The hird (also named "Håndgangne Menn" in Norwegian), 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 ...

n history, was originally an informal retinue of personal armed companions, hirdmen or

housecarl A housecarl ( on, húskarl; oe, huscarl) was a non- servile manservant or household bodyguard in medieval Northern Europe. The institution originated amongst the Norsemen of Scandinavia, and was brought to Anglo-Saxon England by the Danish con ...

s, but came to mean not only the nucleus ('Guards') of the royal army, but also developed into a more formal royal court household.

Etymology

The term comes from

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 ...

''hirð'', (meaning Herd) again from either

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th c ...

''hir(e)d'' 'household, family, retinue, court'See for instance, 'hirð' in Cleasby-Vigfusson, ''Icelandic-English Dictionary''
online copy
/ref> or perhaps the old German cognate ''heirat'' 'marriage', both of which can mean "body of men" or more directly linked to the term for hearthguard, or men of one's own home and hearth.

History

While the term is often used in

Norse 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 t ...

and law codices, it is a medieval term – the sagas were primarily written down in the 12th century using the language of their own time. There is some uncertainty as to what the term replaced, although the term ''hlid'' or ''lið'' is used in Danish sources for the warrior following of Canute the Great. By the reign of Håkon IV (1204–1263) the Norwegian hird was no longer exclusively focused on the military function, and had acquired several subdivisions on continental patterns, with

squire In the Middle Ages, a squire was the shield- or armour-bearer of a knight. Use of the term evolved over time. Initially, a squire served as a knight's apprentice. Later, a village leader or a lord of the manor might come to be known as a ...

s (''kertilsveinr'', literally "candle-men", which were ceremonially required to hold candles at hird ceremonies), men-at-arms (''hirdmenn'') and

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

s (''skutilsveinr'', literally "table-men"). In addition there were ''gestir'', who received only half pay and served as a sort of intelligence service, and were not allowed to sit at the king's table for supper, apart from

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

day and

Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...

day, when the entire hird was assembled and sections of their law code, the ''

Hirdskraa The Hirdskraa (''Hirðskrá''), 'The book of the hird', is a collection of laws regulating many aspects of the royal hird of late 13th century Norway. Compiled somewhere in the first part of the 1270s at the order of King Magnus VI (r. 1263-1280), ...

'' was read or recited. The upper levels of the hird were a recruitment ground for numerous royal officials, and most external officials were also incorporated into the hird. Somewhere during the reign of

Magnus VI Magnus Haakonsson ( non, Magnús Hákonarson, no, Magnus Håkonsson, label= Modern Norwegian; 1 (or 3) May 1238 – 9 May 1280) was King of Norway (as Magnus VI) from 1263 to 1280 (junior king from 1257). One of his greatest achievements was the ...

the older laws of the Hird were incorporated into the

law code. During the reign of

Håkon V Haakon V Magnusson (10 April 1270 – 8 May 1319) ( non, Hákon Magnússon; no, Håkon Magnusson, label= Modern Norwegian) was king of Norway from 1299 until 1319. Biography Haakon was the younger surviving son of Magnus the Lawmender, Ki ...

(1299–1319) the Norse titles were dropped entirely in favor of continental titles. Emphasis was put on the Norwegian king's hird as a community of equals, a chivalresque corporation of warriors in which, technically, the king was the first among equals.

Hirdman

Hirdman (plural Hirdmen) is a word in Scandinavian languages (notably

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

and

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

), literally for a member of a Hird 'household, family'. It is used as a title, originally, even in Norse mythology, for informal companions or retainers of the powerful, in the unruly old (often still pagan) times especially as companions in arms, later more refined like courtiers, a development not unlike that of the

thegn In Anglo-Saxon England, thegns were aristocratic landowners of the second rank, below the ealdormen who governed large areas of England. The term was also used in early medieval Scandinavia for a class of retainers. In medieval Scotland, there ...

or the Roman

comes ''Comes'' ( ), plural ''comites'' ( ), was a Roman title or office, and the origin Latin form of the medieval and modern title "count". Before becoming a word for various types of title or office, the word originally meant "companion", either i ...

. When the Norwegian royal hird had developed into a formal court, hirdman became the title of the highest of its four ranks, those magnates who were allowed to seat in the royal council (the closest feudal equivalent of a cabinet) and thus had a say in governmental and other important matters.

Etymology

History

Hirdman

See also

Notes

References

Further reading