Tori Riemersma

Religion in America
31 January 2014

The Norse Cosmological Narrative

Norse mythology holds some very unique myths and ideas not found in the stories of other
cultures and religions of the time. It is one of the many explanations for how the world and universe
came to be, and sheds some light on how the Scandinavian people understood the universe at the time,
as well as common beliefs and practices in their culture at the time.
The story of Ymir is one of the more well-known of the Norse myths, and provides one of many
explanations for the formation of the universe. The myth says that in the beginning, there was nothing,
save for a seemingly endless chasm called Ginnungagap. This was bordered by a two areas: one icy and
full of darkness, called Niflheim, and one full of fire, called Muspelheim. According to the myth, the
fire from Muspelheim and the ice from Niflheim eventually met, creating the first being. The first being,
Ymir, was a giant who eventually created a race of frost-giants, man and woman being created from
each arm (man from the right arm, woman from the left, both giants).
Ymir fathered a six-headed being that was fed and nutured by Audumla, a cow-being. Audumla
fed by licking salty rime-stone, which she eventually licked into the shape of a man who became Buri,
the first god. Buri became the father of Hoenir, Ve, and one of the most well-known gods Odin.
Eventually, Ymir became so great and evil that the three (Hoenir, Ve and Odin) set out to slay him. They
were successful, and the wound in Ymir's chest was so great that the blood drowned nearly all of the
frost giants. The two frost giant survivors went to the mountain of Jotunheim, which became the home
of the giants.
The three who had slain Ymir then used his corpse to create the universe. His flesh became the

Earth, and his blood the seas. Ymir's skull became the heavens (and was held up by three dwarves). The
Sun, stars, and Moon were all created from Muspelheim. The rest of the worlds were also created from
parts of Ymir's body. All of these were connected and supported via the tree Yggdrasill, the World
Tree, which also had one root in Muspelheim and one in Niflheim, bridging the gap of Ginnungagap.
This myth is considered a cosmological narrative because it provides an explanation for how the
world and universe came to be. It isn't much like the most common and well-known creation stories
(such as the Christian creation story), but one interesting comparison is that most cosmological
narratives involve a higher being of some sort. In this case, that would be Ymir.
Creation myths(and religion in general) can give insight into the cultures where they originated.
For example, using the Norse creation myth detailed above, there are a few obvious things about their
culture that can be discerned. It is immediately apparent how scientifically advanced Viking culture was
concerning astronomy at the time; these myths were written down some time between 900 and 1200
A.D., a bit before the astronomy boom in the Renaissance period and before we were aware of the
composition of stars. It is well known that the Vikings did use the stars extensively for navigation, and
there are other related Norse myths that describe the universe, but none show an accurate knowledge of
the cosmos.
It seems as if part of the creation myth could have originated from the vikings' understanding of
geography. According to the myth, the icy world Niflheim was located in the North, which was much
colder than. Similarly, the fire world Muspelheim was in the south, and the vikings (who had traveled as
far south as Constantinople) surely noticed this. Assuming this geological connection is true, this would
imply that the area the vikings inhabited would be considered Middle Earth, or Midgard, and that the
nine worlds may have just been different regions.
The inclusion and description of Audumla, the cow figure, suggests that the vikings revered
cattle (or, at the very least, found lots of significance and use in them). This is corroborated by the fact
that cattle were the chief domestic animals. In fact, during the Viking Era, aurochs in the Germanic

regions were being domesticated. As in several cultures, the accumulation and ownership of livestock
was seen as a status of wealth in Viking culture, which explains the importance of cattle and the cow.
There is always some information about cultures that can be found in religious texts and stories.
Religion as a whole is a good indicator of a culture and their beliefs, and the Norse myths are no
exception.

Sources:
"Norse Creation."Norse Creation. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Jan. 2014.
"Viking Pets and Domesticated Animals."Viking Answer Lady Webpage -. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Jan. 2014.
"Ymir - the Creation Giant."Ymir - the Creation Giant. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Jan. 2014.