Loki | Mythology Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia Narfi and Vali (by Sigyn), Jörmungandr , Hel , Fenrir (by Angrboda), Sleipnir (by Svadilfari) This article is about the Norse trickster god. For the king of Útgarðr , see Útgarða-Loki . This article is about the god of mischief. For his uncle, the personification of fire, see Logi . Loki is the Norse god of mischief, as well as of fire. He is the son of two giants, Fárbauti ("cruel striker") and Laufey (or Nál which means "needle", implying that she was skinny and weak.). His two brothers (who were to be beside him in Ragnarok ) are Býleistr (bee-lighting) and Helblindi (All blind or hel-blinder). He is referred to as the blood-brother of Odin . Loki becomes harbinger of Ragnarok and the father of the three chaos monsters: Fenrir , Jörmungandr , and Hel .

Loki's mischief and intellect is not to be underestimated, as he is ultimately although indirectly responsible for the deaths of Balder and Thor , which were caused by Hodr and Jörmungandr (respectively). . [1] Contents Edit It is said that when the brick mason, giant builder of Asgard 's walls, demanded an unreasonably high price for his work (he requested the sun , the moon , and Freya as his wife), it was Loki's idea to give him six months to build the wall. Thinking that surely the man would fail, and that Loki's plan was infallible, the gods all agreed; all except Freya, who was part of the bargain. When the brick mason and his stallion, Svadilfari , had made much progress on the wall before his time expired, the gods all turned to Loki, threatening him with death if he didn't find a way to make sure the wall wasn't finished within the sixth month. Fearing for his life, Loki took the form of a young mare and enticed Svadilfari away from his master, causing the mason to lose the bet.

The union of Loki and Svadilfari brought Odin his eight-legged steed Sleipnir . The Three Chaos Monsters Edit Some time after the wall was built, Loki, discontent with his faithful wife Sigyn , went to Jötunheimr where he wooed the giantess Angrboda . In the time they spent together, Angrboda gave birth to three children as terrible as their father: the first, the wolf Fenrir, whose mouth reached from the heavens to the earth; the second, Jörmungandr, the serpent that encircled the earth; and the third was the goddess Hel. After hearing of their birth and the prophecies surrounding them, Odin had them brought to him. Once they arrive, he retains custody of Fenrir, has Jormungandr thrown into the ocean to grow and gives Hel dominion over Nilfheim . In the tale of "The Binding of Fenris", we find that the eldest son of Loki and Angrboda was the wolf which ate Tyr 's hand.

The Dwarfs Edit It was Loki who tricked the two dwarf sons of Ivaldi and the dwarfs Brokk and Eitri to work against one another to create the gods well-known weapons and mounts. He betted his head that Eitri and Brokk could not make gifts superior to Skidbladnir , Gungnir and replacement hair for Sif , whose golden locks had been shorn by Loki as a prank (for which he was punished by Sif's husband, Thor). Eitri made the ring, Draupnir , the hammer Mjollnir and the boar, Gullinbursti . These objects were judged to be superior and Loki lost. However, when it came time for his head to be cut off, he protested against it, as any action could damage his neck, which was not part of the deal. Instead, Brokk had Loki's lips sewn together for a while. The Theft of Idunn's Apples Edit After Balder's death, Aegir , god of the sea, invited all of the gods to his home so as they may forget their woes. It is here that Loki commits his final offense before his binding.

Here he insults Bragi , calling him a coward and a poor man. He then goes on to insult Idunn , Gefjun , Odin, Frigg , Freyja , Njord , Freyr , Tyr, Heimdall , Skadi and finally Sif. After this, he is chased away by Thor. The Binding of Loki Edit After Loki had been chased away by Thor for insulting all the gods and goddesses, Loki was then sought out and bound to a rock by the entrails of his son Narfi , who had been torn to pieces by his son, Vali , who had been transformed into a ravenous wolf. The faithful Sigyn kept watch over her husband, catching the poison from the serpent that Skadi placed over Loki's head. It was said that, when Sigyn left to empty the bowl, the poison would drip into Loki's eyes. His writhing from the pain caused earthquakes. He was chained until the day of Ragnarök , the end of the gods, where he will fight amongst the jotnar and face Heimdallr. Upon the field of Vígríðr, the two will slay each other. Powers Loki is an antagonist in Valkyrie Profile .

Loki is a playable God in SMITE Battleground of the Gods Loki can be chosen as a god to worship in Age of Mythology. Literature Loki is featured in the information book Worlds Worst Monsters and Villains. Loki appears in Neil Gaiman's novel American Gods. Loki appears in the 1975 fantasy novel Eight Days of Luke by Diana Wynne Jones. Loki is the protagonist of The Gospel of Loki by Joanne Harris, which presents a modern interpretation of the Norse sagas. Loki is featured prominently in Wagner's cycle Opera Ring of the Nibelung , wherein the last installment Götterdämmerung he reveals his hope to turn into fire and destroy Valhalla, and at the last moment at the onset of Ragnarok Valhalla is set alight, destroying the Gods. Loki is an antagonist in Rick Riordan's Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard series. Music Rancid has a song written about Loki. Film Edit Loki appeared as the primary antagonist on Marvel Entertainment's 2011 film Thor, The Avengers, Thor: Dark World, and the upcoming Thor: Ragnarok as a son of Odin and brother of Thor.

Loki was portrayed by British actor Tom Hiddleston (The Hollow Crown). Loki was portrayed by Richard Grieco in Almighty Thor. In Hercules: Legendary Journeys, he is portrayed by Ian Hughes. He is portrayed by Alan Cumming in Son of the Mask. Portrayal Loki - definition of Loki by The Free Dictionary Loki - definition of Loki by The Free Dictionary A god who created discord, especially among his fellow gods. Loki (Norse Myth & Legend) Norse myth the god of mischief and destruction Lo•ki a trickster god of Scandinavian myth. ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend: Noun 1. Loki - (Norse mythology) trickster; god of discord and mischief; contrived death of Balder and was overcome by Thor Norse mythology - the mythology of Scandinavia (shared in part by Britain and Germany) until the establishment of Christianity Want to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us , add a link to this page, or visit the webmaster's page for free fun content . Link to this page: Hothr References in periodicals archive ?

Chris Hemsworth as Thor gives his action deity an impressive hunky turn once again but Tom Hiddleston's Loki robs all thunder from the entire cast. V1rtualdesires Launches "Loki Land" a Social Networking Virtual 3D World assembles the superheroes to try to defeat Loki and his army. Copyright © 2003-2016 Farlex, Inc Disclaimer All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional.

