[2] und miðgarði ‘on earth’: Lit. ‘within the middle enclosure’. The prep. und usually denotes a spatial relation ‘under’, either in the sense ‘beneath’ or ‘next to something that towers above’ (see Fritzner: und; LP: und). The phrase und miðgarði ‘within the middle enclosure’ is used regularly in both prose and poetry for ‘on earth’ (see Fritzner: miðgarðr 3; LP: Miðgarðr). Miðgarðr was the mythical stronghold built for men, protecting them from the giants. The use of und ‘beneath’ in this context must have originated in the idea that people lived next to the towering rampart which enclosed Miðgarðr.