All Blog Posts (2)

Havamal or Words of the High One Young and alone on a long road, Once I lost my way: Rich I felt when I found another; Man rejoices in man, A kind word need not cost much, The price of praise can be cheap: With half a loaf and an empty cup I found myself a friend, Two wooden stakes stood on the plain, On them I hung my clothes: Draped in linen, they looked well born, But, naked, I was a nobody Too early to many homes I came, Too late, it seemed, to some: The ale was finished or else un-brewed, T… Continue

To put a "nid" on someone was a form of verbal curse, a magic ritual that was considered very powerful during the Viking age, and before that. The power of words was not taken lightly by these efficient warriors, so a curse of this kind was something very serious to send, not to speak of having a "nid" spoken over oneself. In the Saga of Egil Skallagrimsson (an Icelandic/Norwegian story from the 10th century) a dispute is told about Egil and the King Eirik Blodyx ("Bloody axe"), who treated Egil… Continue