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61-516: In the Völuspá , the three primary Norns Urðr (Wyrd), Verðandi , and Skuld draw water from Urðarbrunnr to nourish Yggdrasill , the tree at the center of the cosmos , and prevent it from rot. These three Norns are described as powerful women whose arrival from Jötunheimr ended the golden age of the gods. The Norns are also described as maidens of Mögþrasir in Vafþrúðnismál . Beside

122-488: A Norse myth or legend is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Poetic Edda The Poetic Edda is the modern name for an untitled collection of Old Norse anonymous narrative poems in alliterative verse . It is distinct from the closely related Prose Edda , although both works are seminal to the study of Old Norse poetry . Several versions of the Poetic Edda exist: especially notable

183-515: A glorious Judge beneath the earth. In the beginning, when naught was, there was neither sand nor sea nor the cold waves, nor was earth to be seen nor heaven above. There was a Yawning Chasm [chaos], but grass nowhere, ( Vigfússon & Powell 1883 ) harv error: no target: CITEREFVigfússonPowell1883 ( help ) † I remember of yore   were born the Jötuns, they who aforetime   fostered me : nine worlds I remember,   nine in

244-494: 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. The Poetic Edda is valuable in representing older material in poetry from which Snorri Sturluson tapped information in the Prose Edda . Like Gylfaginning ,

305-491: A situation that does not mean necessarily that wyrd and urðr share the same semantic quality of "fate" over time. Both Urðr and Verðandi are derived from the Old Norse verb verða , 'to become', which itself derives from Proto-Germanic *wurdiz , from Proto-Indo-European *wrti- , which is a verbal abstract from the root *wert- ("to turn") Often, it is asserted that while Urðr derives from

366-596: A synonym of vala (völva). One of the last legendary sagas to be written down, the Hrólfs saga kraka talks of the norns simply as evil witches. When the evil half-elven princess Skuld assembles her army to attack Hrólfr Kraki , it contains in addition to undead warriors, elves and norns. Runic inscription N 351 M from the Borgund stave church attests to the belief in the Norns as bringers of both gain and loss after

427-460: A temporal distinction and it has been emphasised that the words do not in themselves denote chronological periods in Old Norse. There is no clear distinction between norns, fylgjas , hamingjas , and valkyries , nor with the generic term dísir . Moreover, artistic license permitted such terms to be used for mortal women in Old Norse poetry . To quote Snorri Sturluson 's Skáldskaparmál on

488-662: Is arguably the most important extant source on Norse mythology and Germanic heroic legends . Since the early 19th century, it has had a powerful influence on Scandinavian literature , not only through its stories, but also through the visionary force and the dramatic quality of many of the poems. It has also been an inspiration for later innovations in poetic meter , particularly in Nordic languages , with its use of terse, stress -based metrical schemes that lack final rhymes, instead focusing on alliterative devices and strongly concentrated imagery. Poets who have acknowledged their debt to

549-501: Is called Gylfaginning , Gylfi , the king of Sweden , has arrived at Valhalla calling himself Gangleri . There, he receives an education in Norse mythology from what is Odin in the shape of three men. They explain to Gylfi that there are three main norns, but also many others of various races, æsir , elves and dwarves: The three main norns take water out of the well of Urd and water Yggdrasil: Snorri Sturluson furthermore informs

610-637: Is doing in Asgard. Other examples include the MMO Guild Wars 2 , which has a race of Viking themed people called norn, and Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Children 2 , where they act askeepers of time and are recruitable demons in the post-game. Amon Amarth wrote a death metal album entitled Fate of Norns , released in 2004 and containing the title track of the same name. Ur%C3%B0r Urðr ( Old Norse : fate )

671-501: 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 from Völuspá and Vafþrúðnismál 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

