Gealdýr - Ask ok Emblu

Ask and Embla are the first humans to be created in Norse mythology. The story of how they were created, as it has come down to us in Old Norse literature, goes like this: Not too long after the world itself was created, Odin was walking along the coast of one of the new land masses. With him were two other gods: in one version, these were his brothers Vili and Ve, and in another version, they were the obscure figures Hoenir and Lodurr. The three deities found two tree trunks, perhaps pieces of driftwood, lying on the beach. They were shaped like a man and a woman, but they were lifeless and powerless. So the three gods decided to give them what they lacked and make them true humans. Odin blew into them the breath of life, while his two companions imparted inspired mental activity, a healthy complexion, and the ability to speak, hear, and see. They dressed them in suitable clothes and named the man “Ask” and the woman “Embla.” Ask and Embla were then given Midgard, the world of human civiliza