Hof

Hof (Old Norse, “enclosure” or “hall”) was the sacred building or enclosure used for communal worship in Norse religion — the closest equivalent to a temple in other traditions, though it functioned equally as a feast-hall for the ritual meals that followed sacrifice.

The hof of Þórólfr Mostrarskegg

Eyrbyggja saga ch. 4 gives the most detailed surviving description of a hof. Þórólfr builds it on Iceland: a large building, with a door in the side-wall near one gable (not at the end, as in a regular hall). Inside, the altar (stalli) stands in the center. On it lies the arm-ring (baugr) — the oath-ring that the goði must keep unchipped and reddened with sacrificial blood at every great blót. The hlautbolli (blood-bowl) sits on the altar with the hlautteinn (blood-twigs), used to sprinkle the sacred blood. Around the altar stand the images of the gods.

The blót at Lade

Heimskringla’s account of the blót at Lade (Hákonar saga góða ch. 14–17) describes the hof in functional terms: the folk gather, the sacrificial animals are brought to the altar, blood (hlaut) is collected in bowls, and the goði sprinkles altar, walls, and participants with the twigs. The flesh is boiled in cauldrons over fire in the center of the hall; cups are passed around in sequence — for Odin, for Njörðr and Freyr, and for the minni (the memorial toast for those who have died).

The hörgr

Alongside the indoor hof, the hörgr (an outdoor cairn or altar of stones) served similar functions for smaller or more personal sacrifice. The two forms — enclosed hof and open hörgr — together covered Norse sacred space’s range from communal institution to solitary hillside shrine.