CHAPTER XVIII. 



DRESS OF WOMEN. 



The gown Festive dress Outer garments Under garments Head-dress 

 Mode of wearing the hair Ornaments Buckles and fibula; Numerous 

 jewels of gold. 



THE most important piece of clothing 1 worn by women was 

 the kyrtil (gown). It was made very wide, with a train, and 

 was usually provided with long sleeves reaching to the wrists. 

 It was fastened round the waist by a belt, often made of gold 

 or silver, from which a bag was suspended for rings, ornaments, 

 housewife's keys, &c. Sometimes this dress was narrow at the 

 waist, and had a close-fitting jacket. Over the kirtle was 

 wore a kind of apron (lloeja), which sometimes had fringe at 

 the bottom. 



The sloedur, mentioned in Bigsmal, was a festive dress for 

 women as well as for men ; it did not reach so high as to 

 entirely cover the neck and bust ; therefore a separate piece of 

 clothing, called smokk (collar), was worn with it, and a <b'ik 

 (neckerchief) was also wrapped round the neck. The neck 

 and bust were frequently left bare, and ornamented with a 

 necklace and other ornaments. A kind of shoulder ornament 

 is also mentioned, under the name of dvergar. 



And the housewife 



Li puked at her sleeves, 



She smoothed the linen, 



And plaited, them, 



She put up the head-dress ; 



A brooch was on her breast, 



The dress-train was trailing, 

 The shirt had a blue tint ; 

 Her bruw was brighter, 

 Her breast was more shining, 

 Her neck was whiter 

 Than pure new fallen sim\v. 

 (Kigstnal, 28, 29.) 



" Gisli could not sleep, and said he wanted to go from the 

 house to his hiding place, south of the cliffs, and try if he 

 could not sleep there. They all went there (Gisli, his \\ife 

 And, and her foster-daughter Gudrid) ; they (the women) had 



