---
title: "Norse Nine Worlds and Yggdrasil, with Sources | Myth Marsh"
description: "Interactive Yggdrasil: who lives in Asgard, Midgard, Jotunheim, Hel and the other Norse worlds, the eddic passages that name each, and why lists differ."
url: https://mythmarsh.me/norse-nine-worlds/
---

Poetic Edda · Prose Edda

# The Norse nine worlds

Choose a world on the ash tree Yggdrasil to see who lives there and which eddic passages mention it. No single text lists all nine, so the passages are the evidence.

## Worlds on Yggdrasil

The layout follows a common modern way of drawing the worlds; the sources give no map. Tab and arrow keys move between worlds.

## Why “nine”, and which nine?

The number comes from the poems: the seeress of *Völuspá* remembers “nine worlds”, the giant Vafþrúðnir has been “to nine worlds”, and Snorri says Odin gave Hel power over nine worlds. But **no single eddic text lists all nine**. Every list of nine is put together by modern readers from scattered mentions, and the lists differ.

- The seeress remembers “nine worlds” [Völuspá st. 2 (Poetic Edda, Völuspá)](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Poetic_Edda_(tr._Bellows)/Voluspo)
- The giant Vafþrúðnir has been “to nine worlds”, down to Niflhel [Vafþrúðnismál st. 43 (Poetic Edda, Vafþrúðnismál)](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Poetic_Edda_(tr._Bellows)/Vafthruthnismol)
- Odin gives Hel power over nine worlds [Gylfaginning ch. 34 (Snorri Sturluson, Prose Edda, Gylfaginning)](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Prose_Edda_(1916_translation_by_Arthur_Gilchrist_Brodeur)/Gylfaginning)

Henry Adams Bellows, whose 1923 translation this site links, gave his own list in a note to *Völuspá* 2: Asgarth (gods); Vanaheim (Wanes); Alfheim (elves); Mithgarth (men); Jotunheim (giants); Muspellsheim (fire); Svartalfaheim (dark elves); Niflheim (the dead); perhaps Nithavellir (dwarfs): “the ninth world is uncertain”. [Völuspá st. 2 (Poetic Edda, Völuspá)](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Poetic_Edda_(tr._Bellows)/Voluspo) (Bellows' note) Many recent lists instead count Hel as a world of its own, as the diagram above does, and some treat Niðavellir, where *Völuspá* 37 puts a golden hall of the dwarves, as the dwarves' world. Snorri also places some worlds differently from the diagram: Múspell lies in the south, and Álfheimr is among the abodes of heaven.

### The tree itself

- “Nine worlds I knew, the nine in the tree with mighty roots beneath the mold” [Völuspá st. 2 (Poetic Edda, Völuspá)](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Poetic_Edda_(tr._Bellows)/Voluspo)
- An ash called Yggdrasil, ever green by Urth's well [Völuspá st. 19 (Poetic Edda, Völuspá)](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Poetic_Edda_(tr._Bellows)/Voluspo)
- Three roots: under one lives Hel, under the second the frost-giants, under the third the lands of men [Grímnismál st. 31 (Poetic Edda, Grímnismál)](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Poetic_Edda_(tr._Bellows)/Grimnismol)
- Snorri's three roots: one among the Æsir, one among the Rime-Giants, one over Niflheim [Gylfaginning ch. 15 (Snorri Sturluson, Prose Edda, Gylfaginning)](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Prose_Edda_(1916_translation_by_Arthur_Gilchrist_Brodeur)/Gylfaginning)
- The squirrel Ratatosk runs between the eagle at the top and the dragon Nithhogg below [Grímnismál st. 32 (Poetic Edda, Grímnismál)](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Poetic_Edda_(tr._Bellows)/Grimnismol)
- “Northward a hall in Nithavellir of gold there rose for Sindri's race” (the dwarves) [Völuspá st. 37 (Poetic Edda, Völuspá)](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Poetic_Edda_(tr._Bellows)/Voluspo)

Even the roots disagree: *Grímnismál* puts Hel, the frost-giants and the lands of men under them, while Snorri has the Æsir, the Rime-Giants and Niflheim.

Looking for a translation to read offline? Sites offering “free PDF” downloads of modern translations that are still in copyright are often pirate pages or malware traps, while the older public-domain translations linked on this site come from reputable libraries. If you want to look at an unfamiliar download site anyway, open it in [WebTraceCheck's disposable cloud browser](https://webtracecheck.com/), which runs on an isolated desktop that is deleted after the session, rather than on your own device.

