Giants, Gods and Beasts: A Guide to Norse Mythology

The Beginning

In the dawn of time, there were only two worlds, the raging flames of Muspellheim and the foggy, icy winds of Niflheim, with the endless abyss Ginnungagap between them. One day, a river of frosty poison from Vergelmir, a serpent-infested spring in Niflheim, met with the warmth of Muspellheim. From the union of fire and ice came the first two beings, the ferocious frost giant Ymir and the gentle ice cow Adumbla. Ymir fed upon the frosty milk of Adumbla, who in turn licked blocks of ice for sustenance. While Ymir slept, a male and female giant emerged from his armpits, while a six-headed troll sprang from his feet. These creatures grew and bred quickly. As for Adumbla, she licked a certain ice block for three days, freeing Buri, the first god. Burr, his son, married Bestla, the beautiful daughter of the giant Bolthorn, and had three handsome sons, Odin, Honir, and Lodur, the first of the mighty Aesir. The brothers killed Ymir and created Midgard, the earth, from his body. His flesh became the soil, his sweat the waters, his bones the mountains and rocks, and his hair the plants and the trees. The cow and most of Ymir's offspring perished in a flood of Ymir's blood, which became the ocean. Only the giant Bergelmir,and his mate survived and escaped to the icy border, which became Jotunheim, the realm of giants and trolls. The Aesir pushed Niflheim deep underground set Ymir's skull over Midgard to protect it from Muspellheim, whose sparks became the stars, and made a fence of eyebrows to keep the jotnar out. Sol and Mani, the sun and the moon, were created, as were the light-elves, merry air spirits who lived in Alfheim. Beneath Midgard was Nidavellir, the world of the dwarves, who evolved from the maggots that burrowed through Ymir's flesh. They became the finest miners and smiths in all the world, crafting magical materials using paradoxical spells. All the creatures of the earth were created, from the birds to the fish to the woodland critters. From an ash tree and and alder tree, the first two humans, Ask and Embla, were carved and brought to life by the Aesir. Odin gave them souls, Honir gave them free wills, and Lodur gave them feelings and warmth. Then they built a home of their own, the shining city of Asgard, which was bridged to Midgard by the rainbow Bifrost. An enormous tree grew through all the realms and had a hawk, Vedrolnir, perched at the top, and Nidhogg, a dragon, gnawing on the roots at the bottom. Ratatosk, a squirrel, acted as a messenger between the hawk and the dragon. A quartet of harts, Dainn, Duvallin, Duneyrr, and Durathor, all fed upon the leaves of the tree, which was taken care of by the Norns. They were three sisters who knew the past, present, and future, and controlled the destinies of everything and everyone, even the Aesir. Every morning, the Norns sprinkled water from Urdbrunnur, the Well of Destiny, over the tree, healing all its wounds. The sisters decreed that as long as the tree survived, so would the reign of the Aesir, for it was Yggdrasil, the Word Tree.