Post by Mysti on Jul 4, 2007 9:25:58 GMT -5
Well there is a person that got me interested in Norse Mythology and Gods and Goddesses.. this person i will forever thank for instilling in me a hunger for this.. and this book looks like im going to be reporting on it for awhile.. the book is The Norse Myths author Kevin Crossley-Holland.
In the beginning of all life the world was burning ice and biting flame.. this is how the world began.
The south realm was called Muspell. It is the land of dancing flames. The God Black Surt resides there in the farthest point of that land. He has a sword of flames. This God awaits the day when he can ravage the whole of the land and take back the world and plung it into fire.
The north realm is called Niflheim. This realm is ice and snow. In the middle of all of this lies a spring that is the source of the eleven rivers named the Elivagar. The rivers are Svol, Gunnthra, Fjorm, Fimbulthul, Slid, Hrid, Sylg, Ylg, Vid, Leipt, Gjoll.
In between these two realms Lay a very large emptyness this was Ginnungagap. The rivers that came from Hvergelmir streamed into this void.the venom in the rivers became thick like sludge and the rivers turned to ice. This continued until all of the north was covered w/ thick layers of ice and became very desolate and haunted w/ the winds.
The northern and southern parts of the world were exact oposites.. As one was desolate ice the other was a molten flaming hell.... But the middle of Ginnungagap was mild. And a warm breath coming north from Muspell met the rime of Niflheim.. The ice thawed and began to drip and out of that life was formed. The giant Ymir was created. He was a frost giant and evil.
When this giant slept he began to sweat.. A man and woman was created from the sweat of his left armpit and one of his legs fathered a son on the other leg. Ymir was the forefather of the frost giants and they called him Aurgelmir.
As more ice melted it took the form of a cow which was called Audumla. Ymir ate from the milk that flowed from that cow. The cow fed from the ice itself. As the cow ate the ice she found a man. His name was Buri.
Buri was strong and handsome. He had a son named Bor.. He married a daughter of one of the frost giants. Her name was Bestla.. She had three children all boys. Thier names were Odin, Vili, Ve. This was the beginning.. before there was anything.
Odin, Vili, and Ve didnt like Ymir and killed him bc he was mean and brutal. From Yamir's body they made the earth and placed it in the middle of Ginnungagap. They made the sky from his skull and streached corner to corner. They set a dwarf under each corner and named him north, south, east, and west. They made the stars from sparks out of Muspell. and the Moon and Sun from glowing embers and set them high in the sky.
Man and Woman was made from trees found w/ thier roots uprooted and fallen.. the trees were oak and ash. Odin gave them the breath of life. Vili gave them sharp wits and feeling hearts. Ve gave them gifts of hearing and sight. The man was called Ask and the woman was called Embla.. They were given Midgard to live in .. All the people of earth came from these two.
A Giant living in Jotunheim, Narvi, had a daughter named Night. She married three times. Of the first husband she had a son his name was Aud; the second time she married she had a daughter, Earth; the third time she had another son, his name was Day.
Odin took Night and Day and set them in chariots in the sky to ride around the world every two and one half days.
A man called Mundilfari had two children and named his son Moon and his daughter Sun, bc they were so beautiful. Odin and his brothers were angered at his daring and snatched them away to guide the charriots of the sun and moon.
Moon leads and decides when the moon will wax and wane. Sun follows behind and always seems as if she is in a great hurry bc there is a wolf chaising her named skoll. The wolf that races behind Sun is Hati. It is said that they will run them down in the end.
After Odin, Vili, and Ve had done all of this they remembered the maggots that had crawled in Ymir's flesh. The gave them life and the shape of men. These men lived under ground and were called dwarves. Modsognir is their leader and his deputy is Durin.
So the earth was fashioned and filled with men and giants and dwarfs, surrounded by the sea and covered by the sky. Then the sons of Bor built their own realm of Asgard-- a mighty stronghold, and place of green plains and shining palaces high over Midgard. The two regions were linked by Bifrost, a flaming rainbow bride; it was made of three colours with magic and great skill, and it is wonderfully strong. All the Aesir, the guardians of men, crossed over and settled in Asgard. Odin, Allfather, is the oldest and greatest of them all; there are twelve divine gods and twelve divine goddesses, and a great assembly of other Aesir. And this was the beginning of all that has happened, remembered or forgotten, in the regions of the world.
And all that has happened, and all the regions of the world, lie under the brances of the ash Yggdrasill, greatest and best of trees. It soars over all that is; its three roots delve into Asgard and Jotunheim and Niflheim, and there is a spring under each. A hawk and eagle sit in it, a squirrel scurries up and down it, deep leap within it and nibble at it, a dragon devours it, and it is sprinkled w/ dew. It gives life to itself, it gives life to the unborn. Wth winds whirl round it and Yggdrasill croons or groans. Yggdrasill always was and is and will be.
