cosmogony = the myth of creation. According to the Scandinavian cosmogony, there existed two worlds divided by a huge void called Ginnungagap. In the South was Muspell, a bright, shining world of fire. Niflheim, to the North, was as cold as Muspell was hot. As the fires of Muspell met the cold winds of Niflheim in Ginnungagap, a great mist formed. This mist turned to rain and fell, creating a giant named Ymir. The northern frosts thawed creating a cow called Auðhumla who produced four streams of milk, from which Ymir fed. She lived by licking the salty ice-blocks. In doing so, she released a man named Buri. He had a son called Bor who married Bestla, daughter of the giant Bölthorn. Together, they had three sons: Óðin, Vili, and Vé. These three killed Ymir, who bled so much that the entire tribe of frost ogres drowned, save for Bergelmir. Then the three brothers took Ymir into the middle of Ginnungagap and made the world from his flesh. From his blood the seas were formed: from his bones, the mountains; and from his teeth and shattered bones, the rocks and pebbles. The maggots which grew in his flesh were dwarves and four of them, named East, West, North, and South, held up Ymir’s skull to make the sky.
Ginnungagap = "open void"