1.
Stora Hammars stones
–
The Stora Hammars image stones are four Viking Age image stones located in Stora Hammars, Lärbro parish, Gotland, Sweden. The four Stora Hammars image stones are phallic shaped, similar combinations of death with this erotic symbology occur on other Gotland rune and image stones. The images on the Stora Hammars II and IV stones are very worn, because of the position of the woman in two of the panels, it has been interpreted as illustrating the legend of Hildr and its never-ending battle. Near the altar is a stone, which one scholar has been suggested may be a cult stone similar to the Elgesem runestone. The Stora Hammars III image stone has four panels, the lower of which shows a ship with warriors, one of the panels has been interpreted as depicting Odin in the form of an eagle taking the mead of poetry, a legend described in section 6 of the Skáldskaparmál. Gunnlöð and Suttungr are shown to the right of the eagle, another panel depicts a rider on a horse being greeted by a woman who has been interpreted as being a Valkyrie. The woman appears to be wearing a long serk or underdress, which may be pleated, and a short overdress
2.
Picture stone
–
A picture stone, image stone or figure stone is an ornate slab of stone, usually limestone, which was raised in Germanic Iron Age or Viking Age Scandinavia, and in the greatest number on Gotland. More than four hundred picture stones are known today, all of the stones were probably erected as memorial stones, but only rarely beside graves. Some of them have been positioned where many people could see them at bridges and they mainly differ from runestones by presenting the message in pictures rather than runes. Some picture stones also have inscriptions, but they tell little more than to whom the stone was dedicated. Lacking textual explanations, the stones are consequently difficult to interpret. Similar stones in Scotland are known as Pictish stones, the dating of the stones is based on studies of their shapes and ornamentations. Subsequently, three groups of stones exist with various aesthetics, locations and purposes. The first group of stones was made in the period 400–600 CE. These have a form and the upper part is shaped like the edge of an axe. The ornamentations are usually circular forms with vortex patterns and spirals, but also with images of ships, people and these older stones were usually raised within grave fields, albeit not on the graves themselves. The second group of stones come from the period 500–700 CE. The third group was made in the period 700–1100 CE and they consist of stones with necks. Their ornamentations present an array of pictures, ships with checkered sails. The borders are decorated with various plaited patterns. Many scenes show sacrifices and battles, and a scene on the stones is a man, riding a horse. What is seen are representations of a wealth of legends and myths, sometimes depictions from Norse mythology and Norse legends can be identified, but largely the stories behind them have not survived in written form. The image stones are valuable sources which complete knowledge from archaeology concerning ships and sails, and they provide information on armor, wagons, the later stones in this group feature an upper field with stylized cross and dragon patterns in the style of some runestones. These stones usually were raised on roads and at bridges to be visible, a comparable tradition is found on the Isle of Man where high funeral crosses of stone were richly ornamented with the same teeming world of warriors and Norse deities as the image stones of Gotland
3.
Gotland
–
Gotland, Gutland in the local dialect Gutnish, is a province, county, municipality, and diocese of Sweden. The province includes the islands of Fårö and Gotska Sandön to the north. The population is 57,221, of which about 23,600 live in Visby, the island of Gotland and the other areas of the province of Gotland make up less than one percent of Swedens total land area. From a military viewpoint, it occupies a location in the Baltic sea. The island is the home of the Gutes, and sites such as the Ajvide Settlement show that it has occupied since prehistory. This is consistent with the spread of peoples from the Middle East at about that time. Early on, Gotland became a center, with the town of Visby the most important Hanseatic city in the Baltic Sea. In late medieval times, the island had twenty district courts, each represented by its elected judge at the island-ting, new laws were decided at the landsting, which also took other decisions regarding the island as a whole. Gutasaga contains legends of how the island was settled by Þieluar, according to some historians, it is therefore an effort not only to write down the history of Gotland, but also to assert Gotlands independence from Sweden. In 1361, Valdemar Atterdag of Denmark invaded the island, the Victual Brothers occupied the island in 1394 to set up a stronghold as a headquarters of their own in Visby. At last, Gotland became a fief of the Teutonic Knights, an invading army of Teutonic Knights conquered the island in 1398, destroying Visby and driving the Victual Brothers from Gotland. The number of Arab dirhams discovered on the island of Gotland alone is astoundingly high, in the various hoards located around the island, there are more of these silver coins than at any other site in Western Eurasia. The total sum is almost as great as the number that has been unearthed in the entire Muslim world, the Berezan Runestone, discovered in 1905 in Ukraine, was made by a Varangian trader named Grani in memory of his business partner Karl. It is assumed that they were from Gotland, the Mästermyr chest, an important artefact from the Viking Age, was found in Gotland. The authority of the landsting was successively eroded after the island was occupied by the Teutonic Order, then sold to Eric of Pomerania, in late medieval times, the ting consisted of twelve representatives for the farmers, free-holders or tenants. Since the Treaty of Brömsebro in 1645, the island has remained under Swedish rule, the Order never regained its territory, and eventually it reestablished itself in Rome as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. On 22 April 1808, during the Finnish War between Sweden and Russia, a Russian army landed on the shores of Gotland near Grötlingbo. Under command of Nikolaus Andrejevich Bodisco 1,800 Russians took the city of Visby without any combat or engagement, and occupied the island
4.
Scandinavia
–
Scandinavia /ˌskændᵻˈneɪviə/ is a historical and cultural region in Northern Europe characterized by a common ethnocultural North Germanic heritage and mutually intelligible North Germanic languages. The term Scandinavia always includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, the remote Norwegian islands of Svalbard and Jan Mayen are usually not seen as a part of Scandinavia, nor is Greenland, an overseas territory of Denmark. This looser definition almost equates to that of the Nordic countries, in Nordic languages, only Denmark, Norway and Sweden are commonly included in the definition of Scandinavia. In English usage, Scandinavia sometimes refers to the geographical area, the name Scandinavia originally referred vaguely to the formerly Danish, now Swedish, region Scania. Icelanders and the Faroese are to a significant extent descended from the Norse, Finland is mainly populated by Finns, with a minority of approximately 5% of Swedish speakers. A small minority of Sami people live in the north of Scandinavia. The Danish, Norwegian and Swedish languages form a continuum and are known as the Scandinavian languages—all of which are considered mutually intelligible with one another. Faroese and Icelandic, sometimes referred to as insular Scandinavian languages, are intelligible in continental Scandinavian languages only to a limited extent, Finnish and Meänkieli are closely related to each other and more distantly to the Sami languages, but are entirely unrelated to the Scandinavian languages. Apart from these, German, Yiddish and Romani are recognized minority languages in Scandinavia, the southern and by far most populous regions of Scandinavia have a temperate climate. Scandinavia extends north of the Arctic Circle, but has mild weather for its latitude due to the Gulf Stream. Much of the Scandinavian mountains have a tundra climate. There are many lakes and moraines, legacies of the last glacial period, Scandinavia usually refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. Some sources argue for the inclusion of the Faroe Islands, Finland and Iceland, though that broader region is known by the countries concerned as Norden. Before this time, the term Scandinavia was familiar mainly to classical scholars through Pliny the Elders writings, and was used vaguely for Scania, as a political term, Scandinavia was first used by students agitating for Pan-Scandinavianism in the 1830s. After a visit to Sweden, Andersen became a supporter of early political Scandinavism, the term is often defined according to the conventions of the cultures that lay claim to the term in their own use. More precisely, and subject to no dispute, is that Finland is included in the broader term Nordic countries, various promotional agencies of the Nordic countries in the United States serve to promote market and tourism interests in the region. The official tourist boards of Scandinavia sometimes cooperate under one umbrella, Norways government entered one year later. All five Nordic governments participate in the joint promotional efforts in the United States through the Scandinavian Tourist Board of North America, Scandinavia can thus be considered a subset of the Nordic countries
5.
Norse mythology
–
The cosmos in Norse mythology consists of Nine Worlds that flank a central cosmological tree, Yggdrasil. Units of time and elements of the cosmology are personified as deities or beings, various forms of a creation myth are recounted, where the world is created from the flesh of the primordial being Ymir, and the first two humans are Ask and Embla. These worlds are foretold to be reborn after the events of Ragnarök, there the surviving gods will meet, and the land will be fertile and green, and two humans will repopulate the world. Norse mythology has been the subject of scholarly discourse since the 17th century, by way of comparative mythology and historical linguistics, scholars have identified elements of Germanic mythology reaching as far back as Proto-Indo-European mythology. In the modern period, the Romanticist Viking revival re-awoke an interest in the subject matter, the myths have further been revived in a religious context among adherents of Germanic Neopaganism. The majority of these Old Norse texts were created in Iceland and this occurred primarily in the 13th century. The Prose Edda was composed as a manual for producing skaldic poetry—traditional Old Norse poetry composed by skalds. Originally composed and transmitted orally, skaldic poetry utilizes alliterative verse, kennings, the Prose Edda presents numerous examples of works by various skalds from before and after the Christianization process and also frequently refers back to the poems found in the Poetic Edda. The Poetic Edda consists almost entirely of poems, with some prose narrative added, in comparison to skaldic poetry, Eddic poetry is relatively unadorned. Numerous further texts, such as the sagas, provide further information, the saga corpus consists of thousands of tales recorded in Old Norse ranging from Icelandic family histories to Migration period tales mentioning historic figures such as Attila the Hun. By way of historical linguistics and comparative mythology, comparisons to other attested branches of Germanic mythology may also lend insight, wider comparisons to the mythology of other Indo-European peoples by scholars has resulted in the potential reconstruction of far earlier myths. Of the mythical tales and poems that are presumed to have existed during the Middle Ages, Viking Age, Migration Period, numerous gods are mentioned in the source texts. In the mythology, Thor lays waste to numerous jötnar who are foes to the gods or humanity, the god Odin is also frequently mentioned in surviving texts. One-eyed, wolf and raven-flanked, and spear in hand, Odin pursues knowledge throughout the worlds, Odin has a strong association with death, Odin is portrayed as the ruler of Valhalla, where valkyries carry half of those slain in battle. Odins wife is the powerful goddess Frigg who can see the future but tells no one, and together they have a beloved son, Baldr. After a series of dreams had by Baldr of his death, his death is engineered by Loki, and Baldr thereafter resides in Hel. Odin must share half of his share of the dead with a powerful goddess and she is beautiful, sensual, wears a feathered cloak, and practices seiðr. She rides to battle to choose among the slain, and brings her chosen to her afterlife field Fólkvangr, Freyja weeps for her missing husband Óðr, and seeks after him in far away lands
6.
