Chapter 19
Chapter 19. Dress, Houses, Food and Drink The many new wares brought to the north by enterprising Viking merchants increased the comforts of daily life, and created among the higher classes a taste for fine clothes, ornaments, and luxury in various forms, which exerted a marked influence on cultural life in this period. From early ages the Norsemen had woven their own woolen cloth, but it was
coarse and common fabric which they had not learned to dye in striking or delicate colors. Linen, l'erepte, was also in common use. The new commerce brought rich supplies of costly fabrics from abroad. Silk, satin, and fustian, a cotton cloth. Scarlet, Latin scarlatum, pell, and purple were brought from Spain, France, Flanders, and England. Men of higher rank took great pride in wearing scarlet mantles embroidered with gold and trimmed with costly furs. The skull
Gunlaugormstunga received such a mantle from King Sigthryg in Dublin, and Egil Skalagrimson received a costly mantle from King Æthelstan for composing a song in his honor. When Kjartan Olavsson from Iceland came to King Olav Tryggvason in Norway, he wore a scarlet mantle, and when he left the king gave him a complete dress of scarlet cloth. From Aranbjorn Hörsa, Egil Skalagrimson received a silk cloth ornamented with gold buttons.
The women exhibited the traditional feminine predilection for ornaments and fine dress. The song Rigsthula in The Elder Edda describes the lady visited by Rigg, the god Heimdall, as follows. The wife sat, mindful of her arms, smoothed the veil, stretched straight the sleeves, made stiff the mantle. A rooch was on her bosom. Long was the train on her silk-blue dress. The wife bore a son and swaddled him in silk, sprinkled him with water, and called him Jarl.
When the Irish sacked Limerick in 868, they carried away the beautiful Viking women dressed in silk. The saga writers often dwell with pride on the elegant attire of the persons prominent in their narrative. Gunnar of Liderenda rode to the Thing with all his men. When they came there, they were so well attired that there was nobody there so well dressed. And the people came out of the booths to look at them.
One day, when Gunnar came from the Thing, he saw a well-dressed woman approaching. When they met, she greeted Gunnar. He returned her greeting and asked what her name was. She said that her name was Holgird, and that she was the daughter of Hoskud-d'la-Colson. She was rather forward in her speech, and asked him to tell her about his travels. This request he did not refuse, and they sat
down and talked together. She was dressed in the following manner. She had her red skirt well ornamented, and over it she wore a scarlet cloak embroidered with gold. Her hair hung over her bosom, and it was both long and beautiful. Gunnar wore the scarlet clothes which King Harald Gormsson had given him, and on his arm he had the gold ring which he had received from Håkon Jarl. The Norsemen were quick at imitation, and soon learned to dye their
own homemade cloth in various colours. New fashions, too, were introduced from abroad, which becomes apparent from many foreign names of articles of dress which came into use at this time, such as soccer, Anglo-Saxon sock, hirtel, Anglo-Saxon shirtel, equals coat, coppa, medieval Latin coppa, cloak, motel, medieval Latin mantulum, mantle, etc. The tailor makes the gentleman, says the proverb, and true as this seems to be,
the Norsemen had fully learned to appreciate this side of culture. Neither did they forget to lay stress on fine manners and courtly bearing. Tall, blonde, stately, and self-conscious, They were manly and striking figures, and when in foreign lands they stepped before the kings and rulers in their finest attire, with gilt helmets and richly ornamented swords, they were not easily mistaken for barbarians. In Ravensmall, a song by King Harald Horfogres heard Skald, Torbjorn Hornklova, composed after the battle in Hofersfjord, 872, a raven and a valkyrie describe in dialogue King Harald and his men.
Says the valkyrie, The description of the famous Norman warrior Robert Guiscard, given by Anna Comniana. the gifted daughter of Emperor Alexios, would fit just as well as Viking ancestors of a couple generations earlier. She finds fault with his fierceness and his greed, but his manly qualities won her highest admiration, though he was her father's enemy. The Robert here mentioned was a
Norman of quite humble extraction. He coveted power, in character he was cunning, in action quick and energetic. He eagerly desired to get possession of the wealth of the rich, and he carried out his wishes with irresistible energy, for in the pursuit of his aims he was resolute and inflexible. He was so tall that he carried his head above the largest men. He had ruddy cheeks, blonde hair, broad shoulders, and clear blue eyes, which seemed to flash fire.
