tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2841348142033509263.post3188343340415736703..comments2023-12-31T02:40:43.545-06:00Comments on The Norse Mythology Blog | norsemyth.org: Odin and the Runes, Part FourDr. Karl E. H. Seigfriedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12175244816952769358noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2841348142033509263.post-78217783795263150462013-01-07T11:29:02.819-06:002013-01-07T11:29:02.819-06:00Unfortunately, Flowers work is heavily based on co...Unfortunately, Flowers work is heavily based on conjecture and doesn't really present a convincing case for his theories. If you're interested in a newer scholarly work that has more of a historical basis, I recommend <i>Runic Amulets and Magic Objects</i> by Mindy MacLeod as Bernard Mees. Cheers.Dr. Karl E. H. Seigfriedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12175244816952769358noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2841348142033509263.post-20973647006737210662013-01-07T11:09:16.012-06:002013-01-07T11:09:16.012-06:00"Runes and Magic" by Dr. Stephen Flowers..."Runes and Magic" by Dr. Stephen Flowers gives a good explanation about the historical uses of Runes and operative (Magical uses) uses of Runes.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2841348142033509263.post-47486732272747572592012-12-19T09:27:16.633-06:002012-12-19T09:27:16.633-06:00Dan -
Thanks for your comment and kind words.
In...Dan -<br /><br />Thanks for your comment and kind words.<br /><br />In the case you cite from <i>Egil's Saga</i>, I don't think we can say that "the inherent powers of the runes went to work as soon as they were carved, irrespective of the intentions of the carver." It seems more that a local farm boy may have used runes to carve a (love) spell on a stick, and that his poor mystic knowledge is responsible for the girl's sickness.<br /><br />If you're interested in an in-depth study of these type of objects, I recommend <i>Runic Amulets and Magic Objects</i> by Mindy MacLeod and Bernard Mees. It discusses this particular case, for instance, and cites an actual historical rune-stick that paraphrases Egil's verse in the scene you mention.<br /><br />The Old Norse source that <i>does</i> suggest inherent powers in specific runes is <i>Sigrdrífumál</i> ("Lay of Sigrdrifa"), in which the Valkyrie shares her knowledge of runic magic with the hero Sigurd. It's available in any translation of the <i>Poetic Edda</i>.Dr. Karl E. H. Seigfriedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12175244816952769358noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2841348142033509263.post-3521403709472777242012-12-07T14:57:45.314-06:002012-12-07T14:57:45.314-06:00An excellent and thorough article (this entire ser...An excellent and thorough article (this entire series on Odin and the runes). I'm curious to hear your thoughts on the episode in Egil's Saga where Egil finds that the cause of a farm girl's sickness is a whalebone carved with injurious runes. After scraping the runes off into the fire, Egil carves a new inscription for the girl, who immediately recovers. <br /><br />To me, this strongly suggests that the pre-Christian Norse made a sharp distinction between the inherent powers of the runes - which were indeed inherently magical - and the uses to which they were put, which could sometimes be silly or profane. That is to say, the inherent powers of the runes went to work as soon as they were carved, irrespective of the intentions of the carver. Using the older Germanic word *runo for these letters also seems to suggest inherent "secret" powers.<br /><br />Again, excellent article, and I'd very much like to hear your thoughts on this point.Danhttp://norse-mythology.org/noreply@blogger.com