Reconstructing Our Law

In order to fully reconstruct the law of our religion, we must first determine how that law has worked throughout the millennia, and then explain how we can utilize it today. The primary function of law is to limit human behavior in a way that develops social and spiritual cohesion and thus allows us to express our religion in a way that works within our own community and society at large. In order to do this, we need to immortalize our laws, for we are not speaking from the perspective of a particular nation, but rather we are seeking to create a general theme by which all Germanic/Nordic Polytheists, or Sedians, may live according to the ethos of their ancestors. The primary means by which we do this is through the act of summary, and exclusion of punishment.

While we see throughout the ages that the crimes themselves rarely, if ever, change, the punishments for these actions do, and our modern application may not hold the same standard as what took place centuries ago. That does not mean we wish to “modernize” our ancient laws, but rather we would generalize them for the sake of adaptation to the development of Sedian States. By forming a foundation by which the law can be built, we can add to these structures as befits the society we are trying to influence or even create. New circumstances require new laws. For instance, the Weregild (Man-Payment) was a logical response to the never-ending family feuds that were exacted in the name of blood revenge. The idea was that vengeance for a slain family member should still be sought, but that this should come in the form of payment rather than more bloodshed, which requires more acts of revenge. Our ancestors also did not have access to computers, which are fraught with uniquely horrible crimes such as child pornography, human trafficking, the dark web, and so on. So, we have to look at the law as something that must begin with a firm ancestral foundation, and then be built upon as needs arise.

The cornerstone of our law rests upon an eschatological concept that can be discerned from the lore and must be recognized as having consequences for transgressions. Laws without consequences are just words on paper and mean nothing. We must look to the stories and the sources of our faith first, then see how the laws established in the historical tradition compare. The act of transgression was called níð (a vile, shameful act) and one who had committed the act was a níðingr (a disgraced outcast). To be a níðingr without recourse was to lead oneself towards damnation, which we will examine under the concept of religious law. At the same time, there was what was considered ergi which was more or less an embarrassing or lewd act that was frowned upon.

For us to surmise what is considered a transgression of divine law and what is simply a social humiliation, we must distinguish between acts that offend the Gods and disrupt the cosmic order versus those that merely breach societal norms and etiquette. Historically, we can see that Germanic Heathen law maintained its principle features throughout the ages, even after Christian laws were added.

The most important piece of evidence to prove that these law codes were originally from our polytheist ancestors is demonstrated in Tacitus’ Germania ch. 12, where we find the differentiation between more serious crimes and those that would warrant fines and such:

Before the general assembly, likewise, criminals may be charged and tried for their lives. The penalties vary with the crime. Traitors and renegades are hung on a tree; cowards and recreants and infamous wretches are pressed under a hurdle into the slime of a morass and suffocated. This difference in the methods of execution is not meaningless, the idea being that crimes should be made a public example of, but that abominations should be buried out of sight. Minor offenses are punished proportionately, the offender on conviction being fined in a number of horses or cattle; part of the fine goes to the king or to the State, part to the man whose wrongs are being righted, or to his family.

The first crimes punished with death are found all over the world and are thus not unique to the Germanic people. It is the latter feature of their law that interests us here, for we find a common theme in the law codes that have survived. This division of fines between the injured, the king, and the state is found in Frostaþingslǫg 10, 12, 16, Borgarþingslǫg 15, and Eiðsivaþingslǫg 8.3, 25, and 30, among others, demonstrates a continuity in law codes ranging from the 1st century AD to the 12th.

This continuity lets us see that, while Christians may have added to these codes, they were not their originators, and much of this can be recognized as authentic Heathen law. We also know that these laws were built upon Heathen foundations because of the Christian compilers who said as much. In a 13th century manuscript written by Bure, commonly known as Johannes Bureus, while compiling a treatise on the Swedish Upland Law, he states the following:

Af thǫm gamblu Laghum sum i hedhnum tima brukadhus, um kamp ok enwighe.

Of the old laws which were used in Heathen time, about combat and duels.

Þenna laghen som aff hedendoomen är kommin, haffuer en tijdh lång wordet brukat sedhan Christendoomen kom hijt i landet, Ty ståår hon och i the äldzsta laghbǫker, som finnas.

