SCORPION

CHAPTER XXI: BALDER


The Best Loved

To Odin and Frigga, we are told, were born twin sons as dissimilar
in character and physical appearance as it was possible for two
children to be. Hodur, god of darkness, was sombre, taciturn, and
blind, like the obscurity of sin, which he was supposed to symbolise,
while his brother Balder, the beautiful, was worshipped as the pure
and radiant god of innocence and light. From his snowy brow and golden
locks seemed to radiate beams of sunshine which gladdened the hearts
of gods and men, by whom he was equally beloved.


    "Of all the twelve round Odin's throne,
    Balder, the Beautiful, alone,
    The Sun-god, good, and pure, and bright,
    Was loved by all, as all love light."

            Valhalla (J. C. Jones).


The youthful Balder attained his full growth with marvellous rapidity,
and was early admitted to the council of the gods. He took up his
abode in the palace of Breidablik, whose silver roof rested upon
golden pillars, and whose purity was such that nothing common or
unclean was ever allowed within its precincts, and here he lived in
perfect unity with his young wife Nanna (blossom), the daughter of Nip
(bud), a beautiful and charming goddess.

The god of light was well versed in the science of runes, which were
carved on his tongue; he knew the various virtues of simples, one of
which, the camomile, was called "Balder's brow," because its flower
was as immaculately pure as his forehead. The only thing hidden from
Balder's radiant eyes was the perception of his own ultimate fate.


            "His own house
    Breidablik, on whose columns Balder graved
    The enchantments that recall the dead to life.
    For wise he was, and many curious arts,
    Postures of runes, and healing herbs he knew;
    Unhappy! but that art he did not know,
    To keep his own life safe, and see the sun."

            Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold).



Balder's Dream

As it was so natural for Balder the beautiful to be smiling and
happy, the gods were greatly troubled when on a day they began to
notice a change in his bearing. Gradually the light died out of his
blue eyes, a careworn look came into his face, and his step grew
heavy and slow. Odin and Frigga, seeing their beloved son's evident
depression, tenderly implored him to reveal the cause of his silent
grief. Balder, yielding at last to their anxious entreaties, confessed
that his slumbers, instead of being peaceful and restful as of yore,
had been strangely troubled of late by dark and oppressive dreams,
which, although he could not clearly remember them when he awoke,
constantly haunted him with a vague feeling of fear.


    "To that god his slumber
    Was most afflicting;
    His auspicious dreams
    Seemed departed."

            Lay of Vegtam (Thorpe's tr.).


When Odin and Frigga heard this, they were very uneasy, but declared
that nothing would harm their universally beloved son. Nevertheless,
when the anxious parents further talked the matter over, they
confessed that they also were oppressed by strange forebodings, and,
coming at last to believe that Balder's life was really threatened,
they proceeded to take measures to avert the danger.

Frigga sent her servants in every direction, with strict charge to
prevail upon all living creatures, all plants, metals, stones--in
fact, every animate and inanimate thing--to register a solemn vow
not to harm Balder. All creation readily took the oath, for there was
nothing on earth which did not love the radiant god. So the servants
returned to Frigga, telling her that all had been duly sworn save
the mistletoe, growing upon the oak stem at the gate of Valhalla,
and this, they added, was such a puny, inoffensive thing that no harm
could be feared from it.


    "On a course they resolved:
    That they would send
    To every being,
    Assurance to solicit,
    Balder not to harm.
    All species swore
    Oaths to spare him;
    Frigg received all
    Their vows and compacts."

            Sжmund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.).


Frigga now resumed her spinning in great content, for she felt assured
that no harm could come to the child she loved above all.



The Vala's Prophecy

Odin, in the meantime, had resolved to consult one of the dead Vala
or prophetesses. Mounted upon his eight-footed steed Sleipnir, he rode
over the tremulous bridge Bifrцst and over the weary road which leads
to Giallar and the entrance of Nifl-heim, where, passing through the
Helgate and by the dog Garm, he penetrated into Hel's dark abode.


