Artwork explained: Fenrir

This week it gives us the greatest of pleasure to be unveiling and celebrating the story behind the Norse Mythology inspired Fenrir apparel range! This range features the most vibrant colours, contrasts, pattern and line work that comes all together to creatively capture and tell a remarkable story about Norse Mythology's greatest, biggest and most terrible of wolves, Fenrir! With this blog post we will dive deeper into the origins and tales that prominently feature the great Fenrir and also explain how this was translated to transform into a miraculous work of wearable art! 

Fenrir is the son of Loki and his mother is a Giantess named Angrboda. When Fenrir was born along with his terrible siblings, the great serpent Jörmungandr and the dark haired woman Hel. The Aesir Gods of Asgard Aesir being a collective term for the head Gods of Asgard came together to discuss what to do with these three very dangerous beings all of whom were prophesied to aid in the future destruction of the Norse cosmos, in the Ragnarok. Hel was sent to Niflheim, which is a place similar to Hell and Jörmungandr was sent to the seas to remain underwater for the rest of eternity. Fenrir, however, posed a much larger threat.  While Hel and Jörmungandr could be sent away, Fenrir was growing at an insane speed. In order to protect the Aesir from his sure size and in order to counter the terrible fate they knew would one day come, they decided that Fenrir needed to somehow be bound.

After the Gods tried over and over again to bind Fenrir and continued to be unsuccessful. The Gods Odin and Tyr then decided to consult with the dwarves in order to forge something that could constrain the mighty wolf because nothing forged by the Gods magic could contain him as he was the son of Loki and immune to their magics. The dwarves then forged a single magical silk ribbon which was named Gleipnir. 

When time came to bind Fenrir he could smell magic in Gleipnir and sensed trickery and refused to be bound unless one of the gods put their hand in his mouth and swore an oath to free him if he could not escape. Everyone went still at this moment because breaking an oath would be a very big deal. The brave Tyr however stepped up because even though he would lose his Kingship for breaking an oath, he knew it would be the right thing to do. When Tyr put Gleipnir on Fenrir, he had his hand trapped in Fenrir's jaws, and as Fenrir discovered he could not break free Fenrir pleaded with Tyr to free him and when Tyr did not free him, Fenrir ripped off Tyr’s hand. Tyr took the loss of his hand with pride and only cried that he lost his friendship with Fenrir and stepped down as king due to his betrayal. This was when Odin's reign as King of the Aesir Gods began.