Sleipnir

In Norse mythology, Sleipnir /ˈsleɪpnɪər/ (Old Norse: [ˈslɛipnez̠]; "slippery" or "the slipper") is an eight-legged horse ridden by Odin. Sleipnir is mentioned in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and in the Prose Edda, written by Snorri Sturluson in the 13th century. In both sources, Sleipnir is Odin's horse, the child of Loki and Svaðilfari, described as the best of all horses and sometimes ridden to the realm of Helheim. The Prose Edda provides detailed information about the circumstances of Sleipnir's birth, noting that he is grey.

Sleipnir is also mentioned in a riddle in the legendary 13th-century Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks, in the legendary 13th-century Völsunga saga as the ancestor of the horse Grani, and Book I of the Gesta Danorum, written in the 12th century by Saxo Grammaticus, contains an episode that many scholars believe relates to Sleipnir. It is widely accepted that Sleipnir is depicted on two Gotlandic picture stones from the 8th century:

• The Tjängvide picture stone
• The Ardre VIII picture stone

There are scholarly theories about a possible connection between Sleipnir and shamanic practices of Norse pagans. In modern times, Sleipnir appears in Icelandic folklore as the creator of Ásbyrgi, in artworks, literature, software, and ship names.

Sources
Poetic Edda
Sleipnir appears in the poems Grímnismál, Sigrdrífumál, Baldrs draumar, and Hyndluljóð in the Poetic Edda. In Grímnismál, Grimnir (Odin in disguise, not yet revealing his identity) tells the boy Agnar in verses that Sleipnir is the best of horses ("Odin is the best of the Æsir, Sleipnir the best of horses"). In Sigrdrífumál, the valkyrie Sigrdrífa tells the hero Sigurðr that runes should be carved "on Sleipnir’s teeth and on the reins of the sled."

In Baldrs draumar, after the Æsir discuss the bad dreams of the god Baldr, Odin saddles Sleipnir, and they both journey to Helheim. In the Völuspá hin skamma of Hyndluljóð, it is stated that Loki fathered "the wolf" with Angrboða, Sleipnir with Svaðilfari, and third, "a monster thought to be the most ominous, descended from Býleistr’s brother."

Prose Edda
In the Prose Edda, in the book Gylfaginning, Sleipnir is first mentioned in Chapter 15, where the High One (the throne figure) states that the Æsir ride across the Bifröst bridge every day and lists the horses of the Æsir, beginning with Sleipnir: "Sleipnir is the best, he belongs to Odin, and has eight legs." In Chapter 41, High quotes the stanza from Grímnismál mentioning Sleipnir.

In Chapter 42, the origin of Sleipnir is described. Gangleri (previously described as the disguised King Gylfi) asks High to whom Sleipnir belongs and what the story behind him is. High expresses surprise at Gangleri's ignorance about Sleipnir’s origin and tells a story that "takes place at the very beginning of the gods' settlement, when the gods founded Midgard and built Valhall," about an unnamed builder who offered to construct a fortress for the gods within three seasons to protect them from intruders, in exchange for the goddess Freyja, the sun, and the moon. After some debate, the gods agree but impose restrictions, including that the work must be finished within three seasons and without human assistance. The builder requests the help of his stallion, Svaðilfari, and thanks to Loki’s influence, this request is granted. Svaðilfari performs feats of strength greater than the builder’s, hauling massive rocks that amaze the gods. With Svaðilfari’s help, the builder makes rapid progress on the wall, and by three days before summer ends, he is nearly at the entrance of the fortress. The gods convene and discover who is responsible and agree that, aside from most difficulties, Loki bears the blame.

The gods declare that Loki deserves a terrible death unless he finds a way to deny the builder his payment, threatening to attack him. In his fear, Loki swears to devise a plan to cheat the builder out of his payment, whatever it takes. That night, the builder rides out with his stallion Svaðilfari to fetch stones, and from a forest, a mare appears. The mare neighs to Svaðilfari, and "when he realised what kind of horse it was," Svaðilfari grew enraged, neighed, tore off his harness, and charged after the mare. The mare ran into the forest, and Svaðilfari followed, with the builder in pursuit. The two horses ran all night, interrupting the builder’s work and preventing the momentum he had gained from continuing.

