#holmgang

[thedwarrowscholar]

Hello! I was recently watching The Last Kingdom and the Danish practice of holmgang, dueling until death or first blood to settle disputes, reminded me of dwarven customs. In the show, the duel would be initiated by the phrase “make the square”/“form the square.” I was wondering how you would translate the holmgang and the initiation phrase in Khuzdul, or if there was a similar practice already known amongst dwarrows. Thank you!

Well met! Thank you for that very interesting question indeed. Before we go into depth on the details of this practice, perhaps we should first of all cover what exactly it is. Firstly, holmgang is not a specifically Danish practice. Though unclear where the original practice exactly comes form, it is clear that is was practiced across all the Old Norse homelands (apart from Denmark, also Norway, Sweden, various North-sea Islands, areas of the present Baltic and Iceland). Known as "holmganga" in Old Norse ("hólmganga" in modern Icelandic, "holmgång" in Swedish and indeed "holmgang" in Danish and Norwegian). In essence, holmganga was a legally recognized way to settle disputes in the form of a duel. Simplistically put, anyone aggrieved, insulted or offended could challenge the other party to holmganga to reclaim their honor. It is a common misconception that holmganga was always a duel to the death; though it could be, it very seldom was. Historically holmganga practices changed over time, where duels to the death were perhaps more frequent at first and later on were almost never seen anymore (and settled in another manner, yet still called holmganga). Eventually, the practice of holmganga was outlawed, as professional duelists started to emerge, who took advantage of the holmganga rules to legally rob someone's land, property - and even wife.

The legendary hólmganga between Egill Skallagrímsson and Berg-Önundr, painted by Johannes Flintoe. As for the specific rules of the practice itself, every place had a different sets of rules. Before the duel began, the duelists would commonly agree upon the exact rules (any weapons allowed, number of shields, who could strike first, what the winner could receive, when a win would be declared, etc...) Meaning that the final result could vastly vary, from death to simple financial compensation. Holmganga was commonly decided within a square or round area, at times referred to as an island (Holmganga literally meaning "island walking") Combatants had to fight inside these "island borders", stepping out of borders meant forfeiture. The shout you mentioned "form the square" could thus have been possible. Now, how does this relate to Dwarves? Many often have the urge to directly align Old Norse customs with those of the Dwarves. After all, Tolkien himself used Old Norse names as outer names for Dwarves, he used Old Norse runes as the base for their scripts and even their language (though Semitic in nature) clearly has taken inspiration from Old Norse too (an example "gamil" in Khuzdul and "gamall" in Old Norse - both meaning "old") - to name but a few similarities - so we can't blame folks for going further down that path. Apart form the Old Norse influence, Dwarves however also have a Jewish "layer" in Tolkien's works, clearly inspired by both these cultures for a variety to things. So, to determined whether it is likely that Dwarves had practices similar to Holmganga we would need to see if such duels were also common practice among the Jewish people. Perhaps surprisingly, they were common practice (at least in antiquity - or so say the scriptures) and even were similar in form (right down to the prior negotiation, the combat, and possible outcome). So, yes, I deem it very likely that a practice like Holmganga would have existed among the Dwarves - seeing that the two cultures Tolkien used to base them on both had very similar dueling practices (though, it must be said that in Hebraic antiquity duels between small groups of men were often more common).

Joab Slays Abner "and he strikes him there through the groin".- Book of Second Samuel chapter 3:27. Tolkien made no mention of such dwarf vs dwarf duels unfortunately (though duels themselves were common place in his lore), meaning we'll have to base ourselves on what we've covered so far and assume a similar practice was indeed in place. Keeping the naming of such a practice straightforward (and open to some deviation) I would suggest "'Akrâg-itsêl" (simply meaning "the act of settling honour") Translating "form the square!", would be: "imhi ibal!" (lit. "create (the) square") Furthermore, the Dwarvish love for a good contract might have even seen the parties agree the rules in written fashion first, ensuring no arguments could ensue after the duel (and family members would be taken care of, etc...)

DnD dwarves in a gladitorial duel, Concept art by James Gurney Hoping to have answered your question. Ever at your service, The Dwarrow Scholar

[indignantlemur]

hello! I was wondering about the ushaan tur ( I don't think I spelled that right) what would be the qualifications to challenge someone?

Also somewhat random question, I was wondering what your thoughts were on the episodes babel one and United on Enterprise?

Thank you

Hello, hello! Thanks for dropping by!

In many ways, the ushaan reminds me of the old Norse custom of the holmgang which has many similar rules - though, thankfully, not nearly as many as the Andorians' have.

