Towards the Baldur Myth - Germanic Mythology

Beowulf poem places Herebeald and Hædcyn in relationship to its hero Beowulf, I refer
the reader to the treatise on the Brisingamen Smiths (see further). It confirms that
Herebeald and Hædcyn originate in the mythology, where they have their only parallels
in Baldur and Hödur.
In closing, I gather together the places and the circumstances where the name
Phol with its Norse variant Falr occurs:
1) The Merseburg Charm.
2) The temporal terms Pholtag, Pulletag, [Phol‘s day], which falls on May 2 nd ,
and Pholmânôt [Phol‘s month], which is thought to have ended with the autumn-equinox.
These terms designate the span of time inside of which Baldur, as the light god and
promoter of vegetation, was considered to rule the year.
3) Pholesauwa, Pholesouwa, the present village Pfalsau in the neighborhood of
Passau. Regarding this name, Grimm (Deutsche Mythology, Volume 1, ch. XI) says: ―Its
composition with aue (auwa) quite fits in with the supposition of an old heathen cult,‖
and he associates it with Baldrshaugi. After what has been stated above, this association
can now be regarded as fully justified.
4) Phulsborn, Pholesbrunno [Phol‘s well]. To be compared with the
Baldersbrunnen in Germany and Denmark.
5) Over the whole of the Germanic world, it seems certain flowers were named
after Baldur. The name Baldur‘s brow (Baldrsbrá, Baldur‘s eyelash), with which partly
anthemis cotula and partly matricaria inodorata were designated, still occurs in southern
Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Iceland, the Faeroes, and Northern England (Baldeyebrow).
In certain parts of Germany, Lily-of-the-valley is called weisser Baldrian (Baldrian is a
by-form of Baldur, as Wolfram is of Wolf, Sintram of Sindri, etc). In upper Austria, it is
called Faltrian; in districts of Salzburg, Villumfalum; and in Tyrol, Fildron-faldron. This
should be compared to the Baldur name Phol, Fal. The botanical name Valerian with
which one might attempt to explain these designations has nothing to do with them.
6) In early Christian times, Baldur was transformed into a king in Vestphal. The
information regarding this, collected from Anglo-Saxon or German sources, made its way
into the prologue to Gylfaginning. 61 According to the belief of the time, nearly all
countries and people took their names from some ancient ruler: The Franks from Francio,
the Angles from Angul, Denmark from Dan, etc. The name Phalen, Westphalia was
explained in the same manner and because Baldur was named Phol, Fal, his name was
said to have given rise to these districts.
7) By the same argument, the German poem ―Biterolf‖ makes Baldur (Paltram)
into a king ze Pülle. Compare the place-name Pölde, which was written in documents as
Polidi and Pholidi according to J. Grimm. ―Biterolf‖ has preserved the memory that
Baldur was not only one of the tallest and stateliest heroes to be found, but that he also
kept himself morally pure in a ―spoiled‖ age (spoiled by ―foreign customs―).
8) After his death, Baldur descends to Mimir‘s underworld kingdom, which is the
same place that the Icelandic medieval sagas call Ódáinsakr, as demonstrated in the first
volume of this work. Saxo (Book I) says that a prince named Fjallerus was exiled by an
enemy ―to a place unknown to our people called Undensakre (Ódáinsakr).‖ In the first
61 Prologue to Gylfaginning (Faulkes‘ translation): ―Odin‘s second son was called Beldegg, whom we call
Baldr; he had the country that is now called Westphalia.‖