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Heitstrenging
Heitstrenging () is an Old Norse practice of swearing of a solemn oath to perform a future action. They were often performed at Yule and other large social events, where they played a role in establishing and maintaining good relationships principally between members of the aristocratic warrior elite. The oath-swearing practice varied significantly, sometimes involving ritualised drinking or placing hands on a holy pig (referred to as a sónargöltr) that could later be sacrificed. While originally containing heathen religious components such as prayers and worship of gods such as Freyr and Thor, the practice continued in an altered manner after the Christianisation of Scandinavia. Close similarities have been noted between and Anglo-Saxon oath-swearing and boasting practices such as the beot, with both involving promises to accomplish tasks that would bring great honour if achieved. Etymology In Old Norse, the term or ('the swearing of a solemn vow') is derived from the v ...
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Beot
A is Old English for a ritualized boast, vow, threat, or promise. Clark Hall, John R. ''A Concise Anglo-Saxon Dictionary''. Cambridge University Press, 1960, p. 42. The principle of a ''bēot'' is to proclaim one's acceptance of a seemingly impossible challenge in order to gain tremendous glory for actually accomplishing it. Anglo-Saxon warriors would usually deliver ''bēot''s in the mead hall the night before a military engagement or during the battle itself. For example, a typical warrior may boast that he will be the first to strike a blow in a battle, that he would claim a renowned sword from an enemy warrior as spoil of battle, that he will slay a particular monster that has been wreaking havoc on a town or village, and so on. ''Bēot''s were usually accompanied by grand stories of one's past glorious deeds. Although other cultures and times might disdain boasting as a sign of arrogance, or sinful pride, the pagan Anglo-Saxons highly regarded such behaviour as a positive s ...
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Yule
Yule is a winter festival historically observed by the Germanic peoples that was incorporated into Christmas during the Christianisation of the Germanic peoples. In present times adherents of some new religious movements (such as Modern Germanic paganism) celebrate Yule independently of the Christian festival. Scholars have connected the original celebrations of Yule to the Wild Hunt, the god Odin, and the heathen Anglo-Saxon ("Mothers' Night"). The term ''Yule'' and cognates are still used in English and the Scandinavian languages as well as in Finnish and Estonian to describe Christmas and other festivals occurring during the winter holiday season. Furthermore, some present-day Christmas customs and traditions such as the Yule log, Yule goat, Yule boar, Yule singing, and others may have connections to older pagan Yule traditions. Etymology The modern English noun ''Yule'' descends from Old English , earlier ''geoh(h)ol'', ''geh(h)ol'', and ''geóla'', sometime ...
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Bragarfull
Symbel ( OE) and sumbl ( ON) are Germanic terms for "feast, banquet". Accounts of the ''symbel'' are preserved in the Anglo-Saxon ''Beowulf'' (lines 489–675 and 1491–1500), ''Dream of the Rood'' (line 141) and ''Judith'' (line 15), Old Saxon ''Heliand'' (line 3339), and the Old Norse ''Lokasenna'' (stanza 8) as well as other Eddic and Saga texts, such as in the ''Heimskringla'' account of the funeral ale held by King Sweyn, or in the ''Fagrskinna''. Paul C. Bauschatz in 1976 suggested that the term reflects a pagan ritual which had a "great religious significance in the culture of the early Germanic people".First proposed at the Third International Conference of Nordic and General Linguistics, at the University of Texas at Austin, April 5–9, 1976 (published in 1978), elaborated in Bauschatz, "The Germanic ritual feast" and ''The Well and the Tree''; Pollington, ''Mead-hall''. Etymology The prevalent view today is that Old English , Old Saxon , ' (Old High German ) and Ol ...
