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Holmgang (hólmganga in Old Norse and modern Icelandic, holmgång in Swedish, holmgang in Danish and Norwegian bokmål and nynorsk) is a duel practiced by early medieval Scandinavians. It was a recognized way to settle disputes. Holmgang can be translated as "to go to (or walk on) a small island" or simply "holme going", perhaps a reference to the duels taking place upon a small piece of hide or cloak placed on the ground. The name may also derive from the combatants dueling on a small island or holme, as they do in the saga of Egill Skallagrimsson. At least in theory, anyone offended could challenge the other party to holmgang regardless of their differences in social status. This could be a matter of honor, ownership or property, demand of restitution or debt, legal disagreement or intention to help a wife or relative or avenge a friend. Holmgangs were fought 3–7 days after the challenge. If the person challenged did not turn up for the holmgang, the other man was considered just in his challenge. If the offended party does not turn up for the holmgang, they are deemed niðingr, and could have been sentenced to outlawry. In effect, if they were unwilling or unable to defend their claim, they had no honor. Sometimes a capable warrior could volunteer to fight in the place of a clearly outclassed friend. ==The Holmgang in history== ] The Swedish ''Hednalagen'', or Pagan law, a fragment from a 13th-century document from Uppland, Sweden, stipulates the conditions for a holmgang: Exact rules varied from place to place and changed over time, but before each challenge the duelists agreed to the rules they used. The duel was fought either on a pre-specified plot or on a traditional place which was regularly used for this purpose. The challenger recited the rules, traditional or those agreed upon, before the duel. Rules determined the allowed weapons, who was eligible to strike first, what constituted a defeat or forfeiture and what the winner received; in Norway, the winner could claim everything the loser owned . How many times the challenged actually gave in beforehand, is unrecorded. First holmgangs probably ended on the death or incapacitation of one combatant. Killing an opponent did not constitute a murder and therefore did not lead to outlawry or payment of weregeld. Later rules turned holmgang into a more ritualistic direction. ''Kormakssaga'' states that the holmgang was fought on an ox hide or cloak with sides that were three meters long. It was staked on the ground with stakes used just for that purpose and placed in a specific manner now unknown. After that the area was marked by drawing three borders around the square hide, each about one foot from the previous one. Corners of the outermost border were marked with hazel staves. Combatants had to fight inside these borders. Stepping out of borders meant forfeiture, running away meant cowardice. There is one reference in ''Kormakssaga'' about a sacrifice of a bull before the holmgang but there are many references about the sacrifice the winner made after the victory. Combatants were permitted a specific number of shields (usually three) they could use – the opponent's strikes could break a shield. The challenged would strike first and then the combatants would hit each other in turn. The combat would normally end on the first blood and the winner would receive three marks of silver. This represents mainly the later Icelandic version of holmgang, which was intended to avoid unnecessary loss of life and excessive profiteering; unless the dispute was about a specific property, the most the winner could receive was the three marks of silver. Professional duelists used holmgangs as a form of legalized robbery; they could claim rights to land, women, or property, and then prove their claims in the duel at the expense of the legitimate owner. Many sagas describe berserks who abused holmgang in this way. In large part due to such practices, holmgangs were outlawed in Iceland in 1006, as a result of the duel between Gunnlaugr Ormstunga and Hrafn Önundarson,〔See Radford (1989) at 642. Soga om Gunnlaug Ormstunge - Saga of Gunnlaugr Serpent-Tongue ISBN 82-521-1466-0〕 and in Norway in 1014. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「holmgang」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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