242 



HALLS AND BUILDINGS. 



t<> the gate it was open, but nevertheless well guarded. . . . 

 When the king rode in, Raud bondi stood there with his sons 

 and many people. Raud received him and his men well; they 

 alighted from their horses. The king asked the bondi : ' Is 

 this fine house which I see here in the enclosure a church ? ' 

 The bondi answered : ' It is my sleeping-house, which was 

 built this summer, and is now just finished ; ' the whole roof 

 of the house was shingle-covered, and tarred. Then they 

 went to the sitting-room, and the king saw that it was very 

 large ; it was roofed with planks and tarred " (Fornmanna 

 Sogur, v. 331). 



The finest buildings were called lioll (hall), and were only 

 built by kings, chiefs, or jarls. 1 Another building, called sal, 2 

 seems to have been the same as the hall, as it was built for the 

 reception of guests. Here and there we have descriptions of 

 halls belonging to prominent chiefs, richly ornamented with 

 carvings, which sometimes represented the deeds of warriors ; 

 and were it not for some of these mementoes, which have been 

 rescued from oblivion and decay, we might doubt that the art 

 of carving had been carried to such perfection as it was. 

 Walls, doors, beds, seats, &c., are mentioned as being richly 

 carved. 



" Olaf Hoskuldsson had a hall made in Hjardarholt larger 

 and more magnificent than people had before seen ; on the 

 wall and on the ceiling famous Sagas were carved with such 

 skill that the hall was thought to be far more splendid when 

 the hangings were taken down " (Laxdaela, c. 29) 



" It was customary at that time to have large halls at the 

 beer, at which the people sat before long fires in the evening ; 

 tables were placed in front of the men, who afterward slept 

 alongside the walls, away from the fires. During the daytime 

 the women carded and spun wool in these halls " (Gretti's Saga, 

 ch. xv.). 



Some of the churches and farm-houses built in the beginning 

 of the Christian era, and some of the doors, testify to the 

 durability of their wooden structures. 



1 Hrolf Kruki, 34, 40; Jomsvikinga 

 Saga, 5, 22 ; Volsunga, 3 ; Half's Saga, 

 12; Egil,8. 



: Th" si'l is also called Disarsai, a 

 liuilding for sacrifices to the Disir. 



