{"id":1481,"date":"2012-08-16T12:20:46","date_gmt":"2012-08-16T12:20:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/icelandic\/?p=1481"},"modified":"2014-07-01T09:55:55","modified_gmt":"2014-07-01T09:55:55","slug":"homosexuality-in-the-viking-era","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/icelandic\/2012\/08\/16\/homosexuality-in-the-viking-era\/","title":{"rendered":"Homosexuality in the viking era."},"content":{"rendered":"
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What a Lovely Maid it is!: Wikimedia Commons<\/p><\/div>\n

Last weekend’s Gay Pride reminded me of another topic that I’ve been thinking of writing about for a while now: homosexuality in viking era Iceland. Despite of what some of the legends of the Norse gods such as \u00c1sa-\u00de\u00f3r<\/em>, Loki<\/em> and \u00d3dinn<\/em> suggest, attitudes seemed to have been somewhat against it in everyday life and grew only stricter with the arrival of Christianity.<\/p>\n

To begin with it’s important to note that homosexuality as it is now did not exist in Iceland. This is not to say that homosexuals themselves did not exist, they definitely were around already. It simply means that people of the era had no way of being exclusive about their preferences. Pre-Christian Iceland did not consider homosexuality a crime as such, but attempting to avoid marriage because of it was illegal. In short, society demanded that every member of it should produce children first and foremost, what other relationships there were besides that were a private matter. Considering there were numerous slurs against homosexuals I think it’s safe to say these were not something anyone would have been open about.<\/p>\n

Only one type of homosexual activity seems to have been fully acceptable in the viking era north, which was playing the “active” part, especially as male sexual aggression towards opponents that lost a battle. A good example can be found in the Gu\u00f0mundar saga d\u00fdra<\/em> where Gu\u00f0mundur plans the rape of a traitorous couple, both the woman and the man, that he’s taken captive. This kind of humiliation occurred because raping someone was counted among hin meiri s\u00e1r<\/em>\u00a0(= the deadly blows) that could be dealt against the body: a wound to the brain, torso or the marrow. It was considered \u201cunmanning\u201d a man to make him \u201cplay the part of a woman\u201d or as \u00cdslensk h\u00f3mil\u00edub\u00f3k<\/em> so elegantly puts it, \u201cthose appalling secret sins perpetrated by men who respect men no more than women\u201d.*<\/p>\n

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Heimdallur: “Yes, now he’s just like Freyja.”<\/em><\/p>\n

Tyr: “May I have a kiss, \u00de\u00f3r?”<\/em><\/p>\n

This attitude no doubt would have had a huge impact on homosexual relationships. If serving as the passive part equalled being dealt a lethal wound I highly doubt any man could have ever even considered doing that to someone he loved (that was of equal standing). The slaves were a different matter:\u00a0among them were even male prostitutes.<\/p>\n

For women things were perhaps a little bit easier since they did not have to worry about their manliness. Many viking era households held concubines along the official wife, which meant that there was always a group of women who were not related to each other living in the same house. In the house itself there were parts that were considered so feminine in use that no man would have been able to set foot in those rooms without getting branded effeminate, so even if the master of a house did not accept his wife’s possible tendencies there was not much he could do to prevent it. Besides viking era women in Iceland held considerable power in marriage and could use that to force or blackmail their husband to bend to their will if necessary.**<\/p>\n

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Tor s\u00e5som Freya: Wikimedia Commons<\/p><\/div>\n

Wearing the other gender’s clothes was also considered humiliating, not only to the person doing so but to their spouse as well. It was counted among acceptable grounds for divorce for example, as the sagas can tell. In Laxd\u00e6la saga<\/em> Gu\u00f0r\u00fan \u00d3sv\u00edfursd\u00f3ttir, in love with another man, sews a new shirt for her husband that has an open neckline like a woman’s shirt. The husband fails to notice this, wears it in public and she divorces him on the grounds of cross-dressing.***<\/p>\n

Here’s a small vocabulary list of related old Norse terms for your entertainment. Granted, \u00a0they won’t be of much use in everyday language but I’m sure knowledge in them will make for a great party trick!<\/p>\n

