Norse God Balder, The Most Beloved In Norse Mythology
The Norse god Balder was the most beloved by all the gods and his nobility and purity of character emitted light from his physical form.
Balder was said to be generous and the most handsome of the Norse Gods and Goddesses. Some even say he is the God of beauty and innocence.
His boat Hringhorni was the greatest ever built and his hall Breidablik was the most beautiful and the cleanest.
What is Baldur the god of?
Balder, sometimes written as Baldr or Baldur is the Norse God of light, purity, and joy. He is also considered God of the Summer sun.
Norse god Balder: Meaning of his Name
The name of the Norse god Balder could be translated as “brave and bold” or “lord and Prince”.
A representation of the Balder Norse mythology
History of Norse god Balder
Balder’s Father was Odin who was the King of the Gods and his Mother is the Goddess Frigg.
He is also said to have had a twin brother, Hodr who was the blind god, and several half brothers, these were: Thor, which was the god of thunder and lightning, Loki who was the god of mischief, Tyr, the god of justice, and Vali, who was birthed to avenge the death of Balder.
The most famous myth of Balder is of his death and how he predicted it in a dream.
The myth of the death of Balder
After both the Norse god Balder and his Mother Frigg dreamt of and predicted Balder’s death, Frigg went to every creature and object in the world and made them agree never to harm the Norse god Balder in the hopes it might prolong his life.
Because of this, the Norse god Balder was thought to be invincible, even to the point of the other Gods throwing weapons and objects at Balder for entertainment.
Unfortunately, there was one object that had not taken the vow to not harm Baldur, mistletoe.
The Norse god Balder’s half-brother Loki heard of this and being the god of mischief and chaos he set out to find the mistletoe and made a spear with it.
When Loki returned with the spears the Gods were entertaining themselves throwing weapons at Balder so Loki handed the spear to Balder’s blind twin brother Hodr who then accidentally killed Balder as he was unaware of what the spear was made out of.
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A picture of Baldur death and the Norse gods gathered around him
Even when Hodr was responsible for throwing the spear made of mistletoe to Balder, it is considered Loki the one in charge of the murder of the Norse god Balder.
After Balder’s death, his brother Vali was born for the sole purpose of avenging his death. Vali was born from giantess Rindr and as the myth suggests, he grew to adulthood within one day of being born and proceeded to kill both Hodr and Loki.
It is said Loki was tied up in the intestines of his own son to a rock.
Loki tricking Hodr to kill the Norse god Balder
Understanding the consequences of the death of Baldur in Norse mythology
The Norse god Baldur’s death is said to be the first in a series of 3 events that signify the start of Ragnarok.
Ragnarok is essentially the end of the world and the cosmos. Some believe Ragnarok has already happened while others believe Ragnarok is still to happen.
Depending on which version you believe there will either be surviving Gods who will rule a newly “cleansed” world or all Gods will be killed and the entire universe will end.
The first step of Ragnarok is Baldur’s death, the second is 3 years of cold Winters one by one with no Summer in between and the third is two wolves that appear in the sky and swallow the moon, sun, and stars making the whole world dark.
It is said the Gods will battle the demons and giants and Balder and Hodr will be brought back from the dead to fight again.
As is traditional his body was burnt in his ship (Hringhorni). It is said his ship was so large they had to enlist the help of the strongest giantess to send it out to sea, this was Hyrrokkin.
When she launched the boat to sea she did so with such strength that the Earth shook and fire came from the wheels of the boat.
Her mother the goddess Frigg begged Hel, the Queen of the underworld, to return Balder, which she agreed to do if everyone and everything in the land cried for Baldur’s death.
Everyone did except for a giantess who was actually Loki in disguise and so Hel did not allow the Norse god Balder to return.
Norse god Baldur Powers
As mentioned above Balder was almost indestructible, his other powers included telling prophecies, such as the dream of his death or being able to manipulate love.
He was known for having a vast amount of wisdom, even being considered the wisest of the Norse Gods. His charisma is so great it is also said to have been considered one of his great powers.
Norse god Balder Symbology and its Meaning
Balder was always depicted with rays of light shining from him, this was to show both that he was the god of Summer but also that he was so pure and brilliant that he would physically glow and emit light.
Unfortunately due to Balder’s relatively short story, there are not many stories or depictions of him.
An ilustration of Balder
The family of Baldur in Norse mythology
His Father Odin was the King of the Gods but he was also associated with being the God of the following: death, royalty, wisdom, healing, war, knowledge, battle, victory, poetry, sorcery, frenzy, and even of the gallows.
His Mother Frigg was the Goddess of motherhood, prophecy, clairvoyance, and marriage. Frigg would survive Ragnarok.
Of course, he has his twin brother Hodr who accidentally killed him. Hodr was the god of warriors and Winter.
Balder was married to the Goddess Nanna who was the Goddess of the moon but also of peace and love.
Balder and Nanna had a son, the God Forseti. Forseti is the God of reconciliation and justice. Forseti will also go on to survive Ragnarok.
When the Norse god Balder died it is said that her wife Nanna either have died of grief or to have thrown herself onto Balder’s funeral fire so that she may be brought back from the dead with him during Ragnarok. It is said they reunited in the underworld.
Balder Norse god facts
If following the version of events that Ragnarok has already happened, the myth goes that Odin died battling in Ragnarok and both Balder and Hodr returned to rule in place of their Father along with Thor’s sons Mothi and Magni (meaning wrath and mighty).
In the version that Ragnarok is still to happen, it has been prophesized that Balder and Hodr will return once Ragnarok has happened.
