# The Younger Edda (tr. Anderson)/The Fooling of Gylfe/Chapter 7

CHAPTER VII.
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?
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 riding 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 had 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.
​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, Somea are daughters of Dvalin.
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 bit the leaves. Thier 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 bit it above, At the side it rots, Nidhug gnaws it below.
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.
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 comes the dews That fall in the dales. Green forever it stands Over Urd's fountain.
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 magnifi​cent 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 Grimle. It shall stand when both heaven and earth shall have passed away. In this hall the good and 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.
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.
* ↑ Elder Edda: The Vala's Prophecy, 24.
* ↑ Elder Edda: Grimner's Lay, 29.
* ↑ Elder Edda: Fafner's Lay, 13.
* ↑ The Icelandic barr. See Vigfusson, sub voce.
* ↑ Elder Edda: Grimner's Lay, 35, 34.
* ↑ Elder Edda: The Vala's Prophecy, 22.
* ↑ Elder Edda: The Vala's Prophecy, 70.