Editing Garmr

{{distinguish|text=the sword known as [[Gram (mythology)|Gram or Gramr]]}}
{{Short description|Wolf or dog described as a guardian of Hel's gate}}
[[File:Hel (1889) by Johannes Gehrts.jpg|thumb|right|"Hel" (1889) by Johannes Gehrts.]]
In [[Norse mythology]], '''Garmr''' or '''Garm''' ([[Old Norse]]: {{lang|non|Garmr}} {{IPA|non|ˈɡɑrmz̠|}}) is a wolf or dog associated with both [[Hel (being)|Hel]] and [[Ragnarök]], and described as a blood-stained guardian of [[Hel (location)|Hel's]] gate.

==Name==
The etymology of the name ''Garmr'' remains uncertain. [[Bruce Lincoln]] brings together Garmr and the [[Greek mythology|Greek mythological]] dog [[Cerberus]], relating both names to a Proto-Indo-European root ''*ger-'' "to growl" (perhaps with the suffixes ''-*m/*b'' and ''-*r'').{{sfn|Lincoln|1991|p=289}} However, Daniel Ogden notes that 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.{{sfn|Ogden|2013|p=105}}

==Attestations==

===''Poetic Edda''===
The ''[[Poetic Edda]]'' poem ''[[Grímnismál]]'' mentions Garmr:

<blockquote><poem>The best of trees | must [[Yggdrasil]] be,
[[Skíðblaðnir]] best of boats;
Of all the gods | is [[Odin|Óðinn]] the greatest,
And [[Sleipnir]] the best of steeds;
[[Bifröst]] of bridges, | [[Bragi]] of [[skalds]],
[[Hábrók]] of hawks, | and Garm of hounds.<ref name=BELLOWS6>[http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/poe/poe06.htm Bellows (1923.)]</ref></poem></blockquote>

One of the refrains of ''[[Völuspá]]'' uses Garmr's howling to herald the coming of Ragnarök:

<blockquote><poem>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.<ref name=BELLOWS3>[http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/poe/poe03.htm Bellows (1923).]</ref></poem></blockquote>

After the first occurrence of this refrain the [[Fimbulvetr]] is related; the second occurrence is succeeded by the invasion the world of gods by [[jötnar]]; after the last occurrence, the rise of a new and better world is described.

''[[Baldrs draumar]]'' describes a journey which Odin makes to [[Hel (location)|Hel]]. Along the way he meets a dog.

<blockquote><poem>Then Óðinn 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 Óðinn, | the earth resounded
Till the house so high | of [[Hel (location)|Hel]] he reached.<ref name=BELLOWS13>[http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/poe/poe13.htm Bellows (1923).]</ref></poem></blockquote>

Although unnamed, this dog is sometimes assumed to be Garmr.{{sfn|Lincoln|1991|p=97}} 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.<ref name=BRODEUR>[http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/pre/pre04.htm Brodeur (1916).]</ref>

== In popular culture ==
Garmr is the namesake and emblem of the protagonist's squadron, Galm Team, in the [[combat flight simulation game]] ''[[Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War]].'' The name "Galm" is a [[Engrish|mistransliteration of "Garmr" into English]] due to the singular liquid phoneme in the [[Japanese language]].

Garmr appears as a boss fight in the 2017 video game ''[[Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice]]'' and 2022's ''[[God of War Ragnarök]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=God of War Ragnarök - PS5 and PS4 Games |url=https://www.playstation.com/en-us/games/god-of-war-ragnarok |access-date=2022-11-28 |website=PlayStation |language=en-US}}</ref>

In episode 12 of the anime [[The 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. 

* [[Hellhound]]
* [[List of wolves]]

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
{{refbegin}}
* [[Henry Adams Bellows (businessman)|Bellows, Henry Adams]] (trans.). 1923. ''The Poetic Edda''. New York: [[The American-Scandinavian Foundation]].
* [[Arthur Gilchrist Brodeur|Brodeur, Arthur Gilchrist]] (trans.). 1916. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=Ls2F5i6_LeYC Snorri Sturluson: The Prose Edda]''. New York: [[The American-Scandinavian Foundation]].
*{{Cite book|last=Lincoln|first=Bruce|title=Death, War, and Sacrifice: Studies in Ideology & Practice|date=1991|publisher=University of Chicago Press|isbn=978-0-226-48199-9}}
*{{cite book|last=Ogden|first=Daniel|title=Drakon: Dragon Myth and Serpent Cult in the Greek and Roman Worlds|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2013|isbn=978-0199557325|location=Oxford}}
*{{Cite book|last=Orchard|first=Andy|url=https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofnors0000orch|title=Dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend|publisher=Cassell|year=1997|isbn=978-0-304-34520-5|author-link=Andy Orchard|url-access=registration}}
*{{Cite book|last=Simek|first=Rudolf|title=Dictionary of Northern Mythology|publisher=D.S. Brewer|year=1996|isbn=978-0-85991-513-7|author-link=Rudolf Simek}}
{{refend}}
<references responsive="0" />

== External links ==
* {{commons category-inline|Garmr}}

[[Category:Animals in Norse mythology]]
[[Category:Mythological dogs]]
[[Category:Norse underworld]]
[[Category:Wolves in Norse mythology]]
[[Category:Cerberus]]