Þorsteins þáttr Stangarhöggs
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Þorsteins þáttr Stangarhöggs
''The Tale of Thorstein Staff-Struck'' (Old Norse ''Þorsteins þáttr stangarhǫggs'') is an Icelandic þáttr which tells the tale of a conflict between the houses of Thorarinn and Bjarni Brodd-Helgason at Hof, Iceland. The tale is thought to have originated in the mid-13th century; however, its earliest known record is on vellum fragments dated to the 15th century. The vast majority of the modern translation comes from 17th century paper fragments. The þáttr is often examined as it is considered to have strong artistic merit, exemplify saga characteristics, and to be of an appropriate length to examine in its entirety. Plot synopsis Thorarinn is a poor, cantankerous retired Viking with bad vision. Despite his poverty, he is a bóndi who breeds horses. His son, Thorstein, is said to be a good, even-tempered man who does the work of three. He becomes involved in a horse-fight with Thord, a horse-breeder for Bjarni Brodd-Helgason. When it becomes apparent Thord’s horse is l ...
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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 of Scandinavia and their Viking expansion, overseas settlements and chronologically coincides with the Viking Age, the Christianization of Scandinavia, and the consolidation of Scandinavian kingdoms from about the 8th to the 15th centuries. The Proto-Norse language developed into Old Norse by the 8th century, and Old Norse began to develop into the modern North Germanic languages in the mid- to late 14th century, ending the language phase known as Old Norse. These dates, however, are not precise, since written Old Norse is found well into the 15th century. Old Norse was divided into three dialects: Old West Norse (Old West Nordic, often referred to as ''Old Norse''), Old East Norse (Old East Nordic), and Old Gutnish. Old West Norse and O ...
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þáttr
The ''þættir'' (Old Norse singular ''þáttr'', literally meaning a "strand" of rope or yarn)O'Donoghue (2004:226). are short stories written mostly in Iceland during the 13th and 14th centuries. The majority of ''þættir'' occur in two compendious manuscripts, '' Morkinskinna'' and ''Flateyjarbók'', and within them most are found as digressions within kings' sagas. Sverrir Tómasson regards those in ''Morkinskinna'', at least, as '' exempla'' or illustrations inseparable from the narratives that contain them, filling out the picture of the kings' qualities, good and bad, as well as adding comic relief.Sverrir Tómasson (2006:111-13). Íslendinga þættir The short tales of Icelanders or ''Íslendinga þættir'' focus on Icelanders, often relating the story of their travels abroad to the court of a Norwegian king. List of short tales: * '' Albani þáttr ok Sunnifu'' * '' Arnórs þáttr jarlaskálds'' * '' Auðunar þáttr vestfirzka'' * '' Bergbúa þáttr'' * '' Bolla þ ...
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Bjarni Brodd-Helgason
Bjarni is an Icelandic male given name and may refer to: *Bjarni Ármannsson resigned as CEO of Glitnir (formerly Íslandsbanki) in May 2007 *Bjarni Ólafur Eiríksson (born 1982), footballer (defender) from Iceland *Bjarni Benediktsson (born 1908) (1908–1970), Prime Minister of Iceland from 1963 to 1970 *Bjarni Benediktsson (born 1970), Prime Minister of Iceland since 2017 *Bjarni Bjarnason (born 1965), Icelandic writer from Reykjavík *Bjarni Friðriksson (born 1956), retired Icelandic judoka * Bjarni Fritzson (born 1980), Icelandic handball player *Bjarni Guðjónsson (born 1979), Icelandic footballer *Bjarni Herjólfsson (fl. 10th century) was an Icelandic explorer who sighted America in 986 *Bjarni Jónsson (born 1920), Icelandic mathematician and logician *Bjarni Jónsson (artist) (1934–2008), Icelandic painter *Bjarni Thorarensen (1786–1841), Icelandic poet and official *Bjarni Tryggvason (1945–2022), Icelandic-born Canadian engineer and a former NRC/CSA astronaut ...
