The Myths of the Norsemen: From the Eddas and Sagas on Loki
Contents > Chapter Iv: Thor
attestation: Loki shaved Sif's golden hair while she slept; when caught by Thor he promised to procure new golden hair from dwarfs and went to the dwarf Dvalin in Svart-alfa-heim.
"imagine his dismay, therefore, upon waking one morning, to find her shorn, and as bald and denuded of ornament as the earth when the grain has been garnered, and nothing but the stubble remains! In his anger, Thor sprang to his feet, vowing he would punish the perpetrator of this outrage, whom he immediately and rightly conjectured to be Loki"
attestation: Loki commissioned the dwarf Dvalin to forge not only Sif's golden hair but gifts for Odin and Frey: the spear Gungnir, the ship Skidbladnir, and golden hair.
"Loki rapidly crept down into the bowels of the earth, where Svart-alfa-heim was situated, to beg the dwarf Dvalin to fashion not only the precious hair, but a present for Odin and Frey, whose anger he wished to disarm.
His request was favourably received and the dwarf fashioned the spear Gungnir, which never failed in its aim, and the ship Skidbladnir, which, always wafted by favourable winds, could sail through the air as well as on the water, and which had this further magic property, that although it could contain the gods and all their steeds, it could be folded up into the very smallest compass and thrust in one's pocket."
attestation: Loki challenged the dwarf Brock to a wager of heads that his brother Sindri could not produce three objects superior to those made by Dvalin.
"Loki was so pleased with these proofs of the dwarfs' skill that he declared the son of Ivald to be the most clever of smiths--words which were overheard by Brock, another dwarf, who exclaimed that he was sure his brother Sindri could produce three objects which would surpass those which Loki held, not only in intrinsic value, but also in magical properties. Loki immediately challenged the dwarf to show his skill, wagering his head against Brock's on the result of the undertaking."
attestation: Loki disguised as a gadfly stung Brock to disrupt the forging; on the third attempt he stung Brock above the eye causing him to briefly raise his hand, resulting in the hammer's handle being an inch too short.
"Now a lump of iron was cast in the flames, and with renewed caution not to forfeit their success by inattention, Sindri passed out, leaving Brock to ply the bellows as before. Loki was now in desperation and he prepared for a final effort. This time, still in the guise of the gadfly, he stung the dwarf above the eye until the blood began to flow in such a stream, that it prevented his seeing what he was doing. Hastily raising his hand for a second, Brock dashed aside the stream of blood; but short as was the interruption it had worked irreparable harm, and when Sindri drew his work out of the fire he uttered an exclamation of disappointment for the hammer he had fashioned was short in the handle."
attestation: Loki distributed the gifts: Gungnir to Odin, Skidbladnir to Frey, and the golden hair to Thor; the gods decided Brock won because Mjolnir would be invaluable against frost-giants at the last day.
"Loki in turn gave the spear Gungnir to Odin, the ship Skidbladnir to Frey, and the golden hair to Thor; but although the latter immediately grew upon Sif's head and was unanimously declared more beautiful than her own locks had ever been, the gods decreed that Brock had won the wager, on the ground that the hammer Mjölnir, in Thor's hands, would prove invaluable against the frost giants on the last day."
attestation: Brock punished Loki by sewing his lips together with his brother's awl; Loki eventually cut the string and regained his loquacity.
"the dwarf determined to punish Loki by sewing his lips together, and as his sword would not pierce them, he borrowed his brother's awl for the purpose. However, Loki, after enduring the gods' gibes in silence for a little while, managed to cut the string and soon after was as loquacious as ever."
attestation: At Utgard-loki's castle of ice blocks, Loki competed in an eating contest with the giant cook Logi; despite eating all the meat, Loki lost as Logi devoured both bones and the trough.
"Loki, who had fasted longer than he wished, immediately declared he was ready to eat for a wager with any one. So the king ordered a great wooden trough full of meat to be brought into the hall, and placing Loki at one end and his cook Logi at the other, he bade them see which would win. Although Loki did wonders, and soon reached the middle of the trough, he found that, whereas he had picked the bones clean, his opponent had devoured both them and the trough."
attestation: Thor's hammer went missing; Loki flew in falcon form to Jotunheim to discover the thief and found Thrym had buried it eight fathoms underground, demanding Freya as bride.
"Loki declared he would try to discover the thief and recover the hammer, if Freya would lend him her falcon plumes, and he immediately hastened off to Folkvang to borrow them. His errand was successful and in the form of a bird he then winged his flight across the river Ifing, and over the barren stretches of Jötun-heim, where he suspected that the thief would be found. There he saw Thrym, prince of the frost giants and god of the destructive thunder-storm, sitting alone on a hill-side."
attestation: Loki borrowed Freya's falcon plumes to spy on Geirrod and was captured in the form of a bird; he was kept three months without food, then released after promising to lure Thor to Geirrod unarmed.
