Class Summary: Torvaldsland Culture
Instructor: Lady BilliAnn (Gorean College of Lara) Date: January 8, 2026
1. The Absence of Castes
General Rule: Unlike the South, Torvaldsland does not adhere to the "Three Pillars of Gor" caste system. There is no specific Warrior Caste; instead, every free male (farmer, smith, trader) is expected to bear arms and answer the "war arrow" when called by their Jarl.
Southern Visitors: While members of Southern castes (Merchants, Slavers, Physicians, Scribes) are seen at major events like the Thing-Fair, they are visitors. The system itself is not indigenous to the North.
Kaissa Variations: The Northern Kaissa board reflects this difference. It replaces the Ubar with the Jarl, and the Scribe with the Singer (honoring the Skalds).
2. Social Hierarchy: The Salt
Rank Indicator: Status within a Long Hall is determined by one's seating position relative to the bowls of salt on the tables.
Above the Salt: Between the salt and the Jarl's High Seat (Higher Prestige).
Below the Salt: Between the salt and the door (Lower Prestige).
The Bond: Salt is also used to seal friendships or agreements, often tasted from the back of the wrist.
3. The Long Hall (The Northern Home Stone)
The Center of Life: Torvaldsland does not utilize Home Stones. The Long Hall is the cultural equivalent. In Northern Kaissa, the capture of the "Hall" piece is the game-ending move, equivalent to capturing the Home Stone in the South.
Construction & Wealth:
Wood is Precious: Most wood is hoarded for building serpent ships.
Turf & Stone: Common halls (like Ivar Forkbeard's) are built of turf and stone to withstand the cold.
Wooden Halls: Only the richest Jarls (like Svein Blue Tooth) possess halls built entirely of wood; this is considered a great luxury.
4. The Thing-Fair
Function: The most significant annual event in the North. It serves as a parliament (Thing), a court for settling disputes, a religious gathering, and a marketplace.
Competitions: The Fair includes physical contests, including wrestling and a dangerous game of "bat and ball" involving heavy wooden equipment.
Next Session:
Topic: Slaves of Torvaldsland.
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[14:49] Second Life: Teleport completed from Ironheart (134,21,43)
You are now at Lara Residential, Lara II (235, 135, 2003)
[14:49] zCS: [Lara II] - Money - Self-Unbind - Aid: Off - Fall Damage: On - Drowning: On - 35% Pickaxe - Beasts - Enhanced Range
[14:50] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin) entered chat range (16.62 m).
[14:50] Abraham Jacobson (abrahamjacobs2) entered chat range (12.65 m).
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[14:50] Abraham Jacobson (abrahamjacobs2): And those signing up on the group is climbing
[14:50] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): Tal! Welcome!
[14:50] Regal Palace Side Chair Rich Gold Blue Shine whispers: Hi Kati Evans! Touch me for Menu. Say /1a to Adjust.
[14:50] Abraham Jacobson (abrahamjacobs2): Tal kati
[14:51] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): I hope you are well today! :)
[14:51] Kati Evans: Tal Abe. Tal Everyone
[14:51] Cougar (cougar.ireman) waves from the end. Tal !
[14:52] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): How are things are Ar's Station? I don't think I've ever visited there.
[14:52] LJ (liquidj.voom) is offline.
[14:53] Sho (shoshawna.dharma) is offline.
[14:54] zCS # [Mod] FoxAlden Resident [RP] logged into the region.
[14:54] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): We've still got a few minutes before we're scheduled to start, so if anyone needs a quick break, we should be good. :)
[14:55] Kati Evans: I enjoy Ar's Station. The people are kind and it is a very beautiful and relaxing growing city.
[14:55] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): That's good. :)
[14:55] Sho (shoshawna.dharma) is online.
[14:58] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): It appears we may be a small group tonight, but it's the quality and not the quantity that counts. :)
[15:00] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): All right, well, it's 3 p.m., and since there's a class immediately following this--and we have a lot to cover--let's get started, shall we?
[15:00] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): Welcome to today's Gorean College of Lara class on Torvaldsland culture. Let's get some preliminaries out of the way first and then we can get started.
[15:01] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): Opinions expressed in Gorean College classes are solely those of the course instructor, and not necessarily those of Gorean Collage.
[15:01] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): College*
[15:01] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): If you wish to make a statement or comment during a lesson or ask or answer a question, simply type @ in your local chat box and I will get to you in the order that I see your posts. If for some reason I miss you, please feel free to post again.
[15:02] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): I do prefer, if at all possible, that you hold questions to the end to make sure that we can move along in a timely fashion and not get lost or off on a tangent--or end up running overtime, since another class immediately follows this one. And I often do tend ot wax long. :) But if you're really lost, do feel free to pop in with a question, and I'll do my best to cover it as succinctly as possible.. :)
Thanks!
[15:02] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): For those who don't know, I'm Lady BilliAnn. (Were I IC, I'd be the Lady Anja Steinnsdottir, of Torvaldsland.) I've been a teacher of Gorean classes--and especially of Torvaldsland studies-- for almost 10 years now. And I've been in Gor--starting off at the Torvaldsland sim of Hunjer--for almost 11 years. I was recently asked by the College here at Lara to teach a series of Torvaldsland Studies classes, and this is the first of those.
