Who is Baldur?
What we know from myth, history, and inspiration
by Shannon Graves
Baldur is the dead God of Light in Norse mythology. That sounds like an oxymoron – a dead God of Light? – and yet it is the way that Norse cosmology works. Baldur was the youngest son of Odin and Frigg, and he was the most beautiful of all the Aesir (sky Gods). He was cheerful and kind, and his smile brought light to everyone in Asgard. White light shone from him wherever he went, and his sacred plant was the Chamomile which is white and brings sweet sleep. He married the Aesir goddess Nanna, and the two of them lived in a hall called Breidablik where everything was beautiful and nothing impure could live. They had a son named Forseti, who eventually became the God of Justice.
According to the saga Baldurs Draumar (Baldur’s Dream), Baldur began having dreams of oncoming doom and reported them to his parents. In a flurry of desperate action, his mother Frigg walked the Nine Worlds asking every living thing to promise not to harm him. She passed over the mistletoe plant, thinking that it was too young to make such an oath, and then returned home to tell Baldur that he was safe. He made a game of it then – the other gods would line up and pelt him with missiles, which would all bounce off. However, Loki the trickster was angry with the Aesir for killing his wife Angrboda and imprisoning his son Fenrir, and he and his whole family had been waiting for a chance for vengeance. He discovered Frigg’s omission and made a small dart of mistletoe, and then waited until the missile games began. Noticing Hoder, Baldur’s blind brother, sitting alone in the corner, he offered to guide his hand in throwing a missile so that he could join in the games.
Hoder unwittingly agreed, and the dart slew Baldur. Loki fled, and there was great crying and mourning in Asgard, as the God of Light had been slain. Various gods offered to chase Loki and avenge him, but Odin felt that none of his living family could make the act of vengeance and not be sullied in some way. Instead, he raped the giantess Rind and she brought forth a son, Váli, who would be Baldur’s avenger. However, Váli did not know the true circumstances and instead murdered the blind, duped Hoder.
It is said that Baldur’s body was laid out on his
ship, Hringhorni, and the funeral fire was started. In his rage at losing his
youngest brother, Thor lost his self-control and kicked a visiting dwarf into
the fire, killing him. Nanna, Baldur’s wife, threw herself onto the funeral
pyre and committed suicide to be with her husband. His horse was also burnt
there with all its trappings. But when the time came to push the flaming ship
out to sea, it turned out to be too heavy. Suddenly a giantess named Hyrrokin
rode in on a wolf, and gave the ship such a shove that fire flew from the
rollers and all the earth shook. Some say that the mysterious Hyrrokin was none
other than Loki’s wife Angrboda, come to witness her vengeance for the murder
attempt on her, and for the kidnapping and later binding of her own son Fenrir,
and her snake-child Jormundgand.
In the meantime, Hermod – another surviving brother of Baldur – had been given a special task by Odin and Frigg. He was to ride to Helheim and beg Hela to release Baldur. Hermod rode for nine days until he reached the Hel Road and entered through the gates of Death. Kneeling before Hela, he begged for his brother’s life; she told him that she would release Baldur only if all things in the Nine Worlds would weep for him. This news began another desperate flurry as the Aesir went in all directions, begging everyone they met to shed a tear for him. However, one old giantess named Thokk refused to weep, saying, “Let Hel keep her own,” and Baldur was lost forever. Some say that Thokk was simply Loki in disguise, making sure that Baldur stayed with his daughter.
Others, who have speculated further on why Loki would slay Baldur, point out that according to the Voluspa, Baldur will come back to life and rule Asgard after Ragnarok, whereas if he was alive at the time of Ragnarok he would simply be slain. There have been claims that Odin and Loki arranged the whole killing in order to keep Baldur in the safest possible place until then – the Realm of the Dead.
On the other hand, Saxo Grammaticus tells an entirely different Baldur story – one about two mortal princes, Baldur and Hoder, who quarreled over the hand of the mortal princess Nanna. Baldur was half-divine and thus was hard to kill, and Odin and Thor promised to fight for him in battle … but when the two met in a duel, Hoder slew him with a sword named Mistletoe and married Nanna. While this is a clearly euhemerized account, it is an interesting alternate possibility.
Historically, Baldur’s name may come from a root work meaning “prince” or one meaning “brave”, or another more likely one meaning “white”, but we are not sure. He is clearly one of the sacrificed solar gods who die and are reborn eventually, like the Vanic god Freyr – but unlike Freyr who dies and is reborn every year, Baldur dies once and we are still awaiting his return. On a spiritual level, Baldur is the Light in Darkness. Like the Egyptian Osiris, once he descended to the Underworld he took on a new sacred role. He is the Light that can be found when one is sunk on a dark place. While he is called on but rarely, he can give solace to those who are trapped in darkness in their lives.
The best offering for Baldur is to be kind to someone to whom it is difficult for you to show kindness. Then light a candle in the dark and call upon him for his aid.