Norwegian Life | Page 3

was divided among the free
peasant-proprietors, or bonde class. Bonde, in English translation, is
usually called peasant; but this is not an equivalent; for with the word
"peasant" we associate the idea of inferior social condition to the
landed aristocracy of the country, while these peasants or bondes were
themselves the highest class in the country. The land owned by a
peasant was called his udal. By udal-right the land was kept in the
family, and it could not be alienated or forfeited from the kindred who
were udal-born to it. The free peasants might own many thralls or
slaves, who were unfree men. These were mostly prisoners captured by
the vikings on their expeditions to foreign shores; the owner could
trade them away, or sell them, or even kill them without paying any
fine or _man-bote_ to the king, as in the case of killing a free man. As a
rule, however, the slaves were not badly treated, and they were
sometimes made free and given the right to acquire land.
In early days Norway consisted of a great number of small states called

Fylkis, each a little kingdom by itself. The free peasants in a Fylki held
general assemblies called Things, where laws were made and justice
administered. No public acts were undertaken without the deliberation
of a Thing. The Thing was sacred, and a breach of peace at the
_thing-place_ was considered a great crime. At the Thing there was
also a hallowed place for the judges, or "lag-men," who expounded and
administered the laws made by the Thing. Almost every crime could be
expiated by the payment of fines, even if the accused had killed a
person. But if a man killed another secretly, he was declared an
assassin and an outlaw, was deprived of all his property, and could be
killed by any one who wished to do so. The fine or man-bote was
heavier, the higher the rank of the person killed.
The Thing or Fylkis Thing was not made up of representatives elected
by the people, but was rather a primary assembly of the free udal-born
peasant-proprietors of the district. There were leading men in the fylki,
and each fylki had one or more chiefs, but they had to plead at the
Thing like other free men. When there were several chiefs, they usually
had the title of _herse_; but when the free men had agreed upon one
chief, he was called jarl (earl), or king. The king was the commander in
war, and usually performed the judicial functions; but he supported
himself upon his own estates, and the free peasants paid no tax. The
dignity of the king was usually inherited by his son, but if the heir was
not to the liking of the people, they chose another. No man, however
clear his right of succession, would think of assuming the title or power
of a king except by the vote of the Thing. There he was presented to the
people by a free peasant, and his right must be confirmed by the Thing
before he could exert any act of kingly power. The king had a number
of free men in his service, who had sworn allegiance to him in war and
in peace. They were armed men, kept in pay, and were called
_hird-men_ or court-men, because they were members of the king's
hird or court. If they were brave and faithful, they were often given
high positions of trust; some were made lendermen (liegemen), or
managers of the king's estates.
It is but natural that the ancient Norwegians should become warlike and
brave men, since their firm religious belief was that those who died of

sickness or old age would sink down into the dark abode of Hel
(Helheim), and that only the brave men who fell in battle would be
invited to the feasts in Odin's Hall. Sometimes the earls or kings would
make war on their neighbors, either for conquest or revenge. But the
time came when the countries of the north, with their poorly developed
resources, became overpopulated, and the warriors had to seek other
fields abroad. The viking cruises commenced, and for a long time the
Norwegians continued to harry the coasts of Europe.
At first the viking expeditions were nothing but piracy, carried on for a
livelihood. The name Viking is supposed to be derived from the word
vik, a cove or inlet on the coast, in which they would harbor their ships
and lie in wait for merchants sailing by. Soon these expeditions
assumed a wider range and a wilder character, and historians of the
time paint the horrors spread by the vikings in dark colors. In the
English churches they had a day of prayer each week to invoke the aid
of heaven