Richard Cribb
He does monologues
- Joined
- Nov 5, 2003
- Messages
- 4,291
This is the first article in a planned series about Norse mythology. I have decided to do for a variety of reasons. 1.Because it is a part of my cultural heritage.
2. Because it might be interesting for some of you to know more about what the blond marauders up in the cold North believed in long after great parts of Europe had become Christian. 3. Because it might still have something to offer us concerning how we should live our lives. 4. Because it is great entertainment.
How big this will be depends on the feedback. If it will trigger interest and constructive discussion, I have at my disposal a lot of material I am happy to share with the community.If not, I will let it pass away on its lack of merit.
Also please note that I don't claim to be an authority on this topic, I am neither an expert on this specific historical era nor a religion historian, and thus I am not in any way trying to be novel nor original, it is just compilation of other sources.
I still hope it might be interesting, and here is the first part, how the world was created.
Finally, I want to credit Rambuchan, who has kindly used of his valuable time expertise as a seasoned script-writer to clean this baby up.
________________________________________
THE CREATION OF THE WORLD
In the beginning there is nothing but cold and heat. In the north, ice and fog; Niflheim, in the south fire and flames; Muspelheim.
Between those two places lies an almost endless chasm, a void called Ginungagap.
Niflheim and Muspelheim with Ginungagap between.
Here all life will begin. Drops of water from Niflheim meet with fire from Muspelheim. Amid vast glaciers of ice, a great cow is formed, named Audhumla. Audhumla begins to lick rimestones for its salt, and as she licks she exposes the first giant, Ymir, and Ymir feeds upon Audhumla's milk to sustain himself. Audhumla continued to lick a stone, and eventually it is licked into the shape of a man. This man becomes the first primeval god. His name is Buri.
Audhumla, Ymir and Buri.
Buri begets a son, Bor.
Ymir also conceives. From his left armpit a male and female is created. Meanwhile his feet gives birth to a six-headed son.
This is the beginning of the rimtusser, the jotun family, the giants.
Bor marries the daughter of the frost-giant Boltha; Bestla. Their children Odin, Vili and Ve*, becomes the first Aesir gods.
Ymir continues to grow, and to spawn giants. Odin and his brothers feel threatened. They kill Ymir. The blood that flows from his body kills almost all the giants. Only Bergelmer and his wife survives, They settle down on the mountain of Jotunheim, which is to become the home of the giants.
The Aesir now uses Ymir's dead body to create the universe with nine worlds. His body is placed over Ginnungagap. From his flesh the earth is created and from his blood the sea. His skull is held up by four dwarves, Nordri, Sudri, Vestri and Austri. The race of dwarves spang off from Ymir's skull.They are the best craftsmen in the world, but can't be trusted, as they usually will support the giants .
The Aesir creates the world.
On the seashore Odin and his brothers find two pieces of driftwood, one is made of oak, the other of ash. The gods dress them up. Odin gives them life. Vili gives them reason and ability to move. Ve gives them abilty to speak, see and hear.Thus the two first humans, Ask and Embla is created.
Ask and Embla.
A place where the human race can live safely is created by Ymir's eyebrows and eyelids; Midgard (the Middle Earth).
For themselves the gods make the fortress Asgard. It is separated from Midgard by the rainbow Bifrost.
Bifrost.
Since the red in Bifrost is glowing fire, only the Aesir can ride past it.The greatest and finest building in Asgard is Gladsheim. Here Odin has his high seat, where he can see out over the whole universe.
Now time is created. The giant woman Natt begets the handsome and fair son Dag with the god Delling.The gods give Natt and Dag a horse and chariot each so they can travel around the world every day and night. Natt is driving in front. Her horse bears the name Rimfakse. It has rime in its mane, and every day dow will fall from it onto the fields. The horse of Dag is called Skinfakse, its mane is glowing and shining. The sun and moon is created by sparks from Muspelheim and put on separate heavenly chariots. Those chariots are driven by two humans, Sol and Måne, the son and daughter of the man Mundilfare.
