8 citations1 sources

The Prose Edda on Urd

The Younger Edda: > Snorre'S Edda, Or The Prose Edda. > Preface.

attestation: The preface references Urd, Mimer, and Idun's rejuvenating apples as key elements of Norse tradition

"find his way to the fountains of Urd and Mimer and to Idun's rejuvenating apples"

attestation: Under the third root (with the Aesir) is the very holy Urd's well, where the gods hold their tribunal

"The third root of the ash is in heaven, and beneath it is the most sacred fountain of Urd"
attestation: Three norns sit by Urd's well: Urd (past), Verdande (present), and Skuld (future), who shape men's lives

"Out of it come three maids, whose names are Urd, Verdande and Skuld"
attestation: The norns draw water from Urd's well and sprinkle it on the ash to prevent its limbs from rotting

"These maids shape the lives of men, and we call them norns"
attestation: Good norns shape good lives, while evil norns cause misfortune

"Good norns and of good descent shape good lives, and when some men are weighed down with misfortune, the evil norns are the cause of it"

comparison: A connection between the norns Urd, Verdande, and Skuld and Shakespeare's weird sisters in Macbeth has long been recognized

"A connection between the norns Urd, Verdande and Skuld and the weird sisters in Shakspeare's Macbeth has long since been recognized"
comparison: The Weird Sisters in Macbeth are established as transfigurations or later disguises of the Teutonic Norns

"The fact itself of these Witches being simply transfigurations, or later disguises, of the Teutonic Norns is fully established--as may be seen from Grimm or Simrock."
attestation: The Norns are described as 'maidens that over the Sea of Age travel in deep foreknowledge' who 'laid the lots' and 'ruled the life' to foretell men's fates

""the maidens that over the Sea of Age travel in deep foreknowledge," and of whom it is said that:

They laid the lots, they ruled the life To the sons of men, their fate foretelling."