The domain in which the landvættir had influence was wide. They had influence in the cultivation of the soil, in weaving and spinning and in the raising of animals. They also had influence in the upbringing of children. (393)

The landvættir would some times enter into partnerships with men. One example of this is in Landnámabók. In the account a family of brothers was forced to move their farm because of an intruding lava flow. Because of this they were left with few animals. One night one of them (Bjorn) had a dream that a rock-dweller came to him and offered a partnership. Bjorn agreed to the partnership and immediately afterward his goats increased at a great rate, so much so that they began to call him Goat-Bjorn. It was said that people with second site could see the land-spirits following Goat-Bjorn to the Thing and accompanying his brothers whenever they went to hunt of fish. Goat-Bjorn, with the help of the landvættir, became a man of renown and many great men in Iceland were descended from him. (394)

The word rock-dweller is sometimes translated as giant but this should not be considered the same as the frost-giants who oppose the Regin. Another account we have of a rock dweller comes from Barðar Saga Snæfellsáss. I would like to quote Davidson's description of this saga. "The most detailed account of a rock-dweller is to be found in a strange saga, Barðar Saga Snæfellsáss, which is included among the 'Family Sagas' because it is set in Iceland and not in remote lands of magic and adventure. However it is filled with supernatural characters, and the hero, Bard, is called 'god of Snæfell'. He was a Norwegian, fathered by a giant, and fostered by another giant, Dofri of Dovrefjeld in Norway. From Dofri Bard learned history and genealogies, feats of arms and knowledge and of the future, while the giant's daughter became his wife. Later Bard avenged his father after a killing, and then left for Iceland. Things did not go well for him there, and after a time he disappeared from among men, moving across a glacier and living in a cave in the mountain beyond it. The Saga states that he was more of a troll than a man, so people called him the god (Áss) of Snæfell. People in that district made vows to him as to a god, and they called on him when they were in trouble. He helped one man in a wrestling match, and another after an attack by a troll-woman, and was always ready to defend men against evil and hostile beings. From time to time he was seen wearing a gray cloak and hood with belt of walrus hide, carrying a two-pronged stick with a spike for crossing the ice. Like his foster-father Dorfi, he acted as fosterer and teacher to promising young men. A twelve-year-old boy called Odd accepted an invitation to visit him in the mountains, and found himself in terrible conditions of storm and cold: 'He stumbled on, not knowing where he was going, and at last became aware that a man was walking through the darkness with a great staff, letting the point rattle on the ice . . . Odd recognized Bard, god of Snæfell.' (Barðar Saga 10). Odd stayed a winter in Bard's cave studying law, and was later known as one of the wisest of the lawmen. He married one of Bard's daughters, but she died three years later. Bard was said to have nine daughters, and one, Helga, was a strange figure who wandered about the land,' usually far from men', and made secret visits to farms. She would say up most of the night playing a harp, but resented intrusion, and a Norwegian who tried to discover who she was had his arm and leg broken to punish his curiosity. Bard associated with various super-natural beings and was respected as the strongest among them. Although he gave protection against evil spirits and trolls, he was hostile to Christianity, and after his son Gest became a Christian he deprived him of his sight." (395)

As mentioned earlier the favor of the landvættir was very often sought. One way to gain the favor of the landvættir was through giving them offerings. One Icelandic settler gave offerings of food to a waterfall near his house. Because of this his sheep greatly increased because he made good decisions as to which were slaughtered and which should be kept. Another man made offerings to 'one of the rare woods in Iceland.' Another man trusted in the spirit that dwelled in a great stone near his house. The man continued to trust in this spirit until a Christian bishop dropped holy water on the stone and drove it away. The two versions of this story show what the function of the landvættir was. In one version it is named ármaðr. (396) One of the meanings of the word ár is 'plenty, abundance, fruitfulness.' And maðr means man (irrespective of sex). (397) It is easy to see that the fruitfulness of the land considered to be within the domain of the landvættir. Another version of the story names the landvættir as spámaðr which could be litereally translated as 'prophecy-man.' Being able to foretell the future was an ability that is commonly connected with landvættir. Of the spámaðr it is said, "He tells me beforehand many things which will happen in the future; he guards my cattle and gives me warnings of what I must do and what I must avoid, and therefore I have faith in him and I have worshipped him for a long time." (398) Offerings were also made to 'house-spirits' which we can put in the same category as the landvættir. Like the landvættir, the house-spirits were offered food in order to gain their good favor. Any time a banquet was held it was customary to set aside part of the food for the household spirits. The drinker would, before drinking any himself, pour out some of drink for the house spirits. Here we see the mirroring of the tradition in which the gods and goddesses always got the first portion of the sacrificial feast. (399)

