Study › Runes & Norse › The High-Seat Pillars
The high-seat pillars were the two carved posts that framed the master's seat in a Norse hall, the sacred heart of the home. Settlers threw them into the sea and built where they washed ashore.
What were the high-seat pillars?
In a Norse hall the master of the house sat in the high seat, framed by two carved wooden posts, the öndvegissúlur, the high-seat pillars. They were more than furniture: they were the sacred heart of the home, sometimes carved with the image of a god. One saga tells of pillars carved with Thor, and of the god-nails driven into them.
Letting the gods choose
When settlers left Norway for Iceland, some took their high-seat pillars with them. As the new land came into sight they threw the pillars overboard, and built their new home wherever the gods let them wash ashore.
Ingolf and Reykjavík
The most famous story is that of Ingolf Arnarson, remembered as Iceland's first settler. He threw his pillars into the sea off the coast in the year 874, and his slaves searched for them for three years before finding them washed up in a smoky bay. There he built his farm, and the place was named for its steaming springs: Reykjavík, 'Smoky Bay'.
Some pillars were carved with Thor; Iceland's land spirits are the landvaettir.
Questions
Who founded Reykjavík?
Ingolf Arnarson, remembered as Iceland's first settler, where his pillars washed ashore.
What does Reykjavík mean?
"Smoky Bay".