Introductions to Loki

Written and Old Norse translated by Selvårv Stigårð, © 2000.


 In the early thirteenth century, Snorri Sturluson wrote Edda, an introduction to Old Norse poetry which contains a retelling of many myths told in those poems. As Edda was written in prose, this retelling is the most easily accessible medieval work on Norse mythology and, as a direct result, is the basis for the most common understanding of the Norse gods. Unfortunately, in some cases Snorri either could not determine some details and created them, or possibly rewrote myths to appeal to a Christian audience. While Loki's character could be considered closer to the Shoshone Coyote, the Celtic Bricriu or the Greek Prometheus, he depicted Loki as a figure similar to the Serpent of Hebrew mythology.

After describing a Swedish king curious about the nature of the world, and another three kings intent on deceiving him, Snorri has the first mention of Loki come from Hár, the first of those kings:


Sá er enn taldr með Ásum, er sumir kalla rógbera Ásanna ok frumkveða flærðanna ok vömm allra goða ok manna. Sá er nefndr Loki eða Loptr, son Farbauta jötuns; móðir hans er Laufey eða Nál; brœðr hans eru þeir Býleistr ok Helblindi. Loki er fríðr ok fagr sànum, illr í skaplyndi, mjök fjölbreytinn at háttum; hann hafði þá speki um fram aðra menn, er slœgð heitir, ok vælar til allra hluta; hann kom Ásum jafnan í fult vandræði, ok opt leysti hann þá með vælræðum. Kona hans heitirr Sygin; sonr þeirra Nari eða Narfi.

Enn átti Loki fleiri börn. Angrboða hét gàgr í Jötunheimum; við henni gat Loki III börn; eitt var Fenrisúlfr, annat Jórmungandr, þat er Miðgarðsormr, III. er Hel.

There is one tallied amoung the Æsir, whom some call the strife-bearing [or discordian] Ás and the most seductive-speaking, and a blemish on all gods and men. This one is named Loki or Lopt, son of Farbauti the etin; his mother is Laufey or Nál; his brothers, they are Býleist and Helblind. Loki is beautiful and fair in seeming, ill in character, very variable in manners; he has that speech, known as slyness, far from other men, and wiles for all lots; he came always to the Æsir in hard times, but he often had the best rede in the end. His wife is hight Sigyn; their son is Nari or Narfi.

And Loki had more children. Angrboða was a giantess in Jötunheim; Loki got on her three children; one was Fenris-wolf, another Jörmungand, which is the Miðgarð-wyrm, third is Hel.

Gylfaginning 33-34

Later, Snorri has Bragi, the first poet, provide various descriptors of Loki:


Hvernig skal kenna Loka? Svá, at kalla son Farbauta ok Laufeyjar ok Nálar, bróður Býleists ok Helblinda, föður Vonargands, þat er Fenrisúlfr, ok Jörmungands þat er Miðgarðsormr, ok Heljar ok Nara ok Ala, frænda ok föðurbróður, sinna ok sessa Óðins ok Ása, heimsœki ok kistuskrúð Geirröðar; þjófr jötna, hafrs ok Brísingamenns ok Iðunnar epla; Sleipnis frænda; verr Sigynjar, goða dólgr, hárskaði Sifjar, bölvasmiðr, hinn slœgi Áss, rœgjandi ok vælandi goðanna, ráðbani Baldrs, hinn bundni Áss, þrætudólgr Heimdallar ok Skaða.

How shall Loki be known? Thus, to call him son of Farbauti and Laufey and Nál, brother of Býleist and Helblind, father of Vonargand who is Fenris-wolf, and of Jörmungand who is the Miðgarð-wyrm, and Hel and Nari and Ali, kinsman and relative, companion and bench-mate of Óðin and the Æsir, guest and casket-decoration of Geirröð, thief from etins, of goats and Brísingamen and Iðun's apples; Sleipnir's kin; Sigyn's man, enemy of gods, Sif's barber, bale-smith, the sly Ás, insulter and debaser of the gods, Baldr's rede-bane, the bound Ás, defiant enemy of Heimdall and Skaði.

