Norse cosmology divided the universe into nine realms. The center of the universe was the great world-tree Yggdrasil and the nine realms either spread out from the tree or existed in levels stretching from the roots down and, marginally, side-to-side.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original article at https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1305/nine-realms-of-norse-cosmology/.
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- Why do you think the Norse myths changed after Christian writers wrote them down?
- Which of the nine realms seems most like a place of order or chaos, and why?
- Do you think Ragnarok sounds more hopeful or more frightening, and why?
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