COA10 - Law and Belief in Pagan Iceland

Today's episode begins in a rather unlikely location, a market town situated along the southern coast of England, known as Warram. Warram has a long history as a defensive center for the region and rightfully so, the town is almost entirely enclosed by marshy river plains which are tough to navigate by an individual, not alone by an army. The site is also home to a good harbor which opens up into the English Channel, making it an ideal location for trade and exchange. Not that any of this particularly mattered in the summer of 875 though, when Warram's natural defenses were breached and the town became a refuge for a force of Vikingar who were seeking shelter in the easily defended town. This force, who traveled in a fleet of seven long ships, had been recently defeated by King Alfred of Wessex, a ruler who would go on to become known as Alfred the Great. Alfred's forces had defeated these raiders in battle and managed to capture one of their ships in the aftermath, but some of the raiders managed to slip away and the survivors eventually made their way to Warram, where they dug in and waited out the cold winter months, all while being watched closely no doubt by Alfred's forces. In the following year, likely fearing the cost of assaulting the formidable camp, King Alfred approached Warram and arranged to make peace. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle tells us of this agreement, quote, "King Alfred of Wessex makes peace with the host. They swear oaths on a sacred ring that they will leave Wessex speedily, never before had the host sworn such an oath," end quote. Now, unfortunately for King Alfred, and even more unfortunately for the poor people of Wessex, this force had little interest in keeping to their agreement. Oaths and sacred rings apparently non-mustanding. The Chronicle continues on to tell us that this force used the cover of their agreement to flee by night to the town of Exeter, situated about 60 miles to the west of Warram. Of course, for our purposes here today, we care much less about the gritty details of all of these machinations, and much more about the sacred ring upon which this band of Viking are had sworn their oaths. However long they actually kept to them. This little detail, mentioned almost in passive, is fascinating because it provides us with contemporary evidence of a sort of behavior that we read about in our much later Icelandic sources. As you might remember, in the description of our friend Thorolf Mosterbiard's hoof, by the author of the saga of the people of Oury, it is a sacred ring which takes center stage in the building to jog your memory, and I apologize to those of you who are listening to these episodes back to back. We are told, quote, "Inside the main temple was a structure, built much like the choir in churches nowadays, and in the middle a raised platform like an altar. On this platform lay a solid ring, weighing twenty ounces, upon which people had to swear all their oaths. It was the business of the temple priest to wear this ring on his arm at every public meeting. There was a sacrificial bowl on the platform too, with a sacrificial twig shaped like a priest's aspergillum for the blood of the animals killed as offerings to the gods to be sprinkled from the bowl." This account includes all of the key elements which we discussed last time in relation to sacrificial feasts. We read of the ritual killing of an animal, a special bowl to collect the blood of the unfortunate beast in a twig used to sprinkle that blood all over the hove and onto those who were taking part in the ritual. These items, in the hove in which they were displayed, were essential tools which allowed a goatee to fulfill their responsibility as a religious leader. The altar ring is another important element, which is found in many Icelandic accounts, which we deliberately did not focus upon in our last episode. This is because the sacred ring displayed in a hove and worn by a goatee at their thing assemblies, provides us with an important link between the legal and religious responsibilities of the goathar. And furthermore, it helps to demonstrate a wider connection between the law and religion in the pagan Norse world. It is exactly these connections that we are going to focus on today. Hello, everyone, and welcome back to the Viking Age podcast. My name is Lee, and this is Children of Ash 10, Law in Belief in pagan Iceland. This is the fourth and final part of our mini-series covering pagan practice in the Icelandic free-state. Now, last time out, we explored the, unfortunately, meager evidence, which is available to us, regarding the form and function of Norse pagan ritual, placing a particular focus on what appears to have been the most important class of rituals, the sacrificial or bloat feast. We explored various accounts of pagan bloat feasts. We talked about their similarities and differences, and we came up with a general picture about the form of these rituals and their possible purpose. As already mentioned, today, we are going to expand our