View source for Norns

{{short description|Group of deities in Norse mythology}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Cleanup rewrite|date=March 2015}}
[[File:Nornorna vid Urdarbrunnen.jpg|thumb|right|The Norns spin the threads of [[Destiny|fate]] at the foot of [[Yggdrasil]], the tree of the world. Beneath them is the well [[Urðarbrunnr]] with the two swans that have engendered all the swans in the world.]]
[[File:Die Nornen (1889) by Johannes Gehrts.jpg|thumb|right|''The Norns'' (1889) by [[Johannes Gehrts]]]]
The '''Norns''' ({{langx|non|norn}} {{IPA|non|ˈnorn|}}, plural: {{lang|non|nornir}} {{IPA|non|ˈnornɪr|}}) are a group of deities in [[Norse mythology]] responsible for [[Fates|shaping the course of human destinies]].<ref name="nordiskdis">''[[Nordisk familjebok]]'' (1907)</ref>
The Norns are often represented as three goddesses known as [[Urðr]], [[Verðandi]], and [[Skuld]], who weave the threads of fate and tend to the world tree, [[Yggdrasil]], ensuring it stays alive at the center of the cosmos.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Components of The Dinner Party |url=https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/collection/dinner-party-components |access-date=2025-04-04 |website=Brooklyn Museum |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="nordisk">The article ''[https://runeberg.org/nfbs/0792.html Nornor]'' in ''[[Nordisk familjebok]]'' (1913).</ref>

==Etymology==
The origin of the name {{lang|non|norn}} is uncertain; it may derive from a word meaning 'to twine', which would refer to their twining the thread of fate.<ref name="nordisk"/> Bek-Pedersen suggests that the word {{lang|non|norn}} has relation to the [[Swedish language|Swedish]] dialect word {{lang|sv|norna}} ({{lang|sv|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.<ref>{{cite book|last=Bek-Pedersen|first=Karen|title=Norns in Old Norse Mythology|year=2011|publisher=Dunedin Academic Press|location=Edinburgh, Scotland|isbn=978-1-906716-18-9|page=191}}</ref>

The name {{lang|non|[[Urðr]]}} ([[Old English]]: {{lang|ang|[[Wyrd]]}}, 'weird') means 'fate'. {{lang|ang|[[Wyrd]]}} and {{lang|non|[[urðr]]}} are etymological [[cognate]]s, a situation that does not mean necessarily that {{lang|ang|[[wyrd]]}} and {{lang|non|[[urðr]]}} share the same semantic quality of "fate" over time.<ref>{{cite book|last=Bek-Pedersen|first=Karen|title=Norns in Old Norse Mythology|year=2011|publisher=Dunedin Academic Press|location=Edinburgh, Scotland|isbn=978-1-906716-18-9|page=169}}</ref>  Both {{lang|non|Urðr}} and {{lang|non|[[Verðandi]]}} are derived from the Old Norse verb {{lang|non|verða}}, 'to become',<ref name="Swedish Etymological dictionary">{{cite web|url=https://runeberg.org/svetym/ |title=Swedish Etymological dictionary |publisher=Runeberg.org |access-date=2012-12-30}}</ref> which itself derives from [[Proto-Germanic]] ''*wurdiz'', from [[Proto-Indo-European]] ''*wrti-'', which is a verbal abstract from the root ''*wert-'' ("to turn")<ref>{{cite web| url = https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/wyrd| title = wyrd - Wiktionary| date = 7 January 2022}}</ref> Often, it is asserted that while {{lang|non|Urðr}} derives from the past tense ('that which became or happened'), {{lang|non|Verðandi}} derives from the present tense of {{lang|non|verða}} ('that which is happening'). {{lang|non|[[Skuld]]}} is derived from the Old Norse verb {{lang|non|skulu}}, "need/ought to be/shall be";<ref name="nordisk"/><ref name="Online Etymology Dictionary">{{cite web|url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=shall |title=Etymonline.com |publisher=Etymonline.com |access-date=2012-12-30}}</ref> its meaning is "that which should become, or that needs to occur".<ref name="Swedish Etymological dictionary"/> 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.<ref name="nordisk"/> 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.<ref>Bek-Pedersen, Karen. 2011. The Norns: Representatives of Fate in Old Norse Tradition. In: Monaghan, Patricia. Goddesses in World Culture. V.2 P.271.</ref>

