rites

(að), v.

1) helga sér land to appropriate land by performing sacred rites;

2) to hallow to one (hét hann at helga Þór allt landnám sitt);

3) helga þing, to proclaim the sanctity of a meeting;

helga e-n, to proclaim a person inviolable;

4) refl., helgast to he sanctifled.

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að, hælga, a Norse form, Bret. 34, 96, [heilagr], to make holy, hallow, sanctify:

I. a law term, to appropriate land or the like, by performing some sacred rites: komit hefi ek nú eldi á Þverárland ok er helgat landit Einari syni mínum, Glúm. 391; hann skaut yfir ana með tundr-öru ok helgaði sér svá landit fyrir vestan, Landn. 193; hann gerði eld mikinn við hvern vatns-ós ok helgaði sér svá allt hérað, 207; svá helguðu þeir sér allan Öxarfjörð, 234 (interesting): to adjudicate to one, hét hann því at h. Þór allt landnám sitt ok kenna við hann, Landn. 97; hann görði þar hof mikit ok helgaði Þór (dat.), id.; Ásbjörn helgaði landnám sitt Þór ok kallaði Þórs-mörk, 280: hence in mod. usage, helga sér e-ð, to prove a thing to be one’s own, make one’s right to a thing good, e. g. hann skal hafa það ef hann getr helgað sér það, he shall have it if he can prove it to be his, e. g. M. N. er fundinn, … réttr eigandi má helga sér og vitja, Þjóðólfr, passim of property lost and found.

β. helga sik, to clear oneself of a charge; þóat hinn helgi sik með heimiliskviðar-vitni, N. G. L. ii. 69.

γ. helga þing, h. leið to proclaim solemnly the sanctity of a meeting, fixing the pale or bounds (þinghelgi, q. v.); goði sá er þinghelgi á, hann skal þar þing helga enn fyrsta aptan, Grág. i. 100; með þessum orðum ok þingmörkum helguðu langfeðgar hans alþingi, Landn. (App.) 335; Glúmr átti ok at helga haustþing, Glúm. 394; hann sendi Þórð at helga Þverár-leið, Sturl. iii. 169; leið skal svá h. jafnt sem þing; á leið helgaðri, Grág. i. 122, Band.

2. of a person (in acc.), to proclaim a person’s inviolability; ek helgaða þik á Þingskálaþingi, Nj. 99 (of an outlawed person); hann keypti at Þormóði, at hann helgaði Örn, Landn. 288, i. e. to make out that an outlaw had been slain within a bowshot (örskots-helgi), he being inviolable (heilagr) within that distance.

3. in mod. usage, to protect by law; helga varp, æðarfugl, etc., = friða, q. v.

II. eccl. to hallow, sanctify; helga þú þá í þínum sannleika, John xvii. 17; fyrir þá helga eg sjálfan mig, svo að þeir sé og helgaðir í sannleikanum, 19, Ephes. v. 26, 1 Thess. v. 23, Hebr. xiii. 12, 1 Pet. iii. 15; meðal þeirra sem helgaðir verða, Acts xx. 32; helgat fyrir Heilagan Anda, Rom. xv. 16; þér eruð helgaðir, þér eruð réttlátir, 1 Cor. vi. 11, passim; hvort er meira? gullit eða musterit hvert er helgar gullit, … eða altarið það sem offrit helgar? Matth. xxiii. 17, 19.

III. reflex. to be sanctified, Hom. 96, Fms. iv. 111; helgisk og styrkisk þessar hendr, Fms. viii. 26.

(gen. seiðs or seiðar), m. spell, charm, enchantment, incantation; seiða (efla, magna) seið, to work a spell, practise sorcery.

