Introduction
Hel is a goddess, daughter of Loki and the giantess Angrboda, ruler of the underworld realm also called Hel, to which those who die of sickness, old age, or any death other than glorious battle are sent, in contrast to the warriors chosen for Valhalla or Folkvangr.
Family
- Father: Loki
- Mother: Angrboda
- Siblings: Fenrir, Jormungandr, Sleipnir
Appointment as ruler of the dead
On learning of the danger posed by Loki's three children, Odin cast Hel down into Niflheim, the realm of mist and cold, and gave her authority over nine worlds' worth of the dead, specifically those who did not die in combat. She is generally described as having a body that is half living flesh and half the pallor or decay of death, a physical representation of her role as ruler between life and death.
Her hall
Hel's hall is described with grim, ironic names, including Eljudnir ("sprayed with snowstorms"), and her household implements, her dish "Hunger" and her knife "Famine", reflect the bleak, joyless character of her domain, distinct from the feasting halls of Valhalla or Folkvangr.
Baldr in Hel's realm
When Baldr died, he was sent to Hel's realm rather than to Valhalla, since his was not a death in battle. Hel agreed to release him only if every single being in existence wept for him, a condition that was ultimately not met (one giantess, likely Loki in disguise, refused), and Baldr remained in her keeping until after Ragnarok.
Legacy
Hel's name gives rise to the modern English word "hell", though the later Christian concept of eternal punishment differs considerably from the more neutral, simply grim realm of the ordinary dead that Hel presides over in the original Norse tradition.