Loka Táttur: A Faroese Story of the Norse Gods

First written down in the 1820s, 'Loka táttur' ("Loki's Story") is a very late but likely genuine survival of a myth of the Norse gods, from the Faroe Islands.
Jackson Crawford, Ph.D.: Sharing real expertise in Norse language and myth with people hungry to learn, free of both ivory tower elitism and the agendas of self-appointed gurus. Visit jacksonwcrawford.com/ (includes bio and linked list of all videos).
Jackson Crawford’s Patreon page: / norsebysw
Visit Grimfrost at www.grimfrost.com?aff=183
Latest FAQs: vimeo.com/375149287 (updated Nov. 2019).
Jackson Crawford’s translation of Hávamál, with complete Old Norse text: www.hackettpublishing.com/the... or www.amazon.com/Wanderers-Hava...
Jackson Crawford’s translation of The Poetic Edda: www.hackettpublishing.com/the... or www.amazon.com/Poetic-Edda-St...
Audiobook: www.audible.com/pd/The-Poetic...
Jackson Crawford’s translation of The Saga of the Volsungs: www.hackettpublishing.com/the... or www.amazon.com/Saga-Volsungs-...
Audiobook: www.audible.com/pd/The-Saga-o...
Music © I See Hawks in L.A., courtesy of the artist. Visit www.iseehawks.com/
Logos by Elizabeth Porter (snowbringer at gmail).

[@Son-of-Tyr]

I am not a rich man. I have land from my family and my wife's family, but I have no wealth. These stories are like gold to me. The knowledge you provide is my treasure. Thank you sir.

[@riptidemonzarc3103]

Land is wealth, especially coupled with the desire to properly (and sustainably) cultivate it. You're richer than you think.

[@Son-of-Tyr]

Very true, but no land is worth slaying your brother for. His nature would lead me to a choice I couldn't live with. But thank you for the advice.

[@diogeneslaertios1752]

Now I understand the Sesame Street character Count von Count!

[@HeriJoensen]

You know, there is a heavy metal version of this Táttur 🤟🏻😎

[@meltharion316]

;) my favorite version!

[@miniespeon158]

Ooh! What's it called??

[@meltharion316]

@@miniespeon158look up a band called Tyr. 🤭

[@getrealroleplaying7427]

A one-eyed god, an obscure god and a trickster god walk into a bar...

[@crystalratclffe3258]

This awesome thank you!

[@desaturated-firefox]

@Mr. Rich B.O.B I'd say Loki is a trickster, Odin uses trickster methods when it's advantageous for him.

[@bardiorvitki7648]

All the gods use trickery. Loki isn't the God of tricks odin isn't the god of war. They are gods. That is all. They do whatever they want and are not limited to our understanding of them.

[@desaturated-firefox]

​@@bardiorvitki7648 A trickster is more than just a user of tricks. There's an entire anthropological concept around it that encompasses things like liminality, transgressing of cultural boundaries and taboos etc., it's an archetype and Loki fits it quite well. The book "Trickster makes this world" goes into great detail on this.

[@bardiorvitki7648]

Loki is a god of chaos. Just as Odin, Thor, Freya, Frig and many others are gods of war among other things. Loki is a trickster but that's not all he is. The eddas are full of Odin using tricks. Every time he disguises himself he is a trickster. I would argue that Odin uses trickery better than Loki ever could

[@davidnattestad7627]

Good expanation of the kvæði. I know that the ballad is still “taken on the floor” as we say it in faroese when talking about ballads that are still danced/sung, by a fee people. I think my old faroese teacher “takes” this ballad sometimes in our local folkdance club

[@Zeagods-CyberShadow]

Ey cool. Also hey my fellow Faroese man

[@nicholasoneal1521]

Do you know of any recordings of this kvæði?

[@rdklkje13]

Oh, I’m glad to read that some people are keeping these traditions alive. I was feeling quite bittersweet at the end of this video, thinking about how much has been lost just since the invention of radio and television 😢 Any idea if the melodies are potentially as old as the songs, or more recent reconstructions?

[@Tyrband]

Excellent video, Mr. Crawford :)

[@kamardbob]

Round here in Maine, we call boathouses boathouses.

[@nickcarr5724]

Down in Rhode Island we also call them "boathouses", but we also have an alternate local dialect term for them: "Look at Mr. Fancypants who doesn't want his boat to get wet."

[@borjesvensson8661]

@@nickcarr5724 well its actually more to keep your boat wet. Or rather moist, to prevent shrinking and cracking of the wood, plus to protect against the suns damaging rays.

[@nickcarr5724]

@@borjesvensson8661 I hadn't considered that, with wooden-hulled boats becoming pretty rare, at least where I live. Makes a lot of sense, thanks for sharing! (Though here in new england, having a wooden-hulled boat, and thus needing a boathouse is still very much a fancy-pants move.)

