Árbók Hins íslenzka fornleifafélags - 01.01.2009, Page 123

122 ÁRBÓK FORNLEIFAFÉLAGSINS
Summary
The article discusses the history of a brúðarhús (bridal house) in Laufás. The first
references to it are to be found in valuation documents from 1738 that relate to the
estate of the local priest, séra Geir Markússon, during whose lengthy stewardship of
the parish (1690-1738) the house was built. There were no estate valuations during that
period and thus no documentary evidence identifying the exact date of construction.
The marriage customs of Icelandic aristocrats in the seventeenth and eighteenth
centuries certainly explain the name brúðarhús, but such customs seem to have been
in decline during séra Geir's stewardship. This suggests that the house may have been
built earlier rather than later in séra Geir's time at Laufás. Perhaps its construction can
be linked to the priest's own marriage in 1720.
Three stages are identifiable in the construction of the house: the first, with the
building in its original form and location, lasted until 1813; the next involved the
relocation of the structure within the farmhouse complex; and the third dates from
about 1840 when the house was rebuilt in its present form. It seems clear that the
building was originally used for wedding feasts but this custom died out rapidly
during the eighteenth century. By 1797 the house had neither benches nor heating,
and maintaining its interior appearance no longer seems to have been a priority. We
may assume that by this time the structure was already being put to uses other than
those for which it was originally constructed. The nature of its original use cannot
be confirmed from any documentary source, though we do have the telling evidence
of the name brúðarhús. When the buildings at Laufás no longer served as a vicarage,
the bridal house came to be used as a dairy and may have continued to function in
that capacity up to the end of the nineteenth century. Though the house retained its
original name later use was clearly dictated by the practical needs of the moment.
Restoration of the brúðarhús in 1998 provided an opportunity for the examination
of the roof timbers, which were clearly older than other wood used in the house. Many
of these timbers had clearly once been part of a panelled partition with horizontal
supports. This screen had probably once been situated in the main room, for there
are documented references to such a structure, or they may have come from an earlier
version of the brúðarhús. Whichever explanation is correct, these timbers must have
been witness to many a lavish feast, with much psalm-singing and many toasts – all to
celebrate the weddings of prominent folk at Laufás in the early part of the eighteenth
century.