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In Norse mythology, Garmr or Garm (Old Norse: {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} {{#invoke:IPA|main}}) is a wolf or dog associated with both Hel and Ragnarök, and described as a blood-stained guardian of Hel's gate.
NameEdit
The etymology of the name Garmr remains uncertain. Bruce Lincoln brings together Garmr and the Greek mythological dog Cerberus, relating both names to a Proto-Indo-European root *ger- "to growl" (perhaps with the suffixes -*m/*b and -*r).Template:Sfn 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.Template:Sfn
AttestationsEdit
Poetic EddaEdit
The Poetic Edda poem Grímnismál mentions Garmr:
<poem>The best of trees | must Yggdrasil be,
Skíðblaðnir best of boats; Of all the gods | is 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>Bellows (1923.)</ref></poem>
One of the refrains of Völuspá uses Garmr's howling to herald the coming of Ragnarök:
<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>Bellows (1923).</ref></poem>
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. Along the way he meets a dog.
<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 he reached.<ref name=BELLOWS13>Bellows (1923).</ref></poem>
Although unnamed, this dog is sometimes assumed to be Garmr.Template:Sfn Alternatively, Garmr is sometimes assumed to be identical to Fenrir. Garmr is sometimes seen as a hellhound, comparable to Cerberus.
Prose EddaEdit
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>Brodeur (1916).</ref>
In popular cultureEdit
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 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>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</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.
NotesEdit
ReferencesEdit
- Bellows, Henry Adams (trans.). 1923. The Poetic Edda. New York: The American-Scandinavian Foundation.
- Brodeur, Arthur Gilchrist (trans.). 1916. Snorri Sturluson: The Prose Edda. New York: The American-Scandinavian Foundation.
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