Gesta Danorum
–
Gesta Danorum is a patriotic work of Danish history, by the 12th century author Saxo Grammaticus. It is the most ambitious undertaking of medieval Denmark and is an essential source for the nations early history. It is also one of the oldest known documents about the history of Estonia and Latvia. The sixteen books, in prose with an excursion into poetry. Book 9 ends with Gorm the Old, the first factual documented King of Denmark, book 14 contains a unique description of the temple at Rügen Island. When exactly Gesta Danorum was written is the subject of works, however. The last event described in the last book is King Canute VI of Denmark subduing Pomerania under Duke Bogislaw I, however the preface of the work, dictated to Archbishop Anders Sunesen, mentions the Danish conquest of the areas north of the Elbe river in 1208. Book 14, comprising nearly one-quarter of the text of the entire work, since this book is so large and Absalon has greater importance than King Valdemar I, this book may have been written first and comprised a work on its own. It is possible that Saxo then enlarged it with Books 15 and 16, telling the story of King Valdemar Is last years and it is believed that Saxo then wrote Books 11,12, and 13. Svend Aagesens history of Denmark, Brevis Historia Regum Dacie, states that Saxo had decided to write about The king-father and his sons, which would be King Sweyn Estridson, in Books 11,12 and he would later add the first ten books. This would also explain the 22 years between the last event described in the last book and the 1208 event described in the preface, the original manuscripts of the work are lost, except for four fragments, the Angers Fragment, Lassen Fragment, Kall-Rasmussen Fragment and Plesner Fragment. The Angers Fragment is the biggest fragment, and the only one attested to be in Saxo’s own handwriting, the other ones are copies from ca. All four fragments are in the collection of the Danish Royal Library in Copenhagen, in 1510-1512, Christiern Pedersen, a Danish translator working in Paris, searched Denmark high and low for an existing copy of Saxo’s works, which by that time was nearly all but lost. By that time most knowledge of Saxo’s work came from a summary located in Chronica Jutensis, from around 1342 and it is also in this summary that the name Gesta Danorum is found. The title Saxo himself used for his work is unknown, Christiern Pedersen finally found a copy in the collection of Archbishop Birger Gunnersen of Lund, modern Sweden, which he gladly lent him. With the help of printer Jodocus Badius, Gesta Danorum was refined and printed, the edition features the following colophon. impressit in inclyta Parrhisorum academia Iodocus Badius Ascensius Idibus Martiis. The source of all existing translations and new editions is Christiern Pedersens Latin Danorum Regum heroumque Historiae,1540, Lost Jon Tursons, never published ca. Volume 1 includes books I-X and Volume 2 includes books XI-XVI, hermann Jantzen, published 1900, title, Saxo Grammaticus
7.
Old English
–
Old English or Anglo-Saxon is the earliest historical form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers probably in the mid 5th century, Old English developed from a set of Anglo-Frisian or North Sea Germanic dialects originally spoken by Germanic tribes traditionally known as the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes. As the Anglo-Saxons became dominant in England, their language replaced the languages of Roman Britain, Common Brittonic, a Celtic language, Old English had four main dialects, associated with particular Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, Mercian, Northumbrian, Kentish and West Saxon. It was West Saxon that formed the basis for the standard of the later Old English period, although the dominant forms of Middle. The speech of eastern and northern parts of England was subject to strong Old Norse influence due to Scandinavian rule, Old English is one of the West Germanic languages, and its closest relatives are Old Frisian and Old Saxon. Like other old Germanic languages, it is different from Modern English. Old English grammar is similar to that of modern German, nouns, adjectives, pronouns, and verbs have many inflectional endings and forms. The oldest Old English inscriptions were using a runic system. Old English was not static, and its usage covered a period of 700 years, from the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain in the 5th century to the late 11th century, some time after the Norman invasion. While indicating that the establishment of dates is a process, Albert Baugh dates Old English from 450 to 1150, a period of full inflections. Perhaps around 85 per cent of Old English words are no longer in use, Old English is a West Germanic language, developing out of Ingvaeonic dialects from the 5th century. It came to be spoken over most of the territory of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms which became the Kingdom of England and this included most of present-day England, as well as part of what is now southeastern Scotland, which for several centuries belonged to the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Northumbria. Other parts of the island – Wales and most of Scotland – continued to use Celtic languages, Norse was also widely spoken in the parts of England which fell under Danish law. Anglo-Saxon literacy developed after Christianisation in the late 7th century, the oldest surviving text of Old English literature is Cædmons Hymn, composed between 658 and 680. There is a corpus of runic inscriptions from the 5th to 7th centuries. The Old English Latin alphabet was introduced around the 9th century, with the unification of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms by Alfred the Great in the later 9th century, the language of government and literature became standardised around the West Saxon dialect. In Old English, typical of the development of literature, poetry arose before prose, a later literary standard, dating from the later 10th century, arose under the influence of Bishop Æthelwold of Winchester, and was followed by such writers as the prolific Ælfric of Eynsham. This form of the language is known as the Winchester standard and it is considered to represent the classical form of Old English
8.
Norn language
–
Norn is an extinct North Germanic language that was spoken in the Northern Isles off the north coast of mainland Scotland and in Caithness in the far north of the Scottish mainland. After Orkney and Shetland were pledged to Scotland by Norway in 1468/69, Norse settlement in the islands probably began in the early 9th century. These settlers are believed to have arrived in very substantial numbers and like those who migrated to Iceland, Shetland toponymy bears some resemblance to that of northwest Norway, while Norn vocabulary implies links with more southerly Norwegian regions. Orkney and Shetland were pledged to James III in 1468 and 1469 respectively, in Shetland the transition began later, but by the end of the 15th century both island groups were bilingual. It is not known exactly when Norn became extinct, sources from the 17th and 18th centuries speak of Norn as being in a state of decline and generally indicate that the language remained stronger in Shetland than in Orkney. A source from 1670 states that there are three or four parishes in Orkney where people speak Noords or rude Danish and that they do so chiefly when they are at their own houses. The last reports of Norn speakers are claimed to be from the 19th century, walter Sutherland from Skaw in Unst, who died about 1850, has been cited as the last native speaker of the Norn language. However, fragments of vocabulary survived the death of the language and remain to this day, mainly in place-names and terms referring to plants, animals, weather, mood. Norn had also been a language in Caithness but had probably become extinct there by the 15th century. Hence, some also speak about Caithness Norn, but others avoid this. Even less is known about Caithness Norn than about Orkney and Shetland Norn, almost no written Norn has survived, but what little remains includes a version of the Lords Prayer and a ballad, Hildina. Michael P Barnes, professor of Scandinavian Studies at University College London, has published a study, The Norn Language of Orkney, Norn is an Indo-European language belonging to the North Germanic branch of the Germanic languages. Together with Faroese, Icelandic and Norwegian, it belongs to the West Scandinavian group and it is distinct from the present day dialect of Shetland, Shetland Scots, which evolved from Middle English. The phonology of Norn can never be determined with much due to the lack of source material. Norn shared many traits with the dialects of south-west Norway and this includes a voicing of /p, t, k/ to before or between vowels and a conversion of /θ/ and /ð/ to and respectively. The features of Norn grammar were very similar to the other Scandinavian languages, there were two numbers, three genders and four cases. Though it is difficult to be certain of many of the aspects of Norn grammar, documents indicate that it may have featured subjectless clauses, Shetland Norn, Fyvor or er i Chimeri. / La vill din vera guerde i vrildin sindaeri chimeri, / Gav vus dagh u dagloght brau
9.
