CHAPTER XIII

The Hyby Stone (Monument from the first half of the eleventh century; raised to a Christian as appears from the cross.)

Theententethat was thus formed seems also to have affected mission operations in Norway. It is likely that Unwan demanded that King Olaf should no longer be allowed to recruit his ecclesiastical forces in England; for soon after the date that we have assumed as that of the new treaty, Bishop Grimkell appeared as King Olaf's ambassador at Unwan's court. The Bishop, who was evidently a Northman from the Danelaw, brought the customary gifts and the prayer that Unwan would accept the Anglian clerks and prelates then in Norway as of his province and that he would further increase the clerical forces of the kingdom.[381]Thus in the years 1022-1023, the rights of Hamburg-Bremen were recognised everywhere.

Unwan was succeeded in the province by Libentius, the nephew of an earlier Libentius who had held the metropolitan office in Bremen before Unwan's day. He was of Italian blood and therefore not likely to be burdened with German sympathies. Before everything else, says the good Master Adam, he entered into friendlyrelations with the King of the Danes.[382]But during Libentius' as well as Unwan's primacy Canute seems to have selected the bishops for his Danish as well as for his English sees.

During the closing years of his life, Canute's policy was completely identified with that of the mediæval Church as regards his attitude toward heathen and un-Christian practices. So long as the Norwegian problem was unsettled, the King dared not take a decided stand against the old faith, as he was too much dependent on heathen or semi-heathen assistance against King Olaf. But after the conquest there was no reason for further delay, and the English Church got its desired legislation. In two comparatively long enactments, one ecclesiastical and one secular, all the old and important church laws were re-enacted and various new provisions added.[383]Archbishop Dunstan was canonised and given May 13th as his mass day.[384]Added protection was given to churches and to the ministers of the altar: outlawry was to be the punishment for slaying a priest.[385]It was carefully explained that the privileges of the priesthood were due to the exalted character of the divine office; for

great is the exorcism and glorious the consecration that cast out devils and put them to flight whenever baptism is celebrated or the host is consecrated; andholy angels are present to watch over the sacred act and through the power of God to assist the priests so long as they worthily serve Christ.[386]

Sundays and other church holidays were to be properly kept; and no commercial transactions were to be tolerated on Sundays, nor were the public courts to hold sessions on those days except in cases of extreme necessity.[387]Due attention was to be given to the seasons when the Church prescribed fasting; but it was explicitly stated that except in the case of penitents, no fasting was to be required between Easter and Pentecost, or from Christmas to the close of the week following Epiphany,[388]the joyous period of the Northern Yule-tide.

It seems clear that enactments of this sort would be necessary only in regions where there might still be a considerable number of recent converts with whom the observance of Christian rites and customs had not yet become a habit. It may be, therefore, that these laws were particularly intended for certain parts of the Danelaw. Perhaps it was the need of improving the religious conditions in the Danish settlements that inspired the royal demand for general instruction in the fundamentals of the Christian faith.

And we order every Christian to learn at least so much that he can understand clearly the teachings ofthe true faith, and to learn thoroughly the Pater Noster and the Credo.[389]

Some attention is also paid to ecclesiastical finance. Fines were provided for neglect in the payment of church dues; part of these were to be paid to the bishop. The Anglo-Saxons were in the habit of making contributions for church lights at the feast of the Purification (Candlemas, February 2d), at Easter Eve, and on All Saints' day (November 1st). A fortnight after Easter plough alms were to be paid. A tithe of young beasts was due at Pentecost. Peter's pence were contributed on Saint Peter's day (August 1st). A tithe of the harvested crops was due at All Saints' day. The last tax of the year was the church scot which was paid at Martinsmas (November 11th). All these contributions are specifically mentioned and urged in Canute's laws for the English Church.[390]

The second part of Canute's legislation, the secular laws, is a document of considerable length, of which only a comparatively small part is copied from the earlier "dooms." It deals with a variety of subjects, several of which may be classed as religious rather than secular. A very important act was the definition and prohibition of heathendom and heathen practices.

