To the Norseman's codex of Heathenism. Let me start by defining a Norseman.
What is a Norseman?
Norsemen is used to refer to the group of people as a whole who spoke what is now called the Old
Norse language belonging to the North Germanic branch of Indo-European languages, especially Norwegian, Icelandic, Faroese, Swedish and Danish in their earlier forms.
The meaning of Norseman was "people from the North" and was applied primarily to Nordic people originating from Scandinavia. They established states and settlements in areas which today are part of the Faroe Islands, England, Scotland, Wales, Iceland, Finland, Ireland, Russia, Canada, Greenland, France, Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Germany.
Norse and Norsemen are applied to the Scandinavian population of the period from the late 8th century to the 11th century. The Old Frankish Nortmann "Northman" was Latinized as Normanni, famously in the prayer A furore normannorum libera nos domine ("From the fury of the Northmen release us, O Lord!"), attributed to monks of the English monasteries plundered by Viking raids in the 8th and 9th centuries, and entered Old French as Normands, whence the name of the Normans and of Normandy, which was settled by Norsemen in the 10th century.
Other names
Vikings has been a common term for Norsemen in the early medieval period, especially in connection with raids and monastic plundering by Norsemen in the British Isles. The term "Finn-Galls" (i.e. Norse Vikings or Norwegians) (Gall Goidel, lit.: foreign Gaelic) was used concerning the people of Norse descent in Ireland and Scotland, who assimilated into the Gaelic culture.
"In the eighth century the inrush of the Vikings in force began to be felt all over Pictland. These Vikings were pagans and savages of the most unrestrained and pitiless type. They were composed of Finn-Gall or Norwegians, and of Dubh-Gall or Danes. The latter were a mixed breed, with a Hunnish strain in them".The Northmen were also known as Ascomanni, ashmen, by the Germans, Lochlanach (Norse) by the Irish and Dene (Danes) by the Anglo-Saxons.
The Slavs, the Arabs and the Byzantines knew them as the Rus' or Rhōs, probably derived from various uses of rōþs-, i.e. "related to rowing", or derived from the area of Roslagen in east-central Sweden, where most of the Norsemen who visited the Slavic lands came from. Archaeologists and historians of today believe that these Scandinavian settlements in the Slavic lands formed the names of the countries Russia and Belarus.
The Slavs and the Byzantines also called them Varangians (ON: Væringjar, meaning sworn men or from Slavic варяги supposedly deriving from the root "вар"—"profit" as coming from North they would profit by trading goods and not producing them, which had a negative connotation in Slavic culture of that time), and the Scandinavian bodyguards of the Byzantine emperors were known as the Varangian Guard.
In the Old Norse language, the term norrœnir menn (northern men), was used correspondingly to the modern English name Norsemen, referring to Swedes, Danes, Norwegians, Faroe Islanders, Icelanders, Orcadians, etc.
In the modern Scandinavian languages, no common word for Norsemen exists. In Swedish, the term nordmän is used, which corresponds to "Northmen". The Norwegians and Danish lack a word for the ancient North Germanic peoples. Usually they are simply (but incorrectly) called vikinger in Denmark and Norway, and vikingar in Sweden. In Norway, nordmann, Denmark, nordmand, and Sweden, "norrman" is the common demonym for a Norwegian. In Icelandic, Norðmaður means a man from Norway, but Norrænn maður is the term for a "North Germanic man" (or "woman"/"people"). In Faroese, Norðmaður means a man from Norway, just like in Icelandic, but the term Norrønur maður or Norrøn kvinna/fólk are the terms for the "North Germanic man" or "North Germanic woman/people" respectively.
The word nordbo however, (Sw.: nordborna, Da.: nordboerne, No.: nordboerne or nordbuane in the definite plural) is used for both ancient and modern people living in the Nordic countries and speaking one of the North Germanic languages.
What is a Heathen?
Well According the thefreedictionary.com it is"a. One who adheres to the religion of a people or nation that does not acknowledge the God of Judaism, Christianity, or Islam.
b. Such persons considered as a group; the unconverted.
Heathen An adherent of a Neopagan religion that seeks to revive the religious beliefs and practices of the ancient Germanic peoples."
Heathen (Old Norse heiðinn, was coined as a translation of Latin paganus, in the Christian sense of "non-Abrahamic faith". In the Sagas, the terms heiðni and kristni (Heathenry and Christianity) are used as polar terms to describe the older and newer faiths.
What is Heathenism?
Again according to thefreedictionary.comheathenism
1. a belief or practice of heathens.
2. pagan worship; idolatry.
3. irreligion.
4. barbaric morals or behavior.
Modern followers have decided to reclaim this title of "Heathen". Yes we are pagans. Yes we believe in the morals and behaviors of our ancestors and we say this is not a bad thing. Being a Heathen is a badge of honor.
Asatru is another name given to the modern revival of Germanic Paganism. The word "Asa" is derived from the pantheon of the Æsir. And "tru" is old norse for "belief in".
It is my goal to provide all information I know, and learn about Heathenism. Their moral codes, their laws, their lifestyles, art, clothing, weapons, relationships, and just about every else you can imagine. I wish to honor my family, and my ancestors by immortalizing their way of life. By living their traditions in my daily life. By reviving and learning from a pre-christian Scandinavia I can reclaim the cultural heritage of my ancestors and build a modern post-christian Norse Pagan society.
