In Norse mythology, Garmr or Garm (Old Norse "rag") is a wolf or dog associated with both Hel and Ragnarök, and described as a blood-stained guardian of Hel's gate.
Attestations
Poetic Edda
The Poetic Edda poem GrÃmnismál mentions Garmr:
- The best of trees | must Yggdrasil be,
- SkÃðblaðnir best of boats;
- Of all the gods | is Ã"ðinn the greatest,
- And Sleipnir the best of steeds;
- Bifröst of bridges, | Bragi of skalds,
- Hábrók of hawks, | and Garm of hounds.
One of the refrains of Völuspá uses Garmr's howling to herald the coming of Ragnarök:
- Now Garm howls loud | before Gnipahellir,
- The fetters will burst, | and the wolf run free;
- Much do I know, | and more can see
- Of the fate of the gods, | the mighty in fight.
After the first occurrence of this refrain the Fimbulvetr is related; the second occurrence is succeeded by the invasion of Jötnar (giants) in the world of gods; after the last occurrence, the rise of a new and better world is described.
Baldrs draumar describes a journey which Odin makes to Hel. Along the way he meets a dog.
- Then Ã"ðinn rose, | the enchanter old,
- And the saddle he laid | on Sleipnir's back;
- Thence rode he down | to Niflhel deep,
- And the hound he met | that came from hell.
- Bloody he was | on his breast before,
- At the father of magic | he howled from afar;
- Forward rode Ã"ðinn, | the earth resounded
- Till the house so high | of Hel he reached.
Although unnamed, this dog is normally assumed to be Garmr. Alternatively, Garmr is sometimes assumed to be identical to Fenrir. Garmr is sometimes seen as a hellhound, comparable to Cerberus.
Prose Edda
The Prose Edda book Gylfaginning assigns him a role in Ragnarök:
- Then shall the dog Garmr be loosed, which is bound before Gnipahellir: he shall do battle with Týr, and each become the other's slayer.
Etymology
Bruce Lincoln brings together Garmr and the Greek mythological dog Cerberus, relating both names to a Proto-Indo-European root *ger- "to growl" (perhaps with the suffixes -*m/*b and -*r). However, as Ogden (2013) notes, this analysis actually requires Cerberus and Garmr to be derived from two different Indo-European roots (*ger- and *gher- respectively), and in this opinion does not establish a relationship between the two names. However, the two roots are similar enough that a connection can still be argued.
See also
- Hellhound
Notes
References
