Norse Tales of Creation and the Gods by Uruzz Tyrburr

[Dept of PMM Artists & things]

"The Norse Tale of Creation and the Gods" that follows was copied from The Book of History by Olive Beaupre Miller (1931) . While it was written with children in mind, it should also be of interest to adults. The entire set of Norse Tales from the above named book will be broken up into a series of messages with this one being the first.
 
In the beginning, the morn of time, there was in the center of space a dark and yawning gulf, Ginnungagap, the abyss, north of which lay Niflheim, the land of mist and darkness, and south of which lay Muspellsheim, the blood-red land of fire, where Surtr, the great flame giant guarded the frontier. Now streams from a spring in Niflheim gushed over into the cleft and froze in the cold of the gap, rolling down as blocks of ice with a mighty roar like thunder; but sparks from Muspellsheim, fell on this ice and sent up great clouds of steam which changed in their turn into hoar-frost.
 
Born of this action of heat and cold, there came to life mid the ice blocks the huge ice-giant, Ymer, who groped about in the midst and the gloom in search of something to eat. Discovering a giant cow, he straight-away consumed her milk, while the cow, likewise searching for food, licked the salt from an ice block and so brought to light the hair of a god imprisoned in the ice. As the cow continued to lick, Buri stood forth from the ice. From Buri, the gods were descended; but from Ymer the frost-giants sprang. Odin, Vili, and Ve, the grandsons of this Buri, slew the gigantic Ymer, and in the flood of his blood all his descendants perished, save for a single couple who made their escape in a boat and settled in Yotunheim to produce a new race of giants.
 
Odin, Vili, and Ve next started to form the world. They rolled the body of Ymir into the yawning gulf; of his flesh they made Midgard, the earth, hedging it with his eye-brows. His blood became the sea, his bones the giant hills, his jagged teeth the cliffs, his curly hair the trees, and his great skull made the sky, which was upheld by four dwarfs, Nordi, Sudri, Austri, and Westri, from whom the four points of the compass were called North, South, East, and West. To light the world the gods made stars from the sparks of Muspellsheim; but of two more brilliant sparks they formed the Sun and Moon, which they placed in golden chariots driven by Mani and Sol. Mani and Sol were pursued in their course by two fierce and hungry wolves, which would overtake and devour them in the Twilight of the Gods.
 
Having made Sun and Moon, the gods now made Nott, or Night, and gave her a coal-black chariot and the coal-black steed, Hrim-faxi, from whose mane fell hoar-frost and dew to refresh the earth at night; and Night wedding Dawn, brought forth Day, a young and resplendent god, who drove a radiant white steed shedding light from its glorious mane.
 
While the gods were thus engaged, a host of maggot-like creatures was breeding in Ymer's flesh. Crawling in and out, they attracted the notice of the gods, who summoned them to their presence, and divided them into two groups. Some were ugly little fellows with large heads, green eyes, and short legs; and these were banished to the underground whence they could never come forth as long as it was day. They were called dwarfs, trolls, gnomes, brownies, or goblins; and they spent all their time in the depths of the earth, collecting gold, silver, and jewels, which they stowed in secret caves, or fashioning marvelous metal-work, for they were clever smiths.
 
The useful, good and beautiful among the little creatures that breeded in Ymir's flesh were called by the gods, elves, or fairies; and they dwelt in the realm of Alfheim, half-way between heaven and earth. So tiny were these elves, that they could flit about unseen to care for the flowers, birds, and butterflies; and they slipped down on the moonbeams to dance with the earth. Holding one another by the hand, they danced around in circles, thereby making fairy rings where their little feet had trod. Honey and milk were often left for the fairies.
 
Having so far ordered the universe, Odin, Vili, and Ve, walking along the seashore, perceived two blocks of wood carved in a human form, and calling these to life, the tree gods thus made the first man and woman who peopled Midgard, the earth.
 
The gods themselves dwelt in Asgard, high above the earth, living in golden palaces in a golden age of happiness, which was long undisturbed by evil. Over Odin's hall towered the giant tree of life, Yggdrasil, having one root in Niflheim, one root on the earth and one in Asgard itself, near the Urder fountain, where those three weird sisters, the Norns, wove the web of fate. From the topmost bough of Yggdrasil, a falcon watched Asgard and earth; but far down in Niflheim, the horrible dragon, Nidhug, gnawed at the root of the tree, knowing well that its death would be the final signal for the downfall of the gods. Connecting Asgard and earth rose Bifrost, the bridge of the rainbow, and Heimdall, who guarded this bridge, had so keen a sense of hearing, that he could hear the grass grow.
 
Odin or Woden, the All-Father, was chief of the gods in Asgard, and Wodensday or Wednesday, was held sacred to him. In his eagle-helmet and sky-blue cloak, he sat on his mighty throne, overlooking the world, while two ravens perched on his shoulders and two wolves crouched at his feet; but when he rambled on earth, he wore a broad-brimmed hat to conceal his loss of an eye, for he had given one eye to the giant Mimir's Spring. By Odin sat Frigga, his queen, twirling her jeweled distaff to weave webs of bright-colored clouds. Frigga was goddess of the atmoshere, and when the snow flakes fell, people said she was shaking her feather-bed; when it rained, she was doing her washing, and the white clouds were her linen in the sky.
 
Odin's palace, Valhalla, the Hall of the Chosen Slain, stood in a marvelous grove whose leaves were of shining gold. It had five hundred and forty doors, each so exceedingly wide that eight hundred marching warriors could enter it abreast. Its walls were of glittering spears; its roof of golden shields; and unto this glorious spot, Odin welcomed all warriors who lost their lives in battle; while those who died in their beds must go the gloomy underworld, the dark pale realm of Hel, forbidding goddess of death. Riding horses,
or driving in wagons burned on funeral pyres, these unfortunate ghosts came at last to Helgate, where the fierce blood-stained Hel-hound, Garm, continually kept strict guard.