For comparison: A holmgang was a serious affair, in which - in theory - an offended person could challenge another regardless of social status regarding a matter of personal honour, disputes over ownership/property, to seek restitution or restoration of a debt, to settle legal disagreements, invoked with the intention to aid a spouse (usually a wife) or relative, or to avenge a friend. If a friend was clearly outclassed in a holmgang, a more capable warrior would often volunteer to fight in their place. The actual format of the duel could vary, with different rules, weapons, and locations depending on the region, the era, and so on. Some duels were to the death, but others were satisfied when the requirements agreed upon beforehand for a loss were met. If the person who issued the challenge failed to show up, they were deemed niðingr and possibly even declared an outlaw, a person outside of the protections of the law who could be killed or driven off with impunity.

(Please note: while niðingr often translates to coward or nothing, in reality it means so much more than that. It means that you are less than nothing, less than a person, utterly without honour or merit in all aspects of oneself. The insult has a simple translation but cultural nuances make it so much worse than just being called a coward. In fact, it is one of the worst things you could call someone else, and being called a niðingr was a grave offense that usually resulted in at least one person winding up dead at the end of it. Usually more. Usually quite a few more, actually. Very few people could run a generational feud like the old Norse did.)

Meanwhile, the Andorian ushaan is a rather more complicated affair, though it seems to run in the same vein as a holmgang. Canonically, the ushaan has between 9,000-12,000 amendments described in the Code of the Ushaan; there are exceptions, substitutions, deferrals, indefinite deferrals, and substitutions, and disqualifications which are all accounted for in painstaking detail.

We don't have many actual examples of some of the amendments and qualifications for the ushaan, but United did give us a few:

Hardship Deferment: Either combatant can postpone a duel indefinitely if there is determined to be sufficient hardship to justify the delay, pending approval by the opposing combatant or combatant's proxy. Religious Deferment: Either combatant can postpone a duel indefinitely based on specifically defined religious objections, pending approval by the opposing combatant or combatant's proxy. A member of any recognized religious order is forbidden from participating in ritual combat and must instead submit his or herself to discipline by the administrative body of the appropriate sect. Ancestral Exemption: If a combatant's family history includes an act of heroism, sanctioned by no less than three ranking government officials, said combatant may step down from the challenge after making and agreed-upon monetary restitution. Sibling Proxy: A sibling (male or female) of appropriate age that volunteer to take the place of a combatant, pending approval by the opposing combatant or combatant's proxy. Progeny Proxy: A son or daughter of appropriate age that volunteer to take the place of a combatant, pending approval of the opposing combatant or combatant's proxy; and if such substitution does not impose the clan contamination deferment. Clan Continuation: Either combatant can postpone a duel indefinitely if there are no children to continue his clan (...) [Source: ST: ENT S04E12 "United"]

Looking at what we know of the Andorian ushaan, there are a remarkable number of similarities with the Norse holmgang, which is why I made the comparison in the first place. I half wonder if the ushaan was inspired by the holmgang.

As far as we know, from the scant (I will never not bring this up. ST writers: do better) lore, we know that Andorians can issue a challenge for a ushaan duel to avenge a loved one, or to avenge their personal honour. Beyond that, we're actually not given a great deal of information on what other circumstances allow for a challenge, but I can't imagine that it isn't as highly regulated as everything else Andorians do.

For my headcanon purposes, there are several requirements that must be met for a challenge to qualify as legitimate:

Both parties must be considered legal adults, both physically and mentally. A child cannot challenge or fight in a ushaan. A near-adult cannot challenge or fight in a ushaan. Any such individuals who are found to have participated in a ushaan are deemed to have engaged in illegal duels and may face significant legal repercussions. Any adult individuals who knowingly challenge a child or near-adult will face official censure and severe legal and financial repercussions.

Both parties must be considered to be in their right mind - compos mentis - and therefore able to comprehend the consequences of their actions, immediate and future. Failure to meet this requirement results in the dismissal of the challenge entirely. A mentally competent individual who knowingly challenges someone who does not meet this requirement faces official censure and significant fines.

Both parties must be assessed to be physically fit enough to participate in the duel, or have substitutes who are. Failure to meet this requirement may result in a deferral until the unfit party is a) deemed fit by a medical professional or b) can locate a fit substitute. Failing to meet this requirement and proceeding regardless results in an illegal duel, and both parties will be censured and fined.

The root cause of the duel must be considered legitimate. To be considered legitimate, the causes must be a) provably traceable to the challenged individual, b) cause significant duress or hardship to the challenger, and c) represent a significant loss or slight to the personal honour of the challenger, or the party the challenger acts on behalf of. Failure to meet these requirements results in the dismissal of the challenge and, pending review by arbiters, may result in censures and fines for the challenger.