[15:03] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): Today's class is on the culture of Torvaldsland. It was originally class 4 of a series of "Introduction to Torvaldsland" classes that I've taugh in the past. But I've reworked it to strand alone, based on what I've been asked to teach here. Hopefully, I've succeeded. :)
[15:03] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): In any event, Torvaldsland culture can be a little difficult to discuss when we're sticking strictly to BtB, as we have but one book that focuses on Torvaldsland, "Marauders of Gor." And yet we do get a good glimpse of many aspects of Torvaldsland culture as Tarl Cabot makes his way through the North, along with Ivar Forkbeard and his crew. But as Norman doles out the information in chunks here and there throughout "Marauders," this teaching may seem a wee bit disjointed as I jump from topic to topic. Still, you should be able to follow along without much--if any--difficulty. :)
[15:04] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): The first aspect of Northern culture I'm going to delve into is something that you *don't* find in Torvaldsland. And that's what some consider one of the "Three Pillars of Gor" . . . castes. This is a subject where the verdict seems to have been determined a long time ago: Are there castes in Torvaldsland? The quick and easy answer is . . . no. In fact, everyone at Hunjer, when I started out there, told me that I didn't really need to know all that much about castes, because "there are no castes in Torvaldsland." It was almost a mantra. And like many other things I was told, I simply accepted it.
[15:05] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): It was only after I began to study a number of sources and finally read the books that I began to wonder whether everything I was told was entirely true . . . It seemed to be from what I could gather . . . So I continued to hold with the belief that there are no castes in Torvaldsland. But it eventually began to nag on me a little, as I couldn't recall exactly where such a statement appeared in "Marauders of Gor." Finally, being more than slightly OCD, I searched through my copy of the book, looking for the passage. And, to my surprise, I never found it. All right, I thought, so where did it come from? I finally checked the web site for the late and quite lamented Iron Hall sim, which for a number of years used to be the hub of SL Torvaldsland.
[15:05] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): What I found there was mainly a confirmation of the general consensus that there are no castes in Torvaldsland . . . but also that it was a fact never actually stated as such in the book. It was more something that had to be derived from a reading of the text and then pieced together mainly from the absence of any references to castes in Torvaldsland. Now, as you might know, it's generally held that the absence of proof is not necessarily proof of absence. Still it seemed to me that, if the caste system were in place in the North, it would have been referenced throughout "Marauders." And yet--it wasn't. So the fact that the Gorean caste system had never taken hold among the marauders of the North seemed to me to be a reasonable deduction.
[15:06] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): But castes aren't entirely absent from the pages of "Marauders of Gor." So I decided that, to be certain, I'd see what I could derive from the book as far as to this question of castes in Torvaldsland. I began looking for any references I could find to castes and trying to determine whether those references supported the seemingly universal belief that castes are absent in the North . . . or belied it. Now, I'm not going to say that I found every reference Norman put in the book. In fact, I discounted the opening chapters of "Marauders" entirely, because they took place before Tarl Cabot reached Torvaldsland.
[15:07] 真芽佳 Mameka Amano (angelofglass) entered chat range (3.58 m).
[15:07] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): Therefore, any references to castes up to the time that Tarl left Kassau and neared Torvaldsland on Ivar Forkbeard's swift serpent ship have to be discounted. They're all references to how things are in the South, not in the North. The same is true in some of the later chapters that make reference to things that happened in earlier books, particularly Book 8: "Hunters of Gor," when Tarl had been incapacitated by a poisoned blade. But even so, I did find a few caste references in the main body of "Marauders." Not enough, though, to suggest that there actually are castes in Torvaldsland. I came away with the reconfirmed conviction, as most do believe, that the caste system, as known in mainstream Gor, isn't followed in the North.
[15:08] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): t
[15:08] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): Tal!
[15:08] Regal Palace Side Chair Rich Gold Blue Shine whispers: Hi angelofglass Resident! Touch me for Menu. Say /1a to Adjust.
[15:08] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): I'd like to quote at this point the Iron Hall web site that I mentioned already on the topic of castes in Torvaldsland. It's not definitive--in that all arguments become moot once you've read it--but it makes a pretty good summarization of what most believe and what is almost certainly the case, BtB, even if we have no direct statement from John Norman to support it. Here's what it says:
[15:09] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): "It is a commonly held belief that the Torvaldslanders, like the wagon people and other similar peoples of Gor, have no caste. We do not know if this is true, for unlike the wagon people it is never clearly stated. However, its lack of presence in 'Marauders of Gor' and the use of salt to determine social hierarchy support such a supposition.
[15:10] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): "While we have already learned that the men of Torvaldsland are primarily free farmers, and only the best and most able might win a place on one of the great serpents, all men of the North were expected to keep and bear weapons, of good condition, in readiness should their Jarl send out the war arrow. It is from this and other quotes, that the assumption [is] that all men of the North were warriors. This may perhaps be an overstatement, if one considers warrior on Gor to be one equivalent to the trained Scarlet Caste of the south. But clearly, in the north, even the free farmer[s] are required to answer the war arrow, and to do so willingly. This is warrior enough, for these giants use[d] to such a harsh land, even the farmers, make war gleefully.
