HOUSE DESCRIPTION

[ADMIN EL]

Ulf lives in a very old fashioned house of Rohan. The house reflects the society that lived in it very well. It was about 200 years ago, so it is considered very old by the citizens of Rohan. It is shaped like a ship with oval sides, and somewhere between 5 and 10 people could live in these houses, the entire family and their slaves, and often domestic animals in a stable room at one side. That is for keeping the warmth inside the walls. That is where Ulf has his horse now.
A much used house type was the pit house in old time Rohan, which was dug about a meter or 3.5 feet into the ground, using the surrounding dirt as lower part of the wall. By digging the house into the ground you take advantage of its insulating properties and to some degree the heat coming from the ground. It had two exits. One for the people and one for the animals. It was not practical to have a while cattle in there, but it was practical to have it so much under the ground and into the hills, since the winters in Rohan can get very harsh and extremely cold.
When you enter the house you will see that a low bench follows each of the long sides on which the inhabitants could sit on while eating the meal or doing their daily work. It has a lack of windows, and it gets very dark at day, so most work is usually done outside anyway – or from the light of the fireplace. The fireplace is in the middle of the house, at its centre, with a hole in the roof above to allow smoke to get out. It is very big and practical and heats up the entire room. Now Ulf does not use the benches for anything unless he gets visitors; so he usually has his swords and armour and clothes on them. Above one side of the bench, near the corner, are some shelves with dried herbs, fruit and flowers. That is what he calls the kitchen.
There is also a minor room for him – if you follow the walls towards the door that leads to the livestock. You will notice that to your left is a small room with a curtain over the entrance. That room is Ulf’s personal bedroom. The space available is much smaller than the one in the biggest room, and it was built high enough to accommodate a low sleeping area above the ground floor. That is the most comfortable for him.