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732-517: Is given below: Ek man jǫtna ár of borna, þás forðum mik fœdda hǫfðu ; níu mank hęima, níu ívíði, mjǫtvið mæran fyr mold neðan. Ár vas alda þars Ymir byggði, vasa sandr né sær, né svalar unnir ; jǫrð fansk æva né upphiminn ; gap vas ginnunga, ęn gras hvęrgi. ( Finnur 1932 ) harv error: no target: CITEREFFinnur1932 ( help ) (unchanged orthography) The Jötuns I remember early born, those who me of old have reared. I nine worlds remember, nine trees,

793-661: Is glossed with the Old English form of urðr ; Wyrd . Yggdrasil is said to stand "always over Urd's well", or the well of fate, Urd's well is located in Asgard . Urd appears in the Völva 's Prophecy Völuspá : Benjamin Thorpe translation: Henry Adams Bellows translation: This article relating to a Norse myth or legend is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article relating to

854-509: Is one of the Norns in Norse mythology . Along with Verðandi (possibly "happening" or "present" ) and Skuld (possibly "debt" or "future" ), Urðr makes up a trio of Norns that are described as deciding the fates of people. Urðr is attested in stanza 20 of the Poetic Edda poem Völuspá and the Prose Edda book Gylfaginning . Urðr is together with the other Norns located at

915-471: Is one of the casualties, Angantýr looks at his dead brother and laments the cruelty of the norns: In younger legendary sagas, such as Norna-Gests þáttr and Hrólfs saga kraka , the norns appear to have been synonymous with völvas (witches, female shamans). In Norna-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, instead Norna appears to be interchangeable and possibly

976-563: Is the medieval Icelandic manuscript Codex Regius , which contains 31 poems. The Eddic poems are composed in alliterative verse . Most are in fornyrðislag ("old story metre "), while málaháttr ("speech form") is a common variation. The rest, about a quarter, are composed in ljóðaháttr ("song form"). The language of the poems is usually clear and relatively unadorned. Kennings are often employed, though they do not arise as frequently, nor are they as complex, as those found in typical skaldic poetry . Like most early poetry,

1037-657: The Burgundians , kill Sigurd and afterwards to commit suicide in order to join Sigurd in the afterlife. Her brother Atli ( Attila the Hun ) avenged her death by killing the lords of the Burgundians, but since he was married to their sister Guðrún , Atli would soon be killed by her. In Guðrúnarkviða II , the Norns actively enter the series of events by informing Atli in a dream that his wife would kill him. The description of

1098-612: The Christianisation of Scandinavia , reading: Three women carved on the right panel of Franks Casket , an 8th century Anglo-Saxon whalebone chest, have been identified by some scholars as being three norns. A number of theories have been proposed regarding the norns. The Germanic Matres and Matrones , female deities venerated in North-West Europe from the 1st to the 5th century AD depicted on votive objects and altars almost entirely in groups of three from

1159-773: The Codex Regius continues with heroic lays about mortal heroes, examples of Germanic heroic legend . The heroic lays are to be seen as a whole in the Edda , but they consist of three layers: the story of Helgi Hundingsbani , the story of the Nibelungs , and the story of Jörmunrekkr , king of the Goths . These are, respectively, Scandinavian, German, and Gothic in origin. As far as historicity can be ascertained, Attila , Jörmunrekkr , and Brynhildr actually existed, taking Brynhildr to be partly based on Brunhilda of Austrasia , but

1220-550: The Codex Regius include Vilhelm Ekelund , August Strindberg , J. R. R. Tolkien , Ezra Pound , Jorge Luis Borges , and Karin Boye . The Codex Regius was written during the 13th century, but nothing was known of its whereabouts until 1643, when it came into the possession of Brynjólfur Sveinsson , then Bishop of Skálholt . At the time, versions of the Prose Edda were known in Iceland, but scholars speculated that there once