Loki: Norse Trickster God of Mischief | Norse Mythology Loki: Norse Trickster God of Mischief People Category: Norse Mythology Hits: 7841 Loki Laufeyiarson, in Norse Mythology is the "god" of mischief, a son of Farbauti and Laufey, and is described as the "contriver of all fraud." Loki is actually not a god at all, but a Jotun (the Titans and Gigantes of Norse mythology), although he mixed freely with the gods for a long time, even becoming Odins foster-brother. The trickster god is a complex character, a master of guile and deception. He is also conceived of as a fire spiritual being|spirit, with all the potential for good and ill associated with fire. Loki is also an adept shape-shifter, with the ability to change both form (examples include transmogrification to a salmon, horse, bird, flea, etc.) and sex. Loki was the father of many creatures, men and monsters. With Glut, his first wife, he was the father of Einmyria and Eisa.

Jormungand Fenrisulfr Hel Having liaisons with giantesses was nothing unusual for gods in Norse mythology—both Odin and Freyr are good examples; and since Loki was actually a giant himself, there is nothing unusual about this activity. Together with Angerboda, he had three children: *Jormungand, the sea serpent *Fenrisulfr the giant wolf preordained to slay Odin at the time of Ragnarok * Hel, the goddess of the underworld/realm of the dead Stories of Loki Loki was flying as a hawk one day and was captured by Geirrod, a frost giant. Geirrod, who hated Thor, demanded that Loki bring his enemy (without his magic belt and Mjolnir hammer) to Geirrods castle. Loki agreed to lead Thor to the trap. On the way to Geirrods, they stopped at the home of Grid, a giantess. She waited until Loki left the room then told Thor what was happening and gave him her iron gloves and magical belt and staff. Thor killed Geirrod, and all other frost giants he could find.

Loki was not so much a figure of unmitigated badness as a kind of celestial con man/confidence trickster, who always managed to persuade the gods to give him another chance. Some anthropologists have compared him to Coyote, a trickster figure of Native American mythology. Loki occasionally works with the other gods. For example, he tricked Hrimthur, who built the walls around Asgard, out of being paid for his work by distracting his horse while disguised as a mare—thereby he became the mother of Odins eight-legged horse Sleipnir. He also retrieved Gungnir - Odins spear, Skidbladnir - Freyrs ship and Sifs wig from Dvalin, the Norse dwarves/dwarf, as well as rescuing Idun. Finally,in Trymskvida, the funniest of Thors adventures, Loki manages, with Thor at his side, to get Mjollnir back when the giant Thrym secretly steals it, in order to ask for fair Freya as a bride, in exchange.

Loki overplayed his hand in this respect: disguised as a giantess, he arranged the murder of Baldur (he used mistletoe, the only plant which had not sworn to never harm Baldur, and made a dart of it, which he tricked Baldurs blind brother Hod into throwing at Baldur, thereby killing him), although earlier versions of the myth, attributed to Saxo Grammaticus do not implicate Loki. Significantly, also, the poem in the Elder Edda most associated with Loki, the Lokasenna, does not directly implicate Loki in Baldurs death. The gods, bereft at the loss of Baldur, travelled to the underworld to bargain for Balders life; there, Hel told them that the only way to ensure the gods return was to have everything in the world weep for him. The gods went through the land, and convinced not only men, women and animals to weep for Balder, but also rocks and trees. Finally, they arrived at a cave in which a giantess dwelled. The gods were unable to convince her to cry for Baldur, and so he remained in the underworld.

When the gods discovered that the giantess had been Loki in disguise, they hunted him down and bound him to three rocks with the entrails of either his son Fenrisulfr or Vali. Then they tied a serpent above him, the venom of which dripped onto his face. His wife Sigyn (a goddess, not the giantess who was the mother of Lokis monster brood) gathered the venom in a bowl, but from time to time she had to turn away to empty it, at which point the poison would drip onto Loki, who writhed in pain, thus causing earthquakes. He would free himself, however, in time to attack the gods at Ragnarok along with the other giants and his monster children. Not all lore depicts Loki as a malevolent being. An 18th century ballad (that may have drawn from a much earlier source) from the Faroe Islands, entitled Loka Thaattur, depicts Loki as a friend to man: when a thurs (troll or giant) comes to take a farmers son away, the farmer and his wife pray to Odin to protect him. Odin hides the son in a field of wheat, but the thurs finds him.

Odin rescues the son and takes him back to the farmer and his wife, saying that he is done hiding the son. The couple then prays to Honir, who hides the son in the neck-feathers of a swan, but again the Thurs finds him. On the third day, they pray to Loki, who hides the son amidst the eggs of a flounder. The thurs finds the flounder, but Loki instructs the boy to run into a boathouse. The giant gets his head caught in a peephole (the translation is not complete, but it appears to be a peephole) and Loki kills him by chopping off his leg and inserting a stick and a stone in the leg stump to prevent the thurs from regenerating. He takes the boy home, and the farmer and his wife embrace both of them. "Loki, Norse God of tricksters, jesters and fools." A figure somewhat reminiscent of the Chinese mythology/Chinese Monkey King at times, whose persona in myth underwent changes over the centuries, Loki, for all his ambiguity, was a positive figure before Christianity took over his tale.

Loki - Norse Mythology for Smart People Norse Mythology for Smart People Loki An anonymous painting of Loki from an Icelandic illuminated manuscript Loki (pronounced “LOAK-ee;” Old Norse Loki, whose meaning/etymology is unknown[1]) is the wily trickster god of Norse mythology. While treated as a nominal member of the Aesir tribe of gods in the Eddas and sagas , Loki occupies a highly ambivalent and ultimately solitary position amongst the gods, giants , and the other classes of invisible beings that populate the traditional spirituality of the Norse and other Germanic peoples. His familial relations attest to this. His father is the giant Fárbauti (“Cruel Striker”), and his mother, Laufey (possibly “Tree”), could be a goddess, a giantess, or something else entirely – the surviving sources are silent on this point.

Loki is the father, by the giantess Angrboða (“Anguish-Boding”) of Hel , the goddess of the grave, Jormungand , the great serpent who slays Thor during Ragnarok , and Fenrir , the wolf who bites off one of the hands of Tyr and who kills Odin during Ragnarok – hardly a reputable brood, to say the least. As we’ll see below, Loki demonstrates a complete lack of concern for the well-being of his fellow gods, a trait which could be discerned, in vague outline, merely by considering his offspring. Loki often runs afoul not only of societal expectations, but also of what we today might call “the laws of nature.” In addition to the progeny listed above, Loki is also the mother – yes, the mother – of Sleipnir , Odin’s shamanic horse, whom Loki gave birth to after shapeshifting into a mare and courting the stallion Svaðilfari, as is recounted in the tale of The Fortification of Asgard . In the tales , Loki is portrayed as a scheming coward who cares only for shallow pleasures and self-preservation.

