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Niflheimr or Niflheim ("Mist Home", the "Abode of Mist" or "Mist World") ; Nifl[1] being cognate with the Old English Nifol ("dark")[2] and Nebel, a German and Latin root meaning cloud) is a location in Norse mythology which overlaps with the notions of Niflhel and Hel. Alfheim redirects here For other uses see Alfheim (disambiguation Álfheimr or Alfheim ( Elf-home) is the abode of the This article is about the realm of Norse Mythology For other uses of the names Asgard, Asgaard and Asgård, see Asgard (disambiguation Jötunheimr (often anglicized Jotunheim) is the world ( Heim 'home homeland' of the Jötunn (two types rock (or hill giants and frost (or Midgard (an Anglicized form of Old Norse Miðgarðr) is an old Germanic name for our World, the places inhabited by humans, Muspelheim ("Flameland" also called Muspel ( Old Norse Múspellsheimr and Múspell, respectively is the realm of Fire In Norse mythology, Niðavellir ( Dark fields) is a land inhabited by the dwarves. In Norse mythology, Svartálfheimr is the underground domain and home of the Svartálfar (meaning the ' Black elves ' and possibly referring to Norse dwarves For the imprint see Aardvark-Vanaheim. For the Norwegian metal band see Vanaheim (band. In Norse mythology, Yggdrasil ( Old Norse Yggdrasill, ˈyɡˌdrasilː the extra -l is a Nominative case marker is the World In Norse Cosmology the World Tree Yggdrasil unifies nine worlds ( Old Norse: níu heimar) that represent all that exists A cloud is a visible mass of droplets or frozen crystals floating in the atmosphere above the surface of the Earth or another Planetary body Norse mythology comprises the indigenous pre-Christian religion, beliefs and Legends of the Scandinavian peoples including those who settled on Iceland Niflhel ("Misty Hel " Nifel being cognate with Nebel, a German and Latin root meaning Cloud) is the name of a location in See also Death in Norse paganism In Norse mythology, Hel, the location shares a name with Hel, a female figure associated with the location The name Niflheimr only appears in two extant sources and they are Gylfaginning and the much debated Hrafnagaldr Óðins. Gylfaginning, or the Tricking of Gylfi (c 20000 words is the first part of Snorri Sturluson 's Prose Edda after Hrafnagaldr Óðins (" Odin 's raven- Galdr " or Forspjallsljóð ("prelude poem" is an Icelandic poem
According to Gylfaginning, it was one of the two primordial realms, the other one being Muspelheim, the realm of fire. Muspelheim ("Flameland" also called Muspel ( Old Norse Múspellsheimr and Múspell, respectively is the realm of Fire Between these two realms of cold and heat, creation began. Later, it became the location of Hel, the abode of those who did not die a heroic death. See also Death in Norse paganism In Norse mythology, Hel, the location shares a name with Hel, a female figure associated with the location
Gylfaginning
In Gylfaginning by Snorri Sturluson, Gylfi, the king of Sweden, receives an education in Norse mythology from Odin himself in the guise of three men. Snorri Sturluson (1178 – September 23, 1241) was an Icelandic historian poet and politician Gylfi, Gylfe, Gylvi, or Gylve was the earliest king in Scandinavia present in Norse mythology. The monarch is the Head of state of the Kingdom of Sweden. Sweden being a Constitutional monarchy with a Representative democracy based on a Odin (ˈoʊdɪn from Old Norse Óðinn) is considered the chief god in Norse paganism. Gylfi learns from Odin (as Jafnhárr) that Niflheimr was the first world to be created after Muspelheim:
| “ | It was many ages before the earth was shaped that the Mist-World [Niflheimr] was made; and midmost within it lies the well that is called Hvergelmir, from which spring the rivers called Svöl, Gunnthrá, Fjörm, Fimbulthul, Slídr and Hríd, Sylgr and Ylgr, Víd, Leiptr; Gjöll is hard by Hel-gates. Muspelheim ("Flameland" also called Muspel ( Old Norse Múspellsheimr and Múspell, respectively is the realm of Fire Hvergelmir ( Old Norse "bubbling boiling spring" is the wellspring of cold in Niflheim in Norse mythology. In Norse mythology, Gjöll ( Old Norse meaning "resounding" is one of the eleven rivers traditionally associated with the Élivágar, according "[3] | ” |
Odin (as Þriði) further tells Gylfi that it was when the ice from Niflheimr met the flames from Muspelheimr that creation began and Ymir was formed:
| “ | Just as cold arose out of Nifiheim [Niflheim], and all terrible things, so also all that looked toward Múspellheim became hot and glowing; but Ginnungagap was as mild as windless air, and when the breath of heat met the rime, so that it melted and dripped, life was quickened from the yeast-drops, by the power of that which sent the heat, and became a man's form. Muspelheim ("Flameland" also called Muspel ( Old Norse Múspellsheimr and Múspell, respectively is the realm of Fire In Norse mythology, Ymir, also named Aurgelmir ( Old Norse gravel-yeller) among the giants themselves was the founder of the race of In Norse mythology, Ginnungagap ("magical (and creative power-filled space" was the vast primordial void that was omnipresent and omnipotent and pervaded all existence And that man is named Ymir, but the Rime-Giants call him Aurgelmir; [. In Norse mythology, Ymir, also named Aurgelmir ( Old Norse gravel-yeller) among the giants themselves was the founder of the race of A jötunn, sometimes anglicized as jotun (pronounced yotun is a giant in Norse mythology, a member of a race of nature spirits with superhuman strength In Norse mythology, Ymir, also named Aurgelmir ( Old Norse gravel-yeller) among the giants themselves was the founder of the race of . . ][4] | ” |
