Lokasenna

Lokasenna ("Loki's flyting," "Loki's wrangling," "Loki's quarrel") is one of the poems of the Poetic Edda. The poem presents flyting between the gods and Loki.

Loki, amongst other things, accuses the gods of moralistic sexual impropriety, the practice of seidr, and bias. Not ostensibly the most serious of allegations, however these elements are said ultimately to lead to the onset of Ragnarok in the Eddic poem Völuspá. However, Lokasenna does not directly state that Loki's binding is as a consequence of the killing of Baldr. This is explicitly stated only in Snorri's Prose Edda.

Lee M. Hollander, in his introduction to his translation of the poem, claims that it was in no sense a popular lay and suggests we should not necessarily believe that the accusations of the "sly god" were an accepted part of the lore.

Plot

The setting is a feast given by the sea god Ægir. (In continuity, the prose introduction says: "Ægir, also named Gymir, had made ale for the Æsir, when he had received the great kettle of which was told" (see Hymiskviða). Thor did not attend, but his wife Sif came in his stead as did Bragi and his wife Iðunn. Tyr, by this time one-handed as a consequence of his sacrifice of his hand in the shackling of Loki's son, the wolf Fenrisulfr, attended, as did Niord and his wife Skaði, Freyr and Freyja, as well as Vidar, the son of Odin. Many other Vanir, Æsir, and also elves were there.