Höðr

Höðr (Old Norse: Hǫðr [ˈhɔðz̠] ⓘ, Latin Hotherus; often anglicized as Hod, Hoder, or Hodur) is a god in Norse mythology. The blind son of Odin, he is tricked and guided by Loki into shooting a mistletoe arrow that kills the otherwise invulnerable Baldr.

According to the Prose Edda and the Poetic Edda, the goddess Frigg, Baldr's mother, made everything in existence swear never to harm Baldr, except for the mistletoe, which she found too unimportant to ask (alternatively, which she found too young to demand an oath from). The gods amused themselves by trying weapons on Baldr and seeing them fail to do any harm. Loki, the mischief-maker, upon finding out about Baldr's one weakness, made a dart from mistletoe, and helped Höðr shoot it at Baldr. In reaction to this, Odin conceived a son by Rindr, Váli, who grew to adulthood within a day and slew Höðr.

The Danish historian Saxo Grammaticus recorded an alternative version of this myth in his Gesta Danorum. In this version, the mortal hero Hotherus and the demi-god Balderus compete for the hand of Nanna. Ultimately, Hotherus slays Balderus.


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