Niflheim

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The spheres of the Nordic gods

Niflheim ( Old Norse Niflheimr "dark world") is an icy area in the north in Norse mythology , in contrast to the hot Muspellsheim , which is in the south.

In the story of creation , the original source of Hvergelmir lies in Niflheim , whose water was fed by the Élivágar ; she poured her icy water into the Ginnungagap , which was warmed by the heat of Muspellsheim , from which the giant Ymir emerged as the first being. A root of the world tree Yggdrasill extends over Niflheim.

Niflheim has been handed down as a term exclusively in Snorri Sturluson's prose Edda and is likely to be his own creation. The idea of ​​a mythical ice region in the north may be older, since Snorri equates Niflheim twice with Hel, apparently based on Niflhel .

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Snorri Sturluson: Prose-Edda, Gylfaginning . Chapter 4 f., 15 (citation of the Prose Edda after Arnulf Krause: Die Edda des Snorri Sturluson. Philipp Reclam jun. Verlag, Stuttgart 1997, ISBN 978-3-15-000782-2 )
  2. ^ Rudolf Simek: Lexicon of Germanic Mythology (= Kröner's pocket edition. Volume 368). 3rd, completely revised edition. Kröner, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 3-520-36803-X , p. 301.