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Heitstrenging
Heitstrenging () is an Old Norse term referring to the swearing of a solemn oath to perform a future action. They were often performed at Yule and other large social events, where they played a role in establishing and maintaining good relationships principally between members of the aristocratic warrior elite. The oath-swearing practice varied significantly, sometimes involving ritualised drinking or placing hands on a holy pig (referred to as a sónargöltr) that could later be sacrificed. While originally containing heathen religious components such as prayers and worship of gods such as Freyr and Thor, the practice continued in an altered manner after the Christianisation of Scandinavia. Close similarities have been noted between and Anglo-Saxon oath-swearing and boasting practices such as the beot, with both involving promises to accomplish tasks that would bring great honour if achieved. Etymology In Old Norse, the term or ('the swearing of a solemn vow') is derived f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bragarfull
Symbel ( OE) and sumbl ( ON) are Germanic terms for "feast, banquet". Accounts of the ''symbel'' are preserved in the Anglo-Saxon ''Beowulf'' (lines 489-675 and 1491–1500), ''Dream of the Rood'' (line 141) and '' Judith'' (line 15), Old Saxon ''Heliand'' (line 3339), and the Old Norse ''Lokasenna'' (stanza 8) as well as other Eddic and Saga texts, such as in the ''Heimskringla'' account of the funeral ale held by King Sweyn, or in the ''Fagrskinna''. Paul C. Bauschatz in 1976 suggested that the term reflects a pagan ritual which had a "great religious significance in the culture of the early Germanic people".First proposed at the Third International Conference of Nordic and General Linguistics, at the University of Texas at Austin, April 5–9, 1976 (published in 1978), elaborated in Bauschatz, "The Germanic ritual feast" and ''The Well and the Tree''; Pollington, ''Mead-hall''. Etymology The prevalent view today is that Old English ''symbel'', Old Saxon ''symbal, sumbal'' ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Helgakviða Hjörvarðssonar
"Helgakviða Hjörvarðssonar" ("Lay of Helgi Hjörvarðsson") is a poem collected in the ''Poetic Edda'', found in the Codex Regius manuscript where it follows ''Helgakviða Hundingsbana I'' and precedes ''Helgakviða Hundingsbana II''. The portion of text which constitutes the poem is unnamed in the manuscript and may never have been intended to be viewed as a single poem, though scholars have assigned it a name for convenience. The text appears to be a patchwork of old poems, glued together with prose passages. The poem relates the story of Helgi Hjörvarðsson, loosely connected to the story of Helgi Hundingsbani. Storyline How Helgi's father won Helgi's mother The poem begins with a Norwegian king named Hjörvarðr. The king had four wives: Álfhildr with whom he had a son named Heðinn, a second by the name Særeiðr with whom he had the son Humlungr and a third called Sinrjóð by whom he had the son Hymlingr. The fourth wife is not mentioned, but she may be the girl Sigrl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Beot
A is Old English for a ritualized boast, vow, threat, or promise. Clark Hall, John R. ''A Concise Anglo-Saxon Dictionary''. Cambridge University Press, 1960, p. 42. The principle of a ''bēot'' is to proclaim one's acceptance of a seemingly impossible challenge in order to gain tremendous glory for actually accomplishing it. Anglo-Saxon warriors would usually deliver ''bēot''s in the mead hall the night before a military engagement or during the battle itself. For example, a typical warrior may boast that he will be the first to strike a blow in a battle, that he would claim a renowned sword from an enemy warrior as spoil of battle, that he will slay a particular monster that has been wreaking havoc on a town or village, and so on. ''Bēot''s were usually accompanied by grand stories of one's past glorious deeds. Although other cultures and times might disdain boasting as a sign of arrogance, or sinful pride, the pagan Anglo-Saxons highly regarded such behaviour as a positive sig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Olav Tryggvasons Saga - Sigvalde Jarl - H
