Loki´s Laughter - Heathen Humor

Godhi Gundulf

is a famous wandering heathen.Some claim he lived in Iceland in the years that saw the conversion, 
while others swear they saw him at their latest moot together with his strange friends Till and Nasreddin. 
Some say his wisdom is foolish, and others that his folly is wise.
Now there are many stories about Godhi Gundulf around, and maybe you´ve even heard one you can tell us here.

A Dispute

Once, a Universalist and a Folkish got into a heated argument about who could properly call themselves heathen. 
Having heard of his reputation, they asked Godhi Gundulf to settle the matter between them once and for all.
He listened to the Universalist´s arguments for a while, then told him : "You´re right." 
Next, the Folkish made his case, and after considering, Godhi Gundulf said to him, "You´re right." 
"How can that be ?" asked another heathen who´d been quiet so far. "They can´t both be right at the same time !" 
"Well, my friend, I´m afraid you´re also right..."

A Different Matter

At the Thing, a neighbor came up to Godhi Gundulf and told him: "Your stallion broke free and attacked my stallion, 
and now my stallion is dead! I ask you to handle the matter between us according to the Law."
"Well," said the Godhi, "as I see it my stallion is an animal and hence cannot be accused before the Thing." 
The neighbor nodded in agreement.
"And the stallion´s owner had no idea it would do this, and cannot be held responsible for the the brute animal´s action. 
Hence, no compensation is necessary." The neighbor nodded vigorously. 
"You are right, Godhi, and wise. There´s only one detail you need to know: It was my stallion that killed yours!"

"Oh, that is an entirely different matter before the Law. Now according to Thew, the compensation is..."

The Right Side

At a time when following ritual procedures correctly was held to be of high importance, two groups of traditionalists started a discussion about which side of the funeral pyre people should stand on during ceremony, the left or the right side. Each side had verbose arguments, and could quote from the lore. As they couldn´t agree, they asked Godhi Gundulf for his opinion. Without hesitation, he said, 
"It doesn´t matter whether you stand on the right or the left side of the pyre, as long as you don´t stay in the middle !" 

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