1281-408: The Poetic Edda mentions the existence of many lesser norns beside the three main norns. Moreover, it also agrees with Gylfaginning by telling that they were of several races and that the dwarven norns were the daughters of Dvalin . It also suggests that the three main norns were giantesses (female Jotuns ). Fáfnismál contains a discussion between the hero Sigurd and the dragon Fafnir who

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1342-894: The strophe in question, is the younger derivative work. The few demonstrably historical characters mentioned in the poems, such as Attila , provide a terminus post quem of sorts. The dating of the manuscripts themselves provides a more useful terminus ante quem . Individual poems have individual clues to their age. For example, Atlamál hin groenlenzku is claimed by its title to have been composed in Greenland and seems so by some internal evidence. If so, it must have been composed no earlier than about 985, since there were no Scandinavians in Greenland until that time. More certain than such circumstantial evidence are linguistic dating criteria. These can be arrived at by looking at Skaldic poems whose dates are more firmly known. For instance

1403-549: The "Dvergatal" or "Roster of Dwarfs", is considered by some scholars to be an interpolation . The problem of dating the poems is linked with the problem of determining where they were composed. Iceland was not settled until approximately 870, so anything composed before that time would necessarily have been elsewhere, most likely in Scandinavia . More recent poems, on the other hand, are likely Icelandic in origin. Scholars have attempted to localize individual poems by studying

1464-456: The 1670s. Some early translators relied on a Latin translation of the Edda , including Cottle . Opinions differ on the best way to translate the text, on the use or rejection of archaic language, and the rendering of terms lacking a clear English analogue. Still, Cottle's 1797 translation is now considered very inaccurate. A comparison of the second and third verses (lines 5–12) of the Vǫluspá

1525-464: The Earth Ymir struck camp when time began. No land, sand or sea folding on itself, no sky, earth or grass swaying atop its girth, only the cavern of chaos's gaping gulf. ( Dodds 2014 ) harv error: no target: CITEREFDodds2014 ( help ) I remember giants born early in time those nurtured me long ago; I remember nine worlds, I remember nine giant women, the mighty Measuring-Tree below

1586-469: The Eddic poems were minstrel poems, passed orally from singer to singer and from poet to poet for centuries. None of the poems are attributed to a particular author, though many of them show strong individual characteristics and are likely to have been the work of individual poets. While scholars have speculated on hypothetical authors, firm and accepted conclusions have never been reached. Accurate dating of

1647-580: The Gothic king Ermanaric to exact vengeance is fateful. Knowing that he is about to die at the hands of the Goths, her son Sörli talks of the cruelty of the norns: Since the norns were beings of ultimate power who were working in the dark, it should be no surprise that they could be referred to in charms, as they are by Sigrdrífa in Sigrdrífumál : In the part of Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda which

1708-575: The Learned , a larger-than-life 12th century Icelandic priest. Modern scholars reject that attribution, but the name Sæmundar Edda is still sometimes associated with both the Codex Regius and versions of the Poetic Edda using it as a source. Bishop Brynjólfur sent the manuscript as a present to the Danish king, hence the Latin name Codex Regius, lit.   ' Royal Book ' . For centuries it

1769-542: The Tree, the glorious Fate Tree   that springs 'neath the Earth. 'Twas the earliest of times   when Ymir lived ; then was sand nor sea   nor cooling wave, nor was Earth found ever,   nor Heaven on high, there was Yawning of Deeps   and nowhere grass : ( Bray 1908 ) harv error: no target: CITEREFBray1908 ( help ) I remember yet   the giants of yore, Who gave me bread   in

1830-434: The Tree. The wonderful Ash, way under the ground When Ymir lived long ago Was no sand or sea, no surging waves. Nowhere was there earth nor heaven above. But a grinning gap and grass nowhere. ( Auden & Taylor 1969 ) harv error: no target: CITEREFAudenTaylor1969 ( help ) I remember giants   of ages past, those who called me   one of their kin; I know how nine roots   form nine worlds under

