Facts about Yggdrasil, Norse World Tree
- 08
Ancient Norse texts describe Yggdrasil as an evergreen ash tree that does not shed its leaves despite the constant damage from Níðhöggr and the four grazing stags.
- 07
During Ragnarök, Yggdrasil shakes and trembles as the world serpent Jörmungandr rises from the ocean, causing the tree's branches to crack and leaves to fall.
- 06
Wells beneath Yggdrasil's three roots include Urðarbrunnr, the Well of Urðr, where the Norns weave the fates of gods and men.
- 05
Níðhöggr, a dragon or serpent in Norse myth, perpetually gnaws at the roots of Yggdrasil, symbolizing the forces of chaos threatening cosmic order.
- 04
Odin hung himself on Yggdrasil for nine nights, sacrificing himself to himself to gain the knowledge of runes.
- 03
Four stags — Dáinn, Dvalinn, Duneyrr, and Duraþrór — roam the branches of Yggdrasil, perpetually grazing on its foliage.
- 02
In Norse mythology, a squirrel named Ratatoskr runs up and down Yggdrasil carrying insulting messages between the eagle at its crown and the serpent Níðhöggr gnawing its roots.
- 01
The giant ash tree Yggdrasil connects nine worlds in Norse cosmology, with its roots extending to realms including Asgard, Midgard, and Niflheim.