Difference between revisions of "Norn" - New World Encyclopedia
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[[Image:Nornorna_spinner_ödets_trådar_vid_Yggdrasil.jpg|thumb|220px|The Norns spin the threads of fate at the foot of [[Yggdrasil]], the tree of the world.]] | [[Image:Nornorna_spinner_ödets_trådar_vid_Yggdrasil.jpg|thumb|220px|The Norns spin the threads of fate at the foot of [[Yggdrasil]], the tree of the world.]] | ||
| − | The '''Norns''' ([[Old Norse language|Old Norse]]: ''norn'', plural: ''nornir'') of [[Norse mythology]] are | + | The '''Norns''' ([[Old Norse language|Old Norse]]: ''norn'', plural: ''nornir'') of [[Norse Mythology|Norse mythology]] are a trio of goddesses understood to measure and regulate the fates of all beings (humans and deities). They are also known as the '''Weird Sisters''', (sometimes '''Wyrd Sisters''' or '''Three Weird Sisters'''), after Urd, the first of the Norns, whose name means itself "fate". |
| − | The Norns live beneath the roots of [[Yggdrasil]], the world tree at the center of the cosmos (although some accounts have it that they dwell above the arch of the | + | The Norns live beneath the roots of [[Yggdrasil]], the world tree at the center of the cosmos (although some accounts have it that they dwell above the arch of the Bifrost Bridge), where they weave the tapestry of [[destiny|fate]]. Each person's life is a string in their loom, and the length of the string is the length of the person's life. |
| − | + | In addition to the more specific use of the term to refer to the three goddesses mentioned above, the term "Norn" also signifies a general "spirit of destiny," which accompanies an individual through their life and ensures the achievement of their respective fate. This notion of a legion of individualized Norns, each assigned a particular being, possess some marked similarities to the Hellenic views on [[daemons]] and to the popular Christian understanding of [[guardian angel]]s. | |
| − | |||
| − | |||
==The Norns in a Norse Context== | ==The Norns in a Norse Context== | ||
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==Attributes== | ==Attributes== | ||
| + | In their most specific form, articulated by Snorri Sturluson in his syncretic ''Prose Edda'', the Norns are depicted as three women who act as the personifications of fate, as well as its arbitrators. | ||
| + | |||
| + | This role is also attested to by the etymology of their names: | ||
| + | :Urd is similar to the past tense of the verb ''verđa'', "to become" and thus means something like "Became" or "Happened." It is cognate with Old English ''wyrd'', "fate, destiny" ansd related words in Old High German and Old Saxon. Verdandi is the present participle of ''verđa'', "Becoming" or "Happening." Skuld is derived from the modal verb ''skulu'', which is cognate with English "shall" and "should," and probably then means "Is-to-be" or "Will-happen."<ref>Lindow, 245.</ref> | ||
| + | In this way, they signify "the past, the present, and the future."<ref>''ibid''.</ref> | ||
| + | |||
| + | Thus everything is [[preordained]] in the Norse belief system: even the [[deity|gods]] have their own threads, though the Norns do not let the gods see those. This clear subjection of the gods to a power outside their control and the implication that they, too, will have an End are major themes of the literature surrounding [[Norse mythology]]. | ||
| + | |||
| + | The counterparts of the Norns among the Greeks were the [[Moirae]], known to the Romans as the [[Parcae]]. | ||
| + | |||
*Ragnarok (see Voluspa) | *Ragnarok (see Voluspa) | ||
*use Munch for the discussion of the similarity to the Moirae (fates) | *use Munch for the discussion of the similarity to the Moirae (fates) | ||
| + | *general use of Norn to describe a class of guardian "fate" spirits (like the greek daimons) | ||
==Mythic Accounts== | ==Mythic Accounts== | ||
[[Image:Nornir_by_Lund.jpg|thumb|220px|This romantic representation of the Norns depicts one of them with wings, contrary to folklore.]] | [[Image:Nornir_by_Lund.jpg|thumb|220px|This romantic representation of the Norns depicts one of them with wings, contrary to folklore.]] | ||
| + | <in addition to the account from the Prose Edda, quoted above... | ||
| + | *additional role in regulating the universe (Snorri 30) (also, voluspa) | ||
*importance in hero myths (use Munch) | *importance in hero myths (use Munch) | ||
| + | "The Norns are often depicted at the birth of great heroes, and their role in determining the course of an individual's destiny is celebrated in numerous poems of the ''Poetic Edda'' ... as well as in other legendary narratives."<ref>Orchard, 267.</ref> | ||
==Notes== | ==Notes== | ||
Revision as of 16:39, 13 March 2007
The Norns (Old Norse: norn, plural: nornir) of Norse mythology are a trio of goddesses understood to measure and regulate the fates of all beings (humans and deities). They are also known as the Weird Sisters, (sometimes Wyrd Sisters or Three Weird Sisters), after Urd, the first of the Norns, whose name means itself "fate".
