The Norns spin the threads offate at the foot ofYggdrasil, the tree of the world. Beneath them is the wellUrðarbrunnr with the two swans that have engendered all the swans in the world.The Norns (1889) byJohannes Gehrts
The origin of the namenorn is uncertain; it may derive from a word meaning 'to twine', which would refer to their twining the thread of fate.[3] Bek-Pedersen suggests that the wordnorn has relation to theSwedish dialect wordnorna (nyrna), a verb that means 'communicate secretly'. This interpretation relates to the perception of norns as shadowy, background figures who only really ever reveal their fateful secrets to people as their fates come to pass.[4]
The nameUrðr (Old English:Wyrd, 'weird') means 'fate'.Wyrd andurðr are etymologicalcognates, a situation that does not mean necessarily thatwyrd andurðr share the same semantic quality of "fate" over time.[5] BothUrðr andVerðandi are derived from the Old Norse verbverða, 'to become',[6] which itself derives fromProto-Germanic*wurdiz, fromProto-Indo-European*wrti-, which is a verbal abstract from the root*wert- ("to turn")[7] Often, it is asserted that whileUrðr derives from the past tense ('that which became or happened'),Verðandi derives from the present tense ofverða ('that which is happening').Skuld is derived from the Old Norse verbskulu, "need/ought to be/shall be";[3][8] its meaning is "that which should become, or that needs to occur".[6] Due to this, it has often been inferred that the three norns are in some way connected with the past, present and future respectively, but it has been disputed that their names really imply a temporal distinction.[3] It has been emphasised that the words do not in their own right denote chronological periods in Old Norse but rather the idea of past, present, and future in terms of fate itself.[9]
There are a number of surviving Old Norse sources that relate to the norns. The most important sources are theProse Edda and thePoetic Edda. The latter contains pagan poetry where the Norns are frequently referred to, while the former contains pagan poetry as well as retellings, descriptions and commentaries by the 12th and 13th century Icelandic chieftain and scholarSnorri Sturluson.
A skaldic reference to the norns appears in Hvini's poem inYnglingatal 24 found inYnglingasaga 47, where King Halfdan is put to rest by his men at Borró. This reference brings in the phrase "norna dómr" which means "judgment of the nornir". In most cases, when the norns pass judgment, it means death to those who have been judged - in this case, Halfdan.[11] Along with being associated with being bringers of death, Bek-Pedersen suggests that this phrase brings in a quasi-legal aspect to the nature of the norns. This legal association is employed quite frequently within skaldic and eddic sources. This phrase can also be seen as a threat, as death is the final and inevitable decision that the norns can make with regard to human life.[12]
ThePoetic Edda is valuable in representing older material in poetry from which Snorri Sturluson tapped information in theProse Edda. LikeGylfaginning, thePoetic Edda mentions the existence of many lesser norns beside the three main norns. Moreover, it also agrees withGylfaginning by telling that they were of several races and that the dwarven norns were the daughters ofDvalin. It also suggests that the three main norns were giantesses (femaleJotuns).[14]
Fáfnismál contains a discussion between the heroSigurd and the dragonFafnir who is dying from a mortal wound from Sigurd. The hero asks Fafnir of many things, among them the nature of the norns. Fafnir explains that they are many and from several races:
It appears fromVöluspá andVafþrúðnismál that the three main norns were not originally goddesses but giants (Jotuns), and that their arrival ended the early days of bliss for the gods, but that they come for the good of humankind.
