Ofn-stofa

Meaning of Old Norse word "ofn-stofa"

As defined by the Cleasby & Vigfusson Old Norse to English dictionary:

ofn-stofa

u, f. an ‘oven-closet,’ close stove, bath-room, FmS. vi. 440, where it is stated that king Olave the Quiet (1066–1093) was the first who introduced ovens or stoves (ofn-stofa) into the hall instead of the old open fires, see eldr (II); these stoves served for bathing and for heating the rooms; hann lét ok fyrst göra ofnstofur ok steingólf vetr sem sumar. The account of the death of the Berserkers in Eb. ch. 28, referring to the 10th century, may therefore be an anachronism and not an historical fact, for it is reported as extraordinary for Iceland that a bishop of Hólar (a Norseman) in the year 1316 built a ‘stone-oven’ (brick-oven) in his house, Laur. S. l. c.

Possible runic inscription in Younger Futhark:ᚢᚠᚾ-ᛋᛏᚢᚠᛅ
Younger Futhark runes were used from 8th to 12th centuries in Scandinavia and their overseas settlements