Viking Court
Vikings. They were so manly that one dude could actually charge another dude in court with “ergi”, or unmanliness. Of course, there were some strange rules about what, exactly, constitutes unmanly behavior. Banging a dude? That’s cool. Getting banged by a dude? Not so much.
It’s probably not all that surprising to hear about a culture like the Vikings’ placing so much emphasis on manliness. Pop culture and social pressure have kept the ancient Norse at the forefront of our minds when it comes to certain gender stereotypes. While a great deal of what we see in TV and movies may be embellished or altered, there are certain elements that are pretty accurate. Though gender stereotypes are currently shifting here in many western countries, we still share much in common with people that lived eight hundred years ago. Many of the qualities we think of being masculine or manly are the very same qualities the Norse associated with the male gender and with their culture in general. To be part of Norse culture was to embody the ideals of manliness at all times. That’s why accusing someone of ergi was such a serious accusation, one that often required accuser and defendant to fight one another in armed combat known as holmgang. If someone were accused of ergi and refused to fight, exile or death were the typical outcomes (though death was the definite outcome if he lost the duel).
Death may seem a harsh penalty for engaging in homosexual behavior, but that’s where this all gets kind of strange. After all, there are some stories and fragments of stories that tell of famous figures boasting of sexually conquering another man. The thing is, it wasn’t homosexuality, sex, or pleasure that was the problem, it was the act of submission, hence why these sorts of charges would only be leveled against the “bottom” in the relationship. The thought process here was that if a man could submit to another man sexually or be dominated by him, he could be dominated or submissive in other aspects of his life and that was simply not the Viking way.
Now, that’s not to say that it was only for homosexual activities that a man could be charged with ergi. There were plenty of other ways to end up in holmgang for not living up to social expectations. Practicing women’s magic, also known as seidhr, was one such cause and one that was famously brought against Odin by Loki in Lokasenna. There’s quite a bit of information on just what this kind of sorcery involved and there is a lot of speculation on just why it was considered unmanly, but perhaps we’ll get into that on Friday!
All said, it’s not surprising that the Vikings remain a pop culture icon of masculinity and badassery when they would actually fight to the death over insults to their manhood. It’s almost as if masculine stereotypes came to life to kick each others’ asses over some words.
That’s manly.
Know what else is manly? Banging dudes. You heard it! The most manly men that ever did live knew it!
Deal with it.
What could possibly be manlier than two men having sex? Women just dilute our testosterone.
*in her best George Takei imitation*
Ohh mmmy!
Bottoms up!
Unmanliness… unfeminine…psh! As a wise man once said:
“…the world is so much
stranger than that, it’s so much darker. And so much madder. And so much
better.”
The world doesn’t exist in black and white – hell it doesn’t even exist in grey!
There is a whole spectrum of colours out there – some that even humans can’t see or even have names for! So why should something as intricate as sex and gender be designated in binary terms?
You know what binary should apply to – computers – machines…
inanimate objects that can’t think…feel.. or love.
You humans… oh you stupid humans… don’t you see?
How wonderful you are? Ah! but wait- don’t get full of yourself and create a ego-system centred on around yourselves – there are many, many more creatures out there that think, feel and love… not just on this Earth, but undoubtedly amongst the stars…. does that make you any less special though? No! I’m well over 800 years old and I have yet to meet someone who wasn’t special and important in their own way and to those around them and more-so those that care for them, that love them…
*coughs*
… my apologies for the bit of a scattered-brained ramble… some part of me just wanted and felt it had to be inspirational… um.. now if you don’t mind I think I’ll go now…
*runs off quickly, her tail twitching nervously*
oh.. why oh why… did that even come to mind, who the heck was I supposed to inspire? I can’t even follow my own advice… why do I spout it off – like it would help anyone?…
*sighs sadly and vanishes*
Bah, it’s perfectly logical that the only thing manlier than a man is two men.
And, as they say, ‘ergi is so much worki.’
From the literature, “unmanliness” or ergi did not necessarily refer to guy on guy sex. It was directed more at the culture of what made a man a man, a good warrior, a good chieftain / jarl; an all-round viking team player; ergi was also used derisively, as in: “seidth craft is a woman’s art, and one best left to the most skilled and accomplished, those able to withstand the undoubted rigors and dangers of such arts. I have used galdrs, but never would I try seidr. There must be a reason it was so looked at askance, and considered inappropriate, ‘ergi’ unmanly for men to engage in…” (beowulf, 2005, message board).
I actually came across Ergi when I was doing research a few months ago (the concept, that is). So glad to see it in this comic! =D
Hey… it’s only gay if balls touch or if you push back.
I believe the Greeks refer to this as “male bonding”.
Indeed. BA DUM TCH!
Ironically the most common quote used by Christians to justify vilifying homosexuality would only really condemn the guy on top.
This reminds me of a comedy routine by Aussie comedian Steve Hughes talking about how manly homosexuality is. NSFW obviously.
http://youtu.be/u0lVbMOMTi0?t=8m18s
I came across this http://www.grero.com/#_Toc347564564 yesterday, so I find this very coincidental!
IIRC, it was similar in ancient Greece: outside of places like Sparta where gay sex was somewhat institutionalized, it was fine to be a “top”, but being a “bottom” was embarrassing, although rarely fatal. 🙂
There was more of a problem with unmanlyness than unwomanlyness in that place and time… And the same goes for today!
A wise man once said: Cheeze for everyone!
By the way, this is in Mexiko too (not the cheeze