Yggdrasil

Yggdrasil (from Old Norse Yggdrasill [ˈyɡːˌdrɑselː]) is a massive and central sacred tree in Norse cosmology. Everything else exists around it, including the Nine Realms.

Yggdrasil is mentioned in the Poetic Edda, which was compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and in the Prose Edda written by Snorri Sturluson in the 13th century. In both sources, Yggdrasil is described as a huge ash tree at the centre of the cosmos, considered extremely sacred. The gods visit Yggdrasil daily to gather for their traditional council meetings, the Things. Its branches stretch far into the sky, and the tree is supported by three roots that extend into different regions: one to the well of Urðarbrunnr in the heavens, another to the well of Hvergelmir, and another to the well of Mímisbrunnr. Within Yggdrasil live various creatures, including the dragon Níðhöggr, a nameless eagle, and the deer Dáinn, Dvalinn, Duneyrr, and Duraþrór.

Scholars commonly consider Hoddmímis holt, Mímameiðr, and Læraðr to be other names for the tree. Yggdrasil serves as an example of sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, and scholars in the field of Germanic philology have long debated its significance.

Etymology
The generally accepted meaning of Old Norse Yggdrasill is "Odin’s horse," which means "gallows." This interpretation arises because drasill means "horse," and Ygg(r) is one of Odin's many names. In the Poetic Edda, the poem Hávamál describes how Odin sacrifices himself by hanging from a tree, making this tree Odin’s gallows. This tree could have been Yggdrasil. The gallows can be referred to as "the horse of the hanged," and thus the phrase "Odin’s horse" could have evolved into the name of the tree.

However, scholars disagree about the precise meaning of Yggdrasill, particularly whether Yggdrasill is the name of the tree itself or whether the complete term askr Yggdrasil (where askr in Old Norse means "ash") specifically refers to the tree. Under this interpretation, askr Yggdrasil would mean the World Tree, to which "the horse [Odin’s horse] of the highest god [Odin] is bound." Both etymologies rely on a hypothesised but unproven *Yggsdrasill.

A third interpretation, proposed by F. Detter, suggests that the name Yggdrasill refers to the word yggr ("terror"), not in relation to the Odin name, meaning Yggdrasill would then mean "tree of terror, gallows." F. R. Schröder proposed a fourth etymology, suggesting yggdrasill means "yew pillar," derived from yggia from igwja (meaning "yew tree") and drasill from dher- (meaning "support").

Sources
Poetic Edda
Yggdrasil is mentioned in the three poems Völuspá, Hávamál, and Grímnismál.

Völuspá
In the second stanza of Völuspá, the völva (a shamanic seeress) who recites the poem to Odin recalls "early times" when she was raised by jötnar (giants) and remembers the nine worlds and nine ídiðiur (variously translated by different scholars – for example, Dronke gives "nine wood grasses"). She recalls the time when Yggdrasil was a seed ("glorious tree of good measure, beneath the earth"). In stanza 19, the völva says:

A ash, I know, stands there,
Yggdrasil is its name,
a tall tree, washed
with gleaming clay.
From there comes the dew
that falls in the valleys.
It stands ever green above
Urðr's well.

In stanza 20, the völva says that from the lake under the tree come three "wise maidens" named Urðr, Verðandi, and Skuld. The maidens "carved the wood," "set laws," and "chose life" for humanity's children and their fates (ørlǫg). In stanza 27, the völva states that she knows "Heimdall’s hearing rests beneath the bright, holy tree." In stanza 45, Yggdrasil is mentioned again:

Yggdrasill trembles,
the ash, as it stands.
The old tree groans,
and the giant slips free.

Hávamál
In stanza 138 of Hávamál, Odin describes how he once sacrificed himself by hanging from a tree. The stanza reads:

I know that I hung on a windy tree
for nine long nights,
wounded with a spear, dedicated to Odin,
myself to myself,
on that tree, of which no one knows
where its roots come from.

In the following stanza, Odin explains that he had neither food nor drink and that he "gazed downward, and took the runes, shrieking I took them, then fell from there back."

Although Yggdrasil is not named in the poem, and other trees exist in Norse mythology, it is almost universally accepted that the tree in this story is Yggdrasil, and the name Yggdrasil directly refers to this account.

