
A (plural ') or (plural ) refers to a
spell or incantation in
Old Norse
Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...
and
Old English respectively; these were usually performed in combination with certain rites.
[The article ''Galder'' in '']Nationalencyklopedin
''Nationalencyklopedin'' (; "The National Encyclopedia" in English), abbreviated NE, is a comprehensive contemporary Swedish language, Swedish-language encyclopedia, initiated by a favourable loan from the Government of Sweden of 17 million Swed ...
'' (1992)
Etymology
non,
galdr
A (plural ') or (plural ) refers to a spell or incantation in Old Norse and Old English respectively; these were usually performed in combination with certain rites.The article ''Galder'' in ''Nationalencyklopedin'' (1992)
Etymology
non, ...
and ang,
ġealdor or ' are derived from the
reconstructed Proto-Germanic
Proto-Germanic (abbreviated PGmc; also called Common Germanic) is the reconstructed proto-language of the Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages.
Proto-Germanic eventually developed from pre-Proto-Germanic into three Germanic bran ...
''*galdraz'', meaning a song or incantation.
The terms are also related by the removal of an
Indo-European
The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the overwhelming majority of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and the northern Indian subcontinent. Some European languages of this family, English, French, Portuguese, Russian, ...
''-tro'' suffix to the verbs non, gala and ang, galan, both derived from
Proto-Germanic
Proto-Germanic (abbreviated PGmc; also called Common Germanic) is the reconstructed proto-language of the Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages.
Proto-Germanic eventually developed from pre-Proto-Germanic into three Germanic bran ...
''*galanÄ…'', meaning to sing or cast a spell.
In Old High German the ' suffix produced ' instead.
[Hellquist, E. (1922). ''Svensk etymologisk ordbok''. C. W. K. Gleerups förlag, Lund. p. 177](_blank)
/ref>
The German forms were Old High German ' and MHG ' "song, enchantment" ( Konrad von Ammenhausen ''Schachzabelbuch'' 167b), surviving in (obsolete or dialectal) Modern German ' (witchcraft) and ' (witch).
From these terms are descended words such as the Icelandic verb ' "to sing, call out, yell", enm, galder "magic" and as a component of ''nightingale
The common nightingale, rufous nightingale or simply nightingale (''Luscinia megarhynchos''), is a small passerine bird best known for its powerful and beautiful song. It was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but is now ...
'' (from '), related to ', the verb ancestral to Modern English ''yell''. The words are also cognate with Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
' "to yell, scream".
Attestations
Old Norse
Some incantations were composed in a special meter named '. This meter was similar to the six-lined , also used for ritual, but added at least one more C-line.[The article ''Galdralag'' in '']Nationalencyklopedin
''Nationalencyklopedin'' (; "The National Encyclopedia" in English), abbreviated NE, is a comprehensive contemporary Swedish language, Swedish-language encyclopedia, initiated by a favourable loan from the Government of Sweden of 17 million Swed ...
'' (1992) Diverse runic inscriptions suggest informal impromptu methods. Another characteristic is a performed parallelism, see the stanza from '' Skirnismál'', below.
A practical for women was one that made childbirth easier,[Steinsland, G. & Meulengracht Sørensen 1998:72] but they were also notably used for bringing madness onto another person, whence modern Swedish ' meaning "mad", derived from the verb ''gala'' ('to sing, perform galdr'). Moreover, a master of the craft was also said to be able to raise storms, make distant ships sink, make swords blunt, make armour soft and decide victory or defeat in battles. Examples of this can be found in ''Grógaldr
''Grógaldr'' or ''The Spell of Gróa'' is the first of two poems, now commonly published under the title ''Svipdagsmál'' found in several 17th-century paper manuscripts with ''Fjölsvinnsmál''. In at least three of these manuscripts, the poems a ...
'' and in '' Frithiof's Saga''. In ''Grógaldr
''Grógaldr'' or ''The Spell of Gróa'' is the first of two poems, now commonly published under the title ''Svipdagsmál'' found in several 17th-century paper manuscripts with ''Fjölsvinnsmál''. In at least three of these manuscripts, the poems a ...
'', Gróa
In Norse mythology, Gróa (possibly from Old Norse "growing"Orchard (1997:63).) is a völva (seeress) and practitioner of '' seiðr''. She is the wife of Aurvandil the Bold.
