Editing Loki (section)

===''Poetic Edda''===
In the ''Poetic Edda'', Loki appears (or is referenced) in the poems ''Völuspá'', ''Lokasenna'', ''Þrymskviða'', ''Reginsmál'', ''Baldrs draumar'', and ''Hyndluljóð''.

====''Völuspá''====
In stanza 35 of the ''Poetic Edda'' poem ''[[Völuspá]]'', a [[völva]] tells [[Odin]] that, among many other things, she sees [[Sigyn]] sitting very unhappily with her bound husband, Loki, under a "grove of [[hot springs]]".{{sfnp|Larrington|1999|p=8}}  In stanza 51, during the events of [[Ragnarök]], Loki appears free from his bonds and is referred to as the "brother of [[Býleistr]]" (here transcribed as ''Byleist''):
{{poemquote|A ship journeys from the east, Muspell's people are coming,
over the waves, and Loki steers
There are the monstrous brood with all the raveners,
The brother of Byleist is in company with them.{{sfnp|Larrington|1999|p=10}}}}

In stanza 54, after consuming Odin and being killed by Odin's son [[Víðarr]], Fenrir is described as "Loki's kinsman".{{sfnp|Larrington|1999|p=11}}

====''Lokasenna''====
[[Image:Loki taunts Bragi.jpg|thumb|''Loki taunts Bragi'' (1908) by [[W. G. Collingwood]]]]
[[Image:Lokasenna by Lorenz Frølich.jpg|thumb|A depiction of ''Lokasenna'' (1895) by [[Lorenz Frølich]]]]
The poem ''[[Lokasenna]]'' (Old Norse "Loki's [[Flyting]]") centers around Loki [[flyting]] with other gods; Loki puts forth two stanzas of insults while the receiving figure responds with a single stanza, and then another figure chimes in. The poem begins with a prose introduction detailing that [[Ægir]], a figure associated with the sea, is hosting a feast in his hall for a number of the gods and [[elf|elves]]. There, the gods praise Ægir's servers [[Fimafeng]] and [[Eldir]]. Loki "could not bear to hear that", and kills the servant Fimafeng. In response, the gods grab their shields, shrieking at Loki, and chase him out of the hall and to the woods. The gods then return to the hall, and continue drinking.{{sfnp|Larrington|1999|pp=84–85}}

=====Entrance and rejection=====
Loki comes out of the woods and meets Eldir outside of the hall. Loki greets Eldir (and the poem itself begins) with a demand that Eldir tell him what the gods are discussing over their ale inside the hall. Eldir responds that they discuss their "weapons and their prowess in war" and yet no one there has anything friendly to say about Loki. Loki says that he will go into the feast, and that, before the end of the feast, he will induce quarrelling among the gods, and "mix their [[mead]] with malice". Eldir responds that "if shouting and fighting you pour out on" to the gods, "they'll wipe it off on you". Loki then enters the hall, and everyone there falls silent upon noticing him.{{sfnp|Larrington|1999|p=85}}

=====Re-entrance and insults=====
Breaking the silence, Loki says that, thirsty, he had come to these halls from a long way away to ask the gods for a drink of "the famous mead". Calling the gods arrogant, Loki asks why they are unable to speak, and demands that they assign him a seat and a place for him at the feast, or tell him to leave. The [[skald]]ic god [[Bragi]] is the first to respond to Loki by telling him that Loki will not have a seat and place assigned to him by the gods at the feast, for the gods know what men they should invite.{{sfnp|Larrington|1999|p=86}} Loki does not respond to Bragi directly, but instead directs his attention to Odin, and states:
{{poemquote|Do you remember, Odin, when in bygone days
we mixed our blood together?
You said you would never drink ale
unless it were brought to both of us.{{sfnp|Larrington|1999|p=86}}}}

