Loki

This picture, from an 18th century Icelandic manuscript, shows Loki with his invention - the fishing net.

Loki Laufeyjarson is the mythical being of mischief, lies and trickery in Norse mythology, and is a son of the Jotun (giants) Fárbauti and Laufey, and a blood-brother of Odin. He is described as the "contriver of all fraud".

Despite significant research, "the figure of Loki remains obscure; there is no trace of a cult, and the name does not appear in place-names." In mythological terms, Loki could thus be seen as less of a "god" per se and more of a general mythical being. This is further supported by the fact that he was not a member of Vanir and is not always counted among the Aesir, the two groupings of Nordic gods. Though some sources do place him among the Æsir, this may only be due to his close relation with Odin and the amount of time that he spends among the Æsir (as opposed to his own kin (the giants)).

Like Odin (though to a lesser extent), Loki bears many names: Lie-Smith, Sly-God, Shape-Changer, Sly-One, Sky Traveller, Sky Walker, and Wizard Of Lies (among others).

Loki in a Norse Context

As mentioned above, Loki is a Norse deity, a designation that signifies his membership in a complex religious, mythological and cosmological belief system shared by the Scandinavian and Germanic peoples. This mythological tradition, of which the Scandinavian (and particularly Icelandic) sub-groups are best preserved, developed in the period from the first manifestations of religious and material culture in approximately 1000 B.C.E. until the Christianization of the area, a process that occurred primarily from 900-1200 C.E. The tales recorded within this mythological corpus tend to exemplify a unified cultural focus on physical prowess and military might.

Within this framework, Norse cosmology postulates three separate "clans" of deities: the Aesir, the Vanir, and the Jotun. The distinction between Aesir and Vanir is relative, for the two are said to have made peace, exchanged hostages, intermarried and reigned together after a prolonged war, which the Aesir had finally won. In fact, the greatest divergence between the two groups is in their respective areas of influence, with the Aesir representing war and conquest, and the Vanir representing exploration, fertility and wealth. The Jotun, on the other hand, are seen as a generally malefic (though wise) race of giants who represented the primary adversaries of the Aesir and Vanir.

Loki fulfills the role of trickster among the Aesir, though his eventual involvement in the downfall of the gods at Ragnarök implies a more malevolent nature than such a designation usually signifies.

Characteristics

Loki, most easily categorized as a trickster, is a complex character. In playing this role, he is not so much a figure of unmitigated badness as a kind of celestial "con man." In many Eddic accounts, he is depicted helping the gods resolve issues (which he was often the cause of in the first place). Some illustrations of this include the myth in which he shears Sif's hair and then replaces it, or the kidnapping of Idunn (which he orchestrated) and her rescue (which he then accomplished). In realizing his multifarious schemes, Loki is aided by his ability to changes his sex and form at will (with some examples of his transmogrification including a salmon, a mare (who eventually gave birth to a monstrous colt), a bird, and a flea).

Describing the Sly God, Snorri states:

"Call him Son of Fárbauti and Laufey, ... Father of the Monster of Ván (that is, Fenris-Wolf), and of the Vast Monster (that is, the Midgard Serpent [Jormungandr]), and of Hel...; Kinsman and Uncle, Evil Companion and Benchmate of Odin and the Aesir, ... Thief of the Giants, of the Goat, of Brisinga-men, and of Idunn's apples, Kinsman of Sleipnir [Odin's eight-legged horse that Loki was the mother of], Husband of Sigyn, Foe of the Gods, Harmer of Sif's Hair, Forger of Evil, the Sly God, Slanderer and Cheat of the Gods, Contriver of Balder's death, the Bound God, Wrangling Foe of Heimdall and of Skadi.

These varied titled make reference to Loki's numerous thefts, deceptions and his pre-meditated murder of Odin's son, Balder (discussed below).

