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Volva - Definition and Overview |
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The völva, vala, wala (Old High German), seiðkona, or wicce was a female shaman in Norse mythology, and among the Germanic peoples. They practiced the seid (shamanism), which was regarded as unmanly. Also associated with them were incantations called galdra (see also the A-S quote below).
Examples of völva in Norse literature include the seeress Heidi (alt. Heith) in Voluspa and the witch Groa in the Svipdagsmál. The word witch is the modern form of wicce.
During the christianisation of Norway, king Olaf Trygvasson had male völvas (sejdmen) tied and left on a skerry at ebb. A terrible and long wait for death. Their disappearance was due to the Roman Catholic Church which had laws enacted against them, as in this Canon Law:
- "If any wicca (witch), wiglaer (wizard), false swearer, morthwyrtha (worshipper of the dead) or any foul contaminated, manifest horcwenan(whore), be anywhere in the land, man shall drive them out."
- "We teach that every priest shall extinguish heathendom and forbid wilweorthunga (fountain worship), licwiglunga (incantations of the dead), hwata (omens), galdra (magic), man worship and the abominations that men exercise in various sorts of witchcraft, and in frithspottum (peace-enclosures) with elms and other trees, and with stones, and with many phantoms." (source: 16th Canon Law enacted under King Edgar in the 10th century.
External link
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Example Usage of Volva |
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adam_online: VIDEOtest - Malý princ od Volva: S40 DRIVe: Vyskúšali sme sedan zo Švédska, ktorý nás prekvapil nielen svojou n.. http://bit.ly/7u6Gi3 |
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asheraXonline: A far seeing Volva, wise in talismans. Caster of spells, cunning in magic... |
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wolff: You and Your Volva: How to gain power with awkward comments #failedmotivationalbooks |
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