In Germanic cosmology, Midgard is the name for Earth inhabited by and known to humans in early Germanic cosmology. The Old Norse form plays a notable role in Norse cosmology; this name occurs in Old Norse literature as Miðgarðr. In Old Saxon Heliand it appears as Middilgard and in Old High German poem Muspilli it appears as Mittilagart; the Gothic form Midjungards is attested in the Gospel of Luke as a translation of the Greek word οἰκουμένη. The word is present in Old English poetry as Middangeard. All these forms are from a Common Germanic *midja-gardaz, a compound of *midja- "middle" and *gardaz "yard, enclosure". In early Germanic cosmology, the term stands alongside world, from a Common Germanic compound *wira-alđiz, the "age of men". Midgard is a realm in Norse mythology, it is one of the Nine Worlds and the only one, visible to mankind. Pictured as placed somewhere in the middle of Yggdrasil, Midgard is between the land of Niflheim—the land of ice—to the north and Muspelheim—the land of fire—to the south.

Midgard is surrounded by a world of water, or ocean, impassable. The ocean is inhabited by the great sea serpent Jörmungandr, so huge that he encircles the world grasping his own tail; the concept is similar to that of the Ouroboros. Midgard was connected to Asgard, the home of the gods, by the Bifröst, the rainbow bridge, guarded by Heimdallr. In Norse mythology, Miðgarðr became applied to the wall around the world that the gods constructed from the eyebrows of the giant Ymir as a defense against the Jotuns who lived in Jotunheim, east of Manheimr, the "home of men", a word used to refer to the entire world; the gods slew the giant Ymir, the first created being, put his body into the central void of the universe, creating the world out of his body: his flesh constituting the land, his blood the oceans, his bones the mountains, his teeth the cliffs, his hairs the trees, his brains the clouds. Ymir's skull was held by four dwarfs, Sudri and Vestri, who represent the four points on the compass and became the dome of heaven.

The sun and stars were said to be scattered sparks in the skull. According to the Eddas, Midgard will be destroyed at the battle at the end of the world. Jörmungandr will arise from the ocean, poisoning the land and sea with his venom and causing the sea to rear up and lash against the land; the final battle will take place on the plane of Vígríðr, following which Midgard and all life on it will be destroyed, with the earth sinking into the sea only to rise again and green when the cycle repeats and the creation begins again. Although most surviving instances of the word Midgard refer to spiritual matters, it was used in more mundane situations, as in the Viking Age runestone poem from the inscription Sö 56 from Fyrby: The Danish and Swedish form Midgård or Midgaard, the Norwegian Midgard or Midgård, as well as the Icelandic and Faroese form Miðgarður, all derive from the Old Norse term; the name middangeard occurs six times in the Old English epic poem Beowulf, is the same word as Midgard in Old Norse.

The term is equivalent in meaning to the Greek term Oikoumene, as referring to the known and inhabited world. The concept of Midgard occurs many times in Middle English; the association with earth in Middle English middellærd, middelerde is by popular etymology. An early example of this transformation is from the Ormulum: þatt ure Drihhtin wollde / ben borenn i þiss middellærdthat our Lord wanted / be born in this Middle-earth; the usage of "Middle-earth" as a name for a setting was popularized by Old English scholar J. R. R. Tolkien in his The Lord of the Rings and other fantasy works. Mittilagart is mentioned in the 9th-century Old High German Muspilli meaning "the world" as opposed to the sea and the heavens: muor varsuuilhit sih, suilizot lougiu der himil, mano uallit, prinnit mittilagartSea is swallowed, flaming burn the heavens, Moon falls, Midgard burns

Sooranad North is a village in Kollam district in the south west Indian state of Kerala. The village is part of Kunnathur Taluk, which lies in Kerala's Kollam District and sits on the border of the Kollam and Allappuzha Districts. Sooranad North and Sooranad South are collectively known as Sooranad and have their own local panchayats. Sooranad North covers an area of 22.67 square kilometres and is 9 kilometres from Sasthamcotta, 30 kilometres from Kollam, 90 kilometres from the state capital Thiruvananthapuram and 15 kilometres from Karunagappalli, the nearest city. Sooranad North's Pin Code is 690561. Kerala Gramin Bank is situated in anayadi junction A tributary of the Kallada River flows through this village as well as the Pallikkal River. Across this there is a dam. There are many markets in Sooranad such as Kannamath chandha, Vayyankara chantha, Parakkadavu chantha. There are three Higher Secondary schools: the Government High School of Sooranadu and the Santhinikethan Model High School, other Upper Primary School (R.

K. U. P. and Govt. L. P. S Anayadi other upper and Lower Primary Schools provide basic education to both the local students from other administrative subdivisions; some other important schools in Sooranad north are T. D. B Central School and Chakkuvally Government School; the main school of Sooranad North is GHSS Sooranad around 1500 students. The school contains 12 up classes and 21 high school classes and several secondary classes.the school has many clubs and several organisations are being working in this school the school is better in science fairs and school Kalolsavam. The school has won many prizes in several exhibitions; some celebrities such as Sooranad Nelson studied in this school. The main sports events in the school are football and athletics; the school has good classes. The school is now upgraded to a high tech school and the works has being doing quickly and many classes have llagebeen finished it works, it is a good school in the village The main employment for men and women of the village is cashew nut processing, which takes place in several factories.

