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InNorse mythology,Garmr orGarm (Old Norse:Garmr[ˈɡɑrmz̠]) is a wolf or dog associated with bothHel andRagnarök, and described as a blood-stained guardian ofHel's gate.
The etymology of the nameGarmr remains uncertain.Bruce Lincoln brings together Garmr and theGreek mythological dogCerberus, relating both names to a Proto-Indo-European root*ger- "to growl" (perhaps with the suffixes-*m/*b and-*r).[1] However, Daniel Ogden notes that this analysis actually requiresCerberus andGarmr to be derived from twodifferent Indo-European roots (*ger- and *gher- respectively), and in this opinion does not establish a relationship between the two names.[2]
He also appears inLow Saxon folklore as thehelhond or kardoes inTwente, EasternNetherlands as the companion ofTamfana orTanfana; one ofHell's/Nerthus's many titles/names.
It's said that his red glowing eyes have been seen around thetankenberg, inOldenzaal and that his howl indicates illness and death.
Elements within pan-Germanic folklore overlap with the ancient tradition of "'t an bloaz'n" of the "mirreweenterhorn", blowing themidwinterhoorn, also called aLur.
It is likely that the eery sounds of the horn, used to communicate with the spirits of the ancestors, were answered by wolves in the area, and thus the sound became synonymous to winter, illness, death and the veil between life and death being very thin.
The Lur/midwinterhorn was a ritualanimistic tool, played to call into the "otherworld", thank the ancestors or to announce and guide the passing of family and members of the community.
ThePoetic Edda poemGrímnismál mentions Garmr:
One of the refrains ofVöluspá uses Garmr's howling to herald the coming of Ragnarök:
Now Garm howls loud | beforeGnipahellir,
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.[4]
After the first occurrence of this refrain theFimbulvetr is related; the second occurrence is succeeded by the invasion the world of gods byjötnar; after the last occurrence, the rise of a new and better world is described.
Baldrs draumar describes a journey which Odin makes toHel. Along the way he meets a dog.
Then Óðinn rose, | the enchanter old,
And the saddle he laid | on Sleipnir's back;
Thence rode he down | toNiflhel 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 Óðinn, | the earth resounded
Till the house so high | ofHel he reached.[5]
Although unnamed, this dog is sometimes assumed to be Garmr.[6] Alternatively, Garmr is sometimes assumed to be identical toFenrir. Garmr is sometimes seen as ahellhound, comparable toCerberus.
TheProse Edda bookGylfaginning assigns him a role inRagnarök:
Garmr is the namesake and emblem of the protagonist's squadron, Galm Team, in thecombat flight simulation gameAce Combat Zero: The Belkan War. The name "Galm" is amistransliteration of "Garmr" into English due to the singular liquid phoneme in theJapanese language.
Garmr appears as a boss fight in the 2003 video gameBoktai: The Sun Is in Your Hand, 2017'sHellblade: Senua's Sacrifice and 2022'sGod of War Ragnarök.[8]
In episode 12 of the animeThe Most Notorious "Talker" Runs the World's Greatest Clan, the new group Wild Tempest must fight in the Quartz Valley against Garmr, who is a rank 9 beastly dog. This version of Garmr is intelligent, can speak, has 3 tails, 3 pairs of eyes, and has an open chest.
Media related toGarmr at Wikimedia Commons