Lokasenna

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Lokasenna (Loki's flyting, Loki's wrangling, Loki's quarrel) is one of the mythological poems of the Poetic Edda. In this poem the gods trade insults with Loki.

The poem Lokasenna is linked with the death of Baldr, arranged by Loki, and his eventual punishment. In the poem, many facets of the divine malice, insight and treachery of Loki are exposed, as are the inevitable shortcomings of the gods with whom Loki is trading insults. Loki, it should be noted, as well as being a god of mischief is also a highly skilled worker with words, full of guile and eloquence.

Loki, amongst other things, accuses the gods of sexual impropriety, the practice of seidr, and bias. Not ostensibly the most serious of allegations, however it should be noted that it is precisely these deficiencies which are said ultimately to lead to the onset of Ragnarok in the poem Voluspa.

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. Nevertheless the poem provides a great deal of incidental and secondary information about the gods, their doings and their propensities: the character of Loki (particularly in this poem) was to the Norsemen what a contemporary gossip columnist is to modern society, both mischievous and muck-raking.

The setting is a feast given by the sea god Ægir. (In a nice piece of 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 elves were there.

The servants of Ægir, Fimafengr and Eldir, did a thorough job of welcoming the guests; Loki was jealous of the praise being heaped upon them and slew Fimafengr. 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 persona non grata.

Loki then enters the hall of Ægir after trading insults and threats with Eldir. A hush fell. 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. Loki goads Bragi again:

In your seat you're brave, but not your deeds,

Bragi, famous adorner of benches!

Come outside and fight me if you're angry,

No hero could resist the offer

Iðunn, Bragi's wife, holds him back. Loki then insults Iðunn, calling her a slut. 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, Niord, Tyr, Freyr and Byggvir. The exchanges between Odin and Loki are particularly vitriolic.

Eventually Þórr 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 Þórr 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 telling a short version of the tale of Loki's binding. Loki is chased by the gods, and caught after an unsuccessful attempt at disguing himself as a salmon. His son Nari is killed while his other son Narvi turns into a wolf. Nari's entrails are used to bind Loki 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; these writhings were said to be the cause of earthquakes. Since other sources name Loki's sons as Váli and Narfi, some editors have chosen to read the names Nari and Narvi as a mistake in the manuscript, and transscribe Nari as Váli. Nari and Narfi are otherwise considered to be variations of the same name.

The 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's Prose Edda.

Some researchers have seen the irreverent descriptions of the gods in Lokasenna as an indication that the poem must have been composed after the advent of Christianity. Most researchers these days however reject this reasoning, as an irreverent description of gods, and descriptions of human weaknesses in gods is quite common also in other non-Christian mythologies. The Lokasenna is quite plainly meant to be humorous, but this does not necessarily mean that the composer did not believe in the gods he was describing.