Sigyn
Encyclopedia
Æsir
In Old Norse, áss is the term denoting a member of the principal pantheon in Norse paganism. This pantheon includes Odin, Frigg, Thor, Baldr and Tyr. The second pantheon comprises the Vanir...
and wife of Loki
Loki
In Norse mythology, Loki or Loke is a god or jötunn . Loki is the son of Fárbauti and Laufey, and the brother of Helblindi and Býleistr. By the jötunn Angrboða, Loki is the father of Hel, the wolf Fenrir, and the world serpent Jörmungandr. By his wife Sigyn, Loki is the father of Nari or Narfi...
in Norse mythology
Norse mythology
Norse mythology, a subset of Germanic mythology, is the overall term for the myths, legends and beliefs about supernatural beings of Norse pagans. It flourished prior to the Christianization of Scandinavia, during the Early Middle Ages, and passed into Nordic folklore, with some aspects surviving...
. Sigyn is attested in the Poetic Edda
Poetic Edda
The Poetic Edda is a collection of Old Norse poems primarily preserved in the Icelandic mediaeval manuscript Codex Regius. Along with Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda, the Poetic Edda is the most important extant source on Norse mythology and Germanic heroic legends, and from the early 19th century...
, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the Prose Edda
Prose Edda
The Prose Edda, also known as the Younger Edda, Snorri's Edda or simply Edda, is an Icelandic collection of four sections interspersed with excerpts from earlier skaldic and Eddic poetry containing tales from Nordic mythology...
, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson
Snorri Sturluson
Snorri Sturluson was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was twice elected lawspeaker at the Icelandic parliament, the Althing...
. In the Poetic Edda, little information is provided about Sigyn other than her role in assisting Loki during his captivity. In the Prose Edda, her role in helping her husband through his time spent in bondage is stated again, she appears in various kennings, and her status as a goddess is twice stated. Sigyn may appear on the Gosforth Cross
Gosforth cross
upright|thumb|Gosforth Cross outside St Mary's church in Gosforth.The Gosforth Cross is a large stone Anglo-Saxon high cross in the churchyard at Gosforth in the English county of Cumbria. Formerly part of the kingdom of Northumbria, the area was settled by Scandinavians some time in either the 9th...
and has been the subject of an amount of theory and cultural references.
Attestations
Sigyn is attested in the following works:Poetic Edda
In stanza 35 of the Poetic Edda poem VöluspáVöluspá
Völuspá is the first and best known poem of the Poetic Edda. It tells the story of the creation of the world and its coming end related by a völva addressing Odin...
, a Völva
Völva
A vǫlva or völva is a shamanic seeress in Norse paganism, and a recurring motif in Norse mythology....
tells Odin
Odin
Odin is a major god in Norse mythology and the ruler of Asgard. Homologous with the Anglo-Saxon "Wōden" and the Old High German "Wotan", the name is descended from Proto-Germanic "*Wodanaz" or "*Wōđanaz"....
that, amongst many other things, she sees Sigyn sitting very unhappily with her bound husband, Loki, under a "grove of hot springs
Hot Springs
Hot Springs may refer to:* Hot Springs, Arkansas** Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas*Hot Springs, California**Hot Springs, Lassen County, California**Hot Springs, Modoc County, California**Hot Springs, Placer County, California...
". Sigyn is mentioned a second (and final) time in the ending prose section of the poem Lokasenna
Lokasenna
Lokasenna is one of the poems of the Poetic Edda. The poem presents flyting between the gods and Loki....
. In the prose, Loki has been bound by the gods with the guts of his son Nari
Nari
Nari may refer to:*Narfi, a Norse god also known as Nari*Nari Family, a family name*Typhoon Nari, the name of two tropical cyclones*Nari , a creature featured in the game Legendary...
, his son Váli
Váli (son of Loki)
In Norse mythology, Váli was a son of Loki. He is mentioned in the Gylfaginning section of Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda. After the death of Baldr the Æsir chase down and capture Loki....
is described as having been turned into a wolf, and the goddess Skaði
Skaði
In Norse mythology, Skaði is a jötunn and goddess associated with bowhunting, skiing, winter, and mountains...
fastens a venomous snake over Loki's face, from which venom
Snake venom
Snake venom is highly modified saliva that is produced by special glands of certain species of snakes. The glands which secrete the zootoxin are a modification of the parotid salivary gland of other vertebrates, and are usually situated on each side of the head below and behind the eye,...
drips. Sigyn, stated again as Loki's wife, holds a basin under the dripping venom. The basin grows full, and she pulls it away, during which time venom drops on Loki, causing him to writhe so violently that earthquakes occur that shake the entire earth.
