In some versions ofNorse mythology,Váli was one of the sons ofLoki. He is mentioned in theGylfaginning section ofSnorri Sturluson'sProse Edda, chapter 50, possibly by confusion of a reference toVáli, son ofÓðinn as binding Loki.
In the account inGylfaginning, after the death ofBaldr theÆsir chase down and capture Loki:
Nú var Loki tekinn griðalauss ok farit með hann í helli nökkvorn. Þá tóku þeir þrjár hellur ok settu á egg ok lustu rauf á hellunni hverri. Þá váru teknir synir Loka, Váli ok Nari eða Narfi. Brugðu æsir Vála í vargslíki ok reif hann í [sundr] Narfa, bróður sinn. Þá tóku æsir þarma hans ok bundu Loka með yfir þá þrjá [egg]steina, einn undir herðum, annarr undir lendum, þriði undir knésfótum, ok urðu þau bönd at járni.
Now Loki was taken truceless, and was brought with them into a certain cave. Thereupon they took three flat stones, and set them on edge and drilled a hole in each stone. Then were taken Loki's sons, Váli and Nari orNarfi; the Æsir changed Váli into the form of a wolf, and he tore asunder Narfi his brother. And the Æsir took his entrails and bound Loki with them over the three stones: one stands under his shoulders, the second under his loins, the third under his houghs; and those bonds were turned to iron.
Váli, son of Loki, is otherwise unknown. A variant version in theHauksbók manuscript of stanza 34 of "Völuspá" refers to this event; it begins: "Þá kná Vála | vígbǫnd snúa", usually amended to the nominativeVáli in order to provide a subject for the verb; inUrsula Dronke's translation in her edition of the poem, "Then did Váli | slaughter bonds twist".[3] This presumably refers toVáli, son ofÓðinn, who was begotten to avenge Baldr's death, and thus it is not unlikely that he bound Loki; but theHauksbók stanza interrupts the flow of "Völuspá" at this point and presumably draws on a variant oral tradition. It is likely that this was Snorri's source,[4] and that he interpreted the manuscript textVála vígbǫnd as "bonds from Váli's act of slaughter", thus inventing a second Váli.[3] In the rather cryptic prose at the end of "Lokasenna", which appears to be derived from Snorri's account,Narfi transforms into a wolf and his brother Nari's guts are used to bind their father.[5]