Editing Gothi (section)

===Mainland Scandinavia===
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 |quote = Ragnhildr placed this stone in memory of Alli the Pale, priest [{{lang|non|goða}}] of the [[Vé (shrine)|sanctuary]], honourable {{lang|non|[[Thegn|þegn]]}} of the sanctuary-retinue.
 |source = Inscription from the [[Glavendrup stone]]<ref>{{cite Scandinavian Runic-text Database | name=DR 209 | edition=2020 | srdb=8a2934e0-e190-41b9-b25a-36373f3bc1bc | runor=c77608b2-60c2-4fec-ba5d-d74755ad7c72 | access-date=13 May 2025}}</ref>
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From the pagan era in mainland Scandinavia, the only sources for the title are runestones. The Norwegian Nordhuglo stone from around AD 400 seems to place the title in opposition to magic, using a word related to the Old Norse {{lang|non|gandr}}. The inscription's {{lang|gmq-NO|Ek gudija ungandiz}} means "I, {{lang|gmq-NO|gudija}}" followed by "he who is immune to sorcery" or "he who does not engage in sorcery".<ref>Terje Spurkland (2005). [https://books.google.com/books?id=1QDKqY-NWvUC&pg=PA49 Norwegian Runes and Runic Inscriptions]. p. 49.</ref> The three Danish stones are all from [[Funen]]. The early [[Viking Age]] Helnæs and Flemløse 1 stones provide no details about the function of a {{lang|non|guþi}}, but mention a {{lang|non|guþi}} named Roulv whose name also appears on two other runestones, the lost Avnslev stone and the Flemløse 2 stone. The early 10th-century [[Glavendrup stone]] uses the term for a local dignitary who was associated with a {{lang|non|[[Vé (shrine)|vé]]}}, which is a religious structure. It thus attaches the title to a simultaneously [[Social stratification|secular]] and [[Religious stratification|religious upper strata]].<ref name="duwel" />