THE GODI AND THE GODISHIP.
Power and functions of the godi or temple-priest—The leaders at
sacrifices and spiritual rulers in the earliest times—The law only
above the godi—He is the administrator of the law among the
Thingmen—The post hereditary—Ceremony attending the assumption of
office—The godi’s office transferable—Appearance of the godi—Their
attendance at the Althing compulsory—The weapon-thing—Sanctity of
the law-courts.
The power and functions of the godi, or temple-priest, whose name has
been mentioned in the chapter on Religion, were probably the same in
Norway as in Sweden or Denmark before the time of Harald Fairhair of
Norway, Gorm of Denmark, and Eirik of Sweden. In the earliest times the
godis, whose office was called _godord_ (godiship), were the leaders at
sacrifices and spiritual rulers of the people, and their descendants
united both the spiritual and temporal power.
The original number of holders of the godiship in Iceland was
thirty-nine, but in the year 1004 twelve new members were added.
The position of the godi among the Thingmen was of a special nature, and
was grounded on birth or privilege, such as purchase; the only thing
above him was the law, which was in the keeping of all the godis of the
country. He had to see that the law was carried out among the Thingmen,
and had to help his own Thingmen when they had a case against a Thingman
of another district.[523]
The temple-priest as such had certain revenues; he had, besides, a share
of the pay given to the Thingmen by the bœndr who did not go to the
Thing; parts of certain fines and forfeited property, and fees for
certain legal formalities which could only be performed by him.[524] He
was named by the district or by the family, and the bœndr[525] under a
certain godi were called the Thingmen of the godi.
The _godord_ was looked upon as property; it was inherited, and could be
given away, sold, or forfeited. If the godi forfeited the godiship, then
the men of the _Thridjung-district_[526] to which the godiship belonged
had to elect another; and also, when the heir was not of age, they could
elect a provisional godi. The heir to a godiship would become godi, if
the bœndr allowed him, at the age of twelve. If the heir was a woman,
she could give the godiship to whichever man of the district she
preferred.
When a man became a godi he killed a ram and dipped his hands in its
blood.
“Höskuld said: ‘Let us redden ourselves in the blood of the godi
according to ancient custom.’ He killed a ram, reddened his hands in its
blood, and declared Arnstein’s godiship to be his....” (Ljosvetninga
Saga, c. 4).
If the godi broke the law he was prosecuted like another man,
consequently there was a check upon his powers, and he had to take great
care that law and justice were properly executed.
“The men of the _Thridjung-district_ always have power over the godiship
when the godi is outlawed and loses it. They shall draw lots among
themselves. If a man has bought a godiship, or it has been given to him,
then it shall be inherited (by his heirs).... If the godi becomes sick,
he has the right to sell the godiship. If he dies and leaves a son 12
winters old he gets it (the godiship) if the people allow it. If a woman
is heiress she shall sell the godiship to some man of the district. If
the godi dies before _einmanud_[527] they shall draw lots and have a
meeting as to who shall get the godiship; crosses[528] shall be cut and
sent in all directions. If he dies after _einmanud_ they (the people)
shall come one night before others to the Spring-thing and draw lots who
shall be godi. If he dies towards the Althing (time), or on the way to
the Thing, then his nearest kinsman at the Althing shall be godi. If
there is no kinsman his Thingmen[529] shall decide who is to be godi,
and must come to their decision before the courts (are formed). If there
are cases at the Spring-thing the godi is liable to lesser outlawry if
he has not arrived at the beginning of the Thing” (Grágás (1852), p.
142).
If the godi for one reason or another could not rule over his district,
he could give it to whomsoever he liked within the district; though the
office could be owned by more than one, it could only be _represented_
by one man.
“Hrafnkel sat on his farm (_bu_) and continued to be honoured. He died
and his mound is in Hrafnkelsdal outside Adalbol. Much property, all his
war-dress, and his good spear were _mound-laid_ with him. His sons
assumed his rule. Thorir lived in Hrafnkelsstadir and Asbjörn at
Adalbol. They both owned the godiship and were thought to be powerful
men” (Hrafnkel Freysgodi’s Saga).
If there were several owners, and the power had only been given to one
of them, it went by turns one year at a time.
“Helgi Asbjarnarson lived at Oddsstadir near Hafrsá; he was godord-man
(godi); he was married to Droplaug, daughter of Spakbessi. They had many
children. Hrafnkel, the first cousin of Helgi, lived at Hafrsá and was
young. He and Helgi both had the same godord (godiship) and Helgi
wielded the godiship.