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m., gen. seiðar, dat. seiði; the fem. seið sina (sinn), Fms. ii. 136, and seiðit, Fas. iii. 319, are false forms:—a spell, charm, enchantment, incantation, which in the heathen times was solemnly performed at night; the wizards or witches were seated with certain solemn rites on a scaffold (seiðhjallr), from which they chanted their spells and songs; the ‘seidr’ was performed either to work any kind of good or evil to another person, or to be a kind of oracle or fortune-telling, to foreshow future events, such as the life and fate of those present, the weather, or the like; of the evil kind is the charm in Gísl. l. c., Ld. 152; fá at seið, Hkr. i. 21; Ingjaldr ok völvan ætluðu til seiðar mikils um nóttina, Fas. ii. 507; Freyja kenndi fyrst með Ásum seið, 8; fremja seið, Þorf. Karl. 376; efla seið, Eg. 403, Fas. ii. 72; magna seið, Gísl. 116; konungr bað hann hætta seiði, Fms. i. 10: hón bað fá sér konur er kunnu fræði þat sem til seiðsins þarf, Þorf. Karl. 378; var þangat at heyra íll læti er þeir frömdu seiðinn (seiðit Ed. wrongly), Fas. iii. 319: seiðis-hús, the house where the spell was worked. Fas. iii. 166, v. l.; in Yngl. S. ch. 7 the charm of ‘seidr’ is attributed to Odin; Óðinn kunni þá íþrótt, er mestr máttr fylgdi, ok framði sjálfr, er seiðr heitir, en af því mátti hann vita örlög manna ok úorðna hluti, svá ok at göra mönnum bana eðr úhamingju eða vanheilindi, svá ok at taka frá mönnum vit eðr afl ok gefa öðrum, en þessi fjölkyngi, er framið er, fylgir svá mikil ergi, at eigi þótti karlmönnum skammlaust við at fara, ok var gyðjunum kennd sú íþrótt, Yngl. S. ch. 7; as to the rites and ceremonies of the ‘seidr’ see esp. the interesting account in Þorf. Karl. S. ch. 3, compared with that in Vd. ch. 10 and Örvar Odds S. ch. 2 and 3; even the old poem Völuspá is framed as a song delivered by a prophetess working a spell. The witch scene in Macbeth is an echo of the ancient ‘seidr’ as it survived in tradition in Shakespeare’s time, though the devilry and the cauldron are later additions.

(-ar, -ir, acc. -u), m.

1) custom, habit (þat mun hér vera s., at menn ganga vápnlausir fyrir konung);

2) conduct, moral life (spilla ill mál góðum siðum);

3) religion, faith; inn forni s., the ancient (heathen) faith; inn nýi s., the new (Christian) faith; kristinn s., the Christian religion; heiðinn s., heathenism; í fornum sið, in the olden, or heathen, times.

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m., gen. siðar, dat. sið, pl. siðir, acc. siðu, mod. siði, [Ulf. sidus = ήθος; Hel. sidu; O. H. G. situ; Germ. sitte; Dan. sæd; Swed. sed]:—custom, habit, manner, Lat. mos, a word of importance and wide use; sjá, kanna annarra manna siðu, Sks. 17; sem þá var víða siðr til, Bs. i. 41; þat mun hér vera siðr, Eg. 110; sæmileikr hennar ok siðir, Str. 21; konungliga siðu, kaupmanna siðu, lærðra manna siðu, … siðu ok athæfi, Sks. 5; lands-siðr, the custom of the land; í fyrnskunni var sá siðr, at …, N. G. L. ii. 416: conversation, falla í sið með mönnum, to live sociably, Þiðr. 149 (sið-blendinn).

2. conduct, moral life [Lat. mores]; góðir siðir, þat er upphaf allra góðra siða at elska Guð, N. G. L. ii. 419; hann tók at semja heima-manna siðu ok híbýla-háttu, Bs. i. 102; sjá ok nema góða siðu, 271; at hvergi hefði þeir séð fegri siðu, id.; siða-tjón, Sks. 352; ó-siðir, ill manners, a wicked life, Bs. i. 62, N. G. L. ii 419; það er ó-siðr, ‘tis ill-breeding.

