The norns (Old Norse: norn, plural: nornir) are a kind of dísir,[1] numerous female beings who rule the fates of the various races of Norse mythology (see: The Fates). Old Norse is the North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age In Norse mythology, the dísir ("ladies" are fate goddesses who can be both benevolent and antagonistic towards mortal people and they include the Norns Norse mythology comprises the indigenous pre-Christian religion, beliefs and Legends of the Scandinavian peoples including those who settled on Iceland An English tradition talks of the Weird Sisters, (sometimes Wyrd Sisters or Three Weird Sisters), where Wyrd is the English form of Urðr, one of the named norns, whose name means itself "fate".
According to Snorri Sturluson's interpretation of the Völuspá, the three most important norns, Urðr (Wyrd), Verðandi and Skuld come out from a hall standing at the Well of Urðr (well of fate) and they draw water from the well and take sand that lies around it, which they pour over the ash Yggdrasill so that its branches will not rot. Snorri Sturluson (1178 – September 23, 1241) was an Icelandic historian poet and politician Völuspá ( Prophecy of the Völva) is the first and best known poem of the Poetic Edda. Wyrd is a concept in Old English and Old Norse culture roughly corresponding to fate or Karma. Skuld (possibly "debt" or "future" is a Norn in Norse mythology. Wyrd is a concept in Old English and Old Norse culture roughly corresponding to fate or Karma. In Norse mythology, Yggdrasil ( Old Norse Yggdrasill, ˈyɡˌdrasilː the extra -l is a Nominative case marker is the World [2] These norns are described as three powerful maiden giantesses (Jotuns) whose arrival from Jötunheimr ended the golden age of the gods. A jötunn, sometimes anglicized as jotun (pronounced yotun is a giant in Norse mythology, a member of a race of nature spirits with superhuman strength Jötunheimr (often anglicized Jotunheim) is the world ( Heim 'home homeland' of the Jötunn (two types rock (or hill giants and frost (or [2] They may be the same as the maidens of Mögþrasir who are described in Vafþrúðnismál (see below). In Norse mythology, Vafþrúðnismál ( Vafþrúðnir 's sayings) is the third poem in the Poetic Edda. [2] Beside these three norns, there are many other norns who arrive when a person is born in order to determine his or her future. [2] There were both malevolent and benevolent norns, and the former caused all the malevolent and tragic events in the world while the latter were a kind of protective goddesses. [2]
Contents |
Etymology
The name Urðr (Wyrd, Weird) means "fate". Wyrd is a concept in Old English and Old Norse culture roughly corresponding to fate or Karma. Wyrd is a concept in Old English and Old Norse culture roughly corresponding to fate or Karma. Both Urðr and Verðandi are derived from the Old Norse verb verða, "to become". [3] While Urðr derives from 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 skole/skulle, "need/ought to be";[2] its meaning is "that which should become, or that needs to occur". [4] However, some authors consider 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;[2] rather, all three represent destiny as it is twined with the flow of time. [2] Moreoever, 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 (Moirae and Parcae). The Moirae or Moerae (in Greek – the " apportioners " often called the The Fates) in Greek mythology, were the white-robed The Parcae, in Roman mythology, were the personifications of Destiny (often called The Fates in English [2] The origin of the name norn is not certain, but it may derive from a word meaning "to twine" and which would refer to their twining the thread of fate. [2]
Relation to other Germanic female deities
There is no clear distinction between norns, fylgjas, hamingjas and valkyries, nor with the generic term dísir. A Fylgja (literally she who follows plural Fylgjur) is according to Scandinavian mythology, a supernatural creature which accompanies a person The Hamingja was a kind of female guardian angel in Scandinavian mythology. In Norse mythology the valkyries ( Old Norse Valkyrja "Choosers of the Slain" are Dísir, minor female deities In Norse mythology, the dísir ("ladies" are fate goddesses who can be both benevolent and antagonistic towards mortal people and they include the Norns Moreover, artistic licence permitted such terms to be used for mortal women in Old Norse poetry, or 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. Artistic license (also known as dramatic license, poetic license, narrative license, licentia poetica, or simply license) is a colloquial Old Norse poetry encompasses a range of verse forms written in Old Norse, during the period from the 8th century (see Eggjum stone) to as late as the far Snorri Sturluson (1178 – September 23, 1241) was an Icelandic historian poet and politician The second part of Snorri Sturluson 's Prose Edda the Skáldskaparmál or "language of poetry" (c In Norse mythology and Norse paganism, Asynjur are the goddesses including both Æsir and Vanir, and sometimes even giantesses who are married In Norse mythology the valkyries ( Old Norse Valkyrja "Choosers of the Slain" are Dísir, minor female deities [5]
