In Norse mythology

Norse mythology

Norse mythology, a subset of Germanic mythology, is the overall term for the myths, legends and beliefs about supernatural beings of Norse pagans. It flourished prior to the Christianization of Scandinavia, during the Early Middle Ages, and passed into Nordic folklore, with some aspects surviving...

, Váli is a son of the god Odin

Odin

Odin is a major god in Norse mythology and the ruler of Asgard. Homologous with the Anglo-Saxon "Wōden" and the Old High German "Wotan", the name is descended from Proto-Germanic "*Wodanaz" or "*Wōđanaz"....

 and the giantess Rindr

Rindr

Rindr or Rinda is a female character in Old Norse mythology, alternatively described as a giantess, a goddess or a human princess from the east...

. He was birthed for the sole purpose of killing Höðr

Höðr

Höðr is the brother of Baldr in Norse mythology. Guided by Loki he shot the mistletoe missile which was to slay the otherwise invulnerable Baldr....

 as revenge for Höðr's accidental murder of his half-brother, Baldr. He grew to full adulthood within one day of his birth, and slew Höðr. Váli is fated to survive Ragnarök

Ragnarök

In Norse mythology, Ragnarök is a series of future events, including a great battle foretold to ultimately result in the death of a number of major figures , the occurrence of various natural disasters, and the subsequent submersion of the world in water...

.

Myths

The Váli myth is referred to in Baldrs draumar

Baldrs draumar

Baldrs draumar or Vegtamskviða is an Eddic poem, contained in the manuscript AM 748 I 4to. It relates information on the myth of Baldr's death in a way consistent with Gylfaginning....

:

Rindr will bear Váli

in western halls;

that son of Óðinn

will kill when one night old—

he will not wash hand,

nor comb head,

before he bears to the pyre

Baldr's adversary. - Ursula Dronke

Ursula Dronke

Ursula Dronke is a medievalist and former Reader in Old Norse at the University of Oxford. She is the Emeritus Vigfússon Reader in Ancient Icelandic Literature and Antiquities and an Emeritus Fellow of Linacre College. She also formerly taught in the Faculty of Modern and Medieval Languages at...

's translation

And in Völuspá

Völuspá

Völuspá is the first and best known poem of the Poetic Edda. It tells the story of the creation of the world and its coming end related by a völva addressing Odin...

:

There formed from that stem,

which was slender-seeming,

a shaft of anguish, perilous:

Hǫðr started shooting.

A brother of Baldr

was born quickly:

he started—Óðinn's son—

slaying, at one night old.

The Prose Edda

Prose Edda

The Prose Edda, also known as the Younger Edda, Snorri's Edda or simply Edda, is an Icelandic collection of four sections interspersed with excerpts from earlier skaldic and Eddic poetry containing tales from Nordic mythology...

also mentions him. Gylfaginning

Gylfaginning

Gylfaginning, or the Tricking of Gylfi , is the first part of Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda after Prologue. The Gylfaginning deals with the creation and destruction of the world of the Norse gods, and many other aspects of Norse mythology...

contains this passage:

"One is called Ali or Váli, son of Odin

Odin

Odin is a major god in Norse mythology and the ruler of Asgard. Homologous with the Anglo-Saxon "Wōden" and the Old High German "Wotan", the name is descended from Proto-Germanic "*Wodanaz" or "*Wōđanaz"....

 and Rindr: he is daring in fights, and a most fortunate marksman."

The same text also states that he will survive Ragnarök, along with his brother Víðarr and the sons of Thor

Thor

In Norse mythology, Thor is a hammer-wielding god associated with thunder, lightning, storms, oak trees, strength, the protection of mankind, and also hallowing, healing, and fertility...

, Móði and Magni

Móði and Magni

In Norse mythology, Móði and Magni are the sons of Thor. Their names mean "Angry" and "Strong," respectively. Rudolf Simek states that, along with Thor's daughter Þrúðr , they embody their father's features....

.

There is another Váli, a son of Loki

Loki

In Norse mythology, Loki or Loke is a god or jötunn . Loki is the son of Fárbauti and Laufey, and the brother of Helblindi and Býleistr. By the jötunn Angrboða, Loki is the father of Hel, the wolf Fenrir, and the world serpent Jörmungandr. By his wife Sigyn, Loki is the father of Nari or Narfi...

 by Sigyn

Sigyn

Sigyn is a goddess and wife of Loki in Norse mythology. Sigyn is attested in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the Prose Edda, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson...

, who was transformed by the gods into a slavering wolf who tore out the throat of his brother Narfi

Narfi

Narfi in Norse mythology may refer to the son of Loki or the father of Nótt, the personified night.-Son of Loki:In the Prose Edda book Gylfaginning, Narfi, also known as Nari or Narvi, is a son of Loki and Sigyn who is killed to punish Loki for his crimes. The gods turned his brother Váli into a...

 to punish Loki for his crimes. See also Váli (son of Loki)

Váli (son of Loki)

In Norse mythology, Váli was a son of Loki. He is mentioned in the Gylfaginning section of Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda. After the death of Baldr the Æsir chase down and capture Loki....

.

The two figures named Váli may originally have been conceived of as the same being.

In Gesta Danorum

Gesta Danorum

Gesta Danorum is a patriotic work of Danish history, by the 12th century author Saxo Grammaticus . It is the most ambitious literary undertaking of medieval Denmark and is an essential source for the nation's early history...

the figure Bous corresponds to Váli.