Norse Mythology: Baldr

Baldr

The norse God Baldr; whose name can be spelt either Baldr, Baldur, or Balder, is the son of Odin the God of war and death and Frigg the Goddess of marriage, motherhood, managing the household, and keeper of the domestic arts. His name comes from the Old Norse word baldr which means “bold”. He is the god of light, joy, purity, beauty, innocence, and reconciliation. He was loved by both gods and men and was considered to be the best of the gods. He was so handsome that is was said that he actually gave off light from his body. Frigg, his mother, loved him so much to the point where she made everything that she thought could hurt him take an oath to never be able to harm him to which they all agreed. Although there isn’t much about Baldr on record he is most commonly known for the story of his death.

The story of Baldr’s death starts with him starting to have dreams about himself dying and his invincibility wearing off. This worry his mother very much. To prove to her son that he could never be hurt Frigg told all the other gods and goddess to throw their weapons at Baldr and watch as they would bounce off or fly right past him without him even moving an inch. Loki on the other hand, being the trickster of the gods, sought out a plan to kill Baldr. He disguised himself as an old woman and asked Frigg if there was anything that didn't take an oath to never harm Baldr. To which she replied that she thought that the mistletoe was too small and harmless to hurt him. After learning this Loki found some mistletoe and turned it into a spear to which he gave to the blind god Hodr and convinced him to throw it at Baldr. The mistletoe pierced Baldr and he fell down and died. It is said that his death is seen as the first in the chain of events which will ultimately lead to the destruction of the gods.