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In Norse mythology, a norn is a supernatural female entity associated with fate and the sacred tree Yggdrasil.

Etymology
The etymology of the Old Norse word norn (plural nornir) is unclear. The word may be connected to the Swedish dialect verb nyrna, norna, meaning 'to secretly communicate', or the Proto-Indo-European root *nern, meaning 'twist, twine'.

Attestations
The norns receive mention throughout the Old Norse record, including the Poetic Edda, the Prose Edda, the saga record, and in runic inscriptions.

Poetic Edda
In the Poetic Edda, the norns receive mention the eddic poems Völuspá, Helgakviða Hundingsbana I, Helgakviða Hundingsbana II ...

In the eddic poem Völuspá, the seeress discusses the sacred tree Yggdrasil. She mentions that three norns live in the tree, Urðr, Verðandi, and Skuld:

In the heroic eddic poem Helgakviða Hundingsbana I, norns visit the young hero Helgi upon his birth to weave his fate:

In Helgakviða Hundingsbana II, Helgi blames the norns for the fact that he had to kill the valkyrie Sigrún's father Högni and brother Bragi in order to wed her:

In Reginsmál, the water dwelling dwarf Andvari blames his plight on an malicious norn, presumably one of the daughters of Dvalin:

In Sigurðarkviða hin skamma, the valkyrie Brynhild blames malevolent norns for her long yearning for the embrace of the hero Sigurd:

Brynhild's solution was to have Gunnarr and his brothers, the lords of the Burgundians, kill Sigurd. She would thereafter commit suicide in order to join Sigurd in the afterlife. Her brother Atli (Attila the Hun) avenged her death by killing the lords of the Burgundians, but since he was married to their sister Guðrún, Atli would soon be killed by her. In Guðrúnarkviða II, the Norns actively enter the series of events by informing Atli in a dream that his wife would kill him. The description of the dream begins with this stanza:

Fáfnismál contains a discussion between the hero Sigurd and the dragon Fafnir who is dying from a mortal wound from Sigurd. The hero asks Fafnir of many things, among them the nature of the norns. Fafnir explains that they are many and from several races:

...

Reception
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