1891-549: The chronology has been reversed in the poems. Several of the legendary sagas contain poetry in the Eddic style. Their age and importance is often difficult to evaluate but the Hervarar saga , in particular, contains interesting poetic interpolations. The Elder or Poetic Edda has been translated numerous times, the earliest printed edition being that by Cottle 1797 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFCottle1797 ( help ) , though some short sections had been translated as early as

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1952-413: The days gone by ; Nine worlds I knew,   the nine in the tree With mighty roots   beaneath the mold. Of old was the age   when Ymir lived ; Sea nor cool waves   nor sand there were ; Earth had not been,   nor heaven above, But a yawning gap,   and grass nowhere. ( Bellows 1923 ) harv error: no target: CITEREFBellows1923 ( help ) I call to mind

2013-465: The dream begins with this stanza: After having killed both her husband Atli and their sons, Guðrún blames the Norns for her misfortunes, as in Guðrúnarhvöt , where Guðrún talks of trying to escaping the wrath of the norns by trying to kill herself: Guðrúnarhvöt deals with how Guðrún incited her sons to avenge the cruel death of their sister Svanhild . In Hamðismál , her sons' expedition to

2074-486: The earth   where the Ash Tree rises. Nothing was there   when time began, neither sands nor seas   nor cooling waves, Earth was not yet,   nor the high heavens, but a gaping emptiness   nowhere green. ( Terry 1990 ) harv error: no target: CITEREFTerry1990 ( help ) I, born of giants, remember very early those who nurtured me then; I remember nine worlds, I remember nine giant women,

2135-402: The earth. Early in time Ymir made his settlement, there was no sand nor sea nor cool waves; earth was nowhere nor the sky above, a void of yawning chaos, grass was there nowhere ( Larrington 2014 ) harv error: no target: CITEREFLarrington2014 ( help ) I remember the giants born so long ago; in those ancient days they raised me. I remember nine worlds, nine giantesses, and

2196-452: The famed tree of fate down under the earth. It was early in ages when Ymir made his home, there was neither sand nor sea, nor cooling waves; no earth to be found, nor heaven above: a gulf beguiling, nor grass anywhere. ( Orchard 2011 ) harv error: no target: CITEREFOrchard2011 ( help ) I remember being reared by Jotuns, in days long gone. If I look back, I recall nine worlds, nine wood-witches, that renowned tree of fate below

2257-465: The first to the fifth century AD have been proposed as connected with the later Germanic dísir , valkyries , and norns, potentially stemming from them. Theories have been proposed that there is no foundation in Norse mythology for the notion that the three main norns should each be associated exclusively with the past, the present, and the future; rather, all three represent destiny as it is twined with

2318-483: The flow of time. Moreover, theories have been proposed that the idea that there are three main norns may be due to a late influence from Greek and Roman mythology, where there are also spinning fate goddesses ( Moirai and Parcae ). The Norns feature in fiction books such as Oh My Goddess! , The Wicked + The Divine , the Magic Tree House series, and Bernard Cornwell 's The Saxon Stories , in which

2379-589: The former became r- around the year 1000, but in some Eddic poems the word vreiðr , younger form reiðr , is seen to alliterate with words beginning in an original v- . This was observed already by Olaf ‘White Skald’ Thordarson , the author of the Third Grammatical Treatise , who termed this v before r the vindandin forna ; 'the ancient use of vend '. In some cases, old poems may have been interpolated with younger verses or merged with other poems. For example, stanzas 9–16 of Völuspá ,

2440-423: The geography, flora, and fauna to which they refer. This approach usually does not yield firm results. For example, there are no wolves in Iceland, but we can be sure that Icelandic poets were familiar with the species. Similarly, the apocalyptic descriptions of Völuspá have been taken as evidence that the poet who composed it had seen a volcanic eruption in Iceland – but this is hardly certain. The Codex Regius

