laymen

m. heathen priest; chief (in Iceland during the republic).

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a, m. [Ulf, renders ἱερεύς by gudja (ufar-gudja, ahumista-gudja, etc.), ἱερατεία by gudjinassus, ἱερατεύειν by gudjinôn; an Icel. gyði, gen. gyðja, would answer better to the Goth. form, but it never occurs, except that the fem. gyðja = goddess and priestess points not to goði, but to a masc. with a suppressed final i, gyði; a word coting occurs in O. H. G. glossaries, prob. meaning the same; and the form guþi twice occurs on Danish-Runic stones in Nura-guþi and Saulva-guþi, explained as goði by P. G. Thorsen, Danske Runem.; (Rafn’s explanation and reading of Nura-guþi qs. norðr á Gauði, is scarcely right): with this exception this word is nowhere recorded till it appears in Icel., where it got a wide historical bearing]:—prop. a priest, sacerdos, and hence a liege-lord or chief of the Icel. Commonwealth.

A. HISTORICAL REMARKS.—The Norse chiefs who settled in Icel., finding the country uninhabited, solemnly took possession of the land (land-nám, q. v.); and in order to found a community they built a temple, and called themselves by the name of goði or hof-goði, ‘temple-priest;’ and thus the temple became the nucleus of the new community, which was called goðorð, n.:—hence hof-goði, temple-priest, and höfðingi, chief, became synonymous, vide Eb. passim. Many independent goðar and goðorð sprang up all through the country, until about the year 930 the alþingi (q. v.) was erected, where all the petty sovereign chiefs (goðar) entered into a kind of league, and laid the foundation of a general government for the whole island. In 964 A. D. the constitution was finally settled, the number of goðorð being fixed at three in each þing ( shire), and three þing in each of the three other quarters, (but four in the north); thus the number of goðar came to be nominally thirty-nine, really thirty-six, as the four in the north were only reckoned as three, vide Íb. ch. 5. On the introduction of Christianity the goðar lost their priestly character, but kept the name; and the new bishops obtained seats in the Lögrétta (vide biskup). About the year 1004 there were created new goðar (and goðorð), who had to elect judges to the Fifth Court, but they had no seats in the Lögrétta, and since that time the law distinguishes between forn ( old) and ný ( new) goðorð;—in Glúm. ch. 1 the word forn is an anachronism. It is curious that, especially in the 12th century, the goðar used to take the lesser Orders from political reasons, in order to resist the Romish clergy, who claimed the right of forbidding laymen to be lords of churches or to deal with church matters; thus the great chief Jón Loptsson was a sub-deacon; at last, about 1185, the archbishop of Norway forbade the bishops of Icel. to ordain any holder of a goðorð, unless they first gave up the goðorð, fyrir því bjóðum vér biskupum at vígja eigi þá menn er goðorð hafa, D. I. i. 291. In the middle of the 13th century the king of Norway induced the goðar to hand their power over to him, and thus the union with Norway was finally brought about in the year 1262; since that time, by the introduction of new codes (1272 and 1281), the name and dignity of goðar and goðorð disappeared altogether, so that the name begins and ends with the Commonwealth.

