Loki
The name Loki connects to the Germanic root *luk-, which denoted things to do with loops. This linguistic origin points to knots, hooks, closed-off rooms, and locks. Later Scandinavian variants of the name support this connection rather than an association with Old Norse logi meaning flame. Swedish lockanet translates literally as Lokke's web, referring to a cobweb. Faroese lokkanet carries the same meaning of a spider's web. Modern Swedish lockespindlar means Locke-spiders. Eastern Swedish traditions use forms like Nokk(e), corresponding to the key in Western Scandinavian dialects. The word loki serves as a term for makers of cobwebs such as spiders. Some evidence suggests Loki was thought to be the causer of knots or tangles himself. He may have been viewed as a knot or loop in premodern society. This identity as a tangler might explain why he is credited as the inventor of the fishnet.
In stanza 35 of Völuspá, a völva describes Sigyn sitting unhappily with her bound husband under a grove of hot springs. The poem Lokasenna centers around Loki flyting with other gods at a feast hosted by the sea figure Aegir. Loki kills the servant Fimafeng after hearing praise for him and Eldir. He chases out into the woods before returning to demand a seat at the feast. Odin allows Loki to sit only after Víðarr pours him a drink. Loki insults Bragi, calling him a bench-ornament who runs away from trouble. He accuses Iðunn of being man-crazed and placing arms around her brother's slayer. Frigg warns that if Baldr were present, Loki could not escape wrath. Freyja claims all gods are her lovers, prompting Loki to call her a malicious witch who farted while astride her brother. Thor arrives to silence Loki but finds his hammer missing earlier in Þrymskviða. In that poem, Loki flies off using Freyja's feather cloak to find the stolen Mjöllnir. He returns to report that the jötunn Þrymr hid the hammer eight leagues beneath the earth. The gods dress Thor as a bride to trick Þrymr into returning the weapon. Loki disguises himself as a maid to accompany Thor on the journey.
Chapter 34 of Gylfaginning introduces Loki as the son of Fárbauti and Laufey with brothers Helblindi and Býleistr. High describes Loki as pleasing and handsome yet malicious and capricious in behavior. He possesses learned cunning and tricks for every purpose. Sigyn is introduced as his wife with a son named Nari or Narfi. Three children born to Angrboða include the wolf Fenrir, the serpent Jörmungandr, and the female being Hel. Chapter 42 details how Loki gives birth to Sleipnir after transforming into a mare. A stallion named Svaðilfari runs toward a mare Loki becomes, causing the builder to lose momentum. The gods kill the builder when he fails to complete the wall by summer. Later, Loki produces a gray foal with eight legs from this union. In chapter 44, Thor and Loki encounter Útgarða-Loki who reveals contests were illusions. Loki competed against wildfire itself while Logi consumed meat and bones. Þjálfi raced against thought called Hugi. Thor's drinking horn reached to the ocean lowering its level. The cat Thor lifted was actually the world serpent Jörmungandr. The old woman Elli represented age that brings everyone down. Útgarða-Loki disappears leaving only a wide landscape behind.
A semi-circular flat stone discovered on a beach near Snaptun in Denmark dates to around 1000 CE. Made of soapstone from Norway or Sweden, it features a mustachioed face with scarred lips. Scholars identify this figure as Loki due to his stitched lips referencing a tale where sons of Ivaldi sewed them shut. The stone served as a hearth stone with a nozzle for bellows inserted into the front hole. Air pushed flame through the top hole while protecting the bellows from heat. Hans Jørgen Madsen calls it the most beautifully made hearth-stone known today. It now sits at the Moesgård Museum near Aarhus. A fragmentary late 10th-century cross located in St Stephen's Church in Kirkby Stephen shows a bound figure with horns and beard. Discovered in 1870, this yellowish-white sandstone artifact depicts what some theorize is bound Loki. Another similarly horned round-shouldered figure was found in Gainford County Durham. The mid-11th century Gosforth Cross features a long-haired female kneeling above a prostrate bound figure. Above them lies a knotted serpent interpreted as Sigyn soothing the bound Loki.
