Animals

Alsvin: Very Quick

Alsvin was one of the two horses that pulled the Sun’s chariot, it was driven by Sol.

Alsvinder: Rapid Goer

Alsvinder was the horse that pulled the Moon’s chariot, it was driven by Mani.

Arvakr: Early Waker

Arvakr was one of the two horses that pulled the Sun’s chariot, it was driven by Sol.

Dain:

Dain was a deer that lived among the branches of Yggdrasil, and ate the leaves.

Eikthyrnir: Oak Thorny

Eikthyrnir was a deer that stood on the roof of Valhalla, and ate from the leaves of the great oak tree Laerrad. From the horns dripped water, which was were all the rivers in the world came from.

Fenrir Wolf:

The Fenrir wolf was the son of Loki and Angrboda, he was the brother to Hel and the Midgard serpent. He was the father of the two wolves Sköll and Hati Hróðvitnisson. It is foretold that he will kill Odin, at Ragnarok, but the Fenrir wolf will be killed by Odin's son Vidar. The Fenrir wolf was kept in Asgard, and Tyr was the only one brave enough to feed him. But when the gods, saw how the Fenrir wolf grew, from day to day. They decided to bind him to an extremely strong leash, so it could hold the Fenrir wolf. It was not safe, to have him drift free in Asgard. So the gods began playing a game with it, to see how easily it could snap the bonds of a rope they put on him. They came with a leash called “Loeding” and asked the Fenrir wolf to try his strength on it, but the Fenrir wolf did not think that it would outstrip its powers, and let them do as they liked. And as soon as the Fenrir wolf just stretched, the chain broke. The Aesir then made a leash, by the name “Dromi” that was twice as strong. And once again they asked the Fenrir wolf to try his strength on it, and said that he would become very renowned for his strength, if such a leash could not keep him.

The Fenrir wolf thought about it, but believed that his power was even greater, than he had when he came off, the first leash. The Fenrir wolf then realized he had to expose himself to danger, if he had to gain fame. He then let them put the wristband with the leash on him, and when the gods said that they were now finished, the wolf stood up and shook himself and took the wristband to the ground and squeezed mightly on it. The Fenrir wolf then stretched his feet and broke the leash so that the pieces flew far away. After this the gods feared, that they may not get the Fenrir wolf bound. Then Odin sent, Skírnir the messenger of Freyr, down to the black elves world, to some dwarfs. The dwarfs made the leash, and called it Gleipnir. The leash was as light as a silk ribbon, but stronger than an iron chain.

The leash was made of six ingredients:

The sound of a cat’s walk
The beard of a woman
The roots of a mountain
The sinews of a bear
The breath of a fish
The spittle of a bird

When the leash “Gleipnir” was brought back to the Aesir, they thanked the man very much for his quest. They went out to the lake called Amsvartnir, and sailed to the island Lyngvi, and lured the Fenrir wolf with them. They showed the Fenrir wolf the leash and asked him to pull it over, and said it was fairly stronger, than it seemed like. And they handed it to each other and tried to pull it over with their hands, but the Fenrir wolf would probably be able to break it, they said. But then the Fenrir wolf replied, that it didn’t think there was any fame to gain by breaking so small a leash. But if it is made with stealth and fraud, it would not touch my legs. Then the Aesir said that, he would quickly break the leash, because he had broken the two other leashes. But if you cannot break Gleipnir, then you will not be able to frighten the gods, and we will instantly let you go. The Fenrir Wolf then says, if you bind me, so I cannot get free by myself, it would probably take a long time before I got help from any of you. I am very unwilling to let this leash be placed at my feet, but if one of you would put your hand in my mouth as a pledge, that this leash is not made with fraud, I will let you bind me to it. The Aesir looked at each other, and now it seemed to them that they were in double trouble, no one wanted to put his hand into the mouth.

But Tyr held out his right hand, and laid it in the Fenrir wolf’s jaws. The Fenrir wolf was then bound to the leash “Gleipnir”. The Fenrir wolf then tried to break the leash, by pulling and stretching, but the stronger he pulled the tighter it became. They all laughed. Except for Tyr, he lost his hand. When the gods saw that the Fenrir wolf was securely bound, they took the leash and bound it to a chain called Gelgja, and pulled it through a hole into a large rock named Gioll. The wolf was furious, and opened his mouth very wide, and wanted to bite them all. So they stuck a sword in his mouth, the shaft supported against the lower and the upper gum, he howls and froth runs from his mouth. Now he was not able to open his mouth that wide anymore. There the Fenrir wolf will be bound to Ragnarok.

