Residence of a lord and his retainers in medieval Germanic Europe
A reconstructed Viking Agelonghouse (28.5 metres long) in Denmark.
Among the earlyGermanic peoples, amead hall orfeasting hall was a large building with a single room intended to receive guests and serve as a center of community social life. From the fifth century to theEarly Middle Ages such a building was the residence of alord orking and hisretainers. These structures were also where lords could formally receive visitors and where the community would gather to socialize, allowing lords to oversee the social activity of their subjects.[1]
The old name of such halls may have beensal/salr and thus be present in old place names such as "Uppsala".[2] The meaning has been preserved in GermanSaal, Dutchzaal, Frisianseal, IcelandicsalurIcelandic pronunciation:[ˈsaːlʏr̥], Swedish, Norwegian and Danishsal, Lithuaniansalė, Finnishsali, Estoniansaal, Izhoriansaali, Hungarianszállás, Frenchsalle, Italian/Polish/Portuguese/Spanish/Serbo-Croatiansala and Russianзал (zal), (all meaning "hall" or "large room"). In Old English,sele andsæl were used. These words are etymologically related to the modern English wordssalon andsaloon (bothaugmentative forms of 'sal'). The word as a whole ("mead-hall") is a direct cognate with the Sanskrit term "madhushala" which refers to a pub or tavern.[citation needed]
From around the year 500 A.D. up until theChristianization of Scandinavia (by the 13th century), these large halls were vital parts of the political center. They were later superseded by medievalbanquet halls.
Examples that have been excavated include:
Southwest ofLejre,Denmark. Remains of aViking hall complex were uncovered in 1986–88 by Tom Christensen of the Roskilde Museum.[3] Wood from the foundation wasradiocarbon-dated to circa 880. It was later found that this hall was built over an older hall which was itself dated to 680. In 2004–05, Christensen excavated a third hall located just north of the other two. This hall was built in the mid-6th century, exactly the time period ofBeowulf. All three halls were about 50 meters long.[4] Ongoing excavations have helped to establish the visual characteristics of the royal halls and their location in the landscape around Lejre, circa 500-1000[5]
Gudme, Denmark. Two similar halls were excavated in 1993. Of the so-called "Gudme Kongehal" (King's hall) only the post holes were found. The larger of the two was 47 meters long and 8 meters wide. Gold items found near the site have been dated between 200 and 550. TheIron Age graveyards of Møllegårdsmarken and Brudager are close by. The halls may have been part of a regional religious and political center serving as royal feasting places with Lundeborg serving as harbor.[6]
West Stow, Suffolk. A village from the 5th and 6th century has been excavated, containing several halls. The largest complete hall is approximately 23 feet (7.0 meters) wide and 46 feet (14 meters) long.[7]
Yeavering, Northumberland. Several halls, of varying size and purpose, have been dated back to the late sixth century and seventh century. There are two main halls, which are larger than the others. Earlier buildings at this site were most likely constructed by Britons, while the later buildings were constructed byAnglo-Saxons.[7] The largest hall is approximately 36 feet (11 meters) wide and 81 feet (25 meters) long. The halls of Yeavering are commonly interpreted to be real-life sources of inspiration behind the mead-hallHeorot from the story ofBeowulf.[7][8]
The unrelatedNeolithic long house was introduced with the first farmers of central and western Europe around 5000 BC. Later longhouses did not come into use until more than a thousand years after the Neolithic version ceased to be used.
Germanic cattle-farmer longhouses emerged along the southwesternNorth Sea coast in the third or fourth century BC and are the predecessors of the German and DutchFachhallenhaus orLow German house.
The possibly related medieval longhouse types of Europe of which some examples have survived are among others:
The Scandinavian orVikingLanghus, with the variants of traditional farm house such as excavated inVorbasse, a garrison/barracks type for warriors such as found at theViking ring castles and the sophisticated large banquetting halls such as the mead halls.
The southwest England variants inDartmoor and Wales
The northwest England type in Cumbria
The Scottish Longhouse, "blackhouse" ortaighean dubha
The Frenchlongère ormaison longue (only considering the types similar to the ones described in Dartmoor or Cumbria, possibly of Norman origin)
Ingjald burning his subordinate kings alive in his new feasting hall.
There are several accounts of large feasting halls constructed for important feasts when Scandinavian royalty was invited. According to a legend recorded bySnorri Sturluson, in theHeimskringla, the late 9th centuryVärmlandish chieftain Áki invited both the Norwegian kingHarald Fairhair and the Swedish kingEric Eymundsson, but had the Norwegian king stay in the newly constructed and sumptuous one, because he was the youngest one of the kings and the one who had the greatest prospects. The older Swedish king, on the other hand, had to stay in the old feasting hall. The Swedish king was so humiliated that he killed Áki.
The construction of new feasting halls could also be the preparation for treacherous murders of royalty. In theYnglinga saga part of theHeimskringla, Snorri relates how, in the 8th century, the legendary Swedish kingIngjald constructed a large feasting hall solely for the purpose of burning all his subordinate petty kings late at night when they were asleep. According toYngvars saga víðförla, the same ruse was done by the Swedish kingEric the Victorious and the Norwegian rulerSigurd Jarl, when they murdered Áki, a rebellious Swedish subking, atGamla Uppsala, in the late 10th century.
It is also possible that large halls may have served as places of protection. It is speculated that, underAlfred the Great's rule, fines protecting property belonging to the king may have also applied to feasting halls.[8] These fines prevented fighting inside of the building. On the other hand - a Danish leader in Beowulf, Shield Sheafson, was described as "a wrecker of mead benches".
From at least the tenth century onwards inNorse mythology, there are numerous examples of halls where the dead may arrive. The best known example isValhalla, the hall whereOdin receives half of the dead lost in battle.Freyja, in turn, receives the other half atSessrúmnir.
In fiction, mead halls usually appear in works that take place during theMiddle Ages.
InJ. R. R. Tolkien'sfictional universe ofMiddle-earth,Meduseld (meaning "mead hall" in Old English) was the great Golden Hall built inRohan. Meduseld was a large hall with a straw roof, which made it appear as if it were made out ofgold when seen from far off. Its walls were richly decorated with tapestries depicting the history and legends of theRohirrim, and it served as a house for the King and his kin, a meeting hall for the King and his advisors, and a gathering hall. Also, a mead hall is the central location ofBeorn's home grounds where he serves mead and food toBilbo Baggins, the Dwarves andGandalf inThe Hobbit.
^Sørensen, Palle Østergaard, 1993. Hal på hal Skalk 1993:6. -1994. Gudmehallerne. Kongeligt byggeri fra jernalderen. Nationalmusees Arbejdsmark.
^abcFernie, Eric (1983).The Architecture of the Anglo-Saxons. New York, NY: Holmes & Meier Publishers, Inc. pp. 11–22.ISBN0-8419-0912-1.
^abRollason, David. "Protection and the Mead-Hall"Peace and Protection in the Middle Ages.Ed. Lambert, T.B. and Rollason, David. Toronto, Ontario: Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, 2009. 19-35. Print.ISBN978-0-88844-860-6
Alist(pdf) of twenty large Iron Age Halls. From the bookThe Idea of the Good (OPIA 15.) by Frands Herschend. 1998. Uppsala: Uppsala University Department of Archaeology & Ancient History; 91-506-1276-X ISSN 1100-6358 .
