr, brother of the earth-encircling serpent, and Hel, ruler of the kingdom of the dead of the same name.
He has two sons, Sköll and Hati, respectively, two wolves who constantly chase the Sun and Moon and reach and devour them, starting Ragnarok, which is mentioned in one of the most famous chambers of the poetic Edda.
To the east there is an old woman in Járnviðr / and there she feeds the descendants of Fenrir; / there will be only one of them all / To devour the moon in the form of a troll.
When the gods learned of some prophecies, they wanted the descendants of the god of deception as they wished. bringing indescribable misfortunesThey decided to separate the three siblings. As Hel was banished to the kingdom of Nilfheimr and Jormungandr was thrown into the waters surrounding Mannheimr, Fenrir grew up among the gods, perhaps to keep him under control at all times (discussion about this decision of Odin is still open). The only person who dared approach the wolf was the Truck, which had adequately fed him.
This way Fenrir was able to grow faster than normal and get one. awesome power, the gods later decided to chain him, but to do so they had to deceive him. So they pretended to test his strength and surrounded him with a chain to see if he could break it. Having succeeded in this, the gods try another, more resistant, but the latter failed to trap him. Thus, Freyr’s herald, Skírnir, was sent to Svartálfaheimr to ask a group of dwarves to build a building. strongest chain ever made. Using the footsteps of a cat, the beard of a woman, the roots of a mountain, the tendons of a bear, the breath of a fish, and the saliva of a bird, they created Gleipnir. a piece of cloth, but actually indestructible.
Returning from Fenrir, the gods offered the wolf to try its strength again, but seeing the fine cloth, he realized that the thread was probably covered by a spell. To convince him otherwise, he asked someone to offer to put his hand between his powerful jaws to ensure that it wasn’t cheating. Only one of them stood out: the truck, the only one who dared approach it. Placing their hands on the creature’s mouth, the gods surrounded Fenrir with Gleipnir. The magic chain worked admirably, but this caused the wolf to inevitably keep his word and pull poor Truck’s hand. While the gods tried to fix the end of the chain, Gelgja, to the ground with two pieces of rock, Gjöll and Þviti, the wolf tried in every way to bite its captors. That’s why they placed a sword in the beast’s mouth to prevent it from using its jaw. The creature began to salivate without swallowing, leading to the creation of the Ván River (which means “wait”).
From this moment forward, Loki’s son is doomed to remain in chains until the events of Ragnarok unfold, while he will run alongside his brother Jormungandr and open his huge jaws between heaven and earth, devouring everything that stands in his way. . There is also the prophecy that Viðarr was killed when the wolf collided with Odin and devoured him, but the latter was killed by one of his sons, and Viðarr, who would break his jaw thanks to the ominous shoes that the men created with the scraps of leather they had accumulated to adapt. Their shoes are tailored to their needs as described on Gylfaginning.
The wolf will devour Odin, and that will be his death. But at once Viðarr will come and put one foot on the wolf’s lower jaw, and take the shoe that has been made on that foot through the ages: these are triangular pieces of leather that men cut out of their shoes. for the big toe or ankle; therefore the man who wants to come to the aid of Aesis will have to throw away those scraps. With his other hand, he grabs the wolf’s upper jaw and breaks its mouth, and that’s the wolf’s death.
Fenrir in Ragnarok, God of War
The Fenrir wolf is probably the most established creature in the imagination of mass culture from Norse mythology. Just think of entries in the Final Fantasy saga (so much so that he became a memorable character in Final Fantasy VI), or more recently, in standout appearances in hugely successful productions, such as: Thor: Ragnarok In the Marvel Cinematic Universe or Norse Assassin’s Creed Valhalla (where the wolf’s incarceration, as described in the thirty-fourth chapter of Gylfaginning in Snorri Sturluson’s Prosastic Edda, is a fairly faithful follow-up). Therefore, such a well-known character can certainly not be missing in God of War’s new all-Viking saga.
Already in the 2018 video game, some hints of its existence, though unseen, could be glimpsed, particularly emerging from the stories of Mímir (who refers to himself by one of his other names, Hróðvitnir). the fiercest of the gods’ enemies. This means that just like his brother Jormungandr, they must both be victims of some kind of space-time travel that had brought them into existence earlier (as Mímir reported against the snake that mysteriously appeared in the lake one day). If his ties to Loki and Angrboða remained unchanged according to myth.
At any rate, Fenrir will certainly be a pivotal character in Ragnarok, given Mímir’s distress against the Scandinavian pantheon he has witnessed, but judging by the enormous size that Santa Monica has decided to change in video game form. Waiting for someone doesn’t seem impossible titanic clash “old-fashioned”, perhaps in Jotunheimr, or more significantly, in Járnviðr (the “iron forest where the wolf’s offspring, Sköll and Hati were bred, whose existence has already been proposed in the world of God of War”), perhaps leading him to rely on the father-son duo. and persuade them to join them during the “twilight of the gods.” Ragnarok is getting closer and closer.
We went Exploring Fenrir, is the new character of God of War, but we remind you that this is not our first introduction to Norse mythology (in addition to those mentioned in the article, you will also find those dedicated to Thor, Freya, Valkyries and Midgard). Also, we already know where the next journey into Norse mythology will take us this time around, but we don’t want to tell you too much. Just know that we have physically reached the shores of Iceland to provide you with as complete and comprehensive content as possible.
Let us know what you think of this announcement and what you think Fenrir’s role in God of War Ragnarok will be for you as we await this “special episode”.
Source: Multiplayer