[15:10] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): "Another commonly held belief in Torvaldsland, is a rampant dislike of caste, or those of the south and the system of caste. While, there is no reason to necessarily change this perception, it should be noted that this is never clearly presented in the books. Additionally, we know that southern physicians were at the Thing-fair, chatting amicably with each other. What they were doing there is anyone’s guess, but it doesn't give us the impression that all of southern caste were universally disliked."
(Iron Hall web site, Culture page)
[15:11] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): All right--so right there we have a confirmation that it's never actually stated in "Marauders" that no castes exist in Torvaldsland. But the general consensus is this: Due to the lack of references to castes throughout the book (as well as the presence of salt to denote social status), the Gorean caste system most likely does not exist in Torvaldsland. (I'll get into salt as a social marker in a bit here.) Also, unlike in much of the rest of Gor, there is no specific warrior caste in Torvaldsland that does most of the fighting for those of the North. Rather, every Torvaldsland male is expected to fight for his Jarl, his village, his hold or his land whenever the call of the war arrow goes out.
[15:12] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): "When the war arrow is carried, of course, all free men are to respond; in such a case the farm may suffer, and his companion and children know great hardship; in leaving his family, the farmer, weapons upon his shoulder, speaks simply to them. "The war arrow has been carried to my house," he tells them."
("Marauders of Gor," Chapter 10)
[15:13] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): So we see that even the lowliest of farmers are expected to take up their weapons and fight whenever the war arrow goes out. We see this happening later in "Marauders" when Tarl Cabot and Ivar Forkbeard find the war arrow in Torvald's chamber in the Torvaldsburg mountain. It's sent out and men from all over the North come to answer it to fight the Kurii and keep them from marching across Torvaldsland to invade the South. Of course, a bit of retribution is involved in that as well, following the Kurii attack on Svein Blue Tooth's hall at the end of the Thing-Fair, as described in chapters 13 and 14.
[15:13] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): "Near us, behind us, stood Gorm, Ottar and Rollo, and others of Forkbeard's Landfall. . . . With us stood Bjarni of Thorstein Camp, and with him he who had in the formal duel carried his shield. At Bjarni's shoulder, too, stood the young man, scarcely more than a boy, whom he had in that duel intended to fight. With the boy, too, was his friend, who would have carried the shield for him. The war arrow had been carried.
[15:14] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): "It had been carried to the Inlet of Green Cliffs, to Thorstein Camp, from Ax Glacier to Einar's Skerry; it had been carried to the high farms, to the lakes, to the coast; it had been carried on foot and by swift ship; a thousand arrows, each touched to the arrow of Torvald, had been carried, and where the arrow had been carried, men had touched it, saying "I will come." They came. Captains and rovers, farmers, fishermen, hunters, weavers of nets, smiths, carvers of wood, tradesmen and traders, men with little more than leather and an ax to their name, and jarls in purple cloaks, with golden pommels on their swords."
("Marauders of Gor," Chapter 17)
[15:14] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): So everyone joined the fight--from outlaws to Jarls, from young boys to hardened warriors. No warrior caste to defend Torvaldsland. It didn't need one. As for the war arrow, I'll touch on that some more in a future class, when I discuss warfare in Torvaldsland.
[15:15] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): So no castes in Torvaldsland, right? Mainly, that's true, but . . . there were incidents in which physicians and other members of Southern castes were in attendance at the Thing-Fair that Svein Blue Tooth, High Jarl of Torvaldsland, presided over:
[15:16] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): "In the crowd, too, I saw some merchants, though few of them, in their white and gold. I saw, too, four slavers, perfumed, in their robes of blue and yellow silk, come north to buy women. I saw, by the cut of their robes, they were from distant Turia. . . . I saw, too, in the crowd, a physician, in green robes, from Ar and a scribe from Cos. These cities are not on good terms but they, civilized men, both in the far north, conversed affably."
("Marauders of Gor, Chapter 10)
[15:16] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): So here--at one of the most prominent festivals of Torvaldsland (and I'll get a little more into that in a bit here)--we find caste members from the South! Merchants, slavers, a physician, and a scribe. We know they are from the South because they are decked out in their caste colors. Plus Tarl tells us where most originated. Merchants in white and gold. Slavers in blue and yellow; the physician in green. Only the scribe's dress isn't specified, but if Tarl could pick him out in the crowd, he must have been dressed in the caste color of blue.
[15:17] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): So before we leave this passage--which is one of few in which castes or caste members are mentioned once Tarl Cabot has actually arrived in Torvaldsland--I should point out that we don't truly know for certain just from the text that all of these caste members are from the South. Nothing is said of the merchants' origins, for example. And we know from other references that the islands of Hunjer and Skjern were under merchant jurisdiction, and they are generally considered part of Torvaldsland. But the slavers are said to have come from Turia. The physician Tarl identifies as from Ar, and the scribe he says is from Cos. So in context, it's not an unreasonable assumption that the merchants mentioned in the same passage are also from the South, visiting the Thing-Fair for trade opportunities.
