As we have seen, the lower world is divided into two distinct halves: the warm, green fields of Hel in the South and the cold, dismal Niflhel in the North. Mimir's Grove (Hoddmimis holt) lies between them. As demonstrated in the general commentary to this stanza, the root extending to Urd’s well best corresponds to the root “with Hel” .  Clearly, it is not Mimir's well, and it is distinct from the northern root of the world-tree inhabited by giants, ogresses, dwarves, dark-elves, and the corpses of men (Hrafnagaldur Óðinns 25).

Plainly stated, Urd’s well is located in the green fields of Hel in the southern half of the underworld. Urd's thingstead, where the gods meet daily Grímnismál 29 and 30, is located in the warm southern regions on the great fields and grasslands of the lower world. To the north, across Nidi’s mountains (Nidafjöll) lies Niflhel (Mist-Hel) in the ancient wastes of Niflheim, the birthplace of the frost-giants and the home of the well Hvergelmir ("Roaring Kettle"), the mother of all waters, Grímnismál 27. Mimir’s well and realm occupy the mild, windless space between them, "where Ginungagap once was" (Gylfaginning 15), at the very center of all Creation. Together, these three realms form the underworld of the Old Norse cosmology. Midgard lies directly above them. And Asgard up above it ("upp í Goðheim", Sonatorrek).  

Urd and her sisters are known collectively (but not exclusively) as “Norns”.  They determine the fate of all living beings. Even the Æsir are subject to their edict, as Baldur’s death demonstrates. Odin himself is unable to prevent his son's or his own impending fate. Nor can he escape his own fate.

Yet, despite the three Norns' powerful position, we find relatively little information about them in the lore. The origin of the Norns is nowhere narrated. Their role is never clearly defined either in Snorri's Edda or the poems of the Poetic Edda. They remain shadowy figures shrouded in mystery. What we learn of them, we must glean from the various references to them.  First, there are more than three Norns.

 Fafnismál 

See Karen Bek-Pedersen, Are the Spinning Norns Just a Yarn?, 13th International Saga Conference, 2006

Foremost among the Norns is Urd (Wierd) accompanied by her two sisters. Urd and her sisters, Verdandi and Skuld, are named in Völuspá 20.
 

The second instance, partially euhemerized, occurs in the Þáttr of Nornagestr, ch. 11,  which describes the Norns as visiting völvas who bestow gifts on a child at birth and predict his future.

Þáttr of Nornagestr, ch. 11

The heathen practice of visiting wise-women bestowing gifts on a child at birth continued to find expression several hundred years after the heathen era.  A remarkably similar episode occurs at the beginning of the fairy-tale Dornröschen (Briar-Rose or  Sleeping Beauty),  first recorded in the 1800s:

“The Queen had a little girl who was so pretty that the King could not contain himself for joy, and ordered a great feast. He invited not only his kindred, friends and acquaintance, but also the Wise Women, in order that they might be kind and well-disposed towards the child. There were thirteen of them in his kingdom, but, as he had only twelve golden plates for them to eat out of, one of them had to be left at home. The feast was held with all manner of splendour and when it came to an end the Wise Women bestowed their magic gifts upon the baby: one gave virtue, another beauty, a third riches, and so on with everything in the world that one can wish for. When eleven of them had made their promises, suddenly the thirteenth came in. She wished to avenge herself for not having been invited, and without greeting, or even looking at any one, she cried with a loud voice, "The King's daughter shall in her fifteenth year prick herself with a spindle, and fall down dead." And, without saying a word more, she turned round and left the room.”

