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  "work": {
    "slug": "poetic-edda",
    "name": "Poetic Edda"
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  "chapter": {
    "num": 9,
    "slug": "11-lokasenna",
    "title": "Lokasenna",
    "of": 37,
    "words": 5439,
    "text": "## Lokasenna\n\n\n\n\n#### Loki's Wrangling\n\n###### INTRODUCTORY NOTES\n\nThe *Lokasenna* is found only in *Regius*, where it follows the *Hymiskvitha*; Snorri quotes four lines of it, grouped together as a single stanza.\n\nThe poem is one of the most vigorous of the entire collection, and seems to have been preserved in exceptionally good condition. The exchange or contest of insults was dear to the Norse heart, and the *Lokasenna* consists chiefly of Loki's taunt; to the assembled gods and goddesses, and their largely ineffectual attempts to talk back to him. The author was evidently well versed in mythological fore, and the poem is full of references to incidents not elsewhere recorded. As to its date and origin there is the usual dispute, but the latter part of the tenth century and Iceland seem the best guesses.\n\nThe prose notes are long and of unusual interest. The introductory one links the poem closely to the *Hymiskvitha*, much as the *Reginsmol*, *Fafnismol* and *Sigrdrifumol* are linked together; the others fill in the narrative gaps in the dialogue--very like stage directions,--and provide a conclusion by relating Loki's punishment, which, presumably, is here connected with the wrong incident. It is likely that often when the poem was recited during the two centuries or so before it was committed to writing, the speaker inserted some such explanatory comments, and the compiler of the collection followed this example by adding such explanations as he thought necessary. The *Lokasenna* is certainly much older than the *Hymiskvitha*, the connection between them being purely one of subject-matter; and the twelfth-century compiler evidently knew a good deal less about mythology than the author whose work he was annotating.\n\n__________________\n\nÆgir, who was also called Gymir, had prepared ale for the gods, after he had got the mighty kettle, as now has been told. To this feast came Othin and Frigg, his wife. Thor came not, as he was on a journey in the East. Sif,\n\n\nThor's wife, was there, and Brag, with Ithun, his wife. Tyr, who had but one hand, was there; the wolf Fenrir had bitten off his other hand when they had bound him. There were Njorth and Skathi his wife, Freyr and Freyja, and Vithar, the son of Othin. Loki was there, and Freyr's\n\n[*Prose*. *Ægir*: the sea-god; Snorri gives Hler as another of his names, but he is not elsewhere called Gymir, which is the name of the giant, Gerth's father, in the Skirnismol. On Ægir cf. *Grimnismol*, 45, and *Hymiskvitha*, 1. *Frigg*: though Othin's wife is often mentioned, she plays only a minor part in the Eddic poems; cf. *Voluspo*, 34, *Vafthruthnismol*, I, and *Grimnismol*, introductory prose. *Thor*: the compiler is apparently a trifle confused as to Thor's movements; the \"Journey in the East\" here mentioned cannot be the one described in the *Hymiskvitha*, nor yet the one narrated by Snorri, as Loki was with Thor through out that expedition. He probably means no more than that Thor was off killing giants. *Sif*: concerning Thor's wife the chief incident is that Loki cut off her hair, and, at the command of the wrathful Thor, was compelled to have the dwarfs fashion her a new supply of hair out of gold; cf. *Harbarthsljoth*, 48. *Bragi*: the god of poetry; cf. *Grimnismol*, 44 and note. *Ithun*: the goddess of youth; cf. note on *Skirnismol*, 19. Ithun is not mentioned by name in any other of the Eddic poems, but Snorri tells in detail how the giant Thjazi stole her and her apples, explaining the reference in *Harbarthsljoth*, 19 (q. v.). *Tyr*: the god of