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Galdr

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TheVölvaswere pagan priestesses that specialized in chantinggaldrs.

Agaldr(pluralgaldrar) orġealdor(pluralġealdru) refers to aspell or incantationinOld NorseandOld Englishrespectively; these were usually performed in combination with certain rites.[1]

Etymology[edit]

Old Norse:galdrandOld English:ġealdororgaldorare derived from thereconstructedProto-Germanic*galdraz,meaning a song or incantation.[2][3]The terms are also related by the removal of anIndo-European-trosuffix to the verbsOld Norse:galaandOld English:galan,both derived fromProto-Germanic*galaną,meaning to sing or cast a spell.[4][5]In Old High German the-strosuffix producedgalsterinstead.[6]

The German forms were Old High GermangalstarandMiddle High German (MGH)galster"song, enchantment" (Konrad von AmmenhausenSchachzabelbuch167b), surviving in (obsolete or dialectal) Modern GermanGalsterei(witchcraft) andGalsterweib(witch).

From these terms are descended words such as theIcelandicverbað gala"to sing, call out, yell",Middle English:galder"magic" and as a component ofnightingale(fromnihtegale), related toġiellan,the verb ancestral to Modern Englishyell.[7][8]The words are also cognate withDutchgillen"to yell, scream".

Attestations[edit]

Old Norse[edit]

Some incantations were composed in a special meter namedgaldralag.[9]This meter was similar to the six-linedljóðaháttr,also used for ritual, but added at least one more C-line.[10]Diverse runic inscriptions suggest informal impromptu methods. Another characteristic is a performed parallelism,[10]see the stanza fromSkirnismál,below.

A practicalgaldrfor women was one that made childbirth easier,[9]but they were also notably used for bringing madness onto another person, whence modernSwedishgalenmeaning "mad",[11]derived from the verbgala('to sing, perform galdr').[12]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.[11]Examples of this can be found inGrógaldrand inFrithiof's Saga.[11]InGrógaldr,Gróachants nine (a significantnumber in Norse mythology)galdrarto aid her son, and inBuslubœn,the schemes of king Ring ofÖstergötlandare averted.[13]

It is also mentioned in several of the poems in thePoetic Edda,and for instance inHávamál,whereOdinclaims to know18galdrar.[1]For instance,Odinmastered galdrar against fire, sword edges, arrows, fetters and storms, and he could conjure up the dead and speak to them.[14][15]There are other references inSkírnismál,[1]whereSkirnirusesgaldrarto forceGerðrto marryFreyr[13]as exemplified by the following stanza:

A notable reference to the use ofgaldraris the eddic poemOddrúnargrátr,where Borgny could not give birth before Oddrún had chanted "bitinggaldrar"[9](but they are translated aspotent charms,byHenry Adams Bellowsbelow):

Old English[edit]

InBeowulf,ġealdruare used to protect thedragon'shoard that was buried in abarrow:

Interpretation and discussion[edit]

It was performed by both women and men.[9]Some scholars have proposed they chanted it infalsetto(gala).[9][11]

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^abcThe articleGalderinNationalencyklopedin(1992)
  2. ^"galdr".Wiktionary.14 October 2021.Retrieved24 July2022.
  3. ^"gealdor".Wiktionary.15 October 2021.Retrieved24 July2022.
  4. ^"gala".Wiktionary.22 July 2022.Retrieved24 July2022.
  5. ^"galan".Wiktionary.24 October 2020.Retrieved24 July2022.
  6. ^Hellquist, E. (1922).Svensk etymologisk ordbok.C. W. K. Gleerups förlag, Lund. p. 177
  7. ^"galder".Wiktionary.14 October 2021.Retrieved24 July2022.
  8. ^"nightingale".Wiktionary.4 July 2022.Retrieved24 July2022.
  9. ^abcdeSteinsland, G. & Meulengracht Sørensen 1998:72
  10. ^abThe articleGaldralaginNationalencyklopedin(1992)
  11. ^abcdThe articlegalderin Henrikson A., Törngren D. and Hansson L. (1998).Stora mythologiska uppslagsboken.ISBN91-37-11346-1
  12. ^Svenska Akademiens Ordbok: galen
  13. ^abThe articlegalderinNordisk familjebok(1908).
  14. ^Turville-Petre, E.O.G (1964).Myth and Religion of the North: the Religion of Ancient Scandinavia.Holt, Rinehart and Wilson.ISBN0-837174201.
  15. ^Schön 2004:86
  16. ^SkírnismálArchived2007-09-10 at theNational and University Library of Icelandat «Norrøne Tekster og Kvad», Norway.
  17. ^Skirnismolin translation byHenry Adams Bellows.
  18. ^Oddrúnarkviðaat «Norrøne Tekster og Kvad», Norway.
  19. ^The Lament of OddruninHenry Adams Bellows' translation.
  20. ^"Beowulf".www.sacred-texts.com.Retrieved24 July2022.
  21. ^Tolkien, J.R.R. (2014).Beowulf: a translation and commentary, together with Sellic spell.London: Harper Collins Publishers. p. 102.ISBN9780007590070.

Bibliography[edit]

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