|
Gothi
Gothi or (plural , fem. ; Old Norse: ) was a position of political and social prominence in the Icelandic Commonwealth. The term originally had a religious significance, referring to a pagan leader responsible for a religious structure and communal feasts, but the title is primarily known as a secular political title from medieval Iceland. Etymology The word derives from , meaning "god".Byock, Jesse L. (1993). "Goði". Entry in ''Medieval Scandinavia, an Encyclopedia'' (Phillip Pulsiano, ed.), 230–231. Garland: NY and London, . It possibly appears in Ulfilas' Gothic language translation of the Bible as for "priest", although the corresponding form of this in Icelandic would have been an unattested . In Scandinavia, there is one surviving attestation in the Proto-Norse form from the Norwegian Nordhuglo runestone (N KJ65),The article ''gotiska'' in ''Nationalencyklopedin'' (1992) and in the later Old Norse form from three Danish runestones: DR 190 Helnæs, DR 192 Flemløse ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gothic Language
Gothic is an extinct language, extinct East Germanic languages, East Germanic language that was spoken by the Goths. It is known primarily from the ''Codex Argenteus'', a 6th-century copy of a 4th-century Bible translation, and is the only East Germanic language with a sizeable text corpus. All others, including Burgundian language (Germanic), Burgundian and Vandalic language, Vandalic, are known, if at all, only from proper names that survived in historical accounts, and from loanwords in other, mainly Romance languages, Romance, languages. As a Germanic language, Gothic is a part of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family. It is the earliest Germanic language that is attested in any sizable texts, but it lacks any modern descendants. The oldest documents in Gothic date back to the fourth century. The language was in decline by the mid-sixth century, partly because of the military defeat of the Goths at the hands of the Franks, the elimination of the Goths ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ulfilas
Ulfilas (; – 383), known also as Wulfila(s) or Urphilas, was a 4th-century Gothic preacher of Cappadocian Greek descent. He was the apostle to the Gothic people. Ulfila served as a bishop and missionary, participated in the Arian controversy, and is credited with converting the Goths to Christianity as well as overseeing translation of the Bible into the Gothic language. For the purpose of the translation he developed the Gothic alphabet, largely based on the Greek alphabet, as well as Latin and Runic characters. Although the translation of the text into Gothic has traditionally been ascribed to Ulfila, analysis of the text of the Gothic Bible indicates the involvement of a team of translators, possibly under his supervision. Life Ulfila is mentioned by the Nicene Christians Socrates of Constantinople, Sozomen, and Theodoret, in addition to the Eunomian historian Philostorgius. He is also mentioned by the Gothic historian Jordanes, although the writer said compara ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Codex Argenteus
The (Latin for "Silver Book/Codex") is a 6th century, 6th-century illuminated manuscript, originally containing Gospel#Canonical gospels, part of the Gothic Bible, 4th-century translation of the Christian Bible into the Gothic language. Traditionally ascribed to the Arianism, Arian bishop Ulfilas, Wulfila, it is now established that the Gothic translation was performed by several scholars, possibly under Wulfila's supervision. Of the original 336 folio, folios, 188—including the Speyer fragment discovered in 1970—have been preserved, containing the translation of the greater part of the four canonical gospels. A part of it is on permanent display at the Carolina Rediviva building in Uppsala, Sweden, under the name "Silverbibeln" (i.e. "The Silver Bible"). Since 2011, the ''Codex Argenteus'' has been included in the UNESCO Memory of the World Register. History Origin The (literally: "Silver Book") was probably written for the Ostrogothic Kingdom, Ostrogothic king ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paganism
Paganism (, later 'civilian') is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Christianity, Judaism, and Samaritanism. In the time of the Roman Empire, individuals fell into the pagan class either because they were increasingly rural and provincial relative to the Christian population, or because they were not '' milites Christi'' (soldiers of Christ).J. J. O'Donnell (1977)''Paganus'': Evolution and Use, ''Classical Folia'', 31: 163–69. Alternative terms used in Christian texts were '' hellene'', '' gentile'', and '' heathen''. Ritual sacrifice was an integral part of ancient Greco-Roman religion and was regarded as an indication of whether a person was pagan or Christian. Paganism has broadly connoted the "religion of the peasantry". During and after the Middle Ages, the term ''paganism'' was applied to any non-Christian religion, and the term presumed a belief in fal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vé (shrine)
In Germanic paganism, a vé (Old Norse: ) or wēoh (Old English) is a type of shrine, sacred enclosure or other place with religious significance. The term appears in skaldic poetry and in place names in Scandinavia (with the exception of Iceland), often in connection with an Old Norse religion, Old Norse deity or a geographic feature. Functions Andy Orchard says that a vé may have surrounded a temple or have been simply a marked, open place where worship occurred. Orchard points out that Tacitus, in his 1st century Common Era, CE work ''Germania (book), Germania'', says that the Germanic peoples, unlike the Ancient Rome, Romans, "did not seek to contain their deities within temple walls."Orchard (1997:173–174). Etymology Vé derives from a Proto-Germanic language, Common Germanic word meaning sacred or holy, cf. Gothic language, Gothic ''weihs'' (holy), Old English ''wēoh, wīg'' (idol), German language, German ''weihen'' (consecrate, sanctify), German ''Weihnachten'' (Chri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Proto-Norse Language
