Búri is the first god of Norse mythology, the primeval ancestor from whom the entire race of the Æsir descends. Licked free from the ice by the primordial cow Auðumbla at the dawn of creation, he is the grandfather of Odin and the root of the divine family tree.
Who is Búri?
Búri stands at the very beginning of the Norse creation story. He appears only in the Prose Edda of Snorri Sturluson, where he is named as the first of the Æsir and the forefather of the ruling gods. He has no adventures or deeds of his own beyond his emergence from the ice: his importance is genealogical, as the origin point of the line that produces Odin and his brothers.
The cow Auðumbla and the first god
In the beginning there was only the void of Ginnungagap, and from the meeting of ice and fire the frost-giant Ymir took shape. Alongside Ymir came the primordial cow Auðumbla, whose four rivers of milk nourished the giant. Auðumbla herself lived by licking the salty, rime-covered stones. On the first day she licked, a man's hair emerged from the ice; on the second, his head; and on the third, the whole man stood free. This was Búri — described as fair of face, tall, and mighty, born directly from the primal ice rather than from any parent.
Búri's line
Búri had a son named Borr, who married the giantess Bestla, daughter of the giant Bölþorn. From that union came three sons: Odin, Vili, and Vé — the gods who would slay Ymir, shape the world from his body, and give life to the first humans. Búri is thus the great ancestor of the ordered cosmos: every Æsir god traces back through Borr to him.
Symbols and legacy
As the first being of the divine race, Búri embodies origin, lineage, and inheritance — the same current that runs through the rune Othala, the rune of ancestral heritage and what is handed down across the generations. He belongs to a small group of primordial figures — Ymir, Auðumbla, and Búri — who exist to explain where everything else came from. Snorri preserves him in little more than a sentence of genealogy, yet without Búri there would be no Odin, no Asgard, and no Norse pantheon at all.
Frequently asked questions
Who is Búri in Norse mythology?
Búri is the first of the gods, the primeval ancestor of the Æsir. He emerged from the ice at the beginning of creation and is the grandfather of Odin, Vili, and Vé.
How was Búri created?
Búri was licked free from the salty, rime-covered stones by the primordial cow Auðumbla. Over three days she uncovered his hair, then his head, then the whole man, who was born from the ice with no parent.
Who are Búri's descendants?
Búri had a son, Borr, who married the giantess Bestla. Their three sons were Odin, Vili, and Vé, making Búri the grandfather of Odin and the forefather of the ruling gods.
Where does Búri appear in the sources?
Búri is known almost entirely from Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda, which names him as the first god. He has no myths of his own beyond the story of his emergence and his place in the divine genealogy.