PART 4: DEFINITION OF TERMS

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PART 4: DEFINITION OF TERMS

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Bibliography

ABBREVIATIONS

AFr - Anglo-French
Dn - Danish
Dt - Dutch
G - German
Gmc - Germanic
Gr - Greek
Goth - Gothic
IE - Indo-European
L - Latin
lit. - literally
ME - Middle English
ModE - Modern English
OE - Old English
OHG - Old High German
ON - Old Norse
Sd - Swedish

AESIR [<Old Norse (ON) plural] One of the two races of gods in the aboriginal Germanic religion, the other race of gods being the Vanir.

AEHT [<Old English (OE) "a court of law, assembly"] In shire aeht, the executive committee of a shire.

AETHLING [<OE "noble one"] 1. A noble of high rank. 2. In Freehold law, a member of an AEHT.

ALTHING [<ON "a council, or court, the yearly, national general assembly of freemen"] The Annual General Meeting of the society, a province-wide assembly consisting all voting members of the society. (See also THING)

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING [see ALTHING]

ASATRU [reconstructed from ON asa - "the gods" + tru - "faith, troth", lit. "troth with the gods"] 1. The aboriginal religion of the Germanic tribes of Northwest Europe; 2. A modern variant of Germanic tribal religion. See AESIR and TROTH.

BEDE [<OE "prayer", whence Modern English (ModE) bid] A Heathen prayer, beseechment or offering in verbal form, whether presented as prose or poetry. Often used to address the gods, ancestors or other wights at the opening of a holy rite.

BLOT [<ON] Blot is the rite of votive offering, libation or sacrifice by which gifts are offered to the gods, ancestors, wights of the land or other spirits.

BOAST [<ME bosten < bost < Anglo-French (AFr) "to talk about one's abilities, or the abilities of someone close"] 1. During the rite of symble, an oath relating to an action yet to be taken. 2. The report at althing of the Witan, a gild, shire or member, regarding a plan for the coming year.

BYLAWS 1. These bylaws, also known as "law" or "Freehold law" throughout.

DISIR [<ON, plural of dis, "sister", a goddess or priestess] 1. A collective of kindred female spirits said to be tied to specific families. 2. A dis is a female guardian-angel, who follows every human from birth, and only leaves at the time of death;

DRIGHTEN [<OE "band chief" < driht "war band, comitatus"] The elected leader of a Gild, who is a member of the Witan.

EALDORMAN [<OE ealdorman - "chief, prince" < elder + man "human", whence ModE alderman] The chief elected representative of a regional Shire who will be sworn into the Witan (see SHIRE).

ELDER [<OE ealdor "old"] 1. A senior member of a kindred or tribe; 2. A senior member of the society.

FALLEN [<OE ] The deceased, especially if killed in a battle or heroic act.

FELLOW [<OE feolaga < feoh "fee" + laga "a laying down" (see LAW), basic sense of "one laying down wealth for a joint undertaking"] A member of any Gild.

FELLOWSHIP [see FELLOW] Membership in any Gild.

FOLK [<OE folc, akin to German (G) volk, < Indo-European (IE) *pel, "to crowd", whence Latin (L) plebs "common people"] 1. The Germanic peoples, tribes or nations; 2. The members of the Freehold.

FOSTERMAN [foster + man < OE fostrian "to nourish, bring up" + man "human"] A voting member of the society who, because he or she has not yet sworn an oath of troth, is fostered and vouched for by a trothed Freeholder.

FREE [<Middle English (ME) fre < OE freo – "not in bondage, noble, glad, illustrious" < IE *prei- "to be fond of, to hold dear", whence Sanskrit: priya – "to be fond of, to hold dear"; see FRIEND]

FREEHOLD [ <ME ] 1. A holding of land freely held, and passed down through the generations by inheritance; 2. Abbreviated name of this organization, Heathen Freehold Society of British Columbia; 3. Any land holdings of the society.

