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Heaðolaf
Heaðolaf (Proto-Norse *''Haþulaibaz'') (archived link, 12 June 2004) was a member of a Scandinavian clan named the s, which according to the Germanic heroic legend of ruled the ish |
Ecgþeow
Ecgþēow (pronounced ), Edgetho (Proto-Norse *''Agiþewaz''), or Ecgtheow is a character in the Anglo-Saxon epic ''Beowulf''. He is not mentioned outside the ''Bēowulf'' manuscript, and it is not known whether he was based on a real person. He belonged to a probably Swedish family (an ''ätt'', see Norse clans) called the '' Waegmundings''. He married the daughter of Hreðel, king of the Geats, and was the father of Bēowulf. His name could be read as ''eċġ'' + ''þēow'', "edge-servant" (that is, sword-thane); alternatively, if his name was a compound of the ancient '' bahuvrihi'' type as were many other Germanic heroic names, it would indicate proficiency with the sword, meaning literally, "whose servant is the sword". He is first mentioned in ''Bēowulf'' at lines 262–266, when Beowulf tells the coast-guardian that "My father was known to everyone," calls him a "noble battle-leader", and says that he died after living through "many winters" and that he is remembered w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wulfing
The Wulfings, Wylfings or YlfingsWord initial ''w'' was lost before rounded vowels in Proto-Norse, e.g. ''wulf'' corresponds to ''ulf'', and ''Wulfing''/''Wylfing'' corresponds to ''Ylfing'', because the ''i'' in the second syllable causes an umlaut in the first syllable ''u''->''y''. (the name means the "wolf clan") was a powerful clan in ''Beowulf'', '' Widsith'' and in the Norse sagas. While the poet of ''Beowulf'' does not locate the Wulfings geographically, Scandinavian sources define the Ylfings (the Old Norse form of the name) as the ruling clan of the Eastern Geats. The Wulfings play an important role in ''Beowulf'' as Beowulf's father Ecgþeow of the Wægmunding clan had slain one of its members, and was banished for not paying the weregild. The Danish king Hroðgar, who was married to Wealhþeow, a Wulfing woman, graciously paid the weregild, and when Beowulf arrived at the Danish court in order to slay Grendel, Hroðgar interpreted this as a son's gratitude. In ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Weregild
Weregild (also spelled wergild, wergeld (in archaic/historical usage of English), weregeld, etc.), also known as man price ( blood money), was a precept in some archaic legal codes whereby a monetary value was established for a person's life, to be paid as a fine or as compensatory damages to the person's family if that person was killed or injured by another. Overview A weregild was a defined value placed on every man graded according to rank, used as a basis of a fine or compensation for murder, disablement, injury (or certain other serious crimes) against that person. It was assessed from the guilty party, payable as restitution to the victim's family. The weregild was codified, for example, under Frankish Salic Code. Weregild payment was an important legal mechanism in early Germanic society; the other common form of legal reparation at this time was blood revenge. The payment was typically made to the family or to the clan. Similar to the way a payment was made to f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wægmunding
The Wægmundings were a prominent probably Swedish clan (an ''ätt'', see Norse clans) in ''Beowulf''. A name such as ''Wægmunding'' meant "belongs to Wægmund", i.e. they were the descendants of a man named Wægmund. This was the normal way of naming a Germanic clan (e.g. Sigurd the Völsung, descendant of king Völsung, Folkung escendants of Folkeand Yngling Freyr.html" ;"title="escendants of Yngvi-Freyr">escendants of Yngvi-Freyr. Members: *Wægmund (the ancestor of the clan) *Ælfhere (seems to have been a distinguished member of the clan as Wiglaf is described as his kinsman) *Ecgþeow (joined the Danes and the Geats as he was banished for slaying a man from another clan) *Beowulf (character), Beowulf (son of Ecgþeow and the hero of the epic by his name) *Weohstan (Swedish champion and slayer of his fugitive countryman prince Eanmund) *Wiglaf (''the last of the Wægmundings'' and son of Weohstan. He fought with Beowulf against the dragon) The story of this clan in ''Be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Proto-Norse
Proto-Norse (also called Ancient Nordic, Ancient Scandinavian, Ancient Norse, Primitive Norse, Proto-Nordic, Proto-Scandinavian and Proto-North Germanic) was an Indo-European language spoken in Scandinavia that is thought to have evolved as a northern dialect of Proto-Germanic in the first centuries CE. It is the earliest stage of a characteristically North Germanic language, and the language attested in the oldest Scandinavian Elder Futhark inscriptions, spoken from around the 2nd to the 8th centuries CE (corresponding to the late Roman Iron Age and the Germanic Iron Age). It evolved into the dialects of Old Norse at the beginning of the Viking Age around 800 CE, which later themselves evolved into the modern North Germanic languages ( Faroese, Icelandic, the three Continental Scandinavian languages, and their dialects). Phonology Proto-Norse phonology probably did not differ substantially from that of Proto-Germanic. Although the phonetic realisation of several phonem ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scandinavian Clan
The Scandinavian clan or ''ætt/ätt'' (pronounced in Old Norse) was a social group based on common descent, equivalent to a clan. History In the absence of a police force, the clan was the primary force of security in Norse society, as the clansmen were obliged by honour to avenge one another. The Norse clan was not tied to a certain territory in the same way as a Scottish clan, where the chief owned the territory. The land of the Scandinavian clan was owned by the individuals who had close neighbours from other clans. The name of the clan was derived from its ancestor, often with the addition of an -ung or -ing ending. The original meaning of ''ætt/ätt'' seems to have simply been "those who are related". A person could technically belong to several clans, but usually the identification of an individual came with ancestry of most prestige. Therefore, through mostly the exception to the rule, a clan could have matrilineal name if the descent of the ancestral mother was conside ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Germanic Heroic Legend
