Galdor

From Traditional Witchcraft Wiki Project

A Galdor is the native English term for an incantation or spell, and comes from the Old Norse galdr (plural galdrar). The Galdralag is the "magic spell metre" of Old Norse poetry, containing a fourth line which echoes and varies the third line, as in this example from the Eggjum grave stone (Sogn, Norway):

Hverr of kom Heráss á
hí á land gotna?
Fiskr ór fjanda vim svimandi,
fogl á fjanda li> galandi.

Translation :

As whom came War-god
hither to the land of men?
A fish from the torrent of enemies swimming,
A bird against troop of enemies screaming.

The word cognates with the Icelandic verb að gala, which means to sing, call out or yell, thereby associating it specifically with a spoken form of magic. It is interesting to note the association between it and the Modern German Galsterei meaning "Witchcraft" and Galsterweib meaning "Witch".