Urðarbrunnr

Urðarbrunnr, literally "Well of Urd," is a spring in Norse mythology associated with the Norns, the fate sisters Urd, Verdandi, and Skuld. It is situated beneath Yggdrasil, the World Tree, and is one of the central wells connected to the cosmos. The well’s name itself reflects its connection to Urd, one of the Norns.

In myth, the Norns draw water from Urðarbrunnr and pour it onto the roots of Yggdrasil to keep the tree green and healthy. The well is also closely tied to fate: the Norns are described as weaving and determining the destinies of gods and humans, and their proximity to the well signals that fate governs the course of the world. Thus, Urðarbrunnr functions as both a literal source of nourishment for the world tree and a symbolic locus of the order and temporality of existence.

The principal literary source for Urðarbrunnr is the Prose Edda by Snorri Sturluson, where it is presented as the well tended by the Norns and linked to the life of Yggdrasil. The name and concept have become a standard element of the Norse cosmology, illustrating how fate, time, and the structure of the world are interwoven in the mythic landscape.