Urðarbrunnr (

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

"Wellspring of Urðr"; either referring to a Germanic concept of fate—'' urðr''—or the norn named UrðrSimek (2007:342).) is a spring or

well A well is an excavation or structure created on the earth by digging, driving, or drilling to access liquid resources, usually water. The oldest and most common kind of well is a water well, to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The ...

Norse mythology Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology, is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia as the Nordic folklore of the modern period. The ...

. Urðarbrunnr is attested in the ''

Poetic Edda The ''Poetic Edda'' is the modern name for an untitled collection of Old Norse anonymous narrative poems in alliterative verse. It is distinct from the closely related ''Prose Edda'', although both works are seminal to the study of Old Norse ...

'', compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the ''

Prose Edda The ''Prose Edda'', also known as the ''Younger Edda'', ''Snorri's Edda'' () or, historically, simply as ''Edda'', is an Old Norse textbook written in Iceland during the early 13th century. The work is often considered to have been to some exten ...

'', written in the 13th century by

Snorri Sturluson Snorri Sturluson ( ; ; 1179 – 22 September 1241) was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was elected twice as lawspeaker of the Icelandic parliament, the Althing. He is commonly thought to have authored or compiled portions of th ...

. In both sources, the wellspring lies beneath the world tree

Yggdrasil Yggdrasil () is an immense and central sacred tree in Norse cosmology. Around it exists all else, including the Nine Worlds. Yggdrasil is attested in the ''Poetic Edda'' compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and in t ...

, and is associated with a trio of norns ( Urðr, Verðandi, and Skuld). In the ''Prose Edda'', Urðarbrunnr is cited as one of

three 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious and cultural significance in many societies ...

wellsprings existing beneath three roots of Yggdrasil that reach into three distant, different lands; the other two wellsprings being

Hvergelmir Hvergelmir (Old Norse "bubbling boiling spring"Orchard (1997:93)) is an important primal wellspring in Norse mythology. Hvergelmir is attested in the ''Poetic Edda'', compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the ''Prose Ed ...

, located beneath a root in Niflheim, and

Mímisbrunnr In Norse mythology, Mímisbrunnr (Old Norse "Mímir's wellspring"Simek (2007:216).) is a Spring_(hydrology), spring or Water well, well associated with the being Mímir, located beneath the world tree Yggdrasil. Mímisbrunnr is attested in the '' ...

, located beneath a root near the home of the frost jötnar. Scholarly theory and speculation surrounds the wellspring.

Attestations

Urðarbrunnr is attested in the following works:

''Poetic Edda''

In the ''Poetic Edda'', Urðarbrunnr is mentioned in stanzas 19 and 20 of the poem ''

Völuspá ''Völuspá'' (also ''Vǫluspá'', ''Vǫlospá'', or ''Vǫluspǫ́''; Old Norse: 'Prophecy of the völva, a seeress') is the best known poem of the ''Poetic Edda''. It dates back to the tenth century and tells the story from Norse Mythology of ...

'', and stanza 112 of the poem ''

Hávamál ''Hávamál'' ( ; Old Norse: ''Hávamál'',Unnormalised spelling in the Codex Regius:''Title'': hava mal''Final stanza'': Nv ero Hava mál q''ve''ðin Háva hꜹ''l''lo i ..classical pron. , Modern Icelandic pron. , ‘Words of Hávi he H ...

''. In stanza 19 of ''Völuspá'', Urðarbrunnr is described as being located beneath Yggdrasil, and that Yggdrasil, an ever-green ash-tree, is covered with white mud or loam. Stanza 20 describes that three norns (Urðr, Verðandi, and Skuld) "come from" the well, here described as a "lake", and that this trio of norns then "set down laws, they chose lives, for the sons of men the fates of men."Larrington (1999:6). Stanza 112 of ''Hávamál'' has been the matter of much debate and is considered unclear, having been referred to as "mysterious", "obscure and much-debated".Evans (1986:26-27, and 124).

