hist

1) fire;

slá bál = drepa eld;

2) flame, blaze;

gera bál, to make a blaze;

3) pyre, funeral pile;

bera e-n á bál, to carry to the pyre;

stíga á bál, to mount the pyre.

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n. [old Scot. bale, i. e. a beacon-fagot, Lay of Last Minstrel 3. 27 note].

I. a flame, Nj. 199, Ld. 100, Stj. 45 (freq.)

II. Lat. rogus, a pyre, funeral pile; hlaða b., rogum struere, Eb. 314, 264; Fms. v. 328, esp. for burning dead bodies; a funeral pile in the old heathendom, til brands eðr báls, an old law term, ad urnam, N. G. L. i. 50: the phrase, vega e-n á bal, or, bera á bal, to carry to the pyre, Vkv. 14, cp. Vþm. 54, Fas. i. (Hervar. S.) 487; graphical description of those funerals, vide Edda 37, 38 (Baldrsbrenna), Fas. i. (Völs. S.) 204; cp. 333, Hkr. Yngl. S. ch. 27; cp. also the funeral of the mythical king Sigurd Ring, recorded by Arngrim Lærde in his Supplementum ad Compendium Hist. Norv. MS. (composed A. D. 1597), probably taken from a lost leaf of Skjöldunga Saga (Sögubrot), and mentioned by Munch, Norske Folks Hist. i. 274: mod. of a foaming wind, wrath, etc.—bálviðri, n. and balhvass, bálreiðr, adj., etc.

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(-s, -ar), m.

1) bishop;

2) the Jewish high-priest.

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m., in very old MSS. spelt with y and o (byskop), but commonly in the MSS. contracted ‘bp̅,’ so that the spelling is doubtful; but biscop (with i) occurs Bs. i. 356, byscop in the old fragm. i. 391–394; biskup is the common form in the Edd. and at present, vide Bs. i. ii, Sturl. S., Íb. [Gr. επίσκοπος; A. S. biscop; Engl. bishop; Germ. bischof]:—a bishop. Icel. had two sees, one at Skalholt, erected A. D. 1056; the other at Hólar, in the North, erected A. D. 1106. They were united at the end of the last century, and the see removed to Reykjavik. Biographies of ten of the bishops of the 11th to the 14th century are contained in the Bs., published 1858, and of the later bishops in the Biskupa Annálar (from A. D. 1606), published in Safn til Sögu Íslands, vol. i. and Bs. ii, and cp. farther the Biskupaæfi, by the Icel. historian Jón Halldórsson (died A. D. 1736), and the Hist. Eccl. (H. E.). by Finn Jonsson (Finnus Johannæus, son of the above-mentioned Jón Halldórsson). During two hundred years of the commonwealth till the middle of the 13th century, the bishops of Skalholt and Hólar were elected by the people or by the magnates, usually (at least the bishops of Skalholt) in parliament and in the lögrétta (the legislative council), vide the Hungrv. ch. 2 (valinn til b. af allri alþýðu á Íslandi), ch. 5, 7, 13, 16, Sturl. 2, ch. 26, Kristni S. ch. 12, Íb. ch. 10, Þorl. S. ch. 9, Páls. S. ch. 2, Guðm. S. ch. 40, Jóns S. ch. 7 (þá kaus Gizurr biskup Jón prest Ögmundarson með samþykki allra lærðra manna ok úlærðra í Norðlendinga fjórðungi). Magnús Gizurarson (died A. D. 1237) was the last popularly elected bishop of Skalholt; bishop Gudmund (died A. D. 1237) the last of Hólar; after that time bishops were imposed by the king of Norway or the archbishop.

COMPDS: biskupabúningr, biskupafundr, biskupaþáttr, biskupaþing, biskupsbrunnr, biskupsbúr, biskupsdómr, biskupsdóttir, biskupsdæmi, biskupsefni, biskupsfrændi, biskupsgarðr, biskupsgisting, biskupskjör, biskupskosning, biskupslauss, biskupsmaðr, biskupsmark, biskupsmágr, biskupsmessa, biskupsmítr, biskupsnafn, biskupsríki, biskupssekt, biskupsskattr, biskupsskip, biskupsskrúði, biskupssonr, biskupsstafr, biskupsstofa, biskupsstóll, biskupssýsla, biskupstign, biskupstíund, biskupstíundarmál, biskupsvatn, biskupsveldi, biskupsvígsla.

(-ar, pl. brœkr), f.

1) one leg of a pair of breeches (ok lét hann leika laust knéit í brókinni);

2) breeches (but the pl. ‘brœkr’ is more common); vera í brókum, to wear breeches; gyrðr í brœkr, with breeches girt over one’s underclothing.

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pl. brækr, [Lat. braca, only in pl.]; this word is of Celtic origin, and identical with the Gaelic braecan = tartan:

I. tartan or party-coloured cloth, from Gaelic breac = versicolor. Roman writers oppose the Celtic ‘braca’ to the Roman ‘toga;’ Gallia Bracata, Tartan Gaul, and Gallia Togata; ‘versicolore sagulo, bracas, tegmen barbarum indutus,’ Tac. Hist. 2, 20, where it exactly answers to the Scot. tartan, the national dress of Celts; a similar sense remains in the Icel. names lang-brók, a surname to a lady because of her tall stature, Nj., Landn.; há-brók, the poët. name of the hawk, from his chequered plumage (?), Gm. 44; loð-brók, the name of the famous mythical Danish king, shaggy coat, though the reason for the name is otherwise given in Ragn. S. ch. I; the name of the Danish flag of war Dannebrog, qs. Dana-brók, pannus Danicus.

II. breeches. Scot. breeks, the sing. denoting one leg; fótinn ok brókina, Eb. 242; ok let hann leika laust knæt í brókinni, Fms. vii. 170: pl. skyrtu gyrða í brækr, Háv. 39, Ld. 136, Stj. 63. Gen. ix. 22, Fbr. 160, Fms. xi. 150, Vápn. 4; leista-brækr, breeches with the socks fixed to them. Eb. l. c.; blárendar ( blue-striped) brækr, Nj. 184; the lesser outlawry might be inflicted by law on a woman wearing breeches, v. the curious passage in Ld. l. c. ch. 35; the passage, berbeinn þú stendr ok hefir brautingja görvi, þatkiþú hafir brækr þínar, bare-legged thou standest, in beggarly attire, without even thy breeches on, Hbl. 6—the poet probably knew the Highland dress; cp. also the story of king Magnús of Norway (died A. D. 1103); hann hafði mjök þá siðu um klæða búnað, sem títt var í Vestrlöndum (viz. Scotland), ok margir hans menn, at þeir gengu berleggjaðir, höfðu stutta kyrtla ok svá yfirhafnir, ok kölluðu margir menn hann Berbein eðr Berfætt, Fms. vii. 63: proverbs, barnið vex, en brókin ekki, the bairn grows, but the breeks not, advice to mothers making the first pair of breeks for a boy, not to make them too tight; þetta verðr aldri barn í brók, this will never be a bairn in breeks, i. e. this will never do.

