mla. Subsequently he
was slain by three divine brothers who carried his body to the _middle_ of
Ginnungagap, and formed from it the earth and the heavens ... of his skull
they formed the heavens, at each of the four corners of which stood a
dwarf, viz: Austri at the East, Vestri at the west, Northri at the north
and Suthri at the south.... When heaven and earth were formed, the chief
gods or Oesir, of whom there were twelve, met in the Centre of the world
and built Midgardr or Asgard, the yard, city or stronghold of the Middle
and of the Asen=the gods. It was situated on the Himinbiorg, or Hill of
Heaven, on the summit of which was the ash-tree, Yggdrasil, whose branches
spread over the whole world and tower over the heavens.

The following is from the prose Edda: "Then the sons of Bor built in the
middle of the universe the city called Asgard, where dwell the gods and
their kindred, and _from that abode work out so many wondrous things both
on earth and in the heavens above it_. There is in that city a place
called Hlidskjalf, and when Odin is seated there upon his lofty throne, he
sees over the whole world."

In the Eddas we find evidences that while Odin or All-fader was the ruler
of heaven, his powerful son Thor was "the ruler of Thrudheim and drove
through the world in a chariot and became the supreme god."

The following facts, taken from Mr. Allen's "Star-names," established the
association of Thor with Polaris and the Ursae. "In ancient times the
northern nations termed Ursa Major 'the wagon of Odin, Woden or Wuotan,
the father of Thor.'(134) The Danes, Swedes and Icelanders also knew it as
Stori Vagn, the Great Wagon and as Karl's Vagn; Karl being Thor, their
chief god of whom the old Swedish Rhyme Chronicle of Upsala says '... The
god Thor was the highest of them. He sat naked as a child, seven stars in
his hand and Charles' Wain.' "

The "throne of Thor" or "Smaller Chariot," was the name given to Polaris
(Ursa Minor) by the early Danes and Icelanders and their descendants still
call it the "Litli Vagn," the little wagon. The Finns, apparently alone
among the northern nations of Europe in this conception, named Ursa Minor,
Vaehae Otawa, the Little Bear. They, however, termed Polaris, Taehti, "the
star at the top of the heavenly mountain."

It is striking how clearly, in Scandinavia, the Middle is associated with
a sacred mountain and tree, the world axis, a heavenly city, an enthroned
central god, and wit