battle; cf. *Hymiskvitha*, 4, and (concerning his dealings with the wolf Fenrir) *Voluspo*, 39, note. *Njorth*: the chief of the Wanes, and father of Freyr and Freyja; cf. (concerning the whole family) *Skirnismol*, introductory prose and note, also *Voluspo*, 21 and note. *Skathi*: Njorth's wife was the daughter of the giant Thjazi; cf. *Harbarthsljoth*, 19, note, and *Grimnismol*, 17. *Vithar*: the silent god, the son of Othin who avenged his father by slaying the wolf Fenrir; cf. *Voluspo*, 54, *Vafthruthnismol*, 51, and *Grimnismol*, 17. *Loki*: the mischief-making fire-god; in addition to the many references to his career in the Lokasenna, cf. particularly *Voluspo*, 32 and 35, and notes. *Byggvir and Beyla*: not mentioned elsewhere in the poems; Freyr's conspicuous servant is Skirnir, hero of the Skirnismol. *Fimafeng* (\"The Swift Handler\") [fp. 153] and *Eldir* (\"The Man of the Fire\"): mentioned only in connection with this incident. *Glittering gold*: Ægir's use of gold to light his hall, which was often thought of as under the sea, was responsible for the phrase \"flame of the flood,\" and sundry kindred phrases, meaning \"gold.\"]\n\n\nservants Byggvir and Beyla. Many were there of the gods and elves.\n\nÆgir had two serving-men, Fimafeng and Eldir. Glittering gold they had in place of firelight; the ale came in of itself; and great was the peace. The guests praised much the ability of Ægir's serving-men. Loki might not endure that, and he slew Fimafeng. Then the gods shook their shields and howled at Loki and drove him away to the forest, and thereafter set to drinking again. Loki turned back, and outside he met Eldir. Loki spoke to him:\n\n1. \"Speak now, Eldir, | for not one step\nFarther shalt thou fare;\nWhat ale-talk here | do they have within,\nThe sons of the glorious gods?\"\n*\n\nEldir spake:*\n2. \"Of their weapons they talk, | and their might in war,\nThe sons of the glorious gods;\nFrom the gods and elves | who are gathered here\nNo friend in words shalt thou find.\"\n*\n\nLoki spake:*\n3. \"In shall I go | into Ægir's hall,\nFor the feast I fain would see;\n\n\nBale and hatred | I bring to the gods,\nAnd their mead with venom I mix.\"\n*\n\nEldir spake:*\n4. \"If in thou goest | to Ægir's hall,\nAnd fain the feast wouldst see,\nAnd with slander and spite | wouldst sprinkle the gods,\nThink well lest they wipe it on thee.\"\n*\n\nLoki spake:*\n5. \"Bethink thee, Eldir, | if thou and I\nShall strive with spiteful speech;\nRicher I grow | in ready words\nIf thou speakest too much to me.\"\n\nThen Loki went into the hall, but when they who were there saw who had entered, they were all silent.\n*\n\nLoki spake:*\n6. \"Thirsty I come | into this thine hall,\nI, Lopt, from a journey long,\nTo ask of the gods | that one should give\nFair mead for a drink to me.\n\n7. \"Why sit ye silent, | swollen with pride,\nYe gods, and no answer give?\n\n[6. *Lopt*: like Lothur (cf. *Voluspo*, 18) another name for Loki; cf. *Hyndluljoth*, 43, and *Svipdagsmol*, 42.\n\n7. in the manuscript this stanza begins with a small letter, and Heinzel unites it with stanza 6.]\n\n\nAt your feast a place | and a seat prepare me,\nOr bid me forth to fare.\"\n*\n\nBragi spake:*\n8. \"A place and a seat | will the gods prepare\nNo more in their midst for thee;\nFor the gods know well | what men they wish\nTo find at their mighty feasts.\"\n*\n\nLoki spake:*\n9. \"Remember, Othin, | in olden days\nThat we both our blood have mixed;\nThen didst thou promise | no ale to pour,\nUnless it were brought for us both.\"\n*\n\nOthin spake:*\n10. \"Stand forth then, Vithar, | and let the wolf's father\nFind a seat at our feast;\n\n[9. *Bragi*: cf. note on introductory prose. Why Loki taunts him with cowardice (stanzas 11-13-15) is not clear, for poetry, of which Bragi was the patron, was generally associated in the Norse mind with peculiar valor, and most of the skaldic poets were likewise noted fighters.