Editing Yggdrasil

{{Short description|Immense tree in Norse cosmology}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2024}}
[[File:The Ash Yggdrasil by Friedrich Wilhelm Heine.jpg|thumb|"The Ash Yggdrasil" (1886) by [[Friedrich Wilhelm Heine]]]]

'''Yggdrasil''' ({{Etymology|non|Yggdrasill}}) is an immense and central [[World tree|sacred tree]] in [[Norse cosmology]]. Around it exists all else, including the [[Nine Worlds]].

Yggdrasil is attested in the ''[[Poetic Edda]]'' compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and in the ''[[Prose Edda]]'' compiled in the 13th century by [[Snorri Sturluson]]. In both sources, Yggdrasil is an immense [[Fraxinus excelsior|ash tree]] that is central to the cosmos and considered very holy. The [[Æsir|gods]] go to Yggdrasil daily to assemble at their [[thing (assembly)|traditional governing assemblies]]. 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 [[Urðarbrunnr]] in the heavens, one to the spring [[Hvergelmir]], and another to the well [[Mímisbrunnr]]. Creatures live within Yggdrasil, including the dragon [[Níðhöggr]], the squirrel [[Ratatoskr]], the hawk [[Veðrfölnir]], and the stags [[Dáinn, Dvalinn, Duneyrr and Duraþrór]].

Scholars generally consider ''[[Hoddmímis holt]]'', ''[[Mímameiðr]]'', and ''[[Læraðr]]'' to be other names for the tree. The tree is an example of [[sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology]], and scholars in the field of [[Germanic philology]] have long discussed its implications.

==Etymology==
[[File:Om Yggdrasil by Frølich.jpg|thumb|Yggdrasil (1895) by [[Lorenz Frølich]]]]

The generally accepted meaning of Old Norse ''{{lang|non|Yggdrasill}}'' is "Odin's horse", meaning "[[gallows]]". This interpretation comes about because ''{{lang|non|drasill}}'' means "horse" and ''{{lang|non|Ygg(r)}}'' is one of [[List of names of Odin#Yggr|Odin's many names]]. The ''Poetic Edda'' poem ''{{lang|non|[[Hávamál]]}}'' describes how Odin sacrificed himself by hanging from a tree, making this tree Odin's gallows. This tree may have been Yggdrasil. "The horse of the hanged" is a [[kenning]] for gallows and therefore Odin's gallows may have developed into the expression "Odin's horse", which then became the name of the tree.{{sfn|Simek|2007|p=375}}

Nevertheless, scholarly opinions regarding the precise meaning of the name ''{{lang|non|Yggdrasill}}'' vary, particularly on the issue of whether ''{{lang|non|Yggdrasill}}'' is the name of the tree itself or if only the full term ''{{lang|non|askr Yggdrasil}}'' (where Old Norse ''{{lang|non|askr}}'' means "ash tree") refers specifically to the tree. According to this interpretation, ''{{lang|non|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''.{{sfn|Simek|2007|p=375}}

A third interpretation, presented by F. Detter, is that the name ''{{lang|non|Yggdrasill}}'' refers to the word ''{{lang|non|yggr}}'' ("terror"), yet not in reference to the Odinic name, and so ''{{lang|non|Yggdrasill}}'' would then mean "tree of terror, gallows". F. R. Schröder has proposed a fourth etymology according to which ''{{lang|non|yggdrasill}}'' means "yew pillar", deriving ''{{lang|non|yggia}}'' from ''*igwja'' (meaning "[[Taxus baccata|yew-tree]]"), and ''{{lang|non|drasill}}'' from ''*dher-'' (meaning "support").{{sfn|Simek|2007|p=375}}

[[Anatoly Liberman]] argues that the name ''Yggdrasill'' originally referred to Odin's literal horse (later known mainly as [[Sleipnir]]). He explains the missing 's' by suggesting that the original compound didn't mean 'Odin's horse' but 'Odin-horse'. The horse shared in the God's essence. This led to the [[kenning]] ''askr Yggdrasills'', literally: 'the ash tree of Odin-horse', but by the conventions of Old Norse poetry: 'the warrior of Odin-horse', i.e. 'Odin'. ''Yggdrasill'' fell out of use as the name of Odin's horse, leaving the formula ''askr Yggdrasills'' obscure. It was reinterpreted to refer to the world tree, of which Liberman believes the Norse had some conception before the name 'Yggdrasill' was attached to it. Finally, ''askr Yggdrasills'' was simplified to ''askr Yggdrasill'', i.e. from 'the ash tree of Yggdrasill' to 'the ash tree (called) Yggdrasill'.{{Sfn|Liberman|2016}}

==Attestations==

===''Poetic Edda''===
In the ''Poetic Edda'', the tree is mentioned in the three poems ''[[Völuspá]]'', ''[[Hávamál]]'' and  ''[[Grímnismál]]''.

