The generally accepted meaning of Old Norse Yggdrasill is 'Odin's horse', meaning ' gallows'. 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.Įtymology Yggdrasil (1895) by Lorenz Frølich Scholars generally consider Hoddmímis holt, Mímameiðr, and Læraðr to be other names for the tree.
Creatures live within Yggdrasil, including the dragon Níðhöggr, an unnamed eagle, and the stags Dáinn, Dvalinn, Duneyrr and Duraþrór. The branches of Yggdrasil extend far into the heavens, and the tree is supported by three roots that extend far away into other locations one to the well Urðarbrunnr in the heavens, one to the spring Hvergelmir, and another to the well Mímisbrunnr. The gods go to Yggdrasil daily to assemble at their traditional governing assemblies. In both sources, Yggdrasil is an immense ash tree that is central to the cosmos and considered very holy. Yggdrasil is attested in the Poetic Edda compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and in the Prose Edda compiled in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson. Around it exists all else, including the Nine Worlds. Yggdrasil (from Old Norse Yggdrasill) is an immense and central sacred tree in Norse cosmology. 'The Ash Yggdrasil' (1886) by Friedrich Wilhelm Heine For other uses, see Yggdrasil (disambiguation).
