Slow Havamal: 133

Verse 133 tells us that we who reside in the house will rarely know much about the stranger who knocks, but no man is so good as to be flawless, and no man so bad as to be worthless.

There isn’t much left of the culture of receiving strangers. We don’t have a hospitality code that gives us clear guidelines—or rather, our codes of hospitality pertain to other situations more commonly faced. Up until very recently in history, though, it would not have been unusual for a traveler to seek a pallet in the barn, a meal, or directions to a hospitable place. ( Read more... )