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{{Short description|Significant numbers in Norse mythology}}
{{Short description|Significant numbers in Germanic paganism}}
[[Image:Stentoftenstenen.jpg|thumb|200px|The [[Stentoften Stone]], bearing a runic inscription that likely describes a [[blót]] of nine he-goats and nine male horses bringing fertility to the land.{{sfn|Santesson|1989|p=221}}]]
<noinclude>{{User:RMCD bot/subject notice|1=Numbers in Germanic paganism|2=Talk:Numbers in Norse mythology#Requested move 15 April 2023}}
The numbers [[3|three]], [[9|nine]], and other multiples of three are significant numbers in [[Germanic paganism]]. Both numbers (and multiples thereof) appear throughout surviving attestations of ancient Germanic folklore, in both mythology and [[Germanic paganism]].<ref name=SIMEK232-233>{{harvp|Simek|2007|pp=232-233}}.</ref> Along with the number 27, both numbers also figure into the [[lunar calendar|lunar]] [[Germanic calendar]].<ref name=SIMEK232-233/>
{{cleanup|reason=Long list without any internal sorting|date=December 2021}}


==Examples==
Emphasis on the numbers three, nine, and multiples of three occur frequently in the ancient Germanic record. Examples include:


===West Germanic===
Vikings tended to not have concrete symbols for numbers, instead oftentimes the numbers were simply written out according to their sound. The vikings used a basis of 10 or 12. <ref>{{cite web |title=Numbers in Norse mythology |url=https://vichingo.top/en/numbers-in-norse-mythology/ |website=Vichingo |access-date=1 May 2023}}</ref>The numbers [[3|three]] and [[9|nine]] are significant numbers in [[Norse mythology]] and Germanic paganism. Both numbers (and multiples thereof) appear throughout surviving attestations of Norse mythology, in both mythology and [[Germanic paganism]].<ref name=SIMEK232-233>{{harvp|Simek|2007|pp=232-233}}.</ref>
''[[Old English]]''
[[Image:Detail from G 181.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.36|A detail from [[Gotland]] [[runestone]] [[Gotland Runic Inscription 181|G 181]], in the [[Swedish Museum of National Antiquities]] in [[Stockholm]]. The three men are interpreted as [[Odin]], [[Thor]], and [[Freyr]].]] The numbers 7 and 8 are also significant acting as important symbols.
*''[[Æcerbot]]'': A charm that describes a ritual wherein the speaker should bow nine times to the east.<ref name="MACLEOD-MEES-242">{{harvp|MacLeod|Mees|2006|pp=127}}</ref>
While the number three appears significant in many cultures, Norse mythology appears to put special emphasis on the number nine. Along with the number 27, both numbers also figure into the [[lunar calendar|lunar]] [[Germanic calendar]].<ref name=SIMEK232-233/>.
*''[[Nine Herbs Charm]]'': A charm focused on nine plants, using the number nine extensively and featuring the Old English extension of the Germanic god Odin.<ref name="MACLEOD-MEES-242"/>


