Balthamos

An angel who, with Baruch, sought Will's help to deliver the Subtle Knife to Lord Asriel.

Balthamos is an angel in rebellion from the Kingdom of Heaven who finds Will Parry at the end of The Subtle Knife and appears through The Amber Spyglass. Alongside his companion Baruch, he approaches Will Parry after Lyra has been kidnapped by Mrs Coulter, requesting his aid. The two angels tell Will that he must travel with them to give the Subtle Knife to Lord Asriel as a weapon against the Authority. Balthamos is a rebel angel who, with his partner Baruch, joins Will's journey to find the captured Lyra.

Quick Facts

Species: Angel
Companion: Baruch

Lore & Background

Balthamos and Baruch are a pair of angels who approach Will Parry after Lyra's kidnapping. They inform Will that he must travel with them to give the Subtle Knife to Lyra's father, Lord Asriel, as a weapon against the Authority. Will refuses to go to Lord Asriel until Lyra is found, and the angels agree to accompany him. With their help Will tracks Lyra down to the cave in the Himalayas where Mrs Coulter is keeping her. Balthamos and Baruch represent a rebellion against the Authority's rigid laws, choosing to aid the children in their quest.

Reader's Guide

As an angel of low rank, Balthamos has limited abilities: he appears as a luminous, almost transparent humanlike form and has the power to transform, which he uses to masquerade as Will's dæmon when travelling in Lyra's world. Baruch is killed while taking important information to Lord Asriel, and Balthamos, stricken with grief, later runs away; at the end of the book he confronts and kills Father Gomez, an assassin hoping to kill Lyra, and dies himself from the bites of Gomez's dæmon. Their role is to ensure the Subtle Knife reaches Lord Asriel, who plans to use it as a weapon against the Authority. Balthamos and Baruch, a pair of rebel angels, seek out Will so that the Subtle Knife can be taken to Lord Asriel as a weapon against the Authority.