He’s by turns playful, malicious, and helpful, but he’s always irreverent and nihilistic. For example, in The Kidnapping of Idun , Loki, by his recklessness, ends up in the hands of a furious giant, Thiazi, who threatens to kill Loki unless he brings him the goddess Idun . Loki complies in order to save his life, and then finds himself in the awkward position of having the gods threaten him with death unless he rescues Idun. He agrees to this request for the same base motive, shifting his shape into that of a falcon and carrying the goddess back to Asgard in his talons. Thiazi pursues him desperately in the form of an eagle, but, having almost caught up with Loki as he nears his destination, the gods light a fire around the perimeter of their fortress. The flames catch Thiazi and burn him to death, while Idun and Loki reach the halls of the gods safely. Loki ultimately comes to the aid of the gods, but only to rectify a calamity for which he himself is responsible. This theme is repeated in numerous tales, such as in Loki and the Dwarves and the aforementioned The Fortification of Asgard .

After Thiazi’s death, the giant’s daughter, Skadi , arrives in Asgard demanding restitution for the slaying of her father. One of her demands is that the gods make her laugh, something which only Loki is able to do. To accomplish this, he ties one end of a rope to the beard of a goat and the other end to his testicles. Both he and the goat squawk and squeal as one pulls one way and the other pulls the other way. Eventually he falls over in Skadi’s lap, and the giantess can’t help but laugh at such an absurd spectacle. Here, Loki once again comes to the aid of the gods, but simply by being silly and outlandish, not by accomplishing any feat that a Viking Age Scandinavian would have found to be particularly honorable. Loki alternately helps both the gods and the giants, depending on which course of action is most pleasurable and advantageous to him at the time. During Ragnarok, when the gods and giants engage in their ultimate struggle and the cosmos is destroyed and re-created, Loki joins the battle on the side of the giants. He and the god Heimdall mortally wound each other.

Loki is perhaps best known for his malevolent role in The Death of Baldur . After the death of the beloved god Baldur is prophesied, Baldur’s mother, Frigg , secures a promise from every living thing to not harm her son. Well, almost everything – no such oath is obtained from the mistletoe, which the gods think too small and safe a thing to harm Baldur. Upon discovering this omission, Loki carves a mistletoe spear, places it in the hands of the blind god Hod, and instructs him to throw it at Baldur. Hod, not knowing the origin of the weapon, complies, and Baldur is impaled and dies. The god Hermod rides Sleipnir to Helheim and implores Hel to release Baldur, pointing out how beloved he is by all living things. Hel retorts that if this is so, then it shouldn’t be difficult to compel every being in the world to weep for Baldur, and, should this happen, the dead god would be released from the grave.

Every living thing does indeed cry for Baldur’s return, with one sole exception: a frost-hearted giantess named Tokk (Þökk, “Thanks”), who is almost certainly Loki in disguise. So Baldur must remain in Hel until Ragnarok. For these and many more crimes against them, the gods eventually forge a chain from the entrails of another seldom-mentioned son of Loki’s and tie him down to three rocks inside a cave. A venomous serpent sits above him, dripping poison onto him. Loki’s apparently very faithful and loving wife, Sigyn , sits at his side with a bowl to catch the venom. But when the bowl becomes full, of course, she has to leave her husband’s side to pour it out. When this happens, the drops of venom that fall onto him cause him to writhe in agony, and these convulsions create earthquakes. And in this state he lies until breaking free at Ragnarok. A fascinating variant of the tale of Loki’s being bound comes to us from the medieval Danish historian Saxo Grammaticus.

In his History of the Danes, Thor, on one of his many journeys to Jotunheim , the homeland of the giants, finds a giant named Útgarðaloki (“Loki of the Utangard “). Útgarðaloki is bound in exactly the same manner as that in which Loki is bound in the tale mentioned above, which comes from Icelandic sources.[2][3] It seems that even the heathen Scandinavians themselves held conflicting views on whether Loki was a god, a giant, or something else entirely. No traces of any kind of historical worship of Loki have survived into modern times.[4] Is this any wonder, given that his character is virtually the antithesis of the traditional values to which most pre-Christian Germanic people subscribed? Loki’s Role in the Pre-Christian Northern European Worldview Why, then, did the Scandinavians have such a god in their mythology at all? What did he represent to them? To which modalities of life does his character correspond? To answer these vexing questions, we must consider Loki from the perspective of the pre-Christian northern European worldview itself.

Only then can we hope to understand what Loki meant to the people who told tales of him around their hearth-fires during the long winter nights. Before the victory of Christianity, the Germanic peoples had no conception of what we think of as absolute moral “good” or “evil.” Some values and actions were appropriate for some people and some situations; others were inappropriate for those people and those situations, but very well might be appropriate for other people and other situations. This was not the free-for-all of moral relativism, however, which is, after all, simply the inversion or denial of the Judeo-Christian perspective of an absolute, universal morality. In traditional Germanic society, a person who occupied a particular social role and was a devotee of that role’s corresponding god or goddess could rightly be held to the standard of conduct appropriate for that role and its divinity. Thus, while most Viking Age men were held to the standards of honor and manliness exemplified by such figures as Tyr, Thor, or Freyr , for example, not everyone was necessarily held to these standards.

Devotees of Odin, for example – a god for whom we have ample evidence of true historical worship – followed a path of ecstatic and creative self-actualization that often seemed fickle, ruthless, irresponsible, and even shameful by the standards of, say, a man of Thor. (See Polytheistic Theology and Ethics .) Thus, Loki can’t rightly be considered a model of moral “evil.” Instead, he’s a model of one of the countless, and often opposing and contradictory, principles and meanings of which life consists. Odin shares many of Loki’s boundary-crossing, trickster-like attributes. One Old Norse poem even states that the two are blood brothers.[5] Why, then, was Odin the recipient of considerable worship and active emulation, and Loki, as far as we can tell, received hardly any or none at all? If the modality of life to which Odin corresponds were to be expressed in conceptual terms, it would be something like the modern German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche’s “Will to Power,” a restless, vital force that strives to continually overcome itself and its surroundings, fostering growth through the mastery of subtle, arcane knowledge and abilities.

That this could be seen as sacred, worthy of the name of a god, is perfectly comprehensible from the perspective of a worldview that seeks to affirm life unconditionally, which the pre-Christian Germanic worldview, much like Nietzsche’s, certainly does. The principle to which Loki corresponds, however, is the disregard for or hatred of the sacred as such. For Loki, the gods are “not to be worshiped, but ignored, to be overcome, or in the last analysis mocked.”[6] This perspective certainly had its adherents in the Viking Age, such as Glúmr in Víga-Glúms Saga (not to mention that this perspective has been enshrined as the norm by modern humanism). Why would such people, who place their trust solely in their own might, reverence a god who happens to share their anti-spiritual perspective? Paradoxically, however, in order to affirm life as being inherently and unconditionally sacred, one must affirm even Loki and the principle to which he corresponds as being an embodiment of divinity in and of itself.

