#nithing

Norsery Rhymes from A to Z Happy Thorsday - Egill Skallagrimson, The Poet Berserker Runecaster Well here we are another Thor’s Day and another 20 min sketch of a Norse (and Germanic) mythological characters.  This week it’s Egil / Egill Skallagrimson mentioned in the Egil’s Saga that included a mythical telling of the life of the real man.

Hi name has been translated to ‘Awe’, or ‘Fear’, or ‘dread’ combined with ‘edge’ or ‘point’ of a weapon. Which unlike the farmer Giant Egil who shares his name, where the meaning had the context of being afraid of the sword. Egill here is meant to imply the use of the sword, and that others should be afraid of his blade’s edge.

With his last name being not a family name but the name of his father. The name meant Skull, or bald skull from Skalli /Skalla and Face masked Helmet from Grimr. All together implying a head like like a helmet.

His father was Skallagrím Kveldulfsson and mother Bera Yngvarsdóttur, with a very large and well documented family line that’s too big to go into here beyond mentioning his brother Thorolf Skallagrímsson and that he had 5 children, most prominently his daughter Thorgerd Egilsdottir.    

He was described has having an overly large, misshapen, and hard head, that has led many today to believe he might have had Paget's disease.

Egill's quick temper and Berserker nature lead to many violent interactions when he felt insulted or done wrong.

The first instance of this when he was a child, some local boys cheated him badly which led to him taking bloody vengeance on their heads with his axe.

And when his wife was denied her inheritance he challenged, fought and killed everyone responsible, down to the last one who he killed by biting into his neck.

He also after feeling insulted and killing King Erikr and Queen Gunnhildr's friend launched a long running feud from her and her family that saw her sending assassins' after him and lead to Egill eventually killing members of her family, including her son who came after him. Which led Egil and his brother, who had been a friend of the Queens' up until that point, to be exiled once her family member Erik Bloodaxe becomes king as well.

On leaving, he curses the land and it's people using a Nithing or Nidstang Pole that combines spoken spells, and rune magic, with a horse's head on a pole. The curse would make the people unsatisfied and have troubles until the King and Queen are dead or exiled. But Gunnhilder curses him as well to feel restelss and unhappy until they meet again. Both these things happen, and the King and Queen are forced to leave in exile themselves, while Egill is miserable in his wandering.

This all ends when Egill, asks for forgivness for himself and his brother, while all are in exile. Presenting two epic Drapa poems, the first an short apology, and the second one a long, complicated and impressive one that priases the King and Queen, and tell their histories, stories, deeds and majesty so impressively that they felt he could not be harmed. Leaving Egill and his brother being forgiven and all curses lifted from all involved.

He then fights for the English King Aethelstan, who compensates and pays him two chests of silver, after his brother dies in the battle.

He was a successful raider of the Eastern route through Scandinavia and Rus gaining him a lot of wealth earlier in his life. On returning home with his silver, he built up his farm and fortune and became a powerful politician, poet, and rune caster. He also used his magic to block poison, remove curses, and to heal others. Writing poetry throughout his life which is considered to be some of the finest ever written of the type and time. Growing to be a respected elder who was a force of nature even after he went blind. 

TW3 Nithing Sculpture (antlered) & TW3 Nithing Sculpture

A nithing pole consisted of a long, wooden pole with a recently cut horse head at the end, and at times with the skin of the horse laid over the pole.  The nithing pole was directed towards the enemy and target of the curse. The curse could be carved in runes on the pole.

All credit to CD Projeckt Red.  Original conversion from Witcher 3 to Sims 3 by @murfeelee

Nithing, n. /nī’thing/ - A vile coward; an abject wretch; a villain of the lowest type.