NORSE MYTHOLGY NOTES
The Norse (Viking) sailors were some of the first people to come to the English Isles.
They conquered and intermixed with the people there, bringing their own customs and
religious beliefs. As opposed to a Christian world view where the good people are
rewarded in Heaven in the next life, the Vikings believed that ultimately evil would win
and defeat all that was good. The best humans could hope for was a seat in the Hall of
Heroes in Valhalla (Hall of the Dead).
This is how the world began according to the Norse tradition.
In the beginning there were 3 places, Niflheim to one side (the land of mist and ice),
Muspellsheim to another side (the land of fire) and between them the yawning
Ginnunga Gap.
From the fog created over the gap by the forces of ice and fire, two beings emerged. The
first was Ymir, the father of all of the frost giants. The other was a giant cow,
Audhumla which Ymir gained nourishment from. From Ymir’s toes sprang his children,
the frost giants, a savage bunch.
One day Ymir saw Audhumla breath on an ice peak and begin to lick the ice. As she
licked, a beautiful blonde human form started to take shape. When she was done, the
first of the human gods stepped from the ice. His name was Buri, and Ymir hated him
for his beauty. He wouldn’t harm Buri however because he knew this would anger
Audhumla and she would feed him no longer. War, however, was inevitable.
Buri became the father of all the gods. The married a daughter of one of the frost giants
and had a son, Bor. Bor had 3 sons, Odin (Woden), Vili, and Je. As the Aesir (the
gods) grew and multiplied, the frost giants became angry to the point of war. Odin, Vili,
and Ve slew Ymir. Ymir’s body was massive. When his blood poured forth from his
body, it swept away all but 2, Bergamil and his wife Nor. All drowned. The two that
escaped sailed away to Jotenheim, the land of the giants to create a new race of giants,
enemies of the Norse gods and would be conquerors of the world. From this body, Odin
and his brothers fashioned the world. They cast Ymir’s body into the Gunungan Gap.
From his body, they fashioned the heavens and the earth. His flesh became the world, his
skull the sky. His bones became the mountains; his hair the grasses and trees. His brain
became the clouds, his blood the seas. From his eyebrows they fashioned a fence around
the world. From all of his ugly parts they created the creatures of the world, including
dwarfs, trolls, fairies, gnomes, and elves.
This earth they called Midgard because it was between Niflheim and Muspellsheim.
Sparks from Muspellsheim became the stars. They also created a land for themselves,
called Asgard, the land of the Gods. Unlike gods from other cultures, the Norse gods are
not immortal. They are massive, strong, and hard to kill, but not immortal.
Bergamil and Nor had children, two of which constantly circle Midgard waiting to attack.
The first is Nat (Night) who is dark and swarthy. Her horse (Hrimfaxi) lets foam fly
from her mouth causing dew. The second is Dag (Day) whose horse (Skinfaxi) throws
radiance from his mane.
Odin created the first humans, a woman Embla, and a man Aske. Embla was formed
from an Elm tree and Aske from an Ash tree.
To support the universe Odin planted a great tree Yggdrasil, whose roots branched into
the three worlds, Midgard the land of man, Asgard the land of the gods, and Niflheim, the
land of ice and snow that now housed the dead. Between Asgard and Midgard a bridge
called Bifrost or Rainbow Bridge was built. Heimdall the watchman of the gods sits at
the end of the bridge to guard Asgard from attack by the mountain trolls (descendents of
Ymir). He is many-eyed and can hear the wool growing on a sheeps back. The roots of
Yggdrasil are watered by great wells in each of the lands. The well in Midgard is tended
by the three Norns or wyrd (weird) sisters who control fate and know the future by
sipping from the well. They are Urth (the past), Skuld (the future), and Verthandi
(the present).
Odin and the gods were all interrelated and built a great palace in Asgard. The palace
had many halls, one of which was Valhalla (the hall of the Slain). Valhalla was reserved
for human heroes who had died gloriously in battle. They were brought to Valhalla by 3
beautiful maidens the Valkyries. There they ate, drank, and battled, waiting for the end
of the world at which time they could join the gods in war with the giants. Asgard was
further divided into two worlds, Gladsheim for the gods, and Vingolf for the goddesses.
Odin was married to Frigga
Thor is their son. Thunder-god, he carries 3 treasures a. mjollnr (hammer)
b. the girdle of strength
c. iron mittens with which
he lifts mjollnr
Their other children
Balder the most beloved god of all
Frey cared for the earth
Freya the goddess of love
Tiu the bravest god, the god of war
Hoder, blind son.
Odin became fearful as gods and giants and man multiplied. He went to Mimir guardian
of the Well of Wisdom under the root of Yggdrasil in Jotenheim to ask for a drink that
would reveal the future to him. The price for a drink was his right eye. He gave it up,
drank heartily and saw the future of the giants and their allies rising up to destroy
mankind, Midgard, the Aesir and all of Asgard. This would not happen until the most
beloved son of Odin died. When Balder died, the day of Ragna Rok would begin.
A being that was permitted entrance into Asgard, though not a god himself, but the child
of a demon and a giantess was Loki. Loki was a trickster, sometimes hurting and
sometimes helping the gods. His loyal wife was Sigyn. He had three monstrous children.
The first was a giant wolf Fenris, whose only taste was of destruction and who was
immediately chained by an enchanted rope. The second was a serpent named
Midgardsorm. The serpent was cast into the ocean but only continued to grow and
grow. The third was half woman, half corpse. Her name was Hel and she was sent to
tend the dead.
When Loki learned that the Giants would begin their revenge once Balder died, he
devised a plan for killing Balder. Frigga, Balder’s mother, went through all the world
extracting an oath from all things that they would not harm her son. All swore they
would not. A banquet was held in celebration and everyone was throwing objects at
Balder in fun because all the objects swerved away as they had promised. Only one was
not having fun, Balder’s blind brother Hoder. Loki asked Hoder what the problem was
and Hoder said that he was having no fun because he had nothing to throw at Balder and
couldn’t see him anyway. Loki handed Hoder a sharpend sprig of mistletoe, the one
thing Frigga had not gotten a promise from because, after all, what could a mistletoe do
to Balder. Loki guided Hoder’s hand and the sprig pierced Balder’s heart, killing him
instantly.
The Aesir begged Hel for Balder’s return. She would only give him back if everything in
the world said that it weeped for Balder. The Aesir asked everything in the world. All
said it wept. All except one, an old giantess would not weep for Balder. Hel kept him.
The giantess was actually Loki in disguise. Ragna Rok began shortly thereafter.
Muspellsheim, Niflheim, Jotenheim, and all the nasty creatures trembled waiting for a
sign for the attack to begin. Fenris finally broke his rope in anger at the Aesir. Fenris
killed Odin first, who in turn killed Fenris. Thor killed the serpent, but in turn died by his
venom. Heimdall the watchman and Loki killed each other. Tiu was killed by a mighty
dog. All the universe was devoured and destroyed. Mankind was killed; the giants and
their allies perished, as did the gods. Only two of mankind survived, deep in the woods
they had slept and the great fire had not reached them. They were Lif and Lifthrasir, a
man and a woman. From them, all the descendents of the new world were born.