This article is about the term in Germanic languages. For the island in England, see Isle of Wight. For other uses, see Wight (disambiguation).
Page recording a charm against a dwarf, from the Lacnunga collection, in which the dwarf is referred to as a wiht.[1]Vættir in "Grimm's Fairy Tales" (1915)
Awight is a being or thing. This general meaning is shared by cognate terms in Germanic languages, however the usage of the term varies greatly over time and between regions. In Old English, it could refer to anything in existence, with more specific usages arising in Middle English, perhaps due to the term of similar meaning in Anglo-Norman, creature. The term is widely used in modern fantasy, often to mean specifically a being which is undead.
The Old Norse term véttr[ˈweːtːz̠], / vættr and its English cognate wight are descended from Proto-Germanic *wihtiz (thing, creature), from Proto-Indo-European *wekti- ("object, thing").[6]Vættr and wight normally refer to a supernatural being, especially landvættr (land spirit), but can refer to any creature. The Norwegianvette is used much in the same way as the Old Norse vættr as are the corresponding Swedish cognate vätte (dialect form vätter – Old Swedish vætter)[7] and the Danishvætte. A related form in the Slavic languages can be seen in Old Church Slavonic вєшть, (veštĭ), meaning thing, matter, or subject.[citation needed]
In Old English, wiht has been variously translated as "wight", "creature" and "being".[9] The term is found in the compound words eall-wihta ("all beings") and á-wiht ("aught", "anything").[10][11]Wiht is often used as the subject of riddles, such as riddle 86 from the Exeter Book, in which it has been interpreted as referring to a person selling vegetables, likely garlics.[9][12] The term is also used to refer to beings such as the dwarf which is the focus of the XCIIIB charm, and the eotenGrendel and the dragoninBeowulf.[1][13]
The word began to acquire the sense of supernatural or unearthly beings, included in the 8th century Lindisfarne Gospels.[14]
When creature was borrowed from Anglo-Norman around 1300 CE, it was possibly wholly synonymous with Middle English: wight, however over time the words became differentiated by speakers.[15] The exact usage of the term varies between works but it broadly is used in one of five loose categories that blur between themselves:
a "living creature", an element of the earthly world
a generic being, with few connotations
an enemy or social inferior that is seen as other
as beloved, often gendered
a being connected to the spiritual realm, either good or bad[16]
The term is used to refer to a range of positive beings with supernatural aspects such as saints, Jesus, and his mother, Mary.[17] It has been argued that the term could be used for anything other than the God the Father, as he himself was not created in Christian theology. It has been noted, however, that it is stated in the Man of Law that Daniel in the lion's den was saved by "No wight but God", showing it was possible to use the term to refer to a class of beings that includes both man and the Christian god. It is to be noted though are no extant texts in Middle English that refer to God the Father directly as a wight.[18]
The most common use of the term, however, is to refer to everyday corporeal beings as these are much more represented in normal conversation. Wight is commonly found with adjectives, such as curside, wikkede, or worldly. The phrase "sweet wight" is notable, occurring frequently and often in gendered and romantic contexts.[19]
As with "wight", Old Norse: vættr (pl. vættir) means a being, especially a supernatural being. It occurs in compound nouns such as mein-vættr ("evil wight"), land-vættr ("guardian spirit of a country"), vitta vettr ("witch wight" or "sorceress") and bjargvættr ("helping sprite").[20][21][22]
"In this by-place of nature there abode, in a remote period of American history, that is to say, some thirty years since, a worthy wight of the name of Ichabod Crane, who sojourned, or, as he expressed it, "tarried," in Sleepy Hollow, for the purpose of instructing the children of the vicinity."
A similar change of meaning can be seen in the German cognate Wicht, meaning a living human being, generally rather small, poor or miserable man (not woman). The word is somewhat old-fashioned in today's language, but it is still used and readily recognized in everyday speech.[citation needed]
The diminutive Wichtel refers to beings in folklore and fantasy, generally small, and often helpful, dwelling in or near human settlements, secretly doing work and helping the humans, somewhat similar to the more specific Heinzelmännchen. Wichtel in this sense is recorded since the Middle Ages. Today, Wichtel is more often used than Wicht.[citation needed]
Húsvættir is a collective term for keepers of the household, like the Scottish brownie, or the Nordic tomte (also referred to as Nisse). The tomteornisse is a solitary vätte, living on the farmstead. He is usually benevolent and helpful, which can not be said about an innately mischievous illvätte. However, a nisse can cause a lot of damage if he is displeased or angry, including killing of livestock or causing serious accidents.[26][better source needed]
Scandinavian folklore features a class of beings similar to the Old Norse landvættir. They are known by many names, although the most common are vättar in southern Sweden (singular: vätte), vittra in northern Sweden, and huldrefolkinNorway (although the singular vittra and huldra, respectively, refer to a solitary and quite different being).[citation needed]
During the 19th century, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe compiled Norwegian folk tales. These stories often reflected the animistic folk belief that preserved earlier elements derived from the Viking Age but was strongly influenced by medieval Biblical cosmology. Prominent are stories that reflect later views of the vættir, usually called the huldrefolk (from Old Norse huldufólk), meaning "concealed people" and referring to their other worldliness or power of invisibility.[27][better source needed][28] The stories featuring the huldrefolk often highlight their enigmatic nature and their interactions with humans. They may appear as seductive maidens or mysterious forest dwellers, leading unsuspecting travelers astray or blessing those who treat them kindly. These tales reflect a blend of reverence, fear, and fascination with the supernatural that permeated Norwegian folklore.
^Reinders, Eric (2024). Reading Tolkien in Chinese: Religion, Fantasy, and Translation. Perspectives on Fantasy series. London, UK: Bloomsbury Academic. p. 110. ISBN9781350374645.