## Each world and its passages

| World | Who lives there | In the poems? | Passages |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| AsgardÁsgarðr | The Æsir, the gods and their kin, with halls such as Valhall[Gylfaginning ch. 9 (Snorri Sturluson, Prose Edda, Gylfaginning)](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Prose_Edda_(1916_translation_by_Arthur_Gilchrist_Brodeur)/Gylfaginning)[Grímnismál st. 8 (Poetic Edda, Grímnismál)](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Poetic_Edda_(tr._Bellows)/Grimnismol) | Yes | [Þrymskviða st. 17 (Poetic Edda, Þrymskviða)](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Poetic_Edda_(tr._Bellows)/Thrymskvitha)[Hymiskviða st. 7 (Poetic Edda, Hymiskviða)](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Poetic_Edda_(tr._Bellows)/Hymiskvitha)[Gylfaginning ch. 9 (Snorri Sturluson, Prose Edda, Gylfaginning)](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Prose_Edda_(1916_translation_by_Arthur_Gilchrist_Brodeur)/Gylfaginning)[Gylfaginning ch. 14 (Snorri Sturluson, Prose Edda, Gylfaginning)](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Prose_Edda_(1916_translation_by_Arthur_Gilchrist_Brodeur)/Gylfaginning) |
| VanaheimVanaheimr | The Vanir, the other family of gods; Njörðr was raised there and given to the Æsir as a hostage[Vafþrúðnismál st. 39 (Poetic Edda, Vafþrúðnismál)](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Poetic_Edda_(tr._Bellows)/Vafthruthnismol)[Gylfaginning ch. 23 (Snorri Sturluson, Prose Edda, Gylfaginning)](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Prose_Edda_(1916_translation_by_Arthur_Gilchrist_Brodeur)/Gylfaginning) | Yes | [Vafþrúðnismál st. 39 (Poetic Edda, Vafþrúðnismál)](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Poetic_Edda_(tr._Bellows)/Vafthruthnismol)[Gylfaginning ch. 23 (Snorri Sturluson, Prose Edda, Gylfaginning)](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Prose_Edda_(1916_translation_by_Arthur_Gilchrist_Brodeur)/Gylfaginning) |
| AlfheimÁlfheimr | The Light-Elves, “fairer to look upon than the sun”[Gylfaginning ch. 17 (Snorri Sturluson, Prose Edda, Gylfaginning)](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Prose_Edda_(1916_translation_by_Arthur_Gilchrist_Brodeur)/Gylfaginning) | Yes | [Grímnismál st. 5 (Poetic Edda, Grímnismál)](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Poetic_Edda_(tr._Bellows)/Grimnismol)[Gylfaginning ch. 17 (Snorri Sturluson, Prose Edda, Gylfaginning)](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Prose_Edda_(1916_translation_by_Arthur_Gilchrist_Brodeur)/Gylfaginning) |
| MidgardMiðgarðr | Humans, descended from Ask and Embla, whom the gods made from two trees[Völuspá st. 17–18 (Poetic Edda, Völuspá)](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Poetic_Edda_(tr._Bellows)/Voluspo)[Gylfaginning ch. 9 (Snorri Sturluson, Prose Edda, Gylfaginning)](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Prose_Edda_(1916_translation_by_Arthur_Gilchrist_Brodeur)/Gylfaginning) | Yes | [Völuspá st. 4 (Poetic Edda, Völuspá)](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Poetic_Edda_(tr._Bellows)/Voluspo)[Grímnismál st. 41 (Poetic Edda, Grímnismál)](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Poetic_Edda_(tr._Bellows)/Grimnismol)[Gylfaginning ch. 8 (Snorri Sturluson, Prose Edda, Gylfaginning)](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Prose_Edda_(1916_translation_by_Arthur_Gilchrist_Brodeur)/Gylfaginning) |
| JotunheimJötunheimr | The giants, among them Thrym, Gymir and his daughter Gerðr, and Angrboða, mother of Loki's monstrous children[Þrymskviða st. 21 (Poetic Edda, Þrymskviða)](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Poetic_Edda_(tr._Bellows)/Thrymskvitha)[Gylfaginning ch. 37 (Snorri Sturluson, Prose Edda, Gylfaginning)](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Prose_Edda_(1916_translation_by_Arthur_Gilchrist_Brodeur)/Gylfaginning)[Gylfaginning ch. 34 (Snorri Sturluson, Prose Edda, Gylfaginning)](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Prose_Edda_(1916_translation_by_Arthur_Gilchrist_Brodeur)/Gylfaginning) | Yes | [Völuspá st. 8 (Poetic Edda, Völuspá)](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Poetic_Edda_(tr._Bellows)/Voluspo)[Þrymskviða st. 21 (Poetic Edda, Þrymskviða)](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Poetic_Edda_(tr._Bellows)/Thrymskvitha)[Gylfaginning ch. 34 (Snorri Sturluson, Prose Edda, Gylfaginning)](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Prose_Edda_(1916_translation_by_Arthur_Gilchrist_Brodeur)/Gylfaginning)[Gylfaginning ch. 45 (Snorri Sturluson, Prose Edda, Gylfaginning)](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Prose_Edda_(1916_translation_by_Arthur_Gilchrist_Brodeur)/Gylfaginning) |
