THE INHERITANCE FEAST OF HJORVARD
AFTER the death of his father, Ivar did not become the Hersir of Gotland
before the Thing, or assembly, of the people had ratified his
hersirship; for though it was hereditary, no one could rule without the
consent of the Thingmen, who could, when occasion became necessary,
deprive a man of his dignity and of his hersirship, for the Hersir had
to obey the laws as well as the humblest man of the land, and the
greatest power of the land was the Thing.
Before assuming the dignity of Hersir, and consequently that of High
Priest of Gotland, Ivar made a sacrifice before the people, and
according to ancient custom, he killed a ram, reddening his hands in its
blood, and then declared the godship of Hjorvard to be his; after this
ceremony he was to rule over the sacrifices at Dampstadir.
He remained at home waiting till the “arvel,” or inheritance feast, of
his father had taken place, for he could not get his inheritance before
that time. According to ancient custom, the inheritance feast had to be
made during the year in which the person died for whom the inheritance
feast was made, and the man who gave it could not occupy the high seat
of him from whom he inherited until the “arvel” was drunk. Hjorvard,
being of Odin’s family and a powerful Hersir, the feast was to be of
great splendor. Ivar and his kinsmen decided that it should take place
ten months after Hjorvard’s burning journey. Ivar sent ships and
messengers all over the Viking lands to bid high-born men and kinsmen to
come and make the feast with him, and arrange that all possible honor
should be paid to Hjorvard, his father.
According to ancient laws, the high seat of Hjorvard was to remain
vacant until the “arvel” should take place. When warriors gathered into
the hall, the empty high seat of the departed Hersir and great Viking
chief reminded them of their absent friend, who had so many times drunk
with them, and with whom they had gone to war and won victory and
wealth. In the evenings the scalds, who had been with him in all his
fights, recited before the assembled guests the great deeds he had
accomplished, and which they had seen as they looked upon the contending
foemen from the shield-burg, or wall of shields, that surrounded them
and the standards. They told of many fatal combats between champion and
champion, or between ship and ship that had grappled each other, and how
Hjorvard had twice, during his life, cleared of warriors the decks of
two ships.
Things followed the even tenor of their way in Dampstadir. Sigrlin
continued to superintend the estate, as she had done in her husband’s
time when he was on Viking expeditions. Ivar helped her, and saw that
the ships were kept in perfect order and well tarred and painted, and
that new ones were built. The slaves, dressed in their white woollen
coarse stuff, with short cropped hair, were busy with the different
tasks assigned to them, and the free servants attended to their work.
Ivar himself superintended the cultivation of the lands, for he was a
good husbandman, and sometimes was seen forging a sword, or
superintending the construction of a ship. As a pastime, he often played
chess with the old land defenders of his father, or went hawking, but
above all, he loved to sit on Hjorvard’s mound; from there he
contemplated the sea. The paths which every ship had made, ploughing its
way, were unseen, and for this reason one of the figurative names given
to the sea by the Norsemen was the Unseen Path.
One day, as Ivar was seated with Hjalmar on the mound of Hjovard, and
was in one of his meditative moods, he said: “After all, Hjalmar, a man
is not utterly unhappy, even though he be in ill health; some are happy
in sons or in daughters, some in kinsmen, some in much wealth, some in
good deeds, and some in friends. To his friend a man should be a friend,
to him and to his friend, but no man should be the friend of his enemy’s
friend. If thou hast a friend whom thou trustest well, and if thou wilt
get good from him, thou must blend thoughts with him, and go often and
meet him. Be never the first to forsake the company of thy friends;
sorrow eats the heart of him who cannot tell all his mind to one. I was
young once, I travelled, and missed my way. When I met another man I
thought myself wealthy. Man is the delight of man. The fir tree withers
that stands on a fenced field; neither bark nor foliage shelters it.
Thus is a man whom no one loves. Why should he live long? Brand is
kindled from brand, till it is burned out. Fire is kindled from fire. A
man gets knowledge by talking with man. It is long out of one’s way to
go to one you do not like, though he lives near by; but to a good friend
there are short paths, though he be far off. I came much too early to
many places, and too late to some; the ale was drunk, or it was
unbrewed. An unwelcome man seldom finds the ale ready.”
Then he added: “A homestead is best, though it be small; for a man is at
home there, though he have but two goats and a straw-thatched house. We
contemplate many a humble dwelling from here; in many of these happiness
and joy are to be found—more so, almost always, than in the halls of the
wealthy. The fire and the sight of the sun are the best things among the
sons of men; then his good health and a blameless life, if he can keep
them.”
Ivar had taken great pains that nothing should be wanting to make the
“arvel” of his father more famous than any one that had taken place in
the Norseland within the memory of man. He had had two large festive
halls built for a great number of guests who were coming. Nothing had
been spared to give wide-spread fame to the arvel, which was to last two
weeks.
