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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d6eda7f --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #53106 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/53106) diff --git a/old/53106-8.txt b/old/53106-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 97aecef..0000000 --- a/old/53106-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,4501 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Vikings, by Allen Mawer - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - -Title: The Vikings - -Author: Allen Mawer - -Release Date: September 21, 2016 [EBook #53106] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE VIKINGS *** - - - - -Produced by Chris Curnow, Moti Ben-Ari and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - - - - - The Cambridge Manuals of Science and - Literature - - - THE VIKINGS - - - - - CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS - - London: FETTER LANE, E.C. - - C. F. CLAY, MANAGER - - - [Illustration: Emblem] - - - Edinburgh: 100, PRINCES STREET - Berlin: A. ASHER AND CO. - Leipzig: F. A. BROCKHAUS - New York: G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS - Bombay and Calcutta: MACMILLAN AND CO., LTD. - - - _All rights reserved_ - - - - -[Illustration: The Gokstad ship] - - - - -[Illustration: Decorative title page, text follows] - - THE VIKINGS - - - BY - ALLEN MAWER, M.A. - Professor of English Language and - Literature in Armstrong College, - University of Durham: late Fellow - of Gonville and Caius College, - Cambridge - - - Cambridge: - at the University Press - 1913 - - - - - Cambridge: - PRINTED BY JOHN CLAY, M.A. - AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS - - -_With the exception of the coat of arms at the foot, the design on -the title page is a reproduction of one used by the earliest known -Cambridge printer, John Siberch, 1521_ - - - - -CONTENTS - - - PAGE - Introduction 1 - CHAP. - I. Causes of the Viking movement 4 - II. The Viking movement down to the middle of the - 9th century 12 - III. The Vikings in England to the death of Harthacnut 22 - IV. The Vikings in the Frankish Empire to the - founding of Normandy (911) 43 - V. The Vikings in Ireland to the battle of Clontarf - (1014) 54 - VI. The Vikings in the Orkneys, Scotland, the Western - Islands and Man 65 - VII. The Vikings in Baltic lands and Russia 69 - VIII. Viking civilisation 82 - IX. Scandinavian influence in the Orkneys, Shetlands, - the Western Islands and Man 112 - X. Scandinavian influence in Ireland 116 - XI. Scandinavian influence in England 123 - XII. Scandinavian influence in the Empire and Iceland 138 - Bibliography 146 - Index 148 - - - - -LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS - - - The Gokstad ship _Frontispiece_ - PLATE - I. Viking ship from the Bayeux tapestry _facing page_ 100 - II. Ornaments of the Viking period " " 104 - III. The Jellinge stone " " 111 - -The frontispiece is reproduced by kind permission of the photographer, -Mr O. Væring, of Christiania; plates II and III are taken from Sophus -Müller's _Nordische Altertümskunde_. - - - - -INTRODUCTION - - -The term 'Viking' is derived from the Old Norse _vík_, a bay, and -means 'one who haunts a bay, creek or fjord[1].' In the 9th and 10th -centuries it came to be used more especially of those warriors who -left their homes in Scandinavia and made raids on the chief European -countries. This is the narrow, and technically the only correct use of -the term 'Viking,' but in such expressions as 'Viking civilisation,' -'the Viking age,' 'the Viking movement,' 'Viking influence,' the word -has come to have a wider significance and is used as a concise and -convenient term for describing the whole of the civilisation, activity -and influence of the Scandinavian peoples, at a particular period in -their history, and to apply the term 'Viking' in its narrower sense to -these movements would be as misleading as to write an account of the -age of Elizabeth and label it 'The Buccaneers.' - -It is in the broader sense that the term is employed in the present -manual. Plundering and harrying form but one aspect of Viking activity -and it is mainly a matter of accident that this aspect is the one that -looms largest in our minds. Our knowledge of the Viking movement was, -until the last half-century, drawn almost entirely from the works of -medieval Latin chroniclers, writing in monasteries and other kindred -schools of learning which had only too often felt the devastating hand -of Viking raiders. They naturally regarded them as little better than -pirates and they never tired of expatiating upon their cruelty and -their violence. It is only during the last fifty years or so that we -have been able to revise our ideas of Viking civilisation and to form a -juster conception of the part which it played in the history of Europe. - -The change has come about chiefly in two ways. In the first place the -literature of Scandinavia is no longer a sealed book to us. For our -period there are three chief groups of native authorities: (1) the -prose sagas and the _Historia Danica_ of Saxo Grammaticus, (2) the -eddaic poems, (3) the skaldic poems. The prose sagas and Saxo belong to -a date considerably later than the Viking age, but they include much -valuable material referring to that period. The chief poems of the -older Edda date from the Viking period itself and are invaluable for -the information they give us as to the religion and mythology of the -Scandinavian peoples at this time, the heroic stories current amongst -them, and their general outlook on life. The skaldic poems are however -in some ways the most valuable historical authority for the period. The -_skalds_ or court-poets were attached to the courts of kings and jarls, -shared their adventures, praised their victories, and made songs of -lament on their death, and their work is largely contemporary with the -events they describe. - -Secondly, and yet more important in its results perhaps, archaeological -science has, within the last half-century, made rapid advance, and the -work of archaeologists on the rich finds brought to light during the -last hundred years has given us a vast body of concrete fact, with the -aid of which we have been able to reconstruct the material civilisation -of the Viking period far more satisfactorily than we could from the -scattered and fragmentary notices found in the sagas and elsewhere. -The resultant picture calls for description later, but it is well to -remember from the outset that it is a very different one from that -commonly associated with the term 'Viking.' - -With this word of explanation and note of warning we may proceed to our -main subject. - -FOOTNOTE: - -[1] The word is older than the actual Viking age: it is found in -Anglo-Saxon in the form _wicing_. Some writers have said that it means -'people from the district of the _Vík_' in South Norway, so-called -from the long fjord-like opening which is found there, but the early -Anglo-Saxon use of the term forbids this derivation. - - - - -CHAPTER I -CAUSES OF THE VIKING MOVEMENT - - -The period of Scandinavian history to which the term Viking is applied -extends roughly from the middle of the 8th to the end of the 10th or -the first half of the 11th century. Its commencement was marked by the -raids of Scandinavian freebooters upon the coasts of England, Western -Scotland and Ireland and upon Frankish territory. Its climax was -reached when in the course of the 9th and 10th centuries Scandinavian -rule was established in Ireland, Man and the Western Islands, the -northern and midland districts of England, Normandy, and a great -part of Russia. Its close was marked by the consolidation of the -Scandinavian kingdoms in the late 10th and early 11th centuries under -such mighty sovereigns as Olaf Tryggvason and Olaf the Holy in Norway, -Olaf Skötkonung in Sweden, and greatest of all, king Knut in Denmark, -who for a brief time united the whole of Scandinavia and a great part -of the British Isles in one vast confederacy. - -The extent and importance of the movement is indicated from the first -by the almost simultaneous appearance of trouble in England, on the -coast of France, and on the Eider boundary between Denmark and the -Frankish empire. - -In the reign of Beorhtric, king of Wessex (786-802), three ships of -the Northmen coming from Hörðaland (around Hardanger Fjord) landed -near Dorchester, in June 793 Lindisfarne was sacked, in March 800 -Charlemagne found himself compelled to equip a fleet and establish a -stronger coastguard to defend the Frankish coast against the attacks -of the Northmen, and from 777 onwards, when the Saxon patriot Widukind -took refuge with the Danish king Sigefridus (O.N. Sigröðr), there was -almost constant friction along the land-boundary between Denmark and -the Frankish empire. - -This outburst of hostile activity had been preceded by considerable -intercourse of a varied character between Scandinavia and the countries -of Western Europe. Early in the 6th century the Danes or, according to -another authority, the Götar from Götaland in south Sweden, invaded -Frisia under their king Chocilaicus. Reference is made to this raid -in the story of Hygelac, king of the Geatas, in _Beowulf_. Professor -Zimmer suggested that the attacks of unknown pirates on the island -of Eigg in the Hebrides and on Tory Island off Donegal, described -in certain Irish annals of the 7th century, were really the work of -Scandinavian raiders. The evidence of Irish legend and saga goes -to prove that in the same century Irish anchorites settled in the -Shetlands but were later compelled by the arrival of Scandinavian -settlers to move on to the lonely Faroes. Here they were not to be -left in peace, for the Irish geographer Dicuil, writing in 825, tells -us that the Faroes had then been deserted by the monks for some thirty -years owing to the raids of Northmen pirates. Dr Jakobsen has shown -that the forms of place-names in the Shetlands point very definitely -to a settlement from Scandinavia in pre-Viking days--before 700--while -the sculptured stones of Gothland show already at the end of the 7th -century clear evidence of Celtic art influence. Possibly also merchants -of Scandinavian origin were already settled in the Frankish empire and -it is certain that there was considerable trade between Scandinavia and -the West. - -Most of the intercourse thus demonstrated was slow in development, -peaceful and civilising in character. How came it that in the later -years of the 8th century this intercourse was suddenly strengthened and -intensified, while at the same time it underwent a great change both in -methods and character? - -The traditional explanation is that given by Dudo and by William of -Jumièges in their histories of the settlement of Normandy and by Saxo -in his account of Danish settlements in Baltic lands in the 10th -century, viz. that the population of Scandinavia had outgrown its means -of support and that enforced emigration was the result. There may be a -certain element of truth in the tradition but when it says that this -excess of population was due to polygamy we have every reason to doubt -it. Polygamy does not lead to an over-rapid growth of population as -a whole, and it is fairly certain that it was practised only by the -ruling classes in Scandinavia. It is quite possible, however, that the -large number of sons in the ruling families made it necessary for the -younger ones to go forth and gain for themselves fresh territories in -new lands. - -A clearer light is perhaps thrown on the matter if we examine the -political condition of the Scandinavian countries at this time. In -Norway we find that the concentration of kingly authority in the hands -of Harold Fairhair after the middle of the 9th century led many of the -more independent spirits to leave Norway and adopt a Viking life in the -West or to settle in new homes in Iceland. So strong was the spirit of -independence that when Harold Fairhair received the submission of the -Vikings of the West after the battle of Hafrsfjord, many of them rather -than endure even a shadowy overlordship abandoned their Viking life and -settled down to peaceful independence in Iceland. It is quite possible -that earlier attempts at consolidation on the part of previous petty -Norwegian kings may have had similar results. - -Of the condition of Sweden we know practically nothing but we have -sufficient information about the course of events in Denmark at this -time to see that it probably tended to hasten the development of the -Viking movement. Throughout the first half of the 9th century there -were repeated dynastic struggles accompanied probably by the exile, -voluntary or forced, of many members of the rival factions. - -External causes also were certainly not without influence. From the -6th century down to the middle of the 8th, the Frisians were the great -naval and trading power of North-West Europe. They had probably taken -some part in the conquest of England and, during the 7th and 8th -centuries, the whole of the coast of the Netherlands from the Scheldt -to the Weser was in their hands. Their trade was extensive, their -chief city being Duurstede a few miles south-east of Utrecht. The -northward expansion of the Franks brought them into collision with the -Frisians in the 7th century. The struggle was long and fierce but in -the end the Frisians were defeated by Charles Martel in 734 and finally -subjugated by Charlemagne in 785. The crushing of Frisian naval power -and the crippling of their trade probably played no unimportant part -in facilitating the Scandinavian advance, and it is curious to note -that while there is considerable archaeological evidence for peaceful -intercourse between the west coast of Norway and Frisian lands in the -8th century, that evidence seems to come to an end about the year 800, -just when Frisian power finally declined. There can be no doubt also -that the conquest of the Saxons by Charlemagne at the close of the -8th century, bringing Franks and Danes face to face along the Eider -boundary, made the latter uneasy. - -There has been much arguing to and fro of the question as to the -respective shares taken by Danes and Norwegians in the Viking movement. -That of the Swedes can fortunately be determined with a good deal more -certainty. The Swedes were for the most part interested only in Eastern -Europe and there by way of trade rather than of battle: we learn -from runic inscriptions and other sources that some Swedes did visit -England and the West, but these visits were due to individual rather -than national activity. The question as between Dane and Norwegian -has been to some extent made more difficult of settlement through the -national prejudices of Scandinavian scholars; e.g. Danes for the most -part decide in favour of the Danish origin of Rollo of Normandy, while -Norwegians decide in favour of his Norwegian birth. Such differences -of opinion are unfortunately only too often possible owing to the -scantiness of the material upon which we have to base our conclusions. -Medieval chroniclers were for the most part unable or unwilling -to distinguish between Danes and Norwegians; they were all alike -'Nordmanni' to them and the term 'Dani' is practically interchangeable -with it. The vagueness of their ethnographical knowledge is manifest -when we find the Norman Dudo at the beginning of the 11th century -tracing back the Dani (or Daci) to an original home in Dacia. The -Irish annalists did, however, draw a very definite distinction between -Norwegians and Danes--Finn-gaill and Dubh-gaill as they called them, -i.e. White and Black Foreigners respectively[2]. They seem never -to confuse them, but exactly on what grounds they gave them their -distinguishing epithets it is now impossible to determine. They do not -correspond to any known ethnographical differences, and the only other -reasonable suggestion which has been offered is that the terms are used -to describe some difference of armour or equipment as yet unknown to -us. The Irish annals also distinguish between Daunites or Danes and -Lochlanns or men from Lochlann, i.e. Norway; but again the origin of -the term Lochlann as applied to Norway is obscure. The writers of the -Anglo-Saxon Chronicle seem to use the term _Norðmenn_ very definitely -of Norwegians, just as Alfred does in his translation of Orosius, but -the term _Dene_ came to be used more vaguely and uncertainly. It is -only very rarely that the chroniclers vouchsafe us precise information -as to the home of any particular group of Viking raiders. We have -already mentioned the presence of Norwegians from Hörðaland in England -at the very opening of the movement[3]: once we hear of 'Westfaldingi,' -i.e. men from Vestfold in South Norway, in an account of attacks on -Aquitaine, and in one passage the Vikings are called 'Scaldingi,' but -it is disputed whether this means Vikings who had been quartering -themselves in the valley of the Scheldt, or is a term applied to the -Danes from the name of their royal family, viz. the Skjöldungar[4]. -Speaking roughly we may however assert that Ireland, Scotland and the -Western Islands were almost entirely in the hands of Norwegian settlers -(Danish attacks on Ireland failed for the most part). Northumbria was -Norwegian, but East Anglia and the Five Boroughs were Danish. The -attacks on France and the Netherlands were due both to Norwegians and -Danes, probably with a preponderance of the latter, while Danes and -Swedes alone settled in Baltic lands. