Yggrs

Horse
In Norse mythology, Yggdrasil (/drsl/; from
Old Norse Yggdrasill, pronounced *ydrasil+) is
an immense tree that is central in Norse
cosmology, in connection to which the nine
worlds exist.

Yggdrasil is attested in the Poetic Edda,
compiled in the 13th century from earlier
traditional sources, and the Prose Edda, written
in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson. In both
sources, Yggdrasil is an immense ash tree that is
central and considered very holy. The gods go to
Yggdrasil daily to assemble at their things. 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 Urarbrunnr in the heavens, one
to the spring Hvergelmir, and another to the
well Mmisbrunnr. Creatures live within
Yggdrasil, including the wyrm (dragon) Nhggr,
an unnamed eagle, and the stags Dinn, Dvalinn,
Duneyrr and Durarr.

Conflicting scholarly theories have been
proposed about the etymology of the name
Yggdrasill, the possibility that the tree is of
another species than ash, the relation to tree
lore and to Eurasian shamanic lore, the possible
relation to the trees Mmameir and Lrar,
Hoddmmis holt, the sacred tree at Uppsala, and
the fate of Yggdrasil during the events of
Ragnark.

The generally accepted meaning of Old Norse
Yggdrasill is "Odin's horse", meaning "gallows".
This interpretation comes about because drasill
means "horse" and Ygg(r) is one of Odin's many
names. The Poetic Edda poem Hvaml
describes how Odin sacrificed himself by
hanging from a tree, making this tree Odin's
gallows. This tree may have been Yggdrasil.
Gallows can be called "the horse of the hanged"
and therefore Odin's gallows may have
developed into the expression "Odin's horse",
which then became the name of the tree.

Nevertheless, scholarly opinions regarding the
precise meaning of the name Yggdrasill vary,
particularly on the issue of whether Yggdrasill is
the name of the tree itself or if only the full term
askr Yggdrasil (where Old Norse askr means "ash
tree") refers specifically to the tree. According to
this interpretation, askr Yggdrasils would mean
the world tree upon which "the horse [Odin's
horse] of the highest god [Odin] is bound". Both
of these etymologies rely on a presumed but
unattested *Yggsdrasill.

A third interpretation, presented by F. Detter, is
that the name Yggdrasill refers to the word yggr
("terror"), yet not in reference to the Odinic
name, and so Yggdrasill would then mean "tree
of terror, gallows". F. R. Schrder has proposed
a fourth etymology according to which yggdrasill
means "yew pillar", deriving yggia from *igwja
(meaning "yew-tree"), and drasill from *dher-
(meaning "support").

An immense tree in Norse
cosmology

In the poem Grmnisml, Odin (disguised as
Grmnir) provides the young Agnar with
cosmological lore. Yggdrasil is first mentioned in
the poem in stanza 29, where Odin says that,
because the "bridge of the sir burns" and the
"sacred waters boil," Thor must wade through
the rivers Krmt and rmt and two rivers named
Kerlaugar to go "sit as judge at the ash of
Yggdrasill." In the stanza that follows, a list of
names of horses are given that the sir ride to
"sit as judges" at Yggdrasil.