[15:18] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): So again, it seems pretty compelling that the only members of Gorean castes who are in Torvaldsland come from areas far to the South of that land. Which would again argue against the presence of the caste system in Torvaldsland. There are other mentions in "Marauders" of merchants, but we don't really know for certain where they come from. One can be a merchant and not necessarily be a member of the merchant caste when outside of "civilized" Gor. And even those members of the merchant caste could easily be found in other areas--including Torvaldsland--in search of trade opportunities. So we can't take talk of merchants to mean the merchant caste exists formally in the North.
[15:18] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): Now there is one other passage in "Marauders" where caste is mentioned in conjunction with the North that at first appears somewhat problematic to the "no castes in Torvaldsland" argument, even while again not being definitive. That occurs when Tarl is on his way to Torvaldsland on Ivar's serpent ship and when Tarl is explaining to readers the difference between the Kaissa board, as the game is played in the South, and the version used in Torvaldsland.
[15:19] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): "The Kaissa of the men of Torvaldsland is quite similar to that of the south, though certain of the pieces differ. There is, for example, not a Ubar but a Jarl, as the most powerful piece. Moreover, there is no Ubara. Instead, there is a piece called the Jarl's Woman, which is quite powerful, more so than the southern Ubara. Instead of Tarnsmen, there are two pieces called the Axes. The board has no Initiates, but there are corresponding pieces called Rune-Priests. Similarly there are no Scribes, but a piece, which moves identically, called the Singer. I thought that Andreas of Tor, a friend, of the caste of Singers, might have been pleased to learn that his caste was represented, and honored, on the boards of the north."
("Marauders of Got," Chapter 4)
[15:20] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): This passage at first took me back when I read it, since by then, I'd had the idea of "no castes in Torvaldsland" ingrained in me. And yet, here was Tarl Cabot declaring that the caste of Singers was honored with a piece named for them on the Kaissa board of Torvaldsland. But . . . how could that be? Unless the Caste of Singers actually not only existed in Torvaldsland but was so well-known and highly regarded that it has earned a name among the Kaissa playing pieces--even usurping the role of the scribe on the Kaissa board used elsewhere in Gor? This puzzled me, especially since, nowhere else in "Marauders," is the existence of a Caste of Singers hinted at in Torvaldsland.
[15:20] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): However, there *is* a group of people in Torvaldsland who are held in very high regard who regale the courts and holds of the North with song: the skalds!
"Generally only Kaissa and the songs of skalds can hold their attention for long hours, that and stories told at the tables."
("Marauders of Gor," Chapter 13)
[15:20] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): "He profits, too, from the sagas, which the skalds sing, journeying from hall to hall. In the feast-season of Odin a fine skald is difficult to bring to one's hall. One must bid high. Sometimes they are kidnapped, and, after the season's singing, given much gold and freed. "
("Marauders of Gor," Chapter 16)
[15:21] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): I have considered that perhaps John Norman may have simply goofed in the passage on the name of the piece that replaced the scribe on the Torvaldsland Kaissa board. After all, even the best of authors are only human. :) Either that or Tarl Cabot misunderstood when Ivar Forkbeard told him the names of the pieces on the Northern board. Cabot at that point probably hadn't learned of skalds. So instead, the name that Tarl would be familiar with--the Singer--was what he may have heard instead of Skald. Skalds are the true highly respected singers of the North, and very important in Torvaldsland culture, just as they were in Norse history on Earth. Tarl was perhaps just relating what he'd learned to what he already knew, at least in my humble opinion. :)
[15:22] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): I might also point out that there seems to be a Physician piece on the Northern Kaissa board when we consider that Tarl never names any piece that replaces it, as he does many others. (And all the Northern Kaissa boards that I've seen in SL Torvaldsland have included a Physician piece.) Does that mean the Physician caste exists in Torvaldsland? Other than the visiting one from the South, we have no evidence of that anywhere in the pages of "Marauders." And so it seems highly unlikely given the lack of any reference to castes existing in the North. After all, the Northern Kaissa board appears to retain other unlikely pieces--such as the Rider of the High Tharlarion, when the only tharlarions said to be in the North in "Marauders" are the small six-toed variety in southern Torvaldsland.
[15:22] duir (juda.hecht) is offline.
[15:23] Sphere Proto is offline.
[15:23] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): Now, what about that reference to salt denoting status in Torvaldsland? Here's a passage from a much longer one where Tarl Cabot is describing the Long Hall of Svein Blue Tooth in which salt is designated as a means of determining status in the North (it's still long so I'm breaking it up into chunks):
[15:24] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): "On the long sides of the hall, on the north and south, there were long tables, with benches. Salt, in its bowls on the tables, divided men into rankings. Those sitting above the salt were accorded greater prestige than those sitting below it. If one sat between the salt and the high seat, one sat "above" the salt; if one sat between the salt and the entrance to the hall, one sat "below" the salt. At the high-seat table, that at which the high seat sat, all counted as being "above the salt."
[15:25] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): "Similarly, at the tables parallel to the high-seat table, smaller tables flanking the long fire on both sides, the tables nearest the high seat counted as being above the salt, those farthest away being below the salt. The division, was made approximately at the third of the hall closest to the high seat, but could shift, depending on the numbers of those in attendance worthy to be above the salt. The line, so to speak, imaginary to be sure, but definitely felt as a social reality, dividing those above from those below the salt, was uniformly "drawn" across the width of the hall. Thus, it was not the case that one at a long side table, who was above the salt, would be farther away from the high seat than one at one of the center tables, who was "below" the salt."