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[2] The name _Finn-gaill_ survives in Fingall, the name of a district -to the north of Dublin, while _Dubh-gaill_ is the second element in the -proper names MacDougall and MacDowell. - -[3] The name _Hiruath_ given by Celtic writers to Norway probably -points also to a tradition that many of the Viking invaders of Ireland -were Hörðar from Norway. - -[4] A third explanation has recently been suggested by Dr Björkman, -viz. that it is a Low German word meaning 'shipmen' which came to be -used specially of the Vikings. - - - - -CHAPTER II -THE VIKING MOVEMENT DOWN TO THE MIDDLE OF THE 9TH CENTURY - - -England was possibly the scene of the earliest Viking raids, but after -the Dorchester raid, the sack of Lindisfarne in 793 (_v. supra_, p. -5), and the devastation of the monastery of St Paul at Jarrow in 794 -we hear nothing more of Vikings in England until 835. The fate of -Ireland was different. Attacks began almost at the same time as in -England and continued without intermission. Vikings sailed round the -west coast of Scotland. Skye and then Lambay Island off Dublin were -invaded in 795, Glamorganshire was ravaged in the same year and the -Isle of Man was attacked in 798. Iona was plundered in 802 and again -in 806. In 807 invaders appeared off the coast of Sligo and made their -way inland as far as Roscommon, and in 811 Munster was plundered. In -821 the Howth peninsula near Dublin and two small islands in Wexford -Haven were ravaged. The Vikings had completely encircled Ireland with -their fleets and by the year 834 they had made their way well into the -interior of the island so that none were safe from their attacks. They -no longer contented themselves with isolated raids: large fleets began -to visit Ireland and to anchor in the numerous loughs and harbours -with which the coast abounds. Thence they made lengthy raids on the -surrounding country and often strengthened their base by building forts -on the shores of the loughs or harbours in which they had established -themselves. It was in this way that Dublin, Waterford and Limerick -first rose to importance. - -Of the leaders of the Vikings at this time there is only one whose -figure stands out at all clearly, and that is Turges (O.N. Ðorgestr) -who first appeared in 832 at the sack of Armagh. He had come to Ireland -with a great and royal fleet and 'assumed the sovereignty over the -foreigners in Erin.' He had fleets on Lough Neagh, at Louth, and on -Lough Ree, and raided the country as far south as the Meath district. -Turges was not the only invader at this time: indeed so numerous were -the invading hosts that the chronicles tell us 'after this there came -great sea-cast floods of foreigners into Erin, so that there was not -a point thereof without a fleet.' The power of Turges culminated in -841, when he drove the abbot of Armagh into exile, usurped the abbacy, -and exercised the sovereignty of North Ireland. At the same time his -wife Ota (O.N. Auðr) profaned the monastery of Clonmacnoise and gave -audience, probably as a _völva_ or prophetess, upon the high altar. -Three years later Turges was captured by the Irish and drowned in Lough -Owel (co. West Meath). - -The early attacks on England and the first invasion of Ireland were -alike due to Norsemen rather than Danes. This is evident from their -general course, from the explicit statement of the Anglo-Saxon -chronicle, and from the fact that the first arrival of Danes in Ireland -is definitely recorded in the year 849. The attack on Dorchester (c. -786-802), lying as it does near the centre of the south coast of -England, is somewhat strange if it is assigned to the traditional date, -viz. 787, but there is no authority for this, and if it is placed at -any date nearer to 802 (before which it must have taken place), it is -probable that the attack may be explained as an extension of Viking -raids down St George's Channel and round the S.W. corner of England. - -In 835 the attacks on England were renewed after an interval of 40 -years, but as they now stand in close connexion with contemporary -invasions of Frankish territory there is every reason to believe that -they were of Danish rather than of Norse origin. The attacks began in -the south and west but they soon spread to East Anglia and Lindsey. -In 842 the same army ravaged London, Étaples and Rochester. In 851 -Aethelstan of Kent defeated the Danes at sea in one of the rare battles -fought with them on their own element, and in the same year they -remained for the winter in Thanet, probably owing to the loss of their -ships. The size and importance of these attacks may be gauged from -the fact that in this year a fleet of some 350 Danish ships sailed up -the Thames. It was probably that same fleet, with slightly diminished -numbers, which in 852 ravaged Frisia and then sailed round the British -Isles, came to Ireland, and captured Dublin. In 855 the Danes wintered -for the first time in Sheppey and we reach the same point in the -development of their attacks on England to which they had already -attained in Ireland. We pass away from the period of raiding. The Danes -now came prepared to stay for several years at a time and to carry on -their attacks with unceasing persistency. - -The course of events in the Frankish empire ran on much the same lines -as in England and Ireland during these years except that here trouble -arose on the land boundary between Denmark and the Franks as well as on -the sea-coast. - -Alarmed by the conquest of the Saxons the Danish king Guðröðr collected -a fleet at Slesvík and in 808 he crossed the Eider and attacked the -Abodriti (in Mecklenburg-Schwerin), a Slavonic tribe in alliance with -the Franks. He also sent a fleet of some 200 vessels to ravage the -coast of Frisia, laid claim to that district and to Saxony, north of -the Elbe, and threatened to attack Charlemagne in his own capital. -The emperor was preparing to resist him when news arrived (810) of -the death of Guðröðr at the hands of one of his followers and the -consequent dispersal of the Danish fleet. - -Soon after disputes over the succession arose between the family of -Guðröðr and that of an earlier king Harold. Ultimately the contest -resolved itself into one between the sons of Guðröðr, especially -one Horic (O.N. Hárekr) and a certain Harold. It lasted for several -years, the sons of Guðröðr for the most part maintaining their hold -on Denmark. At one time during the struggle Harold and his brother -Ragnfröðr went to Vestfold in Norway, 'the extreme district of their -realm, whose chiefs and peoples were refusing to be made subject to -them, and gained their submission,' showing clearly that at this time -Denmark and Southern Norway were under one rule and rendering probable -the identification of Guðröðr with Guðröðr the Yngling who about this -time was slain by a retainer in Stifla Sound on the south coast of -Norway. This king ruled over Vestfold, half Vingulmörk and perhaps -Agðir. Both parties were anxious to secure the support of the emperor -Lewis and in the end Harold gained his help by accepting baptism at -Mainz in 826. He promised to promote the cause of Christianity in -Denmark, while Lewis in return granted him the district of Riustringen -in Frisia as a place of retreat in case of necessity. The Danes thereby -gained their first foothold within the empire. - -Sufficient has been said of the relation between Denmark and the empire -on its land boundary: we must now say something of the attacks made by -sea. - -The first were made in 799 on the coast of Aquitaine and they were -probably due to raiders from Ireland who followed a well-known trade -route from South Ireland to the ports of Southern France. In 800 -Charlemagne inspected the coast from the Somme to the Seine and gave -orders for the equipment of a fleet and the strengthening of the -coastguard against Northmen pirates. When Guðröðr's fleet plundered -the islands off the Frisian coast in 810, Charlemagne gave orders for -his fleet to be strengthened once more, but the results were meagre in -the extreme. The passage of the Channel was no longer safe, and year -after year, from some time before 819, Vikings harried the island of -Noirmoutier at the mouth of the Loire, commanding the port of Nantes -and the extensive salt-trade of the district. The Island of Rhé -opposite La Rochelle, was raided in similar fashion. - -The Frankish empire was free from attack between the years 814 and -833. During the same time the English coast was also unvisited, and it -is probable that the struggles for the succession in Denmark had for -the time being reduced that kingdom to inactivity. About the year 830 -the Danish king Hárekr seems to have established himself firmly on -the throne, while on the other hand the emperor Lewis was troubled by -the ambition of his sons Lewis, Pippin and Lothair. It is probably no -chance coincidence that these events synchronised with the renewal of -Viking attacks on Frisia. Throughout their history the Vikings showed -themselves well informed of the changing political conditions of the -countries which they visited and ready to make the utmost use of the -opportunities which these might give for successful invasion. - -Frisia was the main point of attack during the next few years. -Four times was the rich trading town of Duurstede ravaged; fleets -sailed up the Veldt, the Maas, and the Scheldt; Antwerp was burned -and the Island of Walcheren plundered, so that by the year 840 the -greater part of Frisia south of the Vlie, was in Danish hands and -so it remained till the end of the century. The Danish king Hárekr -repeatedly denied all complicity in these raids and even promised to -punish the raiders, but it is impossible to tell how far his denials -were genuine. Equally difficult is it to say how far Harold in his -Frisian home was responsible for these attacks. The annalists charge -him with complicity, but Lewis seems to have thought it best to bind -him by fresh gifts and (probably about 839) granted the district -around Duurstede itself to him and his brother Roric (O.N. Hroerekr) -on condition that they helped to ward off Viking attacks. All the -efforts of the emperor to equip a fleet or to defend the coast were to -no purpose, and there was even a suspicion that the Frisian populace -were in sympathy with the Vikings. So great was the terror of attack -that when in 839 a Byzantine mission, including some Rhôs or Swedes -from Russia, visited the emperor at Ingelheim, the Swedes were for a -time detained under suspicion, as spies. - -On the death of Lewis the Pious in 840 things went from bad to worse. -The division of the empire in 843 gave the coast from the Eider to -the Weser to Lewis, from the Weser to the Scheldt to Lothair, and the -rest to Charles, removing all possibility of a united and organised -defence, and soon these princes entered on the fatal policy of calling -in the Vikings to assist them in their quarrels. Thus Lothair in 841 -endeavoured to bind Harold to his cause by a grant of the Island of -Walcheren and Harold is found in the following year with Lothair's army -on the Moselle. - -The Viking expeditions to England and France stand now in close -connexion. In 841 the valley of the Seine was ravaged as far as -Rouen, in 842 Étaples in Picardy was destroyed by a fleet from -England, while in 843 Nantes fell a prey to their attacks. From their -permanent quarters at Noirmoutier the Vikings sailed up the Garonne -and penetrated inland as far as Toulouse. In 844 we hear from Arab -historians of their vessels swarming on the coasts of Spain like 'dark -red sea-birds,' but while they effected landings at Lisbon and Cadiz -and at Arzilla in Morocco, and captured Seville, with the exception of -its citadel, the Mussulman resistance was too stout for them to effect -much. - -As a result of this expedition the Emir of Cordova, Abd-ar-Rahman -II sent an embassy to the king of the _Madjus_ (i.e. the magi or -the heathen, one of the commonest Arab names for the Vikings). The -ambassador found the king living in an island three days' journey from -the mainland, but we are told that the heathen occupied many other -neighbouring isles and the mainland also. He was courteously received -by the king and became an especial favourite with the queen Noud (? O.N. -Auðr). His companions were alarmed at the intimacy and as a result the -ambassador paid less frequent visits to court. The queen asked him why, -and when he told her the reason she said that, owing to perfect freedom -of divorce, there was no jealousy among the Madjus. The details of the -story are too vague to admit of certainty, but it would seem as if -the embassy had visited the court of the great Turges and his equally -remarkable wife Auðr in Ireland, or perhaps that of Olaf the White and -his wife Auðr (_v. infra_, p. 66). - -In 845 Hárekr of Denmark sailed up the Elbe and destroyed Hamburg, -while in the same year the dreaded Ragnarr Loðbrók, most famous of -all Vikings, sailed up the Seine as far as Paris. While on its retreat -from Paris, after the usual devastation, a strange and deadly disease, -possibly some form of dysentery due to scantiness of food resulting -from a hard winter, broke out in the Danish army. Various legends -arose in connexion with this event, and it finds a curious echo in the -story told by Saxo Grammaticus of an expedition made by Ragnarr among -the Biarmians (in Northern Russia) when that people by their prayers -called down a plague of dysentery upon the Danes in which large numbers -perished. In the end the historical plague was stayed when Hárekr -commanded the Vikings on their return to Denmark to refrain from flesh -and meat for fourteen days. Whether as a result of the plague or from -some other cause Hárekr now showed himself ready to come to terms with -Lewis, and for the next eighty years there was complete peace along -the Eider boundary. The whole of the coast was still open to attack -however; Frisia was hardly ever free from invaders; Brittany was -obliged to buy off Danish attacks in 847, while Noirmoutier continued -to form a basis of attack against Southern France in the Gironde -district. The Viking invasions in France had attained much the same -stage as that to which we have already traced them in England and -Ireland. - - - - -CHAPTER III -THE VIKINGS IN ENGLAND TO THE DEATH OF HARTHACNUT - - -The great development of Viking activity which took place after 855 -was certainly not unconnected with the course of events in Denmark -itself. Hárekr was attacked by his two nephews in 850 and compelled to -share the kingdom with them. In 854 large bands of Vikings returned to -their fatherland after twenty years' ravaging in Frankish territory. -Trouble now arose between Hárekr and his nephew Godurm (O.N. Guðormr), -one of the returned leaders. Civil war broke out and ultimately, after -a great fight, the kingship fell to a younger Hárekr, a relative of -the late king. A severe dynastic struggle of this kind must have been -accompanied by much unsettlement and perhaps by an actual proscription. -It would certainly seem that there was some definite connexion between -these events and the coincident appearance of the sons of Ragnarr -Loðbrók as leaders of a more extended Viking movement both in England -and in France. Three of his sons--Halfdanr, Ubbi and Ívarr--took part -in the first wintering in Sheppey in 855, while in the same year -another son Björn Ironside appeared on the Seine. - -The figure of Ragnarr Loðbrók himself belongs to an earlier generation, -and great as was his after-fame we unfortunately know very little of -his actual career. He would seem to have been of Norwegian birth, -closely connected with the south of Norway and the house of Guðröðr, -but like that prince having extensive interests in Denmark. He probably -visited Ireland in 831, for we read in Saxo of an expedition made by -Ragnarr to Ireland when he slew king Melbricus and ravaged Dublin, -an event which is pretty certainly to be identified with an attack -made on the Conaille district (co. Louth) by foreigners in 831 when -the king Maelbrighde was taken prisoner. He led the disastrous Seine -expedition in 845 (_v. supra_, p. 21). The next glimpse of him which -we have is probably that found in certain Irish annals where he is -represented as exiled from his Norwegian patrimony and living with some -of his sons in the Orkneys while others were absent on expeditions to -the British Isles, Spain and Africa, and a runic inscription has been -found at Maeshowe in the Orkneys confirming the connexion of the sons -of Loðbrók and possibly of Loðbrók himself with those islands. The -expeditions would be those mentioned above and the yet more famous one -made to Spain, Africa and Italy by Björn Ironside in the years 859-62 -(_v. infra_, pp. 46-7). Ragnarr Loðbrók's later history is uncertain. -According to the Irish annals quoted above, his sons while on their -expedition dreamed that their father had died in a land not his own -and on their return found it to be true. This agrees with Scandinavian -tradition according to which Ragnarr met his death at the hands of -Aelle, king of Northumbria, by whom he was thrown into a snake-pit, -while the capture of York by Ívarr the Boneless in 866-7 (_v. infra_) -is represented as part of a great expedition of vengeance undertaken -by the sons of Ragnarr. This tradition (apart from certain details) is -probably historical, but we have no definite confirmatory evidence. - -With this note on the history of Denmark at this time and on the career -of the most shadowy, if at the same time the most famous of the Viking -leaders, we may turn once more to the history of events in England. - -For ten years after the wintering in Sheppey, England was left in -a state of comparative peace. The change came in 866 when a large -Danish force which had been bribed to leave the Seine by Charles the -Bald sailed to England and took up its quarters in East Anglia. In -867 they crossed the Humber and captured York, their task being made -easier by the quarrels of Aelle and Osberht as to the kingship of -Northumbria. Next year the rivals patched up their differences, but -failed to recapture York from the Danes under Ívarr and Ubbi. Setting -up a puppet king Ecgberht in Northumbria north of the Tyne, the Danes -next received the submission of Mercia and returned to York in 869. In -870 they marched through Mercia into East Anglia, as far as Thetford, -engaged the forces of Edmund, king of East Anglia, defeated and slew -him, whether in actual battle or in later martyrdom, as popular -tradition would have it, is uncertain. The death of St Edmund, king and -martyr, soon became an event of European fame and no Viking leader was -more widely execrated than the cruel Ívarr, who was deemed responsible. - -The turn of Wessex came next. The fortunes of battle fluctuated but -the accounts usually terminate with the ominous words 'the Danes held -possession of the battle field.' In 871, Alfred commenced his heroic -struggle with the Danes and in the first year of his reign some nine -pitched battles were fought, beside numerous small engagements. So keen -was the West Saxon resistance that a truce was made in 871 and the -Danes turned their attention to Mercia once more. London was forced -to ransom itself at a heavy price and a coin of Halfdanr, probably -minted in London at the time, has been found. After a hurried visit -to Northumbria the _here_ settled down for the winter of 872-3 at -Torksey in the Lindsey district, whence they moved in 873 to Repton -in Derbyshire. They overthrew Burhred of Mercia and set up a foolish -thegn of his as puppet ruler of that realm. In the winter of 874-5 the -_here_ divided forces: one part went under Halfdanr to the Tyne valley, -the other under Guthrum (O.N. Guðormr) to Cambridge. - -In 876 Halfdanr divided up the lands of Northumbria among his followers -who soon ploughed and cultivated them. At the same time they did not -forget their old occupations. Raids were made against the Picts and the -Strathclyde Welsh, while Halfdanr soon became involved in the great -struggle going on in Ireland at that time between Norsemen and Danes. -This ultimately led to his death in 877 (_v. infra_, p. 58). - -In the meantime the struggle continued in Wessex. In 875 Alfred -captured seven Danish ships. In 876 the southern division of the _here_ -slipped past the West Saxon _fyrd_ and reached Wareham in Dorsetshire, -but came to terms with Alfred. Though the peace was sworn with all -solemnity on their sacred altar-ring, the mounted portion of the _here_ -slipped off once more and established themselves in Exeter. Their land -forces were supported by a parallel movement of the fleet. At Exeter -Alfred made peace with them and the _here_ returned to