Norse cosmology Norse cosmology is the study of the cosmos (cosmology) as perceived by the ancient North Germanic peoples. The topic encompasses concepts from Norse mythology, such as notions of time and space, cosmogony, personifications, anthropogeny, and es ...

, Niflheim or Niflheimr (

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlement ...

: ; "World of Mist", literally "Home of Mist") is a location which sometimes overlaps with the notions of

Niflhel Niflhel ("Misty Hel"; ''Nifel'' meaning ''fog'') is a location in Norse mythology which appears in the eddic poems ''Vafþrúðnismál'' and '' Baldrs draumar'', and also in Snorri Sturluson's ''Gylfaginning''. According to Snorri Sturluson's wor ...

and Hel. The name ''Niflheimr'' appears only in two extant sources: ''

Gylfaginning ''Gylfaginning'' (Old Norse: 'The Beguiling of Gylfi' or 'The Deluding of Gylfi'; c. 20,000 words; 13th century Old Norse pronunciation ) is the first part of the 13th century ''Prose Edda'' after the Prologue. The ''Gylfaginning'' deals with t ...

'' and the much-debated ''

Hrafnagaldr Óðins ''Hrafnagaldr Óðins'' ("Odin's raven-galdr") or ''Forspjallsljóð'' ("prelude poem") is an Icelandic poem in the style of the ''Poetic Edda''. It is preserved only in late paper manuscripts. In his influential 1867 edition of the ''Poetic Edda ...

''.

WHEATON(1844) The Cosmos in the Norse mythology

Niflheim was primarily a realm of primordial ice and cold, with the frozen rivers of

Élivágar In Norse mythology, Élivágar (Old Norse: ; "Ice Waves") are rivers that existed in Ginnungagap at the beginning of the world. The ''Prose Edda'' relates: The streams called Ice-waves, those which were so long come from the fountain-heads that ...

and the well of

Hvergelmir In Norse mythology, Hvergelmir (Old Norse: ; "bubbling boiling spring"Orchard (1997:93)) is a major spring. Hvergelmir is attested in the ''Poetic Edda'', compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the ''Prose Edda'', writte ...

, from which come all the rivers. According to ''Gylfaginning'', Niflheim was the second of the two primordial realms to emanate out of

Ginnungagap In Norse mythology, Ginnungagap ( old Norse: ; "gaping abyss", "yawning void") is the primordial void mentioned in the Gylfaginning, the Eddaic text recording Norse cosmogony. Etymology ''Ginnunga-'' is usually interpreted as deriving from a ver ...

, the other one being

Muspelheim In Norse cosmology, Muspelheim ( on, Múspellsheimr), also called Muspell ( on, Múspell), is a realm of fire. The etymology of "Muspelheim" is uncertain, but may come from ''Mund-spilli'', "world-destroyers", "wreck of the world". Narrative ...

, the realm of fire. Between these two realms of cold and heat, creation began when its waters mixed with the heat of Muspelheim to form a "creating steam". Later, it became the abode of Hel, a goddess daughter of Loki, and the afterlife for her subjects, those who did not die a heroic or notable death.

Etymology

''Nifl'' ("mist"; whence the Icelandic '' nifl'') is a

cognate In historical linguistics, cognates or lexical cognates are sets of words in different languages that have been inherited in direct descent from an etymological ancestor in a common parent language. Because language change can have radical ef ...

to the

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th ...

''nifol'' ("dark, gloomy"), ( Middle)

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

'' nevel'',

Old High German Old High German (OHG; german: Althochdeutsch (Ahd.)) is the earliest stage of the German language, conventionally covering the period from around 750 to 1050. There is no standardised or supra-regional form of German at this period, and Old Hig ...

'' nebul'' ("

fog Fog is a visible aerosol consisting of tiny water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth's surface. Reprint from Fog can be considered a type of low-lying cloud usually resembling stratus, and is heavily influ ...

") and

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic pe ...

'' νεφέλη'', , ("

cloud In meteorology, a cloud is an aerosol consisting of a visible mass of miniature liquid droplets, frozen crystals, or other particles suspended in the atmosphere of a planetary body or similar space. Water or various other chemicals may ...

").

''Gylfaginning''

In ''Gylfaginning'' by

Snorri Sturluson Snorri Sturluson ( ; ; 1179 – 22 September 1241) was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was elected twice as lawspeaker of the Icelandic parliament, the Althing. He is commonly thought to have authored or compiled portions of th ...

Gylfi In Norse mythology, Gylfi (Old Norse: ), ''Gylfe'', ''Gylvi'', or ''Gylve'' was the earliest recorded king in Scandinavia. He often uses the name Gangleri when appearing in disguise. The traditions on Gylfi deal with how he was tricked by the god ...

, the king of ancient

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and S ...

, receives an education in Norse mythology from

Odin Odin (; from non, Óðinn, ) is a widely revered god in Germanic paganism. Norse mythology, the source of most surviving information about him, associates him with wisdom, healing, death, royalty, the gallows, knowledge, war, battle, victory, ...

in the guise of three men. Gylfi learns from Odin (as ''Jafnhárr'') that Niflheimr was the first world to be created after Muspelheim: Odin (as ''Þriði'') further tells Gylfi that it was when the ice from Niflheimr met the flames from Muspelheimr that creation began and

Ymir In Norse mythology, Ymir (, ), also called Aurgelmir, Brimir, or Bláinn, is the ancestor of all jötnar. Ymir is attested in the ''Poetic Edda'', compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional material, in the ''Prose Edda'', writ ...

was formed: In relation to the

world tree The world tree is a motif present in several religions and mythologies, particularly Indo-European religions, Siberian religions, and Native American religions. The world tree is represented as a colossal tree which supports the heavens, thereb ...

Yggdrasill Yggdrasil (from Old Norse ), in Norse cosmology, is an immense and central sacred tree. Around it exists all else, including the Nine Worlds. Yggdrasil is attested in the ''Poetic Edda'' compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional ...

, ''Jafnhárr'' (Odin) tells Gylfi that frost jötnar is located under the second root, where Ginnungagap (''Yawning Void'') once was: Gylfi is furthermore informed that when

Loki Loki is a god in Norse mythology. According to some sources, Loki is the son of Fárbauti (a jötunn) and Laufey (mentioned as a goddess), and the brother of Helblindi and Býleistr. Loki is married to Sigyn and they have two sons, Narfi ...

had engendered Hel, she was cast into Niflheimr by Odin: Hel thus became the mistress of the world of those dead in disease and old age. This is the only instance in which Niflheim and Hel are equated (the Poetic Edda mentions Hel but doesn't say anything about Niflheim). However, there is some confusion in the different versions of the manuscript, with some of them saying Niflheim where others say Niflhel (the lowest level of Hel). Thus in the passage about the last destination of the ''

jötunn A (also jotun; in the normalised scholarly spelling of Old Norse, ; ; plural / ) or, in Old English, (plural ) is a type of supernatural being in Germanic mythology. In Norse mythology, they are often contrasted with gods ( Æsir and Vani ...

'' who was killed by

Thor Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred groves and trees, strength, the protection of humankind, hallowing, ...

after he had built

Asgard In Nordic mythology, Asgard (Old Norse: ''Ásgarðr'' ; "enclosure of the Æsir") is a location associated with the gods. It appears in a multitude of Old Norse sagas and mythological texts. It is described as the fortified home of the Æsir ...

''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:

Notes and references

{{Norse mythology Locations in Norse mythology Norse underworld Ymir

Etymology

''Gylfaginning''

''Hrafnagaldr Óðins''

See also

Notes and references