''[[Old High German]]''
==Three==
* [[Merseburg Charms]]: Two Old High German charms stemming from the pagan period mentioning at least six pagan Germanic deities and other beings. According to Patricia Giangrosso, "the second Merseburg Charm is the only medieval German charm to specify gods from the pagan, Germanic past" and "no other Old High German or Middle High German charms show so clearly a structure based on the number three. This is especially striking in the second charm."<ref name="GIANGROSSO-2001:113">{{harvp|Giangrosso|2001|p=113}}</ref>
===Groupings and lists===
{{See|Triple deity}}
*There were three original beings: the primordial cow [[Auðhumla]], [[Ymir]] the first [[jötunn]], and [[Búri]] the first god and grandfather of [[Odin]].
*There are three named [[Norns]].
*Odin had two brothers, [[Vili and Vé]] (or [[Lodur]] and [[Hoenir]] according to ''Völuspá''), numbering three sons of [[Borr]] who created the world and gave life to the first human beings.
*The [[World Tree]] [[Yggdrasil]] has three roots. Under the three roots are three sacred wells, one for each, including the Well of [[Wyrd|Urd]] in [[Asgard]], the [[Well of Mimir]] located among the {{lang|non|[[Jötunn|Hrímþursar]]}}, and [[Hvergelmir]] in [[Niflheim]].
*Odin endured three hardships upon the World Tree in his quest for the [[runes]]: he hanged himself, wounded himself with a spear, and suffered from hunger and thirst.
*In the ''[[Gylfaginning]]'' section of the ''[[Prose Edda]]'', King [[Gylfi]] is confronted by a triple throne at the home of the gods, one being seated and occupied atop another.
*[[Loki]] has three malign progeny by the {{lang|non|[[Jötunn|gýgr]]}} [[Angrboða]]: the wolf [[Fenrir]], [[Jörmungandr]] the World Serpent, and [[Hel (being)|Hel]].
*Odin has three special possessions: His spear [[Gungnir]], his golden ring [[Draupnir]] and his eight-legged horse [[Sleipnir]].
*[[Thor]] has three main weapons for use against the jötnar: his hammer [[Mjolnir]], a magical belt that doubles his strength and a pair of iron [[gauntlet (gloves)|gauntlets]] that allow him to wield the hammer.
*[[Freyr]] has three magical items, including the ship [[Skiðblaðnir]], his boar [[Gullinbursti]] and a sword with the ability to fight on its own which he gave to [[Skirnir]] in return for his role in the courtship of [[Gerðr]].
*[[Freyja]] has three special artefacts, including the priceless necklace [[Brisingamen]], a [[Fjaðrhamr|cloak that allows her to assume the form of a falcon]] and a chariot drawn by a pair of great cats.
*There were three statues of Odin, Thor and Freyr in the [[Temple at Uppsala]].
*Three of Odin's sons remain after Ragarök: Vidar, Baldr and Hǫðr.
*Ymir had three direct offspring: a boy and girl who grew from beneath his arms and a six-headed son who sprang from the coupling of his feet.
*The wolf Fenrir was bound by three fetters: Loeding, Drómi, and [[Gleipnir]], of which only the last held him.
*Loki is bound with three bonds made from the entrails of his son through holes in three upright slabs of rock, the first under his shoulders, the second under his loins and the third under the backs of his knees.
*During the onset of Ragnarök three [[cockerel]]s will begin to crow, heralding the final conflict: [[Gullinkambi]] for the gods, [[Fjalar (rooster)|Fjalar]] for the jötnar and an unnamed third for the dead.
*The group of dwarves known only as the [[sons of Ivaldi]] fashioned three wondrous artefacts, including the ship of Freyr, the spear of Odin and the golden hair of [[Sif]]. The dwarf brothers [[Eitri]] and [[Brokk]] also created three items, including the boar of Freyr, the golden ring of Odin and the hammer of Thor.


