{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_56167/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_56167","id":"gutenberg_56167","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/56167","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Archaeology & Anthropology","Category: History - European","Category: History - Medieval/Middle Ages","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Scandinavia -- Antiquities","Scandinavia -- Civilization","Vikings"],"text":"[Illustration:\n\n VIKING SHIP, USED FOR BURIAL (GOKSTAD, NORWAY).\n\n (Length of keel, 60 feet; total length, 75 feet; broadest part, 15\u00bd\n feet; depth from the upper part of bulwark to bottom of keel, 3\u00bd\n feet.)\n\n Judging from the number of holes seen, which were about 18 inches\n below the gunwale, it carried sixteen oars, and was consequently a\n sixteen-seater. Its preservation is due to the blue clay in which it\n was partly embedded, the upper part being eaten away owing to the\n clay being mixed with sand, thus allowing the rain and air to\n penetrate. It is entirely of oak, clinker built, calked with cows\u2019\n hair spun in a sort of cord.\n]\n\n\n\n\n THE VIKING AGE\n\n THE EARLY HISTORY MANNERS, AND CUSTOMS OF THE ANCESTORS OF THE\n ENGLISH-SPEAKING NATIONS\n\n ILLUSTRATED FROM\n _THE ANTIQUITIES DISCOVERED IN MOUNDS, CAIRNS, AND BOGS AS WELL AS FROM\n THE ANCIENT SAGAS AND EDDAS_\n\n\n BY\n\n PAUL B. DU CHAILLU\n AUTHOR OF \u201cEXPLORATIONS IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA,\u201d \u201cLAND OF THE MIDNIGHT\n SUN,\u201d ETC.\n\n\n WITH 1366 ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAP\n\n\n IN TWO VOLUMES.\u2014VOL. I\n\n\n NEW YORK:\n CHARLES SCRIBNER\u2019S SONS.\n 1889.\n\n\n\n\n COPYRIGHT, 1889, BY\n PAUL B. DU CHAILLU.\n\n\n Press of J. J. Little & Co.,\n Astor Place, New York.\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n TO\n\n GEORGE C. TAYLOR, Esq.,\n\n OF NEW YORK.\n\n\n_To you, my dear Taylor, who, like myself, have travelled over many\nlands, and led the same adventurous life in days gone by, I dedicate\n\u201cThe Viking Age,\u201d in remembrance of years of friendship, of the many\npleasant days we have spent together, and especially of our wanderings\nin the Land of the Midnight Sun, in the home of the old Vikings, while I\nwas engaged on the present work._\n\n _P. B. DU CHAILLU._\n\n _NEW YORK, September, 1889_.\n\n\n\n\n PREFACE.\n\n\nWhile studying the progress made in the colonisation of different parts\nof the world by European nations, I have often asked myself the\nfollowing questions:\u2014\n\nHow is it that over every region of the globe the spread of the\nEnglish-speaking people and of their language far exceeds that of all\nthe other European nations combined?\n\nWhy is it that, wherever the English-speaking people have settled, or\nare at this day found, even in small numbers, they are far more\nenergetic, daring, adventurous, and prosperous, and understand the art\nof self-government and of ruling alien peoples far better than other\ncolonising nations?\n\nWhence do the English-speaking communities derive the remarkable energy\nthey possess; for the people of Britain when invaded by the Romans did\nnot show any such quality?\n\nWhat are the causes which have made the English such a pre-eminently\nseafaring people? for without such a characteristic they could not have\nbeen the founders of so many states and colonies speaking the English\ntongue!\n\nIn studying the history of the world we find that all the nations which\nhave risen to high power and widespread dominion have been founded by\nmen endowed with great, I may say terrible, energy; extreme bravery and\nthe love of conquest being the most prominent traits of their character.\nThe mighty sword with all its evils has thus far always proved a great\nengine of civilisation.\n\nTo get a satisfactory answer to the above questions we must go far back,\nand study the history of the race who settled in Britain during and\nafter the Roman occupation. We shall thus find why their descendants are\nto-day so brave, successful, energetic and prosperous in the lands which\nthey have colonised; and why they are so pre-eminently skilled in the\nart of self-government.\n\nWe find that a long stretch of coast is not sufficient, though\nnecessary, to make the population of a country a seafaring nation. When\nthe Romans invaded Britain, the Brits had no fleet to oppose them. We do\nnot until a later period meet with that love of the sea which is so\ncharacteristically English:\u2014not before the gradual absorption of the\nearlier inhabitants by a blue-eyed and yellow-haired seafaring people\nwho succeeded in planting themselves and their language in the country.\n\nTo the numerous warlike and ocean-loving tribes of the North, the\nancestors of the English-speaking people, we must look for the\ntransformation that took place in Britain. In their descendants we\nrecognise to this day many of the very same traits of character which\nthese old Northmen possessed, as will be seen on the perusal of this\nwork.\n\nBritain, after a continuous immigration which lasted several hundred\nyears, became the most powerful colony of the Northern tribes, several\nof the chiefs of the latter claiming to own a great part of England in\nthe seventh and eighth centuries. At last the time came when the land of\nthe emigrants waxed more powerful, more populous than the\nmother-country, and asserted her independence; and to-day the people of\nEngland, as they look over the broad Atlantic, may discern a similar\nprocess which is taking place in the New World.\n\nThe impartial mind which rises above the prejudice of nationality must\nacknowledge that no country will leave a more glorious impress upon the\nhistory of the world than England. Her work cannot be undone; should she\nto-day sink beneath the seas which bathe her shores, her record will for\never stand brilliantly illuminated on the page of history. The great\nstates which she has founded, which have inherited her tongue, and which\nare destined to play a most important part in the future of\ncivilisation, will be witnesses of the mighty work she has accomplished.\nThey will look back with pride to the progenitors of their race who\nlived in the glorious and never-to-be-forgotten countries of the North,\nthe birthplace of a new epoch in the history of mankind.\n\nAs ages roll on, England, the mother of nations, cannot escape the fate\nthat awaits all; for on the scroll of time this everlasting truth is\nwritten\u2014birth, growth, maturity, decay;\u2014and how difficult for us to\nrealise the fact when in the fulness of power, strength, and pride!\nWhere is or where has been the nation that can or could exclaim, \u201cThis\nsaying does not apply to me; I was born great from the beginning; I am\nso now, and will continue to be powerful to the end of time.\u201d The ruined\nand deserted cities; the scanty records of history, which tell us of\ndead civilisations, the fragmentary traditions of religious beliefs, the\nwrecks of empires, and the forgotten graves, are the pathetic and silent\nwitnesses of the great past, and a sad suggestion of the inevitable fate\nin store for all.\n\nThe materials used in these volumes, in describing the cosmogony and\nmythology, the life, religion, laws and customs of the ancestors of the\nEnglish-speaking nations of to-day, are mainly derived from records\nfound in Iceland. These parchments, upon which the history of the North\nis written, and which are begrimed by the smoke of the Icelandic cabin,\nand worn by the centuries which have passed over them, recount to us the\nhistory and the glorious deeds of the race.\n\nNo land has bequeathed to us a literature, giving so minute and\ncomprehensive an account of the life of a people. These _Sagas_ (or\n\u201csay\u201d) record the leading events of a man\u2019s life, or family history, and\ndate from a period even anterior to the first settlement of Iceland\n(about 870 A.D.).\n\nSome Sagas bear evident traces of having been derived, or even copied,\nfrom earlier documents now lost: in some cases definite quotations are\ngiven; others are evidently of a fabulous character, and have to be\ntreated with great caution; but even these may be used as illustrating\nthe customs of the times at which they were written. Occasionally great\nconfusion is caused by the blending of the similar names of persons\nliving at different periods.\n\nMy method of putting together the series of descriptions which will be\nfound in the \u2018Viking Age\u2019 has been as follows:\u2014\n\nBy reading carefully every Saga\u2014and there are hundreds of them\u2014dealing\nwith the events of a man\u2019s life from his birth to his death, I was able\nto select the passages bearing on the various customs. When in one Saga\nthe bare fact of a birth, or a marriage, or a burial, or a feast, etc.,\netc., was mentioned, in others full details of the ceremonies connected\nwith them were found. After thus collecting my material, which was of\nthe most superabundant character, I went over it and selected what\nseemed to me to be the best accounts of the various customs with which I\ndeal in these volumes. I have not been content with the translations of\nother persons, but have in every case gone to the original documents and\nadopted my own rendering of them.\n\nSome extracts from the Frankish Chronicles are given in the Appendix, as\nshowing the power of the Northmen, and bearing strong testimony to the\ntruthfulness of the Sagas. If I had not been afraid of being tedious, I\ncould also have given extracts from Arabic, Russian, and other annals to\nthe same effect.\n\nThe testimony of arch\u00e6ology as corroborating the Sagas forms one of the\nmost important links in the chain of my argument; parchments and written\nrecords form but a portion of the material from which I have derived my\naccount of the \u2018Viking Age.\u2019 During the last fifty years the History of\nthe Northmen has been unearthed as it were\u2014like that of the Egyptians,\nAssyrians, and Romans\u2014by the discovery of almost every kind of\nimplement, weapon, and ornament produced by that accomplished race.\n\nThe Museums of Denmark, Sweden, Norway, England, France, Germany,\nRussia, are as richly stored with such objects as are the British\nMuseum, the Louvre, the Museums of Naples and Boulak with the treasures\nof Egypt and Pompeii.\n\nI have myself seen nearly all the objects or graves illustrated in this\nbook, with the exception of a few Runic stones which have now\ndisappeared, but are given in an old work of Jorgensen.\n\nAs my materials expanded themselves before me I felt like one of those\nmariners of old on a voyage of discovery. To them new lands were\ncontinuously coming into view; to me new materials, new fields of\nliterary and arch\u00e6ological wealth unfolded themselves incessantly. Thus\ncarried away by enthusiasm and the love of the task I had undertaken, I\nhave been able to labour for eight years and a half on the present work,\nwith some interruptions from exhaustion and impaired health. May I,\nthen, ask the indulgence of a public, which has always been kind to me,\nfor all the shortcomings of my work?\n\nI have received valuable assistance from many friends, but I desire\nespecially to express my thanks to Mr. Bruun, the Chief Librarian of the\nRoyal Library of Denmark, for his great kindness in allowing me so many\nprivileges during the years I have worked in Copenhagen; to Mr. Birket\nSmith, of the University Library of Copenhagen; and Mr. Kaalund, Keeper\nof the Arna Magn\u00e6an Collection of Manuscripts, for the uniform courtesy\nthey have shown me; among antiquarians, to my friend Professor George\nStephens, author of the magnificent work, \u2018Northern Runic Monuments,\u2019\nfor his readiness in giving me all the information and help I needed,\nwhich sometimes occupied much of his valuable time (several\nillustrations of the runic stones, etc., in these volumes are taken from\nhis work); to Mr. Vedel, Vice-President of the Royal Society of\nAntiquarians; to Messrs. Herbst, Sophus M\u00fcller, and Petersen, of the\nRoyal Museum of Northern Antiquities, for their great courtesy; I am\nalso indebted to the works of the following distinguished antiquarians\nwhich have been invaluable to me in my researches and which have\nfurnished me with many of the illustrations for my book: Ole Rygh,\nBugge, Engelhart, Nicolaysen, Sehested, Steenstrup, Madsen, S\u00e4ve,\nMontelius, Holmberg, Jorgensen, Baltzer, and Lorange; also to the works\nof the historians, Keyser, Geijer, Munch, Rafn, Vigfusson. My sincere\nthanks are also due to my young friend Jon Stef\u00e1nsson, an Icelandic\nstudent, for his constant help in rendering the translations of the\nSagas as accurate and literal as possible; and to my old friend Mr.\nRasmus B. Anderson, late American Minister to Denmark, and translator of\nthe \u2018Later Edda,\u2019 etc.; in England, to Messrs. A. S. Murray, Franks, and\nRead, of the British Museum; to Dr. Warre, the head master of Eton, and\nto General Pitt Rivers, author of a valuable work on the excavations in\nCranborne Chase, which contains objects strikingly similar to those of\nScandinavia; also to my friends Mr. J. S. Keltie and Mr. Arthur L.\nRoberts; to my old friends Messrs. Clowes, who have taken great pains in\ncarrying out what has proved to be a very difficult task for the\nprinter, and who have had the work over two-and-a-half years in type.\n\nI must thank, above all, my esteemed and venerable publisher, John\nMurray, for the great interest he has taken in the present work, which\nhas tried his patience and liberality many a time, and also for the many\nyears of uninterrupted friendship and the pleasant business relations\n(unhampered by any written agreement whatever), which have existed\nbetween us from the time when I came to him almost a lad, and he first\nundertook the publication of \u2018Explorations in Equatorial Africa,\u2019 in\n1861, not forgetting my dear friends, his sons, John and Hallam, the\nformer of whom has assisted me materially in seeing the work through the\npress, and my old companion Robert Cooke.\n\nI cannot close this preface without thanking my old and ever true friend\nRobert Winthrop, of New York, descendant of the celebrated Colonial\nGovernor of Massachusetts, to whom I dedicated \u201cThe Land of the Midnight\nSun,\u201d for his unfailing kindness and sympathy during the years I have\nbeen engaged in the present work.\n\n PAUL B. DU CHAILLU.\n\n _NEW YORK, September, 1889._\n\n\n\n\n CONTENTS OF VOL. I\n\n\n CHAPTER I.\n PAGE\n\n CIVILISATION AND ANTIQUITIES OF THE NORTH 1\n\n\n CHAPTER II.\n\n ROMAN AND GREEK ACCOUNTS OF THE NORTHMEN 7\n\n\n CHAPTER III.\n\n THE SETTLEMENT OF BRITAIN BY NORTHMEN 17\n\n\n CHAPTER IV.\n\n THE MYTHOLOGY AND COSMOGONY OF THE NORSEMEN 27\n\n\n CHAPTER V.\n\n MYTHOLOGY AND COSMOGONY (_continued_) 44\n\n\n CHAPTER VI.\n\n ODIN OF THE NORTH 51\n\n\n CHAPTER VII.\n\n THE SUCCESSORS OF ODIN OF THE NORTH 62\n\n\n CHAPTER VIII.\n\n THE STONE AGE 69\n\n\n CHAPTER IX.\n\n THE BRONZE AGE 84\n\n\n CHAPTER X.\n\n THE IRON AGE 125\n\n\n CHAPTER XI.\n\n RUNES 154\n\n\n CHAPTER XII.\n\n NORTHERN RELICS\u2014BOG FINDS 193\n\n\n CHAPTER XIII.\n\n NORTHERN RELICS\u2014GROUND FINDS 235\n\n\n CHAPTER XIV.\n\n DESCRIPTION OF SOME REMARKABLE GRAVES AND THEIR CONTENTS 247\n\n\n CHAPTER XV.\n\n GREEK AND ROMAN ANTIQUITIES IN THE NORTH 259\n\n\n CHAPTER XVI.\n\n GLASS 276\n\n\n CHAPTER XVII.\n\n HORSES\u2014WAGGONS 285\n\n\n CHAPTER XVIII.\n\n VARIOUS FORMS OF GRAVES 299\n\n\n CHAPTER XIX.\n\n BURIALS 320\n\n\n CHAPTER XX.\n\n RELIGION.\u2014WORSHIP, SACRIFICES, ETC. 343\n\n\n CHAPTER XXI.\n\n RELIGION.\u2014ALTARS, TEMPLES, HIGH-SEAT PILLARS, ETC. 356\n\n\n CHAPTER XXII.\n\n RELIGION.\u2014HUMAN SACRIFICES 364\n\n\n CHAPTER XXIII.\n\n RELIGION.\u2014IDOLS AND WORSHIP OF MEN AND ANIMALS, ETC. 375\n\n\n CHAPTER XXIV.\n\n RELIGION.\u2014THE NORNIR AND VALKYRIAS 385\n\n\n CHAPTER XXV.\n\n RELIGION.\u2014THE VOLVAS 394\n\n\n CHAPTER XXVI.\n\n RELIGION.\u2014\u00c6GIR AND RAN 403\n\n\n CHAPTER XXVII.\n\n RELIGION.\u2014SACRIFICES TO THE ALFAR, DISIR, FYLGJA, HAMINGJA, AND\n LANDV\u0152TTIR 409\n\n\n CHAPTER XXVIII.\n\n VALH\u00d6LL-VALHALLA 420\n\n\n CHAPTER XXIX.\n\n SUPERSTITIONS.\u2014SHAPE-CHANGING 430\n\n\n CHAPTER XXX.\n\n SUPERSTITIONS.\u2014WITCHCRAFT 439\n\n\n CHAPTER XXXI.\n\n SUPERSTITIONS.\u2014OMENS 450\n\n\n CHAPTER XXXII.\n\n SUPERSTITIONS.\u2014DREAMS 456\n\n\n CHAPTER XXXIII.\n\n THE STRUGGLE BETWEEN PAGANISM AND CHRISTIANITY 464\n\n\n CHAPTER XXXIV.\n\n THE LAND 478\n\n\n CHAPTER XXXV.\n\n DIVISIONS OF PEOPLE INTO CLASSES 486\n\n\n CHAPTER XXXVI.\n\n SLAVERY\u2014THRALDOM 502\n\n\n CHAPTER XXXVII.\n\n THE THING 515\n\n\n CHAPTER XXXVIII.\n\n THE GODI AND THE GODISHIP 525\n\n\n CHAPTER XXXIX.\n\n THE LAWS OF THE EARLIER ENGLISH TRIBES 532\n\n\n CHAPTER XL.\n\n INDEMNITY, WEREGILD 544\n\n\n CHAPTER XLI.\n\n THE OATH AND ORDEAL 553\n\n\n CHAPTER XLII.\n\n DUELLING 563\n\n\n CHAPTER XLIII.\n\n OUTLAWRY 578\n\n\n CHAPTER XLIV.\n\n REVENGE 584\n\n\n\n\n A LIST OF THE PRINCIPAL SAGAS\n QUOTED IN\n THE VIKING AGE,\n INCLUDING THE PERIODS WITH WHICH THEY DEAL.\n\n\n \u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u252c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\n Name of Saga. \u2502 Century with which\n \u2502 they deal.\n \u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u253c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\n \u2502These are Mythical,\n The Earlier Edda \u2502 and no accurate\n \u2502 date can be affixed\n \u2502 to them.\n \u2502 \u201d\n The Later Edda \u2502 \u201d\n \u2502\n F\u00f3rnaldars\u00f6gur contains:\u2014 \u2502\n V\u00f6lsunga \u2502Partly Mythical.\n Hervara \u2502 \u201d\n Thorstein Vikingsson\u2019s (father of Fridthjof)\u2502 \u201d\n Ketil H\u00e6ng\u2019s sons \u2502 \u201d\n Grim Lodinkinnis\u2019 \u2502 \u201d\n Fridthjof\u2019s \u2502 \u201d\n \u2502\n Hrolf Kraki\u2019s \u2502VI.(?)\n Half\u2019s \u2502VI.(?)\n S\u00f6gubrot \u2502VI.-VII.(?)\n Ragnar Lodbrok\u2019s \u2502VIII.(?)\n Ragnar Lodbrok\u2019s Sons\u2019 \u2502VIII.(?)\n \u2502\n Norna Gest\u2019s \u2502No date can be\n Gautrek\u2019s \u2502 assigned to these.\n Orvar Odd\u2019s \u2502 \u201d\n Herraud and Bosi\u2019s \u2502 \u201d\n Egil and Asmund\u2019s \u2502 \u201d\n Hjalmter and \u00d6lver\u2019s \u2502 \u201d\n G\u00f6ngu Hrelf\u2019s \u2502 \u201d\n An Bosveigi\u2019s \u2502 \u201d\n\n \u2042 The above dates are all more or less conjectural, and the Sagas are\n chiefly valuable as illustrating manners and customs.\n\n Egil\u2019s \u2502Middle of IX. to end\n \u2502 of X.\n Njala\u2019s \u2502End of X. to\n \u2502 beginning of XI.\n Laxd\u00e6la \u2502IX.-XI. (886\u20131030).\n Eyrbyggja \u2502IX.-XI. (890\u20131031).\n \u2502\n Islandinga S\u00f6gur contains:\u2014 \u2502\n I. Hord\u2019s Saga \u2502X. (950\u2013990).\n II. H\u0153nsa Thoris\u2019 Saga \u2502X.-XI.(990\u20131010).\n III. Gunnlaug Ormstunga\u2019s Saga \u2502X.-XI.\n IV. Viga Styr\u2019s Saga \u2502X.-XI.\n V. Kjalnesinga Saga \u2502IX.-XI.\n VI. Gisli S\u00farsson \u2502X.\n \u2502\n Droplaugarsona Saga \u2502X.\n \u2502\n Hrafnkel Freysgodi \u2502X.\n \u2502\n Bjorn Hitd\u00e6la Kappi \u2502First half of XI.\n \u2502\n Kormak\u2019s \u2502X.\n \u2502\n Forns\u00f6gur contains:\u2014 \u2502\n I. Vatnsd\u00e6la Saga \u2502IX.-XI. (c.\n \u2502 870\u20131000).\n II. Floamanna Saga \u2502X. (c. 985\u2013990).\n III. Hallfred\u2019s Saga \u2502End of X.\n \u2502\n Gretti\u2019s Saga \u2502X.-XI. (Grettir died\n \u2502 1031).\n \u2502\n Viga Glum \u2502X.\n \u2502\n Vallaljots \u2502Beginning of XI.\n \u2502\n Vapnfirdinga \u2502IX.-X.\n \u2502\n Thorskfirdinga, or Gullth\u00f3ri\u2019s \u2502X. (c. 900\u2013930).\n \u2502\n Heidar Viga (continuation of Viga Styr\u2019s) \u2502First half of XI.\n \u2502\n F\u0153reyinga \u2502X.-XI. (c. 960\u20131040).\n \u2502\n Finnbogi Rami\u2019s \u2502X.\n \u2502\n Eirek the Red \u2502\n \u2502\n Th\u00e1tt of Styrbj\u00f6rn (nephew of Eirek the \u2502\n Victorious, who fell at the battle of \u2502X.\n Fyrisvellir, 983) \u2502\n \u2502\n \u2502IX.-X. (the\n Landnama \u2502 colonisation of\n \u2502 Iceland).\n \u2502\n Islendinga bok \u2502IX.-XI. (c.\n \u2502 874\u20131118).\n Ljosvetninga \u2502990\u20131050.\n Vemund\u2019s Saga \u2502End of X. century.\n Svarfd\u0153la \u2502First half of X.\n \u2502 century.\n \u2502\n Biskupa S\u00f6gur contains:\u2014 \u2502\n Kristni Saga \u2502X.-XII. (c.\n \u2502 980\u20131120).\n Sturlunga \u2502XII.-XIII. (c.\n \u2502 1120\u20131284).\n \u2502\n Fornmanna S\u00f6gur contains:\u2014 \u2502\n I. Sagas of Kings of Norway \u2502\n II. Jomsvikinga Saga \u2502X.\n III. Knytlinga Saga \u2502XI.-XII.\n IV. Fagrskinna (short history of Kings of Norway\u2502IX.-XII.\n from Halfdan the Black to Sverrir) \u2502\n \u2502\n \u2502Written in first half\n \u2502 of XIII. cent.,\n Heimskringla Saga contains the Ynglinga Saga, the\u2502 giving history of\n great work of Snorri Sturluson \u2502 the Kings of Norway\n \u2502 and Sweden from\n \u2502 Odin down to 1177.\n \u2502\n Flateyjarbok contains lives of Kings of Norway, \u2502\n etc. \u2502\n \u2502\n Fostbr\u00e6dra Saga \u2502XI. (c. 1015\u201330).\n \u2502\n Konung\u2019s Skuggsja \u2502XIII.\n \u2502\n Rimbegla \u2502XIV.\n \u2502\n Orkneyinga \u2502IX.-XIII. (c.\n \u2502 870\u20131206).\n \u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2534\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\n\n\n\n\n A LIST OF THE PRINCIPAL KINGS OF DENMARK, NORWAY, AND SWEDEN,\n SOME OF WHOM HAVE SAGAS OF THEIR OWN.\n\n\n KINGS OF DENMARK.\n\n \u2502 A.D.\n Gorm \u2502 900\u2013940\n Harald Bluetooth \u2502 945\u2013985\n Svein Tjuguskegg \u2502 985\u20131014\n Harald \u2502 1014\u20131018\n Knut the Great \u2502 1018\u20131035\n H\u00f6rda Knut \u2502 1035\u20131042\n Magnus the Good, ruled over Denmark and Norway \u2502 1042\u20131047\n Svein Ulfsson \u2502 1047\u20131075\n\n\n KINGS OF NORWAY.\n\n (Mostly petty Kings.)\n\n \u2502 A.D.\n Halfdan the Black, died \u2502 860\n Harald Fairhair, reigned\u2502 860\u2013930\n Eirik Bloodaxe \u201d \u2502 930\u2013934\n Hakon the Good \u201d \u2502 934\u2013960\n Harald Grafeld (greyskin) \u201d \u2502 960\u2013965\n Hakon Jarl the Great, the hero of the battle of \u201d \u2502\n Gomsviking, \u2502 965\u2013995\n Olaf Tryggvason \u201d \u2502 995\u20131000\n Eirik Jarl \u201d \u2502 1000\u20131015\n St Olaf \u201d \u2502 1015\u20131028\n Knut the Great \u201d \u2502 1028\u20131035\n Magnus the Good \u201d \u2502 1035\u20131047\n Harald Hardradi \u201d \u2502 1047\u20131066\n Olaf the Quiet \u201d \u2502 1066\u20131093\n Magnus Barefoot \u201d \u2502 1093\u20131103\n Three sons:\u2014Eystein, Olaf, Sigurd J\u00f3rsalafari \u2502 1103\u20131130\n Civil war\u2014Harald Gilli, Magnus the Blind, and others \u2502 1130\u20131162\n Magnus Erlingsson \u2502 1162\u20131184\n Sverrir (Sigurdson) \u2502 1184\u20131202\n\n\n KINGS OF SWEDEN.\n\n (Not mentioned in the Odinic Genealogies, vol. i. p. 67.)\n\n \u2502 A.D.\n Ivar Vidfadmi \u2502 Kings of\n Harald Hildit\u00f6nn \u2502 Sweden and\n Sigurd Hring \u2502 Denmark.\n Ragnar Lodbr\u00f3k \u2502 \u201d\n \u2502\n Bj\u00f6rn Ironside \u2502\n Eirik and Refil \u2502\n Eymund and Bj\u00f6rn \u2502 800\u2013830\n Olaf and Eymund \u2502 c. 850\n Eyrik Eymundsson died \u2502 c. 882\n Bj\u00f6rn Eiriksson and Hring \u2502 900\u2013950\n Eirik the Victorious \u2502 c. 950\u2013994\n Olaf Skaut-konung \u2502 c. 994\u20131022\n \u00d6nund Jakob \u2502 c. 1022\u20131050\n Eymund the Old \u2502 c. 1050\u20131060\n Steinkel R\u00f6gnvaldson \u2502 c. 1060\u20131066\n\n[Illustration:\n\n GEOGRAPHY AND NOMENCLATURE OF THE VIKING AGE\n]\n\n\n\n\n THE VIKING AGE.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER I.\n CIVILISATION AND ANTIQUITIES OF THE NORTH.\n\n Early antiquities of the North\u2014Literature: English and Frankish\n chronicles\u2014Early civilisation\u2014Beauty of ornaments, weapons, &c.\n\n\nA study of the ancient literature and abundant arch\u00e6ology of the North\ngives us a true picture of the character and life of the Norse ancestors\nof the English-speaking peoples.\n\nWe can form a satisfactory idea of their religious, social, political,\nand warlike life. We can follow them from their birth to their grave. We\nsee the infant exposed to die, or _water sprinkled_,[1] and a name\nbestowed upon it; follow the child in his education, in his sports; the\nyoung man in his practice of arms; the maiden in her domestic duties and\nembroidery; the adult in his warlike expeditions; hear the clash of\nswords and the songs of the _Scald_, looking on and inciting the\nwarriors to greater deeds of daring, or it may be recounting afterwards\nthe glorious death of the hero. We listen to the old man giving his\nadvice at the _Thing_.[2] We learn about their dress, ornaments,\nimplements, weapons; their expressive names and complicated\nrelationships; their dwellings and convivial halls, with their primitive\nor magnificent furniture; their temples, sacrifices, gods, and sacred\nceremonies; their personal appearance, even to the hair, eyes, face and\nlimbs. Their festivals, betrothal and marriage feasts are open to us. We\nare present at their athletic games preparatory to the stern realities\nof the life of that period, where honour and renown were won on the\nbattle-field; at the revel and drunken bout; behold the dead warrior on\nhis burning ship or on the pyre, and surrounded by his weapons, horses,\nslaves, or fallen companions who are to enter with him into\n_Valhalla_;[3] look into the death chamber, see the mounding and the\n_Arvel_, or inheritance feast.\n\nThese Norsemen had carriages or chariots, as well as horses, and the\nnumerous skeletons of this animal in graves or bogs prove it to have\nbeen in common use at a very early period. Their dress, and the\nsplendour of their riding equipment for war, the richness of the\nornamentation of their weapons of offence and defence are often\ncarefully described. Everywhere we see that gold was in the greatest\nabundance. The descriptions of such wealth might seem to be very much\nexaggerated; but, as will be seen in the course of this work, the\nantiquities treasured in the museums of the North bear witness to the\ntruthfulness of the records. The spade has developed the history of\nScandinavia, as it has done that of Assyria and Etruria, but in addition\nthe Northmen had the Saga and Edda literature to perpetuate their deeds.\n\nWe are the more astonished as we peruse the Eddas and Sagas giving the\nhistory of the North, and examine the antiquities found in the country,\nfor we hear hardly anything about the customs of the people from the\nRoman writers, and our ideas regarding them have been thoroughly\nvitiated by the earlier Frankish and English chronicles and other\nmonkish writings, or by the historians who have taken these records as a\ntrustworthy authority.\n\nSome writers, in order to give more weight to these chronicles, and to\nshow the great difference that existed between the invaders and invaded,\nand how superior the latter were to the former, paint in a graphic\nmanner, without a shadow of authority, the contrast between the two\npeoples. England is described as being at that time a most beautiful\ncountry, a panegyric which does not apply to fifteen or twenty centuries\nago; while the country of the aggressor is depicted as one of swamp and\nforest inhabited by wild and savage men. It is forgotten that after a\nwhile the people of the country attacked were the same people as those\nof the North or their descendants, who in intelligence, civilisation,\nand manly virtues were far superior to the original and effete\ninhabitants of the shores they invaded.\n\nThe men of the North who settled and conquered part of Gaul and Britain,\nwhose might the power of Rome could not destroy, and whose depredations\nit could not prevent, were not savages; the Romans did not dare attack\nthese men at home with their fleet or with their armies. Nay, they even\nhad allowed these Northmen to settle peacefully in their provinces of\nGaul and Britain.\n\nNo, the people who were then spread over a great part of the present\nRussia, who overran Germania, who knew the art of writing, who led their\nconquering hosts to Spain, into the Mediterranean, to Italy, Sicily,\nGreece, the Black Sea, Palestine, Africa, and even crossed the broad\nAtlantic to America, who were undisputed masters of the sea for more\nthan twelve centuries, were not barbarians. Let those who uphold the\ncontrary view produce evidence from arch\u00e6ology of an indigenous British\nor Gallic civilisation which surpasses that of the North.\n\nThe antiquities of the North even without its literature would throw an\nindirect but valuable light on the history of the earlier Norse tribes,\nthe so-called barbarians, fiends, devils, sons of Pluto, &c., of the\nFrankish and English chronicles. To the latter we can refer for stories\nof terrible acts of cruelty committed by the countrymen of the writers\nwho recount them with complacency; maiming prisoners or antagonists and\nsending multitudes into slavery far away from their homes. But the\ngreatest of all outrages in the eyes of these monkish scribes was that\nthe Northmen burned a church or used it for sheltering their men or\nstabling their horses.\n\nThe writers of the English and Frankish chronicles were the worst\nenemies of the Northmen, ignorant and bigoted men when judged by the\nstandard of our time; through their writings we hardly know anything of\nthe customs of their own people. They could see nothing good in a man\nwho had not a religion identical with their own.\n\nStill allowance must be made for the chroniclers; they wrote the history\nof their own period with the bigotry, passions, and hatreds, of their\ntimes.\n\nThe striking fact brought vividly before our mind is that the people of\nthe North, even before the time when they carried their warfare into\nGaul and Britain, possessed a degree of civilisation which would be\ndifficult for us to realise were it not that the antiquities help us in\na most remarkable manner, and in many essential points, to corroborate\nthe truthfulness of the Eddas and Sagas.\n\nThe indisputable fact remains that both the Gauls and the Britons were\nconquered by the Romans and afterwards by the Northern tribes.\n\nThis Northern civilisation was peculiar to itself, having nothing in\ncommon with the Roman world. Rome knew nothing of these people till they\nbegan to frequent the coasts of her North Sea provinces, in the days of\nTacitus, and after his time the Mediterranean. The North was separated\nfrom Rome by the swamps and forests of Germania\u2014a vague term given to a\ncountry north and north-east of Italy, a land without boundaries, and\ninhabited by a great number of warlike, wild, uncivilised tribes.\nAccording to the accounts of Roman writers, these people were very\nunlike those of the North, and we must take the description given of\nthem to be correct, as there is no arch\u00e6ological discovery to prove the\ncontrary. They were distinct; one was comparatively civilised, the other\nwas not.\n\nThe manly civilisation the Northmen possessed was their own; from their\nrecords, corroborated by finds in Southern Russia, it seems to have\nadvanced north from about the shores of the Black Sea, and we shall be\nable to see in the perusal of these pages how many Northern customs were\nlike those of the ancient Greeks.\n\nA view of the past history of the world will show us that the growth of\nnations which have become powerful has been remarkably steady, and has\ndepended upon the superior intelligence of the conquering people over\ntheir neighbours; just as to-day the nations who have taken possession\nof far-off lands and extended their domain, are superior to the\nconquered.\n\nThe museums of Copenhagen, Stockholm, Christiania, Bergen, L\u00fcnd,\nG\u00f6teborg, and many smaller ones in the provincial towns of the three\nScandinavian kingdoms, show a most wonderful collection of antiquities\nwhich stand unrivalled in Central and Northern Europe for their wealth\nof weapons and costly objects of gold and silver, belonging to the\nbronze and iron age, and every year additions are made.\n\nThe weapons found with their peculiar northern ornamentation, and the\nsuperb ring coats-of-mail, show the skill of the people in working iron.\nA great number of their early swords and other weapons are damascened\neven so far back as the beginning of the Christian era, and show either\nthat this art was practised in the North long before its introduction\ninto the rest of Europe from Damascus by the Crusaders, or that the\nNorsemen were so far advanced as to be able to appreciate the artistic\nmanufactures of Southern nations.\n\nThe remnants of articles of clothing with graceful patterns, interwoven\nwith threads of gold and silver, which have fortunately escaped entire\ndestruction, show the existence of great skill in weaving. Entire suits\nof wearing apparel remain to tell us how some of the people dressed in\nthe beginning of our era.\n\nBeautiful vessels of silver and gold also testify to the taste and\nluxury of those early times. The knowledge of the art of writing and of\ngilding is clearly demonstrated. In some cases, nearly twenty centuries\nhave not been able to tarnish or obliterate the splendour of the gilt\njewels of the Northmen. We find among their remains\u2014either of their own\nmanufacture or imported, perhaps as spoils of war\u2014_repouss\u00e9_ work of\ngold or silver, bronze, silver, and wood work covered with the thinnest\nsheets of gold; the filigree work displays great skill, and some of it\ncould not be surpassed now. Many objects are ornamented with _niello_,\nand of so thorough a northern pattern, that they are incontestably of\nhome manufacture. The art of enamelling seems also to have been known to\nthe artificers of the period.\n\nObjects, many of which show much refined taste, such as superb specimens\nof glass vessels with exquisite painted subjects\u2014unrivalled for their\nbeauty of pattern, even in the museums of Italy and Russia\u2014objects of\nbronze, &c., make us pause with astonishment, and musingly ask ourselves\nfrom what country these came. The names of Etruria, of ancient Greece,\nand of Rome, naturally occur to our minds.\n\nOther objects of unquestionable Roman and Greek manufacture, and\nhundreds and thousands of coins, of the first, second, third and fourth\ncenturies of the Christian era, show the early intercourse the people of\nthe North had with the western and eastern Roman empire, and with\nFrisia, Gaul, and Britain.\n\nA careful perusal of the Eddas and Sagas will enable us, with the help\nof the ancient Greek and Latin writers, and without any serious break in\nthe chain of events, to make out a fairly continuous history which\nthrows considerable light on the progenitors of the English-speaking\npeople, their migrations northward from their old home on the shores of\nthe Black Sea, their religion, and the settlement of Scandinavia, of\nEngland, and other countries.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER II.\n ROMAN AND GREEK ACCOUNTS OF THE NORTHMEN.\n\n The three maritime tribes of the North\u2014The fleets of the\n Sueones\u2014Expeditions of Saxons and Franks\u2014Home of these tribes\u2014The\n tribes of Germania not seafaring\u2014Probable origin of the names\n Saxons and Franks.\n\n\nRoman writers give us the names of three maritime tribes of the North,\nwhich were called by them _Sueones_, _Saxones_, and _Franci_. The first\nof these, which is the earliest mentioned, is thus described by Tacitus\n(circ. 57\u2013117 A.D.):\u2014\n\n\n\u201cHence the States of the Sueones, situated in the ocean itself, are not\nonly powerful on land, but also have mighty fleets. The shape of their\nships is different, in that, having a prow at each end, they are always\nready for running on to the beach. They are not worked by sails, nor are\nthe oars fastened to the sides in regular order, but left loose as in\nsome rivers, so that they can be shifted here or there as circumstances\nmay require.\u201d[4]\n\n\nThe word _Sviar_, which is constantly met with in the Sagas to denote\nthe inhabitants of Svithjod (Sweden), or the country of which Upsala was\nthe capital, corresponds somewhat to the name Sueones, and it is highly\nprobable that in _Sueones_ we have the root of _Sviar_ and of\n_Svithjod_. The ships described by Tacitus are exactly like those which\nare described in this work as having been found in the North.\n\nIt stands to reason that the maritime power of the Sueones must have\nbeen the growth of centuries before the time of Tacitus, and from\nanalogy of historical records we know that the fleets of powerful\nnations do not remain idle. Hence we must come to the conclusion that\nthe Sueones navigated the sea long before the time of Tacitus, an\nhypothesis which is implied by the Eddas and Sagas as well as by the\nantiquities discovered.\n\nThat the Sueones, with such fleets, did not navigate westward further\nthan Frisia is not credible, the more so that it was only necessary for\nthem to follow the coast in order to come to the shores of Gaul, from\nwhich they could see Britain, and such maritime people must have had\nintercourse with the inhabitants of that island at that period; indeed,\nthe objects of the earlier iron age discovered in Britain, which were\nuntil lately classed as Anglo-Roman, are identical with those of the\ncountry from which these people came, i.e., Scandinavia.\n\nThe Veneti, a tribe who inhabited Brittany, and whose power on the sea\nis described by C\u00e6sar, were in all probability the advance-guard of the\ntribes of the North; their ships were built of oak, with iron nails,\njust as those of the Northmen; and the people of the country in which\nthey settled were not seafaring.[5] Moreover, the similarity of the name\nto that of the Venedi, who are conjecturally placed by Tacitus on the\nshores of the Baltic, and to the Vends, so frequently mentioned in the\nSagas, can scarcely be regarded as a mere accident.\n\n\n\u201cThe Veneti have a very great number of ships, with which they have been\naccustomed to sail to Britain, and excel the rest of the people in their\nknowledge and experience of nautical affairs; and as only a few ports\nlie scattered along that stormy and open sea, of which they are in\npossession, they hold as tributaries almost all those who have been\naccustomed to traffic in that sea....\u201d\n\n\n\u201cFor their own ships were built and equipped in the following manner:\nTheir ships were more flat-bottomed than our vessels, in order that they\nmight be able more easily to guard against shallows and the ebbing of\nthe tide; the prows were very much elevated, as also the sterns, so as\nto encounter heavy waves and storms. The vessels were built wholly of\noak, so as to bear any violence or shock; the cross-benches, a foot in\nbreadth, were fastened by iron spikes of the thickness of the thumb; the\nanchors were secured to iron chains, instead of to ropes; raw hides and\nthinly-dressed skins were used for sails, either on account of their\nwant of canvas and ignorance of its use, or for this reason, which is\nthe more likely, that they considered that such violent ocean storms and\nsuch strong winds could not be resisted, and such heavy vessels could\nnot be conveniently managed by sails. The attack of our fleet on these\nvessels was of such a nature that the only advantage was in its\nswiftness and the power of its oars; in everything else, considering the\nsituation and the fury of the storm, they had the advantage. For neither\ncould our ships damage them by ramming (so strongly were they built),\nnor was a weapon easily made to reach them, owing to their height, and\nfor the same reason they were not so easily held by grappling-irons. To\nthis was added, that when the wind had begun to get strong, and they had\ndriven before the gale, they could better weather the storm, and also\nmore safely anchor among shallows, and, when left by the tide, need in\nno respect fear rocks and reefs, the dangers from all which things were\ngreatly to be dreaded by our vessels.\u201d\n\n\nRoman writers after the time of Tacitus mention warlike and maritime\nexpeditions by the Saxons and Franks. Their names do not occur in\nTacitus, but it is not altogether improbable that these people, whom\nlater writers mention as ravaging every country which they could enter\nby sea or land, are the people whom Tacitus knew as the Sueones.\n\nThe maritime power of the Sueones could not have totally disappeared in\na century, a hypothesis which is borne out by the fact that after a\nlapse of seven centuries they are again mentioned in the time of\nCharlemagne; nor could the supremacy of the so-called Saxons and Franks\non the sea have arisen in a day; it must have been the growth of even\ngenerations before the time of Tacitus.\n\nPtolemy (circ. A.D. 140) is the first writer who mentions the Saxons as\ninhabiting a territory north of the Elbe, on the neck of the Cimbric\nChersonesus.[6] They occupied but a small space, for between them and\nthe Cimbri, at the northern extremity of the peninsula, he places ten\nother tribes, among them the Angli.\n\nAbout a century after the time of Ptolemy, Franks and Saxons had already\nwidely extended their expeditions at sea. Some of the former made an\nexpedition from the Euxine, through the Mediterranean, plundered\nSyracuse, and returned without mishap across the great sea (A.D. circ.\n280).[7]\n\n\n\u201cHe (Probus) permitted the Bastarn\u00e6, a Scythian race, who had submitted\nthemselves to him, to settle in certain districts of Thrace which he\nallotted to them, and from thenceforth these people always lived under\nthe laws and institutions of Rome. And there were certain Franks who had\ncome to the Emperor, and had asked for land on which to settle. A part\nof them, however, revolted, and having obtained a large number of ships,\ncaused disturbances throughout the whole of Greece, and having landed in\nSicily and made an assault on Syracuse, they caused much slaughter\nthere. They also landed in Libya, but were repulsed at the approach of\nthe Carthaginian forces. Nevertheless, they managed to get back to their\nhome unscathed.\u201d\n\n\n\u201cWhy should I tell again of the most remote nations of the Franks (of\nFrancia), which were carried away not from those regions which the\nRomans had on a former occasion invaded, but from their own native\nterritory, and the farthest shores of the land of the barbarians, and\ntransported to the deserted parts of Gaul that they might promote the\npeace of the Roman Empire by their cultivation and its armies by their\nrecruits?\u201d[8]\n\n\n\u201cThere came to mind the incredible daring and undeserved success of a\nhandful of the captive Franks under the Emperor Probus. For they, having\nseized some ships, so far away as Pontus, having laid waste Greece and\nAsia, having landed and done some damage on several parts of the coast\nof Africa, actually took Syracuse, which was at one time so renowned for\nher naval ascendancy. Thereupon they accomplished a very long voyage and\nentered the Ocean at the point where it breaks through the land (the\nStraits of Gibraltar), and so by the result of their daring exploit\nshowed that wherever ships can sail, nothing is closed to pirates in\ndesperation.\u201d[9]\n\n\nIn the time of Diocletian and Maximian these maritime tribes so harassed\nthe coasts of Gaul and Britain that Maximian, in 286, was obliged to\nmake Gesoriacum or Bononia (the present Boulogne) into a port for the\nRoman fleet, in order as far as possible to prevent their incursions.\n\n\n\u201cAbout this time (A.D. 287) Carausius, who, though of very humble\norigin, had, in the exercise of vigorous warfare, obtained a\ndistinguished reputation, was appointed at Bononia to reduce to quiet\nthe coast regions of Belgica and Armorica, which were overrun by the\nFranks and Saxons. But though many of the barbarians were captured, the\nwhole of the booty was not handed over to the inhabitants of the\nprovince, nor sent to the commander-in-chief, and the barbarians were,\nmoreover, deliberately allowed by him to come in, that he might capture\nthem with their spoils as they passed through, and by this means enrich\nhimself. On being condemned to death by Maximian, he seized on the\nsovereign command, and took possession of Britain.\u201d[10]\n\n\nEutropius also records that the Saxons and others dwelt on the coasts of\nand among the marshes of the great sea, which no one could traverse, but\nthe Emperor Valentinian (320\u2013375) nevertheless conquered them.\n\nThe Emperor Julian calls the\n\n\n\u201cFranks and Saxons the most warlike of the tribes above the Rhine and\nthe Western Sea.\u201d[11]\n\n\nAmmianus Marcellinus (d. circ. 400 A.D.) writes:\u2014\n\n\n\u201cAt this time (middle of the 4th century), just as though the trumpets\nwere sounding a challenge throughout all the Roman world, fierce nations\nwere stirred up and began to burst forth from their territories. The\nAlamanni began to devastate Gallia and Rh\u00e6tia; the Sarmat\u00e6 and Quadi\nPannonia, the Picts and Saxons, Scots, and Attacotti constantly harassed\nthe Britons.\u201d[12]\n\n\u201cThe Franks and the Saxons, who are coterminous with them, were ravaging\nthe districts of Gallia wherever they could effect an entrance by sea or\nland, plundering and burning, and murdering all the prisoners they could\ntake.\u201d[13]\n\n\nClaudianus asserts that the Saxons appeared even in the Orkneys:\u2014\n\n\n\u201cThe Orcades were moist from the slain Saxon.\u201d[14]\n\n\nThese are but a few of many allusions to the same effect which might be\nquoted.\n\nThat the swarms of Sueones and so-called Saxons and Franks, seen on\nevery sea of Europe, could have poured forth from a small country is not\npossible. Such fleets as they possessed could only have come from a\ncountry densely covered with oak forests. We must come to the conclusion\nthat Sueones, Franks, and Saxons were seafaring tribes belonging to one\npeople. The Roman writers did not seem to know the precise locality\ninhabited by these people.\n\nIt would appear that these tribes must have come from a country further\neastward than the Roman provinces, and that as they came with ships,\ntheir home must have been on the shores of the Baltic, the Cattegat, and\nNorway; in fact, precisely the country which the numerous antiquities\npoint to as inhabited by an extremely warlike and maritime race, which\nhad great intercourse with the Greek and Roman world.\n\nThe dates given by the Greek and Roman writers of the maritime\nexpeditions, invasions, and settlements of the so-called Saxons and\nFranks agree perfectly with the date of the objects found in the North,\namong which are numerous Roman coins, and remarkable objects of Roman\nand Greek art, which must have been procured either by the peaceful\nintercourse of trade or by war. To this very day thousands upon\nthousands of graves have been preserved in the North, belonging to the\ntime of the invasions of these Northmen, and to an earlier period. From\nthem no other inference can be drawn than that the country and islands\nof the Baltic were far more densely populated than any part of central\nand western Europe and Great Britain, since the number of these earlier\ngraves in those countries is much smaller.\n\nEvery tumulus described by antiquaries as a Saxon or Frankish grave is\nthe counterpart of a Northern grave, thus showing conclusively the\ncommon origin of the people.\n\nWherever graves of the same type are found in other countries we have\nthe invariable testimony, either of the Roman or Greek writers of the\nFrankish and English Chronicles or of the Sagas, to show that the people\nof the North had been in the country at one time or another.\n\nThe conclusion is forced upon us that in time the North became\nover-populated, and an outlet was necessary for the spread of its\npeople.\n\nThe story of the North is that of all countries whose inhabitants have\nspread and conquered, in order to find new fields for their energy and\nover-population; in fact, the very course the progenitors of the\nEnglish-speaking peoples adopted in those days is precisely the one\nwhich has been followed by their descendants in England and other\ncountries for the last three hundred years.\n\nIt is certain that the Franks could not have lived on the coast of\nFrisia, as they did later on, for we know that the country of the Rhine\nwas held by the Romans, and, besides, as we have already seen, Julian\nrefers to the Franks and Saxons as dwelling above the Rhine. Moreover,\ntill they had to give up their conquests, no mention is made by the\nRomans of native seafaring tribes inhabiting the shores of their\nnorthern province, except the Veneti, and they would have certainly\ntried to subjugate the roving seamen that caused them so much trouble in\ntheir newly-acquired provinces if they had been within their reach.\n\nFrom the Roman writers, who have been partially confirmed by arch\u00e6ology,\nwe know that the tribes which inhabited the country to which they give\nthe vague name of Germania were not seafaring people nor possessed of\nany civilisation. The invaders of Britain, of the Gallic and of the\nMediterranean coasts could therefore not have been the German tribes\nreferred to by the Roman writers, who, as we see from Julius C\u00e6sar and\nother Roman historians, were very far from possessing the civilisation\nwhich we know, from the antiquities, to have existed in the North.\n\n\n\u201cTheir whole life is devoted to hunting and warlike pursuits. From\nchildhood they pay great attention to toil and hardiness; they bathe all\ntogether in the rivers, and wear skins or small reindeer garments,\nleaving the greater part of their bodies naked.\u201d[15]\n\n\nTacitus, in recording the speech of Germanicus to his troops before the\nbattle at Idistavisus, bears witness to the uncivilised character of the\ninhabitants of the country.\n\n\n\u201cThe huge targets, the enormous spears of the barbarians could never be\nwielded against trunks of trees and thickets of underwood shooting up\nfrom the ground, like Roman swords and javelins, and armour fitting the\nbody ... the Germans had neither helmet nor coat of mail; their bucklers\nwere not even strengthened with leather, but mere contextures of twigs\nand boards of no substance daubed over with paint. Their first rank was\nto a certain extent armed with pikes, the rest had only stakes burnt at\nthe ends or short darts.\u201d[16]\n\n\nNow compare these descriptions with the magnificent arch\u00e6ology of the\nNorth of that period\u2014as seen in these volumes\u2014from which we learn that\nthe tribes who inhabited the shores of the Baltic and the present\nScandinavia had at the time the above was written reached a high degree\nof civilisation. We find in their graves and hoards, coins of the early\nRoman Empire not in isolated instances, but constantly and in large\nnumbers, and deposited side by side with such objects as coats of mail,\ndamascened swords and other examples of articles of highly artistic\nworkmanship.\n\nThree kinds of swords are often mentioned by the Northmen\u2014the _m\u0153kir_,\nthe _sverd_, and the _sax_, while among the spears there is one called\n_frakki_, or _frakka_.\n\nThe double-edged sword was the one that was in use among the Romans, and\nthey, seeing bodies of men carrying a weapon unlike theirs\u2014single-edged,\nand called Sax\u2014may have named them after it, and the Franks, in like\nmanner, may have been called after their favourite weapon, the Frakki;\nbut we see that neither the _sax_ nor the _frakki_ was confined to one\ntribe in the North. There is a Saxland in the Sagas\u2014a small country\nsituated east of the peninsula of Jutland, about the present Holstein\u2014a\nland tributary to the Danish or Swedish Kings from the earliest times,\nbut far from possessing the warlike arch\u00e6ology of the North, it appears\nto have held an insignificant place among the neighbouring tribes.\n\nIn the Bayeux tapestry the followers of William the Conqueror were\ncalled Franci, and they always have been recognised as coming from the\nNorth.\n\nThe very early finds prove that the Sax was not rare, for it occurs in\ndifferent parts of the North and islands of the Baltic. The different\nswords and spears used were so common and so well known to everybody,\nthat we have no special description of them in the Sagas, except of\ntheir ornamentation; but in the Saga of Grettir there is a passage which\nshows that the Sax was single-edged.\n\nGretti went to a farm in Iceland to slay the Bondi Thorbjorn and his son\nArnor. We read\u2014\n\n\n\u201cWhen Gretti saw that the young man was within reach he lifted his _sax_\nhigh into the air, and struck Arnor\u2019s head with _its back_, so that his\nhead was broken and he died. Thereupon he killed the father with his\n_sax_.\u201d\n\n\nWhatever may be the origin of local names employed by the Roman writers\nwe must look to the North for the maritime tribes described by them;\nthere we shall find the home of the earlier English people, to whose\nnumerous warlike and ocean-loving instincts we owe the transformation\nwhich took place in Britain, and the glorious inheritance which they\nhave left to their descendants, scattered over many parts of the world,\nin whom we recognise to this day many of the very same traits of\ncharacter which their ancestors possessed.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER III.\n THE SETTLEMENT OF BRITAIN BY NORTHMEN.\n\n The Notitia\u2014Probable origin of the name England\u2014Jutland\u2014The language\n of the North and of England\u2014Early Northern kings in England\u2014Danes\n and Sueones\u2014Mythical accounts of the settlements of England.\n\n\nBritain being an island could only be settled or conquered by seafaring\ntribes, just in the same way as to-day distant lands can only be\nconquered by nations possessing ships. From the Roman writers we have\nthe only knowledge we possess in regard to the tribes inhabiting the\ncountry to which they gave the vague name of Germania. From the Roman\nrecords we find that these tribes were not civilised and that they were\nnot a seafaring people.\n\nUnfortunately the Roman accounts we have of their conquest and\noccupation of Britain, of its population and inhabitants, are very\nmeagre and unsatisfactory, and do not help us much to ascertain how the\nsettlement in Britain by the people of the North began. Our lack of\ninformation is most probably due to the simple reason that the\nsettlement, like all settlements of a new country, was a very gradual\none, a few men coming over in the first instance for the purpose of\ntrade either with Britons or Romans, or coming from the over-populated\nNorth to settle in a country which the paucity of arch\u00e6ological remains\nshows to have been thinly occupied. The Romans made no objection to\nthese new settlers, who did not prove dangerous to their power on the\nisland, but brought them commodities, such as furs, &c., from the North.\n\nWe find from the Roman records that the so-called Saxons had founded\ncolonies or had settlements in Belgium and Gaul.\n\nAnother important fact we know from the records relating to Britain is\nthat during the Roman occupation of the island the Saxons had\nsettlements in the country; but how they came hither we are not told.\n\nIn the _Notitia Dignitatum utriusque imperii_, a sort of catalogue or\n\u201cArmy List,\u201d compiled towards the latter end of the fourth century,\noccurs the expression, \u201cComes litoris Saxonici per Britannias\u201d\u2014Count of\nthe Saxon Shore in Britain. Within this litus Saxonicum the following\nplaces are mentioned:\u2014Othona, said to be \u201cclose by Hastings\u201d; Dubris,\nsaid to be Dover; Rutupi\u00e6, Richborough; Branodunum, Brancaster;\nRegulbium, Reculvers; Lemannis, West Hythe; Garianno, Yarmouth;\nAnderida, Pevensey; Portus Adurni, Shoreham or Brighton.\n\nThis shows that the so-called Saxons were settled in Britain before the\nNotitia was drawn up, and at a date very much earlier than has been\nassigned by some modern historians.\n\nThe hypothesis that the expression \u201clitus Saxonicum\u201d is derived from the\nenemy to whose ravages it was exposed seems improbable. Is it not much\nmore probable that the \u201clitus Saxonicum per Britannias\u201d must mean the\nshore of the country settled, not attacked, by Saxons? The mere fact of\ntheir attacking the shore would not have given rise to the name applied\nto it had they not settled there, for I maintain that there is no\ninstance in the whole of Roman literature of a country being named after\nthe people who attacked it. If, on the other hand, the Saxons had landed\nand formed settlements on the British coasts, the origin of the name\n\u201cLitus Saxonicum\u201d is easily understood.\n\nSome time after the Romans relinquished Britain we find that part of the\nisland becomes known as England; and, to make the subject still more\nconfusing, the people composing its chief population are called Saxons\nby the chroniclers and later historians, the name given to them by the\nRomans.\n\nThat the history of the people called Saxons was by no means certain is\nseen in the fact that Witikind, a monk of the tenth century, gives the\nfollowing account of what was then considered to be their origin[17]:\u2014\n\n\n\u201cOn this there are various opinions, some thinking that the Saxons had\ntheir origin from the Danes and Northmen; others, as I heard some one\nmaintain when a young man, that they are derived from the Greeks,\nbecause they themselves used to say the Saxons were the remnant of the\nMacedonian army, which, having followed Alexander the Great, were by his\npremature death dispersed all over the world.\u201d\n\n\nAs to how Britain came to be called England the different legends given\nby the monkish writers are contradictory.\n\nThe _Skj\u00f6ldunga Saga_, which is often mentioned in other Sagas, and\nwhich contains a record down to the early kings of Denmark, is\nunfortunately lost: it would, no doubt, have thrown great light on the\nlives of early chiefs who settled in Britain; but from some fragments\nwhich are given in this work, and which are supposed to belong to it, we\nsee that several Danish and Swedish kings claimed to have possessions in\nEngland long before the supposed coming of the Danes.\n\nSome writers assert that the new settlers gave to their new home in\nBritain the name of the country which they had left, called _Angeln_,\nand which they claim to be situated in the southern part of Jutland; but\nbesides the Angeln in Jutland there is in the Cattegat an Engelholm,\nwhich is geographically far more important, situated in the land known\nas the Vikin of the Sagas, a great Viking and warlike land, from which\nthe name Viking may have been derived, filled with graves and\nantiquities of the iron age. There are also other Engeln in the present\nSweden.\n\nIn the whole literature of the North such a name as Engeln is unknown;\nit may have been, perhaps, a local name.\n\nIn the Sagas the term _England_ was applied to a portion only of\nBritain, the inhabitants of which were called _Englar_, _Enskirmenn_.\nBritain itself is called _Bretland_, and the people _Bretar_.\n\n\n\u201c\u00d6ngulsey (Angelsey) is one third of Bretland (Wales)\u201d (Magnus\nBarefoot\u2019s Saga, c. 11).\n\n\nAnother part of the country was called _Nordimbraland_.\n\nIt is an important fact that throughout the Saga literature describing\nthe expeditions of the Northmen to England not a single instance is\nmentioned of their coming in contact with a people called _Saxons_,\nwhich shows that such a name in Britain was unknown to the people of the\nNorth. Nor is any part of England called Saxland.\n\nTo make the confusion greater than it is, some modern historians make\nthe so-called Saxons, who were supposed to have come over with the\nmythical Hengist and others, a distinct race from the Northmen, who\nafterwards continued to land in the country.\n\nIn the Sagas we constantly find that the people of England are not only\nincluded among the Northern lands, but that the warriors of one country\nare helping the other. In several places we find, and from others we\ninfer, that the language in both countries was very similar.\n\n\n\u201cAll sayings in the Northern (norr\u00e6n) tongue in which there is truth\nbegin when the Tyrkir and the Asia-men settled in the North. For it is\ntruly told that the tongue which we call Norr\u00e6n came with them to the\nNorth, and it went through Saxland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and part of\nEngland\u201d (Rimbegla, iii. c. i.).\n\n\n\u201cWe are of one tongue, though one of the two, or in some respects both,\nare now much changed\u201d (Prose Edda, ii.)\n\n\n\u201cThen ruled over England King Ethelred, son of Edgar (979). He was a\ngood chief; he sat this winter in London. The tongue in England, as well\nas in Norway and Denmark, was then one, but it changed in England when\nWilliam the Bastard won England. Thenceforth the tongue of Valland\n(France) was used in England, for he (William) was born there\u201d (Gunnlaug\nOrmstunga\u2019s Saga, c. 7).\n\n\nThat the language of the North should have taken a footing in a great\npart of England is due, no doubt, to the continuous flow of immigration,\nfrom the northern mother country, which entirely swamped the former\nnative or British element.\n\nThe story given in the English or Irish chronicles of the appearance of\nthe Danes, in A.D. 785, when their name is first mentioned, is as little\ntrustworthy as that of the settlement of England, and bears the\nappearance of contradiction and confusion in regard to names of people\nand facts.\n\nWe must remember that the Sueones are not mentioned from the time of\nTacitus to that of Charlemagne (772\u2013814), and certainly they had not\ndisappeared in the meantime.\n\nWhat were the Danes doing with their mighty fleets before this? Had\ntheir ships been lying in port for centuries? Had they been built for\nsimple recreation and the pleasure of looking at them, or did their\nmaritime power arise at once as if by magic? Such an hypothesis cannot\nstand the test of reasoning. The turning of a population into a\nseafaring nation is the work of time. Where in the history of the world\ncan we find a parallel to this story of a people _suddenly_ appearing\nwith immense navies? Let us compare by analogy the statement of the\nchronicles with what might happen to the history of England in the\ncourse of time.\n\nSuppose that for some reason the previous history of England were lost,\nwith the exception of a fragment which spoke of her enormous fleet of\nto-day. Could it be reasonably supposed that this great maritime power\nwas the creation of a few years?\n\nA few years after the time fixed as that of their first supposed\nappearance we find these very Danes swarming everywhere with their\nfleets and warriors, not only in England, but in Gaul, in Brittany, up\nthe Seine, the Garonne, the Rhine, the Elbe, on the coasts of Spain, and\nfurther eastward in the Mediterranean.\n\nThe Sueones, or Swedes, reappear at the close of the eighth and\ncommencement of the ninth centuries by the side of the Danes, and both\ncalled themselves Northmen. Surely the maritime power of the Sueones,\ndescribed by Tacitus, could not have been destroyed immediately after\nhis death, only to reappear in the time of Charlemagne, when it again\nbecomes prominent in the Frankish annals.\n\nA remarkable fact not to be overlooked is that, in the time of\nCharlemagne, the Franks and Saxons were not a seafaring people, though\ntheir countries had an extensive coast with deep rivers. The Frankish\nannals never mention a Frank or Saxon fleet attacking the fleets of the\nNorthmen, or preventing them from ascending their streams, though\nCharlemagne ordered ships to be built in order to resist their\nincursions.\n\nWhile the country of the Saxons was being conquered by this Emperor, we\nfind that the Saxons themselves had no vessels on the Elbe or Weser in\nwhich, if defeated, they could retire in safety, or by help of which\nthey could prevent the army of their enemies from crossing their\nstreams. Such tactics were constantly used by the Northmen in their\ninvasions of ancient Gaul, Britain, Germania, Spain, &c.\n\nThus we see that, though hardly more than three hundred years had\nelapsed since the time when, according to the Roman writers, the fleets\nof the Franks and Saxons swarmed over every sea of Europe, not a vestige\nof their former maritime power remained in the time of Charlemagne, and\nthe Saxons were still occupying the same country as in the days of\nPtolemy.\n\nPondering over the above important facts, the question arises: Were not\nthe Romans mistaken in giving the names of Saxons and Franks to the\nmaritime tribes of whose origin, country, and homes they knew nothing,\nbut who came to attack their shores? Were not these so-called Saxons and\nFranks in reality tribes of Sueones, Swedes, Danes, Norwegians? The\nRomans knew none of the countries of these people. It seems strange, if\nnot incredible, to find two peoples, whose country had a vast sea-coast\nand deep rivers, totally abandoning the seafaring habits possessed by\ntheir forefathers.\n\nIt cannot be doubted that Ivar Vidfadmi, after him Harald Hildit\u00f6nn,\nthen Sigurd Hring and Ragnar Lodbrok and his sons, and probably some of\nthe Danish and Swedish kings before them, made expeditions to England,\nand gained and held possessions there. Several distinct records, having\nno connection with each other, being parts of different Sagas and\nhistories, with the arch\u00e6ology, form the evidence.\n\n\n\u201cIvar Vidfadmi (wide-fathomer) subdued the whole of Sviaveldi (the\nSwedish realm); he also got Danaveldi (Danish realm) and a large part of\nSaxland, and the whole of Austrriki (Eastern realm, including Russia,\n&c.) and the fifth part of England. From his kin have come the kings of\nDenmark and the kings of Sweden who have had sole power in these lands\u201d\n(Ynglinga Saga, c. 45).\n\n\nThe above is corroborated by another quite independent source.\n\n\n\u201cIvar Vidfadmi ruled England till his death-day. As he lay on his\ndeath-bed he said he wanted to be carried to where the land was exposed\nto attacks, and that he hoped those who landed there would not be\nvictorious. When he died it happened as he said, and he was\n_mound-laid_. It is said by many men that when King Harald Sigurdsson\ncame to England he landed where Ivar\u2019s mound was, and he was slain\nthere. When Vilhj\u00e1lm Bastard came to the land he broke open the mound of\nIvar and saw that the corpse was not rotten; he made a large pyre, and\nhad Ivar burned on it; then he went up on land and got the victory\u201d\n(Ragnar Lodbr\u00f3k\u2019s Saga, c. 19).\n\n\nWe find that not only did the Norwegians call themselves Northmen, but\nthat both Danes and Sueones were called Northmen in the Frankish\nChronicles.[18]\n\n\n\u201cThe Danes and Sueones, whom we call Northmen, occupy both the northern\nshore and all its islands.\u201d\n\n\nSo also Nigellus (in the reign of Louis Le Debonnaire).[19]\n\n\n\u201cThe Danes also after the manner of the Franks are called by the name of\nManni.\u201d\n\n\nThe time came when the people of the North, continuing their expeditions\nto Britain, attacked their own kinsmen. After the departure of the\nRomans the power of the new comers increased, and as they became more\nnumerous, they became more and more domineering: the subsequent\nstruggles were between a sturdy race that had settled in the country and\npeople of their own kin, and not with Britons, who had been so easily\nconquered by the Romans, had appealed to them afterwards for protection,\nand had for a long period been a subject race. It is not easy to believe\nthat the inhabitants of a servile Roman province could suddenly become\nstubborn and fierce warriors, nor are there any antiquities belonging to\nthe Britain of yore which bear witness to a fierce and warlike character\ndisplayed by the aboriginal inhabitants.\n\nFrom the preceding pages we see that Franks and Saxons are continually\nmentioned together, and it is only in the North we can find antiquities\nof a most warlike and seafaring people, who must have formed the great\nand preponderating bulk of the invading host who conquered Britain.\n\nBritain after a continuous immigration from the North, which lasted\nseveral hundred years, became the most powerful colony of the Northern\ntribes, several of whose chiefs claimed a great part of England even in\nthe seventh century. Afterwards she asserted her independence, though\nshe did not get it until after a long and tedious struggle with the\nNorth, the inhabitants and kings of which continued to try to assert the\nancient rights their forefathers once possessed. Then the time came when\nthe land upon which the people of these numerous tribes had settled\nbecame more powerful and more populous than the mother country; a case\nwhich has found several parallels in the history of the world. To-day\nthe people of England as they look over the broad Atlantic may perhaps\ndiscern the same process gradually taking place. In the people of the\nUnited States of North America, the grandest and most colossal state\nfounded by England or any other country of which we have any historical\nrecord, we may recognise the indomitable courage, the energy and spirit\nwhich was one of the characteristics of the Northern race to whom a\ngreat part of the people belong. The first settlement of the country,\nterritory by territory, State by State\u2014the frontier life with its bold\nadventures, innumerable dangers, fights, struggles, privations and\nheroism\u2014is the grandest drama that has ever been enacted in the history\nof the world. The time is not far distant, if the population of the\nUnited States and Canada increases in the same ratio as it has done for\nmore than a hundred years, when over three or four hundred millions of\nits people will speak the English tongue; and I think it is no\nexaggeration to say that in the course of time one hundred millions more\nwill be added, from Australia, New Zealand and other colonies which\nto-day form part of the British Empire, but which are destined to become\nindependent nations. In fact we hesitate to look still further into the\nfuture of the English race, for fear of being accused of exaggeration.\n\nThere is a mythical version of the settlement of Britain contradictory\nof the Roman records. This version is that of Gildas whose \u2018De Excidio\nBritanni\u00e6\u2019 is supposed to have been composed in the sixth century (560\nA.D.), and whose statements have unfortunately been taken by one\nhistorian after the other as a true history of Britain. His narrative,\nwhich gives an account of the first arrival of the Saxons in Britain and\nthe numerous wars which followed their invasion, has been more or less\ncopied by Nennius, Bede and subsequent chroniclers, whose writings are a\nmass of glaring contradictions, diffuse and intricate, for they contain\nnames which appear to have been invented by the writers and which cannot\nbe traced in the language of those times, while the dates assigned for\nthe landing of the so-called Saxons do not agree with one another.\n\nThe historians who use Gildas as an authority and try to believe his\naccount of the settlement of Britain by Hengist and Horsa (the stallion\nand the mare) are obliged, in order to explain away the Roman records,\nto give a most extraordinary interpretation to the Notitia.\n\nWe are all aware that the people of every country like to trace their\norigin or history as far back as possible, and that legends often form\npart of the fabric of those histories. The early chroniclers, who were\ncredulous and profoundly ignorant of the world, took these fables for\nfacts, or they may have possibly been incorporated in the text of their\nsupposed works after their time. The description of the settlement of a\ncountry must be founded on facts which can bear the test of searching\ncriticism if they are to be believed and adopted; Gildas and his\ncopyists cannot stand that test, and the Roman records, as corroborated\nby the arch\u00e6ology and literature of the North and the arch\u00e6ology of\nEngland, must be taken as the correct ones.\n\nThe mythological literature of the North bears evidence of a belief\nprevalent among the people, that their ancestors migrated at a remote\nperiod from the shores of the Black Sea, through south-western Russia,\nto the shores of the Baltic. This belief seems to be supported by a\nvariety of evidence. Herodotus describes a people on the Tanais, the\nBudini, as being blue-eyed and yellow-haired, with houses built of wood,\nhis description of the walls reminding one of the characteristics of the\nDanavirki (Herodotus, IV. 21, 108, 109). One of his tribes, the\n_Thysaget\u00e6_, may possibly be indicated in the _Thursar_ of the Voluspa,\n&c.\n\nWhen we appeal to Arch\u00e6ology, we find in the neighbourhood of the Black\nSea, near to the old Greek settlement, graves similar to those of the\nNorth, containing ornaments and other relics also remarkably like those\nfound in the ancient graves of Scandinavia. The Runes of the North\nremind us strikingly of the characters of Archaic Greek. If we follow\nthe river Dnieper upwards from its mouth in the Black Sea, we see in the\nmuseums of Kief and Smolensk many objects of types exactly similar to\nthose found in the graves of the North. When we reach the Baltic we find\non its eastern shores the Gardariki of the Sagas, where, we are told,\nthe Odin of the North placed one of his sons, and on the southern shores\nmany specimens have been discovered similar to those obtained in\nScandinavia.\n\nIn the following chapters the reader will be struck by the similarity of\nthe customs of the Norsemen with those of the ancient Greeks as recorded\nby Homer and Herodotus; for example, the horse was very much sacrificed\nin the North, and Herodotus, describing the Massaget\u00e6, says:\n\n\n\u201cThey (the Massaget\u00e6) worship the sun only of all the gods, and\nsacrifice horses to him\u201d (I. 216).\n\n\nIn regard to the Jutes, Jutland = J\u00f6ts, J\u00f6tnar; J\u00f6tland, J\u00f6tunheim, we\nfind them from the Sagas to be a very ancient land and people, and meet\nseveral countries bearing kindred names\u2014even to this day we have\nG\u00f6teborg, in which the _G_ is pronounced as English _Y_.\n\nFrom the Roman, Greek, Frankish, Russian, English, and Arabic records,\nwe must come to the conclusion that the \u201cViking Age\u201d lasted from about\nthe second century of our era to about the middle of the twelfth without\ninterruption, hence the title given to the work which deals with the\nhistory and customs of our English forefathers during that period.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER IV.\n THE MYTHOLOGY AND COSMOGONY OF THE NORSEMEN.\n\n The three poems giving the mythology and cosmogony of the North\u2014The\n V\u00f6luspa, Vafthrudnismal, Grimnismal, the Asar, J\u00f6tnar, and\n Thursar\u2014Odin and Vafthrudnir\u2014The nine worlds\u2014Before the\n creation\u2014The origin of the Hrim Thursar\u2014Birth of Ymir\u2014Birth of\n Odin\u2014Vili and Ve\u2014The ash Yggdrasil\u2014The well of wisdom\u2014Hel, one of\n the nine worlds\u2014The bridge Bifr\u00f6st\u2014Heimdall\u2014Bergelmir born before\n the creation\u2014The J\u00f6tun\u2014Ymir slain by Odin\u2014The deluge of\n blood\u2014Creation of the world\u2014Divisions of time\u2014End of the world\u2014A\n new world.\n\n\nIn the three poems called _V\u00f6luspa_, _Vafthrudnismal_, and _Grimnismal_,\nwe have the earliest accounts of the cosmogony and of the mythology of\nthe people of the North. The grand central figure in the mythology is\nOdin. He and his kin formed the people known as Asar in the lore and\nliterature of the North, and were treated as gods. These poems are too\nlong to be given here in full, but in the following pages we have\nendeavoured, by means of extracts, to give a more or less consecutive\naccount of the subjects with which they deal.\n\nThe V\u00f6luspa was an inspired poem of a V\u00f6lva or Sibyl,[20] and embodies\nthe records of the creation of the present world, and of the time prior\nto it; of the various races, their origin and history, and of the chaos\nand destruction which finally will overtake mankind.\n\nIt is in some places so obscure, that if it had not been partly\nexplained by the later Edda, and had light thrown upon it by the sagas\nand ancient laws, it would be impossible to understand its meaning; and\neven now it is most difficult, and in some places impossible to fully\ncomprehend several of its mythical parts, some of which will always\nremain enigmatical.\n\nVafthrudnismal is especially interesting as compared with the V\u00f6luspa,\nwith much of which it corresponds, and some part of which it amplifies.\n\nThe mythical and the real are so intermingled that it is often\nimpossible to distinguish the one from the other.\n\nIn the beginning we are confronted by a chief named Odin, the son of\nB\u00f6r, who lived near the Tanais (the river Don) not far from the Palus\nM\u00e6otis (the Sea of Azof), and there we find one Asgard, which in all\nprobability had its original in some real locality.\n\nBesides Asar and J\u00f6tnar, many other tribes are mentioned which can\nhardly be regarded as altogether mythical, some of which may have\ninhabited the far north of the ancient Sweden, or part of the present\nRussia and Scandinavia; the Thursar, who were also called Hrimthursar\n(hoar frost), and the Risar, also Bergrisar (mountain Risar), appear\nfrom these names to have lived in a cold mountainous country, possibly\nthe region of the Ural Mountains.\n\nJ\u00f6tunheim, the chief burgh of which was _Utgard_, would appear to be a\ngeneral, vague name given to a very wide extent of country not embraced\nin Asaheim (the home of the Asar). J\u00f6tunheim, as the name indicates, was\nthe home or country of the J\u00f6tnar and Thursar, between whom and the Asar\nthere was fierce enmity.\n\nSome of the J\u00f6tnar were considered very wise, and Odin, as the chief of\nthe Asar, determined to go in disguise to J\u00f6tunheim, the home of the\nJ\u00f6tnar, in order to seek out the J\u00f6tun Vafthrudnir[21] (the mighty or\nwise in riddles), who was renowned for his knowledge. The song begins by\nrepresenting Odin as consulting his wife, Frigg, as to the advisability\nof undertaking the journey. The stanzas which follow represent Odin\nquestioning Vafthrudnir in his search for knowledge:\u2014\n\n Then went Odin\n To try word-wisdom\n Of the all-wise J\u00f6tun.\n To a hall he came,\n Owned by Ymir\u2019s father;\n In went Ygg at once.[22]\n\n (_As Odin enters he sings_\u2014)\n\n Hail, Vafthrudnir,\n I have come into thy hall\n To look at thyself;\n First I want to know,\n If thou art a wise\n Or an all-wise J\u00f6tun.\n\n _Vafthrudnir._\n\n Who is the man\n That in my hall\n Speaks to me?\n Thou shalt not\n Get out of it\n Unless thou art the wiser.\n\n _Odin._\n\n I am called _Gagnrad_,[23]\n I have now come from my walking\n Thirsty to thy hall;\n Needing thy bidding\n And thy welcome, J\u00f6tun;\n Long time have I travelled.\n\n _Vafthrudnir._\n\n Why standing on the floor\n Dost thou speak to me?\n Take a seat in the hall.\n Then we shall try\n Who knows more,\n The guest or the old wise one.\n\n _Odin._\n\n When a poor man\n Comes to a rich one\n Let him speak useful things or be silent;\n Great babbling\n I think turns to ill\n For one who meets a cold-ribbed[24] man.\n\nWe are told in the V\u00f6luspa that Odin, in the quest of information, went\nto visit the V\u00f6lva, or Sybil, Heid, who was possessed of supernatural\npowers of knowledge and foresight. She asks for a hearing from the sons\nof Heimdal, or mankind, and then proceeds to tell what she recollects:\u2014\n\n I remember J\u00f6tnar\n Early born,\n Who of yore\n Raised me;[25]\n I remember nine worlds,\n Nine ividi[26]\n The famous world-tree (Yggdrasil)\n Beneath the earth.\n\nThe nine worlds were\u20141, Muspel; 2, Asgard; 3, Vanaheim (home of the\nVanir); 4, Midgard; 5, Alfheim (world of the Alfar); 6, Mannheim (home\nof men); 7, J\u00f6tunheim (the home of the J\u00f6tnar); 8, Hel; 9, Niflheim.\n\nThe first beginnings of all things were apparently as obscure to the\nV\u00f6lva as to others; nothing existed before the Creation. The world was\nthen a gaping void (Ginnungagap), and there the J\u00f6tun Ymir, or the Hrim\nThursar, lived. On each side of Ginnungagap there were two worlds,\nNiflheim, the world of cold, and Muspelheim, the world of heat.\n\n When Ymir lived\n In early ages\n Was neither sand nor sea,\n Nor cool waves,\n No earth was there\n Nor heaven above,\n There was gaping void\n And grass nowhere.\n\n\n\u201cFirst there was a home (a world) in the southern half of the world\ncalled Muspel; it is hot and bright, so that it is burning and in\nflames; it is also inaccessible for those who have no _odals_ (or family\nestates); there the one that sits at the land\u2019s end to defend it is\ncalled a Surt. He has a flaming sword, and at the end of the world he\nwill go and make warfare and get victory over all the gods, and burn the\nwhole world with fire\u201d (Later Edda, c. 4).[27]\n\n\nThe origin of the Hrim Thursar and the Birth of Ymir, who lived in\nGinnungagap, and of Odin, Vili, and Ve, is as follows:\n\n\n\u201cGangleri asked, \u2018How was it before the kindreds existed and mankind\nincreased?\u2019 H\u00e1r answered, \u2018When the rivers called Elivagar had run so\nfar from their sources that the quick venom which flowed into them, like\nthe dross which runs out of the fire, got hard, and changed into ice;\nwhen this ice stood still and flowed no longer, the exhalation of the\npoison came over it and froze into rime; the rime rose up all the way\ninto the Ginnungagap.\u2019 Jafnh\u00e1r said, \u2018The part of Ginnungagap turning to\nthe north was filled with the heaviness and weight of ice and rime, and\nthe opposite side with drizzle and gusts of wind; but the southern part\nof Ginnungagap became less heavy, from the sparks and glowing substances\nwhich came flying from Muspelheim.\u2019 Thridi said, \u2018Just as the cold and\nall things come from Niflheim, the things near Muspel were hot and\nshining; Ginnungagap was as warm as windless air. When the rime and the\nbreath of the heat met so that the rime melted into drops, a human form\ncame from these flowing drops with the power of the one who had sent the\nheat; he was called Ymir, but the Hrimthursar call him \u00d6rgelmir, and the\nkin of the Hrimthursar have sprung from him.\u2019 Gangleri asked, \u2018How did\nthe kin grow from this, or how came it that there were more men; or dost\nthou believe in the god of whom thou didst tell now?\u2019 H\u00e1r answered, \u2018By\nno means do we think him a god; he was bad, and all his kinsmen; we call\nthem Hrimthursar. It is told that when asleep he sweated, and then there\ngrew a man and a woman from under his left arm, and one of his feet\nbegot a son with the other; thence have sprung the kin of Hrimthursar.\nWe call Ymir the Old Hrimthurs.\u2019\n\n\u201cGangleri asked, \u2018Where did Ymir live, or by what?\u2019 \u2018It happened next\nwhen the hoar-frost fell in drops that the cow Audhumla grew out of it;\nfour rivers of milk ran from her teats, and she fed Ymir.\u2019\n\n\u201cGangleri asked, \u2018On what did the cow feed?\u2019 H\u00e1r answered, \u2018She licked\nthe rime-stones covered with salt and rime, and the first day when she\nlicked them a man\u2019s hair came out of them in the evening; the second day\na man\u2019s head; the third day a whole man was there; he is called Buri; he\nwas handsome in looks, large, and mighty; he had B\u00f6r for son, who got\nBesla, daughter of B\u00f6lthorn j\u00f6tun, for wife, and she had three sons,\nOdin, Vili,[28] Ve; and it is my belief that this Odin and his brothers\nare the rulers of heaven and earth. We think he is called so. Thus the\nman whom we know to be the greatest and most famous is called, and they\nmay well give him this name\u2019\u201d (\u2018Gylfaginning,\u2019 c. 5).\n\n\nThe ash tree Yggdrasil is one of the strangest conceptions found in any\nmythology.\n\n An ash I know standing\n Called _Yggdrasil_,\n A high tree besprinkled\n With white loam;\n Thence come the dews\n That drop in the dales;\n It stands evergreen\n Spreading over the well of Urd.\n Three roots stand\n In three directions\n Under the ash Yggdrasil;\n Hel dwels under one,\n The Hrim-thursar under the second,\n Under the third \u201cmortal\u201d men.\n\n (Grimnismal).\n\nUnder it stands the well of wisdom for a drink from which Odin pledges\nhis one eye.\n\n\n\u201cGangleri said: \u2018Where is the head-place or holy place of the Asar?\u2019 H\u00e1r\nanswered: \u2018At the ash of Yggdrasil, where the gods give their judgments\nevery day.\u2019 Gangleri asked: \u2018What can be told of that place?\u2019 Jafnh\u00e1r\nsaid: \u2018The ash is the largest and best of trees; its branches spread all\nover the world and reach up over the heaven; three roots of the tree\nhold it up and spread very widely. One (of the roots) is with the Asar,\nanother with the Hrimthursar where of yore Ginnungagap was; the third is\nover Niflheim, and beneath it is Hvergelmin, but Nidh\u00f6g gnaws its lower\npart. Under the root turning towards the Hrimthursar is Mimir\u2019s well, in\nwhich wisdom and intellect are hidden. Its owner is called Mimir; he is\nfull of wisdom, for he drinks from the well of the horn Gjallar-horn.\nOdin came and asked for a drink of the well, and did not get it till he\npawned his eye.\u201d\n\n\n\u201cWhat more wonders,\u201d asked Gangleri, \u201cmay be told of the ash?\u201d H\u00e1r\nanswered, \u201cMany wonders. An eagle sits in the limbs of the ash and knows\nmany things; between its eyes sits the hawk Vedrf\u00f6lnir. The squirrel\nRatat\u00f6sk runs up and down the ash and carries words of envy between the\neagle and Nidh\u00f6g. Four harts run on the limbs of the ash and eat the\nbuds; they are called Dain, Dvalin, Duneyr, and Durathror. So many\nserpents are in Hvergelmir with Nidh\u00f6g that no tongue can number them\u201d\n(Gylfaginning, c. 16).\n\n\nHeid in the Voluspa tells about the holy tree, and that the horn of\nHeimdall is hidden under it till the last fight of the gods. Yggdrasil\nis watered from the water of the well.\n\n She knows that the blast\n Of Heimdal is hidden\n Under the bright\n Holy tree;\n She sees it poured over\n By a muddy stream\n From the pledge of Valf\u00f6dr;\n Know ye all up to this and onward?\n\nUnder the tree lived the three Nornir (Genii), who shape the destinies\nof men.\n\n Thence come three maidens,\n Knowing many things,\n Out of the hall\n Which stands under the tree;\n One was called Urd,\n Another Verdandi,\n The third Skuld;\n They carved on wood tablets,\n They chose lives,\n They laid down laws\n For the children of men,\n They chose the fates of men.\n\nHel was one of the nine worlds, and stood under the ash Yggdrasil, where\nthe dead, who did not die on the battle-field, went. Hence, when a man\nhad died, Hel-shoes were put on his feet for the journey.\n\nOdin goes to the world of Hel, in which was the Gnipa cave, in order to\ninquire about the fate of his son Baldr who had died.\n\n\n\u201cOdin threw Hel (daughter of Loki) down into Niflheim, and gave her\npower over nine worlds; she was to lodge all those who were sent to her,\nnamely, those who died of sickness and old age. She has a large\nhomestead there, and her house-walls are wonderfully high, and her doors\nare large. Her hall is called Elj\u00fadnir, her plate famine, her knife\nhunger; ganglati (lazy-goer, idler) her thrall; gangl\u00f6t (idler) her\nbondswoman; her threshhold is called stumbling-block; her bed the couch\nof one who is bed-ridden; her bed-hangings (\u00e1rsal) the glittering evil.\nOne half of her body is livid, and the other half skin-colour; therefore\nshe is easily known, and her look is frowning and fierce\u201d (Later Edda,\nc. 34, Gylfaginning).\n\n\n\u201cIt is the beginning of this Saga that Baldr the Good dreamt great and\ndangerous dreams about his life. When he told them to the Asar they\nconsulted and resolved to ask for safety for Baldr from every kind of\ndanger; Frigg (Odin\u2019s wife) took oaths from fire, water, iron, and every\nkind of metal, stones, earth, trees, sicknesses, beasts, birds, poison,\nserpents, that they would spare Baldr\u2019s life. When this was done and\nknown, Baldr and the Asar entertained themselves thus: he stood up at\nthe Things and some gods shot at him, or others struck at him or threw\nstones at him. Whatever they did he was not hurt, and all thought this a\ngreat wonder. When Loki Laufey(jarson) saw this he was angry that Baldr\nwas not hurt. He changed himself into a woman\u2019s shape and went to Frigg\nin Fensalir. Frigg asked this woman if she knew what the Asar were doing\nat the Thing. She said that they all shot at Baldr, and that he was not\nhurt. Frigg said, \u2018Weapons or trees will not hurt Baldr; I have taken\noaths from them all.\u2019 The woman asked, \u2018Have all things taken oaths to\nspare Baldr\u2019s life?\u2019 Frigg answered, \u2018A bush grows east of Valh\u00f6ll\ncalled Mistiltein (mistletoe); I thought it was too young to take an\noath.\u2019 The woman went away; but Loki took the mistletoe and tore it up\nand went to the Thing. H\u00f6d (Baldr\u2019s brother) stood in the outmost part\nof the ring of people. Loki said to him, \u2018Why doest thou not shoot at\nBaldr?\u2019 He answered, \u2018Because I do not see where he is, and also I am\nweaponless.\u2019 Loki said, \u2018Do like other men and show honour to Baldr; I\nwill show thee where he stands; shoot this stick at him.\u2019 H\u00f6d took the\nmistletoe and shot at Baldr as Loki showed him; it pierced Baldr, who\nfell dead to the ground. This was the most unfortunate deed that has\nbeen done among the gods and men. When Baldr was fallen none of the Asar\ncould say a word or touch him with their hands, and they looked at each\nother with the same mind towards the one who had done this deed, but no\none could take revenge; it was such a place of peace. When they tried to\nspeak the tears came first, so that no one could tell to the other his\nsorrow in words. Odin suffered most from this loss, because he knew best\nwhat a loss and damage to the Asar the death of Baldr was....\u201d\n(Gylfaginning, c. 49).\n\n\n\u201cIt is to be told of Herm\u00f3d that he rode nine nights through dark and\ndeep valleys and saw nothing before he came to the river Gj\u00f6ll[29] and\nrode on the Gjallar bridge,[30] which is covered with shining gold.[31]\nModgud is the name of the maiden who guards the bridge; she asked him\nhis name and kin, and said that the day before five arrays of dead men\nrode over the bridge, \u2018but the bridge sounds not less under thee alone,\nand thou hast not the colour of dead men; why ridest thou here on the\nway of Hel?\u2019 He answered, \u2018I am riding to Hel to seek Baldr, or hast\nthou seen Baldr on the way of Hel?\u2019 She answered that Baldr had ridden\nover the Gjallar bridge, \u2018but the way of Hel lies downward and\nnorthward.\u2019 Herm\u00f3d rode till he came to the gates of Hel; then he\nalighted and girthed his horse strongly, mounted and pricked it with the\nspurs; the horse leaped so high over the gate that it touched nowhere.\nThen Herm\u00f3d rode home to the hall, alighted, went in and saw his brother\nBaldr sitting in a high-seat; he stayed there the night. In the morning\nHerm\u00f3d asked Hel to allow Baldr to ride home with him, and told how\ngreat weeping there was among the Asar. Hel said she would see if Baldr\nwas as beloved as was told; if all things, living and dead, in the world\nweep over him, he shall go back to the Asar, but remain with Hel (me) if\nany refuse or will not weep. Then Herm\u00f3d rose, and Baldr let him out of\nthe hall and took the ring Draupnir and sent it to Odin as a\nremembrance, and Nanna[32] sent to Frigg a linen veil and more gifts,\nand to Fulla a gold ring. Then Herm\u00f3d rode back to Asgard and told all\nthe tidings he had seen or heard. Thereupon the Asar sent messengers all\nover the world to ask that Baldr might be wept out of Hel, and all did\nit, men and beasts, earth and stones, trees, and all metals, as thou\nmust have seen that these things weep when they come from frost into\nheat. When the messengers went home and had performed their errands\nwell, they found a j\u00f6tun woman sitting in a cave, called Th\u00f6kk; they\nasked her to weep Baldr (out of) Hel; she answered\u2014\n\n Th\u00f6kk will weep\n With dry tears\n The burning voyage of Baldr;\n I never enjoyed\n A living or a dead man\u2019s son;\n May Hel keep what she has.\n\nIt is guessed that this was Loki Laufeyjarson, who had caused most evils\namong the Asar.\u201d\n\n\n\u201cThen also the dog Garm, which is tied in front of Gnipa cave, got\nloose; he is the greatest terror, he fights Tyr and they kill each\nother\u201d (Gylfaginning, c. 5).\n\n\nThe wicked seem to have died twice: first they die and get into Hel,\nthen they die again and get into _Niflhel_ = _Foggy Hel_. The following\nis one of the answers of Vafthrudnir to Odin:\u2014\n\n Of the runes[33] of J\u00f6tnar\n And those of all the gods\n I can tell thee true,\n For I have been\n In every world;\n I have gone to nine\n Worlds beneath _Nifl-hel_;\n There die the men from _Hel_.\n\nThe sides of the rim of heaven communicate with each other by a bridge\ncalled Bifr\u00f6st, or the bridge of the Asar, on which Heimdall, the\nwatchman of the gods, stood.\n\n\n\u201cHeimdall is the watchman of the gods standing on Bifr\u00f6st Bridge (the\nrainbow)\u201d (Later Edda, 27).\n\n\n\u201cHeimdall is named the White As: he is great and holy; nine maidens bore\nhim as son, and they were all sisters. He is also called Hallinskidi and\nGullintanni (gold tooth). His teeth were of gold, his horse is called\ngold maned. He lived at a place called Himinbj\u00f6rg (heaven mountains) by\nBifr\u00f6st. He is the warden of the gods, and sits there at the end of\nheaven to guard the bridge against the Berg Risar (mountain J\u00f6tnar); he\nneeds less sleep than a bird, he can see equally by night and by day a\nhundred leagues away, and he hears when the grass grows, or the wool on\nthe sheep, and all that is louder than these. He has the horn called\nGjallarhorn, and his blowing is heard through all worlds. The sword of\nHeimdall is called H\u00f6fud\u201d (Gylfaginning, 27).\n\n\nWe find that the J\u00f6tnar and Asar were separated from each other by a\nlarge river whose waters never freeze.\n\n _Vafthrudnir._\n\n Tell me, Gagnrad, &c.,\n How the river is called\n Which divides the land\n Between the sons of J\u00f6tnar and the gods.\n\n _Odin._\n\n _Ifing_ is the river called\n That parts the land\n Between the sons of J\u00f6tnar and the gods;\n Open shall it flow\n All the days of the world;\n No ice will come on it.\n\nFrom Vafthrudnismal we learn of the origin of Bergelmir who was born\nbefore the Creation.\n\nIt is an important question which are the most ancient people\u2014the Asar,\nor the ancient kinsmen of Ymir?\n\n _Odin._\n\n Tell me ...\n Who of the Asar,\n Or of the sons of Ymir,\n Was the oldest in early days?\n\n _Vafthrudnir._\n\n Numberless winters\n Before the earth was shaped\n Was Bergelmir born.\n Thrudgelmir\n Was his father\n And Orgelmir his grandfather.\n\n _Odin._\n\n Tell me ...\n Whence first Orgelmir came\n Among the sons of J\u00f6tnar,\n Thou wise J\u00f6tun.\n\n _Vafthrudnir._\n\n From _Elivagar_[34]\n Spurted drops of poison\n Which grew into a J\u00f6tun;\n Thence are our kin\n All sprung;\n Hence they are always too hideous.\n\n _Odin._\n\n Tell me ...\n How that strong J\u00f6tun\n Begat children\n As he had not beheld a _gyg_?[35]\n\n _Vafthrudnir._\n\n In the armpit\n Of the Hrim-thursar, it is said,\n Grew a maiden and a son;\n Foot begat with foot\n Of that wise J\u00f6tun\n A six-headed son.\n\n _Odin._\n\n Tell me ...\n What thou earliest rememberest,\n Or knowest farthest back;\n Thou art an all-wise J\u00f6tun.\n\n _Vafthrudnir._\n\n Numberless winters\n Ere the earth was shaped\n Was Bergelmir born;\n The first I remember\n Is when that wise J\u00f6tun\n Was laid in the flour-bin.[36]\n\nIn due course Ymir was slain by Odin, Vili, and Ve, the three sons of\nB\u00f6r, who was himself a J\u00f6tun, and therefore of the same kin as Ymir.\nHaving slain Ymir, the sons of B\u00f6r proceeded to make the earth out of\nhis body, and to give the sun, moon, and stars their places in heaven.\nThe flow of his blood was so great as to cause a deluge. Bergelmir was\nthe only one of the Hrim-Thursar who escaped in a boat with his wife,\nand from him came a new race of Hrim-Thursar.\n\n\n\u201cThe sons of B\u00f6r slew the J\u00f6tun Ymir, but when he fell there flowed so\nmuch blood from his wounds that it drowned the whole race of the\nHrim-Thursar, except one who escaped with his household. Him the J\u00f6tnar\ncalled Bergelmir; he and his wife went on board his ark, and thus saved\nthemselves; from them are descended a new race of Hrim-Thursar\u201d (Later\nEdda).\n\n\nAfter the destruction of the earlier Hrim-Thursar we hear how the sons\nof B\u00f6r created the world, and we are told how the earth and the heavens\nwere made from Ymir.\n\n From Ymir\u2019s flesh\n The earth was shaped,\n And from his blood the sea;\n The mountains from his bones;\n From his hair the trees,\n And the heaven from his skull.\n But from his brows\n The mild gods made\n Midgard for the sons of men;\n And from his brain\n Were all the gloomy\n Clouds created.\n\n (Grimnismal.)\n\nWe are also told of the creation of the planets and stars, of our world,\nof the sea, of the moon, and of day and night. The year was reckoned by\nwinters (vetr), and the days by nights (nott).\n\nThe year was divided into months (m\u00e1nud or m\u00e1nad).\n\n\n\u201c_Haustm\u00e1nud_ (harvest-month) is the last before winter; _Gorm\u00e1nud_\n(gore-month, called thus from the slaughter of cattle then taking place)\nthe first month of winter; _Frerm\u00e1nud_ (frost-month); _Hr\u00fatm\u00e1nud_ (the\nram\u2019s month); _Thorri_ (the month of waning or declining winter); _G\u00f3i_,\n_Einm\u00e1nud_ ... then _Gaukm\u00e1nud_ or _S\u00e1dtid_ (cuckoo-month or\nsowing-tide); _Eggt\u00edd_ or _Stekkt\u00edd_ (egg-tide or weaning-tide);\n_S\u00f3lm\u00e1nud_ or _Selm\u00e1nud_ (sun-month or s\u00e6ter-month in which the cattle\nare removed to the sel or s\u00e6ter); _Heyjannir_ (haymaking-month);\n_Kornskurdarm\u00e1nud_ (grain-reaping month)\u201d (Skaldskaparmal, c. 63).\n\n\nThe month was subdivided into six weeks; each week contained five days.\nThe days were called\u2014T\u00fdsdag = Tuesday; \u00d3dinsdag = Wednesday; Th\u00f3rsdag =\nThursday; Frj\u00e1dag = Friday; Laugardag (bath-day) or Thv\u00e1ttdag\n(washing-day) = Saturday.\n\n _Odin._\n\n Tell me ...\n Whence the moon came\n That walks above men,\n And the sun also?\n\n _Vafthrudnir._\n\n _Mundilfori_[37] is called\n The father of the moon,\n And of the sun also;\n Wheel round the heaven\n They shall every day,\n And tell men of the years.\n\n _Odin._\n\n Tell me ...\n Whence the day came\n That passes over mankind,\n Or the night with her new moon?\n\n _Vafthrudnir._\n\n _Delling_ (the bright) is called\n The father of _Dag_ (the day)\n But _Nott_ (night) was Norvi\u2019s[38] daughter;\n The full moons and the new ones\n The good gods made\n To tell men the years.\n\n (Vafthrudnismal.)\n\nThe following is the origin of Midgard:\u2014\n\n Ere the sons of B\u00f6r\n Raised the lands,\n They who shaped\n The famous _Midgard_;\n The sun shone from the south\n On the stones of the hall;\n Then the ground grew\n With green grass.\n\n The sun from the south,[39]\n The companion of the moon,\n With her right hand took hold\n Of the rim of heaven;[40]\n The sun knew not\n Where she[41] owned halls,\n The moon knew not\n What power he[42] had;\n The stars knew not\n Where they owned places.\n\n Then all the powers went\n To their judgment seats,[43]\n The most holy gods\n Counselled about this;\n To night and the quarters of the moon\n Gave they names;\n They gave names to\n Morning and midday,\n To afternoon and eve,\n That the years might be reckoned.\n\n (V\u00f6luspa.)\n\nThen we have the origin of the wind and of winter. Hr\u00e6svelg means the\nswallower of corpses.\n\n _Odin._\n\n Tell me ...\n Whence the wind comes\n Who goes over the waves;\n Men do not see him.\n\n _Vafthrudnir._\n\n _Hr\u00e6svelg_ is called\n He who sits at heaven\u2019s end,\n A J\u00f6tun in an eagle\u2019s shape;\n From his wings\n It is said the wind comes\n Over all mankind.\n\n _Odin._\n\n Tell me ...\n Whence the winter came,\n Or the warm summer,\n First with the wise gods.\n\n _Vafthrudnir._\n\n _Vindsval_[44] is called\n The father of winter,\n And _Svasud_[45] the father of summer.\n\nAnother amplification of the Creation is given in Gylfaginning.\n\n\nThridi said:\n\n\u201cThey took Ymir\u2019s skull, and made thereof the sky, and raised it over\nthe earth with four sides. Under each corner they set four Dvergar,\nwhich were called Austri, East; Vestri, West; Nordri, North; Sudri,\nSouth. Then they took glowing sparks that were loose and had been cast\nout from Muspelheim, and placed them in the midst of the boundless\nheaven, both above and below, to light up heaven and earth; they gave\nresting-places to all fires, and set some in heaven; some were made free\nto go under heaven, but they gave them a place and shaped their course.\nIn old songs it is said that from that time days and years were\nreckoned.\u201d\n\n\nThe creation of the world, and of the heavens and planets, is followed\nby that of the Dvergar and of man and woman, who were helpless and\nfateless (their destinies not having been spun by the Nornir); from\nthese two mankind are descended.\n\n Then all the gods went\n To their judgment-seats,\n The most holy gods,\n And counselled about\n Who should create\n The host of Dvergar\n From the bloody surf[46]\n And from the bones of Blain.\n\n There did Modsognir[47]\n The mightiest become\n Of all Dvergar,\n And Durin next to him;\n They two shaped\n Many _man-likenesses_\n In the ground,\n As Durin has told.[48]\n * * * * *\n\n It is time to reckon\n Down to Lofar,\n For mankind (G\u00f3nar),\n The Dvergar in Dvalin\u2019s host,[49]\n Those who went\n From the stone-halls,\n The host of Aurvangar,\n To J\u00f6ruvellir (battle-plains).\n * * * * *\n\n Until out of that host[50]\n To the house[51]\n Came three Asar\n Mighty and mild;\n They found on the ground\n Ask and Embla,\n Helpless and fateless\n\n They had no breath,\n They had no mind,\n Neither blood nor motion\n Nor proper complexion.\n Odin gave the breath,[52]\n H\u0153nir gave the mind,\n Lodur gave the blood\n And befitting hues.\n\n (V\u00f6luspa.)\n\nFinally the V\u00f6lva describes the end of the world.\n\n Eastward sat the old one\n In Jarnvid,[53]\n And there bred\n The brood of Fenrir;\n Of them all\n One becomes\n The destroyer of the sun\n In the shape of a Troll.\n\n He[54] is fed with the lives\n Of death-fated men;\n He reddens the seat of the gods\n With red blood;\n The sunshine becomes black\n After the summers,\n And all weather woe-begone.\n Know ye all up to this and onward?\n\n The herdsman of the J\u00f6tun woman,\n The glad Egdir,\n Sat there on a mound\n And struck a harp,\n A bright-red cock,\n Called Fjalar,\n Crowed near him\n In the bird-wood.\n\n Crowed for the Asar\n Gullinkambi (golden-comb),\n He rouses the warriors\n At Herjaf\u00f6dr\u2019s (host-father);\n But another crows\n Under the ground,\n A dark red cock,[55]\n In the halls of Hel.\n\n Garm barks violently\n Before the Gnipa cave;\n The fetters will break\n And the wolf will run;\n She (the V\u00f6lva) knows many tales.\n I see further forward\n To the doom of the powers\n The dark doom of the gods.\n\n Brothers will fight\n And become each other\u2019s slayers;\n The sons of sisters will\n Break blood ties.\n It goes hard in the world,\n There is much whoredom,\n An age of axes, an age of swords;\n Shields are cleft;\n An age of winds, an age of wolves,\n Ere the world sinks;\n No man will spare\n Another man.\n\n The sons of Mimir are moving\n But the end draws near,\n By the sound of the ancient\n Gjallarhorn.\n Heimdall blows loud,\n The horn is aloft;\n Odin talks with\n The head of Mimir.\n\n Shakes the standing\n Ash Yggdrasil;\n The old tree groans,\n And the J\u00f6tun (Loki) breaks loose;\n All are terrified[56]\n In the roads of Hel\n Before the kinsman of Surt\n Swallows it.\n\n How is it with the Asar?\n How is it with the Alfar?\n All J\u00f6tunheim rumbles,\n The Asar are at the Thing;\n The Dvergar moan\n Before the stone doors,\n The wise ones of the rock wall[57]\n Know ye all up to this and onward?\n\n Now Garm barks loud\n Before Gnipa cave;\n The fetters will break,\n And the wolf will run.\n\n Hrym[58] drives from the east,\n Holds his shield before him.\n The J\u00f6rmungand[59] writhes\n In J\u00f6tun wrath;\n The serpent lashes the waves,\n And the eagle screams;\n The pale beak tears the corpses;\n Naglfar[60] is loosened.\n\n A keel (a ship) comes from the east,\n The men of Muspell\n Will come across the sea,\n But Loki is the steerer;[61]\n All the monsters\n Go with the wolf,\n The brother of B\u00fdleist (Loki)\n Is in the train.\n\n Surt comes from the south\n With the _switch-harm_ (fire);\n The sun of the gods\n Flashes from his sword;\n Rocks clash,\n The J\u00f6tun women stagger;\n Men walk the road of Hel;\n Heaven is rent asunder.\n\n Then comes the second[62]\n Sorrow of Hlin,\n When Odin goes\n To fight the wolf;\n And the bright slayer\n Of Beli[63] against Surt;\n There will fall\n The love of Frigg (Odin).\n\n Now Garm barks loud\n Before Gnipa-cave;\n The fetters will break,\n And the wolf will run.\n\n Then comes the great\n Son of Sigf\u00f6dr (father of victory)\n Vidar to slay,\n The beast of carrion.[64]\n With his hand he lets\n His sword pierce\n The heart of the J\u00f6tun\u2019s son,[65]\n Then his father (Odin) is avenged.[66]\n\n Then comes the famous\n Son of Hlodyn (Thor);\n Odin\u2019s son\n Goes to fight the serpent;\n Midgard\u2019s defender (Thor)\n Slays him in wrath;\n All men will\n Leave their homesteads;\n The son of Fj\u00f6rgyn (Thor),\n Walks nine paces\n Reeling from the serpent\n That shuns not heinous deeds.\n\n The sun blackens,[67]\n The earth sinks into the sea;\n The bright stars\n Vanish from heaven;\n The life-feeder (fire)\n And the vapour rage;\n The high heat rises\n Towards heaven itself.\n Now Garm barks loud[68]\n Before Gnipa-cave;\n The fetters will break,\n And the wolf will run.\n\n (V\u00f6luspa.)\n\nAfter the destruction of the world, a new one will arise.\n\n She[69] beholds rising up\n Another time\n An earth out of the sea,\n An evergreen one.\n\n The waterfalls rush;\n Above an eagle flies\n Which on the mountains\n Catches fish.\n\n The Asar meet\n On the Idav\u00f6ll (plain)\n And talk about\n The mighty earth-serpent\n And there speak of\n The great events\n And of the old runes\n Of Fimbultyr.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER V.\n MYTHOLOGY AND COSMOGONY\u2014_continued_.\n\n Norse Cosmogony\u2014Midgard, Asgard, and Mannheim\u2014The Asar and\n Vanir\u2014Thor and Tyr\u2014The Goddesses\u2014The Apples of Youth.\n\n\nWhere the mythical Odin ends in the V\u00f6luspa, if there is any ending to\nhim, is impossible to tell; it appears that he came and built an earthly\n_Midgard_,[70] according to the writer of the Later Edda who gives the\ntradition and belief of the people in his day.\n\nOdin himself was originally a J\u00f6tun, and it would appear from the\nmythological literature of the North that, for some reason, he wished to\nfound a new religion, and desired to proclaim himself chief and\nspiritual ruler over several, if not all the tribes before mentioned;\nthis claim, from the account of the fights which took place, must have\nbeen hotly contested. In the history of the birth of every nation,\nsomething similar has taken place, and these struggles are always\ndescribed with wonderful and often supernatural accompaniments. We are\nled to believe that a devoted band of followers attached themselves to\nOdin\u2019s cause, and gradually others joined him; thus forming a community\nover which he was the leader. To protect themselves from their enemies,\namong whom, according to the Eddas, were included J\u00f6tnar and Thursar,\n&c., the Asar erected a wall round their country, and called the whole\nenclosed land Midgard.\n\nIn the centre of Midgard, Odin built for himself, his family, chiefs,\nand councillors, _Asgard_,[71] called also Asaheim (home of the Asar),\nand Godheim (home of the gods). _As_, in the Northern language,\nafterwards denoted one of the gods, who in course of time were also\ndeified, and to whom, as well as to Odin, sacrifices were offered.\n\nWithin the walls of Midgard, which encircled Asgard, was _Mannheim_,[72]\nwhere Odin\u2019s adherents dwelt, and hence the name of their country.\n\n\n\u201cThey gave them clothes and names; the men they called Ash, and the\nwomen Embla. From them all mankind is descended, and a dwelling-place\nwas given them under Midgard. In the next place the sons of B\u00f6r made for\nthemselves, in the middle of the world, a burgh which is called Asgard,\nand which we call Troja (there dwelt the gods of their race), and thence\nresulted many tidings and adventures, both on earth and in the sky. In\nAsgard is a place called Hlidskjalf, and when Odin seats himself there\nin the high seat he sees all over the whole world, and what every man is\ndoing, and he knew all things that he saw. His wife was Frigg, and she\nwas the daughter of Fjorgvin, and from their offspring are descended the\nrace which we call _Asar_, who inhabited Asgard the ancient, the realm\nthat surrounds it, and all that race are known to be gods, and for that\nreason Odin is called Allfather\u201d (Later Edda).\n\n\nAfter Midgard had been built for the sons of men, there is a golden age\non the _Ida-v\u00f6ll_ (plain of movement). Altars and hearths were raised by\nthe Asar, showing that work is conducive to happiness.\n\n The Asar met,\n Who raised on the Idavoll\n Altars and high temples;\n They laid hearths,\n They wrought wealth,\n They shaped tongs,\n And made tools.\n\n They played chess on the grass-plot;\n They were cheerful;\n They did not lack\n Anything of gold\n Until three\n Very mighty\n Thurs maidens came (Nornir)\n From Jotunheim.\n\nThen followed a great battle between the Asar and their neighbours, the\nVanir. The Asar seem to have been at first defeated, but afterwards made\npeace. This fight is the most obscure part of the whole of V\u00f6luspa.\n\n That fight remembers she\n First in the world,\n When they pierced\n Gullveig[73] with spears,\n And burnt her\n In the hall of H\u00e1r;[74]\n Thrice they burnt\n The thrice-born one,\n Yet still she lives.\n\n Then all the gods went\n To their judgment seats,\n The most holy gods,\n And counselled about\n Whether the Asar should\n Tribute pay,[75]\n Or if all the gods\n Should have a feast.\n\n Odin had hurled the spear\n And shot at the host;\n That was moreover the first\n Fight in the world.\n Broken was the timber wall[76]\n Of the Asa-burgh;\n The war-exposed plains\n The Vanir trampled on.\n\nA fight is also mentioned in the Ynglinga Saga which seems to be the\nsame as the one referred to in V\u00f6luspa.\n\n\n\u201cOdin went with a host against the Vanir, but they withstood him well\nand defended their land. Asar and Vanir got the victory by turns; each\nwaged war in the other\u2019s land and plundered. When they became tired of\nthis they appointed a meeting for agreement between themselves, and made\npeace and gave each other hostages. The Vanir gave their foremost men,\nNj\u00f6rd the wealthy and his son Frey, and the Asar gave a man called\nH\u0153nir, and said he was well fitted to be a chief. He was a tall and very\nhandsome man. The Asar sent with him a man called Mimir, who was very\nwise; in exchange for him the Vanir gave one, who was the wisest among\nthem, called Kvasir. When H\u0153nir came to Vanaheim he was at once made\nchief; Mimir taught him everything. And when H\u0153nir was at the Things or\nmeetings, and Mimir was not near, and some difficult cases were taken to\nhim, he always gave the same answer, \u2018Let others say what is to be\ndone.\u2019 Then the Vanir suspected that the Asar had deceived them in the\nexchange of men. They took Mimir and beheaded him, and sent his head to\nthe Asar. Odin took the head and besmeared it with the juice of plants,\nso that it could not rot. He sang charms over it, and by spells made it\nso powerful that it spoke with him, and told him many unknown things\u201d\n(Ynglinga, c. 4).\n\n\nTh\u00f3r was one of the greatest of the Norse gods after Odin; indeed, these\nwith Frey formed a sort of triad.\n\n\n\u201cTh\u00f3r is the foremost of them (the gods); he is called Asa-Th\u00f3r or\n\u00d6ku-Th\u00f3r. He is the strongest of all gods and men. His realm is\nThr\u00fadv\u00e1ngar (= plains of strength), and his hall is called Bilskirnir;\nin it there are 540 rooms. It is the largest house built by men. (See\nGrimnismal.) Th\u00f3r owns two he-goats, which are called Tanngnj\u00f3st\n(tooth-gnasher) and Tanngr\u00edsnir (tooth-gnasher), and a chariot (reid),\non which he drives and the he-goats draw it. Therefore he is called\nOku-Th\u00f3r (= the driving Th\u00f3r). He also owns three costly things. One of\nthem is the hammer Mjolnir which the Hrim Thursar and Berg Risar know\nwhen it is aloft, and that is not strange, for he has broken many a head\nof their fathers or kinsmen. The next best of his costly things is the\nbelt of strength. When he girds himself with it his Asa-strength\ndoubles. He owns a third thing, which is worth much, iron-gloves,\nwithout which he cannot hold the handle of the hammer. No man is so wise\nthat he may reckon up all his great feats, but I can tell thee so many\ntales of him that the hours will be whiled away before I have told all\nthat I know.\u201d\n\n\u201cH\u00e1r said: \u2018Furthermore there is an As called T\u00fdr. He is the boldest and\nmost daring and has much power over victory in battles. It is useful for\nvaliant men to make vows to him. It is a saying that the one surpassing\nothers in valour and fearing nothing is T\u00fd-brave. He is so wise that the\nwisest man is called T\u00fd-wise. One of the proofs of his daring is this.\nWhen the Asar persuaded the Fenriswolf to allow them to tie it with the\nchain Gleipnir, it did not believe that they would untie it till they\nlaid T\u00fdr\u2019s hand into its mouth as a pledge. When they would not untie it\nthen it bit off his hand at the place now called Wolf-joint (wrist). He\nis therefore onehanded and said not to be the reconciler of men.\u2019\u201d\n(Later Edda, Gylfaginning, 21).\n\n\nThe Later Edda differs from the Grimnismal in giving the number of gods\nor Asar which it mentions. When Gylfi asks how many Asar there are he is\ntold twelve, and the names of Odin, H\u00f6d, and Baldr are omitted from the\nlist. Only a few of these gods seem to have been of sufficient\nprominence to have had sacrifices offered to them, as is seen in the\nchapter on Religion, and we cannot depend on the Later Edda for reliable\ninformation concerning them.\n\n\n\u201cThe Asar went to their feast, and the twelve Asar who were to be judges\nsat down in the high-seats: their names were\u2014Th\u00f3r, Nj\u00f6rd, Frey, T\u00fdr,\nHeimdall, Bragi, Vidar, Vali, Ull, H\u0153nir, Forseti, Loki\u201d (Later Edda).\n\n\nThe following extract from the Later Edda gives us the names of the\nprincipal goddesses, with their leading characteristics.\n\n\n\u201cGangleri said: \u2018Who are the Asynjar?\u2019 Har answered: \u2018Frigg is the\nhighest; she has a very splendid house called _Fensalir_. The second is\nS\u00e1ga, who lives at S\u00f6kkvabekk, a large place. The third is Eir; she is\nthe most skilled healer (= physician). The fourth is Gefjon, who is a\nmaiden, and those who die as maidens wait upon her. The fifth is Fulla;\nshe is also a maiden with loose hair, and wears a golden band round her\nhead; she carries the ashen box of Frigg and takes care of her\nshoe-clothes (= shoes and stockings), and partakes in her secret\ncounsels. Freyja is next in rank to Frigg; she is married to a man\ncalled \u00d3d, their daughter is Hnoss; she is so beautiful that fine and\ncostly things are called after her\u2014hnoss. \u00d3d went far off and left\nFreyja weeping, and her tears are red gold. She has many names; that is\nbecause she called herself by different names when she went among\nforeign nations in search of \u00d3d; she is called Mard\u00f6ll, H\u00f6rn, Gefn, and\nS\u00fdr. She owns the _Brisinga_ necklace. She is called _Vanadis_ (dis\n(goddess) of the Vanir). The seventh is Sj\u00f6fn; she applies herself much\nto turning the minds of men to love, both males and females; from her\nname a loving mind is called _sjafni_. Lofn is so mild and good to\ninvoke that she gets Allf\u00f6dr (Odin) or Frigg to allow the marriages of\nmen, male and female, though they have been forbidden or flatly refused;\nfrom her name is lof (leave), and that which is lofat (= praised) by\nmen. V\u00e1r listens to the oaths of men and the private agreements which\nmen and women make between themselves; these are called _v\u00e1rar_, and she\npunishes those who break them. V\u00f6r is wise and asks many questions, so\nthat nothing can be hidden from her; when a woman knows a thing she is\n_v\u00f6r_ (= aware) of it. Syn guards the door of the hall (Valhalla) and\nshuts it to those who are not to enter; therefore when some one denies a\nthing he is said to put down _syn_ (= negation, refuse). Hlin has to\nguard the men whom Frigg wishes to save from danger. Snotra is wise and\nof good manners; a wise man or woman is called _snotr_ from her name.\nGna, Frigg sends into various worlds on her errands; she has a horse\nwhich runs on air and water, called _H\u00f3fhvarfnir_ (= hoof-turner)\u201d\n(\u2018Later Edda,\u2019 Gylfaginning, 35).\n\n\nThe gods, it would seem, had it in their power, if not to secure\neverlasting life, at least to retain perpetual youth, unlike poor\nTithonus of the well-known Greek myth. It may not be inappropriate to\ncontinue here the legend relating to this. Idun, the wife of Bragi, who\nwas celebrated for his wisdom and eloquence, kept in a box the apples\nwhich when the gods felt old age approaching they ate in order that they\nmight keep their youth till Ragnar\u00f6k.\n\n\n\u201cOdin, Loki and H\u0153nir went from home over mountains and uninhabited\nland, and it was not easy for them to get food. When they came down into\na valley they saw a herd of oxen, took one of them and prepared it for\nthe fire. When they thought it was cooked they took it off, but it was\nnot cooked. A second time, after waiting a little, they took it off, and\nit was not cooked. They considered what might be the cause of this. Then\nthey heard a voice in the tree above them which said that he who sat\nthere caused this. They looked up, and a large eagle sat there. The\neagle said: \u2018If you will give me my fill of the ox, it shall be cooked.\u2019\nThey assented, and the bird came slowly down from the tree, sat down on\nthe hearth, and at once gobbled up the four shoulder-pieces of the ox.\nLoki got angry, took a large pole, raised it, and with all his strength\nstruck the eagle. At the blow the eagle flew into the air. The pole\nadhered to its body, and the hands of Loki to one end of it. The eagle\nflew so that Loki\u2019s feet touched the rocks, the stone-heaps and the\ntrees. He thought his hands would be torn from his shoulders. He\nshouted, eagerly asking the eagle to spare him, but it answered that\nLoki would never get loose unless he swore to make Idun leave Asgard\nwith her apples. Loki promised this, got loose and went to his\ncompanions, and no more tidings are told about their journey till they\nreached home. At the appointed time Loki enticed Idun to go to a wood\nout of Asgard by saying he had found apples which she would prefer to\nher own, and asked her to take her own apples with her to compare them.\nThjassi J\u00f6tun then came in an eagle\u2019s shape and took Idun and flew away\nto his abode in Thrymheim. The Asar were much grieved at the\ndisappearance of Idun, and soon became grey-haired and old. They held a\n_Thing_ and asked each other for news of Idun. The last seen of her was\nwhen she walked out of Asgard with Loki. He was brought to the _Thing_\nand threatened with death or torture. He got afraid and said he would\nfetch Idun from J\u00f6tunheim, if Freyja would lend him the hawk-skin which\nshe owned. When he got it he flew north to J\u00f6tunheim, and one day came\nto Thjassi J\u00f6tun, who was sea-fishing. Idun was alone at home. Loki\nchanged her into a nut, held her in his claws and flew as fast as he\ncould. When the Asar saw the hawk flying with the nut and the eagle\npursuing they went to the Asgard-wall and carried thither bundles of\nplane-shavings. When the hawk flew into the burgh it came down at the\nwall. The Asar set fire to the plane-shavings, but the eagle could not\nstop when it lost the hawk, and the fire caught its feathers and stopped\nit. The Asar were near, and slew Thjassi inside the Asgard-wall, which\nis a very famous deed. Skadi, his daughter, took helmet and brynja and a\ncomplete war-dress, and went to Asgard to avenge her father. The Asar\noffered her reconciliation and _wergild_,[77] and first that she might\nchoose a husband from among them, not seeing more than their feet. She\nsaw a pair of very beautiful feet, and said: \u2018This one I choose; few\nthings can be ugly in Baldr.\u2019 But it was Nj\u00f6rd of N\u00f3at\u00fan.\u201d (Later Edda,\nBragar\u0153dur, c. 56.)\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER VI.\n ODIN OF THE NORTH.\n\n The Odin of the North\u2014The forefathers of the English\u2014Their migration\n from the shores of the Black sea\u2014The geographical knowledge of the\n Norsemen\u2014Tyrkland the home of Odin\u2014Sigrlami, one of the sons of\n Odin\u2014Odin establishes his family in the North\u2014Death of Odin in the\n North\u2014Attributes of Odin\u2014Poetical names of Odin\u2014Sleipnir, the\n horse of Odin\u2014Odin as a one-eyed man.\n\n\nIn the Norse literature we find Odin referred to not only as a god, but\nas a hero and leader of men. It is not necessary to believe that any\nreal person of the name of Odin ever existed, but from the frequency\nwith which a migration northwards is mentioned, and from the details\nwith which it is described, it is legitimate to infer that the\npredecessor of the Norsemen came from the south or south-east of\nEurope\u2014probably, to judge from literature and arch\u00e6ology combined, from\nthe shores of the Black Sea.\n\nAt the time of Odin\u2019s arrival in the North we find not only a country\ncalled Gardariki, which is often mentioned in the Sagas, and seems to\nhave adjoined the south-eastern shores of the Baltic, but also the large\nScandinavian peninsula and that of Jutland, and the islands and shores\nof the Baltic, populated by a seafaring people whose tribes had constant\nintercourse with each other, and, to judge by the finds, seem to have\nhad an identical religion. These people intermarried with the Asar who\ncame north with Odin, and hence arose tribes called half-Risar and\nhalf-Troll.\n\n\n\u201cIt is written in old books that Alfheimar[78] were north in Gandvik and\nYmisland, between it and H\u00e1logaland. And before the Tyrkjar and Asia-men\ncame to the Northern lands, Risar and half-Risar lived there; then the\nnations (peoples) were much mixed together; the Risar got wives from\nMannheimar, and some of them married their daughters there\u201d (Hervarar\nSaga, ch. i.).\n\n\nThe account given in the Hervarar Saga agrees with that in the Ynglinga\nSaga, which is important not only as giving an idea of the conception\nthe people of the North had of our world, but as describing the names of\nthe lands and countries mentioned in the earlier Eddas and Sagas.\n\n\n\u201cThe round of the world on which men dwell is much cut by the sea; large\nseas stretch from the outer sea round the earth into the land. It is\nknown that a sea runs from Nj\u00f6rvasund (Straits of Gibraltar) all the way\nup to Jorsalaland (the land of Jerusalem). From it a long bay runs\nnorth-east, called the Black Sea, which separates the three parts of the\nworld; the part east of it is called Asia, but the one west of it is\ncalled Europa by some, and Enea by others. North of the Black Sea is the\ngreat or the cold Sweden; some say that Sweden is no smaller than\nSerkland (the land of Saracens) the great; some say she is as large as\nBlaland (the land of the blue (black) men) the great. The northern part\nof Sweden is uninhabited, on account of frost and cold, as the southern\npart of Blaland is on account of the sun\u2019s burning heat. In Sweden there\nare many large herads (districts).\n\nThere are also many kinds of people and many tongues: there are Asar,\nDvergar, and Blamenn (blue (black) men), and many kinds of strange\npeople; there are beasts and dragons wonderfully large. From the north,\nin mountains which are beyond all settlements, a river springs that\nflows through Sweden; its right name is Tanais; it was in old times\ncalled Tanakv\u00edsl,[79] or Vana-kv\u00edsl; it flows into the Black Sea. The\nland round Vanakv\u00edsl was then called Vanaland or Vanaheim (home or world\nof the Vanir). This river[80] separates the two-thirds of the world;\neast of it is Asia, and West of it is Europa\u201d (Ynglinga Saga, 1).\n\n\n\u201cA large mountain ridge runs from north-east to south-west; it separates\nSweden the Great[81] from other lands. South of the mountain, not far\noff, is Tyrkland; there Odin owned a great deal of land. At that time\nthe chiefs of the R\u00f3mverjar (Romans) went widely about the world and\nunderlaid (conquered) all nations; and many chiefs on that account left\ntheir lands. As Odin was foreknowing and skilled in witchcraft he knew\nthat his descendants would live in the northern part of the world. Then\nhe set his brothers Vili and V\u00e9 to rule Asgard; he left, and all the\nD\u00edar with him, and many folk. First he went westwards to Gardar\u00edki, then\nsouthwards to Saxland. He had many sons; he became owner of land at many\nplaces in Saxland, and left his sons to defend Saxland. Then he went\nnorthwards to the sea and settled on an island; that place is now called\nOdinsey (Odin\u2019s island) in Fj\u00f3n (F\u00fden). Then he sent Gefjon[82]\nnorthwards across the Sound to discover lands; she came to Gylfi, and he\ngave her one plough-land. Then she went to J\u00f6tunheim and there got four\nsons by a J\u00f6tun; she changed them into oxen, and harnessed them to the\nplough, and drew the land out to sea, and westwards, opposite to\nOdinsey, and the land is called Selund (Zealand); she afterwards lived\nthere. Skj\u00f6ld, a son of Odin, married her; they lived at Hleidra\n(Leire). There is a lake or sea called L\u00f6g (M\u00e4laren). The fjords in the\nL\u00f6g lie as the nesses in Selund. When Odin heard that Gylfi\u2019s land was\ngood he went there, and he and Gylfi made an agreement, for Gylfi\nthought he had not strength enough to withstand the Asar. Many devices\nand spells did Odin and Gylfi use against each other, and the Asar\nalways got the better of them. Odin took up his abode at the L\u00f6g\n(M\u00e4laren), which is now called the old Sigt\u00fanir; there he made a great\ntemple and sacrificed according to the custom of the Asar. He gave\nabodes to the temple-priests; Nj\u00f6rd lived at N\u00f3at\u00fan, Frey at Uppsalir,\nHeimdall at Himinbj\u00f6rg, Thor at Thr\u00fadvang, Baldr at Breidablik; he gave\ngood abodes to them all\u201d (Ynglinga, c. 5).\n\n\nWhile Odin, according to the sages, was in Sweden[83] his son Sigrlami\nruled over Gardar\u00edki; during the life of his father or after his death\nhe had to fight against the J\u00f6tnar, and, like Skj\u00f6ld his brother, he\nmarried a daughter of King Gylfi, who ruled over the present Sweden,\nwhose authority is made to extend to the principal islands which form\npart of the present Denmark.\n\n\n\u201cAt this time the Asia-men and Tyrkjar came from the east and settled in\nthe northern lands; their leader was called Odin; he had many sons, and\nthey all became great and strong men. One of his sons was called\nSigrlami; to him Odin gave the realm now called Gardar\u00edki; he became a\ngreat chief over that land; he was handsomer than any man. He was\nmarried to Heid, the daughter of King Gylfi; they had a son called\nSvafrlami.\u201d (Hervarar, c. 2).\n\n\nSigrlami fell in a fight against Thjassi the J\u00f6tun. When Svafrlami heard\nof his father\u2019s death he took for himself all his realm, and became a\npowerful man. It is said that on one occasion when riding in a forest he\nchased a stag for a long time, and did not kill it until sunset, when he\nhad ridden so far into the forest that he lost his way. He saw a large\nstone and two Dvergar beside it, whom he was going to sacrifice to the\ngods, but on their begging to be allowed to give a ransom for their\nlives Svafrlami asked their names. One was called Dyrin, the other\nDvalin. Svafrlami at once recognised them to be the most skilful of\nDvergar, and insisted upon their making a sword for him, the hilt to be\nof gold, and the scabbard to be ornamented and inlaid with gold. The\nsword was never to fail, and never to rust; to cut iron and stone as\nwell as cloth; and it was to bring victory in all battles and duels\n(einvigi) to every one who carried it.\n\nOn the appointed day Svafrlami came to the rock; the Dvergar gave him\nthe sword; but Dvalin, standing in the door of the stone, said: \u201cThy\nsword, Svafrlami, shall be a man\u2019s bane (death) every time it is drawn;\nand with it shall be performed the greatest nithing\u2019s deed; it also will\nbe thy death.\u201d Svafrlami then struck at the Dvergar so that both edges\nof the sword entered into the rock, but the Dvergar ran into the rock.\nSvafrlami, we are told, called the sword Tyrfing, and carried it in\nbattles and single fights; with it he killed in a duel Thjassi the\nJ\u00f6tun, his father\u2019s slayer, whose daughter Frid he married\u201d (Hervarar\nSaga, c. 3).\n\n\nWe not only have accounts of how this Odin established his family in the\nNorth, but also how he died there. Feeling that his days were coming to\nan end, he prepared to die on a pyre, as was the custom of those times;\nand we find the belief existed that after his death he returned to the\nold Asgard.\n\n\n\u201cOdin fell sick and died in Sweden. When he was at death\u2019s door he let\nhimself be marked (wounded) with a spear-point, and said he was the\nowner of all the men slain by weapons, and would go into Godheim (the\nworld of the gods), and there welcome his friends. Now the Swedes\nthought he had gone to the old Asgard, and would live there for ever.\nThen there again arose worship of Odin, and vows were made to him. The\nSwedes often thought he appeared to them in dreams on the eve of great\nbattles; to some he gave victory, others he invited home; either of\nthese alternatives was considered good. After death he was burnt with\ngreat splendour.[84] It was their belief that the higher the smoke rose\nin the air the more glorious would the burnt man be in heaven,[85] and\nthe more property that was burnt with him the wealthier would he be\u201d\n(Ynglinga Saga, c. 10).\n\n\nWhether a hero and leader of the name of Odin ever lived or not we\ncannot tell, but that we know from the records the people believed that\nhe and the Asar had existed, and the creed they had established was\ntheir religion; and this belief lasted with many to the end of the pagan\nera, which did not entirely disappear till the twelfth century. Odin and\nsome of the Asar were deified and worshipped in all the countries of the\nNorth, and with the lapse of time their fame increased.\n\n\n\u201cOdin was a mighty warrior and travelled far and wide, and became owner\nof many realms (countries). He was so successful that in every battle he\ngained the victory, and at last his men believed that in every battle\nvictory was in his power. It was his custom, when he sent his men into\nfight or on other errands, first to lay his hands on their heads and\ngive them bjanak;[86] they believed that luck would then be with them.\nAlso it happened that whenever his men were in need on land or at sea\nthey called on his name, and always felt relieved by it; for every kind\nof help they looked to him. He often went so far away that he was on a\njourney many seasons\u201d (Ynglinga, c. 2).