The Death Of Baldur
W. G. Collingwood/Wikimedia CommonsBaldur’s dead body rests in his funeral boat.
Skadi’s first choice for a husband, Baldur, was the greatest of all the Norse gods. He was great because — well, the Norse legends very explicitly tell us so.
“The second son of Odin is Baldur, and good things are to be said of him. He is best, and all praise him; he is so fair of feature, and so bright, that light shines from him”.
That’s pretty much Baldur’s whole personality: He’s just really, really great. He was a character the writers didn’t really bother fleshing out because they knew he was just there to die. It was his destiny from the start. He would die, it was prophesized, and his death would bring about Ragnarok: the end of the world.
Frigg, The Helicopter Parent, Can’t Save Baldur
Baldur’s mother, Frigg, knew of her son’s grim destiny and was determined to protect him. She attempted this by visiting every living (and non-living) thing in the universe and made them promise never to hurt her boy.
Every person and object agreed. Even the rocks promised to bounce harmlessly off of his chest. Baldur was effectively immortal.
Johannes Wiedewelt/Wikimedia CommonsBaldur, locked in battle with Hother.
The Norse gods’ new favorite pastime became hurling weapons at Baldur’s face just to watch them bounce off.
When Loki found out that mistletoe (yes, the plant) hadn’t promised to not hurt Baldur, he used this loophole to ensure Baldur’s death. It wasn’t that Loki was upset with Baldur, it was just that he wanted to kill him because – well … why does anyone do anything, really?
Maybe Loki was bitter at the gods, jealous of Baldur, or just wanted to usher in the apocalypse. Either way, he deceived the blind god Hodr into killing Baldur for him out of a spear the tricky god made from — you guessed it — mistletoe.
Hamilton Wright Mabie/Wikimedia CommonsThe death of Baldur.
Loki gave this spear to Hodr and said, “You must feel quite left out, having to sit back here away from the merriment, not being given a chance to show Baldur the honor of proving his invincibility.” The spear Hodr threw (with Loki’s help to aim it) pierced Baldur and he died on the spot.
