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Wight is an obsolete word for a Human or other intelligent being ( Cognate to modern German "Wicht", meaning "small person, dwarf", and also "unpleasant person"). It is used only comparatively recently to give an impression of archaism and mystery, for example in the works of J. R. R. Tolkien . Probably inspired by Scandinavian Folklore (see below), Tolkien also used the word to denote human-like creatures, such as Elves or Ghost s ("wraiths") - most notably the Undead Barrow-Wights . Some subsequent writers seem to have been unaware that the word did not actually mean ghost or wraith, and so many works of Fantasy fiction and Role-playing Games (such as Dungeons & Dragons ) use the term as the name of spectral creatures very similar to Tolkien's Barrow-wights. WIGHTS IN NORSE MYTHOLOGY AND SCANDINAVIAN FOLKLORE in its stead. Drawing by Theodor Kittelsen .]] From the same Germanic root stems the Old Norse word ''vættr'', designating some kind of Supernatural being. At times, even the gods of Norse Mythology are called ''vættir''. However, the most common usage appears to be in reference to ''sjóvættir'' (sea-wights) and ''landvættir'' (land-wights). From sources we know that ''landvættir'' were held to be Chthonic beings of specific farms and wild places. When Norse seafarers approached land, they reportedly took off the carved dragons from the bows of their Longship s, so as not to frighten or insult the ''landvættir'' and incur bad Luck from them. In modern day Iceland , stories still abound of the ''landvættir'' (also known as ''huldufólk'' (hidden people), see below, often hard to distinguish from ''álfafólk'', i.e. Elves ). It is said that work crews building new roads will sometimes divert the road around particular boulders which are known to be the homes of these people. Scandinavian Folklore features a class of beings similar to the Old Norse ''landvættir''. They are known by many names, although the most common are ''vättar'' in southern Sweden , ''vittra'' in northern Sweden and ''huldrefolk'' in Norway (though it should be noted that the singular ''vittra'' and '' Huldra '', respectively, refer to a solitary and quite different being). Henceforth, they are referred to as "wights" in this article. The Norwegian ''vetter'' is used much in the same way as the Old Norse ''vættir'', whereas the corresponding word in Swedish or Danish is ''väsen'' or ''væsen'' (being), also akin to ''was'' and ''were''. Many aspects of the dwarves ('' Dvergar '') in Norse Mythology lived on in the Scandinavian belief in wights. They were thought to be similar in appearance to humans, even strikingly beautiful, but smaller, often clad in grey and living underground. Therefore, they were also called ''de underjordiske'' (the subterranean ones). The cautious peasant in old Scandinavia should always warn the wights before spilling hot water on the ground, or else grave retribution, such as disease, accidents or killed livestock, was to be expected. Wights had their own minute cattle, from which they nevertheless got a tremendous amount of milk. They were also described as having the ability go invisible from human sight whenever they wished to, as well as transform into animals (toads being a disguise of choice). This made them hard to observe, save brief glimpses; children, however, were thought to be much more capable to see through the magic of the wights. The '' Tomte '' or ''nisse'' is a solitary vätte, living on the farmstead. He is usually benevolent and helpful, which can not be said about a mischievous ''illvätte''. The stories about the Norwegian Huldrefolk have taken on many aspects usually associated with Troll s in southern Sweden and Denmark. For example, The Women Of The Huldrefolk were said to be quite beautiful, with the one exception being their long cow-like tails. They take great pains to hide these tails so as not to be detected for what they are. Moreover, the huldrefolk sometimes Kidnap ped infants and replaced them with their own ugly ''huldrebarn'' (see Changeling ). The collected Norwegian Folk Tale s of Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe contain many stories about Huldrefolk . COMPARE |
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