the men took their seats

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(að), v.

1) to arrange, place in order, draw up, with dat. (Egill skipaði svá mönnum þeim, er merkit báru); s. e-m fyrir e-t or yfir e-t, to put one in charge of; s. e-m hjá e-m, to assign a seat to one beside another (jarlinn skipaði þeim hjá Gunnlaugi); fig. to explain; s. draumi, to interpret a dream;

2) with acc. to take up, occupy; skipuðu konur pall, the women were seated on the pallr; hann skipaði öndvegi, he had his place in the high-seat; to arrange, array, s. fylking sína, to draw up one’s line of battle; var skjöldum skipat allt húsit um veggina, the walls were all hung with shields;

3) s. e-m e-t, to assign a thing to one (skipaði hann nú allt land sínum sýslumönnum); also without dat. (Geirmundr skipar jarðir sínar á laun);

4) to man (skipuðu þeir skipin sem bezt); ek skal s. húskörlum mínum annat skipit, I will man one of them with my house-carles;

5) s. til e-s, to arrange, make ready for (s. til atlögu); s. til búa sinna, to put one’s household in order; þó mun eigi of skipat til ánna, there will not be too many rams for the ewes;

6) to change; bið hann, at þit skipit máldaga, ask him to change the bargain;

7) reflex., skipast, to draw up (gengu þeir þá inn allir ok skipuðust í dyrrin); skipuðust menn þar í sæti, the men took their seats; to undergo a change (mart hefir skipazt í Haukadal, ok vertu varr um þik); s. á betri leið, to change for the better; s. við e-t, to yield to, he moved by (s. við orð, fortölur e-s); s. við orðsending e-s, to answer to one’s call; þenna kost gerðum, vér Hákoni, skipaðist hann vel við, he took it in good part; impers., var heitit fyrir henni mörgu, ok skipaðist henni ekki viðr, it had no effect.

(að), v., s. e-t upp, to unload (þeir tóku land ok skipuðu þar upp).

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að, [from this word has come the Fr. équiper; Engl. equip]:— to give order or arrangement to things, with dat., i. e. to draw up, place in order, arrange them, of seats, lines, rows; hann skipaði mönnum í skjaldborg, Ó. H. 206; þá fylktu þeir liði sínu ok skipaðu, 205; þeirra hverr á at skipa tveim mönnum í Lögréttu, öðrum fyrir sér, en öðrum á bak sér, Grág. i. 5; Gunnarr hafði marga boðsmenn, ok skipaði hann svá sínum mönnum, hann sat á miðjan bekk, en innar frá Þráinn … þá var skipat konum í annat sinn, sat þá Þorgerðr meðal brúða, Nj. 50, 51; svá var skipat sessum, at …, Fms. x. 16; Egill skipaði svá mönnum þeim er merkit báru, Hkr. i. 150; skipaðu höfðingjar herinum til atlögu, Fms. ii. 303; jarl skipaði svá atlögunni, ix. 430; þeir skipaðu svá sinni ferð, at …, 468; konungr skipaði Haraldi í sína sveit, vi. 168; Gizurr skipaði Oddi yfir Skaga-fjörð, x. 60; hann skipaði sonum sínum til landa, Rb. 316; skipuðu Ribbungar þar öllum sýslum, Fms. ix. 393; bændr ok þingu-nautar skyldu fyrst gunga á þingit ok skipa dómum eptir lögum, vii. 138; hann skipaði allri bygð ok skipti í skipreiður, Hkr. i. 146; er skipat í þáttu allri skrá þessi, Rb. 4.

2. metaph. to explain; skipa draumi, to read a dream, Fms. xi. 6; skipaði konungr fyrst þeirra máli, ix. 396; ok skipuðu málum þeim sem nauðsyn bar til, x. 32: in the phrase, of a song, eg kann kvæðið, en kann ekki að skipa því, I know the song by heart, but cannot give the order of the verses.

II. with acc. to take up, occupy; konur skipuðu pall, Nj. 11; Haraldr ok hans lið skipaði langbekkinn, Fms. vi. 193; hann skipaði öndvegi, Vígl. 52 new Ed.; skipa fylking sína, to draw up one’s line of battle, Eg. 292; Vagn ok Björn skipa annan arm, Fms. xi. 126: part., vágrinn var skipaðr herskipnm, ix. 360; var skipuð öll höllin, Nj. 269; hirð hans er skipuð afreks-mönnum einum, Eg. 19; höllin var skipuð hæverskum höfðingjum, Fms. vi. 3; vóru skipaðir þrettán stólar, x. 16; var skjöldum skipat allt húsit um veggina, the walls all hung with shields, vii. 147.

