Fin Gall (44 page)

Glossary

Asgard
- the dwelling place of the Norse gods and goddesses, essentially the Norse heaven.

berserkir
- a Viking warrior able to work himself up into a frenzy of blood-lust before a battle. The berserkirs, near psychopathic killers in battle, were the fiercest of the Viking soldiers. The word berserkir comes from the Norse for “bear shirt” and is the origin of the modern English “berserk”.

Bifrost
bridge
- In Norse mythology, the bridge that spanned the skies to the entrance of Asgard.

boss
- the round, iron centerpiece of a wooden shield. The boss formed an iron cup protruding from the front of the shield, providing a hollow in the back across which ran the handgrip.

brace
- line used for hauling a yard side to side on a horizontal plane. Used to adjust the angle of the sail to the wind.

bride-price
- money paid by the family of the groom to the family of the bride.

byrdingr
- A smaller ocean-going cargo vessel used by the Norsemen for trade and transportation. Generally about 40 feet in length, the byrdingr was a smaller version of the better-known knarr.

curragh
- a boat, unique to Ireland, made of a wood frame covered in hide. They ranged in size, the largest propelled by sail and capable of carrying several tons. The most common sea-going craft of medieval Ireland.

Danegeld
- money paid by English royalty to Viking raiders in exchange for the Vikings’ leaving an area unmolested. Danegeld means literally “Danish money” and comes from the English habit of calling all Vikings “Danes” regardless of where they came from.

dragon
ship
- the largest of the Viking warships, upwards of 160 feet long and able to carry as many as 300 men. Dragon ships were the flagships of the fleet, the ships of kings.

dubh gall
- Gaelic term for Vikings of Danish descent. It means Black Strangers, a reference to the mail armor they wore, made dark by the oil used to preserve it. See fin gall.

earldorman
- one of the highest ranks of nobleman in pre-Conquest England.

fin
gall
- Gaelic term for Vikings of Norwegian descent. It means White Strangers. See dubh gall.

Freya
- Norse goddess of beauty and love, she was also associated with warriors, as many of the Norse gods were. Freya often led the Valkyrie to the battlefield.

fyrd
- In pre-Conquest England, the military host of the whole country, the army of one of the four kingdoms that made up England.

halyard
- a line by which a sail or a yard is raised.

Hel
- the underworld in Norse mythology, the Norse hell.

hird
- an elite corps of Viking warriors hired and maintained by a king or powerful jarl. Unlike most Viking warrior groups, which would assemble and disperse at will, the hird was retained as a semi-permanent force which formed the core of a Viking army.

hirdsman
- a warrior who is a member of the hird.

housecarl
- member of the elite bodyguard of a Danish or English king or nobleman, not unlike the Norse hird. The term dates from the latter part of the Old English period.

jarl
- title given to a man of high rank. A jarl might be an independent ruler or subordinate to a king. Jarl is the origin of the English word earl.

knarr
- a Norse merchant vessel. Smaller, wider and more sturdy than the longship, knarrs were the workhorse of Norse trade, carrying cargo and settlers where
ver the Norsemen traveled.

levies
- conscripted soldiers of 9th century warfare.

Loki
- Norse god of fire and free spirits. Loki was mischievous and his tricks caused great trouble for the gods, for which he was punished.

longphort
- literally, a ship fortress. A small, fortified port to protect shipping and serve as a center of commerce and a launching off point for raiding.

Northumbria
- the northernmost of the four kingdoms that comprised England in the mid-ninth century. To the south and east of Northumbria was East Anglia, to the west, Mercia, and south of the Thames River was the kingdom of Wessex.

Odin
- foremost of the Norse gods. Odin was the god of wisdom and war, protector of both chieftains and poets.

perch
- a unit of measure equal to 16½ feet. The same as a rod.

port
reeve
- see reeve

Ragnarok
- the mythical final battle when most humans and gods would be killed by the forces of evil and the earth destroyed, only to rise again, purified.

ringfort
- common Irish homestead, consisting of houses protected by circular earthwork and palisade walls.

reeve
- tax collector and general manager of a district, answerable to the nobleman, bishop or king in overall authority. The port reeve was responsible for duties on merchant ships arriving in port. The shire reeve of the tenth-century became the modern English sheriff.

shieldwall
- a defensive wall formed by soldiers standing in line with shields overlapping.

skald
- a Viking-era poet, generally one attached to a royal court. The skalds wrote a very stylized type of verse particular to the medieval Scandinavians. Poetry was an important part of Viking culture and the ability to write it a highly regarded skill.

sling
- the center portion of the yard.

swine
array
- a viking battle formation consisting of a wedge-shaped arrangement of men used to attack a shield wall or other defensive position.

thing
- a communal assembly

Thor
- Norse god of storms and wind, but also the protector of humans and the other gods. Thor’s chosen weapon was a hammer. Hammer amulets were popular with Norsemen in the same way that crosses are popular with Christians.

thrall
- Norse term for a slave. Origin of the English word “enthrall”.

thwart
- a rower’s seat in a boat. From the old Norse term meaning “across”.

Valhalla
- a great hall in Asgard where slain warriors would go to feast, drink and fight until the coming of Ragnarok.

Valkyries
- female spirits of Norse mythology who gathered the spirits of the dead from the battlefield and escorted them to Valhalla. They were the Choosers of the Slain, and though later romantically portrayed as Odin’s warrior handmaidens, they were originally viewed more demonically, as spirits who devoured the corpses of the dead.

Vik
- An area of Norway south of modern-day Oslo. The name is possibly the origin of the term Viking.

wattle
and daub
- common medieval technique for building walls. Small sticks were woven through larger uprights to form the wattle, and the structure was plastered with mud or plaster, the daub.

wicing
- old Anglo-Saxon term for a sea raider, later used exclusively to refer to Scandinavian raiders. Another possible origin for the word Viking.

yard
- a long, tapered timber from which a sail was suspended. When a Viking ship was not under sail, the yard was turned lengthwise and lowered to near the deck with the sail lashed to it.