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Snorri Goði
Snorri Þorgrímsson (Old Norse: ; Modern Icelandic: ) or Snorri Goði (O.N.: ; M.I.: ; 963–1031) was a prominent chieftain in Western Iceland, who featured in a number of Icelandic sagas. The main source of his life is the '' Eyrbyggja saga'', in which he is the main character, although he also figures prominently in '' Njál's saga'' and the '' Laxdæla saga''. Snorri was the nephew of Gísli Súrsson, the hero of ''Gísla saga'', and son of Þorgrímr Þorsteinsson whom Gísli killed in revenge to fulfill a blood-oath. ''Eyrbyggja Saga'' says of him "He was a very shrewd man with unusual foresight, a long memory and a taste for vengeance. To his friends he gave good counsel, but his enemies learned to fear the advice he gave." ''Njál's saga'' says of him "Snorri was reckoned the wisest man in Iceland, not counting those who were prescient". Background of sources The main sources of Snorri's life are the semi-historical Icelandic sagas. Historiographically, the dist ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Berserker
In the Old Norse written corpus, berserker were those who were said to have fought in a trance-like fury, a characteristic which later gave rise to the modern English word '' berserk'' (meaning "furiously violent or out of control"). Berserkers are attested to in numerous Old Norse sources. Etymology The Old Norse form of the word was (plural ). It likely means "bear-shirt" (compare the Middle English word ', meaning 'shirt'), "someone who wears a coat made out of a bear's skin". Thirteenth-century historian Snorri Sturluson interpreted the meaning as "bare-shirt", that is to say that the warriors went into battle without armour, but that view has largely been abandoned. Early beginnings It is proposed by some authors that the northern warrior tradition originated from hunting magic. Three main animal cults appeared: the bear, the wolf, and the wild boar. The bas relief carvings on Trajan's column in Rome depict scenes of Trajan's conquest of Dacia in 101–106 AD. The sce ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Allen French
Allen French (28 November 1870 –6 October 1946) was a historian and children's book author who did major research on the battles of Lexington, MA, Lexington and Concord, MA, Concord, during the American Revolutionary War. He was a founding member and president of the Thoreau Society. Biography Born in Boston, MA, Boston, French attended Harvard University for his undergraduate education. Several of his children's books were illustrated by painter Andrew Wyeth. Works Fiction *''Sir Marrok: A Tale of the Days of King Arthur'' (1902); New York: Century. *''At Plattsburg'' (1917), Charles Scribner's Sons, New York. *''The Story of Rolf and the Viking Bow'' (1924), Boston: Little, Brown, and Company. *''The Red Keep: A story of Burgundy in Year 1165'' (19??) [1997], Warsaw, N.D.:Ignatius Press. *''The Lost Baron'' *''Heroes of Iceland'' *''The Story of Grettir the Strong'' *''The Colonials'' *''The Barrier'' *''Pelham and His Friend Tim'' Non-fiction *''The Siege of Boston'' (1911) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Haraldr Sigurðarson
Harald Sigurdsson (; – 25 September 1066), also known as Harald III of Norway and given the epithet ''Hardrada'' (; modern no, Hardråde, roughly translated as "stern counsel" or "hard ruler") in the sagas, was King of Norway from 1046 to 1066. Additionally, he unsuccessfully claimed both the Danish throne until 1064 and the English throne in 1066. Before becoming king, Harald had spent around fifteen years in exile as a mercenary and military commander in Kievan Rus' and as a chief of the Varangian Guard in the Byzantine Empire. When he was fifteen years old, in 1030, Harald fought in the Battle of Stiklestad together with his half-brother Olaf Haraldsson (later Saint Olaf). Olaf sought to reclaim the Norwegian throne, which he had lost to the Danish king Cnut the Great two years prior. In the battle, Olaf and Harald were defeated by forces loyal to Cnut, and Harald was forced into exile to Kievan Rus' (the sagas' ). He thereafter spent some time in the army of Grand Pri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sturlungar Family Clan
The Sturlungs ( Icelandic: ) were a powerful family clan in 13th century Iceland, in the time of the Icelandic Commonwealth. Their story is partly told in ''Sturlunga saga'', and members of the clan were significant participants in the civil war of the Age of the Sturlungs. The Sturlungs were a wealthy and influential clan. They controlled western Iceland, the Westfjords and north eastern Iceland. The patriarch of the Sturlungs was Sturla Þórðarson, whom scholars believe was born around 1115. He inherited his ''goðorð'' (domain, realm or area of influence) from his father Þórður Gilsson. Sturla quarrelled extensively with Einar Þorgilsson of Staðarhóll and many other chieftains. Jón Loftsson, a well-respected man, mediated in one of these disputes. Following this, he was entrusted with the upbringing of Sturla's son Snorri Sturluson, who later became the most influential of the Sturlungs and the most famous because of his literary endeavours. Snorri had two brothe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Skapti Þóroddsson
