Norse Mythology: Creation

This Friday’s lesson delves into the realm of myth itself, however, it is mainly to provide a general understanding and not an in-depth study. I will summarize the story of how the worlds were formed. See “Sources” below for the material I used for this purpose.

The Story of Creation

Before the creation of the material worlds, there was a great void called Ginnungagap. In the words of the seeress:

Yet, two worlds existed on either end of this empty expanse. One is known as Niflheim, a dark world. It was made many ages before the earth with a spring at the center called Hvergelmir, meaning “roaring kettle”. From this spring came many rivers: Svol, Gunnthra, Fjorm, Fimbulthul, Slid and Hrid, Slyg and Ylg, Vid and Leipter, and Gjoll, which runs next to Helgrind, the gates of Hel. The other world is called Muspellsheim, which came to be before Niflheim. It is a bright and hot world, with flames so hot that it is impassible to those unaccustomed. It is said that Surt, the black one, waits at the land’s edge, defending it. He holds a flaming sword and will battle the gods at Ragnarok with victory on his side.

Storm waves called Elivagar had begun to stretch outward into there void. They were poisonous flows, but they had turned to ice. Still, the poison spewed out and itself freezing into icy rime. This ice grew layer by layer. The north became filled with ice (Niflheim). The middle became wind whipped with rain and mist. The south was filled with light because of Muspellsheim. With this, Ginnungagap became mild and the icy rime began to thaw as it met the warm winds. Life sprang out of these drops, taking life-force and power from the heat of Muspell. 

The first life to spring forth from the poison was a giant named Ymir. It happened as the giant Vafthrudnir says:

From his sweating came more of his kind. From him come the clans of the frost giants. Yet, it was the primeval cow Audhumla who kept Ymir nourished. Four rivers of milk flowed from her as she licked the icy, salty blocks. After three days of licking, a male was formed, his name was Buri. He had a son named Bor. Bor had three sons with his wife Bestla, they were named Odin, Vili, and Ve.

The creation of our world is owed to the sons of Bor, who killed Ymir. They moved his body to the middle of Ginnungagap which then began to form a new world. It is as it is told in the Lay of Grimnir:

A dwarf stands at each corner, representing north, south, east, and west. The embers and sparks from Muspell lit up heaven and earth. Some of these lights, known now as stars, move while other do not. This new world is circular around the edge with a deep sea surrounding it. The sons of Bor made a stronghold at the center of this new world, calling it Asgard. There they and the other gods live, with a rainbow bridge called Bifrost connecting them to Midgard. 

The sons of Bor, walking along the shore, stubbled upon two trees, from them creating humans. It happened also as the seeress tells it:

Yet, other worlds came to exist, and they are all held together by the great tree Yggdrasil. It has three roots: one with the Æsir in Asgard, one with the frost giants were Ginnungagap once was, and one down in Niflheim. These roots are the ways that one can travel between the worlds. Surrounding and interlaced between all of the worlds is the great serpent Jormundgandr, the Midgard or World serpent. There are many realms held in connection by Yggdrasil, but here is a list of those of greatest importance.

The Nine Worlds

1. Midgard – world of humanity
2. Asgard – world of the Æsir, a family of gods and goddesses
3. Vanaheim – world of the Vanir, another family of gods and goddesses
4. Jotunheim – world of giants
   1. Utgard – outer place (frost giants)
5. Niflheim – primordial world of ice and darkness
6. Muspellsheim – primordial world of heat and flame
7. Alfheim – world of the elves
   1. Ljosalfheim – home of the light elves
   2. Svartalfheim – home of the dark elves
8. Svartalfheim (also Nidavellir)  – world of the dwarves
9. Hel – world of the dead

For now, I will leave this lesson as it stands, since what I have provided is already quite a bit of information for the nature of a “crash course”. If you would like more detail about anything included in this lesson, feel free to send an “ask” and an answer shall be received. Next week’s lesson will be about the major gods and races of Norse / Germanic Mythology.

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Sources

Primary Sources:

1. Jesse L. Byock trans., Völuspá, stanza 3, from the Prose Edda, 12.
2. Jesse L. Byock trans., Lay of Vafthrudnir, stanza 31, from the Prose Edda, 14.
3. Jesse L. Byock trans., Lay of Grimnir, stanzas 40-41, from the Prose Edda, 17.
4. Andy Orchard trans., Völuspá, stanzas 17-18, from the Poetic Edda, 7.
5. Orchard, Andy tans. The Elder Edda: A Book of Viking Lore. London: Penguin Classics, 2011.
6. Sturluson, Snorri. The Prose Edda. Translated by Jesse L. Byock. London: Penguin Classics, 2005.

Secondary / Image Sources:

1. Dukes-Knight, Jennifer. “Mythology.” Lecture, Viking History, University of South Florida, Tampa. Spring 2015.
2. Manuscript image from the 18th century Icelandic manuscript “NKS 1867 4to”, now in the care of the Danish Royal Library. <link>
3. Yggdrasil image by Satiny on DeviantART: <link>
4. Other “Nine Worlds” List I: <link>
5. Other “Nine Worlds” List II: <link>