Some scholars, noting the intriguing similarities between Odin and Loki (especially in terms of their tendencies to solve problems with cunning, trickery and outright deception), suggest that the two deities may have historically been more closely related than current understandings permit. Ström identifies the two gods to the point of calling Loki "a hypostasis of Odin", and Rübekeil suggests that the two gods were originally identical, deriving from Celtic Lugus (the name of which would be continued in Loki). Regardless of this genetic hypothesis, these undeniable similarities could explain the puzzling fact that Loki is often described as Odin's companion (or even blood brother).

<however, loki's role as an evil deity (use the quotation from Lindow)>

Mythic Accounts

Family

Iðunn and Loki, by John Bauer

Loki was the father (and in one instance the mother) of many beasts, humans and monsters.

Having liaisons with giantesses was nothing unusual for gods in Norse mythology—both Odin and Freyr are good examples; and since Loki was actually a giant himself, there is nothing unusual about this activity. Together with Angrboda, he had three children:

• Jörmungandr, the sea serpent;
• Fenrir the giant wolf preordained to slay Odin at the time of Ragnarök;
• Hel, ruler of the realm of the dead.

Loki also married a goddess named Sigyn who bore him two sons: Narfi and Vali. (this Vali is not to be confused with Odin's son with the giantess Rind). To punish Loki for his part in Balder's death the gods turned Vali into a rabid wolf who proceeded to tear Narfi's throat out. Narfi's remains were used to bind Loki until Ragnarok.

While he was in the form of a mare Loki also gave birth to Sleipnir, the eight-legged steed of Odin.

Scheming with fellow gods

Loki occasionally works with the other gods. For example, he tricked the unnamed giant who built the walls around Asgard out of being paid for his work by distracting his horse while disguised as a mare—thereby he became the mother of Odin's eight-legged horse Sleipnir. In another myth, he pits the dwarves against each other in a gifting contest. The dwarves make Odin's spear, Freyr's ship and Sif's wig. He even rescues Iðunn. Finally, in Þrymskviða, Loki manages, with Thor at his side, to retrieve Mjolnir after the giant Þrymr secretly steals it, in order to ask for Freyja as a bride in exchange.

Even though Loki may have been a liability to gods (leading to the death of Balder, the birth of Fenris and other monsters that would eventually engulf the world), he provided the gods with all their most precious items, from Thor's hammer to the flying ships, and these artifacts help the gods ultimately defeat evil. He leads to the birth of Ragnarok, but also provides the means to overcome it.

Friend to man

Loki tricks Höðr into killing Balder

Not all lore depicts Loki as a malevolent being. An 18th century ballad (that may have drawn from a much earlier source) from the Faroe Islands, entitled Loka Táttur, depicts Loki as a friend to man: when a thurs (troll or giant) comes to take a farmer's son away, the farmer and his wife pray to Odin to protect him. Odin hides the son in a field of wheat, but the thurs finds him. Odin rescues the son and takes him back to the farmer and his wife, saying that he is done hiding the son. The couple then prays to Hœnir, who hides the son in the neck-feathers of a swan, but again the thurs finds him. On the third day, they pray to Loki, who hides the son amidst the eggs of a flounder. The thurs finds the flounder, but Loki instructs the boy to run into a boathouse. The giant gets his head caught and Loki kills him by chopping off his leg and inserting a stick and a stone in the leg stump to prevent the thurs from regenerating. He takes the boy home, and the farmer and his wife embrace both of them.

Slayer of Balder

Loki may have overplayed his hand when, disguised as a giantess, he arranged the murder of Balder. He used mistletoe, the only plant which had not sworn never to harm Balder, and made a dart of it, which he tricked Balder's blind brother Höðr into throwing at Balder, thereby killing him. Another version of the myth, preserved in Gesta Danorum, does not mention Loki.

It was also possibly he who, in the shape of the giantess Thokk, was the only being that refused to weep for Balder, preventing the defunct god's return from Hel.

