Skuld

Skuld (the name possibly means "debt" or "future") is a Norn in Norse mythology. Along with Urðr (Old Norse "fate") and Verðandi (possibly "happening" or "present"), Skuld makes up a trio of Norns that are described as deciding the fates of people. Skuld appears in at least two poems as a Valkyrie.

Poetic Edda

Skuld is mentioned in Völuspá, a poem collected in the 13th century Poetic Edda:

Prose Edda

Gylfaginning

In the Prose Edda book Gylfaginning, Snorri informs the reader that the youngest Norn, Skuld, is in effect also a valkyrie, taking part in the selection of warriors from the slain:

Nafnaþulur

In the Nafnaþulur addition to Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda the following sections reference Skuld:

Notes

References

Skuld (princess)

Skuld was a princess of Scandinavian legend who married Heoroweard and encouraged him to kill Hroðulf (Hrólfr Kraki). The accounts of her vary greatly from source to source.

Hrólfr Kraki's saga

Hrólfr Kraki's saga tells that one Yule, Helgi (appears as Halga in Beowulf) was visited by an ugly being while he was in his hunting house. No person in the entire kingdom allowed the being to enter the house, except Helgi. Later, the thing asked to sleep in his bed. Unwillingly he agreed, and as the thing got into the bed, it turned into an elvish woman, who was clad in silk and who was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. He raped her, and made her pregnant. Helgi forgot the woman and a couple of days after the date had passed, he was visited by the woman, who had Skuld on her arms. The daughter would marry Hjörvarðr (Heoroweard).

Much later, when her half-brother Hrólfr Kraki was King of the Danes, Skuld began to turn her husband against Hrólfr. Under the pretext that they would wait three years before paying the accumulated tribute at one time, Skuld assembled a large army which included strong warriors, criminals, elves and norns. She was a great sorceress used seiðr (witchcraft) to hide the great muster from Hrólfr and his champions. They then arrived at Lejre one Yule for the midwinter blóts, with all the weapons hidden in wagons to ambush the king at night. A battle ensued and, in the account found in Gesta Danorum, Bödvar Bjarki fought in the shape of a spirit bear until he was awakened by Hjalti. To overcome him, Skuld cast the most powerful spell to resuscitate her fallen warriors and after a long fight Hrólfr and all his eleven champions fell, with the sole exception of Vöggr who promises to avenge the king.

Skuld (Oh My Goddess!)

Skuld (スクルド, Sukurudo) is a character in the anime/manga Oh My Goddess! and is the younger sister of Belldandy. Her character design shows influences from shoujo and art nouveau.

Creation and conception

Skuld was one of a series of characters created by Kōsuke Fujishima, and is depicted as the younger sister of Belldandy, one of the two main protagonists of the series. Along with the characters of Belldandy, Urd and Keiichi Morisato, she is regarded as one of the four major characters in Oh My Goddess!. Skuld's first appearance in the manga was in chapter 32, The Third Goddess, but she has also been depicted in a novel (Ah! My Goddess: First End), three anime series - Oh My Goddess! (OVA), Ah! My Goddess and The Adventures of Mini-Goddess - and in Ah! My Goddess: The Movie.

As with her fictional sisters, Belldandy and Urd, Skuld has her origins in Norse mythology.Skuld is one of the three Norns and represents the future (while Belldandy represents the present and Urd the past), and this role continues into the series, although the three Oh My Goddess! characters otherwise bear no resemblance to their Norse namesakes. Her affinity is with water, and her magic usually involves manipulating water. Unlike the problems with transliteration that were encountered with Belldandy (resulting in Verdandi becoming "Belldandy" in the manga), "Skuld" presented no difficulties for translators.

List of Oh My Goddess! characters

This article contains character information for Oh My Goddess!

Main characters

Keiichi Morisato

Voiced by: Masami Kikuchi (Japanese), Drew Aaron (English)

Keiichi Morisato (森里 螢一, Morisato Keiichi) is a student of the Nekomi Institute of Technology and a member of the NIT Motor Club. One day Keiichi accidentally dials the Goddess Relief Office. After summoning Belldandy by accident, he ends up wishing for her to be by his side forever. Ever since, the two have been together. Keiichi's pure and innocent personality also puts him in the middle of an unusual love relationship. While he understands his love for Belldandy, he sometimes has a difficult time expressing his feelings.

He is a very skilled mechanic and an exceptional race driver. He is bestowed the directorship of the Motor Club, which he subsequently passes on to Sora Hasegawa. At his supposed graduation from college, he started working at the repair shop Whirlwind owned by the founder of the NIT Motor Club: Chihiro Fujimi. He picked up the one class and actually graduated many chapters later.