Breiðablik (sometimes anglicised as Breithablik or Breidablik) is the home of Baldr in Nordic mythology.
The word Breiðablik has been variously translated as 'broad sheen', 'Broad gleam', 'Broad-gleaming' or 'the far-shining one', [1] [2] [3] [4]
The Eddic poem Grímnismál describes Breiðablik as the fair home of Baldr:
Old Norse text [5] | Bellows translation [6] |
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In Snorri Sturluson's Gylfaginning, Breiðablik is described in a list of places in heaven, identified by some scholars as Asgard: [7]
Old Norse text [8] | Brodeur translation [9] |
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Þar er einn sá staðr, er Breiðablik er kallaðr, ok engi er þar fegri staðr. |
Then there is also in that place the abode called Breidablik, and there is not in heaven a fairer dwelling. |
Later in the work, when Snorri describes Baldr, he gives another description, citing Grímnismál, though he does not name the poem:
Old Norse text [10] | Brodeur translation [11] |
---|---|
Hann býr þar, sem heitir Breiðablik. Þat er á himni. Í þeim stað má ekki vera óhreint... |
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The name of Breiðablik has been noted to link with Baldr's attributes of light and beauty. [1]
Similarities have been drawn between the description of Breiðablik in Grímnismál and Heorot in Beowulf, which are both free of 'baleful runes' ( Old Norse: feicnstafi and Old English: fācenstafas respectively). In Beowulf, the lack of fācenstafas refers to the absence of crimes being committed, and therefore both halls have been proposed to be sanctuaries. [12]
Breiðablik (sometimes anglicised as Breithablik or Breidablik) is the home of Baldr in Nordic mythology.
The word Breiðablik has been variously translated as 'broad sheen', 'Broad gleam', 'Broad-gleaming' or 'the far-shining one', [1] [2] [3] [4]
The Eddic poem Grímnismál describes Breiðablik as the fair home of Baldr:
Old Norse text [5] | Bellows translation [6] |
---|---|
|
|
In Snorri Sturluson's Gylfaginning, Breiðablik is described in a list of places in heaven, identified by some scholars as Asgard: [7]
Old Norse text [8] | Brodeur translation [9] |
---|---|
Þar er einn sá staðr, er Breiðablik er kallaðr, ok engi er þar fegri staðr. |
Then there is also in that place the abode called Breidablik, and there is not in heaven a fairer dwelling. |
Later in the work, when Snorri describes Baldr, he gives another description, citing Grímnismál, though he does not name the poem:
Old Norse text [10] | Brodeur translation [11] |
---|---|
Hann býr þar, sem heitir Breiðablik. Þat er á himni. Í þeim stað má ekki vera óhreint... |
|
The name of Breiðablik has been noted to link with Baldr's attributes of light and beauty. [1]
Similarities have been drawn between the description of Breiðablik in Grímnismál and Heorot in Beowulf, which are both free of 'baleful runes' ( Old Norse: feicnstafi and Old English: fācenstafas respectively). In Beowulf, the lack of fācenstafas refers to the absence of crimes being committed, and therefore both halls have been proposed to be sanctuaries. [12]