The binding of Loki and his fate at Ragnarök

The murder of Balder was not left unpunished, and eventually the gods tracked down Loki, who was hiding in a pool at the base of Franang's Falls in the shape of a salmon. There they caught the Trickster with his own famous invention, the fishing net. They also hunted down Loki's two children with Sigyn, Narfi and Váli (not to be confused with Váli, the son of Odin and Rind). They changed Váli into a wolf, and he then turned against his brother and killed him. They used Narfi's innards to bind Loki to three slabs of stone, and Skaði placed a snake over his head so that its venom would pour onto him. Sigyn sits beside him and collects the venom in a wooden bowl, but she has to empty the bowl when it fills up, during which time the searing venom drips onto the Trickster's face. The pain is then so terrible that he writhes, making the earth shake.

Balder's murder was also one of the events that precipitated Ragnarök. Loki would stay bound until then. When Ragnarök finally comes and Loki is freed by the trembling earth, he will sail to Vigrid from the north on a ship that also bears Hel and all those from her realm. Once on the battlefield, he will meet Heimdall, and neither of the two will survive the encounter.

Homologues

See also: Trickster

Loki can be compared to Coyote and Raven, trickster figures of Native American mythology. Others compare him to Hermes, who tricked Apollo and also often broke boundaries. He had also been compared to Prometheus, who tricked and stole from the gods, and was also bound to a rock and tormented by an animal (in his case an eagle) as punishment. During the Viking era, some considered him as corresponding to the god of chaos Saturn/Cronus, and called him Saeter.. In Polynesian mythology, his most similar parallel is the trickster demigod Māui (mythology). Coming 2007 "The Real World Asgard" focusing on the banishment of Loki.

Loki in Popular Culture

The composer Richard Wagner presented Loki under an invented Germanized name Loge in his opera Das Rheingold—Loge is also mentioned, but does not appear as a character, in Die Walküre and Götterdämmerung. The name comes from the common mistranslation and confusion with Logi (a fire-giant), which has created the misconception of Loki being a creation of fire, having hair of fire or being associated with fire, like the Devil in Christianity.

In more modern contexts, Loki (as a character or archetype) is frequently featured in comic books, novels and video games. In these sources, the characterizations vary wildly, from villainous and malicious trickster to benevolent yet mischievous hero.

Bibliography

• DuBois, Thomas A. Nordic Religions in the Viking Age. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1999. ISBN 0-8122-1714-4.
• Dumézil, Georges. Gods of the Ancient Northmen. Edited by Einar Haugen; Introduction by C. Scott Littleton and Udo Strutynski. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1973. ISBN 0-520-02044-8.
• Lindow, John. Handbook of Norse mythology. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2001. ISBN 1-57607-217-7.
• Munch, P. A. Norse Mythology: Legends of Gods and Heroes. In the revision of Magnus Olsen; translated from the Norwegian by Sigurd Bernhard Hustvedt. New York: The American-Scandinavian foundation; London: H. Milford, Oxford University Press, 1926.
• Orchard, Andy. Cassell's Dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend. London: Cassell; New York: Distributed in the United States by Sterling Pub. Co., 2002. ISBN 0-304-36385-5.
• Sturlson, Snorri. The Prose Edda of Snorri Sturluson: Tales from Norse Mythology. Introduced by Sigurdur Nordal; Selected and translated by Jean I. Young. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1954. ISBN 0-520-01231-3.
• Snorri Sturluson. The Prose Edda. Translated from the Icelandic and with an introduction by Arthur Gilchrist Brodeur. New York: American-Scandinavian foundation, 1916.
• Turville-Petre, Gabriel. Myth and Religion of the North: The Religion of Ancient Scandinavia. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1964.

External links

• Viktor Rydberg's "Teutonic Mythology: Gods and Goddesses of the Northland" e-book
• W. Wagner's "Asgard and the Home of the Gods" e-book
• H. A. Guerber's "Myths of Northern Lands" e-book
• Peter Andreas Munch's "Norse Mythology: Legends of Gods and Heroes" e-book
• Loki - A Paean in Progress
• An essay on Loki
• More images of Loki
• The Lokasenna - "Loki's Wrangling": an insult competition between Loki and the other gods

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