COMPDS: brókabelti, brókavaðmál, brókarsótt.

1) colonization (frá Íslands bygð);

2) abode, habitation; setja, hefja bygð sína es staðar, to fix one’s abode in a place; fœra bygð sína, to remove; banna (lofa, leyfi) em bygð, to forbid (allow) one to settle in a place;

3) inhabited land or district, opp. to ‘úbygðir’, deserts.

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f. [búa, byggja]

I. gener. habitation:

1. a settling one’s abode, colonisation; Íslands b., colonisation of Iceland, Íb. (begin.); Grænlands b., id.

2. residence, abode; var þeirra b. ekki vinsæl, Ld. 136; the phrase, fara bygð, or bygðum, to remove one’s house and home, change one’s abode, Grág. i. 457, Nj. 25, 151; færa b. sína, to remove, Fas. ii. 281; banna, lofa e-m bygð, to forbid or allow one’s residence, Grág. l. c.; hitta b. e-s, abode, home, Band. 10: metaph., Hom. 16.

II. inhabited land, opp. to úbygðir, deserts; but also opp. to mountains, wild woods, and the like, where there are no human dwellings: bygð thus denotes the dwellings and the whole cultivated neighbourhood; thus in old Greenland there was Eystri and Vestri bygð, the Eastern and Western colony, and úbygðir, deserts, viz. the whole Eastern side of this polar land, cp. Landn. 105, Antt. Amer., and Grönl. Hist. Mind, i-iii. In Norway distinction is made between bygðir and sætr, Fms. i. 5. Icel. say, snjór ofan í b., when the mountains are covered with snow, but the lowland, the inhabited shore, and the bottom of the dales are free; í Noregi er lítil b. ok þó sundrlaus, i. e. Norway is thinly peopled, Fms. iv. 140, viii. 200, 202, 203, Eg. 68, 229, Orkn. 8: spec. = county = hérað, í b. þeirri er Heggin heitir, Fms. ix. 232; b. þeirri er Strönd heitir, 358; heima í bygðum, Gþl. 34; miklar bygðir ( great inhabited districts) vóru inn í landit, Fms. i. 226.

COMPDS: bygðarfleygr, bygðarfólk, bygðarlag, bygðarlagsmaðr, bygðarland, bygðarleyfi, bygðarlýðr, bygðarmenn, bygðarrómr, bygðarstefna.

mod. dans, n. a word of for. origin; [cp. mid. Lat. dansare; Fr. danser; Ital. danzare; Engl. dance; Germ. tanz, tanzen.] This word is certainly not Teutonic, but of Roman or perhaps Breton origin: the Icel. or Scandin. have no genuine word for dancing,—leika means ‘to play’ in general: the word itself (danza, danz, etc.) never occurs in the old Sagas or poetry, though popular amusements of every kind are described there; but about the end of the 11th century, when the Sagas of the bishops (Bs.) begin, we find dance in full use, accompanied by songs which are described as loose and amorous: the classical passage is Jóns S. (A. D. 1106–1121), ch. 13. Bs. i. 165, 166, and cp. Júns S. by Gunnlaug, ch. 24. Bs. i. 237—Leikr sá var kær mönnum áðr en hinn heilagi Jón varð biskup, at kveða skyldi karlmaðr til konu í danz blautlig kvæði ok rægilig; ok kona til karlmanns mansöngs vísur; þenna leik lét hann af taka ok bannaði styrkliga; mansöngs kvæði vildi hann eigi heyra né kveða láta, en þó fékk hann því eigi af komið með öllu. Some have thought that this refers to mythical (Eddic) poetry, but without reason and against the literal sense of the passage; the heathen heroic poems were certainly never used to accompany a dance; their flow and metre are a sufficient proof of that. In the Sturl. (Hist. of the 12th and 13th century) dancing is mentioned over and over again; and danz is used of popular ballads or songs of a satirical character (as those in Percy’s ballads): flimt ( loose song) and danz are synonymous words; the Sturl. has by chance preserved two ditties (one of A. D. 1221, running thus—Loptr liggr í Eyjum, bítr lunda bein | Sæmundr er á heiðum, etr berin ein. Sturl. ii. 62, and one referring to the year 1264—Mínar eru sorgirnar þungar sem blý, Sturl. iii. 317) sufficient to shew the flow and metre, which are exactly the same as those of the mod. ballads, collected in the west of Icel. (Ögr) in the 17th century under the name of Fornkvæði, Old Songs, and now edited by Jon Sigurdsson and Svend Grundtvig. Danz and Fornkvæði are both of the same kind, and also identical with Engl. ballads, Dan. kæmpeviser. There are passages in Sturl. and B.S. referring to this subject — færðu Breiðbælingar Lopt í flimtun ok görðu um hann danza marga, ok margskonar spott annat, Sturl. ii. 57, cp. 62; Danza-Bergr, the nickname of a man (Stud, ii), prob. for composing comic songs; danza-görð, composing comic songs; fylgðar-menn Kolbeins fóru með danza-görð, … en er Brandr varð varr við flimtan þeirra, iii. 80; þá hrökti Þórðr hestinn undir sér, ok kvað danz þenna við raust, 317.

