In the earliest, pre-creation epoch of Norse myth Ymir arose in Ginnungagap—the grassless void where the cold of Niflheim/Élivágar met the heat of Muspell. According to the sources summarized in the Poetic Edda and Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda, Ymir formed from atter (eitr), the yeasty venom that dripped from the icy Élivágar; he existed contemporaneously with the primeval cow Auðumbla. In Snorri's account the brothers Odin, Vili and Vé slew Ymir and used his body to fashion the cosmos: flesh into earth, blood into seas (an immense flood is reported at his death), bones into mountains, hair into trees, brains into clouds, skull into the heavens, and eyebrows into Midgard. Poetic sources likewise present Ymir (under variant names Aurgelmir/Brimir/Bláinn) as the ancestor of the jötnar; scholarly summaries note that some sequence and synthesizing detail is emphasized in Snorri's Prose Edda relative to the poetic corpus.
The poetic sources provide little pictorial detail beyond indicating Ymir's status as an immense, primordial jötunn whose body, after death, becomes the physical world. Poetic Edda stanzas record unusual generative anatomy—offspring issuing from beneath his armpits and a six-headed jötunn produced by his feet—emphasizing his role as ancestor rather than giving conventional humanlike description. The attestations also record variant names (Aurgelmir, Brimir, Bláinn) applied to this being in different contexts.
Ymir's principal functions in the sources are generative and material: he begets progeny in an unorthodox manner (a male and female growing beneath his armpits; a six-headed jötunn from his feet), establishing him as ancestor of the jötnar (Poetic Edda, Vafþrúðnismál). After his death at the hands of Odin, Vili and Vé, his body is the raw material for cosmogenesis—his flesh, blood, bones, hair, brains and skull become earth, sea (with his blood causing an immense flood), mountains, trees, clouds and sky (Poetic/Prose Edda summaries). The sources do not attribute other active powers, ongoing behaviors, or magical practices to Ymir beyond these cosmological roles.
Weaknesses
- conditionslain by the gods Odin, Vili and Vé (attested cause of death)
Wards
None recorded.
Adils
Adils (Old Norse Aðils; also Eadgils, Adillus, Athisl, Adhel) is a semi‑legendary sixth‑century Swedish king attested in Old Norse saga material and later medieval traditions. He appears in saga episodes as a storied royal figure involved in warfare, court acts, and marriage suits rather than as a supernatural being.
Agilaz (Egil)
Agilaz (reconstructed Proto-Germanic) — commonly recorded in medieval sources as Egil or Ægil — is a legendary archer attested in Germanic heroic tradition. He appears as the brother of Völund (Wayland/Weland) in the Old Norse poem Völundarkviða and in the Thidreks saga, and his name is also inscribed on early medieval objects (Franks Casket, Pforzen buckle). The attested material presents him as a named heroic human archer within saga and inscriptional contexts rather than as a recurrent supernatural species.
Agnarr Geirröðsson
Agnarr Geirröðsson is a mortal prince attested only in the Poetic Edda poem Grímnismál; he aids Odin (disguised as Grímnir) during Geirröðr's torture and, after Odin reveals himself and King Geirröðr dies, Agnarr succeeds as king.
Agne
Agne (also attested Agni, Hogne, Agni Skjálfarbondi) is a semi-legendary king of Sweden in Old Norse saga tradition, preserved in the Ynglingatal corpus and prose expansions such as Snorri Sturluson's Ynglinga saga. He is portrayed as a mighty and famous warrior-king whose campaign in Finland, marriage to Skjalf, and death by hanging form a remembered episode connected to local place-names and a burial mound.
Alf and Alfhild
Alf and Alfhild are legendary human figures from Old Norse/early Scandinavian narrative tradition preserved principally in Saxo Grammaticus' Gesta Danorum. The tale presents Alf as a Danish prince and Alfhild as a Geatish princess who becomes a shieldmaiden and leader of a fleet of female raiders; their story includes combat, recognition, marriage, and later dynastic conflict.
Algaut
Algaut (also rendered Algöt or Algaut Gautreksson) is a semi-legendary Geatish king of West Götaland recorded in Scandinavian saga and genealogical tradition. Saga summaries (via Snorri Sturluson's Heimskringla as reported in later compilations) record that he was the father of Gauthild and was burnt to death by his son-in-law, the Swedish king Ingjald Ill-ruler.
Almáttki áss
Almáttki áss is an epithet-attested divine figure invoked in an Icelandic legal oath recorded in Landnámabók (Hauksbók 268). In the sole attestation the phrase functions as an invoked áss (god) described with the adjective almáttki ('almighty') and serves as the divine guarantor or witness for an oath sworn on a temple ring. Scholarly sources debate whether the epithet refers to a named Norse god (Thor, Ullr, Odin, or Týr) or is a Christianizing formulation by a later author.
Alrek and Eirík
Alrek and Eirík (also rendered Alaric and Eric) are legendary Swedish kings from the Old Norse saga tradition who are presented as joint rulers and as members of the Ynglinga royal genealogies. They appear in saga narratives as sons and heirs of King Agni, famed for martial and athletic prowess, and as hosts who receive the hero Starkaðr after the sacrificial death of Vikar.
Alvaldi
Alvaldi (Old Norse: Alvaldi / Ölvaldi) is a jötunn in Norse mythic genealogies, attested chiefly as the father of the notable jötunn Þjazi and described in one source as exceedingly rich in gold. He survives in the record mainly as a familial antecedent and an etiological figure rather than as an active participant in preserved narratives.
Alvíss
Alvíss (Old Norse: 'All‑Wise') is a dwarf in Norse mythology who appears in the Poetic Edda poem Alvíssmál as a prospective husband for Thor's daughter Þrúðr. In the surviving narrative Thor tests Alvíss's wisdom through a lengthy question-and-answer session that lasts until sunrise, whereupon the dwarf is petrified by exposure to sunlight.
Amleth
Amleth (Old Norse: Amlóði; Latinized Amlethus) is a legendary medieval Scandinavian prince and saga-hero best known from Saxo Grammaticus' Gesta Danorum. He is a human protagonist whose story centers on feigned madness, cunning survival, exile to Britain, marriage, wealth-gathering, and eventual vengeance against his father's murderer; the tale later inspired the character of Shakespeare's Hamlet and numerous adaptations.
Ancient Kings of Finland
In early literary sources, the Ancient Kings of Finland are described as hypothetical or mythical monarchic systems associated with ancient Finland. (Note: 1. Power tier: Lower to Primordial (given the lack of specific abilities and behaviors) 2. Abilities and behaviors are described as 'generally vague', so this section should be reworded or removed 3. )
Community Record
- [1]Ymir (Wikipedia). Wikipedia: 'Ymir' article summarizing Poetic Edda and Prose Edda accountswiki
- [2]Poetic Edda (poetic corpus summarized). Summarized stanzas from the Poetic Edda as presented in the provided research notes (e.g., Vafþrúðnismál references to Aurgelmir/Brimir/Bláinn and birthing details).literary
- [3]Prose Edda (Snorri Sturluson) — summarized account. Summarized Prose Edda material as presented in the provided research notes describing Ymir's formation from atter, Auðumbla, and his slaying by Odin, Vili and Vé with consequent cosmological transformations and flood.literary