horizons a bit and discuss the ways in which religious ritual interacted with the legal and political life of the Icelandic free-state. How did these spheres interact during the pagan period? And what did the role of the goathar look like as both religious and political leaders? Let's begin with what, according to some scholars, may be the oldest text we have concerning the role of the Icelandic goathar. This text comes down to us in the Hokesbok manuscripts of the Lannama book, which appears have been produced sometime in the mid to late 1200s, but it is likely based on older, now lost manuscripts. In spite of the rather late date of this text, the section we are concerned with, which is called "Ufjutslås", may well have its origins in the 900s, but more on that in just a moment. For now, let's look at the text itself. Quote, "A ring of two ounces or more should be on the stall in each principle hold. Each go thee should wear that ring on his arm, at all established assemblies in which he himself should participate, and reading it beforehand, engor from the blood of the beast he personally sacrificed there. Everyone who needed to perform legal duties there at court should previously swear an oath on that ring. It then continues on, specifying the oath to be sworn." He should say, quoting the oath now, "I name witnesses that I swear an oath on the ring, a lawful oath, so help me fray in yord and the Almighty God, in so far as I shall prosecute this case or defend it, or bear witness or give verdicts or past sentences. As I know, to be most right and true and closest to the law, and perform all lawful acts that fall upon me while I am at the assembly." Note the similarities between this account and not which we read in the saga of the people of Oury. Both specify that a sacred ring should be stored in each principle hold, that a go thee should wear this ring to all assemblies, and that legal oaths are to be sworn upon it. However, as John Athelstein's in, the scholar whose work I recommended in our last episode notes, this passage is much more precise than the account which is found in the saga of the people of Oury. That tale seems to have been based on a vague, partially remembered tradition, in contrast, at least as John Athelstein's in believes. Based upon its precise legal language, which doesn't have strong precedence elsewhere, the passage in Ouvliot's laws is possibly a genuine relic of the 900s, remembered precisely and preserved in much later manuscripts. Whether or not this assessment is accurate, and I am certainly not qualified to make any judgment on that front, these sources provide us with a template from which we can seek further evidence, specifically we should look for evidence of sacred rings in any connection between them, thing assemblies, in the swearing of oaths or the maintenance of law. The ring was a powerful symbol in Viking Age Scandinavia. As we have discussed in the past, arm rings of silver and gold were among the most prized gifts which were exchanged between leaders and their followers. Indeed, in the highly symbolic language of Scaldic poetry, a successful king or chieftain was often referred to as a ring giver, a ringbreaker, or even a ring destroyer, indicating their generosity and tying this trait specifically to the rings which they gifted to their followers. While the precious metals from which these rings were forged were certainly desirable on their own, the emphasis which is placed on the form of these metals, that is, they were rings. It's that arm rings were seen as more than a simple monetary reward given by a grateful leader. It seemed that gold and silver rings served as a symbol of the bonds of loyalty which tied together a leader and their followers. They were physical representations of the oaths which they had made to one another. This symbolism is hinted at in a stanza which was composed by the Scald Thorbjornhorn clovey who describes how king Harold Feinher's poets were equipped. He says, quote, "One sees from their gear and from their gold rings that they were on friendly terms with the king. They possess red cloaks, painted shields, swords, wrapped in silver. Bell shirts woven with rings, gilded sword straps and engraved helmets, rings which Harold chose for them." Given this association, the linking of arm rings and bonds of loyalty, it is perhaps unsurprising that we read in later sources that certain legal oaths were also to be sworn upon rings. It is noticeable, though, that both the Icelandic sources and the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle are careful to note that oaths were sworn upon sacred or holy rings, a distinction which is not attached to gifts given by leaders to their followers. Instead, these oath rings appeared to have been connected to the gods and the law. Specifically, there seems to have been a close connection between oath rings and a poorly understood pagan god named Ulde. For instance, in the Eddick Poem Atlavida, a woman named Gootheren, who is an absolutely fascinating character, by the way, curses her husband Attila, and