Pop Culture References of Wizard101: Grizzleheim / Wintertusk – Baldur Goldpaws

Baldur Goldpaws – Baldr
https://www.wizard101central.com/wiki/NPC:Baldur_Goldpaws#ixzz7emTs6inZ
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baldr

Baldur Goldpaws is a trader from Grizzleheim with the goal of improving trade relations between Wizard City and his home world. He has found his way across the Spiral to Olde Town in Wizard City. He invites your wizard to travel with him to Grizzleheim and later takes you to Wintertusk.

Baldr (also Balder, Baldur) is a god in Germanic mythology. In Norse mythology, Baldr (Old Norse: [ˈbɑldz̠]) is a son of the god Odin and the goddess Frigg, and has numerous brothers, such as Thor and Váli. In wider Germanic mythology, the god was known in Old English as Bældæġ, and in Old High German as Balder, all ultimately stemming from the Proto-Germanic theonym *Balðraz (‘hero’ or ‘prince’).

During the 12th century, Danish accounts by Saxo Grammaticus and other Danish Latin chroniclers recorded a euhemerized account of his story. Compiled in Iceland during the 13th century, but based on older Old Norse poetry, the Poetic Edda and the Prose Edda contain numerous references to the death of Baldr as both a great tragedy to the Æsir and a harbinger of Ragnarök.

According to Gylfaginning, a book of Snorri Sturluson’s Prose Edda, Baldr’s wife is Nanna and their son is Forseti. Baldr had the greatest ship ever built, Hringhorni, and there is no place more beautiful than his hall, Breidablik.

Baldr is known primarily for the story of his death, which is seen as the first in a chain of events that will ultimately lead to the destruction of the gods at Ragnarök. According to Völuspá, Baldr will be reborn in the new world.

He had a dream of his own death and his mother had the same dream. Since dreams were usually prophetic, this depressed him, so his mother Frigg made every object on earth vow never to hurt Baldr. All objects made this vow except mistletoe.

When Loki, the mischief-maker, heard of this, he made a magical spear from this plant (in some later versions, an arrow). He hurried to the place where the gods were indulging in their new pastime of hurling objects at Baldr, which would bounce off without harming him. Loki gave the spear to Baldr’s brother, the blind god Höðr, who then inadvertently killed his brother with it.

The current list of all the (known) Grizzleheim/Wintertusk references are located here.

Although I am well versed in Pop Culture references, I do not claim to have caught them all. Let me know your favorites in the comments and if I’ve missed one you caught, let me know so I can add it to the list.

Text for this article is excerpted from the linked wiki pages

Baldur Goldpaws image is from Wizard101, and are copyright of KingsIsle Entertainment.

“Each Arrow Overshot His Head” borrowed from Wikipedia and is in the public domain

Image usage qualifies as fair use under US copyright law.