Author: Mikael Andersson

Originally shared by Mikael Andersson

“The current feud in which you are embroiled seems likely to be resolved by prodding a blindfolded horse off a cliff with poles. This horse is known for its malice.”

http://the-toast.net/2016/03/03/how-to-tell-if-youre-in-a-viking-saga/

Originally shared by Mikael Andersson

Sagas of the Icelanders basic move mod

Inspired by Egil’s Saga, chapter LXXXIII, regarding Egil Skallagrimsson’s close friendship with fellow poet Einar Helgisson, as recounted in David Graeber’s Debt: The First 5000 years.

One of the most powerful basic moves in the game is When you give someone a gift, gain 1 bond with them. It’s assumed, to trigger the move, that the gift is accepted – of course, refusing a gift from a man probably means throwing an insult at him, or that his honour is in question, so it’s not without its risks to refuse.

Let’s make it even more loaded. In Egil’s Saga, Egil’s close friend Einar [or Einar’s son Einar Skala-glam; it’s a little unclear] – who was in every way his equal – was given a gift by earl Hacon in exchange for a poem Einar sung in his honour, “a shield, which was a most costly work. It was inscribed with old tales; and between the writing were overlaid spangles of gold with precious stones set therein.”

This gift was probably far too precious for one such as Einar, but it coming from an earl, by Graeber’s arguments, the usual customs of gift exchange between equals do not apply – the earl was probably just demonstrating his great benevolence while simultaneously recognizing Einar’s talent and rubbing some of his status off on him.

However, Einar then rode to his friend Egil’s longhouse, and – not finding him at home – waited for him for the customary three days. With Egil still not arrived home, Einar hung the shield on the wall and told Egil’s huscarls it was meant a gift for him, and rode off.

Egil, upon returning home, found the shield and, upon being told it was a gift from Einar, spat “The wretched man, to give it! He means that I should bide awake and compose poetry about his shield. Now, bring my horse. I must ride after him and slay him.”

Why would Egil feel compelled to slay his close friend [or his close friend’s son, as it may have been] for giving him a gift? Graeber lays it out – because the giving of a gift of such wealth without giving Egil even an opportunity to pay back in kind would mean that the two men’s status, going forward, would no longer be equal. Egil would be forced into a debt of honour towards Einar, one which he’d be unlikely to repay within his lifetime, and in the interim would be compelled to make interim (“interest”, “token”) payments and defer to Einar whenever suitable. Their friendship was jeopardized by the gift, and in the heat of the moment Egil saw only one way to redeem his honour and status – to ride after his former friend and cut him down.

So, then, the revised (and totally optional) basic move mod:

When you give someone a gift, gain 1 bond with them. If both giver and recipient are men, at the option of either of them, the recipient’s honour is in question.

That is to say, whether the parties’ statuses are unequal or not, and whether the richness of the gift (or indeed the inadequacy of the gift, in case of a gift between equals so small it could be perceived as an insult) is sufficient to trigger the recipient’s honour being in question is up to either giver or receiver. Did the giver intend for the gift to be a weapon to reduce the recipient’s status or elevate their own? Or perhaps the giver had underestimated the recipient’s wealth and status, and the recipient (and others) misinterpreted the gesture as an intentional attack on his honour.

For best effect, I’d recommend that this “honour being in question” situation is triggered upon offering the gift, acceptance not being an issue yet. Einar, of course, managed to implicitly get Egil’s acceptance by delivering it to his house when he wasn’t home, but ostensibly even the offering of a too-rich or too-poor gift between equals could be problematic, especially if done in public. Acceptance is what triggers the Bond exchange, however.

Also consider that a way to more safely pass gifts would be to use wives or other women as proxies. This can’t just be a messenger, of course – the gift must be the woman’s to give to begin with. In Einar’s case, should he truly wish for Egil to have his shield without fear of repercussion, he could have first given the shield to his wife as part of a dower, and later had his wife give the shield to Egil. As women are exempt from the rules of honour, there’d be no implicit impact to Egil’s status – if anything, the bond between their families would only get stronger as a result. Of course, rather than a Bond between Einar and Egil, this complex exchange would result in a Bond between Einar and his wife, and Einar’s wife and Egil. In this way, rich, complex, culturally sensitive gifting actually contributes to the creation of strong communities.

So how do we interpret Egil’s response in game terms? I think when Egil realized his honour was in question (which was probably Egil’s, not Einar’s, player’s call), he rolled +gendered and came up with a 7-9:  your word is not enough but they will offer you a way to prove it. Egil can’t just laugh it off, but the two can continue to be close-enough-to-equals for as long as Egil writes a lush poem about Einar’s shield (as he did), and Einar will keep up appearances in the future despite his mis(?)-step to honour their friendship.

The story concludes with Egil “accidentally” dropping the shield into a tub of sour whey at a wedding, requiring the gold filigree to be removed and effectively ruining it. I’m personally not convinced this was an accident.

Damn I love this game so much.

Tagging Rachel E.S. Walton, Judd Karlman, Daniel Levine (who’s reading the same book), and Gregor Vuga, Jason Morningstar, and Paul Beakley for obvious reasons. Feedback is appreciated.

http://www.northvegr.org/sagas%20annd%20epics/icelandic%20family%20sagas/egils%20saga/083.html