The thistle mistletoe formula is a pagan Norse Runic formula, involving several rhyming words ending in -istill (typically at least þistill and mistill; thistle and mistletoe).[1] The formula is attested in around 15 variants from the Viking age.[2][3]

Attestations

Ledberg stone (Ög 181)

The Swedish Ledberg stone from Östergötland contains the formula. Following a standard memorial inscription, we read

ᚦᛘᚴ ᛬ ᛁᛁᛁ ᛬ ᛋᛋᛋ ᛬ ᛏᛏᛏ ᛬ ᛁᛁᛁ ᛬ ᛚᛚᛚ ᛬
þmk : iii : sss : ttt : iii : lll :

which when resolved becomes, in normalized Old Icelandic spelling:

þistill, mistill, kistill

in English:

"thistle, mistletoe, casket."[1]

Gørlev stone (DR 239)

Likewise, the Danish Gørlev stone contains the exact same formula, along with a younger futhark rune-row.

Saga of Bósi

The formula reaches its climax in a riddle in the legendary Icelandic Saga of Bósi and Herraud, where it reads (from manuscript AM. 586 4:0, transliterated into the Latin alphabet):

r.o.þ.k.m.u. iiiiii. ssssss. tttttt. iiiiii. llllll

resolved and normalized, we get

ristill, eistill, þistill, kistill, mistill, vistill

in English:

"plowshare, testicle, thistle, box/casket, mistletoe." The meaning of the final word, uistil (vistill), is unclear.[2][4]

References

  1. 1 2 MacLeod, Mindy; Mees, Bernard (2006). Runic Amulets and Magic Objects. Boydell Press. pp. 145–148. ISBN 1-84383-205-4.
  2. 1 2 Schulte, Michael (2020). ""Tistel-mistel"-formelen i vikingtid og nordisk middelalder: Form, funksjon og symbolverdi". Maal og Minne (in Norwegian Bokmål). 112 (2): 30–30. ISSN 1890-5455. Retrieved 2021-12-17.
  3. ↑ Thompson, Claiborne W. (1978). "THE RUNES IN "BÓSA SAGA OK HERRAUĐS"". Scandinavian Studies. 50 (1): 53. ISSN 0036-5637.
  4. ↑ Straubhaar, Sandra Ballif (2011). Old Norse Women's Poetry: The Voices of Female Skalds. Boydell & Brewer. p. 95. JSTOR 10.7722/j.ctt81tbg.
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