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...

, Fárbauti (Old Norse

Old Norse

Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....

: "cruel striker") is the jötunn husband of Laufey or Nál

Laufey

Laufey or Nál is a figure from Norse mythology, the mother of Loki. Eddic poetry refers to Loki by the matronym Loki Laufeyjarson rather than with a patronymic....

 and the father 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...

, and possibly also of Helblindi

Helblindi

In Norse mythology, Helblindi is a jötunn, brother of Loki and Býleistr and son of Fárbauti and his wife Laufey. Helblindi is also a heiti used to describe Odin....

 and Byleistr. He is attested in 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...

, and in the poetry of Viking Age

Viking Age

Viking Age is the term for the period in European history, especially Northern European and Scandinavian history, spanning the late 8th to 11th centuries. Scandinavian Vikings explored Europe by its oceans and rivers through trade and warfare. The Vikings also reached Iceland, Greenland,...

 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...

s. Fárbauti's name and character are thought to have been inspired by the observation of the natural phenomena surrounding the appearance of wildfire.

In the Prose Edda book Gylfaginning

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...

, the enthroned figure of High

High, Just-As-High, and Third

High, Just-As-High, and Third are three men that respond to questions posed by Gangleri in the Prose Edda book Gylfaginning...

 says Loki is the son of the jötunn Fárbauti and that "Laufey or Nál is his mother". In 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...

, Fárbauti receives another three mentions. In chapter 16, Lokakenningar

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...

or "ways of referring to Loki" are provided, one of which reads "son of Fárbauti and Laufey, or Nál". In chapter 17, a work by the 10th century 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...

 Úlfr Uggason

Úlfr Uggason

Úlfr Uggason was an Icelandic skald who lived in the last part of the tenth century.The Laxdæla saga tells how he composed his Húsdrápa for a wedding...

 is quoted referring to Loki as "Fárbauti's terribly sly son". In chapter 22, Fárbauti is referenced in the 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...

of 10th century skald 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...

, where Loki is referred to as "Fárbauti's son".

Interpretation

If, as according to Axel Kock, Fárbauti as "dangerous striker" refers to "lightning", the figure would appear to be part of an early nature myth alluding to wildfire (Loki) being produced by lightning (Fárbauti) striking dry tinder such as leaves (Laufey) or pine needles (Nál). Though not directly attested in any original source, scholars have considered Loki's brothers, Helblindi

Helblindi

In Norse mythology, Helblindi is a jötunn, brother of Loki and Býleistr and son of Fárbauti and his wife Laufey. Helblindi is also a heiti used to describe Odin....

 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.