Norse

=Norse=
 * Group Members:**
 * Gloria Ha
 * Daniel Stelzer
 * David Bergvelt

**Cosmology**

In the beginning, there were three regions that existed before the world and any life within it ("Norse Creation Myth"). Ginnungagap was at its center, a yawning, desolate chasm devoid of land, sea, and light from above (Daly 13). To the south was the fiery land of Muspellheim, throughout which boiling rivers of poison and flaming lakes retained its extreme temperatures ("Norse Creation Myth"). The chilling land of cold mists to the north, Niflheim, housed dark skies, solid mountains of ice, and spouted lethal rivers (Daly 13; "Norse Creation Myth"). Scalding sheets of fire and air from Muspell and fierce ice from Niflheim coincided in Ginnungagap, causing alternate zones of melted water and icy glaciers (Lindemans). For millions of years, it was so, until gradually the interaction of fire and ice gave mergence to life (Daly 13; Lindemans).

Out of the melting ice emerged Ymir, a gargantuan frost giant and the first living creature (Daly 13; "Norse Creation Myth"). The diminishing drops of ice then formed Audhumla, a huge and divine cow. Audhumla licked the frosty, salty stones of Ginnungagap and Aurgelmir drank from the four rivers of milk that flowed from the cow's udders (Lindemans). Through this rich nourishment, Ymir continued to grow larger over time (Daly 13; "Norse Creation Myth"). Audhumla persistently fed from rime and salt on the rocks, licking the stones into the form of a man. This was Buri, who was to become the ancestor of the gods ("Aurgelmir"). Buri's son was called Bor, who married the giantess Bestla, Ymir's granddaughter (Lindemans). Together, they produced the first Aesir gods: Odin, Vili, and Ve (Daly 13). Odin became the king of the gods ("Norse Creation Myth").

In the midst of his slumber, Aurgelmir's substantial body gave rise to the second generation of Jotuns, the frost giants (Daly 13). Two giants, male and female, sprouted from his underarms, and from his legs, a giant with six heads ("Aurgelmir"). The Jotuns were unruly, and Ymir himself committed evil, cruel, and brutal acts (Daly 13; "Norse Creation Myth"). This aggressive race of giants soon became enemies of the gods, and the irritated deities decided to take action ("Aurgelmir"). Ymir was killed by Odin and his fellow gods, and his copious amounts of blood drowned all but one pair of primeval giants. Bergelmir and his wife utilized a hollowed tree trunk-- the first boat-- to survive and begin a new race of giants (Daly 13; "Norse Creation Myth").

The giant was first concocted in hot air and searing ice, and thus he returned to fill emptiness with his being. Aurgelmir was the immense sacrifice that resulted in the creation of the world. The gods dragged his massive body to Ginnungagap, and Odin distributed his parts across the regions ("Norse Creation Myth"). Ymir's great layers of flesh were spread out to encompass the earthen floor. Solid bones provided the structural support needed to create mountains and hills that rollicked over the earth. Ever hardy were his teeth, which formed the stones and boulders speckling the land. The overflowing streams of blood that drowned Aurgelmir's descendants were calmed into fluid bodies of water (Daly 13).

Beneath the hair and flesh of his head, Ymir's immense domed skull became the sky, and his wobbly brains were thrown overhead, forming clouds. The weighty skull-sky had four corners, held up by the dwarfs Nordi, Sudri, Austri, and Westri, which is where the names for the four cardinal directions come from (Daly 14). Odin retrieved fiery sparks from Muspell's depths, forming the sun, moon, and stars that he later flung into the sky ("Norse Creation Myth"). Perpetual darkness was thus alleviated, and Day was born of Dawn and the giantess Night. Sun and Moon were drawn in chariots with splendid horses, constantly chased by the wolves Skoll and Hati across the heavens (Daly 14-15).

The numerous locks of curly hair that peppered Ymir's head were spread to vegetate the earth (Daly 13). When the sun came into being, the once cold, infertile land was melted down to allow plants, leafy trees, and other vegetation to grow ("Norse Creation Myth"). It was due to vegetation that the first humans were created. The Aesir gods were strolling along the seashore when they came upon a pair of trees fallen in the mud, just beyond the waves of water. The trunks were pleasing in shape, and thus they were given life. Odin gave them the breath of life, and with it, the sensory capabilities to experience the world. Vili gifted them with thought and speech, and Ve animated them with warmth, color, and movement. And so the ash tree became Ask, and the elm, Embla-- the first man and woman (Daly 15; "Norse Creation Myth").

From Ask and Embla, the entire human race was created. The gods enclosed the earth within Ymir's eyebrows, and gave humans authority over this Midgard, or middle-earth (Daly 14). Satisfied, the gods retreated to Asgard, in the high reaches of heaven. Though humans lived peacefully for many years, there was inevitable splitting between social classes. Heimdall, god of light, came down from Asgard guised as the mortal Rig-Heimdall. Armed with his charming golden smile, Rig-Heimdall managed to father three sons as he journeyed through Midgard. His first escapade was of rather humble descent, from a farmstead where he was served miserable meals. After sweet-talking himself into the bed of the aged couple, the grandmother gave birth to an ugly but strong son that was the first of a race of serfs-- the human peasants and laborers. Rig-Heimdall's second journey brought him to a larger farm owned by an artisan and farmer. He was served decent and nourishing food, and left his mark once more with a healthy and hardworking son. This boy headed the race of landholders and craftsmen. Rig's third stop was the epitome of extravagance, a mansion with sumptuous meals and service. There, he fathered a handsome, intelligent, and skilled son that went on to produce a race of rulers and warriors (Daly 36-38; Lindemans). After dividing the human race into distinct castes, Rig-Heimdall returned to Asgard, in the heavens.