Heathendom is the worship of idols, namely the worship of heathen gods, and the sun or moon, fire or flood, fountains or rocks or forest trees of any sort;also to practise witchcraft or to commit murders in any manner, whether in sacrifices or in auguries, or to busy oneself with any such delusion.[391]

As it is not customary to forbid what is never performed, we have in this enactment evidence for a persisting heathendom on English soil. In the Scandinavian colonies pagan practices were probably hard to uproot; at the same time, it is not likely that the old faith was a force that needed to be considered any longer.

The matter of Christian marriage is dealt with in both the secular and the ecclesiastical laws. It was difficult to enforce the regulations of the Church on this subject and particularly among the vikings, whose ideas as to the binding force of marriage were exceedingly vague.[392]Canute forbade clandestine marriages; to the old law that a man should have but one wife he added the important provision that "she should be his legally espoused wife."[393]He also gave the protection of the state to widows and virgins who preferred to remain unmarried.[394]

Other important enactments deal with matters of finance, especially with the King's share in the fines assessed in the courts, his income from hisestates, and coinage and counterfeiting; there are also important laws that look toward the security of persons and of property. The principle of equality before the law is distinctly stated: the magnates were to have no unusual privileges in the courts of justice.

Many a powerful man will, if he can and may, defend his man in whatever way it seems to him the more easy to defend him, whether as freeman or astheow(serf). But we will not suffer that injustice.[395]

With the legislation of Canute, the development of Old English law comes to a close. Various tracts or customals of considerable importance were composed in the eleventh century, some of which may have been put into form after the close of Canute's reign; but of these we know neither the authors nor the date. The "Laws of Edward" that the Norman kings swore to maintain were in reality the laws of Canute; for when the Anglo-Norman lawyers of the early twelfth century began to investigate the subject of Old English law, they found its most satisfactory statement in the legislation of the mighty Dane. In theQuadripartitusthese laws occupy the most prominent place; while the compilations that Liebermann has called theInstituta Cnutiand theConsiliatio Cnutiare scarcely more than translations of Canute's legislation for church and state.[396]

So great was the Danish King's reputation as a lawmaker in the twelfth century that he was even credited with enactments and institutional experiments with which he never had any connection. Toward the close of that century an official of the royal forest, as it seems, drew up an elaborate law for the King's hunting preserves which he tried to give currency and authority by ascribing it to Canute.[397]The Dane was not indifferent to the chase, but he did not find it necessary to make it the subject of extensive legislation. In his secular laws the subject is disposed of in a single sentence: "And let every man forego my hunting, wherever I wish to have it free from trespass, under penalty of the full fine."[398]

In the so-called "Laws of Edward the Confessor" it is stated that themurdrumfine originated in the reign of Canute. It is well-known that William the Conqueror found it necessary to take special measures for the protection of his Normans from assassination at the hands of Englishmen who were seeking vengeance; he decreed, therefore, that the hundred where the murder of a Norman was committed should see that the criminal was given proper punishment or pay a heavy fine in case of default. The twelfth-century lawyer whodrew up the "Laws of Edward" evidently believed that in this matter William was following a precedent from Danish times.[399]But though it seems that Canute was obliged to legislate for the protection of his Danish officials and subjects in Norway, there is no good evidence for any corresponding decree in England.

A similar conclusion has been reached as to Canute's responsibility for the institution known as frankpledge. Tithing and surety, two Old English institutions which were the roots of the later frankpledge, are mentioned in the laws of Canute; but they were still distinct. The tithing, normally a group of ten, was charged chiefly with the duty of assisting in the pursuit of criminals; not until its members had been pledged to a duty of mutual suretyship, each being held responsible in certain respects for the behaviour of all his associates in the group, did the tithing develop into the pledge.[400]

In Canute's empire there were at least two institutional systems, those of England and of the North. In some respects both had attained a high development. The question how far these systems influenced each other as the result of the union is a difficult one: the union of the crowns was of short duration and the institutional changes that seem to indicate borrowing may be due in large part to earlier contact through the Danelaw.With the Northmen came a new conception of personal honour and a new term for criminality of the most dishonourable type, thenithingname. Norse rules were introduced into court procedure. Administrative areas came to bear Norse appellations, as the wapentake in the Danelaw generally and the riding in Yorkshire.[401]These facts, however, belong in large measure to the earlier development, though it doubtless continued through the reign of Canute and longer.

