Breidablik

Breiðablik (sometimes anglicised as Breithablik or Breidablik) is the home of Baldr in Nordic mythology.

Meaning

The word Breiðablik has been variously translated as 'broad sheen', 'Broad gleam', 'Broad-gleaming' or 'the far-shining one', ^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]

Attestations

Grímismál

The Eddic poem Grímnismál describes Breiðablik as the fair home of Baldr:

Gylfaginning

In Snorri Sturluson's Gylfaginning, Breiðablik is described in a list of places in heaven, identified by some scholars as Asgard:^[7]

Later in the work, when Snorri describes Baldr, he gives another description, citing Grímnismál, though he does not name the poem:

Interpretation and discussion

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]

In popular culture

Breidablik is a sacred weapon in Fire Emblem Heroes that the Summoner uses to summon Heroes coming from different Fire Emblem games.^{[citation needed]}
In the PlayStation game Xenogears, Bledavik is the name of the capital city of the desert kingdom of Aveh on the Ignas continent.^{[citation needed]}

Citations

^ a b Liberman & Lindow 2004, p. 22.
^ Orchard 2011, p. 52.
^ Branston 1980, p. 86.
^ Simek 2008, p. 44.
^ Grímnismál (ON), Stanza 12.
^ Bellows 2004, Grimnismol stanza 12.
^ Simek 2008, pp. 20, 42.
^ Gylfaginning (ON), Chapter 17.
^ Sturluson 2018, Gylfaginning, chapter 17.
^ Gylfaginning (ON), Chapter 22.
^ Sturluson 2018, Gylfaginning, chapter 22.
^ Liberman & Lindow 2004, p. 40.

Bibliography

Primary

Bellows, Henry Adam (2004). The poetic Edda : the mythological poems. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications. ISBN 9780486437101.
Orchard, Andy (2011). The Elder Edda : a book of Viking lore. London: Penguin Books. ISBN 9780141393728.
Sturluson, Snorri (2018). The Prose Edda. Translated by Brodeur, Arthur Gilchrist. Franklin Classics Trade Press. ISBN 9780344335013.
"Grímnismál (Old Norse)". heimskringla.com. Retrieved 22 October 2022.
"Gylfaginning (Old Norse)". heimskringla.no. Retrieved 4 October 2022.

Secondary

Liberman, Anatoly; Lindow, John (2004). "Some Controversial Aspects of the Baldr Myth" (PDF). Alvíssmál. 11: 17–54.
Branston, Brian (1980). Gods of the North. London: Thames and Hudson.
Simek, Rudolf (2008). A Dictionary of Northern Mythology. Translated by Hall, Angela. BOYE6. ISBN 9780859915137.