#hoenir

Many of the figures in Norse mythology are known by several different names, as well as different phrases that describe them (called kennings).  The following is a list of some that refer to Loki, and I will update the post accordingly as I find or am informed of others.  A lot of the kennings provided by Snorri are found nowhere else, and are somewhat inconsistent, so I only included a few.  

Loki’s Names: Bekki, Blind, Gammleid (leader of amusement), Haloge, Hvedrung (roarer), Lodur, Logaþore, Loge, Lôgna, Logi, Lokkji, Lopt (lofty), Sataere

Loki’s Kennings: brother of Byleistr, brother of Helblindi, blood brother of Odin, confidant of Thor, friend of Odin, friend of Thor, fromkveda flaerdanna (seductive speaking), gift bearer, harmer of Sif’s hair, laugaz (blazing god), laugatjanaz (blazing one), prisoner of Geirrodr, rogur (slanderer), scar lip, sea thread’s father (the sea thread is a kenning for the Midgard serpent), sky walker, slaegi (sly), slaegurtyr (sly god), staunch friend of Hoenir, thief of brisingamen, thief of giants, thief of Idunn’s apples, vaelandi (debasing), villi-eldr (blazing), wolf’s father

Bonus: One kenning used to identify Thor is bragdmilldr Loka (compassionate to Loki)

A farmer entered into a game of chess with the Jotunn Skrymsli, and if the Jotunn won, the farmer had promised his only son as payment.  Skrymsli ultimately did win, and announced he would come the next day to collect his prize.  If the boy was hidden so cleverly that Skrymsli could not find him, then he would allow the farmer to keep his son.  Not wishing to lose their son, the farmer and his wife appealed to Odin, Hoenir, and Loki for help.

Odin caused a great cornfield to grow up overnight, and he hid the farmer’s son in a single kernel of one ear of corn in the middle of the vast field.  When Skrymsli arrived, he ploughed through the field, harvesting every single ear of corn in his search.  He finally grabbed the ear in which Rogner dwelt, and Rogner cried out in fear, alerting the Jotunn to his presence.  Odin snatched Rogner from harm’s way, and Skrymsli resolved to return the next day for his payment.

Hoenir was next to attempt to hide the farmer’s son.  He changed the boy to a feather, and hid him on the breast of a swan.  Skrymsli came again the next day, searching diligently, and, on noticing a feather out of place on a swan, once again located his prize.  Before the boy could be seized though, Hoenir caused a gust of wind to carry the feather away to safety.  Skrymsli went home without his prize a second time.

Finally, it was Loki’s turn to hide the boy.  He stole away with the boy during the night, taking him out onto the ocean in a small boat.  Loki pulled several fish from the ocean and tossed them back until he found a female flounder.  He then proceeded to hide the farmer’s son as a tiny egg in the roe of the flounder, and he tossed the fish back into the ocean.  Unfortunately, when Skrymsli came the next day, he discovered Loki returning to the shore, so he set on the sea with his own boat.  Loki insisted on accompanying Skrymsli, since he wanted to be nearby if the farmer’s son was in need of further protection.  Skrymsli pulled up several fish, and eventually pulled up the very fish on which Loki’s charge was hidden.  Loki feigned hunger at that point, and asked Skrymsli if he could eat of his catch.  It did not need to be a great amount of food – even the tiniest fish (on which the farmer’s son was hidden) would do.

Skrymsli ignored Loki and continued searching among the fish in his catch.  Finally, he located the boy, but before Skrymsli could claim the child for his own, Loki snatched the boy away and flew him to the mainland.  Loki had also failed in hiding the boy from Skrymsli, but he was not willing to be defeated.  He instructed the boy to run away, and to be sure to run through the boathouse on his way home.  Skrymsli returned to land quickly and gave chase, following the boy across the land and through the boathouse.  In the boathouse, however, Loki had set a sharp spike in such a position that it would pierce Skrymsli’s skull as he ran through.  Loki’s trap succeeded, and Skrymsli fell to the ground defeated, but not killed.

