352 OCCUPATIONS A\D SPORTS OF MEN. 



and answered that they thought no king' had such luck in 

 hunting. Then they all rode home, and the king was very 

 glad " (Heimskringla, St. Olaf, c. 90). 



Hawks were protected by the laws. 



" If a man kills a hawk on a man's hand he shall pay a 

 mark valued in silver, and damages for the outrage, but half a 

 mark if he kills one in another place, all valued in silver " 

 (Earlier Frostathing's Law, xi. 25). 



Besides hunting-dogs there were other kinds, among which 

 were shepherd and watch-dogs. 



" When Olaf was in Ireland he went on a coast-raid. 1 

 As they needed provisions they went ashore and drove 

 down many cattle. A bondi came there and asked Olaf 

 to give him back his cows. Olaf replied that he might 

 take them if he could recognise them and not delay their 

 journey. The bondi had with him a large sheep-dog. He 

 pointed out to it the herd of cattle, which numbered many 

 hundreds. The dog ran through all the herds, and took away 

 as many cows as the bondi had said belonged to him, and they 

 were all marked with the same mark. Then they acknow- 

 ledged that the dog had found out the right cattle. They 

 thought it a wonderfully wise dog. Olaf asked if the bondi 

 would give him the dog. ' Willingly,' answered the bondi. 

 Olaf at once gave him a gold ring, and promised to be his 

 friend. The dog's name was Vigi, and it was the best of all 

 dogs. Olaf owned it long after this " (Olaf Tryggvason's Saga, 

 c. 35). 



" If a man kills a lapdog of another he must pay 12 aurar 

 if the dog is a lapdog whose neck one can embrace with one 

 hand, the fingers touching each other ; 6 aurar are to be paid 

 for a greyhound (mjohund), and for a hunting-dog half a mark, 

 and also for a sheep-dog, if it is tied by the innermost ox, 2 

 or untied by the outermost ox, and also at the gate. One 

 aurar is to be paid for a dog guarding the house, if it is killed " 

 (Frostath, xi. 24). 



Chess, among house pastimes, was included in the Idrotter, 

 as was gambling with dice, music, &c. 



From an early period the game of chess, or at least a game 



1 Lit. a strand-raid. | 2 At the two ends of the cow-stall. 



