CopOwl 1668 Share Posted August 18, 2023 Published by the County of Malkovya ISSUED ON THE 10TH OF VYZMEY AND HYFF, 491 E.S. Penned by the hand of The Right Honourable, Anabel Elia Colborn, Countess of Malkovya and Keeper of The Book "Historia av eldernvar visdomi av viselagda." - Anadan the Wise "History is the old world’s wisdom as seen by those before us." - Scyfling Proverb A significant portion of my work as Keeper of the Book of House Colborn is dedicated to the memory and preservation of our history; those great many practices upheld by our Scyfling ancestors many generations ago that have nearly been lost to history if it were not for the relics and records safeguarded by my predecessors. In part, it is due to the seclusion and protections placed on the Colborn library – an archive guarded by House Colborn ever since the day that our Founder, St. Carr of Carrenhall, met that famed young boy, St. Karl Barbanov – that this rich cultural history has been defended for so long. However, it is also due to the library’s concealment that the youth of today are uneducated on such topics. Therefore, it is part of my duty as the Protector of Scyflings and Keeper of this hallowed Book – in conjunction with the preservation efforts of the Head Librarian of House Colborn, Amelia Ceciliya Colborn – to share the tales, beliefs, and storied traditions of our Ancient Ancestors. Besides this Study, only word of mouth, the writings of our more recent ancestors like St. Carr, and past archaeological discoveries preserve them. There are a great many aspects of our Ancestors’ lives unable to be included in this publication, but it is my hope that any insight into our very ancient past might be preserved in the memories of youthful scholars. Naturally, the current traditions regarding such topics as Marriage and Burial among prominent Scyfling groups like the Comital House of Colborn in Hanseti-Ruska may have developed over time, and will therefore differ from the beliefs and practices detailed herein; such is as the ebb and flow of time dictates. However the perceptive Scholar may notice certain similarities that may indicate where and how current customs have come to be. It is also worth mentioning that it was only due to St. Carr’s influence that the Scyfling people were converted to follow the word of Godan, and that prior to this, Scyflings were a pagan group that followed their own pantheon of gods and goddesses. An ancient portrait picturing legendary warrior queen Brynhildr; famous for killing the hero Siefried after he tricks her into marrying a chieftain named Gundahar. , during the times prior to Scyfling conversion to Canonism, came from a need to attract the attention and blessings of the pagan Gods that were worshipped at that time. Earning these blessings were vital in order for the couple to become parents in the future and continue their bloodline. To allure the attention of the Gods, wedding traditions were intricate and complex, however this was also because of the legal implications that any marriage would have. Marriage was viewed as not only a Union of the bride and groom, but a Union of the two families from which they hailed, thus they could have an effect on mutual family property and/or lines of inheritance. At the time, an unmarried lady would attract the attention of the groom’s family who would gather their legal delegates to decide the value of her dowry, the value of the groom’s assets, set a date for the wedding, and to negotiate the wedding gift from the groom’s parents. The date was a vital thing to decide; weddings were traditionally held in the goddess of marriage’s sacred month, snow made winter weddings impossible, and weddings used to last a full week. After the groom’s family have agreed, they gather with their counsel, and other local figures to bring the proposal to the bride’s family. With the proposal, they promise to support and assist the bride’s family in future endeavors, and both families agree on mutually beneficial terms for the marriage. Often, the bride’s father and/or brothers would consult her on their betrothal choices before making a decision, as it was both legally difficult, and marriages frequently ended poorly if she was not complicit. Other ancient traditions were very intricate and complex, and each ritual was integral to earning the blessings of the gods for a future successful marriage. A group of Scyfling men celebrating and negotiating the gifts to offer a prospective bride’s family. occurred in the time period leading up to the wedding. The bride and groom would be separated with their parents, married siblings, and other married family and friends of each individual’s respective gender so that they can cleanse and strip away their former selves before entering a new life together and, for the bride, a new family. For the groom, he and his male family and friends would participate in a symbolic sword ceremony to rid him of his bachelorhood. It is said that he would be required to break into an ancestor’s grave-mound to retrieve their coveted family sword; it is believed that he ‘enters death’ as a boy and re-emerges back to life from within as a man reborn. After completing the ritual to obtain his sword and manhood, he and his family would wash away his bachelor status in a bathhouse to symbolically cleanse himself before the wedding. In this time, he would be instructed by his male relatives on his husbandly and fatherly duties going into a new life. After this bathing ritual, the groom would dress for his wedding. There was no official costume to wear, however the groom would carry with him the ancient sword of his ancestors, and a symbol of the god of lightning; a hammer or axe. These weapons symbolised the groom’s mastery of his marriage and was to ensure a fruitful marriage blessed by the gods. The bride would also undergo a similar cleansing ritual surrounded by her married female friends and relatives. Her kransen - a circlet symbolising her virginity - likely the item which inspired the roggeband years later, would be replaced by the bridal crown, and her other clothes associated with maidenhood