LOKI.
Besides the hideous giant Utgard-Loki, the personification of mischief
and evil, whom Thor and his companions visited in Jötun-heim, the
ancient Northern nations had another type of sin, whom they called Loki
also, and whom we have already seen under many different aspects.
In the beginning, Loki, who by some mythologists is considered the
brother of Odin himself, was only the personification of the hearth
fire and of the spirit of life. But other authorities assert that Odin
and Loki were not related, and had merely gone through the Northern
form of swearing blood brotherhood.
“Odin! dost thou remember
When we in early days
Blended our blood together?
When to taste beer
Thou dids’t constantly refuse
Unless to both ’twas offered?”
SÆMUND’S EDDA (Thorpe’s tr.).
At first a god, Loki gradually becomes “god and devil combined,” and
ends by being an exact counterpart of the mediæval Lucifer, the prince
of lies, “the originator of deceit, and the backbiter” of the Æsir.
While Thor is the embodiment of Northern activity, Loki represents
recreation, and the close companionship early established between these
two gods shows very plainly how soon our ancestors realized that both
were necessary to the welfare of mankind. Thor is ever busy and ever in
dead earnest, but Loki makes fun of everything, until at last his love
of mischief leads him entirely astray, and he loses all love for good
and becomes utterly selfish and malevolent.
[Sidenote: Loki’s Character]
He represents evil in the seductive and seemingly beautiful form in
which it glides about through the world. On account of this deceptive
appearance the gods did not at first avoid him, but considered him one
of their number, took him with them wherever they went, and admitted
him not only to their banquets and merrymakings, but also to their
council hall, where they, unfortunately, too often listened to his
advice.
As we have already seen, Loki played a prominent part in the creation
of man, endowing him with the power of motion, and causing the blood
to circulate freely through his veins and inspire him with passions.
As personification of fire as well as of mischief, Loki (lightning) is
often seen with Thor (thunder), whom he accompanies to Jötun-heim to
recover his hammer, to Utgard-Loki’s castle, and to Geirrod’s house. It
is he who steals Freya’s necklace and Sif’s hair, and betrays Idun into
the power of Thiassi; and although he sometimes gives the gods good
advice and affords them real help, it is only to extricate them from
some predicament into which he has rashly inveigled them.
Some authorities declare that, instead of making part of the creative
trilogy (Odin, Hoenir, and Lodur or Loki), this god originally
belonged to a pre-Odinic race of deities, and was the son of the
great giant Fornjotnr (Ymir), his brothers being Kari (air) and Hler
(water), and his sister Ran, the terrible goddess of the sea. Other
mythologists, however, make him the son of the giant Farbauti, who has
been identified with Bergelmir, the sole survivor of the deluge, and
of Laufeia (leafy isle) or Nal (vessel), his mother, thus stating that
his connection with Odin was only that of the Northern oath of good
fellowship.
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, and when the
flaming wood crackles on the hearth the good-wives in the North are
still wont to say that Loki is beating his children. Besides this
wife, Loki is also said to have married the giantess Angur-boda (the
anguish-boding), who dwelt in Jötun-heim, and, as we have already seen,
bore him the three monsters, Hel, goddess of death, the Midgard snake
Iörmungandr, and the grim wolf Fenris.
“Loki begat the wolf
With Angur-boda.”
SÆMUND’S EDDA (Thorpe’s tr.).
[Sidenote: Sigyn.]
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, never forsook him, and stood beside him even after he had
definitely been cast out of Asgard and bound in punishment for his sins.
As Loki was the embodiment of evil in the minds of the Northern races,
they felt nothing but fear of him, built no temples in his honor,
offered no sacrifices to him, and designated the most noxious weeds
by his name. The quivering, overheated atmosphere of summer was also
supposed to betoken his presence, for the people were then wont to
remark that Loki was sowing his oats, and when the sun drew water they
said Loki was drinking.
The story of Loki is so inextricably woven in with that of the other
gods that most of the myths relating to him have already been told,
and there remain but two episodes of his life to relate, one showing
his good side before he had degenerated into the arch deceiver, and
the other illustrating how he finally induced the gods to defile their
peace steads by willful murder.
[Sidenote: Skrymsli and the peasant’s child.]
A giant and a peasant were playing a game together one day (probably a
game of chess, which was a favorite winter pastime with the Northern
vikings). They of course determined to play for certain stakes, and
the giant, coming off victor, won the peasant’s only son, whom he said
he would come and claim on the morrow unless the parents could hide
him so cleverly that he could not find him.
