The Disting () is an annual market which has been held in

Uppsala Uppsala (, or all ending in , ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the county seat of Uppsala County and the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inha ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

, since pre-historic times. The name (

Old Swedish Old Swedish (Swedish language, Modern Swedish: ) is the name for two distinct stages of the Swedish language that were spoken in the Middle Ages: Early Old Swedish (), spoken from about 1225 until about 1375, and Late Old Swedish (), spoken fro ...

: ''Disæþing''The article ''Disatinget'', in the encyclopedia ''Nordisk familjebok''
or ''Disaþing''The article ''Distingen'', in the encyclopedia ''

Nationalencyklopedin ''Nationalencyklopedin'' (; "The National Encyclopedia" in English), abbreviated NE, is a comprehensive contemporary Swedish-language encyclopedia, initiated by a favourable loan from the Government of Sweden of 17 million Swedish kronor in 19 ...

''.) originally referred to the great assembly called the Thing of all Swedes, and it is derived from the fact that both the market and the thing were held in conjunction with the

Dísablót The ''Dísablót'' was the ''blót'' (sacrificial holiday) which was held in honour of the female spirits or deities called '' dísir'' (and the ValkyriesThe article ''Diser'' in ''Nationalencyklopedin'' (1991).), from pre-historic times until ...

, the great

blót (Old Norse) and or (Old English) are terms for " blood sacrifice" in Norse paganism and Anglo-Saxon paganism respectively. A comparanda can also be reconstructed for wider Germanic paganism. A ' could be dedicated to any of the Germanic god ...

s (sacrifices) for female powers called '' dísir'' (they include the

Norns The Norns ( non, norn , plural: ) are deities in Norse mythology responsible for shaping the course of human destinies.'' Nordisk familjebok'' (1907) In the ''Völuspá'', the three primary Norns Urðr (Wyrd), Verðandi, and Skuld draw wate ...

The article
Dis
' in ''

Nordisk familjebok ''Nordisk familjebok'' (, "Nordic Family Book") is a Swedish encyclopedia that was published in print from between 1876 and 1993, and that is now fully available in digital form via Project Runeberg at Linköping University. Despite their consi ...

'' (1907). and the

Valkyrie In Norse mythology, a valkyrie ("chooser of the slain") is one of a host of female figures who guide souls of the dead to the god Odin's hall Valhalla. There, the deceased warriors become (Old Norse "single (or once) fighters"Orchard (1997:36) ...

sThe article ''Diser'' in ''

'' (1991).) at the Temple at Uppsala. They were all originally held at the end of February or in early March. The

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

ic historian

Snorri Sturluson Snorri Sturluson ( ; ; 1179 – 22 September 1241) was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was elected twice as lawspeaker of the Icelandic parliament, the Althing. He is commonly thought to have authored or compiled portions of the ...

, who was well-informed of Swedish matters and visited the country in 1219, explained in the '' Heimskringla'' (1225):

In Svithjod it was the old custom, as long as heathenism prevailed, that the chief sacrifice took place in
Goe month The early Germanic calendars were the regional calendars used among the early Germanic peoples before they adopted the Julian calendar in the Early Middle Ages. The calendars were an element of early Germanic culture. The Germanic peoples had name ...
at Upsala. Then sacrifice was offered for peace, and victory to the king; and thither came people from all parts of Svithjod. All the Things of the Swedes, also, were held there, and markets, and meetings for buying, which continued for a week: and after Christianity was introduced into Svithjod, the Things and fairs were held there as before. After Christianity had taken root in Svithjod, and the kings would no longer dwell in Upsala, the market-time was moved to
Candlemas Candlemas (also spelled Candlemass), also known as the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus Christ, the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, or the Feast of the Holy Encounter, is a Christian holiday commemorating the presentati ...
, and it has since continued so, and it lasts only three days. Saga of Olaf Haraldson, part II.

In 1611, the first play in the Swedish language named Disa by

Johannes Messenius Johannes Messenius (1579–1636) was a Swedish historian, dramatist and university professor. He was born in the village of Freberga, in Stenby parish in Östergötland, and died in Oulu, in modern-day Finland. Childhood He was the son of a mill ...

was enacted at the Disting showing a late medieval legend explaining the origins of the Disting, as the pagan origins had been forgotten.The article ''Disa'', in the encyclopedia ''Nordisk familjebok''
Instead of being held in honour of female powers, it was held in honour of a heroic girl who had prevailed on the king and the assembly to stop a great massacre of the weak and elderly to hinder overpopulation. The market was officially abolished in 1895, but continued informally, and it still held in early February. It is one of the most traditional Swedish markets.

References and notes

{{coord, 59.861667, N, 17.646944, E, source:wikidata-and-enwiki-cat-tree_region:SE, display=title Annual fairs Uppsala Retail markets in Sweden Tourist attractions in Uppsala County History of Uppsala