Narfi

Narfi in Norse mythology may refer to the son of Loki or the father of Nótt, the personified night.

Son of Loki

In the Prose Edda book Gylfaginning, Narfi, also known as Nari or Narvi, is a son of Loki and Sigyn who is killed to punish Loki for his crimes. The gods turned his brother Váli into a slavering wolf who tears Narfi's throat out. His entrails are then used to bind Loki to a stone slab until Ragnarök.

However, in the Poetic Edda book Lokasenna, the guts of Nari are used to bind Loki while Narfi is turned into a wolf. Thus it is not generally clear to scholars whether Nari and Narfi are the same, or if Vali is another name for Nari or Narfi.

Father of Nótt

According to the Prose Edda book Gylfaginning, "Nörfi or Narfi" is also the father of Nótt. It is not made clear by Snorri in the passage whether or not this is the same Narfi, son of Loki. However, in the Poetic Edda, Nótt's father is called Nörr (not to be confused with Nór). The form Nörr is related to Old English narouua ("night").^[1]

The name of the father of Nótt seems to have several forms in Norse sources:(Rydberg's Teutonic Mythology, sect. 85)

• Naurr, Nörr (dative Naurvi, Nörvi): Vafþrúðnismál 25 "Nótt var Naurvi borin", Alvíssmál 29 "Nótt in Naurvi kennda".
• Narvi, Narfi: Gylfaginning 10, Egill Skallagr. 56, 2 "niðerfi Narfa".
• Norvi, Nörvi: Gylfaginning 10, Forspjallsljóð 7 "kund Nörva".
• Njörfi, Njörvi: Gylfaginning 10, Sonatorrek "Njörva nipt".
• Nori: Gylfaginning 10.
• Nari: Höfuðlausn 10.
• Neri: Helgakviða Hundingsbana I, 4.

Notes

1. ^ Simek (2007:235).

References

• Simek, Rudolf (2007) translated by Angela Hall. Dictionary of Northern Mythology. D.S. Brewer. ISBN 0-85991-513-1