\n\n\n\u201cIt is said with truth that when Asa-Odin, and with him the D\u00edar,[87]\ncame into the northern lands, they began and taught those \u00eddr\u00f3ttir[88]\nwhich men afterwards long practised. Odin was the foremost of them all,\nand from him they learned the _\u00eddr\u00f3ttir_, for he first knew them all,\nand more than any other. He was highly honoured on account of the\nfollowing things. He looked so fair and noble when he sat with his\nfriends that every mind was delighted; but when he was in a host, then\nhe looked fierce to his foes. This was because he knew the \u00eddr\u00f3ttir of\nchanging looks and shapes in any way he liked. Another of his \u00eddr\u00f3ttir\nwas that he spoke with such skill and so glibly that all who listened\nthought it the only truth; he always spoke in poetry (hendingar) like\nthat which now is called sk\u00e1ldskap (skaldship, poetry). He and his\ntemple-priests are called Lj\u00f3dasmidir (lay-smiths, song-smiths), for\nthat \u00eddr\u00f3tt came from them into the northern lands. Odin had power to\ncause his foes to grow blind or deaf or full of fear, and to make their\nweapons bite no more than wands (sticks of wood). His own men fought\nwithout armour madly, like dogs or wolves, bit their shields, and had\nthe strength of a bear or bull; they cut down the foe, and neither fire\nnor iron hurt them. That is called berserksgang (rage or fury of\nBerserks)\u201d (Ynglinga, c. 6\u20137).\n\n\nIn the poetical language of the Sagas and Eddas a very great number of\nfigurative names are given to Odin, which show how numerous his\nattributes were believed to be, and many of which recall the language of\nHomer; among them we may mention:\u2014\n\n The thunderer.[89]\n Father of ages.\n The wise walker.\n The lord.\n The helmet bearer.\n The cheerful.\n The loving one.\n The high one.\n The fickle.\n The true-guessing one.\n The evil-eyed.\n The manifold.\n The wise in beguiling.\n The much knowing.\n The father of victory.\n The father of the slain.\n The conqueror in fights.\n The entangler.\n The feared one.\n The rover.\n The serpent (from his being able to assume its shape).\n The soother.\n God of the hanged.[90]\n God of the ravens.\n God of victory.\n God of the Gautar.\n The shouting god.\n The one-eyed one.\n The fierce one.\n God of the earth.\n Friend of Mimir.\n The foe of the Fenrir-wolf.\n The lord of the spears.\n The god of hosts.\n The father of all.\n The wish-god.\n The wind-whispering.\n The burner.\n The wide-ruling.\n The work-skilled.\n The swift-riding.\n The god of battle.\n The almighty god.\n The host blinder.\n The true one.\n The long-bearded.\n The god of cargoes.\n The father of hosts.\n The useful adviser.\n The shaper of battle.\n The swift rider.\n\n\n\u201cThen Thridi said: Odin is the highest and oldest of the Asar; he rules\nover everything, and, however mighty the other gods are, they all serve\nhim as children a father. Frigg, his wife, knows the fates of men though\nshe cannot prophesy. Odin is called Allf\u00f6dr, because he is the father of\nall the gods; he is also called Valf\u00f6dr, because all those who fall in\nbattle (valr = the slain) are his chosen sons. These he places in\nValh\u00f6ll and Ving\u00f3lf (a hall owned by the goddesses), and then they are\ncalled Einherjar. He is also called Hanga-gud (god of the hanged),\nHapta-gud (god of the chained), and Farma-gud (god of cargoes), and he\ngave himself still more names when he was at King Geirr\u00f6d\u2019s. Gangleri\nsaid: \u2018Wonderfully many names have you given to him, and surely it needs\ngreat wisdom to know the events which are the reasons of every one of\nthese names.\u2019 H\u00e1r answered: \u2018Great wits are needed to explain this\ncarefully, but, to tell it shortly, most of the names have been given\nbecause, as there are many different tongues in the world, every nation\nthinks it necessary to change his name according to their language, that\nthey may invoke and pray to him for themselves. His journeys have given\nrise to some of these names, and they are told among people\u2019\u201d (Later\nEdda, c. 20).\n\n\n\u201cTwo ravens[91] sit on his shoulders and tell into his ears all the\ntidings, which they see or hear; these are Hugin and Munin. At the dawn\nof day he sends them out to fly all over the world, and they come back\nat day-meal time (the biggest meal of the day); hence he knows many\ntidings; therefore he is called Hrafnagud (Raven-god)\u201d (Gylfaginning, c.\n38).\n\n\nAmong the earlier myths connected with Odin may be mentioned the\nfollowing account of the origin of his horse Sleipnir.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 1.\u2014Earlier runic stone at Tj\u00e4ngvide, G\u00f6tland, with the\n eight-footed horse of Odin.\u2014Height about 5 feet; width, 4 feet 4\n inches; thickness, 1 foot. Another similar stone with representation\n (in relief) of an eight-footed horse has been found also in Laivide\n in G\u00f6tland.\n]\n\n\n\u201cGangleri asked: \u2018Who owns Sleipnir the horse, or what hast thou to tell\nof him?\u2019 H\u00e1r answered: \u2018Thou knowest nothing about Sleipnir nor whence\nhe sprang, but it will seem to thee worth a hearing. In early times when\nthe gods had built up Midgard and made Valhalla there came a smith who\noffered to make a burgh for them in three seasons (half-years) so good\nthat it would be strong and safe against Bergrisar (mountain-j\u00f6tnar) and\nHrimthursar, though they entered Midgard. In the place of wages he\nwanted to marry Freyja and get the sun and moon. The Asar came together\nto counsel among themselves, and it was agreed with the smith that he\nshould get what he wanted if he could make the burgh in one winter, but\nif any part of it was unfinished on the first day of summer he was to\nlose his pay; he would not be allowed to use the help of any man in the\nwork. When they told him these conditions he asked leave to make use of\nhis horse Svadilf\u00f6ri; on the advice of Loki this was conceded to him.\nThe first day of winter he began to build the burgh, and during night he\ncarried stones on his horse to it; the Asar wondered much how the horse\ncould drag such large rocks, and it did much more work than the smith.\nStrong witnesses were brought and many oaths were taken at their\nagreement, because the j\u00f6tun thought it unsafe to stay with the Asar if\nThor, who had gone to Austrveg (eastern countries) to kill J\u00f6tnar,\nshould come home. As the winter passed the building of the burgh\nproceeded, and it was so high and strong that it could not be taken.\nWhen three days of the winter were left it was almost all finished\nexcept the gate. Then the gods sat down on their judgment-seats and\ntried to find an expedient; one asked the other on whose advice Freyja\nwas to be married in J\u00f6tunheimar and air and heaven defiled by taking\nsun and moon away and giving them to the J\u00f6tnar; they all agreed that\nthe causer of most evils, Loki Laufeyjarson, had caused this, and that\nhe deserved an evil death if he did not find a way to cause the smith to\nlose his pay. They rushed at Loki, who got afraid, and took oaths that\nhe would manage, whatever it might cost him, that the smith should lose\nhis pay. The same evening when the smith drove out with his horse\nSvadilf\u00f6ri, to fetch stones, a mare ran out of the wood towards it and\nneighed to it. When the stallion saw what kind of horse this was he got\nwild, tore his ropes and ran towards it; the mare ran into the wood, and\nthe smith followed and wanted to get hold of it, but the horses\ncontinued running all night, and no work was done that night; next day,\nas before, the work did not proceed. When the smith saw that the work\ncould not be finished he got into J\u00f6tun-fury. When the Asar knew for\ncertain that he was a Bergrisar (mountain j\u00f6tun), they could not keep\ntheir oaths and called Thor; he came at once, and then the hammer\nMjollnir went aloft; he paid him for the work, not by giving him the sun\nand moon, but by preventing him from living in J\u00f6tunheimar; at his first\nblow the j\u00f6tun\u2019s skull was broken into small bits, and he was sent down\nto Nifl-hel. But Loki had had such dealings with Svadilf\u00f6ri that he gave\nbirth to a foal; it was grey, and with eight feet, and it is the best\nhorse among gods and men\u201d (Gylfaginning, 41\u201342).\n\n\nOdin was believed not only to give victory to his favourites, but other\ngifts, and is represented as coming to the aid of his followers, in the\nguise of an one-eyed old man\u2014\n\n Ride shall we\n To Valhalla,\n To the holy place.\n Let us ask the father of hosts\n To be kind (to us);\n He pays and gives\n Gold to his host;\n He gave to Herm\u00f3d\n A helmet and brynja,\n And to Sigmund\n He gave a sword.\n\n He gives victory to his sons,\n And wealth to some;\n Eloquence to many,\n And wisdom to men;\n Fair winds to warriors,\n And song to poets,\n And luck in love\n To many a man.\n\n She (Freyja) will worship Th\u00f3r,\n And ask him\n That he always\n Be at peace with thee;\n Though he is no friend\n To the j\u00f6tun-brides.[92]\n\n [Hyndlulj\u00f3d.]\n\n\n\u201cKing Siggeir ruled Gautland; he was powerful and had many men; he went\nto King V\u00f6lsung and asked him to give Signy to him in marriage. The king\nand his sons received this offer well; she herself was willing, but\nasked her father to have his way in this as in other things referring to\nherself. Her father made up his mind that she should be married, and she\nwas betrothed to Siggeir. The wedding-feast was to be at King V\u00f6lsung\u2019s,\nand Siggeir was to come to him. The king prepared as good a feast as he\ncould. When it was ready the guests and Siggeir\u2019s men came on the\nappointed day; Siggeir had many men of rank with him. It is said that\ngreat fires were made along the hall,[93] and the large tree before\nmentioned stood in the middle of the hall, and that when men were\nsitting before the fires in the evening a man walked into the hall whom\nthey did not know. He wore a spotted hekla (frock); he was barefooted,\nand had linen breeches fastened to his legs; he had a sword in his hand,\nand wore a hood low down over his face; he was very grey-haired, and\nlooked old, and was one-eyed.[94] He went to the tree, and drew the\nsword, and stuck it into the trunk so that it sank up to the hilt. No\nman dared to speak to him. He said: \u2018He who pulls this sword out of the\ntrunk shall get it as a gift from me, and will find that he never had a\nbetter sword in his hand than this one.\u2019 The old man then went out, and\nno one knew who he was, or where he went. Then all the foremost men\ntried to pull out the sword, and could not. Sigmund, the son of King\nV\u00f6lsung, pulled it out as easily as if it had been quite loose. No man\nhad seen so good a sword, and Siggeir offered three times its weight in\ngold for it. Sigmund answered that he should have pulled it out; now he\nshould never get it, though he offered all the gold he owned\u201d (Volsunga,\nc. 3).[95]\n\n\nOf Odin it is said:\n\n\n\u201cOdin changed shapes; then his body lay as if sleeping or dead, and he\nwas in the shape of a bird or a beast, a fish or a serpent, and in the\ntwinkling of an eye went into far-off lands on his own errands or on\nthose of other men. Besides, he could, with words only, extinguish fire,\ncalm the sea, and turn the winds into whatever direction he wished. He\nhad a ship called Sk\u00eddbladnir, on which he crossed large seas; it could\nbe folded together like cloth.[96] He had with him Mimir\u2019s head, which\ntold him many tidings (news) from other worlds. Sometimes he raised\n(awaked) dead men out of the earth (ground), or sat down beneath hanged\nmen (hanging in gallows);[97] therefore he was called the lord (dr\u00f3ttin)\nof the ghosts or of the hanged.[97] He had two ravens, which he taught\nto speak, and they flew far and wide over lands (countries) and told him\nmany tidings. Therefore he became very wise. So much lewdness followed\nthis witchcraft when it was practised that it was thought a disgrace for\nmen to practise it; and the priestesses (gydjur) were taught the idr\u00f3tt.\nOdin knew where property was hidden in the ground, and he knew songs by\nwhich he unlocked (opened) the earth, the rocks, and the stones, and the\nmounds, and bound (held fast) with mere words those who dwelt in them,\nand went in and took what he wished. On account of these powers he\nbecame very famous; his foes feared him, but his friends trusted in him\nand believed in him and his power. He taught most of his idr\u00f3ttir to the\nsacrificing-priests; they were next to him in all wisdom and witchcraft.\nMany others, however, learned a great deal of them, and from them\nwitchcraft has spread widely and been kept up long. But men worshipped\nOdin and the twelve chiefs (h\u00f6fdingi) and called them their gods, and\nbelieved in them long afterwards\u201d (Ynglinga Saga, ch. 7.)\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER VII.\n THE SUCCESSORS OF ODIN OF THE NORTH.\n\n Nj\u00f6rd the successor of Odin\u2014Frey succeeds Nj\u00f6rd\u2014A great temple built\n at Uppsalir by Frey\u2014The ship of Frey\u2014Death of Frey\u2014Frey\u2019s death\n kept secret from the people\u2014Freyja, the priestess\u2014Fj\u00f6lnir, the son\n of Yngvi Frey\u2014Svegdir\u2014Genealogies of the Norse chiefs from Odin\n Skj\u00f6ld, the founder of the Danish branch of chiefs.\n\n\nAccording to the sagas, after the death of Odin, Nj\u00f6rd of N\u00f3at\u00fan became\nthe ruler of the Swedes.\n\n\n\u201cThereupon Nj\u00f6rd of N\u00f3at\u00fan became ruler over the Swedes, and continued\nthe sacrifices; the Swedes called him their dr\u00f3ttin (lord); he gathered\ntaxes from them. In his days there was very good peace, and seasons were\nso good in every respect that the Swedes believed that Nj\u00f6rd ruled over\ngood seasons and the wealth and welfare of men. In his days most of the\nD\u00edar died, and all of them were afterwards burnt and sacrificed to.\nNj\u00f6rd fell sick and died; he also let himself be marked (with a spear)\nbefore he died, as a token that he belonged to Odin. The Swedes burnt\nhim, and wept very much over his mound\u201d (Ynglinga, c. 11).\n\n\n\u201cNj\u00f6rd of N\u00f3at\u00fan then begat two children. His son was Frey and his\ndaughter Freyja. They were beautiful in looks and mighty. Frey is best\nof the Asar. He rules the rain and the sunshine, and also has power over\nthe growth of the ground. It is good to make vows to him for good\nseasons and peace. He also rules over men\u2019s fortune in property.\u201d\n(Gylfaginning, c. 24.)\n\n\nIn Vafthrudnismal Odin asks Vafthrudnir the origin of Nj\u00f6rd.\n\n _Odin._\n\n Tell me ...\n Whence Nj\u00f6rd came\n Among the sons of Asar;\n He rules hundred-fold\n Temples and altars\n And he was not born among Asar.\n\n _Vafthrudnir._\n\n In Vanaheim\n The wise powers shaped him,\n And gave him to the gods as a hostage;\n At the doom of the world\n He will come back again,\n Home to the wise Vanir.\n\nThe Nj\u00f6rd who is related to have been punished by uncontrollable sadness\nfor falling in love with Gerd and sitting on Odin\u2019s high-seat is a\nmythical Nj\u00f6rd.\n\n\n\u201cA man was called G\u00fdmir whose wife Orboda was of Berg (mountain) Risar\nkin. Their daughter Gerd was the most beautiful of all women. One day\nFrey had gone to _Hlidskjalf_[98] and could see over all worlds. When he\nlooked to the North he saw on a farm a large and fine house towards\nwhich a woman was walking. When she lifted her arms, opening the door, a\nlight shone from them on the sea, and the air and all worlds were\nbrightened from her. His great boldness in sitting down in the holy seat\nthus was revenged upon him, for he went away, full of sorrow. When he\ncame home he did not speak or sleep or drink and no one dared question\nhim. Then Nj\u00f6rd called to him Skirnir, the shoe-boy of Frey, and told\nhim to go to Frey, address him and ask with whom he was so angry that he\nwould not speak to men. Skirnir said he would go, though not willingly,\nas unfavourable answers might be expected from him. When he came to Frey\nhe asked why he was so sad and did not speak to men. Frey answered that\nhe had seen a beautiful woman and for her sake he was so full of grief\nthat he would not live long if he should not get her. \u2018Now thou shalt go\nand ask her in marriage for me and take her home hither whether her\nfather is willing or not; I will reward it well.\u2019 Skirnir answered that\nhe would undertake this message if Frey gave him his sword. This sword\nwas so good that it fought of itself. Frey did not fail to do this and\ngave it to him. Skirnir then went and asked the woman in marriage for\nhim and got her promise that she would come after nine nights and keep\nher wedding with Frey. When Skirnir had told Frey of his journey Frey\nsang:\n\n \u201cLong is one night,\n Long is another,\n How can I endure three?\n Often a month to me\n Shorter seemed\n Than one half of this wedding-night.\u201d\n (Later Edda, Gylfaginning, 37.)\n\n\nAfter the death of Nj\u00f6rd, Frey, one of his sons, succeeded him as high\npriest of the sacrifices, and, according to tradition, built the great\ntemple at Upsala, which became of great repute as a most holy place\namong the people of the North, who came from all parts of the country to\nassist at the sacrifices. The Sagas say that great Things were held\nthere, all important quarrels settled, friendship sealed, and peace\nconcluded between chieftains and countries.\n\n\n\u201cFrey took the realm after Nj\u00f6rd; he was called the dr\u00f3ttin of the\nSwedes, and took taxes of them. He was as well liked as his father, and\nin his days also were good seasons. Frey raised a large temple at\nUppsalir, and had his head burgh (h\u00f6fud stad) there; all his taxes,\nlands, and loose property he gave thereto. That was the beginning of the\nUppsalir wealth, which has been kept up ever since.\n\n\u201cIn his days the peace of Fr\u00f3di[99] (King in Denmark) began; then there\nwere good seasons in every land. The Swedes attributed that to Frey. He\nwas worshipped more than other gods, because in his days the people of\nthe land became wealthier than before, on account of the peace and the\ngood seasons. His wife was called Gerd, daughter of G\u00fdmir;[100] their\nson was Fj\u00f6lnir. Another name of Frey was Yngvi; this name was long\nafterwards used among his kin as a name of honour, and his kinsmen were\nafterwards called Ynglingar. Frey fell sick; when he was near death they\ntook counsel and allowed few men to see him; they made a large mound\nready for him with a door and three holes. When Frey was dead they\ncarried him secretly into the mound and told the Swedes that he was\nalive, and kept him there for three winters. They poured all the taxes\ninto the mound, the gold through one hole, the silver through another,\nand the brass pennings through the third. Then peace and good seasons\ncontinued\u201d (Ynglinga, c. 12).\n\n\n\u201cWhen all the Sv\u00edar knew that Frey was dead, and peace and good seasons\ncontinued, they believed it would last while Frey was in Svithj\u00f3d, and\nwould not burn him, and called him the god of the world (veraldar god),\nand sacrificed ever since chiefly to him for good seasons and peace\u201d\n(Ynglinga, c. 13).\n\n\nAfter the death of Frey, Freyja, the daughter of Nj\u00f6rd, became the\npriestess, and offered the sacrifices.\n\n\n\u201cFreyja upheld the sacrifices, for she alone of the godar was then\nliving, and she became so renowned that all high-born women are called\n_fruvor_.[101] Thus every woman is the freyja of her property, and she\nwho has a household is h\u00fas-freyja[102] (housewife). Freyja was rather\nmany-minded (fickle); her husband was \u00d3d; her daughters were Hnoss\n(costly thing) and Gersemi (precious thing); they were very beautiful,\nand the costliest things are called by their names\u201d (Ynglinga, c. 13).\n\n\nAccording to the Ynglinga, Yngvi Frey was the son of Nj\u00f6rd, and Fj\u00f6lnir\nthe son of Yngvi Frey. Fj\u00f6lnir ruled over the Swedish and Upsala domain,\nand died in Zeeland. A strong friendship existed between him and Fr\u00f3di\nthe grandson of Skj\u00f6ld, the son of Odin, and it was the custom of these\ntwo chiefs to visit each other.\n\n\n\u201cFj\u00f6lnir the son of Yngvi Frey then ruled over the Swedes and the\nUpsala-wealth; he was a powerful king, and peace-happy and season-happy.\nAt that time Peace-Fr\u00f3di was at Hleidra (Leire); they were friends and\ninvited each other. When Fj\u00f6lnir came to Fr\u00f3di in Zeeland there was a\ngreat feast prepared for him, and people were invited to it from far and\nwide. Fr\u00f3di had a large house; in it there had been a large vat, many\nfeet high, held together by large timbers; it stood in the lower story,\nand there was a loft above in which there was an opening through which\nthe drink could be poured in; the vat was full of mixed mead,[103] a\nvery strong drink. In the evening Fj\u00f6lnir and his men were shown to\ntheir room on the next loft. In the night he went out on the svalir (a\nkind of balcony) to look for something; he was overcome with sleep and\ndead-drunk. When he returned to his room he walked along the balcony to\nthe door leading into the next room, and there he missed his footing and\nfell into the mead-vat and perished\u201d (Ynglinga, c. 14).\n\n\nSvegdir succeeded his father, Fj\u00f6lnir, and though several generations\nhad passed away since the death of the last Odin, the veneration towards\nAsgard, the old home of the earlier Odin, was strong in the heart of the\npeople.\n\n\n\u201cThis Sweden they called Mannheimar (the world of men), but the large\nSweden they called Godheimar (the world of gods); from Godheimar many\ntidings and wonders were told\u201d (Ynglinga, c. 10).\n\n\n\u201cSvegdir took the realm after his father; he made a vow to search for\nGodheim and Odin the old. He went with twelve men far and wide about the\nworld; he came to Tyrkland and to Sweden the great, and met there many\nof his friends and kinsmen, and was five winters on that journey.[104]\nThen he came back to Sweden, and stayed at home for some time. He had\nmarried a woman called Vana in Vanaheim; their son was Vanlandi. Svegdir\nwent again in search of Godheim. In the eastern part of Sweden there is\na large b\u0153r called Stein (stone); there stands a rock as large as a big\nhouse. One evening after sunset, when Svegdir ceased drinking and went\nto his sleeping-house, he saw a Dverg sitting outside the rock. Svegdir\nand his men were very drunk, and ran to the rock. The Dverg stood in the\ndoor and shouted to Svegdir to come in if he wanted to meet Odin.\nSvegdir rushed into the rock, which at once closed upon him, and he came\nnot back\u201d (Ynglinga, c. 15).\n\n\nA description of the leading events in the life of each of the remaining\nmythical or semi-mythical rulers named in the genealogies is given in\nthe Ynglinga, but we have only thought it necessary to place before the\nreader these few typical examples, as the scope of the work will not\nadmit of a fuller treatment of the subject; though some extracts have\nbeen incorporated in the Chapter on Customs, &c.\n\nThe Northern chiefs traced their ancestry from this Odin of the North,\nwhose influence had become so great with King Gylfi that two of his\nsons, as we have seen, married the latter\u2019s daughters.\n\nWhen reading the Saga literature we are particularly struck by the\nfrequent references made to pedigrees in which the people of the North\ntook great pride. There are three great genealogical branches through\nwhich the Northern chiefs traced their descent from Odin.\n\n\n\u201cAll who are truly wise in events know that the Tyrkjar and Asia-men\nsettled in the northern lands. Then began the tongue which has since\nspread over all lands. The leader of these people was called Odin, and\nto him men trace their families\u201d[105] (Sturlaug\u2019s Saga (Fornaldars\u00f6gur,\n111), c. 1).\n\n\nThese genealogical branches are:\u20141. The _Ynglinga_; or that of H\u00e1lfd\u00e1n\nthe black, the nephew of R\u00f6gnvald Jarl. 2. The _H\u00e1leygja_; or that of\nHakon Jarl the great. 3. The _Skj\u00f6ldunga_; or that of Harald Hildit\u00f6nn\nor the Danish branch.\n\nIf we could admit that these genealogies are more or less correct, and\nif we struck an average by generations (of thirty years) the result\nwould make Odin live about the beginning of the Christian era; if a\nlonger average of life is allotted, he would have lived some centuries\nbefore that date. But of course the genealogies must be treated as in\nthe main mythical.\n\nThe _Ynglingatal_,[106] a genealogical poem,[107] composed for R\u00f6gnvald\nHeidumh\u0153ri (the uncle of Harald Fairhair), traces the family of R\u00f6gnvald\nthrough thirty generations up to Odin, and being probably composed a\nlittle after 900, it would make Odin live _about 100 before Christ_.\n\nAri in ch. 12 of Islendingab\u00f3k traces his family through thirty-seven\ndegrees up to Yngvi Tyrkja King.\n\nThese are the names of the forefathers of the Ynglingar and\nBreidfirdingar (Men of Breidifjord):\u2014\n\n 1. Yngvi Tyrkjaking.\n\n 2. Nj\u00f6rd Sviaking.\n\n 3. Frey.\n\n 4. Fj\u00f6lnir, who died at Frid-Fr\u00f3di\u2019s.\n\n 5. Svegdir.\n\n 6. Vanlandi.\n\n 7. V\u00edsbur.\n\n 8. D\u00f3maldi.\n\n 9. D\u00f3mar.\n\n 10. Dyggvi.\n\n 11. Dag.\n\n 12. Alrek.\n\n 13. Agni.\n\n 14. Yngvi.\n\n 15. J\u00f6rund.\n\n 16. Aun the old.\n\n 17. Egil Vendikr\u00e1ka.\n\n 18. Ottar.\n\n 19. Adils at Uppsalir.\n\n 20. Eystein.\n\n 21. Yngvar.\n\n 22. Braut-\u00f6nund.\n\n 23. Ingjald the evil.\n\n 24. \u00d3laf, wood-chopper (tretelgja).\n\n 25. H\u00e1lfd\u00e1n Whiteleg Upplendingaking.\n\n 26. Godrod.\n\n 27. \u00d3laf.\n\n 28. Helgi.\n\n 29. Ingjald, the son of the daughter of Sigurd, son of Ragnar Lodbrok.\n\n 30. Oleif the white (king in Dublin).\n\n 31. Thorstein the red.\n\n 32. Glei Feilan, the first of them who settled in Iceland.\n\n 33. Th\u00f3rd gellir.\n\n 34. Eyj\u00f3lf, who was baptized in his old age when Christianity came to\n Iceland.\n\n 35. Thorkel.\n\n 36. Gellir, the father of Thorkel and Brand and Thorgils, Ari\u2019s father.\n\nAs another example of these genealogies we give that of\n\nTHE SKJOLDUNGA BRANCH.\n\n Odin Asa-king. Fr\u00f3di. Fridleif.\n Skj\u00f6ld. Vermund the Wise. Fr\u00f3di the Valiant.[108]\n Fridleif. \u00d3laf the Humble. |\n Fridfr\u00f3di. Dan the Proud. |\n Fridleif. Fr\u00f3di the Peaceful. |\n H\u00e1var the Hand- |\n strong. |\n +-----------------------+---------------------+\n | |\n Ingjald. H\u00e1lfd\u00e1n.\n Hr\u0153rek Ringniggard. Helgi.\n Fr\u00f3di. Hrolf Kraki.\n H\u00e1lfd\u00e1n. Hr\u00f3ar.\n Hr\u0153rek Ring-thrower. Valdar the mild.\n Harald Hildit\u00f6nn. Harald the old.\n H\u00e1lfd\u00e1n the Valiant.\n Ivar Vidfadmi.\n Aud the Deep-minded = married, 1. Hr\u0153rek\n Ring-thrower.\n | 2. Randbard.\n | |\n +-------------------------+---------+------------------+\n | |\n Randver. Aslaug.\n Sigurd Hring. Sigurd Hart.\n Ragnar Lodbrok. Ragnhild.\n Sigurd Snake-eye. Harald Fairhair (A.D. 872\u2013933).\n\nThe following passage from the \u2018Later Edda,\u2019 which refers to this\nbranch, may help the curious to fix the dates of these chiefs. According\nto it Odin the hero lived some years before the beginning of the\nChristian era.\n\n\n\u201cSkj\u00f6ld (Shield) was the son of Odin, from whom the Skj\u00f6ldungar are\ndescended. He dwelt in and ruled over the lands now called Danm\u00f6rk,\nwhich were then called Gotland. Skj\u00f6ld had a son, Fridleif, who ruled\nthe lands after him.\n\nFridleif\u2019s son Fr\u00f3di got the kingship after his father, about the time\nwhen the Emperor Augustus made peace all over the world; then Christ was\nborn. As Fr\u00f3di was the most powerful of all kings in the Northern lands,\nall who spoke the Danish (Dansk) tongue[109] attributed the peace to\nhim, and the Northmen called it the Peace of Fr\u00f3di. No man did harm to\nanother, even if he met the slayer of his father or his brother bound or\nloose; no thieves or robbers were then found, so that a gold ring lay\nfor a long time in Jalangr-heath (_i.e._, was not taken by any one)\u201d\n(\u2018Later Edda.\u2019 Sk\u00e1ldskaparmal, c. 43).\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER VIII.\n THE STONE AGE.\n\n Prehistoric ages of man\u2014Use of metal unknown\u2014First traces of\n man\u2014Weapons of flint, bone, &c.\u2014Graves of the Stone\n Age\u2014Introduction of domestic animals\u2014The cromlech or dolmen always\n near the sea\u2014Gallery or passage graves\u2014The passage grave of\n Karleby\u2014Stone coffin graves\u2014Sepulchral chambers\u2014Objects of the\n Stone Age.\n\n\nWe have now given accounts of the literature which contains the earliest\nrecords of the people of the North. Let us pause and study for a while\nits arch\u00e6ology, which will throw considerable light also on its\ninhabitants and their customs.\n\nIt is now generally recognised by arch\u00e6ologists that all people who have\nadvanced to a certain degree of civilisation have passed through three\nperiods of development, which according to the material of which their\nimplements, weapons, and utensils were made, have been named the\n_stone_, the _bronze_, and the _iron_ age. We have very abundant\nevidence that the people of the North passed through these three stages,\nand indeed had reached the iron age before they came within the ken of\nhistory. Beginning with the stone age, let us see what we can learn of\nthe civilisation of the North from the various articles which were in\nuse during the three stages.\n\nThe finds in the North have been classified under the name \u201c_grave_,\u201d\n\u201c_bog_,\u201d and \u201c_earth_\u201d _finds_; that is, objects found in graves, bogs,\nor in the ground. In the latter case they are often hidden under stones,\nin obedience to the injunctions of Odin. Those of the iron age are found\nas far as 69\u00b0 North latitude.\n\nThe custom of burying different objects with the dead, and also that of\nthrowing objects and weapons into springs or bogs, or of hiding them in\nthe ground, has helped in a most remarkable manner to give us an idea of\nthe industries and daily life of the people there at a remote period.\n\nIn the earliest age the use of metal was unknown, the weapons were made\nof stone, horn, and bone,[110] and towards the close of this age pottery\nwas made.\n\nThe first traces of man in some parts of the present Scandinavia are the\n_kj\u00f6kkenm\u00f6ddinger_ (kitchen refuse heaps), consisting of oyster and\nmussel shells, bones of fish, birds, and mammals, such as the deer,\nbear, boar, beaver, seal, ure-ox, wolf, fox, &c., &c., with remains of\nclay vessels. Among and near these heaps of refuse are found a great\nnumber of rude implements and weapons made of flint, bone, horn, and\nbroken flint chips, also fireplaces made of a few stones roughly put\ntogether, thus showing that the inhabitants lived in a very primitive\nstate.\n\nNo graves of the earliest period of the stone age have thus far been\nfound in the North. Towards the latter part of this age we see a great\nimprovement in the making of weapons and tools; the latter were\nbeautifully polished, and graceful in form. Domestic animals had also\nbeen introduced, as shown by the bones of cattle, horses, sheep, pigs,\nand dogs, that have been found in the graves. Beads of amber and bone\nwere worn as ornaments. The graves of the stone age discovered in the\npresent Scandinavia and on the islands and shores of the Baltic may be\nclassified in four groups: the _cromlech_ or _dolmen_; the _passage_ or\n_gallery graves_; the _free-standing stone coffins_; and the _stone\ncoffins covered by a mound_.[111]\n\nThe cromlechs consist of from three to five large stones standing\nupright, and so placed as to form a ring, with a large block or boulder\non the top. These were intended for a single body, buried in a sitting\nposition, with flint implements and weapons. The walls of the chamber\nwere made by large stones, smooth inside, and the floor consisted of\nsand or gravel. Certain marks on the tops of stones seem to indicate\nthat sacrifices to the dead were prevalent; holes about 2 inches in\nwidth are found on the roofs of some cromlechs and passage graves. These\ncromlechs always occur near the sea, seldom more than seven miles from\nthe coast. The other graves of the stone age are often found far inland,\nbut they are almost always near a lake or river having connection with\nthe sea.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 2.\u2014Cromlech near Haga, Bohusl\u00e4n.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 3.\u2014Cromlech (stend\u00f6s) with concave recesses on the roof-stone,\n near Fasmorup, in Sk\u00e5ne.\n]\n\nThe cromlechs which appear to be the latest graves of this age have a\nmuch wider distribution than the other forms; they are found in nearly\nall the provinces where the older forms of graves occur. Most of them\nwere in or on the top of a mound, which almost always had the roof, and\nin most cases part of the wall, uncovered. The mound, which is generally\nround, sometimes oblong, is surrounded at its base by stones often very\nlarge; when this was oblong, the grave was nearer the one end than the\nother.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 4.\u2014One of three oblong cromlechs, distance between each about 120\n feet, length 52 feet, and width 20 feet, position north and south,\n Lille Rorb\u0153k, Zeeland. The central one had two stone-built chambers,\n both with the entrance from the east. The southern burial chamber is\n now destroyed, while the northern is completely preserved. It is 5\u00bd\n feet long, and 3 feet wide, and has four walls of stone, three of\n which support a stone roof.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 5.\u2014Sepulchral chamber covered with a mound, Kallundborg, Zeeland;\n height about 16 feet. In levelling the mound the earth was found to\n contain articles which tend to show the existence of a\n \u201ckj\u00f3kkenm\u00f6dding.\u201d\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 6.\u2014Passage grave on Axvalla heath, near Lake Venern,\n Vesterg\u00f6tland, Sweden, situated on a hill overlooking a flat\n country. Numerous graves belonging to that period are found in the\n neighbourhood.\n\n The walls are made by large slabs, those in the passage being lower\n than the slabs of the quadrangle. The roof is of flat slabs of\n granite, 5 to 6 feet above the floor, a similar one serving as a\n door, closing the outer end of the passage, which is 20 feet long,\n and 2\u00bd to 3 feet broad, and 3 feet high. The mortuary itself (the\n quadrangle) is 32 feet long by 9 feet broad.\n\n _The dead sit along the walls_, young and old, men and women, the chin\n resting in both hands, with their legs drawn up. Thin slabs form the\n cells round each skeleton, and are about 3 feet high, consequently\n do not reach the roof. Arrow points, knives, etc., of flintstone,\n are found with the men, pieces of amber with the women.\n\n Numbers of similar graves are found in Sweden and Denmark, a single\n grave sometimes containing nearly one hundred bodies.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 7.\u2014Plan of above grave.\n]\n\nGallery or passage graves consisted of a chamber and a narrow gallery\nleading into it, the whole being covered by a mound, the base of which\nwas generally surrounded by a circle of larger or smaller stones.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 8.\u2014Passage grave near Karleby\u2014front view; length of the main\n gallery, covered by nine large stones, 52 feet; width, 7 feet;\n length of passage, 40 feet; height, 6 feet.\n]\n\nThe chamber in a passage grave is either oblong, square, oval, or nearly\nround; the walls are formed by large upright blocks, not quite smooth,\nthough even on the inside; the interstices are generally carefully\nfilled up with gravel or fragments of stone, and birch bark is sometimes\nfound between the blocks. The roof was formed by immense flat slabs or\nblocks, smooth on the under side, but rough on the top, the interstices\nbeing closed in the same manner as those in the walls. The floor is\nsometimes covered with small flat stones, but usually with earth. On the\nlong side of the chamber there is an opening, from which a passage was\nbuilt in the same manner as the chamber, only longer and narrower. This\npassage, or more precisely its inner part, was covered with blocks\nresembling the roof blocks of the chamber, but smaller; near the inner\nopening of the passage, and the outer end of its covered part a kind of\ndoor setting has been often found, consisting of a stone threshold and\ntwo narrow doorposts.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 9.\u2014Side view of passage grave near Karleby.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 10.\u2014Ground-plan of passage grave near Karleby.\n\n The irregular lines show the position of the slabs covering the grave.\n]\n\nThe passage graves vary much in size. The length of the chamber is\ngenerally from 11\u00bd to 23 feet, its width from 5 to 10 feet; height from\n3\u00bd to 4\u00bd feet. The passage is often as long as the chamber, or even\nlonger, and its width is from 2 to 4 feet, and height from 3 to 5 feet.\nBut some are much larger, and are called giants\u2019 graves. One of the\nlargest of these graves is that of Karleby, near Falk\u00f6ping,\nVesterg\u00f6tland, in Sweden, where a great number of the graves of the\nstone age have been found.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 11.\u2014Stone coffin (h\u00e4llkista) near Skattened, in S\u00f6dra Ryrs\n parish, Vesterg\u00f6tland, 21\u00bc feet in length. Graves of this type are\n very numerous in Bohuslan also, and in Dal and south-western\n Vermland.\n]\n\nThis grave[112] was found under a large but not very deep mound, and is\ndivided into a large chamber and two smaller ones, separated by stone\nslabs.\n\nIn it were remains of sixty skeletons, and by their side a large number\nof poniards, spear-points, arrow-heads, and other objects of flint and\nstone, showing that the grave belonged to the period when stone\nimplements were still in use; but among the skeletons in the lower part\nof the grave a couple of bronze beads and a bronze spear-point were\nfound.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 12.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 13.\u2014Plan of above Mound.\n\n Mound, Broholm. Sepulchral chamber made of boulders, with short\n passage leading to it. Stones from 4 feet 15 inches to 4 feet high,\n and 2\u00bd to 4 feet wide; inside of the chamber 9 feet wide. Only four\n stones remain of the passage leading to the chamber, which is about\n 2 feet wide, and turns south-west. The space between the boulders is\n filled with small stones. In the chamber were charcoal and different\n things. To the left of the entrance lay remains of two skulls close\n to each other; and spread in every direction were daggers, blades,\n and points of spears, points of arrows, numerous amber beads, a\n necklace of amber, four clay vessels, and fragments of others, &c.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 14.\u2014Entrance to passage grave at Uby, Holb\u00e6k amt, Denmark.\n Diameter 100 feet, height 14 feet. The length of the chamber is 13\u00bd\n feet, width 7\u00bd feet, height 7\u00bd feet. Entrance towards the south\n passage is 18 feet long, 2\u00bd feet wide, and 5\u00bd feet high. There were\n found in the passage many human bones and several flint implements\n and three small clay urns.\n]\n\nThe isolated stone coffins were formed of flat upright stones, and were\nfour-sided, though the two longer sides were not parallel, thus making\nthe coffin narrower at one end than at the other. Most of them were\nprobably covered with one or more stones; and although these have in\nmany places long ago been destroyed or removed, they are sometimes still\nfound in their place. The direction of these coffins is almost always\nfrom north to south, and they are generally surrounded by a mound of\nstones of more or less stone-mixed earth. This form of grave was\nprobably the outcome of the omission of the passage. Several\nintermediate forms have been found, showing how the passage was\ngradually lessened until it can only be traced in the opening which\nnarrows at the south end of the coffin.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 15.\u2014Interior of the passage grave at Uby. The spaces between the\n large stones filled with pebbles. The roof is formed by two large\n stones which have been cut from a large block.\n]\n\nThe length of the stone coffin was generally from 8 to 13\u00bd feet, width\nfrom 3 to 5 feet, height from 2\u00bd to 5 feet. A few, especially in\nVesterg\u00f6tland, are from 19\u00bd to 31 feet in length, one of the longest\ngraves of this kind in Sweden being one on Stora Lundskulla, in\nVesterg\u00f6tland, with a length of 34 feet, and width of 8 feet. Nearly all\nother stone coffins found are, like the gallery graves, without a stone\nat the southern end. This cannot be accidental.\n\nBesides the stone coffin above described, several have been found\ncovered with a mound. The chambers are generally formed of upright flat\nstones, and roofed also with stones. They are generally smaller than the\nstone coffins, being from 6 to 10 feet long, and closed on all four\nsides; sometimes, however, there is found in the southern end an opening\nas previously mentioned.\n\n POTTERY.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 16.\u2014Clay urn\u2014Stone age\u2014\u2153 real size. In passage grave, Stege,\n island of M\u00f6en, Baltic, found with remains of some skeletons. Two\n stone axes, a flint saw, 2 arrow-points, 3 spear-heads, fragments of\n clay vessels with covers, pieces of a wooden tub, 2 awls of bone, a\n chisel of bone, 3 flint wedges, 2 flat scrapers of flint, and 17\n amber beads for necklace were also found in the grave. The same\n mound was afterwards used for burials belonging to the bronze age,\n with cinerary urns with burned bones, on the top of which was a\n double-edged bronze knife, &c.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 17.\u2014Amber-beads forming a necklace found in the grave with the\n clay urn.\n\n The same mound was afterwards used for burial belonging to the bronze\n age; near the top, and entirely separate from the burial-chambers,\n there was discovered a very small stone coffin containing an urn\n with burnt bones, and on these lay a fine double-edged knife, a\n knife, and a pair of pincers, all of bronze.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 18.\u2014Clay vessel found near Fredericia, Jutland. \u2153 real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 19.\u2014Clay urn. Stone age grave, with flint weapons and\n amber-beads. \u2153 real size. Island of M\u00f6en.\n]\n\n POTTERY OF THE STONE AGE.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 20.\u2014Necklace of amber beads found with other amber beads and\n ornaments, altogether about 2,500, in a bog at the hamlet of L\u0153sten,\n Viborg amt, Jutland. \u00bc real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 21.\u2014Clay vessel which had a top, Stone age. \u2153 real size.\u2014M\u00f6en.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 22.\u2014Stone axes, of the form of some bronze axes. Several\n specimens in the Copenhagen Museum. \u2153 real size.\u2014Fyen.\n\n The two axes in this page are given on account of their peculiar form,\n similar\n to that of the bronze age. Many other forms of weapons will be found\n illustrated in \u2018The Land of the Midnight Sun.\u2019\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 23.\u2014Clay vessel found in a burial chamber with flint implements\n and other objects near Aalborg, Denmark. \u2153 real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 24.\u2014Clay vessel found in a large passage grave, with flint, and\n other implements, near Haderslev, Slesvig. \u2153 real size.\n]\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER IX.\n THE BRONZE AGE.\n\n Abundance of gold\u2014Stone occasionally used for\n arrow-heads\u2014Pottery\u2014Graves\u2014Commencement of cremation\u2014Objects of\n this period\u2014Proficiency in the art of casting\u2014Weapons\u2014Ornaments\n more varied than in the stone age\u2014The Kivik grave\u2014Oak\n coffins\u2014Clothing of the bronze age\u2014Sewing implements\u2014Burnt and\n unburnt bodies sometimes found in the same grave\u2014Gold vessels and\n ornaments\u2014Bronze vessels\u2014Battle-horns\u2014Bronze knives.\n\n\nWhile the three ages to some extent overlap, while we find stone\narticles running into the bronze age, and bronze and even stone into the\niron age, still the distinction between the three periods is too clearly\nmarked to be overlooked. Thus in the bronze age, characterised by the\nuse of that metal and of gold, the weapons were almost entirely of\nbronze; amber still continued to be used for ornaments, and towards the\nclose of this epoch glass, in the shape of beads, and iron appeared, but\nsilver seems to have been unknown. Sometimes stone continued to be used\nfor arrow-heads and spear-points.\n\nThe pottery shows a distinct improvement on that of the stone age.\n\nThe graves of the bronze age, as in the preceding stone age, are covered\nby a mound of earth, or a cairn, and contain several burial places.\nDuring the latter part of the bronze age the custom of burning the dead\nwas introduced, but in the earlier part the bodies were unburnt. When\nthe custom of cremation commenced and how long it lasted it is utterly\nimpossible to tell, but from the numerous finds it is evident that it\nmust have been in use long before iron became known. The graves of this\nperiod also generally lie on the top of some high hill, or the cairns\nare placed on the summit of some promontory having an unobstructed view\nof the sea or some large sheet of water. These graves prove that the\nshores of the Baltic and of the Cattegat were once thickly inhabited by\na people having the same customs and religion; and from the situations\nof the graves, as well as from the objects, etc., in them, we learn that\nthey were a seafaring people. North of the great lakes on the large\nScandinavian peninsula these antiquities become more rare, thus showing\nthat country not to have been so thickly settled.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 25.\u2014Cake of a rosin-like substance made of a paste of birch bark,\n and containing fragments of amber, used as a kind of putty to fill\n up the hollows of objects of bronze, &c., found in bogs and urns\n belonging to the bronze age.\n]\n\nFrom the finds of beautiful and often costly antiquities belonging to\nthe bronze age,[113] and from their great numbers, the fact is brought\nvividly to our mind, that even before iron was discovered there existed\nin those regions a remarkable culture.\n\nThe people had attained very great proficiency in the art of casting,\nmost of the objects are cast, and some of the weapons have still the\nmark of the clay upon them; the model was sometimes made of wax and clay\nput round it, the bronze was cast into the mould thus made, and the wax\nmelted into the mould which afterwards was broken in order to take out\nthe sword or object manufactured. Some of the small daggers especially\nare marvels of casting, which could not be surpassed to-day. The largest\nswords are cast in one piece. In the collection at Copenhagen nine of\nthese are perfect, the size of the longest being from 35 to 38 inches.\nThe swords, daggers, poniards often have their hilts ornamented or\ntwisted with threads of gold.\n\nThe weapons of the bronze epoch are the same as those of the stone age;\nponiards, axes, spears, bows and arrows. The sword and the shield seem\nto have been in common use; one of these now in Copenhagen was found\ncovered with thin gold.\n\nThe simple ornaments of the stone age are replaced by more varied and\nbeautiful ones. Gold jewels and vases become common and testify to the\nwealth of the people. In this age as in the preceding age of stone, the\npeople of the North attained a greater degree of proficiency, and seem\nto have possessed a higher degree of civilisation than the people of\nCentral and Northern Europe belonging to the same period.\n\nThe graves containing unburnt bones which belong to the early period of\nthe bronze age are very similar to those of the preceding period of the\nstone age, they contain several skeletons then finally decrease in size\nuntil they become about 7 feet long, or just large enough to contain one\nbody.\n\nThe bodies were often not buried in stone chambers but in coffins made\nof the trunks of oak trees. It may be that at a later period the customs\nof burning bodies and burying bodies unburnt co-existed, as will be seen\nin the account of the iron age. The warrior was buried with his weapons\njust as in the stone age.\n\nOne of the most interesting graves which I have seen, belonging,\nprobably, to the bronze age, is the Kivik cairn (see p. 88), near the\nsea on a beautiful bay near the town of Cimbrisham. This monument is the\nonly one of its kind known in the North. It shows perfect resemblance to\nothers of the bronze age, and differs only from the cairns found on the\nhilltops of Bohusl\u00e4n in its larger size. We have looked with great care\nat the tracings, which are not so deep as those of the rock-tracings\nsituated in the neighbourhood. The signs carved on the stones are\nevidently symbolical, and were so made as to look upon the great chief\nthat had been buried there.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 26.\u2014Skeleton in a grave, about 8 feet 5 inches long, lying\n south-west and north-east. The mound, which was about 4 feet high,\n with a diameter of 50 feet, contained in the centre another grave.\n Hesselagergaard, Broholm, Fyen. The original position of the head of\n the warrior was 19 inches from the line of stones. The warrior was\n buried with his weapons just as in the stone age. The following were\n some of the objects found in the grave: Fragments of a bronze\n fibula, a little above the head to the right. Two bronze rings, on\n each side of the head, 6 inches from it. A bronze necklet; 13 inches\n below the lower edge of the necklet was a large, flat, bronze\n titulus (sort of shield boss) ornamented with three rows of spirals.\n Above the edge of the large titulus was a bronze dagger, in a\n scabbard, 8\u00bd inches long.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 27.\u2014Man buried with ornaments. Grave, 9 feet 6 inches long, 2\n feet 3 inches wide, in a mound, Hesselagergaard. Among the ornaments\n were some spiral bracelets and finger rings, amber beads and one\n light blue glass bead.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 28.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 29.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 30.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 31.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 32.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 33.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 34.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 35.\n\n Slab, from the Kivik grave.[114]\n]\n\nThe Kivik grave, like many others belonging to the bronze age situated\nby the sea, is about 700 feet in circumference. The coffin, of flat\nupright slabs, was discovered in 1750; its length is fourteen feet;\nwidth, three feet. It is formed by four slabs on each side, and one at\nthe north end. These were nearly four feet high, three feet wide, and\neight to nine inches thick, and placed side by side. The inner surfaces\nwere more or less smooth, though neither cut nor polished, and on these\nwere the tracings. Two of these stones were lost about seventy years\nago. The grave was covered with three slabs, and pointed north and\nsouth.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 36.\u2014Oak coffin. Kongsh\u00f6i find (Jutland).\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 37.\u2014Oak coffin, with skeleton body covered with a woollen cloak,\n Treenh\u00f6i, Jutland; one half serving as bed.\n]\n\nIn a mound at Havdrup in Ribe amt, Jutland, there were found in 1861\nthree well-preserved oak coffins. The contents of two had been taken out\nbefore the discovery was notified to the authorities, but the third was\nfound in the state shown in the illustration. Near this mound was that\nof Kongsh\u00f6i, containing four well-preserved oaken coffins. The contents\nof these were however not as well preserved as those in the coffins of\nTreenh\u00f6i. At the top of this mound there were discovered clay urns with\nburnt bones.\n\nIn some of these oaken coffins are found wooden bowls with handles, and\nornamented with inserted pins of tin.\n\nThe articles of dress, found in a most extraordinary state of\npreservation in the oak coffin, kept from decay no doubt by the tannin\nin the oak, show how the people of the North dressed well before iron\nhad come into use among them. These are the earliest perfect garments\nknown, and even the latest period to which they belong cannot be far\nfrom three thousand years ago, and they may be of a much earlier date.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 38.\u2014Oak coffin, Treenh\u00f6i, Jutland; one half serving as bed.\n]\n\nAmong the most interesting graves which have given remarkable results in\nregard to dress are the mounds of Treenh\u00f6i by Vandrup, near Kolding, in\nJutland.\n\nIn a man\u2019s grave was a small cap covering the head of the body, which\nwas wrapped in a deer-skin, composed of several sewn pieces of woven\nmaterial, and ornamented outside with woollen threads, which had been\ninserted, and terminating with knots.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 39.\u2014Cap.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 40.\u2014Woollen shawl.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 41.\u2014Cap.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 42.\u2014Coarse woollen cloak.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 43.\u2014Woollen skirt held by a striped band.\n\n Articles of clothing, Treenh\u00f6i, Jutland.\n]\n\nOn the left side under the cloak lay a bronze sword in a wooden sheath,\nof lath lined with deer-skin, the hair being inside. The hilt was\nornamented by an oval bronze button at its top. There were no traces of\nleggings or other protection for the legs, but the feet seem to have\nbeen protected by strips of wool, and to have had leather shoes or\nsandals on.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 44.\u2014Woman\u2019s skirt and bodice of wool, found with bronze\n ornaments, and a bronze poniard with horn handle by the side of the\n body which had been wrapped in a deer-skin.\u2014Aarhus, North Jutland.\n]\n\nThe graves of women contain daggers, which may possibly imply that the\nwomen had been warriors; also large spiral rings, various ornaments,\nfinger-rings, bracelets, glass beads, &c.\n\nWomen\u2019s dress of the bronze age seems to have consisted of the skirt and\nbodice as at the present time, but the men\u2019s clothes were quite\ndifferent from those of the iron age; in the earlier time trousers were\nnot worn, while we see them in use in the latter.\n\nMany sewing implements of bronze have been found in the graves, the\nneedles like those of the stone age are sometimes made of bone, but many\nare of bronze; awls were used to pierce the holes in garments that were\nmade of skins, and some peculiar shaped knives have been found which\nwere probably used in the making of skin clothing, or in cutting\nleather.\n\nIn a grave-mound near Aarhus, in North Jutland, a coffin made of two oak\nlogs was found. The bottom of the coffin was covered with an untanned ox\nor deer-hide. On this lay a large cloak, made of coarse wool and\ncattle-hair. In the cloak, which was partly destroyed, was wrapped the\nskeleton of a woman dressed. The hair was long and dark, and a net\ncovered the head, tied under the chin.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 45.\u2014Profile of mound of the bronze age, with large coffin and\n unburnt body, and stone cist with cinerary urn containing burnt\n bones, also three smaller stone cists filled with burnt bones.\n D\u00f6mmerstorf, S. Halland.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 46.\u2014Mound and sepulchral cist. The stones in this grave were of\n size of the fist, and formed a pavement of a diameter of about a\n yard. The urn contained burnt bones, among which were found a bronze\n awl, and fragments of a bronze saw.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 47.\u2014Mound at Elsehoved, Fyen. At the bottom, in the centre of the\n mound, was found an irregular grave filled with earth, of about 4\n feet 9 inches in length, 1 foot 9 inches in width, 1 foot 10 inches\n in depth (measured inside). Outside, on the natural soil, was spread\n a bed of earth, rich in charcoal, which contained remains of burnt\n bones and pieces of a clay urn, &c.\n]\n\nBurnt and unburnt bodies are sometimes found in the same mound; the\nlatter generally at the bottom of the graves, the former at the top,\nthis shows that the graves with unburnt bodies are considerably the\nolder of the two. A mound with several graves may possibly have been the\nburial place of one family. The graves of the later bronze age are more\nnumerous on the shores of the Baltic than in other parts of Europe.\nSometimes the burnt remains have been found wrapped in clothing, and\nplaced in an ordinary sized coffin, but more generally these burnt bones\nare preserved in urns of clay enclosed in a small stone cist.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 48.\u2014Cairn covered with earth, bronze age, Kongstrup, Zealand.\n Diameter nearly 40 feet; height, 10 feet; covered with about 3 feet\n of clay, containing over thirty urns, one of which was fastened with\n a resin-like substance; with burnt bones and cinders, protected by\n little sepulchral cists made of slabs.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 49.\u2014Mound of the bronze age, covering a double ring of stones;\n diameter of outside ring 86 feet; containing several burial-places,\n with urns and burnt bones.\u2014Near Kallundborg, Zealand.\n]\n\nThese stone cists of about the length of an average man are interesting\nas indicating the transition to the small ones containing burnt bones;\nsome of these of a size large enough for an unburnt body have contained\nonly a small heap of burnt bones, and evidently belonged to the period\nwhen the cremation of the dead began to prevail. Many of these little\ncists are only large enough to enclose a clay pot, in which the bones\nwere collected; sometimes no coffins were found, but only clay pots\ncontaining ashes, a small bronze knife, a bit of bronze saw, or\nsomething of that kind. In some cases the bones were put simply into a\nhole in the mound and the whole covered with a stone slab.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 50.\u2014Clay vase; \u2159 real size. Found in stone cist in the mound with\n an urn containing burnt bones, among which lay two bronze\n knives.\u2014Mound at Gj\u00f6ttrup, near L\u00f6gst\u00f6r, Denmark.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 51.\u2014Pot of burned clay; \u00bc real size. Found in a mound with urns\n and bronze objects.\u2014Vidstrup, Hj\u00f6rring amt, Denmark.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 52.\u2014Cinerary urn, \u2159 real size. Burnt bones.\u2014Holstein.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 53.\u2014Cinerary urn, \u2159 real size. With burnt bones.\u2014Jutland.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 54.\u2014Fragment of woollen cloth. Real size. Found at the bottom of\n a mound at D\u00f6mmestorp, in Halland; in a fold of it lay a\n well-preserved bronze poniard with its leather scabbard. The shawl\n was 5 feet long and 20 inches wide.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 55.\u2014Magleh\u00f6j mound; height about 14 feet, diameter 40 to 50 feet;\n with sepulchral chamber, height, 5 feet; width, 5\u00bd feet; length, 7\n feet. Inside the chamber the ground was laid with cobble-stones; on\n top of these flint-stones, 2 to 3 inches in thickness; and then\n again a layer of cobble-stones, and among these were found: a diadem\n of bronze, two pieces of shields or breast-armour, the blade of a\n dagger, &c., &c.\u2014Zeeland.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 56.\u2014Floor of chamber.\u2014Magleh\u00f6j.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 57.\u2014Interior of chamber with cinerary urn.\u2014Magleh\u00f6j.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 58.\u2014Gold vessel, \u00bd real size, found with ten other similar ones.\n All of 20-carat gold. Placed with the handles downward in the bronze\n urn, Fyen (see p. 101).\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 59.\u2014Gold vessel, \u2153 real size, handle surrounded with gold\n threads. Found with a gold vessel in a mound, Zeeland.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 60.\u2014Bottom of the vase.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 61.\u2014Gold vessel, about \u00bd real size, found under a slab, Halland.\n Weight, 2 oz. 5 dr.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 62.\u2014Design forming the bottom part of the vase. \u00bc real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 63.\u2014Bracelet of solid gold, \u00be real size; weight, 6 oz.\u2014Scania.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 64.\u2014Diadem of gold, \u2154 real size, Balsby, Scania; deposited,\n together with four massive bronze axes, upon a slab below the\n surface of the ground.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 65.\u2014Hollow bracelet of gold, real size, found with four spiral\n gold bracelets near a large stone.\u2014Sk\u00e4rje, Bohuslan.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 66.\u2014Spiral ring of double thread of gold.\u2014Scania.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 67.\u2014Pincers of gold. Real size.\u2014Halland.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 68.\u2014Bronze pincers. \u00be real size.\u2014Fyen.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 69.\u2014Bronze pincers. Real size.\u2014Scania.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 70.\u2014Bronze vessel, with representation of sun ship, with prow and\n stern alike, as in northern ships. \u2153 real size.\u2014Bog near Aalborg,\n Denmark.\n]\n\nVessels of bronze are uncommon in the graves; some by their form seem to\nbe of Greek origin, while others appear to be of Northern make. Some\nbeautifully cast, and of peculiar shape, seem to have been made to be\nsuspended. Some are ornamented with the svastica[115] and other symbolic\nsigns, and may have been used to carry offerings to the gods.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 71.\u2014Bronze vase, in which were found eleven gold vessels with\n handles like illustration. Representation of sun ship, \u2153 real\n size.\u2014Bog find, R\u00f6nninge, Fyen, Denmark.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 72.\u2014A vase of bronze found in a grave-cist in a mound, Fyen. The\n cist was three feet wide, built of stone slabs, with one on the top.\n \u2153 real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 73.\u2014Bronze vase, with burnt bones, a gold arm-ring, four double\n buttons (two of gold and two of bronze), two bronze knives, &c.,\n Denmark.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 74.\u2014Bronze vase. \u00bd real size.\u2014Broby, Denmark.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 75.\u2014Bronze pail. \u00bc real size.\u2014\u00d6gemose, Denmark.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 76.\u2014Hanging vase of bronze. \u00bd real size.\u2014Bog, Sen\u0101te,\n Vesterg\u00f6tland.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 77.\u2014\u00bc real size. Svastica.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 78.\u2014\u2153 real size. Scania.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 79.\u2014\u00bc real size.\n\n Patterns of the bottom of different vases.\n]\n\nThe bogs[116] of Denmark contain large horns or trumpets, made entirely\nof bronze, with pendant chains (see p. 104). Nothing exactly\ncorresponding to them has yet been discovered in other countries. They\nhave been cast in several pieces, and with surprising skill, and are\ncarefully fastened together by rivets which interlace each other.\nSometimes they have been buried in the bogs in a broken state, but\ngenerally have been so well preserved that they can still be blown. They\nproduce a dull and not very loud sound. On one occasion they have been\nfound with a shield of bronze and a few bronze swords, hence their use\nin battle may be inferred. But generally several of them are found\ntogether, rarely less than two, and sometimes as many as six on the same\nspot.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 80.\u2014Battle horn of bronze, \u215b real size.\u2014Bog, Fredriksborg Amt,\n Denmark.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 81.\u2014Ornament to battle-horn. \u00bd real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 82.\u2014Horn of bronze, \u2150 real size.\u2014Bog, Scania, at a depth of over\n 6 feet.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 83.\u2014Battle horn of bronze, with chain ornamented with birds; \u215b\n real size, or 30 inches long.\u2014Bog, Ribe Amt, Denmark.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 84.\u2014Bronze boats covered with gold.\u2014Nors parish, North Jutland.\n]\n\nA perfectly unique find belonging to the bronze age is that discovered\nat Nors parish, Northern Jutland, in 1885. In an urn, greatly damaged,\nwere about 100 small boats of bronze canoe-shaped, about four to five\ninches in length, placed one into another, all covered inside and\noutside with a thin sheet of gold; some have been found to be ornamented\nwith concentric rings on the side. What was the meaning of the offering\nor find will always remain a mystery.\n\nThe curiously-shaped knives, which are found in very great numbers, seem\nto be peculiar to the North, and the North of Germany. What they were\nused for is hard to tell, possibly as sacrificial knives. It can hardly\nbe doubted that the signs upon them are symbolical; some may be\nrepresentations of the sun-ship, others are somewhat like minute\nrepresentations of the rock-tracings, or designs upon Greek coins, while\nthe heads of horses remind us of the gold vases represented in this\nchapter.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 85.\u2014Bronze knife, with sun ship and fish. Real size. In a mound\n at Skjellerup, near Aarhus, North Jutland.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 86.\u2014Bronze knife, without handle, with a serpent. Real size. In a\n mound, Jutland, with three stone coffins.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 87.\u2014Bronze knife. Real size. Found in mound in Jutland.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 88.\u2014Bronze knife in clay urn, with burnt bones, two other knives,\n &c. \u2154 real size.\u2014Denmark.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 89.\u2014Bronze knife, with a vessel. \u2154 real size. In a mound.\u2014Fyen.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 90.\u2014Bronze knife.\u2014Jutland.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 91.\u2014Bronze knife; ship, with two suns and S. Skanderborg Amt,\n Denmark. \u2154 real size.\u2014Jutland.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 92.\u2014Bronze knife, with ship, sun, and triskele. \u2154 real size.\u2014In\n an urn in Holstein.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 93.\u2014Bronze knife, mound at D\u00f6mmestorp, Halland, in a ruined stone\n cist. Real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 94.\u2014Bronze knife, with two ships very like those on\n rock-tracings. Real size.\u2014In a mound near Vimose on Fyen.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 95.\u2014Bronze knife, Scania. Real size.\u2014Scania.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 96.\u2014In a mound.\u2014Zeeland.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 97.\u2014Found in a field in Fyen, near Svendborg, with two other\n swords.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 98.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 99.\u2014Found with bones and charcoal in a mound.\u2014Fyen.\n\n Handles of bronze swords. \u2153 real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 100.\u2014Real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 101.\u2014Real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 102.\u2014Real size.\u2014Zeeland.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 103.\u2014In urn with burnt bones, together with a bronze knife,\n tongs, and an arrow-point. Real size.\u2014M\u00f6en.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 104.\u2014Real size.\u2014M\u00f6en.\n\n Daggers.\n\n Varying in size from 3 inches to 6\u00bd inches.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 105.\u2014\u00bd real size.\n\n In a field in the side of a lake with 163 pieces of bronze.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 106.\u2014\u00bd real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 107.\u2014\u00bc real size.\n\n Found with Fig. 105.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 108.\u2014\u00bd real size.\n\n Spear-heads, bronze.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 109.\u2014In a bog, Falster. \u2153 real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 110.\u2014In a bog, Jutland. \u2153 real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 111.\u2014In mound, Jutland. \u2153 real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 112.\u2014Upper part of bronze sword. \u00bd real size.\u2014Scania.\n\n Swords.\u2014These peculiar bronze swords are found in various towns in\n England and Germany.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 113.\u2014Spear-point of bronze. \u00bd real size. In a heap of coals with\n twenty other spear-points.\u2014Nordre Aurdal, Christiania.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 114.\u2014Spear-head of bronze. \u2153 real size.\u2014F\u00e1lk\u00f6ping, Vesterg\u00f6tland.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 115.\u2014Knife of bronze. \u2159 real size. In stone coffin in a mound,\n Island of M\u00f6en, in the Baltic, with a sword and a knife.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 116.\u2014Knife of bronze. \u2153 real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 117.\u2014Knife of bronze. \u2153 real size. In mound, Zeeland.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 118.\u2014Knife of bronze. \u00bd real size.\u2014Halland, Sweden.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 119.\u2014\u00bd real size. In urn, Holstein.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 120.\u2014\u2153 real size. In urn, Fyen.\n\n Knives of bronze.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 121.\u2014Bronze sword. \u2153 real size.\u2014Vestergotland.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 122.\u2014Sword of bronze, \u2155 real size.\u2014Lake L\u00e4ngsjon, Uppland.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 123.\u2014Dagger of bronze; full length, 24 inches.\u2014K\u00f6ngsh\u00f6i find,\n Denmark.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 124.\u2014Leather sheath for bronze dagger, handle of horn; in tumulus\n at D\u00f6mmestorp, Halland.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 125.\u2014One-edged bronze sword, found in a bog, \u00d6sterg\u00f6tland,\n Sweden. Length, about 20 inches. The only one of this type found in\n the North. Prof. Stephens in his \u2018Runic Monuments\u2019 shows that the\n type is Assyrian, and that it has come by the trade routes through\n Russia into Sweden from Asia.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 126.\u2014Bronze shield with handle. \u2155 real size.\u2014Denmark.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 127.\u2014Thin shield of bronze, \u215b real size, found in a bog at a\n depth of a little more than 3 feet. 66 inches full size diameter;\n bird-like figures round centre.\u2014Halland.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 128.\u2014One-eighth part of a small bronze shield, measuring only 27\n inches in diameter, containing eight triangles; \u00bd size. In a bog,\n Falster.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 129.\u2014\u2153 real size.\u2014Flensborg amt. Denmark.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 130.\u2014\u2153 real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 131.\u2014Massive bronze axe, \u2153 real size, ornamented on three\n sides.\u2014Veile amt, Denmark.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 132.\u2014In Randersfjord, Jutland. \u00bd real size.\n\n Bronze axes.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 133.\u2014Bronze axe; \u00bd real size.\u2014Scania.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 134.\u2014Bronze axe; \u2153 real size.\u2014Bohusl\u00e4n, Sweden.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 135.\u2014\u2153 real size. Ploughed up in a field, Zeeland.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 136.\u2014Fragment of bronze axe, \u2153 real size, with handle of\n oak.\u2014Near Eskilstuna, S\u00f6dermanland.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 137.\u2014Axe of thin layer of bronze, \u2159 real size, cast upon a mould\n of clay, ornamented with some round plaques of gold, in the midst of\n which are pieces of amber.\u2014S\u00f6dermanland, Sweden.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 138.\u2014Two forms of stone for casting; one for four saws, the other\n for two knives. \u2153 real size.\u2014Scania.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 139.\u2014Necklace of bronze. \u2153 real size.\u2014Bog, V.-G\u00f6tland.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 140.\u2014Saw of bronze. \u00bd real size.\u2014Denmark.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 141.\u2014Bronze ring. Real size.\u2014Denmark.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 142.\u2014One of two bronze bracelets round wrist of skeleton in\n tumulus, D\u00f6mmestorp, Halland. \u2154 real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 143.\u2014Bronze ring. Real size.\u2014Denmark.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 144.\u2014Bronze bracelet, \u00bd real size.\u2014Denmark.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 145.\u2014Fibula of bronze. \u2154 real size. Found with a bronze ring in\n bog, Zeeland.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 146.\u2014Head ornament or hair-ring. Little less than \u00bd size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 147.\u2014Long spiral bracelet, found near a big stone, Scania.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 148.\u2014Tutulus of bronze, with many other objects, in a large mound\n at Bosg\u00e5rden, near Lund, Sweden.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 149.\u2014Bracelet. \u00bd real size.\u2014Denmark.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 150.\u2014Bracelet of bronze. \u2154 real size.\u2014Scania.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 151.\u2014Diadem of bronze. \u00bd real size.\u2014Denmark.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 152.\u2014Button of bronze. Real size.\u2014Scania.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 153.\u2014Button found with other objects in a small clay urn, with\n burnt bones, surrounded by little slabs; real size.\u2014D\u00f6mmestorp,\n Halland.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 154.\u2014Fibula of bronze. \u2156 real size.\u2014Scania.[117]\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 155.\u2014Bronze pin. \u2153 real size.\u2014Bohusl\u00e4n.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 156.\u2014In a private collection. \u2154 real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 157.\u2014Found in a bog among the contents of a bronze vessel\u2014rings,\n pins, knives, etc. \u00bd real size.\u2014Fyen.\n\n Bronze pins.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 158.\u2014\u2154 real size.\u2014Jutland.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 159.\u2014In urn with burnt bones. \u2154 real size.\u2014Jutland.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 160.\u2014Bracelet of gold. \u00bd real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 161.\u2014Twisted necklace of bronze, \u00bd real size, found in a bog at a\n depth of 1m. 5c. at Langh\u00f6, S\u00f6dermanland.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 162.\u2014Ornament of bronze, \u215b real size, for wooden pail.\u2014Bog of\n Balk\u00e5kra, near Ystad, Scania.\n]\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER X.\n THE IRON AGE.\n\n The three historic ages overlap each other\u2014Division of the iron age\n by arch\u00e6ologists\u2014Gradual development in the mode of burial during\n the three ages\u2014Appearance of silver, lead, and glass\u2014Greek and\n Roman objects\u2014Cinerary deposits\u2014Cremation\u2014The Kannikegaard\n cemetery\u2014Primitive kettle-shaped graves\u2014Intentional destruction of\n weapons and armour in graves\u2014Cinerary urns\u2014Symbolic\n signs\u2014Ornaments of the iron age.\n\n\nIn the iron age, when the knowledge of all the metals was known, and\nweapons were made of iron, bones were still sometimes used for\narrow-heads; this age gradually merges into the historic period. It is\nimpossible to assign definite limits of time to the three prehistoric\nages; they run by degrees into each other; the classification specifies\nno division of time, but marks degrees of development in man.\n\nNorthern arch\u00e6ologists divide the iron age in the North into the\n_earlier_, _middle_, and _later_ iron age, in the same manner as they\nhave divided the preceding stone and bronze ages; and it may safely be\nsaid that in all these ages the North surpasses other countries in the\nbeauty and number of its objects. All the antiquities, as well as the\nEddas and Sagas, plainly show that the people who inhabited the eastern\nand southern shores of the present Scandinavia[118], the islands of the\nBaltic, and the southern shores of that sea, to a certain distance\ninland, which now comprise Northern Germany, were of the same origin and\nbelonged to the same race; and the vast number of weapons of various\nkinds testify equally with the records to the warlike character of the\npeople. The finish of the weapons of the later stone age is something\nwonderful, many of them are as polished as glass; the weapons of bronze\nare equally remarkable.\n\nIn the beginning of the iron age appear the shears, which are very\nsimilar to those now in use. Clothes during this period were generally\nkept together by pins and buckles, which have been found in great\nnumbers; horns were used as drinking cups, and domestic vessels of\nglass, bronze, silver, gold, wood, or burnt clay, and objects of Roman\nmanufacture, dice, checkers or draughtsmen, and chessmen, have also been\nunearthed.\n\nAt a very early period of this age remains of brynjas, or coats of ring\narmour, have been found in graves where burning of the dead has taken\nplace; this shows that they were known in the North even in the\nbeginning of the Christian era, if not before; they are also met with in\ngraves of a later period, and in the bog finds of the third and fourth\ncentury.\n\nAlong with iron the people became also acquainted with silver, lead,\nglass, &c., and knew the art of soldering and gilding metals. The jewels\nand ornaments in their design and workmanship show a considerable\nadvance in taste.\n\nAt what time the use of iron began to be known among the people and when\nit superseded bronze is impossible to tell: the change must have taken\nplace a long time before the ships of the Suiones were described by\nTacitus, a wonderful example of the accuracy of whose description is\nfound in the Nydam boat of which I will speak hereafter. Iron is very\nabundant in Sweden and Norway, and bog iron was no doubt plentiful in\nthe islands of the Baltic; the use of the latter is proved by masses of\nslag, weapons, &c. found in the earliest graves of the iron age. The use\nof the bronze of the preceding period continued, and many objects of\nbronze are evidently of home manufacture.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 163.\u2014Cinerary deposit. Hole, filled with stones, 4\u00bd feet deep, 3\n feet in diameter.\u2014Fyen.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 164.\u2014Cinerary deposit. Grave, 5 feet in diameter, 4 feet deep,\n lined with cobble stones, burnt bones, and broken fragments of clay\n urns.\u2014Fyen.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 165.\u2014Cinerary deposit. Grave, 16 feet long, 6 feet wide, running\n from north-west to south-west, with hole 2\u00bd feet deep, containing\n burnt bones and fragments of ornamented clay urns, remains of a\n large one-edged knife, &c.\u2014Gr\u00f6nneskev field, Fyen.\n]\n\nThe earliest graves[119] belonging to this iron age in the North are\ncalled by Northern arch\u00e6ologists _dep\u00f4ts cineraires_ (cinerary\ndeposits). These graves are round bowl-shaped holes, the excavations\nbeing from about two to four feet in diameter, and three to four feet\ndeep: into these the remains of the funeral pyre, such as burnt bones of\nthe corpse, ashes, charcoal, fragments of clay, urns, ornaments, jewels,\nother objects and weapons are thrown in, without order or method. The\nburnt bones and the charcoal are scattered sometimes over a bed covering\na certain space, or sometimes in a heap together.\n\nIn other graves the antiquities are found resting on the black mould\nitself. What were the causes which led to the temporary disuse of the\nmound-burials we cannot tell.\n\nThen came a period when after the burning of the corpse on the pyre the\npieces of the bones were gathered into urns of clay, wooden buckets with\nmetal mountings, vessels of bronze or glass bowls; these latter being\nvery rare. These urns, &c., which are frequently found covered, for\nprotection, by other vessels, were placed in chambers of varying sizes,\nthose of the earliest graves being made of slabs, and just large enough\nto contain the sepulchral urn.\n\nIt should be mentioned that the development of the form of these graves\nruns in an unbroken chain, beginning with the large grave chamber of the\nstone age, and culminating in the insignificant receptacles for\npreserving a mere handful of burnt bones.\n\nThese graves are found sometimes singly, and at others in many hundreds,\nand even thousands, together.\n\nThe Kannikegaard cemetery on the island of Bornholm in the Baltic, and\nthat of M\u00f6llegaard by Broholm on the island of Fyen, are perhaps the two\nrichest antiquarian fields of the earliest iron grave period.\nKannikegaard must have been a very large common graveyard; it is over\n1,000 feet long and over 150 feet wide, and formed, no doubt, part of a\nmore extensive burial ground, as there are other graves some 200 feet\nfurther on. In nearly all the graves scorched stones have been found,\noften in such quantities that they nearly fill the grave; a clay urn was\nalso often found standing at the bottom of the burnt spots or lying on\nits side, sometimes with the bottom up or in broken pieces; many graves\ncontain no antiquities, and hold only burnt bones and charcoal.[120]\n\nIn no other part of Europe do we see such a vast number of graves of\nthis period, showing that the North must then have been inhabited by a\nfar more dense population than other countries; from the number and\ncontents of these _dep\u00f4ts cineraires_, we gather that the population\nburned its dead in large burial-grounds.\n\nThe practice of burning the dead had already become common in the latter\npart of the bronze age, and prevailed most extensively, if not entirely,\nduring the iron period immediately following it.\n\nConnected with the burning of the dead was the intentional damage done\nto objects which were exposed to the heat of the funeral pyre. Special\ncare seems to have been taken to render swords and other weapons\nthoroughly useless. Swords are cut on the edges, bent and twisted;\nshield bosses are dented or flattened; and jewels and other objects are\nentirely ruined, and the illustrations seen in these volumes will show\nhow thorough the destruction was. Bent swords and shield bosses, &c.,\nwere sometimes placed over the cinerary urn, at other times they were\nput at their side.\n\nWe find that the same custom also existed during the cremation period of\nthe bronze age,[121] many of the swords of that period being broken in\nseveral places.\n\nAmong the objects most commonly found are shears, iron knives, silver\nand bronze fibul\u00e6, glass beads, melted or whole in many of which the\ncolours are unaltered, and as fresh as if made to-day; iron and bone\ncombs, tweezers of iron, amber beads, buckles, dice, draughtsmen,\nfragments of trappings for horses and waggons, ornaments of gold and\nsilver, fragments of cloth, weapons, iron keys, fragments of bronze and\niron vessels, iron clinch nails, spurs of bronze and iron (showing that\nhorses were used at a very early period in the North), clay urns, &c.,\n&c. A remarkable fact is that the earliest swords seem to be chiefly\nsingle-edged, a departure from the shape of the bronze swords: the\nfragments of the shields are of wood, with heavy iron bosses and\nhandles.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 166.\u2014Axe, ruined by cuts on its edge.\u2014Norway.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 167.\u2014Shield boss, ruined by cuts, Norway. Found with a\n double-edged sword, blade broken in two places, a bit for a horse,\n &c. \u2153 real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 168.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 169.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 170.\n\n Half-moon shaped knives, sharp on the outside edge, with one end\n ending in a loop or ring, and the handle twisted; found at\n Kannikegaard. \u00bd real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 171.\u2014Single-edged sword, from cinerary deposit at Kannikegaard. \u2155\n real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 172.\u2014Found in cinerary deposit at Kannikegaard, one of nineteen\n nearly perfect swords. \u00bc real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 173.\u2014Double-edged sword, found over a clay urn with burnt bones.\n \u00bd real size.\u2014\u00d6land.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 174.\u2014Shield boss. \u00bd real size.\u2014Kannikegaard.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 175.\u2014Sword of iron, found with unburnt bones, fragments of a\n knife, and wooden scabbard. Kannikegaard. \u215b real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 176.\u2014Bronze needle. Real size. Kannikegaard.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 177.\u2014Two-edged sword, found in cinerary deposit at Kannikegaard.\n \u2155 real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 178.\u2014Iron knife; \u2153 real size. Kannikegaard.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 179.\u2014Sword, _Odense Amt Fyen_. \u215b real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 180.\u2014Bent sword. Real size.\u2014Kannikegaard.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 181.\u2014Single-edged sword, found in cinerary deposit Bornholm.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 182.\u2014Single-edged sword, from cinerary deposit at Kannikegaard.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 183.\u2014Sword from the grave-place near Horsens; found with a bronze\n kettle, containing burnt bones, a heavy finger-ring of gold, a torn\n shield-boss of bronze, a shield handle of iron with nails of bronze,\n a spear-head, two iron spurs, one pair of iron shears, two knives,\n one iron buckle, bronze mountings for a drinking horn, melted glass,\n fragments of a pan and sieve of bronze, different mountings of\n silver, numbers of pieces of melted iron and bronze; not far from\n the grave were found more than thirty urns containing burnt bones,\n and several skeleton graves.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 184.\u2014Neck-ring of silver. \u00bd real size. Kannikegaard.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 185.\u2014Sword. \u2155 real size.\u2014Kannikegaard.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 186.\u2014Spear-point, found near Kannikegaard. \u00bc real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 187.\u2014Bent sword. \u2155 real size.\u2014Kannikegaard.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 188.\u2014Iron comb, real size, found with an urn containing burnt\n bones of a child, &c., with other objects.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 189.\u2014Stone cist with three layers of stone on the top, containing\n unburnt bones.\u2014Kannikegaard.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 190.\u2014Inside of stone cist. Length, 6\u00bd feet; width, 2 feet 10\n inches; height, 22 inches. On left shoulder of skeleton, under the\n right shoulder, on the breast and by the head, were silver\n fibul\u00e6.\u2014Kannikegaard.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 191.\u2014Stone coffin, 7\u00bd feet long, 20 inches wide, 18 inches high,\n showing how the beads were placed.\u2014Kannikegaard.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 192.\u2014Fibula of bronze, plated with silver. \u2154 real size. Found in\n a piece of woollen cloth, with numerous beads, &c., in a stone\n coffin.\u2014Kannikegaard.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 193.\u2014Bead of gold and silver mixed. Real size.\u2014Kannikegaard.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 194.\u2014Mosaic bead, of red colour. Real size.\u2014Kannikegaard.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 195.\u2014Mosaic bead, real size, found with a silver\n ring.\u2014Kannikegaard.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 196.\u2014Glass bead. Real size.\u2014Kannikegaard.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 197.\u2014Fibula of bronze: on its pin was a piece of linen\u2014found with\n mosaic beads in a stone coffin. Real size.\u2014Kannikegaard.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 198.\u2014Fibula of silver, with fragments of bone comb, long knife,\n with remains of wooden scabbard, &c. Stone coffin 9 feet long. Real\n size.\u2014Kannikegaard.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 199.\u2014Bead of gold and silver mixed, made of three pieces soldered\n together.\u2014Kannikegaard.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 200.\u2014Axe of iron, found together with human teeth, horn comb, &c.\n \u00bd real size.\u2014Kannikegaard.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 201.\u2014Cylinder-shaped receiver of bronze \u2154 real size, with a cover\n and pieces of a leather band; in it were 7\u20138 pointed pieces of wood,\n probably toothpicks or pins.\u2014Kannikegaard.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 202.\u2014Iron sword, slightly more than \u215b real size.\u2014Kannikegaard.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 203.\u2014One-edged sword, from a grave-mound, Norway. 2/9 real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 204.\u2014Double-edged sword, from a grave-mound, Norway, found with\n other damaged weapons, &c. 2/9 real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 205.\u2014Iron spear-point, found in clay urn. Skovlyst, Ribe,\n Jutland.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 206.\u2014Spear-point, from a cairn, Norway; found with two unburnt\n bodies, seven bronze buckles, a bronze key, seven beads of glass and\n amber, &c. 2/9 real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 207.\u2014Stirrup, from a grave-mound, Norway, found with another\n similar stirrup, a double-edged sword, spear-point, axe blade, &c.,\n all damaged. 2/9 real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 208.\u2014Cinerary urn and bent sword with iron sheath.\u2014Skovlyst,\n Ribe, Jutland.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 209.\u2014Black clay urn, with hollow spots, \u00bc real size, containing\n burnt bones.\u2014Broholm, Fyen.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 210.\u2014Clay urn with svastica, \u00bc real size, top of which was closed\n by the bottom of another, containing burnt bones, a pointed iron\n knife, a needle of bronze, melted lumps of glass from beads of\n different colours, &c.\u2014Bornholm.\n]\n\nThe cinerary urns are of different sizes and shapes, many of which are\nnot ungraceful: the clay of which they are made is of a black or greyish\ncolour, coarse and rough, porous, and often very tender; the people even\nat a later period never seeming to have been skilled in the potter\u2019s\nart. Many of the designs upon them are peculiar, and were, no doubt,\nsymbolical. Among these are circles with dots, triangles, the svastika\nand triad, &c., &c. Glazed pottery was unknown in the North.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 211.\u2014Dark brown clay urn, \u2153 real size.\u2014M\u00f6llegaard, Broholm.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 212.\u2014Urn with fine vertical stripes and punctuation, containing\n burnt bones, bone comb with bronze rivets, ornamented with\n concentric lines along the back. \u00bc real size.\u2014M\u00f6llegaard, Broholm.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 213.\u2014Urn of dark grey colour, containing burnt bones,\n &c.\u2014M\u00f6llegaard, Broholm.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 214.\u2014Black urn, containing only burnt bones. \u00bc real\n size.\u2014M\u00f6llegaard, Broholm.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 215.\u2014Urn of reddish clay, \u2153 real size, which had another urn on\n the top like a cover.\u2014Kannikegaard.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 216.\u2014Small urn. Real size, containing nothing but\n earth.\u2014Kannikegaard.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 217.\u2014Clay urn, \u215b real size.\u2014Kannikegaard.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 218.\u2014Clay urn.\u2014Kannikegaard.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 219.\u2014Small greyish clay urn found in a burned spot. \u2153 real\n size.\u2014M\u00f6llegaard, Broholm.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 220.\u2014Urn, \u2153 real size, and glass mosaic beads, real size; two of\n the beads found were blue, with bands of red, yellow, and red; two\n more were blue, with a pattern repeated four times, containing\n black, yellow, red, and white grounds; one was white, with a\n wheel-like pattern, repeated three times, having a red centre and\n black spokes\u2014M\u00f6llegaard, Broholm.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 221.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 222.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 223.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 224.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 225.\u2014Clay urn filled with burnt bones, and numerous objects. \u00bc\n real size\u2014M\u00f6llegaard.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 226.\u2014Wooden bucket with bronze hoops. \u00bc real size. Found in large\n mound, with burnt bones, and a piece of gold spiral ring.\u2014Norway.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 227.\u2014Wooden bucket, with bronze fittings, \u2153 real size. Found in a\n large round tumulus inside a stone sepulchral chamber, with two\n pairs of iron scissors, fragments of two double-edged swords,\n fragments of several arrow-heads, two shield bosses, &c.,\n &c.\u2014Norway.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 228.\u2014Clay urn, \u2153 real size, found in a tumulus with another clay\n urn.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 229.\u2014Clay urn, upside down, to cover a bronze basin, of Roman\n manufacture, placed on a slab filled with ashes and burnt bones,\n fragments of bronze ornaments and glass vessels which had been\n exposed on the pyre; ashes and bones were scattered round, showing\n the burning to have taken place on the spot. \u2153 real size.\u2014Harf\n Medelpad, Norway.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 230.\u2014Clay urn in a stone cist containing the remains of a\n skeleton, &c. \u00bc real size.\u2014Sojvide, Gotland.\n]\n\nIn Gotland, the graves are made of lime slabs. Some of these stone cists\nare not deep under the ground, and without apparently any mound.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 231.\u2014Clay urn, \u2153 real size, found in a round mound, inside a\n sepulchral chamber of the length of 6 feet, width 2 feet, height 1\n foot 8 inches.\u2014Norway.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 232.\u2014Clay urn, \u00bd real size, found in a mound containing a large\n stone cist, with fragments of iron objects and another clay\n urn.\u2014Norway.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 233.\u2014Clay urn, in a mound. Bohuslan.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 234.\u2014Clay urn in a stone cist.\u2014Gotland.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 235.\u2014Clay urn, covering one filled with burnt bones. \u00bc real\n size.\u2014Nafverstad, Bohusl\u00e5n.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 236.\u2014Clay urn, with three partitions (on the outside are ten\n knobs), found, with fragments of a belt hook, under a stone slab. \u2154\n real size.\u2014Himmelsh\u00f6i, Bornholm.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 237.\u2014Clay urn, \u2153 real size, found in a round mound, inside a\n sepulchral chamber.\u2014Stavanger, Norway.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 238.\u2014Clay urn, \u00bc real size, found in a mound.\u2014Norway.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 239.\u2014Clay urn, \u00bc real size, containing burnt bones.\u2014Norway.\n Earlier iron age.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 240.\u2014Clay urn, \u2153 real size, found in a mound placed over burnt\n bones contained in a clay urn.\u2014Norway. Earlier iron age.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 241.\u2014Clay urn.\u2014Norway. \u00bd real size. Skeleton grave, found with\n five other clay urns, a silver fibula, &c.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 242.\u2014Clay urn filled with burnt bones and covered with another\n vase. \u00bc real size. Found in a large round tumulus\u2014Bohusl\u00e5n.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 243.\u2014Clay urn, containing burnt bones and fragments of a bone\n comb, glass beads, lever balance of spindle, &c., found, covered\n with a slab, in an oblong mound. \u2153 real size. Earlier iron age.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 244.\u2014Iron urn or kettle, 10 inches high, 12\u00be inches in diameter,\n and 6 inches deep.\u2014Norway. Three other kettles of same shape and\n workmanship have been found: one in a grave-mound.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 245.\u2014Bronze cinerary urn; \u2155 real size.\u2014Norway.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 246.\u2014Bronze kettle, \u2155 real size.\u2014Norway. Found under a slab in\n the border of a round mound. It contained burnt bones, among which\n was a gold bracelet, and other objects.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 247.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 248.\n\n Small clay vessels found in an oblong mound at Greby, Bohusl\u00e5n, found\n with a clay urn filled with burnt bones, on which were fragments of\n a bone comb, glass beads, &c. \u00bd real size. Earlier iron age.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 249.\u2014Round clay urn, found in a mound, Greby, Bohusl\u00e5n,\n containing burnt bones and two melted glass beads, &c. \u00bc real size.\n Earlier iron age.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 250.\u2014Clay urn, \u00bc real size, containing burnt bones, found inside\n a sepulchral chamber of stone, 6 feet long, nearly 4 feet wide, and\n 3 feet high, in a round tumulus.\u2014Norway.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 251.\u2014Cinerary vase of clay, \u2155 real size, found surrounded by\n burnt bones in a mound at Bj\u00f6rk\u00f6. Later iron age.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 252.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 253.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 254.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 255.\n\n Four of seven mosaic glass beads, real size.\u2014Broholm grave.\n\n Of variegated colours, yellow, white, black, blue, and red, and of\n different designs. Besides those represented were 26 blue glass\n beads, one of which had red stripes, one red, another lilac; there\n were also eight amber beads, different shapes, and a fibula of\n bronze, to which was attached a coarse woven cloth, &c.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 256.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 257.\n\n Iron knives, \u00bd real size, in an urn on the top of burnt bones without\n coal and ashes.\u2014M\u00f6llegaard, Broholm.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 258.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 259.\u2014Porcelain beads, and beads of gold and silver mixed. Real\n size.\u2014Bornholm. Earlier iron age.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 260.\u2014Curved iron knife, \u00bd real size, and with the remains of a\n large urn containing burnt bones.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 261.\u2014Iron knife, \u2153 real size; found in a cinerary urn containing\n burnt bones, two pairs of shears, a buckle, awl, and ring, all of\n iron; a bronze fibula, &c.\u2014M\u00f6llegaard, Broholm.\n]\n\nThe following objects in one grave in M\u00f6llegaard will give a thorough\nidea of the destruction wrought on the pyre.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 262.\u2014Handle of iron for kettle.\u2014M\u00f6llegaard.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 263.\u2014Remains of a damaged iron instrument and silver fibula\n rusted together. Real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 264.\u2014Silver fibula and other objects rusted together. Real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 265.\u2014Iron comb, \u00bd real size. M\u00f6llegaard.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 266.\u2014Blue and light green.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 267.\u2014Dark grey, with white eyes.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 268.\u2014Red, with red, black, and yellow design.\n\n Melted glass mosaic beads, real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 269.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 270.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 271.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 272.\n\n Four of eleven iron ornaments, shaped like buckets. Real\n size.\u2014M\u00f6llegaard.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 273.\u2014Bronze vessel, 9 inches in diameter, with handle fastened\n with rivets. It contained numerous articles taken from the pyre, but\n rust had united them all.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 274.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 275.\n\n Two iron spurs in burnt spot.\u2014Kannikegaard.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 276.\u2014Iron buckle, \u2154 real size.\u2014Kannikegaard.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 277.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 278.\n\n Two prismatic dice, real size, damaged by fire, the sides pointing\n towards each other always counting seven; found in an urn with burnt\n bones, remains of a glass cup, &c., one foot under the\n ground.\u2014Kannikegaard.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 279.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 280.\n\n Fragments of bone comb and iron rivet, real size, found in a cinerary\n urn.\u2014Broholm.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 281.\u2014Spiral ring of massive gold, showing the two sides, found\n near a large bronze cauldron, and fragments of the mountings of a\n carriage, several iron swords, shield bosses, &c. Real\n size.\u2014Broholm.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 282.\u2014Spiral gold ring much alloyed with silver, showing the two\n sides. Real size.\u2014Broholm.\n]\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XI.\n RUNES.\n\n Early knowledge of the art of writing\u2014Knowledge of rune writing very\n remote\u2014Archaic Greek characters\u2014Jewels with earlier runes\u2014Runes on\n memorial stones\u2014Runic alphabets\u2014The origin of runes\u2014Their mystical\n meaning\u2014Memorial runic stones\u2014Runic staves\u2014The Runatal\u2014Archaic\n inscriptions compared with runes.\n\n\nAs the early form of writing known as runes occurs so frequently in\nconnection with these Northern relics, it will be well to devote a\nchapter to the subject. The written records and finds in the North give\nnumerous examples showing that at a very early period the tribes of the\nNorth knew the art of writing. The characters used were called \u201cr\u00fanir\u201d\nrunes.\n\nThe knowledge of rune writing was so remote, that it was supposed by the\npeople to have come with Odin, thus showing its great antiquity and\npossibility of the theory that the runes were brought to the North by\nthe people who had migrated from the south-east, and who may have\nobtained their knowledge from the Greek colonies situated on the shores\nof the Black Sea or Palus M\u00e6otis. The numerous runic inscriptions,\nshowing in many cases the archaic form of these characters, bear witness\nto the truth of the Northern records, though it cannot be denied that\nthey often closely resemble the Etruscan letters. To corroborate these\nrecords a considerable number of antiquities, the forms of which are\nunknown in Italy and are similar to those of the North, have been found\nin Southern Russia, and may be seen in the museums of that country.\n\nAt what early date the art of writing runes became known in the North it\nis impossible to tell. From the Roman coins found in the Nydam, Vimose,\nThorsberg, &c. finds we know that the people knew the art at the period\nto which the coins belong, but this is far from proving to us that they\nhad just learned the art of writing; people do not learn how to write\nfirst on objects of gold and silver; but, at any rate, we can fix a date\nas early as the second or third century of the Christian era. It must be\nadmitted as surprising, if the Northern peoples were so advanced as to\nmanufacture the beautiful weapons and artistic articles found in the\ngraves and elsewhere, they had not also instituted a coinage of their\nown.\n\nThat the knowledge of runes did not come to the North before that of\nworking iron is almost certain, as no runes have been found there on the\nobjects belonging to the bronze age. A fact we must bear in mind is,\nthat in the earlier graves of the iron age, many of which are of greater\nantiquity than the bog finds,[122] the objects were so thoroughly\ndestroyed on the pyre, that all traces of runic character upon them\nwould disappear.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 283.\u2014Diadem of gold, with earlier runes inside; found in oblong\n mound of sandy mould with remains of a stone coffin.\u2014Jutland.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 284.\u2014Silver fibula, with earlier runes,[123] richly gilt, the\n zigzag and runes filled with blue niello; \u2154 real size; earlier iron\n age.\u2014Etelhem, Gotland.\n]\n\nBesides the runes found inscribed upon jewels, weapons, coins,[124] &c.,\nthere are others engraved on rocks and memorial stones, which are of\nvery great antiquity, some of which seem to be earlier than the runes of\nthe bog finds.\n\nThere are two alphabets; the earlier one numbered twenty-four, the later\nsixteen letters.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Earlier Runes from the Vadstena bracteate.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Later Runes.\n]\n\nThe Vadstena alphabet is divided into three sections, each containing\neight letters or characters. The earlier runes were written from the\nright to the left; the later runic inscriptions are read from the left\nto the right. The later runes differ considerably from the earlier ones,\nfrom the gradual changes that took place, some falling out of use, till\nonly sixteen existed in later times. Their signification also changed.\n\nWere it not for the evidence of the finds having runic inscriptions of\nthe fuller runic alphabet, it would have seemed more probable that the\nless developed one was the earlier; but in the face of the most\nindisputable proofs of the antiquity of the fuller alphabet, such\nassertions cannot be made. The only conclusion to which this leads us\ntherefore is, that the runic alphabet must in the course of time have\nbecome simplified. There are runic inscriptions which contain both\nearlier and later runes, but the former at last gradually disappeared.\n\nIt seems that the custom of having alphabets on objects such as the\nVadstena bracteate existed in Greece and Etruria.[125] The earliest\ngraves in the Roman colonies in which there is writing are very few;\nwhat writing there is is never in the language of the people, but always\nin Latin; and nearly all, if not all such graves, are those of Christian\npeople.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 285.\u2014A fibula of silver, partly gilt, with same runic letters,\n with slight variations. Real size.\u2014Charnay, Burgundy, France (of\n Norse origin).\n]\n\nThe art of writing shows the advanced civilisation of the people of the\nNorth compared with that of the other countries mentioned. The language\nof Tacitus[126] is plain enough, and any other interpretation is not\ncorrect. The assertion made that the knowledge of writing came to the\nNorth through the present Germany is not borne out by the facts. Runic\nmonuments do not occur south of the river Eider, either on detached\nstones or engraved on rocks. The few jewels found scattered here and\nthere, either in France or Germany are thoroughly Northern, and show\nthat in these places the people of the North made warfare, as\ncorroborated by the testimony of the Eddas and Sagas, as well as of\nFrankish and old English and other records.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 286.\u2014Neck-ring of gold, with runes; \u00bd real size; found (1838) in\n a round mound.\u2014Wallachia.\n]\n\nGreat indeed has been, and still is, the harvest of runic monuments or\nobjects in the North. Every year several new objects with these\ncharacters are discovered in fields, bogs, and graves, or when old walls\nor buildings are demolished.\n\nEngland, being the earliest and most important of the Northern colonies,\npossesses many monuments and objects with runes; among them a large\nknife, now in the British Museum, found in the bed of the Thames, the\nblade of which is ornamented with gold and silver, and an inscription in\nrunes.[127]\n\nFrom the sagas we learn that runes were traced on staves, rods, weapons,\nthe stem and rudder of ships, drinking-horns, fish bones, and upon the\nteeth of _Sleipnir_, &c.\n\nIn Runatal (Odin\u2019s Rune song), or the last part of Havamal, there is a\nmost interesting account of the use that could be made of runes. It\nshows plainly that in earlier times they were not used by the people in\ngeneral for writing; that they were mystic, being employed for\nconjurations and the like, and therefore regarded with a certain awe and\nsuperstition; just as to-day writing is looked upon by certain savage\ntribes, who cannot be made to understand how speech can be transmitted\nand kept on paper for an indefinite period.\n\nIn this song, Odin is supposed to be teaching some one, and giving\nadvice; he reckons up his arts thus:\u2014\n\n I know that I hung\n On the windy tree\n Nine[128] whole nights,\n Wounded with a spear,\n Given to Odin,\n Myself to myself;\n On the tree\n Of which no one knows\n From what roots it comes.\n\n They gave me no food\n Nor a horn (drink);\n I peered downward,\n I caught the runes,\n Learned them weeping;[129]\n Thence I fell down.\n\n Nine songs of might\n I learnt from the famous\n Son of B\u00f6lthorn, father of Bestla;[130]\n And I got a draught\n Of the precious mead,\n Taken out of Odrerir.[131]\n\n Then I became fruitful\n And wise:\n I grew and I throve;\n Word followed word\n With me;\n Act followed act\n With me.\n\n Thou wilt find runes\n And letters to read,\n Very large staves,\n Very strong staves,\n Which the mighty wise one drew,\n And the high powers made,\n And the Hropt of the gods (Odin) carved.\n\n Odin (carved runes) among the Asar;[132]\n Dain with the Alfar;\n Dvalin with the Dvergar;\n Alsvid (the All-wise)\n With the J\u00f6tnar;\n Some I carved myself.\n\n Better \u2019tis not to invoke\n Than sacrifice too much;\n A gift always looks for reward;\n Better not to send\n Than offer too much;\n Thus Thund[133] carved\n Before the origin of men;\n He rose there;\n There he came back.\n\n I know incantations\n Which no king\u2019s wife knows,\n And no man\u2019s son.\n Help is the first one called,\n And it will help thee\n Against strife and sorrows,\n Against all kinds of grief.\n\n A second I know,\n Which the sons of men need,\n Who would as leeches live.[134]\n\n The third I know,\n If I am in sore need of\n Bonds for my foes;\n I deaden the edges[135]\n Of my foes;\n Neither weapons nor wiles hurt for them.\n\n The fourth I know,\n If men lay\n Bonds on my limbs;\n I sing (incantations) so\n That I can walk;\n The fetter flies off my feet,\n And the shackles off my hands.\n\n The fifth I know,\n If I see an arrow flying,\n Shot to harm in the array;\n It flies not so fast\n That I cannot stay it\n If I get sight of it.\n\n The sixth I know,\n If a man wounds me\n With the roots of a young tree;[136]\n Illness shall eat\n The man\n That lays spells on me,\n Rather than me.\n\n The seventh I know,\n If I see a hall burning\n Round the sitting men;\n It burns not so broadly\n That I cannot save them;\n Such an incantation can I sing.\n\n The eighth I know,\n Which for every one is\n Useful to learn;\n Where hate arises\n Among sons of kings\n I can allay it soon.\n\n The ninth I know,\n If I am in need\n To save my ship afloat,\n I hush the wind\n On the waves,\n And calm all the sea.\n\n The tenth I know,\n If I see hedge-riders[137]\n Playing in the air,\n I cause that\n They go astray\n Out of their skins,\n Out of their minds.\n\n The eleventh I know,\n If I shall to battle\n Lead my old friends,\n I sing under the shields,\n And they go with might\n Safe to the fray,\n Safe out of the fray,\n Safe wherever they come from.\n\n The twelfth I know,\n If I see on a tree\n A halter-corpse[138] swinging;\n I carve so\n And draw in runes,\n That the man shall walk\n And talk to me.\n\n The thirteenth I know,\n If I do on a young thegn[139]\n Water sprinkle;\n He will not fall\n Though he go into battle;\n That man sinks not by swords.\n\n The fourteenth I know,\n If I shall reckon up\n The gods for the host of men;\n Asar and Alfar[140]\n I know all well;\n Few unwise know so much.\n\n The fifteenth I know,\n That which Thjodreyrir[141] sang,\n The Dverg, before the door of Delling;[142]\n He sang strength to the Asar\n And fame to the Alfar,\n Wisdom to Hroptayr.[143]\n\n The sixteenth I know,\n If of the comely maiden\n I want all the heart and the love,\n I change the mind\n Of the white-armed woman\n And turn all her heart.\n\n The seventeenth I know,\n That the youthful maiden\n Will late forsake me.\n These songs\n Wilt thou Loddfafnir[144]\n Long have lacked,\n Though they are good if thou takest them,\n Useful if thou learnest them,\n Profitable if thou takest them.\n\n I know the eighteenth,\n Which I will never tell\n To maiden or man\u2019s wife,\n Except to her alone\n That holds me in her arms,\n Or is my sister;\n All is better\n That one alone only knows.[145]\n This is the end of the song.\n\n Now the song of Har is sung,\n In the hall of Har;\n Very useful to the sons of men,\n Useless to the sons of J\u00f6tnar.[146]\n\n Hail to him who sang!\n Hail to him who knows!\n May he who has learned profit by it!\n Hail to those who have listened!\n\n\n\u201cAtli was a great, powerful, and wise king; he had many men with him,\nand took counsel with them how he should get the gold; he knew that\nGunnar and H\u00f6gni were owners of so much property[147] that no man had\nthe like of it; he sent men to the brothers and invited them to a feast\nin order to give them many gifts; Vingi was the leader of the\nmessengers. The queen knew of their secret talk, and suspected treachery\nagainst her brothers. She cut runes, took a gold ring, and tied on it a\nwolf\u2019s hair; she gave this to the king\u2019s messengers. They went as the\nking had told them, and before they landed Vingi saw the runes and\nchanged them so that they meant that Gudr\u00fan wished them to come to Atli.\nThey came to the hall of Gunnar and were well received; large fires were\nmade before them; there they drank merrily the best drinks. Vingi said:\n\u2018King Atli sent me hither and wanted you to visit him to get honour and\nlarge gifts, helmets and shields, swords and coats-of-mail, gold and\ngood clothes, warriors and horses and large estates, and he says he\nwould rather let you than any others have his realm.\u2019 Then Gunnar turned\nhis head and said to H\u00f6gni: \u2018What shall we accept of this offer? He\noffers us a large realm, but I know no kings owning as much gold as we,\nfor we own all the gold which lay on Gnitaheath, and large skemmas\n(rooms) filled with gold and the best cutting weapons and all kinds of\nwar-clothes; I know my horse to be the best, my sword the keenest, my\ngold the most renowned.\u2019 H\u00f6gni answered: \u2018I wonder at his offer, for\nthis he has seldom done, and it is unadvisable to go to him. I am\nsurprised that among the costly things which Atli sent to us I saw a\nwolf\u2019s hair tied on a gold ring, and it may be that Gudr\u00fan thinks he has\na wolf\u2019s mind (mind of a foe) towards us, and that she wants us not to\ngo.\u2019 Then Vingi showed him the runes which he said Gudr\u00fan had sent. The\nmen now went to sleep, while they continued drinking with some others.\nThen H\u00f6gni\u2019s wife, Kostbera, a most handsome woman, went to them and\nlooked at the runes. She and Gunnar\u2019s wife, Glaumv\u00f6r, a very\naccomplished woman, brought drink. The kings became very drunk. Vingi\nsaw this, and said: \u2018I will not conceal that King Atli is very heavy in\nhis movements, and too old to defend his realm, and his sons are young\nand good for nothing; he wishes to give you power over the realm while\nthey are so young, and he prefers you to enjoy it.\u2019 Now Gunnar was very\ndrunk, and a great realm was offered to him, and he could not resist\nfate; he promised to go, and told it to his brother H\u00f6gni, who answered:\n\u2018Your resolve must be carried out, and I will follow thee, but I am\nunwilling to go\u2019\u201d (Volsunga, c. 33).\n\n\nRunes were occasionally used as charms in cases of illness.\n\nEgil went on a journey to Vermaland to collect the tax from the Jarl\nArnvid, who was suspected of having slain King Hakon the Good\u2019s men when\nthey went thither for this purpose. On the way he came to the house of a\nbondi named Thorfinn.\n\n\n\u201cAs Egil and Thorfinn sat and took their meal, Egil saw that a woman lay\nsick on the cross-bench, and asked who she was. Thorfinn answered that\nshe was his daughter Helga. She had been long ill from a very wasting\nsickness; she could not sleep at night, and was like one\n_ham-stolen_[148] (crazy). \u2018Has anything been tried for her illness?\u2019\nsaid Egil. Thorfinn said: \u2018Runes have been traced by the son of a bondi\nin the neighbourhood, but she is far more ill since than she was before;\ncanst thou do anything for such an illness?\u2019 Egil answered: \u2018It may be\nthat it will not be worse though I take charge of it.\u2019 When he had done\neating he went to where she lay and spoke to her. He bad that she be\ntaken out of bed and clean clothes put under her, which was done. Then\nhe examined the bed, and there found a piece of whalebone with runes on\nit. He read them, cut them off, and scraped the chips into the fire; he\nburned the whalebone and had her clothes carried into the open air. Then\nEgil sang:\u2014\n\n As man shall not trace runes\n Except he can read them well,\n It is thus with many a man\n That the dark letters bewilder him.\n\n I saw on the cut whalebone\n Ten hidden[149] letters carved,\n That have caused to the leek-linden (woman)\n A very long sorrow.\n\n\u201cEgil traced runes, and placed them under the pillow in the bed where\nshe rested. It seemed to her as if she awoke from a sleep, and she said\nshe was then healed, though she had little strength. Her father and\nmother were very glad\u201d (Egil\u2019s Saga, c. 75).\n\n\nWhen persons were deaf, they communicated with others by means of runes.\n\n\n\u201cThorkel told his sister Orny that the steersman had come to his house,\nsaying: \u2018I wish, kinswoman, that thou shouldst serve[150] him during the\nwinter, for most other men have enough to do.\u2019 Orny carved runes on a\nwood-stick, for she could not speak, and Thorkel took it and read. The\nwood-stick told this: \u2018I do not like to undertake to serve the\nsteersman, for my mind tells me that, if I do, much evil will come of\nit.\u2019 He became angry because his sister declined, so that when she saw\nit she consented to serve Ivar, and continued to do so during the\nwinter\u201d (Thorstein Uxaf\u00f3t, Fornmanna S\u00f6gur, 110).\n\n\nRunes traced on sticks (_kefli_), which were sometimes used, did not\noffer proper security against falsification, unless personal runes were\nused, which however were known only to a very limited number.\n\nAn Icelandic settler named Gris, who had gone on a journey to Norway,\nwas going back to Iceland from Nidaros (Throndhjem).\n\n\n\u201cA woman came to him with two children, and asked him to take them with\nhim. He asked: \u2018What have they to do there?\u2019 She said that their uncle\nThorstein Sv\u00f6rf lived in the district where Gris had a b\u0153r, and that her\nname was Thorarna. Gris said: \u2018I will not do that without some\nevidence.\u2019 Then she gave him from under her cloak a stick on which were\nmany words known to Thorstein. Gris said: \u2018Thou wilt think me greedy for\nproperty.\u2019 She asked: \u2018Ask as much as thou wilt.\u2019 He answered: \u2018Four\nhundreds in very good silver, and thou must follow with the children.\u2019\n\u2018It is not possible for me to follow them,\u2019 she said, \u2018but I will pay\nwhat thou askest.\u2019 She told him the name of the boy Klaufi, and of the\ngirl Sigrid. Gris added: \u2018How hast thou become so wretched, thou who art\nof such good kin?\u2019 She replied: \u2018I was taken in war by Sn\u00e6koll Ljotsson,\nwho is the father of these children; after which he drove me away\nagainst my will.\u2019\n\n\u201cGris had a favourable wind after he had taken these children on board,\nand sailed to Iceland into the same river-mouth as usual; and as soon as\nhe had landed he carried away both children, so that no one knew of his\ncoming. That evening he went to Thorstein at Grund, who received him\nvery well, mostly because his son Karl had gone abroad at the time that\nGris had been abroad, and Thorstein wanted to ask about his journey.\nGris spoke little. Thorstein inquired if he was ill. Gris answered that\nit was rather that he was not well pleased with his doings; \u2018for I have\nbrought hither two children of thy sister.\u2019 \u2018How can that be?\u2019 said\nThorstein. \u2018And I will not acknowledge their relationship unattested.\u2019\nThen Gris showed him the stick, and he recognized his words thereon,\nthough it was long since he spoke them. He acknowledged the children,\nbut paid Gris to bring up Klaufi\u201d (Svarfd\u00e6la, c. 11).\n\n\n\u201cKlaufi and Gris sailed from Solskel southward along the Norwegian\ncoast, until they came to an islet, where lay two ships with no men on\nthem. They jumped on board one of the ships, and Klaufi said: \u2018Tell\nthou, Gris, who has steered these ships, for here are runes, which tell\nit.\u2019 Gris said he did not know. Klaufi answered: \u2018Thou knowest, and must\ntell.\u2019 Gris was obliged to do so, against his will, and thus read the\nrunes: \u2018Karl steered the ship when the runes were carved\u2019\u201d (Svarfd\u00e6la,\nc. 14).\n\n\n\u201cOne summer in the time of King Harald Hardradi it happened, as was\noften the case, that an Icelandic ship came to Nidaros (Throndhjem). On\nthis ship there was a poor man who kept watch during the night. While\nall slept he saw two men go secretly up to Gaularas with digging tools\nand begin to dig; he saw they searched for property, and when he came on\nthem unawares he saw that they had dug up a chest filled with property.\nHe said to the one who seemed to be the leader that he wanted three\nmarks for keeping quiet, and some more if he should wish it. Thorfinn\nassented to this, and weighed out to him three marks; when they opened\nthe chest a large ring and a thick necklace of gold lay uppermost. The\nIcelander saw runes carved on the chest; these said that Hakon Jarl had\nbeen the owner of this property\u201d (Fornmanna S\u00f6gur, vi. 271).\n\n\nOne day Thurid, the old foster-mother of Thorbj\u00f6rn \u00d6ngul, an enemy of\nGrettir, asked to be taken down to the sea.\n\n\n\u201cWhen she came there, she found the stump of a tree with the roots on,\nas large as a man could carry. She looked at the stump, and had it\nturned round. On one side it looked as if it had been burned and rubbed.\nOn this side she had a small spot smoothed with a knife. Then she took\nher knife and carved runes on it, and reddened it with her blood,\nsinging words of witchcraft over it. She walked backwards around the\nstump, in the opposite direction to the sun\u2019s course, and pronounced\nmany powerful incantations thereover. Then she had it pushed out into\nthe sea, and said it should be driven out to Drangey, and cause great\nmischief to Grettir. When Grettir was cutting the stump for firewood\nwith an axe, he wounded himself severely above the knee\u201d[151] (Gretti\u2019s\nSaga, c. 81).\n\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 287.\u2014Stone axe with earlier runes; \u2154 real size.\u2014Upland.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 288.\u2014Earlier runic inscription discovered (1872) on a\n perpendicular bluff 20 feet high and about 200 feet from the shore,\n at Valsfjord, Fosen, North, Throndhjem. The runes are carved in a\n perpendicular line from the bottom up. Hardly anything is left of\n the letters. The Runes; 1/15 real size.\n]\n\nThe deeds of warriors were recorded on runic staves:\u2014\n\n\u00d6rvar-Odd, when very old, desired to revisit the scenes of his\nchildhood, where a V\u00f6lva had foretold him that his death would be caused\nby the head of the horse Faxi, at his birthplace, Hrafnista. When he\narrived there he walked around on the farm, and his foot struck the\nskull of a horse, and a viper came out of it and bit him in the leg.\n\n\n\u201cHe suffered so much from this wound that they had to lead him down to\nthe shore. When he got there he said: \u2018Now you must go and hew a stone\ncoffin for me, while some shall sit at my side and carve that song which\nI will compose about my deeds and life.\u2019 Then he began making the\nsong,[152] and they carved it on a tablet,[153] and the nearer the poem\ndrew to its end, the more the life of Odd ebbed away\u201d (Orvar Odd\u2019s Saga;\nFornaldar S\u00f6gur. p. 558).\n\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 289.\u2014Stone, with earlier runes, height over 6 feet.\u2014Krogstad,\n Upland.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 290.\u2014Earlier runes on granite block. About 10 feet high, 4 feet\n 11 inches at widest part, and 9 inches thick.\u2014Tanum, Bohusl\u00e4n,\n Sweden.\n]\n\n\n\u201cThe two brothers Jokul and Thorstein were to meet Finnbogi for a\nHolmganga.[154] As he did not come, they took a post from the latter\u2019s\nfarm; Jokul carved a man\u2019s head at one end, and traced in runes an\naccount of what had occurred that day\u201d (Vatnsd\u00e6la, 34).\n\n\nThe inscriptions of the earlier runes, the translation of which must be\nreceived with extreme caution, are short, while those of a later period\nare much longer.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 291.\u2014Runic stone, showing transition between earlier and later\n runes, about 4\u00bd feet above ground; breadth, 2 feet 4\n inches.\u2014Stentofte, Blekinge, Sweden.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 292.\u2014Part of stone block, with earlier runes.\u2014Torvik, Norway.\n Eight feet 10 inches in length by 2 feet 2 inches wide, with a\n thickness of from 2\u2153 to 3\u215b feet.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 293.\u2014Red quartz stone, with earlier runes and warrior on\n horseback. Height, 8 feet 3 inches, but only 6 feet above ground;\n greatest breadth, 5 feet.\u2014Hagby, Upland.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 294.\u2014Granite slab of a stone coffin in a grave-mound, forming one\n of the sides 1/15 real size.\u2014Torvik, Hardanger, Norway.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 295.\u2014Runic stone, earlier runes. Length, 7 feet 2 inches; width,\n 2 feet 4 inches.\u2014Berga, S\u00f6dermanland, Sweden.[155]\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 296.\u2014Runic stone, earlier runes. Height, over 13 feet; greatest\n width, a little over 3 feet; with letters about 6 inches long; near\n a dom ring.\u2014Bj\u00f6rktorp, Blekinge, Sweden. See p. 314 for grave.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 297.\u2014Earlier runic stone; about 7 feet 7 inches long, and at its\n broadest part 3 feet 6 inches.\u2014Norway.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 298.\u2014Granite block with earlier and later runes (the earlier\n runes in the centre). Height, 5 feet 3 inches; greatest breadth, 3\n feet; average thickness, 1 foot.\u2014Sk\u00e5-\u00e4ng, S\u00f6dermanland, Sweden.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 299.\u2014Earlier runic stone, Sigdal, Norway.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 300.\u2014Earlier runic stone discovered in 1880, in a ruined\n grave-mound which contained a slab stone chest; one of the side\n slabs bore runes, and is given here. It has probably stood on\n another mound before it was put to this use.\u2014Bergen Museum, Torvik,\n Hardanger, Norway.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 301.\u2014Tune stone (with earlier runes) of red granite; found in a\n graveyard wall surrounding the church of Tune, near Moss, entrance\n of Christiania fjord. Height, 6 feet 7 inches; greatest width, 2\n feet 4 inches.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 302.\u2014Earlier runic inscription on a bluff, 11 feet above\n high-water mark.\u2014V\u00e6blungsn\u00e6s, Romsdal, Norway.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 303.\u2014Runic stone, having the longest runic inscription known,\n composed of over 760 letters. Height, 12 feet; width, 6 feet.\u2014In the\n Churchyard of R\u00f6k, Osterg\u00f6tland, Sweden.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 304.\u2014Marble lion, with later runic inscription. Height, 10 feet.\n Now at Venice, whither it was brought from the Pir\u00e6us in 1687.[156]\n]\n\nNot only do the finds prove to us how extensive were the voyages and\njourneys of the vikings, but many of the runic stones add their\ntestimony to these and the sagas, often mentioning journeys in distant\nlands both for peaceful and warlike purposes. There are four runic\nstones extant on which Knut the Great is mentioned as \u201cKnut who went to\nEngland\u201d; the _Thingamenn_ or _Thingamannalid_ is mentioned on at least\ntwo runic stones.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 305.\u2014Later runic stone, with animal and bird.\u2014Upland.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 306.\u2014Later runic stone, with animals, possibly a representation\n of Fylgja at Svartsj\u00f6 Castle, Lake M\u00e4laren, Sweden.