Shield-maiden with family ties, but at first does not usually act directly. She is more inclined to incite her male relatives to action than take up arms herself. Guðrún is no shield-maiden, and Brynhildr mocks her for this, saying, "Only ask what is best for you to know. That is suitable for noble women. And it is easy to be satisfied while everything happens according to your desires." In her later marriages, however, she is willing to kill her children, burn down a hall, and send her other sons to avenge the murder of her daughter, Svanhildr. In the world of
Norse cosmology primordial Niflheimr and the punishing Niflhel are "equally dreadful" places; it is not clear whether they are identical or distinct. Norse cosmology The cosmology of Norse mythology has "nine homeworlds" or "nine realms", unified by the world tree Yggdrasil. Mapping the nine worlds escapes precision because the "Poetic Edda" often alludes vaguely. The Norse creation myth tells how everything came into existence in the gap between fire and ice, and how the gods shaped the homeworld of humans. A cosmic ash tree, Yggdrasil, lies at the center of the Norse cosmos. Three roots drink the waters of the homeworlds, one