Heaven was one of three levels of the universe, of which there were nine worlds. On this first tier, the primary gods in Asgard were joined by the lesser Vanir gods in Vanaheim, and the light elves of Alfheim. The Aesir gods magicked a rainbow bridge, Bifrost, to provide a pathway between the divinity in heaven and their creations on earth. Heimdall, god of light, was appointed to perpetually guard the spectral bridge (Lindemans; "Norse Mythology").

Earth made up the middle tier of the universe. Jormungand, a colossal yet harmless serpent, stretched across this level (Lindemans). Ymir's eyebrows separated humans, animals, and vegetation in Midgard from the other earthly realms ("Norse Mythology"). Dwarfs resided in Nidavellir, and Swartalfheim housed the dark elves (Lindemans). Both creatures were human-like and skilled in smithery, but also misshapen, plagued with greed and selfishness. Bergelmir and his wife, the only surviving Jotuns, started a new generation of frost and rock giants that dwelled in Jotunheim (Daly 14-15). Beneath the earth lay the cold and lifeless underworld. Niflheim was the world of the dead, encompassing the realm of the dead ruled by the goddess Hel. Those who failed to perish in battle would find their spirits aimlessly wandering in the underworld for eternity ("Norse Mythology").

Odin planted an enormous ash tree, Yggdrasil, which had foundation in the beginning of creation and stretched out into the heavens ("Norse Creation Myth"). The World Tree was rooted in the archaic Niflheim, its trunk sprouted through the center of Midgard, and its highest branches supported Asgard, Vanaheim and Alfheim ("Yggdrasil"). Yggdrasil endured abuse in the underworld, where monstrous Nidhogg, along with other serpents constantly gnawed at the tree's deepest root in order to destroy the great structure (Lindemans). An eagle in Asgard also attempted to destroy it by breaking its branches, and a squirrel named Ratatosk ran back and forth between them, carrying insults. Yggdrasil was also the Tree of Life. In an attempt to avenge Ymir's death, his sisters carved the lives of humans in the tree, each ending with a definite slash so that they would never pass the gods. Thus humans had lives containing pain, suffering, and ultimately ending with death ("Norse Creation Myth).

The fate of each human was secured through caste and death, yet the gods were aware that they weren't immortal themselves. There was a prophesied doom of the gods, or Ragnarok ("Ragnarok"). This destruction of the world was to be preceded by continuous winter, Fimbulvetr. The wolves who were chasing the sun and moon would finally extinguish the light sources and the stars would disappear, plunging the world into darkness (Daly 15). Earthquakes would break the indestructible chains, releasing Fenrir, the deadly wolf and proposed destroyer of the cosmos, and Jormungand's fury would release boats of gods in the water. All beings of the universe would congregate in Vigrid and fight one-on-one battles. Surt, a fire giant, would set Midgard on fire, and all would perish (Lindemans).

Most gods would die, but some would be resurrected after Ragnarok when Niflheim was destroyed ("Ragnarok"). The only survivors would be two humans, Lif and Lifthrasir ("Life" and "Eager for Life"), who slumbered in a sheltered forest while the universe was destroyed. These two would then awake in a new, lush, green, and idyllic world and be the first of a new race of humans (Lindemans). This revelation lay far off in the intangible future, and so the inhabitants of the universe lived in the eternal present, in a world of layered mysteries.


 * Bibliography**

"Aurgelmir." //Encyclopædia Britannica//. 2010. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 05 Nov. 2010 .


 * Daly, Kathleen N. //Norse Mythology A to Z: A Young Reader's Comparison.// New York: Facts on File, 1991. 13-15, 35-38. Print. **


 * Lindemans, Micha F. "Norse Mythology." //Encyclopedia Mythica//. 2007. Encyclopedia Mythica Online. 24 Oct. 2010.  **

"Midgard." //Encyclopædia Britannic﻿a//. 2010. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 04 Nov. 2010 .

"Norse Creation Myth." //Big Myth//. Distant Train, 2007. Web. 24 Oct. 2010. .

"Norse Mythology." //U.X.L. Encyclopedia of World Mythology//. Ed. Rebecca Parks. Vol. 4. Farmington Hills: Gale, Cengage Learning, 2009. 755-763. Print.

"Ragnarok." //U.X.L. Encyclopedia of World Mythology//. Ed. Rebecca Parks. Vol. 5. Farmington Hills: Gale, Cengage Learning, 2009. 875-879. Print//.//

"Valhalla." //U.X.L. Encyclopedia of World Mythology//. Ed. Rebecca Parks. Vol. 5. Farmington Hills: Gale, Cengage Learning, 2009. 1035-1037. Print.

"Yggdrasil." //U.X.L. Encyclopedia of World Mythology//. Ed. Rebecca Parks. Vol. 5. Farmington Hills: Gale, Cengage Learning, 2009. 1066-1069. Print.

Here are our notes which we used to write the cosmology: