Helheim

In Norse mythology, Helheim (Old Norse: [ˈhel]) is a place in the afterlife. It is ruled by a being of the same name, Hel. In later Icelandic sources, there are various descriptions of Helheim, and it is said that different figures are buried with objects meant to assist them on their journey to Helheim after death. In the Poetic Edda, Brynhildr's journey to Helheim after her death is described, and Odin also visits Helheim during his lifetime on his horse Sleipnir. In the Prose Edda, Baldr travels to Helheim after his death, and Hermóðr then attempts to retrieve him with Sleipnir.

Etymology
The Old Norse feminine adjective Hel is identical to the name of the being who rules the realm, Old Norse Hel. The word has counterparts in all branches of the Germanic languages, including Old English hell (and thus Modern English hell), Old Frisian helle, Old Saxon hellia, Old High German hella, and Gothic 𐌷𐌰𐌻𐌾𐌰. All these forms ultimately derive from the reconstructed Proto-Germanic feminine noun haljō ("hidden place, the underworld"). The Proto-Germanic form itself derives from the o-grade form of the Proto-Indo-European root *kel-, *kol- meaning "to cover, conceal, preserve."

The term is etymologically related to Modern English "hall" and, by extension, to Valhalla, the "Hall of the Slain" in Norse mythology. Hall and its numerous Germanic relatives derive from Proto-Germanic hallō ("covered place, hall"), from Proto-Indo-European *kol-.

Related early Germanic terms and concepts include the Proto-Germanic halja-rūnō(n), a feminine compound noun, and halja-wītjan, a neuter compound noun. This form was reconstructed from the Latinized Gothic plural haliurunnae (attested by Jordanes; according to philologist Vladimir Orel, it means "witches"), Old English helle-rúne ("sorceress, necromancer," according to Orel), and Old High German helli-rūna ("magic"). The connection is composed of two elements: haljō and rūnō, the Proto-Germanic precursor to the modern English rune. The second element in the Gothic haliurunnae could, however, instead be a noun from the verb rinnan ("to run, go"), which would give the literal meaning "someone who travels to the underworld."

Proto-Germanic halja-wītjan is reconstructed from Old Norse hel-víti ("hell"), Old English helle-wíte ("hell torments, hell"), Old Saxon helli-wīti ("hell"), and Middle High German feminine noun helle-wīze. The connection is a compound of haljō (as above) and wītjan (reconstructed from forms like Old English witt "right mind, sense," Old Saxon gewit "mind," and Gothic un-witi "stupidity, mind").

Reports of Helheim
Poetic Edda
In the Poetic Edda, the poem Völuspá describes a Völva who says that Helheim will play an important role in Ragnarök. The Völva explains that a crowing "soot-red rooster from the halls of Helheim" is one of the three roosters that will announce one of the early events of Ragnarök. The other two are Fjalar in Jotunheim and Gullinkambi in Valhalla.

In stanza 31 of Grímnismál, Helheim is listed as existing under one of the three roots of the World Tree Yggdrasil. One of the other roots leads to the Frost Giants, and the third leads to humans. When Herborg speaks of her sorrow in Guðrúnarkviða I due to having made funeral preparations for various members of her family, including her children and husbands, she refers to this as "arranging her journey to Helheim."

In the brief poem Helreið Brynhildar, Helheim is directly named as a place in the title, which translates as "Brynhildr's Helheim Ride." While traveling in a magnificent wagon (in which her body was burned) along a road at the boundary of Helheim, Brynhildr encounters a dead giantess at a burial mound that belongs to her. A heated exchange takes place, during which Brynhildr recounts her life.

In Baldrs Draumar, Odin rides to the edge of Helheim to investigate Baldr's nightmares. Using a spell, he raises the corpse of a Völva. Odin introduces himself under a false name and pretense and asks the Völva for information about Baldr's dreams. Reluctantly, the Völva offers prophecies about the events of Ragnarök.

The poem provides some information about the geographical location of Helheim, which aligns with the description in the Prose Edda and may relate to its omission from the Codex Regius, suggesting it may be a later addition. It mentions that Niflhel lies directly before Helheim. The bloody Garmr appears and encounters Odin on his ride to Helheim. Odin continues on his journey and approaches Helheim, which is described as the "high hall of Helheim," where he reaches the tomb of the Völva near the eastern gates, where the description of Helheim ends.

Prose Edda
The Prose Edda provides more detailed information about the place, including an extensive account of a journey to this region after the death of the god Baldr. Snorri's descriptions of Helheim in the Prose Edda are confirmed only by Baldrs Draumar, which is not included in the original Codex Regius, but is a later addition frequently included in modern editions of the Poetic Edda.

