At the Swedish template of Uppsala, there was said to have stood a giant tree that would remain green throughout winter. Germanic Saxons would also use an “Irminsul,” a large wooden pillar, as a sacred meeting place and a symbolic representation of the center of the world. However, not all academics agree as to the precise meaning of the name. In this context, “Yggdrasil” really meansthe “gallows of Odin,” a reference to a well-known mythological episode in which Odin hung himself on the tree in exchange for secret knowledge. Yggdrasill, Old Norse Mimameidr, in Norse mythology, the world tree, a giant ash supporting the universe.
Scholars generally consider Hoddmímis holt, Mímameiðr, and Læraðr to be other names for the tree. The tree is an example of sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, and scholars in the field of Germanic philology have long discussed its implications. The poem Grímnismál identifies a number of beings which live in Yggdrasill. The tree suffers great hardship from all the creatures which live on it. The poem identifies Níðhǫggr as tearing at the tree from beneath and also mentions Ratatoskr as carrying messages between Níðhǫggr and the eagle who lives at the top of the tree. Snorri Sturluson often quotes Grímnismál and clearly used it as his source for this information.
According to Norse mythology, all Nine Realms of the cosmos either hung from its branches, or else grew from its massive roots. As the source of cosmic structure, Yggdrasil commanded enormous respect. The Norse revered it as the giver and taker of life and order.
- Yggdrasil is carried by three enormous roots, with a well located next to each of them.
- While this site provides the ultimate online introduction to the topic, my book The Viking Spirit provides the ultimate introduction to Norse mythology and religion period.
- One of these springs, Hvergelmir, contained innumerable serpents led by the monstrous snake Nídhöggr.
- For example, many burial mounds and sites of sacred festivals would have a large, singular ash tree planted in the center for protection and luck.
Yggdrasil’s fate was synonymous with that of the cosmos itself. Prophecy held that Ragnarok would be preceded by the trembling of Yggdrasil, an omen of the chaos to come. The sacred tree, Mimameior, may be another example of old Norse storytelling about the world tree. Mimameior, or “Mimir’s Tree,” is talked about in the poetic edda text, Fjolsvinnsmal (or “The Lay of Fjolsvid”). The tree has branches that spread across the earth, unharmed by fire and unable to be cut down by metal. It bears fruit that can help women in labor, ensuring safe childbirth.
Naturally, these martyrs hang themselves on the tree, as Odin did in Norse lore. Odin’s sufferings for the sake of humanity—as well as his tormented hanging from the tree—closely resembled Christ’s suffering on the cross in Christian thought and iconography. This resemblance may explain why the Germanic peoples (including the Norse) took to Christianity so readily. Odin sought the knowledge Yggdrasil possessed, and would go to incredible lengths to claim it.
Under the third root, the one that emerged in Asgard, the heavenly home of the gods, was the holy well Urdarbrunn (Urd’s Well), also called the Well of Fate or Weird’s Well. The water from this well was so sacred that, according to the Prose (or Younger) Edda, anything it touched turned as white as the inside of an eggshell. It was at this well that the gods held their council, riding to it each day over Bifrost, the bridge that linked Earth and heaven. Near the well was a great hall, home of the three Norns, or Fates—Urd, Verdande and Skuld, or Past, Present, and Future—who ruled over the destinies of mortals and gods alike. They also patched healing clay from the well onto the tree trunk in the places in which it had rotted and been eaten away by the stags; this kept the tree’s limbs from withering.
Every evening after the warriors in Valhalla have been practicing for Ragnarök, they will sit down in this hall to relax, eat the meat from the giant pig called Sæhrímnir and drink the mead from the goat. The name should be understood in the context of Odin’s connection with the world tree. Odin who is always in pursuit of more knowledge, once sacrificed himself on the tree to gain more knowledge. References to the tree at the center of the world are still rare in modern society. While those interested in philosophy might find it appearing in the works of Thomas Carlyle or John Ruskin, it has never had the same cultural impact as Thor’s Hammer or the Valknut symbol of Odin. The Grimnismal is a piece of both prose and poetry, telling the tale of when King Geirroth tortured Grimnir, only to discover it was actually Odin himself.
Yggdrasil is carried by three enormous roots, with a well located next to each of them. The first root is located deep under the thick ice in Niflheim. It is, in fact, located so deep under the ground that it takes Odin’s horse Sleipnir nine days at full speed through the dark valleys to arrive at the root. The name Yggdrasil is a kenning, a mythological metaphor that is described in the Edda poem Hávamál. Yggr, which is one of Odin’s names and means “the terrifier, the one who strikes all”.
To know a rune was to know its power, and to know such power was to wield it. According to the lay of Grimnir (Grímnismál), Níðhöggr is not alone at the root. We’re building the world’s most authoritative, online mythology resource, with engaging, accessible content that is both educational and compelling to read. Yggdrasil still thrives in popular culture as the archetypical guardian tree. In fantasy genres, trees modeled after Yggdrasil are often used to symbolize the health of communities and people. Guy Gavriel Kay’s popular Fionavar Tapestry book series features the Summer Tree, a massive oak whose health depends on the periodic sacrifice of martyrs.
The white color is a symbol of cleanliness, pride, beauty, greatness, light, and death. Every time the eagle makes an insult about Níðhöggr, the squirrel will run down the tree and tell the dragon what has been said about him. Níðhöggr is just as rude in his own comments about the eagle, and upon hearing the new insults, he replies back at the squirrel with his own insults about the https://www.gclub.co/vault-of-fortune/ eagle. Ratatoskr’s involvement as a carrier of these messages keeps the hatred between Níðhöggr and the eagle alive, and he is the sole reason why they remain constant foes. The Gangleri in this passage was actually the disguised king, Gylfi, the first king of the Norse people. The Gylfanning was the story of his origins, including his interactions with a more human form of Odin.
One myth claimed that Odin sacrificed his eye by throwing it into Mimir’s Well. In the Poetic Edda, the tree is mentioned in the three poems Völuspá, Hávamál and Grímnismál. Níðhöggr/Níðhǫggr is also mentioned at the end of Völuspá, where he is identified as a dragon and a serpent. From the udders of the goat flows endless streams of mead into a big tub in Valhalla.
