NOTE, _Hall-pillars_. ‘Setstokkar’ are strictly speaking the horizontal beams running between the central hall and the side aisles on to which the bedrooms opened. They were frequently carved with the figures of Thor, or other heathen deities, and were a sacred and valuable family possession. The loan of such articles is difficult to explain, as they would be necessary to their owner, and at first sight of no use to a temporary borrower. Eric, however, had not at the time settled down in his new home; he would wait to build a suitable house until he had definitely fixed upon a site, and in the meantime presumably would not require his ‘setstokkar’. It may be that Thorgest represented that he wished to copy them, but we know of another use to which such things were put, which may throw some light on the matter. When Ingolf, the founder of the colony, wished to select a home for himself in Iceland, we are told that he ‘threw overboard the pillars of his holy place (öndugis sulur) for an omen, saying that he would settle in that place where the pillars came to land’ (Landnáma, 1. 6). This practice was evidently widely adopted, for we read (Landnáma, 3. 7) how Kraku-Hreidar ‘said that he would not throw his pillars overboard, saying that he considered it a poor thing to determine his plans in that way’. That ‘setstokkar’ were used in the same way as ‘öndugis sulur’ is shown by another passage in Landnáma (5. 9) where ‘Hástein threw his setstokkar overboard after the time-honoured custom’. There is something analogous in the usage, which is recorded in various traditions of the Scottish Highlands, whereby a man would take up his residence where the packs first fell from his horse after he set out on his travels. Thorgest was no doubt a native of Iceland, for he was the son of Stein the Great Sailor, who was settled in Breidabolstad, still he may have required supernatural aid in the choice of a new home. §2. THE ADVENTURE OF BJARNI HERJULFSON From the Flatey Book. Herjulf was a son of Bard the son of Herjulf, who was related to Ingolf the founder of the Iceland colony. Ingolf gave land between Vóg and Reykjaness to Herjulf (the elder) and his people. Herjulf (the younger) lived first at Drepstok. He had a wife named Thorgerd, and their son was Bjarni, a very promising man. He had taken to foreign voyages from his youth. This brought him both wealth and credit, and he used to spend his winters alternately abroad and with his parents. Bjarni soon had a trading-ship of his own, and the last winter that he was in Norway was when Herjulf undertook the voyage to Greenland with Eric, and removed his home there. Herjulf had on board his ship a Christian from the Hebrides, who composed the Song of the Tidal Wave, which contains this verse:—