But though Scandinavian ideas of law had long flourished on English soil, it was not till Canute's day that they were formally accepted as a part of the Anglo-Saxon legal system. In penal legislation a new spirit appeared: there was less mercy and punishments became more severe—exile, mutilation, and forfeiture of life more common. If the ordeal should convict a man of a second offence, the penalty might be the loss of the hands or the feet, or of both. Still further mutilation was decreed if the criminal should continue to commit grave offences; "but let the soul be spared."[402]The same penalties were not always provided for both sexes: a faithless husband might have to pay the ancient money fine for man-slaughter; a sinning wife was to suffer the loss of all her property and her ears and nose.[403]Certaininstitutions of Scandinavian origin took on a peculiar form during Canute's reign: for instance, the guard of housecarles in its English and later Danish form, and the office of staller or the King's spokesman at the popular assemblies, which office seems to have been introduced into England in Canute's day.[404]

It is still more difficult to determine what results the union had for the institutional development of Denmark. On only one point have we clear evidence: Canute was the first Danish King to begin a systematic coinage of money. Coins were stricken in Denmark before his day, but there was no organised system of mints. Canute supplied this need, using the English pattern. He brought moneyers from his western kingdom and located them in the chief cities of Denmark; coins have come down to us that were stricken by these moneyers in the cities of Roeskild, Ringsted, Odense, Heathby (Sleswick), and Lund.[405]

On the other hand, Canute's Norwegian legislation shows clear traces of Anglo-Saxon influence. Of his three kingdoms, Norway, doubtless, had the least efficient constitution. In Norway there was much liberty, but also much disorder; emphasis was placed on personal rights, especially on those of the aristocracy; but such emphasis is too frequently subversive of good government. The Dane was a believer in strong, orderly administration:it was his purpose to introduce European principles into the Norse constitution. Had he been personally in control he might have succeeded but his deputies at Nidaros were unequal to the task; discontent and rebellion were the result.

For the laws that the new regents proclaimed in Norway, the Norsemen were inclined to lay all blame on Sweyn's mother, Elgiva (Alfiva, the Northmen called her), Canute's mistress of olden time. But there can be little doubt that in this matter she and her son merely carried out the King's instructions. The laws fall into three classes: revenue legislation, police and military ordinances, and a new definition of penalties.[406]

A new tax that apparently affected the entire population was the demand that at Christmas time every hearth should contribute certain "gifts": a measure of malt, the leg of a full-grown ox, and as much unspun flax as could be held between the thumb and the middle finger. This reminds one somewhat of the English ferm, a contribution that was due from the various counties. It was also enacted that the franklins should assist in erecting buildings on the royal estates, and that merchants and fishermen and all who sailed to Iceland should pay certain dues to the King.

A law that was clearly aimed at the ancient practice of blood feud provided that murder should entail the loss of lands as well as of personal property;also that the King alone should take inheritance after an outlaw. In those same years Canute decreed in England that whoever committed a deed of outlawry should forfeit his lands to the King. The new Norse laws also forbade any subject to leave the land without permission, on pain of outlawry. Parallel to this is the English law that ordered forfeiture for leaving one's lord, with the difference that in Norway the King himself was the lord. It was also decreed that the testimony of a Dane should outweigh that of ten Norsemen, the purpose of which was clearly to secure the lives of Danish officials and soldiers.

It was further provided that every male above the age of five years should be counted one of seven to equip a soldier. It may be that this provision was suggested by the Old English custom of grouping five hides of land (originally the lands of five households) for similar purposes. Snorre believes that these laws were Danish in origin; but it is more likely that they grew out of Canute's experience with Anglo-Saxon custom and the principles of Continental feudalism, though it is possible that some of them had been introduced into Denmark earlier in the reign and came to Norway from the southern kingdom.

Runic Monument from Upland, Sweden (Shows blending of Celtic and Northern art.)

