The Vikings/glossary

Front 1

Althing

Back 1

The national assembly of Iceland founded in 930, convened each summer at Thingvellr.

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andri

Back 2

The title of high king of Ireland, crowned at ancient capital of Tara.

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Bayeux Tapestry

Back 3

Commissioned by Bishop Odo of Bayeux circa 1066-1076, depicts he Norman Conquest of England.

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berserker

Back 4

"Bear Shirts" frenzied warriors of Odin who attackd in a rage.

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Birchlegs

Back 5

A Norwegian party opposed
to the descendants of King Inge (1135-1161) in the cvil wars down to 1217.

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Bjarkamal

Back 6

A famous skaldic poem. About heroes Bjarki and Hjalti.

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blood eagle

Back 7

sacrificial rite to Odin.

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boruma

Back 8

Tribute exacted by a victorious
Irish king.

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boyar

Back 9

Slavic nobleman (jarl)

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bracteate

Back 10

A silver coin, mirror image sides.

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Bretwalda

Back 11

"Britain Ruler"

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burgh

Back 12

A fortified Anglo-Saxon town

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comitatus

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Latin for "retinue of ruler".
professional warriors attached to a Germanic lord.

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Croziers

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A Norwegian party supportin the descndants of King Inge (r. 1135-1161) in the civil wars dwn to 1217

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curragh

Back 15

A Celtic coastal skin boat, without keel, with rib frame.

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danegeld

Back 16

The payment of silver by English or Frankish monarch to Vikings.

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Danelaw

Back 17

(OE: Denelagu) The Danish settlement in England during the 9th and 10th centuries.

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Danevirke

Back 18

A wooden palisade constructed circa 737

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dendrochronology

Back 19

scientific method of dating by tree-ring pattern

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denier

Back 20

Silver coin of the Carolingian Empire fixed at 1.65 gr and 20 mm by Charlemgne in 800-814

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dirhem

Back 21

Silver coin of the Islamic world carrying Kufic inscriptions (2.97 grams)

Front 22

Domesday Book

Back 22

1086, A census of England complied on orders of King William I.

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dreng

Back 23

"Brave Man" designated the Anlo-Danih landowner in the Danelaw.

Front 24

druzhina

Back 24

company of armed retainers of Russian princes of the 11th century.

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Dubhgaill

Back 25

"Black Foreigners" , the Irish designation for Danish Vikings.

Front 26

Edda

Back 26

collection of stories and poems of the Norse gods composed between 9th and 11th centuries.

Front 27

ell

Back 27

a measurement of cloth used as a means of reckoning wealth in Scandinavia.

Front 28

Finngaill

Back 28

"White Foreigners" the Irish name for Norwegian Vikings.

Front 29

Flateyjarbok

Back 29

The Norse chronicle of the monastery of Flatey, Iceland, which records myths and legends of early Scandinavia.

Front 30

flokkar

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("flocks") Professional companies of armed retainers during the Norwegian civil wars in 1130-1217.

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Futhark

Back 31

runes/ alphabet

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fyrd

Back 32

Anglo-Saxon levy of the 9th-11h centuries

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Gaell-Gaidaill

Back 33

"Foreign Gaels " apostate Irish who allied with Norse Vikings in the ninth century.

Front 34

Gardariki

Back 34

"Kingdom of Fortified Towns" Norse for Russia in the 9th and 10th centuries.

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godi

Back 35

(gothi; pl. godar) "Cheiftan" a figure skiled in law and negotiaton who assumed a leading position in Icelandic society.

Front 36

law rock

Back 36

(ON: logberg): The location where cases in the Althing were announced.

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Gotar or Gautar

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(OE Geatas) The "Goths" dwelling in southern Sweden.

Front 38

Gragas

Back 38

"Grey Goose Laws" the first written compilation of Icelandic law, circa 1115.

Front 39

Haerveg

Back 39

"Army Route" the principal north south wooden highway of Jutland first constructed in the early 8th century.