Odin then asks his silent son [[Víðarr]] to stand up, so that Loki (here referred to as the "wolf's father") may sit at the feast, and so that he may not speak words of blame to the gods in Ægir's hall. Víðarr stands and pours a drink for Loki. Prior to drinking, Loki declaims a toast to the gods, with a specific exception for Bragi. Bragi responds that he will give a horse, sword, and ring from his possessions so that he does not repay the gods "with hatred". Loki responds that Bragi will always be short of all of these things, accusing him of being "wary of war" and "shy of shooting". Bragi responds that, were they outside of Ægir's hall, Bragi would be holding Loki's head as a reward for his lies. Loki replies that Bragi is brave when seated, calling him a "bench-ornament", and that Bragi would run away when troubled by an angry, spirited man.{{sfnp|Larrington|1999|p=87}}

The goddess [[Iðunn]] interrupts, asking Bragi, as a service to his relatives and adopted relatives, not to say words of blame to Loki in Ægir's hall. Loki tells Iðunn to be silent, calling her the most "man-crazed" of all women, and saying that she placed her washed, bright arms around her brother's slayer. Iðunn says that she will not say words of blame in Ægir's hall, and affirms that she quietened Bragi, who was made talkative by beer, and that she does not want the two of them to fight. The goddess [[Gefjun]] asks why the two gods must fight, saying that Loki knows that he is joking, and that "all living things love him". Loki responds to Gefjun by stating that Gefjun's heart was once seduced by a "white boy" who gave her a jewel, and who Gefjun laid her thigh over.{{sfnp|Larrington|1999|pp=87–88}}

Odin says that Loki must be insane to make Gefjun his enemy, as her wisdom about the fates of men may equal Odin's own. Loki says that Odin does a poor job in handing out honor in war to men, and that he's often given victory to the faint-hearted. Odin responds that even if this is true, Loki (in a story otherwise unattested) once spent eight winters beneath the earth as a woman milking cows, and during this time bore children. Odin declares this perverse. Loki counters that Odin once practiced [[seiðr]] (a type of sorcery) on the island of ''Samsey'' (now [[Samsø]], Denmark), and, appearing as a wizard, traveled among mankind, which Loki condemns as perverse.{{sfnp|Larrington|1999|pp=88–89}}

[[Frigg]], a major deity who is married to Odin, says that what Loki and Odin did in the ancient past should not be spoken of in front of others, and that ancient matters should always remain hidden. Loki brings up that Frigg is the daughter of [[Fjörgyn and Fjörgynn|Fjörgyn]], a personification of the earth, and that she had once taken Odin's brothers [[Vili and Vé]] into her embrace. Frigg responds that if there was a boy like her now-deceased son [[Baldr]] in the hall, Loki would not be able to escape from the wrath of the gods. Loki reminds Frigg that he is responsible for the death of her son Baldr.{{sfnp|Larrington|1999|p=89}}

The goddess [[Freyja]] declares that Loki must be mad, stating that Frigg knows all fate, yet she does not speak it. Loki claims each of the gods and elves that are present have been Freyja's lover. Freyja replies that Loki is lying, that he just wants to "yelp about wicked things" that gods and goddesses are furious with him, and that he will go home thwarted. In response, Loki calls Freyja a malicious witch, and claims that Freyja was once astride her brother [[Freyr]], when all of the other laughing gods surprised her and Freyja then farted. This scenario is otherwise unattested. [[Njörðr]] (Freyja and Freyr's father) says that it is harmless for a woman to have a lover or "someone else" beside her husband, and that what is surprising is a "pervert god coming here who has borne children".{{sfnp|Larrington|1999|pp=89–90}}

Loki tells Njörðr to be silent, recalling Njörðr's status as once having been a hostage from the [[Vanir]] to the [[Æsir]] during the [[Æsir-Vanir War]], that the "daughters of Hymir" once used Njörðr "as a pisspot", urinating in his mouth (an otherwise unattested comment). Njörðr responds that this was his reward when he was sent as a hostage to the Æsir, and that he fathered his son (Freyr), whom no one hates, and is considered a prince of the Æsir. Loki tells Njörðr to maintain his moderation, and that he will not keep it secret any longer that Njörðr fathered this son with [[Sister-wife of Njörðr|his sister]] (unnamed), although one would expect him to be worse than he turned out.{{sfnp|Larrington|1999|pp=90–91}}

