Gleipnir

In Norse mythology, Gleipnir (Old Norse "open one") is the binding that holds the mighty wolf Fenrisulfr (as attested in chapter 34 of the Prose Edda book Gylfaginning). Even though it is as thin as a silken ribbon, it is stronger than any iron chain. It was forged by the dwarves in their underground realm of Svartálfaheim, and made of six impossible ingredients:

• The sound of a cat's footfall
• The beard of a woman
• The roots of a mountain
• The sinews of a bear
• The breath of a fish
• The spittle of a bird

Thus we no longer hear cats' footfalls, women have no beards, mountains have no roots, bears have no sinews, fish have no breath, and birds have no spittle.

Gleipnir, having bound the Fenrisúlfur securely, was the cause of Týr's lost hand, for the Fenrisulfr bit it off when he was not freed. Gleipnir is said to hold until Ragnarök, when it will break and Fenrir will devour Odin.

References

• Orchard, Andy (1997). Dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend. Cassell. ISBN 0 304 34520 2