By: Ro’Mel Bryant-Oliveraz

Norse mythology is one of the most confusing and ambiguous mythologies. Most of the material about it is incomplete, lost, been re-written by someone else with changes, or has contradictions with previous stories. It was practiced by Norsemen, the Viking Age Scandinavians, before their conversion to Christianity. It’s defined by an event called Ragnarök, a prophesied battle where most of the gods and the world is destroyed.

The world is made of 9 realms, and different races. The Aesir, The Vanir, The Jotun, The Dwarves, etc. But how did each of the realms come to be? Who lives there? When did it happen? Who are the major characters and events? 

This is most of the beginnings of Norse Mythology from the creation of the universe to the Aesir-Vanir War, with explanations of the races and realms that came in between. 

The very beginning of everything:

Before anything, before the 9 realms or any being, there was a great void called Ginnungagap. It wasn’t a void as in absolute nothing, it was raw energy with no form. 

On one side of the void was energy of pure heat, lava, volcanoes, and everything hot. Also home to a primordial being called Surtr, a giant who has been standing there with a flaming sword since before time existed, the only being older than everything. He is like the personification of fire itself, and meant to represent the guardian/alpha/omega protecting the primordial realm of the heat and spark of everything. His sword is called Surtalogi. It isn’t made of steel as there were no Dwarves or earth yet, and it’s described as a shining sword that is brighter than the sun. This part of the void was called Muspelheim. 

On the opposite end of the void there was energy of pure ice, cold rivers, darkness, mist, and everything cold, the opposite of Muspelheim. In the center of this place was a roaring, bubbling spring called Hvergelmir. It wasn’t just any spring, it was the source of the eleven primordial rivers that carry the “Eitr”; a venomous life fluid of the universe, into the void. Eitr is the source of the deepest layer of life, being both venomous and the source of life, representing the duality of life. This part of the void was called Niflheim. 

The very first being:

The energies manifested for no exact reason, there was just always cold and heat. Eventually the energies flowed and drifted closer until they merged. The Eitr from Nifleheim flowed into the vacuum of Ginnungagap and hardened. Then the hardened Eitr in the void got heat blown towards it from Muspelheim, and started to drip. After the Eitr continued to drip the drops gathered together, creating the first being Ymir. Ymir is the first ever being and is classified as a Jotun, or a Giant. Not all giants are huge, but Ymir being the first being was massive. Alongside Ymir also manifested a giant cow called Auõumbla. It provided milk for Ymir so it could grow and have energy to manifest offspring by itself. There is no explanation for how Auõumbla manifested, usually it’s just there and is always a balancer or nurturer needed for the raw power. 

First appearance and origin of the first race, Giants/Jotun:

As Ymir kept existing 3 giants manifested from Ymir’s sweat. Since they were born from Ymir, and Ymir was made of melting Eitr, the giants inherited that venom in their blood. A female and male Jotun manifested from the sweat of Ymir’s armpits, while a third multi-headed Jotun manifested from the sweat of Ymir’s feet. This is likely because Jotun can be humanoid or not, and having two humanoids but one non-humanoid one in the beginning explains why they can be so diverse. The multi-headed giant was actually named Thrudgelmir; he later had a son named Bergelmir. 

Aesir gods first appearance and origin:

Also Auõumbla after feeding Ymir eventually got hungry and to get nourishment, she licked ice from Niflheim. Behind the ice revealed a creature named Buri, there is no explanation for how Buri existed but he already was, and was only revealed, not created. Buri also already had a child named Bor upon being discovered. The name Buri actually translates to “Father” or “Provider”, and Bor’s name translates to “Son”, a very literal progression towards the gods, like they are just beings of order, and just planted themselves in somehow. 

Bor had children with one of the female Jotun named Bestla, the daughter of Jotun Bölporn who is an ancient Jotun known for “thorny” elements, like dangerous weird magic. The children from Bestla and Bor were Odin, Vili, and Vé. It’s said the gods’ magic side and ability to do magic came from their Jotun side, Bestla and Bölporn, meaning the Aesir got magical elements and power from their giant half but order and control from the Bor line. 

Creation of the world, Midgard, how, and the consequences for giants:

After a time the Jotun race from Ymir grew too large, and they aren’t destructive, but they are like pure nature or elemental beings that just grow naturally without order. Odin, Vili, and Vé killed Ymir, and created the world out of his body. They used each part of his body for a part of the world. They used Ymir’s flesh for the earth and land, his blood became the seas and lakes, his bones became the mountains, his teeth and small bones became rocks and pebbles, his hair became trees and plants and nature, his skull became the sky, his brains became the clouds, and they used his eyebrows to define a middle area of the world where they could operate and be safe, which was called Midgard. In the process of killing Ymir the entire Jotun race drowned in his blood, besides two Jotun, Bergelmir and his unnamed wife who escaped to the outskirts of the world using something called Lúõr, which is believed to be a primitive hollowed out tree trunk. The gods didn’t hunt them down, but made sure to define the middle safe area far away from them and let them try to survive the harsh outskirts of the world which is very dangerous, and they were expected to die. 