===Events and time===
===North Germanic===
The [[North Germanic languages|North Germanic]] record frequently mentions the numbers three, nine, and multiples of three. A few examples of these many occurrences in [[Norse mythology]] include:
*For three days Auðhumla licked the ice of [[Ginnungagap]] until Búri was freed.
*Odin's self-sacrifice where he hangs for nine nights on a "windy tree" (''[[Hávamál]]'')<ref name=SIMEK232-233/>
*There were three generations of jötnar before the race as a whole was destroyed by the [[deluge (mythology)|deluge]] of [[Ymir's blood]], after which time his grandson [[Bergelmir]] became the progenitor of a new line.
*The "[[nine worlds]]" ({{lang|non|Níu Heimar}}) associated with [[Yggdrasil]] (''[[Vafþrúðnismál]]'')<ref name=SIMEK232-233/>
*Odin is the ruler of the third generation of gods as the son of Borr and grandson of Búri.
*[[Nine Mothers of Heimdallr]]<ref name=SIMEK232-233/>
*Prior to [[Ragnarök]], there will be three hard winters without an intervening summer, the [[Fimbulwinter]].
*[[Nine Daughters of Ægir and Rán]]<ref name=SIMEK232-233/>
*There are three main events leading up to Ragnarök itself: the birth of Loki's three monstrous children, the death of [[Baldr]] and subsequent punishment of Loki, and the onset of Fimbulwinter.
*The god [[Thor]]'s foretold nine steps before he dies at [[Ragnarök]]<ref name=SIMEK232-233/>
*In the poem ''[[Völuspá]]'' from the ''[[Poetic Edda]]'', the monstrous hound [[Garmr]] howls three times at the [[Gnipahellir|Gnipa-cave]] (or at least, the description of his howling is repeated three times).
Exterior to texts on mythology, accounts of [[Temple of Uppsala]] by [[Adam of Bremen]] in what is today Sweden and of [[Lejre]] in today's Denmark by [[Thietmar of Merseburg]] purport that pagan sacrificial feasts occurred at these locations that lasting nine days, where "supposedly nine victims were sacrificed each day".<ref name=SIMEK232-233/> According to Gardeła, "Leaving aside the problem of the historical veracity of these two Latin accounts, as well as the lack of tangible traces of violent and large-scale sacrificial acts in the archaeological record at Uppsala and Lejre, the fact that both Adam and Thietmar consistently refer to the number nine in ritual contexts leads to the supposition that the chroniclers wove their stories around an authentic and widespread idea rooted in the Viking Age."<ref name="GARDEŁA-2022-28">{{harvp|Gardeła|2022|p=28}}</ref>
*In ''Völuspá'', the gods burn [[Gullveig]] three times and three times she is reborn.
*In the stronghold of the jötunn [[Útgarda-Loki]], Thor drank three mighty draughts from a [[drinking horn|horn]] during a drinking contest but gave up when he was unable to empty the horn of its contents; this was also one of three tasks he did -and failed- during his stay, the other two being to lift a cat (he made it lift a paw, leaving three on ground) and to defeat an old woman; it is later revealed that the horn was connected to the sea (which he leveled down by three fingers), the cat was the World Serpent and the old woman, the Old Age itself. Previous to this, Thor and his companions had met the jötunn, who was under the assumed name [[Skrýmir]], in the forest outside the castle. When Skrymir had gone to sleep during their journey together, Thor became annoyed by his loud snoring and struck at him three times with his hammer, but in each case the blow was misdirected through magic and illusion.
*Odin spent three nights with the {{lang|non|[[Jötunn|gýgr]]}} [[Gunnlöð]] in order to obtain the [[mead of poetry]]. She then allowed him to take three drinks of the mead, one from each of three vessels.
*The builder of the walls of Asgard offered to build them in three seasons in return for three prizes: the sun and moon and the hand of Freyja in marriage.


[[Ibn Fadlān]]'s eyewitness account of the Viking Age Scandinavian Rus' in the first half of the 10th century on the [[Volga]] river mentions that the deceased Rus' leader's body was ritually left in a chamber for nine days before being set ablaze on a burning ship with a variety of goods and the body of a female slave.<ref name="GARDEŁA-2022-27">{{harvp|Gardeła|2022|p=27}}</ref>
===Other===
*The heart of the jötunn [[Hrungnir]] was [[triangle|triangular]] and made of stone.
* The rainbow bridge [[Bifröst]] has three colours. It also has two other names, Ásbrú and Bilröst, thus having three names.
*[[Heimdall]] has three special powers in his role as guardian of the rainbow bridge. He needs less sleep than a bird, can see at night for a hundred leagues and is able to hear grass growing on the earth.


