Norse mythology Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia, and into the Nordic folklore of the modern per ...

, Brimir is possibly another name for 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 ...

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 ...

and also a name of a hall for the souls of the virtuous following the end-time conflict of

Ragnarök In Norse mythology, (; non, wikt:ragnarǫk, Ragnarǫk) is a series of events, including a great battle, foretelling the death of numerous great figures (including the Æsir, gods Odin, Thor, Týr, Freyr, Heimdallr, and Loki), natural disast ...

. In the ''

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 ...

'' section of the ''

Prose Edda The ''Prose Edda'', also known as the ''Younger Edda'', ''Snorri's Edda'' ( is, Snorra Edda) or, historically, simply as ''Edda'', is an Old Norse textbook written in Iceland during the early 13th century. The work is often assumed to have been ...

'' Brimir refers to a hall in the heavens for good souls following Ragnarok where "plenty of good drink" will be available for those who take pleasure in it. In stanza 9 of ''

Völuspá ''Vǫluspá'' (also ''Völuspá'', ''Vǫlospá'' or ''Vǫluspǫ́''; Old Norse: 'Prophecy of the völva, a seeress'; reconstructed Old Norse: ) is the best known poem of the ''Poetic Edda''. It tells the story of the creation of the world and ...

'', the first poem of the ''

Poetic Edda The ''Poetic Edda'' is the modern name for an untitled collection of Old Norse anonymous narrative poems, which is distinct from the ''Prose Edda'' written by Snorri Sturluson. Several versions exist, all primarily of text from the Icelandic med ...

'', Brimir and Blain are both interpreted as alternate names for Ymir, although distinction between origin and issue is often difficult to discern in Norse mythology: :"Then all the Powers went to the thrones of fate, :the sacrosanct

gods A deity or god is a supernatural being who is considered divine or sacred. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines deity as a god or goddess, or anything revered as divine. C. Scott Littleton defines a deity as "a being with powers greater ...

, and considered this: :who should form the lord of the dwarfs :out of Brimir's blood and from Blain's limbs?" : ::— Larrington trans. Quoted by Snorri in ''Gylfaginning'', he expands upon this and tells us that the dwarves were created from the dead flesh of Ymir whose body was used by

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, ...

and his brothers to form the earth ("Brimir's blood" referring to the sea and "Blain's limbs" referring to the mountains that were made from his bones). Stanza 37 of the same poem mentions Brimir as the name of a jötunn who may or may not be Ymir as the owner of a

beer hall A beer hall () is a large pub that specializes in beer. Germany Beer halls are a traditional part of Bavarian culture, and feature prominently in Oktoberfest. Bosch notes that the beer halls of Oktoberfest, known in German as ''Festzelte'', ...

: :"To the north there stood on Dark-of-moon Plains :a hall of gold of the lineage of Sindri :and another stood on Never-cooled Plain, :the beer-hall of the giant who is called Brimir." : ::— Larrington trans. Snorri used this stanza as his basis for Brimir as a hall in the afterlife in ''Gylfaginning'' but whether the two residences are identical is uncertain.

References

*Faulkes, Anthony (transl.) (1987). ''Edda'' (Snorri Sturluson).

Everyman The everyman is a stock character of fiction. An ordinary and humble character, the everyman is generally a protagonist whose benign conduct fosters the audience's identification with them. Origin The term ''everyman'' was used as early as ...

. . *Larrington, Carolyne (transl.) (1996). ''The Poetic Edda''.

Oxford World's Classics Oxford World's Classics is an imprint of Oxford University Press. First established in 1901 by Grant Richards and purchased by OUP in 1906, this imprint publishes primarily dramatic and classic literature for students and the general public. ...

. . {{Norse mythology Locations in Norse mythology Jötnar Ymir

See also

References