Asgard

In Norse religion and Norse mythology, Asgard (Old Norse: Ásgarðr) is the realm of the Gods, the Æsir, the realm of the mortals being called Mannheim(not related to the city).

Asgard in a Norse Context

As an important mythic locale, Asgard belonged to a complex religious, mythological and cosmological belief system shared by the Scandinavian and Germanic peoples. This mythological tradition developed in the period from the first manifestations of religious and material culture in approximately 1000 B.C.E. until the Christianization of the area, a process that occurred primarily from 900-1200 C.E..

Within this framework, Norse cosmology postulates three separate "clans" of deities: the Aesir, the Vanir, and the Jotun. The distinction between Aesir and Vanir is relative, for the two are said to have made peace, exchanged hostages, intermarried and reigned together after a prolonged war. In fact, the greatest divergence between the two groups is in their respective areas of influence, with the Aesir representing war and conquest, and the Vanir representing exploration, fertility and wealth. The Jotun, on the other hand, are seen as a generally malefic (though wise) race of giants who represented the primary adversaries of the Aesir and Vanir.

Further, their cosmological system postulated a universe divided into nine interrelated realms, some of which attracted considerably greater mythological attention. Of primary importance was the threefold separation of the universe into the realms of the gods (Asgard and Vanaheim, homes of the Aesir and Vanir, respectively), the realm of mortals (Midgard) and the frigid underworld (Niflheim), the realm of the dead. These three realms were supported by an enormous tree (Yggdrasil), with the realm of the gods ensconced among the upper branches, the realm of mortals approximately halfway up the tree (and surrounded by an impassable sea), and the underworld nestled among its roots.

Though Asgard was understood as the realm of the gods, it should not be conflated with the Judeo-Christian notion of Heaven. Instead, it, like the Grecian Mount Olympus, was the home of the Aesir and, resultantly, was the locus for many tales of the gods and their doings.

Mythic Description(s)

See also: Valhalla, Yggdrasill, Midgard, Niflheim, Hel

In the mythic corpus, Asgard plays a central (if not always well-articulated) role in the exploits of the Aesir. More specifically, as the primary heavenly realm in the Norse cosmological scheme, it was understood as the place where the gods dwelt, interacted with each other, and surveyed their human constituents.

Descriptions of the various dwelling-places of the Aesir, homes that were always conceptualized as being analogous to the castles and feasting halls of human royalty, were fairly common in mythic texts (and, one can assume, in the skaldic poems that they were based upon). One such source in particular, "Grimnismol" (from the Poetic Edda) is largely concerned with ennumerating these citadels and exploring their particular characteristics:

The land is holy | that lies hard by

The gods and the elves together;

And Thor shall ever | in Thruthheim ["the Place of Might"] dwell,

Till the gods to destruction go.

...

The seventh is Breithablik ["Wide-Shining"]; | Baldr has there

For himself a dwelling set,

In the land I know | that lies so fair,

And from evil fate is free.

 

Himinbjorg ["Heaven's Cliffs"] is the eighth, | and Heimdall there

O'er men holds sway, it is said;

In his well-built house | does the warder of heaven

The good mead gladly drink.

The lengthier descriptions from "Grimnismol" are summarized (and in some cases expanded upon) by Snorri Sturluson in the Prose Edda:

there is also in that place [Asgard] the abode called Breidablik, and there is not in heaven a fairer dwelling. There, too, is the one called Glitnir, whose walls, and all its posts and pillars, are of red gold, but its roof of silver. There is also the abode called Himinbjörg; it stands at heaven's end by the bridge-head, in the place where Bifröst joins heaven. Another great abode is there, which is named Valaskjálf; Odin possesses that dwelling; the gods made it and thatched it with sheer silver, and in this hall is the Hlidskjálf, the high-seat so called.

