Midgard- Norse LocationLocation · Realm"World of Men"

Built from a Giant's Body

Odin and his brothers Vili and Vé killed the primordial giant Ymir and built the world from his corpse. The Völuspá and Gylfaginning recount the making: his flesh became the land, his skull the dome of the sky. Every part of his body was put to use. Four dwarves hold the skull aloft at the four corners: Norðri, Suðri, Austri, and Vestri. From Ymir's eyebrows the gods raised the walls of Midgard, fencing off a space for humanity.

The gods caught sparks from Muspelheim and scattered them across the skull-sky as stars. They set the sun and moon in their courses. Vafþrúðnismál confirms these origins in the wisdom contest between Odin and the giant Vafþrúðnir, where both agree on how the world was made.

The First Humans

Within the walled enclosure, the gods created humanity. The Völuspá tells how Odin, Hœnir, and Lóður found two pieces of driftwood on a seashore: an ash log and an elm. Odin gave them breath. The second god gave understanding and movement. The third gave form, speech, and warmth in their faces. They were named Ask and Embla, and from them all humanity descends.

The Middle Enclosure

The name means "middle yard": a walled space at the center of things. Above lies Asgard, connected by the burning rainbow bridge Bifröst. Below extends Niflheim and Hel's domain. On all sides, Jötunheimr presses against the borders, separated by mountains and forests no ordinary mortal could cross. At the cosmic axis stands Yggdrasil, the World Tree, with the Norns spinning fate at its roots and an eagle perched in its crown.

The Alvíssmál captures how differently each race sees the same ground. What humans call "earth," the elves call "the grower."

Humans shared Midgard with things they could not always see. Landvættir guarded the fields and required offerings. Draugar sat in their burial mounds, watching over grave goods. A waterfall or forest clearing might house beings whose names no prudent traveler spoke aloud.

The Encircling Serpent

Jörmungandr, child of Loki and the giantess Angrboða, grew so vast that Odin cast him into the ocean surrounding Midgard. There the serpent grew until he encircled the entire world, gripping his own tail in the deep. Beyond the serpent lies nothing human.

In the Hymiskviða, Thor goes fishing with the giant Hymir, baiting his hook with an ox head. What takes the bait is the Midgard Serpent itself. Thor hauls the monstrous head above the waves. The two lock eyes: the defender of Midgard and the creature that encircles it. Hymir, white-faced, cuts the line.

Ragnarök and Rebirth

At Ragnarök, Jörmungandr will release his tail and rise from the sea. The sons of Múspell will march from the south bearing fire. The Völuspá prophesies that the sun will turn black and the earth will sink into the swelling sea. The walls of Ymir's eyebrows will break at last.

Then the earth will rise again from the water, green and fair. Waterfalls will cascade; eagles will hunt fish in clear streams. Two humans, Líf and Lífþrasir, will have sheltered within Yggdrasil during the fires, surviving on morning dew. From them a new humanity will descend. Unsown fields will bear fruit.