Skáldskaparmál 15

These passages would have been Snorri's view of Loki, had he believed in this god's existence. He makes it clear that he does not, as in the Formáli (Forward) he writes to the text, he explains that the Æsir were powerful warriors and magi from Asia, hence the name. Specifically, he refers to Asia Minor and the heroes of the Trojan war, similar to the tradition of the Romans and Britons to trace their empires to Troy, and the other description he gives of Loki is:


Enn þat hyggja menn, a Tyrkir hafi sagt frá Úlixes ok hafi þeir hann kallat Loka, því at Tyrkir váru hans mestu óvinir.

And it seems that men, the Turks, have sagas about Ulysses, as they have called Loki, because the Turks were very unfriendly to him.

Eptirmáli I

In most discussions of Norse mythology, there is a debate regarding how much value to place upon the words of Snorri Sturluson. Personally, I think Snorri was a wonderful writer, and his presentation of the myths fueled a general interest for them, so that a collection of poems such as is in Codex Regius 2365 (commonly known as the Elder -, Poetic -, or Sæmundar Edda, or Eddukvæði) became possible. Further, we are indebted to Snorri for quoting at some length many poems which would otherwise be lost to us (Haustlöng, Húsdrápa).

Because of the great value of Snorri's work, many choose to ignore the passages in the narrative voice, dismissing them as necessary to allow the work to survive in Catholic Iceland, or describing Snorri as an apologist making the myths palatable to Christians. These portions are then left out of many translations, but can be found in the Faulkes version. They should make it clear how often Snorri misrepresented the myths, in both intent and facts, and in some cases he presents an image of Loki contrary to that portrayed in all other ancient sources. In these cases, heathen sources are preferred. For the most part however, the descriptions given of Loki are accurate, for example Snorri has done a wonderful job of presenting a family tree which would otherwise have to be reconstructed from several separate sources:

Loki's father is Fárbauti, as referenced in Haustlöng 5 [Farbaúta mög] and Húsdrápa 2 [Fárbauta mægr]. The suggested meaning of this name (Bugge, Kock, de Vries) is from [fár-bauta], "hostile striker", as a description of lightning.

Loki's mother is Laufey, attributed in Lokasenna 52 [Laufeyjar son] and Þrymskviða 18 and 20 [Loki Laufeyjar sonur], which means "leaf island" (Schröder, de Vries), although possibly related to the Finnish giantess Lauhi or Loviatar (Olrik). Nál is otherwise unattested, however since this simply means the needle of a conifer tree (Schröder, de Vries), there is no conflict with this being an alternate name for Laufey. The image of a child born of lightning and leaves (or needles) evokes the image of fire, and the connection between [logi] "fire" and Loki has been suggested.

Loki is commonly known as the brother of Býleist, in Ynglingatál 31 [Býleists bróður mær], Völuspá 51 [Býleists bróðir], and Völuspá in skamma 12 (Hyndluljóð 46) [Býleists bróðir]. Snorri also gives a kenning for Loki being the brother of Helblind, which means the same in Norse or English (de Vries, et al), and is found in Grimnismál 46 as an heiti of Óðin. Býleist has been suggested as meaning "storm cloud" or "storm breaker" (de Vries), which sounds like Þór to most, but could as easily be used as yet another heiti of Óðin. Therefore, both kennings indicating a brother of Loki could refer to Óðin, but with no hint of the long-standing theory of blood-brotherhood, or as it was called by the Norse, foster-brotherhood. In fact, nowhere in Old Norse texts is there a mention of Loki and Óðin being blood-brothers. The usual quote given as the basis for this nineteenth century theory is Lokasenna 9, in which Loki states that Óðin had sworn an oath that he would not accept a drink that was not offered to them both. Of course, this oath bears no similarity to that of the Old Norse foster-brother relationship, and that cannot be taken as its meaning. The only reasonable explanation is that "Helblind's brother" means exactly what it appears to mean.

