Nordische Philologie

Department fr Germanistik und Komparatistik

Friedrich-Alexander-Universitt Erlangen-Nrnberg
Bachelor-Arbeit
Prfer: Prof. Dr. Hubert Seelow

The One-eyed Trickster and his Names

inns Trickster-Aspect as evident in Heiti, Sagas and Eddas

vorgelegt von:

Jeremias Jokisch
Altersham 34
84347 Pfarrkirchen
Email: jackknife-jerry@gmx.net
Nordische Philologie / Theater- und Medienwissenschaften FS. 6
Matrikelnr. 21540565
am 19.12.2014

Structure
1.

Introduction to the idea of inn having a pronounced trickster-aspect

p.2

2.

The Trickster Archetype

p.6

2.1.

Archetypes in general (C.G. Jung)

p.6

2.2.

The Trickster

p.7

2.3

Trickster and Fool in Mythology and Literature

p.10

2.3.1 Loki son of Laufey

p.10

2.3.2 Hermes son of Zeus

p.13

2.3.3 Others

p.15

3.

inns Trickster-Aspect

p.16

3.1.

Deceiver and Mischief-Maker

p.17

3.1.1 Glapsvir

p.18

3.1.2. Blverkr

p.19

3.2.

p.20

Shape-Shifter

3.2.1. Svipall

p.21

3.2.2 Grmnir

p.22

3.2.3. Bjrn/Bjarki

p.23

3.3.

p.25

Ambiguous and Other

3.3.1 Gndlir

p.26

3.3.2 Tveggi

p.27

3.4

p.28

Bodily harm and Torture

3.4.1 Geigur

p.28

3.4.2 Blindr/Hrr

p.29

3.5

p.31

Game-Changer

3.5.1 Gunnblindi

p.31

3.5.1 Haptagu

p.32

3.6.

p.33

Messenger/Wanderer

3.6.1 Gangleri

p.33

3.6.2 Draugadrottin/Hangatyr

p.35

3.6.3 Valfr and the Wild Hunt

p.36

4.

p.38

Conclusion

Bibliography

p.40

1. Introduction to the idea of inn having a pronounced trickster-aspect

According to the Eddas and sagas, inn1 was the son of Burr, creator of the world,
Allfather, Lord of the sir and god of warriors and jarls. His hall was Valhalla (hall
of the fallen), where to he would call the fallen warriors, to feast and drink and train
their fighting skills. Those einherjar would then, come ragnark, twilight of the
gods, ride out with him to the field of Vigrir (where war is waged) to make a final
stand against the forces of chaos, led by Loki and the fire-giant Surtr. At the end of
this final battle, so the vlva (sibyl, seeress, witch) has foretold, all will be lost and
the world will sink into the chaos from which it once was shaped, thus completing
the cycle, able to begin anew.
Were one to evaluate the character of the one called inn, based solely on this
roughly summarised description of his functions, one would be tempted to view him
as a pagan version of the Christian Lord and Father, a good and omniscient, all
powerful God striving to protect His creation to His last anthropomorphic breath.
While inn, in his own way, surely embodies all or most of these characteristics,
there is compelling evidence of a controversial, nearly contradictory side to this
view.
Were one to ask, on the other hand, who the archetypal mischief-maker, the trickster
of Nordic myth might be, the blame would surely fall on Loki Laufeyjarson, a
comparatively minor deity without worshippers (as far as we know). He is charged
with theft, murder, slander, fraud and general misdemeanour, an alleged oathbreaker
and fugitive from justice whose (pen-)ultimate fate is to be eternal imprisonment and
torture.
Yet, he is also the sir-gods chief problem-solver, advisor and companion to orr
and, last but not least, sworn blood-brother to inn, who vowed never to have a
drink at a table where there was not a cup filled for Loki too.2
This I would take as a first hint that cunning and trickery, under the right
circumstances, might not have been viewed as altogether despicable.

A word on the spelling of non-English vocabulary: I will try to stay true to the Old Norse spelling of
ON nouns, verbs and adjectives as far as is practical, though I have opted to neglect proper declension
and conjugation in favour of better intelligibility. ON words will be written in cursive when integrated
into English sentences and translated/annotated where necessary. ON quotes will be translated in the
footnotes. I proceed in the same way with German and other languages and direct quotes.
2
Cf. Lokasenna 9 Edda: Die Lieder des Codex Regius nebst verwandten Denkmlern 3rd Edition.
1962. Edts. KUHN, HANS; NECKEL, GUSTAV Heidelberg. Carl Winter. p.98 in the following referred to
as Codex Regius.

Further evidence is found in the Hvaml (The High Ones speech) when inn
himself is heard proclaiming:
Vin snom
scal mar vinr vera
ok gialda gif vi gif;

[but:]
hltr vi hltri
scyli hlar taca
enn lausung vi lygi. 3

and:
Ef tt annan,
annz illa trir,
vildu af hnom gott geta:
fagrt scaltu vi ann mla
en fltt hyggja
oc gialda lausung vi lygi.4

If ones counterpart can be expected to lie or otherwise act fiendishly, it is the High
Ones counsel not to turn the other cheek, but to fight fire with fire, to reward
treachery with lies. This would accordingly have been deemed the correct and
moreover honourable thing to do. Consequently we can assume that inn, as god
of highborn men, of jarls, might actually have done his fair share of lying and
trickery. An investigation of what we have left of the undoubtedly once even richer
wealth of stories surrounding the one-eyed god confirms this assumption. Stories
of how an old wanderer spies on a high king and an inconspicuous farmhand
slaughters a group of giants with the help of a whetstone alone, are not-so-vaguely

Hvaml 42 Codex Regius p.23

To his friends,
a man shall be a friend
and reward gift with gift.
Laughter/mockery with laughter/mockery
shall you answer,
but deceit with lies.
(If not otherwise marked, all translations are my own. n/a)
4
Hvaml 45 in: Codex Regius p.24
If there is one whom you trust ill,
though you want good things from him,
you shall talk to him nicely,
but think falsely
and repay deceit with lies.

reminiscent of the pranks of more well-known tricksters like Till Eulenspiegel in

German medieval tales or Jack the Giantkiller in Celtic (and later North-American)
folklore.
Yet it is inn Allfather himself who seems to stoop to these and other, even lower
tricks to reach his goals. Changing his name like a cloak or even his very shape, from
god to human or even animal, is a common occurrence and consistent with the
behaviour of other tricksters throughout world lore.
In the present work the aim is to call attention to the more obscure side of a multifacetted cultural figure in the Old Norse tradition and (mostly Old-Icelandic)
literature. I will attempt to connect the archetypal Trickster as found in various
cultures around the globe to the Norse inn.
To my knowledge this has not been done before. Studies of inns character rarely,
if at all, touch upon the subject of the Trickster. Only in connection with Loki have I
found side notes that they might share some characteristics, often suggesting that
Loki may be viewed as some kind of hatchet man or trouble-shooter for inn who
does not want to get his hands dirty, scheming only from behind the protection of
Valhallas walls and the safety of his high seat. This is not to say that characteristics
constituting a trickster have not been observed in the Allfather. A number of
researchers have salvaged the remains of stories surrounding inn for any little
piece of his character. That he, like many other deities, possesses various aspects has
long been established. We know him as god of wisdom, of war, of poetry, and of
kings, and even the darker sides to his character have been duly noted. Yet,
somehow, almost no author has conclusively drawn the connection from a shapeshifting, tortured, wandering and scheming deity of death, frenzy and mindless
abandon to the Trickster, or if so, he has been wantonly underappreciated and I can
find no trace of his work. To give credit where its due, H.R. Ellis Davidson spares
three of fourteen pages in his article Loki and Saxos Hamlet5, to ascribe to inn
a trickster-status equal to Lokis, though his observations are by no means
exhaustive. Einar Haugen comes within a hairs breadth of actually calling inn
out, but after an impressive display of his various aspects (which he fittingly refers to

DAVIDSON, H.R. ELLIS, Loki and Saxos Hamlet: The Fool and the Trickster: Studies in Honour of
Enid Welsford 1979. Edt. WILLIAMS, PAUL V.A. Cambridge. D.S. Brewer and Totowa. Rowman &
Littlefield. In the following referred to as DAVIDSON.

as masks) he veers off to again ascribe to Loki the role of inns shadow, his
alter ego6.
I, on the other hand, am going argue that inn is in fact an archetypal trickster in
his own right. My intention is to begin closing this gap in research, recognising full
well the limited extent to which this rather short work may illuminate the topic at
hand.

2. The Trickster Archetype

The following paragraphs will begin with an effort to generate a basic understanding
of the concept of archetypes, according to the theses of C.G. Jung. Based on the
works of the fields foremost scholars (Paul Radin, C.G. Jung, Karl Kernyi and
William J. Hynes a.o.) a clearer picture will be drawn of the archetypal
characteristics that define the Trickster7, though there is of course no one simple
definition that applies to all his incarnations throughout cultural history. It may
nonetheless be possible to find common ground on which to base the assumption that
a cultural figure, like inn for instance, may or may not be counted among the
tricksters ranks.
To even further emphasise the similarities between trickster-figures in general, a few
better-known pranksters out of myth and literature will briefly be introduced in the
paragraphs that follow.
2.1. Archetypes in general
Archetypes, according to C.G. Jung, are the contents of the collective unconscious
of humankind, archaic representations of universal value, thus explaining their
existence in virtually every culture around the world.8 The different forms an
Archetype takes in its respective context are due to the Archetype constituting
essentially einen unbewussten Inhalt [], welcher durch seine Bewusstwerdung
und das Wahrgenommensein verndert wird, und zwar im Sinne des jeweiligen

HAUGEN, EINAR The Edda as Ritual: Odin and His Masks Edda : a collection of essays Edts.
GLENDINNING, ROBERT JAMES; BESSASON, HARALDUR 1983. Winnipeg. Univ. of Manitoba P.
7
Throughout this paper, the Trickster (with capital T) refers to the hypothetical TricksterArchetype, while a trickster means individual tricksters, i.e. culturally established archetypal images
that derive from the Trickster. My aim is therefore to determine whether inn is indeed an
archetypal trickster, by comparing his attributes to those traits attributed to the Trickster-Archetype.
8
JUNG, CARL GUSTAV Archetypen 1934-1954. Mnchen. dtv.
In the following referred to as JUNG.

