Midgard, which means " the middle enclosure ", is the world of humans in Norse mythology. It is the central point of the Scandinavian universe , surrounded by eight other worlds including Asgard, the domain of the Gods. The human world is bordered by an impassable ocean where is Jormungand, who is the Midgard Serpent and son of Loki. But where did Midgard come from? How did it come into being and what has it become?
What is the Midgard Realm?
Midgard is one of the nine worlds in Norse mythology . In Old Norse, it means "middle earth", or "central enclosure". And due, the kingdom which shelters the human beings is in the center of the eight others. In the Yggdrasil - the world tree - Midgard is the balance and represents the equivalent of the trunk. Its destruction could therefore bring about the end of all worlds.
Midgard, a connected world with Asgard
The realm of Midgard is connected to Asgard , the world of the Gods, by the Bifrost. The Bifrost is this rainbow bridge of three colors guarded by Heimdall . Thanks to him, the Vikings (who therefore lived on Midgard) who fight valiantly and who find death in battle are sent to Valhalla, within Asgard.
How was Midgard built?
In the beginning, the universe was divided into two worlds . One was very hot - Muspellheim - and the other very cold - Nifheim -. In the middle of these was a rather turbulent river. From this river appeared one fine day Ymir , the very first of the giants formed from ice. This one, during his sleep, gave birth to a couple of giants and a cow named Audhumla .
This same cow had huge udders full of milk. The more Ymir fed on it , the more he sweated. And it was from his drops of perspiration that other giants were born . Soon found himself then in the abyss Buri, who had a son with one of the giantesses: they named him Bor. He himself had three sons: Odin, Vili and Vé.
But Ymir continued to sweat and the number of giants kept growing. So one fine day, Odin, Vili and Vé assassinated the giant Ymir and made the decision to create a new world . The blood of the giant who had spilled during his murder killed all the other giants, or almost... Only Bergelmir and his companion survived. Which therefore made them the ancestors of all the giants to come.
From the eyelashes of Ymir , Odin and his brothers therefore built the wall that surrounds the world of Midgard and protects it from giants and monsters. With the flesh of Ymir they molded the earth . They later made the mountains with his bones , the cliffs with his teeth , and the oceans with his blood . Finally, the three brothers made her hair into trees , and her brain into clouds .
Of course, Midgard was not made in a day. As time passed, Ymir's body putrefied and larvae feasted on his flesh. With these, Odin and his brothers created the dwarves. Then the siblings began to make the eight other worlds of Norse mythology.
Ask and Embla, the first two humans of Midgard
In Norse mythology, Ask and Embla are the first male and the first female in the human world, respectively . Much like Midgard, Ask and Embla were shaped by Odin and his two brothers. In any case, this is what the Edda reports.
Odin, Vili and Vé were on a beach when they came across two trees . They then recovered the wood with the aim of creating the first humans of Midgard. One of the three brothers brings them the breath of life , the second gives them movement and intelligence , then the third grants them form, speech, hearing and sight . Finally, Odin, Vili and Vé give them clothes and their first name .
How was the Society of Men of Midgard organized?
Once the world of Midgard has been created and the first men shaped, the god Heimdall is sent to earth to organize society there . Dressed as a beggar , he first goes to a first house, where he was badly received. He impregnated the mother of the family and nine months later, a baby with rough features was born: his descendants would belong to the caste of slaves .
Heimdall enters a second cottage . This time, he was warmly welcomed and once again impregnated the mother of the family. The unborn child will beget the caste of free men .
He finally entered a third house and impregnated again the mother of the family, who will engender a newborn whose descendants would be noble .
And this is how human society was created and divided into three castes: the nobles (jarls), the freemen (karls) and the slaves (thralls).
Who is Jormungand, the Water Serpent of Midgard?
The kingdom of Midgard is surrounded by an ocean in which there is a monstrous sea serpent named Jormungand . The one who is the child of Loki and the giantess Angrboda (and the brother of the wolf Fenrir and the goddess Hel) was thrown into the depths by Odin in order to protect the nine realms and those who dwell there.
Since that day, Jormungand has grown a lot . Legend has it that he grew big enough to encircle the entire earth and bite his own tail . As soon as it moves, the sea monster causes tidal waves, as it does again during Ragnarök . Jormungand rises from the waters when the end of the prophetic world arrives and sides with the giants and his father, Loki, to fight the Aesir. Thor succeeded in killing him but he hadn't taken nine steps before he too collapsed dead, hit by the poison that the snake had left in his flesh.
