Story · Norse Mythology · 4 chapters
The Binding of Fenrir
The gods, fearing the growing wolf Fenrir, tried to bind him. The first two bindings he broke, but the third — a magic ribbon made of six impossible things (Gleipnir) — held. Only Týr placed his hand in the wolf's mouth as a pledge; when the binding held, Fenrir bit off his hand [S2]S2 · Snorri Sturluson, Prose Eddac. 1220–1235textOpen source ↗.
historical mythology
The beliefs are pre-Christian (attested archaeologically from the Viking Age); the written sources are Christian-era (1220–1300) and post-hoc. The gap between belief and text is part of what this section presents.
The Fear
The gods feared Fenrir's strength [S2]S2 · Snorri Sturluson, Prose Eddac. 1220–1235textOpen source ↗.
Sources[S2]S2 · Snorri Sturluson, Prose Eddac. 1220–1235textOpen source ↗
The First Two Bonds
Leadbond and Dromi — Fenrir broke both [S2]S2 · Snorri Sturluson, Prose Eddac. 1220–1235textOpen source ↗.
Sources[S2]S2 · Snorri Sturluson, Prose Eddac. 1220–1235textOpen source ↗
Gleipnir
A ribbon of six impossible things [S2]S2 · Snorri Sturluson, Prose Eddac. 1220–1235textOpen source ↗.
Sources[S2]S2 · Snorri Sturluson, Prose Eddac. 1220–1235textOpen source ↗
Týr's Hand
Only Týr placed his hand in the wolf's mouth; it was bitten off [S2]S2 · Snorri Sturluson, Prose Eddac. 1220–1235textOpen source ↗.
Sources[S2]S2 · Snorri Sturluson, Prose Eddac. 1220–1235textOpen source ↗
Primary sources[S2]S2 · Snorri Sturluson, Prose Eddac. 1220–1235textOpen source ↗