Norse Mythology

Sleipner The most famous horse in Nordic sagas is the gray Sleipner, whose name meant “ the gliding or smooth one”. The English word “slippery” comes from his name. Sleipner (or Sleipnir) was a very strong eight-legged animal that could travel anywhere, including over water and into the underworld. He is the son of Loki, the trickster god, and the stallion of a giant. The story goes that the gods of Valhalla wanted a burg (a house) built that would be invulnerable. One builder came forward to say that he could have the burg built, but his fee was the goddess Freyja, with the sun and the Moon thrown in. Loki argued that this was a good deal as they made a condition that the builder, a giant, had to build it with no other human or giant help. He was given the deadline of the first day of summer. The gods were sure that he could not finish the job and were content. However the builder owned a stallion named Svadilfari that was immensely strong and was able to haul the giant blocks of stone without any effort at all and so the builder was able to make great speed. Three days before the deadline the burg was finished except for the gate. This made the gods angry, as they did not want to lose Freyja, the sun or the moon. They turned to Loki and told him he must fix the problem as he recommended the deal. Loki turned himself into a beautiful mare and seduced Svadilfari, who was so enamored of the mare he kicked off his harness and chased after her (him) and was not seen for the last three days. The giant lost his bet, the gods were pleased that they didn't have to lose Freyja and Loki became the mother of Sleipner! When Loki returned with his offspring he presented the foal to Odin. Another saga that involved Sleipnir was the death of Baldur. Baldur was very beloved by the gods and his mother went and asked every plant and animal in the world to promise that they would never harm Baldur. They all agreed except the mistletoe, which was not asked as the plant was thought to be too young to agree knowingly. The gods made a game of throwing things at Baldur, as he could not be hurt. Loki was annoyed with this and found out that mistletoe could kill Baldur and so threw a branch and Baldur died and went to Helheim, the Norse underworld. Baldur's mother Frigg begged one for one of the gods to rescue Baldur. Hermod, son of Odin agreed and borrowed Sleipnir as he could travel there. Sleipnir was even able to leap over the gate of Helheim without touching it. Hermod asked the goddess Hel to release Baldur. She stipulated that if everyone and everything declared its love for Baldur he would be released. Loki, in the guise of an old woman, refused and Baldur was forced to stay in Helheim. There is also the legend of The Wild Hunt, where the gods would go hunting in the mortal world. Odin would ride Sleipner in these rides. The outcome of these excursions could be good or bad depending on the whim of the riders.

Grane Sleipnir was the sire of Grane, who was given to the hero Sigurd. As a young man Sigurd went to the king and asked for a horse. The King told him to make his choice. An old man appeared to Sigurd and told him to drive all the horses into the river and the one that made it across should be chosen, that horse was Grane, also known as Grani. Grane was instrumental in the defeat of the dragon Fafnir so Sigurd could capture his gold. Grane was also part of the saga of the Valkyrie Brunhild and aided in her rescue by Sigurd (Seigfreid in Wagner's Ring cycle). There are a few other references to horses in the Eddas; The Valkyries were women who rode upon horses that could fly without wings. They gathered the souls of warriors that died in battle and took them to Valhalla in Asgard, the home of the gods. Hofvarpnir was owned by Gra, one of the handmaidens of Frigg, whose job it was to take care of any errands in the mortal world. Hofvarpnir was very helpful in this as he could move through the air and water. Rimfakse was the horse that pulled the chariot of night through the sky. Arvak (“early riser”) and Alsvid (“all swift”) were the horses that pulled the chariot of the goddess Sol. The sun gave off heat, but light was created by the manes of both horses. Alternately, the horse that pulled the day through the sky was known as Skinnfakse and the chariot was driven by Dagur, a son of Odin.

Written and researched by Jorge Desjardins

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