FREEHOLDER [< ME, "householder", one who dwells on a Freehold of land] A voting member of this organization who has sworn the Freeholders Oath, the Witan’s Oath or the Fosterman's Oath (same as TRU FREEHOLDER or TROTHED FREEHOLDER).

FREEMAN, FREEWOMAN [<OE freomon < freo (see FREE) + man "human", one not in slavery or bondage] A member of this society having full civil and political rights, same as FREEHOLDER.

FRAU [<Old High German (OHG) "lady"]
FREO, FREA [<OE "lady", "lord" ]
FREYA, FREYR [<ON "lady", "lord", (See FREE)] 1. The names a goddess and a god who are principals among the Vanir; 2. The title of the Freehold’s elected chieftain, chairman or sacral king or queen, according to his or her tribal tradition, who is also member of the Witan and a trustee, elected by the Witan.

FRIEND [<ME: freond – "friend, lover"; akin to German freund < Proto-Germanic *frijon – "to love" (whence OE freon) see FREE] A nonvoting member of this society who has been sponsored by a trothed Freeholder.

FRITH [<ON, peace, akin Old High German (OHG) fridu "peace" < Germanic (Gmc) *frithu "peace, prosperous fellowship" <fri "to love" + thu substantive particle] 1. Peace; 2. A state of peaceful and prosperous fellowship which is the result of love shared.

FRITHGARD [<ON frith "peace" + gard "yard, enclosure", a protected, peaceful place] 1. a protected and sacred area where weapons are yielded up and bloodshed prohibited; 2. the protected "enclosure" of the Freehold, its communications, meetings and holy places.

FULL [<OE ful, akin to ON full, "a cup, goblet" with sense of perfectly, very well, completely, at its height] 1. A cup, goblet or drinking horn used to make offerings of a sacramental drink such as mead; 2. A toast that is drunk at husel the sacred feast, or symble the rite of oaths, usually offered after a bede or oath.

GERMANIC [< Latin (L), Germani, Roman name for tribes of central Northwest Europe, possibly from Proto-Germanic] 1. Designation of the various aboriginal European tribes whose modern descendants include speakers of the English, Norwegian, Swedish, Icelandic, Dutch, German, Danish, and other related languages. 2. Used here as a synonym for TEUTONIC and NORDIC.

GILD [< Modern English (ModE) guild < ME gild < blend of ON gildi "guild, guild-feast" & OE gyld "association of paying members", akin to OE gieldan "to pay, yield up". (See also FELLOW) ] An association of Freehold members in the same religious discipline, craft or trade, that is charged to study, practice, do and teach its craft, both to Freehold members and the public. (See also DRIGHTEN)

GELD [<OE gield "payment"] A contribution made by a Gild or Shire to the Freehold treasury.

GODHI [<ON] A priest of the aboriginal Germanic religion, called a weofodthane in Anglo-Saxon.

GOTHIC [<OE<L<Gr< Gothic *Gutans < gut + thiuda (see THEOD)] 1. The Gothic people or tribes. 2. The East Germanic language spoken by the Goths.

GYDHIA [<ON] A priestess of the aboriginal Germanic religion.

HEATHEN [<OE: haethen, literally "heath dwellers", a translation first used in the 4th century for Latin paganus - a countryman, rustic] 1. Used as a general label for ideas, people and things informed or inspired by the aboriginal Germanic religion and cultures or their modern variants; 2. A practitioner of or devotee to the Germanic religion.

HEATHEN FREEHOLD SOCIETY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA The name of this society, also called simply "the Freehold" throughout these bylaws.

HEATHENISM [See HEATHEN] 1. The aboriginal Germanic religion; 2. Any modern variant of the original Germanic religion.

HOARD [<OE hord, akin to German (G) hort, "a supply stored up and hidden or kept in reserve, a store of money"] 2. All Freehold assets, whether tangible or intangible, in their entirety; 2. The Freehold treasury.

