Yggdrasil

Then spoke Gangleri: ‘Where is the chief centre or holy place of
the gods?’

High replied: ‘It is at the ash Yggdrasil. There the gods must
hold their courts each day.’

Then spoke Gangleri: ‘What is there to tell about that place?’

Then said Just-as-high: ‘The ash is of all trees the biggest and
best. Its branches spread out over all the world and extend across
the sky. Three of the tree’s roots support it and extend very, very
far. One is among the Æsir, the second among the frost-giants,
where Ginnungagap once was. The third extends over Niflheim,
and under that root is Hvergelmir, and Nidhogg gnaws the
bottom of the root. But under the root that reaches towards the
frost-giants, there is where Mimir’s well is, which has wisdom and
intelligence contained in it, and the master of the well is called
Mimir. He is full of learning because he drinks of the well from the
horn Giallarhorn. All-father went there and asked for a single
drink from the well, but he did not get one until he placed his eye
as a pledge. Thus it says in Voluspa:

I know it all, Odin, where you deposited your eye, in that
renowned well of Mimir. Mimir drinks mead every morning
from Val-father’s pledge. Know you yet, or what?

The third root of the ash extends to heaven, and beneath that root
is a well which is very holy, called Weird’s well. There the gods
have their court. Every day the Æsir ride there up over Bifrost. It is
also called As-bridge. The names of the Æsir’s horses are as
follows: best is Sleipnir, he is Odin’s, he has eight legs. Second is
Glad, third Gyllir, fourth Glær, fifth Skeidbrimir, sixth Silfrtopp,
seventh Sinir, eighth Gils, ninth Falhofnir, tenth Gulltopp, Lettifeti
eleventh. Baldr’s horse was burned with him. And Thor walks to
the court and wades rivers whose names are:

Kormt and Ormt and two Kerlaugs, these shall Thor wade
every day when he is to judge at the ash Yggdrasil, for
As-bridge bums all with flame, the holy waters boil.’

Then spoke Gangleri: ‘Does fire burn over Bifrost?’


- Prose Edda, Gylfaginning