14 bride price
Balder, who was known as the fairest and best of the
gods.
The author of the P rose E dda , Snorri Stur-
luson, uses most of the details from Grimnismal to
portray Breidablik in his own work but adds that
Balder’s hall is located in Heaven and that nothing
harmful dwells there, not even harmful runes.
bride price In the Viking age, the money or
goods (dowry) given to the family of the bride by
the bridegroom or his family. In the story “Frey and
Gerda,” Frey’s magic sword was the bride price for
Gerda. In another Norse story, the giant Thrym
offers Thor’s stolen hammer in return for Freya as
his bride.
B risinga
men (Brising’s Necklace) The
golden necklace made by the dwarfs Alfrigg,
Berling, Dvalin (1), and Grerr and coveted by
the goddess Freya. Freya was the Vanir goddess of
fertility, and a necklace is often a fertility symbol.
When she saw the dwarfs making the necklace
under their stone, she bargained with them for it.
This part of the necklace’s story is told in the S orla
T hattr .
Freya lent the Brisinga men to Thor to help him
retrieve his hammer, Mjollnir, from the rime-giant
Thrym. This story is told in the poem T hrym -
skivitha , which is part of the C odex R egius of the
P oetic E dda .
It is not made clear in the mythology who the
Brisings were, but some experts believe the name
refers to the dwarfs themselves.
B rokk
A dwarf who was the son of Ivaldi and
brother of Eitri. All three were well-known crafts-
men among the dwarfs.
In the P rose E dda , Snorri Sturluson tells the
story of how the trickster god Loki persuaded Brokk
and Eitri to make Sif’s golden hair, the ship Skid-
bladnir, and Odin’s spear Gungnir. After this, Loki
bet Brokk that his brother could not make gifts for
the gods as wonderful as those the two had already
made together. Brokk accepted the bet and set out
to help Eitri make a boar with bristles and a mane
of gold, the golden ring Draupnir, and Thor’s great
hammer, Mjollnir.
Brokk worked the bellows to blow air on the
fire to keep it hot while Eitri crafted the objects.
Meanwhile, Loki turned himself into a fly to pester
Brokk. As Eitri worked on the final gift, Thor’s ham-
mer, Loki bit Brokk hard on the eyelid. When Brokk
swiped at the blood that dripped into his eye, he took
one hand off the bellows handle and caused the fire
to cool just enough to halt the complete formation
of the hammer’s handle. This is why Thor’s hammer
has a short handle. Despite Loki’s interference, Brokk
won the bet. (See “Treasure of the Dwarfs” under
Loki.)
B uri
Ancestor of the gods. Buri appeared at the
time of the creation, when the cosmic cow Aud-
humla brought him to life from under the primeval
ice. In time, Buri had a son named Bor who married
the giantess Bestla and became the father of the
gods Odin, Vili, and Ve.
B yggvir
A servant to the Vanir god Frey.
Byggvir is married to Beyla, also a servant of Frey.
With their master they attend the feast given for
the gods by the sea god Aegir. The story is told
in L okasenna , a part of the P oetic E dda . During
the feast, Byggvir dares to speak out against Loki
as he taunts the gods and goddesses at the feast.
Byggvir threatens to crush Loki, but the trickster
god accuses the servant of cowardice. (See “Loki’s
Mocking” under Loki.)
A golden necklace, ca. 300–700, found in
Torslunda, Färjestaden, Sweden (Photo by Thuresson/
Used under a Creative Commons license)
B yleist (B yleistr )
Little-known brother of the
trickster god Loki. Byleist is a giant (as opposed