The word Asgard comes from the Old Norse word Ásgarðr, meaning Enclosure of the Aesir. Asgard is one of the nine worlds of Norse mythology, along with Niflheim, Muspelheim, Midgard, Jotunheim, Vanaheim, Alfheim, Svartalfheim, and Helheim. Asgard is home to the Aesir, deities of one of the two tribes of Norse gods.
The other tribe, the Vanir, used to share Asgard, but the two tribes fought a long and epic war over their differences, and the Vanir were forced to leave Asgard. The two tribes eventually reached a truce when they joined forces against their common enemy, the Giants.
Snorri Sturluson, author of the Prose Edda, wrote that Asgard was created by the gods after they created Jotunheim (Giantland), Midgard (Middle Earth or home of mankind), the seas, the sky, the clouds, and the Earth. The home of the gods is said to be a gigantic fortress with walls reaching up to the clouds to protect them from their enemies, particularly frost.
Although the powerful immortal gods of Norse mythology lived in a seemingly impenetrable fortress in the sky called Asgard, they were still prone to one unfortunate weakness: fear of invasion. Did they fear the chaos of war as an antithetical threat to the ultimate order that their home embodied?
Where is Asgard?
Asgard is located in the sky, on the plains of Idavoll, where the gods gathered to discuss important matters. It was connected to Midgard by a rainbow bridge called Bifrost. The mythical place was invisible and inaccessible to mortal men.
Eye of Horus: Amulet of Protection, Good Health, and PowerInside Asgard
The ruler of the gods, Odin, had his throne in Asgard, in a hall called Valaskjalf. His throne was called Hlidskjalf, and it is believed that when Odin sat on Hlidskjalf, he could see the entire sky and earth and everything that happened anywhere. In the house of the gods there was also a hall made of pure gold. It was called Gladsheim and housed the thrones of Odin and the 12 highest gods.
The hall of the goddesses was called Vingolf or the hall of friendship. The gods and goddesses gathered there every day and discussed the fate of the world at the Well of Urd (destiny), from which grew Yggdrasil (the tree that connected the nine worlds).
Asgard also housed Valhalla (the hall of the fallen). Odin granted access to the worthy dead, most of whom were esteemed warriors. Here, he feasted and celebrated with the heroes of battle. Valhalla was easily recognizable by its beams formed from spears and the use of shields as roof tiles. According to some sources, the gates of Valhalla were so wide that 800 warriors could pass through them at the same time! A vast river, the Thunder, and a gate with a grate, Valgrind, protected the entrances to Valhalla.
Order and chaos
Innangard and Utangard distinguish the ancient Germanic concepts of order and chaos. Innangard is civilized, orderly, and respectful of the law, while Utangard is wild, chaotic, and anarchic. The concepts apply both to a geographical location and to a mental plane, connected to the actions and thoughts of each. The home of the Giants, Jotunheim, is the best illustration of Utangard, as Asgard is the archetype of order or Innangard.
The distinction between the two states is also evident in Germanic cosmology. Three of the nine worlds, Asgard, Midgard, and Utgard (another version of the name Jotunheim), have the suffix -gard. Asgard and Midgard are Innangard worlds and are constantly protected against Utgard, an Utangard world led by lawless giants. This affirms the close ties between the Germanic spiritual universe and the physical world.
Source
The Viking and Medieval eras, between 800 and 1400 AD, were the periods that provided the most significant historical and mythological literature written in Old Norse. Especially in Iceland, people continued to practice their traditional religion and preserve their history even after Christianity became their official religion in the year 1000 AD. Their perpetuation of pre-Christian Germanic traditions and writings is an invaluable source today. Three preeminent examples of these sources are:
The Poetic Edda
The Poetic Edda is a collection of poetry by Old Norse poets. This source provides the greatest insight into mythology and is particularly profound. The Poetic Edda or Elder Edda contains two important poems: the Völuspá and the Grímnismál, which reflect on pre-Christian Norse mythology and cosmology.
Mjölnir: Name of Thor’s Hammer in Norse MythologyThe Prose Edda
In the 13th century, the Icelandic poet, writer, mythographer, and historian Snorri Sturluson wrote the Prose Edda, an interpretation of traditional Icelandic poetry. Sources cite the Prose Edda as providing the most information on ancient Norse history. The author’s work, however, contains certain statements that do not align with the worldview and may attempt to align ancient mythology with Christianity.
The Sagas
The sagas portray the lives of well-known Scandinavians, Icelanders, and Germans from the 13th and 14th centuries, but do not refer in detail to pre-Christian religion. The Yngling Saga, however, describes in detail the Norse deities and their actions, although written to rationalize mythology as a mere exaggeration of everyday historical accounts.
In the Yngling Saga, also written by Sturluson, he claims that Odin is demoted by his father to a sorcerer with the ability to change shape, blind his enemies, and put his own troops into an invulnerable trance. Upon his mortal death, Odin is not sent to Asgard, but rather, says Sturluson, to Valhalla. He later changes Valhalla to heaven.
In Asgard, the gods decide on the fate of man each day anew. They could put humanity in a state of Innangard or Utangard with a simple decision. Order and chaos need not be far apart, as seen in the modern concept expressed in chaos theory, or the butterfly effect.
It is popularly understood as the ability to explain everything by understanding the small reasons or events that cause an eventuality, or that everything happens for a reason, when in reality predictability is limited. The Aesir held the fate of humanity in their hands, and they certainly loved to roll the dice!
