The
Disting is an annual market which is held in
UppsalaUppsala is the capital of Uppsala County and the fourth largest city of Sweden with 144,839 inhabitants....
,
SwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe...
, since pre-historic times. The name (Old Swedish:
Disæþing or
Disaþing) originally referred to the great assembly called the
Thing of all SwedesThe Thing of all Swedes was the thing which was held from pre-historic times to the Middle Ages, at the end of February or early March at Gamla Uppsala, Sweden. It was held in conjunction with a great fair and a pagan celebration called Dísablót...
, and it is derived from the fact that both the market and the
thingA thing or ting was the governing assembly in Germanic societies, made up of the free people of the community and presided by lawspeakers, meeting in a place called a thingstead...
were held in conjunction with the
DísablótThe Dísablót was the blót which was held in honour of the female spirits or deities called dísir , from pre-historic times until Christianization in Scandinavia. Its purpose was to enhance the coming harvest. It is mentioned in Hervarar saga, Víga-Glúms saga, Egils saga and the Heimskringla...
, the great
blótThe blót refers to Norse pagan sacrifice to the Norse gods and Elves. The sacrifice often took the form of a sacramental meal or feast...
s (sacrifices) for female powers called
dís-People:*Fríða Dís Guðmundsdóttir , Icelandic vocalist, bassist, and flautist*Leendert van Dis , Dutch rower who competed in the 1968 Summer Olympics*Vladislav Petković Dis, Serbian poet, part of the impressionism movement in European poetry...
ir (they include the Norns and the
ValkyrieIn Norse mythology, a valkyrie is one of a host of female figures who decide who will die in battle. The valkyries bring their chosen to the afterlife hall of the slain, Valhalla, ruled over by the god Odin, where the deceased warriors become einherjar...
s) at the
Temple at UppsalaThe Temple at Uppsala was a religious center in Norse paganism once located at what is now Gamla Uppsala , Sweden attested in Adam of Bremen's 11th century work Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum and in Heimskringla, written by Snorri Sturluson in the 13th century...
.
The
Disting is an annual market which is held in
UppsalaUppsala is the capital of Uppsala County and the fourth largest city of Sweden with 144,839 inhabitants....
,
SwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe...
, since pre-historic times. The name (Old Swedish:
Disæþing or
Disaþing) originally referred to the great assembly called the
Thing of all SwedesThe Thing of all Swedes was the thing which was held from pre-historic times to the Middle Ages, at the end of February or early March at Gamla Uppsala, Sweden. It was held in conjunction with a great fair and a pagan celebration called Dísablót...
, and it is derived from the fact that both the market and the
thingA thing or ting was the governing assembly in Germanic societies, made up of the free people of the community and presided by lawspeakers, meeting in a place called a thingstead...
were held in conjunction with the
DísablótThe Dísablót was the blót which was held in honour of the female spirits or deities called dísir , from pre-historic times until Christianization in Scandinavia. Its purpose was to enhance the coming harvest. It is mentioned in Hervarar saga, Víga-Glúms saga, Egils saga and the Heimskringla...
, the great
blótThe blót refers to Norse pagan sacrifice to the Norse gods and Elves. The sacrifice often took the form of a sacramental meal or feast...
s (sacrifices) for female powers called
dís-People:*Fríða Dís Guðmundsdóttir , Icelandic vocalist, bassist, and flautist*Leendert van Dis , Dutch rower who competed in the 1968 Summer Olympics*Vladislav Petković Dis, Serbian poet, part of the impressionism movement in European poetry...
ir (they include the Norns and the
ValkyrieIn Norse mythology, a valkyrie is one of a host of female figures who decide who will die in battle. The valkyries bring their chosen to the afterlife hall of the slain, Valhalla, ruled over by the god Odin, where the deceased warriors become einherjar...
s) at the
Temple at UppsalaThe Temple at Uppsala was a religious center in Norse paganism once located at what is now Gamla Uppsala , Sweden attested in Adam of Bremen's 11th century work Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum and in Heimskringla, written by Snorri Sturluson in the 13th century...
. They were all originally held at the end of February or in early March.
The
IcelandThe Republic of Iceland is a European island country located in the North Atlantic Ocean. It has a population of about 320,000 and a total area of 103,000 km². Its capital and largest city is Reykjavík, whose surrounding area is home to approximately two thirds of the national population...
ic historian
Snorri SturlusonSnorri Sturluson was an Icelandic historian, poet and politician. He was twice elected lawspeaker at the Icelandic parliament, the Althing...
, who was well-informed of Swedish matters and visited the country in 1219, explained in the
HeimskringlaHeimskringla is the best known of the Old Norse kings' sagas. It was written in Old Norse in Iceland by the poet and historian Snorri Sturluson ca. 1230...
(1225):
In Svithjod it was the old custom, as long as heathenism prevailed, that the chief sacrifice took place in Goe month at UpsalaGamla Uppsala is a parish and a village outside Uppsala in Sweden. It had 16,231 inhabitants in 1991.As early as the 3rd century AD and the 4th century AD and onwards, it was an important religious, economic and political centre...
. Then sacrifice was offered for peace, and victory to the king; and thither came people from all parts of Svithjod. All the Things of the Swedes, also, were held there, and markets, and meetings for buying, which continued for a week: and after Christianity was introduced into Svithjod, the Things and fairs were held there as before. After Christianity had taken root in Svithjod, and the kings would no longer dwell in Upsala, the market-time was moved to Candlemas, and it has since continued so, and it lasts only three days.
In 1611, the first play in the Swedish language named
DisaDisa is the heroine of a Swedish legendary saga, which was documented by Olaus Magnus, in 1555. It is believed to be from the Middle Ages, but includes Old Norse themes....
by
Johannes MesseniusJohannes Messenius was a Swedish historian, dramatist and university professor. He was born in the village of Freberga, in Stenby parish in Östergötland, and died in Oulu.-Childhood:...
was enacted at the Disting showing a late medieval legend explaining the origins of the Disting, as the pagan origins had been forgotten. Instead of being held in honour of female powers, it was held in honour of a heroic girl who had prevailed on the king and the assembly to stop a great massacre of the weak and elderly to hinder overpopulation.
The market was officially abolished in 1895, but continued informally, and it still held in early February. It is one of the most traditional Swedish markets.