Vættir
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 | This article is missing information about Vættir in Norse myth. The article requires significant verifiable expansion. (November 2018) |
The vættir (
nature spirits), fjallvættir ([ˈfjɑlːˌwɛːtːez̠], mountain spirits), sjóvættir ([ˈsjoːˌwɛːtːez̠], sea spirits), skogvættir ([ˈskoɣˌwɛːtːez̠], forest spirits), vatnavættir ([ˈwɑtnɑˌwɛːtːez̠], guardians of the specific waters), or húsvættir ([ˈhuːsˌwɛːtːez̠], house spirits).[citation needed][1][2]
Etymology
The
landvættr (land spirit), but can refer to any creature. The Norwegian vette is used much in the same way as the Old Norse vættr as are the corresponding Swedish cognate vätte (dialect form vätter – Old Swedish vætter)[4] and the Danish vætte. A related form in the Slavic languages can be seen in Old Church Slavonic вєшть, (veštĭ), meaning thing, matter, or subject.[citation needed
]
Folklore
Húsvættir is a collective term for keepers of the household, like the Scottish
better source needed
]
Scandinavian folklore features a class of beings similar to the Old Norse landvættir. They are known by many names, although the most common are vättar in southern Sweden (singular: vätte), vittra in northern Sweden, and huldrefolk in Norway (although the singular vittra and huldra, respectively, refer to a solitary and quite different being).[citation needed
]
During the 19th century,
better source needed][7]
The English surname Wightman retains the meaning of the word "wight" and could be translated as "elf-friend".better source needed]
See also
- Rå, spirits that protect natural features in later Scandinavian folklore
Citations
- ^ "vætte". Det Danske Sprog- og Litteraturselskab. Retrieved June 1, 2019.
- ^ "vette". Store norske leksikon. Retrieved June 1, 2019.
- ^ "wight". etymonline.com.
- ^ "Vättern". Runeberg.org. Svensk etymologisk ordbok.
- ^ "The Vættir". Real Heathenry. Retrieved June 1, 2019.
- ^ "Asbjørnsen & Moe". Fairytalez.com. Retrieved June 1, 2019.
- ^ "Vættir". Nightbringer.se. Archived from the original on November 6, 2017. Retrieved June 1, 2019.
- ^ "Surname Database". Retrieved 21 August 2014.
General and cited sources
- Reidar Th. Christiansen (1964) Folktales of Norway (University of Chicago Press) ISBN 978-0226105109
- Reimund Kvideland & Henning K. Sehmsdorf (1988) Scandinavian Folk Belief and Legend (University of Minnesota Press) ISBN 978-0816619672
Further reading
- Norske Folke-Eventyr (Norwegian Folktales), by Jørgen Engebretsen Moe, 1843, 1844, 1871, 1876.
External links
- Scandinavian Folklore, compiled by Scott Trimble – a scholarly outline of prominent themes in Scandinavian folklore.
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