\n\n9. There exists no account of any incident in which Othin and Loki thus swore blood-brotherhood, but they were so often allied in enterprises that the idea is wholly reasonable. The common process of \"mingling blood\" was carried out quite literally, and the promise of -which Loki speaks is characteristic of those which, in the sagas, often accompanied the ceremony; cf. Brot af Sigurtharkvithu, 18 and note.\n\n10. In stanzas 10-31 the manuscript has nothing to indicate the identity of the several speakers, but these are uniformly clear [fp. 156] enough through the context. *Vithar*: cf. note on introductory prose. *The wolf's father*: Loki; cf. *Voluspo*, 39 and note.]\n\n\nLest evil should Loki | speak aloud\nHere within Ægir's hall.\"\n\nThen Vithar arose and poured drink for Loki; but before he drank he spoke to the gods:\n\n11. \"Hail to you, gods! | ye goddesses, hail!\nHail to the holy throng!\nSave for the god | who yonder sits,\nBragi there on the bench.\"\n*\n\nBragi spake:*\n12. \"A horse and a sword | from my hoard will I give,\nAnd a ring gives Bragi to boot,\nThat hatred thou makst not | among the gods;\nSo rouse not the great ones to wrath.\"\n*\n\nLoki spake:*\n13. \"In horses and rings | thou shalt never be rich,\nBragi, but both shalt thou lack;\nOf the gods and elves | here together met\nLeast brave in battle art thou,\n(And shyest thou art of the shot.)\"\n*\n\nBragi spake:*\n14. \"Now were I without | as I am within,\n\n[13. Sijmons makes one line of lines 4-5 by cutting out a part of each; Finnur Jonsson rejects 5 as spurious.\n\n14. The text of line 4 is somewhat obscure, and has been [fp. 157] variously emended, one often adopted suggestion making the line read, \"Little is that for thy lies.\"]\n\n\nAnd here in Ægir's hall,\nThine head would I bear | in mine hands away,\nAnd pay thee the price of thy lies.\"\n*\n\nLoki spake:*\n15. \"In thy seat art thou bold, | not so are thy deeds,\nBragi, adorner of benches!\nGo out and fight | if angered thou feelest,\nNo hero such forethought has.\"\n*\n\nIthun spake:*\n16. \"Well, prithee, Bragi, | his kinship weigh,\nSince chosen as wish-son he was;\nAnd speak not to Loki | such words of spite\nHere within Ægir's hall.\"\n*\n\nLoki spake:*\n17. \"Be silent, Ithun! | thou art, I say,\n\n[15. *Adorner of benches*: this epithet presumably implies that Bragi is not only slothful, but also effeminate, for a very similar word, \"pride of the benches,\" means a bride.\n\n16. *Ithun*: Bragi's wife; cf. note on introductory prose. The goddesses who, finding that their husbands are getting the worst of it, take up the cudgels with Loki, all find themselves confronted with undeniable facts in their own careers; cf. stanzas 26 (Frigg), 52 (Skathi) and 54 (Sif). Gefjun and Freyja are silenced in similar fashion. *Wish-son*: adopted son; Loki was the son of the giant Farbauti and the giantess Laufey, and hence was not of the race of the gods, but had been virtually adopted by Othin, who subsequently had good reason to regret it.]\n\n\nOf women most lustful in love,\nSince thou thy washed-bright | arms didst wind\nAbout thy brother's slayer.\"\n*\n\nIthun spake:*\n18. \"To Loki I speak not | with spiteful words\nHere within Ægir's hall;\nAnd Bragi I calm, | who is hot with beer,\nFor I wish not that fierce they should fight.\"\n*\n\nGefjun spake:*\n19. \"Why, ye gods twain, | with bitter tongues\nRaise hate among us here?\nLoki is famed | for his mockery foul,\nAnd the dwellers in heaven he hates.\"\n*\n\nLoki spake:*\n20. \"Be silent, Gefjun! | for now shall I say\nWho led thee to evil life;\nThe boy so fair | gave a necklace bright,\nAnd about him thy leg was laid.\"\n\n[17. We do not even know who Ithun's brother was, much less who slew him.