"Loki once borrowed Freya's falcon-garb and flew off in search of adventures to another part of Jötun-heim, where he perched on top of the gables of Geirrod's house."
Contents > Chapter V: Tyr
- attestation: Loki married the giantess Angurboda at Jotunheim, who bore him three monstrous children: the wolf Fenris, Hel the goddess of death, and the serpent Jormungandr.
"Loki married secretly at Jótun-heim the hideous giantess Angur-boda (anguish boding), who bore him three monstrous children--the wolf Fenris, Hel, the parti-coloured goddess of death, and Iórmungandr, a terrible serpent."
Contents > Chapter Vii: Idun
attestation: The storm giant Thiassi captured Loki while in eagle form, dragging him over stones and through briers, and would only release him if he promised to lure Idun outside Asgard.
"To his great dismay one end of the stake stuck fast to the eagle's back, the other to his hands, and he found himself dragged over stones and through briers, sometimes through the air, his arms almost torn out of their sockets. In vain he cried for mercy and implored the eagle to let him go; the bird flew on, until he promised any ransom his captor might ask in exchange for his release. The seeming eagle, who was the storm giant Thiassi, at last agreed to release Loki upon one condition. He made him promise upon the most solemn of oaths that he would lure Idun out of Asgard"
attestation: Loki lured Idun out of Asgard by describing apples nearby that he claimed equalled hers; Thiassi swept down in eagle form and carried her to his home Thrymheim.
"Loki sought Idun in the groves of Brunnaker, where she had taken up her abode, and by artfully describing some apples which grew at a short distance, and which he mendaciously declared were exactly like hers, he lured her away from Asgard with a crystal dish full of fruit, which she intended to compare with that which he extolled. No sooner had Idun left Asgard, however, than the deceiver Loki forsook her, and ere she could return to the shelter of the heavenly abode the storm giant Thiassi swept down from the north on his eagle wings, and catching her up in his cruel talons, he bore her swiftly away to his barren and desolate home of Thrym-heim."
attestation: Loki borrowed Freya's falcon plumage and flew to Thrymheim, where he changed Idun into a nut or swallow and carried her back to Asgard.
"borrowing Freya's falcon plumage, he flew off to Thrym-heim, where he found Idun alone, sadly mourning her exile from Asgard and her beloved Bragi. Changing the fair goddess into a nut according to some accounts, or according to others, into a swallow, Loki grasped her tightly between his claws, and then rapidly retraced his way to Asgard"
attestation: The gods set fire to fuel piled on Asgard's ramparts; the flames singed Thiassi's eagle wings as he pursued Loki, bringing him to the ground where the gods slew him.
"Loki redoubled his efforts as he neared the walls of Asgard, and ere Thiassi overtook him he reached the goal and sank exhausted in the midst of the gods. Not a moment was lost in setting fire to the accumulated fuel, and as the pursuing Thiassi passed over the walls in his turn, the flames and smoke brought him to the ground crippled and half stunned, an easy prey to the gods, who fell ruthlessly upon him and slew him."
Contents > Chapter Xxi: Balder
attestation: Loki, jealous of Balder's universal love, disguised himself as an old woman and tricked Frigga into revealing that the mistletoe alone had not sworn to spare Balder.
"Loki, the personification of fire, was greatly chagrined upon hearing this, for he was jealous of Balder, the sun, who so entirely eclipsed him and who was generally beloved, while he was feared and avoided as much as possible... he cleverly concealed his vexation, and inquired of Frigga whether she were quite sure that all objects had joined the league."
attestation: Loki used magic arts to transform a mistletoe sprig into a hardened dart, then sought out the blind god Hodur at Balder's games.
"as soon as he was safely out of sight, however, he resumed his wonted form and hastened to Valhalla, where, at the gate, he found the oak and mistletoe as indicated by Frigga. Then by the exercise of magic arts he imparted to the parasite a size and hardness quite unnatural to it."
Contents > Chapter Xxii: Loki
attestation: Loki began as a personification of hearth fire and the spirit of life, but gradually became 'god and devil combined' and was regarded as the Norse counterpart of Lucifer.
"In the beginning, Loki was merely the personification of the hearth fire and of the spirit of life. At first a god, he gradually becomes "god and devil combined," and ends in being held in general detestation as an exact counterpart of the mediæval Lucifer, the prince of lies"
attestation: Some authorities stated Loki was Odin's blood brother, while others said they merely performed the blood brotherhood ritual without being kin.