Kudrun
–
Kudrun, is a Middle High German epic, written probably in the early years of the 13th century, not long after the Nibelungenlied, the influence of which may be traced upon it. It is preserved in a manuscript, which was prepared at the command of Maximilian I. The author was an unnamed Austrian poet, but the story itself belongs to the cycle of sagas, some have viewed Kudrun as not unworthy to stand beside the greater Nibelungenlied, and it has aptly been compared with it as the Odyssey to the Iliad. Scenery and incident are more varied, and the poet has an opportunity for a more lyric interpretation of motive, but what makes Kudrun significant is that women are portrayed in dominant roles. The name Kudrun, and hence the title, is rendered as Gudrun in most older English translations, but today the form Kudrun is preferred because Gudrun is the name of an unrelated character in Norse mythology. The epic tells essentially three stories, the adventures of King Hagen, King Hetels winning of Hilde, and the trials and triumphs of Princess Kudrun, the latter taking up three-quarters of the work. Chapters 1-4, How Hagen becomes King of Ireland In Ireland, Prince Sigebant marries a Norwegian princess, Uote, three years later she bears him a son, Hagen. At age seven Hagen is carried off to an island by a wild griffin. But one of the young is too greedy and flies off with the boy, in the process it accidentally lets him escape. Hagen flees until he finds three young maidens in a cave who have, themselves, escaped the griffins and they proceed to care for him until he is old enough to fend for himself. Then one day, securing weapons and armor from a shipwreck, some time later, after killing a dragon, he drinks its blood and gains superhuman strength and wisdom. Finally all of young people are rescued by a passing ship. But when it becomes clear that those rescued are to be held for ransom, Hagen uses his strength to control of the ship. There Hagen is reunited with his family and the rescued maidens join the royal court, soon the young prince marries one of the maidens, Hilde of India. She is crowned queen when Hagen becomes king, later she bears him a daughter, who is also named Hilde and who grows up to become famed for her beauty. Chapters 5-8, How Hetel of Germany Woos Hilde of Ireland A warrior king named Hetel rules the Hegelings in the area covered today by Northern Germany, Denmark, having heard of Hilde’s beauty, he desires to woo her to be his queen. But he is informed that King Hagen kills all her suitors, so he arranges for his kinsmen and vassals, under the leadership of Wate of Stormarn, to mount an expedition and abduct her. The expedition sails in five ships, when the Hegelings land in Ireland they pose as merchants and exiled warriors
10.
Yiddish
–
Yiddish is the historical language of the Ashkenazi Jews. Yiddish is written with a fully vocalized alphabet based on the Hebrew script, the earliest surviving references date from the 12th century and call the language לשון־אַשכּנז or טײַטש, a variant of tiutsch, the contemporary name for Middle High German. Colloquially, the language is sometimes called מאַמע־לשון, distinguishing it from לשון־קדש, the term Yiddish, short for Yiddish-Teitsch, did not become the most frequently used designation in the literature until the 18th century. In the late 19th and into the 20th century the language was commonly called Jewish, especially in non-Jewish contexts. Modern Yiddish has two major forms, Eastern Yiddish is far more common today. It includes Southeastern, Mideastern, and Northeastern dialects, Eastern Yiddish differs from Western both by its far greater size and by the extensive inclusion of words of Slavic origin. Western Yiddish is divided into Southwestern, Midwestern, and Northwestern dialects, the term Yiddish is also used in the adjectival sense, synonymously with Jewish, to designate attributes of Ashkenazi culture. Prior to the Holocaust, there were over 10 million speakers of Yiddish, 85% of the Jews who died in the Holocaust were Yiddish speakers, assimilation following World War II further decreased the use of Yiddish both among survivors and Yiddish-speakers from other countries. However, the number of speakers is increasing in global Hasidic communities, the established view is that, as with other Jewish languages, Jews speaking distinct languages learned new co-territorial vernaculars, which they then Judaized. Exactly what German base lies behind the earliest form of Yiddish is disputed, both Weinreich and Solomon Birnbaum developed this model further in the mid-1950s. In Weinreichs view, this Old Yiddish substrate later bifurcated into two versions of the language, Western and Eastern Yiddish. They retained the Semitic vocabulary needed for religious purposes and created a Judeo-German form of speech, recent linguistic research has finessed, contested, or challenged the Weinreich model, providing alternative approaches to the origins of Yiddish. Some theorists argue that the fusion occurred with a Bavarian dialect base, the two main candidates for the germinal matrix of Yiddish, the Rhineland and Bavaria, are not necessarily incompatible. There may have been developments in the two regions, seeding the Western and Eastern dialects of Modern Yiddish. Dovid Katz proposes that Yiddish emerged from contact between speakers of High German and Aramaic-speaking Jews from the Middle East, wexlers model has met with little academic support, and strong critical challenges, especially among historical linguists. Alternative theories recognize the extent of Yiddishs Germanic vocabulary. Ashkenaz was centered on the Rhineland and the Palatinate, in what is now the westernmost part of Germany and its geographic extent did not coincide with the German principalities of the time, and it included northern France. Ashkenaz bordered on the inhabited by another distinctive Jewish cultural group, the Sephardim or Spanish Jews
11.
Dukus Horant
–
Dukus Horant is a 14th-century narrative poem in Judeo-German. Dukus Horant is the best known of a number of works survive in the Cambridge Codex T. -S.10. K.22. This manuscript was discovered in the Cairo Geniza in 1896, and contains a collection of poems in a variant of Middle High German. There is some controversy over the extent to which the language differs from the commonly spoken German of the time. Therefore, these are the oldest known works in the Ashkenazi Jewish vernacular which later developed into Yiddish, Dukus Horant is a heroic epic with thematic similarities to the German poem Kudrun. The poem tells how Duke Horant is sent by King Etene to Greece, probably to Constantinople, however Hildes father, the fierce Greek king Hagen, is not willing to give his daughter to Etene until Horant has proved his prowess in a series of adventures. Dukus horant is composed in rhymed strophes, the first. Though distichal verse forms are typical of classical Hebrew verse, these are more reminiscent of the distical forms of old Germanic heroic verse. The language and form can be seen from the transcription of the opening strophe, given first in the original. L. Fuks, The Oldest Known Literary Documents of Yiddish Literature, Leiden, P. F. Ganz, F. Norman and W. Schwarz, Dukus Horant, Tübingen, Niemeyer 1964. G. Dunphy, Literary Transitions, From 1300-1500 in, Max Reinhart, Early Modern German Literature, Rochester NY & Woodbridge, Camden,2007, 43-87, here 74-78. An English translation of Dukus Haurant, http, //heidigraw. 0catch. com/DukusHaurant. html A transcription of the text of the poem can be viewed on the Bibliotheca Augustana website
12.
Haguna
–
Haguna or Hagana is a historical Germanic name. It is attested in the form Hagano in Old High German, Old West Norse has Hǫgni, presumably loaned from the character in German legend. Old Danish has Haghni and Hoghni, Old Swedish Haghne and Høghne, the element Hagan- also occurs in dithematic names such as Chagnoald, Chagoulf, Haganrih. It is presumably an extension of the element Hag- which is attested in numerous variants from the 8th century, the etymology of this element cannot be recovered with certainty, especially as these names were conflated from an early time with names in Ag- and Agin-. A derivation from hag- enclosure is possible, but Förstemann also considered Old Norse hagr favour, hagen is a character in the German Nibelungenlied, who was adopted in Old Norse sources as Hǫgni. Hǫgni of the Hjaðningavíg may be the same as Hagena in Widsith since Widsith also pairs Hagena with Heoden, Swedish Institute for Language and Folklore. Sveriges medeltida personnamn, Uppsala, 1967ff,2.581
13.
Hildr
–
In Norse mythology, Hildr is a valkyrie. Hildr is attested in the Prose Edda as Högnis daughter and Hedins wife in the Hjaðningavíg and she had the power to revive the dead in battlefields and used it to maintain the everlasting battle between Hedin and Högni. Hildr is also mentioned along with other valkyries in Völuspá, Darraðarljóð, the Old Norse word hildr is a common noun meaning battle and it is not always clear when the poets had the valkyrie in mind, as a personification of battle. The Prose Edda by Snorri Sturluson, dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend
14.
Hoy
–
Hoy is an island in Orkney, Scotland. With an area of 143 square kilometres it is the second largest in the archipelago after the Mainland and it is connected by a causeway called The Ayre to South Walls. Unusually, the two islands are treated as one entity by the UK census, the dramatic coastline of Hoy greets visitors travelling to Orkney by ferry from the Scottish mainland. The most northerly Martello Towers were built to defend the area during the Napoleonic War, the highest point in Orkney, Ward Hill, is on Hoy. The main naval base for the British fleet in both the First and Second World Wars, Scapa Flow, was situated at Lyness in the southeast of the island, some rather incongruous Art Deco structures nearby date from this period. An unusual rock-cut tomb, the Dwarfie Stane, lies in the Rackwick valley in the north of the island and it is unique in northern Europe, bearing similarity to Neolithic or Bronze Age tombs around the Mediterranean. The tomb gets its name as it is small and was said to be carved by dwarfs. In Norse mythology, Hoy is the location of the battle between Hedin and Högni. Orkney Ferries serve the island with two routes, one of which links Lyness on Hoy and Longhope on Walls with the island of Flotta, the other route links Moaness in Hoy to the island of Graemsay and Stromness on Orkney Mainland. Hoy is part of the Hoy and West Mainland National Scenic Area, Hoy is an Important Bird Area. The northern part of the island is an RSPB reserve due to its importance for birdlife, particularly great skuas and it was sold to the RSPB by the Hoy Trust for a nominal amount. Anastrepta orcadensis, a liverwort also known as Orkney Notchwort, was first discovered on Ward Hill by William Jackson Hooker in 1808, Hoy is featured prominently in the 1984 video for Here Comes The Rain Again by Eurythmics. Island of Hoy website launched December 2008 Old Man of Hoy picture gallery
15.