~End of Creation Story~
In the beginning of all life the world was burning ice and biting flame.. this is how the world began.
The south realm was called Muspell. It is the land of dancing flames. The God Black Surt resides there in the farthest point of that land. He has a sword of flames. This God awaits the day when he can ravage the whole of the land and take back the world and plung it into fire.
The north realm is called Niflheim. This realm is ice and snow. In the middle of all of this lies a spring that is the source of the eleven rivers named the Elivagar. The rivers are Svol, Gunnthra, Fjorm, Fimbulthul, Slid, Hrid, Sylg, Ylg, Vid, Leipt, Gjoll.
In between these two realms Lay a very large emptyness this was Ginnungagap. The rivers that came from Hvergelmir streamed into this void.the venom in the rivers became thick like sludge and the rivers turned to ice. This continued until all of the north was covered w/ thick layers of ice and became very desolate and haunted w/ the winds.
The northern and southern parts of the world were exact oposites.. As one was desolate ice the other was a molten flaming hell.... But the middle of Ginnungagap was mild. And a warm breath coming north from Muspell met the rime of Niflheim.. The ice thawed and began to drip and out of that life was formed. The giant Ymir was created. He was a frost giant and evil.
When this giant slept he began to sweat.. A man and woman was created from the sweat of his left armpit and one of his legs fathered a son on the other leg. Ymir was the forefather of the frost giants and they called him Aurgelmir.
As more ice melted it took the form of a cow which was called Audumla. Ymir ate from the milk that flowed from that cow. The cow fed from the ice itself. As the cow ate the ice she found a man. His name was Buri.
Buri was strong and handsome. He had a son named Bor.. He married a daughter of one of the frost giants. Her name was Bestla.. She had three children all boys. Thier names were Odin, Vili, Ve. This was the beginning.. before there was anything.
Odin, Vili, and Ve didnt like Ymir and killed him bc he was mean and brutal. From Yamir's body they made the earth and placed it in the middle of Ginnungagap. They made the sky from his skull and streached corner to corner. They set a dwarf under each corner and named him north, south, east, and west. They made the stars from sparks out of Muspell. and the Moon and Sun from glowing embers and set them high in the sky.
Man and Woman was made from trees found w/ thier roots uprooted and fallen.. the trees were oak and ash. Odin gave them the breath of life. Vili gave them sharp wits and feeling hearts. Ve gave them gifts of hearing and sight. The man was called Ask and the woman was called Embla.. They were given Midgard to live in .. All the people of earth came from these two.
A Giant living in Jotunheim, Narvi, had a daughter named Night. She married three times. Of the first husband she had a son his name was Aud; the second time she married she had a daughter, Earth; the third time she had another son, his name was Day.
Odin took Night and Day and set them in chariots in the sky to ride around the world every two and one half days.
A man called Mundilfari had two children and named his son Moon and his daughter Sun, bc they were so beautiful. Odin and his brothers were angered at his daring and snatched them away to guide the charriots of the sun and moon.
Moon leads and decides when the moon will wax and wane. Sun follows behind and always seems as if she is in a great hurry bc there is a wolf chaising her named skoll. The wolf that races behind Sun is Hati. It is said that they will run them down in the end.
After Odin, Vili, and Ve had done all of this they remembered the maggots that had crawled in Ymir's flesh. The gave them life and the shape of men. These men lived under ground and were called dwarves. Modsognir is their leader and his deputy is Durin.
So the earth was fashioned and filled with men and giants and dwarfs, surrounded by the sea and covered by the sky. Then the sons of Bor built their own realm of Asgard-- a mighty stronghold, and place of green plains and shining palaces high over Midgard. The two regions were linked by Bifrost, a flaming rainbow bride; it was made of three colours with magic and great skill, and it is wonderfully strong. All the Aesir, the guardians of men, crossed over and settled in Asgard. Odin, Allfather, is the oldest and greatest of them all; there are twelve divine gods and twelve divine goddesses, and a great assembly of other Aesir. And this was the beginning of all that has happened, remembered or forgotten, in the regions of the world.
And all that has happened, and all the regions of the world, lie under the brances of the ash Yggdrasill, greatest and best of trees. It soars over all that is; its three roots delve into Asgard and Jotunheim and Niflheim, and there is a spring under each. A hawk and eagle sit in it, a squirrel scurries up and down it, deep leap within it and nibble at it, a dragon devours it, and it is sprinkled w/ dew. It gives life to itself, it gives life to the unborn. Wth winds whirl round it and Yggdrasill croons or groans. Yggdrasill always was and is and will be.
~End of Creation Story~