Creation

Fundamental to any folklore is the story of creation, the beginning of all things. The legends of the Frost Giants hold tales of mighty and monstrous beings that existed before the coming of man, so the creation of the world in which the Vikings would dwell was a product of this mythology.

After a savage battle in which Odin, Ve and Vili, the sons of the Frost Giant Bor, had killed the Frost Giant Ymir, they decided to assure themselves of Ymir’s death. They mutilated the body so extensively that the parts that they scattered became the basis of the physical world.

The bones of Ymir became the mountain ranges and the smaller hard fragments became the rocks and pebbles of the seashore. Where they had worked, the earth had been pushed aside into rolling hills leaving gullies and huge depressions. Into these, the blood of Ymir was poured to create the rivers, lakes and seas.

The skull of Ymir was held aloft by four dwarves, whose race had risen from the soil, and the skull formed the sky. The dwarves were placed at each corner of the sky and named North, East, South and West. The legend continues and explains the creation of the stars, the sun and the moon using interacting aspects of the mythology.

Some would say that the violence and barbarism of the tale is redolent of the culture of the Vikings as warriors and as a people. But the death of a supernatural being as the basis of new life is a theme repeated in many cultures and religions and the presence of this being in the land, sea and sky helps present a respect for nature and the environment.