Throughout the Poetic Edda, we find numerous references to the Norns’ ability to shape the fates of men, instilling them with irresistable desires to fullfill the destiny laid out for them:

Grougaldr 4

Besides this important function, the Norns also tend Yggdrasil’s Ash, laving it with the holy waters from Urd’s well. Elaborating on a passage in Völuspá 19 (which he quotes), Snorri explains:

The poem Fjölsvinnsmál gives us additional insights into the nature of the world-tree. There the young hero Svipdag approaches the gates of Asgard, asking Fjölviður (Odin, cp. Grímnismál 47) about what he sees there: 

Stanza 22 informs us about the special qualities of its fruit:

Of interest here, in the last stanza, the tree is said to “mete out fate among men” (mönnum mjötuður). The word mjötuður is related to Old English Metod (a name of the Christian God in Beowulf)  and its meaning is undisputed: "one who metes out, force of destiny, fate". The World-Tree is actually named mjötviður, ‘the tree of fate”,  in Völuspá 2.

Although stanza 22 is cryptic, it seems to suggest that the fruits of this tree were seen as forming the embryos of human beings, the seed of life. They are transported into the wombs of women, and there transformed into human embryos upon a creative "fire" burning inside the belly. The womb carries the unborn child (innar skýli) until the time comes for it to be born (utar hverfa). In light of such an interpretation, it becomes obvious why the tree “metes out fate among men.” Human beings are literally born from it, grown upon its branches as fruit. As weavers of fate, the norns were probably thought to oversee this process.

The notion of apples becoming embryos has been preserved in Chapter 2 of Völsungasaga. Unable to have a child, King Rerir and his pray to the gods for a child. Frigg hears their prayer and gives one of Odin's valkyries an apple to bring it to the king. In the guise of a crow, she drops the apple into the king's lap, while he is sitting atop a grave-mound. After eating of the apple, his wife becomes pregnant.

In confirmation of this, Mimameidur means “Mimir’s Tree.” There can be little doubt that Mimameidur is Yggdrasill, the World-Tree, itself. This identification is supported by the use of a similar formulation in Hávamál 138 to describe a vindga meiði, “windy tree” that Odin hung himself on:

Of Yggdrasill, Snorri says in Gylfaginning 14: "Its branches spread out over all the world and extend across the sky. Three of the tree's roots support it and extend very, very far."  The same tree is also known as askur Yggdrasils, Læraður, mjötviður, and hárbaðmur. The tree can be called Mímir’s Tree because he is the guardian of the well beneath the tree's central root. As giants, and two of the oldest beings in the universe, no one, not even the gods, challenges his and Urd’s ownership of these sacred springs.

According to the present interpretation of the ancient Germanic world-view (see Grímnismál 29, 30 and 31), all three roots of the World-Tree are located in the underworld: one in the spring Hvergelmir, one in Mimir's well, and one in Urd's well. At the apex of the tree, we find Asgard, the home of the gods. From Grímnismál 25-26, we learn that the goat Heiðrún and the hart Eikþyrnir stand on the roof of Odin's residence, Valhöll, grazing on the foliage of the tree. This suggests that Valhöll was situated at the center of the divine city, and was built around the tree's bole, which therefore must have penetrated the roof of the palace. The topmost part of the tree is thus seen as forming a leafy canopy over the home of the gods. We find evidence of this in the description of Völsung's palace in Völsunga saga, Chapter 2, where a great oak grows inside the palace, penetrating its roof, and the tree's verdant foliage adorned with beautiful blooms, spreads out over it (eik ein mikil stóð inni í höllinni, ok limar trésins með fögrum blómum stóðu út um ræfr hallarinnar, en leggurinn stóð niðr í höllina). Both Völuspa and Fjölsvinnsmál inform us that a golden roster perches in the uppermost branches. Völuspa calls him Gullinkambi (Gold-comb). The later poem describes him this way:

 The stanzas tell us that a golden cock sits on “Vedurglasir, the boughs of Mimir’s tree.” Its name Víðófnir means “the wide-open” and appears to be a metaphor for the sky, symbolized as a cock with outstretched wings. Successive verses expand upon this conceit. For example, stanza 18 speaks of two pieces of meat in its wings (i.e. the sun and the moon) which can be thrown to the wolves at the gate— a reference to the wolves Sköll and Hati who chase the sun and moon, and which will devour them during Ragnarök.

