Ymir

As the ice from Niflheim met the heat of Muspelheim, life formed in the vapour. Ginnungagap had held no sea, sand, grass, rock, soil, tree, sky, star, heaven, or earth. Ymir arose there, larger than any other giant. Gylfaginning describes him as both male and female. He became the ancestor of the frost giants. A great cow called Audhumla also emerged. She fed Ymir with milk from her four udders and licked the salty ice blocks. On the first day, her tongue uncovered a man’s hair. On the second day, it uncovered his head. On the third day, it uncovered the whole man. This was Buri, ancestor of the gods.

Odin, Vili, and Vé, the sons of Bor, looked upon the empty gap and spoke about the universe, life, and the future. They killed Ymir by stabbing him. Blood poured from his wounds and formed a vast flood. It drowned the frost giants, leaving only Bergelmir and his wife alive. They escaped in a boat. Another account says that they escaped in a tree trunk. They later became the ancestors of a new race of giants.

The three sons of Bor carried Ymir’s body into the middle of Ginnungagap. They made the earth from his flesh and the seas and lakes from his blood. His bones became mountains and rocks. His teeth, jaws, and broken bones became stones and pebbles. In one account, his hair became trees. They made the ocean from the blood that flowed freely and placed it in a ring around the earth.

They made the sky from Ymir’s hollowed skull and raised it over the earth. Four dwarfs held it up, one beneath each corner. Their names were Nordri, Austri, Sudri, and Vestri. The names mean North, East, South, and West. The gods also took the maggots from Ymir’s decaying body and made them into dwarfs. Some remained beneath the sky. Others went to live in rocky caves. In one account, Ymir’s eyebrows became the barrier called Midgard.