Heitstrenging

Heitstrenging, also known as Hietstrenja, Heitstrengingar or Strengdir, was the viking ritual of making solemn vows, a widely used practice within Scandinavia. The practice arose in the pagan ages and may have had roots in Persian culture. The practice was eventually discarded when Christianity gained dominance in the region. The vows were traditionally made during a ceremony to Bragi, the deity of minstrels. The speaker would stand and place his foot upon a stone or bench and pronounce his promise, prefacing it with the words "I mount on the block and solemnly swear...". The speaker would then drink down a "bragafull", a special horn of liquor. It has been noted that, due to the ritual process, the vows usually came after the speaker was drunk. ["Charles Francis Keary (1892) [http://books.google.com/books?id=YI0BAAAAYAAJ&dq=Viking+oaths+Bragi Norway and the Norwegians] pg 174, Percival & Co."]

This was only the typical way of Heitstrenging though and there were many variations upon the practice. In certain Icelandic poetry, the ritual is performed as the speakers lay their hands upon dead animals. ["Richard North (1997). Heathen Gods in Old English Literature, PG 74. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521551838."] However, the vows they performed were generally regarded as a form of bragging and would usually be related to the performance of some great feat. Heitstrenging was usually performed at Christmas, but was also done occasionally at sacrificial feasts, weddings or just ordinary banquets."Mary Wilhelmine Williams (1920). [http://books.google.com/books?id=OJw2AAAAMAAJ&printsec=titlepage&dq=viking&as_brr=1 Social Scandinavia in the Viking age] , PG 321. New york:The Macmillan company. ASIN: B000GOXMNM."] "Rudolph Keyser (1868). [http://books.google.com/books?id=h44BAAAAYAAJ&dq=Heitstrenging&as_brr=3 The Private Life of the Old Northmen] , PG 145. Chapman & Hall. ASIN: B0006AE0AA."] The vows were solemn and there were punishments for breaking them, but they were not always important. Harald Hairfair, the unifier of Norway, promised to not comb or cut his hair until he ruled the entire country. More often, though, they were regarded as a matter of great significance. In the saga of the "jomsvikings", the compatriots of Sweyn Forkbeard vow to ravage Norway and kill Haakon Jarl, while making sure to rape Thorkill'sdaughter. [ [http://thomondgate.net/pdf/essays/essay17.pdf VOWS, BOASTS AND TAUNTS, AND THE ROLE OF WOMEN IN SOME MEDIEVAL LITERATURE] ]

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