| SvartalfheimSvartálfaheimr | Dark-Elves, who “dwell down in the earth”, and dwarves who forged the fetter Gleipnir[Gylfaginning ch. 17 (Snorri Sturluson, Prose Edda, Gylfaginning)](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Prose_Edda_(1916_translation_by_Arthur_Gilchrist_Brodeur)/Gylfaginning)[Gylfaginning ch. 34 (Snorri Sturluson, Prose Edda, Gylfaginning)](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Prose_Edda_(1916_translation_by_Arthur_Gilchrist_Brodeur)/Gylfaginning) | No, only Snorri | [Gylfaginning ch. 34 (Snorri Sturluson, Prose Edda, Gylfaginning)](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Prose_Edda_(1916_translation_by_Arthur_Gilchrist_Brodeur)/Gylfaginning) |
| NiflheimNiflheimr | Cold, mist and ice, with the spring Hvergelmir from which the rivers flow; later the realm given to Hel[Gylfaginning ch. 4 (Snorri Sturluson, Prose Edda, Gylfaginning)](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Prose_Edda_(1916_translation_by_Arthur_Gilchrist_Brodeur)/Gylfaginning)[Gylfaginning ch. 5 (Snorri Sturluson, Prose Edda, Gylfaginning)](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Prose_Edda_(1916_translation_by_Arthur_Gilchrist_Brodeur)/Gylfaginning)[Gylfaginning ch. 34 (Snorri Sturluson, Prose Edda, Gylfaginning)](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Prose_Edda_(1916_translation_by_Arthur_Gilchrist_Brodeur)/Gylfaginning) | No, only Snorri | [Gylfaginning ch. 4 (Snorri Sturluson, Prose Edda, Gylfaginning)](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Prose_Edda_(1916_translation_by_Arthur_Gilchrist_Brodeur)/Gylfaginning)[Gylfaginning ch. 15 (Snorri Sturluson, Prose Edda, Gylfaginning)](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Prose_Edda_(1916_translation_by_Arthur_Gilchrist_Brodeur)/Gylfaginning)[Vafþrúðnismál st. 43 (Poetic Edda, Vafþrúðnismál)](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Poetic_Edda_(tr._Bellows)/Vafthruthnismol)[Baldrs draumar st. 2 (Poetic Edda, Baldrs draumar)](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Poetic_Edda_(tr._Bellows)/Baldrs_Draumar) |
| Hel | The dead who die of sickness or old age, ruled by Hel, daughter of Loki[Gylfaginning ch. 34 (Snorri Sturluson, Prose Edda, Gylfaginning)](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Prose_Edda_(1916_translation_by_Arthur_Gilchrist_Brodeur)/Gylfaginning) | Yes | [Grímnismál st. 31 (Poetic Edda, Grímnismál)](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Poetic_Edda_(tr._Bellows)/Grimnismol)[Baldrs draumar st. 2–3 (Poetic Edda, Baldrs draumar)](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Poetic_Edda_(tr._Bellows)/Baldrs_Draumar)[Völuspá st. 46 (Poetic Edda, Völuspá)](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Poetic_Edda_(tr._Bellows)/Voluspo) |
| MuspelheimMúspellsheimr | Fire: a light, hot land guarded by Surtr with a flaming sword; the sons of Múspell ride out at the end of the world[Gylfaginning ch. 4 (Snorri Sturluson, Prose Edda, Gylfaginning)](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Prose_Edda_(1916_translation_by_Arthur_Gilchrist_Brodeur)/Gylfaginning)[Gylfaginning ch. 51 (Snorri Sturluson, Prose Edda, Gylfaginning)](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Prose_Edda_(1916_translation_by_Arthur_Gilchrist_Brodeur)/Gylfaginning) | No, only Snorri | [Gylfaginning ch. 4 (Snorri Sturluson, Prose Edda, Gylfaginning)](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Prose_Edda_(1916_translation_by_Arthur_Gilchrist_Brodeur)/Gylfaginning)[Gylfaginning ch. 5 (Snorri Sturluson, Prose Edda, Gylfaginning)](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Prose_Edda_(1916_translation_by_Arthur_Gilchrist_Brodeur)/Gylfaginning)[Gylfaginning ch. 8 (Snorri Sturluson, Prose Edda, Gylfaginning)](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Prose_Edda_(1916_translation_by_Arthur_Gilchrist_Brodeur)/Gylfaginning)[Lokasenna st. 42 (Poetic Edda, Lokasenna)](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Poetic_Edda_(tr._Bellows)/Lokasenna) |

