Tree of Salvation: Yggdrasil and the Cross in the North by G. Ronald Murphy...

Tree of SalvationYggdrasil and the Cross in the North\nAuthor(s): G. Ronald Murphy\nFormat: Hardback\nPublisher: Oxford University Press Inc, United States\nImprint: Oxford University Press Inc\nISBN-13: 9780199948611, 978-0199948611\nSynopsis\nAt the heart of the mythology of the Anglo-Scandinavian-Germanic North is the evergreen Yggdrasil, the tree of life believed to hold up the skies and unite and separate three worlds: Asgard, high in the tree, where the gods dwelled in their great halls; Middlegard, where human beings lived; and the dark underground world of Hel, home to the monstrous goddess of death. With the advent of Christianity in the North around the year 1000, Yggdrasil was recast as the cross on which Christ sacrificed himself. Ronald Murphy offers an insightful examination of the lasting significance of Yggdrasil in northern Europe, showing that the tree's image persisted not simply through its absorption into descriptions of Christ's crucifix, but through recognition.