Yggdrasil: The World Tree of Norse Mythology
At the end of the World, the great Ash tree Yggdrasil dies...
According to Norse myths, the end of Asgard the world of the gods, and home to Odin, Thor, and Loki is brought about by the death of Yggdrasil, the great ash, tree of life and wisdom from which Odin hung upside down for 9 days and lost the sight of one of his eyes in exchange for the wisdom of the runes, and intuition of the goddesses or norns. The tree had been kept alive by these three women of fate (past, present, and future), Urd, Verdandi, and Skuld, who cared for the tree giving it water from Mirmir”s Well of wisdom, and covered its wounds, inflicted by goats and deer, with white clay. Despite their care, the great tree dies from its roots, slowly strangled by the great serpent Nidhogg, whose body was entwined throughout the roots of the great tree, and who symbolizes the in sevitable cycles of life , death and renewal.
The complete meaning and symbolism depicted in this saga called the Edda, which possibly means the mother will forever remain a mystery. As an oral tradition, the sagas and myths were handed down from one generation to the next throughout the 400 years that marked the Viking episode of the Nordic culture. It is likely the oldest mythical sagas originated earlier with the Scandinavian Bronze Age, which lasted for over a thousand years, from about 1600 to 450 B. C., and were further influenced by other Germanic tribes that moved into Scandinavia during the Migration Period caused in part by the disruption of the Roman Empire from about the 3rd to the 6th century A. D. (Davidson, p. 12, 1969). These tribes replaced or mingled with peoples who first inhabited Norway and Sweden 8 to 10 thousand years ago at the retreat of the la last ice age. In the 13th century some of the great Sagas were written down by a Christian Icelander, Snori Sturluson (Crossley-Holland, p. xxv., 1980). Much speculation continues as to the influence Christianity may have had on his transcribing of the sagas, but through them we are given a window into the superstitions, beliefs, and symbolic wisdom held within these stories and provides a basis for understanding the significance of the planting of ”tuntrer” in the center yard or ”tun” of the farm, a tree to honor the original farmers and who’s care helps to insure the health of the farm, and a tradition that continues today in parts of Norway. In Sweden there is a similar tradition, and the tree was called a VŒrdtrad, or guardian tree.
The ancient tribes and cultures that are the ancestors of contemporary cultures and civilization created myth to help explain the natural world and humans place in nature. It is interesting to note that a great many mythologies have a tree or column or mountain at the center of the world. ”More specifically, the symbol of three cosmic regions connected by a tree that we find in Norse mythology also appear in Vedic Indian and Chinese mythologies”(Crossley-Holland, p. xxiv., 1980). Classical Greek mythology also described three women of fate in association with the tree of life. As civilizations evolved, human speculation of ourselves and the world around us gradually transcended into philosophy, religion, and science; each influencing the other as individuals of learning often considered all three together. It is unfortunate that most people educated today have little understanding of ancient history as i it relates to the relationships and succession from myth to philosophy, religion, and science, not to mention an understanding of how humans impacted their environments, and how environments and ecology influenced history.
Chapter by Professor Hulmes in recent book Nature First, Outdoor Life the Friluftsliv Way, ed. by Bob Henderson & Nils Vikander.