Proto-Norse (also called Ancient Nordic; Danish and ; ; ; ) was an Indo-European language spoken in Scandinavia that is thought to have evolved as a northern dialect of Proto-Germanic in the first centuries CE. It is the earliest stage of a characteristically North Germanic language, and the language attested in the oldest Scandinavian Elder Futhark inscriptions, spoken from around the 2nd to the 8th centuries CE (corresponding to the late Roman Iron Age and the Germanic Iron Age). It evolved into the dialects of Old Norse at the beginning of the Viking Age around 800 CE, which later themselves evolved into the modern North Germanic languages ( Faroese, Icelandic, the Continental Scandinavian languages, and their dialects). Phonology Proto-Norse phonology probably did not differ substantially from that of Proto-Germanic. Although the phonetic realisation of several phonemes had probably changed over time, the overall system of phonemes and their distribution remained la ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also refer to the Scandinavian Peninsula (which excludes Denmark but includes a part of northern Finland). In English usage, Scandinavia is sometimes used as a synonym for Nordic countries. Iceland and the Faroe Islands are sometimes included in Scandinavia for their Ethnolinguistics, ethnolinguistic relations with Sweden, Norway and Denmark. While Finland differs from other Nordic countries in this respect, some authors call it Scandinavian due to its economic and cultural similarities. The geography of the region is varied, from the Norwegian fjords in the west and Scandinavian mountains covering parts of Norway and Sweden, to the low and flat areas of Denmark in the south, as well as archipelagos and lakes in the east. Most of the population ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Icelandic Commonwealth
The Icelandic Commonwealth, also known as the Icelandic Free State, was the political unit existing in Iceland between the establishment of the Althing () in 930 and the pledge of fealty to the Norwegian king with the Old Covenant in 1262. With the probable exception of hermitic Irish monks known as Papar, Iceland was an uninhabited island until around 874. The Icelandic Commonwealth had a unique political system whereby chieftains (''goðar'') established a common legal code and settled judicial disputes at the Althing, a national assembly. However, there was no executive body in Iceland that enforced the legal code. The Icelandic Commonwealth has consequently been characterized as a stateless society. During the 13th century, Iceland came under the control of the Kingdom of Norway. Goðorð system The medieval Icelandic state had a unique judicial structure. The first settlers of Iceland were greatly influenced by their Norwegian roots when creating their own form of g ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heathen Hof
A heathen hof or Germanic pagan temple is a temple building of Germanic religion (aboriginal), Germanic religion. The term ''hof'' is taken from Old Norse. Background Etymologically, the Old Norse word ''hof'' is the same as the Dutch language, Dutch and German language, German word ''hof'', which originally meant a hall and later came to refer to a court (originally in the meaning of a royal or aristocratic court) and then also to a farm. In medieval Scandinavian sources, it occurs once as a hall, in the Elder Edda, Eddic poem ''Hymiskviða'', and beginning in the fourteenth century, in the "court" meaning. Otherwise, it occurs only as a word for a temple. ''Hof'' also occasionally occurs with the meaning "temple" in Old High German and is cognate with the Old English . In Scandinavia during the Viking Age, it appears to have displaced older terms for a sacred place, ''Vé (shrine), vé'', ''hörgr'', ''lundr'', ''vangr'', and ''vin'', particularly in the West Norse linguistic a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Althing
The (; ), anglicised as Althingi or Althing, is the Parliamentary sovereignty, supreme Parliament, national parliament of Iceland. It is the oldest surviving parliament in the world. The Althing was founded in 930 at ('Thing (assembly), thing fields' or 'assembly fields'), about east of what later became the country's capital, Reykjavík. After Iceland's union with Norway in 1262, the Althing lost its legislative power, which was not restored until 1904 when Iceland gained home rule from Denmark. For 641 years, the Althing did not serve as the parliament of Iceland; ultimate power rested with the Norwegian, and subsequently the Danish throne. 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 Unicameralism, unicameral legislature first came together in 1845 and after 1874 operated in Bicameralism, two chambers with an addition ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sturlunga Saga
''Sturlunga saga'' (often called simply ''Sturlunga'') is a collection of Icelandic Norse saga, sagas by various authors from the 12th and 13th centuries; it was assembled in about 1300, in Old Norse. It mostly deals with the story of the Sturlungs, a powerful family clan during the eponymous Age of the Sturlungs period of the Icelandic Commonwealth. ''Sturlunga saga'' mostly covers the history of Iceland between 1117 and 1264."Sturlunga saga", Rudolf Simek and Hermann Pálsson, ''Lexikon der altnordischen Literatur'', Kröners Taschenausgabe 490, Stuttgart: Kröner, 1987, , pp. 339–41 It begins with ', the legend of Geirmundr heljarskinn, a regional ruler in late 9th-century Norway, who moves to Iceland to escape the growing power of King Harald I of Norway, Harald Finehair.Jan de Vries (linguist), Jan de Vries, ''Altnordische Literaturgeschichte'', Volume 2 ''Die Literatur von etwa 1150 bis 1300; die Spätzeit nach 1300'', Grundriss der germanischen Philologie 16, 2nd ed. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Settlement Of Iceland
The settlement of Iceland ( ) is generally believed to have begun in the second half of the ninth century, when Norsemen, Norse settlers migrated across the North Atlantic. The reasons for the migration are uncertain: later in the Middle Ages Icelanders themselves tended to cite civil strife brought about by the ambitions of the Norway, Norwegian king Harald I of Norway, but modern historians focus on deeper factors, such as a shortage of arable land in Scandinavia. Unlike Great Britain and Ireland, Iceland was unsettled land and could be claimed without conflict with existing inhabitants. On the basis of by Ari Þorgilsson, and , histories dating from the twelfth and thirteenth centuries and providing a wealth of detail about the settlement, the years 870 and 874 have traditionally been considered the first years of settlement. However, these sources are largely unreliable in the details they provide about the settlement, and recent research focuses more heavily on archaeological ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
