Býleistr (

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...

: ; also Byleist) is the brother of

Loki Loki is a god in Norse mythology. According to some sources, Loki is the son of Fárbauti (a jötunn) and Laufey (mentioned as a goddess), and the brother of Helblindi and Býleistr. Loki is married to Sigyn and they have two sons, Narfi or Na ...

Norse mythology Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia, and into the Nordic folklore of the modern period ...

Name

The meaning of the

name is uncertain. The most popular propositions are compounds formed with the word ('storm'), either as ('storm-relieving'), ('storm-flasher'), or ('violent storm'). Various forms are attested in the manuscripts of the ''

Prose Edda The ''Prose Edda'', also known as the ''Younger Edda'', ''Snorri's Edda'' ( is, Snorra Edda) or, historically, simply as ''Edda'', is an Old Norse textbook written in Iceland during the early 13th century. The work is often assumed to have been t ...

'': 'Býleistr' ( ''Codices'' ''Regius'' and '' Wormianus''), 'Blýleistr' (''Codex Trajectinus''), or 'Býleiptr' (''Codex Upsaliensis'').

Attestations

Although there is no action involving Býleistr in the original sources, Loki is frequently called by the

kenning A kenning ( Icelandic: ) is a figure of speech in the type of circumlocution, a compound that employs figurative language in place of a more concrete single-word noun. Kennings are strongly associated with Old Norse-Icelandic and Old English po ...

'Byleist's brother' (''bróðir Býleists''), such as in ''

Völuspá ''Vǫluspá'' (also ''Völuspá'', ''Vǫlospá'' or ''Vǫluspǫ́''; Old Norse: 'Prophecy of the völva, a seeress'; reconstructed Old Norse: ) is the best known poem of the ''Poetic Edda''. It tells the story of the creation of the world and ...

'' (51), ''

Hyndluljóð ''Hyndluljóð'' (Old Norse: 'The Lay of Hyndla') is an Old Norse poem often considered a part of the ''Poetic Edda''. It is preserved in its entirety only in ''Flateyjarbók'', but some stanzas are also quoted in the ''Prose Edda'', where they ...

'' (40), or ''

Skáldskaparmál ''Skáldskaparmál'' (Old Norse: 'The Language of Poetry'; c. 50,000 words; ; ) is the second part of the ''Prose Edda''. The section consists of a dialogue between Ægir, the divine personification of the sea, and Bragi, the god of poetry, in ...

'' (16). In both ''

Gylfaginning ''Gylfaginning'' (Old Norse: 'The Beguiling of Gylfi' or 'The Deluding of Gylfi'; c. 20,000 words; 13th century Old Norse pronunciation ) is the first part of the 13th century ''Prose Edda'' after the Prologue. The ''Gylfaginning'' deals with th ...

'' (34) and ''

'',

Snorri Sturluson Snorri Sturluson ( ; ; 1179 – 22 September 1241) was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was elected twice as lawspeaker of the Icelandic parliament, the Althing. He is commonly thought to have authored or compiled portions of the ...

explicitly states that Byleist is, along with

Helblindi Helblindi (Old Norse: , 'Helblind') is a jötunn in Norse mythology. According to 13th-century poet Snorri Sturluson, he is the brother of Loki and Býleistr. Name The Old Norse name Helblindi has been translated as 'Helblind'. Helblindi is al ...

, one of Loki's two brothers. Based on this relation, a number of scholars have considered Býleistr to be a son of

Fárbauti Fárbauti (Old Norse: ) is a jötunn in Norse mythology. In all sources, he is portrayed as the father of Loki. Fárbauti is attested in the ''Prose Edda'', written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson, and in kennings of Viking Age skalds. ...

and his consort

Laufey Laufey (Old Norse: ) or Nál is a figure in Norse mythology and the mother of Loki. The latter is frequently mentioned by the matronymic ''Loki Laufeyjarson'' (Old Norse 'Loki Laufey's son') in the ''Poetic Edda'', rather than the expected tradi ...

. However, his exact role in the ancient mythic complex surrounding Loki's family remains unclear.; Kock (1899:100-102).

References

Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Byleistr Jötnar Loki