===Archaeology===
A variety of objects found in the Germanic cultural sphere have been interpreted by scholars as reflecting a particular focus on the number nine. These include:
* Miniatures with nine studs found in a square or circular pattern.<ref name=GARDEŁA-2022-GEN>Discussed throughout {{harvp|Gardeła|2022}}.</ref>
* The [[valknut]]: According to scholar Leszek Gardeła, "Probably the most vivid manifestation of the number nine motif in the material culture of the Viking Age comes in the form of the so-called valknútr, a symbol carved in wood, metal and stone which usually takes the form of three inter-locking triangles (giving a total of nine triangle points)."<ref name=GARDEŁA-2022-28/>


==Scholastic reception==
==Nine==
According to scholar [[Rudolf Simek]], "apart from the number three, which played a role in many other cultures, nine is the mythical number of the Germanic tribes. Documentation for the number nine is found in both myth and cult." In addition to the importance of three and nine, Simek highlights the importance of the number 27 (27/3=9) for the Germanic lunar calendar.<ref name="SIMEK242">{{harvp|Simek|2007|pp=232-233}}</ref>
[[Image:Heimdal and his Nine Mothers.jpg|thumb|right|320px|''Heimdal and his Nine Mothers'' (1908) by [[W. G. Collingwood]], in which [[Heimdallr]]'s [[Nine Mothers of Heimdallr|Nine Mothers]] are depicted as waves]]
[[File:Sacrificial scene on Hammars - Valknut.png|thumb|220px|right|The [[Valknut]] on the [[Stora Hammars stones|Stora Hammars I stone]].]]
The number nine is also a significant number:
===Cosmology===
* The [[Norse cosmology]] knows nine worlds that are supported by Yggdrasil.
* At the end of ''[[Skáldskaparmál]]'' is a list of nine heavenly realms provided by [[Snorri Sturluson|Snorri]], including, from the nethermost to the highest, Vindblain (also Heidthornir or Hregg-Mimir), [[Andlang]], [[Vidblain]], Vidfedmir, Hrjod, Hlyrnir, Gimir, Vet-Mimir and Skatyrnir which "stands higher than the clouds, beyond all worlds."


Scholars Mindy MacLeod and Bernard Mees note that, "the number nine plays a significant role in Germanic folklore: charms frequently contain nine ingredients or specify a ritual to be performed nine times". The two highlight the instruction in the Old English ''[[Æcerbot]]'' for the speaker to "turn to the east and bow nine times", the ''[[Nine Herbs Charm]]'', and a variety of other items as examples.<ref name="MACLEOD-MEES-242"/>
===Religious practice===
* The syncretic [[Anglo-Saxon]] nine-herbs charm, as the name implies, invokes nine herbs, and also contains a rare mention of [[Woden]].
* Every ninth year, people from all over [[Sweden]] assembled at the Temple at Uppsala. There was feasting for nine days and sacrifices of both men and male animals according to [[Adam of Bremen]].
* The 600s [[Stentoften Runestone]] mentions a sacrifice of nine [[He-goat|he-goats]] and nine [[stallions]], very similar to Adam's account.
* According to the very late [[Trollkyrka poem]], the fire for the [[blót]] was lit with nine kinds of wood.


