Blind god who killed Baldr with a mistletoe shaft at Loki's instigation.
Hod (Old Norse Höðr) is one of the Aesir and a son of Odin. His defining characteristic in the sources is his blindness, which makes him an instrument of Loki's scheme to kill Baldr. In Gylfaginning 49 Snorri Sturluson recounts how the gods amused themselves by throwing weapons and stones at the invulnerable Baldr. Loki, having discovered that the mistletoe had not sworn the oath to spare Baldr, fashioned a shaft from a mistletoe branch and guided the blind Hod's hand so that he shot it at his brother. The shot killed Baldr and triggered the deepest grief in Asgard.
Hod's role raises questions about guilt and determinism in Norse mythology. Although he acted without intent, he was punished with death: Odin's son Vali, born solely to avenge Baldr, killed Hod when only one day old (Völuspá 33, Baldrs draumar 11). In Völuspá 62 it is stated that Hod and Baldr return from Hel after Ragnarok and dwell together in the renewed world, suggesting a cosmic reconciliation beyond the question of blame. Saxo Grammaticus offers an entirely different version in Gesta Danorum, where Hotherus is a human warrior competing with Balderus for Nanna.
Sources in the Eddas
- Gylfaginning 49
- Snorri's detailed account of Baldr's death: Loki guides the blind Hod's hand so that the mistletoe shaft strikes and kills Baldr.
- Völuspá 32-33
- The seeress foretells that Hod's brother (Vali) is born to avenge Baldr's death, and that Hod fires the fateful shot.
- Baldrs draumar 11
- Hod is identified as the one who will send Baldr to Hel, and Vali is named as the avenger.
Interpretive traditions
A What we know
Hod is blind and kills Baldr with a mistletoe shaft at Loki's instigation; this is well attested in Gylfaginning 49 and Völuspá 32-33.
B What we think we know
Saxo Grammaticus presents Hod (Hotherus) as a sighted warrior with full vision, raising the question of whether the blindness is Snorri's addition or whether Saxo reshaped the myth.
C What we do not know
It is unknown whether Hod had any independent cult or whether he existed solely as a narrative function within the Baldr myth.