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.[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 lǫg lǫgðu,
þær líf kuru
alda bǫrnum,
ørlǫg seggja.]Poetic Edda (800-1100) Old Norse anonymous collection of poems
Völuspá [Prophecy of the Völva; Prophecy of the Seeress], st. 20 (AD 961) [tr. Bellows (1936)]
(Source)
Narrated by Heiðr.
Urd, Verdandi, and Skuld are the Norns (Nornir), their names interpreted as "the Past, the Present, and the Future" (or "That which Has Happened / Fate," "That Which Is Happening," or "That Which Shall Happen." These Fates are analogous to the Roman Parcae and Greek Moirai. See Turner, Bellows, Pettit notes.
(Source (Old Norse)). Other translations:Then came the much-knowing virgins;
Three, from the sea
Which extend over the oak
One is called Urd (necessity);
Another Vedande (the possible);
The third Skulld.
They engrave on the shield;
They appoint laws, they chuse laws
For the sons of the ages;
The fates of mankind.
[tr. Turner (1836); st. 18]Thence come maidens, much knowing, three from the hall, which under that tree stands; Urd hight the one, the second Verdandi, -- on a tablet they graved -- Skuld the third. Laws they established, life allotted to the sons of men; destinies pronounced.
[tr. Thorpe (1866)]From there come three girls, knowing a great deal,
from the lake which stands under the tree;
Fated one is called, Becoming another --
they carved on wooden slips -- Must-be the third;
they set down laws, the chose lives,
for the sons of men the fates of men.
[tr. Larrington (2014)]From there come maidens, knowing many things,
three [maidens], from the sea which stands under the tree;
one was called Urðr, the second Verðandi,
— they inscribed on a stick — the third Skuld;
they laid down laws, they chose lives
for the sons of men, the fates of men.
[tr. Pettit (2023)]
Quotations about:
fates
Note not all quotations have been tagged, so Search may find additional quotes on this topic.
The Fates, and Furies, too, glide with linked hands over life, as well as the Graces and Sirens.
[Die Parzen und Furien ziehen auch mit verbundnen Händen um das Leben, wie die Grazien und die Sirenen.]Jean Paul Richter (1763-1825) German writer, art historian, philosopher, littérateur [Johann Paul Friedrich Richter; pseud. Jean Paul]
Titan, Jubilee 35, cycle 140 [Siebenkäs] (1803) [tr. Brooks (1863)]
(Source)
(Source (German)). Alternate translation:The Fates and the Furies, as well as the Graces and Sirens, glide with linked hands over life.
[comp. Hoyt (1883)]