yes, it is that Attila for murdering her brothers. She says, "You deserve what's coming to you, Attila. For breaking the oaths, you and Gunnar swore to each other long ago. You swore by the sun to be faithful, and by Odin's hill. You swore by the ring of Ulde. On the day we were wet." And quote, "Well, we don't know much about the god Ulde. His name is only mentioned in passing in the sources. He appears to have once been an important deity, particularly in Eastern Scandinavia, whose importance had waned by the time our sources were written. Luckily for us, archaeology is able to shed some additional light on this issue, and the connection between the god Ulde and oath rings is further strengthened by archaeological finds at a site called Lila Ulde, the little cult site of Ulde, in southern Sweden. During excavations, which were conducted at this site, which appears to have been in use during the 400s and 500s CE, a number of small iron amulets. The type one might wear on a necklace or bracelet were uncovered, included in these were a number of Thor's hammer amulets, along with 67 miniature rings, which were very likely symbols intended to be worn by devotees of Ulde. While far from conclusive by themselves, these finds, when combined with the written sources available to us, seem to indicate that certain rings were indeed deemed to be sacred, possibly in connection with the god Ulde, and that it was upon these rings, which sacred oes were made. A final connection between rings, sacred spaces, and the law can be found in what has been described as the oldest written law provision in Scandinavia, the rather remarkable, Forza Ring. The Forza Ring was found hanging on the door to Forza Church in Helsingaland, Sweden, having been placed there sometime in the Middle Ages. Although, as we shall see, the object itself is far older, measuring about a foot and a half or 43 centimeters in diameter. This ring is forged entirely from iron, and it is simply decorated with a few smaller rings and swirls which have been affixed to it, most importantly for our purposes. Someone carved a rather intriguing runic inscription into the surface of this ring. The style of these rings is typical of the 800s, and while there remains some disagreements, most scholars seem to concur that the Forza Ring most likely dates from that time period. Now the inscription itself is not simple to decipher or translate, but Stefan Brink provided the following translation in 2008, which appears to have been generally accepted. A quick warning, though. The language used here is somewhat cryptic, but hang in there with me. The payoff is going to be worth it. According to Professor Brink, the inscription reads, "One ox in two or a stop in fine for restoration of a cult site and a valid state for the first time, two oxen in four or a for the second time, but for the third time four oxen in eight or a in all property and suspension if he doesn't make right. But the people are entitled to demand, according to the law of the people that was decreed and ratified before, but they may, unowned from Tasta, in Oveg, from Horstah, but Vyborg, cart." Based upon this translation, it appears that this inscription is intended to lay out what fine should be levied against one, who discerbs or desecrates a cult site. If this is accurate, then this one artifact brings together all of the themes that we have been discussing so far today. That is, oath rings, sacred spaces, and the law. Plus, given the early date of this object, we can be reasonably sure that its inscription was conceived of, and carved, in a genuinely pagan context, an important distinction which most of our written sources, famously lack. Did the Forcer Ring once hang on the door to a pagan cult building, before it was moved onto the door of a church, was it placed there to mark the boundary to a sacred space, and to clearly enumerate the punishments for violating that space? This is certainly one possibility. One made all the more plausible by the fact that similar rings, although these unfortunately lack inscriptions, have been found nearby the hoes on Earth, Dadu Bokra in Yara Stodd. Taken all together, this evidence helps us to place the oath rings we read of in our Icelandic and English sources into proper context. Simply put, there appears to have been a genuine pagan tradition of rings which were regarded as special in sacred, and many of these objects appeared to have been closely associated with the law and particularly with the administering of oaths. Now, our discussion of the Forcer Ring also leads us nicely into our next topic. You see, the Forcer Ring enumerates the penalties which one faced for violating a sacred space. Well, in pagan Iceland and elsewhere in Scandinavia for that matter, it appears that the thingside, the home of legal assemblies, and one of the venues in which the goda were called upon to dawn their oath rings, was itself viewed as a sacred space in which violence was prohibited and respect was demanded. We know from Gragas, our favorite 13th century collection of Icelandic legal codes, that