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Thistle mistletoe formula

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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

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Ledberg stone (Ög 181)

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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

:

ᚦᛘᚴ ᛬ ᛁᛁᛁ ᛬ ᛋᛋᛋ ᛬ ᛏᛏᛏ ᛬ ᛁᛁᛁ ᛬ ᛚᛚᛚ ᛬

þmk : iii : sss : ttt : iii : lll :

When resolved becomes, in normalized Old Icelandic spelling:[1]

þistill,

thistle,

mistill,

mistletoe,

kistill

casket

þistill, mistill, kistill

thistle, mistletoe, casket

Gørlev stone (DR 239)

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Likewise, the Danish Gørlev stone contains the exact same formula, along with a younger futhark rune-row.

Saga of Bósi

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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

?

ristill, eistill, þistill, kistill, mistill, vistill

plowshare, testicle, thistle, box/casket, mistletoe, ?

The meaning of the final word, uistil (vistill), is unclear.[2][4]

References

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  1. ^ a b MacLeod, Mindy; Mees, Bernard (2006). Runic Amulets and Magic Objects. Boydell Press. pp. 145–148. ISBN 1-84383-205-4.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ Thompson, Claiborne W. (1978). "THE RUNES IN "BÓSA SAGA OK HERRAUĐS"". Scandinavian Studies. 50 (1): 53. ISSN 0036-5637.
  4. ^ Straubhaar, Sandra Ballif (2011). Old Norse Women's Poetry: The Voices of Female Skalds. Boydell & Brewer. p. 95. JSTOR 10.7722/j.ctt81tbg.