Prose Edda
Gylfaginning
Gylfaginning, or the Tricking of Gylfi , is the first part of Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda after Prologue. The Gylfaginning deals with the creation and destruction of the world of the Norse gods, and many other aspects of Norse mythology...
and Skáldskaparmál
Skáldskaparmál
The second part of Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda the Skáldskaparmál or "language of poetry" is effectively a dialogue between the Norse god of the sea, Ægir and Bragi, the god of poetry, in which both Norse mythology and discourse on the nature of poetry are intertwined...
in the Prose Edda. In Gylfaginning, Sigyn is introduced in chapter 31. There, she is introduced as the wife of Loki, and that they have a son by the name of "Nari or Narfi". Sigyn is mentioned again in Gylfaginning in chapter 50, where events are described differently than in Lokasenna. Here, the gods have captured Loki and his two sons, whom are stated as Váli
Váli (son of Loki)
In Norse mythology, Váli was a son of Loki. He is mentioned in the Gylfaginning section of Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda. After the death of Baldr the Æsir chase down and capture Loki....
, described as a son of Loki, and "Nari or Narfi", the latter earlier described as also a son of Sigyn. Váli is changed into a wolf by the gods, and rips apart his brother "Nari or Narfi". The guts of "Nari or Narfi" are then used to tie Loki to three stones, after which the guts turn to iron, and Skaði places a snake above Loki. Sigyn places herself beside him, where she holds out a bowl to catch the dripping venom. However, when the bowl becomes full, she leaves to pour out the venom. As a result, Loki is again described as shaking so violently that the planet shakes, and this process repeats until he breaks free, setting Ragnarök
Ragnarök
In Norse mythology, Ragnarök is a series of future events, including a great battle foretold to ultimately result in the death of a number of major figures , the occurrence of various natural disasters, and the subsequent submersion of the world in water...
into motion.
Sigyn is introduced as a goddess, an ásynja
Æsir
In Old Norse, áss is the term denoting a member of the principal pantheon in Norse paganism. This pantheon includes Odin, Frigg, Thor, Baldr and Tyr. The second pantheon comprises the Vanir...
, in the Prose Edda book Skáldskaparmál
Skáldskaparmál
The second part of Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda the Skáldskaparmál or "language of poetry" is effectively a dialogue between the Norse god of the sea, Ægir and Bragi, the god of poetry, in which both Norse mythology and discourse on the nature of poetry are intertwined...
, where the gods are holding a grand feast for the visiting Ægir
Ægir
Ægir is a sea giant, god of the ocean and king of the sea creatures in Norse mythology. He is also known for hosting elaborate parties for the gods.Ægir's servants are Fimafeng and Eldir.- Description :...
, and in kenning
Kenning
A kenning is a type of literary trope, specifically circumlocution, in the form of a compound that employs figurative language in place of a more concrete single-word noun. Kennings are strongly associated with Old Norse and later Icelandic and Anglo-Saxon poetry...
s for Loki ("husband of Sigyn", "cargo [Loki] of incantation-fetter's [Sigyn's] arms", and in the 9th century Haustlöng
Haustlöng
Haustlöng is a skaldic poem composed around the beginning of the 10th century. The poem is preserved in the 13th century Prose Edda, which quotes two groups of stanzas from it, and is attributed to the Norwegian skald Þjóðólfr of Hvinir. The poem describes mythological scenes painted on a shield...
kenning "the burden of Sigyn's arms"). Sigyn's final mention in Skáldskaparmál is within a second list of ásynjur found in chapter 57.
