MAEEIAGE. 



If a man married a girl without the consent of her parents or 

 guardians, or made a runaway match, the husband was out- 

 lawed. 



" Bjorn, the son of a hersir at Aurland in, Sogn, was a great 

 seafaring man ; sometimes he was on Viking expeditions, 

 sometimes on trade-journeys. One summer he was in Firda- 

 fylki at a feast ^here there were many people. There he 

 saw a handsome maiden whom he liked much. He asked of 

 what family she was. He was told that she was the sister of 

 Thorir hersir, son of Hroald, and was named Thora Hladhond 

 (lace-hand). Bjorn asked her in marriage, but Thorir refused 

 her to him, and so they parted ; but the same autumn Bjorn 

 got men and went witli a full-manned skuta 1 north to Firda- 

 fylki, and arrived at Thorir's when he was not at home. He 

 took Thora away, and carried her home with him to Aurland. 



" In the autumn ships arrived at Iceland from Norway, 

 bringing the report that Bjorn had run away with Thora, 

 without the consent of her kinsmen, and that the king had 

 for that reason outlawed him from Norway " (Egil's Saga, 

 c. 32, 34). 



The first matter settled was the heimanfylgja (home-following, 

 or dowry), which follows the bride as given by the parents, or 

 by those who had the right to give her away ; and then what 

 the man had to set against the dowry of his intended, which 

 was called tilgjof, or counter gift. This latter stood in a 

 certain proportion to the former, and generally formed a third 

 of the whole coming to the wife. It was occasionally decided 



o v 



at the same time what linfe* (linen fee) the husband should 

 give to his wife on the morning after their wedding. 



" The king (Svein of Denmark) and the jarl agreed that 

 Thyri (Svein's sister) should have the possessions in Vindland 

 which GTunnhild (deceased wife of Svein, daughter of Biirisleif) 

 had owned, and also other large possessions as dower (tilgjof}. 

 Thyri wept sorely, and went, very much against her will. 

 When they came to Vindland Biirisleif made his wedding-feast 

 and married Thyri, but she would neither take food nor drink 

 from the heathens for seven days " (Olaf Tryggvason's Saga, 

 c. 99). 



1 A ship. 



" The word seems to imply a gift of 

 linen, in which, perhaps, clothiug was 



included. Olaf Tryggvason gave a 

 cloak as linfe. 