Attestations ''Prose Edda''
Gróa appears in the '' Prose Edda'' b ...
chants nine (a significant number in Norse mythology) to aid her son, and in '' Buslubœn'', the schemes of king Ring of Östergötland
Östergötland (; English exonym: East Gothland) is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden (''landskap'' in Swedish) in the south of Sweden. It borders Småland, Västergötland, Närke, Södermanland and the Baltic Sea. In older English ...
are averted.[The article ]
galder
' in '' Nordisk familjebok'' (1908).
It is also mentioned in several of the poems in the ''Poetic Edda
The ''Poetic Edda'' is the modern name for an untitled collection of Old Norse anonymous narrative poems, which is distinct from the '' Prose Edda'' written by Snorri Sturluson. Several versions exist, all primarily of text from the Icelandic me ...
'', and for instance in ''Hávamál
''Hávamál'' ( ; Old Norse: ,Unnormalised spelling in the :Title: Final stanza: ../ref> classical pron. , Modern Icelandic pron. , ‘Words of he High One��) is presented as a single poem in the Icelandic , a collection of Old Norse poems fro ...
'', where Odin claims to know 18 . For instance, Odin mastered galdrar against fire, sword edges, arrows, fetters and storms, and he could conjure up the dead and speak to them.[Schön 2004:86] There are other references in ''SkÃrnismál
''SkÃrnismál'' (Old Norse: 'The Lay of SkÃrnir') is one of the poems of the '' Poetic Edda''. It is preserved in the 13th-century manuscripts Codex Regius and AM 748 I 4to but may have been originally composed in the early 10th century. Many ...
'', where Skirnir uses to force Gerðr
In Norse mythology, Gerðr (Old Norse: ; "fenced-in"Orchard (1997:54).) is a jötunn, goddess, and the wife of the god Freyr. Gerðr is attested in the ''Poetic Edda'', compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources; the '' Prose E ...
to marry Freyr
Freyr (Old Norse: 'Lord'), sometimes anglicized as Frey, is a widely attested god in Norse mythology, associated with kingship, fertility, peace, and weather. Freyr, sometimes referred to as Yngvi-Freyr, was especially associated with Sweden an ...
as exemplified by the following stanza:
A notable reference to the use of is the eddic poem '' Oddrúnargrátr'', where Borgny could not give birth before Oddrún had chanted "biting " (but they are translated as ''potent charms'', by Henry Adams Bellows below):
Old English
In Beowulf
''Beowulf'' (; ang, Bēowulf ) is an Old English Epic poetry, epic poem in the tradition of Germanic heroic legend consisting of 3,182 Alliterative verse, alliterative lines. It is one of the most important and List of translations of Beo ...
, is described as having been used to protect the dragon's hoard that was buried in a barrow:
Interpretation and discussion
It was performed by both women and men. Some scholars have proposed they chanted it in falsetto
''Falsetto'' (, ; Italian diminutive of , "false") is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave.
It is produced by the vibration of the ligamentou ...
(').[The article ''galder'' in Henrikson A., Törngren D. and Hansson L. (1998). ''Stora mythologiska uppslagsboken''. ]
See also
* Grógaldr
''Grógaldr'' or ''The Spell of Gróa'' is the first of two poems, now commonly published under the title ''Svipdagsmál'' found in several 17th-century paper manuscripts with ''Fjölsvinnsmál''. In at least three of these manuscripts, the poems a ...
* Runic magic
There is some evidence that, in addition to being a writing system, runes historically served purposes of magic. This is the case from the earliest epigraphic evidence of the Roman to the Germanic Iron Age, with non-linguistic inscriptions and t ...
* Icelandic magical staves
Icelandic magical staves () are sigils that were credited with supposed magical effect preserved in various Icelandic grimoires, such as the Galdrabók, dating from the 17th century and later.
Table of magical staves
See also
* Galdr
* Hex sign
...
* Seiðr
In Old Norse, (sometimes anglicized as ''seidhr'', ''seidh'', ''seidr'', ''seithr'', ''seith'', or ''seid'') was a type of magic which was practised in Norse society during the Late Scandinavian Iron Age. The practice of is believed to be a ...
Notes
Bibliography
* Schön, Ebbe. (2004). ''Asa-Tors hammare, Gudar och jättar i tro och tradition''. Fält & Hässler, Värnamo.
* Steinsland, G. & Meulengracht Sørensen, P. (1998): ''Människor och makter i vikingarnas värld''.
{{Norse mythology
Germanic paganism
Magical terms in Germanic mysticism
Witchcraft in Sweden
Incantation