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ENCYCLOP’DIA BRITANNICA
Balder
Old Norse Baldr, in Norse mythology, the son of the chief god Odin and his wife Frigg. Beautiful and just, he was the favourite of the gods. Most legends about him concern his death. Icelandic stories tell how the gods amused themselves by throwing objects at him, knowing that he was immune from harm. The blind god H”d, deceived by the evil Loki, killed Balder by hurling mistletoe, the only thing that could hurt him. After Balder's funeral, the giantess Th”kk, probably Loki in disguise, refused to weep the tears that would release Balder from death.
Some scholars believe that the passive, suffering figure of Balder was influenced by that of Christ. The Danish historian Saxo Grammaticus (c. 1200), however, depicts him as a warrior engaged in a feud over the hand of a woman.
The Eddas were written after the Norsemen had become Christian, which is the reason for the speculation that Balder was modelled on Christ. Additionally, the complex of ideas, especially Vicarious Atonement, that are necessary to the Christian gospel are not present.....
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