When thinking of the Norse gods, Balder is not among the most famous: he didn’t even appear in the Marvel movies! But in Norse mythology, Balder was the most beloved of the gods. Son of Odin the All-Father and his wife Frigg, it was Balder, not Thor, who was the prince of Asgard.
Despite his importance, very little is known about Balder but the story of his death is one of the most important in Norse mythology. This tale explains how Loki became an enemy of the Aesir gods and it could be the event that causes Ragnarök, the prophesied Norse apocalypse.
Norse God of Light
Balder, also called Baldr or Baldur, seems to have been the Norse god of light, joy, and purity. But there is no evidence that he was among the gods honored through rituals and sacrifices by the Vikings. Nevertheless, in Norse mythology, Balder is described as the most beloved of the gods.
Balder, whose name means bold, was so handsome and noble that light emanated from his body. His name may also be derived from the Old Norse word “bal” which means fire. It may also be linked with the Norse word “Baldur,” which means lord and was often used as an honorific. He is the fairest and the wisest of the gods, and even beautiful flowers would bow as he passed.
The name Balder implies a warrior, and the medieval Danish historian Saxo Grammaticus said that Balder was always up for a fight, not unlike his half-brother Thor. But Balder is also portrayed as a peaceful and pure soul by later Christian authors.
Prince of Asgard
Balder was the son of Odin, the All-Father and the leader of Asgard, and his wife Frigg, a goddess associated with marriage, fertility, and domestic duties. Balder seems to be the only son that Odin had with Frigg. The rest of his sons, including Thor, were all fathered by various giantesses (jotun).
Balder was himself married to the goddess Nanna, about whom little is known beyond her relationship with Balder. While she is usually listed among the Norse goddesses, one story also suggests that she was a human female and the daughter of King Gevar. Balder had to compete for her affection with a human man named Hodr, and when Nanna chose the latter, Balder fell into a deep depression. How he eventually changed her mind and married her does not survive.
Together they have a son called Forseti, the Norse god of justice. He is described as extremely peaceful and meditative, and he lives in Asgard in Glitnir, a beautiful hall with gold pillars and a shining silver roof. The entire building radiates light. This also served as a court of justice for the gods, and Forseti acted as the divine law speaker.
Balder also had a beautiful hall in Asgard called Breidablik, which means “broad gleaming.” It is said to be the most beautiful place in the Norse universe, and nothing impure can enter.
The Invincible God
The other thing special about Balder was that he was invincible. According to the story, Frigg had some kind of vision about Balder that made her worry for his safety. She was a seeress who famously saw everyone’s fate but never told anyone what she saw.
Determined to protect her son, Frigg decided to go around to everything in existence and secure a promise that they would never hurt her son or participate in hurting him. Therefore, steel agreed not to cut him, stone agreed not to crush him, and fire agreed not to burn him.
This made Balder invincible. This entertained the gods who would often engage in a game of throwing things at Balder to watch the deadly items bounce off harmlessly. But if Balder was invincible, how did he die?
Loki’s Plot
For some reason, the trickster giant Loki was obsessed with discovering whether Balder had any weaknesses. So, one day, he disguised himself as an old woman and entered Frigg’s circle, speaking with her, and earning her trust.
During the conversation, the old woman asked if Balder was truly invincible. With her guard down, Frigg admitted that she may have forgotten to secure a promise from the humble mistletoe plant, but she didn’t think it was anything to worry about.
Loki took this information and fashioned a dart from a twig of mistletoe. He then joined the gods who were engaged in their game of throwing things at Balder. At the party, Loki approached Hodr, a blind god described as a brother of Balder. Loki asked Hodr why he wasn’t joining in the fun. Hodr explained that it was because he could not see. Loki seemed to want to help Hodr, so he gave him the dart and told him where to aim it. To the surprise of everyone, Balder dropped dead.
Descent to Hell
Because Balder did not die in battle, Odin, his father, was unable to harvest his soul and take it to Valhalla. This was a hall of Odin in Asgard where he assembled brave fallen warriors after death. Instead, Balder found himself in Helheim, an underworld realm ruled over by Hel, the daughter of Loki. Only she could free his soul.
