Be it known that, at the Wínland Ríce’s Ærest Gemétung Mót, the Cyning bid his Healdend to call a Witenagemót to answer by deeming whether or not fettered and jailed men might be given the “freedom of the Ríce” and thus be hight Théodsmen. To this end, the Healdend called a Witenagemót at Æftera Líða. Such was the deeming that they together made:
Théodish Belief was founded so that the manygodded Elder Trow of our Anglo-Saxon Heathen forebears might, after more than a thousand winters, be truly and fully rekindled amongst the men of Middangeard. To that end, we Théodsmen look to the wisdom of our elder-fathers, embodied in their thew, that we might rightly be guided in our dealings with the gods. And so it was that, when this matter was set before us, we turned to our godlore, to sagas, to histories, and to ancient kingly dooms that we might seek rede from the wisest of our kind, that being our heathen fore-elders. In doing so it was made clear to us what their thew on this matter was as well as the weight of its wisdom. Thus it is that we give this deeming.
We hold that no man who is now fettered and jailed may be given the “freedom of the Ríce” as he himself is not a freeman and thus has not the Free Right to thewfully swear a Théodish oath.
Moreover, we hold that no man, be he fettered or freed, may be given the “freedom of the Ríce” who is a murderer, a loathsome luster,[i] an oath-breaker, a bewrayer,[ii] a forsaker,[iii] or any other kind of skulker[iv] or scather[v] whose unlawful[vi] wrongdoing, had he then been a Théodsmen, would have earned him an outlawry. Such guilty men may neither begin any Théodish leornerescipe,[vii] nor enroll in any Théodish school, nor go into any Théodish holystead, nor find welcome at any Théodish faining. Such is the earnestness of our belief that, like our heathen fore-elders, we dare not brook such men amongst us lest the therewithness of weargs[viii] gall the gods and their luck be lost to us.
Given by the Wínland Ríce’s witegan at the Æftera Líða MMXXI Witenagemót for the warding of the Théodish Ríce.
[i] A sexual criminal such as a rapist or pedophile.
[ii] A traitor, one guilty of treason.
[iii] A deserter.
[iv] One who skulks, who does evil by stealth.
[v] One who scathes, who does harm.
[vi] Though the Théodish Ríce is a “lawless society,” many laws of the lands in which we live overlap with Théodish thew. Thus many crimes such as murder are both illegal to the host society and unthewful to Théodish society.
[vii] Learnership, the first step towards becoming a Théodsman.
[viii] Wargs, a term for outlaws and certain criminals that likens them to dangerous “wolves” that have no place among men and are thus banished from society.
Spellstów 