    "Uprose the king of men with speed,
    And saddled straight his coal-black steed;
    Down the yawning steep he rode,
    That leads to Hela's drear abode."

            Descent of Odin (Gray).


Odin saw to his surprise that a feast was being spread in this dark
realm, and that the couches had been covered with tapestry and rings of
gold, as if some highly honoured guest were expected. But he hurried on
without pausing, until he reached the spot where the Vala had rested
undisturbed for many a year, when he began solemnly to chant a magic
spell and to trace the runes which had the power of raising the dead.


    "Thrice pronounc'd, in accents dread,
    The thrilling verse that wakes the dead:
    Till from out the hollow ground
    Slowly breath'd a sullen sound."

            Descent of Odin (Gray).


Suddenly the tomb opened, and the prophetess slowly rose, inquiring
who had dared thus to trouble her long rest. Odin, not wishing her to
know that he was the mighty father of gods and men, replied that he
was Vegtam, son of Valtam, and that he had awakened her to inquire for
whom Hel was spreading her couches and preparing a festive meal. In
hollow tones, the prophetess confirmed all his fears by telling him
that the expected guest was Balder, who was destined to be slain by
Hodur, his brother, the blind god of darkness.


    "Hodur will hither
    His glorious brother send;
    He of Balder will
    The slayer be,
    And Odin's son
    Of life bereave.
    By compulsion I have spoken;
    Now I will be silent."

            Sжmund's Edda (Thorpe's tr.).


Despite the Vala's evident reluctance to speak further, Odin was not
yet satisfied, and he prevailed upon her to tell him who would avenge
the murdered god and call his slayer to account. For revenge and
retaliation were considered as a sacred duty by the races of the North.

Then the prophetess told him, as Rossthiof had already predicted,
that Rinda, the earth-goddess, would bear a son to Odin, and that
Vali, as this child would be named, would neither wash his face nor
comb his hair until he had avenged upon Hodur the death of Balder.


    "In the caverns of the west,
    By Odin's fierce embrace comprest,
    A wondrous boy shall Rinda bear,
    Who ne'er shall comb his raven hair,
    Nor wash his visage in the stream,
    Nor see the sun's departing beam,
    Till he on Hoder's corse shall smile
    Flaming on the fun'ral pile."

            Descent of Odin (Gray).


When the reluctant Vala had thus spoken, Odin next asked: "Who would
refuse to weep at Balder's death?" This incautious question showed a
knowledge of the future which no mortal could possess, and immediately
revealed to the Vala the identity of her visitor. Therefore, refusing
to speak another word, she sank back into the silence of the tomb,
declaring that none would be able to lure her out again until the
end of the world was come.


    "Hie thee hence, and boast at home,
    That never shall inquirer come
    To break my iron sleep again,
    Till Lok has burst his tenfold chain;
    Never, till substantial Night
    Has reassum'd her ancient right:
    Till wrapt in flames, in ruin hurl'd,
    Sinks the fabric of the world."

            Descent of Odin (Gray).


Odin having learned the decrees of Orlog (fate), which he knew could
not be set aside, now remounted his steed, and sadly wended his
way back to Asgard, thinking of the time, not far distant, when his
beloved son would no more be seen in the heavenly abodes, and when
the light of his presence would have vanished for ever.

On entering Glads-heim, however, Odin was somewhat reassured by
the intelligence, promptly conveyed to him by Frigga, that all
things under the sun had promised that they would not harm Balder,
and feeling convinced that if nothing would slay their beloved son he
must surely continue to gladden gods and men with his presence, he cast
care aside and resigned himself to the pleasures of the festive board.



