Was there a Norse custom of "one keeps what one defends"?

Upvote:4

It is difficult to address a scene from 'a Viking TV show' historically, but perhaps the show was referring to the form of ritualized combat or dueling known as Holmgang. Without a detailed description or link to the scene it would be difficult to tell if the conditions fit. The description from the Wikipedia page does seem to indicate the possibility existed (emphasis mine):

Professional duelists used holmgangs as a form of legalized robbery; they could claim rights to land, women, or property, and then prove their claims in the duel at the expense of the legitimate owner. Many sagas describe berserks who abused holmgang in this way. In large part due to such practices, holmgangs were outlawed in Iceland in 1006, as a result of the duel between Gunnlaugr Ormstunga and Hrafn Γ–nundarson,[2] and in Norway in 1014.

More post

Search Posts

Related post