3. siðr (also in plur.) is the old and expressive word for religion, faith, as it appears in the life, laws, habits, and rites of a people; thus, inn Forni siðr, the ancient (heathen) faith; inn Nýi siðr, the new (Christian) faith; Kristinn siðr, the Christian religion; Heiðinn siðr, heathenism, etc.; snúa öllum til Kristins siðar, 655 iii. 3; eptir því sem mér skilsk, eru mjök sundrlausir siðir várir, Bs. i. 38; skurðgoða-blót ak allan heiðinn sið, 43; at þeir mætti sjá atferði siðar þess, er Kristnir menn höfðu, Ld. 174; er þat ok nær mínu hugborði, at þú, Kjartan, hafir betra sið þá er þú siglir af Noregi enn þá er þu komt hegat, 172; geldr at nýbreytni konungs, ok þessa ens nýja siðar er goðin hafa reiðsk … hversu ertú fúss, frændi, at taka við trú þeirri er konungr býðr?—Ekki em ek þess fúss, segir Bolli, þvíat mér lízt siðr þeirra veykligr mjök, 168, 170; kom þat ásamt með þeim, at níta sið þeim er konungr bauð, 166; Ólafr konungr boðaði siða-skipti þar í landi, Fms. ii. 26; þat spurðisk þar með at siða-skipti var orðit í Noregi, höfðu þeir kastað enum forna sið … Ok ef þeir menn koma út hingat er þann sið bjóða, þá skal ek þat vel flytja, Nj. 156; þeir hafa Ebreska tíða-görð ok alla siðu, Symb. 57; þeir biskup fóru með nýjan sið, Fs. 76; með nýjum sið ok boðorðum. 91; siðar þess er várir foreldrar hata haft, O. H. L. 23; í fornum sið, in the olden times, in the heathen times: hann var göfgastr allra herkonunga ok bezt at sér í fornum sið, Fb. i. 349. The same term was afterwards used of the Reformation (the Reformed faith as opp. to the Roman Catholic faith), [cp. Germ. die alte Sitten]; féllu þeir helzt í sið með herra Gizuri biskupi, sira Gísli Jónsson …, Bs. ii. 250; nokkuð ágrip um gömlu siðina, 247; hann tók af alla Pápista siðu, 249; vegna þeirra nýju siða, Safn i. 682.

4. a rite, ceremonial, esp. in plur.; brúðkaups-siðir, bridal ceremonies; kirkju-siðir. church rites; hirð-siðir, court ceremonies; borð-siðir, table ceremonies.

COMPDS: siðabót, siðamaðr, siðasamr, siðaskipti, siðavandr, siðavendni.

ar, m. attention, care, especially of funeral rites; veita a. dauðum mönnum, to lay out dead bodies, Eg. 34, v. 1.

2. now gener. accommodation or assistance in all that regards domestic life, esp. clothing; góðr, illr a.

(not athœfi, vide Sks. B., which carefully distinguishes between æ and œ), n. conduct, behaviour; a. kristinna manna, their rites, service, Fms. ii. 37, cp. Ld. 174; í öllu sínu a., conduct, proceeding, Fms. xi. 78, viii. 253: manners, ceremonies, Sks. 301; konunga a., royal manners, Hom.: þetta hefir verit a. ( instinct) þessa skrímsls, Sks.: deeds, doings; skal nú þar standa fyrst um a. þeirra, Mag. 11. Now freq. in a theol. sense.

n. benediction (from Irish beannacht).

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n. an απ. λεγ.; þat var háttr hans ef hann (viz. Odin) sendi menn sína til orrostu eðr aðrar sendifarar, at hann lagði áðr hendr í höfuð þeim ok gaf þeim bjannak, trúðu þeir at þá mundi vel farast, Ýngl. S. ch. 11; it is commonly interpreted as benedictio, but it is no doubt the Scot. bannock, from Gael, banagh, an oat-cake; cp. Lat. panis. The whole passage in the Hkr. points to Christian rites and ideas brought into the pagan North, but which are here attributed to Odin, (cp. the breaking of bread and the Eucharist.)

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(að), v. to fast, abstain from food; f. þurt, to fast on dryfood.

1) fast, fasting;

2) season appointed for fasting (níu vikna f.).

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u, f. [Ulf. fastubni; O. H. G. fastá; Germ. faste; Swed. fasta; Dan. faste; a word introduced along with Christianity; the old Scandinavians could have no such word, as voluntary fasting was unknown in the heathen rites, and at the first introduction of Christianity the practice was sorely complained of, cp. Hkr. Hák. S. Góða, ch. 17]:—a fast, fasting, Hom. 73, K. Þ. K. 122, Rb. 82; the word therefore occurs first in poets of the beginning of the 11th century, e. g. Fms. vi. 86, cp. boð-f., lög-f., etc.

COMPDS: föstuafbrigð, föstubindandi, föstudagr, Föstudagsnótt, Föstukveld, föstumatr, Föstumorgin, Föstunátt, föstutíð, föstutími.

II. Lent, Fms. viii. 28, Ld. 320, N. G. L. i. 12; distinction is made between the Easter Lent, (sjö-vikna Fasta, seven weeks Lent, also called langa F., the long Fast, K. Þ. K. 122, Bs. i. 801, and passim; níu-vikna F., the nine weeks Lent, K. Þ. K. 122, Grág. i. 325), and Jóla-f., (the Yule Lent, the time from Advent to Yule, Grág. l. c., Rb. 46, K. Þ. K. 124.) Föstu-gangr or Föstu-ígangr and -inngangr, m. beginning of these seasons, esp. Lent; fimm eru föstu-ígangar, Clem. 58, Sturl. iii. 81, Rb. 4 (v. l.), 48, 76. Föstu-prédikan, f. a Lenten sermon. Föstu-tjald, n. hangings used in churches during Lent, Vm. 52, 109.

