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Norse Creation Myth - Page 2

© Linda Casselman

First, this creation myth tells us that humans need to place order on this seeming chaotic world simply by the fact that it exists. The Norse needed an explanation for their world - something that all humans need. Since they lived in a land of dramatic beauty with mountains and fjords, snow and ice, it is not surprising that they would imagine Frost Giants about them. The mountains were the shoulders of the Frost Giants themselves, ready to shake loose avalanches upon the ancient people. They were the ones who sent icy winds down upon the buds of spring threatening the Norsemen. The Frost Giants represented the menaces and terrors of the icy Nordic landscape to the ancient Norsemen. The Frost Giants were evil and the enemies of the gods and of man.

We can also assume that the cow was a revered animal to the ancient Norse as the primal cow, Audhumla, played a significant role in their creation story by nourishing Ymir and by freeing Buri from the ice. The cow, then, must have been important in Norse life for sustaining the ancient people through their rugged seasons.

From this myth we may also deduce that the ash and elm trees were sacred to the ancient Norsemen as man and woman were created from them. We will learn more about these sacred trees in further articles on Norse mythology in the coming weeks. But if you are really interested in this subject then read about the Norse's World Tree, Yggdrasil, by clicking here.

Finally, I would like to point out something else that I find interesting about this creation myth. It tells us that Audhumla, the primal cow, licked Buri free from the ice of Ginnungagap. This suggests that there was a creation prior to Ginnungagap and that it somehow came to an icy end freezing Buri within it. Could this point to a cyclic view of the universe and of creation for the Norse? It certainly would make sense as the world of the Norse, and of all ancient peoples, was ruled by the cycles of nature and of the seasons. And surely they watched the cycles of the moon in their night sky. So could the ancient Norsemen have been hinting at an earlier creation in the cycle of the universe? We will also explore this notion further when we discuss Ragnarok, the Norse end of the world, in articles to come on Norse mythology.

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