THE NINE NORSE WORLDS
Image: Creation, C. Carter. 2009
I. Ymir and the Creation of the World
Ginnungagap
existed long before all else.
He was mighty chaos, and his void spanned the universe.
He reigned for many ages and two sons were born to him out of darkness.
They were Muspel and Nifl, and each had his own realm.
Niflheim lay to the north of Ginnungagap and Muspelsheim to the south.
Muspel was ambitious and had a fiery temper.
He wished to rule over his father's kingdom,
so he drove his golden chariot north and plunged his flaming sword into the heart of Ginnungagap.
Nifl sought to avenge his father and sailed his icy ship forth on the river Elivagar to the place where his brother stood.
The two fought endlessly, for neither could overpower the other.
Flames burst forth from Muspelsheim, and met with icy fog and this created the giant Ymir,
whose body stretched across the universe, trapping the brothers below him.
This union of fire and ice also created the cow Audhumla whose milk fed the great giant.
Audhumla licked at the ice that came forth from Niflheim and from this salty ice came the god Buri.
Buri had a son who was named Bor, and Bor took the giant Bestla as his wife.
Bestla gave Bor three sons who were as beautiful and strong as their parents.
They were Villi, Ve and Odin.
Odin was the wisest and best of the three, and it was he who became the king of the Aesir, the warrior gods of the Norse.
Odin and his brothers killed the giant Ymir and from his body, they created the world.
His blood became the vast oceans which hold the earth.
His skull was raised into the air and became the heavens,
which are held up by four dwarves called North, South, East, and West.
The earth was dark and cold, for then, there was no sun to warm it.
The sons of Bor placed bright sparks from Muspelsheim in the heavens which gave light to the earth and warmed her soil.
It was then that I, Yggdrasil, was born.
I sprang from the earth tall and mighty,
the sacred Ash tree that binds the nine worlds.
Odin
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He was mighty chaos, and his void spanned the universe.
He reigned for many ages and two sons were born to him out of darkness.
They were Muspel and Nifl, and each had his own realm.
Niflheim lay to the north of Ginnungagap and Muspelsheim to the south.
Muspel was ambitious and had a fiery temper.
He wished to rule over his father's kingdom,
so he drove his golden chariot north and plunged his flaming sword into the heart of Ginnungagap.
Nifl sought to avenge his father and sailed his icy ship forth on the river Elivagar to the place where his brother stood.
The two fought endlessly, for neither could overpower the other.
Flames burst forth from Muspelsheim, and met with icy fog and this created the giant Ymir,
whose body stretched across the universe, trapping the brothers below him.
This union of fire and ice also created the cow Audhumla whose milk fed the great giant.
Audhumla licked at the ice that came forth from Niflheim and from this salty ice came the god Buri.
Buri had a son who was named Bor, and Bor took the giant Bestla as his wife.
Bestla gave Bor three sons who were as beautiful and strong as their parents.
They were Villi, Ve and Odin.
Odin was the wisest and best of the three, and it was he who became the king of the Aesir, the warrior gods of the Norse.
Odin and his brothers killed the giant Ymir and from his body, they created the world.
His blood became the vast oceans which hold the earth.
His skull was raised into the air and became the heavens,
which are held up by four dwarves called North, South, East, and West.
The earth was dark and cold, for then, there was no sun to warm it.
The sons of Bor placed bright sparks from Muspelsheim in the heavens which gave light to the earth and warmed her soil.
It was then that I, Yggdrasil, was born.
I sprang from the earth tall and mighty,
the sacred Ash tree that binds the nine worlds.
Odin
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II. The Nine Norse
Worlds
After the world was created from the giant Ymir, Odin divided it into Nine realms.
of these, the first three lie in the underworld...
Odin divided the realm of Ginnungaggap between the brothers Muspel and Nifl,
so that each ruled a third of the land in the underworld.
With the rest of the underworld, Odin made the land of the dead.
This land was ruled by Hel, the daughter of Loki, and so it was called Helheim (the land of Hel).
Hel was a cruel goddess.
Her domain was dark and cold, with endless sulfur caverns and rivers of liquid fire.
On earth were the lands of giants, dwarves and men.
Jotunheim was the land of giants, and it lay far out along the ocean coasts.
There were many races of giants, some of whom were beautiful and peaceful.
But there were some giants who opposed the gods, most of all the frost giants, who were descendants of Ymir.
