As I am not posting to my main blog at swainblog.englatheod.org for the next couple of days while I formulate what to post, I thought I would continue to post on the thews or virtues here. I have already covered pride, so I thought I would cover generosity next.

Ancient Heathenry was a gifting culture, gifts played an important role in their lives, and as such generosity is praised as almost the highest virtue. Kings were called beaggiefas in "ring givers" in Béowulf, as well as beaga bryttan, "breaker of rings." Arm rings were a primary means of wealth as they were made of gold and silver and other precious metals.In Béowulf, Hróðgar gave Béowulf a banner, a helm, a coat of mail, and a sword (line 1020) in return for slaying Grendel. And the Havamal states:

No man is so generous he will jib at accepting
A gift in return for a gift,
No man so rich that it really gives him
Pain to be repaid.
(W. H .Auden & P. B. Taylor Translation)

Gifts were not only given to friends and to others in return for deeds done on one's behalf, they were also given to those less fortunate.

The Havamal has this to say:

Two wooden stakes stood on the plain,
On them I hung my clothes:
Draped in linen, they looked well born,
But, naked, I was a nobody
(W. H .Auden & P. B. Taylor Translation)

And the Anglo-Saxon Rune Poem says:

Giefu (Gift) is to men · glee and praise,
Support and worship (worthiness) · and to every wretch
Honor and sustenance · that they would otherwise be left without.

Exchanging gifts was thought to create a bond between the two givers. If one were given a gift, they had to give something back in return, or do some deed in return .(Stephen Glosecki, Shamanism and Old English Poetry, 61-66). Not only this, but giving of a gift indicated that either a pledge was being made, or that friendship was desired (Gronbech, Culture of the Teutons, 77-78). There was great power in the giving and getting of gifts. Gronbech had this to say,

"One might safely trust to the gift and give it full power to speak on one's behalf, for the soul in it would of itself reach in to the obligation, to honor, must bind luck and weave fate into fate, must produce will, or place a new element into it. Therefore, no power on earth can check the effect of a gift halfway, when it has once passed from hand to hand, and therefore, none can resist the spiritual effect of that which he has suffered to come too near.(Gronbech, Culture of the Teutons, 59)"

To be generous therefore was to create many bonds of friendship, as well as many obligations from others to one's self. This is why kings and lords gave gifts. It ensured that in time of need they could count on folk coming to their aide. Those that were miserly, of course, did not enjoy this advantage.

George F Jones in Honor in German Literature, points out the tale of King Rörik, a miserly king told in Saxo's Gesta Danorum :

"In one of them a hero named Hjalte tells of an avaricious king named Rorik, who has accumulated wealth instead of friends and then tries, unsuccessfully, to bribe his enemies to spare him. Because he has been unwilling to give arm rings to his friends, his enemies finally take all his treasure and his life too" (Jones, Honor in German Literature, page 4)

So what does generosity mean to the modern Heathen? Well, largely, the concept unlike other thews does not have to be handled differently due to changes in our host culture. Amongst Theodsmen, lords still gift their thanes, and in the general Asatru community, friends still gift each other. And there are charities like the Frige's Fund that allows help for the less fortunate. The concepts and rules are the same. What is important is that we gift, and gift often. The Havamal says:

A man should be loyal through life to friends,
And return gift for gift,
(W. H .Auden & P. B. Taylor Translation)

Bibliography

Glosecki, Stephen, Shamanism and Old English Poetry, New York: Garland, 1989

Wilhelm Gronbech, Culture of the Teutons, London: Oxford University Press, 1931.

Jones, George Fenwick, Honor in German Literature, Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1959