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For other uses, see Norns (disambiguation).
Norse mythology, Sjódreygil and the Norns Faroese stamps 2006
The Norns spin the threads of fate at the foot of Yggdrasil, the tree of the world. Beneath them is the well Urðarbrunnr with the two swans that have engendered all the swans in the world.
The Norns (1889) by Johannes Gehrts.

The Norns (Old Norse: norn, plural: nornir) in Norse mythology[1] are female beings who rule the destiny of gods and men, possibly a kind of dísir (see below), and comparable to the Moirai (also called "The Fates") in Greek mythology.

According to Snorri Sturluson's interpretation of the Völuspá, the three most important norns, Urðr (Wyrd), Verðandi and Skuld come out from a hall standing at the Well of Urðr (well of fate) and they draw water from the well and take sand that lies around it, which they pour over Yggdrasill so that its branches will not rot.[2] These norns are described as three powerful maiden giantesses (Jotuns) whose arrival from Jötunheimr ended the golden age of the gods.[2] They may be the same as the maidens of Mögþrasir who are described in Vafþrúðnismál (see below).[2]

Beside these three norns, there are many other norns who arrive when a person is born in order to determine his or her future.[2] There were both malevolent and benevolent norns, and the former caused all the malevolent and tragic events in the world while the latter were kind and protective goddesses.[2] Recent research has discussed the relation between the myths associated with norns and valkyries and traveling Völvas (seiðr-workers). The norns were thought to have visited newborn children in the pre-Christian Norse societies.[3]

Norns within skaldic references are often seen as negative beings that are mostly associated with transitional situations such as violent death and battle. In Egil's Saga, Kveldulf composes a poem lamenting the loss of his eldest son Thorolf.[4] Here, what is stressed is the personal tragedy felt by Kveldulf and the sense that what happened was out of his control or in the hands of fate. It is presumed that Óðinn has chosen Thorolf to be among his einherjar so Bek-Pedersen suggests that since Óðinn has caused the death then the norn has caused the emotional turmoil.[5] Another negative aspect associated with the norns is that they are associated with death (see Skaldic Poetry). Not all aspects of the norns were negative, however, as they were associated with life and birth as well (see Helgakviða Hundingsbana I and Gylfaginning).


The origin of the name norn is uncertain, it may derive from a word meaning "to twine" and which would refer to their twining the thread of fate.[2] Bek-Pedersen suggests that the word norn has relation to the Swedish dialect word norna (nyrna), a verb that means "secretly communicate". This relates to the perception of norns as shadowy, background figures who only really ever reveal their fateful secrets to men as their fates come to pass.[6]

The name Urðr (Old English Wyrd, Weird) means "fate". It should be noted that wyrd and urðr are etymological cognates, which does not guarantee that wyrd and urðr share the same semantic quality of "fate" over time.[7] Both Urðr and Verðandi are derived from the Old Norse verb verða, "to be".[8] While Urðr derives from the past tense ("that which became or happened"), Verðandi derives from the present tense of verða ("that which is happening"). Skuld is derived from the Old Norse verb skulla, "need/ought to be/shall be";[2][9] its meaning is "that which should become, or that needs to occur".[8]

Relation to other Germanic female deities[edit]

Fresco of the Norns in Neues Museum, Berlin

There is no clear distinction between norns, fylgjas, hamingjas and valkyries, nor with the generic term dísir. Moreover, artistic license permitted such terms to be used for mortal women in Old Norse poetry, or to quote Snorri Sturluson's Skáldskaparmál on the various names used for women:

Woman is also metaphorically called by the names of the Asynjur or the Valkyrs or Norns or women of supernatural kind.[10]

These unclear distinctions among norns and other Germanic female deities are discussed in Bek-Pedersen's book Norns in old Norse Mythology and in Lionarons article "Disir, Valkyries, Volur, and Norns: The Weise Frauen of the Deutsche Mythologie"(See references).


Mímer and Balder Consulting the Norns (1821-1822) by H. E. Freund.

There are a number of surviving Old Norse sources that relate to the norns. The most important sources are the Prose Edda and the Poetic Edda. The latter contains pagan poetry where the norns are frequently referred to, while the former contains, in addition to pagan poetry, retellings, descriptions and commentaries by the 12th and 13th century Icelandic chieftain and scholar Snorri Sturluson.

