CHAPTER II.
THE PRESERVATION. THE ASH YGDRASIL. MIMER’S FOUNTAIN. URD’S FOUNTAIN. THE NORNS OR FATES.
Ygdrasil is one of the noblest conceptions that ever entered into any scheme of cosmogony or human existence. It is in fact the great tree of life, wonderfully elaborated and extended through the whole system of the universe. It furnishes bodies for mankind from its branches; it strikes its roots through all worlds, and spreads its life-giving arms through the heavens. All life is cherished by it, even that of serpents, which devour its roots and seek to destroy it. It has three grand roots far apart. One of them extends to the asas, another to the giants in that very place where was formerly Ginungagap, and the third stands over Niflheim, and under this root, which is constantly gnawed by the serpent Nidhug and all his reptile brood, is the fountain Hvergelmer. Under the root that stretches out toward the giants is Mimer’s fountain, in which wisdom and wit lie hid. The owner of this fountain is called Mimer. He is full of wisdom, because he drinks the waters of the fountain every morning with the Gjallarhorn. Once Odin came and begged a draught of this water, which he received, but he had to leave one of his eyes in pawn for it. Thus it is recorded in the Elder Edda:
Full well I know, Great Odin, where Thine eye thou lost; In Mimer’s well, The fountain pure, Mead Mimer drinks Each morning new, With Odin’s pledge. Conceive ye this?
Under the root of Ygdrasil, which extends to the asas in heaven, is the holy Urdar-fountain. Here the gods sit in judgment. Every day they ride up hither on horseback over Bifrost (the rainbow), which is called the bridge of the gods (_ásbrú_). Odin rides his gray eight-footed Sleipner, Heimdal on Goldtop. The other horses are Glad (bright), Gyller (gilder), Gler (the shining one), Skeidbrimer (fleet-foot), Silfrintop (silver top), Siner (sinews), Gisl (the sunbeam), Falhofner (pale hoof), Letfet (light-foot). It has been stated before that the gods worthy of divine honors were twelve, and here we have ten horses named. Balder’s and Thor’s are wanting. Balder’s horse was burnt with his master’s body, and as for Thor, he has to go on foot. He cannot pass the Asabridge, for the thunder, which he is, would destroy it; therefore he daily wades through the rivers Kormt, Ormt, and two others called Kerlaug, to get to the council of the gods.
The giants cannot pass the Asabridge, for the red in it is burning fire and the waters of heaven roar around it. If it were easy for every one to walk over it, the giants would go up to heaven by that bridge, and perhaps succeed in bringing ruin upon the gods.
At the Urdar-fountain dwell also three maidens, named Urd, Verdande and Skuld (Present, Past and Future). These maidens fix the lifetime of all men, and are called norns. They guard the fountain, which takes its name from the first and highest of the three, Urd (Urdar-fount). Besides these there are other norns, some of which are of heavenly origin, but others belong to the races of elves and dwarfs. The norns who are of good origin are good themselves, and dispense good destinies. Those men to whom misfortunes happen ought to ascribe them to the evil norns. Thus it is that some men are fortunate and wealthy, while others acquire neither riches nor honors; some live to a good old age, while others are cut off in their prime.
Furthermore it must be stated of the ash Ygdrasil, that on its topmost bough sits an eagle who knows many things, and between the eagle’s eyes sits a hawk by name Vedfolner. A squirrel, whose name is Ratatosk, runs up and down the tree, and seeks to cause strife between the eagle and the serpent Nidhug. Four stags leap about beneath its branches and feed on its buds. They are called Daain, Dvalin, Duneyr, and Durathror. But there are so many snakes with Nidhug in the fountain Hvergelmer, that no tongue can count them. Thus the Elder Edda:
The tree Ygdrasil Bears a sorer burden Than men imagine. Above the stags bite it, On its sides age rots it, Nidhug gnaws below.
More serpents lie Under Ygdrasil’s ash Than simpletons think of; Goin and Moin, The sons of Grafvitner,
Graabak and Grafvollud, Ofner and Svafner, Must for aye, methinks, Gnaw the roots of that tree.
The norns, who dwell by the Urdar-fount, every day draw water from this spring, and with it, and the clay that lies around the fount, they sprinkle the ash, in order that the boughs may continue green, and not rot and wither away. This water is so holy that everything placed in the spring becomes as white as the film within an egg-shell. Thus the Elder Edda:
An ash know I standing Named Ygdrasil, A stately tree sprinkled With water, the purest; Thence come the dewdrops That fall in the dales; Ever blooming it stands O’er the Urdar-fountain.
The dew that falls from the tree on the earth men call honey-dew, and it is the food of the bees. Finally, two swans swim in the Urdar-fountain, and they are the parents of the race of swans. Thus all the tribes of nature partake of the universal tree.