The Vikings called their duels ”einwigi”, but the idea had already been developed by their Germanic ancestors. Einvigi was a duel without rules, carried out with every weapon, in every place and according to every style! The better known Holmgang is the regulated and more civilized brother of the Envigi. The Einvigi has no referees, no standardized fighting place, no ”to the first blood” possibility. Victorious is who kills his opponent. The Einvigi never reached the juridical or religious character of the duels in other Germanic cultures. For success in the battles, the Vikings trusted more in their own luck and their strength instead of pleading to a god. Einvigi is in Old Swedish ”einvighe”, in Old English ”artwig” or ”anvig” and in Old High German ”einwic”. That is why our group is named ”Einwic”. The name incorporates what we want: To fight! According to all styles - reenactment fencing as well as Huscarl -, in all places – Germany as well as the rest of the world -, and for all causes – for a big event with audience as well as playing in the woods. And we also only trust in our abilities.

More Informations about Einvigi and Einwic The Vikings called the duel einvigi; literally "single combat," but the concept was developed well before the Viking Age by their Germanic ancestors, for cognates appear in Old Swedish (einvighe), Old High German (einwic), and Old English (artwig), as well as in Old Norse (Bø, "Hólmganga and einvigi," 145). Einvigi was an unregulated duel, fought with any weapons, in any location and by any methods: in short, a brawl (Jones, "Characteristics", 217). (Anm.: engl. brawl = dt. Krawall. Somit kann man Einwic weitläufig mit Krawall übersetzen. Das war als Name auch mal im Gespräch.) The combatants in an einvigi duel had no judge, and there was no invocation of judicium dei; rather, they relied on their strength and personal "luck" to decide the matter. Ullr, we are told by Snorri Sturluson in Gylfaginning, was known as the god of einvigi; and might have been called upon by one or both contestants to grant divine favor for the fight, but there is not a single instance in the sagas or other Viking literature where any divine help or interference is described (Ciklamini, "Icelandic Duel," 181-182). For whatever reason, einvigi never developed the judicial and religious character of the duels in continental Germanic cultures, the wager of battle, for in general, the Vikings preferred to rely on their own luck and strength, not on a god's whim (Bø, "Hólmganga and einvigi," 135-137). aus: http://www.vikinganswerlady.com/ Einwic Erklärung: Zweikampf. sprachliche Erläuterung: althochdeutsch einwîc, angelsächsisch ánvíg. · Belegtext: suslîch gidingi gitân daz er ein einwíg rungi Fundstelle: MSD. 117 · Belegtext: se koren enen êwich uppe der brugge Fundstelle: SächsWChr. 138 Fundstelle: Brunner,RG.2 II 555 MSD. Denkmäler deutscher Poesie und Prosa aus dem VIII - XII Jahrhundert / hrsg. von K. Müllenhoff ... - 3. Ausg. / von E. Steinmeyer. - Berlin : Weidmann. 1. Texte. - 1892. - XLIII, 321 S. 2. Anmerkungen. - 1892. - 492 S. SächsWChr. Sächsische Weltchronik / hrsg. von Ludwig Weiland In: [Monumenta Germaniae Historica / Scriptores / 8] Monumenta Germaniae historica. [Scriptores. 8], Deutsche Chroniken und andere Geschichtsbücher des Mittelalters ; 2. 1877, S. 1 - 384. (= DChr.) aus: DEUTSCHES RECHTSWÖRTERBUCH (DRW) http://www.rzuser.uni-heidelberg.de/~cd2/drw/frameset.htm German Judicial and Sport Dueling from the Dark Ages to the Renaissance The right to trial by arms was a right given to all freemen in the Germanic nations prior to the rise of the manorial system. This, the German Einwic, the Anglo-Saxon Artwig, and the Scandinavian Einvigi or Holmgang, was a deeply ingrained judicial dueling tradition with origins lost in the depths of time. The tradition held on and evolved in several European countries. It stubbornly resisted royal and ecclesiastic attempts to stamp it out and elements survived not just in Germany and Scandinavia, but in every European country which had been invaded and occupied by Germanic tribes in the waning centuries of the Roman era. In Gaul, Italy, and Iberia, the aristocracy was heavily laced with Germanic blood and influences, heavily Latinized by the existing elites, and heavily outnumbered by Celtic and/or Italic peasants. This strange and volatile mix was a large factor in creating the feudal system of the Holy Roman Empire. aus: Journal of Western Martial Art http://ejmas.com/jwma/articles/2003/jwmaart_rasmusson_0603.htm Duels: before a battle started duels were fought between the best warriors both sides had to offer, a warrior challenged another warrior from the opposing force and when he accepted they started fighting, nobody interfered in the duel, whether the loser belonged to their side or not. A duel was called a "one-fight" (Old Swedish: einvighe, Old Norse: einvigi, Old High German: einwic, Anglo-Saxon: artwig, Proto-Germanic: ainawigan) and was fought with no rules, the two enemies simply fought to the death and the strongest one survived, before a duel the god Uller was called upon for help, he was the patron god of duels and the god of winter, ski-ing and hunting, a duel could take place on the battlefield but also between rivals who belonged to the same side. A later type of duel was the Scandinavian Hólmgang, which was not fought on the battlefield but between persons who had a conflict with eachother, it differed from the normal duel because rules were used, Hólmganga took place in a Hólmhring, though the word "hring" is a bit misleading since it had a square form and looked much like a boxing-arena, the two opponents fought with a sword and the fight was observed by a "referee", the goal of the Hólmgang was to defeat the enemy, not killing him; one of the rules was that the fight had to be ended when the first drop of blood fell on the ground. aus:http://www.geocities.com/reginheim/customs.html (unsichere Quelle)