Seið the Magic Words: Two Case Studies in Old Norse Etymology

Studies of medieval Nordic magic practices have thus far taken historical, literary, anthropological, and archaeological approaches in order to explain an incredibly complex system of beliefs. This study offers a linguistic approach, exploring the etymological origins of various magic terminology in the Old Norse language. Using seiðr and galdr as case studies, this thesis presents a methodology that may be repeated in the future for other magic-related words in the Old Norse literary corpus. By examining diachronically the history of these words’ formation, the distribution of attestations over time, and the development of their semantic bases, a new perspective on seiðr, galdr, and magic as a whole in the Scandinavian middle ages may be gleaned.

Author dc:creator

• Ellora Nimbkar Rich 1998-

Contributors dc:contributor

• Háskóli Íslands

• Víkinga- og miðaldafræði

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1946/43867

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:skemman.is:1946/43867