Grímnismál
In Grímnismál, Odin (disguised as Grímnir) imparts cosmological knowledge to the young Agnar. Yggdrasil is first mentioned in stanza 29, where Odin states that Thor must wade through the rivers Körmt and Örmt and two rivers named Kerlaugar to "sit as a judge at the ashes of Yggdrasill" because the "bridge of the Æsir is burning" and the "holy waters are boiling." In the following stanza, the names of the horses the Æsir ride to "sit as judges" in Yggdrasil are listed.

In stanza 31, Odin states that the ash Yggdrasil has three roots that grow in three directions: under the first is Hel, under the second the frost giants, and under the third, humans. Stanza 32 describes a squirrel named Ratatoskr running up and down Yggdrasil, bringing "the word of the eagle" from above to Níðhöggr below. In stanza 33, it is described that four deer named Dáinn, Dvalinn, Duneyrr, and Duraþrór "consume the highest branches" of Yggdrasil.

In stanza 34, Odin says that under Yggdrasil lie more snakes "than a fool can imagine," naming them as Góinn and Móinn (possibly Old Norse for "land beast"), sons of Grafvitnir (possibly "ditch wolf"), Grábakr ("grey back"), Grafvölluðr ("one who digs beneath the plain"), Ófnir ("the twisting one"), and Sváfnir ("the one who puts to sleep"). Odin adds that he believes these snakes will gnaw on the tree forever.

In stanza 35, Odin says Yggdrasil "suffers more torments than people know," as a deer bites it from above, it decays on the sides, and Níðhöggr bites it from below. In stanza 44, Odin lists the things he considers the "noblest" of their kind, beginning with Yggdrasil, which he declares the "noblest of all trees."

Prose Edda
Yggdrasil is mentioned in two books of the Prose Edda: Gylfaginning and Skáldskaparmál. In Gylfaginning, Yggdrasil is introduced in Chapter 15. Gangleri (described as the disguised King Gylfi) asks where the highest or holiest place of the gods is. High replies: "It is the ashes of Yggdrasil. There, the gods must hold their court every day." Gangleri asks what there is to tell about Yggdrasil. High then describes Yggdrasil as the greatest and best of all trees, its branches stretching throughout the world and reaching into the sky. Three of its roots support it, stretching far: one "is under the Æsir, the second under the frost giants, and the third over Niflheim. At the root over Niflheim, the wyrm Níðhöggr gnaws, and beneath this root is the well Hvergelmir." Further details are given about the wells and roots, including the very holy well Urðarbrunnr, where the gods hold their court.

In Chapter 16, Gangleri asks, "What else is particularly noteworthy about the ash?" High goes on to describe various creatures associated with the tree, including the eagle on its branches, the squirrel running up and down, and the four deer consuming its leaves.

In Chapter 41, a stanza from Grímnismál is quoted, mentioning Yggdrasil as the highest of trees. In Chapter 54, during Ragnarök, it is said that Yggdrasil will tremble and that nothing in heaven or earth will be without fear. The Æsir and Einherjar will then don their war gear and march to the field of Vígríðr.

In Skáldskaparmál, Yggdrasil is only mentioned once, though not by name. In Chapter 64, names for kings and dukes are provided, and "Erlauchter" is listed as an example, referring to someone in a Christian work of the skald Hallvarðr Háreksblesi: "Under the pole of the earth [Yggdrasil], there is no Erlauchter who stands closer to the Lord of the monks [God] than you."

Theories
Shamanic Origins
Hilda Ellis Davidson notes that the existence of nine worlds around Yggdrasil is mentioned more than once in Old Norse sources, but the identity of the worlds is never directly stated, though they can be derived from different sources. Davidson mentions that the identity of the nine worlds likely changed over time, as new imagery appeared. She states that it is unclear where the nine worlds are situated in relation to the tree; they could either exist above one another or perhaps be grouped around it. There are hints that worlds exist beneath the tree, while the gods are depicted as existing in the sky, connected to the tree by the rainbow bridge Bifröst. Davidson suggests that "those who have tried to create a convincing diagram of the Scandinavian cosmos from the sources have only contributed to confusion."

Davidson draws parallels between Yggdrasil and shamanic traditions in northern Eurasia. The concept of a tree rising through several worlds is found in northern Eurasian shamanic traditions, and this seems to be an ancient idea that may have been influenced by the North Star, the centre of the sky, with the image of the central tree in Scandinavia possibly stemming from this. For Siberian shamans, a central tree can serve as a ladder to ascend to the sky.

