The Song of Grimnir: the myth of the world tree

The Song of Grimnir: the myth of the world tree

The nine Scandinavian worlds rest upon Yggdrasill, the cosmic tree. Deer and goats nibble at its branches, its trunk rots, and the dragon Níðhöggr gnaws at its roots, causing it great suffering. But it is saved by the three Norns: Fate, Being and Necessity, who water it every day with water from the well of destiny.

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The Scandinavian poem “The Song of Grimnir” says that of all trees, Yggdrasill is the greatest.

Yggdrasill is an enormous ash tree that grows at the centre of the cosmos, sheltering and nourishing the worlds.

In the poem, the gods ride every day “from Yggdrasil” to dispense their fates to humanity, and it was upon Yggdrasill that Odin, the supreme god, sacrificed himself of his own free will, hanging for nine days, before he was able to seize the runes of power. Yggdrasil gave life to nine worlds, arranged in layers:

1. Upper: Asgard, the realm of the Aesir, the warrior gods.

2. Vanaheim, realm of the Vanir, or gods of fertility.

3. Álfheim, realm of the light elves.

In the middle layer, connected to Asgard by Bifrost, the rainbow bridge, lay Midgardr (Middle Earth), realm of mortal men, and also Jotunheimr, world of the giants, Nidavellir, land of the dwarves, and Svartalfheim, land of the dark elves. Below lay Niflheimr, realm of the dead, and its stronghold Hel.

The ninth world is sometimes considered to be Hel and sometimes the primordial fire Muspell, which will annihilate creation at the end of time.

Yggdrasill will survive and shelter in the forest of Hoddmimir the man and woman who are to repopulate the world. The branches of Yggdrasil spread across the whole world and reach up to the heavens.

Yggdrasill, tree of sacrifice

Yggdrasill literally means “terrible horse” or “Odin’s horse”. When Odin immolated himself upon the tree to obtain knowledge of the magic runes, he is described as “riding” the horse in the same sense in which Scandinavian poets refer to the gallows as a horse.

Yggdrasill, the protective tree

Yggdrasill shelters the nine worlds. At the end of time, during the battle of Ragnarök, it will protect a man and a woman: Líf and Lífþrasir, who will feed each morning on its sweet dew and will be the beginning of new life in the new age.