Höðr

Höðr took the mistletoe dart and, guided by Loki, aimed it at Baldr. The dart struck Baldr, and he fell dead. Snorri Sturluson records this account in Gylfaginning. The gods had gathered for a game in which weapons were thrown at Baldr without harming him. Fire, water, iron, metal, stones, earth, trees, sicknesses, animals, birds, and creeping things had all sworn not to injure him. Mistletoe alone had been left out.

Baldr had first dreamed that his life was in danger. The gods then sought protection for him, and Frigg obtained the oaths. They made a pastime of shooting at Baldr, striking him, and throwing stones at him. Nothing harmed him. Höðr stood apart because he was blind. Loki asked why he did not join the game. Höðr replied that he could not see Baldr and had no weapon. Loki gave him the mistletoe and offered to show him where Baldr stood.

In another telling, Loki first learned that mistletoe had been omitted from the oaths. He found it growing on an oak, changed it into a weapon, and waited until the gods resumed their game. He then guided Höðr’s aim. Höðr expected laughter when he threw the small dart, but instead heard silence, gasps, and cries. Baldr’s death horrified the gods. They stood speechless, and their hands failed when they tried to take hold of his body. All judged the one responsible, but they were gathered in a sacred peace place, so no one could take vengeance there.

After Baldr’s death, Váli slew Höðr. The accounts differ over the weapon and over responsibility. Some describe Höðr as the slayer, using an arrow or dart of mistletoe. Others treat Loki as the real slayer because he discovered the weakness, prepared the weapon, and directed Höðr. One account also questions whether Höðr was blind and whether the mistletoe was used in its natural form.