Illustration
Death of the Nose god Baldr, illustration from an 18th-century Icelandic manuscript.
SÁM 66, 75v.
Baldr was a beloved son of Frigg and Odin. Upon seeing his own death in a prophetic dream he became depressed. His mother did everything in his power not to prevent it from happening. Frigg convinced every object and creature to vow never to hurt Baldr except mistletoe. This allowed trickster Loki to use it to produce a spear that ultimately killed Baldr.
Later on, gods attempted to raise him from death. The goddess of death Hel agreed to let him free on the condition that everything in the Nine Realms of Norse cosmology should weep for Baldr. When the giantess Thokk refused, Baldr had to remain in the afterlife.
According to some sources such as Völuspá, Baldur will be raised from death after the destruction of the gods at Ragnarök. Then he will rule the new world.
License & Copyright
Based on Wikipedia content that has been reviewed, edited, and republished.
Original image by Jakob Sigurðsson. Uploaded by Celina Bebenek, published on 13 September 2021. The copyright holder has published this content under the following license: Public Domain. This item is in the public domain, and can be used, copied, and modified without any restrictions. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms.
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Cite This Work
APA Style
Sigurðsson, J. (2021, September 13). Baldr's Death. World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://www.worldhistory.org/image/14604/baldrs-death/
Chicago Style
Sigurðsson, Jakob. "Baldr's Death." World History Encyclopedia. Last modified September 13, 2021. https://www.worldhistory.org/image/14604/baldrs-death/.
MLA Style
Sigurðsson, Jakob. "Baldr's Death." World History Encyclopedia. World History Encyclopedia, 13 Sep 2021. Web. 19 Apr 2024.
