Chapter 8: A Challenge

''Despite popular tales to the contrary, Vikings did not constantly duel to the death over every little issue. Indeed, they took considerable efforts to prevent unnecessary bloodshed among their communities and to ensure fairness between their members.

''Political meetings, known as Things, had elaborate rules of conduct, designed to limit the potential for violence and the sparking of feuds. This was one of the functions of the ritual trial-by-combat, the holmgang; to settle and close disputes and feuds in a hopefully nonlethal manner, yet in a way that was acceptable to the martial Norse. This was done by means of creating the dueling area as a sacred space before the gods, defining the conflict, and rendering it such that what was 'slain' within the bounds of the demarcation was the opposing dispute. Rather than start a brawl over a dispute at a Thing—an act that was in violation of the rules of conduct—one disputant could challenge another to a trial by combat, after which the matter was settled. And to keep those with significant prowess from perverting the mechanics of the trial by combat against their intent, substitutions in the cases of gross mismatches were not only allowed, but encouraged.''

—Origins Of The Grand Thing, Edinburgh Press, 1631

Chapter Overview
A Thing is called to address the matter of going a-viking on dragonback. Snotlout protests the ban, challenging Hiccup to a Holmgang. Due to Hiccup's missing leg, Astrid volunteers to take his place in the duel before Thor, offering a race before Tyr and a test of Wisdom before Odin, best of three wins.

After the challenge, the dragon eggs hatch, and the Hooligans discover that babies are a handful.

Foreshadowing
Put spoilers here

Epigraph Tie-In

 * The epigraph explains how Things political meetings worked and the rules for the Holmgang. The chapter shows the tribe holding a Thing regarding the use of dragons in raids and a Holmgang to settle the issue.

Links to the Chapter
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