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 ...

and later

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 ...

, landdísir (

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 ...

dís In Norse mythology, a dís (Old Norse: , "lady", plural dísir ) is a female deity, ghost, or spirit associated with Fate who can be either benevolent or antagonistic toward mortals. Dísir may act as protective spirits of Norse clans. It ...

ir of the land") are beings who live in , specific stones located in Northwestern

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 ...

which were treated with reverence into the 18th and 19th centuries. The landdísir are not recorded in Old Norse sources, but belief in them is assumed from the name .Simek (2007:185–186).

Theories

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 ...

says that the landdísir "are perhaps identical to the , female protective guardian spirits, or else related in some way to the '' landvætter'', Icelandic protective spirits." According to Simek, since the landdísir were believed to live in stones and were venerated there, the practice could represent a form of

ancestor worship The veneration of the dead, including one's ancestors, is based on love and respect for the deceased. In some cultures, it is related to beliefs that the dead have a continued existence, and may possess the ability to influence the fortune of t ...

. Simek notes that Icelandic folklore tells of other beings who live in stones and hills, such as dwarfs and

elves An elf (: elves) is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic folklore. Elves appear especially in North Germanic mythology, being mentioned in the Icelandic ''Poetic Edda'' and the ''Prose Edda''. In medieval Germanic-speakin ...

Gabriel Turville-Petre Edward Oswald Gabriel Turville-Petre (25 March 1908 – 17 February 1978) was an English philology, philologist who specialized in Old Norse studies. Born at Bosworth Hall (Husbands Bosworth), Bosworth Hall, Leicestershire to a prominent ...

theorizes that "the female ''landdísir'', dwelling in their rocks, were probably not far removed from the masculine elves." Turville-Petre connects their veneration to the continental Scandinavian practice of 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

sacrifice Sacrifice is an act or offering made to a deity. A sacrifice can serve as propitiation, or a sacrifice can be an offering of praise and thanksgiving. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Gree ...

to the dísir), the Disting (

thing Thing or The Thing may refer to: Philosophy * An object * Broadly, an entity * Thing-in-itself (or ''noumenon''), the reality that underlies perceptions, a term coined by Immanuel Kant * Thing theory, a branch of critical theory that focuses ...

of the dísir), and various Scandinavian place names involving the dísir where worship may have occurred. Turville-Petre concludes that "the ''landdísir'' of the

Ísafjörður Ísafjörður (pronounced , meaning ''ice fjord'', literally ''fjord of ices'') is a town in the northwest of Iceland. The oldest part of Ísafjörður with the town centre is located on a spit of sand, or ''eyri'', in Skutulsfjörður, a fjord ...

were dead women ancestors of the people who lived there. They had come to be venerated, being goddesses at once of death, fertility, and rebirth."Turville-Petre (1963:196–201).

Notes

References

* Simek, Rudolf (2007) translated by Angela Hall. ''Dictionary of Northern Mythology''. D.S. Brewer * Turville-Petre, Gabriel (1963). "A Note on the ''Landdísir''" as collected in Brown, Peter (1963). ''Early English and Norse Studies: Presented to Hugh Smith in Honour of His Sixtieth Birthday''. London. {{DEFAULTSORT:Landdisir Scandinavian folklore Dísir

Theories

See also

Notes

References