HE A V Y DRIXKTXi ?. 



room. The king sat down in a high-scat. When the room 

 was full from one end to the other, he looked round and got 

 red in his face, but said nothing, and they felt that he \\as 

 angry. The feast was splendid, and all the provisions were of 

 the best. The king was not very merry, and stayed there for 

 three nights, as he intended. On the day the king was about 

 to leave, Thorolf went to him and asked him to go down with 

 him to the beach The king went. There the dragon ship which 

 Thorolf had had made was floating, with tents and all outfitting*. 

 Thorolf gave it to the king, and asked him to consider that so 

 many guests had been invited to do him honour, and not to 

 compete with him. The king took this well " (Egil's Saga, 

 c. 11). 



Very many Sagas give instances of the heavy drinking at 

 these feasts. 



The Norwegian chief Thorolf Skjalg was at warfare one 

 summer, and in the autumn when he came home he made a 

 great feast. 



" His foster-son Kognvald said to the cup-bearers, that if men 

 got very drunk in the beginning the feast would be considered 

 a great feast, and told them to carry as much drink in as they 

 could. Then Rognvald burnt the hall, and the men in their 

 beds were so drunk that they did not awake till the names 

 were playing round them, and they were burnt " (Olaf Trygg- 

 vason's Saga, 145 (Fornmanna Sogur)). 



" When King Granmar heard of this (King Hjorvard's 

 arrival) he sent men to him and invited him to a feast with 

 all his men. He accepted this, for he had not ravaged in 

 King Granmar's realm ; when he came to the feast there was 

 a great entertainment. In the evening, when the toasts were 

 to be drunk, it was the custom for kings who ruled in the land 

 and for their guests to drink in pairs at feasts in the evening, 

 each man and woman together, as far as possible, the old ones 

 keeping by themselves. It was the law of Vikings, even if 

 they were at feasts, to drink in parties. King Hjorvard's high- 

 seat was prepared opposite King Granmar's, and all his men 

 sat on that bench. King Granmar told his daughter Hildi- 

 gunn to make herself ready and carry ale to the Vikings. 

 She was the most beautiful of women. She took a silver cup, 

 filled it, and went before King Hjorvard and said : ' Hail all 

 Ylfingar, to Hrolf Kraki's memory ' ; she drank half of it and 

 handed it to Hjovrard. He took the cup and her hand with 

 it, and said she must come and sit at his side. She answered 

 that it was not Viking custom to drink in pairs with women. 



