Lóðurr: Friend Of Odin And Creator Of Humanity?
Lóðurr was an obscure god in Norse mythology. Although he appeared in Old Norse sources twice, we know nothing about him and his information was still in doubt.
In Old Norse source, he once appeared with the kenning of "Odin's friend" and nothing more was mentioned. Another time mentioned Lóðurr as the creator of humanity with Odin the Allfather.
Lóðurr appeared in a text when the writer called Odin Lóðurr's friend. The truth is nearly any god could be the friend of Odin. No more information was mentioned about Lóðurr in the next lines of the poem. Because of obscure information, we cannot be sure of anything about Lóðurr.
In Völuspá one of the most famous poem in Poetic Edda, Lóðurr was mentioned to be the creator of humanity along with Hoenir and Odin the Allfather.
| 17. Unz þrír kvámu ór því liði öflgir ok ástgir æsir at húsi, fundu á landi lítt megandi Ask ok Emblu örlöglausa. 18. Önd þau né áttu, óð þau né höfðu, lá né læti né litu goða. Önd gaf Óðinn, óð gaf Hœnir, lá gaf Lóðurr ok litu góða. |
17. Until there came three mighty and benevolent Æsir to the world from their assembly. They found on earth, nearly powerless, Ask and Embla, void of destiny. 18. Spirit they possessed not, sense they had not, blood nor motive powers, nor goodly colour. Spirit gave Odin, sense gave Hoenir, blood gave Lodur, and goodly colour. |
If this was what happened in Norse mythology, then Lóðurr was the one who gave the humanity with good looks (litu goða) and warmth (lá). But there are two conflicts in this poem.
First, the scholars believed that the creators of humanity were the Odin the Allfather, Vili, and Ve who were the brothers of Odin. In the creation of the world, three brothers were wandering along the shore when they caught sight of two logs from which they turned them into two humans. Accordingly, they doubted the stanza saying Odin, Hoenir, and Lóðurr were the creators of humanity.
Second, as the stanza 18 said above, it was Hoenir who gave humanity with "óð". This was the original root of Odin so it would make sense if Odin gave this to the humanity instead of Hoenir.
In the modern time, the identity of Lóðurr is a debate for the Viking enthusiasts and scholars. Many claim that Lóðurr was actually Loki while others believed he was another name of Freyr God of Fertility and Summer. Some scholars believe that Lóðurr was a pre-Christian god of the Vikings but all information about him was lost which is unfortunate.