“Hrafnkel claimed the godiship from Helgi Asbjarnarson, his kinsman, and
did not get it.
“In the spring people went to the Spring-thing. Helgi Asbjarnarson then
named An Trud into the court (dóm), though it was to be concealed, for
An had given to Helgi seven stud horses. When An was seated in the court
Helgi put on his head a felt-hood to disguise him and asked him to speak
little. Thereupon Hrafnkel with the sons of Droplaug and many men walked
up to the court. Helgi Droplaugarson walked up to the seat of An Trud in
the court; he jerked up the felt-hood with the guards of his sword and
struck it down and asked who sat there. An told his name. Helgi said:
‘Who named thee into the court on the behalf of his godiship?’ He
answered: ‘Helgi Asbjarnarson did it.’ Helgi Droplaugarson then asked
Hrafnkel to name witnesses and claim that Helgi Asbjarnarson had
forfeited the godiship; he said all his cases were made void as he had
named An into the court. Then there was great pressing forward and a
fight nearly ensued, but Hólmstein intervened and tried to reconcile
them. The agreement was that Hrafnkel should have the godiship as long
as Helgi had had it before, and thereupon they should have it both
together; Helgi should, however, help Hrafnkel in all cases at Things
and meetings of men and wherever needed. Helgi Droplaugarson said to
Hrafnkel: ‘Now it seems to me I have helped thee.’ He answered that it
was so. Then people rode home from the Thing” (Droplaugarsona Saga).
The godis seem to have worn long beards, which apparently was the custom
among rulers, for Edward is represented on the Bayeux tapestry with a
beard.
“Rolf was a great chief and a most powerful man; he had to keep the
temple of Thor on that island (Mostr), and was a great friend of Thor,
on which account he was called Thorolf. He was tall and strong, fair of
face, and had a large beard, wherefore he was called Mostrarskegg; he
was the most prominent man on the island” (Eyrbyggja Saga, c. 3).
When the heir to the godiship was a minor, the fittest Thingman took the
office till he came of age.
“It was law at that time that when the heirs were minors the Thingman
who was thought the fittest should keep the godiship (until they were of
age)” (Vatnsdæla, c. 41, 42).
The men of Vatnsdal had a meeting at Karnsá about the godiship.
“They spoke about the godiship and did not agree; every one of them
wished to become godi. Then they laid lots in a cloak-skirt, and the lot
of Thorkel Silfri (a chief) always came first, for he was skilled in
witchcraft. Thorgrím (a kinsman of the deceased godi) walked out and met
Thorkel Krafla (his own illegitimate son) in the entrance with other
boys. Thorgrím said: ‘Now I want thee to pay the price for the axe.’
Thorkel answered: ‘I should like very much to have the axe, and can
easily pay its price now, though I have not the ware thou likest.’
Thorgrím said: ‘Other things than ware will be taken.’ Thorkel asked:
‘Dost thou want me to slay Silfri?’ ‘Yes,’ answered Thorgrím. The lot of
the godiship had then been drawn by Silfri. Thorkel walked into the
room, and so near Silfri that he touched his foot; Silfri pushed him
away and called him the son of a bondmaid. Thorkel jumped up on the next
seat and struck his head with the axe (_taparöx_); Silfri at once died,
and Thorkel said the axe was not too dear. Thorgrím said the boy had
been badly tempted, and did not stand it well, but had shown himself to
be a kinsman of the Vatnsdælir (by his bravery), and he would
acknowledge that he was his son. Thereupon Thorgrím got the godiship,
and was called the godi of Karnsá” (Vatnsdæla, c. 41, 42).
“The godi if he likes shall go upon the Thing-slope at the Spring-thing
and name witnesses that he asks all Thingmen of his district (thridjung)
to go to the Althing, and they shall decide it with lots or in other
ways. Every ninth of his Thingmen shall go. The Spring-thing shall be
dissolved at mid-day when men have been four nights at it, but not
before, unless all the Thingmen agree otherwise and all cases brought
before it are decided” (Grágás, i. 116).
Every Thing-district had a fixed Thing called Herad-thing, which was
presided over by the three godis of the Thing-district.
The godi in whose district the Thing-place lay declared the Thing holy;
if the Thingman could not come himself, he could send a freeman of his
house in his place.
