"Inn mest kynþáttr Færeyinga" are called "Götuskeggjar" (the beards
of Gata). ON skegg means beard. ON skeggi (pl. skeggjar) means man.
The ancestral male "head" of a family could as well be called the
"beard" of the family (the greybeard of the clan). ON "stólbrúða"
or "stólbrúðr" means chair-bride and refers to a chairpost with a
carved head (the bride of the chair). Such usage reminds me of other
coastal fishing peoples like the Native Americans of the Pacific
Northwest, Vancouver Island, and Alaska. Some of these tribes have a
custom of carving "totem-poles", whereby suceeding generations of a
family are represented by carved figures on a large vertical pole.
Such a pole typically stands at the enterance of a "long-house", a
long wooden (often cedar) home similar to many ON homes. At the top
of a "totem-pole" one typically finds a "totem-animal", which is
emblematic of the "clan" or extended family. Several generations of
one and the same family live in the same "long-house" and are given
quarters in the home according to their age and rank. Examples of
"totem-animals" are the raven, the eagle, the bear and so forth. The
traditional Native Americans inhabiting these regions today are
usually very proud of their native non-Christian and non-European
culture, often wearing traditional dress and displaying their family
totems and other religious symbols at spiritual gatherings. These
coastal peoples have a lot in common with the old Nordic people,
probably more so than any other Native Americans, north or south. On
the bases of such and other considerations, some linguistic and
others cultural, it seems fair to assume that designations like "the
beards of Gata" are in one way or another connected to religious and
cultural traditions. Grímr was the spiritual "greybeard" of the
family, the spiritual "bride" of the ancestral chair (although gods
could also be engraved in a similar fashion), and his descendants
were the "beards" who inherited his seat after him. Grímr was also
the father of a nation and would thereby be the object of sacrifice.
Even the Father of All Men is sometimes refered by names meaning or
employing terms for "beard", thus again linking "beard" to worship
of the "fathers" and veneration for antiquity in the Nordic faith.
These are just some random thoughts which occurred to me while in
the process of preparing my last post. In trying to understand Grímr
and his descendants, we must not forget that they grew from a branch
of the Indo-European tree. They belonged to a faith and culture that
remains foreign and unintelligible to modern westerners, who are the
spiritual and cultural heirs of Israel and Rome. While it is true
that the majority of us are largely "Indo-Euro" by blood, that does
not mean that we can easily understand those who are "Indo-Euro" by
faith. According to the apostle Paul, Cristians were "grafted onto
the tree of Israel", thus becoming a "new" people. While I doubt if
Paul and Grímr ever met, I suspect that Grímr would understand what
Paul meant by these words were he to meet with those of his modern
descendants who believe in the teachings of Paul - the "beard" of
the Christian branch of the tree of Israel. So whatever tree you may
belong to, whatever branch you may belong to - may the blessings of
your "beard" be upon you.