When the Æsir realise the builder is a Jötunn, they break their previous oaths and call for Thor. Thor arrives and kills the builder by smashing his skull with the hammer Mjöllnir. However, Loki, who "had such relations" with Svaðilfari, later gives birth to a grey foal with eight legs, the horse Sleipnir, "the best horse among gods and men."

In Chapter 49, High describes the death of the god Baldr. Hermóðr volunteers to ride to Helheim to offer ransom for Baldr’s return, and "Odin’s horse Sleipnir was fetched and led forward." Hermóðr mounts Sleipnir and sets off. Hermóðr rides for nine nights through deep, dark valleys where he can see nothing. The two reach the river Gjöll and continue to the Gjöll bridge, where they meet a maiden named Móðguðr, who guards the bridge. During a dialogue between Hermóðr and Móðguðr, Móðguðr notes that recently five battalions of dead men rode over the bridge, making less noise than he did. Sleipnir and Hermóðr continue "downward and northward" towards Helheim, until they reach the gates of Helheim. Hermóðr dismounts, tightens Sleipnir's girth, climbs back on, and urges Sleipnir forward. Sleipnir "leapt so high over the gate that it was no longer visible." Hermóðr rides up to the hall, dismounts, and after his pleas to Hel to return Baldr are accepted under a condition, Hermóðr and Baldr return to Asgard.

In Chapter 16 of Skáldskaparmál, Loki is referred to as a "relative of Sleipnir." In Chapter 17, a story is told in which Odin rides with Sleipnir to the land of Jötunheimr and arrives at the residence of the Jötunn Hrungnir. Hrungnir asks, "who is this man, wearing a golden helmet, riding over sky and sea," and remarks that the stranger has "a wonderfully good horse." Odin wagers his head that no such horse can be found in Jötunheimr. Hrungnir admits it is a good horse but claims he owns a much faster one: Gullfaxi. In anger, Hrungnir mounts Gullfaxi and attempts to attack Odin for his boast. Odin gallops ahead of Hrungnir, and in his rage, Hrungnir finds himself before the gates of Asgard.

In Chapter 58, Sleipnir is listed among horses in Þorgrímsþula: "Hrafn and Sleipnir, splendid horses..." Sleipnir also appears twice in references to "ship" (once in Chapter 25 in a work by the skald Refr, and "Sea-Sleipnir" in Chapter 49 in Húsdrápa, a work by the skald Úlfr Uggason from the 10th century).

Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks
In the Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks, the poem Heiðreks gátur contains a riddle in which Sleipnir and Odin are mentioned:

Gestumblindi said:
"Who are the twins
who walk on ten feet?
They have three eyes,
but only one tail.
Now guess
this riddle, Heithrek!"
Heithrek said:
"Good is your riddle, Gestumblindi,
and it is guessed:
It is Odin, who rides Sleipnir."

Völsunga Saga
In Chapter 13 of the Völsunga Saga, the hero Sigurðr is on his way into a forest when he meets a long-bearded old man whom he has never seen before. Sigurðr tells the old man that he wishes to choose a horse and asks him to come along to help with the decision. The old man suggests they drive the horses down to the Busiltjörn river. They drive the horses down into the depths of the Busiltjörn, and all the horses swim back ashore except for one large, young, and beautiful grey horse, which no one has ever ridden. The grey-bearded old man says that the horse is from "Sleipnir's kin" and that "it must be carefully raised, for it will be better than any other horse." The old man disappears. Sigurðr names the horse Grani, and the narrative adds that the old man was none other than Odin.

Gesta Danorum
It is generally believed that Sleipnir appears in a sequence of events described in Book I of Gesta Danorum.

In Book I, the young Hadingus meets "a certain old man who had lost an eye," who allies him with Liserus. Hadingus and Liserus set off to wage war against Lokerus, the ruler of Curonia. After suffering a defeat, the old man takes Hadingus on his horse, and they flee to the old man's house, where they drink a restorative potion. The old man sings a prophecy and takes Hadingus to the place where he found him on his horse. On the return journey, Hadingus shakes under the old man's cloak and peers out of its holes. Hadingus realizes they are flying through the air: "And he saw that before the horse's steps the sea lay; but he was instructed not to look upon the forbidden, so he turned his astonished eyes away from the dreadful sight of the roads they crossed."

In Book II, Biarco mentions Odin and Sleipnir: "When I see the dreadful husband of Frigg, whether he is wrapped in his white shield or guides his high steed, he will not leave Leire unharmed; it is lawful to lay the warlike god low in war."

