Unfortunately no Heathen hold oath survives from ancient times. And while medieval oaths of fealty survive, these, having been sworn in a Christian context with heavy Classical influences may bare little resemblance to the oaths used in the Elder Heathen Period. Fortunately, while we are not given the exact wording of even one hold oath sworn by a Heathen gesíþa to a Heathen dryhten, we are told repeatedly throughout the literature of the age the duties or obligations of these oaths. In addition, we are given examples of oaths sworn in symbel, the gielpas and béotas such as Béowulf swore. Using these clues we can attempt to reconstruct a hold oath such as an ancient Heathen may have sworn.
Gielpas and Béotas
Within the sacred rite of symbel, vows to accomplish something had a definite structure. One would first recite their ancestry, and then follow that ancestry with great deeds that have been accomplished in the past, and end with a vow to do something. Within Þéodisc Geléafa (Theodisc Geleafa or Theodish Belief as some call it), the recitation of ancestry and past deeds has become known by the Old English word gielp, "boasting, fame, or glory;" while the vow to accomplish a great deed has become know as the béot, "promise, vow." The prime example of this comes from Beowulf.
"Wæs þu, Hroðgar, hal! Ic eom Higelaces
mæg ond magoðegn; hæbbe ic mærða fela
ongunnen on geogoþe.Wassail Horthgar! I am Hygelac's
kinsman and thegn I have many great deeds,
done in youth.
Another example, this one from a battle and not in the context of symbel is found in the poem The Battle of Maldon:
Ic wylle mine æþelo eallum gecyþan,
þæt ic wæs on Myrcon miccles cynnes;
wæs min ealda fæder Ealhelm haten,
wis ealdorman, woruldgesælig.I am willing that my nobility be known to all,
that I am Mercian of a great family,
my grandfather was called Ealhelm,
a wise ealdorman and very prosperous.
This formula is seen again in the Heimskringla at the funeral ale of Harald Gormson.
The first day of the feast, before King Svein went up into his father's high-seat, he drank the bowl to his father's memory, and made the solemn vow, that before three winters were past he would go over with his army to England, and either kill King Adalrad (Ethelred), or chase him out of the country. (Heimskringla, Gordon translation)
Here while it is only natural that Svein would drink to his father's memory, one cannot help but think he was also doing it to preface his vow to take England as was custom. It is possible hold oaths, like béótas may also have began with the recitation of one's ancestry. The ancient Heathen believed that one's orlæg (karma or "personal wyrd") was passed down from an ancestor. The importance therefore of reciting one's ancestry, especially the more glorious ones, should be clear then. It was an attempt to influence the vow about to be made to have similar ends as the speaker's ancestors' would have. The idea being, "my ancestors never failed, therefore I shall not either." It would be only natural then that a such a gielp could proceed a hold oath, if as anything else, as a way the warrior established who they were.
Obligations as Described in the Lore
The obligations of a warrior to his lord, and a lord to his warriors are mentioned repeatedly throughout the heroic poetry of the Elder Heathen Age. A lord had to give gold, weapons, provide mead, and other gifts for his warrior:
Ne gefrægn ic næfre wurþlicor æt wera hilde
sixtig sigebeorna sel gebæran
ne nefre swanas hwitne medo sel forgyldan
ðonne Hnæfe guldan his hægstealdas
Never have I heard of worthier than were at battle
sixty victory warriors so bore themselves,
never was such bright mead well repaid
than that Hnaef yielded his home dwellers.
(Finnsburh fragment)He beot ne aleh,
beagas dælde,
sinc æt symle.
He (King Hrothgar) his boast leave allay:
rings dealt out,
treasure at symbel.
(Beowulf 80-81)
In return a warrior had to fight for his lord, including avenging or dying with him if necessary:
"Ic ðæt mæl geman, þær we medu þegun,
þonne we geheton ussum hlaforde
in biorsele, ðe us ðas beagas geaf,
þæt we him ða guðgetawa gyldan woldon
gif him þyslicu þearf gelumpe,
helmas ond heard sweord.
I that time remember when we mead tasted,
then we promised our lord,
in beer hall that gave us rings,
and war gear he we would repay,
if him these in ever happen in need of,
helmets and hard sword.
(Beowulf 2033 - 2039)he hæfde ðeah geforþod þæt he his frean gehet,
swa he beotode ær wið his beahgifan
þæt hi sceoldon begen on burh ridan,
hale to hame, oððe on here crincgan,
on wælstowe wundum sweltan;
he læg ðegenlice ðeodne gehende.he had fulfilled that oath he swore his lord,
that he boasted ere before his ring giver
that either should both ride to the enclosure,
whole to home or fall fighting,
on the dead home dying of their wounds;
he lay nobilly near his king.
(The Battle of Maldon)
Looking at the Germanic heroic poetry foremost for a leader of a warband was generosity, for a warrior, loyalty.
The Modern Hold Oath
The obligations of a modern hold oath are different in that a. we are not trying to form warbands for the purpose of warfare, b. we are trying to build tribes. Since a modern lord or lady is not raiding and taking gold in the process, there is no expectation that they will be giving gold either. Similarly, a good thegn is not expected to fight for their lord. Never the less, there are still obligations on both sides. Below is the oath the Miercinga Ríce uses for its thegns (note that it has been adapted from some oaths of fealty, and still contains some of the military aspects):
Typical
Wednesbury Shire Oaths
Thegn: I am _______________
son of _______________, grandson of
______________. (Here
the oathing thegn boasts of their deeds).
Greater deeds than
these shall I gain, if the ring giver gives me my
wish to
hear my oath!
Hlaford: These are mighty works of
maegen indeed. Will you be my
thegn so my folk can give
thanks for your work and words?
Thegn: Yea.
Hlaford:
Bring me a sword. (Another thegn brings the hlaford his/her
sword.
The hlaford then points the sword towards the thegn). Plight
your
troth then with words of truth.
Thegn: (The
thegn kneels before the hlaford) I _____________, am thy
thegn.
I will always hold troth with thee in matters of life and limb
and
of earthly honour against all mortal men. Never will I bear arms
for
anyone against thee or thy heirs, nor by word nor by work, do
ought
of what is loathful to thee. And in the fray [I shall ever ward
your
life, even at the cost of mine. And] if to enemies you should
fall,
I swear- I shall not leave that field alive unless I have
avenged
you. By (God or Goddess) and Waer I plight my Troth so that
may
this sword smite me should I break these words.
Hlaford:
Well, have I heard thy words and wed. I shall work with thee
in
frith and troth, stand by thee in need, deal with thee in truth
and
honor, and believe and trust in the truth of thy word and thy
word
alone, unless there be most strong and clear cause why I should
not.
Great gifts shall I give thee when seated in symbel together.
Never
shall thee I swike, and I shall speed you in your life as if it
were
my own from this day forth. May Woden and Ingui Frea bear
witness
to these words, and may Waer hallow this my holy oath.
NOTES
In
place of a sword, the oath may be sworn with both hlaford and
thegn
holding an oath ring. The text may be modified by either party
as
long as both are agreeable to the wording.
(Parts
adapted from Robert the Bruce's Oath to Edward Longshanks, the
old
Ealdriht oath, the New Norman hold oath and Edward the
Confessor's
hold oath of his thegns).
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