2. to establish, ordain, appoint, the place or office given being in acc.; þá skipaði hann lög, … ok setti þat í lögum, at …, Fms. i. 6; skipaði hann héraðit sínum félögum, Landn. 57; skipuðu þeir löndin Arnfinni jarli, Fms. i. 201; skipaði hann nú allt land sínum sýslu-mönnum, viii. 244; vóru þeim skipuð ríki þau á Íslandi sem konungr hafði þá heimildum á tekit, x. 45; skipa klerkum kirkjur, K. Á. 232; skipaði konungr ríki sín um öll Upplönd, ix. 410; Skúli hertogi hafði skipat allar sýslur fyrir norðan Staði, 478; fór hann inn í Sogn ok skipaði allt ríkit, x. 189; ok er skipat var ríkit með þessum hætti, Fas. i. 376; hann fékk honum umboð sitt at s. jarðir sínar, Eg. 590; Geirmundr skipar jarðir sínar á laun, Ld. 112; láta drepa stórmenni en hefja upp lítilmenni, hafa þeir verr skipat landit, Fms. vii. 183; hann skipaði dalinn vinum sínum, Gullþ. 44.

3. to compose, arrange; skipa bækr, Sks. 568; skipa máldaga (acc.), Nj. 4; skyldi Ólafr frálsliga mega skipa þenna skurð til hverrar jarðar sem hann vildi, Dipl. iv. 12; at hann skipaði ( settled matters) milli þeirra, Fms. vii. 270:—skipa til e-s, to arrange; skipa til um fylkingar, ix. 489; skipa til atlögu, vii. 357; þeir skipuðu til bús með Sigríði, Eg. 94; at s. þar til bús, Nj. 54; skipuðu þeir til á hverju skipi, 8; s. til búa sinna, to put one’s household in order, 219, 251, 259; um daginn eptir var þar skipat til leiks, Ld. 196; s. til um fylkingar, Ó. H. 215; þó mun eigi of skipat til ánna, there will not be too many rams for the ewes, Fms. xi. 149.

4. to man; skipaði konungr hana (i. e. the hall) hraustum drengjum, Fms. vi. 3; ek skal s. húskörlum mínum annat skipit en bóndum annat, Nj. 42; skipuðu þeir skipin sem bezt, Fms. ix. 401; hverr skal þau (the ships) skipa, Nj. 42; sex skip, öll vel skipuð, Eg. 87; tré alskipað af epluni, Stj. 73.

III. to bid, command, Lat. jubere: s. e-m e-ð, freq. in mod. but not found in old writers; hann skipaði mér að fara.

B. Reflex. to take a seat or place, draw themselves up; gengu þeir þá inn allir ok skipuðusk í dyrrin, Nj. 198; er menn skipuðusk í sæti sín, Eg. 248; þar var fjöldi fyrir boðs-manna, skipuðusk menn þar í sæti, Nj. 11; víl ek at menn skipisk í sveitir, … skipisk menn nú í sveitir, en síðan skal sveitum skipa í fylking, Ó. H. 205 (skipta, Fms, v. 53, v. l.); þá skipaðisk jarl til atlögu, Fms. i. 169.

2. to undergo a change, sometimes with the notion for the better, to be improved; hugr yðvarr hefir skipask, 656 C. 42; mart hefir skipask í Haukadal, ok vertú varr um þik, Gísl. 20; ok er hann hafði þessa vísu kveðit, skipask nokkut hugr þeirra bræðra, Fas. i. 267; hví skipaðisk svá skjótt hugr þinn um málin í dag? Fs. 75; hefir þu mikit skipask síðan vit sámk næst, Fms. vi. 303; kvað eigi son sinn hafa vel skipask, Fas. i. 528; litr hennar skipaðisk á engan veg, Hkr. i. 102; hversu skipaðisk máttr konungsins, Fms. ix. 214: skipask á betri leið. Eg. 416: the saying, mart skipask á manns æfinni, Ó. H. 139, Fms. vii. 156; skjótt hefir hér nú skipask, 148; hvegi er síðan hefir skipask, Grág. i. 227: skipask við e-t, to yield to, be moved by; ekki er þess ván, at pit skipisk við framhvöt orða, ef þit íhugit ekki …, Ld. 260; skipask við fortölur e-s, Fms. i. 285; konungr skipaðisk við fortölur Magnúss, vii. 210, Eg. 167; skipask við orð e-s, id., Fms. ii. 134, xi. 38, Ó. H. 48; s. við orðsending e-s, to answer to one’s call, Fms. xi. 29; hann hét þeim dauða ok meiðslum, þeir skipuðusk ekki við þat, Hkr. i. 277; þenna kost görðu vér Hákoni, skipaðisk hann vel við, he took it in good part, Fms. ii. 35; of health, var heitið fyrir henni ok skipaðisk henni ekki viðr, it took no effect, Bs. i. 791; lagði Hrani um hana beltið ok skipaðisk skjótt við, Fb. ii. 9.

