Nanna is the goddess of devotion in Norse mythology, the loving wife of Baldr, the shining god of light. Her story is short but among the most moving in the whole tradition: when Baldr dies, Nanna's grief is so great that her own heart breaks, and she follows him beyond the reach of the living.
Who is Nanna?
Nanna is named among the Ásynjur, the goddesses of Asgard, and is remembered above all as the wife of Baldr and the mother of Forseti, the god of justice. The sources tell us little of her life before her husband's death; she comes into focus only in the tragedy that ends it, where her devotion defines her as fully as any deed of power defines the greater gods. Hers is a quiet role, but a piercing one.
Nanna and the death of Baldr
When Baldr is slain — struck down by a shaft of mistletoe through the trickery of Loki — the gods carry his body to the shore to burn it aboard his great ship Hringhorni. As the pyre is prepared, Nanna is overcome. Her heart bursts with sorrow and she dies of grief, and the gods lay her body on the ship beside her husband so that the two are burned together. In death she does not leave him: she passes with Baldr into Hel, the land of the dead. When the brave Hermóðr rides the long road to Hel to beg for Baldr's return, Nanna greets him and sends gifts back to the world above — a fine linen robe for Frigg and a golden ring for the handmaid Fulla — a tender last message from beyond death.
Symbols and legacy
Nanna embodies devotion carried past every limit, a love that death itself cannot part. As a wife and the mother of the just god Forseti, she belongs to the nurturing, life-giving current named by the rune Berkano, the birch. Though the myths give her only a handful of lines, Nanna's choice to follow Baldr into the dark makes her one of the most quietly unforgettable figures of Norse legend.
Frequently asked questions
Who is Nanna in Norse mythology?
Nanna is a goddess of the Aesir and the wife of Baldr, the shining god of light. She is best known for dying of grief at his funeral and joining him in the realm of the dead.
How does Nanna die?
When Baldr is killed and laid on his funeral ship, Nanna's heart breaks from sorrow and she dies. Her body is placed on the pyre beside her husband so they burn together.
What gifts does Nanna send from Hel?
When the messenger Hermóðr rides to Hel to plead for Baldr, Nanna sends gifts back to the living: a linen robe for the goddess Frigg and a gold ring for Frigg's handmaid Fulla.
Who is Nanna's son?
Nanna is the mother of Forseti, the god of justice and reconciliation, whom she bore to Baldr. Forseti presides over disputes and settles the quarrels brought before him.