(acc. helgan (heilagan), pl. helgir (heilagir), &c.), a.

1) holy;

2) inviolable, sacred.

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adj., usually contracted before a vowel, whereby the root vowel becomes short, thus helgan, helgir, helgum, helgar, and the definite helgi, helga; but also uncontractcd, esp. in mod. usage, heilagir, heilagan, heilögum, definite heilagi; [Ulf. seems not to have known the word, and renders αγιος etc. by veihs; so also in Dan. and Swed. local names, holy places and temples are marked by a prefixed or suffixed vi-, e. g. Vi-borg, Odens-e (= Óðins-vé): heilagr is derived in a metaph. sense from heill, whole, and is consequently not so old as the primitive vé, veihs; so A. S. hâlag; Engl. holy; Hel. hêlag; Germ. heilig; Dan. hellig; Swed. helig]:

I. holy in heathen usage, helgar kindir, holy beings, Vsp. I; hár baðmr heilagr, 19, v. l.; heilög goð, holy gods; ginnheilög goð, Vsp.; heilakt land, Gm. 4; heilög (grind) fyrir helgum dyrum, 22; heilög vötn, 29, Hkv. 2. 1; heilög fjöll (hélug?), Fm. 26; helgu fulli, the holy toast of Odin, i. e. song, poetry, Edda (in a verse); af helgu skutli, from the holy table, Haustl. 4; þat vatn er svá heilakt, at …, Edda 11; brunnr mjök heilagr, 10: in local names, þat fjall kallaði hann Helga-fell, Holy-fell, Eb. 10; at þeir görði lönd sín helgari en aðrar jarðir, 20; ok kallar þá jörð nú eigi helgari en aðra, 24:—heilagir fiskar (mod. heilag-fiski), a halibut, Dan. helle-flynder, Bs. i. 365.

2. as a law term (and this is no doubt the original sense of the word), inviolable, one whose person is sacred, who cannot be slain with impunity, esp. within certain boundaries; hann (fjörbaugs-maðr, q. v.) skal heilagr vera at þeim heimilum ok í örskots-helgi við á alla vega, etc., Grág. i. 89; hann er heilagr á þeirri götu ok í örskots-helgi við þá götu, 132; hann verðr eigi heilagr ef eigi var sagt til heimilis hans at féráns-dómi, ok eigi verðr hann heilagr ef eigi gelzk fé þat er þar skyldi gjaldask, 133; hann er jamheilagr á götu er hann ferr til skips, 90, vide Þ. Þ. ch. 33 sqq.; falla óheilagr, to fall unholy, to be slain as an outlaw for whom no weregild was to be paid, Grág. and Sagas passim, cp. the interesting passages in Landn. 5. ch. 4, Sturl. 1. ch. 14; frið-heilagr, ‘peace-holy,’ protected, a term for birds and animals protected by law; úheilagr, outlawed, exlex: closely akin are the above phrases, in which heilagr is used as an epithet of places, h. land, fjöll, etc.

II. eccl. holy, Lat. sanctus, Bs. passim, N. T., hymns, sermons, etc.; Heilagr Audi, the Holy Ghost; helgir dagar, holy days; halda heilagt, vide halda; helgir dómar, holy relics; but helgi-dómr, holidom, sanctuarium; heilög orð, holy words; helgir siðir, holy rites; helgar bækr, holy books; helgar tíðir, horae canonicae; helgir menn, saints of the Roman church; Heilagir = Άγιοι, i. e. Christians, N. T.

2. of special feasts, Helga Vika, the Holy Week, the week after Whitsuntide, Dipl. iii. to; Nóttin Helga, the Holy Night, cp. Germ. Weihnachten; Helgi Þórs-dagr, Holy Thursday, Fms. ix.