Archaeological Findings
Two image stones from the 8th century on the Swedish island of Gotland depict eight-legged horses, most scholars believe to represent Sleipnir:

• The Tjängvide Image Stone
• The Ardre VIII Image Stone

Both stones depict a rider on an eight-legged horse, which some scholars believe is Odin. Above the rider on the Tjängvide stone, there is a horizontal figure holding a spear, possibly a Valkyrie, and a female figure greets the rider with a cup. The scene has been interpreted as the arrival of a rider in the realm of the dead. The Eggja Stone from the mid-7th century, which carries the Odin name haras (Old Norse "god of armies"), could be interpreted as a depiction of Sleipnir.

Theories

John Lindow proposes that Sleipnir's "connection to the world of the dead gives a special meaning to one of the kennings, in which Sleipnir appears as a horse word," referring to the use of "sea-Sleipnir" by the skald Úlfr Uggason in his Húsdrápa, which describes the funeral of Baldr. Lindow continues that "his use of Sleipnir in the kenning could indicate that Sleipnir’s role in the failed retrieval of Baldr was known at that time and place in Iceland; it certainly suggests that Sleipnir was an active participant in the mythology of the final decades of paganism." Lindow adds that the eight legs of Sleipnir "were interpreted as a sign of great speed or in some unclear way associated with cultic activities."

Hilda Ellis Davidson says that "Odin's eight-legged horse is the typical steed of the shaman," and that a shaman, on their journeys to the sky or the underworld, "usually rides on a bird or animal." Davidson says that while the creature may vary, the horse is common in the regions where horses are common, and that Sleipnir's ability to carry the god through the air is typical of the shaman's horse, citing an example from a study on shamanism by Mircea Eliade regarding an eight-legged foal in the story of a Buryat shaman. Davidson says that although attempts were made to associate Sleipnir with hobby horses and horses with more than four legs appearing in carnivals and processions, "a more fruitful similarity seems to exist with the bier on which a dead person is carried by four bearers; in this way carried, they can be described as riding an eight-legged steed." As an example, Davidson cites a mourning song recorded by Verrier Elwin from the Gondi people in India, which refers to "Bagri Maro, the horse with eight legs," and the song clearly shows that it is the bier of the dead. Davidson says that the song is sung when a respected Muria dies, and provides a verse:

"Which horse is this?
It is Bagri Maro's horse.
What should we say about its legs?
This horse has eight legs.
What should we say about its heads?
This horse has four heads...
Take the reins and mount the horse."

Davidson adds that Odin's eight-legged steed could naturally arise from such an image and that "this fits with the depiction of Sleipnir as a horse that can carry its rider into the land of the dead."

Ulla Loumand calls Sleipnir and the flying horse Hófvarpnir "prime examples" of horses in Norse mythology that are able to "mediate between earth and sky, between Ásgarðr, Miðgarðr, and Útgarðr, and between the world of mortals and the underworld."

In the Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture, the theory is proposed that Sleipnir's eight legs could represent the remains of divine twin horses, found in Indo-European cultures, which ultimately trace back to proto-Indo-European religion. The encyclopedia states: "[...] Sleipnir is born with an additional set of legs and thus represents an original pair of horses. Like Freyr and Njörðr, Sleipnir is responsible for transporting the dead to the afterlife." The encyclopedia draws parallels between Sleipnir's birth and myths that originally pointed to a Celtic goddess who gave birth to divine twin horses. These elements include the demand for a goddess by an unwanted suitor (the Jötnar demand the goddess Freyja) and the seduction of builders.

Modern Influence

According to Icelandic folklore, the horseshoe-shaped gorge Ásbyrgi in Jökulsárgljúfur National Park in Northern Iceland was shaped by Sleipnir's hoof. Sleipnir is depicted with Odin in Dagfin Werenskiold's wood relief Odin på Sleipnir (1945–1950) on the exterior of Oslo City Hall in Oslo, Norway. Sleipnir was and still is a popular name for ships in Northern Europe, and in Rudyard Kipling's short story Sleipnir, late Thurinda (1888), a horse named Sleipnir appears. A statue of Sleipnir (1998) stands in Wednesbury, England, a town whose name is derived from the Anglo-Saxon version of Odin, Wōden.