ON THE WONDERFUL THINGS IN HEAVEN.
15. Then said Ganglere: Where is the chief or most holy place of the
gods? Har answered: That is by the ash Ygdrasil. There the gods meet in
council every day. Said Ganglere: What is said about this place?
Answered Jafnhar: This ash is the best and greatest of all trees; its
branches spread over all the world, and reach up above heaven. Three
roots sustain the tree and stand wide apart; one root is with the asas
and another with the frost-giants, where Ginungagap formerly was; the
third reaches into Niflheim; under it is Hvergelmer, where Nidhug gnaws
the root from below. But under the second root, which extends to the
frost-giants, is the well of Mimer, wherein knowledge and wisdom are
concealed. The owner of the well hight Mimer. He is full of wisdom, for
he drinks from the well with the Gjallar-horn. Alfather once came there
and asked for a drink from the well, but he did not get it before he
left one of his eyes as a pledge. So it is said in the Vala’s Prophecy:
Well know I, Odin,
Where you hid your eye:
In the crystal-clear
Well of Mimer.
Mead drinks Mimer
Every morning
From Valfather’s pledge.
Know you yet or not?[23]
[Footnote 23: Elder Edda: The Vala’s Prophecy, 24.]
The third root of the ash is in heaven, and beneath it is the most
sacred fountain of Urd. Here the gods have their doomstead. The asas
ride hither every day over Bifrost, which is also called Asa-bridge. The
following are the names of the horses of the gods: Sleipner is the best
one; he belongs to Odin, and he has eight feet. The second is Glad, the
third Gyller, the fourth Gler, the fifth Skeidbrimer, the sixth
Silfertop, the seventh Siner, the eighth Gisl, the ninth Falhofner, the
tenth Gulltop, the eleventh Letfet. Balder’s horse was burned with him.
Thor goes on foot to the doomstead, and wades the following rivers:
Kormt and Ormt
And the two Kerlaugs;
These shall Thor wade
Every day
When he goes to judge
Near the Ygdrasil ash;
For the Asa-bridge
Burns all ablaze,--
The holy waters roar.[24]
[Footnote 24: Elder Edda: Grimner’s Lay, 29.]
Then asked Ganglere: Does fire burn over Bifrost? Har answered: The red
which you see in the rainbow is burning fire. The frost-giants and the
mountain-giants would go up to heaven if Bifrost were passable for all
who desired to go there. Many fair places there are in heaven, and they
are all protected by a divine defense. There stands a beautiful hall
near the fountain beneath the ash. Out of it come three maids, whose
names are Urd, Verdande and Skuld. These maids shape the lives of men,
and we call them norns. There are yet more norns, namely those who come
to every man when he is born, to shape his life, and these are known to
be of the race of gods; others, on the other hand, are of the race of
elves, and yet others are of the race of dwarfs. As is here said:
Far asunder, I think,
The norns are born,
They are not of the same race.
Some are of the asas,
Some are of the elves,
Some are daughters of Dvalin.[25]
[Footnote 25: Elder Edda: Fafner’s Lay, 13.]
Then said Ganglere: If the norns rule the fortunes of men, then they
deal them out exceedingly unevenly. Some live a good life and are rich;
some get neither wealth nor praise. Some have a long, others a short
life. Har answered: Good norns and of good descent shape good lives, and
when some men are weighed down with misfortune, the evil norns are the
cause of it.
16. Then said Ganglere: What other remarkable things are there to be
said about the ash? Har answered: Much is to be said about it. On one of
the boughs of the ash sits an eagle, who knows many things. Between his
eyes sits a hawk that is called Vedfolner. A squirrel, by name Ratatosk,
springs up and down the tree, and carries words of envy between the
eagle and Nidhug. Four stags leap about in the branches of the ash and
bite the leaves.[26] Their names are: Dain, Dvalin, Duney and Durathro.
In Hvergelmer with Nidhug are more serpents than tongue can tell. As is
here said:
The ash Ygdrasil
Bears distress
Greater than men know.
Stags bite it above,
At the side it rots,
Nidhug gnaws it below.
[Footnote 26: The Icelandic barr. See Vigfusson, _sub voce_.]
And so again it is said:
More serpents lie
’Neath the Ygdrasil ash
Than is thought of
By every foolish ape.
Goin and Moin
(They are sons of Grafvitner),
Grabak and Grafvollud,
Ofner and Svafner
Must for aye, methinks,
Gnaw the roots of that tree.[27]
[Footnote 27: Elder Edda: Grimner’s Lay, 35, 34.]
Again, it is said that the norns, that dwell in the fountain of Urd,
every day take water from the fountain and take the clay that lies
around the fountain and sprinkle therewith the ash, in order that its
branches may not wither or decay. This water is so holy that all things
that are put into the fountain become as white as the film of an
egg-shell As is here said:
An ash I know
Hight Ygdrasil;
A high, holy tree
With white clay sprinkled.
Thence come the dews
That fall in the dales.
Green forever it stands
Over Urd’s fountain.[28]
[Footnote 28: Elder Edda: The Vala’s Prophecy, 22.]
The dew which falls on the earth from this tree men call honey-fall, and
it is the food of bees. Two birds are fed in Urd’s fountain; they are
called swans, and they are the parents of the race of swans.
17. Then said Ganglere: Great tidings you are able to tell of the
heavens. Are there other remarkable places than the one by Urd’s
fountain? Answered Har: There are many magnificent dwellings. One is
there called Alfheim. There dwell the folk that are called light-elves;
but the dark-elves dwell down in the earth, and they are unlike the
light-elves in appearance, but much more so in deeds. The light-elves
are fairer than the sun to look upon, but the dark-elves are blacker
than pitch. Another place is called Breidablik, and no place is fairer.
There is also a mansion called Glitner, of which the walls and pillars
and posts are of red gold, and the roof is of silver. Furthermore, there
is a dwelling, by name Himinbjorg, which stands at the end of heaven,
where the Bifrost-bridge is united with heaven. And there is a great
dwelling called Valaskjalf, which belongs to Odin. The gods made it and
thatched it with, sheer silver. In this hall is the high-seat, which is
called Hlidskjalf, and when Alfather sits in this seat, he sees over all
the world. In the southern end of the world is the palace, which is the
fairest of all, and brighter than the sun; its name is Gimle. It shall
stand when both heaven and earth shall have passed away. In this hall
the good and the righteous shall dwell through all ages. Thus says the
Prophecy of the Vala:
A hall I know, standing
Than the sun fairer,
Than gold better,
Gimle by name.
There shall good
People dwell,
And forever
Delights enjoy.[29]
Then said Ganglere: Who guards this palace when Surt’s fire burns up
heaven and earth? Har answered: It is said that to the south and above
this heaven is another heaven, which is called Andlang. But there is a
third, which is above these, and is called Vidblain, and in this heaven
we believe this mansion (Gimle) to be situated; but we deem that the
light-elves alone dwell in it now.
[Footnote 29: Elder Edda: The Vala’s Prophecy, 70.]