killing or wounding individuals, while a thing was in session, carried with it heavier penalties than the same action would at other times. For instance, regarding the spring vorthing assemblies, we are told, quote, "all the chieftains who belong to the assembly are to come to the beginning of the assembly. The chieftain who has the duty of formal inauguration there, is to inaugurate the assembly on the first evening they come to the assembly." While a man is at the assembly, his personal compensation is doubled for insults, and for all inflicted injuries. The chieftain is to state what the assembly boundaries are, and he is to inaugurate the assembly in the same way as the general assembly, and he is to state what the assembly is called, and quote, "This passage is telling, and not just because it really overuses the word assembly, but note here that the increased fines for insults and injury are included within careful prescriptions regarding the inauguration of an enumeration of the spatial bounds of the assembly." This indicates that different behavior was expected from individuals who were within the assembly boundaries during the duration of the gathering, and special rules were enforced to ensure compliance. Of course, this is not particularly surprising. After all, one of the primary purposes of the thing was to create a neutral space in which legal cases could be judged and resolved. It wouldn't do to have individuals who were involved in feuds simply coming to blows while they waited for formal judgments. However, there is some evidence that the sacred nature of thingsites went deeper than mere practicality and was informed, at least in part, by religious considerations. For the most complete example of this, we can turn, once again, to the tale of Thorough Musterbeard, as it is told in the saga of the people of Oury, in this source, we read that, "Thorough used to hold all his courts on the point of the headland where Thor had come ashore, and that was where he started the district assembly. This place was so holy that he would let no one desecrate it, either with bloodshed or with excrement, and for a privy they used a special rock in the sea, which they called Drittskir." Now, this language is reminiscent of other prohibitions against violence, some of which we have discussed in previous episodes. For instance, the Land Nama book describes how Thorough had the old, after dismantling his hove in Norway, arrived in Iceland, in quote, "declared the whole fjord sacred, just as his place in Moore had been, forbidding people to take any life there, except for domestic cattle." Similarly, Thorough Musterbeard, while settling down in Iceland, declared that Helgafell, holy mounted, was so sacred that quote, "No one was allowed even to look at it, without first having washed himself, and no living creature on this mountain, neither man nor beast, was to be harmed, until it left of its own accord." End quote. In other words, the assembly site on Thor's nests was granted the same honor, and demanded the same respect as these other, explicitly sacred sites. Indeed, apparently the assembly site was so sacred that the presence of not only blood, but also excrement, was viewed as an affront. Nor does it seem, according to the saga of the people of Oury anyway, that such prohibitions were treated lightly. Indeed, a few years after a Thorough Musterbeard had died, and his son, the excellently named Thorstein Kodbiter, took over as Goethy, a bloody conflict erupted, with the status of the assembly site as the core point of disagreement. Now, before we get into this, I want to warn you that the following passages will feature a lot of unfamiliar names, none of which are particularly important for us here today All you need to keep in mind is that this conflict was between the Thornessings, the supporters of Thorstein Kodbiter, and the Kialectlings, the supporters of a rival family. Other than that, I would suggest that you primarily focus on the conflict itself, and the language which is used to describe it in this passage. Before we get started, in case it wasn't clear, yes. This is a conflict about poop. If I mentioned how weird and wonderful the sagas are, anyway, we are told. Quote, "One spring at the Thor's Ness Assembly, Thorgrim Kialectson, and his brother-in-law as gear of Oury, the leaders of the Kialectlings, declared publicly that they would no longer tolerate the arrogance of the Thornessings, and meant to ease themselves there on the grass, as they would at any other meeting, even though the Thornessings so full of their own importance, thought their land was more sacred than any other in Brayda Fjord. The Kialectlings let it be known that they were planning to waste no more shoe leather on trips to any offshore scary when they felt the demands of nature. When Thorstein Kodbiter, leader of the Thornessings, heard about this, having no intention of allowing them to desecrate the field his father Thorolth, had held sacred above all of his land, he gathered his friends around him, with the idea of barring the Kialectlings