The Gods at Play

The playground of the gods was situated on the green plain of Ida,
and was called Idavold. Here the gods would resort when in sportive
mood, and their favourite game was to throw their golden disks, which
they could cast with great skill. They had returned to this wonted
pastime with redoubled zest since the cloud which had oppressed their
spirits had been dispersed by the precautions of Frigga. Wearied at
last, however, of the accustomed sport, they bethought them of a new
game. They had learned that Balder could not be harmed by any missile,
and so they amused themselves by casting all manner of weapons, stones,
etc., at him, certain that no matter how cleverly they tried, and
how accurately they aimed, the objects, having sworn not to injure
him, would either glance aside or fall short. This new amusement
proved to be so fascinating that soon all the gods gathered around
Balder, greeting each new failure to hurt him with prolonged shouts
of laughter.



The Death of Balder

These bursts of merriment excited the curiosity of Frigga, who sat
spinning in Fensalir; and seeing an old woman pass by her dwelling,
she bade her pause and tell what the gods were doing to provoke such
great hilarity. The old woman was none other than Loki in disguise,
and he answered Frigga that the gods were throwing stones and other
missiles, blunt and sharp, at Balder, who stood smiling and unharmed
in their midst, challenging them to touch him.

The goddess smiled, and resumed her work, saying that it was quite
natural that nothing should harm Balder, as all things loved the light,
of which he was the emblem, and had solemnly sworn not to injure
him. Loki, the personification of fire, was greatly chagrined upon
hearing this, for he was jealous of Balder, the sun, who so entirely
eclipsed him and who was generally beloved, while he was feared and
avoided as much as possible; but he cleverly concealed his vexation,
and inquired of Frigga whether she were quite sure that all objects
had joined the league.

Frigga proudly answered that she had received the solemn oath of
all things, a harmless little parasite, the mistletoe, which grew on
the oak near Valhalla's gate, only excepted, and this was too small
and weak to be feared. This information was all that Loki wanted,
and bidding adieu to Frigga he hobbled off. As soon as he was safely
out of sight, however, he resumed his wonted form and hastened to
Valhalla, where, at the gate, he found the oak and mistletoe as
indicated by Frigga. Then by the exercise of magic arts he imparted
to the parasite a size and hardness quite unnatural to it.

From the wooden stem thus produced he deftly fashioned a shaft with
which he hastened back to Idavold, where the gods were still hurling
missiles at Balder, Hodur alone leaning mournfully against a tree the
while, and taking no part in the game. Carelessly Loki approached
the blind god, and assuming an appearance of interest, he inquired
the cause of his melancholy, at the same time artfully insinuating
that pride and indifference prevented him from participating in
the sport. In answer to these remarks, Hodur pleaded that only his
blindness deterred him from taking part in the new game, and when Loki
put the mistletoe-shaft in his hand, and led him into the midst of the
circle, indicating the direction of the novel target, Hodur threw his
shaft boldly. But to his dismay, instead of the loud laughter which
he expected, a shuddering cry of horror fell upon his ear, for Balder
the beautiful had fallen to the ground, pierced by the fatal mistletoe.


    "So on the floor lay Balder dead; and round
    Lay thickly strewn swords, axes, darts, and spears,
    Which all the Gods in sport had idly thrown
    At Balder, whom no weapon pierced or clove;
    But in his breast stood fixed the fatal bough
    Of mistletoe, which Lok, the Accuser, gave
    To Hoder, and unwitting Hoder threw--
    'Gainst that alone had Balder's life no charm."

            Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold).


In dire anxiety the gods crowded around their beloved companion,
but alas! life was quite extinct, and all their efforts to revive the
fallen sun-god were unavailing. Inconsolable at their loss, they now
turned angrily upon Hodur, whom they would there and then have slain
had they not been restrained by the law of the gods that no wilful
deed of violence should desecrate their peace-steads. The sound of
their loud lamentation brought the goddesses in hot haste to the
dreadful scene, and when Frigga saw that her darling was dead, she
passionately implored the gods to go to Nifl-heim and entreat Hel to
release her victim, for the earth could not exist happily without him.