[15:25] Relia Wulfloard (jaime.michalski) is offline.
[15:25] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): "In Ivar Forkbeard?s hall, incidentally, the salt distinctions were not drawn; in his hall, all being comrades in arms, all were "above the salt." Svein Blue Tooth's holdings, on the other hand, were quite large and complexly organized. It would not have seemed proper, at least in the eyes of Svein Blue Tooth and others, for a high officer to sit at the same table with a fellow whose main occupation was supervising thralls in the tending of verr."
("Marauders of Gor, Chapter 13)
[15:26] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): So we see how salt can denote status in Torvaldsland. Not everywhere--as it wasn't used that way in Ivar Forkbeard's hold, as every free man there was considered to be "above the salt." But if you visit the Long Hall in almost any Torvaldsland sim in SL, you're likely to see bowls of salt placed on the tables to make the distinction of who is above and who is below the salt. And if you're not invited to sit above the salt, be sure to sit below it unless then told otherwise. You wouldn't want an angry eight-foot-tall Torvaldslander eying you, ax handy, for claiming a status you didn't actually hold. :)
[15:27] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): Now, I should point out another way in which salt is used in Torvaldsland culture--to declare another person, especially if that person isn't of Torvaldsland--a friend:
"You play Kaissa well," had said Ivar Forkbeard. "Let us be friends."
"You, too, are quite skilled," I told him. Indeed, he had much bested me. I still had not fathomed the devious variations of the Jarl's Ax's gambit as played in the north. I expected, however, to solve it.
We had shaken hands over the board.
"Friend," he had said. "Friend," I had said.
"We had then tasted salt, each from the back of the wrist of the other."
("Marauders of Gor," Chapter 5.)
[15:28] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): Although they'd become friends playing Kaissa together, Cabot and Forkbeard sealed it by tasting salt from the back of one another's wrists. You also find this practice among the tribesmen of the Tahari Desert, as described in Book 10: "Tribesmen of Gor." This isn't surprising, since from ancient times, in the Middle East on Earth, the Covenant of Salt was considered a binding tie between people who partook of it.
[15:28] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): Okay, so--castes in Torvaldsland? I think the preponderance of evidence--or lack thereof--plus the significance of salt, strongly suggests no. Like many other conventions, the caste system of mainland Gor has likely never penetrated into the rugged lands of the North.
[15:29] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): All right--that's a lot on castes in Torvaldsland, and most of it comes from a separate teaching I did some years back. But it's a necessary topic, considering the importance of castes in the South. But what about Home Stones another so-called "pillar" of the South? Well again, if you read through the parts of "Marauders" that take place in Torvaldsland, you never hear any mention of a Home Stone anywhere in that land. And it makes sense, given that most of Torvaldsland consists of small farms, often connected to one another by sea, and at best villages. No place to actually have a Home Stone.
[15:30] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): Of course, this is an argument from absence. But there is one passage that strongly suggests that, in Torvaldsland, something else takes the place of the Home Stone. And that is the Long Hall. To support this, we return to Tarl Cabot's description of the different pieces on the Northern kaissa board:
"We then returned to our game . . . "Your hall is taken," said the Forkbeard. His Jarl had moved decisively. The taking of the hall, in the Kaissa of the North, is equivalent to the capture of the Home Stone in the south."
("Marauders of Gor," Chapter 4.)
[15:31] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): The taking of the hall, or Long Hall, piece on the Northern Kaissa board is the same as capturing the Home Stone on the Southern Kaissa board. And if you know anything at all about Kaissa on Gor, you know that means . . . Game Over! Now, I shouldn't have to go over how important the Home Stone is to life on Gor in general--the very name of the planet, after all, means "Home Stone." So if the Home Stone is important in the South, and the Hall is its equivalent on the Northern Kaissa board, it must be important to life in Torvaldsland--very important! And we find that to be the case. Life in a Torvaldsland village appears pretty much to revolve around the Long Hall. It's the home of the Jarl or chieftain of a village or hold--where the leader lives. And not just the leader.
[15:32] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): In Chapter 6 of "Marauders," we see that the Long Hall of Ivar Forkbeard is where all his men and bond-maids actually live. Other than the Hall, the only structures mentioned are workplaces or the animal sheds--where we see the thralls--male slaves--were chained at night. We later learn in Chapter 13, when we visit Svein Blue Tooth's Long Hall, that his main men also seem to live there, though it's not clear whether some might have houses of their own or an entire village surrounds it. But of the two, Ivar Forkbeard's Long Hall is said to be more typical of most Torvaldsland halls as opposed to that of Svein Blue Tooth. He, being High Jarl of Torvaldsland, owns an elaborate Long Hall carved of precious wood, which "Marauders" tells us is rare in the North.
[15:33] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): So the norm for a Torvaldsland Long Hall, sometimes known as a longhouse, is more in line with how Ivar Forkbeard's hall is described in Chapter 6. To have anything more--such as that of Svein Blue Tooth--would be considered luxurious in the North . . .