β. a wake, Arna S. ch. 2; in Sturl. i. 23; at the banquet in Reykhólar, 1119, the guests amused themselves by dancing, wrestling, and story-telling; þá var sleginn danz í stofu, ii. 117; í Viðvík var gleði mikil ok gott at vera; þat var einn Drottins dag at þar var danz mikill; kom þar til fjöldi manna; ok ríðr hann í Viðvík til danz, ok var þar at leik; ok dáðu menn mjök danz hans, iii. 258, 259; honum var kostr á boðinn hvat til gamans skyldi hafa, sögur eða danz um kveldit, 281;—the last reference refers to the 21st of January, 1258, which fell on a Sunday (or wake-day): in ballads and tales of the Middle Ages the word is freq.:—note the allit. phrase, dansinn dunar, Ísl. Þóðs. ii. 8: the phrases, stiga danz; ganga í danz; brúðir í danz, dansinn heyra; dans vill hun heyra, Fkv. ii. 7. Many of the burdens to the mod. Icel. ballads are of great beauty, and no doubt many centuries older than the ballads to which they are affixed; they refer to lost love, melancholy, merriment, etc., e. g. Blítt lætur veröldin, fölnar fögr fold | langt er síðan mitt var yndið lagt í mold, i. 74; Út ert þú við æginn blá, eg er hér á Dröngum, | kalla eg löngum, kalla eg til þin löngum; Skín á skildi Sól og sumarið fríða, | dynur í velli er drengir í burtu riða, 110; Ungan leit eg hofmann í fögrum runni, | skal eg í hljóði dilla þeim mér unm; Austan blakar laufið á þann linda, 129; Fagrar heyrða eg raddirnar við Niflunga heim; Fagrt syngr svanrinn um sumarlanga tíð, | þá mun list að leika sér mín liljan fríð, ii. 52: Einum unna eg manninum, á meðan það var, | þó hlaut eg minn harm að bera í leyndum stað, 94; Svanrinn víða. svanurinn syngr viða, 22; Utan eptir firðinum, sigla fagrar fleyr | sá er enginn glaður eptir annan þreyr, 110; Svo er mér illt og angrsamt því veldur þú, | mig langar ekki í lundinn með þá jungfrú, Espol. Ann. 1549. The earliest ballads seem to have been devoted to these subjects only; of the two earliest specimens quoted in the Sturl. (above), one is satirical, the other melancholy; the historical ballads seem to be of later growth: the bishops discountenanced the wakes and dancing (Bs. l. c., Sturl. iii), but in vain: and no more telling proof can be given of the drooping spirits of Icel. in the last century, than that dancing and wakes ceased, after having been a popular amusement for seven hundred years. Eggert Olafsson in his poems still speaks of wakes, as an eyewitness; in the west of Icel. (Vestfirðir) they lasted longer, but even there they died out about the time that Percy’s ballads were published in England. The Fornkvæði or songs are the only Icel. poetry which often dispenses with the law of alliteration, which in other cases is the light and life of Icel. poetry; vide also hofmaðr, viki-vakar, etc. In the 15th century the rímur (metrical paraphrases of romances) were used as an accompaniment to the danz, höldar danza harla snart, ef heyrist vísan mín; hence originates the name man-söngr ( maid-song), minne-sang, which forms the introduction to every ríma or rhapsody; the metre and time of the rímur are exactly those of ballads and well suited for dancing. An Icel. MS. of the 17th century, containing about seventy Icel. Fornkvæði, is in the Brit. Mus. no. 11,177; and another MS., containing about twenty such songs, is in the Bodl. Libr. no. 130.

f. a rival wife (þær konur eru eljur er einn mann eigu).

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u, f. a concubine, as opp. to a wedded wife; this word is either akin to eljan in the sense of zeal, jealousy, or to the word eligr, as these women were often captives of war and handmaids; cp. the case of Melkorka, Ld., cp. also Gen. xxi. 10:—the word is defined in Edda 109,—þær konur eru eljur, er einn mann eigu, those women are called ‘eljur,’ who are wives of one man; stattú upp ór binginum frá elju minni, Nj. 153; en elja hennar görði henni jafnan skapraun, Stj. 428. 1 Sam. i. 6 (‘and her adversary also provoked her sore,’ of the two wives of Elkanah); systur konu þinnar skaltú eigi taka til elju hennar, Stj. 320, Lev. xviii. 18: in poetry the earth is called the elja of Rinda, one of Odin’s wives, Fms. vi. (in a verse): this word points to the remotest time; the sole passage where it occurs in an Icel. hist, work is Nj. (above), where it is wrongly used, the wedded wife being called the elja by the concubine; cp. arin-elja.

(-s, -ar), m.

1) fence, wall;

2) enclosed space, yard (cf. aldin-garðr, grasgarðr, kirkjugarðr);

3) court-yard, court (þeir gánga út í garíinn ok berjast); riða í garð, to arrive; riða (fara) ór garði, to depart; fig., helmingr skal falla í minn garð, the half shall fall into my share; skal aukast þriðjungi í þínum garði, in thy keeping; hyggjum vér, at í yðvarn garð hafi runnit, into your hands, your possession; gøra e-n af garði, to equip one (as a son, a friend, when departing from home); líðr vetr ór garði, the winter passes by;

4) house, dwelling;

5) stronghold, castle (cf. Ás-garðr, Út-garðar).

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m. [Ulf. gards = οικος; A. S. geard; Engl. yard, garth, garden; O. H. G. gart; Germ. garten; Dan.-Swed. gård; Lat. hortus]:

I. a yard (an enclosed space), esp. in compds, as kirkju-g., a church-yard; vín-g., a vineyard; stakk-g., a stack-yard; hey-g., a hay-yard; kál-g., a kale-yard; urta-g., a kitchen-garden; aldin-g. and gras-g., a garden; dýra-g., a ‘deer-yard,’ a park:—garðr, alone, is a hay-yard (round the hay-ricks); hence garðs-seti or garð-seti, q. v.

2. a court-yard, court and premises; þeir ganga út í garðinn ok berjask, Edda 25, a paraphrase from ‘túnum’ in Gm. 41; þeir Grímr hittu menn at máli úti í garðinum, Eg. 109; þá sá hann at öðrum-megin í garðinum brunaði fram merkit, Ó. H. 31; ganga til garðs, 71; mikill kamarr ( privy) var í garðinun, id.; en er þeir Hrærekr sátu í garðinum, 72; fóru þegar þangat í garðinn sem líkin vóru, id.; er hann kom heim í þorpit ok gékk um garðinn, Fms. x. 218; gengið hef eg um garðinn móð, gleðistundir dvína, a ditty; innan stokks ( within doors) eða í garði úti, Gþl. 136; eigi nenni ek at hann deyi undir görðum mínum, Lv. 59:—a fishyard, Vm. 14.

