Dísir

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Dís is also a Dwarf in the works of J. R. R. Tolkien

In Norse mythology, the dísir (sing. dís) are a collective of divine female beings of whom little is known with certainty except that they are mentioned in concurrence with death and demise. Dís is cognate to the idisi mentioned in the Old High German Merseburg Incantations as well as to ides, a poetic Anglo-Saxon synonym for "woman." Possibly, it is also etymologically related to the dhísanas, a group of female deities in the Yajur Veda.

Dís could be used in a way suggestive of a title (lady or goddess). Freyja is called Vanadís (dís of the vanir) and Álfhildr is referred to as a sun-dís.

Some Scandinavian place names tell of the influence of dísir, such as Diseberg and Disevi in Sweden or Disen in Norway.

Contents 1 Corpus 2 Dísir, Valkyries and Norns 3 Dísablót and dísaþing 4 Modern references 5 Notes 6 See also

[edit] Corpus

Dísir briefly appear in a couple of Eddic and skaldic poems, and in various kennings.

In Grímnismál, the wise Grímnir (Odin) makes a prophesy of king Geirröðr's death, and mentions dísir.

Eggmóðan val nú mun Yggr hafa, þitt veit ek líf of liðit; úfar ro dísir, nú knáttu Óðin sjá, nálgastu mik ef þú megir. [1]

The fallen by the sword Ygg shall now have; thy life is now run out: Wroth with thee are the dísir: Odin thou now shalt see: draw near to me if thou canst. —Thorpe translation

In Reginsmál, the unmarried girl Lyngheiðr is called dís ulfhuguð (dís with the soul of a wolf) as an insult. Later in the same poem, there is the stanza:

Þat er fár mikit ef þú fœti drepr, þars þú at vígi veðr, tálar dísir, standa þér á tvær hliðar ok vilja þik sáran sjá. [2]

Foul is the sign if thy foot shall stumble As thou goest forth to fight; Goddesses [dísir] baneful at both thy sides Will that wounds thou shalt get. —Bellows translation

In Hamðismál, the hero Hamðir after having killed his friend Erpr, blames his sudden rage upon hvöttumk at dísir (the incitement of dísir).

The skaldic poem Krákumál – composed by Ragnarr Loðbrók while awaiting his death in a snake pit – features the line: Heim bjóða mér dísir (the dísir invite me home), as one of several poetic circumscriptions for what awaits him.

There is also the account in Hervarar saga of how a woman becomes so infuriated over the death of her father by the hands of Heiðrekr, her husband, that she hangs herself in the dísarsal (shrine of dísir).

The Disir were sometimes regarded as the Goddesses of protection in the sense that they protected and guided the souls of the dead into the otherworld.

[edit] Dísir, Valkyries and Norns

Dísir are directly mentioned only in Old Norse verse. As opposed to valkyrja, the term never appear in the Prose Edda by Snorri Sturluson. This and the circumstances in which dís and dísir are found in, as per above, has led many scholars^[1] to believe that dísir is the original term for the valkyries (lit. "choosers of the slain"), which in turn would be a kenning for dís.

Nordisk familjebok remarks that Dísir also appeared as a synonym of Norn. Considering the fact that Skuld was both a Valkyrie and a Norn, the grouping of Vakyries and Norns as names of the Dísir may be more realistic than a neat distinction between the three.

[edit] Dísablót and dísaþing

A dísablót was a sacrificial holiday (blót) in honor of dísir. It is mentioned in Víga-Glúms saga, Egils saga and the Ynglinga saga. The latter relates that king Aðils died when he administered the dísablót and rode around the shrine. According to Ólafs saga helga as well as old Swedish law, the dísablót was celebrated at Uppsala during pagan times in late February or early March, and the sacrifices to the dísir were followed by the Thing of all Swedes and a yearly fair. When Christianity arrived the market was moved to early February and renamed kyndelsting. The name disting remained in use, however, and the fair is still held every year in Uppsala – the first Tuesday in February. It may be one of the oldest fair traditions in Sweden.

[edit] Modern references

Gene Wolfe's The Wizard Knight contains a character named 'Disri', who is Queen of the Aelf.

[edit] Notes

[edit] See also

• Disa
• Fylgja
• Hamingja
• Norns
• Valkyries

	Norse mythology
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