These are notes made for the Thorshof debate held on 7th September 1997. There are many sources of the end of the World myth in Scandinavian mythology. This is a summary of the events described in all the various sources. The notes in red are Thorskegga's comments. Apologies to anyone unfamiliar with Norse Mythology - these notes are fairly heavy going! Th.
POETIC EDDA (Voluspa (Vol), Balder's Dreams (BD), Insolence of Loki (IL), Short Voluspa (SV))
PROSE EDDA (Gylfaginning (G))
HISTORY OF THE DANES (HD)
BALDER DREAMS OF HIS DEATH
Balder dreams of his death (BD, G)
Odin questions the dead sibyl (BD)
Told Hod will kill Balder and Vali will avenge him (BD)
The sybil is Loki's mistress (BD)
A very different account is given in H.D. Hod is portrayed as the hero and Balder is the villain. Hod is advised by woman in the forest that Balder can only be slain by a magic sword. (HD)
Balder is far from innocent in HD. Dispite Saxo's prejudice he clearly knew another version of this myth.
THE SPELL OF PROTECTION
Frigg asks everything not to harm Balder (G)
Gods make sport of Balder's invulnerability (G)
Loki (as old woman) speaks to Frigg (G)
Frigg knows all fate (IL) so why does she screw up?
DEATH OF BALDER
Loki makes mistletoe spear (G)
Loki gives Hod the spear (G)
Hod kills Balder with the mistletoe (Vol, G)
The gods cannot violate their sanctuary with vengeance (G)
Hod kills Balder with a magic sword (HD)
Loki is not responsible for Balder's death in HD. Should mistletoe be a magic sword?
BARGAIN WITH HEL
At Frigg's request Hermod rides to Hel (G)
Balder given ship burning funeral - great detail (G)
Nanna dies of grief (G)
Hermod bargains with Hel and gives gifts to Balder & Nanna (G)
Aesir ask everyone to weep (G)
Giantess refuses - Snorri thinks she is Loki (G)
'Nothing speaks in favour of there being a belief in Hel in pre-Christian times' Simek
RIND
A Finn tells Odin that Rind's son should avenge Balder (HD)
Rind totally uninterested in Odin (HD)
Odin forced to use many disguises (HD)
Eventually rapes Rind (HD)
The gods exile Odin in disgust (HD)
Clearly a very old story, links Odin to sorcery.
BOUS
The avenger of Balder (HD)
Warlike from an early age (HD)
Kills Hod but dies of wounds soon afterwards (HD)
VALI
Did not wash or comb his hair (BD)
Avenges Balder (SV)
LOKI
Loki hides in a house with four doors (G)
Loki hides as a salmon after Aegir's feast (IL, G)
Loki makes the first net (G)
Kvasir makes a net to catch Loki (G)
Thor catches Loki and 'remodels' the salmon (G)
Bound with his Nari's guts (IL, G)
Narfi becomes a wolf (IL, G)
Sigyn stays at Loki's his side (Vol, G)
Skadi hangs a snake over him (IL, G)
Loki's struggles are earthquakes (IL, G)
Loki's freedom starts Ragnarok (BD)
This is a very old story, explains many things in nature - earthquakes/salmon/nets. Should follow on from IL not Balder myth? Possible link to the theft of Brisingamen, illustrated on Gosforth cross.
Three years of winter (G)
Fenris breaks his chains (Vol)
Gaps his mouth and snorts fire (G)
The Serpent spits poison over the world (G)
The wolf swallows the sun etc (G)
Break down of morals in Midgard (Vol, G)
Heimdal blows his horn (Vol, G)
The World Tree trembles (Vol, G)
Everyone is terrified (Vol, G)
The giant goes free (?) (Vol)
The Einheriar prepare for battle (G)
Garm is freed from Gnipa Cave (Vol)
Hrym the giant (Vol)
The Serpent rises from the sea (Vol)
Nagfar Sails with Loki at the helm (Vol)
Nagfar with Hrym at the Helm (G)
Surt advances (Vol)
He has a blazing sword (G)
The sky splits open (Vol)
The giants ride from the split sky (G)
The rainbow breaks as they ride over it (G)
Loki leads Hela's people (G)
Loki leads Muspells army on Nagfar (G)
Muspells sons form their own army (G)
The armies met at Vigrid (G)
There is a reference to Hrym being captain of the Nagfar - not Loki
Odin goes to fight the wolf and dies (Vol, Svol, G)
Frey fights Surt (Vol, G)
Vidar kills the wolf (Vol, G)
Thor kills the serpent and dies from poison (Vol, G)
The sun turns black, the earth sinks in the sea (Vol, G)
Surt burns the earth (G)
The World Tree burns (Vol)
Wolf myth seems to be well known in Viking art. Does Vidar release Odin from the wolf? The enemy of the wolf should be Tyr. All the wolves seem to be the same. One version says Fenris destroys the sun!!!
Early versions of the fishing story say that Thor killed the serpent. Snorri admits this.
Why are Freya and Skadi not mentioned, evidence of Christian author?
The earth rises again (Vol, G)
The Aesir gather in Idavoll (Vol, G)
Balder and Hod return (Vol, G)
Vidar and Vali (G)
Magni and Modi with Mjolnir (G)
People survive (G)
Sun has a daughter (G)
Gimle - heaven for the deserving (Vol, G)
Sindri - heaven for the virtuous (G)
Brimir - heaven for alcoholics (G)
Nastrands - Hell for oathbreakers and murderers An unnamed god comes (Vol, Svol)
Part of this is obviously Christian, which leaves the authenticity of the Balder myth under question. Sun's daughter is known in other European myths, either the morning star (not visible in arctic?) or the rebirth of the sun at midwinter.
The wolf myth is genuine but was probably a myth of Tyr which was adopted by Odin. Tyr, hardly worshipped in Iceland is given Garm to fight (Simek is sure Garm is Fenris). This myth would be linked to the sun/wolf conflict, possible explaining the sun's 'death' in winter. As the story spread northwards as winters became darker, a more catastrophic battle was described. This would explain why it is Tyr who binds the wolf, a god far more powerful in Germany than Iceland. The death of Odin may have been influenced by the friction between the cults of Thor/Freyr and Odin's followers.
Thor has no place in the myth. Frey's involvement was probably engineered by Christain storytellers, but the tradition of Frey as a giant killer survives (Beli). Loki's binding appears to be linked to an older myth, certainly Lokasenna and possibly the theft of Brisingamen. There are fragments of myths describing a battle between Loki and Heimdal over Brisingamen which might have been copied for Ragnarok.
Balder is a hero, one of Odin's favourites who is opposed by Hod. Like most of Odin's followers he is far from'sinnocent. Odin goes to great lengths to avenge him and is then cast out be the other gods (Saxo). The women who aid Hod seem to have inside knowledge of the Aesir - possible intervention by Frigg? There is a clear Odinnic tradition of building up an army for Ragnarok.