Orkney
–
Orkney /ˈɔːrkni/, also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of Great Britain. Orkney is 16 kilometres north of the coast of Caithness and comprises approximately 70 islands, the largest island Mainland is often referred to as the Mainland. It has an area of 523 square kilometres, making it the sixth-largest Scottish island, the largest settlement and administrative centre is Kirkwall. A form of the dates to the pre-Roman era and the islands have been inhabited for at least 8500 years, originally occupied by Mesolithic and Neolithic tribes. Orkney was invaded and forcibly annexed by Norway in 875 and settled by the Norse, the Scottish Parliament then re-annexed the earldom to the Scottish Crown in 1472, following the failed payment of a dowry for James IIIs bride Margaret of Denmark. Orkney contains some of the oldest and best-preserved Neolithic sites in Europe, Orkney is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, a constituency of the Scottish Parliament, a lieutenancy area, and a historic county. The local council is Orkney Islands Council, one of only three Councils in Scotland with a majority of elected members who are independents. In addition to the Mainland, most of the islands are in two groups, the North and South Isles, all of which have a geological base of Old Red Sandstone. The climate is mild and the soils are fertile, most of the land being farmed. Agriculture is the most important sector of the economy, the significant wind and marine energy resources are of growing importance, and the island generates more than its total yearly electricity demand using renewables. The local people are known as Orcadians and have a distinctive Orcadian dialect of Scots, there is an abundance of marine and avian wildlife. Pytheas of Massilia visited Britain – probably sometime between 322 and 285 BC – and described it as triangular in shape, with a northern tip called Orcas and this may have referred to Dunnet Head, from which Orkney is visible. Speakers of Old Irish referred to the islands as Insi Orc island of the pigs, the archipelago is known as Ynysoedd Erch in modern Welsh and Arcaibh in modern Scottish Gaelic, the -aibh representing a fossilized prepositional case ending. The Anglo-Saxon monk Bede refers to the islands as Orcades insulae in his seminal work Ecclesiastical History of the English People. Norwegian settlers arriving from the ninth century reinterpreted orc as the Old Norse orkn seal. The plural suffix -jar was later removed in English leaving the modern name Orkney, according to the Historia Norwegiæ, Orkney was named after an earl called Orkan. The Norse knew Mainland Orkney as Megenland Mainland or as Hrossey Horse Island, the island is sometimes referred to as Pomona, a name that stems from a sixteenth-century mistranslation by George Buchanan, which has rarely been used locally. A charred hazelnut shell, recovered in 2007 during excavations in Tankerness on the Mainland has been dated to 6820–6660 BC indicating the presence of Mesolithic nomadic tribes
16.
Snorri Sturluson
–
Snorri Sturluson was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was elected twice as lawspeaker at the Icelandic parliament, the Althing and he was also the author of the Heimskringla, a history of the Norwegian kings that begins with legendary material in Ynglinga saga and moves through to early medieval Scandinavian history. For stylistic and methodological reasons, Snorri is often taken to be the author of Egils saga, as a historian and mythographer, Snorri is remarkable for proposing the hypothesis that mythological gods begin as human war leaders and kings whose funeral sites develop cults. As people call upon the war leader as they go to battle, or the dead king as they face tribal hardship. Eventually, the king or warrior is remembered only as a god and he also proposed that as tribes defeat others, they explain their victory by proposing that their own gods were in battle with the gods of the others. Snorri Sturluson was born in Hvammur into the wealthy and powerful Sturlungar family of the Icelandic Commonwealth and his parents were Sturla Þórðarson the elder of Hvammur and his second wife, Guðný Böðvarsdóttir. He had two brothers, Þórðr Sturluson and Sighvatr Sturluson, two sisters and nine half-siblings. By a quirk of circumstance Snorri was raised from the age of three by Jón Loftsson, a relative of the Norwegian royal family, in Oddi, Iceland. The resulting settlement would have beggared Páll, but Jón Loftsson intervened in the Althing to mitigate the judgment and, to compensate Sturla, offered to raise, Snorri therefore received an excellent education and made connections that he might not otherwise have made. He attended the school of Sæmundr fróði, grandfather of Jón Loftsson, at Oddi and his father died in 1183 and his mother as guardian soon wasted Snorris share of the inheritance. The two families arranged an marriage in 1199 between Snorri and Herdís, the daughter of Bersi Vermundarson. From her father, Snorri inherited an estate at Borg and a chieftainship and he soon acquired more property and chieftainships. Snorri and Herdís were together for four years at Borg and they had at least two children, Hallbera and Jón. The marriage succumbed to Snorris philandering, and in 1206, he settled in Reykholt as manager of an estate there and he made significant improvements to the estate, including a hot outdoor bath. The bath and the buildings have preserved to some extent. During the initial years at Reykholt he fathered five children by three different women, Guðrún Hreinsdóttir, Oddný, and Þuríður Hallsdóttir, Snorri quickly became known as a poet, but was also a successful lawyer. In 1215, he became lawspeaker of the Althing, the public office of the Icelandic commonwealth. In the summer of 1218, he left the position and sailed to Norway
17.
Tyrfing
–
Tyrfing, Tirfing or Tyrving was a magic sword in Norse mythology, which figures in the Tyrfing Cycle, which includes a poem from the Poetic Edda called Hervararkviða, and the Hervarar saga. The name is used in the saga to denote the Goths. The form Tervingi was actually recorded by Roman sources in the 4th century, Svafrlami was the king of Gardariki, and Odins grandson. He managed to trap the dwarves Dvalinn and Durin when they had left the rock where they dwelt. Then he forced them to forge a sword with a golden hilt that would never miss a stroke, would never rust and would cut through stone, the dwarves made the sword, and it shone and gleamed like fire. However, in revenge they cursed it so that it would kill a man every time it was drawn and they finally cursed it so that it would also kill Svafrlami himself. When Svafrlami heard the curses he tried to slay Dvalin, but the dwarf disappeared into the rock, Svafrlami was killed by the berserker Arngrim who took the sword in his turn. After Arngrim, it was worn by Angantyr and his eleven brothers, angantyrs daughter, Hervor is brought up as a bond-maid, in ignorance of her parentage. When at last she learns it, she arms herself as a shieldmaiden and she finds it and marries King Gudmunds son Höfund. They have two sons, Heidrek and Angantyr, Hervor secretly gave her son the sword Tyrfing. While Angantyr and Heidrek walked, Heidrek wanted to have a look at the sword, since he had unsheathed it, the curse the dwarves had put on the sword made Heidrek kill his brother Angantyr. This was the second of Tyrfings three evil deeds, Heidrek became king of the Goths. During a voyage, Heidrek camped at the Carpathians and he was accompanied by eight mounted thralls, and when Heidrek slept at night, the thralls broke into his tent and took Tyrfing and slew Heidrek. This was the last one of Tyrfings three evil deeds, heidreks son, also named Angantyr, caught and killed the thralls, and reclaimed the magic sword, and the curse had ceased. Angantyr was the king of the Goths, but his illegitimate half-Hun brother Hlod wanted half of the kingdom. Angantýr refused, and Gizur called Hlod a bastard and his mother a slave-girl, Hlod and 343,200 mounted Huns invade the Goths. The Huns greatly outnumber the Goths, the Goths won because Angantyr used Tyrfing. He killed his brother Hlod on the battleground, the bodies of the numerous warriors choke the rivers, causing a flood which filled the valleys with dead men and horses
18.
Norway
–
The Antarctic Peter I Island and the sub-Antarctic Bouvet Island are dependent territories and thus not considered part of the Kingdom. Norway also lays claim to a section of Antarctica known as Queen Maud Land, until 1814, the kingdom included the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Iceland. It also included Isle of Man until 1266, Shetland and Orkney until 1468, Norway has a total area of 385,252 square kilometres and a population of 5,258,317. The country shares a long border with Sweden. Norway is bordered by Finland and Russia to the north-east, Norway has an extensive coastline, facing the North Atlantic Ocean and the Barents Sea. King Harald V of the Dano-German House of Glücksburg is the current King of Norway, erna Solberg became Prime Minister in 2013, replacing Jens Stoltenberg. A constitutional monarchy, Norway divides state power between the Parliament, the Cabinet and the Supreme Court, as determined by the 1814 Constitution, the kingdom is established as a merger of several petty kingdoms. By the traditional count from the year 872, the kingdom has existed continuously for 1,144 years, Norway has both administrative and political subdivisions on two levels, counties and municipalities. The Sámi people have an amount of self-determination and influence over traditional territories through the Sámi Parliament. Norway maintains close ties with the European Union and the United States, the country maintains a combination of market economy and a Nordic welfare model with universal health care and a comprehensive social security system. Norway has extensive reserves of petroleum, natural gas, minerals, lumber, seafood, the petroleum industry accounts for around a quarter of the countrys gross domestic product. On a per-capita basis, Norway is the worlds largest producer of oil, the country has the fourth-highest per capita income in the world on the World Bank and IMF lists. On the CIAs GDP per capita list which includes territories and some regions, from 2001 to 2006, and then again from 2009 to 2017, Norway had the highest Human Development Index ranking in the world. It also has the highest inequality-adjusted ranking, Norway ranks first on the World Happiness Report, the OECD Better Life Index, the Index of Public Integrity and the Democracy Index. Norway has two names, Noreg in Nynorsk and Norge in Bokmål. The name Norway comes from the Old English word Norðrveg mentioned in 880, meaning way or way leading to the north. In contrasting with suðrvegar southern way for Germany, and austrvegr eastern way for the Baltic, the Anglo-Saxon of Britain also referred to the kingdom of Norway in 880 as Norðmanna land. This was the area of Harald Fairhair, the first king of Norway, and because of him
19.
