Table Of ContentKaren Bek-Pedersen lectured in Early Scandinavian Studies TA The nornir or norns were a group of female supernatural
h
at the University of Aberdeen until recently where she em beings closely related to ideas about fate in Old Norse
worked at the Centre for Scandinavian Studies. She has an S tradition. Karen Bek-Pedersen provides a thorough
c
MA (hons) and PhD from the University of Edinburgh. o T TThhee NNoorrnnss understanding of the role played by norns and other
te
From 2004–2007 she worked at Scandinavian Studies at t h beings like them in the relevant sources. Although they
i
sre
the University of Edinburgh, teaching Danish language, h are well known, even to people who have only a superficial
Smcyatnhdoilnoagvyi.a Inn C 2u0l0tu8 rsahl eH wisotorkreyd a natd A Oarldh uNso Ursnei vseargsaiste atn, d DiaicNo iinn kdnetoawilleedd dgeis ocuf sOsilodn N oof rtshee m nyotrhnos ltoog by,e t phuisb ilsi sthheed fi arsmt ongst
r
sa
in Denmark teaching Old Norse: Eddic poetry. She has p n the literature dealing with Old Norse beliefs.
participated in the Orkney International Science Festival a oraKans i Surprisingly little has been written specifically about the
number of times, giving talks on Old Norse mythology. are n OOlldd NNoorrssee norns. Although often mentioned in scholarship treating
nn SO Old Norse culture, the norns are all too often dealt with in
dBcl
e d overly superficial ways. The research presented in this book
tk
he-Po N MMyytthhoollooggyy goes much deeper in order to properly understand the
Uedto nature and role of the norns in the Old Norse world view.
Sesr The conclusions reached by the author overturn a number
Ar s
se e of stereotypical conceptions that have long dominated our
n
M understanding of these beings.
y
The book has a natural focus on Old Norse culture and
t
Dh
is especially relevant to those interested in or studying
uo
nl Old Norse culture and tradition. However, comparative
o
cg Karen Bek-Pedersen material from Celtic, Anglo-Saxon and Classical traditions
a
ny is also employed and the book is therefore of interest also
S to those with a broader interest in European mythologies.
i
m
ISBN: 9781906716189
D
U
N
9 781906 716189
E
D
Cover photograph by Karen Bek-Pedersen, Cliffs at the Bay of Skaill,
DUNEDIN I
Sandwick, Orkney. N DUNEDIN
Jacket design by Makar Publishing Production, Edinburgh.
Karen Bek-Pedersen lectured in Early Scandinavian Studies TA The nornir or norns were a group of female supernatural
h
at the University of Aberdeen until recently where she em beings closely related to ideas about fate in Old Norse
worked at the Centre for Scandinavian Studies. She has an S tradition. Karen Bek-Pedersen provides a thorough
c
MA (hons) and PhD from the University of Edinburgh. o T TThhee NNoorrnnss understanding of the role played by norns and other
te
From 2004–2007 she worked at Scandinavian Studies at t h beings like them in the relevant sources. Although they
i
sre
the University of Edinburgh, teaching Danish language, h are well known, even to people who have only a superficial
Smcyatnhdoilnoagvyi.a Inn C 2u0l0tu8 rsahl eH wisotorkreyd a natd A Oarldh uNso Ursnei vseargsaiste atn, d DiaicNo iinn kdnetoawilleedd dgeis ocuf sOsilodn N oof rtshee m nyotrhnos ltoog by,e t phuisb ilsi sthheed fi arsmt ongst
r
sa
in Denmark teaching Old Norse: Eddic poetry. She has p n the literature dealing with Old Norse beliefs.
participated in the Orkney International Science Festival a oraKans i Surprisingly little has been written specifically about the
number of times, giving talks on Old Norse mythology. are n OOlldd NNoorrssee norns. Although often mentioned in scholarship treating
nn SO Old Norse culture, the norns are all too often dealt with in
dBcl
e d overly superficial ways. The research presented in this book
tk
he-Po N MMyytthhoollooggyy goes much deeper in order to properly understand the
Uedto nature and role of the norns in the Old Norse world view.
Sesr The conclusions reached by the author overturn a number
Ar s
se e of stereotypical conceptions that have long dominated our
n
M understanding of these beings.
y
The book has a natural focus on Old Norse culture and
t
Dh
is especially relevant to those interested in or studying
uo
nl Old Norse culture and tradition. However, comparative
o
cg Karen Bek-Pedersen material from Celtic, Anglo-Saxon and Classical traditions
a
ny is also employed and the book is therefore of interest also
S to those with a broader interest in European mythologies.
i
m
Karen Bek-Pedersen lectured in Early Scandinavian Studies TA The nornir or norns were a group of female supernatural
h
at the University of Aberdeen until recently where she em beings closely related to ideas about fate in Old Norse
worked at the Centre for Scandinavian Studies. She has an S tradition. Karen Bek-Pedersen provides a thorough
c
MA (hons) and PhD from the University of Edinburgh. o T TThhee NNoorrnnss understanding of the role played by norns and other
te
From 2004–2007 she worked at Scandinavian Studies at t h beings like them in the relevant sources. Although they
i
sre
the University of Edinburgh, teaching Danish language, h are well known, even to people who have only a superficial
Smcyatnhdoilnoagvyi.a Inn C 2u0l0tu8 rsahl eH wisotorkreyd a natd A Oarldh uNso Ursnei vseargsaiste atn, d DiaicNo iinn kdnetoawilleedd dgeis ocuf sOsilodn N oof rtshee m nyotrhnos ltoog by,e t phuisb ilsi sthheed fi arsmt ongst
r
sa
ISBN: 9781906716189 in Denmark teaching Old Norse: Eddic poetry. She has p n the literature dealing with Old Norse beliefs.