Hermod's Errand

As the road was rough and painful in the extreme, none of the gods
would volunteer at first to go; but when Frigga promised that she
and Odin would reward the messenger by loving him above all the Жsir,
Hermod signified his readiness to execute the commission. To enable
him to do so, Odin lent him Sleipnir, and the noble steed, who was
not wont to allow any but Odin upon his back, set off without demur
upon the dark road which his hoofs had beaten twice before.

Meantime, Odin caused the body of Balder to be removed to Breidablik,
and he directed the gods to go to the forest and cut down huge pines
wherewith to build a worthy pyre.


    "But when the Gods were to the forest gone,
    Hermod led Sleipnir from Valhalla forth
    And saddled him; before that, Sleipnir brook'd
    No meaner hand than Odin's on his mane,
    On his broad back no lesser rider bore;
    Yet docile now he stood at Hermod's side,
    Arching his neck, and glad to be bestrode,
    Knowing the God they went to seek, how dear.
    But Hermod mounted him, and sadly fared
    In silence up the dark untravell'd road
    Which branches from the north of Heaven, and went
    All day; and daylight waned, and night came on.
    And all that night he rode, and journey'd so,
    Nine days, nine nights, toward the northern ice,
    Through valleys deep-engulph'd by roaring streams.
    And on the tenth morn he beheld the bridge
    Which spans with golden arches Giall's stream,
    And on the bridge a damsel watching, arm'd,
    In the straight passage, at the further end,
    Where the road issues between walling rocks."

            Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold).



The Funeral Pyre

While Hermod was speeding along the cheerless road which led to
Nifl-heim, the gods hewed and carried down to the shore a vast amount
of fuel, which they piled upon the deck of Balder's dragon-ship,
Ringhorn, constructing an elaborate funeral pyre. According to custom,
this was decorated with tapestry hangings, garlands of flowers,
vessels and weapons of all kinds, golden rings, and countless objects
of value, ere the immaculate corpse, richly attired, was brought and
laid upon it.

One by one, the gods now drew near to take a last farewell of their
beloved companion, and as Nanna bent over him, her loving heart broke,
and she fell lifeless by his side. Seeing this, the gods reverently
laid her beside her husband, that she might accompany him even in
death; and after they had slain his horse and hounds and twined
the pyre with thorns, the emblems of sleep, Odin, last of the gods,
drew near.

In token of affection for the dead and of sorrow for his loss, all
had lain their most precious possessions upon his pyre, and Odin,
bending down, now added to the offerings his magic ring Draupnir. It
was noted by the assembled gods that he was whispering in his dead
son's ear, but none were near enough to hear what word he said.

These sad preliminaries ended, the gods now prepared to launch the
ship, but found that the heavy load of fuel and treasures resisted
their combined efforts and they could not make the vessel stir an
inch. The mountain giants, witnessing the scene from afar, and noticing
their quandary, now drew near and said that they knew of a giantess
called Hyrrokin, who dwelt in Jцtun-heim, and was strong enough to
launch the vessel without any other aid. The gods therefore bade one of
the storm giants hasten off to summon Hyrrokin, and she soon appeared,
mounted upon a gigantic wolf, which she guided by a bridle made of
writhing snakes. Riding down to the shore, the giantess dismounted and
haughtily signified her readiness to give the required aid, if in the
meantime the gods would take charge of her steed. Odin immediately
despatched four of his maddest Berserkers to hold the wolf; but,
in spite of their phenomenal strength, they could not restrain the
monstrous creature until the giantess had thrown it down and bound
it fast.

Hyrrokin, seeing that now they would be able to manage her refractory
steed, strode along the strand to where, high up from the water's edge,
lay Balder's mighty ship Ringhorn.


    "Seventy ells and four extended
      On the grass the vessel's keel;
    High above it, gilt and splendid,
    Rose the figure-head ferocious
      With its crest of steel."

            The Saga of King Olaf (Longfellow).


