Another closely related prohibition was against the carrying of weapons on holy ground. Like the prohibition against violence on holy ground, the prohibition against the carrying of weapons on holy ground seems to have been almost universal. In the Saga of Olaf Tryggvasson it is said when the king went into the temple at Mæri that none of his men had weapons and he had only a gold-mounted staff. (127) This same law was in effect for the Althing as well. Everything concerned with the law was under the rule of the gods and this, therefore, made the Althing a holy assembly. Sacrificial feasts were held at the Thing and there was a ban on carrying of weapons though it is said that it was not always enforced. (128) Another incident in which Olaf Tryggvason entered into a Northern temple shows the same thing happening at the temple in Thrandheim as happened in Mæri. (129)

That weapons were not allowed in holy areas is also shown in the method in which some Christians chose to defile Northern hofs. In Bede's story of the conversion of Northumbria (History II, 13), there is a story of a High Priest who rides to the temple and throws a spear into it. Obviously he knew the laws against the carrying of weapons in holy sites and hofs and his intention was clearly to defile the temple and show his disrespect for the Northern gods. (130)

The penalties for those who violated these bans could be quite severe. As mentioned before the penalty for killing someone on holy ground was outlawry which for the Northman was nearly a death sentence. The term for this offense was 'Varg í véum" which meant 'wolf in the enclosure'. This law applied to the hof as well as the fields that surrounded it. It also applied to the Thing-place which was regarded as holy while the Thing was being held. (131) The penalty for bringing weapons onto holy ground was some times not as drastic as outlawry. In Vatnsdale Saga Hrafn and Ingimund are walking while involved in a very engrossing conversation. Not thinking, Hrafn inadvertently walks into a hof with his weapon. His penalty for this was that he had to give up his valued sword whose name was Aettartangi (132) Another example of outlawry from violence done on holy ground is in Kjalnesinga Saga. A certain Búi entered a hof to find Thorstein laying on his face in front of the statue of Thorr. Búi crept up to Thorstein silently and before Thorstein could react he picked Thorstein's head up and smashed it against a rock, killing him. Búi then carried his body out and threw it near the fence of the enclosure. He then set the hof on fire and locked the doors. Búi was later outlawed for this act. (133) In Fridthjof's Saga, Fridthjof is outlawed after he entered the Dísir hof and struck King Helgi; an act that caused the hof to catch fire and thereby he proved that his name was one well deserved, as his name Fridthjof means "peace-thief." (134) The gods themselves were thought to avenge these desecrations as is evidenced in Fridthjof's Saga, when Fridthjof's men beg him to make amends to King Helge and pray that Baldr would take his wrath for Fridthjof's violating the hofs in Baldrshaeg. (135) In Njal's Saga the man responsible for the burning of a hof is said to expect the revenge of the gods . The earl says of the gods, that they do not avenge everything on the spot and that the person responsible would be barred from Valhalla and never be able to enter. (136) Tacitus tells us also that those who had quit their shields during battle were not allowed to join in the blót-feasts. In fact Tacitus tells us that many who escaped battle unscathed (a defeat presumably) were said to have committed suicide by hanging themselves. (137)

Another example occurs in Viga-Glúms Saga (Slaying Glúms Saga or if we were to say it in a modern way, Killer Glúm's Saga.) Glúm kills a troublesome neighbor in a field that is holy to Freyr and incurs the gods wrath. He eventually had to forfeit his lands as a result of this act. (138) In one instance the deed of burning down of a temple was said by Hákon Jarl to result in Hrapp (the perpetrator) being shut out of Valhalla. Another incident of violence on holy ground occurs at Helgafell. Here Thórólf had established a Heraðs-Þing (district thing). (139) It was located on the extremity of the promontory of rocks that made up Helgafell. After his death some of those who attended a Thing held there relieved themselves on the holy grounds and a battle arose as a result and blood was shed. Because of this the Þingvöllr (thing field or place where the thing is held) had to be moved. The ground there was no longer considered holy because of the blood that was shed there. (140)

It was also customary to conduct some kind of purification on ones self before treading on holy ground. At Thorsness no one was allowed to look on Helgafell without being washed. According to MacCulloch the verb used here, líta, should probably be interpreted as 'turn toward in prayer' as it was hardly possible to be outside at Thorsness and not see Helgafell which could be seen from just about anywhere in the area. (141) In Romove, no 'unconsecrated person' was allowed to set foot in the forest where the holy oak stood. (142)