participated in the Orkney International Science Festival a oraKans i Surprisingly little has been written specifically about the
number of times, giving talks on Old Norse mythology. are n OOlldd NNoorrssee norns. Although often mentioned in scholarship treating
D nn SO Old Norse culture, the norns are all too often dealt with in
U dBcl
e d overly superficial ways. The research presented in this book
N tk
9 781906 716189 E he-Po N MMyytthhoollooggyy goes much deeper in order to properly understand the
D
Cover photograph by Karen Bek-Pedersen, Cliffs at the Bay of Skaill, DUNEDIN I Uedto nature and role of the norns in the Old Norse world view.
Sandwick, Orkney. N DUNEDIN Sesr The conclusions reached by the author overturn a number
Ar s
Jacket design by Makar Publishing Production, Edinburgh. se e of stereotypical conceptions that have long dominated our
n
M understanding of these beings.
y
The book has a natural focus on Old Norse culture and
t
Dh
is especially relevant to those interested in or studying
uo
nl Old Norse culture and tradition. However, comparative
o
cg Karen Bek-Pedersen material from Celtic, Anglo-Saxon and Classical traditions
a
ny is also employed and the book is therefore of interest also
S to those with a broader interest in European mythologies.
i
m
ISBN: 9781906716189
D
U
N
9 781906 716189
E
D
Cover photograph by Karen Bek-Pedersen, Cliffs at the Bay of Skaill,
DUNEDIN I
Sandwick, Orkney. N DUNEDIN
Jacket design by Makar Publishing Production, Edinburgh.
The Norns in Old Norse Mythology
The Norns
in Old Norse Mythology
Karen Bek-Pedersen
DUNEDIN
For Derek — and a day spent at the Back of the Aisler.
Published by
Dunedin Academic Press Ltd
Hudson House
8 Albany Street
Edinburgh EH1 3QB
Scotland
www.dunedinacademicpress.co.uk
ISBN 978-1-906716-18-9
© 2011 Karen Bek-Pedersen
The right of Karen Bek-Pedersen to be identified as the author of this
book has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 & 78 of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or
by any means or stored in any retrieval system of any nature without prior
written permission, except for fair dealing under the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act 1988 or in accordance with a licence issued by the publisher or
the Copyright Licensing Society in respect of photocopying or reprographic
reproduction. Full acknowledgement as to author, publisher and source must
be given. Application for permission for any other use of copyright material
should be made in writing to the publisher.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Typeset by Makar Publishing Production, Edinburgh
Printed in Great Britain by CPI Antony Rowe
Contents
Contents
Contents
List of Abbreviations ix
List of Manuscripts xi
Acknowledgements xiii
Introduction xv
1 Sources 1
1.1 Edda 2
1.2 Snorra-Edda 4
1.3 Skaldic Poetry 5
1.4 Sagas 6
1.5 Other Sources 7
1.6 Evaluation 9
2 What Is a Norn? 13
2.1 Nornir, Dísir and Valkyrjur 14
2.2 Other Supernatural Female Figures 56
2.3 Summary: Borderlines and Grey Areas 64
3 The Women in the Well 73
3.1 Urðr, Verðandi and Skuld 73
3.2 Dark and Humid Places 91
3.3 The Dyngja 105
3.4 Summary: Fate Comes from the Well 113
4 Fate and Threads 165
4.1 Fate and Textile 123
4.2 The First Merseburg Charm 147
v
Contents
4.3 Text and Textile 150
4.4 Summary: Tangled Threads 157
5 Fate, Honour and Speech 165
5.1 Fateful Terminology 165
5.2 Fate as Law and as Honour 173
5.3 The Power of the Spoken Word 182
5.4 Summary: An Impartial Balance 191
Conclusions 199
Bibliography 205
Index 219
vi
List of Abbreviations
ÁBM Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon, Íslensk Orðsifjabók
AeW Jan de Vries, Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch
ATU Hans-Jörg Uther, The Types of International Folktales
CSI Viðar Hreinsson (ed.), The Complete Sagas of Icelanders, 5
vols
C/V Richard Cleasby and Gudbrand Vigfusson, An Icelandic–
English Dictionary
Frtz Johan Fritzner, Ordbog over det gamle norske sprog, 3 vols
FSN Guðni Jónsson, Fornaldar Sögur Norðurlanda, 4 vols
IeW Alexander Jóhannesson, Isländisches etymologisches
Wörterbuch
ÍF Íslenzk Fornrit, 35 vols
ÍS Guðni Jónsson, Íslendinga Sögur, 14 vols
KLE Klaus von See (ed.), Kommentar zu den Liedern der Edda,
Vol. 2–5
LP Sveinbjörn Egilsson and Finnur Jónsson, Lexicon Poeticum
MS / MSS manuscript / manuscripts
OED J. A. Simpson and E. S. C. Weiner, The Oxford English
Dictionary, 20 vols
Skj Finnur Jónsson, Den Norsk-Islandske Skjaldedigtning AI+II
and BI+II
SP Skaldic Project website
vii