Gylfaginning
In Gylfaginning, Helheim is introduced in chapter 3 as a place to which "evil people" go after death, and into which they enter Niflhel. The chapter further explains that Helheim is in the ninth of the Nine Worlds.

In chapter 34, Hel, the being, is introduced. Snorri writes that Hel was thrown into Helheim by Odin, who made her the ruler of the Nine Worlds. Snorri goes on to describe how Helheim is located in Niflheim. It is reported that she could provide shelter and items to those sent to her who had died of illness or old age. There is a very large dwelling in Niflheim that belongs to Hel, with enormous walls and gates. The hall is called Éljúðnir — or within this enormous hall, there is a hall that belongs to Hel. In this hall, it is described that Hel has a servant, a slave, and various possessions.

At the end of chapter 49, the death of Baldr and Nanna is described. Hermóðr, who is described as Baldr's brother in this source, sets out on horseback to Helheim to retrieve the deceased Baldr. To enter Helheim, Hermóðr rides for nine nights through "valleys so deep and dark that he saw nothing" until he reaches the river Gjöll ("Roaring") and the Gjöll bridge. The bridge is described as having a roof made of shining gold. Hermóðr crosses it. Hermóðr meets Móðguð, the guardian of the bridge ("Furious Warrior").

Móðguð speaks to Hermóðr and notes that the bridge under him echoes more than the entire group of five people who have just passed. This is a reference to Baldr, Nanna, and those who were burned on their funeral pyres as they crossed the bridge in death. Móðguð also says that the dead in Helheim have a different color than the living and tells him that, to reach Helheim, he must "go down and to the north," where he will find the way to Helheim.

On the way to Helheim, Hermóðr encounters the gates of Helheim. Hermóðr mounts again, urges Sleipnir onward, and the two leap far beyond. Hermóðr rides a little further behind the gates before reaching the hall, dismounts, and enters. There, Hermóðr sees Baldr sitting on an "honor seat," and Hermóðr spends a night in Helheim. The next day, Hermóðr urges Hel, the being, to let Baldr go. Hel offers him a deal, and then she leads Baldr out of the hall. Baldr gives Hermóðr various gifts from Nanna and himself, which he is to bring back from Helheim to the living Æsir. Hermóðr then begins his journey back to the land of the living. Hel's offer fails, and in chapter 50, Loki is blamed for Baldr remaining in Helheim.

In chapter 53, Helheim is mentioned one last time in the Prose Edda, where Baldr and Höðr return from Helheim to a world after Ragnarök:

"Then Baldr and Höðr will come from Hel, and all will sit together and speak and remember their secrets and discuss the tidings that once were, of the Midgard Serpent and of Fenrir's wolf."

Gesta Danorum
In Book I of the Gesta Danorum, a report is given of a journey to Helheim, which is often interpreted as such. During a dinner, King Hadingus is visited by a woman who carries hemlock stalks and asks him if he knows where such fresh herbs grow in winter. Hadingus wishes to know, and the woman wraps him in her cloak, pulls him into the earth, and they disappear. Saxo claims that the gods intended for Hadingus to visit in person where he will go after death.

They penetrate a dark and misty cloud, then walk along a path that has been worn down over the centuries. They see men wearing rich garments and nobles dressed in purple. Passing them, they finally reach sunny regions where the herbs given to Hadingus by the woman grow.

Hadingus and the woman continue until they reach a river with bluish-black water, flowing swiftly, full of rapids, and filled with various weapons. They cross the bridge and see two "strong" armies encountering one another. Hadingus asks the woman about her identity, and she replies that they are men who met their death by the sword and now offer an eternal display of their destruction as they try to repeat the activity of their past life.

As they continue, they come upon a wall that they cannot find a way over. The woman tries to jump over it, but despite her slender and wrinkled body, she cannot. The woman takes the head of a rooster she carries with her and throws it over the wall. The bird crows immediately; it has returned to life. Hadingus returns to his wife and foils a pirate threat.

Theories
Hilda Ellis Davidson, writing about Snorri's unique description of Helheim in his Prose Edda, notes that "it is likely that Snorri’s account of the underworld is largely his own creation," and that the idea that those who die of illness and old age enter Helheim may have been Snorri’s attempt to reconcile tradition with his description of Valhalla. She further states that "the only detailed account of Helheim" Snorri provides is the one in which Baldr enters Helheim without dying of age or illness. Davidson writes that Snorri may have used a "rich source" for his description of Helheim, which is unknown to us, though it may have revealed little more about the place than that it is a hall, and that Snorri's description of Helheim might have been influenced by Christian teachings about the afterlife.