Norns, proclaimers of destiny

The conflict between the æsir and the jötnar makes up a large part of Norse mythology, but behind the scenes, other characters pulled the strings of destiny. These were the nornas, enigmatic women associated with fortune, tragedy, death, honor, integrity and even justice. They discreetly directed human lives, from their decisions to their judgments and deaths.

Norns (singular: norn; plural: nornir) were dísir, that is, female spirits like the valkyries (sing: valkyrja; pl: valkyrjur), but while the latter represented the mythical or heroic aspect, the nornas symbolized the fatal aspect. As usual in the dísir, they usually form groups, placing themselves in the well of Urd (Urðarbrunnr), distant and inaccessible, but pronouncing the destinies regardless of the wishes of the affected, as occurs in the Hávamál, where Odin listens to them without addressing them. Under the deterministic belief, stating the future implied an inevitable declaration of what was to happen.

Although this inevitable fate could be painful, it could also be perceived as satisfying or necessary. In fact, even when someone admitted to having killed another, he or she pointed out that it was the norns' wish. These actions, justified as a matter of honor, could be executed regardless of sentimental or kinship relationship.

Identification

Norns, like all dísir, were abstract presences that were not associated with a physical place nor were they interpreted as individual entities. In this sense, like the fairies, they represented an inescapable force. However, like the Moiras and the Fates, in Völuspá and the Prosaic Edda they are presented as three women named Urðr, Verðandi and Skuld standing under a tree by a lake, although the presence of other anonymous norns is also mentioned. In both sources, they establish the laws and choose the life and destinies of men. For Snorri Sturluson, there was a hierarchy of Norns organized according to their functions. In turn, they differentiated between the good ones, which shape good lives, and the bad ones, which cause misfortune. In  Fáfnismál, some Norns are unrelated, some belong to the æsir, some to the Álfar, and some are daughters of Dvalin. This implies three different scenarios: they are women who belong to those groups, they are Norns acting on them or they are völur of those groups acting as Norns. It is often said that their names represent the past, the present and the future. The name Urðr refer to the oldest one and seems to be associated with destiny (genitive: urðar; plural: urðir); Verðandi is the most recent noun, being the past participle of the verb verða, "passing, turning, occurring now"; Skuld means "debt", interpreted by Christian sources as "guilt", but which could be better understood as Nemesis, that is, the threatening consequences that end up reaching the affected person. Ironically for a norn, this name is used by characters she interacts with, such as a woman, an evil witch, and a Valkyrie. Snorri pointed to the Valkyrie Skuld as the youngest Norn, who also participates in the battle, showing that the groups of Norns and Valkyries are overlapped.

Their grouping as a trio may have been influenced by Greco-Roman myths already known in the 13th century, as Saxo Grammaticus demonstrates in Gesta Danorum, where he speaks of Parcae and nymphis. Not only could they have been affected by the spinners of fate, but also by Hecate. In addition, their formation as a trio may have been due to the Germanic votive altars dedicated to the matronae. 

Spinners...or maybe not

Again, like the Moiras and the Fates, they are usually represented with the distaff spinning the thread of destiny. This is due to the use of the verb spinna, which was interpreted as "to spin," but then meant "to draw out," like the spider drawing out its silk. Although spin means "to turn," this was not the case until the 17th century. This older meaning is preserved in spindly. In Helgakviða Hundingsbana I, one of the later poems of the Edda, they work with several golden threads of fate (ørlǫgþáttr), each in a cardinal direction. Instead of spinning it, they braid it (bregða) to strengthen it. In this way, not only does it account for the three directions in which the thread was created, but it also corresponds to the three roots of Yggdrasil, which come together to form the trunk.

The purpose of these threads is not to mark a life or temporal space, but to delimit a geographical area. In spite of this, although there are mentions of women or beings such as valkyries performing textile work, the nornas participate scarcely in this task. 

