Norse mythology covers the gods, goddesses and myths that comprised part of the religion of the Vikings. A quick reading shows a hard life filled with adventure and danger, a chronicle of great heroes like the thunder god Thor who fought giants and monsters to protect mankind from the threats of Winter given form. However, even the heathen gods had to deal with the mundane chores of daily life. Walls needed to be built, families cared for and laws enforced. This last was an area overseen by the Norse god Forseti, who is an obscure figure in mythology.
Forset is the son of the god Baldur and his wife Nanna, which incidentally makes him the grandson of the All Father Odin and the goddess Frigga as well as the cousin of Thor’s sons Modi and Magni. Forseti, in a logical step being the son of the god of light and goodness, became the god of justice and law. Fair and strong, Forseti could speak no lies and was adept at ferreting out falsehood. Forseti lived and ruled in the beautiful, shining hall Glitnir which boasted a silver roof supported by pillars of red gold. It was to this place that all of the problems of the gods that needed to be solved by a neutral arbitrator came, where Forseti would find and get to the truth of matters.
The idea of a code of justice, one that is settled by an outside judge, isn’t a new one by any stretch of the imagination. However, it isn’t mentioned a great deal in the bigger parts of Norse myth. Forseti doesn’t solve great problems in major stories, nor create great treaties that help forge stronger ties. Forseti’s role is similar to Tyr, though obviously in a more civilized role than the battlefields that Tyr would find as his arena. Forseti is almost identical to Bragi, the god of poetry and of skalds, in that both gods are prominent lords of important realms of culture, but they’re left out of almost all of the major myths and stories. The death of Baldur, the theft of Idun’s apples and the various schemes of Loki were all strangely absent of mention of Forseti, which is odd considering that his father was murdered. It seems to suggest that it was only later, when the Norse were more civilized, that Forseti was added to the pantheon to see over a more modern aspect of the culture rather than Odin or one of the older gods.
“Forseti,” by Anonymous at The Norse Gods
“Forseti,” by Anonymous at God Checker
“Forseti,” by Mica F. Lindemans at Pantheon