The Creation of the World

Before there was earth or sky, before the first tree grew or the first river flowed, there was only Ginnungagap, the Yawning Void, a vast and silent emptiness stretching in all directions. It was neither dark nor light, neither hot nor cold, but a space of pure potential, waiting for the spark of creation.

To the north of Ginnungagap lay Niflheim, the realm of ice and mist, where eleven poisonous rivers called the Elivagar flowed outward from the spring Hvergelmir. To the south burned Muspelheim, a realm of fire guarded by the giant Surtr, whose flaming sword cast light into the darkness.

Where the rime ice of Niflheim met the sparks and heat of Muspelheim in the center of the void, the ice began to thaw and drip. From these drops, quickened by the heat, a form took shape: Ymir, the first frost giant, ancestor of all the jotnar. As Ymir slept, other beings grew from his body. From the sweat of his left armpit came a male and female giant, and his feet produced a son together.

The melting ice also formed the great cow Audhumla, whose four rivers of milk nourished Ymir. Audhumla herself fed by licking the salty ice blocks, and as she licked, she uncovered a being trapped within: Buri, the first of the gods, beautiful and mighty. Buri's son Borr married the giantess Bestla, and they produced three sons: Odin, Vili, and Ve.

The three brothers looked upon Ymir and the chaos of the primordial world and determined to bring order from it. They slew the ancient giant, and from his enormous body they fashioned the world.

From Ymir's flesh the earth was shaped, from his blood the sea. Mountains from his bones, trees from his hair, and from his skull the sky.

Ymir's blood poured forth in such quantity that it drowned nearly all the frost giants. Only Bergelmir and his wife survived by climbing aboard a hollowed tree trunk, and from them all future giants descended. The brothers set Ymir's skull over the earth as the dome of the sky, supported at four corners by four dwarves: Nordri, Sudri, Austri, and Vestri. His brains they cast into the air to become the clouds.

The brothers then turned their attention to populating their new world. Walking along the seashore, they found two tree trunks, an ash and an elm, washed up on the sand. Odin gave them breath and life, Vili gave them understanding and movement, and Ve gave them form, speech, hearing, and sight.

The man they named Ask, and the woman Embla. From these two, all of humanity descended. The gods gave them Midgard as their home, a realm encircled by Ymir's eyebrows as a protective fence against the giants who dwelt in the wilds beyond.