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266 BELIGION OF THE NOETHMEN. .
off, burned the scrapings in the fire and engraved
new runes, which he laid under her pillow. Immediately
the girl awoke as if from a sleep, and
recovered her health.* A knowledge of incanta-
tions and runes was not, as a general thing in
heathen times, held to be in any way ignoble, when
not applied to ignoble objects.
The term seifir, sometimes written seySr, appears
to be cognate with sjoSa, to seethe, to boil, and in
this case would signify witchcraft, or sorcery which
was performed by the boiling of certain objects to
which superstition had imputed magic powers.
What these things were, is now no longer known
this was very naturally a secret of the initiated. In
the performance of witchcraft (at siSa, efla seiS)
there were a great many circumstances to be
attended to. It was mostly done at night, and those
who practiced it sat during the magic performances
upon a raised platform called the witches' seat (seiS-
hjallri. The performance was also coimected with a
magic song or incantation, and the melody of this
song was beautiful to hear. In the Laxdsela Saga
a magic performance of this kind is described. . The
Icelandic chieftain Hrdt Herjlilfsson was on un-
friendly terms with his kinsman Thorleik Hoskulds-
son. The latter wished to do some injury to Hriit,
and for that purpose employed his hireling Kotkel
and Grima his wife, both of whom were well skilled
in magic. " Kotkel and Grima went in the night to
Hrdt's house and established a great sei5r. When
# Eg, S. 1i.
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