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 307.\u2014Later runic stone, with birds.\u2014Upland.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 308.\u2014Stone with later runes. Height above ground, 10 feet; the\n width over 5 feet.\u2014Nys\u00e4tra parish, Upland.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 309.\u2014Later runic stone, Edssocken, Upland. \u201cRuna rista lit\n Rahnualtr huar a Kriklanti uas lisforunki.\u201d\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 310.\u2014Later runic stone, 7\u00bd feet above the ground. \u201cSterkar and\n Hiorvardr erected this stone to their father, Geiri, who dwelt west,\n in Thikalid (Thingmannalid). God help his soul.\u201d\u2014K\u00e5lstad, Upland.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 311.\u2014King Gorm\u2019s stone, with later runes.\u2014Jellinge, Jutland.\n Front view.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 312.\u2014Back view of King Gorm\u2019s stone.\n]\n\nThe inscription on the above stone runs thus, the translation being\nliteral: \u201c_Haraltr kunukr bath kaurua kubl thausi aft kurm (Gorm) fathur\nsin auk aft th\u00e6urui muthur sina, sa haraltr ias s\u00e6r uan tanmaurk ala auk\nnuruiak auk tana ... t kristn\u00e6_\u201d = Harald king bade make mounds these\nafter Gorm, father his and after Thyra, mother his, that Harald who\nswore, Denmark all and Norway and Dane ... to christianize.\n\nThe historical mounds of King Gorm and his queen Thyra are respectively\n200 and 230 feet in diameter, and about 40 feet high (see p. 183); the\nburial chamber of King Gorm was of wood, 22 feet long, 4\u00bd feet high, 8\nfeet wide. In the grave were found a small silver cup, a bronze cross\ncovered with gold, a wooden figure representing a warrior in armour,\nseveral metal mountings, &c.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 313.\u2014Wooden shield with later runes.\u2014Norway.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 314.\u2014Runic stone in ship-form grave, Upland. In the grave was\n found a helmet, apparently made of iron-plate, with ornaments of\n bronze in imitation of eyebrows; also a helmet-crest. On the helmet\n were numerous representations of horsemen with spears and carrying\n shields on their left arms, in front of the horses a snake, and in\n front of and behind each horseman a bird flying.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 315.\u2014Baptismal stone font.\u2014Langhem Church, Sweden.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 316.\u2014Baptismal stone with runes and a representation of Gunnar in\n the snake-pit, used as font in a church, Bohusl\u00e4n. No Christian\n symbol is marked upon it.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 317.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 318.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 319.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 320.\n\n Baptismal fonts with runic inscriptions, some apparently heathen.\n]\n\nTwo rock-tracings found at Ramsund and G\u0153k, on the southern shores of\nLake M\u00e4lar, province of S\u00f6dermanland, Sweden, show how deeply preserved\nin the memory of the people all over the North is the history of the\nVolsungar as told in the earlier Edda, and the Saga of that name. To the\nlate Professor Carl S\u00e4ve we are indebted for the discovery of these two\nmementoes of the past. I here give the representation of the finer of\nthe two, which is engraved on granite.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 321.\u2014Tracing of later runes illustrating the Eddaic songs and\n Volsunga saga. Length, 16 feet; width, from 4 to 5 feet.\u2014Ramsund\n Rock, S\u00f6dermanland, Sweden.\n]\n\nThe scene is surrounded below by sculpture, and covered with runes above\nare two serpents twisted together, one without runes. Below the large\nsnake Sigurd on his knee pierces with his sword the body of the reptile.\nIn the midst between the snake the horse Grani is standing, made fast to\na tree where two birds are seen. On the left Sigurd, seated, roasts on\nthe fire, at the end of a stick, the heart of Fafnir. Round the fire are\ndeposited pincers, an anvil, bellows, and hammer; the head of the smith\n(blacksmith) Regin is seen separated from the trunk. Then above is\nsculptured an animal, which looks like a fox\u2014no doubt the otter\u2014for the\nmurder of which was given, as ransom, the rich treasure so fatal to\nFafnir and to all those who possessed it after him. The runic\ninscription has not the slightest connection with the scene, not even\nwith Sigurd Fafnisbani. As Mr. S\u00e4ve remarks, Sigurd or Holmger, and\nperhaps both, believed that they were descended from Sigurd Fafnisbani,\nthe famous hero of the Volsunga.\n\nThe tracing on the stone of G\u0153k, not far from the city of Strengen\u00e6s, is\nabout half the length of that on the Ramsund stone, but of the same\nwidth, and is not as fine. The subject is treated in a somewhat similar\nmanner: the hammer is on the ground, while on the Ramsund stone it is in\nthe man\u2019s hand. Above the horse Grani is a Christian cross.\n\nThe runic inscription, here also upon a snake, surrounds the figures,\nbut has nothing to say about Sigurd Fafnisbani.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 322.\u2014Oscan inscription (first three lines) on a bronze tablet in\n British Museum.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 323.\u2014Greek inscription on bronze axe from Calabria, in the\n British Museum.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 324.\u2014Archaic Greek inscription in the British Museum.\n]\n\nFrom the facsimile illustrations given of Etruscan, Greek and earliest\nRoman inscriptions chosen at random from the museums, the reader will be\nable to judge for himself, and probably see how much more closely the\nearlier runes resemble the Greek archaic and Etruscan inscriptions than\nthe Latin ones.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 325.\u2014Bronze tablet, first three lines. Treaty between the Eleans\n and Her\u00e6ans of Arcadia; copied from \u201cAncient Greek Inscriptions\u201d in\n the British Museum.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n (Euphorbos.)\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n (Menelaos.)\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n (Hector.)\n\n Fig. 326.\u2014These three archaic inscriptions are found on a vase from\n Camirus in Rhodes, now in the British Museum.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 327.\u2014Etruscan inscription on a sepulchral urn in the British\n Museum.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 328.\u2014Etruscan inscription on an urn in the British Museum.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 329.\u2014Etruscan inscription on a sarcophagus from Toscanella, in\n the British Museum.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 330.\u2014Plaque of terra-cotta, representing Poseidon, painted. Found\n near Corinth. Now in the Louvre.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 331.\u2014Latin inscription.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 332.\u2014Early Latin inscription: painted on a vase in British\n Museum.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 333.\u2014Etruscan inscription, on a sarcophagus from Toscanella, in\n the British Museum.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 334.\u2014On an Etruscan sepulchral monument in terra-cotta, British\n Museum.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 335.\u2014Bronze spear-point, with earlier runes, and svastica and\n triskele stamped on it. Length 16\u00bd inches.\u2014Venice, island of\n Torcello. \u00bd real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 336.\u2014Iron spear-point, with runes and figures inlaid with silver,\n discovered in a mound with burnt bones and weapons.\u2014M\u00fcncheberg,\n Mark-Brandenburg. \u00bd real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 337.\u2014Iron spear-point, with runes and figures inlaid with\n silver.\u2014Volhynia, Russia. \u00bd real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 338.\u2014Runic stone found at Collingham, Yorkshire.\n]\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XII.\n NORTHERN RELICS\u2014BOG FINDS.\n\n Numerous Greek and Roman objects\u2014Intentional destruction of\n weapons\u2014Thorsberg find\u2014Coats of mail\u2014Garments and harness\u2014Weapons\n and ornaments\u2014The Vimose find\u2014The sax\u2014Bronze and iron\n spurs\u2014Carpenter\u2019s plane\u2014The Kragehul find\u2014The Nydam find\u2014Discovery\n of a large oak boat\u2014Its construction\u2014Various weapons, tools, and\n ornaments\u2014Damascened swords.\n\n\nBefore passing on to other parts of our wide subject, let us examine\nsomewhat more minutely and in detail the various classes of remarkable\nobjects which have been found in the lands of the old Norsemen,\nbelonging to the earlier iron age.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 339.\u2014Shield boss of bronze with Latin inscription AELAELIANVS. \u2155\n real size.\u2014Thorsbjerg find.\n]\n\nThe bog finds[157] are very important, and throw additional light on the\nearlier history of the people. From them we are able to see how people\nwere dressed, and to learn about their riding equipment, agricultural\nimplements, cooking utensils, household vessels, waggons, tools, and\noffensive and defensive weapons; from one of these also we were first\nmade acquainted with their sea-vessels. Many of the objects appear to be\nof Greek or Roman origin, and Roman coins are found, so that we can\napproximate closely the date when the objects were in use, and\nconsequently the taste and manner of living of the period.\n\nWe can dress a warrior from head to foot, and wonder at his costly and\nmagnificent equipment, and his superb and well-finished weapons, and can\nrealise how magnificent must have been some of his riding and driving\nvehicles.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 340.\u2014Bronze breast-plate, covered with gold and\n silver.\u2014Thorsbjerg find.\n]\n\nAll these antiquarian bog-finds are within very easy access of the sea,\nvarying in depth beneath the surface of the earth\u2014in the Thorsbjerg bog,\n10\u201314 feet; in the Nydam, 5\u20137 feet; the Vimose, 4\u20135 feet. Those of\nDenmark have proved far richer than those of the present Sweden, Norway,\nand the countries situated on the eastern and southern shores of the\nBaltic. In numerous instances the objects are unique, and many present a\ngreat similarity to those found in the skeleton graves, such as swords\nwith Roman characters upon them, fragments of wooden buckets, checkers,\ndice, &c.\n\nHere also, as in the graves where the bodies were burnt, we find objects\nintentionally damaged. This bending, twisting, and hacking of weapons\nseems to have been a religious custom. The spear-handles, scabbards,\nbows, arrow-shafts, and shields are often broken into fragments, or\nrolled together in inextricable knots. Ringed coats of mail and garments\nare torn to pieces, which afterwards were wrapped carefully together;\nand the skulls and skeletons of horses are cleft in many places.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 341.\u2014Fragments of silver shield boss, with gilt\n ornaments.\u2014Thorsbjerg find.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 342.\u2014Silver helmet.\u2014Thorsbjerg find.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 343.\u2014Bronze serpent: probably ornament to helmet.\u2014Thorsbjerg\n find.\n]\n\nThese masses of objects seem to imply that they were either the spoils\nand remains of great fights between different chieftains, or offers to\nthe gods thrown into sacred springs. In this latter case the finds must\nbe the produce of a long series of years, and have been given to the\ngods at different times, the destruction, instead of taking place on the\npyre, having taken place on the water.\n\nThis destruction was not apparently peculiar to the inhabitants of the\nNorth, for C\u00e6sar relates of the Gauls, that when they went into battle\nthey made a vow to consecrate the booty to the god of war. After the\nvictory the captured animals were sacrificed, and the rest of the booty\nwas brought together into one spot.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 344.\u2014Bronze buckle inlaid with gold and silver, for ring armour;\n the back shows how the rings were attached. \u2154 real size.\u2014Thorsbjerg\n Bog-find.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Reverse.\n]\n\nThe narrative of Crosius offers the most striking similarity between\nthis custom and that of the Cimbrians and Teutons, who, when coming from\nthe North after their victory over the Romans at Arausia (near the river\nRhone), in the year 105 before Christ, sacrificed the whole of the\nbooty. He relates:\u2014\n\n\n\u201cWhen the enemies had taken possession of two camps and an immense\nbooty, they destroyed under new and strange imprecations all that had\nfallen into their hands. The clothes were torn and thrown away, gold and\nsilver thrown into the river, the ring armour of the men cut to pieces,\nthe accoutrements of the horses destroyed, the horses themselves thrown\ninto the water, and the men with ropes around their necks suspended to\nthe trees, so that there was no more booty for the victors than there\nwas mercy for the conquered.\u201d\n\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 345.\u2014Bronze plate, covered with gold and silver, belonging to\n ring armour.\u2014Thorsbjerg find.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 346.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 347.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 348.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 349.\n\n Figures, made of thin silver plates, belonging to bronze plate.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 350.\u2014Fragment of ring armour. Real size.\n]\n\nOne might suppose that Orosius has here described the feast of victory\nat Nydam or Thorsbjerg.\n\nIf any proofs were needed to show that the objects were intentionally\nplaced in the water, we have them in the fact that several clay vessels\nhave been sunk by heavy stones being put in them, and that other objects\nwere fastened to the bottom by means of large wooden hooks. Finally, we\nought to add, the space within which the antiquities were found was in\nseveral places marked off by fence-like wicker hurdles of twigs, or by\npoles, spears or swords, stuck into the mud.\n\n\n_The Thorsbjerg[158] Bog-find._\u2014The researches in this find cover a\nperiod of six years, from 1856 to 1862, and is one of the most\nremarkable, for here were brought to light objects unknown in other\nsimilar finds. From the coins[159] enumerated below, we must come to the\nconclusion that many of the objects found belong to the second century\nof our era. Among the most remarkable antiquities of warfare are the\nsuperb coats of mail found in the North, and the skill displayed in\nmaking war accoutrements at such an early period shows an advanced state\nof civilisation. These coats of mail (which are also found in graves)\nare a network of rings each of which is run through four others. In\ntheir workmanship they vary:\u2014in some the rings are clinched; in others\nonly every other ring is riveted, the alternate ones being welded\ntogether, so that each clinched ring grasps four welded ones, and each\nwelded ring grasps four riveted.\n\n THORSBJERG FIND.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 351.\u2014Trousers of woven woollen cloth.[160] Length 45 inches.\n Width round waist 38\u00bd inches. On the waistband were several small\n loops which probably held the waistbelt. The socks which are sewn to\n the trousers are of the same pattern as that of the sleeves of the\n shirt, but the squares are smaller. 1/18 real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 352.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 353.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 354.\n\n Fragments of woollen cloak, with border.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 355.\u2014Woollen shirt or blouse 33\u00bd inches long, 20 inches wide,\n with wristbands of a stronger cloth and a lighter colour than the\n shirt, which is brownish red. Both sleeves are of a stronger cloth\n than that of the body of the shirt. 1/20 real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 356.\u2014Woven border at bottom of the shirt.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 357.\u2014Pattern of the body of the shirt.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 358.\u2014Horse head-gear of leather. The heads of the bronze rivets\n resembling rosettes are covered with ornamented silver plates: the\n bridle and other mountings are of bronze.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 359.\u2014Flat round wooden shield, made of planed boards of different\n widths.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 360.\u2014Wooden sword-hilt with bronze nails, the middle surrounded\n with braided bronze thread.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 361.\u2014Fibula of bronze with engraved ornament.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 362.\u2014A pendant of gold. Real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 363.\u2014Amber die, rounded so as not to stand on the number. Real\n size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 364.\u2014Remains of leather shoe. \u2153 real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 365.\u2014Rake of wood with teeth, about nine inches long.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 366.\u2014Ornament of bronze for scabbard. Heads of rivets plated with\n silver. \u00bd real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 367.\u2014Rein, made of three pieces of leather, with bronze ring.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 368.\u2014Leather sandal in one piece, for left foot. \u2153 real size.\n Fastened over the foot with narrow straps and buttons.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 369.\u2014Shoulder clasp of bronze for ring armour, inlaid with gold\n and silver.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 370.\u2014Fragment of a sandal with silver-plated rivets. \u2153 real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 371.\u2014Ornament of bronze for wooden scabbard, with inscription in\n earlier runes. Real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 372.\u2014Bronze ornamentation for scabbard, plated with silver and\n gold. \u00bd real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 373.\u2014Scabbard of wood, with bronze mounting.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 374.\u2014Embossed mounting of a scabbard strap, silver-plated, the\n whole centre inlaid with a thin gold plate.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 375.\u2014A bridle of bronze, the end-piece plated with silver and\n gold. \u00bd real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 376.\u2014Silver-plated bronze buckle.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 377.\u2014Bronze mounting on horses\u2019 head-gear, apparently plated.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 378.\u2014Shield boss with silver top.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 379.\u2014Mountings to leather straps with svastica and gilt knobs.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 380.\u2014Bronze and silver-plated mounting for leather used on\n horses\u2019 head-gear.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 381.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 382.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 383.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 384.\n\n Iron axe-heads. \u2153 real size.\n]\n\n\n_Vimose Bog Find._\u2014The explorations in the Vimose bog,[161] situated\nabout five miles from Odense, Fyen, commenced in 1848, and since that\ntime 3,600 objects have been gathered together, all of which were found\nin a space of 9,000 square feet. Sometimes there seemed to be a certain\norder in the way in which the articles had been sunk, for all the ring\narmour was together, and a number of small articles had been placed\ninside a shield-boss, while other articles were surrounded with broad\nbands of cloth. Many of the objects here were also badly damaged. Only\none coin has been found, _i.e._ a silver denarius of the time of the\nEmpress Faustina Junior (d. 175), with \u201cPudicitia\u201d on its reverse. The\nnumber of single and double-edged swords, many of which are in tolerably\ngood preservation, is 67. The single-edged swords, between 15\u00be and 24\ninches long, are simply welded, sometimes having ornaments traced on the\nblade, and several of these were still in their wooden scabbards when\nfound. The double-edged swords vary in size from about 19 or 20 inches,\nto 35 or 36 inches. On several are factory stamps\u2014a star-shaped sign on\none side of the blade near the tongue or hilt point, and a ring-shaped\nfigure on the sides of the hilt points, a mark which looks rather like a\nscorpion; in one stamp are Latin letters, which are somewhat difficult\nto decipher. Many are welded or forged from two united blades, while\nothers are made of a single blade and have no factory mark. Fourteen are\ndamascened in different patterns.\n\n VIMOSE FIND.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 385.\u2014One of four bronze buckles, enamelled in red, green, and\n blue, the inside borders of black mosaic enamel. \u2154 real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 386.\u2014Sax, or single-edged sword. \u00bc real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 387.\u2014Damascened sax. \u00bc real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 388.\u2014Bent sax, or single-edged sword. \u00bc real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 389.\u2014Single-edged sax or iron sword. \u00bc real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 390.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 391.\n\n Sax, or single-edged swords, one in wooden scabbard. \u00bc real size.\n]\n\nIn this remarkable find several enamelled objects have been discovered.\nThis art appears to have been unknown to the nations of classical\nantiquity. There is no word for it in Greek or Latin. Philostratus,[162]\nwhen describing a wild boar hunt, mentions the beauty and fine colour of\nthe harness of the horses, and, when stating how these colours were\nproduced, mentions that they were made by the barbarians living on the\nshores of the ocean.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 392.\u2014Griffon\u2019s head, ornament belonging to helmet of bronze. Real\n size.\n]\n\nThis description may very well refer to the people of the North, the\ngreat splendour of whose riding gear and chariots we see from the finds\nand sagas.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 393.\u2014Fragments of ring-armour of hammered iron. Real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 394.\u2014Bronze mounting, plated with gold silver, and belonging to\n ring-armour. Real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 395.\u2014Remains of ring-armour of iron, with traces of gold plating.\n \u00bd real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 396.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 397.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 398.\n\n Spurs, one of bronze, with iron point; the others of iron.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 399.\u2014Wheel. 1/20 real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 400.\u2014Man\u2019s head on a piece of bronze covered with a thin gold\n plate. Real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 401.\u2014Ferrule of silver for hilt plated with gold. Real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 402.\u2014Parts of a wooden plane. \u2153 real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 403.\u2014Shoulder-strap of leather, with bronze button and design of\n dolphin. About \u2150 real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 404.\u2014Silver ornament plated with gold. Real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 405.\u2014Fragment of wooden shield with gilt-headed nails.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 406.\u2014Silver-plated bronze ornament.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 407.\u2014Silver mounting to scabbard. Real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 408.\u2014Silver mounting for scabbard. \u00bd real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 409.\u2014One of 1,000 spears, inlaid with concentric circles. \u2153 real\n size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 410.\u2014One of 1,000 spears. \u2153 real size.\n]\n\nOver 1,000 spears were found; the handles of most of them were broken\noff, but five have been preserved complete; these are 8 feet 7\u2154 inches\nlong, 9 feet 2 inches long 9 feet long, 11 feet long, and 6\u00bd feet long.\nThe handles are made of ash, and some spears are ornamented with threads\nof gold, silver or bronze inlaid in concentric circles; sometimes\nornaments are traced up the middle of the blade, and originally these\nalso were filled with some kind of metal.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 411.\u2014Crocodile\u2019s head carved in wood. Real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 412.\u2014Brynja, or coat of mail, 3 feet long.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 413.\u2014Bone comb with _svastica_. \u00bd real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 414.\u2014Fragments of checker-board. \u2159 real size.\n\n VIMOSE FIND.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 415.\u2014Bronze enamelled bowl (1867), 2\u00be in. high, 4\u00be in. wide, in\n bog at Maltb\u0153k, Jutland. The enamel in the serpentine line is red.\n]\n\n\n_Kragehul Find._\u2014In a small bog called Kragehul, situated near the city\nof Assens on Fyen, objects have been found which seem to belong to the\n4th or 5th century. The first mention of the Kragehul bog is in 1751,\nwhen some articles with rune inscriptions were found, which,\nunfortunately, have been lost, but it was not until 1864 that a regular\nexploration took place.[163]\n\n KRAGEHUL FIND.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 416.\u2014Bundle of bent weapons.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 417.\u2014Bronze vessel destroyed by sword cuts. \u2155 real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 418.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 419.\n\n Iron spears with ornaments carved on the wooden handles. \u00bd real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 420.\u2014Spear, \u00bd real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 421.\u2014Spear, \u2153 real size.\n]\n\nThe antiquities, none of which are of Roman origin, seem to have been\nthrown in without any order, but spears with thin iron points on the end\nformed the boundary of the find.\n\nIn this as in the other bog finds, weapons are twisted together in\nextraordinary knots and many objects destroyed.\n\n\n_The Nydam Bog Find._\u2014The remarkable bog find at Nydam[164] is extremely\nvaluable on account of the boat, and the discovery of Roman coins\nenables us to approximate the date of the objects,[165] which is\nprobably about the years 250 and 300 of our era.\n\nThe Nydam oak boat was discovered in 1863 near Slesvig, in Southern\nJutland. Its length is about 75 feet; its widest part, about 10\u00bd feet.\nIt held 14 benches, and was rowed with 28 oars, the average length of\nwhich was 12 feet. By its side was the rudder, about 10 feet long.\n\nThe bottom plank, which is not a keel proper, is 45 feet 3 inches long,\nand of a single piece. The oar-tholes are fastened to the gunwales with\nbast ropes, and, though they have all one general shape, there are no\ntwo alike.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 422.\n]\n\nThe boat is clinch-built; that is, the planks are held together by large\niron bolts with round heads outside, and clinch plates on the inside, at\na distance of 5\u00bd inches from each other. The space between the planks is\nfilled with woollen stuff and a pitchy sticky mass. The boards are\njoined in a very common manner to the frame with bast ropes. In the\nframe are holes, which correspond to elevated pieces on the boards which\nare also bored through; these pieces had not been nailed to the planks,\nbut were hewn out of the latter, which thereby had lost more than half\ntheir thickness. Vessels by this peculiar manner of joining frame and\nboards acquired great elasticity, which must have been of good service\nin the surf and in a heavy sea.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 423.\u2014Oar-thole of red pine. \u2152 real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 424.\u2014Oar-thole of the Nydam Boat. \u2150 real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 425.\u2014Inside view of one of the stems of the Nydam boat.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 426.\u2014Rib of boat, showing seat attached.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 427.\u2014Wooden pegs fastening stem to bottom plank. 1/17 real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 428.\u2014Showing how the boards joined the ribs.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 429.\u2014End face view of oar-thole. \u2152 real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 430.\u2014Rudder, 10 feet long, found alongside Nydam boat.\n]\n\nThe boat was shaped alike both fore and aft, so that it could be rowed\nin either direction; and in both stems, which are fastened to the bottom\nplank, are two holes through which, judging from the manner in which\nthey are worn, ropes were probably drawn, by which to drag the boat\nashore at the beginning of winter. In the bottom there is a hole, which\nprobably after the ship had been drawn up served to give outlet to the\nwater collected in the boat.\n\nThe boat had undoubtedly been intentionally sunk, for in the planks\nunder the water-line had been cut large holes to let in the water. Rust\nhad destroyed the ends of the iron bolts which had held the planks\ntogether, and also the ropes with which the boards and the frame had\nbeen held together. The planks fell apart, therefore, and took their\noriginal straight shape; the oar-tholes were loosened from the gunwale;\nthe frame fell on different sides, and the two high stems fell down. As\nthe joints loosened, the separate pieces sank to the bottom, and\nremained lying at about an equal depth, while the turf grew up above\nthem and preserved them from destruction. After all the parts of the\nboat had been carefully collected and dried, it was possible to restore\nit to its original shape.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 431.\u2014Wooden scoop for baling water. \u2151 real size.\n]\n\nAnother boat of red pine wood was discovered alongside it. This one was\nlaid on the field and covered with bog mould, until the work connected\nwith the other boat was finished. Unfortunately the war of 1864 put an\nend to the examination of the Nydam bog, so that the boat was left lying\non the field, and strangers have carried off many pieces of it. The\nbottom plank was about 50 feet long, 13 inches broad, and ends in two\nspurs or rams. How high the prows were raised above the plank cannot be\nstated. Since this date the diggings have been done by inexperienced\nmen, and consequently have given but little results. This sacred part of\nthe land of the Danes had passed into the hands of its German\nconquerors, for the _Nornir_[166] are fickle, and what is fated to one\ngeneration to accomplish is often, in the course of time, undone by\nanother.\n\n NYDAM BOG FIND.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 432.\u2014The end of the bottom plank of a vessel of red pine, with a\n ram at each end, from Nydam Bog-find. The pointed lines show how the\n spurs protruded from the stem.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 433.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 434.\n\n Fragments wooden scabbard with bronze mountings. \u00bd real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 435.\u2014A throwing spear with line attached, length of spear 10\n feet. \u2153 real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 436.\u2014Spear-head. \u2153 real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 437.\u2014Leaf-shaped spear-point ornamented with engraved lines. \u2153\n real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 438.\u2014Iron axes. \u00bc real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 439.\u2014Iron celt. \u00bc real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 440.\u2014Tweezer and earpick of bronze hanging on a bronze ring. Real\n size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 441.\u2014Wooden club. \u215b real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 442.\u2014Black glass bead. Real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 443.\u2014Light-green glass bead, with yellow points on a dark-red\n ground. Real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 444.\u2014Green glass bead with red stripes. Real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 445.\u2014\u00bd real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 446.\u2014\u00bd real size.\n\n Buckles.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 447.\u2014Silver tweezers. Real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 448.\u2014Silver ear spoon. \u00bd real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 449.\u2014Iron knife with wooden handle. \u00bc real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 450.\u2014Double-barrelled tube of silver found with ear pick. Real\n size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 451.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 452.\n\n Wooden bows, with notches at the end for fastening the string. 1/11\n real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 453.\u2014Part of a wooden bow. \u00bd real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 454.\u2014Part of arrow-shaft bearing runic stave. Real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 455.\u2014Arrow-shaft. \u2153 real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 456.\u2014Arrow-shaft with owner\u2019s mark. Real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 457.\u2014Arrow-point of iron. \u2153 real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 458.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 459.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 460.\n\n Bronze mountings for a quiver. \u00bc real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 461.\u2014\u00bc real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 462.\u2014\u00bd real size.\n\n Fragments of wooden scabbards with bronze mountings.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 463.\u2014Wooden quiver. \u00bc real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 464.\u2014Bearded spear-head, bent and twisted. \u2153 real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 465.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 466.\n\n Bearded spear-points of iron. \u2153 real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 467.\u2014Iron spear-point, bayonet shaped. \u2153 real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 468.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 469.\n\n Iron spear-points. \u2153 real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 470.\u2014Leaf shaped iron spear-point. Real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 471.\u2014Iron sword, damascened, bearing Latin inscription. \u2154 real\n size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 472.\u2014Iron sword bearing Latin inscription. \u2154 real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 473.\u2014Iron sword bearing Latin inscription.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 474.\u2014Part of sword blade with runes inlaid with gold.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 475.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 476.\n\n Damascened blades. \u2154 real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 477.\u2014Wooden bowl. \u2159 real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 478.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 479.\n\n Iron ferrules to scabbard, inlaid with flat hammered gold wire. \u00bd real\n size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 480.\u2014Wooden trough. \u2159 real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 481.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 482.\u2014Ornaments of bronze plated with thin silver and gold. Real\n size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 483.\u2014Bit of bronze. \u00bc real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 484.\u2014Bit of iron. \u00bc real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 485.\u2014Double-edged damascened sword with silver handle. \u2155 real\n size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 486.\u2014Double-edged damascened sword. \u2155 real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 487.\u2014Spiral bracelet of gold with triangular ornaments, \u00bd real\n size, found in a bog near Horsens, Denmark.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 488.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 489.\n\n Damascened iron sword, \u00bc real size, of the later iron age, with\n mounting for scabbard, made of silver, in relief work and gilt.\n Found in a bog near Slagelse on Zealand, Denmark.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 490.\u2014Iron sword, with bronze handle, \u2159 real size, found in a bog\n at Freml\u00f6se, not far from the town of Odense, on Fyen, with\n fragments of two other iron swords, &c. Earlier iron age.\n]\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XIII.\n NORTHERN RELICS\u2014GROUND FINDS.\n\n The custom of hiding objects\u2014Discovery of numerous golden objects\n near the surface\u2014Necklaces of gold\u2014Golden horns discovered at\n M\u00f6glet\u00f6nder\u2014The Bangstrup find.\n\n\nThe objects found in the earth, and classified under the name of _ground\nfinds_, are often not only very valuable but also very beautiful; in\nmany instances they are of the same type and period as those of the bogs\nand graves. The custom of intentionally hiding objects which existed in\nthe stone and bronze age lasted until the end of the Viking age, and one\nof the finest arch\u00e6ological fields in the whole of Scandinavia is that\nof Broholm, situated on the island of Fyen. These finds are divided into\nthree principal groups, viz.:\u2014Lundeborg, Gudme, and Elsehoved. Almost\nall the objects were so near the surface of the soil that they were\ndiscovered either when ploughing, or digging with a spade.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 491.\u2014Denarius; Trajan (98\u2013117). Broholm. Real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 492.\u2014Fibula of bronze. Broholm. Real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 493.\u2014Solidus: temp. Constantine II. (337\u201361), found near\n Hesselagergaard, Broholm, 1875. Real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 494.\u2014Largest Neck-ring, Broholm. Heaviest rings, weight 3 lbs., 1\n lb. 14\u00bd oz., 1 lb. 2\u00bd oz.; \u00bd real size. Among other objects\n discovered with this neck-ring were three other neck-rings, one\n weighing about 2 lbs. 2 ozs., another 1\u00bd lb.; six pieces of massive\n gold belonging to neck-rings; six spiral gold rings; a spiral\n finger-ring of gold; bent gold bars probably used as money; and\n bracteates.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 495.\u2014Roll of flat gold band.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 496.\u2014Gold bead. Real size. Broholm.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 497.\u2014Gold band.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 498.\u2014Solidus: temp. Constantine II. Broholm. Real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 499.\u2014Gold Neck-ring, from Hesselagergaard, Broholm. \u2157 real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 500.\u2014Fibula of gold. Broholm. Real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Reverse of Fig. 500.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 501.\u2014Hollow gold object, ornamented with cornelians, found at\n Lundeberg, Broholm. Real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 502.\u2014Gold Mounting for sword scabbard. Real size. Broholm.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Reverse of Fig. 502.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 503.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 504.\n\n Gold bracteates. Real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 505.\u2014Mosaic bead. Real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 506.\u2014Gold bracteate, showing fibula on the neck. Real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 507.\u2014Gold ring used as money. Real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 508.\u2014Gold spiral ring. Elsehoved, Broholm. Real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 509.\u2014Fibula of copper covered with gold, and ornamented with\n garnets, one of which remains intact; a bird will be seen at the\n bottom. \u00bd real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 510.\u2014Roman coins of the 5th century, forming part of a necklace,\n with a string of gold beads (Valentinianus, 425\u2013455; Julius\n Majorianus, 457\u2013461; two Leo I., 457\u2013474; Zeno, 474\u2013491; two\n Anastasius, 491\u2013515).\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 511.\u2014Gold rings used as money. Real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 512.\u2014Ring of gold. Real size.\n]\n\nAmong the finest and most valuable objects found in the North were the\ntwo superb golden horns discovered at M\u00f6gelt\u00f6nder on the peninsula of\nJutland, which were once the pride of the great Museum of Northern\nAntiquities in Copenhagen.\n\nThey were without equals in any part of the world; their exterior was\nmade of different bands of gold, with figures in repouss\u00e9 work, fastened\nto the harder gold of the body of the horn. Both were stolen from the\nold Danish Museum on the 4th of May, 1802, and the ignorant thief melted\nthem; thus those two superb specimens were for ever lost to science, and\nwith an unfortunate fatality the cast of each has also been lost; but\nluckily the drawings made can be relied on. The thief was captured a\nyear after, and his punishment was not adequate to the crime he had\ncommitted.\n\nThe representations given upon them must have had a meaning; these were\nsymbolical, and were probably very significant and not used for mere\nornamentation; what the figures and symbolical signs meant is impossible\nfor us to tell. Among the most remarkable of the former is the\nthree-headed man, holding in one hand what appears to be an axe, while\nwith the other he leads some kind of horned animal.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 513.\u2014Golden horn discovered at M\u00f6gelt\u00f6nder, 1639, with thirteen\n broad rings round it. Length, 2 feet 9 inches; weight over 7 lbs.\n\n \u2155 real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 514.\u2014Golden horn discovered at M\u00f6gelt\u00f6nder, 1734. The exact\n length of this horn, which had round its broadest end an inscription\n in earlier runes, has not been stated, but, judging from a\n _facsimile_ in silver gilt made by command of Frederick VII. from\n the old drawing, and presented by him to the old Northern Museum, it\n must have been over 20 inches long. Though the lower part was broken\n off and lost, it still weighed more than 8 lbs.\n\n \u2155 real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 515.\u2014Inscription in earlier runes on horn.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 516.\u2014Facsimile of each ring of the damaged horn (Fig. 514).\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 517.\u2014Facsimile of the rings of the perfect horn (Fig. 513).\n]\n\n\n_Bangstrup Find (Fyen)._\u2014Conspicuous among many remarkable finds is the\nBangstrup find (Fyen, 1865), in which rings of gold used as money,\nornaments of peculiar shape, and 46 gold Roman coins, which were pierced\nor had a loop attached to the top, were discovered. The coins, ranging\nfrom the time of Trajanus Decius (249\u2013251) to that of Constantine II.\n(337\u2013351), give an approximate idea of the time of the deposit of the\nfind; for, while most of the earlier coins are well worn, the later ones\nare very well preserved and the coinage is very sharp and clear, thus\nindicating that they cannot have been long in circulation. As the dates\nof these later coins are about 340\u2013350, the find cannot have been buried\nmuch later than that time.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n 307\u2013323.\n\n Fig. 518.\n\n IMP. LICINIVS. P. F. AVG.\n ORIENS AVGVSTORVM.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n 306\u2013337.\n\n Fig. 519.\n\n CONSTANTINVS PFAVG.\n VICTORIA. CONSTANTINI. AVG.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 520.\u2014Gold coin.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 521.\u2014Crescent-shaped pendant of gold.\n]\n\nThe crescent-shaped ornaments have, so far as is known, never been found\nelsewhere in the North; but in the Ukraine similar ones have been\ndiscovered, and are described in the work \u201cAccount of the Mounds, &c.,\nof the Government of Kiew,\u201d by Privy Councillor J. Foundoukle\u00ef, Kief,\n1848.\n\n BANGSTRUP FIND.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 522.\u2014Crescent-shaped pendant of gold.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 523.\u2014Crescent of gold pendant-shaped: representing two lions\n drinking out of a cup.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 524.\u2014Leaf-shaped pendant of thin sheet gold.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 525.\u2014Leaf-shaped pendant, sheet gold.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 526.\u2014Rectangular pendant of sheet gold, with embossed human\n figure.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 527.\u2014Semi-spherical gold ornamentation of unknown use.\n]\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XIV.\n DESCRIPTION OF SOME REMARKABLE GRAVES AND THEIR CONTENTS.\n\n Sepulchral chambers containing skeletons\u2014The objects in these graves\n not destroyed\u2014Numerous Roman and Greek objects\u2014The Vall\u00f6by\n grave\u2014The Bavenh\u00f6i grave\u2014The Varpelev graveyard.\n\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 528.\u2014Mound, about 13 feet above the ground, showing sepulchral\n chamber five feet below the surface. The body had been placed upon\n woollen pillows filled with down. Six oak logs supported the side\n planks forming the sepulchral chamber, which had an oak floor. The\n space between the timbers had been filled with tresses of wool and\n other hair of animals. The chamber had been carefully covered with\n clay.\u2014Bjerring, near Viborg, Northern Jutland.\n]\n\nTo return to the subject of graves, we will now speak of the sepulchral\nchambers containing skeletons. They generally vary in size, from the\nlength of a man upwards, being about four feet wide and two or three\nfeet high. Sometimes the corpse had been laid upon woollen stuff,\ncattle-hair, or birch-bark, the head turned southwards, and the feet\ntowards the north. The inside lining is often of planks, between which\nand the outer stone wall bark has been placed, the seams between the\ntimber being filled with pitch. Above the burial-chamber, which was\nsometimes below the level of the ground, a mound or cairn was often\nraised.\n\nThe objects found in these graves have not been destroyed, and the\nweapons, which are few, have not been made useless.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 529.\u2014Burial Chamber, N\u00f6rrevingstrup, near Hj\u00f6rring, Jutland.\n Inside measurement\u2014height, 4 feet; length, 5\u00bd feet; breadth, 3\u00bd\n feet.\n]\n\nIn the graves containing skeletons are found costly silver and glass\ncups, pottery, wooden pails with metal mountings, drinking-horns or\ntheir fragments; gold, silver, bronze, or silver-gilt jewelry; great\nmasses of glass, amber, gold and mosaic beads; metal mirrors (these are\nscarce), bone combs, riding and driving harness, &c. The damaged weapons\nare often richly ornamented, and of exquisite workmanship.\n\nA remarkable fact is the number of unmistakable Roman and Greek objects,\nand sometimes coins, which occur in the finds. In the graves of women\nthe objects chiefly found are pins, needles, buttons, jewels, ornaments,\ncombs, knives, &c.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 530.\u2014Vall\u00f6by Grave; showing the natural eminence, with\n arrangement of stones, cist, and mound.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 531.\u2014Horizontal view; showing how the objects were placed. Coffin\n proper, 9 feet long, 2 feet deep.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 532.\u2014Bird\u2019s-eye view of grave, seen from above. Length of outer\n inclosure between 11 and 12 feet; height about 2 feet; width about\n 2\u00bd feet.\n]\n\n_Vall\u00f6by Grave._\u2014The antiquities in this grave plainly show two\ncivilisations: the Roman or Greek, as represented by the bronze vessels;\nand the Northern, by the silver cups and black clay vessels, &c., &c.\n\nThe grave was made with especial care, and was sunk about six feet below\nthe natural surface of the bank; the stone inclosure was built of\nrounded stones, of the size of a man\u2019s fist, placed together with great\nregularity.[167]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 533.\u2014Samian Clay Bowl. Hunting scenes in bas-relief. Inscription\n (\u201cCos. L. Viri\u2014\u201d) partially defaced. \u2156 real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 534.\u2014One of two flat bronze bowls. In the earth above were two\n small silver knobs, one covering the other, the use of which is\n unknown. \u2155 real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 535.\u2014Fluted bowl of bronze. \u2155 real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 536.\u2014\u2155 real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 537.\u2014\u2156 real size.\n\n Fragments of bronze kettle.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 538.\u2014Kettle handle. \u2155 real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 539.\u2014Side view.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 540.\u2014Front view.\n\n Handle of kettle. \u2156 real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 541.\u2014Bottom of bronze kettle. \u2155 real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 542.\u2014Side view of bottom of kettle. \u2155 real size.\n]\n\n\n_Bavenh\u00f6i Grave Find_\u2014At Bavenh\u00f6i, in Himling\u00f6i, Zeeland, is a large\nbank of gravel, of slight elevation, only about 200 to 230 feet in\nlength. This had evidently been used as a common cemetery, as the bodies\nwere found deposited in the earth without a coffin, though partly\nsurrounded by stone settings. The antiquities found at various times\nwith the skeletons seem to belong to the latter part, or perhaps the\nmiddle, of the early iron age.\n\n BAVENH\u00d6I GRAVE FIND.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 543.\u2014Bronze vase. \u00bc real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 544.\u2014Border of silver goblet; plaqu\u00e9 with gold and ornamented\n with figures in relief\u2014viz., a double head with moustaches and\n helmets; a helmeted man crouching, with a dagger in his hand; two\n quadrupeds with manes; a horned animal; and three birds. Between the\n figures are dots, circles, and crosses.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 545.\u2014Silver cup. \u00bd real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 546.\u2014Silver goblet, with repouss\u00e9 work of silver plated with\n gold; similar to the Vall\u00f6by one. \u2153 real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 547.\u2014Flat basin or stewpan of bronze, containing two goblets of\n silver, &c. \u2159 real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 548.\u2014Bronze pail. \u2159 real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 549.\u2014Bronze vase, \u00bc real size, with border upon which are\n engraved hunting scenes, a lion, two horses, a tiger or leopard, and\n two bucks, a dog and two deer; these animals are separated by trees\n and plants, the leaves of which, to judge from some traces, must\n have been silvered over.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 550.\u2014Part of the design round the border of vase, representing\n hunting scene. \u00bd real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 551.\u2014Bronze fibula covered with gold, with an inscription\n scratched in earlier runes. \u2154 real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 552.\u2014Bronze fibula plated with embossed gold ornamented with 3\n blue glass knobs and an oval piece of glass of the same colour. \u2154\n real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 553.\u2014Fibula from Storeheddinge, Zeeland, showing the part missing\n in the one above. \u2154 real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 554.\u2014Gold ring of three spirals flattened and ornamented with\n heads of animals, found still adhering to the bone of the hand. Real\n size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 555.\u2014Ground plan of the Graveyard at Varpelev.\n]\n\nAt Varpelev, Zeeland, a grave was found covered by several slabs; it is\nnearly 4 yards long, 1\u00be yard broad, the bottom being about 3 yards under\nthe surface of the earth. Within lay the skeleton of a full-grown man,\nwith its head to the S.S.W., and its feet to the N.N.E.; alongside of it\nwere numerous objects, the most interesting of which are those of\nglass.[168]\n\nThe graveyard at Varpelev is a low bank 200 feet long, 125 feet wide.\nThe bodies were laid down, generally, in a bent position in the sand or\ngravel, in their clothes or grave-dress, but without a coffin. Old and\nyoung men, women and children lay buried here, and one corpse bears the\nmark of a heavy sword-cut. In the centre of this skeleton graveyard\nstood a single clay urn, containing burnt bones. At one place there was\na bed made of paved stones burnt and smoked, which had evidently been\nused as a pyre.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 556.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 557.\n\n Grave at Varpelev.\n]\n\nThe richest grave was situated under the highest point of the bank, at a\ndepth of 9 feet under the surface; it was made in the gravel, and was\nsurrounded by sixteen rough stones of different size and shape. The\nmajority were 2 feet in diameter; the large stone at the head measured 3\nfeet in length and width, and was 2 feet thick. The interstices were\nfilled up with blue clay. A large slab, 2 feet long, 1\u00bd feet broad, and\n8 inches thick, was laid on the head, which like the rest of the bones\nwas much decomposed, and proved to be that of a heavy-built man. The\ncorpse lay on its back, nearly straight, with its head to the\nsouth-west; it had originally had over it some kind of covering, as\nthere are remains of clothes or a grave-dress.\n\n VARPELEV GRAVE FIND.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 558.\u2014Skull (with sword-cut?). Varpelev Grave. 2/9 real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 559.\u2014Skeleton of man; above the head two large stones. Varpelev.\n 1877.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 560.\u2014\u00bd real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 561.\u2014Real size.\n\n Two silver buckles: one found near the middle of the corpse, one near\n the head.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 562.\u2014Real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 563.\u2014Real size.\n\n Gold rings found on finger bones.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 564. Fig. 565.\n\n Roman Coin of Probus, 276\u201382; found lying by right ear of corpse. Real\n size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 566.\u2014Fragment of thin ornamented silver plating, probably the\n mounting of a drinking-horn. \u00bd real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 567.\u2014Fibula of silver, _svastica_ shape, plated with gold, with\n amber knob in the centre; beautiful small birds may be noticed on\n each arm; found in a woman\u2019s grave. \u00bd real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 568.\u2014Hair-pin of gold, top ornamented with garnet; found in a\n woman\u2019s grave. \u2154 real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 569.\u2014Skeleton of woman.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 570.\u2014Skeleton lying on its left side, with an iron knife near the\n hands.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 571.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 572.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 573.\n\n Skull, seen from three sides.\n]\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XV.\n GREEK AND ROMAN ANTIQUITIES IN THE NORTH.\n\n Similar antiquities in the North and in Southern Russia\u2014Roman\n coins\u2014The trade of Gotland in earlier times\u2014Ornaments and other\n objects of bronze.\n\n\nAmong the arch\u00e6ological wealth of the North still belonging to the\nearlier, but not earliest, iron age, we find a class of graves and\nantiquities which are of special importance, for they help us to fix\nvery closely a date for the period to which they belong, and for this\nlight we are indebted to Roman coins and other objects, both Roman and\nGreek, which these graves contain.\n\nMany of the finds of this period are most interesting, as showing the\ntaste of the people in the North, and a wealth and civilisation of which\nwe were not aware. They are the more valuable because we see from them\nthe wide extent of the maritime expeditions and overland trading\njourneys of the people towards the beginning of the Christian era. They\nshow, as has already been pointed out, the intercourse which the people\nof the North had with those of the Black Sea and the Mediterranean, and\nalso with the newly-acquired north-western provinces of the Roman empire\n(Gaul, Britain, and Frisia). But, what is still more important, they\nhelp to prove the general truthfulness of the earlier Edda and Sagas,\nfor they show that the Asar, or whoever the emigrants were, who came\nnorth, and who were said to have brought their civilisation with them\nand to have given it to the people there, were either related to or on\nintimate relations with the people who inhabited the shores of the Black\nSea; for many of the antiquities which were claimed to be of a peculiar\nnorthern origin are identical with those found there; while similar\nornaments of unmistakable Greek origin are found in both regions. To\ncomplete the chain of proof, many of the antiquities, both in the\nMuseums of Kief and Smolensk, are similar to those of the North.\n\nMany of the forms of the antiquities, such as neck-rings and gold\nsnake-shaped bracelets, fibul\u00e6, &c., which were thought to belong\nexclusively to the North, are found in great number in the graves of\nKertch, in Southern Russia, where they lie almost side by side with the\nexquisite Grecian antiquities\u2014the pride of the Hermitage Museum in St.\nPetersburg\u2014mementoes of the colonies established by Greece on the shores\nof the Black Sea. They show that at that period there were two distinct\ncivilisations and peoples living near each other\u2014one Greek, the other\nnative. The natives were probably of the same stock as a great number of\nthe people of the North.\n\nWestern and Eastern, Roman and Byzantine, coins have been found; the\ngold solidi were for the most part used by the people in the North as\nornaments, for loops have been attached to or holes made through them.\nThe two largest discoveries hitherto made of Roman coins are those of\nHagestaborg, in Scania, southern Sweden (550 denarii), found in 1871,\nand of Sindarfe (Hemse parish), Gotland, at which latter spot about\n1,500 Roman coins were found, in 1870, in a clay urn.[169] Few coins\ndating before the Christian era have been found.\n\nThe people had to learn that these coins had an intrinsic value, and\nthat with them they could buy goods. In every country where barter takes\nplace it has taken a certain, sometimes a great, number of years for the\npeople to learn this value.[170] The fact that the earlier coins are\nrare does not conclusively prove that intercourse between the North and\nthe Western parts of Europe had not taken place before that time.\n\nJudging from the extensive hoards of coins discovered, it is not\nimprobable that they were kept for some opportune time when their need\nwould be required, such as for purchases when travelling back to the\nWestern or Eastern Roman provinces. That the people were well acquainted\nwith the value of these coins is beyond dispute, for otherwise they\nwould not have kept them.\n\nWe must remember that human nature is and always has been the same;\nthere were misers in those early days as there are now. The Sagas give\nus some examples of the practice of hoarding, and the probability is\nthat some of the hoards found may have been collected during the\nlifetime of one or more persons. But the numbers found, in hoards or\notherwise, even without those which remain undiscovered, show the\nexistence of commercial intercourse.\n\nOne of the countries of whose earlier history we know nothing, except\nthat it is mentioned here and there in the Sagas, is the island of\nGotland; but from the finds, which are especially rich in coins, we are\nled to the conclusion that it was a great emporium of trade at least\nfrom the beginning of the Christian era to the twelfth century. Roman,\nByzantine, Arabic, and earlier English coins are found in far greater\nnumbers than in all the Scandinavian lands together. Of the latter,\nthose of Ethelred are even more numerous than in England itself.\nSituated in a sea whose shores at that period seem to have been\ninhabited by a dense population, Gotland appears to have occupied the\nposition of commercial supremacy which England holds in Europe to-day.\n\nWe have historical evidence of its being a great emporium of trade as\nlate as the fourteenth century, until Wisby, its chief town, was\ndestroyed by the Danes. Its magnificent towers, walls, and ruined\nchurches still bear witness to its past greatness.[171]\n\nFrom the time of Alexander Severus (A.D. 235) to Theodosius (A.D. 395),\nwhich comprises a period of 160 years, the coins become very scarce, and\nRoman gold coins take the place of silver.[172] From the finds we see\nthat this period in the North becomes exceedingly rich in gold jewels,\nand it seems probable that the people preferred gold coins to those of\nsilver.\n\nThe North is particularly rich in finds of bronze vessels, which appear\nto be more specially of Greek, or some perhaps of Roman manufacture; the\nscarcity of them in Britain and Gaul would imply that they are chiefly\nof Greek origin; they seem to have been highly prized by the people.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 574.\u2014Bronze vessel, \u2155 real size, containing burnt bones, ring\n armour, coat or mail, dipper of bronze with a sieve belonging to it,\n two glass tumblers, &c., under a stone slab buried in the ground.\n]\n\nNear the fishing village of Abek\u00e5s, Southern Scania, in Jutland, a\ndipper has been found with the name of the Roman manufacturer on it, and\nthe words \u201cP. CIPI POLIBI.\u201d Another, with a name on it, was also found\nin Helsingland, Sweden.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 575.\u2014Piece of the coat of mail. Real size. Orem\u00f6lla.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 576.\u2014Vessel of glass. \u2153 real size. Orem\u00f6lla.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 577.\u2014Dipper of bronze, with sieve. \u2153 real size. Orem\u00f6lla.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 578.\u2014Urn. \u2156 real size. Orem\u00f6lla.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 579.\u2014Bronze vessel of Roman workmanship, containing burnt bones,\n and a few pieces of melted glass. Height, 18 inches. Inscribed on it\n are the following words in silver:[173] \u201cApollini Granno donvm\n Ammillivs Constans pr\u00e6fectvs templi ipsivs votvm solvit libentissimo\n merito.\u201d Mound, Fycklinge, Vestmanland, Sweden. \u2155 real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 580.\u2014Roman bowl of bronze, found, with several antiquities, under\n a slab at Sojvide, Gotland.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 581.\u2014Ornament of a large bronze vase, with hole for the handle;\n found when ploughing. \u2154 real size. \u00d6land.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 582.\u2014Handle of a Roman bronze vase. \u2154 real size. \u00d6land.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 583.\u2014Bronze vessel, \u2155 real size, with burnt bones, in a tumulus,\n with two bronze spurs exactly alike, a bent double-edged sword, a\n spear-head damaged purposely, lying over the kettle, another larger\n spear-head well preserved, &c. Norway.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 584.\u2014Restored bronze vase, containing ashes and bones, length 8\u00bd\n inches, encircled by glittering stones and inlaid with silver.\n Angvaldn\u0153s, Karmoen, Norway.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 585.\u2014Bronze statuette,[174] representing Juno. \u2153 real size. \u00d6sby,\n Gr\u00e4sgard parish, \u00d6land.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 586.\u2014Silver vase. 3/7 real size. Byrsted, Aalborg amt, North\n Jutland.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 587.\u2014Sieve of bronze, \u2153 real size, found with ornaments of bronze\n and a drinking horn, a gold charm, two gold rings, and a small gold\n button found in a sepulchral chamber of little over 4 yards in\n length, and about 2 feet 3 inches wide. Norway.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 588.\u2014Handle of the sieve. Real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 589.\u2014Ornament of a bronze vase, 3/7 real size, found in a\n tumulus. Norway.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 590.\u2014Ornament of bronze. \u00bd real size. Norway.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 591.\u2014Bronze vessel from Mosb\u0153k bog. Jutland.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 592.\u2014Fragments of a bronze chain, probably part of riding gear. \u2153\n real size. Bog, Karby on Mors.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 593.\u2014Head at fastening of the handle of the bronze vessel.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 594.\u2014Bronze basin, over a kettle containing burnt bones, \u00bc real\n size, in round tumulus, inside a little stone cist built of slabs;\n with it also were a bronze kettle and a glass cup. Norway.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 595.\u2014Bronze vase containing burnt bones, wrapped in a dark green\n woollen cloth with greenish and yellow stripes, fastened with a\n fibula of silver. In the chamber were a pair of shears and other\n objects. Ringkjobing amt, Jutland.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 596.\u2014Vase, \u00bc real size, found in a round mound, Vang Hdm.,\n Norway, with fragments of another bronze vessel of the same size,\n but of a somewhat different form. It has on it the inscription\n \u201cLIBERTINVS. ET. APRVS. CVRATOR [ES. POS] VERVNT.\u201d Originally it\n must have belonged to a Roman temple of one of the northern\n provinces of the empire, and was offered to this temple by two of\n the administrators (curatores) named above. The shape of the letters\n leads to the conclusion that the vase belongs to the first century\n of our era.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 597.\u2014Bronze bucket of Roman make, \u2155 real size, found in a\n round mound, Norway, together with a spear of iron and other\n objects of the same metal, but these were so decayed as to be\n undistinguishable.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 598.\u2014Bronze vessel about 10 inches high. Angvaldn\u0153s mound,\n Norway.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 599.\u2014Flat finger-ring of silver and alloyed gold, real size,\n found together with fragments of Roman or Greek bronze vessels, four\n small beads of greenish glass, and two bronze fibul\u00e6, in a mound,\n Hj\u00f6rring, Jutland.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 600.\u2014Bronze ring, real size, with Latin inscription, \u201cDivo\n Trajano Parth. Avg. Patri.\u201d Holb\u00e6k, Denmark.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 601.\u2014Part of bent sword, real size, showing inscription in Latin\n \u201cRANVICI,\u201d probably a name, and above it a stamp, probably\n constituting the trade-mark of its maker.\u2014Similar swords have been\n found at other places in the North, in the Nydam and Vimose bogs.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 602.\u2014Bent sword, \u00bc real size, found in a mound at Einang,\n Kristians Amt, Norway, on a layer of charcoal and burnt bones.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 603.\u2014Bronze vessel, of Roman manufacture, mound 48 to 50 feet\n diameter, 6 feet high, found in a mound at Harf, Meldelpad Sweden,\n above a slab, filled with burnt bones, an iron spear-point, fibula\n of bronze, fragments of clay urns, &c. \u00bc real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 604.\u2014Bronze kettle, \u2151 real size, Brok\u00e6r, Ribe, Jutland; found\n with fragments of Roman bronze vessels; and of two massive coats of\n mail; fragments of artistically woven cloth; double-edged sword with\n scabbard; comb, fragments of checkers, oblong dice of bone, and\n fragments of a silver drinking-horn, &c.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 605.\u2014Ornaments of silver for drinking-horn, Brok\u00e6r, Ribe,\n Jutland. \u00bd real size.\n]\n\nOn the farm of Brottby, \u00d6sby, Upland, a grave-mound of about 150 feet in\ncircumference and 13 feet in height was found. The mound, the exterior\nof which was of earth, covered a cairn, in which was found a stone\nburial chamber enclosing a clay urn. The upper part contained bones,\nwhich were entirely unburnt, below which were pieces of the skull, also\nunburnt.[175]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 606.\u2014Grave-chamber found at Br\u00f6ttby, Upland.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 607.\u2014A buckle of bronze found with an iron needle. Br\u00f6ttby.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 608.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 609.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 610.\n\n Glass beads, of pale red colour, with white flowers with light and\n dark-green leaves; one is fastened to a silver wire. Of the twelve\n beads, three are represented here. Br\u00f6ttby.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 611.\n\n Bronze chain, found in a small elevation \u00bd foot deep, with a bead\n covered with some metal, and a silver wire _like the one in Br\u00f6ttby\n parish_. Upland.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 612. Fig. 613.\n\n Denarius of Marcus Aurelius A.D. 162. Br\u00f6ttby.\n]\n\n AARESLEV FIND.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 614.\u2014Fibula of gold, ornamented with eight garnets. Aareslev,\n Fyen. Real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 615.\u2014Fibula with hanging ornament of gold, real size,\n representing a lion\u2019s head; the filagree work is ornamented with\n garnets, found with another large silver fibula, a crystal ball, a\n vase of bronze, an imitation of a Roman coin, &c. Aareslev, Fyen.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 616.\u2014The crystal ball with Greek inscription found near a\n skeleton with hanging ornaments, &c. Aareslev, Fyen. Real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 617.\u2014Part of a belt buckle, silver gilt. \u2153 real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 618.\u2014Bronze vessel, \u2155 real size, so brittle, that only by\n covering it all around with clay could it be moved away. It is made\n of two parts joined together in the middle with small flat rivets of\n bronze, and contained six quarts of burnt bones, among which were\n seventeen human teeth, different articles of iron and bronze, which\n had been packed in apparently coarse linen, small fragments of which\n only remained; a bronze mounting for a drinking-horn, and different\n kinds of iron knives; iron mounting for a knife-handle, remains of\n two iron awls, an iron key, two small melted lumps of silver,\n remains of about thirty-two bone needles, a glass bead with green\n ground and yellow stripes, remains of four earthen vessels, &c.\n M\u00f6llegaard, Broholm.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 619.\u2014Bronze ornament, real size, found with kettle. M\u00f6llegaard,\n Broholm.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 620. Fig. 621.\n\n Byzantine gold coins, fifth century, Libius Severus and Leo, found in\n Bj\u00f6rnhofda, \u00d6land, with thirty-three other coins of the same\n century. Real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 622. Fig. 623.\n\n Barbaric imitation of Byzantine coin of the fifth century. Real size.\n Mallgards, Gotland.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 624. Fig. 625.\n\n Antonini Pii.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 626. Fig. 627.\n\n Faustina the younger.\n]\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XVI.\n GLASS.\n\n Vessels with painted figures\u2014Vessels with Greek\n letters\u2014Drinking-horns of glass\u2014Cut glass.\n\n\nNothing perhaps can give us a better idea of the refined taste of some\nof the Northmen than the beautiful glass objects which have been found\nin different parts of the country. Many of these are evidently of Greek,\nsome perhaps of Roman, origin. In the museums of Italy, Greece, or\nRussia no such exquisite bowls are found, which after having been\npainted they seem to have been baked or subjected to heat in order that\nthey might retain their colour.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 628.\u20142\u00bd inches high; diameter across top, 3 inches; across\n bottom, 1\u20137/10ths of an inch. A blue panther, with grey or brown\n contours and dots, attacks a brown stag; on the other side of which\n is a brown lioness. Between the animals are circles of dots, brown\n and yellow by turns, with a brown spot in their middle.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 629.\u20143\u00bd inches high; 3\u20139/10th inches diameter. A brown bull, with\n a blue band with brown dots, attacks a brown bear. To the left a man\n in yellow coat and green breeches, holding a whip in one hand, in\n the other a blue shield; to the right a stag, being torn by a lion,\n both brown.\n\n These two vessels were found in a field, Nordrup, Zeeland, in a grave\n 3 feet 4 inches under the ground. It contained a skeleton, and,\n besides the two vessels, a Roman bronze vessel and bronze sieve, a\n gold finger-ring, a silver fibula, forty-one beads of glass and\n glass mosaic, a clay vessel, and fragments of two clay vessels.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 630.\u20144 inches high, 3\u00be inches in diameter across top. In a mound,\n Viborg amt, Jutland.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 631.\u2014Fragment of glass vessel, with gladiator and shield of blue\n tint, the gloves and shoulders are brown. Arm and legs of the other\n gladiator flesh colour. Thorslunde.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 632.\u2014Fragments of glass bowl found in a grave by Thorslunde,\n Fyen. \u2157 real size. The wolf is greyish upon light yellow ground. The\n arm and legs are of a brown tint, the dots yellow and brown. These\n lay alongside remains of skeletons which seem to have been buried in\n sitting posture; some of the designs are raised.\n]\n\nGlass, as we have seen, has been found in the later bronze age: the\nancient name for _amber_ in the North was _gler_,[176] which was well\nknown by the stone age people; but we are aware that glass was unknown\nto them.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 633.\u2014Fragment of a glass bowl of a green tint, \u2157 real size, found\n in a grave mound by Thorslunde.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 634.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 635.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 636.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 637.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 638.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 639.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 640.\n\n Border of the vase.\n]\n\nBesides the glass vessels of Roman or Greek workmanship others of\ninferior quality, as is the case in every country, have been found; some\nof these, which are generally of a bluish green, yellow or white tint,\nare cut, some ornamented with thread patterns in relief.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 641.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 642.\n\n Fragments of what must have been a magnificent glass vase of a dark\n blue colour; the figures in relief are of an opaque white and\n represented most probably some mythological subject. S\u00f6lberg, Lower\n Eker, Norway.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 643.\u2014Glass drinking-horn. Norway.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 644.\u2014Thin greenish glass vessel, open at both ends. \u00bc real size.\n Varpelev.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 645.\u2014Amethyst-coloured glass bowl. \u00bc real size. Varpelev.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 646.\u2014Glass drinking-horn, length 8 inches, diameter of mouth 2\u00bd\n inches; very rare in the North. \u00bc real size. Bavenh\u00f6i.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 647.\u2014Vessel or goblet of greenish glass, ornamented with fillets.\n \u00bc real size. Bavenh\u00f6i.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 648.\u2014Glass vessel. \u2153 real size. With white and blue ornamented\n threads, found with beads, and bronze pans and sieves, in a woman\u2019s\n skeleton grave. Ringsted, Zeeland.\n\n Glass with thread-like lines have been found in a stone coffin, Roman,\n near Dusseldorf.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 649.\u2014Dark blue glass bowl mounted with silver, on which was\n inscription in Greek letters, \u0395\u03a5\u03a4\u03a5\u03a7\u03a9\u03a3 (with good luck). \u00bd real size.\n Above the head of the skeleton in the grave, but more or less\n damaged by the large stone, were at least six glass vessels and\n fragments of clay urns. Varpelev.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 650.\u2014Vessel of greenish white glass with representations of\n various animals, found broken in many pieces. \u2154 real size. Bavenh\u00f6i.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 651.\u2014Animals represented on this glass vessel. Lion, yellow and\n brown; bear, dark brown with light yellow outlines; animal with fore\n part of body missing, probably an ox. \u2153 real size. Bavenh\u00f6i.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 652.\u2014Portion of glass vessel, much damaged. \u00bd real size. Two\n lions, light yellow, blue outlines, a double cross in the middle.\n Bavenh\u00f6i.[177]\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 653.\u2014Vessel of whitish green glass, ornamented in various colours\n which have been burnt on the vessel itself. The colour of the four\n letters D.V.B.P. represented on the cup has been destroyed by the\n effects of time, as has also that of the beak, wings and legs of the\n bird. This, however, perfectly resembles the bird on the opposite\n side of the cup, which is better preserved, and on which the wing is\n light yellow with dark brownish outlines, the beak and legs red. \u2154\n real size. Varpelev.[178]\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 654.\u2014General design of vase. \u2156 real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 655.\u2014Glass cup, funnel shape. Bjorko, S\u00f6dermanland.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 656.\u2014Glass cup, \u00bc real size, found in a round tumulus, with a\n large bronze vase with two arms, the bronze ornamentation of a\n wooden bucket, &c., &c. Norway.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 657.\u2014Glass vessel. \u00bd real size. Norway.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 658.\u2014Glass vessel. \u00bc real size. Norway.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 659.\u2014Found deep in a stone circle. The cup or glass covered an\n urn of clay with burnt bones and some glass beads, etc. \u00bd real size.\n Upland.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 660.\u2014In a stone cist, with a skeleton, some arrow-heads of bone,\n and a clay urn, etc., etc. \u00bc real size. Oland.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 661.\u2014Glass vessel found in a stone cist containing a skeleton,\n with a clay vessel, an iron knife, and bronze mounting for two\n drinking-horns. \u2153 real size. Gotland.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 662.\u2014Tumbler of thick green glass. \u00bd real size. Varpelev.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 663.\u2014Glass vessel found in a mound with unburnt skeleton. Norway.\n]\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XVII.\n HORSES\u2014WAGGONS.\n\n Favourite colours of horses\u2014Splendour of the harness\u2014Iron and bronze\n bits\u2014Spurs\u2014Bridles.\n\n\nWe have ample proof from the Sagas that the people of the North were\ngreat breeders of horses, and took pride in their adornment. We are told\nof the favourite colours of horses, and the finds bear witness to the\ngorgeousness of their harness and trappings.\n\n\n\u201cStein was for a while with King Kn\u00fat, and was conspicuous for his\nweapons and clothes, and was called Stein the Proud. Old and wise men\nhave told how Stein was so haughty that he had his horse shod with gold,\nand the hoof above adorned. King Knut thought Stein vied with him in\nmagnificence, and therefore Stein left him\u201d (Fms. v. 181).\n\n\n\u201cKing Adils liked good horses very much, he had the best horses at that\ntime. One of his horses was called _Sl\u00f6ngvir_ (the flinging one), and\nanother _Hrafn_ (Raven); the latter he took from Ali when he was dead,\nand another horse also called _Hrafn_ was bred by him; he sent it to\nKing Godgest in H\u00e1logaland. Godgest rode on it and could not stop it and\nfell down, and was killed\u201d[179] (Ynglinga Saga, ch. 33).\n\n\nThe chief Thorstein Kuggason had to seek shelter during bad weather at\nthe farm of Bj\u00f6rn Hitd\u00e6lakappi while going to help his foes. When\nThorstein took leave:\n\n\n\u201cBj\u00f6rn sent for the stud-horses which were near the hay-house, for\nfodder was given to them while the bad weather lasted. The stallion was\na son of _Hv\u00edting_ (some famous stallion) and was white, but the mares\nwere chestnut. Another son of Hv\u00edting, also white, was in Th\u00f3rarinsdal;\nbut the mares (with him) were black. Bj\u00f6rn had the stud-horses led to\nThorstein, and said he wished to give them to him. Thorstein said he\nwould not take them; \u2018for I am not yet worthy of gifts from thee, and if\nI reward thee not for this entertainment which I have now received from\nthee then I shall probably not reward thee for further benefits, but, if\nI reward the entertainment as well as thou deservest, then I will\nreceive the horse, and see that thou gettest something in return\u2019\u201d\n(Bj\u00f6rn Hitd\u00e6lakappi\u2019s Saga, p. 55).\n\n\nAn Icelander, Odd \u00dafeigsson, had traded with the Finns, which no man was\nallowed to do without the king\u2019s leave. Thorstein, one of Harald\nHardr\u00e1di\u2019s hirdmen, saved him from Harald, who wanted to slay him, and\nOdd escaped to Iceland. On one occasion, when H\u00e1rek, Thorstein\u2019s kinsman\ncame to Iceland:\n\n\n\u201cOdd sent with him to Norway a good stud of horses as a gift to\nThorstein, and said, as was true, that Thorstein had saved the lives of\nhim and his crew. H\u00e1rek came to Norway to his kinsman Thorstein, who was\nstill with the king. He brought him the horses and said they were sent\nto him by Odd. Thorstein said: \u2018This is very unfortunate for me as but\nfor this the help that I gave Odd and his men would not have been known;\nnow I cannot hide it, and it is somewhat difficult to escape.\u2019 Thorstein\nshowed the horses to the king, and said, \u2018they were a gift sent by Odd.\u2019\nThe king answered: \u2018I was not worthy of gifts from Odd; he has sent them\nto thee and not to me\u2019\u201d[180] (Fornmanna S\u00f6gur, vi. 383\u2013384).\n\n\nThe magnificence with which the harness used by these people was\nornamented is shown by their horse-collars, several of which, made of\nwood and richly decorated, are now in the Museum of Northern Antiquities\nin Copenhagen. The fact that such collars have always been found in\npairs shows that two horses were generally harnessed to the waggons\nused; the pair is always similar, and the ornamentation at the ends,\noften of bronze gilt, or silver, or gold, generally consists of animals\u2019\nheads such as are so commonly represented on fibul\u00e6. At the top of the\ncollars is a hole, through which the rein passed, and the wood is\ndecorated with representations of human heads of metal, the triskele,\nand birds, &c., riveted on.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 664.\u2014Collar for driving of gilt bronze, grave mound, Jutland. \u00bc\n real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 665.\u20142/9 real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 666.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 667.\n\n Front view. \u2153 real size.\n\n Horse-collar found in sepulchral chamber at Sollested, Assens, F\u00fden.\n Among other interesting finds in this sepulchral chamber were the\n remains of a cinerary urn with burnt bones and fragments of iron;\n equipment for two horses, including remains of a magnificent saddle,\n horses\u2019 bits ornamented with gold and silver; stirrups inlaid with\n silver and gold, &c., &c.\n]\n\nA remarkable horse-collar was found at Sollested, Assens, F\u00fden, in a\nsepulchral chamber, 30 feet long, 9 feet broad, with its entrance facing\nthe north-east; the representations of heads riveted to the collar are\nsimilar to numerous ones found in Southern Russia, of which many\nexamples are to be seen in the Hermitage, St. Petersburg.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 668.\u2014Fragments of harness with nails and other ornaments of iron\n covered with silver, sewn on leather. Real size. Denmark.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 669.\u2014Iron bits.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 670.\u2014Chains of iron, \u00bc real size, with large rings at the end.\n Sollested.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 671.\u2014End of waggon-pole. Real size. Sollested.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 672.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 673.\n\n Parts of a bit of bronze gilt, \u2154 real size, found in a round tumulus\n explored in 1852, containing the remains of a ship and a waggon,\n pieces of a wooden saddle riveted with gilt bronze ornaments,\n several stirrups, bones of several animals, &c. Vold Borre, Norway.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 674.\u2014Iron spur found in a tumulus. \u2153 real size. Norway.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 675.\u2014Ornament to horse collar of bronze gilt. \u00bd real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 676.\u2014Iron spur, found in a tumulus with a stone vase, a\n single-edged sword, an axe, two spear-heads, a shield-boss, a pair\n of stirrups, &c. \u2153 real size. Norway.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 677.\u2014Part of horse collar of bronze. \u00bd real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 678.\u2014Bronze bridle, little less than \u2155 real size, found in a\n tumulus. Norway.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 679.\u2014Iron bit, 2/9 real size, found in a tumulus with a two-edged\n sword, two spear-heads, an axe, three knife-blades, fragments of a\n shield-boss, &c., all of iron. Norway.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 680.\u2014Iron bit, 2/9 real size, found in a tumulus with a large\n axe, a spear-head, thirteen arrow-heads, six shield bosses, two\n knife-blades, clinch nails, &c. Norway.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 681.\u2014Iron bit found in a tumulus. 2/9 real size. Norway.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 682.\u2014Iron bit. 2/9 real size. Norway.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 683.\u2014Iron bit, 2/9 real size, found in a tumulus, with burnt\n bones. Norway.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 684.\u2014Iron bit for horses. \u2153 real size. Ultuna.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 685.\u2014About \u00bc real size. Norway. In a mound.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 686.\u2014Stirrup, \u2153 real size, found in a mound upon the island of\n Bjorko.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 687.\u2014Stirrup of iron inlaid with silver. \u2153 real size. Viborg,\n Jutland. In a grave with other riding gear.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 688.\u2014Iron stirrup. 2/9 real size. Norway.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 689.\u2014Iron stirrup, found in the upper part of a large round\n mound, with two double-edged swords bent in two, three spear-heads,\n five horses\u2019 bits, a pair of shears, pincers, two bronze fibul\u00e6,\n horses\u2019 teeth, burnt bones, &c. 2/9 real size. Norway.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 690.\u2014Iron stirrup. 2/9 real size. Norway.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 691.\u2014Gold spur, \u2154 real size; weight, 9 ozs. Smaalenenes, Norway;\n earlier iron age.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 692.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Full view.\n\n Fig. 693.\n\n Ornaments of above spurs, real size; weight, 1\u2159 ozs.; the point of\n iron missing; traces of the rust still seen. Smaalenenes, Norway.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 694.\u2014Bridle and bit in bronze, Sm\u00e5land. Collection of Count G.\n Essen. \u2155 real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 695.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 696.\u2014Spur of iron, \u2153 real size. Found in a large heap of stones\n of oblong shape, with a spear-head of iron, a double-edged sword,\n &c.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 697.\u2014Spur of iron, real size, found in a paved circle, with burnt\n bones, two spear-points, &c. Norway.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 698.\u2014Spur of bronze. \u00d6land. Real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 699.\u2014Spur of bronze, real size, found in mound, with another spur\n quite similar, a bronze kettle, a bent double-edged sword, a\n spear-head spoiled intentionally, &c. Norway.\n]\n\nWaggons are seldom mentioned in the Sagas, and no description of their\nappearance is given; but we learn that dead warriors were sometimes put\nin them and burned on the pyre, and the correctness of this statement is\nproved by the finds in various graves, among others in one at Broholm,\nFy\u00e9n, where fragments of a waggon have been found together with burnt\nbones, a large kettle, several iron swords, shield bosses, gold jewels,\n&c., &c. But though remains of waggons have been found, it was not till\nthe discovery in the bog of Deibjerg, Ringkj\u00f6bing in the North of\nJutland, that we obtained a knowledge of their shape and of the\nsplendour of their ornamentation.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 700.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 701.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 702.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 703.\n\n Parts of perch of waggon with symbolic signs, Denmark.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 704.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 705.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 706.\n\n Parts of sides of different waggon; with symbolic signs. Denmark. \u00bc\n real size.\n]\n\nIn this bog two waggons of a similar pattern, one of which in an almost\ncomplete state of preservation is represented here, were discovered. The\nspokes of the wheels had evidently been bent by heat, and the iron tires\nround them had apparently been bent by force; the pole, which was also\nrichly ornamented with bronze, and the bottom and sides were well\npreserved, but the waggon of which a representation is given was more\ncopiously ornamented with mystic signs than its companion. The following\nextracts from Sagas refer to the use of these waggons by the people. It\nis interesting to note that these waggons are almost identical in shape\nwith the modern _K\u00e4rra_, used in Sweden. (See \u2018Land of the Midnight\nSun,\u2019 Vol. i., p. 51).\n\n Gunnar said he was ready\n To offer gold,\n To redress claims,\n And also H\u00f6gni;\n She (Grimhild)[181] asked\n Who would go\n To saddle the horse,\n To horse the waggon,\n To ride the steed,\n To fly the hawk,\n To shoot arrows\n Of the yew-bow.[182]\n\n Then on a horse\n Was every warrior seen,\n And into waggons\n Welsh (foreign) wives were lifted.\n We rode seven days\n Over the cold land,\n And other seven\n We pressed the waves,\n And the third seven\n We stepped on dry land.\n\n (Gudr\u00fanar Kvida, ii. 18, 35.)\n\n\n\u201cKing Sigurd of Hringariki had two children, a daughter Ragnhild, and a\nson Guthorm. Haki the Berserk slew him and took his son and daughter\nhome with him. H\u00e1lfd\u00e1n the black sent one hundred men for them, who\nfetched them and burned the hall of Haki. They tented a very fine\nwaggon, and put Ragnhild and Guthorm in it\u201d (H\u00e1lfd\u00e1n the black\u2019s Saga,\nch. 5).\n\n\n\u201cOne summer King Eirek had a feast made at Uppsalir. Then he had two\nwaggons driven to the place where he sacrificed to the god called L\u00fdtir.\nIt was customary for the waggon to stand there during the night and for\nthe god to come in the morning. Now L\u00fdtir did not come as he usually\ndid, and the king was told that he disliked to do so. The waggon stood\nfor two nights and he did not come. Then the king began to offer much\ngreater sacrifices than before, and the third morning they became aware\nthat L\u00fdtir had come. Then the waggon was so heavy that the horses fell\ndead from exhaustion before they could pull it to the hall. The waggon\nwas then put on the middle of the floor of the hall, and the king walked\nto it with a horn, and welcomed L\u00fdtir, and said, he wanted to drink to\nhim and was very anxious that he should undertake the journey, and that\nhe would give him large gifts as before\u201d (Flateyjarb\u00f3k, i. 579\u2013580).\n\n\n\u201cWhen he was ready to ride away two white horses with black ears were\nled forward, they belonged to Thord Breidavad and had disappeared that\nsummer at the Thing\u201d (Heidarviga Saga, c. 20).\n\n\n\u201cThe queen \u2018Yrsa\u2019 had twelve horses led forward, they were all brown\nexcept one which was white as snow, and on this one Hrolf was to ride.\nThey were the best horses of King Adils and covered all over with\narmour\u201d (Hrolf Kraki Saga, c. 44).\n\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 707.\u2014Scene with waggon; bas-relief; length, 5 feet 9 inches;\n height, 4 feet 6 inches. This remarkable stone had been a good deal\n cut in order to range with other stones forming the flooring of the\n church of Alskog, Gotland. It was preserved from entire destruction\n by Prof. P. A. Save. Unfortunately, from the softness of the\n sandstone and the tramping of feet, it has become very indistinct.\n What the scene was intended to represent it is difficult to say.\n]\n\n\n\u201cThere were four stud horses of Thorstein\u2019s of red colour. They looked\nwell but not fully broken. Thorstein offered to give him the horses, but\nGunnlaug said he needed no horses as he was to leave Iceland. Thereupon\nthey rode towards the stud horses, there was a gray stallion with four\nmares. It was the best stallion in Borgarfjord\u201d (Gunnlaug Ormstunga, c.\n5).\n\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 708.\u2014Runic stone, with waggon and horse.\u2014Near Levede, in\n Gotland.[183]\n]\n\nWe find that the laws contained regulations in regard to the making of\nthe roads, and the shutting of gates.\n\n\n\u201cThe highroad shall be so broad that a man can sit on a saddled horse\nand put his spear-handle on the ground and put his thumb as high up as\nhe can and the spear shall be one span longer. It shall be laid down\nacross the road. It shall not be broader\u201d (Gulath).\n\n\n\u201cIf a man walks through the gate of a fence he who opens it shall be\nanswerable as to shutting it. If cattle or horses go inside and spoil a\nfield or meadow, then the opener of the gate shall pay back according to\nvaluation all the damage made\u201d (Gulath).\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XVIII.\n VARIOUS FORMS OF GRAVES.\n\n Different forms of graves\u2014Picturesque situation\u2014Various shapes of\n mounds\u2014Bautastones\u2014The Hjortehammar burial-ground\u2014Stone-set\n graves\u2014Ship-form graves\u2014Triangular graves\u2014Anund\u2019s mound.\n\n\nMouldering bones and ashes of mighty heroes and noble women now\nforgotten under the mounds, or in the graves made hoary by the centuries\nthat shroud you by their oblivion, I salute you! We also shall be\nforgotten.\n\nThe thousands of mounds, cairns, _bautasteinar_ (memorial stones) and\ngraves found to this day all over the North show the high veneration the\nearlier English-speaking tribes had for their dead; these mounds or\ncairns are always situated on some conspicuous place by the coast, from\nwhich a magnificent view can often be had.\n\nWe have already treated of graves at some length with special reference\nto the age\u2014stone, bronze, or iron\u2014to which they belonged, and also with\nrelation to the objects found in them. Before, however, proceeding to\nspeak of the burial customs of the Norsemen it may be well to give some\nfurther idea of the various classes of graves.\n\nSweden is particularly rich in these mementoes of the past, in the midst\nof which the high roads not unfrequently pass, forming a most impressive\nscene. What emotion have I felt when standing upon many of these graves,\ndeeply impressed by the beauty or loneliness of the site chosen and of\nits surroundings; perhaps never more so than on the coast of\nBohusl\u00e4n\u2014the Viken of yore.[184] There the cairns have been erected on\nthe summit of the bare solid rocky hills of primary formation, several\nhundred feet above the level of the water, and overlooking a panorama of\nfjords, sounds, barren islands and desolate coast, with the open seas\nbeyond, and with the sun sinking below the horizon. The waves strike at\ntheir base, and with the wind sing mournfully a requiem over the\nforgotten dead; their work is done, the glorious mission they had to\naccomplish in the history of the world is ended, the mighty drama of the\nsword is closed.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 709.\u2014Cairn, Bohusl\u00e4n, Sweden.\n]\n\nIt is towards evening, before the twilight fades gradually into\ndarkness, that the scene of this weird landscape is most impressive, and\nno one can really imagine its effects until he stands upon the spot and\nsees the view spread before him.\n\nIn some parts of Norway the contrast is often great in the extreme; the\nmounds there have huge mountains in the background with their summits\nclad in snow, and in the foreground the grand open sea. One of the\nbleakest spots in the country, where these have been erected, is on the\nflat gravelly coast of Lyster, which lies between the mountain and the\nsea;\u2014there, over the last resting-places of those warriors, the wind\nblows most fearfully in winter-time, and the sea dashes on the shore in\nhuge foamy white waves.\n\nIn Denmark and parts of Sweden there are places on the elevated points\nof the coast full of charms, looking over the Sound, the Cattegat, the\nBaltic, or the waters of some of the great lakes. Many of these\nresting-places of man are now covered by forests, and upon some of the\nmounds huge oaks sprung from the acorn of their sires tell forcibly of\nthe centuries that have passed over them.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 710.\u2014Grave, Einang, Norway; diameter, 50 feet; earlier iron age.\n]\n\nWe can vividly realise why the people laid their dead to rest by that\nsea they loved so much during their lifetime, and upon which they had\nsailed so often. The mariner as he passed by could behold the graves of\nthe dead and victorious champions, whose memory was always kept fresh by\nthe _scalds_[185] who sang his exploits generation after generation,\nthus filling the youth of the country with pride, and making them wish\nto emulate the deeds of these men, often their kinsmen of old, who had\ngone to Valhalla.\n\nThe mounds and cairns are not always round, they are sometimes square,\noblong, rectangular or triangular. The round mounds and cairns exist in\ndifferent parts of the world, and in Scandinavia as far back as the\nstone and bronze ages; the vast number of bautastones seen all over the\ncountry shows also how well the injunctions of Odin were carried out by\nhis followers in that respect. Some of these are very imposing, and\ntheir dark forms look weird enough against the landscape or the clear or\ngloomy sky. One of the finest stood in Brastod parish, Bohusl\u00e4n, now\nlying prostrate and broken, its height being 26 feet; and its place was\non one corner of a stone set of rectangular graves 40 feet in length and\n28 feet in width.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 711.\u2014Bautastone (from grave shown on p. 301) with nineteen runes;\n 1/15 real size; 5 feet 8 inches in height; width, 3 feet 2 inches; 9\n inches thick; length of rune, 2 feet 1\u00bd inches.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 712.\u2014Bautastone on a mound 200 feet in circumference and 7 feet\n high, Runesten Grimeton (Bohusl\u00e4n), Halland; 19\u00bd feet high, 4\u00bd feet\n wide. Surrounding it are mounds and graves of various shapes.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 713.\u2014Oblong mound, Yttersala, S\u00f6dermanland; 33 feet in diameter.\n In the vicinity are numerous other graves of various shapes.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 714.\u2014Square stone-set grave. S\u00f6dermanland.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 715.\u2014Rectangular stone-set graves with bautastones. Length, 70\n feet; width, 24 feet.\u2014F\u00e4rentuna parish, Upland, Sweden.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 716.\u2014Rows of mounds with bautastones from 4\u00bd to nearly 6 feet\n high, Rekarnebygden, S\u00f6dermanland. Near by are many other mounds and\n stone-set graves.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 717.\u2014Square stone-set graves with large boulders at the corners\n and centre.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 718.\u2014Triangular grave; sides of triangle about 50 feet; corner\n stones about 3 feet high. In the middle of the south-west side are\n two stones, 5 feet apart, with a slab between them, one 3 feet, the\n other 4 feet high. Thorsbacken, Nerike, Sweden.\n]\n\nThe most interesting of the graveyards which I have seen is that of\nHjortehammar, situated in the province of Blekinge on a narrow\npromontory lost in the maze of islands which dot the coast of Sweden on\nthis part of the Baltic. It is joined now to an island situated near its\nfurther end by a causeway and a small bridge. This is not only\nremarkable from its position and size, but on account of the numerous\nforms of graves of various sizes it contains. The length of the cape is\nabout 1,200 feet, and its greatest breadth about 200 feet. The engraving\ngives an idea of the shape and size of the different graves, some of\nwhich are shown in large scale. This cape is but a continuation of a\nridge full of graves; heather and juniper cover many of them; and well\nchosen was this secluded and quiet spot for the last resting-place of\ntheir departed kinsmen or friends.[186]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 719.\u2014Hjortehammar burial-ground, with various shaped graves.\n]\n\nIn the _H\u00e1leygjatal_, a poem on the genealogy of the famous H\u00e1kon jarl,\ntracing his pedigree to Odin, there is a passage which recalls the\nburial-place Hjortehammar.\n\n Straumeyjar-nes which is\n Stone-marked\n Round the Fylkir\u2019s[187] body\n Is widely known.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 720.\u2014Vedby ridge, Blekinge. The large stones are from 4 to 6 feet\n high. Length of each side, 40 feet.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 721.\u2014Stone-set grave, Blekinge. Length, 38 feet.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 722.\u2014Triangular grave. Sides 60 to 65 feet long, with a small\n elevation in the middle, and a bautastone nearly 5 feet high and 2\n feet 6 inches broad. Lyngstad, S\u00f6dermanland.\n]\n\nAmong the most remarkable and not uncommon stone-set graves are those of\nthe so-called \u201c_ship-form_\u201d setting; they belong both to the earlier and\nlater iron age. This peculiar form of grave is found on the peninsula of\nScandinavia and on the islands of Gotland, \u00d6land, and other islands of\nthe Baltic, in Courland and Livonia, and was also erected in England and\nScotland by the people of the North.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 723.\u2014Blekinge. Diameter, 30 feet.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 724.\u2014Listerby ridge, Blekinge. Diameter, 18 feet.\n\n Stone-set graves.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 725.\u2014Graveyard with mounds and stone-set graves at \u00c5sby,\n S\u00f6dermanland.\n]\n\nOne of the most interesting is that where the rowers\u2019 seats are marked,\nand even a stone placed in the position of the mast.\n\nThe longest ship-form grave which I think is known is one near K\u00e5sberga,\na fishing village in the southern part of Sweden, with a length of 212\nfeet and a width of 60 feet. It is made by thirty-eight stones, the two\nforming the prow being 12 and 18 feet in height above the ground\u2014the\nlatter being the northern one.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 726.\u2014Ship-form grave, Karums parish, \u00d6land.\n]\n\nBut the finest of all, though less in size, is the famous one of\nBlomsholm, near Str\u00f6mstad, the whole neighbourhood of which is\nsurrounded with mementoes of the past\u2014graves, dom-rings, mounds,\nbautastones, and rock-tracings.[188]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 727.\u2014Ship-form graves, Blomsholm, Bohuslan, made of forty-nine\n upright stones (formerly there were fifty-one). Length, 141 feet;\n greatest breadth, 31\u00bd feet; prows north and south, the northern\n headstone 11 feet high, the southern 14\u00bd, the stones gradually\n diminishing in size towards the centre, where the largest is about 3\n feet. Built on a small mound or elevation which was higher in former\n times.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 728.\u2014Sjusta mound, Skog parish, Upland; 204 feet in\n circumference; 28 feet high; with a row of stones at its base. At\n the south end is another stone-set mound.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 729.\u2014Type of Mound with bautastone at the top and circle of\n stones at the base.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 730.\u2014Mound, 3 feet high, with bautastone, Balunda parish,\n Westmanland.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 731.\u2014Triangular graves; stone forming the apex, with runes, is\n about 25 feet from the two others, which are 14 feet\n apart\u2014Bj\u00f6rktorp, Blekinge.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 732.\u2014Incomplete mound; 50 feet in circumference; 10 feet high;\n largest stone over 6 feet high; in Thortuna parish, Westmanland.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 733.\u2014Mounds on Kjula-ridge. S\u00f6dermanland.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 734.\u2014Mound set with boulder-stones, Dalsland; circumference of\n boulders, 100 feet; height of mound, 4 feet, on the top of which are\n two flat stones standing on edges. Near it is a boulder\n stone-setting, probably a dom-ring.\n]\n\nMany of the cairns, which are often beautifully arranged, are small,\nbeing 4 or 5 feet in height, or sometimes almost even with the ground,\ntheir diameter varying from 20 to 80 feet. Numbers of them have\nstone-settings, sometimes close, sometimes not.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 735.\u2014Diameter, 20 feet.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 736.\u2014Diameter, 16 feet.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 737.\u2014Diameter, 16 feet.\n\n Cairns\u2014Blekinge.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 738.\u2014Round cairn at Bj\u00f6rkeby, Foresund, S\u00f6dermanland.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 739.\u2014Square cairn, island of \u00d6land.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 740.\u2014Anund\u2019s mound, Vestmanland. Circumference, 652 feet; height\n 84 feet. A great number of standing or fallen bautastones are found\n near the mound.\n]\n\nOne of the most interesting graves which have been recently opened in\nEngland is one belonging to the manor of Taplow, near Maidenhead, about\nfifty miles by river above London. The mound, 240 feet in circumference,\nand 15 feet high, overlooks the Thames and the surrounding lands.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 741.\u2014Gold fibula ornamented with garnets and red glass. \u2154 real\n size. Taplow, England.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 742.\u2014Fibula of bronze, \u00bd real size, the edge of the triangle and\n nail heads of bronze, the middle a thin silver plate. Found in a\n mound with 14 urns and burned bones, a spear point of iron, &c.\n Zeeland, Denmark.\n]\n\nAmong the objects were two shield bones, one sword, fragments of others,\nfragments of a spear head, one bronze vessel, one wooden bucket so\ncommon in the graves of the North, with bronze hoops, &c., two pairs of\nglass vessels (one of which is here represented) similar to one found\nwith a burial ship in Vold in Norway, forty checkers, two pairs of\nornaments for drinking horns (all of silver gilt), one green glass bead,\n&c. &c.; a fibula of the same form as those of the North. But the most\nremarkable article was a quantity of gold thread belonging to a garment,\nthe triangular form of the pattern still remaining.\n\nThis grave, like the one of King Gorm of Denmark and several others of\nthe North, is in the old churchyard where the ancient parish church\nstood. On the slope of the mound itself several Christian graves are\nseen. The viking, like some of the chiefs of the North, was probably\nburied on his estate, on the land that had descended to him through his\nancestors or which possibly he might have conquered from some of his\nfoes. These antiquities by their form seem to belong to the later iron\nage.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 743.\u2014Vessel of green glass. \u2154 real size. Taplow, England. 11\u215b\n inches in height.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 744.\u2014Ornament of silver gilt, showing end of drinking horn. \u00bd\n real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 745.\u2014Silver gilt ornamentation for mouth of drinking horn. \u00bd real\n size. The horn itself, found in a mass of small fragments. Taplow,\n England.\n]\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XIX.\n BURIALS.\n\n The two modes of burial\u2014Burning of the dead on the pyre\u2014The law of\n Odin\u2014Ceremonies after death\u2014Laws and superstitions connected with\n the dead\u2014The journey to _Hel_\u2014The burial of Sigurd and\n Brynhild\u2014Burial on waggons\u2014Burial of weapons with the dead\u2014Burials\n in ships\u2014The G\u00f6kstad ship\u2019s sepulchral chamber\u2014The Moklebust\n mound.\n\n\nThe Eddas and Sagas abound with descriptions of funeral rites and\nburials, the accuracy of which is most fully vindicated by the finds.\n\nTwo modes of burial were prevalent among the people, one that of burning\nthe dead, the other of burying them unburned.[189]\n\nIt was the belief of the people that the dead burned on the pyre would\ngo to Valhalla with all the weapons and wealth burned with them, and\nthat these would afterwards resume their original shapes. Horses, dogs,\nfalcons, or other animals which the deceased had liked, were often\nadded, and sometimes some of his thralls were killed and burned on the\npyre with him.\n\n\n\u201cOdin enacted the same laws in his land as had formerly prevailed with\nthe Asar. Thus he ordered that all dead men should be burned, and on\ntheir pyre should be placed their property. He said thus: that with the\nsame amount of wealth should they come to Valhalla as they had on the\npyre; that they should also enjoy what they had themselves buried in the\nground. But the ashes should be thrown into the sea or buried in the\nearth; that over great men mounds should be raised, as memorials; and\nover men who had some manfulness _bautasteinar_ should be erected, and\nthis custom was observed for a long time\u201d (Ynglinga Saga, c. 8).\n\n\n\u201cIt was the custom of powerful men, whether kings or jarls, at that time\nto learn warfare and win wealth and fame; that property should not be\ncounted with the inheritance, nor should sons get it after fathers, but\nit should be placed in the mound with themselves\u201d (Vatnsd\u00e6la, 21).\n\n\n\u201cThe first age is called the age of burning; then all dead men were\nburned and bautastones raised after them. But after Frey had been\nmound-laid at Uppsalir many chiefs raised mounds as well as bautastones\nto the memory of their kinsmen. Afterwards King Dan the Proud had his\nown mound made, and bade that he and also his horse with the saddle on\nand much property should be carried to it when dead in king\u2019s state and\nin war-dress. Many of his kinsmen did the same afterwards, and the\nmound-age began in Denmark. But the burning age lasted a long time after\nthat with the Northmen and the Swedes\u201d (Prologue of Heimskringla).\n\n\n\u201cThe first age was the one when all dead men were to be burnt. Then the\nmound-age began when all powerful men were laid in mounds and all common\npeople buried in the ground\u201d (St. Olaf\u2019s Saga. Prologue).\n\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 746.\u2014Largest pavement of pyre, 33 feet in diameter.\u2014Broholm,\n Fyen, Denmark.\n]\n\nAs we read the Sagas we get a vivid and impressive idea of the grand and\nsolemn pageant that must have taken place when the body of a great\nwarrior was put on the funeral pile, and his companions in arms,\nrelatives or former foes bid him happy speed to Valhalla, as the flames\nascended high up towards the sky, or the ship sailed from the land in a\nlurid blaze, while the purifying fire was consuming the corpse. Then\nfollowed the ceremony of carefully gathering the charred bones, which\nwere sacredly preserved in an urn or valuable vessel.[190]\n\nThe first duty to the dead was to close the eyes and mouth and pinch\ntogether the nostrils, which ceremony was called _nabjargir_.\n\n Ninthly I advise thee\n To take care of corpses[191]\n Wherever on earth thou findest them;\n Whether they die from disease,\n Or are drowned,\n Or killed in battle,\n Let a bath be made[192]\n For those who are dead;\n Wash their hands and head,\n Comb and dry them\n Ere they are laid in the coffin,\n And bid them sleep happily.\n\n (Sigrdrifum\u00e1l.)\n\nIt appears to have been a case of outlawry not to cover a body with\nmould, and if a slayer maimed the body of his enemy when dead he was\nfined. The body seems to have been left on a cover until they could lay\nit in the mound.\n\n\n\u201cNo man shall have a dead man longer than five days in his house except\nin a necessity, such as if there is impassable ice or a snowstorm. Then\nit shall be taken to an outhouse and covered with timbers or straw, and\nremoved as soon as the weather is good\u201d (Eidsivathing law II. 41).\n\n\nIf the deceased had during life been a wild and unruly man, fierce in\ntemper, who it was feared might after death, as a ghost, cause trouble\nin the house where he had lived, some very peculiar ceremonies were\nobserved. The person who was to perform the _nabjargir_ did not approach\nthe body from the front, but from behind, and closed the eyes, and not\ntill then did any one else venture to approach to prepare it for\nfuneral. Such a corpse was not carried out of the house through one of\nthe usual entrances, but a hole was broken in the wall behind it,\nthrough which it was carried backward.\n\n\n\u201cSnorri godi (temple priest), the great chief, had received a forest\nfrom Thor\u00f3lf B\u0153gifot (lame-foot), who wanted to get it back.\n\n\u201cThor\u00f3lf B\u0153gifot (after visiting his son to get his help in this matter)\ncame home in the evening, and spoke to no one. He sat down in his\nhigh-seat, but did not eat that evening. He sat there when the people\nwent to sleep, and in the morning when they rose Thor\u00f3lf still sat\nthere, and was dead. The housewife sent a man to his son Arnkel to tell\nhim the death of Thor\u00f3lf. Arnkel rode to Hvamm with some of his\nservants, and saw that his father sat dead in the high-seat. All the\npeople were full of fear, for all thought there was something frightful\nin his death. Arnkel went into the hall and in along the seats to the\nback of Thor\u00f3lf; he bid every man to beware of walking in front of him\nwhile the _nabjargir_ had not been performed. Arnkel then took hold of\nthe shoulders of Thor\u00f3lf, and he had to use his strength ere he could\nlay him down. Then he wrapped a cloth around his head, and prepared his\ncorpse for burial according to custom. Thereupon he had the wall broken\nbehind him, and got him out there. Then oxen were yoked to a sledge, on\nwhich Thor\u00f3lf was placed, and driven up to the valley of Thorsa; but he\nwas not easily brought to the place where he should be. There they\nburied him carefully. After the death of Thor\u00f3lf many thought it bad to\nbe out of doors after the sun had set; and as the summer was about to\nclose, they became aware that Thor\u00f3lf did not rest quiet, for then men\ncould never be at peace outside after sunset. In the spring, Arnkel took\nThor\u00f3lf\u2019s body out on a ness, and there buried it anew. He had a fence\nmade across the cape above the grave, so high that nothing but a flying\nbird could get over it. There Thor\u00f3lf lay as long as Arnkel lived, but\nwhen he afterwards again became troublesome his body was burned, and the\nashes thrown into the sea\u201d (Eyrbyggja, c. 33).[193]\n\n\nThe ceremony was sometimes considered as an incitement for the performer\nto avenge the dead.\n\nH\u00f6skuld, an illegitimate son of Njal and Hr\u00f3dn\u00fd, was attacked by six men\non his way home and slain. Hr\u00f3dn\u00fd\u2019s shepherd found the corpse and told\nher. They went during the night to Njal\u2019s farm, Bergth\u00f3rshv\u00e1l.\n\n\n\u201cThen they both walked to the house and knocked at the door. A h\u00faskarl\nopened the door. She ... went to Njal\u2019s bed. She asked if Njal was\nawake. He answered: \u2018I have slept till now, but now I am awake, and why\nart thou here so early?\u2019 She said: \u2018Rise from the bed of my rival and\nwalk out with me, with her, and with thy sons.\u2019 They rose and went out.\nSkarph\u00e9din (Njal\u2019s son) said: \u2018Let us take our weapons with us.\u2019 Njal\nsaid nothing; they ran in and came out armed with their weapons. Hr\u00f3dn\u00fd\nwalked in front till they came to the sheephouse. She went in and told\nthem to follow her. She took a creeping light (lantern) and said: \u2018Here,\nNjal, is thy son H\u00f6skuld. He has got many wounds and now needs to be\nhealed.\u2019 Njal said: \u2018I see marks of death on him but no marks of life.\nWhy hast thou not given him nabjargir as his nostrils are open?\u2019 She\nanswered: \u2018I intended that for Skarph\u00e9din.\u2019 Skarph\u00e9din walked to the\ncorpse and performed the nabjargir. Then he said to his father: \u2018Who,\nsayest thou, has slain him?\u2019 Njal answered: \u2018L\u00fdting of S\u00e1msstadir with\nhis brothers has probably slain him.\u2019 Hr\u00f3dn\u00fd said: \u2018I intrust it to thy\nhands, Skarph\u00e9din, to avenge thy brother. I expect thou wilt do thyself\nhonour though he is not legitimate, and that thou wilt take the revenge\ninto thy hands\u2019\u201d (Njala, c. 98).\n\n\nBefore putting a body in the mound _hel_ shoes were put on for the\njourney to Hell.\n\n\n\u201cThereafter Gisli and all his household made ready for the mounding of\nVestein, his brother-in-law. He intended to mound him in the sand plain\n... below S\u00e6b\u00f3l. When they were on their way with the corpse Thorgr\u00edm\nwith many men joined him. When they had made the mound Thorgr\u00edm godi\nwalked to Gisli and said: It is now the custom, brother-in-law, to tie\nHel-shoes on the feet of men before they are mound-laid. For it was said\nthat they (the shoes) should go to Hel when the man was dead, and\ntherefore a man who dresses much when he goes out, or is long in\ndressing, is said to prepare for Hel. Thorgr\u00edm said: I will do this with\nVestein and tie the Hel-shoes on his feet. When he had done it, he said:\nI know not how to tie Hel-shoes if these are unfastened\u201d (Gis S\u00farsson\u2019s\nSaga).\n\n\nIn the weird description of the burial of Sigurd and Brynhild[194] we\nsee that the mound was reddened with blood, and that human beings were\nburned with them on the pyre.\n\n I will ask of thee\n Only one boon;\n It will in the world\n My last one be;\n Let so wide a burgh\n Be raised on the plain\n That under us all\n It be equally roomy,\n Beneath us all who shall die\n With Sigurd.\n\n Surround that burgh\n With tents and shields,\n With welsh linen, finely painted,\n And Welsh people (thralls);\n Burn the Hunnish one[195]\n At my one side.\n\n Burn at the other side\n Of the Hunnish one\n My servants,\n With good necklaces,\n Two at his head\n And two hawks;\n Then all is\n Equally shared.\n\n Let there yet lie between us\n A ring-wound weapon,[196]\n A sharp-edged iron\n As it before was laid,\n When we both\n Stepped into one bed\n And were called\n Husband and wife.\n\n The shining hall-door,\n The ring-ornamented[197]\n Will not then\n Strike him on the heel[198]\n If my retinue\n Follows him hence;\n Then our journey\n Will not be poor.\n\n For there follow him\n Five bond-maids,\n Eight servants,\n Of good kin,\n My bond-nurse,\n And the inheritance[199]\n Which Budli gave\n To his child.\n\n Much have I told,\n More would I tell,\n If fate\n Gave more time for speaking;\n My voice decreases,\n My wounds swell,\n I told only truth,[200]\n Now I will cease.\n\n (Third Song of Sigurd.)\n\nAnother custom no less imposing was to bury the chiefs with their\ncarriages and horses, so that they might make their entries driving into\nValhalla, or riding on horseback; and it was considered honourable to go\nto Odin with many slain.\n\n\n\u201cThe second day after the battle (of Bravoll), in the morning, King\nHring caused a search to be made among the slain for the body of King\nHarald, his kinsman, and a great part of the slain host lay on the top\nof it. It was mid-day before the search was completed and it was found.\nKing Hring took the body of his kinsman, and washed the blood from it,\nprepared it magnificently, according to old custom, and laid it in the\nwaggon which King Harald had in the battle. He then raised a large\nmound, and caused the body to be carried in the same waggon with the\nhorse which King Harald had in the battle, and thus he had him driven to\nthe mound. There the horse was killed. Then King Hring took the saddle\nhe himself had ridden on and gave it to King Harald his kinsman, and\nbade him do as he liked, either ride to Valhalla or drive. He held a\ngreat feast to celebrate the going away of his kinsman. Before the mound\nwas closed, King Hring bade all his high-born men and champions who were\npresent to throw into the mound large rings (gold and silver) and good\nweapons, to honour King Harald Hildit\u00f6nn, and the mound was carefully\nclosed\u201d (S\u00f6gubrot of Fornkonungum).[201]\n\n\nIf circumstances allowed, the deceased seems to have been placed on a\nbed prepared for the purpose, until the burial could take place.\n\n\n\u201cGl\u00fam also went home with his men, and had the dead carried into an\nouthouse, where Thorvald\u2019s body was prepared more honourably than the\nothers, for clothes were laid under him, and he was sewed up in a skin\u201d\n(Viga Gl\u00fam\u2019s Saga, c. 23).\n\n\nIn a large burial chamber at Lower Aure, Norway, were found the remains\nof a chair, thus confirming the accounts of the Sagas about men being\nplaced on their chair in the grave. Some of these chambers were\noccasionally built of wood.\n\n\n\u201cAran, a foster-brother of Asmund, died suddenly. Asmund had a mound\nraised over him, and placed at his side his horse with saddle and\nbridle, his standards, and all war-dress, his hawk and dog. Aran sat on\na chair in all his armour. Asmund let his chair be put into the mound\nand sat down upon it, and then the mound was closed. The first night\nAran rose from the chair, killed the hawk and the dog, and ate them\nboth. The second night he rose, killed the horse and cut it to pieces,\ntearing it much with his teeth; he ate the horse, the blood streaming\ndown from his mouth; he invited Asmund to eat with him. The third night\nAsmund began to feel sleepy; and suddenly Aran seized his ears and tore\nthem off. Then Asmund drew his sword, and cut Aran\u2019s head off; and\nafterwards burned him to ashes. He thereupon went to the rope and was\ndrawn up, and the mound was closed; Asmund took with him the property\nwhich had been placed in the mound\u201d (Egil and Asmund\u2019s Saga, c. 7).\n\n\n\u201cAngantyr had a large mound raised below the Havada-mountains, at the\nplace where the king had been slain. It was built with timber, and was\nvery strong\u201d (Hervarar Saga, c. 16).\n\n\nSometimes the body of a man was divided into several portions, and each\nof these buried in different parts of the country.\n\n\n\u201cWhile he (H\u00e1lfd\u00e1n) was king there were very good years. The people made\nso much of him that when they heard he was dead, and that his body had\nbeen taken to Hringariki to be buried there, powerful men from\nRaumariki, Vestfold and Heidm\u00f6rk came, and all asked for leave to take\nhis body and mound it in their _fylki_;[202] they thought that those who\ngot it were likely to have good seasons. They agreed to divide the body\nin four pieces, and the head was mounded at Stein in Hringariki; the\nothers took their pieces home and mounded them, and they are all of them\ncalled the mounds of H\u00e1lfd\u00e1n (in Snorri\u2019s time)\u201d (H\u00e1lfd\u00e1n the Black\u2019s\nSaga, ch. 9) (Heimskringla).\n\n\nFriends often wished to be buried near each other, for they believed\nthat their spirits could talk to each other or look over their household\nbefore important events occurred.\n\n\n\u201cThen Thorstein fell sick. He said to Fridthjof: \u2018My son, I beg of thee\nthat thou wilt yield to the king\u2019s sons with regard to thy temper, for\nthat befits thee on account of their dignity, and I have good hope of\nthee. I want to be laid in a mound opposite to King Beli, on this side\nof the fjord, near the sea, for then it will be easy for us to call to\neach other before great events.\u2019 The foster-brothers of Fridthjof were\nBj\u00f6rn and Asmund; they were tall and strong men. A short time after\nThorstein died; he was mounded as he had prescribed, and Fridthjof got\nhis land and personal property\u201d (Fridthjof\u2019s Saga, c. 1).\n\n\nSeveral persons were often buried in the same mound; and after a battle\nmany of the slain were buried together.\n\n\n\u201cAfter this Hj\u00e1lmar died. Odd then placed the Berserks in a heap, and\npiled upon them boughs. This was near the sea. He put with them their\nweapons and clothing, divesting them of nothing. He covered this with\nturf and cast sand over it. He then took Hj\u00e1lmar on his back, carried\nhim to the sea, and laid him down on the shore. He went out on the\nships, took ashore every one who had fallen, and there threw up another\nmound over his men. It is said by those who have gone thither, that to\nthis day are seen those mounds which Odd there made\u201d (Orvar Odd\u2019s Saga,\nc. 14).[203]\n\n\n\u201cOn the following morning Hrolf had the field cleared, and divided the\nbooty among his men. There were raised three very large mounds. In one\nHrolf placed his father Sturlaug and Kr\u00e1k, Hrafn\u2019s brother and all the\nbest champions of their host who had fallen. In that mound were put gold\nand silver and good weapons, and all was well performed. In the second\nwas placed King Eirik, Brynj\u00f3lf and Th\u00f3rd and their picked men. In the\nthird was Grim \u00c6gir, near the shore, where it was thought least likely\nthat ships would approach. The warriors were buried where they had\nfallen\u201d (G\u00f6ngu Hrolf\u2019s Saga, ch. 34).\n\n\nFrom many descriptions we see with what awe the ancient Vikings regarded\nthe mounds under which renowned chiefs were buried. Over the mounds of\ngreat warriors flames were seen at night, and the ghost of the departed\nwas believed to remain there.\n\nWhen the burning did not take place, the warrior was buried with his\nweapons and entire equipment. Sometimes he slept with his sword under\nhis head. Angantyr\u2019s shoulders rested upon the famous sword _Tyrfing_,\nand Angrim\u2019s sons were buried there in that manner. Many of the weapons\nplaced with them were very famous and supposed to possess special or\nsupernatural qualities, and mounds were sometimes broken for the sake of\ngetting.\n\n\n\u201cA little after she (the Amazon Herv\u00f6r) left by herself in a man\u2019s dress\nand weapons and went to Vikings, and was with them for awhile, and was\ncalled Hervard. A little after the chief of the Vikings died, and\nHervard got the command of them. Once they came to S\u00e1msey. Hervard went\nup on land, and none of his men wanted to follow him, for, they said, it\nwould not do for any man to stay out there at night. Hervard said that\nmuch property was likely to be in the mounds, and went up on the island\nnear sunset. They lay in Munarvag. She met a herd-boy there, and asked\nhim about news. He said, \u2018Dost thou not know the island? Come home with\nme, for it will not do for any man to stay out here after sunset; I am\ngoing home at once.\u2019 Hervard replied: \u2018Tell me; where are the mounds of\nHj\u00f6rvard?\u2019 The boy said: \u2018Thou art unwise, as thou wantest to search for\nthat at night which few dare search for at mid-day; burning fire plays\non the mounds after sunset.\u2019 Hervard replied he would certainly go to\nthe mounds. The shepherd said: \u2018I see that thou art a bold man, though\nthou art unwise. I will give thee my necklace if thou wilt come home\nwith me.\u2019 Hervard answered: \u2018Though thou wouldst give me all thou ownest\nthou couldst not hinder me from going.