Loki's Flyting (or the
Lokasenna as it is called in the "Elder Edda") tells the tale of Loki engaged in trading insults with the Aesir. So bad in fact that they decide to chase him down and finally tie him up with the entails of his son. Here is a translation of the tale by W.H. Auden & and P. B. Taylor.
Aegir, who was also known as Gymir, had prepared ale for the gods, when he received the great kettle, as was told earlier. To his party came Odin and his wift Frigg. Thor did not come, for he was in the east. Sif Thor's wife, was there, Bragi and his wift Idun. Tyr was there; he was one-handed; Fenris-wolf had bitten off his hand while being bound. There was Nj?rd and his wift skach; Frey and Freya, and Odin's son Vidar. Loki was there and Frey's servants Byggvir and Beyla. There were many gods and elves. Aegir had two servers, Fimafeng and Eldir. The ale served itself There was a great peace in that place, all praised Aegir's servers highly. Loki could not bear to hear praise, so he killed Fimafeng. Then the gods shook their spears at Loki and cried out, driving him away to the woods; then they returned to their drinking. Loki turned back and met Eldir outside. Loki said to him:
Loki:
Stay where you are, step no further,
Eldir, till you have told me
Of what the gods, of what the elves,
Are talking over their ale.
Eldir:
They boast of their weapons, their boldness in arms
As they sit by the banquet-board,
But none of the gods, none of the elves
Speak of or wish you well.
Loki:
I shall go in to eye them feasting
In Aegir's banquet hall:
I intend to stir up strife and hate,
Mingle gall with their mead.
Eldir:
If you go in to eye them feasting
In Aegir's banquet hall
And sprinkle the gods with spite and malice,
They will wipe your face with your words.
Loki:
I tell you, Eldir, if we two should begin
To bandy bitter words,
I should be ready with apt replies
Were you to wag your tongue.
From a long journey has Loftus come
And thirsty is his throat:
I ask the gods to give me a cup,
A great goblet of mead.
Why so silent and sullen, gods,
Too moody to speak with me?
Appoint me a seat, a place at the feast,
Or else bid me be off.
Bragi:
An appointed seat, a place at the feast,
The gods will never give you:
You are not one they wish to invite
As a friend to their pleasure feast.
Loki:
Remember, Odin, in the olden days
What blood-brothers we were:
You would never have dreamed of drinking ale
Unless it was brought for us both.
Odin:
Make room, Vidar, room for the
Wolf's Father to sit at our feast,
Lest Loki abuse us with bitter words
In Aegir's banquet hall.
Loki:
Hail to the gods, hail to the goddesses,
Hail to the Holy Powers,
Hail to you all, all but one,
You, Bragi, on that bench.
Bragi:
I will give you a mare, a mace also,
And, to better the bargain, a ring,
To refrain, Loki, from malicious words,
Inciting the gods against you.
Loki:
Neither horses nor arm-rings have you to give,
For you lack both, Bragi,
Of all who sit here, elves and gods,
The most backward in battle,
The shyest when arrows are shot.
Bragi:
If I were outside, not sitting at table
In Aegir's banquet hall,
My arm would have your head from your neck,
With pain repay your lies.
Loki:
Boldly you speak, less boldly you act,
Bragi, the bench-ornament:
If you are angry, come out and fight,
A hero should feel no fear.
Idun:
Think, Bragi, I beg, of our children,
Of all our kith and kin
And do not bandy abuse with Loki
In Aegir's banquet hall.
Loki:
Enough, Idun! I know what you are,
The most wanton of women:
Once, half-washed you wound your arms
About your brother's killer.
Idun:
I will not bandy abuse with Loki
In Aegir's banquet hall:
Be calm, Bragi, and keep the peace,
Nor let ale rouse you to rage.
Gefjun:
Why at the table should two gods
Bandy bitter words?
Loki is envious, as we all know,
And hates the Holy Powers.
