Heitstrenging

They were often performed at Yule and other large social events, where they played a role in establishing and maintaining good relationships principally between members of the aristocratic warrior elite.

While originally containing heathen religious components such as prayers and worship of gods such as Freyr and Thor, the practice continued in an altered manner after the Christianisation of Scandinavia.

Close similarities have been noted between heitstrengingar and Anglo-Saxon oath-swearing and boasting practices such as the beot, with both involving promises to accomplish tasks that would bring great honour if achieved.

[1][2][3][4][5] Heitstrenging at Yule-evening is described in the prose of Helgakviða Hjörvarðssonar, involving placing one's hands on the bristles of the sónargöltr and drinking of the bragarfull: Heðinn var heima með föður sínum, Hjörvarði konungi, í Nóregi.

The U manuscript furthermore describes the ritual and the involvement of the boar to be a custom at the time of the saga narrative and tells how there was an effort to breed the largest pig possible for the occasion.

[note 2][20] Heitstrengingar took place at Yule and other sacrificial feasts, weddings, arvals, and banquets and often acted as a form of bragging and promising the performance of an often great feat.

The process involved making prayers to either Christian or heathen gods and honouring the previous ruler and has been proposed to have had a central role in both reassuring the king's followers and legitimising his power.

[23] Though it had been argued historically that the custom of heitstrenging died out upon the Christianisation of the North Germanic peoples, it is now accepted to have continued by that name at least into the second half of the 13th century based on Sturlunga saga which provides a contemporary account of the practice and is dated to that time period.

[24] Strong similarities have been noted between heitstrenging and Anglo-Saxon oath swearing practices, referred to by Old English terms such as beots, in which vows to affirm bonds among rulers and retainers often took place at feasts accompanied by drink and the giving of gifts such as rings.

[25] It has been further suggested that the tradition could have spread to the North Germanic peoples through contact with the Anglo-Saxons due to some of the earliest attestations of heitstrenging formulae are found in Old English sources such as Beowulf and the Battle of Maldon.

[26] Similar practices have also been observed dating to the High Medieval Period in France and among the slavic peoples, although scholars have not reached a consensus over, whether and to what extent, they are influenced by the Germanic traditions.