Mimir (deity)

Symbol: The Well of Wisdom

Culture: Norse

Father: Bolthorn (disputed)

Sibling: Bestla (disputed)

Children: The rivers and brooks (disputed)

Mimir was a wise being in Norse mythology who knew everything. He guarded the Well of Wisdom, also called Mimir’s Well. He was an adviser for all the gods, especially Odin, the principal Norse god.

Mimir was also known as Mime, Mimi, or Mim. His name means "pondering" or "the rememberer."

Mimir’s parentage is unknown. Myths variously called him a mysterious being, a god, or a water spirit. In at least one myth, the rivers and brooks are referred to as Mimir’s sons. Sometimes, Mimir was the smith who made the sword for the hero Sigurd.

Many myths referred to Mimir as a giant. According to one theory, he was the son of the giant known as Bolthorn. Bolthorn’s daughter, Bestla, was Odin’s mother.

In Mythology

Mimir’s Well, or the Well of Wisdom, was located beneath one of the enormous roots of the ash tree Yggdrasil. Yggdrasil held nine worlds in its branches and was also called the World Tree. Alternatively, Yggdrasil contained three worlds. Mimir’s Well was filled by the waters that ran through the worlds and fell from the tree. These waters were filled with the knowledge of all the worlds.

Mimir’s Well is often considered to be the same as Urd’s Well, the Well of Destiny, and it is the lone well beneath Yggsdrasil. However, other sources describe three repositories of water under the roots of Yggdrasil. The three were Urd’s Well, Mimir’s Well, and the spring of Hvergelmir.

Whenever Yggdrasil is described as linking three worlds, it is said that the worlds were stacked on top of each other. Beneath each world was one of the three wells. Urd’s Well was under the top level, which was where Asgard and Vanaheim, the homes of the gods, were located. Mimir’s Well was under Jotunheim, the land of the giants. Jotunheim was located on the middle level, which was called Midgard. Midgard also contained the lands of humans and dwarfs. The spring of Hvergelmir was under Niflheim, the lowest level. Niflheim, the land of the dead, was also called Hel after the deity in charge of it.

Mimir guarded the Well of Wisdom. Some stories say he was a giant who stood in the well and supported mountains on his shoulders. Others say that he was a wise being who lived next to the well.

Mimir drank from the well daily and became filled with its wisdom. One day the powerful chief god, Odin, came to the well in search of knowledge. He asked Mimir for a drink from the well, but Mimir refused the god’s request. He said that Odin would have to give up one of his eyes in return for a drink. Odin removed one of his eyes, and from then on, he only had one eye. Mimir dropped the eye into the well. Odin then drank from the well and became wise and knowledgeable. However, he often consulted Mimir when he needed advice.

Some scholars believe that Odin’s eye is the equivalent of the sun, the god of the sky. Placing the eye in the well gives it a semblance of the sun’s reflection in the water. An eye in a well is also reminiscent of the sun setting on the sea’s horizon.

In another story, the two races of gods were at war. The Vanir were peaceful, fertility gods. The Aesir were warrior gods, such as Odin and Thor. When neither side could defeat the other, the two groups declared a truce. They exchanged important hostages, and Odin sent his brother, Hoenir, to the Vanir. Hoenir was handsome and athletic but not smart, so Mimir agreed to accompany him as his adviser. At first, the Vanir honored Hoenir and made him a chieftain. Soon, they discovered that his wise advice was really coming from Mimir. They felt cheated, thinking that Odin had sent them an unimportant, slow-witted hostage. They cut off Mimir’s head and sent it back to Odin. Odin sang magic words and wrapped the head in herbs to preserve it. Mimir’s head was then able to speak and still give advice. Odin kept the head, and some say that afterwards, he carried it with him. He often asked it questions and was guided by its advice.

In a completely different story, Mimir was a smith who lived in the forest. He found a young boy being cared for by a deer. He adopted the boy and named him Sigurd. Sigurd grew into a bully, and Mimir decided to have him killed. Mimir asked his brother, the dragon Regin, to kill Sigurd. However, Sigurd killed the dragon instead and learned the speech of animals by drinking the dragon’s blood. He heard the birds talking about how Mimir had planned for the dragon to kill him. He hurried home, planning to kill the treacherous Mimir. Mimir tried to appease him with fabulous armor and a helmet. Mimir made Sigurd a sword better than any sword ever made. Sigurd then used the sword to kill Mimir.

At the end of time, before the great battle of Ragnarok, Odin went to consult with Mimir. After the battle, only two humans were left alive. They were hidden in a wood that was said to be owned by Mimir.

Origins and Cults

There are no cults specifically associated with Mimir. However, Norse temples often had guardian trees, symbolizing Yggdrasil. The temple at the city of Uppsala in Sweden had a guardian tree with a sacred well below it.

In the many depictions of Odin, the god is almost always shown having only one eye. The other eye was given to Mimir in exchange for a drink from Mimir’s Well.

Mimir is mentioned in Norse tales and then again later in the thirteenth century, when he shows up as a figure in the compiled tales titled the Prose Edda and the Poetic Edda. His name occurs in place names in both Sweden and Germany.

Bibliography

Cotterell, Arthur. The Illustrated A-Z of Classic Mythology: The Legends of Ancient Greece, Rome and the Norse and Celtic Worlds. Wigston: Lorenz, 2013. Print.

Crossley-Holland, Kevin. The Penguin Book of Norse Myths: Gods of the Vikings. London: Penguin, 2011. Print.

D’Aulaire, Ingri, and Edgar Parin D’Aulaire. D’Aulaires’ Book of Norse Myths. 1967. New York: New York Review, 2005. Print.

Leeming, David Adams. The Handy Mythology Answer Book. Detroit: Visible Ink, 2015. Print.

Napoli, Donna Jo. Treasury of Norse Mythology: Stories of Intrigue, Trickery, Love, and Revenge. Washington: National Geographic, 2015. Print.