HALLS AND BUILDINGS.
Vast size and beauty of some buildings—Wood the only material
used—Halls—Durability of the wooden structures—Carved doorways—Use
of tapestry—Walls adorned with shields—The seats—Positions of the
guests—Carved benches—Houses and rooms—Women’s apartments—Open
hearths—Use of turf as fuel—Representations of episodes from the
sagas.
From the Eddas and Sagas we sometimes get a vivid conception of the vast
size, beauty, and magnificence of some of the buildings of the Vikings
in their home in the North.
The only material mentioned in their construction is wood.
Each prominent man or chief lived on his estate with his family,
followers, and servants. The collection of buildings they occupied was
called _bœr_;[184] they were of different styles, and varied in number
according to the power, wealth, and taste of the owners, and often seem
to have been far apart from each other; every house was known by a
different name. These buildings appear to have been built so as to form
a quadrangle, the front facing an open space or grass plot called _tún_,
the whole being surrounded by a fence called gard,[185] through which
the entrance was by a gate, “_grind_,” or gateway, “_hlid_.”
“Raudulf lived in the days of King St. Olaf in the Austrdal (Österdal
valley), when the king was journeying round the land and forcing people
to embrace Christianity. He sent his sons to King Olaf, and invited him
home to a feast. It was rather late in the day when the king came to
Raud, with two hundred men; he saw high and well-closed fences, and when
they came to the gate it was open, but nevertheless well guarded....
When the king rode in, Raud bondi stood there with his sons and many
people. Raud received him and his men well; they alighted from their
horses. The king asked the bondi: ‘Is this fine house which I see here
in the enclosure a church?’ The bondi answered: ‘It is my
sleeping-house, which was built this summer, and is now just finished;’
the whole roof of the house was shingle-covered, and tarred. Then they
went to the sitting-room, and the king saw that it was very large; it
was roofed with planks and tarred” (Fornmanna Sögur, v. 331).
The finest buildings were called _holl_ (hall), and were only built by
kings, chiefs, or jarls.[186] Another building, called _sal_,[187] seems
to have been the same as the hall, as it was built for the reception of
guests. Here and there we have descriptions of halls belonging to
prominent chiefs, richly ornamented with carvings, which sometimes
represented the deeds of warriors; and were it not for some of these
mementoes, which have been rescued from oblivion and decay, we might
doubt that the art of carving had been carried to such perfection as it
was. Walls, doors, beds, seats, &c., are mentioned as being richly
carved.
“Olaf Höskuldsson had a hall made in Hjardarholt larger and more
magnificent than people had before seen; on the wall and on the ceiling
famous Sagas were carved with such skill that the hall was thought to be
far more splendid when the hangings were taken down” (Laxdæla, c. 29).
“It was customary at that time to have large halls at the bœr, at which
the people sat before long fires in the evening; tables were placed in
front of the men, who afterward slept alongside the walls, away from the
fires. During the daytime the women carded and spun wool in these halls”
(Gretti’s Saga, ch. xv.).
Some of the churches and farm-houses built in the beginning of the
Christian era, and some of the doors, testify to the durability of their
wooden structures.
The carved doorways with illustrations from the Eddaic songs must have
been taken from buildings of a far earlier date than the churches, but
it is impossible to tell the date. Some of the carvings are from two
inches in depth to a line.
Only in two places are stone-built (_steinhöll_) halls mentioned.
“Gunnhild, Queen of Norway, said to Ögmund (one of her men): ‘Show them
(Rút and his men) the way to my house, and make a good feast for them
there.’ Ögmund went with them to a stone-hall, covered with the finest
tapestry” (Njala, ch. 3).[188]
King Atli sent an invitation to the sons of Gjuki, Gunnar and Högni,
brothers of Gudrun, his wife.
Atli sent
Early to Gunnar,
A man skilled in riding;
Knefród was he called;
He came to the burgh of Gjuki
And to the hall of Gunnar,
To the benches around the fire,
And to the well-loved beer.
There the warriors drank
Wine in the foreign hall,
Silent and hiding their fear;
They feared the wrath of the Hunar;
Then shouted Knefród,
The southern man,
With a chilling voice,
Sitting on a high bench—
“Atli sent me to ride
Hither on his errand
On a horse chafing the bit
Through the unknown dark forest
To bid you both, Gunnar,
To come to the bench
With eagle-beaked helmets
To call on him.”
