- published: 27 Oct 2014
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The blót (Old Norse neuter) was a Norse pagan sacrifice to the Norse gods and the spirits of the land. The sacrifice often took the form of a sacramental meal or feast. Related religious practices were performed by other Germanic peoples, such as the pagan Anglo-Saxons. The blót element of horse sacrifice is found throughout Indo-European traditions, including the Indian, Celtic, and Latin traditions.
The word blót (Icelandic and Faroese: blót) is the Old Norse & Old English representative of the Proto-Germanic (PGmc) noun *ƀlōtan "sacrifice, worship". Connected to this is the PGmc strong verb *ƀlōtanan attested in Gothic blotan, Old Norse blóta, Old English blótan and Old High German bluozan, all of which mean "to sacrifice, offer, worship". The word also appears in the compound *ƀlōta-hūsan (attested in Old Norse blót-hús "house of worship" and Old High German bluoz-hūz "temple"). With a different nominative affix, the same stem is found in the PGmc noun *ƀlōstran "sacrifice" (attested in Gothic *blostr in guþ-blostreis "worshipper of God" and Old High German bluostar "offering, sacrifice"). This stem is thought to be connected to the PGmc verb *ƀlōanan "to blow, bloom, blossom", as are the words for "blood" (PGmc *ƀlōđan) and "bloom" (PGmc *ƀlōmōn). Sophus Bugge was the first to suggest a connection between blót and the Latin flamen (< *flădmen), and both words can be traced back to the Proto-Indo-European stem *bhlād- "to bubble forth; to mumble, murmur, blather".
George and Ira Gershwin
A foggy day, in London town
It had me low, and it had me down
I viewed the morning, with much alarm
The British Museum, had lost its charm
How long I wondered, could this thing last
But the age of miracles, it hadn't past
And suddenly, I saw you standing right there