Loki is mentioned as having children with four others: Sigyn in Haustlöng 7 [farmr Signyiar arma], Þórsdrápa 3 [farms meinsvarans arma], Völuspá 35 [Þar situr Sigyn þeygi um sínum], and Lokasenna ending prose [Sigyn, kona Loka]; Angrboða in Völuspá in skamma 12 (Hyndluljóð 46) [Ól úlf Loki við Angurboðu]; Svaðilfar in the next line [en Sleipni gat við Svaðilfara]; and Týr's unnamed wife in Lokasenna 40 [þinni konu, að hún átti mög]. However, only Sigyn is actually listed as Loki's wife (Völuspá 35, Lokasenna prose), despite his having three children with Angrboða. In addition to this, Loki claims several other lovers in Lokasenna: Freyja in stanza 30, Skaði in stanza 52, Sif in stanza 54 and possibly Frigg in stanza 26.

So Loki has romanced at least six goddesses, and it may be surmised that any other lovers of Loki could have been omitted once that point was made. As such, we are left with the possibility that his lovers may include:


Frigg ok Freyja, Fulla ok Snotra,
Gerðr ok Gefjon, Gná, Lofn, Skaði,
Jörð ok Iðunn, Ilmr, Bil, Njórunn.
Hlín ok Nanna, Hnoss, Rindr ok Sjöfn,
Sól ok Sága, Sigyn ok Vör,
þá er Var ok Syn, verðr at nefna,
enn Þrúðr ok Rán þeim næst talit.
Grét ok at Óði gulli Freyja;
dœtr eru hennar Hnoss ok Gersimi.
Enn eru aðrar Óðins meyjar:
Hildr ok Göndul Hlökk, Mist, Skögul;
þá er Hrund ok Mist,  Hrist, Skuld talit;
Nornir heita, þær er nauð skapa,
Nipt ok Dísi nú mun ek telja.

Frigg and Freyja Fulla and Snotra,
Gerð and Gefjon, Gná, Lofn, Skaði,
Jörð and Iðun, Ilm, Bil, Njórun.
Hlín and Nanna, Hnos, Rind and Sjöfn,
Sól and Sága, Sigyn and Vör,
there is Var and Syn, worthy to name,
one Þrúð and Rán they tally near,
Grét and also Óða golden Freyja;
she has maids Hnos and Gersimi.
And are another Óðins maids:
Hild and Göndul Hlök, Mist, Skögul;
there are Hrund and Mist,  Hrist, Skuld tallied;
the names of Norns, they who shape fate,
Nipt and Dísi now would I tell.
Skáldskaparmál 84


From all of these affairs, Loki has at least five or six children. Hel is described as Loki's daughter twice in Ynglingatál 7 [Loka mær; jódis Ulfs ok Narfa], and again in 31 (above) and 32 [Hveðrungs mær]. Vonargand, the Fenris-wolf, is referenced in Ynglingatál 7 (above), Haustlöng 8 [Ulfs faðir], Völuspá 55 [megi Hveðrungs] and Lokasenna 10 [ulfs föður]. Jörmungand, the Miðgarð-wyrm, is found in kennings in Þórsdrápa 1 [lögseims faðir], and Hymiskviða 23 [úlfs hnitbróður]. Narfi is cited in Ynglingatál 7 (above), and Lokasenna ending prose mentions both he and Nari [sonar síns, Nara. En Narfi, sonur hans]. An allusion is made to the story of Sleipnir's origins in Völuspá in skamma 12 (above), but the only source for a full story is Snorri (Gylfaginning 43). And while Ali is only mentioned in Skáldskaparmál 15, in Völuspá 34, Loki's son is named as Váli instead of Nari as in Lokasenna, [kná Váli vígbönd snúa]. However, this stanza is one of the later insertions into Völuspá, and is possibly the basis of Snorri's mention of Ali.

