InNorse mythology,Váli (Old Norse) orBoe orBous (Latin) is agod and the son of the godOdin andRindr (who is either agoddess herself or a human princess, depending on the sources). Váli hasnumerous brothers includingThor,Baldr, andVíðarr. He was born for the sole purpose of avengingBaldr,[1] and does this by killingHöðr, who was an unwitting participant, and bindingLoki with the entrails of his sonNarfi. Váli grew to full adulthood within one day of his birth, and slew Höðr before going on to Loki. He is prophesied to surviveRagnarök.[1]
The Váli myth is referred to inBaldrs draumar:
InVöluspá:
He was thought of as a greatarcher and a courageous fighter on the battlefield.[2] TheProse Edda (Gylfaginning) describes him:
In stanza 51 ofVafthrúdnismál,Vafþrúðnir states that he will survive Ragnarök, along with his brotherVíðarr and the sons ofThor,Móði and Magni:
Gesta Danorum bySaxo Grammaticus is aeuhemerised account of the history of the kings ofDenmark, but draws on other mythological stories and presents them in a historical context (i.e. presenting gods as human figures from the past). In this story, after the death of Balder at the hands of Hother (the human king of Denmark and Sweden), Odin (a human sorcerer who was believed to be a god) enchants Rinda (a human princess of the Ruthenians) and fathers Boe or Bous on her. This crime leads Odin to be exiled by the other gods for nearly 10 years. When he returns, he seeks out Boe and encourages him to take revenge on Hother. Hother, foreseeing that he will die in the battle, passes the kingship on to his sonRorik. Hother meets Boe in battle and is killed, but Boe also dies of his wounds a day later. The Ruthenian army held a funeral for him and buried him in a barrow.[3]
Early mistranslation or confusion has led to a single mention of aVáli who is a son of Loki: "Þá váru teknir synir Loka, Váli ok Nari eða Narfi" from theProse Edda,[4] translated as "Then were taken Loki's sons, Váli and Nari".[5] We find the original of the only reference to Váli asthe son of Loki, while even the same text refers to Baldr's death being avenged by his brother (inVöluspá 33[6]) as well as Váli being the Son of Odin inVöluspá 51, which is repeated inBaldr's draumar.[7][8]
In the late periodGesta Danorum we also see that Odin is said to have a son with Rinda that will avenge his other son, Baldr's, death – though in this case the name of this new son isBoe rather than Váli. In all these tales Odin goes out immediately – either through seduction, deception, or force – to sire this son.[a]
Similarly where each of these documents ascribe Váli the role of Loki's son we see only in the postscript or translation notes that this transformation was a punishment when in fact the gift of wolf's strength and rage is well attested as being granted by Odin to warriors known asulfhednar, which would make his son Váli aBerserker and a possible origin for theulfhednar legend.
Finally we see a different description inHauksbók. In this version ofVöluspá, stanza 34 begins: "Þá kná Vála | vígbǫnd snúa", usually amended to the nominativeVáli in order to provide a subject for the verb;Ursula Dronke translates it as "Then did Váli | slaughter bonds twist"[9] which presumably refers to Váli, son ofÓðinn, who was begotten to avenge Baldr's death, and thus it is likely that he bound Loki, while it is highly improbable that it refers to a Váli, son of Loki, who is attested nowhere but one line of theProse Edda.[b]
Bellows' translation with clickable names