Skaldic poetry[edit]

A skaldic reference to the norns appears in Hvini's poem in Ynglingatal 24 found in Ynglingasaga 47, where King Halfdan is put to rest by his men at Borró. This reference brings in the phrase "norna dómr" which means "judgment of the nornir". In most cases, when the norns pass judgment, it means death to those who have been judged - in this case, Halfdan.[11] Along with being associated with being bringers of death, Bek-Pedersen suggests that this phrase brings in a quasi-legal aspect to the nature of the norns. This legal association is employed quite frequently within skaldic and eddic sources. This phrase can also be seen as a threat, as death is the final and inevitable decision that the norns can make with regard to human life.[12]

Ok til Þings
Þriðja jǫfri
Hvedðrungs mær
ór heimi bauð
pás Halfdan,
sás Holtum bjó,
norna dóms
of notit hafði.
Ok buðlung
á Borrói
síðan fólu.[13]
And to a meeting
Hveðrungr's maid
called the third king
from the world,
at the time when Halfdan,
he who lived at Holt,
had embraced
the judgment of the nornir;
and at Borró
the victorious men
later did hide
the king.[11]

Poetic Edda[edit]

The Poetic Edda is valuable in representing older material in poetry from which Snorri tapped information in the Prose Edda. Like Gylfaginning, the Poetic Edda mentions the existence of many lesser norns beside the three main norns. Moreover, it also agrees with Gylfaginning by telling that they were of several races and that the dwarven norns were the daughters of Dvalin. It also suggests that the three main norns were giantesses (female Jotuns).[14]

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:

Sigurðr kvað:
12. "Segðu mér, Fáfnir,
alls þik fróðan kveða
ok vel margt vita,
hverjar ro þær nornir,
er nauðgönglar ro
ok kjósa mæðr frá mögum."
Fáfnir kvað:
13. "Sundrbornar mjök
segi ek nornir vera,
eigu-t þær ætt saman;
sumar eru áskunngar,
sumar alfkunngar,
sumar dætr Dvalins."[15]
Sigurth spake:
12. "Tell me then, Fafnir,
for wise thou art famed,
And much thou knowest now:
Who are the Norns
who are helpful in need,
And the babe from the mother bring?"
Fafnir spake:
13. "Of many births
the Norns must be,
Nor one in race they were;
Some to gods, others
to elves are kin,
And Dvalin's daughters some."[16]

It appears from Völuspá and Vafþrúðnismál that the three main norns were not originally goddesses but giantesses (Jotuns), and that their arrival ended the early days of bliss for the gods, but that they come for the good of mankind.

Völuspá relates that three giantesses of huge might are reported to have arrived to the gods from Jotunheim:

The Norns
Arthur Rackham.
8. Tefldu í túni,
teitir váru,
var þeim vettergis
vant ór gulli,
uns þrjár kvámu
þursa meyjar
ámáttkar mjök
ór Jötunheimum.[17]
8. In their dwellings at peace
they played at tables,
Of gold no lack
did the gods then know,--
Till thither came
up giant-maids three,
Huge of might,
out of Jotunheim.[16]

Vafþrúðnismál probably refers to the norns when it talks of maiden giantesses who arrive to protect the people of earth as protective spirits (hamingjas):[2][18]

49. "Þríar þjóðár
falla þorp yfir
meyja Mögþrasis;
hamingjur einar
þær er í heimi eru,
þó þær með jötnum alask."[19]
49. O’er people’s dwellings
three descend
of Mögthrasir’s maidens,
the sole Hamingiur
who are in the world,
although with Jötuns nurtured.[20]

The Völuspá contains the names of the three main Norns referring to them as maidens like Vafþrúðnismál probably does:

20. Þaðan koma meyjar
margs vitandi
þrjár ór þeim sæ,
er und þolli stendr;
Urð hétu eina,
aðra Verðandi,
- skáru á skíði, -
Skuld ina þriðju;
þær lög lögðu,
þær líf kuru
alda börnum,
örlög seggja.[17]
20. Thence come the maidens
mighty in wisdom,
Three from the dwelling
down 'neath the tree;
Urth is one named,
Verthandi the next,--
On the wood they scored,--
and Skuld the third.
Laws they made there,
and life allotted
To the sons of men,
and set their fates.[16]

Helgakviða Hundingsbana I[edit]

The Norns
Arthur Rackham.
The Norns Urðr, Verðandi, and Skuld under the world oak Yggdrasil (1882) by Ludwig Burger.