[@borjesvensson8661]

@@nickcarr5724 Even in old times not all had boathouses for their boats and just pulled them up on the shore. Boathouse remains is actually some of our best information for the size of and how common the biggest late viking age longships were. As it is asumed that they did not build them bigger than absolutley nessesary.

[@nickcarr5724]

@@borjesvensson8661 Super cool, thanks for sharing!

[@wintersking4290]

I saw another person Speculating that Loki was originally some kind of Guardian of Families. A helpful trickster that cleans up the messes of the Aesir and protects his family. He also has a lot of kids. Would you consider this myth as evidence of that idea? Loki being called upon by a farmer to protect his child.

[@cutecobra9696]

I only know this because Tyr did a cover of it.

[@prsgrind8794]

Yes!

[@marctelfer6159]

Same! :D

[@jacobandrews2663]

what

[@huskyxopowo2605]

So I may have clicked ‘like’ before you were finished introducing yourself. I do not regret my rash decision - my faith was rewarded. Such scholar, much learning, wow! In all seriousness though, I think all would be anthropologists of just about any strip should probably minor in art history or ethnomusicology. Preferably both.

[@f0tos310]

Neploxo govoriw:)

[@huskyxopowo2605]

спасибо таварищ

[@jonwhite9069]

I've been waiting for your thoughts on this for sooo long, thank you for doing this!

[@sirseigan]

Very intresting that the word "skrímsil" and "skrýmir" is used. In some norther Swedish dialects (that has quite extensiv influences from the west) "skrämsel" means ghosts, trolls and other supernatural beings that "skräms" (meaning "to frighten" in Swedish) aka "monsters". The verb could also have the form "skrämmer", which is quite close to "Skýmir" especially if one keeps in mind that "-ir" in west norse was/became "-er" in the east. In Swedish if some one would get the name "the frightner" (the one that frightens) it would take the form "Skrämmaren" or in dialect "skrämmarn". I have no clue if it is in any way related but I could not help to see the similarites...

[@hjaltalinator]

it is

[@rdklkje13]

You just reminded me of the Danish fugleskræmsler! Scarecrows. I always only connected that word to ‘skræmme’ = frighten, but it would indeed make sense if the frightening part ultimately came from a monster connection. Even if scarecrows usually come in the form of humans (now). We can be pretty monstrous, of course, and not only to birds.

[@paulaunger3061]

Love this :D And also that the end cards don't completely obscure your face! Lovely! :D

[@TehOak]

These videos are a gift. Thank you.

[@Maoismus1917]

hi from the faroe islands 🇫🇴

[@nicholasoneal1521]

Did you hear this story growing up?

[@amberwilhelm742]

Thank you for the breakdown of this fascinating story!

[@Lemonz1989]

You are absolutely correct about the word "skrímsl" (singular/plural unspecific noun) or "skrímslið" (singular specific noun) in Faroese. It's just a general monster of some kind, often used in stories to scare children, lol. I wouldn't interpret the word as being a named character at all, if I read a Faroese text that mentioned a "skrímsl." A fun fact about the Faroese language: a lot of the language and history of the Faroe Islands has been preserved through "kvæði" and "táttir" told through the practice of Faroese chain dance (føroyskur dansur). Many of the stories are incredibly old and consistent throughout the islands, because to be able to lead the Faroese chain dance, you have to know the entirety of the kvæði or táttur, and you had to have at least 1 other helper and sometimes up to 4 or 5 helpers who also had to know the entirety of the story when you lead the dance. Some kvæði are hundreds of verses long and take hours to complete in a chain dance, hence the need for helpers. Sometimes the chain dance is split up into multiple days, so people can rest before completing the entire kvæði.

[@solya1899]

That was awesome! Thank you.

[@faramund9865]

VERY interesting! Thanks a lot for sharing. I guess this ‘proves’ that cultural stories can be preserved through many centuries in song or poem form orally!

[@spacecasebase]

Thank you so much for this one!

[@frodeodegard9325]

It's hard to make it NOT sound a little Icelandic. In my mind it's like a drunk person from Tromsø trying to speak Icelandic, that helps dial it in. There is also dialect variation within the Faroes, of course, just like in Norway. The intonation and pronunciation varies a bit.

[@narutodayo]

Great video!

[@heavymetalhillbillyhippiew8746]

Hey, thanks, doc! (that's a really nice office you got😉)

[@delanebredvik]

I think a trip to the Faroe Islands is now on my bucket list. Even though I don't have a son to gamble away...

[@deanwarsore]

Though it does violate the Bring Your Own Babies rule they'll probably let it slide.

