"Norse Legends : FENRIR" by Zachariah Campbell

Woo-hoo! Very cool! I LOVE norse mythology and I like the way you set-up this scene! I hope you do more!

Oh, and you forgot "the roots of mountains."

Zachariah Campbell replies: "I DID forget about the roots of mountains! The 4th ingredient in Fenrir's binding, that is... memory is a tricky thing. The cat and bird contributions are my favourites, personally. "

Really well drawn ;-)
as for the norse myths ... Why is it that one always sees horned / winged / who-knows-whatted helmets? The vikings never had them, and as the norse gods were always seen as rather alike to men of those days, it seems a bit awkward ... (ok, it's a cliche that always ticked me off a bit. Sry.)
btw, wasn't fenrir destined to swallow the sun (who, at that moment, would give birth to a new and even brighter sun ... Etc.), not odin?
Ok, i'm done whining. And, as said, the pic itself looks great.

Zachariah Campbell replies: "I know what you mean about the helmets... I'll never draw a "viking" with horns because I know it's not accurate. However, Norse -gods- were often depicted with winged or horned helmets (animal aspects) to denote their divinity, so I incorporated that into the designs for these gods where I thought it was appropriate.In fact Fenris swallows Odin at Ragnarok, and then is torn apart by Vidar, one of Odin's sons. It's the night-wolf Skoll that is supposed to swallow the Sun. It's an easy mix-up since both wolves turn up at Ragnarok, and are known for their appetites. "

Thought I'd add on the norse and viking helmet thing; some norse cults used them, and they've been found in burial mounds, although correctly enough, not as regular war gear.

I think that thy work is quite remarkable... Everything is very beautiful....

I've just been researching all this for some background on a picture of Garm I'm doing. So for a change, I actually know what everyone's talking about =P

Awesome drawing. I love the perspective..the trees continuing beyond the border is a really nice touch. Very good inking, too.

Just a bit to add on your reply to Camlach: "It should be noted that Skoll, in certain circumstances, is used as a heiti to refer indirectly to the father (Fenrir) and not the son (and this ambiguity works in the other direction also, for example in the Vafthruthsnismal, a confusion exists in stanza 46 where Fenrir is given the sun-chasing attributes of his son Skoll)."

/end nerdness

-Celty

Hey Zac! Fenris really likes this picture (yes, I have 2 cats, Fenris and Loki, and they both make noise when they walk, or crash around the house knocking things over)

Zachariah Campbell replies: "I think you need two more cats to complete your family. C'mon... a little Hel and Jormungand? Cute! "

I Love your art work ... but I have a problem with your sights on Tyr. Tyr was a God to be respected and the hand was offerd as a mends for the lie he had told. The way I see Tyr in this artwork bothers me. Its as if he is running away in fear after his hand was takin. He should be shown with honor sacrificeing his hand nobley to the beast. The beast fenrir was also noble and he was merly taking what was owed and nothing more. Tyr had no need to run. just my opinion. I have much respect for Tyr, for he is the only reason they were able to bind fenrir. It was that the beast had trust in Tyr because He could not lie, for he is a God of Justice and trust. And for his lie he owed his hand and gave it willingly.

Zachariah Campbell replies: "Thanks for the thoughtful post... I mostly agree with your points. though the pact between Fenrir and Tyr wasn’t really all that honourable . It was treachery on the part of the Gods. Fenrir allowed himself to be bound because he believed that having Tyr’s hand in his jaws insured that they would free him afterwards.

Tyr on the other hand, knew that the plan was to betray Fenrir and bind him forever. He knew he wasn’t getting his hand back. So yeah... he was willingly taking one for the team.

It’s merely a failing of my art if it looks like Tyr is fleeing. That wasn’t my intention at all. I meant to show him leaning weakly against the tree, gritting his teeth against the pain. I mean, the guy just got his hand torn off by a wolf. He’s bound to be a little shaky. "

yeah I agree. It was treachery, but it was kinda a have to situation. the beast had to be controlled. His hunger was too much to handle. So i feel that it was for the good of all. Although we know the beast we be free one day. thank you for your reply

I feel sorry for Fenrir, what did he do? He was born, raised in Asguard, and betrayed and bound, for what? He had done nothing but be an oversized wolf, he had not harmed anyone, only the ’prohesy’ said that he would kill Odin, but the only reason that came to pass was because they bound him in the first place, I mean, come on, he was kidnaped as a pup, betrayed, bound, had a sword lodged in his mouth, and was starved until the end of times. Even I would be peeved, if not driven insane by such a thing. And they have the nerve to call him the monster?

As for ’uncontrolable hunger’ they had resserecting boars in asguard to feed the ever growing army of fallen warriors, Odin who didn’t eat and feed all of his food to his ’pet’ wolves, and plenty of game in the fields of asguard, I doubt Fenrir’s hunger was much of an issue.

I feel it is a case of the self fulfilling prophesy, they made Fenrir a monster through their actions to undo it. Fenrir killed Odin for what he did to him, forefilling the prophesy when caused the event to happen in the first place.