Davidson also notes the similarity between the eagle on the tree and the world serpent coiled around its roots, which has parallels in other Asian cosmologies. She suggests that Norse cosmology may have been influenced by these northern Asian cosmologies. On the other hand, it is recorded that the Germanic peoples worshipped their gods in open groves, and a sky god was especially associated with the oak, so "a central tree would also have been a natural symbol for them."

Mímameiðr, Hoddmímis holt, and Ragnarök
Connections have been suggested between the forest Hoddmímis holt (Old Norse "Hoard-Mímir’s holt") and the tree Mímameiðr ("Mimir’s Tree"), which is generally believed to refer to the World Tree Yggdrasil and the well Mímisbrunnr. John Lindow agrees that Mímameiðr could be another name for Yggdrasil and that, if the Hoard-Mímir of the name Hoddmímis holt is the same figure as Mímir (associated with the well Mímisbrunnr), then Mímir’s holt – Yggdrasil – and Mímir’s well could be in the same vicinity.

Carolyne Larrington notes that nowhere is it explicitly stated what will happen to Yggdrasil during the events of Ragnarök. She points to a connection between the primordial figure of Mímir and Yggdrasil in the poem Völuspá and theorises that "it is possible that Hoddmimir is another name for Mimir, and that the two survivors will hide in Yggdrasil."

Rudolf Simek suggests that the survival of Líf and Lífþrasir through Ragnarök by hiding in Hoddmímis holt is "a case of reduplication of anthropogeny, understandable through the cyclical nature of the Eddic eschatology." Simek explains that Hoddmímis holt "should not literally be understood as a forest, or even a forest where the two hide, but rather as an alternative name for the World Tree Yggdrasil." Thus, the creation of humankind from tree trunks (Ask, Embla) would be repeated after Ragnarök. Simek also points out ancient legendary parallels in a Bavarian saga about a shepherd living in a tree, whose descendants repopulate the land after a plague. He also refers to an Old Norse parallel in the figure of Örvar-Oddr, "who is rejuvenated after living as a tree man."

Guardian Trees, Irminsul, and Sacred Trees
As late as the 19th century, guardian trees were revered as protectors and bringers of good fortune in Germany and Scandinavia, and sometimes offerings were made to them. A massive birch next to a burial mound in West Norway was known to have beer poured over its roots during festivals. The tree was felled in 1874.

Davidson notes that "the tree’s position at the centre as a source of happiness and protection for gods and men is confirmed by these rituals for Warden Trees." She also notes that the gods gather under Yggdrasil to settle their affairs, and the associated Irminsul, which may have been a pillar, was also a symbol for the centre of the world. Davidson argues that it is difficult to determine whether the tree or the pillar came first, and this likely depends on whether the sacred place was in a densely wooded area or not. She notes that there is no mention of a sacred tree at Þingvellir in Iceland, though Adam of Bremen describes a huge tree next to the temple in Uppsala, Sweden, which remained green throughout the summer and winter, though no one knows what kind of tree it was. Although it is uncertain whether Adam's informant actually witnessed the tree, the existence of sacred trees in pre-Christian Germanic Europe is evidenced by records of their destruction by early Christian missionaries, such as the Thor tree by Saint Boniface.

Ken Dowden notes that behind Irminsul, Thor’s Oak at Geismar, and the sacred tree at Uppsala "stands a mythical prototype, a Yggdrasil, the World Ash of the Northmen."

Modern Influence
Modern artworks depicting Yggdrasil include The Norns (painting, 1888) by K. Ehrenberg; Yggdrasil (fresco, 1933) by Axel Revold at the University of Oslo’s library; Hjortene beiter i løvet på Yggdrasil asken (wood relief, 1938) at Oslo Town Hall by Dagfin Werenskjold; and the bronze relief on the doors of the Swedish Museum of National Antiquities (c. 1950) by B. Marklund in Stockholm, Sweden.

Poems in which Yggdrasil is mentioned include Vårdträdet by Viktor Rydberg and Yggdrasill by J. Linke.

In the Japanese light novel series Overlord by Kugane Maruyama, Yggdrasil is the name of a popular DMMORPG in which the protagonist becomes trapped after its closure.