Editing Valkyrie (section)

===Merseburg Incantation, fetters, {{lang|non|dísir}}, {{lang|non|idisi}} and norns===
[[File:Idise by Emil Doepler.jpg|thumb|''Idise'' (1905) by Emil Doepler]]

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

<blockquote><poem>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.<ref name="SIMEK171">Simek (2007:171).</ref></poem></blockquote>

The ''Idisi'' mentioned in the incantation are generally considered to be valkyries. Rudolf Simek says that "these Idisi are obviously a kind of valkyrie, as these also have the power to hamper enemies in Norse mythology" and points to a connection with the valkyrie name {{lang|non|[[Herfjötur]]}} (Old Norse "army-fetter").<ref name=SIMEK171/> Hilda R. Davidson compares the incantation to the Old English {{lang|ang|Wið færstice}} charm and theorises a similar role for them both.<ref name=DAVIDSON63/>

Simek says that the [[West Germanic languages|West Germanic]] term ''Idisi'' ({{langx|osx|idis}}, {{langx|goh|itis}}, {{langx|ang|ides}}) refers to a "dignified, well respected woman (married or unmarried), possibly a term for any woman, and therefore glosses exactly Latin {{lang|la|[[matres and Matrones|matrona]]}}" and that a link to the [[North Germanic languages|North Germanic]] term {{lang|non|dísir}} is reasonable to assume, yet not undisputed. In addition, the place name [[Idistaviso|Idisiaviso]] (meaning "plain of the Idisi") where forces commanded by [[Arminius]] fought those commanded by [[Germanicus]] at the [[Battle of the Weser River]] in 16 AD. Simek points to a connection between the name ''Idisiaviso'', the role of the Idisi in one of the two Merseburg Incantations and valkyries.<ref name="SIMEK171"/>

Regarding the {{lang|non|dísir}}, Simek states that Old Norse {{lang|non|dís}} appears commonly as simply a term for "woman", just as Old High German {{lang|goh|itis}}, Old Saxon {{lang|osx|idis}} and Old English {{lang|ang|ides}}, and may have also been used to denote a type of goddess. According to Simek, "several of the Eddic sources might lead us to conclude that the {{lang|non|dísir}} were valkyrie-like guardians of the dead, and indeed in {{lang|non|[[Guðrúnarkviða]]}} I 19 the valkyries are even called {{lang|non|Herjans dísir}} "Odin's {{lang|non|dísir}}". The {{lang|non|dísir}} are explicitly called dead women in {{lang|non|[[Atlamál]]}} 28 and a secondary belief that the {{lang|non|dísir}} were the souls of dead women (see {{lang|non|[[fylgja|fylgjur]]}}) also underlies the {{lang|non|[[landdísir]]}} of [[Scandinavian folklore|Icelandic folklore]].<ref name="SIMEK61-62">Simek (2007:61–62).</ref> Simek says that "as the function of the [[Matres and Matrones|matrons]] was also extremely varied—fertility goddess, personal guardians, but also warrior-goddesses—the belief in the {{lang|non|dísir}}, like the belief in the valkyries, norns and matrons, may be considered to be different manifestations of a belief in a number of female (half-?) goddesses."<ref name=SIMEK61-62/>

[[Jacob Grimm]] states that, though the norns and valkyries are similar in nature, there is a fundamental difference between the two. Grimm states that a {{lang|non|dís}} can be both norn and a valkyrie, "but their functions are separate and usually the persons. The norns have to pronounce the fatum [fate], they sit on their chairs, or they roam through the country among mortals, fastening their threads. Nowhere is it said that they ride. The valkyrs ''ride'' to war, decide the issues of fighting, and conduct the fallen to heaven; their riding is like that of heroes and gods".<ref name="GRIMM421">Grimm (1882:421).</ref>