Loki:
Enough, Gefjun! I know your secrets,
I know your seducer's name,
The white god who gave you a jewel
To lay your leg over his.
Odin:
You are mad, Loki,you have lost your wits,
To give offense to Gefjun:
She is wise, I think, and what is to come
Beholds as clearly as I.
Loki:
Enough, Odin! You have never been
A just judge of warriors:
You have often allowed, as allow you should not,
Faint-hearted fighters to win.
Odin:
If I have allowed, as allow I should not,
Faint-hearted fighters to win,
You lived under the earth for eight winters,
And bore babies there,
Were milked like a milch-cow
And played a woman's part.
Loki:
Charms on Samsey, they say you worked,
Wicked spells like a witch,
Flew about in the form of a wizard
And played a woman's part.
Frigg:
You are mad, Loki, to mention here,
Aloud among the living,
What befell two gods in former days,
And disdain their deeds of old.
Loki:
Enough, Frigg! You are Fj?rgyn's daughter
And have ever played the whore:
Both Ve and Vili, Vidrir's wife,
You allowed to lie with you.
Frigg:
If I still had a son, sitting here,
As brave as Baldur was,
You would not escape unscathed from the hall,
Before you fought with him.
Loki:
If you like, Frigg, there's a lot more
I can tell you about my tricks:
For I saw to it that your son died,
That Baldur will not come back.
Freya:
You are mad, Loki, to mention here
Your foul and ugly arts:
Frigg knows all that is fated to be,
Though she does not say so herself.
Loki:
Enough, Freya! I know well
You have been as bad as the rest:
With all who sit here, elves and gods,
With each you have played the whore.
Freya:
False is your tongue. You will find before long
That ill comes to the evil:
The gods are enraged, the goddesses also
Unhappy will you go hence.
Loki:
Enough, Freya! I know you a witch
Who has done many wicked deeds:
You enticed into bed your own brother, remember,
And then, Freya, you broke-wind.
Nj?rd:
It's a small matter if a maiden chooses
To lie with a husband or lover,
But a shameful sight is a
She-god Who has given birth to babies.
Loki:
Beware, Nj?rd! I know you were sent
From the east as a hostage to gods:
For Hymir's daughters you did as a urine-trough,
They made water in your mouth.
Nj?rd:
It comforted me when I came from afar
In the east as a hostage to gods,
To beget a son who is greatly loved
And appears the prince of gods.
Loki:
Beware, Nj?rd! It is wise to be modest.
Your secret I shall not conceal:
On your own sister that son you begot.
What else would one expect?
Tyr:
Frey is the best of all bold riders
In the golden courts of the gods,
Never dallies with maidens, nor men's wives,
But frees all from their fetters.
Loki:
Enough, Tyr! You have never known how
To make peace between men:
Feeble you are since Fenris bit
Your right hand off at the wrist.
Tyr:
I lost a hand, but you lost a son,
The wolf brought woe to us both:
In painful fetters shall Fenris lie
Until the twilight of gods.
Loki:
Enough, Tyr! You know that your wife
Mothered a son by me:
Nor rag nor penny were you paid for that
In recompense, wretched one.
Frey:
I see a channel and a chained wolf lying
Until the twilight of gods:
Forger of lies, unless you be silent,
That fate will fall on you next.
Loki:
With gold you bought Gymir's daughter,
For her you sold your sword:
When Muspell's sons over Mirkwood ride,
Faint shall you feel at heart.
Byggvir:
Could I own to the lineage of Ingvi-Frey
And sit in so honored a seat,
I would pound you, crow, to pulp for your words
And break every one of your bones.
Loki:
What do I see wagging its tail
And yelping like a spoiled pup?
To Frey it must sound like slave-girls'
Jibber-jabber at the quern.
Byggvir:
My name is Byggvir, known, I think,
To all for my hot temper:
Happy am I that Hropt's kin
Are gathered over their ale.