Attribution
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 Prose Edda, also known as the Younger Edda, Snorri's Edda ( Snorra Edda) or simply Edda, is an The Poetic Edda is a collection of Old Norse poems primarily preserved in the Icelandic mediaeval Manuscript Codex Regius. 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. Snorri Sturluson (1178 – September 23, 1241) was an Icelandic historian poet and politician
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 Gangleri. The Prose Edda, also known as the Younger Edda, Snorri's Edda ( Snorra Edda) or simply Edda, is an Gylfaginning, or the Tricking of Gylfi (c 20000 words is the first part of Snorri Sturluson 's Prose Edda after Gylfi, Gylfe, Gylvi, or Gylve was the earliest king in Scandinavia present in Norse mythology. The monarch is the Head of state of the Kingdom of Sweden. Sweden being a Constitutional monarchy with a Representative democracy based on a See also Death in Norse paganism In Norse mythology, Valhalla (from Old Norse Valhöll "hall of the slain" is a majestic enormous There, he receives an education in Norse mythology from what is Odin in the shape of three men. Norse mythology comprises the indigenous pre-Christian religion, beliefs and Legends of the Scandinavian peoples including those who settled on Iceland Odin (ˈoʊdɪn from Old Norse Óðinn) is considered the chief god in Norse paganism. They explain to Gylfi that there are three main norns, but also many others of various races, æsir, elves and dwarves:
-
- A hall stands there, fair, under the 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 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. In Old Norse, áss (or ǫ́ss ás, plural æsir, feminine ásynja, feminine plural ásynjur) is the term denoting one of the principal In Norse mythology, Yggdrasil ( Old Norse Yggdrasill, ˈyɡˌdrasilː the extra -l is a Nominative case marker is the World An elf is a creature of Norse mythology. The elves were originally imagined as a race of minor nature and fertility gods, who are often pictured as youthful-seeming Dvergar or Norse dwarves ( Old Norse dvergar, sing dvergr) are highly significant entities in Norse mythology, who associate In Norse mythology, Dvalin is a dwarf who appears in several Old Norse tales and Kennings The name translates as "the dormant one" "
-
-
- 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. "[6]
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. "[6]
- 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:
Snorri furthermore informs the reader that the youngest norn, Skuld, is in effect 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. In Norse mythology the valkyries ( Old Norse Valkyrja "Choosers of the Slain" are Dísir, minor female deities Gudr and Róta and the youngest Norn, she who is called Skuld, ride ever to take the slain and decide fights. Gunnr or Guðr is a Valkyrie in Norse mythology. Her name means "battle" and is cognate with the English word " Gun " Róta is a Valkyrie in Norse mythology. According to the Prose Edda she attended the battlefields along with Gunnr and Skuld and chose [6]
Poetic Edda
The Poetic Edda is valuable in representing older material in poetry from which Snorri tapped information in the Prose Edda. The Poetic Edda is a collection of Old Norse poems primarily preserved in the Icelandic mediaeval Manuscript Codex Regius. The Prose Edda, also known as the Younger Edda, Snorri's Edda ( Snorra Edda) or simply Edda, is an 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. In Norse mythology, Dvalin is a dwarf who appears in several Old Norse tales and Kennings The name translates as "the dormant one" It also suggests that the three main norns were giantesses (female Jotuns). A jötunn, sometimes anglicized as jotun (pronounced yotun is a giant in Norse mythology, a member of a race of nature spirits with superhuman strength [7]
Fáfnismál contains a discussion between the hero Sigurd and the dragon Fafnir who is dying from a mortal wound from Sigurd. Fáfnismál ( Fáfnir 's sayings) is an Eddic poem, found in the Codex Regius manuscript Sigurd ( Old Norse: Sigurðr) is a legendary hero of Norse mythology, as well as the central character in the Völsunga saga. In Norse mythology, Fáfnir ( Old Norse and Icelandic) or Frænir was a son of the dwarf king Hreidmar and brother 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 giantesses (Jotuns), and that their arrival ended the early days of bliss for the gods, but that they come for the good of mankind. Völuspá ( Prophecy of the Völva) is the first and best known poem of the Poetic Edda. In Norse mythology, Vafþrúðnismál ( Vafþrúðnir 's sayings) is the third poem in the Poetic Edda. A jötunn, sometimes anglicized as jotun (pronounced yotun is a giant in Norse mythology, a member of a race of nature spirits with superhuman strength
Völuspá relates that three giantesses of huge might are reported to have arrived to the gods from Jotunheim:
|
Vafþrúðnismál probably refers to the norns when it talks of maiden giantesses who arrive to protect the people of earth as protective spirits (hamingjas)[2][11]:
|
The Völuspá contains the names of the three main norns referring to them as maidens like Vafþrúðnismál probably does:
|
|
Helgakviða Hundingsbana I
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:
|
|
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:
|
Reginsmál
Like Snorri Sturluson stated in Gylfaginning, people's fate depended on the benevolence or the malevolence of particular norns. In Reginsmál, the water dwelling dwarf Andvari blames his plight on an evil norn, presumably one of the daughters of Dvalin:
|
|
Sigurðarkviða hin skamma
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:
|
|
Guðrúnarkviða II
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. The Burgundians or Burgundes were an East Germanic tribe which may have emigrated from mainland Scandinavia to the island of Bornholm, whose 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 Norse mythology, Gudrun, who is called Kriemhild in the Nibelungenlied, was the sister of Gunnar. In Guðrúnarkviða II, the Norns actively enter the series of events by informing Atli in a dream that his wife would kill him. Guðrúnarkviða II, The Second Lay of Gudrún, or Guðrúnarkviða hin forna, The Old Lay of Gudrún is probably the oldest The description of the dream begins with this stanza:
|
|
Guðrúnarhvöt
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:
|
|
Hamðismál
Guðrúnarhvöt deals with how Guðrún incited her sons to avenge the cruel death of their sister Svanhild. Svanhild was the daughter of Sigurd and Gudrun in the Volsung Cycle. In Hamðismál, her sons' expedition to the Gothic king Ermanaric to exact vengeance is fateful. The Hamðismál is a poem which ends the heroic poetry of the Poetic Edda, and thereby the whole collection Ermanaric (died 376 was a king of the Gothic Greuthungi at the eve of the Migration Period. Knowing that he is about to die at the hands of the Goths, her son Sörli talks of the cruelty of the norns:
|
|
Sigrdrífumál
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:
|
Legendary sagas
Some of the legendary sagas also contain references to the norns. A Legendary saga or Fornaldarsaga (literally a tale of times past) is a Norse saga that unlike the Icelanders' sagas, takes place The Hervarar saga contains a poem named Hlöðskviða, where the Gothic king Angantyr defeats a Hunnish invasion led by his Hunnish half-brother Hlöðr. Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks is a Legendary saga from the 13th century combining matter from several older sagas Hlöðskviða or The Battle of the Goths and Huns is sometimes counted among the Eddic Poems. Angantyr was the name of three characters from the same line in Norse mythology, and who appear in Hervarar saga, in Gesta Danorum Hlod or Hlöd was the illegitimate son of Heidrek, the king of the Goths. Knowing that his sister, the shieldmaiden Hervor, is one of the casualties, Angantyr 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). Norna-Gests þáttr or the Story of Norna-Gest is a Legendary saga about the Norse hero Norna-Gest Hrólfs saga kraka, the Saga of King Hrolf kraki, is a late Legendary saga on the adventures of Hrólfr Kraki and his clan, the Skjöldungs A Völva (also Vala, Spákona) is a priestess in Norse paganism, and a recurring motif in Norse mythology. 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 plainly as 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. In Norse mythology, a half-elf is the offspring of an Elf and a Human. Skuld was a Princess of Scandinavian legend who married Heoroweard and encouraged him to kill Hroðulf (Hrólfr Kraki Hrólfr Kraki, Hroðulf, Rolfo, Roluo, Rolf Krage (early 6th century) was a Legendary Danish king who appears both in An elf is a creature of Norse mythology. The elves were originally imagined as a race of minor nature and fertility gods, who are often pictured as youthful-seeming
Runic inscription N 351 M
The belief in the norns as bringers of both gain and loss would last beyond Christianization, as testifies the runic inscription N 351 M from the Borgund stave church:
- Þórir carved these runes on the eve of Olaus-mass, when he travelled past here. The Christianization of Scandinavia refers to the process of conversion to Christianity of the Scandinavian people starting in the 8th century with Borgund stave church (Borgund stavkirke Borgund stavkyrkje is a Stave church located in Borgund, Lærdal, Norway. The norns did both good and evil, great toil . . . they created for me. [33]
References
- ^ The article Dis in Nordisk familjebok (1907). Nordisk familjebok (en Nordic familybook is a Swedish Encyclopedia, published between 1876 and 1957
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k The article Nornor in Nordisk familjebok (1913). Nordisk familjebok (en Nordic familybook is a Swedish Encyclopedia, published between 1876 and 1957
- ^ Swedish Etymological dictionary.