"By some authorities Loki was said to be the brother of Odin, but others assert that the two were not related, but had merely gone through the form of swearing blood brotherhood common in the North."
attestation: Loki's first wife was Glut (Glow), who bore him daughters Eisa (Embers) and Einmyria (Ashes), establishing his connection with hearth fire.
"Loki (fire) first married Glut (glow), who bore him two daughters, Eisa (embers) and Einmyria (ashes); it is therefore very evident that Norsemen considered him emblematic of the hearth-fire"
attestation: Loki's second wife was the giantess Angurboda who bore him three monsters: Hel the death goddess, the Midgard serpent Jormungandr, and the wolf Fenris.
"Loki is also said to have wedded the giantess Angur-boda (the anguish-boding), who dwelt in Jótun-heim, and who, as we have already seen, bore him the three monsters: Hel, goddess of death, the Midgard snake Iórmungandr, and the grim wolf Fenris."
attestation: Loki's third wife was Sigyn, who bore him two sons Narve and Vali; Sigyn remained devoted and faithful to Loki even after his imprisonment.
"Loki's third marriage was with Sigyn, who proved a most loving and devoted wife, and bore him two sons, Narve and Vali, the latter a namesake of the god who avenged Balder. Sigyn was always faithful to her husband, and did not forsake him even after he had definitely been cast out of Asgard and confined in the bowels of the earth."
attestation: The Norse people built no temples to Loki and offered him no sacrifices; they named the most noxious weeds after him and associated the shimmering summer heat with his presence.
"they entertained nothing but fear of him, built no temples to his honour, offered no sacrifices to him, and designated the most noxious weeds by his name. The quivering, overheated atmosphere of summer was supposed to betoken his presence"
attestation: Loki transformed the boy into a fish egg and hid him in water; when the giant Skrymsli grabbed it, Loki snatched the egg and turned it back into a child, instructing the boy to run home through the boathouse.
"Loki, watching his chance, snatched the egg out of the giant's grasp, and transforming it again into the child, he instructed him secretly to run home, passing through the boathouse on his way and closing the door behind him."
attestation: Loki placed a spike in the boathouse so Skrymsli ran into it when giving chase; after the giant fell, Loki cut off his legs and threw flint and steel between the limbs to prevent magical reconnection.
"Loki had cunningly placed a sharp spike in such a position that the great head of the giant ran full tilt against it, and he sank to the ground with a groan, whereupon Loki, seeing him helpless, cut off one of his legs... he cut off the other leg, promptly throwing flint and steel between the severed limb and trunk, and thereby hindering any further sorcery."
attestation: Loki slew Aegir's servant Funfeng out of jealousy, causing the assembled gods to drive him from the feast in fury.
"jealous of the praises which Funfeng, Ægir's servant, had won for the dexterity with which he waited upon his master's guests, Loki suddenly turned upon him and slew him. At this wanton crime, the gods in fierce wrath drove Loki away once more"
attestation: Loki returned to Aegir's feast uninvited and taunted every god in turn with their failings, fleeing only when Thor raised Mjolnir and threatened to kill him.
"his voice rose louder and louder, and he was just giving utterance to some base slander about Sif, when he was suddenly cut short by the sight of Thor's hammer, angrily brandished by an arm whose power he knew full well, and he fled incontinently."
attestation: The gods bound Loki in a cavern with the entrails of his son Narve, who was first torn apart by his brother Vali after the gods transformed Vali into a wolf.
"his captors dragged him down into a cavern, where they made him fast, using as bonds the entrails of his son Narve, who had been torn to pieces by Vali, his brother, whom the gods had changed into a wolf for the purpose."
attestation: Loki was to remain imprisoned until Ragnarok, when his bonds would be loosed and he would fight in the final battle, dying at the hands of Heimdall while also slaying him.
"In this painful position Loki was destined to remain until the twilight of the gods, when his bonds would be loosed, and he would take part in the fatal conflict on the battlefield of Vigrid, falling at last by the hand of Heimdall, who would be slain at the same time."
attestation: The serpent dripping venom onto Loki in the myth represents cold mountain streams falling on subterranean fire, causing geysers and earthquakes in Iceland.
"the venom-dropping snake in this myth is the cold mountain stream, whose waters, falling from time to time upon subterranean fire, evaporate in steam, which escapes through fissures, and causes earthquakes and geysers, phenomena with which the inhabitants of Iceland, for instance, were very familiar."
attestation: When Christianity came to the Norse lands, Loki was conflated with Saturn and both were seen as prototypes of Satan; Saturday was associated with Loki as 'wash-day' (Laugardag) or with Sataere the thief.