were stripped and removed. The kransen was stored for the bride’s future daughters. She would cleanse herself in a bathhouse - according to the standard bathing practice - in which hot stones were placed in tubs to produce steam and birch twigs were used to induce sweating which was thought to wash away the bride’s maiden status. Lastly, the bride would plunge herself into cold water; closing her pores to complete the cleansing process. The bride’s hair was, at the time, more important than the dress she wore as it represented her sexual allure based on its length. To decorate the hair she would wear a family heirloom bridal crown, some of which still exist now. The bride would then be escorted to the location of the wedding by a young kinsman of hers who carried a sword which she would gift to her new husband. A clannish Scyfling woman preparing herself as part of the pre-wedding cleansing rituals. A picture of the goddess Iðunn, known as “the rejuvenating one” - she was associated with youth and was believed to keep the gods and goddesses young. , like most other things, was a highly symbolic affair. The groom and bride’s family would convene prior to the ceremony to exchange the dowry and bride-price before the religious ceremony could begin. Likely inspiring the present House Colborn practice of gifting a goat or sheep to the married couple, a sacrifice would then be held in which one goat and one sow respectively would be slain to honour the gods that would bless the marriage. The flesh of the sacrificed animals would later be used as part of the wedding feast, and the blood gathered from the killings in a sacred bowl was placed upon an altar made of heaped stones and twigs dipped into the blood. These twigs would then be sprinkled upon the couple and guests to confer the gods’ blessings upon them. The groom presents his recently-obtained ancestor’s sword to the bride - representing the traditions of the groom’s family and the continuation of his bloodline, which she would hold in trust for their future son, and she then gifts him with the sword brought to the ceremony for this purpose - representing the transferral of her father’s guardianship and protection to the husband. This exchanging of swords represents the sacred bond of marriage and is followed immediately by an exchange of divine rings presented upon the hilt of each partner’s newly received sword. With the rings upon their fingers, and the couple’s hands upon the hilt of the husband’s sword, they would each speak their vows to one another. A depiction of the brief courtship between a Scyfling man and his prospective bride. followed the ceremony and began with a ritual known in ancient texts as “bruð-hlaup” or, in common, bride-running for the bridal party. For the bridegroom, it was known as “bruð gumareid” or bridegroom’s ride. Whereas nowadays all attendants make their ways to the wedding feast in a rather dignified horse or foot procession, it believed that the bride-running procession was a race between the two families to make it to the feast hall first, and that whomsoever arrived last was obligated to serve ale to the other party for the remainder of the night. As the name suggests, the bridegroom’s party were permitted to mount while the bridal party had to go by foot, thus it was expected that the groom would win every time. The bride would be met by her husband at the door of the feast hall so that he could lead her through the door and ensure that she would not stumble. Doorways were thought to represent a portal between worlds, and also encompassed the bride’s transition from that of maidenhood to the life of a wife. Furthermore, it was believed that spirits would gather around doorways, and often the doorway of an old homestead would be the grave of the house’s founder who would protect it against evil. If the bride were to trip on her way through the door, that would be an omen of great misfortune for the marriage. Once safely inside the feast hall, the groom used to drive his sword into the supporting pillar of the house and the size of the dent he made would indicate the luck of the marriage, in other words; the children produced by the union. This was representative of the strength of the family’s barnstokkr, the ancestral family tree also known as the “child tree” because its branches would be clasped by the women of the family at the time of childbirth. The bride and groom would then share and drink and and toast to their respective relevant gods or goddesses, and then an emblematic hammer would be placed in the bride’s lap to bless her while the gods were invoked to bless the union. Following this, drinking and merriment would begin and continue throughout the remainder of the week. The bride and groom would share their wedding night together, the bride’s dreams would be noted as they were believed to be prophetic to the number of children she would bear, the fortune of her marriage, and the destinies of her descendants. An artist’s rendering of the god and goddess associated with and honoured at weddings. A party of mythological warriors and shieldmaidens riding to war. , before the good word of Canonism reached the ears of ancient Scyflings, were that Odain the One-eyed would select the most brutal warriors to be guided by his force of Shieldmaidens to his own Gravhalla, or “Hall of the Dead” in the afterlife; an enormous mead hall supposedly constructed from spear shaft rafters, a roof made of gleaming shields, and its gates guarded by colossal wolves. There the warriors that ascended to Odain’s hall, those most honoured and battle-worn champions, would spend all day battling one another in preparation for the final conflict that precedes the end of all things. In contrast to the “Hall of the Dead”, there were other destinations for Scyfling souls. For example, the goddess Vanadis presided over her Folkvangr, or “Field of the People”, while the halls of sea goddess Rán are home to the Scyflings who died at sea. It was a great honour to be chosen for Odain’s mead hall, but it was thought that only those who died honourably and fearlessly would be admitted. These