Baldr’s Achilles’ Heel? About the Scandinavian Three-God B-Bracteates

Abstract

The article seeks to revise the currently dominant interpretation of the so-called ‘three-god bracteates’ as an early version of the Norse myth about Baldr. A detailed review shows that the elements of this myth as it is known from medieval literary sources and the iconographic elements depicted on the much earlier bracteates do not really match. It is clear that the motif on the bracteates is inspired by images from Roman coins, but it is also clear that it does not constitute a direct parallel. The article presents a new suggestion, which is that the bracteates must be considered with Norse narrative traditions in mind, but without forcing the motif to comply with preconceived ideas.