Towards the Baldur Myth - Germanic Mythology

intercession of witchcraft, because Hotherus inflicts a wound in Baldur‘s side that kills
him.
As is well known, a saint after his death becomes the recognized patron of the
profession or vocation to which he belonged and healer of the sicknesses that he himself
suffered. After his death, Saint Stephanus heals leg pain and diseases of the feet and frees
prisoners from foot-shackles. Baldur –and in the Merseburg Charm, his horse –is afflicted
by ills of the feet. In this regard, Saxo says of Baldur: adeo in adversam corporis
valitudunum indicit, ut ne pedibus quidem incedere posset [he ―fell into such ill health
that he could not so much as walk,‖ Elton translation]. 58
The feast day of St. Stephanus falls, like Phol‘s Day, at the beginning of May.
From the legend of Stephanus in Acta Sanctorum, we may now turn to a song of
St. Steffan still sung in north Sweden, which I cite from R. Bergström‘s and L. Höijer‘s
edition of Geijer‘s and Afzelius‘ ―Svenska folkvisor‖ [Swedish Folk-Ballads]:
1.) Staffan var en stalledräng.
Vi tackom nu så gärna.
Han vattna‟ sina fålar fäm,
Allt för den ljusa stjärna.
Ingen dager synes än,
Stjärnorna på himmelen de blänka.
―Steffan was a stablehand –
We thank the Lord now so gladly
He watered his five horses,
All for the bright star.
No daylight was yet seen,
The stars in heaven twinkle.‖
2.) Två de voro röda,
De tjänte väl sin föda.
―Two of them (the horses) were red,
They well earned their keep.‖
3.) Två de voro vita,
De va‟ de andra lika.
―Two of them were white,
They looked like the others.‖
58 In Skáldskaparmál 56, when the giantess Skadi comes to Asgard seeking compensation for her father's
death, the gods allow her to choose a husband from among their ranks. Like "brides,‖ the gods are veiled so
that she can only see their feet. Her aim is to choose Baldur, but instead she picks Njörd, based on the
beauty of his feet. If Rydberg is correct here, Baldur might have had some blemish on his feet caused by an
injury that marred their appearance, before his death.