individuellen Bewusstseins in welchem er auftaucht9, thereby producing what may

be referred to as archetypische Vorstellungen10 (archetypal images) which may
differ more or less greatly, depending on their cultural background.
The Archetype is, in other words, the hypothetical model that gives rise to individual
and/or cultural (archetypal) ideas of deities, spirits or folk-heroes that conform to this
model.
2.2 The Trickster
In his commentary on Paul Radins The Trickster11, C.G. Jung writes about the
psychology of the trickster figure and in the process gives one of the most striking
characterisations of the Tricksters general attitude when he attributes to Mercury a
curious combination of typical trickster motifs [] for instance, his fondness for
sly jokes and malicious pranks, his powers as a shape-shifter, his dual nature, half
animal, half divine, his exposure to all kinds of torture and last but not least his
approximation to the figure of a saviour.12

Intending to develop a kind of matrix by which to discern the trickster-qualities of

a specific literary character or mythological figure, one could, from these few lines
alone, draw at least five distinguishable parameters.
1. Fondness for jokes and pranks, be they malicious or not
2. Shape-shifting powers
3. Dual if not contradictory nature
4. Exposure to torture whether self-inflicted or otherwise
5. Approximation to saviour-like qualities
William J. Hynes recognises this need for a modest map, heuristic guide, and
common language for the more complex individual studies of particular tricksters
within specific belief systems13 and advances six initial characteristics he deems

JUNG p.10 an unconscious content, that is altered by becoming conscious and by being perceived,
in the context of the individual consciousness in which it happens to appear
10
Cf. JUNG 10
11
RADIN, PAUL The Trickster: A Study in American Indian Mythology 1972. New York. Schocken
Books . In the following referred to as RADIN.
12
RADIN p.195
13
HYNES, WILLIAM J. 1993: Mapping the characteristics of mythic tricksters: a heuristic guide
Mythical Trickster Figures: Contours, Contexts, and Critisisms 1993. Edts. HYNES, WILLIAM J. and
DOTY, WILLIAM G. Tuscaloosa and London. University of Alabama Press. p.33. In the following
referred to as HYNES and MTF respectively.

common to most trickster myths. These are as follows:

1. Ambiguous and Anomalous
2. Deceiver and Trick-Player
3. Shape-shifter
4. Situation-Invertor (sic)
5. Messenger/Imitator of the Gods
6. Sacred/lewd bricoleur 14
While far from assuming any degree of universality of these traits, Hynes embraces
the idea of being able to test the commonality of such characteristics by surveying
known examples of tricksters and using said matrix to determine their degree of
tricksterness.15 Common sense dictates that any such matrix, or list of parameters,
would be readily applicable to the attempt of detecting tricksters hitherto not widely
acknowledged as such. Taking into account Jungs trickster-motifs, I will therefore
use a slightly amended version16 of W.J. Hynes matrix to study one such alleged
trickster myself.
As suggested in title and introduction to this thesis, this will be inn of the sir.
My check-list with which to determine whether he is indeed an archetypal trickster
will pose the following questions:
Is he:
1. A deceiver and mischief-maker?
2. A shape-shifter?
3. Anomalous, ambiguous or in any way Other in nature?
4. Traditionally subject to bodily harm and/or torture, self-inflicted or
otherwise?
5. A game-changer (i.e. Situation-Invertor)?
6. A messenger (to the gods) or wanderer between worlds?

14

Cf. ibd.
Ibd. p.34
16
Changes are (if not otherwise explained) mostly rephrasing Hynes original terms to make them
easier to grasp. They are closely adherent to his further explanations of the terms, which are not in
detail included in the present work, but may be found in HYNES p.33 et seqq.
15

I have omitted the saviour and the sacred/lewd bricoleur on purpose.

The saviour I have left out rather reluctantly, because this is actually where we are
coming from with the character of inn, Father of Gods and Men. To widespread
public knowledge, inn has been revered first and foremost as humankinds creator
and saviour, right until the end, when he supposedly gives his life in the final battle
for the universe he helped create. While, in his aspect as war-god and chooser of the
slain, he might not be the kind of messianic saviour western society has grown used
to, for the purpose of this thesis be this may be considered approximating saviourlike qualities and will not be addressed further in this thesis.
The lewd bricoleur (French for fixer or inventor), while an interesting aspect, is
so deeply rooted in the character of Loki, that there is almost (!) no room for it in the
stories surrounding inn. Certainly not when the Christian writers, whose
productivity we have to thank for the stories we do have left, tried to make the two
(that is inn and Loki) out as antitheses (God and Devil as it were) regardless of
their obvious similarities. In a wider sense, a kind of fixer-role might still apply to
inn and I will include this aspect in point 5, the game-changer, as I called it.
That way the game changer-aspect encompasses both Hynes bricoleur and his
situation invertor. The latter, according to Hynes, is indeed that power which can
turn things upside down and from good to bad and then to even worse, in the blink of
an eye.17 On a whim the trickster might turn things back from worse to better
than before, which may in that precise moment well count as fixing things. What
happens afterwards is of no concern for the definition. It might get even worse,
which is almost always the case when Loki is sent to make things right, though not
nearly as often in the surviving tales of inn.
For lack of a better word I will call this mechanism of action and reaction a
trickster-sequence and we will encounter it at various points throughout this paper.
Finally we are left with these six parameters that constitute the check-list or matrix
that will be used to determine inns tricksterness.
Before setting out on this task, a few examples of more or less well known tricksters
from different eras and places will be provided. Each one will have to measure up
against the trickster-matrix or at least a relevant portion of it.

17

Cf. HYNES p. 37.

2.3 Trickster and Fool in Mythology and Literature

As mentioned above, a share of tricksters crop up in every major or minor belief
system or corpus of stories and are even (and prominently so) found in modern day
media where, curiously, some of the more ancient ones experienced a revival of
sorts. I will look at two of them in detail, namely Loki Laufeyarson and
Hermes/Mercury, as they are well known even among the less inclined public, but
retain their divine status, in contrast to the more profane tricksters of folklore and
fairy-tales. These too find their place in this work, when I am going to demonstrate
the tradition from which they derive, by showing their continued (if partial)
adherence to the trickster-matrix.
2.3.1 Loki son of Laufey
The first of the tricksters to be analysed is Loki Laufeyarson, one of mythologys
most notorious tricksters and, as said above, in fact part of the reason why inns
role as such an entity is mostly obscured.
With him as with the one that follows, examples of his character will be given that
conform to some or all of the above mentioned parameters of tricksterness.
Of course Loki is both master-deceiver and chief-mischief-maker as evident in the
story of his cheating the dwarves Sindri and Brokkr out of their pay for the Hammer
Mjlnir, the ring Draupnir and the golden battle-hog Gullinbursti. The price would
have been his head, which he wagered against the dwarves being able to match the
works of the sons of Iwald, Freyrs ship Skidbladnir, inns spear Gungnir and
Sifs newly forged head of golden hair. The latter, in turn, had already been the price
for Lokis life when orr threatened to take it after Loki had cut off Sifs original
hair in an act of pure mischief. He evades his imminent demise at the hands of the
dwarves, by claiming he had only forfeited his head, though retaining the right to his
neck that he would not allow them to touch. Unable to remove the tricksters head
under these circumstances, the dwarves, in turn, availed themselves of their right to
anything above the neck and proceeded to sew shut his mouth with bone-needle and
sinew.

18

As we can see, Loki is a paragon of Radins Trickster []who dupes

others and who is always duped himself19.

18

Cf. Skldskaparml 35 Snorri Sturluson: Edda: Skldskaparml: 1:Introduction, Text and Notes
1998. Edt. FAULKES, ANTHONY University College London. Viking Society for Northern Research.
p.41 et seqq. In the following referred to as Skldskaparml.
19
RADIN p.xxiii

10

Lokis shape-shifting abilities are well attested. Changing into a mare in heat, he
lured away the giant-stallion Svailfari whose involvement threatened to facilitate
his masters task of finishing sgarrs bulwark in two seasons or less, thereby
winning not only the sun and the moon, but beautiful goddess Freyja, too.20
Disguised as an old giantess, he thwarts the attempt to resurrect Baldr from the
dead,21 while on another occasion even changing into a biting fly is not beneath
him.22
The examples above may prove his ambiguousness and abnormality as well,
often coming to the sir-gods aid when it was in fact his ill advise that created a
problem in the first place, but at the same time producing some of the Aesirs
strongest assets, like Mjlnir and Gungnir. As shifting as his mood is obviously his
gender; frequently changing into females and even giving birth to an eight legged
horse, which was conceived in the above mentioned meeting with Svadilfari, is well
in the realm of possibilities when it comes to Loki. Such behaviour would evidently
have been looked down upon as unmanly, abnormal and argr, by the contemporary
audience to such tales, even during the pagan period and certainly after the advent of
Christianity.23
The recurring theme of bodily harm and torture also applies to Loki, and can even
be considered self-inflicted in a wider sense. Getting his mouth sewn shut,24 being
dragged through thorn and briar,25 having a goat tied to his scrotum,26 and finally
being bound on ragged rocks with snake-venom dripping into his eyes

27

are mostly

acts of punishment for Lokis deeds and may hence be viewed as much as selfinflicted as done to him by his judges.
The game-changer trait is most evident in the tale of the theft of Iunn, related to us
by Snorri Sturluson in his Skldskaparml.

20

Cf. Gylfaginning 42 Snorri Sturluson: Edda: Prologue and Gylfaginning 2nd Edition. 2005. Edt.
FAULKES, ANTHONY University College London. Viking Society for Northern Research. p.34 et. seqq.
In the following referred to as Gylfaginning.
21
Cf. ibid. 49, p.45 et seqq.
22
Cf. Skldskaparml 35, p.42.
23
Cf. PRICE, NEIL S. The Viking Way Religion and War in Late Iron Age Scandinavia 2002.
Uppsala. Dept. of Archaeology and Ancient History. p. 210 et seqq. In the following referred to as
PRICE.
24
Cf. Skldskaparml 35, p.43
25
Cf. Skldskaparml G56, p.1
26
Cf. ibid. p.2
27
Cf. Gylfaginning 50, p.49

11

Always changing the situation from bad to good, to worse, to better and so on,
trickster Loki is continually oscillating between disaster and solution. A trickstersequence based on this tale would read something like this:
Loki, inn and Hnir wander the world. When they come upon an ox, they
slaughter the animal for food and build a fire to roast it. An eagle in a tree somehow
prevents the meat from getting ready and only stops his interference when he is
promised a share of it. Naturally, he takes the best parts and leaves the hungry gods
with the meagre rest. Now a chain-reaction is set into motion.
Enraged, Loki hits the eagle, but his staff sticks to the bird and it carries him
away dragging him through thorns and over rocks.
The eagle, revealing himself to be the giant jazi in disguise, only frees Loki
after he promises to bring him Iunn and her golden apples (the source of
eternal youth for the gods)
Loki saves his hide by contriving the theft of Iunn and the apples.
After the deed, the sir (now rapidly ageing) threaten to kill Loki if he
doesnt bring back Iunn and her rejuvenating apples.
Loki changes Iunn into a nut and steals her, shifting into falcon-form.
jazi, again in eagle-form, pursues Loki only to be killed with fire by the
sir.
But the story is not over yet:
The giants daughter Skai comes to sgarr to avenge her father.
To try and assuage her, she may choose a husband among the sir.
Lokis idea is to only present the feet of the prospective spouses.
Skai chooses the most handsome pair of feet realising too late that they do
not belong to Baldr but to Njrr.
Skai feels cheated and will only accept the compromise if the sir are able
to make her laugh.
The gods fail to do this, until Loki ties his genitalia to a goats beard and
begins a tug-of-war-match with the animal.
At this Skai has to laugh so hard that she is forced to accept the deal. 28
Over ten times the situation shifts from one extreme to the other, the game changes
continually, almost too fast to keep up, ostensibly fixing a situation in one

28

Cf. Skldskaparml G56, p.1 et seq.

