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Illustration of The völva of Baldrs draumar
Original AI-made illustration based on the descriptions in the sources. Not an official design.
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The völva of Baldrs draumar

Also called: Vegtamskviða seeress
Folklore and mythUndeadBarely movesSorceryMiddle Ages

In the Eddic poem Baldrs draumar the god Odin wakes a dead prophetess from her grave to learn his son's fate. She tells him what he asks and sends him away once she realises who he is. The poem shows Odin as a god who can raise the dead. It presents the buried corpse as a store of knowledge that the living can force open.1

Battle it
First recorded
950
The Eddic poem Baldrs draumar, dated by Bellows to about the mid-10th century and preserved in the manuscript AM 748 I 4to
Origin
Norse
Iceland, Norway
What causes it
Sorcery
Odin raises her from her grave to answer his questions.
How you become one
A seeress long buried, called up by the god's necromancy.
How it moves
Barely moves
She is raised from her grave in Hel's realm and made to speak.
Intelligence
Clever

When did it first appear?

Ancient worldMiddle Ages1500 to 18991900 to 19671968 to 19992000 to 20092010 to today950

The Eddic poem Baldrs draumar, dated by Bellows to about the mid-10th century and preserved in the manuscript AM 748 I 4to

field notes

What the sources say

1

Odin rides to Hel because his son Baldr is having dreams of death1

2

He conceals his identity while questioning her1

3

She foretells Baldr's death1

4

When a final question gives him away she tells him to ride home1

5

The poem is also known as Vegtamskviða1

Sources

  1. Baldrs draumar - Wikipedia

Every fact on this page comes from these sources, written in our own words. Spotted a mistake? Tell us at [email protected].

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Folklore from the same lands

DraugrNorse, 1250GlámrNorse (Icelandic saga), 1300AsvithNorse (Danish chronicle and Icelandic saga), 1200Deacon of MyrkáIcelandic, 1860GjengangerScandinavianHaugbúiNorse, 1250

Same era: Middle Ages

VetalaHindu (Indian), 1070Revenant (medieval England)Medieval English, 1100UpiórSlavic, 1100Berwick revenantMedieval English / Scottish borders, 1198Buckinghamshire revenantMedieval English, 1198Byland Abbey revenantsMedieval English, 1400
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