Skaldic Storytelling and the Binding of Fenrir

Loki had been away from Asgard for some time. He had been with the Jötunn woman Angrboda. When he returned to Asgard to Odin's hall he had with him 3 children.

There was Jormungandr, a great serpent. The gods saw him and were fearful. They cast him into the sea and there he grew ever longer until he wound his scaly body around the world. It was said that Jormungandr would defeat Thor at Ragnarok.

The second child was Fenrir, a great Wolf. And again the gods had a foreboding, for they had heard that he would kill Odin at Ragnarok. Unlike Jormungandr, they wished to keep him close so they could keep an eye on him as he grew. But only Tyr was brave enough to go to him and be in his company. Only Tyr would bring him food and watch him tear the neat with his terrible teeth.

The third child was a girl, Hel, who was beautiful and fair to look at until she turned her head, and then you saw into death. Odin felt pity for her, and was not as afraid of her as the other two. Still, he reasoned that she was not suited to life in Asgard. He let her go into Helheim, where she gained dominion over the dead.

Meanwhile, in Asgard, Fenrir was growing larger and hungrier and more terrible each day. The gods were growing fearful of the monster he was becoming. Still, Tyr would go to him and feed him progressively larger and larger meals, but Fenrir would always say he was still hungry.

Odin was getting progressively more agitated with the arrangement, because soon Fenrir would be too large and uncontrollable and might go out looking for food and eating things that shouldn’t be eaten. So Odin devised a plan that they should bind Fenrir so that he would not go about causing destruction. The gods agreed but no one dared to approach Fenrir, except for Tyr. They gave him the chain Leyding and stood back while he approached.

“Good morning, Fenrir.”

“Good morning, Tyr.”

“You really are getting big and strong.”

“Yes, I am.”

“Well, can we test your strength just a bit? I have with me this chain. Do you think that if I bond you in it you could break free?”

Fenrir eyed the chain, Leyding, and gave a derisive snort, “Well, let us see then.”

So Tyr bound Fenrir with Leyding. But Fenrir barely had to flex his powerful legs and the chain burst and he was free again.

“Amazing!” said Tyr, “Your strength truly is a wonder!”

Fenrir was very proud of himself, but also very hungry, so he set about eating the meat that Tyr had brought him.

But the other gods did not think it was amazing at all that Fenrir had broken through the chain Leyding so easily. They retreated to Odin’s hall to discuss the matter.

Soon they came up with another chain, which they named Dromi, and it was twice as strong as Leyding had been. And again it fell to Tyr to bring the chain to Fenrir.

So the next day Tyr approached Fenrir with Dromi and said, “Good morning , Fenrir.”

“Good morning, Tyr.”

“We were all so impressed with how easily you broke the chain, Leyding. We wondered if you would give it another go. You can see we have a stronger chain. Do you think you could snap this one as well?”

Fenrir sniffed at Dromi, “Hmmm,” he said, “It is a thicker chain for sure, but I think I could manage it.”

So again, Tyr bound Fenrir, and this time Fenrir did not snap Dromi immediately. He had to push against the chains just a little, but they burst again as before.

“Amazing!” said Tyr, “We have never seen one as strong as you before!”

And Fenrir beamed at this, but then he set about eating the meat that Tyr had brought him. He was so terribly hungry.

The gods were not pleased at all, and they retreated again to Odin’s hall. But they didn’t have a stronger chain than Dromi in Asgard, indeed, they no longer had Dromi or Leyding, such was the destruction Fenrir had caused on them. They thought long and hard but finally a solution emerged. They would go to the dwarves, for surely they would know how to create a chain so strong that even Fenrir could not break it.

They sent Freyr’s messenger Skirnir down to Svartálfaheimr to commission a chain. The dwarves said that it would not be an easy task to make such a bond, and would require 6 impossible ingredients. The ingredients were: the sound of a cat’s footsteps, the beard of a woman, the roots of mountains, the sinews of a bear, the breath of a fish, and the spittle of a bird. The gods set about scouring all the nine worlds until they were able to track down these things, and then they sent Skirnir back to the dwarves, and the dwarves fashioned the fetter Gleipnir.

It was not a chain, but rather a very thin cord that was like a silken ribbon. The gods were not sure how strong it could be but all of them tested it and none could tear it. They decided to bring it to Fenrir.

Tyr approached Fenrir with Gleipnir, “Good morning, Fenrir.”

“Good morning, Tyr.”

We are all so impressed with how you broke through Dromi so easily. Will you give it one more try? Here we have Gleipnir. Surely you can break free of it as well?”