Skapti Þóroddsson (Old Norse: ; Modern Icelandic: ; died 1030) was an Icelandic lawspeaker and skald. He became lawspeaker in 1004, succeeding his uncle Grímr when the latter's voice failed him. He held office till his death in 1030, longer than anyone else. According to the ''Íslendingabók'' he instituted judicial reform by establishing the "fifth court", a national court of appeals. According to the ''Skáldatal'', Skapti was a court poet of Hákon Sigurðarson but no details on that career are known. According to the ''Heimskringla'', he composed a poem on king Óláfr Haraldsson and sent his son Steinn to perform it for the king. The only piece of poetry by Skapti which has come down to us is decidedly Christian and can not have been composed at Hákon's court. Snorri Sturluson cites the following half-stanza by Skapti in a discussion of Christian kennings in the ''Skáldskaparmál''. Skapti is mentioned in some of the Icelanders' sagas, for example ''Njáls saga'' w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lawspeaker
A lawspeaker or lawman (Swedish language, Swedish: ''lagman'', Old Swedish: ''laghmaþer'' or ''laghman'', Danish language, Danish: ''lovsigemand'', Norwegian language, Norwegian: ''lagmann'', Icelandic language, Icelandic: , Faroese language, Faroese: ''løgmaður'', Finnish language, Finnish: ''laamanni'', kl, inatsitinuk) is a unique Scandinavian legal office. It has its basis in a common Germanic oral tradition, where wise people were asked to recite the law, but it was only in Scandinavia that the function evolved into an office. At first, lawspeakers represented the people, and their duties and authority were connected to the assemblies (thing (assembly), ''things''). For most of the last thousand years, however, they were part of the king's administration. Snorri Sturluson (1179–1241) of Iceland was a famous lawspeaker. He wrote about an 11th-century Torgny the Lawspeaker, lawspeaker named Torgny, but historians doubt the account. Sweden In Sweden, this office was the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Njáll Þorgeirsson
Njáll Þorgeirsson (Old Norse: ; Modern Icelandic: ) was a 10th and early-11th-century Icelandic lawyer who lived at Bergþórshvoll in Landeyjar, Iceland. He was one of the main protagonists of ''Njáls saga'', a medieval Icelandic saga which describes a series of blood feuds. Biography Njáll was the son of Þorgeir gollnir Ófeigsson. His paternal grandfather had fallen out of favour with the king and therefore decided to leave Norway but as he had prepared and was about to leave when the king's errandmen came to him and took his life. After that his grandmother and their children and her brother left for Iceland. ''Njáls saga'' does not in important events contradict other sources but in details such as genealogy it sometimes contradicts the ''Landnámabók'' which is thought more trustworthy. The name Njáll is a Norse derivative of the Irish name Niall. Njáll lived in Bergþórshvoll and was married to Bergþóra Skarphéðinsdóttir. He is described as a kindly, wealth ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Althing
The Alþingi (''general meeting'' in Icelandic, , anglicised as ' or ') is the supreme national parliament of Iceland. It is one of the oldest surviving parliaments in the world. The Althing was founded in 930 at ("thing fields" or "assembly fields"), situated approximately east of what later became the country's capital, Reykjavík. Even after Iceland's union with Norway in 1262, the Althing still held its sessions at until 1800, when it was discontinued. It was restored in 1844 by royal decree and moved to Reykjavík. The restored unicameral legislature first came together in 1845 and after 1874 operated in two chambers with an additional third chamber taking on a greater role as the decades passed until 1991 when Althing became once again unicameral. The present parliament building, the , was built in 1881, made of hewn Icelandic stone. The unicameral parliament has 63 members, and is elected every four years based on party-list proportional representation. The current ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bolli Bollason
Bolli Bollason (also Bolli Bollison) was a key historical character in the Medieval Icelandic '' Laxdæla saga'', born around 1000. He grew up in Orlygsstadir, at Helgafell on the Snæfellsnes Peninsula in Iceland. He divided his time between Helgafell and Tunga, the home of Snorri the Goði. He was held in the highest regard among the contemporary Scandinavian rulers, and also in the Eastern Roman Empire. It is believed that he had reached the rank of ''manglabites'' in the Eastern Roman army,Heath, p 38 and on his return to Iceland, his finery and recognition earned him the name "Bolli the Elegant".Thorsson, p 419 His importance in the literary context of the saga is his prominence as the son of Bolli Þorleiksson and Guðrún Ósvífursdóttir, the two central characters of the work. He is mentioned at the end of the '' Sneglu-Hall þáttur'' (''The Tale of Sarcastic Halli''), and is also the subject of his own tale, the ''Bollaþáttur'', which was later appended to the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Guðrún Ósvífursdóttir
Guðrún is one of the most frequently given female names in Iceland. In 2004, it was ranked first before Anna and Sigríður.Lonely Planet Iceland Fran Parnell, Etain O'Carroll - 2007 - Page 23 "Most popular girl's name: Guðrún" According to Icelandic custom, people are generally referred to by first and middle names and patronyms are used if disambiguation is required. The name is earliest attested in a runestone as kuþrun. In Old Norse, Goðrún was an alternative version. The Faroese equivalent is Guðrun and the mainland Scandinavian version is Gudrun. The Old Norse name is composed of the elements ''guð'' or ''goð'', meaning "god"; and ''rūn'', meaning "rune", "secret lore". The Scandinavian Gudrun was revived in the last half of the 19th century. Famous people called ''Guðrún'' *Guðrún Gjúkadóttir, person in the Eddic poems * Guðrún Ósvífursdóttir (fl. C10-C11), protagonist of the Medieval Icelandic Laxdœla saga *Guðrún Bjarnadóttir, Icelandic Miss ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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