We own seven halls
Full of swords;
Of each of these
The guards are of gold;
I know my horse is best,
My sword the sharpest;
My bow adorns the bench,
My brynjas are of gold,
My helmet and shield are the whitest.
(Atlakvida.)
The scene depicted on the door-jambs on the following page is thus
described:—
[Illustration:
Fig. 1089.
]
[Illustration:
Fig. 1090.
]
Door-jambs, Osstad Church, Sœtersdal. Height, 6 feet; width, 1¾
feet.
“King Atli urged his host to make a fierce assault; they fought hard,
but the Gjukimgar made an attack so violent that he retreated into the
hall, and they fought inside very sharply. Many fell, and at last all
the men of the brothers (Gunnar and Högni) were slain, so that they two
alone were alive; but before that many a man went to Hel by their
weapons. King Gunnar was attacked, and because of overwhelming force was
captured and fettered. Thereupon Högni fought with great valour and
manliness, and killed twenty of King Atli’s greatest champions; he threw
many into the fire which had been kindled in the hall; all agreed that
such a man could hardly be found, but nevertheless at last he was
overpowered and taken. King Atli said: ‘It is a great wonder that so
many have been slain by him here; cut out his heart, and that shall be
his death.’ Högni answered: ‘Do as thou likest, I will gladly bear what
you do, and you shall see that my heart is not afraid, I have stood hard
things before. I liked to go into trials while unwounded, but now I am
badly wounded, and you will yet have your will on me.’ The counsellor of
King Atli said: ‘I have better advice; let us rather take the thrall
Hjalli, but spare the life of Högni; that thrall is death-fated, live he
ever so long he will always be as bad as now.’ The thrall heard this and
screamed loudly, and ran away to where he thought he was safe. He said
he was to suffer on account of their fight, and that it was
undeservedly; that the day was evil on which he was to die and give up
his swine-keeping. They seized him and threatened him with a knife; he
cried loudly before he felt its point.
“Högni did what is unusual in such personal peril, interceded for the
thrall’s life, saying he did not want to hear his screaming, and that he
preferred to be the sufferer himself; the thrall was glad to get his
life. Högni and Gunnar were both put in fetters. Atli bade Gunnar tell
where the gold was, if he wished to live. He answered: ‘I will sooner
see the bloody heart of my brother Högni.’ They seized the thrall a
second time, and cut his heart out, and showed it to King Gunnar. He
said: ‘Here you may see the heart of Hjalli the coward, and it is unlike
the heart of Högni the brave, for now it trembles much, but it trembled
twice as much when it lay in his breast.’ They went to Högni, urged by
King Atli, and cut out his heart, but such was his strength of mind that
he smiled while he suffered this torture, and everybody wondered at his
firmness; and the deed is ever since held in remembrance. They showed to
Gunnar the heart of Högni the brave, who said: ‘It is unlike the heart
of Hjalli, for now it quivers little, but less while it was in his
breast; thou wilt lose thy life, Atli, as we do now. I alone know where
the gold is, for Högni cannot tell thee now. I was sometimes going to
tell it while both of us lived, but now I am left to myself; the Rhine
shall keep the gold, rather than the Hunar wear it on their arms. King
Atli told them to take away the prisoner, and it was done. Gudrun with
some men went to Atli, and said: ‘Mayest thou fare as ill as thou didst
keep thy word to me.’
[Illustration:
Fig. 1091.—Carved doorway, Sauland’s Church, Thelemarken. Height, 13
feet; width, 7¾ feet; height of door, 7½ feet; width of door, 2⅓
feet.
]
“King Gunnar was put into a pit in which were many snakes, and his hands
were tied firmly. Gudrun sent him a harp; he showed his art, and played
on it with great skill, striking the strings with his toes. He played so
well and wonderfully that few thought they had heard the harp played so
well with hands, and he continued this idrott until all the snakes fell
asleep except a large hideous viper, which crawled to him, and pierced
into his body with its snout till it reached his heart; and there he
lost his life with great prowess” (Volsunga Saga, c. 37).
The halls had two doors, one for the men, the other for women;[189] many
of them, which were often covered with designs in ironwork and runic
inscriptions, must have been extremely beautiful. Sweden is especially
rich in them. The church door of Versås, represented on the next page,
is undoubtedly of great antiquity, as the svastica is found upon it.
