INCANTATIONES MERSEBURGENSES

Merseburg Incantations

of
Eighth Century Germany

translated by

Þeedrich

These two texts are written on an empty page of a ninth-century missal in the Cathedral Library of Merseburg, in a tenth-century hand.  The manuscript is probably from Fulda, and the dialect is Rhein-Franconian, with Fulda being very near the eastern border of this dialect.  Since their content is pre-Christian, the incantations must be much earlier in origin than the tenth century, although in their present form they belong to this period.  They are our only literary relics from Germany's pagan period, since Christianity completely replaced the shaman-god Wodan with Christ and extirpated all traces of heathen antiquity wherever it found them.

Matronis: Pro Fuga ex Captivitate

To the Mother-Goddesses: For Flight from the Clutches of the Enemy
Eris  sazun  idisi,
Once  sat    mother-goddesses


   sazun  hera    duoder
   sat    hither  thither


      Suma  haft     heftidun
      Some  fetters  bound (= Some tied bonds)


suma  heri        lezidun;
some  war-troops  delayed (= impeded the troops);


   Suma  clubodun
   Some  plucked away


      umbi  kuna-widi:
      at    emprisoning-ropes:


Intsprinc            haft-bandun!
Spring out of  (the) fetter-bonds!


   Intfar             wigandun!
   Escape from  (the) warriors!
 

Wodani et Diis Ceteris:  Pro Pede Luxato Curando

To Wodan and Other Gods: For the Cure of a Sprained Leg
Phol                     ende  Wodan
Foal (= Balder's horse)  and   Wôôden


  fuorun  zi  holza.
  rode    to  forest.


    Du     wart  demo  Balderes  folon
    There  was   for   Balder's  foal


      sin  fuoz  birenkit.
      his  foot  wrenched (= sprained his leg).


Thu    biguol        en   Sinthgunt,
There  chanted-over  him  Sinthgunt,


  Sunna                    era  swister;
  Sunna (the Sun-goddess)  her  sister;


    Thu    biguol        en   Friia,
    There  chanted-over  him  Frye,


      Folla     era  swister;
      Fullness  her  sister;


Thu    biguol        en   Wodan,
There  chanted-over  him  Wôôden,


  so  he  wola  conda:
  as  he  well  knew-how:


    Sose  ben-renki,
    As    bone-wrenching,


      sose  bluot-renki,
      as    blood-wrenching


sose  lidi-renki:
as    limb-wrenching:


  Ben   zi  bena,
  Bone  to  bone,


    bluot  zi  bluoda,
    blood  to  blood,


      lid   ze  geliden:
      limb  to  limbs:


Sose  gelimida        sin!
Thus  glued-together  be!

*** Names of the Gods ***

Wodan - Modern German would be Wuten, but usually "Wotan" is used; from Gothic "Wodans," "Master of those who are woð" (shamanically possessed), "Lord of the Shamans," from woð, "shamanically possessed, raving mad," and the ending "-an-" (often also "-en-"), "lord or master of."  The religion of the ancient Germanic peoples centered around shamanism, the practice of undertaking "otherworld journeys" or "Near-Death Experiences" by a religious specialist.  Hence the chief deity was the shaman in divine form.

Balder - Wodan's son, destined to die by a mistletoe dart and to spend the rest of time until the end of the world in the underworld of the dead.

Folla - "Fullness"; goddess of Plenty

Friia, from the Proto-Germanic verb *frijôn “to love”; - goddess of Love (of all sorts) and wife/consort of Wodan.

Sunna, "Sun" - goddess of the Sun and Light.

Sinthgunt (i.e., Sinþ-gunt, from Proto-Germanic *Sinþ-gund “Path of Battle”), - goddess of the Road to War.

Ðese incantations were translated by Þeedrich (theedrich@harbornet.com.net). Last modified 1998 Nov 27.
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