Norse mythology: The creation of the world.

[Richard Cribb]

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.

 

[thetrooper]

luceafarul!

I've been waiting for this one - all shakes and tingles.

Even though I am a Norwegian many "facts" here are unknown to me. Until now that is.

Do you have any illustrations of Ratatosk?

No wonder where Tolkien gathered inspiration for certain names and places.

 

[Che Guava]

luceafarul!

I second that! Fascinating stuff!! I'm always interested in 'Northern' culture (for lack of a better term): the customs of people that have flourished in the shadow of the arctic. I've noticed a lot of parallels in art, both ancient and recent (just compare Munch's paintings to the Canadian Group of Seven's works), society, even outlook on life. I'm on the edge of my seat waiting for the next installment!

 

[mrtn]

luceafarul, do you have any info on the Norse view of the elves tucked away somewhere? I've searched, but the names of their two worlds are the only facts I can find.

on the article.

 

[Richard Cribb]

@trooper: what about this one (one gets thirsty of so much running up and down!)?

Jokes aside, the best I could find is this 17th century illustration:

@Che, I will try to post the next one in about a week.
@mrtn: I will see if I can dig up something for you, anyway I will return to the topic when describing Frey.

But now you must excuse me, gentlemen, I am going to watch a game with the Norwegian national team for the first time in years for the first time in years.

 

[Rambuchan]

@ luceafarul: You are the equivalent of a mythology porn star .




Anyway, I love the way you have written this piece. It is so modestly packed with fascinating info and beautiful paintings. Plus it's really good to get a fuller rundown of Norse mythology. At least on these boards we only get bits and pieces. Now we can get much more detail and also in context with other parts of these mythological structures. Thanks a lot!

I'm interested in >

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

These three women appear in many mythologies across the world and the Norse version is not so different. There is typically an eye or a crystal which they use to see the future with. Strange how these universal impulses can create such similar stories in such distant places.

 

[Rambuchan]

These three women appear in many mythologies across the world and the Norse version is not so different. There is typically an eye or a crystal which they use to see the future with. Strange how these universal impulses can create such similar stories in such distant places.

They are often called the Furies. They also appear in Macbeth, The Clash of the Titans, in Chinese myths, many Persian myths and so on. Anyone have any ideas what these three all-seeing, yet quite often blind, women symbolise?

 

[thetrooper]

Earliest version of the Triad?

Jokes aside, interesting question. Tempted to suggest life-death-rebirth, but I guess that's wrong.

 

[mrtn]

IIRC the Norns are weaving people's lives, i e a thread for each person.

 

[sydhe]

The Norns are the Norse equivalent of the Greek Fates. The Furies are something else.

 

[thetrooper]

Just want to add that Polytheism came early on our tech tree.

The term siðr (rite) used for religion.

 

[Rambuchan]

The Norns are the Norse equivalent of the Greek Fates. The Furies are something else.

I stand corrected. Thanks.

@ Luc: I know I haven't been on your thread much but I have been busy on holiday. Doesn't mean I didn't print it out and read it many times. I used to be heavily into mythology and your posting on the subject has reignited much of that. For the flame had perhaps diminished, if not gone out altogether.

 

[Rambuchan]

Now, I just want to spend a short while explaining how significant mythology is today and how much of it we imbibe without realising it. It is worth mentioning the following, because there are quite a few CFC posters who write fiction and drama here and many more who love their movies. So....

An indepth understaning of mythology is a prerequisite to writing dramatic and fictional works professionally. All the Hollywood films you watch on your cinema screens are in fact modern day myths. Or rather they are old myths in modern clothes.

My first year of scriptwriting lectures (radio and screen) at university was filled with mythology lessons. For people instinctively react to these archetypal situations and characters. This is a big reason why comparative mythology is so much fun and so revealing of human nature. In these lectures, we quickly went on to this kind of stuff in the diagram below. It may help to think of the protagonist in a film or book as you look at this diagram. Frodo in The Lord of The Rings' plot is oft used to illustrate its dynamics but the new Johny Cash film, "Ray", "The Matrix" and yes, even "Star Wars", all follow the same rules:

Spoiler Slightly more detailed, maybe convoluted, versions of the same :

There are three people and their books worth checking out if you are writing drama and fiction, professionally or otherwise. They all give a big nod to myths.

1) Story: Substance, Structure, Style and The Principles of Screenwriting ~ by Robert McKee.

This is the book all Hollywood script writers love to love. He's the Guru for Hollywood scriptwriters. The whole message from McKee is that mythology was story telling at its best and modern day script writers need to look to these sources for inspiration and guidance. This book is MASSIVE in screenwriting circles.

You can actually see Robert McKee being recognised in one of Charlie Kauffman's films: "Adaptation". The main character, a scriptwriter no less, goes to McKee's lectures and talks to him about his own work. I can't quite remember the details now.

2) Screenplay : The Foundations of Screenwriting; A step-by-step guide from concept to finished script ~ by Syd Field

This man is similarly lauded in filmic writing circles but not quite as well known as McKee. (Sorry for the brag, but this guy requested an interview with me once, shortly after some awards. Naturally I gave it to him but I got the impression he was also trying to get into my pants!!!)

3) The Hero With a Thousand Faces ~ Jospeh Campbell & The Power of Myth

Joseph Campbell, afaik, was the leading comparative mythologist around. I say 'was' because he is sadly no longer with us. But his works still make a major impact. I would put large amounts of money on Robert McKee and Syd Field having read his work. These two books I've linked up are profound and enlightening works for ANYONE and provide us with some fantastic guidance on life in general.

In this same way, mythology also helped to bring meaning to my life at certain dark episodes, which is roughly what it would say on the tin if myths came in this form.

