Gothi or (plural , fem. ;
Old Norse
Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlemen ...
: ) was a position of political and social prominence in the
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 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
Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
.
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
Ulfilas (–383), also spelled Ulphilas and Orphila, all Latinisation of names, Latinized forms of the unattested Gothic language, Gothic form *𐍅𐌿𐌻𐍆𐌹𐌻𐌰 Wulfila, literally "Little Wolf", was a Goths, Goth of Cappadocian Ancie ...
'
Gothic language
Gothic is an extinct 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 c ...
translation of the Bible as for "priest", although the corresponding form of this in
Icelandic would have been an unattested .
In
Scandinavia
Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swe ...
, there is one surviving attestation in the
Proto-Norse form from the Norwegian Nordhuglo
runestone
A runestone is typically a raised stone with a runic inscription, but the term can also be applied to inscriptions on boulders and on bedrock. The tradition began in the 4th century and lasted into the 12th century, but most of the runestones d ...
(
Rundata N KJ65 U),
[The article ''gotiska'' in '']Nationalencyklopedin
''Nationalencyklopedin'' (; "The National Encyclopedia" in English), abbreviated NE, is a comprehensive contemporary Swedish-language encyclopedia, initiated by a favourable loan from the Government of Sweden of 17 million Swedish kronor in 1 ...
'' (1992) and in the later Old Norse form from three Danish runestones: DR 190 Helnæs, DR 192 Flemløse 1 and
DR 209 Glavendrup.
[Klaus Düwel (2008).]
Runen als Phänomen der oberen Schichten
. ''Studien zu Literatur, Sprache und Geschichte in Europa''. p. 69. There are a few placenames, such as in
Södermanland
Södermanland ( or ), locally Sörmland, sometimes referred to under its Latin form ''Sudermannia'' or ''Sudermania'', is a historical province or ''landskap'' on the south eastern coast of Sweden. It borders Östergötland, Närke, Västman ...
, Sweden, that probably retain the name. Otherwise, there are no further surviving attestations except from Iceland where the would be of historical significance.
History
Mainland Scandinavia
From the pagan era in mainland Scandinavia, the only sources for the title are runestones. The Norwegian Nordhuglo stone from around AD 400 seems to place the title in opposition to magic, using a word related to the Old Norse . The inscription's means "I, " followed by "he who is immune to sorcery" or "he who does not engage in sorcery". The three Danish stones are all from
Funen
Funen ( da, Fyn, ), with an area of , is the third-largest island of Denmark, after Zealand and Vendsyssel-Thy. It is the 165th-largest island in the world. It is located in the central part of the country and has a population of 469,947 as of ...
. The early
Viking Age
The Viking Age () was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonizing, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. It followed the Migration Period and the Germ ...
Helnæs and Flemløse 1 stones provide no details about the function of a , but mention a named Roulv whose name also appears on two other runestones, the lost Avnslev stone and the Flemløse 2 stone. The early 10th-century
Glavendrup stone
The Glavendrup stone, designated as DR 209 by Rundata, is a runestone on the island of Funen in Denmark and dates from the early 10th century. It contains Denmark's longest runic inscription and ends in a curse.
Description
The runestone forms ...
uses the term for a local dignitary who was associated with a , which is a religious structure. It thus attaches the title to a simultaneously
secular
Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin ''saeculum'', "worldly" or "of a generation"), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. Anything that does not have an explicit reference to religion, either negativ ...
and
religious upper strata.
Iceland
The most reliable sources about the in Iceland are the
Gray Goose Laws
The Gray (Grey) Goose Laws ( is, Grágás {{IPA-is, ˈkrauːˌkauːs}) are a collection of laws from the Icelandic Commonwealth period. The term ''Grágás'' was originally used in a medieval source to refer to a collection of Norwegian laws an ...
, the and the . After the
settlement of Iceland, a was usually a wealthy and respected man in his district, for he had to maintain the communal hall or in which community religious observances and feasts were held. The office over which a had leadership was termed a , a word that only appears in Icelandic sources.
Initially many independent were established, until they united under the
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 "assemb ...
around 930. In 964, the system was fixed under a constitution that recognized 39 . The role of the as secular leaders is shown in how the word was used synonymously with , meaning ''chieftain''. Over time, and especially after 1000, when the
Christian conversion occurred in Iceland, the term lost all religious connotations and came to mean
liege-lord or chieftain of the Icelandic Commonwealth.
[''An Icelandic-English dictionary''](_blank)
by Richard Cleasby
Richard Cleasby (1797–1847) was an English philologist, author with Guðbrandur Vigfússon of the first Icelandic-English dictionary.
