It is said that Odin had an affair with
the warrior goddess Grid, and that she bore him a son named Vidarr, who took
after his father and became one of the honored Aesir Gods. He is one of the two
Gods of Vengeance – the other being his half-brother Váli, as it seems that in
ancient Norse culture one deity of vengeance was not enough.
Vidarr’s name may originally have meant “widely ruling”. He is known as “the Silent God”, meaning that he does not flaunt his vengeance; Vidarr is said to speak little, but be a fierce warrior when the moment is needed. It is also said that he is almost as strong as Thor, and that the Gods depend upon him in times of trouble. Some scholars theorize that his “silent God” appellation may have something to do with ancient rituals of vengeance; it may be that individuals who were preparing for a vengeance battle refrained from speaking as part of a ritual purification.
He is also known as the God of the Thick Shoe, as he is constantly in the process of building up the soles of his shoes. This is done so that if Ragnarok comes and he faces Fenrir, he will be able to put his foot on Fenrir’s enormous jaws and strike his heart through his throat. Traditionally, shoemakers (and before that, people who made their own shoes) were encouraged to dedicate the little scraps of leather they trimmed off of their new shoe soles to Vidarr, who would collect them and add them slowly to his own soles.
In the saga Grímnismál, Odin describes the halls of many Gods, including that of his son Vidarr:
Brushwood grows and high grass
widely in Vidar's land
and there the son proclaims on his horse's back
that he's keen to avenge his father.
This latter point is a harbinger of the prophecy that if Ragnarok comes, Fenrir will be loosed and will slay Odin, but he will be slain in turn by Vidarr. Both brothers are said to survive Ragnarok and help to rebuild a new world after Surt’s fires have burnt down. To make an offering to Vidarr, give him a weapon – throw it into icy water, or a bog, or bury it in ice.
Artwork by Vetrova.
Photo at top of this section by Nathaniel William.
- Hymn to Vidarr by Seawalker