Frith is an

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 settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

word meaning "peace; protection; safety, security".

Etymology

Derived from

''friðu, friþ'', it is

cognate In historical linguistics, cognates or lexical cognates are sets of words in different languages that have been inherited in direct descent from an etymology, etymological ancestor in a proto-language, common parent language. Because language c ...

to Old Norse '' friðr'', Old Saxon '' frithu'', Old High German '' fridu'',

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

'' Friede'', Dutch '' vrede'', West Frisian '' frede'', Luxembourgish '' Fridden'', Icelandic '' friður'', Common Scandinavian '' fred'' (all with meanings similar to "peace" or "calm") and also root-cognate to '' friend''. In

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 ...

, two different words with different meanings have developed from this word, the words ''fred'' (state of no war) and ''frid'' (state of no disturbance) and also the expression that something is "fredat/fredad" more or less "peaced" denoting things that are not to be touched such as animals not to be hunted or flowers not to be picked. The English word became obsolete in the Middle English period, but survived into the 17th century in the compound ''frith-silver'' "feudal payment".

Culture

In terms of

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...

and post-Anglo-Saxon culture, the term has a considerably broader scope and meaning. ''Frith'' has a great deal to do not only with the state of peace but also with the nature of social relationships conducive to peace. Moreover, it has strong associations with stability and security. The word ''friþgeard,'' meaning "asylum, sanctuary" was used for sacrosanct areas. A ''friþgeard'' would then be any enclosed area given over to the worship of the gods. Seating oneself on a '' frith-stool'' was sometimes a requirement for claiming sanctuary in certain English churches. ''Frith'' is also used in the context of

fealty An oath of fealty, from the Latin ''fidelitas'' (faithfulness), is a pledge of allegiance of one person to another. Definition In medieval Europe, the swearing of fealty took the form of an oath made by a vassal, or subordinate, to his lord. "Fea ...

, as an expression of the relationship between a lord and his people. ''Frith'' is inextricably related to the state of

kinship In anthropology, kinship is the web of social relationships that form an important part of the lives of all humans in all societies, although its exact meanings even within this discipline are often debated. Anthropologist Robin Fox says that ...

, which is perhaps the strongest indicator of ''frith''. In this respect, the word can be coterminous with another significant Anglo-Saxon root-word, ''sib'' (from which the word 'sibling' is derived) - indeed the two are frequently interchanged. In this context, ''frith'' goes further than expressing blood ties, and encompasses all the concomitant benefits and duties which kinship engenders. ''Frith'' also has a legal significance: peace was effectively maintained in Anglo-Saxon times by the ''frith''-guild, an early manifestation of summary justice. In the post-

conquest Conquest is the act of military subjugation of an enemy by force of arms. Military history provides many examples of conquest: the Roman conquest of Britain, the Mauryan conquest of Afghanistan and of vast areas of the Indian subcontinent, t ...

poem ''

Rime of King William "The Rime of King William" is an Old English poem that tells the death of William the Conqueror. The Rime was a part of the only entry for the year of 1087 (though improperly dated 1086) in the "Peterborough Chronicle/Laud Manuscript." In this e ...

'', a ''deorfrið'' (literally animal-''frith'') referred to one of the royal forests set up by William the Conqueror, probably the New Forest. Stefan Jurasinski argued that ''frið'' here could have carried the legal notion of protection (Latin: ''pax'').

References

External links

A Germanic Neopagan site on the ''frith''.
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Ēostre () is a West Germanic spring goddess. The name is reflected in ang, *Ēastre (; Northumbrian dialect: ', Mercian and West Saxon dialects: ' ),Sievers 1901 p. 98 Barnhart, Robert K. ''The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology'' (1995) ...

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Hretha In Anglo-Saxon paganism, Rheda ( Latinized from Old English ''*Hrêðe'' or ''*Hrêða'', possibly meaning "the famous" or "the victorious"Simek (2007:159).) is a goddess connected with the month '"Rhedmonth"' (from Old English ''*Hrēþmōnaþ''). ...

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Sigemund In Norse mythology, Sigmund ( non, Sigmundr , ang, Sigemund) is a hero whose story is told in the Völsunga saga. He and his sister, Signý, are the children of Völsung and his wife Hljod. Sigmund is best known as the father of Sigurð the dra ...

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Anglo-Saxon Chronicle The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' is a collection of annals in Old English, chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the ''Chronicle'' was created late in the 9th century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of Alf ...

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Frisians The Frisians are a Germanic ethnic group native to the coastal regions of the Netherlands and northwestern Germany. They inhabit an area known as Frisia and are concentrated in the Dutch provinces of Friesland and Groningen and, in Germany, ...

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Anglo-Saxon runes Anglo-Saxon runes ( ang, rūna ᚱᚢᚾᚪ) are runes used by the early Anglo-Saxons as an alphabet in their writing system. The characters are known collectively as the futhorc (ᚠᚢᚦᚩᚱᚳ ''fuþorc'') from the Old English sound va ...

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