Study › Runes & Norse › The Norns
The Norns are the three shapers of fate in Norse mythology: Urd, Verdandi and Skuld, what has been, what is becoming and what shall be. They live by the Well of Urd under Yggdrasil and set the fate of gods and people alike.
Who are the Norns?
The Norns are the shapers of fate in Norse myth, three great maidens who dwell by the Well of Urd at a root of Yggdrasil. They are named Urd (what has become), Verdandi (what is becoming) and Skuld (what shall be) — past, present and future given form. Each day they water the tree from the well to keep it from rotting.
Fate in the Norse world
The Norns carve the destinies of gods and humans alike, and not even the gods can undo what they set down; fate, in the Norse view, stands above all. Besides these three great Norns, lesser norns of good and ill are said to attend each person's birth and allot the shape of their life. They embody the deep Norse conviction that all things move toward a fixed and knowable end.
They tend Yggdrasil; their weaving is the Web of Wyrd.
Questions
What are the names of the Norns?
Urd, Verdandi and Skuld.
Can the gods change what the Norns decide?
No. In the Norse view fate stands above everything, the gods included.