In the surviving Old Norse sources Býleistr is presented only as a brother of Loki. Snorri Sturluson lists Býleistr alongside Helblindi as Loki's brothers (Gylfaginning ch. 34; Skáldskaparmál), and skaldic/Eddic verses identify Loki by the kenning “Býleistr's brother” (examples cited in Völuspá verse 51, Hyndluljóð verse 40, and Skáldskaparmál). The primary texts do not provide a narrative origin for Býleistr; some modern scholars infer that he may belong to the same household as Loki (son of Fárbauti and Laufey) but that parentage is speculative and not explicitly stated for Býleistr in the cited medieval sources.
No physical description of Býleistr is preserved in the cited Old Norse sources. The attestations record only his name and kin-term usage; there are no extant textual attributes, depictions, or iconography tied to him in the referenced material.
The primary and cited secondary materials do not attribute any actions, powers, or behaviors to Býleistr. He functions in the corpus as a genealogical and poetic referent (a named sibling used in kennings for Loki). Etymological proposals connecting his name to elements meaning 'storm' or similar (e.g., byl- compounds) exist in scholarship, but these remain uncertain suggestions and are not presented in the sources as narrative powers or deeds.
Alvaldi
Alvaldi (Old Norse: Alvaldi / Ölvaldi) is a jötunn in Norse mythic genealogies, attested chiefly as the father of the notable jötunn Þjazi and described in one source as exceedingly rich in gold. He survives in the record mainly as a familial antecedent and an etiological figure rather than as an active participant in preserved narratives.
Andhrímnir
Andhrímnir is the named cook of the Æsir and the einherjar in Old Norse myth, responsible for slaughtering and preparing the beast Sæhrímnir daily in Valhalla and for producing the gods' mead from Heiðrún's milk. He is attested in the Poetic Edda and summarized in modern reference works.
Austri, Vestri, Norðri and Suðri
A quartet of named dwarfs in Old Norse cosmology positioned at the four cardinal points who are described in medieval sources as holding up the sky after the gods made heaven from Ymir’s skull. They function as structural/cosmogonic supports and are attested in the Prose Edda and the Dvergatal of Völuspá, with echoes in skaldic kennings and in later scholarly interpretation linking their role to roof-beam terminology.
Bestla
Bestla is a jötunn (giantess) in Old Norse mythic genealogies, attested as the mother of Odin, Vili, and Vé by the giant Borr. She functions primarily as a maternal progenitor in the medieval Icelandic corpus (Poetic Edda, Prose Edda, and skaldic verse), and surviving references to her are sparse and fragmentary.
Brimir
In Old Norse mythic tradition the name Brimir appears in two closely related roles: as a name applied to a primordial jötunn (often equated with Ymir/Aurgelmir) whose body supplies the material of the world, and as the name of a beer‑hall or hall of plenty that Snorri interprets as an afterlife dwelling for virtuous survivors after Ragnarök.
Búri
Búri is an Old Norse primordial divinity attested in the Prose Edda and a skaldic verse as an early ancestor of the Æsir. He is presented as a first-born godlike figure who is freed from salty rime by the primeval cow Auðumbla and is genealogically prior to later gods such as Borr and, by descent, the Æsir.
Dagr
Dagr is the Old Norse personification of the day: a luminous being who rides across the sky on the horse Skinfaxi, bringing daylight in the mythic cosmology preserved in the Poetic Edda and Prose Edda. The lexical item Dagr functions both as the common noun for 'day' and as a proper name for this mythic actor.
Durinn
Durinn is an early named dwarf (Old Norse: dvergr) attested in the medieval Norse corpus; counted as the second-created dwarf after Mótsognir and associated in saga tradition with exceptional smithcraft, including a role in forging the magic sword Tyrfing.
Dvalinn
Dvalinn is an Old Norse mythic name attested in the Poetic Edda and several sagas applied to at least two distinct figures: a named dwarf among the dwarf-kind (craftsman, rune‑figure, leader in some lists) and one of the four harts/stags that feed among the branches of the world‑tree Yggdrasill. The corpus does not reconcile these uses of the same name into a single coherent biography.
Eitri
Eitri (also attested as Sindri) is an Old Norse dwarf smith celebrated in the Skáldskaparmál episode for forging three famous artifacts — Gullinbursti, Draupnir, and Mjöllnir — while working with his brother Brokkr. He is presented as a master craftsman whose work directly affects the gods, not as a deity.
Eldir
Eldir is a named servant of the sea-being Ægir in Old Norse myth, attested in the poem Lokasenna where he stands outside Ægir's hall and speaks with Loki. His name, Old Norse Eldir, is glossed as 'fire-stoker' and marks him as a household attendant and threshold interlocutor rather than a deity.
Falhófnir
Falhófnir is a named horse in Old Norse sources listed among the steeds ridden by the Æsir when they go to make judgments at Yggdrasil. The name is glossed as "pale-hoofed" or "the one with the fallow hooves," but the surviving sources preserve only roster-like attestations rather than a narrative or cultic role.
Community Record
- [1]Býleistr (Wikipedia). Wikipedia, 'Býleistr' (lead, Name, Attestations sections), accessed from provided research noteswiki
- [2]Wikidata: Býleistr. Wikidata entry for Býleistr, cited in provided research notesother
- [3]Prose Edda: Gylfaginning and Skáldskaparmál (attestations referenced). Snorri Sturluson: Gylfaginning (ch. 34) and Skáldskaparmál (chapter listings) where Býleistr is named as Loki's brother (as cited in the provided material)literary
- [4]Eddic and skaldic verses (Völuspá, Hyndluljóð, Skáldskaparmál references). Attested kenning 'Býleistr's brother' occurs in verses cited in the provided notes (Völuspá v.51; Hyndluljóð v.40; Skáldskaparmál ch.16 references to kennings), as recorded in the collected materialliterary
- [5]Archive.org: Nature Vs Nurture: Where Do I Belong?. Modern creative reuse of the name cited in the provided notes (archive.org item)other
- [6]Fire Emblem Wiki: Býleistr (modern usage). Modern videogame-related reuse of the name cited in the provided notesother