Among the ancient Scandinavians there was no distinct priestly caste. The duty of presiding over religious ceremonies, and of acting as custodian of sacred places, was attached to persons who had also temporal authority of a more or less extensive nature. Highest of all stood the king, on whose attitude towards the gods and their worship the prosperity of his people was believed largely to depend. Next to him came the earls, who in this as in other respects acted as the representatives of the king. Among the titles of honour given by the poets to both kings and earls are those of 'ruler' or 'guardian' of sanctuaries. Finally each district had its recognised religious head in one or other of its most prominent men, whose power as a chief was naturally augmented in no slight degree by his position as priest. The holder of this double office appears in the Icelandic writings under the name of _goði_ (also _hof-goði_), a derivative of _goð_ 'god(s)'; it may be assumed that the name was also known in Norway, and its existence in Denmark is certified by its occurrence in Runic inscriptions. The sagas contain numerous references to these priestly chiefs, who are sometimes named after the god whom they specially worshipped (as _Freys-goði_), sometimes after the place where they resided (as _Tungu-goði_), or after those whose religious head they were (as _Ljósvetninga-goði_). By the older constitution of Iceland the number of recognised _goðar_ was thirty-nine, distributed pretty equally in the various parts of the island. The office itself was, at least in Iceland, known by the name of _goð-orð_, and was regarded as an item of personal property, which might even be shared by more than one person, so that we find such statements as 'he had a third of the _goð-orð_ with Thorgeir.' The right to the office was hereditary, and could also be transferred by one person to another, and this was frequently done, especially when the rightful holder was to be absent from the country for a time. In one case the claimant to a _goð-orð_ is described as performing a ceremony which may have been a usual accompaniment of such transference. He 'said, "we shall redden ourselves in the _goði's_ blood in the old fashion," and killed a ram, in the blood of which he reddened his hands, and claimed Arnstein's _goð-orð_.' The _goði_ being as much a chief as a priest, the name did not disappear with the adoption of Christianity into Iceland, though it naturally lost its religious associations and thenceforward denoted only the recognised leader in the various districts of the island.