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 as the Nordic folklore of the modern period. The ...

, Brimir is possibly another name for the

jötunn A (also jotun; plural ; in the normalised scholarly spelling of Old Norse, ; or, in Old English, , plural ) is a type of being in Germanic mythology. In Norse mythology, are often contrasted with gods (the Æsir and Vanir) and with other no ...

Ymir and also a name of a hall for the souls of the virtuous following the end-time conflict of

Ragnarök In Norse mythology, (also Ragnarok; or ; ) is a foretold series of impending events, including a great battle in which numerous great Norse mythological figures will perish (including the Æsir, gods Odin, Thor, Týr, Freyr, Heimdall, a ...

. In the '' Gylfaginning'' section of the ''

Prose Edda The ''Prose Edda'', also known as the ''Younger Edda'', ''Snorri's Edda'' () or, historically, simply as ''Edda'', is an Old Norse textbook written in Iceland during the early 13th century. The work is often considered to have been to some exten ...

'' Brimir refers to a hall in the heavens for good souls following Ragnarok where "plenty of good drink" will be available for those who take pleasure in it. In stanza 9 of '' Völuspá'', the first poem of the ''

Poetic Edda The ''Poetic Edda'' is the modern name for an untitled collection of Old Norse anonymous narrative poems in alliterative verse. It is distinct from the closely related ''Prose Edda'', although both works are seminal to the study of Old Norse ...

'', Brimir and Blain are both interpreted as alternate names for Ymir, although distinction between origin and issue is often difficult to discern in Norse mythology: :"Then all the Powers went to the thrones of fate, :the sacrosanct

gods A deity or god is a supernatural being considered to be sacred and worthy of worship due to having authority over some aspect of the universe and/or life. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines ''deity'' as a God (male deity), god or god ...

, and considered this: :who should form the lord of the dwarfs :out of Brimir's blood and from Blain's limbs?" : ::— Larrington trans. Quoted by Snorri in ''Gylfaginning'', he expands upon this and tells us that the dwarves were created from the dead flesh of Ymir whose body was used by

Odin Odin (; from ) is a widely revered god in Norse mythology and Germanic paganism. Most surviving information on Odin comes from Norse mythology, but he figures prominently in the recorded history of Northern Europe. This includes the Roman Em ...

and his brothers to form the earth ("Brimir's blood" referring to the sea and "Blain's limbs" referring to the mountains that were made from his bones). Stanza 37 of the same poem mentions Brimir as the name of a jötunn who may or may not be Ymir as the owner of a

beer hall A beer hall or beer palace () refers to a type of establishment that gained significant popularity in the 19th century, particularly across Central Europe. These venues were pivotal to the social and cultural life of cities renowned for their bre ...

: :"To the north there stood on Dark-of-moon Plains :a hall of gold of the lineage of Sindri :and another stood on Never-cooled Plain, :the beer-hall of the giant who is called Brimir." : ::— Larrington trans. Snorri used this stanza as his basis for Brimir as a hall in the afterlife in ''Gylfaginning'' but whether the two residences are identical is uncertain.

References

*Faulkes, Anthony (transl.) (1987). ''Edda'' (Snorri Sturluson). Everyman. . *Larrington, Carolyne (transl.) (1996). ''The Poetic Edda''. Oxford World's Classics. . {{Norse mythology Places in Norse mythology Jötnar Ymir

See also

References