There are workers who manufacture tiles and "country burnt" bricks. In addition, there are people. Nowadays many people in Sooranad have set up their own shops; some came back to the agricultural field. ANAYADI BRANCH, ANAYADI. Kerala Gramin Bank or KGB in short, is India’s largest Regional Rural Bank, headquartered at Malappuram in Kerala, India; the bank is jointly owned by State Governments & sponsored by Canara Bank. Address: Vilayil Kesava Kurup Memorial Building, Kollam-Theni Highway; the Sooranad gramodhaarana service co-operative bank 3947 is the leading financial concern that began as early as in 28.3.1956 Padmasri Dr. Sooranad Kunjan Pillai, the renowned poet and linguistic expert who formulated Malayalam Lexicon, hailed from the area. Barrister N. Padmanabha pillai of Panayamcherril veedu, of vayyankara, member of Sreemoolam Assembly and Municipal Chairman, Kollam during whose time the clocktower in Kollam was built. Well-known writer and journalist Sri. Gopi Anayadi from this village and he belongs to Vandematharam veedu near Anayadi bridge.

Sri. Jomon Sooranad is famous international chef. Late Vaiankara Madhusoodanan, professor in music college T. V. M, was a well recognised classical music singer. Vayyankara Raghavakurup was an activist, the soul force behind Gramodharana Service Co-op.bank, Gramod harana Grandha sala and vayanasala, Anayadi post office, vaiankara cattle market etc. Nelson Sooranad is a standup comedian and actor, active in Malayalam film and television. With 23 years of experience in mimicry, Nelson Sooranad is known for his talent in entertaining others with witty performance and dialogues, he has acted in films like ‘Small Family’, ‘Spanish Masala’, ‘Romans’, ‘Kutteem Kolum’, ‘Rajadhi Raja’ ‘Adu Oru Bheekara Jeeviyaanu’ and ‘ATM’. He is now a important part of all Malayalam Comedy Shows. There are many temples in Sooranad including, Komalavalleeswaram temple, Anayadi Narasimhaswamy temple, Azhakiyakavu Kurumbakalee temple, Puthiyakavu Temple, Kalarivathukkal temple, Sreenarayanapuram Mahadeva temple, Puthiyidam Sreekrishnaswami temple, Kunniradathu Malanada temple, Ponal Kalari Shree Bhuvaneswari Temple.

Anayadi Pazhayidam Narasimhamoorthi temple and Anayadi Puthiyidam Sreekrishnaswami temple are under one administration and the former is famous for "Anayadi pooram" with hundred and odd elephants partaking to decorate the festival. Ennasheri Malanada Temple where Dussasana of the Kauravas is considered to be the god is situated at Thekkemuri. Veetinal Devi temple its situated near the bank of pallikkal river; the only Shanideva temple of Kerala is situated in Sooranad North from a little bit distance from the Sooranad Rakthasakshi Mandapam. A large elephant festival, the Anayadi Gajamela, takes place at Anayadi Narasimha Moorthy Temple and involves a hundred-odd caparisoned elephants lined up accompanied by a traditional orchestra; the ten-day festival is conducted every year on the Thiruvonam day in the month of Makaram. Devotees offer 250–300 elephants every year; the main deity of the temple is the lion-headed incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Anayadi Gajamela has become a favourite with locals and has found a place on the tourism map.

Anayadi Narasimha Moorthy Temple is located on the northern border of Kollam district of which Pathanamthitta and Alappuzha districts share the boundarie

HMS Stockham was a British Captain-class frigate of the Royal Navy in commission during World War II. Constructed as a United States Navy Buckley class destroyer escort, she served in the Royal Navy from 1943 to 1946; the ship was laid down as the unnamed U. S. Navy destroyer escort DE-97 by Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard, Inc. in Hingham, Massachusetts, on 25 August 1943 and launched on 31 October 1943. She was transferred to the United Kingdom upon completion on 28 December 1943. Commissioned into service in the Royal Navy under the command of Temporary/Acting Lieutenant Commander Benjamin Charles Hamilton, RNR, as the frigate HMS Stockham on 28 December 1943 with her transfer, the ship served on patrol and escort duty in the English Channel for the remainder of World War II, she participated in the invasion of Normandy in 1944. The Royal Navy returned Stockham to the U. S. Navy at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on 31 January 1946; the U. S. Navy received authorization on 21 February 1946 to dispose of Stockham and struck her from its Naval Vessel Register on 12 March 1946.

She was sold to the Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company of Newport News, for scrapping, completed on 15 June 1948. This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships; the entry can be found here. Navsource Online: Destroyer Escort Photo Archive Stockham HMS Stockham uboat.net HMS Stockham Destroyer Escort Sailors Association DEs for UK Photo gallery of HMS Stockham