If we look at the situation presented in "United", Shran's challenge meets these requirements across the board. The Telleraite in question, Naarg, is a fully grown, adult member of his species in good health and mentally competent enough to be serving as an ambassadorial aide. His is directly responsible for Talas' death (which had multiple witnesses and cannot be contested under Andorian law) and, damningly, acted after the situation had been defused - well outside the timeframe that would have allowed for self-defence. Talas' death, as Shran's paramour or bondmate, would have constituted a significant emotional hardship and personal loss, and being slain while acting as an Imperial Guardsman by an 'inferior' enemy would have been disgraceful for Talas - which fulfills that requirement as well.

By Andorian laws and customs, Shran's challenge - while poorly timed and very much at odds with his government's desire for calm negotiation and measured diplomacy at the time - was perfectly legitimate. That Shran already had his blood up about Tellarites prior to the challenge would be considered a relevant but largely inconsequential detail which would likely only be taken into account if the challenge had been deemed illegal or of dubious legality.

As for your other question: I actually really enjoyed United and Babel One! We got a little bit of everything in those episodes: intrigue, action, Romulans doing Romulan chores, Andorians and Andorian lore, Jeffrey Combs, character development across the board, Archer actually doing something intelligent despite his many, many concussions, Trip being put into even more Situations™️ (with bonus Reed being put into Situations™️), and our first look at the Aenar! What's not to love?

Were the episodes perfect? Of course not. Did I adore them anyway? Absolutely.

[saiartz]

Commissions from @nneoshi! Tysm for commissioning me! Onto your other beans as well!

[wystaria-garden]

Holmgang; Halt a target's movement with chains, while preventing most attacks from reducing your HP to less than 1.

[shroudandsands]

Prompt #21: Shade

“Behind you!” Amesha threw herself underneath the wide arc of the axe as it crunched into the static behind her. An arrow streaked past in the same moment to deliver the killing blow. The re-killing blow? She hated undead.

“You alright?” Came the rushed words of the archer as he yanked her up from the ground. Her wings swirled around the two of them in a blinkered dance as she reoriented. “As well as any, but bough and oasis meant for living- Unable to tell, to feel, blank on senses more than sight-” He pressed her backwards as the axe swung by them once again. She could hear its blunt face crush through whatever had come towards them. “-The Hawk gives direction, gives aim. But she is-” “Still up top, yeah! Going to have to do without!” “The hells does that mean, Autgar?! Do without?!” Gruff words came in close, one arm swung wide to guard them both and urge them backwards with his steps. His axe scraped against the ground as he swung it out again to dissuade the closest of what she could only assume were zombies. The stench of them could make her gag. “It’s just us, Soem! You’ll have to keep them off us while we make our way back out with Ms. Amesha. Ms. Amesha? I’ll call shots for both of us.” His voice was towards her now, but she could already tell his bow was pointed at the horde encroaching on them. “You can do that, right? I’ll aim. You shoot. Soemrnahct keeps us out of the thick of it. You keep him safe. Good plan?” Amesha’s wings encircled the three of them. The static of undeath could almost drown her ability to feel them both within her touch. The flood of it was overwhelming, that sensation of emptiness that came with their shuffling corpses. If they got any further than a few steps away… Her wings rocketed above them, a light like the sun. “Go.”

Soem crashed ahead of them as a maelstrom. Iron-made fist and steel-forged axe swinging in a simultaneous rampage as he carved a path through what seemed to Amesha to be an unending wave of bodies. Whatever magicks that had been triggered were surely far more potent than she or Sawyer had anticipated to create something of this scale. But these two were undaunted. Teeth grit. Weapons white-knuckled. An arrow of light screamed forth through the crowd. “You see that?!” Autgar whooped with adrenaline-infused glee as he nocked another arrow. Her wings soared down to fly in line with his bow; to accompany the next arrow, the next, the next and infuse them all with aether and soul to burn as bright as daylight. “C’mon, just a bit more! Straight ahead, Ms. Amesha, and we’ll be home free! Stay right beside me!” The wings she left soaring high in the air pivoted and pointed towards each target that the arrows marked, their light bright and piercing in touch so that even the static of unlife couldn’t keep her from feeling it. Which made it all the more cathartic to blast them with lances of water that shredded rotted flesh and gusts of wind that blasted old bones to shards with an audible and horrific gale. All the while she was practically stuck to Autgar’s side trying to not get elbowed in the head as he let loose arrow after arrow. The three of them moved in lockstep under the shade of her protection even as the undead began to swarm in from behind them. Overcrowding slowed them, if only a little bit, but it was enough that their rear wasn’t in as much danger as she might’ve thought at first.