The god [[Tyr]] defends Freyr, to which Loki replies that Tyr should be silent, for Tyr cannot "deal straight with people", and points out that it was Loki's son, the wolf Fenrir, who tore Tyr's hand off. (According to the prose introduction to the poem Tyr is now one-handed from having his arm bitten off by Loki's son Fenrir while Fenrir was bound.) Tyr responds that while he may have lost a hand, Loki has lost the wolf, and trouble has come to them both. Further, that Fenrir must now wait in shackles until the onset of [[Ragnarök]]. Loki tells Tyr to be silent a second time, and states that Tyr's wife (otherwise unattested) had a son by Loki, and that Tyr never received any compensation for this "injury", further calling him a "wretch".{{sfnp|Larrington|1999|p=91}}

Freyr himself interrupts at this point, and says that he sees a wolf lying before a river mouth, and that, unless Loki is immediately silent, like the wolf, Loki shall also be bound until [[Ragnarök]]. Loki retorts that Freyr purchased his consort [[Gerðr]] with gold, having given away his sword, which he will lack at [[Ragnarök]]. [[Byggvir]] (referred to in the prose introduction to the poem as a servant of Freyr) says that if he had as noble a lineage and as an honorable a seat as Freyr, he would grind down Loki, and make all of his limbs lame. Loki refers to Byggvir in terms of a dog, and says that Byggvir is always found at Freyr's ears, or twittering beneath a grindstone. Byggvir says that he is proud to be here by all the gods and men, and that he is said to be speedy. Loki tells him to be silent, that Byggvir does not know how to apportion food among men, and that he hides among the straw and [[dais]] when men go to battle.{{sfnp|Larrington|1999|pp=91–92}}

The god [[Heimdallr]] says that Loki is drunk and witless, and asks Loki why he will not stop speaking. Loki tells Heimdallr to be silent, that he was fated a "hateful life", that Heimdallr must always have a muddy back, and serve as watchman of the gods. The goddess [[Skaði]] says that while Loki now appears light-hearted and "playing" with his "tail-wagging", he will soon be bound with his ice-cold son's guts on a sharp rock by the gods. Loki says that, even if this is his fate, that he was "first and foremost" with the other gods at the killing of Skaði's father, [[Þjazi]]. Skaði says that, with these events in mind, "baneful advice" will always come from her "sanctuaries and plains" to Loki. Loki says that Skaði was once gentler in speech to him (referring to himself as the "son of [[Laufey (mythology)|Laufey]]") when Skaði once invited him to her bed (an event that is unattested elsewhere), and that such events must be mentioned if they are to recall "shameful deeds".{{sfnp|Larrington|1999|pp=91–93}}

[[Sif]] goes forth and pours Loki a glass of mead into a crystal cup in a prose narrative. Continuing the poem, Sif welcomes Loki and invites him to take a crystal cup filled with ancient mead, and says that among the children of the Æsir, she is singularly blameless. Loki "takes the horn", drinks it, and says that she would be, if it were so, and states that Sif and Loki had been lovers, despite her marriage to [[Thor]] (an affair that is otherwise unattested). [[Beyla]] (referred to in the prose introduction to the poem as a servant of Freyr) says that all of the mountains are shaking, that she thinks Thor must be on his way home, and when Thor arrives he will bring peace to those that quarrel there. Loki tells Beyla to be silent, that she is "much imbued with malice", that no worse woman has ever been among the "Æsir's children", and calling her a bad "serving-wench".{{sfnp|Larrington|1999|p=94}}

=====The arrival of Thor and the bondage of Loki=====
[[File:Loki leaves the hall and threatens the Æsir with fire by Frølich.jpg|thumb|''Loki threatens the Æsir with fire'' (1895) by [[Lorenz Frølich]]]]
[[Image:Louis Huard - The Punishment of Loki.jpg|thumb|''The Punishment of Loki'' by Louis Huard]]
Thor arrives, and tells Loki to be silent, referring to him as an "evil creature", stating that with his hammer [[Mjöllnir]] he will silence Loki by hammering his head from his shoulders. Acknowledging that Thor has arrived, Loki asks Thor why he is raging, and says that Thor will not be so bold to fight against the wolf when he swallows Odin at [[Ragnarök]]. Thor again tells Loki to be silent, and threatens him with Mjöllnir, adding that he will throw Loki "up on the roads to the east", and thereafter no one will be able to see Loki. Loki states that Thor should never brag of his journeys to the east, claiming that there Thor crouched cowering in the thumb of a glove, mockingly referring to him as a "hero", and adding that such behaviour was unlike Thor. Thor responds by telling Loki to be silent, threatening him with Mjöllnir, and adding that every one of Loki's bones will be broken with it. Loki says he intends to live for a long while yet despite Thor's threats, and taunts Thor about an encounter Thor once had with the [[Útgarða-Loki|Skrýmir]] ([[Útgarða-Loki]] in disguise). Thor again commands Loki to be silent, threatens Loki with Mjöllnir, and says he will send Loki to [[Hel (location)|Hel]], below the gates of [[Nágrind]].{{sfnp|Larrington|1999|pp=94–95}}