B. DUTIES.—In the alþingi the goðar were invested with the Lögrettu-skipan (q. v.), that is to say, they composed the Lögrétta (the Legislative consisting of forty-eight members—on the irregularity of the number vide Íb. ch. 5), and were the lawgivers of the country; secondly, they had the dómnefna (q. v.), or right of naming the men who were to sit in the courts, vide dómr:—as to their duties in the quarter-parliaments (vár-þing) vide Grág. Þ. Þ. and the Sagas. The authority of the goðar over their liegemen at home was in olden times somewhat patriarchal, vide e. g. the curious passage in Hænsaþ. S. ch. 2; though no section of law relating to this interesting part of the old history is on record, we can glean much information from the Sagas. It is to be borne in mind that the goðar of the Saga time (10th century) and those of the Grágás and Sturlunga time (12th and 13th centuries) were very different; the former were a kind of sovereign chiefs, who of free will entered into a league; the latter had become officials, who for neglecting their duties in parliament might be fined, and even forfeit the goðorð to their liegemen, vide Grág. Þ. Þ. Neither þing (q. v.) nor goðorð was ever strictly geographical (such is the opinion of Konrad Maurer), but changed from time to time; the very word goðorð is defined as ‘power’ (veldi), and was not subject to the payment of tithe, K. Þ. K. 142. The goðorð could be parcelled out by inheritance or by sale; or they might, as was the case in the latter years of the Commonwealth, accumulate in one hand, vide esp. Sturl. passim, and Grág. The liegemen (þingmenn) were fully free to change their lords (ganga í lög með goða, ganga ór lögum); every franklin (þingmaðr) had in parliament to declare his þingfesti, i. e. to name his liegeship, and say to what goði and þing he belonged, and the goði had to acknowledge him; so that a powerful or skilful chief might have liegemen scattered all over the country. But the nomination to the courts and the right of sitting in the legislative body were always bound to the old names, as fixed by the settlement of the year 964; and any one who sought the name or influence of a goði had first (by purchase, inheritance, or otherwise) to become possessor of a share of one of the old traditionary goðorð; see the interesting chapter in Nj. The three goðar in one þing ( shire) were called sam-goða, joint-goðar; for the sense of allsherjar-goði vide p. 17.

C. NAMES.—Sometimes a chief’s name referred to the god whom he especially worshipped, as Freys-Goði, Hrafn., Gísl., whence Freys-gyðlingar, q. v.; (the ör-goði is dubious); more frequently the name referred to the liegemen or county, e. g. Ljósvetninga-Goði, Tungu-Goði, etc.; but in the Saga time, goði was often added to the name almost as a cognomen, and with some, as Snorri, it became a part of their name (as Cato Censor in Latin); hann varðveitti þá hof, var hann þá kallaðr Snorri Goði, Eb. 42; seg, at sá sendi, er meiri vin var húsfreyjunnar at Fróðá en Goðans at Helgafelli, 332. Names on record in the Sagas:—men living from A. D. 874 to 964, Hallsteinn Goði, Landn., Eb.; Sturla Goði, Landn. 65; Jörundr Goði and Hróarr Tungu-Goði, id.; Ljótólfr Goði, Sd.; Hrafnkell Freys-Goði, Hrafn.; Oddr Tungu-Goði, Landn.; Þormóðr Karnár-Goði, Vd.; Áskell Goði, Rd.; Úlfr Ör-goði, Landn.; Grímkell Goði, Harð. S.; Þorgrímr Freys-goði, Gísl. 100, 110:—964 to 1030, Arnkell Goði, Landn., Eb.; Þorgrímr Goði, Eb.; Geirr Goði, Landn., Nj.; Runólfr Goði, id.; Þóroddr Goði, Kristni S.; Þormóðr Allsherjar-Goði, Landn.; Þorgeirr Goði, or Ljósvetninga-Goði, Nj., Landn.; (Þorkell Krafla) Vatnsdæla-Goði, Vd.; Helgi Hofgarða-Goði, Landn., Eb.; Snorri Hlíðarmanna-Goði, Lv.; Þórarinn Langdæla-Goði, Heiðarv. S.; and last, not least, Snorri Goði:—in the following period goði appears, though very rarely, as an appellative, e. g. Þormóðr Skeiðar-Goði (about 1100):—of the new goðar of 1004, Höskuldr Hvítaness-Goði, Nj.:—used ironically, Ingjaldr Sauðeyja-Goði, Ld.

