SC - Juno, etc.

[mkDragon]

To (perhaps) recapitulate whatever the SCA heralds went through
once upon a time:


At 11:25 -0500 2001-02-06, Jim Revells wrote:

>     My persona is that of a metalsmith from the western Norwegian coast
> serving as a guard/trader in Birka during the 831 time frame, so an earlyer
> title would be more aproprate for me.

No direct equivalent that I know of, since that's pre-feudal.

Thinking of the famous Magna Carta incident in England, where it 
was the barons collectively who forced their will on King John, we 
might look to find a broadly equivalent group in Norse society.

An excellent coverage is in "The Viking Achievement", P G Foote 
and D M Wilson, Sidgwick & Jackson, London, 1970, pages 123-136.

If you're Norse and don't already own this, run don't walk to your 
nearest used book store.

Approximate possibility 1:  'jarl', referring to a very high status
individual (and therefore possibly too high to correspond to a 
baron), is in any case reserved in an SCA context for Royal peers, 
so that's out.

Approximate possibility 2:  'godhi', variously translated as priest
and chieftain, may or may not be appropriate.  I'm most familiar
with it in its largely secular Icelandic manifestation where it is 
not a bad approximation for baron.  The title was only noted outside 
Iceland twice, both times referring primarily to priestly function, 
so it might not have the right connotation outside Iceland.  This 
would certainly be the group to confront a king (had there been one) 
in Iceland.

Approximate possibility 3: 'Styraesman', literally helmsman, may
have been an approximate equivalent in Denmark.  They are mentioned
as being the kingmaking group for two kings circa 1100, which sounds 
baron-like.  There's no indication in Foote and Wilson of how early 
this term might have been used; and they don't mention it outside
Denmark.

Approximate possibility 4: 'Hethwarthur man' (sp?), also from 
Denmark, literally worthy man.  Foote and Wilson suggest they 
could have also been called 'landman', literally men of land.  They 
can say little about them.  They say that 'landman' from Sweden might 
have been an equivalent in Sweden, but that there is not enough 
evidence to say anything definite.

Approximate possibility 5: 'Hersir', from early western Norway.  
Icelandic historians equated these with the later 'lendr madhr', 
literally landed man, also appearing as 'landsman'.  These certainly 
seem to have been a group quite similar, in terms of social role, to 
the feudal barons.


You sign as Hersir Olafr.  Is that your choice for Baron, or was 
that your choice for a different SCA title?

A choice of 'hersir' for baron is properly early and socially
appropriate and evidenced from the right part of Scandanavia for
you, so I think you can happily go with the official SCA alternate
title.

If we were to look at the balance of the remaining probabilities, 
you could go with the use of the Norwegian variant of 'landsman' 
for baron, even though it might perhaps be later than 831.


In service,
Godhi Thorvaldr