#hoetherus

Norsery Rhymes from A to Z The Mighty Bous (Vali), Avenger of Baldr

Happy Thorsday! - Here’s another 20 min sketch of a Norse (and Germanic, Celtic) mythological characters. This week it’s Bous, Bui, Bo, Beau. The Avenger of Baldr, The Warlike Child. He who is born to fertilize the ground with death.

Also fulfilling this role in the other more common telling of the Death of Baldr is Vali. Who is described as; He of unwashed face and uncombed hair, The harbinger of brighter days, and the bringer of the lengthening days of eternal light. He is born to fertilize the ground with death, while he outlasts it.

Since The death of Baldur is told two very different ways we’ll go with the one that has Bous in it, and mark out the differences as we go. In the Gesta Danorum, Baldr and Hoetherus are rivaling Leaders (Or war generals), who fight in general and specifically for the affections of Nanna. In this version Baldur is not killed by Loki’s tricking of blind Hodr to shoot an arrow of Mistletoe that Hodr thought would not hurt him. But instead he is a competitor for Nanna’s affection like Baldr and travels to the underworld to find a magical sword that can overcome Baldr’s magical invincibility given to him from his eating of sacred foods (Fruit). Instead of it being based on all the things in the earth save Mistletoe swearing not to hurt him because Baldr is just so damn radiant. Baldr has a different, less benevolent character in the Bous version.

Bous is the son of Othinus (Still likely Odin) and the Rutenian princess Rinda, whom he rapes after the Seer of Hrostiof / Rostiof tells him that Rinda will bear him a great child who will be Baldrs avenger. Bous while growing up unnaturally fast, is ten years old before Odin calls him to be his vengeance against Hoetherus. This contrasts with the other version where Odin and the Giantess Rinda have Vali who is fully grown and fully himself full of personality and battle knowledge, and likely wolf strength and powers, all in a day. Thus the lack of bathing and combing of hair. Happening just days after Baldr’s death.   

In both cases Bous / Vali are off on their trek to find Baldr’s killer and slay them in turn. Bous and  Hoetherus meet in battle, and while Bous does manage to kill  Hoetherus, he is in turn killed by the magic sword from the underworld. 

This brings us to our last difference, that Vali Odinson survives his fight. If you consider there being only one Vali, and the mention of him in Loki’s punishment is a description of Odin’s Vali, and not a Vali son of Loki, then it’s this Vali Odinson who voluntarily turns into a wolfman (or just a berserker) and kills Loki’s son Narfi. Then binds Loki to a stone with Narfi’s entrails. As opposed to Vali Lokison being forcibly turned into a wolf and then chewing up his brother. 

Vali Son of Odin and Rinda is actually one of the few to survive Ragnarok and beyond. Vali is characterized as a light of hope past Ragnarok. Given wolf strength and powers, who seems to have a life lived well past his initial avenging, and one not limited to his initial bloody deeds. While Bous is essentially limited to being a tool of vengeance.