ABSTRACT
In 1935 the Swedish scholar Dag Strömbäck published his study of certain magic practices in Old Norse literature which come under the Icelandic term seidr. 1 He showed how these bear a striking resemblance to shamanistic practices among the Lapps in pre-Christian times, and how the essential characteristic of seidr is the falling of the practitioner into a state of trance in which he or she is able to foresee the future, discover hidden things and influence the minds of others. Descriptions of this kind of magic in the sagas vary considerably in date and reliability; some are clearly late additions to the story, but others seem based on a genuine interest in and considerable knowledge of Scandinavian magic practices. Strombäck came to the conclusion that when the sagas were com-posed from the thirteenth century onwards there was not a great deal known about seidr, but that sufficient information was scattered through the sources to build up a general picture. 2
