The Death of Baldr

The Death of Baldr

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Loki (non.)
Loki is counted among the gods but is a giant by birth.

Gods and Goddesses

Baldr (non.) Balder (en.) The god who was killed by his brother Höðr.
Höðr (non.) Hod (en.) The god who killed his brother Baldr with a weapon made of mistletoe. Depending on the source, the mistletoe projectile is a spear, an arrow, or a dart. In the Prose Edda, Höðr is blind and his aim is guided by Loki.

Myths

Death of Baldr Myth A myth concerning an accidental fratricide. It sometimes includes Loki as an instigator who dupes Baldr's brother, Höðr, into the act and actually guides his hand. In the Prose Edda, Snorri says that Höðr was blind.

Plants

mistilteinn (non.) mistletoe (en.) Of all the plants, Frigg failed to ask mistletoe not to harm Baldr. Loki found out and used mistletoe to make the weapon that Höðr threw at Baldr.

Source Materials:

Nks 1867 4to (da.) A hand-copied paper manuscript from 1760 that was produced in north-eastern Iceland and contains a set of sixteen full page illustrations from Snorri's Edda, plus four other illustrations, all of which were created by Jakob Sigurðsson.
Prose Edda (is.) Snorri Sturluson's thirteenth-century prose work concerning Old Norse mythology and poetics.

Source Persons

Jakob Sigurðsson (is.) Jakob Sigurdsson (en.) b. 1727
d. 1779
Nationality: Icelandic
Jakob was a tenant farmer, poet, scribe, and illustrator, who created full-page Edda illustrations in hand-copied paper manuscripts in Iceland in the eighteenth century.
Snorri Sturluson (is.) b. 1179
d. 1241
Nationality: Icelandic
Snorri was an Icelandic statesman, scholar, and author who is credited with writing Heimskringla, The Prose Edda, and possibly Egil's Saga.
Ólafur Brynjólfsson (is.) Brynjolfsson, Olafur (en.) b. 1713
d. 1765
Nationality: Icelandic
Occupation: priest
Residence: Kirkjubær (farm) in Hróarstúnga, Norður-Múlasýsla, Northern Iceland
The priest whose family fostered Jakob Sigurðsson.