Sif the Golden-Haired

OF the lovely Sif, little is known. Her abundant yellow hair suggests she was a fertility goddess, her hair representing ripe grain. She was the wife of Thor, most popular of all gods. As his chosen beloved she may have been the consummate form of the ideal woman for the common man.

Sif had exceptionally beautiful long hair, which her husband treasured. One morning upon awaking she discovered to her horror that the spiteful Loki had shorn it all off during the night. The bald and mortified goddess appealed to Thor, who sought Loki out and started the trickster god on a search to repair his mischief. Only drawfs possessed the skill required to replace hair so lovely. They spun fibres of dazzling sheen and baby-soft fineness, and Loki carried lengths of it back to the despondent Sif. When she held the fibres to her scalp, they took root and grew live upon her head, and once again Sif possessed magnificent hair, for the drawfs had spun it from the finest gold.