Evening star., 1933-10-21
VIKINGS SET STYLE
Or MODERN DESIGN
Scandinavian Themes Seen
in Many Distinguished
Residences Nearby.
BY JAMES WALDO FAWCETT.

BY JAMES WALDO FAWCETT.
The houses as well as the family
trees Of numerous Americans trace back
to the ancient Vikings, the intrepid sea
roverS celebrated in song and Story as
the. conquerors of Western Russia,
Northern France, Denmark and Britain,
settlers of Greenland and Iceland. and
first European discoverers of the North
American Continent.
Few recognize the fact, yet it is true,
that many of the most beautiful and
distinguished residences of the District
of Columbia, as of Virginia and Mary
land Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New
York and New England, rep cent va
rfations Of architectural themes which
had their origin in prehistoric Scandi-
navia.
1t happens that the natural exuber-
ance of the Viking race had creative
expression IN art as well a. in war.
The peoples whose territories they raid
ed saw them only in the: mi itary
aspect, knew them only in the passion
Of battle. and did not guess that at
heart they were poetical. rornant!ca.ly
their homes and lavished authentic
genius upon their construction and Or
namentation.
Their philosophy is exemplifed III
the traditional axiom Of The Gvest's
Wisdom" "One's own home Is bc5t,
though 1t be but cottag,. A man
is man in his own house Though
thou hast but two goats and hut OF
wattles, yet that Is better than beg
ging"
Thor Chose Sites.
DR.. Mary Wilhelmine williams of
Goucher College, in her book, Social
Scandinavia in the Viking Age" tells
OF tie customary establishment of title
t" 80 1T seems fair" she says,
TO suppose that the methods employed
IN .--e -and-taking' of Iceland in the
ninth century were representative in a
general manner of those employed ear
Her, and were occasionally still in use
on the continent. 1t was very Gus
tomary for the first settlers of Iceland
to secure divine aid in the choice of
homestead This they did by carry
ing with them the wooden posts or pill
lars which had stood before the seat of
honor in the old home and throwing
them overheard when they approached
land, thus leaving the selection to their
1aVorite god, Thor, whose image was
carved upon the pillars. Where the
pillars drifted ashore the owners took
up land, and later Corners appear to
have generally respected the decree of
the thunder god"
To record their claims the settlers
invented various interesting primitive
devices" In some cases they marked
the trees growing upon the land-a
procedure apparently Identical with the
establishment Of 'tomahawk claims in
the American Colonial period; in others,
they erected upon the soil which they
wished for themselves tall poles. peeled
OF their bark, and probably bearing
the names of the claimants Another
common method was to 'hallow' the
hnd to ones self by means of fire,
used In different ways-a vestige OF an
earlier period when fire was held
eacred. Some colonists built great fires
or streams, thus claiming the land be-
tween them; others signified their title
by shooting burning arrows across the
rivers"
Is Transfer Ceremonies.
The processes Of land title transfer
also were interesting. when land
purchase, the transfer of title was SYM
bolized by formal ceremony per-
formed by the persons interested. in
the presence Of witnesses In Norway,
in the case of gift, the donor placed
q clod in the lap Of the recipient of
the land; but when the transfer came
through exchange Of money the pur-
chaser carried some mold from his
newly-bought territory to the four cor
ners Of his hearth, to his high seat
the seat OF honor in his home-to di-
vision points within the tract, and.
apparently, also to the boundary
Town planning was science among
the Vikings. and the arrangement Of
the ordinary American CITY has a
Northland prototype Dr. Williams re-
ports: "The land appears to have been
laid out in rectangular tracts, square
or oblong in shape, with frontage on
q river or lake, If possible, and at the
corners were placed the boundary
marks, which were protected by law
against removal. Besides the
territory under private ownership
every community probably held some
public land belonging to the inhabi-
tants as q whole. These tracts cor
commons Of Colonial New England"
After taking title to his land. the
Northman set about the building Of his
home. Wherever feasible, his choice
OF the site was on high ground. Gin
order to gain good lookout for friend
and foe. as well as for the sake of
the drainage"-a preference still en-
tcl tolIlcu Nv IIldIly IlOINe-OullOerS In
the twentieth century.
Every Scandinavian homestead, 4"
DR.. Williams declares. possessed clus-
ter OF buildings, each structure forming.
as a rule, but a single room These
buildings varied in shape size and
number. according to the character of
the country in which they stood, and to
whether the owner was rich or poor
Often 30 Houses.
"The cottager might have but two or
three small huts upon his tiny plot Of
ground. while upon the estate of the
rich farmer were often as many as 30
or 40 separate houses. some in the group
being Of great size. and giving the place
the appearance of a village"
The usual shape of Northern build
1ngs was quadrangular. but oval or cir
cular structures were not unknown
The arrangement varied, too, in diff
ferent parts of Scandinavia, and also
changed with the passage of time"
Eventually, an inevitable development
took place-the separate structures
were related or bound together by
means Of passageways or halls running
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