InNorse mythology,Gimlé (alternatelyGimli as inIcelandic) is a place where the worthy survivors ofRagnarök are foretold to live. It is mentioned in theProse Edda and the Eddic poem "Völuspá" and described as the most beautiful place inAsgard, more beautiful than the sun.
The etymology of Gimli is likely "the place protected from fire" based on two Old Nordic elements :gimr "fire" andhlé "protected place".[1][2]
In scholarLee M. Hollander's view it is more likely it means "gem-roof".[3]
WithinAsgard, the realm of the gods, Gimlé is a golden-roofed building where righteous people go when they die.[4] In theProse Edda,Snorri Sturluson places it inVíðbláinn, which he describes as third heaven currently inhabited only bylight elves.[5] In "Völuspá", which he quotes in one of his accounts of Gimlé, the hall is on Gimlé, presumably a mountain, rather than being itself called Gimlé.[6]
Snorri presents Gimlé as apaganheaven.[7] Scholars including Hollander andRudolf Simek have seen the description of Gimlé as influenced by the ChristianHeavenly Jerusalem.[3][5]Ursula Dronke suggested that while the concept of a heaven in which "hosts" of the righteous lived together was based on the paganValhalla, the "Völuspá" poet or his associates invented the name "Gimlé" with reference to its protecting the blessed from the fires both ofSurtr at Ragnarök and of the ChristianHell.[1]