Norse Cosmology and Creation myths
The Norse people had a very specific view on the existential origins of the universe. The Nordic creation myth begins with a magical realm between the north and south called ‘Ginnunagap’, symbolising fire and ice. Between these two realms rivers flowed and later solidified. This solidified river then gave birth to the giant ‘Ymir’ and a cow. The cow lived to feed Ymir its milk, who slept whilst his sweat dripped and created three more giants. The Giants then multiplied and as a result the Norse god’s; Odin, Vili and Ve were formed.
After a brief period of time where they all existed in peace, the giants went to war and Ymir, their creator, was killed. They threw his body into the Ginnunagap and created a human realm which they named Midgard. They then continued to make Asgard, the realm of the Gods and Hel, the realm of the dead. Within Midgard, human kind was created. Man came from an ash tree and Woman came from an elm tree. This was the Norse view of how the universe originated, demonstrating a rich spiritual perception of the natural world and how we wound up here. (R, William, 2015) This theory about the origin of the universe then links into their principal beliefs.
After a brief period of time where they all existed in peace, the giants went to war and Ymir, their creator, was killed. They threw his body into the Ginnunagap and created a human realm which they named Midgard. They then continued to make Asgard, the realm of the Gods and Hel, the realm of the dead. Within Midgard, human kind was created. Man came from an ash tree and Woman came from an elm tree. This was the Norse view of how the universe originated, demonstrating a rich spiritual perception of the natural world and how we wound up here. (R, William, 2015) This theory about the origin of the universe then links into their principal beliefs.