FOOTNOTES:[358]Steenstrup,Normannerne, i., 195-199.[359]Munch,Det norske Folks Historie, I., ii., 704, 705.[360]Encomium Emmæ, ii., c. 19. The Encomiast is intensely partisan and much given to exaggeration; but we cannot reject the statement as to the English oath without convicting him of a worse fault for which there was scarcely a sufficient motive at the time when theEncomiumwas composed.[361]Snorre,Saga of Saint Olaf, c. 130.[362]Corpus Poeticum Boreale, ii., 135-136.[363]Steenstrup,Venderne og de Danske, 64-65. The name occurs in theLiber Vibæof Winchester in a list of benefactors. See above p. 57.[364]Steenstrup,Venderne og de Danske, 65. Florence of Worcester,Chronicon, i., 199.[365]Kemble,Codex Diplomaticus, No. 743.[366]After Canute's death, Godescalc returned to his native country and took up the cause of Christian mission effort among the heathen Wends. Adamus,Gesta, ii., cc. 64, 75.[367]Snorre,Saga of Saint Olaf, c. 247.[368]Mon. Ger. Hist., Scriptores, iv., 134; Adémar'sChronicle, ii., c. 41.[369]Migne,Patrologia Latina, cxli., col. 122: sermon by Adémar. Migne considers the sermon of doubtful genuineness, possibly because he thought its delivery should go back to 998, when in reality 1028 seems to be the correct date.[370]Lavisse,Histoire de France, II., ii., 162.[371]Manitius,Deutsche Geschichte, 322-323.[372]Manitius,Deutsche Geschichte, 360-361, 365, 389 ff.[373]Ibid., 369-370.[374]Adamus,Gesta, ii., c. 54.[375]Danmarks Riges Historie, i., 409.[376]Adamus,Gesta, ii., c. 54. Manitius (Deutsche Geschichte, 370) believes the cession was not made before 1035.[377]Larson,The King's Household, in England, 140-142.[378]Gesta, ii., c. 53.[379]Gesta, ii., c. 54.[380]Ibid., c. 58.[381]Ibid., c. 55; iv., c. 33.[382]Adamus,Gesta, ii., c. 62.[383]Liebermann,Gesetze der Angelsachsen, i., 278 ff.[384]Canute, c. 17, I.[385]Ibid., cc. 3, 4;II. Canute, c. 39.[386]I. Canute, c. 4, 2.[387]Ibid., c. 15.[388]Ibid., c. 17.[389]I. Canute, c. 22.[390]Ibid., cc. 8-10.[391]II. Canute, c. 5, 1.[392]On this point the Norse sources furnish evidence everywhere. For the condition among the Scandinavians in Britain, see the account of the "Siege of Durham" published among the writings of Simeon of Durham (Opera Omnia, 215-220).[393]I. Canute, c. 7, 3.[394]II. Canute, cc. 52, 52,[**52 twice?] I, 74.[395]II. Canute, c. 20, I.[396]For the text of these compilations (including the forged forest law) see Liebermann,Gesetze der Angelsachsen, i., 529-546, 612-626. The documents have been made the subject of a series of studies by F. Liebermann, the results of which are summed up in Pollock and Maitland,History of English Law, i., 100-101.[397]Liebermann,Gesetze der Angelsachsen, i., 620.[398]II. Canute, c. 80, I.[399]Liebermann,Gesetze der Angelsachsen, i., 642;Leges Edwardi Confessoris, c. 16.[400]On this subject see Morris,The Frankpledge System, c. i.[401]On this subject the most important work is Steenstrup'sDanelag(Normannerne, iv.); see especially pp. 75-76, 85-92, 175 ff.; alsoNormannerne, iii., 366-368.[402]II. Canute, c. 30, 5.[403]Ibid., c. 50 ff.[404]Larson,The King's Household in England, c. 7.[405]Danmarks Riges Historie, i., 404-405.[406]Snorre,Saga of Saint Olaf, c. 239.

[358]Steenstrup,Normannerne, i., 195-199.

[359]Munch,Det norske Folks Historie, I., ii., 704, 705.

