What would a farm have looked like in 9th century Scandinavia?

by KaiserPorn
ethelfritha

I can answer this question specific to Iceland, which began to be settled in the mid to late 9th century.

There were some similarities in Iceland to farms in mainland Scandinavia, notably the use of the turf longhouse (skáli) for the primary farm building. Turf houses were very common in Scandinavia at this time and the early Icelandic settlers would have known how to construct them. This was fortunate, as it turned out that Iceland was sparsely wooded and full timber houses all but impossible, unless one were to import the wood from the mainland at great expense. The longhouse was usually built into a slope or on high ground, and near running water. Depending on the size of the household (which could include retainers, servants, and slaves as well as the landholder's family), the longhouse could be quite large, with a long fire in the center for cooking and warmth. Benches for sleeping and eating would circle the inside walls. Later, many wealthier landowners added latrines and storerooms to their longhouses, but in the 9th century latrines were detached buildings while storage was inside the house. Other outbuildings--also of turf--included sheds for livestock and blacksmith's forges. (Some of the very, very earliest longhouses found in Iceland contain animal stalls at the end opposite the door. This was common in mainland Scandinavia, but isn't often found in Iceland. Of course, volcanoes did have a habit of burying the evidence.)

An Icelandic farm would have its own home fields (tún) for producing the hay needed to feed the livestock during the long winters. These fields were surrounded by turf (occasionally stone) walls and were usually placed to the front of the longhouse, although in these early days the field sometimes encircled the longhouse and outbuildings.

Once enough settlers had arrived and more farms established (this is getting into the early 10th century, so I apologize), groups of landowners began to establish common grazing lands in order to most efficiently use the limited pastures available in Iceland. In the spring, livestock was driven to these common pastures in the highlands, rams, lambs, and some ewes to the upper fields and cows and the rest of the ewes to dairies lower down. The livestock stayed in the fields until after the hay harvest in September, at which time they were brought down to the individual farms again for the winter.

Aside from hay, Icelandic farms did not typically produce crops, except for some farms in the south which grew barley on a small scale. These would have been situated near the longhouse with the hay fields and surrounded with more stone or turf walls.

Sources: Viking Age Iceland by Jesse Byock and Wasteland with Words by Sigurður Gylfi Magnússon

suckmetocompletion

This won't quite get you all the way back to the 9th century, but I visited some Scandinavian countries last winter and while I was in Stockholm I visited this wonderful historical park called Skansen, it could give you some insight: http://www.skansen.se/en/kategori/english

magnusbe

Here is a pic of a reconstructed [iron age farm in Ullandhaug] (https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Iron_age_farm_Ullandhaug_in_Stavanger.jpg#mw-jump-to-license) in Rogaland, Norway.