u, f. ‘holm-gang, holm-going,’ a duel or wager of battle fought on an islet or ‘holm,’ which with the ancients was a kind of last appeal or ordeal; and wherever a Thing (parliament) was held, a place was appointed for the wager of battle, as the holm in the Axe River in the alþingi. The hólmganga differed from the plain einvígi or duel, as being accompanied by rites and governed by rules, whilst the latter was not,—þvíat á hólmgöngu er vandhæfi en alls eigi á einvígi, Korm. 84. The ancient Icel. Sagas abound in wagers of battle, chiefly the Korm. S. ch. 10 and passim: some champions were nicknamed from the custom, e. g. Hólmgöngu-Bersi (Korm. S.), Hólmgöngu-Starri, Hólmgöngu-Máni, Hólmgöngu-Hrafn, Landn. About A. D. 1006 (see Tímatal), the hólmganga was abolished by law in the parliament, on account of the unhappy feud between Gunnlaug Snake-tongue and Skald-Hrafn, Gunnl. S. ch. 11, cp. Valla L. ch. 5 (þá vóru af tekin hólmgöngu-lög öll ok hólmgöngur), referring to about A. D. 1010; a single instance however of a challenge in the north of Icel. is recorded after this date (about the year 1030–1040), but it was not accepted (Lv. S. ch. 30); the wager in Lv. ch. 17 was previous (though only by a few years) to the fight between Gunnlaug and Rafn. It is curious that Jón Egilsson, in his Lives of Bishops (written about A. D. 1600, Bisk. Ann. ch. 36, Safn i. 64), mentions a wager of battle between the parties of the two bishops, Jón Arason and Ögmund, on the old holm in the Axe River A. D. 1529; but the whole is evidently a mere reproduction of the tale of the Horatii in Livy. Maurer thinks that the two important acts of legislation, the institution of the Fifth Court in 1004 and the abolition of the ordeal of hólmganga a few years later, are closely connected, as the institution of the new court of appeal made the decision by battle superfluous. In Norway, if we are to believe Grett. S. ch. 21 (þá tók Eirekr af allar hólmgöngur í Noregi), the hólmgöngur were abolished about the year 1012. It is very likely that the tournaments of the Norman age, fought in lists between two sets of champions, sprang from the heathen hólmganga, though this was always a single combat. For separate cases see the Sagas, Korm. S. l. c., Gunnl. S. l. c., Eg. ch. 57, 67, Nj. ch. 24, 60, Landn. 2. ch. 13, 3. ch. 7, Rd. ch. 1, 19, Gísl. init., Glúm. ch. 4, Valla L. l. c., Hallfr. S. ch. 10. A curious kind of duel in a tub is recorded in Flóam. S. ch. 17, called kerganga, perhaps akin to the mod. Swed. fight in a belt. For England see Sir Edmund Head’s interesting notes to Glúm.

COMPDS: hólmgönguboð, hólmgöngulög, hólmgöngumaðr, hólmgöngustaðr, hólmgöngusverð.

n. housel.

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n. [Ulf. hunsl = θυσία and λατρεία, John xvi. 2; A. S. húsl; E. Engl. housel; Swed. husl]:— the housel, Corpus Domini, a word only used during the Roman Catholic times, never in heathen rites, although the word is Teutonic; at the Reformation it was disused, Hom. 34, 157; taka húsl, N. G. L. i. 144, Karl. 27, passim.

COMPDS: húslker, húslþungr, húsltaka.

a. Christian; kristin lög, ecclesiastical law.

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adj. Christian, K. Þ. K. (init.), Nj. 158, Eg. 265, Bs. passim; vel Kristinn, a good Christian, observing the Christian rites, Eg. 265, Fms. i. 17; ílla Kristinn, a bad Christian, Mork. 227 (in a verse); enn Kristnasti maðr í Antiochia, the best Christian in Antioch, Clem. 38; Kristið morð, the murder of a christened child, opp. to heiðit morð, N. G. L. i. 340.

COMPDS: Kristinndómr, Kristinsdómsréttr, Kristinlög, Kristinnalagaþáttr, Kristinnréttr.

(gen. -ar), m. the sum which the bridegroom had to pay for his bride, and which after the wedding became her own property.

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m., gen. mundar, dat. mundi; [cp. O. H. G. munt, whence low Lat. mundium = tutelage in the old Teut. laws; women are said to live ‘sub mundio’ of their parents and husbands, Du Cange, s. v.; cp. also Germ. vor-mund = a guardian, and mündling = a minor or a person living under tutelage; perh. akin to mund ( hand), as hand and authority are kindred notions. So in Lat. phrases, in manu parentis, manumissio, etc., used of minors, slaves. In Norse the word is used in a special sense.]

