''Nornagests þáttr'' or the ''Story of Norna-Gest'' is a

legendary saga A legendary saga or ''fornaldarsaga'' (literally, "story/history of the ancient era") is a Norse saga that, unlike the Icelanders' sagas, takes place before the settlement of Iceland.The article ''Fornaldarsagor'' in ''Nationalencyklopedin'' (1991 ...

about the Norse hero Nornagestr, sometimes called Gestr, and here anglicized as Norna-Gest. ''Nornagests þáttr'' is as an episode of the '' Saga of Óláfr Tryggvason'' in the medieval Icelandic manuscript ''

Flateyjarbók ''Flateyjarbók'' (; "Book of Flatey, Breiðafjörður, Flatey") is an important medieval Iceland, Icelandic manuscript. It is also known as GkS 1005 fol. and by the Latin name ''Codex Flateyensis''. It was commissioned by Jón Hákonarson and p ...

''.''Norse Mythology: Legends of Gods and Heroes'' (Peter A. Munch. New York: The American-Scandinavian Foundation. 1926)

Summary

Norna-Gest is the son of a Danish man named Thord Thingbiter, who once dwelt on the estate of Grøning in

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. As he relates in the tale, when he was born, three

Norns The Norns ( , plural: ) are a group of deities in Norse mythology responsible for shaping the course of human destinies.''Nordisk familjebok'' (1907) The Norns are often represented as three goddesses known as Urd ( Urðr), Verðandi, and S ...

arrived and foretold the child's destiny. Two of them gave him good gifts. However

Skuld Skuld ("debt" or "obligation"; sharing etymology with the English "should") is a Norn in Norse mythology. Along with Urðr (Old Norse "fate"Orchard (1997:169).) and Verðandi (possibly "happening" or "present"Orchard (1997:174).), Skuld makes ...

, the youngest of the Norns, deeming that the two others made rather light of her, determined to render void their promises of good fortune for the child. So she prophesied that his life was to last no longer than that of a candle standing lit beside the cradle. The eldest Norn (Urðr) instantly extinguished the flame and asked his mother to hide it well. When Norna-Gest has grown up he becomes the care-taker of the candle and he is said to have lived for three-hundred years. He reports that he took part in the battles of

Sigurd Sigurd ( ) or Siegfried (Middle High German: ''Sîvrit'') is a legendary hero of Germanic heroic legend, who killed a dragon — known in Nordic tradition as Fafnir () — and who was later murdered. In the Nordic countries, he is referred t ...

the Völsung, spent time with

Ragnar Lodbrok Ragnar Lodbrok (Old Norse: ''Ragnarr loðbrók'', ), according to legends, was a Viking hero and a Legendary Kings of Sweden, Swedish and Legendary kings of Denmark, Danish king.Björn Ironside Björn Ironside ( Swedish: ''Björn Järnsida''; Old Norse: ''Bjǫrn Járnsíða'') according to Norse legends, was a Norse Viking chief and Swedish king. According to the 12th- and 13th-century Scandinavian histories, he was the son of notor ...

and his brothers, with

Starkad ''Starkad'' ( or ; Latin: ''Starcaterus''; in the Late Middle Ages also ''Starkodder''; Danish language, modern Danish: ''Stærkodder'')The article ''Starkad'' in ''Nationalencyklopedin''. was either an eight-armed giant or the human grandson of ...

, with the Swedish king Sigurd Hring, with King Erik at

Uppsala Uppsala ( ; ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the capital of Uppsala County and the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inhabitants in 2019. Loc ...

, with King

Harald Fairhair Harald Fairhair (; – ) was a Norwegian king. According to traditions current in Norway and Iceland in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, he reigned from 872 to 930 and was the first Monarchy of Norway, King of Norway. Supposedly, two ...

and with King Hlodver in Germany. According to the tale, Norna-Gest visits the court of King

Olaf Tryggvason Olaf Tryggvason (960s – 9 September 1000) was King of Norway from 995 to 1000. He was the son of Tryggvi Olafsson, king of Viken ( Vingulmark, and Rånrike), and, according to later sagas, the great-grandson of Harald Fairhair, first King ...

at the time when Olaf is trying to convert the Norse to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

. In the third year of the reign of King Olaf, Norna-Gest comes into the presence of the king and asks to be admitted to his bodyguard. He is uncommonly tall and strong and somewhat stricken in years. After relating his life-story, Norna-Gest permits himself to be baptized at the king's desire, and lights the candle that the norn Skuld had prophesied about. In accordance with the prophecy, when the candle fails, Norna-Gest dies.

Analogues and adaptations

The story of Nornagest and his candle has a counterpart in Greek mythology: the story of

Meleager In Greek mythology, Meleager (, ) was a hero venerated in his '' temenos'' at Calydon in Aetolia. He was already famed as the host of the Calydonian boar hunt in the epic tradition that was reworked by Homer. Meleager is also mentioned as o ...

, who was prophesied to live only as long as a certain log was unburnt. The story is included in

Ovid Publius Ovidius Naso (; 20 March 43 BC – AD 17/18), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a younger contemporary of Virgil and Horace, with whom he i ...

's ''

Metamorphoses The ''Metamorphoses'' (, , ) is a Latin Narrative poetry, narrative poem from 8 Common Era, CE by the Ancient Rome, Roman poet Ovid. It is considered his ''Masterpiece, magnum opus''. The poem chronicles the history of the world from its Cre ...

''. Science fiction writer

Poul Anderson Poul William Anderson ( ; November 25, 1926 – July 31, 2001) was an American fantasy and science fiction author who was active from the 1940s until his death in 2001. Anderson also wrote historical novels. He won the Hugo Award seven times an ...

incorporated the story of Nornagest in '' The Boat of a Million Years'', a collection of short stories about immortals.

Notes

References

External links

Norna-Gests þáttr in Old Norse
* ttp://fasnl.ku.dk/bibl/bibl.aspx?sid=ngth&view=manuscript Entry in the Stories for All Time database with a full list of manuscripts, editions, translations, and secondary literature.

Summary

Analogues and adaptations

Notes

References

External links

Further reading