12

moment, to make it so much worse in the next and so forth ad nauseam. That, in
essence, constitutes the trickster-sequence mentioned above.
So far Loki has confirmed the first five of the trickster-traits listed above, proven to
be deceitful, shape-shifting, ambiguous at best and abnormal at worst, prone to
torture and able to frequently change the game. The sixth one may well be the only
one he fails to adhere to completely, as a messenger- or wanderer-role is one he
never really assumes, other than to carry gossip from sgarr to Jtunheim, avail
himself of the opportunities to be gained or, as seen above, retrieve items he has
lost.
2.3.2 Hermes son of Zeus
Another well-known and better-documented trickster in the divine realm as well as
the mortal is the Greco-roman Hermes/Mercury. Classical scholars have often treated
him as the Hellenistic counterpart to the Norse inn, with Ares (or Zeus)
corresponding to Tyr, Hercules to orr, Aphrodite to Freyja or Frigg and so on.29
Not having been recast as leader of his pantheon (though son and trusted enforcer of
the latter), Hermes retains his trickster-aspect in a more obvious way than inn. His
more marginal role in Greek mythology allows him a kind of freedom the central
figure of the Old Norse pantheon decidedly lacks. This may again be due to the fact
that Hermes literary legacy was indeed recorded by ancient Greek believers in these
tales and not by post-Christianisation historiographers of a crucially different
disposition. William G. Doty ventures in his article on Hermes as trickster that, in
turning to the characteristics of deceit, trickery, and thieving, we encounter traits that
characterize Hermes that would be shocking as divine traits in other religions.30
The fact that so much of Greek mythology and history is actually extant in writing,
as well as publicly accessible, makes a discussion of Hermes trickster-qualities not
only possible but actually feasible. Consequently there is a wealth of works
dedicated to this discussion. Notable contributors are, among others, Enid Welsford,
Karl Kerny, Paul V.A. Williams and William G. Doty.
I will shorten this overview of Hermes trickster-aspect slightly and introduce
another technique by which to analyse his trickster-qualities. Each of the aspects in

29

Cf. SIMEK, RUDOLF Lexikon der germanischen Mythologie 3rd Edition. 2006. Stuttgart. Krner.
p.118, 182-185, 277+278, 501. In the following referred to as SIMEK.
30
Cf. DOTY, WILLIAM G. 1993: A lifetime of trouble-making: Hermes as trickster, in: MTF p. 56. In
the following referred to as DOTY.

13

which Hermes may appear is codified in bynames or titles that unequivocally define
it and give an accurate picture of its function. It should be fairly easy to match these
to the questions asked by my trickster-matrix.
Hermes is indeed a deceiver and general mischief-maker when he appears as
hermes clepsiphronos31 (deceiver, pretender) or hermes dolios32 (trickster, wily one)
and philokertomos33 (joker, likes to jeer).
He may change his form as easily as any other Greek deity and does therefore not
hold any specific epithets defining this function, though he is polytropos34 (manyshifting, crafty).
He is ambiguous as hermes duplex35 (the two-sided) and conspicuously so when he
is at the same time hermes agoraios36 (of the market-place) as well as hermes
pheletes37 (the thief).
Hermes fulfils his role as messenger when he appears as either hermes
psychopompos38

(the

soul-guide)

or

as

hermes

diaktoros39

(messenger).

His wanderer-aspect is trikephalos40 (the Three-headed, god of road intersections) or

enodios 41(fellow wanderer, guide).
Other epithets and therefore aspects, not directly related to Hermes trickster-nature,
but nonetheless interesting as they illuminate the supposed connection between
Hermes and inn, are:
Hermes lyraios42: Hermes is a (lyrical) poet, as inn is god of skalds.
Hermes areias43: This epithet, though mostly confined to Mycenean inscriptions,
identifies Hermes as war-like, thus encroaching on his cousin Ares domain, but at
the same time affirming his kinship with inn Herfdr (father of warriors).

31

Cf. BRUCHMANN, C.F.H. Epitheta Deorum Quae Apud Poetas Graecos Leguntur1893 Leipzig.
B.G.Teubner. p.107
32
Cf. ibid. 105
33
Cf. DOTY p.60.
34
Cf. PRELLER, L. Griechische Mythologie: Erster Band: Theogonie und Gtter 1854. Leipzig.
Weidmannsche Buchhandlung. p.256 In the following referred to as PRELLER.
35
Cf. DOTY p.49
36
Cf. BURKERT, WALTER Griechische Religion der Archaischen und Klassischen Epoche 2.Editon.
2010. Stuttgart. Kohlhammer. p.184. In the following referred to as BURKERT.
37
Cf. PRELLER p. 257
38
Cf. BURKERT p.157
39
Cf. PRELLER p.255
40
Cf. KERNYI, KARL Hermes der Seelenfhrer 1944. Zrich. Rhein-Verlag. p.31. In the following
referred to as KERNYI.
41
Cf. KERNYI p.23
42
Cf. DOTY p.55
43
Cf. BURKERT p.169

14

Hermes argeiphonts44: The title slayer of Argos was bestowed unto Hermes when
he killed the giant Argos with deceit and cunning,45 which is reminiscent of inns
encounters with giants, a few of which will be mentioned below.
2.3.3 Others
As said before, the trickster is an arguably universal archetype. The list of trickster
figures in myth and folklore is endless without even taking into account the more
local varieties of village fools, pranksters and clowns. The boy Jack, who is fooled
into selling his cow for a few magic beans but ends up tricking and slaying a
malicious giant is as much an incarnation of the Trickster archetype as the Ash-Lad
(Askeladden) from Norwegian folk tales and Grimms Valiant Little Tailor.
As time progresses, the tribal trickster seems to somewhat deteriorate. He is losing
his supernatural powers and his divine connotations. Actual shape-shifting gives way
to ingenious or ridiculous disguises, his sacred torment becomes everyday injuries
like stubbed toes or getting beaten with a stick (Punch n Judy, Kasperltheater),
while all-seeing wisdom and clairvoyance is replaced with quick wit and street
smarts. What is left are exclusively human (Jack, Punch, Askeladden) or animal
(Bad Wolf, Reynard Fox) pranksters or outright clowns who nonetheless adhere at
least to some of the trickster-matrix parameters in a way which is most interesting.
Leaving aside their obvious aspect of general trickery one encounters a group of
individuals who may be exceptionally adept at disguising (just one step away from
actually transforming) themselves (Wolf becomes grandmother), often pathologically
anomalous and ambiguous (Punch essentially beats everyone he meets to death,
while Fox will play both sides of the field in any conflict) and are frequently subject
to torture and violence (Punch is hanged, Wolf is shot, cut open and filled with
stones, then drowned). Others possess such quick wit and ingenuity that they can
turn any situation into its opposite (Tailor tricks giants as well as wild beasts and
ends up with the princess and half the kingdom, Jack loses a cow but gets rich as a
result of his adventures) and are undoubtedly wanderers of more than one world
(Jack visits the realm of giants, as do Askeladden and Tailor).
Most of these neo-tricksters undoubtedly have their origin in older lore, where
their pre-incarnations may have held greater power. Some may even go back to

44
45

Cf. KERNYI p.16

Cf. BURKERT p.157

15

inn or Loki themselves, who in turn surely had forebears in older cultures of IndoGermanic origin.
3. inns trickster-aspect
Now to put this matrix to the test, I will look at each of the parameters in detail and
connect them to inns character. To do so I will not only consult tales of the Eddas
and sagas to find evidence for his trickery, but also pay closer attention to the various
names he is given in literature. As Neil S. Price pointed out in his extensive survey of
inns connection to seir-magic and circumpolar shamanism,46 the gods various
aspects correspond closely to his numerous names and denominations though they
are not as unequivocal as Hermes epithets. Proceeding from 204 different names or
heiti (skaldic paraphrases), Price finds no less than seventeen categories in which to
group them, eight of which are relevant for this work, namely:
Gallows-names ( as relevant to bodily harm)
Names associated with the dead (as relevant to Messenger/Wanderer between
worlds)
Sorcery- and ritual-names (as relevant to Otherness)
Ergi-names (as relevant to Ambiguous and Other)
Trickery-names
Disguise-names
Wanderer-names
Shapeshifter-names 47
Based on this comprehensive list and categorization, I will in turn connect a few
names to each of my parameters, interpret their meaning with the help of Hjalmar
Falks Odensheite48, Rudolf Simeks Lexikon der germanischen Mythologie as
well as Neil S. Prices own translation of the heiti and illustrate their relevance to the
Trickster Archetype.
As Hrr says to king Gylfi:

46

Already cited above, cf. PRICE.