\n\n19. *Gefjun*: a goddess, not elsewhere mentioned in the poems, who, according to Snorri, was served by the women who died maidens. Beyond this nothing is known of her. Lines 3-4 in the manuscript are puzzling, and have been freely emended.\n\n20. Nothing is known of the incident here mentioned. There is a good deal of confusion as to various of the gods and goddesses, and it has been suggested that Gefjun is really Frigg under an other name, with a little of Freyja--whose attributes were frequently confused with Frigg's--thrown in. Certainly Othin's [fp. 159] answer (stanza 21, lines 3-4) fits Frigg perfectly, for she shared his knowledge of the future, whereas it has no relation to any thing known of Gefjun. As for the necklace (line 3), it may be the Brisings' necklace, which appears in the *Thrymskvitha* as Freyja's, but which, in some mythological writings, is assigned to Frigg.]\n\n*\n\nOthin spake:*\n21. \"Mad art thou, Loki, | and little of wit,\nThe wrath of Gefjun to rouse;\nFor the fate that is set | for all she sees,\nEven as I, methinks.\"\n*\n\nLoki spake:*\n22. \"Be silent, Othin! | not justly thou settest\nThe fate of the fight among men;\nOft gavst thou to him | who deserved not the gift,\nTo the baser, the battle's prize.\"\n*\n\nOthin spake:*\n23. \"Though I gave to him | who deserved not the gift,\nTo the baser, the battle's prize;\nWinters eight | wast thou under the earth,\nMilking the cows as a maid,\n(Ay, and babes didst thou bear;\nUnmanly thy soul must seem.)\"\n\n[21. Snorri quotes line 1; cf. note on stanza 29.\n\n23. There is no other reference to Loki's having spent eight years underground, or to his cow-milking. On one occasion, however, he did bear offspring. A giant had undertaken to build the gods a fortress, his reward being Freyja and the sun and moon, provided the work was done by a given time. His sole helper was his horse, Svathilfari. The work being nearly done, and the gods fearing to lose Freyja and the sun and moon, Loki [fp. 160] turned himself into a mare, and so effectually distracted Svathilfari from his task that shortly afterwards Loki gave birth to Othin's eight-legged horse, Sleipnir. In such contests of abuse a man was not infrequently taunted with having borne children; cf. *Helgakvitha Hundingsbana* I, 39-45. One or two of the last three lines may be spurious.]\n\n*\n\nLoki spake:*\n24. \"They say that with spells | in Samsey once\nLike witches with charms didst thou work;\nAnd in witch's guise | among men didst thou go;\nUnmanly thy soul must seem.\"\n*\n\nFrigg spake:*\n25. \"Of the deeds ye two | of old have done\nYe should make no speech among men;\nWhate'er ye have done | in days gone by,\nOld tales should ne'er be told.\"\n*\n\nLoki spake:*\n26. \"Be silent, Frigg! | thou art Fjorgyn's wife,\nBut ever lustful in love;\nFor Vili and Ve, | thou wife of Vithrir,\nBoth in thy bosom have lain.\"\n\n[24. *Samsey*: perhaps the Danish island of Samsö. Othin was the god of magic, but there is no other reference to his ever having disguised himself as a witch.\n\n25. *Frigg*: Othin's wife; cf. note to introductory prose.\n\n26. *Fjorgyn*: Othin; cf. *Voluspo*, 56 and note. *Vili and Ve*: Othin's brothers, who appear merely as, with Othin, the sons of Bur and Bestla; cf. *Voluspo*, 4. The *Ynglingasaga* says that, during one of Othin's protracted absences, his two brothers took Frigg as their mistress. *Vithrir*: another name for Othin.]\n\n*\n\nFrigg spake:*\n27. \"If a son like Baldr | were by me now,\nHere within Ægir's hall,\nFrom the sons of the gods | thou shouldst go not forth\nTill thy fierceness in fight were tried.\"\n*\n\nLoki spake:*\n28. \"Thou wilt then, Frigg, | that further I tell\nOf the ill that now I know;\nMine is the blame | that Baldr no more\nThou seest ride home to the hall.\"\n*\n\nFreyja spake:*\n29. \"Mad art thou, Loki, | that known thou makest\nThe wrong and shame thou hast wrought;\nThe fate of all | does Frigg know well,\nThough herself she says it not.