Élivágar
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In Norse mythology, Élivágar (Old Norse: [ˈeːleˌwɑːɣɑz̠]; "Ice Waves") are rivers that existed in Ginnungagap at the beginning of the world. The Prose Edda relates:
The streams called Ice-waves, those which were so long come from the fountain-heads that the
rime, and the rime increased, frost over frost, each over the other, even into Ginnungagap, the Yawning Void. Gylfaginning 5.[1]
The eleven rivers traditionally associated with the Élivágar include the Svöl, Gunnþrá, Fjörm, Fimbulþul,
The rivers seem to act as borders between differing lands whether between the gods and the giants [2] or between the mythological world and mortal world.[3]
The Élivágar also figure in the origin of
In Gylfaginning, Snorri expands upon this notion considerably. As quoted above, when the venomous yeast from the Élivágar froze to ice and overspread its banks it fell as rain through the mild air of Ginnungagap. The rime, infused with the cold of Niflheim from which the Élivágar find their source in the wellspring Hvergelmir, began to fill the void. It then combined with the life-giving fire and heat of Muspelheim, melting and dripping and giving form to Ymir, progenitor of the rime giants or frost giants.
Elsewhere, Gylfaginning says that, "So many serpents are in Hvergelmir with
A reference to the river Leiptr appears in Helgakviða Hundingsbana II, where the Valkyrie Sigrún puts a curse on her brother Dagr for having murdered her husband Helgi Hundingsbane despite him having sworn a holy oath of allegiance to Helgi on the "bright water of Leiptr" (ljósa Leiftrar vatni):
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References
- ^ [1] Archived January 8, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
- ISBN 1580443354.
- ^ Lindow, John (17 October 2002). Norse Mythology: A Guide to Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs. Oxford University Press. p. 109.
- ^ "Heimskringla.no - Eddukvæði : Völsungakviða in forna". Archived from the original on 2007-05-08. Retrieved 2017-04-07.
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: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ "The Poetic Edda: Helgakvitha Hundingsbana II". Sacred-texts.com. Retrieved 2 January 2015.