The gods sent Hermod, often considered the Norse equivalent of Mercury, down to Helheim on Odin’s eight-legged steed Sleipnir. He tried to negotiate with Hel to release Balder, explaining that Balder was the most beloved person in existence, and therefore should be returned to the world.
It seems that Hel may have found this argument a little compelling. She told Hermod that the gods should prove how beloved Balder is by having all things in existence weep for him. The gods immediately set about asking all to weep but they were thwarted when they came across a witch called Thokk, who refused to shed a single tear. It is generally believed that Thokk was Loki in disguise, ensuring that Balder stayed where he was. Consequently, Hel kept Balder in Helheim with her, and the gods were left to mourn his death.
The Aftermath of the Murder
The aftermath of Balder’s murder was bloody. First, Odin had a son called Vali with the giantess Rindr, who grew to adulthood in a single day for the specific purpose of killing Hodr. The blind god soon joined his brother in Helheim.
Balder’s body was ceremonially burned on his ship Hringhorni, and the grieving gods participated in the funeral procession. His wife Nanna either died of grief and was burned with her husband, or she threw herself on her husband’s funeral pyre.
Loki continued to live among the Aesir gods for a while after Balder’s death. It is unclear whether the gods did not fully understand Loki’s role in the death, or if their hands were tied because of the blood brotherhood pact between Loki and Odin. Nevertheless, hostility grew over time. Things came to a head at a banquet.
The gods were having a feast, and Loki wasn’t invited, but he turned up anyway. Angry with Loki, the gods initially wanted to turn him away. But Loki reminded Odin of their pact, and Odin said that he should be allowed to stay. Loki then insulted everyone until Thor turned up. It is unclear whether Loki fled at this point, or the gods drove him away.
Punishing Loki
It was after the feast incident that the gods decided that they had to deal with Loki once and for all. Loki was aware of this, and so fled Asgard for a distant mountain. There he built a house with four doors so he could see his enemies arriving from any direction. During the day, Loki shapeshifted into a salmon and hid under a nearby waterfall. At night, he sat by the fire and made fishing nets to capture his food.
Odin had a seat in Asgard from which he could look out over the Norse cosmos, so he saw Loki and the gods went after him. When Loki saw the gods approaching, he hid in the stream in the form of a salmon. The gods realized what had happened and made their own net to fish for Loki. After several failed attempts, they managed to catch the trickster.
The gods brought Loki to a cave, along with the two sons he had had with his Aesir wife, Sigyn. They transformed one of his sons into a wolf. He lost his mind, tore his other brother to shreds, and ran off. The gods then used the entrails of Loki’s other son to tie him to two rocks. They retrieved a venomous snake and hung it over Loki’s head to drip venom painfully onto his skin.
Loki’s Aesir wife Sigyn tried to protect him from some of the pain, by catching the venom in a bowl. But every so often she must leave to empty the bowl. Loki’s body convulses with the pain, causing earthquakes. Loki will only break his chains at Ragnarök to lead the charge of giants against the gods. The ensuing battle will destroy all of existence.
At Ragnarök, the dead of Helheim will also join the battle against the gods. Hel will sail out of Helheim with the unworthy dead, on boats made from the fingernails and toenails of the dead. This will also allow Balder to escape Helheim and rejoin the Aesir.
Balder’s Death as the Trigger for Ragnarök
Balder’s death is often described as the incident that puts into motion the events that will ultimately cause Ragnarök. It is his death that finally leads to a breach between Loki and the gods, making it inevitable that he will take his revenge.
However, why was Loki so determined to learn Blader’s weakness and use it against him? Perhaps this was already an act of revenge.
Loki also had three other children with the giantess Angrboda, the great wolf Fenrir, the serpent Jormungandr, and the giantess Hel. When the gods learned of the offspring of such a monstrous union, they considered them too dangerous. The gods demanded that they be brought to Asgard to be dealt with.
They tricked Fenrir into chaining himself to a rock on a deserted island. They threw the snake Jormungandr into the water surrounding Midgard, and they banished Hel to the underworld. If Loki’s decision to kill Balder was an eye-for-an-eye payment for what the gods did to his own children, then the gods themselves started the chain of events that will eventually lead to Ragnarök.