II. pass., þeir skipuðusk múrr ok skjöldr, Mar. (a Latinism).

III. part. fit, meet; vel skipaðr til klerks, Fms. x. 88; skipaðrar þjónustu af Guði, ii. 199; til-skipað sacramentum, xi. 443.

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(að), v.

1) to arrange, place in order, draw up, with dat. (Egill skipaði svá mönnum þeim, er merkit báru); s. e-m fyrir e-t or yfir e-t, to put one in charge of; s. e-m hjá e-m, to assign a seat to one beside another (jarlinn skipaði þeim hjá Gunnlaugi); fig. to explain; s. draumi, to interpret a dream;

2) with acc. to take up, occupy; skipuðu konur pall, the women were seated on the pallr; hann skipaði öndvegi, he had his place in the high-seat; to arrange, array, s. fylking sína, to draw up one’s line of battle; var skjöldum skipat allt húsit um veggina, the walls were all hung with shields;

3) s. e-m e-t, to assign a thing to one (skipaði hann nú allt land sínum sýslumönnum); also without dat. (Geirmundr skipar jarðir sínar á laun);

4) to man (skipuðu þeir skipin sem bezt); ek skal s. húskörlum mínum annat skipit, I will man one of them with my house-carles;

5) s. til e-s, to arrange, make ready for (s. til atlögu); s. til búa sinna, to put one’s household in order; þó mun eigi of skipat til ánna, there will not be too many rams for the ewes;

6) to change; bið hann, at þit skipit máldaga, ask him to change the bargain;

7) reflex., skipast, to draw up (gengu þeir þá inn allir ok skipuðust í dyrrin); skipuðust menn þar í sæti, the men took their seats; to undergo a change (mart hefir skipazt í Haukadal, ok vertu varr um þik); s. á betri leið, to change for the better; s. við e-t, to yield to, he moved by (s. við orð, fortölur e-s); s. við orðsending e-s, to answer to one’s call; þenna kost gerðum, vér Hákoni, skipaðist hann vel við, he took it in good part; impers., var heitit fyrir henni mörgu, ok skipaðist henni ekki viðr, it had no effect.

(að), v., s. e-t upp, to unload (þeir tóku land ok skipuðu þar upp).

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að, [skip; Dan. skibe], to unload a cargo, skipa upp; Vigfúss skipar upp gózit, Fms. xi. 430; þeir tóku land ok skipuðu þar upp, Ísl. ii. 246; þeir lágu þar í lægi ok skipuðu upp, 217; skipit hélzk ok var upp skipat, Sturl. ii. 117.

m. heathen priest; chief (in Iceland during the republic).

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a, m. [Ulf, renders ἱερεύς by gudja (ufar-gudja, ahumista-gudja, etc.), ἱερατεία by gudjinassus, ἱερατεύειν by gudjinôn; an Icel. gyði, gen. gyðja, would answer better to the Goth. form, but it never occurs, except that the fem. gyðja = goddess and priestess points not to goði, but to a masc. with a suppressed final i, gyði; a word coting occurs in O. H. G. glossaries, prob. meaning the same; and the form guþi twice occurs on Danish-Runic stones in Nura-guþi and Saulva-guþi, explained as goði by P. G. Thorsen, Danske Runem.; (Rafn’s explanation and reading of Nura-guþi qs. norðr á Gauði, is scarcely right): with this exception this word is nowhere recorded till it appears in Icel., where it got a wide historical bearing]:—prop. a priest, sacerdos, and hence a liege-lord or chief of the Icel. Commonwealth.

