Towards the Baldur Myth - Germanic Mythology

should be more than a coincidence that Vestfold, chosen in Norway when the myth was
localized, has the ring of Westphalia and Pölde, which was the historicized Baldur‘s
kingdom in Germany. The cause has its explanation, as has already been pointed out, in
the Baldur synonym Phol, Falr.
The person that the story has deliver Olaf Geirstadaalf‘s sword to Olaf
Haraldsson‘s parents is called Hrani. In agreement with Bugge (Norroen Fornkvæði,
Sæmundar Edda hins fróða, footnote p. 339), I regard this name to be the same as Ranr,
which occurs in Grougaldur v. 6. There, it appears to be an epithet of Rind‘s son, the
young brother of Baldur, Vali. In Hrolf Kraki‘s saga, Hrani also appears as a swordbestower,
and he does so there in a most mystical manner, suggesting his origin in
heathen myth. 78 That Vali was in possession of a precious sword is also clear from
Hyndluljóð. The kernel in this genealogical poem is of heathen origin, but it was revised
in the eleventh century and then placed in connection with Olaf Haraldsson‘s family tree,
as I have shown above. The reviser began the song with a fable that he probably
composed himself, which has the sorceress Hyndla describe the family-relationships that
one needs to know for the sake of unraveling a question of inheritance. The inheritance
over which the two heroes fight is Vali‘s sword (Vala malmr, Hyndluljóð 9). 79
This statement is of interest because the genealogy that Hyndla sets forth, in
which Baldur and Nanna are mentioned, includes exactly the members of the same family
that play a role in the poem about Helgi Hjörvardsson and the story about Olaf
Geirstadaalf. Among the persons enumerated by Hyndla, with which the heir to Vali‘s
sword must be connected, is mentioned on Gyrd, who according to Olaf Haraldsson‘s
pedigree is Olaf Geirstadaalf‘s stepmother‘s brother, and Alf the Old, who according to
the same family pedigree is Olaf Geirstadaalf‘s maternal grandfather‘s father. Thus, on
one side we find that Vali‘s sword should have been an heirloom within this family and,
on the other side, that a descendant of the same family, Olaf Haraldsson, receives Olaf
Geirstadaalf‘s sword through a person that bears Vali‘s byname, Hrani. When we remind
ourselves that Olaf Geirstadaalf himself is Baldur transformed into a king in Vestfold, it
is clear that the mythic kernel of the euhemeristic story is Vali, who inherits his brother
Baldur‘s sword. Perhaps this was also the case in the fabricated myth, and Vali, one night
old avenges his brother and kills Hödur with Baldur‘s sword. In any case, this
relationship constitutes additional evidence for the origin of Olaf Geirstadaalf‘s story
from the Baldur myth.
Long before these euhemeristic revisions of the Baldur myth, one had already
been composed in Christianized England. In the Beowulf poem (8 th century), Baldur and
Hödur appear under the names Herebeald and Hædcyn as young princes within a
Scandinavian clan, who are neighbors of the Swedes. Herebeald and Hædcyn are
78 Here Hrani is usually interpreted as a name of Odin himself. In chapter 30 of Hrolf Kraki‟s Saga, a oneeyed
old farmer named Hrani attempts to give Hrolf a sword, a shield, and a coat of mail, but is rejected.
Hrolf thereby loses the gift of victory provided by Hrani in chapter 26 after testing Hrolf‘s men.
79 Rydberg understands this as ―Vali‘s metal‖ (i.e. Vali‘s sword), whereas modern translators understand
this as ―Welsh metal‖; i.e. foreign gold. Both readings are possible. Malmr carries the meaning metal (and
by extension gold) or sword. The word occurs 5 times in Eddaic poetry: Sigurðkviða hin skamma 16, Rínar
malmi, Rhine gold; Sigurðkviða hin skamma 68: Ligge okkar enn í mille malmr hringvareþr egghvast earn,
―Let also lie between us both the sword with rings adorned, the keen-edged iron‖; Atlakviða, 39, skop lét
hón vaxa, skíran malm vaþa, ―Fate she let ripen, but the bright gold flow; Hervarar saga 20, Gota malmi,
as Hervor is being described with all her armor and arms, Gothic metal here is best understood as a sword.