"For most of history, Anonymous was a woman." Virginia Woolf

Sunday, February 19, 2006

Höðr-the blind son of Odin

I had a curious thought about the meaning of the name Höðr and so I sought some answers via google.

Apparently, there's also a word höð, which means "battle" and in its form mean something like "killer." Since Höðr killed Baldr, though accidently, the name fits in a literal sense. I got these answers through Wikipedia, one of the best online encyclopedias I've found.

Snorri, in his Prose Edda, mentions him. "One of the Aesir is named Hödr: he is blind. He is of sufficient strength, but the gods would that no occasion should rise of naming this god, for the work of his hands shall long be held in memory among gods and men."

Váli, born of Odin and Rindr, slew him to avenge Baldr. Hödr finds his way to Hel and at some point after Ragnarok, Baldr and Hödr will sit and speak together about "their secret wisdom".

There's not a whole lot else on him that I've found. I think it's interesting that Baldr holds no ill will towards him after Ragnarok, after Hödr was slain by Váli as an act of vengence. When I find more information about him, perhaps flesh out the story a little, I'll post it. Off to read more on Tyr.

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