3. esp. in Norway, Denmark, and Sweden, a house or building in a town or village, [Dan. gaard = Icel. bær]; hann var í Hróiskeldu ok átti þar garð, Bjarn. 6; Egill spurði hvar g. sá væri í borginni (in York) er Arinbjörn setti, Eg. 407; hann var í garði þeim er Hallvarðs-g. var kallaðr, Bs. i. 634; í garð Arons, 636; konungs-g., the king’s yard, Fms. passim and in records referring to Norway. garða-leiga, u, f. house-rent, H. E. i. 394. garða-sól, f., botan. the orach, Hjalt. garðs-bóndi, a, m. a house-owner, Grett. 103, Jb. 157. garðs-horn, n. a ‘yard-nook,’ cottage, Fas. iii. 648: esp. in tales, in the phrase, kongur og drottning í ríki sínu og karl og kerling í Garðshorni, Ísl. Þjóðs. passim: the saying, það er ekki krókr að koma í Garðshorn. garðs-húsfreyja, u, f. a town-lady, Grett. 158 A: in Icel., where the whole population are country-folk, this sense of garðr is only used in metaph. phrases, saws, = home, house; kemr engi sá til garðs ( to the house) at viti hvat í sé, Band. 13; fátækum manni er til garðs kemr, Dipl. ii. 14; hyggjum ver at í yðvarn garð hafi runnit, into your hands, your possession, Ld. 206; helmingr skal falla í minn garð, the half shall fall into my share, Fær. 117; skal aukask þriðjungi í þínum garði, in thy keeping, Nj. 3; þótt nökkut komi þat ór várum garði, 54; leggja málaferli í garð e-s, to bring a case home to one, Sturl. ii. 27; þess alls ens ílla sem þá var honum í garð borit, all the evil that was brought to his door, Hom. 119; Guð í garði ok góð Jól, a greeting, Grett. 99 (MS.); líðr vetr ór garði, the winter passed by, Nj. 112; ríða í garð, to arrive (of a rider), Sturl. iii. 185; ríða ór garði, to depart, Ld. 96; ríða um garð, to pass by; vísa gestum á garð várn, Fas. iii. 5; göra e-n af garði (mod. ór garði), to equip one when departing, e. g. a son, a friend, or the like; eigi ertú svá af garði görr sem ek vilda (a mother to a departing son), Grett. 94; hversu herralega keisarinn görði hann af garði, Karl. 148; ok hefða ek gört þik af garði með gleði ok fagnaði, Stj. 181; but esp. to endow a daughter when married, göra dóttur sína vel (ílla) ór garði, etc.; búa í garð, to prepare; hann hefir svá í garðinn búit, he has made his bed so: the phrase, það er allt um garð gengið, all past, done, bygone; föður-g., father house, paternal house; bú-garðr, an estate: also in poets, í Eyjafirði upp á Grund á þann garðinn fríða, a ditty:—a local name of several farms in Icel., Garðr, sing., or more usually Garðar, Landn., prob. from corn-fields: the saying, víðar er Guð enn í Görðum, addressed to presumptuous people who think God is God only for themselves.

4. denoting a stronghold; tann-g., the ‘tooth-wall,’ the teeth and gums, Gr. ερκος οδόντων; Ás-garðr, the hold of the gods, Edda; Mið-garðr, Middle-hold, i. e. the earth; Út-garðar, Outer-hold, where the giants dwell, Edda: the phrase, ráðast á garðinn þar sem hann er laegstr, to assault the weakest part, to encroach upon the weak and helpless.

5. in western Icel. a heavy snow-storm is called garðr.

II. in Icel. sense a fence of any kind; garðr of þjóðbraut þvera, Grág. ii. 264: in the law phrase, garðr er granna sættir, a fence ( yard) is a settler among neighbours (i. e. forms the landmark), Gþl., Jb. 258; leggja garða, to make fences, Rm. 12, Landn. App. 325; þeir biðu hjá garði nokkurum, Nj. 170: esp. the fence around the homefield, also called tún-g., Grág. i. 82, 453, Nj. 83, 114, Eg. 766, Ld. 148. Ísl. ii. 357, passim; skíð-g., a rail fence; grjót-g., a stone fence; torf-g., a turf fence; haga-g., the hedge of a pasture, Eb. 132; tún-g., a ‘tún’ fence; virkis-g., a castle wall, Fb. ii. 73 (in a verse); stíflu-g., a ditch: rif-g., a swathe.

COMPDS: garðsendi, garðshlið, garðskrókr, garðsrúst, garðsönn.

III. Garðar, m. pl. (í Görðum), Garða-ríki or Garða-veldi, n. the empire of Gardar, is the old Scandin. name of the Scandinavian-Russian kingdom of the 10th and 11th centuries, parts of which were Hólm-garðar, Kænu-garðar, Nov-gorod, etc.; the name being derived from the castles or strongholds ( gardar) which the Scandinavians erected among the Slavonic people, and the word tells the same tale as the Roman ‘castle’ in England; cp. the interesting passage in Ó. H. ch. 65—ok má enn sjá þær jarðborgir (earth-works, castles) ok önnur stórvirki þau er hann görði,—K. Þ. K. 158, Fms., Ó. H. passim, (cp. Munch Det Norske Folks Hist. i. 39 sqq.); the mod. Russ. gorod and grad are the remains of the old Scandin. garðr = a castle; cp. Gerzkr, adj. from Gardar, i. e. Russian,

β. Mikli-garðr—the ‘Muckle-yard’ the Great town, i. e. Constantinople, passim.

COMPDS: Garðaríkismenn, Garðskonungr.

a, m., pl. Gotnar, the Goths; hence Gotland, n. Gotland; Gotneskr, adj. Gothic, Lex. Poët.; Gota-veldi, n. the Gothic empire, (of the island Gotland, A. D. 1319.) The name of the Goths with compds occurs freq. in Scandin. history, esp. in Sagas referring to the mythical age; and distinction is made between Ey-Gotar, the Island-Goths, i. e. the inhabitants of the Danish Isles, and Reið-Gotar or Hreð-Gotar in the south of Sweden. According to Jornandes and the late Norwegian historian P. A. Munch, a race of Gothic origin, speaking a dialect closely akin to that of Ulfilas, lived in parts of Scandinavia during the 3rd and 4th centuries of our era; Munch even supposes that Ermanarik (Jörmunrekr) was a Scandinavian-Gothic king, and lived in the 4th century, and that the Runic monuments on the Golden horn, the stone in Tune, the Bracteats, etc., are of this and the subsequent period; on this interesting question see Munch’s Norske Folk’s Hist., vol. i, and several essays by the same.

