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In
Norse mythology Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology, is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia as the Nordic folklore of the modern period. The ...
, a dís (
Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was 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 ...
: , "lady", plural dísir ) is a female deity, ghost, or spirit associated with
Fate Destiny, sometimes also called fate (), is a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predeterminism, predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual. Fate Although often used interchangeably, the words wiktionary ...
who can be either benevolent or antagonistic toward mortals. Dísir may act as protective spirits of
Norse clans The Scandinavian clan or ''ætt/ätt'' (pronounced in Old Norse) was a social group based on common descent, equivalent to a clan. History In the absence of a police force, the clan was the primary force of security in Norse society, as the ...
. It is possible that their original function was that of
fertility goddess A fertility deity is a god or goddess associated with fertility, sex, pregnancy, childbirth, and crops. In some cases these deities are directly associated with these experiences; in others they are more abstract symbols. Fertility rites may a ...
es who were the object of both private and official worship called
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 article ''Diser'' in ''
Nationalencyklopedin (; "The National Encyclopedia" in English), abbreviated NE, is a comprehensive contemporary Swedish-language encyclopedia with several hundred thousand articles. It is available both online and via a printed version. History The project was ...
'' (1991).
and their veneration may derive from the worship of the spirits of the dead. The dísir, like the
valkyrie In Norse mythology, a valkyrie ( or ; from ) 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 ('single fighters' or 'once fighters').Orchard (1997:36) and Li ...
s,
Norns The Norns ( , plural: ) are a group of deities in Norse mythology responsible for shaping the course of human destinies.''Nordisk familjebok'' (1907) The Norns are often represented as three goddesses known as Urd ( Urðr), Verðandi, and S ...
, and
vættir A wight is a being or thing. This general meaning is shared by cognate terms in Germanic languages, however the usage of the term varies greatly over time and between regions. In Old English, it could refer to anything in existence, with more s ...
, are always referred collectively in surviving references. The
North Germanic The North Germanic languages make up one of the three branches of the Germanic languages—a sub-family of the Indo-European languages—along with the West Germanic languages and the extinct East Germanic languages. The language group is also r ...
dísir and
West Germanic The West Germanic languages constitute the largest of the three branches of the Germanic languages, Germanic family of languages (the others being the North Germanic languages, North Germanic and the extinct East Germanic languages, East Germ ...
Idisi In Germanic mythology, an idis (Old Saxon, plural idisi) is a divine female being. ''Idis'' is cognate to Old High German itis and Old English ides, meaning 'well-respected and dignified woman.' Connections have been assumed or theorized between t ...
are believed by some scholars to be related due to linguistic and mythological similarities,''Gods and Myths of Northern Europe'' by H. Davidson, Penguin Books, 1990, pp. 62-64, but the direct evidence of Anglo-Saxon and Continental German mythology is limited. The dísir play roles in Norse texts that resemble those of
fylgjur In Norse mythology, a fylgja (Old Norse: , plural ) is a supernatural being or spirit which accompanies a person in connection to their fate or fortune., Summarized and translated @ They can appear to people in their sleep as dream-women, or a ...
,
valkyrie In Norse mythology, a valkyrie ( or ; from ) 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 ('single fighters' or 'once fighters').Orchard (1997:36) and Li ...
s, and
norns The Norns ( , plural: ) are a group of deities in Norse mythology responsible for shaping the course of human destinies.''Nordisk familjebok'' (1907) The Norns are often represented as three goddesses known as Urd ( Urðr), Verðandi, and S ...
, so that some have suggested that dísir is a broad term including the other beings.The article
Dis
in ''
Nordisk familjebok (, 'Nordic Family Book') is a Swedish language, 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. The public domain edit ...
'' (1907).


