Idis (Germanic)

In Germanic mythology, an idis (Old Saxon, plural idisi) is a divine female being. Idis is cognate to Old High German itis and Old English ides, meaning 'well-respected and dignified woman.' Connections have been assumed or theorized between the idisi and the North Germanic dísir; female beings associated with fate, as well as the amended place name Idistaviso.

One of the two Old High German Merseburg Incantations call upon female beings—idisi—to bind and hamper an army. The incantation reads:

In line 1259 of the Old English poem Beowulf, Grendel's Mother is introduced as an ides:

The idisi mentioned in the first Merseburg Incantation are generally considered to be valkyries. Rudolf Simek says that "these Idisi are obviously a kind of valkyrie, as these also have the power to hamper enemies in Norse mythology" and points to a connection with the valkyrie name Herfjötur (Old Norse "army-fetter").Hilda Ellis Davidson compares the incantation to the Old English Wið færstice charm, and theorizes a similar role for them both.

Simek says that the West Germanic term Idisi (Old Saxon idis, Old High German itis, Anglo-Saxon ides) refers to a "dignified, well respected woman (married or unmarried), possibly a term for any woman, and therefore glosses exactly Latin matrona" and that a link to the North Germanic term dísir is reasonable to assume, yet that it is not undisputed. In addition, the place name Idisiaviso (meaning "plain of the Idisi") where forces commanded by Arminius fought those commanded by Germanicus at the Battle of the Weser River in 16 CE. Simek points to a connection between name Idisiaviso, the role of the Idisi in one of the two Merseburg Incantations, and valkyries.

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