Alongside their homes in Midgard, people also build places that reflect the world of the gods, with a tree, a temple and a source of water. The people here may be either free or owned by others, and then they are called thralls (slaves). MidgardĪround Yggdrasil lies Midgard, the place or the realm in the “middle”, which is the world of mankind. The gods had a large wall built around the whole of Asgard to protect themselves from attack by the giants. This is where the gods gather to decide the fate of mankind, and to craft, forge and work wood. Within the walls of Asgard lies a large plain, Ithavoll. When the gods need to decide things, they get together to hold a council at the Well of Urd. The gods descend to Midgard via the Bifrost – the rainbow bridge. Njord lives in Noatun, Freyja lives in Folkvang, Thor lives in Thrudvang, Heimdall lives in Himinbjörg and Frigg in Fensalir. These domains often tend to reflect the god or goddess who lives there. AsgardĪsgard, high up in the crown of Yggdrasil, is where the gods live in their own domains. A goat by the name of Heidrun feeds on its leaves and in the crown of the tree four deer chew on the new buds. One of the roots is gnawed at by the serpent or dragon Nidhogg, the squirrel Ratatosk runs along the trunk and the mighty eagle Hraesvelg sits right at the top. There are various animals that live off and in Yggdrasil. The Norns are goddesses of destiny and they are called Urd, Verdandi and Skuld – what was, what is and what will be. Urd is one of the Norns who live under the tree’s roots. Next to the trunk of Yggdrasil lies the miraculous Well of Urd. The tree’s branches reach out all over the world and its roots stretch to different parts – one goes to Midgard, where mankind lives, one to Utgard, where the giants live, and at the third root lies Niflhel, where Hel, the goddess of the underworld, lives. Yggdrasil is sometimes described as a large ash tree, and sometimes as a tree that stays green all year round. Yggdrasil stretches from the underworld, through the world of the living and all the way up to the heavens. The people of the Viking age are thought to have seen the world like a kind of round plate or disc, at the middle of which stood an enormous tree – Yggdrasil, the tree of life.
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