This Viking Shield is robust and full of handcrafted and handpainted detail featuring in elaborate Norse knotwork design the great wolf Fenrir, his name likewise emblazoned in the Elder Futhark runes. The shield is crafted from stout 1/2″ thick (13 mm) plywood. Its rim is bound in tough and tight stitched rawhide and the center of the shield has an antiqued steel shield boss with plenty of room for even a larger hand. The reverse has three durably riveted reinforcing bars of wood, with one bound in leather doubling as the shield center grip. This tough shield is as fit for use in the Viking shieldwall in battle as it is for display. Fenrir is one of the world’s three tormentors, along with Hel and the Midgard Serpent Jörmungandr. Fenrir, a child of the evil god Loki and the giantess Angrboda, fights against the existing order and ultimately symbolizes the annihilation of the world. The gods chain Fenrir to a rock and sink him deep into the earth, with Tyr, the god of war, even sacrificing a hand for the plan to succeed. The wolf is shackled for a long time, eventually breaking his chains and devouring Odin. Odin’s son Widar kills Fenrir, but it is too late, and the Allfather of the Gods falls and the order of the world.
