Baldrs draumar

Baldr's Dreams

Balder drömmar

14 stanzas

Summary

A

Baldrs draumar depicts Odin's ride to Hel to consult a dead völva about Baldr's troubling dreams. He wakes her from her grave and questions her.

The völva reveals that Höðr will kill Baldr, that Váli will avenge him, and that Rindr will bear Váli. Odin presses for more knowledge.

The völva realizes she is speaking to Odin (she calls him by his hidden names) and refuses to answer more. She sinks back into the earth. The poem is a compact mythological dialogue closely related to Völuspá.

The story

Senn váru æsirallir á þingiok ásynjurallar á máli,ok um þat réðuríkir tívar,hví væri Baldriballir draumar.
Soon the Aesir wereall in assemblyand the Asynjurall in council,and about this deliberatedthe mighty gods,why Baldr wasbeset by baleful dreams.

English translation: own translation.

Upp reis Óðinn,alda gautr,ok á Sleipnisöðul of lagði;reið hann niðrþaðan Niflheljar til,mœtti hann hvelpiþeim er ór hel kom.
Up rose Odin,lord of ages,and on Sleipnirhe laid the saddle;he rode downfrom there to Niflhel,he met the whelpthat came out of Hel.

English translation: own translation.

Sá hann geltablóðugr á brjóstiok galldrs föðurgól hann lengi;fram reið Óðinn,foldvegr dunði,kom hann at hávuHeljar ranni.
He barked,bloodied on his breast,and at the father of galdr-spellshe barked long;forward rode Odin,the ground resounded,he came to the highhall of Hel.

English translation: own translation.

Þá reið Óðinnfyr austan dyrr,þar er hann vissivölu leiði;nam hann vittugrivalgaldr kveða,unz nauðig reis,nás orð of kvað:
Then rode Odinto the east door,where he knewthe völva's grave to be;he began to chanta valgaldr for the knowing one,until she rose, compelled,the corpse spoke words:

English translation: own translation.

«Hvat er manna þatmér ókunnraer mik hefr auðiterfiðis?Snjóvar mik þektirok regnar mik,ok dǫggar mik;dauð var ek lengi.»
»What manner of man is he,unknown to me,who has made me sufferthis toil?Snow has covered meand rain has fallen on me,and dew has wet me;I have been dead a long while.»

English translation: own translation.

Óðinn kvað:«Vegtamr ek heiti,sonr em ek Váltams;segðu mér ór helvegi,ek mun ór heimi:Hveim eru bekkirum búnir fagrar,ok Baldri þarbúinn at haugi?»
Odin said:»Vegtam is my name,son I am of Valtam;tell me tidings from the road to Hel,I will tell you tidings from the world:For whom are the lovelybenches laid out,and the mound thereprepared for Baldr?»

English translation: own translation.

Völva kvað:«Hér stendr Baldriof brugginn mjöðr,skírar veigar,liggr skjöldr yfir,en æsir þegja;nauðig sagðak,nú mun ek þegja.»
The völva said:»Here stands for Baldrthe renowned mead brewed,clear drinks,a shield laid over it,but the Aesir are silent;compelled have I spoken,now will I be silent.»

English translation: own translation.

Óðinn kvað:«Þegðu, völva,þik vil ek fregna,unz alkunna,vil ek enn vita:Hverr mun Baldriat bana verðaok Óðins sonaldrs of ræna?»
Odin said:»Be not silent, völva,I will question youuntil I know all,I wish to know yet more:Who will becomeBaldr's slayerand rob Odin's sonof his life?»

English translation: own translation.

Völva kvað:«Höðr berr hávان,hann mun Baldriat bana verðaok Óðins sonaldrs of ræna;nauðig sagðak,nú mun ek þegja.»
The völva said:»Höðr bears the high-growing mistletoe,he will becomeBaldr's slayerand rob Odin's sonof his life;compelled have I spoken,now will I be silent.»

English translation: own translation.

Óðinn kvað:«Þegðu, völva,þik vil ek fregna,unz alkunna,vil ek enn vita:Hverr mun hefnaHöðr at Baldriok Baldrs banaá bál of fœra?»
Odin said:»Be not silent, völva,I will question youuntil I know all,I wish to know yet more:Who will avengeHöðr upon Baldrand bring Baldr's slayerto the funeral pyre?»