One embodies Loki whenever one lives in a totally profane manner, without any reference to sacred models – hence Loki’s utter lack of any allegiances to the gods, giants, or anyone else. Thus, while the animistic and pantheistic Germanic peoples held the sacred to be categorically superior to the merely profane, they recognized that, since, in their perspective, the sacred and the profane are not dualistic, mutually exclusive conceptions (as they are in Judeo-Christianity), all that is profane is – again paradoxically – ultimately sacred as well. The difference lies solely in the mindset with which one approaches any given phenomenon. To a profane mindset such as Loki’s, it will be profane; to a sacred mindset such as Odin’s, it will be sacred. And from a sacred perspective, even the apparently profane is ultimately sacred and worthy of being called a god. Loki features so prominently in the tales of Norse mythology because, from the perspective of the heathen Norse themselves, those tales expressed the inner meaning of the physical world we inhabit.

Since most people live most of their lives with the mindset exemplified by Loki, it’s inevitable that the pre-Christian Scandinavians would have had much to say about him, as a way of reminding themselves that everything, even irreverence itself, is ultimately worthy of reverence. Looking for more great information on Norse mythology and religion? While this site provides the ultimate online introduction to the topic, my book The Viking Spirit provides the ultimate introduction to Norse mythology and religion period. I’ve also written a popular list of The 10 Best Norse Mythology Books , which you’ll probably find helpful in your pursuit. References: Norse Creation and Destruction of the World | Norse Mythology Norse Creation and Destruction of the World People Category: Norse Mythology Hits: 5035 World of Fire and Ice Originally there was a chasm, Ginnungagap, bounded on either side by fire (from the world known as Muspelheim) and ice (from the world known as Niflheim). Ymir In Norse mythology, Ymir is the primordial giant and the progenitor of the race of frost giants. He was created from the melting ice of Niflheim, when it came in contact with the hot air from Muspell.

From Ymir's sleeping body the first giants sprang forth: one of his legs fathered a son on his other leg while from under his armpit a man and women grew out. The frost kept melting and from the drops the divine cow Audumla was created. From her udder flowed four rivers of milk, on which Ymir fed. The cow itself got nourishment by licking hoar frost and salt from the ice. On the evening on the first day the hair of a man appeared, on the second day the whole head and on the third day it became a man, Buri, the first god. His grandchildren are Odin, Ve and Vili. Odin and his brothers had no liking for Ymir, nor for the growing number of giants, and killed him. In the huge amount of blood that flowed from Ymir's wounds all the giants, except two, drowned. From the slain body the brothers created heaven and earth.

They used the flesh to fill the Ginnungagap; his blood to create the lakes and the seas; from his unbroken bones they made the mountains; the giant's teeth and the fragments of his shattered bones became rocks and boulders and stones; trees were made from his hair, and the clouds from his brains. Odin and his brothers raised Ymir's skull and made the sky from it and beneath its four corners they placed a dwarf. Finally, from Ymir's eyebrow they shaped Midgard, the realm of man. The maggots which swarmed in Ymir's flesh they gave wits and the shape of men, but they live under the hills and mountains. They are called dwarfs. Bergelmir In Norse myth, Bergelmir was the son of Thrudgelmir and the grandson of Aurgelmir (Ymir). In the enormous amount of blood which flowed freely after Ymir's death, all the frost giants died, except Bergelmir and his wife. Just before the end they climbed into a hollow tree trunk and could thus survive. When things settled down, they became the progenitors of a new, younger race of frost giants.

Jormungand In Norse mythology, Jormungand is one of the three children of the god Loki and his wife, the giantess Angrboda. The gods were well aware that this monster was growing fast and that it would one day bring much evil upon gods and men. So Odin deemed it advisable to render it harmless. He threw the serpent in the ocean that surrounds the earth, but the monster had grown to such an enormous size that it easily spans the entire world, hence the name Midgard Serpent. It lies deep in the ocean where it bites itself in its tail, and all mankind is caught within his coils. At the destruction of the universe, Jormungand and Thor will kill each other. Yggdrasil From Ymir's body grew an ash tree named Yggdrasil whose branches covered the known world and supported the universe. Yggdrasil ("The Terrible One's Horse"), also called the World Tree, is the giant ash tree that links and shelters all the worlds. Ygdrasil had three roots going to each of the 3 levels of the world.

One root went into Asgard, the home of the gods, another went into the land of the giants, Jotunheim, and a third went to that primeval world of ice, darkness, and the dead, known as Niflheim. Three wells lie at its base: the Well of Wisdom (Mímisbrunnr), guarded by Mimir; the Well of Fate (Urdarbrunnr), guarded by the Norns; and the Hvergelmir (Roaring Kettle), the source of many rivers. Four deer run across the branches of the tree and eat the buds; they represent the four winds. There are other inhabitants of the tree, such as the squirrel Ratatosk ("swift teeth"), a notorious gossip, and Vidofnir ("tree snake"), the golden cock that perches on the topmost bough. The roots are gnawed upon by Nidhogg and other serpents. On the day of Ragnarok, the fire giant Surt will set the tree on fire. Other names for the tree include: Ask Yggdrasil, Hoddmimir's Wood, Laerad and Odin's Horse.

Old Norse: Mimameidr The Three Norns In Norse mythology, the Norns are the demi-goddesses of destiny. They control the destinies of both gods and men, as well as the unchanging laws of the cosmos. They are represented as three sisters: Urd ("fate"), Verdandi ("necessity") and Skuld ("being"). They live at the base of the World Tree Yggdrasil in the realm of Asgard. Nothing lasts forever, and even the mighty Yggdrasil is subject to decay. The Norns try to stop this process, or at least slow it down, by pouring mud and water from the Well of Fate over its branches. This magical liquid stops the rotting process for the time being. In other myths, the Norns were thought to give assistance at birth, and that each person has his own personal Norn. The spring by the Asgard root was cared for by the 3 Norns, goddesses of fate: * Urdur (the past) * Skuld (the future) The Nine Worlds of Norse Mythology In Norse mythology there are 9 worlds that are divided among three levels all held together by the world tree, Ygdrasil.

