In the Norse creation story, as recounted by the medieval Icelandic Christian historian Snorri Sturluson, the first being, the giant Ymir, was born when the ice of Niflheim and the fire of Muspelheim met in the middle of Ginnungagap, the abyss that had previously separated them.
The word “Niflheim” is found only in Snorri’s works and is often used interchangeably with “Niflhel,” a poetic embellishment of “Hel,” the world of the dead. “Niflhel” is found in ancient Norse poems that are much older than Snorri’s works. It is entirely possible that the word “Niflheim” is an invention of Snorri.
It is impossible to know whether the concomitant concept is of similar late and spurious origin, because our only source for anything purporting to be a complete account of the pagan Norse creation narrative comes from (you guessed it) the works of Snorri.
1. Mythology
Niflheim, Old Norse Niflheimr, in Norse mythology, the cold, dark, and misty world of the dead, ruled by the goddess Hel. In some accounts, it was the last of the nine worlds, a place where men passed after reaching the region of death (Hel).
Located beneath one of the roots of the world tree, Yggdrasill, Niflheim contained a well, Hvergelmir, from which many rivers flowed. In Norse creation mythology, Niflheim was the misty region north of the void (Ginnungagap) in which the world was created.
2. Niflheim: meaning and mythology
Niflheim or Niflheimr is one of the nine worlds in Norse mythology. It represents cold matter as opposed to Muspelheim or hot matter, according to one of the cosmogonic myths of Scandinavian creation mythology.
In this realm lives the dragon Niahoggr, a creature dedicated to incessantly gnawing at the roots of the evergreen ash tree or tree of life, Yggdrasil. That is, the space or gap that separated Niflheim from Muspelheim before creation.
3. What does the name Niflheim mean?
Niflheim (pronounced “NIF-el-Hame;” from Old Norse Niflheimr, “World of Mist”) is one of the nine worlds of Norse mythology and the homeland of primordial darkness, cold, mist, and ice. As such, it is the cosmological opposite of Muspelheim, the world of fire and heat.
The word is composed of several roots. Nifl (from where) joined with the Anglo-Saxon Nifol means dark. Nevel in Dutch and Nebel in German mean fog. Niflheim is pronounced “NIF-el-hame,” from the Old Norse niflheimr, or “world of mist.”
Niflheim was the realm of cold and ice, crossed by the frozen rivers of Élivágar and the well of Hvergelmir. According to the first section of the Scandinavian mythology book, Younger Edda, all rivers originate there.
Beneath this gigantic, dark, and frozen realm of darkness lies the realm of the dead, called Helheim. There, the goddess Hela reigns with her dog Garm. Helheim is one of the darkest and most obscure areas of this gigantic and frozen world. There reigns the powerful goddess or giantess Hela, daughter of the trickster god Loki.
The two fundamental realms were Niflheim, the world of cold, and Muspelheim, the world of fire. By uniting the two realms, that is, cold and heat, creation begins through the “creative vapor.” Then, the world of Niflheim became the dwelling place of the goddess Hela.
According to the Norse creation story by the medieval Christian island historian Snorri Sturluson, the first being created was the giant Ymir. This was born from the violent fusion of the cold of Niflheim and the fire of Muspelheim in the middle of Ginnungagap, the abyss that initially separated them.
4. Niflheim or Niflheimr?
The word “Niflheim” is only described in Snorri’s works. It is used interchangeably with “Niflhel,” which becomes a “poetic embellishment” of the world of the dead, “Hel.”
On the other hand, the word “Niflhel” is found in poems in the Old Norse language that predate Snorri’s works. It is therefore likely that the term “Niflheim” is actually a linguistic invention of Snorri.
It is impossible to know exactly whether it is a word of late origin or an ancient term. The only source of information on Norse creation mythology comes precisely from Snorri’s works.
In the poem HrafnagaldrOdins, Niflheimr is briefly mentioned as a place in the north:
“The powers rose, the illuminator of alfs, north before Niflheim Pursued the night.”
5. The world of the dead
Niflheim is also the world of the dead and is ruled by the goddess Hel. It is the last of the nine worlds, where evil men went after reaching the area of death (Hel).
Originally, Hel was called the world of the dead, but later it came to mean the goddess of death. It is located under one of the roots of Yggdrasill, the world tree, and to the north. In Niflheim lives the dragon Niahoggr, who gnaws at the roots of the tree of life, which contains the nine worlds.
After Ragnarok, or the battle at the end of the world, the dragon will travel the world to torment the souls that remain.
Niflheim, or the World of Darkness, was divided into several sections, one of which was Náströnd, the edge of the corpses. There was a castle overlooking the north, filled with the poison of snakes.
In this fortress, murderers, perjurers, and adulterers suffered torment, and the dragon Nidhogg drank the blood from their bodies.
This mention appears in an early poem about Niflheim.
6. The nine worlds of Scandinavian mythology
These nine worlds are mentioned in a poem from the Poetic Edda or Lesser Edda. However, no source of information on Norse mythology offers a complete and accurate list of the nine worlds.
Some authors, based on the types of creatures and beings found in Scandinavian mythology and the reference made to their homeland in various literary sources, have made the following tentative compilation:
- Niflheim: the primordial world of ice, ruled by the goddess or giant Hela.
- Muspelheim: the primordial world of fire, inhabited by the Fire Giants.
- Midgard: the earthly world of human beings, created by the god Odin and his brothers, the god Ve and the god Villy.
- Jotunheim: the world of giants from which the men of Midgard and the gods of Asgard are threatened.
- Svartalfheim: the world of the dwarves, where elves live in darkness.
- Asgard: the world of the Aesir tribe of gods and goddesses. It is ruled by Odin and his wife Frigg.
- Vanaheim: the world of the Vanir tribe, one of the two clans of gods and goddesses that exist in Norse mythology.
- Hel: the world of the goddess of the same name, Hel, and the dead. It is located in the deepest and darkest part of Niflheim.
- Alfheim: the fantasy world of the elves; the light elves (ljosalfar) and the dark elves svartalfar who live inside the mountains.
With the exception of Midgard, all of these worlds are primarily invisible. However, they can sometimes manifest themselves with some visible characteristics of the world.
For example, Jotunheim may overlap with the physical wilderness, Hel with burial grounds or tombs (i.e., the “underworld” beneath the ground), and Asgard with the sky.