The landvættir could be offended by violence. It was said that for a long time no one would dare settle in the southern part of Iceland where Hjorleif, who was one of the first settlers there, was killed by his Irish thralls. It was not because the place was thought to be haunted that no one would settle there. The reason was that the landvættir were angered by the violence done on their land. (400) Early Icelandic laws prohibited ships with dragon-heads on their prow from coming into the harbor lest the land-spirits were offended by a threat of hostility. The ships were required to take the dragon-head off the prow before they could enter the harbor. (401)

In an interesting account from Egil's Saga (Chapter 57) we find the landvættir being called upon to avenge a wrong committed by the king of the land. King Erik Bloodaxe had flouted the law, not allowing Egill Skallagrimmsson from gaining justice. In return Egill raised the nithstangr. In two verses composed by Egill he calls on Othinn, Freyr and Njörthr for justice and he calls on the land spirits who dwell in the land to wander about restlessly and never find their homes until king Erik and Queen Gunnhild are driven from the land (Norway). (402)

It is possible that the landvættir were connected with or worked in cooperation with the dísir (female ancestral guardian spirits). They both were considered guardians, one of the land, and one of kin and family. An interesting account of a nineteenth century Icelandic clergyman recorded that certain stones in North-eastern Iceland were called 'Stones of the Landdísir' (guardian land goddesses). It was said unwise to make loud noises near them and children were forbidden to play near them for fear that bad luck would come if they were not treated with respect. Sacrifices were given both to the dísir and landvættir during the Winter Nights feast. (403)

There are also two groups of beings that may have connections to the landvættir and the dísir. They were called the Matres or Matrones and the Hooded Ones. The Matrones, as their name implies, were females and very possibly could be the dísir. The Hooded Ones appear to be male. This is interesting as from the account of one land spirit we found that the name given to it spámaðr and ármaðr both end with the word maðr which, in Old Norse can mean a non-gender specific "person" or a man. (404) It is unclear whether or not these Matrones and Hooded ones are native cults or cults that originated from elsewhere and were brought in through the Roman occupations. (405) My own opinion is that these Matrones are of Roman origin, but it is striking the number of similarities the Matrones and Hooded Figures share with the landvættir and the dísir. It is well known that the Romans would assimilate the local deities and give them Roman names. Are the Matrones and Hooded Figures the Roman version of Dísir and landvættir? I think this is a possibility given that these figures are found in areas that were occupied by Roman armies and not in the more Northern areas.

In images of the Matrones they are shown carrying fruit, horns of plenty, baskets, bunches of grapes, loaves of bread and/or eggs and they are many times shown holding infants. They are often accompanied by a small dog and the prow of a ship. They are shown with robes of varying length and some are young while others are old and others are matrons. They are found either sitting singly or in groups. They are many times found in groups of three but other numbers are found as well. They are found in the vicinity of rivers, healing springs or temples most often but have also been found at house sites that may have been household shrines. They are pictured also of having what some believe to be the scroll of destiny along with a sphere and/or spindle. It is thought that, because of this, they told the future of men, and especially of young children. Most dedications to the Matrones found were made by women but there are a number that bear the names of men in the lower ranks of the Roman army. (406) Besides the altars that these Matrones appear on there are a number of small figurines made of pipeclay found in Gaul and the Rhineland, some of them dating from the first century C. E. Some show a goddess in a high backed chair while others are of a naked female with sun-symbols such as wheels and rosettes either on the body or beside it. It is Davdison's belief that these along with the Matrones could be viewed as belonging to a company of nature spirits such as those found in Viking Age Scandinavia. (407)

The hooded figures are generally found in groups of three and are most frequently found around the area where Hadrians Wall was in Britain. These hooded figures appear to be male. Some are childlike while others are bearded. They tend to be short and stocky, much like we might picture the dwarfs. They are sometimes accompanied by a goddess who carries items of the same kind as the Matrones who were described earlier do. In Gaul the Hooded men are most often found as single figures. The hooded cloak as a very popular garment in Northern Europe and in a study done by Deonna it was shown that it was a symbol of the supernatural world and was worn by beings that were normally invisible to men. They were considered to be connected with protection, healing, fertility, sleep and death. In the study it was pointed out that the hooded cloak was used in later times to mark someone set apart form the normal world, such as monks, mourners or the bride in her veil. Davidson postulates that these hooded men were the forerunners of the Brownies which included figures such as Robin Goodfellow and his men. Brownies appeared as small male beings who could be benevolent when not angered, and bring prosperity to animals and crops and also helped in the work of the house. They were considered merry and mischievous. (408) It is easy to see how the brownies resemble, almost exactly, descriptions of landvættir and we would likely not be off the mark in saying that they are the English version of landvættir.