62 lif
stories dealing with mythology, history, or legendary
adventures. In Norse mythology many of the poems
in the P oetic E dda are lays, such as the Lay of Thrym
or T hrymskvitha .
L if (Life)
The man who with his wife, Lifthra-
sir, survived Ragnarok and repeopled the Earth.
During the fearful holocaust, they took shelter in
Hoddmimir’s Wood, which may be another name
for the World Tree, Yggdrasil. They were nourished
by the morning dew. They emerged from the tree
unhurt when they saw the new Sun shining. They
had children and started a new life for humankind.
The story appears in V afthrudnismal .
L ifthrasir (Sturdy
for Life) The woman, wife
of Lif, who survived Ragnarok and with Lif began
to repeople the Earth. Lif and Lifthrasir hid in
Hoddmimir’s Wood, which may be another name
for Yggdrasil, during the holocaust that caused the
end of the world. The myth forms part of V afthrud -
nismal .
light - elves The creatures who dwelled in the
land of Alfheim. Fairer than the Sun, they lived in
the upper world of the world tree Yggdrasil.
After Ragnarok, the final battle between the
gods and the giants, only the light-elves remained
to dwell in Vidblain, the highest of all of the worlds
of the gods. This information about elves comes
only from G ylfaginning , the first part of Snorri
Sturluson’s P rose E dda . Little else is known of the
light-elves from Norse mythology, although they
are often referred to in the P oetic E dda as being
connected to the Aesir gods.
The Icelandic sagas, stories of the lives of the
people of that island nation, frequently mention
elves, or alfar, as nature spirits that bring fertility to
men and women.
L it
The dwarf who suddenly appeared at Balder’s
funeral and got in the way of Thor, who was conse-
crating the funeral pyre with his magic hammer,
Mjollnir. Hot-tempered as always and stricken
with sorrow at Balder’s death, Thor kicked Lit into
the flames of the pyre. Lit gained immortality in
mythology by being burned to ashes along with the
god Balder and his wife, Nanna.
L oddfafnir
A man from Midgard (Middle
Earth), that is, a human. In the Lay of Loddfafnir, part
of the poem H avamal from the P oetic E dda , Lodd-
fafnir tells his fellow men many words of wisdom.
He had somehow found his way to Urdarbrunn, the
sacred well, where he heard the words of the High
One (Odin). Loddfafnir recounted these words to
fellow mortals. The words contained much good
advice. For example, beware of a witch’s sweet words,
always carry food if you have to cross a mountain,
cherish your friends and be loyal to them, stay away
from evil people, doing good deeds will make you feel
happy, hold to your promises, and respect the wisdom
of the elderly. There were also words full of ancient
superstitions, such as those for warding off the curses
made by witches.
L ofn
A minor goddess, counted by Snorri Stur-
luson among the main Asynjur, or goddesses of the
Aesir. Lofn was portrayed as gentle and good. Odin
and Frigg gave her permission to help people find
love. In many ways, Lofn served as a matchmaker.
She might help young people tell each other of
their love or fulfill the dreams of a man or woman
whose love of another was not returned. Lofn means
“praise” or “praised.”
L ofnheid
One of two daughters of Hreidmar,
a farmer who receives from the gods gold in com-
pensation for their killing of Hreidmar’s son Otr.
The other daughter is Lyngheid. Though the story
of Hreidmar is also told in the legendary V olsunga
S aga , Lofnheid and her sister are named only in the
poem R eginsmal , part of the P oetic E dda . Another
of Hreidmar’s sons, Fafnir, kills his father as his
sisters look on. Their father begs his daughters for
help, but they declare themselves powerless against
their brother. Regin is their third brother.
L ogi (Flame)
The young giant who defeated the
trickster god Loki in an eating contest at the court of
the giant Utgard-Loki. It turned out that Logi was
the embodiment of fire, which can consume anything
and everything quickly.
(See also “Thor’s Journey to Utgard,” under
Thor.)
L okasenna (Loki’s Verbal Duel; Loki’s Wrangling)
A poem in the P oetic E dda , found only in the C odex
R egius manuscript. Lokasenna features the nasty
banter between the trickster god Loki and the guests
of a feast held by the sea god, Aegir.
Lokasenna is an important work to Norse mythol-
ogy, for its characters are the prominent gods and the
banter reveals many details about the stories of the