The walls of the halls were hung with tapestry, made by the wives and
daughters of the family, often representing the deeds of their
forefathers or those of their lord; the carvings on the walls were
occasionally very fine. An idea of the vast size of these festive halls
can be gleaned from the number of guests and attendants they could hold.
Some walls were adorned with shields put so closely together that they
overlapped each other; many were inlaid or ornamented with gold and
silver, which must have added to the brilliancy of the scene.
“King Knut began his journey to Borgundarhólm (Bornholm), where Egil had
made a grand feast for him; he went to this with a large hird.[190]
There he had a hall as large as a king’s, hung all over with shields”
(Flateyjarbók iii., p. 401).
“King Harald Sigurdarson came to the chief Aslák, and invited himself to
his house. Aslák went to meet him, and received him very well. The king
and his men were shown in to a hall and seated; it was covered with
shields and most splendidly adorned in all respects”[191] (Flateyjarbók
iii., p. 401).
Once Thorfinn (an Icelandic poet) sat on an easy chair before King Olaf.
The king said to him:
“‘Make a song, Scald, about that which is drawn on the hangings.’
Thorfinn looked at them, and saw that Sigurd slaying Fafnir was
embroidered on them” (Flateyjarbók iii.).
[Illustration:
Fig. 1092.—The Church-door of Versås, Vestergötland. Representation of
Sigurd slaying the serpent Fafnir: Runic inscription, _Asmutr Kärthi
Dyrr_ = Asmund made the door; and svastica.
]
The halls were used for feasts,[192] and were built east and west, the
long walls running north and south; along the latter were the benches,
and in the middle of each of these were the _hásæti_ or high-seats, also
called _Ondvegi_ or _Ondugi_, because the two seats were opposite each
other (_Ond_ = opposite, _vegi_ = way). The most important benches were
the _œdri bekk_, which ran along the northern wall, and the high-seat or
the chief seat in the hall, which stood facing the sun, and was for the
use of the master of the household, who never allowed any one else to
use it. The long bench which ran along the southern wall was called
“_úœdri bekk_” (the lower bench); the high-seat on this bench was called
_annat ondvegi_, _nordr ondvegi_ and _ondvegi a hinn uœdra bekk_, and
was opposite to the other high-seat. To be placed in this _ondvegi_ was
the highest honour that could be shown to any one, and consequently this
place was only assigned to most prominent men. The nearer the place on
the benches assigned to any one was to the high-seat, the greater the
honour; the places farthest away, near the doors, were the lowest.
[Illustration:
Fig. 1093.—Door of Faaberg’s Church, 9 feet high, 3 feet wide. Only
three doors of the same kind (with ironwork) are preserved.
]
[Illustration:
Fig. 1094.—Door from Vånga Church, Ostergötland, Stockholm Museum.
]
“Thorkel Hák (an Icelander) had been abroad and became renowned in
foreign countries ... he went out to Sweden and became the companion of
Sörkvir, and they ravaged the coast of the Baltic. East of
Balagardssida, Thorkel, when going to get water one evening, met a
_finngalkn_ (a kind of dragon monster), which after a prolonged struggle
he slew. Then he went east to Adalsysla, where he also slew a flying
dragon; afterwards he went back to Sweden, thence to Norway, and then to
Iceland. He had these great feats carved above his locked bed, and on a
chair in front of his high-seat. He was called Thorkel Hák because he
spared no one, either in words or deeds, with whomsoever he dealt”
(Njala, 120).
The seats on the _œdri bekk_ were however more prominent than those on
the lower bench. Next to the king, on the upper bench, on the right sat
the under-kings or other prominent men.
On some occasions at a later period we find that to the left sat the
queen with her women in the order of their rank, for the places of the
women were then upon the long bench to the left of the king, and to the
right of the other _ondvegismen_, the place of the men being on the left
of the ondvegi.
Hildigunn wishing to make preparations to receive her kinsman Flosi,
said:
“‘Now all my men-servants shall stand outside when Flosi rides into the
yard, and the women shall clean the rooms, and put up the hangings and
prepare the high-seat for him” (Njala, ch. 116).
The high-seat was often wide enough to hold two or three persons. Sigurd
jarl of the Orkneys invited Gilli jarl of Sudreyjar (Hebrides) and
Sigtrygg, king in Ireland, for Yuletide.