As a bit of personal side interest: This heavy interest in myths was from a young age, well before I knew I would be doing such work myself. In my Latin lessons at the age of 6-10, my teacher always put one class aside each week for Greek and Roman mythology. After a year or two, he put aside 10 minutes in those classes for me to do a presentation. This was because my passion and fascination for the subject had caused me to surpass his own knowledge on the subject. I'm glad he recognised it. 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.

 

[Richard Cribb]

@ Luc: I know I haven't been on your thread much but I have been busy on holiday. Doesn't mean I didn't print it out and read it many times. I used to be heavily into mythology and your posting on the subject has reignited much of that. For the flame had perhaps diminished, if not gone out altogether.

No problem. As you can see, this thread can't compete with abortion, evil Muslims or favourite type of tank. Anyway it is nice that my humble contribution has proven useful for at least one worthy individual.

Now, I just want to spend a short while explaining how significant mythology is today and how much of it we imbibe without realising it. It is worth mentioning the following, because there are quite a few CFC posters who write fiction and drama here and many more who love their movies. So....

An indepth understaning of mythology is a prerequisite to writing dramatic and fictional works professionally. All the Hollywood films you watch on your cinema screens are in fact modern day myths. Or rather they are old myths in modern clothes.

My first year of scriptwriting lectures (radio and screen) at university was filled with mythology lessons. For people instinctively react to these archetypal situations and characters. This is a big reason why comparative mythology is so much fun and so revealing of human nature. In these lectures, we quickly went on to this kind of stuff in the diagram below. It may help to think of the protagonist in a film or book as you look at this diagram. Frodo in The Lord of The Rings' plot is oft used to illustrate its dynamics but the new Johny Cash film, "Ray", "The Matrix" and yes, even "Star Wars", all follow the same rules:

Spoiler Slightly more detailed, maybe convoluted, versions of the same :

There are three people and their books worth checking out if you are writing drama and fiction, professionally or otherwise. They all give a big nod to myths.

1) Story: Substance, Structure, Style and The Principles of Screenwriting ~ by Robert McKee.

This is the book all Hollywood script writers love to love. He's the Guru for Hollywood scriptwriters. The whole message from McKee is that mythology was story telling at its best and modern day script writers need to look to these sources for inspiration and guidance. This book is MASSIVE in screenwriting circles.

You can actually see Robert McKee being recognised in one of Charlie Kauffman's films: "Adaptation". The main character, a scriptwriter no less, goes to McKee's lectures and talks to him about his own work. I can't quite remember the details now.

2) Screenplay : The Foundations of Screenwriting; A step-by-step guide from concept to finished script ~ by Syd Field

This man is similarly lauded in filmic writing circles but not quite as well known as McKee. (Sorry for the brag, but this guy requested an interview with me once, shortly after some awards. Naturally I gave it to him but I got the impression he was also trying to get into my pants!!!)

3) The Hero With a Thousand Faces ~ Jospeh Campbell & The Power of Myth

Joseph Campbell, afaik, was the leading comparative mythologist around. I say 'was' because he is sadly no longer with us. But his works still make a major impact. I would put large amounts of money on Robert McKee and Syd Field having read his work. These two books I've linked up are profound and enlightening works for ANYONE and provide us with some fantastic guidance on life in general.

In this same way, mythology also helped to bring meaning to my life at certain dark episodes, which is roughly what it would say on the tin if myths came in this form.

As a bit of personal side interest: This heavy interest in myths was from a young age, well before I knew I would be doing such work myself. In my Latin lessons at the age of 6-10, my teacher always put one class aside each week for Greek and Roman mythology. After a year or two, he put aside 10 minutes in those classes for me to do a presentation. This was because my passion and fascination for the subject had caused me to surpass his own knowledge on the subject. I'm glad he recognised it. 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.

Brilliant post, clear, didactic and with some very good points.
Thanks for interesting links too. I am only familiar with Campbells excellent work, but I will study those others even if I have a nagging suspicion that I will never have a decisive breakthrough in the area of scriptwriting, whatever much of a Renaissance man I might be...
About the future of my project, I am going to put up another part when I have decided on certain things and chosen some nifty pictures. The end of the week is a realistic prognosis.

 

[blackheart]

Where did the Venir come from?

 

[Richard Cribb]

Where did the Venir come from?

Good question on which, as far as I know, there is no definite answer provided by the sources.
Since the Vanir iare typically fertility-gods, they are often by experts associated with the elves, by a couple even assumed to be identical.
Or, they could indeed by just closely related to the Aesir and have a common offspring.
Since this is about the trickiest question I could fathom, I would be grateful for any assistance.

 

[Rambuchan]

I'm not familiar with any Venir or Vanir and all my books on the subject are about 5,500 miles away from me right now. My rusty mythology brain doesn't have anything to offer on the subject atm . However, I shall gladly offer a nice outline of some parallel 'fertility myths' around the world when I get home.

IOW - I won't be the one offering assistance right now.

 

[mrtn]

The most important Vanir are Frey, Freya (siblings) and Njord (their father). They were considered different from the Aesir, and came to them originally as peace hostages.

 

[thetrooper]

Do you remember the cartoons (seriehefte as we called them) based on Norse mythology luceafarul? I wonder if they are still around...

 

[Richard Cribb]

The most important Vanir are Frey, Freya (siblings) and Njord (their father). They were considered different from the Aesir, and came to them originally as peace hostages.

Much more about this to come in a couple of days...

Do you remember the cartoons (seriehefte as we called them) based on Norse mythology luceafarul? I wonder if they are still around...

Do you mean Peter Madsen's Valhalla?
I haven't seen any of them for a while, but as far as I know album nr.13 in the series is planned to be released right now.