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SAOftEb EDBFIOES. 205
CHAPTER XX.
SAOltED EDIFICES.
Of the sacred buildings devoted to the worshij^ of
the Gods, two kinds are spoken of as being universal,
namely, Horg and Hof..
Horg Qi6rgr,j>lur. horgar) is the oftenest named
in the ancient poems, sagas and laws,* but it is not
particularly described ; it is distinguished, however,
from Hof, which was an appellation for the proper
temples.f The Horgar, so far as is known, were
a kind of Stone-Altars or places of sacrifices under
the open sky and surrounded by an inclosure of
stones. They were consecrated to certain Deities
sometimes, perhaps, when they consisted of a single
stone, regarded as statues or representatives of the
Gods, and were besmeared with blood at the sacrifices.
Thus it is stated in the Eddaic poem Hynd-
* Landnmb. II., 16 ; Orv. Odds S. 29 ; Older Gula-Jing Laws,
cap. 29.
t TheO. Edda: VoluspdV; Vafj^r. 38; Helgakv, Hjorv. 4.
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