2501-493: The gods from Jotunheim : Vafþrúðnismál probably refers to the norns when it talks of maiden giants who arrive to protect the people of Earth as protective spirits ( hamingjas ): The Völuspá contains the names of the three main Norns referring to them as maidens like Vafþrúðnismál probably does: The norns visited each newly born child to allot his or her future, and in Helgakviða Hundingsbana I ,

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2562-454: The great central tree, beneath the earth. There was in times of old, where Ymir dwelt, nor sand nor sea, nor gelid waves ; earth existed not, nor heaven above, 'twas a chaotic chasm, and grass nowhere, ( Thorpe 1866 ) harv error: no target: CITEREFThorpe1866 ( help ) I remember the Giants born of yore, who bred me up long ago. I remember nine Worlds, nine Sibyls,

2623-418: The ground. It was early in the ages when Ymir made his dwelling: There was not sand nor sea nor chill waves. Earth was not to be found nor above it heaven: a gulf was there of gaping voids and grass nowhere, ( Dronke 1997 ) harv error: no target: CITEREFDronke1997 ( help ) I recall those giants, born early on, who long ago brought me up; nine worlds I recall, nine wood-dwelling witches,

2684-460: The hero Helgi Hundingsbane has just been born and norns arrive at the homestead: In Helgakviða Hundingsbana II , Helgi Hundingsbane blames the norns for the fact that he had to kill Sigrún's father Högni and brother Bragi in order to wed her: As Snorri Sturluson stated in Gylfaginning , people's fate depended on the benevolence or the malevolence of particular norns. In Reginsmál ,

2745-502: The kin of etins which long ago did give me life. Nine worlds I know, the nine abodes of the glorious world-tree the ground beneath. In earliest times did Ymir live: was nor sea nor land nor salty waves, neither earth was there nor upper heaven, but a gaping nothing, and green things nowhere. ( Hollander 1962 ) harv error: no target: CITEREFHollander1962 ( help ) I tell of Giants from times forgotten. Those who fed me in former days: Nine worlds I can reckon, nine roots of

2806-461: The mighty Measuring-Tree below the earth. Young were the years when Ymir made his settlement, there was no sand nor sea nor cool waves; earth was nowhere nor the sky above, chaos yawned, grass was there nowhere. ( Larrington 1996 ) harv error: no target: CITEREFLarrington1996 ( help ) I remember giants born early in time, who long ago had reared me Nine worlds I remember, nine wood-ogresses, glorious tree of good measure, under

2867-620: The norns appears in Hvini's poem in Ynglingatal 24 found in Ynglingasaga 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. Along with being associated with being bringers of death, Bek-Pedersen suggests that this phrase brings in

2928-505: The particle of , corresponding to ga- or ge- in other old Germanic languages, has been shown to occur more frequently in Skaldic poems of earlier date. Applying this criterion to Eddic poetry, Bjarne Fidjestøl found large variation, indicating that some of the poems were much older than others. Other dating criteria include the use of the negative adverb eigi 'not', and alliteration of vr- with v- . In western dialects of Old Norse

2989-483: The past tense ('that which became or happened'), Verðandi derives from the present tense of verða ('that which is happening'). Skuld is derived from the Old Norse verb skulu , "need/ought to be/shall be"; its meaning is "that which should become, or that needs to occur". 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

3050-632: The poems are also quoted in Snorri 's Prose Edda , but usually only in bits and pieces. What poems are included in an edition of the Poetic Edda depends on the editor. Those not found in the Codex Regius are sometimes called the "eddic appendix". Other Eddic-like poems not usually published in the Poetic Edda are sometimes called Eddica minora and were compiled by Andreas Heusler and Wilhelm Ranisch in their 1903 book titled Eddica minora: Dichtungen eddischer Art aus den Fornaldarsögur und anderen Prosawerken . English translators are not consistent on

