Saxo Grammaticus

Harthgrepa, the daughter of Vagnhofthi, attempted to soften his [Hadingus'] steadfast spirit with unremitting assertations that he was obligated to pay her the first gift of his nuptial bed by marrying her, since she had nurtured him with special care in his infancy and given him his first rattle. Not satisified with exhorting him with plain expressions, she also began to utter a poem thus: Why does life flow by you unsettled, why do you spend your time unmarried, pursuing warfare, thirsting for slaughter, does beauty not awake your desire? You are seized by an extraordinary frenzy, never slipping into tenderness. Caked with carnage and gore, you prefer battle to the bridal bed, stimulation never refresh your spirit. A fierce man never thinks of leisure, play is absent, only savagery occupies his mind. His hand is never free from impiety, but loathes the reverence of Venus. Let this hateful harshness yield, let the pious fire of love arrive and bind yourself to me with the bond of

 "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