[@delanebredvik]

@@deanwarsore Just sort of concerned about what they would expect instead...

[@deanwarsore]

@@delanebredvik Knowing the Faroese? Some new recipes. Most of their dishes seem to revolve around lamb, fish and intestines, with the occassional whale thrown in there, just to piss of animal activists.

[@weepingscorpion8739]

I always like hearing you try out Faroese and you did a pretty good job. A few notes for some insight into Faroese phonology: Your risi kinda came out as *rissi so instead of /'ɹi:sɪ/ it came out as /'ɹɪs:ɪ/. Lokki /'lɔʰtʃ:ɪ/ does have preaspiration but in Faroese we also preaspirate (or many of us do) ungeminated stops and affricates (as long as the preceding vowel isn't closed) so I would say /'lo:ʰtʃɪ/, people in Tórshavn would say /'lo:tʃɪ/, however. Now, í/ý will give people issues but if you can say muy in Spanish, then you can say Faroese í/ý as they are pronounced as uy, so this is skrímsl /skɹʊim̥sl/ (we probably reinterpreted the -i as a dative ending and then got rid of it in the nominative, smyrsli also became smyrsl for instance, and yes both are just one syllable). The verses: Eg havi hildið trú fyri vist, /e: 'hɛa:vɪ 'hɪltɪ tʰɹʉu: 'fi:ɹɪ vɪst/ nú hevur risin lívið mist. /nʉu: 'he:vʊɹ 'ɹi:sɪn 'lʊi:vɪ mɪst/ Skrímslið kom úr jørðini upp, /'skɹʊim̥slɪ ko:m ʉu:ɹ 'jø:ɹɪnɪ ʊʰp:/ mikið er Óðins evni. /'mi:tʃɪ e:ɹ 'ɔu:wɪn̥s 'ɛvnɪ/ Final note is on unstressed /ɪ/, in closed syllables (so -in, -ir) it sounds more like the i in English bit or fit [ɪ] however in open syllables (-i(ð)) most dialects lower this to [ɛ] and some even have something close to a schwa here [ə]. I myself have a more [ɛ] sound here so I pronounce risi and risin (indef and def forms) as ['ɹi:sɛ] and ['ɹi:sɪn]. Great to see and hear about things from our small isles and hope to see more soon. Also, I hope this didn't discourage you from anything, yes, Faroese has many quirks and don't worry about having an accent. :) EDIT: I always mix up closed and open vowels, so Faroese always (or my dialect group does at least) preaspirate ungeminated stops and affricatives unless the preceding vowel is/preceding diphthong ends in a _closed_ vowel (I originally wrote "open vowel" which is incorrect). So any diphthong that ends in /i/ or /u/ or the long vowels /i:/ or /u:/ will never have a preaspirated stop/affricate following it.

[@weepingscorpion8739]

@@kimberlydrennon4982 That might be. But in any case, I meant it just as much for all his viewers as for him. I might email him too though. :)

[@silver6380]

What's your dialect? Haven't heard anything about preaspiration before single consonants anywhere, my impression was that Faroese dialect variation was mostly in the vowels.

[@weepingscorpion8739]

@@silver6380 I speak a broad Eysturoy dialect. Vowel differences are what jumps in your face the hardest but there are consonant differences too, the single stops being one, and also many dialects merge tj /cʰ ~ tʲʰ/ and kj /tʃʰ/ while some keep these separate.

[@silver6380]

@@weepingscorpion8739 I thought tj-kj merging was universal! Where are they still different?

[@weepingscorpion8739]

@@silver6380 It's not quite universal yet. It's mainly dialects of Suðuroy which keep them separate but some older people I know have them distinct in a few words like átjan (I clearly say ákjan but some still say átjan).

[@madbikerwolf8664]

Thank you for sharing your knowledge outside of the ivory tower, Dr. Crawford. Keep up the struggle.

[@daddypoil]

Thank you so much !

[@blakewinter1657]

It is really interesting that Loki ends up being the one to solve the problem, and is kind of the protagonist here, when he usually is treated as the antagonist or foil

[@nicholasoneal1521]

I wouldn't say he's usually the antagonist. I'd say that his role in Baldr's death and Ragnarokr makes him look more evil than he is

[@user-ze3tq9hf9i]

I love these kinds of things

[@Weird0Productions]

Just the other day I was thinking about if you were going to talk about this

[@gagedillon8090]

That is an interesting trio.

[@dylanlandry4996]

Thanks dude 👍

[@SigururArniSvanbergsson]

I thought this was the final episode for moment there 😄

[@ElijahEystberg]

Would love to speak faroese with you to see how well you understand it ^^.

[@rezhampleh3597]

thankjs u steady 💚🤍

[@zeideerskine3462]

Now we know, the most terrible monsters are accountants.