King
–
King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen regnant, in the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the title may refer to tribal kingship. Germanic kingship is cognate with Indo-European traditions of tribal rulership In the context of classical antiquity, king may translate Latin rex or either Greek archon or basileus. In classical European feudalism, the title of king as the ruler of a kingdom is understood as the highest rank in the order, potentially subject. In a modern context, the title may refer to the ruler of one of a number of modern monarchies. The title of king is used alongside other titles for monarchs, in the West prince, emperor, archduke, duke or grand duke, in the Middle East sultan or emir, etc. Kings, like other royalty, tend to wear purple because purple was a color to wear in the past. The English term king is derived from the Anglo-Saxon cyning, which in turn is derived from the Common Germanic *kuningaz, the Common Germanic term was borrowed into Estonian and Finnish at an early time, surviving in these languages as kuningas. The English term king translates, and is considered equivalent to, Latin rēx, the Germanic term is notably different from the word for king in other Indo-European languages. It is a derivation from the term *kunjom kin by the -inga- suffix, the literal meaning is that of a scion of the kin, or perhaps son or descendant of one of noble birth. English queen translates Latin regina, it is from Old English cwen queen, noble woman, the Germanic term for wife appears to have been specialized to wife of a king, in Old Norse, the cognate kvan still mostly refers to a wife generally. Scandinavian drottning, dronning is a derivation from *druhtinaz lord. The English word is of Germanic origin, and historically refers to Germanic kingship, the Early Middle Ages begin with a fragmentation of the former Western Roman Empire into barbarian kingdoms. The core of European feudal manorialism in the High Middle Ages were the territories of the kingdom of France, the Holy Roman Empire, in southern Europe, the kingdom of Sicily was established following the Norman conquest of southern Italy. The Kingdom of Sardinia was claimed as a title held by the Crown of Aragon in 1324. In the Balkans, the Kingdom of Serbia was established in 1217, in eastern-central Europe, the Kingdom of Hungary was established in AD1000 following the Christianisation of the Magyars. The kingdoms of Poland and Bohemia were established within the Holy Roman Empire in 1025 and 1198, in Eastern Europe, the Kievan Rus consolidated into the Grand Duchy of Moscow, which did not technically claim the status of kingdom until the early modern Tsardom of Russia. In northern Europe, the kingdoms of the Viking Age by the 11th century expanded into the North Sea Empire under Cnut the Great, king of Denmark, England
20.
Christian
–
A Christian is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christian derives from the Koine Greek word Christós, a translation of the Biblical Hebrew term mashiach, while there are diverse interpretations of Christianity which sometimes conflict, they are united in believing that Jesus has a unique significance. The term Christian is also used as an adjective to describe anything associated with Christianity, or in a sense all that is noble, and good. According to a 2011 Pew Research Center survey, there were 2.2 billion Christians around the world in 2010, by 2050, the Christian population is expected to exceed 3 billion. According to a 2012 Pew Research Center survey Christianity will remain the worlds largest religion in 2050, about half of all Christians worldwide are Catholic, while more than a third are Protestant. Orthodox communions comprise 12% of the worlds Christians, other Christian groups make up the remainder. Christians make up the majority of the population in 158 countries and territories,280 million Christian live as a minority. In the Greek Septuagint, christos was used to translate the Hebrew מָשִׁיחַ, in other European languages, equivalent words to Christian are likewise derived from the Greek, such as Chrétien in French and Cristiano in Spanish. The second mention of the term follows in Acts 26,28, where Herod Agrippa II replied to Paul the Apostle, Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian. The third and final New Testament reference to the term is in 1 Peter 4,16, which believers, Yet if as a Christian, let him not be ashamed. The city of Antioch, where someone gave them the name Christians, had a reputation for coming up with such nicknames, in the Annals he relates that by vulgar appellation commonly called Christians and identifies Christians as Neros scapegoats for the Great Fire of Rome. Another term for Christians which appears in the New Testament is Nazarenes which is used by the Jewish lawyer Tertullus in Acts 24, the Hebrew equivalent of Nazarenes, Notzrim, occurs in the Babylonian Talmud, and is still the modern Israeli Hebrew term for Christian. A wide range of beliefs and practices is found across the world among those who call themselves Christian, denominations and sects disagree on a common definition of Christianity. Most Baptists and fundamentalists, for example, would not acknowledge Mormonism or Christian Science as Christian, in fact, the nearly 77 percent of Americans who self-identify as Christian are a diverse pluribus of Christianities that are far from any collective unity. The identification of Jesus as the Messiah is not accepted by Judaism, the term for a Christian in Hebrew is נוּצְרי, a Talmudic term originally derived from the fact that Jesus came from the Galilean village of Nazareth, today in northern Israel. Adherents of Messianic Judaism are referred to in modern Hebrew as יְהוּדִים מָשִׁיחַיים, the term Nasara rose to prominence in July 2014, after the Fall of Mosul to the terrorist organization Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. The nun or ن— the first letter of Nasara—was spray-painted on the property of Christians ejected from the city, where there is a distinction, Nasrani refers to people from a Christian culture and Masihi is used by Christians themselves for those with a religious faith in Jesus. In some countries Nasrani tends to be used generically for non-Muslim Western foreigners, another Arabic word sometimes used for Christians, particularly in a political context, is Ṣalībī from ṣalīb which refers to Crusaders and has negative connotations
21.
Priest
–
A priest or priestess, is a person authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites, in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of and their office or position is the priesthood, a term which also may apply to such persons collectively. The necessity to read sacred texts and keep temple or church records helped foster literacy in early societies. Priests exist in many religions today, such as all or some branches of Judaism, Christianity, the question of which religions have a priest depends on how the titles of leaders are used or translated into English. In some cases, leaders are more like those that other believers will often turn to for advice on spiritual matters, for example, clergy in Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy are priests, but in Protestant Christianity they are typically minister and pastor. The terms priest and priestess are sufficiently generic that they may be used in a sense to describe the religious mediators of an unknown or otherwise unspecified religion. In many religions, being a priest or priestess is a full-time position, many Christian priests and pastors choose or are mandated to dedicate themselves to their churches and receive their living directly from their churches. In other cases it is a part-time role, for example, in the early history of Iceland the chieftains were titled goði, a word meaning priest. In some religions, being a priest or priestess is by election or human choice. In Judaism the priesthood is inherited in familial lines, in a theocracy, a society is governed by its priesthood. The word priest, is derived from Greek, via Latin presbyter. Old High German also has the disyllabic priester, priestar, apparently derived from Latin independently via Old French presbtre, the Latin presbyter ultimately represents Greek presbyteros, the regular Latin word for priest being sacerdos, corresponding to Greek hiereus. That English should have only the term priest to translate presbyter. The feminine English noun, priestess, was coined in the 17th century, in the 20th century, the word was used in controversies surrounding the ordination of women. In the case of the ordination of women in the Anglican communion, it is common to speak of priests. In historical polytheism, a priest administers the sacrifice to a deity, in the Ancient Near East, the priesthood also acted on behalf of the deities in managing their property. Priestesses in antiquity often performed sacred prostitution, and in Ancient Greece, some such as Pythia, priestess at Delphi. Sumerian and Akkadian Entu or EN were top-ranking priestesses who were distinguished with special ceremonial attire and they owned property, transacted business, and initiated the hieros gamos ceremony with priests and kings
22.
Olaf Tryggvason
–
Olaf Tryggvason was King of Norway from 995 to 1000. He was the son of Tryggvi Olafsson, king of Viken, and, according to later sagas, Olaf played an important part in the conversion of the Norse to Christianity, often by forcible means. He is said to have built the first church in Norway, a statue of Olaf Tryggvason is located in the citys central plaza. Historical information about Olaf is sparse and he is mentioned in some contemporary English sources, and some skaldic poems. The oldest narrative source mentioning him briefly is Adam of Bremens Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum, in the 1190s, two sagas of Olaf Tryggvason were written in Iceland, by Oddr Snorrason and Gunnlaugr Leifsson. Snorri Sturluson gives an account of Olaf in the Heimskringla saga. The accuracy of these sources is not taken at face value by modern historians. The following account is based on the late saga sources. There is uncertainty about both the date and the place of Olafs birth, the earliest Norwegian written source, the late 12th century Historia Norwegiæ, states that Olaf was born in the Orkney Islands after his mother fled there to escape the killers of Olafs father. Another late 12th-century source, Ágrip af Nóregskonungasögum, says Olafs mother fled to Orkney with Olaf when he was three years old, for the same reason, all the sagas agree that Olaf eventually ended up in Kievan Rus, at the court of King Valdemar. The version in Heimskringla is the most elaborate, but also the latest and it states that Olaf was born shortly after the murder of his father in 963, while other sources suggest a date between 964 and 969. The later dates cast doubt over Olafs claim to be of Harald Fairhairs kin, greycloak and his brothers had seized the throne from Haakon the Good. Astrid fled to her fathers home in Oppland, then went on to Sweden where she thought she, Harald sent emissaries to the king of Sweden, and asked for permission to take the boy back to Norway, where he would be raised by Greycloaks mother Gunhild. The Swedish king gave them men to help claim the young boy. After a short scuffle Astrid fled again and this time their destination was Gardarike, where Astrids brother Sigurd was in the service of King Valdemar. Olaf was three years old when they set sail on a merchant ship for Novgorod, the journey was not successful, in the Baltic Sea they were captured by Estonian vikings, and the people aboard were either killed or taken as slaves. Olaf became the possession of a man named Klerkon, together with his foster father Thorolf, Klerkon considered Thorolf too old to be useful as a slave and killed him, and then sold the two boys to a man named Klerk for a ram. Olaf was then sold to a man called Reas for a fine cloak, six years later, Sigurd Eirikson traveled to Estonia to collect taxes for King Valdemar
23.