Cf. ibid. p.101-107
48
FALK, HJALMAR Odensheite Skrifter utgit av Videnskapsselskapet I Kristiania1924. Kristiania. In
the following referred to as FALK
47

16

"Mikil skynsemi er at rifja vandliga at upp. En er r at skjtast at segja,

at flest heiti hafa verit gefin af eim atbur at sv margar sem eru greinir
tungnanna verldunni, ykkjast allar jir urfa at breyta nafni hans til
sinnar tungu til kalls ok bna fyrir sjlfum sr, en sumir atburir til essa
heita hafa gerzk ferum hans ok er at frt frsagnir, ok muntu eigi mega
frr mar heita ef skalt eigi kunna segja fr eim strtindum." 49

True to this statement I will in the following retell some of those tales in some detail,
namely those where inn appears as trickster. Not all information given may seem
relevant to the trickster-trait at hand, but is nonetheless necessarily provided at the
given point, as I will recur to those tales in my analysis later on. I prefer to tell the
stories once where most appropriate, instead of providing just the de-contextualised
parts that are immediately relevant. I hope to be able to give a more coherent picture
of inns trickster-nature this way.
3.1 Deceiver and Mischief-Maker
Deception, deceit, mischief and pranks are essential to any tricksters character and
are the only trait that I am comfortable with calling truly universal as in applies to
each and every one of them. It entails treachery and oathbreaking, cunning lies and
malicious pranks, as well as little jokes and merrymaking, breaking of social taboos
and general deviancy. Some tricks may result in death and/or destruction, others in
harmless laughter. Still others backfire promptly and leave the prankster confounded,
ridiculed and/or severely injured himself.
H.R. Ellis Davidson quotes Radin in his article about Nordic tricksters when he
ventures:
It may indeed be claimed that [inn] knows neither good nor evil, and that he is
at one and the same time creator and destroyer, giver and negator, while one might
agree that in a sense he is the one who dupes others and who is always duped
himself , in that he is unable to save himself and the gods from the treachery of fate,
that treachery which he has so often meted out to others.50

49

Gylfaginning 20, p.22.

It takes great wisdom to explain all of them [Oinns names]; but in short let it be said, that most of
the names were given to him because all those who speak the different languages of the world wanted
to translate his name into their own languages to call upon and pray to him. But some of these names
were created after occurences on his journeys, and those are related in the tales and you may not be
called a man of learning, if you can not retell these great events.
50
DAVIDSON p.6

17

We will see in the next chapter that there are other situations on record, in which
inn appears to have been outwitted by another party, though they are few and far
between. It seems worth mentioning that, at least in the sources with plausible preChristian ancestry, it takes a woman to successfully trick the Allfather.
3.1.1 Glapsvir
Deceit may sometimes be no more than the (attempted) seduction of other
gods/goddesses, mortals or even giants, apparently a favourite pastime in many a
pantheon.
inns byname Glapsvir, roughly translating to the great seducer51, is evidence
of his aptitude in this area. Not commonly a trait the Allfather is known for, it is not
unthinkable that this might once have been a more important aspect of his character.
No doubt Christian idealization of the highest Norse pagan deity in the written sagas
made him a good deal tamer than he might have been before.
Nevertheless, Snorri lets inn describe the outcome of one such amorous escapade
in no uncertain terms in verse 102 of the Hvaml:
Mrg er g mr,
ef gorva kannar,
hugbrig vi hali;
ec at reynda,
er i rspaca
teyga ec flrir flj;
hungar hverrar
leitai mr it horsca man,
oc hafa ec ess vtki vfs.52

Incidentally, this is one of the few instances where the highest god of the Nordic
pantheon is duped just as thoroughly as most other tricksters frequently are. Just a

51

Cf. FALK 46 p.14

Hvaml, 102 in: Edda p.32
Many good maidens are,
If you but try them,
Wilful against men.
This I discovered,
When the prudent,
With flood of falsehood I tried to woo.
Mockery of every kind,
Made of me the clever maid.
I got nothing from this woman.
52

18

few verses further on, inn is heard bragging about another (this time successful)
seduction, when he deceived the giantess Gunnl:
Vel keyptz litar
hefi ek vel notit,
fs er from vant,53

The latter verse describes a scene from the tale of how inn won the Poets Mead
Orrir from the giant Suttungr. It is one of the tales where the one-eyed god is
vividly reminiscent of the human trickster in folk and fairy tales, who goes up
against and wreaks havoc amongst the stereotypically witless giants.
3.1.2 Blverkr
The Orrir is made from Kvasirs blood, mixed with honey by two malicious
dwarves. These two subsequently lose their bounty to the giant Suttungr, who
jealously guards the pots that contain the drink under the mountain Hnitbjrg with
his daughter Gunnl as the keeper. When inn becomes aware of the meads
hiding place, he disguises himself as an old wanderer and seeks out the lands of the
giants.
In the fields there, nine servants of the giant Baugi, brother to Suttungr, are hard at
work, trying to make hay with near blunt scythes. inn loses no time in
volunteering to sharpen their blades with an extraordinary whetstone he possesses.
He then offers to sell this whetstone to the highest bidder. When an argument breaks
out among the giants, inn casts the whetstone high into the air and, in their hurry
to catch it they all fall under their fellows now razor sharp haymaking gear. inn
goes on to insinuate himself into Baugis service under the name of Blverkr (EvilDoer, Mischief-Maker) offering to do the work of nine fieldworkers if the giant
promises to help him win a drink of his brothers most valuable possession. Baugi,
with all his workers dead, is hard pressed for hired help and therefore agrees to the
bargain. inn in disguise spends all summer doing the work of nine men/giants, but
as winter approaches reminds his master of his promise. When Baugi asks his
brother for the mead, Suttungr declines, leaving them with no other way than to try

53

Hvaml 107 in: Edda p.33

The well-earned beauty,
I have well used.
Little is the wise mans want.

19

and steal it. inn produces a drill by the name of Rati and bids Baugi drill a hole
into the side of the mountain, so he may shift his shape to that of a serpent and crawl
through. The giant, unsure of his brothers forgiveness should he ever become aware
of his involvement in the theft pulls back Rati shortly before he has penetrated the
mountainside, intending to trap inn in the hole and kill him with a quick thrust of
the drill. inn, however, who is by far Baugis superior with respect to deviousness,
blows into the hole, producing a cloud of dust. Now the giant is forced to finish
drilling the hole and even as he thrusts after the transformed god with the tool, he has
no success in killing him, as inn nimbly evades the drill head.
Meanwhile, inside the mountain, inn (now reshaped as god) encounters Gunnl,
who, depraved of company for too long, falls head over heels for the proverbial
charm of the one who sometimes is called Glapsvir. After three days in her bed,
inn leaves the mountain, again shifting to another form. This time it is that of an
eagle. His stomach contains the poets mead, which he later spews into vessels
placed in sgarrs courtyard, as he is evading the attacks of the (also eagle-shaped)
Suttungr. The few drops that he spills in his haste fall down to Midgard, where they
build the basis of human mastery of (skaldic) poetry, thus bringing culture to the
world of men. 54 In this inn again resembles his Greek counterpart Hermes.55
To the giant and his family though, Blverkr brings nothing but doom and dishonour,
as his chosen pseudonym suggests.
However, he does so with cunning trickery, vast knowledge of his enemys
weaknesses, quick on-the-spot thinking, seduction, and treachery and last but not
least an impressive feat of shape-shifting, which brings us to another common
trickster-trait.
3.2 Shape-Shifter
While not an attribute exclusive to inn, shape-shifting abilities do seem to
manifest in a select few of the sir and Vanir (a tribe of fertility deities, allied with
the sir). Loki, of course, possesses the ability to change form, virtually whenever
he wills it, as does inn, and Freyja is purported to own a falcon-shift (a magic
garment which allows its bearer to change into the form of a falcon), which she loans
to Loki on occasion (though it is unclear why he would have need of it). Other than

54
55

Cf. Skldskaparml G58, p.4 et seq.

Cf. DOTY p.54 et seq.

20

these three, there is very scarce mention of the gods changing their forms, apart from
Heimdallrs one-shot-adventure of chasing down Loki in seal-form to bring back
Freyjas necklace.56 The extent to which orr is transformed when he goes to the
wedding-feast at rymrs is not revealed in detail.57 Whether the successful deception
is due to some disguising magic on Lokis part or the giants standards of beauty
differing from that of the gods remains speculative.
As above, with the more recent incarnations of the Trickster and for the sake of
argument in this present work, one could argue that any sufficiently effective
disguise or masquerade be viewed as a kind of shape-shifting.
3.2.1 Svipall
Derived from the adjective svipull, shifting or changeable, the name Svipall
acknowledges the many shapes inn is able to take.58 Like Loki he may take the
form of a bird, as seen in the episode of his escaping from Hnitbjrg, with the Poets
Mead safe in his stomach. In the same story inn changes himself into a worm or
snake (the ON word orm being the same for both animals) to crawl through the hole
in the side of the mountain Hnitbjrg. According to Ynglinga saga, he may take
various other shapes including those of humans and of beasts (the latter often in
connection with cultic practices):
inn skipti hmum. L bkrinn sem sofinn ea daur, en hann var fugl ea
dr, fiskr ea ormr ok fr einni svipstund fjarlg lnd, at snum rendum ea
annarra manna.59
The mechanics of shapeshifting here bear remarkable similarity to shamanic
practice.60
The name Svipall may even correspond to the game-changing aspect discussed in
chapter 3.5, if it is to be understood as he who changes (the outcome of) things.

56

Which enterprise, though successful, earns him the derisive nickname menskir Freyju (Freyjas
Necklace-Searcher), making Loki the duper of the tale, even in defeat at Heimdallrs hands. Cf.
Skldskaparml 8, p.19
57
Cf. rymskvia Codex Regius p.111 et seqq.
58
Cf. FALK 137 p.28
59
Ynglinga saga 7 AALBJARNASON, BJARNI (Edt.) Snorri Sturluson: Heimskringla I. 1941.
Reykjavik, Hi slenzka Fornritaflag. p.7. In the following referred to as Heimskringla.
Oinn changed his shape: His body lay there as if sleeping or dead and he was then a bird or a beast,
a fish or a worm, and in a moment he went to remote lands, for his own sake or others.
60
Cf. SIMEK 295 ff. sowie 362 f.

