Sé þér í hvílu sem í hálmeldi
en í hásæti sem á hafbáru.
Þó skal þér seinna sýnu verra,
en, ef þú vilt við meyjar manns gaman hafa,
villiz þú þá vegarins; eða viltu þulu lengri?

‘May it be for you in your bed as if [you were] in burning straw and on your high-seat like on a churning sea. Yet later may it be a great deal worse for you, and if you wish to have a man’s pleasure with girls, may you then lose your way: or do you desire a longer rigmarole? ’

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.

‘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 ’

These are two stanzas from Bósa Saga ok Herrauðs, The Saga of Bosi and Herraud In Old Norse with English translation: http://www.germanicmythology.com/FORNALDARSAGAS/BosaSagaHardman.html
Translations of the stanzas found on the Skaldic Project website: skaldic.org

Bósa Saga ok Herrauðs is one of the tales from the group of Icelandic sagas called Fornaldarsögur, or Legendary sagas. Loosely based on historic figures, these are fantastic stories that often contain supernatural elements.

King Hring had two sons: Herrauðr with his wife and one out of wedlock named Sjóðr. In spite of his good qualities, the king had little affection for Herrauðr because he preferred Sjóðr, and he allowed him to rule over everything. Sjóðr translates to "purse", and due to his greedy oversight of the kingdom's riches, he was unpopular.

Þvari lived nearby. He had been a great viking, and when he had been out raiding he encountered a shield-maiden named Brynhildr. They fought and Þvari wounded Brynhildr, but he brought her home and they eventually married. They had two sons, Smiðr and the other Bósi. Þvari had a concubine named Busla, and she fostered the boys. She was very skilled in magic.

Growing up Bósi proved to be quite unruly, but while playing in the king's yard Herrauðr always came to his defense. This relationship continued as they grew up as companions. However, Bósi grew more out of favor with King Hring, and things escalated to the point where Bósi slew Sjóðr, the king's favorite.

Herrauðr continued to defend Bósi, so the king had them both siezed and they were condemned to death. However, that night, Busla, foster mother and skilled sorceress, went to the king's chamber. He lay bound by her power as she recited several incantations over him in order to bend his will and let the boys go.

Here I recite two of the verses which are repurposed to spellbind, make uncomfortable and bend the will of the fascist authoritarians seeking to sieze our democracy and limit our freedoms. And what is our will? We can start with the discontinuation of warrantless persecution of those they present as "Others", and to have the would-be dictators stay within the legal bounds of their office as intended by the constitution.

-- Úlfr Ólason

Trolls take thee!

Stop! Stop!

Wrath of the Gods

A Longer Rigmarole?

Nithing Pole

Broken Oaths

Protection