Loki Bound

Author: Traditional Norse

Time Period: 1001 CE–1500 CE

Country or Culture: Scandinavia

Genre: Myth

PLOT SUMMARY

In Norse mythology, Loki’s relationship with the gods is somewhat unclear: he is a shape-shifter and the son of the giant Farbauti but is also considered a member of the Aesir, the tribe of the gods. Loki’s trickery and deception are sometimes beneficial to the gods, but he tends to undermine them more often than help them. What is clear, however, is that Loki frequently uses his various disguises and his cunning to make the gods turn on one another. The gods, taking a degree of enjoyment from their harsh punishment of Loki, inadvertently make him bitter and resentful toward them, ultimately driving him to seek their destruction.

One of Loki’s most infamous actions in this regard is the murder of the god Balder, one of the wisest and most revered gods. The son of Odin, he is known for his courage, generosity, and good will. Balder dreams that he will be killed, however, and Odin goes to the underworld, Helheim, where he speaks to a dead prophet and learns of a prophecy that Balder will indeed fall to misfortune. Balder’s mother, Frigg, attempts to protect her son by soliciting a promise from every living thing not to kill him. She does not, however, approach mistletoe, thinking it too small to be considered a threat. Loki becomes aware of this oversight and fashions a spear with a mistletoe tip. He gives the poisoned spear to the blind god Hod, who, unaware that he is being deceived, is convinced to throw the spear at Balder and kills him.

The god Hermod rides to Helheim to convince the keeper of the dead, Hel, to release Balder. Hel tells Hermod that if every living being weeps for Balder, she will release him. Loki prevents this condition from being fulfilled by disguising himself as a giantess named Tokk and refusing to mourn Balder’s death; Balder therefore remains in Helheim until Ragnarok, the time when the gods will fight the giants for control of the universe.

When the gods are made aware of Loki’s role in Balder’s death, they bring him to a cave, along with two of his sons. They transform one of Loki’s sons into a wolf, who then proceeds to slaughter his brother. The gods use the slain sons’ entrails to forge a chain that is used to tie Loki to three rocks positioned under a poisonous snake, which drips deadly venom on Loki in the hope that he will ingest it and die. Loki’s wife, Sigyn, catches the venom in a bowl to prevent his death; but whenever she moves away to dump the bowl’s contents, the snake’s venom splashes on his face, causing him to writhe and struggle and resulting in earthquakes. Loki is bound to this fate until Ragnarok, when he will be freed from the chain to fight alongside the giants against the gods who have punished him.

SIGNIFICANCE

The story of Loki’s punishment by the gods is one of the more prominent tales in which the character is presented in a negative, if not evil, light. In fact, Loki’s binding to the three rocks demonstrates the gods’ ultimate anger for Loki’s many acts of deception. At times, Loki’s lies and tricks are nefarious but sometimes beneficial to the gods; for example, in one story, he uses his cunning to rebuild the world of the gods, Asgard. In this light, Loki is initially seen as a companion to the great gods, even though he occasionally embarrasses them through his trickery. The foster brother of Odin himself, Loki is allowed to live among the gods even though he is not a god himself.

However, Loki’s tricks gradually become more malicious in nature, however, and the gods’ apparent pleasure at his torture and punishment serve to harden Loki against them. His fall from grace is made complete when he plots to kill one of Asgard’s most popular gods, Balder, and then, after facilitating Balder’s death, disguises himself and asks Hel to keep Balder in the underworld. Based on these actions, Loki becomes a powerful enemy of the gods.

Loki’s punishment for his role in Balder’s death—and his deception to keep Balder from returning from the underworld—is severe. Odin and his fellow deities brutally kill two of Loki’s sons and confine him to a torturous situation from which he would not be freed for millennia. Although the two sons are depicted in other stories as evil, the use of their entrails in Loki’s punishment is nonetheless cruel. At this point of the story, Loki, despite his wicked actions, becomes a victim of the gods’ mercilessness. In fact, Loki even seems redeemable, given his wife’s unquestioned loyalty to him; she remains at Loki’s side throughout his imprisonment to prevent him from being killed by the snake that sits above him.

Loki’s release from his punishment will only be for the purpose of Ragnarok. At this epic battle between the gods and the giants, the cosmos will be destroyed and rebuilt by the victor. Although Loki is a member of the community of the gods, he is a giant by birth. When Ragnarok arrives and the universe is at an end, Loki vows to fight alongside the giants, not just because he himself is a giant but also because he has become empowered by his rage to fight against those who imprisoned him.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bradish, Sarah Powers. “Fenris Wolf: Loki’s Children.” Old Norse Stories. New York: American Book Co., 1900. 43–44. Print.

“The Death of Baldur.” Norse Mythology. Dan McCoy, 2013. Web. 22 Apr. 2013.

“Loki.” Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica, 2013. Web. 22 Apr. 2013.

“Loki Bound.” Norse Mythology. Dan McCoy, 2013. Web. 22 Apr. 2013.

“Ragnarok: The End of the World.” Norse Mythology. Dan McCoy, 2013. Web. 24 Apr. 2013.

Short, William R. “Loki.” Hurstwic Norse Mythology. Hurstwic, 2013. Web. 22 Apr. 2013.