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which prompts Sve (GU, xxxi) to speculate whether the first ele-
ment of the word had its origins in a form k x landing place, place
for boats , which he takes to be Estonian. If this were the case, he
suggests, kasnavargr could originally have meant burner of boats ,
vargr being the perpetrator of a violent action, criminal or outlaw.
The connection seems tenuous, however, and Schlyter (CISG, 340
41) offers a number of alternatives for the origin of the element
kasna- amongst which are Latin casa house , OldSwe kasa to
pile up and Swedish dialect kase bed warmer . Wessn (SL I, gL
51 note 50) offers the explanation that kase meant hg av ris, ved,
stubbar o.d. att brnnas, bl (vrdkase) (pile of brushwood, fire-
wood, stubble or similar for burning, pyre (beacon)), but gives no
source for this information. No punishment for the crime itself is
given in GL, or in SdmL 34, where it is also listed as a punishable
insult. In Norway, however, actual murderous arson was consid-
ered to be an bótaml, that is, an injury not able to be reconciled
by fine, and the perpetrator was called a brennuvargr (cf. GulL 98,
178 (NGL 1, 46 47, 66)).
39/4. Jacobsen (GGD, 102 note 2) rightly points out that hordombr
adultery and fordeskepr witchcraft are abstract nouns and do
not refer to the person committing these acts, as do all the remain-
ing nouns. Sve speculates whether the B-text reading fordenschep r
NOTES 163
reflects an older fornskapr, comparing it with fyrnska old cus-
toms, superstition at 4/3. The word used in Guta saga (GLGS, 64
line 13) to describe Avair Strabain is fielkunnugr skilled in many
things , and this word and its equivalents were also used, frequently
with a positive connotation, to indicate skilled in magic arts ,
especially in OWN sources. The word fordeskepr and its equiva-
lents were more often used negatively in the sense witchcraft,
black arts . In the Christian law provisions, all forms of witchcraft,
white or black, were forbidden although sometimes the punish-
ment for the two was different. Both Norwegian and Swedish
provincial laws vary in the severity of the punishment to be meted
out to witches, including the death penalty. The stricter attitude
stems from the southern tradition of Christianity and church law.
The more moderate punishments laid down are closer to those of
the Irish church. GL refers only to fordeskepr as an insult against
women, and not to the crime itself.
Insulting a woman by calling her an adulteress implies that this was
considered to be disgraceful behaviour, but as noted earlier (Note to
Chapter 21) GL prescribes no punishment of the woman for it. On
the other hand, accusing a man of such an act does not seem to have
been considered an insult, although his life might be forfeit (21/10).
39/8. Jacobsen (GGD, 102 note 4) observes that the prefix o- in
osinum, literally at a bad time, untimely , is not the usual negation,
but pejorative, as in Swedish otyg witchcraft, nuisance (cf. Note to
Chapter 17). It (osinum) seems to be the dative of a noun meaning
a bad time . Insults offered when the speaker was drunk would be
treated leniently if they were duly retracted and compensated for.
39/9 12. Once summoned to the church, a person accused of slander
must either defend himself or offer restitution, both accompanied
by a three-man oath, sworn by parishioners. Public apology is
demanded for insults in GulL 196 (NGL 1, 70) and VStL I 53 pr,
but is not mentioned in Swedish provincial laws, although sham-
ing punishments are laid down for other crimes. The involvement
of a parish in the legal process is also incorporated in Chapter 30,
relating to surety.
39/13. The expression sokn all means all the parishioners in the
same way that land alt means the general assembly .
39/15 16. The more public insult incurred a much higher penalty.
Wessn (SL IV, 285 notes 4 and 5) compares the fines and procedures
in these provisions (the siex manna aii six-man oath ) with those
164
THE LAW OF THE GOTLANDERS
for breaking the assembly peace (Chapter 11) and to accusations
against women (Chapter 2). Cf. CISk IV 21 22 for insults in general.
Chapter 40: Af smafilei
In the table of contents, and in the B-text, it is made clear that this
chapter refers specifically to unbranded (omerkt) small livestock. The
word omerkt in the B-text has, however, been added later and may
not have been in the manuscript from which Bilefeld made his copy.
By elimination, only immature stock is covered by this provision
since adult pigs, sheep, goats, cattle and horses are specifically named
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