Benjamin Thorpe Benjamin Thorpe (1782 – 19 July 1870) was an English scholar of Old English language, Anglo-Saxon literature. Biography In the early 1820s he worked as a banker in the House of Rothschild, in Paris. There he met Thomas Hodgkin, who treated hi ...

translates the stanza as:

:Time 'tis to discourse from the preacher's chair. :By the well of Urd I silent sat, :I saw and meditated, I listened to men's words.Thorpe 1907:41).

''Prose Edda''

In the ''Prose Edda'', Urðarbrunnr is attested in ''

Gylfaginning ''Gylfaginning'' (Old Norse: 'The Beguiling of Gylfi' or 'The Deluding of Gylfi'; 13th century Old Norse pronunciation ) is the first main part of the 13th century ''Prose Edda'', after the initial Prologue. The ''Gylfaginning'' takes the form of ...

'' (chapters 15, 16, and the beginning of chapter 17), and twice in ''

Skáldskaparmál ''Skáldskaparmál'' (Old Norse: 'Poetic Diction' or 'The Language of Poetry'; ; ) is the second part of the ''Prose Edda'', compiled by Snorri Sturluson. It consists of a dialogue between Ægir, the divine personification of the sea, and Bra ...

''.

''Gylfaginning''

In chapter 15 of ''Gylfaginning'', a book of the ''Prose Edda'', the throned figure of Just-As-High tells Gangleri (described as King Gylfi in disguise) about Yggdrasil and its roots. Just-As-High describes three roots that support Yggdrasil that stretch a great distance. The third root is located "among the

Æsir Æsir (Old Norse; singular: ) or ēse (Old English; singular: ) are deities, gods in Germanic paganism. In Old Nordic religion and Nordic mythology, mythology, the precise meaning of the term "" is debated, as it can refer either to the gods i ...

", "extends to heaven" and, beneath it, is the "very holy" Urðarbrunnr. Just-As-High details that, every day, the gods ride over the bridge Bifröst to hold court at the well.Faulkes (1995:17). High provides more information regarding the wellspring in chapter 16. High says that there are many beautiful places in heaven, and "everywhere there is divine protection around it." There, a beautiful hall stands under the ash (Yggdrasil) near the wellspring (Urðarbrunnr), and from this hall come "three maidens" whose names are Urðr, Verðandi, and Skuld. The maidens shape the lives of men, and "we call them norns". High goes on to describe that there are other norns, and their nature.Faulkes (1995:18). Further into chapter 16, High states that norns that dwell by Urðarbrunnr take water from the wellspring and mud that lies around it, and pour it over the Yggdrasil so that its branches do not decay or rot. The water is described as so holy that anything that enters the wellspring will become "as white as the membrane called the skin that lies round the inside of the eggshell." High then quotes stanza 19 of ''Völuspá'', and states that two

swan Swans are birds of the genus ''Cygnus'' within the family Anatidae. The swans' closest relatives include the goose, geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe (biology) ...

s feed from the wellspring, from which all other swans descend.Faulkes (1995:19). Chapter 17 starts off with Gangleri asking what other "chief centres" exist outside of Urðarbrunnr.

''Skáldskaparmál''

Two sections of the book ''Skáldskaparmál'' reference Urðarbrunnr. The first reference is in section 49, where a fragment of a work by the 10th century

skald A skald, or skáld (Old Norse: ; , meaning "poet"), is one of the often named poets who composed skaldic poetry, one of the two kinds of Old Norse poetry in alliterative verse, the other being Eddic poetry. Skaldic poems were traditionally compo ...

Kormákr Ögmundarson is recited in explaining how "Odin's fire" is a

kenning A kenning ( Icelandic: ) is a figure of speech, a figuratively-phrased compound term that is used in place of a simple single-word noun. For instance, the Old English kenning () means , as does (). A kenning has two parts: a base-word (a ...

for a sword. The passage reads "A sword is Odin's fire, as Kormak said: Battle raged when the feeder of Grid's steed olf he who waged war, advanced with ringing Gaut din'sfire." and that Urðr "rose from the wellspring."Faulkes (1995:121). Urðarbrunnr is mentioned a second time in section 52 of ''Skáldskaparmál'', this time associated with

Christ Jesus ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Christianity, central figure of Christianity, the M ...