21

3.2.2 Grmnir
Having established that the Allfather may change appearances as easily as turning a
cloak or donning a mask, Grmnir the masked One or even just Grmr, mask, is
indeed a pseudonym he is attributed with in various thulur (lists of heiti).61
In Grmnisml (Grmnirs speech), he assumes the name Grmnir in an attempt to
infiltrate the court of king Geirrr to determine the outcome of a wager with his
wife Frigg.
Geirrr, one time foster-son of inn himself, was made king after he engineered
the demise of his elder brother Agnar, beloved charge of Frigg.
As inn brags about his protgs ingenuity, she berates him for favouring an
unkind miser, whom she bets would not so much as give a weary guest the scraps
from his table. Her husband calls her a liar, agrees to the bet and journeys to
Geirrrs court to see for himself. When he arrives at the kings hall he is
immediately set upon by the kings guards and bound next to a roaring fire.
Unbeknownst to inn, Frigga has sent her chambermaid Fulla to alert the king to
the imminent incursion of a certain malevolent sorcerer, which Geirrr has taken
measures to prevent.
In this way disheartened by the apparent avarice of his former foster-child, inn
endures eight days of torture, without giving his captors more than the name
Grmnir. Only the kings son, Agnar (apparently after his uncle), takes pity on the
old man and gives him to drink.
When the fire begins to burn his hat on the ninth day, Grmnir finally speaks up.
In 54 verses he relates the structure of the world, from a detailed description of each
deitys dwelling in sgarr, to the general shape of the universe, with the world-tree
in its centre, thus un-masking himself.
He concludes with an enumeration of 55 of his pseudonyms, aptly remarking that:
eino nafni
htomc aldregi,
sz ec me folcom fr.62

61

Cf. FALK 47-48 p.14

Grmnisml 48 Codex Regius p.67 Never was I known by one name only, since I went among
the people.
62

22

Geirrr, realising his mistake, jumps up from his throne, where he was sitting with
his sword half unsheathed. In his hurry to free his foster-father from his fetters he
stumbles and falls onto his blade, immediately ending his life. inn disappears in
that same instance, leaving Agnar to rule justly for a long while. 63
The tale at hand is interesting in more than one respect. The motive of a bet between
gods (with humans as pawns) is essential to classical greek or roman myth, though it
is not commonly found in Scandinavian sources. What is more, we have here another
of those rare instances where inn is not only captured and tortured but ultimately
loses the bet with his wife through no small feat of trickery on her part. The trickster
who is in turn himself tricked and sometimes tortured is a common motif in other
trickster-traditions, as discussed above.
The matter of inns (often ritualised) torture will be discussed further below.64
3.2.3 Bjrn/Bjarki
Another context in which shape-shifting plays a major role is exclusively connected
to inn as a god of warriors. There is evidence of an innic mask-cult among the
professional warriors of the Norse.65 On the Torslunda helm-plate, for example, we
can see a spear wielding wolf-man next to a dancing figure, which has been
identified as inn.66 Accounts of combatants who, in a kind of ecstatic trance or
frenzy, (inn being the god of frenzied rage and ecstasy), seem to change their
form, becoming monstrous, beastlike creatures, berserks, range from Tacitus to the
later eddic poems and sagas.
The byname Bjrn (bear) and its diminutive Bjarki (little bear) allude to the
berserks supposed ability to change his shape to that of a bear (or sometimes that of
a wolf, then called ulfhednar wolf-hides) or at least to their correlating ritual
disguises.67

63

Cf. ibid. p.56-68

As a sidenote: Oinn is able to divest himself of any means of confinement, as will be discussed
later on in this paper. His capture and detainment by king Geirrr seems therefore suspiciously
gratuitous. As a rule he can only be held as long as he allows it to happen. In the case of Geirrr,
eight days of continuous torture and minimal sustenance pass, until Oinn frees himself easily from
his bounds on the ninth day. The rather obvious allusion to Oinns self-sacrifice in Yggdrasils
branches leads various scholars to assume yet another instance of ritual torture as a means of
obtaining knowledge, reminiscent of shamanic practices. Cf. SIMEK p.151 f.
65
Cf. PRICE p. 366
66
Cf. PRICE p. 372
67
Cf. SIMEK, p.49 and p.53
64

23

Oin assumes the name Bjrn in Harar saga 15, while Bjarki is a heiti for the god
in the kenning (skaldic paraphrase with two or more links) stla Bjarki (steel of
Bjarki/inn = warrior), as well as the name of one of the most accomplished
berserkers known from the sagas, Bvarr Bjarki68, who was rumoured to be able to
shift into the form of a giant bear.69
There is of course vast disagreement as to the precise nature of the berserkir.
Theories range from them being a mere literary plot-device or stock-villain,70 over
frothing madmen and were-wolves to elite warriors with a very real technique of
inducing frenzy to aid battlefield-endeavours. While it may be deemed unscientific to
assume that they really were able to change their shape, it might be interesting to
examine how those stories came to be and what they meant to contemporaries who
believed in them. Famed skald Egill Skallagrimsson was known to fly into a frothing
rage from time to time, but it was his grandfather Ulfr, called Kveldulf (eveningwolf), who was said to be both berserkr and mjk hamrammr (a great shapeshifter),
in other words, the shapeshifting berserker in the family. Ulfr is indeed described as
a wise man and formidable (read elite) warrior who even in high age managed to
fly into a berserks rage and change his shape to become monstrous and fight his
enemies. 71
In Ynglinga saga, inns chosen menn fru brynjulausir ok vru galnir sem
hundar ea vargar, bitu skjldu sna, vru sterkir sem birnir ea griungar. eir
drpu mannflkit, en hvrtki eldr n jrn orti . at er kallar berserksgangr.72
Here the purpose of shape-shifting is to strike fear in the hearts of the enemy, as well
as becoming virtually invincible in battle. Similar tactics are attested in Tacitus
descriptions of the Harii, whom he describes as a Germanic tribe. Kershaw and
others think it more likely that the warriors with the blackened shields and painted
bodies that Tacitus describes were in fact elite troops of the Lugii, who, much like
the berserks drew their formidable strength and invulnerability from the belief that

68

Cf. FALK 9 p.4

Cf. PRICE, p.367 et seqq.
70
PRICE p. 368.
71
Cf. Egils saga Skallagrmssonar 1 Egils Saga Skallagrmssonar nebst den greren Gedichten
Egils 2nd Edition. Edt. JNSSON, FINNUR 1924. Halle (Saale). Max Niemeyer. p.1 et seqq.
72
Ynglinga saga 6 Heimskringla p.17 Oinns men went [into battle] without ring-mail and were
mad as dogs or wolves, they bit their shields, were strong as bears or oxen; they killed men, and
neither fire nor iron worked against them then. This is called berserker rage.
69

24

they had changed their shape, had become wild beasts or in the Hariis case, spirits
of the ancestors.73
Similar structures, so called Mnnerbnde, meaning groups of professional warriors
with their own cultic practices (often centred around a particular deity), are found in
nearly every warfaring tribal society in the Indo-Germanic territories and can in
essence be traced back to the vedic Vratyas with the god Rudra as central subject of
worship (who bears more than a passing similarity to inn himself as Kershaw
impressively demonstrates).74
Without going into even further detail, it seems that inns shape-changing abilities
are more than well established.
3.3 Ambiguous and Other
This aspect of the Trickster-Archetype may per definition be the one that is hardest
to grasp. Understanding things that are neither exclusively one nor the other, but both
at the same time is a hard task for most of people, having grown up in a culture
where many inherently linked concepts are taught as clearly divided, such as male
female, good bad, heaven earth, or even child adult. The Trickster transcends
all these distinctions, as he is always both and more. To humans he must therefore
seem strange, alien, other, often frightfully so. He is everybody, but at the same
time everything they are not.
In medieval society everything that was not directly controllable by human powers
was other, strange and often terrible. 75 The wild woods, mountains and the far
North were out of their influence and filled with outlaws, trolls, giants and
monsters,76 as well as inn and the other gods (both Vanir and sir) themselves.
Magic powers as exhibited by vlva, seirmadr (sorcerer) and others (inn among
them), while accepted as fact, where not accepted socially, but tainted with so-called
ergi (dishonour, pariah-status). In folk- and later Christian belief, they were
invariably linked to perverse or wanton sexual practices and behaviour, devilry and
other cultural taboos, such as cross-dressing or sodomy for example. The Trickster
again is the breaker of taboos, making him and his powers other in every sense of
the word.

73

Cf. KERSHAW p.26 et seqq.

Cf. KERSHAW p.22 et seqq. + p.201 et seqq.
75
Cf. SCHULZ, KATJA Riesen: Von Wissenshtern und Wildnisbewohnern in Eda und Saga 2004.
Heidelberg. Universittsverlag Winter. p.231 et seqq.
76
Cf. ibid.
74

25

3.3.1 Gndlir
Gandr is an old norse term for magic, gndlir meaning wizard or sorcerer.
According to the sagas inn first learned magic from the Vanir, more specifically
from the Goddess Freyja. Opinions on which kind of magic was socially accepted or
not, differ in professional circles. While runic magic and galdr (magic-songs, spells)
are mostly attributed to heroes, seir77 is more often than not something evil witches
and Finnish (read: Smi) warlocks engage in. This, however, is according to
Christianised sources and therefore most likely provides a warped image of how
these things were regarded by pre-Christian Norse society, from which the character
of inn sprang. Tampering with magic powers has arguably been an alien, other
occupation before that and thus falls into the domain of the Trickster in any case.
inns proficiency not only with runes and galdr-spells, but with seir as well is
another pointer that he might fit this archetype. Snorri relates that:
inn kunni rtt, er mestr mttr fylgi, ok frami sjlfr, er seir heitir,
en af v mtti hann vita rlg manna ok orna hluti, sv ok at gera mnnum
bana ea hamingju ea vanheilendi, sv ok at taka fr mnnum vit ea afl ok
gefa rum. En essi fjlkyngi, er framit er, fylgir sv mikil ergi, at eigi tti
karlmnnum skamlaust vi at fara, ok var gyjunum kend s rtt.78

In Lokasenna, the enraged Loki calls inn argr,79 a derisive term used for men who
engaged in homosexual intercourse as the passive partner, as well as men or women
who practised seir or incurred ergi in any other way. Not only is inn other,
alien, but also androgynous in that he may engage in activities that are exclusively
connected to one particular gender. He is not only ambiguous but, as we will see,
arguably androgynous as well.

