In the Old Icelandic text Egil's saga, it is told the protagonist creates a "nithing pole" aimed at driving his rivals, the king and queen of Norway, out of power. He recites a curse and using runic inscription carves the invocation onto the hazelwood pole. He places a horse-head on top of the pole and turns it toward his enemies.
The original Old Norse text:
"Hér set ek upp níðstǫng, ok sný ek þessu níði at hǫnd Eiríki konungi ok Gunnhildi dróttningu",
- hann sneri hrosshǫfðinu inn á land, -
"sný ek þessu níði á landvættir þær, er land þetta byggva, svá at allar fari þær villar vega, engi hendi né hitti sitt inni, fyrr en þær reka Eirík konung ok Gunnhildi ór landi."
Egils saga. 1933. Íslenzk fornrit II. bindi. Einar Ól Sveinsson gaf út.
Reykjavík: Hið íslenska fornritfélag.
A translation of the original text:
"Here I set up this scorn-pole, and turn its scorn upon King Eirik and Queen Gunnhild" - then (he) turned the horse's head to face land - "and I turn its scorn upon the nature spirits that inhabit this land, sending them all astray so that none of them shall find its resting-place by chance or design until they have driven King Eirik and Gunnhild from this land"
Egil's saga. 1997. Complete Sagas of Icelanders, Vol. I. ed. Viðar Hreinsson.
tr. Bernard Scudder Reykjavík: Leifur Eiríksson Publishing.
Here I have modified Egill's curse and directed it toward a wannabe king and his administration:
"Hér set ek upp níðstǫng, ok sný ek þessu níði at hǫnd falskonungi ok hirð",
- hann sneri hrosshǫfðinu inn á land, -
"sný ek þessu níði á landvættir þær, er land þetta byggva, svá at allar fari þær villar vega, engi hendi né hitti sitt inni, fyrr en þær reka falskonung ok hirð ór landi."
In the subtitles of the Níðstǫng curse reenactment, I have taken some liberties in the translation of níð. Cleasby/Vigfusson defines níð as -contumely 2. a libel. Zoëga adds derision, scorn, slander and insult. Scudder translates it as "scorn". I include its purpose as a curse or spell.