As highlighted by scholar Leszek Gardeła ([[National Museum of Denmark]]), "surviving sagas and poems reveal that certain numbers held special significance among Norse societies. This was certainly the case with the numbers three and nine which are frequently mentioned in connection with the sphere of religion and/or ritual practice."<ref name="GARDEŁA-2022">{{harvp|Gardeła|2022|p=26}}</ref>
===Mythology===
* In ''[[Skírnismál]]'', Freyr is obliged to wait nine nights to consummate his union with Gerðr.
* In ''[[Svipdagsmál]]'', the [[völva]] [[Gróa]] grants nine charms to her son [[Svipdag]]. In the same poem there are nine maidens who sit at the knees of [[Menglod]].
* In ''[[Fjölsvinnsmál]]'', Laegjarn's chest is fastened with nine locks.
* During Ragnarök, Thor kills Jörmungandr but staggers back nine steps before falling dead himself, poisoned by the venom that the [[Serpent (symbolism)|Serpent]] spewed over him and after that, he resurrected himself.
* Odin's ring Draupnir releases eight golden drops every ninth night, forming rings of equal worth for a total of nine rings.
* In the guise of ''Grímnir'' in the poem ''[[Grímnismál]]'', Odin allows himself to be held by King [[Geirröd]] for eight days and nights and kills him on the ninth after revealing his true identity.
* There are nine [[daughters of Ægir]].
* There are nine [[mothers of Heimdall]].
* There are nine great [[Germanic dragon|worms]]: [[Jörmungandr]], [[Níðhöggr]], Grábakr, Grafvölluðr, Ofnir, Svafnir, Grafvitni and his sons Góinn and Móinn.
* The god [[Hermóðr]] rode Sleipnir for nine nights on his quest to free [[Baldr]] from the [[Hel (realm)|underworld]].
* The jötunn [[Baugi]] had nine thralls who killed each other in their desire to possess Odin's magical [[sharpening stone]].
* The god [[Njörð]] and his wife [[Skaði]] decided to settle their argument over where to live by agreeing to spend nine nights in [[Þrymheimr]] and nine nights at [[Nóatún (mythology)|Nóatún]].
* The jötunn [[Þrívaldi]] has nine heads.
* The clay jötunn [[Mokkurkalfi]] measured nine leagues high and three broad beneath the arms.
* When Odin sacrificed himself to himself, he hung upon the [[gallows]] of Yggdrasil for nine days and nights. In return, he secured rúnar 'runes, secret knowledge'.
* There are nine surviving deities of Ragnarök, including Baldr and [[Hödr]], [[Magni and Modi]], [[Vidar]] and [[Váli (son of Odin)|Váli]], Hoenir, the daughter of [[Sowilo|Sól]] and a ninth "powerful, mighty one, he who rules over everything".<ref>This last being from ''Völuspá'', who will "come from on high", is found only in the ''[[Hauksbók]]'' manuscript. Some scholars, including {{harvp|Lindow|2001|p={{pn|date=October 2022}}}}, consider this to be a later Christian interpolation and a reference to the [[Last Judgment]].</ref>
====Other====
* The [[valknut]] symbol is three interlocking triangles forming nine points.


==Seven==
The number 7 is also significant tending to be used in Icelandic sagas to depict a long period of time passing ending with something complete. Such as in the lay of [[Gudrun]]. Showing a journey along with its conclusion.:
{{poemquote|
For seven days we rode across the cold land,
but other seven days we hit the waves;
the third seven days we went onto a dry land}}

==Eight==
The number eight tended to show something unstable. For example, [[Sleipnir]] Odin's steed was fathered by [[Loki]] the god of trickery by shapeshifting in order to mate with its mother. Another example is present when in the [[Grettis saga]], Torbjørn (Old Norse: Þorbjǫrn) Ox urges the brothers Gunnarr and Torgeirr to ambush Atli, Grimr, and their companions. However, they still lose Atli only having 5 men meaning they lost a fight despite it being 6 to 8. Oftentimes in sagas if the number eight was present they would simply change it to 9.