Setting her shoulder against its stern, with a supreme effort she
sent it with a rush into the water. Such was the weight of the mass,
however, and the rapidity with which it shot down into the sea, that
the earth shook as if from an earthquake, and the rollers on which
the ship glided caught fire from the friction. The unexpected shock
almost caused the gods to lose their balance, and this so angered
Thor that he raised his hammer and would have slain the giantess
had he not been restrained by his companions. Easily appeased, as
usual--for Thor's temper, although quickly roused, was evanescent--he
now boarded the vessel once more to consecrate the funeral pyre with
his sacred hammer. As he was performing this ceremony, the dwarf
Lit provokingly stumbled into his way, whereupon Thor, who had not
entirely recovered his equanimity, kicked him into the fire, which
he had just kindled with a thorn, and the dwarf was burned to ashes
with the bodies of the divine pair.

The great ship now drifted out to sea, and the flames from the pyre
presented a magnificent spectacle, which assumed a greater glory
with every passing moment, until, when the vessel neared the western
horizon, it seemed as if sea and sky were on fire. Sadly the gods
watched the glowing ship and its precious freight, until suddenly it
plunged into the waves and disappeared; nor did they turn aside and
return to Asgard until the last spark of light had vanished, and the
world, in token of mourning for Balder the good, was enveloped in a
mantle of darkness.


    "Soon with a roaring rose the mighty fire,
    And the pile crackled; and between the logs
    Sharp quivering tongues of flame shot out, and leapt
    Curling and darting, higher, until they lick'd
    The summit of the pile, the dead, the mast,
    And ate the shrivelling sails; but still the ship
    Drove on, ablaze above her hull with fire.
    And the gods stood upon the beach, and gazed;
    And while they gazed, the sun went lurid down
    Into the smoke-wrapt sea, and night came on.
    Then the wind fell with night, and there was calm;
    But through the dark they watch'd the burning ship
    Still carried o'er the distant waters, on
    Farther and farther, like an eye of fire.
    So show'd in the far darkness, Balder's pile;
    But fainter, as the stars rose high, it flared;
    The bodies were consumed, ash choked the pile.
    And as, in a decaying winter fire,
    A charr'd log, falling, makes a shower of sparks--
    So, with a shower of sparks, the pile fell in,
    Reddening the sea around; and all was dark."

            Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold).



Hermod's Quest

Sadly the gods entered Asgard, where no sounds of merriment or
feasting greeted the ear, for all hearts were filled with anxious
concern for the end of all things which was felt to be imminent. And
truly the thought of the terrible Fimbul-winter, which was to herald
their death, was one well calculated to disquiet the gods.

Frigga alone cherished hope, and she watched anxiously for the return
of her messenger, Hermod the swift, who, meanwhile, had ridden over
the tremulous bridge, and along the dark Hel-way, until, on the tenth
night, he had crossed the rushing tide of the river Giцll. Here he was
challenged by Mцdgud, who inquired why the Giallar-bridge trembled
more beneath his horse's tread than when a whole army passed, and
asked why he, a living rider, was attempting to penetrate into the
dreaded realm of Hel.


    "Who art thou on thy black and fiery horse,
    Under whose hoofs the bridge o'er Giall's stream
    Rumbles and shakes? Tell me thy race and home.
    But yestermorn five troops of dead pass'd by,
    Bound on their way below to Hela's realm,
    Nor shook the bridge so much as thou alone.
    And thou hast flesh and colour on thy cheeks,
    Like men who live, and draw the vital air;
    Nor look'st thou pale and wan, like man deceased,
    Souls bound below, my daily passers here."

            Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold).


Hermod explained to Mцdgud the reason of his coming, and, having
ascertained that Balder and Nanna had ridden over the bridge before
him, he hastened on, until he came to the gate, which rose forbiddingly
before him.

Nothing daunted by this barrier, Hermod dismounted on the smooth ice,
and tightening the girths of his saddle, remounted, and burying his
spurs deep into Sleipnir's sleek sides, he put him to a prodigious
leap, which landed them safely on the other side of Hel-gate.