This law, which has come from Heathendom, has for a long time been in use since Christendom came to this land, for it is also found in the oldest law books that exist. From the words of a Christian chronicler of old Swedish law, admitting that these laws were taken from far older Heathen laws. We have stated before that the Christians were often forthright about their alterations of texts and ancient lore. If they add Christian ideas into source material, they oft say as much.

By looking at the Eddas and Sagas, we can also discern laws that existed by the punishments we find incurred that may not be in the codes passed down to us. By looking at notably heathen sources such as the poems in the Eddas, we can then discern what information is valid and useful in our research. Because so many of the stories do have a legal or moral foundation, we can look to them to see what is right and what is wrong. Many of the stories surrounding the exploits of Loki can demonstrate this for us, for we see his tales as having a legal connotation in almost every case. In many of the tales where he commits crimes, the Gods actually bring him before a tribunal and threaten him, unless he atones for his transgressions.

We can then look up the legal codes throughout Northern Europe to demonstrate whether or not a law came from heathen sources, or if it was a later manifestation of the church. By establishing a litmus for our research, we can develop a proper code of law that manifests the social order established by the Gods, and the laws that directly deal with religion and religious acts. Let us quickly give a summary of the actions of Loki that could be considered subversive or harmful to the Gods, which often lead him to be forced to atone:

1. He convinces Þjalfi to break the legs of Þórr’s goats.
2. He lied to Þórr about the path to Geirrǫð’s, which caused great harm to his army.
3. He deceived the Gods, convincing them to let the Jǫtun builder build the wall around Ásgarðr, almost costing them Freyja and the sun.
4. He cut off Sif’s hair, marking her as an adulteress.
5. He caused the competition between the artist clans, creating much turmoil.
6. He kidnapped Iðunn.
7. He gave birth to the three monsters: Jǫrmungandr, Leikn, and Fenrir, beginning the stages towards Ragnarǫkr.
8. He caused the death of Baldr.
9. He and he alone refused to cry Baldr out of Hel.
10. He caused Mímir to be beheaded.
11. He started wars between the human clans and never settled them.
12. He tried to steal Brísingamen at Singastein.
13. He killed Ægir’s servants Fimafengr and Eldir, then poisoned the feast of the Gods in his hall.
14. He leads the armies of evil and chaos at Ragnarǫkr.

You can see several legal components within this list. Probably the foremost is the concept of atonement, called Són in the norrœn tongue, which is prevalent throughout. For instance, in Skáldskaparmál 1, it states that “Loki was thus arrested and brought to the Þing, and he was threatened with death and torture. “You shall be trapped, Loki,” the angry one [Þórr] said, “unless by some scheme you bring back the renowned maid, enlarger of the Fetters’ [Goðin’s] joy.” So here you can see that he is brought before the Gods in a legal tribunal, then allowed to make amends, under penalty of death if he refuses. The same can be said about the entire episode of Lokasenna, which plays out like a trial against Loki and demonstrates that the Gods are there to expose his crimes. The fact that the “feast” ends with his being sentenced to binding until Ragnarǫkr proves this. We can also see legal standards against deception leading to harm, murder, taking of women, and simply creating disorder.

As we work through the research we will make comparisons to actual law codes, and see how these concepts compare. We can also see that the Gods are lenient in regards to errors or transgressions as long as they are atoned for. Even when Haddingr commits deicide he is allowed to perform Blót to cleanse himself of his crimes. The idea is that one should take action to right their wrongs, both for those they have wronged, and the Gods by whom they worship. This is a morality that requires a bold, direct approach of public admission, personal responsibility, and accountability.

The idea behind developing this code is to not only understand how one can live their life as a Sedian Heathen in the world today, but also to get to the truth behind the standards our ancestors had regarding ethics and morality. Because of this, we will also look into developing a social ethic for priesthood, dealing with politics, explaining religious institutions within our worldview, and so forth. It is important for us to examine the subject thoroughly to offer a holistic approach to the religion and its core values.

 

Excerpt from Æfinlǫgr: The Book of Sedian Law: Puryear, Mark, Hrafnakonr, Aðakán Jamesarson: 9798307965320: Amazon.com: Books