====''Völuspá''====
[[File:Norns (1832) from Die Helden und Götter des Nordens, oder Das Buch der sagen.jpg|thumb|"[[Norns]]" (1832) from ''{{lang|de|Die Helden und Götter des Nordens, oder das Buch der Sagen}}'']]
In the second stanza of the ''Poetic Edda'' poem ''[[Völuspá]]'', the [[völva]] (a shamanic seeress) reciting the poem to the god Odin says that she remembers far back to "early times", being raised by [[Jötunn|jötnar]], recalls [[norse cosmology|nine worlds]] and nine ''ídiðiur'' (rendered in a variety of ways by translators—Dronke, for example, provides "nine wood-ogresses"), and when Yggdrasil was a seed ("glorious tree of good measure, under the ground").{{sfn|Dronke|1997|p=7}} In stanza 19, the völva says:

{{blockquote|<poem>
An ash I know there stands,
Yggdrasill is its name,
a tall tree, showered
with shining [[loam]].
From there come the dews
that drop in the valleys.
It stands forever green over
[[Urðarbrunnr|Urðr's well]].{{sfn|Dronke|1997|p=11–12}}
</poem>}}

In stanza 20, the völva says that from the lake under the tree come three "maidens deep in knowledge" named [[Urðr]], [[Verðandi]], and [[Skuld]]. The maidens "incised the slip of wood", "laid down laws" and "chose lives" for the children of humanity and the destinies (''{{lang|non|[[wyrd|ørlǫg]]}}'') of men.{{sfn|Dronke|1997|p=12}} In stanza 27, the völva details that she is aware that "[[Heimdallr]]'s hearing is couched beneath the bright-nurtured holy tree."{{sfn|Dronke|1997|p=14}} In stanza 45, Yggdrasil receives a final mention in the poem. The völva describes, as a part of the onset of Ragnarök, that Heimdallr blows [[Gjallarhorn]], that Odin speaks with [[Mímir]]'s head, and then:

{{blockquote|<poem>
Yggdrasill shivers,
the ash, as it stands.
The old tree groans,
and the giant slips free.{{sfn|Dronke|1997|p=19}}
</poem>}}

====''Hávamál''====
[[File:The Sacrifice of Odin by Frølich (vector).svg|thumb|Odin sacrificing himself upon Yggdrasil (1895) by [[Lorenz Frølich]]]]
In stanza 138 of the poem ''[[Hávamál]]'', Odin describes how he once sacrificed himself to himself by hanging on a tree. The stanza reads:

{{blockquote|<poem>
I know that I hung on a windy tree
[[numbers in Norse mythology|nine]] long nights,
wounded with a spear, dedicated to Odin,
myself to myself,
on that tree of which no man knows
from where its roots run.{{sfn|Larrington|1999|p=34}}
</poem>}}

In the stanza that follows, Odin describes how he had no food nor drink there, that he peered downward, and that "I took up the [[runes]], screaming I took them, then I fell back from there."{{sfn|Larrington|1999|p=34}} Odin later used "the knowledge of the sacred runes" as a magical tool to give to humanity to increase humans' skill in magic and poetry.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Carlson |first1=Kathie |title=The Book of Symbols: Reflections on Archetypal Images |last2=Flanagin |first2=Michael N. |last3=Martin |first3=Kathleen |last4=Martin |first4=Mary E. |last5=Mendelsohn |first5=John |last6=Rodgers |first6=Priscilla Young |last7=Ronnberg |first7=Ami |last8=Salman |first8=Sherry |last9=Wesley |first9=Deborah A. |publisher=[[Taschen]] |year=2010 |isbn=978-3-8365-1448-4 |editor-last=Arm |editor-first=Karen |location=Köln |page=494 |editor-last2=Ueda |editor-first2=Kako |editor-last3=Thulin |editor-first3=Anne |editor-last4=Langerak |editor-first4=Allison |editor-last5=Kiley |editor-first5=Timothy Gus |editor-last6=Wolff |editor-first6=Mary}}</ref>