"Lumber, of course, is a valuable commodity. It is generally milled and taken northward. Torvaldsland, though not treeless, is bleak. In it, fine Ka-la-na wood, for example, and supple temwood, cannot grow. These two woods are prized in the north. A hall built with Ka-la-na wood, for example, is thought a great luxury."
("Marauders of Gor," Chapter 2)
[15:34] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): In general, then, only the richest Jarls of Torvaldsland can afford such a wooden hall. In Chapter 6, Tarl Cabot confirms this with a question to Ivar Forkbeard:
"You are rich," I said, "and have many men. Surely you could have a hall of wood, if you wished." . . .
"Well," said Ivar Forkbeard to me, "I am an outlaw."
"I did not know that," I said.
"That is one reason," said he, "that my hall is not of wood."
("Marauders of Gor," Chapter 6)
[15:34] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): The Forkbeard explained that he had the hall he did because he was an outlaw. Yet the clear implication of Cabot's words is that only the rich Jarls of the land had halls constructed of wood. So what did the rest have? We see an example, perhaps, of that in the hall of Ivar Forkbeard. (This is another long quote, so I'm going to break it up into smaller paragraphs.)
[15:35] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): "The hall of Ivar Forkbeard was a longhouse. It was about one hundred and twenty feet Gorean in length. Its walls, formed of turf and stone, were curved and thick, some eight feet or more in thickness. It is oriented north and south. This reduces its exposure to the north wind, which is particularly important in the Torvaldsland winter. A fire, in a rounded pit, was in its center. It consisted, for the most part, of a single, long room, which served for living, and eating and sleeping. At one end was a cooking compartment, separated from the rest of the house by a partition of wood. The roof was about six feet in height, which meant that most of those within, if male, were forced to bend over as they moved about.
[15:36] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): "The long room, besides being low, is dark. Too, there is usually lingering smoke in it. Ventilation is supplied, as it is generally in Torvaldsland, by narrow holes in the roof. The center of the hall, down its length, is dug out about a foot below the ground level. In the long center are set the tables and benches. Also, in the center, down its length are two long rows of posts, each post separated from the next by about seven feet, which support the roof. At the edges of the hall, at ground level, is a dirt floor, on which furs are spread. Stones mark sections off into sleeping quarters. Thus, in a sense, the hall proper is about a foot below ground level, and the sleeping level, on each side, is at the ground level, where the walls begin.
[15:36] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin) is online.
[15:36] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): "The sleeping levels, which also can accommodate a man's gear, though some keep it at the foot of the level, are about eight feet in length. The hall proper, the center of the hall, is about twelve feet in width."
("Marauders of Gor," Chapter 6)
[15:37] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): And here's a supplemental passage with some more information about the Forkbeard's hall:
[15:38] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): "At the foot of the ground level, which is the sleeping level, which lies about a foot above the dug-out floor, the long center of the hall, on the floor, against the raised dirt, here and there were rounded logs, laid lengthwise. Each log is ten to fifteen feet long, and commonly about eight inches to a foot thick. If one thinks of the sleeping level, on each side, as constituting, in effect, a couch, almost the length of the hall, except for the cooking area, the logs lie at the foot of these two couches, and parallel to their foot. About each log fitting snugly into deep, wide, circular grooves in the wood, were several iron bands. These each contained a welded ring, to which was attached a length of chain, terminating in a black-iron fetter."
("Marauders of Gor," Chapter 6)
[15:39] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): So that's how Ivar Forkbeard's hall was laid out: A hundred and twenty Gorean feet long, curved, thick walls built of turf and stone, a single long room with a cooking compartment partitioned off at one end, dirt floors, a round firepit in the center, a roof about six feet high, dark and smoke filled . . . We sometimes expect something loftier, more elaborate. It's a common misconception, really. Even Tarl Cabot had some erroneous ideas of what the typical Northern Long Hall was like--until he became the guest of Ivar Forkbeard:
[15:39] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): "Your hall," said I to the Forkbeard, "is scarcely what I had expected."
"I had learned, much to my instruction, that my conception of the northern halls left much to be desired. Indeed the true hall, lofty, high-beamed, built of logs and boards, with its benches and high-seat pillars, its carvings and hangings, its long fires, its suspended kettles, was actually quite rare, and, generally, only the richest of the Jarls possessed such. The hall of Ivar Forkbeard, I learned, to my surprise, was of a type much more common.
[15:39] Owen Vlahos Glas OdinGautr (clevelandbooker) is offline.
[15:40] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): "Upon reflection, however, it seemed to me not so strange that this should be so, in a bleak country, one in which many of the trees, too, would be stunted and wind-twisted. In Torvaldsland, fine timber is at a premium. Too, what fine lumber there is, is often marked and hoarded for the use of shipwrights. If a man of Torvaldsland must choose between his hall and his ship, it is the ship which, invariably, wins his choice. Furthermore, of course, were it not for goods won by his ship or ships, it would be unlikely that he would have the means to build a hall and house within it his men."
("Marauders of Gor," Chapter 6)
[15:41] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): So we see where most of the wood that the Jarls of Torvaldsland secure goes--into the fast serpent ships that take the marauders on their journeys to seize the goods that they often need to survive the harsh climate of the North. Despite their importance, wood goes into the Long Halls of only the richest of Jarls. As for Ivar's hall, Cabot describes it as common. But what do we usually see in SL Gor? Let's look at the Long Hall of Svein Blue Tooth, High Jarl of Torvaldsland. (Another long passage that I'm going to break up. I'm also leaving out the parts describing the use of salt that I've already covered.)
