InNorse mythology,Bifröst (/ˈbɪvrɒst/ ⓘ;[1]modern Icelandic:Bifröst; fromOld Norse:Bifrǫst[ˈbiv.rɔst]), also calledBilröst and often anglicized asBifrost, is a burning bridge that reaches betweenMidgard (Earth) andAsgard, the realm of thegods. The bridge is attested asBilröst in thePoetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources; asBifröst in theProse Edda, written in the 13th century bySnorri Sturluson; and in the poetry ofskalds. Both thePoetic Edda and theProse Edda also refer to the bridge asÁsbrú (Old Norse "Æsir's bridge").[2]
According to theProse Edda, the bridge ends in heaven atHiminbjörg, the residence of the godHeimdall, who guards it from thejötnar. The bridge's destruction duringRagnarök by the forces ofMuspell is foretold. Scholars have proposed that the bridge may have originally represented theMilky Way and have noted parallels between the bridge and another bridge in Norse mythology,Gjallarbrú. It may also represent other phenomena, such as theAurora Borealis, which fits better with the notions of it being fiery and having three colours, while arainbow form is very distinct and well-known, being stable and not fiery, with more numerous colours always in the same order. Also, rainbows do not end in the heavens, but appear to arch back and return to the land.
ScholarAndy Orchard suggests thatBifröst may mean "shimmering path". He notes that the first element ofBilröst—bil (meaning "a moment")—"suggests the fleeting nature of the rainbow", which he connects to the first element ofBifröst—theOld Norse verbbifa (meaning "to shimmer" or "to shake")—noting that the element evokes notions of the "lustrous sheen" of the bridge.[3] Austrian GermanistRudolf Simek says thatBifröst either means "the swaying road to heaven" (also citingbifa) or, ifBilröst is the original form of the two (which Simek says is likely), "the fleetingly glimpsed rainbow" (possibly connected tobil, perhaps meaning "moment, weak point").[4]
Two poems in thePoetic Edda and two books in theProse Edda provide information about the bridge:
In thePoetic Edda, the bridge is mentioned in the poemsGrímnismál andFáfnismál, where it is referred to asBilröst. In one of two stanzas in the poemGrímnismál that mentions the bridge,Grímnir (the godOdin in disguise) provides the youngAgnarr with cosmological knowledge, including that Bilröst is the best of bridges.[5] Later inGrímnismál, Grímnir notes that Asbrú "burns all with flames" and that, every day, the godThor wades through the waters ofKörmt and Örmt and the twoKerlaugar:
Kormt and Ormt and the Kerlaugs twain
Shall Thor each day wade through,
(When dooms to give he forth shall go
To the ash-treeYggdrasil;)
For heaven's bridge burns all in flame,
And thesacred waters seethe.[7]
InFáfnismál, the dyingwyrmFafnir tells the heroSigurd that, during the events of Ragnarök, bearing spears, gods will meet atÓskópnir. From there, the gods will cross Bilröst, which will break apart as they cross over it, causing their horses to dredge through an immense river.[8]
The bridge is mentioned in theProse Edda booksGylfaginning andSkáldskaparmál, where it is referred to asBifröst. In chapter 13 ofGylfaginning,Gangleri (KingGylfi in disguise) asks the enthroned figure ofHigh what way exists between heaven and earth. Laughing, High replies that the question is not an intelligent one, and goes on to explain that the gods built a bridge from heaven and earth. He incredulously asks Gangleri if he has not heard the story before. High says that Gangleri must have seen it, and notes that Gangleri may call it arainbow. High says that the bridge consists of three colors, has great strength, "and is built with art and skill to a greater extent than other constructions."[9]
High notes that, although the bridge is strong, it will break when "Muspell's lads" attempt to cross it, and their horses will have to make do with swimming over "great rivers". Gangleri says that it does not seem that the gods "built the bridge in good faith if it is liable to break, considering that they can do as they please." High responds that the gods do not deserve blame for the breaking of the bridge, for "there is nothing in this world that will be secure when Muspell's sons attack."[9]
In chapter 15 ofGylfaginning,Just-As-High says that Bifröst is also calledAsbrú, and that every day the gods ridetheir horses across it (with the exception of Thor, who instead wades through the boiling waters of the riversKörmt and Örmt) to reachUrðarbrunnr, a holy well where the gods have their court. As a reference, Just-As-High quotes the second of the two stanzas inGrímnismál that mention the bridge (see above). Gangleri asks if fire burns over Bifröst. High says that the red in the bridge is burning fire, and, without it, the frost jotnar and mountain jotnar would "go up into heaven" if anyone who wanted could cross Bifröst. High adds that, in heaven, "there are many beautiful places" and that "everywhere there has divine protection around it."[10]
In chapter 17, High tells Gangleri that the location ofHiminbjörg "stands at the edge of heaven where Bifrost reaches heaven."[11] While describing the godHeimdallr in chapter 27, High says that Heimdallr lives in Himinbjörg by Bifröst, and guards the bridge from mountain jotnar while sitting at the edge of heaven.[12] In chapter 34, High quotes the first of the twoGrímnismál stanzas that mention the bridge.[13] In chapter 51, High foretells the events ofRagnarök. High says that, during Ragnarök, the sky will split open, and from the split will ride forth the "sons ofMuspell". When the "sons of Muspell" ride over Bifröst it will break, "as was said above".[14]
In theProse Edda bookSkáldskaparmál, the bridge receives a single mention. In chapter 16, a work by the 10th centuryskaldÚlfr Uggason is provided, where Bifröst is referred to as "the powers' way".[15]
In his translation of thePoetic Edda,Henry Adams Bellows comments that theGrímnismál stanza mentioning Thor and the bridge stanza may mean that "Thor has to go on foot in the last days of the destruction, when the bridge is burning. Another interpretation, however, is that when Thor leaves the heavens (i.e., when a thunder-storm is over) the rainbow-bridge becomes hot in the sun."[7]
John Lindow points to a parallel between Bifröst, which he notes is "a bridge between earth and heaven, or earth and the world of the gods", and the bridgeGjallarbrú, "a bridge between earth and the underworld, or earth and the world of the dead."[16] Several scholars have proposed that Bifröst may represent theMilky Way.[17]
In the final scene ofRichard Wagner's 1869 operaDas Rheingold, the godFroh summons a rainbow bridge, over which the gods cross to enterValhalla.[18]
InJ. R. R. Tolkien'slegendarium, the "level bridge" of "The Fall of Númenor", an early version of theAkallabêth, recalls Bifröst. It departs from the earth at a tangent, allowing immortal Elves but not mortal Men to travel theOld Straight Road to the lostearthly paradise ofValinor after the world has been remade (from a flat plane to a sphere).[19][20]
Bifröst appears in comic books associated with theMarvel Comics characterThor and in subsequent adaptations of those comic books. In theMarvel Cinematic Universe filmThor,Jane Foster describes the Bifröst as anEinstein–Rosen bridge, which functions as a means of transportation across space in a short period of time.[21]
TheRainbow Bridge is often invoked in contemporary culture when referencing a recently deceased pet.[22]
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