From the context, Veðurglasir (“Weather-Glasir”) appears to be another designation for Mimir’s tree. Here it is used as a proper name. To properly understand its meaning, the word must be considered in the context of the poem. In verse 28, we are introduced to a parallel term, Aurglasir (“Mud-Glasir”).

 Both are unique terms, found only here, and were likely created by the poet of this work. The key to unraveling the mystery lies in Skáldskaparmál 42. There we find that Glasir is the name of a tree outside of Valhöll’s doors:

"Why is gold called Glasir's foliage or leaves? In Asgard, in front of the doors of Valhöll, there stands a tree called Glasir, and all its foliage is red gold, as in this verse where it says that:

'Glasir stands 
with golden leaves
before Odin's halls'.

"This tree is the most splendid one among gods and men."

 The name Glasir means "glittering, glowing, shining" and is most likely related to Glasisvellir, ‘the Glittering Plains”, a term  applied to Mímir's realm in the underworld. Veður means “weather, storm, wind,”  Thus, Vedurglasir is “the wind-tree’, a similar sentiment to that expressed in Hávamál 138 (above). Björn M. Ólsen also concludes that Veðurglasir (Glasir of the Winds) was a proper name and pointed out the connection with Glasir:

"This name (Veðurglasir) seems to be a name of that part of Mímameiður, which rises above the earth, and is afflicted by the weather and the winds."

Thus the name Veðurglasir is a synonym of the term vindga meiði, “windy tree” (Hávamál 138).  Such an interpretation might also explain the name Yggdrasill, "Odin's horse". Of course, Odin’s horse is the eight-legged Sleipnir. As the central point of the universe, the World-Tree was at the center of the eight directions, also known as the eight winds. Odin is its rider. As the great traveler of the lore, Odin was thus seen as riding the eight winds, symbolized as an eight-legged horse. (See Eiríkr Magnússon, Odin's Horse Yggdrasill,  1895, pp. 47 ff).

	The Eight Winds

Aurglasir is obviously another name for the World-Tree. In stanza 24 Veðurglasir was used as a name of that part of the Tree visible above-ground, the part exposed to the winds. Aurglasir is its opposite. Aur means "mud, soil, clay", thus Aurglasir must be the portion of Yggdrassil hidden below-ground, the lower half of the Tree.

All the occurrences of the word “aur” in the Eddic poems can be explained by the meaning "mud, wet clay, wet soil, loam". It signifies the richness of muddy soil as a source of growth and fertility. The primeval giant Ymir was known as Aurgelmir among the giants (Vafþrúðnismál 29, cp. Gylfaginning 5). The soil of the earth was made from his flesh, and was fertile because he sucked the milk of the primeval cow Audhumla. In Völuspá 19 we also find aur- intimately connected with the World-Tree. Here the tree is ausinn hvíta auri, “drenched with white mud.” Aur- is more accurately understood as "muddy water, water blended with mud", an interpretation supported by Snorri's account in Gylfaginning 16.

This mythological aur- was obviously no ordinary brown mud, but a mud of pristine, white purity, which seems to have suffused the World-Tree with life. The source of this hvíta auri, snow-white clay, appears to be Urd’s well, as “these Norns who dwell by the Well of Urd take water of the well every day, and with it that clay which lies about the well, and sprinkle it over the Ash, to the end that its limbs shall not wither nor rot” (at nornir þær, er byggja við Urðarbrunn, taka hvern dag vatn í brunninum ok með aurinn þann, er liggr um brunninn, ok ausa upp yfir askinn, til þess at eigi skuli limar hans tréna eða fúna.) Everything it comes in contact with turns as white as the inner lining of an eggshell. In confirmation of this, Gylfaginning 16 further informs us that snow-white birds swim in its waters: 

“Two fowls are fed in Urd's Well: they are called Swans, and from those fowls has come the race of birds which is so called."