Creation and origin of the Dwarves, and Svartalfheim:

Alongside the killing of Ymir the three gods, mostly Odin, saw maggots come from Ymir’s body as it decayed and decided to create life from it. They gave beings with only movement; the maggots, wit and shape, transforming them. The beings created were Dwarves. In most stories the first dwarves were Norõri, Suõri, Austri and Vestri, in English; North, South, West, East. They are four statue-like beings that don’t actually have the ability to move or talk or anything. They are purely statue-like tools for the gods to be able to hold up the clouds and sky so it doesn’t fall, and define the directions. 

Also in other stories, or alongside them, the first Dwarf was Mótsognir, the lord of the dwarves. It’s said he was the first maggot to receive Wit and he is actually the one who shaped the rest of the maggots into shape and dwarves. And also the second dwarf Durinn, who worked alongside Mótsognir to help manage the smaller work as a small little helper. 

All the other dwarves, which became an entire race, were intended to be created by the gods to be tools. They are very connected to the earth itself, and can forge weapons, armor, or tools much better than anything else due to that connection. They don’t just forge earth’s materials, they can feel them and speak to them. The sun kills the dwarves, turning them into stone because dwarves are essentially living rocks and the sun turns them back into rocks. When dwarves die they don’t have an afterlife like other races, they just go back into the earth.

The gods put them in a “lower” realm, underneath Midgard’s earth technically but its own realm, a dark, cave-like, underworld called Svartalfheim. It is filled with the constant clinks of hammers on anvils and massive underground furnaces, it sounds like a huge constant factory. They don’t have houses but instead Great Halls, which are buildings carved strictly into the roots of the mountains. Everything is made of polished stone, iron, and precious gems. It is a functional luxury. It’s not a horrible place, but it’s like a giant factory underneath the earth. 

Introduction to Asgard:

After creating Dwarves the gods entered the Golden Age, described as a time the gods played golden board games on grass. There is no definitive time but it lasted long enough for the gods to think they “beat the game”. The gods used the dwarves and the new world they created to get anything they wanted. They built their home, Asgard, above the clouds. Asgard isn’t like building a city, they took a massive portion of the world, directly in the center most point of Midgard and the world, and elevated it. Asgard sits on a high plateau called the plain of Iõavöllr, which is so high that it actually pokes above the clouds. From Asgard you can see the clouds below you. Asgard is described to be filled with massive shining halls made of gold and silver that never tarnish. 

Explanation of Bifröst, and origin and explanation of Heimdall:

Since it is so high there is no natural way to get there, so the gods created Bifröst, a rainbow burning bridge of three colors that only the Gods and their chosen can cross. The three colors each represent an aspect. Red for a burning, roaring, magical red fire which is specifically why the Frost Giants and later other giants can’t walk on it. Blue for Air for the heavens and air, symbolizing the bridge’s connection to the sky and its ethereal nature, also it being made of air makes it weightless and why it can float above the clouds. Green or white for Mist or shimmering water, which gives the bridge its shimmer or unstable look, and also signifies it is not a physical object but a manifestation of light and energy that the gods can turn on or off. It starts on the floor of Midgard and stretches all the way to the clouds to the front gate of Asgard. 

The Bifröst is also guarded by the Aesir god Heimdall. He has the most mysterious and weird birth of the gods. He doesn’t have a single mother but was born from The Nine Sisters, who are the personifications of the oceans waves. The Nine Sisters are the daughters of Aegir the sea giant, and Rán the sea goddess. Each of the 9 Sisters are the personification of each type of wave, a surging wave, a frothing wave, a dark wave, etc. It’s said he was born on the edge of the world where the sea meets the land. He was created with the strength of earth, moisture of the sea, and heat of the sun. He is a boundary or liminal being, belonging to the sea, earth, and sky all at once making him the perfect person to guard the bridge that connects those worlds. 

Heimdall even went to Midgard and introduced classes to humans. He created the classes of thralls, peasants, and nobles, further cementing his role as the bridge or boundary being of the divine and the mundane.

Asgard conclusion, story of Hrimthurs:

Asgard is meant to be a place of perfection, above everything, its also a fortress, after building their palaces the gods had a giant named Hrimthurs create an unbreakable wall around the entire realm. 

Hrimthurs was a frost giant that somehow got to Midgard disguised as a man. He made a deal where he only had one winter to build the massive impossible wall, and he had to work alone with no help from any man. Even if it was 99% done, but not 100% it won’t get payment.

The giant’s deal was that he could use his horse, the gods agreed thinking that a horse couldn’t make a difference. But the horse was a beast of legend, during the night it would haul stones the size of mountains, then Hrimthurs could use the stones in the day to build. Loki, a trickster god, transformed into a magnificent mare in heat, and attracted the horse out the woods. Hrimthurs had to spend all night chasing the horse, and couldn’t move a single stone. After he couldn’t finish the wall in time and got no payment, the gods later found out he was one of the Jotnar, and Odin called Thor who swiftly killed him.