HOARDER [see HOARD] The treasurer of the Freehold, a member of the Witan and a trustee, who is responsible for financial reporting, inventories, and so on.

HOUSEHOLD [<ME house + hold] 1. The home of a Heathen; 2. One of several designations for a group of Heathens who live or practice their religions together. (See also KINDRED)

HUSEL [<OE sacramental food and wine, akin to Gothic hunsel - "sacrificial feast"] A sacred kindred or community feast of communion with the Heathen gods and ancestors.

INDO-EUROPEAN A hypothetical, reconstructed language supposedly spoken by any of numerous waves of migrating tribes thought to have settled across Europe, the Middle East and parts of India over several thousand years just prior to the dawn of Indic and European civilization.

JORD [<ON, akin to Danish (Dn) jord, OHG erda, Dutch (Dt) aard, OE eortha, whence ModE earth] The goddess Earth, mother of Thor.

JOTUN [<ON, "giant" akin to OE eoten "giant, monster"] An elder race of giants renowned for their strength and power.

KINDRED [<ME kinreden < OE cynn "kin" + raeden "state, condition", (akin to readan "read, rede"); "relatives, family, related persons"] 1. A group of Heathens who are all related by birth or marriage, a sib, and who may live or practice their religions together; 2. Any small group of Heathens who live or practice their religions together: often a typical kindred are not related to one another.

KINDERFOLK [>G kinder (plural) "children", akin to OE cynd "child", akin to ON kundr "son", + folk "people"] 1. Children; 2. Any Freehold member who is legally a minor

LANDVAETR [<ON akin to OE landwiht, land + wight, "land-spirit"] Nature spirits associated with a particular geography.

LAW [<ME lawe <OE lagu, akin to ON log, lag "something laid down and settled"] 1. The laying down and ordering of manifestation, as in the ur-law (orlog- original law) laid down by the Norns, the weavers of fate; 2. all the rules of conduct established and enforced by the custom of a given community, state or other group; 3. The constitution and bylaws of this society, and any other policies from time to time in place, as in Freehold Law.

LAW-SPEAKER [<OE, ON] same as SPEAKER.

LIGHT-ELVES [<ON lyossalfar, "light-elves", akin to OHG alb, OE aelf, whence ModE elf, "shining one"] A race of elves whose Queen is said to be Sunna the Sun goddess and whose King is said to be the god Freyr of the Vanir.

MAETHEL [<OE "an assembly"] 1. An assembly, a deliberative or judicial meeting, council; 2. A special judicial committee temporarily formed to make a judgment on any matter of dispute brought forward to the Freehold's members or the Witan, such as an alleged violation of the bylaws, or a membership revocation.

MAN [<OE mann, "a human", akin to G mann, Goth. Manna < IE base *manu "human", akin to *men "to think"] A human being of either sex.

MEAD [ModE < OE meodu, akin to G met] A fermented wine made of honey and water regarded as a sacrament by Germanic Heathens.

MOOT [<OE mot, gemot, "a meeting"] 1. An early English assembly of Freemen to administer justice, decide community problems, etc. 2. A general meeting of a Freehold Shire. 3. A meeting of a Freehold Gild.

NORDIC [ "Of the north, north-ish", <OE nord "north" + sch "-ish"] The Caucasoid peoples of North Western Europe, used in these bylaws as synonymous with GERMANIC and TEUTONIC.

NORNS [<ON] 1. A race of influential wights, some of whom stem from the Aesir, others the Vanir, some the Jotun, and others from origins unknown, concerned with the unfolding of logr, or LAW, the primal ordering of ongoing manifestation, the unfolding moment; 2. Urdi, Urdandi and Skuld, equated with the Fates, who weave the fates of all, or others of their race. See also WYRD.

OATH [<OE ath, akin to G. eid] 1. A ritualistic declaration, typically based on an appeal to the gods, or some revered person or object, that one will speak the truth, keep a promise, remain faithful, etc. 2. The ritual form used in making such a declaration. 3. The thing promised or declared in this way.

