Citation: Loki

Tags: Incomplete entry

Description:

Loki is a deity and a major figure in Norse mythology and Old Norse literature. Although Loki is often counted among the Æsir and Vanir in Ásgarðr (LINK), he is also the child of at least one jötunn, but possibly both of his parents were jötnar, or "giants," as it is often mistranslated. Although he is not unique in having at least half-jötunn parentage among the gods (except for Baldr, Óðinn's sons were had with jötunn women, including Þórr), Loki is portrayed in the myths as very antagonistic towards the gods, causing much mischief and mayhem. With the jötunn woman Angrboða (LINK), he is the father of the wolf Fenrir, the Miðgarðsormr ("world serpent"), and Hel, a goddess of death and ruler of the realm Hel (LINKS). He will side with his monstrous children, as well as with the army of Múspell and other jötnar, during the cataclysmic final battle, Ragnarök, "doom of the gods" (LINKS). He is a trickster par excellence, rivalled only by Óðinn in deceitfulness, and often gets the gods into a lot of trouble with his mischievousness. However, he also always gets the gods out of these troubles with his wiles, and Loki is easily identifiable as a major motivator of events in the myths, alongside the jötnar themselves. Without them, the gods and goddesses would just sit around doing very little. 

He is sometimes at violent odds with Þórr, who threatens Loki with his hammer many times, and at others they are friendly traveling companions, venturing into jötunheimar to overcome various challenges and problems (such as in Þrymskviða and the story of Þórr and Útgarðaloki). Similarly, according to the eddic poem Lokasenna ("Loki's Quarrel"), he claims to be Óðinn's blood-brother and demands a seat at the drinking table in Ægir's hall (LINK). Indeed, Loki also is called the companion of Óðinn and the friend of Hœnir (LINK) in the poem Haustlöng (LINK), where they travel together before the jötunn Þjazi (LINK) extorts Loki into kidnapping Iðunn (LINK) for him. These same three deities are also traveling companions in the various sources of the Völsung legendary material (the story of Sigurðr the dragon-slayer LINK).

Loki is also the instigator of the creation of the gods' most valuable treasures, told about in Skáldskaparmál in the Prose Edda. After cutting off Sif's (LINK) hair out of malice, Þórr threatens Loki with death unless he can undo it. Loki commissions some dwarfs (LINK), the "sons of Ivaldi" (LINK) to make hair out of gold that can be attached to Sif's scalp and grow like regular hair. They make the hair, and also make the spear Gungnir (LINK) and the ship Skiðblaðnir (LINK). Loki gambles further, and wagers his head that two other crafty dwarfs, the brothers Brokkr and Eitri (LINK), could not make better treasures than the sons of Ivaldi had. While making three treasures, each time Brokkr is working the bellows and is told by his brother to not stop blowing, a fly bites him. The first two times he does not flinch at the bite, and those two treasures, a gold-bristled boar later called Gullinbursti (LINK) and the ring Draupnir, come out perfectly. The third time, the fly bites Brokkr's eyelids, and blood drips down into his eyes, forcing him to pause to wipe it away, thus stopping his blowing momentarily. Eitri completes the third treasure, the hammer Mjöllnir, claiming it was almost ruined by the pause in airflow. This is why the hammer has such a short handle.

Loki is referred to as the son of Fárbauti (LINK), meaning something like "furious/dangerous striker," in the 10th century poems Haustlöng and Húsdrápa (LINKS), and this is recapitulated in the Prose Edda, where Snorri identifies Fárbauti as a jötunn. Loki is referred to on a few occasions as Loki Laufeyjarson, "Laufey's son" (Lokasenna 52; Þrymskviða 18 & 20; Gylfaginning ch. 42 & 49), which is unique, as it is almost unknown to be referred to by a matronymic in Iron Age and medieval Germanic societies. His mother Laufey is also called Nál. It is not known what kind of being she is, but she is listed among the Ásynjur, the goddesses, in an anonymous þula ("list") of heiti ("synonyms") for women which is only found in one particular manuscript of the Prose Edda. Nothing is known about her, otherwise, and she could technically be any sort of being.