77

There is some uncertainty as to how seir is to be translated, though it is generally used in a way
that implies witchcraft or black magic. Connections to the act of spinning wool (an exclusively female
occupation) have been drawn in: HEIDE, ELDAR Spinning Seir Old Norse Religion in Long-Term
Perspectives: Origins, Changes, and Interactions Edts. ANDRN, ANDERS; JENNBERT, KRISTINA et al.
2006. Lund. Nordic Academic Press
78
Ynglinga saga 7 Heimskringla p.19 Oinn knew such witchcraft, as was most powerful and
which he himself practised, which is called seir. Because of this, he could know of mens destinies
and things yet to come, as well as bring death, bad luck, and sickness over them, take from a man wit
or ability and give it to others.
But such magic, if it is done, carries such ergi, that none thought it honourable for men to concern
themselves with, and so it was a craft taught to the priestesses.
79
Cf. Lokasenna 24 Codex Regius p.101

26

3.3.2 Tveggi
Hjalmar Falk translates the heiti Tveggi as hermafrodit, i likhet med urjetten
Yme.80 Though reluctant to concede a belief in inns androgynous nature among
the Nordic peoples, both he and Simek admit a certain correspondence to the
Germanic Tuisto, according to Tacitus the progenitor of the Germanic tribes, who
lends his name to the german Zwitter i.e. hermaphrodite.81
[Hierzu] finden wir an. tvistr 'zwiespltig, traurig' nebst tvistra 'zerteilen',
ndd. ndl. twist hd. zwist 'streit', nhd. dial. zwister 'zwitter', wozu Tuisto der
[] name des erdgeborenen gottes, der der vater des Mannus, des ersten
menschen, ist, wie W. Wackemagel [] erkannt hat, der repraesentant
jenes zwitterhaften, mnnliches und weibliches geschlecht in sich vereinenden
wesens, von dem nicht selten in kosmogonischen Vorstellungen der Ursprung
des menschengeschlechtes hergeleitet wird. 82

inns ambiguous or even outright hermaphroditic nature is discussed at length in

rmann Jakobssons 2011 article: inn as mother: The Old Norse deviant
patriarch.83
Only taking into account Snorris Edda and Heimskringla, he argues that Snorri
leaves us with an inn who is not only a patriarch but also a deviant, a sorcerer, a
queer,84 several traits which have been shown to be characteristic for the archetypal
Trickster.
The byname tveggi is mirrored in Hermes epithet duplex, while the hermes triplex
finds his counterpart in the inns-heiti thriggi, also a name that marks the gods
multiplicity.85

80

FALK 140 p.29 hermaphrodite, like the primal giant Ymir

Cf. FALK 140 p.29 as well as SIMEK p.443, 444
82
SOLMSEN, FELIX: Beitrge zur geschichte der lateinischen sprache (sic) Zeitschrift fr
vergleichende Sprachforschung auf dem Gebiete der indogermanischen Sprachen, 1900. Gtersloh.
Bertelsmann. p. 20
Concerning this we find ON tvistr ambiguous, sad as well as tvistra to part Low German, Dutch
twist High German zwist quarrel New High German dial. zwister zwitter with Tuisto being the
name of the earth-born god, father of Mannus, the first human, - as W. Wackemangel recognised, the
representative of this androgynous being that combines male and female gender in itself and from
which, in cosmogonic beliefs, the genesis of humanity is often derived.
83
JAKOBSSON, RMANN inn as mother: The Old Norse deviant patriarch, Arkiv fr nordisk
filologi 126. 2011. p.516.
84
Ibid. p.7
85
Cf. FALK 140,145 p.29,30
81

27

According to this, inn is even more than ambiguous, he is also amoral (depending
on what is considered moral in a given time and place of reception), anormal (again
depending) and therefore Other in that he cannot be defined by black and white
standards, but transcends definitive boundaries.
3.4 Bodily harm and Torture
While other tricksters suffer their torture in the form of slapstick-injury or as a
result of (often punishment for) their own misdemeanours, the most prominent
instances of bodily harm coming to inn are both self-inflicted and purposeful. As
is so often the case with the damage a trickster does (whether to others or himself)
the result is ultimately beneficial or at least goal-oriented. In the case of the
Allfather, bodily harm or torture is most times part of a ritualised obtainment of
knowledge.
3.4.1 Geigur
The Gallows-God refers to inns ritual self-sacrifice, of which he says in
Hvaml:
Veit ec, at ec hecc
vindgameii
ntr allar no,
geiri undar
oc gefinn ni,
sjalfr sjalfom mr,
eim meii,
er mangi veit
hvers hann af rtom renn.86

Pierced by his own spear inn hung from one of Yggdrasils branches, for nine
days and nights, absent food or drink, the ultimate torture, inflicted on himself by

86

Hvaml 138 in: Codex Regius p.40

I know that I hung,
on the windy tree,
all of nine nights,
wounded by a spear,
and given to Oinn,
myself to myself,
on this tree,
of which no-one knows,
where its roots run.

28

himself.
The reward for his pain is, of course, knowledge:
Vi hleifi mic sldo
n vi hornigi;
nsta ec nir,
nam ec upp rnar,
pandi nam,
fell ec aptr aan.87

Hanging from a wooden pillar and wounded by a spear, inns self-sacrifice

bears some resemblance to the tales of the crucifixion of one Jesus of Nazareth,
which lead to the assumption of eine ber England erfolgte und auf Odin
bertragene bernahme des Kreuzesopfers Christi []. Die Form des Opfers ist
jedoch auch aus den Initiationsriten archaischer Kulturen bekannt und hat
ausreichende Parallelen in der indischen [] und der griech. Mythologie [] um als
indogerman. Motiv betrachtet werden zu knnen. Somit ist als Ursprung von [inns
Selbstopfer] eine der schamanischen hnliche Initiation in die Kenntnis der Dichtung
und Magie [] anzunehmen.88
3.4.2 Blindr/Hrr
Another, maybe the best-known instance of self-inflicted bodily harm, is the episode
of a young inn sacrificing one of his eyes to the well of Mimir, making him
eineygja Friggjar fambyggvi89, Friggs one-eyed husband (embracementresident), as he is called in Haraldskvi, thought to be one of the oldest Old Norse
poems we know of.

87

Hvaml 139 in: Codex Regius p.40

Neither with loaf (food) did they do me good
Nor with horn (drink)
I looked down,
I took up the runes,
Screaming I took them,
And thus I fell.
88
SIMEK p.321:
an adoption of the crucifixion of Christ, which happened by way of England and was transferred to
inn. The pattern of the sacrifice is however also known from the rites of initiation of archaic
cultures and has sufficient parallels in Indic and Greek mythology to be considered an Indo-Germanic
motif. Therefore an initiation into the art of poetry and magic similar to shamanic practice has to be
considered the origin of inns self-sacrifice.
89
Haraldskvi 12 HAUGEN, ODD EINAR (Edt.) Norrne tekster i utval 1994. Oslo. Ad Notam
Gyldendal. p.85.

29

In Vlusp the seeress speaks of this sacrifice, as cited by Snorri in Gylfaginning:

ar kom Alfr ok beiddisk eins drykkjar af brunninum, en hann fekk eigi
fyrr en hann lagi auga sitt at vei. Sv segir Vlusp:

21.
Allt veit ek inn
hvar auga falt,
eim inum mra
Mmis brunni.
Drekkr mj Mmir
morgun hverjan
af vei Valfrs.
Vitu r enn ea hvat?90

What inn gains with this sacrifice is boundless wisdom, approximating all-seeing
qualities. Pawning his eye for a drink from the well leaves him blindr, not necessary
completely blind, but certainly blind-ed or one-eyed, thus perpetuating the idea
of the blind blinder (see gunnblindi below).91
The scars he retains from this self-mutilation make him (in some accounts)
recognisable when he appears in his wanderer-aspect, though he often pulls hood or
hat down over his face in an attempt to disguise his features (sihttr).92
There is an ongoing discussion about whether or not the name Hrr ought to be
construed as One-Eye instead of High One or Greyhair, in which the former
interpretation, derived from a goth. Haihs (one-eyed -> lat caecus = blind,
invisible) seems to be slowly gaining ground.

90

Gylfaginning 15, p.17

Then came Valfdr and asked to take one drink from the well, but he was not allowed to before he
laid down his eye as a pawn. So it is said in Vlusp:
For sure I know, Oinn,
where you left your eye
in that famed
Mimirs well
Mead drinks Mimir
every morning
from Valfdrs pledge
Do you know more and what?
91
Cf. FALK 11 p.5
92
Cf. Vlsunga saga 3+11 THORSSON, RNLFUR (Edt.) Vlsunga saga og Ragnars saga lobrkar
1985. Reykjavk. Ml og menning. p. 13+31. In the following referred to as Vlsunga saga

30

3.5 Game-Changer
The game-changer aspect refers to the Tricksters ability to turn a situation on its
head in the blink of an eye. He may use it to save himself or others from a seemingly
hopeless situation, tricking an opponent into releasing him or (especially in inns
case) changing the outcome of a battle for better or worse.
In essence, the game-changer aspect is what fuels the trickster-sequence, the
underlying structure of any trickster-tale, the making of plans and their being foiled,
schemes being plotted and set into action, constantly oscillating between success and
disaster, chaos and order, right up until the completion of the task or the demise
(sometimes escape) of the trickster or his proxy.
inn might grant his followers victory in war, enhancing their fame and fortune or
ensure their demise, often to enlist them in his army of fallen warriors, which may
again be counted as a mark of favour, as only the best warriors were chosen to
become einherjar.
His resolution to do the one or the other may change from one moment to the next,
his mood as changeable (cf. svipull) as his appearance.
Some of the spells he reportedly learned during his ordeal of hanging and falling
from Yggdrasils branches seem extraordinarily suited to such endeavours, as we
will see in the following.
3.5.1. Gunnblindi
One of these spells dulls the blades of enemy combatants, another stops their arrows
in the air. As he himself has been blinded (by his own hand no less), inn may also
blind his enemies and is therefore called Gunnblindi (warrior blinder / he who blinds
in battle).93 It is said that inn kunni sv gera, at orrostum uru vinir hans
blindir ea daufir ea ttafullir, en vpn eirra bitu eigi heldr en vendir94.
He is in fact tviblindi, double-blind, the blind (or one eyed") blinder of foes.
But while securing inns favour against enemy combatants may seem a
worthwhile precaution, it has to be kept in mind that his affections are known to
waver. A warrior protected from deadly wounds in one moment may fall prey to a
change of plans the next.

93

Cf. 49+65
Ynglinga saga 6 Heimskringla p.17
Oinn could make it so that, in a battle, his enemies became blind or deaf or full of fear and their
weapons would not bite either and they fled.
94

31

In Vlsunga saga it is king Sigmund who possesses a near-magical sword provided

to him by inn himself.95 It serves him well in any battle throughout his life. Even
in high age he leads his warriors into battle, with neither shield nor mail to protect
him. Yet the tale of king Sigmunds final battle goes like this:
Margt spjt var ar lopti ok rvar. En sv hlfu honum hans spdsir, at
hann var ekki srr, ok engi kunni tl, hversu margr mar fell fyrir honum.
Hann hafi bar hendr blgar til axlar. Ok er orrosta hafi stait um hr,
kom mar bardagann me san htt ok heklu bl. Hann hafi eitt auga ok
geir hendi. essi mar kom mt Sigmundi konungi ok br upp geirinum
fyrir hann. Ok er Sigmundr konungr hj fast, kom sverit geirinn ok brast
sundr tv hluti. San sneri mannfallinu, ok vru Sigmundi konungi horfin
heill, ok fell mjk liit fyrir honum. Konungrinn hlfi sr ekki ok eggjar mjg
liit. N er sem mlt, at eigi m vi margnum. essari orrostu fell Sigmundr
konungr ok Eylimi konungr, mgr hans, ndverri fylkingu ok mestr hluti
lis hans.96

inn gives and he takes away, as it were, his mood as unpredictable as the push and
shove of armies on the battlefield over which he presides, constantly changing the
game for friend and foe alike.
3.5.2. Haptagu
Another two galdr-spells let inn slip any fetters put on him, as well as bind his
enemy in turn,

97

which makes him Haptagu, the god of fetters.98 Fetters and

bonds may in the greater picture refer to any kind of trap or predicament a trickster
encounters, the ability to free himself from them and escape (ideally but not
necessarily unharmed) traditionally being one of his most important qualities. inn
breaks the bonds in which king Geirrr has held him captive, he evades the trap set
for him by the Giant Baugi and even the rope from which he hung himself only kept

95

Cf. Vlsunga saga 3 p.13 et seq.