II. poët. a horse, Lex. Poët.

or hannyrð, f., esp. used in pl. and sounded hannyrðir; [this word is formed from hannr or hannar in the same way as einörð or einurð from einarðr]:—handiness, skill, fine work, esp. used of ladies’ needlework, embroidery, or the like, and freq. in mod. usage; enda er hannorð (skill, beauty) á hvívetna því er þú tekr þínum höndum til at göra, Clem. 24; hannörðir (pl.), 25; svá skyldi hans kona bera af öllum konum hannyrðir sem hón var hverri þeirra fríðari, Vígl. 48 new Ed.; kyrtill gullofinn ok gerr hannyrðum, hannyrð vefnaðar, Konr. (MS.); hón saumaði ok tefldi eða vann aðrar hannyrðir, Bs. i. 241; kenna konu við hannyrðir, Edda ii. 513; merkit var gert af miklum hannyrðum ok ágætum hagleik, Orkn. 28; hafa á skriptum ok hannyrðum, Gkv. 2. 15; hón hafði heima verit ok numit hannorðe (i. e. hannörð), Völs. S. 135 new Ed.; hón vandisk við borða ok hannyrðir, Fas. i. 523. hannyrða-kona, u, f. a woman skilled in needlework. ☞ This word is to be distinguished from hönd as it is spelt and sounded nn not nd, cp. Bugge’s interesting remarks in Hist. Tidskrift.

(heit; hét, hétum; heitinn), v.

1) to call give a name to;

Grímni mik hétu, they called me G.;

heitinn eptir e-m, called (named) after one;

2) to call on one;

heita e-n á brott, to call on one to be gone, bid one go (heitit mik héðan);

heita á e-n, to exhort one (in battle);

to invoke (heita á hinn heilaga Ólaf);

heita á e-n til e-s, to invoke (appeal to) one for a thing (hann hét á Þór til fulltings);

3) intrans., the pres. ‘heiti’ (not ‘heit’), to be hight, be called;

Óðinn ek, nú heiti, now I am called Odin;

Ólafr heiti ek, my name is O.;

Úlfr hét maðr, there was a man, whose name was U.;

bœr heitir á Bakka (at búrfelli), there is a farm called B.;

heita (to be reckoned) frjáls maðr, hvers manns níðingr;

4) with dat. to promise (heita e-m e-u);

mantu, hverju þú hézt mér, do you remember what you promised me?

heita e-m hörðu, to threaten one;

Bárði var heitit meyjunni, the maid was promised to B.;

5) refl., heitast, to vow, plight one’s faith (þeir hétust reka Hákon ór landi);

heitast e-m, to vow one’s person to one (heitast hinum heilaga Ólafi konungi);

to be betrothed to one.

(heitta, heittr), v.

1) to heat (heita spjót í eldi);

2) to brew (heita mungát, heita öl).

f. brewing (cf. ölheita).

* * *

pres. heit, heitr, and in A. II. heiti, heitir (bisyllabic), in mod. usage heiti through all significations; pret. hét, hétu, 2nd pers. hézt; part. heitinn.

A. [Ulf. haitan = καλειν; A. S. hâtan; Old Engl. hight, pret. hot; O. H. G. haizan; Germ. heissen; Swed. heta; Dan. hede]:

I. trans. with acc. to call, give name to; hve þik hétu hjú? Fsm. 47; Urð hétu eina, Vsp. 20; Heiði hana hétu, 25; Grímni mik hétu, Gm. 49; hve þik heitir halr, Hkv. Hjörv. 14; Hnikar hétu mik, Skv. 2. 18; hétu Þræl, Rm. 8; hétu Erna (Ernu?), 36: the naming of infants was in the heathen age accompanied by a kind of baptism (ausa vatni), vide ausa, p. 35.

2. metaph. to call on one; in the phrase, heita e-n á brott, to turn one out, call on one to be gone; þá er maðr á brott heitinn ef honum er eigi deildr matr at málum, Grág. i. 149; Vermundr hét hann á brott ok kvað hann eigi þar lengr vera skyldu, Sturl. ii. 230; so also, ef bóndi heitr griðmann sinn af vist foráttalaust, Grág. i. 157; eða heitið mik héðan, Ls. 7; ek var heitinn út ( turned out) fjórum sinnum, Sighvat:—with prep., heita á e-n, to call upon one (for help); hón hét á konur at skilja þá, Landn. 49: to exhort one (in battle), hét á Hólmrygi, Hkm. 2; Úlfr hét á oss, Hkr. iii. (in a verse); Gísli spratt upp skjótt ok heitr á menn sína, at skýli, Gísl. 22: to invoke one (a god, saint), hann trúði á Krist, en hét á Þór til sjófara ok harðræða, Landn. 206; hann heitr nú á fulltrúa sína Þorgerði ok Irpu, Fb. i. 213; ef ek heit á guð minn, Mar.; á Guð skal heita til góðra hluta, Sól. 4.

3. part. pass. hight, called; sú gjöf var heitin gulli betri, Ad. 9; löskr mun hann æ heitinn, Am. 57, Fms. vi. 39 (in a verse); sá maðr mun eigi ílla heitinn ( will not get a bad report) í atferð sinni, Sks. 55 new Ed.

β. heitinn, the late, of one dead; eptir Odd heitinn föður sinn, Dipl. iv. 13; Salgerðr h., the late S., Vm. 37: very freq. in mod. usage, hann Jón heitinn, hún Guðrún heitin, etc.

II. absol. or intrans., in which case pres. bisyllabic heiti (not heit), to be hight, be called, as in Goth. the pass. of haitan; Andvari ek heiti, A. am í hight, Skv. 2. 2; Ólafr heiti ek, Fms. x. 226; ek heiti Ari, Íb. (fine); Jósu vatni, Jarl létu heita, Rm. 31; Óðinn ek nú heiti, Yggr ek áðan hét, Gm. 54; Gangráðr ek heiti, Vþm. 8; Ask veit ek standa, heitir Yggdrasill, Vsp. 19: esp. freq. in an hist. style in introducing a person for the first time, Mörðr hét maðr, hann átti dóttur eina er Unnr hét, móðir hennar hét Þorgerðr, Rútr hét bróðir hans, Nj. 1, 2; þau áttu eptir dóttur er Þuríðr hét, hinn elzti son Bjarnar hét Grímkell, Ísl. ii. 4; Oddr hét maðr, son Önundar breiðskeggs, hann átti þá konu er Jórunn hét; annarr son þeirra hét Þóroddr en annarr Þorvaldr, Þuriðr hét dóttir Odds en önnur Jófriðr, 121, 122; Þorsteinn hét maðr, hann var Egilsson, en Ásgerðr hét móðir Þorsteins, 189; þau gátu son, ok var vatni ausinn ok hét Þórólfr, 146, etc.; and in endless instances answering to Engl. there was a man, and his name was ( he was hight) so and so. The ancients said, hve (or hversu) heitir þú, ‘how’ art thou named? Germ. wie heisst du? thus, hve þú heitir? hve þik kalla konir? answer, Atli ek heiti, and hve þú heitir, hála nágráðug? Hrímgerðr ek heiti, Hkv. Hjörv. 14–17; hve sú jörð heitir, hve sá himinn heitir, hversu máni heitir, hve sjá sól heitir, etc., Alm. 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, 28, 30, 32, 34, Vþm. 11, 13, 15, 17; the northern Icelanders still say, hvers’ (i. e. hversu) heitir maðrinn, sælir verið þér, hvörs’ heitir maðrinn? answer, Hrólfr heitir hann, Asgrímsson að norðan, Sig. Pétr. in Hrólfr (a play), p. 4: in mod. usage, hvat ( what) heitir þú? hvað heitir þú? Eg heiti Jón, Stef. Ól.: the same phrase occurs now and then in old writers, hvat heitir bær sjá? Ld. 234; hvat heitir hón? Helga heitir hón, Ísl. ii. 201 (Cod. Holm. hvart = hversu?): as also in the poem Fsm. (but only preserved in paper MSS.) 9, 11, 13, 19, 23, 31, 35, 37; but hve, 46, 47.

