This article contains lore based on real-life sources from Norse mythology as introduced from the God of War Norse era.
| “ | Once home to a variety of biomes, Midgard has recently been beset by endless winter. Snowpack exceeds all historical records, water sources are frozen solid, and the sparse wildlife is thin and starving. Surface travel, once primarily by boat, has been replaced by wolf sleds and other forms of winter transport. Please dress for extreme cold (exemptions noted for gods and Jötnar). | ” |
–Description of Midgard on the Field Notes | ||
Midgard (Old Norse: Miðgarðr), also known as Ancient Scandinavia, and the Northlands, is one of the Nine Realms of the World Tree and the home of Midgardians. Strategically situated halfway between Asgard—to which the realm is connected via the Bifröst—and Helheim—where most of the mortals end up upon their death—Midgard is the cornerstone of the Norse realms, fundamentally emphasizing the balance between heaven and hel, order and chaos. Created long ago by the All-Father himself out of Ymir's body, Midgard was modeled in such a way as to be able to accommodate the human kind.
The realm quickly became the home of many mythological creatures—most notably Jörmungandr, who battled Thor to a stalemate—and foreign peoples, while a multitude of kingdoms and communities arose all over the realm. Most mortals were fuelled by the desire to end up in Valhalla and as such, war proved to be a leitmotif that ultimately prevented the realm from evolving as much as the other worlds. In an effort to bring peace and prosperity and under the leadership of the Norse God of War, all the races of the Nine Realms built Týr's Temple together on the Lake of Nine, an unprecedented feat of cooperation that further cemented Midgard as the spine of the Norse realms. But following the onslaught of the Aesir upon the Jötnar, Odin denounced the use of the Temple and sealed the path to several realms, which condemned Midgard into stagnation and decline.
One should not be fooled by the breathtaking and wild landscapes, as after centuries of isolation, Midgard progressively became a lawless place where those who weren't strong enough to survive were promised to end up in the depths of Helheim, a fact made worse by the harsh winter conditions. Failing to be properly maintened, most of the infrastructures and monuments that mark out the realm fell into ruin, as the Draugr took over entire areas. Occasionally, the Aesir would show up here and there as they increasingly came to regard Midgard as their personal playground—should a mortal not show enough deference, he would forfeit his life.
Midgard is introduced in God of War (2018) as the main location in game, most notably being the new home of Kratos. Having brought death and destruction upon his homeland, the Ghost of Sparta reached the shores of the Norse realm after a long and perillous journey. There, he eventually met a Giant with whom they gave birth to a boy named Atreus. Following the death of his wife, Kratos and his son embarqued on a perillous journey throughout Midgard to spread the ashes of Laufey at the highest peak of the Nine Realms.
The realm returns in God of War: Ragnarök as a secondary location. Three years have passed since the death of Baldur and the bitter cold brought by Fimbulwinter has devastated Midgard. The realm has become a deadly no man's land where even the strongest folks struggle to survive one more day. Ultimately, it was the intervention of Kratos and Atreus during Ragnarök that prevented the fall of Midgard, and following the destruction of Asgard, the mortal realm would finally thrive again.
Norse Mythology[]
Midgard, also spelled Midgardr (Old Norse: Middle Abode), also called Manna-Heim (“Home of Man”), in Norse mythology, the Middle Earth, the abode of mankind, made from the body of the first created being, the giant Aurgelmir (Ymir). According to legend, the gods killed Aurgelmir, rolled his body into the central void of the universe, and began fashioning the Midgard. Aurgelmir's flesh became the land, his blood the oceans, his bones the mountains, his teeth the cliffs, his hair the trees, and his brains (blown over the earth) became the clouds. Aurgelmir's skull was held up by four dwarfs, Nordri, Sudri, Austri, and Vestri (the four points of the compass), and became the dome of the heavens. The sun, moon, and stars were made of scattered sparks that were caught in the skull.
The cosmogonic myth shared with Odin by the seeress in the first poem of the Poetic Edda, the Völuspá (Old Norse: Vǫluspá – The Prophecy of the Völva), tells us that the sons of Borr – Odin and his brothers, Vili and Vé – are the ones to fashion this enclosure. Upon killing the first being, Ymir, they split his body into many pieces and thus shape the world. We read in stanza 4 that the sons of Borr lifted up the lands and they shaped the famous Midgard. The sun shone from the south on the stones of a hall, and then the ground was green with leeks. Such details give us a feeling of safety and lushness, which the world of humans was supposed to provide.
We find out exactly how this Middle Earth came into being explicitly from another poem, the Grímnismál (Lay of Grimnir), where Odin, using one of his many names and appearances, engages in a strong monologue filled with mythological lore during his torture at the hands of king Geirröth. In stanza 41, Odin also approaches the topic of how Midgard was shaped. We find out that the happy gods made Midgard out of Ymir's brow for the sons of men. Out of his brain, the mischievous clouds were made. This suggests that we have a strong fence, made by partitioning this giant, that protects humanity, and the name Midgard might refer to the fence itself, rather than the world, although by extension we can think of it as both.
