The Norse Creation Myth

Norse mythology describes a world that looks very different from the one we understand today. It contained nine realms tucked into the roots and branches of the world tree Yggdrasil. The Vikings also had their own creation myth.

The Ginnungagap

According to the creation myth in Norse mythology, in the beginning, there was nothing, and existence was dominated by a massive “yawning void” known as the Ginnungagap. There was no sand, nor sea, nor cool waves, no earth nor sky, no grass, only Ginnungagap (Voluspa, Poetic Edda).

While the void was large and gaping, it had limits. At the very top or south of the void (south was often considered “up” in Northern mythology) was a realm of heat and fire. At the bottom or north was a realm of cold and mist.

Over time, a collection of rivers known as the Elivagar started to flow up into the void from the north. These rivers carried with them a poisonous substance that hardened and turned into ice in the void. The ice emitted a poisonous vapor that solidified into a salty rime, which was constantly growing and filling up the void.

At the same time, hot winds from the south were also reaching out into the void. Eventually, as the heat and the ice grew closer and closer, the heat melted some of the solid salty rime, creating a primordial ooze.

Primordial Beings

The creation myth says that life in the universe emerged from the primordial goop. The very first being to emerge was the giant or jotun Ymir, also known as Aurgelmir. With a hermaphroditic body, he was able to give birth to the race of giants, with male and female giants emerging from his body. While most of his children were humanoid, some were also described as hideous monsters, such as a six-headed beast.

The giant Ymir nourished himself on the milk of the primordial cow Audumbla, who also seems to have emerged from the primordial goop. As Ymir was feeding on Audumbla, she was sustaining herself by licking away at what was left of the solid salty rime.

Over three days, Audumbla licked a being called Buri out of the salt rime. His hair emerged on the first day, his head on the second, and the rest of his body on the third day. The first of the gods, he emerged beautiful and strong, and like Ymir, started to create life.

By some unknown method, Buri had a son named Borr, who would mate with the giantess Bestla and give birth to three sons, the gods Odin, Vili, and Ve.

While the origins of Yggdrasil aren’t specifically noted in any of the surviving myths, it probably also grew out of the primordial goop of the universe. Yggdrasil is a mighty ash tree that is the backbone of the universe. Its roots are in the north and are fed by three wells: the well of destiny Urdarbrunnr, the well of wisdom Mimisbrunnr, and the well of fire Hvergelmir.

The Murder of Ymir

For some time the world was then occupied by gods, giants, and other primordial beings. But, over time, the three brothers began to grow concerned about the number of giants that were coming into existence. Ymir’s asexual reproduction meant that giants (or jotun) were quickly outnumbering the gods. Norse mythology does not describe these giants as doing anything threatening, but we are perhaps supposed to assume their chaotic and dangerous behavior from general knowledge about giants.

To deal with the giant threat, the creation myth says that Odin and his brothers killed Ymir. His body expelled so much blood that it created an enormous flood that killed almost all the existing giants, greatly limiting their numbers and offering a unique spin on the flood myth.

Odin and his brothers then used the body of Ymir to create the “Earth”, located in the very middle of Yggdrasil. They used Ymir’s body and bones to make the land and mountains, his blood to make the sea, and they hung Ymir’s skull over the new world as the sky. The brothers then took sparks and flashes from Muspelheim and placed them within Ymir’s skull to create the stars and used the remaining brains of the giant to make the clouds.

What they created in the end was a circular disk. They gave the land on the outskirts to the giants as a place to live. A desolate land, it became known as Jotunheim. The fertile inner land became known as Midgard, literally Middle Earth, and they separated it from Jotunheim, using Ymir’s eyebrows to create a fence. Odin and his brothers then created mankind to populate their new world.

The first humans were a man called Ask and a woman called Embla, whose names mean ash tree and vine. Made from twigs found on the river bank, they were initially lifeless. They were given tree gifts by three different gods to bring them to life. Odin gave them souls, Hoenir gave them senses, and Lothur gave them blood’s heat and a godly hue. They would become the progenitors of all humanity.

The Creation Myth and the Nine Worlds

This section of the creation myth explains the creation of Midgard and Asgard, but these were only two of the nine worlds in the Norse cosmos, which were tucked into the roots and branches of Yggdrasil.

