The gods represent for the most part the positive side of the supernatural powers. They maintain order and protect the cosmos. They fulfill the needs for security and happiness. They afford protection and victory in the battle for survival as well as fertility and well-being for the extended family.

Yet supernatural powers do exist which seek to destroy humans, order and even the cosmos itself. These powers or giants live in Utgard which means outside the ordered world. They are invisible and mysterious but they do reveal their destructive nature in a number of events and by doing so fill humans with fear and terror.

There is a never-ending battle between the constructive and the destructive powers. The gods'goal is to keep the giants'power in check.

According to the ancient Germans, human lived in the middle of the world and the earth is called Midgard which means garden or home in the middle.

The gods live in Asgard or garden or home of the gods. It is located in the sky but close to Midgard. It is described as a magnificent palace, akin to but more glorious than any royal abode.

The destructive powers live in Utgard which is also known as Jotunheim or home of the giants. The giants or trolls are huge beings with great physical strength. Outwardly and inwardly repulsive they are usually slow to grasp things, but do possess much wisdom as the original inhabitants of the world who existed before the gods and humans. The gods are descendants of the giants just as humans are creations of the gods.

Fenrir the Wolf, the symbol of terror and horror, also lived in Utgard. In the germanic past there were large numbers of wolves that hunted in packs and attacked domestic animals, children and lone travellers. The howling of these packs at night must have sent many a shiver down the spines of the germanic farmers.

The Midgard Serpent is another monster of Utgard. It lives in the ocean and has encircled all land with its body. Storms at sea are attributed to the serpent thrashing around as it awaits Ragnarok or to giants fighting among themselves.

Utgard is generally placed in North and East because winter and coldness dominate and because Thor always heads east to fight the giants. It would, however, be a mistake to try and find a geographical location for the giants who are rather symbols and analogies pointing to the Other World, i.e. the World of the Dead which is anything but dead. The main source of information for the Germanic people was based on the observation of nature for many centuries and not on logical, systematic thinking.

As a result, the border between Utgard and Midgard depends totally on the main difference between the two realms: Midgard is the inhabited, known world while Utgard is the unknown wilderness including the sea, primeval forests, bogs, deserts and mountain ranges covered with ice and snow. That is, Utgard might begin just a few hundred metres from the farm!

The imaginations of our ancestors, fueled by fear and terror, led to the creation of gigantic horrors in Utgard, including wolves, dragons and snakes. The mountains were created or destroyed, they believed, by giants or were even giants sleeping. Giant rocks lying around were seen as the result of battles among the giants themselves.

The Aesir obviously did not fear the giants as much as people did and even had friendly contacts with them. Njord married Skadi and Frey Gerda. Odin's mother was the giantess Bestla, Tyr's father the giant Hymir, Loki's father Farbauti and Heimdal's nine mothers were the daughters of a giant.

The view of the giants is not fixed. Sometimes they are represented as normal human figures; other times their tears, for example, are supernatural and can cause floods. They are intended as symbols or even allegories.

Hel, for example, is the name of the goddess as well as the name for the Land of the Dead that she rules over. Its geographical location cannot be determined. It is described as the Underworld because people were buried under in the earth. It has also been described as being in the North, perhaps because of its coldness and everlasting darkness. Hel itself is surrounded by a swift-flowing river with black water called Gjoll. The weapons floating in the river cause a horrendous noise. Across the river is a golden bridge guarded by the Hound of Hel, Garm with his bared teeth and bloodied chest, as well as by the maiden Modgund. At the far side of the bridge is a huge gate which opens and closes very quickly so that the grate will fall on the heels of a slow rider. Beyond the gate are the Dead who lived a hapless existence along with their fellow shadows.

The Germanic tribes believed in a life after death, but preferred to focus on this world since only heroes, selected by Odin, could enjoy the pleasures of Valhalla. They did not console themselves in the idea of a life after death, therefore, but sought fulfillment in this world through their behavior and a dignified death.

They also believed that they would live on in the children and grandchildren. Indeed, the German word for grandchild Enkel id derived from the Old High German eninchili or small ancestor. Deceased ancestors were also seen as very much alive in the present generation.

Another important power is the World Ash, Yggdrasil, that acts as a unifying principle for the cosmos. It is to be found in the center of the earth and reaches up into the sky which it also supports. Under this tree the Aesir met each day to discuss the state of the cosmos. Odin hung for nine nights on the tree in order to discover the secret of the runes. Insecuring wisdom he was forced to give up an eye to the fountain at one of the three roots of Yggdrasil. It is next to this fountain that the three norns Urd, Werdandi and Skuld live.

Among the branches of Yggdrasil are many birds and animals that may be poetic accretions of the Edda poets and not part of the old mythology. There are many snakes gnawing on the roots of Yggdrasil, particularly the dragon Nidhogg. An eagle sits atop the tree with the hawk Wedrfolner between its eyes. The serpent Ratatosk acts as a mediator between the eagle and the dragon and causes much mischief. In addition, four stags chew on the leaves from which live-sustaining dew drops on the earth.

The Irmin Column of the Saxons and the huge tree, probably a yew tree, next to the germanic temple in Upsala may be regarded as mirror images of Yggdrasil. There are also water springs in Upsala into which human sacrifices were thrown alive. If the victim does not resurface, the people are satisfied in as much as the the god has indicated an acceptance of the sacrifice.

The dwarfs are also considered to be supernatural beings. They are small and live inside mountains or under rocks where they guard gold and precious stones. They are talented smiths and create magic weapons and pieces of jewellery. Among items created by the dwarfs are many swords, Odin's spear Gungnir and his ring Draupnir, Thor's hammer Miollnir, Frey's boar Gullinborsti and his ship Skidbladnir, and Sif's golden hair. The dwarfs' greatest enemy is light which turns them to stone.

Dwarfs tend to be wise and they can give good advice. Yet their relationship to humans is ambivalent: they may be helpful or they may be malicious and cunning. For example, the dwarf Egwald saves Sigurd by giving him a magic hat that renders him invisible, whereas the dwarf Regin only helps Siegfried kill his brother, the dragon Fafnir, because he wants the treasure for himself.

The belief in dwarfs has survived Christianity and still exists today in the forms of house spirits, cobolds, elves, nixies, wights etc. Most of these spirits were seen as helpful and food and/or clothing was placed outside the frontdoor in gratitude and in the hopes of maintaining a friendly relationship.

Last modified: September 23, 2001