|
Hestavíg
Hestavíg was an entertainment activity during the Viking Age in the Icelandic Commonwealth (930–1262), presumably a sport consisting of a brutal and bloody Organized horse fighting, confrontation between two stallions, egged on by their masters, which mainly served to choose the best specimens for breeding. It was a cultural event of great importance and sometimes led to verbal and physical confrontations among the spectators. The triumph of a champion or the other could have social and political impact due to the pacts and alliances between goði (chieftains) and bóndi (homesteaders), as testified in the Norse sagas. The site where these battles were held was a neutral place used to strengthen friendship or address issues among rivals. It was also an opportunity for courtship between young couples. Sometimes rivalries raised among participants ended in bloody conflicts. Some examples appear in the ''Njáls saga'' (chapter 59) and ''Víga-Glúms saga'' (chapters 13-14). The ori ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Goði
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] |
