Primary Sources for Small Offerings to Spirits in Norse Paganism

frei-rancken-deactivated2020062 asked:

Hello again! I’m not sure if it’s easy to answer what i’m about to ask but… Could yo either point m to bibliography or name a few pagan practices regarding small offerings or gestures “norse” peoples had. Talking about offering to elfs or stuff like that, or maybe things to do with the practising “witches” of the time. (i’m writing a thing and i’m in need of details from various cultures so i’m stuck between looking specifics between generalities, when authors focus on the later, usually. thxs

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I must apologize for how long it has taken me to get back to you, and I do hope that you will be able to forgive me for the delayed response.

Magic and rituals are most definitely not my ‘specialty’ (I am no expert, and I do not know the intricacies of this subject like many others do), but I will do my best to help. I am much more familiar with medieval Icelandic society, law, and (more recently) gender studies (particularly the changing concepts of masculinity). That said, I am bound to miss vital resources for learning about these subjects in particular. If anyone else reading this knows of other helpful resources, please feel free to let them be known!

In regards to small offerings or gestures, I am going to focus on two types of spirits in particular: dísir and (land)vættir. (For a bit more detail about what those are exactly, check out this post). There are a few others that could be considered, but I think these would be what you would find the most interest in. Also, I know that you specifically requested álfar, but there is an unfortunate lack of information about them. In my opinion though (which is not much, since I have yet to carefully research this), I believe that the dísir and vættir are álfar, but simply taking on worldly roles rather than mythological ones. There is more complexity to it than that, of course, so take that for what it is worth. Regardless, they are all quite similar in nature. There is, however, much more information (in the sources that I am familiar with) about the other types.

I have actually already shared a few posts containing reading recommendations for dísir and vættir (as well as seiðr and völva). I will share those links with you in just a moment, but I will also be providing the information below (in a format more organized and convenient for you). Here, I am also expanding upon the previous list. Nonetheless, here are the past posts concerning this topic (or topics fairly similar):

1. Víkingabók Database: Jól, Spirits, Magic, and Rituals. (Needs updating, and it will be sometime following this response).
2. On Landvættir: An Exploration of Primary Source Examples and Suggestions for Further Reading.
3. Details from Eiríks saga rauða about magic and magic rituals.
4. A brief discussion about the term ‘seiðr’ in translation.

Otherwise, here is an updated and more convenient list for you to explore. It is not a comprehensive list by any means, but it should be more than enough to get you started. (For a list of the Sagas and Tales of Icelanders and where to find them, see this post).

AN INCOMPLETE (BUT USEFUL) BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Íslendingasögur (Sagas of Icelanders):

• Bard’s Saga:
  • all of it 
• Egil’s Saga:
  • chapter 44 (dísablót (sacrifice ‘ritual’ for the dísir (female ancestral spirits), usually around veturnætur (‘winter nights’, a ‘ritual’ period associated with dísir, Freyr, and other spirits)))
  • chapter 58 (landvættir (land-spirits))
• Erik the Red’s Saga:
  • chapter 4 (völva (seeress), seiðr (magic), varðlokkur(ward songs))
• Gisli Surrson’s Saga:
  • chapters 14, 15, and 17 (ghosts and veturnætur)
• Killer-Glum’s Saga:
  • chapter 6 (dísir, veturnætur)
• Njal’s Saga:
  • chapter 96 (dísir)
  • chapters 101-102 (galdr (magic like seiðr, but different)
• The Saga of the People of Eyri:
  • chapters 4, 50-55 (rituals and ghosts)

• The Saga of the People of Laxardal:
  • chapters 35-37 (seiðr)

Íslendingaþættur (Tales of Icelanders):

• The Tale of Thidrandi and Thorhall:
  • all (dísir)
• The Tale of Thorvald the Far-Travelled:
  • chapter 3 (landvættir)

Landnámabók (Icelandic Book of Settlements):

• Bjorn Gnupsson (Hafr-Bjorn):
  • chapter 329 of Sturlubók (Landvættir)
• Olvir Eysteinsson:
  • chapter 330 of Sturlubók (Landvættir)
• Thorstein Red-Nose (son of Hrolf Red-Beard):
  • chapter 329 of Sturlubók (Landvættir)

Heimskringla (I, II, III) (A History of the Kings of Norway):

• The Saga of Harald Fair-hair:
  • chapter 36 (seiðr)
• The Saga of Olaf Tryggvason:
  • chapter 33 (Landvættir)
  • chapter 62-63 (seiðr)
• Ynglinga saga:
  • chapters 4, 7, 13, 14, and 22 (seiðr)
  • chapter 29 (dísablót)

A Few Secondary Sources:

• Davis, H.R. Ellis. Myths and Symbols in Pagan Europe: Early Scandinavian and Celtic Religions. Syracuse University Press, 1989. 
• DuBois, Thomas. Nordic Religions in the Viking Age (The Middle Ages Series). University of Pennsylvania Press, 1999.
• Mitchell, Stephen A. Witchcraft and Magic in the Nordic Middle Ages (The Middle Ages Series). University of Pennsylvania Press, 2013.

I truly hope that this list proves to be helpful for you. As I have said, it is most definitely not a complete list. In fact, many of the sources above may not be worth you buying if for this purpose alone (especially since some of the sagas only refer to your concerns for brief moments). I highly recommend looking at the free versions that are available for each resource if that is the case. If you are to put any money into this research, I recommend the secondary sources that I have listed.

If there is anything else you may need, feel free to ask. I know that it took my a bit of time to respond, but I will be more than happy to continue helping you out. I am nearing summer, so I will have a relatively more open schedule for the next couple months.