árangursríkrar

árangursríkrar is a term found in Icelandic-language folklore that denotes charms, spells, or talismans believed to bring success in various pursuits, ranging from farming and trade to competition. The word is usually treated as a compound built from árangur, meaning “success,” with a second element related to power or wealth, yielding roughly “charms of success.” The exact form and usage varied by locality and time, and the term is not consistently attested as a fixed rite in a single tradition.

In practice, árangursríkrar could take the form of short recited phrases, blessing utterances, or inscribed objects such as runic-like marks, charms placed in the home, or on goods destined for sale. They were most commonly associated with everyday endeavors where luck or favorable conditions were believed to be decisive, such as farming, fishing, mercantile ventures, or contests.

Historically, mentions of similar charms appear in ethnographic collections and glossaries of Icelandic folklore from the late medieval to early modern periods. Contemporary scholars describe árangursríkrar as a broad category rather than a single uniform practice, used to illustrate how communities understood luck, agency, and protective ritual in daily life.

Today the term is mainly of interest to folklorists and linguists studying Icelandic magical vocabulary and ritual speech, and is sometimes invoked in discussions of traditional belief about prosperity and luck.