“Men were so seated that King Sigtrygg sat in the middle of the
high-seat, and each of the jarls on either side of him. The men of
Sigtrygg and Gilli jarl sat on the inner side, and Flosi and Thorstein
Siduhallson on the outer side of Sigurd jarl. The hall was full” (Njala,
c. 154).
There were also, in some halls, transverse benches, called _Pall_ or
_Thverpall_ (cross-benches); on these the women sat. In such cases the
middle seat was the most prominent, and the lowest seat was at the end
of the bench in the corner[193]: the word was used as a term of
contempt.
“It was the custom of Gunnar and Njal to give feasts to each other once
every winter in turns for friendship’s sake. Now Gunnar had to stay with
Njal, and went to Bergthorshval with Hallgerd. Helgi (son of Njal) and
his wife were not at home. Njal received them well. When they had stayed
there for a while Helgi and his wife Thórhalla came home. Then Bergthóra
(Njal’s wife) walked with Thórhalla up to the cross-bench (women’s
bench), and said to Hallgerd: ‘Thou shalt give up thy seat to this
woman.’ She answered: ‘I will not move, for I do not want to be a
corner-woman. I shall have my way here.’ Then Thórhalla sat down”
(Njala, c. 35).
[Illustration:
Fig. 1095.—Door, with knob of iron inlaid with silver, from
Valthjofsstad Church, Iceland (now in the Copenhagen Museum).
]
The high-seats, which were cushioned, were often very beautifully carved
with arms on both sides, and two pillars called Ondvegisulur, which were
both carved and painted.
Only in extraordinary cases were there more than two high-seats, but we
are told that Ingjald Illrádi, in order to receive the guests at his
_arvel_ after his father’s death, built a new hall with seven high
seats.
“Thordis and Bödvar went up on to the roof of the hall, took away the
window covering to let the smoke out, and looked about the hall; they
saw that the chair of Grima stood in the middle, and that Thór, seated,
with his hammer, was carved on the chair-posts, but they did not see
Thormod” (Fostbrœdra Saga).
To sit on the footboard in front of the king was to show submission; and
it seems to have been usual when a subject was invested with the title
of jarl to sit thus before the ceremony of investiture began.
“One day when King Magnus sat in his high-seat, and had many men with
him, Svein Ulfsson sat on the footboard in front of the king. The king
said: ‘I will make known to the chiefs and all people my intention,
which I want carried out. Svein Ulfsson, a man prominent both by his
birth and deeds, has come to me here. He has become my man, and plighted
me his word. You know that all the Danes have become my men this summer,
and the land is without a chief; when I am gone, it is, as you know,
often attacked by the Vendians, Courlanders, and others from Austrveg
(eastern lands) and by the Saxar also. I promised to give them a chief
to defend and rule the land. I see no man so well fitted for it in every
respect as Svein Ulfsson. By his kin he is a chief. Now I will make him
my jarl, and give into his hands Danaveldi to rule over while I am in
Norway, as Knut the great made his father Úlf jarl chief over Denmark
while he was in England....’ He rose, took a sword and fastened it on
Svein’s belt; then he took a shield and fastened it on his shoulder;
then he put a helmet on his head and gave him the name of jarl, and
those grants in Denmark which his father Úlf jarl had had there before.
Then a shrine with holy things was brought, on which Svein laid his
hands, and took oaths of allegiance to King Magnus, who thereupon led
him into the high-seat with himself” (Magnus the Good’s Saga, ch. 24).
A great change was made in the position of the high-seat in later times
by Olaf Kyrri (the Quiet), King of Norway (1067–1093), who placed it at
the inner end of the hall where the cross-bench stood, instead of being
in the centre of the long benches.
[Illustration:
Fig. 1096.—Chair with five distinct rows of runes. The uppermost
inscription gives the name of the owner of the chair—Thorunn
Benedikt’s daughter. On the front part of the seat are carved the
twelve signs of the Zodiac, and above these their names in Latin,
with runes; underneath them are inscribed in runes the Latin names
of the twelve months.
]
The benches were so made as to allow the guests to place at their backs,
along the wall, their shields and swords, &c.
“It was an old custom in Norway, Denmark, and Sweden to have doors at
each end of the hall in king’s residences and feasting halls, with the
king’s high seat on the middle of the long bench facing toward the sun.
The queen sat on the left hand of the king, and the seat was then called
_Ondvegi_ (high-seat); the seats next to this on both sides were the
most dignified for men and women, while the one next to the door was the
least. The most high-born, old and wise man, was the king’s counsellor,
as it was then the custom of kings to have wise men who knew ancient
examples and customs of their forefathers, but the counsellor sat on the
northern bench opposite the king, on what was called the lower
high-seat; there were also women on his right hand, but men on his left.