Located in a variety of poems are two more heiti used for Loki:

  • Hveðrung: "the Roarer" (de Vries) (Ynglingatál 32, Völuspá 55).
  • Lopt: "Lofty" (Haustlöng 8, Þórsdrápa 1, Lokasenna 6, 19, etc.).

As well as several more kennings:

  • diuphugaðr: "deep-thinking" (Haustlöng 6).
  • vinar Hœnis: "Hænir's friend" (Haustlöng 7).
  • brisings goða disi girþi þiofr: "thief of maiden-goddess' brising-girdle" (Haustlöng 9).
  • hræva hrund: "corpse-bringer" (Haustlöng 11).
  • læv lund: "mischief-minded" (Haustlöng 11).
  • hugreynande hœnis: "distressor of Hænir's mind" or "always-thinking kin of Hænir" (Haustlöng 12).
  • flugstalla: "deceitful flier" (Þórsdrápa 1).
  • lögseims faðir: "sea-thread's father" (Þórsdrápa 1).
  • gongu gamleið: "vulture-way farer" (Þórsdrápa 2).
Then, a kenning is given for Þór in Þórsdrápa 4 [bragðmilldr loka], "compassionate to Loki", and if you care to associate Lóður with Loki, Óðin is called [Lóðurs vinar] in Islendinga drápa 1.

Taking the dates of these poems into account can create a solid impression of a heathen Loki. The earliest of these sources are Ynglingatál and Haustlöng, written by Þjóðólf of Hvin (9th-10th c.), the latter of which was for the chieftan Þórleif vís, who died in 940. Following that is Húsdrápa, which according to Laxdæla saga 29 was first read by Úlf Uggason at the first Christmas feast in the new house of Ólaf pá Hoskuldsson, built in 978. The poet Eilíf Goðrúnarson wrote Þórsdrápa around 1000, and while he did not convert until later in life, the entire country of Iceland officially became Christian in that year.

Eddic poems are harder to date than skaldic, as we cannot tie them with specific authors or events, and have to use linguistic analysis. However, this can sometimes produce fairly good results, especially as some poems use multiple forms of the language, such as Völuspá, Hymiskviða, Lokasenna and Reginsmál. The last of these poems is undoubtedly based on even earlier sources, as it is part of the Cycle of the Völsungs, an ancient legend with different versions amoung diverse Germanic cultures.

These poems all have portions using language from the 10th century or earlier, with stanzas or prose portions added in a later form of Icelandic. The kennings in these poems are written in an older form, as are the stanzas of Völuspá which introduce Loki:


Haft sá hun liggja  undir Hveralundi,
lægjarns líki Loka áþekkjan;
þar situr Sigyn, þeygi um sínum
ver velglýjuð. Vituð ér enn - eða hvað?

Here the Hunnish one lies  under Hverland,
looking harmful like Loki's appearance;
there sits Sigyn, with her husband
yet not gladdened. Wit you more - or what?
Völuspá 34 (Codex Regius 2365)


In another copy of Völuspá, this stanza is missing, and replaced with another present in a different dialect than the rest of the poem:

Þá kná Váli vígbönd snúa,
heldur voru harðger,  höft úr þörmum.

Then out of Váli death-bonds twist,
rather hardy were they,  hefting from there.
Völuspá 35 (Hauksbók)


This stanza only makes sense with the association of Váli to Nari, the son described in the ending prose to Lokasenna as having his guts removed and used to bind Loki. Elsewhere, this is the name of Óðin's child conceived and born to avenge Baldr's death, and given this stanza follows the description of Baldr's death, the possibility that it has nothing to do with Loki cannot be eliminated.

By contrast, the earlier stanza describes the place where Loki is bound, "Hverland", which is otherwise unknown, although Hollander translates it as "kettle-grove", guessing a reference to the hot springs of Iceland. Of more interest is the description given of the bound one, as 'looking like Loki'. The obvious implication is that Loki himself is not bound, but some doppelgänger or illusion. No other reference to this exists, and it cannot be confirmed or refuted.