\"\n*\n\nLoki spake:*\n30. \"Be silent, Freyja! | for fully I know thee,\nSinless thou art not thyself;\n\n[27. On the death of Baldr, slain through Loki's cunning by the blind Hoth, cf. *Voluspo*, 32 and note.\n\n29. *Freyja*: daughter of Njorth and sister of Freyr; cf. note on introductory prose. Snorri, in speaking of Frigg's knowledge of the future, makes a stanza out of *Lokasenna*, 21, 1; 47, 2; 29, 3-4, thus: \"Mad art thou, Loki, | and little of wit, / Why, Loki, leavst thou this not? / The fate of all | does Frigg know well, / Though herself she says it not.\"\n\n30. According to Snorri, Freyja was a model of fidelity to her husband, Oth.]\n\n\nOf the gods and elves | who are gathered here,\nEach one as thy lover has lain.\"\n*\n\nFreyja spake:*\n31. \"False is thy tongue, | and soon shalt thou find\nThat it sings thee an evil song;\nThe gods are wroth, | and the goddesses all,\nAnd in grief shalt thou homeward go.\"\n*\n\nLoki spake:*\n32. \"Be silent, Freyja! | thou foulest witch,\nAnd steeped full sore in sin;\nIn the arms of thy brother | the bright gods caught thee\nWhen Freyja her wind set free.\"\n*\n\nNjorth spake:*\n33. \"Small ill does it work | though a woman may have\nA lord or a lover or both;\nBut a wonder it is | that this womanish god\nComes hither, though babes he has borne.\"\n\n[32. Before each of stanzas 32-42 the manuscript indicates the speaker, through the initial letter of the name written in the margin. *Thy brother*: Freyr; there is no other indication that such a relation existed between these two, but they themselves were the product of such a union; cf. stanza 36 and note.\n\n33. *Njorth*: father of Freyr and Freyja, and given by the Wanes as a hostage, in exchange for Hönir, at the close of the first war; Cf. *Voluspo*, 21 and note, also *Skirnismol*, introductory prose and note. *Babes*: cf. stanza 23 and note. Bugge suggests that this clause may have been a late insertion.]\n\n*\n\nLoki spake:*\n34. \"Be silent, Njorth; | thou wast eastward sent,\nTo the gods as a hostage given;\nAnd the daughters of Hymir | their privy had\nWhen use did they make of thy mouth.\"\n*\n\nNjorth spake:*\n35. \"Great was my gain, | though long was I gone,\nTo the gods as a hostage given;\nThe son did I have | whom no man hates,\nAnd foremost of gods is found.\"\n*\n\nLoki spake:*\n36. \"Give heed now, Njorth, | nor boast too high,\nNo longer I hold it hid;\nWith thy sister hadst thou | so fair a son,\nThus hadst thou no worse a hope.\"\n*\n\nTyr spake:*\n37. \"Of the heroes brave | is Freyr the best\nHere in the home of the gods;\n\n[34. *Daughters of Hymir*: we have no clue to who these were, though Hymir is doubtless the frost-giant of the *Hymiskvitha* (q.v.). Loki's point is that Njorth is not a god, but the product of an inferior race (the Wanes).\n\n35. *The son*: Freyr.\n\n36. *Thy sister*: the *Ynglingasaga* supports this story of Njorth's having had two children by his sister before he came among the gods. Snorri, on the other hand, specifically says that Freyr and Freyja were born after Njorth came to the gods.\n\n37. *Tyr*: the god of battle; cf. notes on *Hymiskvitha*, 4, and *Voluspo*, 39. *Freyr*; concerning his noble qualities cf. *Skirnismol*, introductory prose and note.]\n\n\nHe harms not maids | nor the wives of men,\nAnd the bound from their fetters he frees.\"\n*\n\nLoki spake:*\n38. \"Be silent, Tyr! | for between two men\nFriendship thou ne'er couldst fashion;\nFain would I tell | how Fenrir once\nThy right hand rent from thee.\"\n*\n\nTyr spake:*\n39. \"My hand do I lack, | but Hrothvitnir thou,\nAnd the loss brings longing to both;\nIll fares the wolf | who shall ever await\nIn fetters the fall of the gods.\"\n*\n\nLoki spake:*\n40. \"Be silent, Tyr! | for a son with me\nThy wife once chanced to win;\nNot a penny, methinks, | wast thou paid for the wrong,\nNor wast righted an inch, poor wretch.