Hel (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
heltakeyou) wrote2022-07-20 09:35 am
heltakeyou) wrote2022-07-20 09:35 am
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Helheim
The name Hel comes from the root word haljō, and means "conceeled place" or "underworld". Though it is also colloquially called Helheim - "Hel's Realm" - some accounts claim her realm is in fact in Niflheim. However, Hel is listed as last among the nine worlds connected to Yggdrasil, making it unclear how this cosmology truly works. Niflheim is only ever mentioned by name in the works of Snorri, the writer responsible for the only full versions of the tales, written during a time of occupation by Christian monks and likely influenced heavily by them. As much of the original forms of Norse mythology is actually unknown due to most of the old tales having been purely oral and only being written down during this time of occupation, a good deal is questionable.
What we do know is that Hel is a fairly gloomy place. It is not a pace of evil spirits, or a place whre only the wicked go to be punished. It is a place of abandonment. All those who do not earn the right to enter Valhalla, Folkvangr, the realm of Rán or the tragic existence of a mound dweller come here. Valhalla required one to die an epic death, a warrior's death, in battle. Folkvangr is the realm of Freyr and little is known about it. It's likely that only those favored by her would go there. The realm of Rán is where her drowned victims' souls are trapped, whle those known as mound dwellers were those trapped within their own burial mounds, the dead stuck on earth. Draugr. Coming to Hel isn't a punishment, it's simply not a reward. Some depictions even portray afterlifes there as positive, just not as good as Valhalla. People being people, they continued in death what they did in life; they got drunk, fought, played games, had dramas. Those deceased of particular distinguishment, such as Baldr, are treated exceptionally well, feasted and welcomed.
All of those who enter Hel, therefore, are the ordinary. Those who die of disease, of old age, who were murdered without glory, died of accidents, or otherwise died the death of a poor, ordinary person would be brought here. They lived fairly ordinary afterlives here, save for the presence of such torments as the dragon Niddhogg, who would drop in to drain the blood out of the dead on occasion. Hel was only a short trip from the roots of Yggdrasil after all, being the lowest of the nine realms.
Hel itself is gloomy, as has been previous mentioned. The objects and furnishings in Hel's home were all named after misfortunes and even her bed was named "sick bed". The ship they would sail to Ragnarok on was said to be build from the fingernails of corpses. It must be noted, however, that most of this gloominess and darkness stems from Snorri's writings and is not mentioned elsewhere. Hel was said to be misty and mysterious, often confusing to those who came from the outside. The living may enter Hel freely, and leave just as freely, though few do and only ever in search of something Hel can offer them.
What we do know is that Hel is a fairly gloomy place. It is not a pace of evil spirits, or a place whre only the wicked go to be punished. It is a place of abandonment. All those who do not earn the right to enter Valhalla, Folkvangr, the realm of Rán or the tragic existence of a mound dweller come here. Valhalla required one to die an epic death, a warrior's death, in battle. Folkvangr is the realm of Freyr and little is known about it. It's likely that only those favored by her would go there. The realm of Rán is where her drowned victims' souls are trapped, whle those known as mound dwellers were those trapped within their own burial mounds, the dead stuck on earth. Draugr. Coming to Hel isn't a punishment, it's simply not a reward. Some depictions even portray afterlifes there as positive, just not as good as Valhalla. People being people, they continued in death what they did in life; they got drunk, fought, played games, had dramas. Those deceased of particular distinguishment, such as Baldr, are treated exceptionally well, feasted and welcomed.
All of those who enter Hel, therefore, are the ordinary. Those who die of disease, of old age, who were murdered without glory, died of accidents, or otherwise died the death of a poor, ordinary person would be brought here. They lived fairly ordinary afterlives here, save for the presence of such torments as the dragon Niddhogg, who would drop in to drain the blood out of the dead on occasion. Hel was only a short trip from the roots of Yggdrasil after all, being the lowest of the nine realms.
Hel itself is gloomy, as has been previous mentioned. The objects and furnishings in Hel's home were all named after misfortunes and even her bed was named "sick bed". The ship they would sail to Ragnarok on was said to be build from the fingernails of corpses. It must be noted, however, that most of this gloominess and darkness stems from Snorri's writings and is not mentioned elsewhere. Hel was said to be misty and mysterious, often confusing to those who came from the outside. The living may enter Hel freely, and leave just as freely, though few do and only ever in search of something Hel can offer them.