Christianity
–
Christianity is a Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, who serves as the focal point for the religion. It is the worlds largest religion, with over 2.4 billion followers, or 33% of the global population, Christians believe that Jesus is the Son of God and the savior of humanity whose coming as the Messiah was prophesied in the Old Testament. Christian theology is summarized in creeds such as the Apostles Creed and his incarnation, earthly ministry, crucifixion, and resurrection are often referred to as the gospel, meaning good news. The term gospel also refers to accounts of Jesuss life and teaching, four of which—Matthew, Mark, Luke. Christianity is an Abrahamic religion that began as a Second Temple Judaic sect in the mid-1st century, following the Age of Discovery, Christianity spread to the Americas, Australasia, sub-Saharan Africa, and the rest of the world through missionary work and colonization. Christianity has played a prominent role in the shaping of Western civilization, throughout its history, Christianity has weathered schisms and theological disputes that have resulted in many distinct churches and denominations. Worldwide, the three largest branches of Christianity are the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the denominations of Protestantism. There are many important differences of interpretation and opinion of the Bible, concise doctrinal statements or confessions of religious beliefs are known as creeds. They began as baptismal formulae and were expanded during the Christological controversies of the 4th and 5th centuries to become statements of faith. Many evangelical Protestants reject creeds as definitive statements of faith, even agreeing with some or all of the substance of the creeds. The Baptists have been non-creedal in that they have not sought to establish binding authoritative confessions of faith on one another. Also rejecting creeds are groups with roots in the Restoration Movement, such as the Christian Church, the Evangelical Christian Church in Canada, the Apostles Creed is the most widely accepted statement of the articles of Christian faith. It is also used by Presbyterians, Methodists, and Congregationalists and this particular creed was developed between the 2nd and 9th centuries. Its central doctrines are those of the Trinity and God the Creator, each of the doctrines found in this creed can be traced to statements current in the apostolic period. The creed was used as a summary of Christian doctrine for baptismal candidates in the churches of Rome. Most Christians accept the use of creeds, and subscribe to at least one of the mentioned above. The central tenet of Christianity is the belief in Jesus as the Son of God, Christians believe that Jesus, as the Messiah, was anointed by God as savior of humanity, and hold that Jesus coming was the fulfillment of messianic prophecies of the Old Testament. The Christian concept of the Messiah differs significantly from the contemporary Jewish concept, Jesus, having become fully human, suffered the pains and temptations of a mortal man, but did not sin
24.
Iceland
–
Iceland is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean. It has a population of 332,529 and an area of 103,000 km2, the capital and largest city is Reykjavík. Reykjavík and the areas in the southwest of the country are home to over two-thirds of the population. Iceland is volcanically and geologically active, the interior consists of a plateau characterised by sand and lava fields, mountains and glaciers, while many glacial rivers flow to the sea through the lowlands. Iceland is warmed by the Gulf Stream and has a climate, despite a high latitude just outside the Arctic Circle. Its high latitude and marine influence still keeps summers chilly, with most of the archipelago having a tundra climate. According to the ancient manuscript Landnámabók, the settlement of Iceland began in the year 874 AD when the Norwegian chieftain Ingólfr Arnarson became the first permanent settler on the island. In the following centuries, Norwegians, and to a lesser extent other Scandinavians, emigrated to Iceland, the island was governed as an independent commonwealth under the Althing, one of the worlds oldest functioning legislative assemblies. Following a period of strife, Iceland acceded to Norwegian rule in the 13th century. The establishment of the Kalmar Union in 1397 united the kingdoms of Norway, Denmark, Iceland thus followed Norways integration to that Union and came under Danish rule after Swedens secession from that union in 1523. In the wake of the French revolution and the Napoleonic wars, Icelands struggle for independence took form and culminated in independence in 1918, until the 20th century, Iceland relied largely on subsistence fishing and agriculture, and was among the poorest in Europe. Industrialisation of the fisheries and Marshall Plan aid following World War II brought prosperity, in 1994, it became a part of the European Economic Area, which further diversified the economy into sectors such as finance, biotechnology, and manufacturing. Iceland has an economy with relatively low taxes compared to other OECD countries. It maintains a Nordic social welfare system that provides health care. Iceland ranks high in economic, political and social stability and equality, in 2013, it was ranked as the 13th most-developed country in the world by the United Nations Human Development Index. Iceland runs almost completely on renewable energy, some bankers were jailed, and the economy has made a significant recovery, in large part due to a surge in tourism. Icelandic culture is founded upon the nations Scandinavian heritage, most Icelanders are descendants of Germanic and Gaelic settlers. Icelandic, a North Germanic language, is descended from Old Norse and is related to Faroese
25.
Heimskringla
–
Heimskringla is the best known of the Old Norse kings sagas. It was written in Old Norse in Iceland by the poet, the name Heimskringla was first used in the 17th century, derived from the first two words of one of the manuscripts. Snorri had himself visited Norway and Sweden, for events of the mid-12th century, Snorri explicitly names the now lost work Hryggjarstykki as his source. The composition of the sagas is Snorris, the earliest parchment copy of the work is referred to as Kringla. It voyaged from Iceland to Bergen, Norway and was moved to Copenhagen, at that time it had lost the first page, but the second starts Kringla heimsins, the Earths circle of the Laing translation. In the 17th century copies were made by Icelanders Jon Eggertson, eggertsons copy went to the Royal Library at Stockholm. The Copenhagen manuscript was among the many destroyed in the Copenhagen Fire of 1728. Only one leaf of the manuscript survived and it is now kept in the National, by the mid-16th century, the Old Norse language was unintelligible to Norwegian, Swedish or Danish readers. At that time several translations of extracts were made in Norway into the Danish language, the first complete translation was made around 1600 by Peder Claussøn Friis, and printed in 1633. This was based on a known as Jofraskinna. This edition also included the first printing of the text in Old Norse, a new Danish translation with the text in Old Norse and a Latin translation came out in 1777-1783. An English translation by Samuel Laing was finally published in 1844, in the 19th century, as Norway was achieving independence after centuries of union with Denmark and Sweden, the stories of the independent Norwegian medieval kingdom won great popularity in Norway. Heimskringla, although written by an Icelander, became an important national symbol for Norway during the period of romantic nationalism, Heimskringla consists of several chapters, each one individually called a saga, which can be literally translated as tale. The subsequent sagas are devoted to individual rulers, starting with Halfdan the Black, the stories are told with a life and freshness, giving a picture of human life in all its reality. A version of the Óláfs saga helga, which is about the saint Olaf II of Norway, is the main part and his 15-year-long reign takes up about one third of the entire work. This saga is an epic in prose, and is also of particular relevance to the history of England. The first part of the Heimskringla is rooted in Norse mythology, as it advances, fable and fact all curiously intermingle, the value of Heimskringla as a historical source has been estimated in different ways during recent times. The historians of mid-19th century put great trust in the truth of Snorris narrative
26.
Lokasenna
–
Lokasenna is one of the poems of the Poetic Edda. The poem presents flyting between the gods and Loki, Loki, amongst other things, accuses the gods of moralistic sexual impropriety, the practice of seiðr, and bias. Not ostensibly the most serious of allegations, however these elements are ultimately to lead to the onset of Ragnarök in the Eddic poem Völuspá. However, Lokasenna does not directly state that Lokis binding is as a consequence of the killing of Baldr and this is explicitly stated only in Snorri Sturlusons Prose Edda. The setting is a feast given by the sea god Ægir, (In continuity, the prose introduction says, Ægir, also named Gymir, had made ale for the Æsir, when he had received the great kettle of which was told. Thor did not attend, but his wife Sif came in his stead as did Bragi, many other Vanir, Æsir, and also elves were there. The servants of Ægir, Fimafeng and Eldir, did a job of welcoming the guests, Loki was jealous of the praise being heaped upon them. The gods were angry with Loki and drove him out of the hall and he threatened him and bade him reveal what the gods were talking about in their cups. Eldirs response was that they were discussing their might at arms, Loki then enters the hall of Ægir after trading insults and threats with Eldir. Loki calls upon the rules of hospitality, demanding a seat, Bragi then responds that he is unwelcome. Loki demands fulfillment of an ancient oath sworn with Odin that they should drink together, Odin asked his son Vidar to make a space for Loki. Vidar rises and pours a drink for Loki, before Loki drains his draught, he utters a toast to the gods but pointedly excludes Bragi from it. Bragi offers Loki a horse, a ring and a sword to him, Loki, however, is spoiling for a fight. Bragis response is that it would be contrary to the rules of behaviour to fight within his hosts hall. Iðunn, Bragis wife, holds him back, Loki then insults Iðunn, calling her sexually loose. Gefjon is the next to speak and then Loki turns his spite on her, Odin then attempts to take a grip, as do, Freyja, Niord, Tyr, Freyr and Byggvir. The exchanges between Odin and Loki are particularly vitriolic, eventually Thor turns up at the party, and he is not to be placated, nor withheld. Alternating with Lokis insults to him, he says four times that he use his hammer to knock Lokis head off if he continues
27.
