Did the Nornir Spin or Carve (or Both?)

Most people who adhere to the practice of Asatru follow the Norse tradition. Therefore, most people have heard that there are three (or more) Norns (or Nornir) in Norse Heathenry. However, the Saxons (most of whom remained in Saxony and spoke Old Saxon), had the words “Uurd” and “giscapou” in their language. “Giscapou” is pronounced “yee-shape-ooo” and means “Shapers.” Simply put, Norse Heathenry had Nornir, and Saxon Heathenry had “Shapers.” The Nornir are not major "characters" so to speak in the Norse sagas and poems. They are there in the background and are not often mentioned. In the Old Saxon Heliand, the "Uurdgiscapou" are more active, and not in the background. This is "odd" from a scholarly perspective, as the Heliand is a christian gospel, and keeping Heathenry out of the gospel would be expected. While the Saxon Gods are never mentioned in the Heliand, the Uurdgiscapou are at every birth and every death in the Heliand. This is not the case in any Norse/Icelandic Saga or Poem. Scholars often compare Germanic Deities with other deities in other religious traditions that do similar work. When looking at the Nornir and comparing them to other European religious figures, the Moirai of Greek mythology come to mind: Three sisters who measure, spin, and cut the thread of life. Both are three, deal with fate, and are female. But that is where the similarities end. One of the problems with Norse/Icelandic literature is that there are (like the bible) major contradictions. The location of Iðavöllr in Völuspá (verse 7) is not clear. However, in the Prose Edda, attributed to Snorri Sturluson, there is a more detailed description of the place that contradicts (or overlaps, pending your view). Völuspá (verse 7) states: "The Aesir met at Ithavoll. They built high temples and altars; they made forges, they fashioned wealth, they made tongs and shaped tools." The Aesir dwelled in Asgard (meaning "enclosure of the Gods/Aesir"). Therefore, in Voluspa, the location of Ithavoll appears to be in Asgard. To quote Gylfaginning: "Then Gangleri said: “What did All-Father occupy himself with when Asgard was made?” Harr said: “In the beginning, he appointed rulers and gave them seats and asked them to determine the fate of men with him and to govern the arrangement of the town. This was at a place called Ithavoll, in the middle of the town. Their first task was to build a temple, where twelve of their seats stand, apart from the high seat which belongs to All-Father." In this passage Ithavoll is in "in the middle of a town." In both Voluspa and Gylfaginning temples are built, but for some odd reason in Gylfaginning the Gods are meeting at Iðavöllr to determine the fate of mankind, suggesting their influence over human fate. This contrasts with the role of the Norns who govern fate without involvement of the Gods. The Nornir dwell at Urðarbrunnr, or Urðr’s Well, the same site where the gods meet daily for counsel and judgment per Snorri's passage. This overlap between the Norns’ gathering place and the gods’ gathering place, as well as an overlap of duties between the Nornir and the Aesir suggests either that there were conflicting local interpretations, or that Snorri who wrote later than the Poetic Edda could be "wrong." Remember, Heathenry never developed a "single authoritative text" like Abrahamic traditions. Pre-christian Heathenry was an oral tradition. With these overlaps or contradictions in mind, let us return to the question: "Carving, Weaving, or Both?"

The very first poem in the Poetic Edda shows the Nornir Carving Men's Fates: Voluspa verse 20: "From there come the maidens knowing many things, three from the lake that stands under the tree; one is called Urd, the second Verdandi, Skuld is the third; they carved the fates, they set the laws, they chose the lifespan, for the children of men and their destiny." *Carving implies Runes, not spinning or weaving. What is very interesting to me, is in Ynglinga Saga chapter 8, Uuoden (Odin) makes a law that there should be three blots a year, but at the very beginning of the Poetic Edda, we have the Nornir setting the laws, the lifespan, and the "orlag" of the children of men. Hence, we have more contradictions.

In contrast The Poetic Edda Poem Helgakviða Hundingsbana I (verses 2-4) : “Twas night in the dwelling, and Nornir came there, Who shaped the life of the lofty one; They bade him most famed of fighters all And best of princes ever to be. 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. 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.”  This passage, also in the Poetic Edda, is different from Voluspa verse 7. Here we have spinning/weaving, and not runic carving. Carved Runes in particular imply Fate is carved/set in stone/wood, and that is where both Eddas agree, that Fate is set.

In Ynglingasaga 7, we see that Uuoden practiced “seið” which is a craft that allowed Uuoden to learn men’s Fates and the future. (In Old Saxon “seið” is “soð” or “sooth.” Our modern word “sooth-sayer” comes from this word.)

The Old Saxon Uurd, and Giscapou: Saxon Heathens do not have a "Saxon Edda" that survived. We Saxon Heathens do have the Heliand Poem that survived, as well as other literature. The Heliand was written circa 830 AD, and is almost three times as long as the Old English Poem Beowulf. BLOG IN PROGRESS NOT FINISHED