\u2019 When the sun set they heard\nhollow noises in the island, and the mound fires appeared. The shepherd\ngot frightened and took to his feet, and ran into the forest as quickly\nas he could, and never looked back.\u201d\n\n\nAs she comes by the mound she sings:\u2014\n\n Awake, Angantyr!\n Herv\u00f6r thee rouses,\n The only daughter\n Of thee and Svafa;\n Yield to me from the mound\n The sharp sword\n Which the Dvergar\n For Svafrlami forged.\n\n Hj\u00f6rvard! Hervard!\n Hrani! Angantyr!\n I awaken you all\n Beneath the tree-roots,\n Who are clad in\n Helmet and coat of mail\n With shield and sharp sword,\n And reddened spear.\n\n Sons of Arngrim!\n Much harm doing,\n Much have you\n The mould increased,\n As no one\n Of the sons of Eyfura\n Will speak to me\n At Munarvag.\n\n Hj\u00f6rvard! Hervard!\n Hrani! Angantyr!\n So be the mind\n Of you all\n As if you were rotting\n In an ant-hill\n Unless ye yield\n The sword forged by Dvalin;\n It is not fit for ghosts\n Costly weapons to hide.\n\n _Angantyr._\n\n Herv\u00f6r, my daughter!\n Why callest thou thus\n Full of baneful words;\n Thou art going to fare badly;\n Mad hast thou become\n And out of thy senses,\n Mind-bewildered,\n As thou awakenest the dead.\n\n Neither father buried me\n Nor other kinsmen;\n The two who lived\n Kept _Tyrfing_;\n Although at last\n One became its owner.\n\n _Herv\u00f6r._\n\n Thou dost not tell me truth;\n The As shall leave thee\n Unharmed in the grave-mound\n If thou hast not Tyrfing;\n Thou art unwilling\n To give the heritage\n To thy only child.\n\n\nThen the mound opened and looked as if it were all on fire and flame.\n\n\nAngantyr sang:\n\n Ajar is the gate of Hel;\n The mounds are opening,\n All the island-coast\n Looks as if on fire;\n Outside all\n Is awful to behold;\n Hasten thee, maiden, if thou canst,\n To thy ships.\n\n _Herv\u00f6r._\n\n Ye can not light\n Such a flame at night\n That I would\n Fear your fires;\n The _mind-town_ of thought[204]\n Of the maid does not quail\n Though she sees a ghost\n Standing in the door.\n\n _Angantyr._\n\n I will tell thee, Herv\u00f6r,\n Listen the while,\n Wise daughter,\n What will happen;\n This _Tyrfing_ will,\n If thou canst believe it,\n All thy kin,\n Maiden, destroy.\n\n Thou shalt beget a son\n Who afterwards will\n _Tyrfing_ carry\n And trust to his own strength;\n This one will the people\n Heidrek call,\n He will be the mightiest born\n Under the tent of the sun.\n\n _Herv\u00f6r._\n\n I thus spellbind\n The dead champions\n That you shall\n All lie\n Dead with the ghosts,\n Rotting in the mound,\n Unless thou yieldest me, Angantyr,\n The slayer of Hjalmar,[205]\n The one to armours dangerous,\n Out of the mound....\n\n _Angantyr._\n\n Young maiden, I say,\n Thou art not like man\n As thou art strolling about\n Among mounds in the night\n With inlaid spear\n And the Goth\u2019s metal,\n With helmet and mail-coat\n Before the hall-door.\n\n _Herv\u00f6r._\n\n I thought hitherto I was\n A human being\n Ere I called\n At your halls;\n Hand me from the mound\n The hater of mail-coats,[206]\n It will not do for thee\n To hide the Dvergar\u2019s smithying.\n\n _Angantyr._\n\n The slayer of Hjalmar\n Lies under my shoulders;\n All around it is\n Wrapped in fire;\n No maiden I know\n Above the mould\n That dares this sword\n Take in her hand.\n\n _Herv\u00f6r._\n\n I will hold\n And take in my hands\n The sharp _m\u0153kir_\n If I may have it;\n I do not fear\n The burning fire;\n At once the flame lessens\n When I look at it.\n\n _Angantyr._\n\n Foolish art thou, Herv\u00f6r,\n Though courage owning,\n As thou with open eyes\n Into the fire rushest;\n I will rather yield thee\n The sword from the mound,\n Young maiden!\n I cannot refuse it to thee.\n\nThen the sword was flung out into the hands of Herv\u00f6r.\n\n _Herv\u00f6r._\n\n Thou didst well,\n Kinsman of vikings,\n When thou gavest me\n The sword from the mound;\n I think, king!\n I have a better gift\n Than if I got\n The whole of Norway.\n\n _Angantyr._\n\n Thou knowest not,\n Thou art wretched in speech,\n Imprudent woman,\n At what thou art glad.\n This _Tyrfing_ will,\n If thou canst believe it,[207]\n All thy kin,\n Maiden, destroy.\n\n _Herv\u00f6r._\n\n I will go down\n To the steeds of the sea;[208]\n Now is the king\u2019s daughter\n In a good mind;\n I fear little,\n Kinsman of chiefs,\n How my sons\n May hereafter quarrel.\n\n _Angantyr._\n\n Thou shalt own it\n And enjoy it long,\n But hidden keep\n The slayer of Hjalmar;\n Touch thou not its edges,\n Poison is in both,\n This doomer of men\n Is worse than disease.\n Farewell, daughter,\n I would quickly give thee\n The vigour of twelve men\n If thou would\u2019st believe it;[209]\n The strength and endurance,\n All the good\n That the sons of Arngrim\n Left after themselves.\n\n\u201cThen she went down to the sea, and when it dawned she saw that the\nships had left. The vikings had been afraid of the thunderings and the\nfires in the island\u201d[210] (Hervarar Saga, c. 10).\n\n\n_Burial in ships._\u2014The mode of burial in ships would appear to have\nbelonged exclusively to the North, where it seems to have been in much\nfavour, and shows in a remarkable manner the seafaring character of the\npeople.\n\nUntil recently few descriptions have been more ridiculed by persons who\ndid not believe in the Saga literature, than those which gave accounts\nof burials of chiefs, warriors, and others in ships. Here again\narch\u00e6ology has come to our aid to prove the truthfulness of the Sagas,\nand in such a perfect manner as to settle the question beyond\ncontroversy; for we find ships in which the body of the dead warrior was\nnot burned, and other ships which have been used as a pyre. The earliest\naccount of such burial is in Voluspa, amplified in the later Edda, which\ngives us a vivid description of the funeral of Baldr, the son of Odin.\n\n\n\u201cThe Asar took the body of Baldr and carried it down to the sea.\nHringhorni was the name of Baldr\u2019s ship; it was larger than any other\nship. The gods wanted to launch it for the _burning-voyage_ of Baldr,\nbut it did not move. Then the _gyg_ (J\u00f6tun-woman)[211] in J\u00f6tunheim,\nnamed Hyrrokkin, was sent for. She came riding on a wolf, with snakes\nfor reins. She leapt from the steed, and Odin called to four Berserks to\ntake care of it, but they could not hold it except by throwing it down.\nShe went to the stem of the ship and pushed it forward at the first\nattempt, so that fire issued from the rollers and the ground trembled.\nThen Thor grew angry, seized his hammer, and would have broken her head\nif the gods had not asked him to spare her. The body of Baldr was\ncarried out on the ship, and his wife Nanna, Nep\u2019s daughter, on seeing\nthis died from grief. She was laid on the pyre and it was set on fire.\nThor went to it and consecrated it with _Mj\u00f6lnir_. At his feet there ran\na Dverg named Lit. Thor pushed him with his foot into the fire, and he\nwas burned. To this burning came many kinds of people. First went Odin\nand his ravens and Frigg, as well as the Valkyrias. Frey drove in a\ncarriage drawn by the boar called _Gullinbursti_ (gold bristle) or\n_Slidrugtanni_ (the awful-tusked). Heimdal rode the horse _Gulltopp_\n(gold tuft), and Freyja with her cats. There came also many Hrim Thursar\nand Bergrisar. Odin laid on the pyre the gold ring _Draupnir_;\nafterwards every ninth night there dropped from it eight equally heavy\ngold rings. The horse of Baldr was led on the pyre in full harness\u201d\n(Gylfaginning, ch. 49).\n\n\n\u201cThey carried him in the snowstorm to Naustanes, where a tent was put\nover him at night. In the morning, at high water, Skallagrim was laid in\na ship, and they rowed to Digranes. Egil had a mound made near the end\nof the ness (cape), and in this he was laid, with his horse, his\nweapons, and smithying tools. It is not mentioned that loose property\nwas put in the mound with him. Egil took the inheritance, lands, and\nloose property; he took care of the farm\u201d (Egil\u2019s Saga, c. 61).\n\n\nGudrun after having slain her husband Atli said:\n\n I will buy a ship (kn\u00f6rr),[212]\n And a painted coffin,\n Wax well the sheets[213]\n To wrap thy corpse with;\n Think of every need,\n As if we were friends.\n\n\n\u201cGeirmund died at Geirmundsstadir, and was laid in a ship in the woods\nnear the farm (gard).\u201d\n\n\nOf this Geirmund much is told of in Sturlunga as a great chief.\n\n\n\u201cTh\u00f3rir, An\u2019s brother, fell in a battle against king Lugjaldi of\nNaumd\u0153lafylki.\n\n\u201cAn had a mound made and put a ship in it and placed Th\u00f3rir in its\nlypting, but the king\u2019s men he placed along both sides of the ship that\nit might look as if all served him\u201d (An Bogsveigi\u2019s Saga, ch. 6).\n\n\n\u201cThe brothers Eirik and Jorund became very famous by this deed (slaying\nKing Gudlaug of H\u00e1logaland), and they thought themselves far greater men\nthan before. When they heard that King Haki had allowed his champions to\ngo away, they sailed to Sweden and collected a host, and when it was\nknown that the two Ynglings had returned the Swedes flocked to them in\ngreat numbers. They sailed up into the Log (Lake M\u00e4lar) and went to\nUppsalir against King Haki, who met them on Fyrisvellir. A great battle\nensued; King Haki rushed forward with such valour that he slew all that\nwere near him, he finally killed Eirik and cut down the standard bearers\nof the brothers, whereupon Jorund fled to his ship with his men. Haki\nreceived such severe wounds that he saw his days would not be long. He\nthen had a _skeid_ which he owned loaded with dead men and weapons, he\nhad it launched on the sea, and the rudder adjusted and the sea sail\nhoisted. He had tarred wood kindled and a pyre made on the ship, the\nwind blew towards the sea. Haki was almost dead when he was laid on the\npyre. Then the burning ship sailed out to sea. This was very famous for\na long time after\u201d (Ynglinga Saga, c. 27).\n\n\n\u201cKing Hakon then took the ships belonging to Eirik\u2019s sons, which lay on\nthe dry beach, and had them dragged ashore. He placed Egil Ullserk,\ntogether with all who had fallen on his side, in a ship, which was\ncovered with earth and stones. He also had dragged ashore several more\nships, and into these were laid the dead. The mounds are still to be\nseen south of Fr\u00e6darberg. High bautastones stand at the mound of Egil\nUllserk\u201d (Hakon the Good\u2019s Saga, ch. 27).\n\n\nWomen were sometimes buried in ships.\n\n\n\u201cAfter this Unn, who was now quite old, as was her custom, went into her\nsleeping-house to rest, but bade her guests enjoy themselves, and\nordered that they be entertained as splendidly as possible. When she\nretired the feast continued until it was time to go to bed. The next\nday, as Unn remained longer than usual in her sleeping-room, Olaf went\nin and found her dead. He returned to the guests and announced this to\nthem, who all said that Unn had well kept up her dignity to the last.\n\n\u201cAt the same time Olaf\u2019s wedding and Unn\u2019s _arvel_ were held. On the\nlast day of the feast her body was carried to the mound which had been\nprepared for it. She was placed in a ship therein, and with her a great\ndeal of property, and then the mound was closed.\u201d Olaf then took\npossession of his grandmother\u2019s property, and, after the feast was over,\ngave fine presents to the foremost of those present, and all departed\n(Laxd\u00e6la, ch. 8).[214]\n\n\nMen were sometimes buried in a ship\u2019s boat.\n\n\n\u201cIngimund was laid in the boat of the ship Stigandi, and his body\nprepared honourably as was the custom with high-born men. Thorstein said\nto his brothers: \u2018It seems to me right that we shall not sit in our\nfather\u2019s seat at home, or at feasts, while his slaying is unavenged.\u2019\nThis they did, and neither went to games nor other gatherings\u201d\n(Vatnsd\u00e6la Saga, 22).\n\n\nOne of the most valuable discoveries, showing the burial of a warrior in\na ship without his body being burned, is that of the G\u00f6kstad ship.\n\nVery few things in the North have impressed me more than the sight of\nthis weird[215] mausoleum, the last resting-place of a warrior, and as I\ngazed on its dark timber I could almost imagine that I could still see\nthe gory traces of the struggle and the closing scene of burial when he\nwas put in the mortuary chamber that had been made for him on board the\ncraft he commanded.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 747.\u2014Sepulchral chamber, G\u00f6kstad ship.\n\n The greatest length of the mound was from N.E. to S.W. About 150 feet\n in diameter, height above the soil 15 feet; above the sea 18 feet.\n The roof of the structure had been broken through by the weight of\n the earth of the mound above it. The large cut in the side was\n probably made by thieves wishing to get possession of the weapons,\n &c.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 748.\u2014Bedstead, upon which the dead warrior had been placed, found\n in the sepulchral chamber, G\u00f6kstad ship.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 749.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 750.\n\n Axe, \u00bc real size, found in mound.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 751.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 752.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 753.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 754.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 755.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 756.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 757.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 758.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 759.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 760.\n\n Some objects of bronze or iron.\u2014G\u00f6kstad ship.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 761.\u2014Part of a sledge.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 762.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 763.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 764.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 765.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 766.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 767.\n\n Some objects of bronze or iron. G\u00f6kstad ship. See Vol. ii.,\n Frontispiece and pages 162 to 168.\n]\n\nThe warrior had been buried according to his position in life; remains\nat least of twelve skeletons of horses were found in different parts of\nthe mound on each side of the ship; there were also remains of skeletons\nof several dogs. The bones and feathers of a peacock were inside the\nship, the prow of which, like that of the Tune boat, looked towards the\nsea as if ready for a voyage.\n\nOne of the finest discoveries, illustrating the use of a ship as a pyre\nfor the burial of the dead warrior, was in a mound 12 feet high and 92\nfeet in diameter, opened in 1874 in Moklebust Eids parish, Bergen Stift,\nNorway.\n\nAmong the objects were a vast number of rivets or clinch-nails, and a\ngreat number of shield-bosses belonging to shields which adorned the\nsides of the ship; perhaps several warriors had been burned together. On\nthe bottom of the mound, on the level of the ground, was a layer of\ncharcoal and burned soil intermingled with small pieces of bone, which\nextended nearly to the sides, but was heaviest in the middle. Separated\nfrom this by a layer of light shore-sand was another similar layer.\n\nInside an oval about 28 feet in length and 14 feet in width these two\nlayers were interspersed with burned bone-splints, clinch-nails, and\nspikes.[216] In the eastern half of the charcoal layer were found six\nshield-buckles; and in the western half, shield-buckles scattered about\nin various ways, sometimes singly, sometimes close to one another. In\nnearly every one of them lay a clinch-nail, evidently placed there\nintentionally, just as some of the shield-buckles were filled with bone\nfragments and charcoal.\n\nA little to the west of the centre of the mound was found a large bundle\nof strongly-bound and intentionally bent weapons and other implements.\nRight under this bundle was a bridle-bit of iron, and under this, in a\nhole dug below the natural level of the ground, a whole collection of\nshield-bosses, which all lay with their convex sides downward, and\nformed a covering for a large bronze kettle, represented above, without\nany other protection but the above-mentioned bosses.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 768.\u2014Bronze kettle filled with burnt bones mixed with ashes,\n charcoal, &c., and covered with twelve shield-bosses; nearly \u2153 real\n size. Moklebust.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 769.\u2014Handle of kettle; real size. Moklebust.\n]\n\nIn the middle of the bones lay an arrow-point 6 inches long; also six\ndraughtsmen and three dice of bone. The draughtsmen were ball-shaped; on\none side a small part was cut off, so as to give a flat surface, in the\nmiddle of which there was a small hole (fitting the pegs in the board\nitself, as seen from other finds of boards with pegs which were\nundoubtedly made thus for use at sea, so as to keep the pieces in\nposition).\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 770.\u2014Enamelled bottom of kettle on p. 340 (inside), \u2154 real size;\n found in a mound, Moklebust.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 771.\u2014Enamelled bottom (outside), of most brilliant colours, real\n size. Moklebust.\n]\n\nIt seems as if the men of this warrior had dragged his ship ashore,\nplaced the corpse therein with all his weapons and one or more horses,\nand had adorned it and hung their shields on its sides, hoisted the\nsails, and then let the flame consume the whole. The bones were then\ngathered and placed in the urn, and the twelve shield-bosses placed over\nit, provisions placed at its side, and the whole covered with a mound.\nBut right over the urn the bridle had been placed, so as to be near at\nhand; then his weapons and the remains of the ship\u2019s chest, and then the\ntwo layers of other remains from the pyre.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 772.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 773.\n\n Bronze figure representing a man; with inscription. Found with a\n bronze kettle containing burnt bones, a double-edged sword bent,\n several spear-heads, a shield boss, melted pieces of glass, &c.;\n earlier iron age. Norway.\n]\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XX.\n RELIGION.\u2014WORSHIP, SACRIFICES, ETC.\n\n Odin\u2019s religion\u2014Sun worship\u2014The Three Annual Sacrifices\u2014The\n Atonement Boar and Bragi Toast\u2014The Victory Sacrifice\u2014Temple\n Priests\u2014Animals for Sacrifices\u2014Sacrificial\n ceremonies\u2014Divination\u2014Chips\u2014Drawing of lots\u2014Consecration of land\n and property\u2014Worship of Thor\u2014Sign of the Hammer\u2014The Svastica\u2014Story\n of Framar.\n\n\nThe earlier Edda or Sagas which relate to us the traditions about Odin\nand the Asar do not give any description of the sacred ceremonies or\nrites they performed.\n\nFrom the Ynglinga Saga we learn that the hero Odin of the North\nsacrificed after the manner of the Asar, and that the sacrifices made by\nhim, Nj\u00f6rd, Frey, and Freyja, were to a power worshipped by them, but we\nare not told who the god or power was. It probably was in some instances\nthe sun, represented perhaps by the eye of the earlier and mythical Odin\nof the V\u00f6luspa\u2014who, as we have seen, pledged his eye for a drink from\nthe well of Urd; we know that the worship of the sun was widely spread\nat one period in the history of the world.[217] How the change from the\nworship of this unknown power to the worship of Odin and the other gods\ntook place we are not told; but it may, we think, be taken for granted\nthat many of the ceremonies and beliefs mentioned in the Sagas were of\nvery ancient origin.\n\nIt is only by a study of all the Sagas that we gain a knowledge of the\nbeliefs, religious ceremonies, mode of worship and superstitions of the\npeople of the North, which are often minutely described. It is somewhat\ndifficult for the present generation of English people, living in Great\nBritain and other countries, to realise that no more than eight\ncenturies ago many of their forefathers believed and practised the rites\nwe are going to describe, and that so slow was the march of\nChristianity, that six or seven hundred years ago the provinces of\nNorth-Eastern Prussia, Vindland, Pomerania, &c., whose inhabitants are\namong the finest in Europe, were still heathen.\n\nIt is certain that Odin and some of the Asars were deified and\nworshipped in all the countries of the North, and with the lapse of time\ntheir fame is found to increase. The attributes of Odin were believed to\nbe many.\n\nThere were three principal sacrifices a year, at which the people\nassembled in the chief temples:\u2014_Vetrarbl\u00f3t_, _Midsvetrarbl\u00f3t_, and\n_Sigrbl\u00f3t_.\n\n\n\u201cIt is their custom to have a sacrifice in the autumn and welcome the\nwinter, another at mid-winter, the third at the beginning of summer;\nthen they welcome the summer. The _Eynir_, _Sparbyggjar_, _Verd\u00e6lir_ and\n_Skeynir_ take part in this. There are twelve men[218] who are the\nforemost in managing the sacrifice-feasts: this spring \u00d6lvir is to hold\nthe feast; he is now very busy in M\u00e6ri, and all provisions needed for\nthe feast are brought thither.\u201d (St. Olaf, 115; cf. id. 123).\n\n\nThe first of these, called _Vetrarbl\u00f3t_[219] (Winter sacrifice), which\ntook place on winter nights[220] in the month of G\u00f3i, was a sacrifice\nfor a good winter. The 14th of October, which was the ancient month of\nG\u00f3i, is still called winter-night, or the first night of winter.\n\n\n\u201cThat autumn the news was told King Olaf from Thr\u00e1ndheim that the\nThrands had had great feasts during the winter nights: there had been\ngreat drinking. The King was told that all cups were hallowed to the\nAsar according to ancient custom. It was also said that cattle and\nhorses were slaughtered there, the altars reddened with blood, and\nsacrifices made for the bettering of the year. Also it was said that\nthey all thought it evident that the gods were angry because the men of\nH\u00e1logaland had become Christians\u201d (St. Olaf, 113. Heimskringla).\n\n\nThe second _Midsvetrarbl\u00f3t_ (Mid-winter sacrifice), also called\n_J\u00f3labl\u00f3t_[221] (Yule sacrifice), was held at mid-winter, or in the\nbeginning of the month of Th\u00f3r (middle of January), to ensure a good\nyear and peace, and lasted three days; at this feast it was customary to\nmake vows to some of the gods, especially Frey, at Yule-eve. It seems to\nhave been the greatest and most important of all, and many animals were\nslaughtered at it.[222] The 12th of January is still called mid-winter\nin Norway.[223] This sacrifice plainly shows that the blessings of peace\nwere appreciated by this warlike race. The Swedes, as we have read, wept\nover the death of Nj\u00f6rd, for during his time there were good years and\npeace.\n\n\n\u201cKing Fornj\u00f3t ruled J\u00f6tland (J\u00f6tunland) which is called Finnland and\nKvenland, that is east of the arm of the sea which goes on the opposite\nside of Gandvik and which we call Helsingjabotn (Bothnian Gulf). Fornj\u00f3t\nhad three sons: Hler, whom we call \u00c6gir, Logi, and K\u00e1ri, who was father\nof Frosti, the father of Gn\u00e1r the old; his son was Thorri, who had two\nsons, Nor and Gor; his daughter was G\u00f3i. Thorri was a great sacrificer;\nhe had a great sacrifice every year at mid-winter which was called\nThorra bl\u00f3t; from this the month was named (Thorri). One winter G\u00f3i\ndisappeared at the Thorri sacrifice; she was searched for and not found.\nWhen the month had passed Thorri had a sacrifice in order to find out\nwhere G\u00f3i was; this they called _G\u00f3ibl\u00f3t_, but they learnt nothing about\nher\u201d (Fornaldar S\u00f6gur ii., p. 17).\n\n\nOn the Yule-eve it was the custom to lead in procession a boar,\nconsecrated to Frey, called _S\u00f3nar golt_ (atonement-boar), and on this\nthose present placed their hands, made solemn vows, and drank the\n_Bragi_ toast.\n\n\n\u201cKing Heidrek had a boar fed; it was as large as the largest bull, but\nso fine that it seemed as if every hair on it was of gold. He placed one\nhand on its head and one on its bristles, and made a vow that never\nshould a man transgress so much that he should not have the lawful\njudgment of his wise men, and these men should take care of the boar, or\nelse he should come with riddles which the king could not guess\u201d\n(Hervarar Saga, c. 14).\n\n\nIn the evening vows were made, and the atonement-boar (_s\u00f3nar golt_) was\nled forward; the men laid their hands on it, and made vows at the\n_Bragi_ toast (Helga Kvida Hj\u00f6rvardssonar).[224]\n\n\n\u201cIn the winter the foster-brothers (Ing\u00f3lf and Leif) made a feast for\nthe sons of the Jarl (Herstein, H\u00e1stein and H\u00f3lmstein, the sons of\nAtli-jarl). At this feast H\u00f3lmstein made a vow that he would marry\nHelga, the daughter of \u00d6rn, or no other woman. Men disliked this vow,\nbut Leif was seen to become red (in his face), and he and H\u00f3lmstein were\nno friends when they parted at the feast\u201d (Landn\u00e1ma i., c. 3.)\n\n\n\u201cTh\u00f3rodd was with another man at Th\u00f3rar\u2019s. There was a great Yule-feast,\nthe ale being provided by each one himself. There were many besides in\nthe hamlet, who all drank together during Yule. A short way off there\nwas another hamlet. There the brother-in-law of Th\u00f3rar, a powerful and\nwealthy man, lived; he had a grown-up son. They were to drink during the\nhalf of the Yule at each other\u2019s farm, and first at Th\u00f3rar\u2019s\u201d (St. Olaf,\nc. 151).\n\n\n\u201cOne winter at Yuletide, when the people were assembled to drink, Finn\nsaid: \u2018Vows will be made in many places this evening, where it is not\nbetter to be than here; now I vow that I will serve the king who is the\nhighest and in all things surpasses others\u2019\u201d (Fornmanna S\u00f6gur ii., ch.\n201).\n\n\nThe third, called _Sigrbl\u00f3t_ (Victory sacrifice), for luck and victory,\noccurred in the beginning of spring, about the middle of April, being\nfixed at that time of the year because warfare and most Viking\nexpeditions took place in the summer. It was in honour of Odin, to whom\nalone, as we see from the Sagas, sacrifices were made for victory.[225]\n\nIn those warlike days sacrifices relating to war were the most\nimportant, for the life of the nation depended upon victory, and they\nwere consequently foremost among the people.\n\n\n\u201cDag, son of H\u00f6gni, made a sacrifice to Odin, to avenge his father (who\nwas slain by Helgi); Odin lent his spear to him. Dag met his\nbrother-in-law Helgi at the place called Fjoturlund, he pierced him with\nthe spear, and Helgi fell there\u201d (Helga kvida Hundingsbana II).[226]\n\n\n\u201cIn Sweden it was an old custom, from heathen times, that the chief\nsacrifice (h\u00f6fudbl\u00f3t) should be at Uppsalir in the month of Goi, and\nthat the sacrifice should be for peace and victory for the King, and men\nshould come thither from all over the Swedish realm\u201d (St. Olaf, c. 76,\nHeimskringla).\n\n\nWhen Hakon jarl returned from Denmark, he ravaged both shores.\n\n\n\u201cWhen he had sailed eastward as far as the Gauta Skerries (rocky\nislets), he went ashore and made a great sacrifice. Two ravens, which\ncroaked loudly, flew towards him, and the jarl thought that Odin must\nhave accepted the sacrifice and that he would have a good chance of\nvictory. He thereupon set fire to his ships and burned them all, and\nwent into the country with his men with warlike intentions\u201d (Fornmanna\nS\u00f6gur, vol. i.).\n\n\n_Sacrifices._\u2014The superintendents of the sacrifices as we have seen were\nin the earliest times in the North the _Hofgodi_ (_temple priests_), who\nwere called Diar and Drotnar, and were held in great esteem and\nveneration by the people; but in later times temporal rulers were also\npriests, and had charge of the sacrifices.[227]\n\n\n\u201cAll over Sweden men paid taxes to Odin; one penning (piece of money)\nfor every nose; and he had to defend their land against war; and\nsacrifice for a good year\u201d (Ynglinga Saga, c. 8).\n\n\nThe animals for sacrifice, which were generally oxen, horses, sheep,\nboars, and falcons, fattened in order to be of large size and fine\nappearance, were slaughtered by the temple priest, and in later times,\nas a rule, in front of the idols.[228] Sometimes the superintendence of\nthe sacrificing feast alternated between a certain number of the\nforemost b\u0153ndr[229] of the fylki.[230]\n\n\n\u201cIt happened in Sweden that the bull which was to be sacrificed was old\nand so well fed that it was vicious; when men wanted to capture it it\nran into the woods and became furious\u201d (Ynglinga, ch. 30).\n\n\nThe people believed that good or bad years were often caused by faith,\nor want of faith, in the Asa creed; a year was good when their chiefs\nsacrificed much, bad when they were not zealous sacrificers.[231]\n\nThe ceremony was divided into two parts: first the slaughtering of\nanimals, and reddening of the temple and altars with blood\u2014probably on\nthe first night; then the sacrificial feast.\n\nIn some places the expenses[232] of these feasts were defrayed by the\ngodi, who in return had the care of the temple possessions and of the\ntemple tolls:[233] in the earliest times people had to pay taxes\u2014a\ncustom said to have been instituted by Odin.\n\nIt was the custom to cook the flesh of the slaughtered animals in large\nkettles hanging over these fires along the floor of the temple. The\npeople then assembled to eat it seated along the walls, and the filled\nhorns were carried between or round the fires, which were probably\nregarded as holy, the person having charge of the feast consecrating the\nhorns and the meat (_i.e._, making the sign of the hammer of Thor over\nthem). First was drunk the horn of Odin, for victory and power; then\nThor\u2019s horn by those who trusted in their own strength and power;\nNj\u00f6rd\u2019s and Frey\u2019s horn for good years and peace; Bragi\u2019s when solemn\nvows were made; and the memorial toast for dead kinsmen which was\nproposed by the sacrificing priest.[234]\n\nOf the solemn ceremonies which took place at the slaying of the living\nanimals we have no description, but the blood from the sacrifices of\neither animals or human beings was collected into a bowl\n(_Hlaut-bolli_), generally of copper, which had its place in the temple\nat the principal altar. The altars and walls of the temple, and the\npeople and idols, were spattered with blood with a kind of broom called\n_Hlaut-tein_ (blood-twigs).\n\n\n\u201cSigurd Hlada-jarl was a very great sacrificer, as his father Hakon had\nbeen; he kept up all the sacrificing-feasts in Thrandheim on the king\u2019s\nbehalf. It was an old custom when a sacrifice was to take place that all\nthe b\u0153ndr should come to the temple, and take with them the provisions\nneeded while the feast lasted. Every man was to bring ale; there were\nalso slaughtered all kinds of small cattle, as well as horses. All the\nblood which came therefrom was called _hlaut_ (sacrifice blood), the\nvessels for holding it _hlaut-bowls_, and the twigs, _hlaut-twigs_. With\nthem the altars had to be reddened all over, and also the walls of the\ntemple inside and outside; then the men were to be sprinkled with them,\nbut the flesh had to be boiled for people to eat.\n\n\u201cFires were to burn on the middle of the temple floor, and kettles to be\nput on them; the drinking-horns had to be carried around the fire. The\nchief who made the feast had to consecrate the horns, and all the\nsacrifice-food. The horn (toast) of Odin must be drunk first, for the\nvictory and power of their king; and then the horn of Nj\u00f6rd and Frey,\nfor a good year and peace. Many used to drink Bragi\u2019s horn next to\nthese. Men also drank horns for those of their kinsmen who had been\ngreat men; these were called _minni_ (memorial horns). Sigurd jarl was a\nmost open-handed man; he did a very famous deed, as he held a great\nsacrificing feast at Hladir, and himself alone paid all the costs\u201d\n(Hakon Adalsteinsfostri (Hkr.), ch. 16).\n\n\nIt was customary to try and find out the decrees of fate or the will of\nthe gods by a kind of divination or casting of lots with chips dipped in\nthe blood of sacrifices; the most common way of making inquiry was by\n_Bl\u00f3tsp\u00e1n_ (sacrifice chip) and by lots (_hlut_)\u2014both methods of casting\nlots, but differently performed\u2014the former of which apparently meant the\nthrowing these sacred chips of wood.\n\nMention is made of the use of scales with lots in them, on one side\nfavourable, on the other side unfavourable; if the favourable one went\nhigher up than the other, it was a good omen.\n\nEinar, an Icelander, and one of Hakon jarl\u2019s scalds, wanted to leave him\nand join Sigvaldi his foe at the battle of the Jomsviking, for he\nthought he had not as much honour with the jarl as formerly.\n\n\n\u201cWhen Hakon saw that he was going, he shouted for him to come and speak\nwith him, and so he did; the jarl took two scales of burnished silver,\ngilt all over; with them were two weights, one of gold, the other of\nsilver, on each of which a likeness was made; they were called _lots_\nand were of the kind customary with men. Strong qualities were in them,\nand the jarl used them for all things of importance to him. He used to\nput them on the scales and tell what each of them should signify to him.\nWhen it went well, and the one he wanted came up, the lot in the scale\nwhich signified what he wanted never kept quiet, but moved on the scale\nand made a tinkling sound. These costly things he gave to Einar, who\nbecame merry and glad, and desisted from going to Sigvald. From this he\ngot a name and was afterwards called Sk\u00e1laglam = \u2018scale tinkle\u2019\u201d\n(Jomsviking Saga).\n\n\n\u201cIngjald gathered men and went against Granmar and his son-in-law,\nHj\u00f6rvard; he had a far larger host than the two others. The battle was\nhard, and after a short time the chiefs of Fjadrundaland,\nVestr-Gautland, N\u0153riki, and Attundaland (they were with Ingjald), and\nall the host from these lands, fled. Ingjald received many wounds, and\nwith difficulty escaped to his ships; his foster-father Svipdag the\nBlind fell there, with both his sons, Gautvid and Hulvid. Ingjald went\nback to Uppsalir dissatisfied with the expedition; he saw that the hosts\nfrom the kingdoms he had conquered were unfaithful. After this there was\na great war between the kings; but when it had lasted some time the\nfriends of both brought about a reconciliation. The kings appointed a\nmeeting, met, and all three made peace, which was to stand while they\nlived; this was bound with oaths and pledges. The next spring Granmar\nwent to Uppsalir to sacrifice for peace, as was the custom towards\nsummer. The sacrifice-chip fell so as to show that he would not live\nlong\u201d (Ynglinga Saga, c. 42).\n\n\nMarks were cut on pieces of wood or other material, and each person had\nhis mark. Sometimes the places at feasts were assigned by lot, and lots\nwere also drawn for human sacrifice. The images of some of the gods were\nsometimes marked on the lots.[235]\n\n\n\u201cAt the advice of powerful men it was agreed that the kings should draw\nlots as to which of them should hereafter rule, and the _lots were to be\ncut_ and put in the folds of a cloak. Then Eystein asked his brother\nKing Olaf with whom he sided in this matter. He answered: \u2018We have long\nkept our love for each other and agreed well; thy will in regard to the\nrule of the land and the laws, King Eystein, is also mine. Eystein said:\n\u2018I advise thee, King Sigurd, to cut the third lot for the cloak, for\nKing Olaf, like ourselves, is the son of Magn\u00fas.\u2019 Sigurd answered: \u2018Men\ncan see that every expedient has now been tried, for thou wantest to\nhave two lots where I have one, but I will not deprive King Olaf of any\nhonour.\u2019 Then the lots were put into the cloak, and the lot of King\nSigurd came up, and he was to rule\u201d (Sigurd Jorsalafari\u2019s Saga, c. 21).\n\n\nIt seems to have been the custom among zealous sacrificers to consecrate\ntheir lands and property to the gods, without however denying themselves\nthe use and enjoyment thereof. That this was customary all over the\nNorth we may conclude from the mass of names of farms, villages, &c.,\nnamed after the gods Odin, Frey, and Thor.\n\nIn their colonies the people followed the same custom of dedicating\ntheir settlements or lands to the gods, and we find ample proof of this\nin England, Normandy, Iceland, the Orkneys and Faroe Islands.\n\nAmong the gods most worshipped besides Odin were Frey, Thor and Nj\u00f6rd.\n\nWe find from the Sagas that Frey was worshipped equally in Norway,\nIceland, and Sweden, and no doubt also in Denmark.\n\nOne summer when Hallfred and his followers came from Iceland to Norway,\nand asked for tidings, they were told that there had been a change of\nchiefs in Norway; that Hakon Jarl was dead, and Olaf Tryggvason had come\ninstead with a new creed and commandments.\n\n\n\u201cThen the men on the ship agreed to make a vow; they vowed to give much\nproperty to Frey if they got a fair wind to Sweden, but to Thor or Odin\nif they got to Iceland; if they should not get a fair wind to sail, the\nKing should have his way.\u201d They never got a fair wind, and had to sail\nto Thr\u00e1ndheim (Hallfredar Saga, c. 5).\n\n\n\u201cWhen Hrafnkel had settled at Adalbol (Iceland) he had a great\nsacrifice. He had a large temple made. He loved Frey more than other\ngods, and gave him one-half of all his most precious things. He settled\nin the whole valley and gave lands to the people, but wanted to rule\nthem and became _godi_ (= temple-priest and judge) over them. After this\nhis name was lengthened and he was called Frey\u2019s godi.\u201d\n\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 774.\u2014Runic stone, with hammer, at Stenqvista S\u00f6dermanland,\n Sweden. Stones with a similar-shaped hammer have been found in\n several places in Denmark and Sweden.\n]\n\n\n\u201cHrafnkel owned one valuable thing which he loved more than any other.\nThis was a horse with a dark stripe along its back which he called\nFreyfaxi; he devoted to his friend Frey one-half of this horse, and\nloved it so much that he made a vow to slay any man who rode it against\nhis will\u201d (Hrafnkel Freysgodi\u2019s Saga).\n\n\nThorkel had been forced to sell his land to Glum. Before he departed\nfrom Thver\u00e1 he went to the temple of Frey, leading thither an ox, and\nsaid:\n\n\n\u201cFrey, who long hast been my patron, and hast accepted many gifts from\nme and rewarded me well, now I give this ox to thee, so that Glum may\nleave Thver\u00e1land as much against his will as I do now: let me see some\ntoken whether thou acceptest it from me or not. At this the ox bellowed\nloud and fell dead, which Thorkel liked well, and he was less sad\nbecause he thought his prayer was heard\u201d(Vigaglum\u2019s Saga, c. 9).\n\n\nThor[236] like Frey was invoked. The poetical and figurative names given\nto him are far from being as numerous and beautiful as those given to\nOdin. It was customary, at least in the earliest times, to make the sign\nof the hammer at burials and marriages.[237] This hammer was called\nMjollnir, and (Lokasenna) when Thor is taunted by Loki, he answers each\ntime by these lines\u2014\n\n \u201cBe thou silent, coward,\n My Thrudhamar (mighty hammer) Mjollnir[238]\n Shall take thy talk from thee.\u201d\n\nBut that the svastica was emblematic of the sign of Thor, and had been\nadopted as such by the people of the North, is only an hypothesis, for\nit is also found in Greece and other countries; there is nothing in the\nSagas to prove the assertion.\n\n\n\u201cAsbj\u00f6rn Reyrketilsson and his brother Steinfinn took up land above\nKross\u00e1, and east of Fljot. Steinfinn lived at Steinfinnstadir, and no\nman has descended from him. Asbj\u00f6rn consecrated his land to Thor, and\ncalled it Thorsm\u00f6rk\u201d (Landnama v., 2 ch.).\n\n\nThe hammer as an ornament is not uncommon, and may have been used as an\namulet, as is seen on several runic stones (see p. 352).\n\nEven Christians called upon Thor for help in sea voyages and\ndifficulties.\n\n\n\u201cEyvind, from Sweden, went on expeditions westward, and in Ireland\nmarried Raf\u00f6rta, daughter of the Irish king Kjarval. She bore him a son,\nHelgi, and they sent him to the Hebrides to be fostered. Two winters\nlater they came back to the Hebrides, and did not recognise him, as he\nhad been starved. They therefore called him Helgi the Lean, and took him\naway. He was after this fostered in Ireland, and when grown up became a\nhighly honoured man, and was married to Th\u00f3run Hyrna, daughter of Ketil\nFlatnose. They had many children; Hr\u00f3lf and Ingjald were their sons.\nHelgi the Lean went to Iceland with his wife and children. He had a very\nmixed creed; he believed in Christ, but nevertheless invoked Thor for\nhelp in sea voyages and in difficulties. When he saw Iceland, he\ninquired from Thor where he should take up land. The answer told him to\ngo to the north coast of Iceland\u201d (Landnama iii., 12).[239]\n\n\n_Worship of Nj\u00f6rd._\u2014Nj\u00f6rd[240] was also worshipped, though we have no\naccount of sacrifices made to him; but the formulary of the oath, \u201cSo\nhelp me Frey, Nj\u00f6rd, and the Almighty As (Odin)!\u201d shows the existence of\nhis worship. Egil calls upon him and the two other gods to drive Eirik\nBlood-axe from the land.[241]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 775.\u2014\u00bd real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 776.\u2014Thor\u2019s hammer. In a field. L\u00e4by, Uppland. Real size.\n]\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 777.\u2014Thor\u2019s hammer and chain of silver.\u2014Breds\u00e4tra, \u00d6land. Real\n size.\n]\n\nThere were men who did not believe in and did not worship Odin, as may\nbe seen from the following example:\u2014\n\n\n\u201cThen came to Hrafnista, Framar, a viking king; he was a sacrificer and\niron did not wound him. He demanded in marriage Hrafnhild, the daughter\nof Ketil H\u00e6ng. Ketil answered that she should choose a husband herself.\nShe refused Framar. Therefore Framar challenged Ketil to _holmganga_ at\nArhaug, on the first day of Yule, and said he should be every man\u2019s\nnithing if he did not come. On Yule-eve he came to Arhaug. Framar and\nthe men of the land sacrificed for good years.\n\n\u201cB\u00f6dm\u00f3d, the son of Framar, after inviting Ketil to his hall, mentioned\nOdin. When he named Odin, Ketil got angry, for he did not believe in\nhim; and sung a song:\u2014\n\n Odin worship\n Did I never,\n Though long I have lived;\n I know that Framar\n Will fall sooner than\n This high head.\n\nTwice the sword of Ketil did not bite; the third time it cut Framar from\nthe shoulder down to the loins. Then Framar sung:\u2014\n\n There is courage in H\u00e6ng,\n _Dravendil_ is sharp,\n It bit the word of Odin\n As if it were nothing;\n Now the father of Baldr proved false\n It is unsafe to trust him;\n Enjoy well thy hands,\n Here we shall part.\n\nFramar thereupon died, and Ketil went home\u201d (Ketil H\u00e6ng\u2019s Saga, c. 5).\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XXI.\n RELIGION.\u2014ALTARS, TEMPLES, HIGH-SEAT PILLARS, ETC.\n\n The most primitive form of altar\u2014The earliest Asa temple in the\n North\u2014The temples in Norway and Denmark\u2014Size and materials of\n temples\u2014Their magnificence\u2014Temple priests\u2014Support of\n temple\u2014Holiness and sacredness of temples\u2014High-seat pillars\u2014Sacred\n pegs.\n\n\nThe _h\u00f6rg_ was a sacred altar, built of stones, often mentioned in the\nEddas and Sagas, but never described, and was quite distinct from the\n_stalli_, or altar. Perhaps it was an enclosed structure, or was built\nover a sacrificing mound or upon some elevation. Its primitive form\nmakes it undoubtedly of far greater antiquity than the temple, though\nboth were retained as we see in later times by the people in their\nworship. It seems to have been especially used for sacrifices to the\nAlfar and Asar;[242] and from the words of Freyja to Hyndla, who was her\nfriend, when speaking of Ottar, we find that a h\u00f6rg had been raised to\nher by the latter, and sacrifices made to her.\n\n He made me a h\u00f6rg\n Reared of stones;\n Now have these stones\n Become _gler_.[243]\n\n He reddened it in\n Fresh ox blood.\n Ottar believed\n Always in Asynjur.\n\n [Hyndlulj\u00f3d, st. 10.]\n\nThe first temple belonging to the Asa creed which Odin is fabled to have\nestablished was at Sigtuna; afterwards the most celebrated of all the\ntemples in the North was that of Upsala, but unfortunately we have no\ndescription of it in the Sagas; its fame was so great that on special\noccasions people from all over the North came to it.\n\nThe two principal temples in Norway were in Hladir in Thrandheim, and in\nGudbrandsdal.\n\n\n\u201cGudbrand of Dalir was a great friend of Hakon Jarl. They owned a temple\nwhich was the second for size in Norway, the largest being at Hladir (in\nThrandheim). The former was never unlocked except when the Jarl came\nthither\u201d (Njala, 87).\n\n\nThe largest one in Denmark was in Hleidra (Zeeland), but unfortunately\nin this case also the Sagas give no description. Other temples of less\nrepute were also built.\n\nThe _Hof_ or temple was often of large size, and the Sagas give us\nexamples of their appearance, some of them being of great splendour;\nthey were generally if not always rectangular buildings,[244] with a\nrounded addition at one end like the apse of a church. Some had two\nparts: an inner or more sacred one, where the images of the gods were\nplaced; and an outer one, where the sacrificial feasts were held. At the\n_blotveitsla_ or sacrificial feast the people seem to have remained\nstanding, high seats existing only for the _blotgodi_ (sacrificing\npriest). At the farther end the _God_ (god-idols) stood on their _stall_\n(altar).\n\n\n\u201cOlaf sailed to Hladir, and had the temple broken down, and all the\nproperty and ornaments taken out of it and off the gods. He took a large\ngold ring from the temple door, which Hakon Jarl had made, and then had\nthe temple burnt.\n\n\u201cOlaf sent the large gold ring which he had taken from the temple door\nto Queen Sigrid, Storrada (the Proud) in Sweden (he wanted to marry\nher). She had it broken, and brass was found inside. She got angry, and\nsaid that Olaf was likely to be false in more things than this\u201d (Olaf\nTryggvason, 65, 66).\n\n\nSometimes these buildings were magnificently furnished and adorned with\ncostly and precious metals; their walls were hung with tapestries, and\notherwise ornamented,[245] and on the door was a golden ring.[246] Many\nof them must have been the property of powerful and wealthy b\u0153ndr,[247]\nas may be inferred from the fact that some chiefs when they left the\ncountry tore them down and took them away, together with the temple\nmould on which they stood, which was holy.\n\n\n\u201cKetilbj\u00f6rn, a famous man in Norway, went to Iceland, and dwelt at\nMosfell. He was so rich in personal property that he told his sons to\nmake a cross-beam of silver in the temple which they were building. As\nthey would not, he with his thrall Haki and his bondmaid B\u00f3t drove the\nsilver up on the mountain with two oxen; they hid it so that it has\nnever been found since; then he killed Haki in Hakaskard, and B\u00f3t in\nB\u00f3tarskard\u201d (Landnama v. 12).\n\n\n\u201cThorhad the old was temple-priest in Thrandheim, in M\u0153ri. He wished to\ngo to Iceland, but first took down the temple, and carried with him the\ntemple mould and the altars. He came into St\u00f6dvar-fjord and made the\nwhole fiord as holy as the temple place in M\u0153ri, and allowed nothing to\nbe slain there except homestead cattle. He lived there all his life\nafterwards; the Stodfirdings are descended from him\u201d[248] (Landnama).\n\n\nThe _hof-godi_ or temple-priest was occasionally a woman.\n\n\n\u201cSteinv\u00f6r was a priestess, and took care of the head temple; to this all\nb\u0153ndr had to pay temple tax. Steinv\u00f6r went to the chief Broddhelgi, for\nshe was related to him, and told him her trouble, that Thorleif, the\nChristian, did not pay temple tax like other men. Broddhelgi said he\nwould take up this case for her against Thorleif.\u201d[249]\n\n\nA tax, as we have seen, was said to have been imposed in Odin\u2019s time for\nthe support of the temple; in the time of Frey a change took place,\naccording to the sagas, and certain lands and properties in the several\ndistricts called _Uppsala-Aud_ (Uppsala wealth) were set apart for this\npurpose; but in later times again, in Norway at least, and probably in\nother parts of the North, the b\u0153ndr had to pay taxes for the support of\nthe temples, some of which seem to have been the private property of the\ngodi.\n\nThe temples were considered so holy that any one damaging them or\nentering them armed was declared an outlaw, and no one who had committed\nan offence punishable by law was allowed to enter; such person was\ncalled _Varg i Veum_ (wolf in the sanctuary). The grove or fields\nsurrounding the temples were often regarded as inviolate, so that no act\nof violence would be permissible within their precincts. This was\nexpressed by the ancient name of _Ve_ (sanctuary, sacred place), which\nwas extended so as to embrace the _Thing_-place, which was also regarded\nas sacred, while the _Thing_ was going on.\n\n\n\u201cIngimund went into the temple, and before he was aware of it Rafn ran\nin with a sword. Ingimund turned towards him and said, \u2018It is not the\ncustom to bring weapons into the temple, and thou wilt turn the wrath of\nthe gods against thee; such a thing is impossible unless it is atoned\nfor\u2019\u201d (Vatnsd\u0153la, c. 17).\n\n\n\u201cB\u00fai went to the temple, and when he arrived there, saw that the\nenclosure as well as the temple was unlocked. He entered and perceived\nthat Thorstein lay on his face in front of Thor. B\u00fai walked silently\nuntil he came to Thorstein, and grasped his knees with one hand and his\nshoulders with the other in such a manner that he lifted him and struck\nhis head so hard against a stone that his brains were scattered over the\nfloor; he died immediately. B\u00fai carried him out and threw him near the\nfence of the enclosure, and entered the temple again. He took the sacred\nfire, and, kindling lights, carried them around the temple and set the\nhangings on fire. The fire quickly caught one thing after the other, and\nin a short time the temple was in flames. He went out and locked both\nthe temple and the enclosure, and threw the keys into the fire and\ndeparted. Thorgrim Godi awoke in the morning and saw the temple burning;\nhe called on his people, men and women, to run with water vessels and\nsave it; he also called upon his son, Thorstein, but he was nowhere to\nbe found. When they reached the gate of the enclosure it was not easy to\npass, for it was locked, and the keys were nowhere to be found; they\nwere obliged to break open the door, for the fence was so high that they\ncould not get over it. Entering the enclosure, they saw Thorstein there\ndead; the temple was also locked, and nothing in it could be saved.\nHooks were brought and the temple was pulled down, and thus part of the\ntemple was saved\u201d (Kjalnesinga Saga, c. 4).\n\n\nFor this B\u00fai was outlawed by Harald Fairhair, but was subsequently\nforgiven.\n\n\n\u201cKing Beli ruled over Sygna-fylki (in Norway); he had three children;\nHelgi and H\u00e1lfd\u00e1n were his sons, and Ingibj\u00f6rg his daughter. Ingibj\u00f6rg\nwas fair-looking and wise; she was the foremost of the king\u2019s children.\nOn the shore west of the fjord there was a large b\u0153r,[250] called\nBaldr\u2019s hagi (Baldr\u2019s field or enclosure), which was a place of\npeace,[251] where a large temple stood, surrounded by a high wooden\nfence; there were many gods, though Baldr was most worshipped. The\nheathen[252] men were so careful about the temple that neither man nor\nbeast was to be hurt there; men were not allowed to stay with women\nthere\u201d (Fridthj\u00f3f\u2019s Saga, 1).[253]\n\n\u201cWhen Fridthj\u00f3f had left Norway the kings held a _Thing_, and outlawed\nhim from all their lands, and took to themselves all his possessions.\nKing H\u00e1lfd\u00e1n settled at Framnes, and rebuilt the burned part of the\nfarm; and they repaired the whole of Baldr\u2019s hagi, but it was a long\ntime before the fire was extinguished. King Helgi disliked most of all\nthat the gods had been burned. It was very costly to build Baldr\u2019s hagi\nagain as good as it was. King Helgi then resided at Syrstrond\u201d\n(Fridthj\u00f3f\u2019s Saga, c. 10).\n\n\nThe fact that some of the old temples were a subject of pilgrimage to\nthose who had emigrated from the land is further proof of the veneration\npaid to them.\n\n\n\u201cLopt Ormsson went from Gaulardal in Norway to Iceland when young, and\ntook up land along the Thj\u00f3rs\u00e1 river. Lopt went to Norway every third\nsummer for himself and for his mother\u2019s brother Flosi, to sacrifice in\nthe temple which his grandfather Thorbj\u00f6rn had guarded\u201d (Landnama v.,\nch. 8).\n\n\nInside the principal door of the temple stood the high-seat pillars,\nwhich were highly venerated, and in which were placed the so-called\n_reginnaglar_ (sacred pegs). It was the custom for families to take\nthese pillars when they left their old home for Iceland, and when at sea\nto throw them overboard, and settle where they came ashore: they, the\ntimbers of the temple, and the mould under the altars of the gods, were\nconsidered sacred.\n\n\n\u201cThe summer that Ing\u00f3lf and Hj\u00f6rleif went to settle in Iceland, Harald\nFairhair had been king in Norway for twelve years. There had passed from\nthe beginning of this world six thousand and seventy-three winters; but\nfrom the birth of our Lord, eight hundred and seventy-four winters.\n\n\u201cThey sailed together till they saw Iceland, and then separated. When\nIng\u00f3lf saw Iceland, he threw overboard his high-seat pillars for luck,\nsaying that he would settle where the pillars went ashore.\n\n\u201cIng\u00f3lf took up his abode where his high-seat pillars had come to land;\nthis was at Reykjarvik, and there the high-seat pillars still remain in\na hall\u201d[254] (Landnama).\n\n\n\u201cTh\u00f3r\u00f3lf Mostrarskegg made a great sacrifice, and inquired from his\nbeloved friend Thor whether he should reconcile himself to the King\n(Harald Fairhair), or go away from the country and seek other fate. The\nanswer pointed out to him Iceland. Thereupon he got a large seagoing\nship, and made it ready for the Iceland journey, and took with him his\nhousehold and live stock. Many of his friends went on the journey with\nhim. He took down the temple and carried with him most of the timbers\nwhich had been in it, and also the earth and mould from under the altar\non which Thor had sat. Thereupon he sailed out to sea with fair winds,\nreached the land, and went along the south coast westward past\nReykjanes. Then the fair wind ceased, and they saw that large fjords\nwent into the land. Th\u00f3r\u00f3lf threw overboard his high-seat pillars, which\nhad been standing in the temple; the image of Thor was carved on one of\nthem. He declared that he would live in Iceland, at the place where Thor\nlanded them. As soon as they left the ship they drifted to the western\nfjord. Then there came a breeze; they sailed westward past Snj\u00f3fellsnes\nand into the fjord; they saw it was very broad and long, with very high\nmountains on both sides. Th\u00f3r\u00f3lf named it Breidifjord (broad fjord). He\nlanded on the southern side, nearly at its middle, and laid the ship in\nthe bay, which they afterwards called Hofs-vag. They searched the shore,\nand found on the point of a ness north of the bay that Thor had there\nlanded the pillars. The ness was called Th\u00f3rsness. After this Th\u00f3r\u00f3lf\nwent with fire around the land which he took up from Staf\u00e1 (river) to\nthe river which he called Th\u00f3rs\u00e1, and there settled his ship\u2019s crew. He\nraised a large house at Hofs-vag which he called Hofstadir. There he had\na large temple built; there was a door on the side wall, near the one\nend; inside stood the high-seat pillars, and pegs were in them; they\nwere called _regin naglar_. Inside this there was a great _peace-place_;\nin the innermost part of the temple was a room like the choirs in\nchurches now, and a platform was raised on the middle of the floor like\nan altar, on which there lay a jointless ring weighing two ounces, and\non this all oaths had to be sworn. The temple priest had to wear that\nring on his arm at all meetings\u201d (Eyrbyggja, c. 4).\n\n\nAfter Ingimund had departed from Norway for Iceland he landed at\nBorgarfjord. He was met by Grim and H\u00e1mund, the former of whom invited\nhim to remain with him, and take whatever he wanted, whether real or\nportable property. For the offer Ingimund thanked him, but said he would\nonly remain over winter, and in the spring would go to look for the\nplace he intended to settle on. The following summer he wandered about,\nand in the autumn took winter quarters in a valley called Vididal, at a\nplace which was afterwards named Ingimundarh\u00f6ll.\n\n\n\u201cWhen spring came and the snow began to melt on the mountain sides\nIngimund said, \u2018I should like some men to go up on a high mountain to\nlook if there is less snow in other places, for I do not think we will\nsettle in this valley, for it is not an equal bargain.\u2019 They went up on\na high mountain and saw far away. They returned and told him that the\nmountains on the north-west were very snowless, and soon they were all\non their way thither. As they approached the Vatnsdal valley Ingimund\nrecognised it from the description given by the Fins; and when they came\nto the Vatnsdal river Vigdis said \u2018I must rest a little while, for I\nfeel sick.\u2019 She gave birth to a girl who was named Thordis, after\nIngimund\u2019s mother. He then said that the place should be called\nThordisarholt. He chose a site for his residence in a very beautiful\ngrove, raised a large temple, one hundred feet in length; and when he\nwas digging holes for his high-seat pillars he found the image of Frey\nof silver, as he had been foretold. Then he said, \u2018It is indeed true\nthat you cannot go against fate, but nevertheless I like this. This farm\nshall be called Hof (temple)\u2019\u201d (Vatnsd\u00e6la, 15).[255]\n\n\nLodmund the old, a Norwegian from Voss, went to Iceland:\n\n\n\u201cHe threw his high-seat pillars overboard at sea, and said he would\nsettle where they were driven ashore. They landed in the eastern fjords,\nand he settled in Lodmundarfjord, where he lived that winter. When he\nheard that his high-seat pillars were on the south coast he carried on\nboard the ship all his property, hoisted the sail, laid himself down,\nand bade no one be so bold as to utter his name. After he had been lying\ndown for a short time a loud crash was heard, and it was seen that a\nlarge land-slip had come down upon the farm where Lodmund had dwelt. He\nrose and said, \u2018It is my imprecation that the ship which hereafter sails\nout from here shall never come undamaged back from the sea.\u2019 He took up\nland where the high-seat pillars had come ashore\u201d (Landnama iv. 5).[256]\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XXII.\n RELIGION.\u2014HUMAN SACRIFICES.\n\n Sacrifices to Odin\u2014Human sacrifices resorted to on momentous\n occasions\u2014Kings sacrificed\u2014Children sacrificed by their\n fathers\u2014Sacrifice to prolong life\u2014Warriors given to Odin after\n battle\u2014Sacrificing springs\u2014Sacrifices on Thor\u2019s stone\u2014Sacrificing\n place at Blomsholm\u2014Sacrificing mound\u2014The blood-eagle\n sacrifice\u2014Giving oneself to Odin on a sick-bed\u2014The earliest\n account of human sacrifice in the North\u2014The abandonment of human\n sacrifices.\n\n\nBesides the sacrifices already mentioned others were held when the aid\nof the gods was required; the most important of them were human\nsacrifices, which were offered in times of great calamity, such as\nfamine, or in order to avoid some great evils, or to obtain victory, or\nfor some other weighty reasons.\n\n\n\u201cAt this time occurred a very bad year in Reidgotaland, and it looked as\nif the land would become a waste. Lots were then thrown by the wise men,\nand they threw the sacrificing-chip; the answer came that there never\nwould be a good year in Reidgotaland until the highest-born boy in the\nland should be sacrificed. A _Thing_ was summoned, and all agreed that\nAngant\u00fdr, son of Heidrek, was the foremost there, because of his kin,\nbut nobody dared to mention it. Then they resolved to submit this\nquestion to the decision of King H\u00f6fund in Gl\u0153sisv\u00f6ll (Heidrek\u2019s\nfather); the most high-born were to be chosen for the journey, but\neverybody declined. King Harald and many others asked King Heidrek to\nassist in deciding this question, and he consented. He at once had a\nship made ready, on which he went with many renowned men, and sailed to\nRisaland. When King H\u00f6fund heard of his arrival he at once wanted to\nhave him slain, but Queen Herv\u00f6r remonstrated, and so managed that they\nwere quite reconciled. Then Heidrek told his errand and asked for his\ndecision, and H\u00f6fund said that his son was the foremost in the land. At\nthis King Heidrek changed colour and thought the case became difficult;\nhe asked his father to give him advice how to save the life of the boy.\nH\u00f6fund said: \u2018When thou goest home to Reidgotaland, thou must summon the\nmen to a Thing from thy possessions and those of King Harald, and there\npronounce thy decision about thy son. Then thou shalt ask how they will\nreward thee if thou allowest him to be sacrificed. Say that thou art a\nforeigner, and that thou wilt lose thy land and people if this is to\ntake place. Then thou shalt make it a condition that one-half of the men\nof King Harald present at the Thing shall become thy men or else thou\nwilt not give up thy son, and this shall be confirmed by oaths. If thou\ndost get this I need not give thee advice as to what thou shalt do\nthereafter.\u2019 Heidrek thereupon took leave of his father and mother, and\nsailed away from Risaland. When Heidrek returned to Reidgotaland he\nsummoned a Thing, to which he spoke thus: \u2018It is the decision of my\nfather, King H\u00f6fund, that my son is the foremost here in the land, and\nis to be chosen for sacrifice; but in return for this, I want to have\npower over one-half of those of King Harald\u2019s men who have come to this\nThing, and you must pledge me this.\u2019 That was done, and they came into\nhis host; then the b\u0153ndr asked that he should deliver his son to them,\nand thus improve their season. But after the hosts had been divided,\nHeidrek asked his men to take oaths of allegiance. This they did, and\nswore that they would follow him out of the land and in the land to\nwherever he wanted. Then he said: \u2018I think that Odin gets the value of a\nboy if, instead of him, he gets King Harald and his son and his entire\nhost.\u2019 He bid them raise his standard to attack King Harald and slay him\nand all his men. The war horns were sounded and the attack made. The\nbattle soon turned against King Harald and his men, for they had far\nfewer men and were unprepared. But when they saw there was no escape\nthey fought with great valour, and cut down the men of King Heidrek so\nfiercely that it seemed uncertain which would be defeated. When Heidrek\nsaw his men fall thus in heaps, he rushed forth with the sword _Tyrfing_\nand killed one after the other; at last King Harald and his son and a\ngreat part of their men fell there, and Heidrek became the slayer of his\nfather and brother-in-law. This was reckoned to be the second\n_nithings-deed_ committed with Tyrfing according to the spell of the\nDvergar. King Heidrek reddened the temple-altars with the blood of King\nHarald and Halfdan, and gave Odin all the dead men who had fallen there,\nin the place of his son Angant\u00fdr, in order to improve the season. When\nQueen Helga heard of the death of her father she was so affected that\nshe hanged herself in the _disar-hall_[257] of the temple\u201d (Hervarar\nSaga, c. 11 & 12).\n\n\nSeveral instances are mentioned in which powerful kings were sacrificed\nor offered their children on the altars of the gods.\n\n\n\u201cThere was a great crowd of men who left Sweden because of King Ivar\u2019s\nrule. They heard that Olaf Tretelgja[258] had good lands in Vermaland,\nand so many went thither that the country could not support them. There\nthen came a very bad season and a great famine. They attributed this to\ntheir king, as the Swedes are wont to hold him accountable for both good\nand bad seasons. King Olaf was not a zealous sacrificer, and this the\nSwedes did not like, thinking that therefore arose the bad years. They\nthen gathered a host, went against the king, surrounded his house, and\nburned him, giving him to Odin as a sacrifice for good years. This was\nat V\u0153nir (Venern)\u201d (Ynglinga Saga, c. 47).\n\n\nThe custom of sacrificing a beloved child of a chief was considered, as\nit well might be, the highest atonement that could be offered, and is\none of such antiquity that its birth is lost in the dim light of past\nages. We have remarkable instances of this custom mentioned in the\nBible; the story of Abraham and Isaac, and of Jephthah\u2019s vow show the\nexistence of the practice in very early times. In Lev. xx. 2\u20134, the\npractice is mentioned as taking place among the heathen; and we see\nthat, as in the North, the father had absolute power over the life of\nhis child, otherwise he could not sacrifice him.\n\nThe most thrilling accounts of sacrifice of children are those of the\nsacrifice by Hakon Jarl of his own son, and by King Aun of nine\nsons.[259]\n\nIn the beginning of the battle of the Jomsvikings against Hakon Jarl and\nhis sons luck was against him, and the Jarl called his sons ashore,\nwhere he and they met and took counsel.\n\n\n\u201cHakon Jarl said: \u2018I think I see that the battle begins to turn against\nus; and I dislike to fight against these men; for I believe that none\nare their equals, and I see that it will fare ill, unless we hit upon\nsome plan; you must stay here with the host, for it is imprudent for all\nthe chiefs to leave it, if the Jomsvikings attack, as we may at any\nmoment expect. I will go ashore with some men and see what can be done.\u2019\nThe Jarl went ashore north to the island. He entered a glade in the\nforest, sank down on both his knees and prayed; he looked northwards and\nspoke what he thought was most to the purpose; and in his prayers he\ncalled upon his fully trusted Thorgerd H\u00f3rdatr\u00f3ll; but she turned a deaf\near to his prayer, and he thought that she must have become angry with\nhim. He offered to sacrifice several things, but she would not accept\nthem, and it seemed to him the case was hopeless. At last he offered\nhuman sacrifices, but she would not accept them. The Jarl considered his\ncase most hopeless if he could not please her; he began to increase the\noffer, and at last included all his men except himself and his sons\nEirik and Svein. He had a son Erling, who was seven winters old, and a\nvery promising youth. Thorgerd accepted his offer, and chose Erling, his\nson. When the Jarl found that his prayers and vows were heard, he\nthought matters were better, and thereupon gave the boy to Skopti Kark,\nhis thrall, who put him to death in Hakon\u2019s usual way as taught by\nhim\u201d[260] (Fornmanna S\u00f6gur, xi. 134).\n\n\nHuman sacrifices were resorted to by kings in order to lengthen their\nown life.\n\n\n\u201cWhen King Aun was sixty he made a great sacrifice in order to secure\nlong life; he sacrificed his son to Odin. King Aun got answer from Odin\nthat he should live another sixty winters. Thereupon he was king for\ntwenty-five winters at Uppsalir. Then \u00c1li the Bold, son of King Fridleif\n(in Denmark), came with his host to Sweden against King Aun; they\nfought, and \u00c1li always gained the victory. King Aun left his realm a\nsecond time and went to the western Gautland. \u00c1li was king at Uppsalir\nfor twenty-five winters, till Starkad the Old slew him. After his death\nAun came back to Uppsalir and ruled the realm for twenty-five winters.\nHe again made a great sacrifice for long life and offered up another\nson. Odin told him that he should live for ever if he gave him a son\nevery tenth year, and would call a _herad_[261] (district) in the land\nafter the number of every son whom he thus sacrificed. During ten\nwinters after he had sacrificed seven of his sons he was unable to walk,\nand was carried on a stool. He sacrificed his eighth son and lived ten\nwinters more in bed. He sacrificed his ninth son and lived ten winters\nmore, and drank from a horn like a young child. He had one son left and\nwanted to sacrifice him, and thereupon to give Uppsalir with the\n_herads_ belonging to it to Odin, and call it T\u00edundaland.[262] The\nSwedes stopped him; then he died and was mound-laid at Uppsalir\u201d\n(Ynglinga, c. 29).\n\n\nMen, particularly the slain after a battle, were sometimes given to Odin\nfor victory, the largest number ever given being those who fell at the\nfamous battle of Bravalla. It seems to have been customary to redden the\naltars with the blood of the fallen chiefs.[263]\n\nPrisoners of war, no matter what their rank, were called thralls, and\nwere sacrificed; sometimes they were slaughtered like animals, their\nblood put into bowls, and their bodies thrown into bogs or a spring\noutside the door of the temple called _bl\u00f3t-kelda_ (sacrificing spring),\nor their backs broken on sharp stones; sometimes they were thrown from\nhigh cliffs.[264]\n\n\n\u201cThorgrim Godi was a great sacrificer; he had a large temple raised in\nhis grass-plot,[265] one hundred feet in length and sixty in breadth,\nand every man was to pay temple-tax to it. Thor was most worshipped\nthere; the inmost part of it was made round as if it were a dome; it was\nall covered with hangings, and had windows; Thor stood in the middle,\nand other gods on both sides. There was an altar in front made with\ngreat skill and covered above with iron; on it there was to be a fire\nwhich should never die out, which they called holy fire. On the altar\nwas to lie a large ring of silver, which the temple priest was to wear\non his arm at all meetings. Upon it all oaths were to be taken in cases\nof circumstantial evidence. On the altar was to stand a large bowl of\ncopper, in which was to be put the blood which came from the cattle or\nmen given to Thor; these they called _hlaut_ (sacrifice-blood), and\n_hlaut-bolli_ (sacrifice-bowl). The _hlaut_ was to be sprinkled on men\nand cattle, and the cattle were to be used for the people (to eat) when\nthe sacrificing feasts were held. The men whom they sacrificed were to\nbe thrown down into the spring which was outside near the doors, which\nthey called _bl\u00f3t-kelda_. The cross-beams which had been in the temple\nwere in the hall at Hof, when Olaf J\u00f3nsson had it built; he had them all\nsplit asunder, and yet they were still very thick\u201d (Kjalnesinga, c. 2).\n\n\n\u201cOn Thorsness, where Th\u00f3r\u00f3lf Mostrarskegg landed, there was a very holy\nplace (helgi-stad); and there still stands Thor\u2019s stone, on which they\nbroke[266] those men whom they sacrificed, and near by is that\n_dom-ring_ where they were sentenced to be sacrificed\u201d (Landnama ii., c.\n12).\n\n\nThis passage shows that the dom-ring where men were sacrificed was\ndifferent from the dom-ring where the people met to judge; the former\nseems to have been always made with stones, while the latter, as we have\nseen from Egil\u2019s Saga, were made with hazel poles. It is probable that\nmany of the _dom-rings_ which are now seen were used as sacrificing\nplaces.\n\nNot far from the large ship-form grave of Blomsholm, in a silent pine\nforest, stands a magnificent _Dom-ring_ (see next page 370), a witness\nof the great past. What unwritten records are stamped upon its stones!\nwhat unrevealed histories lie for ever buried from our sight! how much\nthey would tell if they could speak! The ring is about 100 feet in\ndiameter, and is composed of ten standing stones. Near by is the\neleventh. In the centre is a huge boulder, overlooking the rest; its\nuncovered part stands about 5 feet above the ground; it is 9 feet long\nby 7 feet wide.\n\n\n\u201cWhen Th\u00f3rd gellir established the fjordungathing (quarter Things) he\nlet the Thing of the Vestfirdingar be there (on Thorsness); thither men\nfrom all the Vestfjords were to come. There may still be seen the\n_dom-ring_ within which men were doomed to be sacrificed. Within the\nring stands Thor\u2019s stone, on which those were broken who were used for\nsacrifice, and the blood-stains can still be seen on the stone\u201d\n(Eyrbyggja, c. 10).\n\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 778.\u2014Dom-ring, or sacrificing ring, Blomsholm, Bohusl\u00e4n.\n]\n\nMany dom-rings[267] are seen in the country without the sacrificing\nstone in the centre; these may have been used as enclosures for\nduelling, while others similar to the above engraving may have been horg\nor sacred altars.\n\nSacrificing mounds, and apparently mounds in which offerings were\ndeposited, are mentioned, but unfortunately we have no description of\nthem.\n\n\n\u201cKing Olaf[268] had there (Karls\u00e1) broken the sacrificial mound of the\nheathens; it was so called because usually, when they had great\nsacrifices for a good season, or for peace, all were to go to this\nmound, and there sacrifice prescribed animals; they carried thither much\nproperty, and put it into the mound before they went away. King Olaf got\nvery much property there\u201d (Fornmanna S\u00f6gur v. 164.)\n\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 779.\u2014Probably a sacrificing slab, on a rocky ridge at Viala,\n Ving\u00e5kers parish, S\u00f6dermanland, overlooking Lake Kolsnaren; 7 feet\n 10 inches in length, 5 feet 10 inches in width, and 10 inches thick.\n]\n\n\n\u201cA mound composed of earth and pure pfennings; for thither must be\ncarried a handful of silver and a handful of mould for every one who\ndies, and also for every one who is born. Odd said: \u2018Then kinsman\nGudmund you shall go ashore with your men to the mound this night,\naccording to this man\u2019s direction; and I will take care of the ships\nwith my men.\u2019 They did this, and went to the mound, where they collected\nas much money as they could carry, and with their burden returned to the\nships. Odd was well satisfied with the results, and delivered the man\ninto their keeping. \u2018Keep good watch over him,\u2019 he said, \u2018for his eyes\nare all the time turned towards the shore, so that he could not have\nfound it as disagreeable there as he says.\u2019 Odd with his men then went\nashore, and up to the mound. Gudmund and Sigurd, meanwhile watching the\nships, put the man between them, and began to sift away the mould from\nthe silver; but when they least expected it he jumped up and overboard,\nand swam towards the land. Gudmund snatched a harpoon and shot after\nhim; it pierced the calf of his leg, but he reached the shore and\ndisappeared in the forest. When Odd with his companions arrived at the\nmound, they each decided to take burdens according to their strength,\nbut on no account heavier than could be easily carried\u201d[269] (Orvar\nOdd\u2019s Saga, c. 9 & 10).\n\n\nAmong the human sacrifices were those called _bl\u00f3d\u00f6rn_ (blood eagle), so\ncalled on account of the skin or flesh being cut down the whole back to\nthe ribs, from both sides of the spine, in the shape of an eagle, and of\nthe lungs being drawn through the wound. This special mode of sacrifice\nseems to have been practised on the slayer of a man\u2019s father.[270]\n\n\n\u201cAfter King Harald Fairhair\u2019s sons had grown up they became very unruly,\nand fought within the country. The sons of Sn\u0153frid, Halfdan H\u00e1leg (high\nleg) and Gudr\u00f6d Lj\u00f3mi, slew R\u00f6gnvalld M\u0153ra Jarl. This made Harald very\nangry, and Halfdan fled westward over the sea, but Gudr\u00f6d got reconciled\nto his father. Halfdan went to the Orkneys, and Einar Jarl fled from the\nisles to Scotland, while Halfdan made himself king of the Orkneys. Einar\nJarl returned the same year, and when they met a great battle took\nplace, in which Einar was victorious, and Halfdan jumped overboard. The\nfollowing morning they found Halfdan on Rinar\u2019s hill. The Jarl had a\nblood eagle (blod\u00f6rn) cut on his back with a sword, and gave him to Odin\nfor victory. After that he had a mound thrown up over Halfdan. When the\nnews of this reached Norway his brothers were very angry, and threatened\nto go to the islands and avenge him; but this Harald prevented. Somewhat\nlater Harald went westward across the sea to the isles; Einar went away\nfrom the islands, and over to Caithness (Katanes). After this men\nintervened and they became reconciled. Harald laid a tribute on the\nislands, and ordered them to pay sixty marks of gold. Einar Jarl offered\nto pay the tribute, and in return possess all the _odals_ (allodial\nrights). This the b\u0153ndr agreed to, for the rich thought they would buy\nthem back, and the poor had not property enough to pay the tribute.\nEinar paid it, and for long after the jarls possessed all the odals,\nuntil Sigurd Jarl gave them up to the men of the Orkneys. Einar Jarl\nruled long over the Orkneys, and died on a sick bed\u201d (Flateyjarb\u00f3k, p.\n224, vol. i.).\n\n\nThe custom of a man giving himself to Odin on a sick bed by marking\nhimself or being marked with the point of a spear, probably arose from\nthe disgrace which was supposed to attach to a man who died unwounded in\nhis bed, and not in battle. Odin himself[271] followed this practice,\nwhich enabled a man to come to Valhalla.... When tired of life, or of\nold age, men gave themselves to Odin by throwing themselves from the\nrocks.\n\nEirik the victorious, who fought against Styrbj\u00f6rn, gave himself to Odin\nin order to get the victory; and Harald Hildit\u00f6nn was killed by Odin\nhimself, because he had become so old.\n\nThe earliest account given of a human sacrifice in the North is that of\nDomaldi, which, if we may trust the genealogies, took place about the\nbeginning of the Christian era.\n\n\n\u201cDomaldi inherited and ruled the land after his father Visbur. In his\ndays there was in Sweden great hunger and famine; then the Swedes made\nlarge sacrifices at Uppsalir. The first autumn they sacrificed oxen, but\nthe season did not improve; the second autumn they sacrificed men, but\nthe season was the same or worse; the third autumn the Swedes came in\ncrowds to Uppsalir when the sacrifice was to take place. The chiefs held\ntheir consultations, and agreed that the hard years were owing to their\nking, and that they must sacrifice him for good years, and should attack\nand slay him, and redden the altars with his blood. And thus they did\u201d\n(Ynglinga Saga, ch. 18).\n\n\n\u201cBefore the holding of the Althing (in the year 1000) in Iceland the\nheathens held a meeting, and resolved to sacrifice two men from every\ndistrict of the land (Iceland was divided into four quarters), and to\ninvoke their gods that they should not let Christianity spread over the\ncountry. Hjalti and Gizur had another meeting with the Christians, and\nsaid they would have human sacrifices as many as the heathens, adding:\n\u2018They sacrifice the worst men and cast them dawn from rocks and cliffs,\nbut we will choose them for their virtues, and call it a victory-gift to\nour Lord Jesus Christ; we shall live the better, and more warily against\nsin than before. Gizur and I will give ourselves as a victory-gift on\nthe behalf of our district\u2019\u201d (Biskupa S\u00f6gur i.).\n\n\nFrom the following passage it will be seen that when Christianity gained\na footing in Iceland, human sacrifices were abandoned:\u2014\n\n\n\u201cThor\u00f3lf Heljarskegg (Hel-beard) settled in Fors\u0153ludal (Iceland); he was\na very overbearing man and unpopular, and caused many a quarrel and\nuproar in the district. He made himself a stronghold (virki) south at\nFridmundar\u00e1, a short way from Vatnsdals\u00e1, in a ravine; a ness was\nbetween the ravine and the river, and a large rock in front of it. He\nwas suspected of sacrificing men, and there was not one in the whole\nvalley that was more hated than he\u201d (Vatnsd\u0153la, ch. 16).\n\n\nHallstein, an Icelandic chief, son of the Norwegian chief, Thor\u00f3lf\nMostrarskegg,\n\n\n\u201cDwelt at Hallsteinsnes. There Hallstein sacrificed his son, in order\nthat Thor might send him high-seat-pillars (126 feet); thereafter a tree\ncame on his land, sixty-three ells in length and two fathoms (6 ells =\n12 feet) thick; this was used for his high-seat-pillars, and of it are\nmade the high-seat-pillars of nearly every farm in the Thverfjords\u201d\n(Landnama ii., c. 23).[272]\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XXIII.\n RELIGION.\u2014IDOLS AND WORSHIP OF MEN AND ANIMALS, ETC.\n\n The introduction of idol worship\u2014The gods magnificently\n dressed\u2014Besmearing the gods\u2014Descriptions of the gods in\n temples\u2014Amulets representing the gods\u2014Worship of men after\n death\u2014Animal worship\u2014Worship of groves and natural objects\u2014Fire\n regarded as holy.\n\n\nIt is impossible to tell at what time idols or representations of the\ngods came to be introduced; it is however certain from the Sagas, that\nthey were already very common in the temple before Christian\nmissionaries came to preach a new religion. At some period, and we know\nnot how the change took place, we see that likenesses were made to\nrepresent some of the gods, which were often adorned with fine clothes\nand ornaments of silver and gold, and as a rule stood on an elevation or\npedestal, which also seems to have served as an altar.[273] Occasionally\nthey were besmeared with fat, possibly to give them a bright appearance.\n\nThere must have been many idols representing different persons who were\nworshipped besides the Asar, as we find that Thorgerd H\u00f6rdabrud was also\nrepresented.\n\nIn the great temple in M\u0153ri, in Norway, all the gods were seated on\nchairs, and the idol of Thor was magnificently adorned with precious\nmetal. This god was also in the temple belonging to Hakon and Gudbrand\nin Gudbrandsdal.\n\n\n\u201cThen they (Fridthjof and Bj\u00f6rn) heard that Beli\u2019s sons were in Baldr\u2019s\nhagi at the _disabl\u00f3t_;[274] they went up there, and asked Hallvard and\nAsmund to damage all ships small and large which were near; and so they\ndid. They went to the door in Baldr\u2019s hagi; Fridthjof wanted to go in;\nBj\u00f6rn told him to be wary, but he wanted to go alone. Fridthjof asked\nhim to stay outside and keep watch. Then Fridthjof went in, and saw that\nfew people were in the _disar-hall_. The kings were at the _disabl\u00f3t_\nand sat drinking; there was fire on the floor, and their wives sat at\nthe fireside and warmed the gods, and some besmeared them with grease\nand wiped them with a cloth\u201d (Fridthjof\u2019s Saga, 9).\n\n\nWhen Sigmund was ready to start for an expedition to avenge his father\u2014\n\n\n\u201cThe Jarl (Hakon) went out with him and asked, \u2018What belief hast thou?\u2019\nSigmund answered, \u2018I believe in my might and strength.\u2019 The Jarl\nreplied, \u2018It must not be so; thou must seek for help where I put all my\ntrust, which is in Thorgerd H\u00f6rdabrud. Let us go to her, and try to get\nluck for thee from her.\u2019 Sigmund told him to do as he liked; they went\nto the woods, and then, by a little by-path, to an open space in the\nforest where there was a house with a fence around it; this house was\nvery fine, and the carvings were ornamented with gold and silver. Hakon\nand Sigmund entered with a few men; there were many gods, and so many\nglass-windows, that there was no shadow anywhere. A splendidly dressed\nwoman was in the inner part of the house opposite the entrance. The Jarl\nthrew himself down, and lay long before her feet; then he rose and told\nSigmund that they must make her some sacrifice, and put silver on the\nstool before her. \u2018But as a mark that she will accept, I want her to let\nloose the ring she wears on her arm; thou, Sigmund, wilt get luck from\nthat ring.\u2019 The Jarl took hold of the ring, but it seemed to Sigmund\nthat she clenched her fist and he did not get it. He threw himself down\na second time before her, and Sigmund saw that he wept; he rose, and\ntook hold of the ring, which then was loose, and gave it to Sigmund, who\npromised not to part with the ring\u201d (F\u00e6reyinga Saga, ch. 23).\n\n\nWhen Hakon Jarl, after having been baptized in Denmark, had again\nadopted the practice of the pagan religion,\n\n\n\u201cHe heard of a temple which was the largest in Gautland, while it was\nheathen. In that temple were one hundred gods. Hakon took all the\nproperty which was in it. The men who guarded the temple and the\nsacrificing-place fled, while some of them were slain; Hakon went back\nto his ships with the property and burnt and destroyed all that he met\nwith on the way, and had very much property when he came down. While he\nwas making this ravage in Gautland, Ottar Jarl, who ruled over a great\npart of Gautland, heard of it; he quickly started and gathered all the\nland host against Hakon Jarl, and attacked him. They at once began the\nbattle; Hakon was overpowered, and at last fled with his men, and went\nto Norway. Thereafter Ottar Jarl summoned a _Thing_, and declared at it\nthat Hakon should be called _varg-i-veum_ (wolf in the holy place),\nbecause, said he, no man had done worse deeds, for he had destroyed the\nhighest temple in Gautland, and wrought many other evil deeds; that no\none knew any example of such things, and that wherever he went he should\nhave that name\u201d (J\u00f3msvikinga Saga, ch. 12).\n\n\n\u201cKing Olaf Tryggvason (995\u20131000) went to Thrandheim to christianize the\nb\u0153ndr; they agreed that he should go into their temple and observe their\ncustoms. He went into the temple, with a few of his men and some of the\nb\u0153ndr. They were all unarmed except the king, who had a staff ornamented\nwith gold in his hand. As they entered there was no lack of carved\nidols: Thor sat in the middle, for he was most worshipped; he was large\nand ornamented all over with gold and silver; he sat in a splendid\nchariot, to which were harnessed two very well-made wooden he-goats.\nBoth the chariot and the he-goats rested on wheels, and the rope around\ntheir horns was of twisted silver. All was made with wonderful skill\u201d\n(Flateyjarb\u00f3k i., p. 319).\n\n\nVotive offerings of jewels and other valuable objects have been made in\ntemples and churches in all lands and ages, and to this day the practice\nholds in some Roman and Greek Catholic countries.\n\nThe use of small images as amulets by the Northmen is shown by K\u00e1lf\u2019s\nanswer when asked by the King (Olaf Tryggvason) where Halfred was.\n\n\n\u201c\u2018He probably still adheres to his custom of sacrificing secretly; he\nhas the image of Thor made of a tooth in his purse, and too little is\ntold to thee, lord, about him, and thou canst not see how he really is.\u2019\nThe King asked them to call Halfred that he might answer for himself.\nHalfred came. The King said, \u2018Is it true of thee, that thou\nsacrificest?\u2019 \u2018It is not true, lord,\u2019 answered Halfred; \u2018now search my\npurse; here no trick is possible, even if I had wanted to use one.\u2019\nNothing of the kind was found with him\u201d (Olaf Tryggvason\u2019s Saga).\n\n\n\u201cWhen King Olaf (Tryggvason) had been a short while in Thrandheim he\nheard a rumour that some men in Thrandheim still kept up heathendom, and\nthat the idol of Frey stood there unbroken, and that those men who were\nthere sacrificed to the idol. When he heard this he was displeased, and\nat the time he got these evil tidings he was at a feast. There were also\nsome men from Thrandheim with him. He accused them of sacrificing to\nFrey as some witnesses had told him, and as they knew that they were not\nguiltless they did not deny it boldly, but would not acknowledge it. He\nsaid: \u2018It will be seen how much of your words is true, and I will try it\nin this way\u2014I command you to break the idol of Frey, to which I am told\nyou sacrifice, and if you will not do that I believe that the accusation\nI bring against you is true.\u2019 They answered: \u2018We will not break the idol\nof Frey, for we have served him long, and it has helped us well.\u2019 He\nsaid: \u2018I and my men will break it though you forbid it.\u2019 They answered:\n\u2018Certainly we will forbid and hinder the destruction of Frey, though we\nexpect that he will valiantly defend himself and help us if we follow\nhim boldly, for he has more power than thou thinkest.\u2019 He said: \u2018This\nshall be tried. You shall defend Frey and I will attack him with God\u2019s\ngrace and the help of good men. Let him then defend himself if he is\nable. To-morrow we shall hold a _Thing_ where I appoint. I will take\nFrey there and judge him boldly, and slay him, and do the good for you\nwhich God teaches me, if you will leave your false belief.\u2019 They did not\nthink this very advisable, but saw it had to be as the king wished. They\nwent to their ships and rowed in the fjord and strove with both sails\nand oars. The luck of the king was stronger than the witchcraft of Frey\nand the evil belief of those who followed him, and therefore it happened\nas the best one (God) wished, and the king\u2019s ship went much faster and\nhe got first to the temple. When he came ashore his men saw some stud\nhorses near the road which they said belonged to Frey. The king mounted\na stallion and let others take the geldings, and they rode to the\ntemple. He alighted from the stallion, went into the temple, and struck\ndown the gods from their altars. Then he took Frey under his arm and\ncarried him out to the horse, and shut up the temple. He rode with Frey\nto the meeting and came before those summoned. His land-tent was\npitched, and he waited there. Now the men of Thrandheim came to the\ntemple and opened it and went in. They saw that Frey had disappeared and\nthe other gods were maimed, and they knew for certain that the king had\ncaused this. They went to the meeting. When they had come there the king\nspoke mostly of things connected with the rule of the land and the laws.\nHe then sent men to his tent and bad them carry Frey out, and when he\nwas brought to the king the king took him and set him up and said: \u2018Do\nyou know this man?\u2019 They answered: \u2018We know him.\u2019 \u2018Who is he then?\u2019 said\nthe king. \u2018One whom thou dost not know; he is Frey, our god.\u2019 He said:\n\u2018What good can Frey do, that you think it needful or a great necessity\nto believe in him?\u2019 They answered: \u2018We thought him very powerful until\nwithin a few years.\u2019 \u2018Why is he less powerful now?\u2019 said the king. They\nanswered: \u2018Because he is now angry with us, which thou causest, for\nsince thou didst tell us to believe in another god, and we partly\nfollowed thy persuasions, he thinks we have forsaken him, and therefore\nwill not take any care of us.\u2019 He then said, as if in mockery or jest:\n\u2018It is unfortunate that Frey is angry with you, but in what way did he\nbefore show the power which you now miss?\u2019 They answered: \u2018He often\nspoke with us and foretold future things, and gave us good years and\npeace.\u2019 He said: \u2018I maintain that Frey has not spoken with you, but the\ndevil himself.\u2019 ... He took a large axe and went to Frey, and said: \u2018Now\nI will try, Frey, if thou canst talk and answer me.\u2019 Frey was silent.\n\u2018If thou,\u2019 said the king, \u2018canst not or wilt not, then may the one who\nis in thee, and has long strengthened thee, answer.\u2019 ... Frey was\nsilent. The king said: \u2018Still I speak to thee, Frey; if thou canst give\nto men strength or power, then spare it not, and do what thou art able\nto do, and if thou sleepest, awake and defend thee, for now I will\nattack thee.\u2019 He raised his hand and cut off Frey\u2019s hand, but he did not\nmove. Then he struck one blow after the other until he had cut asunder\nthe whole idol....\u201d (Flateyjarb\u00f3k, I. Olaf Tryggvason).\n\n\nThe gods were not the only beings worshipped, for we have some examples\nof men being worshipped after their death.\n\n\n\u201cOlaf Geirstada-alf had a dream, at which he was much surprised, and\nwhich he would not tell when asked. He then summoned a _Thing_ from all\nhis realm, which was held at Geirstadir. The king asked the people to\nfinish their cases, and afterwards he would make known why he had\nsummoned them, as many might think that there was little reason for it.\n\u2018I will tell my dream here,\u2019 said he. \u2018It seemed to me that a large\nblack and fierce-looking bull entered the land from the east; it went\nabout the whole realm. It seemed that so many men fell before its\nbreath, that only half were left. Finally it killed my hird.\u2019 He asked\nthem to explain it, for he knew it must signify something. They answered\nthat he himself could guess best what it meant. He added: \u2018There have\nlong been peace and good seasons in this kingdom, but many more people\nthan it could sustain. The bull of which I dreamt is probably a\nforeboding of a sickness which will begin in the eastern part of this\nland, and cause many deaths. My hird will be attacked last, and it is\nmost probable that I shall follow, for I cannot, more than others,\nsurvive my destined death-day. Now this dream is explained, and it will\nprove to be true. I advise the multitude here assembled to throw up a\nlarge mound out on the cape, and make a fence across it higher up, so\nthat no cattle can go thither. Into the mound let every man of\nprominence put half a mark of silver to be buried with him. Before the\ndisease ceases, I shall be placed in the mound. I warn all not to behave\nlike some who worship by sacrifice, after their death, those in whom\nthey trusted while alive, for I think dead men can do nothing useful. It\nmay also happen that those who are worshipped will be suddenly\nbewitched. I think the same evil spirits (_v\u0153ttir_) sometimes do useful,\nsometimes harmful things. I fear much that a famine will come in the\nland after I have been _mounded_, and nevertheless we shall be\nworshipped and afterwards, bewitched in spite of ourselves.\u2019 It happened\nas King Olaf said, and according to his explanation of the dream. The\ndisease came before it was expected, many died, and all men of any\nprominence were laid in the mound; for King Olaf immediately sent men to\nmake an exceedingly large mound, and the people made the fence according\nto his advice. It also happened that the hird died last and was _mound\nlaid_. At last Olaf died, and was quickly laid among his men with much\nproperty and the mound was closed. Then fewer people died. Bad seasons\nand famine followed. It was then resolved to offer sacrifice to King\nOlaf for good seasons, and they called him Geirstada-alf\u201d (Flateyjarb\u00f3k\nii. c. 6).\n\n\n\u201cThere was a king named Godmund in J\u00f6tunheim; his farm was called Grund,\nand the _herad_ (district) in which it was situated Gl\u00e6sisvellir. He was\na powerful man and old, as well as all his men, and lived for so many\ngenerations that people believed Odains Akr (the land of the undying) to\nbe in his realm. The place is so healthy that sickness and old age\nvanish from every man who comes there, and nobody can die there. It is\nsaid that after the death of Godmund, men worshipped him and called him\ntheir god. King Godmund had a son, H\u00f6fund, a seer and a wise man; he was\nmade judge over all the adjoining lands; he never gave a wrong judgment;\nnobody dared or needed to doubt his judgment\u201d (Hervara Saga, c. 1).\n\n\n\u201cTh\u00f3r\u00f3lf Smj\u00f6r (butter, because he said Iceland was so fertile that\nbutter dripped from every blade of grass) was the son of Thorstein\nSkrofa, son of Grim, who was worshipped after his death on account of\nhis popularity and called Kamban\u201d (Landnama i., ch. 14).\n\n\n_Animal Worship._\u2014The worship of animals and birds seems to have\nsometimes taken place.\n\nOnce some men went to Eystein and told him that a large host had come\ninto his realm so hard to deal with that it had devastated all the land,\nand left no house standing.\n\n\n\u201cWhen Eystein heard these tidings he thought he knew who these vikings\nwere. He sent an _arrow-message_ all over his realm and summoned all who\nwere willing to help him and could wield a shield. \u2018Let us take with us\nthe cow Sibilja, our god, and let her run in front, and I believe that,\nas before, they will not be able to stand her bellowing. I urge you all\nto valiantly drive away this large and evil host.\u2019 This was done, and\nSibilja let loose; Ivar saw her coming, and heard her fierce bellowing;\nhe bade all the host make a great noise both with weapons and war-cries,\nlest they should hear the voice of the evil beast which went against\nthem. Ivar told his hearers to carry him forward as far as they could,\nand when the cow came at them to throw him on her, and then either he or\nshe should die; and to take a large tree and cut it into the form of a\nbow, and also bring him arrows; this strong bow was now brought, and the\nlarge arrows he had ordered, which were not manageable by any other.\nIvar then urged every one to do his best. Their host went onward with\ngreat rushing and tumult, and Ivar was carried in front of their ranks.\nThe bellowing of Sibilja sounded so loud that they heard it as well as\nif they had been silent and stood still; they were so startled that all,\nexcept the brothers, wanted to fight among themselves. When this wonder\nwas going on, those who carried Ivar saw that he drew his bow as if it\nwere a weak elm twig, and they thought he was going to draw his arrows\nbeyond the point.[275] They heard his bowstring sound louder than they\nhad ever heard before; they saw that his arrows flew as swiftly as if he\nhad shot with the strongest cross-bow, and so straight that one arrow\nwent into each eye of Sibilja; and she stumbled and fell down on her\nhead, and her bellowing was much more than before. When she came at them\nhe bid them to throw him on her, and he was as light to them as a little\nchild, for they were not very near to the cow when they threw him; he\ncame down on the back of Sibilja, and became as heavy as if a rock fell\non her, and every bone in her was broken and she was killed.\n\n\u201cAlthough the sons of Ragnar were valiant, they could not stand both an\noverwhelming force of men and witchcraft; nevertheless they made a stout\nresistance, and fought like warriors with great renown. Eirik and Agnar\nwere in the front that day, and often went through the ranks of King\nEystein, but Agnar fell\u201d (Ragnar Lodbrok\u2019s Saga).\n\n\n\u201cKing Olaf was at a feast in \u00d6gvaldsnes. One evening there came to the\nfarm an old man, very wise in talk, one-eyed, with a hood low down over\nhis face; he could tell of every country. He began to talk with the\nking, who liked it very much and asked about many things, but he was\nable to answer any question, and the king did not go to bed for a long\ntime that night. Then the king asked if he knew who \u00d6gvald was, after\nwhom the b\u0153r and the ness (cape) were named. The guest said he had been\na king and a great warrior, and had worshipped a cow more than anything\nelse, and taken it with him wherever he went, as he thought it wholesome\nto drink its milk. \u00d6gvald fought against a king called Varin, and fell\nin the battle; he was _mounded_ there a short way from the b\u0153r and the\nbautastones raised, which stand there still. In another place near to\nthis b\u0153r the cow was _mounded_\u201d (Olaf Tryggvason\u2019s Saga, c. 71).\n\n\n\u201cFloki Vilgerdarson, a great Viking, made himself ready in Rogaland to\nsearch for Snow-land (Iceland). He made a large sacrifice to the three\nravens, which were to show him the way. They sailed to the Faroes, and\nthen put to sea with the three ravens, to which sacrifice had been made\nin Norway; when the first was let loose it flew in the direction of the\nstern; the second rose into the air, and came back to the ship; the\nthird flew in front of the prow in the direction in which they found the\nland.\n\n\u201cThey landed at the place called Vatnsfjord, in Breidifjord. The fjord\nwas so full of fish that they neglected to gather hay on account of the\nfishing, and during the winter therefore all their cattle died. The\nspring was rather cold there, and Floki went up on a mountain on the\nnorth side of the fjord, and on the other side saw a fjord filled with\nice. Therefore they called the land Iceland\u201d (Landnama i., c. 2).\n\n\nNatural objects, such as groves and the sacrificing stone, were\nworshipped, and no one was allowed to look at Helgafell (a holy\nmountain) before he had washed himself in the morning, and no cattle\nwere to be killed there.\n\n\n\u201cEyvind, the son of Lodin, settled in the valley of Flatey (his land\nextending) as far as Gunnsteinar (Gunn-rocks), which he worshipped.\u201d\n\n\u201cThorir Snepil took up the whole of Fnj\u00f3skadal to Odeila, and dwelt at\nLund (grove); he worshipped the grove\u201d (Landnama iii., ch. 17).\n\n\n\u201cHord\u2019s brother-in-law Indridi wished to slay the bondi Thorstein\nGullknapr (gold-button), and waited for him on the way to his\nsacrificing house, whither he was wont to go. When Thorstein came, he\nentered the sacrificing house and fell on his face before the stone he\nworshipped, which stood there, and then he spoke to it. Indridi stood\noutside the house; he heard this sung in the stone:\u2014\n\n Thou hast hither\n For the last time\n With death-fated feet\n Trodden the ground;\n Before the sun shines,\n The hard Indridi\n Will justly reward thee\n For thy evil doings.\n\n\u201cThorstein went out and home; Indridi distinctly saw him going, and told\nhim not to run so fast. He went in front of him, and at once struck him\nwith the sword of Soti under the chin so that his head flew off\u201d (H\u00f6rd\u2019s\nSaga, c. 37).\n\n\n\u201cOn the ness stands a mountain, which he (Th\u00f3r\u00f3lf Mostrarskegg) held in\nsuch reverence that no one was allowed to look on it unwashed, and\nnothing was to be killed on it, neither men nor cattle. He called it\nHelgafell (holy mountain), and he believed he would go thither when he\ndied, as well as all his kinsmen on the ness. On the point at which Thor\nhad landed he made the place for all judgments, and there established a\n_herad-thing_ (a _Thing_ for the district). This place was so holy that\nhe would not allow the field to be defiled in any manner\u201d (Eyrbyggja, c.\n4).\n\n\nFire seems to have been looked upon as holy; and it was sometimes the\npractice to ride round the land with fire, or to throw a burning arrow,\nso as to signify ownership.\n\n\n\u201cJ\u00f6rund godi (temple-priest), son of Hrafn Heimski, settled west of\nFlj\u00f3t, where it is now called Svertingsstadir; there he raised a large\ntemple. A small piece of land lay unsettled east of Flj\u00f3t, between\nKross\u00e1 (river) and J\u00f6ldustein; J\u00f6rund went with fire around this, and\nmade it the property of the temple\u201d (Landnama v., c. 3).\n\n\n\u201cOnund the wise took up land in the valley east of Merkigil. When Eirik\n(from Goddalir) wanted to settle in the valley west of it, Onund threw\nsacrificing-rods to ascertain when Eirik would come and take up the\nland. Onund then forestalled him, and shot with a burning arrow across\nthe river, and thus took possession of the land west of it and dwelt on\nit\u201d (Landnama iii., c. 8).\n\n\nThe chief Blundketil was burnt in his house by his foes. When the chief\nTungu-Odd heard of it he rode to the place with the son of the burnt\nchief.\n\n\n\u201cOdd rode to a house which was not quite burnt down. He stretched out\nhis hand and pulled a rafter of birch-wood out of the house, and then\nrode against the sun (from west to east) round the houses with the\nburning brand and said: \u2018Here I settle on this land, for I do not see\nany homestead; may the witnesses present hear it. He then whipped his\nhorse and rode away\u201d (H\u0153nsa Thori\u2019s Saga, c. 9).\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XXIV.\n RELIGION.\u2014THE NORNIR AND VALKYRIAS.\n\n The shaping of man\u2019s future at his birth\u2014The three Nornir\u2014Their\n dwelling-place\u2014Their kin\u2014Good and Evil Nornir\u2014They water the ash\n Yggdrasil\u2014The maids of Odin\u2014They determine the issue of\n battle\u2014Choose the warriors for Valhalla\u2014Figurative names\u2014They ride\n through the air\u2014Their appearance\u2014They help warriors in\n battle\u2014Their sojourn among men\u2014The first and second songs of\n Helgi.\n\n\nIt was believed by the Northmen that the future life of all men was\nshaped at their birth by genii called _Nornir_, who preordained the\nfates of men and all that happened in the world. The gods themselves\nseem to have been under their control.\n\nThere were three Nornir, called _Urd_, the past; _Verdandi_, the\npresent; and _Skuld_, the future, they dwelt by Urd\u2019s well, situated at\nthe foot of the ash Yggdrasil, whose roots they watered with their\nwisdom and the experience of the past:[276] they spun the threads of\nfate at the birth of every child, and measured the boundaries of his\ndoings, and the days of his life.[277]\n\nThe names of these three Nornir were to those men of old the embodiment\nand philosophy of life. They could not have existed without their\nfathers before them, hence Urd was the symbol of the great past.\n\nVerdandi, the present, symbolised the present life itself, consequently\nwas closely connected with Urd.\n\nSkuld, the future, represented the growth, the shooting forward, and was\nan inseparable part of the triad.\n\n\n\u201cThere stands a fine hall under the ash, near the well, and from that\nhall come three maidens, who are named Urd, Verdandi, and Skuld. These\nforecast the lives of men, and are called Nornir.\u201d\n\n\nIn Vafthr\u00fadnismal, Odin asks Vafthr\u00fadnir\u2014\n\n Much have I travelled,\n Much have I tried,\n Many powers have I known;\n Who are the maidens\n That soar over the sea;\n The wise-minded ones travel.\n\nIn Voluspa, Heid the sybil, in her vision\u2014\n\n Thence come three maidens,[278]\n Knowing many things,\n Out of the hall\n Which stands under the tree;\n One was called Urd,\n Another Verdandi,\n The third Skuld;\n They carved on wood tablets,\n They chose lives,\n They laid down laws\n For the children of men,\n They chose the fates of men.\n They disturbed the peace of the golden age of the gods.\n\n The Asar met,\n Who raised on the Idav\u00f6ll[279]\n Altars and high temples;\n They laid hearths,\n They wrought wealth,\n They shaped tongs,\n And made tools.\n\n They played chess on the grass-plot;\n They were cheerful;\n They did not lack\n Anything of gold\n Until three\n Very mighty\n Thurs maidens came\n From J\u00f6tunheim.\n\n\n\u201cBut there are other Nornir who come to every one that is born, to shape\nhis life. Some are of the kindred of the gods, others of Alfar kin, and\nsome of Dvergar kin\u201d (Gylfaginning, c. 15).\n\n\n _Vafthr\u00fadnir._\n\n Three great rivers\n Fall over the field\n Of the maidens of _M\u00f6gthrasir_.\n They are the only destinies\n That are in the world,\n Though they dwell with J\u00f6tnar.\n\nIn time the number of Nornir seems to have increased.\n\nIn Fafnism\u00e1l, Sigurd asks the following question of Fafnir:\u2014\n\n _Sigurd._\n\n Tell me, Fafnir,\n As thou art said to be wise\n And know many things well,\n Who are the maidens\n That are helping in need\n And deliver mothers of children?\n\n _Fafnir._\n\n Very different born\n I think the Nornir are;\n They own not kin together,\n Some are Asar-born,\n Others are Alfar-born,\n Others are daughters of Dvalin.[280]\n\n (Fafnism\u00e1l.)\n\nAtli says to his wife Gudr\u00fan:\u2014\n\n The Nornir have just\n Roused me\n With forebodings of evil;\n I want thee to read them.\n Methought that thou,\n Gudr\u00fan, Gj\u00faki\u2019s daughter,\n Didst thrust me through\n With a poisoned sword.\n\n _Gudr\u00fan._\n\n It forebodes fire\n When one dreams of iron;\n The anger of woman\n Means pride and sorrow;\n I shall have to burn thee[281]\n Against sickness,\n Heal thee and help thee,\n Though I hate thee.\n\n (Gudr\u00fanarkvida, 11.)\n\n\n\u201cGangleri said: \u2018If the Nornir rule the fates of men, they deal them out\nvery unevenly, for some have a happy and rich life, while others have\nlittle property or praise\u2014some a long life, some a short one.\u2019 H\u00e1r\nreplied: \u2018Good Nornir, and of good kindred, forecast a happy life; but\nwhen men have evil fates, the evil Nornir cause it\u2019\u201d (Gylfaginning, c.\n15).\n\n\nThe water with which the Nornir watered the ash Yggdrasil was considered\nholy.\n\n\n\u201cFurther it is told that the Nornir who live at Urd\u2019s well take water\nout of it every day, and also the clay which lies round it, and pour it\nover the ash-tree that the branches may not dry up or grow rotten. This\nwater is so holy that everything which comes into the well grows white\nlike the film called _skjall_ which lies next to the eggshell. The dew\nwhich falls thence on the earth is called honey-dew, and the bees feed\non it. Two birds live in Urd\u2019s well, called swans, and from them has\nsprung the kin of birds with this name\u201d (Gylfaginning, c. 16).\n\n\nThe Valkyrias were the maids of Odin, and were sent by him to determine\nthe issue of battle, and choose those who were to fall and dwell with\nhim in Valhalla. The belief in Valkyrias appears to have been of very\ngreat antiquity, and is one of the most striking, poetical, and grand\nfeatures of the Asa faith. In no record of the religions that have come\ndown to us do we find anything that would make us suppose that such\nbelief ever existed in other parts of the world, and it was well adapted\nto the creed of a people among whom war and the conquest of other lands\nwere leading features.\n\nHeid in Voluspa gives the names of the Valkyrias and in her version we\nlearn that\n\n She saw Valkyrias\n Come from far off,\n Ready to ride\n To Goth-thj\u00f3d.[282]\n Skuld held a shield,\n Sk\u00f6gul was next,\n Gunn, Hild, G\u00f6ndul,\n And Geirsk\u00f6gul;\n Now are numbered\n The maidens of Herjan,[283]\n The Valkyrias ready\n To ride over the ground.\n\nSo we see that originally the number of Valkyrias belonging to Odin was\nonly six, afterwards their number increased. Sometimes they appear nine\ntogether, at others treble that number.\n\nOthers are mentioned in Grimnismal. Odin, speaking to Geirrod, says\u2014\n\n \u201cI want Hrist and Mist\n To carry the horn to me;\n Skeggj\u00f6ld and Sk\u00f6gul,\n Hild and Thr\u00fad,\n Hl\u00f6kk and Herfj\u00f6tur,\n G\u00f6ll and Geirah\u00f6d,\n Randgrid and R\u00e1dgrid,\n And Reginleif,\n They carry ale to the Einherjar.\u201d[284]\n\n\n\u201cHj\u00f6rvard and Sigrlin had a large and handsome son. He was silent, and\nno name had been fastened to him.[285] He sat on a mound, and saw nine\nValkyrjas riding, and one of them seemed the foremost\u2014she sang:\u2014\n\n Late wilt thou, Helgi,\n Rule over rings[286]\n On the Rodulsvellir,[287]\n If thou art ever silent.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe daughter of King Eylimi was Svava; she was a Valkyrja and rode over\nair and sea; she gave this name to Helgi, and often afterwards sheltered\nhim in battles\u201d (Helga Kvida Hj\u00f6rvardssonar).\n\n\nThe following among other poetical and figurative names are given to the\nValkyrias:\u2014The maidens of victory, the goddesses of the fight, the\ngraspers of spears, the witches of the shield, the maidens of the slain,\nthe exultant ones, the strong one, the entangling one, the silent one,\nthe storm-raisers. They are mentioned as riding through the air, over\nthe sea, and amid the lightning, helmet-clad, with bloody brynjas, and\nglittering spears; the spear which carried death and victory being the\nemblem of Odin. When their horses shake their manes, the froth which\ncomes from their bitted mouths drops as dew into the valleys, and hail\nfalls from their nostrils into the woods.\n\nThe slain were called _Val_ (chosen), and belonged to Odin. From the\nword _Val_ are derived the names of Valkyrias, Valf\u00f6dr (the father of\nthe slain), Valhalla (the hall of the slain), Val\u00f3l (field of battle,\nfield of the slain), and probably also of those birds of prey which\nafter the battle visited the field of action.\n\n_Skuld_, the youngest of the three Nornir, who personified the future,\nfollowed the Valkyrias, probably in order to witness the decrees of fate\ngiven to men at their birth.\n\n\n\u201cThere are others that have to serve in Valh\u00f6ll, carry drink and take\ncare of the table-dressing and the beer cups. These are called\nValkyrias; Odin sends them to every battle; they choose death for men\nand rule victory. Gunn and R\u00f3ta and the youngest Norn, Skuld, always\nride to choose the slain and rule _man-slayings_\u201d (Gylfaginning, ch.\n36).\n\n\nIt was believed that during a battle warriors sometimes saw Valkyrias\ncoming to their help: how grand and beautiful must have been the vision\ncreated in their mind by their faith in them, as they thought they saw\nthem riding on their fiery steeds, and sweeping over the battle-field,\nby land or by sea. It is hard to realise a grander picture for a warrior\nto behold.\n\nHelgi saw:\u2014\n\n Three times nine maidens,\n But one rode foremost\n A white maiden under helmet;\n Their horses trembled,\n From their manes fell\n Dew into the deep dales,\n Hail on the lofty woods;\n Thence come good seasons among men,\n All that I saw was loathsome to me.\n\n [Helga Kvida Hj\u00f6rvardssonar.]\n\nSometimes the Valkyrias came to earth and remained among men.\n\n\n\u201cNidud was a king in Sweden. He had two sons and one daughter, whose\nname was B\u00f6dvild. There were three brothers, sons of the Finna-king, one\nSlagfinn, the other Egil, and the third V\u00f6lund; they ran on snow-shoes,\nand hunted wild beasts. They came to the Ulfdal, where there is a lake\ncalled Ulfsj\u00e1r (Wolf\u2019s lake), and there made themselves a house. Early\none morning they found at the shore of the lake three women who were\nspinning flax, near them lay their swan-skins; they were Valkyrias. Two\nof them were daughters of King Hl\u00f6dver (Louis), Hladgunn Svanhvit\n(Svan-white), and Herv\u00f6r Alvitr (All-wise); and the third \u00d6lr\u00fan,\ndaughter of Kjar of Valland. The brothers took them to their house. Egil\ngot \u00d6lr\u00fan; Slagfinn, Svan-white; and V\u00f6lund, All-wise. There they dwelt\nfor seven winters; after which the women went to visit battle-fields,\nand did not return. Then Egil went on snow-shoes to look for \u00d6lr\u00fan, and\nSlagfinn for Svan-white, while V\u00f6lund remained in Ulfdal. He was the\nmost skilled smith that is spoken of in ancient Sagas. King Nidud had\nhim captured, as is told in the song\u201d (V\u00f6lundar Kvida).\n\n\nHelga Kvida gives an account of how Sigrun, a Valkyria, betrothed\nherself to Helgi, and of how she comes with other Valkyrias to protect\nhim. Their appearance is thus described:\u2014\n\n Then gleams flashed\n From Logafj\u00f6ll,[288]\n And from those gleams\n Came lightning;\n The high ones[289] rode helmet-clad\n Down on the Himinvangar;\n Their brynjas were\n Blood-bespattered,\n And from their spears\n Sprang rays of light.\n\n Early (in the day) asked\n From the wolf-lair\n The _d\u00f6gling_ (the king) about this\n The southern disir[290]\n If they would home\n With hildings[291]\n That night go;\n There had been clang of bowstrings.\n\n But from the horse\n The daughter of H\u00f6gni (Sigrun)\n Hushed the clatter of shields;\n She said to the king,\n I think we have\n Other work to do\n Than drink beer\n With the ring-breaker. (Helgi)\n\nIn the second song of this poem we learn the mode of thought, the\nreligious ideas and customs of the people of the North, and glean some\nnew facts; that men and women were sometimes thought to be born again;\nthat Helgi derived his name from Helgi Hj\u00f6rvardson, and that he was\nbrought up by Hagal. His foes, and not the sons of Hunding, search for\nhim, but he escapes by dressing himself in the garb of a bondwoman. This\nepisode of his life and the following fights must have taken place after\nthose of the first song. The connection between the two poems is\nsomewhat obscure.\n\n\n\u201cGranmar was a powerful king who lived at Svarinshang; he had many sons,\namong them H\u00f6dbrod, Gudmund, and Starkad. H\u00f6dbrod was at an appointed\nmeeting[292] of kings; he betrothed himself to Sigrun,[293] daughter of\nH\u00f6gni. When she heard this she rode with Valkyrias over the sea and air\nto search for Helgi. He was then at Logafj\u00f6ll (Fire-mountains), and had\nfought against the sons of Hunding; there he slew Alf and Eyjolf,\nHjorvard and Hervard; he was very weary of the fight, and sat down at\nArastein (Eagle\u2019s stone); where Sigrun found him, threw her arms about\nhis neck and kissed him, and told him of her errand, as is related in\nthe old V\u00f6lsunga-kvida:\u2014[294]\n\n Sigrun sought\n The glad king,[295]\n She took Helgi\u2019s\n Hand in hers;\n\n She kissed and greeted\n The king under his helmet;\n Then did his mind\n Turn to the maiden.\n\n She said she loved\n With all her mind\n The son of Sigmund\n Ere she had seen him.\n\n I was to H\u00f6dbrod\n In the host betrothed,\n But another chief\n I wanted to have.\n\n Yet I fear, chief,\n The anger of my kinsmen;\n I have broken\n The _mind-marriage_ of my father.[296]\n\n The maiden of H\u00f6gni\n Spoke not against her mind;\n She said she would\n Have the love of Helgi.\n\n _Helgi._\n\n Do not care for\n The wrath of H\u00f6gni,\n Nor for the ill-will\n Of thy kin;\n Thou wilt, young maiden,\n Live with me;\n Thou, good maiden, hast kinsmen\n Whom I do not fear.\n\n\u201cHelgi then gathered a large fleet, and sailed to Frekastein (Wolf\u2019s\nstone). At sea they met with a dangerous tempest, and lightning flashed\ndown on the ships. They saw nine Valkyrias riding in the air, and\nrecognised Sigrun; then the storm abated, and they came safely to the\nland. The sons of Granmar sat on a rock when the ships sailed towards\nthe shore.\n\n\u201cGudmund rode home with news of war; then the sons of Granmar gathered a\nhost. Many kings came there. There were H\u00f6gni, the father of Sigrun, and\nhis sons Bragi and Dag. There was a great battle, and the sons of\nGranmar fell, with all their chiefs, except Dag, son of H\u00f6gni, whose\nlife was spared, and who promised on oath to follow the V\u00f6lsungs. Sigrun\nwent among the slain, and found H\u00f6dbrod near death\u2019s door. She sang:\u2014\n\n Sigrun of Sevafj\u00f6ll[297]\n Will not,\n King H\u00f6dbrod,\n Fall into thy arms;\n Gone is the life\n Of Granmar\u2019s sons;\n The grey steeds[298] of j\u00f6tun-women\n Many corpses tear.\n\n\nShe met Helgi, who answered:\u2014\n\n\n All is not given to thee,\n Mighty wight;[299]\n For I say the Nornir\n Wield some power.\n\n This morning fell\n At Frekastein\n Bragi and H\u00f6gni;\n I was their slayer.\n\n\u201cHelgi married Sigrun, and they had sons; but Helgi did not live long.\nH\u00f6gni\u2019s son Dag sacrificed to Odin for revenge on his father, and Odin\nlent him his spear. Dag met his brother-in-law Helgi at Fjoturlund; he\nthrust the spear through him, Helgi fell, and Dag rode to Sevafjoll and\ntold Sigrun the tidings:\u2014\n\n Loth am I, sister,\n To tell thee the sorrow,\n For unwilling have I\n Made my sister weep;\n This morning fell\n At Fjoturlund\n The Budlung[300] who was\n The best in the world,\n And stood on\n The neck of hildings.[301]\n\n _Sigrun._\n\n Thee shall all\n Oaths harm[302]\n Which thou to Helgi\n Hast sworn\n At the bright\n Waters of Leiptr[303]\n And at the rain-cold\n Rock of the sea.\n The ship shall not move\n Which should carry thee,\n Though a fair wind to thy wish\n Blows on it.\n The horse shall not run\n Which is to run with thee,\n Though thou hast to\n Escape from thy foes.\n\n The sword shall not bite\n Which thou drawest,\n Except when it sings\n About thy own head;\n Then were the death\n Of Helgi avenged,\n If thou wert an outlaw\n Out in the forest,\n Lacking property\n And all enjoyment,\n And hadst not food\n Unless thou tearest corpses.\n\n _Dag._\n\n Mad art thou, sister,\n And out of thy wits\n As thou invokest curses\n On thy brother;\n Odin alone\n Causes all the ills,\n For between kinsmen\n Runes of strife he bore.\n\n Thy brother offers thee\n Red rings,[304]\n All Vandilsve[305]\n And Vigdalir;[306]\n Take half of my lands\n As indemnity for sorrow,\n Thou ring-adorned maiden\n And thy sons.\n\n\u201cSigrun was short-lived from grief and sorrow. It was the belief in\nolden times that men were reborn, but now it is called an old woman\u2019s\nstory. It is said that Helgi and Sigrun were born again; he was then\nnamed Helgi Haddingjaskati, and she Kara,[307] H\u00e1lfd\u00e1n\u2019s daughter, \u2018as\nis sung in the lay of Kara,[308] and she was a Valkyria.\u2019\u201d [Helgi\nHundingsbani II.]\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XXV.\n RELIGION.\u2014THE VOLVAS.\n\n Prophetic sibyls\u2014Great reputation of some Volvas\u2014Ceremonies\n attendant on their prophecies\u2014Payment to the sibyls\u2014Their\n descent\u2014Incantations\u2014Cats favourites of the sibyls.\n\n\nThe utterances of the _Volvas_ or sibyls,[309] who could tell the past\nand the future, were given to the people as coming from the gods; and by\nspecial preparations and conjurations they made men believe that they\nwere placed in such a state that they could see into the decrees of\nfate, or, as they themselves expressed it, had been informed of things\nwhich were previously secret.\n\nSome _Volvas_ had a greater reputation than others, and in time of great\ncalamity people sent for them, in order to know the decrees of impending\nfate. When the _Volva_ came a seat of honour was assigned to her, a\nseparate feast[310] prepared, and among the dishes one made of the\nvarious hearts of animals.\n\nWhen the principal question was to be answered, special preparations\nwere required. _Seid_[311] was to be performed. A _Seid-hjall_, or\nplatform consisting of a flat stone, was laid upon three or four posts,\nand women were to be found who knew how to recite or sing the so-called\nVardlokur.[312] When all this was ready, and the _Volva_ on the\nplatform, the women formed in a circle round it, and the effective song\nwas chanted while the seeress, with the strangest gesticulations, made\nher conjurations and received her revelations.[313]\n\nThe two brothers H\u00e1lfd\u00e1n and Fr\u00f3di were kings (in Denmark). Fr\u00f3di slew\nH\u00e1lfd\u00e1n, but could not find his sons Helgi and Hr\u00f3ar, and therefore\ninvited S\u0153vil jarl, who was married to their sister Sign\u00fd, to a feast,\nas Fr\u00f3di suspected that the boys were staying with him.\n\n\n\u201cA _Volva_ called Heid was there; Fr\u00f3di asked her to use her art, and\ntry what she could tell of the boys. He entertained her splendidly, and\nseated her on a high _seid-platform_. The King asked what tidings she\nsaw, \u2018for I know that many things will pass before thy eyes now, and I\nsee great luck on thee; and answer me as quickly as thou canst,\nseid-woman.\u2019 She then threw open her jaws and yawned much, and a song\ncame out of her mouth:\n\n \u2018Two are inside,\n I trust neither of\n The handsome ones\n Who sit at the fires.\u2019\n\n\u201cThe King asked: \u2018Is it the boys, or those who saved them?\u2019 She\nanswered:\n\n \u2018It is those who long\n Were in Vifilsey\n And were called there\n With the names of dogs,\n Hopp and H\u00f3.\u2019\n\n\u201cAt this moment Sign\u00fd threw a gold ring to her; she became glad at this\ngift, and now wished to change what she had told. She said: \u2018Why was\nthis so? All that I told was a lie, and now all my telling is gone\nastray.\u2019 The King said: \u2018Thou shalt be tortured to tell it.\u2019 ... He\nshook the seid-woman hard, and asked her to tell the truth, if she did\nnot want to be tortured; she yawned much, and the seid-telling was\ndifficult. She sang:\u2014\n\n \u2018I see where sit\n The sons of H\u00e1lfd\u00e1n,\n Hr\u00f3ar and Helgi,\n Both unhurt;\n They will rob\n The life of Fr\u00f3di\n\nunless they are killed soon, which will not take place;\u2019 thereupon she\nleapt down from the seid-platform, and sang:\u2014\n\n \u2018Keen are the eyes\n Of Ham and Hrani;[314]\n The high-born are\n Wonderfully bold.\u2019\n\n\n\u201cThereafter the boys ran out to the wood with great fear; their\nfoster-father Regin recognized them and was very glad. The _Volva_ had\ngiven them the good advice to run away when she ran out of the hall\nherself. The king asked men to rise and search for them. Regin\nextinguished all the lights in the hall, and each man held the other\nback, for some wished them to escape, and in this way they got into the\nwood\u201d (Hrolf Kraki\u2019s Saga, c. 3).\n\n\nThe _Volva_ Gr\u00f3a used spell-songs in order to get a whetstone out of\nThor\u2019s head.\n\n\n\u201cThe _Volva_ Gr\u00f3a, wife of \u00d6rvandil the skilled, came and sang her\nspell-songs over Thor until the whetstone got loose. When Thor felt\nthis, and had hope of getting rid of the whetstone, he wanted to reward\nGr\u00f3a for the cure, and make her glad, he told her the tidings that he\nhad waded southward across Elivagar, and carried \u00d6rvandil in a basket on\nhis back away from J\u00f6tunheimar; the proof of this was that one of his\ntoes had projected out of the basket and frozen so that Thor broke it\noff and threw it upon the heaven, and made of it the star called\n\u00d6rvandil\u2019s toe. Thor said he would soon come home. Gr\u00f3a became so glad\nthat she remembered no spell-songs, and the whetstone did not get loose,\nand still sticks in the head of Thor\u201d (Sk\u00e1ldskaparmal, c. 17).\n\n\nThe descent of the Volvas is thus described:\u2014\n\n All Volvas come from\n Vid\u00f3lf,\n All wizards from\n Vilmeid,\n All sorcerers\n From Svarth\u00f6fdi,\n All J\u00f6tnar\n From Ymir.\n\nThe Sagas give an interesting insight into the incantations and ceremony\nused by the _Volvas_.\n\n\n\u201cIngjald dwelt at Hefni, north in Halogaland. He went on warfare in the\nsummer, remaining quiet during the winter. Friendship existed between\nIngjald and Thorstein Ketilsson, and the former became the fosterer of\nIngimund Thorsteinsson.\n\n\u201cOnce at a feast, according to ancient custom, Ingjald prepared\nincantation (_seid_), that men might know their fates. There was there a\nFinn woman skilled in witchcraft. Ingimund and Grim (son of Ingjald)\ncame to the feast with a great many men. The Finn woman was placed high,\nand splendid preparations made for her; each of the men went from his\nseat to inquire of her about their fates. She told every one his fate,\nbut they did not all like it quite as well. The two foster-brothers sat\nin their seats and did not go to inquire; they had no mind for her\nprophesying. The _Volva_ said, \u2018Why do these young men not ask about\ntheir fates, for they seem to me the most noteworthy of those present?\u2019\nIngimund answered, \u2018I do not care to know my fate until it comes, and I\nthink my life does not depend on thy tongue-roots.\u2019 She replied, \u2018I\nwill, however, tell thee unasked. Thou wilt settle in a land called\nIceland; it is still to a great extent unsettled; there thou wilt become\na man of rank and grow old; many of thy kinsmen will also be famous men\nin that land.\u2019 Ingimund said, \u2018This is well told, because I have made up\nmy mind never to go to that place, and I should be a poor trader if I\nsell my many good family lands and go into deserts.\u2019 The Finn answered:\n\u2018It will happen as I tell, and it shall be a token that the image has\ndisappeared from thy purse which King Harald gave thee in Hafrsfjord,\nand it now lies on the stone ridge where thou wilt settle; a Frey of\nsilver is marked on it; when thou buildest thy farm my tale will prove\ntrue.\u2019 Ingimund said: \u2018If I should not offend my foster-father by it, I\nwould reward thee by knocking thee on the head; but because I am not an\noverbearing or fretful man, I shall not do it.\u2019 She said he need not be\nangry. Ingimund said she had brought bad luck there, and she said that\nit would be thus, whether he liked it or not. She added: \u2018The fate of\nGrim also points thither, as well as that of his brother Hr\u00f3mund, and\nboth will be great b\u0153ndr.\u2019 Next morning Ingimund searched for the image,\nbut did not find it; he thought this a bad omen. Ingjald told him to be\nmerry, and not let this affect him, or hinder his joy, saying that many\nfamous men now thought it honourable to go to Iceland, and that it was\nonly for good that he invited the Finn. Ingimund said he could not thank\nhim for this, but nevertheless their friendship would never cease\u201d\n(Vatnsd\u00e6la Saga, c. 10).\n\n\n\u201cAt that time there was a very bad season in Greenland; the men who had\ngone a-fishing had a small catch, and some had not returned. There was a\nwoman in that district (Herjolfsnes), Thorbj\u00f6rg, who was a _sp\u00e1kona_,\nand was called \u2018the little _Volva_.\u2019 She had had nine sisters, all\n_sp\u00e1konas_, but she alone was then living. It was her custom in the\nwinter to go to feasts, and those especially who wanted to know about\ntheir fate, or the season, invited her. As Thorkel was the greatest\nbondi in Herjolfsnes, it was thought he ought to know when the bad\nseason would cease. He invited the prophetess, and she was well\nreceived, as war customary with such women. A high seat was prepared for\nher, and a cushion of hen\u2019s feathers placed upon it. That evening, when\nshe came with the man sent for her, she was dressed in a blue cloak with\nstraps, set with stones down to the skirts; she wore glass beads on her\nneck, and a hood of black lambskin lined with white catskin; she had a\nknobbed staff in her hand, ornamented with brass and with stones around\nthe top; at her belt hung a large skin-bag, in which she kept the charms\nwhich she needed for her foretelling. She wore hairy calfskin shoes with\nlong thongs with large tin buttons on the ends; she had on her hands\nwhite catskin gloves with the fur inside. When she entered every one\nthought it his duty to greet her with words of respect; she received\nthis according to her liking of each of those present. Thorkel took her\nhand and led her to the seat prepared for her, and then begged of her to\nlet her eyes run over the people of the household, and over the herd,\nand over the homestead. She spoke a little of everything. The tables\nwere set in the evening; the food prepared for her was porridge made\nwith goat\u2019s milk, and the hearts of all kinds of animals which were\nthere. She had a spoon of brass and a knife of brass with a handle of\nwalrus-tusk, mounted with two rings; its point was broken off. After the\ntables were taken away, Thorkel went to her and asked how she liked the\nlooks of things there in the homestead and the behaviour of the men, and\nhow soon she would ascertain what he had asked her, which all were most\nanxious to know. She said she could not tell until the next morning,\nafter she had slept. Towards the end of the following day such\npreparations were made for her as she needed for performing the _seid_.\nShe bade them get women who knew the witchcraft songs which were used\nfor the _seid_, called _vard-lokkur_ (weird or fate songs); but such\nwomen could not be found; search was made on the farm if any one knew\nthem. Then Gudrid (the daughter of an Icelander by name Thorbj\u00f6rn, who\nhad emigrated to Greenland) said: \u2018I am neither skilled in witchcraft\nnor a prophetess, but nevertheless Halldis, my foster-mother, taught me\na poem in Iceland, which she called _vard-lokkur_.\u2019[315] \u2018Then thou art\nwise in good time,\u2019 replied Thorkel. She answered, \u2018This is the only\ncustom at which I will not assist, for I am a Christian woman.