[Illustration: LOKI AND SIGYN.--Carl Gebhardt.]
Knowing that such a feat would be impossible for them to perform, the
parents fervently prayed Odin to help them, and in answer to these
entreaties the god came down to earth, took the boy, and changed him
into a tiny grain of wheat, which he hid in an ear of grain in the
midst of a large field, declaring that the giant would never find him.
The giant Skrymsli, however, was very wise indeed, and, failing to find
the child at home, strode off to the field with his scythe, mowed down
the grain, and selected the particular ear where the boy was hidden.
Counting over the grains of wheat he was about to lay his hand upon
the right one when Odin, hearing the child’s cry of distress, suddenly
snatched the kernel out of the giant’s hand, and restored the boy to
his parents, telling them that he had done all in his power to help
them. But, as the giant vowed he had been cheated, and would claim his
prey on the morrow unless the parents could outwit him, the unfortunate
peasants now applied to Hoenir. He changed the boy into a bit of
down, which he hid in the breast of a swan swimming in a pond close
by. Skrymsli, the giant, coming up a few minutes later, and guessing
what had occurred, caught the swan, bit off its neck, and would have
swallowed the down, had not Hoenir interfered, wafted it away from his
lips and out of reach, restoring the boy safe and sound to his parents,
but warning them that he could never aid them again.
Skrymsli having told the parents that he would make a third attempt
to secure the child, they now applied in despair to Loki, who carried
the boy out to sea, and concealed him, as a tiny egg, in the roe of a
flounder. Returning from his expedition, Loki encountered the giant
near the shore, and seeing he was bent upon a fishing excursion,
insisted upon accompanying him to interfere in case of need. Skrymsli
baited his hook, angled awhile, caught several fishes, and finally
drew up the identical flounder in which Loki had concealed his little
charge. Opening the fish upon his knee, the giant proceeded to count
over every egg in the roe, until he found the one which he was
seeking; but Loki snatched it out of his grasp, set the child ashore,
and secretly bade him run home, passing through the boathouse and
closing the door behind him. The terrified boy obeyed, and the giant,
in close pursuit, dashed into the boathouse, where Loki had cunningly
placed a sharp spike, which pierced his head. The giant sank to the
ground with a groan, and Loki, seeing him helpless, cut off one of his
legs. Imagine the god’s dismay, however, when he saw the pieces join
and immediately knit together. Recognizing that magic was at work, Loki
cut off the other leg, promptly throwing flint and steel between the
severed limb and trunk, and thereby hindering any further sorcery. The
peasants, perceiving that their enemy was slain by Loki’s agency, ever
after considered this god the mightiest of all the heavenly council,
for he had delivered them from their foe forever, while the others had
only lent temporary aid.
[Sidenote: The giant architect.]
In spite of Bifröst, the tremulous way, and of the watchfulness of
Heimdall, the gods could not feel entirely secure in Asgard, and were
often afraid lest the frost giants should make their way into their
midst. To obviate this possibility, they finally decided to build
an impregnable fortress; and while they were planning how this work
could be executed, an unknown architect appeared among them, offering
to undertake the construction, provided the gods would give him sun,
moon, and Freya, goddess of youth and beauty, as reward. The gods were
at first inclined to demur; but, urged by Loki, they finally told the
architect that the guerdon should be his, provided the fortress were
finished in the course of a single winter, and that he accomplished the
work with no other assistance than that of his horse Svadilfare.
“To Asgard came an architect,
And castle offered to erect,--
A castle high
Which should defy
Deep Jötun guile and giant raid;
And this most wily compact made:
Fair Freya, with the Moon and Sun,
As price the fortress being done.”
VALHALLA (J. C. Jones).
The unknown architect submitted to these conditions, and immediately
began his work, hauling ponderous blocks of stone by night, building
during the day, and advancing so rapidly that the gods’ attention was
attracted to the work. Ere long they perceived that more than half the
labor was accomplished by the wonderful steed Svadilfare, and trembled
when they saw, near the end of winter, that the work was all finished
except one portal, which they knew the architect could easily erect
during the night.
“Horror and fear the gods beset;
Finished almost the castle stood!
In three days more
The work be o’er;
Then must they make their contract good,
And pay the awful debt.”
VALHALLA (J. C. Jones).
Terrified lest they should be called upon to part, not only with the
sun and moon, but also with Freya, the personification of all the
youth and beauty of the world, the gods sought Loki, and threatened to
kill him unless he devised some means of hindering the architect from
finishing the work within the specified time.