Germanic heroic legend (german: germanische Heldensage) is the heroic literary tradition of the Germanic-speaking peoples, most of which originates or is set in the Migration Period (4th-6th centuries AD). Stories from this time period, to which others were added later, were transmitted orally, traveled widely among the Germanic speaking peoples, and were known in many variants. These legends typically reworked historical events or personages in the manner of oral poetry, forming a heroic age. Heroes in these legends often display a heroic ethos emphasizing honor, glory, and loyalty above other concerns. Like Germanic mythology, heroic legend is a genre of Germanic folklore. Heroic legends are attested in Anglo-Saxon England, medieval Scandinavia, and medieval Germany. Many take the form of Germanic heroic poetry (german: germanische Heldendichtung): shorter pieces are known as heroic lays, whereas longer pieces are called Germanic heroic epic (). The early Middle Ages preserv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Beowulf
''Beowulf'' (; ang, Bēowulf ) is an Old English Epic poetry, epic poem in the tradition of Germanic heroic legend consisting of 3,182 Alliterative verse, alliterative lines. It is one of the most important and List of translations of Beowulf, most often translated works of Old English literature. The date of composition is a matter of contention among scholars; the only certain dating is for the manuscript, which was produced between 975 and 1025. Scholars call the anonymous author the "''Beowulf'' poet". The story is set in pagan Scandinavia in the 6th century. Beowulf (hero), Beowulf, a hero of the Geats, comes to the aid of Hrothgar, the king of the Danes (Germanic tribe), Danes, whose mead hall in Heorot has been under attack by the monster Grendel. After Beowulf slays him, Grendel's mother attacks the hall and is then defeated. Victorious, Beowulf goes home to Geatland and becomes king of the Geats. Fifty years later, Beowulf defeats a The Dragon (Beowulf), dragon, b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Geat
The Geats ( ; ang, gēatas ; non, gautar ; sv, götar ), sometimes called ''Goths'', were a large North Germanic tribe who inhabited ("land of the Geats") in modern southern Sweden from antiquity until the late Middle Ages. They are one of the progenitor groups of modern Swedes, along with Swedes (the tribe) and Gutes. The name of the Geats also lives on in the Swedish provinces of and , the Western and Eastern lands of the Geats, and in many other toponyms. The Swedish dialects spoken in the areas that used to be inhabited by Geats form a distinct group, '' Götamål''. Etymology The etymology of the name ''Geat'' (Old English ', from a Proto-Germanic *''Gautaz'', plural *''Gautōz'') is similar to that of ''Goths'' and '' Gutes'' (*''Gutô'', plural *''Gutaniz''). The names derive from ablaut grades of the Proto-Germanic word *''geutaną'', meaning "to pour". They have the literal meaning "they who pour their seed". (For more information see Goths § Etymology.) The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Petty Kingdom
A petty kingdom is a kingdom described as minor or "petty" (from the French 'petit' meaning small) by contrast to an empire or unified kingdom that either preceded or succeeded it (e.g. the numerous kingdoms of Anglo-Saxon England unified into the Kingdom of England in the 10th century, or the numerous Gaelic kingdoms of Ireland as the Kingdom of Ireland in the 16th century). Alternatively, a petty kingdom would be a minor kingdom in the immediate vicinity of larger kingdoms, such as the medieval Kingdom of Mann and the Isles relative to the kingdoms of Scotland or England or the Viking kingdoms of Scandinavia. In the context of the Early Middle Ages or the prehistoric Iron Age, many minor kingdoms are also known as tribal kingdoms. In the parallel Southeast Asian political model, petty kingdoms were known as Mueang. By the European High Middle Ages, many post-Roman Early Middle Ages petty kingdoms had evolved into principalities, grand duchies, or duchies. By the Europe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Östergötland
Östergötland (; English exonym: East Gothland) is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden (''landskap'' in Swedish) in the south of Sweden. It borders Småland, Västergötland, Närke, Södermanland and the Baltic Sea. In older English literature, the Latinized version ''Ostrogothia'' is also used. The corresponding administrative county, Östergötland County, covers the entire province and parts of neighbouring provinces. Heraldry From 1560, Östergötland was represented with two separate coats-of-arms seals until 1884, when the current one was granted. The coat of arms is represented with a ducal coronet. Blazon: " gules a griffin with dragon wings, tail and tongue rampant or armed, beaked, langued and membered azure between four roses argent." Geography From west to east, in the middle parts, extends the Östgöta Plain (''Östgötaslätten''). It is largely agricultural. In the southern part of the province, the terrain becomes marked by the south Swedish ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hroðgar
Hrothgar ( ang, Hrōðgār ; on, Hróarr) was a semi-legendary Danish king living around the early sixth century AD. Hrothgar appears in the Anglo-Saxon epics ''Beowulf'' and '' Widsith'', in Norse sagas and poems, and in medieval Danish chronicles. In both Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian tradition, Hrothgar is a Scylding, the son of Halfdan, the brother of Halga, and the uncle of Hrólfr Kraki. Moreover, in both traditions, the mentioned characters were the contemporaries of the Swedish king Eadgils; and both traditions also mention a feud with men named Fróði and Ingeld. The consensus view is that Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian traditions describe the same person. Names Hrothgar, also rendered ''Hrōðgār'', is an Old English form attested in ''Beowulf'' and ''Widsith'', the earliest sources to mention the character. In non-English sources, the name appears in more or less corresponding Old Icelandic, Old Danish, and Latinized versions. He appears as ''Hróarr'', ''Hroa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