Upper Level Asgard Asgard, in Norse mythology, is one of the nine worlds and the homeland of the Aesir, the race of warrior gods. Located on the highest level of the Norse universe, it is surrounded by a high wall of closely fitted stone blocks. The walls surrounding Asgard were built by Blast (or Hrimthurs), who asked in payment the hand of Freya plus the sun and the moon. Odin agreed providing the walls be complete in six months. Hrimthurs had a magic horse, named Svadilfari, who helped him in his work. To Odin's (and the other gods, especially Freya's) horror, with but a few days left, Blast was almost finished. Loki, the trickster, turned himself into a mare and beguiled the stallion Svadilfari away. The job was not completed in time and no payment was given. Also found on this level are the worlds of Alfheim and Vanaheim as well as Valhalla, an immense hall where warriors slain in battle await the final conflict. In the middle of Asgard lies the plain of Idavoll (or Ida) where the Aesir meet to decide important issues.

There the gods assemble in the hall of Gladsheim and the goddesses in the hall of Vingolf. The gods also meet daily at the Well of Urd, beneath the Asgard root of the ash tree Yggdrasil. Alfheim Alfheim ("elf home"), in Norse mythology, is one of the nine worlds. It is located on the highest level of the Norse universe. Also found on this level are the worlds of Asgard and Vanaheim. Alfheim is the palace of the god Freyr and the homeland of the elves of light. Neither the elves of light nor the elves of darkness, who live in Svartalfheim, participate in any of the events described in the Norse myths. Elves do, however, have active roles in the literature of quite a few of the other branches of Indo-European mythology. Vanaheim Vanaheim ("home of the Vanir") is the land of the Vanir. It is located in Asgard, on the highest level of the universe. Valhalla Valhalla, Hall of the Slain, in Norse mythology is the hall presided over by Odin. This vast hall has five hundred and forty doors.

The rafters are spears, the hall is roofed with shields and breast-plates litter the benches. A wolf guards the western door and an eagle hovers over it. It is here that the Valkyries, Odin's messengers and spirits of war, bring half of the heroes that died on the battle fields (the rest go to Freya's hall Folkvang). These heroes, the Einherjar, are prepared in Valhalla for the oncoming battle of Ragnarok. When the battle commences, eight hundred warriors will march shoulder to shoulder out of each door. Old Norse: Valhöll Middle Level Midgard In Norse myth, the defensive fortress which the gods build about the middle portion of the earth allotted to men in order to protect mankind from the giants. Midgard ("middle world") is on the same level as Nidavellir (land of the dwarfs), Svartalfheim (land of the dark elves/dwarfs) and Jotunheim (the land of the giants). Jotunheim Jotunheim is one of the nine worlds, the homeland of the frost giants and rock giants.

Situated in Midgard, on the middle level of the Norse universe, Jotunheim is separated from Asgard by the river Iving, which never freezes over. It lies in the snowy regions on the outermost shores of the ocean. Mimir's well of wisdom is in Jotunheim, beneath the Midgard root of the ash tree Yggdrasil. Jotunheim is ruled by Thrym ("uproar"), the feared king of the frost giants. The stronghold of Utgard, the chief city of Jotunheim and the abode of the giants, is ruled by the giant Utgard-Loki. Other strongholds include Gastropnir, home of the giantess Menglad, and Thrymheim ("house of uproar"), mountain stronghold of the giant Thiazi. Svartalfar The black elves of Norse mythology who grew from the maggots of Ymir's flesh. They live in the earth and in stones. Although they have the shape of men, they are often misshapen. Their home is Svartalfheim, which lies under the earth, and here they stay during daylight on pain of being turned to stone.

The Svartalfar are often identified with the dvergar (dwarfs) and are hard to distinguish from the Döckálfar (the earth-dwelling ones). Lower Level Niflheim Niflheim ("house of mists") is the far northern region of icy fogs and mists, darkness and cold. It is situated on the lowest level of the universe. The realm of death, Helheim is part of the vast, cold region. Niflheim lies underneath the third root of Yggdrasil, close to the spring Hvergelmir ("roaring cauldron"). Also situated on this level is Nastrond, the Shore of Corpses, where the serpent Nidhogg eats corpses and gnaws on the roots of Yggdrasil. After Ragnarok, there will be a hall here for the punishment of murderers, oath breakers, and philanderers. Helheim Helheim ("house of Hel") is one of the nine worlds of Norse mythology. It is ruled by Hel, the monstrous daughter of the trickster god Loki and his wife Angrboda.

This cold, dark and misty abode of the dead is located in the world of Niflheim, on the lowest level of the Norse universe. No one can ever leave this place, because of the impassable river Gjoll that flows from the spring Hvergelmir and encircles Helheim. Once they enter Helheim, not even the gods can leave. Those who die of old age or disease, and those not killed in battle, go to Helheim while those who die bravely on the battlefield go to Valhalla. The entrance to Helheim is guarded by Garm, a monstrous hound, and Modgud. The giant Hraesvelg ("corpse eater") sits at the edge of the world, overlooking Helheim. In the form of an eagle with flapping wings he makes the wind blow. Old Norse: Niflheimr The Gods' Death The Norse gods are not immortal in the normal sense. In the end, they and the world will be destroyed because of the actions of the evil or mischievous god Loki who, for now, endures Promethean chains. Loki is the son or brother of Odin, but only through adoption.

In reality he is a giant (Jotnar), one of the sworn enemies of the Aesir. It is the Jotnar who will find the gods at Ragnarok and bring about the end of the world. Ragnarok Ragnarok ("Doom of the Gods"), also called Gotterdammerung, means the end of the cosmos in Norse mythology. It will be preceded by Fimbulvetr, the winter of winters. Three such winters will follow each other with no summers in between. Conflicts and feuds will break out, even between families, and all morality will disappear. This is the beginning of the end. The wolf Skoll will finally devour the sun, and his brother Hati will eat the moon, plunging the earth [into] darkness. The stars will vanish from the sky. The cock Fjalar will crow to the giants and the golden cock Gullinkambi will crow to the gods. A third cock will raise the dead. The earth will shudder with earthquakes, and every bond and fetter will burst, freeing the terrible wolf Fenrir.

The sea will rear up because Jormungand, the Midgard Serpent, is twisting and writhing in fury as he makes his way toward the land. With every breath, Jormungand will stain the soil and the sky with his poison. The waves caused by the serpent's emerging will set free the ship Naglfar, and with the giant Hymir as their commander, the giants will sail towards the battlefield. From the realm of the dead a second ship will set sail, and this ship carries the inhabitants of hell, with Loki as their helmsman. The fire giants, led by the giant Surt, will leave Muspell in the south to join against the gods. Surt, carrying a sword that blazes like the sun itself, will scorch the earth. Meanwhile, Heimdall will sound his horn, calling the sons of Odin and the heroes to the battlefield. From all the corners of the world, gods, giants, dwarves, demons and elves will ride towards the huge plain of Vigrid ("battle shaker") where the last battle will be fought. Odin will engage Fenrir in battle, and Thor will attack Jormungand.