from the assembly ground by force, should they attempt to desecrate it." The tale then continues, Quote, "That evening, after they had eaten, the Kialectlings took their weapons and went out to the headland. As soon as Thorstein and his men saw them turning off from the path to the scary, they ran for their weapons, and chased after them, shouting challenges and abuse. The Kialectlings saw them coming, and closed up ready to defend themselves. But the Thornessings went for them so fiercely, and the Kialectlings were forced back from the field, down onto the beach. Later, they turned to face their attackers, and the fighting began in real earnest. There were fewer of the Kialectlings, but they had all the best fighting men." At this point, other neighbors intervened, and managed to break up the fight, and the Kialectlings were allowed to leave the site, unlisted. This was not the end of the matter, however. As we were told, Quote, "It was impossible to arrange peace terms, as neither side was willing to offer them, and each kept threatening to attack the other at the first opportunity. The spot where they had fought, where the Thornessings had taken their stand, was soaked with blood," and Quote. To break this stalemate, Thord Gellier, a powerful chieftain who had closed ties to both parties, was brought in to arbitrate a solution. After extensive consultation and negotiation, Thord declared that no compensation would be paid by either side for the killings which had taken place. In Quote, the field, he said, had been defiled by the spilling of blood in enmity, so the ground there was now no holier than any other. Quote, Thord Gellier then made various arrangements to tie the two sides closer together, and hopefully to avoid future bloodshed. Finally, he stated that Thorstein-Codbiter should choose a new location for the thing, given that the old site had been thoroughly desecrated by the blood which had already been spilled. The feud was thus ended, and peace was restored to the region. In conclusion, we are told, Quote, "This was when they moved the assembly to the east side of the headlamp, where it is still held, and when Thord Gellier instituted the quarter courts, he decided that the court for the west quarter, that is, for all the people in the west fjords, should meet there too. The circle where the court used to sentence people to be sacrificed, can still be seen, with Thord's stone inside it, on which the victims' backs were broken, and you can still see the blood on the stone. Though this assembly place was held to be highly sacred, people were not forbidden to ease themselves there." End Quote, "Thus we can see how, according to this one source anyway, the thing site was held to be sacred, and that if enough blood was spilled there, then it was deemed better to simply abandon it entirely, and to relocate the site to somewhere which had not been so spoilt. These concerns certainly seemed to have gone above and beyond any practical consideration for the safety of assembly participants. Indeed, and this is simply my speculation, what may have begun as simple procedures intended to ensure the safety of assembly goers may have evolved in hardened over the centuries, to include not only the censure of the law and the community, but of the gods and goddesses themselves. Indeed, the connections between the thing and the divine do not end with the sacred nature of the thing site. In fact, according to several of the poems preserved in the poetic edda, it seems that pagan Icelanders may have believed that their gods and goddesses would themselves make their judgments and consult each other in times of crisis at a thing of their own." Now, we are never provided with an explicit location for the gods' thing site, but it seems to have been a rather prominent location within Asgard, the fortress of the gods. And according to the poem Grimnismal, it was closely associated with Igdrasy, the great ash tree, which stands at the center of Asgard and connects the various worlds of Norsemyth. In this poem, we are told "cormpt in ormpt" and those two kettle-baths, Thor must wade through these each day when he journeys to judgment, close by the ash Igdrasy. Since the Assyr bridge burns all aflame and the hallowed waters, seed, glad and golden, glare, in skied breamer, silver top, in senior, guzzle, in flalhove near, golden top, in lightfoot. These are the horses, the Assyr ride each day when they journey to judgment, close by the ash Igdrasy, end quote. It is worth noting here, the emphasis which is placed upon how the gods traveled to the site where they sat in judgment. You see, travel to the thingsite was a critical concern for Icelanders. This can be readily seen in the many provisions which are found in Gragas, which regulate travel to and from the thing, and dictate that shelter in aid should be provided to all assembly participants during their journeys. It seems that this very real world concern is echoed in Norse myth. Furthermore, we see in the stanza about Thor that the thingsite of the gods was enclosed at least partially