Hermod

The Messenger of the Gods

Domain: Messages, Courage & Journey
Alignment: Lawful Good
Element: Light
Relics of Power: The Steed Sleipnir

Speak with Hermod

The full Codex

5 sections of this entry are open to everyone: the summary, the people, the symbols, the lineage and the sources. The other 9 (Name and epithets, In the ancient sources, The myths, Worship and archaeology, How the god was depicted, What scholars debate, After antiquity, Did you know?, Codex relic) are part of the full Codex: PRO opens the whole study of all 500 deities, and without a subscription you can read one full entry a day, just like in the app.

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The People

People

Norse & Germanic peoples

Region

Scandinavia & northern Europe

Period

Viking Age, 8th–11th c.

The gods of Asgard were worshipped by the Norse peoples of Scandinavia and by the Germanic tribes, especially during the Viking Age. Warriors sought to die in battle to reach Odin's Valhalla, and the myths were preserved in the Icelandic Eddas. The cult declined with the region's Christianization around the year 1000.

The Norse celebrated blóts, seasonal sacrifices with feasts of meat and mead, such as the Yule of the winter solstice. The great temple at Uppsala, in Sweden, hosted every nine years one of the largest sacrificial festivals of the Viking world.

At a glance

Hermóðr is one of the Æsir of Norse tradition, presented by Snorri Sturluson as a son of Odin and brother of Baldr. The fullest source on him is a single episode of the Gylfaginning: after Baldr's death, Hermóðr mounts Sleipnir, Odin's horse, and rides nine nights to Hel to ask for his brother's return. Outside the Prose Edda, the open sources checked in this round give him only two brief appearances, one stanza of Hyndluljóð and one stanza of Hákonarmál. The study is therefore short: everything stated below is in the texts that were read, and what could not be found is named as a gap.

The ancient sources on this deity are scarce. This study gathers only what is on record.

9 min read · Reviewed on October 14, 2026 · How we research

Sacred symbols

The eight-legged horse, the helm, the spear and the road to Hel

Family

Parents

Odin

Siblings

Baldur

Hermod

Genealogy according to Edda em Prosa, Gylfaginning (Anderson §51–53; Thorpe §58–60): Hermóðr é 'filho de Odin' e Baldr é 'seu irmão'. As fontes abertas lidas não nomeiam mãe, esposa nem filhos.

Sources and further reading

Primary sources

Anônimo (Edda Poética), The Poetic Edda (Hyndluljóð, estrofes 2–3 e nota). translation: Henry Adams Bellows. read
Anônimo / Snorri Sturluson, The Elder Eddas of Saemund Sigfusson; and the Younger Eddas of Snorre Sturleson. translation: Benjamin Thorpe; Joseph Andrew Blackwell. read
Snorri Sturluson, The Younger Edda (Prose Edda), Gylfaginning. translation: Rasmus Björn Anderson. read
Snorri Sturluson, Gylfaginning (texto em nórdico antigo). read
Eyvindr skáldaspillir, Hákonarmál (texto em nórdico antigo, em Carmina Scaldica, Finnur Jónsson). read
Anônimo (Eiríksmál, consultado sem ocorrência do nome), Eiríksmál (texto em Carmina Scaldica, Finnur Jónsson). read
Saxo Grammaticus, The Danish History, Books I-IX (Gesta Danorum), consultado sem ocorrência do nome. translation: Oliver Elton. read

Name and epithets

The name is written Hermóðr in Old Norse; the translations by Bellows and Thorpe use the anglicized forms Hermoth or Hermod.

In the ancient sources

Prose Edda (Snorri Sturluson), Gylfaginning, work attributed to Snorri Sturluson in the open editions. The only extended narrative about Hermóðr: choice of the volunteer, the ride to Hel, the talk with Móðguðr and Hel,…

The myths

Frigg looks for a volunteer. When Baldr dies, the Æsir are struck speechless with grief and unable to take vengeance, because they are gathered in a place of peace.

Worship and archaeology

None of the open texts read in this round describes worship, temple, sacrifice or festival dedicated to Hermóðr. In these sources there is no place name tied to him and no account of a rite.

How the god was depicted

The open sources checked do not describe images of Hermóðr in stone, metal or wood, and no iconographic study was opened in this round.

What scholars debate

A god, a hero or one shared name?. The Gylfaginning makes Hermóðr an Áss, a son of Odin and brother of Baldr. In Hyndluljóð, the name appears next to Sigmund, a hero, and is described as a recipient of Odin's gifts.

After antiquity

The open sources read do not document later reception of Hermóðr (art, music, modern literature), and no secondary work was opened.

Did you know?

At Hel's gate, Hermóðr tightens Sleipnir's girths and spurs him. The horse leaps over without touching it; Hermóðr then reaches the hall and stays there for the night.

Codex relic

The Steed Sleipnir. Odin's eight-legged steed, on which he rode nine nights through the dark valleys to the realm of the dead.

The rest of this scroll is sealed

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