The Icelandic Canadian - 01.12.1959, Síða 42

40
THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
Winter 1939
The question then arises: Who was
the owner of this silver hoard? Who in-
habited Gaulverjabaer during these
years? The original settler in Gaul-
verjabaer was Loftur Ormsson the Old,
also called Eyra-Loftur for his con-
nection with Eyrar or Eyrarbakki. He
came to Iceland as a young man, but
he married Heimlaug borarinsdottir
when he was sixty years of age and his
title “the Old” indicates that he reach-
ed a high old age. This explains the
fact that his son, borblfur Eyra-Lofts-
son, lived past the year 1000. Nothing
much is known of him. Landnama,
however, relates that he fought a battle
with Earl GyrSur Sigvaldason at MeS-
alfar Sound in which he and his fellows
managed to retain their goods. They
must have been merchants who fought
an engagement with Vikings. With
borolfur in this battle was the Gu$-
leifur who was driven to Hvitramanna-
land “in the later part of the reign of
St. Olaf,” or about 1020—1025. Njals
saga describes borolfur in terms which
clearly indicate that he was a mer-
chant—SkarpheSinn taunts Skafti bor-
oddsson with the fact that boroddur
smuggled him onto his ship in a meal-
bag and transported him to Iceland.
It follows from the fact that bor-
ocldur is spoken of as a contemporary
of Skafti boroddsson and GuSleifur
from Straumfjord that he lived into
the early years of the eleventh century.
It is not known where he lived, but
since his father lived at Gaulverjabaer
it is likely that this was also his home.
It is quite possible, therefore, that he
buried the silver hoard in his old age,
for no one is more likely to have owned
a good deal of silver than he, the mer-
chant trader. Of greatest interest to
us, however, is the fact that the hoard
demonstrates how the sjoffir, which the
men of the Saga Age wore at their belts.
came into being. They consisted of a
collection of foreign silver coins from
various countries and reached Iceland
only after lengthy travels on the by-
ways of commerce and piracy during
the Viking Age. This is the age of the
great conquests, voyages and travels in
the history of Scandinavia, an age in
which all doors are suddenly thrown
open and these old and isolated
peoples are swept by the gusts of for-
eign influences from the east, south
and west. The hoard from Gaulverja-
baer is an example of the foreign cul-
tural influences which seeped into
Scandinavia, a very small example in-
deed, but many sided, for its compon-
ents stem from all directions.
It would, finally, be interesting to
know what caused the old inhabitant
of Arnes to bury his wealth. Archae-
ology has long faced similar questions,
for buried treasurers are among the
most common finds from the prehistor-
ic ages of long inhabited countries.
There may be many explanations. One
—and an attractive one—is that the
pagans believed that they would enjoy
in another life the treasures they had
buried in this. Snorri says in the Yng-
linga saga that even Odin himself pre-
scribed such practices in his laws. The
old inhabitant of Gaulverjabaer was,
I think, of this opinion, for, in his day,
Iceland was a land at peace, and an-
other explanation, which would apply
in many other lands, can hardly apply
in our case, viz. that the hoard was
buried to avoid its falling into enemy
hands. If the owner was, indeed, bor-
olfur Eyra-Loftsson, it .is of interest
to note that pagan worship seems to
have been a very real and living thing
in his family. His father, Loftur the
Old of Gaulverjabaer, went abroad
every third year to sacrifice at the
temple which his grandfather, bor-