Olaf or Olav (, , or British ; Old Norse: ''Áleifr'', ''Ólafr'', ''Óleifr'', ''Anleifr'') is a Scandinavian and German given name. It is presumably of Proto-Norse origin, reconstructed as ''*Anu-laibaz'', from ''anu'' "ancestor, grand-father" and ''laibaz'' "heirloom, descendant". Old English forms are attested as ''Ǣlāf'', ''Anlāf''. The corresponding Old Novgorod dialect form is ''Uleb''. A later English form of the name is ''Olave''. In the Norwegian language, ''Olav'' and ''Olaf'' are equally common, but Olav is traditionally used when referring to Norwegian royalty. The Swedish form is ''Olov'' or ''Olof'', and the Danish form is ''Oluf''. It was borrowed into Old Irish and Scots with the spellings ''Amlaíb'' and ''Amhlaoibh'', giving rise to modern version ''Aulay''. The name is Latinized as ''Olaus''. Notable people North Germanic ;Denmark *Olaf I of Denmark, king 1086–1095 *Olaf II of Denmark, also Olaf IV of Norway *Oluf Haraldsen (died c. 1143), Danish ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Þór
Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred groves and trees, strength, the protection of humankind, hallowing, and fertility. Besides Old Norse , the deity occurs in Old English as , in Old Frisian as ', in Old Saxon as ', and in Old High German as , all ultimately stemming from the Proto-Germanic theonym , meaning 'Thunder'. Thor is a prominently mentioned god throughout the recorded history of the Germanic peoples, from the Roman occupation of regions of , to the Germanic expansions of the Migration Period, to his high popularity during the Viking Age, when, in the face of the process of the Christianization of Scandinavia, emblems of his hammer, , were worn and Norse pagan personal names containing the name of the god bear witness to his popularity. Due to the nature of the Germanic corpus, narratives featuring Thor are only attested in Old Norse, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Uppsala
Uppsala (, or all ending in , ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the county seat of Uppsala County and the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inhabitants in 2019. Located north of the capital Stockholm it is also the seat of Uppsala Municipality. Since 1164, Uppsala has been the ecclesiology, ecclesiastical centre of Sweden, being the seat of the Archbishop of Uppsala, Archbishop of the Church of Sweden. Uppsala is home to Scandinavia's largest cathedral – Uppsala Cathedral, which was the frequent site of the coronation of the Swedish monarch until the late 19th century. Uppsala Castle, built by King Gustav I of Sweden, Gustav Vasa, served as one of the royal residences of the Swedish monarchs, and was expanded several times over its history, making Uppsala the secondary capital of Sweden during its Swedish Empire, greatest extent. Today it serves as the residence of the Gover ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fagrskinna
''Fagrskinna'' ( ; is, Fagurskinna ; trans. "Fair Leather" from the type of parchment) is one of the kings' sagas, written around 1220. It is an intermediate source for the ''Heimskringla'' of Snorri Sturluson, containing histories of Norwegian kings from the 9th to 12th centuries, as well as skaldic verse. Description ''Fagrskinna'' is one of the kings' sagas, written around 1220. It takes its name from one of the manuscripts in which it was preserved, ''Fagrskinna'' meaning 'Fair Leather', i.e., 'Fair Parchment'. ''Fagrskinna'' proper was destroyed by fire, but copies of it and another vellum have been preserved. An immediate source for the ''Heimskringla'' of Snorri Sturluson, ''Fagrskinna'' is a central text in the genre of kings' sagas. It contains a vernacular history of Norway from the ninth to the twelfth centuries, from the career of Halfdan the Black to the Battle of Re in 1177, and includes extensive citation of skaldic verses, some of them preserved nowhere else. It ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harald Bluetooth