[360]Encomium Emmæ, ii., c. 19. The Encomiast is intensely partisan and much given to exaggeration; but we cannot reject the statement as to the English oath without convicting him of a worse fault for which there was scarcely a sufficient motive at the time when theEncomiumwas composed.

[361]Snorre,Saga of Saint Olaf, c. 130.

[362]Corpus Poeticum Boreale, ii., 135-136.

[363]Steenstrup,Venderne og de Danske, 64-65. The name occurs in theLiber Vibæof Winchester in a list of benefactors. See above p. 57.

[364]Steenstrup,Venderne og de Danske, 65. Florence of Worcester,Chronicon, i., 199.

[365]Kemble,Codex Diplomaticus, No. 743.

[366]After Canute's death, Godescalc returned to his native country and took up the cause of Christian mission effort among the heathen Wends. Adamus,Gesta, ii., cc. 64, 75.

[367]Snorre,Saga of Saint Olaf, c. 247.

[368]Mon. Ger. Hist., Scriptores, iv., 134; Adémar'sChronicle, ii., c. 41.

[369]Migne,Patrologia Latina, cxli., col. 122: sermon by Adémar. Migne considers the sermon of doubtful genuineness, possibly because he thought its delivery should go back to 998, when in reality 1028 seems to be the correct date.

[370]Lavisse,Histoire de France, II., ii., 162.

[371]Manitius,Deutsche Geschichte, 322-323.

[372]Manitius,Deutsche Geschichte, 360-361, 365, 389 ff.

[373]Ibid., 369-370.

[374]Adamus,Gesta, ii., c. 54.

[375]Danmarks Riges Historie, i., 409.

[376]Adamus,Gesta, ii., c. 54. Manitius (Deutsche Geschichte, 370) believes the cession was not made before 1035.

[377]Larson,The King's Household, in England, 140-142.

[378]Gesta, ii., c. 53.

[379]Gesta, ii., c. 54.

[380]Ibid., c. 58.

[381]Ibid., c. 55; iv., c. 33.

[382]Adamus,Gesta, ii., c. 62.

[383]Liebermann,Gesetze der Angelsachsen, i., 278 ff.

[384]Canute, c. 17, I.

[385]Ibid., cc. 3, 4;II. Canute, c. 39.

[386]I. Canute, c. 4, 2.

[387]Ibid., c. 15.

[388]Ibid., c. 17.

[389]I. Canute, c. 22.

[390]Ibid., cc. 8-10.

[391]II. Canute, c. 5, 1.

[392]On this point the Norse sources furnish evidence everywhere. For the condition among the Scandinavians in Britain, see the account of the "Siege of Durham" published among the writings of Simeon of Durham (Opera Omnia, 215-220).

[393]I. Canute, c. 7, 3.

[394]II. Canute, cc. 52, 52,[**52 twice?] I, 74.

[395]II. Canute, c. 20, I.

[396]For the text of these compilations (including the forged forest law) see Liebermann,Gesetze der Angelsachsen, i., 529-546, 612-626. The documents have been made the subject of a series of studies by F. Liebermann, the results of which are summed up in Pollock and Maitland,History of English Law, i., 100-101.

[397]Liebermann,Gesetze der Angelsachsen, i., 620.

[398]II. Canute, c. 80, I.

[399]Liebermann,Gesetze der Angelsachsen, i., 642;Leges Edwardi Confessoris, c. 16.

[400]On this subject see Morris,The Frankpledge System, c. i.

[401]On this subject the most important work is Steenstrup'sDanelag(Normannerne, iv.); see especially pp. 75-76, 85-92, 175 ff.; alsoNormannerne, iii., 366-368.

[402]II. Canute, c. 30, 5.

[403]Ibid., c. 50 ff.

[404]Larson,The King's Household in England, c. 7.

[405]Danmarks Riges Historie, i., 404-405.

[406]Snorre,Saga of Saint Olaf, c. 239.

To present an adequate discussion of the state of culture among Canute's subjects in the space of a single chapter would be impossible. So far as the western realm is concerned it would also be unnecessary, as the subject of Anglo-Saxon culture is an old study and discussions in English are readily accessible. This chapter will therefore be chiefly concerned with the civilisation of the Northern lands, and especially with the great transformations that came with the viking age and were becoming most evident toward its close.

The two controlling types of civilisation in the Anglo-Scandinavian Empire, the English and the Norse, were both fundamentally Germanic; but English culture had for centuries been permeated with Christian thought, while in the North the ideals of heathendom were still a force to be taken into account. It is difficult to characterise Northern society in the earlier decades of the eleventh century: all the various regions were not in the same stage of development; all were not subject to the same modifying influences. But itwas a growing organism, showing change in almost every fibre. Scandinavian civilisation was gradually approaching the European type. There is danger that we may place the Northman on a too high plane of culture; but the error is more frequently on the other side.[407]Measured by the standards of his own age, the Northman was not a barbarian. He had great energy of mind and much intellectual curiosity. He sailed everywhere and frequently included European ideas in his plunder or merchandise.

The population throughout Scandinavia was overwhelmingly rural; cities were few and insignificant, when we consider the number of houses and inhabitants, though it appears that the urban element was rapidly developing in the eleventh century. As early as the ninth century we find mention of Birca, an island city in Lake Maelar in eastern Sweden; of Heathby near the modern city of Sleswick on the southern border of Denmark; and of Skiringshall in southern Norway.[408]These and other cities evidently originated in the need of definite market places. Roads were poor in the middle ages and the sea was often a dangerous highway; commerce was therefore largely limited to the more favourable seasons of the year, andhence the importance of periodic markets. These were often held in connection with the great sacrificial festivals and it is therefore not strange that the earlier cities grew up on or near the sites of the ancient sanctuaries.[409]

In such localities grew up Odense on the island of Funen, Wisby on the island of Gotland, and Skiringshall on the great Bay.[410]Nidaros (Throndhjem) is said to have been founded by the first King Olaf, but its great importance dates from the canonisation of Saint Olaf whose bones were buried there. Kingscrag (Konungahelle) at the mouth of the Gaut River, and Tunsberg on the western shore of Folden Bay seem to have had their origin as landing places for merchants and vikings. On the other hand, Sarpsborg across the inlet from Tunsberg evidently grew up around a stronghold established in the days of Saint Olaf. Urban developments can also be traced in the western colonies: old cities in England, especially in the Danelaw, passed into the control of the Northmen; new cities rose on the shores of the Irish Sea.

This commercial movement began to gather strength during the quiet decades of the tenth century but it must have progressed rapidly during the peaceful reign of Canute. From Novgorod in Russia to Bristol and Limerick in the British Islesthe ships of the North sailed every summer laden with the products of all Northern Europe: furs from Norway and Russia; the teeth of the walrus from the Arctic waters; cured fish from the Scandinavian seas; honey from the Baltic shores; Norwegian hawks for the English sportsmen; and numerous other products. In return for these the Northmen received the luxuries of the South, especially wine, wheat, and silk; but numerous thralls were also imported, particularly from the Celtic lands.[411]

These foreign products were chiefly consumed in the homes of the Scandinavian aristocracy. In material comforts the Northmen were probably not far behind the corresponding classes elsewhere in Europe. When the god Righ came to the chieftain's house,

Then the housewife thought of her arms,Smoothened her linen, pleated her sleeves.Broad was her headgear, a brooch on her breast;She wore trailing sashes and a blue-dyed sark.

When her son was born, "she swaddled him in silk"; and when her daughter-in-law came to the hall as a bride, "she walked under the veil of fine linen."[412]The sudden consciousness of rare finery was not limited to the women; rich and highly coloured clothing also delighted the men.