[15:41] Alaric Tengdur (alaric123) is online.
[15:42] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): "The hall of Svein Blue Tooth was of wood, and magnificent. The interior hall, not counting rooms leading from it on various sides, or the balcony which lined it, leading to other rooms, was some forty feet high, and forty feet in width, some two hundred feet in length. It, on the western side, was lined with a great, long table. Behind this table, its back to the western wall, facing the length of the hall, facing east, was the high seat, or the rightful seat, the seat of the master of the house. It was wide enough for three or four men to sit together on it, and, as a great honor, sometimes others were invited to share the high seat.
[15:43] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): "On each side of this high seat were two pillars, about eight inches in diameter, and some eight feet high, the high-seat pillars, or rightful-seat pillars. They marked the seat, or bench, which might be placed between them as the high seat, or rightful seat. These pillars had been carved by craftsmen in the time of Svein Blue Tooth's great grandfather, and bore the luck signs of his house. On each side of the high seat were long benches. Opposite, on the other side of the table, too, were long benches. A seat of honor, incidentally, was that opposite the high seat, where one might converse with the host. The high seat, though spoken of as "high," was the same height as the other benches. . . .
[15:44] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): "There was, extending almost the length of the hall, a pit for a "long fire" over which food was prepared for retainers. On the long sides of the hall, on the north and south, there were long tables, with benches. Salt, in its bowls on the tables, divided men into rankings. Those sitting above the salt were accorded greater prestige than those sitting below it. . . . The arrangements of tables, incidentally, varies in different halls. I describe those appointments characterizing the hall of Blue Tooth. It is common, however, for the entrance of the hall to be oriented toward the morning sun, and for the high seat to face the entrance. None may enter without being seen from the high seat. Similarly, none are allowed to sit behind the high seat. . . .
[15:45] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): "About the edges of the hall hung the shields of warriors, with their weapons. Even those who sat commonly at the center tables, and were warriors, kept their shields and spears at the wall. At night, each man would sleep in his furs behind the tables, under his weapons. High officers, of course, and the Blue Tooth, and members of his family, would retire to private rooms. The hall was ornately carved, and, above the shields, decorated with cunningly sewn tapestries and hangings. On these were, usually, warlike scenes, or those dealing with ships and hunting. There was a lovely scene of the hunting of tabuk in a forest. Another tapestry, showing numerous ships, in a war fleet, dated from the time of the famine in Torvaldsland, a generation ago. That had been a time of great raids to the south."
("Marauders of Gor, Chapter 13)
[15:45] Gil (gil.levee) is online.
[15:45] zCS # [Mod] Gil Levee switched from [Away] to [OOC].
[15:45] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): And that's the hall of Svein Blue Tooth, High Jarl of Torvaldsland. It was of wood--and magnificent. Rooms on various sides, a balcony leading to other rooms, a great long table, the high seat of the master of the house, carved pillars, long benches, the pit for the "long fire," shields and weapons along the walls, the hall ornately carved and decorated with sewn tapestries . . . And yet, we need to remember--this is the hall of the High Jarl of Torvaldsland. The Jarl who rules over much of the land, to whom the lower Jarls owe their allegiance and tribute. How many of these Jarls do you think--even those who might be rich, even if not as lavishly so as the Blue Tooth--have halls exactly like this? Probably few, if any.
[15:46] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): It's the longhouse of Ivar Forkbeard that should be the rule for a hall of lesser jarls. Just understand that, no matter how elaborate or how modest, the Long Hall, in Torvaldsland, is the center of life in a hold or village, regardless of the size or its wealth. To the rugged people of the North, it holds a similar place of honor that the Home Stone does in what we think of as "civilized" Gor.
[15:47] Magnus Ravenwood is offline.
[15:47] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): Moving on now, I want to talk a little about the Thing-Fair as one of the most important cultural events in Torvaldsland's year. I can't go deeply into it today; I have an entire multiple-part class on the Thing-Fair alone. So we'll just touch on a few aspects of it. It's one of two events or festivals in Torvaldsland that the book mentions. The other is the Feast Season of Odin, which I already mentioned in connection with the skalds, who are the singers and poets of Torvaldsland. That's really all we're told about it. The Thing-Fair, on the other hand, warrants several chapters in "Marauders" and a lot of import to the story takes place there. Three entire chapters of the book occur at the Thing-Fair, and another is in the hall of Svein Blue Tooth during it.
[15:47] Magnus Ravenwood is online.
[15:48] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): Just what is the Thing-Fair, or just the Thing? Historically, in Viking and medieval society on Earth, a Thing was an assembly of the free men and women of a country, province, or region. It was primarily a place where disputes were solved and political decisions made, though it was often, too, a place for public religious rites and even commerce. Based on what else we see in "Marauders" taking place at the Thing--a number of competitions that Ivar Forkbeard participates in--we see that the Thing, from Earth history, had something of a different focus than the Thing-Fair described in "Marauders." Though as we examine it more deeply, we also see that most of these elements from its Terrestrial predecessor can be found there as well.
