Anonymous asked:

Could you share some information about the norns and the threads of fate? I normally leave my fate in the hands of the Gods and I’m now curious about the sisters.

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There are three norns who dwell beneath the world tree, Yggdrasil, and they are the most famous: Urðr (Fate), Verðandi (Being), and Skuld (Necessity).(1) There are others, however, and they each can have various roles, although generally centered around fate, childbirth, fertility, and “the protection of hearth and home.”(2) Those that are related to the gods “visit everyone when they are born to shape their lives.”(3) Their kinship with the gods, and with the divine in general, seems to be a bit of an obscurity. There are several other norns, though, which stem from the álfar (Elves) and even the dvergar (Dwarves), which is told to us in Fáfnismál:

“From very different tribes I think the norns come,
they are not of the same kin;
some spring from the Æsir, some from the elves,
some are daughters of Dvalin.”(4)

Snorri’s Prose Edda leads us to believe that the norns who govern fate are those of the Æsir: Urðr, Verðandi, and Skuld. Yet, it seems likely that the norns were far more regionally diverse, especially given their connection with localized fertility beings like álfar, and perhaps even with landvættir (land-spirits). The role of these women seems to play most heavily into that of fertility and childbirth, since that is when a child is to be given its fate. All of the roles mentioned above relate to each other during the time of childbirth, which would have occurred in the household — a very localized place. There is an example of this from Volsunga saga, in which norns come during the birth of Helgi, but they are not the three that reside among the Æsir (as suggested by the use of the indefinite rather than the definite — ‘norns’, rather than ’the norns’):

“…when Helgi was born, Norns came to set his destiny, saying that he would become the most famous of all kings.”(5)

Although Snorri says that the norns of the Æsir are the ones who “shape men’s lives”,(6) I suspect that the Norse would have considered otherwise, believing instead that local norns, those related more closely to the álfar, and perhaps the dvergar as well, were responsible for the fate bestowed upon themselves and their children. As they gave offerings to the landvættir for the prosperity of their farm and livestock,(7) so too could they have given offerings to ‘household’ norns for a prosperous life. The three named norns of the Æsir just seem to be a bit too specific for such a variety-rich and regionally-diverse religion. They do, however, symbolize and represent the norns as a whole quite well.

The norns share roles with various major deities, such as Frigg, Freyja, and even Odin, to some extents. Frigg actually knows the fate of all, although she does not bestow it as the norns do:

“Frigg knows, I think, all fate,
though she herself does not speak out.”(8)

Freyja governs the fertility of women, and yet the norns determine the fate of the children that they give birth to. In fact, both Frigg and Freyja are called upon during childbirth, as the poem Oddrúnargrátrsuggests when Borgny is in labor:

“May the kindly beings help you,
Frigg and Freyja and more of the gods,
as you warded off that dangerous illness from me.”(9)

Despite this overlapping, the norns still have a unique role. Although they help ensure a successful birth, Frigg and Freyja do not decide that child’s fate. 

Furthermore, Odin decides who lives and who dies in battle, and even Freyja has a choice in the matter herself, and yet the norns have already decided this long before they went to battle. A famous poem from Njal’s Saga has much to tell of both the valkyries and the norns during the Battle of Clontarf, which took place in Ireland in 1014. This poem tells of the valkyries coming for the slain (and it is mentioned that even they chose who lives and dies), all while maintaining the metaphor of weaving fabric on a loom with their guts, which is very characteristic of the norns, but with a battle-reddened flare:

“A wide harp

warns of slaughter;

blood rains

from the beam’s cloud.

A spear-grey fabric

is being spun,
which the friends (valkyries)
of Randver’s slayer (killed by Odin himself)
will fill out

with a red weft.



The warp is woven

with warriors’ guts,

and heavily weighted

with the heads of men.

Spears serve as heddle rods,

spattered with blood;

iron-bound is the shed rod,

and arrows are the pin beaters;

we will beat with swords

our battle web.

Hild sets to weaving
and Hjorthrimul
and Sanngrid and Svipul, (names of the valkyries)
with swords drawn. 

Shafts will splinter,

shields shatter;

the dog of helmets

devours shields.