. The section states that early skalds once referred to Christ in relation to Urðarbrunnr and

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, and quotes the late 10th century skald

Eilífr Goðrúnarson Eilífr Goðrúnarson (Old Norse: ; Modern Icelandic: ) was a late 10th-century skald, considered to be the author of the poem ''Þórsdrápa''. He is also credited with ''Hákonar drápa jarls'' and a fragment remains of a poem with Christian al ...

, who states that "thus has the powerful king of Rome increased his realm with lands of heath-land divinities iants; i.e. lands and that Christ is said to have his throne south of Urðarbrunnr.Faulkes (1995:126).

Theories

Temple at Uppsala

Parallels have been pointed out between the description of Urðarbrunnr at the base of the world tree Yggdrasil and Christian medieval chronicler

Adam of Bremen Adam of Bremen (; ; before 1050 – 12 October 1081/1085) was a German medieval chronicler. He lived and worked in the second half of the eleventh century. Adam is most famous for his chronicle '' Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum'' ('' ...

's account of a wellspring at the base of a

sacred tree A sacred tree or holy tree is a tree which is considered to be sacred, or worthy of spiritual respect or reverence. Such trees appear throughout world history in various cultures including the ancient Hindu mythology, Greek, Celtic and Germanic m ...

at the

Temple at Uppsala A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

, Sweden, found in his 11th century work ''

Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum (Medieval Latin for "Deeds of the Bishops of Hamburg") is a historical treatise written between 1073 and 1076 by Adam of Bremen, who made additions (''scholia'') to the text until his death (possibly 1081; before 1085). It is one of the most ...

''.

Eilífr Goðrúnarson

Eilífr Goðrúnarson's

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 ...

-influenced account of Urðarbrunnr (section 52 of ''Skáldskaparmál'') associates the wellspring with the south and Rome. Theories have been proposed that this description may have some relation to notions of the

Jordan River The Jordan River or River Jordan (, ''Nahr al-ʾUrdunn''; , ''Nəhar hayYardēn''), also known as ''Nahr Al-Sharieat'' (), is a endorheic river in the Levant that flows roughly north to south through the Sea of Galilee and drains to the Dead ...

due to phonetic and typological similarities perceived by Eilífr, though there may be no other causative connection. Eilífr is otherwise known as a pagan ''

'', and this selection has been theorized as describing that, due to directly associating Christ with the wellspring, Christ had taken over responsibility of providence or fate.Faulkes (1998:201).

Notes

References

* Evans, David A. H. (1986).
Volume VII: Hávamál
'' Viking Society for Northern Research,

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

. * Faulkes, Anthony (trans.) (1995). ''Edda''.

Everyman The everyman is a stock character of fiction. An ordinary and humble character, the everyman is generally a protagonist whose benign conduct fosters the audience's identification with them. Origin and history The term ''everyman'' was used ...

. * Faulkes, Anthony (editor) (1998). ''Edda : Skáldskaparmál : 1. Introduction, Text and Notes''. Viking Society for Northern Research, University College London. * Larrington, Carolyne (trans.) (1999). ''The Poetic Edda''.

Oxford World's Classics Oxford World's Classics is an imprint of Oxford University Press. First established in 1901 by Grant Richards and purchased by OUP in 1906, this imprint publishes primarily dramatic and classic literature for students and the general public. ...

. * Simek, Rudolf (2007) translated by Angela Hall. ''Dictionary of Northern Mythology''. D.S. Brewer. * Thorpe, Benjamin (Trans.) (1907). ''The Elder Edda of Saemund Sigfusson''. Norrœna Society. Places in Norse mythology Holy wells Norns Yggdrasil {{good article