    "Thence on he journey'd o'er the fields of ice
    Still north, until he met a stretching wall
    Barring his way, and in the wall a grate.
    Then he dismounted, and drew tight the girths,
    On the smooth ice, of Sleipnir, Odin's horse,
    And made him leap the grate, and came within."

            Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold).


Riding onward, Hermod came at last to Hel's banqueting-hall, where he
found Balder, pale and dejected, lying upon a couch, his wife Nanna
beside him, gazing fixedly at a beaker of mead, which apparently he
had no heart to quaff.



The Condition of Balder's Release

In vain Hermod informed his brother that he had come to redeem him;
Balder shook his head sadly, saying that he knew he must remain in
his cheerless abode until the last day should come, but he implored
Hermod to take Nanna back with him, as the home of the shades was
no place for such a bright and beautiful creature. But when Nanna
heard this request she clung more closely to her husband's side,
vowing that nothing would ever induce her to part from him, and that
she would stay with him for ever, even in Nifl-heim.

The long night was spent in close conversation, ere Hermod sought
Hel and implored her to release Balder. The churlish goddess listened
in silence to his request, and declared finally that she would allow
her victim to depart provided that all things animate and inanimate
would show their sorrow for his loss by shedding tears.


    "Come then! if Balder was so dear beloved,
    And this is true, and such a loss is Heaven's--
    Hear, how to Heaven may Balder be restored.
    Show me through all the world the signs of grief!
    Fails but one thing to grieve, here Balder stops!
    Let all that lives and moves upon the earth
    Weep him, and all that is without life weep;
    Let Gods, men, brutes, beweep him; plants and stones.
    So shall I know the lost was dear indeed,
    And bend my heart, and give him back to Heaven."

            Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold).


This answer was full of encouragement, for all Nature mourned the
loss of Balder, and surely there was nothing in all creation which
would withhold the tribute of a tear. So Hermod cheerfully made his
way out of Hel's dark realm, carrying with him the ring Draupnir,
which Balder sent back to Odin, an embroidered carpet from Nanna for
Frigga, and a ring for Fulla.



The Return of Hermod

The assembled gods crowded anxiously round Hermod as soon as he
returned, and when he had delivered his messages and gifts, the Жsir
sent heralds to every part of the world to bid all things animate
and inanimate weep for Balder.


    "Go quickly forth through all the world, and pray
    All living and unliving things to weep
    Balder, if haply he may thus be won!"

            Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold).


North, South, East and West rode the heralds, and as they passed tears
fell from every plant and tree, so that the ground was saturated with
moisture, and metals and stones, despite their hard hearts, wept too.

The way at last led back to Asgard, and by the road-side was a dark
cave, in which the messengers saw, crouching, the form of a giantess
named Thok, whom some mythologists suppose to have been Loki in
disguise. When she was called upon to shed a tear, she mocked the
heralds, and fleeing into the dark recesses of her cave, she declared
that no tear should fall from her eyes, and that, for all she cared,
Hel might retain her prey for ever.


    "Thok she weepeth
    With dry tears
    For Balder's death--
    Neither in life, nor yet in death,
    Gave he me gladness.
    Let Hel keep her prey."

            Elder Edda (Howitt's version).


As soon as the returning messengers arrived in Asgard, the gods
crowded round them to learn the result of their mission; but their
faces, all aglow with the joy of anticipation, grew dark with despair
when they heard that one creature had refused the tribute of tears,
wherefore they would behold Balder in Asgard no more.


    "Balder, the Beautiful, shall ne'er
    From Hel return to upper air!
    Betrayed by Loki, twice betrayed,
    The prisoner of Death is made;
    Ne'er shall he 'scape the place of doom
    Till fatal Ragnarok be come!"

            Valhalla (J. C. Jones).



Vali the Avenger

The decrees of fate had not yet been fully consummated, and the final
act of the tragedy remains to be briefly stated.