While Yggdrasil is not mentioned by name in the poem and other trees exist in Norse mythology, the tree is near universally accepted as Yggdrasil by scholars, and if the tree is Yggdrasil, then the name ''Yggdrasil'' directly relates to this story.{{sfn|Lindow|2001|p=321}}

====''Grímnismál''====
In the poem ''[[Grímnismál]]'', Odin (disguised as ''[[List of names of Odin|Grímnir]]'') provides the young [[Agnarr Geirröðsson|Agnar]] with cosmological lore. Yggdrasil is first mentioned in the poem in stanza 29, where Odin says that, because the "[[Bifröst|bridge of the Æsir]] burns" and the "[[sacred waters]] boil," [[Thor]] must wade through the rivers [[Körmt and Örmt]] and two rivers named [[Kerlaugar]] to go "sit as judge at the ash of Yggdrasill". In the stanza that follows, a [[Horses of the Æsir|list of names of horses]] are given that the Æsir ride to "sit as judges" at Yggdrasil.{{sfn|Larrington|1999|p=56}}

In stanza 31, Odin says that the ash Yggdrasil has three roots that grow in three directions. He details that beneath the first lives [[Hel (being)|Hel]], under the second live frost jötnar, and beneath the third lives humanity. Stanza 32 details that a squirrel named [[Ratatoskr]] must run across Yggdrasil and bring "the eagle's word" from above to Níðhöggr below. Stanza 33 describes that four [[Red deer|hart]]s named Dáinn, Dvalinn, Duneyrr and Duraþrór consume "the highest boughs" of Yggdrasil.{{sfn|Larrington|1999|p=56}}

In stanza 34, Odin says that more serpents lie beneath Yggdrasil "than any fool can imagine" and lists them as Góinn and Móinn (possibly meaning Old Norse "land animal"{{sfn|Simek|2007|p=115}}), which he describes as sons of Grafvitnir (Old Norse, possibly "ditch wolf"{{sfn|Simek|2007|p=116}}), Grábakr (Old Norse "Greyback"{{sfn|Simek|2007|p=115}}), Grafvölluðr (Old Norse, possibly "the one digging under the plain" or possibly amended as "the one ruling in the ditch"{{sfn|Simek|2007|p=116}}), Ófnir (Old Norse "the winding one, the twisting one"{{sfn|Simek|2007|p=252}}), and Sváfnir (Old Norse, possibly "the one who puts to sleep = death"{{sfn|Simek|2007|p=305}}), who Odin adds that he thinks will forever gnaw on the tree's branches.{{sfn|Larrington|1999|p=56}}

In stanza 35, Odin says that Yggdrasil "suffers agony more than men know", as a hart bites it from above, it decays on its sides, and Níðhöggr bites it from beneath.{{sfn|Larrington|1999|p=57}} In stanza 44, Odin provides a list of things that are what he refers to as the "noblest" of their kind. Within the list, Odin mentions Yggdrasil first, and states that it is the "noblest of trees".{{sfn|Larrington|1999|p=58}}

