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?Altingi, “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.

我們認(rèn)為說唱起源于1970年代紐約，但作為一種節(jié)奏性或詩意的表達形式，通常被解釋為夸張或?qū)剐缘?，其根源遍布非洲，亞洲和歐洲-可以追溯到古代希臘。但是，由于沒有能力測驗西奧克里托斯和他的同時代人，目前的歷史證據(jù)表明，最早出現(xiàn)在北歐，凱爾特人和盎格魯-撒克遜文學(xué)中的飛行，是現(xiàn)代說唱最直接的先例。

源自古老的英語“爭吵”一詞，飛行被描述為“侮辱性的儀式化，詩意化的交換”，這是一種指責(zé)性的文字游戲，經(jīng)常在任何全面的戰(zhàn)斗之前進行。

在英格蘭的撒克遜人，節(jié)日通常會在節(jié)日中舉行，比賽的優(yōu)勝者是由聽眾的反應(yīng)決定的，然后才允許兩個參賽者歡呼慶祝。在隨后的幾個世紀(jì)中，飛行被認(rèn)為是一種主流娛樂方式。例如，在15世紀(jì)的蘇格蘭，經(jīng)常對公共褻瀆行為處以高額罰款和鞭r(nóng)eward獎勵，實際上鼓勵了煽動性的口頭交流，尤其是詹姆士四世及其繼任者。

如今甚至實行“法院審理”。據(jù)報道，冰島議會的許多成員，阿林吉人，“以擅長撰寫里穆爾（一種自14世紀(jì)的諾斯·埃達（Norse Edda）演變而來的當(dāng)然的詩作），并以友好的方式嘲笑對立政黨而感到自豪?！?/p>

Rímur戰(zhàn)斗的不成文規(guī)則之一是，決斗者必須以實物做出回應(yīng)，否則將遭受嘲笑和失敗，這表明Viking rap戰(zhàn)斗機（目前可以通過其他互動式Viking體驗看到）以及節(jié)奏驅(qū)動的griot。西非對現(xiàn)代美國文化的了解比大多數(shù)人所認(rèn)為的要多得多。