-layout (and early construction)

Then said Gangleri: "What did Allfather then do when Ásgard was made?" Hárr answered: "In the beginning he established rulers, and bade them ordain fates with him, and give counsel concerning the planning of the town; that was in the place which is called Ida-field, in the midst of the town. It was their first work to make that court in which their twelve seats stand, and another, the high-seat which Allfather himself has. That house is the best-made of any on earth, and the greatest; without and within, it is all like one piece of gold; men call it Gladsheim. They made also a second hall: that was a shrine which the goddesses had, and it was a very fair house; men call it Vingólf.

The plain of Idavoll is the centre of Asgard. The Æsir meet there for discussions on important issues: the Gods meet in a hall called Gladsheim, and the Goddesses in a hall called Vingólf. They also meet daily at the Well of Urd, beneath Yggdrasill.

- one of Yggdrasill's roots (+ the Well of Urd (home of the Norns)) "Three roots of the tree uphold it and stand exceeding broad: one is among the Æsir; another among the Rime-Giants, in that place where aforetime was the Yawning Void; the third stands over Niflheim."

"The third root of the Ash stands in heaven; and under that root is the well which is very holy, that is called the Well of Urdr; there the gods hold their tribunal. Each day the Æsir ride thither up over Bifröst, which is also called the Æsir's Bridge."

- site of Valhalla

In Ásgard, before the doors of Valhall, there stands a grove which is called Glasir, and its leafage is all red gold, even as is sung here:

Glasir stands

With golden leafage

Before the High God's halls.

- site of Odin's all-seeing throne: "There is one abode called Hlidskjálf, and when Allfather sat in the high-seat there, he looked out over the whole world and saw every man's acts, and knew all things which he saw."

More on Bifrost ""Does fire burn over Bifröst?" Hárr replied: "That which thou seest to be red in the bow is burning fire; the Hill-Giants might go up to heaven, if passage on Bifröst were open to all those who would cross."

- connected to earth via Bifrost

Then said Gangleri: "What is the way to heaven from earth?" Then Hárr answered, and laughed aloud: "Now, that is not wisely asked; has it not been told thee, that the gods made a bridge from earth, to heaven, called Bifröst? Thou must have seen it; it may be that ye call it rainbow.' It is of three colors, and very strong, and made with cunning and with more magic art than other works of craftsmanship. But strong as it is, yet must it be broken, when the sons of Múspell shall go forth harrying and ride it, and swim their horses over great rivers; thus they shall proceed." Then said Gangleri: "To my thinking the gods did not build the bridge honestly, seeing that it could be broken, and they able to make it as they would." Then Hárr replied: "The gods are not deserving of reproof because of this work of skill: a good bridge is Bifröst, but nothing in this world is of such nature that it may be relied on when the sons of Múspell go a-harrying."

Whenever Allfather sits in that seat, he surveys all lands. At the southern end of heaven is that hall which is fairest of all, and brighter than the sun; it is called Gimlé. It shall stand when both heaven and earth have departed; and good men and of righteous conversation shall dwell therein. <— Note: Christian elements + summary of Grimnismol

The Term "Asgard"

- scarcity of its uses in the Poetic Edda... Asgard (much like Aesir) as general noun

Specific Mythic Accounts

- framing story (the beguiling of gylfi) + also skalskaparmal - Ragnarok <destruction of Asgard>

Surt fares from the south | with the scourge of branches,

The sun of the battle-gods | shone from his sword;

The crags are sundered, | the giant-women sink,

The dead throng Hel-way, | and heaven is cloven.

...

The sun turns black, | earth sinks in the sea,

The hot stars down | from heaven are whirled;

Fierce grows the steam | and the life-feeding flame,

Till fire leaps high | about heaven itself.

"Vídarr and Váli shall be living, inasmuch as neither sea nor the fire of Surtr shall have harmed them; and they shall dwell at Ida-Plain, where Ásgard was before."

- euhemerism (Snorri)

Next they made for themselves in the middle of the world a city which is called Ásgard; men call it Troy. There dwelt the gods and their kindred; and many tidings and tales of it have come to pass both on earth and aloft.