## Sources

The *Poetic Edda* survives mainly in a manuscript written in Iceland in the 13th century, and Snorri Sturluson wrote the *Prose Edda* in the same century, long after Iceland became Christian. Chapter numbers here follow Arthur Gilchrist Brodeur's 1916 translation, and stanza numbers follow Bellows; other translations number some stanzas differently.

### Old Norse texts

- [Poetic Edda, Völuspá](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Poetic_Edda_(tr._Bellows)/Voluspo), tr. Henry Adams Bellows (1923), Wikisource.
- [Poetic Edda, Vafþrúðnismál](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Poetic_Edda_(tr._Bellows)/Vafthruthnismol), tr. Henry Adams Bellows (1923), Wikisource.
- [Poetic Edda, Grímnismál](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Poetic_Edda_(tr._Bellows)/Grimnismol), tr. Henry Adams Bellows (1923), Wikisource.
- [Poetic Edda, Þrymskviða](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Poetic_Edda_(tr._Bellows)/Thrymskvitha), tr. Henry Adams Bellows (1923), Wikisource.
- [Poetic Edda, Lokasenna](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Poetic_Edda_(tr._Bellows)/Lokasenna), tr. Henry Adams Bellows (1923), Wikisource.
- [Poetic Edda, Baldrs draumar](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Poetic_Edda_(tr._Bellows)/Baldrs_Draumar), tr. Henry Adams Bellows (1923), Wikisource.
- [Poetic Edda, Alvíssmál](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Poetic_Edda_(tr._Bellows)/Alvissmol), tr. Henry Adams Bellows (1923), Wikisource.
- [Poetic Edda, Hymiskviða](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Poetic_Edda_(tr._Bellows)/Hymiskvitha), tr. Henry Adams Bellows (1923), Wikisource.
- [Snorri Sturluson, Prose Edda, Gylfaginning](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Prose_Edda_(1916_translation_by_Arthur_Gilchrist_Brodeur)/Gylfaginning), tr. Arthur Gilchrist Brodeur (1916), Wikisource.

## Questions

**What are the nine worlds of Norse mythology?**

The sources never say. Völuspá and Vafþrúðnismál speak of nine worlds without naming them, and modern lists are reconstructions. A common one is Asgard, Vanaheim, Alfheim, Midgard, Jotunheim, Svartalfheim, Niflheim, Muspelheim and Hel; Bellows' 1923 list has Niflheim for the dead and leaves the ninth uncertain.

**Where do humans live?**

In Midgard. Völuspá says the sons of Bur made “Mithgarth the mighty”, Grímnismál says the gods made it from the giant Ymir's eyebrows, and Snorri describes it as a stronghold round the world against the giants.

**Is Hel a place or a person?**

Both. In Snorri, Hel is Loki's daughter, whom Odin cast into Niflheim and set over those who die of sickness or old age, and her realm is called by the same name. In the poems, Odin rides to “the house so high of Hel”.

**Is Valhalla one of the nine worlds?**

No. Valhall is Odin's hall, where he chooses each day the men who have fallen in fight (Grímnismál 8). It is one of many halls of the gods, not a world.