Well Of Urd (Urdarbrunn): Abode Of Fate Goddesses And Powerful Symbol In Norse Beliefs

A. Sutherland  – AncientPages.com – In Norse mythology, Hvergelmir (located in Niflheim) is a “bubbling boiling spring.”

According to Prose Edda, the spring is one of the three significant springs at the primary roots of the cosmic tree Yggdrasil. Ancient fairy tales in Norse mythology say that this fantastic sacred ash tree had three roots, which sucked water from three different sources.

The Norns and the World-Ash. Image credit: Carl Emil Doepler, Jr. (1905) – Public Domain 

The other two crucial sources of Yggdrasil’s well-being are Mímisbrunnr (Mimir Well) and Urðarbrunnr (Well of Urd, also known as Well of Fate), inhabited by the Norns. Mímisbrunnr (Mimir Well) keeps wisdom and understanding of the world. The well and Mimir’s abode are located beneath the second root of Yggdrasil . Mimir is an enigmatic figure in Norse beliefs, and it is unclear if he is a god or one of the giants. However, he has to guard the well, drink from it daily, and gain wisdom from this source.

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