[@reeb3687]

In the name Skrímsli, is the "li" part like english "lich" or english "-ly/like" in meaning?

[@shaynethechangingman322]

As someone who grew up in a harbor town I can confirm, we just call them boathouses.

[@xeviphract5894]

I always wondered about the authenticity of this tale, because it didn't appear to be connected to any other material, except in broad terms.

[@jdmerwin]

When is your new book coming out?

[@chaserose5127]

Is this a preview of Edda 3? You said it wasn't coming...

[@roceb5009]

Would you connect this "counting" monster phenomenon with the "make the robot calculate pi" cliche in campy sci-fi?

[@deadcatbounce3124]

When you've been reading Norse stories and listening to music for so long, you assume everyone knows where the Faeroe Islands are. Either way, wouldn't it have been easier for Odin to resolve the problem by turning the monster into a kernel of wheat instead of the boy? Are monsters immune to the magic of the gods?

[@jacobjensen9871]

Yeah, probably. Or just kill the monster. But one of the main common themes of gods of most pantheons is their fickle behavior. Sometimes even the most "benevolent" play games with humans or take requests literally almost like a genie. And there are a bunch of interactions where Odin spared or decided to work with giants instead of fight against them all.

[@deanwarsore]

It also emphasizes the value of being able to outthink your adversary, though turning the boy into wheat is a kind of suspect case of lateral thinking

[@wegfarir1963]

The myths are metaphorical

[@elliot4402]

Is there an English translation of this?

[@riptidemonzarc3103]

My hypothesis about monsters counting is that they're trying to hoodwink humans into making no-win deals, but they cannot cheat --- they must fulfill the terms of any bargain they strike, on the 'object level'. It's just that the consequences of these bargains usually turn out deeply unfavourably for the humans who make them. "Do this technically possible but practically impossible thing for me and I will strike a proper bargain with you afterward" is the kind of bargain which is unlikely to turn up badly for a clever human, especially if the creature making it dies or is otherwise persuaded to leave you alone. It's playing the demons' game and winning.

[@professorsogol5824]

Please increase the volume on all your videos. The volume on this one is so low that I gave up after less than a minute. As an experienced instructor, you must appreciate of the importance of being audible in the last row of the lecture hall.

[@deandeann1541]

The volume was fine for me too, I am rather deaf.

[@cazvan1]

Any idea why there is so much absurdity in these stories? The tricks to hide the kid by making him tiny and the trick to kill the monster by making him jump through a window seem like they are part of a cultural logic that we don't have access to, or like certain words were chosen for their alliterative rhyming rather than their narrative cohesion or something.

[@deanwarsore]

I suspect it showcases human wits and intelligence as our only real defense pitted against the beasts and creatures of the wild, employing technology (counting) and thinking in advance (the boathouse trap)

[@Yotun-of-the-WWW]

Hoenir to me stand for hens, chickens and their frantic behavior. He is a god of the rational mind, because thoughts are like chickens, they go all over the place.

[@magnusauslandstoresletten3786]

I`m a Nynorsk user!!!!

[@klausolekristiansen2960]

Is the word skrimsli related to skræmsel?

[@Rovarin]

a skrímsil is usually just a monster

[@sirseigan]

"Skrämsel"/"skrämsla" is a word for evil supernatural beings, monsters one could say, in some old Swedish dialects - "they who frightens". Not sure if the word is related to "skrimsli" but it is sucpiciously similar.

[@hjaltalinator]

it is

[@AgentXA564]

I have a question that we probably don't have the answer to. Is Valhol in Asgard? Valhol is Odin's hall, so it would make sense for it to be part of Asgard, but Valhol is also probably in Hel. If Asgard was in Hel, then Baldr's death wouldn't be a big deal since they could see him any time. Is there anything that connects Valhol and Asgard?

[@heavynov]

Is the board game specified?

[@deanwarsore]

I believe it's Hero Quest

[@wastehazey6468]

Lokki rør á igsta klakk So er í fornum frøði sagt

[@tord9707]

Old norse:Naust New norse:Naust

[@jacobandrews2663]

So loki's cunning *was* useful to others after all

[@cornholio6612]

Many times

[@faramund9865]

Ok but the next time I’m picking up a cat I’ll think I’m in some kind of matrix and I’m actually fighting the worlds worm in reality.

[@faramund9865]

Their common purpose is obvious no? To create life. It was pretty outrightly stated in voluspa. The rest of the stories I assume to be ‘cryptic’ ways of describing how they thought birth worked.

[@acidttundra9222]

its still naust in norse=)

[@hjorturerlend]

Faroese was ok, but you put too much emphasis on the "s" in ""risi".

[@myNamesTakin]

It's sad how much you have to undermine yourself to make people happy