This agrees mostly with Snorri's version in the section of his Edda called Gylfaginning (The Deceiving of King Gylfi), where a legendary Swedish king asks questions about the world of the Æesir, the main family of gods. In chapter 8, when he asks how the earth is arranged, one of the divine beings tells him that the earth is shaped like a disc, and around it lies the deep sea. Along the edge of this sea, they gave lands to the giants to settle, while inside the earth they made a stronghold for people because of the giants' enmity, for which they used Ymir's eyebrows. In other places in Snorri's work, Midgard is referred to more generically, as the dwelling of both humans and gods, as opposed to the land of the giants.
Furthermore, Thor has a strong connection to the world of humans, often being described as the protector of Midgard, which is in harmony with both the Eddic myths and the archaeological evidence pointing out Thor's greater importance for commoners, as his guardian role stands out in comparison to Odin's rather elitist and often deceptive and troublesome nature. The bridge Bilröst, or Bifröst in Snorri's spelling, connects the words of gods and humans, fiery and rainbow-coloured, which will eventually break at Ragnarök.
In the God of War Series[]
A major feature of Midgard is the Lake of Nine, a large traversable lake with a temple located on an island in the center. This temple is said to be the link between all Nine Realms.
Despite being the realm of humans, The Reavers are the only living humans in this area, with most leaving a long time ago. Due to the world serpent's appearance causing a great flood, evidenced by the structures revealed during the game when the water level lowers, and the rise of the undead in the wake of the Valkyrie's disappearance, all that remains of civilization are ruins, but now Draugr and Hel-Walkers dominate the lands.
Midgard also contains many inhabitant wildlife, including deer, mountain goats (possibly), boars, wolves, bears, squirrels, rats, frogs, lizards, seagulls, ravens, fishes, crabs, and cave trilobites.
Plot[]
History[]
Ymir, the first Giant and father of all life. However, unlike Ymir, Odin felt that the Aesir were fit to be the supreme rulers of the Nine Realms and so he, along with his brothers Vili and Vé killed Ymir and anyone else who stood in their path, with Odin himself taking the place of the "All-Father", where after that, Ymir's blood drowned all the Jötnar, except Bergelmir and his wife. Odin would then create the realm of Midgard from Ymir’s torn flesh. Eventually, Odin would create the first Humans; Ask and Embla, the first Midgardian.
Centuries ago, there was a small giant wolf pup named Garm, but soon began eating parts of Midgard, including a few mountain ranges. However, even more dangerously, he began chewing through the fabric of the realms and even eating metaphysical concepts, such as an entire season. After learning of a wolf that did not stop growing in Midgard, the Aesir went after the giant wolf, Garm, with chains to imprison the huge hound. After some tests of chains, Týr, the God of War, managed to trap the direwolf in Helheim and the Aesir leave for Asgard with Týr losing his arm in the event, though he would later recover the limb with some help from another pantheon.
A year later, The temple was constructed by all the races of the Nine Realms for the Norse God of War, Týr. It was the last known act of cooperation between the Nine Realms before peace disappeared for good. It is unknown when Týr's Temple was built, but through his leadership, everyone in the Nine Realms had a hand in its construction. When it was first built, anyone could enter any of the Nine Realms freely. However, once Odin's treachery was discovered by the giants and he was expelled from their realm forever, the temple was changed. Týr, to ensure that Odin would never be able to enter Jötunheim, removed its realm travel tower and hid it in the Realm Between Realms. He also added security measures to the vault of his temple in order to protect the Black Rune, which was needed to reach Jötunheim from the mystical portal on the mountain in Midgard, but only for emergency purposes.
At some unknown point, the Serpent mysteriously appeared one day in the Lake of Nine even he was so large that could he wrapped around the Midgard and bite his own tail.
Centuries after the destruction of Olympus, Kratos lives a secluded life in the Northlands, the realm of the Norse Gods. It is revealed that the chaos caused by Kratos only destroyed Greece instead of the entire world and that different mythologies are separated by location, somehow all co-existing on the same planet despite contradicting one another.
After 75 years of solitude, he met Faye, a fierce warrior from a sundered realm and engaged her in battle, and soon after, the two got to know one another and eventually fall in love. Ten years later, they build a cabin in the Wildwoods. A years pass until Faye gives birth to a son named Atreus The boy was raised mainly by Faye, who taught him how to hunt and how to read the Nordic language, among other things.
God of War (2018)[]
At one point, most of the Midgardians are in hiding or have been turned into the undead as the Nine Realms is out of sync, this could be more and more draugrs and hel-walkers roaming around and infested in the abandoned area parts in the Midgard.
