vǫlva

An agent noun belonging to Old Norse vǫlr (“staff”); staves were characteristic of Germanic seeresses.

• (9th century West Norse) IPA^(key): /ˈwɒl.wa/
• (12th century Icelandic) IPA^(key): /ˈvɒl.va/

vǫlva f (genitive vǫlu, plural vǫlur)

1. völva; prophetess, seeress, witch
   • Baldrs draumar, stanza 4:

     Þá reið Óðinn / fyrir austan dyrr,
     þar er hann vissi / vǫlu leiði;
     nam hann vittugri / valgaldr kveða,
     unz nauðig reis, / nás orð of kvað.

     Then rode Odin / before the eastern door:
     there, he knew, was / the seeress’ grave;
     He began (wise in witchcraft) / to sing a spell to wake the dead,
     until reluctantly she rose / and spoke a dead woman's words.

   • 13th century, Eiríks saga rauða, chapter 4:

     Sú kona var þar í bygð er Þorbjǫrg hét; hon var spákona, ok var kǫlluð lítil vǫlva.

     There was a woman there in the settlement named Thorbjorg; she was a prophetess, and was known as the little völva.

• seiðkona
• spákona

• Vǫluspá

• → Icelandic: völva (learned)
• → Faroese: vølva (learned)
• → Norwegian Nynorsk: volve, volva (learned)
• → Norwegian Bokmål: volve (learned)
• → Swedish: völva (learned); vala
• → Danish: vølve (learned)
• → English: völva (learned)