Thor will victorious, but the serpent's poison will gradually kill the god of thunder. Surt will seek out the swordless Freyr, who will quickly succumb to the giant. The one-handed Tyr will fight the monstrous hound Garm and they will kill each other. Loki and Heimdall, age-old enemies, will meet for a final time, and neither will survive their encounter. The fight between Odin and Fenrir will rage for a long time, but finally Fenrir will seize Odin and swallow him. Odin's son Vidar will at once leap towards the wolf and kill him with his bare hands, ripping the wolf's jaws apart. Then Surt will fling fire in every direction. The nine worlds will burn, and friends and foes alike will perish. The earth will sink into the sea. After the destruction, a new and idyllic world will arise from the sea and will be filled with abundant supplies. Some of the gods will survive, others will be reborn. Wickedness and misery will no longer exist and gods and men will live happily together. The descendants of Lif and Lifthrasir will inhabit this earth.

Ragnarök does not mean "Twilight of the Gods"; that phrase is the result of a famous mistranslation. "Ragnarökr" or "Ragnarøkr" means "doom of the powers" or "destruction of the powers" (where "powers" means "gods"). Primary Source for this article: Encyclopedia Mythica. 2010. Encyclopedia Mythica Online. 03 Dec. 2010 . by Micha F. Lindemans Of Norse Loki and the Celtic Lugh | Order of Bards and Druids Of Norse Loki and the Celtic Lugh by DaRC Summary This summarizes the conclusion below which defines the details of my thoughts. The main thrust here is that the Celts were amongst the earliest European tribes to smelt iron, their culture thus heavily influenced those tribes around them, particularly the Norse, Northern or Germanic tribes. Loki provides the echo of that Celtic influence on early Northern culture within the Norse mythology. As Lugh or Lugus was one of the primary Celtic deities, I think that Loki can be identified as the Norse view of Lugh. This depends upon Loki and Lugh being identified together for which the argument is that both were fostered in the legends.

They both have a close association with mistletoe and provide gifts to their friends. They are lightning Gods rather than Sun, Earth or Water gods and can both be associated with killing, via a thrown spear, a Sun god. This is just what inspiration points to me as obvious and that the demonization of Loki is the influence of Christianity in misinterpreting the Norse mythology for its own ends. The Beginning of Norse Mythology -The Early Northern Iron Age (c. 500 BC) The knowledge of the early Norse iron age is limited to archaeological evidence and comments from classical authors. Evidence suggests that the late Bronze Age (ca. 700 BC) was a time of cultural change when the language(s) spoken earlier may have been replaced by the Germanic language. It seems that there were organised villages and the gradual change to a more sophisticated, stratified society started around 500 BC right at the beginning of the Iron Age. Many finds have been found in bogs. The oldest war booty offering, known as the Hjortspring find, contains the remains of the oldest prehistoric Danish boat. It is of the same type as the craft known from Bronze Age rock carvings.

The weapons found with it, however, are of Celtic origin. Other finds from the end of the Bronze Age period include the Dejbjerg wagons and the large cauldrons from Brå and Gundestrup which bear witness to connections with the Celts. These precious vessels were brought back during the turbulent period when the Germanic Cimbrians and Teutons were roaming Europe and attacking the northern boundary of the Roman Empire where, at Noricum in 113 BC, they defeated a Roman army. The Roots of the Runes What we now know as the runic alphabet seems to have developed from two distinct sources - one magical, one literate. Pre-runic symbols, or hällristningar, have been found in various Bronze Age rock carvings, primarily in Sweden. Some of these symbols are readily identifiable in the later alphabets, while others represent ideas and concepts which were incorporated into the names of the runes (sun, horse, etc.). The exact meanings of these sigils are now lost to us, as is their original purpose, but they are believed to have been used for divination or lot-casting, and it is fairly certain that they contributed to the magical function of the later runic alphabets.

There is some debate over the origin of the ‘alphabet’ aspect of the runes. Cases have been made for both Latin and Greek derivation, and several scholars are once again arguing in favour of both these theories. However, the strongest evidence still seems to point to a North Italic origin (from Etruscan). The parallels between the two alphabets are too close to be ignored, particularly in the forms of the letters, as well as in the variable direction of the writing, and certain structural and even symbolic characteristics. This would also explain why so many of the runes resemble Roman letters, since both Italic and Latin scripts are derived from the Etruscan alphabet (itself a branch of the Western Greek family of alphabets). This theory would place the original creation of the futhark sometime before the 1st. century AD., when the Italic scripts were absorbed and replaced by the Latin alphabet. Linguistic and phonetic analysis points to an even earlier inception date, perhaps as far back as 200 BC.

When the northern tribes began integrating the Italic alphabets into their own symbolic system, they gave the letters names relating to all aspects of their secular and religious lives, thus transforming their simple pictographs into a magical alphabet which could be used for talismans, magical inscriptions and divination (Elliot, Runes: an Introduction, pp. 5-6) A third theory, and perhaps the most popular today, is that the runestaves were derived from North Italic alphabets used in the Alpine regions of Italy. Like the Latin alphabet, these scripts derived from the Etruscan alphabet. They were in use until the first or second century when they were finally superseded by the Latin script. Like the runestaves, the North Italic alphabets could be written either right to left or left to right H. Arntz believes that one of the Germanic tribes said to be in the Alpine regions by Roman authors could have encountered North Italic writing as early as the fourth century BC. From this they evolved the futhark as we know it and by the second century BC it had already began its spread northward (Elliot, pp. 8-9).

We do know that Germanic tribes did indeed encounter North Italic writing. In 1812 a helmet was unearthed at Negau near the border of Austria and Yugoslavia. Inscribed upon the helmet are the words hargasti teiwa, which indicates that someone who spoke Proto-Germanic knew the North Italic script and used it in writing his own language. It must be noted that this theory gives sufficient time for the runestaves to be in use in Denmark and Norway in the third century AD. A major objection that can be made to this theory is that the shapes of many of the runestaves do not resemble North Italic writing at all. This problem could be solved when one considers the symbols often found in rock carvings which appear to predate the runestaves themselves. Many of these symbols resemble many of the runestaves, so much so that it seems possible that whoever invented the runestaves could have adapted some of the North Italic letters for the rune row's use and derived the other staves from these ancient symbols (Elliot, p. 7). Though we cannot say for certain, it seems likely that the Common Germanic rune row was invented sometime between the fourth century BC and the first century AD.

