Ymir and the Making of the World

How did a giant’s body become the world?

The sons of Bor killed the giant Ymir. So much blood poured from his wounds that the frost giants drowned. Bergelmir escaped with his wife in a boat. From their descendants came the continuing line of frost giants.

The sons of Bor carried Ymir’s body into the middle of the chasm. They made the earth from his flesh and the seas and lakes from his blood. His bones became mountains. His teeth, molars, and broken bones became stones and heaps of rocks.

They made the sky from his skull and stretched it over the earth. Beneath its 4 corners, they placed dwarfs named Austri, Vestri, Nordri, and Sudri. The sea surrounded the outer edge of the earth like a ring.

They also built a stronghold to protect the human world from giants. They used Ymir’s eyelashes to make it and called it Midgard. They tossed his brains into the sky, where they became clouds.

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