===''Prose Edda''===
[[File:The Tree of Yggdrasil.jpg|thumb|The title page of Olive Bray's 1908 translation of the ''Poetic Edda'' by [[W. G. Collingwood]]]]
[[File:Die Nornen Urd, Werdanda, Skuld, unter der Welteiche Yggdrasil by Ludwig Burger.jpg|thumb|The norns Urðr, Verðandi, and Skuld beneath the world tree Yggdrasil (1882) by [[Ludwig Burger]]]]
Yggdrasil is mentioned in two books in the ''[[Prose Edda]]''; ''[[Gylfaginning]]'' and ''[[Skáldskaparmál]]''. In ''Gylfaginning'', Yggdrasil is introduced in chapter 15. In chapter 15, [[Gylfi|Gangleri]] (described as king [[Gylfi]] in disguise) asks where is the chief or holiest place of the gods. [[High, Just-As-High, and Third|High]] replies "It is the ash Yggdrasil. There the gods must hold their courts each day". Gangleri asks what there is to tell about Yggdrasil. [[High, Just-As-High, and Third|Just-As-High]] says that Yggdrasil is the biggest and best of all trees, that its branches extend out over all of the world and reach out over the sky. Three of the roots of the tree support it, and these three roots also extend extremely far: one "is among the [[Æsir]], the second among the frost jötnar, and the third over [[Niflheim]]. The root over Niflheim is gnawed at by the wyrm [[Níðhöggr]], and beneath this root is the spring [[Hvergelmir]]. Beneath the root that reaches the frost jötnar is the well [[Mímisbrunnr]], "which has wisdom and intelligence contained in it, and the master of the well is called [[Mímir|Mimir]]". Just-As-High provides details regarding Mímisbrunnr and then describes that the third root of the well "extends to heaven" and that beneath the root is the "very holy" well [[Urðarbrunnr]]. At Urðarbrunnr the gods hold their court, and every day the Æsir ride to Urðarbrunnr up over the bridge [[Bifröst]]. Later in the chapter, a stanza from ''Grímnismál'' mentioning Yggdrasil is quoted in support.{{sfn|Faulkes|1995|p=17}}

In chapter 16, Gangleri asks "what other particularly notable things are there to tell about the ash?" High says there is quite a lot to tell about. High continues that an eagle sits on the branches of Yggdrasil and that it has much knowledge. Between the eyes of the eagle sits a hawk called [[Veðrfölnir]]. A squirrel called [[Ratatoskr]] scurries up and down the ash Yggdrasil carrying "malicious messages" between the eagle and Níðhöggr. Four stags named Dáinn, Dvalinn, Duneyrr, and Duraþrór run between the branches of Yggdrasil and consume its foliage. In the spring Hvergelmir are so many snakes along with Níðhöggr "that no tongue can enumerate them". Two stanzas from ''Grímnismál'' are then cited in support. High continues that the norns that live by the holy well Urðarbrunnr each day take water from the well and mud from around it and pour it over Yggdrasil so that the branches of the ash do not rot away or decay. High provides more information about Urðarbrunnr, cites a stanza from ''Völuspá'' in support, and adds that [[dew]] falls from Yggdrasil to the earth, explaining that "this is what people call [[Honeydew (secretion)|honeydew]], and from it bees feed".{{sfn|Faulkes|1995|p=18–19}}

In chapter 41, the stanza from ''Grímnismál'' is quoted that mentions that Yggdrasil is the foremost of trees.{{sfn|Faulkes|1995|p=34}} In chapter 54, as part of the events of [[Ragnarök]], High describes that Odin will ride to the well Mímisbrunnr and consult Mímir on behalf of himself and his people. After this, "the ash Yggdrasil will shake and nothing will be unafraid in heaven or on earth", and then the Æsir and [[Einherjar]] will don their war gear and advance to the field of [[Vígríðr]]. Further into the chapter, the stanza in ''Völuspá'' that details this sequence is cited.{{sfn|Faulkes|1995|p=54}}

In the ''Prose Edda'' book ''[[Skáldskaparmál]]'', Yggdrasil receives a single mention, though not by name. In chapter 64, names for [[king]]s and [[duke]]s are given. "Illustrious one" is provided as an example, appearing in a Christianity-influenced work by the [[skald]] [[Hallvarðr Háreksblesi]]: "There is not under the pole of the earth [Yggdrasil] an illustrious one closer to the lord of [[monk]]s [God] than you."{{sfn|Faulkes|1995|p=146}}

==Theories==
===Shamanic origins===
[[Hilda Ellis Davidson]] comments that the existence of nine worlds around Yggdrasil is mentioned more than once in Old Norse sources, but the identity of the worlds is never stated outright, though it can be deduced from various sources. Davidson comments that "no doubt the identity of the nine varied from time to time as the emphasis changed or new imagery arrived". Davidson says that it is unclear where the nine worlds are located in relation to the tree; they could either exist one above the other or perhaps be grouped around the tree, but there are references to worlds existing beneath the tree, while the gods are pictured as in the sky, a rainbow bridge ([[Bifröst]]) connecting the tree with other worlds. Davidson opines that "those who have tried to produce a convincing diagram of the [[Scandinavia]]n cosmos from what we are told in the sources have only added to the confusion".{{sfn|Davidson|1993|p=69}}

