Saturday, from Roman Dies Saturni, Saturn’s Day. Saturn is the god of agriculture. When Rome moved into Germanic lands, the Teutons folk utilized Interpretatio germanica, the practice of replacing Roman names with Germanic names. A theory posits that Saturn replaced Ingwine-Fréa by means of Romano interpretato (the reverse of Interpretatio germanica). Bede, in his Ecclesiastical History of the English People, stated that the English were the Ingvæones, i.e. the children of Ing, so why isn’t one of the days of the week named after him, considering that Wóden, Þunor, and Ingwine-Fréa are the holy trinity of gods. Saturn is a God of fertility, crops, and frith; just like Ingwine-Fréa. After the forced conversion to Christianity, and it being too difficult to remove the peoples devotion to their founding god, the use of his name possibly became taboo. So, instead of making Saturday 'Ingedæġ', ‘Ingsday’, they used the Romano interpretato form of Saturn’s day, Saturday.

https://linktr.ee/TheFrithstead

Feed Conversion Ratio

The feed conversion ratio (FCR) is the rate at which 1lb of meat is produced for however many pounds of feed.

It comes as no surprise that the little critters, with their fast turnaround rate, are proficient protein factories.

Chickens actually win out over rabbits in terms of efficiency, however, other traits of an animal can be a deciding factor over the FCR. The rabbit takes up much less space than the chicken and it's also a quiet animal, which can be its selling point to urban dwellers.

The pig is demanding, however it provides a vital resource that's hard to get on a scale any smaller: large amounts of precious fat.

Sheep and cows are quite high, yet provide still other valuable resources. If one has a suitable amount of pasture, these larger animals can definitely be worth it.

Goats, though not listed, have a similar FCR to sheep.

Note: FCRs are variable depending on breed, purpose, and quality of feed. These are high estimates for the hobby farmer.

Kvasir, a poet and the wisest of all men; born of the saliva of two rival groups of Gods, the Ésa and the Wanas, when they performed the ancient peace ritual of spitting into a common vessel. He wandered around teaching and instructing, never failing to give the right answer to a question. Two Dweorgas, Fjalar and Galar, killed Kvasir and distilled his blood in Odhrǫrir, the magic cauldron. When mixed with honey by the giant Suttung, his blood formed mead that gave wisdom and poetic inspiration to those who drank it.

Kvasir appears in Gylfaginning and Skáldskaparmál.

https://linktr.ee/TheFrithstead

Scotland's genetic landscape is remarkably similar to Dark Age populations, according to Scots researchers. The findings mean people still live in the same areas as their direct ancestors. Experts at Edinburgh University found six clusters of genetically-similar people dotted around the country. This is because people married and stayed locally, preserving their genetic identity. The experts said the DNA of Scottish people still reflected the country's ancient kingdoms, proving that people had not really moved around much. The findings show about six clusters of genetically-similar people in the Borders (angles), Strathclyde (britons), the Northeast (picts), the Hebrides (norse-gael), Orkney and Shetland (norse)

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-49563887?fbclid=IwAR3cGJAeAUcSOvX0LC6dp3IaGDuNSSxs9RhAIGMzCbOr8EQ_Z1gX6OnNpl0

What have you been doing to get stronger?

Dan Capp, of Wolcensmen, is a great artist. Check out his music.

In the run up to the release of Fire in the White Stone in 2019, we released a series of very short videos where I discussed aspects of the vision, the story, the symbolism and the process of making the album. I thought I'd provide links to them for those of you who didn't catch them at the time.

Part 1: The Concept Album
Part 2: Short Story
Part 3: Alchemy
Part 4: Artwork
Part 5: Producer
Part 6: Aims
Part 7: Guest Musicians
Part 8: The Swans of Gar's Edge

For the kids:

https://youtu.be/evHRKRrOH1I

https://linktr.ee/TheFrithstead

Anglo-Saxons: A Day in the Life

(Skills we should relearn)

https://youtu.be/Ht8HU9YTF9Q

https://linktr.ee/TheFrithstead

Anglo-Saxons: A Day in the Life

(Skills we should re-learn)

https://youtu.be/gDxsg1YW620

https://linktr.ee/TheFrithstead

Skills we should re-learn

https://youtu.be/d3eHrx-AtDY

https://linktr.ee/TheFrithstead

Ġeofon, ‘oft forgot goddess, whose name means sea, ocean, or flood. In Old Norse, she’s known as Gefjon. In Gylfaginning, she took four oxen and ploughed the land, drawing it out into the sea, naming the island Sjælland, meaning soul-land or sea-land. Sjæl is derived from *saiwalō (soul; life force), which in turn is derived from *saiwiz (sea; ocean). The concept of “soul” and ‘the sea’ are interconnected. There’s an ancient belief in sacred lakes inhabited by the dead and the unborn, cf. the Sami borrowing from Germanic, *sāvjë a realm of the dead believed to be under special double-bottomed lakes. Within Ġeofon, we have the connections of ‘sea’, and ‘soul’. Wyrd, the Old Norse Urðr, is the Goddess of fate and death, ruler over Hel and the Hellþing in Wyrdeburne, the well of fate and southernmost spring of Eormengrund, which water the roots of Eormensýl; adding ‘fate’ and ‘spring’ into the mix. Ġeofon is likely Wyrd, the premiere Norn and weaver of web’s wyrd.

https://linktr.ee/TheFrithstead

I have enjoyed the Germanic pagan neofolk music of Hagalaz Runedance for the last 12 years. I am sorry to hear that the artist Andrea Haugen was murdered by an Islamist in the recent attack in Kongsberg. May she be remembered https://youtu.be/TdvtXQrhsQw

The Anglo Saxon sceptre from the Sutton Hoo ship burial. Stone and metal. Interpreted as both a whetstone for sharpening swords and as a sceptre. The whetstone rod has four human faces carved into it at each end. One end was mounted with an iron ring with a bronze stag on top. A whetstone is linked to the idea of a powerful Lord providing swords as rewards to his loyal warriors.

https://linktr.ee/TheFrithstead

William the Bastard’s legacy: The Harrying of the North

"There was such hunger that men ate the flesh of their own kind, of horses and dogs and cats. Others sold themselves into perpetual slavery that they might be able to sustain their miserable lives. It was horrible to look into the ruined farmyards and houses and see the human corpses dissolved into corruption, for there were none to bury them for all were gone either in flight, or cut down by the sword and famine. None dwelt there and travellers passed in great fear of wild beasts and savage robbers."

Simeon of Durham describing the Harrying of the North.

https://linktr.ee/TheFrithstead