The Midgard Serpent

by James L. Nelson

  block – nautical term for a pulley.

  boss - the round, iron centerpiece of a wooden shield. The boss formed an iron cup protruding from the front of the shield, providing a hollow in the back across which ran the hand grip.

  bothach – Gaelic term for poor tenant farmers, serfs.

  brace - line used for hauling a yard side to side on a horizontal plane. Used to adjust the angle of the sail to the wind.

  brat – a rectangular cloth worn in various configurations as an outer garment over a leine.

  bride-price - money paid by the family of the groom to the family of the bride.

  byrdingr - a smaller ocean-going cargo vessel used by the Norsemen for trade and transportation. Generally about 40 feet in length, the byrdingr was a smaller version of the more well-known knarr.

  cable – a measure of approximately 600 feet.

  clench nail – a type of nail that, after being driven through a board, has a type of washer called a rove placed over the end and is then bent over to secure it in place.

  clew – one of the lower corners of a square sail, to which the sheet is attached.

  ceorl – a commoner in early Medieval England, a peasant, but also a small-time landowner with rights. Members of the ceorl class served in the fyrd.

  curach - a boat, unique to Ireland, made of a wood frame covered in hide. They ranged in size, the largest propelled by sail and capable of carrying several tons. The most common sea-going craft of mediaeval Ireland. Curach was the Gaelic word for boat which later became the word curragh.

  dagmál – breakfast time

  danegeld - tribute paid by the English to the Vikings to secure peace.

  derbfine – In Irish law, a family of four generations, including a man, his sons, grandsons and great grandsons.

  dragon ship - the largest of the Viking warships, upwards of 160 feet long and able to carry as many as 300 men. Dragon ships were the flagships of the fleet, the ships of kings.

  dubh gall - Gaelic term for Vikings of Danish descent. It means Black Strangers, a reference to the mail armor they wore, made dark by the oil used to preserve it. See fin gall.

  ell – a unit of length, a little more than a yard.

  eyrir – Scandinavian unit of measurement, approximately an ounce.

  félag – a fellowship of men who owed each other a mutual obligation, such as multiple owners of a ship, or a band or warriors who had sworn allegiance to one another.

  figurehead – ornamental carving on the bow of a ship.

  fin gall - Gaelic term for Vikings of Norwegian descent. It means White Strangers. See dubh gall.

  forestay – a rope running from the top of a ship’s mast to the bow used to support the mast.

  Frisia – a region in the northern part of the modern-day Netherlands.

  Freya - Norse goddess of beauty and love, she was also associated with warriors, as many of the Norse deity were. Freya often led the Valkyries to the battlefield.

  fyrd – in Medieval England, a levy of commoners called up for military service when needed.

  gallows – tall, T-shaped posts on the ship’s centerline, forward of the mast, on which the oars and yard were stored when not in use.

  hack silver – pieces of silver from larger units cut up for distribution.

  hall – the central building on a Viking-age farm. It served as dining hall, sleeping quarters and storage. Also known as a longhouse.

  halyard - a line by which a sail or a yard is raised.

  Haustmánudur – early autumn. Literally, harvest-month.

  Hel - in Norse mythology, the daughter of Loki and the ruler of the underworld where those who are not raised up to Valhalla are sent to suffer. The same name, Hel, is given to the realm over which she rules, the Norse hell.

  hersir – in medieval Norway, a magistrate who served to oversee a region under the rule of a king.

  hide – a unit of land considered sufficient to support a single family.

  hird - an elite corps of Viking warriors hired and maintained by a king or powerful jarl. Unlike most Viking warrior groups, which would assemble and disperse at will, the hird was retained as a semi-permanent force which formed the core of a Viking army.

  hirdsman - a warrior who is a member of the hird.

  hólmganga – a formal, organized duel fought in a marked off area between two men.

  jarl - title given to a man of high rank. A jarl might be an independent ruler or subordinate to a king. Jarl is the origin of the English word earl.

  Jörmungandr – in Norse mythology, a vast sea serpent that surrounds the earth, grasping its own tail.

  knarr - a Norse merchant vessel. Smaller, wider and sturdier than the longship, knarrs were the workhorse of Norse trade, carrying cargo and settlers wherever the Norsemen traveled.

  Laigin – Medieval name for the modern-day county of Leinster in the south-east corner of Ireland.

  league – a distance of three miles.

  lee shore – land that is downwind of a ship, on which a ship is in danger of being driven.

  leeward – down wind.

  leech – either one of the two vertical edges of a square sail.

  leine – a long, loose-fitting smock worn by men and women under other clothing. Similar to the shift of a later period.

  levies - conscripted soldiers of ninth century warfare.

  Loki - Norse god of fire and free spirits. Loki was mischievous and his tricks caused great trouble for the gods, for which he was punished.

  longphort - literally, a ship fortress. A small, fortified port to protect shipping and serve as a center of commerce and a launching off point for raiding.

  luchrupán – Middle Irish word that became the modern-day Leprechaun.

  luff – the shivering of a sail when its edge is pointed into the wind and the wind strikes it on both sides.

  Midgard – one of nine worlds in Norse mythology, it is the earth, the world known and visible to humans.

