Editing Lokasenna

{{Short description|Old Norse poem from the Poetic Edda}}
{{italic title}}
[[Image:Lokasenna by Lorenz Frølich.jpg|thumb|A depiction of Loki quarreling with the gods (1895) by [[Lorenz Frølich]].]]
'''''Lokasenna''''' ([[Old Norse]]: 'The [[Flyting]] of [[Loki]]', or 'Loki's Verbal Duel'){{Sfn|Orchard|1997|p=104}}{{Sfn|Lindow|2002|p=214}} is one of the poems of the ''[[Poetic Edda]]''. The poem presents [[flyting]] between the gods and [[Loki]]. It is written in the [[ljóðaháttr]] metre, typical for [[Wisdom poetry|wisdom verse]]. ''Lokasenna'' is believed to be a 10th-century poem.<ref>''Norse Mythology A-Z'' p. 112</ref>

Loki, amongst other things, accuses the gods of [[morality|moralistic]] sexual impropriety, the practice of ''[[seiðr]]'' (sorcery), and bias. Not ostensibly the most serious of allegations, these elements are, however, said ultimately to lead to the onset of [[Ragnarök]] in the Eddic poem ''[[Völuspá]]''. However, ''Lokasenna'' does not ''directly'' state that Loki's binding is as a consequence of the killing of Baldr. This is explicitly stated only in [[Snorri Sturluson]]'s ''[[Prose Edda]]''.

[[Lee M. Hollander]], in his introduction to his translation of the poem, claims that it was in no sense a popular lay and suggests we should not necessarily believe that the accusations of the "sly god" were an accepted part of the lore.

==Plot==
The setting is a feast given by the sea god [[Ægir]]. In continuity, the prose introduction says: "Ægir, also named Gymir, had made ale for the Æsir, when he had received the great kettle of which was told" (see ''[[Hymiskviða]]''). [[Thor]] did not attend, but his wife [[Sif]] came in his stead as did [[Bragi]] and his wife [[Iðunn]]. [[Tyr]], by this time one-handed as a consequence of his sacrifice of his hand in the shackling of Loki's son, the wolf [[Fenrisulfr]], attended, as did [[Niord]] and his wife [[Skaði]], [[Freyr]] and [[Freyja]], as well as [[Vidar]], the son of Odin. Many other [[Vanir]], [[Æsir]], and also [[Elf|elves]] were there.

The servants of Ægir, [[Fimafeng]] and [[Eldir]], did a thorough job of welcoming the guests; Loki was jealous of the praise being heaped upon them and slew Fimafeng. The gods were angry with Loki and drove him out of the hall, before returning to their carousing. On returning Loki encountered Eldir.

He threatened him and bade him reveal what the gods were talking about in their cups. Eldir's response was that they were discussing their might at arms, and that Loki was not welcomed.

Loki then enters the hall of Ægir after trading insults and threats with Eldir. A hush falls. Loki calls upon the rules of [[hospitality]], demanding a seat and ale. Bragi then responds that he is unwelcome. Loki demands fulfillment of an ancient oath sworn with Odin that they should drink together. Odin asked his son Vidar to make a space for Loki.

Vidar rises and pours a drink for Loki. Before Loki drains his draught, he utters a toast to the gods but pointedly excludes Bragi from it. Bragi offers Loki a horse, a ring and a sword to placate him; Loki, however, is spoiling for a fight, and insults Bragi by questioning his courage. Bragi's response is that it would be contrary to the rules of correct behaviour to fight within his hosts' hall, but were they back in [[Asgard]] then things would be different. [[Iðunn]], Bragi's wife, holds him back. Loki then insults Iðunn, calling her sexually loose. [[Gefjon]] is the next to speak and then Loki turns his spite on her. Odin then attempts to take a grip, as do (in turn), Freyja, Njord, Tyr, Freyr and [[Byggvir]]. The exchanges between Odin and Loki are particularly vitriolic.

Eventually [[Thor]] turns up at the party, and he is not to be placated, nor withheld. Alternating with Loki's insults to him, he says four times that he will use his hammer to knock Loki's head off if he continues. Loki replies that for Thor alone he will leave the hall, because his threats are the only ones he fears. He then leaves.

