Árbók Hins íslenzka fornleifafélags - 01.01.1974, Page 136

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ÁRBÓK FORNLEIFAFÉLAGSINS
slightly curved near the pointed ends. This is indicated hy the largest piece
of teeth found, cf. Kristján Eldjárn, op. cit., p. 139, Figure 5: seven appar-
ently fairly complete teeth rusted together, measuring in lengtli from 8.3
to 9.5 cm. In all, the remains of teeth found corresponded only to about
tliirty 9.5 cm long teeth; it should be kept in mind, however, that some were
probably lost, as the grave, due to soil erosion, was not intact when ex-
cavated. — The price of wool-combs, ullarkambar, when first seen quoted
in Búalög, in a text from c. 1470—1500, cf. Búalög (Reylcjavík, 1915—1933),
p. 37, was five aurar, i. e. thirty ells. The same price for wool-combs was found
in an inventory from c. 1500, cf. DI VII, p. 449, and in a number of later
texts of Búalög’, dating from the 16tli and 17th centuríes, cf. Búalög, op.
cit., pp. 22 (c. 1550), 82 (1565), 134 (c. 1600), 101 (1643), 99 (1650) and 76
(1670). C. 1630—1640 and again 1661, other and lower príces of wool-combs
were quoted: twelve ells for ordinary, obreytter, combs and twenty four
ells for combs clad with iron (on the outside), járnader (utann), cf.
ibid. pp. 175 and 198. As cited by Marta Hoffmann, op. cit., p. 382,
wool-combs were priced at ten and twenty four ells in another Búalög text
from 1661, and all four price levels (one, tliough, at twenty five rather
than twenty four ells) were found in a text from the early 18th century. —
There seems to be no wrítten evidence of import of wool-combs into Iceland;
no combs are recorded in DI IV, and combs listed among goods brought to
Iceland by English traders from 1480 to 1530, cf. DI XVI, pp. 56, 57, 74, 78,
80, 82, 83, 99, 128, 183 and 457, were most certainly hair combs, judging
from the príces and context of listing. Swrviving togkambar, none of wkich,
though, are likely to date further back than to the early 19th century, are
all considered to be of Icelandic workmansliip, and most likely this was also
the case with wool-combs in ea/rlier days, with the exception, one may pre-
sume, of a few wool-combs being brought into tlie country occasionally, for
instance in the early 17th century, as examples of cheaper and perhaps
improved types of implements. — All considered, the late mediaeval Icelandic
wool-combs, ullarkambar, priced at five aurar may have been of the old type
with a comparatively large number of close set teeth indicated by the
Daðastaðir find, while the cheaper wool-combs appearing in the 17th
century might liave been similar to or prototypes of the 19th century tog-
kambai’ with comparatively few, wide set teeth. It has occured to the present
author whether the adoption of new types of wool-combs evident in the
first half of the 17th century may in some way be linked with the advent
of knitting in Iceland in the second lialf of the 16th century and the great
production of knit goods for trading which followed?
7 NTT 74, i. e. Elisabeth Strömberg et al., Nordisk textilteknisk terminologi
(Oslo, 1974), p. 90 (tog).
8 Loc. cit. (togkambar).
9 Ibid., p. 4^ (ullarkambar).
10 Þórður Tómasson, „Ull og tóvinna II. Þjóðháttaskráning Þjóðminjasafnsins
XIV,“ ([Reykjavik], 1965), p. 1. (Mimeographed.)