He was slender where he should be slender, and broad where he should be broad. In short, he was from top to toe, as if molded and turned, a perfectly beautiful man, as I have heard many declare. Homer says of Achilles that when he spoke it was as if a multitude of people were making noise, but they say that Robert should shout so fearfully that he could drive away thousands. It is natural that a man with such physical and intellectual qualities would not
bend under the yoke nor submit to anyone. The higher classes in Norway did not live in castles like the feudal aristocracy in France or Germany, but dwelt on their country estates, where they engaged in farming and cattle raising when they were not absent on Viking expeditions, were occupied in commercial pursuits. The farm labor was done by slaves, but even men of high station would put shield and sword aside and join in the work. We read in the sagas that Gunnar
fra Liderende was in the field sowing grain, that Thorbjörn Öchnermegen was in the meadow making hay, and that King Sigurd Seer was superintending the harvest when his stepson, King Olof Haraldson, visited him. The life in the home was still one of patriarchal simplicity. The wife managed the household looked after the work and waited on her guests at the table. As a token of her dignity as head of the household, she carried in her belt a bunch of keys. In the Rigsstuhle, she is called
the Hagenlückle, or the Lady with the Dangling Keys. Besides the regular household duties, the women, even of the highest standing, spent much time in weaving fine linen and in embroidering tapestries of beautiful design. The men spent much of their spare time at metalwork, wood carving, and the making of weapons, in which arch they possessed great skill. The houses were simple, but well-built log structures. The principal house was the skala, Old Norse skali, a long
rectangular hall, often of great size. The gable over the main entrance was ornamented with carved dragon heads or deer horns. In the front end, in or near which the main entrance was located, were two smaller rooms, the forestua and the kleve, over which there was a loft. In the gables, there were usually windows made of a thin membrane, as glass was not yet used for that purpose. On the side walls of the hall there were no doors or windows. If the hall was large,
the roof rested on two rows of pillars. Along the middle of the hall was a fireplace, a rin, and above it in the roof was an opening, the liori, through which the smoke escaped. Benches were placed along the side walls, and at the middle of one of these walls was placed the high seat for the head of the family, Hosseti Unvegi, with high carved pillars on each side, the Unvegi-Silleur. Across from this seat by the opposite wall was a second and simpler high seat
for distinguished guests. Across the rear of the hall was placed a bench for the women, the Tverppal, behind which were enclosed sleeping chambers. The benches along the walls were also used as beds at night by the men. At mealtime, tables were placed in front of the benches on both sides along the hall, and when the meal was over they were removed. The walls were hung with shields, weapons, and woven tapestries. Sometimes they were ornamented with elaborate wood carvings,
like Olof Paz Hall at Jartarholt in Iceland, described in the Lachdula saga. Of other houses, the most important were the Dingja, or Shema, where the women spent most of their time, and where they did their weaving and needlework, and the Sveffenbir, where the lord of the household slept with his family. Usually there was also a ber, Jungfruber, where the young women stayed. The slaves had their own houses. Great delight was taken in feasting and social
entertainments, and the most generous hospitality was shown every wayfarer. It was regarded not only as a sacred duty, but as a pleasure and privilege to entertain strangers. Instances are mentioned in the Landnamenböck, where the Skala was built across the road so that no stranger could pass without entering the house. The husband and wife would then stand ready to invite the travelers, and to offer them food and drink. Says the Havamal, in the Elder Edda,
Fire needs he who enters the house and is cold about the knees, food and clothes the man is in need of who has journeyed over the mountains. Festivals were held in connection with religious exercises, weddings, funerals, and other home events, and also in the winter, especially at Christmas time. The saga of Olaf the Saint, in the Heimskringla, relates how Asbjorn Selsbana continued the old
practice of his father of having three festivals every winter. To such festivals, a number of guests were invited. Before they assembled, the tables were set up in the hall and covered with beautifully embroidered linen tablecloths. Thin wafer-like bread served as plates. Ordinarily, the men and women took their meals apart, but at festivals the women sat with the men at the table, occupying the inner end of the hall to the left of the main high seat,
while the men were seated at the other end toward the main entrance. Bowls of water and towels were passed around so that the guests could wash their hands both before and after the meal. Wine and ale were served with the food, which was both abundant and well-prepared. Again we must quote the Rigsdula, which describes how Rigg, Heimdall, was entertained at the home of a man of higher social standing.