Davidson notes parallels between Yggdrasil and [[shamanism|shamanic]] lore in northern Eurasia:
<blockquote>The conception of the tree rising through a number of worlds is found in northern Eurasia and forms part of the shamanic lore shared by many peoples of this region. This seems to be a very ancient conception, perhaps based on the [[Pole Star]], the centre of the heavens, and the image of the central tree in Scandinavia may have been influenced by it.... Among [[Siberia]]n shamans, a central tree may be used as a ladder to ascend the heavens.{{sfn|Davidson|1993|p=69}}</blockquote>

Davidson says that the notion of an eagle atop a tree and the world serpent coiled around the roots of the tree has parallels in other cosmologies from [[Asia]]. She goes on to say that Norse cosmology may have been influenced by these Asiatic cosmologies from a northern location. Davidson adds, on the other hand, that it is attested that the [[Germanic people]]s worshiped their deities in open forest clearings and that a [[sky deity|sky god]] was particularly connected with the [[oak]] tree, and therefore "a central tree was a natural symbol for them also".{{sfn|Davidson|1993|p=69}}

===Mímameiðr, Hoddmímis holt, and Ragnarök===
[[File:Líf and Lífthrasir by Lorenz Frølich.svg|thumb|Lífþrasir and Líf after emerging from Hoddmímis holt (1895) by [[Lorenz Frølich]]]]
Connections have been proposed between the wood [[Hoddmímis holt]] ([[Old Norse]] "Hoard-[[Mímir]]'s"{{sfn|Simek|2007|p=154}} [[Woodland|holt]]) and the tree [[Mímameiðr]] ("Mímir's tree"), generally thought to refer to the world tree Yggdrasil, and the spring [[Mímisbrunnr]].{{sfn|Simek|2007|p=154}} John Lindow concurs that ''Mímameiðr'' may be another name for Yggdrasil and that if the Hoard-Mímir of the name ''Hoddmímis holt'' is the same figure as [[Mímir]] (associated with the spring named after him, Mímisbrunnr), then the Mímir's holt—Yggdrasil—and Mímir's spring may be within the same proximity.{{sfn|Lindow|2001|p=179}}

Carolyne Larrington notes that it is nowhere expressly stated what will happen to Yggdrasil during the events of [[Ragnarök]]. Larrington points to a connection between the primordial figure of [[Mímir]] and Yggdrasil in the poem ''[[Völuspá]]'', and theorizes that "it is possible that Hoddmimir is another name for Mimir, and that the [[Líf and Lífþrasir|two survivors]] hide in Yggdrasill."{{sfn|Larrington|1999|p=269}}

[[Rudolf Simek]] theorizes that the survival of [[Líf and Lífþrasir]] through Ragnarök by hiding in Hoddmímis holt is "a case of reduplication of the anthropogeny, understandable from the cyclic nature of the Eddic eschatology". Simek says that Hoddmímis holt "should not be understood literally as a wood or even a forest in which the two keep themselves hidden, but rather as an alternative name for the world-tree Yggdrasill. Thus, the creation of humanity from tree trunks (Askr, Embla) is repeated after the Ragnarǫk as well." Simek says that in [[Germanic peoples|Germanic regions]], the concept of humanity originating from trees is ancient. Simek additionally points out legendary parallels in a [[Bavaria]]n legend of a [[shepherd]] who lives inside a tree, whose descendants repopulate the land after life there has been wiped out by plague (citing a retelling by F. R. Schröder). In addition, Simek points to an Old Norse parallel in the figure of [[Örvar-Oddr]], "who is rejuvenated after living as a tree-man (''Ǫrvar-Odds saga'' 24–27)".{{sfnm|1a1=Simek|1y=2007|1p=189|2a1=Schröder|2y=1931}}