B. In the ancient laws and customs matrimony was a bargain (brúð-kaup), hence the phrase to buy a wife, kaupa konu; the wooing was often performed by a deputy, and at the espousals (festar) a sum was agreed on, which the bridegroom was to pay for his bride. This sum was called mundr; and this transaction between the damsel’s father or guardian and the other party was called mundar-mál or mund-mál, e. g. Nj. ch. 2, Mörðr (the father) svarar, hugsað hefi ek kostinn, hón (i. e. my daughter, the damsel) skal hafa sextigi hundraða, ok skal aukask þriðjungi í þínum garði: hence the phrases, kaupa mey mundi, to buy a maid by mund; mey mundi keypt; gjalda mund, Skv. 1. 30, Fm. 41, N. G. L. i. 27, 48, Am. 93, and passim. No marriage was lawful without the payment of mund, for even if the wedding had been lawfully performed, without such previous payment of mund the sons of such a wedlock were illegitimate, and were called hornung (q. v.),—hann kallaði ykkr frillu-sonu,—Hárekr sagði at þeir mundi vitni til fá at móðir þeirra var mundi keypt, Eg. 40; the least amount of mund in Norway was twelve ounces, called the poor man’s mund (öreiga mundr), N. G. L. i. 27, 54; in Iceland it was a mark, sá maðr er eigi arfgengr er móðir hans er eigi mundi keypt, mörk eða meira fé, Grág. (Kb.) i. 222. On the wedding night the stipulated mund became the wife’s personal property, and thus bears some resemblance to the ‘morning-gift’ (morgun-gjöf) of the later legislation; þá er hjú koma í eina sæing, at þá er konu heimill mundr sinn ok svá vextir af fé því öllu er henni er mælt í mundar-málum, Grág. i. 370. The wife herself or her parents might, in case of divorce after misconduct, call on the husband to pay up the mund and the heiman-fylgja (q. v.) of which he had the charge, Grág. Festaþ. ch. 51; ella mun ek láta nefna mér vátta nú þegar, ok segja skilit við þik, ok mun ek láta föður minn heimta mund minn ok heiman-fylgju, Gísl. 16 (p. 32 in Mr. Dasent’s Gisli the Outlaw), cp. also Yngl. S. ch. 17; nefndi Mörðr (the father) sér vátta, ok lýsti fésök á hendr Rúti (the husband) um fémál dóttur sinnar ok taldi níutigi hundraða fjár, lýsti hann til gjalda ok útgreiðslu, Nj. 15 and Dasent’s Burnt Njal (l. c.), the Sagas passim, at abo Grág., esp. the section Festaþ. ch. vii. sqq. The mundr therefore was different to the dowry (heiman-fylgja), and has nothing answering to it in the modern law, nor perhaps in the old Greek or Roman customs; hence Tacitus speaks of it as something strange, dotem non uxor marito, sed maritus uxori affert. Germ. ch. 18. On the other hand, the Teutonic rites of marriage call to mind the ancient patriarchal times as described in Gen. xxiv and xxix. The etymological connection between mundium = tutelage and the Norse word is not altogether clear. In modern Icelandic usage heiman-mundr is erroneouslv used instead of heiman-fylgja, q. v.

d and að, [Lat., an eccl. word], to give the ‘prima signatio’ or ‘signaculum crucis’ a religious act, preliminary to christening; persons thus signed with the cross were catechumens, and if adults they could join in the social life among Christians; they were also admitted to a special part of the mass (primsigndra messa = the mass for the ‘prime-signed’), whereas all intercourse with heathens was forbidden. An infant who died, having received the prima signatio, but not baptism, was to be buried in the outskirts of the churchyard, where the consecrated and unconsecrated earth meet, and without burial service,—ef barn andask primsignt, ok hefir eigi verit skírt (primsignt ok hefir eigi meiri skírn, Sb. l. c.) ok skal þat grafa við kirkju-garð út, þar er mætisk vígð mold ok úvígð, ok syngva eigi legsöng yfir, K. Þ. K. (Kb.) 7. A monster-shapen infant was to receive the prima signatio, but not baptism, and then to be left to die (exposed) at the church door—þat barn (a monster-child) skal ok til kirkju bera, láta primsigna, leggja fyrir kirkju-dyr, gæti inn nánasti niðr til þess er önd er ór, N. G. L. i. 339; í þessi efan primsigni prestr ok skíri, iii. 251; hann primsignaði hann fyrst ok skírði hann síðan eptir siðvenju, Barl. 147. The words in the English Prayer Book—‘and do sign him (her) with the sign of the cross’—are remains of the ‘signaculum crucis’ of the ancient church. During the heathen age the Scandinavian merchants and warriors who served among Christians abroad in England or Germany used to take the prima signatio, for it enabled them to live both among Christians and heathens without receiving baptism and forsaking their old faith; ek em primsigndr at eins en eigi skírðr, I am ‘prime-signed,’ but not baptized, Fms. ii. 240, Valla L. 205, Kristni S. ch. 1, 2, Fb. i. 346, 357, ii. 137, 243; England var Kristið ok hafði lengi verit þá er þetta var tíðenda, Aðalsteinn konungr var vel Kristinn … hann bað Þórólf ok þá bræðr at þeir skyldi láta primsignask, þvíat þat var þá mikill siðr, bæði með kaupmönnum ok þeim er á mála gengu með Kristnum mönnum, þvíat þeir menn, er primsigndir vóru, höfðu allt samneyti við Kristna menn ok svá heiðna, en höfðu þat at átrúnaði er þeim var skapfeldast, Eg. 265, Gísl. 96: see also Vita Anscarii, ch. 24. These ‘prime-signed’ men, returning to their native land, brought with them the first notions of Christianity into the heathen Northern countries, having lived among Christians, and seen their daily life and worship, and they undoubtedly paved the way for the final acceptance of the Christian faith among their countrymen. It may even be that some strange heathen rites of the last days of paganism, such as the bjannak (q. v.), the sprinkling of infants with water, were due to this cause.