One other introduction to Loki exists, probably written during the transition period of 10th-century Iceland:

Ól úlf Loki við Angurboðu,
en Sleipni gat við Svaðilfara.
Eitt þótti skass allra feiknast,
það var bróður frá  Býleists komið.

Loki af hjarta lindi brenndu,
fann hann hálfsviðinn hugstein konu.
Varð Loftur kviðungur  af konu illri;
þaðan er á foldu flagð hvert komið.

Gat Loki a wolf with Angrboða,
and the horse Sleipnir  with Svaðilfar.
One thought a witch all most baleful,
that from the brother of Býleist came.

Loki ate a heart linden-burnt,
he found half-charred a woman's thought-stone.
Lopt became pregnant  from the ill woman;
there all the world's ogres came from.
Völuspá in skamma 12-13


Völuspá in skamma appears to be a summary and reduction of Völuspá, without most of the information present in the earlier poem but including tidbits such as this which are not available in what is otherwise one of the greatest Eddic poems.

Thus, using reasonably heathen sources (10th c. or earlier), we know that Loki is the son of Fárbauti and Laufey, the brother of Býleist, the kin of Hænir, the husband of Sigyn, and the father of Hel, Fenris, Jörmungand, Narfi, and an unnamed son cuckolded on Týr. He is also mentioned as the friend of Þór and Hænir, and brother to a known heiti of Óðin. He is definitely capable of flight, both using the name Lopt and having several kennings which mean the same. His thoughts are "deep", "mischievous" and "deceitful", and he is already a thief and a killer (of which, only theft was considered dishonourable). The stories related in those heathen poems include those of Ask and Embla, Andvari, Þjazi, the Flyting of Loki, the Binding of Loki, and some of his rôle in Ragnarök.

Just these heathen sources give a rather complete image of Loki, with the only ancient myths of Loki not attested in heathen sources being the killing of Baldr, the shaving of Sif, fetching Þór's hammer, the journey to Útgarð and some details in the Brísingamen and Ragnarök myths. Most of these myths, which include the most antagonistic traits attributed to Loki, are only available in Snorri, and as a result the most commonly told. There is no cause to dispute details, or in one case an entire myth, without contrary evidence, but there is also no reason to favour myths without a heathen source.

Following the heathen poetry another Eddic poem was written after the transition period, Þrymskviða, which is typically dated to the late 12th or early 13th century (Hollander, de Vries). Then, in the early 13th century are two Christian redactors of heathen myths, Snorri Sturluson and Saxo Grammaticus. It is difficult to determine which wrote earlier, however Snorri wrote in his vernacular Icelandic as opposed to Saxo's Latin text, Gesta Danorum, and while being far from an authentic source, seems to have usually kept more veracity to the original myths than Saxo.

Next is Sörla þáttr, a standard short story in a 13th or 14th century Icelandic prose style. This is well after any evidence of any heathen practices anywhere in Nordic countries, but is our best source for the Brísingamen myth.

Composed at some point in the 16th and 17th centuries are two Færoese ballads, Lokka táttur and Risin og Lokki. These are the last literature involving Loki until the 19th century other than translations, and the language used is simply of the time when it was again legal to tell heathen myths in the Færoe islands. Given their rich oral tradition, it is possible that the stories upon which these two ballads are based date to heathen times, which lasted for a longer time in those islands than in mainland Scandinavia or Iceland.

After these ballads are random folktales and modern fiction with little to no relation to the literary traditions which produced the ancient forms of the myths. They are also too far culturally removed to be considered anything but new interpretations of an ancient god. Finally, in addition to Loki's presence in the ancient Norse literary traditions, he is also present in a few magickal poems and charms, ranging from heathen to medieval, and even industrial times. These provide additional insight, along with old names of places, plants and natural phenomena which evoke Loki.

The result is a god with many names and diverse traits, who develops over a history of perhaps fifteen hundred years before modern academics attempted to understand him. This work is the answer from a post-modern heathen to that largely confused mass of notions, most of which examine details at the expense of a developed portrait.

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