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L aeding (L Æ ding )
and heroes, and the stag Eikthyrnir nibbled at its
branches.
The first of three chains
with which the gods tried to muzzle and secure the
dangerous wolf Fenrir. Laeding and the second
chain, Dromi, were made of ordinary metal, and
Fenrir broke them easily. Only the magical third
chain, Gleipner, was strong enough to hold the wolf.
Fenrir remained chained until the time of Ragnarok,
the battle that brought an end to the world of the
gods. The story is preserved by Snorri Sturluson
in G ylfaginning .
landvaettir (L andv Æ ttir ; Land Wights)
Spirits that protected the land (that is, the soil
or ground). According to stories, huge crowds of
Landvaettir might inhabit a place. They were invis-
ible to people unless someone looked very closely
in the right light at the right time. A law in Iceland
prohibited ships with dragonhead carvings on their
bows from coming toward shore in case the huge
monsters frightened away the Landvaettir. These
wights (creatures that are neither mortals nor gods)
are similar to land elves, though more connected to
the soil than to an area.
L aerad (L Æ rad )
The great tree around which
odin’s hall, Valhalla, was built. The goat Heidrun,
who produced an endless supply of mead for the gods
L andvidi (V idi ;
Wide Land) The land in
which the silent god Vidar made his home. Accord-
ing to the poem G rminismal , the land was filled
with growing trees, branches, and tall grasses. Some
scholars suggest that it was a clearing in a forest and
that Vidar himself was a forest deity who lived in the
silence of the deep forest.
L aufey (Tree
Island) A giantess and mother of
Loki, whose father, Farbauti, was also a giant. Some
stories say Laufey gave birth to Loki when a lightning
bolt thrown by Farbauti struck her. Laufey apparently
did not raise Loki, since Icelandic author Snorri Stu