Holmgang tourney question

Elias mac Griogair · Post by **Elias mac Griogair** » Thu Sep 23, 2004 5:31 pm

I have a question that I know has been asked here before but here goes again anyway. what is the specific size of the eric for a holmgang(sp?), I am marshalling a tourney in Jan and this will be one of the events.
Or if any of you were in the Heavy Champions tourney when Eorl Giles was crowned and could remember the size used there I would appreciate it.

Elias

Cunian · Post by **Cunian** » Fri Sep 24, 2004 9:53 am

There is a quite detailed description of a Holmgang style fight in Egil's Saga - and if you plug "Egil's Saga" + holmgang into Google, you get a number of hits. The first thing that comes up mentions a cloak 10 ft square being the measure of the fighting area, but I am not sure of its exactness or how the 10 ft measurement corresponds to our modern rulers, etc. But, it is somewhere to start from.

Elias mac Griogair · Post by **Elias mac Griogair** » Fri Sep 24, 2004 12:00 pm

thanks for the help Cunian

Elias

Grace Dudley · Post by **Grace Dudley** » Fri Sep 24, 2004 12:21 pm

We hold a couple of Holmgang tournaments every year at the Egil Skallagrimson Memorial Tournament and use a 9'x9' square (cloak on an ice floe, y'know).

Grainne

Mord · Post by **Mord** » Fri Sep 24, 2004 12:30 pm

There is also a description of a holmgang duel in the Saga of Kormak (or Cormac's Saga) in Chapter 10. The real problem with holmgang is determining how big an "ell" is. Some say an ell is 18 inches; some say it's 24 inches, etc.

Mord.

Halvgrimr · Post by **Halvgrimr** » Fri Sep 24, 2004 5:13 pm

The Viking Answer Lady covers this extensively on her site

I used her dimensions for the Holm tourney I did several years ago

Halv