A goði or gothi (plural goðar) is the Old Norse term for a priest and chieftain. Old Norse is the North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age A priest or priestess is a person having the authority or power to administer religious rites in particular rites of sacrifice to and propitiation of a deity or deities A traditional tribal chief is the leader of a Tribe, or the head of a tribal form of self-government Gyðja signifies a priestess.
The name appears in Wulfila's Gothic language translation of the bible as gudja for "priest", but in Old Norse it is only the feminine form gyðja that perfectly corresponds to the Gothic form. Wulfila is also a spider genus ( Anyphaenidae) Wulfila (meaning "little wolf" (ca Gothic is an extinct Germanic language that was spoken by the Goths. The Codex Argenteus (or "Silver Bible" is a 6th century manuscript originally containing bishop Ulfilas 's 4th century translation of the Bible [1] The corresponding masculine Old Norse form would have been an unattested *gyði. [1]
In Scandinavia there are surviving early attestations in the Proto-Norse form gudija from the Norwegian Nordhuglo runestone,[2] and in the later Old Norse form goði from two Danish runestones, the Glavendrup stone (DR 209) and the Helnæs Runestone (DR 190). Proto-Norse (also Proto-Scandinavian, Primitive Norse, Proto-Nordic, Ancient Nordic, Old Scandinavian and Proto-North Germanic The Glavendrup stone or DR 209 is a Runestone, on the island of Funen in Denmark and it is from the early 10th century [1]
Otherwise, there are no further surviving attestations except from Iceland where the goðar would be of historical significance. The goðar are depicted in the Sagas as the religious and political leaders of their district or goðorð. The sagas (from Icelandic saga, plural sögur) are stories about ancient Scandinavian and Germanic history about early Viking voyages In Iceland, prior to Christianization, religious temples or hofs were privately owned and maintained by a hofgoði or temple priest. Iceland, officially the Republic of Iceland ( ( Ísland or Lýðveldið Ísland ( The historical phenomenon of Christianization (or Christianisation &mdash see spelling differences) the conversion of individuals to Christianity They were also an important part of the Icelandic political system for a long time after the arrival of Christianity.
The term goði is often used as a priestly title by modern adherents of various denominations of Germanic Neopaganism, especially in Ásatrú. Germanic Neopaganism, Heathenism or Heathenry is the modern revival of historical Germanic paganism. is Ásatrú ( Icelandic for " Æsir faith" auːsatruː in Old Norse; Norwegian Åsatru, Swedish
A goðorð or godord refers to a domain or an area of influence controlled by an Icelandic medieval chieftain, or goði. Iceland, officially the Republic of Iceland ( ( Ísland or Lýðveldið Ísland (
Notes
- ^ a b c An Icelandic-English dictionary by Richard Cleasby and Gudbrand Vigfusson (1874) p. 208.
- ^ The article gotiska in Nationalencyklopedin (1992)
References
- Byock, Jesse L. Nationalencyklopedin ( NE) is the most comprehensive contemporary Swedish language Encyclopedia, initiated by a government grant (1993). Goði. Entry in Medieval Scandinavia, an Encyclopedia (Phillip Pulsiano, ed. ), 230-231. Garland: NY and London, ISBN 0-8240-4787-7.
- Jón Hnefill Aðalsteinsson (1998). Blót and Þing: The Function of the Tenth-Century Goði, in A Piece of Horse Liver: Myth, Ritual and Folklore in Old Icelandic Sources, 35-56. Reykjavik, ISBN 9979-54-264-0.
See also
- Icelandic commonwealth
- Guðrún Kristín Magnúsdóttir - a modern day goði
- Sveinbjörn Beinteinsson
- Althing
- Blót
- Norse paganism
- Ásatrú
- Trollkyrka
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