'Med trehövdad turs skall du leva' : sexuellt betvingande trolldom i nordisk mytologi och religion

The aim of this article is to explore two case studies of Old Norse sexual charms and curses. The first case is a curse described in Skírnismál which is used by Skírnir to break Gerðr’s will, and the second is a description by Saxo Grammaticus in his Gesta Danorum of how Óðinn used sorcery to break Rind’s will and rape her. The main argument is that the terminology and worldview found therein are possible to trace in other sources, where sorcery is employed to break the will of young women and force them to have sexual intercourse with the one who uttered or carved the charm or curse. With evidence taken from runic inscriptions and accounts of love magic from saga literature, as well as younger folkloristic examples, it is argued that this is not only a mythic motif, but something that was practiced at a societal level. It is also argued that many of the charms and curses contain foul language that serves the purpose to reinforce the charms and make them more poten