ᛉ May 22, 1913 - January 1, 2003 ᛦ
John Gibbs-Bailey, better known as Hoskuld, was a very private man. There are no known photographs of him, and even those in the highest positions within the Odinic Rite knew very little about his personal life. His birth date, as well as the date of his death are not commonly known. Despite this lack of information, the legacy of Hoskuld is one that continues to impact Ásatrúar today.
While we do not have much information about his life, it is commonly known that Gibbs-Bailey had an interest in organized Ásatrú since at least the 1930s. Throughout the years, Gibbs-Bailey realised that in order to truly organize Ásatrúar, he would need a strong foundation and doctrine. Gibbs-Bailey met John Yeowell in the late 1950s, and in 1973, they founded the Committee for the Restoration of the Odinic Rite.
During the early years of the Odinist Committee, Gibbs-Bailey held a more public role. He began to use the name Hoskuld, one he had adopted from the name of Hoskuld Dalla-Kolson, an Icelandic Goði who lived in the tenth century CE.
It was also during this time that many of Hoskuld’s ideas on doctrine were recorded. The most notable examples of this being the Nine Noble Virtues. Although Hoskuld had been working on the Nine Noble Virtues for many years by this point, it was not until his partnership with Stubba that they took on their current format. Prior to this, there were only eight virtues, and they were not in the same order used today.
In the late 1970s, it was decided amongst the two founders that Stubba would begin to take on a more public facing role and Hoskuld would step back from the spotlight. In 1980, after Stubba renamed the organization The Odinic Rite, Hoskuld was named the first treasurer. Not much else is known about the life and deeds of Hoskuld after this point.
Despite the lack of biographical information, we can still learn from the life of Hoskuld. The very Virtues by which we live our lives as Ásatrúar was first compiled by Hoskuld and form a foundation for all those of our faith.On October 1st, 2023, the AFA marked the first official celebration of a Day of Remembrance for John Gibbs-Bailey, known as “Hoskuld.”
Hail Hoskuld!
Comments