"It is the beginning of this saga, that Baldr the Good dreamed great and threatening dreams about his life" (Gylfaginning). The dreams of Baldr preceeding his death are famous. They were important enough to prompt a meeting of the gods, sending Óðinn on his futile quest to the underworld. Baldr and dreams go together, but the contents of his dreams are never revealed in the Icelandic textual corpus - but they are in Gesta Danorum . Balderus and Høtherus It has long been recognized, that Saxo presents a moral realignment of Baldr and Hǫðr, transferring all of Baldr's positive qualities to Hǫðr - and then some! Saxo's Høtherus is the very image of chivalrous ideals, while Balderus functions much like a stereotypical saga berserk, with untamed libido to boot. The core narrative is of the berserk suitor type - blog post to come. Saxo's tale of Balderus and Høtherus is long and convoluted, involving a long series of battles, fantastical quests, Pagan gods, trios of su...
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