Midgard

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Midgard

Midgard, the "middle enclosure", is the world of humans in Norse mythology. The gods made it from the body of the giant Ymir and walled it against the giants. The World Serpent Jormungandr lies in the sea around it.

What is Midgard?

Midgard — literally the 'middle enclosure' — is the world of humankind, set between the realms of gods and giants. The gods fashioned it from the body of the slain giant Ymir: his flesh became the earth, his blood the seas, his bones the mountains and his skull the dome of the sky.

The wall, the serpent and the first humans

To shield humans from the giants, the gods raised a wall around Midgard from Ymir's eyebrows. Encircling it all is the ocean, and coiled in that ocean lies Jormungandr, the Midgard Serpent, so vast it grips its own tail. Midgard is joined to Asgard by the bridge Bifrost, and it is here that the first humans, Ask and Embla, were given life.

Ruled by: no god. Midgard is humankind's own, watched over from Asgard but held by no ruler of its own.

It was made from Ymir, the serpent around it is Jormungandr, and the road to the gods is Bifrost.

Questions

What does Midgard mean?

"Middle enclosure": the world in the middle, between the gods and the giants.

Who were the first humans in Midgard?

Ask and Embla, whom the gods made from two trees.

How is Midgard joined to Asgard?

By Bifrost, the rainbow bridge.

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