Scyflings believed in a predestined day of death, meaning that one would die on the same day regardless – but it was how they died that would dictate whether the Shieldmaidens would meet them, having passed on. As such, it is common in the surviving sagas for a doomed hero to resist dying a slow, painful, or cowardly death, as such would bar their way to Odain’s side in the life to follow. A legendary Scyfling Shieldmaiden comforting a dying warrior as he passes on. would be held among their clan once their body and possessions had been recovered. The funeral was always, like many other affairs in these times, highly ritualistic as it was intended to bring peace to the dead as they transition to the life to follow, and provide structure and strength for the bereaved to continue on without their kinsman or woman. Traditionally, the women of the clan would take a leading role in arranging the funeral. First, the body had to be prepared for burial. It is thought that the deceased’s riches were used to finance his funeral. One third would go to support his family, one third would pay for his funeral clothes, and the final third would pay for the alcohol served at his funeral. In preparing his body, it had to be draped in clean ceremonial cloths and adorned in jewels. Certain clans also removed the dead’s fingernails, as they believed they would be used to construct the ship Naglfar, a vessel made entirely of fingernails employed by the gods. During this preparatory time before the funeral ceremony, it was possible for a sighting of the deceased as some kind of undead creature to occur – this was considered an omen for the relatives of the dead; a sign that more of them would die. In this case, it was thought that the dead had to die anew, and a stake might be put through the corpse, or its head might be removed to prevent them from becoming undead. The funeral might be drawn out over several days, but was usually an elaborate ceremony featuring songs, chanting, music, and animal sacrifices. Often, a Scyfling funeral was held at the top of a mountain; a practice that persists in current Scyfling burials, and the funeral would be followed by a series of grand feasts held in the fallen warrior’s memory. The funeral of a valiant Scyfling warrior, attended by members of his clan. is the most fascinating practice, as different clans appear to have employed different methods. Some clans restrict themselves to ground burial; in which the deceased’s kinsmen dig a grave for their body to be buried in, whereas other clans are defined by the practice of burning the corpse upon a pyre – much like what is currently practiced by House Colborn, indicating that this tradition originates in the Slesvician clans. On the other hand, clans associated with coastal areas – especially wealthy ones – are cited as constructing burial ships for the dead to be sent out to sea on, only for the ship to be burnt. However, all three methods feature the common thread of relinquishing the possessions of the deceased to travel with them to the next life, allowing them to maintain their social status or profession – these possessions are known as grave goods. Even if a boat was not burnt, imagery of a ship was often invoked by placing gravestones in the shape of a longboat, a practice known as a ship setting. It was believed that these vessels represent safe passage to the afterlife for the dead, while the smoke from a funeral pyre would carry the spirit of the departed to their destination. It is suggested that grave goods served both a religious and a practical function as, due to an absence of rigid inheritance law, burying the possessions of the dead may have helped to mitigate possible inheritance conflicts. A Scyfling warrior would always be burnt or buried with their weapons and riches, an artisan was buried with his tools, and a cavalryman may even have been buried with his horse. In contrast, a woman was more likely to be buried with her favourite household items, jewellry, or special brooches that likely inspired the sølje still worn on Scyfling bunads. It was also common for an individual to receive items representing key moments of success in their lives, such as arrows symbolising military prowess. A burial for a Scyfling chieftain, featuring a ship being set on fire as it goes out to sea. it can be enlightening for Scholars to learn about the habits and practices of those who came before us – that is the role of historians; to learn from the mistakes of past civilisations and discover how we in our current state can avoid them. I myself have expanded my research scope from where I began; my first scribblings were limited to my own family, House Colborn, and they then expanded to cover the historical area of Slesvik, eventually growing to envelope the entire region of Curzken that our people inhabited. It is my deepest hope that our descendants might in turn learn from my experiences and works; it is only through building off one another that descendants shall rise. In addition, it is of great importance of me to highlight that any musings of a period can only provide a mere illustration of happenings at the time of publishing, and that time moves continuously forward in a linear fashion. We cannot return to the period we read about and experience that way of life. It feels pertinent to quote some of my first thoughts on this subject, as youth so often bears wisdom: “But put together these portraits [of culture] and they can illustrate a breadth of ever-changing civilization for the eyes of the resilient Scholar.” It is with those words that I conclude, however I wish to extend an invitation to anyone wishing to discuss any of the above topics in greater detail and forward them to myself. Should anyone have questions also, I shall be more than pleased to speak on them. The Right Honourable, Anabel Elia Colborn, Countess of Malkovya, Viscountess of Venzia, Baroness of Bethlenen, Lady of Vorenburg, the Protector of Scyflings, Keeper of the Book, and Secretary of the Esrova Courts 10 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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