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''Knésetja'' (lit. "knee-setting"; German ''Kniesetzung'') is the
Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...
expression for a custom in
Germanic law Germanic law is a scholarly term used to describe a series of commonalities between the various law codes (the ''Leges Barbarorum'', 'laws of the barbarians', also called Leges) of the early Germanic peoples. These were compared with statements i ...
, by which
adoption Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting of another, usually a child, from that person's biological or legal parent or parents. Legal adoptions permanently transfer all rights and responsibilities, along with filiation, fro ...
was formally expressed by setting the fosterchild on the knees of the foster-father.


Germanic law

When prince Haakon, the youngest son of
Harald Fairhair Harald Fairhair (; – ) was a Norwegian king. According to traditions current in Norway and Iceland in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, he reigned from  872 to 930 and was the first Monarchy of Norway, King of Norway. Supposedly, two ...
was brought to the court of
Æthelstan Æthelstan or Athelstan (; ; ; ; – 27 October 939) was King of the Anglo-Saxons from 924 to 927 and King of the English from 927 to his death in 939. He was the son of King Edward the Elder and his first wife, Ecgwynn. Modern histori ...
, the Norwegian messenger, Haukur, simply placed the child on the king's knees as soon as he came into his presence. By this act, Haakon had been adopted by Aethelstan, which also implied an insult to the English king as the foster-father was usually of lower standing than the biological father. Æthelstan became angry and wanted to kill the child on the spot, but Haukur simply said that since he was now the child's foster-father it was up to him whether he wanted to kill him and went away. Æthelstan let the child live and had him
baptized Baptism (from ) is a Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by sprinkling or pouring water on the head, or by immersing in water either partially or completely, traditionally three ...
. (''
Heimskringla () is the best known of the Old Norse kings' sagas. It was written in Old Norse in Iceland. While authorship of ''Heimskringla'' is nowhere attributed, some scholars assume it is written by the Icelandic poet and historian Snorri Sturluson (117 ...
'', Harald Harfager's Saga). The same gesture was also part of the formal ceremony of both
engagement An engagement or betrothal is the period of time between the declaration of acceptance of a marriage proposal and the marriage itself (which is typically but not always commenced with a wedding). During this period, a couple is said to be ''f ...
and marriage in early Scandinavian law. Here, the bride was set on the knees of the groom.


Indo-European parallels

The Germanic procedure of ''Kniesetzung'' has parallels in various other Indo-European cultures, and has been suggested to derive from a custom in
Proto-Indo-European society Proto-Indo-European society is the reconstructed culture of Proto-Indo-Europeans, the ancient speakers of the Proto-Indo-European language, ancestor of all modern Indo-European languages. Historical linguistics combined with archaeological and ...
in comparative philology since the 1920s, although evidence for this is considered inconclusive. In
Hittite texts The corpus of texts written in the Hittite language consists of more than 30,000 tablets or fragments that have been excavated from the royal archives of the capital of the Hittite Kingdom, Hattusa, close to the modern Turkish town of BoÄŸazkale ...
of the
Late Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...
, specifically the mythological texts of the '' Song of Ullikummi'' and the ''
Story of Appu The ''Story of Appu'' is a mythological Hittite text (CTH 360). The text is fragmentary, and the sequence of events in the story is a reconstruction. The text is usually taken as an account of a Hurrian myth, but it does not itself contain any H ...
'', there are accounts of how, after the birth of the son, the father accepts the newborn from the midwife and as a sign of the son's legitimacy sets him on his knee and names him.
Antoine Meillet Paul Jules Antoine Meillet (; 11 November 1866 – 21 September 1936) was one of the most important French linguists of the early 20th century. He began his studies at the Sorbonne University, where he was influenced by Michel Bréal, the Swiss l ...
suggested that Latin ''genuīnus'' "innate, native; genuine" is a derivation of ''genū'' "knee".
Homer Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his autho ...
mentions setting on the knee in ''
Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; , ; ) is one of two major Ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odyssey'', the poem is divided into 24 books and ...
'' 9.454 and ''
Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; ) is one of two major epics of ancient Greek literature attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest surviving works of literature and remains popular with modern audiences. Like the ''Iliad'', the ''Odyssey'' is divi ...
'' 19.400. Comparable customs have been suggested for Indo-Iranian and
Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...
J. Loth, Revue Celtique 40 (1923) cultures.


See also

* '' Tollere liberum''


References

*"Adoption" in Eduard Hoffmann-Krayer, Hanns Baechtold-Staeubli (eds.), ''Handwoerterbuch des Deutschen Aberglaubens'', Walter de Gruyter, 1974, . *F. Roeder, ''Die "Schoss" odor "Kniesetzung", eine angelsächsische Verlobungszeremonie'', Göttingen, 1907. {{DEFAULTSORT:Knesetja Early Germanic law Adoption history Gestures Children in early Germanic culture Adoption in Europe