  Niflheim – the World of Fog. One of the nine worlds in Norse mythology, somewhat analogous to Hell, the afterlife for people who do not die honorable deaths.

  Njord – Norse god of the sea and seafaring.

  Norns – in Norse mythology, women who sit at the center of the world and hold the fate of each person by spinning the thread of each person’s life.

  Odin - foremost of the Norse gods. Odin was the god of wisdom and war, protector of both chieftains and poets.

  oénach –a major fair, often held on a feast day in an area bordered by two territories.

  perch - a unit of measure equal to 16½ feet. The same as a rod.

  Ragnarok - the mythical final battle when most humans and gods would be killed by the forces of evil and the earth destroyed, only to rise again, purified.

  rath – Gaelic word for a ringfort. Many Irish place names still contain the word Rath.

  rod – a unit of measure equal to 16½ feet. The same as a perch

  rove – a square washer used to fasten the planks of a longship. A nail is driven through the plank and the hole in the washer and then bent over.

  ringfort - common Irish homestead, consisting of houses protected by circular earthwork and palisade walls.

  rí túaithe – Gaelic term for a minor king, who would owe allegiance to nobles higher in rank.

  rí tuath – a minor king who is lord over several rí túaithe.

  rí ruirech –a supreme or provincial king, to whom the rí tuath owe allegiance.

  sceattas – small, thick silver coins minted in England and Frisia in the early Middle Ages.

  seax – any of a variety of edged weapons longer than a knife but shorter and lighter than a typical sword.

  sheer strake – the uppermost plank, or strake, of a boat or ship’s hull. On a Viking ship the sheer strake would form the upper edge of the ship’s hull.

  sheet – a rope that controls a sail. In the case of a square sail the sheets pull the clews down to hold the sail so the wind can
fill it.

  shieldwall - a defensive wall formed by soldiers standing in line with shields overlapping.

  shire reeve – a magistrate who served a king or ealdorman and carried out various official functions within his district. One of the highest ranking officials, under whom other, more minor reeves served. The term shire reeve is the basis of the modern-day sheriff.

  shroud – a heavy rope stretching from the top of the mast to the ship’s side that prevents the mast from falling sideways.

  skald - a Viking-era poet, generally one attached to a royal court. The skalds wrote a very stylized type of verse particular to the medieval Scandinavians. Poetry was an important part of Viking culture and the ability to write it a highly regarded skill.

  sling - the center portion of the yard.

  sœslumadr – official appointed by the king to administer royal holdings. Similar to the English shire reeve.

  spar – generic term used for any of the masts or yards that are part of a ship’s rig.

  stem – the curved timber that forms the bow of the ship. On Viking ships the stem extended well above the upper edge of the ship and the figurehead was mounted there.

  strake – one of the wooden planks that make up the hull of a ship. The construction technique, used by the Norsemen, in which one strake overlaps the one below it is called lapstrake construction.

  swine array - a Viking battle formation consisting of a wedge-shaped arrangement of men used to attack a shieldwall or other defensive position.

  tánaise ríg – Gaelic term for heir apparent, the man assumed to be next in line for a kingship.

  thegn – a minor noble or a land-holder above the peasant class who also served the king in a military capacity.

  thing - a communal assembly.

  Thor - Norse god of storms and wind, but also the protector of humans and the other gods. Thor’s chosen weapon was a hammer. Hammer amulets were popular with Norsemen in the same way that crosses are popular with Christians.

  thrall - Norse term for a slave. Origin of the English word “enthrall”.

  thwart - a rower’s seat in a boat. From the old Norse term meaning “across”.

  tuath – a minor kingdom in medieval Ireland that consisted of several túaithe.

  túaithe – a further subdivision of a kingdom, ruled by a rí túaithe

  Ulfberht – a particular make of sword crafted in the Germanic countries and inscribed with the name Ulfberht or some variant. Though it is not clear who Ulfberht was, the swords that bore his name were of the highest quality and much prized.

  unstep – to take a mast down. To put a mast in place is to step the mast.

  Valhalla - a great hall in Asgard where slain warriors would go to feast, drink and fight until the coming of Ragnarok.

  Valkyries - female spirits of Norse mythology who gathered the spirits of the dead from the battle field and escorted them to Valhalla. They were the Choosers of the Slain, and though later romantically portrayed as Odin’s warrior handmaidens, they were originally viewed more demonically, as spirits who devoured the corpses of the dead.

  vantnale – a wooden lever attached to the lower end of a shroud and used to make the shroud fast and to tension it.

  varonn – springtime. Literally “spring work” in Old Norse.

  Vik - An area of Norway south of modern-day Oslo. The name is possibly the origin of the term Viking.

  wattle and daub - common medieval technique for building walls. Small sticks were woven through larger uprights to form the wattle, and the structure was plastered with mud or plaster, the daub.

  weather – closest to the direction from which the wind is blowing, when used to indicate the position of something relative to the wind.

  wergild - the fine imposed for taking a man’s life. The amount of the wergild was dependent on the victim’s social standing.

  witan - a council of the greater nobles and bishops of a region, generally assembled to advise the king.

  yard - a long, tapered timber from which a sail was suspended. When a Viking ship was not under sail, the yard was turned lengthwise and lowered to near the deck with the sail lashed to it.