Sleipnir became Odin’s steed, on which he traveled swiftly through the sky and over the Earth. Loki later gave birth to the foal Sleipnir. Because the builder was not able to work, the fortification was not completed on time. The horses ran around all night, with the builder trying to catch them. The stallion went frantic and broke free. That evening, when the builder drove out for stone with his stallion Svadilfæri, a strange mare (Loki in disguise) ran out of the woods. Loki grew afraid and swore he would arrange something that would cause the builder to forfeit. The worried gods, trying to think of what to do to avoid payment, directed their anger toward Loki, who seemed to be the one who had caused their dilemma. The stallion proved to be twice as strong as the builder, and when summer was only three days away, the job was almost finished. The builder set to work on the first day of winter. The builder asked if he could be permitted to have at least the help of his stallion, Svadilfæri. The gods accepted on the condition that he build the entire fortification in one winter if, on the first day of summer, anything were left unfinished, the payment would be forfeit. In payment, the builder demanded the goddess Freya as his wife, along with the sun and the moon. Sleipnir was the offspring of the trickster fire god Loki, who had for a time assumed the shape of a mare, and the powerful stallion Svadilfæri.Īccording to the ‘Prose (or Younger) Edda’, right after the gods had established Midgard and built Valhalla, a certain builder offered to build them, in three seasons’ time, a fortification so strong that it would be secure against giants. Most sleipnirs have jet-black coats and long, flowing manes and tails, though occasionally a sleipnir foal is born with a white or shimmering silver coat.
Sleipnirs are a legendary breed of magical, eight-legged horses. Its hooves leave shimmering hoofprints that quickly fade to mist. (also spelled Sleipner), in Norse mythology, an eight-legged gray horse, the swiftest in the world, belonging to the chief of the gods, Odin. This mighty horse has eight powerful legs. John Bauer/Our Fathers' Godsaga by Viktor Rydberg
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