Nef-gildi

Meaning of Old Norse word "nef-gildi"

As defined by the Cleasby & Vigfusson Old Norse to English dictionary:

Old Norse word nef-gildi can mean:nef-gildi

nef-gildi

n. [nef], a ‘nose-tax,’ poll-tax, payable to the king; en sú var orðsending konungs, at hann beiddi þess Íslendinga, at þeir skyldi við þeim lögum taka sem hann hafði sett í Noregi, en veita honum af landinu þegngildi ok nefgildi, penning fyrir hvert nef, þann er tíu væri fyrir alin vaðmáls, Ó. H. 141; nefgildis-skatta þá er Haraldr faðir hans hafði lagt á allt landit lét hann taka hit ytra með sjó ok um Þrænda-lög, ok leggja til skipa-görðar, Fagrsk. 20. This ancient ‘nose-tax’ was also imposed by the Norsemen on conquered countries, and the name gave rise to strange legends; thus, king Thorgisl, the Norse conqueror of Ireland (A. D. 830–845), is, by an Irish chronicler, said to have levied a tax of an ounce on each hearth, the penalty for defaulters being the loss of their nose. Prof. Munch, Norg. Hist. i. 440, has traced the origin of this legend to the simple fact that the king imposed a ‘nose-tax’ or poll-tax on the conquered Irish, just as Harold Fairhair afterwards did in Norway.

nef-gildi

B. [nefi], a weregild payable to the cognates of a person, opp. to bauggildi = the agnate weregild; þat heitir nefgildi er þeir menn taka er kvennsift eru komnir, Grág. ii. 137, n. G. L. i. 185.

nef-gildi

COMPDS: nefgildisfrændbót, nefgildismaðr.

Possible runic inscription in Younger Futhark:ᚾᛁᚠ-ᚴᛁᛚᛏᛁ
Younger Futhark runes were used from 8th to 12th centuries in Scandinavia and their overseas settlements