\u2019\nThorbj\u00f6rg added, \u2018It may be that thou wilt help people herewith and\nwouldst not be a lesser woman than before (and still wouldst not be\nlowered by it), and of Thorkel I will ask the things needed.\u2019 Thorkel\npressed Gudrid hard, and she consented. The women placed themselves in a\nring around the _seid-hjall_ on which Thorbj\u00f6rg sat, and Gudrid sang the\nsong so well that all present thought they had never heard a finer\nvoice. The _sp\u00e1kona_ thanked her, and said that many spirits who had\nbefore wanted to depart and give no help had now come, and found\npleasure in listening, as the song was so well sung; \u2018and many things\nwhich before were hidden from me and others are now made clear. I can\ntell thee, Thorkel, that this bad season will not last longer than this\nwinter, and that it will improve with the spring; the sickness which has\nbeen here will also be better sooner than you expect. I will at once\nreward thee Gudrid for thy help, for thy fate is now very clear to me;\nthou wilt be married very honourably here in Greenland, though thou wilt\nnot enjoy it long, for thy ways lie to Iceland, where a great and good\nfamily will spring from thee, and such bright rays shine over thy\noffspring that I have not power to see this clearly; and now farewell,\ndaughter.\u2019 Then they went to the _sp\u00e1kona_, and every man asked what he\nwished most to know. She spoke willingly, and what she did not fail much\nto prove true. Then she was called for to another farm, and went there.\nThorbj\u00f6rn was then sent, for he would not stay at home while such\nsuperstitions were performed. The weather soon improved, as Thorbj\u00f6rg\nhad told\u201d (Saga Thorfin\u2019s Karlsefnis, c. 3).[316]\n\n\nCats seem to have been special favourites with these sorceresses.\n\n\n\u201cTh\u00f3rolf Sleggja became a very unruly man; he was a thief, and in other\nrespects a very wicked man. People very much disliked his neighbourhood,\nand thought they might expect any evil from him. Though he had not many\nmen with him, he had animals which he trusted, namely, twenty cats; they\nwere all black, and exceedingly large and strongly bewitched. People\nwent to Thorstein (a chief) and told him this trouble, as the rule of\nthe _herad_ belonged to him; they said Th\u00f3rolf had stolen from many, and\ndone many other unmanly deeds. Thorstein said this was true, \u2018but it is\nnot very easy to deal with this man of Hel and his cats, and I do not\nwant to lose any of my men against them.\u2019 They answered he could\nscarcely keep his honour if he did nothing. Then Thorstein gathered men,\nas he wanted to have many with him. His brothers and his Norwegian guest\nwere with him. They went to Sleggjustadir. Th\u00f3rolf did not trouble\nhimself about this; he could never have good men with him. He went in\nwhen he saw them coming on horseback, and said: \u2018Now the guests must be\nwelcomed, and I intend my cats to do it, and I will place all of them in\nthe entrance, and it will take them long before they get in if they\ndefend the door.\u2019 Then he made them very strong with spells, and they\nlooked very fierce, mewing and rolling their eyes. J\u00f6kul (Thorstein\u2019s\nbrother) said to Thorstein: \u2018It was good advice of thine not to let this\nhuman fiend be undisturbed any longer.\u2019 They were eighteen men. Th\u00f3rolf\nsaid to himself: \u2018Now fire shall be made, and I do not care though smoke\nfollows it, for the coming of the Vatnsdal men is not likely to be\npeaceful. He put a kettle over the fire, and laid under it wool and all\nkinds of rubbish, and the house became full of smoke. Thorstein came to\nthe door and said: \u2018We ask thee to go out, Th\u00f3rolf.\u2019 He answered that\ntheir errand could not be peaceful. Then the cats at once began to whine\nand act hideously. Thorstein said: \u2018This is a wicked company.\u2019 J\u00f6kul\nanswered: \u2018Let us go in at them, and not care for these cats.\u2019 Thorstein\nsaid they should not, \u2018for it is most likely that our men will be hurt\nby all the cats and Th\u00f3rolf\u2019s weapons, for he is a great champion; I\nshould prefer that he gave himself up and walked out, for he has so much\nsmoke from the fuel that he cannot well stay in.\u2019 Th\u00f3rolf took the\nkettle off the fire and threw it on the wool-pile, and so strong a smell\ncame out that Thorstein and his men could not stand very near the door.\nThorstein said: \u2018Beware of the cats that they do not clutch you, and let\nus throw the fire into the houses.\u2019 J\u00f6kul took a large firebrand and\nthrew it into the entrance, so that the cats drew back and the door fell\nback. The wind blew on the houses and the flames were fanned up.\nThorstein said: \u2018Let us stand at the fence where the smoke is thickest\nand see what he does, for he has so much fuel that he cannot stay long.\u2019\nThorstein guessed right. Th\u00f3rolf jumped out with two chests full of\nsilver, and went with the smoke; when he came out the Norwegian was\nthere, and said, \u2018Here is the fiend running, and he looks wicked now.\u2019\nHe ran after Th\u00f3rolf down to Vatnsdal river, until they came to some\ndeep pits or fens. There Th\u00f3rolf turned round towards him, took hold of\nhim, laid him under his arm, and said: \u2018Thou triest to run now; let us\nthen both run.\u2019 He jumped into the bog and they sank, and neither came\nup again. Thorstein said: \u2018A great mishap was this that my Norwegian\nshould perish, but it is well that Th\u00f3rolf\u2019s property will be enough to\npay his wergild.\u2019 And so it was. The abode of Th\u00f3rolf was after this\ncalled Sleggjustadir, and cats were often seen there, and it was often\nthought evil to be there\u201d (Vatnsd\u00e6la, c. 28).\n\n\nMen and women with the power of foreseeing and foretelling were thought\nto be born with the same gifts as the _Volva_;[317] by foretelling evil\nthey had a great hold on the people, and received good rewards for their\nknowledge.[318]\n\n\n\u201cA woman, by name Oddbj\u00f6rg, went about the _herad_. She was merry, wise\nand foreknowing. She made it a great point that the housewives should\nreceive her well, and she told favourable things according to her\nentertainment. She came to Upsalir. Saldis received her well, and asked\nher to foretell something good about her boys. She said: \u2018These boys\nlook promising if they have luck, which I do not see.\u2019 Saldis said: \u2018I\nthink thou wilt not find the entertainment very good for this taunt.\u2019\nShe answered: \u2018Thy entertainment will not depend on this, and thou\nneedest not be so sensitive as to words.\u2019 Saldis said: \u2018Little shalt\nthou say of it if thy mind does not think it good.\u2019 She answered: \u2018I\nhave not as yet said too much, but I do not think their love to each\nother will last long.\u2019 Saldis replied, \u2018I thought I deserved other words\nfor the sake of good entertainment, and thou wilt be driven away if thou\ntellest evil foretellings.\u2019 Oddbj\u00f6rg said: \u2018I think I need not spare\nthee as thou mayest this without reason; I will not visit thee again,\nand thou mayest bear this as well as thou wilt, but I can tell thee that\nthey will carry spears of death against each other, and one thing after\nanother, worse and worse, will be caused by this in the _herad_\u2019\u201d (Viga\nGlum, c. 12).\n\n\n\u201cWhen H\u00e1kon, Pal\u2019s son, was in Sweden, he heard of a man who practised\nsorcery and foretelling, whether he used for it witchcraft or other\nthings. He became very curious to see this man, and know what he could\ntell about his fate. He went to him, and at last found him in a district\nnear the sea where he received feasts and foretold seasons and other\nthings to the bondi. When he met him he asked how he would succeed in\ngetting the realm or other luck. The wizard asked who he was, and he\ntold his name and kin, that he was a son of the daughter of H\u00e1kon,\nIvar\u2019s son. The wizard said: \u2018Why shouldst thou ask witchcraft or\nforetelling from me? Thou knowest that thy kinsmen little liked men of\nmy kind. It may be needful for thee to ask thy kinsman, Olaf the Stout,\nin whom thou trustest fully, about thy fate, but I guess that he will\nnot condescend to tell thee what thou art anxious to know, or is not so\npowerful as thou thinkest him.\u2019 H\u00e1kon answered: \u2018I will not blame him,\nfor I think it is rather my unworthiness to learn wisdom from him than\nhis incapability to teach it to me. I have come to thee because I think\nthat neither of us need envy the other as to virtue or religion.\u2019 The\nman answered: \u2018I am pleased that thou trustest fully in me, and more\nthan in the belief of thyself and thy kinsmen. It is strange with those\nwho have this belief, they fast and have vigils, and think thus to be\nable to know the things they desire, and though they do such things they\nknow less of the things they wish to know the more important they are.\nWe undergo no afflictions, and yet always know the things our friends\nthink important. Now it will be so that I will keep thee, because I see\nthou thinkest thou canst rather get truth from me than from the\npreachers of King Ingi whom he trusts fully. Thou shalt come after three\nnights, and then we shall see whether I am able to tell thee any of the\nthings thou wishest to know.\u2019 They parted, and H\u00e1kon passed three nights\nin the district, and then went to the wizard. He was alone in a house\nand sighed heavily when H\u00e1kon entered, stroked his forehead with his\nhand, and said it had taken him much trouble to know the things he\nwished to hear of; H\u00e1kon said he wanted to hear his fate. The wizard\nbegan: \u2018If thou wishest to know thy fate it is long to tell, for it is\ngreat, and many great tidings will spring from thy life and doings\u2014I see\nin my mind that thou wilt at last become sole chief over the Orkneys,\nbut it may be thou thinkest the waiting time long. I also think that thy\noffspring will rule there, and thy next journey westward to the Orkneys\nwill lead to great events when that which springs from it appears. Thou\nwilt also in thy days commit a crime which thou mayest redress or not to\nthe god in whom thou believest. Thy steps go further out into the world\nthan I can trace, though I think thou wilt rest thy bones in its\nnorthern half. Now I have told thee what I can tell thee this time, and\nthou mayest be satisfied or not with it.\u2019 H\u00e1kon answered: \u2018Much tellest\nthou if it is true, but I think it will turn out better than thou\nsayest, and maybe thou hast not seen the truth.\u2019 The wizard said he\nmight believe what he liked, but that this would take place\u201d\n(Orkneyinga, c. xxvi. p. 100).\n\n\nThe crime was the slaying of St. Magnus; and the steps out in the world,\nR\u00f6gnvald\u2019s journey to the Holy Land.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XXVI.\n RELIGION.\u2014\u00c6GIR AND RAN.[319]\n\n \u00c6gir the god of the sea\u2014His wife Ran\u2014The origin of wind and\n fire\u2014Figurative names of the sea, the wind, ice, rocks, clouds,\n hail, and rain\u2014Ran\u2019s net\u2014The nine daughters of \u00c6gir and\n Ran\u2014Superstitions connected with Ran.\n\n\n\u00c6gir seems to have been one of the earlier gods worshipped in the North\nas the god of the sea. His worship must have been deeply implanted in\nthe hearts of the people, and he was worshipped to the end of the pagan\nera. He was believed to govern the wind and the sea, and with his wife\nRan to receive all shipwrecked people. He is fabled to have lived in the\nisland of L\u00e6ss\u00f6, was the son of the J\u00f6tun Fornjot, who ruled over\nJ\u00f6tland, and had two brothers, Wind and Fire.\n\n\n\u201c\u2018How is the wind called?\u2019 \u2018The son of Fornjot, the brother of \u00c6gir and\nof the Fire.\u2019 \u2018How is the fire called?\u2019 \u2018The brother of the wind and of\n\u00c6gir\u2019\u201d (Sk\u00e1ldskaparm\u00e1l, cc. 27, 28).\n\n\n\u201cThen Gangleri said, \u2018Whence comes the wind? He is so strong that he\nmoves large oceans and stirs up the fire, but however strong he is he\ncannot be seen, so he must be strangely shaped.\u2019 H\u00e1r answered, \u2018I can\ntell thee easily. On the northern end of heaven there sits a j\u00f6tun\ncalled Hr\u0153svelg in an eagle\u2019s shape; when he flaps his wings the winds\nrise from under them\u2019\u201d (Gylfaginning, c. 18).\n\n\nThe Sagas teem with poetical and allegoric expressions about the sea,\nthe wind, fire, ships, &c., &c. The sea is called\u2014\n\n Ymir\u2019s blood.\n Ran\u2019s husband.\n The land of \u00c6gir\u2019s daughters.\n The land of the ships.\n The sea king\u2019s road.\n The house of the sands.\n The land of the fishing tackle.\n The land of the sea birds.\n The land of the fishes.\n The land of the keel.\n The land of the ship\u2019s beaks.\n The necklace of the earth.\n The belt of the earth.\n The father of the billow.\n The father of the nine daughters of \u00c6gir.\n The glittering home.\n The clashing chain of the rock.\n The hidden path.\n\nIt is also called the land of different sea kings.\n\nIn Virgil the sea is called Arva Neptuni, the fields of Neptune. In the\nNorth it is called the land of \u00c6gir, or Ran.\n\nThe sky which hangs over land and water was called\u2014\n\n The tub of the wind.\n The helmet of the wind.\n The wash-basin of the winds.\n The highway of the moon.\n The tent of the sun.\n The hall of the moon.\n The hall of the mountains.\n The wind weaver.\n The dripping hall.\n The sea of mist.\n The upper world, &c.\n\nThe wind and storms are called\u2014\n\n \u00c6gir\u2019s brother.\n The brother of fire.\n The wolf of the earth.\n The wolf of the sail.\n The bane of the ships.\n The bane of the woods.\n The stone-mad = very mad.\n The coldly dressed.\n The crasher, clasher.\n The soother, comforter.\n The squall maker.\n The whistler, howler.\n The breaker of the tree.\n The dog of the sail.\n The breaker of the rigging.\n The shower driver.\n The one madly rushing.\n The never silent, &c.\n\nThe ice against which ships had to contend was called\u2014\n\n The heaven of the deep.\n The roof of the salmon hall (the sea).\n The elk\u2019s gallows.\n\nThe rocks were called\u2014\n\n The bones of the sea.\n The bones of the earth.\n\nThe anchor was called\u2014\n\n The one with the cold nose.\n\nThe clouds are called\u2014\n\n The harbinger of the shower.\n The wind floating.\n The strength of the storm.\n The hiding helmet, &c.\n\nThe hail\u2014\n\n The stones of the clouds.\n\nThe rain\u2014\n\n The tears of the clouds.\n\nThe Asar wanted to get a kettle large enough for them all, and sent Th\u00f3r\nto the j\u00f6tun H\u00fdmir to get it from him. Thor went, and we have from the\nLater Edda the story about his fishing for the serpent with H\u00fdmir. He\ncame back with the kettle after having slain many J\u00f6tnar.\n\n\n\u201c\u00c6gir, who is also called Gymir, had made ale for the Asar when he had\ngot the large cauldron which has been told of. To that feast came Odin\nand his wife Frigg. Thor did not come, for he was in Austrveg (eastern\nlands). Sif, Th\u00f3r\u2019s wife, Bragi and his wife Idun were there. T\u00fdr was\nthere; he had only one hand. The Fenris-wolf tore off his hand when he\nwas tied. Nj\u00f6rd and his wife Skadi, Frey and Freyja, Vidar, Odin\u2019s son,\nLoki, Beyggvir and Beyla, the servants of Frey, were there. Many Asar\nand Alfar were there. \u00c6gir had two servants, Fimafeng and Eldir; shining\ngold was used instead of lights there; the ale carried itself; there was\na great peace-place (_grida stad_)\u201d (Lokasenna).\n\n\n\u201cA man is called \u00c6gir, or Hler; he lived on the island now called Hl\u00e9sey\n(L\u00e6ss\u00f6 on the Kattegat); he was very skilled in witchcraft. He went on a\njourney to Asgard; when the Asar knew this he was well received, but\nwith many ocular delusions. In the evening, when they were going to\ndrink, Odin had swords carried into the hall; they were so bright that\nthey shone, and no other light was used while they sat drinking. Then\nthe Asar went to their feast, and the twelve Asar who were to be judges\nsat down in high-seats. Their names are: Th\u00f3r, Nj\u00f6rd, Frey, T\u00fdr,\nHeimdall, Bragi, Vidar, Vali, Ull, H\u0153nir, Forseti, Loki. Also the\nAsynjur: Frigg, Freyja, Gefjon, Idun, Gerd, Sigun, Fulla, Nanna. \u00c6gir\nthought that all looked splendid there. The walls were all covered over\nwith fine shields, the mead was strong, and much of it was drunk\u201d\n(Bragar\u0153dur).\n\n\n\u201cWhy is gold called the fire of \u00c6gir? The following tale is told of it.\n\u00c6gir, as has been told, had been invited to a feast in Asgard, and when\nhe was ready to go home he invited Odin and all the Asar to visit him in\nthree months. On that journey went Odin, Nj\u00f6rd, Frey, T\u00fdr, Bragi, Vidar,\nLoki, and the Asynjur Frigg, Freyja, Gefjon, Skadi, Idun, Sif. Th\u00f3r was\nnot there; he had gone to the eastern lands to slay Tr\u00f6ll. When the gods\nhad seated themselves, \u00c6gir had _l\u00fdsigull_ (light gold, bright gold)\nbrought in on the floor of the hall, which lighted up and brightened the\nhall like fire, as the swords do in Valhalla. Loki quarrelled with all\nthe gods and killed Fimafeng, \u00c6gir\u2019s thrall; another of his thralls was\ncalled Eldir.\n\n\n Early the gods of the slain (the Asar)\n Took their food,\n And at the feast\n Ere they were satisfied\n Shook the twigs\n And looked on the blood,\n They found there was\n Enough at \u00c6gir\u2019s.\n\n (Hymis Kvida, 1.)\n\nRan, who was the wife of \u00c6gir, and like him also worshipped, was\nsupposed to have a net in which she caught all those who were lost at\nsea, and the people seem to have been superstitious as to the manner in\nwhich shipwrecked persons were received by her.\n\n\n\u201c\u00c6gir\u2019s wife is called Ran, and their nine daughters have been named\nbefore. At that feast everything came by itself, food and drink and all\nthat was necessary for the feast. The Asar became aware that Ran owned a\nnet in which she caught all men that came out on the sea. Now this\nsaying relates why the gold is called the fire,[320] or the light or the\nbrightness of \u00c6gir, or Ran, or \u00c6gir\u2019s daughters\u201d (Sk\u00e1ldskaparm\u00e1l, c.\n33).\n\n\nThe nine daughters of \u00c6gir and Ran had names emblematic of the sea and\nits waves.\n\nIn the Later Edda (Sk\u00e1ldskaparm\u00e1l), c. 25, we read\u2014\n\n\n\u201cHow is the sea to be called? Ymir\u2019s blood, the visitor of the gods, the\nhusband of Ran, the father of \u00c6gir\u2019s daughters, who have the following\nnames:\u2014\n\n\u201c_Himingl\u0153fa_\u2014the heaven glittering (implying the glittering of the sun\nand moon on the waves).\n\n\u201c_D\u00f9fa_\u2014the dove (symbolising the stillness of a quiet sea, heaving up\nand down gently).\n\n\u201c_Bl\u00f3dughadda_\u2014the bloody-haired (so named from the sunset or blood\ngiving colour to the waves).\n\n\u201c_Hefring_\u2014the hurling, heaving\u2014may mean the overdrifting, moving\nheavily along by a gale.\n\n\u201c_Unn_ (_Ud_)\u2014the loving or beloved one.\n\n\u201c_Hr\u00f6nn_\u2014the towering one.\n\n\u201c_Bylgja_\u2014the billowing, swelling one.\n\n\u201c_Bara_\u2014the one carrying, lashing against the rocks.\n\n\u201c_K\u00f3lga._\u2014the cooling one.\u201d\n\n\n\u201cThorod had been lost with his men at sea, and the wreck was thrown up\non the shore, but no bodies. His wife and son invited the neighbours to\nthe _arvel_.[321] The first evening of the _arvel_, when the men had sat\ndown in their seats, Thorod and his companions walked into the hall, all\nwet. They were well received, for this was thought a good omen; men in\nthose days believed that drowned men had been well received by Ran, if\nthey visited their own _arvel_, for there still remained some of the old\nbeliefs, although men had been baptized, and were named Christians\u201d\n(Eyrbyggja Saga, c. 54).\n\n\nIn Hervarar Saga, Gest asks King Heidrek, \u201cWho are those widows who,\naccording to the habits of their fathers, live together, and who seldom\nare partial to men, &c.?\u201d The latter replies: \u201cThey are \u00c6gir\u2019s daughters\n(the waves); they always go three together, and the winds awaken them.\u201d\n\nEgil\u2019s son B\u00f6dvar having been drowned, the old father in his grief over\nhis loss composed a poem about him. Vol. ii., p. 416.\n\n Very roughly has Ran\n Handled me,\n I am very much bereft\n Of beloved friends.\n The sea tore asunder\n The ties of my kin,\n A string twisted[322]\n By myself.\n\n Knowest thou that\n If I avenged this[323] with the sword\n Then the _ale-smith_[324]\n Would be luckless.[325]\n If I could slay\n The brother of the upheaver of waves[326]\n I would go and fight\n Against the wife of \u00c6gir.\n\n But I did not\n Think I had\n Strength to fight a battle\n Against the _plank-bane_,[327]\n For the helplessness\n Of an old man\n Is before the eyes\n Of all people.\n\n Ran has me\n Robbed of much;\n It is bitter to tell\n Of a kinsman\u2019s death\n Since my family-shield[328]\n Parted from life\n To the _joy-ways_.[329]\n\n (Egil\u2019s Saga, c. 81.)\n\nFridthjof, for having violated the peace of Baldr\u2019s temple, was\ncondemned by the Kings, Helgi and H\u00e1lfd\u00e1n, to proceed to the Orkneys to\ncollect the tribute from Angantyr the Jarl.\n\n\n\u201cThen came a wave dashing so strongly that it carried away the gunwales\nand part of the bows, and flung four men overboard, who were all lost.\n\n\u201c\u2018Now it is likely,\u2019 said Fridthjof, \u2018that some of our men will visit\nRan. We will not be thought fit to come there unless we prepare\nourselves well. I think it right that every man should carry some gold\nwith him.\u2019 He cut asunder the ring of Ingibj\u00f6rg and divided it among his\nmen, and sang\u2014\n\n We will cut the red ring\n Which the rich father\n Of H\u00e1lfd\u00e1n owned.\n Before \u00c6gir slays us.\n Gold shall be seen on the guests\n In the middle of the hall of Ran,\n If we need night quarters there,\n That befits open-handed warriors.\u201d\n\n (Fridthjof\u2019s Saga, ch. vi.)\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XXVII.\n RELIGION.\u2014SACRIFICES TO THE ALFAR, DISIR, FYLGJA, HAMINGJA, AND\n LANDV\u0152TTIR.\n\n Sacrifices to the Alfar\u2014Early worship of the Alfar\u2014Spirits of the\n Alfar\u2014Sacrifices to the Disir\u2014Ceremonies attending the\n sacrifices\u2014The Fylgja and Hamingja or following and family\n spirits\u2014They take various shapes\u2014They appear in dreams\u2014Guardian\n spirits of the land.\n\n\nThe people made sacrifices to the Alfar (_Alfa-bl\u00f3t_) mentioned in the\nearlier Edda, as well as to the Asar and Disir, who we have seen were\nclosely related to the former.[330] These sacrifices, of which there are\nfew accounts, and which seem to have been made in houses, are perhaps\ntraces of a religion previous to that of Odin of the North.\n\nKing Olaf Haraldsson sent as messengers to Olaf, King of Sweden, Bj\u00f6rn,\nhis marshal, and the Icelandic scald Sigvat. After leaving Norway they\nwent across the Eidaforest.\n\n\n\u201cThen they went through Gautland, and one evening came to a farm called\nHof. The door was shut and they could not enter; the husband and wife\nsaid it was holy there, and they went away. Then they came to another\nfarm; the housewife stood at the door and asked them not to go in,\nsaying they were holding _Alfa-bl\u00f3t_. Sigvat sang:\u2014\n\n Do not go farther in,\n Wretched man;\n I fear the wrath of Odin,\n We are heathens.\u201d\n\n (St. Olaf\u2019s Saga, c. 92.)\n\n\nWe have seen that the Alfar, from whom some people claimed their\ndescent, as others did from the Asar, were of two kinds, and dwelt at\nAlfheim, not far from the Urd well by the ash Yggdrasil. They made the\nfetter _Gleipnir_, with which the Fenris-wolf was kept tied; also the\nship _Skidbladnir_, Odin\u2019s spear _Gungnir_, and Sif\u2019s golden hair, &c.\n\n\n\u201cWhy is gold called the hair of Sif? \u2018Loki, son of Laufey, had, through\ncunning, cut off all the hair of Sif (wife of Thor). When Thor knew it\nhe took Loki and would have crushed every bone in him if he had not\nsworn to get the Svartalfar (black Altar) to make hair of gold for Sif\nwhich would grow like other hair. Thereafter Loki went to the Dvergar,\ncalled the sons of Ivaldi,[331] and they made the hair and _Skidbladnir_\nand the spear of Odin, _Gungnir_. Then Loki staked his head to the Dverg\nBrok that his brother Sindri would not be able to make three things as\ngood as these. When they came to the smithy, Sindri laid the skin of a\nswine on the hearth and asked Brok to blow (the bellows), and not to\nstop before he had taken from the hearth what he had put on it. When he\nhad left the forge and Brok had made the bellows blow, a fly[332] sat\ndown on his hand and pecked at it; he continued until the smith took\nfrom the hearth a boar with golden bristles. Then Sindri put gold on the\nhearth and asked him to blow and not to stop till he came back. He went,\nand the fly came and sat down on his neck and pecked twice as hard, but\nhe blew until the smith took from the hearth a gold ring called\n_Draupnir_. Then Sindri laid iron on the hearth and asked him to blow,\nas this would be of no use if he stopped it. Then the fly settled down\nbetween his eyes and pecked at his eyelids. When the blood ran down into\nhis eyes so that he saw nothing he swept away the fly as quickly as he\ncould, and the bellows fell down; then the smith came and said that now\nall that was on the hearth had been made nearly useless. He took a\nhammer from it and gave all these (three) things to his brother Brok,\nand asked him to take them to Asgard for the wager.... Loki gave to Odin\nthe spear _Gungnir_, to Thor the hair for Sif, to Frey _Skidbladnir_....\nThen Brok gave the ring (_Draupnir_) to Odin, and said that every ninth\nnight eight rings equally heavy would drop from it; he gave the boar to\nFrey, and said it could run over sea and air by night and day faster\nthan any horse, and that the night or mijrk-heimar (the black world)\nwould never get so dark but there would be enough light from the shining\nof its mane. He gave the hammer to Thor, and said that whatever he met,\nhowever large the object was, he might strike it with the hammer and it\nwould never fail; if he threw it at anything it would never miss, and\nnever go so far as not to come back into his hand\u2019\u201d (Sk\u00e1ldskaparmal,\n35).\n\n\n\u201cRagnar (the son of Sigurd Hring) grew up in his father\u2019s hird; he was\ntaller and handsomer than any man people had seen, and like his mother\nand her kin to look at, for it is known from all old sayings about the\npeople that are called Alfar that they were much finer than other kinds\nof men in the northern lands. The parents of his mother Alfhild and all\nher kin sprung from Alf the old\u201d (S\u00f6gubrot, c. 10).\n\n\n\u201cThe land which King Alf ruled was called Alfheim, and all the people\nthat spring from him are of the Alfa-kin; next after the Risar they were\nfiner than other people. King Alf was married to Bryngerd, daughter of\nKing Raum, in Raumariki; she was tall but not handsome, for Raum was\nugly;[333] the men who are tall and ugly are called _raumar_\u201d\n(Thorstein\u2019s Saga Vikingssonar, c. 1).\n\n\nThe people thought that the spirits of the Alfar sometimes lived not far\nfrom human habitations.\n\nKormak and Thorvard had fought, and the latter had been wounded; he\nrecovered slowly, and as soon as he could get on his feet went to find\nThordis (a Volva), and inquired how he could best recover his health. He\nreplied:\u2014\n\n\n\u201cA short distance from here there is a hill, in which Alfar live. Thou\nmust get the bull, which Kormak killed, and with its blood redden the\noutside of the hill, and make a feast for the Alfar of the meat, and\nthou wilt recover\u201d (Kormak\u2019s Saga, c. 22).\n\n\n_Disa-bl\u00f3t._\u2014The sacrifices offered to the Disir, or genii who specially\nguarded men and families and appeared when important events\nhappened,[334] seem to have been performed by women only, and to have\nbeen usually made in the autumn or winter nights; sometimes human\nsacrifices were made to them.\n\nThis worship from its very nature was probably of great antiquity, and\nbelonged to the religion practised by the Asar.\n\nThe earliest account of a _Disa-bl\u00f3t_ is in Hervarar Saga.\n\n\n\u201cA man named Arngrim was a Risi and mountain dweller, who took Ama Ymi\u2019s\ndaughter from Ymisland, and married her; their son was Hergrim, called\n_half-Tr\u00f6ll_. He was sometimes with the mountain Risar, and sometimes\nwith men; he had the strength of a J\u00f6tun; was much skilled in witchcraft\nand a great Berserk;[335] he carried off Ogn Alfasprengi from J\u00f6tunheim\nand married her; they had a son called Grim. Starkad then lived at\n\u00d6lfossar; he was by kin a Thurs, and like them in strength and nature;\nhis father was St\u00f6rkvid. Ogn Alfasprengi was betrothed to Starkad, but\nHergrim took her from him while he was travelling north over Eliv\u00e1gar;\nwhen he came back he asked him to give him back his wife, and at the\nsame time challenged him to \u2018holmganga.\u2019[336] They fought at the\nuppermost waterfall at Eydi. Starkad had eight hands, and fought with\nfour swords at once. He won the victory, and Hergrim fell. Ogn was\nlooking on, and when Hergrim had fallen she stabbed herself and would\nnot marry Starkad. Starkad took all the property of Hergrim with him,\nand also his son Grim, who grew up with him, and was both tall and\nstrong. King Alf, who ruled in Alfheimar, had a daughter Alfhild. At\nthat time the land between Gautelf and Raumelf was called Alfheimar. One\nautumn there was a great _disabl\u00f3t_ (sacrifice to the Disir)[337] at\nKing Alf\u2019s, and Alfhild went to it; she was more beautiful than any\nother woman, and all the people in Alfheimar were handsomer than other\npeople at that time; but in the night, as she was reddening the _h\u00f6rg_\nwith blood, Starkad Aludreng took her away to his home. Then King Alf\ninvoked Thor to seek for Alfhild, and Thor killed Starkad, and made\nAlfhild go home to her father, and Grim the son of Hergrim with her.\nWhen Grim was twelve winters old he went into warfare and became one of\nthe greatest warriors; he married Bauggerd, the daughter of Alfhild and\nStarkad. He settled on an island in Halogaland called B\u00f3lm, and was\ntherefrom called Eygrim B\u00f3lm; their son was Arngrim Berserk, who\nafterwards lived in B\u00f3lm, and was a most famous warrior\u201d (Hervarar Saga,\nc. 1).\n\n\n\u201cKing Eirik Bloodaxe and Gunnhild came the same evening to Atli, where\nBard had prepared a great feast for him, and there was to be a\n_disabl\u00f3t_. There was much drinking and feasting in the hall. The king\nasked where Bard was, for he saw him nowhere. A man replied: \u2018Bard is\noutside helping his guests.\u2019 \u2018Who are those guests,\u2019 inquired the king,\n\u2018that he thinks it more his duty to be there than inside with us?\u2019 The\nman told him they were the huskarlar (servants) of Thorir hersir. The\nking added: \u2018Go to them as speedily as possible, and call them in here.\u2019\nWhen they came, the king received \u00d6lvir well, and made him sit opposite\nhim in the high-seat, and his men on both sides of him. Egil was next to\n\u00d6lvir; then ale was brought in, and many memorial toasts were drunk, a\nhorn to be emptied at each. As the evening was drawing to a close many\nof \u00d6lvir\u2019s men became drunk; some of them vomited in the hall, but\nothers went outside\u201d (Egil\u2019s Saga, c. 44).\n\n\nEven at Upsala sacrifices were offered to the Disir.\n\n\n\u201cKing Adils was at a _disabl\u00f3t_, and rode on a horse round the disarsal\n(hall of the Disir); his horse stumbled and fell, and the king was\nthrown off, and his head hit a stone so that it broke and his brains lay\non the stone. This caused his death. He died at Uppsalir, and is\nmound-laid there; the Swedes called him a powerful king\u201d (Ynglinga Saga,\nc. 33).\n\n\nAmong the Disir two women, who are mentioned several times in the Sagas,\nseem to have been regarded as special objects of worship. These are the\nsisters Thorgerd H\u00f6rgabrud, or H\u00f6lgabrud, and Yrpa. The name of\nH\u00f6rgabrud signifies the bride of the altars, and indicates her supposed\nholiness; and the second name, H\u00f6lgabrud, undoubtedly shows that she has\nbeen especially worshipped in H\u00e1logaland, whence the family of the great\nHakon Jarl hailed; thus Thorgerd and her sister came to be the special\nguardians of that family (see Human Sacrifice, page 367).\n\n\n\u201cA king called H\u00f6lgi, after whom H\u00e1logaland is named, is said to have\nbeen the father of Thorgerd H\u00f6lgabrud. To both of them sacrifices were\nmade, and a mound was raised for H\u00f6lgi; one layer was of gold and\nsilver, which were offerings, and another was of earth and stones\u201d\n(Later Edda (Sk\u00e1ldskaparm\u00e1l), c. 45).\n\n\nThe Disir are often spoken of as Fylgja (following spirit), and Hamingja\n(good luck or family spirit); but there must have been some distinction\nbetween them and the Disir proper, as no sacrifices were offered to the\nHamingja and Fylgja.[338]\n\nThe latter seem to be synonymous, but the former spirit, which at the\nhour of death left the dying person and passed to a dear son, was the\nmore personal, and it was believed that it could be transmitted from one\nman to another.\n\nThe expressions _kynfylgja_ (kinguardians), _attarfylgja_ (family\nguardians), which sometimes occur in the Sagas, seem to indicate a\nbelief that the eminent qualities of a family were protected by these\nspirits.\n\nKing Volsung married his daughter Signy to King Siggeir. When Siggeir\ndeparted\u2014\n\n\n\u201cSigny said to her father: \u2018I do not want to go with Siggeir, and my\nmind does not feel love towards him, and I know by my foresight, and\nfrom our _kynfylgja_, that this marriage will cause much sorrow to us if\nit is not soon broken off\u201d (Volsunga Saga, c. 4).\n\n\nSometimes the guardian spirit of one man would follow another. Thorstein\nwent to find the Dverg Sindri, and gave him good gifts, and they\nseparated with the greatest friendship. The Dverg said\u2014\n\n\n\u201cNow must we separate for some time, and fare thee well. I tell thee\nthat my _Disir_ will constantly follow thee. Thereupon Thorstein went to\nhis boat and rowed to his men\u201d (Thorstein Vikingsson, ch. xxii.).\n\n\n\u201cAt the time when Olaf came to Gardariki there were many men in H\u00f3lmgard\nwho foretold future things; they all could tell by their wisdom that the\n_fylgjas_ of a young foreigner had come into the country, and that these\nwere so lucky-looking that never had they seen the fylgjas of any man\nlike them; but they knew not who or whence he was; nevertheless they\nshowed with many words that the bright light shining over him would\nspread all over Gardariki and widely through the eastern half of the\nworld\u201d (Fornmanna S\u00f6gur, I. c. 57).\n\n\n\u201cGlum dreamed one night that he was standing outside his farm, and\nlooking over the fjord, and that he saw a woman going up the district\nfrom the sea, and walking towards Thver\u00e1 (the farm of Glum). She was so\nlarge that her shoulders touched the mountains on both sides of the\nvalley; he went from the house to meet her, and invited her to him, and\nthen he awoke. All thought it marvellous, but he said: \u2018The dream is\ngreat and remarkable; but thus will I interpret it: that my mother\u2019s\nfather Vigfus must be dead, and that woman who was taller than the\nmountains is probably his hamingja, for he surpassed others in most\nthings of honour, and his luck will dwell where I am.\u2019 Next summer, when\nships arrived from Norway, the death of Vigfus was heard of\u201d (Viga Glum,\nc. 9).\n\n\nThe shapes of the various _Fylgjas_ can best be found from the forms in\nwhich the people thought they perceived them. They were inherited from\none man by his descendants and even relatives, so that some families had\ntheir permanent guardianship; to them accordingly was often ascribed the\nsuccess of some individuals.\n\nThe shapes most frequently assumed were those of birds and animals, and\nin some such shape every man was supposed to have his _fylgja_\nindicative of his character; cunning people were said to have foxes for\ntheir _fylgja_; fierce warriors, wolves; great chiefs, eagles, oxen,\nbears, and other animals.[339] From numerous Sagas we find that they\nfrequently assumed the shape of bears, which went in front of the\npersons they wanted to guard, and sometimes presented themselves in the\nform of the human being whose genii they were, but _never_ in the _shape\nof women_[340] like the Disir proper. Those of the deceased were\nbelieved to warn their relatives, kinsmen, and friends, and appeared at\nor before important events in the life of the person whom they guarded,\nsometimes while he was awake, but as a rule in dreams, and it was\nbelieved that a sudden sleepiness foreboded their coming. Wherever those\nunder their protection went they accompanied them, preceding them to\nsuch places as they intended to visit.\n\nWhen Halfred while on a voyage to Iceland fell sick\u2014\n\n\n\u201cA woman was seen to walk along the ship; she was large and had on a\ncoat of mail, and walked on the waves as if on land. Halfred looked and\nsaw that it was his female guardian (fylgja-kona), and said: \u2018I declare\nmyself altogether sundered from thee.\u2019 She asked, \u2018Wilt thou, Thorvald,\nreceive me?\u2019 He replied he would not. Then Halfred the young (a son of\nthe poet Halfred) said, \u2018I will receive thee;\u2019 she then vanished. Then\nHalfred said: \u2018I will give to thee, my son, the sword of the king, but\nthe other things shall be laid in my coffin if I die on board the ship.\u2019\nHe sang (\u2018God rules; I fear hell; every man must die\u2019). A little after\nhe died, and was laid in a coffin with his things, a cloak, a helmet,\nand a ring, and then thrown overboard\u201d (Halfredar Saga, c. 11).\n\n\nThe chief Hall of Sida had a feast. In the night Thidrandi his son heard\nsome one knocking repeatedly at the door, and went out with a sword in\nhis hand.\n\n\n\u201cHe heard the sound of horses\u2019 feet from the north, and saw nine\nwomen[341] riding in black clothes with drawn swords in their hands. He\nalso heard horse-feet from the south, and saw nine women all in white\nclothes on white horses. He wanted to go in and tell this vision to\npeople, but the black-dressed women were quicker and attacked him, while\nhe defended himself valiantly.\n\n\u201cA long while after Th\u00f3rhall (one of the guests) awoke and asked if\nThidrandi was awake, and got no answer. He said it was too late. They\nwent out. The moon shone and the weather was frosty. They found\nThidrandi lying wounded\u201d (Fornmanna S\u00f6gur).\n\n\n\u201cOne summer King Ivar Vidfadmi went with his host west from Sweden to\nReidgotaland, and landed in Selund. He sent word to his son-in-law\nHr\u0153rek to come to him; he told this to Aud his wife, who asked if he\nintended to go to meet his kinsman and invite him to a feast on shore.\nIn the evening, when King Hr\u0153rek retired, Aud had prepared a new bed\nwith all the clothes in it new, and placed it on the middle of the\nfloor; she requested him to sleep therein, to remember what he dreamt,\nand tell it her in the morning; and she made herself another bed. In the\nmorning, when asked about his dream, \u2018I dreamt,\u2019 he said, \u2018that I was\nstanding near a forest, beside a fine level field, and there saw a stag.\nThen a wild beast, with a mane like gold, ran out of the forest; the\nstag thrust its horns under the shoulder of the beast, and it fell dead.\nThereupon I saw a large dragon fly to where the stag was, at once seize\nit in its claws, and tear it asunder. Then I saw a she-bear with her\ncub, which the dragon wanted to take, but the bear defended it; and then\nI awoke.\u2019 She answered: \u2018This is a remarkable dream; and beware thou of\nKing Ivar, my father, that he does not deceive thee when thou meetest\nhim, for thou hast seen kings\u2019 _fylgjas_, and there will be fights with\nthem, and it will be well if this stag is not thy own _fylgja_, which\nseems most likely to me\u201d[342] (S\u00f6gubrot, c. 2).\n\n\n\u201cThat morning Thorstein awoke in his room, and said: \u2018Art thou awake,\nTh\u00f3rir?\u2019 \u2018I am,\u2019 answered Th\u00f3rir, \u2018but have slept till now.\u2019 Thorstein\nsaid: \u2018I want to get ready to go away from this room, for I know that\nJ\u00f6kull will come hither to-day with many men.\u2019 \u2018I do not think so,\u2019 said\nTh\u00f3rir, \u2018and will not go; but how hast thou found it out?\u2019 \u2018I dreamt,\u2019\nsaid Thorstein, \u2018that thirty wolves ran hither and seven bears, with an\neighth red-cheeked bear, which was large and fierce; with them also were\ntwo she-foxes, which ran ahead of the flock and were rather\nfierce-looking; I disliked them most. All the wolves attacked us, and it\nseemed to me that at last they tore all my brothers asunder, except thee\nalone; but nevertheless thou didst fall. Many thought I was killed by\nthe bears, but I killed all the wolves and the smaller she-fox; then I\nfell. What thinkest thou this dream signifies?\u2019 said Th\u00f3rir. \u2018I think,\u2019\nsaid Thorstein, \u2018that the large red-cheeked bear is J\u00f6kul\u2019s _fylgja_,\nbut that the other bears are the _fylgja_ of his brothers, and all the\nwolves I have seen are men with them, for they are likely to show the\ntempers of wolves to us. With regard to the two she-foxes, I do not know\nthe men who have those _fylgja_; I think they have lately come to J\u00f6kul,\nand they must be disliked by most men\u2019\u201d (Thorstein Vikingsson, c. 12).\n\n\nThe child of an Icelandic woman by name of Orny, having been\nexposed,[343] was saved by a bondi named Krumm, and by him raised as his\nown, and called Thorstein. One day when the boy was seven years of age\nKrumm went with him to Krossavik, where the grandfather of the boy,\nGeitir, lived. While there he rushed forward on the floor, as is the\nhabit of children, stumbled and fell. As Geitir laughed, the boy asked\nhim why he found it so funny. Geitir answered:\u2014\n\n\n\u201c\u2018It is true; for I saw that which thou didst not see.\u2019 \u2018What was it?\u2019\nsaid Thorstein. \u2018I can tell thee. When thou camest into the room a young\nwhite bear followed thee, and ran before thee on the floor; when he saw\nme he stopped, but thou didst rush on and stumble over the young bear; I\nthink thou art not the son of Krumm, but of higher kin\u2019\u201d[344] (Fornmanna\nS\u00f6gur, iii. p. 113).\n\n\n\u201cHe (Th\u00f3rhalli) dreamt a dream and went northward to Finni. When he came\nto the door he said: \u2018I should like thee to explain a dream which I have\ndreamt.\u2019 Finni said: \u2018Go; I will not hear thy dream,\u2019 and pushed the\ndoor and said: \u2018Go away as quick as thou canst, and tell it to Gudmund\nof M\u00f6druvellir, or else thou shalt be driven away with weapons at once.\u2019\nThen he went away to M\u00f6druvellir. Gudmund had ridden that day out into\nthe district and was expected home that night. Einar, his brother, lay\ndown and fell asleep. He dreamt that an ox, very fine-looking, with\nlarge horns, walked up through the district; it walked up to M\u00f6druvellir\nand went to every house of the farm, and at last to the high-seat, and\nthere fell dead. Thereupon Einar said: \u2018This forebodes great tidings,\nand this is the fylgja of a man.\u2019 Then Gudmund came home, and it was his\ncustom to go to every house of the farm b\u0153r. When he had come to his\nhigh-seat he leant back and talked with Th\u00f3rhalli, who told him his\ndream. Then he rose in the seat when food was brought. It was hot milk,\nwarmed with stones. Gudmund said: \u2018This is not hot.\u2019 Thorlaug said: \u2018Now\nI do not know where thy liking for the heat comes from.\u2019 He drank again\nand said: \u2018This is not hot.\u2019 Then he sank backward and was dead.\nThorlaug said: \u2018This is great tidings, which will be heard widely; no\nman shall touch him, and often has Einar had forebodings of lesser\ntidings.\u2019 Then Einar came and prepared the body and said: \u2018Thy dream,\nTh\u00f3rhalli, has no small power,[345] and Finni has seen in thee that the\nman to whom thou didst tell the dream would be death-fated, and he liked\nGudmund to become so. Cold must he have been inside, as he did not feel\nanything\u2019\u201d (Lj\u00f3svetninga, c. 21).\n\n\nThe country as well as the people had its guardian spirits, or\n_Landv\u0153ttir_, by which it and its inhabitants were protected, and which\nwere supposed to assume different shapes. What the Disir and Hamingja\nwere to the family, the Landv\u0153ttir were to the whole or a large tract of\nthe country; and though they were sometimes attached to special men,\nwhom they followed, they were more closely connected with the land than\nwith the people, and there was a heathen law in Iceland preventing the\npeople from disturbing them.\n\nThey were subordinate to the guardian gods of each country, and excited\ndreams in men, and on behalf of the guardian god watched over those\nplaces at which they dwelt; they especially liked to dwell on mountains,\nand sometimes the dead were assigned places with them.[346]\n\n\n\u201cIt was the beginning of the heathen laws that men should not go with a\nhead-ship (with dragon-heads) out on the main sea, or, if they did, they\nshould take the heads off before they saw land, and not approach it with\ngaping heads and yawning snouts, that the _landv\u0153ttir_ might not be\nfrightened\u201d (Landnama, c. 7)\n\n\nThese landv\u0153ttir sometimes loved special men, and followed them.\n\n\n\u201cBj\u00f6rn (an Icelander) dreamt one night that a rock-dweller came to him\nand offered to enter into partnership with him, and he consented.\nThereafter a he-goat came to his goats, and they increased so much that\nhe soon became very rich. After this he was called He goat Bj\u00f6rn.\n_Second-sighted_ men saw that all _landv\u0153ttir_ followed He-goat Bj\u00f6rn to\nthe _Thing_, and Thorstein and Th\u00f3rd (his brothers) to hunting and\nfishing\u201d (Landnama, iv. c. 12).\n\n\nEgil, fleeing from the pursuit of King Eirik Bloodaxe and his men, got a\nvessel to go to Iceland.\n\n\n\u201cAnd when they were ready to sail Egil went upon an island. He took into\nhis hand a hazel-pole and went on a projecting rock, pointing landwards.\nHe took a horse\u2019s head and fastened it upon the pole; then he said the\nfollowing words: \u2018Here I raise a pole as a curse, and I turn this curse\nupon King Eirik and Queen Gunnhild.\u2019 He turned the horse\u2019s head so that\nit pointed landwards. \u2018I turn this curse on the guardian spirits who\ndwell in this country, so that they shall all go astray, and no one of\nthem shall meet or find his home until they have driven King Eirik and\nGunnhild from the land.\u2019 He thrust the pole into a rift in the rock, and\nlet it stand there; he carved runes on the pole which told all this\nimprecation. Thereupon he went on board ship and sailed\u201d (Egil\u2019s Saga,\nc. 30).\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XXVIII.\n VALH\u00d6LL-VALHALLA.\n\n Influence of the belief in \u201cthe hall of the slain\u201d\u2014A warrior\u2019s\n death a pass to Valhalla\u2014Figurative offer of warriors to\n Odin\u2014Self-sacrifice to Odin\u2014Entrance to Valhalla\u2014Food and drink\n in Valhalla\u2014Odin\u2019s welcome to warriors.\n\n\nThe belief in a Valhalla (the hall of the slain) by the ancestors of the\nEnglish tribes was destined to exert a most potent influence upon the\nfuture history of Europe. It made the people of the North most powerful\nand skilled warriors; it infused into their minds an utter disregard of\ndeath, and led them to accomplish great deeds of valour in their own and\ndistant lands. To fall gloriously on a battle-field was held to assure a\ncertain entry to Valhalla; it was a sign of the favour of Odin. This\npart of the Valhalla faith was so deeply rooted in the minds of the\npeople that it lasted to the very end of the Pagan era, or about the\n12th century.\n\nIn Grinismal, which gives a description of the home of some of the gods\nand of the goddesses, Freya and Saga, we read:\u2014\n\n _Gladsheim_[347] is the fifth called\n Where the gleaming\n Valhalla stands;\n There Hropt (Odin) chooses\n Every day\n Weapon-dead men.[348]\n\n That hall is very\n Easily known to those\n Who come to Odin;\n The hall is roofed with shafts;\n It is thatched with shields;\n The benches are strewn with _brynja_.[349]\n\n That hall is very\n Easily known to those\n Who come to Odin;\n A wolf hangs[350]\n West of the door;\n An eagle hovers above it.\n\n Five hundred doors\n And forty more\n I think are in Valhalla;\n Eight hundred _Einherjar_[351]\n Go through a door at once\n When they go to fight the wolf.\n\nTo those men of old, death was but one of the phases of their lives; it\nhad no terrors for them, and they faced it smilingly, bravely, and\ncontentedly. It was in their eyes preferable to dishonour, or the\nhumiliation of defeat; vanquisher and vanquished when dying parted\nfriends, and praised the deeds of each other, one bidding the other\nspeed to Valhalla as the fire was lighted on the pyre, or as the burning\nship that was to consume the body sailed from the shore. The victor\noften mourned that he had not been among the slain and chosen, and\nconsoled himself by thinking that he must obtain more renown and do\nbraver deeds before he could aspire to meet Odin. There is something\ngrand and noble in this despising of life, and in aspiring, during its\ncontinuance, to do great and noble deeds.\n\nBefore the fight the combatants told each other that they would go to\nValhalla, and the hosts of the enemy were figuratively given to Odin by\nthrowing a spear over them;[352] King Vikar, of H\u00f6rdaland, was thus\ngiven to the god by his mother.[353] Odin himself steered Harald\nHildit\u00f6nn\u2019s war-waggon in the battle, and killed his favourites with\nHarald\u2019s weapons for he was old, and could not bear the brunt of any\nmore fighting. Eirik the victorious threw over Styrbj\u00f6rn\u2019s host the\nspear which Odin gave him, accompanying the action with the words \u201cOdin\nowns you all.\u201d\n\n\n\u201cKing Vikar sailed from Agdir north to H\u00f6rdaland with many men. He\nstayed a long time in some islands and had strong headwinds. They threw\nchips (sacrifice-chips) to get fair wind, and it fell thus that Odin was\nto receive a man out of the host to be hanged by drawing of lots. The\nhost was divided for lot-drawing, and the lot of King Vikar was drawn.\nAt this all grew silent, and it was resolved that the counsellors should\nnext day have a meeting about the difficulty. About midnight\nHrossh\u00e1rsgrani (Odin) roused his foster-son Starkad, and asked him to go\nwith him. They took a little boat and rowed to an islet inside the\nisland. They walked up to a wood, and found a clearing crowded with men.\nA _Thing_ was held there, and eleven men sat on chairs, but the twelfth\nwas not occupied. They went forward to the _Thing_, and Hrossh\u00e1rsgrani\n(Odin) sat down on the twelfth chair. They all greeted Odin. He said\nthat the judges should judge about the fate of Starkad. Thor said:\n\u2018Alfhild, the mother of Starkad\u2019s father, chose a bad J\u00f6tun as father\nfor her son instead of Asath\u00f3r, and I forecast for Starkad that he shall\nneither have a son nor a daughter, and thus end his kin.\u2019 Odin answered:\n\u2018I forecast for him that he shall live as long as the lives of three\nmen.\u2019 Thor said: \u2018He shall do a _nithing\u2019s_ deed in each of the three\nlives.\u2019 Odin answered: \u2018I forecast for him that he shall have the best\nweapons and clothes.\u2019 Thor said: \u2018I forecast for him that he shall\nneither own land nor sea.\u2019 Odin answered: \u2018I give him that he shall have\nvery much loose property.\u2019 Thor said: \u2018I lay on him a spell which shall\nmake him think he never has enough.\u2019 Odin answered: \u2018I give him victory\nand skill in every fight.\u2019 Thor said: \u2018He shall become maimed in every\nfight.\u2019 Odin said: \u2018I give him skaldship so that he shall make poetry as\nquickly as he talks.\u2019 Thor said: \u2018He shall not remember the poetry he\nmakes.\u2019 Odin said: \u2018I forecast for him that he be thought the greatest\nby the most high-born and best men.\u2019 Thor said: \u2018He shall be disliked by\nall people.\u2019 The judges judged all that they had said of Starkad to be\nhis fate, and then the _Thing_ was dissolved. Hrossh\u00e1rsgrani and Starkad\nwent to their boat. Hrossh\u00e1rsgrani said to Starkad: \u2018Now thou must\nreward me well, foster-son, for the help I gave thee.\u2019 Starkad assented.\n\u2018Then,\u2019 said Grani, \u2018thou shalt send King Vikar to me, and I will tell\nthee how to do it.\u2019 He handed Starkad a spear, and said it would look\nlike a reed. They came back to the host when it was nearly day. The next\nmorning the counsellors of the king met to take counsel, and agreed to\nmake some semblance of sacrifice, and Starkad told their counsel. There\nstood a fir-tree near them, and a high stump near it; low on the fir was\na slender shoot which reached up to the limbs. Servants prepared the\nfood of the men, and a calf was killed and cut up. Starkad had the\nentrails taken out, mounted the stump, bent down the slender twig, and\ntied the entrails to it. Then he said to the king: \u2018Now a gallows is\nready for thee, king, and it will not seem very dangerous for men. Go\nhither and I will lay the string round thy neck.\u2019 The king said: \u2018If\nthis contrivance is not more dangerous than it looks to me, then I do\nnot think it will hurt me; but, if it is otherwise, then fate will rule\nit.\u2019 Then he mounted the stump, and Starkad laid the string round his\nneck, and stepped down from the stump. Then he struck him with the reed,\nand said, \u2018Now I give thee to Odin.\u2019 He let go the twig, and the reed\nchanged into a spear which pierced the king; the stump sank down under\nhis feet, the calf\u2019s entrails were turned into a strong withy, and the\ntwig rose and lifted the king up to the limbs, and there he died\u201d\n(Gautrek\u2019s Saga, c. 1).\n\n\nMen occasionally sacrificed themselves by throwing themselves from\ncliffs so that they might be acceptable to Odin and go to Valhalla.\n\n\n\u201cOnce King Gauti, of Vestr Gautland, was hunting and lost his way; he\nfound a small farm where the people were afraid of him. When he went to\nbed a girl came to him, and when he asked about her family she answered:\n\u2018My father is called Skafn\u00f6rtung (pincher), because he is so stingy that\nhe cannot bear to see food or anything else which is his decrease; my\nmother is called T\u00f6tra (tattered), because she never wants to wear any\nclothes but those which are worn and in tatters; she calls that thrift.\u2019\nThe king asked: \u2018What are the names of thy brothers?\u2019 She answered: \u2018One\nis called Fj\u00f6lm\u00f3di, the second Imsigul, the third Gilling.\u2019 The king\nasked: \u2018What art thou and thy sisters called?\u2019 She answered: \u2018My name is\nSnotra,[354] because I was thought the wisest of us all; my sisters are\ncalled Hj\u00f6tra and Fj\u00f6tra. There is a rock close to our farm called\nGillingshamar, and near it a steep rock, which we call \u00c6tternisstapi\n(family rock); it is so high and so steep that anything alive falling\ndown from it is killed. We give it the name \u00c6tternisstapi, because by\nits help we reduce our family in number when it seems to us that some\ngreat wonders happen. All our forefathers died there without any\nsickness, and then went to Odin; we need not have any burden or\nsulkiness from our fathers and mothers, for this place of joy has been\nequally easy for all our kinsmen to get to; we need not live with loss\nof property, or want of food, or any other wonders or portents that may\nhappen. Now my father thinks it the greatest wonder, that thou hast come\nto our house; it would have been a very uncommon thing even if a man of\nlow birth had taken food here; but this is most strange that a king,\nchilled and without clothes, has come to us, for that has never before\nhappened. To-morrow my father and mother intend to divide the\ninheritance, among us their children; they will then with the thrall go\ndown the \u00c6tternisstapi, and journey to Valhalla. My father will reward\nthe thrall for his goodwill, in intending to drive thee from the door,\nwith nothing less than that he shall enjoy the happiness with him, for\nhe is sure that Odin will not go to meet the thrall unless he is in his\ncompany.\u2019[355] Then she slept with the king, who when he took leave\nasked her to let their child, if a boy, he called Gautrek.\n\n\u201cWhen Snotra came home, her father said: \u2018A great wonder has happened\nthat this king has come to our farm and eaten up a great deal of our\nproperty which we least of all wanted to lose. I think we cannot\nmaintain our family on account of poverty, and therefore I have brought\ntogether all my property, and want to divide the inheritance between my\nsons. I and my wife and my thrall intend to go to Valhalla. I cannot\nreward the thrall better for his faithfulness than by taking him with\nme; Gilling together with his sister Snotra shall get my good ox;\nFj\u00f6lm\u00f3di and his sister Hj\u00f6tra shall have my gold-bars; Imsigul and his\nsister Fj\u00f6tra shall have all the corn and the fields; but I ask you, my\nchildren, not to increase your number so that you cannot preserve my\ninheritance.\u2019 When Skafn\u00f6rtung had said what he liked they all went up\non Gillingsrock, and they led their father and mother down on the\n\u00c6tternisstapi, and they went cheerfully and merrily to Odin. Now when\nthey came home they consulted how to manage; they took wooden pins and\npinned the vadmal (thick woollen cloth) round every one, so that none of\nthem touched the other naked; they thought this the best way of\npreventing their number increasing. Snotra became aware that she was\nwith child; she moved the wooden pin in the vadmal so that she could be\ntouched with the hand, and affected sleep. When Gilling woke he touched\nher cheek with his hand, and said: \u2018This is bad that I have hurt thee;\nit seems to me thou art much stouter than before.\u2019 She answered: \u2018Hide\nthis as well as thou canst.\u2019 He said: \u2018That shame I will not have, for\nthis cannot be hidden when our number is increased.\u2019\n\n\u201cTwo black snakes crept on the gold-bars of Fj\u00f6lm\u00f3di, who therefore with\nhis wife threw himself down from the \u00c6tternisstapi. Imsigul saw a bird\ntake corn from his field; therefore he and his wife went down from\n\u00c6tternisstapi. Gilling, the third brother, did the same after Gautrek,\nSnotra\u2019s boy, had slain his ox. Snotra being left alone went to King\nGauti\u201d (Gautrek\u2019s Saga, c. 1, 2).\n\n\nThe scald Eyvind composed a poem on King Hakon Adalsteinsfostri after\nhis death in the battle of Stord against the sons of Eirik Blood-axe,\nand in this poem we see how he made his entrance into Valhalla, and how\nOdin sent Valkyrias to choose those he loved.\n\n\n\u201cThe body of King Hakon Adalstein\u2019s foster-son, after the battle, was\ncarried to S\u0153heim in Lygrisfjord, in North H\u00f6rdaland, and a mound thrown\nup over it. Before he fell eight sons of Harald (fair-hair) had been\nslain in light, as Eyvind has told, and he has said that the king went\nto Valhalla, for it was the belief of the heathen that all who died of\nwounds were taken to Valhalla.\u201d[356]\n\n\n G\u00f6ndul and Sk\u00f6gul[357]\n Gautat\u00fdr[358] sent\n To choose among kings\n Who of Yngvi\u2019s kin[359]\n Should to Odin go\n In Valhalla to dwell.\n\n They found the brother of Bj\u00f6rn[360]\n Putting on his mail-coat,\n The well-endowed king\n Stood under the war-banner.\n The battle-oars drooped,[361]\n The spear trembled,\n And then the battle began.\n\n He called to the Halogalanders\n And the Rogalanders;\n The only slayer of jarls[362]\n Walked into the fight;\n The generous one had\n A good host of Northmen;\n The frightener of Eydanir\n Stood early under a helmet.[363]\n\n The chief of the host\n Ere he began the fight\n Stripped himself of his war-dress,\n Flung his mail-coat on the plain.\n He played with the sons of men;[364]\n He had to defend his land;\n The merry king[365]\n Stood under a gold helmet.\n\n Thus did the sword\n In the king\u2019s hand\n Cut the cloth of V\u00e1fad[366]\n As if it cut water.\n The spears cracked,\n The shields were broken.\n The clashing swords rattled\n Upon the heads of men.\n\n The shields and heads\n Of Northmen were trodden\n By the hard feet\n Of the warriors\u2019 hilts.[367]\n There was fray on the island,\n And the kings reddened\n The shining shield-burgh\n With the blood of men.\n\n The wound-fires[368] burned\n In bloody wounds.\n The halberds sunk\n Into men\u2019s bodies;\n The wound-drops gushed[369]\n On the cape of swords;[370]\n The flood of arrows (blood) swelled\n On the shore of Stord.\n\n The gales of Sk\u00f6gul (fights)\n Were mingled together\n Under the reddened sky of shields;\n The clouds (arrows) played about the shields.\n The sea of sword-points sounded\n In the tempest of Odin;[371]\n Many men did sink\n In the stream of the sword.\n\n Then sat the chiefs\n With drawn swords,\n With broken shields\n And coats-of-mail cut.\n The host that had to fight\n For Valhalla\n Was not in high spirits.\n\n Then G\u00f6ndul said,\n Leaning on her spear-shaft:\n \u201cNow the following of the gods increases;\n For the powers have\n Bidden Hakon home\n With a great host.\u201d\n\n The king heard\n What the Valkyrjas said.\n The high ones on horseback\n Bore themselves handsomely\n And sat helmeted\n With shields in front.\n\n _Hakon._\n\n Why didst thou decide the battle\n As thou didst yesterday, Sk\u00f6gul?\n We surely deserved\n Victory from the gods.\n\n _Sk\u00f6gul._\n\n We have caused\n Thee to keep the field\n And thy foes to flee.\n\n Now we shall ride,\n Said the mighty Sk\u00f6gul,\n To the good homes of the gods\n To tell Odin\n That the All-ruler is coming\n To see him.\n\n Herm\u00f3d and Bragi,\n Said Hroptat\u00fdr,[372]\n Go you to meet the king\n As one[373]\n Who is thought a champion\n Comes this way to the hall.\n\n Thus spoke the king\n As he came from the battle\n All bespattered with blood:\n Odin to us\n Sullen seems\n If we can read his mind.\n\n (_Bragi._)\n\n Thou shalt have peace\n With all _Einherjar_\n And get cheer from the Asar;\n Fighter of jarls,\n Thou hast here within\n Eight brothers,[374] said Bragi.\n Our war-dress,\n Said the good king,\n Will we keep ourselves;\n Helmet and coat-of-mail\n Must be well cared for;\n It is good to have them ready.\n\n When it was known\n That the king had\n Respected well the temples,\n All the powers and gods\n Did Hakon\n Welcome bid.\n\n On a lucky day\n Is the king born\n Who has a mind like this;\n His time\n Will always\n Be mentioned for good.\n\n The Fenrir-wolf will be\n Let loose\n Upon the seat of men[375]\n Before as good\n A king arises\n In the empty land.\n\n Cattle die,\n Kinsmen die,\n Land and ground are laid waste.\n Since Hakon went\n To the heathen gods\n Many men are mournful.\n\nThe warriors who went to Valhalla were named _Einherjar_, and their food\nand drink are thus described:\u2014\n\n\n\u201cThen said Gangleri: \u2018Thou sayest that all men who have fallen in battle\nsince the beginning of the world have now come to Odin in Valhalla: what\nhas he to give them to eat? It seems to me that there must now be a\ngreat multitude.\u2019 H\u00e1r replied, \u2018Thou sayest true that there are very\ngreat hosts of men there; but there will be many more, nevertheless they\nwill be thought too few, when the wolf comes; but there are never such\nhosts in Valhalla that there is not more than enough of the flesh of the\nboar called S\u00e6hrimnir. He is boiled every day, and every night he is\nwhole again. As to this question which thou now askest, I think few are\nwise enough to be able to tell the truth about it\u2019\u201d (Later Edda).\n\n\n\u201cThen Gangleri said: \u2018What have the Einherjar[376] to drink which may\nlast as long as the food? Is water drunk there?\u2019 H\u00e1r answered:\n\u2018Strangely dost thou ask; as if Allf\u00f6dr (Allfather = Odin) would invite\nto him kings or jarls or other powerful men and give them water to\ndrink; and, by my troth, many of the comers to Valhalla would think the\ndrink of water dearly bought if no better cheer were to be had there,\nand they have before suffered pains and wounds unto death. I can tell\nthee another thing. The goat Heidr\u00fan stands on the roof of Valhalla, and\nbites buds off the branches of a very famous tree, Lerad, and from her\nteats flows a mead which fills a large vessel every day; the vessel is\nso large that all the Einherjar may get quite drunk out of it.\u2019 Gangleri\nsaid: \u2018That is an exceedingly useful goat for them; the tree on which\nshe feeds must be very good.\u2019 H\u00e1r said: \u2018Still more remarkable is the\nstag Eikthyrnir which stands on Valhalla and feeds on the branches of\nthis tree. From his horns there falls such a large drop that it comes\ndown into Hvergelmir, and thence fall the rivers named, Sid, Vid, Sekin,\nEkin, Sv\u00f6l, Gunnthr\u00f3, Fj\u00f6rm, Fimbulthul, Gipul, G\u00f6pul, G\u00f6mul, Geirvimul,\nwhich run through the Asa-land\u2019\u201d (Later Edda, Gylfaginning, c. 39).\n\n\nThe warriors in Valhalla appear to have divided their time between\ndrinking and fighting.\n\n _Odin._\n\n Tell me,...\n Where men in the grass-plot\n Fight every day?\n They slay whom they choose\n And ride from the fight\n And sit together well agreeing.\n\n _Vafthrudnir._\n\n All the _Einherjar_\n In the grass-plot of Odin\n Fight every day;\n They slay whom they choose\n And ride from the fight\n And sit together well agreeing.\n\n (Vafthrudnismal.)\n\nIn Grimnism\u00e1l we are told that the cook in Valhalla was called\nAndhrimnir, and the cauldron Eldhrimnir:\u2014\n\n Andhrimnir does\n Cook S\u00e6hrimnir\n In Eldhrimnir;\n The best of pork,\n But few know\n By what the Einherjar live.\n\n\n\u201cThen Gangleri said: \u2018A great many men are there in Valhalla; surely\nOdin is a very great chief, as he rules over such a host. What is the\nentertainment of the Einherjar when they are not drinking?\u2019 H\u00e1r\nanswered: \u2018Every day after having dressed they put on their war clothes,\nand go out into the enclosure and fight and slay each other. This is\ntheir game; near day-meal[377] they ride home to Valhalla and sit down\nto drink[378]\u2019\u201d (Later Edda, c. 40).\n\n\nOdin did not eat, for wine was to him both food and drink.\n\n\n\u201cThen said Gangleri: \u2018Has Odin the same fare as the Einherjar?\u2019 H\u00e1r:\n\u2018The food which stands on his board he gives to his two wolves, Geri and\nFreki;[379] he needs no food, for wine is both drink and food to him.\n\n\n\u201cKing Eirek (blood-axe of Northumberland), son of Harald Fairhair, one\nsummer made warfare west of Scotland, and in Ireland, and in Bretland\n(Wales), and did not stop before he came south to England, and ravaged\nthere as in other places, because King Adalstein (Ethelstan) was then\ndead, and his son Jatmund ruled England\u201d (Fagrskinna, c. 27).\n\n\n\u201cEirik had a host so large that five kings followed him. As he was a man\nof great bravery and a victorious man he trusted so well himself and his\nhost that he went far inland with warfare. Then King Olaf, King\nJatmund\u2019s tax-king,[380] came against him; they fought, and Eirik was\noverpowered by the land-host, and fell there with all his men. Arnkel\nand Erlend, the sons of Torfeinar (jarl in the Orkneys), fell there with\nhim\u201d (Fagrskinna, c. 28).\n\n\nAfter the death of Eirik, Gunnhild (his wife) caused a poem to be made\non him, how Odin welcomed him, which gives us an idea of the belief of\npeople about the Valhalla.\n\n What dreams are those?\n Methought a little before day\n That I made Valh\u00f6ll ready\n For slain people;\n I bid the valkyrjas carry wine,\n As a king (visi) was coming;\n I expect\n From the earth\n Some famous warriors;\n Therefore is my heart glad.\n\n What is thundering, Bragi,\n As if a thousand were moving,\n Or a multitude of men?\n The wainscot walls do creak (Bragi answers)\n As if Baldr were coming\n Back to the halls of Odin.\n Foolish talk (said Odin)\n Sayest thou, wise Bragi,\n Though thou well knowest all things\n It is thundering for Eirik\n Who will come here\n The chief into the halls of Odin.\n\n Sigmund and Sinfjotli!\n Rise quickly\n And go meet the chief;\n Bid him come in\n If it be Eirik,\n For him I now expect.\n\n I awakened the Einherjar;\n I bid them rise\n To spread the benches with straw,\n To wash the beer-vessels,\n Why expectest thou Eirik (Sigmund said)\n More than other kings? (konung)\n In many a land (said Odin)\n Has he reddened the sword (m\u0153kir)\n And carried the bloody blade.\n\n Why didst thou then deprive him of victory\n As thou thoughtest he was brave?\n Because it is uncertain\n When the grey wolf looks\n To the seat of the gods.\n\n Hail now, Eirik (said Sigmund),\n Thou shalt be welcome here;\n Enter the hall, wise man;\n I would ask\n Who follows thee\n Of kings (j\u00f6fr) from the thunder of edges (battle)?\n\n There are five (said Eirik).\n I shall tell the names of all.\n I am myself the sixth.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XXIX.\n SUPERSTITIONS.\u2014SHAPE-CHANGING.\n\n Popular belief in the power of shape-changing\u2014Journeys taken under\n assumed shapes\u2014The language of birds\u2014Use of animal food to incite\n to bravery\u2014The drink of oblivion.\n\n\nWe have many instances in the Sagas showing that there was a popular\nbelief in the power of some persons to change their shape[381]\n(_hamhleypa_), either by their own will or by the power of witchcraft.\nNo matter into what animal shape an individual had been changed, no\nspell could ever touch the human eye, which remained unchangeable.\n\nMen often undertook journeys under an assumed shape, in which case their\nown body was supposed to lie as dead, in a magical sleep; and a spirit\nwas considered most fit for a journey when it was in animal shape: the\nname of the person who was on the journey was never to be mentioned, and\nit was considered most important that a sleeper should not be aroused,\nfor if disturbed the whole enchantment was destroyed.\n\nWomen who undertook journeys in such animal shapes were called\n_hamhleypa_, or runners under another shape.\n\n\n\u201cIt is said that Ulf, a hersir,[382] every night became so cross that no\none could speak to him, and that in the evening the _sleeping sickness_\ncame over him, so that he fell asleep. But there were those who said\nthat he could change his shape and roam about far away as a wild beast,\nand that it was only his body which sat sleeping in the house; therefore\nhis name was lengthened, and he was called _Kveldulf_ (Evening Ulf)\u201d\n(Egil\u2019s Saga, ch. 1).\n\n\n\u201cIt is mentioned that once when Signy was sitting in her _skemma_[383]\nthere came to her a V\u00f6lva very skilled in witchcraft.\n\nSigny spoke to her: \u2018I want to exchange shapes with you.\u2019 She said,\n\u2018Thou shalt have thy will;\u2019 so she caused by her witchcraft that they\nexchanged appearance; the sorceress sat down on the bed of Signy, as she\ntold her, and went to bed with the king in the evening, and he did not\nknow that Signy was not with him. Of Signy it is said that she went to\nthe earth-house of her brother Sigmund, and asked him to lodge her\nduring the night, as she had gone astray in the forest, and did not know\nwhere she was. He said she could stay there, and he would not refuse a\nlonely woman lodgings, and thought she would not reward him for the good\nentertainment by telling where he was. She went into his room and they\nsat down to eat; he often looked at her, and she seemed fair and fine to\nhim.... Thereupon she went home, met the sorceress, and asked to\nexchange shapes again, and thus she did. When time passed on Signy gave\nbirth to a boy, who was called Sinfj\u00f6tli. When he grew up he was large\nand strong and good-looking, and resembled much the Volsunga family; he\nwas not quite ten winters old when she sent him to Sigmund in the\nunderground house. She had tried her other sons before she sent them to\nSigmund by sewing gloves to their hands through flesh and skin. They did\nnot bear it well, and grumbled at it. She did the same to Sinfj\u00f6tli, and\nhe did not wince; she tore the kirtle off him so that his skin followed\nthe sleeves;[384] she said he must feel pain. He answered, \u2018Little will\na Volsung feel this pain.\u2019 Then he came to Sigmund, who asked him to\nknead their meal while he fetched firewood. He handed him a bag, and\nthen went after wood. When he returned, Sinfj\u00f6tli had baked the bread.\nSigmund asked if he had found anything in the meal. He replied, \u2018I fancy\nthere was something alive in the meal when I began to knead it, but I\nhave kneaded it also herein.\u2019 Sigmund said, laughing: \u2018I guess thou wilt\nnot eat this bread to-night, for thou hast kneaded in it the most\npoisonous worm.\u2019 Sigmund was so strong that he could eat poison without\nbeing hurt; and Sinfj\u00f6tli could stand poison externally,[385] but was\nunable to eat or drink it\u201d[386] (Volsunga Saga, c. 7).\n\n\n\u201cKing Hring, of Uppdalir, in Norway, had a son, Bj\u00f6rn (bear), and when\nhis wife died he married a woman from Finnm\u00f6rk. She changed her stepson\ninto a bear in this way. She struck him with a wolfskin glove, and said\nthat he should become a fierce and cruel lair-bear, \u2018and use no other\nfood than the cattle of thy father; thou shalt kill it for thy food, so\nmuch of it that it will be unexampled, and never shalt thou get out of\nthis spell, and this revenge shall harm thee.\u2019\n\n\u201cThereafter Bj\u00f6rn disappeared, and no one knew what had become of him.\nWhen he was missed he was searched for, and nowhere found, as was\nlikely. Then it is told that the king\u2019s cattle were killed in large\nnumbers, as a big and fierce grey bear began to attack them. One evening\nthe bondi\u2019s daughter (Bj\u00f6rn\u2019s sweetheart) happened to see this fierce\nbear, which came to her and fondled her much. She thought she recognized\nin this bear the eyes of Bj\u00f6rn, Hring\u2019s son, and did not shun him much.\nThe bear walked away, and she followed until it came to a cave. When she\ncame there a man greeted Bera,[387] the bondi\u2019s daughter. She recognized\nBj\u00f6rn, and they were very glad to see each other. They stayed in the\ncave for a while, for she would not part before she need. He said it was\nunfit for her to stay there with him, as he was a beast by day and a man\nby night. King Hring came home from his warfare, and was told what had\noccurred while he was away, that his son Bj\u00f6rn had disappeared, and a\nlarge beast had come into the country and attacked his own cattle\nmostly. The queen urged much to have the beast slain, but it was delayed\na while; the king disliked this, and thought it strange. One night, when\nBera and Bj\u00f6rn were in their bed, Bj\u00f6rn said, \u2018I expect that to-morrow\nis my death-day, and that I shall be hunted up, and I take no pleasure\nin life because of the ill fate that lies on me, though I have one\nenjoyment, namely, that we are two, which will now be changed. I will\ngive thee the ring which is under my left arm; to-morrow thou wilt see\nmen who attack me, and when I am dead go to the king and ask him to give\nthee what is under the left shoulder of the bear, which he will grant.\nThe queen will suspect thee when thou goest away, and give thee the\nflesh of the animal to eat, but thou shouldst not eat it, for thou art\npregnant, as thou knowest, and wilt bear three boys, who are ours, and\non them will it be seen if thou eatest of the bear\u2019s flesh, and this\nqueen is the greatest witch. Then go home to thy father, and there bring\nup the boys; one of them will seem the worst to thee, and, if thou art\nnot able to have them at home for the sake of their overbearing and\nunruliness, then take them away with thee to this cave. Thou wilt find\nhere a chest with three compartments; the runes by its side will tell\nwhat is to belong to each of them; three weapons are in the rock, and\neach of them shall have the one intended for him. The first-born of our\nsons shall be called Th\u00f3rir, the second Elgfrodi, the third B\u00f6dvar, and\nI think it probable that they will not be little men, and their names\nwill long be remembered.\u2019 He foretold her many things, and then the\nbear\u2019s skin fell over him. The bear went out, and she after him, and\nlooked round. She saw many men coming past the spur of the mountain,\nwith many large dogs in front. The bear ran out of the cave and along\nthe mountain; the dogs and the king\u2019s men came against it, and it was\ndifficult to hunt it; it maimed many men before it was slain, and killed\nall the dogs. At last they made a circle round it, and it ran in the\ncircle, and saw that it could not escape; it turned to the king\u2019s side,\ncaught the man next to him, and tore him asunder alive; then it was so\nexhausted that it threw itself down on the ground; they soon rushed at\nit and slew it. The bondi\u2019s daughter saw this, went to the king, and\nsaid: \u2018Will you, lord, give me what is under the left shoulder of the\nbear?\u2019 The king consented, as it could only be a thing well fit to be\ngiven to her. The king\u2019s men had then flayed off much of the skin of the\nbear; she went and took the ring, and kept it, but they saw not what she\ntook, and did not search; the king asked who she was, as he did not know\nher; she gave him a wrong name\u201d[388] (Hrolf Kraki, cc. 25, 26).\n\n\nSome women could shape themselves into a _Mara_ or _Kveldrida_\n(evening-rider, or nightmare), in which shape they could hurt or kill\npeople in their sleep. In the Eidsifja Kristinrett we find that there\nwas a punishment for women who had this power.\n\n\n\u201cGeirrid and Gunnlaug conversed during the greater part of the day, and\nlate in the evening she said to him: \u2018I should like thee not to go home\nto-night, for many are the _sea-sliders_ (those who slide over the\nsea\u2014witches, spirits, etc.), and there are often witches beneath a fair\nskin, and thou dost not look very lucky in my eyes now.\u2019 He answered: \u2018I\nshall not be hurt, as we are two together.\u2019 She said: \u2018Odd will be of no\nuse to thee, and thy self-will is worse for thyself.\u2019 Then Gunnlaug and\nOdd left, and went to Holt. Katla was already in her bed, and asked Odd\nto invite Gunnlaug to stay; he said he had done so, but he wanted to go\nhome. \u2018Then let him go, and meet what he deserves,\u2019 she answered.\nGunnlaug did not come home in the evening, and they talked about\nsearching for him, but did not. In the night, when Thorbj\u00f6rn looked out,\nhe found his son Gunnlaug at the door; he was lying there, and was mad.\nHe was carried in and his clothes pulled off. He was bruised and bloody\nall over his shoulders, and his flesh torn off the bones. He lay all the\nwinter in wounds, and his sickness was much talked of. Odd K\u00f6tluson said\nthat Geirrid had ridden on him, as they had parted abruptly that night;\nand most people thought it to be so. The next spring, during the\ncitation days, Thorbj\u00f6rn rode to M\u00e1fahlid and summoned Geirrid, charging\nher with being an _evening-rider_ and causing the sickness of Gunnlaug.\nThe case came to the Thorsnesthing, and Snorri godi helped his\nbrother-in-law, Thorbj\u00f6rn, while Arnkel _godi_ defended the case for his\nsister, Geirrid. The verdict of twelve (_tylftarkvid_)[389] had to\ndecide; but neither Snorri nor Arnkel were allowed to deliver the\nverdict, on account of their relation to prosecutor and defendant. Then\nHelgi Hofgardagodi, the father of Bj\u00f6rn, whose son Gest was the father\nof Skald-Ref, was called upon to deliver the verdict of the twelve.\nArnkel _godi_ went to the Court and took an oath at the altar-ring that\nGeirrid had not caused the sickness of Gunnlaug. Th\u00f3rarin (a son of\nGeirrid) and ten others took oath with him, and then Helgi gave verdict\nfor her (Geirrid), and the suit of Snorri and Thorbj\u00f6rn was made void,\nand this brought dishonour on them\u201d (Eyrbyggja, c. 16).\n\n\nIt was believed that some people understood the language of birds.[390]\n\n\n\u201cDag, the son of King Dyggvi, took the kingship after him; he was so\nwise that he could understand the talk of birds. He had a sparrow which\ntold him many tidings; it flew into various lands. The sparrow once flew\ninto Reidgotaland, to a farm called V\u00f6rvi; it went on the field of the\nowner and took food. The owner came there, took up a stone, and wounded\nthe sparrow to death. King Dag became sorry when the sparrow did not\nreturn; he then made a sacrifice to inquire, and got the answer that his\nsparrow had been killed at V\u00f6rvi. Then he levied a great host and went\nto Gotland, and made warfare and plundered. One evening when he went\ndown to his ships with his host a thrall ran out of a forest and threw a\npitchfork at them, which hit the king and killed him. His men went back\nto Sweden\u201d (Ynglinga Saga, ch. 21).[391]\n\n\n\u201cOne summer when King Olaf\u2019s men had been gathering land-taxes he asked\nwhere they were best treated. They said by an old bondi who knew many\nthings before they happened, and who had answered many of their\nquestions, and they thought he understood the voice of birds.\u201d ... The\nking took this bondi on board his ship to show the way along the coast.\n\n\u201cAs they were rowing a crow flew over the ship with loud shrieks. The\nbondi looked at it. The King said: \u2018Does it mean anything to thee?\u2019 \u2018It\ndoes, lord,\u2019 answered he. Another crow flew over the ship, shrieking.\nThe bondi forgot to row, and his oar got loose in his hand. The king\nsaid: \u2018Thou art very attentive to the crow, or to what it says, bondi.\u2019\nHe answered: \u2018I have some misgivings, lord.\u2019 A crow passed over the ship\na third time, shrieking louder than the two others, and flying nearer\nthe ship. The bondi rose and stopped rowing. The king said: \u2018This\nsignifies much to thee, or what does it tell?\u2019 The bondi answered: \u2018That\nwhich it is unlikely that I or it knows.\u2019 The king said: \u2018Tell me.\u2019 The\nbondi sang:\u2014\n\n The one winter old crow tells,\n It knows not;\n The two winters old one tells,\n I believe it not;\n But the three winters old one tells,\n Which I think not likely,\n That I row\n On a mare\u2019s head,\n And that thou, king,\n Art the thief of my property.\u201d\n\n (Olaf the Quiet\u2019s Saga (Heimskr.), c. 10.)\n\n\nNot only was it believed that the form could be changed, but it was\nfurther believed that by eating some peculiar kind of food the temper of\nmen could be changed. The meat and blood of strong and fierce beasts,\nespecially of wolves, were held potent to make men brave and fierce, and\nthus partake of the nature of animals.\n\n\n\u201cThereafter Regin came to Sigurd, and said: \u2018Hail, my lord; a great\nvictory hast thou won, as thou hast slain Fafnir, and no one was so bold\nbefore as to dare to sit in his way, and this deed of fame will be\nremembered while the world stands. Regin stood looking on the ground for\na long while, and then suddenly said, with great anger: Thou hast slain\nmy brother, and scarcely can I be innocent of this deed.\u2019 Sigurd took\nhis sword _Gram_ and wiped it on the grass, and said to Regin: \u2018Thou\nwast far off when I did this deed, and tried this sharp sword with my\nhand and my strength. I had to fight the power of the serpent, when thou\ndidst lay in a heather cluster, and didst not know heaven from earth.\u2019\nRegin answered: \u2018This serpent might have lain long time in his lair if\nthou hadst not used the sword which I made for thee with my hand, and\nthen thou hadst not done this alone.\u2019 Sigurd said: \u2018When men come to\nfight, it is better to have a good heart than a sharp sword.\u2019 Then Regin\nsaid to him very sadly: \u2018Thou didst slay my brother, and scarcely can I\nbe innocent of this deed.\u2019\n\n\u201cThen Sigurd cut out the serpent\u2019s heart with a sword called _Ridil_.\nRegin drank the blood of Fafnir, and said: \u2018Do one thing for me which is\neasy to thee; go to a fire with the heart and roast it, and give it me\nto eat.\u2019 Sigurd went away and roasted it on a spit, and when the blood\ncame out of it, he touched it with his finger to see if it were roasted;\nhe put his finger in his mouth, and when the serpent\u2019s heart-blood\ntouched his tongue he understood the speech of birds; he heard\nnuthatches (_Sitta Europ\u00e6a_) chirp in the brushwood near him\u2014\u2018There thou\nsittest, Sigurd, roasting the heart of Fafnir; he (Sigurd) should eat it\nhimself, then he would become wiser than any other man.\u2019 Another said:\n\u2018There lies Regin, wishing to betray the one who trusts him.\u2019 The third\none said: \u2018Let him (Sigurd) cut off his head, then he can rule alone\nover the great gold.\u2019 The fourth one said: \u2018He would be wiser if he\nacted according to our advice, and rode to the lair of Fafnir, and took\nthe great gold which is there, and then rode up to Hindarfjall\n(Hind-fell), where Brynhild sleeps, where he will learn great wisdom; he\nwould be wise if he took your advice, and thought of what he ought to do\n(namely, to slay Regin); where I see the ears I expect the wolf.\u2019 The\nfifth said: \u2018He (Sigurd) is not so wise as I think if he spares him\n(Regin), having slain his brother.\u2019 The sixth said: \u2018It would be a bold\ndeed if he slew him, and ruled alone over the gold.\u2019 Then Sigurd said:\n\u2018It is not my fate that Regin is my slayer, but both the brothers ought\nrather to go the same way.\u2019 He drew the sword _Gram_ and cut off Regin\u2019s\nhead. After this he ate part of the serpent\u2019s heart, and kept part of\nit. Then he jumped on his horse and rode on Fafnir\u2019s track to his room,\nand found it open; all the doors were of iron, and also the\ndoor-fittings, and all the beams, and it was dug into the ground. Sigurd\nfound there very much gold, and the sword _Hrotti_, and there he took\nthe helmet of terror, and the golden coat-of-mail, and many costly\nthings. He found there so much gold that he thought likely that two or\nthree horses would not carry more. He put it all in two chests, and took\nthe bridle of the horse Grani, which would not walk, and it was no use\nto whip it. He found what the horse wished, jumped on its back and\nspurred it, and it ran as if it had no burden on its back\u201d (Volsunga\nSaga, c. 19).\n\n\n\u201cWhen it drew near to Yule, people became uncheerful, B\u00f6dvar asked H\u00f6tt\nwhy this was. He told him a large and terrible animal had come there for\ntwo winters; it had wings on its back, and always flew: for two autumns\nit had come, and done much damage; weapons did not wound it, and the\nbest champions of the King did not come home. B\u00f6dvar said: \u2018The hall is\nnot so well manned[392] as I thought, if one creature is to lay waste\nthe realm and property of the king.\u2019 H\u00f6tt replied that it was not an\nanimal, but the worst fiend. On Yule-eve the King said: \u2018I want people\nto be quiet and silent this night, and I forbid all my men to endanger\nthemselves against the animal; with the property let it happen as it\nmay, but I do not want to lose my men.\u2019 Every man promised to do as he\nordered. B\u00f6dvar stole away in the night with H\u00f6tt, who went unwillingly,\nsaying that he was taken to death, while B\u00f6dvar said it would not be so.\nAs they left the hall, B\u00f6dvar was obliged to carry him, he was so\nfrightened. When they saw the beast, H\u00f6tt shouted as loud as he could,\nand cried that it was going to swallow him. B\u00f6dvar told the animal to be\nsilent, and flung him down in the moss; there he lay, not without fear,\nnor dared he go home. B\u00f6dvar now went against the beast; it happened\nthat his sword was fast in the scabbard; at last he got the scabbard\nturned, so that the sword came out; he thrust at once under its shoulder\nso strongly that he pierced the heart, and it fell dead. Then he went to\nwhere H\u00f6tt lay; he took him, and carried him to the place where the\nbeast lay dead. H\u00f6tt trembled violently. B\u00f6dvar said: \u2018Now thou shalt\ndrink its blood.\u2019 He was long unwilling, but dared not, however,\ndisobey. B\u00f6dvar made him swallow two large mouthfuls, and eat some of\nthe beast\u2019s heart; then took hold of him, and they wrestled a long\nwhile. B\u00f6dvar said: \u2018Thou hast become rather strong, and I do not think\nthou art now afraid of the hirdmen of King Hrolf.\u2019 H\u00f6tt replied: \u2018I will\nnot be afraid of them nor of thee hereafter.\u2019 B\u00f6dvar answered: \u2018That is\ngood, my companion H\u00f6tt; let us go and lift up the beast, and arrange it\nso that others will think it alive.\u2019 This they did. After this they went\nhome quietly, and no one knew what they had done\u201d (Hrolf Kraki\u2019s Saga,\nc. 35).[393]\n\n\nThere were several different drinks, known under different names,\nprepared in a special manner and with incantations, which were supposed\nto possess special properties. For these magical drinks, which were\nbelieved to have great power, many things were mixed, and runes were\nused, partly as formularies over the drink, or carved on trees or bones\nwhich were thrown into it[394]; in the latter case this was done to\nexcite love for the one in whose behalf the potion was given. Chief\namong these drinks was the drink of oblivion (_Uminnisveig_), a drink\nprepared to remove sorrow from the mind.\n\nGudrun went from Denmark home to her mother Grimhild who gave her the\ndrink of oblivion.\n\n Grimhild brought to me\n A cup to drink,\n A cold and bitter one;\n I forgot my sorrows;\n It was mixed\n With the might of the earth,\n With ice-cold sea-water,\n With sacrificed blood.\n In the horn were\n All kinds of letters\n Carved and painted in red;\n I could not read them;\n A long ling-fish,\n The unreaped corn-ear,\n The bowels of beasts.\n Many evils\n Were mixed in that beer;\n The herbs of every forest,\n Burnt acorns,\n The soot of the hearth,\n Sacrificed bowels,\n A boiled swine-liver,\n For it soothes the sorrows.\n\n (Volsunga, c. 32.)\n\nAfter taking this drink of oblivion she forgot all her sorrows, and\nmarried King Atli, who afterwards murdered her brother at a feast where\nthey were invited by him. Gudrun revenged herself by killing the\nchildren she had by Atli, and then had him murdered.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XXX.\n SUPERSTITIONS.\u2014WITCHCRAFT.\n\n Two kinds of witchcraft\u2014Use of runes with incantations\u2014Power of\n witchcraft\u2014Ceremonies attending it\u2014The Finns great masters in the\n art\u2014Magical characters on weapons\u2014Witchcraft\u2014Knowing women\u2014Raising\n dead people\u2014Power of the eye to blunt weapons\u2014Charmed swords\u2014The\n life-stone\u2014Charmed garments\u2014Ocular delusions\u2014Appearance of ghosts\n at feasts considered lucky\u2014Protection against ghosts\u2014Punishment of\n witchcraft in later times.\n\n\nThe worshippers of the Asa creed were strong believers in witchcraft; it\nis most difficult for us now to comprehend such superstition, but we\nneed not go back to that remote period to find the same diseased state\nof mind in Europe and America.\n\nTwo kinds of witchcraft, _Galdr_ and _Seid_, were practised. Galdr,\nderived from _gala_, to sing, was a form of sorcery; Odin was called the\nfather of galdr, and those who practised it were called _galdrasmid_, or\ngaldr-smiths, and sometimes galdra-men, who, while singing their\nformularies, used at times to mark certain mystic runes[395] which were\nused with the incantation; and it appears that caution in the use of\nthese runes was necessary, as their use by an impostor was held to cause\ndanger.[396] It was supposed that such gald were able to cure wounds and\nsickness, allay fire and storm, rouse up the dead in order to consult\nthem as to the future, and win the love of women.\n\n\n\u201cHe (Odin) taught with runes and with songs called galdrar; therefore\nthe Asar are called galdra-smiths. Odin knew and himself practised the\ngreatest of idr\u00f3ttir, which is called seid: by it he could tell the\ndestiny of men and future things, and cause death or bad luck, or\nillness, and take away men\u2019s wit or strength, and give them to others.\nHe taught most of his idr\u00f3ttir to the sacrificing priests; they were\nnext to him in all wisdom and witchcraft. Many others, however, learned\na great deal of them, and from them witchcraft has spread widely and\nbeen kept up long\u201d (Ynglinga Saga, c. 7).\n\n\nThe seid, which had been learnt by the Asar from the Vanir, like the\n_galdr_, was performed with songs and incantations, and generally at\nnight. It was used mostly for evil purposes, and its knowledge was not\nheld as noble as that of galdr. It had been taught by Freyja, and was\nchiefly performed by women.\n\nAmong the ceremonies attending seid was that of cooking strange dishes,\nthe objects composing which were kept secret by the seid persons.\n\n\n\u201cKotkel had a large seid-platform made; they all went up on it and sung\nthere their wisdom, namely, galdr\u201d (Laxd\u00e6la, c. 35).\n\n\n\u201cKotkel and Grima and their sons left their home during the night; they\nwent to the farm of Hr\u00fat and there made a great seid. When the\nseid-sounds were heard, those inside could not understand what it was,\nbut the song was fine to listen to. Hr\u00fat alone knew these sounds, and\nsaid that no man must look out that night, and that every one who was\nable must be awake, and they would not be harmed if they did this.\nNevertheless all fell asleep. Hr\u00fat was awake the longest time, but\nnevertheless fell asleep. K\u00e1ri, his son, was then twelve winters old and\nthe most promising of his sons, and much loved by him; he could scarcely\nget any sleep, for all this was intended against him; he did not get\nmuch rest. He jumped up, looked out, and walked on the seid place, and\nfell down dead at once\u201d (Laxd\u00e6la, c. 37).\n\n\nThe Finns were looked upon as great masters in witchcraft, and their\nadvice was in much favour; they were considered especially clever in\ngoing on journeys in another shape.\n\n\n\u201cVanlandi, the son of Svegdir, succeeded him and ruled the realm of\nUpsala; he was a great warrior, and travelled far and wide. He lived one\nwinter in Finnland with Snjar the old, and married his daughter Drifa.\nIn the spring he went away, and Drifa remained; he promised to come back\nin three winters, but for ten winters he did not come. Then Drifa sent\nfor the seid-woman, Huld, and sent Visbur, their son, to Sweden. Drifa\nmade a bargain with the seid-woman, Huld, that she should get Vanlandi\nby seid to Finnland, or slay him. When the seid was performed Vanlandi\nwas at Uppsalir; thereupon he wished to go to Finnland, but his friends\nand advisers prevented him from going, and said that his wish was owing\nto the witchcraft of the Finns\u201d (Ynglinga, c. 16).\n\n\n_Mal_ was a name given to magical characters, runes, &c., which were\ninlaid upon weapons, and which were believed to enable their owners to\nhold others spell-bound.\n\n\n\u201cThorgrim Nef dwelt at Nefstadir, near the Haukadal river. He was versed\nin witchcraft and magic, and a very great wizard. Thorgrim and Thorkel\ninvited Thorgrim Nef to their home, for they had a feast. Thorgrim was\nskilled in iron work. The three went together to the smithy, and\nthereupon shut the door. The pieces of the sword Gr\u00e1sida (grey-side),\nwhich Thorkel got at the division of property between himself and his\nbrother, were taken, and from these Thorgrim made a spear, which was\nfinished at night. Ornaments (mal) were inlaid on it\u201d (Gisli Sursson\u2019s\nSaga).\n\n\nWitchcraft-knowing women were accustomed to rub with their hands the\nwhole body of the man who was to go to war or fight; by this means they\nfound the most vulnerable part of the body, for they believed that on\nthis place they could find a knot which was supposed to be the spot that\nwas to be wounded, and if they found such a knot they had a special\nprotection made for it.\n\n\n\u201cHelga\u2019s foster-mother used to touch men (with her hands) before they\nwent into a fight; she did this with \u00d6gmund before he left, and said she\ndid not find a vulnerable spot\u201d (Kormak i.).\n\n\n\u201cIt is told that Hr\u00f3i gathered men and got 30 before he left; his\nfoster-mother wanted to touch his body with her hands before he went\nfrom home, and thought she knew then best how he would succeed. She\nfound a vulnerable point on his foot, but in other places she was\nsatisfied\u201d (Vemunds Saga, c. 5).\n\n\nThe champion Thorm\u00f3d came very often to talk with the widow\u2019s daughter\nagainst Grima\u2019s will. Then she sent a man, Kolbak, to lie in ambush for\nThormod one evening.\n\n\n\u201cShe (Grima) touched him all over with her hands. Then Kolbak went his\nway.... Thorm\u00f3d walked in front of the sheephouse door, and at that\nmoment a man with a drawn sax ran out of it and struck at Thorm\u00f3d. The\nblow hit Thorm\u00f3d\u2019s arm above the elbow and the wound was large. Thorm\u00f3d\nthrew his shield down and drew his sword with his left hand and struck\nat Kolbak with both arms, the one blow after the other. The sword did\nnot bite, for Kolbak was so strengthened with witchcraft that iron did\nnot bite him. Kolbak did not strike any more blows at Thorm\u00f3d, but said:\n\u2018Now I can do with thee, Thorm\u00f3d, what I like, but I will not do more.\u2019\nKolbak went home and told Grima the news\u201d (F\u00f3stbr\u00e6dra Saga, c. 14).\n\n\nAmong the numerous kinds of witchcraft practised was that of a man\nsitting out of doors at night in the open air, and, by some magical\naction not described, raising troll (wizard or witch) or dead people, in\norder to ask them questions as to the future.[397]\n\nHakon and Ingi were pretenders to the crown of Norway, and were going to\nfight a battle.\n\n\n\u201cIt is told that Gunnhild, to whom Simon had been married, and who was\nthe foster-mother of King Hakon, had out-sitting for the victory of\nHakon. The result was that they should fight against Ingi at night, but\nnever by day, and then it would go well. The woman who was said to have\nsat out is called Th\u00f3rdis Seggia, but I do not know it for true\u201d (Hakon\nHerdibreid\u2019s Saga, c. 16).\n\n\nSome people were supposed to have power in their eyes, by which they\ncould blunt swords in the fight.\n\n\n\u201cGunnlaug Ormstunga challenged the viking Th\u00f3rorm to a h\u00f3lmganga,\nbecause he would not pay back money which he had borrowed from Gunnlaug.\nGunnlaug was then at the hird of King Adalrad in London, who told him\nthat this man blunted every weapon, and gave him a sword to fight with\nand told him to show only his own sword to the viking\u201d (Gunnlaug\nOrmstunga\u2019s Saga).\n\n\n\u201cShe (Thordis the witch) blunted Kormak\u2019s sword so that it could not\nbite\u201d (Kormak\u2019s Saga, c. 23).\n\n\nMen who carried charmed weapons were always held to be lucky in fight.\nWhen using such charmed swords, good care had to be taken that the charm\nshould be effective, or part of the power was lost: for instance, the\nfamous sword _Sk\u00f6fnung_\u2014taken from the mound of Hr\u00f3lf Kraki\u2014was not to\nbe drawn in the sight of people, nor must the sun shine on the\nhilt,[398] and the wounds inflicted by these could not be cured except\nby touching them by the so-called _lifstein_ (life-stone) which was\nattached to the sword. The wounds of the sword Sk\u00f6fnung could only be\nhealed by the stone set in its hilt.\n\n\n\u201cBersi had a sharp sword, Hviting, with a lifstein attached to it, which\nhe had carried in many dangers\u201d (Kormak\u2019s Saga, c. 9.)\n\n\nBersi, on account of his many duels, was called Holmganga Bersi.\n\n\n\u201cKormak said to him: \u2018I challenge thee, Bersi, to holmganga (a duel) at\nthe end of half a month on Leidholm.\u2019 ...\n\n\u201cBersi had a sharp sword called Hviting, with a lifstein attached to it,\nwhich he had carried in many dangers.\n\n\u201cDalla (mother of Kormak) advised him to find Midfjord Skeggi and ask\nfor Sk\u00f6fnung (Holf Kraki\u2019s sword). Kormak went to Reykjar (Skeggisb\u00f9)\nand told him his case. Skeggi answered that he was unwilling to lend him\nthe sword, for they \u2018Sk\u00f6fnung and Kormak\u2019 were unlike in temper.\n\u2018Sk\u00f6fnung is slow, but thou art impatient and headstrong.\u2019 Kormak rode\naway ill pleased, returned to Mel, and told his mother that Skeggi would\nnot lend him the sword. Skeggi used to give Dalla advices; and there was\nfriendship between them. Dalla said: \u2018He will lend thee the sword,\nthough he will not yield readily (at once).\u2019 Kormak did not think it was\nfair if he withheld not the sword from her, but did from him.... A few\ndays later she told Kormak to go to Reykjar, as Skeggi would now lend\nhim the sword; Kormak found him and asked for Sk\u00f6fnung. \u2018The management\nof it may seem difficult to thee,\u2019 said Skeggi; \u2018a bag (covering)\nfollows it (goes with it) and thou shall leave it quiet; the sun must\nnot shine on the upper guard, nor shall thou draw it except thou\npreparest for fight; but, if thou comest to the fighting-place, sit\nalone, and there draw it. Hold up the blade and blow on it; then a small\nsnake will creep from under the guard; incline the blade, and make it\neasy for it (the snake) to creep back under the guard.\u2019 Kormak said:\n\u2018Many things do you the wizards use?\u2019 Skeggi replied: \u2018This, however,\nwill help thee fully.\u2019 After this, Kormak rode home and told his mother\nwhat had happened; and said that her will had much power over Skeggi;\nshowed her the sword, and tried to draw it: but it would not leave the\nscabbard. Dolla said: \u2018Too self-willed art thou, kinsman.\u2019 Kormak put\nhis feet on the guard, and tore off the bag; Sk\u00f6fnung howled at this,\nbut could not be drawn from the scabbard.\n\n\u201cThe time for the holmgang approached, and Kormak left home with fifteen\nmen. In the same manner Bersi rode to the place with as many men. Kormak\ncame first, and said to Thorgils that he wanted to sit there alone.\nKormak sat down and unfastened the sword, and did not take care that the\nsun did not shine on its guard; he had girt himself with it outside his\nclothes, and tried to draw it; but did not get it out until he stepped\non the guard; the small snake came, but it was not handled as he should\nhave been, and the luck of the sword was changed, and it went howling\nout of the scabbard\u201d (Kormak\u2019s Saga, c. 9).\n\n\nThere were also garments which were supposed to be impenetrable.\n\nWhen about to leave the house of his parents, Hr\u00f3lf went to his mother\nAsa and said:\n\n\n\u201cI want thee, mother, to show me the cloaks which Vefreyja, thy\nfoster-mother, made for my father a long time ago.\u2019 She opened a large\nchest and answered: \u2018Here thou canst see them, and they have decayed but\nlittle as yet.\u2019 Hr\u00f3lf took them up; they were with sleeves, a hood at\nthe top, and a covering for the face; they were wide and long; no iron\ncould cut them, and poison could not damage them. Hr\u00f3lf took two which\nwere the largest, and said: \u2018I do not carry away too much from the house\nof my father, though I take the cloaks\u2019\u201d (G\u00f6ngu Hr\u00f3lf\u2019s Saga, c. 4).\n\n\nAmong the kinds of witchcraft mentioned in the sagas is one called\n_sjonhverfingar_ (ocular delusion).\n\n\n\u201cAt Froda there was a large hall and a locked bed adjoined it, as then\nwas customary. On each side of the hall was a small room; one of them\nwas filled with dried fish and the other with flour. Meal fires were\nmade every night in the hall as was the custom. People used to sit long\nat the fires before they went to their meal. When the gravediggers came\nhome that night, and men were sitting at the fires at Froda, they saw a\nhalf moon appearing on the wall of the room. All those who were inside\ncould see it. It moved backwards against the course of the sun through\nthe room. It did not vanish while they sat at the fire. Thorod asked\nThorir Wood-leg what this foreboded. Thorir answered it was the\nUrdarmani (moon of Urd). Deaths of men will follow upon this. This\ncontinued all the week; the urdarmani entered every night\u201d (Eyrbyggja,\nc. 52).[399]\n\n\n\u201cLate in the summer H\u00f6rd went to Saurb\u0153r with twenty-three men, for\nThorstein \u00d6xnabrodd (ox-staff) had boasted that his witchcraft-knowing\nfoster-mother Skroppa could with her sorcery effect that the H\u00f3lmverjar\n(men of H\u00f3lm, the island) were not able to harm him. They came to the\nb\u0153r; Skroppa and the daughters of the bondi Helga and Sigrid were at\nhome, but Thorstein was at his s\u00e6ter at Kuvallardal, in Svinadal.\nSkroppa opened all the rooms; she made sjonhverfingar, so that the three\n(women) sitting on the cross-bench seemed to them three boxes standing\nthere. The men of H\u00f6rd talked about wanting to break these boxes. H\u00f6rd\nforbade that. They then left the farm and turned northward to see if\nthey could find any cattle. They saw a young sow running with two pigs\nin that direction; they got ahead of it. Then it seemed to them that a\nlarge crowd of men was coming against them with spears and fully armed,\nand the sow with its pigs shook their ears. Geir (H\u00f6rd\u2019s foster-brother)\nsaid: \u2018Let us go to our boat; there will be odds against us.\u2019 H\u00f6rd said\nit was best not to run away so soon without any trial. At the same time\nhe lifted up a large stone and struck the sow to death. When they came\nto it they saw Skroppa lying dead there, while the bondi\u2019s daughters,\nwhom they had taken for pigs, stood at her side. When she was dead they\nat once saw that the crowd which came against them was oxen and not men;\nthey drove the cattle down to the boat, killed them, and loaded their\nboat with the meat. Geir took Sigrid away against her will, and they\nwent out to the H\u00f3lm (H\u00f6rd\u2019s Saga, 25).\u201d[400]\n\n\nWhen drowned men came to their own _arvel_, or burial feast, as ghosts,\nit was looked upon as a good sign for the survivors of the family, for\nthen the dead men had been well received by Ran.\n\nThe people were strong believers in ghosts, and thought that the spirit\nof the dead could come into the mound where the body was buried. When\nthey were seen at night at their mounds they were surrounded by fire,\nand it was said that the gate of Hel, where the dead were supposed to\nbe, was open. These ghosts of the dead were harmless.\n\nThe bondmaid of Sigrun, when walking one evening past the mound of\nHelgi, saw that he rode to it with many men; she sang:\n\n Is it an illusion\n Which I think I see,\n Or the doom of the gods?[401]\n Dead men ride;\n You prick your horses\n With spur points,\n Or have the Hildings[402]\n Got leave to go home?[403]\n\nHelgi sang:\n\n It is not an illusion\n Which thou thinkest thou seest,\n Nor the doom of the world,\n Though thou seest us,\n Though we our horses\n Prick with spurs,\n But the Hildings have got\n Leave to go home.\n\nThe bondmaid went home and told Sigrun.\n\n Go out, thou Sigrun\n From Sefafj\u00f6ll,\n If thou wantest to\n Meet with the leader of men.[404]\n The mound has opened;\n Helgi has come;\n The prints of the sword bleed\n The Dogling[405] asked thee\n That thou the wound-dripping (blood)\n Shouldst stop.\n\nSigrun went into the mound to Helgi, and sang:\n\n Now I am as glad\n Of our meeting\n As the greedy\n Hawks of Odin[406]\n When they know of slain men\n A warm prey,\n Or dew-besprinkled,\n See the dawn of day.\n I will kiss\n The dead king\n Ere thou throwest off\n The bloody brynja;\n Thy hair, Helgi,\n Is covered with hoar-frost;\n The king is all wet\n With the dew of the slain.\n The hands of Hogni\u2019s son-in-law\n Are cold from wet,\n How shall I, king,\n Better this for thee?\n * * * * *\n\nHelgi and his men rode their way, and the maidens went home to their\nhouse. The next evening Sigrun let a bondmaid keep watch at the mound;\nand at sunset, when Sigrun came to the mound, the bondmaid sang:\n\n Now would have come,\n If to come he intended,\n The son of Sigmund[407]\n From Odin\u2019s halls;\n I say that the hope\n Of the king\u2019s coming lessens,\n As on ashtree boughs[408]\n Eagles sit,\n And all men throng\n To the meeting of dreams.[409]\n Be not so mad\n As to go alone,\n Sister[410] of Skj\u00f6ldungs,\n To the houses of the ghosts.\n Stronger, maiden, become at night\n All dead fiends,[411]\n Than in the light of day.\n\n (Helgikvida Hundingsbani, ii.)\n\nThere were ghosts who were supposed to kill people; the best means of\nprotection against them was to burn the body and throw the ashes into\nthe sea, or to cut off the head and put it at or between the feet, as\nthe body had then to walk on its own head. Another way of getting rid of\nthem was to pursue them by law, and sentence them at the door of the\nhouse they haunted.[412]\n\n\u00c1n had slain an outlaw, Garan, in a wood.\n\n\n\u201c\u00c1n left him dead; he cut off his head, dragged him out (of his house),\nand put his nose between his legs, that he should not appear after his\ndeath\u201d (An\u2019s Bogsveigis Saga, c. 5).\n\n\n\u201cThe overbearing of Klaufi became so great that he maimed both men and\ncattle. Karl thought it a great evil that his kinsman should be a ghost.\nHe went to his mound and had him dug up. He was then still undecayed. He\nhad a large fire made on the rock above the house of Klaufabrekka, and\nburned him to ashes. He had a case of lead made, and put the ashes in\nit. Two bars of iron were on it, and he sunk it into the hot spring\nsouth of Klaufabrekka. The stone on which Klaufi was burnt was rent in\ntwo parts, and Klaufi never did harm after this\u201d[413] (Svarfd\u00e6la, 30).\n\n\n\u201cAt this time Th\u00f3rodd Thorbrandsson lived in Alptafjord. He owned both\n\u00dalfarsfell and \u00d6rlygsstadir, but then the haunting of Th\u00f3r\u00f3lf B\u0153gif\u00f3t\nbecame so strong that people could not dwell on these farms. B\u00f3lstad was\nalso empty of people, for Th\u00f3rolf began to haunt there as soon as Arnkel\n(the bondi, Th\u00f3rolf\u2019s son) was dead, and killed men and cattle. And no\nman has dared to settle there since because of this. When this farm was\nquite deserted, B\u0153gif\u00f3t haunted \u00dalfarsfell, and caused great trouble\nthere. All the people were struck with terror when they became aware of\nhim. The bondi went to K\u00e1rsstadir and complained of this to Th\u00f3rod, for\nhe was his tenant. He said it was the opinion of people that B\u0153gif\u00f3t\nwould not stop before he had devastated the whole fjord of men and\ncattle, and if no means were tried against this he would not be able to\nkeep himself there any longer. When Th\u00f3rod heard this, he thought it was\nnot easy to deal with. Next morning he sent for his horse, and told his\nhuskarls (servants) to go with him, and also had men from the next farms\nwith him. They went to B\u0153gif\u00f3tsh\u00f6fdi (Cape of B\u0153gif\u00f3t) to Th\u00f3rolf\u2019s\ngrave. He was then still not decayed, and very _troll-like_ to look at.\nHe was blue like Hel, and stout like a bull. When going to move him,\nthey could not lift him at all. Then Th\u00f3rod had a felled tree pushed\nunder him, and thus they lifted him out of the grave. Then they rolled\nhim down on the beach, cut wood, made a large pile, set it on fire,\nrolled Th\u00f3rolf on it, and burned the whole into cold ashes, though it\nlasted long before the fire could take in Th\u00f3rolf\u2019s body. It was blowing\na hard gale, and the ashes were blown far and wide while the burning\nlasted, and all the ashes they could they raked out on the sea. When\nthey had finished this work, they went home and came there about\nbedtime\u201d (Eyrbyggja, c. 63).\n\n\nIn later times the seid people were feared and punished, because they\ndid evil. Harald Fairhair burnt one of his own sons because he had mixed\nhimself up with this form of witchcraft.[414]\n\n\n\u201cIf a woman is accused of using witchcraft, \u201cgaldr,\u201d and sorcery, six\nwomen shall be named on both sides of her who are known to be good\nhousewives; they shall give evidence that she knows neither galdr nor\nsorcery. If they do not, she is an outlaw. The king gets one half of her\nproperty, and the bishop the other\u201d (Gulath 28).\n\n\n\u201cR\u00f6gnvald R\u00e9ttilbeini owned Hadaland; he learned witchcraft, and became\na seid-man. King Harald disliked seid-men. In H\u00f6rdaland there was a\nseid-man called Vitgeir; Harald sent him word to leave off seid. He\nanswered and sang:\n\n It does little harm\n Though we the children\n Of b\u0153ndr\n Make seid\n When R\u00f6gnvald\n R\u00e9ttilbeini,\n The famous son of Harald,\n Makes seid in Hadaland.\n\nWhen Harald heard this, he sent Eirik (Blood-axe) to Upl\u00f6nd; he came to\nHadaland and burnt his brother R\u00f6gnveld, together with eighty seid-men,\nin his house; this deed was much praised\u201d (Harald Fairhair, c. 36).\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XXXI.\n SUPERSTITIONS.\u2014OMENS.\n\n Belief in omens\u2014The sight of blood on food a foreboding of\n violent death\u2014Blood dripping from weapons a sign of fierce\n conflict\u2014Peculiar appearances of the moon\u2014Ravens\u2014Howling\n wolves\u2014Stumbling when going to fight\u2014The second song of Sigurd\n Fafnisbani\u2014Supernatural beings\u2014Visions.\n\n\nThe people were strong believers in omens, to which they paid great\nattention, and which were supposed to be seen by persons when awake or\nin their dreams. Some omens repeated themselves before recurring events\nof the same kind.\n\nIf any one imagined that he saw blood on his food, or that his food\ndisappeared, he expected a speedy and violent death;[415] and it was a\ncommon belief that blood dripping from weapons, or their sounding loud\nwhen used, foreboded a fierce battle or conflict.[416]\n\n\n\u201cHe (Hildigl\u00fam) heard a crash so loud that he thought both earth and\nheaven shook from it. Then he looked into the west, and saw a ring with\nthe colour of flame, and in it a man on a grey horse. He passed quickly;\nand had a burning firebrand in his hand. He rode so near him that he\ncould easily see him. He was black as pitch. He sang this stanza with a\nloud voice:\u2014\n\n I ride on a\n Rime-frost maned horse,\n With dewy wet mane,\n Causing evil;\n Fire is in the ends of the brand.\n Poison in the middle;\n Thus is it with Flosi\u2019s plan\n As if a stick were thrown,\n Thus is it with Flosi\u2019s plan\n As when a stick is thrown.\n\nIt seemed to him that he flung it eastward to the mountains, and that\nsuch fire rose from it that he did not see the mountains for it. It\nseemed to him the man rode eastward to the fire and disappeared there.\nThen he went in to his bed, and fell in a long swoon, but woke from it.\nHe remembered all that had passed before his eyes, and told it to his\nfather, who asked him to tell it to Hjalti Skeggjason. He went to Hjalti\nand told him. \u2018Thou hast seen a _gandreid_,\u2019[417] said Hjalti, \u2018and it\nalways forebodes great tidings\u2019\u201d (Njala, c. 125).\n\n\nBefore the burning of Njal the following omen, which proved true,\nappeared at his farm Bergthorshval:\u2014\n\n\n\u201cBergth\u00f3ra (his wife) carried food to the table. Njal said: \u2018Strange\ndoes this look to me now; I think I look all over the room, and that\nboth the gable-walls are off, and the table and the food all covered\nwith blood.\u2019 All except Skarph\u00e9din were startled at this. He asked them\nnot to grieve or look sorrowful so that people would talk of it\u201d (Njala,\nc. 127).\n\n\n\u201cIt happened when Gunnar and Kolskegg rode towards Rang\u00e1 that blood fell\non the halberd of Gunnar. Kolskegg asked why this was so. Gunnar\nanswered that when this happened in other countries it was called\nblood-rain, and Olver bondi in Hising said that this usually foreboded\ngreat tidings\u201d (Njala, c. 72).\n\n\nAmong these omens must be reckoned the so-called _Urdarm\u00e1ni_ (the moon\nof Urd), a peculiar kind of appearance of the moon which foreboded the\ndeath of many people.[418] There were also natural omens, good and bad.\nIt was considered a good omen if a warrior saw a raven follow him when\ngoing to fight\u2014the interpretation probably being that the raven followed\na victor in order to eat the corpses of the enemy; it was also a good\nomen to see or meet two men conversing, or to hear a wolf howl. When a\nman who was slain by any kind of weapon fell on his face it was thought\nto be an omen that he would be revenged, and the vengeance would come\ndown upon the man who stood just in front of him when he fell;[419] but\nto stumble when going to fight, or to hear the croaking of ravens, was\nconsidered a bad omen.\n\nThe second song of Sigurd Fafnisbani relates how Sigurd was going to\nmake war on the sons of Hunding. As he sailed along the coast a man\nstood on a rock and asked him who they were. They answered, and when\nthey asked who he was he said he was called _Hnikar_ (one of Odin\u2019s\nnames), but they might call him the man of the rock, _Feng_ or _Fj\u00f6lnir_\n(Odin\u2019s names). He went on board and the storm ceased.\n\n _Sigurd sang_\n\n Tell me, Hnikar,\n As thou knowest both\n The luck of gods and men,\n Which are best\n If one should fight\n Omens at the swoop of swords.\n\n _Hnikar._\n\n Many warnings are good\n If men knew them\n At the swoop of swords;\n I think the following\n Of the black raven\n Is good for a _sword-tree_.[420]\n\n A second (warning) is,\n If thou hast walked out\n And art ready on thy way,\n And thou seest\n Standing on the path\n Two men anxious to praise thee.\n\n A third is that\n If thou hearest a wolf\n Howl under ash-branches.\n Good luck wilt thou get\n Against _helmet-staffs_[420]\n If thou seest the wolves ahead.\n\n No man should fight\n With his face against\n The late shining\n Sister of the moon;[421]\n\n Those gain victory\n Who are able to see\n The feats of the sword-play,\n Or can array in wedge-shape.[422]\n\n It is a great danger\n If thou stumblest\n When thou rushest into fight;\n Faithless _Disir_\n Stand on either side of thee\n And long to see thee wounded.\n\n Combed and washed\n Should every wise man be,\n And well fed in the morning,\n For it is uncertain\n Where he may be at night;\n It is bad to hurry ahead of one\u2019s luck.\n\n\n\u201cOne morning a raven came to the lighthole at Brekka, and croaked\nloudly; then Hromund sang\u2014\n\n\n Outside I hear in the morning twilight\n The dark blue swan[423] of the sweat of the wound-thorn[424] croak;\n The prey wakes the wary-minded one;[425]\n Thus of yore screamed\n The hawk of Gunn[426] before\n Chiefs were death-fated,\n When the birds of Gaut[427] foretold the fray.\n\n _Thorbjorn._\n\n The hail-sprinkled gull[428] of the wave of heaps of slain\n Screams when it comes from the sea;\n Its mind craves\n The prey of the morning;\n Thus of yore screamed\n The bird of corpses\n From the old tree\n When the hawks wanted the mead of kings.[429]\n\n _Hromund._\n\n Tree of the shield,[430]\n Death was not fated to me\n To-day or yesterday;\n I[431] make ready for the sound of Ilm.[432]\n I care little though plays\n The dyed wand of Hedin\u2019s cloth[433]\n Against red shields;\n To us life was marked before.\u201d\n\n (Landnama, ii. c. 33.)\n\nWhen there was to be an important event there were always some omens\nbefore it took place, in the shape of visions, or supernatural beings\nwho sang songs which foretold the event.\n\nIt foreboded a violent death if a man saw his _fylgja_ bloody.\n\n\n\u201cOnce Njal and Th\u00f3rd (his servant) were outside the farm. A he-goat was\nin the habit of going about the grass-plot on the farm, and no one was\nallowed to drive it away. Th\u00f3rd said, \u2018This is strange.\u2019 Njal asked,\n\u2018What dost thou see which seems strange?\u2019 He answered, \u2018It seems to me\nthat the he-goat lies here in the hollow place, and is bloody all over.\u2019\nNjal replied there was no he-goat there, nor anything else. \u2018What is it,\nthen?\u2019 inquired Th\u00f3rd. \u2018Thou must be a death-fated man, and hast seen\nthy _Fylgja_,\u2019 said Njal, \u2018and guard thyself well.\u2019 \u2018That will not\nhelp,\u2019 added Th\u00f3rd, \u2018if death is fated to me\u2019\u201d (Njala, c. 41).\n\n\n\u201cIt is said that King Gorm once invited to a Yule-feast his\nfather-in-law Harald, who promised to come in the winter, and the\nmessengers so reported.\n\n\u201cWhen the time for preparation came the Jarl chose such followers to the\nfeast as he wanted. Knut went with him, but it is not said how many men\nhe had. They arrived at the Limafjord, and as they were about to cross\nit they saw there an oak which appeared somewhat unusual. There were\ngrowing on it acorns, which were small and quite green, but under it lay\nothers both ripe and large. At this they wondered much, and the Jarl\nthought it very strange that there should be green acorns at that time\nof the year, for there lay near the oak those which had grown during the\nsummer. \u2018We will go back,\u2019 said the Jarl, \u2018and proceed no farther.\u2019 He\nthereupon returned home, where he remained with his hird the next\nseason. The King deemed it strange that the Jarl did not come, but\nthought something important had prevented him. All was quiet during the\nsummer, and when winter came the King invited the Jarl to the\nYule-feast, as in the previous year. The Jarl promised to go, as before,\nand when the time came departed with his followers, and journeyed until\nhe came to the Limafjord. He had now come on board, and intended to\ncross the fjord. It is said that they had with them pregnant bitches.\nAfter they had got on board the Jarl thought he heard the whelps in the\nbellies of the bitches barking, while the mothers themselves were\nsilent. This the Jarl and all regarded as the greatest wonder, and they\ntherefore turned back, and stayed at home during that Yule. On the third\nwinter the King again invited the Jarl, who promised to come; and when\nthe time came he departed, and journeyed until he arrived at the\nLimafjord, resolving to remain there overnight. Then a sight presented\nitself which was thought very strange. They saw a wave rise within, and\nanother without, the fjord, and the two advanced to meet each other. The\nwaves were large and made a great noise when they met and fell together;\nthen it seemed as if the sea became bloody. Then the Jarl said, \u2018This is\na fearful portent, and we must turn back and not accept the invitation.\u2019\nThis they did, and the Jarl remained at home also that Yule....\n\n\u201cIt was resolved that the King should send messengers to the Jarl to\nascertain why he had not come. The Queen advised that they should first\nmeet and talk to him, and thus see what the reason was. When the\nmessengers told the Jarl of their errand, he quickly got ready and went\nto visit Gorm with a fine retinue. The King received his father-in-law\nwell, and quickly went to speak with him. The King asked why he had not\nonce come at his bidding, and thus shown disrespect to the King and his\ninvitation. The Jarl replied that he had meant no disrespect, but had\nnot once come to the feast, because other things had prevented him. He\nthen told the wonders which they had seen, as mentioned before, and\nasked if he would like to know what he thought each wonder meant. To\nthis the King assented. The Jarl then said: \u2018I will first take that one\nwhere we saw an oak with small green acorns, with the old and large ones\nunderneath. That I think must foretell a change of belief which will\ncome over these lands, which will flourish more, and the fine acorns\nforetell that; but the present belief is betokened by the old acorns on\nthe ground, and they will rot and become mere dust; this belief will\nalso fall and be destroyed when the new one rises. The second wonder was\nwhen we heard the whelps bark in the bitches. That I think must foretell\nthat young men will take the words from the mouths of the older, and\nbecome so reckless that they will have no less to say, though the older\nare oftener wiser in counsels. And I think that those of whom this will\nbe true have not yet come into the world, for the whelps which barked\nwhile the mothers were silent were yet unborn.\n\n\u201c\u2018The third, when we saw the waves, one from the outer part, and the\nother from the inner part of the fjord, meet midways and fall each on\nthe other\u2019s neck, and the water become bloody from the disturbance\ntherefrom forebodes, I think, that some enmity will arise between great\nmen within the country, whence will come fights and much disturbance. It\nis very likely that some offshoot of this war will take place at the\nLimafjord, because it is there we have seen these wonders of which I\nhave spoken.\u2019\n\n\u201cKing Gorm was satisfied with the words of the Jarl, and thought him\nwise; he gave him peace, and his anger departed. It is said that before\nthey went into the speech-room the King had set men to slay the Jarl, if\nhaughtiness and disrespect were the only reasons for his not coming to\nthe feast when invited; but the King now thought he had good cause for\nnot coming. They went away from the speech-room, and the Jarl remained\nwith him for a while. They then separated in peace, and the Jarl\nreceived good gifts. He left with his followers, and had a good journey\nhome.\n\n\u201cA short time after Klakkharald gave his foster-son and kinsman Knut all\nhis realm, and Knut took the rule of Holtsetaland and all the realms of\nHarald Jarl.\n\n\u201cThe Jarl made ready to leave, and began his journey southward to\nValland. He there embraced Christianity, and never returned to Denmark\u201d\n(Flateyjarb\u00f3k, vol. i.).\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XXXII.\n SUPERSTITIONS.\u2014DREAMS.\n\n Faith placed in dreams\u2014Revelations of the gods in dreams\u2014Their\n interpretation an important gift\u2014Absence of dreams considered a\n misfortune\u2014Magical sleep.\n\n\nThe faith of the Northmen in dreams[434] was almost as great as that\nwhich they placed in their gods; like the ancient Egyptians, Greeks,\nJews, and other earlier nations, they believed that by them they were\ninformed of coming events. Instances frequently occur in the Sagas of\nmen wishing to dream in order to know the future. Those dreams which\nwere of greatest importance were believed to be influenced by the\nrevelations of the gods to the sleeper. Odin in a dream showed King\nEirik the Victorious how it would go in the battle against\nStyrbj\u00f6rn.[435]\n\nThe place where any one dreamt was considered important, especially if\nthe dream was in a new house; the interpretation of dreams consequently\nwas considered an important gift, and men and women who could explain\nthem were called _draum-spekingar_ (dream-wise),[436] amongst whom the\nQueens Ingigerd and Thyri had great renown.\n\n\n\u201cHarald was a Jarl who ruled over Holtsetaland (Holstein); he was\nnicknamed _Klakkharald_. He was a wise man, and had a daughter Thyri,\nwho was the wisest of women, and interpreted dreams better than others.\nShe was also handsome. The Jarl looked to her for the rule of the land,\nconsulted her in everything, and loved her much. When Gorm had grown up\nand had taken the kingship, he left, and intended to ask for the hand of\nHarald Jarl\u2019s daughter, or else attack him. When Harald Jarl and his\ndaughter heard of King Gorm\u2019s journey and of his intentions, they sent\nmessengers to invite him to a grand feast. This he accepted, and sat\nwith them at the feast in good friendship and honour. Then he announced\nhis errand to the Jarl, who said that his daughter should decide for\nherself, as she was much wiser than he. His suit was brought before her,\nand she said: \u2018It shall not be decided forthwith, and thou shalt return\nwith good and honourable gifts. If thou thinkest much of me, thou shalt,\nwhen thou comest home, quickly cause to be built a house large enough\nfor sleeping in. It must stand where no house has stood before. Therein\nshalt thou sleep the first night of the winter, and three nights\ntogether; and remember if thou dreamest anything. And thou shalt send\nmen to tell me of thy dreams, if thou hast any, and I will then say\nwhether I will marry thee or not. But do not send if thou dost not\ndream.\u2019 After this talk, King Gorm remained but a short time at the\nfeast, and made ready to go home, as he was anxious to try her wisdom.\nHe left with much honour and suitable gifts. When he returned home, he\ndid in all things as she had told him: had the house built, and went\ninto it as directed. He left three hundred fully-armed men near the\nhouse, and bade them watch and guard, as he thought there might be some\ntreachery connected with it. He lay down on the bed which had been made\nin the house, and fell asleep and dreamt; and there he slept three\nnights, and then sent men and writings to Holtsetaland to the Jarl.\n\n\u201cThe messengers arrived and told Harald Jarl and his daughter of King\nGorm\u2019s dreams, and their errand to Thyri. When she had heard the dreams,\nshe said: \u2018You may stay here as long as you like, but you shall tell\nyour king that I will marry him.\u2019 They returned and told the king, who\nwas very glad.\n\n\u201cHe made his journey to Holtsetaland with many and well-dressed men.\nHarald Jarl heard of it, and had a splendid feast and grand\nentertainment prepared for him; and now they were married and loved each\nother well. At the feast Gorm entertained them by telling his dreams. \u2018I\ndreamt the first night, and all the three nights which I slept in the\nhouse, that I was outside and overlooked my whole realm. I saw the sea\nrecede from the land so that all islands, sounds, and fjords were dry.\nAfter that I saw that three oxen went out of the sea upon the land where\nI was, and bit off all the grass closely where they walked, and then\nwent away.\n\n\u201c\u2018The second dream was very like the first, for it seemed as if three\noxen again came up from the sea; all were red, with large horns; they\nbit off the grass as closely as the previous ones, after which they\nreturned.\n\n\u201c\u2018In the third dream, which was like the others, I saw three oxen come\nup again; they were all black, and much larger horned than the others;\nafter a while they returned to the water. After that I heard such a\nterrible crash that I thought it must be heard all over Denmark, and I\nsaw that it was caused by the sea returning toward the shore. Now,\u2019 he\nsaid, \u2018I want thee, queen, to interpret the dream for the entertainment\nof those present, and thus show thy wisdom.\u2019 She consented, and\ninterpreted the dream as follows: \u2018When three white oxen went up out of\nthe sea on the land, that must mean three severe winters, when so much\nsnow will fall that the season will be bad. When thou sawest three other\nred oxen, that means there will come three snowless winters, but yet not\ngood ones, for they bite the grass off the ground. The three black oxen\nsignify that there will come three winters, which will be so bad that\nnone have ever seen the like, and such a black and bad season and famine\nwill come over the land that it will be unexampled. That thou sawest\nthem with large horns means there will be many outcasts who will lose\nall their property; that they went again into the sea means that the bad\nseason will leave the land like they did; and that thou heardest a loud\ncrash when the sea again came back on the shore means the war of\npowerful men, who shall meet here in Denmark, and have fights and great\nbattles. It seems to me likely that some of the men in some of the wars\nwill be near kinsmen to thee. If thou hadst first dreamt those things\nthat were last, then these wars would have taken place in thy time, but\nnow this will do no harm; and I would then not have gone with thee if\nthou hadst dreamt as I have before said. I can hinder all these dreams\nabout the famine from being fulfilled.