DeDanaan

Filed by Aine MacDermot

Midgard : In Scandinavian or Norse mythology, Midgard was Earth, the Middle Abode, located between the ice world, Niflheim, to the north and the land of fire, Muspelheim, to the south. According to legend, sparks from Muspelheim fell on the frozen rivers of Niflheim, causing some of the ice to melt. From the water rose a giant named Ymir, the first being of Creation. Other giants sprang from the drops of Ymir’s sweat. After this the gods were created, and finally human beings. The gods killed Ymir, and from his body fashioned Earth and the heavens. Asgard, the home of the gods, was connected to Midgard by the rainbow bridge, Bifrost.

The main source of information about Scandinavian mythology was an Icelandic scholar named Snorri Sturulson (c. 1179-1241), who wrote down the myths in what has come to be called the Prose Edda. There are a number of translations available on the internet, as well as at Amazon.com.