active, and
fearless, looked straight before her, while Skuld, the type of the
future, was generally represented as closely veiled, with head turned
in the direction opposite to where Urd was gazing, and holding a book
or scroll which had not yet been opened or unrolled.

These Norns were visited daily by the gods, who loved to consult them;
and even Odin himself frequently rode down to the Urdar fountain
to bespeak their aid, for they generally answered his questions,
maintaining silence only about his own fate and that of his fellow
gods.

"Rode he long and rode he fast.
First beneath the great Life Tree,
At the sacred Spring sought he
Urdar, Norna of the Past;
But her backward seeing eye
Could no knowledge now supply.
Across Verdandi's page there fell
Dark shades that ever woes foretell;
The shadows which 'round Asgard hung
Their baleful darkness o'er it flung;
The secret was not written there
Might save Valhal, the pure and fair.
Last youngest of the sisters three,
Skuld, Norna of Futurity,
Implored to speak, stood silent by,--
Averted was her tearful eye."

Valhalla (J. C. Jones).

Other Guardian Spirits

Besides the three principal Norns there were many others, far less
important, who seem to have been the guardian spirits of mankind,
to whom they frequently appeared, lavishing all manner of gifts
upon their favourites, and seldom failing to be present at births,
marriages, and deaths.

"Oh, manifold is their kindred, and who shall tell them all?
There are they that rule o'er men folk, and the stars that rise
and fall."

Sigurd the Volsung (William Morris).

The Story of Nornagesta

On one occasion the three sisters visited Denmark, and entered the
dwelling of a nobleman as his first child came into the world. Entering
the apartment where the mother lay, the first Norn promised that the
child should be handsome and brave, and the second that he should be
prosperous and a great scald--predictions which filled the parents'
hearts with joy. Meantime news of what was taking place had gone
abroad, and the neighbours came thronging the apartment to such a
degree that the pressure of the curious crowd caused the third Norn
to be pushed rudely from her chair.

Angry at this insult, Skuld proudly rose and declared that her
sister's gifts should be of no avail, since she would decree that