The Gármanling Lárscól

Frige mec fródum wordum. Ne lǽt þinne ferð onhǽlne,
dégol þæt þú déopost cunne! Nelle ic þe mín dyrne gesecgan,
gif þú me þinne hygecræft hylest ond þíne heortan geþohtas.
Gléawe men sceolon gieddum wrixlan.

Frain (ask) me for frood (wise) words. Let not thine soul be hidden,
the mystery which thou knows most deeply. I will not tell thee my secrets
if thou hide thine mind’s strength from me and thine heart’s thoughts.
Wise men should wrixle (trade) tales.
— Maxims I (lines 1-4a)

Welcome to the Gármanling Lárscól, a lore-school of the Wínland Ríce of Anglo-Saxon Théodish Belief. It is the goal of the Gármanling Lárscól to speed those who seek to become Théodsmen through a leornerescipe (learnership) whereby they might rediscover the manygodded troth, tribal traditions, and Heathen worldview that was held by their Anglo-Saxon fore-elders.

The school’s lárweg (curriculum) combines self-study with láréow-led (instructor-led) group discussions and one-on-one mentorship by an ealdor (mentor). Its courses include:

• Overview of the Théodish Ríce & Leornerescipe
• Anglo-Saxon Lore
• Anglo-Saxon History
• Théodish History
• Théodish Thew
• Tribal Society
• Sacral Kingship
• Holy Tides
• Worship
• Old English

Group discussions are held, via video, once or twice each month on a Saturday at 9:00 AM EDT (2:00 PM BST) and last up to two hours. (This is a tentative day and time and may change before official enrollment begins.) The Lárscól’s teaching-yield (tuition) is set at $30 a quarter and is used to further the Wínland Ríce and its Théods.

Those seeking to enter into leornerescipe (learnership) should email the school’s oferláréow (headmaster) at Winland.Rice@gmail.com. When you do, be sure to tell us a bit about yourself: whereabout you are located, what sparked your interest in the Théodish Ríce and its Théodish Belief, your religious background, and so forth. New leorneras (learners, newcomers) are admitted every six months with new semesters beginning just after Yule and Midsummer.

Hwæt: The Gármanling Lárscol is for those who truly want to be a part of our folkdom; for those who earnestly wish to become one of us, to swear an oath and give leave to a hláford (lord) and/or hlǽfdiȝe (lady), and to be beholden to our cyning (sacral king). Those who are simply seeking to learn whatever knowledge Théodsmen might possess would be far better served by visiting  Háliggyld Books. This is not a school for learning. This is a school for becoming.

Take Heed: The lárweg (curriculum) takes a full two years to complete and may last even longer. Moreover and most importantly, it alone does not make one a Théodsman. Graduates must still undergo an ordeal before the Ríce’s Witan (council) to prove that they truly understand Théodish thew and that they have taken to heart the Heathen worldview of our fore-elders. Only then is one deemed a true Théodsman and given leave to swear into the Théodish Ríce’s “web of oaths.”

Hearken ye Heathens: To become a leornere in the Théodish Ríce is to begin your Heathen journey anew. In order to worth (OE weorþan, “to become”) oneself as a Théodsman, it is likely that you will have to leave off any other Heathen folkdom (community) to which you already belong lest that fellowship seeks to become a gafol-léod (tributary tribe) of the Ríce. Moreover, it may be that you will have to set aside any other heathen undertakings that you have heretofore begun lest such works can readily be grafted into the Ríce.

Furthermore, Things Unfitting: As it is a rediscovered and reconstructed religion, there is a broadness built into Théodish Belief. Indeed, there is room in the Ríce for sundry thoughts as to the lore or a given god or goddess. That said, our belief is not one that is unbound, wherein anything goes. Though such dwild (errors) might well be brooked by others who call themselves Heathens or Pagans, we Théodsmen give no leave to such unthewful and ahistorical ideologies as Atheism, Esoteric Hitlerism, Lokianism, and the like. Such things, which were utterly unknown to our Anglo-Saxon Heathen forbears, are in no way welcomed by Théodsmen today.