Loki (in Snorri’s Edda also Loptr, and possibly Löður, one of the three gods who gave gifts of gods to first human couple) is known to be an incorrigible prankster, joker, fraud and trickster. Some of his pranks are quite innocent, others downright catastrophic. His character is similarly ambivalent; although at times his wit can help solve the pressing problems of the gods in rather bizarre ways, at other times he is the cause of them. Though he mostly thinks of his own benefit and does not hesitate to betray even his friends to do so, there is no denying that this makes him the driving force that moves the storyline forward.
His father is the giant Fárbauti, his mother is Laufey, who is also sometimes called Nál. Loki’s brothers are Helblindi (‘Helblind’) and Býleistr (uncertain, perhaps ‘storm-flasher’, or’violent storm’). We do not know much about Loki’s mother, nor what family she belonged to. Loki, however, bears her name as a matronymic, so he is known as Loki, son of Laufey (Laufeyjarson).
His proper wife is the faithful and devoted Sigyn, with whom he has a son, Nárfi, and possibly another son, but sources disagree on the name. In addition, he has three children with the giantess Angrboda (ON Angrboða, ‘the one who brings grief’); the serpent Jörmungandr ( ’huge monster’ or ‘earth staff’), the wolf Fenrir (‘fen-dweller’), and the half-dead girl Hel.
But that is not all!
For the previous children, Loki is listed as the father, but there is another child of his for whom he is a mother! This is the eight-legged steed Sleipnir, ridden by Odin himself. It so happened that during the construction of the walls of Ásgard, Loki turned into a mare to lure away the giant Svadilfari’s horse, thus preventing the builder from completing the agreed work on time. After this rendezvous with the stallion, Loki disappeared somewhere for nine months, and returned with the colt. To be associated with the female role and with pregnancy was the worst dishonour that a Northman of the Viking age could imagine. It was bad enough that Odin was taught the ‘feminine’ magic called seiðr, but Loki went much further, sealing his reputation as a man without a shred of honour in his body.
One of the earliest literary mentions of Loki is found in skaldic poem Haustlöng from 10th century which describes the story that was later retold by Snorri Sturlusson. It tells how Loki was captured by the giant Thjazi (ON Þjazi). In order to free himself, he agreed to bring the goddess Idunn to the giant, including apples of eternal youth. To this end, he lured her into the forest, where the giant in the eagle’s shape seized her. Loki later managed to free Idunn and Thjazi was killed. This in turn set up another story in which Thjazi’s daughter named Skadi (ON Skaði) arrived in Asgard to seek retribution for her father’s death. Loki again helped the AEsir with one of their tasks, and made the giantess laugh by tying a goat to his private parts and playing tug of war with it. Skadi could nnot bear to watch this comical scene with a straight face, so he eventually she burst out laughing.
Although Loki acted like a traitor, in this case the gods still forgave him. But he crossed that imaginary line when he orchestrated the death of the god Baldr. The god Baldr, whom everyone loves, began to have distressing dreams of his own death, so his mother Frigg arranged for nothing to harm him – except a tiny mistletoe. When the gods tested this newfound invulnerability of Baldr and by throwing weapons and stones at him with great enthusiasm, Loki slipped a sprig of mistletoe to the blind Höd (ON Höðr) and persuaded him to throw it t Baldr. After being hit by the mistletoe, Baldr died, and subsequently Loki’s plot was also revealed. He now had gone too far, and so the gods decided to punish Loki. They cast him into a cave and placed a snake over his head, spitting venom that caused him cruel torment. However, his faithful wife Sigyn was catching the poison in a bowl to give Loki some relief. Each time the bowl was full, she had to go out to empty it, and in the meantime the poison fell again on Loki, who thrashed back and forth in his bonds in the pain. This caused an earthquake in the human world. When the time of Ragnarök comes, Loki will break free from his prison, head to Hel, and lead the army of undead and giants to attack Asgard. There is another way of looking at Loki. In the past, the origin of his name was derived from fire, logi, but this theory was later challenged. Today, linguists are more inclined to believe that Loki’s name means a knot or a fishing net, which Loki “invented”. This would also explain his mother’s name Nál, which means needle, and the thread could be interpreted as a parallel to the thread of life that is woven by the norns. Once again, Loki himself causes chaos and confusion wherever he steps. This is also why if something goes wrong, people say that Loki is nearby.
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S. Sedlakova, Brno, CZE