Baldur

See also: baldur and -baldur

English

Baldur by Johannes Gehrts, 1901

Alternative forms

• Balder
• Baldr

Proper noun

Baldur

1. (Norse mythology) The Norse god of light and purity, a son of Odin and Frigg, known for his beauty and near-invulnerability.
   • 1836, The Foreign Quarterly Review, volume 16, page 443:

     But the fate of Baldur, the most amiable and beloved of Asa gods, is, we think, by far the most pleasing of the Scandinavian Myths, although less characteristic of the warlike temper just mentioned than some of the others.

   • 1993, Rudolf Steiner, Apocalypse of Saint John, page 99:

     In the god Baldur the legend recognizes the god of the earth-sun, the earth force. No being of the earth can approach him with hostility. Hence also the god whom the German legend knew to be a straggler, namely Loki, cannot kill Baldur with anything belonging to the earth; he has to kill him with a branch of mistletoe, because this is a stranger among the creations of the earth, and for this reason can serve the straggler, Loki, who is not related to the earth gods.

   • 1997, Philip Schaff, History of the Christian Church, Volume IV: Mediaeval Christianity, A.D. 590—1093, unnumbered page,

     A transition from the myth of Baldur to the gospel of Christ cannot have been very difficult to the Scandinavian imagination; and, indeed, it is apparent that the first ideas which the Scandinavian heathens formed of the “White Christ” were influenced by their ideas of Baldur.

   • 2008, Alan Gregory, Quenching Hell: The Mystical Theology of William Law, page 84:

     The variety of myths prohibits a single answer, but of biblical myths and myths such as The Epic of Gilgamesh, Baldur’s death, the love of Isis and Osiris, and Prometheus, it is accurate to say that they "are marked by their relevance to men's questions about their nature and place in the universe."

Faroese

Etymology

From Old Norse Baldr, from the adjective baldr (“brave”), compare Faroese baldur (“good, beautiful”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpal.tʊɹ/

Proper noun

Baldur m

1. the Norse god
2. a male given name

Usage notes

Patronymics

• son of Baldur: Baldursson
• daughter Baldur: Baldursdóttir

Declension

	singular
	indefinite
nominative	Baldur
accusative	Baldur
dative	Baldri
genitive	Baldurs

Related terms

• Baldvin

German

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Proper noun

Baldur

1. a male given name

Icelandic

Etymology

From Old Norse Baldr, from the adjective baldr (“brave”), compare the Icelandic adjective baldur (“bold”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpaltʏr/
• Rhymes: -altʏr
• Homophone: baldur

Proper noun

Baldur m (proper noun, genitive singular Baldurs)

1. Baldur, one of the Norse gods, son of Odin and Frigg, known for his beauty and near-invulnerability.
2. a male given name

Declension

Declension of Baldur (sg-only masculine)

indefinite singular
nominative	Baldur
accusative	Baldur
dative	Baldri
genitive	Baldurs

Derived terms

• Baldursson (“Baldur's son”, patronymic)
• Baldursdóttir (“Baldur's daughter”, patronymic)

Related terms

• -baldur
• Baldvin
• baldur
• skuggabaldur