===Warden trees, Irminsul, and sacred trees===
[[File:Mysselhoj da 070407.jpg|thumb|A tree grows atop ''Mysselhøj'', <br />a [[Nordic Bronze Age]] [[burial mound]] in [[Roskilde]], [[Denmark]]]]
Continuing as late as the 19th century, [[Vörðr|warden trees]] were venerated in areas of Germany and Scandinavia, considered to be guardians and bringers of luck, and offerings were sometimes made to them. A massive [[birch]] tree standing atop a [[tumulus|burial mound]] and located beside a farm in western [[Norway]] is recorded as having had ale poured over its roots during festivals. The tree was felled in 1874.{{sfn|Davidson|1993|p=170}}

Davidson comments that "the position of the tree in the centre as a source of luck and protection for gods and men is confirmed" by these rituals to Warden Trees. Davidson notes that the gods are described as meeting beneath Yggdrasil to hold their [[thing (assembly)|things]], and the related [[Irminsul]], which may have been a pillar, was also symbolic of the center of the world. Davidson details that it would be difficult to ascertain whether a tree or pillar came first, and that this is likely to depend on whether the holy location was in a thickly wooded area or not. Davidson notes that there is no mention of a [[Sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology|sacred tree]] at [[Þingvellir]] in [[Iceland]], but that [[Adam of Bremen]] describes a [[Sacred tree at Uppsala|huge tree standing next to the Temple at Uppsala]] in [[Sweden]], which remained green throughout summer and winter, and that no one knew what type it was. Davidson comments that while it is uncertain if Adam's informant actually witnessed the tree, the existence of sacred trees in pre-Christian Germanic Europe is further evidenced by records of their destruction by early Christian missionaries, such as [[Thor's Oak]] by [[Saint Boniface]].{{sfn|Davidson|1993|p=170}}

[[Ken Dowden]] comments that behind Irminsul, Thor's Oak in Geismar, and the sacred tree at [[Uppsala]] "looms a mythic prototype, an Yggdrasil, the world-ash of the [[Norsemen]]".{{sfn|Dowden|2000|p=72}}

==Modern influence==
[[Thomas Carlyle]] adopted "Igdrasil" as a favorite symbol; it features in both ''[[On Heroes, Hero-Worship, & the Heroic in History]]'' (1841) and [[Past and Present (book)|''Past and Present'']] (1843). [[John Ruskin]] referenced it in the conclusion to ''The Laws of [[Fiesole|Fésole]]'' (1877–1878). An unpublished manuscript of Carlyle's entitled "Igdrasil. From the Norse"<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Carlyle |first=Thomas |date=2009 |title=Appendix: Igdrasil. From the Norse |journal=Carlyle Studies Annual |issue=25 |pages=59–60 |issn=1074-2670 |jstor=26593166}}</ref> inspired the editor of ''The Ruskin Reading [[Guild]] Journal'' to add ''Igdrasil'' to its name in 1890.<ref name="Nixon 2009 pp. 49–58">{{cite journal | last=Nixon | first=Jude V. | title=Thomas Carlyle's Igdrasil | journal=Carlyle Studies Annual | publisher=Saint Joseph's University Press | issue=25 | year=2009 | issn=1074-2670 | jstor=26593165 | pages=49–58}}</ref>

Modern works of art depicting Yggdrasil include ''Die Nornen'' (painting, 1888) by K. Ehrenberg; ''Yggdrasil'' ([[fresco]], 1933) by [[Axel Revold]], located in the [[University of Oslo]] library auditorium in [[Oslo]], [[Norway]]; ''Hjortene beiter i løvet på Yggdrasil asken'' (wood [[relief carving]], 1938) on the [[Oslo City Hall]] by [[Dagfin Werenskiold]]; and the bronze relief on the doors of the [[Swedish Museum of National Antiquities]] (around 1950) by B. Marklund in [[Stockholm]], Sweden.

Poems mentioning Yggdrasil include ''Vårdträdet'' by [[Viktor Rydberg]] and ''Yggdrasill'' by J. Linke.{{sfn|Simek|2007|p=376}}

In ''[[Overlord (novel series)|Overlord]]'', a Japanese light novel series written by Kugane Maruyama, ''Yggdrasil'' is the name of a popular [[MMORPG|DMMORPG]], where the protagonist got trapped after its shutdown.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/preview-guide/2015/summer/overlord/.89902|title=The Summer 2015 Anime Preview Guide – Overlord|website=Anime News Network|date=7 July 2015|access-date=17 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190506131357/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/preview-guide/2015/summer/overlord/.89902|archive-date=6 May 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

