Norse PantheonRealm
Muspelheim
The primordial realm of fire, ruled by the fire giant Surtr, whose flames will consume the world at Ragnarok.
About Muspelheim
Fire at the south
Muspelheim is Snorri's hot pole, guarded by Surtr with a burning sword. Sparks from it order the stars; at the end Surtr comes and the world burns. The Voluspa already has Surtr from the south. A full fire-realm with a king is largely Snorri's architecture. There is no cult of Muspelheim. The name explains heat, stars, and the last fire in one geography.
Sources and further reading
Source notes
These references are recorded in the catalog. Their passage wording and translation have not been checked, so quotations are not displayed here.
- Snorri Sturluson, Prose Edda, Gylfaginning
About this entry
By Elizabeth Stein for Mythos Atlas. About the author. Editorial notes are grounded in the site's cited sources and can be challenged through the contact page.
Coordinates mark where the myths place a site, or where the tradition locates it today. Mythic realms are left off the map or marked as symbolic placements.
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