- published: 31 Jan 2016
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Niflheim (or Niflheimr) ("Mist Home", the "Abode of Mist" or "Mist World")[citation needed] is one of the Nine Worlds and is a location in Norse mythology which overlaps with the notions of Niflhel and Hel. The name Niflheimr only appears in two extant sources, Gylfaginning and the much debated Hrafnagaldr Óðins.
Niflheim was primarily a realm of primordial ice and cold, with nine frozen rivers. According to Gylfaginning, it was one of the two primordial realms, the other one being Muspelheim, the realm of fire. Between these two realms of cold and heat, creation began when its waters mixed with the heat of Muspelheim to create a "creating steam". Later, it became the abode of Hel, a goddess daughter of Loki, and the afterlife for her subjects, those who did not die a heroic or notable death.
Nifl (whence the Icelandic nifl) being cognate with the Old English Nifol ("dark"), Dutch nevel and German Nebel (fog).
In Gylfaginning by Snorri Sturluson, Gylfi, the king of ancient Scandinavia, receives an education in Norse mythology from Odin in the guise of three men. Gylfi learns from Odin (as Jafnhárr) that Niflheimr was the first world to be created after Muspelheim: