Glossary

Foreword

This is a short list of words that can be encountered in discussions of Ásatrú. It has short and (hopefully) to the point entries. It does not attempt to explain proper names. In parentheses after each word its plural is given. The spelling is standardised, more or less orthodox, Old Icelandic spelling. The exception is the letter "â" which I use instead of the unavailable ó with tail.

The author can be reached at skaldfool@isholf.is.

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The Glossary

Ægishjalmr (Ægishjalmar) - In Icelandic folklore this is a magical symbol. Worn to make people fear the wearer.

Ætt (ættir) - 1. Family. 2. A unit of eight. The younger futhark consists of two ættir whereas the older one has three. The two meanings are thought to be etymologically unrelated. The first did not develop from the second.

Alfaðir - All-father. Óðinn.

Alfr (alfar) - Elf, huldumaðr. See Vættr.

Allsherjargoði (allsherjargoðar) -In the years of the old Icelandic republic (930-1262) this name was applied to the goði of Kjalarnesþing. He was to hallow (open) the old Alþing. In more modern times this is the title of the leader of the Icelandic Ásatrúarfélag. The first one was Sveinbjörn Beinteinsson. His successor is Jörmundur Ingi.

Alþing - When the settlers came to Iceland they quickly found the need for establishing assemblies (þing) such as the ones they were used to in Norway. Various "things" were established to settle regional disputes. In 930 the "Alþing" was established as the supreme legislative and judicial assembly of the country. It was cited at Þingvöllr and maintained its power until 1262 when Iceland came under control of the kings of Norway (and later Danmark). When Iceland became independent again the Alþing was re-established (albeit in a changed form). In modern ásatrú context, an Alþing might simply be a large thing, such as a national event.

Âss (æsir) - A god of the Norse, such as Odin and Thor. This word is sometimes used to include the Vanir and is often capitalised. It is not true that this is the same word as Áss = rafter, beam, axis.

Âsatrú -The word was coined in the early 1800's by scholars studying the Eddas and sagas for the old faith of the Norse people The words below are derived from it and are thus no older. For other words, see "siðr".

Âsatrúar -In Icelandic this is the genitive singular of the word âsatrú, and thus means "of âsatrú.". In English the word has been made into the nominative singular of a noun. The plural is most often unchanged but sometimes "âsatrúars" is used. Thus, people might say "What an âsatrúar must do..." or "There were a couple of âsatrúars at the party". It is only natural for a borrowed word to gain the meaning that is needed for it in the language that is borrowing. Thus there is nothing wrong with this usage of the word.

Âsatrúarmaðr (âsatrúarmenn) - This is the Icelandic word used to mean "a follower of âsatrú". It is long and awkward and thus has not been borrowed into English.

Âsynja (âsynjur) - A female âss, such as Frigg or Sif.

Berserkr (berserkir) - A berserk. The literal meaning is probably either "a man dressed with a bear's skin." or "bare-skin".

Blót (blót) - The worship of heathen gods, may or may not involve sacrifice.

Blótbolli (blótbollar) - A cup in which the blood of sacrificed animals was stored.

Dís (dísir) - Originally the dísir were some kind of heathen "goddesses", worshipped in their own right. They probably had some connection with Freyja and the other vanir. However, the word is used with quite a wide meaning in the Eddas. The valkyries, for example, are called "the dísir of Odin". See vættr.

Dísablót (dísablót) - Religious ceremony to honour the dísir, held at winter nights.

Dísaþing (dísaþing) - Seems to refer to the same (Swedish?) festival as Dísablót.

Dökkalfr - Dark elf. See vættr.

Draugr (draugar) - Ghost.

Dróttinn (dróttnar) - A lord. This word is derived from "drótt" = court and originally it meant the leader of a court. Later it gained a more general meaning of "lord". Later yet it become "king".

Dróttkvætt - Court poetry or scaldic poetry.

Dróttning (dróttningar) - Female dróttinn, thus "lady" or "queen".

Drykkjarhorn (drykkjarhorn) - Horn to drink from. "Drekkahorn" is not correctly formed.

Dvergr (dvergar) - "Dwarf". See vættr.

Edda - The name of two books. They can be considered the most important source of old heathendom: 1. The Edda of Snorri Sturluson (Snorra-Edda, The Prose Edda, The Younger Edda) which is a book written by Snorri Sturluson approximately 1220 on poetics. It was intended as a guide to composing scaldic poetry. To serve as such a guide it explains the scalds' allusions to the gods and tells stories of them. 2. The Sæmundar-Edda (The Poetic Edda, The Elder Edda). This is not really a book but a term used to refer to Eddaic poetry which came to us from other sources than Snorri. The name "Elder Edda" is misleading as the oldest and most important collection of Eddaic poems was probably compiled at about the same time Snorri was writing.

Einheri (einherjar) - Fallen soldiers who are gone to Valhöll and will fight with the Æsir against etins and other evil at Ragnarök.

Ergi (always in singular) - A difficult word. When applied to men it meant 'homo-sexuality' and was very offensive. When applied to women it seems to have meant 'randy' and was also offensive.

Fóstbróðir (fóstbroeðr) - Blood brother or sworn brother. In the viking age blood-brotherhood was established by a certain ceremony, in which the participants (two or more) swore to protect each other and to avenge each other's death. "Blood sister" would presumably be fóstsystir.

Friðr (always in singular) - Peace (or even) friendship.

Fuþark - The runic alphabet, named after its first six runes. There were in fact many versions of the Futhark. It is popular to talk about an "elder" and a "younger" Futhark. The elder one consists of 24 runes and the younger, scandinavian, one consists of 16.

Fylgja (fylgjur) - Protective spirit (the verb "fylgja" means to follow).

Galdr (galdrar) / Galðr (galðrar) - Incantation, magic.

Galdrastafr (galdrastafir) - A magical symbol.

Gandr (gandar) - A (magical) staff or wand.

Glíma (glímur) - Wrestling. Icelandic Glíma is a particular type of wrestling with a strict set of rules.

Goð (goð) - A god.

Goði (goðar) 1. Chieftain and priest in the old Icelandic Commonwealth. 2. Modern leader or priest of ásatrú.

Goðorð (goðorð) - Office of the goði. In times of old, Iceland was divided into 36 goðorð.

Grið (grið) - Peace, truce, mercy. There is an archaic English word, grith, which means the same.

Gyðja - 1. A goddess. 2. A female goði. 3. Priestess at a hof, hofgyðja.

Hamr (hamir) - Skin (of a bird or some other animal). Those who can change their hamir are shapeshifters and are said to be hamramm.

Hamingja (hamingjur) - A positive word meaning much the same as fylgja.

Heilsa - A word taken by some modern age people to be a viking greeting. That Is not completely accurate. See 'Heil'.

Heimskringla - "The orb of the world". A book by Snorri Sturluson on the history of Norway. In the first part of the book "Ynglinga saga" Snorri describes the origin of the gods, whom he considered to be kings, later elevated to godly status.

Heimr (heimar) - A word cognate with "home", meaning a world or its inhabitants. This occurs in various combinations, e.g. Jötunheimr (etin-world, etin-home).

Hersir (hersar) - Regional chieftain in Norway in days of old. Can be applied generally to chieftain or kings.

Hjallr (hjallar) - Shelf, raised platform where Seiðr took place.

Hleyti (hleytis) - Blood relation. Kinship.

Hof (hof) - A temple (of âsatrú).

Hörgr (hörgar) - Not quite clear. Sometimes it seems to mean a pile of rocks used as a place for heathen rituals. Snorri took it to mean 'temple for the goddesses'.

Hrímþurs (hrímþursar) - Frost etin, troll. See vættr.

Huldufolk (always in singular) - The hidden people. The alfar. See vættr.

Jörmungandr - Great staff. A kenning for Miðgarðsormr.

Jörmunsúla - 1. Great column. The huge tree of the heathen Saxons of Eresburg. Destroyed by Charlamagne in 772 AD. Usually called Irminsul but here I have translated its name into Norse. 2. A certain galdrastafr.

Jarl (jarlar) - Earl. Original meaning perhaps: "Warrior, free man".

Jól (always plural) - Yule.

Jötunn (jötnar) - Etin. See vættr.

Kenning (kenningar) - A special type of condensed metaphor much used in Old Norse poetry. Calling Thor "Protector of Midgard" or Odin "The enemy of the wolf" are examples of kennings.

Landvættir - The vættir that protect a land. Iceland has four landvættir: A dragon, a vulture, an ox and a giant (risi). Those fellows can be seen on one side of Icelandic coins, the other side illustrates fish.

Ljósalfr (ljosalfar) - Light elf. See vættr.

Miðsumarsblót (miðsumarsblót) - Mid-summer blót.

Mjöðr (always in singular) - Mead. An alcoholic drink brewed from fermented honey.

Níð (níð) - Libel, defamation, calumny, cursing.

Níðstöng níðstangir) - A pole with cursing carved on, preferably with runes..

Norn (nornir) - A goddess of fate. There are three great nornir, Urðr, Verðandi and Skuld. They seem to represent past, present and future.

Öl (always singular) - Beer, mead, ale.

Ørlag (ørlög) - "That which is laid on", fate, destiny, weird. Usually used in plural.

Risi (risa, risar, risa) - Giant. See vættr.

Rún (rúnar, rúnar, rúna) - 1. Secret. 2. Rune, a letter of the old Germanic alphabet, FUTHARK.