(pl. -ar), f.

1) position, site;

setning hússins, the plan of the house;

2) order, arrangement;

hver er setning háttanna, what is the composition of the metres;

3) order, rule, rite (bera járn eptir réttri setningu);

manna setning, human rule;

at setningu, according ot a plan.

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f. position, site, Al. 89; s. hússins, the plan of a bouse, Fms. v. 338; þoka e-u ór setningu, to dislodge, Rb. 562.

2. order, arrangement, mode; hver er s. háttanna, what is the mode, composition of the metres’? Edda 120.

3. an order, rule, rite; skipan ok setning, Stj. 279; bera járn eptir réttri setningu ( rites), Fms. ix. 283; með annarri setningu, 625. 82; eptir heilagra feðra setning, K. Á. 30; manna setning, human rules, opp. to divine commandments, Anecd. 54; fornar ok lögligar setningar, Sks. 346; setningar eðr siðvenjur, K. Á. 222; boðorð ok setningar, Stj. 162; lögligar setningar, Sks. 342; s. landa á milli, 277; af setningu, according to a plan, Skúlda 174, Fms. iii. 184; this last use of the word is influenced by eccl. Lat. In mod. usage the masc. prevails.

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(syng; söng, sungum; sunginn), v.

1) to ring, clash, whistle, of metals, weapons (sverðit syngr; syngr í atgeirinum);

2) to sing; s. messu, to sing mass; absol. to officiate in a mass (þar söng prestr sá, er Þrándr hét).

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pres. syng; pret. saung or söng, pl. sungu; subj. syngi; imperat. syng, syngdu; part. sunginn; older syngva, and then even sounded singva, as seen from rhymes, þ ings, s ingva., Eb. 27 new Ed. l. 24, in a verse of the 10th century: [Ulf. siggwan = ἄδειν; A. S. and O. H. G. singan; Engl. sing; Dan. synge; Swed. and early Dan. sjunga]:—to sing, prop. to ring, clash, of metals, weapons; to whistle, of wind, or the like; hurð syngr í lási, Fms. iii. 67; syngr í atgeirinum, Nj. 44, 119; bítia þat sverð, nema sjálfum þér syngvi um höfði, Hkv. 2; (örvar) sungu á mínum skjaldi, Eb. (in a verse); sverð saung of vanga mér, Kormak; það syngr í reiðanum, syngr í böndum, of the rigging of a ship in a storm, see Lex. Poët.: of the swan’s single sad note, syngi, syngi svanir mínir.