Vlsunga saga 11-12 p. 31
Many spears where in the air there, and arrows, too. But his spirit-guardians protected him so, that he
was not wounded, and none could tally how many men fell before him. Both of his hands were bloody
up to his shoulders. And when the battle had stopped for a while, came a man to the battle, with a
broad-rimmed hat and a blue cloak. He had one eye and a spear in his hand. This man came up to
Sigmund and levelled his spear at him. And when king Sigmund struck hard, his sword stuck in the
spear and broke asunder into two parts. After this, the slaughter turned, king Sigmunds luck had left
him and many of his men fell around him. The king did not spare himself, but encouraged his men.
Now it is said that there is no power against superior numbers. In this battle fell king Sigmund and
king Eylimi, his father-in-law, in the first line of his army, and with him most of his men.
97
Cf. Hvamal 148-149 in: Codex Regius p.42
98
Cf. SIMEK p.168
96

32

him for nine days, to name just a few of the instances in which his magic abilities
saved him from trouble.99 Venturing from this premise one could argue that spells
four to nine (verses 150-155 in Hvaml) seem to constitute a veritable panacea for
any seemingly hopeless situation a trickster may find himself in. Not only do they
enable him to cast off his fetters, but he may stop an arrow mid-flight, escape magic
used against him, quench house-fires, placate enraged folk (very handy in a line of
work that frequently leaves people crying bloody murder and evidently the one
which is llum [] nytsamligt at nema100) and calm the raging seas if onboard a
ship. Originally intended to save the caster and his companions from harm, these
spells again enable the game-changer-aspect and therefore the trickster-sequence.
3.6. Messenger/Wanderer
The messenger-aspect, in inns case, is not so much that of a glorified postman for
the higher gods (a way in which Hermes is sometimes portrayed), but more that of a
mediator between opposing sides. These need not necessarily be opponents in a
bellicose way, though they may well be, certainly if inn appears in his aspect as
war-deity or as an inciter of strife (correspondent maybe to the deceiver-aspect, as
his function is then, of course, to mediate in a way that leads to the greatest
possible bloodshed). Often though, he appears merely as a wanderer between
worlds, driven by the search for wisdom. In older Latin a mediator was called
intercessor, thus literally one who walks between. In this case he walks between
worlds. Saxo Grammaticus dubs him viator indefessus, as Mercury/Hermes was
called viator in the Celto-Germanic territories of western Germania during the
second century.101
3.6.1. Gangleri
Though the name Gangleri is not attested in any of the tales with inn himself as
the protagonist, but almost102 exclusively in thulur and other enumerations of his
many names, it is this denomination, which best describes the Allfathers wandereraspect.

99

Cf. the tales related above.

Hvaml 153 in: Codex Regius p.42.
of all these the most useful to learn
101
Cf. FALK 33 p.11
102
The exception is, of course, Snorris Gylfaginning, where the human protagonist, king Gylfi, takes
the name Gangleri when he comes to the hall of the gods.
100

33

Meaning either just wanderer103, one who is tired from wandering104 or even
vagrant, ugly beggar105 it shows a certain amount of deliberate trickery, or
mummery on the Allfathers side. Disguised as a member of one of the lowest
rungs of Nordic society, dependant on the goodwill of his fellow men (which he
traditionally ascertains through verses 2-4 in Hvaml), he goes about largely
unnoticed, discovers the wilful pride of kings and bestows blessings with one hand
while taking them away with the other. He only reveals his true nature at the last
moment (if at all) and just before he disappears again. In Ynglinga saga and
Vlsunga saga, among others, he appears in the guise of an old man with drooping
hat and dark (often blue) cloak as well as a staff to replace his trusted spear (though
sometimes he carries that one as well).
Yet inn does not contend himself with wandering the mortal world of Midgard.
He travels far and wide across all of the nine worlds that rest on Yggdrasils
branches. He achieves this feat with the help of the mighty horse Sleipnir, eightlegged and offspring to the giant-stallion Svadilfari and Lokis mare-form. In a way
the Norse counterpart to Hermes winged shoes (with obvious allowances to inns
primary function as a war-god and leader), Sleipnir carries its rider across every
imaginable boundary in the blink of an eye. The number of Sleipnirs legs might be
considered auspicious, as it corresponds to the number of worlds inn is reported to
travel in (with either sgarr or Migardr as his starting point and not part of the
count) or even the eight winds. Simek dismisses this interpretation completely,106
though others (e.g. Price and Kershaw) agree that the eight-legged horse bears
significance again in conjunction with shamanism and Indo-European mask-cults.107
The shamanistic implications are worthy of discussion, though not directly relevant
to this work, other than that the Trickster is considered to be connected to shamanism
by a wide range of scholars.108

103

Cf. PRICE p.105

Cf. Simek p.126
105
Cf. Falk 32 p.11
106
Cf. SIMEK, p.388
107
Cf. PRICE p.320 et seqq. and KERSHAW, p.30 et seqq.
108
Cf. PRICE, p.324
104

34

3.6.2. Draugadrottin/Hangatyr
Another two of inns bynames reference his ability to not only journey between
worlds, but also to, again, mediate between the realms of the living and of the
dead.
The ability to cross and warp the boundaries between life and death is an important
attribute of the more ancient tricksters and is described by Hynes when he writes
about the aspect of the messenger:
[T]he trickster can be both a messenger and an imitator of the gods. [Or, in
some cases, deified himself. a/n] Admixing both divine and human traits, he
can slip back and forth across the border between the sacred and the profane
with ease. He may bring something across this line from the gods to the
humans be it a message, punishment, an essential cultural power [cf. above:
Orrir, the poets mead], or even life itself.109

He goes on to assert that the trickster is often a psychopomp, a mediator who

crosses and resets the lines between life and death110 and is most often associated
with conducting individuals to restored life111 though he can also be the messenger
of death.112
As draugadrottin, king of the ghosts, inn raises the dead from their graves and
communicates with them, asking questions and receiving answers to them, satisfying
his hunger for knowledge, if only temporarily. Thus it is written in Ynglinga saga
that stundum vaki hann upp daua menn r jru ea settisk undir hanga. Fyrir v
var hann kallar draugadrttinn ea hangadrttinn.113
In the poem Baldrs draumar, there is an account of how inn literally breaches
the borders between the worlds of life and death, riding to Helheim on Sleipnir to
consult a vlva, long since dead and buried. The verse goes:
rei inn
fyr austan dyrr,

109

HYNES p.38
Ibid.
111
Ibid.
112
Ibid.
113
Ynglinga saga 7 Heimskringla p.18
Betimes he woke dead men from the earth, or sat down below hanged ones; because of this he was
called king of the ghosts or king of the hanged.
110

35

ar er hann vissi
vlu leii;
nam hann vittugri
valgaldr qvea,
unz nauig reis,
ns or um qva114

Even if the vlva in the poem later turns out to be a kind of mouthpiece for the
(probably already bound) god Loki, this illustrates how inn, with the help of
galdr-spells, can raise the dead from their graves. As hangatyr or hangadrottin (see
above) he may speak to men who died on the gallows. He seems to have a special
bond to these victims as their demise alludes to his own hanging from the branches
of the world-ash.115
3.6.3. Valfr and the Wild Hunt
Yet inn is of course also a messenger of death in a grander sense. In his aspect as
Father of the Slain he leads the souls of the fallen warriors into the afterlife and to
Valhalla, effectively making him what the Greeks referred to as psychopompos, the
soul-guide. He may in some tales relegate this task to his valkyrjar (choosers of
the slain), but these beings carrying out his will are so closely related to him as to be
indissociable where their purpose is concerned.116
This army of fallen warriors, often referred to as the Wild Hunt, and lead by none
other than Wotan/inn himself, or some incarnation of his,117 has been an omen of
death (though also of renewed life)118 far into our own time.119 As Price says, there

114

Baldrs draumar 4 Codex Regius p.277.

Then inn rode
For the eastern door
Where he knew
Lay a wise womans grave;
Wisely he took to
Singing a spell for the slain
And perforce she rose
And spoke words of the dead.
115
Cf. SIMEK p. 137.
116
Cf. ibid. p.483.
117
Cf. KERSHAW p.20 et seq.
118
The Raunchte, the german term for the twelve nights after Christmas, traditionally the time where
the hunt took place, mark the death of the old year, with a new one sure to follow.
119
Ive known people my own age who were warned not to cross open fields during certain times of
the year, so as not to be taken away by old Wode A/N.

