SAGA-BOOK - Viking Society Web Publications

Land Tenure in a Faroese Village
area; beur, infield; and hagi, outfield. The infield is
individually owned, subject to common winter grazing;
the outfield is jointly owned by the infield owners. The
position of the almenningur is more complex, prescriptive
rights being an important feature.
At the present time, the outfield, which covers almost
the whole of the island south of Korndalur, is divided into
two hagapartar, commons, called N oroarahelot or Heimarahelvt
(i.e. the northern or homeward half), and Sunnarahelvt
or Ytrahelvt (i.e. the southern or outermost half).
This division is a fundamental one on N6lsoy, and although
it primarily concerns sheep culture, it has an influence
also on several other privileges.
The infield consists of the whole of the Stongin peninsula
and the lowest-lying stretches of land immediately south
of the isthmus, including Korndalur. An enclave half-way
down the west coast, by the headland of Tjernunes, also
belongs to the infield, while near the lighthouse at the
southern extreme of the island is a cultivated area which is
the perquisite of the lighthouse keepers and is not,
therefore, to be considered part of the N6lsoy village beur.
Land units and land tenure
As in other parts of Faroe, the unit of land tenure is the
merk (mark), which is subdivided into 16 gyllin (gylden),
each consisting of 20 skinn (skins). Faroese weights and
measures are a complicated subject, and space does not
permit a consideration of the origins of these units, which
have been the subject of much research." N6lsoy as a
whole is valued at 48 marks, 24 of which are in Noroarahelvt
and 24 of which are in Sunnarahelvt. Ownership
rights on infield and outfield are, however, inseparable; to
own one mark of land implies absolute ownership of a
• See for example Louis Zachariasen, Feroyar sum rattarsamfela« I535-I655
(1959-61), 392-6; Poul Petersen, Ein [eroysk. bygd (1968), 226-7. It ought to
be mentioned that the Faroese mark is a highly variable unit: the mark of
one village cannot be equated with that of another, and even within a single
village commonwealth the marks may be of very different sizes.