Several years later, Faye died from unknown circumstances and requested that her family take her cremated ashes to be spread from the highest peak in the Nine Realms. Before their journey started, Kratos cut down a tree marked with Faye's handprint using the Leviathan Axe, a weapon that belonged to Faye that she left to Kratos before she died. This tree, along with others that Faye had marked, were used to construct Faye’s funeral pyre. As he reached down to pick up the fallen tree, the leather wrappings that hid the scars on his arm came loose. He carried her body out of the house and placed her on the pyre before he lit it. They would then go into the Wildwoods while they waited for Faye’s pyre to finish burning. While hunting a deer in the forest, Atreus shows his hunting abilities that Faye had taught him.
After their journey, as they are heading back to Midgard, the Fimbulwinter (in the wake of Baldur's death) has been triggered in Midgard which the heavy winter had slowly taken course,
God of War: Ragnarök[]
The Midgard are now still completed harsh winter and the snowfall continues to worsen with each passing day, with blizzards becoming a regular occurrence. The Lake of Nine was also frozen over completely, effectively locking down Tyr's Temple and preventing any travel between the realms. Hel-Walkers and strange new beasts are noted by Sindri to be roaming about the land.
Odin has long been aware of the presence of this foreigner god in Midgard and the threat he could pose to his authority, but chose not to intervene personally, and he proceed the first started by locking any access to the Temple of Týr, then decided it was time to deal with the Ghost of Sparta.
After the Ragnarök, Tthe great winter are now ceased and the skies are now day in the Midgard.
Quests[]
God of War (2018)[]
Main Story Quests[]
Side Quests[]
- Second Hand Soul
- Fafnir's Hoard
- Deus Ex Malachite
- Family Business
- Hail to the King
- Unfinished Business
- Hammer Fall
- The Anatomy of Hope
- Dead Freight
- Time Heals All
- The Flight of Fafnir
- Otr's Imprisonment
- The Fire of Reginn
God of War: Ragnarök[]
Main Story Quests[]
Side Quests[]
Locations[]
God of War (2018)[]
- Wild Woods
- The River Pass
- Shores of Nine
- Lookout Tower
- Foothills
- The Mountain
- Búri's Storeroom
- Ruins of the Ancient
- Fafnir's Storeroom
- Thamur's Corpse
- Council of Valkyries
- The Mason's Channel
- Tyr's Temple
- Konunsgard
- Veithurgard
God of War Ragnarök[]
- Lake of Nine
- Raider Hideout
- Raider Stronghold
- Raider Fort
- Raider Keep
- Shores of Nine
- The Oarsmen
- The Derelict Outpost
- Well of Urd
- The Lost Treasury
- The Eternal Campfire
Characters & Residents[]
- Kratos (Greek God of War, also known as the Ghost of Sparta)
- Atreus (Son of Kratos and Laufey, also known as Loki)
- Freya (Vanir goddess, also known as the Witch of the Woods)
- Mimir (Ambassador to the Gods and the Giants, also known as the Smartest Man Alive)
- Laufey (Giant, Wife of Kratos and last Guardian of the Jötnar)
- Brok (Dwarf, Blacksmith and brother of Sindri)
- Sindri (Dwarf, Blacksmith and brother of Brok)
- Thamur (Giant, also known as the Great Stonemason)
- Jörmungandr (Giant, also known as the World Serpent)
- Fafnir (Former Dwarf who turned Dragon)
- Chaurli (Giant tortoise sheltering Freya's home)
- Hildisvíni (Freya's friend)
Bestiary & Bosses[]
God of War (2018)[]
- Ancient
- Brood
- Draugr
- Fierce Ogre
- Hel-Walker
- Legion
- Nightmare
- Ogre
- Reaver
- Revenant
- Tatzelwurm
- Wulver
- Dauði Hamarr (Mini Boss)
- Dauði Kaupmaðr (Mini Boss)
- Death Eater (Mini Boss)
- Grendel of the Ashes (Mini Boss)
- Grendel of the Frost (Mini Boss)
- Gullveig (Mini Boss)
- Hræzlyr (Boss)
- Magni (Boss)
- Modi (Boss)
- Soul Eater (Mini Boss)
- Stonebeard King (Mini Boss)
- Baldur (Final Boss)
Valkyries[]
- Eir (Boss)
- Geirdriful (Boss)
- Gunnr (Boss)
- Kara (Boss)
- Sigrún (World Boss)
God of War: Ragnarök[]
- Björn (Boss)
- Thor (Boss)
- Vanadís (Boss)
- Oluf Nautson (Mini Boss)
- The Huntress (Mini Boss)
- The Hateful (Mini Boss)
Berserkers[]
- Frækni the Zealous (Boss)
- King Hrólf Kraki (World Boss)
Trivia[]
- The rune of Midgard is Jera (ᛃ), which represents the seasons.
- Due to Midgard being the center of the realms, it does not have a travel door of its own and simply points at the Vanaheim door despite not activating the gem to actually go to the realm. This makes Midgard the only Realm to not have its own door.
Sources[]
Gallery[]
Asgardian's refuge[]
Concept Arts[]