Loki:
Enough, Byggvir! You have never learned
How to carve meat for men:
When others fought you hid yourself
Under the straw of the hall.
Heimdal:
Drink, Loki, has dulled your wits,
It is time to leave it alone:
When ale begins to take hold of a man,
He babbles babyish nonsense.
Loki:
Enough, Heimdal! I know that fate
Assigned you a servile task
With a damp bottom you are doomed to stay
Awake to guard the gods.
Skadi:
You are lively, Loki, but, like it or not,
You will not be loose for long:
The gods will bind you to the blade of a sword
With the guts of your ice-cold heir.
Loki:
If the gods bind me to the blade of a sword
With the guts of my ice-cold heir,
I was foremost at the slaughter, first to lay
Harsh hands on Thjazi.
Skadi:
If foremost at the slaughter, first to lay
Harsh hands on Thjazi,
Ominous words shall you hear in my temple,
Dire prophecies on my plains.
Loki:
Livelier your words to Laufey's son
When you bid him come to your bed:
Now is the time for telling all,
That must be told of too.
Sif:
Hail, Loki! Let me hand you now
A cup of cold mead:
Admit that in one among the gods
Even you can find no fault.
Loki:
That would be Sif, for, wary ever
And cautious, you kept to yourself,
Except that you lay with a lover once
As well as Thor, I think,
And the lucky one was Loki.
Beyla:
The fells tremble, the fields shake,
That must be Thor returning:
He will surely smite the shameless mocker
Of gods and the sons of gods.
Loki:
Enough, Beyla! You are Byggvir's wife
And mingle in much evil:
A disgrace it is that where gods sit
Such a dung-bird and coward should come.
Thor:
Be silent and grovel, or my great hammer
Mj?llnir shall shut your mouth:
Your shoulder's stone I will strike from its neck,
Lifeless you shall lie.
Loki:
So! The Son of Earth is here at last!
Why do you rant and rage?
Less bold you will be when you battle with Fenris
And he swallows Odin whole.
Thor:
Be silent and grovel, or my great hammer
Mj?llnir shall shut your mouth:
Be silent or Thor will throw you to the East
Where no god shall see you again.
Loki:
Of your eastward journey, if I were you,
I would not speak before warriors:
You cowered, Thor, in the thumb of a glove,
And forgot that you were a god.
Thor:
Be silent and grovel, or my great hammer
Mj?llnir shall shut your mouth:
My hand will fell you with Hrungnir's-killer,
Break every one of your bones.
Loki:
I reckon I shall live to a ripe old age
For all your threats with the hammer:
Skrymir's straps were strong, you found,
When you could not get to your gear
And almost died of hunger.
Thor:
Be silent and grovel, or my great hammer
Mj?llnir shall shut your mouth:
I will send you to hel with Urungnir's-killer,
Down to the gates of the dead.
Loki:
I have said to gods and the sons of gods
What my mind was amused to say:
But now I shall go, for I know your rages,
With Thor I'm afraid to fight.
Ale have you brewed, Aegir, but never
Will you give a feast again:
My flames play over all you possess,
Already they burn your back.
But after that Loki hid in Franang's Falls in the form of a salmon. There the gods took him. He was bound with the bowels of his son Nan. But his son Narfi turned into a wolf. Skadi took a poisonous snake and hung it up over the face of Loki; the poison dropped down. Sigyn, Loki's wife, sat there and held a bowl under the poison, and when the bowl was full she carried it off; but, meanwhile, the poison dropped on Loki. Then he struggled so hard that all the earth trembled. We call that now an earthquake.
Notes: Many of the anecdotes mentioned by Loki are unfathomable and not mentioned elsewhere in the Scandinavian mythological fragments preserved. A notable exception is the tale of Thor's trip to the land of the giants, and the way in which he was outwitted by Utgard-Loki, their king, which Snorri tells in full (chapters 44-7). Similarly, many of the names do not occur elsewhere.
