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In Germaniccosmology,Midgard (an anglicised form ofOld NorseMiðgarðr;Old EnglishMiddangeard,Old SaxonMiddilgard,Old High GermanMittilagart, andGothicMidjun-gards; "middle yard", "middle enclosure") is the name forEarth (equivalent in meaning to the Greek termοἰκουμένη : oikouménē, "inhabited") inhabited by and known to humans in early Germanic cosmology. The Old Norse form plays a notable role inNorse cosmology.
TheOld Norse nameMiðgarðr iscognate withGothicMidjungards (attested in theGospel of Luke as a translation of the Greekοἰκουμένη),Old SaxonMiddilgard (inHeliand),Old High GermanMittilagart (inMuspilli), andOld EnglishMiddangeard. The latter, which appears in both prose and poetry, was transformed toMiddellærd orMittelerde ("Middle-earth") inMiddle English literature.[1]
All these forms stem fromCommon Germanic*Meðjana-garðaz, acompound of*meðjanaz ("middle") and*garðaz ("yard, enclosure").In early Germanic cosmology, it stands alongside the termworld (cf.Old Englishweorold,Old Saxonwerold,Old High Germanweralt,Old Frisianwrald,Old Norseverǫld), itself from a Common Germanic compound*wira-alđiz ("man-age"), which refers to the inhabited world, i.e. the realm of humankind.[2]
In Norse mythology,Miðgarðr became applied to the wall around the world that the gods constructed from the eyebrows of thejötunnYmir as a defense against thejötnar who lived inJotunheim, east ofManheimr, the "home of men", a word used to refer to the entire world. The gods slew thejötunnYmir, the first created being, and put his body into the central void of the universe, creating the world out of his body: his flesh constituting the land, hisblood the oceans, his bones the mountains, his teeth the cliffs, his hairs the trees, and his brains the clouds. Ymir's skull was held by four dwarfs,Nordri, Sudri, Austri, and Vestri, who represent the four points on the compass and became the dome of heaven. The sun, moon, and stars were said to be scattered sparks in the skull.
According to theEddas, Midgard will be destroyed atRagnarök, the battle at the end of the world.Jörmungandr (also known as the Midgard Serpent or World Serpent) will arise from the ocean, poisoning the land and sea with his venom and causing the sea to rear up and lash against the land. The final battle will take place on the plain ofVígríðr, following which Midgard and almost all life on it will be destroyed, with the earth sinking into the sea only to rise again, fertile and green when the cycle repeats and the creation begins again.
Although most surviving instances of the word Midgard refer to spiritual matters, it was also used in more mundane situations, as in theViking Agerunestone poem from the inscriptionSö 56 from Fyrby:
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TheDanish andSwedish formMidgård orMidgaard, theNorwegianMidgard orMidgård, as well as theIcelandic andFaroese formMiðgarður, all derive from the Old Norse term.
The namemiddangeard occurs six times in theOld English epic poemBeowulf, and is the same word as Midgard inOld Norse. The term is equivalent in meaning to the Greek termOikoumene, as referring to the known and inhabited world.
The concept of Midgard occurs many times inMiddle English. The association withearth (OEeorðe) in Middle Englishmiddellærd,middelerde is bypopular etymology; the modern English cognate ofgeard "enclosure" isyard. An early example of this transformation is from theOrmulum:
The usage of "Middle-earth" as a name for a setting was popularized by Old English scholarJ. R. R. Tolkien in hisThe Lord of the Rings and other fantasy works; he was originally inspired by the references tomiddangeard andÉarendel in the Old English poemCrist A.
Mittilagart is mentioned in the 9th-centuryOld High GermanMuspilli (v. 54) meaning "the world" as opposed to the sea and the heavens:
Middilgard is also attested in theOld SaxonHeliand:
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