It was apparently developed by an individual familiar with North Italic script who adapted letters from that alphabet and symbols used by the Germanic peoples for use in the rune row. Celtic Comparative History It can be seen from the above that circa 300 BC - 100 BC is probably when the Norse Mythology is created. Odin's discovery of the Runes is from around that time and it was a time when Norse culture was changing from a Farmstead culture into a more stratified, organised culture and coming into contact with the Italian and Celtic cultures via both trade and war. So what was happening with the Celts at this time? Beginning around 500 BCE, and following on the sudden expansion of both wealth and territory it had experienced in the Early Iron Age, the Celtic world entered into a period of comfort and self-confidence where it took great interest in the cultures and artistic expressions of its neighbours and borrowed freely from them, yet always adapted such borrowings to native Celtic tastes and values. This blend of innovation and tradition gave rise to the unique La Tène style of Celtic art, and doubtless had repercussions at all levels of Celtic culture, particularly in the realm of religion.

A whole vocabulary of religious symbols of Oriental origin began to be depicted on art objects during this period, suggesting a renewed interest in religious ideas as a result of exposure to foreign traditions, although there does not seem to have been any break with the fundamental Indo-European heritage. Many of these imported symbols, as well as some other new ones of native origin, are found in association with one particular god, Lugus, whose sudden and widespread rise to prominence must have been one of the most important events in La Tène religion. The La Tène period was when the Celts were at the height of their political power and it was during this period that they came to the note of the Classical Greeks and Romans particularly during their invasions of the Etruscan city of Clusium and Rome in 390 BC where Brennus', their leader or the title of their leader, demanded his weight in gold to leave the city alone. Throughout the next 200 years there are constant movement of Celtic tribes from the Atlantic to Asia Minor. This also coincides with Greek expansion under Alexander the Great and Roman expansion.

When the German tribes start their migrations into Transalpine Gaul circa 100 BC this causes the last of the great Celtic migrations from the East of the Rhine to the West of the Rhine which in turn enabled Julius Caesar to conquer the now divided Gaul. All the Gaulish tribes and their lands had been conquered - Transalpine, Cisalpine and Gaul itself. However many of the German tribes adopted Celtic culture and religious practice. The Mythic History of Lugus and Loki - Who was Lugus? Many scholars have interpreted the name Lugus as a derivation of the Indo-European root *leuk- ‘light’, which also gave rise to Latin lux. This is partially confirmed by the meaning of lleu in Welsh (especially as part of (go)leu ‘light’). As a result, and helped along by Victorian scholars' obsession with ‘solar myths’, it was taken for granted that Lúgh was a solar god.

Moreover, a comparison between Lúgh's title Lámhfhada (‘long-armed’) and the title Prithupâni (‘broad-handed’) given to the Vedic god Savitr (the god of the first light of day) seemed to confirm such a notion-- and it is now firmly entrenched in popular literature about Irish ‘mythology’. However, traditional, ritual-associated ideas about Lúgh show no trace of this. Lúghnasadh is a day on which thunderstorms with plentiful rain are expected and welcomed. They provide a respite from the fierce summer heat that endangers the crops and encourages insect pests. The pitiless sun is Balor's scorching eye, and the spear of Lúgh is needed to tame its power. Lúgh is called Lonnbeimnech (‘fierce striker’) as well as Lámhfhada. Celtic ‘Mercury’ is sometimes shown not only with his spear but with the easily recognizable Indo-European thunder-hammer.

In Mayo the Lúghnasadh thunderstorms where seen as the battle between Lúgh and Balor: 'Tá gaoth Logha Lámhfhada ag eiteall anocht san aer. 'Seadh, agus drithleogaí a athar. Balor Béimeann an t-athair’ (‘The wind of Lúgh Long-arm is flying in the air tonight. Yes, and the sparks of his father [sic]. Balor Béimeann is the father’). From these and other examples it is abundantly clear that Lugus has his domain in storm rather than in sunlight, and that if his name has any relation to ‘light’ it more properly means ‘lightning-flash’ (as in Breton luc'h and Cornish lughes). This is the principal function of his invincible spear. Although there may be some thematic relation between the titles of Lúgh and Savitr, they are clearly not equivalents of each other.

A more evident and significant pun exists between the name 'Lugus' and the Old Celtic stem lugi- meaning ‘to swear, oath’ (appearing in Irish as luighe, in Welsh as llw, and in Breton as le). The famous Gaulish text found at Chamalières in 1971, which is the script of a magico-religious ritual for obtaining the help of Arvernian Maponos in a military revolt, concludes with the thrice-repeated formula, ‘Luge dessumiis [= dexumiis]’ (‘By an oath I make them ready’), where the echo of the god's name in the expression luge could hardly have failed to impress itself on a Celtic-speaker's ear, and would have underlined his relation to the quintessentially first-function institution of oath-taking. This god is shown together with birds; horses; the Oriental Tree of Life motif; dogs or wolves; and twin serpents. But the imagery most intimately connected to him is the mistletoe leaf or berry.

Most often the mistletoe leaves are shown at either side of his head, like horns or ears; but sometimes the symbolism is reversed, and the god's head appears as the berry of a mistletoe plant. During the 300's the mistletoe-leaf motif combines with that of the twin serpents (portrayed as facing S's) into a new motif archaeologists call the ‘palmette’. This shape, crowning the god's head or attached to some animal figure, is common (especially on coins) until ca. 200 BCE. Thereafter the twin serpents appear alone in what is still clearly a glyph representing this particular divinity. The fact that representations of the god and of his symbols appear most frequently on objects related to formal aristocratic banquets (such as the famous wine flagons from the Basse-Yutz burial in the Rhineland) strongly suggests that he was in some way associated with sacral kingship. This bit of theology had a major impact on the Celts' Germanic neighbours.

Around 100 BC, the western Germans, impressed by the cultural brilliance of the La Tène Celts, converted wholesale to Celtic religion and adopted many aspects of Celtic social organization and culture, to the point of giving their children Celtic names. One of the most important institutional borrowings of this period was the ‘legitimization’ of a warrior-chieftain through a sovereignty ritual, and it necessitated also borrowing the Celtic deities who presided over such a ceremony. Many scholars have preferred to see the many similarities between Lugus/Mercury and the Germanic Wodan as separate survivals of an Indo-European prototype; but some now find no reason to believe that Wodan did not originate in the 1st century CE in the lands near the North Sea as a deliberate imitation of Celtic ‘Mercury’, in one of his important guises. Evidently Lúgh's story was popular in mediaeval literary circles, and we have many allusions to it in both prose and poetry. From such allusions we learn that Lúgh was one of a triad, the two other members of which died at birth -- reminding us of the triplicity of Celtic ‘Mercury’, and of the plural Lugoues.

