HELHIEM


Helheim
Websouce

The Death of Baldr

Baldr was the god of beauty, and the son of Odin and Frigg.
He was beloved by all the gods,
for as a boy he was lively and sweet,
and when he grew to manhood, he was charming and compassionate.
But, above all, he was beautiful.
Soon after Baldr was born, Odin went to the well of knowledge to discover his son’s fate.
Odin learned that his son would grow strong and beautiful,
but that his life would be cut short.
When Frigg heard this, she feared for her son
and set out to obtain an oath from every animal, stone and plant,
so that none would harm her child.
However, Frigg thought that mistletoe, being only just born,
was too young to do harm to her son, and so it did not make the oath.

Now, there was a game that all the gods loved to play,
for they knew that during the course of this game they could do no harm to Baldr.
Each god, in turn, would throw his spear or shoot an arrow at him
and watch it bounce off Baldr’s chest without harming him.
Baldr would laugh and tease the gods, especially Thor,
for his hammer Mjolnir was the strongest and best weapon of all,
 but still could not harm him.

Baldr
websource

It happened that the trickster god Loki heard that mistletoe had not made the vow to Frigg,
and still had the ability to harm Baldr.
Never wanting to miss a chance to play a joke on the other gods,
Loki made an arrow from the plant, and shot it at Baldr.
The arrow struck Baldr in the chest and he fell to the ground.
At first, the others thought that Baldr was simply joking,
but when they saw the mistletoe, they knew that he was dead.
Frigg was beside herself with grief for her dead son,
and nothing the other gods did could console her.
Finally, Odin asked his son Tyr, the god of courage, and brother to Baldr,
to go to Hel, the goddess of the underworld,
and ask that she allow Baldr to return to Asgard.
Tyr did as his father requested.

The road to the underworld was as dark and cold as the goddess Hel herself.
It consisted of a treacherous path surrounded by rocky cliffs,
continuously sheathed in ice, which came forth from the land of Niflheim.
When Tyr arrived at Hel’s great hall,
he entered to find his brother seated as a guest of honor.
Hel invited Tyr to sit with them, for she had been expecting his arrival.
 Tyr at once demanded Baldr’s freedom,
but Hel merely laughed and refused to let him go.
Tyr even offered himself in place of his brother,
but still Hel refused.
Finally, Hel proposed a wager.
If Baldr was so beloved, then Frigg should get every being on earth to weep for her son.
If she accomplished this, Hel would let Baldr go.
Tyr agreed to this and took the road back up to Asgard.


Hel
websource

When Frigg received the news that she should get every being on earth to weep for her son,
 she set out immediately.
Loki followed her closely,
and when it seemed that Frigg would indeed win back her son,
Hel asked her father Loki to intervene
for she wished to keep the beautiful Baldr for herself.
Loki went to his sister, the Giantess Synja,
and told her not to weep for Baldr.
When Frigg came to Synja and asked if she would weep for her son,
Synja said coldly that Baldr meant nothing to her alive or dead.
Frigg pleaded with the giantess,
but Synja only told Frigg to let Hel keep what was hers.





COVERPAGE

OU Home | Disclaimer | Copyright | Equal Opportunity | OU Web Policy