As a youth, Balder led a happy life and eventually married Nanna. Soon, however, Balder began to suffer from terrible dreams that threatened death. Fearing for his safety, Frigg asked everything in creation, including animals, birds, stones, wood, and metal, to promise not to hurt Balder. There was only one thing she did not ask to make such a promise: the mistletoe plant. Frigg thought that the mistletoe was too young to take an oath.
After everyone and everything had taken Frigg’s oath, the gods amused themselves by throwing things at Balder because they knew nothing could harm him. However, the evil god Loki (pronounced LOH-kee) decided to find a way to hurt Balder. Loki transformed himself into an old woman and went to visit Frigg. The old woman asked if it was true that all things had taken an oath not to hurt Balder. Frigg admitted that she had not asked the mistletoe to take the oath. Loki then went to the place where the mistletoe grew and took a twig from it.
Next, Loki approached Balder’s blind brother Hod (pronounced HAWTH) and asked why he was not throwing things at Balder like everyone else. Hod replied that he could not see Balder, and besides, he had nothing to throw. Loki then handed Hod a dart he had made from the mistletoe and offered to guide Hod’s hand as he threw it. The dart struck Balder, killing him instantly. The gods were shocked and confused. Frigg begged someone to go to the underworld, or land of the dead, and pay a ransom to bring back her son.
Hermodr, another of Odin’s sons, volunteered to recover Balder. Hermodr journeyed to the underworld where he found Hel, the goddess of death. She told Hermodr that if everything under heaven shed a tear for Balder, she would allow him to return; however, if even one thing, living or dead, spoke against Balder or refused to weep for him, he would have to remain in the underworld. The gods sent messengers to every part of world to ask everything to weep for Balder. They thought they had succeeded until they found an old hag named Thokk sitting in a cave. They asked her to weep for Balder, but she refused. Most accounts
All living things, except mistletoe, took an oath not to hurt Balder. Here Loki guides the blind god Hod to kill Balder with a branch of mistletoe. © ROYAL LIBRARY, COPENHAGEN, DENMARK/ THE BRIDGEMAN ART LIBRARY.
Suggest that Thokk was none other than Loki, the trickster god, in disguise. Frigg eventually recovered Balder.
World History