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Helgakviða Hjörvarðssonar
"Helgakviða Hjörvarðssonar" ("Lay of Helgi Hjörvarðsson") is a poem collected in the ''Poetic Edda'', found in the Codex Regius manuscript where it follows '' Helgakviða Hundingsbana I'' and precedes '' Helgakviða Hundingsbana II''. The portion of text which constitutes the poem is unnamed in the manuscript and may never have been intended to be viewed as a single poem, though scholars have assigned it a name for convenience. The text appears to be a patchwork of old poems, glued together with prose passages. The poem relates the story of Helgi Hjörvarðsson, loosely connected to the story of Helgi Hundingsbani. Storyline How Helgi's father won Helgi's mother The poem begins with a Norwegian king named Hjörvarðr. The king had four wives: Álfhildr with whom he had a son named Heðinn, a second by the name Særeiðr with whom he had the son Humlungr and a third called Sinrjóð by whom he had the son Hymlingr. The fourth wife is not mentioned, but she may be the girl Sig ...
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Olav Tryggvasons Saga - Sigvalde Jarl - H
Olaf or Olav (, , or British ; ) is a Dutch, Polish, Scandinavian and German given name. It is presumably of Proto-Norse origin, reconstructed as ''*Anu-laibaz'', from ''anu'' "ancestor, grand-father" and ''laibaz'' "heirloom, descendant". Old English forms are attested as ''Ǣlāf'', ''Anlāf''. The corresponding Old Novgorod dialect form is ''Uleb''. A later English form of the name is ''Olave''. In the Norwegian language, ''Olav'' and ''Olaf'' are equally common, but Olav is traditionally used when referring to Norwegian royalty. The Swedish form is '' Olov'' or ''Olof'', and the Danish form is ''Oluf''. It was borrowed into Old Irish and Scottish Gaelic with the spellings ''Amlaíb'' and ''Amhlaoibh'', giving rise to modern version ''Aulay''. The name is Latinized as ''Olaus''. Notable people North Germanic Denmark *Olaf I of Denmark, king 1086–1095 *Olaf II of Denmark, also Olaf IV of Norway *Oluf Haraldsen (died c. 1143), Danish nobleman who ruled Scania for a few ye ...
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Þór
Thor (from ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred groves and trees, strength, the protection of humankind, hallowing, and fertility. Besides Old Norse , the deity occurs in Old English as , in Old Frisian as ', in Old Saxon as ', and in Old High German as , all ultimately stemming from the Proto-Germanic theonym , meaning 'Thunder'. Thor is a prominently mentioned god throughout the recorded history of the Germanic peoples, from the Roman occupation of regions of , to the Germanic expansions of the Migration Period, to his high popularity during the Viking Age, when, in the face of the process of the Christianization of Scandinavia, emblems of his hammer, , were worn and Norse pagan personal names containing the name of the god bear witness to his popularity. Narratives featuring Thor are most prominently attested in Old Norse, where Thor appears throughout Norse mythology ...
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Fagrskinna
''Fagrskinna'' ( ; ; trans. "Fair Leather" from the type of parchment) is one of the kings' sagas, written around 1220. It is assumed to be a source for what is known as the '' Heimskringla'', containing histories of Norwegian kings from the 9th to 12th centuries, as well as skaldic verse. Description ''Fagrskinna'' is one of the kings' sagas, written around 1220. It takes its name from one of the manuscripts in which it was preserved, ''Fagrskinna'' meaning 'Fair Leather', i.e., 'Fair Parchment'. ''Fagrskinna'' proper was destroyed by fire, but copies of it and another vellum have been preserved. An immediate source for the '' Heimskringla'' of Snorri Sturluson Snorri Sturluson ( ; ; 1179 – 22 September 1241) was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was elected twice as lawspeaker of the Icelandic parliament, the Althing. He is commonly thought to have authored or compiled portions of th ..., ''Fagrskinna'' is a central text in the genre of kings' sagas. It c ...