Mercia. There -half the land was divided up among the Danes while the southern half -was left in the hands of Ceolwulf. - -Alfred reached the nadir of his fortunes when the _here_ returned to -Wessex in the winter of 877-8, drove many of the inhabitants into -exile across the sea, and received the submission of the rest with the -exception of King Alfred and a few followers who took refuge in the -Island of Athelney amid the Somersetshire marshes. Alfred soon gathered -round him a force with which he was able to issue from his stronghold -and ultimately to inflict a great defeat on the Danes at Edington near -Westbury. They now made terms with Alfred by the peace of Wedmore, and -agreed to leave Alfred's kingdom while their king Guthrum received -Christian baptism. They withdrew first to Cirencester and then to East -Anglia. Here they settled, portioning out the land as they had done in -Northumbria and Northern Mercia. A peace was drawn up between Alfred -and Guthrum of East Anglia defining the boundary between their realms. -It was to run along the Thames estuary to the mouth of the Lea (a few -miles east of London), then up the Lea to its source near Leighton -Buzzard, then due north to Bedford, then eastwards up the Ouse to -Watling St. somewhere near Fenny or Stony Stratford. From this point -the boundary is left undefined, probably because the kingdoms of Alfred -and Guthrum ceased to be conterminous here. - -England now had peace for some twelve years. Alfred made good use of -the interval in reorganising his army and strengthening the kingdom -generally, so that when attacks were renewed in 892 he was much better -prepared to meet them. In the autumn of that year two fleets coming -from France arrived in England: one landed on the Limen (between Hythe -and Romney Marsh), the other under the leadership of Hæsten (O.N. -Hásteinn) at Milton in North Kent. Alfred's difficulties were increased -by the fact that during the next four years the Danish settlers in -Northumbria and East Anglia played a more or less actively hostile -part, both by land and sea. The Danes showed all their old mobility -and in a series of raids crossed England more than once--first to -Buttington on the Severn (co. Montgomery), then to Chester, and on a -third occasion to Bridgenorth in Shropshire. They met with a uniformly -stout and well organised resistance under the leadership of Alfred, his -son Edward the Elder, and his brother-in-law Aethelred of Mercia, and -in the end they had to retire with no fresh acquisition of territory. -For the most part they distributed themselves among the East Anglian -and Northumbrian Danes, but those who had no cattle wherewith to -stock their land took ship and sailed back to the Seine. There were -no further attacks from abroad during Alfred's reign, but piratical -raids made by the East Anglian and Northumbrian Danes caused him a good -deal of trouble, and in order to meet them he definitely addressed -himself to the long delayed task of equipping a fleet. The vessels were -carefully designed according to Alfred's own ideas: they were larger, -swifter and steadier than the Danish vessels and they soon showed their -worth when more than 20 vessels with their crews were lost by the Danes -in one year. It is interesting to note that these vessels were manned -in part by Frisian sailors, probably because of the low ebb to which -English seamanship had sunk. - -When once Edward the Elder's claim to the throne was firmly established -in the battle fought at 'the Holm,' somewhere in South Cambridgeshire, -he commenced, with the active co-operation of his brother-in-law -Aethelred, ealdorman of Mercia, the great work of strengthening the -hold of the English on Southern Mercia preparatory to an attempt to -reconquer the Danelagh. Chester was rebuilt in 907. In 910 a fort was -built at 'Bremesbyrig,' possibly Bromesberrow in Gloucestershire. -Aethelred died in the next year, but his wife Aethelflæd, the 'Lady of -the Mercians,' continued his work, and forts were built at 'Scergeat,' -perhaps Shrewsbury, at Bridgenorth on the Severn, at Tamworth, and at -Stafford in 912. In 914 Warwick was fortified, while in 915 forts were -built at Chirbury in Shropshire and Runcorn in Cheshire. - -On the death of Aethelred, Edward took London and Oxford and the parts -of Mercia adhering to them into his own hands. Two forts were built -on the north and south sides of the Lea at Hertford in 911-12, and -another at Witham on the Blackwater in Essex. Edward's work soon bore -fruit, for we read that in the same year a large number of those who -had been under Danish rule now made submission to the king. The Danes -in the Five Boroughs became restless under the continued advance of the -English, and twice in the year 913 they made raids from Leicester and -Northampton as far as Hook Norton in Oxfordshire and Leighton Buzzard, -while in the next year Edward, for the first time in his reign, was -troubled by raiders from abroad. Coming from Brittany they sailed -up the Severn, ravaged South Wales and the Archenfield district of -Herefordshire, but could do nothing against the garrison of Gloucester, -Hereford and other neighbouring towns, which seem already to have been -fortified. They were forced to leave the district and so careful a -watch did Edward keep over the coast of Somerset, Devon and Cornwall -that they could make no effective landing, though they tried twice, at -Porlock and at Watchet. Ultimately they took up their quarters in the -islands of Flatholme and Steepholme in the Bristol Channel, but lack of -food soon drove them away to Ireland in a starving condition. In the -same year Edward built two forts at Buckingham, one on each side of -the Ouse, and his policy again found speedy justification when Earl -Thurcytel (O.N. Ðorkell) and all the chief men who 'obeyed[5]' Bedford, -together with many of those who 'obeyed' Northampton submitted to him. - -Everything was now ready for the great advance against the Danes. -Derby fell in 917, while in the next year Leicester yielded without -a struggle. Their fall was accompanied by the submission of the men -of Derbyshire and Leicestershire. At the same time the inhabitants -of York declared themselves ready to enter the service of Mercia. -Edward fortified Bedford in 915, Maldon and Towcester in South -Northamptonshire in 916. Again the Danes from Northampton and Leicester -tried to break through the steadily narrowing ring of forts and -they managed to get as far south as Aylesbury, while others from -Huntingdon and East Anglia built a fort at Tempsford in Bedfordshire -near the junction of the Ivel and the Ouse. They besieged a fort at -'Wigingamere' (unidentified) but were forced to withdraw. Edward -gathered an army from the nearest garrison towns, besieged, captured, -and destroyed Tempsford (915). In the autumn he captured Colchester and -a Danish attempt on Maldon failed. Edward now strengthened Towcester -and received the submission of Earl Thurfrith (O.N. Ðorröðr) and all -the Danes in Northamptonshire as far north as the Welland. Huntingdon -was occupied about the same time and the ring of forts around East -Anglia brought about the submission of the whole of that district, -Cambridgeshire making a separate compact on its own account. In 918 -Edward built a fort just south of Stamford and soon received the -submission of the Danes of South Lincolnshire, and in the same year -occupied Nottingham, building a fort and garrisoning it with a mixed -English and Danish force. He was now ruler of the whole of Mercia -owing to the death of his sister Aethelflæd, and in 919 he fortified -Thelwall in Cheshire, on the Mersey, and rebuilt the old Roman fort -at Manchester. In 920 he built a second fort at Nottingham and one at -Bakewell in Derbyshire. The reconquest of the Danelagh was complete and -Edward now received the submission of the Scots, the Strathclyde Welsh, -of Regnold (O.N. Rögnvaldr) of Northumbria, and of English, Danes and -Norsemen alike. The Danish settlers accepted the sovereignty of the -West Saxon king and henceforward formed part of an expanded Wessex -which had consolidated its power over all England south of a line drawn -roughly from the Humber to the Dee. - -The submission of Rögnvaldr, king of Northumbria and the mention -of Norsemen need some comment. On the death of Halfdanr in 877 an -interregnum of seven years ensued and then, in accordance with -instructions given by St Cuthbert in a vision to abbot Eadred of -Carlisle, the Northumbrians chose a certain Guthred (O.N. Guðröðr) as -their king. He was possibly a nephew of the late king, ruled till 894, -and was also known as Cnut (O.N. Knútr). We have coins bearing the -inscription 'Elfred rex' on the obverse and 'Cnut rex' on the reverse, -indicating apparently some overlordship of king Alfred. Together with -these we have some coins with 'Cnut rex' on the obverse and 'Siefredus' -or (Sievert) on the reverse, and others, minted at 'Ebroice civitas' -(i.e. York), with the sole inscription 'Siefredus rex.' This latter -king would seem to have been first a subordinate partner and then, -on Guðröðr's death, sole ruler of Northumbria. Other coins belonging -to about the same period and found in the great Cuerdale hoard near -Preston, bear the inscription 'Sitric Comes,' and there is good reason -to believe that Siefredus (O.N. Sigröðr) and Sitric (O.N. Sigtryggr) -are to be identified with Sichfrith and Sitriucc who just at this time -are mentioned in the Irish annals as rival leaders of the Norsemen in -Dublin. The identification is important as it shows us that Northumbria -was now being brought into definite connexion with the Norse kingdom -of Dublin and that the Norse element was asserting itself at the -expense of the Danish in Northern England. - -The rule of Sigröðr and Sigtryggr alike had come to an end by 911 and -we know nothing more until the year 918 when a fresh invasion from -Ireland took place under a certain Rögnvaldr. He gained a victory at -Corbridge-on-Tyne and captured York in 919 or 920. He divided the lands -of St Cuthbert among his followers but died in 921, the year of his -submission to the overlordship of Edward. The Irish annals speak of -him as king of White and Black foreigners alike, thus emphasising the -composite settlement of Northumbria. - -Another leader from Ireland, one Sigtryggr, succeeded Rögnvaldr as -king of Northumbria. He was on friendly terms with Aethelstan and -married his sister in 925. He died in 926 or 927 and then Aethelstan -took Northumbria under his own control. Sigtryggr's brother Guðröðr -submitted to Aethelstan but after four days at the court of king -Aethelstan 'he returned to piracy as a fish to the sea.' Both Sigtryggr -and Guðröðr left sons bearing the name Anlaf (O.N. Ólafr) and with -them Aethelstan and his successors had much trouble. Anlaf Sihtricsson -lived in exile in Scotland and gradually organised against Aethelstan -a great confederacy of Scots, Strathclyde Welsh and Vikings, both -Danish and Norwegian, Anlaf Godfreyson brought help from Ireland and -the great struggle began. The course of the campaign is uncertain but -if the site of its main battle, 'Brunanburh,' is to be identified with -Birrenswark Hill in S.E. Dumfriesshire, it would seem that Aethelstan -carried the war into the enemy's country. The result of the battle -was a complete victory for the forces of Aethelstan and his brother -Edmund. Constantine's son, five kings and seven jarls were among the -slain. We have in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle a poem[6] celebrating the -victory, and it describes in vivid language the hurried return home of -Constantine, lamenting the death of his son, and the headlong flight of -Anlaf Godfreyson to Dublin. England had been freed from its greatest -danger since the days of king Alfred and his struggle with Guthrum. - -Aethelstan had no more trouble with the Norsemen and we have evidence -from other sources that at some time during his reign, probably at an -earlier date, he exchanged embassies with Harold Fairhair, king of -Norway. The latter sent him a present of a ship with golden prow and -purple sails and the usual bulwark of shields along the gunwale, while -Harold's favourite son Hákon was brought up at Aethelstan's court. -There he was baptised and educated and is known in Norse history as -Hákon Aðalsteinsfóstri. - -After the death of Aethelstan, Anlaf Sihtricsson, nicknamed Cuaran -(i.e. with the sock or brogue of leather, so called from his Irish -dress) came to England and captured York. From there he made an -attempt to conquer the Danish district of the Five Boroughs. He seems -to have got a good part of Mercia into his hands but in the end -Edmund freed the Danes from Norse oppression and took once more into -his hands all Mercia south of a line from Dore (near Sheffield) to -Whitwell (Derbyshire) and thence to the Humber. Edmund and Anlaf came -to terms, but Anlaf was driven out by the Northumbrians in 943, and -in the next year that province fell into the hands of Edmund. In 947 -Eric Blood-axe, son of Harold Fairhair, was accepted as king by the -Northumbrians. In Scandinavian tradition we learn how he was expelled -from Norway in 934 by the supporters of Hákon, went on Viking raids in -the west, was appointed ruler of Northumbria by Aethelstan on condition -of his defending it against attack, but was not on good terms with -Edmund, who favoured one Ólaf. Probably Eric retired after Aethelstan's -death and only returned to England in 947. In 948 Edmund forced the -Northumbrians to abandon his cause and about the same time Anlaf -returned from Ireland and ruled till about 950 when he was replaced -by Eric, whose short rule came to an end in 954. In that year he was -expelled by the Northumbrians and killed at Stainmoor in Westmorland. -The attempt to establish a Norse kingdom of Northumbria had failed and -henceforward that district was directly under the rule of the English -king. English authority was supreme once more even in those districts -which were largely peopled with Scandinavian settlers. - -England had no further trouble with Norse or Danish invaders until -the days of Ethelred the Unready, but no sooner did that weak and -ill-advised king come to the throne than, with that ready and intimate -knowledge of local conditions which they always displayed, we find -Danes making an attack on Southampton and Norsemen one on Chester. The -renewed attacks were not however due solely to the weakness of England, -they were also the result of changed conditions in Scandinavia itself. -In Denmark the reign of Harold Bluetooth was drawing to a close, and -the younger generation, conscious of a strong and well-organised nation -behind them, were ambitious of new and larger conquests, while at the -same time many of them were in revolt against the definitely Christian -policy of Harold in his old age. They turned with hope towards his -young son Svein, and found in him a ready and willing leader. In -Norway, Earl Hákon had broken away from the suzerainty of Harold -Bluetooth, but the Norwegians could not forget that he owed his throne -to a foreign power, and his personal harshness and licentiousness as -well as his zealous cult of the old heathen rites were a cause of much -discontent. The hopes of the younger generation were fixed on Olaf -Tryggvason, a man filled with the spirit of the old Vikings. Captured -by pirates from Esthonia when still a child, he was discovered, -ransomed, and taken to Novgorod, where he entered the service of the -Grand Duke Vladimir. Furnished by him with a ship he went 'viking' in -the Baltic and then ten years later we find him prominent among the -Norsemen who attacked England in the days of king Ethelred. In 991 -a Norse fleet under Olaf visited Ipswich and Maldon. Here they met -with a stout resistance headed by the brave Byrhtnoth, earl of Essex, -and in the fragmentary lay of the fight at Maldon[7], which has been -preserved to us, we see that there was still much of the spirit of the -heroic age left in the English nation even in the days of Ethelred -II. It was to buy off this attack that a payment of Danegeld to the -extent of some ten thousand pounds was made. From Maldon Olaf went to -Wales and Anglesey and it was somewhere in the west that he received -knowledge of the Christian faith from an anchorite and was baptised. -He did not however renounce his Viking-life, but joined forces with -his great Danish contemporary Svein Forkbeard. Bamborough was sacked -in 993, and both were present at the siege of London in 994, when they -sailed up the Thames with 490 ships. The attack was a failure and Olaf -came to terms with Ethelred agreeing to desist from further attack in -return for a payment of sixteen thousand pounds of Danegeld. Olaf was -the more ready to make this promise as he was now addressing himself -to the task of gaining the sovereignty of Norway itself. Many of the -Norsemen returned with Olaf but the attacks on the coast continued and -the invaders, chiefly Danes now, ravaged the country in all directions. -Treachery was rife in the English forces and again and again the -ealdormen failed in the hour of need. Danegeld after Danegeld was -paid in the vain hope of buying off further attacks, and the almost -incredible sum of 158,000 pounds of silver (i.e. some half million -sterling) was paid as Danegeld during a period of little more than 20 -years. Once or twice Ethelred showed signs of energy; once in 1000 when -a fleet was sent to Chester, which ravaged the Isle of Man while an -army devastated Cumberland, and again in 1004 when a great fleet was -made ready but ultimately proved of no use. Ethelred's worst stroke -of policy was the order given in 1002 for the massacre on St Brice's -Day of all Danes settled in England. His orders were carried out only -too faithfully and among the slain was Svein's sister Gunnhild, the -wife of a Danish jarl in the king's service. Svein's vengeance was -relentless, and during the next ten years the land had no peace until -in 1013 Ethelred was driven from the throne, and Svein himself became -king of England. Svein died in 1014 and his son Cnut succeeded to his -claim. Ethelred was invited by the _witan_ to return, and ultimately -Wessex fell to Cnut, while the district of the Seven Boroughs (the old -five together with York and Chester) and Northumbria passed into the -hands of Ethelred, or rather of his energetic son Edmund. This division -of the country placing the district once settled by Danes and Norsemen -under an English king while the heart of England itself was in the -possession of a Scandinavian king shows how completely the settlers -in those districts had come to identify themselves with English -interests as a whole. Mercia was nominally in Ethelred's power, but its -ealdorman, Eadric Streona, was the most treacherous of all the English -earls. On Ethelred's death in 1016 the _witan_ chose Edmund Ironside -as king and a series of battles took place culminating in that at -Ashingdon in Essex where the English were completely defeated through -the treachery of Eadric. A division of the kingdom was now made -whereby Wessex fell to Edmund, Mercia and