It was then the custom for chiefs to carry the ale over the fire, and
drink to the man sitting in the opposite high seat, and it was a great
honour at that time to be toasted by the king.
“King Olaf had a raised bench placed in his feast halls, and put his
high seat on the middle of the cross bench. He arranged his pages and
candle boys in front; he also had a candle held in front of every
high-born man who sat at his table, and a page holding a table cup
before each; he had also chairs (stools) for his marshals and other wise
men” (Fagrskinna, c. 219, 220).
[Illustration:
Fig. 1097.—Chair from the Church of Grund, Iceland. Height, 39 inches;
width, 30½ inches; depth, 17 inches. These two chairs are now in the
old Northern Museum of Copenhagen. The seats, which are but little
ornamented on the back, show that they were intended to be placed
along a wall, and were undoubtedly covered by cushions. The lower
part of the chair forms a box, with a small lid in the seat; on the
upper part of its back, and on both the side-pieces, are
inscriptions in later runes.
]
A few seats, which have been saved from destruction, are beautifully
carved with subjects from the Sagas.
[Illustration:
Fig. 1098.—Inner side of the back. Gunnar in the snake pit. (Volsunga
saga.)
]
[Illustration:
Fig. 1099.—Back of the seat. 1/19 real size.
]
Side view of chair. 1/19 real size.
[Illustration:
Fig. 1100.
]
[Illustration:
Fig. 1101.
]
Carved bridal chair, formerly in Hitterdal Church, Thelemarken,
Norway. Now on the farm of Hove. Showing the shape of hats worn
and Gunnar in the snake-pit.
[Illustration:
Fig. 1102.
]
[Illustration:
Fig. 1103.—Top part of No. 1102.
]
[Illustration:
Fig. 1104.
Chair. 1/13 real size.
]
[Illustration:
Fig. 1105.
]
This carving may be explained by two different interpretations. The
woman between the two horsemen may be Brynhild and the ring that
which the gods got from the Dverg Andvari for a ransom for Otr,
and which he predicted would always bring misfortune to its owner;
or she may be Gudrun confiding to the messenger of Atli a ring,
warning Gunnar and Högni of their danger.
[Illustration:
Fig. 1106.—Front view of chair.
]
[Illustration:
Fig. 1107.—Side view.
Chair supposed to have belonged to an old church, in Bö, Norway.
]
One of the principal houses was the _skali_, or _eldhús_,[194] an oblong
and quadrangular building, with a door at one, sometimes at both ends,
intended for daily life and for feasting.
[Illustration:
Fig. 1108.—Front view.
Chair carved with warriors fighting, with helmets on their heads. The
helmets are similar to those of the Bayeux tapestry.
]
The _skemma_, _dyngja_, _stofa_, and _herbergi_ were separate rooms, or
buildings, sometimes used as sleeping apartments, where the women of the
household dwelt or remained during the daytime with their maids or
attendants, and occupied themselves with all kinds of work.[195]
Sometimes the _skemma_ was built away from other houses, and was then
called _utskemma_. Where there was a loft the lower room was called
_undir-skemma_. In such rooms the light came from window openings, and
no fire could be lighted.[196]
[Illustration:
Fig. 1109.—Side view of chair.
Warrior, with open helmet, slaying a dragon—Vaage, Gudbrandsdal,
Norway.
]
The _stofa_, which was usually occupied by women,[197] was large or
small; sometimes it was intended for a sleeping apartment. At the royal
residence in Nidaros, St. Olaf built a large _hirdstofa_ (king’s men’s
house), with doors at both ends, for meals and general intercourse; a
large _svefnskali_ (sleeping house); and also a large _stofa_,[198] in
which he held his _hirdstefna_ (king’s men’s meetings). The common
entrance led first into the _forstofa_ (lobby), and then into the house
proper; both were provided with doors, which could be locked. Sometimes
the door was fastened on the inside with a _slagbrand_ (bar).
[Illustration:
Fig. 1110.—Back view of chair.
Warriors fighting on horseback.
]
The lofts, which consisted of rooms in the upper part of the _skali_,
were frequently used as bedrooms, and were lighted by _loft-glugg_[199]
(loft openings). Outside the loft there was, at least on one side, a
_svalir_ (balcony),[200] which was reached by an outside stairway. The
loft generally had no communication with the _undir-skemma_.
