Idise by Emil Doepler 1905

December 01, 2019

Idise by Emil Doepler 1905

"An idis (Old Saxon, plural idisi) is a divine female being. Idis is cognate to Old High German itis and Old English ides, meaning 'well-respected and dignified woman.' Connections have been assumed or theorized between the idisi and the North Germanic dísir; female beings associated with fate, as well as the amended place name Idistaviso.

One of the two Old High German Merseburg Incantations call upon female beings—idisi—to bind and hamper an army. The incantation reads:

        'Once the Idisi sat, sat here and there,
        some bound fetters, some hampered the army,
        some untied fetters:
        Escape from the fetters, flee from the enemies.'

In line 1259 of the Old English poem Beowulf, Grendel's Mother is introduced as an ides:

        1258: ... Grendles modor
        1259: ides, aglæcwif ..."

-taken from wikipedia