The Norse Creation Myth

An Old Norse specialist looks at what the Prose Edda and the Poetic Edda have to say about how the world and living beings were made.

Logo by Elizabeth Porter (snowbringer at gmail).

[JacksonCrawford]

This video from 2018 mentions a Discord channel connected to my community of Patreon supporters. That was a short-lived experiment, and was discontinued not long after this video debuted.

[blfodzo]

Damn, poor Ymir. Every time he tries to go work out he accidentally spawns an entire civilization who end up murdering him. Puberty must’ve been rough for him.

[MissKellyBean]

That pared down intro ("Hi, I'm old norse specialist Jackson Crawford") is great. The old intro was great for its time (it was iconic! :-) We all had it memorized!), but this new one seems appropriate, now that so many people know Dr. Crawford for his work.

[BBC-dqki]

Get this man more views. He deserves a fat ad revenue check for the work he puts into these vids

[unsutv]

Shower thought: If the Norns carved out the destinies of gods and men on wooden sticks (presumably an ash tree: Yggdrasil) and men are driftwood given all that we are by the gods (also presumably ash/elm), it's not such a leap to think that the runes of fate are inscribed on the hearts/souls/bodies of men. So, does that mean that the fate of the gods rests in the hands of humanity?

Following the beautiful and compelling image that man is created from the central spoke of the world tree that represents so much to the Norse cosmology: it seems fitting that fateless flotsam, when uplifted by gods, becomes men in whose fate belies the fate of the gods. This has been a fanciful daydream constructed with the information outside of it's greater context but vague and evocative enough to make for a good sentiment. It fits with modern notions that worship or faith is the currency and lifeblood on which the gods subsist and our convictions keep the gods relevant.

Thanks for the great RPG setting idea Dr. Crawford.

[sigfridironside]

Not sure if I m learnig from your videos about norse culture or how to be a cool cowboy...

[patriciaulloahernandez]

Even though my brother is not interested in Norse mythology and such, he says he loves the wonderful scenarios you show in your videos.

[petervitale]

I wasnt aware of Tolkein's inspiration for middle Earth (midgard) and the names of the dwarves came form Norse mythology.

[tiffanyhaberacker]

Thank you for making these videos! They're such a wonderful source of Norse information.

[atomicpalms]

The view of the mountains at around 12:09 took my breath away!

[robbiehoen]

Embla: I heard some people sugest that it means "mistletoe". Ash is 100% a symbol for men. as "ash" means spear, and spears are for men. Not sure if this is the case in english, but in my language (Dutch), we used to refer to the fathers side of the family as the "spear-side" and the mother's side the "spindle-Side".

If mistletoe symbolizes women, then this sheds some very itneresting light on Baldr; the beloved god who could only be hurt by a mistletoe, manipulated by Loki.

[lynspessard]

In India, they have everyone's story written separately on a piece of bark called a nadi that a priest like reader interprets.

[juliaconnell]

love creation myths - and this is a great one - ice, sweat, and... legs!! love it - thanks Dr Crawford

[valeriy]

Indeed, I love the image of humanity being a representation of the tree. It is a symbolism that comes up for me a lot in life and wonderful to know how old that concept is. As above, so below, as without, so within, etc.

[redcapetimetraveler]

5:47 this familly tree, remind me of the greek myths, odinn is the third generation, like zeus after ouranos and chronos, and those 2 last were married to earth goddesses Gaia and Rhea who could be compared to the 2 jotunn brides of Burr and Buri...i don't know if it's make sens but why always the third generation has to be the most important ?,

[LordCaric]

I recently discovered your videos doing my own research on Old Norse myths and enjoy them quite a bit. Very informative and educational. Thank you!

[hotspurre]

Huh. I recall the Norns spinning out men's lives as threads, but now that I think about it the only source I had for that was a children's book. That book, I imagine, conflated them with the Greek Fates, which are admittedly very similar figures. It's funny the things you "know, " but they just came from something you read a long time ago...

[Tina]

Well done! Another fascinating video with beautiful scenery.

[Moonsong]

Omg I only just now noticed the sleipnir cowboy, nice lol.
Now that I think about it, the Norse creation myth sounds a bit like the Greek/Roman one, but only in very specific places oddly enough. 'Giants' and gods as family that came from the same predecessors, three fate ladies, killing one character to create or free something.

[demoninjadsm]

Listening tonight as I make a Finrir walking stick. Thank you my friend. I enjoy the videos and wish I could take classes