Leikn
Norse mythical character
Leikn (Old Norse: [ˈlɛikn]) is a female jötunn in Norse mythology. The 10th-century skald Vetrliði Sumarliðason lists her among the jötnar killed by the thunder god Thor.
01Name
The Old Norse name Leikn has been translated as 'trickery'. Stemming from a Proto-Norse form reconstructed as *laikīnō, it is related to the Old Norse leikni ('bewitchment'), and to the Old English scīn-lǣce ('sorceress').
02Attestations
The death of Leikn is mentioned in a lausavísa composed by Vetrliði Sumarliðason which praises Thor for having killed giants and giantesses:
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Leikn's name was used by skalds in kennings. Hallfreðr vandræðaskáld thus uses the kenning "Leikn's horse" (hestr Leiknar) for a wolf (Óláfsdrápa, 6) and Hallvarðr háreksblesi calls the raven "hawk of Leikn of points" (haukr Leiknar odda) that is "hawk of valkyrie" (Knútsdrápa, 6).
Leikn is also listed in the þulur.
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Leikn”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
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