There is also cause to believe that special clothing or at least ones best was worn to the blót feasts. An indication of this would come from the Old Norse word, blótklæði which means 'garments worn at sacrifices.' (143)

As mentioned before answering the call of nature on holy ground was considered an act of desecration. It resulted in bloodshed on Helgafell. It was normal for an area to be provided for relieving oneself just off of Sacred Ground as was the case in Erybyggja Saga. (144) In fact, the desecrating of another persons holy ground was used as a means of insult by some. (145)

Another interesting custom is mentioned by Grimm. "Whoever is engaged in a holy office, and stands in the presence and precincts of the god, must not stumble, and if he falls to the ground, he forfeits his privilege. So he who in holy combat sinks to the earth, may not set himself on his legs, but must finish the fight on his knees, Danske viser 1, 115;" (146) It is interesting to note that it was considered a bad omen if one's horse stumbled. Erik the Red's horse stumbled when he was riding down to the ship of his son, Leif Eriksson who was about to set sail on a trip in which he would discover America almost 500 years before Christopher Columbus set sail. Because his horse stumbled Erik considered a bad omen for the trip and did not go. Was the stumbling of a gothi or gythja considered a bad omen or the a sign that the gothi did not have the approval of the gods?

There were methods of marking off holy space. These methods created the 'holy enclosure,' such as the stone circles of the hörg. One method that was commonly used was board fences. (147) In Fridthjof's Saga Baldershage, in which was the hall of the Dísir, was enclosed with "high wooden pales." (148) In Kjalnesinga Saga the hof is described as having an enclosure which consisted of a fence. (149)

When reading various web sites that are concerned with Northern tradition or books of the same, a statement that one might come across would be something similar to, "We do not bow before out gods like sheep but stand before them with honor." While I think this statement indicates a general concept of what the gods and goddesses are to most Northfolk, that is, honored kin and not unknowable beings to be cowered before, it is never the less not very accurate. In the afore mentioned Kjalnesinga Saga, it is Thorstein's laying face down in front of the statue of Thorr that allows Búi to sneak up on him and smash his head against a rock. (150) Likewise, in Færeyinga Saga, we find Jarl Hákon throwing himself down and laying before the statue of Thorgerd Hördabrud, when asking for her help. (151) Grimm tells us that men bowed before the statue of Thorr as well. (152) So while the statement that we do not bow before our gods like sheep is true in the spirit of the word, it is not true in the letter of the word.

According to Grimm another tradition of respect shown while on holy ground was the uncovering of one's head. This is a well known custom in Christian churches and it would appear from Northern harvest customs that Grimm quotes, we have, once again, a strong possibility of another Northern custom appropriated by the Christians. (153)

That there were images of the gods and goddesses is without doubt. Whether or not this was a late development is a matter of some debate. The earliest sources we have describe the practices of the Germans in Tacitus' Germania. Here more than once Tacitus describes the views the Germans had on depicting the gods and goddesses. He tells us that they did not have any statues for the Alcis. (154) He goes further and says that not only did the Germans not depict their gods in statues they considered it unsuitable to show them in any human likeness. (155) They saw their gods as living in the grove itself, in the boughs of the trees. (156)

Toward the Viking Age this practice changes and the depicting of the gods in human form becomes more prevalent at the Viking Age comes to a close. The practice of the gods and goddesses being depicted in statues may have had an intermediate phase of a sort. Thórólf Mostrar-skeggr's hof may have been an example of this. Of his temple it is said that one of his high seat pillars had the likeness of Thorr carved on it. This carving of the likeness of Thorr on pillars may have developed into the practice of having carved statues. (157)

Whether or not statues of the gods and goddesses was an early practice, it certainly was a late practice in the Viking Age. These images were called líkneski ('likeness') and skurð-goð ('carved gods' which may have been a title bestowed by Christians.) (158) It is likely they were mostly carved out of wood. In the saga of Olaf Tryggvasson two wooden men, which are thought to be statues of gods, are taken form the mound of Freyr. One was kept in Sweden while the other was transferred to Trondheim in Norway. (159) They would have been painted and possibly overlaid with gold and silver and even clothed. Because they were made of wood and also given the Christians' zeal for destroying 'idols' we have very few examples of these that have survived. The few that have survived have been smaller versions that were carved in ivory or copper. (160)