[gothic-l] Custom Question

[John Stewart]

Hi Larry,

There are some beheadings in (Snorri Sturluson's) Heimskringla, namely in
the part about the vows of the Jomsborg vikings. Forgive me if you already
know the story: it's where Earl Sigvald has vowed to sail up to Norway and
kill Earl Hakon or drive him out of the country. The Jomsborg vikings get
defeated at Hjorungavagr, prisoners are taken on land and beheaded one by
one. But one of the Jomsborg vikings, a guy named Sigurd, pretends he
doesn't want his hair bloodied. He gathers his hair up above his head as
he's bent over, holding it out of the way of the axe. One of the captors
does him the favor of grabbing the hair to hold it clear. But as the axe is
coming down, Sigurd yanks his head back toward himself, thereby dragging the
arms of the hair-holder into the path of the axe, so that both arms get
chopped off.

A long stick to wrap in the hair might have saved that captor's arms!

As I understand it, a similar but different version appears in the
Jomsvikinga saga, but I don't have a copy of that.


kind regards,
John Stewart



"Larry J. Swain" <theswain at operamail.com> schrieb:

>
>
>
> I ran across something that I'm curious to track down further, but
> really don't have the tools or expertise to, so I'm asking here for
> help.  Forgive any cross-posting.  While looking up a different word
> in Zoega's Dictionary of Old Icelandic, I ran across the word "vondr"
> and one of the things it says under this word is: "to twist a wand in
> the hair", prepatory to beheading a culprit, but gives no citations.
>
> So I was wondering where to look for citations, examples of
> beheadings in Norse lit and any information on the practice of
> putting a stick in the hair before execution (and by the executioner
> or in the hair of the executed?).
>
> This would be related to the Gothic word wanduz, I think, and I'm
> wondering if there is any record of such a practice or use of the word
> in Gothic.
>
>
> Many Thanks,
>
> Larry Swain
>
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--
Dr. John Stewart
Institut für Übersetzen und Dolmetschen
Universität Heidelberg
Plöck 57-a
69117 Heidelberg

Tele: (0)6221 547287







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