THE NORSE OCCUPATION. 49 



to attack a trading vessel at sea. The Norsemen, warriors 

 though they were, entertained no stupid prejudice against 

 trade ; on the contrary, they regarded it as an honourable 

 calling. Harald Fairhair's son, Bjorn, was a famous kaup- 

 man or merchant. 



In their pagan days, the Northmen had a horror of 

 dying a natural death, a certain entry to Valhalla await- 

 ing him who died gloriously on the battlefield. The Sagas 

 are full of their reckless daring and absolute indifference 

 to danger. It is probable that for some time after their 

 nominal conversion to Christianity, the influence of the 

 Valhalla belief was universally present with them, the 

 name of Heaven being substituted for Valhalla without 

 any essential change in the association of ideas. The 

 pagan Valkyrias doubtless became transformed into 

 Christian angels ; and the twin occupations of drinking 

 and fighting in Valhalla were perhaps the only ideas 

 relating to the future world of rewards which were sub- 

 stantially modified by the teaching of the Christian priests. 



The marriage, baptism, and burial customs of the 

 Norsemen are full of interest. If the standard of civili- 

 sation to which a community has attained be measured by 

 the status of its women, these rough warriors must take a 

 high place. Marriage was usually a business affair, the term 

 brud-kaup. or bride-buying, being suggestive of its nature. 

 Certain characteristics of the betrothal bear a similarity to 

 the custom known as " bundling," which is still practised 

 in the Long Island. The breaking of a betrothal was 

 punished by outlawry. Marriage on insufficient means was 

 strictly forbidden, the punishment being " lesser " outlawry 

 if any children were born ; nor were marriages of rela- 

 tions to the fifth degree permissible. A wife held 

 property in her own right, and property acquired after 

 marriage was shared between husband and wife under 

 fixed conditions ; after they had been married for twenty 

 years, they were partners according to law. The strictness 

 of the marriage tie as a rule was carefully observed, but 

 Divorce was procurable for infidelity on the part of the 