Also present in the Grettis saga, Vibjodr (Old Norse: Vígbjóðr) and Vestmarr raid the Hebrides islands with eight ships, here they met Trandr (Old Norse: Þrándr) who had five ships. Even though they were eight ships compared to five ships, they lost the battle and had to flee back to where they came from. <ref>{{cite web |title=Important numbers in Norse mythology |url=https://skjalden.com/important-numbers-norse-mythology/ |website=Skjalden |access-date=1 May 2023}}</ref>


==See also==
==See also==
Line 104: Line 46:
==References==
==References==
{{refbegin}}
{{refbegin}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Gardeła |first=Leslie |year=2022 |title=Miniatures with nine studs: interdisciplinary explorations of a new type of Viking Age artefact |journal=Fornvännen |volume=117 |issue=1 |pp=15–36 |issn=0015-7813 |url=http://raa.diva-portal.org/smash/record.jsf?pid=diva2%3A1649926&dswid=9232}}
* {{Cite book |last=Giangrosso |first=Patricia |year=2001 |chapter=Charms |editor-last=Jeep |editor-first=John M. |title=Medieval Germany: An Encyclopedia |pages=111–114 |publisher=Taylor & Francis}}
* {{cite book |author-link=John Lindow |last=Lindow |first=John |year=2001 |title=Handbook of Norse Mythology |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=0-19-515382-0}}
* {{cite book |author-link=John Lindow |last=Lindow |first=John |year=2001 |title=Handbook of Norse Mythology |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=0-19-515382-0}}
* {{cite book |last1=MacLeod |first1=Mindy |last2=Mees |first2=Bernard |year=2006 |title=Runic Amulets and Magic Objects |publisher=Boydell Press |isbn=1-84383-205-4}}
*{{cite book |author-link=Rudolf Simek |last=Simek |first=Rudolf |year=2007 |translator=Angela Hall |title=Dictionary of Northern Mythology |publisher=[[Boydell & Brewer|D.S. Brewer]] |isbn=978-0-85991-513-7}}
*{{cite book |author-link=Rudolf Simek |last=Simek |first=Rudolf |year=2007 |translator=Angela Hall |title=Dictionary of Northern Mythology |publisher=[[Boydell & Brewer|D.S. Brewer]] |isbn=978-0-85991-513-7}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Santesson |first1=Lillemor |title=En blekingsk blotinskrift : en nytolkning av inledningsraderna på Stentoftenstenen |journal=Fornvännen |date=1989 |pages=221–229 |url=https://raa.diva-portal.org/smash/record.jsf?pid=diva2%3A1225857&dswid=825}}
* {{cite web |title=Important numbers in Norse mythology |url=https://skjalden.com/important-numbers-norse-mythology/ |website=Skjalden |access-date=1 May 2023}}
* {{cite web |title=Numbers in Norse mythology |url=https://vichingo.top/en/numbers-in-norse-mythology/ |website=Vichingo |access-date=1 May 2023}}
{{refend}}
{{refend}}


Latest revision as of 21:53, 19 February 2024

The Stentoften Stone, bearing a runic inscription that likely describes a blót of nine he-goats and nine male horses bringing fertility to the land.[1]

The numbers three, nine, and other multiples of three are significant numbers in Germanic paganism. Both numbers (and multiples thereof) appear throughout surviving attestations of ancient Germanic folklore, in both mythology and Germanic paganism.[2] Along with the number 27, both numbers also figure into the lunar Germanic calendar.[2]

Examples

[edit]

Emphasis on the numbers three, nine, and multiples of three occur frequently in the ancient Germanic record. Examples include:

West Germanic

[edit]

Old English

  • Æcerbot: A charm that describes a ritual wherein the speaker should bow nine times to the east.[3]
  • Nine Herbs Charm: A charm focused on nine plants, using the number nine extensively and featuring the Old English extension of the Germanic god Odin.[3]

Old High German

  • Merseburg Charms: Two Old High German charms stemming from the pagan period mentioning at least six pagan Germanic deities and other beings. According to Patricia Giangrosso, "the second Merseburg Charm is the only medieval German charm to specify gods from the pagan, Germanic past" and "no other Old High German or Middle High German charms show so clearly a structure based on the number three. This is especially striking in the second charm."[4]

North Germanic

[edit]

The North Germanic record frequently mentions the numbers three, nine, and multiples of three. A few examples of these many occurrences in Norse mythology include:

Exterior to texts on mythology, accounts of Temple of Uppsala by Adam of Bremen in what is today Sweden and of Lejre in today's Denmark by Thietmar of Merseburg purport that pagan sacrificial feasts occurred at these locations that lasting nine days, where "supposedly nine victims were sacrificed each day".[2] According to Gardeła, "Leaving aside the problem of the historical veracity of these two Latin accounts, as well as the lack of tangible traces of violent and large-scale sacrificial acts in the archaeological record at Uppsala and Lejre, the fact that both Adam and Thietmar consistently refer to the number nine in ritual contexts leads to the supposition that the chroniclers wove their stories around an authentic and widespread idea rooted in the Viking Age."[5]

Ibn Fadlān's eyewitness account of the Viking Age Scandinavian Rus' in the first half of the 10th century on the Volga river mentions that the deceased Rus' leader's body was ritually left in a chamber for nine days before being set ablaze on a burning ship with a variety of goods and the body of a female slave.[6]

Archaeology

[edit]

A variety of objects found in the Germanic cultural sphere have been interpreted by scholars as reflecting a particular focus on the number nine. These include:

  • Miniatures with nine studs found in a square or circular pattern.[7]
  • The valknut: According to scholar Leszek Gardeła, "Probably the most vivid manifestation of the number nine motif in the material culture of the Viking Age comes in the form of the so-called valknútr, a symbol carved in wood, metal and stone which usually takes the form of three inter-locking triangles (giving a total of nine triangle points)."[5]

Scholastic reception

[edit]

According to scholar Rudolf Simek, "apart from the number three, which played a role in many other cultures, nine is the mythical number of the Germanic tribes. Documentation for the number nine is found in both myth and cult." In addition to the importance of three and nine, Simek highlights the importance of the number 27 (27/3=9) for the Germanic lunar calendar.[8]

Scholars Mindy MacLeod and Bernard Mees note that, "the number nine plays a significant role in Germanic folklore: charms frequently contain nine ingredients or specify a ritual to be performed nine times". The two highlight the instruction in the Old English Æcerbot for the speaker to "turn to the east and bow nine times", the Nine Herbs Charm, and a variety of other items as examples.[3]

As highlighted by scholar Leszek Gardeła (National Museum of Denmark), "surviving sagas and poems reveal that certain numbers held special significance among Norse societies. This was certainly the case with the numbers three and nine which are frequently mentioned in connection with the sphere of religion and/or ritual practice."[9]

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Santesson 1989, p. 221.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Simek (2007), pp. 232–233.
  3. ^ a b c MacLeod & Mees (2006), pp. 127
  4. ^ Giangrosso (2001), p. 113
  5. ^ a b Gardeła (2022), p. 28
  6. ^ Gardeła (2022), p. 27
  7. ^ Discussed throughout Gardeła (2022).
  8. ^ Simek (2007), pp. 232–233
  9. ^ Gardeła (2022), p. 26

References

[edit]
  • Gardeła, Leslie (2022). "Miniatures with nine studs: interdisciplinary explorations of a new type of Viking Age artefact". Fornvännen. 117 (1): 15–36. ISSN 0015-7813.
  • Giangrosso, Patricia (2001). "Charms". In Jeep, John M. (ed.). Medieval Germany: An Encyclopedia. Taylor & Francis. pp. 111–114.
  • Lindow, John (2001). Handbook of Norse Mythology. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-515382-0.
  • MacLeod, Mindy; Mees, Bernard (2006). Runic Amulets and Magic Objects. Boydell Press. ISBN 1-84383-205-4.
  • Simek, Rudolf (2007). Dictionary of Northern Mythology. Translated by Angela Hall. D.S. Brewer. ISBN 978-0-85991-513-7.
  • Santesson, Lillemor (1989). "En blekingsk blotinskrift : en nytolkning av inledningsraderna på Stentoftenstenen". Fornvännen: 221–229.
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