36

are variations on the precise form of the legends, but they all concern a body
of spirits who ride the storms of the midwinter sky during the nights of Yule
(in the pagan period broadly definable as lasting from mid-November to early
January), terrorising the population and sometimes carrying people away. In
all versions of the tale the spirits are associated with the dead, often in the
form of ghosts, and more often still they are described as an army or a band of
warriors.
In the south and the west of Norway, the Hunt was known as the Oskoreidi,
the original derivation of which has been the subject of some debate (Hgstad
1912). Some have seen it as stemming from an earlier form of skrei, wishride, and thereby connecting with the valkyrjur in their aspect as wishmaidens, as discussed above. Others link the name to sgusrei, ride of the
sir god [i.e. inn], and the name could equally mean simply ride of
terror (de Vries 1957: 167, 309, 335, 401). The southern Swedish and
Danish name, Odensjakt contains an obvious link to the god (de Vries 1957:
167), and similar associations are found further south in the Germanic world,
where the Hunt was known as Wuotanes her, Wodens army, and later the
Wildes Heer, or Wilde Jagd led by der Schimmelreiter (see Huth 1935; de
Vries 1963).120

Interestingly enough, the Hunt does not seem to be confined to the Germanic
territories, but figures prominently in tales from all across northern Europe, even in
Celtic mythology.121 The ghostly army is as closely related to the abovementioned
Mnnerbnde, the berserker-cult and the einherjar, as these are to each other. Seeing
as the bulk of tales around the Wild Hunt have been recorded during the middle ages
one might be tempted to ascribe those stories to the Christians need for vilifying the
old gods and goddesses, making inn a devil on horseback, intent only on
abducting unassuming folk from the fields. These tales, however, can be traced back
to pre-Christian folk belief in various kinds of supernatural riders [which] could be
encountered singly or in groups122 and were considered dangerous omens of doom
and disaster.123
In Njls saga brennu the Wild Hunt is referenced at least two times. Even before the
actual burning of Njl, one Hildiglmr encounters a dark rider on a grey horse
bearing a burning brand and foretelling the doom of Flsi, the man who will

120

PRICE, p.350
Cf. Ibid.
122
Ibid.
123
Cf. ibid.
121

37

eventually engineer Njls demise in the flames. Afterwards Hildiglmr is informed

that he has indeed st gandrei, ok er at vallt fyrir strtienum.124
Towards the end of the story, before the disastrous defeat of the Viking forces at the
battle of Clontarf, one Hrekr sees his dead chief Sigurr among the host and rides to
join him, never to be seen again.125 Both times the Hunt heralds destruction and
death, making their leader (or in some cases the lone hunter) a paradigmatic
messenger of death, in keeping with both inns role as god of death and the
messenger-aspect of his trickster-side.
Searching for an easily recognised link of the Wild Hunt to the Trickster-archetype
one need not look further than an old term for the hunt:
In a report from the late 11th century, one Ordericus Vitalis describes a ghostly host
of tortured souls, as related to him by a wandering monk and calls them famila
herlechini i.e. Harlequins host.126
The connection between trickster Harlequin, known primarily as the fool Arlecchino
from the commedia dellarte and inn Allfather, though not readily apparent, is
nonetheless existent and hopefully will be addressed in a future paper.
4. Conclusion
This last piece of information may stand for the fact that there are many other roads
of inquiry by which to arrive at the conclusion I am able to draw from my research.
I have shown that inn is an unscrupulous deceiver of his foes and that his
affection, too, can be deceptive. He is a mischievous seducer of women as well as a
formidable shape-shifter. An accomplished seirmar he knowingly incurs ergi
with all the implications of ambiguousness, androgyny and abnormality this
entails, which is reflected in his various names. He undergoes torturous pains, both
self inflicted and done by a third party, to gain wisdom and supernatural insight. He
is a game-changer in more ways than one, turning seemingly desperate situations
around for his own good or others or toppling seemingly stable institutions. Finally,
he is both a wanderer between worlds and a messenger of death and leader of souls
into the afterlife.
Hence my conclusion:

124

SVEINSSON, EINAR L. (Edt.) Brennu-Njls saga Reykjavik, Hi slenzka Fornritaflag. 125 p.321
He has seen the sorcerer-ride and that comes always before great events.
125
Cf. ibid. 157 p.459
126
Cf. DRIESEN, OTTO Der Ursprung des Harlekin. Ein kulturgeschichtliches Phnomen 1904. Berlin.
Alexander Duncker. p. 25 et seqq.

38

inn is in fact an archetypal trickster-figure (an incarnation of the Trickster) as he

fulfils, in one way or another, all of the requirements posed by Hynes trickster
matrix and my own slightly amended check-list.
But the character of inn is not limited by this definition. The notion that
Trickster is limited, finite at all seems next to ridiculous, now that we have
established his penchant for transgressing each and any limitation. Nonetheless are
those entities that assume a similar breadth of responsibilities as inn rather few
and far between. Most tricksters seem unable to look beyond their own personal
satisfaction and thus are unaccustomed to using their formidable powers for anything
else.
One might argue that it is precisely this attitude of mindless abandon that constitutes
the innermost core of the Trickster archetype. Jungs psychological Tricksterarchetype (which he calls Schatten i.e. shadow) is that primal part of the human
psyche solely intent on instant gratification. Yet inn seems to be something more,
transcending (!) the cycle of want-get-want (even if he indulges in it at times). His
schemes are often means to a greater end, even when, considered in themselves, they
are as devious and chaotic as they come. It almost seems as if his role as leader of the
Norse pantheon forces him to direct his powers to the satisfaction more universal
needs, wants and urges.
This, in conjunction with the fact that inn/Wotan has not always been the highest
god in Germanic mythology but once upon a time was maybe a lot like Hermes to
Tyrs Zeus, suggests the assumption that inn may once have been an even more
typical trickster, who has grown into his role as Allfather in time. This in turn might
allow some interesting insights into the mindset of a people that chose a figure like
him as their highest god, as opposed to the rather straight-forward authority-figure
that is a Zeus or Tyr.
I am well aware that I have but scratched the surface of the mystery that is inn.
The above-mentioned roads, which may or may not lead to the same, or at least
similar conclusions I have arrived at here, remain to be explored. Possibly (inter-)
connected fields of study include shamanism in medieval Norse society, the tradition
of the Indo-Germanic Mnnerbund, the link between Hermes/Mercury and
inn/Wotan and in-depth studies of accounts of the Wild Hunt and its different
appearances in connection to various trickster-figures. One can only hope to have the
chance to at least scratch the surface of some of these, too.

39

Bibliography:
Primary sources:
-

AALBJARNASON, BJARNI (Edt.) Snorri Sturluson: Heimskringla I. 1941. Reykjavik,

Hi slenzka Fornritaflag.

FAULKES, ANTHONY (Edt.) Snorri Sturluson: Edda: Prologue and Gylfaginning 2nd
Edition. 2005. University College London. Viking Society for Northern Research.

FAULKES, ANTHONY (Edt.) Snorri Sturluson: Edda: Skldskaparml: 1:Introduction,

Text and Notes 1998. University College London. Viking Society for Northern
Research.

HAUGEN, ODD EINAR (Edt.) Norrne tekster i utval 1994. Oslo. Ad Notam Gyldendal.

JNSSON, FINNUR (Edt.): Egils Saga Skallagrmssonar nebst den greren Gedichten
Egils 2nd Edition. 1924. Halle (Saale). Max Niemeyer.

NECKEL, GUSTAV; KUHN, HANS (Edt.) Edda: Die Lieder des Codex Regius nebst
verwandten Denkmlern 3rd Edition. 1962. Heidelberg. Carl Winter.

SVEINSSON, EINAR L. (Edt.) Brennu-Njls saga Reykjavik, Hi slenzka Fornritaflag

THORSSON, RNLFUR (Edt.) Vlsunga saga og Ragnars saga lobrkar 1985.

Reykjavk. Ml og menning.

Articles:
-

DAVIDSON, H.R. ELLIS, Loki and Saxos Hamlet: The Fool and the Trickster:
Studies in Honour of Enid Welsford 1979. Edt. WILLIAMS, PAUL V.A. Cambridge.
D.S. Brewer and Totowa. Rowman & Littlefield.

DOTY, WILLIAM G. 1993 A lifetime of trouble-making: Hermes as trickster Mythical

Trickster Figures: Contours, Contexts, and Critisisms 1993. Edts. HYNES, WILLIAM J.;
DOTY, WILLIAM G. Tuscaloosa and London. University of Alabama Press.

FALK, HJALMAR Odensheite Skrifter utgit av Videnskapsselskapet I Kristiania1924.

Kristiania

HEIDE, ELDAR Spinning Seir Old Norse Religion in Long-Term Perspectives:

Origins, Changes, and Interactions Edts. ANDRN, ANDERS; JENNBERT, KRISTINA et
al. 2006. Lund. Nordic Academic Press

HAUGEN, EINAR The Edda as Ritual: Odin and His Masks Edda : a collection of
essays Edts. GLENDINNING, ROBERT JAMES; BESSASON, HARALDUR 1983. Winnipeg.
Univ. of Manitoba P.

40

HYNES, WILLIAM J. 1993: Mapping the characteristics of mythic tricksters: a heuristic

guide Mythical Trickster Figures: Contours, Contexts, and Critisisms 1993. Edts.
HYNES, WILLIAM J. and DOTY, WILLIAM G. Tuscaloosa and London. University of
Alabama Press.

JAKOBSSON, RMANN inn as mother: The Old Norse deviant patriarch, Arkiv fr
nordisk filologi 126. 2011.

SOLMSEN, FELIX: Beitrge zur geschichte der lateinischen sprache (sic) Zeitschrift
fr vergleichende Sprachforschung auf dem Gebiete der indogermanischen Sprachen,
1900. Gtersloh. Bertelsmann.

Monographs:
-

BURKERT, WALTER Griechische Religion der Archaischen und Klassischen

Epoche2.Editon. 2010. Stuttgart. Kohlhammer

DRIESEN, OTTO Der Ursprung des Harlekin. Ein kulturgeschichtliches Phnomen

1904. Alexander Duncker, Berlin

JUNG, CARL GUSTAV Archetypen 1934-1954. Mnchen. dtv.

KERNYI, KARL Hermes der Seelenfhrer 1944. Zrich. Rhein-Verlag.

KERSHAW,

KRIS:

The One-eyed God: Odin and the (Indo-)Germanic Mnnerbnde

2000. Journal of Indo-European Studies Monograph No. 36. Washington D.C.

Institute for the Study of Man.
-

PRICE, NEIL S. The Viking Way Religion and War in Late Iron Age Scandinavia
2002. Uppsala. Dept. of Archaeology and Ancient History.

RADIN, PAUL The Trickster: A Study in American Indian Mythology 1972. . New
York. Schocken Books

SCHULZ, KATJA Riesen: Von Wissenshtern und Wildnisbewohnern in Eda und Saga
2004. Heidelberg. Universittsverlag Winter.

Dictionaries:
-

SIMEK, RUDOLF Lexikon der germanischen Mythologie 3rd Edition. 2006. Stuttgart.
Krner.
Paulys Realencyclopdie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft

PRELLER, L. Griechische Mythologie: Erster Band: Theogonie und Gtter1854.

Leipzig. Weidmannsche Buchhandlung.

41

BRUCHMANN, C.F.H. Epitheta Deorum Quae Apud Poetas Graecos Leguntur1893

Leipzig. B.G.Teubner

42

Erklrung/Declaration
Hiermit erklre ich dass ich die vorliegende Arbeit selbstndig und ohne fremde Hilfe
verfasst und keine anderen als die angegebenen Hilfsmittel verwendet habe.
Insbesondere versichere ich dass ich alle wrtlichen und sinngemen bernahmen aus
anderen Quellen als solche kenntlich gemacht habe.
I hereby declare that this thesis and its content are my own and have been generated
without anothers contribution or help.
I state especially that all direct and indirect quotes from other sources have been marked
as such.

Unterschrift/Signature

Datum/Date