In Norse mythology, the Norns are female beings who create and control fate much like the
Greek Fates or Moirai (check pronunciation).
Arguably, the Norms are the most powerful beings in Norse mythology as they govern the
lives of gods and mortals and decide the course of events.
And they do so with no discernible malice or intent.
While descriptions of the Norns vary, they are always said to be young maidens or middle-aged
women.
According to the old Norse poem Fafnismal, the exact number of Norns is unknown as there
are many of them.
In this version, the Norns are descendants of gods, giants, jotnar, elves, and dwarves.
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."
Fafnismol the Ballad of Fafnir
The universally accepted version of the Norns, however, is that of the Icelandic poet Snorri
Sturluson.
He talks about three Norns young and beautiful women, either j tnar or unspecified beings,
who stood on the roots of the World Tree Yggdrasil and wove the fate of the world.
20.
Thence come the maidens | mighty in wisdom, Three from the dwelling | down 'neath the
tree; Urth is one named, | Verthandi the next,--
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.
V lusp
The Norns are mentioned by name: There is Ur?r (or Wyrd) meaning the Past or
Fate Verdandi meaning What Is Presently Coming
into Being And Skuld which means What Shall Be
Like the Greek Fates, who are described as three spinners, the Norns also wove the fabric
of life.
The Norns would sit beneath Yggdrasil, which, in Norse mythology was a cosmic tree that
connected all Nine Realms with its branches and roots, thereby holding the entire Universe
together.
The Norns, however, did not occupy any of the Nine Realms, they just stood beneath the
tree, at its roots.
Their location was marked by the Well of Ur?r or the Well of Fate.
According to differing sources, the Norns would design fate by engaging in one of several
activities.
These include weaving a piece of cloth, carving symbols and runes into a piece of wood, and
casting wooden lots.
There is, however, one other action Wyrd, Verdandi, and Skuld would do which quite literally
helped to keep the universe in existence.
They would draw water from the Well of Fate and pour it over Yggdrasil s roots so that
the tree wouldn't rot, and the Universe could continue to exist.
Were the Norns Worshipped?
Given their status as the governing beings of the entire Universe, one would assume that
the ancient Nordic and Germanic people would pray to the Norns for good fortune.
After all, the Norns commanded even the fate of the gods, meaning that they were even more
powerful than them.
However, there is no archeological or literary evidence that anyone ever prayed to the Norns
or worshipped them as they would a god.
Even though it was the Norns, and not the gods, who governed the lives of mortals, it
was the gods who received all the prayers.
There are two main theories for that: 1.
The ancient people of Northern Europe did pray to the Norns but the evidence of this
simply hasn't survived to this day.
2.
The Nordic and Germanic people viewed the Norns as beings that couldn't be swayed by
people's prayer and worship and therefore didn't bother
The latter theory is largely accepted as it tends to align with the overall view held
within Norse mythology that fate is impartial and inevitable it doesn't matter if it s good
or evil, what s fated to happen will happen and there s no way to change it.
What Is the Norn's Role in Ragnarok?
If the Norns are benevolent, why did they weave Ragnarok into being?
In Norse mythology, Ragnarok is the End of Days event, similar to those found in many
other mythologies.
Unlike most of these, where good tends to triumph, Ragnarok is entirely tragic the Final
Battle ends with a complete defeat for the gods and mortals by the forces of chaos and
the end of the world.
Some stories tell of several gods that survive Ragnarok but even then, they don t repopulate
the world.
Does this imply that the Norns are malevolent after all?
After all, if they control all of existence, they could prevent Ragnarok, right?
Not really.
The Norse people didn't view Ragnarok as something caused by the Norns even though they fated
it into being.
Instead, the Norse just accepted Ragnarok as the natural continuation of the world's
story.
The Norse believed that Yggdrasil and the world as a whole are meant to eventually end.
People simply assumed that everything dies and so will the Universe.
In this way, the Norns are viewed as largely impartial they simply weave what has to be
woven, which then becomes the natural order of things.
In this way, these three beings symbolized fate, destiny, impartiality, and inevitability,
while also representing the Past, Present, and Future, as evidenced by their names.
. The symbol most closely associated with the
Norns is the Web of Wyrd, which is also called Skuld s Net, after the Norn believed to have
created the design.
The Web of Wyrd is a representation of the various possibilities that occur in the past,
present, and future, and of our path in life.
Importance of the Norns in Modern Culture The Norns may not be as well-known and popular
as the Greek Fates today or even as many other Norse gods, but they are still frequently
represented in modern culture.
There are countless paintings and sculptures of them that have been done through the centuries,
even after the Christianization of Europe.
https://useum.org/artwork/The-Norns-Carl-Emil-Doepler-1876
The Norns are also mentioned in many literary works as well.
It s believed that the three witches in Shakespeare s Macbeth are Scottish versions of the Norns.
.. 2-3 seconds of silence In many mythologies, the image of three women
deciding the fate of other beings was common.
The Norns, however, appear to be the most powerful of such beings, as they had the authority
to decide the fate of even the gods.
As such, the Norns were arguably more powerful than the
Norse gods.
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