Midgard was the land of men, and home to great kings and heroes and warriors.
It was surrounded by a great wall to protect it from the land of the giants.
The dwarves made their homes deep in the rocky soil of the mountains.
This place they named Nidafjoll, and it was rich with gold, silver and ore.
The dwarves were great smiths and had been known to make many wonderful gifts for the gods.
The gods made their home in the heavens, and Odin decided that the elves should live there as well.
The land of the elves was called Alfhiem and was vast and beautiful.
The warrior gods of the Aesir were the family of Odin,
and they made their home in the most beautiful region of the heavens.
This place they called Asgard.
The peaceful gods of prosperity and fertility were known as the Vanir.
They were a separate race from the Aesir, and they dwelt in Vanaheim.
It is from this place that Frey, the god of light, and his sister Freyja, the goddess of love, came.
Freyja
websource
After the world was created from the giant Ymir, Odin divided it into Nine realms.
of these, the first three lie in the underworld...
Odin divided the realm of Ginnungaggap between the brothers Muspel and Nifl,
so that each ruled a third of the land in the underworld.
With the rest of the underworld, Odin made the land of the dead.
This land was ruled by Hel, the daughter of Loki, and so it was called Helheim (the land of Hel).
Hel was a cruel goddess.
Her domain was dark and cold, with endless sulfur caverns and rivers of liquid fire.
On earth were the lands of giants, dwarves and men.
Jotunheim was the land of giants, and it lay far out along the ocean coasts.
There were many races of giants, some of whom were beautiful and peaceful.
But there were some giants who opposed the gods, most of all the frost giants, who were descendants of Ymir.
Midgard was the land of men, and home to great kings and heroes and warriors.
It was surrounded by a great wall to protect it from the land of the giants.
The dwarves made their homes deep in the rocky soil of the mountains.
This place they named Nidafjoll, and it was rich with gold, silver and ore.
The dwarves were great smiths and had been known to make many wonderful gifts for the gods.
The gods made their home in the heavens, and Odin decided that the elves should live there as well.
The land of the elves was called Alfhiem and was vast and beautiful.
The warrior gods of the Aesir were the family of Odin,
and they made their home in the most beautiful region of the heavens.
This place they called Asgard.
The peaceful gods of prosperity and fertility were known as the Vanir.
They were a separate race from the Aesir, and they dwelt in Vanaheim.
It is from this place that Frey, the god of light, and his sister Freyja, the goddess of love, came.
Freyja
websource
Author's
Note: I wanted to personify Ginnungagap in order to explain
the emergence of Niflheim and Muspelsheim a bit better. in the sources,
they are just kind of there. There is mention of a Muspel, who reigns
over Muspelsheim, so I gave him a brother, Nifl. When I read the
creation myth
initially, I had an image in my head of this collision of fire and ice.
This image ended up presenting itself in my story as two brothers in
battle. Their hatred for each other eventually becomes their punishment
as the debris from their battle forms Ymir, whose body kind of
barricades them in the underworld. Battle is
always a key element in the stories of the Norse, so I wanted to
present that theme early on in my storybook. I also felt it important
to
introduce the nine Norse worlds because of the nature of my storybook.
My tales are divided by the land that they take place in and told by
Yggdrasil. I wanted the reader to at least know what the nine worlds
were and how they fit into the mythology. There is not actual section
in the sources that explains the nine world as I do here. They are
mainly described as they come up in the Eddas, but in order to keep
some
kind of flow and continuity I wanted to highlight them at one time.
Story: Gilfaginning
(The deluding of Gylfi)
Book: The Prose Edda
Author: Snorri Sturluson
Translation: Jesse L. Byock
Year: 2005
Hard Copy
Electronic Copy available from Sacred Texts Archive
(Translation by Arthur Gilchrist Brodeur 1916)
Story: Voluspo
Book: The Poetic Edda
Translation: Henry Adams Bellows
Year: 1936
Web source: Sacred Texts Archive
COVER PAGEBook: The Prose Edda
Author: Snorri Sturluson
Translation: Jesse L. Byock
Year: 2005
Hard Copy
Electronic Copy available from Sacred Texts Archive
(Translation by Arthur Gilchrist Brodeur 1916)
Story: Voluspo
Book: The Poetic Edda
Translation: Henry Adams Bellows
Year: 1936
Web source: Sacred Texts Archive