2. Nótt varð í bæ,
nornir kómu,
þær er öðlingi
aldr of skópu;
þann báðu fylki
frægstan verða
ok buðlunga
beztan þykkja.
3. Sneru þær af afli
þá er borgir braut
í Bráluni;
þær of greiddu
gullin símu
ok und mánasal
miðjan festu.
4. Þær austr ok vestr
enda fálu,
þar átti lofðungr
land á milli;
brá nift Nera
á norðrvega
einni festi,
ey bað hon halda.[21]
2. 'Twas night in the dwelling,
and Norns there came,
Who shaped the life
of the lofty one;
They bade him most famed
of fighters all
And best of princes
ever to be.
3. Mightily wove they
the web of fate,
While Bralund's towns
were trembling all;
And there the golden
threads they wove,
And in the moon's hall
fast they made them.
4. East and west
the ends they hid,
In the middle the hero
should have his land;
And Neri's kinswoman
northward cast
A chain, and bade it
firm ever to be.[22]

Helgakviða Hundingsbana II[edit]

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

26 "Er-at þér at öllu,
alvitr, gefit,
- þó kveð ek nökkvi
nornir valda -:
fellu í morgun
at Frekasteini
Bragi ok Högni,
varð ek bani þeira.[23]
"Maid, not fair
is all thy fortune,
The Norris[24] I blame
that this should be;
This morn there fell
at Frekastein
Bragi and Hogni
beneath my hand.[25]
The Norns
Arthur Rackham.


Like Snorri Sturluson stated in Gylfaginning, people's fate depended on the benevolence or the malevolence of particular norns. In Reginsmál, the water dwelling dwarf Andvari blames his plight on an evil norn, presumably one of the daughters of Dvalin:

2. "Andvari ek heiti,
Óinn hét minn faðir,
margan hef ek fors of farit;
aumlig norn
skóp oss í árdaga,
at ek skylda í vatni vaða."[26]
2. "Andvari am I,
and Oin my father,
In many a fall have I fared;
An evil Norn
in olden days
Doomed me In waters to dwell."[27]

Sigurðarkviða hin skamma[edit]

Another instance of Norns being blamed for an undesirable situation appears in Sigurðarkviða hin skamma, where the valkyrie Brynhild blames malevolent norns for her long yearning for the embrace of Sigurd:

7. Orð mæltak nú,
iðrumk eftir þess:
kván er hans Guðrún,
en ek Gunnars;
ljótar nornir
skópu oss langa þrá."[28]
7. "The word I have spoken;
soon shall I rue it,
His wife is Guthrun,
and Gunnar's am I;
Ill Norns set for me
long desire."[29]

Guðrúnarkviða II[edit]

Norns in Die Helden Und Götter Des Nordens, Oder: Das Buch Der Sagen by Amalia Schoppe, (1832)

Brynhild's solution was to have Gunnarr and his brothers, the lords of the Burgundians, kill Sigurd and afterwards to 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:

"Svá mik nýliga
nornir vekja," -
vílsinnis spá
vildi, at ek réða, -
"hugða ek þik, Guðrún
Gjúka dóttir,
læblöndnum hjör
leggja mik í gögnum."[30]
39. "Now from sleep
the Norns have waked me
With visions of terror,--
To thee will I tell them;
Methought thou, Guthrun,
Gjuki's daughter,
With poisoned blade
didst pierce my body."[31]


After having killed both her husband Atli and their sons, Guðrún blames the Norns for her misfortunes, as in Guðrúnarhvöt, where Guðrún talks of trying to escaping the wrath of the norns by trying to kill herself:

13. Gekk ek til strandar,
gröm vark nornum,
vilda ek hrinda
stríð grið þeira;
hófu mik, né drekkðu,
hávar bárur,
því ek land of sték,
at lifa skyldak.[32]
13. "To the sea I went,
my heart full sore
For the Norns, whose wrath
I would now escape;
But the lofty billows
bore me undrowned,
Till to land I came,
so I longer must live.[33]


A statue of the Norns at St Stephen's Green, The Tree Faites, donated by the German government in thanks for Operation Shamrock.

