Balder

See also: balder

English

An illustration by Daniel Chodowiecki for Johannes Ewald, Balders Død (The Death of Balder), 1787

Alternative forms

• Baldr
• Baldur

Etymology

Sense 1 is borrowed from Old Norse Baldr.

Sense 2 is inherited from Old English Bealdhere (a male given name).

Proper noun

Balder

1. (Norse mythology) The Norse god of light and purity, a son of Odin and Frigg, known for his beauty and near-invulnerability.
   • 2005, A. Bhatnagar, William Charles Livingston, Fundamentals of Solar Astronomy, page 3:

     Among the Norse, the god Balder is the most closely associated with the solstices. In a myth that explains the actions of the midsummer and midwinter Sun, Balder, the son of the god Odin, was said to die at the hands of his evil brother, who wielded a mistletoe stake each summer solstice. He was reborn at the winter solstice, or what is still known in Germany as Mother Night (the 'mother' in question being the goddess who brings the new born Sun back into existence).

   • 2008, Bernard Thomas Mees, The Science of the Swastika‎^[1], page 175:

     It is difficult to understand how the author of The Traditions of the God Balder (Die Uberlieferungen vom Gone Balder) from 1920 in which he compared the Balder cult with earlier Mediterranean beliefs could come out so strongly in favor of Kossinna's ex Septentrione lux scarcely a decade later.

   • 2008, Michael Ward, Planet Narnia: The Seven Heavens in the Imagination of C. S. Lewis, unnumbered page:

     What he does not mention is that Balder is the Norse counterpart of Helios (the Greek forerunner of Sol); he was the god of light, son of Odin and Frigg, as Helios was the son of Hyperion and Theia.

   • 2010, H. A. Guerber, Hammer of Thor: Norse Mythology and Legends‎^[2], page 246:

     Balder, the radiant god of sunshine, reminds us not only of Apollo and Orpheus, but of all the other heroes of sun myths.

2. A surname.

Anagrams

• bedral, blader, blared

Danish

Etymology

From Old Norse Baldr.

Proper noun

Balder (genitive Balders)

1. (Norse mythology) Balder
2. a male given name from Old Norse

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Old Norse Baldr, from the adjective baldr, ballr (“brave”).

Pronunciation

• Homophone: balder

Proper noun

Balder m

1. (Norse mythology) Balder
2. a male given name from Old Norse

Old English

Proper noun

Balder

1. a male given name

References

• Monumenta Historica Britannica Or Materials for the History of Britain

Volume 1, "Ethelwerdi Chronicorm" Lib. 111, A.D. 857, page 512 [3]

Old High German

Etymology

From the adjective bald (“brave”).

Proper noun

Balder

1. Balder
   • c. 9th-10th c, Unknown author, Second Merseburg Charm:

     du uuart demo Balderes uuolon sin uuoz birenkit

     and the foot of Balder's foal was sprained

Usage notes

The Phol mentioned in the same charm where Balder is attested may be the same figure.

Swedish

Proper noun

Balder m (genitive Balders)

1. (Norse mythology) Balder
   • 1915, Viktor Rydberg, “Slottet i skogen”, in Singoalla‎^[4], 11th edition, Albert Bonniers förlag, accessed at Runeberg.org, archived from the original on 18 February 2020:

     I den del av slottet, som troddes vara från hednatid, stod sankt Sigfrid, och framför honom knäböjde den där hedningen, som hade föredragit Balder för Kristus och Oden för den heliga treenigheten.

     In the part of the castle that was believed to be from pagan times, stood Saint Sigfrid, and before him knelt that heathen who had preferred Balder to Christ, and Odin to the Holy Trinity.

   • 2016, Lars Lönnroth, transl., Den poetiska Eddan, Atlantis, →ISBN, Vaftrudnes visdomstävlan (Vafþrúðnismál) §54:

     Vad viskade Oden i Balders öra innan han brändes på bål?

     What did Odin whisper in Balder's ear before he was burned on the pyre?

2. a male given name from Old Norse