and Hauksbók versions of Landnámabók, the first settler in Iceland, Ingólfr, prepared for his voyage to claim land there in this way, as translated by Aðalsteinsson: Þórólfr Mostrarskeggi made preparations similar to those of Ingólfr before he left Norway, according to Eyrbyggja saga: Sweden Gotland The Gutasaga was recorded at the beginning of the 13th century, still close enough in time for people to remember something of the ancient traditions. Only near the end of the 12th century did Christianity become the official form of religion on Gotland. The Gutasaga tells of the blót on the island of Gotland in the Baltic Sea: Uppsala The German chronicler Adam of Bremen has described how the blót was done at the Temple at Uppsala at Old Uppsala in Sweden, ca 1070: Thor was the most powerful god and ruled over thunder and lightning, wind and rain, sunshine and crops. He sat in the centre with a hammer (Mjolnir) in his hand, and on each side were Odin, the god of war, in full armour and Frey, the god of peace and love, attributed with an enormous erect phallus. All the pagan gods have their priests who offer them the people's sacrifices. If there is disease or famine, they sacrifice to Thor, if war to Odin and if weddings to Frey. Every ninth year there is a blót of nine days, a common feast for everyone in Sweden. Then they sacrifice nine males of each species, even men, and the bodies are hung from the branches of a grove near the temple. No one is exempt from this blót and everyone sends gifts to the shrine, even the kings. Those who are Christian have to pay a fee not to take part in the blót. Adam of Bremen considered this financial penalty to be very harsh. It is possible that the last nine-day blót was performed in 1078. The Temple at Uppsala was probably destroyed by King Ingold I in 1087. For quite some time there had been civil war between Christians and pagans every nine years, and this was the year of the last battle. According to Snorri, there was a main blót at the Temple at Uppsala in February, the , during which they sacrificed for peace and for the victories of the king. The blót was also performed to see how large the next harvest would be. Then the Thing