The Bridal Wreath
Page 34
22. Hatt
Hatt was one of the incarnations of Odin.
23. Stave-churches
The mediæval “stav-kirker,” the wooden churches of the inland districts of Norway, were built of “staves,” very thick and heavy pieces of wood, something between a small plank and a small beam, cut out of the log, and hewn flat, by means of axes — the use of saws and planes being almost unknown. The roof was of tarred wooden shingles.
NORWEGIAN STAVE-CHURCH
Period 1150-1200.
To strengthen the building, and shield the walls against storms and rain, an open arcade or “cloister-way” (svalgang), with low arches opening outwards, ran all round the church, its roof of shingles being supported on the lower points of the roof construction of the aisles. It had small porches opposite the portals of the church. In this covered way men deposited their axes and swords before entering the church; penitents who had not received absolution must remain during the elevation of the Host in the mass, etc. It was also very much used as a meeting-place, for drawing up legal documents, for parish councils, arbitration meetings and the like.
The church had no tower, but a “ridge-turret” — a small turret on the ridge of the roof above the nave. This held the little bell. The great bells were in a separate belfry (stöpul) near the lych-gate.
Fine examples of mediæval “stave-churches” still exist, or existed till recently, at Borgund, and at Hitterdal in Telemarken.
The words “stave” and “cloister-way” used in the text have been chosen as the least misleading renderings of the Norwegian “stav” and “svalgang.” It should be borne in mind, however, that these “staves,” though not unlike barrel staves in shape, were very much larger and thicker; and that the “cloister-way,” instead of forming the enceinte of a courtyard, as a cloister usually does elsewhere, surrounded a solid building, and was open on its outer, not on its inner side.
24. Land Measurement
For “four marks of silver,” see Note 16.
“Land to the value of sixty cows” is in the original “et markebol.” Landed property in southern and central Norway was calculated in “öresbol” or “markebol” (one markebol = three öresbol). The “markebol” in Gudbrandsdal had a value varying from 16 to 20 silver marks, or from 40 to 60 cows, according to the quality of the land.
In western and northern Norway the unit of measurement was the “maanedsmatsbol,” the literal meaning of which is: “as much land as will feed one man for one month.”
25. The Wedded Woman’s Coif
“Hustrulinet” in original. Only maidens wore their hair “down.” For every woman who was not a maid, some kind of head-covering was obligatory. Wives tied up their hair and covered it with “hustrulinet” — the “long, snow-white, finely-pleated linen cloth” described on this page. See also this page.
26. The Blood-eagle
A method of execution (riste blodörn paa ryggen) practised in the Viking age. The ribs were hewn from the backbone, and the lungs and heart torn out through the wound. Sometimes a man would ask to be put to death in this manner, to show his defiant spirit, and prove his courage. So, at least, the sagas tell us.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sigrid Undset is a major figure in early twentieth-century literature. A Norwegian born in Denmark in 1881, she worked with the Norwegian underground during the Second World War, fled to Sweden in 1940, and later came to the United States. She is the author of many works of fiction as well as several books for young readers and a number of nonfiction titles. Her novels encompass a variety of settings and time periods, ranging from medieval romances such as the Kristin Lavransdatter trilogy— generally considered to be her masterwork— and The Master of Hestviken tetralogy to modern novels such as The Winding Road, Ida Elisabeth, and The Faithful Wife. She was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1928. Sigrid Undset died in 1949.