Eldir (

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlement ...

: , "fire-stoker") is a servant of

Ægir Ægir (anglicised as Aegir; Old Norse 'sea'), Hlér (Old Norse 'sea'), or Gymir (Old Norse less clearly 'sea, engulfer'), is a jötunn and a personification of the sea in Norse mythology. In the Old Norse record, Ægir hosts the gods in his halls ...

Norse mythology Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia, and into the Nordic folklore of the modern per ...

, and

Loki Loki is a god in Norse mythology. According to some sources, Loki is the son of Fárbauti (a jötunn) and Laufey (mentioned as a goddess), and the brother of Helblindi and Býleistr. Loki is married to Sigyn and they have two sons, Narfi ...

's first verbal opponent in the poem '' Lokasenna'' (Loki's

Flyting Flyting or fliting is a contest consisting of the exchange of insults between two parties, often conducted in verse. Etymology The word ''flyting'' comes from the Old English verb meaning 'to quarrel', made into a noun with the suffix -''ing''. ...

). According to

John Lindow John Frederick Lindow (born July 23, 1946) is an American philologist who is Professor Emeritus of Old Norse and Folklore at University of California, Berkeley. He is a well known authority on Old Norse religion and literature. Biography John ...

, "Eldir fits the character type of the outer guardian, often a herdsman as in ''

Skírnismál ''Skírnismál'' (Old Norse: 'The Lay of Skírnir') is one of the poems of the '' Poetic Edda''. It is preserved in the 13th-century manuscripts Codex Regius and AM 748 I 4to but may have been originally composed in the early 10th century. Many ...

'' (11–16) with whom someone contends before entering a place for the main confrontation".

Name

The

name ''Eldir'' has been translated as 'fire-stoker'.

Attestations

The beginning of '' Lokasenna'' (Loki's

) tells that people greatly praised Ægir's two servants, and that Loki killed one of them, Fimafeng, out of jealousy. The murderer is then chased by the gods from Ægir's hall, and upon his return, Loki confronts Eldir and asks him what the

Æsir The Æsir (Old Norse: ) are the gods of the principal pantheon in Norse religion. They include Odin, Frigg, Höðr, Thor, and Baldr. The second Norse pantheon is the Vanir. In Norse mythology, the two pantheons wage war against each other, ...

are discussing in the hall. Eldir replies that they are judging their weapons and prowess, and adds that no one is a friend of Loki’s in words. Loki then announces that he about to enter the hall and blend mead with harmful power.

Notes

References

* * Servants in Norse mythology {{norse-myth-stub