Geri and Freki: Ravenous

Odin's two wolves was named Geri and Freki. Odin gave them all his food from the table. Odin did not need any food to survive, wine and mead was all he needed to keep him alive. Geri and Freki followed Odin wherever he went. Geri and Freki both meaning “the ravenous” or “greedy one”

GoldFaxi: Golden Mane

Goldfaxi was the horse of the giant Hrungnir. He lost his horse in a bet, where he raced Odin on his horse Sleipnir.

Gullinbursti: Golden Brisles

Gullinbursti was a golden boar made by the dwarfs Brokk and Eitri. Gullinbursti was made from pigskin and thousands of pieces of gold wire. Gullinbursti was given to the god Freyr, the boar was faster than any other horse over water and though air. Gullinbursti had golden rays that shone like the Sun, and made plants grow everywhere. Many warriors wore the image of Freyr’s golden boar Gullinbursti on their helmets and shields as protection and good luck.

Gullinkambi: Golden Comb

Gullinkambi was the red rooster that crowed to the gods and heroes at Valhalla to warn them that Ragnarok had begun.

Gulltopp: Gold Top

Gulltopp was the horse of the god Heimdall.

Heidrun:

Heidrin was a shegoat who ate the leaves of Laerad, Heidrun produced a never ending supply of mead for the gods and heroes at their nightly feats.

Hildisvini: Battle Boar

Hildisvini was the boar of the goddess Freya, Hildisvini was made by the dwarfs Dain and Nabbi. Frey’s human lover Ottar, took the form of the boar to visit Freya. She rode Ottar around in Asgard, and Loki said it was the human lover of Freya.

HrimFaxi: Frosty Mane

Hrimfaxi was the horse that Night “Nat” used to drive over the sky, in her chariot.

Huginn and Munin:

The two ravens that flew over the world, Midgard. The name Huginn mean “thought” and Munin “memory or mind” The two ravens flew out over all the world every morning and returned every evening. When they returned, the ravens whispered all that they had seen and heard to Odin.

Midgard Serpent

The Midgard Serpent also known as Jormungand, the Midgard serpent, was the child of Loki. it was Odin who threw him into the sea. But the Midgard serpent loved the ocean, and it started to grow tremendously large. And within a short time had the Midgard Serpent grown so huge it encircled all the land. The Midgard Serpent was feared by human and also the gods. Thor and the Midgard serpent were arch enemies. They would kill each other at Ragnarok.

Nidhug: Corpse Eater

Nidhug was the dragon that lived in Hel, in Niflheim, at the root of the tree Yggdrasil. Nidhug feed on the roots of Yggdrasil and the corpses of the dead.

Ratatosk:

Ratatosk was the squirrel that spends a lot of time each day, running up and down the tree. Ratatosk did whatever he could, to keep the hatred between the eagle and Nidhug alive. Every time Nidhug said a curse or an insult about the eagle, Ratatosk would hurry up to the top of the tree, and inform the eagle what Nidhug had said. The eagle was equally rude in his comments about Nidhug. Ratatosk just loved to gossip which was the reason why the eagle and the serpent remained constant foes.

Saehrimnir:

Saehrimnir was the boar that each day was killed and cooked by the cook Andhrimnir. It was cooked in the cauldron Eldhrimnir, and served to the fallen heroes of Valhalla.

Skinfaxi:

Skinfaxi was the horse that pulled Day’s “Dag” chariot over the sky.

Sleipnir:

It was Odin's gray eight legged horse. The horse was a magical horse, and the best of all horses. Sleipnir is the symbol of the wind, and has the marks of hell. Sleipnir could just as easily gallop through the air as on land. Sleipnir was a gift from Loki. Sleipnir was the child of Loki and Svadilfari.

Svadilfari:

Svadilfari was the stallion that belonged to the master builder, who built the walls of Asgard.
Loki and the stallion Svadilfari was the parents of Sleipnir.

Tanngniost and Tanngrisnir:

Their names Tanngniost “Teeth barer” and Tanngrisnir “Teeth grinder” were the two goats, which pulled Thor's chariot. Whenever Thor rode in his chariot, people could hear the noise from the wheels, and saw the sparks and lightning from the wheels sent out as they flew across the sky. Some thought that the sparks came from his hammer Mjölnir. The people in Midgard called this thunder and lightning. If Thor was away from home, he sometime cooked the goats. Thor would resurrect them with his hammer, Mjöllnir the next day.