Troths

[Liffrea]

I take it most of us use the troths?

Do other people find it difficult to keep them? I mean I am new to the path and sometimes it is darned difficult to keep away from the old habits.

[æinvargR]

The troths?

[Lonnie]

The troths?

Ditto.... http://gamall-steinn.org/forum/images/smiles/huh.gif

[Hveðrungur Kveldúlfsson]

Beats the hel out of me too :confused:

[Outdoorsman]

Do you mean the "Nine Noble Virtues"?

[Liffrea]

Yes the virtues. I have heard them referred to as troths though. :D

[Hveðrungur Kveldúlfsson]

Where did you hear that?

[Liffrea]

Where did you hear that?

I read it somewhere I cant think where though. If no one else has heard of it though I probably read it wrong. :confused:
__________________

[Outdoorsman]

So to bring this back on topic, I suppose your question would be something like this?

"I take it most of us use the Virtues?

Do other people find it difficult to keep them? I mean I am new to the path and sometimes it is darned difficult to keep away from the old habits."

[Lonnie]

Guides to Heathen Ethical Ideals (http://gamall-steinn.org/mv-ethics.htm)



the Nine Noble Virtues:

Courage
Truth
Honor
Fidelity
Discipline
Hospitality
Industriousness
Self Reliance
Perseverance




the Six Fold Goal:

Right
Might
Wisdom
Harvest
Frith
Love



Irminic Principles:

Evolution
Ancestry
Preservation
Rita
Dynamism
Furtherance
Virtue



the Three Wynn's:

Wisdom - Adherence to the ancient wisdoms of our religion.

Worthmind - The maintenance of a personal sense of honour.

Wealthdeal - Generosity with one's family and friends.




the Nine Charges of Odin

1. To maintain candor and fidelity in love and devotions to the
tried friend: though he strike me I will do him no scathe.

2. Never to make a wrongsome oath: for great and grim is the reward
for the breaking of plighted troth.

3. To deal not hardly with the humble and lowly.

4. To remember the respect that is due great age.

5. To suffer no evil to go unremedied and to fight against the
enemies of family, nation, race and faith: my foes will I fight in
the field nor be burnt in my house.

6. To succor the friendless but to put no faith in the pledged word
of a stranger people.

7. If I hear the fool's word of a drunken man I will strive not: for
many a grief and the very death groweth out of such things.

8. To give kind heed to dead men: straw-dead, sea-dead or sword-
dead.

9. To abide by the enactments of lawful authority and to bear with
courage and fortitude the decrees of the Norns.




The Twelve Æþeling Þews:

Boldness- Bravery, courage in the face of adversity.

Steadfastness- Tenacity, the refusal to give up.

Troth- Fealty, faith, fidelity. Loyalty to one's tribe, friends, and family.

Givefullness- Generosity, the ability to give to others at the appropriate times

Gestening, Guestliness- Hospitality, or the ability to be kind with guests.

Sooth- Truth, the avoidance of lies.

Wrake- Justice, or the drive to always see the wrongs done one's tribe corrected.

Evenhead- Equality. The recognition that those of the opposite sex are equal.

Friendship- The ability to treat those that one calls friend as family.

Freedom- Self reliance and perseverance as well as responsibility for one's actions

Wisdom- Adherence to the ancient wisdom of our religion and the use of it in life.

Busyship/Workhardiness- Industriousness or the ability to work hard.





Another list of Thews:

Bisignes - Industriousness

Efnes - Equality, equal justice for all.

Ellen - Courage

Geférscipe - Community mindness, putting the good of the community above one's self.

Giefu - Generosity

Giestlíðness - Hospitality

Metgung - Moderation or self control.

Selfdóm - The ability to be an individual, true to one's self.

Sóð - Truth, Honesty.

Stedefæstnes - Steadfastness

Tréowð - Troth or loyalty.

Wísdóm - Wisdom




From the book "Honor Bright: A study of Honor in Western Literature"
by George F. Jones

Blessed are the rich, for they possess the earth and its glory.

