Baldur was the son of Odin and Frigga and had many brothers, including Thor. He is also known as the father of Forseti, the god of justice in Norse mythology.
He was depicted as an incredibly handsome character who was also very generous, a trait that made him liked by almost all the gods. Thanks to somewhat consistent modern adaptations of Norse myths and gods, we have been seeing great deities from Norse mythology such as Odin and Thor get more and more screen time.
However, Norse mythology is much more than just these two. We will examine the Norse gods and myths one by one, and now it is time for the god of purity, light, and the summer sun.
Baldur in History and Literary Works
This Norse god was first mentioned in history in the 12th century, during which several Danish Latin chroniclers, including Saxo Grammaticus, recounted the legend of Baldur.
Two great literary works written in the 13th century, the Poetic Edda and the Prose Edda, contain many references to Baldur and the account of his death, an event that was considered a disaster heralding Ragnarok.
Other writings within the Prose Edda tell us about Baldur’s romantic interests and his descendants, as well as his personal possessions. Along with his residence, the largest ship ever built, owned by Baldur, Hringhorni, was mentioned in the Prose Edda.
The name Baldur and its meaning
In his writings on Germanic mythology, Jacob Grimm draws links between the Norse legend and the Old High German word ‘Baldere’. On the other hand, other historians relate the name to the Old English words ‘bealdor’ and ‘baldor’, which can be interpreted as ‘lord’, ‘prince’ or ‘king’, or ‘lord of men’, ‘lord of warriors’.
In a general sense, the Norse language associates all these terms with heroes and heroism. Jacob Grimm goes further by interpreting these words in a way that means “bold” and “brave.”
That said, these associations with the name Baldur as a “brave god” may not be the primary meaning behind it. In the Baltic languages, there is a word that literally translates as “the white one” or “the good one.”
As a result, Jacob Grimm suggested that the name could have been a word carried over from the Baltic languages into the Proto-Germanic languages, showing associations with “day.” In conclusion, the name was associated with the term “bright” or “white,” reinforcing the belief that he is the god of the sun, purity, and summer light.
The death of Baldur in mythology
Of all the myths involving him, the one related to his death is probably the most famous. The account of Baldur’s death was mentioned numerous times in both the Prose Edda and the Poetic Edda. According to belief, his death was one of many unfortunate events that would result in the destruction of the gods and the end of the world during Ragnarok. That said, it was believed that Baldur would be reborn in the new world.
According to the myth, Baldur dreamed of his own death and shared this dream with his mother. In those ancient times, dreams were considered prophecies of things to come, and this brought great sadness to Baldur. After hearing about the dream, his mother, Frigg, forced every animate and inanimate object on Earth to take a vow not to harm Baldur.
It is said that the only object that did not take this vow was mistletoe. Since it was an ordinary plant, it was not considered a threat to the sun god. Some versions of the myth suggest that Frigga overlooked mistletoe, thinking it was a harmless plant.
One of the Norse gods, who has been considered a somewhat evil god, Loki, heard about this vow and the fact that mistletoe never swore to harm him. Loki made a magical spear out of mistletoe.
Later, while the gods were entertaining themselves by throwing objects at Baldur because they knew he could not be hurt, Loki went to see Baldur’s brother, Hodr the blind god, and gave him the spear in an act of deception. Hodr threw the spear at Baldur and unknowingly killed him.
The body was burned aboard his ship, Hringhorni, considered the finest ship ever built. It is believed that Odin whispered something in Baldur’s ears, although there are no records of myths indicating what his words were.
The wife of this Norse god jumped onto the funeral pyre on the burning ship to surrender to Ragnarok, hoping that she would be reunited with him. His horse was also thrown into the fire to be burned alongside him.
When he arrived in the underworld, Hel swore to send him back to the world of the living if all objects on Earth, both living and dead, shed a tear for him. Like the oath that caused his death, there was only one object that refused: a giantess named Þökk.
Some versions of the story suggest that this giant was actually Loki in disguise who would not mourn Baldur’s death. In any case, this meant that Baldur could not escape the underworld, not until Ragnarok took place, at which point he would be reborn in the new world to rule with Thor’s other children.
The story of Frigga and mistletoe
According to belief, after Baldur’s death, his mother Frigg’s tears turned into mistletoe berries, and it was agreed that mistletoe would only bring love to the world, not death or anything else, and two people passing under it would share a kiss in memory of Baldur. That is why people kiss under mistletoe today.
