Fenris legends Translated

Discussion of folklore and myths.
Post Reply
Dream Wolf

Fenris legends Translated

Post by Dream Wolf »

Right, so do to the translation of some Norse Runes from my goddess' familiar (or possibly her brother or servant Still not sure of their relation ship) I've been researching the Fenris Wolf. After buying a book online that contained a collection legends and myths from all over the Scandinavian countries of Norway, Finland and Sweden, with some from Iceland and Denmark as well (theres a couple that i think are from Estonia and Latvia but i'm not sure yet, since i haven't translated them yet) I have scanned through the various entries looking for entries mentioning Fenris. I've finished translating four so far, but ive got at least six more that mention him so i might be adding more.


First entry:

This first story tells of Fenris running rampant as a young (for an immortal being) wolf.


In the time when the great Ice still covered much of the land, Fenris, under the care of Tyr, ran about as freely as any village dog. At this time he sired the twins Skoll and Hati, who will one day devour the Sun and the Moon. But he also sired two other sons and a daughter. Fenris came across the Goddess Bjorgdis, who was gathering herbs for Frigga, in the forests of Asgard. He was so overcome with lust for her that he took her there and sired three children.

Randulfr, who guarded the souls of children killed by illness and injury until they could be taken to the next world, was a wolf who had the appearance of mist and could pass through even the smallest hole, or could envelope entire towns.

Dromulfr, a wolf as black as night who would walk in the dreams of humans and devour their 'Fear Dreams' (nightmares). He is described as being particularly fond of children. (this one in particular interests me)

Varenmor: A she wolf that is said to ward off early spring fevers and to keep children healthy during the cold early spring, she looked like a golden shaft of light when she appears before a human.

The above legend was the longest one and the most detailed. I'm afraid to write it down word for word since i know my translation is lacking, so I just gave the important information. This story is a bit more violent than some I've seen, but rape among gods isn't limited to the Norse the Gods...

The other three legends are going to follow but they wont be much more than a sentence or two, as they are almost like foot notes in the book, only getting a paragraph each, with most of it being speculation on the authors part.


At a time some thousand years after his imprisonment and unknown goddess known only as the 'Mother' Took Fenris to be her protector.*Author note: This may be a reference to Frigga, the goddess of motherhood, but given the limited detail I received from the elderly man it is impossible to say for sure.*

When he was a young pup Fenris once fought side by side with Tyr to fend off a group of Frost Giants that sought to take over the Dwarves and use them to make weapons of war. The strength Fenris displayed is what first caused the Gods to begin to fear him. Their fear of him made him begin to hate them and wish for their destruction. *Author note: Perhaps this story is meant to wan people of Self-fulfilling prophecy (Closest translation I can get, actual trans is 'Cause misfortune by believing in misfortune')*

The final story is a bit lacking in detail but the author mentions that the legend was pieced together by an elderly pair who were trying to recall it from their childhood.

Freya, in her foolishness, thought to tame the wolf Fenris using her powers, the only result was the breaking. *The two men I questioned in regards to this myth could not tell me what was meant by 'the breaking', they could not remember and could not think of anyone who would know either. For now I will put what I do have and I will try to find further information.


Hope you all find these as enlightening as I did. I still haven't translated everything in these four, the names still need work, but the wolf that walks in dreams, his name literally translates as Dream Wolf, which actually shocked me, I've had the magic name of Dream Wolf for seven years now, so finding this entry was like getting walking into your unknown half sibling in McD's...I plan to talk to my mentor about later this week.
Dream Wolf

Re: Fenris legends Translated

Post by Dream Wolf »

In regards to Dromulfr: My mentor has told me that sharing your magic name with a god is not that unusual, since many gods, particularly lesser gods, tend to have many names depending on the local system of worship.

I translated another entry, this one is short as well, but I find it interesting.

"So overcome with sleepless nights brought about by the Great Wolf's constant, mournful howling, Odin confronted the beast in a rage. With his mighty Gungnir in hand Odin sought to pierce the monster's throat and silence him for eternity. As he raised his mighty spear the Wolf looked him in the eye and there Odin saw such sorrow he could not bear to stay." Author Note: This tale seems to have started sometime in the last two hundred years. It is recorded in the villages old cairn on a piece of leather. It is written in an old form of German with a note that the name of the story teller was 'Adawulf'. The oldest woman in the village says it was put there in the time of her grandmother. I speculate this would have been between ninety-eight and one-hundred-thirty years ago, as the woman is herself nearly eighty and boasts of a long line of long lived women.


I was honestly touched by this story. The search for my Goddess' name continues.
Post Reply

Return to “Folklore and Myths”