Blessed are the strong, for they can conquer kingdoms.

Blessed are they with strong kinsmen, for they shall find help.

Blessed are the warlike, for they shall win wealth and renown.

Blessed are they who keep their faith, for they shall be honored.

Blessed are they who are open handed, for they shall have friends and fame.

Blessed are they who wreak vengeance, for they shall be offended no more, and they shall have honor and glory all they days of their life and eternal fame in ages to come.

[Liffrea]

So to bring this back on topic, I suppose your question would be something like this?

"I take it most of us use the Virtues?

Do other people find it difficult to keep them? I mean I am new to the path and sometimes it is darned difficult to keep away from the old habits."

Yep thats my question!

[pinlighter]

Yes, I strive to keep them every day of my life.

[Sigurd]

Going on to the charges, the slight problem might be posed, as in some people interpreting the Fifth and Sixth one in a fascistic way...and, "that's where we got the salad" (sorry, translated straight from German...).

Anyway, about the Noble Virtues. Yes, they are very much important. However in my opinion the most important ones of them are:

Courage - In my interpretation of it, you should not be afraid to defend your family and friends and folk even in an disadvantageous situation.

Truth - I value truth above all, even if it hurts. It is more hurtful to me to know that somebody has been lying to me for my own benefit. Truth is a very noble virtue, and more people should "possess" it, it would help to fight all the hypocrisy in the world.

Honor - self-explanatory plus "don't be a traitor".

Self-Reliance - To find your own way and not be dependent upon the thinking of others. Also not to pray for everything, but find your own solution to a problem. It is a sign of weakness to always ask others for help.

[The Mersey's Watcher]

I don't think it's hard to keep to them at all. In fact I don't even think about them most of the time, usually I just be myself. Babies can tell the difference betweenn right and wrong and whatever situation your in, as long as you choose the right path you'll be upholding one of the virtues.

If I have a problem with any of the nine virtues, it's with the virtue 'Industriousness'. All of the other virtues, in my opinion, are reactions to actions. For example, if you're scared you show courage. In that sense courage is a reaction. Another example is if your have difficulties with something you show perseverance. And in that sense perseverance is a reaction. But Industriousness to me means that when one wakes up in the morning he/or she has to start being productive. You don't have to wait for anything to happen, it's not a reaction, it's just something which needs to be done. And when I look at it that way I think, when, how and how long do I need to be industirous for in order to uphold this virtue :confused: . (if anyone can understand that paragraphy let me know :) )

[Sigurd]

Well, that way then you don't simply sit around idly all day, huhg? ;)

[Liffrea]

I find them all hard at times. Its not easy breaking from a former life. I suppose thats the challenge.

[Sigurd]

Yes at times, everything can be hard:

for example truth - will you lie if it saves the life of a friend?

[Hengest]

The 9 noble virtues are not some kind of dogma that MUST be obeyed at all times. They are simply things that we should all strive for. They are not commandments handed down from on high, in fact they were introduced by the OR in 1973 as were the charges. Others have written their own codes but the 9 virtues seem to have gained more widespread acceptance that any of those.

You might be able to keep to all of them some of the time but I doubt anybody can keep to all of them all of the time.

What is important is that we make a concious decision that we want to live our lives in a certain way and strive to do it.

[Lonnie]

You might be able to keep to all of them some of the time but I doubt anybody can keep to all of them all of the time.

What is important is that we make a concious decision that we want to live our lives in a certain way and strive to do it.


I would totally agree....

[Outdoorsman]

If I have to lie to a murderer in order to save the life of a friend, I will surely do it. I will not have become less of an Odinist if I do that. What's the right thing to do in one situation (telling the truth) may not be so in another. The key is to know the difference.

[Sigurd]

If I have to lie to a murderer in order to save the life of a friend, I will surely do it. I will not have become less of an Odinist if I do that. What's the right thing to do in one situation (telling the truth) may not be so in another. The key is to know the difference.

True, that was something I was hinting at.