Urð Well

The prosaic Edda, Völuspá and Komákr place the norns in the Urð well, next to the Yggdrasil, which Snorri says they care for. This relationship to the tree may indicate that life depends on them. In Hauksbók it is mentioned that the norns are placed in a hall, so Snorri places the hall under the tree. This well could be related to the well of Mimir (Mímisbrunnr) and Hvergelmir, whose descriptions overlap.

Mimir is an enigmatic character who, as we saw in the post about the jötnar, could be a jötunn and have family relations with several jötnar, but who, according to Ynglings Saga, could be an æsir. Mimir is linked to wisdom, memory and the well to which Odin goes to obtain knowledge under one of the roots of Yggdrasil.

Hvergelmir is a spring of Niflheimr located below Yggdrasil and the source of all the rivers of the world. Its name implies a relationship to the jötnar, such as Aurgelmir (Ymir) and Þrúðgelmir.

Other female entities of destiny

Destiny, like underground places and water, is generally associated with the feminine. This could be related to the dyngja (pl. dyngjur), the house where women did their work, usually textiles, and men were forbidden to enter. This textile activity was probably done with a loom instead of a spinning wheel, which allowed more mobility and working outdoors. The dyngja would additionally be a place of creation, like the earth itself, which was personified as Jǫrð, a woman.

Frigg

Ásynja Frigg is also related to destiny. She knows everyone's destiny, but does not speak about it. It is possible that this is due to an intrinsic power given to words, that once spoken they rule destiny, with nothing that can be done about it. Such is her secrecy that, when Odin wants to know the future, he consults a dead völva instead of her. Despite this, when he learned that his son Baldr was going to die, he did everything possible to prevent it. This could be related to Iron Age mother cults in Germany, where childbirth is related to war and the giver of life is believed to be responsible for everything good or bad the individual experiences.

Frigg and her abode Fensalir ("hall of the marshes") and the ásynja Sága and the place called Søkkvabekkr ("sunken banks"), where she drinks with Odin at Grímnismál, seem to be related. In fact, the names of the two goddesses have to do with vision. The two could be grouped with Iðunn, who kept the apples that bestowed youth on the gods and who lived in Brunnakr ("field of wells"). All three were associated with subway water sources and were linked to life and death. In fact, Fensalir, Søkkvabekkr and Brunnakr can be perfectly interpreted as the hall under the root of Yggrasil and next to the spring where the nornas are located.

Fylgjur

Fylgjur (sing: fylgja) are female beings bound to a user from birth (fulga: secundinas, placenta) and who follow (fylgja: follow) them to their destination, acting as a kind of doppelgänger. Although they may be animal-like in appearance, their female form acts as a guardian spirit, connected to an individual or family. In Hallfreðar saga it is told that, on his way to Iceland and briefly before he dies, Hallfreðr sees his fylgja, a tall woman in chain mail, walking on the waves. She asks him if he will take her with him when he dies, dying when he accepts. Unlike other dísir, he does not intervene, either directly or indirectly, other than by influencing the fate. A remarkable detail is that in the sources they do not appear linked to women.

Völur

Völur (sing: völva) were seers isolated from society and carrying a staff (völr). They were human divination rituals, with which they could see both the past and the future, and acted alone. From Guðrúnarkviða and Hyndluljóð, it is intuited that these rituals involved drinking. This relates it to the norns, situated by a spring; to Mimir, who also offered knowledge to whoever drank from him; and to Gunnlǫð, who offered Odin the mead of poetry.

Unlike norns, they were accessible to both humans and gods. Likewise, unlike the latter, they could show reluctance to manifest their preditions, which they only uttered if requested. In Völuspá and Baldrs draumar, the fact that the völur mentioned are buried in Helheim and resurrected by Odin reveals their chthonic nature.

Source

• Bek-Pedersen, K. (2013). Norns in Old Norse Mythology. Dunedin Academic Press Ltd.