Gabriel Turville-Petre noted in 1964 that more ink has been spilled on Loki than any other figure in Norse myth. Jacob Grimm advanced the notion of Loki as a god of fire in 1835. Sophus Bugge theorized Loki to be a variant of Lucifer of Christianity in 1889. Folke Ström concluded in 1956 that Loki is a hypostasis of Odin. Jan de Vries theorized in 1959 that Loki represents a typical trickster figure. Anna Birgitta Rooth argued in 1961 that Loki was originally a spider after excluding non-Scandinavian parallels. Anne Holtsmark wrote in 1962 that no conclusion could be made about him. Many scholars identify Lóðurr as a third name for Loki based on trio appearances with Odin and Hœnir. Haukur Þorgeirsson suggests they were different names for the same deity from oral tradition remnants. John Lindow highlights the recurring pattern of the bound monster associated specifically with Loki. He identifies a mythological parallel with the Christian legend of the bound Antichrist awaiting Last Judgment.
Richard Wagner's opera cycle Ring of the Nibelung features Loge as an ally of Wotan who dislikes the gods. In Das Rheingold he hopes to turn into fire and destroy Valhalla which happens in Götterdämmerung. Five black smokers discovered between Greenland and Norway in 2008 received the name Loki's Castle due to their shape. The Mask film released in 1994 shows Stanley Ipkiss finding Loki's mask while Alan Cumming played Loki in Son of the Mask. Persona 5 video game includes Goro Akechi utilizing a manifestation called Robin Hood Persona. Marvel Comics presents Loki as a villain or antihero played by Tom Hiddleston in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Neil Gaiman makes Loki central to his novel American Gods and important arcs in The Sandman comic. Joanne Harris wrote fantasy novels including Runemarks, Runelight, The Gospel of Loki, and The Testament of Loki. Asgard's Wrath games allow players to fight and defeat Loki. Supernatural TV series featured Richard Speight Jr playing Loki as a trickster demigod. Assassin's Creed Valhalla includes an Asgard arc where players confront Loki.
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Common questions
What is the linguistic origin of the name Loki?
The name Loki connects to the Germanic root luk- which denoted things to do with loops. This linguistic origin points to knots, hooks, closed-off rooms, and locks rather than an association with Old Norse logi meaning flame.
Who are the parents and children of Loki in Norse mythology?
Chapter 34 of Gylfaginning introduces Loki as the son of Fárbauti and Laufey with brothers Helblindi and Býleistr. Sigyn is introduced as his wife with a son named Nari or Narfi while three children born to Angrboða include the wolf Fenrir, the serpent Jörmungandr, and the female being Hel.
When was the Snaptun stone discovered and what does it depict?
A semi-circular flat stone discovered on a beach near Snaptun in Denmark dates to around 1000 CE. It features a mustachioed face with scarred lips that scholars identify as Loki due to his stitched lips referencing a tale where sons of Ivaldi sewed them shut.
Which scholar theorized that Loki represents a typical trickster figure?
Jan de Vries theorized in 1959 that Loki represents a typical trickster figure. This conclusion stands alongside other scholarly theories such as Jacob Grimm advancing the notion of Loki as a god of fire in 1835.
How did Loki become the father of Sleipnir?
Chapter 42 details how Loki gives birth to Sleipnir after transforming into a mare when a stallion named Svaðilfari runs toward her. Later Loki produces a gray foal with eight legs from this union which allows the gods to kill the builder when he fails to complete the wall by summer.
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12 references cited across the entry
- 1journalLoki, the Vätte, and the Ash Lad: A Study Combining Old Scandinavian and Late MaterialHeide, Eldar — 2011
- 2journalLokrur, Lóðurr and late evidenceHaukur Þorgeirsson — 2011
- 3bookThe Nibelungen Tradition: An EncyclopediaRoutledge — 2013
- 5bookThor: Myth to MarvelMartin Arnold — A&C Black — 2011
- 6thesisNeil Gaiman's American Gods: An Outsider's Critique of American CultureMark Hill — University of New Orleans — 2005
- 7journalThe Sandman as a Neomedieval TextZuleyha Cetiner-Oktem — 2008
- 8newsThe Gospel of Loki by Joanne M Harris – reviewGwyneth Jones — 2014-02-12
- 10webHow To Beat Loki In Assassin's Creed ValhallaSaim Cheeda — Valnet — January 14, 2021
- 11webIs Basim In Assassin's Creed Mirage The Same Basim In Valhalla?Alfredo Robelo — Valnet — November 4, 2023
- 12journalLoki in younger traditionAxel Olrik — 1909