urðr

Urðr, also rendered Urd, is a figure in Norse mythology and one of the three Norns who govern fate. Her name is commonly interpreted as relating to the past, with the other two Norns, Verðandi and Skuld, representing the present and the future respectively. In many sources, Urðr’s role is to preside over what has already happened, shaping how the past influences what is yet to come.

The Norns are depicted as female beings who weave and measure the destinies of gods and humans. Urðr, Verðandi, and Skuld are often described as sitting at the base of Yggdrasil, by Urðarbrunnr (the well of Urðr), where they draw water and pour it on the ash tree to sustain life and maintain order. Their work is sometimes described as weaving the fate of every being with threads that correspond to past, present, and future.

Urðr is primarily attested in Norse literature such as the Prose Edda and the Poetic Edda, where she is presented alongside her sisters as central to the Norse concept of fate, or wyrd. The trio’s influence underscores a worldview in which the destinies of gods and people are determined by forces beyond their control. In modern usage, Urðr remains a symbolic reference in discussions of fate and mythic tradition.