Fenrir: History and Background

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The Mythology

Like many religions, the beliefs of the Scandinavian countries in medieval times had many varieties, and will have evolved over time until it’s official end at around the same time as William the Conqueror and Harald invaded England in 1066. At this point most of the Scandinavian countries were Christian.

However, in the time and location (Denmark) where our story is set, the old Gods were still young and powerful. Many followers would have worn a simple amulet in the shape of a Warhammer around their neck, representing Thor’s hammer “Mjolnir”, particularly warriors and merchants, since they needed Thor’s protection against the many dangers pushed against them. The factor of this religion that our story is focusing on is “Ragnarok”, the Norse Armageddon. It was believed Yggdrasil, the great tree of life held up the 3 levels of the world. At the top was Valhalla, where the courageous dead would go if they fell in battle, in the middle was Midgard, the realm where humans dwell (basically Earth) and at the bass of the tree was Niflheim, where the dark goddess “Hel” lived and the great serpent “Jörmungandr” or “Corpse-Ripper” would gnaw at the roots of Yggdrasil and feed on the souls of the dishonoured dead. It was believed that the Gods lived in Asgard, a world supposedly parallel to Midgard. Also, there were the three "Norns" very similar to an ancient Greek belief (personified by three ugly old women in some myths) who span a thread for every single person alive, and when the time came the thread would be cut...meaning the person's death. This ties in with fate, since it was believed that only the Norns knew when to cut the thread. Ragnarok is an exceptionally long tale, and would consume pages to actually detail in full…but thinned down a bit, the legend (or at least one of the many variants) is as following.
  Ragnarok is essentially the battle between the Gods and the villainous Loki, his offspring as well as any other monsters, such as Giants. All this will result in the freeing of Fenrir, the monstrous Wolf, who will battle Odin and will finally eat him. (Some varieties of the story have Fenrir swallow the moon as well). Many other significant events will happen, for example the Einherjar (army of the dead) will march with the Gods and Naglfar the great ship constructed from finger and toenails will set sail…it will finally all end with the whole universe sinking into the sea. Naturally, after all of this many of the original Gods have been destroyed, but a few remain, such as Odin’s brother and Thor’s sons, as well as a couple of humans (who will repopulate Midgard) and the story continues as such.

