Baldr’s Death
Baldr is known primarily for the story of his death. His death is seen as the first in the chain of events which will ultimately lead to the destruction of the gods at Ragnarok. Baldr will be reborn in the new world.
He had a dream of his own death, and his mother had the same dreams. Since dreams were usually prophetic, this depressed him, so his mother Frigg made every object on earth vow never to hurt Baldr. All objects made this vow except mistletoe. Frigg had thought it too unimportant and nonthreatening to bother asking it to make the vow. When Loki, the mischief-maker and trickster, heard of this, he made a magical spear from this plant (in some later versions, he makes an arrow). He hurried to the place where the gods were indulging in their new pastime of hurling objects at Baldr, which would bounce off without harming him. Loki gave the spear to Baldr’s brother, the blind god Hod, who then inadvertently killed his brother with it (other versions suggest that Loki guided the arrow himself). For this act, Odin and the giantess Rindr gave birth to Vali who grew to adulthood within a day and slew Hod.
Baldr was ceremonially burnt upon his ship, Hringhorni, the largest of all ships. As he was carried to the ship, Odin whispered in his ear an unanswerable riddle.
The dwarf Litr was kicked by Thor into the funeral fire and burnt alive. Nanna, Baldr’s wife, also threw herself on the funeral fire to await Ragnarok when she would be reunited with her husband (some myths say she died of grief). Baldr’s horse with all its trappings was also burned on the pyre. The ship was set to sea by Hyrrokin, a giantess, who came riding on a wolf and gave the ship such a push that fire flashed from the rollers and all the earth shook.
Upon Frigg’s pleading, the messenger Hermóðr was sent to Hel, the goddess of the underworld, to ask for Baldr’s release. Hel agreed—but only on the condition that all things in the world, both living and dead, must weep for Baldr. If even one being refused, he would remain with her in the underworld.
All things did weep—except for a giantess named Þökk (often believed to be Loki in disguise), who refused to mourn. Because of this, Baldr could not return and had to remain in Hel until after Ragnarök, the end of the world. According to prophecy, Baldr and his blind brother Höðr would be reconciled and return to rule the new, reborn earth alongside Thor’s sons.
When the gods discovered that Loki had sabotaged Baldr’s return, they hunted him down. He was bound to three rocks with the entrails of his son, and a serpent was placed above him so that its venom would drip onto his face. His faithful wife, Sigyn, stayed by his side and caught the venom in a bowl. But whenever she had to empty it, drops would fall onto Loki, causing him to writhe in pain—so violently that it caused earthquakes. Loki would remain bound until Ragnarök, when he would break free and lead the forces of chaos against the gods.
Source: The Prose and Poetic Eddas
