Balder

Dying god. Balder (Baldr or Balðr) was the son of Odin and Frigg. He was brother of Höd (Hod). Balder married Nanna, the daughter of Nep. They had a son named Forseti. Balder dwelt in a palace called Breidablik with his wife, in Asgard.

Balder was the god of beauty. He was the most beloved of all the the gods. However, through the prophecy and Balder's dreams, the gods found that he would die. His mother Frigg set about asking and extracting an oath from all creatures, all plants and all inanimate materials in the world, to not harm her son. Frigg did not think a mistletoe could harm her son, so she did not get an oath from the harmless plant. Loki managed to get the information from Frigg.

Death of Balder
C. Eckersberg
Oil on canvas, 1840

In Asgard, the gods normally played a game which they thought was quite amusing. They would throw rocks, spears, swords or whatever object at Balder. None of these objects would harm the young god. Only Hod did not play, because he was blind. Loki came to the blind god and asked him to play with his brother. Loki gave a piece of mistletoe to Hod. Loki directed Hod's throw. Hod threw the mistletoe at Balder with all his strength. The onlookers watched in horror when Balder, pierced by the plant, was killed instantly.

Hel, goddess of the dead, agreed to released Balder, allowing the young god to live, if every creature would mourn and shed tears for Balder. All the creatures in the world wept for Balder, except the giantess named Thokk or Thanks, who refused to shed even a single tear for the god. Hel refused to release Balder. Loki was punished for his involvement with Balder's death. (See Death of Balder for the full story.)

Nanna was totally devastated and grief stricken. She wasted away and died.

After Ragnarok, Balder was reborn, heralding the beginning of a new age.

Balder was also worshipped by the Germans. Balder was one of the seven gods listed in the Second Merseburg Charm, a German manuscript from c. AD 900. Balder's horse sprained its foot, and the passage was supposedly a way to cure sprain by listing the gods' names. Other gods listed in the Charm were – Wodan (Odin), Frija (Frigg), Volla (Fulla), Phol, Sinthgunt and Sunna. The identities of the last three names are unknown, but there is some speculation that Phol was another name for Balder.