β. of places, often with dat. and prep. of the place; á þeim bæ er á Brjámslæk heitir, Bs. i. 379; land pat er í Hvammi heitir, Gísl. 121; bær hans hét á Stokkum, Fb. iii. 324; á þeim bæ er at Hóli heitir, Hrafn. 5; ok því heitir þat síðan í Geitdal, 3; bær heitir á Bakka, á Meðalhúsum, at Búrfelli, á Auðúlfsstöðum, at Svínavatni, í Vestrhópi, í Sléttadal, Ísl. ii. 322–325.

2. to be called, reckoned so and so; þá heitir hón sönn at sök, then she stands convicted, N. G. L. i. 351; þú skalt frá þessum degi frjáls maðr heita, Ld. 50; heit hvers manns níðingr ella, Nj. 176; heldr en h. kotkarl, eigi er þat nafn fyrir-lítanda, at heita húskarlar konungs, Sks. 270; sá er vill heitinn horskr, Hm. 61.

3. reflex., hétomc, to name oneself or to be called; hétomc Grímnir, hétomc Gangleri, einu nafni hétomc aldregi, hétomc Þundr fyrir þat, Gm. 46, 48, 54.

B. With dat., [cp. Goth. fauraga heitan; A. S. hâtan, pret. het; Germ. verheissen]:—to promise, with dat. both of the person and thing, or the thing in infin., or absol.; heita hörðu, to threaten, Am. 78; h. góðu, Sól.; h. bölvi, Hdl. 49; afarkostum, Fms. i. 75; hann heitr þeim þar í mót fornum lögum, Ó. H. 35; engu heit ek um þat, 167; mantú nokkut hverju þú hézt mér í fyrra, Anal. 190; at lítið mark sé at, hverju þú heitr, Fms. vii. 120; fyrir þau hin fögru fyrirheit er þú hézt þeim manni, er bana-maðr hans yrði—þat skal ek efna sem ek hét þar um, i. 217; kom Þorsteinn þar, sem hann hafði heitið, as he had promised, 72; þú munt göra okkr slíka sæmd sem þú hefir heitið, Nj. 5; Njáll hét at fara, 49.

II. to make a vow, the vow in dat., the god or person invoked with prep. and acc. (h. á e-n), cp. A. above; þat sýndisk mönnum ráð á samkomunni, at h. til verðr-bata, en um þat urðu menn varla ásáttir hverju heita skyldi, vill Ljótr því láta h. at gefa til hofs, en bera út börn en drepa gamal-menni, Rd. 248; þá heitr Ingimundr prestr at bóka-kista hans skyldi á land koma ok bækr, Bs. i. 424; ok skyldu menn taka at heita, þeir hétu at gefa …, 483; hét Haraldr því til sigrs sér, at hann skyldi taka skírn, Fms. i. 107; eptir þat hét hón miklum fégjöfum á hinn helga Jón biskup, Bs. i. 201 and passim, esp. in the Miracle-books.

III. reflex. and pass. to plight oneself, be betrothed; þá sá hón þat at ráði ok með henni vinir hennar at heitask Þórólfi, Eg. 36; þeim hétumk þá þjóðkonungi, Skv. 3. 36: to betroth, varkat ek heima þá er (hón) þér heitin var, when she (the bride) was given to thee, Alm. 4; kom svá, at Bárði var heitið meyjunni, that the maid was betrothed to B., Eg. 26.

2. to vow, plight one’s faith; þeir hétusk reka Hákon ór landi, Jd.: to vow one’s person to one, at hann heitisk hinum heilaga Ólafi konungi, Hkr. iii. 288: to bind oneself, þá menn er honum höfðu heitisk til föruneytis, Fms. vii. 204.

f. thick and matted hair, a nickname of Harald the Fairhaired.

* * *

u, f. [Ivar Aasen luva; cp. lubbi], rough, matted hair, as a nickname; Haralds hár var sítt ok flókit, fyrir þá sök var hann Lúfa kallaðr, Fagrsk. 9: cp. the vow of king Harold with that of Civilis, Tac. Hist. iv. 61.

n. [nef], a ‘nose-tax,’ poll-tax, payable to the king; en sú var orðsending konungs, at hann beiddi þess Íslendinga, at þeir skyldi við þeim lögum taka sem hann hafði sett í Noregi, en veita honum af landinu þegngildi ok nefgildi, penning fyrir hvert nef, þann er tíu væri fyrir alin vaðmáls, Ó. H. 141; nefgildis-skatta þá er Haraldr faðir hans hafði lagt á allt landit lét hann taka hit ytra með sjó ok um Þrænda-lög, ok leggja til skipa-görðar, Fagrsk. 20. This ancient ‘nose-tax’ was also imposed by the Norsemen on conquered countries, and the name gave rise to strange legends; thus, king Thorgisl, the Norse conqueror of Ireland (A. D. 830–845), is, by an Irish chronicler, said to have levied a tax of an ounce on each hearth, the penalty for defaulters being the loss of their nose. Prof. Munch, Norg. Hist. i. 440, has traced the origin of this legend to the simple fact that the king imposed a ‘nose-tax’ or poll-tax on the conquered Irish, just as Harold Fairhair afterwards did in Norway.

