View source for Sigyn

{{short description|Mythical wife of Loki}}
{{other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2025}}
[[Image:Loki, by Mårten Eskil Winge 1890.jpg|thumb|right|"Loki and Sigyn" (1863) by [[Mårten Eskil Winge]].]]

'''Sigyn''' ([[Old Norse]] "(woman) friend of victory"<ref name=ORCHARD146>Orchard (1997:146).</ref>) is a [[deity]] from [[Norse mythology]]. She is attested in the ''[[Poetic Edda]]'', compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the ''[[Prose Edda]]'', written in the 13th century by [[Snorri Sturluson]]. In the ''Poetic Edda'', little information is provided about Sigyn other than her role in assisting her husband [[Loki]] during his captivity. In the ''Prose Edda'', her role in helping Loki through his time spent in bondage is reiterated, she appears in various [[kennings]], and her status as a goddess is mentioned twice. Sigyn may appear on the [[Gosforth Cross]] and has been the subject of an amount of theory and cultural references.

==Attestations==
[[Image:Loki and Sigyn by Gebhardt.jpg|thumb|right|"Loki and Sigyn" (1892) by [[Karl Franz Eduard von Gebhardt]].]]
Sigyn is attested in the following works:

===''Poetic Edda''===
In stanza 35 of the ''Poetic Edda'' poem ''[[Völuspá]]'', a [[völva]] tells [[Odin]] that, amongst many other things, she sees Sigyn sitting very unhappily with her bound husband, [[Loki]], under a "grove of [[hot springs]]".<ref name=LARRINGTON8>Larrington (1998:8).</ref> Sigyn is mentioned a second (and final) time in the ending prose section of the poem ''[[Lokasenna]]''. In the prose, Loki has been bound by the gods with the guts of his son [[Narfi (son of Loki)|Nari]], his son [[Váli (son of Loki)|Váli]] is described as having been turned into a wolf, and the goddess [[Skaði]] fastens a venomous snake over Loki's face, from which [[Snake venom|venom]] drips. Sigyn holds a basin under the dripping venom. The basin grows full, and she pulls it away, during which time venom drops on Loki, causing him to writhe so violently that earthquakes occur that shake the entire earth.<ref name=LARRINGTON95-96>Larrington (1998:95–96).</ref>

===''Prose Edda''===
[[Image:Loki Bound by Collingwood.jpg|thumb|"Loki Bound (motive from the Gosforth Cross)" (1908) by [[W. G. Collingwood]].]]
Sigyn appears in the books ''[[Gylfaginning]]'' and ''[[Skáldskaparmál]]'' in the ''Prose Edda''. In ''Gylfaginning'', Sigyn is introduced in chapter 31. There, she is introduced as being married to Loki, and that they have a son by the name of "[[Narfi (son of Loki)|Nari or Narfi]]".<ref name=BYOCK39>Byock (2006:31).</ref> Sigyn is mentioned again in ''Gylfaginning'' in chapter 50, where events are described differently than in ''Lokasenna''. Here, the gods have captured Loki and his two sons, who are stated as [[Váli (son of Loki)|Váli]], described as a son of Loki only, and "Nari or Narfi",  earlier described a son of Sigyn and Loki.<ref name=BYOCK70>Byock (2006:70).</ref> Váli is changed into a wolf by the gods, and rips apart his brother "Nari or Narfi". The guts of "Nari or Narfi" are then used to tie Loki to [[Numbers in Germanic paganism|three]] stones, after which the guts turn to iron, and Skaði places a snake above Loki. Sigyn places herself beside him, where she holds out a bowl to catch the dripping venom. However, when the bowl becomes full she leaves to pour out the venom. As a result, Loki is again described as shaking so violently that the planet shakes, and this process repeats until he breaks free, setting [[Ragnarök]] into motion.<ref name=BYOCK70/>

Sigyn is introduced as a goddess, an [[Æsir|ásynja]], in the ''Prose Edda'' book ''[[Skáldskaparmál]]'', where the gods are holding a grand feast for the visiting [[Ægir]],<ref name=FAULKES59>Faulkes (1995:59).</ref> and in [[kenning]]s for Loki: "husband of Sigyn",<ref name=FAULKES76>Faulkes (1995:76).</ref> "cargo [Loki] of incantation-fetter's [Sigyn's] arms",<ref name=FAULKES83>Faulkes (1995:83).</ref> and in a passage quoted from the 9th-century ''[[Haustlöng]]'', "the burden of Sigyn's arms".<ref name=FAULKES87>Faulkes (1995:87)</ref> The final mention of Sigyn in ''Skáldskaparmál'' is in the list of ásynjur in the appended [[Nafnaþulur]] section, chapter 75.<ref name=FAULKES157>Faulkes (1995:157).</ref>

