a royal retainer of inferior rank

(-s, -ir), m.

1) guest;

2) a royal retainer of inferior rank.

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m., gen. gests; pl. gestir, acc. gesti; [Ulf. gasts = ξένος; A. S. gest; Engl. guest; Germ. gast; Dan. gjæst; Swed. gäst; Lat. hostis]:

I. a guest; the original meaning of this word is a stranger, alien, cp. Lat. hostis.

β. the Guests, one division of the king’s men; the Guests were a kind of policemen, and had not the full privileges of the king’s guardsmen or hirðmenn, although they were in the king’s pay; they had their own seats in the king’s hall, the guests’ bench, gesta-bekkr, m., Fb. i. 347; their own chief, gesta-höfðingi, a, m., Nj. 7, Hkr. ii. 69, Fms. vii. 35; their own banner, gesta-merki, n., Fms. ix. 489; their own meeting, gesta-stefna, u, f., Fms. viii. 250; they formed a separate body, gesta-sveit, f., Fas. i. 318; skulu þar fylgja hirðmenn ok gestir, Ó. H. 204, in the battle at Stiklastað: a guests’ hall, gesta-skáli, a, m., is mentioned in Eg. 28, Fas. ii. 93: a ship, gesta-skip ( gesta-fley), n., Fms. viii. 139; cp. the Sagas passim, esp. the Konunga Sögur, Fms. x. 147, Hkr. passim, but esp. N. G. L. in the section Hirðs-skrá, or the law ( rules) for the king’s men, and Sks. 257 sqq. As the gestir were lower in rank than the hirðmenn, a recruit had often to serve his apprenticeship among them, e. g. var hann í gestasæti, he was seated among the guests, i. e. was held in small repute, Fas. i. 51.

II. a stranger, guest, Lat. hospes, but keeping the old notion of a stranger, prop. an accidental guest, chance comer, and is distinguished from boðs-maðr, an invited guest, or the like; hence the allit. phrase, gestr ok gangandi, a guest and ganger, since with the ancients the poor had to go from house to house (cp. gangleri); this is to be borne in mind, if one would understand old sayings such as, Guð elr gesti, God feeds guests, Bs. i. 247; or many passages in the old heathen poem Hávamál, e. g. órir gestr við gest, guest quarrels with guest, Hm. 31; gestr at gest hæðinn, guest mocking guest, 30, which reminds one of Hom. Od. xviii. 1–33; gest þú né geyja né á grind hrekir (scoff not at a guest, nor drive him to the door), get þú váluðum vel, Hm. 136, where gestr ( a guest) and válaðr ( a vagrant) are used synonymously; ganga skal, skala gestr vera æ í einum stað, 34. In olden times there were no public hostelries, and all entertainment was (as it still is in Icel.) private bounty; a fine instance of a munificent hostess of the heathen age is recorded in Landn.,—Geirríðr sparði ekki mat við menn, ok lét göra skála sinn of þjóðbraut þvera, hón sat á stóli ok laðaði úti gesti, en borð stóð inni jafnan ok matr á, 2. 13. After the introduction of Christianity, when churches were built and endowments given, the donors often imposed the duty of ‘feeding guest and ganger for a night’ (ala gest ok ganganda), Dipl. i. 169, 174; or, þar er ekki gesta eldi skylt ( it is not required to feed guests), ala hvern at ósekju er vill, 200; ala þurfa-menn ok þá er fara skylda-erinda, 201, cp. 273 passim:—gener. a visitor, guest: gesta-eldi, n. shelter for guests, D. I. (vide above): gesta-fluga, u, f. a guest-fly, a moth, Ísl. Þjóðs. i. 558: gesta-herbergi, n. a ‘guest-harbour,’ hostel, inn, Gr. καταλύμα, Luke ii. 7: gesta-hús, n. a guest-room, Sturl. i. 216, ii. 191: gesta-koma, u, f., gesta-nauð, n. a coming, crowding of guests: gesta-maðr, m. a guest-man (bishops had a special servant so called), Bs. i. 850, 876: gesta-rúm, n. a guest-bed: gesta-skáli, a, m. a guest-chamber, Hom. 36: gesta-spjót, n. pl., a cat is said to raise the ‘guest-spears’ when it lies on its back and cleans itself with its hind legs, which is a token that a stranger is at hand, Ísl. Þjóðs. i. 558.

III. as pr. names, Landn., freq.; also in compds, Þor-gestr, Heim-gestr, Goð-gestr, Hleva-gastir on the Golden horn (Bugge’s reading), and Gr. Ξενο-φών, Ξενο-φάνης. Gestr is a name of Odin = the Traveller, Edda, Vþm., Gm., Hervar. S. ch. 15 (Gestum-blindi). It is curious to notice that whereas with the Romans hostis came to mean a foe, with the Teutons (as with the Gr. ξένος) the equivalent word became a term of friendship, used of a friend staying at one’s house.