Fenrir
Fenrir is a wolf in Scandinavian mythology who plays a destructive role at Ragnarök, the "Dusk of the gods." He swallows both Oðinn and the sun during the eschatological crisis known as the "Great Winter" (Fimbulvetr). He is ultimately defeated by the god Viðarr, which permits the rebirth of the world.
↻ synthesized from 8 sources
When
- First attested
- 500 BCE
- Attested period
- -500 – 2020
- Historical notes
- Monstrous wolf in Norse eschatology, associated with Ragnarök.
Relationships
- co occurs with
- Atri, Sköll, Máni, Mundilfari, Hati Hróðvitnisson, Geri, Freki, Heimdallr, Sif, Dvalinn, Oðinn, Thor, Angerona, Volupia, Huginn, Muninn, Mímir, Einherjar, kali, Shiva
- sibling of
- Jörmungandr, Hel
Mentioned by
Sources
Source passages
“the wolf Fenrir swallows Oðinn and the sun. Then Viðarr defeats Fenrir...The eschatological crisis in which Fenrir devours the sun is seen as the "Great Winter" Fimbulvetr”
#10811 · extracted by anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.5
“Hel is listed by High as one of the three children of Loki and Angrboða; the wolf Fenrir, the serpent Jörmungandr, and Hel. High continues that, once the gods found that these three children are being brought up in the land of Jötunheimr”
#12564 · extracted by google/gemini-2.0-flash-001
“Odin asks Vafþrúðnir where another sun will come from once Fenrir has assailed the current sun... before Álfröðull (Sól) is assailed by Fenrir”
#16174 · extracted by anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.5
“Freki is also a name applied to the monstrous wolf Fenrir in the Poetic Edda poem Völuspá. Folklorist John Lindow sees irony in the fact that Odin feeds one Freki at his dinner table and another—Fenrir—with his flesh during the events of Ragnarök.”
#38354 · extracted by google/gemini-2.0-flash-001
“The Æsir and einherjar will ride to the field Vígríðr while Óðinn rides before them clad in a golden helmet, mail, and holding his spear Gungnir, and heading towards the wolf Fenrir.”
#38390 · extracted by google/gemini-2.0-flash-001