Right until she slammed face first into the ground. Her cry was cut short by the air getting knocked from her lungs, her wings careened out of the air, she couldn’t kick hard enough to get the flesh-rotten hand off of her tail. She choked on spit as she felt the grip tighten and begin to gouge under the spikes of her scales, her own fingers unable to find any purchase to claw her way forwards. The sound of a chain whipping through the air spoke silence into the air. She could feel blood and flesh splatter, shards of bone exploding, the grip on her tail released. Then the shockwave of carnage as the axe at the end slammed into the ground like a bomb. For a moment she wasn’t even entirely sure what had happened. Or that she was free to move. It wasn’t until she was able to hear the stunned exclamation from Autgar that she snapped to life. “What the fuck Soem-” Her wings sputtered back to life as she scrambled her way back to her feet and forward blindly- met quickly by Soemrnahct bodily bringing her in close and yanking her off of her feet. She could feel the whip of the chain in his hand and the grunt in his chest as he swung it back around until the axe was in his hand again. “Alright glad that worked- Last swivin’ ship for the surface callin’ in! Let’s go!” Sawyer practically scooped her from Soemrnahct’s arms as soon as they’d hit the surface. Not before she collapsed the entrance to the crypt with a blast from her gunblade but absolutely before she had any other thought in her mind. “Heartlight-” She spoke with relief, then cursed, “-Don’t you do that again. I know you didn’t believe yourself in danger. I know you didn’t feel anything below. But we knew that something like this could happen. We were already here to investigate reports on strange noises in the night, we had no reason to think they were undead but-” She let out a long sigh as she squeezed Amesha so tightly that the raen looked as though she might just pop. Then she let go. She turned to the other two. They nursed cuts and scrapes, wiped off blood, inspected their weapons- anything to avoid interrupting the short moment between the two women. Sawyer cleared her throat. “Thank you. Both of you.” Both of them shook their heads, but Autgar was first to speak up. “It’s nothing, Ms. Reeves. You’ve saved our rear ends more than we earned. We’re just starting to pay back our debt.” He put up a hand to interrupt Amesha speaking up then quickly pivoted to speech. “Not taking any backsass for it. You’ve saved us from a fight more than once and you came and stopped us from hanging our hats up in shame out of it. Besides-” “We got to learn y’ain’t as on top of things as we thought. We didn’t have a clue y’ain’t able to tell where dead thin’s were.” Soemrnahct spoke up, a bit of a laugh in his chest. “Feels a bit better knowin’ there’s a place where we got a leg up. Where we can help, y’know? Maybe that’s our callin’ in this. If you two’re already so well rounded as to get everythin’ else…”

Amesha, despite herself, couldn’t help but smile as she felt the two of them blossom with pride. As they bumped up against one another and drove each other into more and more laughter- Out of the fortune of their timing, the adrenaline wearing off, and the relief of it all. She leaned against her own partner. Who proceeded to thump her in the back of the head as continued recompense for her thoughtlessness.

[mythandral]

holmgang

[teeveenovae]

Have another Touhou arrange I made that released yesterday on the new Holmgang Ov Gensokyo metal arrange compilation album! A very intense and ~experimental~ take on Sagume Kishin's theme from Touhou 15

Check out the whole album for more metal Touhou bangerssss https://holmgangovgensokyo.bandcamp.com/album/iii-lunar-pareidolia

[alackofghosts]

ʕ　˵·ᴥ·ʔ♡ʕ·ᴥ·˵　ʔ

[typhoonvash]

// you know it's eepy time when you start trying to do ff xiv WAR pvp actions while trying to write spicy

[gurn]

Your healerscarer, milord.

[galpalaven]

whyy are people with ultimate weapons in ffxiv either very nice or the worst person I’ve ever met in my life

[dash-n-step]

baka miyikes this soft enrage is yakukicking my ass if only there was a way to survive through this onslaught of damage

the humble holmgang

[windupaidoneus]

i will get commendations at the most bizarre of times dont commend me after i fucked up in stone vigil hard that badly. i mean we didnt even wipe in the second boss but like still

[nimblermortal]

AND ANOTHER THING, why were you having your holmgang in the city? It's not a holmgang without a holm! Get you to a skerry!

[castleinthemist]

tsolmon "tank privileges" altan

[satorisignal]

Nekorisu - すぱにゃすぱに

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