When _Fjölnir_ assisted King Frodi in Denmark, he was given a loft-room
as a sleeping apartment; in an adjoining loft-room the flooring had been
removed, in order to fill the large mead-vat standing in the
_undir-skemma_. During the night _Fjölnir_ went out, and as he had to
return along the _svalir_ to his room, he made a mistake as to the door,
and fell down into the mead-vat.[201]
The beds (_hvila_, _rekkja_) were placed round the walls, inside the
benches, and consisted of straw, the covering being the clothes worn in
the daytime, and over the head a _feld_ (fur cloak) was placed.
The buildings had windows, sometimes called light-holes, covered with a
membrane, instead of glass, sufficiently large to enable a man to creep
through them. The material used was the after-birth membrane, enclosing
the fœtus of the cow, which was stretched over the light-hole. This when
dried is almost as transparent as glass, and can, for a certain time,
resist the rain. It is still in use in some out-of-the-way places in
Iceland; in the Sagas it is called _Skjall_, and the window is called
_Skja_.
“Also if men sit in houses with _skjá_ (light-holes) in them, it is so
light inside that all men indoors recognise each other” (Konungs
Skuggsja, p. 47).
There was no ceiling within the roof; the smoke from the open hearths on
the floor, which covered the inside with soot, escaped through the
_Ljori_, of which there was at least one, and which also admitted
light.[202]
“Olaf Tryggvason burnt the hall of the seid-man Eyvind Kelda who escaped
through the _Ljóri_ (the light-hole in the roof)” (Olaf Trygg, c. 69).
We find that turf was occasionally used as fuel.
“Einar sailed westward to Shetland, and many men joined him. After that
he went southward to the Orkneys, against Kalf Skurfa and Thorir
(Treskegg). There a great battle was fought, and both the Vikings were
slain.
‘He gave Treskegg to the Trölls;
Torfeinar slew Skurfa:
He conquered the islands.’
“After that he conquered the islands, and became a powerful chief. He
was the first man to cut turf from the ground for fuel at Torfnes
(Turfness) in Scotland, for fuel was scarce in the islands”
(Flateyjarbók, vol. i., p. 223).
[Illustration:
Fig. 1111.—Carved wooden work, with runes, Thorpe Church, Hallingdal.
1/18 real size.
]
[Illustration:
Fig. 1112.—Doorway, Flaa Church, Hallingdal; 11½ feet high, 5½ feet
broad. Height of door, 8 feet; width of door, 2¼ feet.
]
[Illustration:
Fig. 1113.—Doorway, Tuft Church, Sandver. Height, 11¼ feet; height of
door, 7 feet; width of carving, 5½ feet; width of door, 2½
feet.—Norway.
]
[Illustration:
Fig. 1114.—Carved doorway.—Portal of Opdal Church in Numedal, Norway,
with representation of Gunnar in the snake-pit with his hands tied
on his back. Height of sculptured part, 8 feet; breadth of
sculpture, 5⅙ feet; height of door, 6⅔ feet; width of door, 2½ feet.
]
[Illustration:
Fig. 1115.
]
[Illustration:
Fig. 1116.
]
Door-jambs of Hyllestad Church, Sœtersdal. Height, 7 feet; width, 1⅔
feet. Representation of seven episodes from the Volsunga
Saga—Regin forging a sword; Sigurd trying it; Sigurd piercing the
snake Fafnir; Sigurd roasting the heart of Fafnir; Sigurd’s horse
_Grani_; Sigurd slaying Regin; and Gunnar in the snake-pit playing
the harp with his toes.
[Illustration:
Fig. 1117.
]
[Illustration:
Fig. 1118.
]
Door-jambs in Faaberg Church, Gulbrandsdal, about 7½ feet long.
[Illustration:
Fig. 1119.
]
[Illustration:
Fig. 1120.
]
Door-jambs in Lardals Church, Jarsberg. Height, 6⅙ feet; breadth of
broader plank, 1⅔ feet. Representation of the skin of Regin’s
brother in the shape of an otter, and Sigurd slaying Fafnir.
[Illustration:
Fig. 1121.
]
[Illustration:
Fig. 1122.
]
Door-jambs, Ulvick Church, Hardanger; 8 feet high; nearly 2 feet
wide.
