Mead hall

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A mead hall was initially simply a large building with a single room. From the fifth century to the early medieval times, such a building was the residence of a lord and his retainers. This is the kind of hall which Beowulf knew; Heorot is the most famous mead hall.

1 Examples
2 Precursor
3 In popular culture
4 References
5 Links

[edit] Examples

The remains of a Viking hall complex were uncovered southwest of Lejre in 1986-88 by Tom Christensen of the Roskilde Museum.^[1] Wood from the foundation was radiocarbon-dated to about 880. It was later found that this hall was built over an older hall which has been 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 of Beowulf. All three halls were about 50 meters long.^[2]

In Gudme on Funen two similar halls where excavated in 1993. Of the so called "Gudme Kongehal" (Kings hall) only the post holes where 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. The iron 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.^[3]

A similar large hall has been found next to the kathedral of Gamla Uppsala on a clay plateau called Kungsgårdsplatån. This was the feasting hall of the svear kings. Together with the religious center (Temple at Uppsala), nearby royal estates (husaby/Uppsala öd and the royal grave mounds it was part of the religious and political central region of the svear people.

From at least around 500 up to the conversion to christianity (13.th century at most) these large halls seem to be vital parts of a political center. This may be seen analoguos to the medieval banqueting halls of later times. The old name of such halls may have been sal/salr and thus be present in old place names such as "Uppsala"^[4]. The idea or concept my have been preserved in the German word Festsaal (feasting hall). Other such halls may have been found at Högom (Medelpad) and Borg on the Lofotens. One excavated here from the iron age measuring 67 meters and a later viking age version even 83 meters long.

At least from the tenth century onwards in the nordic myths large mead halls are described as the place some of the dead may go to. The best known is Valhalla, the hall of Odin where the warriors killed in action meet. Another is Ægir's hall at the bottom of the sea where those lost at sea meet.

[edit] Precursor

The mead hall developed from European longhouses:

The unrelated Neolithic long house type was introduced with the first farmers of central and western Europe around 5000 BCE—7000 years ago. The first later longhouses came into use more than a thousand years after the neolithic version had become extinct.
The Germanic cattle-farmer longhouses emerged along the southwestern North Sea coast in the third or fourth century BC and is the ancestors the German and Dutch Fachhallenhaus and might have common ancestors with several other medieval house types such as the Scandinavian langhus and the English, Welsh and Scottish longhouse variants .

The possibly related medieval longhouse types of Europe of which some examples have survived are among others:

The Scandinavian or Viking Langhus, with the variants of traditional farm house such as excavated in Vorbasse, a garrison/barracks type for warriors such as found at the Viking ring castles and the sophisticated large banquetting halls such as the mead halls.
The southwest England variants in Dartmoor and Wales
The northwest England type in Cumbria
The Scottish Longhouse, "Black house" or taighean dubha
The French longère or maison longue (only considering the types similar to the ones described in Dartmoor or Cumbria, possibly of norman origin)

[edit] In popular culture

In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional universe of Middle-earth, Meduseld was the great Golden Hall built in Rohan. Meduseld was a large hall with a straw roof, which made it appear as if it was made out of gold when seen from far off. Its walls were richly decorated with tapestries depicting the history and legends of the Rohirrim, 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.

[edit] References

^ Christensen, Tom. "Lejre Beyond Legend - The Archaeological Evidence." Journal of Danish Archaeology 10, 1991.
^ Niles, John D., "Beowulf’s Great Hall", History Today, October 2006, 56 (10), pp. 40-44
^ Sørensen, Palle Østergaard, 1993. Hal på hal Skalk 1993:6. -1994. Gudmehallerne. Kongeligt byggeri fra jernalderen. Nationalmusees Arbejdsmark.
^ Brink, Stefan, 1996. Political and Social Structures in Early Scandinavia. A Settlement-historical Pre-study of the Central Place.