==Relation to other Germanic female deities==
{{See also|Female spirits in Germanic paganism}}
[[File:Berlin Neues Museum vaterlaendischer Saal Nornen restored.jpg|thumb|Fresco of the Norns in [[Neues Museum]], [[Berlin]]]]
There is no clear distinction between norns, [[fylgja]]s, [[hamingja]]s, and [[valkyrie]]s, 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 the various names used for women:
:Woman is also metaphorically called by the names of the [[Asynjur]] or the [[Valkyrs]] or Norns or women of supernatural kind.<ref name="skaldsk">''[[Skáldskaparmál]]'' in translation by [[Arthur Gilchrist Brodeur]] (1916), [https://books.google.com/books?id=_T1cAAAAMAAJ&q=Woman+is+also+metaphorically+called+by+the+names+of+the+Asynjur&pg=PA268 at Google Books].</ref>

==Attestations==
[[File:Mímer and Balder Consulting the Norns (1821-1822) by H. E. Freund.jpg|thumb|''[[Mímir|Mímer]] and [[Baldr|Balder]] Consulting the Norns'' (1821–1822) by [[H. E. Freund]]]]
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 pagan poetry as well as retellings, descriptions and commentaries by the 12th and 13th century Icelandic chieftain and scholar [[Snorri Sturluson]].

===Skaldic poetry===
A skaldic reference to 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.<ref name="Bek-Pedersen 2011 18–19">{{cite book|last=Bek-Pedersen|first=Karen|title=The Norns in Old Norse Mythology|year=2011|publisher=Dunedin Academic Press|location=Edinburgh, Scotland|isbn=978-1-906716-18-9|pages=18–19}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite book|last=Bek-Pedersen|first=Karen|title=The Norns in Old Norse Mythology|year=2011|publisher=Dunedin Academic Press|location=Edinburgh, Scotland|isbn=978-1-906716-18-9|pages=22–23}}</ref>

{|
|
:Ok til Þings
:Þriðja jǫfri
:Hvedðrungs mær
:ór heimi bauð
:pás Halfdan,
:sás Holtum bjó,
:norna dóms
:of notit hafði.
:Ok buðlung
:á Borrói
:sigrhafendr
:síðan fólu.<ref>{{cite book|last=Bek-Pedersen|first=Karen|title=The Norns in Old Norse Mythology|year=2011|publisher=Dunedin Academic Press|location=Edinburgh, Scotland|isbn=978-1-906716-18-9|page=18}}</ref>
|
:And to a meeting
:Hveðrungr's maid
:called the third king
:from the world,
:at the time when Halfdan,
:he who lived at Holt,
:had embraced
:the judgment of the nornir;
:and at Borró
:the victorious men
:later did hide
:the king.<ref name="Bek-Pedersen 2011 18–19"/>
|
|}

===Poetic Edda===
The [[Poetic Edda]] is valuable in representing older material in poetry from which Snorri Sturluson tapped information in the ''[[Prose Edda]]''. Like ''Gylfaginning'', 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 [[Jötunn|Jotun]]s).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/poe/poe03.htm |title=See commentary by Bellows |publisher=Sacred-texts.com |access-date=2012-12-30}}</ref>

''[[Fáfnismál]]'' contains a discussion between the hero [[Sigurd]] and the dragon [[Fafnir]] 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:

{|
|
:Sigurðr kvað:
:12. "Segðu mér, Fáfnir,
:alls þik fróðan kveða
:ok vel margt vita,
:hverjar ro þær nornir,
:er nauðgönglar ro
:ok kjósa mæðr frá mögum."
:-
:Fáfnir kvað:
:13. "Sundrbornar mjök
:segi ek nornir vera,
:eigu-t þær ætt saman;
:sumar eru áskunngar,
:sumar alfkunngar,
:sumar dætr Dvalins."<ref name="norfaf">[http://wayback.vefsafn.is/wayback/20070508153633/http://www.heimskringla.no/original/edda/fafnismal.php ''Fáfnismál''] Guðni Jónsson's edition of the text with normalized spelling.</ref>
|
:''Sigurth spake'':
:12. "Tell me then, Fafnir,
:for wise thou art famed,
:And much thou knowest now:
:Who are the Norns
:who are helpful in need,
:And the babe from the mother bring?"
:-
:''Fafnir spake'':
:13. "Of many births
:the Norns must be,
:Nor one in race they were;
:Some to gods, others
:to elves are kin,
:And Dvalin's daughters some."<ref>[http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/poe/poe24.htm ''Fafnismol''] in translation by [[Henry Adams Bellows (businessman)|Henry Adams Bellows]] (1936), at Sacred Texts.</ref>
|
|}