Archaeological record
Gosforth cross
upright|thumb|Gosforth Cross outside St Mary's church in Gosforth.The Gosforth Cross is a large stone Anglo-Saxon high cross in the churchyard at Gosforth in the English county of Cumbria. Formerly part of the kingdom of Northumbria, the area was settled by Scandinavians some time in either the 9th...
located in Cumbria
Cumbria
Cumbria , is a non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local authority, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbria's largest settlement and county town is Carlisle. It consists of six districts, and in...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, has been interpreted as featuring various figures from Norse mythology. The bottom portion of the west side of the cross features a depiction of a long-haired female, kneeling figure holding an object above another prostrate, bound figure. Above and to their left is a knotted serpent. This has been interpreted as Sigyn soothing the bound Loki.
Theories
While the name Sigyn is found as a female personal name in Old Norse sources (Old Norse sigr meaning "victory" and vina meaning "girl-friend"), and though in surviving sources she is largely restricted to a single role, she appears in the 9th century Haustlöng from paganNorse paganism
Norse paganism is the religious traditions of the Norsemen, a Germanic people living in the Nordic countries. Norse paganism is therefore a subset of Germanic paganism, which was practiced in the lands inhabited by the Germanic tribes across most of Northern and Central Europe in the Viking Age...
times, written by the skald
Skald
The skald was a member of a group of poets, whose courtly poetry is associated with the courts of Scandinavian and Icelandic leaders during the Viking Age, who composed and performed renditions of aspects of what we now characterise as Old Norse poetry .The most prevalent metre of skaldic poetry is...
Þjóðólfr of Hvinir
Þjóðólfr of Hvinir
Þjóðólfr of Hvinir was a Norwegian skald, active around the year 900. He is considered to have been the original author of Ynglingatal, a poem glorifying the Norwegian petty king Ragnvald the Mountain-High, by describing how he was descended from the Swedish kings and the Norse gods.He is also...
. Due to this early connection with Loki, Sigyn has been theorized as being a goddess dating back to an older form of Germanic paganism
Germanic paganism
Germanic paganism refers to the theology and religious practices of the Germanic peoples of north-western Europe from the Iron Age until their Christianization during the Medieval period...
.
Modern influence
The scene of Sigyn assisting Loki has been depicted on a number of paintings, including "Loke och Sigyn" (1850) by Nils BlommérNils Blommér
Nils Johan Olsson Blommér was a Swedish painter.Starting his career as an apprentice in Lund he experimented with painting portraits from the age of 20. He achieved some successes and in 1839 he had saved up enough money to move to Stockholm. There he took the name Blommér and enrolled in the Fria...
, "Loke och Sigyn" (1863) by Mårten Eskil Winge
Mårten Eskil Winge
Mårten Eskil Winge was a Swedish artist especially known for his Norse mythology paintings. He was a friend of August Malmström and under influence from Nils Blommér and Carl Wahlbom.-References:* Från vår konstverld...
, "Loki och Sigyn (1879) by Oscar Wergeland
Oscar Wergeland
Oscar Arnold Wergeland was a Norwegian painter. He is best known for his historical painting of the Constituent Assembly at Eidsvoll . Two of his paintings are located in the National Gallery of Norway.-Family:His parents were Sverre Nicolai Wergeland and Anne Margrethe Larsen...
, and the illustration "Loki und Sigyn; Hel mit dem Hunde Garm" (1883) by K. Ehrenberg. Various objects and places have been named after Sigyn in modern times, including the Norwegian stiff-straw winter wheat
Winter wheat
Winter wheat is a type of wheat that is planted from September to December in the Northern Hemisphere. Winter wheat sprouts before freezing occurs, then becomes dormant until the soil warms in the spring. Winter wheat needs a few weeks of cold before being able to flower, however persistent snow...
varieties Sigyn I and Sigyn II, a Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
character (1978) of the same name, the Swedish vessel MS Sigyn
MS Sigyn
M/S Sigyn is the ship that transports spent nuclear fuel from Swedish nuclear power plants to Clab. She is named after Sigyn, the mythological wife of Loki. Her name alludes to the rôle the mythological Sigyn played in holding a cup over the fettered Loki, catching the venom dripping from a viper...
, which transports spent nuclear fuel in an allusion to Sigyn holding a bowl beneath the venom to spare Loki, and the arctic Sigyn Glacier
Sigyn Glacier
Sigyn Glacier is a broad glacier flowing north between the Drygalski Mountains and the Kurze Mountains in Queen Maud Land. It was mapped and named from surveys and air photos by Norwegian Antarctic Expedition after Sigyn in Norse mythology....
.