The country east of the Tanaquisl in Asia was called Asaland, or Asaheim, and the chief city in that land was called Asgaard. In that city was a chief called Odin, and it was a great place for sacrifice.

On the south side of the mountains which lie outside of all inhabited lands runs a river through Swithiod, which is properly called by the name of Tanais, but was formerly called Tanaquisl, or Vanaquisl, and which falls into the Black Sea. (this is the geographic setting)... thus, the two accounts could be compatible (though the actual geography may be problematic) Ynglinga 1

- giant builder The walls surrounding Asgard, designed to protect the Gods from the Giants, were built by a Hrimthurs, a Frost Giant, in disguise, in return for which he was to receive in payment the hand of Freya in marriage and the sun and the moon. This was agreed, provided that the work be completed within six months, and that he do it with no help. But Loki convinced the Æsir to allow the builder to let his stallion help in the building.

As the construction neared completion, the Gods regretted their contract and the solemn vows with which they had concluded it, and they threatened Loki with horrid punishment. So, in order to avoid the payment, Loki transformed himself into a mare and lured away the Giant's magic horse, Svadilfari, (the result of which was the foaling of Sleipnir, Odin's eight-legged steed, best of all horses). After chasing his horse all night, the builder could see that the job could not be completed on time. He fell into such a rage that his identification as a Giant could no longer be concealed. The Æsir therefore felt their vows were void, and they called upon Thor, who had been absent fighting Trolls. Thor promptly smashed the Giant's skull with his hammer, Mjöllnir, and sent him straight to Niflhel. (Prose Edda, Gylfaginning, Paragraph XLII).

17. Then Loki spake, | the son of Laufey: "Be silent, Thor, | and speak not thus; Else will the giants | in Asgarth dwell If thy hammer is brought not | home to thee." (convincing Thor to cross-dress)

Other spellings

• Alternatives Anglicisations: Ásgard, Ásegard, Ásgardr, Asgardr, Ásgarthr, Ásgarth, Asgarth, Esageard, Ásgardhr
• Common Swedish and Danish form: Asgård
• Norwegian: Åsgard (also Åsgård, Asgaard, Aasgaard)
• Icelandic, Faroese: Ásgarður

External links

• The Prose Edda, translated by Arthur Gilchrist Brodeur, at sacred-texts.com - retrieved May 22, 2007

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• DuBois, Thomas A. Nordic Religions in the Viking Age. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1999. ISBN 0-8122-1714-4.
• Dumézil, Georges. Gods of the Ancient Northmen. Edited by Einar Haugen; Introduction by C. Scott Littleton and Udo Strutynski. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1973. ISBN 0-520-02044-8.
• Eliade, Mircea. The Sacred and the Profane: The Nature of Religion. New York: Harper and Row, 1961. Translated by Willard R. Trask. ISBN 015679201X.
• Grammaticus, Saxo. The Danish History (Volumes I-IX). Translated by Oliver Elton (Norroena Society, New York, 1905). Accessed online at The Online Medieval & Classical Library.
• Lindow, John. Handbook of Norse mythology. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2001. ISBN 1-57607-217-7.
• Munch, P. A. Norse Mythology: Legends of Gods and Heroes. In the revision of Magnus Olsen; translated from the Norwegian by Sigurd Bernhard Hustvedt. New York: The American-Scandinavian foundation; London: H. Milford, Oxford University Press, 1926.
• Orchard, Andy. Cassell's Dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend. London: Cassell; New York: Distributed in the United States by Sterling Pub. Co., 2002. ISBN 0-304-36385-5.
• The Poetic Edda. Translated and with notes by Henry Adams Bellows. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1936. Accessed online at sacred-texts.com.
• Sturluson, Snorri. The Prose Edda. Translated from the Icelandic and with an introduction by Arthur Gilchrist Brodeur. New York: American-Scandinavian foundation, 1916. Available online at http://www.northvegr.org/lore/prose/index.php.
• Turville-Petre, Gabriel. Myth and Religion of the North: The Religion of Ancient Scandinavia. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1964. ISBN 0837174201.

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