Norse mythology Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia, and into the Nordic folklore of the modern period ...

, Ifing (

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...

, Ífingr) is a river that separates Asgard, the realm of the gods, from Jotunheim, the land of giants, according to stanza 16 of the poem '' Vafthrudnismal'' from the '' Poetic Edda'': :"Ifing the river is called, which divides the earth :between the sons of giants and the gods; :freely it will flow through all time, :ice never forms on the river." : ::— Larrington trans. John Lindow in ''Norse Mythology'' (2001) states in reference to Ifing that a river on which ice will never form is one that runs swiftly and therefore is extremely difficult to ford (thus forming an effective barrier between the worlds of gods and giants).

References

*Larrington, Carolyne (transl.) (1996). ''The Poetic Edda''.

Oxford World's Classics Oxford World's Classics is an imprint of Oxford University Press. First established in 1901 by Grant Richards and purchased by OUP in 1906, this imprint publishes primarily dramatic and classic literature for students and the general public. I ...

. . *Lindow, John (2001). ''Norse Mythology''.

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Ifingr Rivers in Norse mythology Mythological rivers

See also

References