2. goðorð mentioned by name,—in the south, Allsherjar-goðorð, Landn. (App.) 336; Dalverja-goðorð, Sturl. ii. 48; Lundarmanna-goðorð, i. 223; Reykhyltinga-goðorð, 104, iii. 166, 169; Bryndæla-goðorð, Kjaln. S. 402: in the north, Ljósvetninga-goðorð, Lv. ch. 30; Möðruvellinga-goðorð, Bs. i. 488; Vatnsdæla-goðorð, Fs. 68; Fljótamanna-goðorð, Sturl. i. 138: in the west, Snorrunga-goðorð, 55; Jöklamanna-goðorð, iii. 166; Rauðmelinga-goðorð, Eb. 288; Reyknesinga-goðorð, Sturl. i. 9, 19; Þórsnesinga-goðorð, 198: the new godords of the Fifth Court, Laufæsinga-goðorð, Nj. 151; Melamanna-goðorð, id., Band., Sturl. i. 227. Passages in the Sagas and Laws referring to goðar and goðorð are very numerous, e. g. Íb. ch. 5, Nj. ch. 98, Grág., Lögréttu-þáttr, and Þ. Þ. passim, esp. ch. 1–5, 17, 35, 37, 39, 44, 58, 60, 61, Lv. ch. 4 (interesting), Vd. ch. 27, 41 (in fine), and 42, Vápn., Hrafn. ch. 2, Eb. ch. 10, 56, Sturl. iii. 98, 104, passim; for the accumulation of godords, see i. 227 (3, 22), Bs. i. 54; for the handing over the godords to the king of Norway, D. I. i; and esp. article 3 of the Sáttmáli, D. I. i. 631, 632. The godords were tithe-free, ef maðr á goðorð, ok þarf eigi þat til tíundar at telja, vald er þat en eigi fé:, K. Þ. K. 142.

COMPDS: goðakviðr, goðalýrittr, goðaþáttr.

II. = goð, i. e. good genius, in the Icel. game at dice called goða-tafl, with the formula, heima ræð eg goða minn bæði vel og lengi, … og kasta eg svo fyrir þig, cp. also ást-goði.

m. a teacher, but only used of a cleric or priest, opp. to leikmenn ( laymen), Rb. 396; biskup ok aðrir kennimenn, Fms. i. 32; þriðja hlut (of the tithe) skyldu hafa kennimenn, Bs. i. 68; ok sagt upp í lögréttu af kennimönnum sumarit eptir, Íb. 17; ganga til skriptar við kennimann, K. Þ. K. 33, Bs. i. (e. g. Arna S.) passim; kennimanns-búningr, -klæði, a priest’s dress, 655 xiv, Stj. 110; kennimanna fundr, an œcumenical council, Ann. 485, Mar.; kennimanna setr, skyld, vist, a priest’s maintenance, residence, Fms. x. 317, Vm. 5, 108, Stj. passim; kennimanna kór, the choir, Bs. i. kennimanns-dómr, m. priesthood, Anecd. 12, Th. 52, Fms. viii. 9.

pp. learned (vel. l. þegar á unga aldri); lærðir menn, clerics.

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part., [cp. Old Engl. lered], prop. ‘taught,’ and then learned, a scholar; næmr ok vel lærðr, Bs. i. 127, K. Þ. K. 154; lærðir menn, opp. to leikir menn ( laymen); lærðr eða leikr, Dipl. ii. 13; in mod. usage = a scholar; há-lærðr, high learned; ó-lærðr, unlearned; lítt-lærðr, vel-lærðr, freq.; see læra (I).

(gen. manns, pl. menn, with the art. menninir), m.

1) man (irrespective of sex), human being (guð skapaði síðarst menn tvá, er ættir eru frá komnar);

sýndi maðr manni, one showed it to another, it went from from hand to hand;

fjöldi manns, a great number of people;

múgr manns, crowd of people;

2) degree in kinship;

vera at þriðja, fjórða, fimta manni, to be related in the third, fourth, fifth degree;

hann var manni firr en systrungr Bárðar, he was the son of a cousin of B.;

3) man, opp. to kona( síðan fór hann til manna sinna).

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m., qs. mann-r, which form also occurs in old poets, engi mannr und ranni, Vellekla, (for the change of nn before r into ð see the introduction to letter N); gen. manns, dat. manni, acc. mann, plur. menn, qs. menn-r; with the article, menninir, so always in old writers, but in mod. mennirnir erroneously, as if from mennir: the plur. meðr, answering to the sing. maðr, occurs in old poets—meðr vituð öðling æðra, Fms. vii. 87 (in a verse); Norð-meðr róa naðri, vi. 309 (in a verse); meðr fengu mikit veðr, Edda 102; hirð-meðr, veðja, Rekst., all verses of the 11th and 12th centuries; er meðr Myrkvið kalla, Akv. 5: meðr hlutu sár, Fbr. 75 new Ed. (in a verse): gen. pl. manna, dat. mönnum, acc. menn. In Ballads and Rímur after the 15th century, and hence in eccl. writers of later times, a nom. mann is now and then used, esp. in compds influenced by Germ. and Engl., e. g. hreysti-mann, Skíða R. 58; or for the sake of rhyme, ætla þú ekki, aumr mann | af komast muni strafflaust hann, Pass. 14. 17: [Ulf. manna = ἄνθρωπος; in other Teut. languages spelt man, or better mann.]