Saga (sögur) - Story, history. When used in English this word is much more specific. It refers to a number of stories (mostly) taking place in pre-christian Iceland. They tell of family feuds, love, revenge and such things. The major ones include: Egils saga, Njáls saga, Laxdœla saga, Grettis saga, Gísla saga, Fóstbrœðra saga, Kjalnesinga saga, Eyrbyggja saga. The authors of the sagas are not know but some of them, Egils saga in particular, have been attributed to Snorri Sturluson.

Seiðr (seiðir) - Magic. An attempt to deliver a more specific meaning for the word will not be made here.

Seiðhjallr (seiðhjallar) - Raised platform on which seiðr was conducted.

Skál (skálar) - 1. Bowl. 2. Toast!

Skald (skald) - Poet, bard.

Sólstaða (sólstöður) - Solstice.

Spá (spár) - Prediction, divination or prophecy.

Spákona (spákonur) - Woman who predicts. Fortuneteller, soothsayer.

Staða (stöður) - Posture, position, standing.

Stafr (stafir) - 1. Staff 2. Letter of an alphabet, even the runic one.

Stallr (stallar) - Stall, a heathen altar.

Sumbl (sumbl) - Drinking session, drinking party, drink.

Svartalfr - Black elf. See vættr.

Þing (þing) - Meeting, assembly, conference (parliament).

Þingvöllr (Þingvellir) - Used in either plural or singular. "Plains of þing" Iceland's most holy place, cite of the ancient Alþing.

Þula (þulur) - Female þulr.

Þulr (þulir) - 1. Old wise man, story-teller, speaker. 2. It is possible that in days of yore the word was used to mean some kind of goði, a man taking care of diction during religious ceremonies.

Þurs (þursar) - Etin, giant. See vættr.

Tala - Number.

Tívar (already in plural) - The gods (æsir and vanir).

Troll (troll) - Troll. See vættr.

Trú (always in singular) - Faith, trust.

Varðloka / varðlokka (varðlokur/varðlokkur) Rhyme sung at seiðr. Magical poem. The exact meaning and origin of this word is unclear.Magical poem.

Vættr (vættir) - Supernatural being, wight. There is confusion about the usage of the words vættr, dís, norn, jötunn, þurs, hrímþurs, bergþurs, alfr, svartalfr, dökkalfr, ljósalfr, fylgja, hamingja, huldufolk, risi, bergrisi, troll etc. This is understandable because of the scarcitiy of sources we have about the lesser beings of ásatrú. Even in heathen days all those words were probably not clearly defined. Nevertheless I shall try to explain a bit. See the entries for each and the text below. Vættr has the broadest meaning, it can include any of the others (it might even be used to include the gods). Jötnar or þursar are the descendents of Ýmir and opponents of the gods. They are ancient beings and come in various types. Hrímþursar are creatures of frost, Ýmir himself was a hrímþurs, but only some of his descendants are. Múspellsmegir or eldjötnar are the fire etins. They live in Múspellsheimr and their leader is Surtr. Bergrisar are the giants of the mountains. Troll are also some kind of etins, they are more prominent in folklore than myth. Dvergar are dwarfs but may also be called svartalfar or dökkalfar. They were worms on the flesh of Ýmir but the gods gave them minds and a humanoid shape. They dwell in the earth and rocks. Alfar (who should be called ljósalfar if the dwarfs are called dökkalfar) are elfs. Their origin is uncertain but they seem to have some relation with the vanir, sometimes they even appear to be the same. They are usually thought of as bright, beautiful and noble. It should be noted that little distinction is made between light and dark elves in Icelandic folklore. Our latter day elves live in rocks but have the appearance of light elves. They prefer to be called huldufolk (hidden people). Fylgjur or hamingjur are spirits which follow men and protect them. They sometimes assume the shape of women. Dís is a word with broad meaning, it can be used to mean any (supernatural) female being (nornir, fylgjur, valkyrjur etc.). However it would appear that the dísir originally were godly beings in their own right and worshipped as such. Nornir are women (of the races of æsir, light elfs or dark elfs, perhaps even etins) which control the fate of men. The three most prominent ones are Urðr, Verðandi and Skuld (Wyrd, Becoming and Shild).

Valkyrja valkyrjur) - Valkyrie (or walkyrie). Valkyrja literally means "chooser of the slain". The valkyries are a group of women of unknown origin. They are in service of Óðinn and are sent by him to gather the "souls" of slain warriors. The warriors are brought to Valhalla where they will become einherjar.

Vanr (vanir) - God from another family of gods than the Æsir.

Vé (vé) - Heathen sanctuary.

Vetrnætr - (already in plural) - Winter-nights.

Væringi (væringjar) - Nordic man serving the emperor of Mikligarðr (Constantinopel).

Víkingr (víkingar) - Viking (although, etymologically, the English word should be "wiking", that form does not exist). The original meaning of the word is debated.

Völva (völur) - Sybil, prophetess..

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