Beyla is one of Freyr

Freyr

Freyr is one of the most important gods of Norse paganism. Freyr was highly associated with farming, weather and, as a phallic fertility god, Freyr "bestows peace and pleasure on mortals"...

's servants along with her husband, Byggvir

Byggvir

Byggvir is a figure in Norse mythology. The only surviving mention of Byggvir appears in the prose beginning of Lokasenna, and stanzas 55 through 56 of the same poem, where he is referred to as one of Freyr's servants and as the husband of Beyla....

, 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...

. Beyla is mentioned in stanzas 55, 66, and the prose introduction to 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...

 poem Lokasenna

Lokasenna

Lokasenna is one of the poems of the Poetic Edda. The poem presents flyting between the gods and Loki....

. Since this is the only mention of Beyla, scholars have turned to the etymology

Etymology

Etymology is the study of the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning have changed over time.For languages with a long written history, etymologists make use of texts in these languages and texts about the languages to gather knowledge about how words were used during...

 of Beyla's name for additional information about her. However, the meaning of her name is unclear and her name has been proposed as related to "cow," "bean," or "bee."

Lokasenna

In the prose introduction to Lokasenna, Beyla and Byggvir are cited as attending In stanza 55 of Lokasenna, after his verses with Sif

Sif

In Norse mythology, Sif is a goddess associated with earth. Sif is attested in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the Prose Edda, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson, and in the poetry of skalds...

, 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...

 accuses Beyla of being filthy but the reason for this is unclear.

Stanza 55:

Beyla qvaþ: «Fioll a/ll scialfa, hygg ec a for vera heiman Hlorriþa; hann reþr ró þeim er rogir her goð a/ll oc gvma.»

Beyla spake: "The mountains shake, and surely I think From his home comes Hlorrithi now; He will silence the man who is slandering here Together both gods and men."

Stanza 56:

Loci qvaþ: «Þegi þv, Beyla! þv ert Byggviss qven oc meini blandin mioc; okynian meira coma meþ asa sonom, a/ll ertv, deigia! dritin.»

Loki spake: "Be silent, Beyla! thou art Byggvir's wife, And deep art thou steeped in sin; A greater shame to the gods came ne'er, Befouled thou art with thy filth."

In relation to Loki's comments in Lokasenna, proposals have been made that Beyla and her husband are personifications of agriculture

Agriculture

Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...

 associated with Freyr: Beyla as the manure that softens the earth and develops the seed, Byggvir as the refuse of the mill, chaff

Chaff

Chaff is the dry, scaly protective casings of the seeds of cereal grain, or similar fine, dry, scaly plant material such as scaly parts of flowers, or finely chopped straw...

.