We cannot be sure why Snorri chose the term skjall (the membrane of an egg) to clarify the image, but it should be noted that this membrane is semi-transparent. The same word was used of a translucent membrane, stretched over a frame, and used as a window (instead of glass). Snorri may have meant to imply that the Tree itself is transparent, effectively explaining why, even though it spreads over all lands, it remains invisible to the naked eye. According to medieval legend, shooting stars foretold the birth of a child. As the fruit of the world-tree, unborn souls that occasionally fell to earth as meteors (shooting stars). This opens the very real possibility that the stars were seen as the golden apples growing in the uppermost branches of the tree, visible as the twinkling stars at night. Glittering as it was, the uppermost part of the World-Tree was probably considered to be the most beautiful and precious part of the tree

 Voluspa 27 describes that part of the tree as heið-vönum:

 The LaFarge Glossary to the Poetic Edda defines the term this way:

“heid-vanr: accustomed to brightness, Völuspá 27” from “heiðr, adj. bright, clear— used of days, the sky, the sun and the stars.”

In The Poetic Edda II (1997), p. 135, Ursula Dronke says:

“heiðvönum: probably a play on two sense of heið, ‘shining mead’ and ‘shining heaven,’ the tree’s roots being in the mead, its branches on the heavens."

The sky either shimmers with the light of stars, or is filled with the glittering rays of the sun. In these visual phenomena, Glasir, the 'glassy' world-tree can be seen.

In Fjölsvinnsmál 28, the phrase ‘Eir Aurglasis’ is best understood as a kenning for the pale giantess Sinmara (named in sts. 24, 26, and 30). Eir is the goddess of healing, the physician of the gods, according to Gylfaginning 35. As such, her name was frequently used as a base in synonyms for women in skaldic kennings. Sinmara is thus the woman, or perhaps even the 'healer' or 'physician' of Aurglasir. Since Urd and her sisters lave the tree with mud from her well, keeping the World-Tree healthy, Sinmara appears to be another name for Urd. 

In the Norse sources, death is often spoken of as norna dómr, norna sköp, or norna kviðr —“the judgment of the Norns.”  As shown above, their doom is inescapable. Because Snorri does not mention one, many have assumed that the Norse religion lacked a judgement seat for the dead. Yet, a careful examination of the sources reveals just such a process.

For example, describing mál-runar (speech-runes), the Eddaic poem Sigurdrífumál 12 says:

 This heathen verse tells us that speech-runes are particularly useful in “that court” where people go into “full judgment.” What is meant by “full judgment” is not stated. Hávamál 77 also appears to speak of just such a judgment. It informs us that everyone who dies is “judged” without describing the process. This judgment, it says,  is eternal.

This stanza, in conjuction with Hávamál 76, is typically interpreted to mean that the fame one wins while alive is undying. A bit of reflection by a person with a few years under their belt reveals that is not the case. We know that the deeds of most of those who lived two or three generations before us are wholley forgotten. Yet, stanza 77 says that the judgment on "each one dead" never dies, not just the famous. Clearly, something else is meant. 

Where and how this judgment occurs is of great importance to determining the heathen belief regarding the dead. Thankfully, the Eddaic poems also contain clues that illuminate the process.

Fáfnismál 10 informs us:

Since "every man" must fare to Hel, even those chosen for Valhöll are no exemption. In several sources, we find examples of warriors killed in the line of duty who are said to come “to Hel”. Thus, like all men, warriors too first travel “to Hel” before ascending to Valhöll. Hel is its antechamber. Gisli Surson's Saga (ch. 24) confirms this, when it says that it is custom to bind Hel-shoes on the feet of the dead; even those of whom there was no doubt that Valhöll was their final destiny received Hel-shoes like the rest, það er tíðska að binda mönnum helskó, sem menn skulu á ganga til Valhallar, ("It is custom to bind hel-shoes to men, so that they shall walk on to Valhöll"). Since the youngest Norn, Skuld, is also the foremost of the valkyries (cp. Völuspá 20, 30), we see that Urd and her sisters indeed have some role to play in the process.  Similarly, in Gylfaginning 50, five fylki ('military troops') accompany Baldur to the underworld.

In the poem Sólarljóð, after traveling the road to Hel, the deceased poet informs us that after entering the Hel-gates, dead men must sit on “Norns’ seats” for nine days. What they wait for is not stated.

