Yggdrasill

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Yggdrasill

Yggdrasill , in Norse mythology, the great tree of the world. Its branches and roots extended through all the universe—the heavens, the earth, and the underworld. At its top sat an eagle, at its bottom twined a serpent, and between them ran a squirrel breeding discord. It was prophesied that at the doom of the gods the tree would be destroyed. See Germanic religion .

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Yggdrasil

The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable | 2006 | | Â© The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable 2006, originally published by Oxford University Press 2006. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

Yggdrasil a huge ash tree located at the centre of the earth, with three roots, one extending to Niflheim (the underworld), one to Jotunheim (land of the giants), and one to Asgard (land of the gods). Although threatened by a malevolent serpent that gnaws at its roots and by deer eating its foliage, the tree survives because it is watered by the Norns from the well of fate.

The name is Old Norse, and apparently comes from Yggr ‘Odin’ + drasill ‘horse’; Odin hanged himself on the tree for nine nights and days to win the runes for humankind.

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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Yggdrasil." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. Oxford University Press. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 25 Dec. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Yggdrasil." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. Oxford University Press. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (December 25, 2009). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-Yggdrasil.html

ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Yggdrasil." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. Oxford University Press. 2006. Retrieved December 25, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-Yggdrasil.html

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Anselm Kiefer at MOMA. (Museum of Modern Art, New York)
Magazine article from: National Review; 3/10/1989

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