Fenrir peered down at Gleipnir. It did not look strong at all, but he shifted uneasily in place. The gods would not bring a weaker cord after how easily he had broken through Leyding and Dromi. It had to be a trick. He paused and then said, "It looks to me that I will gain no fame from tearing this ribbon, for it is slender, but if it were made artfully and with trickery I do not wish to have it about my legs.”

The gods, who were standing at a safe distance behind Tyr, assured him that he would surely be able to break through such a ribbon with his great strength, and asked him if he were too cowardly.

Fenrir growled, "If you bind me and I cannot break free, you are all standing in such a way that I would get no help from you. I am reluctant to put on this band, but perhaps if you question my courage one of you may put your hand in my mouth while I am bound in a gesture of good faith."

The gods whispered amongst themselves but none wished to stick their hand inside Fenrir's terrible jaw. Tyr looked back at the other gods and then looked at Fenrir who stood there waiting. He stepped forward and said, “I will do it.”

Fenrir cocked his head to the side, but he said, “Very well.” He opened his expansive mouth, and Tyr placed his hand inside. Tyr and Fenrir stood there taking each other in. It was a moment before the gods unfroze and set to work binding Fenrir with Gleipnir. They attached Gleipnir to the stone, Gjöll, and anchored it with the stone Thviti. When this was done Fenrir flexed, but Gleipnir held fast. Fenrir strained against the fetter, but still it did not break. He heaved with all his might, but Gleipnir could not be broken.

He howled out to the gods to release him, but they all stood well back, and none moved to his aid. In a rage, he bit down.

I have often been the one friends turn to when they are troubled and as a result I have spent many long nights staying up with people who were having trouble sleeping because of whatever was going on in their lives. Over time I realized that a great way to distract from what troubled them so that they might fall asleep was to tell them stories. And the best stories to capture the imagination are retellings of myths and legends from around the world. Of course, for it to be a good retelling I have to be fairly familiar with the story, so they are usually stories from the Lore. Usually, but not always. I know skalds of the past use storytelling in similar ways. Partly it was to pass the time on long nights around the fire when people needed to stay up to guard themselves against enemies or wild animals. Partly it was to capture the imaginations of youth and teach them things. And also, skalds would carefully pick and choose stories to tell their lords that they could use as a platform for messages they wanted to give them, advice about how to deal with something that troubled the lord, or warnings if they were acting in a way that would lead to a poor result. Stories could gently sway people without calling them out of undesirable behaviours. A story could be told to a group but different things could be taken away from it by each person present.

When I am having troubles in my own life I often find myself reexamining these stories as well. The more I think about them, the more I see different layers of meaning stretching out unlying the story. Each time I think of a story I see it different. Often I just recall it but if I think I have found a particularly interesting new meaning I may go back to the Lore to see if there is anything there to refute it. That said, relying on the written Lore is not really going to solve that necessarily. Written Lore is just a captured moment in time. It is a story being recorded as the writer recalled hearing it, possibly with embellishments if they did not understand the whole message of it, or wished to obscure certain details to fit their own biases.

Now, when I tell a story, I often carefully choose the story I am going to tell someone because I think the message would be useful to them. Unless my purpose with the story is just to distract and give them sleep faster, but otherwise my story may have elements of advice in the retelling. Or sometimes I tell a story because I think the listener has never heard that story and that it would benefit them to know it. This is often the case with friends of mine who are not heathen but whose spouses are. If they are having trouble sleeping I would likely choose a story from the Lore because not only is it a distraction but knowing that story can help them to understand their partner's worldview.

A story that I come back to again and again, perhaps more than any other, is the Binding of Fenrir. I don't know why, but no matter who I am talking to or if I am feeling troubled myself, this story always has something new to tell. I have found myself facing my own troubles in the middle of the night on a bridge overlooking the sleeping city, playing Red Hot Chili Peppers in my headphones and thinking about the nature of Tyr, and his relationship with Fenrir.

It is almost possible to feel sympathy for Fenrir. Tyr raised him, and then betrays him. The reason is because of the monster he will become. It seems a difficult thing to judge someone for what they will become, and I have often wondered if the gods turning in Fenrir actually was the catalyst for what makes Fenrir turn into a monster. Did Odin knowing his fate bring it about? Sometimes I wonder that, and not just in that story but also in the Death of Baldur.

However, most of the time I think about Tyr, for the same reasons. What would it be like to raise Fenrir, only to have to betray him for the good of all? Fenrir was like a child to Tyr or a pet, but Fenrir was also like a friend. How do you betray a friend, even when you know they are a monster? That is the hardest thing you can ever do. How do you break a Frith bond, when you know that if you don't the result will be harmful to the tribe? It is not without consequences. Tyr knew the price of betraying his friend. He looked him straight in the eye, and stuck his hand into Fenrir's mouth. He knew the result. He knew he would have to lose a part of himself.

