Accusing a man of being “ergi,” which is basically unmanly, was enough of an insult to be answered with blood. A specific instance of something that qualifies a man of being ergi is taking the passive role (bottom) in homosexual intercourse.
Author and Norse historian Neil Price describes “Viking” culture as being one of the most homophobic in history.
Accusing a man of being “ergi,” which is basically unmanly, was enough of an insult to be answered with blood. A specific instance of something that qualifies a man of being ergi is taking the passive role (bottom) in homosexual intercourse.
Author and Norse historian Neil Price describes “Viking” culture as being one of the most homophobic in history.
Yet being top was accepted and revered. I’d say they were somewhat bi-friendly, and I’ve yet to hear about how they viewed lesbians.
Both Loki and Odin takes the roles/duties of women several times, while not being cast out or referred to as ergi.
Cross dressing I think was harder to execute as the manly outfits were lavish already.
When the giant Thyrm stole Thor’s hammer and wanted to marry Freya, the other gods made Thor dress in drag and pretend to be the bride to get it back.
Thor literally doesn’t want to dress as a woman in this story EXPRESSLY because he fears being labeled ergi. He says this explicitly.
This is story is a comedy, and this portion of it is told as a joke at Thor’s expense, where Loki and Freya tease him about it.