"Hidden People" & more Icelandic legends

[Beverly Flanigan]

At 05:22 PM 7/12/01 -0400, you wrote:

>Pg. 117:  _Badstofa_ was the common bed- and living-room of the
>traditional Icelandic farmhouse.  Originally a sauna--the word means
>"bathroom"--it later began to be used for sleeping in cold winters because
>the stone oven used to produce steam for the bath was easy to heat and
>retained warmth well.  So, little by little, the _badstofa_ became the
>center of the farmhouse, where people slept, ate, and worked.

And my dictionary notes that ModE "stove" comes from Anglo-Saxon "stofa"
(pronounced with medial /v/, as I recall) = hot air bath.  German "stube"
is related.  Hence the heated room --> the apparatus for heating the room.


>Pg. 120:
>_Cake_:  This refers to an unleavened bread, somewhat like a Middle
>Eastern pita, usually called _flatkaka_, or "flat cake."

Norwegians eat "flatbrod," although I recall its being hard and crisp, more
like Passover matzos.




_____________________________________________
Beverly Olson Flanigan         Department of Linguistics
Ohio University                     Athens, OH  45701
Ph.: (740) 593-4568              Fax: (740) 593-2967
http://www.cats.ohiou.edu/linguistics/dept/flanigan.htm