: Utterly debatable in a thousand ways. Most notably, the
: fact that Midgard is NOT a fortress of any kindit's
: the whole of the Earth, or a continent of it nor are
: any of the other lands in Norse Mythology which have
: the suffix of "gard," most notably Helgard
: and Asgard. Those are entire worlds and continents,
: hardly fortress like.
Actually, Asgard was a fortress as well as a vast land: The only way to it was across the rainbow bridge, guarded by Heimdall, it had walls, built by a giant who was tricked out of payment by Loki and Thor (Loki lured off the horse he was using to carry stone, Thor bashed his head in with Mjollnir just before he finished, as only once the walls were finished could he demand payment. Thor wasn't too high on subtlety.) Hel could well be said to be a fortress, too. It certainly has walls and a gate, beyond which only the dead may cross (although if you happen to be riding Sleipnir, you can fly over it, of course.)