The influence of alien culture was also shown in the entertainment provided for the visiting god:

Then took Mother a markèd[413]coverOf bleached linen and laid upon the board.Next she laid out the thinnest loavesOf wheaten flour on the white cover.She set the table with silver-mounted dishesHeaped with roasted birds and ham.The wine brightened the mounted beakers.They drank and talked till the day was done.[414]

"The Lay of Righ" was composed, it is believed, in the days of Canute's grandfather; but the civilisation that it describes was not new; even a century earlier the ruling classes in the North had reached a high stage of culture, as we know from the large number of articles indicating a refined and cultivated taste that were found when the Oseberg ship was discovered and excavated a few years ago.[415]

As in early Saxon times before the clergy had monopolised learning, the higher forms of cultured life saw their finest fruitage in the halls of kings and chiefs. The old Scandinavian house was a wooden structure of rectangular shape, its length being considerably greater than the width. In its general lines it doubtless bore close resemblance to the Anglo-Saxon dwelling of the same period.In the number and arrangement of the rooms the individual houses showed some, though not great, variety; but a large living-room seems to have been characteristic of all. In the middle of this room a long trough lined with stones was sunk into the floor; this served as fireplace, the smoke finding its way out through an opening in the roof. On either side of this long fireplace ran a row of pillars that served to support the roof; these also gave opportunities for the carver's art. Between the pillars and the wall stood the benches where the feasters sat with portable tables before them. The walls were ornamented with shields and weapons and with the trophies of the chase. At the middle of the long north wall, facing the entrance door on the opposite side, stood the high-seat of the lord of the hall. The size and splendour of the room would depend on the wealth and importance of the owner: some of the larger halls were planned for the entertainment of several hundred guests and henchmen.[416]

There were many other buildings besides the hall, the number depending on the needs of the estate. The king's garth probably differed very little from those of the wealthier chiefs. In England, too, even as late as the year 1000, the palace architecture must have been of the same modest type. In his homily on Saint Thomas,Alfric (who wrote his sermons in the decade of Canute's birth) tells the story of how the Apostle went to India to build a palace for a king, and, by the way, used the money for building churches:

Then he examined the grounds where it was to be builded.And Thomas went about measuring the place with a yardstick,And said that he would build the hall first of allAt the east end of the grounds, and the other buildingsBehind the hall: bath house and kitchenAnd winterhouse and summerhouse and winsome bowers,—Twelve houses altogether with good arches—But such it is not customary to build in EnglandAnd therefore we do not mention them particularly.[417]

Scandinavian (Icelandic) Hall in the Viking Age

During the reign of Canute, however, there must have been material advancement in the direction of greater magnificence in the royal garth. The sagas testify to a splendour at Winchester that was greater than what was to be seen anywhere else.[418]

The men of the viking age usually associated the royal hall with the thought of elaborate festivities. The greatest moment in such an occasion was when the scald rose to sing the praises and recite the exploits of his host. It has been thought that the activities of the court poet show Celticinfluence,[419]and it may be that the scald had learned freely from the bard; but the institution itself is most probably of native origin. Like the Irish singer his chief theme was praise; but we need not suppose that the scald confined himself wholly to contemporary themes: the gleeman in Beowulf sang of the great hero that sat beside the King; but he also told the tales of the Volsungs and the still older story of creation; before the onslaught at Stiklestead one of Saint Olaf's scalds recited the ancient Bjarkamál, the Old Norse version of Beowulf's last fight. The holy King seems to have enjoyed the inspiriting strains of heathen heroism; he thanked the poet, as did all the host.

Old Norse poetry had its beginnings in the ninth century; but its greater bulk belongs to the tenth and eleventh. It begins with a wonderful series of mythical poems, most of them belonging to the period of lull in the viking activities (900-980). The series culminates in the Sibyl's Prophecy (Voluspá), one of the grandest monuments of mediæval literary art and thought. It tells the story of the creation, the destruction, the regeneration of the world in heathen terms with heathen gods, giants, and demons as the actors. But it contains unmistakable Christian elements and the poet must have had some acquaintance with the faith that ruled in the Western Islands. The poem seems to have been composed a generation or two before the days of Canute; but it was doubtlesswidely current during the years of his kingship. That the later scalds knew and appreciated the poem is evident from the fact that it was quoted by Christian poets in the following century.[420]No doubt it was an important number in their repertoire of song and story, and perhaps we may believe that it was gladly heard by Canute and his henchmen in the royal hall at Winchester.

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