We learn that he was fostered not only to Tailtiu but to Manannán mac Lir, the ruler of the Otherworld Feast in the Land of Apples, and that he had inherited the use of Manannán's sword Freagartach (‘The Answerer’). His usual personal weapon, however, was the Spear of Goirias, echoing the spear of Celtic ‘Mercury’. He also inherited Manannán's corrbolg or ‘crane bag’ filled with magical treasure, again recalling Celtic Mercury's bag of wealth. In the 11th-century text called Imthecht Clainne Tuirill we first hear of an interesting tradition about Lúgh's natural father, Cian (here called 'Ethlenn' through confusion with Lúgh's mother, the author having assumed that ‘Lúg mac Ethlenn' was a patronym instead of a matronym): he was a shape-shifter, capable of turning into an oirce or ‘lap-dog’ (i.e.

a dog kept as a pet rather than as a hunting animal), of the kind widely associated with healing shrines throughout the ancient Celtic world, especially in relation to Celtic ‘Mars’ -- an appropriate attribute for a son of the physician-god, and a reflection of the canine imagery that sometimes accompanies Iron Age Lugus. Who was Loki? It is possible to see from references in Simek and from Grimm that Loki was indeed very closely associated with fire. Loki is also known as Lopt and Logi, it is interesting that Simek says that, ‘Lopt possibly comes from lopt-eldr = ‘Lightning’ or ‘one who tends lightning.’ Lopt is normally translated as air or the airy one. Within the Prose Edda (Gylfaginning XLVI) when Thor, Loki and Thjalfi meet Utgardi-Loki in whose hall Loki has a race with, and is just beaten by, Logi turns out to be ‘wild-fire. Like Lugh he also has two brothers (Gylfaginning XXXIII) maybe representing Lugus' triple aspect.

Snorri Sturlusson says that many also count Loki among the gods, for he is friend and companion of Thor and foster brother to Odin, though both of his parents were giants, or Jotun. Both Odin and Thor had at least one giant parent as well. Loki is distinguished from the rest of the gods historically by not having any cult or place-names in Scandinavia attributable to him - and for good reason. He calls him a malicious shape and sex changer who had not only begotten monsters such as Fenris-wolf and the Midgard Serpent, but had borne Odin's eight-footed horse Sleipnir. It is Loki, according to most versions of the myth, who instigated the murder of Baldur by persuading Baldur's blind brother Höd (Hood/Night) to cast a mistletoe dart at him. For this deed the other gods caught Loki, bound him to a rock and caused a snake to drip venom on his face. There he is to stay until Ragnarök, or destruction-of-the-gods. There is an apparent analogy here to the myth of Prometheus, even to the extent that Loki's name suggests 'fire' (logi).

'The Song of the Sybil' and 'Loki's Flyting' allude to these events. Therefore, Odin was popular among certain Viking chieftains whose truces and solemn oaths were never meant to be held. Appropriately Odin is frequently associated with beasts of battle - the raven and the wolf. Loki, on the other hand, is often forced into a bargain and by keeping it only his cunning can ensure it comes out favourably to the Gods. Thor is the mightiest of the gods and the only god about whom no evil can be said. He is the only one of the gods able to withstand and repel Loki. Loki's only taunt against Thor is to remind him of an incident during Thor's journey to the east when he was deceived by a giant of prodigious magical powers. The taunt is hollow, however, for Thor had acquitted himself so well during that trip that the race of giants feared for their lives. Thor is the protector of the gods against all their enemies, specifically dwarves, elves, giants/jotuns, trolls, and the Midgard-Serpent. At Ragnarök he battles the Midgard-Serpent (Loki's offspring) to the death.

Baldur, the slain god, is known as the purest of the gods. His death is the first catastrophe in a series of events which resolve in the destruction of the gods. Baldur, however, we are told in 'The Song of Sybil', will rise again. His death and resurrection are inevitably associated with the death and resurrection of Christ, but there is no real reason to assume direct borrowing from Christianity in the myth, for Baldur, like Adonis, is a typical sacrificial god whose myth grows out of an artful mimicry of the cyclical regeneration of the earth. However, it is forgotten that Loki in the ‘Cutting of Sif's Hair’ obtains for the Gods Wodan's spear and ring, Gungnir and Draupnir, Thor's Hammer, Mjollnir, and his wife's (Sif) hair in gold, then Freyr's boar and boat, Gullinbursti and Skídbladnir. Finally, like Mercury, Loki has shoes with which he can walk on water and air (Prose Edda, Skáldskaparmál 147).

Conclusion - Tying the Strands Together From the above evidence we can surmise that before the Roman's conquered the Celtic homelands there was great interaction between the Germanic and Celtic tribes, just as there is great interaction between the As and the Jotun's in Norse Mythology. Within both cultures fostering is common, maybe it was one of the practices that the Germanic tribes adopted from the Celtic tribes. So it seems that much of Norse Mythology is their interpretation of the Celtic mythology. The evolution of the Norse mythos appears at the same time that Celtic culture was at its most influential. Thus the echoes of Celtic ideas & knowledge resound through the Norse world. The similarities for Loki and Lugus run through their legends - both Lugh and Loki are far removed from the original Lugus. Lugh is the Gaelic interpretation whilst Lugus is the Brythonic of which there is only archaeological evidence. Thus Lugh is fostered to Manannan in Gaelic Mythology whilst Loki is Odin's blood-brother - to me this suggests that Loki was a Jotun fostered to the As. From there we can come down to more specific associations in that both Lugh and Loki are notorious shapeshifters.

Then we come to the gift giving. Lugh inherits Mannanan's crane bag whilst Loki does not have a bag specifically but is responsible for most of the Aesir's special gifts. This appears to me to be mythological echo of the knowledge the Germanic tribes gained from their more sophisticated Celtic cousins. Mjollnir comes from Loki and we find that Lugus is sometimes shown with the Hammer as a weapon. They are both heavily tied in with serpent iconography and they are both lightning Gods. To this we come to the legend of Baldur or Balor. Once again their names are similar and they are both Sun Gods struck down by a spear representing the thunderstorms breaking the heat of a long hot summer. The association of Loki with Lugus becomes stronger with the Norse iconography of it being a mistletoe dart. Lugus' association with mistletoe suggests that the Norse recognise the Baldur myth as being of Celtic origin. Finally we come to Ragnarök and Loki's part in it. Personally I can see this as almost the Norse interpretation of another typical Celtic myth - that of the returning Hero. Much as Arthur in legend is taken to the Summer Isles.

He will return in time of need when he will save the nation and bring a return to the Celtic Romano-British Summer that was a Golden age. So Loki is prophesised to return at Ragnarök with his Jotun family. Would not the Norse mythology regard a returning Celtic Hero as bloody and disastrous? Particularly with his blood-brother Odin Oath-breaker having imprisoned him, whilst Logi puns into Oath in Celtic languages and it was Odin who breaks Loki at the end by imprisoning him. For me the case seems quite persuasive that we could associate the Jotuns with the Celts and that Loki can be associated with Lugus of the Gauls.

Question: Who is the god of mischief and destruction in Norse myth?
Answer: Loki