We wind and wind

the web of spears

which the young king

has carried on before.

Let us go forth

amongst the fighters

when our dear ones

deal out blows.

We wind and wind

the web of spears,

and then stand by

our stalwart king.

Gunn and Gondul,

who guarded the king,

saw the bloody shields

of the brave men.

We wind and wind

the web of spears,

there where the banners

of bold men go forth;

we must not let

his life be lost —

valkyries decide

who dies or lives.

The men who inhabited

the outer headlands

will now be leaders

in the lands.

I declare the mighty king

doomed to death.

The earl has fallen

in the face of the spears.

And the Irish will

endure an evil time
which will never lessen

as long as men live.

Now the web is woven

and the war-place reddened;

the lands will learn

of the loss of men.

Now it is gruesome

to gaze around,

as blood-red clouds

cover the sky;

the heavens will be garish

with the gore of men

while the slaughter-wardens

sing their song.

Our pronouncement was good

for the young prince;

sound of mind

we sing victory songs.

May he who listens

learn from this

the tones of spear-women

and tell them to men.

Let us ride swiftly

on our saddle-less horses

hence from here,

with swords in hand.”(10)

It is not surprising, though, to have such overlapping roles, and they are not meant to contradict. Why give offerings to the landvættir for a farm’s prosperity when one could give those offerings to Freyr instead? Well, Freyr can bring rain and sunshine, but the landvættirinhabit the very land that needs those ingredients for growth; they must be willing to share their prosperity. The same goes for the norns. Although Freyja grants female fertility, the norns can still play a role in protecting and guiding that fertility through childbirth. The fact that the norns share roles with the gods shows that there is a great deal of interwoven complexity in the completion of their tasks; many forces are at work in this world, and even the gods are subject to them (Ragnarok).

In the end, there is no decisive answer for what the norns are, nor for what their roles and boundaries may be. It seems that the norns intermingle in many of the gods’ tasks, but that fate is their primary domain, especially during childbirth. The most important aspect to remember about them, though, is that there are more than the three that Snorri mentions. The Norse likely would have considered them to be localized deities, perhaps even unique to each community or household, or perhaps even abstract entities with no locative affiliation, rather than the same three that dwell among the Æsir.

I hope my insights were what you were seeking. As for the threads of fate, some believe that was influence from Greek mythology.(11) I would be happy to write more on this topic. I could have written much more, but this should suffice for now. If you need anything else, please do not hesitate to ask!

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ENDNOTES:
1. H.R. Ellis Davidson, Gods and Myths of Northern Europe (repr., 1964; London: Penguin Books, 1990), 26.
2. Ibid., 112-13. The Germans and Celts both worshipped female deities that had similar roles as the norns, and so although they are not always regarded by the name ‘norn’, their roles suggest that they were linked in some way. In Germany, Holland, and Britain, for example, these deities were known as ‘the mothers’, and they were often depicted in groups of three.
3. Snorri Sturluson, Edda, translated by Anthony Faulkes (repr., 1987; London: Everyman, 1995), 18.
4. Carolyne Larrington trans., The Poetic Edda (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014), 155.
5. Jesse L. Byock trans., The Saga of the Volsungs (London: Penguin Classics, 1999),47.
6. Snorri, 18.
7. There is a case of this in Landnámabók, the Icelandic Book of Settlements, where a man name Thorstein Red-Nose “used to make sacrifices to the waterfall and all the left-overs had to be thrown into it.” (Hermann Pálsson and Paul Edwards trans., The Book of Settlements: Landnámabók (repr., 1972; Winnipeg, Canada: University of Manitoba Press, 2012), 134.) As a result of his offerings, the landvættir gave him 2400 sheep and even the gift of foresight.
8. Larrington, 85. (Lokasenna, stanza 29, lines 3 and 4.)
9. Ibid., 200. (Oddrúnargrátr, stanza 9.)
10. Robert Cook trans., Njal’s Saga (London: Penguin Classics, 2001), 303-7.
11. Lee M. Hollander trans., The Poetic Edda (Austin: University of Texas Press, 2014), 4. (Footnote 17)