Gothi

thumb|right|250px|upright|A depiction of a leading the people in sacrificing to [[Thor in this painting by J. L. Lund]]

Gothi or (plural , fem. ; Old Norse: ) was a position of political and social prominence in the Icelandic Commonwealth. The term originally had a religious significance, referring to a pagan leader responsible for a religious structure and communal feasts, but the title is primarily known as an expression for the secular political power in medieval Iceland, yet on the other side representing the enhanced power of the lay community of the Church in the Icelandic Commonwealth, throughout the Civil Wars era of the extended North Sea realm (1130-1241). The implications of the Concordat of Worms "solving" the Investiture Controversy were immense as the distinction and braiding of the secular and the religious dimensions and spheres of interest had its more or less unique character, ideals and traditions, particularly guarded by the Icelanders whose establishment on Iceland and might in the North Atlantic was spurred by resistance to the new more autocratic form of royal power that emerged as the Carolingian Empire emerged, examplified by King Harald Fairhair, and King Æthelstan in Norway and England respectively. The kingship remained electorial, but with this novel form of feudalism the king exercised the power to appoint and disappoint his electors (cf. jarl, or earl, and hersir). The system of the goði in the Commonwealth, called Goðorð, retained the elder bottom-up structure, where a number of hersir held electoral powers over a jarl (an earl). The jarls (earls) held electoral powers over the king, as the lesser kings over the high king. Following the unification of Norway into the Realm of Harald King Fairhar, and the reversal of the old system, Iceland was settled. Many of the settlers of Iceland held hereditary rights and titles in Norway and other places where they came from; thus for pragmatic reasons they leveled out former distinctions, attributed to those who had a voice at the Alþhing. Until the papal interdictum put on the entire Archdiocese of Nidaros, to which the dioceses of Hólar and Skalholt on Iceland, the Icelandic goðar also had a common voice and some electoral power in regard of accepting the appointed Bishops.

Etymology

The word derives from , meaning "god". It possibly appears in Ulfilas' Gothic language translation of the Bible as for "priest", although the corresponding form of this in Icelandic would have been an unattested . and in the later Old Norse form from three Danish runestones: DR 190 Helnæs, DR 192 Flemløse 1 and DR 209 Glavendrup. There are a few placenames, such as in Södermanland, Sweden, that probably retain the name. Otherwise, there are no further surviving attestations except from Iceland where the would be of historical significance.

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From the pagan era in mainland Scandinavia, the only sources for the title are runestones. The Norwegian Nordhuglo stone from around AD 400 seems to place the title in opposition to magic, using a word related to the Old Norse . The inscription's means "I, " followed by "he who is immune to sorcery" or "he who does not engage in sorcery". The three Danish stones are all from Funen. The early Viking Age Helnæs and Flemløse 1 stones provide no details about the function of a , but mention a named Roulv whose name also appears on two other runestones, the lost Avnslev stone and the Flemløse 2 stone. The early 10th-century Glavendrup stone uses the term for a local dignitary who was associated with a , which is a religious structure. It thus attaches the title to a simultaneously secular and religious upper strata. A could be bought, shared, traded or inherited. If a woman inherited a she had to leave the leadership to a man. The followers of a were called . Every free landowner in possession of a certain amount of property was required to be associated with a , although he was free to choose which one—a was not a geographical unit. The would help his to bring cases before the court and to enforce their rights, and the would in return provide the with armed manpower for his feuds and carry out legal sentences.

In the Farthing of the Eastfjorders there were Goðorð Hofverja í Vopnafirði, Goðorð Krossvíkinga, Goðorð Þrymlinga (also known as Goðorð Njarðvíkinga), Goðorð Hrafnkelsniðja, Goðorð Fljótsdæla, Goðorð Hofverja í Álftafirði, Goðorð Hrollaugsniðja, Goðorð Freysgyðlinga (also known as Goðorð Svínfellinga) and Goðorð Leiðylfinga.

In the Farthing of the Southerners, there were Dalverjagoðorð, Goðorð Hofverja á Rangárvöllum (also known as Oddaverjagoðorð), Goðorð Hlíðverja, Flóamannagoðorð, Goðorð Mosfellinga (also known as Goðorð Haukdæla), Ölfusingagoðorð, Allsherjargoðorð, Lundarmannagoðorð and Reykhyltingagoðorð.

In the Farthing of the Westfjorders, there were Gilsbekkingagoðorð, Stafhyltingagoðorð, Mýramannagoðorð, Rauðmelingagoðorð (also known as Hítdælagoðorð), Þórsnesingagoðorð, Hvammverjagoðorð (also known as Snorrungagoðorð), Reyknesingagoðorð, Dýrfirðingagoðorð og Vatnsfirðingagoðorð.

In the Farthing of the Northerners there were Víðdælagoðorð, Vatnsdælagoðorð, Æverlingagoðorð, Goðorð Sæmundar hins suðreyska, Goðdælagoðorð, Goðorð Höfða-Þórðar, Esphælingagoðorð, Þveræingagoðorð and Reykdælagoðorð. From 965 three more goðorð were added to the Farthing of the Northerners, Möðruvellingagoðorð (also known as Fljótamannagoðorð), Ljósvetningagoðorð and Öxfirðingagoðorð.

Neopaganism

In the early 1970s, the words , and were adopted by the Icelandic neopagan organization . Following this, , or is often used as a priestly title by modern adherents of various denominations of Germanic neopaganism.

Etymology

Neopaganism

See also

References

Further reading