Changing himself into a mare, at nightfall, Loki rushed out of the
forest, and neighed invitingly as Svadilfare passed by, painfully
dragging one of the great blocks of stone required for the termination
of the work. In a trice the horse kicked his harness to pieces and ran
after the mare, closely pursued by his angry and gesticulating master.
Loki, the mare, artfully lured horse and master deeper and deeper into
the forest, until the night was nearly gone, and it was impossible to
finish the work. Discovering the fraud, the architect (a redoubtable
Hrim-thurs, in disguise) now returned to Asgard in a towering rage,
and, assuming his wonted proportions, would have annihilated all the
gods had not Thor suddenly confronted him, and slain him by hurling
his magic hammer Miölnir full in his face.
The gods having saved themselves on this occasion only through fraud
and by perjury, this murder brought great sorrows upon them, and
eventually brought about their downfall and hastened the coming of
Ragnarok. Loki, however, felt no remorse for what he had done, and
in due time it is said he became the parent of an eight-footed steed
called Sleipnir, which, as we have seen, was Odin’s favorite mount.
“But Sleipnir he begat
With Svadilfari.”
LAY OF HYNDLA (Thorpe’s tr.)
Loki performed so many evil deeds during his career that he richly
deserved the title of “arch deceiver” which was given him. He was
generally hated for his subtle malicious ways, and for an inveterate
habit of prevarication which won for him also the title of “prince of
lies.”
[Sidenote: Loki’s last crime.]
The last crime which he committed, and the one which filled his measure
of iniquity, was to induce Hodur to throw the fatal mistletoe at
Balder, whom he hated merely on account of his immaculate purity. Had
it not been for his obduracy as Thok, perhaps even this crime might
have been condoned; but the gods, seeing that nothing but evil remained
within him, refused to allow him to remain in Asgard, and unanimously
pronounced the sentence of perpetual banishment upon him.
To divert the gods’ sadness and make them, for a short time, forget the
treachery of Loki and the loss of Balder, Ægir, god of the sea, invited
them all to partake of a banquet in his coral caves at the bottom of
the sea.
“Now, to assuage the high gods’ grief
And bring their mourning some relief,
From coral caves
’Neath ocean waves,
Mighty King Ægir
Invited the Æsir
To festival
In Hlesey’s hall;
That, tho’ for Baldur every guest
Was grieving yet,
He might forget
Awhile his woe in friendly feast.”
VALHALLA (J. C. Jones).
The gods gladly accepted the invitation, and donning their richest
garb, and wreathing their faces with festive smiles, they appeared in
the coral caves at the appointed time. All were present except the
radiant Balder, for whom they heaved many a regretful sigh, and the
evil Loki, whom none could regret. In the course of the feast, however,
this last-named god appeared in their midst like a dark shadow, and
when told to depart, gave vent to his rage by vilifying all the gods.
“Of the Æsir and the Alfar
That are here within
Not one has a friendly word for thee.”
ÆGIR’S COMPOTATION, OR LOKI’S ALTERCATION (Thorpe’s tr.).
Then, jealous of the praises which Funfeng, Ægir’s servant, had won
for the dexterity with which he waited upon the guests, Loki suddenly
turned all his wrath upon him and slew him. The gods, indignant at this
wanton crime, drove Loki away once more, sternly bidding him never
appear before them again.
Scarcely had the Æsir recovered from this disagreeable interruption
to their feast, and resumed their places at the board, when Loki came
creeping in once more, and with venomous tongue resumed his slanders,
taunting all the gods with their weaknesses or shortcomings, dwelling
maliciously upon their physical imperfections, and deriding them for
their mistakes. In vain the gods tried to stem his abuse; his voice
rose louder and louder, and he was just uttering some base slander
about Sif, when Thor suddenly appeared, angrily brandishing his
hammer, at the mere sight of which Loki fled.
“Silence, thou impure being!
My mighty hammer, Miöllnir,
Shall stop thy prating.
I will thy head
From thy neck strike;
Then will thy life be ended.”
ÆGIR’S COMPOTATION, OR LOKI’S ALTERCATION (Thorpe’s tr.).
Knowing that he had now lost all hope of ever being admitted into
Asgard again, and that sooner or later the gods, seeing the ripening
of the crop of evil he had sown, would regret having permitted him to
roam about the world, and would try either to bind or slay him, Loki
withdrew to the mountains, where he built himself a hut with four
doors, which he always left wide open to permit his hasty escape.