[15:49] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): I discuss more fully in that longer class the various competitions that Forkbeard either won or lost, gaining a total of six talmits. (A headband given as a prize to those at the Thing who defeat their opponents, and also representing a sign of rank, as I'll get into in a future class.) Even Cabot gets involved in the contests, grappling against a man named Ketil, the champion of Torvaldsland and of Blue Tooth's high farm. Cabot, of course, won, as described in "Marauders" Chapter 10. There are even competitions for bond-maids to determine which is the most comely to win a prize of gold for her owner and a tasty sweet pastry for the girl. So the Thing-Fair in "Marauders" is essentially a large tournament and fair held in Torvaldsland annually.
[15:49] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): Now you probably already know that Kaissa is a game much beloved by the men of the North. Or, if not, you can pick up on that from what I've mentioned of it earlier in this teaching. :) At the Thing-Fair, we also learn of a more physical game that they indulge in--the game of bat and ball:
[15:50] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): "Perhaps the most serious incident of the contests had occurred in one of the games of bat and ball; in this contest there are two men on each side, and the object is to keep the ball out of the hands of the other team; no one man may hold the ball for more than the referee's count of twenty; he may, however, throw it into the air, provided it is thrown over his head, and catch it again himself; the ball may be thrown to a partner, or struck to him with the bat; the bat, of course, drives the ball with incredible force; the bats are of heavy wood, rather broad, and the ball, about two inches in diameter, is also of wood, and extremely hard; this is something like a game of "keep away" with two men in the middle.
[15:51] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): "I was pleased that I was not involved in the play. Shortly after the first "knock off", in which the ball is served to the enemy, Gorm, who was Ivar's partner, was struck cold with the ball, it driven from the opponent's bat; this, I gathered, is a common trick; it is very difficult to intercept or protect oneself from a ball struck at one with great speed from a short distance; it looked quite bad for Ivar at this point, until one of his opponents, fortunately, broke his leg, it coming into violent contact with Ivar's bat. This contest was called a draw. Ivar then asked me to be his partner. I declined. "It is all right," said Ivar, "even the bravest of men may decline a contest of bat-and-ball." I acceded to his judgment.""
("Marauders of Gor," Chapter 10)
[15:51] Relia Wulfloard (jaime.michalski) is online.
[15:51] Relia Wulfloard (jaime.michalski) is offline.
[15:52] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): Ouch! I think I'd stick to Kaissa, like Tarl. But we see from this game, as well as many of the contests described in Chapter 10 of "Marauders," that the men of the North play just as hard as they do everything else. We also find that an area is set up at the Thing for formal duels. I'll cover those in a future class, however. But as we further explore the events at the Thing in Chapter 10 and beyond, we see how aspects of the historic Things can be found in Torvaldsland's equivalent: We see examples of commerce going on--and I've already mentioned earlier the merchants at the Thing. We see that Rune-Priests are present, carrying on their religious duties. But again, that I'll cover in a future lesson I hope to get to on religion in Torvaldsland--if there's a desire for it, of course.
[15:52] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): We even get to see an example of how the men of Torvaldsland conduct an issue of political and military importance to the entire land, when the Kurii show up at the Thing-Fair with a rather ominous proposal. The main thing to understand, however, is the importance of the Thing-Fair to Torvaldsland culture. Based on its description in "Marauders," it is likely the single most important cultural event in the year for most of Torvaldsland. Think of it as a combination of the world's fair, a national week of prayer, and a meeting of the general assembly of the UN, all wrapped up in one package. And forTorvaldland, that may actually be understating it. :)
[15:54] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): Oh, and I'll talk a little more about some of those contests that Ivar Forkbeard participated in when I talk about the Free of Torvaldsland in a couple weeks from tonight. :) In case you were wondering about them!
[15:55] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): And with that, I conclude tonight's class on the culture of Torvaldsland. Hopefully, you've learned a little more about life in the North and how it's lived than you knew already. Or at least enjoyed the refresher. :) I will leave you with a teaser that any aspects I may not have covered tonight, or mentioned only briefly, will be coming up in some of my future classes. :) Next week, however, I'll cover some basic information about slavery in Torvaldsland and how it differs from that found in the South. If you have any questions or comments about tonight's lesson, please feel free to ask now.
[15:55] Abraham Jacobson (abrahamjacobs2) whispers: Thank you so much for thsiis
[15:56] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): Most welcome! :)
[15:56] 真芽佳 Mameka Amano (angelofglass): Thank you!!!
[15:56] Kati Evans: Thank you.
[15:56] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): All right, if there are no questions, we'll go ahead and conclude for today. Thank you all for coming. I look forward to seeing those of you who can attend next week as we continue our Torvaldsland Studies by focusing on the slaves of Torvaldsland. I wish you all well--and may Odin's blessings be upon you!
[15:56] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): Thank you again for being here tonight! :)
[15:57] Kati Evans nods to the teacher and goes.
[15:57] MOoH! Round rug pastel: You're not allowed to use this object, Kati Evans
[15:57] BilliAnn Bravin-Ireman (billiann.bravin): Have a wonderful rest of the evening!
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