Disa
Encyclopedia
Olaus Magnus
Olaus Magnus was a Swedish ecclesiastic and writer, who did pioneering work for the interest of Nordic people. He was reported as born in October 1490 in Östergötland, and died on August 1, 1557. Magnus, Latin for the Swedish Stor “great”, is a Latin family name taken personally, and not a...
, in 1555. It is believed to be from the Middle Ages, but includes Old Norse themes.
It was elaborated by Johannes Messenius
Johannes Messenius
Johannes Messenius was a Swedish historian, dramatist and university professor. He was born in the village of Freberga, in Stenby parish in Östergötland, and died in Oulu, in modern-day Finland.-Childhood:...
in his drama Disa, which was the first historic play in the Swedish language
Swedish language
Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
, and was played at the Disting
Disting
The Disting is an annual market which is held in Uppsala, Sweden, since pre-historic times. The name originally referred to the great assembly called the Thing of all Swedes, and it is derived from the fact that both the market and the thing were held in conjunction with the Dísablót, the great...
of 1611. It was also presented in an exaggerated version by Olaus Rudbeck
Olaus Rudbeck
Olaus Rudbeck was a Swedish scientist and writer, professor of medicine at Uppsala University and for several periods rector magnificus of the same university...
in his Atlantica
Atlantica
Atlantica is the name given to an ancient continent that formed during the Proterozoic about from various 2 Ga cratons located in what is now West Africa and eastern South America....
(1685–89)
Synopsis
In time the when the god-king FreyrFreyr
Freyr is one of the most important gods of Norse paganism. Freyr was highly associated with farming, weather and, as a phallic fertility god, Freyr "bestows peace and pleasure on mortals"...
(or king Sigtrud) ruled in Sweden, there was a famine. The long peace during Freyr's reign had greatly increased Sweden's population until the lands could no longer support it sufficiently.
The king and the chieftains decided that the population had to be culled by killing all the elderly, sickly and handicapped, and by sacrificing them to Odin
Odin
Odin is a major god in Norse mythology and the ruler of Asgard. Homologous with the Anglo-Saxon "Wōden" and the Old High German "Wotan", the name is descended from Proto-Germanic "*Wodanaz" or "*Wōđanaz"....
. However, Disa, the daughter of the chieftain Sigsten of Venngarn in Uppland
Uppland
Uppland is a historical province or landskap on the eastern coast of Sweden, just north of Stockholm, the capital. It borders Södermanland, Västmanland and Gästrikland. It is also bounded by lake Mälaren and the Baltic sea...
, was upset by this cruel solution. She talked mockingly to the king and chieftains about their wisdom and claimed to have wiser words of advice.
In order to test her wits, Freyr asked her to visit him, but she could not do so by foot, by horse, in a wagon, nor in a boat. She could not visit him either dressed or undressed. The time must not be within a year nor within a month, and neither during daytime nor nighttime, and neither when the moon was waxing nor waning.
She passed the test by harnessing two young men to a sled. By the sled, she had a billygoat and she had one leg over the goat and the other leg in the sled. For clothes she had a net, and she arrived at dusk to the king the third day before Yule
Yule
Yule or Yuletide is a winter festival that was initially celebrated by the historical Germanic people as a pagan religious festival, though it was later absorbed into, and equated with, the Christian festival of Christmas. The festival was originally celebrated from late December to early January...
, a day which was not counted to the year but was considered to be an additional day between two years.
The democide was cancelled, and according to the behest of the new queen Disa, there was a drawing of lots so that a part of the population was to leave Sweden (then restricted to Svealand
Svealand
Svealand , Swealand or Sweden proper is the historical core region of Sweden. It is located in south central Sweden and is one of three lands of Sweden, bounded to the north by Norrland and to the south by Götaland. Deep forests, Tiveden, Tylöskog, Kolmården, separated Svealand from Götaland...
), for the northern regions that were later called Norrland
Norrland
Norrland is one of the three lands of Sweden , the northern part, consisting of nine provinces. The term Norrland is not used for any administrative purpose, but it is common in everyday language, e.g...
, where they were to settle and cultivate the land.
Disa's wisdom was so highly valued that many disputes were relegated to her at the Midwinter blót
Blót
The blót was Norse pagan sacrifice to the Norse gods and the spirits of the land. The sacrifice often took the form of a sacramental meal or feast. Related religious practices were performed by other Germanic peoples, such as the pagan Anglo-Saxons...
at the Temple at Uppsala
Temple at Uppsala
The Temple at Uppsala was a religious center in Norse paganism once located at what is now Gamla Uppsala , Sweden attested in Adam of Bremen's 11th century work Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum and in Heimskringla, written by Snorri Sturluson in the 13th century...
, which from this time was called the Disablot
Dísablót
The Dísablót was the blót which was held in honour of the female spirits or deities called dísir , from pre-historic times until Christianization in Scandinavia. Its purpose was to enhance the coming harvest. It is mentioned in Hervarar saga, Víga-Glúms saga, Egils saga and the Heimskringla...
and the Disting
Disting
The Disting is an annual market which is held in Uppsala, Sweden, since pre-historic times. The name originally referred to the great assembly called the Thing of all Swedes, and it is derived from the fact that both the market and the thing were held in conjunction with the Dísablót, the great...
.
Disa as a source of inspiration
The saga has been treated by Johan Celsius in the prose drama Disa (1687), which was an adaptation of Messenius' stage play in verse. Later it was adapted by Johan Gabriel OxenstiernaJohan Gabriel Oxenstierna
Count Johan Gabriel Oxenstierna was a Swedish poet, politician, diplomat and member of the Swedish Academy, holding seat number 8. He was a prominent courtier at the court of king Gustav III of Sweden and is considered one of the foremost poets of the Gustavian period. He was a member of the...
in the poetic letter Disa (1795), and in the fourth song of the poem Skördarne (1796). In the so-called Disasal on the second floor of the castle of Venngarn, there are eight large paintings depicting scenes from Disa's saga. They were previously believed to be works of David Klöcker Ehrenstrahl
David Klöcker Ehrenstrahl
David Klöcker Ehrenstrahl was a Swedish nobleman and portrait painter.Ehrenstrahl was born in Hamburg. In 1652, at twenty-four years of age, at the request of Carl Gustaf Wrangel, he moved to Skokloster Castle, from his art studies in the Netherlands...
, but according to August Hahr, they are only the work of artisans based on copies of Ehrenstrahl's compositions, which were published as etchings. One of these etchings was the basis of depictions on tapestry which are partly preserved in the Stockholm Palace
Stockholm Palace
The Stockholm Palace is the official residence and major royal palace of the Swedish monarch. . Stockholm Palace is located on Stadsholmen , in Gamla Stan in the capital, Stockholm...
and Ulriksdal Palace
Ulriksdal Palace
Ulriksdal Palace is a royal palace situated on the banks of the Edsviken in the National City Park in Solna, 6 km north of Stockholm. It was originally called Jakobsdal after its owner Jacob De la Gardie, who had it built by architect Hans Jacob Kristler in 1643-1645 as a country retreat...
. Under every painting there are verses providing explanations in Latin and Swedish.
Inspiration for name of orchid Genus Disa
Botanist Carl Peter Thunberg
Carl Peter Thunberg
Carl Peter Thunberg aka Carl Pehr Thunberg aka Carl Per Thunberg was a Swedish naturalist and an apostle of Carl Linnaeus. He has been called "the father of South African botany" and the "Japanese Linnaeus"....
named the Disa genus of orchids based on the Disa legend. The dorsal sepal of some Disa orchids have a net-like appearance reminiscent of the fishnet in which Disa appears before King Freyhr.