Etymology and meaning

Researchers suggest that the basic meaning of the word dís is "goddess". It usually is said to be derived from the Indo-European root *''dhēi-'', "to suck, suckle" and a form ''dhīśana''. Scholars have associated the Dísir with the West Germanic
Idisi In Germanic mythology, an idis (Old Saxon, plural idisi) is a divine female being. ''Idis'' is cognate to Old High German itis and Old English ides, meaning 'well-respected and dignified woman.' Connections have been assumed or theorized between t ...
, seeing the initial ''i-'' as having been lost early in Old or
Proto-Norse Proto-Norse (also called Ancient Nordic; Danish and ; ; ; ) was an Indo-European language spoken in Scandinavia that is thought to have evolved as a northern dialect of Proto-Germanic in the first centuries CE. It is the earliest stage of a c ...
.
Jacob Grimm Jacob Ludwig Karl Grimm (4 January 1785 – 20 September 1863), also known as Ludwig Karl, was a German author, linguist, philologist, jurist, and folklorist. He formulated Grimm's law of linguistics, and was the co-author of the ''Deutsch ...
points out that ''dís Skjöldunga'' in the Eddic
Helgakviða Hundingsbana II "Völsungakviða in forna" or "Helgakviða Hundingsbana II" ("The Second Lay of Helgi Hundingsbane") is an Old Norse poem found in the ''Poetic Edda''. It constitutes one of the Helgi lays together with '' Helgakviða Hundingsbana I'' and ''Helgak ...
(v. 52) is exactly parallel to ''ides Scildinga'' "Scylding queen" in
Beowulf ''Beowulf'' (; ) is an Old English poetry, Old English poem, an Epic poetry, epic 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 translat ...
(l. 1168). He also suggests that
Iðunn In Norse mythology, Iðunn is a goddess associated with apples and youth. Iðunn is attested in the ''Poetic Edda'', compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the ''Prose Edda'', written in the 13th century by Snorri S ...
may be a reflex of the original form of the word. However, except for the First Merseburg Charm, in which they work battle-magic, ''idis'' only occurs with the meaning "lady", sometimes "maiden." The words are not presumed to be directly related by some scholars, although the resemblance evidently led to influence on Old Norse poetic use. Other scholars group all female deities and spirits associated with battle under the class of idis, dis, valkyrie, and other names, such as sigewif (victory-women, associated by the Anglo-Saxons with a swarm of bees), and find the commonalities both linguistically and in surviving myths and magic charms sufficient cause to group together all variations on this theme from various Germanic cultures. Stories from these and other cultures survive from earlier dates than the Eddas and it is difficult to conclusively construct a clear pre-Christian mythology without conjecture. However, the Germanic languages appear to have had a northward, rather than southward, progression from the initial contact with the speakers of
Indo-European languages The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the northern Indian subcontinent, most of Europe, and the Iranian plateau with additional native branches found in regions such as Sri Lanka, the Maldives, parts of Central Asia (e. ...
near Denmark or Jutland.A Linguistic History of English: From Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Germanic by Donald Ringe, Oxford University Press, 2009, H. Davidson notes a similar northward progression of mythology where elements of Proto-Germanic concepts have metamorphosed or been combined by the time of the initial recording of the Icelandic sagas. According to
Rudolf Simek Rudolf Simek (born 21 February 1954) is an Austrian philologist and religious studies scholar who is Professor and Chair of Ancient German and Nordic Studies at the University of Bonn. Simek specializes in Germanic studies, and is the author ...
, Old Norse ''dís'' appears commonly as simply a term for 'woman', just as Old High German ''
itis The Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) is an American partnership of federal agencies designed to provide consistent and reliable information on the taxonomy of biological species. ITIS was originally formed in 1996 as an interagenc ...
'', Old Saxon '' idis'', and Anglo-Saxon '' ides''. It also may have been used to denote a type of goddess. According to Simek, "several of the Eddic sources might lead us to conclude that the ''disir'' were valkyrie-like guardians of the dead, and, indeed, in '' Guðrúnarkviða'' I 19 the valkyries are even called ''Herjans disir'' 'Odin's disir'. The ''disir'' are explicitly called dead women in ''
Atlamál ''Atlamál in grǿnlenzku'' ('The Greenlandic Lay of Atli') is one of the heroic poems of the ''Poetic Edda''. It relates the same basic story as '' Atlakviða'' at greater length and in a different style. The poem is believed to have been compo ...
'' 28. A secondary belief that the ''disir'' were the souls of dead women (see ''
fylgjur In Norse mythology, a fylgja (Old Norse: , plural ) is a supernatural being or spirit which accompanies a person in connection to their fate or fortune., Summarized and translated @ They can appear to people in their sleep as dream-women, or a ...
'') also underlies the '' landdísir'' of
Icelandic folklore Nordic folklore is the folklore of Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Iceland and the Faroe Islands. It has common roots with, and has been under mutual influence with, folklore in England, Germany, the Low Countries, the Baltic countries, Finland and Sáp ...
."Simek (2007:61–62). Simek says that "as the function of the matrons was also extremely varied – fertility goddess, personal guardians, but also warrior-goddesses – the belief in the ''dísir'', like the belief in the valkyries, norns, and matrons, may be considered to be different manifestations of a belief in a number of female (half-?) goddesses."


Dísablót

There is considerable evidence that the dísir were worshipped in Scandinavia in pagan times. Firstly, a sacrificial festival (
blót (Old Norse and Old English) or (Old English) are religious ceremonies in Germanic paganism that centred on the killing and offering of an animal to a particular being, typically followed by the communal cooking and eating of its meat. Old Nors ...
) honouring them, the ''dísablót'', is mentioned in one version of '' Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks konungs'' and in ''
Víga-Glúms saga ''Víga-Glúms saga'' (Modern Icelandic pronunciation: ) is one of the Sagas of Icelanders. It takes place mostly in and around Eyjafjörður in North Iceland, and recounts the life and fall of Glúmr Eyjólfsson, a powerful man whose nickname, '' ...
'', ''
Egils saga ''Egill's Saga'' or ''Egil's saga'' ( ; ) is an Icelandic saga (family saga) on the lives of the clan of Egill Skallagrímsson (Anglicised as Egill Skallagrimsson), an Icelandic farmer, viking and skald. The saga spans the years c. 850–1000 ...
'', and the ''
Heimskringla () is the best known of the Old Norse kings' sagas. It was written in Old Norse in Iceland. While authorship of ''Heimskringla'' is nowhere attributed, some scholars assume it is written by the Icelandic poet and historian Snorri Sturluson (117 ...
''."Disablot", ''
Nationalencyklopedin (; "The National Encyclopedia" in English), abbreviated NE, is a comprehensive contemporary Swedish-language encyclopedia with several hundred thousand articles. It is available both online and via a printed version. History The project was ...
''.
According to ''Víga-Glúms saga'' it was held at
Winter Nights Winter Nights () was a specific time of year in medieval Scandinavia, held 28 days after the autumn equinox. According to Zoega's ''Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic'', ''vetr-nætr'' referred to "the three days which begin the winter season" ...
(at the onset of winter). In ''Hervarar saga'', the dísablót is also held in autumn, and is performed by a woman, the daughter of King Álfr of Álfheim, who "reddens the ''
hörgr A (Old Norse, ) or (Old English, ) is a type of altar or cult site, possibly consisting of a heap of stones, used in Norse religion, as opposed to a roofed hall used as a ''hof'' (temple). The Old Norse term is attested in both the ''Poetic Ed ...
'' with sacrifices and is subsequently rescued by the god
Thor Thor (from ) is a prominent list of thunder gods, god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred g ...
after she has been abducted.
John Lindow John Frederick Lindow (born July 23, 1946) is an American philologist who is Professor Emeritus of Old Norse and Folklore at University of California, Berkeley. He is a well known authority on Old Norse religion and literature. Biography John Lin ...
suggests that, on its face the text depicts a mythological model for human behavior. In western Scandinavia, dísablót appears to have been a private observance. Even the large gathering in ''Víga-Glúms saga'' was for family and friends. In contrast, according to the ''Saga of St. Olaf'' in ''
Heimskringla () is the best known of the Old Norse kings' sagas. It was written in Old Norse in Iceland. While authorship of ''Heimskringla'' is nowhere attributed, some scholars assume it is written by the Icelandic poet and historian Snorri Sturluson (117 ...
'', at
Gamla Uppsala Gamla Uppsala (, ''Old Uppsala'') is a parish and a village outside Uppsala in Sweden. It had 17,973 inhabitants in 2016. As early as the 3rd century AD and the 4th century AD and onwards, it was an important religious, economic and political c ...
the dísablót was celebrated during the month of Gói, i.e. in late February or early March, and accompanied by a
popular assembly A popular assembly (or people's assembly) is a gathering called to address issues of importance to participants. Popular assemblies tend to be freely open to participation, in contrast to elected assemblies and randomly-selected citizens' as ...
known as the
Thing of all Swedes The Thing of all Swedes (''allra Svía þing'', ''Þing allra Svía'', ''Disaþing'',The article ''Distingen'', in the encyclopedia ''Nationalencyklopedin''. or ''Kyndilþing''
or ''Dísaþing'' and a yearly fair. When
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...
arrived, the assembly and market were moved to a Christian feast at the beginning of February:
At the time when heathendom still prevailed in Sweden, it was an old custom there that the main sacrifices were held in Uppsala in the month of Gói... Sacrifices were to be made at that time for peace and victory for the king, and people from all over Sweden were to resort there. At that place and time also was to be the assembly of all Swedes, and there was also a market and a fair which lasted a week. Now when Christianity was introduced, the general assembly and the market were still held there. But at present, when Christianity is general in Sweden and the kings have ceased residing at Uppsala, the market has been shifted to meet at
Candlemas Candlemas, 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, Christian feast day commemorating the presentation of ...
... but now it lasts only three days. The general assembly of the Swedes is there.
The name Dísaþing (now '' Disting'') remained in use, however, and the Fair is still held every year in
Uppsala Uppsala ( ; ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the capital 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 inhabitants in 2019. Loc ...
on the first Tuesday in February. It may be one of the oldest in Sweden.The article ''Distingen'', in the encyclopedia ''
Nationalencyklopedin (; "The National Encyclopedia" in English), abbreviated NE, is a comprehensive contemporary Swedish-language encyclopedia with several hundred thousand articles. It is available both online and via a printed version. History The project was ...
''.
The stated purpose of the dísablót at Uppsala is to sacrifice for peace and victory. Norwegian places called ''Disin'', from Old Norse ''Dísavin'', "meadow of the dísir", and the possible relationship of the word to the Indian ''dhīsanas'' have suggested to some scholars that the dísir were fertility deities. There are two mentions of a hall or temple of a dís. Hollander translates ''dísarsálr'' as "the hall of the goddess". In the ''
Ynglinga saga ''Ynglinga saga'' ( ) is a Kings' sagas, Kings' saga, originally written in Old Norse by the Icelanders, Icelandic poet and historian Snorri Sturluson about 1225. It is the first section of his ''Heimskringla''. It was first translated into Engl ...
'' part of ''Heimskringla'',
Aðils Eadgils, ''Adils'', ''Aðils'', ''Adillus'', ''Aðísl at Uppsölum'', ''Athisl'', ''Athislus'' or ''Adhel'' was a semi-legendary king of Sweden, who is estimated to have lived during the 6th century. ''Beowulf'' and Old Norse sources present h ...
, the
king of Sweden The monarchy of Sweden is centred on the monarchical head of state of Sweden,See the #IOG, Instrument of Government, Chapter 1, Article 5. by law a constitutional monarchy, constitutional and hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary system.Parl ...
, dies when he rides one of his horses around the ''dísarsálr'' at the time of Dísablót and he is thrown and brains himself on a rock, perhaps suggesting a ritual killing. It also appears in '' Hervarar saga'' where Helga becomes so infuriated over the death of her father at the hands of
Heiðrekr Heidrek or Heiðrekr (Old Norse: ) is one of the main characters in the cycle about the magic sword Tyrfing. He appears in the '' Hervarar saga'', and probably also in ''Widsith'',line 115, as ''Heathoric'' together with his sons Angantyr (''Incgen ...
, her husband, that she hangs herself in the shrine. Although Snorri Sturluson does not mention the dísir in the
Prose Edda The ''Prose Edda'', also known as the ''Younger Edda'', ''Snorri's Edda'' () or, historically, simply as ''Edda'', is an Old Norse textbook written in Iceland during the early 13th century. The work is often considered to have been to some exten ...
, he does list ''Vanadís''—'dís of the
Vanir In Norse mythology, the Vanir (; Old Norse:, singular Vanr) are a group of gods associated with fertility, wisdom, and the ability to see the future. The Vanir are one of two groups of gods (the other being the Æsir) and are the namesake of the ...
'— as a name for
Freyja In Norse mythology, Freyja (Old Norse "(the) Lady") is a goddess associated with love, beauty, fertility, sex, war, gold, and seiðr (magic for seeing and influencing the future). Freyja is the owner of the necklace Brísingamen, rides a char ...
, and ''öndurdís''—'snow-shoe dís'—as a name for
Skaði In Norse mythology, Skaði (; Old Norse: ; sometimes anglicized as Skadi, Skade, or Skathi) is a jötunn and Æsir, goddess associated with bowhunting, skiing, winter, and mountains. Skaði is attested in the ''Poetic Edda'', compiled in the 1 ...
. He notes that in both cases the compound using dís immediately follows one using ''goð'', 'deity': ''Vanagoð'', ''öndurgoð''.
Lotte Motz Lotte Motz, born Lotte Edlis (August 16, 1922 – December 24, 1997), was an Austrian-American scholar, obtaining a Ph.D. in German and philology, who published four books and many scholarly papers, primarily in the fields of Germanic mythology ...
suggested that dís was the original Old Norse word for 'goddess' and that it had been replaced later by '' ásynja'', which is simply the feminine of áss.


Relationship to other female figures

In many texts, the dísir are equated to or seem to play the same role as other female figures. In '' Þiðranda þáttr ok Þórhalls'', the youth Þiðrandi is killed by dísir dressed in black, riding black horses, while a troop of dísir dressed in white and riding white horses are unable to save him. The two groups represent the struggle between heathenry and Christianity. The benevolent dísir here play the role of tutelary spirits associated with a family, and Thorhall the Prophet explains them as ''
fylgjur In Norse mythology, a fylgja (Old Norse: , plural ) is a supernatural being or spirit which accompanies a person in connection to their fate or fortune., Summarized and translated @ They can appear to people in their sleep as dream-women, or a ...
''. The dísir are also referred to as if they are, or include, protective fylgjur in an exchange of verses in ''
Hálfs saga ok Hálfsrekka ''Hálfs saga ok Hálfsrekka'' (''The Saga of Half & His Heroes'') or ''Hálfssaga'' is a legendary saga composed in the early 14th century, based on a legend that has also been preserved in the Scandinavian medieval ballad '' Stolt Herr Alf''.Mit ...
''. Útsteinn quarrels with Úlfr at the court of King Eysteinn of Denmark, saying he believes "our dísir" have come with him, armed, to Denmark. Úlfr replies that he thinks all the dísir of Útsteinn and his men are dead and their luck run out. In ''
Helgakviða Hundingsbana I "Völsungakviða" or "Helgakviða Hundingsbana I" ("The First Lay of Helgi Hundingsbane") is an Old Norse poem found in the ''Poetic Edda''. It is only preserved in the Icelandic manuscript Codex Regius (ca. 1270). It constitutes one of the Helgi ...
'', when the hero
Helgi Hundingsbane Helgi Hundingsbane is a hero in Norse sagas. Helgi appears in '' Volsunga saga'' and in two lays in the ''Poetic Edda'' named '' Helgakviða Hundingsbana I'' and '' Helgakviða Hundingsbana II''. The ''Poetic Edda'' relates that Helgi and his mist ...
first meets the valkyrie
Sigrún Sigrún (Old Norse "victory rune"Orchard (1997:194).) is a valkyrie in Norse mythology. Her story is related in '' Helgakviða Hundingsbana I'' and '' Helgakviða Hundingsbana II'', in the ''Poetic Edda''. The original editor annotated that she ...
, the poet calls her a "dís of the south". Henry Adams Bellows rendered this simply "the southern maid". The dísir are also equated with or play the role of norns. They give an impression of great age, but by the time of the oldest surviving texts, their significance had become blurred and the word had lost almost all distinct meaning. Accordingly, some scholars have argued that ''dísir'' may be the original term for the
valkyrie In Norse mythology, a valkyrie ( or ; from ) 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 ('single fighters' or 'once fighters').Orchard (1997:36) and Li ...
s (lit. "choosers of the slain"), which in turn would be a
kenning A kenning ( Icelandic: ) is a figure of speech, a figuratively-phrased compound term that is used in place of a simple single-word noun. For instance, the Old English kenning () means , as does (). A kenning has two parts: a base-word (a ...
for ''dís''. Unlike the mentions of the ''valkyrja'' and ''norn'', the term ''dís'' never appears in the
Prose Edda The ''Prose Edda'', also known as the ''Younger Edda'', ''Snorri's Edda'' () or, historically, simply as ''Edda'', is an Old Norse textbook written in Iceland during the early 13th century. The work is often considered to have been to some exten ...
by
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 th ...
. As stated above, ''dís'' has been regarded as
cognate In historical linguistics, cognates or lexical cognates are sets of words that have been inherited in direct descent from an etymological ancestor in a common parent language. Because language change can have radical effects on both the s ...
with
Old High German Old High German (OHG; ) is the earliest stage of the German language, conventionally identified as the period from around 500/750 to 1050. Rather than representing a single supra-regional form of German, Old High German encompasses the numerous ...
''itis'',
Old Saxon Old Saxon (), also known as Old Low German (), was a Germanic language and the earliest recorded form of Low German (spoken nowadays in Northern Germany, the northeastern Netherlands, southern Denmark, the Americas and parts of Eastern Eur ...
''idis'' and the
Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...
''ides'', all meaning "lady",; and ''idisi'' appears as the name of the valkyries in the only surviving pagan source from Germany, the ''
Merseburg Incantations The Merseburg charms, Merseburg spells, or Merseburg incantations () are two medieval magic spells, charms or incantations, written in Old High German. They are the only known examples of Germanic pagan belief preserved in the language. They were ...
'' (see below). ''Dís'' also had the meaning "lady" in
Old Norse poetry Old Norse poetry encompasses a range of verse forms written in the Old Norse language, during the period from the 8th century to as late as the far end of the 13th century. Old Norse poetry is associated with the area now referred to as Scandinav ...
, as in the case of
Freyja In Norse mythology, Freyja (Old Norse "(the) Lady") is a goddess associated with love, beauty, fertility, sex, war, gold, and seiðr (magic for seeing and influencing the future). Freyja is the owner of the necklace Brísingamen, rides a char ...
, whose name means "lady" (''
frawjō *''Fraujaz'' or *''Frauwaz'' (Old High German ''frô'' for earlier ''frôjo, frouwo'', Old Saxon ''frao, frōio'', Gothic ''frauja'', Old English ''frēa'', Old Norse ''freyr''), feminine *''Frawjōn'' (OHG ''frouwa'', Old Saxon ''frūa'', Old ...
'') and who is called ''Vanadís'' ("lady of the
vanir In Norse mythology, the Vanir (; Old Norse:, singular Vanr) are a group of gods associated with fertility, wisdom, and the ability to see the future. The Vanir are one of two groups of gods (the other being the Æsir) and are the namesake of the ...
"). Adding to the ambiguous meaning of ''dís'' is the fact that just as supernatural women were called ''dísir'' in the sense "ladies", mortal women were frequently called by names for supernatural women, as noted by
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 th ...
in ''
Skáldskaparmál ''Skáldskaparmál'' (Old Norse: 'Poetic Diction' or 'The Language of Poetry'; ; ) is the second part of the ''Prose Edda'', compiled by Snorri Sturluson. It consists of a dialogue between Ægir, the divine personification of the sea, and Bra ...
'': The name ''dís'' appears in several place names in
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
and Sweden. Moreover, it was a common element in the names of girls, as evidenced on
runestone A runestone is typically a raised stone with a runic alphabet, runic inscription, but the term can also be applied to inscriptions on boulders and on bedrock. The tradition of erecting runestones as a memorial to dead men began in the 4th centur ...
s, and it still is in
Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...
. The word appears as a first element in Old High German female given names such as Itispuruc and Itislant. More frequent are Old Norse given names such as Thórdís, Hjördís, Ásdís, Vigdís, Halldís, Freydís.