Gefjon
–
The Prose Edda and Heimskringla both report that Gefjon plowed away what is now lake Mälaren, Sweden, and with this land formed the island of Zealand, Denmark. In addition, the Prose Edda describes that not only is Gefjon a virgin herself, Heimskringla records that Gefjon married the legendary Danish king Skjöldr and that the two dwelled in Lejre, Denmark. The etymology of theonym Gefjon has been a matter of dispute, in modern scholarship, the element Gef- is generally held to be related to the element Gef- in the name Gefn, one of the numerous names for the goddess Freyja, and likely means she who gives. The connection between the two names has resulted in etymological interpretation of Gefjun as the giving one, the names Gefjun and Gefn are both related to the Matron groups the Alagabiae or Ollogabiae. Albert Murey Sturtevant notes that the other feminine personal name which contains the suffix -un is Njǫr-un, recorded only in the þulur. Whatever the stem syllable Njǫr- represents, the addition of the n- and un-suffixes seems to furnish an exact parallel to Gef-n, a Finnish word for brides outfit, trousseau may derive from Gefjons name. In the Poetic Edda, Gefjon appears solely in three stanzas of the poem Lokasenna, where an exchange occurs between Gefjun and Loki at a dinner feast, and the god Odin comes to Gefjons defense. Henry Adams Bellows comments that the text for these two lines is puzzling and that as a result they have been freely amended. This woman was of the race of the Æsir and her name was Gefjun, Gefjun took four oxen from Jötunheimr in the north. These oxen were her sons from a jötunn, gefjuns plough cut so hard and deep that it uprooted the land, and the oxen drew the land out into the sea to the west and halted in a certain sound. Gefjun there placed the land, and bestowed upon it the name Zealand, where the land had been taken from a lake stands. As a reference, the prose account presents a stanza from a work attributed to the 9th century skald Bragi Boddason, Gefjun dragged from Gylfi, denmarks increase, steam rising from the swift-footed bulls. The oxen bore eight moons of the forehead and four heads, in chapter 35 of Gylfaginning, the enthroned figure of High presents a list of goddesses. High presents Gefjun fourth, and says that Gefjun is a virgin, in relation, High notes that, like Gefjun, the goddess Fulla is also a virgin. At the beginning of the Prose Edda book Skáldskaparmál, Gefjun is listed among nine goddesses who attend a banquet for Ægir on the island of Hlesey, in chapter 32, Gefjun is listed among six goddesses who attend a party held by Ægir. In chapter 75, Gefjun is included among a list of 27 ásynjur names, in addition, Gefjun appears in a kenning for the völva Gróa employed in the skald Þjóðólfr of Hvinirs composition Haustlöng as quoted in chapter 17 of Skáldskaparmál. In chapter 5 of Ynglinga saga, a prose account relates that Odin sent Gefjun from Odense. There, Gefjun encountered king Gylfi and he gave her ploughland, Gefjun went to the land of Jötunheimr, and there bore four sons to a jötunn
28.
Loki
–
In Norse mythology, Loki, Loptr, or Hveðrungr is a god or jötunn. Loki is the son of Fárbauti and Laufey, and the brother of Helblindi, by the jötunn Angrboða, Loki is the father of Hel, the wolf Fenrir, and the world serpent Jörmungandr. By his wife Sigyn, Loki is the father of Narfi and/or Nari, by the stallion Svaðilfari, Loki is the mother—giving birth in the form of a mare—to the eight-legged horse Sleipnir. In addition, Loki is referred to as the father of Váli in Prose Edda, though this also refers to Odin as the father of Váli twice. Lokis relation with the gods varies by source, Loki sometimes assists the gods, Loki is a shape shifter and in separate incidents he appears in the form of a salmon, a mare, a fly, and possibly an elderly woman named Þökk. Lokis positive relations with the end with his role in engineering the death of the god Baldr. In both the Poetic Edda and the Prose Edda, the goddess Skaði is responsible for placing a serpent above him while he is bound, Loki may be depicted on the Snaptun Stone, the Kirkby Stephen Stone, and the Gosforth Cross. Lokis origins and role in Norse mythology, which scholars have described as that of a trickster god, have been much debated by scholars. Loki has been depicted in or is referenced in a variety of media in popular culture. The etymology of the name Loki has yet to be solved and it may be related to Old Norse luka, meaning close, shut. The name Hveðrungr is also used in reference to Loki, occurring in names for Hel, in the Poetic Edda, Loki appears in the poems Völuspá, Lokasenna, Þrymskviða, Reginsmál, Baldrs draumar, and Hyndluljóð. In stanza 35 of the Poetic Edda poem Völuspá, a völva tells Odin that, among other things, she sees Sigyn sitting very unhappily with her bound husband, Loki. In stanza 54, after consuming Odin and being killed by Odins son Víðarr, the poem Lokasenna centers around Loki flyting with other gods, Loki puts forth two stanzas of insults while the receiving figure responds with a single stanza, and then another figure chimes in. The poem begins with an introduction detailing that Ægir, a figure associated with the sea, is hosting a feast in his hall for a number of the gods. There, the gods praise Ægirs servers Fimafeng and Eldir, Loki could not bear to hear that, and kills the servant Fimafeng. In response, the gods grab their shields, shrieking at Loki, the gods then return to the hall, and continue drinking. Entrance and rejection Loki comes out of the woods, and meets Eldir outside of the hall, Loki greets Eldir with a demand that Eldir tell him what the gods are discussing over their ale inside the hall. Eldir responds that they discuss their weapons and their prowess in war, Loki says that he will go into the feast, and that, before the end of the feast, he will induce quarrelling among the gods, and mix their mead with malice
29.
Valhalla
–
In Norse mythology, Valhalla is a majestic, enormous hall located in Asgard, ruled over by the god Odin. Chosen by Odin, half of those who die in combat travel to Valhalla upon death, led by valkyries, while the other half go to the goddess Freyjas field Fólkvangr. In Valhalla, the join the masses of those who have died in combat known as Einherjar and various legendary Germanic heroes and kings. Before the hall stands the golden tree Glasir, and the ceiling is thatched with golden shields. Various creatures live around Valhalla, such as the stag Eikþyrnir, the Modern English noun Valhalla derives from Old Norse Valhöll, a compound noun composed of two elements, the masculine noun valr the slain and the feminine noun höll hall. Valr has cognates in other Germanic languages such as Old English wæl the slain, slaughter, carnage, Old Saxon wal-dād murder, Old High German battlefield, all of these forms descend from the Proto-Germanic masculine noun *walaz. Among related Old Norse concepts, valr also appears as the first element of the nouns valkyrja chooser of the slain, valkyrie and Valfreyja, the second element, höll, is a common Old Norse noun. It is cognate to Modern English hall and has the same meaning, both developed from Proto-Germanic *xallō or *hallō, meaning covered place, hall, itself from the Proto-Indo-European root *kol-. In stanzas 8 to 10 of Grímnismál, the god Odin states that Valhalla is located in the realm of Glaðsheimr, Odin describes Valhalla as shining and golden, and that it rises peacefully when seen from afar. From Valhalla, every day Odin chooses from those who have died in combat. Valhalla has spear-shafts for rafters, a roof thatched with shields, coats of mail are strewn over its benches, a wolf hangs in front of its west doors, and an eagle hovers above it. Within Valhalla exists Thors hall Bilskirnir, and within it exist five hundred and forty rooms, in stanzas 25 through 26, Odin states that the goat Heiðrún and the hart Eikþyrnir stand on top of Valhalla and graze on the branches of the tree Læraðr. Heiðrún produces vats of mead that liquor cannot be compared to, in stanza 38 of the poem Helgakviða Hundingsbana II, the hero Helgi Hundingsbane dies and goes to Valhalla. Prose follows after this stanza, stating that a burial-mound was made for Helgi, in stanzas 40 to 42, Helgi has returned to Midgard from Valhalla with a host of men. An unnamed maid of Sigrún, Helgis valkyrie wife, sees Helgi, the maid asks if she is experiencing a delusion, if Ragnarök has begun, or if Helgi and his men have been allowed to return. In the stanzas that follow, Helgi responds that none of things have occurred. The maid tells Sigrún that the mound has opened up, and that Sigrún should go to Helgi there, as Helgi has asked her to come and tend his wounds. Sigrún goes into the mound, and finds that Helgi is drenched in gore, filled with joy at the reunion, Sigrún kisses him before he can remove his coat of mail, and asks how she can heal him
30.
Odin
–
In Germanic mythology, Odin is a widely revered god. In the modern period, Odin continued to be acknowledged in the folklore of Germanic Europe. Forms of his name appear frequently throughout the Germanic record, though narratives regarding Odin are mainly found in Old Norse works recorded in Iceland and these texts make up the bulk of modern understanding of Norse mythology. In Old Norse texts, Odin is depicted as one-eyed and long-bearded, frequently wielding a spear named Gungnir, and wearing a cloak, Odin is attested as having many sons, most famously the god Baldr with Frigg, and is known by hundreds of names. Odin has an association with Yule, and mankinds knowledge of both the runes and poetry is also attributed to him. In Old Norse texts, Odin is given primacy over female beings associated with the battlefield—the valkyries—and oversees Valhalla, where he receives half of those who die in battle, the other half are chosen by the goddess Freyja for her afterlife location, Fólkvangr. In later folklore, Odin appears as a leader of the Wild Hunt and he has also been associated with charms and other forms of magic, particularly in Old English and Old Norse texts. Odin has been a frequent subject of study in Germanic studies, in the modern period, Odin has inspired numerous works of poetry, music, and other forms of media. He is venerated in most forms of the new religious movement Heathenry, together with other gods venerated by the ancient Germanic peoples, some branches focus particularly on him. The Old Norse theonym Óðinn and its cognates, including Old English Wōden, Old Saxon Wōden, the masculine noun *wōđanaz developed from the Proto-Germanic adjective *wōđaz, related to Latin vātēs and Old Irish fáith, both meaning seer, prophet. Adjectives stemming from *wōđaz include Gothic woþs possessed, Old Norse óðr, mad, frantic, furious, additionally the Old Norse noun æði rage, fury and Old High German wuotī madness derive from the feminine noun *wōđīn, from *wōđaz. Over 170 names are recorded for the god Odin and these names are variously descriptive of attributes of the god, refer to myths involving him, or refer to religious practices associated with the god. This multitude of names makes Odin the god with the most names known among the Germanic peoples, the weekday name Wednesday derives from Old English wōdnesdæg. Cognate terms are found in other Germanic languages, such as Middle Low German wōdensdach, all of these terms derive from Proto-Germanic *Wodensdag, itself a Germanic interpretation of Latin Dies Mercurii. However, in Old High German, the derived from Odins was replaced by a translation of Church Latin media hebdomas. The earliest records of the Germanic peoples were recorded by the Romans and they regard it as a religious duty to offer to him, on fixed days, human as well as other sacrificial victims. Hercules and Mars they appease by animal offerings of the permitted kind, in this instance, Tacitus refers to the god Odin as Mercury, Thor as Hercules, and Týr as Mars, and the identity of the Isis of the Suebi has been debated. But their rankings in their respective religious spheres may have very different
31.
