Lif and Lifthrasir
By Gunivortus Goos
Usingen, 2025
Lif and Lifthrasir, in Old Norse: Lífþrasir, are figures from Norse mythology known to us through the two Eddas. In the relevant myths, they represent the beginning of the ‘new humanity’; the old world had been destroyed, and a new world emerged that needed to be repopulated.
There are two sources in which Lif and Lifthrasir are mentioned:
1. In the Poetic Edda, specifically the Elder Edda, in the Lay of Vafthrúdnir, it is stated in stanzas 44 and 45:
Odin said:
‘Much have I travelled, much have I tried, much have I tested the powers:
which folk will live on when the famed Great Winter comes to pass among men?’
Vafthrúdnir said:
‚Life and Life-eager, and they will hide in Hoddmimir’s wood; morning-dew they will have as their food – from them races will be raised.’
From: Andy Orchard, The Elder Edda: A Book of Viking Lore,
London, 2011, p. 47
2. In the Prose Edda, specifically the Edda of Snorri Sturluson, the main section Gylfaginning, in paragraph 53, discusses the period following Ragnarók (the end of the world):
Then Gangleri asked, ‘Will any of the gods be living then? Or will there be anything of the earth or the sky?’
High said, ‘The earth will shoot up from the sea, and it will be green and beautiful. Self-sown acres of crops will then grow.
<…>
‘In the place called Hoddmimir’s Wood, two people will have hidden themselves from Surt’s fire. Called Lif [Life] and Leifthrasir [Life Yearner], they have the morning dew for their food. From these will come so many descendants that the whole world will be inhabited. So it says here:
…
Here, the previously displayed Section 1 from the Poetic Edda is cited by Sturluson.
From: Jesse L. Byock, Snorri Sturluson,
The Prose Edda, London, 2005, p. 77
Líf and Lífthrasir are the names of the human couple – Lif is a female name, while Lifthrasir is male – who, according to Norse mythology, are the only ones to survive the twilight of the gods and the associated catastrophes. After the apocalyptic events that lead to the world’s end, they repopulate the new fertile earth with their descendants. They had hidden in a location known as the wood of Hoddmimir, which was seemingly protected from the destructive fire of the fire giant and enemy of the Æsir gods, Surt.
Many specialists have commented on the term “Hoddmimir’s Wood.” It is generally believed that Hoddmimir is another name for the wise giant Mimir, who resides at Mimir’s Well, located at the base of the world tree Yggdrasil. Consequently, Hoddmimir’s Wood is thought to be an alternative designation for this tree. This implies that Lif and Lifthrasir were concealed within the Yggdrasil tree. Likely, this was the only location that remained protected from the catastrophic events associated with Ragnarök. The tree probably owes its safety to the fact that it was not solely a part of the earth. Verse 31 of the Grímnismál, a section of the Poetic Edda, states:
Three roots there are | that three ways run
‘Neath the ash-tree Yggdrasil;
‘Neath the first lives Hel, | ‘neath the second the frost-giants,
‘Neath the last are the lands of men.
From: The Poetic Edda, by Henry Adams Bellows,
[1936], at sacred-texts.com
This text alludes to several of the Nine Worlds from Norse mythology, including Helheim, Jötunheim, the realm of giants, and Midgard, the world of humans.
According to the Gylfaginning, parts of Yggdrasil extend into even more such worlds, including Asgard, the realm of the Æsir, and likely the remaining worlds as well. Since the myths suggest that only Earth (Midgard) faces destruction (and subsequently renewal) – the other worlds appear to be unaffected – it is understandable that Yggdrasil served as a secure place, exempt from disasters.
Quite peculiar, as the final battle between the gods and their adversaries is said to have occurred in Asgard.
The tree Yggdrasil in any case is thus closely associated with the (new) humanity.
Norse mythology is quite distinctive in that it recognizes two ‘first’ pairs of humans. The initial pair consists of Ask and Embla. These two – with Ask meaning ‘Ash’ and the meaning of Embla being uncertain, representing a man and a woman – receive their ‘humanity’ through gifts bestowed upon them by three gods, one of whom is Odin. A myth suggests that they were created from the wood of two tree trunks that lay on the seashore. Ask and Embla are regarded as the founding couple of the ‘first humanity’ of the ‘old’ world.
It is evident that researchers have drawn comparisons with the biblical creation narrative, as well as with similar stories from other world mythologies. However, this would be a different topic that will not be explored further here.