In response to Thor, Loki says that he "spoke before the Æsir", and "before the sons of the Æsir" what his "spirit urged" him to say, yet before Thor alone he will leave, as he knows that Thor does strike. Loki ends the poetic verses of ''Lokasenna'' with a final stanza:
{{poemquote|Ale you brewed, Ægir, and you will never again hold a feast;
all your possessions which are here inside—
may flame play over them,
and may your back be burnt!{{sfnp|Larrington|1999|p=95}}}}

Following this final stanza a prose section details that after Loki left the hall, he disguised himself as a [[salmon]] and hid in the waterfall of [[Franangrsfors]], where the Æsir caught him. The narrative continues that Loki was bound with the entrails of his son [[Narfi (son of Loki)|Nari]], and his son [[Narfi (son of Loki)|Narfi]] changed into a wolf. Skaði fastened a venomous snake over Loki's face, and from it poison dripped. Sigyn, his spouse, sat with him holding a basin beneath the dripping venom, yet when the basin became full, she carried the poison away; and during this time the poison dripped on to Loki, causing him to writhe with such violence that all of the earth shook from the force, resulting in what are now known as earthquakes.{{sfnp|Larrington|1999|pp=95–96}}

====''Þrymskviða''====
[[Image:Loki's flight to Jötunheim.jpg|thumb|''Loki's flight to Jötunheim'' (1908) by [[W. G. Collingwood]]]]
[[Image:Ah, what a lovely maid it is! by Elmer Boyd Smith.jpg|thumb|''Ah, what a lovely maid it is!'' (1902) by [[Elmer Boyd Smith]]]]
In the poem ''[[Þrymskviða]]'', Thor wakes and finds that his powerful hammer, [[Mjöllnir]], is missing. Thor turns to Loki first, and tells him that nobody knows that the hammer has been stolen. The two then go to the court of the goddess [[Freyja]], and Thor asks her if he may borrow her [[Feather cloak#Germanic|feather cloak]] so that he may attempt to find Mjöllnir. Freyja agrees, saying she would lend it even if it were made of silver and gold, and Loki flies off, the feather cloak whistling.{{sfnp|Larrington|1999|p=97}}

In [[Jötunheimr]], the jötunn [[Þrymr]] sits on a [[tumulus|burial mound]], plaiting golden collars for his female dogs, and trimming the manes of his horses. Þrymr sees Loki, and asks what could be amiss among the [[Æsir]] and the [[Elf#Norse mythology|Elves]]; why is Loki alone in the Jötunheimr? Loki responds that he has bad news for both the elves and the Æsir: that Thor's hammer, Mjöllnir, is gone. Þrymr says that he has hidden Mjöllnir eight leagues beneath the earth, from which it will be retrieved if Freyja is brought to marry him. Loki flies off, the feather cloak whistling, away from Jötunheimr and back to the court of the gods.{{sfnp|Larrington|1999|pp=97–98}}

Thor asks Loki if his efforts were successful, and that Loki should tell him while he is still in the air as "tales often escape a sitting man, and the man lying down often barks out lies". Loki states that it was indeed an effort, and also a success, for he has discovered that Þrymr has the hammer, but that it cannot be retrieved unless Freyja is brought to marry Þrymr. The two return to Freyja, and tell her to dress herself in a bridal head dress, as they will drive her to Jötunheimr. Freyja, indignant and angry, goes into a rage, causing all of the halls of the Æsir to tremble in her anger, and her necklace, the famed [[Brísingamen]], falls from her. Freyja pointedly refuses.{{sfnp|Larrington|1999|p=98}}