B. [nefi], a weregild payable to the cognates of a person, opp. to bauggildi = the agnate weregild; þat heitir nefgildi er þeir menn taka er kvennsift eru komnir, Grág. ii. 137, N. G. L. i. 185.

COMPDS: nefgildisfrændbót, nefgildismaðr.

u, f. the name of a poem with a complex (rekit) burden (stef), published in Script. Hist. Ísl. vol. iii.

f., pl. rúnar: [rún, raun, reyna are all kindred words, and a lost strong verb, rúna, raun, meaning to enquire, may be presumed; the original notion is scrutiny, mystery, secret conversation; Gotb. runa, by which Ulf. several times renders the Gr. μυστήριον and συμβούλιον (once, Matth. xxvii. 1), βουλή (twice, Luke vii. 30, 1 Cor. iv. 5); A. S. rún = a ‘rowning’ mystery, but also = writing, charter; Hel. rûna = colloquium, and geruni = loquela (Schmeller); cp. Old Engl. to rown, Germ. raunen; Gr. ἐ-ρευνάω is also supposed to be a kindred word (Bugge). In Scandin. writers and poets rún is chiefly used of magical characters, then of writing, whereas the derivative word raun means trial, enquiry, and rúni and rúna = a friend or counsellor.]

B. A secret, hidden lore, mystery; frá jötna rúnum ok allra goða segðú it sannasta, Vþm. 42, 43; kenna rúnar, to teach wisdom, Rm. 33; dæma um rúnar ok regin-dóma, Hm. 112; minnask á fornar rúnar, Vsp. 59: saws, segja sannar rúnir, to tell true saws, Fas. ii. 302 (in a verse): a ‘rowning’ speech, vifs rúnir, a woman’s whispering, Bm.; heita e-n at rúnum, to consult one, Gh. 12, Skv. 3. 14, 43; hniga at rúnum, Gkv. 3. 4.

II. a Rune or written character; the earliest Runes were not writing in proper sense, but fanciful signs possessing a magical power; such Runes have, through vulgar superstition, been handed down even to the present time, for a specimen of them see Ísl. Þjóðs. i.435, 436, and Arna-Magn. Nos. 687. 4 to, and 434. 12 mo (Ísl. Þjóðs.pref. ix); the classical passages for these spell-Runes are, Hm. 133 sqq., Sdm. 5 sqq., Skm. 29, 36, Eg. ch. 44, 61, 75, Yngl. S. ch. 7, Grett. ch. 85, N. G. L. iii. 286, 300, Vsp. 59; cp. also the phrase, rísta trénið, Grág., Fs. 56. The phrase in the old Danish Ballads, kaste runer, to throw Rúnes, i. e. chips (see hlaut, hlautviðr), may be compared to the Lat. sortes, Mommsen’s Hist, of Rome, vol. i. p. 187, foot-note (Engl. Ed.), or the Sibylline leaves in the Aeneid.

2. Runes as writing;the word was first applied to the original Northern alphabet, which at an early time was derived from the common Phœnician, probably through Greek or Roman coins in the first centuries of our era. From these Runes were subsequently formed two alphabets, the old Scandinavian (whence again the Anglo-Saxon), as found on the Golden horn and the stone in Tune, and the later Scandinavian, in which the inscriptions in the greater number of the Swedish and Danish stone monuments are written, most being of the 10th (9th?) and following centuries.—A curious instance of the employment of Runes is their being written on a kefli (a round piece of wood) as messages (cp. the Gr. σκυτάλη), as is freq. recorded in the Sagas, e. g. Gísl. 45, 67, Fms. ix. 390, 490, Grett. 154 new Ed., Fb. i. 251 (of the deaf and dumb Oddny). It is doubtful whether poems were ever written in this way, for almost the only authority for such a statement is Eg. 605, where we read that the Sonatorrek was taken down on a Runic stick, the other instances being mostly from romances or fabulous Sagas, Grett. 144, Örvar Odds S.(fine). This writing on a kefli is mentioned in the Latin line, Barbara ‘fraxineis’ sculpatur runa ‘tabellis,’ Capella (5th century). In later times (from the 13th century) Runic writing was practised as a sort of curiosity; thus calendars used to be written on sticks, of which there is a specimen in the Bodl. Library in Oxford; they were also used for inscriptions on tombstones, spoons, chairs, and the like: there even exists in the Arna-Magn. Library a Runic MS. of an old Danish law, and there is a Runic letter in Sturl. (of the year 1241); Runes carved on an oar occur in Fs. 177: a hidden treasure in a chest is labelled with Runes, Fms. vi. 271, Sd. 146, cp. also the interesting record in Bs. i. 435 (sex manna bein vóru þar hjá honum ok vax ok rúnar þær er sögðu atburð lifláts þeirra).

3. the word rún is also, though rarely, applied to the Latin alphabet; ef hann er á þingi þá skal hann rísta nafn hans ef hann kann rúnar, N. G. L. i. 171; or generally, ræki ek eigi hvárt þú rítr ø þitt eðr o,  eða a, ę eða e, y eða u, en ek svara svá, eigi er þat rúnanna kostr þó at þú lesir vel eða ráðir vel at líkindum, þar sem rúnar visa óskírt, heldr er þat þinn kostr, Thorodd 162; þessi er upphaf allra hátta svá sem málrúnar eru fyrir öðrum minum, Edda (Ht.) 121.

III. in pr. names, Rún-ólfr: as the latter part in pr. names of women, Guð-rún, Sig-rún, Öl-rún, Landn., Nj., Bs., Sturl., Sæm.

COMPDS: rúnakefli, rúnamál, Rúnameistari, rúnastafr.

* * *

(gen. pl. stefja), n.

1) term, time fixed; viku s., a week’s notice;

2) refrain (in the central portion of a drápa).

* * *

n. (root stafi), gen. pl. stefja, dat. stefjum, a summons, term, time fixed, (= stefna); viku-stef, a week’s notice, Eg. 274; var kveðit á viku stef, 394; þriggja nátta stef, a summons with three days’ notice, Grág. i. 385; bardaga stef, Al. 54.