Guðrúnarhvöt deals with how Guðrún incited her sons to avenge the cruel death of their sister Svanhild. In Hamðismál, her sons' expedition to the Gothic king Ermanaric to exact vengeance is fateful. Knowing that he is about to die at the hands of the Goths, her son Sörli talks of the cruelty of the norns:

29. "Ekki hygg ek okkr
vera ulfa dæmi,
at vit mynim sjalfir of sakask
sem grey norna,
þá er gráðug eru
í auðn of alin.
30. Vel höfum vit vegit,
stöndum á val Gotna,
ofan eggmóðum,
sem ernir á kvisti;
góðs höfum tírar fengit,
þótt skylim nú eða í gær deyja;
kveld lifir maðr ekki
eftir kvið norna."
31. Þar fell Sörli
at salar gafli,
enn Hamðir hné
at húsbaki.[34]
29. "In fashion of wolves
it befits us not
Amongst ourselves to strive,
Like the hounds of the Norns,
that nourished were
In greed mid wastes so grim.
30. "We have greatly fought,
o'er the Goths do we stand
By our blades laid low,
like eagles on branches;
Great our fame though we die
today or tomorrow;
None outlives the night
when the Norris[24] have spoken."
31. Then Sorli beside
the gable sank,
And Hamther fell
at the back of the house.[35]


The Norns
C. E. Brock.

Since the norns were beings of ultimate power who were working in the dark, it should be no surprise that they could be referred to in charms, as they are by Sigrdrífa in Sigrdrífumál:

17. Á gleri ok á gulli
ok á gumna heillum,
í víni ok í virtri
ok vilisessi,
á Gugnis oddi
ok á Grana brjósti,
á nornar nagli
ok á nefi uglu.[36]
17. On glass and on gold,
and on goodly charms,
In wine and in beer,
and on well-loved seats,
On Gungnir's point,
and on Grani's breast,
On the nails of Norns,
and the night-owl's beak.[37]

Prose Edda[edit]

In the part of Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda which is called Gylfaginning, Gylfi, the king of Sweden, has arrived at Valhalla calling himself Gangleri. There, he receives an education in Norse mythology from what is Odin in the shape of three men. They explain to Gylfi that there are three main norns, but also many others of various races, æsir, elves and dwarves:

Most sundered in birth
I say the Norns are;
They claim no common kin:
Some are of Æsir-kin,
some are of Elf-kind,
Some are Dvalinn's daughters."

The three main norns take water out of the well of Urd and water Yggdrasil:

I know an Ash standing
called Yggdrasill,
A high tree sprinkled
with snow-white clay;
Thence come the dews
in the dale that fall--
It stands ever green
above Urdr's Well.
...and the youngest Norn, she who is called Skuld, ride ever to take the slain and decide fights...Faroe stamp by Anker Eli Petersen depicting the norns (2003).

Snorri furthermore informs the reader that the youngest norn, Skuld, is in effect also a valkyrie, taking part in the selection of warriors from the slain:


Legendary sagas[edit]

Some of the legendary sagas also contain references to the norns. The Hervarar saga contains a poem named Hlöðskviða, where the Gothic king Angantýr defeats a Hunnish invasion led by his Hunnish half-brother Hlöðr. Knowing that his sister, the shieldmaiden Hervör, is one of the casualties, Angantýr looks at his dead brother and laments the cruelty of the norns:

32. Bölvat er okkr, bróðir,
bani em ek þinn orðinn;
þat mun æ uppi;
illr er dómr norna."[39]
"We are cursed, kinsman,
your killer am I!
It will never be forgotten;
the Norns' doom is evil."[40]

In younger legendary sagas, such as Norna-Gests þáttr and Hrólfs saga kraka, the norns appear to have been synonymous with völvas (witches, female shamans). In Norna-Gests þáttr, where they arrive at the birth of the hero to shape his destiny, the norns are not described as weaving the web of fate, instead Norna appears to be interchangeable and possibly a synonym of vala (völva).

One of the last legendary sagas to be written down, the Hrólfs saga kraka talks of the norns simply as evil witches. When the evil half-elven princess Skuld assembles her army to attack Hrólfr Kraki, it contains in addition to undead warriors, elves and norns.