It appears from ''[[Völuspá]]'' and ''[[Vafþrúðnismál]]'' that the three main norns were not originally goddesses but giants ([[Jötunn|Jotun]]s), 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 from [[Jotunheim]]:
[[File:Nornsweaving.jpg|thumb|''The Norns'' <br> [[Arthur Rackham]]]]
{|
|
:8. Tefldu í túni,
:teitir váru,
:var þeim vettergis
:vant ór gulli,
:uns þrjár kvámu
:þursa meyjar
:ámáttkar mjök
:ór Jötunheimum.<ref name="norvölu">[http://wayback.vefsafn.is/wayback/20070508150416/http://www.heimskringla.no/original/edda/voluspa.php ''Völuspá''] Guðni Jónsson's edition of the text with normalized spelling.</ref>
|
:8. In their dwellings at peace
:they played at [[tafl|tables]],
:Of gold no lack
:did the gods then know,--
:Till thither came
:up giant-maids three,
:Huge of might,
:out of Jotunheim.<ref>[http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/poe/poe03.htm ''Völuspá''] in translation by [[Henry Adams Bellows (businessman)|Henry Adams Bellows]] (1936), at Sacred Texts.</ref>
|
|}

''[[Vafþrúðnismál]]'' probably refers to the norns when it talks of maiden giants who arrive to protect the people of Earth as protective spirits ([[hamingja]]s):<ref name="nordisk"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/poe/poe05.htm |title=See also Bellows' commentary |publisher=Sacred-texts.com |access-date=2012-12-30}}</ref>

{|
|
:49. "Þríar þjóðár
:falla þorp yfir
:meyja Mögþrasis;
:hamingjur einar
:þær er í heimi eru,
:þó þær með jötnum alask."<ref>[http://wayback.vefsafn.is/wayback/20070508210238/http://www.heimskringla.no/original/edda/vafthrudnesmal.php ''Vafþrúðnismál''] Guðni Jónsson's edition of the text with normalized spelling.</ref>
|
:49. O'er people's dwellings
:three descend
:of Mögthrasir's maidens,
:the sole [[Hamingja|Hamingiur]]
:who are in the world,
:although with Jötuns nurtured.<ref name="Vaft">''The lay of Vafthrúdnir'' in translation by [[Benjamin Thorpe]] (1866), [https://books.google.com/books?id=s_kqAAAAMAAJ&q=the+sole+Hamingiur at Google Books].</ref>
|
|}

The ''[[Völuspá]]'' contains the names of the three main Norns referring to them as maidens like ''Vafþrúðnismál'' probably does:

{|
|
:20. Þaðan koma meyjar
:margs vitandi
:þrjár ór þeim sæ,
:er und þolli stendr;
:Urð hétu eina,
:aðra Verðandi,
:- skáru á skíði, -
:Skuld ina þriðju;
:þær lög lögðu,
:þær líf kuru
:alda börnum,
:örlög seggja.<ref name="norvölu"/>
|
:20. Thence come the maidens
:mighty in wisdom,
:Three from the dwelling
:down 'neath the tree;
:Urth is one named,
:Verthandi the next,--
:[[runes|On the wood they scored]],--
:and Skuld the third.
:Laws they made there,
:and life allotted
:To the sons of men,
:and set their fates.<ref>[http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu//poe/poe03.htm ''Lays of the gods''] in translation by [[Henry Adams Bellows (businessman)|Henry Adams Bellows]] (1936), at Sacred Texts.</ref>
|
|}

====''Helgakviða Hundingsbana I''====
[[File:Norns1.jpg|thumb|''The Norns'' <br> [[Arthur Rackham]]]]
[[File:Die Nornen Urd, Werdanda, Skuld, unter der Welteiche Yggdrasil by Ludwig Burger.jpg|thumb|''The Norns Urðr, Verðandi, and Skuld under the world oak Yggdrasil'' (1882) by [[Ludwig Burger]]]]
The norns visited each newly born child to allot his or her future, and in ''[[Helgakviða Hundingsbana I]]'', the hero [[Helgi Hundingsbane]] has just been born and norns arrive at the homestead:

{|
|
:2. Nótt varð í bæ,
:nornir kómu,
:þær er öðlingi
:aldr of skópu;
:þann báðu fylki
:frægstan verða
:ok buðlunga
:beztan þykkja.
:-
:3. Sneru þær af afli
:örlögþáttu,
:þá er borgir braut
:í Bráluni;
:þær of greiddu
:gullin símu
:ok und mánasal
:miðjan festu.
:-
:4. Þær austr ok vestr
:enda fálu,
:þar átti lofðungr
:land á milli;
:brá nift Nera
:á norðrvega
:einni festi,
:ey bað hon halda.<ref>[http://wayback.vefsafn.is/wayback/20070508154158/http://www.heimskringla.no/original/edda/helgakvidahundingsbanaa.php ''Helgakviða Hundingsbana I''] Guðni Jónsson's edition of the text with normalized spelling.</ref>
|
:2. 'Twas night in the dwelling,
:and Norns there came,
:Who shaped the life
:of the lofty one;
:They bade him most famed
:of fighters all
:And best of princes
:ever to be.
:-
:3. Mightily wove they
:the web of fate,
:While Bralund's towns
:were trembling all;
:And there the golden
:threads they wove,
:And in the moon's hall
:fast they made them.
:-
:4. East and west
:the ends they hid,
:In the middle the hero
:should have his land;
:And Neri's kinswoman
:northward cast
:A chain, and bade it
:firm ever to be.<ref>[http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/poe/poe19.htm ''The First Lay of Helgi Hundingsbane''] in translation by [[Henry Adams Bellows (businessman)|Henry Adams Bellows]] (1936), at Sacred Texts.</ref>
|
|}

====''Helgakviða Hundingsbana II''====
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:
{|
|
:26 "Er-at þér at öllu,
:alvitr, gefit,
:- þó kveð ek nökkvi
:nornir valda -:
:fellu í morgun
:at Frekasteini
:Bragi ok Högni,
:varð ek bani þeira.<ref>[http://www.heimskringla.no/original/edda/helgakvidahundingsbanab.php ''Völsungakviða in forna''] {{webarchive|url=http://wayback.vefsafn.is/wayback/20070508145336/http://www.heimskringla.no/original/edda/helgakvidahundingsbanab.php |date=2007-05-08 }} Guðni Jónsson's edition of the text with normalized spelling.</ref>
|
:"Maid, not fair
:is all thy fortune,
:The Norris<ref name="fel">Typographical error for ''Norns'', cf. the text in Old Norse.</ref> I blame
:that this should be;
:This morn there fell
:at Frekastein
:Bragi and Hogni
:beneath my hand.<ref>[http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/poe/poe20.htm ''The Second Lay of Helgi Hundingsbane''] in translation by [[Henry Adams Bellows (businessman)|Henry Adams Bellows]] (1936), at Sacred Texts.</ref>
|
|}
[[File:Norns4.jpg|thumb|''The Norns'' <br>[[Arthur Rackham]]]]

====''Reginsmál''====
As Snorri Sturluson stated in ''Gylfaginning'', one's fate depended on the Norn's good or bad will. In ''[[Reginsmál]]'', the water dwelling dwarf [[Andvari]] blames his plight on an evil norn, presumably one of the daughters of Dvalin:

{|
|
:2. "Andvari ek heiti,
:Óinn hét minn faðir,
:margan hef ek fors of farit;
:aumlig norn
:skóp oss í árdaga,
:at ek skylda í vatni vaða."<ref>[http://wayback.vefsafn.is/wayback/20070508161410/http://www.heimskringla.no/original/edda/reginsmal.php ''Reginsmál''] Guðni Jónsson's edition of the text with normalized spelling.</ref>
|
:2. "Andvari am I,
:and Oin my father,
:In many a fall have I fared;
:An evil Norn
:in olden days
:Doomed me In waters to dwell."<ref>[http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/poe/poe23.htm ''The Ballad of Regin''] in translation by [[Henry Adams Bellows (businessman)|Henry Adams Bellows]] (1936), at Sacred Texts.</ref>
|
|}