Several great Hersirs had sent word to him that they were coming to make
the arvel with him, and so arrange that as much honor as possible should
be paid to Hjorvard, his father. The Hersirs of Svithjod, Gardariki,
Holmgard, Fyen, and Zeeland were to be among the guests.
A fortnight before the time that had been decided for the arvel, the
people who lived the farthest began to arrive, for they wanted to make
sure that no contrary winds or other obstacle should cause their
absence. The day appointed for the beginning of the feast, every guest
was present.
It was according to ancient custom that when an “arvel” was held after
the death of Hersirs and high-born men, he who gave it and was to
receive the inheritance should sit on the step in front of the high seat
of the deceased until the horn, called Bragi’s horn, was brought in,
when he had to rise, take the horn, make a vow, and drain it to the
bottom. After this he was to be led to the high seat of his deceased
kinsman, and was then the owner of the inheritance.
Before taking his inheritance, in presence of all the assembled guests,
Ivar seated himself on the steps leading to the high seat of Hjorvard,
his father. On the first evening many horns were filled and drunk to the
memory of the departed kinsman. The second night the horns to Odin,
Njord, and Frey were drunk, after which the horn to Bragi was filled,
and over it vows were made. The scene was very impressive. Vow after vow
was sworn by prominent men to accomplish some great deeds that would be
known all over the northern lands.
Then Ivar rose and made the vow that, within two years, he would avenge
the death of his father, or die in the attempt, closing with “So help
me, Odin, Njord, and Frey.” After this oath, his kinsmen led him into
the high seat of Hjorvard, his father, and thenceforth he was entitled
to his father’s inheritance.
After the feast was over, Ivar gave costly gifts to all the prominent
men who had come to help him by their presence, and minor ones to those
less prominent who had come with them, and all departed with many
protestations of friendship, declaring that it was the greatest
inheritance feast they had ever seen.
A short time after Ivar had given his inheritance feast, another death
in the family took place. As he was drinking with his men, a messenger
came to him with the news that Ingimund, one of his uncles, living in
the eastern part of the island, on the shore of a bay to-day called
Tangvide, had died suddenly in his high seat. The death of Ingimund
caused great sorrow among all the people, for he was much beloved, and
many went to him for advice, for he had an excellent knowledge of the
laws. The sorrow about his death was the greater, because he had not
thrown himself down from some high cliff, from whence he would have gone
to Valhalla, as he had never been fated by the Nornir to die on the
battle-field and by weapons. He had intended to do so, and had often
said that he did not want to die in bed, for it was the custom for
warriors overtaken by old age to die by throwing themselves from cliffs,
and going to Odin, thus showing that they were not afraid of death.
Ivar and many of the people of Dampstadir made ready to go to the
funeral of Ingimund. When they reached his home, a large mortuary
chamber of solid timber was made, and a cairn thrown over it, leaving
the entrance to the chamber free.
Great preparations were made for the journey of Ingimund to Hel, the
world of the dead who had not died in arms, or sought Valhalla of
themselves. After Ivar’s arrival, the sons of Ingimund came to him and
said: “Thou art the head of our kinsmen, and thou knowest that it is the
custom from immemorial time when a man does not die by weapons to make
him ready for his journey to Hel. We ask of thee to put the Hel-shoes on
the feet of our dead father, for, as thou knowest, the ancient faith
that has come down to us tells us that such shoes should go to Hel with
the man that takes that journey. Therefore we will dress Ingimund
splendidly, for when a man dresses well when he goes out of our world,
and is a long time in dressing, he is said to prepare himself for Hel.”
Ivar answered: “I will put and tie the Hel-shoes on Ingimund’s feet, as
you ask me.”
The shoes were put on. After he had tied them, Ivar said: “I know not
how to tie Hel-shoes if these are unfastened on the journey to Hel.”
Then he asked the people to see if they were well tied. After looking at
them, those that were present said: “Well done, Ivar; these shoes cannot
possibly be untied, and the journey of Ingimund to Hel will be without
mishap.”
The body of Ingimund was dressed superbly. He was clad in his war
apparel: he had on his gold chain-armor, and wore his helmet; his
ornamented shield was laid on his breast, and his sword by his side; his
rings and bracelets of gold were on his hands and arms, and thus he was
laid on a bed in the mortuary chamber. At his feet and at his head were
put several beautiful Roman and Greek bronze vases; some exquisitely
beautiful Grecian cups of glass, ornamented with fine paintings; a
Samian vase; a Roman sieve of bronze; a pair of tweezers of gold; a fine
bone-comb, and other objects, among which were several coins of
Diocletian, who was Roman emperor at the time. Then, as the chamber was
closed, all present wished Ingimund a happy journey to Hel; and to this
day the stranger sees, as he sails along the eastern shores of Gotland,
among the large cairns that overlook the sea, that of Ingimund.
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