This romantic representation of the norns depicts one of them (Verdandi according to the runes below) with wings, contrary to folklore.

Runic inscription N 351 M[edit]

The belief in the norns as bringers of both gain and loss would last beyond Christianization, as testifies the runic inscription N 351 M from the Borgund stave church:

Þórir carved these runes on the eve of Olaus-mass, when he travelled past here. The norns did both good and evil, great toil ... they created for me.[41]

Franks Casket[edit]

Three women carved on the right panel of Franks Casket, an Anglo-Saxon whalebone chest from the eighth century, have been identified by some scholars as being three norns.


A number of theories have been proposed regarding the norns.[42]

Matres and Matrones[edit]

The Germanic Matres and Matrones, female deities venerated in North-West Europe from the 1st to the 5th century AD depicted on votive objects and altars almost entirely in groups of three from the first to the fifth century AD have been proposed as connected with the later Germanic dísir, valkyries, and norns,[42] potentially stemming from them.[43]

Three norns[edit]

Theories have been proposed that there is no foundation in Norse mythology for the notion that the three main norns should each be associated exclusively with the past, the present, and the future;[2] rather, all three represent destiny as it is twined with the flow of time.[2] Moreoever, theories have been proposed that the idea that there are three main norns may be due to a late influence from Greek and Roman mythology, where there are also spinning fate goddesses (Moirai and Parcae).[2]

Appearances in media and popular culture[edit]


Viking death metal band Amon Amarth has an album titled Fate of Norns. The band itself has many songs involving Norse mythology.


Norns feature in the prologue of Richard Wagner's opera Götterdämmerung.


The 1990s Disney Cartoon Gargoyles features Three sisters (Referred to by the cast as the "Weird Sisters") that are inferred to be Norns.

In the 2010 series Lost Girl, there was a Norn who could be petitioned to change fate, for a price. Her price was always the one thing her petitioner values most, whether they realize it or not.

Anime and manga[edit]

The main love interest of Oh My Goddess! is the Norn Verðandi, rendered as Belldandy. Her elder sister Urðr (rendered as Urd) and younger sister Skuld also show up, living with the protagonist Keichii Morisato and their sister Belldandy. Aside from sticking loosely to the theme of Belldandy representing the present, Urd the past and Skuld the future, they are only loosely related to their mythic namesakes in this media.

The terminals that Yggdrasil from Digimon created for the New Digital World experiments consisting 3 layers are named Ulud, Versandi, and Skuld which are representing for past, present, and future. Ulud Urðr is a past plain which is a volcanic wasteland, inhabited by Dinosaur type and draconic Digimon. Versandi Verðandi is the "present" region which is a world of lush greenery and is home to beast, bird, plant and other nature Digimon. Skuld is the "future" region, a high-tech city where machine and insect Digimon inhabit.

The three Norns also appear as antagonists in Mythical Detective Loki Ragnarok, along with various other figures from Norse mythology, including Thor, Heimdallr, Freyr, Freyja, Fenrir, Jormungandr, and the eponymous Loki.

In the Calibur arc of Sword Art Online, Urðr appears to Kirito's party and gives them a quest to retrieve the sword Excalibur from Thrymheim before the last beast-type Evil God is killed, restoring Jötunheimr to its former glory. Upon successful completion of this quest, Urðr reappears to Kirito's party, along with her sisters Verdandi and Skuld. They thank them for completing the quest, and allow them to keep Excalibur. Other figures and elements from Norse mythology also appear in this arc, including Thrym, Freyja, Thor, and Mjölnir.

Video Games[edit]

See also[edit]