B. A man = Lat. homo, Gr. ἄνθρωπος, also people; eigi vil ek segja frá manninum þvíat mér er maðrinn skyldr, þat er frá manni at segja, at maðr er vel auðigr at fé, Nj. 51; mennskr maðr, a manlike man, a human being, opp. to giants or beings of superhuman strength, Gm. 31; menn eru hér komnir ef menn skal kalla, en líkari eru þeir þursum at vexti ok sýn en mennskum mönnum, Eg. 110; flýjum nú! ekki er við menn um at eiga, Nj. 97; þat hafa gamlir menn mælt, at þess manns mundi hefnt verða ef hann félli á grúfu, Eg. 107; þeir ungu menn ( the young people) elskask sín í millum, Mar.; þótt nökkut væri þústr á með enum yngrum mönnum, Ld. 200; fjöldi manns, múgr manns, Fms. ii. 45, 234, xi. 245; þykkir mönnum nökkur várkunn til þess, 192; var þat margra manna mál, at …, Eg. 537, Fms. i. 45; er þat íllt manni? Eg. 604; sá maðr, that person, K. Þ. K. 4; manna beztr, fríðastr …, the best, fairest … of men, passim; allra manna bezt, beyond all men, best of all men, Bs. i. 67; kona var enn þriði maðr, Hkr. iii. 184; hvárr þeirra manna, each of the wedded fair, Grág. i. 476; góðir menn, good men! in addressing, passim: allit., Guði ok góðum mönnum, to God and all good men, Bs. i. 68: sayings, maðr skal eptir mann lifa, man shall live after man (as a consolation), Eg. 322: maðr er manns gaman, man is man’s comfort, Hm. 46; whence huggun er manni mönnum at, Pass. 2. 10: maðr eptir mann, man after man, in succession; or, maðr af manni, man after man, in turn: sýndi maðr manni, man shewed it to man, it went round from hand to hand, Fms. vi. 216; nú segir maðr manni þessi fagnaðar-tíðendi, Bs. i. 181, Þiðr. 142; kunni þat maðr manni at segja at Bróðir felldi Brján, Nj. 275.

2. phrases, þat veit menn (the verb in sing., the noun in plur.), every one knows that! to be sure! Art. 31, 62, Karl. 48; meðr of veit, Sighvat: mod. viti menn! with a notion of irony; thus also menn segja, men say, (in old poët. usage elliptically, kveða = Lat. dicunt, Vþm. 24, 26, 28, 30, Gm. 13, Hdl. 42, Hm. 11; kváðu, people said, Vm. 33): the sing. maðr = Fr. on, mod. Dan. man (in Dan. man siger), is not vernacular.

3. in compds. kvenn-maðr, a woman; karl-maðr, a man: of families, Mýra-menn, Síðu-menn, Landn.: inhabitants, people, Norð-menn, Norsemen; Noregs-menn, the men of Norway; Athenu-menn, Athenians; Korintu-menn, Corinthians; of condition of life, leik-menn, laymen; kenni-menn, clergymen; búand-menn, peasants; valds-menn, rulers; kaup-menn, merchants; sjó-menn, seamen; vinnu-menn, labourers.

4. degree in a lineage: at þriðja, fjórða, fimta … manni, in the third, fourth, fifth … degree, Grág. i. 321; manni firnari en systrungr …, one degree remoter than …, used of odd degrees (e. g. four on one side and three on the other), ii. 172; hann var manni firr en systrungr Bárðar, he was an odd second cousin of B., Bárð. 165; hence tví-menningar, þrí-menningar, fjór-menningar …, a second, third, fourth … cousin, passim.

