The thistle mistletoe formula is a pagan Norse Runic formula, involving several rhyming words ending in -istill (typically at least þistill and mistill; thistle and mistletoe).[1] The formula is attested in around 15 variants from the Viking Age.[2][3]
Attestations edit
Ledberg stone (Ög 181) edit
The Swedish Ledberg stone from Östergötland contains the formula. Following a standard memorial inscription, we read
ᚦᛘᚴ
þmk
᛬
:
ᛁᛁᛁ
iii
᛬
:
ᛋᛋᛋ
sss
᛬
:
ᛏᛏᛏ
ttt
᛬
:
ᛁᛁᛁ
iii
᛬
:
ᛚᛚᛚ
lll
᛬
:
When resolved becomes, in normalized Old Icelandic spelling:[1]
þistill,
thistle,
mistill,
mistletoe,
kistill
casket
Gørlev stone (DR 239) edit
Likewise, the Danish Gørlev stone contains the exact same formula, along with a younger futhark rune-row.
Saga of Bósi edit
The formula reaches its climax in a riddle in the legendary Icelandic Saga of Bósi and Herraud, where it reads (from manuscript AM. 586 4:0, transliterated into the Latin alphabet):
- r.o.þ.k.m.u. iiiiii. ssssss. tttttt. iiiiii. llllll
Resolved and normalized, we get:
ristill,
plowshare,
eistill,
testicle,
þistill,
thistle,
kistill,
box/casket,
mistill,
mistletoe,
vistill
?
The meaning of the final word, uistil (vistill), is unclear.[2][4]
References edit
- ^ a b MacLeod, Mindy; Mees, Bernard (2006). Runic Amulets and Magic Objects. Boydell Press. pp. 145–148. ISBN 1-84383-205-4.
- ^ a b Schulte, Michael (2020). ""Tistel-mistel"-formelen i vikingtid og nordisk middelalder: Form, funksjon og symbolverdi". Maal og Minne (in Norwegian Bokmål). 112 (2): 30–30. ISSN 1890-5455. Retrieved 2021-12-17.
- ^ Thompson, Claiborne W. (1978). "THE RUNES IN "BÓSA SAGA OK HERRAUĐS"". Scandinavian Studies. 50 (1): 53. ISSN 0036-5637.
- ^ Straubhaar, Sandra Ballif (2011). Old Norse Women's Poetry: The Voices of Female Skalds. Boydell & Brewer. p. 95. JSTOR 10.7722/j.ctt81tbg.