In Norse mythology, Verðandi (Old Norse, meaning possibly "happening" or "present"[Orchard (1997:174).]), sometimes anglicized as Verdandi or Verthandi, is one of the norns. Along with Urðr (Old Norse "fate"[Orchard (1997:169).]) and Skuld (possibly "debt" or "future"[Orchard (1997:151).]), Verðandi makes up a trio of Norns that are described as deciding the fates (wyrd) of people.
Etymology
Verðandi is literally the present participle of the
Old Norse verb "
verða", "to become", and is commonly translated as "in the making" or "that which is happening/becoming"; it is related to the Dutch word
worden and the German word
werden, both meaning "to become".
"Werdend" is not a commonly used German word in modern times, but intutitively means the things that "are becoming", as -nd is the gerund form.
Attestation
Völuspá
She appears in the following verse from the
Poetic Edda poem
Völuspá, along with Urðr and Skuld:
- Þaðan koma meyjar
- margs vitandi
- þrjár, ór þeim sal
- er und þolli stendr;
- Urð hétu eina,
- aðra Verðandi,
- skáru á skíði,
- Skuld ina þriðju;
- þær lög lögðu,
- þær líf kuru
- alda börnum,
- örlög seggja.
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- 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.
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Notes
-
Orchard, Andy (1997). Dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend. Cassell.