The world of fire in the south became known as Muspelheim. When creating Midgard, Odin and his two brothers seem to have blocked this realm off from the rest of creation, trapping there a race of giants called fire giants, to differentiate them from the giants of Jotunheim, sometimes called frost giants. Their leader is the giant Surtr, who sits at the gates of Muspelheim, waiting for them to open.

The world of cold in the north was defined as Niflheim. It was occupied by various creatures. A great dragon called Nighogg lives among the roots of Yggdrasil in Niflheim and constantly gnaws on them, causing the tree immense pain. The Norns, the Norse fates, also live on Niflheim, at the well of destiny. There they create destiny, writing it into the bark of Yggdrasil with the runes and spinning the fates of individual men on a spindle. Odin hung himself from Yggdrasil for nine days and nights to learn the secrets of teh runes, which he later shared with mankind. Following his death, Odin will install the disembodied head of his friend Mimir at the well of wisdom.

The underworld Helheim also seems to be located in Niflheim, or among the roots of Yggdrasil nearby. It was perhaps created following the death of Ymir, needed for the many giants who died in the great flood.

At the same time, one tribe of gods, led by Odin and known as the Aesir, decided to make their home in a realm closer to the top of Yggdrasil which became known as Asgard. Meanwhile, another tribe of gods known as the Vanir would make their home in Vanaheim. It is possible that these were the children of one of Odin’s brothers.

The Aesir and the Vanir would go to war near the beginning of time but would form a peace agreement. This included the exchange of hostages that resulted in several important Vanir goods taking up residence in Asgard, including the Vanir twins Freyja and Freyr. After the war, the Aesir would build fortifications around Asgard, which was to protect them from the giants rather than the Vanir. They also connected Asgard to Midgard via the Rainbow Bifrost Bridge so that they could protect mankind.

It is not recorded anywhere how the other realms of the Norse cosmos were created. But the elves had a home called Aflheim. The elves were sometimes treated as gods, and sometimes as divine ancestors, and may have been the children of another of Odin’s brothers.

The dark elves, more commonly called dwarves, settled in a dark underground world called Svartalfheim. There they became the master craftsmen of the Norse cosmos making most of the treasures that appear in the Norse legends, including Thor’s hammer Mjolnir.

Finishing Touches

While this is the end of the Norse creation myth, several other Norse myths give indications about what the gods did to shape the world.

The god Heimdall visited the world of men to define social order. He spent a night with a poor and ugly couple, ensuring that they had children who would become Thralls and slaves in Viking society. He then spent a night with a middle-class couple and ensured that they had children who would become farmers, smiths, and other workers. Finally, he visited an attractive and wealthy couple and ensured that they had children who would be earls and kings. He even fostered one of their children and taught them how to conquer new lands.

The gods also placed the children of the trickster Loki in different positions around the cosmos. He had three children with the giantess Angrboda, whose name means bringer of sorrow. The Norse gods decided that the offspring of such a monstrous union were too dangerous to be left to their own devices. They decided to place each somewhere in the universe where they could do the least harm.

Hel was a giantess born half-living and half-dead. She was sent to be the ruler of the underworld Helheim in Niflheim. This was not the only underworld in the Norse cosmos. Odin took brave fallen warriors to live in his hall Valhalla in Asgard, while Freyja also chose brave fallen warriors to live in Folkvangr, which means field of warriors. There was an underwater underworld called Ran for those who died at sea. Many dead were also believed to live in Helgafjell, which means holy mountain.

Fenrir was a giant wolf and the gods tricked him into letting himself be chained up on a deserted island. He gnashed and growled when he realized that he had been tricked, so the gods placed a sword in his mouth to wedge it open. The drool from his mouth created an enormous river called Expectation. In the Prose Edda, he is described as the father of the two giant wolves Skoll and Hati, who chase the sun and the moon intent on devouring them.

The third child, a serpent Jormungandr, was thrown into the waters surrounding Midgard. There he grew to such an enormous size that he can encircle the whole world and hold his tail in his mouth. His size makes him part of the ecosystem, and his movements can cause tidal waves.

While the banishment of Loki’s children was in some ways an act of creation that made the world the way it is, these acts also created the prerequisite conditions for Ragnarök. The word Ragnarök means the twilight of the gods and in Norse mythology, it is a prophecy that records the death of all the gods and the destruction of the universe.