Thor
–
In Norse mythology, Thor is a hammer-wielding god associated with thunder, lightning, storms, oak trees, strength, the protection of mankind, and also hallowing and fertility. The cognate deity in wider Germanic mythology and paganism was known in Old English as Þunor and in Old High German as Donar, into the modern period, Thor continued to be acknowledged in rural folklore throughout Germanic regions. Thor is frequently referred to in place names, the day of the week Thursday bears his name, in Norse mythology, largely recorded in Iceland from traditional material stemming from Scandinavia, numerous tales and information about Thor are provided. With Sif, Thor fathered the goddess Þrúðr, with Járnsaxa, he fathered Magni, with a mother whose name is not recorded, he fathered Móði, and he is the stepfather of the god Ullr. The same sources list Thor as the son of the god Odin and the earth, Jörð. Thor has two servants, Þjálfi and Röskva, rides in a cart or chariot pulled by two goats, Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr, and is ascribed three dwellings. Thor wields the mountain-crushing hammer, Mjölnir, wears the belt Megingjörð and the iron gloves Járngreipr, Thor has inspired numerous works of art and references to Thor appear in modern popular culture. Like other Germanic deities, veneration of Thor is revived in the period in Heathenry. The name of the god is the origin of the weekday name Thursday, by employing a practice known as interpretatio germanica during the Roman Empire period, the Germanic peoples adopted the Roman weekly calendar, and replaced the names of Roman gods with their own. Latin dies Iovis was converted into Proto-Germanic *Þonares dagaz, from which stems modern English Thursday, beginning in the Viking Age, personal names containing the theonym Thórr are recorded with great frequency. Prior to the Viking Age, no examples are recorded, thórr-based names may have flourished during the Viking Age as a defiant response to attempts at Christianization, similar to the wide scale Viking Age practice of wearing Thors hammer pendants. They regard it as a duty to offer to him, on fixed days. Hercules and Mars they appease by animal offerings of the permitted kind, in this instance, Tacitus refers to the god Odin as Mercury, Thor as Hercules, and the god Týr as Mars, and the identity of the Isis of the Suebi has been debated. In Thors case, the identification with the god Hercules is likely at least in part due to similarities between Thors hammer and Hercules club. In his Annals, Tacitus again refers to the veneration of Hercules by the Germanic peoples, Donar, the southern Germanic form of the gods name. According to an account, the Christian missionary Saint Boniface felled an oak tree dedicated to Jove in the 8th century. Around the second half of the 8th century, Old English mentions of a figure named Thunor are recorded, gabriel Turville-Petre saw this as an invented origin for the placename demonstrating loss of memory that Thunor had been a gods name. Adam details that Thor, they reckon, rules the sky, he governs thunder and lightning, winds and storms, fine weather and fertility and that Thor, with his mace, looks like Jupiter
32.
Saxo Grammaticus
–
Saxo Grammaticus, also known as Saxo cognomine Longus, was a Danish historian, theologian and author. He is thought to have been a clerk or secretary to Absalon, Archbishop of Lund and he is the author of the first full history of Denmark. The Jutland Chronicle gives evidence that Saxo was born in Zealand and it is unlikely he was born before 1150 and it is supposed that his death could have occurred around 1220. His name Saxo was a name in medieval Denmark. The name Grammaticus was first given to him in the Jutland Chronicle and he lived in a period of warfare and Danish expansion, led by Archbishop Absalon and the Valdemars. The Danes were also being threatened by the Wends who were making raids across the border, Valdemar I had also just won a civil war and later Valdemar II led an expedition across the Elbe to invade Holstein. Sven Aggesen, a Danish nobleman and author of an earlier history of Denmark than Saxos, describes his contemporary, Saxo. This gives evidence that Saxo and Sven might have soldiered in the Hird or royal guard since Sven used the word contubernium in reference to them, there is also a Saxo to be found on a list of clergy at Lund, where there was a Sven recorded as Archdeacon. Likewise there is Dean Saxo who died in 1190, however the date does not match what is known about Saxo. Both arguments, for a secular or religious Saxo, would confirm that he was educated, as clergy he would have received training in Latin. Saxo comes from a family and writes that he is himself committed to being a soldier. He tells us that he follows the ancient right of hereditary service, Saxos education and ability supports the idea that he was educated outside Denmark. Some suggest the title Grammaticus refers not to his education but rather his elaborate Latin style and we know from his writing that he was in the retinue and received the patronage of Absalon, Archbishop of Lund, who was the foremost advisor to King Valdemar I. In his will Absalon forgives his clerk Saxo a small debt of two and a half marks of silver and tells him to return two borrowed books to the monastery of Sorø, the legacy of Saxo Grammaticus is the sixteen book heroic history of the Danes called Gesta Danorum. In the preface to the work, Saxo writes that his patron Absalon, the history is thought to have been started about 1185, after Sven Aggesen wrote his history. The goal of Gesta Danorum was as Saxo writes to glorify our fatherland, Saxo also may have owed much to Plato, Cicero and also to more contemporary writers like Geoffrey of Monmouth. Saxos history of the Danes was compiled from sources that are of historical value. He drew on oral tales of the Icelanders, ancient volumes, letters carved on rocks and stone, the history is composed of sixteen books and extends from the time of the founders of the Danish people, Dan I of Denmark and Angul into about the year 1187
33.
Jutes
–
The Jutes, Iuti, or Iutæ were a Germanic people. According to Bede, the Jutes were one of the three most powerful Germanic peoples of their time in the Nordic Iron Age, the two being the Saxons and the Angles. The Jutes are believed to have originated from the Jutland Peninsula, in present times, the Jutlandic Peninsula consists of the mainland of Denmark and Southern Schleswig in Germany. North Frisia is also part of Germany, the Jutes invaded and settled in southern Britain in the late 4th century during the Age of Migrations, as part of a larger wave of Germanic settlement in the British Isles. Bede places the homeland of the Jutes on the side of the Angles relative to the Saxons. Tacitus portrays a people called the Eudoses living in the north of Jutland, the Jutes have also been identified with the Eotenas involved in the Frisian conflict with the Danes as described in the Finnesburg episode in the poem Beowulf. Others have interpreted the ēotenas as jotuns, meaning giants, or as a kenning for enemies, disagreeing with Bede, some historians identify the Jutes with the people called Eucii, who were evidently associated with the Saxons and dependents of the Franks in 536. The Eucii may have been identical to a tribe called the Euthiones. The Euthiones are mentioned in a poem by Venantius Fortunatus as being under the suzerainty of Chilperic I of the Franks. This identification would agree well with the location of the Jutes in Kent. Even if Jutes were present to the south of the Saxons in the Rhineland or near the Frisians, however, it is possible that the tribal names were confused in the above sources. In both Beowulf and Widsith, the Eotenas are clearly distinguished from the Geatas, there is also evidence that the Haestingas people who settled in the Hastings area of Sussex, in the 6th century, may also have been Jutish in origin. One recent scholar, Robin Bush, even argued that the Jutes of Hampshire, Bede clearly implies that this was so, in 686. However, Bushs theory has been the subject of debate amongst academics, including a counter-hypothesis, the culture of the Jutes of Kent shows more signs of Roman, Frankish, and Christian influence than that of the Angles or Saxons. The Quoit Brooch Style has been regarded as Jutish, from the 5th century
34.
Holmgang
–
Holmgang is a duel practiced by early medieval Scandinavians. It was a way to settle disputes. Holmgang can be translated as to go to an island or simply holme going. The name may derive from the combatants dueling on a small island or holme. At least in theory, anyone offended could challenge the party to holmgang regardless of their differences in social status. This could be a matter of honor, ownership or property, demand of restitution or debt, holmgangs were fought 3–7 days after the challenge. If the person challenged did not turn up for the holmgang, if the offended party does not turn up for the holmgang, they were deemed niðingr, and could have been sentenced to outlawry. In effect, if they were unwilling or unable to defend their claim, sometimes a capable warrior could volunteer to fight in the place of a clearly outclassed friend. If he who has spoken comes and not the one, then he shall be as he’s been called, no right to swear oaths, no right to bear witness. If the insulted one comes and not he who has spoken, then he shall cry ”Niðingr. ”Three times and make a mark in the ground, and he is worse who spoke what he dared not keep. Exact rules varied from place to place and changed over time, the duel was fought either on a pre-specified plot or on a traditional place which was regularly used for this purpose. The challenger recited the rules, traditional or those agreed upon, how many times the challenged actually gave in beforehand, is unrecorded. First holmgangs probably ended on the death or incapacitation of one combatant, killing an opponent did not constitute a murder and therefore did not lead to outlawry or payment of weregeld. Later rules turned holmgang into a more ritualistic direction, Kormakssaga states that the holmgang was fought on an ox hide or cloak with sides that were three meters long. It was staked on the ground with stakes used just for that purpose, after that the area was marked by drawing three borders around the square hide, each about one foot from the previous one. Corners of the outermost border were marked with hazel staves, combatants had to fight inside these borders. Stepping out of borders meant forfeiture, running away meant cowardice, there is one reference in Kormakssaga about a sacrifice of a bull before the holmgang but there are many references about the sacrifice the winner made after the victory. Combatants were permitted a number of shields they could use – the opponents strikes could break a shield
.JPG)
.JPG)