with water. Once again, this is a feature which we see echoed and less exalted more worldly thingsites. As Alexandra Sandmark covers extensively in her excellent book, Viking Law and Order, many thingsites across Scandinavia were partially or fully enclosed by running water, making many of these sites into what Professor Sandmark calls symbolic islands. The most relevant example of this, from an Icelandic perspective anyway, would be Thingvetlia, which lay alongside the waters of the Oksora River, a barrier which certainly brings to mind the seething hallowed waters which Thor crosses each day to reach the thing of the gods. The major takeaway here is that in descriptions of a mythological location, the place of judgment of the gods and goddesses, we can see many elements which are common to thing sites which were attended by mere mortals, nor do these similarities cease with the physical locations. Many of the actions which the gods and goddesses take at their thing assemblies, very closely mirror the activities we read up at very human things. This is perhaps best illustrated in the poem Volusba, which tells of the beginning and of the inevitable end of the world. Specifically, four stanzas from this poem use a recurring theme to indicate that the gods and goddesses have gathered at their thing site to consult one another and decide upon the correct course of action. I'm going to read you these stanzas in the order in which they occur in the poem and I'll be omitting stanzas which lay in between them for reasons of space and focus. However, I do highly recommend that you check out a copy of Volusba for yourself to see these stanzas in their proper context. I've linked my favorite English translation in the show notes, although I'm going to be working from a slightly different translation here and that will be linked up as well. So, from stanzaphore of Volusba, "Then all the powers went to their thrones of destiny, high holy gods, and deliberated this. Tonight in her children, they give their names, morning they called one, another midday, afternoon and evening to tally up the years." As we've covered extensively, one of the principal functions of the thing was to debate and enact the laws of the land. Here we see the high holy gods, gathering and deliberating together to lay down what can be seen as the most essential of laws, time itself, interestingly. This implies that the gods' thing existed before even time itself, highlighting its essential importance. Later on in the poem, in stanza 9, we again read of the gods gathering together to create something fundamental in new, "Then all the powers went to their thrones of destiny, high holy gods, and deliberated this. Who should shape the troops of dwarves from Bremier's blood, from Blaine's limbs?" Now, the next two stanzas, which utilize the same motif, occur back to back later on in the poem, their stanzas 24 and 25 respectively, and they have a distinctly different focus. Rather than the law, these stanzas emphasize the gods gathering together to deliberate and handle disputes in crises, which have arisen. Quote, "Then all the powers went to their thrones of destiny, high holy gods, and deliberated this, whether the Aseer were obliged to render tribute, and all the gods were obliged to pay the price. Then all the powers went to their thrones of destiny, high holy gods, and deliberated this. Who had mixed the whole sky with mischief, or given odds' girl, the goddess Freya, to the Giants' kin?" In these stanzas, we see the gods not legislating or creating, but rather reacting to disputes, deliberating how best to resolve them, and deciding who to blame. Once again, this picture fits rather nicely with what we know of human thing assemblies from the Eslandic sources. They served both to create and enact the law, and to arbitrate and resolve conflicts within the community. In this way, we see the social and political realities of the Norse world reflected in its pagan mythology, or as Nanaloka puts it in her excellent article, "Thin-Gotha, the mythological thingsite." The assembly site is a cornerstone for the realm of the gods and the cosmos, and because of just this key position of the thing, the world of the gods is portrayed as a social and institutional system. I would thus argue that the role of the thing in the thingsite within the mythological texts reflects the position of law within the Norse society, and that through their emphasis on the thingsite, the mythological texts communicate in ethical framework, within which ideals of collectivity predominate. Many outstanding questions remain regarding the ideological position of myth in the old Norse religion, but in the case of the thing, there are many indications that suggest that the society's mythology fulfilled an important ideological function. Returning now from Asgard to Iceland, we are going to wrap up this episode by circling back to the role of the Godar at the thing and the implications of this role for both law and religion in Iceland. As we have already discussed in this episode and others, the Godar were