The shaping of man’s future at his birth—The three Nornir—Their dwelling-place—Their kin—Good and Evil Nornir—They water the ash Yggdrasil—The maids of Odin—They determine the issue of battle—Choose the warriors for Valhalla—Figurative names—They ride through the air—Their appearance—They help warriors in battle—Their sojourn among men—The first and second songs of Helgi.
It was believed by the Northmen that the future life of all men was shaped at their birth by genii called Nornir, who preordained the fates of men and all that happened in the world. The gods themselves seem to have been under their control.
There were three Nornir, called Urd, the past; Verdandi, the present; and Skuld, the future, they dwelt by Urd’s well, situated at the foot of the ash Yggdrasil, whose roots they watered with their wisdom and the experience of the past:[[276]] they spun the threads of fate at the birth of every child, and measured the boundaries of his doings, and the days of his life.[[277]]
The names of these three Nornir were to those men of old the embodiment and philosophy of life. They could not have existed without their fathers before them, hence Urd was the symbol of the great past.
Verdandi, the present, symbolised the present life itself, consequently was closely connected with Urd.
Skuld, the future, represented the growth, the shooting forward, and was an inseparable part of the triad.
“There stands a fine hall under the ash, near the well, and from that hall come three maidens, who are named Urd, Verdandi, and Skuld. These forecast the lives of men, and are called Nornir.”
In Vafthrúdnismal, Odin asks Vafthrúdnir—
Much have I travelled,
Much have I tried,