====''Sigurðarkviða hin skamma''====
Another account blaming the Norns for misfortune occurs in  ''[[Sigurðarkviða hin skamma]]'', where the [[valkyrie]] [[Brynhild]] blames malevolent Norns for her yearning for the embrace of [[Sigurd]]:
{|
|
:7. Orð mæltak nú,
:iðrumk eftir þess:
:kván er hans Guðrún,
:en ek Gunnars;
:ljótar nornir
:skópu oss langa þrá."<ref>[http://wayback.vefsafn.is/wayback/20070509015738/http://www.heimskringla.no/original/edda/sigurdarkvidainskamma.php ''Sigurðarkviða in skamma''] Guðni Jónsson's edition of the text with normalized spelling.</ref>
|
:7. "The word I have spoken;
:soon shall I rue it,
:His wife is [[Gudrun|Guthrun]],
:and [[Gunther|Gunnar]]'s am I;
:Ill Norns set for me
:long desire."<ref>[http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/poe/poe28.htm ''The Short Lay of Sigurth''] in translation by [[Henry Adams Bellows (businessman)|Henry Adams Bellows]] (1936), at Sacred Texts.</ref>
|
|}

====''Guðrúnarkviða II''====
[[File:Norns (1832) from Die Helden und Götter des Nordens, oder Das Buch der sagen.jpg|thumb|'''Norns''' in ''Die Helden Und Götter Des Nordens, Oder: Das Buch Der Sagen'' by [[Amalia Schoppe]], (1832)]]

In ''[[Guðrúnarkviða 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 the [[Burgundians]], kill Sigurd and afterwards to commit suicide in order to join Sigurd in the afterlife. Her brother [[Völsunga saga|Atli]] ([[Attila the Hun]]) avenged her death by killing the lords of the Burgundians, but since he was married to their sister [[Gudrun|Guðrún]], Atli would soon be killed by her.  The description of the dream begins with this stanza:
{|
|
:"Svá mik nýliga
:nornir vekja," -
:vílsinnis spá
:vildi, at ek réða, -
:"hugða ek þik, Guðrún
:Gjúka dóttir,
:læblöndnum hjör
:leggja mik í gögnum."<ref name="heimskringla">{{cite web| url = http://www.heimskringla.no/original/edda/gudrunarkvidainforna.php| archive-url = http://wayback.vefsafn.is/wayback/20070508145957/http://www.heimskringla.no/original/edda/gudrunarkvidainforna.php| url-status = dead| archive-date = 2007-05-08| title = ''Guðrúnarkviða in forna'' at "Norrøne Tekster og Kvad", Norway.}}</ref>
|
:39. "Now from sleep
:the Norns have waked me
:With visions of terror,--
:To thee will I tell them;
:Methought thou, Guthrun,
:Gjuki's daughter,
:With poisoned blade
:didst pierce my body."<ref name="Bellows">{{cite web|url=http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/poe/poe31.htm |title=Bellows' translation |publisher=Sacred-texts.com |access-date=2012-12-30}}</ref>
|
|}

====''Guðrúnarhvöt''====
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:

{|
|
:13. Gekk ek til strandar,
:gröm vark nornum,
:vilda ek hrinda
:stríð grið þeira;
:hófu mik, né drekkðu,
:hávar bárur,
:því ek land of sték,
:at lifa skyldak.<ref>[http://wayback.vefsafn.is/wayback/20070508210243/http://www.heimskringla.no/original/edda/gudrunarhvot.php ''Guðrúnarhvöt''] Guðni Jónsson's edition of the text with normalized spelling.</ref>
|
:13. "To the sea I went,
:my heart full sore
:For the Norns, whose wrath
:I would now escape;
:But the lofty billows
:bore me undrowned,
:Till to land I came,
:so I longer must live.<ref>[http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/poe/poe36.htm ''Guthrun's Inciting''] in translation by [[Henry Adams Bellows (businessman)|Henry Adams Bellows]] (1936), at Sacred Texts.</ref>
|
|}

====''Hamðismál''====
[[File:St Stephens Green german Gift.JPG|thumb|A statue of the Norns at [[St Stephen's Green]], ''The Tree Faites'', donated by the German government in thanks for [[Operation Shamrock]]]]

''Guðrúnarhvöt'' deals with how Guðrún incited her sons to avenge the cruel death of their sister [[Svanhildr|Svanhild]]. In ''[[Hamðismál]]'', her sons' expedition to the Gothic King [[Ermanaric]] 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:

{|
|
:29. "Ekki hygg ek okkr
:vera ulfa dæmi,
:at vit mynim sjalfir of sakask
:sem grey norna,
:þá er gráðug eru
:í auðn of alin.
:-
:30. Vel höfum vit vegit,
:stöndum á val Gotna,
:ofan eggmóðum,
:sem ernir á kvisti;
:góðs höfum tírar fengit,
:þótt skylim nú eða í gær deyja;
:kveld lifir maðr ekki
:eftir kvið norna."
:-
:31. Þar fell Sörli
:at salar gafli,
:enn Hamðir hné
:at húsbaki.<ref>[http://wayback.vefsafn.is/wayback/20070508210400/http://www.heimskringla.no/original/edda/hamdismal.php ''Hamðismál''] Guðni Jónsson's edition of the text with normalized spelling.</ref>
|
:29. "In fashion of wolves
:it befits us not
:Amongst ourselves to strive,
:Like the hounds of the Norns,
:that nourished were
:In greed mid wastes so grim.
:-
:30. "We have greatly fought,
:o'er the Goths do we stand
:By our blades laid low,
:like eagles on branches;
:Great our fame though we die
:today or tomorrow;
:None outlives the night
:when the Norris<ref name="fel"/> have spoken."
:-
:31. Then Sorli beside
:the gable sank,
:And Hamther fell
:at the back of the house.<ref>[http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/poe/poe37.htm ''The Ballad of Hamther''] in translation by [[Henry Adams Bellows (businessman)|Henry Adams Bellows]] (1936), at Sacred Texts.</ref>
|
|}

====''Sigrdrífumál''====
[[File:Norns3by CEBrock.jpg|thumb|''The Norns'' <br>[[C. E. Brock]]]]
The Norns were known as beings of ultimate power who worked in the dark and were often referred to in charms, as they are by [[Sigrdrífa]] in ''[[Sigrdrífumál]]'':

{|
|
:17. Á gleri ok á gulli
:ok á gumna heillum,
:í víni ok í virtri
:ok vilisessi,
:á Gugnis oddi
:ok á Grana brjósti,
:á nornar nagli
:ok á nefi uglu.<ref>[http://wayback.vefsafn.is/wayback/20070508175656/http://www.heimskringla.no/original/edda/sigrdrifumal.php ''Sigrdrífumál''] Guðni Jónsson's edition of the text with normalized spelling.</ref>
|
:17. On glass and on gold,
:and on goodly charms,
:In wine and in beer,
:and on well-loved seats,
:On [[Gungnir]]'s point,
:and on [[Grani]]'s breast,
:On the nails of Norns,
:and the night-owl's beak.<ref>[http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/poe/poe25.htm ''The Ballad of The Victory-Bringer''] in translation by [[Henry Adams Bellows (businessman)|Henry Adams Bellows]] (1936), at Sacred Texts.</ref>
|
|}

===''Prose Edda''===
In the part of Snorri Sturluson's ''[[Prose Edda]]'' which is called ''[[Gylfaginning]]'', [[Gylfi]], the [[king of Sweden]], has arrived at [[Valhalla]] calling himself [[Gylfi|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 primary Norns, but also many others of various races, [[æsir]], elves and dwarves:

::A hall stands there, fair, under the [[Yggdrasil|ash]] 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 the [[Elf]]-people, and the third are of the kindred of the [[Norse dwarves|dwarves]], as it is said here:

:::Most sundered in birth
:::I say the Norns are;
:::They claim no common kin:
:::Some are of Æsir-kin,
:::some are of Elf-kind,
:::Some are [[Dvalinn]]'s daughters.

::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."<ref name="Gylfi">[http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/pre/pre04.htm ''Gylfaginning''] in translation by Arthur Gilchrist Brodeur (1916), at Sacred Texts.</ref>

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."<ref name="Gylfi"/>
[[File:Faroe stamp 431 The Norns and the Tree.jpg|thumb|...''and the youngest Norn, she who is called Skuld, ride[s] ever to take the slain and decide fights.'' Faroese stamp by [[Anker Eli Petersen]] depicting the Norns (2003).]]
Snorri Sturluson furthermore informs the reader that the Norn of present, Skuld, is also a [[valkyrie]], 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. [[Gunnr|Gudr]] and [[Róta]] and the youngest Norn, she who is called Skuld, ride ever to take the slain and decide fights.<ref name="Gylfi"/>

