In Norse mythology, the three beings who control destiny are called the Norns. The best-known Norns are Urðr, Verðandi, and Skuld, figures associated with determining the length and course of human lives.
The Norns are described in medieval Icelandic sources, especially Snorri Sturluson’s Prose Edda. They dwell near Urðarbrunnr, the Well of Urðr, beneath or beside Yggdrasil, the world tree. They tend the tree by watering it and applying nourishing material to protect it from decay, linking the maintenance of the cosmos with the shaping of fate.
Their names are often interpreted as relating to what has become, what is becoming, and what must happen. However, the simple division into past, present, and future is a modern explanatory tradition rather than a completely explicit rule in every surviving Norse source.
The Norns are not the same as Valkyries. Valkyries choose or escort some warriors who die in battle, while Norns determine destinies more broadly. Norse texts also speak of many other Norns, including beings connected with different races, so the famous trio represents the principal figures rather than every Norn.