NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Well of Urd

The Well of Urd (ON: Urðarbrunnr) is from Norse Mythology as the well in Asgard which fed one of the roots of the Yggdrasil. Also near the well in a hall are three Norns (or Nornir) that tend the well - Urd, Verdandi, and Skuld, personifications of fate. They engrave the fate of all humans onto the trunk of the Yggdrasil and attend to the needs of the tree. Odin, the Poetry god, dropped his eye into the well to gain the "Gift of Knowledge." Odin completed two other tasks to gain the "Gift of Poetry" and the "Mysteries of Nature." Old Norse is the Germanic language spoken by the inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300. ... Norse or Scandinavian mythology comprises the pre-Christian religion, beliefs and legends of the Scandinavian people, including those who settled on Iceland, where the written sources for Norse mythology were assembled. ... In Norse mythology, Asgard (Old Norse: ÃsgarÃ°ur) is the realm of the gods, the Ã†sir, thought to be separate from the realm of the mortals, Midgard. ... This illustration shows a 19th century attempt to visualize the world view of the Prose Edda. ... The Norns spin the threads of fate at the foot of Yggdrasil, the tree of the world. ... In Norse Mythology Urd (ON: UrÃ°r) is one of the three Norns (old crones). ... In Norse mythology, Verdandi (ON: VerÃ°andi) is one of the three norns, along with Urd and Skuld. ... In Norse mythology, Skuld was one of the Norns, and she was also one of the Valkyries. ...

Categories: Norse mythology stubs | Locations in Norse mythology Image File history File links Mjollnir_icon. ... Norse or Scandinavian mythology comprises the pre-Christian religion, beliefs and legends of the Scandinavian people, including those who settled on Iceland, where the written sources for Norse mythology were assembled. ... Divided between the Ã†sir and the Vanir, and sometimes including the jÃ¶tnar (giants), the dividing line between these groups is less than clear. ... In Old Norse, the Ã†sir (singular Ãss, feminine Ãsynja, feminine plural Ãsynjur, Anglo-Saxon Ã“s, from Proto-Germanic *Ansuz) are the principal gods of the pantheon of Norse mythology. ... Vanir is the name of one of the two groups of gods in Norse mythology, the other and more well known being the Ã†sir. ... The giants seize Freyja. ... A small forest elf (Ã¤lva) rescuing an egg, from SolÃ¤gget (1932), by Elsa Beskow An elf is a mythical creature/creature of Germanic mythology/paganism which still survives in northern European folklore. ... In Norse mythology, the dwarves (Old Norse: dvergar, sing. ... A statue from 1908 by Stephan Sinding located in Copenhagen, presents an active image of a valkyrie. ... In Norse mythology the einherjar or einheriar, were spirits of warriors who had died bravely in battle. ... The Norns spin the threads of fate at the foot of Yggdrasil, the tree of the world. ... Odin (Old Norse Ã“Ã°inn) is considered the chief god in Norse mythology and Norse paganism, like the Anglo-Saxon Woden continuing Proto-Germanic *WÅdinaz or *WÅÄ‘anaz. ... Thors battle against the giants, by MÃ¥rten Eskil Winge, 1872 Thor (Proto-Germanic: *Ãžunraz, Old Norse: ÃžÃ³rr, Old English: Ãžunor, Old Dutch and Old High German: Donar) is the red-haired and bearded god of thunder in Norse Mythology and more generally Germanic mythology. ... This 19th century representation of Freyr shows him with his boar Gullinbursti and his sword. ... Freyja, in an illustration to Wagners operas by Arthur Rackham. ... This picture, from an 18th century Icelandic manuscript, shows Loki with his invention - the fishing net. ... Balders death is portrayed in this illustration from an 18th century Icelandic manuscript. ... TÃ½r, depicted here with both hands intact, is identified with Mars in this illustration from an 18th century Icelandic manuscript. ... This illustration shows a 19th century attempt to visualize the world view of the Prose Edda. ... Ginnungagap (seeming emptiness) was the vast chasm that existed between Niflheim and Muspelheim before creation in Norse mythology. ... In Norse mythology, RagnarÃ¶k (fate of the gods[1]) is the battle at the end of the world. ... The Poetic Edda is a collection of Old Norse poems from the Icelandic mediaeval manuscript Codex Regius. ... The Younger Edda, known also as the Prose Edda or Snorris Edda is an Icelandic manual of poetics which also contains many mythological stories. ... The Norse sagas or Viking sagas (from Icelandic saga, plural sÃ¶gur), are stories about ancient Scandinavian and Germanic history, about early Viking voyages, about migration to Iceland, and of feuds between Icelandic families. ... The Volsung Cycle is the name of a series of Germanic legends based on the same matter as Niebelungenlied, and which were recorded in medieval Iceland. ... The Tyrfing Cycle is a collection of legends united by the magic sword Tyrfing. ... A rune stone in Lund Rune stones are stones with runic inscriptions dating from the early Middle Ages but are found to have been used most prominently during the Iron Age (Viking Age). ... Old Norse is the Germanic language spoken by the inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300. ... The orthography of the Old Norse language since the introduction of the Latin alphabet in Iceland is a thorny subject. ... Norse mythology provides a rich and diverse source which many later writers have borrowed from or built upon. ... The Viking Age is the name of the period between 793 and 1066 AD in Scandinavia and Britain, following the Germanic Iron Age (and the Vendel Age in Sweden). ... The skald was a member of a group of courtly poets, whose poetry is associated with the courts of Scandinavian and Icelandic leaders during the Viking age, who composed and performed renditions of aspects of what we now characterise as Old Norse poetry. ... In literature, a kenning is a compound poetic phrase, a figure of speech, substituted for the usual name of a person or thing. ... The BlÃ³t was the pagan Germanic sacrifice to Norse gods and Elves. ... Seid (Old Norse: seiÃ°r, sometimes anglicized as seidhr, seidh, seidr, seithr or seith) was a form of shamanism practised by pre-Christian Norse and arguably other Germanic cultures and continued in modern times by people who practice the reconstructionist beliefs of ÃsatrÃº or heathenry. ... Numbers are significant in Norse mythology although not to the extent which they are in some traditions e. ... Norse cosmology, as it is given us in the source material for Norse mythology recognizes the existence of nine worlds, assigned the ending -heimr (home, realm, or world) or in some cases -garÃ°r (homestead, yard or earth). ... // Places Asgard BifrÃ¶st Bilskirnir Breidablik Elivagar Fyris Wolds Gandvik Ginnungagap Helgardh Hlidskjalf Hvergelmir JÃ¶tunheimr Leipter River Kormet Midgard Muspelheim Nastrond Nidavellir Niflheim Ormet Reidgotaland Slidr River Svartalfheim Utgard Valhalla Vanaheim Vimur Yggdrasil Events Fimbulwinter RagnarÃ¶k Artifacts Balmung Brisingamen Draupnir Dromi Eitr Mjolnir SkÃÃ°blaÃ°nir Gram Gungnir...