II. a man. Lat. vir; vér höfum þrjú skip ok hundruð manna á hverju, Fas. ii. 521; síðan fór hann til manna sinna, Fms. v. 514; greiða eyri gulls hverjum manni, 178; hann fór með of manns yfir landit, iv. 146; and so in countless instances: Sigurðar-menn, the followers of S.; Tuma-menn, konungs-menn, Krist-menn, kross-menn, vii. 293, 299, Ó. H. 216.

2. a husband; Guð er Kristinnar andar maðr er honum giptisk í trú, Greg. 31: freq. in mod. usage, maðrinn minn, my husband! dóttur-maðr, a son-in-law.

3. metaph., vera maðr fyrir e-u, to be man enough for it, able to do it; eg er ekki maðr fyrir því, maðr til þess, id.; hann sýndisk eigi maðr til at setjask í svá háleitt sæti, Bs. i. 743; mikill, lítill, maðr fyrir sér, to be a great, strong, weak man, and the like.

III. the Rune m, see introduction.

C. COMPDS, manns- and manna-: manns-aldr, m. a man’s life, generation, 623. 10, Fms. viii. 240, Fas. i. 406. manns-bani, a, m. ‘man’s bane,’ a man-slayer, Js. 49, Ni. 119. manns-barn, n. a ‘man’s bairn;’ in the phrase, hvert m., every child of man, Sturl. i. 47. manna-bein, n. pl. human bones, Fms. i. 230. manns-blóð, n. human blood, Nj. 59, Fms. iii. 125. manna-búkar, m. pl. corpses of slain, Fms. iii. 7, xi. 355. manna-bygð, f. human abodes, opp. to the wilderness, Fms. i. 215. manna-bær, m. dwelling-houses, Ann. 1390. manns-bætr, f. pl. weregild, Eg. 259. manns-efni, n. a man to be; gott-m. (see efni), Eg. 368, Fms. i. 174, Fær. 231. manna-farvegr, m. a foot-path, Gþl. 539. manns-fingr, m. a human finger. manna-forráð, n. ‘man-sway,’ rule, dominion; the godord or priesthood is often in the Laws and Sagas so called, Hrafn. 21, Nj. 149, Grág., Ísl. ii. 402, Fms. x. 45. manna-forræði, n. = mannaforráð, Nj. 231, Ld. 310. manns-fótr, m. a human foot, Hkr. ii. 114. manna-fundr, m. a meeting of men, Grág. i. 420. manns-fylgja, u, f., or manna-fylgjur, f. pl. fetches of men, Lv. 69, Fs. 68; see fylgja. manna-för, n. pl. men’s footprints, Eg. 578. manna-grein, f. distinction of men, Fms. viii. 21. manns-hauss, m. a human skull, Þorf. Karl. 242. manns-hár, n. human hair, Edda 4, Fas. iii. 266. manns-hold, n. human flesh, Fms. xi. 235. manna-hugir, m. pl., see hugr III. 2, Háv. 55, Þórð. 17 new Ed. manna-hús, n. pl. men’s houses, Fbr. 77: human abodes. manns-höfuð, manna-höfuð, m. (he human head, K. Á. 1, Fms. x. 280, Nj. 275. manns-hönd, f. a human hand, Fas. i. 66. manns-kona, u, f. a man’s wife, married woman, Grág. i. 335, 337, 341, 344, 380, Bs. i. 777, Sks. 340. manna-lát, n. the loss of men, loss of life, death, Nj. 248, Eg. 585, Orkn. 296. manns-lát, n. a person’s death, decease; heyra mannslát, to hear of a person’s death. manns-líf, n. man’s life, Hom. 6. manns-líki, n. human shape, Edda 9. manna-lof, n. praise of men, Hom. 83. manna-mál, n. human voices, human speech, Nj. 154; or manns-mál, id., in the phrase, það heyrist ekki mannsmál, no man’s voice can be heard, of a great noise. manna-missir, m. the loss of men, Sturl. iii. 7, Fas. ii. 552. manns-morð, n. murder, N. G. L. i. 256. manna-mót, n. = mannfundr, Grág. i. 343. manns-mót, n. manly mien, ‘manfulness,’ Fms. i. 149, xi. 86; þat er mannsmót að honum, he looks like a true man. manna-munr, m. distinction, difference of men, Bs. i. 855. manna-múgr, m. a crowd of people, Fær. 12. manns-mynd, f. the human shape, Stj. 147. manna-reið, f. (a body of) horsemen, Nj. 206. manna-samnaðr, m. = mannsafnaðr, Ísl. ii. 83. manna-seta, u, f. men staying in a place, Ld. 42. manna-skipan, f. the placing of people, as at a banquet, in battle, Korm. 62, Sturl. i. 20, ii. 237. manna-skipti, n. pl. exchange of men, Germ. auswechselung, Hkr. i. 8. manna-slóð, f. ‘man’s sleuth,’ a track of men, Sturl. i. 83. manna-spor, n. pl. men’s footprints. Sturl. ii. 90, Eg. 578, Landn. 191. manna-styrkr, m. help, Þórð. 74. manna-sættir, m. a daysman, peacemaker, Fms. x. 51, Eb. manna-taka, u, f. a reception of men, strangers, Fb. ii. 194. manna-tal, n. = manntal, Hkr. ii. 340. manns-váði, a, m. danger of life, Fms. viii. 224. manna-vegr, m. a road where men pass, opp. to a wilderness, Grett. 115 A, Ld. 328. manna-verk, n. pl. = mannvirki, man’s work, work by human hands, Fb. i. 541. manns-verk, n. work to be done by a person, N. G. L. i., 38, Gþl. 114. manna-vist, f. a human abode. Fms. i. 226, Jb. 9, Orkn. 434. manns-vit, n. ‘man’s wit,’ human understanding, reason, Nj. 106. manna-völd, n. pl.; in the phrase, e-t er af manna-völdum, it is due to human causes, not by natural causes, e. g. of a fire, the disappearance of a thing, or the like, Nj. 76, Fms. ii. 146, iii. 98. manns-vöxtr, m. a man’s stature, Fas. ii. 508, Hom. 112. manna-þengill, m. king of men, the name of Njörð, Gm. 16, Edda 104. manns-æði, n. human bearing, behaviour. manns-æfi, f. man’s lifetime; mart kann skipask á mannsæfinni, a saying, Fms. vii. 156; mart verðr á mannsætinni, útítt var þat þá er vér vórum ungir, Fær. 195.

