What is considered the most authentic illustration of Yggdrasil?

Question

Is there an etching or drawing of Yggdrasil, the Norse Tree of Life, that is the oldest, or considered the most authentic? If so, what information was it based on?

score 6 · Accepted Answer · answered Jul 27 '17 at 09:07

Some Norse myths are depicted on rune stones or other objects, but I am not aware of anything like that for Yggdrasil. The oldest depiction I know of is an illustration in a 17th century manuscript of Snorri's Edda (can be seen here), so it's quite a bit younger than the actual myth. Snorri's Edda is also the source that gives most details of the tree, even if it is also mentioned a few times in the poetry.

score 1 · Answer 2 · edited May 22 '18 at 19:25

1

The Ockelbo runestone has a depiction of Yggdrasil that is to my knowledge the oldest in existence.

Here is an image of the recreation.

edited May 22 '18 at 19:25

DukeZhou

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answered May 22 '18 at 10:30

Svipdagr

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What is considered the most authentic illustration of Yggdrasil?

2 Answers2