ABSTRACT
The mountainous regions and valleys of southern Norway are sparsely populated, with relatively few villages or urban centres. This chapter argues that seasonal meeting places in the outfield and mountain regions must be viewed in both a social and economic perspective. It provides an introduction to the multifaceted small-scale seasonal meeting places; places where goods could be exchanged, alliances and friendships established, and scores settled or physical prowess displayed through competitions. In accounts of the seventeenth to the nineteenth century, a form of assembly site called a skeid is found. One of the most prominent skeid in Setesdalen and Telemark was the one in Valle. There are two particular aspects of the skeid and other assemblies in the 'Mountain Land' that stand out and are often brought up. One is the almost carnivalesque element that Gjellebol emphasises; the other is the competitiveness expressed by phenomena like horse-racing and horse-fights.
