B8
Balder ( Baldr ) The beloved son of the great god Odin and his wife , Frigg . The story of the god Balder is one of the most famous and one of the most complete in Norse mythology . It has been retold many times over the centuries , from Snorri Sturluson ’ s account in the Prose Edda to the story by the Danish scholar Saxo Grammaticus and the poem by the English poet Matthew Arnold (“ Balder Dead ”).
Balder ’ s Dreams When Balder became a young man , he began to have fearful dreams that seemed to foretell his death . None of the gods could understand the meaning of these dreams . His unhappiness cast sadness over all who lived in Asgard , the home of the Aesir gods .
Odin , determined to solve the mystery of his son ’ s dreams , mounted his horse , Sleipnir , and made the long journey to the underworld , Niflheim . There he called up a seeress , one of the Volva . When she arose from her tomb , Odin introduced himself as Vegtam , the Wanderer , son of Valtam .
Odin asked the Volva why the halls of Hel were decked with gold and the tables set for a grisly feast . The seeress replied that it was for Balder .
Odin asked who would slay Balder . The seeress answered that the blind Hodur would cast a fatal branch at his brother .
Odin then asked who would avenge Balder ’ s death . The seeress answered that Odin would take Rinda as a wife , and their son would be Vali ( 2 ), who would take vengeance when he was only one night old .
Odin asked who would refuse to weep for Balder . At this question , which revealed that Vegtam knew or guessed more of the future than an ordinary mortal could , the Volva realized that Vegtam was in fact Odin , or Alfodr .
She refused to answer any more questions and sank into her tomb , vowing to speak no more until Loki ’ s chains were unbound — that is , until the end of the world . This story is found in Baldrs Draumar ( Balder ’ s Dreams ) in the Poetic Edda .
Frigg and the Mistletoe When Frigg realized that her son Balder ’ s life was in danger , she sent her messengers to every corner of the world to extract promises not to harm her beloved son . Stones and metals , water and wind , fish and birds , reptiles and mammals , trees and flowers , insects , spiders , and scorpions , all creatures alive and all objects large and small swore that they would not harm Balder . Only one small green plant , the mistletoe , which grew on the mighty oak tree , was not asked to make the promise , for it was so frail that no one paid attention to it .
The Gods at Play Word soon spread through Asgard that Balder was absolutely invulnerable : Nothing could harm him . The young gods , always ready for fun , made a game of throwing things at Balder : stones , knives , sticks . Whatever they threw glanced off Balder ’ s body , leaving him totally unharmed , to the merriment of all .
Only Loki did not join in the fun . Instead he disguised himself as a woman and paid a visit to Frigg . Pretending to be astonished and disgusted at the sport the gods were making of Balder , Loki tricked Frigg into revealing the information he sought : that there was indeed one object in the world that had not taken the vow to be harmless to Balder . That object was the mistletoe that grew on the branches of the oak tree outside Valhalla .
Loki hurried away , plucked a sprig of mistletoe , and hastened to the field of Idavoll , where the merry young gods were still at play . Only the blind god , Hodur , hung back , for he could not see .
Loki approached Hodur , put the mistletoe branch into his hands , and offered to guide his aim . Hodur gladly accepted .
The Death of Balder Hodur threw the fatal weapon and killed Balder . When Balder fell dead , a terrible silence fell upon the gods , and then they cried