\"\n*\n\nFreyr spake:*\n41. \"By the mouth of the river | the wolf remains\n\n[38. Snorri mentions Tyr's incompetence as a peacemaker. *Fenrir*: the wolf, Loki's son; cf. *Voluspo*, 39.\n\n39. *Hrothvitnir* (\"The Mighty Wolf\"): Fenrir, who awaits in chains the final battle and death at the hands of Vithar. The manuscript has a metrical error in line 3, which has led to various emendations, all with much the same meaning.\n\n40. *Thy wife*: there is no other reference to Tyr's wife, nor do we know who was the son in question.]\n\n\nTill the gods to destruction go;\nThou too shalt soon, | if thy tongue is not stilled,\nBe fettered, thou forger of ill.\"\n*\n\nLoki spake:*\n42. \"The daughter of Gymir | with gold didst thou buy,\nAnd sold thy sword to boot;\nBut when Muspell's sons | through Myrkwood ride,\nThou shalt weaponless wait, poor wretch.\"\n*\n\nByggvir spake:*\n43. \"Had I birth so famous | as Ingunar-Freyr,\nAnd sat in so lofty a seat,\n\n[41. *The mouth of the river*: according to Snorri, the chained Fenrir \"roars horribly, and the slaver runs from his mouth, and makes the river called Vam; he lies there till the doom of the gods.\" Freyr's threat is actually carried out; cf. concluding prose.\n\n42. *The daughter of Gymir*: Gerth, heroine of the *Skirnismol*, which gives the details of Freyr's loss of his sword. *Muspell's sons*: the name Muspell is not used elsewhere in the poems; Snorri uses it frequently, but only in this same phrase, \"Muspell's sons.\" They are the dwellers in the fire-world, Muspellsheim, led by Surt against the gods in the last battle; cf. Voluspo, 47 and 52 and notes. *Myrkwood*: here the dark forest bounding the fire-world; in the *Atlakvitha* (stanza 3) the name is used of another boundary forest.\n\n43. *Byggvir*: one of Freyr's two servants; cf. introductory prose. *Ingunar-Freyr*: the name is not used elsewhere in the poems, or by Snorri; it may be the genitive of a woman's name, Ingun, the unknown sister of Njorth who was Freyr's mother (cf. stanza 36), or a corruption of the name Ingw, used for Freyr (Fro) in old German mythology.]\n\n\nI would crush to marrow | this croaker of ill,\nAnd beat all his body to bits.\"\n*\n\nLoki spake:*\n44. \"What little creature | goes crawling there,\nSnuffling and snapping about?\nAt Freyr's ears ever | wilt thou be found,\nOr muttering hard at the mill.\"\n*\n\nByggvir spake:*\n45. \"Byggvir my name, | and nimble am I,\nAs gods and men do grant;\nAnd here am I proud | that the children of Hropt\nTogether all drink ale.\"\n*\n\nLoki spake:*\n46. \"Be silent, Byggvir! | thou never couldst set\nTheir shares of the meat for men;\nHid in straw on the floor, | they found thee not\nWhen heroes were fain to fight.\"\n*\n\nHeimdall spake:*\n47. \"Drunk art thou, Loki, | and mad are thy deeds,\nWhy, Loki, leavst thou this not?\n\n[44. Beginning with this stanza, the names of the speakers are lacking in the manuscript. *The mill*: i.e., at slaves' tasks.\n\n45. Nothing further is known of either Byggvir's swiftness or his cowardice. *Hropt*: Othin.\n\n47. *Heimdall*: besides being the watchman of the gods (cf. *Voluspo*, 27), he appears also as the god of light (cf. *Thrymskvitha*, 14), and possibly also as a complex cultural deity in the [fp. 167] *Rigsthula*. He was a son of Othin, born of nine sisters; cf. *Hyndluljoth*, 37-40. In the last battle he and Loki slay one an other. Line 2 is quoted by Snorri; cf. stanza 29, note.]\n\n\nFor drink beyond measure | will lead all men\nNo thought of their tongues to take.\"\n*\n\nLoki spake:*\n48. \"Be silent, Heimdall! | in days long since\nWas an evil fate for thee fixed;\nWith back held stiff | must thou ever stand,\nAs warder of heaven to watch.\"\n*\n\nSkathi spake:*\n49. \"Light art thou, Loki, | but longer thou mayst not\nIn freedom flourish thy tail;\nOn the rocks the gods bind thee | with bowels torn\nForth from thy frost-cold son.