Ergi

(noun) and (adjective) are two Old Norse terms of insult, denoting cowardice, effeminacy, lewdness, or other behavior deemed unmanly. The terms have cognates in other Germanic languages, where the term is also strongly negative, allowing historical linguists to reconstruct its early Germanic predecessor, a strongly negative concept in early Germanic culture.

Etymology The Old Norse adjective argr (meaning 'unmanly, cowardly; lewd') and its cognates, including Old English earg (adjective, 'cowardly, timid'), Old Frisian erch (adjective 'evil, wrong'), Old High German arg, arag (adjective 'greedy, cowardly, worthless'), and Burgundian *args ('cowardly, mean') all derive from the Proto-Germanic adjective *arga-, *argaz meaning 'unmanly'.Kroonen, Guus. 2013. Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, p. 34. Brill.Orel, Vladimir. 2003. A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, p. 23. Brill. Other, later West Germanic cognates include Middle Low German arch (adjective 'angry, evil'), Middle Dutch arch, erch (adjective 'bad, evil, worthless') and subsequently Dutch erg (adjective 'bad').

From the Proto-Germanic adjective *arga-, *argaz developed the feminine Proto-Germanic noun *argīn, itself developing into the Old Norse noun ergi ('lewdness, lust') and the Old High German noun argī ('negligence, greed'). From *arga-, *argaz also developed the Proto-Germanic weak verb *argjanan, resulting in Old Norse ergjask ('to become a coward') and Middle High German gi-ergen 'to spoil, to destroy'.

Historical usage Ergi was associated not just with sorcery, unmanliness, weakness, and effeminacy but also especially with lecherousness in the view of Old Scandinavian people during the Early and High Middle Ages. Ergi of females (feminine adjective: ǫrg) was defined as excessive lecherousness or promiscuity, and of males as perversity, effeminacy and the passive role within same-sex intercourse between men.Ruth Karras Mazo: Sexualität im Mittelalter. Aus dem Amerikanischen von Wolfgang Hartung, Düsseldorf 2006, pp. 275-277.

Saleby Runestone The adjective argr occurs on a Viking Age Younger Futhark runic inscription on runestone Vg 67 in Saleby, Sweden. The inscription includes a curse that anyone breaking the stone would become a , translated by Rundata as a 'wretch', 'outcast', or 'warlock', and (dative), which is translated by Rundata as 'maleficent woman'.Project Samnordisk Runtextdatabas Svensk - Rundata entry for Vg 67. Here appears to be related to the practice of and represents the most loathsome term the runemaster could imagine calling someone.

Grey Goose Laws To accuse another man of being was called scolding (see ) and thus a legal reason to challenge the accuser in hólmganga.Heusler, Andreas (1911). Das Strafrecht der Isländersagas (in German). Leipzig. p. 56. If hólmganga was refused by the accused, he could be outlawed (full outlawry) as this refusal proved that the accuser was right and the accused was . Being proven to be an ergi or niðing was generally punished by becoming an outlaw in surviving law codes.His, Rudolf (1901). Das Strafrecht der Friesen im Mittelalter (in German). Leipzig: Weicher. p. 166. If the accused fought successfully in hólmganga and had thus proven that he was not , the scolding was considered what was in Old English called , an unjustified, severe defamation, and the accuser had to pay the offended party full compensation. The Gray Goose Laws, from the Icelandic Commonwealth period, states:

The three words in the Grey Goose Laws that were regarded as equal to argr referred to the passive role of a man in sexual activities, being womanly, and being subservient.Seebold, Elmar (Ed.): Art. arg, in: Kluge. Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 24. Auflage, Berlin, New York 2002, S. 58.

Modern usage Some adherents of modern Heathenry, a new religious movement, use "ergi" as either an insult for queer men, male seiðr practitioners, or those perceived as "unmanly". Correspondingly, some male seiðr practitioners have reclaimed the word ergi. One male seiðr practitioner from Scotland who was interviewed by researchers noted that "ergi" was still used where he lived by the general public to refer to a man perceived as cowardly.

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