and
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. 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.
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
Jotuns).
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: 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 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:
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 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:
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:
Guðrúnarkviða II , (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
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. The description of the dream begins with this stanza:
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:
Hamðismál ,
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
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:
Sigrdrífumál 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:
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. 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
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. ::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." 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." ==See also==