The Norns live beneath the roots of Yggdrasil, the world tree at the center of the cosmos (although some accounts have it that they dwell above the arch of the Bifrost Bridge), where they weave the tapestry of fate. Each person's life is a string in their loom, and the length of the string is the length of the person's life.
In addition to the more specific use of the term to refer to the three goddesses mentioned above, the term "Norn" also signifies a general "spirit of destiny," which accompanies an individual through their life and ensures the achievement of their respective fate. This notion of a legion of individualized Norns, each assigned a particular being, possess some marked similarities to the Hellenic views on daemons and to the popular Christian understanding of guardian angels.
The Norns in a Norse Context
As Norse deities, the Norns belonged to a complex religious, mythological and cosmological belief system shared by the Scandinavian and Germanic peoples. This mythological tradition, of which the Scandinavian (and particularly Icelandic) sub-groups are best preserved, developed in the period from the first manifestations of religious and material culture in approximately 1000 B.C.E. until the Christianization of the area, a process that occurred primarily from 900-1200 C.E.[1] The tales recorded within this mythological corpus tend to exemplify a unified cultural focus on physical prowess and military might.
Within this framework, Norse cosmology postulates three separate "clans" of primary deities: the Aesir, the Vanir, and the Jotun. The distinction between Aesir and Vanir is relative, for the two are said to have made peace, exchanged hostages, intermarried and reigned together after a prolonged war, which the Aesir had finally won. In fact, the most major divergence between the two groups is in their respective areas of influence, with the Aesir representing war and conquest, and the Vanir representing exploration, fertility and wealth.[2] The Jotun, on the other hand, are seen as a generally malefic (though wise) race of giants who represented the primary adversaries of the Aesir and Vanir. Over and above these three, there also existed races of secondary supernatural spirits, including the alfár (elves) and the dwarves (craftsmen for the Aesir).[3]
Among the deities of the Norse pantheon, the Norns are distinctive for their roles in determining the fates of both humans and deities. In this sense, their respective functions can be seen as more ontologically primary (i.e. more fundamental to the basic operation of the cosmos) than those of all other gods, despite their comparatively smaller place within the mythic corpus.
Attributes
In their most specific form, articulated by Snorri Sturluson in his syncretic Prose Edda, the Norns are depicted as three women who act as the personifications of fate, as well as its arbitrators.
This role is also attested to by the etymology of their names:
- Urd is similar to the past tense of the verb verđa, "to become" and thus means something like "Became" or "Happened." It is cognate with Old English wyrd, "fate, destiny" ansd related words in Old High German and Old Saxon. Verdandi is the present participle of verđa, "Becoming" or "Happening." Skuld is derived from the modal verb skulu, which is cognate with English "shall" and "should," and probably then means "Is-to-be" or "Will-happen."[4]
In this way, they signify "the past, the present, and the future."[5]
Thus everything is preordained in the Norse belief system: even the gods have their own threads, though the Norns do not let the gods see those. This clear subjection of the gods to a power outside their control and the implication that they, too, will have an End are major themes of the literature surrounding Norse mythology.
