40 



I HE BIRTH AND BRINGING-UP OF CHILDREN. 



crying, and took it home to his wife ; she was the foster-mother 

 of Thorgerd, and recognised the boy. They agreed to raise the 

 child as their own " (Finnbogi Bammi's Saga). 



Among the chief reasons which led to the exposure of a child 

 were deformity, and discord between man and wife ; dissatisfac- 

 tion of the wife's father with the union of which the child was 

 the fruit ; persuasion of the wife if her husband got a child by 

 a concubine ; superstitions as to evil omens at the time of birth, 

 which were thought to indicate coining misfortunes caused by 

 the child ; and, finally, the utter inability of the parents to raiso 

 the child on account of their poverty. 



" Every child which is born into this world shall be raised, 

 baptized, and carried to the church, except that only which is 

 born so deformed that the mother cannot give strength to it, 

 whose heels are in the place of the toes, whose chin is between 

 his shoulders, the neck on his breast, with the calves on his legs 

 turning forward, his eyes on the back of his head, and seal's 

 tins or a dog's head. It shall be carried to a beach and buried 

 where neither men nor cattle go ; that is the beach of the evil 

 one. Next is the child which is born with a skin-bag on its 

 face ; it can be seen by every one that it cannot get its food, 

 though it might grow up ; it shall be taken and carried to the 

 church, be prime-signed, laid at the church door ; the nearest 

 kinsman shall watch it till breath is out of it ; it shall be buried 

 in the churchyard, and its soul shall be prayed for as well as is 

 possible " l (Earlier Frostathing's Law, i. 1). 



" Signy bore a girl, both large and handsome ; her brother 

 Torfi would not let it be water-sprinkled until he knew how it 

 would go with her life. She died, and he became so angry 2 

 that he wanted to have the child exposed. He asked his foster- 

 father Sigurd to take the child and go with it to the Reyk- 

 jardals river and there drown it. Sigurd said this was very 

 wicked, but could not refuse ; so he took the child, and went 

 with it. It seemed to him so handsome that he had not the 

 heart to throw it into the river ; he turned up to Signyjarsta- 

 dir, and laid the child down at the yard gate, thinking it 

 likely that it would soon be found. Grim bondi Signyjarson 

 was standing outside at the house gable, and saw this. He went 

 and took it up and brought it in, and gave out that his wife 



1 Cf. also Earlier Gulathing's Law, 21. 



2 Torfi had been vexed at Signy 's 

 marriage, because he was awav when the 



betrothal took place, and had not been 

 consulted about the match. 



