During this embryonic stage, the universe held just two realms: Muspelheim, the primordial realm of heat and flame, and Niflheim, the primordial realm of cold and frost. During the catastrophic events of Ragnarök (the famous battle at the end of the world in Norse mythology), Surtr rose out of Muspelheim with his flaming sword and destroyed Ásgard and the gods.According to Norse creation myths, the yawning void called Ginnungagap once dominated all creation. Ruled over by the fire giant Surtr, the burning hot realm was filled with lava and fiery demons. It was the primordial land of fire and flames that melted the ice of Niflheim and helped bring about the creation of the nine realms. Beyond its walls lay an impassable ocean patrolled by the Jörmungandr, a monstrous sea serpent and another child of Loki. An enormous fence created by the gods protected Midgard. Midgard sat beneath Ásgard but was connected to the home of the Æsir gods via the rainbow bridge. Like a Nordic version of Adam and Eve, the human realm of Midgard (Earth) was first populated by a man called Ask and a woman called Embla all people on Earth descended from this pair. However, unlike the celestial Ásgard, the home of the giants was a cold, frosty and untamed wilderness consisting mostly of rocks, mountains and forests. The journey wasn’t far as the world sat close to both Ásgard and Midgard. One of Thor’s favourite past times was slaying giants, which as you can imagine meant that the god of thunder often found himself in the realm of Jotunheim. Jotunheim was the homeland of the giants in Norse mythology known as the Jötnar. Read more about: Vikings Loki’s most mischievous tricks in Norse mythology To reach the gate you had to travel down the Helveg, quite literally the ‘road to Hel’. It was ruled over by the fearsome Hel, the daughter of Loki, and was surrounded by a large fence with only one gate. Whilst it shares some similarities with the Christian form of hell, the Norse realm of Hel (or Helheim) was a grim, dark and gloomy place located beneath the roots of Yggdrasil, where those not worthy enough of Valhalla went after death. Alfheim was ruled over by the Vanir goddess Freyr and whilst the ancient sources don’t mention much about this realm, one might presume that the presence of the elves made it a bright and sunny place. The magical elves were described as ‘more beautiful than the sun’ and were said to have inspired the arts and music. AlfheimĬlose by to Ásgard was Alfheim, the realm of the elves. A rainbow bridge known as the Bifrost joined the two together. Ásgard was connected to another realm, Midgard, the world of humanity. The other half went to the heavenly meadow of Fólkvangr, ruled over by the Vanir goddess Freya. Odin was said to rule over Valhalla, welcoming half of those who died in battle and feasting with them in the giant hall. The gigantic and imperious hall of Valhalla was also located in Ásgard. The Vanir had their home in Vanaheim whilst the Æsir settled in Ásgard, a celestial fortified realm surrounded by a great wall and protected by Thor and his famous hammer, the Mjollnir. Read more about: Vikings The legendary adventures of Thor in Norse mythology Although Loki the trickster god was often associated with the gods of the Æsir, he was neither Æsir nor Vanir. The Vanir, who were often at war with the Æsir, consisted of Njörðr, Freyr, Freya, Gullveig and Nerthus. The Æsir were considered the main pantheon in Norse mythology and consisted of Odin, the King of the Æsir, Thor, Frigg, Balder, Höðr and Týr. The Norse gods were separated into two main groups, the Æsir and the Vanir. Odin killed Ymir and in doing so created the nine realms that came to encompass the Norse cosmology. These creatures triggered a series of events that saw the birth of Odin, ‘the father of all gods’. The flames of Muspelheim began to melt the ice of Niflheim leading to the creation of two entities known as Ymir the giant and Audhumla the cow. The Yggdrasil grew from the void of Ginnungagap, which was enclosed on one side by the fiery Muspelheim and the other side by the frosty Niflheim. Read more about: Vikings Seven of the most important gods and goddesses in Norse mythologyĪccording to legend, the nine realms surrounded and spread out from the Yggdrasil, a sacred cosmic tree at the centre of the universe.
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