  1. ^ The article Dis in Nordisk familjebok (1907).
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k The article Nornor in Nordisk familjebok (1913).
  3. ^ Sturluson, Snorri (1995). "Gylfaginning". Edda. London, England: J.M. Dent. p. 18. ISBN 978-0-4608-7616-2. 
  4. ^ Svanhildur Óskarsdóttir, ed. (2002). Egil's Saga. London, England: Penguin Classics. pp. 40–41. ISBN 978-0-14-044770-5. 
  5. ^ Bek-Pedersen, Karen (2011). Norns in Old Norse Mythology. Edinburgh, Scotland: Dunedin Academic Press. pp. 15–16. ISBN 978-1-906716-18-9. 
  6. ^ Bek-Pedersen, Karen (2011). Norns in Old Norse Mythology. Edinburgh, Scotland: Dunedin Academic Press. p. 191. ISBN 978-1-906716-18-9. 
  7. ^ Bek-Pedersen, Karen (2011). Norns in Old Norse Mythology. Edinburgh, Scotland: Dunedin Academic Press. p. 169. ISBN 978-1-906716-18-9. 
  8. ^ a b "Swedish Etymological dictionary". Retrieved 2012-12-30. 
  9. ^ "". Retrieved 2012-12-30. 
  10. ^ Skáldskaparmál in translation by Arthur Gilchrist Brodeur (1916), at Google Books.
  11. ^ a b Bek-Pedersen, Karen (2011). The Norns in Old Norse Mythology. Edinburgh, Scotland: Dunedin Academic Press. pp. 18–19. ISBN 978-1-906716-18-9. 
  12. ^ Bek-Pedersen, Karen (2011). The Norns in Old Norse Mythology. Edinburgh, Scotland: Dunedin Academic Press. pp. 22–23. ISBN 978-1-906716-18-9. 
  13. ^ Bek-Pedersen, Karen (2011). The Norns in Old Norse Mythology. Edinburgh, Scotland: Dunedin Academic Press. p. 18. ISBN 978-1-906716-18-9. 
  14. ^ "See commentary by Bellows". Retrieved 2012-12-30. 
  15. ^ Fáfnismál Guðni Jónsson's edition of the text with normalized spelling.
  16. ^ a b c Fafnismol in translation by Henry Adams Bellows (1936), at Sacred Texts.
  17. ^ a b Völuspá Guðni Jónsson's edition of the text with normalized spelling.
  18. ^ "See also Bellows' commentary". Retrieved 2012-12-30. 
  19. ^ Vafþrúðnismál Guðni Jónsson's edition of the text with normalized spelling.
  20. ^ The lay of Vafthrúdnir in translation by Benjamin Thorpe (1866), at Google Books.
  21. ^ Helgakviða Hundingsbana I Guðni Jónsson's edition of the text with normalized spelling.
  22. ^ The First Lay of Helgi Hundingsbane in translation by Henry Adams Bellows (1936), at Sacred Texts.
  23. ^ Völsungakviða in forna Guðni Jónsson's edition of the text with normalized spelling.
  24. ^ a b Typographical error for Norns, cf. the text in Old Norse.
  25. ^ The Second Lay of Helgi Hundingsbane in translation by Henry Adams Bellows (1936), at Sacred Texts.
  26. ^ Reginsmál Guðni Jónsson's edition of the text with normalized spelling.
  27. ^ The Ballad of Regin in translation by Henry Adams Bellows (1936), at Sacred Texts.
  28. ^ Sigurðarkviða in skamma Guðni Jónsson's edition of the text with normalized spelling.
  29. ^ The Short Lay of Sigurth in translation by Henry Adams Bellows (1936), at Sacred Texts.
  30. ^ Guðrúnarkviða in forna at «Norrøne Tekster og Kvad», Norway.
  31. ^ "Bellows' translation". Retrieved 2012-12-30. 
  32. ^ Guðrúnarhvöt Guðni Jónsson's edition of the text with normalized spelling.
  33. ^ Guthrun's Inciting in translation by Henry Adams Bellows (1936), at Sacred Texts.
  34. ^ Hamðismál Guðni Jónsson's edition of the text with normalized spelling.
  35. ^ The Ballad of Hamther in translation by Henry Adams Bellows (1936), at Sacred Texts.
  36. ^ Sigrdrífumál Guðni Jónsson's edition of the text with normalized spelling.
  37. ^ The Ballad of The Victory-Bringer in translation by Henry Adams Bellows (1936), at Sacred Texts.
  38. ^ a b c Gylfaginning in translation by Arthur Gilchrist Brodeur (1916), at Sacred Texts.
  39. ^ Hlöðskviða Guðni Jónsson's edition of the text with normalized spelling.
  40. ^ The Saga of King Heidrek the Wise in translation by Christopher Tolkien (1960) verse 104, p. 58, pdf p. 153.
  41. ^ Translation of rune inscription N 351 M provided by Rundata.
  42. ^ a b Lindow (2001:224).
  43. ^ Simek (2007:236).


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