Old Norse sources

In a couple of Eddic and
skaldic poem A skald, or skáld (Old Norse: ; , meaning "poet"), is one of the often named poets who composed skaldic poetry, one of the two kinds of Old Norse poetry in alliterative verse, the other being Eddic poetry. Skaldic poems were traditionally compo ...
s, and in various
kenning A kenning ( Icelandic: ) is a figure of speech, a figuratively-phrased compound term that is used in place of a simple single-word noun. For instance, the Old English kenning () means , as does (). A kenning has two parts: a base-word (a ...
s the generic ''dísir'' appears instead of the more specific labels ''norns'', ''fylgjas'', and ''valkyries''. The
eddic poem The ''Poetic Edda'' is the modern name for an untitled collection of Old Norse anonymous narrative poems in alliterative verse. It is distinct from the closely related ''Prose Edda'', although both works are seminal to the study of Old Norse p ...
''
Hamðismál The Hamðismál is a poem which ends the Germanic heroic legend, heroic poetry of the ''Poetic Edda'', and thereby the whole collection. Gudrun had been the wife of the hero Sigurd, whom her brothers had killed. With Sigurd she had had the daughte ...
'' deals with how Hamðir and Sörli go to the Gothic king
Ermanaric Ermanaric (died 376) was a Greuthungian king who before the Hunnic invasion evidently ruled a sizable portion of Oium, the part of Scythia inhabited by the Goths at the time. He is mentioned in two Roman sources: the contemporary writings of ...
to exact vengeance for the cruel death of their half-sister
Svanhild Swanhild, Suanhild or Svanhild may refer to: Historical * Swanachild, Bavarian princess who became the wife of Charles Martel (c. 688–741) * Swanhild, wife or concubine of King Harald Fairhair of Norway (c. 850–933) * Swanehilde of Saxony (c. ...
. On the way, they kill their reluctant brother Erpr. Later, knowing that he is about to die at the hands of the Goths, Sörli talks of the cruelty of the dísir who incited him to kill Erpr, because he would have cut off the head of Ermanaric and made their expedition successful. In this poem, ''dísir'' appears as a synonym of
norns The Norns ( , plural: ) are a group of deities in Norse mythology responsible for shaping the course of human destinies.''Nordisk familjebok'' (1907) The Norns are often represented as three goddesses known as Urd ( Urðr), Verðandi, and S ...
and the translator Henry Adams Bellows simply translates ''dísir'' as ''norns'': In ''
Grímnismál ''Grímnismál'' (Old Norse: ; 'The Lay of Grímnir') is one of the mythological poems of the '' Poetic Edda''. It is preserved in the Codex Regius manuscript and the AM 748 I 4to fragment. It is spoken through the voice of ''Grímnir'', one ...
'', the wise Grímnir (Odin) predicts king Geirröðr's death, which he attributes to the wrath of the dísir. Again, ''dísir'' is used as a synonym for the norns:See Bellows' commentary
/ref> In ''
Reginsmál ''Reginsmál'' (Old Norse: 'The Lay of Reginn') is an Eddic poem interspersed with prose found in the Codex Regius manuscript. It is closely associated with ''Fáfnismál'', the poem that immediately follows it in the Codex, and it is likely th ...
'', the unmarried Lyngheiðr is called ''dís ulfhuguð'' (dís/lady with the soul of a wolf) as an insult. Later in the same poem, there is a stanza, where the dísir appear as female spirits accompanying a warrior in order to see him dead in battle, a role where they are synonymous with valkyries: An additional instance where dís is synonymous with valkyrie is the skaldic poem '' Krákumál'' – composed by
Ragnarr Loðbrók Ragnar Lodbrok (Old Norse: ''Ragnarr loðbrók'', ), according to legends, was a Viking hero and a Swedish and Danish king.Atlamál ''Atlamál in grǿnlenzku'' ('The Greenlandic Lay of Atli') is one of the heroic poems of the ''Poetic Edda''. It relates the same basic story as '' Atlakviða'' at greater length and in a different style. The poem is believed to have been compo ...
'', believed to have been written in
Greenland Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...
in the twelfth century, the character ''Glaumvör'' warns her husband Gunnar that she had a dream about the Dísir. Some of the surrounding text has been lost and it is not known what Gunnar may have said prior to this, and there is disagreement on which stanza number this should be given. A possible translation of the material is given as follows by John Lindow in his 2001 book ''Norse Mythology'':


See also

*
Disa Disa is the heroine of a Swedish legendary saga, which was documented by Olaus Magnus, in 1555. It is believed to be from the Middle Ages, but includes Old Norse themes. It was elaborated by Johannes Messenius in his drama ''Disa'', which was th ...
*
Grendel's mother Grendel's mother () is one of three antagonists in the anonymous Old English poem ''Beowulf'' (c. 700–1000 AD), the other two being Grendel and the dragon. Each antagonist reflects different negative aspects of both the hero Beowulf and the h ...
*
Hamingja The hamingja was a type of female guardian spirit in Norse mythology. It was believed that she accompanied a person and decided their luck and happiness. Consequently, the name was also used to indicate happiness, and that is what it means in mod ...
* Landdísir


Citations


General and cited references

* Simek, Rudolf (2007) translated by Angela Hall. ''Dictionary of Northern Mythology''. D.S. Brewer


External links

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