“We shall have a Spring-thing in our country. Three godis shall have
one together. They shall not hold a Thing for longer than one week,
nor for less than three nights, unless they are allowed by the
_Lögrétta_[530].... The godi who owns _Thinghelgi_ (declaration of
thing-peace) there shall declare the Thing holy the first evening
when they come there.... The godi shall decide what are the
Thing-boundaries, and he shall declare it holy, as at the Althing,
and declare what is its name”[531] (Grágás, p. 96, § 56).
A Thingman could declare himself the Thingman of another godi. Every
godi had to have a booth on the plain, large enough to hold all his
Thingmen; but the great bœndr often had with them their own booths, and
their friends, women, children, and servants, &c. The godi who declared
the Althing holy was called _allsherjar godi_ (the godi of the whole
host).
We see that in Iceland at first the _Kjalnesinga godi_ had the high
office at the Althing,[532] but later the godi in whose district the
Althing lay.
The Althing began on Thursday when ten weeks (fifty days) of summer had
passed, and lasted fourteen days.[533]
To the Althing all the godis had to come, and to arrive on Thursday
night, before the sun had left the plain; if not, they forfeited their
godiship. If a godi had met with lawful hindrances, the godi of the same
Thing-district decided who should take his place. He had the right to
call upon every ninth man of his Thingmen to follow him to the
Spring-thing.[534]
All the bœndr who had come to the Althing on Thursday night were
considered _right Thingmen_, but the bœndr who remained at home had to
pay a fine. If they came before the first Sunday of the Thing they were
_right Thingmen_, but received no pay. The Thingmen were not allowed to
leave the precincts of the Thing before the assembly was dissolved.[535]
“All godis shall come to the Thing on the fifth day of the week when 10
weeks of the summer have passed before the sun leaves the Thing-plain.
If they do not come they are fined and lose their godiship, unless
necessity causes their absence. The Thingmen shall come to the Thing on
the fifth day of the week and go to their booth with the godi in whose
Thing-district they are; each of them shall have a partition of cloth
across the booth; each shall get Thing-journey pay, and they are
Thingmen both in their own matters and in those of others. The godi is
then bound to give a Thingman room in his booth; if he does not, then
the Thingman does not break the law though he go to another booth, and
has also a claim to the Thing-journey pay. Men shall pay Thing-journey
pay as they agree upon in every district with the godi.... The Thingmen
shall not be one night or longer away from the Thing; nor are they
Thingmen when they go outside the Thing-marks” (Grágás, i. 24).
Sometimes meetings took place called _Vápnathing_, where all the bœndr
had to appear, and produce for inspection the arms which every man was
legally obliged to have.
“Wherever a weapon-thing is to be, the king’s steward (árman) or a
_lend-man_ shall announce it in the autumn, and hold the Thing in the
spring. All free and full-grown men shall come to it or pay a fine of
three _aurar_ each. Then men shall show their weapons as is laid down in
the laws. A man shall have a broad-axe or a sword, a spear, and a shield
which must have at least three iron-rims across it, and whose handle
must be fastened with iron nails. Three _aurar_ are to be paid for every
folk-weapon (missing or not in good order). For every rowing-bench the
bœndr shall furnish two dozen arrows and one bow. One _eyrir_ shall be
paid for every missing arrow, and three _aurar_ for a bow” (Earlier
Gulathing’s Law, 309).
The place where the judges sat was holy, and ropes, _vebönd_, marked out
the boundaries of the enclosure.
“The court was held in a level field and hazel poles were put down in a
circle into the ground with ropes around them; these ropes were called
_vebönd_ (sacred bands). Inside the circle sat the judges, twelve from
Firdafylki, twelve from Sygnafylki, and twelve from Hördafylki; these
thirty-six men were to judge in all cases. Arinbjörn chose the judges in
Firdafylki, and Thórd of Aurland (the brother of Björn) those from
Sygnafylki and these twenty-four acted together” (Egil’s Saga, c. 57).
“It is an old right that stewards from every Fylki shall make the vebönd
on the Thing-plain. The vebönd shall be so wide that those appointed for
the law-court shall have room to sit inside. The stewards shall name for
the law-court as many men as are fixed for each Fylki. From the inner
Thrándheim forty men shall be named for each Fylki, and from the outer
Thrándheim sixty men from each Fylki, and the oldest and most able men
shall be named into the law-court. No lendirmen must go into the
law-court unless the bœndr allow it. It is also law that no man who is
not named must sit inside the vebönd without being liable to pay a mark.
If a man leaves the law-court and goes outside the vebönd to another
place he is to pay a full mark” (Frostathing’s Law, i. 2).