Respect for Worthy Foes
A worthy enemy deserves respect; victory over a weak foe brings less glory.
Norse warriors respected brave enemies and sought worthy opponents. Victory over a coward or weakling brought little glory, while defeating a renowned warrior brought great fame. Enemies who fought bravely were honored even in defeat.
A strong foe makes a great victory; a weak one brings no glory.
Respecting worthy enemies was part of the Norse warrior honor code.
Norse Oral Tradition
Written about in
- What Norse tradition says about courage
Glory was measured by the difficulty of the opponent, which put a brake on picking easy targets. It is self-interested as ethics go, and it worked.
- What Norse wisdom says about being wronged
A restraint arriving from an unexpected direction. Because glory came from defeating a strong opponent, the warrior had a stake in his enemy being formidable and in honouring him even in defeat. By this logic, contempt for the person who wronged you wastes the injury.