Völuspá relates that three giants of huge might are reported to have arrived to the gods fromJotunheim:
Vafþrúðnismál probably refers to the norns when it talks of maiden giants who arrive to protect the people of Earth as protective spirits (hamingjas):[3][19]
The Norns Arthur RackhamThe Norns Urðr, Verðandi, and Skuld under the world oak Yggdrasil (1882) byLudwig Burger
The norns visited each newly born child to allot his or her future, and inHelgakviða Hundingsbana I, the heroHelgi Hundingsbane has just been born and norns arrive at the homestead:
As Snorri Sturluson stated inGylfaginning, one's fate depended on the Norn's good or bad will. InReginsmál, the water dwelling dwarfAndvari blames his plight on an evil norn, presumably one of the daughters of Dvalin:
Norns inDie Helden Und Götter Des Nordens, Oder: Das Buch Der Sagen byAmalia Schoppe, (1832)
InGuðrúnarkviða II, the Norns actively enter the series of events by informing Atli in a dream that his wife would kill him. Brynhild's solution was to have Gunnarr and his brothers, the lords of theBurgundians, kill Sigurd and afterwards to commit suicide in order to join Sigurd in the afterlife. Her brotherAtli (Attila the Hun) avenged her death by killing the lords of the Burgundians, but since he was married to their sisterGuðrún, Atli would soon be killed by her. The description of the dream begins with this stanza:
In Guðrúnarhvöt, after having killed both her husband and son, Guðrún blames the Norns themselves for her misfortune. In this excerpt Guðrún talks of trying to escaping the wrath of the Norns by making an attempt on her own life, attempting to escape the fate they had woven for her:
Guðrúnarhvöt deals with how Guðrún incited her sons to avenge the cruel death of their sisterSvanhild. InHamðismál, her sons' expedition to the Gothic KingErmanaric to exact vengeance. Knowing that he is about to die at the hands of the Goths, her son Sörli talks of the cruelty of the norns:
In the part of Snorri Sturluson'sProse Edda which is calledGylfaginning,Gylfi, theking of Sweden, has arrived atValhalla calling himselfGangleri. There, he receives an education inNorse mythology from what isOdin in the shape of three men. They explain to Gylfi that there are three primary Norns, but also many others of various races,æsir, elves and dwarves:
A hall stands there, fair, under theash by the well, and out of that hall come three maids, who are called thus: Urdr, Verdandi, Skuld; these maids determine the period of men's lives: we call them Norns; but there are many norns: those who come to each child that is born, to appoint his life; these are of the race of the gods, but the second are of theElf-people, and the third are of the kindred of thedwarves, as it is said here:
Then said Gangleri: "If the Norns determine the weirds of men, then they apportion exceeding unevenly, seeing that some have a pleasant and luxurious life, but others have little worldly goods or fame; some have long life, others short." Hárr said: "Good norns and of honorable race appoint good life; but those men that suffer evil fortunes are governed by evil norns."[40]
The three main norns take water out of the well of Urd and water Yggdrasil:
It is further said that these Norns who dwell by the Well of Urdr take water of the well every day, and with it that clay which lies about the well, and sprinkle it over the Ash, to the end that its limbs shall not wither nor rot; for that water is so holy that all things which come there into the well become as white as the film which lies within the egg-shell,--as is here said:
I know an Ash standing
called Yggdrasill,
A high tree sprinkled
with snow-white clay;
Thence come the dews
in the dale that fall--
It stands ever green
above Urdr's Well.
That dew which falls from it onto the earth is called by men honey-dew, and thereon are bees nourished. Two fowls are fed in Urdr's Well: they are called Swans, and from those fowls has come the race of birds which is so called."[40]
...and the youngest Norn, she who is called Skuld, ride[s] ever to take the slain and decide fights. Faroese stamp byAnker Eli Petersen depicting the Norns (2003).
Snorri Sturluson furthermore informs the reader that the Norn of present, Skuld, is also avalkyrie, taking part in the selection of warriors from the slain:
These are called Valkyrs: them Odin sends to every battle; they determine men's feyness and award victory.Gudr andRóta and the youngest Norn, she who is called Skuld, ride ever to take the slain and decide fights.[40]
Some of thelegendary sagas also contain references to the Norns. TheHervarar saga contains a poem namedHlöðskviða, where the Gothic kingAngantýr defeats a Hunnish invasion led by his Hunnish half-brotherHlöðr. Knowing that his sister, theshieldmaidenHervör, is one of the casualties, Angantýr looks at his dead brother and laments the cruelty of the Norns:
In younger legendary sagas, such asNorna-Gests þáttr andHrólfs saga kraka, the Norns appear to have been synonymous withvölvas (witches, female shamans). InNorna-Gests þáttr, where they arrive at the birth of the hero to shape his destiny, the Norns are not described as weaving the web of fate, insteadNorna appears to be interchangeable and possibly a synonym ofvala (völva).
One of the last legendary sagas to be written down, theHrólfs saga kraka references the Norns as evil witches. When the malevolenthalf-elven princessSkuld assembles her army to attackHrólfr Kraki, it contains in addition to undead warriors,elves and Norns.
This romantic representation of the norns depicts one of them (Verdandi according to the runes below) with wings, contrary to folklore.
Þórir carved these runes on the eve ofOlaus-mass, when he travelled past here. The norns did both good and evil, great toil ... they created for me.[43]
_by_Johannes_Gehrts.jpg)
_by_H._E._Freund.jpg)
_from_Die_Helden_und_G%25C3%25B6tter_des_Nordens%2c_oder_Das_Buch_der_sagen.jpg)
Media related toNorns at Wikimedia Commons