As a result, the gods and goddesses meet and hold a [[Thing (assembly)|thing]] to discuss and debate the matter. At the thing, the god [[Heimdallr]] puts forth the suggestion that, in place of Freyja, Thor should be dressed as the bride, complete with jewels, women's clothing down to his knees, a bridal head-dress, and the necklace Brísingamen. Thor rejects the idea, and Loki (here described as "son of [[Laufey (mythology)|Laufey]]") interjects that this will be the only way to get back Mjöllnir, and points out that without Mjöllnir, the jötnar will be able to invade and settle in [[Asgard]]. The gods dress Thor as a bride, and Loki states that he will go with Thor as his maid, and that the two shall drive to Jötunheimr together.{{sfnp|Larrington|1999|p=99}}

After riding together in Thor's [[Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr|goat-driven chariot]], the two, disguised, arrive in Jötunheimr. Þrymr commands the jötnar in his hall to spread straw on the benches, for Freyja has arrived to marry him. Þrymr recounts his treasured animals and objects, stating that Freyja was all that he was missing in his wealth.{{sfnp|Larrington|1999|p=100}}

Early in the evening, the disguised Loki and Thor meet with Þrymr and the assembled jötnar. Thor eats and drinks ferociously, consuming entire animals and three casks of [[mead]]. Þrymr finds the behaviour at odds with his impression of Freyja, and Loki, sitting before Þrymr and appearing as a "very shrewd maid", makes the excuse that "Freyja's" behaviour is due to her having not consumed anything for eight entire days before arriving due to her eagerness to arrive. Þrymr then lifts "Freyja's" veil and wants to kiss "her" until catching the terrifying eyes staring back at him, seemingly burning with fire. Loki states that this is because "Freyja" had not slept for eight nights in her eagerness.{{sfnp|Larrington|1999|p=100}}

The "wretched sister" of the jötnar appears, asks for a bridal gift from "Freyja", and the jötnar bring out Mjöllnir to "sanctify the bride", to lay it on her lap, and marry the two by "the hand" of the goddess [[Vár]]. Thor laughs internally when he sees the hammer, takes hold of it, strikes Þrymr, beats all of the jötnar, and kills the "older sister" of the jötnar.{{sfnp|Larrington|1999|p=101}}

====''Reginsmál''====
Loki appears in both prose and the first six stanzas of the poem ''Reginsmál''. The prose introduction to ''Reginsmál'' details that, while the hero [[Sigurd]] was being fostered by [[Regin]], son of [[Hreidmar]], Regin tells him that once the gods Odin, [[Hœnir]], and Loki went to Andvara-falls, which contained many fish. Regin, a dwarf, had two brothers; [[Andvari]], who gained food by spending time in the Andvara-falls in the form of a [[Esox|pike]], and [[Ótr]], who would often go to the Andvara-falls in the form of an [[Eurasian otter|otter]].{{sfnp|Larrington|1999|p=151}}

While the three gods are at the falls, Ótr (in the form of an otter) catches a salmon and eats it on a river bank, his eyes shut, when Loki hits and kills him with a stone. The gods think that this is great, and flay the skin from the otter to make a bag. That night, the three gods stay with Hreidmar (the father of Regin, Andvari, and the now-dead Ótr) and show him their catches, including the skin of the otter. Upon seeing the skin, Regin and Hreidmar "seized them and made them ransom their lives" in exchange for filling the otterskin bag the gods had made with gold and covering the exterior of the bag with red gold.{{sfnp|Larrington|1999|p=151}}

Loki is sent to retrieve the gold, and Loki goes to the goddess [[Rán]], borrows her net, and then goes back to the Andvara-falls. At the falls, Loki spreads his net before Andvari (who is in the form of a pike), which Andvari jumps into. The stanzas of the poem then begin: Loki mocks Andvari, and tells him that he can save his head by telling Loki where his gold is. Andvari gives some background information about himself, including that he was cursed by a "[[norns|norn]] of misfortune" in his "early days". Loki responds by asking Andvari "what requital" does mankind get if "they wound each other with words". Andvari responds that lying men receive a "terrible requital": having to wade in the river [[Vadgelmir]], and that their suffering will be long.{{sfnp|Larrington|1999|pp=151–152}}

