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The snake-witch.
The snake-witch.

The Snake-witch (Ormhäxan), Snake-charmer (Ormtjuserskan) or Smiss (3) stone (Smisstenen) is a picture stone on Gotland, Sweden. Discovered in a cemetery, it measures 82 cm (32 in) in height and depicts a figure holding two snakes in his or her hands.[1] Above the figure there are three interlaced creatures (forming a triskelion pattern) that have been identified as a boar, an eagle and a wolf.[2]

Although many scholars call it the Snake-witch,[3] what the stone actually depicts, the figure's gender, and whether it derives from Celtic art or Norse art remain debated.

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Parallels and interpretations

The snake-witch was first described by Sune Lindquist in 1955. He tried unsuccessfully to find connections with accounts in Old Icelandic sources, but he also compared the stone with the Snake Goddess from Crete. Lindquist found connections with the late Celtic Gundestrup cauldron, although he appears to have overlooked that the cauldron also shows a figure holding a snake.[3]

Arrhenius and Holmquist (1960) also found a connection with late Celtic art suggesting that the stone depicted Daniel in the lions' den and compared it with a depiction on a purse lid from Sutton Hoo, although the Snake-witch stone does not show creatures with legs.[3] Arwidsson (1963) also attributed the stone to late Celtic art and compared it with the figure holding a snake on the Gundestrup cauldron.[4] In a later publication Arrhenius (1994) considered the figure not to be a witch but a male magician and she dated it to the Vendel era. Hauk (1983), who is a specialist on bracteates, suggested that the stone depicts Odin in the fetch of a woman, while Görman (1983) has proposed that the stone depicts the Celtic god Cernunnos.[5]

It has also been connected to a nearby stone relief on a door jamb at the church of Väte on Gotland which shows a woman who suckles two dragons, but this was made five centuries later than the picture stone.[1]

The Snake Goddess from Crete from around 1600 BCE.

The antlered figure on the Gundestrup cauldron from 1 to 2 BCE found in Denmark.

The purse lid from the 6th to 7th century Sutton Hoo burial site, England. British Museum.

The relief at Väte.

Snake symbolism

Snakes were popular as a motif on later picture stones which show snake pits, used as a painful means of execution; this form of punishment is also known through Norse sagas. Snakes are considered to have had an important symbolism during the passage from paganism to Christianity. They were frequently combined with images of deer, crustaceans or supernatural beasts. The purpose may have been to protect the stones and to deter people who might destroy them.[1]

Notes

  1. ^ a b c Nylén & Lamm 1988, p.40-41
  2. ^ Hermodsson 2000, p.109
  3. ^ a b c Hermodsson 2000, p.110
  4. ^ Hermodsson 2000, p.111
  5. ^ Hermodsson 2000, p.112

References

  • Hermodsson, L. 2000. "En invandrad gud? Kring en märklig gotländsk bildsten. (An alien god?)". Fornvännen 95. Stockholm.
  • Nylén, E. & Lamm, J.P. (1988). Stones, Ships and Symbols. Gidlunds bokförlag, Stockholm. ISBN 91 7844 116 1
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