OATH-RING [<OE ath "oath" + hring "ring"] 1. Any ring upon which oaths are sworn; 2. Among the Freehold's most holy objects, the Freehold Oath-ring is traditionally used by Freeholders, Fostermen and the Witan to swear holy oaths.

OMBUDSMAN [ < Swedish (Sd) ombudsman, "deputy, representative", <ON: < umbe "about" + bjotha "to bid, offer" + man] 1. One of the Witan and among the trustees of the Freehold, elected at althing. The representative of those members who may not be members of any gild or shire, and to whom member complaints or disputes are initially directed.

RING [<OE hring, akin to ON hringr "ring, a small circular band of metal"] 1. Where Freeholders are united by a particular oath, usually by swearing on the sacred Oath-Ring, they are called a collectively "ring", whence "the Ring of Freeholders, the Ring of the Witan". (See OATH-RING)

ROLL-CALL 1. The reading of a list of names; 2. The list of Freehold members, kept secure under oath by the Freehold writer (secretary of the society).

SHIRE [<OE scir "shire", akin to OHG scira, "office, official charge", a district] A local branch of the society serving a specific district or region.

SPEAKER [<speak < OE specan < sprecan, akin to G sprechen, "to speak, make an address"] A member of the Witan and a trustee, elected at althing, who is the legal secretary of the Freehold and is responsible for all aspects of maintaining, amending and reporting on Freehold law. Also known as the law-speaker.

STAMM [<G akin to ModE stem] Family, tribe. See KINDRED.

SWARTHY-ELVES [<ON svartalfar, "dark-elves", akin to OHG alb, OE aelf, whence ModE elf] A race of dark elves also known as dwarves, who are masterful with crafts.

SYMBLE [<OE akin to ON sumbl and OHG sumbal, "a banquet, symposium, festivity, feasting, a religious festival"] In modern heathenry symble is a rite of utterances before the community, within the sight of the gods and ancestors, where in oaths are sworn, yelps and boasts are given, offering of sacramental mead, or other beverage, is consumed, and gifts may be given. A rite much resembling the modern formal toast at a feast or banquet.

TEUTONIC [<L <Gmc, see THEOD] In these bylaws used as a synonym for GERMANIC or NORDIC.

THANE [<OE] 1. A freeman who is nevertheless in the service his or her chieftain, headman or lord. 2. Any servant or officer, as in WEOFODTHANE.

THEOD [<OE "a people, folk, tribe" root of TEUTONIC] 1. Any Germanic tribe; 2. An association of kindreds led by a lord or king; 3. In theodism, a modern variant of the aboriginal Germanic religion centred on tribalism.

THEW [<OE theaw, "good qualities, custom, habit, characteristic quality", akin to Old Saxon thau "custom"] 1. Sacred customs, beliefs, traditions and ways of behaving by which Heathen may better attune themselves with the Living, with the gods and with ancestors, and which are passed down orally, or by natural social dissolution. 2. Unwritten traditions or laws of a kindred or tribe, local custom. 3. The policies, customs or traditions of the Freehold not specified in Law.

THING [<OE thing, akin to ON thing, G ding, "a council, or court, a regional general assembly of freemen", originally "a public assembly"] A Special General Meeting of the society.

THOR [<ON, akin to OE thunor, whence ModE thunder, akin to G. donner "thunder"] God of thunder, son of ODHIN and JORD, bearer of a magic hammer, who is a principal among the race of gods called the AESIR.

TROTH [<OE, akin to treowe "truth", and G treu, basic sense firm (as a tree), tree-like] 1. Faithfulness, loyalty; 2. Truth, chiefly as "in troth", truly, indeed; 3. One's pledged word, oath, promise; 4. Chiefly said about one's relationship with any of the Germanic gods, but also applicable to any relationship based on mutual promise and commitment; 5. The ongoing performance of the customs and traditions of the Germanic religion, as in "to keep troth with the gods"; 6. The aboriginal religion of the Germanic tribes (see also ASATRU, HEATHENISM).

