[Ansteorra] Vikings and Oaths of Fealty

[C.L. Ward]

Periodically I get questions from people with Viking personas who are soon
to be knighted about the oath of fealty.  For some little-known reason,
there is a prevalent rumor in the SCA that a Viking would not have sworn
such an oath, and that therefore a Viking should ask for an MSCA rather than
the KSCA.

I'm not sure where this idea originates, because the idea of the oath-tie
between lord and warrior is a really important, deep thread in Germanic
poetry and literature, and appears to have reflected reality as well to some
extent, being reported also by a number of outside observers.

At any rate, I just finished forging the research I've done on this topic
into a webpage, which is located at:

http://www.vikinganswerlady.org/oaths.htm

::GUNNORA::