Breidablik

{{About|the location in Nordic mythology|other uses|Breiðablik (disambiguation){{!}}Breiðablik}}

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

Meaning

The word {{lang|non|Breiðablik}} has been variously translated as 'broad sheen', 'Broad gleam', 'Broad-gleaming' or 'the far-shining one', {{sfn|Liberman|Lindow|2004|p=22}}{{sfn|Orchard|2011|p=52}}{{sfn|Branston|1980|p=86}}{{sfn|Simek|2008|p=44}}

Attestations

=Grímismál=

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

width="50%"

! width="25%" | Old Norse text{{sfn|Grímnismál (ON)|loc=Stanza 12}}

! width="25%" | Bellows translation{{sfn|Bellows|2004|loc=Grimnismol stanza 12}}

:{{lang|non|Breiðablik eru in sjaundu, en þar Baldr hefir}}

:{{lang|non|sér of gerva sali, á því landi,}}

:{{lang|non|er ek liggja veit fæsta feiknstafi.}}

:The seventh is Breithablik; Baldr has there

:For himself a dwelling set,

:In the land I know that lies so fair,

:And from evil fate is free.

=Gylfaginning=

In Snorri Sturluson's Gylfaginning, Breiðablik is described in a list of places in heaven, identified by some scholars as Asgard:{{sfn|Simek|2008|pp=20,42}}

width="100%"

! width="50%" | Old Norse text{{sfn|Gylfaginning (ON)|loc=Chapter 17}}

! width="50%" | Brodeur translation{{sfn|Sturluson|2018|loc=Gylfaginning, chapter 17}}

{{lang|non|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:

width="100%"

! width="50%" | Old Norse text{{sfn|Gylfaginning (ON)|loc=Chapter 22}}

! width="50%" | Brodeur translation{{sfn|Sturluson|2018|loc=Gylfaginning, chapter 22}}

{{lang|non| Hann býr þar, sem heitir Breiðablik. Þat er á himni. Í þeim stað má ekki vera óhreint...}}

:He [Baldr] dwells in the place called Breidablik, which is in heaven; in that place may nothing unclean be...

Interpretation and discussion

The name of Breiðablik has been noted to link with Baldr's attributes of light and beauty.{{sfn|Liberman|Lindow|2004|p=22}}

Similarities have been drawn between the description of Breiðablik in Grímnismál and Heorot in Beowulf, which are both free of 'baleful runes' ({{langx|non|feicnstafi}} and {{langx|ang|fācenstafas}} respectively). In Beowulf, the lack of {{lang|ang|fācenstafas}} refers to the absence of crimes being committed, and therefore both halls have been proposed to be sanctuaries.{{sfn|Liberman|Lindow|2004|p=40}}

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.{{cn|date=October 2022}}
In the PlayStation game Xenogears, Bledavik is the name of the capital city of the desert kingdom of Aveh on the Ignas continent.{{cn|date=October 2022}}

Citations

Bibliography

=Primary=

{{cite book |last1=Bellows |first1=Henry Adam |title=The poetic Edda : the mythological poems |date=2004 |publisher=Dover Publications |location=Mineola, NY |isbn=9780486437101 |url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/poe/index.htm}}
{{cite book |last1=Orchard |first1=Andy | author-link= Andy Orchard |title=The Elder Edda : a book of Viking lore |date=2011 |publisher=Penguin Books |location=London |isbn=9780141393728}}
{{cite book |last1=Sturluson |first1=Snorri |translator-last=Brodeur|translator-first=Arthur Gilchrist|title=The Prose Edda |date=2018 |publisher=Franklin Classics Trade Press |isbn=9780344335013}}
{{cite web |ref={{SfnRef|Grímnismál (ON)}}| title= Grímnismál (Old Norse) |url=https://heimskringla.no/wiki/Gr%C3%ADmnism%C3%A1l |website=heimskringla.com|access-date=22 October 2022}}
{{cite web |ref={{SfnRef|Gylfaginning (ON)}}| title=Gylfaginning (Old Norse) |url=https://heimskringla.no/wiki/Gylfaginning |website=heimskringla.no |access-date=4 October 2022}}

=Secondary=

{{cite journal |last1=Liberman |first1=Anatoly |last2=Lindow |first2=John |title=Some Controversial Aspects of the Baldr Myth |journal=Alvíssmál |date=2004 |volume=11 |pages=17–54 |url=https://userpage.fu-berlin.de/~alvismal/11baldr.pdf |language=en}}
{{cite book |last1=Branston |first1=Brian |title=Gods of the North |date=1980 |publisher=Thames and Hudson |location=London |url=https://archive.org/details/godsofnorth0000bria/page/86/mode/2up}}
{{cite book |last1=Simek |first1=Rudolf | author-link = Rudolf Simek | translator1-last = Hall | translator-first = Angela |title=A Dictionary of Northern Mythology |date=2008 |publisher=BOYE6 |isbn=9780859915137}}

Category:Baldr

Category:Locations in Norse mythology