Questions about Norse mythology/religion

[CalMeacham]

@naita

He may not be specifically a God of Evil, but unlike the usual Trickster Figure (I might be wrong here, my knowledge of other Trickster Figures is very superficial) Loki plays a big role in the end of the world, deliberately on the side of evil and destruction. His three monstrous children play important roles killing major gods and he himself will die in battle against Heimdall.

Regarding this, the Voluspa (Poetic Edda) says nothing about Loki’s involvement at Ragnarok.

the Prose Edda of Snorri Sturluson elaborates on the Voluspa and gives additional details, some of which contradict the Voluspa. The Prose Edda has Loki fighting against the Gods at Ragnarok, killing and being killed by Heimdall.

Loki’s children, though, are clearly the Bad Guys in both versions, bring about The End of The World and killing the gods.

Ragnarök

Snorri Strurluson (1179-1241) is the compiler of the Prose Edda. Ever since I read Brown, Nancy Marie’s 2012 book *Song of the Vikings: Snorri and the Making of Norse Myths * I’ve been a bit wary about the book, even though it’s virtually the only source we have for many details.

Snorri Sturluson

Sturluson planned the collection as a textbook. It was to enable Icelandic poets and readers to understand the subtleties of alliterative verse, and to grasp the meaning behind the many kenningar (compounds) that were used in skaldic poetry.

Prose Edda

The question is how much he simply collected and how much he contributed to what we have at hand.

[Broomstick]

@naita

He may not be specifically a God of Evil, but unlike the usual Trickster Figure (I might be wrong here, my knowledge of other Trickster Figures is very superficial) Loki plays a big role in the end of the world, deliberately on the side of evil and destruction. His three monstrous children play important roles killing major gods and he himself will die in battle against Heimdall.

If it helps, think of Loki as the catalyst of history. He’s not the hero, but without him much of the action of Norse myths wouldn’t happen.

And the three “monstrous children” you mention are only a subset of Loki’s children - he also had Sleipnir, who as Odin’s steed is on the side of the Aesir, and two other sons Vali and Nari or Narfi, who might have been one son or two (the accounts are a little ambiguous). Unfortunately, Nari/Narfi was killed and his guts used to bind his father Loki so he wasn’t going to participate in Ragnarok. Not much is heard about Vali. But Loki had at least 5 or 6 children (in Lokasenna Odin states Loki lived as a woman in Midgard for a time, milking cows and bearing children for men so there could be a LOT of Loki kids out there) and only three are the Big Bads of Ragnarok.

It might also be significant that the Three Bad Sons of Loki are his children by Angrboda, a Jotunn - it’s Loki’s Trickster combined with the enemies of gods and men, Loki unbound and uncontrolled by civilization. Loki’s children by Sigyn (his Aesir wife) and men/women are a somewhat nebbishes - they are Loki bound by convention and civilization. The difference between uncontrolled wildfire and fire as the domestic and ordinary tool of everyday life.

[Really_Not_All_That_Bright]

I’m not sure what’s so bleak about it. Pretty much every religion has end times-y stuff.

[outlierrn]

I think the further you go back, the more prominent the appeasement of forces of chaos is.