\u2019 After this feast King Gorm and\nQueen Thyri went home to Denmark, and had many ships loaded with corn\nand other food, and transported this to Denmark; the same was kept up\nevery year until the arrival of those severe years which she had\nforetold. When the hard time came they wanted for nothing on account of\ntheir preparations, and there was no want in Denmark, for they\ndistributed much grain among the people. Thyri was thought to be the\nwisest woman that had ever been in Denmark, and was called Thyri\nDanmarkarb\u00f3t (Denmark\u2019s helper, saver)\u201d (Flateyjarb\u00f3k, vol. i.).\n\n\nPeople were often forewarned of death in their dreams:\u2014\n\n\n\u201cOne night when King Ivar slept in the _lypting_[437] (upper deck) on\nhis dragon-ship, it seemed to him that a great dragon flew out of the\nsea. Its colour was golden, and it glowed in the air as if sparks were\nflying from the hearth of a forge, and shone over all the lands nearest\nit. Behind it flew all the birds that he knew of in the northern lands.\nHe saw a great cloud rising in the north-east, followed by such a\nrain-storm that it seemed to him all the forests and the whole land were\nfloating in the water which had fallen: this was accompanied by thunder\nand lightning. When the large dragon flew towards the land, he met the\nrain-storm, and such a darkness arose that he could see neither the\ndragon nor the birds, but only heard the loud sound of the thunder and\nthe tempest. This passed south and west over the land, and all over his\nrealm. Then it seemed to him all his ships had been changed into whales,\nand swam out to sea. At this he awoke and called his foster-father,\nH\u00f6rd, told him his dream, and asked him to interpret it. H\u00f6rd said he\nwas so old he could not understand dreams. He stood on a rock near to\none end of the gangway, but the king lay in the _lypting_, and was\nunfastening the lower border of the tent as they talked. The king was in\na bad humour, and bade H\u00f6rd go down on the ship and interpret his dream.\nH\u00f6rd answered that he would not, and said, \u2018I need not interpret thy\ndream; thou must know thyself what it means. It is likely it will not be\nlong before others rule Sweden and Denmark. Now a greediness foreboding\ndeath has come upon thee, as thou wantest to conquer for thyself every\nrealm, and dost not know that on the contrary thou wilt die and thy foes\ntake thy realm.\u2019 The king said, \u2018Come here and tell thy evil\nprophecies.\u2019 H\u00f6rd said, \u2018I shall stand here and tell them.\u2019 The king\nsaid, \u2018To whom of the Asar was Halfdan the Valiant like?\u2019 H\u00f6rd answered,\n\u2018He was as Baldr was with the Asar, over whom all the gods wept, and not\nlike thee.\u2019 The king said, \u2018That is good. Come here and tell it.\u2019 H\u00f6rd\nanswered, \u2018I will stand here and tell.\u2019 The king replied: \u2018To whom of\nthe Asar was Hr\u00e6rek like?\u2019 \u2018To H\u00e6nir, who was the greatest coward of the\nAsar, though he was less cowardly than thou art.\u2019 The king asked, \u2018To\nwhom of the Asar was Helgi the Sharp like?\u2019 H\u00f6rd replied, \u2018He was as\nHerm\u00f3d, who was very bold, and did harm to thee.\u2019 The king said, \u2018To\nwhom of the Asar was Gudr\u00f6d like?\u2019 H\u00f6rd: \u2018He was as Heimdal, who was the\nmost foolish of all the Asar, and nevertheless a lesser fool than thou.\u2019\nThe king: \u2018To whom of the Asar am I like?\u2019 \u2018Thou resemblest the worst of\nall serpents existing, the Midgardsorm.\u2019 The king answered in great\nanger: \u2018If thou tellest me I am death-doomed, I can tell thee thou shalt\nlive no longer, for I know thee, thou great Thurs. Now come nearer, thou\nMidgardsorm, and let us try our strength.\u2019 The king rushed from the\n_lypting_, and was so angry that he jumped out under the lower edge of\nthe tent. H\u00f6rd plunged into the sea from the rock, and the men on the\nwatch on board the king\u2019s ship saw neither of them come up on the\nsurface afterwards\u201d (S\u00f6gubrot, c. 3).\n\n\n\u201cHe (Gj\u00faki) had three sons, Gunnar, H\u00f6gni, and Guttorm. Gudr\u00fan, his\ndaughter, was a most famous maiden.... Gj\u00faki was married to Gr\u00edmhild,\nthe witchcraft-knowing. King Budli was more powerful than Gj\u00faki, though\nboth were powerful. Atli, the brother of Brynhild (Budli\u2019s daughter),\nwas a cruel, large, swarthy man, but of an imposing look, and the\ngreatest warrior. Gr\u00edmhild was a woman of fierce mind. The Gj\u00fakungs\nflourished much, mostly because of their children who surpassed most\nothers. Once Gudr\u00fan told her maidens that she could not be merry. A\nwoman asked her what was the reason. She answered: \u2018We did not get good\nluck in dreams, and the sadness of my heart thou didst ask about is\ncaused by a dream.\u2019 The woman said: \u2018Tell me, and let it not sadden\nthee, for dreams often forbode the weather.\u2019 Gudr\u00fan said: \u2018This one does\nnot. I dreamt that I saw a fine hawk on my hand; its feathers had a\ngolden colour.\u2019 The woman said: \u2018Many have heard of your beauty, wisdom,\nand courtesy; the son of some king will ask thee in marriage.\u2019 Gudr\u00fan\nsaid: \u2018Nothing did I think better than the hawk, and I would rather have\nlost all my property than lose it.\u2019 The woman said: \u2018Thy husband will be\na great man, and thou wilt love him much.\u2019 Gudr\u00fan said: \u2018It grieves me\nthat I do not know who he is; let us go to Brynhild, she will know it.\u2019\nThey made ready with gold and great beauty, and went with their maidens\ntill they came to Brynhild\u2019s hall, which was adorned with gold, and\nstood on a mountain. When they were seen, Brynhild was told that many\nwomen in gilded waggons[438] drove towards the burgh. She replied: \u2018That\nmust be Gudr\u00fan, Gj\u00faki\u2019s daughter; I dreamt of her this night; let us go\nout and meet her; handsomer women (than she) cannot visit us.\u2019 ...\nGudr\u00fan said: \u2018I dreamt that many of us walked together from the _skemma_\nand saw a large hart which far surpassed other deer; its hair was of\ngold. We all wished to catch it, but I alone succeeded, and I loved it\nabove all other things. Then thou didst shoot it at my knees, which was\nsuch a sorrow to me that I could scarcely bear it. Then thou gavest a\nwolf\u2019s cub to me, which besprinkled me with the blood of my brothers.\u2019\nBrynhild answered: \u2018I will explain what will happen. Sigurd, whom I\nchose for my husband, will come to you; Gr\u00edmhild will give him a mixed\nmead which will cause heavy trials for all of us; thou wilt marry him\nand quickly lose him; thou wilt marry King Atli; thou wilt lose thy\nbrothers and slay Atli.\u2019 Gudr\u00fan said: \u2018A sore sorrow is it to us to know\nsuch things.\u2019 They went away home to King Gj\u00faki\u201d (Volsunga, c. 25).\n\n\nThe following dream foreboded the death of Gisli, who fell after one of\nthe most memorable defences recorded:\u2014\n\n\n\u201cGisli laid himself down and tried to sleep, while they (Aud and Gudrid)\nwere awake; and a sleep came over him. He dreamt that two birds came to\nthe house and fought by stealth; they were rather larger than cock\nptarmigans, and screamed rather loudly; they were dyed all over in\nblood. He awoke after this. And (his wife) asked if he had dreamt\nanything: \u2018Thy sleep-journeys are not good now,\u2019 said she. He sang a\nsong (describing what he had dreamt)\u201d (Gisli Sursson\u2019s Saga, p. 95).\n\n\nWhen the brothers Gunnar and Hogni were invited on a visit by King Atli,\nby whom they were afterwards slain, their wives dreamt bad dreams.\nKostbera, Hogni\u2019s wife, tells her dream to her husband, and Glaumv\u00f6r\nafterwards to hers, in order to dissuade them from going.\n\n _Kostbera._\n\n It seemed to me thy sheets\n Burned in fire,\n And that a high flame\n Broke through my house.\n\n _Hogni._\n\n Here lie linen clothes,\n For which you care little;\n They will soon burn\n Where thou didst see sheets (burning).\n\n _Kostbera._\n\n I thought a bear had come in here:\n He broke the walls;\n He shook his paws so that\n We were frightened;\n He caught many of us in his mouth,\n So that we were helpless.\n There was no little[439]\n Hard pushing.\n\n _Hogni._\n\n It is a storm that will rise,\n And soon become violent;\n What thou thought\u2019st to be a white bear\n Will be a rainstorm from the east.\n\n _Kostbera._\n\n I thought an eagle flew in here\n Through the length of the house:\n That forebodes to us heavy fight;\n It bespattered us all with blood.\n Because of its threats, I thought\n It was a shape of Atli\u2019s.[440]\n\n _Hogni._\n\n We kill cattle speedily;\n Then we see blood.\n It often means oxen\n When we dream of eagles.\n True is the mind of Atli,\n Whatever thou mayest dream.\n They ceased;\n The talk ended.\n\n _Glaumv\u00f6r._\n\n I fancied a gallows made for thee,\n And thou wert going to hang thereon;\n I thought that snakes ate thee,\n That I buried thee alive;\n That the _ragnarok_ came.\n Guess what it was.\n\n _Glaumv\u00f6r._\n\n A bloody sword I saw,\n Drawn out of thy shirt.\n It is sad to tell of such a\n Dream to a near kinsman.[441]\n A spear, I thought,\n Had pierced thy side;\n Wolves howled\n At both its ends.\n\n _Gunnar._\n\n It is dogs that run,\n Barking very loud;\n The yelping of dogs often\n Forebodes the flying of spears.\n\n _Glaumv\u00f6r._\n\n It seemed to me a river ran\n Through the length of the house,\n Roaring in anger,\n Rushing over the benches,\n Breaking the feet of your\n Two brothers here.\n The water spared nothing:\n This may forebode something.\n\n _Glaumv\u00f6r._\n\n It seemed to me that dead women\n Came hither this night;\n They were well dressed,\n Wanted to choose thee;[442]\n They bade thee come quickly\n To their benches.\n I say, the _Disir_[443]\n Have abandoned thee.\n\n (Atlam\u00e1l.)\n\nNever to dream was considered a misfortune.\n\n\n\u201cIt happened that the son of a high-born woman lost his memory, as if he\nwas insane. His mother came to King Harald, and asked him for good\nadvice. The king advised her to go and see King Magnus, for he knew\nthere was none better in the land, and he would give counsel. She went\nto King Magnus accordingly, who said, \u2018Did you not see King Harald?\u2019 \u2018I\ndid,\u2019 answered she, and told him what he said. King Magnus added,\n\u2018Nobody is wiser than King Harald in this land, and he can give some\nadvice if he have the will.\u2019 King Harald, on hearing this, said: \u2018Then I\nshall give some. I think I see what ails thy son: he is\n_draumstoli_,[444] for it is not the nature of a man that he dream not.\nI advise thee to go to where King Magnus has washed his hands, and let\nthe boy drink from the water. Then you shall make him sing. Though he is\nstruck by sleepiness and yawning, you shall not let him sleep, but take\nhim to where the king has rested himself, and let him fall asleep there,\nand then it is most likely that a dream will appear to him.\u2019 She did all\nas she had been told, and her son slept there a while; and when he awoke\nhe smiled and said, \u2018I dreamed, mother. It seemed as if the Kings Magnus\nand Harald came to me, and each spoke in one of my ears.\u2019 \u2018Rememberest\nthou, my son,\u2019 asked she, \u2018what each one of them said?\u2019 \u2018I do,\u2019 he said.\n\u2018King Magnus said, \u201cBe as good as you can.\u201d Not long after, King Harald\nsaid, \u201cBe most quick at learning, and retain in your memory what you\nlearn as best you can.\u201d\u2019 This boy afterwards became a remarkable man.\u201d\n\n\n\u201cKing Halfdan (the Black) never dreamt. He sought advice from Thorleif\nthe Wise what to do. The latter told the king what he himself used to do\nwhen he wanted to know something beforehand. He used to lay himself to\nsleep in a pigsty, and was then always sure of a dream. The king in\nconsequence did the same, and also had a dream\u201d (Halfdan the Black, c.\n7).\n\n\nThere was supposed to be a kind of magical sleep which came over any one\nwho was stung by a sleep-thorn (_svefn-thorn_) placed in the ear. This\nmagical sleep could not be broken until the sleep-thorn fell out of the\near of the person under the spell.\n\n\n\u201cThe king (Helgi) had drunk so heavily that he at once fell asleep on\nthe bed, and the queen seized her opportunity and stung him with a\n_sleep-thorn_; when all was quiet she rose, shaved off all his hair and\nbesmeared him with tar, then she took a leather bag and put some cloth\nin it in which she wrapped him up, and bade some men take him down to\nhis ships. She roused his men, saying that their king had gone on board\nand wished to sail, as there was a fair wind. They all jumped up as\nquickly as they could, but as they were drunk did not know what they\nwere doing; they went to the ships, and saw no king but a very large\nleather bag. They wanted to see what was in it and wait for the king, as\nthey thought he would come later on. When they untied it they found the\nking inside. The sleep-thorn dropped down and he awoke from a bad dream,\nand was enraged with the queen\u201d (Hr\u00f3lf Kraki\u2019s Saga, c. 7).[445]\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XXXIII.\n THE STRUGGLE BETWEEN PAGANISM AND CHRISTIANITY.\n\n The old Asa belief and Christianity\u2014Clinging to the old faith\u2014King\n Hakon the Christian and the heathen b\u0153ndr\u2014Mixture of the two\n creeds\u2014Hakon attempts to Christianize the people\u2014Their\n opposition\u2014Performance of ancient rites in secret after the\n introduction of Christianity\u2014Sceptics\u2014Adaptation of Christian\n ideas to the old belief\u2014Cruelty of the earlier Christian kings.\n\n\nIn the following accounts we see the struggle between Christianity and\nthe old Asa belief. Hakon, the foster-son of Athelstan, so named because\nhe had been fostered by that king in England, came back to Norway a\nChristian, but his people clung to the old faith, and to strengthen\nhimself in the country he at first found it necessary to observe the\ntenets of his religion in secret. He ordered the Yule-feast to be\ncelebrated at Christmas, and persuaded some of his best friends to adopt\nChristianity.\n\n\n\u201cHakon was a good Christian when he came to Norway; but as all the land\nwas heathen, and there were much sacrificing and many chiefs, and he\nmuch needed the help and friendship of the people, he decided to conceal\nhis Christianity, and kept Sundays, and fasting on Fridays, and the\ngreatest festivals. He made it a law that the Yule should begin at the\nsame time as that of the Christians, and that every man should have a\ncertain measure of ale, or pay a fine, and keep the days holy while Yule\nlasted. It formerly began on h\u00f6kun\u00f3tt (the midwinter-night), and it was\nkept for three nights. He wanted to make the people Christians, when he\ngot established in the land and had fully subjected it to himself. He\nsent to England for a bishop and other priests. When they came to\nNorway, Hakon made known that he would try to Christianize the land\u201d\n(Hakon the Good\u2019s Saga, c. 15; Fornmanna S\u00f6gur, 1).\n\n\n\u201cWise men say that some of those who settled in Iceland had been\nbaptized, and that most of those who came from the West (British\nIslands) had been baptized. Among them are named Helgi the Lean, \u00d6rlyg\nthe Old, Helgi Bj\u00f3la, J\u00f6rund the Christian, Aud the Deep-minded, Ketil,\nand others who came from the West; and some of them kept Christianity\nwell till their death-day; but their families seldom preserved it, for\nsome of their sons raised temples and sacrificed, and all the land was\nheathen for nearly one hundred winters\u201d (Landn\u00e1ma, v., c. 15).\n\n\nSigurd Thorisson, when a heathen, was accustomed to keep the three\nfeasts held during the year; he afterwards adapted them to the new\nreligion, which was destined finally to oust paganism.\n\n\n\u201cWhen he became a Christian he continued his custom with the feasts. He\nthen had in the autumn a great feast for his friends, and a Yule-feast\nin the winter, and still invited many people; the third feast he had at\nEaster-time (_P\u00e1skar_), and then also invited many. This he continued\nwhile he lived\u201d (St. Olaf\u2019s Saga, 123).\n\n\nBut the struggle continued for some time, for the people were loth to\nabandon the ancient faith, and Hakon was obliged, as king, to assist at\nthe sacrificial feast at the temple at Hladir. Sigurd jarl on one\noccasion dedicated the first toast to Odin, and the king drank out of\nthe horn, first making the sign of the cross over it. One of those\npresent who watched him saw this, which displeased him very much;\nwhereupon we see by the answer of Sigurd that he tried to make the\npeople believe that it was Thor\u2019s sign, from which we must conclude that\nthe two signs were very much alike.\n\nThe following day the b\u0153ndr, who wanted the king to observe the tenets\nof the ancient belief, wished him to eat horseflesh, then to drink the\ngravy, and finally to eat the fat; but as he would do none of these, he\nhad to \u201copen his mouth over the handle of the kettle.\u201d At the\n_Frostathing_, Hakon made a speech, wherein he said he wanted the people\nto be Christians and keep Sundays, which the b\u0153ndr did not like.\nAsbj\u00f6rn, a powerful bondi, answered thus:\u2014\n\n\n\u201c\u2018When thou didst hold a _Thing_ the first time in Thr\u00e1ndheim, and we\nhad taken thee for king and got our odals, we thought we had grasped\nheaven with our hands; now we do not know whether we have become free,\nor thou wilt make us thralls again in a curious manner, as thou wantest\nus to scorn the belief which our fathers and forefathers had before,\nfirst in the _burning age_ and now in the _mound age_; many of them have\nbeen much more eminent than we, but nevertheless this belief has been\ngood for us. We have loved thee highly, so that we have given thee with\nus the rule of all laws and land-rights. Now it is our will and decision\nto have and keep the laws which thou didst establish at the\n_Frostathing_, and to which we then consented; we will all follow thee\nand hold up thy kingship while any of the b\u0153ndr here at this _Thing_ are\nalive, if thou, king, wilt show moderation and ask of us only what we\ncan grant thee, and what is not unfeasible. But if thou wilt go so far\nin this matter as to deal with us by force and overbearing, we have all\nof us determined to part from thee, and take another chief, that we may\nbe free to hold the belief we wish to have; now thou shalt make thy\nchoice, king, before the _Thing_ is closed.\u2019 The b\u0153ndr cheered this\nspeech much, and said they wanted to have it as Asbj\u00f6rn said; it was a\nloud noise. Sigurd jarl said, when he got a hearing: \u2018It is the will of\nKing Hakon to assent to all that the b\u0153ndr want, and never to part from\nyour friendship.\u2019 The b\u0153ndr said they wanted the king to sacrifice for\ngood seasons and peace, as his father did. The grumbling ceased, and\nthey closed the _Thing_. Thereupon Sigurd spoke to the king, and told\nhim not to flatly refuse the wish of the b\u0153ndr, and that it would not do\nto act otherwise, \u2018for, as you have heard, it is the strong will of the\nchiefs and all the people; but I will find some way out of the\ndifficulty.\u2019 The king assented to this.\n\n\u201cIn the autumn during the winter-nights there was a large\nsacrificing-feast at Hladir, and thither came King Hakon. He had been\naccustomed when he was present at sacrifices to take his meals in a\nsmall house with few men. The b\u0153ndr complained that he did not sit in\nhis high-seat at such a great feast; the jarl told him to do it, and he\ndid it. When the first horn was filled, Sigurd jarl spoke and\nconsecrated it to Odin; he drank from it to the king; the king took it\nand made a sign of the cross over it; then a man called K\u00e1r of Gr\u00fdting\nsaid: \u2018Why does the king behave thus? Will he no longer worship[446] the\ngods?\u2019 Sigurd jarl answered: \u2018The king acts like all others who believe\nin their own strength and might; he signs his cups to Thor; he made a\nhammer-sign over it before he drank it.\u2019[447] That evening all was\nquiet. Next day when they sat down at the tables the b\u0153ndr crowded\ntowards the king and asked him to eat flesh (horseflesh, another text);\nthe king would by no means do it. Then they asked him to drink the\nbroth, which he would not. Then they asked him to eat the grease [fat of\nthe soup; another text, the blood], and he would not. Thereupon they\nwere going to attack him. Sigurd tried to reconcile them, and asked the\nb\u0153ndr to stop the tumult; he said the king was going to open his mouth\nover the handle of the kettle where the steam of the horseflesh-broth\nhad made it greasy. The king went to it and wrapped a linen cloth round\nthe handle, and opened his mouth over it. Then he went to his seat, and\nnone of them, b\u0153ndr or king, liked it well\u201d (Fornmanna S\u00f6gur, i., c. 22,\n23).\n\n\n\u201cKing Olaf went with his men after Yule to Thr\u00e1ndheim. Kjartan, Bolli\nand Halfred Ottarsson were with him, and many Icelanders; and he had a\nlarge and fine host. When he came to M\u0153ri those chiefs of the Thrands\nwho were most opposed to Christianity were there, and with them all the\ngreat b\u0153ndr who had before been accustomed to keep up the sacrifices\nthere; a great crowd was present, and, as had been agreed upon at the\nFrostathing, a _Thing_ was summoned, and both parties went fully armed\nto it. At first there was noise and tumult; but when it subsided, and a\nhearing could be got, King Olaf bade the b\u0153ndr be christianized, as he\nhad done before. J\u00e1rnskeggi (Iron-beard) answered on behalf of the b\u0153ndr\nas before, and said: \u2018Now, as before, king, we do not want thee to break\nour laws; it is our will, king, that thou sacrificest like other kings\nhave done here in the country before thee and other chiefs of the\nThrands, Sigurd Hlada jarl, and Hakon jarl (the great), who before thee\nwas chief over the greater part of this country; he was a famous man on\naccount of his wisdom and bravery, though he had not king\u2019s name; for\nlong his rule was very well liked, and he did not lose it through\npreaching such lawlessness that no one should believe in the god he\nliked; nor did his father. Hakon Adalsteinsfostri has been the only one\nwho brought this forward; the Thrands got bitter and threatened him if\nhe continued this, and after the persuading of Sigurd jarl and other\nfriends of his he thought right to give in to the b\u0153ndr; the only thing\nthat will do for thee is to act as we told thee before this winter, for\nwe have not changed our mind since about the belief.\u2019 The b\u0153ndr cheered\nloudly the speech of Skeggi, and said they wanted it all to be as he had\nsaid. Then the king said: \u2018I will do as we agreed to at the _Thing_ of\nFrosta; I will now enter the temple, and see your proceedings and the\npreparing of the sacrifice.\u2019 The b\u0153ndr were well pleased, and went to\nthe temple. The king went in with a few of his men and some of the\nb\u0153ndr. All who went in were unarmed; the king had a gold ornamented\nstaff in his hand. When they came into the temple there was no lack of\nidols. Thor sat in the middle, and was most worshipped; he was tall, and\nornamented all over with gold and silver. The king raised the staff and\nstruck Thor so that he fell down from the altar and was broken; then the\nking\u2019s men who had entered rushed forward and knocked down all the gods\nfrom their altars. While they were in, J\u00e1rnskeggi was slain outside the\ndoor of the temple by the king\u2019s men\u201d (Fornmanna S\u00f6gur, c. 166, 167).\n\n\nIt was so difficult to make any progress in christianizing the people,\nthat they were for a time allowed to perform their rites secretly. The\nb\u0153ndr were little satisfied with the religious belief of their king. The\neight chiefs who superintended the sacrifices (probably from the eight\nfylkis of the Thr\u00e1ndheim district) united to exterminate the Christian\nreligion.\n\n\n\u201cThese eight men who ruled over the sacrifice made an agreement that the\nfour chiefs from outer Trandheim should overthrow Christianity, and the\nfour from inner Thrandheim should force the king to sacrifice\u201d (Hakon\nthe Good\u2019s Saga, c. 19).\n\n\n\u201cGunnhild\u2019s sons had embraced Christianity in England, but when they\nbegan to rule in Norway they could not make any progress in\nchristianising the people; but wherever they could they tore down the\ntemples and spoiled the sacrifices, and thus became very much disliked\nby the people. The good years also soon ceased in the land. The kings\nwere many, and each had his hird around him, and therefore spent much\nand were greedy of property; so they did not well observe the laws\nestablished by King Hakon. They were handsome men, large and strong, and\ngreat men of _idr\u00f3ttir_\u201d[448] (Fornmanna S\u00f6gur, 1).\n\n\n\u201cThorbj\u00f6rn Ongul (hook) had a foster-mother, Thurid; she was very old,\nand people thought her good for little. In heathen times when she was\nyoung, she had been very skilled in witchcraft, but she appeared to have\nforgotten all this. Although Christianity prevailed in the land, there\nwere many traces of heathendom left. It had been the law of the land\nthat it was not forbidden to sacrifice secretly or perform other old\ncustoms, but if it was discovered it was to be punished by lesser\noutlawry\u201d (Gretti\u2019s Saga, c. 80).\n\n\nThe following passage shows how firmly rooted amongst the people was the\nbelief in the power of Thor, the sight of whose image was alone\nsufficient, in their minds, to make the God of the Christians vanish\nbefore it, and how hard was the struggle when they had to give up that\nbelief.\n\n\n\u201cOlaf had all the most prominent men there (in Uppl\u00f6nd) taken, both in\nLesjar and in Dofrar, and they were forced to accept Christianity or\nsuffer death, or, if able, flee away. Those who received Christianity\ngave into the hands of the king their sons as hostages and pledges of\ntheir faith. The king stayed overnight at B\u0153ar in Lesjar, and left\npriests there. Then he went through Lorodal and came to Stafabrekka. The\nriver Otta runs through the valley, and the fine district on both sides\nis called L\u00f3ar. The king could look over the whole length of the\ndistrict. \u2018It is a pity that we must burn a district so fine,\u2019 said the\nking. He came down into the valley with his men, and they stayed\novernight at the farm Nes, and the king chose a loft as his\nsleeping-room, which is there still (Snorri\u2019s time) and has not been\nchanged since. He stayed there five nights, and cut a _Thing-summons_,\nsummoning men from Vagar, L\u00f3ar, and Hedal, and at the same time let them\nknow that they should either fight battles against him and suffer from\nhis ravages, or accept Christianity, and bring him their sons as\nhostages. Thereafter they came to him and obeyed, but some fled south to\nDalir.\n\n\u201cDala-Gudbrand was the name of a man who ruled like a king over the\nDalir, and was _Hersir_ by title. Sigvat Scald compared him in regard to\npower and large possessions to Erling Skj\u00e1lgsson. Gudbrand had a son who\nis mentioned here. When he heard that King Olaf had come to L\u00f3ar and\nforced men to accept Christianity he cut a war arrow and summoned all\nthe men of Dalir to the farm Hundthorp to meet him. They all came, and\nit was a multitude of men, because the lake L\u00f6g lies near there, and\nthey could come as well by water as by land. Gudbrand held a _Thing_,\nand said: \u2018A man, by name Olaf, has come to L\u00f3ar, and wants us to take a\nnew belief and break all our gods asunder, and says he himself has a\nmuch greater and mightier god. It is a wonder that the earth does not\nburst asunder under him when he dares speak such things, or that our\ngods allow him to live any longer. I expect if we carry Thor out of our\ntemple at the _b\u0153r_ where he is, and if he looks on Olaf and his men,\nOlaf\u2019s god and himself and his men will melt and vanish, for this has\nalways helped us.\u2019 They all shouted at once that Olaf should never\nescape thence if he came to them, and they said he would not dare to\nadvance farther south in the Dalir. They sent seven hundred men north to\nBreida to spy, with the son of Gudbrand, eighteen winters old, as\nleader, and many other prominent men. These men came to the farm Hof and\nremained there three nights, and many who had fled from Lesjar and L\u00f3ar\nand Vagar, unwilling to adopt Christianity, joined them there. King Olaf\nand Sigurd, the bishop, left teachers in L\u00f3ar and Vagar.\n\n\u201cThe king went to the b\u0153ndr and held the _Thing_ with them. The day was\nvery wet. When the _Thing_ was opened the king rose and told them that\nthe men of Lesjar, L\u00f3ar and Vagar had accepted Christianity and torn\ndown their sacrificing-houses, and now believed in the true God, who\nshaped heaven and earth and knew all things. The king sat down, and\nGudbrand answered: \u2018We do not know about whom thou art talking; dost\nthou call him God whom neither thou nor any other can see? We have a god\nwhom we may see every day, but he is not out to-day because the weather\nis wet. He will look terrible and great to you. I expect that fear will\ncreep into your breasts if he comes to the _Thing_. But as thou sayest\nthat thy God is so powerful, then let him make the weather to-morrow\ncloudy, with no rain, and we will meet here.\u2019 Thereupon the king went\nhome to his room, and with him Gudbrand\u2019s son as a hostage, while the\nking gave them another man in his place. In the evening the king asked\nGudbrand\u2019s son how their god was made. He answered he was made after\nThor (his likeness); had a hammer in his hand; was of a large size, and\nhollow inside; that a platform was made under him, on which he stood\nwhen outside the temple; that he did not lack gold and silver on him:\nthat four loaves of bread were brought to him every day, and as much\nmeat. Then they went to bed. But the king was awake all that night and\nprayed. When it was day he went to mass, then to his meal, and then to\nthe _Thing_. The weather was as Gudbrand had said. The bishop rose in\nhis gown with a mitre on his head and a crozier in his hand, and\npreached to the b\u0153ndr and told them many tokens which God had shown, and\nended his speech well. Th\u00f3rd Istrumagi (paunch-belly) answered: \u2018This\nhorned man with a staff in his hand with a top like a crooked ram\u2019s horn\ntalks much. As you, comrades, say that your god works so many tokens,\nthen ask him to-morrow before sunrise to let the weather be bright and\nsunny, then we will meet and do one of two things\u2014agree on this matter,\nor fight a battle.\u2019 They parted for a time.\n\n\u201cKolbein the Strong, who was with King Olaf, had his kinsmen in the\nFjords. He was always so dressed that he was girt with a sword, and had\na large stick in his hand which some call \u2018club.\u2019 The king told him that\nhe should stand next him that morning, and then said to his men: \u2018Go\nthis night to the boats of the b\u0153ndr and bore holes in all of them, and\ntake away their horses from the farms where they are and ride on them.\nThis was done. The king stayed all night at the farm, and prayed God to\nclear this difficulty with His mercy and grace. After the matins, about\ndaybreak, he went to the _Thing_. When he came some of the b\u0153ndr had\narrived. They saw a large crowd of b\u0153ndr coming to the _Thing_, carrying\na large image, ornamented all over with gold and silver. When the b\u0153ndr\npresent saw it, they all rushed up and bowed to the monster. Then it was\nplaced on the middle of the _Thing-plain_. On one side sat the b\u0153ndr, on\nthe other the king and his men. Then Dala-Gudbrand rose and said: \u2018Where\nis your god now, king; I think he now carries his chin rather low. It\nseems to me that your boasting, and that of the horned man whom you call\nbishop, sitting at your side, is less than yesterday. It is because our\ngod, who rules all, has come, and looks on you with keen eyes; and I see\nthat you are full of terror now, and dare scarcely look up with your\neyes. Now throw off your superstition and believe in our god, who has\nyou altogether in his power.\u2019 He ended his speech. The king said to\nKolbein the Strong, so that the b\u0153ndr did not hear: \u2018If during my speech\nit happens that they look away from their god, then strike him as hard a\nblow as thou art able with the club.\u2019 Then he rose and said: \u2018Many\nthings hast thou (Gudbrand) spoken to us this morning; thou wonderest\nthat thou art not able to see our God, but we expect He will soon come\nto us. Thou dost threaten us with thy god, who is blind and deaf, and\ncan neither help himself nor others, and can move nowhere from his place\nunless he is carried: I expect that in a short time evil will happen to\nhim. Now look into the east; there comes our God with great light.\u2019 The\nsun was rising, and all the b\u0153ndr looked towards it. At the same moment\nKolbein struck their god so that he burst all asunder, and mice large as\ncats, and vipers and worms, ran out. The b\u0153ndr were so frightened that\nthey fled, some to their ships; but when they launched them they were\nfilled with water, and they could not get on them. Those who ran to\ntheir horses found them not. The king had them called to him, and said\nhe wished to speak with them, and they came back to the _Thing_. Then\nthe king rose and said: \u2018I do not know why you make this tumult and\nuproar; now you can see what power your god had to whom you brought gold\nand silver, food and provisions; you saw what beings had eaten him, mice\nand worms, vipers and adders. Those who believe in such things, and will\nnot leave off their folly, are the worse for it. Take your gold and\ncostly things scattered on the plain; bring them home to your wives, and\nnever hereafter ornament tree or stones with them. Now here are two\nchoices: either you accept Christianity now, or fight a battle against\nme to-day, and may those get the victory whom the God in whom we believe\nwills.\u2019 Dala-Gudbrand rose and said: \u2018A great loss have we suffered in\nour god, but as he could not help us we will now believe in the God in\nwhom thou believest.\u2019 They all accepted Christianity, and the bishop\nbaptized Gudbrand and his son. King Olaf and Sigurd the bishop left\nteachers there; and those who were foes parted as friends, and Gudbrand\nhad a church made in the Dalir\u201d (St. Olaf, Heimskringla, 117\u2013119).\n\n\nBut even in early times, before Christianity had made any advance among\nthe Northmen, there were sceptics such as Hrolf Kraki, Orvar Odd, and\nothers, who had little or no belief. Examples are given in the Sagas of\nothers in later times, when Christianity had gained a footing in the\ncountry, who also had no belief. When King Olaf Tryggvason asked\nEindridi what was his religious belief, the latter answered:\u2014\n\n\n\u201c\u2018I have made up my mind never to believe in logs or stones, though they\nbe in the shape of fiend or man, whose power I don\u2019t understand; and\nthough I have been told that they have great power, it seems to me very\nunlikely, for I find that those images which are called gods are in\nevery way uglier and less powerful than myself.\u2019 The king asked: \u2018Why\ndost thou then not believe in the true God, who is all powerful, and let\nthyself be baptized in his name?\u2019 \u2018Because,\u2019 Eindridi replied, \u2018it has\nnever before been put before me, and no one on your behalf has told me\nabout this God, whom you call almighty; but another more important\nreason is that, as I would not believe what my father and kinsmen told\nme about their gods, I have decided never to hold that belief which is\nin every way so unlike theirs, unless I am fully convinced that your God\nis as almighty as you call him\u2019\u201d (Fornmanna S\u00f6gur).\n\n\nWhen Christianity predominated among the people, we find that sacrifices\nand worship of heathen gods were forbidden.\n\n\n\u201cWhen Harald Gormsson the Dana king had become a Christian, he sent an\norder throughout his realm that all the people should get baptized and\nbe converted to the true faith. He went round himself, and punished and\nforced those who were unwilling. He sent two jarls to Norway with many\nmen to preach Christianity there; their names were Urguthrj\u00f3t and\nBrimisskjar. Many people were baptized in the Vikin which belonged to\nKing Harald. After Harald\u2019s death his son Svein Tj\u00faguskegg (forked\nbeard) soon went on an expedition to Saxland and Frisland, and later to\nEngland. The Northmen who had adopted Christianity turned again to their\nsacrifices as before, like the people did in the northern part of the\ncountry (Norway). Olaf Tryggvason said he would christianize the whole\nof Norway or lose his life. \u2018I will make you all great and powerful men,\nfor I trust you best for the sake of kinship and other relationship.\u2019\nThey all consented to do whatever he commanded, and follow him in all\nthat he wished, with all those who would take their advice. Then Olaf\nmade known to the people that he would preach Christianity to all men in\nhis realm\u201d (Olaf Tryggvason, Heimskringla, c. 59).\n\n\n\u201cBl\u00f3t (worship by sacrifice) is forbidden to us\u2014we shall neither worship\nheathen _v\u0153ttir_ (guardian spirits), nor gods, nor mounds (_haugar_),\nnor altars (_horgs_). If a man is known and convicted of secretly\nthrowing up a mound, or making a house and calling it h\u00f6rg, or raising a\npole and calling it _skaldstong_ (_i.e._, imprecation-pole), he shall\nthereby forfeit every penny of his property\u201d (King Sverri\u2019s\nKristinr\u00e9tt).[449]\n\n\nIt is curious to see how Christian ideas were transformed. The poet\nEilif Gudr\u00fanarson says of Christ, that he is \u201c_strong against the\nJ\u00f6tnar_\u201d; he was possibly thinking of Thor. Halfred says the Christian\ndogmas are not more poetical than the old belief.\n\nIn a fragment of a song on Christ, the poet Eilif Gudr\u00fanarson says that\nChrist sits at the well of Urd (Later Edda, Sk\u00e1ldskaparm\u00e1l, 52)\u2014\n\n \u201cMen say he (Christ) sits on a rock\n South at the well of Urd.\n Thus the mighty lord of the gods\n Has strengthened himself with the lands of Rome.\u201d\n\nIt appears that the eating of horseflesh was forbidden by the early\nChristians. The Emperor Otto having consulted his chiefs as to what\nsteps should be taken to provide provisions for the army, when fighting\nagainst the Danes south of Danavirki, was advised by them either to\nwithdraw from the country, or slay some of the horses for food. To this\nthe Emperor replied:\u2014\n\n\n\u201cTo this advice there is a great drawback, for it is the greatest\nsacrilege for baptized men who can in any other manner prolong their\nlives to eat horseflesh\u201d (Olaf Tryggvason, Fornmanna S\u00f6gur, c. 1).\n\n\nThe Halfred\u2019s Saga, which relates how Halfred, who had been baptized,\nwas for some time with the King, Olaf Tryggvason, and asked him to hear\na song, which at first the king declined to hear, as too heathen for\nhim, shows how hard was the struggle with some men to entirely give up\nthe old faith.\n\n \u201cOf yore I worshipped well\n Him the bold-minded\n Lord of Hlidskjalf (Odin);\n The luck of men changes.\u201d\n\nThe king said: \u201cThis is a very bad stanza; thou must improve it.\u201d\n\n \u201cEvery kindred has made songs\n To win the love of Odin;\n I remember the songs\n Of the men of our time,\n But because I serve Christ\n I must hate against my will\n The first husband of Frigg (Odin),\n For his power I liked well.\u201d\n\nThe king replied: \u201cThe gods dwell much in thy mind, and I do not like\nit.\u201d\n\n \u201cEnricher of men, I forsake\n The god-name of the raven-worshipper (Odin)\n Who in heathendom performed\n A trick praised by the people.\u201d[450]\n\n\u201cThis makes it no better; make a stanza to mend this.\u201d\n\n \u201cFrey and Freyja and the strong Thor\n Ought to be angry with me;\n I forsake the offspring of Nj\u00f6rd.[451]\n The angry (gods) may be friends with Grimnir (Odin);\n I will call on Christ, for all love\n The only Father and God;\n The anger of the Son I dislike,\n He is the famous ruler of earth.\u201d\n\n\u201cThis is a good song, and better than none; sing more.\u201d\n\n \u201cIt is the custom with the Sygna king[452]\n To forbid sacrifices;\n We must shun most of\n The time-honoured dooms of the Nornir;\n All men throw\n The kindred of Odin to the winds;\n Now I am forced to pray to Christ\n And leave the offspring of Nj\u00f6rd.\u201d\n\n (Halfred\u2019s Saga, c. 6.)\n\nThat conversion to Christianity did not always at first have a softening\ninfluence over the character of its converts is to be seen from the\nfollowing passages:\u2014\n\n\n\u201cThe great H\u00e1kon jarl was a zealous sacrificer. When he came to Vikin he\nfound that the (Emperor Otto\u2019s) jarls Urguthrj\u00f3t and Brimisskjar had\nbroken down the temples and christianized all the people they could.\nH\u00e1kon had all the broken temples rebuilt, and sent word all over Vikin\nthat no man should believe in the faith which the jarls had imposed. He\nwent northward across the land to Thr\u00e1ndheim, and there first remained\nquiet. He ruled over the whole of Norway, but never afterwards paid any\ntaxes to the King of Denmark. Afterwards he was in all things worse and\nmore heathen than he had been before he was baptized\u201d (Fornmanna S\u00f6gur,\nvol. i., ch. 73).\n\n\n\u201cH\u00e1kon was open-handed with property toward his men, and for a long time\nbeloved by the whole people; but he had the greatest misfortune to his\ndying day, which was not strange, for he was always guileful, unfaithful\nand treacherous, both to friends and foes, and the greatest\n_god-nithing_ and sacrificing man: the time had come when Almighty God\nhad intended that the sacrifices and heathendom, and the evil messenger\nof the devil, H\u00e1kon jarl, should be condemned, and the holy faith and\ntrue customs take their place. When H\u00e1kon was slain, he had been Jarl\nthirty-three winters since the fall of his father, Sigurd Jarl; he was\ntwenty-five when his father fell, and lacked two winters of sixty\u201d\n(Fornmanna S\u00f6gur, i., c. 104).\n\n\n\u201c\u2018Now, Sigurd, thou hast jarlship over this realm, which I call my own,\nas well as all other realms, which King Harald Fairhair owned, and each\nof his descendants have inherited one after the other. As it has\nhappened that thou hast come into my power, thou hast two choices: the\nfirst is that thou and all thy dependents shall embrace the true faith\nand be baptized, and then thou shalt hold from me the rule thou hast\nheretofore, and what is worth more, live with Almighty God eternally in\nthe kingdom of heaven, if thou observest His commands. The other choice\nis very bad, and very unlike the former: that thou shalt die in this\nplace, and I will go with fire and sword over the islands and lay waste\nthis whole realm, unless the people will believe in the true God; and,\nif thou shalt make this choice, then thou wilt, as all others who\nbelieve in a skurdgod (carved god, idol), after a sudden death, suffer\nterribly with the fiend in the flames of hell without end.\u2019 As the Jarl\nwas then situated, he chose to embrace the true faith.\n\n\u201cThe Jarl and all his men were therefore baptized. Thereupon he became\nKing Olaf\u2019s man, and bound this with oath. Sigurd Jarl then took the\ncountry as fief from the king, and gave him as hostage his son _Hvelp_\n(whelp) or _Hundi_ (dog), whom King Olaf had baptized with the name\nHl\u00f6dver, and taken to Norway. Thereupon King Olaf sailed from the\nOrkneys, and left behind learned men to teach the people in the holy\nfaith. The king and the jarl then separated as friends\u201d (St. Olaf\u2019s\nSaga).\n\n\nThe later accounts of the struggle between the two creeds show how many\ncrimes were committed avowedly in the name of conscience and religion,\nbut really in that of superstition and ignorance, which brings with it\nbigotry, vandalism and murder, the curse of mankind; and we see that the\npeople had a dislike to the adoption of Christian names.\n\n\n\u201cHe (King Olaf, the Saint) had Hr\u00e6rek blinded in both eyes and took him\nwith him; he had the tongue of Gudr\u00f6d, King of Dalir, cut out; Hring and\ntwo others he forced to give oaths that they would leave Norway and\nnever come back\u201d (St. Olaf, Heimskringla, c. 74).\n\n\n\u201cOlaf Tryggvason and Bishop Sigurd both went with many worships to Godey\n(god-isle), where Raud the Strong, a man of sacrifices, lived. Olaf\nattacked the loft where Raud slept, and broke it and went in. Raud was\ntaken and tied, and of the men in there some were killed and others\ntaken. Raud was led before the king, who bade him let himself be\nbaptized; \u2018then,\u2019 said the king, \u2018I will not take thy property, but be\nthy friend if thou wilt do this.\u2019 Raud cried out against this, and said\nhe would never believe in Christ, and blasphemed much. The king grew\nangry, and said Raud should die the most hideous death. He had him taken\nout and lashed to a beam, a stick was placed between his teeth to force\nopen his mouth, in which a snake was placed; but it would not go in, and\nrecoiled, because he blew against it. Then the king had a stalk of\nangelica put in Raud\u2019s mouth; some say that the king put his war-horn\ninto his mouth with the snake in it; he had a red-hot iron bar put on\nthe outside of it. The snake recoiled into the mouth of Raud, and down\nhis throat, and ate its way out of his side, and Raud died. The king\ntook thence a large quantity of gold and silver and other loose\nproperty, weapons, and many costly things. He had slain or tortured all\nthose of Raud\u2019s men who would not be baptized\u201d (Olaf Tryggvason, c. 87).\n\n\n\u201cOlaf Sviaking had a son by his queen who was born on the day of St.\nJames\u2019 vigil; when he was baptized the bishop called him Jacob. The\nSviar disliked that name, and said that never had a Sviaking been called\nJacob\u201d (St. Olaf, c. 89).\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XXXIV.\n THE LAND.\n\n Division of the land\u2014Supposed origin of the division\u2014The odal\u2014How\n land could become odal\u2014Redemption of the odal\u2014Laws in regard to\n redemption\u2014Purchase of land and closing of the bargain\u2014Existence\n of leaseholds\u2014Commons\u2014Rights of common\u2014Laws regulating commons.\n\n\nIn old Sweden and Norway, and no doubt all over the North, the land was\ndivided into _Herad_ and _Fylki_. In Sweden there were small and large\n_Herad_; in Norway there were both _Herad_ and _Fylki_, the latter\nprobably corresponding to the larger _Herad_ in Sweden.\n\nWe are unable to find how and when such division of land began to take\nplace among the people: that a sudden emigration burst upon the country\nwe have no proof whatever.\n\nThe word _her_ (\u201chost\u201d) implies a certain number of people or families\ncoming together for mutual protection or otherwise, and the whole was\ncalled host. These either took by force or settled peacefully upon\ncertain tracts of land, which were then called _Herad_, probably on\naccount of being the land of the _her_. In the course of time\u2014perhaps\nfor mutual protection, or for some other reason unknown to us\u2014those\n_Herad_ or _Fylki_, though entirely independent of each other in their\ninternal affairs, were united together, and were called _thjod_, or\n_veldi_, which means a nation made up of different _Fylki_ and _Herad_.\nSo the land of the Swedes was called Svi-thj\u00f3d, or Svia-veldi: and that\nof the Danes and Norwegians, Dana-veldi and Noregs-veldi.\n\nA man who settled upon a Herad without lawful right could be summarily\nousted without resorting to legal remedies.\n\nThormod and Thorgeir made themselves obnoxious to the people of the\nneighbourhood by their wild habits. Those who thought themselves wronged\nby them went to Vermund (chief of the Herad), and laid their complaints\nbefore him. Vermund summoned H\u00e1var and Bersi (the fathers of the two\nyoung men) to him, and told them that the people disliked their sons.\n\n\n\u201c\u2018Thou, H\u00e1var,\u2019 he said, \u2018art a man not belonging to the herad, and hast\nsettled here without permission. We did not object to thy living here\ntill thy son Thorgeir caused dissension; we want thee to break up thy\nresidence and depart from Isafjord; but Bersi and his son we will not\ndrive away, for they are _heradsmen_\u2019\u201d (Fostbr\u0153dra Saga).\n\n\n_Odal._\u2014We find a great part of the land divided into _Odal_\u2014i.e., the\ntitle to which was absolute, and not dependent on a superior\u2014but how\nthis was acquired we do not know. The probability is that in the\nbeginning of the migration or conquest each head of a family took, or\nhad allotted to him, a certain amount of land as _odal_\u2014the extent of\nland being proportionate to the size of his family or to his rank. Then\nthe settler became a _buandi_[453] (a dweller), that is, of the Herad of\nwhich he formed an integral part. The word _bondi_ is still applied in\nNorway to odal men, who own farms in their own name. To this day there\nare _odal_ farms in Sweden and Norway which have remained in the same\nfamily almost from time immemorial; and such were the safeguards in\nolden times against alienation of land, that it has been impossible for\nthose estates to be gradually absorbed into the hands of comparatively\nfew men, as has been unfortunately done in some other countries; and as\nno conquerors have come to dispossess the original owners, and give\nlarge tracts of land to their followers, the land in many parts of\nScandinavia, with the exception of Denmark, has remained much divided to\nthis day. Besides _odal_ there was _kaup land_, the latter being\nfreehold land that could be bought, and loose property.\n\nThe Gulathing\u2019s Law enumerates seven ways in which landed property could\nbecome _odal_:\u2014\n\n\n\u201c1. When it had descended through four generations in unbroken\nsuccession. 2. When the land had been given as _weregild_.[454] 3. When\nit had been got by so-called _branderfd_.\n\n\n4. When it was received as _heidlaun_ (fee-reward), i.e., when, in later\ntimes, it was given by a king to his servant for faithful services. 5.\nAt a later period, when it was given by the king as _drekkulaun_\n(drink-reward), either for having been well entertained, or as a reward\nfor nursing the king. 6. When it was received as reward for fostering a\nchild (barnf\u00f3strlaun). 7. When it had been acquired in exchange for\nanother odal\u201d (Gulathing\u2019s Law, 270).\n\n\n\u201cThe inheritance is called _branderfd_ if a man receives another to keep\nhim in bad and good circumstances, and feeds him till fire and pyre\n(until he dies)\u201d (Gulath., 108).\n\n\nIn all the last six modes of acquiring the land, it is of course\nunderstood that the land must have been the _odal_ of the grantor.\n\nThe odal could not be alienated from the family, and if sold to any one\noutside the family, the latter had the right of redemption, which\nconsisted in this: that in case the land was sold to a stranger, the\nnearest of kin had the right to redeem the odal from the new owner\nwithin a certain time and on certain conditions. These differed in the\ndifferent laws. The Gulathing\u2019s Law, which most extensively treats this\nsubject, sets as a rule for the redemption, that it could be made by the\nnearest of kin after lawful notice, on payment of a sum one-fifth less\nthan that at which the land was appraised by arbitrators. The kinsman,\nhowever, in order to keep this right open, had to publicly announce it\nat the Thing under whose jurisdiction the land lay, within _twenty\nyears_ after the sale, so that twenty years should never be allowed to\npass between two announcements. If this was neglected, the next of kin\nhad not thereby lost his right of redemption, but he had to pay the full\nvalue of the land.\n\n\n\u201cIf the land lies (is in possession of the buyer) for twenty winters and\nno notice is given, full value must be paid for it\u201d (Gulath., 272).\n\n\nThe right of redemption was not forfeited until the land had been in the\nfamily of the new owner for the period of sixty years without any notice\nof redemption having been given.\n\n\n\u201cIf the land belongs to the same line of family for sixty years or more,\nit becomes the odal of the owner, so that no man can buy it from him\u201d\n(N. G. L., ii. 93).\n\n\n\u201cIf there are two brothers, and one of them dies before his father and\nleaves a son, then he shall redeem that part of the odal at\nfour-fifths[455] of the value from his father\u2019s brother. But he cannot\ndo it before his grandfather is dead\u201d (Gulathing\u2019s Law, 294).\n\n\n\u201cWhen the redeemer has claimed the land according to law, he shall carry\nthe money to the land at the middle of the fast on the morning next\nafter the washing-day (Saturday), when three weeks of the fast are left.\nHe shall put it on a stone where field and meadow meet. He shall speak\nthus: \u2018Be here on the land Thursday in the Easter-week, and take the\nvalue of the land, as much as it is valued in lawful money. I will come\nhere with honest men, and thou shalt have as many here. They shall value\nthe land as it is done when men redeem their odals. The half of the\nmoney shall be in gold and silver, and the other half in native bondsmen\nnot older than forty and not younger than fifteen winters\u2019\u201d (Gulath.,\n266).\n\n\nIf the king was _odalsman_ (i.e., next of kin) to land in the possession\nof another, then the redemption was to take place within the reigns of\nthree kings, for otherwise the right of redemption was forfeited.\n\n\n\u201cIf land falls to the king it must be redeemed from his steward who has\nthe survey in the _Fylki_ in which the land lies. If there is no king\u2019s\nsteward in the _Fylki_, it must be redeemed from the steward who is next\nin rank and before the lives of three kings are gone. If the land is not\nredeemed before, it must lie where it is. Though three kings rule the\nland the time is reckoned as the life of one king. If the king wants to\nredeem land his steward shall redeem it as we do among ourselves. He\nmust have redeemed it also before the lives of three kings are gone,\nelse it lies where it is. Land cannot be redeemed while the king is in\nthe _Fylki_ in which the land lies\u201d (Gulath., 271).\n\n\n\u201cThe land of no man can become odal before three generations have owned\nit in unbroken succession and it falls to the fourth (as inheritance)\u201d\n(Frostath., xii. 4).\n\n\u201cLand becomes the odal of a church if she has owned it for thirty\nwinters\u201d (Frostath., xii. 4).\n\n\nThe land was bought in the following manner, and the bargain was closed\nby _weapon-taking_ and the shaking of hands.\n\n\n\u201cIf a man buys land in the presence of many men, the thingmen shall\nconvey the land to him. He shall summon the other man home, and thence\nto the Thing, and have witnesses at the Thing that he has lawfully\nsummoned him. He shall take mould, as is mentioned in the laws, to the\nfour corners of the hearth, and to the high-seat, and where field and\nmeadow meet, and where pasture and stone-ridge meet, and have witnesses,\nand those who were present at their bargain, at the Thing that he has\ntaken the mould lawfully. If he has full witnesses, the Thingmen shall\nwith weapon-taking convey the land to him. Wherever they agree about the\nbargain, and the sale and the mould is rightly taken, it, and also the\nconveyance, shall be kept at a church and at an ale-house, and at a\nmanned ship with several rowing-seats, as if it were made at a Thing.\nWherever the king conveys land it shall be kept\u201d[456] (Gulath., 292).\n\n\n\u201cThe silver was then all counted, and every _penning_ paid for the land.\nB\u00f6rk then took the money, and by a _hand-shaking_ transferred the land\nto Snorri\u201d (Eyrbyggja Saga, c. 14).\n\n\n\u201cIf a woman is _baugryg_,[457] she can inherit both odal and (loose)\nproperty, and no man can redeem it from her. The women who are\nodal-women and whom the odals follow are these. Daughter and sister, and\nfather\u2019s sister, and brother\u2019s daughter, and son\u2019s daughter. The\ndaughter and sister are two _baugrygs_. They can pay and receive wergild\nlike men. They also have, like men, the first right to buy the land\u201d\n(Gulath., 275).\n\n\nLeaseholds also existed in these early days.\n\n\n\u201cThrand leased out the lands at Gata to many, and took as high a rent as\npossible\u201d (F\u00e6reyinga Saga, c. 2).\n\n\n_Commons._\u2014From time immemorial the large extents of land and sea, which\nbelonged to no individual, and used by one or more communities as their\ncommon property, were called _almenning_ or commons, and were under the\npower of the _herad_. Every one had the right to make use of wood and\nwater on these commons; to build himself _s\u00e6ter_,[458] as well as\nsmithies and hunting-huts; to fish in the waters, hunt and trap animals;\nto cut timber and mow grass, observing the previous rights of any\nearlier user. The settler ought then to fence around his property within\ntwelve months. Outside his home field he owned as outgrounds all the\nsurrounding land as far as he could throw his knife. All fishing-places\nat some distance from the coast were commons, but the king had a right\nto get a fee or tax from those who fished there, which tax was one of\nhis sources of revenue.[459]\n\n\n\u201cEvery man is allowed to use water and wood on a common. Every one shall\nhave his common as he has had it from old time. If a settlement is made\non a common, the king owns it. If there is a field and meadow fenced in,\nhe owns the land as far from the fence as he can throw his knife. The\nremaining is common. All that is thrown up on the coast of a common is\nowned by the king. If people sail along the coast or from sea and their\nships founder, whoever owns the land where they are wrecked owns as much\nproperty as he can prove with witnesses. The king owns all other\nsea-wrecks\u201d (Gulath., 145).\n\n\n\u201cThis law have the kings given to all the men of H\u00e1logaland; namely, the\nkings have given up all _fish-gifts_ (taxes) from all capes and all\nfishing-places, except that men shall give to the king five fishes. That\nshall every man do who fishes in Vagar (in H\u00e1logaland)\u201d[460] (Frostath.,\nxvi. 2).\n\n\n\u201cThe law of seal-catching places is, that within three weeks from St.\nJohn\u2019s Mass, and six weeks from Yule, all such places are holy, and no\nman shall go into another\u2019s ground without leave. If a man is found in\nanother\u2019s fishing-ground during these weeks and catches seals, he is a\nthief. Between these times they shall protect their seal-catching places\nlike their land with a law stick (lag kelfi), and a _ran baug_ (fine);\nif the thief goes then, he is fined for trespassing in another man\u2019s\nland....\u201d (Frostath., xiv. 11).\n\n\n\u201cDeer-enclosures every man can make on common land, if he does not spoil\nanother\u2019s hunting.... A spear-fence shall not stand longer than ten\nwinters\u201d (Frostath., xiv. 9).\n\n\nLater, and after the establishment of the kingdom of Harald Fairhair,\nthe commons as well as the odal became the property of the king; and\nWilliam the Conqueror, after the conquest of England, considered himself\nto have the same powers as those usurped by Harald Fairhair and other\nnorthern kings.\n\n\n\u201cKing Harald became the owner of all _odals_, and of all the land\ncultivated and uncultivated in every _Fylki_, and even of the sea and\nthe rivers and lakes. All _b\u0153ndr_ were to be his tenants, both those who\ncultivated the field and the saltmakers; and all fishermen, hunters and\ntrappers, both on sea and on land, were his men\u201d (Egil\u2019s Saga, c.\n4).[461]\n\n\nIf a person had been living on a common during the time of three kings,\nnone of whom reigned less than ten years, he had thereby acquired full\nand legal rights to his land, even though he lacked the formal consent\nof the king.\n\n\n\u201cIf a steward or messenger of the king charges a man with dwelling on\nland taken from the common without the king\u2019s leave, and the man answers\nthat the land has been held by him during the lives of three kings, none\nof whom ruled less than three winters, then if the steward or king\u2019s\nmessenger denies this he shall bring forward witnesses\u201d (Frostath., xiv.\n7).\n\n\nWhen the king gave land to a man, his successor could take it back, so\nthe gift was only valuable for the lifetime of the king.\n\nThe customs which regulated settlements made on the land in Iceland were\nprobably very ancient, but it is impossible to tell whether they were\nhanded down from the time of the first settlers in the North.\n\nAsbj\u00f6rn, son of Heyangrs-Bj\u00f6rn, a _hersir_ (chief)[462] in Sogn, died at\nsea on his journey to Iceland, but Thorgerd, his wife and their sons\ncame to Iceland.\n\n\n\u201cIt was the custom that a woman should not take up more land than a\nhalf-grown and well-kept heifer, two winters old, could be led across\nduring the spring-long day from sunrise to sunset; therefore Thorgerd\nled her heifer from Thoptufell, near Kvi\u00e1, southwards to Kidjaklett at\nJ\u00f6kulsfell\u201d (Landn\u00e1ma, Pt. iv., c. 10).\n\n\n\u201cThose who came out later thought the first comers had taken too much\nland, and on that account King Harald Fairhair established a law that no\none should take up more land than he could walk over with fire in one\nday with his ship-companions. They were to light fires when the sun was\nin the east, which were to burn until night; then they were to walk\nuntil the sun was in the west and make other fires; the smoke was to be\nseen from the one fire to the other\u201d (Landn\u00e1ma, v., c. 1).\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XXXV.\n DIVISIONS OF PEOPLE INTO CLASSES.\n\n Antiquity of class divisions in the North\u2014Influence of education\u2014The\n classes into which society was divided\u2014The Jarl the progenitor of\n kings\u2014Primogeniture\u2014The thrall\u2014Description of freemen\u2014The freeman\n a farmer or bondi\u2014Occupation of Jarl and his wife\u2014High-born\n women\u2014Marriage of the high born\u2014Sons of Jarls\u2014Divisions of the\n people at the close of the Pagan era\u2014The Hersir or leader of the\n host\u2014Customs of ancient chiefs\u2014The Jarl in earlier and later\n times\u2014The Lendirmenn the leaders and advisers of the b\u0153ndr\u2014The\n position and power of the Bondi\u2014The Haulld, a higher grade of\n bondi\u2014The king\u2014Grades of kingship\u2014Sea kings\u2014Consent of the Thing\n to the election of a king\u2014Manner of selecting a king.\n\n\nFrom very early times the people of the North were divided into classes.\nMen and women were educated from their childhood to believe in the\nsuperiority or inferiority of their own being, of the position inherited\nby them at their birth, and consequently to think themselves superior or\ninferior to the other people of the commonwealth. This belief was\nintensified by the education they received, their surroundings and their\nmode of life, as seen throughout from the day of their birth to the time\nwhen they were buried. The class that governed held that they were born\nto rule, and the slave to remain a slave. The lot of each had been\nhereditary, fate had so decreed.\n\nThis demarcation into classes was acquiesced in by the people of the\nland, for it could not have existed a single moment without their will,\nand formed an integral part of the social and political fabric\nthroughout the whole history of the people.\n\nBut as will be seen in the perusal of these volumes, no man was allowed\nto rule over the people unless he excelled in many things.\n\nThe _Rigsm\u00e1l_ gives in a striking manner the mode of life of early\ntimes, and shows into how many classes society was divided: viz., the\n_slave_; the _karl_ or _bondi_; the _jarl_, and the _hersir_.\n\nIn the first stanza of the Voluspa we have seen that all men are called\nthe sons of Heimdall, of which we have an explanation in the Rigsm\u00e1l.\nHeimdall travels about under the name of Rig, from house to house; first\nhe goes to _Ai_ and _Edda_ (great-grandfather and great-grandmother),\nthen to _Afi_ and _Amma_ (grandfather and grandmother), and then to\n_Fadir_ and _M\u00f3dir_ (father and mother).\n\nIn the poem we see the ancestry of each class under a sort of developing\nsystem\u2014how the jarl and hersir are the progenitors of chiefs and kings;\nand we learn of _odal_, or of primogeniture and entail; of the hersir we\nlearn nothing, except that he existed.\n\n It is told there went\n Along the green paths\n A mighty and old\n And wise As,\n The strong and nimble\n Rig the wanderer.\n\n He went on thereafter\n Along the middle of the path,\n And came to a house;\n The door was ajar;\n He went in;\n Fire was on the floor;\n Man and wife sat there\n Hoary, at the hearth,\n \u00c1i and Edda,\n With her old-fashioned hood.\n\n Rig gave them\n Good advice;\n He sat down\n In the middle seat,\n And on either side\n The man and wife of the house.\n\n Then Edda took\n A lumpy loaf,\n Heavy and thick,\n Mixed with bran;\n Then she put more\n On the middle of the trencher\n Broth was in the bowl;\n She put it on a table.\n There was boiled veal\n The best of dainties.\n\n Rig could give them\n Good advice;\n He rose from there,\n Went to sleep,\n And lay down\n In the middle of the bed,\n And on either side\n The man and wife of the house.\n\n There he stayed\n Three nights altogether;\n Then travelled on\n Along the middle of the path;\n Then passed\n Nine months.\n Edda gave birth to a child,\n They sprinkled it with water.\n\n _Appearance of the Thrall._\n\n They called him Thrall.\n He grew\n And throve well;\n There was on (his) hands\n Wrinkled skin;\n Crooked knuckles.\n\n * * * * *\n\n Fingers thick,\n Face ugly,\n Back bent,\n Heels long.\n\n Thereafter he began\n To try his strength\n To bind bast,\n To make loads\n Thereafter he carried home\n Faggots the weary day.\n\n There came to the house\n The leg-walking;[463]\n Scars were on her soles;\n Her arm was sunburnt;\n Her nose crooked;\n (She) was called Thir.[464]\n\n She sat down\n In the middle of the seat;\n The son of the house\n Sat at her side;\n They talked and whispered,\n Made a bed\n Thrall and Thir\n Through the wearisome days.\n\n They had children,\n Lived and were happy;\n * * * * *\n They laid fences,\n Enriched the plough-land,\n Tended swine,\n Herded goats,\n Dug peat.\n\n _Description of Freemen._\n\n Then Rig went\n Right on his way;\n He came to a hall;\n The door was on the latch.\n He went in;\n Fire was on the floor,[465]\n Husband and wife sat there,\n Busy with their work.\n\n A man cut there\n A log into a loom-beam,\n (His) beard was trimmed;\n Hair lay on (his) forehead,\n His shirt was tight;\n There was a chest on the floor.\n\n There sat a woman;\n She twirled a distaff,\n Stretched out her arms,\n Made cloth;\n There was a sveig[466] on her head,\n A smock on her breast,\n A kerchief on her neck,\n Pin-brooches on her shoulders;\n Afi and Amma[467]\n Owned the house.\n\n Amma gave birth to a child;\n (They) sprinkled it with water,\n Called it Karl,\n The wife wrapped it in linen;\n (It was) red and ruddy,\n (Its) eyes rolled.\n\n _The Freeman, a Farmer or Bondi._\n\n He did grow\n And thrive well;\n He broke oxen,\n Made ploughs;\n Timbered houses,\n Made barns,\n Made carts,\n And drove the plough.\n\n They (the parents) drove home\n The maiden with the hanging keys\n And with the goatskin kirtle;\n They married her to Karl;\n She was called Sn\u00f6r,\n She sat down under bridal linen.\n (They) lived as man and wife,\n Divided rings (wealth),\n Spread bedclothes,\n And set up a household.\n\n They had children;\n They lived together happy.\n\nThen follows a description of the jarl, who possessed all the qualities\ngiven by Odin, from whom many claim descent. From this we learn the\noccupation of himself and wife and their manner of living, that he was a\nwarrior, and had a knowledge of runes.\n\n Rig went thence\n Right onwards;\n He came to a hall,\n The door was to the south,\n And it was shut;\n A ring[468] was in the door-post.\n\n Then he went in;\n The floor was strewn with rushes;\n The man and the wife sat,\n Looked into (each other\u2019s) eyes;\n Fadir and Modir\n Played with their fingers.\n\n The husband sat,\n And twisted strings,\n Bent an elm,\n Shafted arrows;\n And the housewife\n Looked at her arms,\n Smoothed the linen,\n Folded the sleeves.\n\n She let her fald stand out;[469]\n A brooch was on her breast;\n She wore long trailings,[470]\n A blue-dyed sark;\n A brow brighter,\n A breast lighter,\n A neck whiter,\n Than pure snow.\n\n The mother took\n A broidered cloth,\n A white one of flax,\n Covered the table;\n Then she took\n Thin loaves,\n White loaves of wheat,\n And laid them on the cloth.\n\n Forth she set\n Full trenchers,\n Silver covered,\n On the table,\n Shining pork\n And roasted birds;\n Wine was in a jug;\n The cups (were) mounted;\n They drank and talked;\n The day was passing away.\n\n Rig could give them\n Good advice;\n Then he rose,\n And made his bed;\n He was there\n Three nights together:\n Then he went on\n In the middle of the path;\n Then there passed\n Nine months.\n\n Modir gave birth to a boy,\n Wrapped him in silk\n Sprinkled him with water,\n Called him jarl.\n His hair was fair,\n Cheeks bright;\n His eyes were keen,\n As a young snake\u2019s.[471]\n\n The Jarl grew up\n There in the house;\n Shook the lind,[472]\n Laid the strings,\n Bent the elm,\n Shafted the arrows,\n Threw the javelins,\n Shook the spears,\n Rode horses,\n Set on the hounds,\n Brandished the sword,\n Practised swimming.\n\n Out of the brushwood\n Came Rig walking,\n Taught him runes,\n Gave him his name,\n Said he was his son;\n He bade him own\n The _Odal_-fields,\n The old homestead.\n\n He rode on thence\n Through a dark wood,\n Over hoar-frosted mountains,\n Till he came to a hall;\n He brandished the spear,\n Shook the linden,\n Let the horse gallop,\n Drew his sword,\n Stirred up war,\n Reddened the field,\n Felled men for land.\n\n He alone then ruled\n Eighteen farms,\n Dealt out wealth,\n Gave to all\n Treasures and costly things,\n Bare-ribbed horses;\n Scattered rings,[473]\n Cut them asunder.\n\n _Appearance of the High-born Women._\n\n The messengers drove\n On the wet paths,[474]\n And came to the hall\n Where Hersir lived;[475]\n He had a daughter\n Slender-fingered,\n White and gentle,\n She was called Erna.\n\n _The High-born Marry together._\n\n They asked for her\n And drove home,\n And married her to Jarl;\n She walked under linen;\n They lived together\n And were happy,\n Increased the kin,\n Enjoyed life.\n\n Bur was the oldest,\n Barn the second,\n J\u00f3d and Adal,\n Arfi, M\u00f6g,\n Nid and Nidjung,\n They played\n Son and Svem (swain)\n And played chess.\n One was called Kund,[476]\n Kon was the youngest.\n\n _Sons of Jarls are called Kon._\n\n Up grew\n The sons of Jarl,\n They brake horses,\n Bent shields,\n Smoothed shafts,\n Shook ash-spears.\n\n But Kon[477] the young\n Knew runes,\n Everlasting runes,[478]\n And life runes;\n And further he knew\n How to save men\u2019s lives,\n To blunt edges,\n To calm the sea.[479]\n\n\nFrom this we see that the Jarl was supposed to have qualities not\npossessed by the lower class, which was kept in awe of him on this\naccount.\n\n\n He learnt the chirping of birds,[480]\n To quench fires,\n To soothe minds,\n To allay sorrows;\n He had the strength and energy\n Of eight men.\n\n He coped in runes\n Against Rig jarl;\n Used tricks\n And outdid him;\n Then he got\n And then he owned\n The name of Rig,\n The knowledge of runes.\n\n The young Kon rode\n Through copse and forest,\n Shot the bolt,\n Killed birds.\n\n Then said a crow;\n It sat alone on a bough:\n \u201cWhy wilt thou, young Kon,\n Kill birds?\n Thou shouldst rather\n Horses ride\n And fell the host.[481]\n\n Dan and Danp\n Own costly halls,\n A higher odal\n Than you have;\n They know well\n To ride the keel,\n To teach the edges\n To cut wounds.\u201d\n\nTowards the end of the Pagan era the grades of the people were Konung,\nJarl, Hersir or Lend mann, Hauld, Bondi, Leysingi, and Thrall.\n\n_The Hersir._\u2014The dignity of Hersir was hereditary and of great\nantiquity, but was not as ancient as that of the Drottin or Godi.[482]\nThe records in regard to his functions are very meagre. He was the\nleader of the _her_ (host, or community), their chief in war and in the\nadministration of justice; high \u201cpriest (Godi)\u201d in regard to worship,\nand as such took care of the temple, superintended the sacrifices and\nother religious ceremonies. As a godi he held the farms and estates\nbelonging to the temple, and sometimes received a temple-tax from the\nb\u0153ndr for the maintenance of the temple and sacrifices. In most\ninstances the temple property from time immemorial belonged to the\nHersir who presided at the Thing. The change of the name of the ruler\nfrom that of Godi to that of Hersir seems to point to the time when the\ntemporal and spiritual authority were united, but we have no knowledge\nhow it came to pass\u2014probably it did so very gradually and insidiously.\n\nBy Harald Fairhair the independence of the Hersir, consequently of the\nHerad, was well-nigh annihilated, and the former never regained his\nposition. Thus died this ancient and noble dignity, connected with the\nvery earliest history of the ancestors of the English-speaking people.\nIt was an office of a patriarchal nature belonging to the social\nstructure of that period, intimately connected with the Bondi of the\nHerad of which the Hersir was the hereditary head; and with the loss of\nhis independence came that of the freedom of the Herad and of the\npeople; and never has Norway been herself since that time. But out of\nevil came good. These men, who could not bear the yoke of this Royal\ndespot, in whom there is but little to admire, except his personal\nbravery, afterwards migrated into different parts of Europe, as is seen\nfrom several Sagas.\n\n\n\u201cIn the old age of Ketil, Harald Fairhair established his rule over\nNorway, so that no Kings of Fylkis or other great men could thrive there\nwithout acknowledging his power.\n\n\u201cWhen Ketil heard that King Harald intended to make him submit to the\nsame conditions as other powerful men, to get no wergild for his kinsmen\nand become his tenant, he summoned a Thing of his kinsman and said: \u2018To\nyour knowledge must have come our dealings with King Harald, which need\nnot be told, for it is more necessary to take counsel about the hard\nconditions which he wishes to impose on us. I know for certain his\nenmity toward us, and that we can hope for nothing from him. It\ntherefore seems to me that we have the choice of only two things\u2014either\nto flee the country, or be slain each at his place; and I prefer to die\nlike my kinsmen, but I do not wish to lead you into such danger by my\nself-will, as I know the temper of my friends and kinsmen: they will not\nleave me though it may be some danger to follow me.\u2019\n\n\u201cBj\u00f6rn, Ketil\u2019s son, replied: \u2018Quickly will I proclaim my choice, for I\nwill follow the example of other high-born men, and flee this land,\nrather than remain here as the thrall of King Harald.\u2019 All thought this\nwell and manfully spoken, and it was decided that they should all leave\nthe country. Bj\u00f6rn and Helgi wanted to go to Iceland, as they had heard\nthat the land was good, with plenty of game and fish. Ketil however said\nthat he would not go to that wild country in his old age, but westward,\nwhere he knew many places, as he had ravaged widely there\u201d (Laxd\u0153la, 2).\n\n\n\u201c\u00dalf Gyldir was a powerful hersir in Thelam\u00f6rk. He resided at\nFiflavellir, and his son Asgrim dwelt there after him. King Harald\nFairhair sent his kinsman Th\u00f3rorm from Thruma to get tribute from\nAsgrim, but he would not pay any, for he had shortly before sent to the\nking a Gautaland horse and much silver, but said that this was a gift,\nand no tax, for he had never before paid any. The king returned the\nproperty, and would not accept it\u201d (Landn\u00e1ma, v., c. 6).\n\n\n\u201cA man was called Dala-Gudbrand; he had the name of Hersir, but ruled\nlike a king over the _Dalir_ (district). Sigvat Scald compared him in\npower and in vast possessions to Erling Skj\u00e1lgsson\u201d (St. Olaf,\nHeimskringla, c. 118).\n\n\n\u201cArnvid the blind replied: \u2018Lord (Herra), most unlike are red gold and\nclay, but greater is the difference between King and Thrall. You\npromised your daughter Ingegerd, who is high born in all pedigrees of\nUppsvia family, which is the highest in the northern lands, for it is\ndescended from the gods themselves\u2019\u201d (St. Olaf, Hkr., 96).\n\n\nIt was the custom of the Hersir and of chiefs to sit daily or often on\nthe mound raised over the remains of their ancestors\u2019 kinsmen or wives,\nso that they could be seen for a long distance, and that every one might\nhave access to them. At such times it seems to have been customary for\nthe chiefs to be alone. They occupied themselves there in playing with\ntheir dogs, hunting with hawks, cutting the manes of their horses, or\nlooking at games, &c.; or they quietly contemplated the panorama, and\nsaw before them visions of Odin, of the Valhalla, and of their kinsmen\nwho had gone there.\n\nThis custom of sitting on mounds seems to be of very great antiquity,\nand was mentioned in the earlier Edda, and in many places in the Sagas.\n\n\n\u201cThrym the Jotun had stolen Th\u00f3r\u2019s hammer, and Loki, having borrowed the\neagle-shape of Freyja, goes in the dress of Freyja (see Wedding-dress),\nas a bride to Jotunheim, and there beholds Thrym.\n\n Thrym sat on a mound,\n The Lord of Thursar,\n Braiding gold bands\n For his grey hounds,[483]\n And cutting even the manes\n Of his horses.\u201d\n\n (Thrymskvida, 6.)\n\n\nThorleif the wise was a chief who would not accept Christianity, and\n\u00d3laf Tryggvason sent the poet Hallfred to him on this account.\n\n\n\u201cThorleif was wont, as was often the custom of men in ancient times, to\nsit on a mound not far from the b\u0153r, and there he was when Hallfred\ncame\u201d (Fornmanna S\u00f6gur).\n\n\n\u201cThorgn\u00fdr Jarl had much loved his queen, and her mound was near the\nburgh. The jarl sat there often at good meals, or when he held councils,\nor had games played before him\u201d (G\u00f6ngu Hr\u00f3lf\u2019s Saga, c. 5).\n\n\n_The Jarl._\u2014The term Jarl, in the Earlier Edda, was not hereditary, but\nwas a name of distinction given to a high-born chief who possessed\nwarlike qualities, to the commander of a host, and, at a later time, to\na chief ruling over certain districts.\n\nIn the historical period, when _Fylkis_ existed, we have independent\njarls of H\u00e1logaland, whose jarldom was only different in name from that\nof king, to whom he was next in dignity. Later the jarldom was an office\ngiven by the king for life. Harald Fairhair named jarls for every Fylki,\nto govern on his behalf; but this was never completely carried out, even\nin his own time, for his sons became sub-kings. In the course of the\ntenth century the jarls, except those of H\u00e1logaland,[484] disappeared in\nNorway. In Harald Fairhair\u2019s time the jarldom was inherited in the\nOrkneys, and the jarl, who sometimes possessed large tracts of land in\nScotland, had to pay taxes to the Norwegian kings. During Harald\nHardr\u00e1di\u2019s rule, in the middle of the eleventh century, there was only\none jarl in Norway as a help to the king (Harald Hardr\u00e1di, Hkr., ch.\n49). They often traced their title, which was sometimes considered a\nfamily title, through a long descent; and the famous _H\u00e1leygja jarls_\n(the jarls of H\u00e1logaland) traced their pedigree from Odin.[485]\n\n\n\u201cH\u00e1kon jarl ruled over Norway all along the coast over sixteen Fylkis.\nAfter Harald Fairhair had ordered that a jarl should be in every Fylki\nthe custom was continued for a long time. H\u00e1kon had sixteen jarls under\nhim\u201d (Olaf Tryggvason, Heimskringla, c. 50).\n\n\nIn the time of Harald Fairhair there seems to have been a certain\nceremony at the making of a jarl.\n\n\n\u201cIn Naumudal two brothers, Herlaug and Hrollaug, were kings. They had\nbeen making a mound for three summers; it was made of stones, and lime\nand wood. When the mound was finished the brothers heard that Harald\nFairhair was coming with a host. Then Herlaug had a great deal of food\nand drink conveyed to the mound, and went with eleven men into the mound\nand had it shut. Hrollaug went to the mound on which the kings used to\nsit and had his high-seat prepared for him there and sat down; he had\ncushions laid on the footboard where the jarls used to sit; then he\nrolled himself down from his high-seat into the jarl\u2019s seat, and gave\nhimself the name of a jarl. Thereafter he met Harald and gave him his\nwhole realm, and offered to become his man, and told him what he had\ndone. Harald took a sword and fastened it to his belt; then he fastened\na shield to his neck and made him his jarl, and led him up to his\nhigh-seat; he gave him Naumudalsfylki and made him jarl over it\u201d\n(Heimskringla, p. 53).\n\n\n\u201cH\u00e1lfd\u00e1n the old had nine sons by Alvig the Wise, daughter of King\nEyvind of H\u00f3lmgard. They were called Thengil, R\u00e6sir, Gram, Gylfi,\nHilmir, J\u00f6fur, Tyggi, Skyli or Skuli, Harri or Herra.[486] These nine\nbrothers became so famous in warfare that in all songs their names are\nused as names of rank, like the names of kings or jarls. They had no\nchildren, and fell in battle\u201d (H\u00e1lfd\u00e1n the Old, Later Edda).\n\n\n_The Lendir menn._\u2014With the disappearance of the Hersir a new class of\nmen, called _Lendir menn_, arose, who ranked below the Jarl, and whose\noffice was somewhat similar to that of the Hersir; but they received\ntheir dignity, which was not hereditary, from the king, and it seldom\nhappened that any one but the son of such a one was raised to the\ndignity.\n\nBefore a hundred years had passed after Harald Fairhair\u2019s usurpation of\npower, the Lendir menn had won such a position in the state that the\nrulers of the country always had to seek their help. They were the\nleaders and trusty advisers of the Bondi.\n\n\n\u201cShortly after Yule, Svein Jarl gathered men all around Thr\u00e1ndheim,\nsummoned the levy, and prepared his ships. At this time there were in\nNorway many lendir menn, several of whom were powerful, and so high-born\nthat they were near descendants of kings or jarls; they were also very\nrich. Kings and jarls ruling the country had great support from the\nlendir menn, for in each Fylki it was the lendir menn who ruled over the\nmass of the b\u0153ndr\u201d (St. Olaf, c. 44).\n\n\n_The Bondi_ was a name of honour given to him who possessed lands which\nhe cultivated with men under him consequently the foremost chiefs of the\ncountry were b\u0153ndr.\n\nThey made and unmade the laws in the Thing, accepted or deposed the men\nwho were to rule or ruled over them. In them lay the strength and power\nof the country; from their earliest youth we find them practising all\nkinds of athletic games, fitting themselves to be warriors on land and\nsea.\n\nThe _Haulld_ seems to have been a higher grade of bondi, on account of\nthe nature of the odal which he had inherited from his father and\nmother, and which his forefathers had owned before them. The haulld and\nthe bondi were the only classes who could be regarded as hereditary;\nthey formed an integral part of the herad, and were the representatives\nof all that was powerful and influential in the land. Throughout the\nwhole Northern literature we see their power when assembled in the\nThing.\n\nThe desire to show this power caused chiefs and rich b\u0153ndr to surround\nthemselves with a retinue of free and warlike men.\n\n\n\u201cWhen \u00d3laf Tryggvason ruled over Norway, he gave his brother-in-law\nErling one half of the land-rents, and one half of all the revenues\nbetween Lidandisnes (Lindesn\u0153s) and Sogn. \u00d3laf married his other sister\nto R\u00f6gnvald Jarl \u00dalfsson, who ruled long over Western Gautland.\nR\u00f6gnvald\u2019s father \u00dalf was the brother of Sigrid the Proud, mother of\n\u00d3laf King of Sweden. Eirik Jarl did not like Erling to have so much\npower, and took to himself all the possessions which King \u00d3laf had\ngranted to Erling; but Erling continued to take all the land-dues in\nRogaland, and the inhabitants often paid them twice to him. Little did\nthe Jarl get of the fines, for the _s\u00fdslumenn_ (tax-gatherers) could not\nremain there. The Jarl never went to _veizlas_ (entertainments, feasts)\nthere unless he had many men with him.\n\n\u201cEirik did not dare to fight against Erling, for he had many and mighty\nkinsmen, and was powerful and popular. He also constantly had with him\nas many men as a king\u2019s bodyguard. Erling was often on warfare during\nthe summer, and won property, for he kept up in the same manner his\nliberality and high living, though he had smaller and less revenues than\nin the days of King \u00d3laf\u201d (St. \u00d3laf\u2019s Saga, 21).\n\n\n\u201cThorstein Thorskabit became a most powerful man; he always had with him\nsixty free men\u201d (Eyrbyggja Saga, ii.).\n\n\n_The King._\u2014_Kon_[487] in the old Northern tongue meant a man of high\nbirth; in the Rigsm\u00e1l, the word is konung.\n\nAll descendants of Rig[488] retained the name of konung. Dyggvi, who was\nthe first of the Ynglings, assumed this title, and later arose a class\nof chiefs to whom the name of konung was applied.\n\n\n\u201cHis son Dyggvi then ruled the lands and of him is nothing told except\nthat he died of sickness.... The mother of Dyggvi was Dr\u00f3tt, the\ndaughter of King Danp, the son of Rig, who was the first that was called\nking (konung) in the Danish tongue; his kinsman always afterwards held\nthe king\u2019s name to be the highest name of honour. Dyggvi was the first\nof his family who was called king.\n\n\u201cBefore, they (the family) were called dr\u00f3ttnar (lords) and their wives\ndr\u00f3ttningar and the hird was called dr\u00f3tt. Each one of them was called\nYngvi all his life and all together they were called Ynglingar. Dr\u00f3tt\nthe drottning (queen) was the sister of Dan the Proud, after whom\nDanm\u00f6rk (Denmark) is named\u201d (Ynglinga, c. 20).\n\n\nThe process of the transfer of the ruling authority from the hands of\nthe Hersir to those of the King cannot be clearly shown; it was most\nprobably gradual and slow, the one being absorbed by the other. The\ndignity of Hersir was earlier than that of Konung.\n\nAt first the name of king was a dignity which implied power or rule with\nit; there were several grades.\n\nThe _Fylki_ kings; the _Herad_ kings; the _Skatt_ kings = tax-kings or\nsub-kings; the _Sea-kings_, and the _Host-kings_.\n\nThe _Herad-kings_, the kings of the whole realm, who ruled over several\nFylkis or Herads, were the most powerful. They were originally spiritual\nrulers, and traced their origin to Odin and his sons.\n\n\n\u201cAt that time there were many kings in Uppl\u00f6nd who ruled over Fylkis,\nand most of them sprang from Harald Fairhair. Two brothers, Hr\u0153rek and\nHring, ruled Heidm\u00f6rk, and Gudr\u00f6d ruled the Gudbrandsdal. There was also\na king in Raumar\u00edki\u201d (St. \u00d3laf, 34).\n\n\n\u201cHarald Fairhair reigned over Norway for a long time; but before that\nthe country was ruled by many kings, some having one _Fylki_ to govern,\nand others somewhat more. All these kings Harald deposed.... He placed a\njarl in every Fylki, to rule the land and administer the laws\u201d\n(Flateyjarb\u00f3k).\n\n\nMany of the bold spirits of the North could ill brook the yoke of the\nfirst king of Norway.\n\nS\u00f6lvi, son of King H\u00fanthj\u00f3f, escaped from a battle against Harald\nFairhair in which his father fell. He went to King Arnvid of Sunnm\u0153ri\nand told him to fight against Harald.\n\n\n\u201c\u2018Though this trouble has come on our hands, it will not be long before\nthe same will come on yours, for I guess that Harald will soon come here\nwhen he has subjugated and made thralls of any one he pleases in\nNordm\u0153ri and Raumsdal. You will have to do the same as we had to do,\ndefend your property and your freedom, and gather together all those\nfrom whom you may expect help. I offer my help and that of my warriors\nagainst this overbearing and insolence; else you must do like the men of\nNaumudal, go of your free will under his yoke and become his thralls. My\nfather thought it a victory to die in his kingship with honour, rather\nthan become the _under-man_[489] of another king in his old age. I\nexpect thee to think the same, and others who are of some rank and wish\nto use their strength\u2019\u201d (Egil\u2019s Saga, c. 3).\n\n\n\u201cOnce King Hr\u00f3lf invited his brother-in-law Hj\u00f6rvard to a feast; while\nHj\u00f6rvard stayed at the feast it happened when the kings were outside\nthat King Hr\u00f3lf untied his breeches belt and meanwhile gave his sword to\nKing Hj\u00f6rvard; when King Hr\u00f3lf had again fastened the belt he took back\nthe sword, and said to King Hj\u00f6rvard: \u2018We both know that it has long\nbeen said, that he who receives the sword of another man while he unties\nhis breeches belt, shall ever after be his _under-man_; now thou shalt\nbe my under-king, and bear it as well as others.\u2019 Hj\u00f6rvard became\nexceedingly angry at this, but had to submit. He went home dissatisfied,\nnevertheless he paid tax to King Hr\u00f3lf like others of his under-kings\nwho had to pay him homage\u201d (Hr\u00f3lf Kraki\u2019s Saga, c. 23).\n\n\nBut there were men to whom the name of king was given who had neither\nland nor power, and finally it came to imply a leader who ruled over\nwarriors, and who was called host-king, in the same way that the\ncommander of a ship was called a sea-king. The latter sometimes\npossessed no land, and they were only leaders of smaller or larger\nparties of Vikings.[490] As soon as a king\u2019s son or some other prominent\nman had acquired a number of warships, he was at once called king by his\ncompanions. These men roamed wherever they pleased, plundering every\nman\u2019s land; their estate was upon \u201cR\u00e1n\u2019s land\u201d\u2014the sea; their ships were\ntheir houses. Their acts of daring must have been numerous indeed, and\nthe following passage gives a vivid idea of a sea-king:\u2014\n\n\n\u201cEystein the son of Adils ruled Sv\u00edaveldi after his father; at that time\nHr\u00f3lf Kraki fell at Hleidra, and kings plundered much in the Swedish\nrealm, both Danes and Northmen. There were many sea-kings who ruled over\nmany men, and had no land. He only was thought to fully deserve the name\nof sea-king, who never slept under a sooty rafter and never drank at the\nhearth-corner (fire-place)\u201d (Ynglinga Saga, c. 34).\n\n\n\u201cAs soon as Olaf got men and ships, his warriors gave him the name of\nking, for it was the custom that _host kings_, who went on Viking\nexpeditions, if they were _king-born_, should be given the name of king,\nalthough they ruled over no lands\u201d (St. Olaf\u2019s Saga, c. 4).\n\n\nMany of the valorous deeds of the sea-kings, whose names are only\nmentioned, are lost to us, but this confirms how much of the history of\nthe famous men of the North has been lost.\n\nIt was the custom for the head kings to receive taxes from tributary or\ntax-kings.\n\n\n\u201cNow Kn\u00fat the Powerful had won England by battles and fights, and he met\nwith much difficulty before the people of the land became obedient to\nhim. He considered himself as possessing all Norway as an inheritance;\nbut H\u00e1kon, his nephew, thought he owned part of it, and that he had been\nforced to leave it in a shameful manner. One reason that Kn\u00fat and H\u00e1kon\nhad kept quiet over their claim on Norway was, that when first King Olaf\nHaraldsson came into the land, the whole people gathered together and\nwould hear of nothing but that he should be king of the whole country;\nbut afterwards, when they thought they were oppressed on account of his\noverbearing, some left the country. Many eminent men and sons of\npowerful b\u0153ndr had gone to Kn\u00fat on various errands; and each one who\ncame to Kn\u00fat asked his friendship, and obtained much property. There was\nalso greater splendour to be seen there than in other places, both on\naccount of the number of men which were daily there, and of the\nfurnishing of the rooms which he possessed. Kn\u00fat the Powerful took taxes\nand dues from those countries of the northern lands which were richest,\nbut as he received more than other kings, he also gave away more. In all\nhis realm there was such peace that no one dared break it; the\ninhabitants themselves had peace and ancient land-rights. From this Kn\u00fat\nwon great renown in all lands\u201d (St. Olaf\u2019s Saga, 139).\n\n\nA king could give to a friend the _title_ of king without the power of\none.\n\n\n\u201cKing Hring said: \u2018I would not give her to thee unless it were that I am\nsick, and I like thee to have her rather than others, for thou art the\nforemost of all men in Norway; I will also give thee the name of king,\nfor her brothers will not give either her or the honour away to thee\nlike I do.\u2019 Fridthj\u00f3f answered: \u2018I thank you much, lord, for your\nfavour, which is greater than I expected, but I do not want more than a\njarl\u2019s name as a title.\u2019[491] Hring gave Fridthj\u00f3f power over the realm\nhe had ruled with hand-fastening (joining of hands) and jarl\u2019s name. He\nwas to rule until the sons of Hring were full-grown and could rule the\nland\u201d (Fridthj\u00f3f\u2019s Saga, c. 14).\n\n\n\u201cThen Heidrek went about the land, and made it tributary to King Harald\nof Reidgotaland as it had formerly been, and then returned to the king.\nHe had won very large treasures and a great victory. Harald welcomed him\nand thanked him with many fine words. A wedding-feast was prepared, and\nHeidrek married the daughter of the king, who celebrated it with great\nhonour; he gave to Heidrek the name of king and half of his kingdom; he\nruled Reidgotaland long after this, and was thought wise and victorious;\nhe had a son by his wife called Angant\u00fdr. King Harald also in his old\nage begot a son called H\u00e1lfd\u00e1n; they were both most promising, and were\nthought far above other men in Reidgotaland\u201d (Hervarar Saga, c. 10).\n\n\nNo king could rule over the people or the land without the consent of\nthe _Thing_.[492]\n\n\n\u201cSome Fylkis-kings summoned a Thing, and Olaf made a speech wherein he\nasked the b\u0153ndr to take him for king over the country, and promised to\nkeep to the old laws and defend the land against foreign chiefs and\nhosts; he spoke long and well, and was cheered. Then the kings rose one\nafter the other, and all spoke in favour of this to the people. At last\nthe name of king over the whole land was given to Olaf according to the\nlaws of Uppl\u00f6nd\u201d[493] (St. Olaf, Heimskringla, c. 35).\n\n\nWhen Olaf had made a long speech to the b\u0153ndr\u2014\n\n\n\u201cThe whole crowd of people arose and would hear of nothing but that Olaf\nTryggvason should be king; and so he was chosen king at the\n_Allsherjarthing_ (general Thing) over all the country which Harald\nFairhair possessed, and the rule given to him according to ancient laws.\nThe b\u0153ndr promised to give him many men in order to get the realm, and\nafterwards to hold it; and he, on the other hand, promised to uphold the\nlaws and rights of the land\u201d (Fornmanna S\u00f6gur, 1).\n\n\nIf a king attacked a man, the people of all the Fylkis might gather\nagainst him and kill him. The _b\u0153ndr_, as soon as a king or jarl had\nencroached upon the property or violated their domestic peace, were\nobliged to cut up _her\u00f6r_ (host arrow, war arrow)\u2014if it was a king in\nevery Fylki, if it was a jarl in four, and after such a summons to\ngather together, attack, and slay or drive the offender away. This legal\nenactment was undoubtedly of very ancient origin.\n\n\n\u201cNo man shall attack another (with armed men), neither the king, nor any\nother man. If the king does so, an arrow shall be cut and sent inland\nthrough all the Fylkis, and he shall be attacked and slain if taken. If\nhe escapes he shall never come back to the country. Whoever will not\nattack him, or drops the arrow, shall pay three marks\u201d (Earlier\nFrostathing\u2019s Law, iv., 50).\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XXXVI.\n SLAVERY\u2014THRALDOM.[494]\n\n Slavery among the Asar\u2014Its early existence in the North\u2014Contempt in\n which the slave was held\u2014Nationalities of captives in war\u2014Purchase\n of slaves\u2014Daughters of foreign kings taken as slaves\u2014Slaves\n considered chattels\u2014Slaves could buy their freedom\u2014Ceremonies\n attending the attainment of freedom\u2014Relations between the freed\n slave and his former master\u2014Freedom obtained through bravery in\n war\u2014Masters empowered to kill slaves\u2014Positions of trust given to\n slaves\u2014Indemnity payable to masters for injury to slaves\u2014Laws\n relating to slaves\u2019 children\u2014Price of slaves\u2014Laws of purchase.\n\n\nSlavery flourished with the Asar on the shores of the Black Sea, and\ntheir slaves seem to have been of foreign birth, as we see from the\nwords of Skirnir, when he comes to ask Gerd in marriage for his master\nFrey. He thus speaks of himself:\u2014\n\n I am not of \u00c1lfar,\n Nor of Asa-sons,\n Nor of the wise Vanir:\n Though alone I came\n Through the wavering fire\n Your halls to behold.\n\n (Skirnism\u00e1l, 18.)\n\nSlavery existed in the North from the earliest time, and was probably\nintroduced by the followers of Odin.\n\nAmong thrall men, the _thjon_ and _bryti_ (steward) were the most\nprominent, and among the thrall women the _seta_ and _deigja_, the\nlatter being a kind of housekeeper or forewoman.\n\n\n\u201cTwo are the best bondwomen of a man, seta and deigja, and two thralls,\nthj\u00f3n and bryti\u201d (Earlier Gulathing\u2019s Law, 198).\n\n\nThough serfdom, a modified form of slavery, existed afterwards in other\nparts of Europe, the land of the Swedes, Gautar, and Norwegians was\nnever degraded by it; but, alas, it took root in Denmark, and showed\nthere to what a miserable condition a free people can be gradually\nbrought by not watching over their liberties.\n\nThere are in the Sagas numerous examples showing the contempt in which\nthe thrall was held; his mark was closely cropped hair, and his dress\nwas of white vadmal, to distinguish him from the free man.\n\n\n\u201cThrand said he had two young thralls to sell him. Rafn answered that he\nwould not buy them before he saw them. Thrand led forward the two boys;\ntheir hair was cropped, and they were in white coats (kulf)\u201d\n(Flateyjarb\u00f3k, i.).\n\n\n\u201cAlmstein thrall had many children. \u2018Now I think it is thy kin, \u00dalf, as\nAlmstein was thy grandfather, but I am H\u00e1lfd\u00e1n\u2019s grandson; thy family\nhas got hold of the king\u2019s property, as can be seen, by ale-service and\nother outfittings. Now take here the white kirtle which my grandfather\nH\u00e1lfd\u00e1n gave thy grandfather Almstein, and therewith take thy family\nname, and be a thrall henceforth; for it was decided at the Thing, when\nH\u00e1lfd\u00e1n got a king\u2019s name, that thy grandfather should wear the kirtle,\nand the mother of his children came to the Thing, and all his children\nput on clothes of the same kind, and all their offspring had to do the\nsame.\u2019 Harald had a white kirtle carried before the eyes of \u00dalf, and\nsang:\u2014\n\n Knowest thou this kirtle?\n Thou hast to pay the Skj\u00f6ldung a cow,\n And a full-grown ox\n Thou hast to pay the Skj\u00f6ldung;\n A pig and a fattened goose\n Thou hast to pay the Skj\u00f6ldung;\n Children and all which thou earnest\n Thou hast to pay the Skj\u00f6ldung.\u201d\n\n (Fornmanna S\u00f6gur vi., Harald Hardr\u00e1di.)\n\n\nCaptives in war formed the chief supply of slaves, who consequently came\nfrom many different countries whither expeditions were made, as\nHunaland, Friesland, Valland (France), Britain, Ireland, Scotland,\nSpain, and other countries on the shores of the Mediterranean.\n\n\n\u201cWhen Egil went to Iceland from a journey to England, Norway, and\nVermaland, the district (south-western part of Iceland) was all settled;\nthe first settlers were dead, but their sons or grandsons dwelt there.\nKetil Gufa had come to Iceland when the land was much settled; he was\nthe first winter at Gufuskalar in Rosmhvalanes; he had come from Ireland\nacross the sea, and had many Irish thralls with him\u201d (Egil\u2019s Saga, c.\n80).\n\n\n\u201cLeif (Ing\u00f3lf\u2019s foster-brother) went on warfare in the west; he made war\nin Ireland, and there found a large underground house; he went into it,\nand it was dark, until a sword which a man wore made it light. Leif slew\nhim and took the sword and much property; then he was called Hj\u00f6rleif\n(Sword-Leif). Hj\u00f6rleif made war widely in Ireland, and got much booty;\nhe took there ten thralls, Dufthak, Geirr\u00f6d, Skjaldbj\u00f6rn, Hald\u00f3r,\nDrafdrit; the others are not named\u201d (Landn\u00e1ma).\n\n\nPurchases of slaves took place wherever the people traded.\n\n\n\u201cThangbrand (a priest) bought a fair Irish maiden; he went home to\nBrimaborg (Bremen) with Bishop Albertus, and took the maiden with him\u201d\n(Fornmanna S\u00f6gur, i., 81).\n\n\n\u201cIt happened in the beginning of the summer that King H\u00e1kon the good\nwent with a ship-host eastward to Brenneyjar to make peace (renew\ntreaties) on behalf of his country according to the laws. This meeting\nbetween chiefs (h\u00f6fdingi)[495] was to take place every third summer, and\nmatters on which the kings (of Norway, Denmark, and Sweden) had to\ndecide were settled there. It was thought a pleasant journey to go to\nthis meeting, for men came there from almost all lands of which we have\ntidings. H\u00f6skuld (an Icelander) launched his ship; he also wanted to go\nthere, for he had not seen the king during the winter, and a fair was\nheld there at the same time. This meeting was very large; there was a\ngreat deal of amusement, drinking, and games, and all kinds of\nmerriment. Nothing remarkable happened there. H\u00f6skuld met with many of\nhis kinsmen who lived in Denmark. One day when H\u00f6skuld walked with some\nothers to amuse himself he saw a splendid tent far from the other\nbooths. He walked there and entered the tent, in which sat a man in\nclothes of gudvef (a costly stuff), with a Gardariki hat on his head.\nH\u00f6skuld asked for his name. He called himself Gilli, from Gardariki.\nH\u00f6skuld said he had often heard his name mentioned, and that he was the\nrichest of all traders. H\u00f6skuld said: \u2018Thou art likely to have things to\nsell us which we want to buy.\u2019 Gilli asked what they wanted to buy. The\nfollowers of H\u00f6skuld said that he wanted to buy a bondmaid, if he had\nany to sell. Gilli said: \u2018You mean to get me into difficulty, when you\ndemand for purchase things which you think I have not got; but it is not\nsure that I have them not.\u2019 H\u00f6skuld saw that there was a curtain hanging\nacross the booth; this Gilli lifted, and H\u00f6skuld saw twelve women\nsitting inside. Gilli told H\u00f6skuld to go to them and see if he liked to\nbuy any of these women. H\u00f6skuld did so. They sat all together from wall\nto wall in the booth. H\u00f6skuld looked carefully at them; he saw that one\npoorly dressed sat next to the edge of the tent; he thought she was\nbeautiful of face as far as he could see. He asked: \u2018How dear will that\nwoman be, if I want to buy her?\u2019 Gilli said: \u2018Thou must pay for her\nthree marks of silver.\u2019 H\u00f6skuld said: \u2018I think thou valuest this\nbondmaid rather high, for this is the price of three.\u2019 Gilli said: \u2018Thou\nart right; I value her higher than the others; choose any of those\neleven, and pay for her a mark of silver, and let this one be my\nproperty.\u2019 H\u00f6skuld said: \u2018First I will see how much silver there is in\nmy money-bag (sj\u00f3d), which I have at my belt.\u2019 He asked Gilli to take\nthe scales. Then Gilli said: \u2018This matter shall be without guile from my\nside; the woman had a great defect, and I want thee to know it, H\u00f6skuld,\nbefore we make this bargain.\u2019 H\u00f6skuld asked what it was. Gilli said:\n\u2018She is dumb; I have tried to get her to talk in many ways, but I have\nnever got a word from her; it is certainly my belief that this woman\ncannot speak.\u2019 Then H\u00f6skuld said: \u2018Come with the scales and let us see\nhow much the money-bag which I have here weighs.\u2019 Gilli did so; he\nweighed the silver, and it was three marks. Then H\u00f6skuld said: \u2018Now it\nhas happened that this will be our bargain; take thou this silver, and I\nwill take this woman; I think that thou hast shown thyself generous in\nthis matter, for surely thou didst not want to cheat me.\u2019 Then H\u00f6skuld\nwent home to his booth. Next morning when people dressed H\u00f6skuld said:\n\u2018Little liberality is seen on the dress which Gilli the Wealthy has\ngiven to thee; it is also true that it was more difficult for him to\ndress twelve than it is to dress one.\u2019 H\u00f6skuld then opened a chest and\ntook up a fine woman\u2019s dress and gave it her; and all people said that\nfine clothes suited her. When the chiefs had settled matters according\nto law, the feast and the meeting ended. Then H\u00f6skuld went to find King\nH\u00e1kon, and greeted him honourably, as was fit. The King looked at him\nand said: \u2018We should have accepted thy greeting, H\u00f6skuld, even hadst\nthou greeted us a little earlier; but still we will do it now.\u2019\n\n\u201cIt occurred one morning when H\u00f6skuld went out to look over his farm\n(b\u0153r), and the weather was fine, and the sun shone and was low above the\nhorizon, that he heard some talking; he went to where a brook flowed in\nfront of the slope of the tun (grass-plot). He there saw two people, and\nrecognised them; it was his son Olaf and his mother (the bondwoman);\nthen he saw that she was not dumb, for she talked much to the boy. Then\nH\u00f6skuld went to them and asked for her name, and told her it would not\ndo to conceal it longer. She said she would not. They sat down on the\nslope; then she said: \u2018If thou wantest to know my name, it is Melkorka.\u2019\nH\u00f6skuld asked her to tell more about her kin. She said: \u2018My father is\nnamed Myrkjartan; he is king in Ireland, and I was taken captive thence\nfifteen winters old.\u2019 H\u00f6skuld said she had too long been silent about\nsuch good kin. Then H\u00f6skuld went in and told Jorun (his wife) about what\nhad happened on his walk. Jorun said she knew not whether she told the\ntruth, and that she did not like uncouth people, and then they left off\nspeaking; Jorun was not friendlier to her than before, but H\u00f6skuld\nsomewhat more. A little later, when Jorun went to bed, Melkorka pulled\noff her shoe-clothes (sk\u00f3kl\u00e6di = shoes and stockings) and laid them on\nthe floor. Jorun took the stockings and struck her head with them.\nMelkorka got angry and struck Jorun\u2019s nose with her fist so that blood\nspurted out. H\u00f6skuld came and parted them. Thereafter H\u00f6skuld let\nMelkorka go away, and gave her a b\u0153r in Lax\u00e1rdal; it has since been\ncalled Melkorkustadir, and is now waste; it is south of the Lax\u00e1 (a\nriver). Melkorka had a household there, to which H\u00f6skuld gave all that\nwas needed, and Olaf their son went with her; it was soon seen in Olaf,\nwhen he grew up, that he would surpass other men in beauty and good\nmanners\u201d (Laxd\u00e6la, c. 12, 13).\n\n\n\u201cAstrid, Olaf Tryggvason\u2019s mother, went with her son, who was then three\nwinters old, on board a trading-ship bound to Gardariki; her brother\nSigurd was with King Valdimar there.\n\n\u201cOn their voyage eastward Vikings met them; they were Eistr\n(Esthonians); they took the property and the people and killed some of\nthem, while they divided the others among themselves as slaves. Olaf was\nparted from his mother, and Klerkon, an Esthonian, took him and Th\u00f3r\u00f3lf\nand Thorgils (two of Astrid\u2019s followers). Klerkon thought Th\u00f3r\u00f3lf too\nold for a thrall and unfit for work, and killed him; but took the boys\nwith him and sold them to a man called Klerk, and got for them a very\ngood he-goat. Another man bought Olaf for a good rain-cloak; his name\nwas Reas, that of his wife Rekon, of his son, Rekoni. Olaf stayed there\nlong, and was well kept and liked by the b\u00f3ndi, and remained six winters\nin Eistland in this outlawry\u201d (Olaf Tryggvason, c. 5).\n\n\nLodin, a Norwegian trader, once was at a market in Eistland.\n\n\n\u201cThere he saw a woman who had been sold as thrall, and when he looked at\nher he recognised in her Astrid, Eirik\u2019s daughter, the widow of King\nTryggvi, and then she was unlike what she had been the last time he saw\nher. She was pale and lean, and badly dressed. He went to her and asked\nhow it was with her. She answered: \u2018Heavy is it to tell that. I have\nbeen sold into slavery and taken hither for sale.\u2019 Then they knew each\nother, and Astrid also him. She asked him to buy her and take her home\nto her kinsmen. \u2018I will,\u2019 answered he, \u2018take thee to Norway if thou wilt\nmarry me.\u2019 And because she was then hardly situated, and knew that Lodin\nwas a man of great kin, brave and wealthy, she promised him this to get\naway. Then Lodin bought Astrid and took her home to Norway, and married\nher there with the consent of her kinsmen\u201d (Olaf Tryggvason\u2019s Saga,\nHeimskringla, c. 58).\n\n\nSigurd, Astrid\u2019s brother, came to Eistland to gather taxes for the King\nof H\u00f3lmgard.\n\n\n\u201cHe saw on a market-place a very fine boy, who seemed to him a\nforeigner, and asked for his name and family. He said he was called\nOlaf, and his father Tryggvi Olafsson, and his mother Astrid, daughter\nof Eirik Bj\u00f3daskalli. Sigurd recognised in him his sister\u2019s son, and\nasked why he was here. Olaf told him what had happened. Sigurd took him\nto Reas\u2019 b\u00f3ndi and bought the boys Olaf and Thorgils, and took them to\nH\u00f3lmgard\u201d[496] (Olaf Tryggvason, c. 6).\n\n\n\u201cOne day Olaf was in the market-place, which was crowded. There he\nrecognised Klerkon, who had slain his foster-father Th\u00f3r\u00f3lf L\u00fasaskegg;\nhe had a small axe in his hand, and went up to Klerkon and cut his head\ndown to the brains. Thereupon he at once ran home and told his kinsman\nSigurd. Sigurd took him to the room of Queen Allogia (Olga, which is a\ncorruption of the Northern name Helga) with these tidings, and asked her\nto help the boy. She looked at him, and said, \u2018Such a handsome boy must\nnot be slain;\u2019 and ordered all her men to come thither fully armed. In\nH\u00f3lmgard there was such great _fridhelgi_ (peace-holiness), that the law\nbade that any one who slew another, not condemned, should himself be\nslain. Therefore the people rushed forward according to their custom and\nlaws to search for Olaf and take his life, as the law bad. It was said\nthat he was in the queen\u2019s house, and that there was a fully armed host\nto defend him. When the king heard this he quickly went thither with his\nhird, and as he did not want them to fight, first procured a truce, and\nthen a settlement. He adjudged a fine for the murder, which was paid by\nthe queen. It was the law in Gardariki that there should be no king-born\nmen except with the king\u2019s permission. Therefore Sigurd told the queen\nof what family Olaf was, and also why he had come thither, that he could\nnot remain in his own country on account of the hostility (and\npersecution) of his enemies. Sigurd asked her to tell this to the king,\nand beg him to help this king\u2019s son, who had been so ill-treated. She\ndid so, and he assented to her request. He therefore took Olaf under his\nprotection, and treated him well, as befitted a king\u2019s son. Olaf\nremained in Gardariki nine winters (years) with King Valdimar. He was\nhandsome, larger and stronger than most others, and in _idrottir_\nsuperior to all other Northern men of whom the Sagas tell\u201d (Olaf\nTryggvason, Fornmanna S\u00f6gur, i., p. 81).\n\n\nDaughters of foreign kings and other beautiful women who were often\nprisoners of war were generally made concubines, and called kings\u2019\nthrall-women, and became bones of contention in the household circle.\n\n\n\u201cOlaf, King of Sweden, son of Eirik, had a concubine Edla, a daughter of\nthe Jarl of Vindland, who had been taken in war, and was therefore\ncalled the king\u2019s thrall-woman\u201d (St. Olaf, c. 72).\n\n\n\u201cKetil Thrym, a settler (in Iceland), went abroad and was with Vedorm,\nthe son of Vemund the old. He bought from Vedorm, Arneid, daughter of\nJarl Asbj\u00f6rn Skerjablesi, whom H\u00f3lmfast, son of Vedorm, had captured\nwhen he and Grim, the nephew of Vedorm, killed Asbj\u00f6rn Jarl in Sudreyjar\n(Hebrides). Ketil Thrym bought Arneid two parts dearer than Vedorm\nvalued her at first; when the bargain was made he married her\u201d\n(Landn\u00e1ma, iv., c. 2).\n\n\nThralls, who were considered chattels, and had no personal rett,[497]\nbeing regarded as the exclusive property of the master and classed among\nhis _kvikf\u00e9_ or live goods, could not acquire anything for themselves\nunless allowed by their owner; but this permission seems to have often\nbeen granted, as they generally had property, and even seem to have\npossessed weapons, of which the master had not the right to arbitrarily\ndeprive them.[498]\n\n\n\u201cIf cattle damages cattle, horn or hoof or thrall, it shall be paid at\nhalf value\u201d (Bjarkey Law, 140).\n\n\nThose who belonged to rich masters were allowed to work for themselves,\nand thus acquire means to buy their freedom, and it was more usual for a\nslave to buy his freedom than to be made free. He either paid the full\nsum and became a free man at once, or paid part of the sum down and the\nrest by work for his master.\n\nAfter this he had personal rett, but had to work one year for his\nmaster, without whose consent he could not marry or make bargains; but\nwhen he had paid the sum and wished to become free, he made his\nfreedom-ale\u2014a feast with a certain measure of ale\u2014to which he had to\ninvite his master and his wife, and seat them in the high-seat.\n\nOn the first evening of the feast he had to pay the price of his\nfreedom, namely 6 aurar, to the master, which he could give up or not.\nThen he became _leysingi_ (freedman) and could marry and make bargains\nnot exceeding a certain amount.\n\nEven after the freedom-ale there was a special relation between the\nfreedman and his former master and his descendants, which was called, on\nthe side of the master, _v\u00f6rn_ (defence), on that of the freedman\n_thyrmsl_ (obligation, dependence); these terms meant that the master\nprotected the freedman, and that the latter was dependent on the former.\nThe freedman was not by birth a member of any family that could help\nhim, so \u201chis former master had to do that duty.\u201d\n\nThe master had to take care of his freedman if he became a pauper; if\nthe latter went against his former master in anything, whether in law or\nin enmity, he became his thrall again.\n\nThe master and his descendant took the inheritance after their freedman\nor his descendant, if he had no free kinsmen within a certain degree.\nThis custom varied in different parts of the country; according to the\nFrostathing\u2019s Law, it was the fourth degree.[499]\n\n\n\u201cThe family of a leysingi is four men in thyrmsl, but the fifth (degree)\nis no more in it, though not bought free\u201d (Frostath., ix. 11).\n\n\n\u201cIf a man wishes to buy himself off thyrmsl and dependence, rather than\nmake his freedom-ale, it shall be so if his master will pledge his faith\nin granting it, and then it shall never be broken\u201d (Frostath., ix. 16)\n\n\u201cIf a leysingi wishes to have the power of bargains and marriage, he\nshall make his freedom-ale, with at least 3 s\u00e1ld (measures) of ale, and\ninvite his master to it, with witnesses, and seat him in the _\u00f6ndvegi_,\nand lay 6 aurar in balances the first evening, and offer him the sum of\na leysingi.[500] If he receives it, it is well; if he gives it up, it is\nas if it were paid\u201d (Gulathing\u2019s Law, 62).\n\n\n\u201cIf a thrall gets land or lives (for himself), he shall make his\nfreedom-ale with 9 m\u0153lirs (measures) of ale, and kill a ram, and a\nfamily-born man[501] shall cut off its head, and his master shall take\nthe neck-band[502] from his neck. If his master allows him to make his\nfreedom-ale, he shall ask his leave to make it with two witnesses, and\ninvite him, with four others, to the feast which is his freedom-ale\u201d\n(Frostathing\u2019s Law, ix. 12).\n\n\nThough a slave had been made free, he could not leave the _fylki_\nwithout permission.\n\n\n\u201cIf a freedman leaves the fylki without the permission of his master,\nand obtains for himself property, his lord should go after him with\nwitnesses. If he is willing to return, all is well; if not, his lord may\nby the witnesses prove that he is his freedman, and bring him back to\nhis old place, bound or not, as he chooses, and seat him where he sat\nbefore\u201d (Gulathing\u2019s Law, 67).\n\n\n\u201cWhen a thrall or bondmaid pays his sum of redemption they shall be\ntaken to the church, a book laid on their heads, and freedom given to\nthem. They shall work a twelvemonth (xii manad) for their master\u201d\n(Gulath., 61).\n\n\nSlaves and freedmen who had made their freedom-ale were limited in their\nbargains.\n\n\n\u201cA pauper must not make or have power over any bargain. Nor must a\nthrall, except only about his knife. Also a freedman who has not made\nhis freedom-ale must not make a bargain higher than an \u2018_ortug_\u2019\u201d\n(Gulath., 56).\n\n\nA thrall who proved that he had for twenty years lived and acted as a\nfree man without any one during that time having made any objection\nthereto, was, according to law, a free man, even if no freedom-ale or\nformal liberation had taken place.\n\n\n\u201cIf a thrall goes about like a free man for 20 winters or more and no\none hurts him or his bargains or his marriage out of the fylki or in the\nfylki, then he is free if he wants to be called free\u201d (Gulath., 61).\n\n\nIn order to replenish the waste of war, we find that thralls were\nallowed to follow their masters on expeditions, and that they could win\ntheir liberty by bravery.\n\n\n\u201cIf they meet a host and fight, and a thrall slays a man, then he is\nfree, though he was a thrall before\u201d (Gulathing\u2019s Law, 312).\n\n\n\u201cA bondi is not allowed to send his paid servant into a levy instead of\nhimself, unless the steersman (of the ship) consents to it; for, if a\nservant comes from the harbour for the bondi, he shall redeem himself\nfrom flogging. If a thrall comes in a levy instead of his master, the\nking may take him if he wants to, or pronounce him free in relation to\nevery man\u201d (Jutland Law, iii. 2).\n\n\nSometimes thralls were rewarded by their masters for meritorious\nactions. Vebj\u00f6rn and his brothers went to Iceland, but in a heavy storm\ntheir ship was wrecked on some rocks, and they got ashore.\n\n\n\u201cThere they were entertained during the winter by Atli, Geirmund\nHeljarskinn\u2019s thrall. When his master got the news of this, he asked why\nhe had taken care of Vebj\u00f6rn and his companions. The thrall replied: \u2018I\nwanted to show thus what a great and splendid chief the man was who\nowned a thrall that dared to undertake such things.\u2019 Geirmund thanked\nhim for his deed, and as a reward gave him his liberty, and land to\nsettle on\u201d (Sturlunga, Part i., ch. 3).\n\n\n\u201cEvery man who is free and able shall own shield, spear, and cutting\nweapons. Only in cases of extreme necessity, where a general rising of\nthe people takes place, the thrall goes out armed like the free men\u201d\n(Gulathing\u2019s Law, ch. 312).\n\n\nAny one who captured a runaway slave and brought him back to his master\ncould ask a reward according to the distance at which the slave was\nfound or captured.\n\n\n\u201cIf a man\u2019s thrall runs away and another gets hold of him inside the\nfylki and outside the quarter (of the fylki), he shall have one eyrir.\nIf he capture him outside the fylki but inside our law district, he\nshall get two aurar. If he captures him in the country and out of our\nlaw district, he gets half a mark. If he brings him home in chains the\nowner has to redeem him, but not otherwise\u201d (Gulath., 68).\n\n\nWithout being held responsible, a master could kill or maim his thrall;\nonly in the former case he had to publicly announce the slaying on the\nday it was done.\n\n\n\u201cIf a man beats his thrall to death, he shall tell it to men the same\nday. Then he is not answerable to any one but God. But if he does not\nthis, he is a murderer\u201d[503] (Earlier Frostathing\u2019s Law, v. 20).\n\n\nThe slaying of another man\u2019s thrall was paid for by an indemnity of\ntwelve aurar.\n\n\n\u201cIt was the law at that time that if a man slew the thrall of another,\nthe slayer should carry home indemnity therefor to the owner, before the\nthird rising of the sun after the deed. This indemnity was twelve aurar\nof silver; and if it was paid according to this law, no suit could be\ncommenced for the slaying of the thrall\u201d[504] (Eyrbyggja Saga, c. 43).\n\n\n\u201cSteinar summoned Thorstein for thrall-killing, and claimed that the\nslaying of each be punishable by _fjorbaugsgard_ (lesser outlawry); this\nwas the law if a man\u2019s thralls were killed, and the indemnity was not\npaid up before the third sunrise after. Two cases of lesser\noutlawry[505] were to count the same as one of full outlawry\u201d (Egil\u2019s\nSaga, c. 85).\n\n\nThralls were given duties and positions of trust. King Ann\u2019s thrall,\nTunni, as we have seen, became the King\u2019s adviser, and became so\npowerful that he rebelled against his own master.\n\n\n\u201cErling Skj\u00e1lgsson said to King Olaf: \u2018To this I will quickly reply,\nthat I deny reproaching Aslak or others for being in your service; but I\nacknowledge that now, as heretofore, each one of us kinsmen wants to be\nabove the others. I will also confess that I willingly submit to thee,\nKing Olaf, but it will be hard for me to bow before Selthorir, who is\nthrall-born in all his kindred,[506] though he is now your _\u00e1rman_\n(tax-gatherer)\u201d[507] (St. Olaf\u2019s, c. 122).\n\n\nThe chief Thorolf Skjalg was a great friend of the wife of the bondi\nLodin. Lodin was slain at night, it was not known by whom, and Thorolf\ntook the widow home.\n\n\n\u201cHe wanted to make the sons of Lodin thralls, and succeeded in making a\nthrall of R\u00f6gnvald, but not of Ulf, who was sold as a thrall into\nfar-off countries.... Thorolf had R\u00f6gnvald among his thralls, and when\nhe was grown up he placed him over other thralls to command them and\nkeep them at work\u201d (Fornmanna S\u00f6gur, c. 145).\n\n\nIf any harm was done to thralls, the master took payment in the same\nmanner as he did for harm done to his cattle, horse, &c. In two cases\nonly did the thrall himself take payment\u2014when offended by another\nthrall, or when at the Thing, church, or feast with his master; in the\nfirst case taking all the payment, in the last one-twelfth.\n\n\n\u201cA hauld shall get 3 aurar (as rett) on the behalf of his _bryti_ and\n_thjon_, and _deigja_ and _seta_; and 2 aurar for all other slaves. A\nthrall\u2019s rett shall be two-thirds less than his master\u2019s. If a thrall\nbeats another thrall this shall be paid, but the master owns it not\u201d\n(Frostath., xi. 21).\n\n\n\u201cIf a man\u2019s thrall follows him to church, or to a feast, or to a Thing,\nthen he is holy where the ships land or stand. If a man beats him in\neither place, a fine in silver shall be paid to the king\u201d (Frostath.,\n61).\n\n\nThe child of a free woman by a thrall was free, and belonged to the\nfamily of the mother.\n\nThe child of a thrall woman by a free man was a slave, and belonged to\nthe master of the mother, unless the father publicly declared it to be\nhis own, and it gained liberty before it was three nights old.[508]\n\nThe price of thralls varied somewhat, and in Egil\u2019s Saga we have mention\nof a thrall for whom three marks in silver were paid, or twice as much\nas the average; they were generally sold at two and three marks; a\ncommon thrall woman being usually sold for one mark. The Swedes and\nDanes considered three marks as the average value of a thrall.[509]\n\n\n\u201cSteinar saw a thrall called Thrand, one of the strongest of men.\nSteinar wished to purchase him and offered a high price; but his owner\ncharged three marks of silver for him, and valued him twice as much as a\ncommon thrall. And that was their bargain\u201d (Egil\u2019s Saga, c. 84).\n\n\n\u201cThe wergild of a Gotlandman is three marks of gold if he is slain. The\nwergild of every other man is ten marks of silver, except that of a\nthrall, which is 4\u00bd marks of penning (money)\u201d (Gotland Law, i. 15).\n\n\nA thrall could not be sold out of the country unless he was a criminal.\n\n\n\u201cNo man is allowed to sell a thrall or thrall-woman out of the country,\nunless he is known to be a criminal; but if he does so, he must pay the\nking three marks\u201d (Earlier Frostathing\u2019s Law, 20).\n\n\nWhen a slave was sold the seller had to tell the defects, if any, in\nregard to his body or health.\n\n\n\u201cIf a man buys a thrall from another, the seller shall be answerable as\nto stitches[510] and epilepsy for the nine next years\u201d (Frostath., v.\n3).\n\n\nThralls were used to do the killing for their masters\u2014in a word, to\ncommit murder for them\u2014and to expose children.[511]\n\n\n\u201cK\u00e1ri in Iceland quarrelled with Karli about an ox. K\u00e1ri thereupon\npersuaded his thrall to slay Karli. The thrall feigned to have gone mad,\nand ran south across Hraun. Karli sat on his threshold. The thrall\nstruck him a death-blow. K\u00e1ri killed the thrall\u201d (Landn\u00e1ma, ii.).\n\n\nEven with thraldom a master had his retinue of fixed male and female\nfree servants in his household. These were called house-folk. Workmen\nand labouring men were also engaged on estates.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XXXVII.\n THE THING.\n\n The people in assembly\u2014Different assemblies\u2014The general\n assembly\u2014Local assemblies\u2014Analogy of the United States\u2014Retinues of\n Thingmen\u2014Attendance at the Thing\u2014The summons\u2014Place of assembly\u2014Its\n sanctity\u2014Breach of the peace at a Thing a sacrilege\u2014Laws\n regulating judgments of the Thing\u2014Appeals\u2014Common law of the\n towns\u2014Confirmation of resolutions passed at the Thing\u2014Amusements\n between the sessions\u2014Accommodation of members\u2014Assemblies in\n Iceland\u2014Jurymen.\n\n\nFrom the most ancient times we find that the people in assembly, called\n_Thing_, exercised their judicial and legislative power. There they\ndeliberated, not only on the questions concerning their small\ncommunities, but also on the internal or external affairs of the whole\ncountry. There were smaller and larger Things, classified under the\ndifferent names of _Thing_, _M\u00f3t_, and _H\u00fas-thing_, the latter being a\nprivate meeting to which the chief summoned his own men.\n\nIn order to preserve freedom of deliberation and the individual liberty\nof each person who came, the most stringent laws and regulations were\nlaid down.\n\n\n\u201cWith laws shall our land be built, and not be laid waste by\nlawlessness. But he who will not allow others the laws shall not enjoy\nthem himself\u201d (Frostath., i. 6).\n\n\nThe _Herad-things_ were apparently held very often, and were only\nattended by the people belonging to the Herad; every one who wished a\nquestion to be settled, and required a Thing, had the right to summon\none.[512]\n\nThere were general Things, or _Fylkis-things_, in which several herads\nwere represented, under the leadership of the hersir or king.\n\nEvery Herad was independent of the Fylki in its local affairs, and every\nFylki was independent one from the other, each having self-government.\nWhen the affairs of the country required the presence of all the people,\nthen the b\u0153ndr of the Herads and Fylki met together at a general Thing\ncalled _Allsherjar-thing_ (Thing of all the hosts), and all had to abide\nby the decision taken. In fact the country was a union of states bound\ntogether for mutual protection; but they felt that a general government\nwas not able in all things to attend to the affairs of each Herad or\nFylki, and could not know the wants of the people, as the majority of\nthose who would have had the management of affairs lived far from them,\nand many had never seen other Herads or Fylki than their own. The\nnearest approach to this ancient form of government is that of the\nUnited States.\n\nWhen we say that the Thing was the assembly of the people, we must\nqualify the expression, for only b\u0153ndr (or free men) who owned land had\na voice in the deliberations. The sons and other relations of these\nb\u0153ndr, or free men, who did not own land had no voice whatever in the\naffairs of the country. The Thingmen were followed by a more or less\nlarge retinue, according to their rank or wealth.\n\nAll the b\u0153ndr of the Herad were bound to appear at the Herads-thing on\npain of fine, unless a bondi had such a small farm as to be _einvirki_\n(sole worker). These latter were not obliged to appear at any other\nThing than (1) _Konungs-thing_, i.e. a _Thing_ summoned by the king\nhimself; (2) _Manndr\u00e1ps-thing_, i.e. a _Thing_ in consequence of a\nmurder; (3) _Manntals-thing_, i.e. a _Thing_ for the equalization of the\ntax; and (4) _V\u00e1pna-thing_, i.e. a _Thing_ to examine if every man\npossessed the weapons prescribed by law. All members of the Thing\naccording to law had an equal vote.\n\nThe summons was by sending out a _Thingbod_ (Thing-summons), or, in case\nof murder, an _\u00f6r_ (arrow) throughout the whole Thing-district; the\nsummons or arrow was sent from farm to farm, and called upon all\nThingmen to meet at the usual Thing-place, generally the fifth day after\nthe issue of the summons.\n\n\n\u201cEvery man who thinks a Thing necessary may have one. Every man shall\ncarry the summons and not drop it. It shall go between the winter-houses\nand not between the s\u0153ters. The Thing-summons shall delay nowhere in\nweather fit for travelling except in night-quarters, and not unless\nthere is necessity. If a man drops the summons he is liable to pay three\n_aurar_.... The man who carries a summons shall cut three notches on the\ndoor-post or door ... and put the summons over the lintel. All b\u0153ndr\nshall go to the Thing when the summons comes to their house except\nsingle-workers. They shall go only to three Things\u2014a Thing for murder, a\nThing for choosing a king, a man-reckoning (census) Thing. During all\nother Things they shall sit at home.... A _widow_ and a disabled bondi\nshall not go to the Thing against their will. All other b\u0153ndr shall go\nto the Thing when the summons comes to their house, or pay a Thing-fine\u201d\n(Earlier Gulathing\u2019s Law, 131).\n\n\nThe Thing was held in an open place called _Thingv\u00f6ll_ (_Thing-plain_),\nin earlier times near a temple.[513] On the Thingv\u00f6ll, or near it, there\nalways seems to have been a _Thing-brekka_, or Thing-hill, from which\nall announcements were made.\n\nThe Tiling-plain was a sacred place, which must not be sullied by\nbloodshed arising from blood-feud (_heiptarbl\u00f3d_) or any other impurity.\nThe Thing, from the time it was opened until it was dissolved, was\nduring pagan times under the protection of the gods. It was opened with\ncertain religious ceremonies, which included a solemn peace declaration\n(_grida setning_) over the assembly, which in earlier times was\npronounced by the Hersir near whose temple the Thing took place. Every\nbreach of the peace at a Thing was a sacrilege which put the guilty one\nout of the pale of the law\u2014he was like the violator of the temple\npeace\u2014a _varg \u00ed veum_ (wolf in the sanctuary), an outlaw in all holy or\ninhabited places, and an _\u00fatlagi_ (outlaw) for all until he had made\nreparation for his crime.