[Illustration:
Fig. 1123.
]
[Illustration:
Fig. 1124.
]
Door-jambs, Hyllestad Church, Sætersdal; 7 feet high, 1⅔ feet wide.
[Illustration:
Fig. 1125.—Engraved ornaments of silver upon wood, found in a
mound.—Ringerike, Norway, earlier iron age.
]
[Illustration:
Fig. 1126.—Hinge of bronze with rosette of silver gilt. ½ real size.
Found with shield boss and sword.—Hammenhoj, Scania, earlier iron
age.
]
[Illustration:
Fig. 1127.
]
[Illustration:
Fig. 1128.
]
Ornaments of silver rivetted upon wood. ⅔ real size.—Mammen find,
later iron age.
[Illustration:
Fig. 1129.—A unique specimen of a box in extraordinary preservation
(of box-wood), found in a mound, with a bronze kettle containing two
ribs, one of a cow, the other of a dog. In the box was a large
needle of bronze, fragments of a small silver ornament. At the ends
are seen traces of bronze nails. 9/16 real size.—Norway, earlier
iron age.
]
We see in smaller objects (as on p. 272) how highly finished were the
carvings in the earlier iron age.
When a house was built the people inquired if the ground be lucky or
unlucky in the new house. They measured the length and breadth
repeatedly, and then they carefully examined if all the measurements
were the same. If the measurements grew longer they thought it foreboded
an increase of well-being for the dwellers; if the opposite they thought
it foreboded a decrease in the well-being of the persons.
Ogmund went to Iceland from Norway.
“He measured the ground for his house. It was a belief that if the
measurement was the same when it was tried repeatedly, then the
well-being of the man whose measuring-yard grew too short would
decrease, but increase if it grew longer. The measurement was performed
three times and the yard was too short.”
-----
Footnote 184:
Bœr or Bu, meant a dwelling-place occupied by a single family.
Footnote 185:
The name gard, gaard, still signifies all the buildings of a farm.
Footnote 186:
Hrolf Kraki, 34, 40; Jomsvikinga Saga, 5, 22; Volsunga, 3; Half’s
Saga, 12; Egil, 8.
Footnote 187:
The _sal_ is also called _Disarsal_, a building for sacrifices to the
Disir.
Footnote 188:
Cf. also Heimskringla.
Footnote 189:
“The land-owner shall pay the value of the land at the _Karldyr_
(men’s door).” Gragas ii.
Footnote 190:
Bodyguard.
Footnote 191:
Cf. also Njala, 117.
Footnote 192:
The banqueting halls were called _veitsluskali_.
Footnote 193:
Njala 120; Fornmanna Sögur.
Footnote 194:
The _skali_ is often called the drinking or the sleeping _skali_.
Orkneyinga, 18, 70, 115; Gisli Sursson, 29; Droplaugarsona Saga, 18,
28; Fornmanna Sögur, i. 288, 292; Kormak, 58; Fostbrœdra, 13; Njala,
78; Gunnlaug, XI.
The _eldhús_ meant a hall or chief room, where fires were kept. Gisli
Sursson, 14, 15, 97; Eyrbyggja, 98; Laxdæla, 54.
Footnote 195:
_Dyngja_—cf. Egil, 159; Gisli Sursson, 15; Njal, 66; Kormak, 10; Bjorn
Hitdk, 68. _Skemma_—Fœreyinga, 259; Gisli Sursson, 7; Kormak, 228;
Islendinga Sögur, ii. 28. _Herbergi_ seems to have been a general term
for any kind of room.
Footnote 196:
Harald Hardradi, 70.
Footnote 197:
Fœreyinga, 41; Islendinga Sögur, ii. 250; Fostbrœdra, 164. A
_bad-stofa_, or bath room, is mentioned. Eyrbyggja, Forn. Sögur, xiii.
In St. Olaf’s Saga, 82, the _stofa_ is said to be in the loft.
Footnote 198:
A house of the latter kind was also called _málstofa_ (speaking-house)
(Harald Hardradi’s Saga, c. 45).
Footnote 199:
Ingi’s Saga, 28; Egil’s Saga, 236; Njal,, 114, 199; Fms., 85;
Ynglinga, St. Olaf, 116.
Footnote 200:
Magnus the Good’s Saga, c. 13.
Footnote 201:
Yngl. Saga, c. 14.
Footnote 202:
Ynglinga Saga, 34.