Ergi

We continue to tell you about the magic on the Lavinava Peninsula - and in this post we have brought you some relatively new information.

As a side note, we first note that the author uses the words seir "magic; witchcraft" and galdr "spell" as synonyms, without any distinction between their meanings. Perhaps this is a regional feature, but we cannot say with certainty.

And then - to the point. The author speaks rather unflatteringly about foreign historians:

“... they write the following: if a man performs witchcraft, then he will certainly be accused of unmasculinity (ergi) and punished as a serious offense.

Explanation: ergi in the understanding we know, this is one of the heaviest accusations and insults for a man, which was washed away only with blood. IN ergi, in particular (as we know!) accused men practicing magic or homosexual intercourse in a passive role.

We know this information from later (and in most cases Christian) sources. But what does the author of the document say about this?

“... in these words there is more conjecture than truth. Odin himself used seir - so it would be appropriate for us to accuse and condemn him? The truth is that we call argr (unmanly) such a husband who evades his duties, wanting to replace them with easier ones. Instead of fighting, plowing in the field or building houses, they declared themselves like this: now I am a sorcerer! (seirmair) - and so left their family without food. If such a man wishes to refute the accusation, let him challenge the accuser to a holmgang (=special duel; duel) and prove it there. Otherwise, in our eyes, he will remain weak and feminine, and this is how we will treat him.

After all, there are other [men] who put their whole life and strength to comprehend the secrets of witchcraft. It is unlikely that anyone on our lands will turn their tongues to accuse them of ergi".

Such are the things. And, frankly, this approach seems to me much more adequate and logical than the Christian-biased "magic is not a man's business."