Verðandi
J. L. Lund
, depicting Verðandi with wings.In
Skuld (possibly "debt" or "future"[3]), Verðandi makes up a trio of Norns that are described as deciding the fates (wyrd
) of people.
Etymology
Verðandi is literally the present participle of the Old Norse verb "verða", "to become", and is commonly translated as "in the making" or "that which is happening/becoming"; it is related to the Dutch word worden and the German word werden, both meaning "to become".[4] "Werdend" is not a commonly used German word in modern times, but intutitively means the things that "are becoming", as -nd is the gerund form.
Attestation
Völuspá
She appears in the following verse from the Poetic Edda poem Völuspá, along with Urðr and Skuld:
|
|
Notes
- ^ Orchard (1997:174).
- ^ Orchard (1997:169).
- ^ Orchard (1997:151).
- ^ Lindow, John (2001). "Norns (Norse mythology)". Credo. Handbook of Norse Mythology (World Mythology).
References
- Orchard, Andy (1997). Dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend. ISBN 0-304-34520-2