\n\nA struggle having arisen between the godi Thorstein and his followers\nand some descendants of a chief Kjallak who had announced their\nintention not to respect the sanctity of the Thing and proceeded to act\nin defiance of the remonstrances of Thorstein, recourse was had to\narbitration, and Thord Gellir was appointed arbitrator.\n\n\n\u201cNo peace was made between them, for neither would have it. The plain on\nwhich they fought was covered with blood, and also the place where the\nThornes-thing stood during the fight....\u201d\n\n\u201cHe began the arbitration by saying that both parties should be content\nwith their lot, that neither slain men nor wounds should be paid for,\nand that the plain was spoiled by the blood of hate which had come down\non it and was no longer holier than other ground. Those who attacked\nfirst had caused this which was the only breaking of peace. He said that\nno Thing should thereafter be held there\u201d[514] (Eyrbyggja Saga, c. 9,\n10).\n\n\nOn the journey to and from the Thing, and during its duration, all the\nmen were peace-holy.\n\n\n\u201cAll men named for Gulathing journey shall be at peace with each other\nuntil they come back to their homes. If any one breaks the peace and\nwounds or maims a man, he has forfeited loose property and peace in the\nland, and shall never come to the country\u201d (N. G. L., ii. 16).[515]\n\n\nThe punishment given to those who did not heed the judgment given at a\nlaw-thing, and confirmed by weapon-taking, was a fine.\n\n\n\u201cIf a man breaks the judgment given at a law-thing, and confirmed by\n_v\u00e1pnatak_ inside and outside the law-court, then he is to pay the king\nfour marks of silver, and one mark to the plaintiff\u201d (N. G. L., ii. 17).\n\n\n\u201cIf a man has been fined for breaking a judgment once, and persists in\ndisregarding it, then the king\u2019s stewards shall summon him to a Thing\nand outlaw him unless he pays what is then due. A man is liable to the\nsame if he breaks the judgment given at the Frostathing, and confirmed\nby _v\u00e1pnatak_ inside and outside the law-court\u201d (Earlier Frostathing\u2019s\nLaw, v. 46).\n\n\nIn Iceland Things were held regularly twice a year, namely, before and\nafter the Althing (Thing for the whole land). The one taking place in\nthe springtime lasted at least four days, or at most a week.[516] The\nother, called _Leid_, at the end of summer, lasted not more than two\ndays.\n\n\n\u201cWe (the people) shall have _Leid_ (autumn-thing), and those godis who\nhold a Thing together shall have _Leid_ together.... The _Leid_ shall\nnot be held before fourteen nights after the Althing. No _Leid_ shall\nlast less than one day, or longer than two nights\u201d (Gragas (1852), iii.\n\u00a7 61).\n\n\nThe country was divided into four quarters, and each of these into three\nThing-districts, except the northern quarter, which was divided into\nfour.[517] Every Thing-district was divided into three parts, each of\nwhich was ruled by a godi who was temple-priest. At the Quarter-thing\nall the b\u0153ndr of the quarter assisted.[518]\n\nThe Althing, which was held once a year, took place between the two\nother Things. This was natural, as at the Spring-thing they prepared for\nthe Althing, and at the Thing held at the end of summer it was usual to\nmake known what had taken place at the Althing.\n\n\n\u201cThe Althing was placed where it is now, according to the advice of\n\u00dalflj\u00f3t and all the men of the land. Before this the Thing was at\nKjalarnes, established by Thorstein, son of Ingolf, the (first) settler,\nand father of Thorkel M\u00e1ni (moon), lawman, and other chiefs\u201d\n(Islendingab\u00f3k, c. 3).\n\n\nThe appeal of a cause from a lower Thing to the higher one was expressed\nin the Gulathing\u2019s Law, which probably had the greatest authority over\nthe larger part of the country; every dispute had first to be treated at\nthe smaller Thing of the _Herad_, and only when it could not be\nsatisfactorily settled there was it to go before the _Fylkisthing_. A\nThing from two Fylki had less power than one of four, and one from four\nless than one from eight.\n\n\n\u201cIn every case when all the men of the Fylki agree, no lawful judgment\nof theirs in matters about which they have right to judge shall be\nbroken, though kinsmen on the male or female side or near relatives do\nnot come. But if one-fourth or more of the right Thingmen do not come, a\nnew Thing shall be summoned from two Fylkis for the case.... If they do\nnot agree at the Thing of two Fylkis, it shall be sent to a Thing of\nthree Fylkis. If they do not agree, a Thing of four Fylkis. If they do\nnot agree, a Thing of eight Fylkis; that which is agreed upon by all\nthere and brought into the law-court shall stand\u201d (Frostath., x. 30).\n\n\nTo this Thing as well as to lesser Things, every bondi who was a working\nman had to come. In later times, if the king was not present, his\nrepresentatives the lendir men were bound to be there. Among these\nlesser Things were those which dealt with questions relating to paupers.\n\n\n\u201cIt is customary in Iceland for the b\u0153ndr to have a Thing in the autumn\nin order to deal with the poor; the one first named among the poor was\nThorlj\u00f3t, the father of Thj\u00f3dolf\u201d (Flateyjarb\u00f3k, iii. 421).\n\n\nIn the course of time and towards the latter part of the pagan era there\narose from the Herad towns proper (_kaupstad_ = trading-places), and the\npeople formed a separate class whose interests were not identical with\nthose of the bondi, and who required a special government and Thing. The\ncommon law of the towns is known under the name of _Bjarkeyjar-r\u00e9tt_\n(town law). Each town had its _m\u00f3t_, formed by all householders\n(_h\u00fasfastir_).\n\nThere were also meetings of people of the _Hrepp_, which was a tract of\ncountry consisting of at least 20 b\u0153ndr, who were able to give pay to\nThingmen. Their meetings were ordinary or extraordinary. For\nextraordinary meetings they had to send the cross (or in early times the\nwar-arrow) around. At the meeting the affairs of the poor and other\nburdens of the community, and the regulations concerning order, were\nsettled. Five men were chosen, who were the representatives or executive\npower of the community. These men had not necessarily to be landowners.\nTheir duty was to prosecute vagabonds or criminals, and to be present at\noath-taking.\n\n\n\u201cThere shall be lawful Hrepps in this country (Iceland). It is lawful\nwhen 20 b\u0153ndr or more are in it. If the l\u00f6gr\u00e9ttu-men (law-court men)\nallow it there may be fewer (b\u0153ndr).... Five landowners (b\u0153ndr) shall be\nchosen in every Hrepp to prosecute all those who do not fulfil their\nduties in the Hrepp, and also to divide the tithes and food-gifts (to\nthe poor), or see to the keeping of oaths taken by men. They need not be\nlandowners if all the men of the Hrepp agree.... If a pauper is\nunlawfully brought into the Hrepp, the man to whom he is sent shall cut\na cross if he thinks he needs a Hrepp-meeting, and carry it to the next\nhouse, and there appoint a Hrepp-meeting within seven nights or more,\nand tell the others to carry the cross. Then each of them shall have it\ncarried as directed by the man who cut it, and it shall be sent in all\ndirections\u201d (Gr\u00e1g\u00e1s, p. 171, \u00a7 234).\n\n\nThe resolutions taken at the Thing were finally confirmed by the\n_v\u00e1pnatak_ (weapon-taking), for, as we know, the thingmen during the\ndeliberations put away their weapons, and by again taking them up and\nshaking them they declared matters settled and the Thing dissolved.\n\n\n\u201cKing Sverri summoned the people to _Eyrathing_[519] in Thr\u00e1ndheim, and\nnamed twelve men from each Fylki of the eight which are on that side of\nAgdanes. When they came, the name of king was given to Sverri at this\nThing of eight Fylkis, and it was done with weapon-taking, and the\npeople of the land took oaths to him, according to the old laws of the\nland\u201d (Fornmanna S\u00f6gur, viii. 41).\n\n\nSigurd Slembidjakn, who pretended to be the son of Magnus Bare-foot,\nmurdered Harald Gilli of Norway in his bed at night, and then asked the\npeople to take him as king.\n\n\n\u201cMany from the king\u2019s house came down to the piers, and all answered, as\nwith one mouth, declaring it should never be that they would yield\nhomage and service to a man who had murdered his brother; \u2018for if he was\nnot thy brother, thou art not born to be king.\u2019 They clashed their\nweapons together, and declared them all to be outlawed and peaceless.\nThen the king\u2019s horn was blown, and all the lendirmen and hirdmen were\ngathered\u201d (Harald Gilli\u2019s Saga, c. 18).\n\n\nBetween the sessions of the Thing amusements took place, among them that\nof saga-telling; and the people who attended were often finely dressed.\n\n\n\u201cThormod the scald wondered that no man was in the booth, as many were\nthere when he fell asleep. Fifl-Egil entered and said: \u2018Too far art thou\nnow from great fun.\u2019 Thormod answered: \u2018Where wast thou, or what is the\nfun?\u2019 Egil answered: \u2018I was in the booth of Thorgrim Tr\u00f6lli, and a great\npart of the Thing-assembly is there.\u2019 Thormod asked: \u2018What is their\namusement?\u2019 Egil answered: \u2018Thorgrim Einarsson is telling a saga.\u2019\nThormod asked: \u2018Of whom is he telling a saga?\u2019 Egil answered: \u2018I know\nnot about whom the saga is, but I know that he tells it well and\nentertainingly; he sits on a chair outside the booth, and the people sit\nround and listen to the saga.\u2019 Thormod said: \u2018Thou must be able to name\nsome man mentioned in the saga, especially as thou sayest it is so\nentertaining.\u2019 Egil answered: \u2018One Thorgeir, a great champion, was\nmentioned in the saga as having fought very well, as is likely. I should\nlike thee to go and listen to the saga.\u2019 Thormod answered: \u2018I can do\nit,\u2019 and rose\u201d[520] (Fostbr\u0153dra Saga, c. 32).\n\n\n\u201cThe sons of Hjalti made an arvel after the death of their father. They\nwere summoned to the Thorskafjardar-thing. When they came to the Thing\nthey were so well dressed that people thought the \u00c1sar had come\u201d\n(Landn\u00e1ma, iii. c. 10).\n\n\nAs the people often came from a long distance, there were erected near\nthe Thing-place Thing-booths for their accommodation, some of which were\nvery large.\n\nThorstein had slain the thrall of a neighbour, and therefore was\nsummoned to the Thing.\n\n\n\u201cThorstein, son of Egil (Skallagrimsson), had very many men with him at\nthe spring Thing, and went there one night earlier than the others, and\nhe and his Thingmen tented their booths.[521] When they had made their\nown booths ready, Thorstein bade his Thingmen go and raise large\nbooth-walls; then he had a much larger booth than the others, in which\nthere were no men\u201d (Egil\u2019s Saga, c. 85).\n\n\nIn Iceland we find the _kvid_ (a law term which may mean both the\nwitnesses and the jury). The men who were in the _kvid_ did not need to\nbe eye-witnesses; but had to be men who were impartial, and who could\nform the best judgment from the circumstances of the case. They had to\ngive a verdict under oath. The number of the men of the _kvid_, and the\nmanner of choosing them, varied according to the matter to be\nconsidered. In some important cases, recourse was had to the\n_Tylftarkvid_ (a body of twelve men) summoned at the instance of the\nplaintiff by the godi of the district, who with him named or chose\neleven of his Thingmen.\n\nThe second kind of _kvid_ was _B\u00faakvid_ (bondi kvid), which was used in\ncases of murder and other crimes, consisting of five or nine neighbours\nchosen by the plaintiff.\n\nThe third kind or Bjargkvid (saving kvid) consisted of five men, also\nchosen by the plaintiff and of the same place. The defendant had the\nright to challenge jurors out of the _kvid_, but only for lawful\nreasons, and the places had to be filled up. If the _kvid_ after\ndeliberation could not agree, the majority ruled; and if in the\n_Tylftarkvid_ the votes were equal, the godi had the casting vote; but\nthe verdict was nevertheless to be given unanimously, though the\nminority were not responsible if the verdict was found to be wrong.\n\nIn the earliest times the same practice seems to have held in Norway,\ntill Christianity coming in brought with it the purification oath.\n\nMen could be turned out of the jury if they were not b\u0153ndr.\n\nIn a law case at the Althing after the burning of Nj\u00e1l, Eyj\u00f3lf\nB\u00f6lverksson, a man skilled in law, said the following with regard to the\njury or _kvid_:\n\n\n\u201c\u2018I name witnesses to this that I take these two men out of the _kvid_,\nand name them both, because they are booth-sitting men (less than b\u0153ndr)\nand not b\u0153ndr.\u2019 M\u00f6rd went to the court and said: \u2018I name witnesses to\nthis that I make void the lawful challenging of Eyj\u00f3lf B\u00f6lverksson,\nbecause he challenged men out of the _kvid_ who are rightly in it. Every\nman who owns three hundreds[522] in land or more, though he has no milch\ncattle, has the right to be in a jury of b\u0153ndr, as also he who has milch\ncattle, though he is a tenant.\u2019 He had the witnesses before the court,\nwent to where the b\u0153ndr (of the jury) were and told them to sit down,\nand that they had a right to be in the kvid. Then there was a great\nuproar, and all said that the case of Flosi and Eyj\u00f3lf was made\nperfectly void\u201d (Njala, c. 142).\n\n\nIt seems that it was usual to have twelve judges to decide important\ncases.\n\n\n\u201cThereafter King Heidrek went home with his queen and they loved each\nother well; he left off all warfare and made laws in the land; he chose\ntwelve of the wisest men to judge in important cases in his realm, and\nprevented all warfare in his land; he became a great chief and was well\nliked\u201d (Hervarar Saga, c. 14).\n\n\nGunnar, when attacked, slew Thorgeir Otkelsson, and was summoned before\nthe Thing to answer for it.\n\n\n\u201cMany chiefs tried to effect a reconciliation, and the result was that\ntwelve men were to arbitrate in the case\u201d (Njala, c. 74).\n\n\nKing Olaf, of Sweden, always had with him twelve of the wisest men, who\nassisted him in difficult cases.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XXXVIII.\n THE GODI AND THE GODISHIP.\n\n Power and functions of the godi or temple-priest\u2014The leaders at\n sacrifices and spiritual rulers in the earliest times\u2014The law only\n above the godi\u2014He is the administrator of the law among the\n Thingmen\u2014The post hereditary\u2014Ceremony attending the assumption of\n office\u2014The godi\u2019s office transferable\u2014Appearance of the godi\u2014Their\n attendance at the Althing compulsory\u2014The weapon-thing\u2014Sanctity of\n the law-courts.\n\n\nThe power and functions of the godi, or temple-priest, whose name has\nbeen mentioned in the chapter on Religion, were probably the same in\nNorway as in Sweden or Denmark before the time of Harald Fairhair of\nNorway, Gorm of Denmark, and Eirik of Sweden. In the earliest times the\ngodis, whose office was called _godord_ (godiship), were the leaders at\nsacrifices and spiritual rulers of the people, and their descendants\nunited both the spiritual and temporal power.\n\nThe original number of holders of the godiship in Iceland was\nthirty-nine, but in the year 1004 twelve new members were added.\n\nThe position of the godi among the Thingmen was of a special nature, and\nwas grounded on birth or privilege, such as purchase; the only thing\nabove him was the law, which was in the keeping of all the godis of the\ncountry. He had to see that the law was carried out among the Thingmen,\nand had to help his own Thingmen when they had a case against a Thingman\nof another district.[523]\n\nThe temple-priest as such had certain revenues; he had, besides, a share\nof the pay given to the Thingmen by the b\u0153ndr who did not go to the\nThing; parts of certain fines and forfeited property, and fees for\ncertain legal formalities which could only be performed by him.[524] He\nwas named by the district or by the family, and the b\u0153ndr[525] under a\ncertain godi were called the Thingmen of the godi.\n\nThe _godord_ was looked upon as property; it was inherited, and could be\ngiven away, sold, or forfeited. If the godi forfeited the godiship, then\nthe men of the _Thridjung-district_[526] to which the godiship belonged\nhad to elect another; and also, when the heir was not of age, they could\nelect a provisional godi. The heir to a godiship would become godi, if\nthe b\u0153ndr allowed him, at the age of twelve. If the heir was a woman,\nshe could give the godiship to whichever man of the district she\npreferred.\n\nWhen a man became a godi he killed a ram and dipped his hands in its\nblood.\n\n\n\u201cH\u00f6skuld said: \u2018Let us redden ourselves in the blood of the godi\naccording to ancient custom.\u2019 He killed a ram, reddened his hands in its\nblood, and declared Arnstein\u2019s godiship to be his....\u201d (Ljosvetninga\nSaga, c. 4).\n\n\nIf the godi broke the law he was prosecuted like another man,\nconsequently there was a check upon his powers, and he had to take great\ncare that law and justice were properly executed.\n\n\n\u201cThe men of the _Thridjung-district_ always have power over the godiship\nwhen the godi is outlawed and loses it. They shall draw lots among\nthemselves. If a man has bought a godiship, or it has been given to him,\nthen it shall be inherited (by his heirs).... If the godi becomes sick,\nhe has the right to sell the godiship. If he dies and leaves a son 12\nwinters old he gets it (the godiship) if the people allow it. If a woman\nis heiress she shall sell the godiship to some man of the district. If\nthe godi dies before _einmanud_[527] they shall draw lots and have a\nmeeting as to who shall get the godiship; crosses[528] shall be cut and\nsent in all directions. If he dies after _einmanud_ they (the people)\nshall come one night before others to the Spring-thing and draw lots who\nshall be godi. If he dies towards the Althing (time), or on the way to\nthe Thing, then his nearest kinsman at the Althing shall be godi. If\nthere is no kinsman his Thingmen[529] shall decide who is to be godi,\nand must come to their decision before the courts (are formed). If there\nare cases at the Spring-thing the godi is liable to lesser outlawry if\nhe has not arrived at the beginning of the Thing\u201d (Gr\u00e1g\u00e1s (1852), p.\n142).\n\n\nIf the godi for one reason or another could not rule over his district,\nhe could give it to whomsoever he liked within the district; though the\noffice could be owned by more than one, it could only be _represented_\nby one man.\n\n\n\u201cHrafnkel sat on his farm (_bu_) and continued to be honoured. He died\nand his mound is in Hrafnkelsdal outside Adalbol. Much property, all his\nwar-dress, and his good spear were _mound-laid_ with him. His sons\nassumed his rule. Thorir lived in Hrafnkelsstadir and Asbj\u00f6rn at\nAdalbol. They both owned the godiship and were thought to be powerful\nmen\u201d (Hrafnkel Freysgodi\u2019s Saga).\n\n\nIf there were several owners, and the power had only been given to one\nof them, it went by turns one year at a time.\n\n\n\u201cHelgi Asbjarnarson lived at Oddsstadir near Hafrs\u00e1; he was godord-man\n(godi); he was married to Droplaug, daughter of Spakbessi. They had many\nchildren. Hrafnkel, the first cousin of Helgi, lived at Hafrs\u00e1 and was\nyoung. He and Helgi both had the same godord (godiship) and Helgi\nwielded the godiship.\n\n\u201cHrafnkel claimed the godiship from Helgi Asbjarnarson, his kinsman, and\ndid not get it.\n\n\u201cIn the spring people went to the Spring-thing. Helgi Asbjarnarson then\nnamed An Trud into the court (d\u00f3m), though it was to be concealed, for\nAn had given to Helgi seven stud horses. When An was seated in the court\nHelgi put on his head a felt-hood to disguise him and asked him to speak\nlittle. Thereupon Hrafnkel with the sons of Droplaug and many men walked\nup to the court. Helgi Droplaugarson walked up to the seat of An Trud in\nthe court; he jerked up the felt-hood with the guards of his sword and\nstruck it down and asked who sat there. An told his name. Helgi said:\n\u2018Who named thee into the court on the behalf of his godiship?\u2019 He\nanswered: \u2018Helgi Asbjarnarson did it.\u2019 Helgi Droplaugarson then asked\nHrafnkel to name witnesses and claim that Helgi Asbjarnarson had\nforfeited the godiship; he said all his cases were made void as he had\nnamed An into the court. Then there was great pressing forward and a\nfight nearly ensued, but H\u00f3lmstein intervened and tried to reconcile\nthem. The agreement was that Hrafnkel should have the godiship as long\nas Helgi had had it before, and thereupon they should have it both\ntogether; Helgi should, however, help Hrafnkel in all cases at Things\nand meetings of men and wherever needed. Helgi Droplaugarson said to\nHrafnkel: \u2018Now it seems to me I have helped thee.\u2019 He answered that it\nwas so. Then people rode home from the Thing\u201d (Droplaugarsona Saga).\n\n\nThe godis seem to have worn long beards, which apparently was the custom\namong rulers, for Edward is represented on the Bayeux tapestry with a\nbeard.\n\n\n\u201cRolf was a great chief and a most powerful man; he had to keep the\ntemple of Thor on that island (Mostr), and was a great friend of Thor,\non which account he was called Thorolf. He was tall and strong, fair of\nface, and had a large beard, wherefore he was called Mostrarskegg; he\nwas the most prominent man on the island\u201d (Eyrbyggja Saga, c. 3).\n\n\nWhen the heir to the godiship was a minor, the fittest Thingman took the\noffice till he came of age.\n\n\n\u201cIt was law at that time that when the heirs were minors the Thingman\nwho was thought the fittest should keep the godiship (until they were of\nage)\u201d (Vatnsd\u00e6la, c. 41, 42).\n\n\nThe men of Vatnsdal had a meeting at Karns\u00e1 about the godiship.\n\n\n\u201cThey spoke about the godiship and did not agree; every one of them\nwished to become godi. Then they laid lots in a cloak-skirt, and the lot\nof Thorkel Silfri (a chief) always came first, for he was skilled in\nwitchcraft. Thorgr\u00edm (a kinsman of the deceased godi) walked out and met\nThorkel Krafla (his own illegitimate son) in the entrance with other\nboys. Thorgr\u00edm said: \u2018Now I want thee to pay the price for the axe.\u2019\nThorkel answered: \u2018I should like very much to have the axe, and can\neasily pay its price now, though I have not the ware thou likest.\u2019\nThorgr\u00edm said: \u2018Other things than ware will be taken.\u2019 Thorkel asked:\n\u2018Dost thou want me to slay Silfri?\u2019 \u2018Yes,\u2019 answered Thorgr\u00edm. The lot of\nthe godiship had then been drawn by Silfri. Thorkel walked into the\nroom, and so near Silfri that he touched his foot; Silfri pushed him\naway and called him the son of a bondmaid. Thorkel jumped up on the next\nseat and struck his head with the axe (_tapar\u00f6x_); Silfri at once died,\nand Thorkel said the axe was not too dear. Thorgr\u00edm said the boy had\nbeen badly tempted, and did not stand it well, but had shown himself to\nbe a kinsman of the Vatnsd\u00e6lir (by his bravery), and he would\nacknowledge that he was his son. Thereupon Thorgr\u00edm got the godiship,\nand was called the godi of Karns\u00e1\u201d (Vatnsd\u00e6la, c. 41, 42).\n\n\n\u201cThe godi if he likes shall go upon the Thing-slope at the Spring-thing\nand name witnesses that he asks all Thingmen of his district (thridjung)\nto go to the Althing, and they shall decide it with lots or in other\nways. Every ninth of his Thingmen shall go. The Spring-thing shall be\ndissolved at mid-day when men have been four nights at it, but not\nbefore, unless all the Thingmen agree otherwise and all cases brought\nbefore it are decided\u201d (Gr\u00e1g\u00e1s, i. 116).\n\n\nEvery Thing-district had a fixed Thing called Herad-thing, which was\npresided over by the three godis of the Thing-district.\n\nThe godi in whose district the Thing-place lay declared the Thing holy;\nif the Thingman could not come himself, he could send a freeman of his\nhouse in his place.\n\n\n\u201cWe shall have a Spring-thing in our country. Three godis shall have\none together. They shall not hold a Thing for longer than one week,\nnor for less than three nights, unless they are allowed by the\n_L\u00f6gr\u00e9tta_[530].... The godi who owns _Thinghelgi_ (declaration of\nthing-peace) there shall declare the Thing holy the first evening\nwhen they come there.... The godi shall decide what are the\nThing-boundaries, and he shall declare it holy, as at the Althing,\nand declare what is its name\u201d[531] (Gr\u00e1g\u00e1s, p. 96, \u00a7 56).\n\n\nA Thingman could declare himself the Thingman of another godi. Every\ngodi had to have a booth on the plain, large enough to hold all his\nThingmen; but the great b\u0153ndr often had with them their own booths, and\ntheir friends, women, children, and servants, &c. The godi who declared\nthe Althing holy was called _allsherjar godi_ (the godi of the whole\nhost).\n\nWe see that in Iceland at first the _Kjalnesinga godi_ had the high\noffice at the Althing,[532] but later the godi in whose district the\nAlthing lay.\n\nThe Althing began on Thursday when ten weeks (fifty days) of summer had\npassed, and lasted fourteen days.[533]\n\nTo the Althing all the godis had to come, and to arrive on Thursday\nnight, before the sun had left the plain; if not, they forfeited their\ngodiship. If a godi had met with lawful hindrances, the godi of the same\nThing-district decided who should take his place. He had the right to\ncall upon every ninth man of his Thingmen to follow him to the\nSpring-thing.[534]\n\nAll the b\u0153ndr who had come to the Althing on Thursday night were\nconsidered _right Thingmen_, but the b\u0153ndr who remained at home had to\npay a fine. If they came before the first Sunday of the Thing they were\n_right Thingmen_, but received no pay. The Thingmen were not allowed to\nleave the precincts of the Thing before the assembly was dissolved.[535]\n\n\n\u201cAll godis shall come to the Thing on the fifth day of the week when 10\nweeks of the summer have passed before the sun leaves the Thing-plain.\nIf they do not come they are fined and lose their godiship, unless\nnecessity causes their absence. The Thingmen shall come to the Thing on\nthe fifth day of the week and go to their booth with the godi in whose\nThing-district they are; each of them shall have a partition of cloth\nacross the booth; each shall get Thing-journey pay, and they are\nThingmen both in their own matters and in those of others. The godi is\nthen bound to give a Thingman room in his booth; if he does not, then\nthe Thingman does not break the law though he go to another booth, and\nhas also a claim to the Thing-journey pay. Men shall pay Thing-journey\npay as they agree upon in every district with the godi.... The Thingmen\nshall not be one night or longer away from the Thing; nor are they\nThingmen when they go outside the Thing-marks\u201d (Gr\u00e1g\u00e1s, i. 24).\n\n\nSometimes meetings took place called _V\u00e1pnathing_, where all the b\u0153ndr\nhad to appear, and produce for inspection the arms which every man was\nlegally obliged to have.\n\n\n\u201cWherever a weapon-thing is to be, the king\u2019s steward (\u00e1rman) or a\n_lend-man_ shall announce it in the autumn, and hold the Thing in the\nspring. All free and full-grown men shall come to it or pay a fine of\nthree _aurar_ each. Then men shall show their weapons as is laid down in\nthe laws. A man shall have a broad-axe or a sword, a spear, and a shield\nwhich must have at least three iron-rims across it, and whose handle\nmust be fastened with iron nails. Three _aurar_ are to be paid for every\nfolk-weapon (missing or not in good order). For every rowing-bench the\nb\u0153ndr shall furnish two dozen arrows and one bow. One _eyrir_ shall be\npaid for every missing arrow, and three _aurar_ for a bow\u201d (Earlier\nGulathing\u2019s Law, 309).\n\n\nThe place where the judges sat was holy, and ropes, _veb\u00f6nd_, marked out\nthe boundaries of the enclosure.\n\n\n\u201cThe court was held in a level field and hazel poles were put down in a\ncircle into the ground with ropes around them; these ropes were called\n_veb\u00f6nd_ (sacred bands). Inside the circle sat the judges, twelve from\nFirdafylki, twelve from Sygnafylki, and twelve from H\u00f6rdafylki; these\nthirty-six men were to judge in all cases. Arinbj\u00f6rn chose the judges in\nFirdafylki, and Th\u00f3rd of Aurland (the brother of Bj\u00f6rn) those from\nSygnafylki and these twenty-four acted together\u201d (Egil\u2019s Saga, c. 57).\n\n\n\u201cIt is an old right that stewards from every Fylki shall make the veb\u00f6nd\non the Thing-plain. The veb\u00f6nd shall be so wide that those appointed for\nthe law-court shall have room to sit inside. The stewards shall name for\nthe law-court as many men as are fixed for each Fylki. From the inner\nThr\u00e1ndheim forty men shall be named for each Fylki, and from the outer\nThr\u00e1ndheim sixty men from each Fylki, and the oldest and most able men\nshall be named into the law-court. No lendirmen must go into the\nlaw-court unless the b\u0153ndr allow it. It is also law that no man who is\nnot named must sit inside the veb\u00f6nd without being liable to pay a mark.\nIf a man leaves the law-court and goes outside the veb\u00f6nd to another\nplace he is to pay a full mark\u201d (Frostathing\u2019s Law, i. 2).\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XXXIX.\n THE LAWS OF THE EARLIER ENGLISH TRIBES.\n\n Comprehensiveness of the codes of the Northmen\u2014The earlier laws\u2014The\n Icelandic laws\u2014The Gr\u00e1g\u00e1s law-book\u2014Judgment rings\u2014Power of the\n lawmen\u2014Their office hereditary in early times\u2014Their office\n elective in Iceland\u2014Manner of election\u2014Duty of the lawman\u2014Ceremony\n at the close of his term of office\u2014Length of the term of\n office\u2014Norway divided into four law-districts\u2014Law originally\n vested in the people\u2014Members of the law-court\u2014Mode of their\n election\u2014Judicial decisions.\n\n\nFor clearness of language, comprehensiveness, and minuteness of detail,\nwe find nothing in Europe during the first ten centuries of the\nChristian era that can compare with the earlier laws of the Norsemen; we\nmust go back to Rome to find such comprehensive and exhaustive codes.\nThey give us a very clear insight into the life and civilisation of the\nNorth, which from these records seem to have been far above those of\nneighbouring countries at that period. Some of the laws given in the\ncourse of this work demonstrate the mode of life of the time. We can see\nfrom these that, above all, the Norsemen abhorred perjury, murder,\nseduction, adultery, and the violation of the sanctity of\nblood-relationship.\n\nThe earlier laws, as all laws in every country, were but a codification\nof the customs of the people, handed down in many cases from very\nancient times.\n\nThe Icelandic laws were based upon those of the mother-country, just as\nthose of the English colonies are to-day based on the old English laws,\nand those of other colonies on those of the countries that founded them.\n\n\n\u201cWhen Iceland was widely settled, an eastern (Norwegian) man called\n\u00dalflj\u00f3t was the first who brought laws there; this Teit told us; they\nwere called \u00dalflj\u00f3t\u2019s laws; \u00dalflj\u00f3t was the father of Gunnar, from whom\nthe Djupd\u00e6lir in Eyjafjord are descended. The laws were mostly taken\nfrom the Gulathing-laws as they were then, or made according to the\nadvice of Thorleif the Wise, son of H\u00f6rdak\u00e1ri, with regard to what\nshould be added or taken away, or altered\u201d (Islendingab\u00f3k, c. 2).\n\n\nOne of the great authorities for our knowledge of the administration of\njustice among the Norwegians is the law-book, the Gr\u00e1g\u00e1s.[536]\n\nSigvat Scald made a song wherein he says the king (Magnus) was too hard\ntowards the b\u0153ndr.\n\n\n\u201cAfter this the king became milder; also many spoke to him about this.\nAt last he had a talk with the wisest men, and they made laws. Then he\nhad a law-book written which is still in Thr\u00e1ndheim, and is called\nGr\u00e1g\u00e1s (the grey goose). He became popular and was liked by all the\npeople of the land, and therefore was called Magnus the Good\u201d (Magnus\nthe Good\u2019s Saga, Heimskringla, c. 17).\n\n\nAll over the Northern lands are yet seen numerous judgment rings, made\nof large stones, where justice was administered; some were used for\nreligious ceremonies, some for duellings.\n\n\n\u201cThe defender in a case can name six judges whom he does not want to\njudge in his case. They are to rise from the court (d\u00f3m), and sit inside\nthe d\u00f3mhring (sacred precincts) while the case is judged\u201d (Gr\u00e1g\u00e1s, i. p.\n78).\n\n\nThe lawmen, or _l\u00f6gmenn_, were the most influential and powerful men in\nthe land; they were respected and loved by the people, and great faith\nwas placed in their advice. Extensive knowledge of the earlier customs\nand ancient laws was absolutely necessary for this important office, in\norder to put before the Thing in a proper light the subjects under\ndiscussion. From the Sagas we see that their office in the earlier time\nwas probably hereditary; but in Iceland, as the emigration broke the\nhereditary succession, the lawmen were chosen by election.\n\n\n\u201cH\u00e1kon was one of the most merry, eloquent, and modest of all men; he\nwas very wise and especially fond of law-making. He enacted the\nGulathing\u2019s law, with the advice of Thorleif the Wise; also the\nFrostathing\u2019s law, with the advice of Sigurd jarl and other Thrands who\nwere very learned; but the _Heid-s\u00e6vi\u2019s_ law (Eidsivia law) had been\nenacted by Halfdan the Black (father of Harald Fairhair)\u201d (Fornmanna\nS\u00f6gur, i., p. 31).\n\n\n\u201cAt this feast were Gunnar and many others of the best men. After the\nfeast Njal asked if he might take home Thorkall, Asgrim\u2019s son, for\nfostering, and he was with Njal long after. He loved Njal more than his\nfather. Njal taught him the laws, so that he became the greatest lawman\nin Iceland\u201d (Njala, 27).\n\n\nThe lawman was the representative of law, though he had neither judicial\nnor legislative power; he was selected by the law-court, or L\u00f6gretta, on\nthe first Friday of the Althing, before the cases which were to be tried\nat the Thing were made public on the law-hill. Then if the election was\nnot unanimous, it was decided by throwing of lots which quarter should\nelect him; the law-court men of the quarter could elect him from their\nown quarter or from another, but the majority decided the question. The\nlawman, followed by the members of the law-court, walked up to the\nlaw-hill and took the seat intended for him. An election was good for\nthree years, and the same man could be elected again; but he could\nforfeit his office through injustice or carelessness.\n\nHis duty was to expound the laws to the people, and therefore it was\nnecessary for him to know them well; before the law was written he was\nlooked upon as a living law-book for the people; any who were in\ndifficulties on points of law went to him, not only to the Althing, but\nto his home.\n\nThe part of the law relating to the regulations of the Thing was recited\nevery summer on the first Friday of the assembly, and this was the\nlawman\u2019s first duty; all the remaining parts of the law had to be\nrecited by him during the course of his three years of office.\n\nAt the dissolution of the Thing he made public from the law-hill the\n_timereckoning_, a kind of almanack for the coming year. Supposing that\nhe was doubtful on any point he was allowed to take counsel with five or\nmore men, wise in law, and their advice was considered sacred.\n\nIf the lawman had not arrived on the first Friday before the people went\nto the law-hill he had to pay a fine of three marks, and they could\nelect another man in his place. The yearly pay for this office was 248\nells[537] of vadmal from the property of the law-court, besides the half\nof all the fines.\n\nThe closing ceremony at the term of office was for the lawman to recite\nthe regulations of the Thing. This ceremony took place on the first day\nof the fourth summons, after which he was free. When the lawman died, a\nman was taken from his quarter to recite the regulations, and his\nsuccessor was at once elected.\n\nA lawman, when at home, could be a godi as well as a lawman, but at the\nThing he was obliged to have a representative of his godiship.\n\n\n\u201cIt is a law that there shall always be a man in our country whose duty\nit is to tell people the law, and he is called lawman (l\u00f6gs\u00f6gu-man =\nlaw-telling man). If the lawman dies, a man shall be taken the next\nsummer from the quarter of the country in which he dwelt last, to recite\nthe regulations of the Thing. Then the lawman is to be elected on the\nFriday before the cases are proclaimed. It is also good if all agree\nabout one man. If one of the law-court men is against that which most\nwant, it shall be decided with lots from which quarter the lawman is to\nbe elected. The men of the quarter who win the lot shall choose the\nlawman, if he is willing to undertake the office, whether he is from\ntheir own quarter or from some other. If they do not agree, the majority\nshall rule; but if those who disagree about the lawman and sit in the\nlaw-court are equal in numbers, the bishop of the quarter shall\ndecide.... From the law-court where the electing takes place the men\nshall go to the law-hill. The lawman shall go thither and sit in his\nseat, and seat those whom he wishes on the law-hill, and then the cases\nare to be brought forward. It is also law that it is the lawman\u2019s duty\nto recite all parts of the law in three summers, and the\nThing-regulations every summer. The lawman has to recite all\ndeclarations of innocence (_e.g._ of outlawry), if possible, when the\ngreater part of the people are present; also he shall recite the\nreckoning of seasons; and if people shall come to the Althing before ten\nweeks of the summer have passed and inquire about keeping the ember-days\nand the beginning of fasts, he shall make known all this at the\ndissolution of the Thing.... If he is not wise enough, he shall take\ncounsel with five or more law-skilled men. Every intruder is fined three\nmarks, and the lawman has to prosecute him. The lawman shall receive\nevery summer 400 feet of vadmal from the law-court property for his\nwork; also half of all the fines. When the lawman has had the\nlaw-telling for three summers, he shall recite the Thing-regulations for\nthe first Friday of the fourth summer; then he can give up office if he\nlikes. If he wishes to keep office, the greater part of the law-court\nmen can again decide. The lawman is to be fined three marks if he does\nnot come to the Althing on the Friday before people go to the law-hill,\nno necessity hindering, and another lawman is to be elected if the\npeople wish\u201d (Gr\u00e1g\u00e1s, i.)\n\n\nThe following table shows how long the elected lawmen usually remained\nin office, and how great was the order and stability of government in\nthose days, the lawman having to stand for election once a year:\u2014\n\n Rafn (Lawman) 930\u2013950 (20 years)\n Th\u00f3rarin (Lawman) 950\u2013970 (20 years)\n Thorkel (Lawman) 970\u2013985 (15 years)\n Thorgeir (Lawman) 985\u20131002 (17 years)\n\nThe whole of Norway was divided into four law districts, but not before\nthe time of Hakon the Good, who codified the laws: (1) _Frostathing\u2019s\nLaw_ district, (2) _Gulathing\u2019s Law_ district, (3) _Eidsifjathing\u2019s_,\n(4) _Borgarthing\u2019s_; but we find that the Gulathing existed, and had\nprobably existed long, before Harald Fairhair.[538]\n\nIn the course of time changes and additions were made. In regard to how\nthese new laws were to be made, the laws themselves contain no\nprovision; but that they were made by the co-operation of king and\npeople is evident, and their adoption depended, no doubt, on the\nstanding, wisdom, and influence of him who proposed them.\n\nWhen Harald Fairhair became king of all Norway his idea seems to have\nbeen that the royal power established by him should be exalted far above\nexisting laws, and from it every change in these laws ought to emanate\nfor the future.\n\nKing H\u00e1kon yielded up to the country the proprietary right which his\nfather had usurped. New legal relations were then entered into between\nking and people; these seem to have been called _landsr\u00e9tt_ (law of the\nland), which could not be changed without the consent of both king and\npeople.\n\nThe _l\u00f6g_, or law proper, dealing with the relations existing between\nman and man, was regarded as having originated from the people alone,\nand therefore was their private property. But royalty being acknowledged\nas a necessary part of the state, and as such amenable to the _l\u00f6g_, was\non that account given a voice in its changes or revisions.\n\nIn the first place, the legislative power of the country was transferred\nfrom the _Fylkisthings_ to the _Lawthings_, and was placed in the hands\nof representative men (_nefndarmenn_)[539] instead of in the hands of\nall the _b\u0153ndr_ of the _fylki_. Thus the Lawthings became the only\nlegislative power in the country, each one legislating for its separate\ndistrict. Then the various earlier laws were consolidated into one law\nfor every district.\n\nBy this important change royalty appears in a highly influential aspect;\nhowever, as is clearly shown, only in consequence of a special power\ngiven it for the time being, and not as a right established for all\ntime.\n\nThe highest power was not in the Althing, but in the _L\u00f6gretta_\n(law-court), composed of two kinds of members\u2014those who were self-named,\nor godis by right (they were thirty-nine), and those who were elected\n(twelve for the northern quarter, and nine for each of the others); but\nthese godis took three men from each quarter which had only nine godis,\nand so the number was increased to forty-eight, to which number was\nadded the l\u00f6gmadr (lawman). The number of judges or godis of the\nL\u00f6gr\u00e9tta at the Gulathing seems to have been thirty-six.\n\nThe elected members were appointed thus. Every one of the forty-eight\nchose two of his Thingmen and a third man as advisers; thus the\nlaw-court men consisted of 144 members (besides the lawman, who made the\nnumber 145).\n\nThe _L\u00f6gthing_ (law-thing) did not appear before the time of H\u00e1kon the\nGood, when the country was divided into four districts.\n\nThe law-court had a certain place on the Thing-plain, and was part of\nthe Thing. There were three benches, one behind the other; on the middle\nbench sat the forty-eight self-elected law-court men and the lawman; on\nthe front and the last bench were seated the elected members. The\njudicial power rested with those on the middle bench, for the law-court\nmen on the two other benches could only give advice.\n\nWhen a decision had a majority for it from the middle bench, all the\nlaw-court men assented, and it was made public from the law-hill by the\nlawman.\n\nThe court was to come together on both Sundays and on the closing day,\nand the lawman could call the members together when he wanted, but only\nif the majority of the Thingmen wished.\n\nLess important matters could be decided though the full number were not\npresent, provided there were not less than forty-eight; and the lawman\ncould take men from the two other benches to fill the empty seats on the\nmiddle bench. No man but a member was allowed a seat on the law-court\nbenches. The Thingmen sat round, and only the one who had something to\nsay to the law-court was allowed to rise.[540]\n\n\n\u201cWe shall also have a law-court every summer at the Althing, and it\nshall always sit on the place where it has long been. There shall be\nthree benches round the law-court, so long that forty-eight men may sit\non each of them easily, namely twelve men from each quarter who have the\nright to sit in the law-court, and the lawman besides; these rule laws\nand licenses, and they, and also our bishops, shall sit on the middle\nbench. From the northern quarter those twelve men shall sit in the\nlaw-court who have the twelve godiships which were there when they had\nfour districts with three godis in each. From all the other quarters\nthose nine shall sit in the law-court who have the full and old\ngodiships, which were three in every Spring-thing, when three\nThing-districts were in each of the three quarters, and they shall each\nof them take one man from each of the old Thing-districts, so that\ntwelve men sit in the law-court from each quarter....\n\n\u201cEach man who sits in the law-court has to have two men to give him\nadvice, one in front of himself, and the other behind him and his\nThingmen; then the benches are fully occupied, with forty-eight men on\neach bench. No man shall sit inside the benches on the space of the\nlaw-court except those who have cases; but at other times they can sit\nthere, and the lawman has to dispose of the seats. The people shall sit\noutside the benches. Only those who have cases ... have the right to\nrise in the law-court when laws or licenses are considered. He who rises\n(without the right to do so) is to be fined three marks, and whoever\nlikes can prosecute him. People who crowd so much to the _L\u00f6gr\u00e9tta_\npurposely, or make so much noise or tumult that cases are disturbed, are\nliable to lesser outlawry, as in the case of every disturbance at the\nThing. If men come to the law-court who have to sit there and others\nhave sat in their seats, they shall ask for their seats, and the men are\nnot punished if they go away; but if they tarry when the seat is asked\nfor, they are fined three marks. Then the man shall ask for his seat\nwith witnesses, and if the other does not rise he is liable to lesser\noutlawry....\n\n\u201cThe law-court shall sit both Sundays (Drottnisdag) of the Thing and the\nlast day of the Thing, and always between those days when the lawman or\nthe greater part of the people wish.... There their laws shall be\nchanged and new laws be made if people want them; there all innocence\n(e.g. of outlawry) shall be asked for. As soon as the godis get into\ntheir seats each of them shall place a man on the bench before him and\nanother on the bench at his back for advice. Then the men who have cases\nshall tell what they disagree upon: then they shall think on the case\nuntil they are decided in their mind on it and ask all law-court men who\nsit on the middle bench to tell what each of them wants in this case\naccording to law. Thereupon each godi shall tell what the laws say and\nwith whom he will go in this case, and the majority shall rule. If an\nequal number of law-court men on both sides say that two different\ndecisions are lawful then the decision of those with whom the lawman\nsides shall rule. If the others are more they shall rule, and both shall\ntake _v\u00e9fangseid_ (oath of division) to this that they think what they\ndecide in this case is lawful and follow it up because it is law.... It\nis the lawman\u2019s duty to tell all those who ask him what is law, both at\nthe Thing and at home, but not to give advice in a suit.... If the\nlawman commits something which the greater part of the Thingmen would\ncall Thing-breach then he is liable to lesser outlawry\u201d (Gr\u00e1g\u00e1s, i. 4).\n\n\n\u201cWe shall go to the law-hill in the morning, and lead the courts forward\nfor challenging not later than when the sun is to be seen on the western\nrock of the chasm seen from the seat of the lawman on the law-hill. The\nlawman shall go out first if he is in good health, then the godis with\ntheir judges if they are not hindered; otherwise every one of them shall\nget a man in his place\u201d (Gr\u00e1g\u00e1s, i. 26).\n\n\n\u201cIf one or more judges retire, then the prosecutor has the right to\ninvite to lot-drawing at the court all those who have cases before it,\nand decide the place where they shall draw lots about proffering the\ncase. Every man who has a case before the court shall put one lot in a\ncloak skirt, though he has more than one case. Every man shall mark out\nhis lot, and they shall all be put into a skirt, and four shall be taken\nout in one\u201d (Gr\u00e1g\u00e1s, 37).\n\n\n\u201cThe first summer that Bergth\u00f3r (Hrafnsson) recited laws a new law was\nmade that our laws should be written in a book the next winter in the\nhouse of Haflidi M\u00e1sson, after the dictation and ruling of Bergth\u00f3r and\nother wise men chosen for it. They were to make new laws wherever they\nthought them better than the old ones. These were to be recited the\nfollowing summer in the _L\u00f6gr\u00e9tta_ (law-court), and all those were to be\nkept against which the greater part of the people did not vote.\n_Vigsl\u00f3di_ (part of the laws treating about man-slayings) and many other\nlaws were written and recited in the L\u00f6gr\u00e9tta by priests the following\nsummer. All liked them well, and none were against them\u201d (Islendingab\u00f3k,\nc. 10).\n\n\nFrom the following account we can see what great power the lawman had\nover the people, and how well the latter understood that the price of\nfreedom was constant watchfulness.\n\nKing Olaf of Sweden and St. Olaf of Norway constantly quarrelled about\nthe frontiers of their countries. The b\u0153ndr in the Vikin got St. Olaf to\nsend men to the King of Sweden to make peace. R\u00f6gnvald jarl of Vestr\nGautland, who was friendly to Norway, helped the men sent, whose leader\nwas Bj\u00f6rn Stallari (marshal). The following account tells how they\nsucceeded, with the help of Thorgn\u00fdr, lawman:\n\n\n\u201cAt this time there was in T\u00edundaland a lawman named Thorgn\u00fdr, the son\nof Thorgn\u00fdr Thorgn\u00fdsson, whose family had for many reigns been lawmen in\nT\u00edundaland. Thorgn\u00fdr was old, and kept a numerous bodyguard around him.\nHe was said to be the wisest man in Sviaveldi, and was the kinsman and\nfoster-father of R\u00f6gnvald jarl of Vestr Gautland.\n\n\u201cR\u00f6gnvald jarl came one night to the b\u0153r of Thorgn\u00fdr the lawman....\nThere were many outside, who received him well, and took charge of his\nhorses and harness. The jarl went into the hall, which was full of men.\nIn the high-seat there sat an old man. Bj\u00f6rn (King Olaf\u2019s marshal) and\nthe others had never seen a man so tall or so stout before; his beard\nwas so long that it lay on his knees and covered his whole breast; he\nwas handsome, and looked like a high-born man. The jarl walked up and\nsaluted him. Thorgn\u00fdr welcomed him, and told him to go to the seat where\nhe was used to sit, and the jarl sat down opposite Thorgn\u00fdr. It was some\nnights before the jarl told his errand; he asked Thorgn\u00fdr to go with him\ninto the speech-room, and Bj\u00f6rn and his men followed him there. The jarl\nbegan by relating how Olaf Norway\u2019s king had sent men in order to make\npeace; he spoke long of what troubles the war with Norway caused to the\nVest-gautar, and how he had promised to follow these envoys to the King\nof Sweden, who disliked the matter so strongly that no one dare broach\nit. \u2018Now, foster-father,\u2019 said the jarl, \u2018I do not trust myself alone in\nthis matter; therefore I come to thee, and expect thy good advice and\nhelp.\u2019 When the jarl had ended his speech Thorgn\u00fdr was silent for a\nwhile, and then answered: \u2018You behave strangely; you like to have the\nhigh name of jarl, and yet you know no expedient when you get into some\ndifficulty. Why didst thou not remember, before promising this journey,\nthat thou hast not power to speak against King Olaf. It seems to me more\nworthy to be reckoned among b\u0153ndr and be free in one\u2019s speech, though\nthe king be present. I will go to the Upsala Thing, and give thee such\nhelp that thou shalt say without fear before the king what thou likest.\u2019\nThe jarl thanked him for this promise, and remained with Thorgn\u00fdr and\nrode with him to the Thing. A great crowd was with King Olaf, who was\nwith his bodyguard. The first day, when the Thing began, King Olaf sat\non a chair, and around him stood his bodyguard. In another place sat\nR\u00f6gnvald jarl and Thorgn\u00fdr, and in front of them the jarl\u2019s guard and\nThorgn\u00fdr\u2019s troop of _h\u00faskarlar_ (house carls); behind the chair stood a\ncrowd of b\u0153ndr in a circle. Some even went up on the hills and mounds to\nlisten. When the king had made his customary speech at the Thing, Bj\u00f6rn\nStallari rose near the jarl\u2019s seat and said aloud: \u2018King Olaf sent me\nhither to say that he offers the King of Sweden reconciliation, and the\ndivision of land which of old existed between Norway and Sweden.\u2019 He\nspoke so loudly that the King of Sweden heard it distinctly. At first,\nwhen the King of Sweden heard King Olaf of Norway named, he thought he\ncame on some errand of his own; but when he heard of reconciliation and\ndivision of land between Sweden and Norway he started up and shouted\nloudly that this man should be silent; so Bj\u00f6rn sat down. When he could\nget a hearing, the jarl arose and spoke of King Olaf the Stout\u2019s message\nand offer of reconciliation to Olaf, King of Sweden. He said that the\nVestr Gautar asked that reconciliation should be made with Norway\u2019s\nking; he enumerated every difficulty which the Vestr Gautar had on hand\nbecause they missed all those things from Norway which they needed in\norder to live well, and on the other hand were exposed to attacks and\nplundering if the Norway king should gather a host and make war on them.\nHe added that Olaf, Norway\u2019s king, had sent men thither to ask for the\nking\u2019s daughter Ingigerd. After the jarl had finished speaking, Olaf,\nKing of Sweden rose and answered that he highly disliked the\nreconciliation; he reproached the jarl very greatly for his boldness, as\nhe had made truce and peace with the stout man (King Olaf) and made\nfriends with him. He added that he had proved traitor to him, and he\nwould deserve to be driven from the realm, and that all this was caused\nby the urging of his wife Ingibj\u00f6rg, and that it had been most unwise to\nmarry such a woman for love: he spoke a long time and severely, and\nagain turned his reproach against Olaf the Stout and sat down, and there\nwas silence for some time. Then rose Thorgn\u00fdr, and when he stood up all\nthe b\u0153ndr, who before had been sitting, rose, and all the rest pressed\nforward, wanting to listen to what he said. At first there was great\ntumult and clashing of weapons in the crowd, but when a hearing was got,\nThorgn\u00fdr said: \u2018The temper of the King of Sweden is not what it has\nbeen. Thorgn\u00fdr, my grandfather, remembered Eirik Emund\u2019s son,\nUppsala-king, and said of him, that while he was at his most active age\nhe had a levy every summer and went to various lands, and subjected\nFinnland and Kirj\u00e1laland, Eistland and K\u00farland, and a great part of the\neastern lands, where still may be seen the earth-forts and other great\nworks that he made; yet he was not so proud that he would not listen to\nmen if they wished to speak to him. My father, Thorgn\u00fdr, was with King\nBj\u00f6rn a long time, and knew his habits. During his time his realm stood\nwith great strength and with no abatement; and he was easy to deal with\nby his friends. I can remember King Eirik the Victorious, and was with\nhim on many war-journeys; he increased the Swedish realm, and defended\nit manfully, and it was easy for us to give him advice. But this king\nnow allows no man to be so bold as to talk to him except only what he\nwants, and uses he thereto all his power, and permits his tributaries to\nfall away from him from lack of strength and courage. He would hold\nNorway\u2019s realm subject to himself, though no King of Sweden has before\ndesired this, and thereby causes trouble to many a man. Now this is the\nwill of us b\u0153ndr, that thou, King Olaf, should make reconciliation with\nOlaf the Stout, and marry thy daughter Ingigerd to him. If thou wilt win\nback to thyself those realms in the east which thy kinsmen and\nforefathers once owned, we will all follow thee thither. But if thou\nwilt not do what we tell thee, we will attack and slay thee, and not\nendure from thee trouble and lawlessness: our forefathers have done the\nsame, they threw five kings down into a well, at the M\u00fala-Thing, who\nbefore had been as full of overbearing as thou hast been with us. Tell\nus now quickly which choice thou wilt make.\u2019 Then the multitude clashed\ntheir weapons. The king arose, and said that he wanted everything to be\nas the b\u0153ndr wished, for thus had all Kings of Sweden acted. At this the\ngrumblings of the b\u0153ndr ceased. The chiefs, the king, the jarl and\nThorgn\u00fdr talked together, and then made peace and reconciliation on\nbehalf of the King of Sweden, according to the proposal of Norway\u2019s\nking. It was resolved at that Thing that Olaf\u2019s daughter Ingigerd should\nbe married to Olaf Haraldsson, and the king delivered into the jarl\u2019s\nhands the power to betroth her, and gave to him the charge of the\nmarriage\u201d[541] (St. Olaf\u2019s Saga, c. 79\u201381).\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XL.\n INDEMNITY, WEREGILD.\n\n The freeman\u2019s right to peace\u2014Inviolability of body and\n honour\u2014Indemnity for murder\u2014Inequality of freemen\u2019s personal\n rights\u2014Computation of indemnity\u2014Lists of the amount paid or\n received\u2014The rights of Icelanders trading in Norway\u2014Indemnity for\n wounds\u2014Laws relating to indemnity\u2014Slander\u2014Indemnity in kind.\n\n\nEvery freeman was _fridheilag_ (peace-holy), unless he had forfeited his\nright to peace. This sacredness of person meant both inviolability of\nbody and honour: for every breach of this, in deed or word, he could\nclaim a redress consisting of a certain amount of money, which was his\n_r\u00e9tt_.\n\n\n\u201cIt is first in our _mannhelgi_ (man-holiness) that every man in the\ncountry shall be peace-holy in and out of the country\u201d (Frostath., iv.\n1).\n\n\nBlood feuds and revenge were of such common occurrence in these days,\nthat throughout the Sagas there is a great mass of literature which\ndeals with the customs and laws regulating the indemnity for murder.\n\nAs every individual, so every family had its r\u00e9tt. This was the\nso-called _manngj\u00f6ld_, or indemnity due to the family as a redress for\nthe slaying of one of its members. This view of the family, which is\nvery old, namely, that it was its right and duty to avenge the slaying\nof one of its members on the slayer or his family, was the law of the\nland, and the _weregild_ (indemnity) was equivalent to buying off the\nfamily revenge. It was really the price of the dead man, which varied\naccording to his r\u00e9tt when living.\n\nIf the slayer died before paying the weregild, his heir had to pay it.\n\nFrom the laws we find that the r\u00e9tt, or personal rights of every\nfreeman, were not equal. People were divided into classes, as we have\nseen, and it was according to his rank that a man had to pay or receive\nweregild.\n\nThe entire family weregild was computed in gold, one[542] _mark_ of gold\nbeing reckoned as eight _marks_ of silver in weight. _Six_ marks of gold\nseem to have been the family weregild for a _haulld_, and that of the\nother classes was fixed in proportion.\n\nA general rule seems to have prevailed for the computation of the _r\u00e9tt_\nin all upper classes, which was reckoned in silver, or 12 ells of\n_vadmal_ for every eyrir. In the lower classes it was reckoned in the\nso-called _l\u00f6geyrir_ (legal eyrir), i.e. about 12 feet of _vadmal_ for\nevery eyrir.\n\nSome r\u00e9tts were hereditary, and a wife enjoyed the same r\u00e9tt as her\nhusband received, and retained it even during widowhood.\n\n\n\u201cThis is about the rights of women. Every man has full r\u00e9tt on behalf of\nhis wife. Three marks are due to a haulld if his wife is struck.\n\n\u201cA widow shall have her r\u00e9tt herself, as high a r\u00e9tt as that of her late\nhusband, and whoever she wishes shall claim it\u201d (Frostath., x. 37).\n\n\nIn Gulathing\u2019s Law the haulld is the centre of the division; his r\u00e9tt is\nthree marks.\n\n\n\u201cA haulld shall get as his full r\u00e9tt three marks. The r\u00e9tt of every man\nupward (of higher rank) from the haulld shall increase by a third and\ndecrease downwards\u201d (Frostath., x. 34).\n\n\nThe amount to be paid or received by each degree of a family was\nentirely independent of the number of members of such degree. In the\ncomputation the following rules were chiefly followed:\u2014The weregild on\nboth sides embraced the family within the same degrees of the slain and\nthe slayer, each individual degree on the side of the slayer paying\nweregild to the corresponding one in the family of the slain; the first\nreceiver of weregild was the son of the slain, or, if he was not alive,\nthe father.\n\n\n\u201cThe first indemnity (_baug_)[543] is called head-indemnity. That is ten\nmarks. That is (as much as) thirty-two cows if the slain man is\nodal-born. The weregild increases and decreases like other r\u00e9tts of men.\nThe father shall get it if the son is not alive; if both live, the\nfather owns three marks. If he is not able to fight, he gets twelve\naurar from the slayer. If the slayer is outlawed he loses that\nindemnity. When the slayer dies his heir _receives the axe_ (has to pay\nthe weregild)\u201d (Gulath., 218).\n\n\n\u201cThe second indemnity is called brother\u2019s indemnity. That is five marks,\nor sixteen cows. The third is the indemnity of the br\u0153drung (first\ncousin). That is four marks, or half an eyrir less than thirteen cows\u201d\n(Gulath., 219).\n\n\nThe sum paid was the same whether the receiver was one or more. The\namount paid by each degree became smaller in proportion as the kinship\nbecame more distant. The degrees of kinship embraced in the weregild\nwere always considered as existing on both sides. If they in reality did\nnot exist, the slayer had to pay, and the next of kin on the other side\nto receive, for the missing degree.\n\n\n\u201cThe slayer shall pay the head-indemnity to the son of the dead. The\nbrother of the slayer shall pay indemnity to the brother of the dead if\nhe is found; otherwise the slayer shall pay it. The br\u0153drung of the\nslayer shall pay to the br\u0153drung of the dead br\u0153drung-indemnity if he is\nfound; otherwise the slayer shall pay it\u201d (Gulath., 222).\n\n\nThe _saktal_ was a list of the amount to be paid or received by every\ndegree in the weregild. Two or three of these lists are found in the\nGulathing\u2019s Law, and one in the Frostathing\u2019s Law.\n\nThe nearest kinswomen on both sides, mother, daughter, sister and wife,\npaid and received a certain gift called _Kvenngj\u00f6f_. Otherwise a woman\nwas never reckoned as payer or payee, unless she were sole heir. But the\nmoment she was married her rights in this respect passed over to her\nnearest male relative.\n\n\n\u201cA mark is a woman\u2019s kvenngj\u00f6f. Four women shall receive it if they are\nfound; the mother of the slain man, his daughter, his sister, and his\nwife. Each of them receives two aurar if they all exist. Wherever they\nare not found the son of the slain man shall receive it. If all the\nwomen are missing, the slayer shall take this mark and pay it to the son\nof the slain. If one of the women is missing, the son of the slain shall\nreceive two aurar, and if two are missing, half a mark, and if all are\nmissing, one mark\u201d (Gulath., 221).\n\n\nThe Gulathing\u2019s Law differs from the Frostathing\u2019s Law only in one\npoint, viz., the last divides the bondi into two classes, the\n_\u00e1rborinn-man_ and the _reksthegn_.[544] The law seems to mean in the\ncase of the latter a man who was not odal-born, yet could point to four\ngenerations of freemen on his father\u2019s side; but the difference between\nthe two is not told.\n\nThe Icelanders when trading or staying in Norway took the r\u00e9tt of a\nhaulld; but if they remained more than three years, or settled there,\nthey were to have the r\u00e9tt which they had in their own country, and\nwhich had to be proved by witnesses.\n\nAll other foreigners had the r\u00e9tt of a bondi unless they could prove by\nwitness a higher one.\n\n\n\u201cA freedman (_leysingi_) owns six aurar as single r\u00e9tt, and his son a\nmark as single r\u00e9tt. A _bondi_ owns 12 aurar as single r\u00e9tt, a _haulld_\nthree marks, a _lendrman_ and a _stallari_ (marshal) six marks, the jarl\nand the bishop 12 marks. The son of a _lendrman_ shall get the r\u00e9tt of a\nhaulld if he gets no land.... Icelanders have the r\u00e9tt of a haulld while\nthey are on trading journeys, until they have been here three winters\nand lived here. Then they have the r\u00e9tt which witnesses prove. All other\nforeigners who come to this country have the r\u00e9tt of a bondi unless they\nprove by witnesses that they have a higher r\u00e9tt\u201d (Gulath., 200).\n\n\nThe inhabitants of towns all enjoyed the same r\u00e9tt, which was three\n_marks_.\n\n\n\u201cIt is the law that all men have an equal r\u00e9tt in the town (namely) the\nr\u00e9tt of a haulld, 3 marks, the lendrman as well as the freedman who has\nmade his freedom-ale\u201d (Bjarkeyjar Law, 97).\n\n\nThe _lendir-menn_ were regarded as a higher division of the haulld; and\nalthough the son of the lendr-man, as such, had most hopes of receiving\nsuch a dignity, and until his fortieth year enjoyed the same r\u00e9tt as his\nfather, yet, in case he had not before that time really received his\nappointment as lendrman, he belonged thenceforth only to the class of\nthe haulld, and enjoyed only the r\u00e9tt of the latter.\n\nThe king\u2019s _\u00e1rmenn_ enjoyed half a haulld\u2019s r\u00e9tt, or the same as a\nbondi.\n\nWith the introduction of Christianity we find that the r\u00e9tt of a bishop\nwas equal to that of a jarl. The jarl and bishop had the double r\u00e9tt of\na lendr-man, 12 marks each; the _stallari_ (marshal of the king) had the\nr\u00e9tt of a lendr-man. The priest, the _skutilsvein_ (page), the goldsmith\nof the king, and those who steered his trade-ships, had that of a\nhaulld. In all these cases the children only inherited the r\u00e9tt which\nbelonged to their father at their birth.\n\nIndemnity paid for wounds varied according to the r\u00e9tt of the man who\ngave the wound.\n\nFor wounds in the face, or on places where hair or clothes did not hide\nthe cicatrice, an additional indemnity was paid called _\u00e1lj\u00f3tseyrir_\n(indemnity for looking more ugly); for cutting and burning, an\nadditional indemnity which was called _granbragds-eyrir_ (gr\u00f6n = lip),\nwhich meant that the pain was so great that the lips of the man trembled\nunder the operation.[545]\n\nIf the giver of the wound was outlawed on that account, and wanted to be\nreleased from the outlawry, he had to buy himself out for fifteen marks,\nto be paid to the king; and to the wounded man a sum according to his\nr\u00e9tt.\n\n\n\u201cIf a freedman wounds a man he shall pay 12 aurar as fine, and his son\ndouble, and a bondi triple; an odal-born man double the bondi, a\nlendr-man and a stallari double again, and a jarl double the amount they\npay, the king double the jarl. When a man wounds another he shall pay\nwound-indemnities to the one whom he wounded, one eyrir for the wound,\none eyrir where a muscle is cut, one eyrir when edge and leg meet, one\neyrir for every bone that falls down if it makes a sound when thrown\ninto the scales, one eyrir for every singeing, one eyrir for each cut in\nthe clothes, one eyrir for every cut if it bleeds, half a mark for\nwounds in the vital parts, half a mark for marrow-wounds (piercing to\nthe marrow). The wounder shall pay healing-fee and give to them both\n(physician and wounded) food for a month. If a muscle is cut off and\nfalls on the ground the indemnity is six aurar, and as much if a scar is\nleft in a man\u2019s head (a scar which causes pain when the head is combed).\nAll breast-wounds shall be valued, but back-wounds receive double\nindemnity. If a man is present at a quarrel and does not part nor help\neither he shall pay a _slanbaug_ (ring or indemnity of laziness) to the\nking 12 aurar\u201d (Gulath., 185).\n\n\n\u201cThere are bone-indemnities (bein-gj\u00f6ld) wherever a bone is loosened\nfrom the wound of a man.... Then there is one eyrir to be paid and one\neyrir for each little bone until they are six. But if so large a bone is\nloosened that six holes may be made in it six aurar shall be paid, but a\nbone-indemnity is never higher than six aurar\u201d (Frostath., iv. 49).\n\n\n\u201cIf a haulld wounds a man he is liable to pay six _baugar_ (rings) to\nthe king, and twelve aurar are in each ring. If an \u00e1rborinn-madr wounds\na man he has to pay three rings; and a leysingi (freedman) two, a\nlendr-man twelve, a jarl twenty-four, a king forty-eight, twelve aurar\nbeing in every ring, and the sum is to be paid to all to whom it is due\nby law. All this is valued in silver\u201d (Frostath., iv. 53).\n\n\n\u201cIf an \u00e1rman (steward) is struck or slain at a church or at a feast or\nat a Thing the slayer is outlawed, as for the slaying of any man; but if\nanywhere else he shall pay fifteen marks, and the \u00e1rman has half the\nr\u00e9tt of a haulld\u201d (Frostath., iv. 57).\n\n\n\u201cThe king\u2019s _skutilsveins_ (pages) shall have the r\u00e9tt of a haulld in\nall greater and lesser things. But with regard to other servants of the\nking they shall have the rett of a haulld if they wear _ale-cloths_\n(aprons) on their necks, and also the one who steers his trading-ship\nbetween lands, and also his goldsmiths. _Stallaris_ (marshals) shall\nhave the rett of a lendr-man in smaller and larger things\u201d (Frostath.,\niv. 60).\n\n\nIf a man bit another man, his fore teeth were broken at the Thing by the\nking\u2019s tax-gatherer (_s\u00fdslu-man_), but no indemnity was paid. Wounds\nwith knives were also punished at the Thing.[546]\n\n\n\u201cIt is unfitting that men should bite each other like horses or dogs.\nWhen a man bites another the _syslumadr_ (steward) shall have him taken\nand brought to the Thing and his teeth broken out of his mouth\u201d (King\nMagnus\u2019 Laws).\n\n\nTo the wounded man himself, indemnity for wounds and fees for physicians\nwere paid; the former varying according to the nature of the wounds, but\notherwise equal for all without distinction of r\u00e9tt. The fee paid to a\nphysician was fixed according to the time taken in healing the wound.\n\n\n\u201cOne eyrir shall be paid as healing-fee every month and two monthly\nallowances of meal and two of butter. Thus it shall be every month\ntill.... It shall be offered at the first Thing, and his farm and his\nloose property is taken until he has paid lawful fine to the king and\nwound-indemnities and healing-fee to the wounded. If he does not offer\nit at the first Thing he is outlawed and his property, except what he\ntakes into the wood with him (is confiscated)\u201d (Frostath., iv. 12).\n\n\n\u201cAll have equal wound-indemnities (s\u00e1rb\u0153tr), thegn and thrall. If a man\nwounds a man\u2019s thrall he shall feed him while he lies wounded and pay\nhis work to his master and his healing-fee\u201d (Gulath., 215).\n\n\nIf any one killed his own thrall he was not punished, but had to declare\nit; and if he failed to do so, he was _mordingi_ (murderer). If a man\nslew the thrall of another man, he had to pay the value of the naked\nthrall to the master, but nothing to the king.[547]\n\nAtli, a freeman working for Njal, was slain by a kinsman of Halgerd, the\nwife of Gunnar; when Gunnar, who was at the Althing, knew it, he went to\nNjal and wished him to arbitrate.\n\n\n\u201cNjal said: \u2018It was our intention not to disagree on this, and I will\nnot make him a thrall.\u2019 Gunnar said he assented, and stretched forward\nhis hand. Njal named witnesses, and they agreed on this. Skarphedin\nsaid: \u2018Halgerd does not allow our h\u00faskarls to die from old age.\u2019 Gunnar\nanswered: \u2018It is thy mother\u2019s intention that the blows should be mutual\nin each other\u2019s farm.\u2019 Njal said: \u2018There will soon be too much of this.\u2019\nHe arbitrated that one hundred in silver should be paid, and Gunnar paid\nit at once\u201d (Njala, c. 38).\n\n\nIn ch. 39 we are told that the man who slew Atli is slain by one of\nBergth\u00f3ra\u2019s men, and Gunnar pays back the weregild to Njal.\n\n\nOffence in word consisted in abuse or disgraceful similes, or in\nbringing an accusation of some disgraceful deeds.\n\nIn the first case the offended had to get witnesses to the offence, and\nmust not return the abuse; if he did so, he was held to have avenged\nhimself, when the two offences were balanced one against the other, and\nthere was no indemnity. In the second case the offender could free\nhimself by proving the truth of his accusation, or getting ten witnesses\nthat the accusation was grounded on a report from the house of the\noffended. The offended person then had to deny this on oath, or in some\ncases by undergoing the burning iron ordeal; according to the result the\noffender had or had not to pay indemnity.\n\nIf a man was slandered behind his back to the king or a chief, the\noffender was liable to the punishment which the slandered would have had\nhad he been guilty.\n\n\n\u201cNo one of us shall slander another to the king, or to a more powerful\nman than himself. If he slanders away a man\u2019s life or property, he has\nslandered away his own property or life, if it is proved. If he denies\nit he shall do it with a _s\u00e9ttareid_ (an oath). He shall have the same\npunishment which he meant for the man\u201d (Gulath., 137).[548]\n\n\u201cNo man can take his r\u00e9tt oftener than three times,[549] neither man nor\nwoman, if he does not take revenge in the meantime\u201d (Gulath., 186).\n\n\nThe weregild was not always paid in cash, but was sometimes given in\nkind.\n\n\n\u201cNow the payment must be regulated. A cow shall be worth two aurar and a\nhalf. When a cow is paid it must not be older than eight winters, unless\nthe receiver cares to take it. All paid cows must have good horns and\ntails, eyes and teats, and in every respect be good. Corn and oxen and\nall calf-bearing cows may be paid as indemnities (baug). Gold or burnt\n(cleansed) silver may be paid if found. Horses, but not mares. A\nstallion, but not a gelding. It must not have faults. Sheep may be paid,\nbut not goats. Odal-land, but not kaup-land. A ship, unless it is\nrepaired or so old that the first oar-loops of it have been rown off,\nits stems are broken off, or it is repaired with planks which have not\nbeen put on while the ship stood on its stocks. Nothing worth less than\none eyrir shall be paid unless the indemnity is less.... Weapons which\nare unimpaired, hard and unbroken. Those with which the man was slain\nshall not be offered. A sword shall not be paid as indemnity unless it\nis ornamented with gold or silver. Vadmal and all new linen and all new\nand uncut cloth, unless the receiver wants to take new and cut cloth.\nMen\u2019s clothes and not women\u2019s may be paid, new and not old. New stuff\nnot cut into a cloak. Blue cloaks and skr\u00f9d (a kind of stuff) new and\nuncut. All boys brought up at home when not older than fifteen winters,\nunless the receiver assents, may be paid. Bondmaids shall not be paid as\nweregild\u201d (Gulath., 223).\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XLI.\n THE OATH AND ORDEAL.\n\n Sanctity of the oath\u2014Manner of taking the oath\u2014Oath upon the\n Bible adopted with Christianity\u2014Oaths sworn by objects\u2014The\n oath of truce\u2014Oath by witnesses\u2014Purifying oath\u2014Its various\n forms\u2014Perjury\u2014Different forms of ordeal\u2014Passing under\n sods\u2014Ordeal of boiling water\u2014Walking on red-hot irons.\n\n\nThe law of the people was much influenced by their religion. Great\nstress was laid upon the sanctity of the oath, which, like a vow, was\nconsidered most binding. No other literature points out so clearly and\nso often the sacredness of an oath and the loathing in which\noath-breakers were held. Let the youth of every land learn this noble\ntrait of the character of the Norsemen. No one could absolve a man for\nbreaking his oath, no matter how great might have been the splendour of\nhis achievements. The higher born the man was, the more did he consider\nhimself bound to keep his oath.\n\nHistory teaches us that the avenging fates have never been slow to smite\nlow to the dust oath-breakers, as well as nations which, in a moment of\nhallucination showing the moral disease of the mind of their people,\nhave absolved the men who had committed this crime.\n\nThe proofs used to clear a man were \u201c_witnesses_,\u201d \u201c_oath_,\u201d and\n\u201c_ordeal_.\u201d The taking of an oath was looked upon as a very sacred and\nholy ceremony. He who violated it sooner or later incurred the enmity of\nthe gods. Many examples were remembered by the people showing how an\noath was kept, in spite of the greatest provocation or temptation. What\nany one had sworn was considered sacred, and could not be broken with\nimpunity.\n\nThe oath was taken at the Thing, or Temple, by placing the hand on a\nring which had been consecrated by having been dipped in the blood of\nthe sacrificial ox. This ring, which was of silver, lay on the altar of\neach head temple, and was therefore called altar-ring, or\n\u201c_stalla-hring_.\u201d The godi was required to have it on his arm at every\nThing, so that it was always at hand if needed. The man who took the\noath held his hand upon the ring,[550] and in the presence of witnesses\ncalled upon the Asar and begged their help. Three Asar, Frey, Nj\u00f6rd, and\nOdin, were always called upon.\n\nThe oath upon the Bible, a practice found to exist to this day among\npeople chiefly descended from the North, is but a form of the ancient\nlaws, and, like many others, was adopted with Christianity.\n\n\n\u201cA ring, weighing two _aurar_ or more, was to lie in every head temple\non the altar, and every godi was to wear it on his arm at all Law-things\nwhich he should hold himself, and to redden it in the blood of the\ncattle which he himself sacrificed there. Every man who had to perform\nlegal duties there had first to take an oath on this ring and name two\nor more witnesses, and say: \u2018I call to witness that I take oath on the\nring, a lawful oath, so help me Frey and Nj\u00f6rd, and the Almighty As\n(Odin), to defend or prosecute this case, or give the evidence, verdict,\nor judgment which I know to be most true and right and lawful, and to\nperform everything as prescribed by law which I may have to perform\nwhile I am at this Thing\u2019\u201d (Landn\u00e1ma, iv. c. 7).[551]\n\n\nIn a fight against Glum, Thorvald Krok was slain; the people were in\ndoubt if the slaying had been done by Glum or one of his men. At the\nAlthing it was decided that Glum should take an oath the following\nautumn that he had not slain Thorvald, and he was to take the oath in\nthree temples in Eyjafjord.\n\n\n\u201cThe man who was to take a temple oath held in his hand a silver ring\nwhich had been reddened in the blood of the bull which had been\nsacrificed, and it must weigh not less than three aurar. Then Glum said\nthese words: \u2018I call \u00c1sgrim and Gizor as witnesses that I take a temple\noath on the ring, and I tell the Asar that I was not there, and I fought\nnot there, and I did not redden point and edge where Thorvald Krok was\nslain; now let those who are wise and are present here look to my oath.\u2019\nThe others could not find fault, and said they had not heard this\nwording before. The same oath was taken by him at Gnupafell and at\nThver\u00e1\u201d (Viga Glum\u2019s Saga, c. 25).\n\n\nOaths were sometimes sworn by objects. V\u00f6lund says to Nidud, his\nfather-in-law:\u2014\n\n First thou shalt to me\n Swear all oaths\n At the ship\u2019s side\n And at the shield\u2019s edge,\n At the horse\u2019s foot\n And at the sword\u2019s edge\n That thou killest not\n The wife of V\u00f6lund\n Nor puttest to death\n My bride.\n\n (V\u00f6lundarkvida, 33.)\n\nGudrun thus curses Atli, for having broken his solemn oath to her\nbrothers, before she slays him in his bed and burns him and his men in\nhis own hall:\u2014\n\n Go it thus with thee, Atli,\n As thou to Gunnar\n Often didst swear oaths\n And name them of yore.\n By the south-slanting sun,\n By the rock of Sigty,\n By the horse of the bed of rest,[552]\n By the ring of Ull.[553]\n\n (Atlakvida, 30.)[554]\n\nThe oath of truce or peace was sealed by hand-shaking, and had to be\nrepeated with a great deal of care.\n\nSnorri Godi, the famous Icelandic chief, when on his way from a feast\nwith Thorgils Arason, stopped overnight at a farm called Breidab\u00f3lstad.\nAfter they had entered and sat down, Snorri said:\u2014\n\n\n\u201c\u2018I have been told, Thorgils, that no man can cite the oath of truce so\nwell as thee\u2019\u201d (Heidarviga, c. 33).\n\n\nThe following saga shows how an oath of peace was sometimes kept under\nthe greatest temptations to break it. Gretti was an outlaw, and had come\nin disguise under the name of Gest to see some games of idr\u00f3ttir in\nwhich he was invited to take part; but knowing that if he was recognised\nhis life would not be safe, he insisted that those present should take\nthe oath of peace towards him.\n\n\n\u201c\u2018Here I establish peace among all men, especially with regard to this\nman, named Gest, who sits here; and I include all _godords menn_\n(district chiefs) and good b\u0153ndr, and the whole mass of young men able\nto fight, and all other heradsmen of the Hegranesthing district, or\nwherefrom any may have come with or without name; we give by\nhand-shaking safety and full peace to the unknown stranger who is called\nGest, for games, wrestling, and all kind of merriment, for remaining\nhere or returning home, whether he need go by sea or land or by other\nconveyance; he shall have peace in every named or unnamed place as long\nas he needs for a safe return, with observance of the plighted faith. I\nestablish this peace for us, our kinsmen, friends and kindred, men as\nwell as women, thralls and bondwomen, boys and independent men. He who\nviolates the peace or breaks the plighted faith shall be a\n_peace-nithing_, and shall be outcast and driven from God and good men\nin heaven, and from all saints; and shall be received nowhere among men,\nbut be driven away by every man as far as wolves are driven, or wherever\nChristians go to church, heathens sacrifice in temples, fire burns,\nearth produces, a speaking child calls its mother, mother bears son,\npeople kindle fires, ships glide, shields glitter, sun shines, snow\nfalls, a Finn runs on snow-shoes, fir grows, a hawk flies all the long\nspring day with a straight fair wind blowing under both wings, heaven\nencircles, world is settled and wind blows water towards sea, men sow\ncorn; he shall shun churches and Christians, heathen b\u0153ndr, houses and\ncaves, every home except hell. Now let us agree and be at peace one with\nthe other in goodwill, whether we meet on mountain or beach, on ship or\nsnow-shoes, on earth or j\u00f6kul (glacier), on the high sea or on\nhorseback, as if one find his friend on water or his brother on the way;\nagreeing as well one with another as son with father, or father with\nson, in all dealings. Now we join our hands together all of us, and keep\nthis truce, and all words spoken in this plight of faith witnessed by\nGod and good men, and all who hear my words or are here present.\u2019 Many\nsaid that much was in this, and Gest said: \u2018Well hast thou declared the\ntruce, if thou and thy people do not break it afterwards, and I shall no\nlonger delay showing myself.\u2019 He then threw off his hooded cloak and\nouter garments. Each looked at the other, very startled at recognizing\nGrettir Asmundsson, whom they knew by his size and strong frame, which\nwere uncommon. They became silent, and Hafr perceived that his speech\nhad been unwise. As the men from the herad walked two by two, each\nblamed the other, but most him who had pronounced the oath of peace.\nThen said Grettir: \u2018Make it plain to me what you have in your mind, for\nI do not wish to sit long without clothing (they removed their outer\ngarments when they wrestled); you have much more at stake than I in the\nkeeping of the truce.\u2019 They made little answer, and sat down. The sons\nof Thord and Halldor, their brother-in-law, began to talk together. Some\nwere in favour of keeping the truce, and others not, and they nodded\ntheir heads one to another. Tungustein said: \u2018Is that your thought,\nGrettir, but what will the chiefs do? Thou art in truth a great and\nbrave man, but seest thou not how they put their noses together in\ndeliberation what to do.\u2019\u201d\n\n\nAfter a taunting song from Grettir, in which he ridiculed their\nindecision, Hjalti Thordarson said:\u2014\n\n\n\u201c\u2018It shall not be so; let us keep our oath of peace, though we have been\noutwitted; let us not ourselves set the example of violating the truce\nwe have declared and given. Grettir shall go free wherever he likes, and\nthe truce shall last until he has returned. Then this plighted faith\nwill be no longer in force, whatever may happen between us.\u2019 All thanked\nhim, and thought his opinion chief-like, considering the guilt of the\nperson interested. Thorbj\u00f6rn \u00d6ngul, Hjalti\u2019s brother at this became\nsilent\u201d (Gretti\u2019s Saga, c. 73, 74).\n\n\n_Oaths by witnesses._\u2014If there were witnesses, including at least two\nfreemen who were of age, to testify under oath for or against, then the\none who had the most witnesses won his case.\n\nIf a witness\u2019s appearance was hindered, then two men could take his\nevidence and give it under oath on his behalf.\n\nIf people heard a bad report about a man, evidence was given by ten men,\ntwo of whom had to swear to it, and the others verified their words that\nthey had heard such report without knowing if it was true or not. Such\nevidence forced the accused to free himself from the accusation either\nby oath or ordeal.\n\nThe purifying oath, _skirsl_[555] or _dulareid_,[556] varied according\nto the accusation. It was taken either by the defendant alone, or by him\nand a certain number of co-swearers, the number of whom varied according\nto the nature of the cases. The greatest number was twelve, and the\noath, which was considered the most solemn and important, was in such a\ncase called _tylftareid_ (twelve-men oath).\n\nGeirrid was accused at the Thing of being a _kveldrida_,[557] by which\nshe had caused some wounds on Gunnlaug.\n\n\n\u201cAt the Thing a godi named Arnkel, Thorarin, and ten others took oath\nupon the altar-ring that she had not been the cause of Gunnlaug\u2019s\ninjury\u201d (Eyrbyggja).\n\n\nThe _tylftareid_ was divided into two kinds, namely, a milder oath with\nthe so-called _fangavitni_,[558] and a stronger one called\n_nefndarvitni_,[559] when each side chose six men from the _haullds_ in\nthe herad, neither related to nor enemies of either party. Of these\ntwelve men defendant had to take two, and to add to them two of his\nnearest kinsmen, making with himself five, and the other seven were\n_fangavitni_ chosen freely among the free men, the rest having nothing\nto do with the case. If one of the twelve men did not take the oath,\nthen what is called _eidfall_ (the one who fails in an oath) took place,\nand the whole affair was considered to be at an end, and the defendant\nlost the case.\n\n\n\u201cWherever a _tylftareid_ shall be and witnesses are named, then the\nplaintiff names one half of the witnesses, and the defendant the other;\nand each shall name as their witnesses when the oath is taken twelve of\nthe best _haullds_ in the fylki, or the best b\u0153ndr if _haullds_ are not\nthere. Neither foes nor friends shall be named. He shall take two of the\ntwelve as witnesses, then two of his nearest kinsmen; then they are five\nwith himself, and the other seven shall be free men and full-grown, who\nwill be responsible for his words and oaths\u201d (Frostath., iv. 8).\n\n\n\u201cTylftareid (oath of twelve men) has to take place in order to free one\nfrom the accusation of murder\u201d (Landn\u00e1ma, 89).\n\n\nNext came the oath given by six men, which was called _s\u00e9itareid_,[560]\nwhich was taken when the five co-swearers were _fangavitni_. If the oath\nwas given with _nefndarvitni_ the proceedings were the same as in the\ncase of the strong _tylftareid_. Each side chose three haullds; of these\nsix the defendant chose one, to whom he added one of his nearest\nkinsmen, then they were three with himself, and the remaining three were\n_fangavitni_.\n\nA still stronger _s\u00e9ttareid_ is mentioned in Gulathing\u2019s Law under the\nname of _grimueid_.[561] In this six men of equal _r\u00e9tt_ with the\ndefendant were chosen, and were co-swearers with him.\n\n\n\u201cThen there is _grimueid_. Three men shall be named on each side of\nequal _r\u00e9tt_ as him who is to be the seventh\u201d (Gulath., 134).\n\n\nIn the _l\u00fdritareid_ (a kind of oath of justification given by three\nmen), the defendant himself was one of the swearers; the man of equal\n_r\u00e9tt_ not related to him was his co-swearer, and the third was any\nchosen freeman.\n\n\n\u201cThe _l\u00fdritareid_ shall be taken thus. He (plaintiff) shall take it\nhimself, and another man of equal _r\u00e9tt_ who must neither be a kinsman\non male or female side, nor a near relative. The third shall be a free\nand full-grown man who will be responsible for his word and oath\u201d\n(Gulath., 135).\n\n\nIn the oath by two men, \u201c_tveggja manna eid_,\u201d the defendant seems to\nhave himself chosen his co-swearers without restriction. Like the oath\nof twelve, if one refused to swear to the case the procedure was not\nvalid.\n\nPerjury was punished by fine, and inability thereafter to give evidence,\nand loss of _r\u00e9tt_.\n\n\n\u201cThe men who become false witnesses are liable to pay three marks to the\nking, and are never able to give evidence after, or use any evidence (on\ntheir own behalf), and lose their _r\u00e9tt_\u201d (Frostath., xiii. 25).\n\n\n_The Ordeal._\u2014The ordeal was a ceremony performed under different forms\nin order to prove the innocence or the truth of an accusation, and was\npreceded by an oath. Among the various kinds of ordeal was that of going\nunder an arch or hoop of sods, a ceremony sometimes connected with an\noath.[562]\n\nIf the plaintiff succeeded in passing under these sods without breaking\nthem, or without their falling down, he was considered to have proved\nhis case. The strips of sod seem to have generally been three.\n\n\n\u201cOrdeal then consisted in a man going under a strip of sod which was cut\nfrom the field; the ends of it were to be fast in the ground, and the\nman who was to perform the ordeal must go under it. He who went under\nthe sod was considered not guilty if it did not fall down upon him.\nThorkel made an agreement with two men that they should dispute about\nsomething, and be present when the ordeal was taking place and touch the\nturf, so that all should see that they threw it down. After this the\nordeal was to be performed, and as soon as the man had come beneath the\nsod the men who were to rush against one another with weapons did so,\nand met close to the turf-loop and fell there; it fell down, as was\nlikely, then men rushed between them and separated them, which was easy,\nfor they fought with no anger. Thorkel Trefil asked for judgment on the\nordeal. All his men said that it would have been satisfactory if nobody\nhad spoiled it. Then Thorkel took all the movable property, while the\nlands were given to _Hrappsstadir_\u201d (Laxd\u00e6la, c. 18).\n\n\nBerg summoned J\u00f6kul to the _Hunavatns_ Thing on account of a blow\nreceived from him during a wedding feast, and prepared the case.\n\n\n\u201cAt the Thing they tried to reconcile them, but Berg said he would take\nno fine and not be reconciled unless J\u00f6kul went under three sod-slices,\nas was there the custom after great offences, and thus show his\nhumility. J\u00f6kul said that sooner should the Troll take him than he would\nlower himself thus. Thorstein said: \u2018This is a matter for consideration,\nand I will go under the sod-slice.\u2019 Berg said that would do. The first\nsod-slice reached to the shoulder, the second to the waistbelt, the\nthird to the middle of the thigh. When Thorstein went under the first,\nBerg said: \u2018Now I will make the foremost of the Vatnsdal-men stoop like\na pig.\u2019 Thorstein answered: \u2018There was no need for thee to say this, but\nthe first result of these words will be that I will not go under any\nmore sod-slices\u2019\u201d (Vatnsd\u00e6la, c. 33).\n\n\nThe ordeal of boiling water was sometimes resorted to.\n\n\nA bondwoman, Herkja, told Atli that she had seen King Thjodrek and\nAtli\u2019s wife, Gudrun, together. Gudrun asked Atli why he was no longer\nmerry. He told her the cause of his jealousy, and that she was\nunfaithful to him. She answers:\u2014\n\n \u201c\u2018I will take oaths\n Before thee about all this\n Upon the white[563]\n Holy stone,\n That I acted not\n With Thjodrek\n As husband and wife\n Might do.\n\n * * * * *\n\n \u2018Send to Saxi,\n The king of the southern men,\n He can consecrate\n The boiling cauldron.\u2019\n Seven hundred men[564]\n Went into the hall\n Before the king\u2019s wife\n Touched the cauldron.\n\n \u2018Now Gunnar will not come,\n I call not on H\u00f6gni,[565]\n I will never see\n My kind brothers;\n H\u00f6gni would have avenged\n Such a charge with the sword;\n Now I must myself\n Clear me of this.\u2019\n\n She dipped to the bottom[566]\n Her white hand,\n And took up\n The costly stones;\n \u2018Look now, men,\n I am guiltless\n According to holy custom;\n See how the cauldron boils.\u2019\n\n Merry was the heart\n In the breast of Atli\n When he saw the hand\n Of Gudrun unharmed.\n Now shall Herkja\n Go to the cauldron,\n She who to Gudrun\n Attributed treachery.\n\n The man saw not a pitiful sight\n Who beheld not\n How the hands of Herkja\n Were scalded there;\n They led the maid\n Into a foul mire;[567]\n Thus were the wrongs\n Of Gudrun redressed.\u201d\n\n (3rd Song of Gudrun.)\n\nThe severest ordeal resorted to seems to have been that of walking on\nred-hot irons.\n\n\n\u201cHallkel Huk, a lend-man in Norway, went westward to the Hebrides; there\nGilli-Krist came to him from Ireland, and said that he was the son of\nKing Magnus Berf\u0153tti (bare-foot). His mother was with him, and said that\nhe was also called Harald. Hallkel received them, took them with him to\nNorway, and at once went to King Sigurd with Harald and his mother. They\ntold the king their errand. Sigurd talked of this matter with the\nchiefs, and said that every one might advise what he liked, but all\nasked him to have his own way. Then Sigurd let Harald be called, and\ntold him that he would allow him to undergo the ordeal to prove who was\nhis father. Sigurd said that Harald should walk on iron bars to prove\nhis fathership; but that ordeal was thought to be rather hard, for he\nhad to suffer it for the sake of his fathership and not for his\nkingship, which he had before renounced by oath. Harald assented to\nthis. He fasted before he walked on the irons and suffered the ordeal,\nthe severest in Norway, that nine \u2018red-hot\u2019 ploughshares were to be laid\ndown, and Harald to walk over them with bare feet, and two bishops to\nlead him. Three days afterwards the ordeal was tried, and the result was\nthat his feet were not burnt. Thereafter Sigurd acknowledged the\nkinsmanship of Harald; but his son Magnus disliked him much, as did many\nchiefs. Sigurd trusted so much to his popularity with the people that he\nasked all to swear that Magnus, the son of Sigurd, should be king after\nhim, and he got that oath from all the people of the land\u201d (Sigurd\nJ\u00f3rsalafari\u2019s Saga, c. 34).\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XLII.\n DUELLING.\n\n Two forms of duelling\u2014The challenge\u2014The places of combat\u2014Rules of\n duelling\u2014Plan of duelling-ground\u2014Length of sword used\u2014Offer of\n sacrifice before a duel\u2014A peculiar duel\u2014Women a constant cause of\n duels\u2014Famous duels\u2014The abolition of duelling.\n\n\nThe custom of duelling, which was frequently resorted to as a form of\nordeal, prevailed very extensively.\n\nThere were two kinds of duels, the _einvigi_ and the _holmganga_. When\nused as a form of ordeal, or means of proof, if the challenger was\nvictorious, then the object demanded was his, for his victory was\nthought to be the judgment of the gods.\n\n\n\u201cIt was the law of _holmganga_ in those times, that if he who challenged\nanother man in order to get something gained the victory, he should have\nthe prize for which he had challenged; but if he was defeated, he should\nrelease himself with as much property as had been agreed upon; but if he\nfell in the _holmganga_ he should forfeit all his property, and he who\nkilled him was to take all the inheritance\u201d (Egil\u2019s Saga, c. 67).\n\n\nIn the _einvigi_[568] there were no settled rules, and each party could\nuse such weapons as he wished, and proceed in such manner as he thought\nmost advantageous to himself. It was the simpler mode of duelling. One\nof its peculiarities was that the place for the fight was marked out.\nThe combatants were allowed to use other weapons besides swords, and\nthemselves carried the shield, while in the _holmganga_ it was carried\nfor them.\n\nThe _holmganga_, which took place after a formal challenge at which the\ntime and place were fixed, was the form of duelling that chiefly\nprevailed. Its rules were most strict and binding, and were regulated by\na code of law called the \u201c_holmganga laws_.\u201d\n\nIt derived its name from the fact that the combatants originally fought\nupon a small islet (_holm_), partly in order that they might not be\ndisturbed and parted against their will, and partly that the fighting\nplace might have a natural border, over which they could not retire.\n\nIn later times, instead of an island, places were marked out for duels;\nand though they were sometimes marked by stones in a ring, like a\n_dom-ring_, they were nevertheless called \u201c_holm_,\u201d because the laws of\n_holmganga_ prevented any one from passing the boundary.\n\nThe laws of duelling seem to have been recited before the combat. Bj\u00f6rn\nHitd\u0153lakappi said:\u2014\n\n\n\u201c\u2018I left my country because I wanted to seek fame; there are now two\nchoices before me: the one to bravely get victory, though that is\nunlikely, in fighting against this man; the other is to fall with valour\nlike a man, and that is better than to live in shame and not dare to win\nhonour for the king. I will fight against Kaldimar.\u2019 The king thanked\nhim, and the laws of the _holmganga_ were read. The champion had an\nexcellent sword called _M\u0153ring_. They fought hard and eagerly; at last\nthe champion fell, but Bj\u00f6rn received a severe wound; on this account he\ngot great fame and honour from the king\u201d (Bj\u00f6rn Hitd\u0153lakappi\u2019s Saga).\n\n\nThe combatants had sometimes to fight on a cloak, and were allowed to\nuse three shields, in case of these being cut asunder, one after the\nother. They usually did not themselves carry the shield, each combatant\nhaving a friend to hold it, who was called _skjaldsvein_ (shield man).\nSwords of a certain length only were allowed, and it seems that they\nwere used for striking, not thrusting.\n\n\n\u201cA cloak was spread under their feet. Bersi said, \u2018Thou, Kormak, didst\nchallenge me to holmganga, but instead of it I offer thee _einvigi_\n(single-fight). Thou art young and little experienced, and at\n_holmganga_ there are difficult rules, but none whatever at _einvigi_.\u2019\nKormak answered, \u2018I shall not fight better in _einvigi_, and I will risk\nthis, and in all be on equal footing with thee.\u2019 \u2018Thou shalt now have\nthy way,\u2019 said Bersi.\n\n\u201cThis was the holmganga law: that the cloak should be 10 feet from one\nend to the other, with loops in the corners, and in these should be put\ndown pegs, having a head at the upper end; these were called _tj\u00f6snur_.\nThe one who made the preparations must go toward the pegs, hold his\near-lobes, and stand with his feet apart, seeing the sky between them,\nusing the formulary which was afterwards used at the sacrifice called\n_Tj\u00f6snubl\u00f3t_ (peg sacrifice). Three squares, each one foot wide, must be\nmarked around the cloak. Outside the squares must be placed four poles,\ncalled _h\u00f6slur_ (hazel poles): it was called a _hazelled field_ when it\nwas prepared thus.\n\n\u201cEach man must have three shields, and when these were made useless he\nmust stand upon the cloak, even if he had walked out of it before, and\nthereafter defend himself with his weapons.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n Fig. 780.\u2014Plan of Holmganga Ground.\n]\n\n\u201cHe who had been challenged was to strike first. If one was wounded so\nthat blood came upon the cloak he was not obliged to fight any longer.\nIf either stepped with one of his feet outside the hazel poles, it was\nheld he had retreated; and if he stepped outside with both, he was held\nto have fled. One man was to hold the shield before each of the\ncombatants. The one who had received most wounds was to pay as\n_h\u00f3lmlausn_ (_i.e._, indemnity for being released from the fight) three\nmarks of silver.\n\n\u201cThorgils held the shield of his brother, and Thord Arndisarson that of\nBersi, who struck the first blow and cleft Kormak\u2019s shield. Kormak\nstruck at Bersi in the same way. Each of them spoiled three shields for\nthe other. Then Kormak had to strike; he struck, and Bersi parried with\n_Hviting_. _Sk\u00f6fnung_ cut off its point in front of the ridge, and the\nsword-point fell on Kormak\u2019s hand, and he was wounded in the thumb,\nwhose joint was rent, and blood came on the cloak. Thereupon men\nintervened, and did not want them to go on fighting. Kormak said, \u2018It is\nlittle victory which Bersi has got from my accident, though we part\nnow\u2019\u201d (Kormak\u2019s Saga, c. 10).\n\n\n\u201c\u2018But I think that thou tellest the difficulties in fighting me,\u2019 said\nViking, \u2018and that thou despairest when thou seest me.\u2019 Harek said: \u2018It\nis not so, and I must save thy life, as thou wantest thyself to go into\nthe open mouth of death (hel); and give thou the first blow, as is\n_holmganga law_, for I have challenged thee; but I will stand still for\nthee meanwhile, for I am not frightened that it will harm me\u2019\u201d\n(Thorstein Vikingson\u2019s Saga, c. 4).\n\n\nAfter getting ready, they went to the island.\n\n\n\u201cThere was a fine field not far from the sea, where the _holmganga_ was\nto be. There the place of the _holmganga_ was marked by stones placed in\na ring around it. Lj\u00f3t came thither with his men, prepared for the\n_holmganga_ with shield and sword. He was very large and strong, and\nwhen he arrived on the field at the holmgang-place the Berserk frenzy\ncame upon him, and he howled fiercely and bit his shield.\n\n\u201cEgil made ready for the _holmganga_, having his old shield, and girt\nwith the sword _Nadr_, with _Dragvandil_ in his hand. He went inside the\nmarks of the _duelling-place_ (_i.e._, the squares marked out round the\ncloak), but Lj\u00f3t was not ready. Egil raised his sword and sang.\n\n\u201cAfter the song Lj\u00f3t came forward and pronounced the law of the\n_holmganga_, that he who stepped beyond the mark-stones which are set\naround the place of _holmganga_ should ever afterwards be called\n_nithing_ (coward).\n\n\u201cThen they rushed at each other, and Egil struck at Lj\u00f3t, who covered\nhimself with the shield, while Egil dealt blow after blow so that Lj\u00f3t\ncould not strike him. He drew back to get room to wield his sword, but\nEgil went equally fast after him and smote most violently. Lj\u00f3t went out\nbeyond the mark-stones and to and fro on the field. Thus went the first\nattack. Then Lj\u00f3t asked to be allowed to rest, which Egil\ngranted....[569]\n\n\u201cEgil bid Lj\u00f3t to make himself ready. \u2018I want this fought out.\u2019 Lj\u00f3t\nstarted to his feet, and Egil ran forward and at once struck at him. He\nwent so close to him that he stepped back, and his shield did not cover\nhim. Then Egil smote him above the knee, and cut off his leg. Lj\u00f3t fell,\nand at once died\u201d (Egil\u2019s Saga, c. 67).\n\n\nThe swords had to be of a certain length.\n\n\n\u201cBersi had a shield, and a long keen sword. Thorkel said, \u2018The sword\nwhich thou wearest, Bersi, is longer than the laws allow.\u2019 \u2018It shall not\nbe so,\u2019 said Bersi, and brandishing _Hviting_ with both hands he struck\nThorkel his death blow\u201d (Kormak\u2019s Saga, c. 14).\n\n\nEgil Skallagrimsson had summoned Atli before the _Gulathing_ to get some\nproperty belonging to his wife, which he claimed that Atli had. The\nlatter offered to prove by the oath of himself and twelve other men that\nhe had no property belonging to Egil. But Egil said he did not want to\ntake the oath for his property, and added:\n\n\n\u201cI will offer thee another law to settle the case with, namely, that we\nfight in a _holmganga_ here at the _Thing_, and he who gets the victory\nshall have this property. What Egil said was law and an ancient custom,\nthat every one, whether he was defendant or plaintiff, had the right to\nchallenge the other party to _holmganga_. Then Atli and Egil shook\nhands, and settled it between themselves that they should fight a\n_holmganga_, and he who got the victory should possess those estates\nabout which they contended. It was the custom of duellers not to draw\ntheir sword on the place of _holmganga_, but let the sword hang on the\narm, so that it was ready at once whenever they wanted it\u201d (Egil\u2019s Saga,\nc. 57).\n\n\nIt seems to have been customary, after both kinds of duel, to offer\nsacrifice of one or two oxen, which the victor slaughtered.\n\n\n\u201cA large and old bull was led forward; it was called sacrifice-bull; he\nwho got the victory was to kill it. Sometimes one bull was sacrificed;\nsometimes each of the combatants brought one\u201d (Egil\u2019s Saga, c. 68).\n\n\nThere seems to have been a peculiar kind of holmganga called _Kerganga_,\nbut the regulations concerning this mode of fighting are not explained.\n\nThorgils, an Icelander, dwelt at Hakon jarl\u2019s, in Norway.\n\n\n\u201cHe went on a trading journey to Uppl\u00f6nd and Sweden and dwelt in the\nwinter at the house of a bondi called Thrand, a wealthy man, who had a\ndaughter, Sigrid. A man called Randvid wished to marry her; he was a\nwicked man, and a great champion. Thrand refused his consent to the\nmarriage; then Randvid offered to Thrand a kind of holmganga, which is\ncalled _Kerganga_ (tub-going). The fight takes place in a tub, which is\nclosed above, and Thrand preferred to fight with a wooden club rather\nthan marry his daughter to so wicked a man. Then Thorgils said to\nThrand: \u2018Thou hast entertained me well, and I will reward it with good,\nand fight against Randvid on thy behalf.\u2019 Thrand said he would accept\nthe offer. Thorgils used the sword from the earth-house (underground\nhouse). Randvid had a stick two feet long, and very stout. The tub was\nclosed. Randvid asked Thorgils to deal the first blow, because he had\nbeen challenged; he did so, and hit the stick, and it split, and the\nsword entered the belly of Randvid. He said then: \u2018Now give me the\nsword, but take the stick, and I will smite thee with the sword.\u2019 \u2018It\nseems to me,\u2019 replied Thorgils, \u2018that this is a chip, not a stick.\u2019 Soon\nafter Randvid died; he had trusted in his witchcraft, for he had killed\nmany a man by this kind of holmgang. Thorgils killed two other vikings,\nSn\u0153koll and Sn\u0153lejon. Thrand rewarded him well, and he became very\nfamous for this deed. He made ready for Iceland the next summer\u201d\n(Fl\u00f3amanna Saga).\n\n\nA man was often forced to give up his wife when another man challenged\nhim to _holmganga_, and make the wife the prize of the victor. Many a\nman not feeling himself able to cope with the challenger, surrendered\nhis wife and daughters or sisters to the latter. This acquisition by\n_holmganga_ was undoubtedly considered quite legal, and could not be\ndisputed except by a fresh _holmganga_.\n\nUnn, the wife of R\u00fat, had separated from her husband, but left her\nproperty with him, and got her kinsman, Gunnar of Hlidarendi, to\nprosecute her case. R\u00fat named his witnesses, and said the case was\nquashed. Gunnar asked:\n\n\n\u201c\u2018Are you so near to me you brothers, H\u00f6skuld and R\u00fat, that you can hear\nmy words?\u2019 R\u00fat answered: \u2018We can hear, but what dost thou want?\u2019 Gunnar\nsaid: \u2018The men here present shall be witnesses that I challenge thee,\nR\u00fat, to _holmganga_, and we will fight to-day on the islet here in Oxar\u00e1\n(Axe river); or, if thou wilt not fight, thou must give up all the\nproperty.\u2019 Then Gunnar sang a song.... Gunnar left the court with all\nhis men, H\u00f6skuld and R\u00fat also went home. The case was neither prosecuted\nnor defended thereafter. R\u00fat said when he entered the booth: \u2018It has\nnever happened to me before, that a man has challenged me to _holmganga_\nand I have declined it.\u2019 H\u00f6skuld said: \u2018Thou intendest to fight, but\nthou shalt not if I have my will, for there is as much difference\nbetween thee and Gunnar as between M\u00f6rd and thee; let us rather both\ntogether pay the property to Gunnar.\u2019 The brothers asked the b\u0153ndr how\nmuch they would contribute to it; they all answered as much as R\u00fat\nwanted. H\u00f6skuld added: \u2018Then let us go to the booth of Gunnar and give\nup the property.\u2019 They went to the booth and called Gunnar, who went out\nto the door of the booth. H\u00f6skuld said: \u2018Now receive the property.\u2019\nGunnar replied: \u2018Then give it up, for I am ready to receive it.\u2019 They\nmade over all the property completely\u201d[570] (Njala, c. 24).\n\n\n\u201cWhen they had fought a while Thorgils cut off the end of Svart\u2019s shield\nand his foot; but then it was law that men got the inheritance of the\nman who fell in a _holmganga_. Thereupon Thorgils cut off Svart\u2019s head\nand took all his ships and property\u201d (Fl\u00f3amanna Saga, c. 16).\n\n\nOne cause of constant duelling was a challenge given on account of\nwomen; and some men, especially Berserks, went about from place to place\nmaking duelling a profession. It was quite common for a maid who had\nseveral suitors to say that she would accept the one who should be\nvictorious in a duel. This often resulted in the death of one or more of\nthe combatants; and it appears that even fathers were sometimes\nchallenged by the suitors.\n\n\n\u201cOne winter there came to Vors (Voss) Thorstein, a kinsman of the\nbrothers Ivar and Hreidar (with whom the Icelander Ey\u00falf was stopping),\nwho owned a farm in Uppl\u00f6nd. He told his trouble, which was that a\nBerserk, Asgaut by name, had challenged him to _holmganga_ because he\nrefused to give his sister to him; he asked them to follow him with many\nmen to the _holmganga_. They did not like to refuse, and went with\nthirty men to Uppl\u00f6nd and to the place where the meeting was to be. They\nasked their men if any one wanted to win a wife by _holmganga_ against\nAsgaut; but, although they thought the woman fair, no one was ready to\ndo this. The brothers asked Ey\u00falf to hold the shield before Thorstein.\nEy\u00falf said he had done that for no one, not even for himself. \u2018I shall\nnot be happy if he is slain on my hands\u2019 (_i.e._ while I hold the shield\nbefore him); \u2018there seems to me no fame in this. If the man is killed,\nshall we then go home, leaving matters thus, or get a second and a third\nchampion? Our disgrace will increase the more, the more men of ours\nfall; and little honour will there be on our journey if we go back with\nThorstein unavenged, if he falls. Rather ask of me to go into\n_holmganga_ against the Berserk; that is helping one\u2019s friend, but the\nother I will not assist in.\u2019 They thanked him, but, nevertheless,\nthought he risked too much. He added: \u2018It seems to me as if none of us\nwould go back if he is not avenged, and that it would be worse to fight\nagainst the Berserk if your kinsman is first slain.\u2019 Thereupon he\nadvanced, and Ivar offered to hold the shield before him. Ey\u00falf said:\n\u2018That is a generous offer; but I can best take care of it, and the old\nsaying true is, \u201cOne\u2019s own hand is most faithful;\u201d\u2019 then he went to the\nplace of the _holmganga_. The Berserk said: \u2018Will this fool fight\nagainst me?\u2019 Ey\u00falf replied: \u2018Is it not that thou art afraid to fight\nagainst me? It may be that thou art of such a cowardly disposition as to\nfear a large man, and braggest before a small one.\u2019 He answered, \u2018That\nis not true; but I will pronounce for the laws of _holmganga_. Six marks\nwill absolve me from the _holm_ if I get wounded.\u2019 Ey\u00falf added: \u2018I do\nnot think it due to observe the laws towards thee when thou puttest a\nvalue on thyself, for in our land (Ey\u00falf was an Icelander) such a value\nas thou settest on thyself would be thought a thrall\u2019s value.\u2019 Ey\u00falf had\nto strike the first blow, and the sword struck the lower part of the\nshield and cut off it and the foot of the Berserk. Ey\u00falf got great fame\nfrom this deed, and thereupon went home with the brothers. Much property\nwas offered to him, but he said he had not done this for the sake of\nproperty nor for the woman, but rather from friendship towards the\nbrothers\u201d (Vigaglum\u2019s Saga, c. 4).[571]\n\n\u201cIt happened on Yule-evening that the men were to make vows there over\nthe horn of Bragi. Then the sons of Arngrim made theirs. Hjorvard vowed\nthat he would marry Ingibj\u00f6rg, the daughter of Yngvi,[572] king of the\nSwedes, at Uppsalir, who was famous through all countries for her beauty\nand accomplishments, or else he would never marry. That same spring the\nbrothers (Hjorvard and Angantyr) made the journey to Uppsalir, and went\nbefore the table of the king; his daughter sat at his side. Hjorvard\ntold the king of his vow and his errand while all listened. Hjorvard\nasked him to say at once what answer he should receive. The king thought\nthis matter over, knowing how valiant and high-born they were. At that\nmoment Hjalmar Hugumstori (high-minded) stepped forward and said to the\nking: \u2018Recollect, lord, how much I have increased your honour since I\ncame into this land; I have increased your realm so that it is twice as\nlarge; have defended it, brought into your possession the most costly\nthings, and also placed my services at your free disposal; now, I beg of\nyou to grant me honour and give me your daughter, on whom my mind has\nalways been bent. I deserve this better than the Berserk, who has only\ndone evil in your realm and those of other kings.\u2019 The king thought it\nover with double care, and it seemed to him a perplexing matter that\nthese two chiefs should strive so hard for his daughter. He answered\nthat either of them was so great and high-born that he would refuse her\nto neither; he asked her to choose which of them she liked to marry. She\nsaid that if her father wanted her to marry she would marry the man of\nwhom she knew good, and not the one of whom she knew only evil, as she\nhad heard of the sons of Arngrim. When Hjorvard heard her words he\nchallenged Hjalmar to single fight south in Samsey; he said he should be\ncalled _nithing_ (coward) by every man if he married the maiden without\naccepting the challenge. Hjalmar said he was quite ready, and the time\nof the fight was at once appointed. The sons of Arngrim went home, and\ntold their father the result of their errand, and of the challenge to\nthe fight. Arngrim answered: \u2018Never have I been anxious about your\njourney before now, but nowhere know I of any match for Hjalmar in\nbravery and daring, or for the champion that follows him (Orvar Odd),\nwho is only second to him in strength and valour.\u2019 They talked no more\nabout it. Bjartmar, a jarl, ruled Aldeigjuburgh, a very powerful and\nfamous warrior; he was a great friend of the sons of Arngrim, and they\nalways had peace-land there. The brothers went to Bjartmar jarl, who at\nonce made a great feast for them; at this Angantyr asked in marriage the\njarl\u2019s daughter Svafa, and readily won her. The feast was made a wedding\nfeast, which lasted half a month.\n\n\u201cWhen the feast was over the sons of Arngrim prepared for their journey\nto Samsey. The last night before they left, Angantyr had a dream, which\nhe told to the jarl: \u2018It seemed to me we brothers were in Samsey, and\nfound many birds there, and killed them all. Then we went to the other\nside of the island, and two eagles flew against us. I had a hard fight\nagainst one of them, and at last we both sat down. The other eagle\nfought against my brothers, and overcame them all.\u2019 The jarl answered:\n\u2018Such a dream needs no unravelling. The fall of some men is shown to you\nby this, and I think it concerns you.\u2019 They said they would not fear\nthat. The jarl added: \u2018All men go when death calls upon them.\u2019 They\nspoke no more. When the feast was over the brothers went home, and Svafa\nremained with the jarl. They made themselves ready for the fight, and\ntheir father followed them to their ship, and gave good armour to them\nall. \u2018I think,\u2019 said he, \u2018there is need of good weapons now, for you\nfight against the most valiant champions.\u2019 Then they parted, and he bade\nthem farewell. They sailed to Samsey, and went to Munarvog (a bay).\n\n\u201cWhen they came upon the island Berserk-fury came over them; they\nwrestled with the trees as they were wont.\n\n\u201cIt is told of Hjalmar that he landed with ships on the other side of\nSamsey, in the harbour Unavog. He had two ships, and both were called\n_ask_; one hundred very valiant men were on each of them. The brothers\nsaw the ships, and knew that Hjalmar and Odd (the far-travelling, called\nOrvar-Odd) owned them. The sons of Arngrim drew their swords and bit the\nedges of their shields. They went to the ships, and six of them went on\nboard each _ask_; so brave were the men on them that everyone took his\nweapons, and no one fled from his place or spoke a word of fear. The\nBerserks went along the one side forwards and the other backwards, and\nslew every man. Then they went ashore howling. Hjorvard said: \u2018Our\nfather Arngrim has become a fool from old age, as he told us that\nHjalmar and Odd were the bravest champions, and now I saw no man fight\nbetter than the others.\u2019 Angantyr said: \u2018Let us not complain that we did\nnot find our equals; it may be that Odd and Hjalmar are not yet dead.\u2019\nHjalmar and Odd had walked up on the island to see if the Berserks had\ncome; when they came out of the forest the sons of Arngrim went on land\nfrom their ships with bloody weapons and drawn swords; the Berserk-fury\nwas over, and they were less strong after it, as it were after an\nillness. Odd sang:\n\n \u201c\u2018Then was (cause of) fear,\n Once upon a time,\n When they howling\n Stepped from the _asks_,\n And groaning\n On the island stepped,\n The inglorious ones,\n Twelve together.\u2019\n\n\u201cHjalmar said: \u2018Thou seest that our men are slain, and it seems to me\nmost likely that we shall all lodge with Odin in Valh\u00f6ll to-night.\u2019 This\nwas the only word of fear that Hjalmar ever spoke. Odd answered: \u2018I\nnever saw such fiends, and it is my advice that we escape into the\nforest; we two shall not be able to fight the twelve, who have slain\ntwelve of the bravest men in Svia realm.\u2019 Hjalmar said: \u2018Let us never\nflee from our foes, let us rather go under their weapons; I will go and\nfight the Berserks.\u2019 Odd said: \u2018I will not lodge with Odin to-night, and\nall these men will be dead ere evening comes, and we two shall live.\u2019\nHjalmar sang:\n\n \u201c\u2018Valiant men\n Go from the warships,\n Twelve together,\n Inglorious men;\n To-night will we,\n The two champions,\n Lodge with Odin,\n And the twelve will live.\u2019\n\n\u201cOdd answered:\n\n \u201c\u2018To these words\n I will answer give;\n The twelve Berserks\n Will to-night\n Lodge with Odin,\n But we two live.\u2019\n\n\u201cThey saw that Angantyr had _Tyrfing_ in his hand, for it glittered like\na sunbeam. Hjalmar asked: \u2018Which wilt thou fight against, Angantyr alone\nor his eleven brothers?\u2019 Odd answered: \u2018I will fight Angantyr; he will\ngive hard blows with _Tyrfing_, and I trust my shirt better than my\nbrynja for shelter.\u2019 Hjalmar said: \u2018Have we been in any battle where\nthou wert in front of me; thou wishest to fight Angantyr because it\nseems to thee a greater feat; now, I am the principal in this duel, and\nalso heir of the kingdom. Therefore I must have my will; it would be far\nfrom my promise to the king\u2019s daughter in Sweden, to let thee or another\ngo to this single fight instead of me, and I will fight Angantyr. Odd\nsaid he chose the worse alternative, but Hjalmar had his will. He drew\nhis sword and walked towards Angantyr; one pointed to the other, the way\nto Valh\u00f6ll. Angantyr said: \u2018If any one of us escapes hence no one shall\ntake another\u2019s weapons; I want to have _Tyrfing_ in my mound if I die;\nOdd shall have his shirt and Hjalmar his weapons; those who live shall\nmake mounds over the other.\u2019 Then Hjalmar and Angantyr went against each\nother, and fought with the greatest violence; there was no need to urge\non to attack or defence. They struck hard and often, and sank into the\nground up to their knees. It was like a burning flame when the steels\nmet; neither heeded anything except to strike as often as possible, and\nthe ground shook on account of their fight as if it were trembling. They\nfought till their armour began to be cut through; then each gave the\nother many and large wounds. Their breath came forth from their nostrils\nand mouths so that they were like burning stoves. Odd said afterwards a\nmore warrior-like fight or finer weapons than in that single fight would\nnever be seen; it is also told in tales far and wide that few more\nfamous or brave men have been found.\n\n\u201cWhen Odd and the others had looked on for a long time, they went to\nanother place and made ready for fight. Odd said to the Berserks: \u2018I\nsuppose you want to follow the custom of warriors, and not that of\nthralls; one of you, and no more, shall fight me at a time, if your\ncourage fails not.\u2019 They consented. Then Hjorvard came forward. Odd went\nagainst him. Odd\u2019s sword was so good that it cut steel as if it were\ncloth. They began their fight with great blows, and before long Hjorvard\nsank dead to the ground. When the others saw this they scowled horribly\nand gnawed the edges of their shields, and froth gushed out of their\nmouths. Hervard rose and attacked Odd; the same happened to him, he fell\ndead. At this the sorrow of the Berserks turned into rage; they\nstretched out their tongues and ground their teeth, roaring like mad\nbulls, so that the rocks resounded. Then Seming rushed forth; he was,\nnext to Angantyr, the best of the eleven. He attacked Odd so fiercely\nthat he could do no more than defend himself. They fought long, so that\nit could not be seen which would get the victory; all their armour was\ncut off, but Odd\u2019s shirt protected him so that he was not hurt. Seming\nreceived wounds, but nevertheless did not yield till nearly all his\nflesh was cut off his bones. Odd saw no spot on him which was not\nbloody. When all his blood had run out of his veins he fell down with\ngreat valour, and at once died. One rose after the other, but Odd at\nlast slew them all; then he was excessively tired, but not wounded. He\nwent to where Angantyr and Hjalmar had fought. Angantyr had fallen, and\nHjalmar sat by a hillock, and was as pale as a corpse. Odd went to him\nand sang:\n\n \u201c\u2018What ails thee, Hjalmar,\n Thou hast changed colour?\n I see that deep wounds\n Weaken thee;\n Thy helmet is cut,\n And the mail-coat on thy side;\n Now I think\n Thy life is done.\u2019\n\n\u201cHjalmar sang:\n\n \u201c\u2018I have sixteen wounds,\n And a torn coat-of-mail;\n It is dark before my eyes;\n I cannot see to walk;\n The sword of Angantyr\n Touched my heart.\n The sharp sword-point\n Hardened in poison.\n\n \u2018I owned fully\n Five b\u0153rs together,\n But I never\n Enjoyed that occupation;\n Now I must lie\n Deprived of life,\n Sundered with sword,\n In Samsey.\n\n \u2018Very high-born men,\n The Huskarls, drink\n Mead in the hall,\n At my father\u2019s;\n The ale weakens\n Many men\n While the cutting of swords\n Pains me on the island.\n\n \u2018The tale will prove true\n Which she[573] told me,\n That I would not\n Come back.\n\n \u2018Draw from my hand\n The red ring,\n And take it to the young\n Ingibj\u00f6rg.\n It will be to her\n A lasting sorrow\n That I do not\n Come back to Uppsalir.\n\n \u2018I left the fair\n Song of women,\n Though ready for pleasure;\n I went east with S\u00f3ti;\n I hurried my journey\n And went into a host\n The first time,\n Away from my good friends.\n\n \u2018The women on land\n Will not hear\n That I sheltered\n Myself from blows;\n The wise maiden\n In Sigtunir\n Will not laugh\n Because I gave way.\n\n * * * * *\n\n \u2018I left the young\n Ingibj\u00f6rg;\n We left her in haste\n On that fated day;\n It will be to the maiden\n A deep sorrow\n That she after this\n Will never see me.\n\n \u2018A raven flies from the east\n From the high tree,\n And after it\n An eagle follows;\n That is the last eagle\n To which I give prey.\n It will taste\n My blood.\n\n \u2018Carry thou, to show\n That is my will,\n My helmet and mail-coat\n Into the King\u2019s hall;\n The mind of the King\u2019s daughter\n Will be moved\n When she sees the mail-coat\n Cut on the breast.\n\n \u2018I see where they sit\n In Sigtunir,\n The maidens who held me\n From leaving thence;\n Ale or warriors\n Ever more\n Hjalmar will not cheer\n In the King\u2019s hall.\u2019\u201d\n\n (Hervarar Saga, c. 4 and 5.)\n\n\nAfter the burial of the Berserks Odd leaves for Sweden.\n\n\n\u201cThereafter Odd laid Hjalmar on the ship and sailed away. Then he used\nthe _idrott_ (skill, art) which had been given him, and hoisted sail in\ncalm weather and sailed home to Sweden with the dead Hjalmar. He landed\nwhere he wished to land, and drew up his ship; he placed Hjalmar on his\nback, walked home to Uppsalir (Upsala) with him, and laid him down at\nthe door of the hall. He went in with the mail-coat of Hjalmar, and also\nhis helmet, and put them down on the floor in front of the king, and\ntold him the tidings which had occurred. Then he went to where Ingibj\u00f6rg\nsat in a chair, sewing a shirt for Hjalmar. Odd said: \u2018Here is a ring\nwhich Hjalmar sent thee on his death-day, and therewith his greeting.\u2019\nShe took the ring, looked at it, but answered nothing; she sank back\nbetween the chair-posts and died at once. Odd burst into loud laughter,\nand said, \u2018Nothing better has occurred for a long time, and I welcome\nit; now they will enjoy each other dead, which they could not alive.\u2019\nOdd took her and carried her with his hands, and laid her in the arms of\nHjalmar at the door of the hall, and sent in for the king and told him\nto look how he had arranged her. Thereafter the king welcomed Odd, and\nseated him in the high seat at his side. When Odd had rested himself the\nking said he wanted to make an _arvel_[574] after Hjalmar and Ingibj\u00f6rg,\nand raise a mound over them. The king let everything be done as Odd\nordered. The helmet and mail-coat of Hjalmar were brought forward, and\nthe men praised his deeds highly, and told how hard it had been to slay\nhim; they were both placed in one mound, and all went to see this great\nmound, for Odd had it made with much honour. He remained quiet that\nwinter with King Hlodver, who in the autumn gave him men and ten ships,\nand he went in the summer to seek \u00d6gmund Eythjofsbani again, but found\nhim not\u201d (Orvar Odd\u2019s Saga, c. 14).\n\n\nIn the time of King Knut duelling was abolished in Norway, and robbers\nand Berserks were outlawed.\n\n\n\u201cThe last summer before the one when Eirik jarl, Hakonsson, made ready\nto go west to England to visit King Knut the Great, his brother-in-law,\nhe placed his son Hakon as ruler over Norway, and gave him into the\nhands of his own brother Svein jarl to look after and govern for him,\nbecause Hakon was a child in age. Before Eirik jarl left, he summoned to\nhim the chiefs and powerful b\u0153ndr; they talked much about the laws and\ncustoms of the land, for Eirik jarl was a wise ruler. The men thought it\na great barbarity in the land, that rioters or Berserks challenged\nhigh-born men for the sake of their property or women, and that the one\nwho fell should have no indemnity paid for his slaying; many suffered\ndisgrace and loss of property, and some lost their life; therefore Eirik\njarl abolished all _holmgangas_ in Norway, and outlawed all robbers and\nBerserks who went about plundering\u201d (Gretti\u2019s Saga, c. 19).\n\n\n\u201cIn the summer a throng of men rode to the Thing\u2014Illugi the Black and\nhis sons Gunnlaug and Hermund, Thorstein Egilsson and his son Kollsvein,\n\u00d6nund from Mosfell with all his sons, and Sverting Hafr-Bjarnarson. One\nday when a crowd went to the _l\u00f6gberg_ (law-hill) and the law cases were\nended, Gunnlaug asked for a hearing, and said, \u2018Is Hrafn \u00d6nundsson\nhere?\u2019 He said he was. Gunnlaug Ormst\u00fanga then added: \u2018Thou knowest that\nthou hast got my betrothed, and that thou hast shown enmity towards me;\non that account I will summon thee to _holmganga_ after three days\u2019 time\non \u00d6xar\u00e1r-holm\u2019 (an islet in the Axe-river (\u00d6xar\u00e1)). Hrafn replied:\n\u2018This is well offered, as was to be expected from thee, and I am ready\nwhen thou wishest.\u2019 This the kinsmen of both thought lamentable, but it\nnevertheless was the law in that time to bid to _holmganga_ the person\nby whom a man thought himself wronged. After three nights they made\nready for the _holmganga_, and Illugi the Black followed his son to the\nplace with very many men, but Skapti (lawman) followed Hrafn and his\nfather and other kinsmen.... Hermund held the shield before his brother\nGunnlaug, and Sverting Hafr-Bjarnarson that before Hrafn. The one who\nfirst got wounded had to redeem himself from the holmganga with three\nmarks of silver. Hrafn had the first blow, for he was the challenged\none, and he cut into the top of Gunnlaug\u2019s shield, and his sword broke\nat the guards, as the blow was given with great force. The sword-point\nrebounded from the shield, and struck Gunnlaug on the cheek, and he was\na little hurt. Both their fathers and many others stepped between them.\nGunnlaug said, \u2018I claim that Hrafn is defeated, for he is weaponless.\u2019\nHrafn replied, \u2018And I claim that thou art beaten, for thou art wounded.\u2019\nGunnlaug at this grew very angry, and cried that this was not fought\nout. His father Illugi would allow them to fight no more at that time.\nGunnlaug added that next time when he and Hrafn were to meet he hoped\nhis father would be too far away to part them. After this they\nseparated, and the men went back to their booths. On the following day a\nlaw was enacted at the law-court (of the Thing) that thenceforth all\nholmgangas should be abolished; this was done at the advice of the\nwisest men in the land who were there present\u201d (Gunnlaug Ormstunga).\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XLIII.\n OUTLAWRY.\n\n Irredeemable crimes\u2014Outlaws regarded as enemies of society\u2014Custom of\n pleading for an outlaw\u2014Liabilities of a murderess\u2014Substitution of\n corporal punishment and fines for outlawry\u2014Purchase of an outlaw\u2019s\n peace.\n\n\nThe laws did not aspire to improve the moral condition of the criminal\nand try to make him a better man, except through fear of punishment;\ntheir object in early days was to prevent private revenge, and stop\npeople taking matters into their own hands. Crimes against personal\nrights or those of property were punished by fines as indemnity to the\ninjured. By paying an indemnity the criminal released himself from the\nrevenge of the injured and of his family, or from the outlawry which his\nconduct or crime had brought upon him.