Norse Warfare & Trade

This particular story is set a few years before the Danish invasion of England, so the Danish were still effectively “Vikings” at this point, meaning that they only raided, but did not settle. Territories were divided up between Earls, (or Ealdorman); basically an Earl was the most powerful/popular/influential warlord in the area of the country that they lived in. An Earl would often have several ships-crews under his command, each headed by a Shipmaster, someone that swore loyalty to the earl and had a fair bit of power himself. Longships could vary in size, from the very small merchant ships (maybe 8 oars) to the large warships. Longships were designed to rest atop the water, like a bowl, rather than slice through it like many other ships of the time, and were still being used in the late medieval era. Battles at sea were fairly rare, but the tactics involved were fairly similar to that of land-based conflicts.
  Major land-based battles would have had the forces create a Shield-Wall; a fairly common method of warfare in many European countries at this point in history. It essentially involved the interlocking of shields. If a fairly large army congregated, then ideally it would have at least three rows of warriors, the strongest veterans being placed at the front. The front row is the row that placed their shields over each other, right over left generally, to allow the right hand to be used for the “sax” to attack at the enemies lower half, since that was the only bit left exposed. The row behind would protect the heads of the front row. Any rows behind these two were reinforcements for the front two rows. Behind this (if they were available, since very few Norseman even had a bow) would be the archers or Spear throwers. If a breach was made in the shield wall, then it needed to be closed immediately, as any gaps in the wall would let the enemy through to slaughter you from behind. To be in a shield wall for the first time as a young warrior was often seen as a coming of age for that person. Brutal places, many reputations were forged or smashed in a shield wall. Prior to the “storm” the two opposing armies would face each other and shout insults and make rude gestures to one another.
  A rich warlord, or warrior would have a coat of mail for battles. But, because they were so expensive, very few actually were able to afford one. More common armour included furs and leather, not as protective as mail, but far cheaper. It was a similar situation with helmets, Iron Helmets were expensive, and difficult to replace or repair but offered considerably more protection than a cheaper leather cap. A warrior would display his prowess at battle, by wearing arm-rings. These were awarded by lords for acts of bravery or the like on or off a battle-field. Another typical Danish warrior fashion was to grow the hair long and tie it back out of battle and let it down during a battle, making the warrior seem more wild.
  Any self-respecting Danish warrior would have, in his possession, at least one weapon. Most would opt for at least two. The most popular combination would be a long-sword and a short-sword (Sax). But a war-axe was a popular choice too, these varied in size from very small hip-axes to the massive two-handed axes. Most weapons of this time were clumsily made and broke easily, since one of two types of iron would be used. Soft Iron was easier to work than Hard Iron, but it tended to deform or bend when used in battle. Hard Iron was the opposite, and would snap under strain. A talented blacksmith would (for a rich patron) use a technique which involved using several rods of iron, one or two would have been hard iron and the rest would have been soft. The soft iron would be twisted so it was spiralled, then all the iron would have been heated and hammered together. This was an expensive, but very effective method, since the sword forged would have had the best of both types of iron. Any Danish warlord or warrior (even a rich one) would rarely ever have put embellishments on the sword, as they often got in the way and had no effect on the prowess of the sword.
  A shipbuilder in these times would have been a wealthy man; a good ship builder would have been a very rich, influential and valuable man. Danish long ships were a way of life and some of the most memorable events of their lives would have occurred on or around them. Danes revered the long ships, and would be mortified if a ship was destroyed. They would have used them for a variety of purposes, obviously the most famous being their Viking raids. However, they would have used these ships for trading. Trading was a big part of the Danish income and even warlords would have done it. The ferocious heads at the fore and aft of the ship would have been removable, and were stowed when the Danes were trading, and placed back on again when they went “Viking”. Some of the most popular figureheads were Dragons, Snakes, Daemons and Wolves and were always depicted with menacing and terrifying expressions. Trading was also a method of spying. Take, for example, the Danish invasion of England. For years prior to the invasion Danes would have been trading in places like London, simply to gather information on things like the morale of the population, the political climate, military standing, etc.
  A good merchant in these times would have been a wealthy man, he would know how to avoid pirates and where and when to get the best prices for his stock. Denmark would have often traded in furs; a merchant would have sold these against, say, swords from Frankia (France), which were widely considered to be the best swords in Europe. But trips to England, Iceland and other Nordic settlements were commonplace. All manner of things were traded, including Whale Blubber in Iceland. A merchant would usually have had a home near a river, so that his ship could pull right up to his lands. He would spend the harsh winter months at this home and when the spring came, would begin his cycle of trade all over again, staying away from home until the next winter came.
  Merchants preferred to hire men to row for him. Meaning that he would pay them a wage. This meant that his crew were less likely to mutiny, and to work harder than someone who wasn’t getting paid. Slaves were used as well. They were shackled to the deck to stop an uprising, and the Trader would have had a couple of slave-masters on board to quell any uprising if it did happen, and to whip any slaves that he thought weren’t performing to the utmost of their strength. Only male slaves were used on ships, women and children were sold to barracks, taverns and brothels for “entertainment”. Slaves were very commonplace, and were often obtained through violence. If a settlement were raided, then any survivors would have been sold into slavery (Any deemed too weak, old, ill, frail, etc were put to death). Likewise any prisoners after a battle could have been sold to slave-traders (Though often this was not the case).

Norse Traditions and Life

A significant factor in Danish life was an “Oath”. To make an oath was a very important thing, as it signified that you were going to honour the oath. Farmers may have made oaths to each other to keep each other off of their land. A warrior would make an oath to an Earl to serve him for a year, for example. Oaths were binding, and were seen as being almost sacred. If someone broke an oath, then it is unlikely that any lord, farmer or any other practice would ever trust him again. Sometimes breaking an oath could even mean death for the oath-breaker, depending on whom they betrayed. A prisoner at the end of a battle may be offered the chance to make an oath to the victor, to serve him. Oaths made like this were usually broken the first chance the oath-maker could get. The easiest place to depart from their new master was in another shield wall, where they would not be missed.
  Ancient Danish settlements would have been very basic affairs, houses were made of wood, mud, clay even dried dung could have been used. Decorating was also very simple, for example a family want an interior painted red, and they will use animal blood. A Danish Earl’s hall would have been a little more impressive. Made of wood and thatch with the skull of a powerful animal over the door (usually a boar). It would have been large enough to contain a large fire and hold the various celebratory feasts in. Things like stables and a blacksmith would have been very close, or even attached to the Great Hall, as it was the military heart of a settlement. An Earl’s various shipmasters would also have had a hall for themselves and their own family, as they had positions of relative power themselves.
  A Warrior’s family would try for at least two sons and one daughter. The older of the two sons would often inherit the family name directly, for example a Danish warrior is called “Thorgils”, then his eldest son could be named “Thorgils Thorgilson” and known as “Thorgils the Younger”. The younger son would inherit the last name, but not the first. The daughter, like the younger son, would have been given a different name again, but known as “Freja Daughter of Thorgils” for example. If the first son died, then it was common practice to rename the next oldest son (if they were still a child) the same name as the older one, so the family name was continued.

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