Midgard
"The name “Midgard” (“Middle Enclosure”)
has a double meaning. The first meaning of
the word refers to civilization’s position
“in the middle of” an otherwise wild world,
which is reflected on the cosmological plane by
Midgard’s being surrounded by the uninhabited
wilderness of Jotunheim, the world of the
often-hostile giants. This is akin to the way in
which the continents are surrounded by the
ocean, which is, in the ancient Germanic
perspective, also teeming with giants.
The serpent Jormungand lives in the sea
and encircles the terrestrial
Midgard and the wilderness at its borders, and Aegir and Ran dwell in the same watery depths and claim the lives of unfortunate seafarers.The name “Midgard” (“Middle Enclosure”) has a double meaning. The first meaning of the word refers to civilization’s position “in the middle of” an otherwise wild world, which is reflected on the cosmological plane by Midgard’s being surrounded by the uninhabited wilderness of Jotunheim, the world of the often-hostile giants. This is akin to the way in which the continents are surrounded by the ocean, which is, in the ancient Germanic perspective, also teeming with giants. The serpent Jormungand lives in the sea and encircles the terrestrial Midgard and the wilderness at its borders, and Aegir and Ran dwell in the same watery depths and claim the lives of unfortunate seafarers." (1)
When the gods gave the world its initial shape, they slew the giant Ymir and created the various part of the world from his body parts. In order to protect Midgard and humanity from the giants, they built a fence around Midgard out of Ymir’s eyebrows. Building fences around farms repeated this paradigmatic act, marking off that which was within the fences as innangard and that which was outside the fences as utangard.
During Ragnarok, the destruction of the world at the end of the Germanic mythical cycle, Midgard sinks into the sea, only to rise again, as green and fertile as ever, when the cycle begins again and the creation is repeated.
Midgard is the home that the gods created, and bestowed upon us. It is our duty to honor the gifts that they bestow upon us, especially the world I which we live in. So, recycle, and just respect nature! Consume less! You know the deal!
Hail to The Holy Powers for giving us a place to live!
Sources:
1: http://norse-mythology.org/cosmology/the-nine-worlds/midgard/