- ^ Swedish Etymological dictionary.
- ^ Skáldskaparmál in translation by Arthur Gilchrist Brodeur (1916), at Northvegr. The Northvegr Foundation is a privately owned educational foundation
- ^ a b c Gylfaginning in translation by Arthur Gilchrist Brodeur (1916), at Sacred Texts.
- ^ See commentary by Bellows
- ^ Fáfnismál Guðni Jónsson's edition of the text with normalized spelling.
- ^ a b c Fafnismol in translation by Henry Adams Bellows (1936), at Sacred Texts. Henry Adams Bellows (1803–1873 was a Lawyer, state legislator, and Jurist born in Rockingham Vermont.
- ^ a b Völuspá Guðni Jónsson's edition of the text with normalized spelling.
- ^ See also Bellows' commentary.
- ^ Vafþrúðnismál Guðni Jónsson's edition of the text with normalized spelling.
- ^ The lay of Vafthrúdnir in translation by Benjamin Thorpe (1866), at Northvegr. Benjamin Thorpe (1782 - July 1870 was an English Anglo-Saxon scholar The Northvegr Foundation is a privately owned educational foundation
- ^ Helgakviða Hundingsbana I Guðni Jónsson's edition of the text with normalized spelling.
- ^ The First Lay of Helgi Hundingsbane in translation by Henry Adams Bellows (1936), at Sacred Texts. Henry Adams Bellows (1803–1873 was a Lawyer, state legislator, and Jurist born in Rockingham Vermont.
- ^ Völsungakviða in forna Guðni Jónsson's edition of the text with normalized spelling.
- ^ a b Typographical error for Norns, cf. the text in Old Norse.
- ^ The Second Lay of Helgi Hundingsbane in translation by Henry Adams Bellows (1936), at Sacred Texts. Henry Adams Bellows (1803–1873 was a Lawyer, state legislator, and Jurist born in Rockingham Vermont.
- ^ Reginsmál Guðni Jónsson's edition of the text with normalized spelling.
- ^ The Ballad of Regin in translation by Henry Adams Bellows (1936), at Sacred Texts. Henry Adams Bellows (1803–1873 was a Lawyer, state legislator, and Jurist born in Rockingham Vermont.
- ^ Sigurðarkviða in skamma Guðni Jónsson's edition of the text with normalized spelling.
- ^ The Short Lay of Sigurth in translation by Henry Adams Bellows (1936), at Sacred Texts. Henry Adams Bellows (1803–1873 was a Lawyer, state legislator, and Jurist born in Rockingham Vermont.
- ^ Guðrúnarkviða in forna at «Norrøne Tekster og Kvad», Norway.
- ^ Bellows' translation.
- ^ Guðrúnarhvöt Guðni Jónsson's edition of the text with normalized spelling.
- ^ Guthrun's Inciting in translation by Henry Adams Bellows (1936), at Sacred Texts. Henry Adams Bellows (1803–1873 was a Lawyer, state legislator, and Jurist born in Rockingham Vermont.
- ^ Hamðismál Guðni Jónsson's edition of the text with normalized spelling.
- ^ The Ballad of Hamther in translation by Henry Adams Bellows (1936), at Sacred Texts. Henry Adams Bellows (1803–1873 was a Lawyer, state legislator, and Jurist born in Rockingham Vermont.
- ^ Sigrdrífumál Guðni Jónsson's edition of the text with normalized spelling.
- ^ The Ballad of The Victory-Bringer in translation by Henry Adams Bellows (1936), at Sacred Texts. Henry Adams Bellows (1803–1873 was a Lawyer, state legislator, and Jurist born in Rockingham Vermont.
- ^ Hlöðskviða Guðni Jónsson's edition of the text with normalized spelling.
- ^ The Saga of Hervor & King Heidrek the Wise in translation by Peter Tunstall (2003), at Northvegr. The Northvegr Foundation is a privately owned educational foundation
- ^ Translation of rune inscription N 351 M provided by Rundata. The Joint Nordic database for runic inscriptions ( Swedish: Samnordisk runtextdatabas) is a project started on January 1, 1993 at
Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic