This part of Loki lore probably will not appear in any episodes of the new television series. A poisonous serpent slowly releases its venom to drip onto Loki’s face, which causes him to shriek in pain and the Earth to quake. Narvi’s entrails are available because cruel gods transformed his brother Vali into a wolf, who then devoured Narvi. This particular myth spares no grisly detail. The latter may relate to an especially gruesome myth in which Loki-imprisoned in a cave and held fast by the solidified entrails of his son Narvi-cannot escape until the apocalyptic end, known in Norse mythology as Ragnarok. Other scholars see Loki as a shortened name for the devil Lucifer, or perhaps derived from loca (Old English for prison). Jacob Grimm, best known for the fairy tales he and his brother Wilhelm collected, was one of the first to propose Loki as a god of fire, and to draw similarities between Loki and the fire demon Logi in Norse mythology. Other sources indicate that Odin and Loki became blood brothers and undertook adventures with Thor, who also figures prominently in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Some sources characterize Loki as the son of two giants, who abandoned him in battle with Odin, one of the leading gods in Norse mythology. “Loki has attracted more scholarly attention during the past century than perhaps any other figure in Norse mythology, primarily as a result of his ubiquity and importance in the surviving mythological documents and the almost universally acknowledged ambiguity of his character,” writes scholar Jerold Frakes.
#Trickster series#
The new Disney+ television series, Loki, which premieres this week, must walk this fine line with its title character, dubbed the “god of mischief.” Produced by Marvel Studios, the six-part series takes Loki (played by Tom Hiddleston) through complicated adventures, traversing the realm of dark elves, alternate timelines and threats of catastrophic devastation that should be familiar to dedicated fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.įor folklorists, however, Loki’s place in the pantheon of trickster heroes is even more universal. However, if their tricks become cruel or sadistic, or demean those who are relatively powerless, we may reject them entirely.
So long as their tricks remain playful, even if somewhat mischievous, we enjoy their company and the opportunity to laugh, especially if their cleverness challenges figures of authority. Tricksters walk a fine line in our folk imagination.
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