responsible for organizing and inaugurating their local vor things, and they were the primary participants during the proceedings of the annual all thing. As we learn today, according to our written sources, an important part of the Godar's role at both of these assemblies was to bring with them their sacred oath ring. They were then expected to read in this ring in the blood of an animal who was sacrificed at the thing's site, and all of those who swore oaths during the assembly were expected to swear them on this ring. Given the close connections between religion, the law, and thing assemblies, it is reasonable to ask what purpose this act of sacrifice held. Unfortunately, none of the Icelandic sources, which mentioned sacrifice performed by the Godar, provide us with much information about the exact purpose of the ritual. We can, however, find an intriguing hint in Fagraskina, a history of the kings of Norway, written in that country, around the same time as Himes Kringla, which is Snorri Stirlisen's work on the same subject. While they utilized many of the same sources, Fagraskina, whose author is unknown, and Snorri's Himes Kringla, appeared to have been composed more or less independently of one another. And accordingly, there are elements in emphasis in each text, which is lacking in the other. This is evident in the account Fagraskina provides us of King Hakan the Good and his conflict with the people of Trondelog. We discussed Snorri's account of King Hakan last time, and while Fagraskina is largely consistent with the same basic facts, the emphasis of its account is different. And these differences are quite relevant to our discussion today. Now, for the keen ear to view, we've actually read part of this account, way back in our conflict in things episode. But it is well worth revisiting it now, in its proper context. We are told, quote, "King Hakan succeeded the kingdom of Norway two years after his father died. He was blessed with both popularity and prosperity. He established laws over all Norway, with the help of Thorleife the Wise and other Wise men, and King Olaf the Saint still made use of the greater part of those laws. In the 16th year of his reign, he held a well-attended assembly at Morin in Trondheim. And at the assembly, the Trondir, the people of Trondelog, gave the king two choices, that he should sacrifice according to the custom of earlier kings and so observe what was laid down of old to bring prosperity and peace, or else they would drive him out of the kingdom if he was not willing to lead them in this, as in governing or in the receiving of taxes. The king was certainly not willing to do this. The king's friends and a great company mediated between the parties and asked the bondier, the farmers at the assembly, to show forbearance to the king. They said how beneficial their lord was for his followers, and a great leader where law and customs were concerned. On the other side, they urged the king to ameliorate the complaints and accept just a little peace for the sake of concord, so that the heathen worshippers would not consider him responsible for the downfall of the law. Out of the goodness of his heart and for the love of his friends, he did as they asked in partook of the sacrifice, end quote. In this account, we find all of the same elements we discussed last week, that is King Hakan's refusal to sacrifice, and the anger and resistance which this sparked in the people of Trondelog. They feared that his failure to sacrifice would threaten the peace and prosperity of the kingdom. However, Fager's skin as accounts also highlights a key concern which is largely missing from Snorri's tale. That is, a fear the King Hakan's failure to sacrifice would lead to a quote downfall of the law. If this source is to be believed, then a sacrifice which was performed to inaugurate a thing not only served to preserve peace and prosperity, much as the sacrifice performed at a bloat feast would, but it also was essential to upholding the laws of the land, as the individuals who were primarily responsible for performing both of these essential rituals. The Godar would have held considerable responsibility for the well-being of their communities. And of course, they would have also gained considerable prestige and social status for upholding these vital responsibilities. Indeed, based upon all the sources which we have examined, both today and throughout this series, it appears that the Icelandic Godar positioned themselves not only as political and legal leaders, but also as religious leaders in their communities. They built and maintained hooves, they organized and presided over bloat feasts, and they inaugurated their assemblies with sacrifices to the gods and goddesses who would maintain peace, prosperity, and the sanctity of the law. It is worth noting, before we wrap things up, that not all scholars agree that this picture of the Godar corresponds neatly to reality during the pagan period. They argue that, because of the late and Christian origins of our sources, this picture of the Godar is likely distorted, and