The counterparts of the Norns among the Greeks were the Moirae, known to the Romans as the Parcae.
- Ragnarok (see Voluspa)
- use Munch for the discussion of the similarity to the Moirae (fates)
- general use of Norn to describe a class of guardian "fate" spirits (like the greek daimons)
Mythic Accounts
<in addition to the account from the Prose Edda, quoted above...
- additional role in regulating the universe (Snorri 30) (also, voluspa)
- importance in hero myths (use Munch)
"The Norns are often depicted at the birth of great heroes, and their role in determining the course of an individual's destiny is celebrated in numerous poems of the Poetic Edda ... as well as in other legendary narratives."[6]
Notes
- ↑ Lindow, 6-8. Though some scholars have argued against the homogenizing effect of grouping these various traditions together under the rubric of “Norse Mythology,” the profoundly exploratory/nomadic nature of Viking society tends to overrule such objections. As Thomas DuBois cogently argues, “[w]hatever else we may say about the various peoples of the North during the Viking Age, then, we cannot claim that they were isolated from or ignorant of their neighbors…. As religion expresses the concerns and experiences of its human adherents, so it changes continually in response to cultural, economic, and environmental factors. Ideas and ideals passed between communities with frequency and regularity, leading to and interdependent and intercultural region with broad commonalities of religion and worldview.” (27-28).
- ↑ More specifically, Georges Dumézil, one of the foremost authorities on the Norse tradition and a noted comparitivist, argues quite persuasively that the Aesir / Vanir distinction is a component of a larger triadic division (between ruler gods, warrior gods, and gods of agriculture and commerce) that is echoed among the Indo-European cosmologies (from Vedic India, through Rome and into the Germanic North). Further, he notes that this distinction conforms to patterns of social organization found in all of these societies. See Georges Dumézil's Gods of the Ancient Northmen (especially pgs. xi-xiii, 3-25) for more details.
- ↑ Lindow, 99-101; 109-110.
- ↑ Lindow, 245.
- ↑ ibid.
- ↑ Orchard, 267.
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- DuBois, Thomas A. Nordic Religions in the Viking Age. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1999. ISBN 0-8122-1714-4.
- Dumézil, Georges. Gods of the Ancient Northmen. Edited by Einar Haugen; Introduction by C. Scott Littleton and Udo Strutynski. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1973. ISBN 0-520-02044-8.
- Grammaticus, Saxo. The Danish History (Volumes I-IX). Translated by Oliver Elton (Norroena Society, New York, 1905). Accessed online at The Online Medieval & Classical Library.
- Lindow, John. Handbook of Norse mythology. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2001. ISBN 1-57607-217-7.
- Munch, P. A. Norse Mythology: Legends of Gods and Heroes. In the revision of Magnus Olsen; translated from the Norwegian by Sigurd Bernhard Hustvedt. New York: The American-Scandinavian foundation; London: H. Milford, Oxford University Press, 1926.
- Orchard, Andy. Cassell's Dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend. London: Cassell; New York: Distributed in the United States by Sterling Pub. Co., 2002. ISBN 0-304-36385-5.
- Sturluson, Snorri. The Prose Edda. Translated from the Icelandic and with an introduction by Arthur Gilchrist Brodeur. New York: American-Scandinavian foundation, 1916. Available online at http://www.northvegr.org/lore/prose/index.php.
- Turville-Petre, Gabriel. Myth and Religion of the North: The Religion of Ancient Scandinavia. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1964. ISBN 0837174201.
- "Völuspá" in The Poetic Edda. Translated and with notes by Henry Adams Bellows. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1936. Accessed online at sacred-texts.com.
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