Carefully laying his plans, he decided that if the gods ever came in
search of him he would rush down to the neighboring cataract which is
said to have been the Fraananger force or stream, and, changing himself
into a salmon, would escape all pursuit. He reasoned, however, that,
although he could easily avoid any hook, it would be difficult for him
to effect an escape were the gods to fashion a net like that of the
sea-goddess Ran.
Haunted by this thought, he wondered if such an implement could be
manufactured, and began to make one out of twine. He had not quite
finished his work when Odin, Kvasir, and Thor suddenly appeared in the
distance; and knowing they had discovered his retreat, and were about
to come and make him a prisoner, Loki threw his half-finished net into
the fire, and, rushing out, jumped into the waterfall, where, in the
shape of a salmon, he hid among the stones.
The gods, finding the hut empty, were about to depart, when Kvasir
perceived the remains of the burned net on the hearth, and, examining
them closely, advised the gods to weave a similar implement and use it
in searching for their foe in the neighboring stream. This advice was
immediately followed, and, the net finished, the gods proceeded to drag
the stream. Loki eluded them the first time by hiding at the bottom
of the river between two stones; but when the gods weighted the net
and tried a second time, he effected his escape by jumping up stream.
A third attempt to secure him proved successful, however, for, as he
once more tried to get away by a sudden leap, Thor caught and held him
so fast, that he could not escape. The salmon, whose slipperiness has
become proverbial in the North, is noted for its remarkably slim tail,
which the people attribute to Thor’s tight grasp upon his foe.
[Sidenote: Loki’s punishment.]
The gods, having thus secured Loki and forced him to resume his wonted
shape, 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 his brother Vali, whom the gods had changed into a wolf for
this express purpose. One of these fetters was passed under Loki’s
shoulders, and one under his loins; when he was securely bound, hand
and foot, the gods, fearing lest these fetters might give way, changed
them into adamant or iron.
“Thee, on a rock’s point,
With the entrails of thy ice-cold son,
The gods will bind.”
SÆMUND’S EDDA (Thorpe’s tr.).
Skadi, the giantess, a personification of the cold mountain stream, who
had joyfully watched the fettering of her foe (subterranean fire), then
fastened a venomous serpent directly over his head, so that the poison
would fall, drop by drop, upon his upturned face. But Sigyn, Loki’s
faithful wife, hurried with a cup to his side, gathered up the drops
as they fell, and never left her post except when her vessel was full
and she was obliged to empty it. During her short absence the drops
of venom, falling upon Loki’s face, caused such intense pain that he
writhed with anguish, shaking all the earth in his efforts to get free,
and producing the earthquakes which so frighten mortals.
“Ere they left him in his anguish,
O’er his treacherous brow, ungrateful,
Skadi hung a serpent hateful,
Venom drops for aye distilling,
Every nerve with torment filling;
Thus shall he in horror languish.
By him, still unwearied kneeling,
Sigyn at his tortured side,--
Faithful wife! with beaker stealing
Drops of venom as they fall,--
Agonizing poison all!
Sleepless, changeless, ever dealing
Comfort, will she still abide;
Only when the cup’s o’erflowing
Must fresh pain and smarting cause,
Swift, to void the beaker going,
Shall she in her watching pause.
Then doth Loki
Loudly cry;
Shrieks of terror,
Groans of horror,
Breaking forth in thunder peals!
With his writhings scared Earth reels.
Trembling and quaking,
E’en high Heav’n shaking!
So wears he out his awful doom,
Until dread Ragnarok be come.”
VALHALLA (J. C. Jones).
In this painful position Loki was condemned to remain until the
twilight of the gods, when his bonds would be loosed, and he would be
free to take part in the last conflict, on the battlefield of Vigrid,
where he was destined to fall by the hand of Heimdall, who would be
slain at the same time.
As we have seen, the venom-dropping snake in this myth is the cold
mountain stream, whose waters, falling from time to time upon the
subterranean fire, evaporate, and the steam, escaping through fissures,
produces the earthquakes and geysers with which the inhabitants of
Iceland, for instance, were so familiar.
[Illustration: NORWEGIAN WATERFALL.]
When the gods were all reduced to the rank of demons by the
introduction of Christianity, Loki was confounded with Saturn, who had
also been shorn of all his divine attributes, and both were considered
the prototypes of Satan. The last day of the week, which was held
sacred to Loki, was known in the Norse as Laugardag, or wash day, but
in English it was changed to Saturday, and was said to owe its name not
to Saturn but to Sataere, the thief in ambush, and the Teutonic god of
agriculture, who is supposed to be merely another form of the god Loki.