What is an argr?
Ergi (noun) and argr (adjective) are two Old Norse terms of insult, denoting effeminacy or other unmanly behaviour. Argr (also ragr) is “unmanly” and ergi is “unmanliness”; the terms have cognates in other Germanic languages such as earh, earg, arag, arug, and so on.
What is a Rassragr?
A rassragr was a man who allowed other men to sodomize him. The Norsemen weren’t completely opposed to gay sex, so long as you were the buggeror. Being the buggeree was shameful, and accusing another of being one was a very bad insult indeed.
Did the Vikings swear?
Like the modern time, the Vikings did swear to exclaim or to insult other people.
How do you swear in Old Norse?
Ergi and argr or ragr can be regarded as specifying swearwords. Ergi, argr and ragr were the severe insults made by calling someone a coward, and due to its severity old Scandinavian laws demanded retribution for this accusation if it had turned out unjustified.
What does Meinfretr mean?
meinfretr – ‘harm-fart’ Mela- – ‘Wild-Oats-‘ (place name) Miðfjarðar – ‘Mid-Fjord-‘ miðlungr – ‘middling’ in mikla – ‘the great one’ (♀)
Is Holmgang real?
Holmgang (hólmganga in Old Norse and modern Icelandic, holmgång in Swedish, holmgang in Danish and Norwegian bokmål and nynorsk) is a duel practiced by early medieval Scandinavians. It was a legally recognized way to settle disputes.
What did the English call Vikings?
In their poetry they call the sea ‘the whale road’. Anglo-Saxon writers called them Danes, Norsemen, Northmen, the Great Army, sea rovers, sea wolves, or the heathen. From around 860AD onwards, Vikings stayed, settled and prospered in Britain, becoming part of the mix of people who today make up the British nation.
Was Flyting a real thing?
Flyting is a ritual, poetic exchange of insults practiced mainly between the 5th and 16th centuries. Examples of flyting are found throughout Scots, Ancient, Medieval and Modern Celtic, Old English, Middle English and Norse literature involving both historical and mythological figures.
Was holmgang to the death?
First holmgangs probably ended on the death or incapacitation of one combatant. Killing an opponent did not constitute a murder and therefore did not lead to outlawry or payment of weregeld. Later rules turned holmgang into a more ritualistic direction.
Who are the Anglo-Saxons?
Written By: Anglo-Saxon, term used historically to describe any member of the Germanic peoples who, from the 5th century ce to the time of the Norman Conquest (1066), inhabited and ruled territories that are today part of England and Wales.
What do Anglo-Saxonists mean when they denigrate Celtic and Norman culture?
Anglo-Saxonists in the 19th-century often sought to downplay, or outright denigrate, the significance of both Norman and Celtic racial and cultural influence in Britain.
Who was the first famous Scot to believe in Anglo-Saxon racial superiority?
Thomas Carlyle, himself a Scot, was one of the earliest notable people to express a “belief in Anglo-Saxon racial superiority”.
What is the significance of the Anglo-Saxon titles?
These titles express the sense that the Anglo-Saxons were a Christian people with a king anointed by God.
