Yggdrasil
In the Scandinavian Mythology, Yggdrasil or Yggdrasill are the Tree-World. Its name means “destrier of Frightening literally”, the Frightening one ( Ygg ) designating the god Odin.
On him the nine worlds rest:
- Midgard or Mannheim world of the medium, world of the men. ;
- Ásgard or Godheim, world of the Adzes;
- Muspellheim, world of fire;
- Jötunheim, world of the giants of ice;
- Niflheim, Nibelheim or Helheim, world of deaths;
- Álfheim, world of the fair Elf S;
- Nidavellir, world of the dwarves;
- Svatalfheim, world of the brown elves;
- Vanaheim, world of the Valves.
There exist alternatives with this distribution. Nidavellir and Svatalfheim are sometimes a single world, and according to certain texts Helheim and Niflheim are distinct.
Yggdrasil is represented like immense a Frêne with three roots connecting three different worlds (Ásgard, Midgard and Niflheim). The first root comes from the source of Hvergelmir, located in Niflheim. A snake, Nídhögg, guard jealously this source and corrodes the root. The second is born in the fountain from Mimir, located in Midgard. This fountain is supposed to contain the source of any wisdom. It is kept by the god Mimir. Lastly, the third root comes from the well Urd, in Ásgard, which well is kept by three Nornes, of the old witches very wise and feared by the gods.
Yggdrasil is also the host of other characters, the such giant eagle Vedrfölnir, located at the top of the Tree, which creates the winds thanks to its large wings. A Faucon is perched between its eyes. The Goat, Heidrun, lives close to the top of the Tree, and nourishes its sheets. The stag Eikthyrnir grazes also the branches and of its horns water streams which fall into Hvergelmir. Finally, a squirrel, Ratatosk, runs unceasingly in the Tree, not ceasing sowing the discord between the Nídhögg snake and the Vedrfolnir eagle.
It is while remaining suspended by a foot with a branch of Yggdrasil lasting nine days and nine nights that Odin discovered the direction of the Runes.
The name of these worlds finish by the suffix heim (kingdom, world) or in certain cases gard (ground). In the second case, there exists always a place with the same name located at the center of the world. Current research basing itself on the oldest sources suggests that the new worlds had all formerly a name in heim (Midgard being then called Mannheim and Ásgard Godheim). Confusion would have come from certain authors confusing the places of certain worlds with the worlds themselves.
Except for Midgard (the world of the medium, men) which represents balance, the eight other worlds can be gathered per pairs of opposite principles.
Yggdrasil in the popular culture
Be-X-old: Іггдрасіль Simple: Yggdrasil
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