The universe is supported by a great ash, Yggdrasil, which roots thrust into three of the nine worlds, and its canopy covers the other six realms.
Yggdrasil.
The worlds are: Muspelheim; world of fire, Niflheim, land of cold, Asgard, where the Aesir lives, Vanaheim, the home of the Vanir, Jotunheim, the world of the giants, Alfheim; home of the light elves (ljosalfar), Svartalfheim, home of the black elves (svartalfar), Nidavellir, home of the dwarves, and Niflhel or Hel, home of the dead.
There are also three wells beside Yggdrasil's roots . The Norns (goddesses of faith - they know the destiny of every living being and what lay in store for everyone and everything
) Urda (Past), Verdandi (Present) and Skuld(Future) guards the holy Urdarbrunn - Urda's well. Two swans drink from it. The norns care for the root near it by watering it with the fresh water from the well. Each day the Aesir will sit at court here.
The Norns.
The second well is Mimirsbrunnr, Mimir's well. Guarded by the Aesir Mimir, this is also known as the well of knowledge.
The third well is Hvergelmir - "Roaring kettle" - full of serpents. Here the giant serpent Nidhogg continuosly gnaws at the root of Niflheim. When Ragnarok arrives, Nidhogg will have eaten its way through the root and cause Yggdrasil to collapse.
There are also other animals around Yggdrasil. Four harts, Dain, Duneyr, Durathror and Dvalin feed on its foliage above. On one of its branches a great wise eagle resides. Between its eyes sits the hawk Vedrfolnir.And there is a squirrel Ratatosk which leaps up and down between Nidhogg and the eagle.
* Some sources say Odin, Høner and Loder.
___________________________________
That's it for now. Next time I will tell about the war between the Aesir and Vanir and what results that brought. Future articles will deal with topics like a closer presentation of the important figures, the creation of social classes, and Ragnarok. I will also, if necessary, give an outline of the societies that produced those myths. A family-three of the gods is under preparation. Also a small pronounciation-guide, will be added on demand.And finally, a list over relevant literature will be presented.
2. Because it might be interesting for some of you to know more about what the blond marauders up in the cold North believed in long after great parts of Europe had become Christian. 3. Because it might still have something to offer us concerning how we should live our lives. 4. Because it is great entertainment.How big this will be depends on the feedback. If it will trigger interest and constructive discussion, I have at my disposal a lot of material I am happy to share with the community.If not, I will let it pass away on its lack of merit.
Also please note that I don't claim to be an authority on this topic, I am neither an expert on this specific historical era nor a religion historian, and thus I am not in any way trying to be novel nor original, it is just compilation of other sources.
I still hope it might be interesting, and here is the first part, how the world was created.
Finally, I want to credit Rambuchan, who has kindly used of his valuable time expertise as a seasoned script-writer to clean this baby up.
________________________________________
THE CREATION OF THE WORLD
In the beginning there is nothing but cold and heat. In the north, ice and fog; Niflheim, in the south fire and flames; Muspelheim.
Between those two places lies an almost endless chasm, a void called Ginungagap.
Niflheim and Muspelheim with Ginungagap between.
Here all life will begin. Drops of water from Niflheim meet with fire from Muspelheim. Amid vast glaciers of ice, a great cow is formed, named Audhumla. Audhumla begins to lick rimestones for its salt, and as she licks she exposes the first giant, Ymir, and Ymir feeds upon Audhumla's milk to sustain himself. Audhumla continued to lick a stone, and eventually it is licked into the shape of a man. This man becomes the first primeval god. His name is Buri.
Audhumla, Ymir and Buri.
Buri begets a son, Bor.
Ymir also conceives. From his left armpit a male and female is created. Meanwhile his feet gives birth to a six-headed son.
This is the beginning of the rimtusser, the jotun family, the giants.
Bor marries the daughter of the frost-giant Boltha; Bestla. Their children Odin, Vili and Ve*, becomes the first Aesir gods.
Ymir continues to grow, and to spawn giants. Odin and his brothers feel threatened. They kill Ymir. The blood that flows from his body kills almost all the giants. Only Bergelmer and his wife survives, They settle down on the mountain of Jotunheim, which is to become the home of the giants.