In Sólarljóð 44, he informs us that his tongue  “became like wood,”  (tunga mín var til trés metin), making it impossible to speak.  Hávamál 111 describes a similar scene:

This is consistent with several heathen accounts, where runes are required to loosen the tongue of a dead man allowing him the power of speech. In Hávamál 157, Odin employs speech-runes when he carves í rúnum, so that a corpse from the gallows comes down and mælir (speaks) with him. According to Saxo (Book 1), Hadding’s companion Hardgrep places a piece of wood carved with runes under the tongue of a dead man. The corpse recovers consciousness and the power of speech, and sings a terrible song, cursing her for it. In Guðrúnarkviða in fyrsta, it is told how Gudrun, mute and almost lifeless (gerðist að deyja), sat near Sigurd's dead body. One of the kinswomen present lifts the veil from Sigurd's head. At the sight of her loved one, Gudrun awakens, bursts into tears, and is able to speak. Brynhild then curses the being (vættur) which "gave speech-runes to Gudrun" (st. 23), that is to say, freed her tongue, until then sealed as in death. Thus it follows that the dead pass silently into Hel.  We have additional confirmation of this in Gyfaginning 50, when Hermod rides to Hel on Sleipnir, seeking Baldur. Madgud, the watch at the golden bridge over Gjöll says he alone makes more noise that five fylki, "military troops," who preceded him the day before.

In Hávamál 112-113, the speaker “sits silently” meditating by Urd’s well, listening to discourse, just as in Sólarljóð, where the dead man sits with wooden tongue “on the Norns’ seats.” Since this is the place speech-runes are most useful, it must be the court where men go into “full judgment” (Sigurdrífumál 12).

Without drawing any conclusions, let’s restate what we have learned according to these heathen sources:

Based on this, it is reasonable to conclude that in the genuine heathen conception, the dead first gather in Hel by Urd’s well, and more specifically at a court found there, awaiting judgment, their final fate not yet determined.  From a wide variety of sources, we know that those who die on the battlefield will eventually pass over Bifröst to Valhöll (located in the celestial city of Asgard), while “wicked” people will “die” again and be sent northward to Niflhel (Vafþrúðnismál 44). Presumably, the rest will remain in Hel, the warm green fields surrounding Urd’s thingstead, to dwell with their families. These, Völuspá speaks of "those on the hel-ways". Saxo (Book 1) tells us this realm is sunny and fertile.    

At this juncture, the destination of the dead is not certain, apparently even for those killed on the battlefield. In Njáls Saga, ch. 88, of the heathen Hrapp, who had burnt a heathen temple and stripped the idols of their riches, Hakon says: "The gods are in no haste to seek vengeance, the man who did this shall be driven out of Valhöll forever," (Magnus Magnusson and Hermann Pálsson translation).

If the purpose of the journey to Hel is to appear at the court by Urd’s well and wait for judgment and even warriors chosen for Valhöll must stop here before passing over Bifröst to Asgard and Valhöll, we might suspect that the gods have some involvement in the matter, since ultimately it is Odin and Freyja who decides who enters their halls, Valhöll and Sessrumnir. Hávamál 113 equates this court with the "High One's", Odin's hall, while Grímnismál 14 states:

Since the gods are in no hurry to seek vengeance against those who desecrate their shrines, this suggests they expect there will be a time for certain redress in the future. Such a view might give comfort to the faithful heathen who saw such men prosper in life, seemingly unpunished for their violations of heathen moral laws.  They could take solace in their knowledge that the gods would act in the due course of time, if not in this lifetime, then the next.

While other Eddaic  poems speak of a judgment on each one dead, place dead men “on Norn’s seats,” and speak of a court at Urd’s well, the Eddaic poem Grímnismál, stanzas 29 and 30, inform us that the gods ride over Bifröst “every day” to sit in judgment by Urd’s well. It stands to reason then, that they sit in judgement of the dead there. For as Fafnismál 10 says, all men ultimately come to Hel.