. The voyages of the Norsemen to America. ly in the bodyguards of certain princes,kept up the military spirit. Hence, about the year 1000 andin the period immediately following, when the events tookplace with which we are here concerned, we find in Ice-land a nation teeming with physical and mental energy,possessing in a high degree the qualities of sailors, navi-gators, and fighters, well fitted for exploration and coloni-zation. Every great farm or estate in Iceland formed a fairly in-dependent economic unit. The population consisted of free-men and thralls, but while the freemen performed t
. The voyages of the Norsemen to America. ly in the bodyguards of certain princes,kept up the military spirit. Hence, about the year 1000 andin the period immediately following, when the events tookplace with which we are here concerned, we find in Ice-land a nation teeming with physical and mental energy,possessing in a high degree the qualities of sailors, navi-gators, and fighters, well fitted for exploration and coloni-zation. Every great farm or estate in Iceland formed a fairly in-dependent economic unit. The population consisted of free-men and thralls, but while the freemen performed the more THE NORSEMEN TO AMERICA 13 skilled labor and the thralls did the rougher kind of work,there appears otherwise to have been little division of laboror specialization. Each freeman might be a farmer, smith,merchant, fisherman, carpenter, etc. The thralls would grindthe mill, spread the manure, perhaps milk the cows. Thewomen baked, brewed, wove, and the like. The houses werebuilt chiefly of sod, which ensured warmth. In the founda-. Ruins of the House of Eric the Redin Haukadalur., Dala Syssel^ Iceland By courtesy of Caft. D. Bruun tion of the walls stones were laid, with sod interposed. Woodwas used more sparingly, and entered chiefly into the con-struction and support of the roof and in the gables. Thesod walls were from five to six feet thick and, generally,only about five feet high. An Icelandic farm* was made up of a number of build-ings scattered over the home enclosure {tun). The dwell-ing-houses were built near together, comprising ordinarilyat least one house {stofa) where the meals were eaten andwhich also served as living-room, one house {eldhus) whichserved as kitchen and bedroom, and one provision store-house and pantry {bur, or matbur). Later, particularly inlarger farms, the bedroom was separated from the kitchen,and a separate house {skdli) was built, which served as *See Valtyr GuSmundsson, Prvvatboligen paa Island i Sagatiden. 14 THE VOYAGES OF sleeping-
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