Fenrir was a monstrous wolf, the son of Loki “the deceiver” and a giantess. The gods bound him with a magic chain to a great rock which they then drove deep into the earth. As Fenrir gaped and thrashed about terribly they also gagged him with a sword, with the handle caught in his lower jaw, and the point in the upper.

It was prophesied that before Ragnarök (the final battle which would bring about the rebirth of the world) the wolf would break free and resume his wild hunt with the enemies of the gods.