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Harald Bluetooth
Harald "Bluetooth" Gormsson (; , died c. 985/86) was a king of Denmark and Norway. The son of King Gorm the Old and Thyra Dannebod, Harald ruled as king of Denmark from c. 958 – c. 986, introduced Christianization of Denmark, Christianity to Denmark and consolidated his rule over most of Jutland and Zealand. Harald's rule as king of Norway following the assassination of King Harald II of Norway, Harald Greycloak of Norway was more tenuous, most likely lasting for no more than a few years in the 970s. Some sources say his son Sweyn Forkbeard forcibly deposed him from his Danish throne before his death. Name Harald's name is written as runic ''haraltr : kunukʀ'' (ᚼᛅᚱᛅᛚᛏᚱ ᛬ ᚴᚢᚾᚢᚴᛦ) in the Jelling stone inscription. In normalized Old Norse, this would correspond to ''Haraldr konungr'', i.e. "Harald Germanic king, king". The Latinized name as given in the medieval Danish chronicles is ''Haraldus Gormonis filius'' (Harald, Gorm's son). The given name ...
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Sweyn Forkbeard
Sweyn Forkbeard ( ; ; 17 April 963 – 3 February 1014) was King of Denmark from 986 until his death, King of England for five weeks from December 1013 until his death, and King of Norway from 999/1000 until 1014. He was the father of King Harald II of Denmark, King Cnut the Great, and Queen Estrid Svendsdatter. In the mid-980s, Sweyn revolted against his father, Harald Bluetooth, and seized the throne. Harald was driven into exile and died shortly afterwards in November 986 or 987. In 1000, with the allegiance of Eric of Lade, Eric, Earl of Lade, Sweyn ruled most of Norway. In 1013, shortly before his death, he became the first Danish king of the English after a long effort. Life Historiographical sources on Sweyn's life include the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' (where his name is rendered as ''Swegen''), Adam of Bremen's 11th-century ''Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum, Deeds of the Bishops of Hamburg'', and Snorri Sturluson's 13th-century ''Heimskringla''. Conflictin ...
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Þórr
Thor (from ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred groves and trees, strength, the protection of humankind, hallowing, and fertility. Besides Old Norse , the deity occurs in Old English as , in Old Frisian as ', in Old Saxon as ', and in Old High German as , all ultimately stemming from the Proto-Germanic theonym , meaning 'Thunder'. Thor is a prominently mentioned god throughout the recorded history of the Germanic peoples, from the Roman occupation of regions of , to the Germanic expansions of the Migration Period, to his high popularity during the Viking Age, when, in the face of the process of the Christianization of Scandinavia, emblems of his hammer, , were worn and Norse pagan personal names containing the name of the god bear witness to his popularity. Narratives featuring Thor are most prominently attested in Old Norse, where Thor appears throughout Norse mythology ...
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List Of Names Of Freyr
The Germanic god Freyr is referred to by many names in Old Norse poetry and Old Norse literature, literature. Multiple of these are attested only once in the extant record and are found principally in Skáldskaparmál. Some names have been further proposed by scholars to have referred to the god in the Medieval period, including one from Old English literature. Names Proposed names Scholars have proposed names that may have been used historically to refer to Freyr. In contrast to the first table, these names rely to varying extents on speculation and are not unequivocal. See also *List of names of Odin *List of names of Thor *Names of God in Old English poetry References Bibliography Primary * * * * * * * ≈ * * * * * * * * * * * Secondary

* * * * * * * * * * {{Norse paganism topics Germanic paganism and mythology lists, Freyr, names of Freyr, * Epithets of Germanic deities, Freyr Masculine names ...
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England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It shares Anglo-Scottish border, a land border with Scotland to the north and England–Wales border, another land border with Wales to the west, and is otherwise surrounded by the North Sea to the east, the English Channel to the south, the Celtic Sea to the south-west, and the Irish Sea to the west. Continental Europe lies to the south-east, and Ireland to the west. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census, the population was 56,490,048. London is both List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, the largest city and the Capital city, capital. The area now called England was first inhabited by modern humans during the Upper Paleolithic. It takes its name from the Angles (tribe), Angles, a Germanic peoples, Germanic tribe who settled du ...
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