Northumbria to Cnut--thus -easily was the allegiance of the various districts transferred from -one sovereign to another. Edmund only lived a few months and Cnut then -became king of all England. For twenty years the land enjoyed peace -and prosperity. In 1018 the greater part of the Danish army and fleet -returned to Denmark, some forty ships and their crews sufficing Cnut -for the defence of his kingdom. During the next four years he received -the submission of the king of Scotland and made a memorable pilgrimage -to Rome. The most important event of his later years was however his -struggle with Olaf the Stout, the great St Olaf of Norway. - -Norway was now entirely independent of Danish sovereignty and when Cnut -sent an embassy voicing the old claims of the Danish kings he received -a proudly independent answer from St Olaf. For the time being Cnut -had to be satisfied, but in 1025 he sailed with a fleet to Norway, -only to suffer defeat at the Battle of the Helge-aa (i.e. Holy River) -in Skaane, at the hands of the united forces of Norway and Sweden. -Three years later the attack was renewed. Olaf's strenuous and often -cruel advocacy of the cause of Christianity had alienated many of his -subjects and the Swedes had deserted their ally. The result was that -Olaf fled to Russia and Cnut was declared king of Norway. Two years -later the exile returned and fell fighting against his own countrymen. -Cnut was now the mightiest of all Scandinavian kings, but on his death -in 1035 his empire fell apart; Norway went to his son Svein, Denmark -to Harthacnut and England to Harold Harefoot. Harold was succeeded by -Harthacnut in 1040, but neither king was of the same stamp as Cnut and -they were both overshadowed by the great Godwine, earl of Wessex. When -Harthacnut died in 1042 the male line in descent from Cnut was extinct, -and though some of the Danes were in favour of choosing Cnut's sister's -son Svein, Godwine secured the election of Edward the Confessor. With -the accession of Edward Danish rule in England was at an end and, -except for the ambitious expedition of Harold Hardrada, foiled at -Stamford Bridge in 1066, there was no further serious question of a -Scandinavian kingship either in or over England. - -The sufferings of England during the second period of invasion -(980-1016) were probably quite as severe as in the worst days of -Alfred--the well-known _Sermo Lupi ad Anglos_, written by Archbishop -Wulfstan of York in 1014, draws a terrible picture of the chaos and -anarchy then prevailing--but we must remember that neither these years -nor the ensuing five and thirty years of Danish kingship left as deep -a mark on England as the earlier wars and the settlements resulting -from them. There was no further permanent occupation or division -of territory and though some of the earldoms and the great estates -passed into the hands of the king's Danish followers, there was no -transformation of the whole social life of the people such as had taken -place in the old Danelagh districts. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[5] This phrase is used repeatedly in the Chronicle in connexion with -such towns as Bedford, Cambridge, Derby, Leicester and Northampton, and -there can be no question that these groups represent the shires which -now take their names from these towns. For purposes of convenience we -shall henceforward speak of such groups as 'shires.' - -[6] See Tennyson's translation. - -[7] See Freeman's _Old English History for Children_ for a translation -of this poem. - - - - -CHAPTER IV -THE VIKINGS IN THE FRANKISH EMPIRE TO THE FOUNDING OF NORMANDY (911) - - -The years from 850-865 were perhaps the most unhappy in the whole -history of the sufferings of the Frankish empire under Viking attack. -The Danes now took up more or less permanent quarters, often strongly -fortified, on the Scheldt, the Somme, the Seine, the Loire and the -Garonne, while Utrecht, Ghent, Amiens, Paris, Chartres, Tours, Blois, -Orléans, Poitiers, Limoges, Bordeaux and many other towns and cities -were sacked, often more than once. When Hroerekr obtained from the -young Hárekr of Denmark a concession of certain districts between the -Eider and the sea, he gave trouble in that direction and sailed up -the Elbe and the Weser alike. His nephew Guðröðr was in occupation of -Flanders and the lower valley of the Scheldt. - -Besides these Viking leaders, who were active in the Low Countries, we -have the names of several others who were busy in France itself. The -most famous of these were the sons of Ragnarr Loðbrók. Berno, who first -appeared on the Seine in 855, was Björn Ironside, while it is quite -possible that the Sidroc who accompanied him was Sigurd Snake-eye, -another son of that famous leader. With Björn, at least according to -Norman tradition, came Hastingus (O.N. Hásteinn), his foster-father. -Hásteinn was destined to a long and active career. We first hear of him -in the annals in 866 when he appeared on the Loire, and it was he who -was one of the chief leaders in the great Danish invasion of England in -892-4. The sudden appearance of these leaders was undoubtedly due, as -suggested in the previous chapter, to the turn of events in Denmark at -this time. During the year of the revolution--854--no attacks were made -on France at all and then immediately after came a flood of invaders. -The Seine was never free from 855-62 and the Loire district was little -better off. The troubled and desolate condition of the country may be -judged from the numerous royal decrees commending those who had been -driven from their land to the protection of those with whom they had -taken refuge and exempting them from payment of the usual taxes. Many -even deserted their Christian faith and became worshippers of the gods -of the heathen. The difficulties of Charles the Bald were greatly -increased by succession troubles both in Brittany and Aquitaine. -Now one, now another claimant allied himself with the Northmen, and -Charles himself was often an offender in this respect. He initiated the -disastrous policy of buying off attack by the payment of large sums of -what in England would have been called Danegeld. In 859 occurred an -incident which throws a curious light on the condition of the country. -The peasants between the Seine and the Loire rose of their own accord -and attacked the Danes in the Seine valley. It is not quite clear what -followed, but the rising was a failure, and possibly it was crushed by -the Frankish nobles themselves who feared anything in the nature of a -popular rising made without reference to their own authority. In any -case the incident bears witness to a lack of proper leadership by the -nobles. - -After the year 865 the tide of invasion set from France towards -England. These were the years of Alfred's great struggle, and Danish -efforts were concentrated on the attempt to reduce that monarch to -submission. The Franks themselves had begun to realise the necessity -of more carefully organised resistance. They began building fortified -bridges across the rivers at certain points in order to stop the -passage of Viking ships, and they also fortified several of their towns -and cities, thus giving perhaps a hint for the policy later adopted -in England by Edward the Elder. Probably the Franks were not above -taking lessons from their enemies in the matter of fortification, for -the latter had already shown themselves approved masters of the art in -such fortified camps as that at Jeufosse on the Seine. In another way -also had the Danes showed themselves ready to adapt themselves to new -fighting conditions. Not only did they build forts, but we hear of them -as mounted, and henceforward horses played an important part in their -equipment both in France and England. - -During these years the Vikings made one notable expedition far beyond -the ordinary range of their activity. Starting from the Seine in 859 -under the leadership of Björn and Hásteinn, they sailed round the -Iberian Peninsula through the Straits of Gibraltar. They landed in -Morocco and carried off prisoners many of the Moors or 'Blue-men' as -they called them. Some of these found their way to Ireland and are -mentioned in certain Irish annals of the period. After fresh attacks -on Spain they sailed to the Balearic Isles, and Roussillon, which -they penetrated as far as Arles-sur-Tech. They wintered in the island -of Camargue in the Rhone delta and then raided the old Roman cities -of Provence and sailed up the Rhone itself as far as Valence. In the -spring of the next year they sailed to Italy. They captured Pisa and -Luna (at the mouth of the Magra), the latter being taken by a clever -stratagem. Hásteinn feigned himself sick unto death and was baptised -by the bishop of Luna during a truce. Then news came that Hásteinn -was dead and the Vikings asked Christian burial for him. Permission -was given and a mock funeral procession entered the city. It was in -reality a band of armed men in disguise and the city was soon captured. -The real aim of the Vikings in this campaign was the capture of Rome -with its mighty treasures, but, for some reason unknown, they made no -advance further south. Scandinavian tradition said it was because they -mistook Luna for Rome and thought their work already done! Sailing back -through the Straits of Gibraltar they returned to Brittany in 862. -The Vikings had now almost encircled Europe with their attacks, for -it was in the year 865 that the Swedish Rhôs (Russians) laid siege to -Constantinople. - -When Alfred secured a definite peace with the Danes in 878, those who -were averse to settling permanently returned to their old roving life. -They made their way up the Somme and the Scheldt and their progress -was not stopped by a brilliant victory gained by the young Lewis III -in June 881 at Saucourt, near the Somme, a victory which is celebrated -in the famous _Ludwigslied_. During the same years, another Viking -host invaded Saxony winning a decisive victory over Duke Bruno on the -Lüneburg Heath. After their defeat at Saucourt the main body of the -Danes made their way to Elsloo on the Meuse whence they ravaged the -Meuse, Rhine and Moselle districts plundering Cologne, Bonn, Coblentz, -Aachen, Trèves and Metz. So alarmed was the emperor Charles the Fat -that he entered into negotiations with the Danish king Guðröðr who -was with the forces at Elsloo. He secured Guðröðr's acceptance of -Christianity and the promise of security from further attack at the -price of a large payment of Danegeld and the concession to Guðröðr of -the province once held by Hroerekr, with large additions. The exact -extent of the grant is uncertain, but it included the district of -Kinnem (round Alkmaar and Haarlem) and probably covered the greater -part of Modern Holland from the Vlie to the Scheldt. Here Guðröðr -lived in semi-independence and might perhaps have established another -Normandy within the empire had he not been ruined by too great -ambition. He entirely failed to defend his province from attacks, -indeed he probably gave them covert support; he intrigued with Hugo, -the bastard son of Lothair II, against the emperor, married his sister -Gisla, and then asked for additional territories on the Rhine and the -Moselle, on the plea that his own province included no vine-growing -districts. Guðröðr had now overstepped all reasonable limits: the -emperor entered into negotiations with him but secured his death by -treachery when a meeting was arranged near Cleves. With the fall of -Guðröðr Danish rule in Frisia came to an end, and though we hear of -isolated attacks even during the early years of the 10th century, there -was no more serious trouble in that district. - -In the autumn of 882, encouraged doubtless by the news of the death of -Lewis III, the Danes returned from the Meuse to Flanders and during the -next three years ravaged Flanders, Brabant and Picardy, establishing -themselves strongly at Louvain. In 885 they abandoned these districts -and sailed up the Seine, after a nine years' absence. In November they -reached Paris with a fighting force of some 30,000 men and a fleet of -700 vessels. The passage up the river was stopped by fortified bridges -and the besiegers were fortunate in having as leaders two men of great -ability and courage, first Gauzlin, Abbot of St Germain's, and, later, -Count Odo of Paris. The position of Paris was at times desperate. The -Danes were exasperated by the stout defence and in their eagerness -to plunder further up the river dragged many of their ships some two -miles overland past Paris, and so reached the upper waters of the -Seine. Later, as the result of peaceful negotiations, they obtained -permission to pass the bridges on condition that they only ravaged -Burgundy, leaving the Seine and Marne districts untouched; thus had -the provinces of the Frankish empire lost all sense of corporate union. -The Danes soon made their way as far west as Verdun. Here however they -were disastrously defeated by Odo, now king of the West Franks (June -888), and in the next year they finally abandoned the siege of Paris -making their way to Brittany. - -In Brittany they found another army already busy. The Bretons had won -a great victory in the autumn of 888 when only 400 out of some 15,000 -Danes made their way back to their fleet. The great _here_ from the -Seine now joined forces with the remnants of this army, but proved -powerless against Duke Alan, and some returned to Flanders in 890, -while Hásteinn with the rest sailed to the Somme. The Danes in Flanders -were defeated by Arnulf (afterwards emperor) on the Dyle, near Louvain, -in 891, but it had no great effect for soon after we find them again as -far east as Bonn. A bad harvest in the summer of 892 brought famine in -its train and this was more effective in ridding the land of invaders. -In the autumn of the year the whole army, horses and all, crossed in -one passage in some 250 ships from Boulogne to the mouth of the Limen -in Kent and, shortly after, Hásteinn with a fleet of 80 ships left the -Somme and sailed to Milton in North Kent. The story of the campaigns -there has already been told. For the first time since 840 the Frankish -empire was free from invaders. Grievous as were the losses of the -Franks, it is well to remember that those of the Danes had been great -also. Their fleet had been reduced from 700 to 250 ships, and as the -whole army could still go to England in one crossing, that must also -have been reduced from thirty to ten or fifteen thousand men. - -When the English invasion had failed, those who could not settle in -England returned to their French haunts once more. A small force of -eight ships and some 200 men sailed up the Seine under one 'Huncdeus' -and gradually their numbers were increased by fresh arrivals from -abroad. They made their way north to the Meuse, south to the Loire, and -east to Burgundy, but their head quarters were on the lower waters of -the Seine. In 903 other invaders appeared on the Loire under leaders -named Baret (O.N. Bárðr) and Heric (O.N. Eiríkr). The name of Bárðr is -mentioned more than once in the contemporary history of the Norsemen -in Ireland, and as the Norsemen were driven from Dublin in 902 it is -probable that these invaders came from there. The expedition was not -a success and the Vikings soon sailed away again. Of the history of -the settlers on the Seine after 900 we unfortunately know practically -nothing. The Norman historian Dudo attempted in the 11th century to -give a connected account but his narrative is confused and unreliable. -Odo was dead and Charles the Simple was more interested in conquering -Lorraine than defending Neustria. The clergy were weary of the -ceaseless spoiling of the monasteries and anxious for the conversion -of the heathen, while the nobles were, as usual, selfish and careless -of the interests of the country at large. The Northmen made no great -expeditions between 900 and 910, but maintained a steady hold on the -Lower Seine and the districts of Bessin and Cotentin. They could not -extend their territories and the Franks could not drive them from the -Seine. At length, largely through the intervention of the clergy, a -meeting was arranged between Charles and the Viking leader Rollo at St -Clair-sur-Epte, before the end of 911. Here the province later known -as Normandy (including the counties of Rouen, Lisieux, Evreux and the -district between the rivers Bresle and Epte and the sea) was given -to Rollo and his followers as a _beneficium_, on condition that he -defended the kingdom against attack, and himself accepted Christianity. -The Danes now formed a definite part of the Frankish kingdom and -occupied a position analogous to that of their countrymen in East -Anglia, Northumbria and Mercia in England, except that the latter after -a period of freedom had in course of time to pass definitely under -English rule. - -The story of the foundation of Normandy is obscure: still more obscure -is the origin and history of the leader of the Northmen at this time. -Norse tradition, as given by Snorri Sturluson, makes Rollo to be -one Hrólfr, son of Rögnvaldr earl of Möre, who was exiled by Harold -Fairhair and led a Viking life in the west. Norman tradition, as found -in Dudo, made him out the son of a great noble in Denmark, who was -expelled by the king and later went to England, Frisia and Northern -France. Dudo's account of the founding of Normandy is so full of errors -clearly proven that little reliance can be placed on his story of -the origin of Rollo. The _Heimskringla_ tradition was recorded much -later, but is probably more trustworthy, and it would be no strange -thing to find a man of Norse birth leading a Danish host. Ragnarr -Loðbrók and his sons were Norsemen by family but they appear for the -most part as leaders of Danes. How Rollo came to be the leader of the -Danes in France and what his previous career had been must remain an -unsolved mystery. His name is not mentioned apart from the settlement -of Normandy. - -The Normans continued to ravage Brittany without any interruption and -they were soon granted the further districts of Bayeux, Seez, Avranches -and Coutances, which made Brittany and Normandy conterminous. - - - - -CHAPTER V -THE VIKINGS IN IRELAND TO THE BATTLE OF CLONTARF (1014) - - -In the history of the Vikings in Ireland we have seen how the attempt -made by Turges to bring all Ireland under one ruler came to nought -by his death in 845. At first this seems to have thrown the Norsemen -into confusion and we hear of a series of defeats. Then, in 849, the -invasions developed a new phase. Hitherto while the Irish had been -weakened by much internecine warfare, their enemies had worked with -one mind and heart. Now we read of 'a naval expedition of seven score -of the Foreigners coming to exercise power over the Foreigners who -were before them, so that they disturbed all Ireland afterwards.' This -means that the Danes were now taking an active part in the invasions -of Ireland, and we soon find them disputing the supremacy with the -earlier Norse settlers. A full and picturesque account of the struggle -is preserved for us in the second of the _Three Fragments