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Vellum
Vellum is prepared animal skin or membrane, typically used as writing material. It is often distinguished from parchment, either by being made from calfskin (rather than the skin of other animals), or simply by being of a higher quality. Vellum is prepared for writing and printing on single pages, scrolls, and codex, codices (books). Modern scholars and experts often prefer to use the broader term "membrane", which avoids the need to draw a distinction between vellum and parchment. It may be very hard to determine the animal species involved (let alone its age) without detailed scientific analysis. Vellum is generally smooth and durable, but there are great variations in its texture which are affected by the way it is made and the quality of the skin. The making involves the cleaning, bleaching, stretching on a frame (a "herse"), and scraping of the skin with a crescent-shaped knife (a "lunarium" or "lunellum"). To create tension, the process goes back and forth between scrapi ...
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Vikings
Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9–22. They also voyaged as far as the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean, North Africa, the Middle East, Greenland, and Vinland (present-day Newfoundland in Canada, North America). In their countries of origin, and some of the countries they raided and settled in, this period is popularly known as the Viking Age, and the term "Viking" also commonly includes the inhabitants of the Scandinavian homelands as a whole. The Vikings had a profound impact on the Early Middle Ages, early medieval history of Northern Europe, northern and Eastern Europe, including the political and social development of England (and the English language) and parts of France, and established the embryo of Russia in Kievan Rus'. Expert sailors and navigators of their cha ...
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Bóndi
Bóndi (also húsbóndi, (pl.) bændr in Old Norse) was the Norse core of society, formed by farmers and craftsmen in the Scandinavian Viking Age, and constituted a widespread middle class. They were free men and enjoyed rights such as the use of weapons and the privilege to join the Thing as farm-owning landlords. The profile is specified in '' Rígsthula'', a Scandinavian legend describing the god Ríg lying with three couples to procreate and give birth to the three social classes: thralls, karls (or bændr) and jarls. The poem describes the image and behavior as it should be, and the type of work expected at each. Karl The Norse mythology cites Karl as a result of the illicit relationship between god Heimdal and mortal Amma. Karl and his wife Snor would be progenitors of the peasants and freemen. The odalsbóndi (owner with hereditary possessions) could give up some of their land to other karls in exchange for loyalty and unconditional support whenever necessary. However, ...
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Breeder
A breeder is a person who selectively breeds carefully selected mates, normally of the same breed, to sexually reproduce offspring with specific, consistently replicable qualities and characteristics. This might be as a farmer, agriculturalist, or hobbyist, and can be practiced on a large or small scale, for food, fun, or profit. About A breeder can breed purebred pets such as cats or dogs, livestock such as cattle or horses, and may show their animals professionally in assorted forms of competitions. In these specific instances, the breeder strives to meet standards in each animal set out by organizations. A breeder may also assist with breeding animals in the zoo. In other cases, a breeder can be referred to an animal scientist who has the capabilities of developing more efficient ways to produce the meat and other animal products humans eat. Earnings as a breeder vary widely because of the various types of work involved in the job title. Even in breeding small domestic anim ...
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Gothi
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 ...
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Thing (assembly)
A thing, also known as a folkmoot, assembly, tribal council, and Thing (assembly)#Etymology, by other names, was a governing assembly in early Germanic peoples, Germanic society, made up of the free people of the community presided over by a lawspeaker. Things took place regularly, usually at prominent places accessible by travel. They provided legislative functions, as well as social events and trade opportunities. In modern usage, the meaning of this word in English and other languages has shifted to mean not just an assemblage of some sort but simply an object of any kind. Thingstead () or "thingstow" () is the English term for the location where a thing was held. Etymology The word appears in Old Norse, Old English, and modern Icelandic language, Icelandic as , in Middle English (as in modern English), Old Saxon, Old Dutch, and Old Frisian as (the difference between ''þing'' and ''thing'' is purely orthographical), in German language, German as , in Dutch language, Dut ...
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Shame-stroke
Shame-stroke (Old Norse: ''klámhogg'') is the act of cutting off or stabbing a man's buttocks. It symbolizes the anal rape of a man and is designed not only to be debilitating, but also to be sexually humiliating, through the symbolic feminization of the victim (usually a vanquished enemy), by turning him into an '' ergi''. The injury was considered a mortal wound, as such was ranked with brain injury, a marrow injury, and other fatal wounds. It was considered symbolic of the loss of power in the Norse society where power and status were important as well as an outward signifier of the physical and social power that the dominator wielded over the dominated. The term is Nordic in origin, and equated with castration as "unmanning" the victim, and classed with wounds that cause major penetrations of the body, strongly suggesting that the term refers to rape or forced anal sex. It was considered a legal term, with the shame entailed associated with the shame of ''ragr''. The "unman ...
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