CHAPTER XXVII. 



RELIGION. SACRIFICES TO THE ALFAR, DISIR, FYLGJA, 

 HAMINGJA, AND LANDVCETTIR. 



Sacrifices to the Alfar Early worship of the Alfar Spirits of the Alfar 

 Sacrifices to the Disir Ceremonies attending the sacrifices The Fylgja 

 and Hamingja or following and family spirits They take various shapes 

 They appear in dreams Guardian spirits of the land. 



THE people made sacrifices to the Alfar (Alfa-Uot) mentioned 

 in the earlier Edda, as well as to the Asar and Disir, who we 

 have seen were closely related to the former. 1 These sacrifices, 

 of which there are few accounts, and which seem to have been 

 made in houses, are perhaps traces of a religion previous to 

 that of Odin of the North. 



King Olaf Haraldsson sent as messengers to Olaf, King of 

 Sweden, Bjorn, his marshal, and the Icelandic scald Sigvat, 

 After leaving Norway they went across the Eidaforest. 



" Then they went through Gautland, and one evening came 

 to a farm called Hof. The door was shut and they could not 

 enter ; the husband and wife said it was holy there, and they 

 went away. Then they came to another farm ; the housewife 

 stood at the door and asked them not to go in, saying they 

 were holding Alfa-bUt. Sigvat sang : 



Do not go farther in, I fear the wrath of Odin, 



Wretched man ; We are heathens. 



(St. Olaf's Saga, c. 92.) 



We have seen that the Alfar, from whom some people 

 claimed their descent, as others did from the Asar, were of 

 two kinds, and dwelt at Alfheim, not far from the Urd well by 

 the ash Yggdrasil. They made the fetter Gleipnir, with which 



1 Alfheim was given to Frey as a tooth-fee. 