Then took Muthir, an embroidered tablecloth of white linen, and covered the table. Took she then thin leaves of white wheat bread and put on it. And she set filled dishes and silver-plated vessels on the table, and fine ham and roasted fowls. Wine was in the can, they drank and talked till the day ended.
The women took pride in filling their chests with fine table linen, sheets, bed curtains, and fine cloths, but they also devoted themselves to more intellectual pursuits. As the designs with which they adorned linen and tapestry generally represented events from history or tradition, they had to become acquainted with mythology, and the lives and deeds of the heroes and great men of their people. The practice of medicine and surgery was left to
them. They bandaged the wounded and healed and nursed the sick. At times the women would also be priestess, superintending the sacrifices and religious ceremonies, and especially in early times she might be vulva or siddhkona, a woman who was believed to possess the power of witchcraft and prophecy, and a knowledge of the supernatural. Woman's position in society was, on the whole, one of great freedom and independence. Among the higher classes, at least, she was looked upon as
man's equal. She might be his companion in battle and in the banquet hall. Once she married, she received a dowry from her father, and a nuptial gift, mundur, from her bridegroom, which remained her own property throughout her married life. In the management of the household she had full authority. So great an influence did women exercise on the ebullient passions of the Norsemen that they appear as the easily discerned cause of bloody domestic feuds and dramatic historic
events, like the fates themselves, breeding discord and bloodshed, or fostering peace and blessing by petty intrigues, by a nod or a smile. The sagas have pictured most vividly a gallery of interesting women. Some beautiful, jealous, plotting, and revengeful, causing endless feuds, like Halgard, Gudrun Uzvi's daughter, Fredis, and Queen Gunnhild. Some proud and ambitious, like Bergthora, Queen Asta, and Sigrid Storada. Some affectionate, mild, and devoted, like Helga
the Fair, and Thorgard Egl's daughter. We hear of domineering wives and henpecked husbands, like Aukka and Grima, but also of women truly great, like Aude the deep-minded, Unr, a lady of rare talents, who as widow became the acknowledged head of the family, and managed both her own affairs and those of her daughters, and relatives so well under all difficulties that no one did anything of importance without seeking her advice and assistance.
These historic and self-assertive women of the Viking Age have a certain romantic charm. Still, women had not yet been accorded her proper privilege in society or in the house. The most sacred relations were yet marred by harsh and corrupt primitive customs. Marriage was not based on mutual love and affection, but on wealth and social standing. It was a business affair, a contract concluded between the bridegroom and the bride's father
and relatives. The bride's consent was necessary, it is true, but it was often a matter of form rather than the result of natural inclination. Many a touching love affair is recorded in the sagas and elsewhere in Old Norse literature, but they usually represent the revolt of the human heart against harsh and selfish social laws. Love was regarded as a weakness, and a young woman was considered as being disgraced if a young man mentioned her name in a love song. The husband
often had concubines besides his legally wedded wife. It also happened that men traded wives, or that a man gave his wife away to a friend if he did not like her. Divorce was common and easily obtained. There was nothing sacred in this most intimate and important relation into which human beings can enter. In Viking culture, we find the shadows and blemishes characteristic of pagan civilization at all times. The Norseman had a keen and well-developed mind, but his heart was as hard
as the steel of his sword. He loved the battle and the stormy sea. He admired the strong, the brave, the cunning, the intellectual. For the old and feeble he had no interest, for the suffering no sympathy. The weak he despised. He sang of valor and of heroic deeds, none of love and beauty. The sagas of the rich and powerful have been written, the poor and unfortunate classes are passed over in silence. But in the Viking Age, the life-giving spirit of Christianity was breathed
gently also upon the pagan north. Unconsciously, at first, the hard heartstrings were loosened, and the soul was stirred by a new life. Notes of love and sadness steal into their songs. Words of affection and sorrow are chiseled on their tombstones. Woman gradually rises to new dignity, and the rights of the heart gain recognition. Even religious life is deeply affected by this gentle influence. The light of the world had cast its first faint glimmer upon
the intellectual and moral life of the North, the Viking expeditions had begun to bear their greatest fruit. End of chapter 19
