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Nine
Worlds
The
nine worlds of Norse mythology.
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The
second level: Midgard, Land
of humans (middle world/garden); Nidavellir,
Land of the dwarfs;
Jotunheim, Land of the
giants (Jotuns); and Svartalfheim, Land of the
dark elves.
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The
third level: Hel, Realm of
the dead; and Niflheim, World
of the dead.
If
Hel and Niflheim comprised one world, as is suggested in
some sources, the ninth may have been Muspelheim
(Muspell), the land of the fire giants. This region had
no place in the tricentric structure of the universe, and
Snorri Sturluson wrote that is
was the first world to exist and that is lies in the southern
hemisphere. Also, the worlds of Svartalfheim and Nidavellir
may have been the same. No valid distinction can be drawn
between the dwarfs and dark elves; they appear to have been
interchangeable.
Source:
the Encyclopedia Mythica, please visit their site for
much more
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