All the other gods were afraid of Fenrir. They wouldn't feed him as he was growing. They wouldn't stick their hands into his great maw when he was bound. It was only Tyr who dared to look him in the eye and do what needed to be done. I often feel a sort of awe at Tyr. I often find myself thinking he is the best of the gods. All the other gods seem very self-interested, but Tyr does what is best for the tribe. Tyr does what is necessary even when his heart is breaking. He is the most courageous, the most just, I would even go as far as to say the most good. Tyr loses his hand, but he does not lose his honor. Among the gods they respect him for doing what none of the rest of them would do.

I have had to face down my own wolves in my life. I think most people have. It is a terrible thing to have to look a wolf in the eye, to feel it's hot breath on your skin. To stare it down, knowing you won't get away without feeling those jowls in your flesh. So, I have stood a while with Tyr on several occasions, listening to the howls of circling wolves. Holding my ground, head raised to face them. And other times I have felt the wolf in me and then had to face that in myself. That is just it at the end of the day. We are not gods. Sometimes we are the wolf. Sometimes, the one we must stand against for the betterment of the tribe is ourselves. And that is a very hard thing. It is a very hard thing to be Tyr, but an even harder thing to be Fenrir.

Fenrir is angry that his friend binds him. Fenrir is stung by the betrayal. If you don't stand against the rage of betrayals in your own life, then the wolf consumes you. If you become wolf, then you lose yourself. All that exists in wolf is gnawing hunger. If you let the animal instinct control you then you become a destructive force. It is easy to feel sympathy for Fenrir because we have all been Fenrir. We all know that hurt, to some extent. We need to pull ourselves out from it. We need to instead embody Tyr. We need to stand our ground and face our troubles, even when we know it will hurt. Even when we know the bite is coming.

In a way it is comforting to know that gods are fallible. That most of them were scared too, and only Tyr was brave enough. It really makes it real how tough some choices are. Odin in particular changes quite a few of his choices out of fear of Fenrir's maw. Not just in this story, but if we follow him through the Lore. His actions are very much death defying after he knows his fate. It is his knowledge of the future that leads him on quests to get items that may help him, that leads him to creating an army to fight at Ragnarok, and that leads him ultimately to binding Loki as well. Now some people have argued this wasn't fear, but rather preparedness. I am not so sure. None of Odin's actions are able to change his fate. In many cases I think they bring about his own demise, but perhaps that is the point. Even the gods can only do what they can do, some strokes of fate are too large to be changed. The colours are in the weaving even before the strands are woven. You can't change the colours of the strands. You can try to change the pattern. But if some of the strands are red, you still have red in the end. You can't have blue if you only have red.

It is not a flaw of Odin's character to want to change fate. It may be a flaw of his character to not put his own hand in Fenrir's mouth, but perhaps not. Tyr was the right one for the job. Fenrir trusted Tyr. And that is what allowed him to be bound, and also what made the anger of betrayal so large.

Sometimes though, we have to fib to our friends for their benefit as much as for the rest of the community. They won't see it that way at the time. Perhaps they have a problem with alcoholism and you are trying to get them help but they aren't willing participants in sobriety. Not at first, anyways. They may feel angry with you for a long time afterwards, but eventually, if they stick with it and get sober they may eventually thank you for the hard line you drew.

So I guess, try to be Tyr. Try not to be Fenrir. But sometimes you are going to be Odin. That's just how it is.

Of course this is just one of countless interpretations I have done with this story. There are just layers upon layers of meanings you can take from it, but since I am writing a blog entry, not a book I will not bore you with all of the ones I have come up with so far.

As I have said in a previous post, the Lore alludes to the nature of the gods. So we can take from it that Tyr is both fair and just, but also that he has a lot of courage and internal strength. He values his tribe, and he aims to do what is best for all. That is not always a popular choice. It can seem callous. But Tyr is also selfless in his actions, which is why I describe him as the best of the gods. This isn’t that I think the other gods are less. What I mean is he is most true. He is someone you can rely on to make the best choice, even when it is a hard one.

The meanings of the stories to the listeners were whatever skalds put into them to meet the needs of their intended audience. My retelling above is telling the story that I have interpreted here for you, but each skald would put something different into it. If I told the story again to a different audience it would change again, but the nature of Tyr would not change, just any other meanings that might be taken from the story.

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Skaldic Storytelling and the Binding of Fenrir

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