of Irish -Annals_ copied by Dugald MacFirbis. Unfortunately the chronology of -these annals is in a highly confused state and it is often difficult to -trace the exact sequence of events. - -When the Norsemen first saw the approaching fleet they were much -alarmed. Some said it was reinforcements from Norway, but others, with -keener insight, said they were Danes who were coming to harry and -plunder. A swift vessel was dispatched to find out who they were, and -when the steersman called out to them inquiring from what land they -came and whether as friend or foe, the only answer was a shower of -arrows. A fierce battle ensued, in which the Danes killed thrice their -own number and carried off the women-folk and property of the Norsemen. -In 851 they plundered the Norse settlements at Dublin and Dundalk, but -in the next year the Norsemen attacked them in Carlingford Lough. At -first the Danes were defeated, but then their leader cunningly exhorted -his men to secure by their prayers and alms the patronage of St -Patrick, who was incensed against the Norsemen because of the many evil -deeds they had wrought in Erin. The battle was renewed and the Danes -were victorious. After the battle they made rich gifts to St Patrick -for 'the Danes were a people with a kind of piety: they could for a -time refrain from meat and from women.' After the fight we learn that -the Danes cooked their meat in cauldrons supported on the bodies of -their dead foes. The Danes now helped Cerbhal, king of Ossory, against -the Norsemen who were harrying Munster, and henceforward we hear again -and again how the various Irish factions made use of the dissensions -among the invaders to further their own ends. - -Matters were further complicated by the fact that many of the Irish -forsook their Christian baptism and joined the Norsemen in their -plundering. These recreant Irish were known as the Gaill-Gaedhil -(i.e. the foreign Irish), and played an important part in the wars -of the next few years. The Gaill-Gaedhil were undoubtedly a race of -mixed Norse and Gaelic stock and we must not imagine that they sprung -suddenly into existence at this time. Long before this the Norsemen -and the Gaels must have had considerable peaceful intercourse with -one another in their various settlements, and in accordance with -well-established Scandinavian custom it would seem that many of the -Irish were brought up as foster-children in Norse households and must -soon have learned to accept their religion and customs. There was -also extensive intermarriage between Norsemen and Irish. The annals -speak of several such unions, the most famous being the marriage of -Gormflaith, afterwards wife of Brian Borumha, to Anlaf Sihtricsson, -while in the genealogies of the Norse settlers in Iceland at the end of -this century, Gaelic names are of frequent occurrence. One of the most -famous of the leaders of these 'foreign Irish' was Ketill Finn (i.e. -the White), a Norseman with an Irish nickname. These foreign Irish -fought either by the side of the foreigners or on their own account -and we have an interesting story telling how, when Vikings from Ireland -made an invasion of Cheshire (c. 912), Aethelflæd, the lady of the -Mercians, sent ambassadors to those Irish who were fighting on the side -of the invaders, calling upon them to forsake the pagans and remember -the old kindness shown in England to Irish soldiers and clergy. - -The troubles between Norsemen and Danes were probably responsible for -the arrival in Ireland in 853 of Amhlaeibh, son of the king of Norway, -to receive the submission of the foreigners. This Amhlaeibh is Olaf -the White of Norse tradition. Olaf is represented as ruling together -with his brother Imhar (O.N. Ívarr). The annals are not very good -authority for the relationship of the Norse leaders to one another, -and it is quite possible that Ívarr is really Ívarr the Boneless, son -to Ragnarr Loðbrók. Under the strong rule of Olaf and Ívarr Dublin -became the chief centre of Scandinavian rule in Ireland, and the -Danes and Norsemen were to some extent reconciled to one another. The -Irish suffered great losses but some brave leaders were found to face -the Norsemen. Cennedigh, king of Leix (Queen's County), came upon a -party of them laden with booty; they abandoned the spoil and rushed -upon Cennedigh with angry barbarous shouts, blowing their trumpets -and many of them crying _nui, nui_ (i.e. probably, in the old Norse -speech, _knúi, knúi_, 'hasten on, hasten on'). Many darts and spears -were thrown and at last they took to their heavy powerful swords. -All was however of no avail and Cennedigh won a great victory. Less -fortunate was Maelciarain, 'champion of the east of Ireland and a -hero-plunderer of the foreigners.' He was expelled from his kingdom by -the Leinstermen, who envied him in consequence of his many victories -over the Norsemen! - -The activities of Olaf and Ívarr were not confined to Ireland. In 866 -Olaf paid a visit to Scotland, while in 870 both Olaf and Ívarr were -present at the siege of Dumbarton. If Ívarr is Ívarr the Boneless, he -must then have gone to England and taken part in the martyrdom of St -Edmund. In the next year both leaders returned to Dublin with a large -number of prisoners--English, Britons and Picts. In 873 Ívarr, 'king -of the Norsemen of all Ireland and Britain' died, and about the same -time Olaf returned to Norway, possibly to take part in the great fight -against Harold Fairhair at Hafrsfjord. The Danes seem to have taken -advantage of the removal of Olaf to attempt to throw off the Norse -yoke. Fresh fighting took place and the Danes under Albdann, i.e. -Halfdanr, king of Northumbria, were defeated on Strangford Lough in 877 -with the loss of their leader. - -After 877 the _War of the Gaedhil with the Gaill_ notes a period of -rest for Ireland, lasting some forty years. This is true to the -extent that no large fleets of fresh invaders seem to have come to -Ireland during this time--the Vikings were too busy elsewhere, both -in England and the Frankish empire--but there were occasional raids -from Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Waterford and other towns into various -districts of Ireland, and the Norsemen were often at variance amongst -themselves. Dissensions in Dublin were particularly violent and so -much did they weaken Norse rule there that in 902 Dublin fell into -the hands of the Irish. The Vikings were driven abroad, some going -to Scotland and others to England, where they besieged Chester (_v. -supra_, p. 57). In the year 914 all the old troubles were renewed. -Rögnvaldr, a grandson of Ívarr, fresh from a great victory off the Isle -of Man, captured Waterford, and two years later Sigtryggr, another -grandson of Ívarr regained Dublin. The Irish attempted resistance -under the _ardrí_ Niall Glundubh, but he fell with twelve other kings -in a fight at Kilmashogue near Dublin in 919. During the next fifty -years Ireland was a prey to ceaseless attacks by Norwegians and Danes -alike. Towards the close of the 9th century Limerick had become a -stronghold of the Norsemen in the west, and from there they made their -way up the Shannon into the heart of the country. Cork was settled in -the early years of the 10th century, chiefly by Danes, and from there -all Munster was open to attack. Waterford and Wexford, which stood -as a rule in close connexion with Dublin, served as centres of attack -against Leinster. The Irish made a stout resistance under able leaders -and Dublin was 'destroyed' more than once. First among these leaders -stands Muirchertach 'of the leather cloaks,' son of Niall Glundubh, -a hero who came forward about the year 926. His activities were -unceasing. He repeatedly attacked Dublin, took a fleet to the Hebrides -where he defeated the Vikings, gaining much spoil, and finally in 941 -made a circuit of Ireland, from which he brought back as hostages many -provincial kings, including the Norse ruler of Dublin. More famous -still in Irish song and story was Cellachan of Cashel. He made war -against the Vikings in Munster and for a time had the Norse kingdom of -Waterford under his control. Similarly he conquered Limerick, and we -find him fighting side by side with Norsemen from both these towns. -During these fifty years the Norse kingdom in Dublin stood in close -relation with the Scandinavian kingdom of Northumbria. Rögnvaldr, -who died in 912, ruled there and so did his brothers Sigtryggr (d. -927) and Guðröðr (or Godfrey) (d. 934). The brothers left sons known -respectively as Anlaf Sihtricsson and Anlaf Godfreyson. The latter -took part in the great fight at Brunanburh and died in 939. Anlaf -Sihtricsson was destined to a longer career. He would seem to have -spent his early years in Scotland where he married king Constantine's -daughter. It is uncertain whether he fought at Brunanburh, but he -came to Northumbria in 941 and captured York. He was expelled from -Northumbria in 944 or 945 and retired to Dublin, and the rest of his -life was chiefly spent in fighting in Ireland. He was in close alliance -with the Norsemen in Man and the Western Islands, and was, for some -thirty years, the most powerful Norse ruler in Ireland. Then came the -first great blow to Norse rule in Ireland. In 980 Maelsechlainn II, the -_ardrí_, won a great victory at Tara over the foreigners of Dublin and -the Islands in which Anlaf's son was slain. The power of the kingdom of -Dublin was effectually broken. The Norsemen were compelled to liberate -all the hostages in their custody, to pay a fine of 2000 oxen and -to remit the tribute which they had imposed on all Ireland from the -Shannon eastwards to the sea. Anlaf abandoned his authority and retired -on a pilgrimage to Iona, where he died in the same year an inmate of -its monastery. - -In the meantime events, fraught with important consequences for -Norse rule in that country, were gradually developing in a distant -quarter of Ireland. In the province of Munster the Dalcassian line -of princes first comes into prominence about the middle of the 10th -century, and the two most famous of these princes were the brothers -Mathgamhain and Brian, commonly known as Brian Borumha. Together -the brothers conquered Munster in spite of the support given to the -Irish by the Viking settlers, and when their success aroused Ívarr, -the ruler of Limerick, they attacked him and won a great victory at -Sulcoit near Tipperary (968). Limerick was captured, Mathgamhain died -in 976 and Brian was soon acknowledged king of all Munster. He next -became master of Leinster, but his rapid advance brought him into -conflict with the _ardrí_ and by a compact made in 998, Maelsechlainn -practically surrendered the southern half of Ireland to Brian. The -ruler of Dublin at this time was Sigtryggr of the Silken Beard, son of -Anlaf and Gormflaith, sister of Maelmordha, king of Leinster. In 1000 -Leinster with the support of the Norsemen in Dublin revolted, but Brian -defeated them and captured Dublin, giving his daughter in marriage -to Sigtryggr and himself marrying Gormflaith. In 1002 Maelsechlainn -submitted to Brian and the latter became _ardrí_. There followed twelve -years of peace, but Brian's marriage with Gormflaith was his undoing. -Quarrelling with her husband, she stirred up Maelmordha of Leinster -against him. An alliance was formed between Maelmordha and Sigtryggr, -and Gormflaith dispatched embassies to all the Viking settlements in -the West, summoning them to the aid of Sigtryggr in a great fight -against Brian. Sigtryggr secured the help of Earl Sigurd of the -Orkneys and North Scotland by promise of the kingship of Dublin. Ships -came from all parts of the Viking world, from Northumbria, from Man -and the Western Islands, from Scotland and the Orkneys, and even from -Iceland. Dublin was fixed as the trysting-place and Palm Sunday 1014 -was to be the time of meeting. Brian mustered all the forces of Munster -and Connaught and was joined in half-hearted fashion by Maelsechlainn, -who was really waiting to see which way the fortunes of war would turn. -Brian advanced into the plain of Fingall, north of Dublin, and the two -armies faced one another at Clontarf all Passion week. The Norsemen had -learned by magic incantations that if the fight took place before Good -Friday their chiefs would perish and their forces be routed, while if -the fight took place on Good Friday Brian himself would perish but the -Irish would win the day. So they waited until the Friday and then made -their attack. The fight was long and the slaughter was terrible. Brian -and Sigurd were themselves numbered among the slain. In the end the -Norsemen were defeated and Maelsechlainn completed their discomfiture -when he cut down the fugitives as they tried to cross the bridge -leading to Dublin and so reach their ships. No fight was more famous in -Irish history and it seems to have appealed with equally strong force -to Scandinavian imagination. Clontarf and Brunanburh are the two great -Viking battles which find record in Scandinavian saga, and in the story -of Burnt Njal[8] we have a vivid account both of the actual battle and -of the events leading up to it. Yet more interesting perhaps is the old -lay preserved to us, the _Song of the Valkyries_, who that same day -were seen in Caithness riding twelve together to a bower where they set -up a loom of which men's heads were the weights, men's entrails the -warp and woof, while a sword was the shuttle and the reels were arrows. -They wove the web of war and foretold the fate of king Sigtryggr -and Earl Sigurd as well as the sharp sorrow which would befall the -Irish[9]. The Norse world was full of this and like portents and there -can be no question that the Vikings were themselves conscious that the -battle of Clontarf marked a very definite epoch in the history of the -Vikings in the West and in Ireland more particularly. The Norsemen -remained in possession of their cities, Sigtryggr continued as king -of Dublin, but gradually the fortunes of the Norse settlers tended to -become merged in the history of the nation as a whole and there was no -further question of Scandinavian supremacy in Ireland. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[8] English version by Sir G. W. Dasent. - -[9] This song was probably composed soon after the events with which it -is concerned and was first rendered into English by the poet Gray under -the title _The Fatal Sisters_. - - - - -CHAPTER VI -THE VIKINGS IN THE ORKNEYS, SCOTLAND, THE WESTERN ISLANDS AND MAN - - -When the Vikings sailed to England and Ireland in the late 8th and -early 9th centuries their most natural path was by the Orkneys and -Shetlands and round the Western Islands of Scotland. We have seen how -early they formed settlements in the Shetlands, and they soon reached -the Orkneys and the Hebrides. From the Orkneys they crossed to the -mainland, to Sutherland and Caithness--the very names bear witness -to Scandinavian occupation--while Galloway (i.e. the land of the -Gaill-Gaedhil, _v. supra_, p. 56) was settled from the Isle of Man. -Already in the 9th century the Norse element in the Hebrides was so -strong that the Irish called the islands _Innsi-Gall_ (i.e. the islands -of the foreigners), and their inhabitants were known as Gaill-Gaedhil. -The Norsemen called the islands _Suðreyjar_ (i.e. Southern Islands) -in contrast to the Orkneys and Shetlands, which were known as -_Norðreyjar_, and the name survives in the composite bishopric of -'Sodor' and Man, which once formed part of the archdiocese of Trondhjem -in Norway. The Isle of Man was plundered almost as early as any of the -islands of the West (_v. supra_, p. 12), and it was probably from -Man that the Norse settlements in Cumberland and Westmorland were -established. Olaf the White and Ívarr made more than one expedition -from Ireland to the lowlands of Scotland, and the former was married to -Auðr the daughter of Ketill Flatnose who had made himself the greatest -chieftain in the Western Islands. After the battle of Hafrsfjord, -when Harold Fairhair had finally crushed his rivals in Norway itself, -so powerful were the Norse settlements in the West that he felt his -position would be insecure until he had received their submission. -Accordingly he made a great expedition to the Shetlands, Orkneys and -the west coast of Scotland, fulfilled this purpose and entrusted the -Northern Islands to Sigurd, brother of Rögnvaldr, earl of Möre, as his -vassal. - -The history of the Norse settlements in the Orkneys is well and fully -told in the _Orkneyingasaga_[10]. The first Orkney-earl was the -above-named Sigurd. He entered into an alliance with Thorstein the -Red, son to Olaf the White, and together they conquered Caithness and -Sutherland, as far south as the river Oikel on the borders of Ross and -Cromarty. Sigurd's son Einar, known as Turf-Einar because he first -taught the islanders to cut peat for fuel, founded a long line of -earls of the Orkneys. He had a quarrel with Harold Fairhair and when -that king imposed a fine on the islanders for the murder of his son -and the farmers could not pay it, Einar paid it himself on condition -that the peasants surrendered their _óðal_ rights, i.e. their rights -of possession in the lands they cultivated. Turf-Einar's son Sigurd -the Stout was the most famous of all the Orkney-earls, renowned both -as warrior and poet. He conquered Sutherland, Caithness, Ross, Moray, -Argyle, the Hebrides and Man, securing the support of the men of Orkney -by giving them back their _óðal_. He married a daughter of Malcolm king -of Scotland, and met his end, as we have already seen, fighting on the -side of the heathen Norsemen in the battle of Clontarf in 1014. After -this the power of the Orkney-earls declined. The Norse line of earls -was replaced by one of Scottish descent in 1231, but the islands did -not pass definitely to the Scottish crown until the 15th century[11]. - -Of the Norse settlements in the Hebrides we have no such definite or -continuous record. Mention is made in Irish annals of the middle of the -9th century of a king in the Hebrides--one Guðröðr son of Fergus--whose -very name shows him to have been one of the Gaill-Gaedhil. Ketill Finn -(_v. supra_, p. 56) was another such. In the latter half of the 9th -century Ketill Flatnose was the chief Norse leader in the Hebrides -until his power was destroyed by Harold Fairhair. Many of the settlers -then betook themselves to Iceland, the most famous of them being Auðr -the deep-thoughted, widow of Olaf the White and daughter of Ketill. -Norse rule was all powerful during the 10th and 11th centuries. There -was a line of kings but we find ruling side by side with them certain -officers known as 'lawmen' (_v. infra_, p. 103), while in the late 10th -and for the greater part of the 11th century, the Hebrides were under -the sovereignty of the Orkney-earls. Norse rule in the Hebrides did -not finally come to an end until 1266 when Magnus Hákonsson, king of -Norway, renounced all claims to the islands. - -The early history of the settlements in Man is equally obscure. At -first the island suffered from repeated raids, then about the middle -of the 9th century it passed under the authority of the kings of -Dublin and remained so until, with the Hebrides and Western Scotland -generally, it was conquered by Sigurd the Orkney-earl. From the -Orkney-earls it passed to the great conqueror Godred Crovan--the King -Gorry or Orry of Manx tradition--who came from the Hebrides, and his -successors down to the cession of the islands in 1266 were known as -kings of Man and the Isles. - -Of the details of the settlement of the Scottish mainland, of -Caithness, Sutherland, and Galloway, of the occupation of Cumberland -and Westmorland we know almost nothing, but when we speak later of -Norse influence in these districts we shall realise how strong was -their hold on them. Our knowledge of the Norse occupation of Man and -the Islands is somewhat scanty in detail, but there can be no question -that their settlements in lands often closely resembling in physical -features their own home-country were of the highest importance. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[10] English translation by Sir G. W. Dasent. - -[11] They were pledged by Christian I of Denmark and Norway for the -payment of the dowry of his daughter Margaret to James III in 1460 and -the pledge was never redeemed. - - - - -CHAPTER VII -THE VIKINGS IN BALTIC LANDS AND RUSSIA - - -The activities of the Northmen during the Viking age were not confined -to the lands west and south of their original homes: the Baltic was as -familiar to them as the North Sea, to go 'east-viking' was almost as -common as to go 'west-viking' and Scandinavian settlements were founded -on the shores of the Baltic and far inland along the great waterways -leading into the heart of Russia. As was to be expected from their -geographical position it was Danes and Swedes rather than Norwegians -who were active in Baltic lands, the Danes settling chiefly on the -Pomeranian coast among the Wends, while the Swedes occupied lands -further east and founded the Scandinavian kingdom of Russia. - -Already in the early years of the 9th century we find the Danish -king Guðröðr now making war against his Slavonic neighbours in -Mecklenburg-Schwerin, now intriguing with them against the emperor. -Mention is made of more than one town on the southern coast of the -Baltic bearing an essentially Scandinavian name, pointing to the -existence of extensive settlements. Interesting evidence of this -eastward movement is also to be found in the _Life of St Anskar_. There -we learn how, soon after 830, a Danish fleet captured a city in the -land of the Slavs, with great riches, and we hear in 853 how the Swedes -were endeavouring to reconquer Kurland which had been under their rule, -but had now thrown off the yoke and fallen a prey to a fleet of Danish -Vikings--possibly the one just mentioned. St Anskar himself undertook -the education of many Wendish youths who had been entrusted to him. - -This and other evidence prepare us for the establishment, in the -tenth century, of the most characteristic of all Viking settlements, -that of Jómsborg on the Island of Wollin at the mouth of the Oder. -According to tradition King Gorm the Old conquered a great kingdom in -Wendland, but it was to his son Harold Bluetooth that the definite -foundation of Jómsborg was ascribed. For many years there had been -an important trading centre at Julin on the Island of Wollin, where -traders from Scandinavia, Saxony, Russia and many other lands met -together to take part in the rich trade between north and south, east -and west, which passed through Julin, standing as it did on one of the -great waterways of central Europe. Large finds of Byzantine and Arabic -coins bear witness to the extensive trade with Greece and the Orient -which passed through Julin, while the Silberberg, on which Jómsborg -once stood, is so called from the number of silver coins from Frisia, -Lorraine, Bavaria and England which have been found there. It was no -doubt in the hope of securing some fuller share in this trade that -Harold established the great fortress of Jómsborg and entrusted its -defence to a warrior-community on whom he imposed the strictest rules -of organisation. The story of the founding of Jómsborg is told in the -late and untrustworthy _Jómsvikingasaga_, but, while we must reject -many of the details there set forth, it is probable that the rules of -the settlement as given there are based on a genuine tradition, and -they give us a vivid picture of life in a Viking warrior-community. No -one under eighteen or over fifty years of age was admitted to their -fellowship, and neither birth nor friendship, only personal bravery, -could qualify a man for admission. No one was allowed to continue a -member who uttered words of fear, or who fled before one who was his -equal in arms and strength. Every member was bound to avenge a fallen -companion as if he were his brother. No women were allowed within the -community, and no one was to be absent for more than three days without -permission. All news was to be told in the first instance to their -leader and all plunder was to be shared at a common stake. The harbour -of Jómsborg could shelter a fleet of 300 vessels and was protected by -a mole with twelve iron gates. - -The Jómsvikings played an important if stormy part in the affairs of -the three Scandinavian kingdoms in the later years of the 10th and the -early 11th century. Many of them came to England in the train of king -Svein, while Jarl Thorkell was for a time in the service of Ethelred -the Unready. The decline of Jómsborg as a Viking stronghold dates from -its devastation by Magnus the Good in 1043, but the importance of Julin -as a trading centre continued unimpaired for many years to come. - -From Jómsborg Harold Bluetooth's son Hákon made an attack on Samland in -the extreme east of Prussia, but the real exploitation of the Eastern -Baltic fell as was natural to the Swedes rather than to the Danes. We -have already mentioned their presence in Kurland on the Gulf of Riga, -and we learn from Swedish runic inscriptions of expeditions to Samland, -to the Semgalli (in Kurland) and to the river Duna. The important -fortified port of Seeburg was probably near to Riga, while the chief -trade route from the island of Gothland lay round cape Domesnæes (note -the Scandinavian name) to the mouth of the Duna. - -The chief work of the Swedes was however to be done in lands yet -further south, in the heart of the modern empire of Russia in Europe. - -The story of the founding of the Russian kingdom is preserved to us -in the late 10th century chronicle of the monk Nestor, who tells us -that in the year 859 'Varangians' came over the sea and took tribute -from various Finnish, Tatar and Slavonic peoples inhabiting the forest -regions round Lake Ilmen, between Lake Ladoga and the upper waters of -the Dnieper. Again he tells us that in 862 the Varangians were driven -over seas and tribute was refused, but soon the tribes quarrelled among -themselves and some suggested that they should find a prince who might -rule over them and keep the peace. So they sent across the sea to the -Varangians, to the 'Rus,' for such is the name of these Varangians, -just as others are called Swedes, Northmen, Anglians, Goths, saying -that their land was great and powerful but there was no order within it -and asking them to come and rule over them. Three brothers with their -followers were chosen: the eldest, Rurik (O.N. Hroerekr), settled in -Novgorod, the second in Bieloözero, the third in Truvor in Izborsk. -Three years later two of the brothers died and Rurik took control of -the whole of the settlements, dividing the land among his men. In the -same year two of Rurik's followers, Askold (O.N. Höskuldr) and Dir -(O.N. Dýri), setting out for Constantinople, halted at Kiev and there -founded a kingdom, which in 882 was conquered by Rurik's successor -Oleg (O.N. Helgi) and, as the mother of all Russian cities, became the -capital of the Russian kingdom. - -There is a certain _naiveté_ about this story which is characteristic -of the monkish chronicler generally, and it is clear that, after the -usual manner of the annalist who is compiling his record long after the -events described, Nestor has grouped together under one or two dates -events which were spread over several years, but the substantial truth -of the narrative cannot be impugned and receives abundant confirmation -from various sources. - -The earliest evidence for the presence of these 'Rus' in Eastern Europe -is found in the story of the Byzantine embassy to the emperor Lewis the -Pious in 839 (_v. supra_, p. 19), when certain people called 'Rhôs,' -who had been on a visit to Constantinople, came in the train of the -embassy and asked leave to return home through the empire. Enquiries -were made and it was found that these 'Rhôs' were Swedes. This would -point to the presence of 'Rus' in Russia at a date earlier than that -given by Nestor, and indeed the rapid extension of their influence -indicates a period of activity considerably longer than that allowed -by him. These 'Rus' or 'Rhôs' soon came into relations, both of trade -and war, with the Byzantine empire. We have preserved to us from the -years 911 and 944 commercial treaties made between the 'Rus' and the -Greeks showing that they brought all kinds of furs and also slaves -to Constantinople, receiving in exchange various articles of luxury -including gold and silver ornaments, silks and other rich stuffs. The -names of the signatories to these treaties are, on the side of the -'Rus,' almost entirely of Scandinavian origin and may to some extent -be shown to be of definitely Swedish provenance. About the year 950, -the emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus, writing a tractate on the -administration of the empire, describes how traders from various parts -of Russia assemble at Kiev and sail down the Dnieper on their way to -Constantinople. Their course down the Dnieper was impeded by a series -of rapids, and Constantine gives their names both in 'Russian' and in -Slavonic form, and though the names are extremely corrupt in their -Greek transcription there is no mistaking that the 'Russian' names are -really forms belonging to some Scandinavian dialect. - -The Rus were also well known as warriors and raiders. In 865 they -sailed down the Dnieper, across the Black Sea and made their way into -the Sea of Marmora. Their fleet was dispersed by a storm, but they -were more successful in 907 when Oleg with some 2000 ships harried the -environs of Constantinople and was bought off by a heavy tribute. These -attacks were continued at intervals during the next century. - -We also find a good deal of interesting information about these 'Rûs,' -as they are called, in various Arab historians. We hear how they sailed -their vessels down the chief waterways and had such a firm hold on the -Black Sea that by the year 900 it was already known as the Russian Sea. -Often they dragged their vessels overland from one stream to another, -and thus they made their way from the upper waters of the Don down -the Volga to the Caspian Sea. But not only do we have a description -of their journeyings we also learn a good deal of their customs -and habits, and, though at times the information given is open to -suspicion, archaeological research tends to confirm the statements of -these historians and to show that the civilisation of the 'Rûs' closely -resembled that of the Scandinavian peoples generally in the Viking age. - -The identification of the ancient 'Rus' with the Swedes was long -and hotly contested by Slavonic patriots but there is now a general -consensus of opinion that the evidence for it is too strong to be -overthrown. Not only have we the evidence given above but also the -very names 'Rus' and 'Varangian' can be satisfactorily explained only -on this theory. The name 'Rus' is the Slavonic, 'Rhôs' the Greek, and -'Rûs' the Arabic form of the Finnish name for Sweden, viz. Ruotsi. This -name was originally derived from _Roþr_ or _Roþin_, the name of certain -districts of Upland and Östergötland, whose inhabitants were known as -_Rods-karlar_ or _Rods-mæn_. The Finns had early come into relation -with the Swedes and they used the name of those people with whom they -were in earliest and most intimate contact for the whole Swedish -nationality. When these Swedes settled in Russia the Finns applied the -same term to the new colonists and the term came to be adopted later -into the various Slavonic dialects. - -We are most familiar with the term 'Varangian' or 'Variag,' to use -the Slavonic form, as applied to the famous guard of the Byzantine -emperors, which seems to have been formed in the latter half of the -10th century and was largely composed of Norwegian, Icelandic and -Swedish recruits. In Russian and Arabic historians on the other hand -the term is used rather in an ethnographic or geographic sense. We -have seen that it was thus used by Nestor, and similarly we find the -Baltic commonly spoken of as the 'Varangian' Sea both in Russian and -in Arabic records. All the evidence tends to show that this was the -earlier sense of the term and we find it gradually displacing the term -'Rhôs' even in Byzantine historians. The word itself is of Scandinavian -origin and means 'those who are bound together by a pledge.' The theory -which best explains its various uses is that put forward by Dr Vilhelm -Thomsen, viz. that it originated among the Northmen who settled in -Russia, i.e. among the ancient Russ, and that under that term they -denoted those peoples west of the Baltic who were related to them by -nationality. - -From the Russ the word passed into the Slavonic language as -_variag_[12], into the Greek as _barangoi_--where it was often used in -the restricted sense of members of the imperial guard largely recruited -from this nation,--and into the Arabic as _varank_. Dr Thomsen adduces -two happy parallels for the somewhat remarkable history of the terms -'Russian' and 'Varangian.' The term 'Russian' came to be used as their -own name by the Slavonic peoples, who were once ruled over by the Russ, -in much the same way that the term 'Frankish' or 'French' was adopted -by the Gaulish population of France from its Germanic conquerors. The -term 'Varangian,' ultimately the name for a nation or group of nations, -came to be used of a military force once largely recruited from those -nations, much in the same way as the term 'Swiss' was applied to the -Papal guard long after that guard had ceased to be recruited from the -Swiss nation exclusively. - -The belief in the Scandinavian origin of the Russ is amply supported -by archaeological evidence. The large number of Arabic coins found -in Sweden (more especially in Gothland) and in Russia itself points -to an extensive trade with the Orient whose route lay chiefly to the -east of the Caspian Sea and then along the valley of the Volga. The -dates of the coins point to the years between 850 and 1000 as those -of most active intercourse with the East. Equally interesting is the -large number of western coins, more especially Anglo-Saxon pennies -and sceatts, which have been found in Russia. They probably represent -portions of our Danegeld which had come into the hands of the Swedes -either in trade or war. Viking brooches of the characteristic oval -shape with the familiar zoomorphic ornamentation have been found in -Western Russia, and one stone with a runic inscription, belonging to -the 11th century and showing evidence of connexion with Gothland, has -been found in a burial mound in Berezan, an island at the mouth of the -Dnieper. Professor Braun says that no others have been found because -of the rarity of suitable stone. - -How long the Russ maintained their distinctively Scandinavian -nationality it is difficult to determine. Oleg's grandson Svjatoslav -bore a distinctively Slavonic name, and henceforward the names of the -members of the royal house are uniformly Slavonic, but the connexion -with Sweden was by no means forgotten. Svjatoslav's son Vladimir the -Great secured himself in the rulership of Novgorod in 980 by the aid of -_variags_ from over the sea and established a band of variag warriors -in his chief city of Kiev. But the Viking age was drawing to a close. -Variag auxiliaries are mentioned for the last time in 1043 and it -is probable that by the middle of the 11th century the Scandinavian -settlers had been almost completely Slavonicised. Of their permanent -influence on the Russian people and on Russian institutions it is, -in the present state of our knowledge, almost impossible to speak. -Attempts have been made to distinguish Scandinavian elements in the -old Russian law and language but with no very definite results, and we -must content ourselves with the knowledge that the Vikings were all -powerful in Western and Southern Russia during the greater part of two -centuries, carrying on an extensive trade with the East, establishing -Novgorod, 'the new town,' on the Volga under the name _Holmgarðr_ and -founding a dynasty which ruled in Kiev and became a considerable power -in eastern Europe negotiating on terms of equality with the Byzantine -emperors. - -Mention has already been made more than once of the way in which the -Northmen entered the service of the emperors at Constantinople or -_Miklagarðr_, 'the great city,' as they called it. From here they -visited all parts of the Mediterranean. When Harold Hardrada was in -the service of the emperor he sailed through the Grecian archipelago -to Sicily and Africa. There he stayed several years, conquering some -eighty cities for his master and gaining rich treasures for himself. -One interesting memorial of these journeys still remains to us. At the -entrance to the arsenal in Venice stands a marble lion brought from -Athens in 1687. Formerly it stood at the harbour of the Piraeus, known -thence as the Porto Leone. On the sides of the lion are carved two long -runic inscriptions arranged in snake-like bands. The runes are too -much worn to be deciphered but they are unquestionably of Scandinavian -origin and the snake-bands closely resemble those that may be seen on -certain runic stones in Sweden. The carving was probably done by Swedes -from Uppland about the middle of the 10th century. One can hardly -imagine a more striking illustration of the extent and importance of -the Viking movement in Europe. - -FOOTNOTE: - -[12] The word variag in Modern Russian means a pedlar and bears witness -to the strong commercial instincts of the Viking. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII -VIKING CIVILISATION - - -The activities of the Vikings were all-embracing, and before any -attempt can be made to estimate their influence in the various -countries which came permanently under their rule, or were brought more -or less closely into touch with them, some account, however slight, -must be given of Scandinavian civilisation at this time, both on its -spiritual and on its material sides. For the former aspect we must -turn chiefly to the poems and sagas of old Norse literature, for the -latter to the results of modern archaeological research. So far as the -poems and sagas are concerned it is well to remember that they were to -a large extent composed in Iceland and reflect the somewhat peculiar -type of civilisation developed there at a period just subsequent to -the Viking age itself. This civilisation differs necessarily from that -developed in Scandinavia or in the other Scandinavian settlements, in -that it was free from Western influence, but this is to some extent -compensated for by the fact that we get in Iceland a better picture of -the inherent possibilities of Viking civilisation when developed on -independent lines. - -At the beginning of the Viking age the Scandinavian peoples were in -a transitional stage of development; on the one hand there was still -much, both in their theory and in their practice of life, that savoured -of primitive barbarism, while on the other, in the development of -certain phases of human activity, more especially in those of war, -trade, and social organisation, they were considerably ahead of many -of their European neighbours. More than one writer has commented upon -the strange blending of barbarism and culture which constitutes Viking -civilisation: it is evident when we study their daily life, and it -is emphasised in the story of their slow and halting passage from -heathenism to Christianity. - -We need not travel far to find examples of their barbarism. Their -cruelty in warfare is a commonplace among the historians of the period. -When the Irish found the Danes cooking their food on spits stuck in -the bodies of their fallen foes (_v. supra_, p. 55) and asked why they -did anything so hateful, the answer came 'Why not? If the other side -had been victorious they would have done the same with us.' The custom -of cutting the blood-eagle (i.e. cutting the ribs in the shape of an -eagle and pulling the lungs through the opening) was a well-known -form of vengeance taken on the slayer of one's father if captured in -battle, and is illustrated in the story of the sons of Ragnarr Loðbrók -himself. Another survival of primitive life was the famous Berserk -fury, when men in the heat of battle were seized with sudden madness -and, according to the popular belief, received a double portion of -strength, and lost all sense of bodily pain, a custom for which Dr -Bugge finds an apt parallel in the 'running amok' of the races of the -Malay peninsula. Children were tossed on the point of the spear and the -Viking leader who discouraged the custom was nicknamed _barnakarl_, -i.e. children's friend. - -In contrast to these methods of warfare stands their skill in -fortification, in which they taught many lessons both to their English -and to their Frankish adversaries, their readiness in adapting -themselves to new conditions of warfare (_v. supra_, p. 46), and their -clever strategy, whereby they again and again outwitted their opponents. - -The same contrast meets us when we consider the position of women among -them. The chroniclers make many references to their lust after women. -We hear in an English chronicler how they combed their hair, indulged -in sabbath baths, often changed their clothes and in various ways -cultivated bodily beauty 'in order that they might the more readily -overcome the chastity of the matrons, and make concubines even of the -daughters of the nobility.' Wandering from country to country they -often had wives in each, and polygamy would seem to have been the -rule, at least among the leaders. In Ireland we hear of what seem to -have been veritable harems, while in Russia we are told of the great -grandson of Rurik, the founder of the Russian kingdom, that he had -more than 800 concubines, though we may perhaps suspect the influence -of Oriental custom in this case. Yet, side by side with all this, the -legitimate wife was esteemed and honoured, and attained a position -and took a part in national life which was quite unusual in those -days. In the account of an Arabic embassy to the Vikings of the west -(_v. supra_, p. 20) we have a vivid picture of the freedom of their -married life. Auðr, the widow of Olaf the White, after the fall of her -son Thorstein, took charge of the fortunes of her family and is one -of the figures that stand out most clearly in the early settlement of -Iceland. We have only to turn to the Icelandic sagas to see before us -a whole gallery of portraits, dark and fair alike, of women cast in -heroic mould, while the stone at Dyrna in Hadeland, bearing the runic -inscription, 'Gunvor, daughter of Thirek, built a bridge to commemorate -her daughter Astrid, she was the most gracious maiden in Hadeland,' -gives us one of the most attractive pictures of womanhood left to us -from the Viking age. It must be added however that beside the runic -inscription, the stone bears carvings of the Christ-child, the star in -the east and the three kings, and this may serve to remind us that the -age was one in which the peoples of the North passed from heathenism -to Christianity, though the passage was a slow one and by no means -complete even at the close of the period. - -It is probable that the first real knowledge of 'the white Christ' -came, as is so often the case, with the extension of trade--Frisians -trading with Scandinavia, and Danes and Swedes settling in Frisia and -elsewhere for the same purpose. St Willibrord at the beginning of the -8th century and Archbishop Ebbo of Rheims in 823, as papal legate -among the northern peoples, undertook missions to Denmark, but it was -in 826, when king Harold was baptised at Mainz, that the first real -opportunity came for the preaching of Christianity in Denmark. Harold -was accompanied on his return by St Anskar, a monk from Corvey and a -man filled with religious zeal. After two years' mission in Denmark St -Anskar sailed to Sweden, where he was graciously received at Björkö by -king Björn. He made many converts and on his return home in 831 was -made archbishop of Hamburg and given, jointly with Ebbo, jurisdiction -over the whole of the northern realms. Hamburg was devastated in 845 -and St Anskar was then appointed to the bishopric of Bremen, afterwards -united to a restored archbishopric of Hamburg. He laboured in Denmark -once more and established churches at Slesvík and Ribe. He conducted -a second mission to Sweden and his missionary zeal remained unabated -until his death in 865; his work was carried on by his successor and -biographer St Rimbert and by many others. Their preaching was however -confined to Jutland and South Sweden and there is no evidence of any -popular movement towards Christianity. Gorm the Old was a steadfast -pagan but Gorm's son Harold Bluetooth was a zealous promoter of -Christianity. His enthusiasm may have been exaggerated by monastic -chroniclers in contrast to the heathenism of his son Svein, but with -the accession of Cnut all fears of a reversion to heathendom were at an -end. Cnut was a devout son of the Church. - -The first Danish settlers in England were entirely heathen in -sentiment, but they were soon brought into close contact with -Christianity, and the terms of the peace of Edward and Guthrum in the -early years of the 10th century show that already Christianity was -making its way in the Danelagh. In the course of this century both -archbishoprics were held by men of Danish descent and the excesses of -the early 11th century were due, not to the Danish settlers, but to the -heathen followers of Olaf Tryggvason and Svein Forkbeard. Similarly the -Danish settlers in Normandy were within a few years numbered among -the Church's most enthusiastic supporters, and Rollo's own son and -successor William was anxious to become a monk. - -The story of the preaching of Christianity in Norway is a chequered -one. The first attempt to establish the Christian faith was made by -Hákon Aðalsteinsfóstri (_v. supra_, p. 36). Baptised and educated in -England, he began warily, inducing those who were best beloved by him -to become Christians, but he soon came into conflict with the more -ardent followers of paganism. At the great autumn festival at Lade when -the cups of memory were drunk, Earl Sigurd signed a cup to Odin, but -the king made the sign of the cross over his cup. Earl Sigurd pacified -popular clamour by saying that the king had made the sign of the hammer -and consecrated the cup to Thor. The next day the king would not eat -the horse-flesh used in their offerings nor drink the blood from it: -the people were angry and the king compromised by inhaling the steam -from the offering through a linen cloth placed over the sacrificial -kettle, but no one was satisfied and at the next winter-feast the king -had to eat some bits of horse-liver and to drink crossless all the -cups of memory. Hákon died a Christian but Eyvindr Skaldaspillir in -_Hákonarmál_ describes how he was welcomed by Odin to Valhalla. - -Earl Hákon Sigurdson, nicknamed _blót-jarl_, i.e. sacrifice-earl, -was a zealous heathen, but Olaf Tryggvason after his succession in -995 promoted the cause of Christianity by every means in his power, -and it was largely to this that he owed his ultimate overthrow. Then, -after a brief interval, the crown passed to St Olaf, greatest of all -Christian champions in Norway, and during his reign that country became -definitely Christian, though his rough and ready methods of conversion -were hardly likely to secure anything but a purely formal and outward -adhesion to the new faith. - -Sweden was the most reluctant of the three northern realms to accept -Christianity, and the country remained almost entirely heathen until -the close of the Viking period. - -The story of the Norse settlers in Ireland and the Western Islands -in their relation to Christianity was very much that of the Danes -in England. Celtic Christianity had a firm hold in these countries, -and from the earliest period of the settlements many of the Vikings -adopted the Christian faith. Among the settlers in Iceland who came -from the West were many Christians, and Auðr herself gave orders at her -death that she should be buried on the sea-shore below the tide-mark, -rather than lie in unhallowed ground. Most of the settlers undoubtedly -remained heathen--in 996 a ring sacred to Thor was taken from a temple -in Dublin and in 1000 king Brian destroyed a grove sacred to the same -god just north of the city. But side by side with incidents of this -kind must be placed others like that of the sparing of the churches, -hospitals and almshouses when Armagh was sacked in 921, or the -retirement of Anlaf Cuaran to the monastery at Iona in 981. In Ireland -as elsewhere there seems to have been a recrudescence of heathenism in -the early years of the 11th century and the great fight at Clontarf was -regarded as a struggle between pagan and Christian. - -Outwardly the Scandinavian world had largely declared its adhesion -to Christianity by the close of the Viking period, but we must -remember that the medieval Church was satisfied if her converts passed -through the ceremony of baptism and observed her rites, though their -sentiments often remained heathen. Except in purely formal fashion it -is impossible to draw a definite line of demarcation between Christian -and heathen, and the acceptance of Christianity is of importance not -so much from any change of outlook which it produced in individuals, -as because it brought the peoples of the North into closer touch -with the general life and culture of medieval Europe. Leaders freely -accepted baptism--often more than once--and even confirmation as part -of a diplomatic bargain, while their profession of Christianity made -no difference to their Viking way of life. Even on formal lines the -Church had to admit of compromise, as for example in the practice -of _prime-signing_, whereby when Vikings visited Christian lands as -traders, or entered the service of Christian kings for payment, they -often allowed themselves to be signed with the cross, which secured -their admission to intercourse with Christian communities, but left -them free to hold the faith which pleased them best. - -Strange forms and mixtures of belief arose in the passage from one -faith to the other. Helgi the Lean was a Christian, but called on Thor -in the hour of need. The Christian saints with their wonder-working -powers were readily adopted into the Norse Pantheon, and Vikings by -their prayers and offerings secured the help of St Patrick in Ireland -and of St Germanus in France in times of defeat and pestilence, while -we hear of a family of settlers in Iceland who gave up all faith -except a belief in the power of St Columba. On sculptured stones -in the west may be found pictures of Ragnarök, of Balder and of -Loki together with the sign of the cross. Some of the heathen myths -themselves show Christian influence; the Balder story with its echoes -of the lamentations for the suffering Christ belongs to the last -stage of Norse heathendom, while a heathen skald makes Christ sit by -the Fountain of Fate as the mighty destroyer of the giants. When -the virtue had gone out of their old beliefs many fell a prey to the -grossest superstition, worshipping the rocks and groves and rivers -once thought to be the dwelling place of the gods. Others renounced -faith in Christian and heathen gods alike, and the nickname 'godless' -is by no means rare among the settlers in Iceland. Of such it is often -said that they believed in themselves, or had no faith in aught except -their own strength and power, while in the saga of Friþjof we hear how -the hero paid little heed to the sanctity of the temple of Balder and -that the love of Ingibjorg meant more to him than the wrath of the -gods. For a parallel to such audacious scepticism as that of Friþjof -we must turn to southern lands and later times with Aucassin's 'In -Paradise what have I to win? Therein I seek not to enter, but only to -have my Nicolete, my sweet lady that I love so well.' For some the way -of escape came not by superstition or by scepticism, but in mystic -speculation, in pure worship of the powers of nature. Thus we hear of -the Icelander Thorkell Mani, whom all praised for the excellence of -his way of life, that in his last illness he was carried out into the -sunshine, so that he might commend himself into the hands of the god -who made the sun, or of the _goði_ Askell who, even in the hour of -famine, deemed it was more fitting to honour the creator by caring for -the aged and the children, than to relieve distress by putting these -helpless ones to death. - -One other illustration of the declining force of heathenism must be -mentioned. It is to the Viking age that we owe the poems of the older -Edda, that storehouse of Norse mythology and cosmogony. They are almost -purely heathen in sentiment, and yet one feels that it could only be in -an age when belief in the old gods was passing away that the authors -of these poems could have struck those notes of detachment, irony, and -even of burlesque, which characterise so many of them. - -The condition of faith and belief in the Viking age was, then, chaotic, -but, fortunately for purposes of clear statement, there was, to the -Norse mind at least, no necessary connexion between beliefs and -morality, between faith and conduct, and the ideas on which they based -their philosophy and practice of life are fairly distinct. - -The central ideas which dominate the Norse view of life are an -ever-present sense of the passingness of all things and a deep -consciousness of the over-ruling power of Fate. All earthly things -are transitory and the one thing which lasts is good fame. 'Wealth -dies, kinsmen die, man himself must die, but the fame which a man wins -rightly for himself never dies; one thing I know that never dies, -the judgment passed on every man that dies,' says the poet of the -_Hávamál_, the great storehouse of the gnomic wisdom of the Norsemen. -'All things are unstable and transitory, let no man therefore be -arrogant or over-confident. The wise man will never praise the day -before it is evening.' Prudence and foresight are ever necessary. All -things are determined by a fate which is irrevocable and cannot be -avoided. Every man must die the death that is appointed for him, and -the man whose final day has not yet come may face unmoved the greatest -danger. This sense of an inevitable fate must lead to no weakening -of character or weariness of life. Death must be faced with cheerful -stoicism and our judgment of the worth of any man must depend on -the way in which he awaits the decree of fate. Place no great trust -in others whether friend or foe, least of all place trust in women. -'Wommennes conseils been ful ofte colde,' says Chaucer in the _Nun's -Priest's Tale_, using an old Scandinavian proverb. 