The first winter-night and a three-night sequence

OLD NORSE

En þar skaltu sofa í vetrarnótt hina fyrstu ok þrjár nætr í samt … Konungr sefr nú þrjár nætr í húsinu.

TRANSLATION

But there you shall sleep on the first winter-night and for three nights in succession/altogether … The king now sleeps three nights in the house.

DIRECTLY ATTESTED:

A first winter-night is explicitly named; the prescribed action extends for three nights; the narrative confirms that the king sleeps there for three nights.

CONTEXTUAL:

The three-night sequence concerns dream incubation/divination connected with Gormr’s proposed marriage. Comparative work shows closely matching wording in AM 291 4to and Perg. 7 fol.

MY INTERPRETATION:

This is genuine evidence for a three-consecutive-night practice beginning on the first winter-night. It is substantially better evidence for a possible three-night pattern than interpreting “the third Vetrnætr” as a third night.

NOT ESTABLISHED:

That Vetrnætr itself is explicitly defined as a three-night festival; that this practice was universal; that the three-night dream practice was a Vetrnætr blót.

QUOTED FROM:

Jómsvíkinga saga; compare AM 291 4to and Perg. 7 fol. parallel wording as documented in textual scholarship.

FIND IT YOURSELF:

Search: vetrarnótt hina fyrstu ok þrjár nætr í samt
Then compare: Konungr sefr nú þrjár nætr í húsinu

TEXTUAL NOTE:

The three-night wording is not dependent on a single isolated witness: closely matching wording is preserved in AM 291 4to and Perg. 7 fol. This strengthens confidence that the three-night sequence belongs to the transmitted narrative, while the interpretation of what that sequence means for Vetrnætr remains a separate question.

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