The Death of Baldr and the Beginning of the End

Baldr the Beautiful was the most beloved of all the Norse gods — so radiant and pure that light seemed to shine from him. He was the son of Odin and Frigg, the wisest and fairest of the Aesir, and his hall in Asgard was called Breidablik, a place where nothing impure could exist. But Baldr began to have terrible dreams — visions of his own death. When he told the other gods, a shadow of grief fell over all of Asgard.

Odin mounted his eight-legged horse Sleipnir and rode to the realm of the dead to consult a seeress. She confirmed what the gods feared: Baldr was fated to die. Frigg, his mother, refused to accept this. She traveled through all the nine worlds and extracted an oath from every living thing — fire and water, iron and all metals, stones, earth, diseases, beasts, birds, poisons, and serpents — that they would never harm Baldr. Every creature and element swore the oath. The gods rejoiced, believing Baldr was now invulnerable.

They made a game of it, standing in assembly while the gods threw weapons and stones at Baldr. Arrows bounced off him, swords glanced away, and even the heaviest rocks did no harm. Baldr stood unharmed and smiling while the gods laughed at this proof of his invincibility. All the gods participated, and Baldr's invulnerability became a source of great entertainment in Asgard.

But Loki the Trickster, who despised the beloved Baldr and envied the gods' happiness, disguised himself as an old woman and went to Frigg. 'Tell me, wise Frigg, did you truly get an oath from everything in existence?' Frigg, not recognizing the trickster, admitted: 'There was one thing — the mistletoe, which seemed too young and gentle to demand an oath from.' Loki immediately left and found the mistletoe growing west of Valhalla.

He returned to the assembly with a dart made from the mistletoe. The blind god Hödr stood apart from the others, unable to join the game because he could not see. Loki approached him and said, 'Let me guide your hand — you too should honor Baldr.' Hödr took the mistletoe dart and, with Loki's guidance, hurled it at Baldr. The dart pierced Baldr's chest, and the brightest of all gods fell dead. The sound that went up from Asgard was unlike anything heard before — a grief so profound that the earth itself trembled. Odin whispered into Baldr's ear as he lay dead, words that no one else heard.

Hermod the Bold, another son of Odin, rode Sleipnir to Hel to beg for Baldr's release. Hel, goddess of the dead, agreed to free Baldr — but only if every living thing in all the nine worlds wept for him. Messengers went everywhere, and everything wept: humans, animals, stones, trees, fire, and water all shed tears. But one creature — a giantess named Thökk, who was Loki in disguise — refused: 'Let Hel keep what she holds. I will not weep for Baldr.' And so Baldr remained in the underworld until after Ragnarok, when a new world would arise and he would return. The gods captured Loki and bound him to a rock with the entrails of his own son, where a serpent drips venom onto his face. His wife Sigyn holds a bowl to catch the poison, but when she must empty it, the venom burns Loki so terribly that his writhing causes earthquakes. There he will remain until Ragnarok, when he will break free and lead the forces of chaos against the gods.