Yggdrasil: Difference between revisions

Yggdrasil is the world tree in Norse culture. The name most likely comes from ''Ygg'', one of [[Odin]]s many names, and ''drasill'', meaning “horse”.<ref>{{Cite Book|quote=Yggdrasil tolkas vanligen som en sammansättning av Ygg "den förskräcklige", det vill säga Oden, och ''drasill'' "häst".|translquote=Yggdrasil is usually interpreted as a compound of Ygg "the terrible", i.e. Odin, and ''drasill'' "horse".|chapter=2. Skapelse och världsundergång i fornskandinaviskt perspektiv|book=Fornskandinavisk religion: en grundbok|author=Britt-Mari Näsström|publisher=Studentlitteratur|lang=Swedish|edition=2|page=p. 28|isbn=9789144015767}}</ref> A gigantic ash tree, its three roots stretch into different worlds, although which ones differ depending on the source. In ''Grímnismál'' it is Hel, Jotunheim, and Midgård; and in the ''Prose Edda'' it is Nifelheim, Jotunheim, and Asgård. By each root lies a well, those being Urd’s Well, where the [[Norn]]s live and where the gods gather to hold court; Mimer’s Well, whose waters make any who drink it wise and to which Odin sacrificed his eye in exchange for being allowed to drink from it; and Hvergelmer, where [[Nidhoggr]] and other snakes lie and gnaw on Yggdrasil's roots.