In
Norse cosmology
Norse cosmology is the account of the universe and its laws by the ancient North Germanic peoples. The topic encompasses concepts from Norse mythology and Old Norse religion such as notations of time and space, cosmogony, personifications, anthr ...
, Muspelheim (), also called Muspell (), is a realm of
fire
Fire is the rapid oxidation of a fuel in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products.
Flames, the most visible portion of the fire, are produced in the combustion re ...
.
The etymology of "Muspelheim" is uncertain, but may come from ''Mund-spilli'', "world-destroyers", "wreck of the world".
[
]
Narrative
Muspelheim was described as a hot and glowing land of fire, home to the fire giants
A giant is a being of human appearance, sometimes of prodigious size and strength, common in folklore.
Giant(s) or The Giant(s) may also refer to:
Mythology and religion
*Giants (Greek mythology)
* Jötunn, a Germanic term often translated as 'g ...
, and guarded by Surtr
In Norse mythology, Surtr (Old Norse "black"Orchard (1997:154). or more narrowly "swart",Simek (2007:303–304) Surtur in modern Icelandic language, Icelandic), also sometimes written Surt in English, is a jötunn; he is the greatest of the fire ...
, with his flaming sword. It is featured in both the creation and destruction stories of Norse myth. According to the Prose Edda
The ''Prose Edda'', also known as the ''Younger Edda'', ''Snorri's Edda'' () or, historically, simply as ''Edda'', is an Old Norse textbook written in Iceland during the early 13th century. The work is often considered to have been to some exten ...
, a great time before the Earth was made, Niflheim existed. Inside Niflheim
In Norse cosmology, Niflheim or Niflheimr (Old Norse: ; "World of Mist", literally "Home of Mist") is a location which sometimes overlaps with the notions of Niflhel and Hel. The name ''Niflheimr'' appears only in two extant sources: ''Gylfagin ...
was a well called Hvergelmir
Hvergelmir (Old Norse "bubbling boiling spring"Orchard (1997:93)) is an important primal wellspring in Norse mythology. Hvergelmir is attested in the ''Poetic Edda'', compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the ''Prose Ed ...
, from this well flowed numerous streams known as the 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 ...
. Their names were Svol, Gunnthro, Form, Finbul, Thul, Slid and Hrid, Sylg and Ylg, Vid, Leipt and Gjoll.[
After a time these streams had traveled sufficiently far from their source in ]Niflheim
In Norse cosmology, Niflheim or Niflheimr (Old Norse: ; "World of Mist", literally "Home of Mist") is a location which sometimes overlaps with the notions of Niflhel and Hel. The name ''Niflheimr'' appears only in two extant sources: ''Gylfagin ...
, that the venom that flowed within them hardened and turned to ice. When this ice eventually settled, rain rose up from it, and froze into rime. This ice then began to layer itself over the primordial void, Ginnungagap
In Norse mythology, Ginnungagap (old Norse: ; "gaping abyss", "yawning void") is the primordial, magical void mentioned in three poems from the ''Poetic Edda'' and the ''Gylfaginning'', the Eddaic text recording Norse cosmogony.
Etymology
''Ginn ...
. This made the northern portion of Ginungagap thick with ice, and storms begin to form within.
In the southern region of Ginnungagap, however, glowing sparks were still flying out of Muspelheim. When the heat and sparks from Muspelheim met the ice, it began to melt. The sparks would go on to create the Sun, Moon, and stars,[ and the drops of melted ice would form the primeval being ]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'', writte ...
: "By the might of him who sent the heat, the drops quickened into life and took the likeness of a man, who got the name Ymir. But the Frost giants call him Aurgelmir".[
The '']Prose Edda
The ''Prose Edda'', also known as the ''Younger Edda'', ''Snorri's Edda'' () or, historically, simply as ''Edda'', is an Old Norse textbook written in Iceland during the early 13th century. The work is often considered to have been to some exten ...
'' section ''Gylfaginning
''Gylfaginning'' (Old Norse: 'The Beguiling of Gylfi' or 'The Deluding of Gylfi'; 13th century Old Norse pronunciation ) is the first main part of the 13th century ''Prose Edda'', after the initial Prologue. The ''Gylfaginning'' takes the form of ...
'' foretells that the sons of Muspell will break the Bifröst
In Norse mythology, Bifröst (modern Icelandic: Bifröst ; from Old Norse: /ˈbiv.rɔst/), also called Bilröst and often anglicized as Bifrost, is a burning rainbow bridge that reaches between Midgard (Earth) and Asgard, the realm of the gods. ...
bridge as part of the events of Ragnarök
In Norse mythology, (also Ragnarok; or ; ) is a foretold series of impending events, including a great battle in which numerous great Norse mythological figures will perish (including the Æsir, gods Odin, Thor, Týr, Freyr, Heimdall, a ...
:
Depictions in popular culture
Muspelheim – called "Surt's sea of fire" – is mentioned in Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale "The Marsh King's Daughter."
Comic books and their derived media
Muspelheim appears in different kinds of Marvel Entertainment
Marvel Entertainment, LLC (formerly Marvel Entertainment, Inc. and Marvel Enterprises, Inc.) was an American entertainment company founded in June 1998 and based in New York City, formed by the merger of #Marvel Entertainment Group, Marvel Ente ...
media.