1) prebend (for the maintenance of a church or charitable institution);

2) surrender of real property for maintenance.

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or prófenda, u, f. [eccl. Lat. praebenda; Germ. pfründe]:—a prebend, for the maintenance of the church or charitable institutions; beneficia kirkjunnar er sumir kalla próvendur, K. Á. 228; hann lét göra kirkju norðr í Vágum ok lagði próvendu til, Hkr. iii. 248, Fms. vii. 100, x. 159; en síðan er Erkibiskups-stóll var skipaðr í Noregi, þá vóru próventur skipaðar at biskups-stólum, Anecd. 76:—a prebend, af próventum þeirra klerka, sem í brott eru at studium, H. E. i. 507; dýrar prófentur ( presents), Odd. 18.

2. spec.; in the Roman Catholic times laymen (often men of wealth and rank) in the decline of life retired and entered into a convent; at the same time they bequeathed to the church or convent a portion in money or estates for their maintenance; this portion was called prófenta,—Magnús konungr gaf sik í klaustr í Hólmi, ok tók við múnka-klæðum, þá var skeytt þangat Hernes mikla á Frostu í próventu hans, Fms. vii. 196; þann hlut jarðar sem Gróa gaf með sér í próventu til þverár-klaustrs, Dipl. iii. 5, B. K. 124; mátn vér ok dæmdum áðr-nefnt próventu-kaup ekki arfsvik við erfingja, Dipl. iii. 14. próventu-maðr, m. (-kona, u. f.), a person who has given his próventa, Dipl. iii. 6; prestar, klerkar, próventumenn. Bs. i. 848.

II. in mod. usage, gefa prófentu sína, and prófentu-karl, m.: prófentu-kerling, f., is used of old people in the same sense as arfsal and arfsals-maðr (q. v.) in the ancient law.