9
Noble Virtues
Courage
The coward
believes he will live forever
If he holds back in the battle,
But in old age he shall have no peace
Though spears have spared his limbs.
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By being courageous and facing life’s challenges, we expand our
capabilities. Courage is needed so that we can accomplish our actions.
Truth
I counsel you
second; swear no oath
But what you mean to abide by:
A halter awaits the word breaker,
Villainous is the wolf-of-vows.
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To be truthful in one’s words, actions and deeds is the only way of life
for us. Lies and deceit have no place in our lives.
Honor
Affection is
mutual when men can open
All their heart to each other:
He whose words are always fair
Is untrue and not to be trusted.
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We must be honorable in all our words, actions and deeds. Nobility is our
way, not baseness.
Loyalty
If you
find a friend you fully trust
And wish for his good-will,
exchange thoughts,
exchange gifts,
Go often to his house.
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Loyal to our beliefs, kith and kin, we must be. The good-will of a friend
is the greatest gift we can receive and give in return.
Hospitality
Fire is needed
by the newcomer
Whose knees are frozen numb;
Meat and clean linen a man needs
Who has fared across the fells,
Water, too, that he may wash before eating,
Handcloth’s and a hearty welcome,
Courteous words, then courteous silence
That he may tell his tale.
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To give of one’s home is the greatest pleasure a host can have. A guest
should never have unfulfilled needs while visiting. Especially if that
guest is a traveler.
Discipline
Early shall he
rise who rules few servants,
And set to work at once:
Much is lost by the late sleeper,
Wealth is won by the swift.
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We must exercise personal will to uphold honor and the other virtues.
Discipline is this personal will.
Industriousness
Cattle die,
kindred die,
Every man is mortal:
But the good name never dies
Of one who has does well.
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We must strive to be all that we can be: honing our abilities in every
arena of life. To do any less would be a grave dishonoring of self and
world.
Self-Reliance
A small hut of
one’s is better,
A man is his master at home:
His heart bleeds in the beggar who must
Ask at each meal for meat.
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To stand on one’s own and not need the assistance of others is our way.
We must be strong and have integrity to achieve our goals.
Perseverance
To learn to
sing them*, Loddfafnir,
Will take you a long time,
Though helpful they are if you understand them,
Useful if you use them,
Needful if you need them.
* the rune charms
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We must persist in our actions until completion. Our path is not a path
for the meek, we must be strong and always endure
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The material
above on this page is Copyright © 1999 by Rorik Gunn Gormsson. However,
permission is hereby given to copy it provided that it is not altered in
any way and that this Copyright Notice is included with every copy. (All
quotations taken from The Elder Edda, "The Hávamál" and
"The Lay of Sigrdrifa", trans. W.H. Auden and P. B. Taylor.).
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