Yggdrasil · Gods and Their Allies
Lofn: Permission Where a Union Was Refused
A kind goddess in Gylfaginning who may win leave from Odin or Frigg for a union others forbid.
In Anderson’s translation
“The eighth is Lofn, who is kind and good to those who call upon her, and she has permission from Alfather or Frigg to bring together men and women, no matter what difficulties may stand in the way; therefore “love” is so called from her name, and also that which is much loved by men.”
- Rasmus B. Anderson, The Younger Edda; Also called Snorre's Edda, or The Prose Edda (opens in a new tab) (1897), Gylfaginning, the list of the goddesses (Anderson’s translation) Rights: Public domain. Public domain; Project Gutenberg #18947.
What the sources say
Gylfaginning names Lofn eighth among the goddesses. She is gentle toward anyone who calls on her. She holds leave from Alfather, which is Odin, or from Frigg, to bring a man and a woman together even when obstacles stand in the way.
Snorri adds that the word for love, and for what people love, is named after her. The text gives her no home and tells no story in which she acts.
- Rasmus B. Anderson, The Younger Edda; Also called Snorre's Edda, or The Prose Edda (opens in a new tab) (1897), Gylfaginning, the list of the goddesses (Anderson’s translation) Rights: Public domain. Public domain; Project Gutenberg #18947.
Names and background
An older glossary takes the name as an allegorical figure for love that lasts and does not change. Snorri himself gives only the link to the word for love.
Her place in the list sits beside Sjöfn, who turns hearts toward love: one turns hearts, the other removes the barriers.
- Rasmus B. Anderson, The Younger Edda; Also called Snorre's Edda, or The Prose Edda (opens in a new tab) (1897), Gylfaginning, the list of the goddesses (Anderson’s translation) Rights: Public domain. Public domain; Project Gutenberg #18947.