Sunday 20 June 2010

Saturday night's alright for flyting...





Flyting and Loki

The Lokasenna

Another foray from our own developments into the land of the Gods and their ways. An amusing distraction.
Flyting was a sport of the gods, also a means of non physically violent combat. A battle of wits and insults. Odin has his moment with Thor (one must wonder what kind of a father he was!) at the ferry crossing but the Flyting champion must be Loki.

Now half of our team finds Loki the far superior and most interesting and misunderstood of the gods. Although he is a trickster and wildfire and chaos by nature of birth, he is used and abused by the other gods, blamed for their own indiscretions and mistakes. They turned to him in times when their lesser wits left them trapped and only Loki's cunning and guile could remove their obstacles and foes. When it went wrong, guess who got the blame? Ask for advice and take it, then blame yourself not your advisor.

Here we enter the delightful and often rude, Lokasenna. Whereby having been rebuked and denied access to a feast, he appears, after killing one of the serving men for having received praise. He meets up with the other serving man and demands access. Upon entering he is finally allowed to sit due to his 'blood brothership' with Odin. From then on...



Flyting.

Loki:
'Do you remember, Odin, when in bygone days
we mixed our blood gether?
You said you would never drink ale
unless it were brought to both of us.'

Odin:
'Get up then, Vidar, and let the wolf's father
sit at the feast
lest Loki speak words of blame to us
in Aegir's hall.'

This gains Loki acceptance to the table.
Loki's insults run from calling Braggi (the god of poetry) a bench ornament and a coward, to accusing Braggi's innocent and kind wife of 'being man crazy', to accusing Freya of sleeping with her brother, being caught by the gods and farting in bed.

These insults are amusing and wicked. The retorts often awkward and embarrassed, covering Loki's insults with excuses and aiming vitriol at Loki's own past 'evil' deeds. Does Loki back down? No, he embraces their comebacks with elegance and wit, denying nothing.

The end result: Thor, who does not seem to acknowledge the sacred tradition of not shedding blood or of physical violence in a place where food and drink are taken, threatens Loki with Mjolnir, his hammer, and thus Loki, being no fool, quits the hall. Unfortunately with soon to be dire consequences for himself.

Excellent reading and puts the gods in the light of fallibility and shows them as the wayward beings that they were... Almost human, we'd say.

(Source - The Poetic Edda).


Rune of the day





Wunjo

Modern letter - W

Wunjo signifies Joy, A rune associated with Freyja, the goddess of love. It can mean positive change.


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