Élivágar

In the very beginning of things, the stories say, there were two worlds, one of the burning heat and one of icy cold.

The cold world was in the North, and from it flowed Elivagar, a river of poisonous water which hardened into ice and piled up into great mountains, filling the space which had no bottom.

The other world in the South was on fire with bright flame, a place of heat most terrible.

And in those days, through all space, there was nothing beside these two worlds of heat and cold.

At that time there was no earth, nor sea, nor heaven, nothing but the icy abyss without bottom whence Ymir the giant had sprung.

And there he lived, nourished by the milk of a cow which the heat had formed.

Now the cow had nothing for her food but the snow and ice of Elivagar.

and that was cold victuals indeed one day she was licking the icy rocks which tasted salty to her when ymir noticed that the mass was taking a strange shape the more the cow licked it the plainer became the outline of the shape and when evening came ymir saw thrusting itself through the icy rock a head of hair the next day the cow went on with her meal and at night-time a man's head appeared above the rock on the third day the cow licked away the ice until forth stepped a man tall and powerful and handsome this was no evil giant for he was good and strangely though he came from the ice his heart was warm he was the ancestor of the kind aesir for all-father odin and his brothers vili and ve the first of the gods were his grandsons and as soon as they were born they became the enemies of the race of the giants now after a few giant years ages and ages of time as we reckon it there was a great battle for odin and his brothers wished to destroy all the evil in the world and to leave only good they attacked the wicked giant ymir first of all his race and after hard fighting slew him ymir was so huge that when he died a mighty river of blood flowed from the wounds which odin had given him a stream so large that it flooded all space and the frost giants his children and grandchildren were drowned except one who escaped with his wife in a chest and but for the saving of these two that would have been the end of the race of giants all-father and his brothers now had work to do painfully they dragged the great bulk of ymir into the bottomless space of ice and from it they built the earth the sea and the heavens not an atom of his body went to waste his blood made the great ocean the rivers the lakes and the springs his mighty bones became mountains his teeth and broken bones made sand and pebbles from his skull they fashioned the arching heaven which they set up over the earth and sea his brain became the heavy clouds his hair sprouted into trees grass plants and flowers and last of all the aesir set his bristling eyebrows as a high fence around the earth to keep the giants away from the race of men whom they had planned to create for this pleasant globe so the earth was made and next the gods brought light for the heavens they caught the sparks and cinders blown from the world of heat and set them here and there above and below as sun and moon and stars to each they gave its name and told what its duties were to be and how it must perform them day after day and year after year and century after century till the ending of all things so that the children of men might reckon time without mistake sol and mani who drove the bright chariots of the sun and moon across the sky were a fair sister and brother whose father named them sun and moon because they were so beautiful so odin gave them each a pair of swift bright horses to drive and set them in the sky forever once upon a time but that was many many years later mani the man in the moon stole two children from the earth hiuki and bil were going to a well to draw a pail of water the little boy and girl carried a pole and a bucket across their shoulders and looked so pretty that mani thrust down a long arm and snatched them up to his moon and there they are to this day as you can see on any moonlight night two little black shadows on the moon's bright face the boy and the girl with the bucket between them the gods also made day and night day was fair bright and beautiful for he was of the warm-hearted aesir race but night was dark and gloomy because she was one of the cold giant folk day and night had each a chariot drawn by a swift horse and each in turn drove about the world in a twenty-four hours journey night rode first behind her dark horse hrimfaxi who scattered dew from its bit upon the sleeping earth after her came day with its beautiful horse glad whose shining mane shot rays of light through the sky all these wonders the kind gods wrought that they might make a pleasant world for men to call their home and now the gods or aesir as they were called must choose a place for their own dwelling for there were many of them a glorious family Outside of everything, beyond the great ocean which surrounded the world, was Jotunheim, the cold country where the giants lived.

Gungrad: Tell me sixthly, since thou art called wise, and if thou, Vafthrudnir, knowest whence first came Aurgelmir among the Jotuns' son, thou sagacious Jotun.

Vafthrudnir: From Elivagar sprang venom drops which grew till they became a Jotun.

But sparks flew from the south world; to the ice the fire gave life.

Gungrad: Tell me seventhly, since thou art called wise, and if thou knowest, Vafthrudnir, how he children begat, the bold Jotun, as he had no giantess as company.

Sif's husband he besought a kettle him to bring in which I beer for all of you may brew.

The illustrious gods found that impossible nor could the exalted powers it accomplish till from true heartedness Thai to Hlorridi much friendly counsel gave.

There dwells eastward of Elivagar the Alawise Hymir at heaven's end.

My sire fierce of mood a kettle owns a capacious cauldron a raft in depth.

In the very beginning of things, the stories say there were two worlds, one of the burning heat and one of icy cold.

The cold world was in the north, and from it flowed Elivagar, a river of poisonous water which hardened into ice and piled up into great mountains, filling the space which had no bottom.

The other world in the south was on fire with bright flame, a place of heat most terrible, and in those days through all space there was nothing beside these two worlds of heat and cold.

But then began a fierce combat.

At that time there was no earth, nor sea, nor heaven, nothing but the icy abyss without bottom whence Ymir the giant had sprung.

And there he lived, nourished by the milk of a cow which the heat had formed.

Now the cow had nothing for her food but the snow and ice of Elivagar, and that was cold victuals indeed One day she was licking the icy rocks, which tasted salty to her, when Ymir noticed that the mass was taking a strange shape.

The more the cow licked it, the plainer became the outline of the shape; and when evening came Ymir saw thrusting itself through the icy rock a head of hair.

Gungrad: Tell me sixthly, since thou art called wise, and if thou, Vafthrudnir, knowest whence first came Aurgelmir, among the Jotuns son, thou sagacious Jotun.

Vafthrudnir: From Elivagar spring venom drops which grew till they became a Jotun.

But sparks flew from the south world; To the ice the fire gave life.

Gungrad: Tell me seventhly, since thou art called wise, and if thou knowest, Vafthrudnir, how he children begot, the bold Jotun, as he had no giantess' company.

Sif's husband he besought a kettle him to bring in which I beer for all of you may brew.

The illustrious gods found that impossible nor could the exalted powers it accomplish till from true-heartedness, Thai to Halloredy much friendly counsel gave.

There dwells eastward of Elivagar, the Aluwise Himir at heaven's end.

My sire, fierce of mood, a kettle owns, a capacious cauldron, a raft of depth.