shall yet come; the flesh of the boar Soerfmnir is sodden for
them every day, and he is whole again at even; and the mead they
drink that flows from the teats of the she-goat Heidhrun. The
meat Odin has on his board he gives to his two wolves, Geri and
Freki, and he needs no meat, wine is to him both meat and drink;
ravens twain sit on his shoulders, and say into his ear all
tidings that they see and hear; they are called Huginn and Muninn
(mind and memory); them sends he at dawn to fly over the whole
world, and they come back at breakfast-tide, thereby becomes he
wise in many tidings, and for this men call him Raven's-god.
Every day, when they have clothed them, the heroes put on their
arms and go out into the yard and fight and fell each other; that
is their play, and when it looks toward mealtime, then ride they
home to Valhall and sit down to drink. For murderers and men
forsworn is a great hall, and a bad, and the doors look
northward; it is altogether wrought of adder-backs like a wattled
house, but the worms' heads turn into the house, and blow venom,
so that rivers of venom run along the hall, and in those rivers
must such men wade forever." There was no priest-class; every
chief was priest for his own folk, offered sacrifice, performed
ceremonies, and so on.

In politics the homestead, with its franklin-owner, was the unit;
the "thing", or hundred-moot, the primal organisation, and the
"godord", or chieftainship, its tie. The chief who had led a
band of kinsmen and followers to the new country, taken
possession of land, and shared it among them, became their head-
ruler and priest at home, speaker and president of their Thing,
and their representative in any dealings with neighbouring chiefs
and their clients. He was not a feudal lord, for any franklin