Galder (incantation)

In old Germanic culture, a galder (lit. 'gale-der, yell-der'; Old English: ġealdor, galdor, Middle English: galder; Old Norse: galdr; Old High German: galdar, galstar), among other forms in old Germanic languages, refers to a spell or incantation; these were usually performed in combination with certain rites.

During the Middle Ages, the term galder often became synonymous with "witchcraft" and "magic" as a whole. In Old Icelandic and Old Swedish, a word for witch was "galder woman" (Old Icelandic: galdrakona; Old Swedish: galderkona, gallirkona; lit. 'galder-quean'), and the construction also exist in German as Galsterweib (lit. 'galder wife').

It was performed by both women and men. Some scholars have proposed they chanted it in falsetto (gala).