may or may not actually correspond to reality. Personally, for whatever little that's worth, I find this view quite valid, and I think it is extremely likely that the view we have of the Godar and our sources is distorted, and could easily, for all we know, be entirely wrong. But this is, for better or worse, the best that we can do, given what we have available to us. And personally, I do think there is value in exploring it, if nothing else, to gain an understanding as to how the pagan Godar were understood by Norwegian and Icelandic authors in the 12 and 1300s. And I hope that, after listening to these episodes, you do too. But we'll wrap up this episode and this mini-series, with a final point, which has been on my mind while I was writing these episodes. You see, throughout this series, I've been making a distinction between the secular world, that is, political, social, and economic concerns on the one hand, and the religious world on the other. I chose to do this, because, well, this podcast is targeted at a modern audience. And these are common distinctions, which we're well used to in the modern Western world. At least in theory, and often enough in practice, we separate secular and religious concerns. The Catholic Pope is a religious leader, and the Prime Minister of the UK is a secular one. These spheres certainly can overlap and interact. A pastor can also be a prominent political figure, and a politician's views may be informed by her faith. But they are conceptually distinct. It is not at all clear that any such distinction existed in pagan Iceland. In Old Norse, the pagan religion was referred to simply as "Fornseither", or "Ancient custom". And this really captures the fact that Norse paganism appears to have been first and foremost a way of doing things, of actions and beliefs, which, to those who were performing them anyway, had always been done that way. These beliefs and actions intermingled in a mesh themselves with every aspect of life, and it's unclear whether a pagan Icelander would have been able to articulate any meaningful distinction between a secular law and a religious custom. They were both simply aspects of "Fornseither", they were the way that things were done. Or, as John Atholstein's in succinctly puts it, in the conclusion of his article, "Bloat in thing, the function of a 10th century go thee." Quote, "My chief conclusion from this study of sacrifices, assemblies, and the office of goðar in the 10th century is that the function of the goðar was many-sided, extending to matters later distinguished as religious or social. Both functions were a natural part of their duties, whether they were presiding over cases at assemblies or sacrifice in a cult center." And, "Next time, we are going to see how the goðar and Icelandic society at large reacted as Christian missionaries, sent and emboldened by ascending Norwegian kings, began to arrive in preach to the people of Iceland. From there, we will then dive headfirst into the conversion and Christianization of the island. I do hope that you'll join me then." Before you go, I have a few of the usual housekeeping items to run through. First of all, you may have noticed a difference, and hopefully an improvement, in the sound quality of this episode. I have started working with the fine folks over at Sater Productions, and they are helping me to edit and master this episode. Obviously, I haven't heard it yet at the time of recording, but I'm really excited to be working with them, and I think it's going to be a really great improvement. So please, let me know what you think. Second, I would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to Betsy for becoming the latest patron on Patreon. Thank you so very much. Now, I'm recording this episode a little bit earlier than I normally do, since, well, you are all listening to this. I am actually going to be in the UK to see the British Museum, the Nottingham Viking exhibits, and attend the Yorvik Viking Festival. I bring this up because, hey, I am just stupid excited to go. I leave the week after next and just can't wait. Be, I'd like to invite you to be in the lookout on social media, probably more Twitter, but I'll post on Twitter and Facebook for pictures and video of awesome Viking stuff that I see during my trip. Really excited to share that with you guys, and so be in the lookout for that. And finally, if you've become a patron in the last week or so, I may have missed you in this show, because again, I'm recording this a couple weeks before it'll go out, but fear not, I'll get you next time. If you would like to become a patron and help support all of the work which goes into this show, you can head on over to our website, VikingAgePodcast.com, and click on the Become a Patron link. Any end all support is more than appreciated. Finally, I would just like to thank you, each and every one of you, for listening to this episode of the VikingAge podcast. I hope to catch you next time to explore the story of early Christianity and Iceland. I hope you have a great few weeks, everyone. Bye. [Music]