TROTHED [see TROTH] In these bylaws, referring to a member who has sworn that they are tru to the Germanic gods and to uphold Freehold bylaws.

TROW see TROTH.

TRU see TROTH.

TRUSTEE [<ON traust "trust, firmness" (see TROTH)] 1. A director of the society as defined in the Society Act. One of usually no less than five witan elected as the society directors.

VANIR [<ON] 1. One of the two races of Germanic gods (the other being the AESIR) associated with fertility and the fecundity of the earth, who include Freya and Freyr among others.

WEOH [<OE akin to ON ve] 1. Sacred, holy, other-worldy. 2. As in the Weoh Gild, the Freehold’s guild for Germanic priestcraft.

WEOFOD [<OE weoh "holy" + fod "table"] An altar.

WEOFODTHANE [<OE weohfod + thane "servant, officer"] An Anglo-Saxon title for a priest, or servant of the altar.

WIGHT [<OE wiht, akin to ON vaet, G wicht "creature"] Any spiritual or corporeal entity, a creature, person or spirit.

WITA [<OE, "one who knows, wise one, counselor" - singular form of WITAN - < wit "wit, wisdom"] Any single member of the Witan.

WITAN [<OE, plural form of wita, any number of wise folk] The executive body of the Freehold responsible to ensure the society fulfills the purposes for which it was formed, consisting primarily of gild drightens, shire aethlings and the trustees.

WITANGEMOT [<OE witan + gemot "to meet" (see MOOT)] A meeting of the Witan, the same as a meeting of the directors as defined in the Society Act.

WRITER [<OE "to scratch, engrave, write"] The secretary of the society, a member of the Witan and a trustee, elected at althing.

WYRD [<OE "fate", akin to OE weorthan, "to become", > IE *wert- to turn. Survives in ModE weird and worth] 1. The way of things, the unfolding reality. 2. Fate or destiny, in many ways resembling both the Hindu concept of karma and the Oriental concept of tao. 3. A goddess-like spirit also known as Urdi, one of the famous three NORNS who weave the fates of all wights, including gods and humans.

YELP [<OE gielpan "to boast noisily", akin to ON gjalla "to cry out"] 1. The report of any past deed during a SYMBLE. 2. The report of a gild, delivered by a gild spokesman or drighten, at the althing; 3. The report of a new wita before being sworn in, detailing his or her past accomplishments.

YOUTH [<OE geoguthe] A member of the society who is a minor, but who has been granted by his or her parents or guardians consent to apply for full voting membership in the Freehold.

In the case of any discrepancy between the definitions offered here and those defined in the bylaws, the definitions provided in the bylaws shall prevail.

Glossary Bibliography:

Webster's New World Dictionary, Canadian Edition, 1970;
Wörterbuch der Indogermanischen Sprachen: Dritter Teil: Wortschatz der Germanischen Spracheinheit by Falk, Fick, and Torp - 1909;
Grammar of the Gothic Language by Joseph Wright - 1954;
Ulfilas by Stamm, Heyne and Wrede - 1896;
A Comparative Glossary of the Gothic Language by G. H. Balg - 1887;
Gotische Grammatik by Wilhelm Braune - 1912;
An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary by Joseph Bosworth; edited, enlarged by T. Northcote Toller.
A Concise Anglo-Saxon Dictionary by John R. Clark Hall - 1916;
An Anglo-Saxon Reader by James W. Bright - 1912;
An Old High German Primer by Joseph Wright - 1888;
An Icelandic-English Dictionary by Richard Cleasby and Gudbrand Vigfusson - 1874;
Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic by Geir T. Zoëga, - 1910;
An Icelandic Primer by Henry Sweet - 1895;
An Introduction to Old Norse by E. V. Gordon and A. R. Taylor - 1956;