Fate-weavers who spin and cut the threads of human destiny.
The norns are three fate-weavers named Urðr, Verðandi and Skuld. They dwell at Urðarbrunnr beneath Yggdrasill and weave human destinies in their looms of wood and thread.
Their names suggest the past, the present and the future. Norns also visited newborn children to determine their fate, a motif that recurs in many Old Norse poems and sagas.
Attestations
- Völuspá, str. 19-20
- The norns' origin and function are described in this eddic poem.