At first there was Ginnungagap, a big, empty black void. To the west lay Niflheim, where it was extremely cold. To the south lay Muspell, where it was burning hot. The giant Surt was the leader of Muspell. A river flowed into Ginnungagap from Nifleheim. It filled Ginnungagap with ice. But the hot wind from Muspell in the south melted the ice, and from the melted ice a giant was created. He was named Ymir. From Ymir there was made frost-giants, a man, and a cow. The man married the giants' daughter, and they had the sons Odin, Will and Holy One. They slew Ymir, and created the earth by his body.

One day Odin, Will, and Holy One found two pieces of wood by the sea. From them they created a man and a woman. They called them Ask and Embla, and from them the human race grew.

The humans inhabited Midgarth. Then the gods created Asgarth, the worlds senter, where the gods would live.

There was a man called Mundilfari who had two children. They were so lovely that the boy was named after the moon and the girl was named after the sun. This made the gods angry, and they took the children. The boy would control the moon and the girl would pull the sun’s chariot.

In Ironwood, on the eastern side of Midgarth, an ogress lived. She bore monsters for children. Two of them were the wolves Skoll, who chases the sun, and Hati, who chases the moon. Both the sun and the moon always run from them in fear.

Bifrost, called the rainbowbridge by men, was the bridge that connected heaven and earth.

The Vikings had many gods. The gods looked and behaved just like people, but they had one thing human beings didn't have: The power og the gods. The power of the gods gave them supernatural power and strength.

The greatest and oldest of the gods was Odin, the God of War. Odin's wife Frigg, was first among the goddesses.

The Vikings who worshipped Odin were mostly chiefs and warriors. They thought he could decide who would win a battle. Therefore they sacrificed animals to him, so that he would let them win.

Odin's animals and birds were carrion eaters; Ravens and wolfs. His ravens were named Hugin and Munin. Their names meant thought and memory. Each day he sendt his ravens out to fly over the world. At dinnertime they would return to him. Hugin would sit on one of his shoulders, Munin on the other. Then they told him what they had seen and heard. Because of this he was also called the Raven God.

In the land of the frost-giants lay the Well of Mimir, from which all wit and wisdom flowed. Odin came there once, to win wisdom. Mimir, the guard of the well, told him that he had to give one of his eyes to drink from the Well of Mimir. Therefore Odin cut out one of his eyes, and was let to drink from the well. After that he always wore a broad-brimmed hat to hide his blind eye. Therefore he also became known as the one-eyed god, or the Big-hat.

He learned the fate of the gods and men, and he also learned that in the end the sons of Muspell were going to destroy all things, both in heaven and earth. Therefore he set a god to watch over the bridge Bifrost. His name was Heimdall. He needed less sleep than a bird, he could see as well by night as by day and he had such good hearing that he could hear the gras grow on earth. He had a horn witch could be heard both in heaven and on earth, and if a giant ever crossed the bridge he would blow it so that everyone would know. Although he had this guard he knew that one day a giant might get over the bridge, and therefore he gathered all the men who had been killed in battle from the beginning of time in a place called Valhalla, The Hall of the Slain . There they would practice fighting by slaughtering each other every day. At dinnertime the men who had been slain would stand up, and they everyone would return to Valhalla. There they would be served meat and mead by gorgeous maidons called Valkyries, Choosers of the Slain. They were the ones Odin sendt to earth in battles to decide who was to fall and who was to have victory.

Once Odin hung from a tree for nine days and nine nights to get the power and knowledge of the magic of the runes. From that day on he also was called the Hanging God.

Thor, Odin's son, was the God of the Weather. The farmers worshipped him. He could decide what the weather was going to be like, and if they sacrificed to him, there would be good weather, and they would have a good year.

Thor was very quick-tempered, and therefore he often fought with the giants and trolls. They were both the god's and people's enemies.

Thor had a hammer named Miller. It was the best protection the gods had from the giants and the trolls. Thor could throw Miller at a troll or a giant, and the hammer would return straight to his hand afterwards. When there was lightning the Vikings thought Thor rode a wagon pulled by two billygoats. Every time Thor threw his hammer trough the air, they would see the lightning. Thor also had a magic belt, and if he had it on real tight he would become twice as big and strong as he really was.

Loki was the bad guy among the gods. He was related to the trolls, but so smart that the gods needed his help all the time. Loki was evil, and tried to make trouble for the gods all the time.

At the end of the world's existence, also called Ragnarok, he would lead the evil forces in the ship Nailfarer, which was built by dead men's nails.

Loki was the father of the three monsters Jormungand, Fenrir and Hel. Jormungand was a big worm that encircled the earth. Fenrir was a bloodthirsty wolf which bit off Ty's hand before the gods managed to chain him to a mountain. Hel had a blue face, and was the chief of the Realm of the Dead, far to the north.

Since Loki could change into what ever he wanted, he was also the mother of Odin's eight-legged horse, Sleipnir, which was the fastest of all horses.

Ragnarok would contain series of happenings. At first there would be three years of war all over the world, and everyone would kill each other. Then the Great Winter would strike the world. It would last three whole years without any summer at all. The wolves would eat the sun and steal the moon. The sea would come in over the land, and Jormungand would crawl up on dry land. Nailfar would be set at sea, with the giant Hrym as mate. Fenrir, who had a mouth that reached from the sky to the earth, would be let loose. The sky will part, and the Sons of Muspell would come out. The giant Surt would ride in front of them with a big sword that would shine brighter than the sun. When they would ride over the rainbowbridge, it would break. The Sons of Muspell would go to the Field of Slaughter. Heimdall, the one who guards the bridge Bifrost, would rise and blow his horn. Then the gods would come together to council. Odin would ride to Mimir and ask him for advice. Then the gods would arm themselves an fight against the wolf Fenrir, Jormungand, Surt, and Garm. All the gods, except Vidar, Vali, Modi, and Mali, and their enemies would be killed in the fight. But this would not be the end. The sun would have born a daughter, and it would take over it's mother's job. The gods who hadn't died would live on in peace and harmony.

Sources:

History of Norway- From the ice Age to the oil Age-

Ivar Libæk and Øyvind Stenersen

****

Stories of the norsemen- Alan Boucher

****

Vikingene- Ole Røsholdt

****

Vikingenes verden- James Graham-Campbell