Laufey is a giant whose son is Loki of the Norse pantheon. Loki's father is the giant Farbauti.
Publication history[]
D&D 3rd edition[]
Laufey is named in Deities and Demigods (3e) (2002), p.183 as a giant, and one of Loki's parents.
Creative origins[]
In Norse mythology, Laufey is named in the Prose Edda as Loki's mother.
A common misconception is that Laufey is the name of Loki's father. This is due to the fact that he is usually called Loki Laufeyjarson (Loki son of Laufey), and Norse myth typically (though not always) uses a patronymic naming convention. This misconception occurs in The Marvel-Phile, Dragon #88 (Aug 1984), p.76, reflecting Marvel Comics canon where Laufey is king of the giants of Jotunheim.
Contrary to D&D's interpretation, it is not explicitly stated in the Norse sources that Laufey is a giant. Norse specialist Jackson Crawford speculates that Laufey is a goddess of the Aesir, and that Loki takes her name because she is of higher status than his father.[1] Marriages between Aesir gods and giants are common in Norse myth, though usually it is between an Aesir male and a giant woman; Thor's giantess mother Jord is one such example.
References[]
- ↑ Loki Laufeyjarson, 2018. Jackson Crawford, Youtube.