Loki

Also known as Hveðrungr, Loki Laufeyjarson, Loki Laufeyson, Logi

Loki is a god in Norse mythology. He is the son of Fárbauti (a jötunn) and Laufey (a goddess), and the brother of Helblindi and Býleistr. Loki is married to the goddess Sigyn and they have two sons, Narfi or Nari and Váli. By the jötunn Angrboða, Loki is the father of Hel, the wolf Fenrir and the world serpent Jörmungandr. In the form of a mare, Loki was impregnated by the stallion Svaðilfari and gave birth to the eight-legged horse Sleipnir.

AI overview

Loki is a figure from Norse mythology whose parentage spans both giants and gods, and who fathered several important mythological beings including the wolf Fenrir and the world serpent Jörmungandr. He matters as a central character in Norse religious and cultural tradition, embodying complex themes through his diverse family relationships and supernatural abilities.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Wikidata facts

Image: Gosforth Cross Loki and Sigyn.jpg

Show 3 more facts

Commons category: Loki
native label: Loptr
P8168: Ernie Fields

Sources (5)

via Wikidata · CC0

~47 min read

Article

33 sections

Contents

Etymology
Bynames
Attestations
''Poetic Edda''
''Völuspá''
''Lokasenna''
Entrance and rejection
Re-entrance and insults
The arrival of Thor and the bondage of Loki
''Þrymskviða''
''Reginsmál''
''Baldrs draumar''
''Hyndluljóð''
''Fjölsvinnsmál''
''Prose Edda''
''Gylfaginning''
High's introduction
Loki, Svaðilfari, and Sleipnir
Loki, Útgarða-Loki, and Logi
Norwegian rune poem
Archaeological record
Snaptun Stone
Kirkby Stephen Stone and Gosforth Cross
Scandinavian folklore
Origin and identification with other figures
Origin
Identification with Lóðurr
Binding
Modern popular culture
See also
References
Cited sources
External links

Like other gods, Loki is a shape shifter and in separate sources appears in the form of a salmon, a mare, a fly, and possibly an elderly woman named Þökk (Old Norse 'thanks'). While sometimes friendly with the gods, Loki engineers the death of the beloved god Baldr. For this, Odin's specially engendered son Váli binds Loki with the entrails of one of his sons, where he writhes in pain. In the Prose Edda, this son, Nari or Narfi, is killed by another of Loki's sons, who is also called Váli. The goddess Skaði is responsible for placing a serpent above him while he is bound. The serpent drips venom from above him that Sigyn collects into a bowl; however, she must empty the bowl when it is full and the venom that drips in the meantime causes Loki to writhe in pain, thereby causing earthquakes.