Thing (assembly)

A thing (Old Norse, Old English and Icelandic: þing; German, Dutch: ding; modern Scandinavian languages: ting) was the governing assembly of a Germanic society, made up of the free people of the community presided over by lawspeakers. Its meeting-place was called a thingstead.

The Anglo-Saxon folkmoot or folkmote (Old English — "folk meeting", modern Norwegian; folkemøte) was analogous, the forerunner to the witenagemot and a precursor of the modern Parliament of the United Kingdom.

Today the term lives on in the English term husting, in the official names of national legislatures and political and judicial institutions of Nordic countries and, in the Manx form tyn, as a term for the three legislative bodies on the Isle of Man.

Etymology

The Old Norse, Old Frisian, and Old English þing with the meaning "assembly" is identical in origin to the English word thing, German Ding, Dutch ding, and modern Scandinavian ting when meaning "object". All of these terms derive from Proto-Germanic *þingą meaning "appointed time", and some suggest an origin in Proto-Indo-European *ten-, "stretch", as in a "stretch of time for an assembly". The word shift in the meaning of the word thing from "assembly" to "object" is mirrored in the evolution of the Latin causa ("judicial lawsuit") to modern French chose, Spanish/Italian/Catalan cosa, and Portuguese coisa (all meaning "object" or "thing"). A word with similar meaning, sak in Norwegian and Swedish, sag in Danish, zaak in Dutch, and Sache in German, still retains the meaning "affair, matter" alongside "thing, object".

Waynesville, North Carolina

Waynesville is a town in and the county seat of Haywood County, North Carolina, United States. It is the largest town in Haywood County and the largest in Western North Carolina west of Asheville. Waynesville is located about 30 miles (48 km) southwest of Asheville between the Great Smoky and Blue Ridge mountains.

In the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 9,232 with an estimate (by the town government) of 10,000 as of early 2007 and 9,869 at the 2010 census and 9,789 in 2012. Waynesville is located just outside the Pisgah National Forest and is close to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Blue Ridge Parkway. Waynesville and Haywood County are part of the four-county Asheville Metropolitan Statistical Area, currently the 5th largest metropolitan area in North Carolina. It is the third largest town in the MSA behind the cities of Asheville and Hendersonville.

Geography

Waynesville is located at 35°29′00″N 82°59′40″W / 35.483226°N 82.994511°W / 35.483226; -82.994511 (35.483226, -82.994511).

Folkmoot USA

Folkmoot USA, The State International Festival of North Carolina, is an international folk festival held since 1984 in Waynesville, North Carolina and surrounding communities. During its history, the two-week event has featured around 200 groups from approximately 100 countries. The Southeast Tourism Society has named Folkmoot USA one of its top twenty events for 20 years. The Folkmoot USA non-profit organization has its headquarters in the former Hazelwood Elementary School. The name "Folkmoot", used for a festival in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, means "meeting of the people". In its 20th year in 2003, Folkmoot USA attracted 350 performers and 75,000 spectators from over 40 states. One study estimated its contribution to the economy at $4 million. The North Carolina General Assembly declared Folkmoot USA to be the state's official international folk festival in 2003.

Performance locations

In addition to Canton, Clyde, Maggie Valley, Waynesville and Lake Junaluska in Haywood County, 2014 performances took place in Asheville at Asheville High School, Diana Wortham Theatre and, for the first time, Asheville's Jewish Community Center. Other locations were Franklin, Bryson City, Burnsville, Flat Rock, Cherokee, and Hickory.