The Necklace of the
Brisings
On most of Thor’s expeditions, Loki acted the part of a friend,
outwardly at least. Between Heimdal and Loki, on the contrary,
there was
deadly enmity without ceasing. This enmity showed itself, for
example, on
the occasion when Loki had stolen the Necklace of the Brisings
from
Freyja. Loki hid the ornament in the sea at Singastein, and kept
guard over
it himself in the shape of a seal. Heimdal likewise assumed the
likeness of
a seal, and so compelled Loki to restore what he had stolen. This
is the
probable interpretation of the casual references in Snorri’s Edda,
in which
case we have here to do with the old and authentic form of the
myth.
A variant of the myth, quite different and far less primitive, is
to be
found in the legendary Sorla þáttr, dating from the thirteenth
century.
According to this account, Freyja had received the necklace from
four
Dwarfs; Odin, however, coveting it, asked Loki to steal it for
him. It would
prove to be a difficult task, Loki said, for Freyja’s house was so
well built
and so securely bolted that no one would be able to enter without
her
consent. Odin commanded him to make the attempt nevertheless, and
Loki
had to obey. When he arrived at the door he could not find even
the
smallest opening; taking the shape of a fly he crept about the
lock a long
time, until finally he discovered high up on the door a tiny
crevice, through
which he succeeded in making an entrance. Freyja lay asleep
with the necklace about her neck, the lock facing downward; he
accordingly
transformed himself into a flea and bit her so hard on the cheek
that she
awoke and turned on the other side. The lock having in this way
been
made to face upward, he assumed his natural shape once more and
made
off with the ornament. Escaping through the door, which it was
possible to
open from the inside, he brought the treasure to Odin. Freyja, as
soon as
she awoke, noticed the theft and complained to Odin. He answered
that
she might have the necklace again on one condition: she was to
stir up
strife between two major kings so that they would wage unceasing
war
against each other, the fallen warriors constantly rising to fight
again. This
compact came to be the occasion of the Battle of the Hjadnings.
Sources:
Peter
Andreas Munch: Norse Mythology: Legends of Gods
and Heroes. The American-Scandinavian Foundation, New
York. 1926, pp. 79-80.
Rasmus B. Anderson (Ed.): The Elder Eddas of Saemund
Sigfusson and the Younger Eddas of Snorre Sturleson.
Norræna Society, London-New York. 1906.
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