Son of Odin and Frigg, Baldur (Old Norse: Baldr) was said to be the most beautiful of all the gods in Norse mythology. He was kind and righteous, wise and beloved by all, and his hair and skin were so light he glowed.[1]
The famous tale of his death begins with Baldur having dreams about his life being in danger. He tells the other gods about his dreams. Deeply worried by them, they hold a council to decide what to do. As told in Baldrs draumar, Odin rides down to Niflheim, the land of the dead, to speak to a Völva (female shaman/seeress) and question her about Baldur’s fate. Odin forces her to tell him a feast is being prepared in Niflheim for Baldur’s arrival, that his brother Höðr is the one who will kill him, and what will follow his death.
Frigg makes all things vow to never harm her son - except for the Mistletoe, which she either forgot or believed to be too small and harmless to require it.
Now believing Baldur to be invincible, he and the other gods amused themselves by shooting arrows or throwing rocks at him. Loki, having learned that the Mistletoe never swore the vow, hands the plant to the blind Höðr and leads him to shoot Baldur with it, which strikes him dead.
Hermod, another of Odin’s sons, rides to Niflheim to ask Hel, ruler of the underworld, to let Baldur return to life. She agrees to let him go if all of existence cries for him, and everything does; except for the female Jötunn Thökk who refuses, and thus Baldur stays dead. In the Prose Edda, Snorri Sturlason writes that Thökk was Loki in disguise.
Baldur's death leads into Ragnarök, the end of the world, as Loki is imprisoned by the other gods for his involvement in his murder. After the end of Ragnarök, Baldur and Höðr (who was killed by the god Váli in revenge for killing Baldur) return from Hel to the new world and meet with the few surviving gods.[2]
↑"Han är så ljus att det lyser om honom…" Translation: "He is so light that it glows about him…" "4. Gudarna", Fornskandinavisk religion: En grundbok, Britt-Mari Näsström. Published by Studentlitteratur. Swedish. (2 ed.) p. 99. ISBN-13: 9789144015767.
↑"Ytterligare två gudar kommer dit direkt från Hel, nämligen Balder och Höder…" Translation: "A further two gods arrive there directly from Hel, namely Baldur and Höder…" "2. Skapelse och världsundergång i fornskandinaviskt perspektiv", Fornskandinavisk religion: En grundbok, Britt-Mari Näsström. Published by Studentlitteratur. Swedish. (2 ed.) p. 38. ISBN-13: 9789144015767.