Story · Norse Mythology · 4 chapters

The Death of Baldr

Baldr, the brightest of the gods, had dreams of his death. His mother Frigg extracted oaths from all things not to harm him — except the mistletoe. Loki, disguised as an old woman, learned of this and guided Baldr's blind brother Höðr to throw a mistletoe dart at Baldr, killing him [S2]. Baldr's death is the beginning of the end, setting the chain of events that leads to Ragnarök [S1][S2].

CASTBaldr Frigg Loki Höðr

historical mythology

The beliefs are pre-Christian (attested archaeologically from the Viking Age); the written sources are Christian-era (1220–1300) and post-hoc. The gap between belief and text is part of what this section presents.

⚠ Scholars disagree

The 'mistletoe' detail and the full sequence are from the Prose Edda; the Poetic Edda has fragments but not the full story [S1][S2].

CHAPTER 01

The Dreams

Baldr dreamed of his death [S2].

Sources[S2]

CHAPTER 02

The Oaths

Frigg bound all things — except the mistletoe [S2].

Sources[S2]

CHAPTER 03

Loki's Trick

Loki, as an old woman, led Höðr to throw the mistletoe [S2].

Sources[S2]

CHAPTER 04

The Death

Baldr was killed; his funeral was a great event [S2].

Sources[S2]

Primary sources[S2]

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