One of my favorite scenes in
The Saga of the Volsungs is one in which Sinfjotli and Granmar are exchanging insults, in a custom similar to "
the dozens" in American culture. What I like best about it is that the insults aren't exactly insulting to us outside medieval Norse culture; they're just odd.
For example, Sinfjotli finally gets the best of Granmar with this beauty:
Do you remember when you were a mare, with the stallion Grani and I rode
you at full speed on Bravoll? Afterward you were the goatherd of the giant
Golnir.
I'm not sure how I would react if someone used this on me. I'd probably looked stunned for a moment, then say, "What? Your granny is a stallion and you rode her on the Bravo channel?"
As for saying I was a goatherd of the giant Golnir, I'd punch him in the face. I may be a goatherd, but I'm no goatherd for Golnir!
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Posted By Dr. Richard Scott Nokes to
Unlocked Wordhoard at 8/30/2010 02:55:00 PM