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VON TROIL’S LRETERS ON ICELAND. 52
JO
games at cards, called Al/kort, Handkarrer, Tru-/pill, and Pamphile ; all thefe games are
merely for amufement, fince they never play for money, which feems however to have
been formerly cuftomary among them, fince in one of their old laws a fine is deftined
for thofe who fhould play for money. |
LETTER VII.—tTo cHEVALIER IHRE.
Of the Drefs of the Icelanders.
? Stockholm, Sept. 6, 1774.
Tue Icelanders have made vory few alterations, if any, in their drefs in modern
times. It is not elegant or ornamental, but yet neat, cleanly, and fuited to the cli-
mate. ‘The men all wear a linen fhirt next to the fkin, with a fhort jacket, and wide
pair of breeches over it. When they travel they wear another fhort coat (hempa)
over it. All this is made of coarfe black cloth (qwadmal); only the inhabitants on the
north fide of Arnarfiord wear white clothes. On the head they wear large three cor-
nered hats, and worfted ftockings, and Icelandic fhoes on their feet.
Some of them have fhoes from Copenhagen, but as they are rather too dear for
them, they generally make their own fhoes, fometimes of ox hide, but moitly of
fheep’s leather: the manner in which they make them is this; they cut a fquare piece
of leather, rather wider than the length of the foot, this they few up at the toes, and
behind the heel, and tie it on with leather thongs. Thefe fhoes are convenient enough
where the country is level; but it would be very difficult for us, who are not ufed to
them, to go with them amongtt the rocks and ftones, though the Icelanders do it with
great eafe. I fhall {peak of their fifhing clothes afterwards.
The women likewife are always drefled in black wadma/: they wear a bodice over
their fhifts, which are fewed up at the bofom; and above this a jacket laced before,
with long narrow fleeves reaching down to the wrifts. In the opening on the fide of
the fleeve they have buttons of chafed filver, with a plate fixed to each button, on
which the lover, when he buys them in order to prefent them to his miftrefs, takes
care to have his name and her’s engraved. At the top of the jacket a little black collar
is fixed (/frutur) of about three inches broad, of velvet or filk, and frequently trimmed
with gold cord. The petticoat is likewife of wadma/, and reaches down to the ancles.
Round the top of it is a girdle of filver, or fome other metal, to which they faften the
apron (/twinte), which is alfo of wadial, and ornamented at top with buttons of chafed
filver. Over this drefs they wear a hempa, or upper-drefs, nearly refembling that of
the peafants at Wingaker in Sweden, with this difference, that it is wider at bottom :
this is clofe at the neck and wrifts, and a hand’s breadth shorter than the petticoat. It
is adorned with a facing down to the very bottom, which looks like cut velvet, and is
generally wove by the Icelandic women. On their fingers they wear gold, filver, or
brafs rings. Their head-drefs confilts of feveral cloths wrapped round the head, al-
moft as high again as the face; itis tied faft with a handkerchief, and ferves more for
warmth than ornament: girls are not allowed to wear this head-drefs before they are
mariageable. At their weddings they are adorned in a very particular manner : the
bride wears clofe to the face, round her head-drefs, a crown of filver gilt. She has two
chains round her neck, one of which hangs down very low before, and the other refts on
her fhoulders. Befides thefe fhe wears a leffer chain, from.which a little heart gene-
rally hangs, which may be opened to put balfam or fome other kind of perfume into it.
The drefs here defcribed is worn by all the Icelandic women, high and low, without
exception ; with this difference, that the poorer fort have it of coarfe wadma/, with
6 ornaments
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