Loki looks over the gold that Andvari possesses, and after Andvari hands over all of his gold, Andvari holds on to but a single ring; the ring [[Andvarinaut]], which Loki also takes. Andvari, now in the form of a dwarf, goes into a rock, and tells Loki that the gold will result in the death of two brothers, will cause strife between eight princes, and will be useless to everyone.{{sfnp|Larrington|1999|p=152}}

Loki returns, and the three gods give Hreidmar the money from the gold hoard and flatten out the otter skin, stretch out its legs, and heap gold atop it, covering it. Hreidmar looks it over, and notices a single hair that has not been covered. Hreidmar demands that it be covered as well. Odin puts forth the ring Andvarinaut, covering the single hair.{{sfnp|Larrington|1999|p=152}}

Loki states that they have now handed over the gold, and that gold is cursed as Andvari is, and that it will be the death of Hreidmar and Regin both. Hreidmar responds that if he had known this before, he would have taken their lives, yet that he believes those are not yet born whom the curse is intended for, and that he does not believe him. Further, with the hoard, he will have red gold for the rest of his life. Hreidmar tells them to leave, and the poem continues without further mention of Loki.{{sfnp|Larrington|1999|pp=152–153}}

====''Baldrs draumar''====
In ''Baldr draumar'', Odin has awoken a deceased völva in [[Hel (location)|Hel]], and questions her repeatedly about his son [[Baldr]]'s bad dreams. Loki is mentioned in stanza 14, the final stanza of the poem, where the völva tells Odin to ride home, to be proud of himself, and that no one else will come visit until "Loki is loose, escaped from his bonds" and the onset of [[Ragnarök]].{{sfnp|Larrington|1999|p=245}}

====''Hyndluljóð''====
[[File:Loki finds Gullveigs Heart - John Bauer.jpg|thumb|Loki consumes a roasted heart in a painting (1911) by [[John Bauer (illustrator)|John Bauer]].]]
Loki is referenced in two stanzas in ''[[Völuspá hin skamma]]'', found within the poem ''[[Hyndluljóð]]''. The first stanza notes that Loki produced "the wolf" with the jötunn [[Angrboða]], that Loki himself gave birth to the horse [[Sleipnir]] by the stallion [[Svaðilfari]], and that Loki (referred to as the "brother of [[Býleistr]]") thirdly gave birth to "the worst of all marvels". This stanza is followed by:
{{poemquote|Loki ate some of the heart, the thought-stone of a woman,
roasted on a [[Tilia|linden-wood]] fire, he found it half-cooked;
Lopt was impregnated by a wicked woman,
from whom every ogress on earth is descended.{{sfnp|Larrington|1999|p=258}}}}

In the second of the two stanzas, Loki is referred to as ''Lopt''. Loki's consumption of a woman's heart is otherwise unattested.{{sfnp|Larrington|1999|p=296}}

====''Fjölsvinnsmál''====
In the poem ''[[Fjölsvinnsmál]]'', a stanza mentions Loki (as ''Lopt'') in association with [[runic alphabet|runes]]. In the poem, Fjölsviðr describes to the hero [[Svipdagr]] that [[Sinmara]] keeps the weapon [[Lævateinn]] within a chest, locked with [[Numbers in Germanic paganism|nine strong locks]] (due to significant translation differences, two translations of the stanza are provided here):
{{poemquote|
{{aligned table|col2style=padding-left:1em
|''Fjolsvith spake:''
"Lævatein is there, that Lopt with runes
Once made by the doors of death;
In Lægjarn's chest by Sinmora lies it,
And nine locks fasten it firm."{{sfnp|Bellows|1936|p=245}}
|''Fiolsvith.''
Hævatein the twig is named, and Lopt plucked it,
down by the gate of Death.
In an iron chest it lies with Sinmœra,
and is with nine strong locks secured.{{sfnp|Thorpe|1907|pp=96–97}}
}}
}}