* Muspelheim is a realm in the Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...
universe.
* In the Marvel Cinematic Universe
The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on List of Marvel Cinematic Universe films, a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appe ...
, Muspelheim is first depicted in '' Thor: The Dark World'' (2013) during the Convergence and later in '' Thor: Ragnarok'' (2017). Muspelheim is depicted as a dyson sphere
A Dyson sphere is a hypothetical megastructure that encompasses a star and captures a large percentage of its power output. The concept is a thought experiment that attempts to imagine how a spacefaring civilization would meet its energy re ...
with rocky terrain.
* Muspelheim appears in ''Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends
''Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends'' is a 1981–1983 American animated television series produced by Marvel Productions, considered to be a crossover series connected to the 1981 ''Spider-Man'' series. The show stars already-established Marve ...
'' when Loki
Loki is a Æsir, god in Norse mythology. He is the son of Fárbauti (a jötunn) and Laufey (mythology), Laufey (a goddess), and the brother of Helblindi and Býleistr. Loki is married to the goddess Sigyn and they have two sons, Narfi (son of Lo ...
uses the Twins of the Gods to teleport Iceman to the Sea of Flame in Muspelheim.
Role playing games
The game ''Puzzle & Dragons
is a puzzle video game with Role-playing video game, role-playing and strategy games, strategy elements, developed and published by GungHo Online Entertainment for the iOS, Android (operating system), Android, and Amazon Fire platforms.
''Puzz ...
'' features a monster entitled Flamedragon Muspelheim and Infernodragon Muspelheim.
In the game ''God of War
A war god in mythology associated with war, combat, or bloodshed. They occur commonly in polytheism, polytheistic religions.
Unlike most gods and goddesses in polytheistic religions, monotheistic deities have traditionally been portrayed in their ...
'', players can travel to Muspelheim where they can complete the six Trials of Muspelheim. When completing each trial, the player will receive rewards and will advance Kratos and Atreus
In Greek mythology, Atreus (, ) was a king of Mycenae in the Peloponnese, the son of Pelops and Hippodamia (daughter of Oenomaus), Hippodamia, and the father of Agamemnon and Menelaus. His descendants became known collectively as the Atreidae ...
closer to the top of a large volcano
A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface.
On Earth, volcanoes are most oft ...
.
In the Dawn of Ragnarök expansion for Ubisoft
Ubisoft Entertainment SA (; ; formerly Ubi Soft Entertainment SA) is a French video game publisher headquartered in Saint-Mandé with development studios across the world. Its video game franchises include '' Anno'', '' Assassin's Creed'', ' ...
's Assassin's Creed Valhalla
''Assassin's Creed Valhalla'' is a 2020 action role-playing game developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft. It is the twelfth major installment in the ''Assassin's Creed'' series, and the successor to 2018's ''Assassin's Creed Odyss ...
, Surtr and massive armies of muspels from Muspelheim invade the dwarven realm of Svartalfheim, infecting large parts of it with pools and streams of magma.
In the mobile game ''Fire Emblem Heroes
is a free-to-play tactical role-playing game developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for Android and iOS. The game is a mobile spin-off of the ''Fire Emblem'' series featuring its characters, and was released on February 2, ...
'', the land of Muspell is a prevalent part of the game's second book, which heavily features the battle between Muspell and Niflheim
In Norse cosmology, Niflheim or Niflheimr (Old Norse: ; "World of Mist", literally "Home of Mist") is a location which sometimes overlaps with the notions of Niflhel and Hel. The name ''Niflheimr'' appears only in two extant sources: ''Gylfagin ...
.
In the MMORPG
A massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) is a video game that combines aspects of a role-playing video game and a massively multiplayer online game.
As in role-playing games (RPGs), the player assumes the role of a Player charac ...
Dark Age of Camelot
''Dark Age of Camelot'' is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game released in October 2001 in North America, and in January 2002 in Europe. The game combines Arthurian lore, Norse mythology, and Celtic mythology with high fantasy. It i ...
there are three different realms based on different mythologies the players can choose to play in, one of them is called Midgard and is based on the Norse mythology. In Midgard there is a large region called Muspelheim which is an ashen wasteland with rivers of lava populated largely by giants and fire elemental beings.
God of War (2018) and God of War: Ragnarök feature Muspelheim as a visitable realm. In the former, the player and their companion battle through a gauntlet known as "Surtr's Trials," and in the latter, encounter Surtr himself and use him to begin Ragnarök, turning him into a monster of the same name.
See also
*Muspilli
''Muspilli'' is an Old High German alliterative verse poem known in incomplete form (103 lines) from a ninth-century Bavarian manuscript. Its subject is the fate of the soul immediately after death and at the Last Judgment. Many aspects of the int ...
*Norse cosmology
Norse cosmology is the account of the universe and its laws by the ancient North Germanic peoples. The topic encompasses concepts from Norse mythology and Old Norse religion such as notations of time and space, cosmogony, personifications, anthr ...
Notes
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Muspellsheimr
Norse demons
Places in Norse mythology
Ymir
Fire in religion