The gate of the year

Relief in stone, dating to the XI century, known as the “Loki Stone”, located inside the Church of St. Stephen, at Kirkby Stephen, Cumbria, England.
The horned figure shown in the stele, who seems to be chained hands and feet, is interpreted as the Germanic god Loki, one of the most strange and worrying figures of Norse mythology. He belonged to the Æsir, but in reality his ancestry reveals that he is the son of a giant, Fárbauti. His offspring is also made of monstrous beings, showing themselves as elements that avoid the order of the cosmos or threaten it: the huge serpent surrounding the earth, the goddess Hel, Lady of the world of the dead, and the fierce wolf Fenrir. From Loki descended also the horse Sleipnir, which Odin rode to travel between the world of the living and the world of the dead. Loki is called by Snorri: “the backbiter of the Æsir, and spokesman of evil counsel, and shame of all Gods and men […] Loki is free and fair of face, ill in temper and very fickle of mood; he hath above all men that craft called sleight and cheats in all things”. However, it is also added that “oft he brought the Æsir into great straits and oft set them free by cunning counsel” (Gylfaginning, 33). In the case of the kidnapping of Idun, the goddess who owned the apples of eternal youth, which occurred for Loki’s fault, he was however able to find a way to solve the situation and to bring back what belonged to the gods. But his most negative role was played by him in the fatal death of Baldr, the young and good god, loved by all the divinities. For this reason, Loki was captured by the other gods and chained until the end of the world: an episode that is probably shown on the “Loki Stone” of St. Stephen. At the end of the world, Loki, freed from his fetters, shall lead the destructive forces of the giants and demons and shall cooperate to the consumption of the cosmos and of the gods (Ragnarök) (Lindow 2001).
His figure has been compared to that of the trickster, a deceitful and mocking character who is found in several mythologies, particularly among the Native Americans. Loki escapes any form of classification, he is the personification of disorder, which can be creative and fruitful, producing novelties and imaginative creations, but that is also potentially dangerous and destructive. He is ever-changing, has the capacity to turn himself and continuously change his appearance, passing from man to animal, from male to female. He represents that element of disorder that cannot be eliminated, even from the world of the gods, and that at last shall bring the latter at his final destruction.

[Image: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Loki-GerryMillar.jpg]




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Relief in stone, dating to the XI century, known as the “Loki Stone”, located inside the Church of St. Stephen, at Kirkby Stephen, Cumbria, England. The horned figure shown in the stele, who seems to be chained hands and feet, is interpreted as the Germanic god Loki, one of the most strange and worrying figures of Norse mythology. He belonged to the Æsir, but in reality his ancestry reveals that he is the son of a giant, Fárbauti. His offspring is also made of monstrous beings, showing themselves as elements that avoid the order of the cosmos or threaten it: the huge serpent surrounding the earth, the goddess Hel, Lady of the world of the dead, and the fierce wolf Fenrir. From Loki descended also the horse Sleipnir, which Odin rode to travel between the world of the living and the world of the dead. Loki is called by Snorri: “the backbiter of the Æsir, and spokesman of evil counsel, and shame of all Gods and men […] Loki is free and fair of face, ill in temper and very fickle of mood; he hath above all men that craft called sleight and cheats in all things”. However, it is also added that “oft he brought the Æsir into great straits and oft set them free by cunning counsel” (Gylfaginning, 33). In the case of the kidnapping of Idun, the goddess who owned the apples of eternal youth, which occurred for Loki’s fault, he was however able to find a way to solve the situation and to bring back what belonged to the gods. But his most negative role was played by him in the fatal death of Baldr, the young and good god, loved by all the divinities. For this reason, Loki was captured by the other gods and chained until the end of the world: an episode that is probably shown on the “Loki Stone” of St. Stephen. At the end of the world, Loki, freed from his fetters, shall lead the destructive forces of the giants and demons and shall cooperate to the consumption of the cosmos and of the gods (Ragnarök) (Lindow 2001). His figure has been compared to that of the trickster, a deceitful and mocking character who is found in several mythologies, particularly among the Native Americans. Loki escapes any form of classification, he is the personification of disorder, which can be creative and fruitful, producing novelties and imaginative creations, but that is also potentially dangerous and destructive. He is ever-changing, has the capacity to turn himself and continuously change his appearance, passing from man to animal, from male to female. He represents that element of disorder that cannot be eliminated, even from the world of the gods, and that at last shall bring the latter at his final destruction. [Image: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Loki-GerryMillar.jpg]