The Aesir now uses Ymir's dead body to create the universe with nine worlds. His body is placed over Ginnungagap. From his flesh the earth is created and from his blood the sea. His skull is held up by four dwarves, Nordri, Sudri, Vestri and Austri. The race of dwarves spang off from Ymir's skull.They are the best craftsmen in the world, but can't be trusted, as they usually will support the giants .
The Aesir creates the world.
On the seashore Odin and his brothers find two pieces of driftwood, one is made of oak, the other of ash. The gods dress them up. Odin gives them life. Vili gives them reason and ability to move. Ve gives them abilty to speak, see and hear.Thus the two first humans, Ask and Embla is created.
Ask and Embla.
A place where the human race can live safely is created by Ymir's eyebrows and eyelids; Midgard (the Middle Earth).
For themselves the gods make the fortress Asgard. It is separated from Midgard by the rainbow Bifrost.
Bifrost.
Since the red in Bifrost is glowing fire, only the Aesir can ride past it.The greatest and finest building in Asgard is Gladsheim. Here Odin has his high seat, where he can see out over the whole universe.
Now time is created. The giant woman Natt begets the handsome and fair son Dag with the god Delling.The gods give Natt and Dag a horse and chariot each so they can travel around the world every day and night. Natt is driving in front. Her horse bears the name Rimfakse. It has rime in its mane, and every day dow will fall from it onto the fields. The horse of Dag is called Skinfakse, its mane is glowing and shining. The sun and moon is created by sparks from Muspelheim and put on separate heavenly chariots. Those chariots are driven by two humans, Sol and Måne, the son and daughter of the man Mundilfare.
The universe is supported by a great ash, Yggdrasil, which roots thrust into three of the nine worlds, and its canopy covers the other six realms.
Yggdrasil.
The worlds are: Muspelheim; world of fire, Niflheim, land of cold, Asgard, where the Aesir lives, Vanaheim, the home of the Vanir, Jotunheim, the world of the giants, Alfheim; home of the light elves (ljosalfar), Svartalfheim, home of the black elves (svartalfar), Nidavellir, home of the dwarves, and Niflhel or Hel, home of the dead.
There are also three wells beside Yggdrasil's roots . The Norns (goddesses of faith - they know the destiny of every living being and what lay in store for everyone and everything
) Urda (Past), Verdandi (Present) and Skuld(Future) guards the holy Urdarbrunn - Urda's well. Two swans drink from it. The norns care for the root near it by watering it with the fresh water from the well. Each day the Aesir will sit at court here.
The Norns.
The second well is Mimirsbrunnr, Mimir's well. Guarded by the Aesir Mimir, this is also known as the well of knowledge.
The third well is Hvergelmir - "Roaring kettle" - full of serpents. Here the giant serpent Nidhogg continuosly gnaws at the root of Niflheim. When Ragnarok arrives, Nidhogg will have eaten its way through the root and cause Yggdrasil to collapse.
There are also other animals around Yggdrasil. Four harts, Dain, Duneyr, Durathror and Dvalin feed on its foliage above. On one of its branches a great wise eagle resides. Between its eyes sits the hawk Vedrfolnir.And there is a squirrel Ratatosk which leaps up and down between Nidhogg and the eagle.
* Some sources say Odin, Høner and Loder.
___________________________________
That's it for now. Next time I will tell about the war between the Aesir and Vanir and what results that brought. Future articles will deal with topics like a closer presentation of the important figures, the creation of social classes, and Ragnarok. I will also, if necessary, give an outline of the societies that produced those myths. A family-three of the gods is under preparation. Also a small pronounciation-guide, will be added on demand.And finally, a list over relevant literature will be presented.
luceafarul!
on the article.
So you'll be pleased to know that even at that tender age I used my 10 minutes to get some comparative mythology in - with none other than those outstanding Norse myths. 
. However, I shall gladly offer a nice outline of some parallel 'fertility myths' around the world when I get home.
