3. Introducing yourself

To the Norse a man is not what he alone does or is, he is the sum of his ancestors' achievements. Thus in introducing yourself you also introduce your lineage. The introduction of a Norse friend of mine I once wrote down to remember was like this:
"I am Bjorne, son of Hugir, son of Hrotulf know as Half-hand who slew Graugr, son of Harald with the Long Nose in the Battle of Gardrholm when Olof with the Blue Teeth was king. My mother was Gertrud, Einarsdottir, whose father's father Snorri One-eye sailed to the West and slew Morcathelion, prince of the Svartalfar aboard his own ship. I carry his blade, which is a heirloom of my family."

It may take quite a while until everybody has introduced himself in this manner. The Norse have a phenomenal memory for these things. I once knew one who could enumerate all his ancestors 12 generations back, 137 persons total and he could point out the exact relationship between two of them after only a few seconds of recollecting.
After this is done, the host will usually offer a meal and eating, drinking and merriment will occupy the rest of the evening. Your host and the other villagers will expect you to share news and gossip. A stranger who does not have at least one or two interesting stories to share is regarded a moron and bad company. Be truthful though. The Norse love to exaggerate and embellish the stories of their own deeds and those of their heroes and ancestors with many obviously impossible stunts. The tales of current news and events told by travellers are their only source of information about the world at large though. Thus they regard veracity a virtue in this respect. Never the less, if you have a gift for telling stories or some experience in oratory, you will certainly gain the admiration and gratitude of your hosts.

The Norse are serious drinkers and it is advised to at least try to compete with them. Even if you slump under the table you will at least be remembered as a better sport than if you stay at least marginally conscious but drink like a young girl.
There is always a next day for more serious things.

4. Doing business

After everybody's mind has cleared somewhat the next morning, your host will go about his usual daily work. It is up to you to approach him or anybody else if you intend to do business. It is regarded bad manners though, if you enter into negotiations with anybody before you at least made some offer to your host. Here the most important element of dealings with the Norse comes in: gifts. Many merchants form the South make the mistake to assume, that the Norse do business in the same impersonal and neutral manner we do. In fact they do, but not exclusively. They are as cunning and enduring hagglers as any Arab or Tilean and they are very proud, if they best somebody in a deal. They brag about it as loudly as they boast about everything they think they did well. But there is still another side to their way of doing business. This side is covered by giving and receiving gifts and it is the side many Southerners simply ignore. But I assure you that you profit greatly if you only follow a few simple rules in this respect.

First of all you should give a present to the person you intend to do business with. It does not have to be something expensive. Well crafted, singular and at least somewhat exotic will do best. Like an Arab rug, a bottle of Tilean vine or a piece of Cathay crockery. Your business partner will react in kind and offer you something in return. If you stay in a Norse settlement for some time, you will receive gifts from people you hardly got to know. These are invitations to do business with them. Though I do not advise you to do so, you can refuse gifts or give nothing in return. The first case is a deadly insult. It says: You have nothing to offer. You are totally unimportant. It's the best way to make an enemy. The second case is less insulting but still will not earn you the respect of the party involved. It says: I honour your gift but I am not interested in doing business with you.

After exchanging gifts, business negotiations will go on like everywhere else and you will have to face determined and shrewd opponents. If the deal is concluded to the satisfaction of the Norse, another turn of gift-giving takes place. It is a kind of measure for how well you did in the negotiations. If you are offered an inexpensive trinket, the Norse thinks you have bested him. The more expensive the gift gets, the better he thinks he has done. Try to reciprocate in kind.

5. Forging bonds of friendship

Gift-giving is not only an important element of business deals, it is the only basis - aside from marriage - on which mutual bonds of trust and friendship or even political alliances are founded. The Norse know not written pacts nor treaties. To establish permanent relationships with Norse communities or individuals it is important to follow the rites of gift-giving.

The easiest relationship into which to enter is one of mutual hospitality. The first one to offer it to is the one who already is your host. This is usually done when leaving. After your have packed your belongings the whole household will usually gather to bid you farewell. There is no necessity to offer anything as compensation. Hospitality is a holy duty and a Norse will react very badly if you offer to pay him for that! There is one way around this though. If you stay with a very poor household and you see that your stay did indeed endanger their livelihood, you may simply "forget" something in your chamber. If you intend to transform this casual encounter into a lasting relationship though, you offer a small token of friendship to your host. Usually this is some kind of jewellery: a ring, a bracelet or a pendant. Something carried easily on a person. You simply state that he and his kin will be as welcome in your house as you were in his. He will then offer a similar token, and usually holy oaths are sworn to honour this relationship. It is in fact binding not only for you but also for the descendents of both participants till "the sea freezes over and the sky comes down and the world ends" as he Norse put it. From now on you may expect a Norse at your doorstep any day, who will present the token you gave to him or his father or whatever the relationship is and asks for shelter. The other way around you may always return to your host's house from now on. You will soon experience that something has changed though. Now you are no guest any more, you are member of the family and that is a wholly different thing all together.

To be continued...