The Wharton School Annals Of Political Science PDF Download

Excerpt from The Wharton School Annals of Political Science: March, 1885 The seat at the middle of the room, opposite the central fire, was of course the warmest and therefore the most desirable; it was raised higher than the others, and hence called the High Seat. That which stood on the south side of the room or hall was reserved for the master of the house and his wife, and was distinguished by two upright posts of carved wood. These posts were sacred symbols of the continuity of the house and the authority of its master. The chiefs who emigrated from Norway to Iceland carried these posts of their high-seats with them and cast them into the sea as they drew near to their new home. Wherever the posts came ashore, there they fixed their homesteads. Similar to these in point of sanctity in later days were the two cords to open and close the window in the roof. Whoever came to the house on any mission of high import, such as to ask the hand of its daughter in marriage, began by lay ing hold of these cords as his most auspicious introduction. The high-seat on the north side of the hall was next in honor, and was reserved for guests of distinction. In the largest halls a third high-seat formed the centre of a bench across the Eastern end of the hall, and was reserved for the women of the family; but the more usual custom was for the wife to take her seat beside her husband. If we may judge of the oldest usages by what was seen in Scandinavia three centuries ago, on winterlo Wharton School Annals. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.