Drómi
Second Fetter of Fenrir
Norse Mythology
Eiður Eyþórsson, 29th of July, 2026
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The Second Fetter of FEnrir
Drómi is an iron fetter in Norse mythology crafted by the Æsir gods. It is the second fetter forged by the gods in their attempts to bind the wolf Fenrir. After Fenrir easily breaks the first chain, Læðingr, the gods make a new fetter twice as strong and name it Drómi.
The gods encourage Fenrir to test the new fetter, claiming that anyone capable of breaking a chain so strong would earn great renown. Fenrir recognizes that Drómi is much stronger than Læðingr and understands that submitting to it involves some risk. Nevertheless, he allows the gods to bind him, reasoning that he must accept the challenge if he is to gain fame.
Once the gods have secured the fetter, Fenrir shakes himself violently, throws Drómi to the ground, braces against it, and breaks it apart, sending its fragments flying. The failure of Drómi convinces the gods that no ordinary chain will be able to restrain the wolf. Odin therefore, has the dwarfs forge the magical fetter Gleipnir, which ultimately succeeds where both Læðingr and Drómi fail.
Like Læðingr and Gleipnir, Drómi is mentioned only in the Prose Edda, specifically in the section Gylfaginning. Its name survives through the proverbial expression drepa ór Dróma (“to break out of Drómi”), used together with leysa ór Læðingi (“to be released from Læðingr”) to describe escaping from something that is overcome only with great difficulty.
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Attestations
Drómi is not mentioned many times in the surviving literature. In fact, it is only mentioned in the Prose Edda, in a section called Gylfaginning. There, it is introduced as the second fetter forged by the gods after the failure of Læðingr. It says:
“After this, the Æsir made a second fetter, stronger by half, which they called Drómi, and bade the Wolf try that fetter…he let the fetter be laid upon him.” [1a]
Gylfaginning, XXXIV.
Hálfu sterkari (“stronger by half”) can also be understood to mean double the strength of Læðingr.
The text then describes how Fenrir breaks free from Drómi:
“Now when the Æsir declared themselves ready, the Wolf shook himself, dashed the fetter against the earth and struggled fiercely with it, spurned against it, and broke the fetter, so that the fragments flew far. So he dashed himself out of Drómi.” [1b]
Gylfaginning, XXXIV.
The chapter concludes that the names of the first two fetters gave rise to a proverbial expression:
Since then it passes as a proverb, ‘to loose out of Lædingr,’ or ‘to dash out of Drómi,’ when anything is exceeding hard.” [1c]
Gylfaginning, XXXIV.
The last, but not the least of the mentions sheds light on the material the gods used to make both Læðingr and Drómi.
“Then the Æsir answered that he could easily snap apart a slight silken band, he who had before broken great fetters of iron,” [1d]
Gylfaginning, XXXIV.
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References
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