Snake-Witch Stone 400–600 CE from Gotland

November 17, 2019

Snake-Witch Stone 400–600 CE from Gotland

"Gotland was first discovered by a man named Þieluar. At that time the island was so bewitched that it sank by day and rose up at night. That man, however, was the first that brought fire to the island, and afterwards it never sank again. This same Þieluar had a son named Hafþi, and Hafþi’s wife was called Huitastierna. These two were the first to settle in Gotland. The first night that they slept together, she dreamed a dream. It was just as if three snakes were coiled together within her womb, and it seemed to her as though they crawled out of her lap. She related this dream to Hafþi, her husband, and he interpreted it as follows: ‘Everything in rings is bound.

Inhabited this land shall be;

we shall beget sons three.’

He gave them each a name, while they were still unborn: ‘Guti shall Gotland claim,

Graipr the second by name

and Gunfiaun the third.’"

-Guta Lag and Guta Saga (translated by Christine Peel): The Law and History of the Gotlanders (Routledge Medieval Translations) (p. 277). Taylor and Francis. Kindle Edition.

...

"Discovered in a cemetery, it measures 82 cm (32 in) in height and depicts a figure holding a snake in each hand. Above the figure there are three interlaced creatures (forming a triskelion pattern) that have been identified as a boar, an eagle, and a wolf."

-taken from wikipedia