Loki then cut off Skrymsli’s legs, but the legs reattached to the body afterward through magic.  Loki cut the legs off once more, and this time branded the severed areas with hot metal to cauterise and seal the wound.  With the wounds sealed, they could no longer reattach themselves.  Skrymsli eventually succumbed to his wounds and died.  The boy returned to his parents, finally safe from the Jotunn Skrymsli, and the family was so grateful that they thereafter honoured Loki above the other gods.

One day, Odin, Hoenir, and Loki were travelling together across various lands.  They came upon an otter by a river, and Loki slew and skinned the animal.  Odin and Hoenir congratulated Loki on the excellent work, and the three continued to the estate of Hreidmarr, king of the dvergues/dwarves.

Hreidmarr took them into his home, intending to show them hospitality.  His intent changed, however, when he caught sight of Loki’s fine otter pelt.  Hreidmarr’s son Otr possessed the ability to change his shape into that of an otter, and it was Hreidmarr’s son whom Loki had killed.

Hreidmarr bound the gods so they could not escape, and it seemed that they would be trapped there forever, if not killed.  Loki attempted to explain that it had been an accident, but it could not dismiss the pain and rage Hreidmarr felt at the loss of his son.  Loki would need to resort to craftier methods.

The dvergue king Hreidmarr was well-known to be a great lover of gold.  In fact, his own castle was constructed with gold.  Loki appealed to Hreidmarr’s avarice, promising to repay Hreidmarr handsomely for the death of his son.  Hreidmarr was hesitant at first, but as Loki described in detail the wondrous riches that Hreidmarr could acquire, he eventually relented.  He released Loki to obtain the reward, and would hold Odin and Hoenir until Loki returned.  The amount of treasure to be brought back would need to completely cover Otr’s pelt.

Loki knew that no ordinary treasure would satisfy Hreidmarr enough to save Odin and Hoenir, so he resolved to obtain the greatest treasure he knew, the collection of the dvergue Andvari.  It included several sets of enchanted armour, beautiful red gold, and a ring Andvaranaut that led its owner to more gold.

Loki stole the treasure of Andvari, but Andvari escaped with the most important piece of the treasure, Andvaranaut, by turning himself into a salmon.  But Loki was not to be discouraged, and he soon captured Andvari and forced him to relinquish the ring.

Angry at the loss of his treasure, Andvari secretly cursed the ring before giving it to Loki, ensuring that the owner of the ring would encounter great tragedy.

Unaware of the curse on the ring, Loki initially wanted to keep the ring for himself.  However, when he covered Otr’s pelt with Andvari’s treasure, a small fraction of the pelt was uncovered.  Loki was unwilling to part with the ring, but the rescue of Odin and Hoenir was much more important, so he eventually added Andvaranaut to the pile.

Odin and Hoenir were released, and the three gods were allowed to return to Asgard.  Unfortunately, the curse of Andvaranaut did indeed cause tragedy for Hreidmarr.  Hreidmarr’s sons, Fafnir and Regin, wanted a share in the treasure, but Hreidmarr refused.  In response, Fafnir murdered Hreidmarr and drove his brother away.  Fafnir’s greed turned him into a dragon, and, consumed with greed, he sat upon his glittering pile of treasure, guarding it from anyone who fancied it for himself.

The first two humans, made from an ash and elm tree and therefore often called Askr and Embla, were said to have been created by Odin, Hoenir, and Lodurr.  Odin gave them spirit, Hoenir gave them sense, and Lodurr gave them heat/blood/vitality and good colour/looks.

Lodurr is not well known as one of the gods, and is mentioned very little in original sources.  The most prominent theory, however, is that Lodurr is none other than Loki.

Loki has been referred to by other names, like Loptr, so Lodurr could be another example of this.  Furthermore, Odin, Hoenir, and Loki are very often seen as a group of three, working together.  If Odin and Hoenir are working alongside a mystery god, the most likely culprit in any case is Loki.  Lodurr is mentioned as giving heat and colour to man, and this is also consistent with Loki’s behaviour, in that he was originally associated with fire and the hearth.

Odin is often referred to as “friend of Loptr (Loki)”, and in the human creation myth, Odin is sometimes called “friend of Lodurr”.  The parallelism can potentially be taken to further indicate that Lodurr is Loki.  If this is the case, then Loki was one of the three gods to have created the first humans.