The 45th Parallel is a line equidistant between the equator and the pole that circles the world. In the southern hemisphere this crosses mostly ocean only passing over sparsely populated Patagonia and the southern tip of New Zealand known as Fjordland. The northern 45th parallel however crosses the widest part of both the Eurasian continentContinue reading “Parallels”
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Asgard, Home of the Gods.
Other than crossing the exposed and precarious Rainbow Spit (Bifrost) the alternative entry into Asgard is to negotiate a maze of marshes and lagoons of the Rotten Sea. This inhospitable terrain, frozen in winter and malarial in summer, wraps around the north and east edges of the peninsula making it a virtual island. Beyond thisContinue reading “Asgard, Home of the Gods.”
The Nine Worlds of Norse Mythology
Niflheim, the first of the nine worlds is a land of frost and fog. This coldest of places is associated with the ice cap on summit of Mount Elbrus Muspelheim is a hot burning place and home of the fire giants ruled by Surtr associated with the active volcanic peak of Mount Ararat. Midgard orContinue reading “The Nine Worlds of Norse Mythology”
Yggdrasil, the World Tree of Norse mythology.
Hvergelmir – The cold well of endurance. I have associated with a once longer Shkhara Glacier. Nidafjoll – Dark and difficult to locate high mountains. I have associated them with a sheer wall of mountains, some of the highest in the Caucasus, immediately east of Mount Elbrus. Mimmisbrunnr – The central well of wisdom. I haveContinue reading “Yggdrasil, the World Tree of Norse mythology.”
Middle World Origins
The seas had retreated during the deep cold but when the ice finally melted there were great floods. The retreating ice left lakes and meltwaters covering the land struggling to find a way to the seas which grew in size again until they over topped and flooded into each other. Stories passed down through theContinue reading “Middle World Origins”
The Bronze Age origins of Norse Mythology.
To understand their surroundings these simple yet adaptable steppe people would have had origin stories explaining where they came from, how the snowy southern mountains were formed and what lay beyond them in the exotic lands further south. These and the old civilisations on the fertile valleys away to the west would be a sourceContinue reading “The Bronze Age origins of Norse Mythology.”
The Diverse Tribes of Middle World.
The Yamnaya in the early Bronze Age occupied the wide open grasslands between the Dniester and Ural rivers. Surrounding them were cultures quite different from their own. Some seemed older and more sophisticated living in large settlements and working metals others seemed less advanced living in forests as hunter-gatherers but all spoke languages that wereContinue reading “The Diverse Tribes of Middle World.”
The Rivers of Eastern Europe.
The Volga and Dnieper rivers drain a vast catchment area stretching from the Polish border east to the Urals. The Volga begins by flowing east until reaching the River Kama where it then turns to flow south. This major tributary is the first of many from the Urals that join the Volga which finally passesContinue reading “The Rivers of Eastern Europe.”
The Mountain Ranges of Middle World
The Greater Caucasus Mountains are squeezed between the Black and Caspian Seas. Mount Elbrus at 5633 metres is a huge volcanic dome covered by a large icecap but a little further east more 5,000 metre peaks create an imposing north face. Here during colder times glaciers coalesced to create one long ice flow – theContinue reading “The Mountain Ranges of Middle World”
The Inland Seas of Middle World
On the northern fringes of the Black Sea temperatures on land and sea in winter are similar to the southern Baltic. The main difference between these two areas is that precipitation is greater around the Baltic making it greener. This would have been attractive to Bronze Age dairy farmers living by the Black Sea where thereContinue reading “The Inland Seas of Middle World”
Yggdrasil and Middle World 