In Norse mythology

Norse mythology

Norse mythology, a subset of Germanic mythology, is the overall term for the myths, legends and beliefs about supernatural beings of Norse pagans. It flourished prior to the Christianization of Scandinavia, during the Early Middle Ages, and passed into Nordic folklore, with some aspects surviving...

, Mímameiðr (Old Norse

Old Norse

Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....

 "Mimi's

Mímir

Mímir or Mim is a figure in Norse mythology renowned for his knowledge and wisdom who is beheaded during the Æsir-Vanir War...

 tree") is a tree whose branches stretch over every land, is unharmed by fire or metal, bears fruit that assists pregnant women, and upon whose highest bough roosts the cock Víðópnir. Mímameiðr is solely attested in the Old Norse poem Fjölsvinnsmál

Fjölsvinnsmál

Fjölsvinnsmál or The Sayings of Fjölsvinnr is the second of two Old Norse poems commonly published under the title Svipdagsmál "The Lay of Svipdagr". These poems are found together in several 17th century paper manuscripts with Fjölsvinnsmál...

. Due to parallels between descriptions of the two, scholars theorize that Mímameiðr may be another name for the world tree Yggdrasil

Yggdrasil

In Norse mythology, Yggdrasil is an immense tree that is central in Norse cosmology. It was said to be the world tree around which the nine worlds existed...

, and also Hoddmímis holt, a wood in within which Líf and Lífthrasir

Líf and Lífthrasir

In Norse mythology, Líf and Lífþrasir —male and female respectively—are two humans who are foretold to survive the events of Ragnarök by hiding in Hoddmímis holt, and after the flames have sated, to repopulate the newly risen and fertile world...

 are foretold to take refuge during the events of Ragnarök

Ragnarök

In Norse mythology, Ragnarök is a series of future events, including a great battle foretold to ultimately result in the death of a number of major figures , the occurrence of various natural disasters, and the subsequent submersion of the world in water...

. Mímameiðr is sometimes modernly anglicized as Mimameid or Mimameith.

Fjölsvinnsmál

Mímameiðr is mentioned in stanzas of the eddic-meter poem Fjölsvinnsmál, where the tree is described as having limbs that stretch over every land, bearing helpful fruit, and as harboring the cock Víðópnir. The first mention occurs when Svipdagr asks Fjölsviðr to tell him what the name of the tree whose branches reach over every land. Fjolsvith responds that:

Benjamin Thorpe Benjamin Thorpe Benjamin Thorpe was an English scholar of Anglo-Saxon.-Biography:After studying for four years at Copenhagen University, under the Danish philologist Rasmus Christian Rask, he returned to England in 1830, and in 1832 published an English version of Caedmon's metrical paraphrase of portions of the...  translation: Mimameidir it is called; but few men know from what roots it springs: it by that will fall which fewest know. Nore fire nor iron will harm it.

Henry Adams Bellows Henry Adams Bellows Henry Adams Bellows was a lawyer, state legislator, and jurist born in Rockingham, Vermont. He was elected to the New Hampshire House of Representatives from Littleton, New Hampshire in 1839. He was subsequently elected again to the House from Concord, New Hampshire in 1856–1857, and served as...  translation: "Mimameith its name, and no man knows What root beneath it runs; And few can guess what shall fell the tree, For fire nor iron shall fell it."

This stanza is followed by another where Svipdagr asks Fjölsviðr what grows from the seed of the tree. Fjölsviðr responds that fruit grows from the tree:

Benjamin Thorpe translation: Its fruit shall on the fire be laid, for labouring women; out then will pass what would in remain: so is it a creator of mankind."

Henry Adams Bellows translation: "Women, sick with child shall seek Its fruit to the flames to bear; Then out shall come what within was hid, And so is it mighty with men."

In the notes to his translation of this stanza, Bellows comments this stanza is to be understood as explaining that, when cooked, the fruit of Mímameiðr—which he identifies as Yggdrasil—will assure safe childbirth.

A third mention occurs when Svipdagr tells Fjölsviðr to tell him what the name of the glittering, golden cock is that sits "on the highest bough". Fjölsviðr complies, revealing that the cock is named Víðópnir:

Benjamin Thorpe translation: "Vidofnir he is called; in the clear air he stands, in the boughs of Mima's tree: affliction only brings, together indissoluble, the swart bird at his lonely meal."

Henry Adams Bellows translation: "Vithofnir his name, and now he shines Like lightning on Mimameith's limbs; And great is the trouble with which he grieves Both Surt Surtr In Norse mythology, Surtr or Surt is an eldjötunn. Surtr is attested in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the Prose Edda, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson...  and Sinmora."

Theories

Scholar Rudolf Simek

Rudolf Simek

Rudolf Simek is an Austrian Germanist and Philologian.Simek studied German literature, philosophy and Catholic theology in the University of Vienna, before becoming a librarian and a docent at the institution. He taught among others in the universities of Edinburgh, Tromsø and Sydney...

 connects Mímameiðr with Mímisbrunnr ("Mímir's well"), which is located beneath one of the three roots of the cosmological tree Yggdrasil. Simek concludes that due to the location of the well, Mímameiðr is potentially another name for Yggdrasil. In addition, Simek says that Hoddmímis holt ("Hoard-Mímir

Mímir

Mímir or Mim is a figure in Norse mythology renowned for his knowledge and wisdom who is beheaded during the Æsir-Vanir War...

's" holt

Woodland

Ecologically, a woodland is a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade. Woodlands may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a transition to shrubland under drier conditions or during early stages of...

)—a wood whose name refers to the same figure and wherein Líf and Lífþrasir survive Ragnarök

Ragnarök

In Norse mythology, Ragnarök is a series of future events, including a great battle foretold to ultimately result in the death of a number of major figures , the occurrence of various natural disasters, and the subsequent submersion of the world in water...

—may also be another name for Yggdrasil, and therefore is likely the same location as Mímameiðr.

Scholar John Lindow

John Lindow

John Lindow is a professor specializing in Scandinavian medieval studies and folklore at the University of California, Berkeley and author. Lindow's works include Norse Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Rituals, and Beliefs, a handbook for Norse mythology...

concurs, noting that if the figures within the location names are the same, then the identification of all the locations as within close vicinity is likely.