Seiðr Loom

creature

Sleipnir

Odin's grey, eight-legged horse, best of all steeds, foaled by Loki after he lured away the giant builder's stallion Svaðilfari.

NKS 1867 4to, 97v, Odin on Sleipnir
NKS 1867 4to, 97v, Odin on Sleipnir, Ólafur Brynjúlfsson[2] (1760). Wikimedia Commons, public domain.

Sleipnir is Odin's horse, grey and eight-legged, and by every account the best horse there is. Grímnismál ranks him with the greatest of each kind: Yggdrasil of trees, Odin of gods, "Sleipnir the best of steeds" Grímnismál 44. Snorri repeats the list Gylfaginning 41 and puts Sleipnir first among the horses the gods ride each day to their court under the ash: "Sleipnir is best, which Odin has; he has eight feet" Gylfaginning 15.

His birth

Sleipnir's origin is one of the strangest stories in the myths (see The giant builder and the wall of Asgard). A giant builder offered to wall Ásgard in three seasons; the gods held him to a single winter, in return for Freyja, the sun and the moon, and he was allowed the help of his stallion Svaðilfari on Loki's advice. When the work was nearly done, the gods forced Loki to undo the deal. One evening a mare came out of a wood and whinnied to the stallion, which broke its traces and ran after her all night; the work fell behind and the builder was killed by Thor. "But Loki had such dealings with Svadilfari, that somewhat later he gave birth to a foal, which was gray and had eight feet" Gylfaginning 42. Hyndluljóð knows the same story in one line Hyndluljóð 42, and Snorri lists "Kinsman of Sleipnir" among the names for Loki Skáldskaparmál 16.

Rides to the dead

Sleipnir is the horse that crosses into the world of the dead. In Baldrs draumar Odin saddles him and rides "down to Niflhel deep" to question a dead seeress about Baldr's dreams Baldrs draumar 2. After Baldr's death Hermóðr borrows him for the ride to Hel, and Sleipnir clears Hel-gate in one leap Gylfaginning 49. He also carries Odin into Jötunheim in the challenge that leads to Thor's duel with Hrungnir Skáldskaparmál 17, and runes are said to be cut "On Sleipnir's teeth" Sigrdrífumál 15.

Many scholars have linked the eight legs to the bearers of a coffin, or to shamanic spirit-horses, and see Sleipnir's journeys to the dead as a sign of Odin's role as a god who travels between worlds. These are interpretations; the sources never explain the eight legs.

In the sources

Quoted from the hosted translations; each line is checked against the text when the site is built. Select a reference to read it in context.

But Loki had such dealings with Svadilfari, that somewhat later he gave birth to a foal, which was gray and had eight feet; and this horse is the best among gods and men.
Gylfaginning 42 Snorri's account of Sleipnir's birth at the end of the story of the gods' wall.
Of all the gods is Othin the greatest, And Sleipnir the best of steeds
Grímnismál 44 Grímnismál ranks Sleipnir first among horses.
And the saddle he laid on Sleipnir's back; Thence rode he down to Niflhel deep
Baldrs draumar 2 Odin rides Sleipnir to the world of the dead.
And Sleipnir bore he to Svathilfari
Hyndluljóð 42 The Poetic Edda's brief witness to Sleipnir's birth from Loki.
Then Sleipnir was taken, Odin's steed, and led forward; and Hermódr mounted on that horse and galloped off.
Gylfaginning 49 Hermóðr borrows Sleipnir for the ride to Hel.

In modern culture

Not from the medieval sources.

Sleipnir is a familiar image in modern Scandinavian culture and in fantasy and games. An eight-legged horse on the Gotland picture stones (such as the Tjängvide stone) is often identified with Sleipnir; the identification is widely accepted but not proven.

Myths with Sleipnir

Baldr's dreams and death Baldr dreams of his own death; Odin rides to Hel to question a dead seeress; and, in Snorri's telling, Loki puts a sprig of mistletoe into blind Höðr's hand. The gods lose their brightest member and the slide toward Ragnarök begins. Hermóðr's ride to Hel After Baldr's death Hermóðr rides Sleipnir nine nights down to Hel to ransom his brother. Hel agrees to let Baldr go if everything in the world weeps for him; one giantess in a cave will not. Odin as Grímnir between the fires To win a wager with Frigg, Odin visits his foster-son King Geirröðr in disguise and is tortured between two fires for eight nights. Given a drink by the king's young son, he pours out a vision of the gods' halls and the world-tree, then reveals himself, and the king falls on his own sword. The giant builder and the wall of Asgard A stranger offers to wall the gods' stronghold in a single winter, for the price of Freyja, the sun and the moon. When he is about to win, Loki saves the gods by turning himself into a mare — and gives birth to Sleipnir. Thor's duel with Hrungnir A horse race with Odin brings the stone-headed giant Hrungnir drunk and boasting into Asgard. Thor challenges him to the first single combat of his life, kills him with Mjölnir, and carries a piece of the giant's whetstone in his skull for ever after.

Related

Odin Óðinn Chief of the Æsir: a one-eyed god of wisdom, poetry, magic, war and the dead, who gave an eye and hanged himself on a tree for knowledge, and who dies at Ragnarök. Loki The giant-born trickster counted among the Æsir: father of Fenrir, the Midgard Serpent and Hel, contriver of Baldr's death, bound until Ragnarök. Svaðilfari The giant builder's stallion that hauled stone for the wall of Ásgard, until Loki, as a mare, lured him away; the father of Sleipnir. Hermóðr Odin's son who rode Sleipnir for nine nights down to Hel to ask for his brother Baldr's release, and brought back Hel's condition: that all the world must weep. Baldr Odin and Frigg's son, the brightest and best-loved of the gods. His death by a mistletoe dart, thrown by his blind brother Höðr, is the first great loss on the road to Ragnarök. Hel (the realm) Hel The underworld of the dead, ruled by Loki's daughter Hel: reached by the Hel-way and the Gjöll bridge, set down and to the north, under one root of Yggdrasil. Hrungnir The strongest of the giants, with a head, heart and shield of stone. He races Odin into Ásgard, gets drunk there, and dies when Thor's hammer shatters his whetstone and his skull.