N\u00ed\u00f0<\/em> = perverted, insulting, (passively) homosexual, lawless. The same term is still used in gl\u00edma<\/em>, Icelandic traditional wrestling, for forbidden moves.
\nN\u00ed\u00f0ingr<\/em> = (passively) homosexual
\nErgi\/regi<\/em> = the one who is willing to bottom, an effeminate person. If used of a woman they mean slut\/bitch\/lecherous one instead.
\nArgr\/ragr<\/em> = adjective for\u00a0ergi\/regi<\/em>. Lit. transl. unmanly. Can mean anything from cowardly to homosexual.
\nRassrarg<\/em> = butt-unmanly. The word rass<\/em> is still in use in Icelandic, by the way!
\nArgaskattr<\/em> = a payment for a male prostitute’s services.
\nStro\u00f0inn, sor\u00f0inn<\/em> = sexually used by a man. The viking era laws dictated that if a man called another any of the above words the target of the insult had a legal right to kill him, or at the very least try his best to.****
\nFu\u00f0flogi<\/em> = a man who shuns marriage because he prefers men to women, and since this was illegal it’s also a criminal term. The literal translation would mean \u201cruns away\/flees from vagina\u201d.
\nFlannfluga<\/em> = a woman who does the same. Literal translation for this would be \u201cruns away\/flees from penis\u201d.<\/p>\n

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*The more I study history the more I appreciate the present day.<\/p>\n

**Most often the women of the sagas use this power to make their husband go and kill someone whose family the wife does not for one reason or another like too much. This is quite a drastic measure though, and more commonly the wife would rather send one of the servants or male relatives to the task. Hallger\u00f0ur of\u00a0Brennu-Nj\u00e1ls saga<\/em>\u00a0even sends a relative of hers to kill her very own husband for some personal revenge.<\/p>\n

***Curiously the love of Gu\u00f0r\u00fan, \u00de\u00f3r\u00f0ur Ingunnarson, is a married man himself and also files for divorce for his wife’s supposed cross-dressing! This is based on a rumour spread by none other than Gu\u00f0r\u00fan herself \u2013 as she rides to the annual \u00deing she goes to talk with him and says:<\/p>\n

\u201cHvort er \u00fea\u00f0 satt, \u00de\u00f3r\u00f0ur, a\u00f0 Au\u00f0ur kona \u00fe\u00edn, er jafnan \u00ed br\u00f3kum, og setgeiri \u00ed, en vafi\u00f0 mj\u00f6g spj\u00f6rrum \u00ed sk\u00faa ni\u00f0ur? …og fyrir hva\u00f0 skal h\u00fan \u00fe\u00e1 heita Br\u00f3kar-Au\u00f0ur?<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIs that true, \u00de\u00f3r\u00f0ur, that Au\u00f0ur your wife wears trousers with gores in the seat, with swathings round her legs all the way to her feet? …and for what reason is she called Trousers-Au\u00f0ur?\u201d<\/p>\n

This is all untrue of course, but as the marriage between \u00de\u00f3r\u00f0ur and Au\u00f0ur is unhappy and since his eyes are already on Gu\u00f0r\u00fan he gladly takes this as an excuse to divorce her.<\/p>\n

Au\u00f0ur, humiliated as can be, does not take this very well. Later on she actually does what she’s been accused to do and dons trousers, ties a sword at her waist and attempts to kill \u00de\u00f3r\u00f0ur in his sleep. This fails but \u00de\u00f3r\u00f0ur does receive severe wounds which render his other arm unusable ever after. Yet, even though he fully saw who had attacked him he forbids his kinsmen to go after Au\u00f0ur and says that \u201cshe only did as she ought to have done\u201d.<\/p>\n

****In some cases these slurs were used to force the opponent to fight you, as was done by Sinfjotli in\u00a0V\u00f6lsunga saga<\/em>. Here’s a quick translation of the diplomatic talks that went on right before a battle broke out:<\/p>\n

Sinfjotli: “Guys you’re all weaklings!”<\/p>\n

Granmar: “Are you an idiot?”<\/p>\n

Sinfjotli: “Maybe but at least I don’t wiggle my butt to every man who comes along like you do!”<\/p>\n

Granmar: “That’s a lie!”<\/p>\n

Sinfjotli: “You even like their horses!”<\/p>\n

Granmar: “THAT’S NOT TRUE!”<\/p>\n

King Helgi: “Let’s just kill him, Granmar.”<\/p>\n

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Photo by Mararie on Flickr.<\/p><\/div>\n

A small statue of a person wearing a long dress, a cape and woman’s jewellery, flanked by two wolves and two ravens. Whether this actually is \u00d3dinn is not certain but the hints are definitely there!<\/em><\/p>\n

With the exception of the last image all images in this post illustrate the well-loved scene in \u00derymskvi\u00f0a where \u00de\u00f3r has to grudgingly disguise himself as goddess Freyja in order to regain his hammer Mj\u00f6lnir.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

Last weekend’s Gay Pride reminded me of another topic that I’ve been thinking of writing about for a while now: homosexuality in viking era Iceland. Despite of what some of the legends of the Norse gods such as \u00c1sa-\u00de\u00f3r, Loki and \u00d3dinn suggest, attitudes seemed to have been somewhat against it in everyday life and…<\/p>\n

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