Sigyn the Norse Goddess of Victory and Protector of Loki

While the surviving Norse sources have a lot to say about the exploits of Odin, Thor, and Loki, relatively little information survives about most other Norse deities.

Instead, we are left to piece together profiles of these gods from the etymology of their names, passing references in the surviving prose, and rare depictions.

Sigyn is one such Norse goddess. While her name suggests she was associated with victory in battle, she is best known as Loki’s Aesir wife and for her devotion to him. But let’s try to discover a little bit more about this enigmatic but potentially potent Norse goddess.

Who is the Norse Goddess Sigyn?

In general, less is known about the female Norse goddesses than their male counterparts. This should not be read as an indication that the Norse goddesses were less important in the Norse pantheon. Rather, it is down to the nature of the sources, mostly male Christian writers concerned with understanding Norse mythology within their own patriarchal Christian context. The Icelandic Christian writer Snorri Sturluson, writing in the early 13th century, is notable among them.

Sigyn certainly appears to have been an important Norse goddess, as she is listed in the Skáldskaparmál as among the principal Aesir gods and goddesses alongside the likes of Odin, Thor, Freyja, Frigg, Balder, and Tyr.

In Old Norse, Sigyn’s name means “victorious girlfriend,” which suggests she was probably a Norse goddess of victory in war, described as a girlfriend, as victory is something that accompanies battle. This is consistent with other pagan religions. In ancient Greece, Nike accompanied Zeus; in Rome, Victoria was worshiped as a goddess.

Unfortunately, no evidence survives for exactly how the Vikings may have venerated Sigyn, and there is no clear connection between her and Odin, the god of war.

Where Does Sigyn Sit in the Aesir Family Tree?

While Sigyn is clearly described as one of the Aesir gods, no familial relationship to the other Aesir gods is recorded. What is confirmed is that she was the wife of Loki, a jotun or giant allowed to live in Asgard among the Aesir due to a blood brotherhood relationship with Odin.

She was not his only wife. The giantess Angrboda was also a wife of Loki, and together they had three monstrous children: the great wolf Fenrir, the Midgard Serpent Jormungandr, and the giantess ruler of the underworld, Hel.

Loki seems to have left Angrboda in Jotunheim, the world of the giants, to live among the Aesir gods in Asgard. There he seems to have taken Sigyn as his wife among the Aesir.

That Sigyn should choose to mate with a giant should not be considered unusual, as most of the Norse gods appear to have had giantess mistresses, including Odin and Thor, which whom they had children, so many of the Aesir gods were part giant.

Sigyn, as the wife of Loki, had two sons, Narfi and Vali, but very little is known about them, except about their deaths.

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How Was Sigyn’s Family Destroyed?

The most important surviving Norse story in which Sigyn figures described the destruction of her family. It begins when Loki tricks Hodr, the brother of Balder, into killing his brother Balder, the most beloved of the gods, as part of a game.

Because Balder did not die in battle, rather than spending his afterlife in Valhalla, he was sent to Helheim. Loki’s daughter, Hel, refused to release him. Hodr was executed for his role in the death and joined Balder in Helheim. Loki initially evaded punishment, but as he gloated about his role in Balder’s death, he ws eventually driven out of Asgard, and then tracked down for punishment.

The gods took Loki to a cave where he would spend the rest of eternity. They summoned Loki’s two sons by Sigyn, even though they do not appear to have played a role in the crime. Vali was turned into a wolf, losing his senses, and tearing his own brother Narfi apart.

Narfi’s intestines were then used to chain his father to three rocks in the secluded cave. Then, a poisonous serpent was placed above Loki’s head to drip venom onto his face for eternity. This caused him extreme pain, causing his whole body to convulse and send earthquakes throughout the nine Norse worlds.

What is Sigyn’s Burden?

We can only imagine Sigyn’s pain at the loss of her sons and what she thought of their unfair treatment for the crimes of their father. In the aftermath, she decided to stick by her husband, sitting with him in his isolation with a bowl to capture the venom of the snake and alleviate his pain. Sometimes needed to leave to empty the bowl, and this is when earthquakes would still shake the world.

This is why Loki is sometimes referred to as “the burden of Sigyn’s arms.” Some scholars suggest that it is for her role as the wife of Loki that Sigyn is called “girlfriend,” though I personally think this unlikely.

In the prophecy of Ragnarok, the Norse end of the world, it is said that Loki will break his chains and join the confrontation against the Aesir gods. Sigyn’s role in the apocalypse is not recorded, so we must speculate as to whether she joined her Aesir brethren or whether she continued to stand by her husband and seek vengeance for her children. Perhaps the split loyalty of the Norse goddess of victory is one of the reasons why neither side can win the battle of Ragnarok, instead destroying one another.

Sigyn on the Gosford Cross

As far as we know, only one depiction of Sigyn survives, on the 11th-century Gosford Cross found in Cumbria, England.

It depicts several scenes from Norse myth, including a long-haired woman holding an object over a bound and prostrate figure, with a serpent suspended above their heads. Surely this is Sigyn and Loki.

Interestingly, Sigyn wears her hair in a long plait, much like a Viking warrior in battle. Perhaps this is a subtle nod to her role as Norse goddess of victory.

While this is the only surviving depiction, that it found its way to England suggests that it was a well-known and important story within Norse mythology.

Learn more about Norse mythology with our Norse Gods, Monsters, and Myth book.

Shields in the VKNG Collection

Sigyn’s important role in Norse mythology is to shield Loki from the punishment decreed for his role in the death of Balder. What the Vikings thought of a goddess who knowingly shielded someone from a horrific crime of which they are guilty is unclear. But we should not fall into the trap of assuming that Vikings saw things through the same moral and cultural lens as we do today.

If you are inspired by Sigyn’s role as a shield, discover shields in the VKNG Collection.