Hello from an Observer.

First, I read the posts on this e-mail list in amazement. Hopefully,
in the fall when my schedule calms down (yeah, right), I'll be
picking up the study of Old Norse and translating the same. Until
then, I read in awe.

Second, I apologize if this post is off-topic for this list. If it
is, would the Moderator please e-mail me privately and politely, and
I'll slip back into Observer mode.

> When Gunnar rides home carrying Hjort on his shield on a horse, I
> have a hard time picturing this or is it just a figure of speach?
> I was looking at Tacitus' writings about the Germanic tribes and
> he has something in there about it being a shameful thing to lose
> one's shield in battle - - that warriors would go off and hang
> themselves if it happened to them. Is there something like that
> here? Just the mention that the man's shield is coming home with
> him or was it an actual functional thing - - making it practical
> to tie the man on top of the shield onto the pack horse - - again
> hard to imagine.

I have done some historical, archaeological, and reading research on
Viking shields. Most of the surviving artifacts reveal shields left
in burial hoards were relatively thin (6-10mm, approx. 1/4" thick).
The diameters range between 80 to 90 cm (roughly 36" to 42").

Talking with re-enactors of the Viking era, I found a common
agreement where the thinness of the shields were for a couple of
reasons: weight and anticipated short life expectancy of the shield
itself. Shields were lightweight, throw-away items.

As for the shame aspect, it could be one of two things. A warrior
lost his shield (protection) but did not die and therefore did not
go to Valhalla as one of the Honored Fallen, this could be shameful.
On the other hand, if he lost his shield and survived the battle,
his rank as a warrior may have risen among his comrades.

Further adding the the interpretation of the word "shield" is the
use of kennings (word associations) for different objects.
Unfortunately, the meanings or applications of these have been lost
in history. One example that comes to mind is "Heimdall's Head" for
a sword. I know there are a number of references for shield, but my
memory is very uncertain right now. I think one was "Ullr's Ship".

So, there are many different ways of looking at this.

Peace,
Adrian