3111-491: The poems has long been a source of scholarly debate. Firm conclusions are difficult to reach; lines from the Eddic poems sometimes appear in poems by known poets. For example, Eyvindr skáldaspillir composed in the latter half of the 10th century, and he uses a couple of lines in his Hákonarmál that are also found in Hávamál . It is possible that he was quoting a known poem, but it is also possible that Hávamál , or at least

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3172-509: The protagonist Uhtred refers to them as the "Three Spinners" who control his fate. In Philip K. Dick 's Galactic Pot-Healer they keep the book in which the future is already written, while in Neil Gaiman's novel American Gods , they are shown as three women who make prophecies. The Norns feature in video games such as God of War Ragnarök (2022), in which Kratos, Freya, and Mimir's head traveled to them in order to know what Atreus

3233-415: The reader that the youngest norn, Skuld, is in effect also a valkyrie , taking part in the selection of warriors from the slain: Some of the legendary sagas also contain references to the norns. The Hervarar saga contains a poem named Hlöðskviða , where the Gothic king Angantýr defeats a Hunnish invasion led by his Hunnish half-brother Hlöðr . Knowing that his sister, the shieldmaiden Hervör ,

3294-406: The tending to Yggdrasill, Old Norse sources attest to Norns who visit a newborn child in order to determine the person's future. These Norns could be malevolent or benevolent, bringing tragic or beneficial events respectively. The origin of the name norn is uncertain; it may derive from a word meaning 'to twine', which would refer to their twining the thread of fate. Bek-Pedersen suggests that

3355-597: The translations of the names of the Eddic poems or on how the Old Norse forms should be rendered in English. Up to three translated titles are given below, taken from the translations of Bellows , Hollander , and Larrington with proper names in the normalized English forms found in John Lindow 's Norse Mythology and in Andy Orchard's Cassell's Dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend . After the mythological poems,

3416-521: The various names used for women: There are a number of surviving Old Norse sources that relate to the norns. The most important sources are the Prose Edda and the Poetic Edda . The latter contains pagan poetry where the norns are frequently referred to, while the former contains, in addition to pagan poetry, retellings, descriptions and commentaries by the 12th and 13th century Icelandic chieftain and scholar Snorri Sturluson . A skaldic reference to

3477-464: The water dwelling dwarf Andvari blames his plight on an evil norn, presumably one of the daughters of Dvalin: Another instance of Norns being blamed for an undesirable situation appears in Sigurðarkviða hin skamma , where the valkyrie Brynhild blames malevolent norns for her long yearning for the embrace of Sigurd : Brynhild's solution was to have Gunnarr and his brothers, the lords of

3538-455: The well Urðarbrunnr beneath the world ash tree Yggdrasil of Asgard . They spin threads of life, cut marks in the pole figures and measure people's destinies, which shows the fate of all human beings and gods. Norns are always present when a child is born and decide its fate. The three Norns represent the past (Urðr), future (Skuld) and present (Verðandi). Urðr is commonly written as Urd or Urth . In some English translations, her name

3599-489: The word norn has relation to the Swedish dialect word norna ( 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. The name Urðr ( Old English : Wyrd , 'weird') means 'fate'. Wyrd and urðr are etymological cognates ,

3660-401: Was another Edda, an Elder Edda , which contained the pagan poems that Snorri quotes in his Prose Edda . When Codex Regius was discovered, it seemed that the speculation had proved correct, but modern scholarly research has shown that the Prose Edda was likely written first and that the two were, at most, connected by a common source. Brynjólfur attributed the manuscript to Sæmundr

3721-645: Was stored in the Royal Library in Copenhagen , but in 1971 it was returned to Iceland. Because air travel at the time was not entirely trustworthy with such precious cargo, it was transported by ship, accompanied by a naval escort. Poems similar to those found in the Codex Regius are also included in many editions of the Poetic Edda . Important manuscripts containing these other poems include AM 748 I 4to , Hauksbók , and Flateyjarbók . Many of

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