English translation: own translation.

Völva kvað:«Rindr berr Váljaí vestrsolum,sá mun Óðins sonreinnættr vega;hönd um þværné höfuð kembiráðr á bál of berrBaldrs andskota;nauðig sagðak,nú mun ek þegja.»
The völva said:»Rindr will bear Váliin the western halls,he will as Odin's sonslay at one night old;his hand he will wash,his hair he will comb,before he carries to the pyreBaldr's adversary;compelled have I spoken,now will I be silent.»

English translation: own translation.

Óðinn kvað:«Þegðu, völva,þik vil ek fregna,unz alkunna,vil ek enn vita:Hverjar eru meyjar,er at muni grátaok á himin verpavel skaut sinnar?»
Odin said:»Be not silent, völva,I will question youuntil I know all,I wish to know yet more:Who are the maidenswho weep with longingand toss to the heavenstheir head-coverings?»

English translation: own translation.

Völva kvað:«Vegtamr heitir þú,en ek þik Óðin hugðak;þú ert Yggs sonr,þú ert gaur of ginn.Fara þér gagna,ekki mér þótti,nú ek mun þegja.»
The völva said:»Vegtam you call yourself,but I thought you were Odin;you are Ygg's son,you are the wild one among the gods.Ride on your way,this pleased me not,now will I be silent.»

English translation: own translation.

Óðinn kvað:«Þegðu, völva,þik vil ek fregna,unz alkunna,vil ek enn vita:Hverr mun á goðumganga örvitaok meyjar móðurmorð fremja?»Völva kvað:«Þú ert Balldrs bróðirok bróður bani,þú ert Balldrs mörðrok Baldrs andskoti;ek mun þegja.»
Odin said:»Be not silent, völva,I will question youuntil I know all,I wish to know yet more:Who will among the godswalk bereft of witand commit the murderof the maiden's mother?»The völva said:»You are Baldr's brotherand the brother's slayer,you are Baldr's killerand Baldr's adversary;I will be silent.»

English translation: own translation.

Key concepts

  • Baldr , the threatened god whose dreams trigger Odin's journey to the realm of the dead
  • Óðinn , the wisdom-seeker who rides to Hel to learn his own fate
  • völva , the dead seeress forced to speak yet who finally refuses to reveal more

Interpretive traditions

A What we know

Baldrs draumar is preserved in AM 748 I 4to, a manuscript from ca. 1300-1325. The poem is absent from Codex Regius.

The poem's ljóðaháttr form and dialogue structure (Odin asks, the völva answers) follows the same pattern as Völuspá and Vafþrúðnismál.

The motif of the dead seeress forced to speak against her will recurs in Völuspá and has parallels in necromancy traditions.

B What we think we know

The poem's relation to Völuspá is debated: whether they share a common source, whether Baldrs draumar is an abbreviated version of the same tradition, or whether they are independent poems with a shared theme.

The völva's identity (the same as in Völuspá, or a different figure) is debated.

C What we do not know

Whether the poem's absence from Codex Regius is because it was unknown to that manuscript's editor, deliberately excluded, or lost cannot be determined with current evidence.

Sources and further reading

Primary sources

  • Neckel, Gustav, och Hans Kuhn. 1983. Edda: Die Lieder des Codex Regius nebst verwandten Denkmälern. 5. uppl. Heidelberg: Winter.

Translations

  • Bellows, Henry Adams (trans.). 1923. The Poetic Edda. New York: The American-Scandinavian Foundation. (PD)
  • Larrington, Carolyne (trans.). 2014. The Poetic Edda. Rev. ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Scholarly works

  • Lindow, John. 2001. Norse Mythology: A Guide to Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Simek, Rudolf. 1993. Dictionary of Northern Mythology. Translated by Angela Hall. Cambridge: D. S. Brewer.
  • de Vries, Jan. 1956–1957. Altgermanische Religionsgeschichte. 2 vols. Berlin: de Gruyter.
  • Turville-Petre, E. O. G. 1964. Myth and Religion of the North: The Religion of Ancient Scandinavia. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson.