stafgarþr

Old Gutnish

Etymology

From *stafr (“staff, pole”) +‎ garþr (“enclosure”)

Noun

stafgarþr m

1. (paganism) a paled enclosure, within which pagan ritual activity would occur
   • c. 1220, Guta lag 4:

     Engin má haita á hwatki á hult eþa hauga eþa haiþin guþ, hwatki á wí eþa staf-garþa.

     Nobody may in any way call upon groves or mounds, or heathen gods; nor in any way upon sanctuaries or enclosures.

Usage notes

• Only attested in the accusative plural, in a law forbidding pagan activities.

References

• “Stafgarþer” in: Schlyter, C.J. — Ordbok till Samlingen av Sveriges Gamla Lagar (1877)