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hagiography

Back 40

The genre of saints' lives

Front 41

Hanseatic League or Hansa

Back 41

German consortium of cities comprised of the Wendish towns headed by Lubeck and the towns of Rhineland and Westphalia.

Front 42

Havamal

Back 42

"Sayings of Har" an Eddaic wisdom poem, in which Odin names his titles and gives aphorisms.

Front 43

Heimskringlasaga

Back 43

Written by Snorri Sturluson circa 1225, this saga records the history of the kings of Norway fom earliest times to 1177. One third of the work is dedicated to St Olaf (1015-1030)

Front 44

hide

Back 44

This fiscal unit of land (120 acres) was the basis for military service and taxation in Anglo-Saxon England.

Front 45

housecarl

Back 45

A professional Scandinavian warrior maintaained by the English monarchy from the reign of Cnut the Great (r.1014-1035)

Front 46

Hrafsmal

Back 46

(Speech of the Raven) A skaldic poem celebrating the victory of Harald Finehair at Hafrsfjord circa 875-880.

Front 47

hundred

Back 47

The division of a shire.

Front 48

Islendingabok

Back 48

(Book of Icelanders) Written by Ari the Learned (1067-1148) to record the decent of Icelandic families from the original settlers.

Front 49

jarl

Back 49

Norse for nobleman "earl"

Front 50

Jomsvikings

Back 50

A company of professional Vikings who had their base at Jomsborg (Wolin) at the mouth of the Oder and were allied to the Jelling kings of Denmark.

Front 51

kenning

Back 51

A metaphorical phrase adapted to skaldic meter.

Front 52

Kensington Stone

Back 52

A hoax perpetrated in 1898 by Olaf Ohman in Minnesota. The stone was purported to be a rune stone erected by Swedish Vikings.

Front 53

King's Mirror

Back 53

Composed in Latin as an exhortation to ideal kingship for Norway in about 1220.

Front 54

knarr

Back 54

A Scandinavian ocean-going cargo ship.

Front 55

lamellar armor

Back 55

Composed of overlapping steel or leather scales.

Front 56

Landnamabok

Back 56

(Book of Settlements): Written by Ari the Learned (1067-1148); reports the settlements of 430 individuals in Iceland in 879-930.

Front 57

law rock

Back 57

(ON: logberg): The location where cases in the Althing were announced.

Front 58

law-speaker

Back 58

(ON: logosumadr): Elected to a three-year term to preside over the Althing and to recite the laws.

Front 59

leding (Danish), Leidand (Norwegian), or ledung (Swedish)

Back 59

(ON: leidang) The ship levy was an obligation of free men to serve in the fleet at royal command. Service was often commuted into cash payments.

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lendirmenn

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Norse landed notables, "squires", who contolled local justice and "things".

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lens

Back 61

A fief awarded to a vassal by the crown from the 12th century on.

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Miklagard

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"Great City"; the Norse name for Constantinople

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motte and bailey castle

Back 63

An earthen mound with palisade and moat constructed in early medieval Europe.

Front 64

Norman

Back 64

Frankish term for Scandinavian Vikings; it was derrived from medieval Latin Normanni, "Northmen"

Front 65

Old Church Slavonic

Back 65

The literary language created by St Cyril (827-869) for the translation of the Bible.

Front 66

oppidum (pl. oppida)

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A Celtic fortified town of the La Tene civilization (500-50 B.C.)

Front 67

Ostmen

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"Easterners"; In Anglo-Irish law of the 12th and 13th century, Ostmen were still recognized as a priviledged legal class with a distinct Norse language.

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Pale

Back 68

The area of English settlement in Ireland after 1170.

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pandemic

Back 69

a cycle of plagues, such as those in 542-750 and those following the Black Death.

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Papar

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Old Norse term for Irish anchorites encountered in Iceland and the Western Isles,

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peers of France

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The leading feudal lords who owed direct homage to the king of France.

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penny

Back 72

(1.10-1.35 grams): Silver coin of Anglo-Saxon England, minted on varying weight standards. Inspired the first Scandinavian coinages.

Front 73

portage

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The conveying of ships overland between river systems.

