Frith
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- This article deals with the Germanic concept. For an entry on the druidic homonym, see Frith (druidry). For people called Frith, see Frith (surname).
Frith is an Old English word often (and usually over-simplistically) translated as "peace". In terms of Anglo-Saxon and post-Anglo-Saxon culture, however, the term has a considerably broader scope and meaning, and merits closer examination. Frith has a great deal to do not only with the state of peace but also with the nature of social relationships conducive to peace.
Moreover, it has strong associations with stability and security. The word friþgeard meaning "asylum, sanctuary" was used for sacrosanct areas. A friþgeard would then be any enclosed area given over to the worship of the gods.
Frith is inextricably related to the state of kinship, which is perhaps the strongest indicator of frith. In this respect, the word can be coterminous with another significant Anglo-Saxon root-word, sib (from which the word 'sibling' is derived) - indeed the two are frequently interchanged. In this context, frith goes further than expressing blood ties, and encompasses all the concomitant benefits and duties which kinship engenders.
Frith is also used in the context of fealty, as an expression of the relationship between a lord and his people.
Frith also has a legal significance: peace was effectively maintained in Anglo-Saxon times by the frith-guild, an early manifestation of summary justice.
Many other words are derived from this root, including freodom (freedom); the German word for cemetery, Friedhof (peace-yard); and the Christian name Frederick (peace-ruler).
In the other Germanic languages, cognates to frith still mean peace.
In Swedish, two different words with different meanings have developed from this word, the words fred (state of no war) and frid (state of no disturbance).
[edit] Trivia
In the novel Watership Down by Richard Adams, rabbits refer to the sun, which they regard as a solar deity, as Frith.
