Urðarbrunnr

Authors: Youla Azkarrula

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Urðarbrunnr, painting by Jessica Gullberg for Stellarium.

Urðarbrunnr, well of Urðr, is a Norse constellation mentioned in the Rímtǫl glosses, which dates back to the 11th century CE and is an Old Norse calendar of 52 weeks (364 days).

Concordance, Etymology, History

Origin of Constellation

Urðarbrunnr (well of Urðr) is the spring at which the Æsir hold daily council. To reach it, they ride across Bifröst (Sturluson 2017, p. 28). The well is located in the Milky Way. We painted it in the area of Perseus, as it fits the end of Bifröst. This way, the Alpha-Persei star cluster could represent the spring beneath Yggdrasil’s root.

Transfer and Transformation of the Constellation

nothing known

Rökstenen, rune stone near Ödeshög in south Sweden (CC BY Bengt Olof ÅRADSSON)

Weblinks

• Norse Constellations by Digitalis Solutions
• Valkyria.com Norse Calendar

All HIP Stars within this constellation

Convex Hull for the stars inside Urðarbrunnr (CC BY Jakob Eyermann).

References

• References (general)