A. HISTORICAL REMARKS.—The Norse chiefs who settled in Icel., finding the country uninhabited, solemnly took possession of the land (land-nám, q. v.); and in order to found a community they built a temple, and called themselves by the name of goði or hof-goði, ‘temple-priest;’ and thus the temple became the nucleus of the new community, which was called goðorð, n.:—hence hof-goði, temple-priest, and höfðingi, chief, became synonymous, vide Eb. passim. Many independent goðar and goðorð sprang up all through the country, until about the year 930 the alþingi (q. v.) was erected, where all the petty sovereign chiefs (goðar) entered into a kind of league, and laid the foundation of a general government for the whole island. In 964 A. D. the constitution was finally settled, the number of goðorð being fixed at three in each þing ( shire), and three þing in each of the three other quarters, (but four in the north); thus the number of goðar came to be nominally thirty-nine, really thirty-six, as the four in the north were only reckoned as three, vide Íb. ch. 5. On the introduction of Christianity the goðar lost their priestly character, but kept the name; and the new bishops obtained seats in the Lögrétta (vide biskup). About the year 1004 there were created new goðar (and goðorð), who had to elect judges to the Fifth Court, but they had no seats in the Lögrétta, and since that time the law distinguishes between forn ( old) and ný ( new) goðorð;—in Glúm. ch. 1 the word forn is an anachronism. It is curious that, especially in the 12th century, the goðar used to take the lesser Orders from political reasons, in order to resist the Romish clergy, who claimed the right of forbidding laymen to be lords of churches or to deal with church matters; thus the great chief Jón Loptsson was a sub-deacon; at last, about 1185, the archbishop of Norway forbade the bishops of Icel. to ordain any holder of a goðorð, unless they first gave up the goðorð, fyrir því bjóðum vér biskupum at vígja eigi þá menn er goðorð hafa, D. I. i. 291. In the middle of the 13th century the king of Norway induced the goðar to hand their power over to him, and thus the union with Norway was finally brought about in the year 1262; since that time, by the introduction of new codes (1272 and 1281), the name and dignity of goðar and goðorð disappeared altogether, so that the name begins and ends with the Commonwealth.

B. DUTIES.—In the alþingi the goðar were invested with the Lögrettu-skipan (q. v.), that is to say, they composed the Lögrétta (the Legislative consisting of forty-eight members—on the irregularity of the number vide Íb. ch. 5), and were the lawgivers of the country; secondly, they had the dómnefna (q. v.), or right of naming the men who were to sit in the courts, vide dómr:—as to their duties in the quarter-parliaments (vár-þing) vide Grág. Þ. Þ. and the Sagas. The authority of the goðar over their liegemen at home was in olden times somewhat patriarchal, vide e. g. the curious passage in Hænsaþ. S. ch. 2; though no section of law relating to this interesting part of the old history is on record, we can glean much information from the Sagas. It is to be borne in mind that the goðar of the Saga time (10th century) and those of the Grágás and Sturlunga time (12th and 13th centuries) were very different; the former were a kind of sovereign chiefs, who of free will entered into a league; the latter had become officials, who for neglecting their duties in parliament might be fined, and even forfeit the goðorð to their liegemen, vide Grág. Þ. Þ. Neither þing (q. v.) nor goðorð was ever strictly geographical (such is the opinion of Konrad Maurer), but changed from time to time; the very word goðorð is defined as ‘power’ (veldi), and was not subject to the payment of tithe, K. Þ. K. 142. The goðorð could be parcelled out by inheritance or by sale; or they might, as was the case in the latter years of the Commonwealth, accumulate in one hand, vide esp. Sturl. passim, and Grág. The liegemen (þingmenn) were fully free to change their lords (ganga í lög með goða, ganga ór lögum); every franklin (þingmaðr) had in parliament to declare his þingfesti, i. e. to name his liegeship, and say to what goði and þing he belonged, and the goði had to acknowledge him; so that a powerful or skilful chief might have liegemen scattered all over the country. But the nomination to the courts and the right of sitting in the legislative body were always bound to the old names, as fixed by the settlement of the year 964; and any one who sought the name or influence of a goði had first (by purchase, inheritance, or otherwise) to become possessor of a share of one of the old traditionary goðorð; see the interesting chapter in Nj. The three goðar in one þing ( shire) were called sam-goða, joint-goðar; for the sense of allsherjar-goði vide p. 17.

