Busla Busl 8VIII (Bós 8)/2 — töfr ‘magic’
Tröll ok álfar ok töfrnornir,
búar, bergrisar brenni þínar hallir.
Hati þik hrímþussar, hestar streði þik,
stráin stangi þik, en stormar æri þik,
ok vei verði þér, nema þú vilja minn gjorir.
Tröll ok álfar ok töfrnornir, búar, bergrisar brenni hallir þínar. Hrímþussar hati þik, hestar streði þik, stráin stangi þik, en stormar æri þik, ok verði þér vei, nema þú gjorir vilja minn.
May trolls and elves and magic-Norns, supernatural inhabitants and mountain giants burn your halls. May frost giants loathe you, stallions violate you, straw prick you and storms bewilder you; and harm will come to you unless you do my bidding.
readings
[2] töfr‑: taufra 577, töfra 361ˣ
notes
[2] töfrnornir ‘magic-Norns’: A hap. leg. While the Norns appear elsewhere as a threesome of fatal women (Dillmann 2002a), here they seem to present a younger development in which the Norns are included in a series of other baleful mythical creatures. Here the saga uses the word töfr n. pl., a concept initially applied to equipment and instruments used for magic, but then later for sorcery in general (cf. Wesche 1940, 5-17; Dillmann 2006, 130-2; AEW: taufr).