II. to sing, in tunes; sungu ok slungu snúðga steini, Gs. (of the maids at a hand-mill); s. sálm, to sing a hymn.

2. in an eccl. sense; s. messu, to sing the mass, Nj. 157; prestr á eigi at syngva fleiri messur enn tvær, K. Þ. K. 21 new Ed.; s. messu heiman, Bs. i. 440; um morguninn er sungnar vóru tíðir, Fms. x. 10; ok sungu upp responsorium, 15; s. psaltara, Bs. i. 74, Fms. xi. 274; syngja tíðir, to chant the ‘hours,’ passim: absol. to officiate in a mass, þar söng prestr sá er Þrándr hét, Fms. ix. 232; þangat söng haun einn hátíðar-dag, Bs. i. 435: spec. phrases, s. e-n til moldar, ‘to sing a person into the earth,’ to perform the funeral rites; þeim lærðum manni er mik syngr til moldar gef ek þrjú kúgildi, Dipl. iv. 8; syngja yfir e-m, to sing over one, i. e. to sing the burial service; syngja yfir líki, þær tiðir er til byrjar, N. G. L. i. 16, and so in mod. usage (yfir-söngr); also of the sick, Fms. vii. 39; s. e-n í bann (bannsyngja), to chant an excommunication, Bs. i. 768.

III. pass., þann tíma er söngst óttu-söngr, Fms. vii. 310; þá er messa syngst, Am. 101; skal syngjast messa, Dipl. i. 10; syngjandi sálu-messa, iv. 8.

n. observance, rites of faith, Fms. ii. 31, MS. 655 xxvii. 18.

and önd-ugi, n. [from and- ( opposite) and vegr]:—an ‘opposite-seat,’ high-seat, so called because two seats are placed opposite to one another; in ancient timbered halls the benches were placed longways, running along the walls of the halls (sec bekkr), with the two seats of honour in the middle facing one another; the northern bench facing the sun, was called öndvegi it æðra, the higher or first high-seat, the opposite or southern bench being it úæðra, the lower or second high-seat; the two high-seats were the most honoured places in the hall, and a chief guest used to be placed in the southern high-seat. In England the master and mistress sitting opposite one another at each end of the table may be a remnant of this old Scandinavian custom. The sides of the high-seat were ornamented with uprights (öndugis-súlur) carved with figures, such as a head of Thor or the like; these posts were regarded with religious reverence; many of the settlers of Iceland are said to have taken the high-seat posts with them, and when near Iceland to have thrown them over-board to drift ashore, and where they found them, there they took up their abode. When a man of rank died, the son, after all rites performed, solemnly seated himself in his father’s seat, as a token of succession: in Vd. ch. 23, the sons sat not in the father’s seat before they had avenged his death.

B. References in illustration of this: Þorgerðr sat á tali við Þorstein bróður sinn í öndvegi, Ísl. ii. 200; var þeim Illuga ok sonum hans skipat í öndvegi, en þeim brúðguma á annat öndvegi gegnt Illuga, konur sátu a palli, 250; Guðmundr sat í öndvegi, en Þórir Helgason gagnvart honum, en konur sátu á palli, brúðr sat á miðjan pall, etc., Lv. 37; á hinn úæðra bekk gagnvert öndugi mínu (better, ‘útar frá öndnginu,’ v. l.), Nj. 129; þat var forn siðr í Noregi ok svá í Danmörk ok Svíþjóðu, at konungs hásæti var á miðjan langbekk í veizlustofum, sat þar dróttning til vinstri handar konungi, var þat kallat konungs öndvegi …, annat öndvegi var á hinn úæðra pall, etc., Fms. vi. 439; af öllum hirðmönnum virði konungr mest skáld sín, þeir skipuðu annat öndvegi, Eg. 24; konungr tekr blíðliga við Hjálmari, ok skipar í öndvegi gegnt sér, Fms. iii. 79; þér mun skipat á inn óæðra bekk gegnt öndugi Rúts, Nj. 32; reis hann þá upp or rekkju ok settisk í öndvegi, Eg. 644; eta at ölkrásim ok í öndugi at senda, Akv. 36; nú skal presti bjóða ok konu hans til erfis, sitja skal hann í andvegi ok kona hans í hjá honum, N. G. L. i. 404; hann gékk í höllina ok sá þar sitja í öndugi Baldr bróður sinn, Edda 38; jarl gékk inn í stofuna, var þar fjölmenni mikit, þar sat í öndugi maðr gamall … jarl settisk öðrum-megin gagnvart Þorgný, Ó. H. 66; hann sá mann mikinn ok vegligan í öndvegi, Glúm. 336; ef maðr verðr dauðr, þá skal arfi í öndvegi setjask, Js. 75; heim skal búanda stemna ok til húss fara … stemni hann honum inn til andvegis, N. G. L. i. 217, 219: the saying, eigi verðr öllum í öndvegi skipað, it is not for all to sit on the high-seat, cp. Horace’s non cuivis homini contingit adire Corinthum.

COMPDS: öndugishöldr, öndvegissúla, öndvegissæti.