\"\n*\n\nLoki spake:*\n50. \"Though on rocks the gods bind me | with bowels torn\nForth from my frost-cold son,\n\n[49. Skathi: the wife of Njorth, and daughter of the giant Thjazi, concerning whose death cf. *Harbarthsljoth*, 19, note. Bowels, etc.: according to the prose note at the end of the *Lokasenna*, the gods bound Loki with the bowels of his son Vali, and changed his other son, Narfi, into a wolf. Snorri turns the story about Vali being the wolf, who tears his brother to pieces, the gods then using Narfi's intestines to bind Loki. Narfi--and presumably Vali--were the sons of Loki and his wife, Sigyn. They appear only in this episode, though Narfi (or Nari) is named by Snorri in his list of Loki's children. Cf. concluding prose, and note.]\n\n\nI was first and last | at the deadly fight\nThere where Thjazi we caught.\"\n*\n\nSkathi spake:*\n51. \"Wert thou first and last | at the deadly fight\nThere where Thjazi was caught,\nFrom my dwellings and fields | shall ever come forth\nA counsel cold for thee.\"\n*\n\nLoki spake:*\n52. \"More lightly thou spakest | with Laufey's son,\nWhen thou badst me come to thy bed;\nSuch things must be known | if now we two\nShall seek our sins to tell.\"\n\nThen Sif came forward and poured mead for Loki in a crystal cup, and said:\n\n53. \"Hail too thee, Loki, | and take thou here\nThe crystal cup of old mead;\nFor me at least, | alone of the gods,\nBlameless thou knowest to be.\"\n\n[52. *Laufey's son*: Loki; not much is known of his parents beyond their names. His father was the giant Farbauti, his mother Laufey, sometimes called Nal. There is an elaborate but far fetched hypothesis explaining these three on the basis of a nature-myth. 'There is no other reference to such a relation between Skathi and Loki as he here suggests.\n\n53. *Sif*: Thor's wife; cf. *Harbarthsljoth*, 48, where her infidelity is again mentioned. The manuscript omits the proper name [fp. 169] from the preceding prose, and a few editors have, obviously in error, attributed the speech to Beyla.]\n\n\nHe took the horn, and drank therefrom:\n\n54. \"Alone thou wert | if truly thou wouldst\nAll men so shyly shun;\nBut one do I know | full well, methinks,\nWho had thee from Hlorrithi's arms,--\n(Loki the crafty in lies.)\"\n*\n\nBeyla spake:*\n55. \"The mountains shake, | and surely I think\nFrom his home comes Hlorrithi now;\nHe will silence the man | who is slandering here\nTogether both gods and men.\"\n*\n\nLoki spake:*\n56. \"Be silent, Beyla! | thou art Byggvir's wife,\nAnd deep art thou steeped in sin;\nA greater shame | to the gods came ne'er,\nBefouled thou art with thy filth.\"\n\nThen came Thor forth, and spake:\n\n57. \"Unmanly one, cease, | or the mighty hammer,\nMjollnir, shall close thy mouth;\n\n[54. *Hlorrithi*: Thor. Line 5 is probably spurious.\n\n55. *Beyla*: Freyr's servant, wife of Byggvir; cf. introductory prose and note.\n\n57. *Mjollnir*: concerning Thor's famous hammer see particularly *Thrymskvitha*, 1 and note. *Shoulder-cliff*: head; concerning [fp. 170] the use of such diction in the *Edda*, cf. introductory note to *Hymiskvitha*. The manuscript indicates line 3 as the beginning of a stanza, but this is apparently a scribal error.]\n\n\nThy shoulder-cliff | shall I cleave from thy neck,\nAnd so shall thy life be lost.\"\n*\n\nLoki spake:*\n58. \"Lo, in has come | the son of Earth:\nWhy threaten so loudly, Thor?\nLess fierce thou shalt go | to fight with the wolf\nWhen he swallows Sigfather up.\"\n*\n\nThor spake:*\n59. \"Unmanly one, cease, | or the mighty hammer,\nMjollnir, shall close thy mouth;\nI shall hurl thee up | and out in the East,\nWhere men shall see thee no more.\"\n*\n\nLoki spake:*\n60. \"That thou hast fared | on the East-road forth\nTo men shouldst thou say no more;\n\n[58. *Son of Earth*: Thor, son of Othin and Jorth (Earth). The manuscript omits the word \"son,\" but all editors have agreed in supplying it. *The wolf*: Fenrir, Loki's son, who slays Othin (Sigfather: \"Father of Victory\") in the final battle. Thor, according to Snorri and to the Voluspo, 56, fights with Mithgarthsorm and not with Fenrir, who is killed by Vithar.\n\n59. Lines 1-2 are abbreviated in the manuscript, as also in stanzas 61 and 63.\n\n60. Loki's taunt that Thor hid in the thumb of Skrymir's glove is similar to that of Othin, *Harbarthsljoth*, 26, in the note to which the story is outlined. Line 4 is identical with line 5 of *Harbarthsljoth*, 26.]\n\n\nIn the thumb of a glove | didst thou hide, thou great one,\nAnd there forgot thou wast Thor.\"\n*\n\nThor spake:*\n61. \"Unmanly one, cease, | or the mighty hammer,\nMjollnir, shall close thy mouth;\nMy right hand shall smite thee | with Hrungnir's slayer,\nTill all thy bones are broken.\"\n*\n\nLoki spake:*\n62. \"Along time still | do I think to live,\nThough thou threatenest thus with thy hammer;\nRough seemed the straps | of Skrymir's wallet,\nWhen thy meat thou mightest not get,\n(And faint from hunger didst feel.)\"\n*\n\nThor spake:*\n63. \"Unmanly one, cease, | or the mighty hammer,\nMjollnir, shall close thy mouth;\n\n[61. *Hrungnir's slayer*: the hammer; the story of how Thor slew this stone-headed giant is indicated in *Harbarthsljoth*, 14-15, and outlined in the note to stanza 14 of that poem.\n\n62. On the day following the adventure of the glove, Thor, Loki and Thor's servants proceed on their way in company with Skrymir, who puts all their food in his wallet. At evening Skrymir goes to sleep, and Thor tries to get at the food, but cannot loosen the straps of the wallet. In a rage he smites Skrymir three times on the head with his hammer, but the giant--who, it subsequently appears, deftly dodges the blows--is totally undisturbed. Line 5 may well be spurious.]\n\np. 172 p. 173\n\nThe slayer of Hrungnir | shall send thee to hell,\nAnd down to the gate of death.\"\n*\n\nLoki spake:*\n64. \"'1 have said to the gods | and the sons of the god,\nThe things that whetted my thoughts;\nBut before thee alone | do I now go forth,\nFor thou fightest well, I ween.\n\n65. \"Ale hast thou brewed, | but, Ægir, now\nSuch feasts shalt thou make no more;\nO'er all that thou hast | which is here within\nShall play the flickering flames,\n(And thy back shall be burnt with fire.)\"\n\nAnd after that Loki hid himself in Franang's waterfall in the guise of a salmon, and there the gods took him. He was bound with the bowels of his son Vali, but his son Narfi was changed to a wolf. Skathi took a poison-snake and fastened it up over Loki's face, and the poison dropped thereon. Sigyn, Loki's wife, sat there and held a shell under the poison, but when the shell was full she bore away the poison, and meanwhile the poison dropped on Loki. Then he struggled so hard that the whole earth shook therewith; and now that is called an earthquake.\n\n[65. *The flames*: the fire that consumes the world on the last day; cf. *Voluspo*, 57. Line 5 may be spurious.\n*\n\nProse*: Snorri tells the same story, with minor differences, but makes it the consequence of Loki's part in the slaying of Baldr, which undoubtedly represents the correct tradition. The compiler of the poems either was confused or thought the incident was [fp. 173] useful as indicating what finally happened to Loki. Possibly he did not mean to imply that Loki's fate was brought upon him by his abuse of the gods, but simply tried to round out the story. *Franang*: \"Gleaming Water.\" *Vali and Narfi*: cf. stanza 49 and note. *Sigyn*: cf. *Voluspo*, 35, the only other place where she is mentioned in the poems. Snorri omits the naive note about earth quakes, his narrative ending with the words, \"And there he lies till the destruction of the gods.\"]",
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