Bosht (b-OW-sht)

"They came out of the mist on an icy wind, and froze the blood of us weaker men." - A quote froma survivor of a Bosht raid. 

The Bohst the human inhabitants of the Skegg Islands. The name Bohst is how they refer to themselves and their language. Inhabitants of the mainland call them northmen, raiders, sea people, or islanders.
The Bohst are a proud, defiant, hardy, and volatile. Although at any given time there are many quarrels amongst themselves in the form of family feuds and clan rivalries, the have been known to overcome their differences (at least temporarily) to repel any attempted invasion from the mainland.

Naming Traditions

Feminine names

1. Ragna
2. Álfdís
3. Björna
4. Beoris
5. Beorna
6. Auður
7. Hallveig
8. Gudrún 
9. Anna
10. Kristín
11. Sigríður
12. Margrét (2,886)
13. Helga
14. Sigrún
15. Ingibjörg
16. María
17. Jóhanna

Masculine names

1. Jón
2. Sigurður
3. Guðmundur
4. Gunnar
5. Ólafur
6. Olav
7. Einar
8. Kristján
9. Magnús
10. Stefán
11. Jóhann
12. Aðalsteinn
13. Snævarr
14. Björn
15. Beorn
16. Beor
17. Beren
18. Ingólfur

Unisex names

There are countless derivations of the name Beren for all gendered names.

Family names

The family names of the Bohst are different from most other naming systems by being patronymic or occasionally matronymic: they indicate the father (or mother) of the child and not the historic family lineage. Generally, women's family names are matronymic and men's names are patronymic. However, there is a lot of flexibility to this. For example, if a man was raised exclusively by his mother he could choose to use a matronymic familial name. 
A Bohst person's last name indicates the first name of their father (patronymic) or mother (matronymic) by using -son ("son") or -dóttir ("daughter"). For example, Margrét's daughter Helga's familial name would be Helga Margrétdottir.

Other names

The other important aspect of a Bohst name is their clan name or kyn name. Although there are countless clans that make up the Bohst, there are twelve that dominate the islands' politics and to whom most smaller clans pledge their loyalty. These clans are called the Lordly Clans. They include:

Culture

Shared customary codes and values

Bohst society is organized into clan and family units.
The clan, known as a kyn in Bohst, is essentially a petty nation within the whole of Bohst society. Each clan has a founding ancestor that was said to be one of the legendary jarls of old. Despite there being an overall common Bohst culture that seems to be followed, all the clans have different nuances and defining characteristics, tartan, symbols, and traditions.
Clans are composed of several different families, headed by a lijarl. These lijarl attend a clan's thing where they vote on clan laws, advise the clan's the jarl, and, when necessary, elect a new jarl. Often times a jarl of a smaller clan will pledge loyalty to a jarl of a more powerful clan, who then may be considered an aljarl.

Coming of Age Rites

Children are considered an adult and a member of a clan after taking part in a kyntakaka. This is a trial of sorts usually involving completing a solo hunt or surviving isolated for a week on a skerry, a small isolated island off the coast of a bigger island. In order to be allowed to attempt a kyntakaka the child must first have entered puberty meaning girls usually completed the trial at a younger age. Bohst age is counted after one has passed the kyntakaka

Related Locations

• The Skeggs