“But several other children had Loki. Angrbodha is called the giantess in Iötunheimr. With her Loki fathered three children; one was the wolf Fenrir, the other Jörmungandr, that is the serpent of Midhgardhr, the third is Hel. But when the gods learned that the serpent of Midhgardhr, these three brothers were raised in Iötunheimr and learned by prophecy that great harm would result from that offspring and the prospect of a great evil was clear to all - above all offspring from the mother's side, but certainly even more on the father's side - then Allfödhr sent the gods to fetch those children and bring them before him. And when they came to him, he threw the serpent into the deep sea that surrounds all the lands, and this serpent grew to such an extent that it lies in the middle of the sea around all the lands and bites its tail. He hurled Hel into Niflheimr and empowered her over nine worlds to divide all abodes among those sent to her, which are men who have died from sickness and old age. She has great estates down there and the hedges that surround them are extraordinarily high and the gates large. Éliúdhnir has her hall name, Hungr [Fame] her plate, Sulltr [Famine] her knife, Ganglati [Idle] her servant, Ganglöt [Sloppy] her servant. And the threshold through which you enter 'Impending danger', and 'Death bed' her bed, and 'Dazzling disgrace' the curtain of her bed. She is half livid and half flesh-colored and therefore easily recognizable, she looks down, grim and cruel.
«The wolf, the Aesis brought him to them and only Týr had the courage to go to him to feed him. But fourth it grew every day and that all the prophecies confirmed that it was doomed to their ruin, the Asi made the decision to make a very strong chain, which they called Lœdhingr and took it to the wolf and asked him to prove his strength on this. constraint. But the wolf did not seem difficult and he let them please them. And immediately at the first effort that the wolf made the chain broke. And so he disbanded from Lœdhingr.
"After that the Asi made a second chain twice as robust as the first and called it Drómi and asked the wolf to try it and said that it would have acquired great fame for its strength if it too, such a masterpiece, could not stand . But the wolf thought that this chain was very strong and that at the same time since he had broken Ledhingr, his strength had grown, and he came to the conclusion that he must also take the risk if he wanted to gain glory and allowed himself to be bound. And when the Aesis said they were ready, the wolf broke, slammed the chain against the ground and, shaking it violently and with great effort, broke it so that the fragments flew away. And so he got rid of Drómi. Since then, it has been said that 'one dissolves from Lædhingr' or 'one snatches from Drómi' whoever follows something with all their energy.
“After this the Aesis feared that they would never be able to chain the wolf. Then Allfödhr sent him who has the name Skírnir, the messenger of Freyr, down to the land of the dark elves, to some dwarves, and had them prepare the snare which is called Gleipnir. It consisted of six things: cat noise, woman's beard, mountain roots, bear tendons, fish breath, and bird spit. And if even before now you did not know this news, you can easily have sure proof that you have not been deceived: you will certainly have seen that women have no beards and that no noise comes from the cat's step and that there are no roots under the mountains. And in my faith everything I have told you is equally true, although you cannot get proof of some things from experience.”
Then Gangleri asked: «All this I can certainly understand is true. The things you brought me as proof I can see. But what was that snare like then? ". Hár says: “I can tell you well. That string was smooth and soft as a silk ribbon, but solid and strong as you will hear now. When this snare was brought to the Asi they thanked the messenger very much for his fatigue. Then the Asi crossed the lake Ámsvartnir to the islet named Lyngvi, and they called the wolf, showed him the silk ribbon and invited him to tear it and also said that it was a little more robust than could be judged at the appearance considering its thickness; and they passed it to each other and tried it by stretching it out with their hands, and it did not break. But still, they said, the wolf would certainly break it. Then the wolf replied: "So it seems to me too, with this ribbon, and that I cannot earn myself any glory by breaking such a thin snare. But if it is done with deceit and cunning, despite its little appearance, then this bond he will never bind my feet. " Then the Aesis said that he would easily tear a thin silk ribbon, he who had broken large iron chains. "But if you can't break this rope, you can't frighten the gods either, and then we'll untie you." The wolf said: "If you bind me in such a way that I can no longer free myself, it means that you are acting with such falsehood towards me, that it will be some time before I get help from you! on this rope. But instead of invoking my courage, one of you put your hand in my jaws as a guarantee that this is done without fraud. " The Asi looked at each other and it seemed now that the difficulty was double and no one wanted to offer their hand, until Týr reached out his right hand and put it in the wolf's mouth. And when the wolf points his feet and pulls on, the snare gets harder and the harder he tired, the more the rope cut into his body. Then everyone laughed except Týr. He lost his hand.
«When the Asi saw that the wolf was completely tied up, they took the strap that came out of the rope, and which is called Gelfia, they secured it around a large stone - Giöll - and fixed this down in the depths of the earth. They took a very large stone and pushed it even deeper into the earth to anchor everything, it is called Thviti. The wolf opened its jaws in a terrible way and made desperate attempts and tried to aze them. They put a sword in his mouth, the hilt pressed on the lower jaw and the tip on the palate, it is therefore his bite. The wolf howls frightfully and saliva flows out of his mouth, and this is the river which is called Vón [Hope]. There it will remain until the end of the world ».
Then said Gangleri: “What extraordinarily malignant offspring Loki gave birth. But all those who belong to this lineage are powerful. But why didn't the Asi kill the wolf since they expect all evil from him? ". Hár replies: "The gods take their sacred places and those consecrated to peace into account so much that they did not want to stain them with the blood of the wolf, although, according to the prophecies, he will be the slayer of Ódhinn."
Sturluson, Edda, 34