\n\nIf any man had wronged another he was placed outside the pale of the law\nuntil the weregild was paid; and if he or his family could not pay he\nwas outlawed, and the outlawry was declared at all the Things in the\ncountry.[575]\n\nThere were crimes called _Ubota-mal_ (irredeemable crimes), that is, for\nwhich no weregild could be paid; they were punished by outlawry and loss\nof all property, including the odal, which was the greatest punishment\nthat could be inflicted. Such crimes were the violation of the sanctity\nof the temple or of the Thing-place, and secret or unprovoked murder.\nFrom the old laws of Norway we find that a man was called _Ubota-man_\nwho could not redeem himself.\n\n\n1. \u201cIf a man attacks another in his house and breaks the house and slays\nhim, that is called _nithing-slaying_. 2. It is a _nithing-slaying_ if a\nman slays the one to whom he has given his plighted faith. 3. It is also\na _nithing-slaying_ if a man slays another during a truce. 4. If a man\nstrikes another against a stone, or a timber, or a stump. 5. To burn a\nman in his house. 6. To plunder the slain, or take away a man\u2019s clothes\nand weapons. 7. To murder a man. 8. To avenge thieves. These things must\nbe denied with _s\u00e9ttareid_. Wherever a man commits a _nithing-slaying_,\nhe is an unholy outlaw and forfeits every penny of his property, both\nland and movable property: he shall never come to the country, or the\nking, or the jarl, unless he brings true war-news (of a hostile host\ncoming)\u201d[576] (Gulath., 178).\n\n\nMen could be slain with impunity, and were irredeemable if they were\nfound guilty with the following women:\u2014\n\n\n\u201cThese women are seven (kinds). One\u2019s wife, then sister, thirdly\ndaughter, fourthly mother, fifthly stepmother, sixthly brother\u2019s wife,\nseventhly son\u2019s wife. If a man finds a man with one of these, he may\nslay him if he likes; but he must tell the man whom he meets first of\nit, and why he did it\u201d (Gulathing\u2019s Law, 160).\n\n\nThe following wording seems to imply that to slay a lawman under any\ncircumstances, or run away with another man\u2019s wife were ubota crimes:\u2014\n\n\n\u201cIt is also a _nithing_-slaying if any one slays a lawman who is\nordained to tell people the law. That man strikes down the rights of all\nmen, for the lawman has duties to all, poor and rich, where he rules....\nMen who are found to be so deceitful as to run away with other men\u2019s\nwives are _ubota-menn_.\u201d\n\n\nSuch an outlaw was regarded as an enemy of society, and lost his\npersonal security with regard to every one of its members; from the\nearliest times he was called _varg i v\u00e9um_ (wolf in the sanctuary), or\n_sk\u00f3gar-man_ (forestman), so called probably because he was deprived of\nintercourse with mankind and left with the wild beasts of the forest,\nand could be killed by any one who saw him.\n\nGrettir while in Norway had accidentally set fire to a house in which\nthere were some Icelanders who had been drinking, and therefore probably\ncould not get out, and so were burned.\n\n\n\u201cThat same summer there came a ship to Gasar, before the opening of the\nAlthing. News was brought of the journeys of Grettir, and the burning of\nthe house. Thorir of Gard became exceedingly angry at this, and thought\nthat he ought to avenge his sons. He went to the Althing with many men,\nand there presented the case of the burning; but they were unwilling to\ndo anything, because nobody was there to answer. Thorir said he would\naccept nothing but Grettir\u2019s outlawry from Iceland for such an evil\ndeed. Skapti the lawman answered: \u2018It is certainly a wicked deed, if the\nnews is true; but a tale is always half told if only one man tells it,\nfor most men are willing to take the worst side of a question if there\nare two, therefore as matters stand I will not decide that Grettir shall\nbe outlawed for this.\u2019 Thorir had great power in his Herad and was a\ngreat chief, and friendly with many great men; he pressed the case hard,\nand no one appeared in Grettir\u2019s defence. Thorir then had Grettir\noutlawed from the land, and was afterwards the most dangerous of all his\nfoes, as was often seen. He at once put a price on his head, as was done\nwith other outlaws, and rode home. Many said that this had been effected\nmore by power than according to law, but the case stood as it had just\nbeen settled\u201d (Gretti\u2019s Saga, c. 46).[577]\n\n\nThis seems to indicate that it was customary for some one to plead on an\noutlaw\u2019s behalf, for it is said in the Saga that \u201cSkapti died, when\nGrettir had been outlawed nineteen years, so that then there was no one\nto plead his cause.\u201d His friends, however, brought his case before the\nAlthing, and the judge decided that a man could not be an outlaw for\nmore than twenty winters, even if during that time he committed some new\ncrime; but that before that time expired the sentence could not be\nrevoked.\n\n\n\u201cThat summer the kinsmen of Grettir spoke much of his outlawry at the\nAlthing, and some thought that he had served his time, as he had been\noutlawed now a part of the twentieth year; but those who had charges to\nbring against him did not like this, and said he had committed many\ndeeds since for which he ought to be outlawed, and therefore his\noutlawry ought to last longer. At this time Stein Thorgestson was chosen\nlawman. He was a wise man, he was asked to give his decision. He\nenquired if the time of the summer thus far passed belonged to the last\ntwelve months of the twenty years since he had been outlawed. As it was,\nThorir from Gard tried to raise all the objections he could, and found\nthat Grettir came to Iceland when a part of the summer had passed, and\nhad not been an outlaw during that time. Nineteen twelvemonths, less the\nthree months that passed from that Althing until Grettir came to Iceland\nin the autumn, had his outlawry lasted. Then the lawman said that no man\nshould be an outlaw longer than twenty winters, even though during that\ntime he committed deeds for which he ought to be outlawed; but that\nbefore twenty winters passed he would not declare any one free from his\noutlawry\u201d (Gretti\u2019s Saga, c. 79).\n\n\nThe liabilities of a woman who committed murder were different according\nto the Gulathing or the Frostathing Law.\n\n\n\u201cIf a woman slays a man, the kinsmen of the dead, if they wish, may slay\nher, if she does not go away in five days during summer, and in half a\nmonth during winter\u201d (Frostath., iv. 33).\n\n\n\u201cIf a man slays a woman he is outlawed, just as if he had slain a man.\nBut if a woman slays a man she is outlawed, and her kinsmen shall send\nher out of the country; and also if a pauper[578] slays a man he shall\nbe sent out of the country within five days, and he may stay with his\nkinsmen five nights if no necessity delays him longer. If he stays\nlonger he shall pay forty marks, or deny it with _lyritareid_\u201d (Gulath.,\n159).\n\n\nSigmund and Eylif, sons of \u00d6nund, wanted to get rid of a man called \u00d6rn,\ntheir kinsman. M\u00f6rd Gigja advised them to get him outlawed, and in that\nway get him from the Herad.\n\n\n\u201cThey raised against \u00d6rn a suit about the right of grazing and it was\nagreed that \u00d6rn should be slain as unholy, and have no weregild\nanywhere, except at Valugerdi (his farm) and within an arrow-shot from\nhis land. They continually tried to get at him, but he kept well on his\nguard. One day when he was driving oxen from his land they came upon him\nand slew him, and it was thought that his death was unholy. Hamund\nGunnarsson and Thorleif led the prosecution in \u00d6rn\u2019s case, while M\u00f6rd\nsupported the brothers; they paid no fine, but were outlawed from the\nHerad\u201d (Landn\u00e1ma, v., c. 4).\n\n\nAnother kind of outlawry (_Utlegdarmal_) was less severe, and did not\nimply the confiscation of property, for the outlaw could redeem himself\nby paying weregild. To this second class belonged a great many crimes,\nthe principal of which were: simple slaying,[579] severe wounds, crimes\nagainst honour, bodily ill-treatment, crimes against personal liberty,\nrobbery, etc.\n\nIn some cases corporal punishment, and occasionally fines, were\nsubstituted for outlawry.[580]\n\nIf a man killed another and failed to cover the body with earth he was\noutlawed.\n\nHelgi Droplaugarson slew Bj\u00f6rn, because he visited Th\u00f3rdis, a kinswoman\nof Helgi\u2019s, too often.\n\n\n\u201cThe following night Helgi Sveinung and the two others went to a skerry\n(rock) lying off the shore and removed Bj\u00f6rn thither and covered his\ncorpse. The widow of Bj\u00f6rn thought there would be a prosecution by Helgi\n\u00c1sbjarnarson and sent men to him at Mj\u00f3fanes (her place). In this spring\nafter Bj\u00f6rn\u2019s death, this chief sent to Borgarfjord to prepare the case,\nand did not find the corpse of Bj\u00f6rn.\n\n\u201cThen Helgi \u00c1sbjarnarson (a godi) summoned Helgi Droplaugarson because\nhe had murdered a man, thrown him into the sea, and not covered him with\nmould. Helgi summoned him at the Thing for greater outlawry. He had\nprepared the case of seduction for the Althing. Both cases came to the\nThing. Helgi Droplaugarson went to the court, with many men; he called\nwitnesses to prove that Helgi \u00c1sbjarnarson had no case, and said that\nthree men had seen Bj\u00f6rn covered with mould; then Sveinung and two\nothers took oath at the altar ring that they saw Bj\u00f6rn covered with\nmould. Now the case of Helgi \u00c1sbjarnarson was made void. Then Helgi\nDroplaugarson wanted to make Bj\u00f6rn unholy, but Helgi \u00c1sbjarnarson\noffered property and then Helgi Droplaugarson arbitrated, and he decided\nthat 100 aurar should be paid\u201d (Droplaugarsona Saga, p. 15, 16).\n\n\nIf a man was outlawed he had to buy his peace, \u201c_fridkaup_,\u201d from the\nking, who determined what the amount should be.\n\n\n\u201cNow it may happen that the king permits the outlaw to stay in the land\nat the entreaties of chiefs, or in some other way. Then he (the outlaw)\nmust buy peace with the king according to his mercy (the price paid by\nthe outlaw to stay in peace in the country is determined by the king),\nand pay that half of his fine which is unpaid with sale-meetings\n(auctions), of the kind that men of good sense see that he is well able\nto hold. If he is not willing to pay, the kinsmen of the dead may take\nrevenge on him, even though he be reconciled (in peace) with the king,\nand they will not be outlawed though they slay him. But those who took\ncare of his property while he was an outlaw must pay him back as much as\nthey received in lands and movables, and the rent of the land besides\u201d\n(Frostathing\u2019s Law, Introd. 5).\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XLIV.\n REVENGE.\n\n The duty of the nearest relative\u2014Procedure\u2014Blood-nights\u2014Secret\n slaying\u2014Incitement to revenge by women\u2014Intentional\n wounding\u2014Arbitration\u2014Manslaughter\u2014Murder by\n lunatics\u2014Insults\u2014Punishment of derision.\n\n\nRevenge played a conspicuous part in the daily life of the Norsemen, and\nit was the duty of the nearest relative to avenge the death of a\nkinsman. This duty first belonged to the brother of the deceased, and,\nif he had no brother, to his next of kin. Relatives as far as the fourth\ndegree were obliged, if there was no one nearer, to undertake the duty.\nIf the relative could not find the murderer, his revenge fell upon the\ninnocent kinsman of the murderer, or upon the servants of the latter.\n\nProcedure depended on the nature of the case. If a man was slain in his\nown Herad, his wife or heir, or the nearest of kin present in the Herad,\nthe same day that the death became known sent out an arrow from farm to\nfarm through the Herad to summon the b\u0153ndr. The summons ordered them to\nmeet the same day, or, if it was already late, the next day, at the\nplace of murder, to attend the Arrow-thing. At the Arrow-thing those\nmore especially had to appear to whom the murderer had announced the\nslaying, with his name and residence; those assembled examined the\ncircumstances of the slaying, and what was practically a coroner\u2019s\ninquest took place.\n\n\n\u201cThither came nine b\u0153ndr who lived next to the slaying-place. M\u00f6rd (who\ncaused the slaying and declared it) had ten men with him. He showed to\nthe b\u0153ndr the wounds of H\u00f6skuld, and named witnesses to the wounds, and\none to every wound except one. He feigned not to know who had given it,\nfor he had given it himself. He declared that Skarphedin had slain him,\nand that his brothers and Kari had given the wounds. Then he summoned\nthe nine neighbours of the slaying-place to come to the Althing, then he\nrode home\u201d (Njala, 112).\n\n\nThe days and nights immediately following a murder were called\n_blood-nights_.\n\nHrolleif, the son of a witchcraft-knowing woman, slew the chief\nIngimund. When he came home and told his mother what he had done, she\nsaid:\n\n\n\u201c\u2018It is my advice that thou goest away, for the blood-nights are the\nquickest for revenge\u2019\u201d[581] (Vatnsd\u00e6la, c. 24).\n\n\n\u201cGlum went out one day to slay Sigmund; he put on the blue cloak, and\nhad a spear in his hand, ornamented with gold. When he had killed him he\nrode off to his brother Thorstein, who, seeing blood on the inlaid\nornaments of the weapon, asked if he had struck anyone with it just\nbefore. Glum said: \u2018It is true, I forgot to tell thee that I have slain\nSigmund Thorkelsson to-day.\u2019 Thorstein answered: \u2018That will be bad\ntidings to Thorkel (Sigmund\u2019s father) and the Esphol men, his\nsons-in-law.\u2019 Glum added: \u2018It is an old saying, that during the\nblood-nights every one is most passionate; but they will think little of\nit as time passes\u2019\u201d (Viga Glum\u2019s Saga, c. 8).\n\n\nIf at least twenty-seven b\u0153ndr had come to the Thing, and the nearest\nkinsman of the murdered man was present, and the slayer himself, after\nhaving received truce (_grid_), appeared, or it was stated that although\nthe arrow had reached him he did not desire to appear, the Arrow-thing\npossessed the right to at once render judgment in the case.\n\nThe fifth day the prosecution took place at the _Fimtarthing_, which was\nan extraordinary _Heradsthing_.\n\nTo this Thing the slayer, or the person accused of the murder, was\nsummoned, and here the case was carried to completion, and judgment\ngiven by the Thingsmen.\n\nIf the slaying was murder, and there was no certainty as to the\nmurderer, then the next of kin could require three persons, on whom his\nsuspicions had fallen, to free themselves one after the other, by\n_tylftareid_ (an oath of suspicion).\n\n\n\u201cIf the king accuses a man of land-treason (high-treason), he must repel\nthe charge by a tylftareid. Charge of murder and of breach of faith must\nalso be repelled in this way. Six men, equal to him (the accused) in\nr\u00e9tt, shall be summoned on both sides of him, two of them selected, then\ntwo of his nearest kinsmen, himself as the fifth, and seven fangavattar\n(witnesses summoned at random)\u201d (Gulathing\u2019s Law, 132).\n\n\n\u201cFurther, if thou findest a man slain out on the field, thou shalt hide\nthe body and tell the first man whom thou meetest, and then go to his\nheir if he is in the Fylki; else thou shalt cut a Thing-summons and call\na Thing. The man that does not come to the Thing is fined six aurar,\ncalled the large Thing-fine, and proves himself to be the slayer if the\nheir wants to accuse him of it\u201d (Gulath., 161).\n\n\nIf a reconciliation took place between the slayer and family of the\nslain, the nearest of kin to the slain at once assured the slayer of\nintermediate truce (_grid_), and later, when the indemnity was paid,\nwhich generally took place in several instalments, assured him of\nsecurity (_tryggdir_), whereby the matter was regarded as completely\nsettled.[582]\n\nIf the slayer left the weapon in the wound of his foe his act was not\nconsidered murder, but only a lesser crime, termed \u201csecret slaying.\u201d\n\n\n\u201cOne morning, just before day-light, while V\u00e9stein was still in bed,\nsome one entered the room, thrust a spear through his breast, and went\nout again. When Vestein tried to rise he fell dead. His sister Aud\ncalled upon a thrall of hers, Thord the faint-hearted, and bade him take\nthe weapon from the wound. It was the custom for the man who pulled the\nweapon from a wound to be obliged to avenge the slain; but it was called\nsecret slaying, and not murder, if the slayer left the weapon remaining\nin the wound\u201d (Gisli Sursson\u2019s Saga).\n\n\nTo slay a man for revenge at night, or to put any one to death at night,\nwas considered murder.\n\n\n\u201cKing Olaf sat down in his seat when the room had been prepared, and was\nvery angry. He asked where the slayer was. He was told that he was\nguarded out on the balcony. The king said: \u2018Why is he not slain?\u2019\nThorarin Nefjulfsson answered: \u2018My lord, do you not call it a murder to\nslay men at night?\u2019 Then the king said: \u2018Put him into fetters, and slay\nhim to-morrow\u2019\u201d (St. Olaf\u2019s Saga, c. 126).\n\n\n\u201cThen Arinbj\u00f6rn said: \u2018The king will not let himself be incited to all\nthy nithing-deeds. He will not let Egil be killed this night, because\nnight-killings are murders.\u2019 The king replied: \u2018It shall be as thou\naskest, Arinbj\u00f6rn, that Egil shall live this night\u2019\u201d (Egil\u2019s Saga, c.\n62).\n\n\nIncitement to revenge was often given by women. Thorbj\u00f6rg, the wife of\nIndridi, heard that her brother H\u00f6rd had been treacherously slain by\nThorstein Gullknapp.\n\n\n\u201cWhen she and her husband came into their bed in the evening, Thorbj\u00f6rg\ndrew a sax and thrust it at Indridi; but he parried the blow with his\nhand and got much wounded. He said: \u2018Thorbj\u00f6rg, it is difficult to know\nwhat to do, and thou art very hard upon me. What shall I do that we may\nbecome friends again?\u2019 \u2018Thou canst do nothing but fetch the head of\nThorstein Gullknapp for me\u2019\u201d (H\u00f6rd\u2019s Saga, c. 37).\n\n\nTo him who performed _nabjargir_ (ceremony attending the dead) belonged\nthe duty of avenging the dead.\n\nH\u00f6skuld, a son of Njal by his concubine Hr\u00f3dn\u00fd, was found wounded with\nsixteen wounds. Hr\u00f3dn\u00fd laid him against the wall in Njal\u2019s sheephouse\nand went in to Njal\u2019s bed, as it was night.\n\n\n\u201cShe asked if Njal was awake. He answered: \u2018I have slept, but now I am\nawake. Why art thou here so early?\u2019 Hr\u00f3dn\u00fd replied: \u2018Rise from the bed\nof my rival and go out with me, and also thy wife and thy sons.\u2019 They\nrose and went out. Skarphedin said: \u2018Let us take our weapons with us.\u2019\nNjal did not speak, and they ran in and fetched their weapons. Hr\u00f3dn\u00fd\nwalked on in front, and when they came to the sheephouse she went in and\nasked them to follow. She took up a lantern and said: \u2018Here, Njal, is\nthy son H\u00f6skuld with many wounds on him, and he needs to be healed.\u2019\nNjal answered: \u2018I see death-marks on him, and no life-marks; why hast\nthou not given him nabjargir, as his nostrils are open?\u2019 \u2018I intended\nSkarphedin to do that,\u2019 she answered. Skarphedin walked up to H\u00f6skuld\u2019s\nbody and closed the nostrils, eyes, and mouth. Then he asked his father,\n\u2018Who, sayest thou, is the slayer?\u2019 Njal answered: \u2018L\u00fdting of Samstadir\nand his brothers have probably slain him.\u2019 Hr\u00f3dn\u00fd said: \u2018I give it into\nthy hands, Skarphedin, to revenge thy brother; and I expect thee to\nbehave well and perform the greatest part (in the revenge), though he\nwas not legitimate.\u2019 Bergth\u00f3ra (Njal\u2019s wife) said: \u2018It is strange that\nyou slay men for slight reasons, while you ponder over and digest this\nmatter until nothing comes of it; H\u00f6skuld Hvitanesgodi will soon be here\nand ask you to come to terms, and you will grant him them; if you intend\nto do anything, do it now.\u2019 Skarphedin said: \u2018Now our mother incites us\nwith lawful provocation\u2019\u201d (Njala, c. 98).\n\n\nThen follows in the Saga a long account of how the two brothers of\nL\u00fdting were killed, and how he himself was wounded and escaped. L\u00fdting\nwent to a man called H\u00f6skuld, who was a godi, and asked him to reconcile\nhim with Njal and his sons. H\u00f6skuld consented, and went with him to\nNjal\u2019s home.\n\nIf a man intentionally wounded an innocent man, or offended him in such\na way that full r\u00e9tt was due to him, the offended could slay him if he\nhad not offered surety.\n\nIt was not uncommon to resort to arbitration when cases of revenge\noccurred for which weregild would have to be paid.\n\nGunnar of Hlidarendi, the famous champion, with his brother Kolskegg had\nslain eight men. After the prosecution of the case had begun at the\nAlthing, some proposed that good men should arbitrate.\n\n\n\u201cIt was determined, according to the advice of the wisest men, that all\nthe suits which followed should be submitted to arbitration; six men to\narbitrate, and it was done at once at the Althing. It was decided that\nthe death of Skamkel should not be paid for, the wound of the spur\nmaking up for the wergild; for the other a befitting payment was made.\nThe kinsmen of Gunnar gave property, so that all the weregilds were at\nonce paid at the Althing\u201d (Njala, c. 56).\n\n\nManslaughter was murder if it was not acknowledged by the slayer; if\nthere was no witness to the deed, he had to acknowledge it at the farm\nnearest to the place of slaughter, and tell his name and home. If\nkinsmen of the slain were present, he might pass the place; but in no\ncase could he go further than the third farm without declaring it.\n\n\n\u201cFurther, if men meet at the crossing of roads, and the one slays the\nother, and the man is alive when people come to him, then he is the\nslayer whom the man declares to be, unless the _great evidence_ help\nhim. If another man declares himself to be the slayer, then they are\nboth slayers, though there is only one wound on the dead man. When a man\ndeclares the slaying lawfully, he goes from the place in whatever\ndirection he likes, and declares it at the next house, unless kinsmen on\nmale or female side or near relatives of the dead are there; in this\ncase he shall pass on to the next house, unless they (kinsmen) are also\nthere; then he shall go to the third house and declare it, whoever are\nin it. He is neither called Ulf (wolf), nor Bj\u00f6rn (bear), unless it be\nhis name. He shall tell the _jartegn_ (by which he is known), and tell\nwhere he slept last night. At the Arrow-thing evidence of the\ndeclaration of the slaying shall be given\u201d (Gulathing\u2019s Law, 61).[583]\n\n\nIf a man acknowledged a slaughter lawfully, and also in the presence of\nwitnesses gave surety that he would pay weregild and _thegngildi_\n(weregild for a thegn), he thereby made himself holy and sacred, so that\nhe could not be slain.\n\n\n\u201cIf a man wounds an innocent man, or injures him publicly by deeds\nliable to full r\u00e9tt, and revenge is taken by the man or his kinsmen\nbefore a lawful offer with full surety has been made, then the one who\nfirst broke the peace is outlawed, whether he has been slain or outraged\nin other ways, unless the king and other men of good sense think\notherwise. But if he offers full surety he is peace-holy, and the one\nwho slays him is outlawed\u201d (Frostath., Introd. 6).\n\n\nAn insane man who committed murder, though not accounted responsible for\nhis actions, was expelled the country.\n\n\n\u201cIf a man becomes mad so that he breaks his chains and kills a man, he\nshall leave the land, and have all his property in half a month\u2019s truce\nduring summer, and one month during winter\u201d (Frostath.).\n\n\n\u201cIf a father becomes so mad that he slays his son, or a son slays his\nfather, or a brother his brother, he shall be outlawed, and leave the\nland, and never come back again\u201d (Frostath., iv. 31).\n\n\nAmong the insults which were most resented were those caused by \u201c_nid_,\u201d\nor derision. Derision was of two kinds: the first called \u201c_tungunid_,\u201d\ntongue derision; that is, derisive or mocking words, which were chiefly\nin songs and lampoons (nidvisur), which sometimes were also thought to\npossess magical power, thus scaring away the guardian spirits, and\nbringing misfortune on the person in question. The second were _trenid_\n(wooden derision), that is, derisive images carved or traced on wood.\nThese were placed at spots where they would draw attention, generally on\nthe grounds of the enemy; and some of them must have corresponded to the\ncaricatures of our own times.\n\nThese derisive songs were so much resented that Harald Gormsson, King of\nDenmark, intended to go to Iceland to take revenge upon the people for a\nderisive song which had been made upon him by an Icelander.\n\n\n\u201cHarald Gormsson King of Denmark heard that Hakon jarl had cast away\nChristianity, and made warfare in many places in his lands. Then he\nlevied a host and went to Norway, and when he came into the realm of\nHakon he plundered there, and devastated the country, and went with his\nhost to the islands called Solundir. Only five farms were left in\nLaradal, and all the people fled to the mountains and forests with all\nthe loose property they could take with them. Then he wanted to\nsail[584] to Iceland, to take revenge for the derision (nid) which all\nthe Icelanders had made on him. The Icelanders had enacted a law that as\nmany nid-songs (derisive songs) should be made about the King of Denmark\nas there were noses (heads, men) in the country. The reason for this was\nthat a ship owned by Icelanders had been wrecked in Denmark, and all the\nproperty on board taken by the Danes, who called it wreckage; this was\ndone by the king\u2019s steward Birgir, and the derision was on both of\nthem\u201d[585] (Olaf Tryggvason\u2019s Saga, c. 36).\n\n\nDerision was forbidden by law, and punished by outlawry.\n\n\n\u201cNo man shall make tongue-nid (derision) on another, nor wood-nid (nid\ncarved on wood). If it be known and proved that he has done this, he is\nliable to outlawry; he shall redeem the offence with an oath of\nreconciliation; he falls as an outlaw if he is slain. No man shall make\nexaggeration or slander about another: that is exaggeration if a man\nsays about another what cannot take place, or will not, or has not,\nsaying he is a woman every ninth night, and has borne a child, and calls\nhim _gylvin_ (she-wolf). He is an outlaw, if it is proved; he shall\nredeem the offence with an oath of reconciliation; he falls as an outlaw\nif he is slain\u201d (Earlier Gulathing\u2019s Law, 138).\n\n\n END OF VOL. 1.\n\n-----\n\nFootnote 1:\n\n A kind of baptism.\n\nFootnote 2:\n\n The assembly of the people.\n\nFootnote 3:\n\n The hall and abode of the slain.\n\nFootnote 4:\n\n \u201cSueonum hinc civitates, ipso in oceano, pr\u00e6ter viros armaque\n classibus valent. Forma navium eo differt quod utrinque prora paratam\n semper appulsui frontem agit. Nec velis ministrantur, nec remos in\n ordinem lateribus adjungunt: solutum, ut in quibusdam fluminum, et\n mutabile, ut res poscit, hinc et illinc remigium\u201d (Germ. xliv.).\n\nFootnote 5:\n\n \u201cHujus est civitatis longe amplissima auctoritas omnis or\u00e6 maritim\u00e6\n regionum earum, quod et naves habent Veneti plurimas, quibus in\n Britanniam navigare consuerunt, et scientia atque usu nauticarum rerum\n reliquos antecedunt, et in magno impetu maris atque aperto, paucis\n portibus interjectis, quos tenent ipsi, omnes fere qui eo mari uti\n consuerunt, habent vectigales\u201d (Gallic War, iii. c. 8).\n\n \u201cNamque ipsorum naves ad hunc modum fact\u00e6 armat\u00e6que erant; carin\u00e6\n aliquanto planiores, quam nostrarum navium, quo facilius vada ac\n decessum \u00e6stus excipere possent; pror\u00e6 admodum erect\u00e6, atque item\n puppes ad magnitudinem fluctuum tempestatumque accommodat\u00e6; naves tot\u00e6\n fact\u00e6 ex robore ad quamvis vim et contumeliam perferendam; transtra\n pedalibus in latitudinem trabibus confixa clavis ferreis digiti\n pollicis crassitudine; ancor\u00e6 pro funibus ferreis catenis revinct\u00e6;\n pelles pro velis alut\u00e6que tenuiter confect\u00e6, h\u00e6 sive propter lini\n inopiam atque ejus usus inscientiam, sive eo, quod est magis\n verisimile, quod tantas tempestates Oceani tantosque impetus ventorum\n sustineri, ac tanta onera navium regi velis non satis commode posse\n arbitrabantur. Cum his navibus nostr\u00e6 classi ejusmodi congressus erat,\n ut una celeritate et pulsu remorum pr\u00e6staret; reliqua, pro loci\n natura, pro vi tempestatum, illis essent aptiora et accommodatiora.\n Neque enim his nostr\u00e6 rostro nocere poterant (tanta in his erat\n firmitudo), neque propter altitudinem facile telum adjiciebatur, et\n eadem de causa minus commode copulis continebantur. Accedebat, ut, cum\n s\u00e6vire ventus c\u0153pisset et se vento dedissent, et tempestatem ferrent\n facilius, et in vadis consisterent tutius, et ab \u00e6stu relict\u00e6 nihil\n saxa et cautes timerent; quarum rerum omnium nostris navibus casus\n erat extimescendus\u201d (c. 13).\n\nFootnote 6:\n\n \u1f18\u03c0\u1f76 \u03c4\u1f78\u03bd \u03b1\u1f50\u03c7\u03ad\u03bd\u03b1 \u03c4\u1fc6\u03c2 \u039a\u03b9\u03bc\u03b2\u03c1\u03b9\u03ba\u1fc6\u03c2 \u03c7\u03b5\u03c1\u03c3\u03bf\u03bd\u03ae\u03c3\u03bf\u03c5 \u03a3\u03ac\u03be\u03bf\u03bd\u03b5\u03c2 (Geog. lib. ii. c. 2).\n\nFootnote 7:\n\n \u0392\u03b1\u03c3\u03c4\u03ac\u03c1\u03bd\u03b1\u03c2 \u03b4\u03b5, \u03a3\u03ba\u03cd\u03b8\u03b9\u03ba\u03bf\u03bd \u1f14\u03b8\u03bd\u03bf\u03c2, \u1f51\u03c0\u03bf\u03c0\u03b5\u03c3\u03cc\u03bd\u03c4\u03b1\u03c2 \u03b1\u1f50\u03c4\u1ff7 \u03c0\u03c1\u03bf\u03c3\u03ad\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03bf\u03c2 \u03ba\u03b1\u03c4\u1ff4\u03ba\u03b9\u03c3\u03b5\n \u0398\u03c1\u1fb3\u03ba\u03af\u03bf\u03b9\u03c2 \u03c7\u03c9\u03c1\u03af\u03bf\u03b9\u03c2\u00b7 \u03ba\u03b1\u1f76 \u03b4\u03b9\u03b5\u03c4\u03ad\u03bb\u03b5\u03c3\u03b1\u03bd \u03c4\u03bf\u1fd6\u03c2 \u1fec\u03c9\u03bc\u03b1\u03af\u03c9\u03bd \u03b2\u03b9\u03bf\u03c4\u03b5\u03cd\u03bf\u03bd\u03c4\u03b5\u03c2 \u03bd\u03cc\u03bc\u03bf\u03b9\u03c2. \u03ba\u03b1\u1f76\n \u03a6\u03c1\u03ac\u03b3\u03ba\u03c9\u03bd \u03c4\u1ff7 \u03b2\u03b1\u03c3\u03b9\u03bb\u03b5\u1fd6 \u03c0\u03c1\u03bf\u03c3\u03b5\u03bb\u03b8\u03cc\u03bd\u03c4\u03c9\u03bd \u03ba\u03b1\u1f76 \u03c4\u03c5\u03c7\u03cc\u03bd\u03c4\u03c9\u03bd \u03bf\u1f30\u03ba\u03ae\u03c3\u03b5\u03c9\u03c2 \u03bc\u03bf\u1fd6\u03c1\u03ac \u03c4\u03b9\u03c2\n \u1f00\u03c0\u03bf\u03c3\u03c4\u1fb6\u03c3\u03b1, \u03c0\u03bb\u03bf\u03af\u03c9\u03bd \u03b5\u1f50\u03c0\u03bf\u03c1\u03ae\u03c3\u03b1\u03c3\u03b1, \u03c4\u1f74\u03bd \u1f19\u03bb\u03bb\u03ac\u03b4\u03b1 \u03c3\u03c5\u03bd\u03b5\u03c4\u03ac\u03c1\u03b1\u03be\u03b5\u03bd \u1f05\u03c0\u03b1\u03c3\u03b1\u03bd \u03ba\u03b1\u1f76 \u03a3\u03b9\u03ba\u03b5\u03bb\u03af\u1fb3\n \u03c0\u03c1\u03bf\u03c3\u03c3\u03c7\u03bf\u1fe6\u03c3\u03b1 \u03ba\u03b1\u1f76 \u03c4\u1fc7 \u03a3\u03c5\u03c1\u03b1\u03ba\u03bf\u03c5\u03c3\u03af\u03c9\u03bd \u03c0\u03c1\u03bf\u03c3\u03bc\u03af\u03be\u03b1\u03c3\u03b1 \u03c0\u03bf\u03bb\u1f7a\u03bd \u03ba\u03b1\u03c4\u1f70 \u03c4\u03b1\u03cd\u03c4\u03b7\u03bd \u03b5\u1f30\u03c1\u03b3\u03ac\u03c3\u03b1\u03c4\u03bf\n \u03c6\u03cc\u03bd\u03bf\u03bd. \u1f24\u03b4\u03b7 \u03b4\u03b5 \u03ba\u03b1\u1f76 \u039b\u03b9\u03b2\u03cd\u1fc3 \u03c0\u03c1\u03bf\u03c3\u03bf\u03c1\u03bc\u03b9\u03c3\u03b8\u03b5\u1fd6\u03c3\u03b1, \u03ba\u03b1\u1f76 \u1f00\u03c0\u03bf\u03ba\u03c1\u03bf\u03c5\u03c3\u03b8\u03b5\u1fd6\u03c3\u03b1 \u03b4\u03c5\u03bd\u03ac\u03bc\u03b5\u03c9\u03c2 \u1f10\u03ba\n \u039a\u03b1\u03c1\u03c7\u03b7\u03b4\u03cc\u03bd\u03bf\u03c2 \u1f10\u03c0\u03b5\u03bd\u03b5\u03c7\u03b8\u03b5\u03af\u03c3\u03b7\u03c2, \u03bf\u1f35\u03b1 \u03c4\u03b5 \u03b3\u03ad\u03b3\u03bf\u03bd\u03b5\u03bd \u1f00\u03c0\u03b1\u03b8\u1f74\u03c2 \u1f10\u03c0\u03b1\u03bd\u03b5\u03bb\u03b8\u03b5\u1fd6\u03bd \u03bf\u1f34\u03ba\u03b1\u03b4\u03b5.\n (Zosimus. de Probo, i. 71).\n\nFootnote 8:\n\n \u201cQuid loquar rursus intimas Franci\u00e6 nationes jam non ab iis locis qu\u00e6\n olim Romani invaserant, sed a propriis ex origine sui sedibus, atque\n ab ultimis barbari\u00e6 littoribus avulsas, ut, in desertis Galli\u00e6\n regionibus collocat\u00e6 et pacem Romani imperii cultu juvarent et arma\n delectu?\u201d (Eumenius. Constantin. Aug. c. vi.)\n\nFootnote 9:\n\n \u201cRecursabat quippe in animos illa sub Divo Probo et paucorum ex\n Francis captivorum incredibilis audacia et indigna felicitas, qui a\n Ponto usque correptis navibus Gr\u00e6ciam Asiamque populati nec impune\n plerisque Liby\u00e6 littoribus appulsi ipsas postremo, navalibus quondam\n victoriis nobiles ceperant Syracusas, et immenso itinere pervecti\n Oceanum, qua terras irrupit intraverant atque ita eventu temeritatis\n ostenderant nihil esse clausum piratic\u00e6 desperationi quo navigiis\n pateret accessus\u201d (Eumenius Panegyr. Const. C\u00e6s. xviii. circ. A.D.\n 300)\n\nFootnote 10:\n\n \u201cPer h\u00e6c tempora (i.e. 287) etiam Carausius, qui vilissime natus in\n strenu\u00e6 militi\u00e6 ordine famam egregiam fuerat consecutus, cum apud\n Bononiam per tractum Belgic\u00e6 et Armoric\u00e6 pacandum mare accepisset,\n quod Franci et Saxones infestabant, multis barbaris s\u00e6pe captis, nec\n pr\u00e6da integra aut provincialibus reddita aut imperatoribus missa\n consulto ab eo admitti barbaros ut transeuntes cum pr\u00e6da exciperet\n atque hac se occasione ditaret; a Maximiano jussus occidi purpuram\n sumpsit et Britannias occupavit\u201d (Eutropius, Breviarium Histori\u00e6, ix.\n ch. 21).\n\nFootnote 11:\n\n Orat. 1. \u03a6\u03c1\u03ac\u03b3\u03ba\u03bf\u03b9 \u03ba\u03b1\u1f76 \u03a3\u03ac\u03be\u03bf\u03bd\u03b5\u03c2 \u03c4\u1ff6\u03bd \u1f51\u03c0\u1f72\u03c1 \u03c4\u1f78\u03bd \u1fec\u1fc6\u03bd\u03bf\u03bd \u03ba\u03b1\u1f76 \u03c4\u1f74\u03bd \u1f11\u03c3\u03c0\u03b5\u03c1\u03af\u03b1\u03bd\n \u03b8\u03ac\u03bb\u03b1\u03c4\u03c4\u03b1\u03bd \u1f10\u03b8\u03bd\u1ff6\u03bd \u03c4\u1f70 \u03bc\u03b1\u03c7\u03b9\u03bc\u03ce\u03c4\u03b1\u03c4\u03b1.\n\nFootnote 12:\n\n \u201cHoc tempore velut per universum orbem Romanum bellicum canentibus\n buccinis, excit\u00e6 gentes s\u00e6vissim\u00e6 limites sibi proximos persultabant.\n Gallias Rh\u00e6tiasque simul Alamanni populabantur; Sarmat\u00e6, Pannonias et\n Quadi; Picti, Saxonesque, et Scoti, et Attacotti Britannos \u00e6rumnis\n vexavere continuis\u201d (Rerum Gestarum, lib. xxvi. s. 4).\n\nFootnote 13:\n\n \u201cGallicanos vero tractus _Franci_, et _Saxones_ iisdem confines, quo\n quisque erumpere potuit terra vel mari, pr\u00e6dis acerbis incendiisque et\n captivorum funeribus hominum violabant\u201d (Ammianus Marcellinus, d.\n circ. 400, lib. xxvii. c. 8, \u00a7 5).\n\nFootnote 14:\n\n \u201cMaduerunt Saxone fuso\n Orcades; incaluit Pictorum sanguine Thule;\n Scotorum cumulos flevit glacialis Ierne.\u201d\n\n (De Cons. Hon. iv. 31.)\n\nFootnote 15:\n\n \u201cVita omnis in venationibus atque in studiis rei militaris consistit.\n Ab parvulis labori ac duriti\u00e6 student ... in fluminibus promiscue\n perluuntur et pellibus aut parvis rhenonum tegimentis utuntur magna\n corporis parte nuda\u201d (C\u00e6sar De Bello Gallico, vi. 21).\n\nFootnote 16:\n\n \u201cNec enim immensa barbarorum scuta, enormes hastas, inter truncos\n arborum et enata humo virgulta perinde haberi quam pila et gladios et\n h\u00e6rentia corpori tegmina ... non loricam Germano, non galeam, ne scuta\n quidem ferro nervo ve firmata, sed viminum textus vel tenues fucatas\n colore tabulas, primatu utcunque aciem hastatam, c\u00e6teris pr\u00e6usta aut\n brevia tela\u201d (Tacitus Annals, ii. 14).\n\nFootnote 17:\n\n \u201cNam super hac re varia opinio est, aliis arbitrantibus de Danis\n Northmannisque originem duxisse Saxones, aliis autem aestimantibus, ut\n ipse adolescentulus audivi quendam praedicantem de Graecis, quia ipsi\n dicerent, Saxone reliquias fuisse Macedonici exercitus qui secutus\n magnum Alexandrum inmatura morte ipsius per totum orbem sit dispersus\u201d\n (Ann. lib. 1).\n\nFootnote 18:\n\n \u201cDani et Sueones, quos Northmannos vocamus, et Septentrionale litus et\n omnes in eo insulas tenent\u201d (Vita Caroli Magni, c. 12; Eginhard,\n historian and friend of Charlemagne).\n\nFootnote 19:\n\n \u201cDani more quoque Francisco dicuntur nomine Manni.\u201d\n\nFootnote 20:\n\n V\u00f6luspa is derived from _v\u00f6lva_, _sybil_ and _sp\u00e1_, foretelling. The\n name _v\u00f6lva_ seems to be derived from _v\u00f6lr_ (staff, stick), as we see\n that the sibyls or prophetesses used to walk from place to place with\n a stick.\n\nFootnote 21:\n\n Vafthrudnir. _Vaf_ = weave, or entangle: _thrudnir_ = strong, or\n mighty; hence Vafthrudnir = mighty in riddles which cannot be\n disentangled.\n\nFootnote 22:\n\n The awful = Odin.\n\nFootnote 23:\n\n The one who gives useful advice.\n\nFootnote 24:\n\n When the heart, which is near the ribs, is cold, the ribs are also\n cold; therefore this means _cold-hearted_.\n\nFootnote 25:\n\n F\u0153da means both to give birth to, to raise, and to feed.\n\nFootnote 26:\n\n _Ividi_, a very obscure word (only found here in the whole Northern\n literature), which has been translated differently without any\n particle of authority in any case, and in each case only as a mere\n guess. The word vid means tree, perhaps the world-tree, _Yggdrasil_,\n which extended its roots under the world.\n\nFootnote 27:\n\n It is well known that the later Edda bears strong marks of the\n influence of Christianity, and we quote it with caution and only when\n it essentially agrees with Voluspa and other parts of the earlier\n Edda.\n\nFootnote 28:\n\n _Vili_, will; _Ve_, sanctuary, holy place. Cf. also \u2018Lokasenna,\u2019 26;\n \u2018Ynglinga,\u2019 c. 3.\n\nFootnote 29:\n\n Gj\u00f6ll (the sounding one).\n\nFootnote 30:\n\n Gjallar bridge (the bridge of Gj\u00f6ll).\n\nFootnote 31:\n\n Modgud (the valkyrja of anger).\n\nFootnote 32:\n\n Nanna is told of in Baldr\u2019s burning, as she, his wife, was burnt with\n him.\n\nFootnote 33:\n\n In Sigurdrifumal it is said the runes were in the holy mead, sent to\n Asar, Alfar, and Vanir.\n\nFootnote 34:\n\n Elivagar, the streams flowing from the well Hvergelmir in Niflheim\n froze into a J\u00f6tun.\n\nFootnote 35:\n\n _i.e._, a J\u00f6tun woman.\n\nFootnote 36:\n\n A kind of trough used for flour; so the boat is called in which he\n saved his life as is seen by what follows. In the lay of Hyndla we\n read:\u2014\n\n \u201cAll J\u00f6tnar came from Ymir.\u201d\n\nFootnote 37:\n\n Mundilfori, from _mondul_ = a handle, and _fara_ = to go; the one\n veering or turning round.\n\nFootnote 38:\n\n A J\u00f6tun.\n\nFootnote 39:\n\n Sun, in the north, is of feminine gender, and the moon masculine.\n\nFootnote 40:\n\n The rim of heaven = the line of the sky from the horizon.\n\nFootnote 41:\n\n The sun.\n\nFootnote 42:\n\n The moon.\n\nFootnote 43:\n\n R\u00f6kst\u00f3l\u2014_stol_, seat or stool; _r\u00f6k_, judgment.\n\nFootnote 44:\n\n Wind-chilly.\n\nFootnote 45:\n\n Sweet mood.\n\nFootnote 46:\n\n Bloody surf means poetically the sea, and the expression, the bones of\n Blain, a name nowhere else mentioned in the earlier Edda, seems to\n refer to a fight, the record of which is lost to us.\n\nFootnote 47:\n\n Modsognir and Durin, only mentioned here, refer to some lost myth.\n There seem to have been three kinds of tribes of Dvergar, having for\n chiefs, respectively, Modsognir, Durin, Dvalin. \u201cMany _man-likenesses_\n in the earth,\u201d namely Dvergar, who are often described as living under\n the earth.\n\nFootnote 48:\n\n The five stanzas (Nos. 11, 12, 13, 15, 16) omitted give a long list of\n names of Dvergar, among them those of Nyi, the growing moon; Nidi, the\n waning moon; Nordri, the north, &c.; Althjof, all-thief; Dvalin, the\n delayer, &c., &c.\n\nFootnote 49:\n\n The Dvergar clan of Dvalin, who is not mentioned before, seems to have\n been the highest among all the Dvergar.\n\n From Alvismal we may infer that the Dvergar were related to the\n Thursar.\n\nFootnote 50:\n\n There seems to be something missing between the stanzas 16 and 17,\n unless the poet means the host of the Dvergar, who were under the\n three above-named chiefs.\n\nFootnote 51:\n\n It seems that the house in which Ask and Embla were to live was in\n existence already. _Ask_ means ash-tree, like _Yggdrasil_; _Embla_\n only occurs here in the V\u00f6luspa, and it is most difficult consequently\n to give a meaning to it; the elm-tree is called _alm_, and perhaps is\n here meant to be in contrast to the ash.\n\nFootnote 52:\n\n Odin, H\u0153nir, and Lodur gave them life. H\u0153nir is mentioned in the later\n Edda. Lodur is only mentioned in the beginning of Heimskringla.\n\nFootnote 53:\n\n Jarnvid, or iron forest; the word is only found here and in the Later\n Edda. The old one means a J\u00f6tun woman, Angrboda, by whom Loki begat\n the Fenrir wolf (\u2018Later Edda,\u2019 c. 34).\n\nFootnote 54:\n\n The son of Fenrir. According to the prose Edda _M\u00e1nagarm_ is the name\n of the son of the Fenrir wolf who swallowed the moon. See\n Gylfaginning, c. 12.\n\nFootnote 55:\n\n A third bird not named lives in the halls of Hel. They represent the\n J\u00f6tnar, the Asar, and the third Hel (the home of the dead), and seem\n to be the wakers of these three different realms.\n\nFootnote 56:\n\n The Asar, after taking Loki, bound him to a rock with fetters made of\n the entrails of his son, Vali (who must not be confused with his\n namesake, Baldr\u2019s brother).\n\n \u201cNow Loki was without any truce taken to a cave. They took three\n slabs, set them on edge, and made a hole in each. They took the sons\n of Loki, Vali and Nari or Narfi, and changed Vali into a wolf which\n tore Narfi asunder. Then they took his entrails and with them tied\n Loki over the three slabs; one was under his shoulders, another under\n his loins, the third under his knees, and these bands changed into\n iron. Then Skadi (a goddess) took a poisonous serpent and fastened it\n above him, so that the poison should drip into his face; but his wife\n Sigyn stands at his side, and holds a vessel under the poison-drops.\n When it is full she goes out to pour it down, but in the meanwhile the\n poison drips into his face; then he shudders so hard that the whole\n earth trembles; that you call earthquake. There he lies in bands till\n the doom of the gods\u201d (Gylfaginning, c. 50).\n\n \u201cLoki begat the wolf\n With Angrboda,\n And Sleipnir\n With Svadilf\u00f6ri;\n One monster was thought\n Most terrible of all;\n It was sprung from\n The brother of B\u00fdleist (= Loki).\u201d\n\n [Hyndlulj\u00f3d, 40]\n\n The Asar were afraid of Fenrir wolf, Loki\u2019s son, and twice tried to\n chain it, but could not.\n\n \u201cThereupon they were afraid that they could not chain the wolf; then\n Allf\u00f6dr (Odin) sent the servant Sk\u00edrnir, the messenger of _Frey_, down\n to Svart\u00e1lfaheim (world of the black \u00c1lfar) to some Dvergar, and had a\n chain made, called Gleipnir. It was made of six things: Of the noise\n of the cat, of the beard of women, of the roots of the mountain, of\n the sinews of the bear, of the breath of the fish, of the spittle of\n the bird.\u201d\n\n At last they succeeded in chaining it with the chain, but T\u00fdr lost his\n right hand, which he was obliged to put into the mouth of the wolf as\n a pledge.\n\n \u201cWhen the Asar saw that the wolf was fully tied they took the band\n which hung on the chain and was called Gelgja, and drew it through a\n large slab, called Gj\u00f6ll, and fastened the slab deep down in the\n ground. They took a large stone and put it still deeper into the\n ground; it was called Thviti, and they used it as a fastening pin. The\n wolf gaped terribly and shook itself violently, and wanted to bite\n them. They put into its mouth a sword; the guards touch the lower\n palate and the point the upper palate; that is its gag. It groans\n fiercely and saliva flows from its mouth and makes the river Von;\n there it lies till the last fight of the gods\u201d (Later Edda, c. 34).\n\nFootnote 57:\n\n Dvergar.\n\nFootnote 58:\n\n Hrym. This name occurs nowhere else.\n\nFootnote 59:\n\n J\u00f6rmungand is the world serpent, Midgard\u2019s serpent, the son of Loki.\n\n \u201cAngrboda was a J\u00f6tun woman in J\u00f6tunheimar. Loki begat three children\n by her: Fenrir wolf, J\u00f6rmungand, or Midgardsorm, the serpent, and Hel.\n When the gods knew that these three children were brought up in\n J\u00f6tunheimar, they had foretellings that great misfortune and loss\n would be caused by them, and all thought much evil must be expected\n from them, first on account of their mother, and still more of their\n father. Allf\u00f6dr (Odin) sent the gods to take and bring them to him.\n When they came to him he threw the serpent (Midgardsorm) into the deep\n sea that lies round all lands, and it grew so much that it lies in the\n middle of the sea round all lands and bites its tail\u201d (Later Edda, c.\n 34).\n\nFootnote 60:\n\n \u201cNaglfar.\u201d The ship, said in the Later Edda, Gylfaginning 51, to be\n made of nails of dead men; when it is finished the end of the world\n comes.\n\nFootnote 61:\n\n Loki being the chief enemy of the gods.\n\nFootnote 62:\n\n The first sorrow is not mentioned. Hlin, a maid of Frigg (see\n Gylfaginning, 35). Her second sorrow is the death of Odin.\n\nFootnote 63:\n\n Slayer of Beli = Frey.\n\nFootnote 64:\n\n The wolf Fenrir.\n\nFootnote 65:\n\n Loki is the father of Fenrir-wolf, who is called the J\u00f6tun\u2019s son, as\n Loki was a J\u00f6tun.\n\nFootnote 66:\n\n Odin\u2019s son, Vidar, avenges his father by slaying the Fenrir-wolf.\n\nFootnote 67:\n\n Here the V\u00f6lva again sees how everything is destroyed. Ragnar\u00f6k, \u201cthe\n doom of the powers and the end of the world,\u201d is mentioned in\n Lokasenna where Loki is taunting the gods; when he comes to Tyr, the\n latter answers him\u2014\n\n I have no hand\n And thou hast no praise;\n We are both badly off;\n Nor is the wolf well\n That in bands shall\n Wait for Ragnar\u00f6k.\n\n In Atlamal Ragnar\u00f6k is also mentioned in the dreams of Glaumvor (see\n p. 462). In the later Edda the word is corrupted by having an \u201cr\u201d\n added, which gives the meaning of _twilight_ instead of _doom_ of the\n gods, as it really meant.\n\nFootnote 68:\n\n The V\u00f6lva seems never to tire reminding her hearers that the dog Garm\n barks loud, &c.\n\nFootnote 69:\n\n The V\u00f6lva.\n\nFootnote 70:\n\n Midgard\u2014_midr_, middle; _gardr_, yard, enclosed space; also, courtyard\n and premises; a house in a village or town; a stronghold; a fence or\n wall; a collection of houses, a farm.\n\nFootnote 71:\n\n Asgard in olden times meant a place surrounded by walls, and also a\n collection of houses enclosed by a fence, hence the modern name in\n Scandinavia of g\u00e5rd for farm. The residence of the gods is also called\n by this name in the Edda.\n\nFootnote 72:\n\n _Mannheimar_ (always in plural _mannheimar_, the singular is\n _mannheim_) means homes of men.\n\nFootnote 73:\n\n The word _Gullveig_ is only found as a compound word this once in the\n literature of the North. _Gull_ = gold; _veig_ = draught, also\n strength. It may be a metaphor for the thirst of gold being the root\n of evil, and the cause of the first fight and manslaying in the world,\n as the thirst is never dying.\n\nFootnote 74:\n\n H\u00e1r = Odin.\n\nFootnote 75:\n\n Here evidently the reference is to the war between the Vanir and the\n Asar. This shows that they had been defeated. Feast means sacrifice,\n which was always followed by the feast; this would imply that they\n wanted to make a sacrifice for peace or victory.\n\nFootnote 76:\n\n A stockade made like Danavirki or other strongholds in the north.\n\nFootnote 77:\n\n Wergild, indemnity.\n\nFootnote 78:\n\n Alfheimar. In one text, J\u00f6tunheimar. In later times Risar, Troll, and\n Dvergar became synonymous with giants, dwarfs, and wizards.\n\nFootnote 79:\n\n Kvisl\u2014a forked river, one of the forks where they unite\u2014it also means\n a branch of a tree.\n\n Vana-kvisl means the river of the Vanir; it is supposed now that it\n was the river Don which flows into the Sea of Azow, but it is\n doubtful.\n\nFootnote 80:\n\n This was probably the river Don, which is near the Ural Mountains.\n\nFootnote 81:\n\n Sv\u00edthj\u00f3d the Great seems to be Russia\u2014Norway, Sweden, perhaps Denmark\n and the shores of the Baltic.\n\nFootnote 82:\n\n Gefjon was one of the Asynjur.\n\nFootnote 83:\n\n Svithj\u00f3d = Sweden, but it can hardly be taken in these early Sagas as\n exactly corresponding to modern Sweden.\n\nFootnote 84:\n\n People were buried with their wealth.\n\nFootnote 85:\n\n The one who owned the burning in the text. Heaven means space, not a\n blessed abode.\n\nFootnote 86:\n\n This word is not found elsewhere in Scandinavian literature.\n\nFootnote 87:\n\n See priest.\n\nFootnote 88:\n\n Idr\u00f3ttir, a name for all kinds of athletic and intellectual games.\n\nFootnote 89:\n\n We must here remark that nowhere is Thor called the God of Thunder.\n\nFootnote 90:\n\n See Havamal, the lord of the gallows; see Havamal where he is said to\n have hung on a tree.\n\nFootnote 91:\n\n Grimnism\u00e1l, 19\u201320, also mentions these ravens.\n\n\n 19.\n\n The battle-tamer (Odin) feeds\n Geri and Freki,\n The famous father of hosts (Herjaf\u00f6dr)\n And by wine alone\n The weapon-famous\n Odin always lives.\n\n\n 20.\n\n Hugin and Munin\n Fly every day\n Over the wide earth;\n I am afraid Hugin\n Will not come back,\n But still more of Munin.\n\n Poetical names were given to these ravens by Eyvind Skalda-spillir;\n they are called the Swans of Farmat\u00fdr (the god of cargoes), _i.e._,\n the Swans of Odin.\n\nFootnote 92:\n\n Because he was always fighting against the J\u00f6tnar.\n\nFootnote 93:\n\n The fires were always in the centre, lengthwise.\n\nFootnote 94:\n\n This man was Odin, who is always represented as having only one eye.\n\nFootnote 95:\n\n Cfr. also Volsunga Saga, c. 11.\n\nFootnote 96:\n\n The story of Odin\u2019s ship reminds one of the tent mentioned in the\n \u2018Arabian Nights,\u2019 which could cover an army, and yet could be folded\n and carried in a small pocket.\n\nFootnote 97:\n\n Odin himself hung in Yggdrasil to learn wisdom, and this is a like\n custom (Havamal, 139); it seems that Odin learned wisdom from the one\n hanging in the gallows by sitting under it.\n\nFootnote 98:\n\n A high seat from which Odin could see over all worlds. (Gylfaginning,\n 17.) In the older Edda there is a long poem, Skirnism\u00e1l or Skirnisf\u00f6r,\n on the story of Nj\u00f6rd falling in love with Gerd.\n\nFootnote 99:\n\n The peace of Frodi, so called from the chief who ruled Denmark at the\n time, and who must have become very celebrated.\n\nFootnote 100:\n\n Gymir, a jotun of whom nothing is known.\n\nFootnote 101:\n\n A lady is still called _fru_ all over Scandinavia.\n\nFootnote 102:\n\n In Icelandic Sagas housewife is _h\u00fas-freyja_; but in modern Icelandic,\n _h\u00fas-fr\u00fa_.\n\nFootnote 103:\n\n _i.e._, mixed with water.\n\nFootnote 104:\n\n This would imply that Sweden was east of Vanaheim.\n\nFootnote 105:\n\n Cf. also Herraud and Bosi\u2019s Saga, c. 1.\n\nFootnote 106:\n\n Cf. also Ynglinga Saga, and _Prologue to Heimskringla_.\n\nFootnote 107:\n\n The _Ynglingatal_ is not given, as it is tedious, and would be\n uninteresting to the general reader.\n\nFootnote 108:\n\n Fr\u00f3di had two sons, Ingjald and H\u00e1lfd\u00e1n. From the first was descended\n the great Harald Hildit\u00f6nn, who was defeated by his kinsman Sigurd\n Hring at the Bravalla-battle, see p. 368. From the second was\n descended Harald Fairhair, the ancestor of the Dukes of Normandy, and\n so indirectly of Queen Victoria.\n\nFootnote 109:\n\n This was written after all the petty kingdoms of Denmark had been\n consolidated into one; the term Danish tongue at earlier periods did\n not exist, but _Norr\u0153na_, or Northern tongue, was used instead.\n\nFootnote 110:\n\n Antiquities of the stone age have been found in bogs at H\u0153belstrup;\n Sandbjerg, near H\u00f6rsholm; L\u0153sten, near Randers; Kj\u0153r, Ringkj\u00f6bing Amt,\n Jutland; Sams\u00f6, &c.; and in mounds. Among them are numerous amber\n beads; flint tools from 4\u00bd to 10 ins. long, many having teeth like a\n saw; axe-blades, chisels, spear-points, and ornaments.\n\nFootnote 111:\n\n The following contents of a _Dolmen_ at Luthra, Vestergotland, are\n typical:\u20145 spear-heads, 1 arrow-head, 19 rough flint axes, 4 bone\n pins, 18 bone beads, 4 amber beads, 11 pierced teeth of bears, dogs,\n and pigs, several bones of cows, and a great number of skeletons.\n\nFootnote 112:\n\n Of the 140 passage graves at present known in Sweden, more than 110\n have been found in Skaraborglan, and most of these near Falk\u00f6ping.\n\nFootnote 113:\n\n Some of the forms of these antiquities are met with in parts of\n Germany, Hungary, England, and elsewhere in Europe, whilst others, by\n far the most numerous, are peculiarly Northern.\n\nFootnote 114:\n\n In one of the slabs (Fig. 28) there seems to be a representation of a\n kind of sacrificing altar, with figures of persons coming towards it,\n as if they were coming there for some object. There seem to be men\n blowing horns. In Fig. 29 are a ship and a large cone, on each side of\n which are an axe and another object or sign the significance of which\n is unknown.\n\n Fig. 30 has only a ship.\n\n Fig. 31 has four-footed animals, the lower ones coming in opposite\n directions, and the others going the same way; but the two subjects\n are separated by peculiar marks.\n\nFootnote 115:\n\n The Svastika, or Suvastika, is in its essential form a cross with bent\n arms [Illustration: Svastikas], but with many modifications. As a\n symbol, it is found widespread over a large part of the Old World. It\n is certainly of ancient origin, but authorities are disagreed as to\n its symbolical significance. Other symbols equally difficult to\n interpret, found in Norse remains, are the three dots, circle of dots,\n triangles, the triskele [Illustration: ], &c.\n\nFootnote 116:\n\n In a bog by Taarup several pieces of bronze, such as arm rings,\n spear-points, chisels, &c., were found.\n\n Near Aarup, Jutland, two bronze earrings of a similar pattern, two\n bracelets made of convex bronze bands with engraved ornaments, a solid\n gold ring for the hair, three spiral-shaped loops of gold with\n bowl-shaped buttons at the ends. The engraved ornaments seem to point\n to the fact that the engraving needle was known in the bronze age.\n\n Somewhat similar objects have been found in other bogs.\n\nFootnote 117:\n\n See \u2018Land of the Midnight Sun\u2019 for other ornaments of bronze.\n\nFootnote 118:\n\n During the stone and bronze ages the population of Norway was not as\n great as that of Sweden, Denmark, and the islands of the Baltic. It is\n only during the iron age that that country becomes more thickly\n settled, and approximates somewhat in its population to the\n neighbouring countries; bronze finds have occurred in Norway as far\n north as 66\u00b0 10\u00b4 N. latitude.\n\nFootnote 119:\n\n Mixed finds precede the advent of each age. Stone implements or\n weapons are found together with those of bronze, and later bronze\n implements, which are the forerunners of the approaching iron age, are\n found with those of iron. Examples of such are\u2014a grave at Stonholt,\n Viborg Amt, containing pearl of glass mosaic, with bronze poniard;\n grave at Alstrup, Aalborg Amt, containing iron weapons alongside an\n urn in which were a knife and ring of bronze; grave at Assens on Fyen,\n containing early iron age fibula, with bronze knife, saw, and needle;\n at Helsinge Zealand, grave with iron pin and bronze objects; at\n Brandtbjerg, near Sor\u00f6, Zealand, fragments of iron fibula and objects\n from bronze age, &c.\n\nFootnote 120:\n\n Broholm, situated on the S.E. coast of Fyen, forms the centre of the\n area of a magnificent arch\u00e6ological field, which extends about four\n kilometres all around it. In order to give an adequate idea of the\n richness of the place, I cannot do better than use the language of the\n late Herr F. Sehested, who in three summers discovered more than\n 10,000 different pieces belonging to the three ages above mentioned.\n\nFootnote 121:\n\n In an urn in a mound near Veile, Jutland, was found a bent bronze\n poniard; and in another mound at Mors, Jutland, an urn containing\n burnt bones and a bent bronze poniard.\n\n Sehested mentions (1) a bronze sword broken in four pieces, total\n length about 2 feet 8 inches with point missing; (2) fragments of a\n bronze sword with hollow handle broken at the top of the handle: (3)\n handle of sword with fragments of broken blade; (4) fragments of a\n spear-head broken near its socket. These objects had been\n intentionally rendered useless.\n\nFootnote 122:\n\n I can give an example that has lately come to my knowledge to prove\n this assertion. Professor Lorange found runes on parts of burnt bones\n found in a grave which he with Professor Stephens places, judging from\n the antiquities which belonged to it, as belonging to the sixth\n century.\n\n \u201cRUNE-INSCRIBED BURNT BONE.\n\n \u201cIn a letter dated Feb. 27th, 1886, I received from my friend the\n gifted Norwegian old-lorist A. Lorange, Keeper of the Bergen\n Forn-hall, a facsimile drawing of a piece of burnt bone, shortly\n before found in a grave-urn from the early iron age at J\u00e6deren.\n Afterwards he kindly sent the original to the Danish Museum, that I\n might give a faultless engraving. While there, the frail treasure was\n scientifically treated by Hr. Steffensen, the Conservator, and it is\n now quite hard and in excellent order. But even when it was taken from\n the urn, the runes were sharp and quite readable. These Old-Northern\n letters were elegantly cut, most of them in decorative writing, that\n is, with two or three strokes instead of one, very much in the style\n of the (? 7th century) Old-Danish Bone Amulet found at Lindholm in\n Scane, Sweden (\u2018Old Northern Run. Mon.,\u2019 vol. i., p. 219; iii., p. 33;\n 4to Handbook, p. 24); and of the ashen Lance-shaft from the Danish\n Kragehul Moss, not later than the year 400 (\u2018O. N. Run. Mon.,\u2019 vol.\n iii, p. 133; 4to Handbook, p. 90).\n\n \u201cThis burnt bone is nearly 4 inches long; average width, \u00bd inch. It\n bears over forty rune-staves, cut in two lines, in the _Boustrophedon_\n order.\n\n \u201cFrom the rune-types and language I judged this piece to date from the\n 6th century. But as Hr. Lorange was familiar with the build and\n grave-gear of the tumuli of a similar class, I begged him to say\n whether\u2014exclusively from his standpoint as arch\u00e6ologist\u2014he agreed with\n me. He replied, _that he did_.\n\n \u201cIf I have read the runes aright, this object also has been a heathen\n amulet. It is the first burnt bone yet found _risted with runes_.\n Other such we may have lost, for want of lynx-eyed examination.\n\n \u201cGeorge Stephens,\n Cheapinghaven, Denmark.\n\n _November 6, 1886_.\u201d\n\nFootnote 123:\n\n Similar runes also occurred on a scabbard found at Varpelev, and on a\n gold horn.\n\nFootnote 124:\n\n Danish coins with runic characters have been obtained from as early a\n period as that of Svein \u00dalfsson, or the 12th century. A runic _kefli_,\n according to its contents, carved soon after 1200, is preserved in the\n Danish museum. It was found in Vinje church, Upper Telemarken, of\n Norway. The inscription thereon signifies: _Sigurd Jarlson traced\n these Runes the Saturday after Botolf\u2019s mass, when he journeyed hither\n and would not be reconciled to Sverre, the slayer of his father and\n brother_. Sigurd was the son of the well-known Erling Skakke; he lost\n a battle against Sverre in 1200. As the latter died in 1202, it was\n between these two dates that the unsuccessful attempt at\n reconciliation occurred. (Stephens, p. 515.)\n\nFootnote 125:\n\n Dennis, p. 306. See Signor Gamurrini, who has described and\n illustrated them (see Ann. Inst. 1871, pp. 156\u2013166). Franzius, in his\n \u2018Elementa Epigraphices Gr\u00e6c\u00e6,\u2019 p. 22, 4to, Berolini, 1840, gives three\n Greek alphabets found inscribed in the same manner on various objects.\n No. 1, of twenty-four letters, is on the Agyllic vase first engraved\n by Lepsius (\u2018Annal. Hist. Arch\u00e6ol. Rom.,\u2019 vol. viii., p. 186). The\n second is a fragment, only sixteen letters, found on the wall of an\n Etruscan sepulchre (\u2018Lanzi Saggio di ling. Etr.,\u2019 ii., p. 436). The\n third is incomplete, having only the beginning, or the first fourteen\n letters.\n\nFootnote 126:\n\n Tacitus (Germ. c. 19) says: \u201c_Litterarum secreta viri pariter ac\n femin\u00e6 ignorant_\u201d (Men and women are equally ignorant of the secrets\n of letter writing). The earliest Latin inscriptions found in the North\n have characters unlike the runes.\n\nFootnote 127:\n\n In the Royal Library at Copenhagen there exist three most remarkable\n manuscripts in runic characters, showing the late period at which\n these still were in use. The first of these manuscripts, bearing the\n date of 1543, was written as a journal by Mogens Gyldenstjerne (a\n Danish noble) of Stjernholm, during a voyage into the North Sea\n undertaken by him in that year. The second bears the date of 1547, and\n is written as a note on a rough draft of a power of attorney by Bille\n of Bregentved, another Danish noble. The third is a notice about the\n last-mentioned estate, also containing a line in runic characters.\n\n The Runic codex containing the Scanian law also contains, in a\n different hand, a list of Danish kings, and among these one Ambruthe\n as having been king in Jutland. The time of this codex can be\n approximately fixed at about the year 1300.\n\nFootnote 128:\n\n The sacred or mystical number.\n\nFootnote 129:\n\n We see that Odin had to go through a terrible ordeal to learn the\n runes.\n\nFootnote 130:\n\n B\u00f6lthorn and Bestla are nowhere else mentioned in the earlier Edda.\n\nFootnote 131:\n\n Song-rouser, one of the vessels holding the sacred mead.\n\nFootnote 132:\n\n From this stanza we learn which tribes or people knew the art of\n writing runes.\n\nFootnote 133:\n\n Thund = Odin.\n\nFootnote 134:\n\n Three last lines of stanza are missing.\n\nFootnote 135:\n\n The edges of weapons. Some persons were supposed to have the power to\n deaden weapons\u2019 edges.\n\nFootnote 136:\n\n Spells on the roots of a young tree or sticks.\n\nFootnote 137:\n\n Witches and ghosts were believed to ride on hedges and tops of houses\n at night.\n\nFootnote 138:\n\n Hanged corpse.\n\nFootnote 139:\n\n Man.\n\nFootnote 140:\n\n Here the Alfar are reckoned among the gods.\n\nFootnote 141:\n\n The mighty rearer.\n\nFootnote 142:\n\n Delling is the father of Day (Vafthr\u00fadnism\u00e1l, 25; Later Edda).\n\nFootnote 143:\n\n Odin.\n\nFootnote 144:\n\n Loddfafnir is some one whom Odin is teaching.\n\nFootnote 145:\n\n One must not tell his secret to any one.\n\nFootnote 146:\n\n We see by this and many other passages that the J\u00f6tnar were the\n enemies of the Asar.\n\nFootnote 147:\n\n Property here means gold.\n\nFootnote 148:\n\n Of witches = shape-stolen.\n\nFootnote 149:\n\n Undecipherable.\n\nFootnote 150:\n\n Take care of his clothes, &c.\n\nFootnote 151:\n\n Cf. also Gretti\u2019s Saga. c. 62.\n\nFootnote 152:\n\n Kv\u00e6di, a poem or song. The poem consists of seventy-one stanzas with\n eight verses each, and the manuscripts are late and corrupted. It is\n evidently made up from the lives of several warriors, and often\n exaggerated, e.g., that he lived 300 years, and that his height was 16\n or 24 feet.\n\nFootnote 153:\n\n Speldi = tablet, flat piece of wood.\n\nFootnote 154:\n\n A form of duelling.\n\nFootnote 155:\n\n Professor Stephens in \u2018Handbook of Old Northern Runic Monuments,\u2019\n says: \u201cThe only Northern stone known to me which bears two words, cut\n far apart and running in different directions. I would therefore\n suggest that the one name is carved later than the other. Perhaps the\n husband or wife died first, and shortly after the partner was called\n away: thus they most likely lay in the same grave, and were remembered\n on the same block.\u201d\n\nFootnote 156:\n\n Bugge, by comparing the runic inscription on the Pir\u00e6us marble lion\n now at Venice, comes to the conclusion that, while the damaged state\n of the inscription makes it impossible to decipher it as a whole,\n enough can, however, be read to show its approximate date, and also\n the home of the tracer. The snake-slings and runes on this lion in all\n probability are traced by a man from Sweden, who has been among the\n V\u00e6rings or Varangians.\n\nFootnote 157:\n\n Bog finds belonging to the bronze age, as well as to the iron age,\n have been discovered in many places in the North. Those of the bronze\n age consist chiefly of swords, lance-heads, axes, sickles, &c. Objects\n of the bronze age are also found deposited under stones or in fields.\n\nFootnote 158:\n\n Thorsbjerg is situated south of Flensborg, in Southern Jutland. Among\n the objects found were fragments of swords, all double-edged, the\n hilts of all, with one exception, of wood, inlaid with bronze and\n silver, with scabbards of wood with metal mountings (on the metal\n bottom-piece of one scabbard is a very clear runic inscription); a\n sword-belt of thick leather, 41\u00bd inches long and 3\u00bd inches wide;\n buckles for sword-belts, all of bronze, with broken pieces of iron\n buckles; bows and arrows in a more or less complete state, the most\n perfect bow being about 60 inches long, but both ends are somewhat\n damaged, and the original length seems to have been a couple of inches\n more; a great number of arrow-shafts, all of similar shape, between\n 26\u201335 inches long and \u00bd inch thick, but the arrow-points are all\n destroyed, the iron having rusted; remnants of shields, flat and\n circular, composed of several smoothly-planed and pretty thin wooden\n boards, which are not equally broad all over, but become narrower\n towards the border:\u2014the largest cross-measure is 42\u00bd inches, the\n smallest 21 inches, the thickness of the middle boards, which as a\n rule are somewhat heavier than the rest, is about \u00bd to \u00bc inch (the\n shield-buckles are of bronze, but broken pieces of iron ones have been\n found also; their cross-measure is between 6\u20137 inches); axes, whose\n blades are much decomposed by rust, with thirty good handles of ash\n and beechwood, which measured between 23 and 33\u00bd inches in length; a\n few well-preserved spear-points, and others more or less destroyed by\n rust; four spear-handles, 32, 98\u00bd, 107\u00bd, and 116 inches in length;\n several riding and driving accoutrements; more than sixty fibul\u00e6 of\n many different styles; many broken pieces of gold rings, only two of\n which have been fitted together so as to form one complete ring; two\n spiral rings of bronze; a round pendant of gold; a hollow ornament of\n silver-mixed gold; a mass of beads; a piece of unworked amber;\n pincers; dice of amber; a variety of utensils and tools for domestic\n use, such as bowls of wood and clay, spoons, jugs, knives, &c.; two\n pairs of coarse woollen trousers, &c.; and several objects, the use of\n which is unknown.\n\nFootnote 159:\n\n Thirty-seven _Roman coins_ were found altogether. The earliest is of\n the year 60 A.D.; the latest, 194 A.D.\u20141 of _Nero_, 1 of _Vitellius_,\n 4 of _Vespasianus_, 1 of _Domitianus_, 7 of _Trajanus_, 6 of\n _Hadrianus_, 1 of _Aelius_, 6 of _Antoninus Pius_, 1 of _Faustina the\n elder_, 3 of _Marcus Aurelius_, 2 of _Faustina the younger_, 3 of\n _Commodus_, and 1 of _Septimius Severus_, the last-named being struck\n in the year 194 of our era.\n\nFootnote 160:\n\n On a superb silver vase at the Hermitage, St. Petersburg, found in\n Southern Russia, is a representation of a man wearing similar\n trousers.\n\nFootnote 161:\n\n The principal objects in this find included a very great number of\n arrow shafts (most of them thoroughly decayed), with arrow-points of\n bone or iron; a remnant of a quiver of wood about 25 inches long; a\n mass of wooden scabbards, mostly for edged swords; 390 pieces of metal\n and bone mountings for the scabbards, some of silver, and one of\n bronze covered with silver and thin gold plates, with runes lightly\n traced; shield-boards, handles and buckles (180 of the latter of\n iron); about 150 knives, all of iron and different shapes; several\n remnants of belts, as well as about 40 buttons of bronze, some covered\n with gold, and about 60 double buttons of bronze; about 250 different\n pieces of buckles and other mountings of iron and bronze; about 150\n different pieces of riding harness; a few horses\u2019 bones; bronze bowls,\n needles, keys; scissors; scythe-blades; 1 millstone; 1 small anvil; 6\n hammers; 25 iron chisels; 3 iron files; 2 iron pincers; 57 bone combs,\n some with _svastica_, and one with runes on; 4 square, 2 oblong dice;\n amber, glass, and mosaic beads; fibul\u00e6 of bronze, iron, silver, &c.,\n &c.\n\nFootnote 162:\n\n This Greek writer, who lived at the beginning of the 3rd century, was\n called to the Roman Court by Faustina, wife of Septimius Severus,\n whose numerous coins are found, and if this art was known by the\n Romans he would certainly have described it.\n\n \u201cAround this youth is a group of young men of fine appearance, and\n engaged in fine pursuits, as beseems men of noble birth. One of them\n seems to bear on his countenance traces of the pal\u00e6stra, another gives\n evidence of gentleness, a third of geniality: here is one who you\n would say had just looked up from his book; and of the horses on which\n they ride no two are alike, one is white, another chestnut, another\n black, another bay, and they have silver bridles, and their trappings\n are adorned with golden and decorated bosses (\u03c6\u03ac\u03bb\u03b1\u03c1\u03b1). And it is said\n that the barbarians by the ocean pour these colours on red-hot copper,\n and that the designs become hard, like stone, and are\n durable.\u201d\u2014Philostratus, Imagines. Chapter on Boar-hunting.\n\nFootnote 163:\n\n The articles found include glass, mosaic, and porcelain beads;\n fragments of four bone combs; four tweezers of bronze, of which two\n hang on bronze rings; remains of wooden shields with metal mountings;\n bronze mountings; 10 iron swords, damascened in several patterns, the\n length of the blades being from 31 to 35 inches, their width 1\u00be to 2\n inches; and fragments of several others; fragments of wooden\n scabbards, of which one has remains of leather on it; several metal\n mountings for scabbards; a buckle of bronze; about 80 points of iron\n spears, all of different shapes; 30 spear-handles, ornamented with\n engraved lines, some straight, and others with snake lines; remains of\n a wooden bow, length 47\u00bd inches, and fragments of another; arrows;\n four whole iron knives, between 7 and 10 inches long, and several\n handles and fragments; four oval-shaped whetstones and fragments of a\n square one; five small balance-weights; fragments of a heavy wooden\n post and of a small twig; some mountings of silver which probably\n belonged to riding harness; bones of three animals; &c., &c.\n\nFootnote 164:\n\n Among the objects found in the bog were 106 iron swords, all\n double-edged, with handles of wood sometimes covered with silver, or\n of bone or massive bronze; 93 damascened in different patterns, two\n wrought from two different pieces, and only eleven simply wrought. On\n several there are Latin inscriptions, and on one blade runes inlaid in\n gold. The condition in which the swords were when buried is peculiar.\n Generally they were without hilts and bent, on many were found deep\n cuts on both edges, one having 23 cuts on one, and 11 cuts on the\n other edge. Wooden scabbards, with mountings of bronze; mountings to\n sword-belts; buckles of iron and bronze; rings with loose\n end-mountings; 70 iron shield buckles; iron axes; iron bridles, three\n of which were still in the mouths of (skeleton) horses; 552 iron\n spear-points, several ornamented with gold; several hundred\n spear-handles; numerous household utensils of wood; several hundred\n arrow-shafts with traces of marks of ownership on them, and some with\n runes, &c.\n\nFootnote 165:\n\n Thirty-four Roman coins, struck between the years 69 and 217 A.D., are\n so-called denarii of silver, and date from the time of _Vitellius_\n (1), _Hadrian_ (1), _Antoninus Pius_ (10), two of which have the mark\n of DIVVS; _Faustina the elder_ (4), _Marcus Aurelius_ (7) (partly as\n C\u00e6sar, between the years 140\u2013143, and partly as Imperator), _Faustina\n the younger_ (1), _Lucius Verus_ (2), _Lucilla_ (2), _Commodus_ (5),\n and _Macrinus_ (1), the latter a very rare coin, struck in 217 A.D.\n\nFootnote 166:\n\n See p. 385.\n\nFootnote 167:\n\n In the coffin itself, on the right side of the skeleton, were found,\n among other objects, forty-six checker pieces of glass, sixteen dark\n red, the others of whitish colour, \u00be to 1\u00bd inch; three finger-rings of\n gold, and a spiral bracelet, similar to the one from Oland (vol. ii.\n p. 311); two fibul\u00e6 of silver, one gilt. On the left, sixty checker\n pieces, thirty-one of which were black, the others whitish; with these\n was a small amethyst stone with rough, unworked surface. At the feet,\n bronze vessels, one placed on the other, two small bosses of silver of\n unknown use.\n\nFootnote 168:\n\n See also pages 280, 282, 284.\n\nFootnote 169:\n\n The earliest coins (Gotland) are those of Augustus (29 B.C.\u2013A.D. 14).\n Then follow those of Nero, and coins of all the different emperors to\n Alexander Severus (222\u2013235); the greatest numbers are those of Trajan\n (98\u2013117); Hadrian (117\u2013138); Antoninus Pius (138\u2013161); Faustina, wife\n of Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius (161\u2013180); Faustina junior, wife of\n Marcus Aurelius, and Commodus (180\u2013192). At Hagestaborg the most\n numerous were those of Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius, Faustina the\n younger, and Commodus. The earliest are of the time of Nero (54\u201368),\n the latest of that of Septimius Severus (193\u2013211). In \u00d6land the\n earliest are those of Trajan, the latest those of Alexander Severus.\n In Zeeland the earliest are of Vespasian, the latest of Macrinus (217,\n 218). In Fyen the earliest are of Tiberius (14\u201337), the latest of Geta\n (211, 212). In Bornholm the earliest are of Nero, the latest of\n Septimius Severus. In Jutland the earliest are also of Nero, the\n latest of Macrinus (217, 218). In southern Sweden the earliest are of\n Claudius (41\u201354), the latest of Alexander Severus, but only one or two\n of the latter have been found; after the time of Commodus the silver\n denarii became rarer and rarer. On the island of Fyen a complete\n series of gold coins from Decius (249\u2013251) to Licinius the elder\n (307\u2013323) have been found. The Byzantine coins are of gold, and\n chiefly used as ornaments, date from Constantinus Magnus (306\u2013337) to\n Anastasius (491\u2013518); one also of Justinius I. (518\u2013527) has been\n found. In Norway the gold coins of the above period are exceedingly\n rare, only one of Valens (364\u2013378) and one of Gratuanus (367\u2013375)\n having been discovered; also one of Tiberius Constantius (578\u2013582),\n one of Mauricius Tiberius (582\u2013602), one of Constantius V. Copronymus\n (741\u2013775), one of Mich\u00e6l III. (842\u2013867) all of gold. Some of the\n earlier Arabic coins had already made their appearance in Scandinavia.\n The Roman coins from the Bangstrup find date from between A.D. 249 and\n 361. See also Appendix.\n\nFootnote 170:\n\n I have myself seen an illustration of this on the African coast, where\n natives could not understand that coins represent the value of goods,\n though traders had come to their country for a long time, and in some\n places they were loth to take money as payment, while a few miles\n inland it was refused.\n\nFootnote 171:\n\n See \u201cLand of the Midnight Sun.\u201d The islands of Zeeland and Fyen are\n especially rich in Roman objects and show the existence of great\n intercourse with the Roman provinces; while Gotland is particularly\n rich in coins. In the hamlet of Ryk (Tanum parish), Bohusl\u00e4n, a Roman\n coin struck A.D. 179 for the Emperor Marcus Aurelius was found in the\n ground. From the inscription on the coin the date can be accurately\n fixed, for it was said that it was coined in the year when Marcus\n Aurelius was Tribune for the thirty-third time, Imperator for the\n tenth time, and Consul for the third time.\n\n A gold coin of Tiberius (14\u201337) was found in a stone-set coffin at\n Rorb\u0153k; a silver denarius of Nerva (96\u201398) in the find of Fraugdegard,\n Fyen; and a silver denarius of Antoninus Pius (138\u2013161), with a\n skeleton, in a natural hill at Bennebo, near Holb\u0153k; a silver denarius\n of Lucius Verus (161\u2013169), with a skeleton, in a hill at Gunnerugs,\n near Prest\u00f6; a barbaric imitation in gold of a Roman imperial coin,\n with a loop soldered to it, found with a skeleton at Aareslen in\n Odense amt, Fyen. One limit of time obtained by means of the coins is\n certain enough, for the graves cannot have been closed before the year\n of their coinage.\n\n Pyteas mentions Guttan\u00e6. The Gotlanders in the Sagas are called Gutar;\n they may have met him on some of their trading journeys. The two names\n seem to be sufficiently similar to make this a probable supposition.\n In the island of Gotland a Greek coin of copper was found, but it\n seems to have been struck at Panormus in Sicily. On the obverse is a\n female head looking to the right, on the reverse a horse galloping to\n the left; it has no Punic letters. (In the collection of Capt. C. T.\n von Braun, of Ystad.) Two Macedonian coins of silver were also found;\n one of them is a diabole of Philip II., similar to the coins described\n in M\u00fcller, \u201cDer Macedoniske Konge Philipp II.\u2019s Mynter,\u201d p. 3, Nos.\n 14\u201316, and engraved Plate 1. (Both were in the collection of Capt. v.\n Braun, of Ystad; now only one remains there.)\n\n Also Roman coins anterior to Augustus, found together about 100 years\n ago. A silver coin of the family of Lucretia; a silver coin of the\n family of N\u00e6via; a coin of the family of Sulpicia. They are all\n unusually well preserved, but shorn on the border. (In the collection\n of Capt. von Braun Ystad.) A silver coin of the family Funa; a silver\n coin of the family Poblicia; one sub\u00e6rate coin of the family Postumia;\n one silver coin of the family Procilia; a silver coin of the family\n Tituria; a silver coin of the family Veturia. (In the collection of\n Capt. von Braun.) A silver coin of the family N\u00e6via, given by Capt.\n Braun to the Museum at Uddevala; and a silver coin of the family\n Sicinia, both well preserved. (In the Wisby Museum; formerly in the\n collection of Mr. P. A. Save.)\n\nFootnote 172:\n\n Three hundred and forty-four silver denarii, coined by the emperors\n between Nero and Marcus Aurelius, among them many of Trajan, Hadrian,\n and Antoninus Pius, have been found at the mouth of the Elbe.\n\n Under a large stone on a bank at Sengerich, in Hanover, 1,100 silver\n denarii were dug up, coined between the years 96 and 211.\n\n In Mecklenburg the finds of imperial coins embrace the period from\n Augustus to Valentinian.\n\n Finds of Roman coins from the first two centuries after Christ have\n also been made at the mouth of the Vistula and in its lower course,\n near the Oder.\n\n An especially interesting discovery was that of a Greek denarius\n coined in Lycia by Trajan; the only Greek coin discovered in Hanover.\n\nFootnote 173:\n\n Apollo Grannus, to whose temple the vase once belonged, was worshipped\n by the tribes of Gaul and Belgium. The Roman historian Dio Cassius\n relates that he was one of the gods worshipped by the Emperor\n Caracalla, who was murdered in A.D. 217. The name has also been\n discovered in Transylvania on a stone which Quintus Axius \u00c6lianus,\n Governor of Dacia at the beginning of the second century, had cut. It,\n however, happens that this \u00c6lianus had before this resided in Belgium,\n whither he had probably brought with him the worship of the god.\n\nFootnote 174:\n\n More than forty different statuettes have been found.\n\nFootnote 175:\n\n Among the bones outside the urn were found various fragments of\n bronze, six clinch-nails of iron, remains of glass, a burnt oblong\n loaf of bread, two pieces of a head ornament of bronze with rivets of\n iron, a ring of bronze, twelve beads of glass of different size and\n appearance, a damaged hanging ornament of bronze, a square plate of\n bronze with iron rivets, a denarius of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius\n coined in A.D. 162.\n\nFootnote 176:\n\n The word amber occurs in three earlier poems. Magical runes were\n written on gler.\u2014Sigrdrifumal. Pliny in his \u2018Natural History,\u2019 Book\n xxxv. 3, 42, speaks of amber as being \u201cformed in the islands of the\n Northern Ocean.\u201d\n\nFootnote 177:\n\n For other objects in Bavenh\u00f6i find, see p. 252\u2013254.\n\nFootnote 178:\n\n For other objects found at Varpelev, see p. 256\u2013258.\n\nFootnote 179:\n\n Cf. also Flateyjarb\u00f3k, i. 401; Hr\u00f3lf Kraki, c. 44; Heidarviga Saga, c.\n 20; Eyrbyggja Saga, c. 13.\n\nFootnote 180:\n\n Cf. also Finnboga Saga, c. 23; Gunnlaug Ormstunga\u2019s Saga, c. 5.\n\nFootnote 181:\n\n Grimhild had asked her sons Gunnar and H\u00f6gni to pay _weregild_ to\n Gudr\u00fan because they had slain her husband, Sigurd Fafnisbani.\n\nFootnote 182:\n\n This shows that bows of yew as well as of elm were used.\n\nFootnote 183:\n\n Another stone in relief has been found by Prof. Save, nearly 12 feet\n high, at Larbr\u00f6, in the northern part of the island of Gotland; of the\n same horse-shoe shape as shown here and on p. 58, with representations\n of ships, horses, and the eight-footed horse Sleipnir.\n\nFootnote 184:\n\n In Tanum parish, Bohusl\u00e4n, alone there are more than 2,000 mounds, the\n largest being about 300 feet in circumference; near Upsala nearly 600;\n at Ultuna, 700.\n\n The greatest number of mounds found in any one spot is east of the\n ancient Birka Bjorko, where there are over 1,000 of them; while seven\n graves, as will be seen in the course of the narrative, are found\n close together.\n\nFootnote 185:\n\n Poets, see vol. ii. p. 389.\n\nFootnote 186:\n\n I was sorry to see the place being gradually destroyed, the gravel\n taken away, and the embankments, made by the digging, falling down\n with the grave.\n\nFootnote 187:\n\n Gudlaug, Hakon\u2019s ancestor.\n\nFootnote 188:\n\n At Eds, Upland, there is a very fine ship-form grave of twenty-eight\n stones, 182 feet long and 50 feet wide. The largest stone at one end\n is 9 feet in height, and is evidently a bautastone; the rest, although\n large, each measuring several feet in circumference, are common\n boulders. At the centre of the ship there lies a similar stone, where,\n as well as at the ends, there is a small mound-like elevation.\n\n In the woods at Braidfloar, between Levide and Sproge in G\u00f6tland,\n there is a ship-form grave 144 feet long, but only 16 feet at its\n widest part; the stones, however, are small, none being higher than 3\n feet.\n\n At Lungersas, G\u00f6tland, Nerike, there is a ship-form grave in which\n stands a stone with an inscription in later runes.\n\n There is also a bautastone with runes, in one end of a ship-form at\n Lilla Lundley in Lids, S\u00f6dermanland, upon which are the words \u201c_Spjute\n and Halfdan_ raised this stone after _Skarde_ their brother. He went\n eastward with Roar. In Serkland lies the son.\u201d (See p. 356 Yellow\n Book, Den yngre jernalder.)\n\n A ship-form grave between the post-stations of Ljungby and Hamneda\n province of Kronobergs is 92 feet long and 32 feet broad; the\n neighbourhood is full of grave-mounds and bautastones.\n\n Another near the shore of the Baltic, in Eista parish, G\u00f6tland, is 50\n feet by 16 feet. A third, on the island of Far\u00f3, near G\u00f6tland, is 50\n feet by 8 feet.\n\n We see by this that their breadth does not always bear the same\n proportion to their length.\n\n In two ship forms at Hjortehammar, in Blekinge, there were found\n burned bones, ashes, two of the bowl-shaped fibul\u00e6 of bronze so common\n during the later iron age, a round fibula of silver, some glass beads,\n &c.\n\n In one at Raft\u00f6tangen, in Tanum parish, was an urn filled with ashes,\n on the top of which lay a finely ornamented damascened sword of the\n later iron age.\n\nFootnote 189:\n\n Such expressions occur as \u201ci haug lagdr,\u201d mound laid; \u201cheygdr,\u201d\n mounded.\n\nFootnote 190:\n\n There seem to have been special places built for the burning of the\n dead. On the island of Fyen, not far from Broholm, and about 1,200\n yards from the numerous graves, are two sites of pyres, round in\n shape, about 120 yards distant from each other. The pavement, about 7\n inches in thickness, is made of cobble stones of the size of a man\u2019s\n fist set very close together, and broken into sharp angles. The\n stones, especially those in the middle, have been exposed to the\n action of fire, but have been preserved by being covered with earth\n that had gathered over them brought by wind and rain in the course of\n centuries.\n\nFootnote 191:\n\n Nabjargir.\n\nFootnote 192:\n\n In Sigrdrifum\u00e1l the texts have in stanza 34 _laug_ = bath, and _haug_\n = mound. The letters _h_ and _l_ being very like in the manuscripts,\n we can choose whichever we like best of the two.\n\nFootnote 193:\n\n Cf. also Egil\u2019s Saga, c. 61.\n\nFootnote 194:\n\n In Brynhild\u2019s ride to Hel we have a different account:\u2014\n\n \u201cAfter the death of Brynhild two pyres were made, one for Sigurd,\n which was first set on fire, but Brynhild was burned on the other and\n was in a carriage tented with _god-web_ (a kind of fine cloth). It is\n told that Brynhild drove in the carriage on the road of Hel, and went\n through the tun where the j\u00f6tun-woman dwelt\u201d (Hel-reid Brynhildar).\n\nFootnote 195:\n\n Sigurd.\n\nFootnote 196:\n\n See Volsunga, ch. 20 and 31.\n\nFootnote 197:\n\n Probably on account of the ring on the door, as fine doors were\n ornamented with them.\n\nFootnote 198:\n\n We will follow on his heels, so that the door will not be shut after\n he enters, but be open while we enter.\n\nFootnote 199:\n\n The inheritance\u2014wealth, treasure, dowry, &c., &c.\n\nFootnote 200:\n\n In the preceding stanzas she has foretold the fate of Gudrun, Gunnar\n and H\u00f6gni, as is told in Volsunga.\n\nFootnote 201:\n\n For battle, see Vol. ii., p. 436.\n\nFootnote 202:\n\n A division of land.\n\nFootnote 203:\n\n Cf. also G\u00f6ngu Hrolf\u2019s Saga, c. 3.\n\nFootnote 204:\n\n Breast.\n\nFootnote 205:\n\n Tyrfing.\n\nFootnote 206:\n\n Tyrfing.\n\nFootnote 207:\n\n I would wish thee to believe it.\n\nFootnote 208:\n\n Ships.\n\nFootnote 209:\n\n That Tyrfing was dangerous.\n\nFootnote 210:\n\n I visited the island of Sams\u00f6 in order to see if I could discover any\n indication of the mound of Angantyr. This island stands in the middle\n of the great belt; it is only in clear weather that part of the coast\n of the peninsula of Jutland can be seen; its shores are in many parts\n lined with huge boulders. In some parts mounds, passage graves,\n dolmens, &c., are to be seen; everything tends to show that in olden\n times it was a great burial place. Many of the mounds are either\n hidden by woods, or stand solitary amidst cultivated fields. The scene\n described in Hervara came forcibly upon my mind, and I wondered not\n that Herv\u00f6r knew not where the mound of her father was. This island\n was well chosen for the resting-place of these men of the sea.\n\nFootnote 211:\n\n The gyg (ogress, witch) seem to have been women of J\u00f6tun race,\n possessing supernatural strength.\n\nFootnote 212:\n\n Volsunga Saga. ch. 38; instead of a ship he is buried in a stone\n coffin, but the poetry must be more trusted.\n\nFootnote 213:\n\n Smear well with wax the sheets.\n\nFootnote 214:\n\n Cf. Landnama, ii. An Bogsveigi\u2019s Saga, c. 6. Atlam\u00e1l. Gisli S\u00farsson.\n Laxd\u00e6la Saga, ch. 7.\n\nFootnote 215:\n\n Other ship-graves, such as that of Tune, Borre, &c., have been found\n with skeletons of horses.\n\n Among other ships found is the Gunnarshaug ship, discovered in Bergen\n Stift in 1887. The large mound in which it was found had a diameter of\n over 125 feet, and stood about 500 feet from the shore.\n\n The ship was only partly preserved owing to the action of the soil.\n Its planks were of oak, thicker and less broad than those of the\n G\u00f6kstad ship, fastened by clinch-nails. In the uppermost planks,\n considerably thinner than the rest, there are holes at distances of a\n little over 3 feet. Its keel is about the same length as that of the\n G\u00f6kstad ship.\n\n It stood _north to south_, and has been supported by six stones, each\n about 6 feet high. Its inside has been clothed with a layer of moss,\n evidently to hinder decay by the soil, and on one side of it was a\n heap of shavings, chips and bark, left by the carpenters. There are\n reasons for thinking that a wooden roof had been erected over the\n ship, and afterwards broken down.\n\n Of the Viking\u2019s body no trace is left, but the remains found indicate\n his place in the middle of the ship; these are two swords,\n forging-tools, five long whetting-stones, a tinder-box and pieces of a\n wooden box. Farther north: several large beads of mosaic glass and\n fine chesspieces of amber and coloured glass, part of a waxen tablet,\n a bracelet of gold, &c.\n\n Near the weapons lay an iron kettle and both the stones of a\n hand-mill, which shows that the Vikings ground their grain at sea. The\n stem was filled with rust.\n\n Oars and carved tools were also found, and planks of an exceedingly\n well-built boat of oak, over which there lay a fir plank, several feet\n long, with steps cut in it, evidently a landing-board (cf. G\u00f6kstad\n ship).\n\n This is the first burial-place found in Bergen Stift where the body\n was unburnt, but they are common further south.\n\nFootnote 216:\n\n In a large mound at Vold, Borre parish, Norway, was a small vessel\n about 54 feet long, but in such an imperfect state of preservation\n that only the clinch-nails with pieces of the planks were left. On the\n right side lay a horse\u2019s skeleton, near which were found remains of a\n fine bridle and saddle of leather and wood, the mountings of bronze\n and silver; also fragments of a glass bowl similar to the one found in\n a mound at Taplow (see p. 319). On the left side lay the skeletons of\n another horse and of a dog. Above the ship, over the entire mound, was\n spread a layer of charcoal. Among the objects found were a\n wrought-iron chain, an iron axe, fragments, and an iron kettle\n containing ashes, &c. This grave was made in a group of large mounds.\n\n In Tune, Norway, about five miles from the river Glommen, were found\n in 1867, in a mound, the remains of a viking ship, now in Christiana.\n This mound lay on a hill not far from the Visterfl\u00f6, one of the\n branches of the river Glommen. It was about 24 feet in height, and 500\n feet in circumference. Behind the mast lay the unburned corpse of a\n man, with part of the skeleton of a horse at his side. At the stern\n were the remains of ring armour.\n\n At Lackal\u00e4nga, near Lund, there are several earth-mounds. In one of\n these were found\u2014fragments of a ship, the wood being incrusted with\n iron rust; an urn of clay, with burned bones and coal; fragments of\n weapons, &c.; at least 100 clinch-nails of iron, and some other pieces\n of the same metal, probably originally belonging to a vessel buried in\n the mound; two larger buckles of iron, like those used on saddles; two\n stirrups, bits for a bridle, &c.\n\nFootnote 217:\n\n According to Herodotus, i. 212, Tomyres, queen of the Massaget\u00e6, whose\n son had been taken prisoner by Cyrus, sends to him the following\n message:\u2014\u201cRestore my son; depart out of the country, unpunished....\n But if you do not do this, _I swear by the sun, the Lord of the\n Massaget\u00e6_, that insatiable as you are, I will glut you with blood.\u201d\n\nFootnote 218:\n\n \u201cEast of Tanakvisl (Tanais, Don) in Asia was Asaland, or Asaheim, and\n the head-burgh (chief town) in the land was called Asgard. In the\n burgh was a chief called Odin; it was a great sacrificing-place\n (bl\u00f3tstad). It was customary there that twelve temple-priests\n (hofgodar) were the foremost, and had charge of the sacrifices and\n judged between men. They were called _diar_ or _drottnar_; all the\n people were bound to give them service and reverence\u201d (Ynglinga Saga,\n c. 2).\n\nFootnote 219:\n\n _Vetrarbl\u00f3t_ = winter-sacrifice; from _vetr_ = winter, and _bl\u00f3t_ =\n sacrifice. The milky way is called _vetrarbraut_ = winter way, because\n people thought that the appearance of the milky way predicted the\n course of the winter.\n\nFootnote 220:\n\n The people counted by nights instead of days.\n\nFootnote 221:\n\n This was also sometimes called Thor\u2019s sacrifice.\n\nFootnote 222:\n\n It seems that at this season other sacrifices than those to Frey were\n sometimes offered. Cf. H\u00e1lfd\u00e1n the Old. Skaldskaparmal, c. 13.\n\nFootnote 223:\n\n Cf. Ynglinga Saga, 8; St. Olaf, 115.\n\nFootnote 224:\n\n Cf. also H\u00f6rd\u2019s Saga and Hervarar Saga, c. 14. The boar was\n consecrated to Frey.\n\nFootnote 225:\n\n Cf. also Hakon Adalsteinsfostri\u2019s Saga, c. 15; Olaf Tryggvason (Hkr.),\n c. 28.\n\nFootnote 226:\n\n Cf. Hakon Adalsteinsfostri\u2019s Saga, c. 15. Snorri\u2019s Olaf Tryggvason, c.\n 28.\n\nFootnote 227:\n\n See chapter on Godis, p. 525.\n\nFootnote 228:\n\n Olaf Tryggvason in Fms. ii. 173.\n\nFootnote 229:\n\n See p. 496, a landowner.\n\nFootnote 230:\n\n St. Olaf 115, Heimskringla.\n\nFootnote 231:\n\n Ynglinga, 47. Snorri\u2019s Olaf Tryggvason, 16.\n\nFootnote 232:\n\n Sometimes the expenses devolved on the king, at others the feasts were\n provided for by the food and ale brought by those in attendance (Hakon\n Adalsteinsfostri, 16, 18). How far people went for sacrifices is seen\n in Landn\u00e1ma v., 8.\n\nFootnote 233:\n\n Eyrbyggja, 4, 10.\n\nFootnote 234:\n\n In Herraud\u2019s Saga, ch. 12, the toasts are given in different order.\n The first toast is dedicated to Thor; then one to all the Asar; then\n one to Odin; and lastly, one to Frey.\n\nFootnote 235:\n\n Hallfredar Saga.\n\nFootnote 236:\n\n In the earliest times Thor was the great enemy of the J\u00f6tnar. He was\n called upon by wrestlers also (Gunnlaug Ormstunga, 10), and showed his\n anger by causing loss of property (Fl\u00f3amanna Saga, c. 20)\n\nFootnote 237:\n\n Thrymskvida. The bridegroom and bride were to be marked with the holy\n sign. (Vol. II., p 12.)\n\nFootnote 238:\n\n St. Olaf\u2019s Saga, 44. \u201cHe was marked after Thor and hammer in the\n hand.\u201d\n\nFootnote 239:\n\n In the account of Fornmanna S\u00f6gur about the battle of Svold, Eirik\n jarl is said to have had Thor in the prow of his ship. \u201cHe took it\n away and put the cross instead, which he did on the advice of Olaf\n Tryggvason,\u201d otherwise he would not get the victory.\n\nFootnote 240:\n\n In Vafthrudnism\u00e1l, Nj\u00f6rd is said to have ruled over many temples by\n the old Asgard.\n\nFootnote 241:\n\n Cf. Egil\u2019s Saga, c. 58.\n\nFootnote 242:\n\n From Vafthr\u00fadnir\u2019s answer to Odin about Nj\u00f6rd\u2019s origin we find that he\n ruled over temples and h\u00f6rg. (Vafthr\u00fadnism\u00e1l, 38.)\n\nFootnote 243:\n\n Shining like glass. Amber is called gler; and in Sigrdrifum\u00e1l, st. 17,\n we find that runes were written on gler or amber.\n\n The h\u00f6rg is also mentioned in V\u00f6luspa, 7; Helgakvida Hjorvardssonar,\n 4; Landn\u00e1ma ii. 16; Elder Gulathing\u2019s Law, ch. 29; Orvar Odd, p. 29;\n Hervarar Saga, 1.\n\nFootnote 244:\n\n See Landnama v., 2; Hrafnkel Freysgodis Saga, pp. 4\u20136.\n\nFootnote 245:\n\n Olaf Tryggvason Heimskringla, ch. 65, 66.\n\nFootnote 246:\n\n Kjalnesinga, 2; Droplaugarsona, Saga about Bessi temple, Landn\u00e1ma v.\n 12.\n\nFootnote 247:\n\n Landowner (see p. 496).\n\nFootnote 248:\n\n Adam of Bremen about 1070 writes that not far from _Sictona_ (Sigtuna)\n is the temple _Ubsola_, where were the three gods, _Thor_, _Wodan_ and\n _Fricco_ (Frey). What he says about this temple makes it evident that\n not only its roof but also the whole inside of the structure was\n covered with gold plates. Further he says that close to it there was a\n large tree, which no one knew, and which stretched its branches far\n out, and was always green, as well as a spring, near which the heathen\n made their sacrifices, and wherein a live man was thrown; the people\n believed that his wishes would be fulfilled, in case he sank; also a\n golden chain went around the temple, and hung from the roof.\n\nFootnote 249:\n\n Saxo writes that the Danish king Halfdan journeyed to Upsala in order\n to find out the cause of his daughter\u2019s sterility, and was answered\n that he must first satisfy the spirit of his brother, whom he had\n unwittingly slain; this he did, and then she, in accordance with the\n promise of the oracle, bore Harald Hildit\u00f6nn.\n\n At the present old Upsala church there were discovered the foundations\n of an old building, a mass of coals, molten copper and silver pieces,\n with small traces of pure gold, as well as a rusty nail with a little\n gold on it, and finally skulls of pigs and hawks, and cheekbones and\n teeth of horses, all of which tend to show that the old heathen temple\n of Upsala, so famous during pagan times, stood there. (Verelius Not\u00e6\n in epist. def. Shefferi, p. 16.)\n\nFootnote 250:\n\n This implies that in the sacred precincts there were several\n buildings.\n\nFootnote 251:\n\n Gridastad means place of truce.\n\nFootnote 252:\n\n The writer or copyist seems to have been a Christian.\n\nFootnote 253:\n\n Fridthj\u00f3f means the thief of peace, the one who steals or destroys\n peace.\n\nFootnote 254:\n\n Cf. also Landnama, iv. 5; Kormak\u2019s Saga, 11.\n\nFootnote 255:\n\n Cf. Landnama, iii., c. 2, 7.\n\nFootnote 256:\n\n Cf. also Vatnsd\u00e6la, 12. Landnama, i., c. 10. Ondvegissula = high-seat\n pillar.\n\nFootnote 257:\n\n Disar = genii.\n\nFootnote 258:\n\n Olaf, son of Ingjald Illr\u00e1di ... fled to a forest district of\n Vermaland, where he cleared the land of its woods; therefore he was\n called Tretelgja (tree-cutter).\n\nFootnote 259:\n\n \u201cThe scene of most interest, and at the same time of most horrors,\n taken from the mythical or poetical history of Greece is one which\n represents the sacrifice of Trojan captives to the _manes_ of\n Patroclus. Achilles himself is the priest or butcher, for he occupies\n the centre of the scene, clad in brazen cuirass and greaves, his long\n yellow locks uncovered by a helmet, and seizing by the hair the\n wretched Trojan captive who is seated naked at his feet imploring\n mercy, he thrusts his sword into his neck, just as the \u2018swift-footed\n son of Peleus\u2019 is represented to have treated Lycaon, the first victim\n he sacrificed to his friend Patroclus. Above the Trojan stands Charon,\n in red jacket and blue chiton, wearing a cap or helmet, and bearing\n his mallet on his shoulder ready to strike. The right half of the\n scene is occupied by the two Ajaces, each bringing forward a victim,\n naked and wounded, whose hands are bound behind their backs. Ajax\n Telamonius, the more prominent of the two, is fully armed; and Ajax\n O\u00efleus is similarly armed, but without a helmet. The funeral pyre on\n which the corpse of Patroclus was already laid before the sacrifices\n of captives, horses, and dogs were made to his manes is not shown.\n This episode forms the subject of the first wall paintings found in\n Etruria which were illustrative of Hellenic myths, but since their\n discovery that of the Grotta del Orco at Corneto has afforded us\n additional proof that the Etruscans did not always confine the\n pictorial adornments of their sepulchres to the illustration of the\n peculiar customs, funeral observances, or religious creed of their\n native land\u201d (Dennis\u2019s \u2018Etruria\u2019).\n\nFootnote 260:\n\n From this passage we see that it was the custom of Hakon Jarl to make\n sacrifices, but unfortunately the manner in which he made them is not\n told.\n\nFootnote 261:\n\n See p. 478.\n\nFootnote 262:\n\n T\u00edundaland = land of the tenth.\n\nFootnote 263:\n\n Hervarar Saga, 9, 10, 11, 12.\n\nFootnote 264:\n\n Kristnisaga, Fornmanna S\u00f6gur ii., 228.\n\nFootnote 265:\n\n I.e. Tun or open space.\n\nFootnote 266:\n\n Meaning, broke the backs of.\n\nFootnote 267:\n\n Not far from nearly every one of the (twenty) dom-rings of Nerike\n there is a spring tending to confirm the Icelandic tradition of their\n use.\n\nFootnote 268:\n\n King Olaf was on an expedition into France.\n\nFootnote 269:\n\n Odd evidently, like some other of his countrymen, as seen in this\n narrative, was not orthodox in the religion of his fathers, for he\n robbed the graves.\n\nFootnote 270:\n\n Cf. also Ragnar Lodbr\u00f3k, 18; Norna Gest, 6; Olaf Tryggvason, 179;\n Sigurdar Kvida Fafnisbana ii., 26; Orkneyinga Saga, ch. 8.\n\nFootnote 271:\n\n Ynglinga Saga, 10.\n\nFootnote 272:\n\n Gisla Sursson mentions the same.\n\nFootnote 273:\n\n Olaf Tryggvason, Hkr., c. 76; Halfredar Saga, 6; Vatnsd\u00e6la, c. 10, 16.\n\nFootnote 274:\n\n See p. 411, sacrifice to the Disir.\n\nFootnote 275:\n\n I.e., draw the string so hard that the point of the arrow is inside\n the curve.\n\nFootnote 276:\n\n Cf. also Sigrdrifum\u00e1l, 17; Helgi Hundingsbani; Norna Gest;\n Flateyjarb\u00f3k; Fornaldar S\u00f6gur, i. Later Edda; Orkneyinga; Egil\u2019s Saga;\n H\u00e1vam\u00e1l; Atlakvida.\n\nFootnote 277:\n\n Helgakvida Hundingsbana.\n\nFootnote 278:\n\n These three maidens came from J\u00f6tunheim, the home of the J\u00f6tnar; here\n they are no doubt meant to designate the three Nornir, who came and\n disturbed the peace of the golden age by establishing past, present,\n and future, _i.e._, change, fluctuation, development, and growth.\n\nFootnote 279:\n\n Idav\u00f6ll, _ida_, movement; _voll_, plain. This stanza tells of the\n golden age when the Asars were happy and lacked nothing.\n\nFootnote 280:\n\n Grimnism\u00e1l, gives a somewhat similar account.\n\nFootnote 281:\n\n Burn a spot on the skin as a cure.\n\nFootnote 282:\n\n Thj\u00f3d nation, nation of the Goths.\n\nFootnote 283:\n\n Odin.\n\nFootnote 284:\n\n Warriors.\n\nFootnote 285:\n\n See pp. 31, 32.\n\nFootnote 286:\n\n Wealth.\n\nFootnote 287:\n\n Sun plains.\n\nFootnote 288:\n\n Fire-mountain. Here the text is corrupted, but I follow Bugge in the\n suggestion that this is a place-name, the battle taking place on the\n plain beneath the Logafj\u00f6ll, from which the Valkyrias come down to\n take the slain.\n\nFootnote 289:\n\n The Valkyrias.\n\nFootnote 290:\n\n Valkyrias are here called disir, guardian spirits, and seem to come\n from the South, the ancient home of the Asar.\n\nFootnote 291:\n\n Chiefs. Helgi invited them to come home with him and his chiefs that\n night, and they would not.\n\nFootnote 292:\n\n We find that kings sometimes had meetings among themselves.\n\nFootnote 293:\n\n Probably she was betrothed by her father, not being present herself.\n\nFootnote 294:\n\n From this we see that this beautiful story is derived from the lost\n V\u00f6lsunga-kvida (a great loss), and from which V\u00f6lsunga itself is\n probably mostly taken.\n\nFootnote 295:\n\n Glad because of victory.\n\nFootnote 296:\n\n The marriage which her father had set his mind upon.\n\nFootnote 297:\n\n Sigrun speaks to the dying H\u00f6dbrod on the battle-field.\n\nFootnote 298:\n\n Wolves.\n\nFootnote 299:\n\n Meaning: \u201cEverything is not in thy power, as the Nornir have great\n power also over the fates of men.\u201d The death of Helgi was against\n Sigrun\u2019s will.\n\nFootnote 300:\n\n King.\n\nFootnote 301:\n\n A custom found in the Old Testament (Joshua), of putting the foot on\n the subdued king\u2019s neck.\n\nFootnote 302:\n\n Dag broke his oath, as we have seen before; and Sigrun cursed him for\n having done so.\n\nFootnote 303:\n\n Leiptr = flash of lightning. Probably this was a swift river, or\n waterfall.\n\nFootnote 304:\n\n Here we see the custom of wergild, so often described in the Sagas.\n\nFootnote 305:\n\n The temple of Vandil.\n\nFootnote 306:\n\n Valleys of fight.\n\nFootnote 307:\n\n Cf. also Helga Kvida Hj\u00f6rvardsonar.\n\nFootnote 308:\n\n The song of Kara is lost. Svafa in the first song, Sigrun in the\n second, is Svafa reborn; and Kara in the third and lost song is Sigrun\n reborn.\n\nFootnote 309:\n\n In Orvar Odd we see that the Volvas performed the foretelling ceremony\n with fifteen boys and fifteen girls. It seems that night was the\n chosen time. The boys and girls doubtless stood in a ring round the\n platform, and sang incantations. They had a stick, with which they\n struck the cheek of a man, and brought oblivion on him, and then, by\n striking him on the other cheek, gave him back his memory.\n\nFootnote 310:\n\n Eirik the red, 5.\n\nFootnote 311:\n\n Boiling \u201cseid,\u201d or the witches\u2019 broth, was the chief art in\n witchcraft.\n\nFootnote 312:\n\n Only found in Thorfin Karlsefni.\n\nFootnote 313:\n\n Vatnsd\u00e6la, 3, 10; Thorfin Karlsefni, 3; Orvar Odd, ch. 2, 3.\n\nFootnote 314:\n\n Helgi and Hr\u00f3ar had taken the names of Ham and Hrani.\n\nFootnote 315:\n\n This song is lost.\n\nFootnote 316:\n\n Cf. also Norna Gest\u2019s Thatt. c. 3.\n\nFootnote 317:\n\n Laxd\u00e6la, 33; Njala, 127.\n\nFootnote 318:\n\n Orkneyinga, 100, 102; Ljosvetninga, 21; Vatnsd\u00e6la, 12; Orvar Odd, 2.\n\nFootnote 319:\n\n The name of \u00c6gir is found in Helgi Hundingsbani i., st. 30: in\n Lokasenna; in Hymiskvida; that of Ran, in Helgi Hjorvardsson, 18;\n Helgi Hundingsbani, i. 3; Egil\u2019s Saga, &c.\n\nFootnote 320:\n\n In poetry gold is often called \u00c6gir\u2019s fire, or Ran\u2019s light, showing\n that belief in the old myth still existed.\n\nFootnote 321:\n\n Inheritance feast; see Vol. ii., p. 47.\n\nFootnote 322:\n\n He calls his son B\u00f6dvar a string of his family, made or twisted by\n himself.\n\nFootnote 323:\n\n The son\u2019s death.\n\nFootnote 324:\n\n \u00c6gir, who brewed ale for the Asar.\n\nFootnote 325:\n\n This passage means\u2014\u201cIf I could get my son avenged, \u00c6gir would fare\n badly.\u201d\n\nFootnote 326:\n\n The upheaver of the waves was the wind = Kari; his brother was \u00c6gir.\n\nFootnote 327:\n\n Plank-bane = ship-destroyer; _i.e._, \u00c6gir.\n\nFootnote 328:\n\n Egil being old, B\u00f6dvar is called the family shield or protector.\n\nFootnote 329:\n\n Dwellings of joy (Valhalla).\n\nFootnote 330:\n\n Alfheim was given to Frey as a tooth-fee.\n\nFootnote 331:\n\n Here we see that Svart\u00e1lfar are Dvergar.\n\nFootnote 332:\n\n From this it is supposed that Loki had come in the shape of a fly to\n make them lose the wager.\n\nFootnote 333:\n\n Other texts\u2014Raum and his kinsmen were tall and ugly.\n\nFootnote 334:\n\n Cf. Gisli Sursson, 22, 24, 30, 33; Half\u2019s Saga, 15; Grimnismal, 53;\n Atlamal, 23. Fylgjas appeared to people in dreams: Lj\u00f3svetninga, 21;\n Atlamal, 19; Njal, 12.\n\nFootnote 335:\n\n See Vol. ii., p. 423.\n\nFootnote 336:\n\n A kind of duel. See p. 563.\n\nFootnote 337:\n\n The worship of the Lares and Penates, the household deities who\n watched over the personal and pecuniary interests of individuals and\n families, was the most prominent feature of the Etruscan mythology,\n whence it was borrowed by the Romans. Thence it was also, in all\n probability, that the Romans obtained their doctrine of an attendant\n genius watching over every individual from his birth. (See Dennis\u2019s\n \u2018Etruria,\u2019 vol. i., p. 59.)\n\nFootnote 338:\n\n (1) Viga Glum, 9; (2) Laxd\u00e6la, 26; Snorri, St. Olaf, 68.\n\nFootnote 339:\n\n The eagles dreamt of by Angantyr were thought to be the fylgjas of\n champions (Hervarar Saga, c. 5).\n\n Thorstein Vikingsson saw in the many bears which attacked him a\n foreboding of a king or a king\u2019s son (Gautrek and Hrolf\u2019s Saga;\n Thorstein Vikingsson, c. 12).\n\n Thus also Geitir guessed the birth of Thorstein Uxafot from the white\n bear cub, which he had observed walking ahead of the latter.\n\nFootnote 340:\n\n Njala, 12; Finnbogi Rammi\u2019s Saga; Fornmanna S\u00f6gur, iii. They are seen\n in a walking state. Viga Glum\u2019s Saga; Halfred\u2019s Saga, 22, 24;\n Vatnsd\u00e6la, p. 36; Atlamal, 19; Egil\u2019s Saga, 50, 60; S\u00f6gubrot, 2.\n\nFootnote 341:\n\n The nine women in black had been the Disir of the family, which was\n going to forsake the old belief; the Disir wanted to take with them\n the best member of the family before they left. Therefore they slew\n Thidrandi, whom the nine white Disir try in vain to defend. The nine\n white Disir were to be the guardian spirit of the family after it had\n adopted the new belief. From this we can see that the new religion\n could not entirely overthrow the old superstition and belief.\n\nFootnote 342:\n\n Persuaded by Ivar Vidfadmi, Hr\u0153rek slew his brother Helgi, thinking he\n was too good friends with his wife. Afterwards Ivar slew Hr\u0153rek in a\n fight. In the dream Hr\u0153rek is the stag, Helgi is the wild beast, Ivar\n is the dragon, and the she-bear with the cub is Aud with her son.\n\nFootnote 343:\n\n See Exposure of Children, Vol. II., p. 39.\n\nFootnote 344:\n\n Cf. also Orvar Odd\u2019s Saga, c. 4.\n\nFootnote 345:\n\n This dream seems to have had the power to make the first man who heard\n it death-fated.\n\nFootnote 346:\n\n Cf. Olaf Tryggvason\u2019s Saga, p. 37.\n\nFootnote 347:\n\n Gladsheim = Home of the glad.\n\nFootnote 348:\n\n Men slain by weapons.\n\nFootnote 349:\n\n Coats of mail or chain armour.\n\nFootnote 350:\n\n The word in the text means \u201changs,\u201d and it is impossible to tell if\n the wolf is living or dead; it may mean that the wolf is ready to\n pounce.\n\nFootnote 351:\n\n Odin\u2019s warriors. In Ragnar\u00f6k these Einherjar fight with Odin against\n the Fenri wolf.\n\nFootnote 352:\n\n Voluspa, 24; Hervarar Saga, 5; Eyrbyggja, 44; Fornmanna S\u00f6gur, v. 250.\n Harald Hildit\u00f6nn was given to Odin at his birth (cf. Saxo). He was\n victorious all his life till his last battle.\n\nFootnote 353:\n\n Cf. also Gautrek\u2019s Saga, c. 7.\n\nFootnote 354:\n\n One of the goddesses is also called Snotra.\n\nFootnote 355:\n\n From this we learn that a serf must be in company with some one\n freeborn in order to go to Odin.\n\nFootnote 356:\n\n Fagrskinna.\n\nFootnote 357:\n\n Two Valkyrjas.\n\nFootnote 358:\n\n Gautat\u00fdr = the god of the Gautar = Odin.\n\nFootnote 359:\n\n Yngvi\u2019s kin = the Ynglings descended from Odin.\n\nFootnote 360:\n\n The brother of Bj\u00f6rn, who was one of Harald Fairhair\u2019s sons, is Hakon.\n\nFootnote 361:\n\n Battle-oars = sword-blades; a fine simile.\n\nFootnote 362:\n\n Hakon.\n\nFootnote 363:\n\n We see from the last line of stanza 4 that Hakon wore a gold helmet.\n It is also said in the prose that he was conspicuous by it in the\n battle.\n\nFootnote 364:\n\n Battle is often called play or game; cf. the synonyms for battle.\n\nFootnote 365:\n\n Gram.\n\nFootnote 366:\n\n V\u00e1fad = Odin; Odin\u2019s cloth = armour.\n\nFootnote 367:\n\n The hard feet of the hilt = sword-blades.\n\nFootnote 368:\n\n Weapons.\n\nFootnote 369:\n\n Wound-drop = blood.\n\nFootnote 370:\n\n Cape of swords = armour.\n\nFootnote 371:\n\n Tempest of Odin = battle, which can also be called the storm of any\n Valkyrja, and has many other names.\n\nFootnote 372:\n\n Hropt or Hroptat\u00fdr = the shouting god = Odin.\n\nFootnote 373:\n\n Hakon.\n\nFootnote 374:\n\n Eight brothers, that is half-brothers, Harald Fairhair being the\n father of them all.\n\nFootnote 375:\n\n By this is meant end of the world.\n\nFootnote 376:\n\n Einherjar is plural, and is a compound. Ein = only, single; and\n herjar, from the verb herja = make warfare. Thus it means the only\n fighters, the only champions, being the warriors chosen by Odin to\n dwell in Valhalla with him, while Freyja lodged one-half of the slain.\n\nFootnote 377:\n\n Chief meal, corresponding in time to breakfast.\n\nFootnote 378:\n\n Cf. also Vafthrudnismal, 41.\n\nFootnote 379:\n\n Cf. also Grimnism\u00e1l, 19:\u2014\n\n \u201cGeri and Freki\n Does the battle-tamer feed,\n The famous Herjaf\u00f6dr (father of hosts of Odin);\n But by wine only\n The weapon-famous\n Odin always lives.\u201d\n\nFootnote 380:\n\n Some under-king, or host-kings, probably from Norway.\n\nFootnote 381:\n\n The belief in men having the power to change their shape is common in\n Africa to this day. See Ashangoland.\n\nFootnote 382:\n\n See hereditary dignity, p. 491.\n\nFootnote 383:\n\n See a house or room. Vol II., p. 259.\n\nFootnote 384:\n\n Meaning that the skin was torn.\n\nFootnote 385:\n\n Meaning that the skin could be touched with it.\n\nFootnote 386:\n\n There were two kinds of poison used. Cf. also Volsunga, c. 5.\n\nFootnote 387:\n\n The woman\u2019s name means she-bear.\n\nFootnote 388:\n\n In ch. 27 we are told that Bera ate one bit and a little of another\n bit of the bear\u2019s flesh, and bore three sons.\n\nFootnote 389:\n\n See p. 558.\n\nFootnote 390:\n\n From some stone tracings and many jewels we see the proof of this.\n Numerous instances are given in the Earlier Edda of birds speaking to\n persons.\n\nFootnote 391:\n\n Cf. also Volsunga, 19.\n\nFootnote 392:\n\n Same expression as of a ship.\n\nFootnote 393:\n\n Cf. also about Hrolf\u2019s Champions, c. 31. (Ynglinga, c. 38.)\n\nFootnote 394:\n\n By magical drink, poisonous drink is often meant (Heimskr Harald\n Fairhair, 41). See Gudr\u00fanarkvida ii., stanzas 21, 22, 23, 24.\n\nFootnote 395:\n\n Egil\u2019s Saga, 44.\n\nFootnote 396:\n\n Egil\u2019s Saga, 75. See p. 165.\n\nFootnote 397:\n\n Cf. Ynglinga, c. 7.\n\nFootnote 398:\n\n Cfr. Laxd\u00e6la, 57, 58, Njala, 30.\n\nFootnote 399:\n\n Cf. Landnama, pt. iii.\n\nFootnote 400:\n\n Cf. also Eyrbyggja, c. 20; and F\u0153reyinga, c. 40.\n\nFootnote 401:\n\n Ragnar\u00f6k.\n\nFootnote 402:\n\n Chiefs.\n\nFootnote 403:\n\n From Odin.\n\nFootnote 404:\n\n Helgi.\n\nFootnote 405:\n\n Helgi.\n\nFootnote 406:\n\n Hawks as birds of prey.\n\nFootnote 407:\n\n Helgi.\n\nFootnote 408:\n\n We see it is so late that the eagles sit on the boughs for the night,\n &c. So they despair of Helgi\u2019s coming.\n\nFootnote 409:\n\n One of the finest similes for sleep.\n\nFootnote 410:\n\n Here _dis_ may be sister or guardian-spirit. Skj\u00f6ldungs = kings.\n\nFootnote 411:\n\n The bondmaid calls Helgi and his men ghosts and fiends.\n\nFootnote 412:\n\n See description in Eyrbyggia. Each ghost was called by its name, and\n had to leave by the opposite door.\n\nFootnote 413:\n\n Cf. also Laxd\u00e6la, 24; Gretti, 34\u201337.\n\nFootnote 414:\n\n Snorri Harald Fairhair\u2019s Saga, ch. 36.\n\nFootnote 415:\n\n Viga Styr, 102.\n\nFootnote 416:\n\n Njala, 72, 79.\n\nFootnote 417:\n\n Gandreid = wolf ride, wizard or witches\u2019 ride.\n\nFootnote 418:\n\n Eyrbyggja, 52, where the moon moves all round along the wall.\n\nFootnote 419:\n\n Egil, 24.\n\nFootnote 420:\n\n A warrior.\n\nFootnote 421:\n\n Sister of the moon = sun.\n\nFootnote 422:\n\n The famous war custom.\n\nFootnote 423:\n\n I.e., raven.\n\nFootnote 424:\n\n Wound-thorn, sword; sweat of the sword, blood.\n\nFootnote 425:\n\n The raven was looked upon as very wise and prophetic.\n\nFootnote 426:\n\n I.e., a Valkyrja.\n\nFootnote 427:\n\n The birds of Odin were the birds of prey, or perhaps his ravens Hugin\n and Munin coming to tell him the news.\n\nFootnote 428:\n\n The hail-sprinkled gull, sprinkled with blood; hail\u2014poetical\n expression used for arrows. The wave of the heap of slain\u2014the blood of\n the slain making waves by its quantity. A gull is often used as\n meaning a bird of prey.\n\nFootnote 429:\n\n The mead of kings (blood of warriors slain by the host of kings).\n\nFootnote 430:\n\n Shield is called here the plain of the ring. The tree of the shield is\n the warrior.\n\nFootnote 431:\n\n I make ready for the sound of Ilm\u2014take my weapon for battle, as the\n sound of Ilm is = noise made by weapons.\n\nFootnote 432:\n\n A Valkyrja.\n\nFootnote 433:\n\n Hedin\u2019s cloth = armour. The dyed wand is the sword dripping with\n blood.\n\nFootnote 434:\n\n In Helgakvida Hundingsbana, sleep is called _draum-thing_\n (dream-meeting).\n\nFootnote 435:\n\n Halfdan dreamt of the greatness of his family, Halfdan the Black, c.\n 7. Sometimes there were different explanations of the same dream\n (Vatnsd\u00e6la, 42).\n\nFootnote 436:\n\n Laxd\u00e6la, 33; Atlam\u00e1l, 14\u201325.\n\nFootnote 437:\n\n See Vol. II., p. 142.\n\nFootnote 438:\n\n See Vol. II., Frontispiece.\n\nFootnote 439:\n\n There was no little hard pushing\u2014meaning that there was a fight\n between the men and the bears jostling against each other.\n\nFootnote 440:\n\n One of Atli\u2019s shapes, which he could change himself into.\n\nFootnote 441:\n\n Her husband.\n\nFootnote 442:\n\n Summon to join the dead.\n\nFootnote 443:\n\n Guardian spirits; _Disir_, the shapes of dead women. Cf. Gisli\n S\u00farsson.\n\nFootnote 444:\n\n Dreamstolen, meaning, that the ability of dreaming had been taken away\n from him.\n\nFootnote 445:\n\n Cf. also Sigrdrifumal.\n\nFootnote 446:\n\n Sacrifice to.\n\nFootnote 447:\n\n This passage seems to imply that those who believed in their own\n strength only made the sign of Thor.\n\nFootnote 448:\n\n Athletic and mental exercises. See vol. ii., p. 369.\n\nFootnote 449:\n\n Cf. also Gulathing\u2019s Law, c. 29.\n\nFootnote 450:\n\n This refers to stealing the mead.\n\nFootnote 451:\n\n Frey and Freyja.\n\nFootnote 452:\n\n Olaf Tryggvason.\n\nFootnote 453:\n\n _Buandi_, plural _buendr_; _bondi_, plural _bendr_; _b\u00f3andi_, plural\n _b\u00f3endr_. These are different forms of the same name; the transition\n from _buandi_ to _b\u00f3andi_ and then to _bondi_ is easily traced. The\n form to-day is _bonde_. The original meaning is a dweller; the verb to\n dwell is _b\u00faa\u2014bj\u00f3\u2014b\u00faid_.\n\nFootnote 454:\n\n Indemnity, see p. 544.\n\nFootnote 455:\n\n The Frostathing\u2019s Law says nothing about the deduction of one-fifth\n from the appraised value.\n\n A new law enacted that the _odalsman_, in order to keep his right\n open, should make the usual announcement every tenth year; and the\n king was subject to the same regulations as other people.\n\nFootnote 456:\n\n Cf. also earlier Gulathing\u2019s Law, 267; earlier Frostathing\u2019s Law, vi.\n 4.\n\nFootnote 457:\n\n Baugryg means a woman who, being a single daughter, could pay and\n receive wergild.\n\nFootnote 458:\n\n A chalet.\n\nFootnote 459:\n\n All that was thrown up by the sea, whales, wreck, &c., belonged to the\n king (Gulath., 145).\n\nFootnote 460:\n\n Some great fishing-place in H\u00e1logaland.\n\nFootnote 461:\n\n Cfr. also Heimskringla, 51, 52.\n\nFootnote 462:\n\n See p. 491.\n\nFootnote 463:\n\n So named probably because accustomed to walk much.\n\nFootnote 464:\n\n Bond-woman.\n\nFootnote 465:\n\n In later times we see that the fire-place was in the middle of the\n floor.\n\nFootnote 466:\n\n Kind of head-dress.\n\nFootnote 467:\n\n Grandfather and grandmother.\n\nFootnote 468:\n\n Probably for fastening the door.\n\nFootnote 469:\n\n This peculiar head-dress is still found in Iceland and Normandy.\n\nFootnote 470:\n\n A kirtle trailing, long trailing dress.\n\nFootnote 471:\n\n In Volsunga Saga the same expression occurs.\n\nFootnote 472:\n\n The shield of linden tree.\n\nFootnote 473:\n\n Rings were of gold, and were used as money.\n\nFootnote 474:\n\n Perhaps this means the sea.\n\nFootnote 475:\n\n We are not told about the Hersir.\n\nFootnote 476:\n\n Kund\u2014a son, a kinsman.\n\nFootnote 477:\n\n Kon-ung = Konung = Kung = King.\n\nFootnote 478:\n\n Everlasting runes, probably more powerful runes than ordinary\u2014runes\n that may have been only known to few.\n\nFootnote 479:\n\n To calm the sea by spell.\n\nFootnote 480:\n\n Some people were supposed to understand the language of birds.\n\nFootnote 481:\n\n From this we see that the business of a young king was war.\n\nFootnote 482:\n\n See p. 525.\n\nFootnote 483:\n\n Greyiom: this is the dative form which is grey in nominative; the form\n grey hund also occurs (Fornmanna S\u00f6gur xi. 10.)\n\nFootnote 484:\n\n The male line of H\u00e1kon Jarl the Great became extinct in his grandson,\n H\u00e1kon Eir\u00edksson, in 1029.\n\nFootnote 485:\n\n _H\u00e1leygjatal_, in which Eyvind traces the family of H\u00e1kon. Cf. also\n the jarls of M\u0153ri (R\u00f6gnvald, M\u0153ra-jarl, who was the forefather of the\n jarls of Orkneys and Rouen in Normandy).\n\nFootnote 486:\n\n Herra = a lord, or master, was only used as a title after the year\n 1277, when knights and barons were first introduced into Norway. The\n word is derived from Her (host), thus meaning the lord, or perhaps at\n first the leader of a host.\n\nFootnote 487:\n\n Pl. Konir.\n\nFootnote 488:\n\n Rig seems to be a son of Rig Jarl, the hero of Rigsm\u00e1l, whose name was\n otherwise Kon.\n\nFootnote 489:\n\n This custom of becoming an _under-man_ is illustrated in several\n Sagas.\n\nFootnote 490:\n\n The word _Viking_ has, of course, nothing to do with king.\n\nFootnote 491:\n\n Nafnb\u00f3t = addition to the name, improvement of the name.\n\nFootnote 492:\n\n In the Danish laws the stipulation to be given by the king at his\n elevation was called Haand-f\u00e6stning (hand-fastening).\n\nFootnote 493:\n\n Cf. also Magn\u00fas the Good, c. 22 (Heimskringla).\n\nFootnote 494:\n\n Thrall was a male slave; amb\u00e1tt, a female slave.\n\nFootnote 495:\n\n Here chief is = king. This meeting of kings seems like the meetings in\n our times of monarchs for alliance or treaties.\n\nFootnote 496:\n\n Cf. also Heimskringla, c. 58.\n\nFootnote 497:\n\n Claim, rights, law, atonement for injury, see p. 544.\n\nFootnote 498:\n\n Cf. Gisli S\u00farsson.\n\nFootnote 499:\n\n Gulath., 66, 106, 296.\n\nFootnote 500:\n\n The redemption-sum of a leysingi.\n\nFootnote 501:\n\n Hereditary freeman.\n\nFootnote 502:\n\n This means, to take the slavery off.\n\nFootnote 503:\n\n Cf. also p. 7.\n\nFootnote 504:\n\n Cf. also Njala, c. 36.\n\nFootnote 505:\n\n A man convicted of the lesser outlawry by paying a fine of one mark\n within a fixed period was safe within a certain space. If he neglected\n such payment he became a full outlaw.\n\nFootnote 506:\n\n Father\u2019s and mother\u2019s side.\n\nFootnote 507:\n\n Cf. also Laxd\u00e6la Saga, 12, 13.\n\nFootnote 508:\n\n Gulathing\u2019s Law, 57.\n\nFootnote 509:\n\n Ostg\u00f6ta Law, 6, \u00a7 2; Vestg\u00f6ta Law, i. 22; Gotland Law, i. 28, \u00a7 6.\n\nFootnote 510:\n\n In the side.\n\nFootnote 511:\n\n See chapter on Exposure of Children. Vol. ii. p. 42.\n\nFootnote 512:\n\n Earlier Gulathing\u2019s Law, 131.\n\nFootnote 513:\n\n After the introduction of Christianity, near a church.\n\nFootnote 514:\n\n Cfr. also Frostathing\u2019s Law, i. 2.\n\nFootnote 515:\n\n Laws by King Magnus, A.D. 1263\u20131280.\n\nFootnote 516:\n\n Gr\u00e1g\u00e1s, 56.\n\nFootnote 517:\n\n Islendingab\u00f3k, c. 5.\n\nFootnote 518:\n\n Eyrbyggja, c. 10; Landn\u00e1ma, ii. c. 12.\n\nFootnote 519:\n\n A Thing held on the plain.\n\nFootnote 520:\n\n The Saga was about Thorgeir H\u00e1varsson, _Thormod\u2019s foster-brother_, and\n his last fight, in which Thorgrim had fought against him. Thormod\n cleft Thorgrim\u2019s head with his axe as he sat on the chair, and\n escaped.\n\nFootnote 521:\n\n Pitched a tent over the walls which remained standing.\n\nFootnote 522:\n\n The term \u201chundreds\u201d means some value, perhaps of vadmal or of silver.\n\nFootnote 523:\n\n Twenty feet of vadmal were paid yearly by each bondi who did not go to\n the Thing to those who went to the Althing (Gr\u00e1g\u00e1s, 77, 107).\n\nFootnote 524:\n\n Gr\u00e1g\u00e1s, 23, 49, 51, 62, 67.\n\nFootnote 525:\n\n Every bondi had to belong to some Thing.\n\nFootnote 526:\n\n The country was parcelled out into Thing-districts, each being\n presided over by three godis, hence the word _Thridjung-district_.\n\nFootnote 527:\n\n Einmanud, last month of winter.\n\nFootnote 528:\n\n It is probable that this sign was the svastica, used in Iceland\n instead of the arrow used in Norway. (See p. 520.)\n\nFootnote 529:\n\n Thingmen of his district.\n\nFootnote 530:\n\n The high court of justice composed of 48 Godars, also held in the\n sacred precincts inside of the _veb\u00f6nd_. See p. 534\u2013538.\n\nFootnote 531:\n\n Each district has its name, e.g., Kjalnesinga district.\n\nFootnote 532:\n\n Landn\u00e1ma, 1, c. 9; Islendinga S\u00f6gur, i. 336.\n\nFootnote 533:\n\n Gr\u00e1g\u00e1s, 23, 43.\n\nFootnote 534:\n\n Gr\u00e1g\u00e1s, 59.\n\nFootnote 535:\n\n Gr\u00e1g\u00e1s, 23.\n\nFootnote 536:\n\n The old laws of Sweden were published during the years 1827\u201377 (the\n life-work of Schlyter), in Lund, in thirteen volumes; the thirteenth\n volume is a dictionary to the twelve volumes preceding it.\n\nFootnote 537:\n\n The Danish ell is a trifle more than two English feet.\n\nFootnote 538:\n\n _Gulathing_, so called from Gula or Guley (an island), where the Thing\n took place. _Frostathing_, from some local name. Our knowledge of the\n earlier laws of the Northmen is derived from the earlier _Gulathing\u2019s\n Law_, almost completely preserved in writing from the latter half of\n the 12th century. The earlier _Frostathing\u2019s Law_ is almost completely\n preserved in a writing from the earlier part of the 13th century. Of\n the earlier _Eidsifjathing\u2019s Law_, the earlier _Borgarthing\u2019s Law_,\n and the earlier _Bjarkeyjar Law_, or town-law, there are only\n fragments left. Most of the Icelandic laws are comprised in the\n _Gr\u00e1g\u00e1s_, which is completely preserved in writing not later than the\n year 1200.\n\n The historical Sagas often show the effect of the laws in real life\n and how the latter were interpreted by the people.\n\nFootnote 539:\n\n _Nefnd_ also = a body of men or arbitrators to give judgment in a\n case. In the old Swedish law it was composed of twelve members (see\n Schlyter). It is not found in the Icelandic laws, but the G\u00f6rd is its\n equivalent.\n\nFootnote 540:\n\n Gr\u00e1g\u00e1s, 211\u2013217.\n\nFootnote 541:\n\n In the same Saga, c. 96, there is another account of the powers of the\n lawman.\n\n In ch. 81, the king (of Sweden), the jarl of Vestr Gautland, and the\n lawman Thorgn\u00fdr are all three called _h\u00f6fdingjar_ = _chiefs_.\n\nFootnote 542:\n\n Eight aurar made a mark.\n\nFootnote 543:\n\n Indemnity to be paid in metal rings of silver or gold.\n\nFootnote 544:\n\n The reksthegn was a freeman descended from thrall kin, although his\n family might have been free for several generations. The r\u00e9tt of the\n \u00e1rborinn-madr was 12 aurar, that of the reksthegn one mark. The\n classes in the two other law districts were probably similar to those\n above, but it seems that the haulld and bondi were classified as one.\n\nFootnote 545:\n\n The laws on wounds are so minute and numerous that it is not possible\n to give them in full. Cf. also Gulath., 179\u2013215; Frostath., iv. 42\u201353.\n\nFootnote 546:\n\n N. G. L., ii. 60.\n\nFootnote 547:\n\n Frostath., v. 20.\n\nFootnote 548:\n\n See oath, p. 558.\n\nFootnote 549:\n\n It was thought unmanly to be disgraced three times and take no\n revenge. Cf. also Gulath., 196; Addition to Frostath. Law, 36.\n\nFootnote 550:\n\n _Baug-eid_, or \u201cring-oath,\u201d is mentioned in Havam\u00e1l, stanza 110.\n\nFootnote 551:\n\n Cf. also Eyrbyggja, c. 4, 16, 44.\n\nFootnote 552:\n\n The sleeping room.\n\nFootnote 553:\n\n The stepson of Thor.\n\nFootnote 554:\n\n See also Kjalnesinga, 2.\n\nFootnote 555:\n\n _Skirsl_, to pass under jardarmen. See page 559.\n\nFootnote 556:\n\n _Dulareid_, an oath of denial.\n\nFootnote 557:\n\n Evening rider, night hag, witch, riding on wolves in the twilight.\n\nFootnote 558:\n\n Witnesses fetched at random when defendant could choose his\n co-swearers.\n\nFootnote 559:\n\n Witnesses called by a body of named men.\n\nFootnote 560:\n\n _S\u00e9ttareid_, an oath of six; i.e., six compurgators.\n\nFootnote 561:\n\n _Grima_, a hood covering the face; _grimueid_, a kind of oath taken by\n six compurgators. The origin of the word is obscure; perhaps the\n compurgators had to appear in court with cowls or hoods on.\n\nFootnote 562:\n\n See chapter on Foster-brotherhood. Vol. ii. p. 61.\n\nFootnote 563:\n\n In the second song of Helgi, stanza 31, an oath upon a stone is\n mentioned; these holy stones may have meant _h\u00f6rgs_.\n\nFootnote 564:\n\n This shows the large size of some of the halls.\n\nFootnote 565:\n\n Her brothers.\n\nFootnote 566:\n\n From stanza 2 we see that the kettle was consecrated. Stanza 5 shows\n the accuser had to go through the ordeal also.\n\nFootnote 567:\n\n They drowned her in a mire.\n\nFootnote 568:\n\n Einvigi Kormak, c. 10.\n\nFootnote 569:\n\n On Holmganga, Egil, 67.\n\nFootnote 570:\n\n Cf. also Gisli Sursson\u2019s Saga.\n\nFootnote 571:\n\n Cf. Svarfd\u00e6la Saga.\n\nFootnote 572:\n\n Ingjald (another text).\n\nFootnote 573:\n\n Ingibj\u00f6rg.\n\nFootnote 574:\n\n Inheritance feast. See Vol. II., p. 47.\n\nFootnote 575:\n\n Cf. Sigurd J\u00f3rsalafari, Heimskringla, c. 20\u201321.\n\nFootnote 576:\n\n From the last paragraph we see that announcing a hostile invasion of\n one\u2019s country was a redeemable case.\n\nFootnote 577:\n\n Cf. also Gretti\u2019s Saga, c. 16.\n\nFootnote 578:\n\n Or any one under fifteen years of age.\n\nFootnote 579:\n\n I.e. Slaying which was not done in secret or against plighted faith or\n skill.\n\nFootnote 580:\n\n N. G. L., i. 122, 265.\n\nFootnote 581:\n\n Gulath., 132.\n\nFootnote 582:\n\n Cf. F\u0153reyinga Saga, c. 4, 5; Njala, 38, 122; Heidarviga Saga, c. 22;\n Bj\u00f6rn Hitd\u0153lakappi; St. Olaf\u2019s Saga, 126, 132; Egil\u2019s Saga, c. 24, 59,\n 60; Viga Styr, 4. N. G. L., i. 56, 60, 159, 167, 178.\n\nFootnote 583:\n\n Cf. also Kormak\u2019s Saga, c. 16.\n\nFootnote 584:\n\n The text of Fornmannas\u00f6gur says that he had 1200 ships.\n\nFootnote 585:\n\n In the song, which is very coarse, it is said that the king and Birgir\n were like stallion and mare. Cf. Vatnsd\u00e6la Saga, c. 33. Bj\u00f6rn\n Hitd\u0153lakappi\u2019s Saga.\n\n\n\n\n _BY THE SAME AUTHOR._\n\n\n THE LAND OF THE MIDNIGHT SUN.\n\n ASHANGO LAND.\n\n EXPLORATIONS IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA.\n\n * * * * *\n\n STORIES OF THE GORILLA COUNTRY.\n\n WILD LIFE UNDER THE EQUATOR.\n\n LOST IN THE JUNGLE.\n\n MY APINGI KINGDOM.\n\n THE COUNTRY OF THE DWARFS.\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n\n\n TRANSCRIBER\u2019S NOTES\n\n\n 1. Moved the list of the author\u2019s books from the beginning to the end.\n 2. Changed \u201cLanfey\u201d to \u201cLaufey\u201d and \u201cLanfeyjarson\u201d to \u201cLaufeyjarson\u201d\n everywhere. \u201cIt is guessed that this was Loki Laufeyjarson\u201d on p.\n 35 was already correct.\n 3. Changed \u201c\u1f10\u03c0\u03b5\u03bd\u03b5\u03c7\u03b8\u03b5\u03af\u03c3\u1fc3\u03c2\u201d to \u201c\u1f10\u03c0\u03b5\u03bd\u03b5\u03c7\u03b8\u03b5\u03af\u03c3\u03b7\u03c2\u201d on p. 10.\n 4. Added missing footnote anchor after \u201cslain Saxon\u201d for fourth\n footnote on p. 12.\n 5. Added footnote reference numbers to footnotes on pp. 60, 326, 333,\n 430, and 430.\n 6. Changed \u201csee p. .\u201d to \u201csee p. 368.\u201d on p. 68.\n 7. Corrected the footnote reference number for the 2nd footnote on p.\n 68.\n 8. Changed \u201cFig. 26.\u201d to \u201cFig. 126.\u201d on p. 114.\n 9. Changed \u201c225.\u201d to \u201cFig. 225.\u201d on p. 142.\n10. Changed \u201c237.\u201d to \u201cFig. 237.\u201d on p. 145.\n11. Added missing footnote anchor after \u201cA halter-corpse\u201d for second\n footnote on p. 162.\n12. Changed \u201c^2 real size\u201d to \u201c\u2154 real size\u201d on p. 281.\n13. Silently corrected typographical errors.\n14. Retained anachronistic and non-standard spellings as printed.\n15. Enclosed italics font in _underscores_.","title":"The Viking Age. Volume 1 (of 2): The early history, manners, and customs of the ancestors of the English-speaking nations","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":172804}