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Though Norse Mythology is often considered Norwegian Mythology, it actually is the mythological history of all of Scandanavia, including modern day Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Denmark, as well as Iceland and Greenland. The main sources for Norse mythology, Indo-European in origin, are the Icelandic Eddas.
The oldest of the Eddas is the Elder, or Poetic, Edda. It is a collection of 34 Icelandic poems, interspersed with prose dating from the 9th to 12th century. Most of these poems deal with Norse mythology. The Poetic Edda is followed by the Younger, or Prose, Edda. It is the work of the Icelandic poet and historian Snorri Sturluson (1179 - 1241) who probably intended it to be a handbook for novice poets who wished to become skalds, creators of the sophisticated poetry recited in court. This work contains the creation of the world, various mythological stories, as well as an analysis of ancient poets.
According to the Eddas, in the beginning there was the void, Ginnungagap. Along with the void existed Niflheim, the land of fog and ice in the north, and Muspelheim, the land of fire in the south. In Niflheim was a spring called Hvergelmir from which the 11 Elivagar rivers flowed. The Elivargar froze layer upon layer until it filled in the northerly portion of the gap. At the same time, the southern portion was being filled by sparks and molten material from Muspelheim.
The giant Ymirwas created from the melting ice of Niflheim, when it came in contact with the hot air from Muspell. From Ymir's sleeping body the first giants sprang forth: one of his legs fathered a son on his other leg while from under his armpit a man and women grew out. The frost kept melting and from the drops the divine cow Audumla was created. From her udder flowed four rivers of milk, on which Ymir fed. The cow itself got nourishment by licking frost and salt from the ice. On the evening on the first day the hair of a man appeared, on the second day the whole head and on the third day it became a man, Buri, the first god. He had a son named Bor who was the father of Odin, Vili, and Ve. Odin and his brothers had no liking for Ymir, nor for the growing number of giants, and killed him. In the huge amount of blood that flowed from Ymir's wounds all the giants, except two, drowned.
From the slain body the brothers created heaven and earth. They used the flesh to fill the Ginnungagap; his blood to create the lakes and the seas; from his unbroken bones they made the mountains; the giant's teeth and the fragments of his shattered bones became rocks and boulders and stones; trees were made from his hair, and the clouds from his brains. Odin and his brothers raised Ymir's skull and made the sky from it. Finally, from Ymir's eyebrow they shaped Midgard, the realm of man. The maggots which swarmed in Ymir's flesh they gave wits and the shape of men, but they live under the hills and mountains. They are called dwarfs.
They also created the stars, sun, and moon from sparks coming out of Muspelheim. Finally, the brothers happened upon two logs lying on the beach and created the first two humans Ask [ash] and Embla [elm or vine] from them. Odin then gave them life and soul, Vili reason and motion, and Ve bestowed upon them the senses, expressive features, and speech.
The mighty ash tree Ygdrasill was supposed to support the whole universe. It sprang from the body of Ymir, and had three immense roots; extending one into Asgard [the dwelling of the gods], the other into Jotunheim (the abode of the giants), and the third to Niffleheim [the regions of darkness and cold]. By the side of each of these roots is a spring, from which it is watered. The root that extends into Asgard is carefully tended by the three Norns, goddesses, who are regarded as the dispensers of fate. They are Urdur [the past], Verdandi [the present], Skuld [the future]. The spring at the Jotunheim side is Ymir's well, in which wisdom and wit lie hidden, but that of Niffleheim feeds the adder Nidhogge [darkness], which perpetually gnaws at the root. Under the tree lies Ymir, and when he tries to shake off its weight the earth quakes.
At the end, will be the battle of Ragnarok, the great armageddon which tears apart the world and ends the reign of Gods. The entire cosmos will be destroyed. The only humans who will survive this destruction are Lif ["life"] and Liftrasir ["eager for life"] because they hid themselves in Hodmimir's Forest, the forest that the flaming sword of the fire-giant Surt cannot destroy. There they sleep through the destruction of the earth and when they awaken, they will find the earth is green and verdant again. Lif and Liftrasir will become the genesis of an new race of humans, and their descendants will inhabit this world today.