===Legendary sagas===
Some of the [[legendary saga]]s 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 [[Hlöd|Hlöðr]]. Knowing that his sister, the [[shieldmaiden]] [[Hervör]], is one of the casualties, Angantýr looks at his dead brother and laments the cruelty of the Norns:
{|
|
:32. Bölvat er okkr, bróðir,
:bani em ek þinn orðinn;
:þat mun æ uppi;
:illr er dómr norna."<ref>[http://www.heimskringla.no/original/edda/hlodskvida.php ''Hlöðskviða''] {{webarchive|url=http://wayback.vefsafn.is/wayback/20070508161641/http%3A//www.heimskringla.no/original/edda/hlodskvida.php |date=2007-05-08 }} Guðni Jónsson's edition of the text with normalized spelling.</ref>
|
:"We are cursed, kinsman,
:your killer am I!
:It will never be forgotten;
:the Norns' doom is evil."<ref>''The Saga of King Heidrek the Wise'' in translation by [[Christopher Tolkien]] (1960) verse 104, p. 58, [http://vsnrweb-publications.org.uk/The%20Saga%20Of%20King%20Heidrek%20The%20Wise.pdf pdf p. 153].</ref>
|
|}

In younger legendary sagas, such as ''[[Norna-Gests þáttr]]'' and ''[[Hrólfs saga kraka]]'', the Norns appear to have been synonymous with [[völva]]s (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 a synonym of ''vala'' (völva).

One of the last legendary sagas to be written down, the ''Hrólfs saga kraka'' references the Norns as evil witches. When the malevolent [[half-elf|half-elven]] princess [[Skuld (princess)|Skuld]] assembles her army to attack [[Hrólfr Kraki]], it contains in addition to undead warriors, [[Elf|elves]] and Norns.
[[File:Nornir by Lund.jpg|thumb|This romantic representation of the norns depicts one of them ([[Verdandi]] according to the runes below) with wings, contrary to folklore.]]

===Runic inscription N 351 M===
[[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 the [[Christianisation of Scandinavia]], reading:
:Þórir carved these runes on the eve of [[Olaf II of Norway|Olaus]]-mass, when he travelled past here. The norns did both good and evil, great toil ... they created for me.<ref>Translation of rune inscription N 351 M provided by [[Rundata]].</ref>

==See also==
* [[Deities and fairies of fate in Slavic mythology]]
* [[Fates]]
* [[Laima]]
* [[Matrones]]
* [[Moirai]]
* [[Parcae]]
* [[Valkyries]]
* [[Weird Sisters]], witches in Shakespeare's ''Macbeth''

== Citations ==
{{reflist}}

== General and cited references ==
{{refbegin}}
* {{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Norns}}
* Bek-Pedersen, Karen (2011). ''The Norns in Old Norse Mythology''. [[Dunedin Academic Press]]. {{ISBN|978-1-906716-18-9}}.
* ''The Elder Edda: A Book of Viking Lore''.(2011). translated by Andy Orchard. [[Penguin Classics]]. {{ISBN|978-0-140-43585-6}}.
* [[John Lindow|Lindow, John]] (2001). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=KlT7tv3eMSwC Norse Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs]''. [[Oxford University Press]]. {{ISBN|0-19-515382-0}}.
* Lionarons, Joyce Tally (2005). "Dísir, Valkyries, Völur, and Norns: The Weise Frauen of the Deutsche Mythologie," in ''The Shadow Walkers: Jacob Grimm's Mythology of the Monstrous''. ed. Tom Shippey. [[Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies]]. {{ISBN|9780866983341}}
* [[Rudolf Simek|Simek, Rudolf]] (2007), translated by Angela Hall. ''Dictionary of Northern Mythology''. [[Boydell & Brewer|D.S. Brewer]]. {{ISBN|0-85991-513-1}}.
* [[Sturluson, Snorri]] (1995), translated by Anthony Faulkes. ''Edda''. [[J.M. Dent]]. {{ISBN|978-0-4608-7616-2}}.
{{refend}}

==External links==
*{{Commons category-inline}}

{{Death in Germanic mythology}}
{{Norse mythology}}
{{Time in religion and mythology}}
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[[Category:Norse underworld]]
[[Category:Norns| ]]
[[Category:Gýgjar]]
[[Category:Textiles in folklore]]
[[Category:Time and fate goddesses]]
[[Category:Triple goddesses]]