| Farbauti | |
|---|---|
 Illustration of Farbauti's son Loki by C. E. Doepler | |
|
Real Name |
Farbauti |
|
First Appearance |
Norse Mythology |
|
Created by |
Unknown |
Origin[]
Fárbauti is a jötunn in Norse mythology. In all sources, he is portrayed as the father of Loki. Fárbauti is attested in the Prose Edda and in kennings of Viking Age skalds.
The Old Norse name Fárbauti has been translated as 'dangerous striker', 'anger striker', or 'sudden-striker'. It is a compound formed with the noun fár ('hostility, danger, unfortunateness, falseness') attached to the verb bauta ('to strike').
In Gylfaginning ('The Beguiling of Gylfi'), the enthroned figure of High states that Loki is the son of the jötunn Fárbauti, and that "Laufey or Nál is his mother".
In Skáldskaparmál ('The Language of Poetry'), Fárbauti is mentioned among kennings referring to his son Loki.
Although only indirectly attested in a kenning of Völuspá ('Prophecy of the Völva') mentioning Loki as "Byleist’s brother", some scholars have considered Loki's brothers Helblindi and Býleistr to also be sons of Fárbauti. However, their exact role in the presumably ancient mythic complex surrounding Loki's family remains largely unclear.
Public Domain Appearances[]
All published appearances of Farbauti from before January 1, 1930 are public domain in the US.
Some notable appearances are listed below:
Public Domain Literary Appearances[]
- Prose Edda
- Gylfaginning
- Skáldskaparmál
- Poetic Edda
- Völuspá
Notes[]
- In God of War (2018), Kratos is both the father of Loki, who goes by Atreus here, and is referred to by the Giants as Farbauti.
- One of the planet Saturn's moons is named after him.
- In Marvel Comics, the sexes of Loki's two parents are the opposite of what they are in Norse Myth with Fárbauti being his mother instead.