C. NAMES.—Sometimes a chief’s name referred to the god whom he especially worshipped, as Freys-Goði, Hrafn., Gísl., whence Freys-gyðlingar, q. v.; (the ör-goði is dubious); more frequently the name referred to the liegemen or county, e. g. Ljósvetninga-Goði, Tungu-Goði, etc.; but in the Saga time, goði was often added to the name almost as a cognomen, and with some, as Snorri, it became a part of their name (as Cato Censor in Latin); hann varðveitti þá hof, var hann þá kallaðr Snorri Goði, Eb. 42; seg, at sá sendi, er meiri vin var húsfreyjunnar at Fróðá en Goðans at Helgafelli, 332. Names on record in the Sagas:—men living from A. D. 874 to 964, Hallsteinn Goði, Landn., Eb.; Sturla Goði, Landn. 65; Jörundr Goði and Hróarr Tungu-Goði, id.; Ljótólfr Goði, Sd.; Hrafnkell Freys-Goði, Hrafn.; Oddr Tungu-Goði, Landn.; Þormóðr Karnár-Goði, Vd.; Áskell Goði, Rd.; Úlfr Ör-goði, Landn.; Grímkell Goði, Harð. S.; Þorgrímr Freys-goði, Gísl. 100, 110:—964 to 1030, Arnkell Goði, Landn., Eb.; Þorgrímr Goði, Eb.; Geirr Goði, Landn., Nj.; Runólfr Goði, id.; Þóroddr Goði, Kristni S.; Þormóðr Allsherjar-Goði, Landn.; Þorgeirr Goði, or Ljósvetninga-Goði, Nj., Landn.; (Þorkell Krafla) Vatnsdæla-Goði, Vd.; Helgi Hofgarða-Goði, Landn., Eb.; Snorri Hlíðarmanna-Goði, Lv.; Þórarinn Langdæla-Goði, Heiðarv. S.; and last, not least, Snorri Goði:—in the following period goði appears, though very rarely, as an appellative, e. g. Þormóðr Skeiðar-Goði (about 1100):—of the new goðar of 1004, Höskuldr Hvítaness-Goði, Nj.:—used ironically, Ingjaldr Sauðeyja-Goði, Ld.

2. goðorð mentioned by name,—in the south, Allsherjar-goðorð, Landn. (App.) 336; Dalverja-goðorð, Sturl. ii. 48; Lundarmanna-goðorð, i. 223; Reykhyltinga-goðorð, 104, iii. 166, 169; Bryndæla-goðorð, Kjaln. S. 402: in the north, Ljósvetninga-goðorð, Lv. ch. 30; Möðruvellinga-goðorð, Bs. i. 488; Vatnsdæla-goðorð, Fs. 68; Fljótamanna-goðorð, Sturl. i. 138: in the west, Snorrunga-goðorð, 55; Jöklamanna-goðorð, iii. 166; Rauðmelinga-goðorð, Eb. 288; Reyknesinga-goðorð, Sturl. i. 9, 19; Þórsnesinga-goðorð, 198: the new godords of the Fifth Court, Laufæsinga-goðorð, Nj. 151; Melamanna-goðorð, id., Band., Sturl. i. 227. Passages in the Sagas and Laws referring to goðar and goðorð are very numerous, e. g. Íb. ch. 5, Nj. ch. 98, Grág., Lögréttu-þáttr, and Þ. Þ. passim, esp. ch. 1–5, 17, 35, 37, 39, 44, 58, 60, 61, Lv. ch. 4 (interesting), Vd. ch. 27, 41 (in fine), and 42, Vápn., Hrafn. ch. 2, Eb. ch. 10, 56, Sturl. iii. 98, 104, passim; for the accumulation of godords, see i. 227 (3, 22), Bs. i. 54; for the handing over the godords to the king of Norway, D. I. i; and esp. article 3 of the Sáttmáli, D. I. i. 631, 632. The godords were tithe-free, ef maðr á goðorð, ok þarf eigi þat til tíundar at telja, vald er þat en eigi fé:, K. Þ. K. 142.

COMPDS: goðakviðr, goðalýrittr, goðaþáttr.

II. = goð, i. e. good genius, in the Icel. game at dice called goða-tafl, with the formula, heima ræð eg goða minn bæði vel og lengi, … og kasta eg svo fyrir þig, cp. also ást-goði.