Men and the practice of Seid.
What are the stories/myths about Seid and men. In my earlier understanding of the topic, it appears that I was flawed in my comprehension. The term ergi is actually not used regularly and has appeared in just a few instances. However, when first reading about men in seid practices, it is implied that men were not permitted to be practitioners. While it was definitely frowned upon it was not unheard of and the term ergi, when used would appear to be derogatory towards male practitioners however after doing more research this isn't entirely correct.
In reviewing The Image of Seidr in old icelandic literature by Lyonel D. Perabo, he discusses the myths of the term Ergi. Ergi has several different translations including: lust, without sex (celibate/impotent), coward, homosexual, and even unmanliness.
Lyonel discusses how in the Lokasenna saga (Loki's Truth-telling), Loki is insulting the other gods. The word is used twice in stanza 23 and 24 when Odin and Loki are commenting on how the other acted or lived as women in the "perverted' way. In the saga, translated by Jackson Crawford, historical linguist and professor of Norse studies, shows that Odin and Loki both try to insult the other calling them ergi (argr). This is one time where they reference the practice of seid (magic).
Translated Lokasenna 23 - 24
Odinn says:
You know,
Even if I did judge unfairly,
And made the better side lose,
I know that you,
For eight years,
Lived on earth down below,
As a cow in milk, and as a woman,
And you've given birth to children -
I call that a pervert's way of living.
Loki says:
But people say that you
Practiced womanly magic
On Samsay, dressed as a woman,
You lived as a witch
Among the humans -
And I call that a pervert's way of living.
In Gisla Saga, the saga of Gisli Sursson's, an Icelandic saga, chapter 18 explains how Thorgrim creates a seid-hall in order to perform the magic rights. The seid-hall is where he "practice his obscene and black art in devilish perversity" (saga of Icelanders).
In Thrymskvitha (Thrym's Poem), The theft of Mjollnir, Thor dresses as a woman to retrieve his hammer after it is stollen by the giant Thrym. In this saga the dressing as a woman has nothing to do with the practice of seid. Thor is afraid on having the term ergi used against him for dressing as a woman. The translation by Jackson Crawford states:
Then Thor,
The strong god, spoke:
"All of Aesir
Would call me a sissy
If I let you
Put a wedding dress on me."
In Skyrnismal (36) Skirnir's Journey, the god Frey has sent his messenger Skirnir to convince the giant Gerth to marry him. However, it is not going well and Skirnir resorts to claiming that he will curse Gerth if she does not accept the marriage proposal. In this saga, the speaker is not addressing a male or a seid practitioner. He is stating that he will curse Gerth with ergi or sexual shame. Using Jackson Crawford's translation.
I curse you with that troll,
And three other curses --
Sexual shame (ergi), and madness (oendi),
And unbearable suffering (othola).
I've cursed you already,
But I'll call off the curses,
If you give me good reason.
The probability of misinterpreting information is quite easy when dealing with older text as well as peoples knowledge or lack there of when translating documents. In the Chicanery of Seidr, Rig Svenson considers that in the Skyrnismal the threat to a woman was more the combination of the three curses would make the woman crazy. However, the idea of possibly being celibate would be considered a threat, since it was important to have children and by not having children a woman would be considered less than others. The final thought that Rig has is that ergi has to do with loss of virility as in old age. The old Norse expression "sva ergisk hverr sem hann eldisk" means the loss of male potency in old age.
There is more research that needs to be done on this topic and in truth it is quite hard to decipher the meaning. Most of the sagas were written well after the Viking era and as researchers it is important to take into account the beliefs of the authors and how that might affect the words and meanings. While ergi could mean homosexual, it does not necessarily have to do with being a seid practitioner.
What are the stories/myths about Seid and men. In my earlier understanding of the topic, it appears that I was flawed in my comprehension. The term ergi is actually not used regularly and has appeared in just a few instances. However, when first reading about men in seid practices, it is implied that men were not permitted to be practitioners. While it was definitely frowned upon it was not unheard of and the term ergi, when used would appear to be derogatory towards male practitioners however after doing more research this isn't entirely correct.
In reviewing The Image of Seidr in old icelandic literature by Lyonel D. Perabo, he discusses the myths of the term Ergi. Ergi has several different translations including: lust, without sex (celibate/impotent), coward, homosexual, and even unmanliness.
Lyonel discusses how in the Lokasenna saga (Loki's Truth-telling), Loki is insulting the other gods. The word is used twice in stanza 23 and 24 when Odin and Loki are commenting on how the other acted or lived as women in the "perverted' way. In the saga, translated by Jackson Crawford, historical linguist and professor of Norse studies, shows that Odin and Loki both try to insult the other calling them ergi (argr). This is one time where they reference the practice of seid (magic).
Translated Lokasenna 23 - 24
Odinn says:
You know,
Even if I did judge unfairly,
And made the better side lose,
I know that you,
For eight years,
Lived on earth down below,
As a cow in milk, and as a woman,
And you've given birth to children -
I call that a pervert's way of living.
Loki says:
But people say that you
Practiced womanly magic
On Samsay, dressed as a woman,
You lived as a witch
Among the humans -
And I call that a pervert's way of living.
In Gisla Saga, the saga of Gisli Sursson's, an Icelandic saga, chapter 18 explains how Thorgrim creates a seid-hall in order to perform the magic rights. The seid-hall is where he "practice his obscene and black art in devilish perversity" (saga of Icelanders).
In Thrymskvitha (Thrym's Poem), The theft of Mjollnir, Thor dresses as a woman to retrieve his hammer after it is stollen by the giant Thrym. In this saga the dressing as a woman has nothing to do with the practice of seid. Thor is afraid on having the term ergi used against him for dressing as a woman. The translation by Jackson Crawford states:
Then Thor,
The strong god, spoke:
"All of Aesir
Would call me a sissy
If I let you
Put a wedding dress on me."
In Skyrnismal (36) Skirnir's Journey, the god Frey has sent his messenger Skirnir to convince the giant Gerth to marry him. However, it is not going well and Skirnir resorts to claiming that he will curse Gerth if she does not accept the marriage proposal. In this saga, the speaker is not addressing a male or a seid practitioner. He is stating that he will curse Gerth with ergi or sexual shame. Using Jackson Crawford's translation.
I curse you with that troll,
And three other curses --
Sexual shame (ergi), and madness (oendi),
And unbearable suffering (othola).
I've cursed you already,
But I'll call off the curses,
If you give me good reason.
The probability of misinterpreting information is quite easy when dealing with older text as well as peoples knowledge or lack there of when translating documents. In the Chicanery of Seidr, Rig Svenson considers that in the Skyrnismal the threat to a woman was more the combination of the three curses would make the woman crazy. However, the idea of possibly being celibate would be considered a threat, since it was important to have children and by not having children a woman would be considered less than others. The final thought that Rig has is that ergi has to do with loss of virility as in old age. The old Norse expression "sva ergisk hverr sem hann eldisk" means the loss of male potency in old age.
There is more research that needs to be done on this topic and in truth it is quite hard to decipher the meaning. Most of the sagas were written well after the Viking era and as researchers it is important to take into account the beliefs of the authors and how that might affect the words and meanings. While ergi could mean homosexual, it does not necessarily have to do with being a seid practitioner.