Gnipahellir (''Gnipa cave'') is a
cave
A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...
in
Norse mythology
Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia, and into the Nordic folklore of the modern per ...
. Gnipahellir is the home of
Garmr
In Norse mythology, Garmr or Garm (Old Norse: ; "rag") is a wolf or dog associated with both Hel and Ragnarök, and described as a blood-stained guardian of Hel's gate.
Name
The Old Norse name ''Garmr'' has been interpreted as meaning "rag." ...
, the
hellhound
A hellhound is a mythological hound that embodies a guardian or a servant of hell, the devil, or the underworld. Hellhounds occur in mythologies around the world, with the best known examples being Cerberus from Greek mythology, Garmr from N ...
who guards the gates of
Hel, the Norse realm of the dead. Garmr is often featured chained here until the onset of
Ragnarök
In Norse mythology, (; non, wikt:ragnarǫk, Ragnarǫk) is a series of events, including a great battle, foretelling the death of numerous great figures (including the Æsir, gods Odin, Thor, Týr, Freyr, Heimdallr, and Loki), natural disast ...
, at which time his bindings break and he runs free. Reference to Gnipahellir appears in
Vǫluspá, Prophecy of the
Völva
In Germanic paganism, a seeress is a woman said to have the ability to foretell future events and perform sorcery. They are also referred to with many other names meaning "prophetess", "staff bearer", "wise woman" and "sorceress", and they are ...
, one of the poems of the
Poetic Edda
The ''Poetic Edda'' is the modern name for an untitled collection of Old Norse anonymous narrative poems, which is distinct from the ''Prose Edda'' written by Snorri Sturluson. Several versions exist, all primarily of text from the Icelandic med ...
.
''Völuspá'' (The Poetic Edda, by Henry Adams Bellows, 1936)
/ref>
References
Other sources
* Brodeur, Arthur Gilchrist (1916) ''Snorri Sturluson's The Prose Edda'' (The American-Scandinavian Foundation, CreateSpace Independent Publishing. 2011)
* Lincoln, Bruce (1991) ''Death, War, and Sacrifice: Studies in Ideology and Practice'' (University of Chicago Press) .
* Orchard, Andy (1997) ''Dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend'' (Cassell)
* Simek, Rudolf (1996) ''Dictionary of Northern Mythology'' (translated by Angela Hall. first published by Alfred Kröner Verlag in 1984. Cambridge: D. S. Brewer)
Locations in Norse mythology
Fictional caves
{{Norse-myth-stub