Yggdrasil is a common motif in [[Marvel Cinematic Universe]] media, appearing in ''[[Thor (film)|Thor]]'', ''[[Captain America: The First Avenger]]'', ''[[Thor: The Dark World]]'', and ''[[Loki (TV series)|Loki]]''.<ref name="Zimbio 2015">{{cite web | title=Yggdrasil, The World Tree | website=Zimbio | date=12 August 2015 | url=https://www.zimbio.com/A+Closer+Look+at+Marvel%27s+Many+Easter+Eggs/articles/yMT9pq1oQNc/Yggdrasil+The+World+Tree | access-date=26 April 2023 | archive-date=25 April 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230425213900/https://www.zimbio.com/A+Closer+Look+at+Marvel%27s+Many+Easter+Eggs/articles/yMT9pq1oQNc/Yggdrasil+The+World+Tree | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Lacson |first=Therese |date=10 November 2023 |title='Loki' Season 2 Finale Recap: A Glorious Purpose at the End of Time  |url=https://collider.com/loki-season-2-finale-recap/ |access-date=14 November 2023 |website=[[Collider (website)|Collider]]}}</ref>

== See also ==

* [[Axis mundi]], mythological concept representing "the connection between the higher and lower realms"
* [[Yggdrasil Linux/GNU/X]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist|20em}}

==References==
{{refbegin}}
* {{Cite book|last=Davidson|first=Hilda Ellis|author-link=Hilda Ellis Davidson|title=The Lost Beliefs of Northern Europe |publisher=[[Routledge]] |year=1993 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sWLVZN0H224C |isbn=0-203-40850-0}}
* {{Cite book |last=Dowden |first=Ken |author-link= Ken Dowden|title=European Paganism: the Realities of Cult from Antiquity to the Middle Ages |publisher=[[Routledge]] |year=2000 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=b-QfhYxtKScC |isbn=0-415-12034-9}}
* {{cite book|last=Dronke|first=Ursula|author-link=Ursula Dronke|author-mask=Dronke, Ursula|year=1997 |title=The Poetic Edda: Volume II: Mythological Poems|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|isbn=0-19-811181-9}}
* {{cite book|last=Larrington|first=Carolyne|author-mask=Larrington, Carolyne (Trans.)|year=1999 |title=The Poetic Edda|publisher=[[Oxford World's Classics]]|isbn=0-19-283946-2}}
* {{Cite book |last=Lindow |first=John |author-link=John Lindow |title=Norse Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2001 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KlT7tv3eMSwC |isbn=0-19-515382-0}}
* {{cite book|last=Faulkes|first=Anthony|author-mask=Faulkes, Anthony (Trans.)|year=1995|title=Edda |publisher=[[Everyman's Library|Everyman]]|isbn=0-4608-7616-3}}
* * {{Cite book|last=Liberman|first=Anatoly|author-link=Anatoly Liberman|title=In Prayer and Laughter: Essays on Medieval Scandinavian and Germanic Mythology, Literature, and Culture |publisher=[[Paleograph Press]] |year=2016 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dVm4AQAACAAJ |isbn=978-5895260272}}
* {{cite book|last=Schön|first=Ebbe|author-link=Ebbe Schön|year=2004|title=Asa-Tors hammare, Gudar och Jättar i tro och Tradition|publisher=Fält & Hässler, Värnamo|isbn=91-89660-41-2}}
* {{cite journal|last=Schröder|first=Franz Rolf|year=1931|title=Germanische Schöpfungsmythen |journal=Germanisch-Romanische Monatsschrift|volume=19|pages=1–26}}
* {{Cite book|last=Simek|first=Rudolf|author-link=Rudolf Simek|year=2007|others=Translated by Angela Hall |title=Dictionary of Northern Mythology|publisher=[[Boydell & Brewer|D.S. Brewer]]|isbn=978-0-85991-513-7}}
{{refend}}
{{Clear}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Yggdrasil}}
{{Wikiquote}}

{{Yggdrasill}}
{{Sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology}}
{{Norse cosmology}}
{{Norse paganism topics}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Yggdrasil| ]]
[[Category:Locations in Norse mythology]]
[[Category:Trees in Germanic paganism]]
[[Category:Trees in Germanic mythology]]
[[Category:Fraxinus excelsior]]