We have already seen how Odin succeeded after many rebuffs in securing
the consent of Rinda to their union, and that the son born of this
marriage was destined to avenge the death of Balder. The advent of
this wondrous infant now took place, and Vali the Avenger, as he
was called, entered Asgard on the day of his birth, and on that
very same day he slew Hodur with an arrow from a bundle which he
seems to have carried for the purpose. Thus the murderer of Balder,
unwitting instrument though he was, atoned for the crime with his
blood, according to the code of the true Norseman.



The Signification of the Story

The physical explanation of this myth is to be found either in the
daily setting of the sun (Balder), which sinks beneath the western
waves, driven away by darkness (Hodur), or in the ending of the short
Northern summer and the long reign of the winter season. "Balder
represents the bright and clear summer, when twilight and daylight
kiss each other and go hand in hand in these Northern latitudes."


    "Balder's pyre, of the sun a mark,
    Holy hearth red staineth;
    Yet, soon dies its last faint spark,
    Darkly then Hoder reigneth."

            Viking Tales of the North (R. B. Anderson).


"His death by Hodur is the victory of darkness over light, the darkness
of winter over the light of summer; and the revenge by Vali is the
breaking forth of new light after the wintry darkness."

Loki, the fire, is jealous of Balder, the pure light of heaven, who
alone among the Northern gods never fought, but was always ready with
words of conciliation and peace.


    "But from thy lips, O Balder, night or day,
    Heard no one ever an injurious word
    To God or Hero, but thou keptest back
    The others, labouring to compose their brawls."

            Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold).


The tears shed by all things for the beloved god are symbolical of
the spring thaw, setting in after the hardness and cold of winter,
when every tree and twig, and even the stones drip with moisture;
Thok (coal) alone shows no sign of tenderness, as she is buried deep
within the dark earth and needs not the light of the sun.


    "And as in winter, when the frost breaks up,
    At winter's end, before the spring begins,
    And a warm west wind blows, and thaw sets in--
    After an hour a dripping sound is heard
    In all the forests, and the soft-strewn snow
    Under the trees is dibbled thick with holes,
    And from the boughs the snow loads shuffle down;
    And, in fields sloping to the south, dark plots
    Of grass peep out amid surrounding snow,
    And widen, and the peasant's heart is glad--
    So through the world was heard a dripping noise
    Of all things weeping to bring Balder back;
    And there fell joy upon the Gods to hear."

            Balder Dead (Matthew Arnold).


From the depths of their underground prison, the sun (Balder) and
vegetation (Nanna) try to cheer heaven (Odin) and earth (Frigga)
by sending them the ring Draupnir, the emblem of fertility, and the
flowery tapestry, symbolical of the carpet of verdure which will
again deck the earth and enhance her charms with its beauty.

The ethical signification of the myth is no less beautiful, for Balder
and Hodur are symbols of the conflicting forces of good and evil,
while Loki impersonates the tempter.


    "But in each human soul we find
    That night's dark Hoder, Balder's brother blind,
    Is born and waxeth strong as he;
    For blind is ev'ry evil born, as bear cubs be,
    Night is the cloak of evil; but all good
    Hath ever clad in shining garments stood.
    The busy Loke, tempter from of old,
    Still forward treads incessant, and doth hold
    The blind one's murder hand, whose quick-launch'd spear
    Pierceth young Balder's breast, that sun of Valhal's sphere!"

            Viking Tales of the North (R. B. Anderson).



The Worship of Balder

One of the most important festivals was held at the summer solstice,
or midsummer's eve, in honour of Balder the good, for it was
considered the anniversary of his death and of his descent into
the lower world. On that day, the longest in the year, the people
congregated out of doors, made great bonfires, and watched the sun,
which in extreme Northern latitudes barely dips beneath the horizon
ere it rises upon a new day. From midsummer, the days gradually grow
shorter, and the sun's rays less warm, until the winter solstice,
which was called the "Mother night," as it was the longest night
in the year. Midsummer's eve, once celebrated in honour of Balder,
is now called St. John's day, that saint having entirely supplanted
Balder the good.