In relation to the world tree Yggdrasill, Jafnhárr (Odin) tells Gylfi that Niflheimr is located under the third root, where Ginnungagap (Yawning Void) once was:
| “ | The Ash is greatest of all trees and best: its limbs spread out over all the world and stand above heaven. The World Tree is a Motif present in several religions and mythologies particularly Indo-European religions The world tree is represented as a colossal In Norse mythology, Yggdrasil ( Old Norse Yggdrasill, ˈyɡˌdrasilː the extra -l is a Nominative case marker is the World Fraxinus excelsior ( Ash; also European Ash or Common Ash on occasion to distinguish it from other ash species is a species of Three roots of the tree uphold it and stand exceeding broad: one is among the Æsir; another among the Rime-Giants, in that place where aforetime was the Yawning Void; the third stands over Niflheim, and under that root is Hvergelmir, and Nídhöggr gnaws the root from below. In Old Norse, áss (or ǫ́ss ás, plural æsir, feminine ásynja, feminine plural ásynjur) is the term denoting one of the principal A jötunn, sometimes anglicized as jotun (pronounced yotun is a giant in Norse mythology, a member of a race of nature spirits with superhuman strength In Norse mythology, Ginnungagap ("magical (and creative power-filled space" was the vast primordial void that was omnipresent and omnipotent and pervaded all existence Hvergelmir ( Old Norse "bubbling boiling spring" is the wellspring of cold in Niflheim in Norse mythology. In Norse mythology, Níðhöggr ( Malice Striker, often anglicized Nidhogg) is a dragon who eats the roots of the World Tree [5] | ” |
Gylfi is furthermore informed that when Loki had engendered Hel, she was cast into Niflheimr by Odin:
| “ | Hel he cast into Niflheim, and gave to her power over nine worlds, to apportion all abodes among those that were sent to her: that is, men dead of sickness or of old age. In Cryptography, LOKI89 and LOKI91 are Block ciphers designed as possible replacements for the Data Encryption Standard (DES See also Death in Norse paganism In Norse mythology, Hel (sometimes Anglicized or Latinized as Hela) is the ruler of Hel, the Norse She has great possessions there; her walls are exceeding high and her gates great. [6] | ” |
Hel thus became the mistress of the world of those dead in disease and old age. One last mention of Niflheimr appears where it is the last destination of the jotun who were killed by Thor after he had built Asgard:
| “ | Now that the Æsir saw surely that the hill-giant was come thither, they did not regard their oaths reverently, but called on Thor, who came as quickly. A jötunn, sometimes anglicized as jotun (pronounced yotun is a giant in Norse mythology, a member of a race of nature spirits with superhuman strength Thor ( Old Norse: Þórr) is the red-haired and bearded God of Thunder in Germanic paganism and its subset Norse paganism This article is about the realm of Norse Mythology For other uses of the names Asgard, Asgaard and Asgård, see Asgard (disambiguation And straightway the hammer Mjöllnir was raised aloft; he paid the wright's wage, and not with the sun and the moon. Nay, he even denied him dwelling in Jötunheim, and struck but the one first blow, so that his skull was burst into small crumbs, and sent him down below under Niflhel [Niflheim]. [7] | ” |
Hrafnagaldr Óðins
In Hrafnagaldr Óðins, there is a brief mention of Niflheimr as a location in the North, towards which the sun (Alfr's illuminator) chased the night as it rose:
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Notes and references
- ^ Online Etymology Dictionary
- ^ Online Etymology Dictionary
- ^ Section III of Gylfaginning, in translation by Arthur G. Brodeur (1916,1923), at Northvegr. The Northvegr Foundation is a privately owned educational foundation
- ^ Section VII of Gylfaginning, in translation by Arthur G. Brodeur (1916,1923), at Northvegr.
- ^ Section XV of Gylfaginning, in translation by Arthur G. Brodeur (1916,1923), at Northvegr.
- ^ Section XLII of Gylfaginning, in translation by Arthur G. Brodeur (1916,1923), at Northvegr.
- ^ Section XXXIV of Gylfaginning, in translation by Arthur G. Brodeur (1916,1923), at Northvegr.
- ^ Hrafnagaldr Óðins in Sophus Bugge's edition. Sophus Bugge (1833-1907 was a Norwegian Philologist, known for his theories and work on the Runic alphabet, and the Poetic Edda
- ^ Odin’s Ravens’ Song in translation by Benjamin Thorpe (1866), at Northvegr.
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