Harald "Bluetooth" Gormsson ( non, Haraldr Blátǫnn Gormsson; da, Harald Blåtand Gormsen, died c. 985/86) was a king of Denmark and Norway. He was the son of King Gorm the Old and of Thyra Dannebod. Harald ruled as king of Denmark from c. 958 – c. 986. Harald introduced Christianity to Denmark and consolidated his rule over most of Jutland and Zealand. Harald's rule as king of Norway following the assassination of King Harald Greycloak of Norway was more tenuous, most likely lasting for no more than a few years in the 970s. Some sources say his son Sweyn Forkbeard forcibly deposed him from his Danish throne before his death. Name Harald's name is written as runic ''haraltr : kunukʀ'' (ᚼᛅᚱᛅᛚᛏᚱ ᛬ ᚴᚢᚾᚢᚴᛦ) in the Jelling stone inscription. In normalized Old Norse, this would correspond to ''Haraldr konungr'', i.e. "Harald king". The Latinized name as given in the medieval Danish chronicles is ''Haraldus Gormonis filius'' (Harald, Gorm's son). T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Þórr
Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred groves and trees, strength, the protection of humankind, hallowing, and fertility. Besides Old Norse , the deity occurs in Old English as , in Old Frisian as ', in Old Saxon as ', and in Old High German as , all ultimately stemming from the Proto-Germanic theonym , meaning 'Thunder'. Thor is a prominently mentioned god throughout the recorded history of the Germanic peoples, from the Roman occupation of regions of , to the Germanic expansions of the Migration Period, to his high popularity during the Viking Age, when, in the face of the process of the Christianization of Scandinavia, emblems of his hammer, , were worn and Norse pagan personal names containing the name of the god bear witness to his popularity. Due to the nature of the Germanic corpus, narratives featuring Thor are only attested in Old Norse, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gullinbursti
Gullinbursti (Old Norse: , meaning "Gold Mane" or "Golden Bristles") is a boar in Norse mythology. When Loki had Sif's hair, Freyr's ship Skíðblaðnir, and Odin's spear Gungnir fashioned by the Sons of Ivaldi, he bet his own head with Brokkr that his brother Eitri ( Sindri) would not have been able to make items to match the quality of those mentioned above. So to make gifts to Freyr, Eitri threw a pig's skin into a furnace as Brokkr worked on the bellows, and together they manufactured the boar Gullinbursti which had bristles in its mane that glowed in the dark. The story of Gullinbursti's creation is related in the ''Skáldskaparmál'' section of Snorri Sturluson's ''Prose Edda''. According to ''Húsdrápa'', Freyr rode Gullinbursti to Baldr's funeral, while in ''Gylfaginning'', Snorri states that Freyr rode to the funeral in a chariot pulled by the boar. The boar is also known as Slíðrugtanni (Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sweyn Forkbeard
Sweyn Forkbeard ( non, Sveinn Haraldsson tjúguskegg ; da, Svend Tveskæg; 17 April 963 – 3 February 1014) was King of Denmark from 986 to 1014, also at times King of the English and King of Norway. He was the father of King Harald II of Denmark, King Cnut the Great, and Queen Estrid Svendsdatter. In the mid-980s, Sweyn revolted against his father, Harald Bluetooth, and seized the throne. Harald was driven into exile and died shortly afterwards in November 986 or 987. In 1000, with the allegiance of Eric, Earl of Lade, Sweyn ruled most of Norway. In 1013, shortly before his death, he became the first Danish king of the English after a long effort. Biography Historiographical sources on Sweyn's life include the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' (where his name is rendered as ''Swegen''), Adam of Bremen's 11th-century '' Deeds of the Bishops of Hamburg'', and Snorri Sturluson's 13th-century ''Heimskringla''. Conflicting accounts of Sweyn's later life also appear in the '' Encomi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe by the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south. The country covers five-eighths of the island of Great Britain, which lies in the North Atlantic, and includes over 100 smaller islands, such as the Isles of Scilly and the Isle of Wight. The area now called England was first inhabited by modern humans during the Upper Paleolithic period, but takes its name from the Angles, a Germanic tribe deriving its name from the Anglia peninsula, who settled during the 5th and 6th centuries. England became a unified state in the 10th century and has had a significant cultural and legal impact on the wider world since the Age of Discovery, which began during the 15th century. The English language, the Anglican Church, and Engli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
