Accuracy note: The best-known death of Baldr comes from Snorri Sturluson, where the blind Höðr is deceived by Loki and the event is not a duel. Saxo Grammaticus preserves a separate Danish narrative in which Høtherus is an able human warrior and romantic rival of Balderus.
Höðr occupies one of the most difficult positions in Norse mythology: his hand causes Baldr’s death, but the major medieval sources disagree about what kind of figure he is and why the killing happens. Snorri makes him a blind god used as Loki’s instrument. Saxo makes a similarly named hero an active opponent in a long rivalry. Combining those accounts produces a story neither author actually tells.
What the Poetic Edda says
The Eddic poem Völuspá refers compactly to Baldr’s death. The seeress sees the fate prepared for Baldr and a mistletoe shoot that becomes the deadly missile. Höðr is named as the one who casts it. Váli, born to Odin and Rindr, avenges the death while only one night old. After Ragnarök, Baldr and Höðr return and dwell together in the renewed world.
Baldrs draumar centers on Odin’s journey to question a dead seeress about Baldr’s ominous dreams. She predicts that Höðr will be Baldr’s slayer and Váli the avenger. The poem does not provide Snorri’s full scene of oaths, a game among the gods, or Loki guiding a blind participant.
Snorri’s mistletoe plot
In Gylfaginning, Baldr dreams that his life is in danger. His mother Frigg obtains promises from fire, water, metals, stones, animals, diseases, plants, and other things that they will not harm him. The gods then amuse themselves by throwing and striking objects at Baldr because nothing injures him.
Loki, disguised as a woman, learns from Frigg that she did not demand an oath from a young plant called mistletoe. He obtains it and approaches Höðr, who is standing outside the game. Höðr says he cannot see where Baldr is and has no weapon. Loki supplies the mistletoe and directs his aim. The missile passes through Baldr, who falls dead.
In this version Höðr does not challenge Baldr, knowingly seek his death, or act from jealousy. Loki engineers the exception, provides the weapon, and makes use of Höðr’s exclusion from the spectacle.
Failed recovery and vengeance
Hermóðr rides to Hel and asks for Baldr’s release. Hel agrees on the condition that everything living and dead weep for him. All do so except the giantess Þökk, whom Snorri identifies as Loki in disguise. Baldr therefore remains in Hel until after Ragnarök.
Odin fathers Váli with Rindr for the purpose of vengeance. Váli kills Höðr when only one night old. The compressed revenge cycle does not pause to weigh Höðr’s intent. Modern ethical readings often find this disturbing precisely because Snorri has made him deceived and blind.
Saxo’s Høtherus is a different character
In Books 3 and 4 of Saxo Grammaticus’s Gesta Danorum, Høtherus is a gifted mortal warrior, athlete, musician, and foster son of King Gewar. He and the semi-divine Balderus both desire Nanna. Their rivalry leads through battles, supernatural helpers, a magical sword, and shifting fortunes. Høtherus eventually wounds Balderus with a special weapon; Balderus dies later.
Saxo writes in Latin and reshapes northern traditions into a legendary history of Denmark. His euhemerizing method often presents gods as ancient rulers, heroes, or magicians. Høtherus is not blind, Loki does not guide his hand, and the conflict really can be described as a heroic rivalry. Those details cannot simply be imported into Snorri’s scene.
Source comparison
| Source | Höðr/Høtherus | Cause of Baldr’s death |
|---|---|---|
| Völuspá | Named caster and later restored figure | Mistletoe; details are compressed |
| Baldrs draumar | Predicted slayer | Fated event followed by Váli’s vengeance |
| Snorri’s Gylfaginning | Blind god manipulated by Loki | Exception to Frigg’s oaths and Loki’s plot |
| Saxo’s Gesta Danorum | Active mortal hero and rival | Extended conflict over Nanna and power |
Blindness and responsibility
Retellings sometimes treat Höðr’s blindness as visual shorthand for evil, ignorance, or moral failure. Snorri’s narrative does not require that interpretation. His lack of sight explains why he is excluded from the game and why Loki can control the cast. The deceit belongs to Loki. A responsible retelling should not turn disability itself into villainy.
The reconciliation after Ragnarök also matters. Völuspá imagines Baldr and Höðr returning together to the renewed world. The poem’s future does not preserve them forever as innocent victim and hated murderer.
Primary sources
- Edward Pettit, The Poetic Edda: A Dual-Language Edition: open-access Völuspá and Baldrs draumar
- Snorri Sturluson, Prose Edda: the expanded mistletoe narrative
- Saxo Grammaticus, The Danish History: Høtherus and Balderus