"When the gods were reduced to the rank of demons by the introduction of Christianity, Loki was confounded with Saturn, who had also been shorn of his divine attributes, and both were considered the prototypes of Satan."
Contents > Chapter Xxvi: The Sigurd Saga
- attestation: Loki captured the dwarf Andvari (disguised as a salmon) using Ran's net, and forced him to surrender all his treasure including the Helm of Dread and a gold hauberk.
"Loki could not find the dwarf, until, perceiving a salmon sporting in the foaming waters, it occurred to him that the dwarf might have assumed this shape. Borrowing Ran's net he soon caught the fish, and learned, as he had suspected, that it was Andvari. Finding that there was nothing else for it, the dwarf now reluctantly brought forth his mighty treasure and surrendered it all, including the Helmet of Dread and a hauberk of gold"
Contents > Chapter Xxvii: The Story Of Frithiof
attestation: Bishop Esaias Tegner's 'Frithiof Saga' was translated over twenty times into English and German and praised by Goethe and Longfellow as a matchless picture of Norse ancestor life.
"Tegnér's "Frithiof Saga" has been translated once at least into every European tongue, and some twenty times into English and German. Goethe spoke of the work with the greatest enthusiasm"
attestation: The Thorsten saga, precursor to the Frithiof saga, begins with Haloge (Loki), who came north with Odin and ruled Halogaland in northern Norway; his grandson Viking was born on Bornholm.
"the story begins with Haloge (Loki), who came north with Odin, and began to reign over northern Norway, which from him was called Halogaland. According to Northern mythology, this god had two lovely daughters."
Contents > Chapter Xxviii: The Twilight Of The Gods
attestation: Norse mythology held that the Aesir were finite beings who would inevitably die: born of a mixture of divine and giant elements, they bore the germ of death and would suffer physical death to attain spiritual immortality.
"The Æsir had had a beginning; therefore, it was reasoned, they must have an end; and as they were born from a mixture of the divine and giant elements, being thus imperfect, they bore within them the germ of death, and were, like men, doomed to suffer physical death in order to attain spiritual immortality."
attestation: The Aesir's toleration of Loki and following his advice gradually led to their downfall; he eventually deprived them of Balder (purity and innocence), making Ragnarok inevitable.
"We have recounted how the Æsir tolerated the presence of evil, personated by Loki, in their midst; how they weakly followed his advice, allowed him to involve them in all manner of difficulties from which they could be extricated only at the price of part of their virtue or peace, and finally permitted him to gain such ascendency over them that he did not scruple to rob them of their dearest possession, purity, or innocence"
attestation: At Ragnarok, Loki, Fenris, and Garm broke their chains; the dragon Nidhug gnawed through Yggdrasil's root; three roosters crowed alarm — Fialar at Valhalla, Gullin-kambi in Midgard, and an unnamed dark-red bird in Niflheim.
"Loki, Fenris, and Garm, renewing their efforts, rent their chains asunder and rushed forth to take their revenge. At the same moment the dragon Nidhug gnawed through the root of the ash Yggdrasil, which quivered to its topmost bough; the red cock Fialar, perched above Valhalla, loudly crowed an alarm, which was immediately echoed by Gullin-kambi, the rooster in Midgard, and by Hel's dark-red bird in Nifl-heim."
Contents > Chapter Xxix: Greek And Northern Mythologies
comparison: Loki retrieving Idun from Jotunheim as a swallow parallels Mercury rescuing Proserpine or Orpheus retrieving Eurydice with music — both represent the south wind bringing back spring.
"She cannot return alone to Asgard, and it is only when Loki (now an emblem of the south wind) comes to bear her away in the shape of a nut or a swallow that she can effect her escape."
comparison: Loki's punishment — chained underground with venom dripping from a serpent onto his face — parallels Prometheus's punishment chained to Caucasus with a vulture devouring his liver.
"while Loki is bound with adamantine chains underground, and tortured by the continuous dropping of venom from the fangs of a snake fastened above his head, Prometheus is similarly fettered to Caucasus, and a ravenous vulture continually preys upon his liver"
comparison: Loki assumed equine form and fathered Sleipnir, paralleling Neptune who also took equine form and sired the swift horse Arion.
"Loki, further, resembles Neptune in that he, too, assumed an equine form and was the parent of a wonderful steed, for Sleipnir rivals Arion both in speed and endurance"
comparison: Gimli, which stood radiant to receive the surviving gods after Ragnarok, parallels the shrine of Delphi that alone resisted the Greek Deluge.
"just as the shrine of Delphi alone resisted the destructive power of the great cataclysm, so Gimli stood radiant to receive the surviving gods"