【战意】音乐节之：说唱的维京起源THE VIKING ORIGINS OF RAP

We think of rap as having originated in 1970s New York, but as a rhythmic or poetic form of expression that is often interpreted as boastful or confrontational, its roots can be found across Africa, Asia, and Europe - and can be traced back to ancient Greece. However, without the ability to quiz Theocritus and his contemporaries, the weight of current historical evidence suggests that flyting, first written about in Norse, Celtic and Anglo-Saxon literature, is the most direct precedent for modern rap.

Derived from the Old English word for ‘quarrel’, flyting is described as a “ritual, poetic exchange of insults”, which were a kind of accusatory wordplay often engaged in ahead of any full-blooded combat.

In Saxon England flīting commonly took place at feasts, with the winner of a contest decided by the reaction of the audience before both competitors were allowed a celebratory swig of mead. In later centuries, flyting was considered a form of mainstream entertainment. In 15th Century Scotland, for instance, where public profanity was regularly rewarded with heavy fines and flogging, provocative oral exchanges were practically encouraged, not least by King James IV and his successor.

“Court flyting” is even practised today. It’s reported that many members of the Icelandic parliament, the Alþingi, “pride themselves on being good at composing rímur (a type of course poem evolved from Norse Edda of the 14th Century), using them to ridicule opposing parties in a friendly manner.”

One of the unwritten rules of rímur battling is that the duelists must respond in kind, or suffer ridicule and defeat, suggesting that Viking rap battlers (as can currently be seen via that other interactive Viking experience), together with the beat-driven griots of West Africa, informed a good deal more of modern American culture than most might give credit for.

我们认为说唱起源于1970年代纽约，但作为一种节奏性或诗意的表达形式，通常被解释为夸张或对抗性的，其根源遍布非洲，亚洲和欧洲-可以追溯到古代希腊。但是，由于没有能力测验西奥克里托斯和他的同时代人，目前的历史证据表明，最早出现在北欧，凯尔特人和盎格鲁-撒克逊文学中的飞行，是现代说唱最直接的先例。

源自古老的英语“争吵”一词，飞行被描述为“侮辱性的仪式化，诗意化的交换”，这是一种指责性的文字游戏，经常在任何全面的战斗之前进行。

在英格兰的撒克逊人，节日通常会在节日中举行，比赛的优胜者是由听众的反应决定的，然后才允许两个参赛者欢呼庆祝。在随后的几个世纪中，飞行被认为是一种主流娱乐方式。例如，在15世纪的苏格兰，经常对公共亵渎行为处以高额罚款和鞭reward奖励，实际上鼓励了煽动性的口头交流，尤其是詹姆士四世及其继任者。

如今甚至实行“法院审理”。据报道，冰岛议会的许多成员，阿林吉人，“以擅长撰写里穆尔（一种自14世纪的诺斯·埃达（Norse Edda）演变而来的当然的诗作），并以友好的方式嘲笑对立政党而感到自豪。”

Rímur战斗的不成文规则之一是，决斗者必须以实物做出回应，否则将遭受嘲笑和失败，这表明Viking rap战斗机（目前可以通过其他互动式Viking体验看到）以及节奏驱动的griot。西非对现代美国文化的了解比大多数人所认为的要多得多。