Laufey orNál is a figure inNorse mythology and the mother ofLoki. The latter is frequently mentioned by thematronymic LokiLaufeyson ('son of Laufey') in thePoetic Edda, rather than the expected traditionalpatronymic LokiFárbautason ('son ofFárbauti'), in a mythology where kinship is usually reckoned through male ancestry.[1][2]
The meaning of theOld Norse nameLaufey is not clear, but it is generally taken to be related tolauf ('leaves,foliage'),[3][1] perhaps attached to thesuffix -ey (found in femalepersonal names likeBjargey,Þórey), or deriving from an hypothetical tree-goddess named*lauf-awiaz ('the leafy').[3][note 1]
Since the name of her spouseFárbauti means "dangerous hitter", a possible natural mythological interpretation has been proposed by some scholars, with lightning hitting the leaves, or needles of a tree to give rise to fire.[4][5]
InGylfaginning ('The Beguiling ofGylfi'),High introduces Loki as the son ofFárbauti, that "Laufey or Nál" is his mother, and that his brothers areBýleistr andHelblindi.[6] Elsewhere in the same poem, Loki is referred to by thematronymicLaufeyson ('Laufey's son').[7] This occurs twice more inGylfaginning and once inSkáldskaparmál.[8]
Skaldskaparmal ('The Language of Poetry') mentions Loki as 'son of Fárbauti' or 'son of Laufey'.[9]
Laufey is listed among Ásynjar (goddesses) in one of theþulur[10], an ancestry that perhaps led her son Loki to be "enumerated among theÆsir", asSnorri Sturluson puts it inGylfaginning.[11]
Nál is mentioned twice in theProse Edda as "Laufey or Nál"; once inGylfaginning and once inSkáldskaparmál.[12]
In the poemSörla tháttr, Nál and Laufey are portrayed as the same person: "She was both slender and weak, and for that reason she was called Nál [Needle]."[13] According to scholarJohn Lindow, however, "the late date of the text makes this piece of information suspect."[11]
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