In Norse mythology, ****Garmr or Garm (Old Norse: ****Garmr ) is a wolf or dog associated with both Hel and Ragnarök, and described as a blood-stained guardian of Hel's gate.

Name

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). 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.

Attestations

Poetic Edda

The Poetic Edda poem Grímnismál mentions Garmr: 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. One of the refrains of Völuspá uses Garmr's howling to herald the coming of Ragnarök: 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. 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. 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. Although unnamed, this dog is sometimes assumed to be Garmr. Alternatively, Garmr is sometimes assumed to be identical to Fenrir. Garmr is sometimes seen as a hellhound, comparable to Cerberus.

Prose Edda

The Prose Edda book Gylfaginning assigns him a role in Ragnarök:

In popular culture

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.