norns
Sign in to saveAlso known as Nornas
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.]] thumb|right|The Norns (1889) by Johannes Gehrts The Norns ( , plural: ) are a group of deities in Norse mythology responsible for shaping the course of human destinies. 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.
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- Die Nornen Urd, Werdanda, Skuld, unter der Welteiche Yggdrasil by Ludwig Burger.jpg
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- Commons category
- Norns
- name in native language
- nornir
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~19 min read
Article
20 sectionsContents
- Etymology
- Relation to other Germanic female deities
- Attestations
- Skaldic poetry
- Poetic Edda
- ''Helgakviða Hundingsbana I''
- ''Helgakviða Hundingsbana II''
- ''Reginsmál''
- ''Sigurðarkviða hin skamma''
- ''Guðrúnarkviða II''
- ''Guðrúnarhvöt''
- ''Hamðismál''
- ''Sigrdrífumál''
- ''Prose Edda''
- Legendary sagas
- Runic inscription N 351 M
- See also
- Citations
- General and cited references
- External links
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.]] thumb|right|The Norns (1889) by Johannes Gehrts The Norns ( , plural: ) are a group of deities in Norse mythology responsible for shaping the course of human destinies. 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.
==Etymology== The origin of the name 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 the word has relation to the Swedish dialect word (), 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.