Finally there is a short piece of prose summarizing the tale of Loki's binding, which is told in fuller form in the ''[[Gylfaginning]]'' section of [[Snorri Sturluson]]'s ''[[Prose Edda]]''.<ref>[[Ursula Dronke]] (ed. and trans.), ''The Poetic Edda'' Volume II: ''Mythological Poems'', Oxford: Oxford University/Clarendon, 1997, repr. 2001, {{ISBN|9780198111818}}, [https://books.google.com/books?id=iDpcAAAAMAAJ&q=This+epilogue+seems+to+be+a+severely+abbreviated+version+of+SnE+69-70 p. 371].</ref> Loki is chased by the gods, and caught after an unsuccessful attempt at disguising himself as a salmon. The [[entrails]] of his son [[Narfi (son of Loki)|Nari]] are used to bind him to three rocks above which Skaði places a serpent to drip venom on him. Loki's wife [[Sigyn]] remains by his side with a bowl to catch the venom; however, whenever she leaves to empty the bowl, venom falls on Loki, causing him to writhe in agony; this writhing was said to be the cause of earthquakes. The text says that Loki's other son, [[Narfi (son of Loki)|Narfi]], was turned into a wolf, but does not make clear that he tears his brother apart; also in the ''Gylfaginning'' version it is a son of Loki named [[Váli (son of Loki)|Váli]] whom the Æsir transform into a wolf and who kills Narfi.<ref>Dronke, [https://books.google.com/books?id=iDpcAAAAMAAJ&q=too+cryptic+when+he+does+not+explain+the+connection+between+Nari%27s+entrails+and+Narfi%27s+change+into+a+wolf pp. 371&ndash;72].</ref><ref name=Lindow237>"Nari and/or Narfi", [[John Lindow]], ''Norse Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs'', Oxford/New York: Oxford University, 2001, {{ISBN|9780195153828}}, pp. 236&ndash;37, [https://books.google.com/books?id=jME8hD2UO4QC&q=Narfi%27s+metamorphosis+is+not+explained p. 237].</ref> Some editors have therefore chosen to read the names ''Nari'' and ''Narvi'' as a mistake in the manuscript, and transcribe ''Nari'' as ''Váli''. ''Nari'' and ''Narfi'' are otherwise considered to be variations of the same name.

==Excerpts==
Thorpe's Translation.<ref name=THORPEPOETIC>[[Benjamin Thorpe|Thorpe, Benjamin]]. (Trans.). (1866). ''Edda Sæmundar Hinns Froða: The Edda Of Sæmund The Learned''. (2 vols.) London: Trübner & Co. 1866.</ref>

*Loki:
:"Hail, Æsir!
:Hail, Asyniur!
:And ye, all-holy gods!
:all, save that one man,
:who sits within there,
:Bragi, on yonder bench."

*Bragi:
:"I know that were I without,
:as I am now within,
:the hall of Ægir,
:I thy head would
:bear in my hand,
:and so for lying punish thee."

*Loki:
:"Valiant on thy seat art thou, Bragi!
:but so thou shouldst not be,
:Bragi, the bench's pride!
:Go and fight,
:if thou art angry;
:a brave man sits not considering."

Idunn stepped in to protect her husband.

*Idunn:
:"I [[pray thee]], Bragi!
:let avail the bond of children,
:and of all adopted sons,
:and to Loki speak not
:in reproachful words,
:in Ægir's hall."

*Loki:
:"Be silent, Idunn!
:of all women I declare thee
:most fond of men,
:since thou thy arms,
:carefully washed, didst twine
:round thy brother's murderer."

*Idunn:
:"Loki I address not
:with opprobrious words,
:in Ægir's hall.
:Bragi I soothe,
:by beer excited.
:I desire not that angry ye fight."

*Gefjun:
:"Why will ye, Æsir twain,
:here within,
:strive with reproachful words?
:Lopt perceives not
:that he is deluded,
:and is urged on by fate."

*Loki:
:"Be silent, Gefjun!
:I will now just mention,
:how that fair youth
:thy mind corrupted,
:who thee a necklace gave,
:and around whom thou thy limbs didst twine?"

Odin interfered, but Loki called him "unmanly" as well.

*Odin:
:"Knowest thou that I gave
:to those I ought not –
:victory to cowards?
:Thou was eight winters
:on the earth below,
:milked cow as a woman,
:and didst there bear children.
:Now that, methinks, betokens a base nature."

*Loki:
:"But, it is said, thou wentest
:with tottering steps in Samsö,
:and knocked at houses as a Vala. <small>([[Völva|Vala]]: seeress)</small>
:In likeness of a fortune teller,
:thou wentest among people;
:Now that, methinks, betokens a base nature."

Frigg tried to defend her husband.

*Frigg:
:"Your doings
:ye should never
:publish among men,
:what ye, Æsir twain,
:did in days of yore.
:Ever forgotten be men's former deeds!"

*Loki:
:"Be thou silent, Frigg!
:Thou art [[Fjorgynn]]'s daughter,
:and ever hast been lustful,
:since Ve and Vili, it is said,
:thou, Vidrir's wife, didst <small>(Vidrir: another name of Odin, [[Vili and Vé|Ve]] and [[Vili]]: Odin's brothers)</small>
:both to thy bosom take."

*Freyja:
:"Mad art thou, Loki!
:in recounting
:thy foul misdeeds.
:Frigg, I believe,
:knows all that happens,
:although she says it not."

*Loki:
:"Be thou silent, Freyja!
:I know thee full well;
:thou art not free from vices:
:of the Æsir and the Alfar,
:that are herein,
:each has been thy paramour."

*Freyja:
:"False is thy tongue.
:Henceforth it will, I think,
:prate no good to thee.
:Wroth with thee are the Æsir,
:and the Asyniur.
:Sad shalt thou home depart."

*Loki:
:"Be silent, Freyja!
:Thou art a sorceress,
:and with much evil blended;
:since against thy brother thou
:the gentle powers excited.
:And then, Freyja! what didst thou do?"

*Njörðr:
:"It is no great wonder,
:if silk-clad dames
:get themselves husbands, lovers;
:but 'tis a wonder that a wretched man,
:that has borne children, <small>(i.e. the horse [[Sleipnir]])</small>
:should herein enter."

*Loki:
:"Cease now, Njörðr!
:in bounds contain thyself;
:I will no longer keep it secret:
:it was with thy sister
:thou hadst such a son <small>(i.e. Freyr)</small>
:hardly worse than thyself."

*Týr:
:"Freyr is best
:of all the exalted gods
:in the Æsir's courts:
:no maid he makes to weep,
:no wife of man,
:and from bonds looses all."

Not only mocking Týr's wound (his arm was bitten by Fenrir), Loki also called him a cuckold.

*Loki:
:"Be silent, Týr;
:to thy wife it happened
:to have a son by me.
:Nor rag nor penny ever
:hadst thou, poor wretch!
:for this injury."

*Freyr:
:"I the wolf see lying <small>(The wolf: Loki is father of [[Fenrir]])</small>
:at the river's mouth,
:until the powers are swept away.
:So shalt thou be bound,
:if thou art not silent,
:thou framer of evil."

*Loki:
:"With gold thou boughtest
:Gýmir's daughter, <small>(i.e. Freyr's wife, [[Gerðr|Gerd]])</small>
:and so gavest away thy sword:
:but when Muspell's sons <small>(i.e. Fire Giants, whose leader would slay the unarmed Freyr at Ragnarök)</small>
:through the dark forest ride,
:thou, unhappy, wilt not
:have wherewith to fight."

*Heimdallr:
:"Loki, thou art drunk,
:and hast lost thy wits.
:Why dost thou not leave off, Loki?
:But drunkenness
:so rules every man,
:that he knows not of his garrulity."

*Loki:
:"Be silent, Heimdallr!
:For thee in early days
:was that hateful life decreed:
:with a wet back
:thou must ever be,
:and keep watch as guardian of the gods."

*Skaði:
:"Thou art merry, Loki!
:Not long wilt thou
:frisk with an unbound tail;
:for thee, on a rock's point,
:with the entrails of thy ice-cold son,
:the gods will bind."

*Loki:
:"Milder was thou of speech
:to Laufey's son, <small>([[Laufey (mythology)|Laufey]]´s son: the giant Loki)</small>
:when to thy bed thou didst invite me.
:Such matters must be mentioned,
:if we accurately must
:recount our vices."

Sif went to pour for Loki.

*Sif:
:"Hail to thee, Loki!
:and this cool cup receive,
:full of old mead:
:at least me alone,
:among the blameless Æsir race,
:leave stainless."

*Loki:
:"So alone shouldst thou be,
:hadst thou strict and prudent been
:towards thy mate;
:but one I know,
:and, I think, know him well,
:a favoured rival of Hlorridi,
:and that is the wily Loki."

After this, Thor came in and drove Loki away.

*Thor:
:"Silence, thou impure being!
:My mighty hammer, Mjöllnir,
:shall stop thy prating.
:I will thy head
:from thy neck strike;
:then will thy life be ended."

==References==
{{reflist}}

=== Bibliography ===

*{{Cite book|last=Lindow|first=John|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KlT7tv3eMSwC|title=Norse Mythology: A Guide to Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs|date=2002|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-983969-8|language=en|author-link=John Lindow}}
*{{Cite book|last=Orchard|first=Andy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uIujQgAACAAJ|title=Dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend|date=1997|publisher=Cassell|isbn=978-0-304-34520-5|language=en|author-link=Andy Orchard}}

==External links==
* [https://myndir.uvic.ca/LkSnna.html MyNDIR (My Norse Digital Image Repository)]  Illustrations of Lokasenna from manuscripts and early print books.

===English translations===
* [http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/poe/poe10.htm Lokasenna] Translation and commentary by Henry A. Bellows
* [https://wevikings.com/library/lokasenna-eng/ Lokasenna] Translation by [[Benjamin Thorpe]]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060218173051/http://www.northvegr.org/lore/poetic3/015.php The Feast of Ager] Translation by A. S. Cottle

===Old Norse editions===
* [http://etext.old.no/Bugge/lokasenn.html Lokasenna] [[Sophus Bugge]]'s edition of the manuscript text

{{Poetic Edda}}

[[Category:Eddic poetry]]
[[Category:Loki]]