==Archaeological record==
[[Image:Gosforth Cross Loki and Sigyn.jpg|thumb|The bottom portion of the west side of the Gosforth Cross.]]
The mid-11th century [[Gosforth Cross]] located in [[Cumbria]], [[England]], has been interpreted as featuring various figures from Norse mythology. The bottom portion of the west side of the cross features a depiction of a long-haired female, kneeling figure holding an object above another prostrate, bound figure. Above and to their left is a knotted serpent. This has been interpreted as Sigyn soothing the bound Loki.<ref name=ORCHARD13>Orchard (1997:13).</ref>

==Scholastic reception==
While the name ''Sigyn'' is found as a female personal name in Old Norse sources (Old Norse ''sigr'' meaning 'victory' and ''vina'' meaning 'female friend'), and though in surviving sources she is largely restricted to a single role, she appears in the 9th century skaldic poem ''Haustlöng'' from [[Norse paganism|pagan]] times, written by the [[skald]] [[Þjóðólfr of Hvinir]]. Due to this early connection with Loki, Sigyn has been theorized as a god dating back to an older form of [[Germanic paganism]].<ref name=SIMEK284>Simek (2007:284).</ref>

==Modern influence==
The scene of Sigyn & Loki has been depicted on a number of paintings, including "Loke och Sigyn" (1850) by [[Nils Blommér]], "Loke och Sigyn" (1863) by [[Mårten Eskil Winge]], "Loki och Sigyn (1879) by [[Oscar Wergeland]], and the illustration "Loki und Sigyn; Hel mit dem Hunde Garm" (1883) by K. Ehrenberg.<ref name=SIMEK284/> Various objects and places have been named after Sigyn in modern times, including the Norwegian stiff-straw [[winter wheat]] varieties ''Sigyn I'' and ''Sigyn II'',<ref name=WHEAT>Belderok (2000:95).</ref> a [[Marvel Comics]] character (1978) of the [[Sigyn (Marvel Comics)|same name]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.marveldirectory.com/individuals/s/sigyn.htm|title=Sigyn|work=Marvel Directory|access-date=29 August 2008|publisher=Marvel Character, Inc.|archive-date=19 September 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080919053823/http://marveldirectory.com/individuals/s/sigyn.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> the Swedish vessel [[MS Sigyn]], which transports spent nuclear fuel in an allusion to Sigyn holding a bowl beneath the venom to spare Loki,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sr.se/cgi-bin/uppland/program/artikel.asp?ProgramID=3199&Artikel=2129516 |title=Båten som fraktarkärnbränslet |access-date=28 August 2008 |publisher=Sveriges Radio |language=sv |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090214013206/http://www.sr.se/cgi-bin/uppland/program/artikel.asp?ProgramID=3199&Artikel=2129516 |archive-date=14 February 2009 }}</ref> and the antarctic [[Sigyn Glacier]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/f?p=108:3:7765058062182435821::NO::P3_ANTAR_ID:13823|title=Sigyn Glacier|work=Geographic Names Information System|access-date=29 August 2008|publisher=U.S. Geological Survey|archive-date=2 May 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230502034239/https://www.usgs.gov/us-board-on-geographic-names|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
{{commons category|Sigyn}}
{{refbegin}}
* Belderok, Bob. Mesdag, J. Mesdag, Hans. Donner, Dingena A. (2000). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=AEnG899w7-QC Bread Making Quality of Wheat: A Century of Breeding in Europe] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230502034240/https://books.google.com/books?id=AEnG899w7-QC |date=2 May 2023 }}''. Springer. {{ISBN|0-7923-6383-3}}
* Byock, Jesse (Trans.) (2006). ''The Prose Edda''. [[Penguin Classics]]. {{ISBN|0-14-044755-5}}
* Faulkes, Anthony (Trans.) (1995). ''Edda''. [[Everyman's Library|Everyman]]. {{ISBN|0-460-87616-3}}
* Larrington, Carolyne (Trans.) (1999). ''The Poetic Edda''. [[Oxford World's Classics]]. {{ISBN|0-19-283946-2}}
* Orchard, Andy (1997). ''Dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend''. [[Orion Publishing Group|Cassell]]. {{ISBN|0-304-34520-2}}
* Simek, Rudolf (2007) translated by Angela Hall. ''Dictionary of Northern Mythology''. [[Boydell & Brewer|D.S. Brewer]]. {{ISBN|0-85991-513-1}}
{{refend}}

{{Norse mythology}}

{{good article}}

[[Category:Ásynjur]]
[[Category:Norse goddesses]]
[[Category:Loki]]