Wolves of Fenrir

Posted by Ms Elly on

Wolves of Fenrir

Fenrir was the notorious son of Loki. Being an enormous wolf with razor-sharp teeth, Fenrir was known as the God of Destruction. In Norse mythology, Fenrir had two wolf sons whose names respectively were Hati and Skoll. Though this pair of wolves were not the supervillain as their father, they occupied an important role in destroying the cosmos in Norse myth. 

Image of Hati and Skoll

Hati and Skoll

Hati "Hah-Tee" meant "The One Who Hates" and Skoll "Skohl" meant "The One Who Mocks". The most famous story revolving around Hati and Skoll was their pursuit of the Sun and the Moon. Many times they tried to catch the Sun and the Moon, many times they failed to do so. But the desire to devour the Sun and the Moon was so great that they kept chasing and chasing every day. Just on the threshold of Ragnarok, Hati and Skoll managed to catch the Sun and the Moon. This lead to the darkness falling on the whole cosmos, everything sank into the black space. 

The surviving materials about these two wolves in Norse myth showed that Skoll followed the shining priest into the desolate forest while Hati chased the bride of the sky. The word that was used for Skoll's prey was goði "priest" which was masculine and the noun for Hati's was brúðr "bride" was feminine. Since Mani the Moon was male and Sol the Sun was female, the wording surely suggested that Hati hunted the Moon and Skoll hunted the Sun. 

They appeared in the prophecy for Ragnarok. It was foretold that when Hati and Skoll succeeded in swallowing the Sun and the Moon, sending the whole world into blackness, this signaled Ragnarok looming large. However, hardly were there any materials about the survival of Hati and Skoll after Ragnarok. Many people assumed that this pair was not among those who lived through this disaster. 

Image of Hati and Skoll chasing Sun and Moon Norse myth

Hati and Skoll chasing the Sun and the Moon


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