Angrboða is the giantess of Norse mythology remembered as the Mother of Monsters. In the wilds of Jötunheim she took Loki as her lover and bore him the three beings whose fates are woven into the doom of the gods: the wolf Fenrir, the world-serpent Jörmungandr, and Hel, queen of the dead.
Who is Angrboða?
Angrboða (Old Norse Angrboða, "she who brings grief") is a jötunn, one of the giants who dwell beyond the borders of Asgard. The sources that name her are few — she appears in the Prose Edda and is alluded to in the poem Hyndluljóð — but her importance is immense, for through her children the seeds of Ragnarök are sown. She is the counterpart, in the giant-world, to the ordered motherhood of the Æsir goddesses.
The mother of monsters
Loki's union with Angrboða produced no ordinary offspring. First came Fenrir, the wolf destined to devour Odin; then Jörmungandr, the serpent cast into the sea to encircle the world; and last Hel, given dominion over the dead. When the gods learned what Angrboða had brought into being, and read the prophecies of the ruin these three would cause, they moved to contain each in turn — binding the wolf, drowning the serpent, and casting Hel down into her cold realm. Yet none of these measures could unmake their destiny.
The wolf-mother of Ironwood
Some traditions identify Angrboða with the ancient giantess who sits in the Ironwood (Járnviðr) to the east, breeding a brood of wolves. Among them are the beasts that pursue Sól and Máni across the sky, and the wolf that will one day swallow the moon. Whether or not she is the same figure, the association deepens her role as the source from which the world's devouring powers spring.
Symbols and legacy
Angrboða embodies the rune Hagalaz, the hail that heralds necessary destruction — the force from outside the ordered world that brings the crisis no one can escape. Overlooked in many retellings beside her more famous children, she is nonetheless one of the pivotal figures of Norse myth: without the Mother of Monsters, there is no Ragnarök. Modern fiction and games have increasingly restored her to that central place.
Frequently asked questions
Who is Angrboða in Norse mythology?
Angrboða is a giantess of Jötunheim and the consort of Loki. She is best known as the mother of his three monstrous children and is often called the Mother of Monsters.
Who are Angrboða's children?
Angrboða bore Loki three offspring: the wolf Fenrir, the world-serpent Jörmungandr, and Hel, the goddess who rules the realm of the dead.
What does the name Angrboða mean?
The name Angrboða is usually translated as 'the one who brings grief' or 'sorrow-bringer', fitting for the mother of the beings who bring about Ragnarök.
Is Angrboða Loki's wife?
Angrboða is Loki's giantess consort in Jötunheim, distinct from his wife among the Æsir, Sigyn. The sources call her his lover and the mother of his monstrous brood.
Where does Angrboða live?
Angrboða dwells in Jötunheim, the land of the giants. She is sometimes identified with the old giantess of the Ironwood who rears a brood of wolves in the east.