Front 74

Ragnarsdrapna

Back 74

The earliest surviving poem written by Bragi the Old, circa 850-900.

Front 75

ridings

Back 75

(ON: thridjungr) "Thirds"; divisions of Yorkshire.

Front 76

Rigsthula

Back 76

The Eddaic poem in which Heimdall, watchman of the gods, uses the guise of Rig to father the class of mortals.

Front 77

runes

Back 77

The early Germanic alphabet devised from north italic script in about 300-100 B.C. The original long Futhark comprised 24 runes, whereas the short Futhark of the Viking Age had only 16 runes. Runes had magical and numerical value and, thus were sacred to Odin.

Front 78

Rus

Back 78

term of uncertain origin. may be derived from Finnish Ruotsi, the name for the Swedes. The term designated thoses Swedes who settled in what became Russia between the 8th and 10th centuries.

Front 79

Russian Primary Chronicle

Back 79

A monk of the Cave Monastery, outside of Kiev, composed this narrative of early Russian history in about 1115. The chronicle was based on oral traditions and includes many early documents.

Front 80

seithr

Back 80

The ritual of summoning spirits by a volva dedicated to Freya.

Front 81

sept

Back 81

The extended clan in Ireland by which descent and inheritance was determined

Front 82

shire

Back 82

Anglo-Saxon term for county

Front 83

skald

Back 83

A Norse poet between the late 9th and 14th centuries who employed the complicated skaldic meters and kennings. Skalds at the Danish and Norwegian courts devised a wide range of lauditory and narrative skaldic poems.

Front 84

Skjoldungar

Back 84

(OE: Scyldingas): "Sheild-bearers"; the legendary Danish kings of Sjaelland descended from Skjoldr.

Front 85

Skraelingar

Back 85

"Screechers" Old Norse name for indigenous peoples of North America and Greenland.

Front 86

spangelhelm

Back 86

A class of early medieval conical helmets based on late Roman prototypes.

Front 87

Stave church

Back 87

An early medieval wooden-frame church.

Front 88

Svear

Back 88

Old norse for Swedes, who occupied the region around Lake Malaren.

Front 89

syncope

Back 89

The linguistic process of a language reducing the sylables in words

Front 90

thegn

Back 90

An Old English landowner whose lordship entailed royal military service. See dreng

Front 91

thing

Back 91

The assemblt of free men in Germanic society that passed laws and settled legal disputes. In 930, Iceland was divided into 4 quarters, each with its own regional "thing".

Front 92

Thule

Back 92

In the Classical Age, this term designated the shores of Norway above the Arctic Circle. From the 9th century, Christian authors used it to designate Iceland. The term also designated the furthermost, unexplored regions of the world.

Front 93

Union of Kalmar

Back 93

(1397): The formal act of uniting the three crowns of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway under Eric of Pomerania.

Front 94

Varangian Guard

Back 94

The elite regiment of Scandinavians formed by Byzantine emporer Basil II in 988-989.

Front 95

Varangians

Back 95

"Men of the Pledge" ; Vikings recently arrived from Scandinavia either in Russia or the Byzantine Empire during the 10th and 11th centuries.

Front 96

Vinland

Back 96

The region discovered by Leif Eriksson in 1001; it originally designated Newfoundland, but it was extended to include regions of the Lower St. Lawrence and Nova Scotia, where Norse attempted settlement in 1001-1014.

Front 97

Vinland Map

Back 97

Purportedly dating to circa 1440, the map was acquired by Yale University in 1965 and declared a fraud in 1974. In the upper left corner, Vinland and Greenland were forged. The map was bound with a genuine manuscript reporting the papal mission of Giovanni Caprini to the Mongol court in 1245-1246.

Front 98

Voluspa

Back 98

"Sayings of the prophetess": the first

Front 99

wapentake

Back 99

(ON: vapnatak); "Brandishing Arms"; the division of shire in the Danelaw.

Front 100

Ynglingar

Back 100

The legendary kings of Uppsala who claimed descent for Yng ("Ing"); a title for the god Frey