II. a stave in a lay, burden, refrain; hann orti Hafgerðinga-drápu, þat er þetta stef í,—‘Minar bið ek,’ etc., Landn. 106; kvæðit, ok er þetta stefit í, Ísl. ii. 222; Þórarinn orti þá stef, ok setti í kvæðit, … ok er þetta stefit, Ó. H. 180, Eb. i. 210. In the old poems, called drapa, the middle part had a burden; this part was called ‘stef’ or stefja-bálkr, m. the ‘stave-balk,’ stave-section, Ó. H. 180; and consisted of several equal sets of verses, called stefja-mel or stefja-mál, n. stave-measure; the number of stanzas to each ‘stave-set’ varies in different poems (3, 4, 5, 7); the number of the sets also varies according to the length of the poem, e. g. if the stave-section were of twenty-one stanzas it would fall into seven ‘sets’ (3 x 7); if of twenty, into five (4 x 5); er rétt at setja kvæðit með svá mörgum stefjamelum sem vill, Edda (Ht.) i. 686; hef ek þar lokit stefjum, here the staves end; hefja upp stef, and so on, see the remarks s. v. slæmr. The stave or burden usually stands at the end of each ‘set;’ the burden might even be distributed among the stanzas of the stefjamel, as may be seen in the Togdrápa on king Canute in Ó. H., or in the poem Rek-stefja or Banda-dápa (Hkr. i. and Scripta Hist. Island, iii.)

f. a local name of a current (not an island) near Hiddense (Héðins-ey) west of Rügen; prob. a rendering of a Wendish name, the Swelchie, whirlpool (?); fyrir Svölðar minni, before the mouth of S.; and ‘fyrir Svölð,’ Edda 83, also Knytl. S. ch. 120, 122; see the conclusive essay on the place and date of this battle by Mr. Jörgensen, in Aarb. for Nord. Oldk. og Hist. 1869; to which add, that ‘Héðins-ey’ actually occurs, although disguised, in Hallfred’s poems, composed immediately after the battle, viz. ‘á víðu sundi Héðins-eyjar’ for ‘Héðins-meyjar’ of the MSS.; and breiðan bekk Héðins ‘rekka’ of the same poem (Fs. 218, 219, verses 12, 15, being a local name, not a kenning).

m. wares, goods, cargo.

* * *

m. = vanaðr, wares, Eg. 159, 467 (of a cargo); vil ek at þú takir mjöl ok við ok slíkt annat sem þér líkar af varningi, Nj. 4; varnings skipti, Krók. 60 C; kaupmanna v., a merchant’s wares, Fb. ii. 274; reiða ok annan varning, Fms. iv. 372 (varnað, Ó. H., l. c.); hann fékk sér varning frá skipi, Fs. 63; kistu er í er varningr, Fms. vi. 272; v. í mjöl ok í malt, D. N.; stykki varnings, D. N. ii. 468; Hjaltlenzkr v., Munk. 33. varnings-tíund, f. a kind of tithe or duty. Lange’s Norske Klost. Hist. 378 (foot-note n).

m., prop. a carrying wood, metaph. a providing of stores, Grönl. Hist. Mind. i. 566, v. l.

(pl. vagnir), f. a kind of whale, a dolphin or grampus.

m. = vögn.

* * *

f. (also vagna, u, f.), pl. vagnir, a kind of whale, delphinus orca; plur. vagnir, Sks. (Gronl. Hist. M. iii. 291, v. l.), Edda (Gl.), Lex. Poët.; vögnu láð, the sea, Ód.

COMPDS: vögnbráð, vögnhvalr.

(gen. völu; pl. völur), f. prophetess, sibyl, wise woman, witch (fóru þá um landit spákonur, er kallaðar vóru völur).

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u, f., also spelt völfa, gen. völu, pl. völur; völfu. or also völfur or voluur; gen. pl. does not occur; the nom. Vala is erroneous: [the etymology as well as the origin of this word is uncertain; but may not the Norse Völva and the Gr. σίβυλλα be relations? the identity in sense at least is very striking; the Gr. word first occurs in Aristoph., and then in Plato; may it not have been adopted from some Scythian tribe, for a word like this, if Greek, could hardly fail to occur in Homer? in völva an initial s, we suppose, has been lost (qs. svölva); in the Greek the ĭ would be an inserted vowel]:—a prophetess, sibyl, wise woman; völva, seiðkona, spákona (qq. v.) are synonymous. The ancient Sagas contain many remarkable records of the heathen wise-women or sibyls, who were held in honour and reverence; at the great feasts and sacrifices in the autumn, the völva (often a woman of rank) went with her troop of maidens through the country, where she, so to say, crowned the feast; she was seated on a high seat (seiðhjallr) in the hall, where she wrought her spells and sang her ‘weird-songs’ (varðlokur), after which the guests went past her one by one, and she told each his fate, or whatever else one wanted to know, e. g. the course of the coming winter and the like. The former part of the Völuspá is evidently conceived as the inspired song of a völva, seated on her high seat, and addressing Odin, while the gods listen to her words; and the latter part of the poem appears to be a kind of necromancy, or the raising of a dead völva, as also is the lay Vegtamskviða; sú kona var þar í bygð er Þorbjörg hét, ok var kölluð lítil völva, hón hafði áttar sér níu systr, ok vóru allar spákonur, en hón var ein þá á lífi, þat var háttr Þorbjargar um vetrum, at hón fór á veizlur ok buðu þeir menn henni mest heim er forvitni var á at vita forlög sín eða árferð, Þorf. Karl. Names of such wise women, Gróa völva, Edda; Heimlaug völva, Gullþ.; Heiðr völva, Landn. 173; Huldr völva, Yngl. S., Hkr. i. 21; to which add the ‘Weleda’ of Tacitus: class. passages are Þorf. S. ch. 3 (exceedingly interesting), Örvar-Odds S. ch. 3 (Fas. ii. 506), Vd. ch. 10: völu vél-spá, Vsp.; eru völfur allar frá Víðólfi, Hdl.; völva ok vís kona. Vtkv.; þá kom til völva sú er Gróa hét, Edda 58; var á því landi spákona sú er sagði fyrir örlög manna, … þeir fara til móts við völunna, Fb. ii. 28; ek fór í skóg til þín í völvu líki, Fas. i. 135; þóttusk menn vita at þar mundi verst hafa völu-leiði, Ld. 328; þá reið Óðinn fyrir austan dyrr þar er hann vissi völu leiði, Vtkv.; úrsvöl Gýmis völva, of Rán the goddess, Edda (in a verse); at hás völva valdi því bölvi, Kormak; in a bad sense, völva and skollvis kona, Hkv. 1. 34; Tacitus (Germ. ch. 8, 46, and Hist. iv. 61, 65, v. 22, 24) speaks of these practices, as also does Plutarch, Caesar ch. 19,— τα μαντεύματα των ἱερων γυναικων.

COMPDS: Völuspá, Völvustaðir.