Life
He was eldest son of Stephen Cleasby, and brother of Anthony Cleasby, born on 30 November 1797. He was ...
and Gudbrand Vigfusson Gudbrand is a given name. Notable people with the given name include:
*Gudbrand Bøhn (1839–1906), Norwegian violinist, concertmaster, and music teacher
*Gudbrand Granum (1893–1984), Norwegian politician
* Gudbrand Gregersen de Saág (1824–19 ...
(1874) p. 208. A could be bought, shared, traded or inherited. If a woman inherited a she had to leave the leadership to a man.
The office was in many respects treated as private property but was not counted as taxable, and is defined in the Gray Goose Laws as "power and not wealth" (); nevertheless the are frequently portrayed in the
sagas
is a series of science fantasy role-playing video games by Square Enix. The series originated on the Game Boy in 1989 as the creation of Akitoshi Kawazu at Square. It has since continued across multiple platforms, from the Super NES to th ...
as concerned with money and expected to be paid for their services.
During the Icelandic Commonwealth, the responsibilities of a or (" man") included the annual organization of the local assemblies in the spring and in the autumn. At the national Althing, they were voting members of the , the legislative section of the assembly. When quarter courts were introduced in the 960s, the became responsible for nominating judges for the Althing courts. When a court of appeals was established in the early 11th century, they also nominated judges for this court. Further, they had a few formal and informal executive roles, such as confiscating the property of outlaws. They also had a central role in the redistribution of wealth, by holding feasts, giving gifts, making loans, extending hospitality, as well as pricing and helping to distribute imported goods.
The holder of the of the descendants of
Ingólfr Arnarson
Ingólfr Arnarson, in some sources named Bjǫrnólfsson, ( – )
is commonly recognized as the first permanent Norse settler of Iceland, together with his wife and foster brother Hjörleifr Hróðmarsson. According to tradition, they settled ...
, the first Scandinavian to settle permanently in Iceland, had the ceremonial role of sanctifying the Althing each year, and was called the ("all-people ").
[Gunnar Karlsson, Goðamenning. Investigation of the role of the goðar (chieftains) in the Old Commonwealth period. . ISK 4990. (2004)] The followers of a were called . Every
free landowner in possession of a certain amount of property was required to be associated with a , although he was free to choose which one—a was not a geographical unit—and the contract could be canceled from either side. The would help his to bring cases before the court and to enforce their rights, and the would in return provide the with armed manpower for his feuds and carry out legal sentences.
By the 13th century, all the were controlled by five or six families and often united under office holders who in modern studies are known as ("great ") or ("great chieftains"). These struggled for regional and sometimes national power, and occasionally sought to become retainers for the
Norwegian king. The institution came to an end when the major pledged
fealty to king
Haakon IV of Norway in 1262–1264, signing the
Old Covenant
The Mosaic covenant (named after Moses), also known as the Sinaitic covenant (after the biblical Mount Sinai), refers to a covenant between God and the Israelites, including their proselytes, not limited to the ten commandments, nor the eve ...
, and the Norwegian crown abolished the system.
Neopaganism
In the early 1970s, the words , and were adopted by the Icelandic
neopagan organization . Following this, , or is often used as a priestly title by modern adherents of various denominations of
Germanic neopaganism
Heathenry, also termed Heathenism, contemporary Germanic Paganism, or Germanic Neopaganism, is a modern Pagan religion. Scholars of religious studies classify it as a new religious movement. Developed in Europe during the early 20th cent ...
.
See also
*
Feudalism
Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of structur ...
*
Hestavíg
*
Sacred king
In many historical societies, the position of kingship carries a sacral meaning; that is, it is identical with that of a high priest and judge. The concept of theocracy is related, although a sacred king need not necessarily rule through his ...
*
Divine right of kings
*
Thingmen
The Thingmen was a unit in the service of the Kings of England during the period 1013–1051, financed by direct taxation which had its origins in the tribute known as Danegeld. It consisted mostly of men of Scandinavian descent and it had an i ...
*
Volkhv
A volkhv or volhv ( Cyrillic: Волхв; Polish: Wołchw, translatable as wiseman, wizard, sorcerer, magus, i.e. shaman, gothi or mage) is a priest in ancient Slavic religions and contemporary Slavic Native Faith (Rodnovery).
In modern Slavic ...
References
Further reading
* Aðalsteinsson, Jón Hnefill (1998). "''Blót'' and ''Þing'': The Function of the Tenth-Century ''Goði'', in ''A Piece of Horse Liver: Myth, Ritual and Folklore in Old Icelandic Sources'', 35–56. Reykjavik. .
{{Germanic pagan practices
Priests
Norse paganism
Medieval titles
Political titles
Medieval Iceland
Viking Age in Iceland
Political history of Iceland