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, galdr and ang, ġealdor or ' are derived from the reconstructed Proto-Germanic ''*galdraz'', meaning a song or incantation. The terms are also related by the removal of an Indo-European ''-tro'' suffix to the verbs non, gala and ang, galan, both derived from Proto-Germanic ''*galaną'', 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
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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'' (from '), related to ', the verb ancestral to Modern English ''yell''. The words are also cognate with Dutch ' "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'' (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'' and in ''Frithiof's Saga''. In ''Grógaldr'', Gróa chants nine (a significant number in Norse mythology) to aid her son, and in '' Buslubœn'', the schemes of king Ring of Östergötland are averted.The article
galder
' in ''Nordisk familjebok'' (1908).

It is also mentioned in several of the poems in the ''Poetic Edda'', and for instance in ''Hávamál'', 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 ''Skírnismál'', where Skirnir uses to force Gerðr to marry Freyr 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, 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 (').The article ''galder'' in Henrikson A., Törngren D. and Hansson L. (1998). ''Stora mythologiska uppslagsboken''.

See also

* Grógaldr
* Runic magic
* Icelandic magical staves
* Seiðr

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