'Be friendly to -your friends and a foeman to your foes. Practice hospitality and hate -lying and untruthfulness.' With their enemies the Vikings had an evil -reputation for cunning and deceit, but when we study the incidents on -which this charge was based--as for example the story of the capture -of Luna (_v. supra_, p. 47) or the oft-repeated trick of feigning -flight, only to lure the enemy away from safe ground--one must confess -that they show an enemy outwitted rather than deceived. This aspect -of Viking character perhaps finds its best illustration in the figure -of Odin. His common epithets are 'the wise,' 'the prudent,' 'the -sagacious'; he is a god of witchcraft and knows all the secret powers -of nature and stands in contrast to the simple-minded Thor, endowed -with mighty strength, but less polished and refined. The development -of the worship of Odin in Norway belongs specially to the later Iron -Age, and it is worthy of note that his worship seems to have prevailed -chiefly in military circles, among princes and their retainers. - -The Vikings were guilty of two besetting sins--immoderate love of -wine and of women. Of their relations to women enough has been said -already. Their drunken revelry is best illustrated by the story of -the orgie which led up to the death of St Alphege in London in 1012, -when, after drinking their fill of the wine they had brought from -abroad, they pelted the bishop with bones from the feast, and finally -pierced his skull with the spike on the back of an axe. Of sin in the -Christian sense the Vikings had no conception. An Irish chronicler -tells us indeed that the Danes have a certain piety in that they can -refrain from flesh and from women for a time, but a truer description -is probably that given by Adam of Bremen when he says that the Danes -can weep neither for their sins nor for their dead. - -The chief occupations of the Vikings were trade and war, but we must -beware of drawing a too rigid distinction between adventurers and -peaceful stay-at-homes. The Vikings when they settled in England and -elsewhere showed that their previous roving life did not hinder them -in the least from settling down as peaceful traders, farmers, or -peasant-labourers, while the figure of Ohthere or Óttarr, to give him -his Norse name, who entered the service of king Alfred, may serve to -remind us that many a landed gentleman was not above carrying on a good -trade with the Finns or undertaking voyages of exploration in the White -Sea. - -Trading in those days was a matter of great difficulty and many risks. -The line of division between merchant and Viking was a very thin one, -and more than once we read how, when merchants went on a trading -expedition, they arranged a truce until their business was concluded -and then treated each other as enemies. Trade in Scandinavia was -carried on either in fixed centres or in periodical markets held in -convenient places. The chief trading centres were the twin towns of -Slesvík-Hedeby in Denmark, Skiringssalr in S.W. Norway, and Björkö, -Sigtuna and the island of Gothland in Sweden, while an important market -was held periodically at Bohuslän on the Götaelv, at a place were -the boundaries of the three northern kingdoms met. A characteristic -incident which happened at this market illustrates the international -character of the trade done there. On a certain occasion a wealthy -merchant named Gille (the name is Celtic), surnamed the Russian because -of his many journeys to that country, set up his booth in the market -and received a visit from the Icelander Höskuldr who was anxious to buy -a female slave. Gille drew back a curtain dividing off the inner part -of the tent and showed Höskuldr twelve female slaves. Höskuldr bought -one and she proved to be an Irish king's daughter who had been made -captive by Viking raiders. - -The chief exports were furs, horses, wool, and fish while the imports -consisted chiefly in articles of luxury, whether for clothing or -ornament. There was an extensive trade with the Orient in all such -luxuries and the Vikings seem eagerly to have accumulated wealth of -this kind. When Limerick was re-captured by the Irish in 968, they -carried off from the Vikings 'their jewels and their best property, and -their saddles beautiful and foreign (probably of Spanish workmanship), -their gold and their silver: their beautifully woven cloth of all -colours and all kinds: their satins and silken cloths, pleasing and -variegated, both scarlet and green, and all sorts of cloth in like -manner.' They captured too 'their soft, youthful, bright, matchless -girls: their blooming silk-clad young women: and their active, large, -and well formed boys.' Such captives whether made by Irish from -Norsemen or Norsemen from Irish would certainly be sold as slaves, for -one of the chief branches of trade in those days was the sale as slaves -of those made prisoner in war. - -The expansion of Scandinavian trade took place side by side with, -rather than as a result of, Viking activity in war. There is evidence -of the presence of traders in the Low Country early in the 9th century, -and already in the days of St Anskar we hear of a Swedish widow -of Björkö who left money for her daughter to distribute among the -poor of Duurstede. Jómsborg was established to protect and increase -Scandinavian trade at Julin, and there were other similar trading -centres on the southern and eastern shores of the Baltic. - -The Viking might busy himself either with war or trade, but whatever -his occupation, living as he did in insular or peninsular lands, good -ships and good seamanship were essential to his livelihood. Seamen -now often abandoned that timid hugging of the coast, sailing only by -day time and in fair weather, which characterised the old Phoenician -traders, and boldly sailed across the uncharted main with no help save -that of the sun and stars by which to steer their course. It was this -boldness of spirit alone which enabled them to reach the lonely Faroes, -the distant Shetlands and Orkneys, and the yet more remote Iceland. -Irish monks and anchorites had shown similar fearlessness, but their -bravery was often that of the fanatic and the mystic rather than the -enterprise of the seaman. Boldness of seamanship led to boldness in -exploration. From Iceland the Vikings sailed to Greenland, and by the -year 1000 had discovered Vinland, the N.E. part of North America. -Ottarr rounded the North Cape and sailed the White Sea in the 9th -century, while Harold Hardrada in the 11th century made a voyage of -Polar exploration. - -Of their ships we know a good deal both from the sagas and from the -remains of actual ships preserved to us. The custom of ship-burial, -i.e. burial in a ship over which a grave chamber, covered with a how -or mound, was erected, was common in the Viking age, and several -such ships have been discovered. The two most famous are those of -Gokstad and Oseberg, both found on the shores of Christiania Fjord. -The Gokstad vessel is of oak, clinker-built, with seats for sixteen -pairs of rowers, and is 28 ft. long and 16 ft. broad amidships. It -dates from about 900, and in form and workmanship is not surpassed by -modern vessels of a similar kind. There is a mast for a single sail, -and the rudder, as always in those days, is on the starboard side. The -gunwale was decorated with a series of shields painted alternately -black and gold. The appearance of the vessel when fully equipped can -perhaps best be judged from the pictures of Viking ships to be seen in -the Bayeux tapestry. There we may note the parti-coloured sail with -its variegated stripes, and the rich carving of stem and stern. These -magnificent sails were a source of much pride to their possessors, and -the story is told of Sigurd Jerusalem-farer that on his way home from -Jerusalem to Constantinople he lay for half-a-month off Cape Malea, -waiting for a side wind, so that his sails might be set lengthwise -along the ship and so be better seen by those standing on shore as he -sailed up to Constantinople. The stem often ended in a dragon's head -done over with gold, whilst the stern was frequently shaped like a -dragon's tail, so that the vessel itself was often called a dragon. - -The Oseberg ship is of a different type. The gunwale is lower and the -whole vessel is flatter and broader. It is used as the grave-chamber of -a woman, and the whole appearance of the vessel, including its richly -carved stem, indicates that it was used in calm waters for peaceful -purposes. - -The story of the escape of Hárek of Thjotta through Copenhagen Sound -after the battle of Helgeäa in 1018 illustrates the difference between -a trading-ship and a ship of war. Hárek struck sail and mast, took down -the vane, stretched a grey tent-cloth over the ship's sides, and left -only a few rowers fore and aft. The rest of the crew were bidden lie -flat so that they might not be seen, with the result that the Danes -mistook Hárek's war-galley for a trading-vessel laden with herrings or -salt and let it pass unchallenged. - -[Illustration: _PLATE I_ -Viking ship from the Bayeux Tapestry] - -In the last years of the Viking period ships increased greatly both in -size and number. Olaf Tryggvason's vessel, the _Long Serpent_, in which -he fought his last fight at Svoldr, had thirty benches of oars, while -Cnut the Great had one with sixty pairs of oars. This same king went -with a fleet of some fourteen hundred vessels to the conquest of Norway. - -In battle the weapons of defence were helmet, corselet and shield. -The shields were of wood with a heavy iron boss in the centre. The -corselets were made of iron rings, leather, or thick cloth. The weapons -of offence were mainly sword, spear and battle-axe. The sword was of -the two-edged type and usually had a shallow depression along the -middle of the blade, known as the blood-channel. Above, the blade -terminated in a narrow tang, bounded at either end by the hilts. -Round the tang and between the hilts was the handle of wood, horn, or -some similar material, often covered with leather, or occasionally -with metal. Above the upper hilt was a knob, which gave the sword -the necessary balance for a good steady blow. Generally the knob -and the hilts were inlaid with silver, bronze, or copper-work. The -battle-axe, the most characteristic of Viking weapons, was of the -heavy broad-bladed type. - -Next to warfare and trade, the chief occupation of the Viking was -farming, while his chief amusement was the chase. At home the Viking -leader lived the life of an active country gentleman. His favourite -sport was hawking, and one of the legendary lives of St Edmund tells -how Ragnarr Loðbrók himself was driven by stress of storm to land on -the East Anglian coast, receiving a hospitable welcome from the king, -but ultimately meeting death at the hands of the king's huntsman who -was jealous of his prowess as a fowler. - -Of the social organisation of the Vikings it is impossible to form a -very definite or precise picture. We have in the laws of the Jómsborg -settlement (_v. supra_, p. 71) the rule of life of a warrior-community, -but it would be a mistake to imagine that these laws prevailed in -all settlements alike. The general structure of their society was -aristocratic rather than democratic, but within the aristocracy, which -was primarily a military one, the principle of equality prevailed. -When asked who was their lord, Rollo's men answered 'We have no lord, -we are all equal.' But while they admitted no lord, the Vikings were -essentially practical; they realised the importance of organised -leadership, and we have a succession of able leaders mentioned in the -annals of the time, to some of whom the title king was given. These -kings however are too numerous, and too many of them are mentioned -together, for it to be possible to give the term king in this connexion -anything like its usual connotation. It would seem rather to have -been used for any prince of the royal house, and it was only when -the Vikings had formed fixed settlements and come definitely under -Western influence that we hear of kings in the ordinary territorial -sense--kings of Northumbria, Dublin, Man and the Isles, or East Anglia. -We hear also of _jarls_ or earls, either as Viking leaders or as -definite territorial rulers, as for example the Orkney-earls and more -than one earl who is mentioned as ruling in Dublin, but these earls -usually held their lands under the authority of a king. By the side of -kings and earls mention is made both in the Danelagh and also in the -Western Islands of _lawmen_. It is difficult exactly to define their -position and function. Originally these men were simply experts in -the law who expounded it in the popular _thing_ or assembly, and were -the spokesmen of the people as against the king and the court, but -sometimes they assumed judicial functions, acting for example in Sweden -as assessors to the king, who was supreme judge. - -In their home life we find the same strange mixture of civilisation -and barbarism which marks them elsewhere. Their houses were built -of timber, covered with clay. There was no proper hearth and the -smoke from the fire made its way out as best it could through the -turf-covered roof. The chief furniture of the room consisted in beds, -benches, long tables and chests, and in the houses of the rich these -would at the close of our period often be carved with stories from the -old heroic or mythologic legends, while the walls might be covered with -tapestry. Prominent in the chieftain's hall stood the carved pillars -which supported his high-seat and were considered sacred. When some -of the settlers first sailed to Iceland they threw overboard their -high-seat pillars which they had brought with them, and chose as the -site of their new abode the place where these pillars were cast ashore. - -In clothing and adornment there can be no question that our Viking -forefathers had attained a high standard of luxury. Any visitor to the -great national museums at Copenhagen, Stockholm or Christiania must be -impressed by the wealth of personal ornaments displayed before him: -magnificent brooches of silver and bronze, arm-rings and neck-rings of -gold and silver, large beads of silver, glass, rock-crystal, amber and -cornelian. At one time it was commonly assumed that these ornaments, -often displaying the highest artistic skill, were simply plunder taken -by the Vikings from nations more cultured and artistic than themselves, -but patient investigation has shown that the majority of them were -wrought in Scandinavia itself. - -[Illustration: _PLATE II_ -Ornaments of the Viking period] - -The most characteristic of Viking ornaments is undoubtedly the brooch. -It was usually oval in shape and the concave surface was covered with -a framework of knobs and connecting bands, which divided it into a -series of 'fields' (to use a heraldic term), which could themselves -be decorated with the characteristic ornamentation of the period. The -commonest form of oval brooch was that with nine knobs on a single -plate, but in the later examples the plate is often doubled. The -brooches themselves were of bronze, the knobs usually of silver with -silver wire along the edge of the brooch. These knobs have now often -disappeared and the bronze has become dull with verdigris, so that it -is difficult to form an idea of their original magnificence. The oval -brooches were used to fasten the outer mantle and were usually worn in -pairs, either on the breast or on the shoulders, and examples of them -have been found from Russia in the East to Ireland on the West. Other -types of brooch are also found--straight-armed, trilobed and round. -Such brooches were often worn in the middle of the bosom a little below -the oval ones. Other ornaments beside brooches are common--arm-rings, -neck-rings, pendants. One of the most interesting of the pendants is a -ring with a series of small silver Thor's hammers which was probably -used as a charm against ill-luck. All these ornaments alike are in -silver rather than gold, and it has been said that if the post-Roman -period of Scandinavian archaeology be called the age of Gold, the -Viking period should be named the age of Silver. - -The style of ornamentation used in these articles of personal adornment -as well as in objects of more general use, such as horse-trappings, is -that commonly known to German archaeologists as _tier-ornamentik_, i.e. -animal or zoomorphic ornamentation. This last translation may sound -pedantic but it is the most accurate description of the style, for we -have no attempt to represent the full form of any animal that ever had -actual existence; rather we find the various limbs of animals--heads, -legs, tails--woven into one another in fantastic design in order to -cover a certain surface-area which requires decoration. 'The animals -are ornaments and treated as such. They are stretched and curved, -lengthened and shortened, refashioned, and remodelled just as the -space which they must fill requires.' This style was once called the -'dragon-style,' but the term is misleading as there is no example -belonging to the Viking period proper of any attempt to represent a -dragon, i.e. some fantastic animal with wings. Such creatures belong to -a later period. - -The zoomorphic style did not have its origin during the Viking -period. It is based on that of a preceding period in the culture of -the North German peoples, but it received certain characteristic -developments at this time, more especially under the influence of -Irish and Frankish art. Irish art had begun to influence that of -Scandinavia even before the Viking period began, and the development -of intercourse between North and West greatly strengthened that -influence. To Frankish influence were due not only certain developments -of _tier-ornamentik_ but also the use of figures from the plant-world -for decorative purposes. One of the finest brooches preserved to us -from this period is of Frankish workmanship--a magnificent trilobed -brooch of gold with acanthus-leaf ornamentation. This leaf-work -was often imitated by Scandinavian craftsmen but the imitation -is usually rude and unconvincing. Traces are also to be found of -Oriental and more especially of Arabic influence in certain forms -of silver-ornamentation, but finds of articles of actual Eastern -manufacture are more common than finds of articles of Scandinavian -origin showing Eastern influences in their workmanship. - -Buried treasure from the Viking period is very common. It was a -popular belief, sanctioned by the express statement of Odin, that a -man would enjoy in Valhalla whatsoever he had himself buried in the -earth. Another common motive in the burial of treasure was doubtless -the desire to find a place of security against robbery and plunder. -Treasure thus secreted would often be lost sight of at the owner's -death. To the burial-customs of the Viking period also we owe much of -our knowledge of their weapons, clothing, ornaments and even of their -domestic utensils. - -The dead were as a rule cremated, at least during the earlier part of -the Viking period. The body burned or unburned was either buried in a -mound of earth, forming a 'how,' or was laid under the surface of the -ground, and the grave marked by stones arranged in a circle, square, -triangle or oval, sometimes even imitating the outlines of a ship. -The 'hows' were often of huge size. The largest of the three 'King's -hows' at Old Upsala is 30 ft. high and 200 ft. broad. A large how was -very necessary in the well-known ship-burial when the dead man (or -woman) was placed in a grave-chamber on board his ship and the ship -was drawn on land and buried within a how. Men and women alike were -buried in full dress, and the men usually have all their weapons with -them. In the latter case weapons tend to take the place of articles of -domestic use such as are found in the graves of an earlier period, and -the change points to a new conception of the future life. It is now a -life in which warriors feast with Odin in Valhalla on benches that are -covered with corselets. A careful examination of Norwegian graves has -proved fairly definitely the existence of the custom of 'suttee' during -the Viking period, and the evidence of the Arab historian Ibn Fadhlan -seems to show that the same custom prevailed among the Rûs. Horses, -dogs, hawks and other animals were often buried with their masters, and -the remains of such, burned or unburned, have frequently been found. - -The varying customs attending burial are happily illustrated in the -two accounts preserved to us of the burial of king Harold Hyldetan, -who died c. 750. The accounts were written down long after the actual -event, but they probably give us a good picture of familiar incidents -in burial ceremonies of the Viking period. - -One account (in a late saga) tells how, on the morrow of the great -fight at Bravalla, king Ring caused search to be made for the body of -his kinsman Harold. When the body was found, it was washed and placed -in the chariot which Harold used in the fight. A large mound was raised -and the chariot was drawn into the mound by Harold's own horse. The -horse was now killed and Ring gave his own saddle to Harold, telling -him that he might ride or drive to Valhalla just as it pleased him -best. A great memorial feast was held, and Ring bade his warriors and -nobles throw into the mound large rings of gold and silver and good -weapons before it was finally closed. - -The other account (in Saxo) tells how Ring harnessed his own horse to -Harold's chariot and bade him drive quickly to Valhalla as the best in -battle, and when he came to Odin to prepare goodly quarters for friend -and foe alike. The pyre was then kindled and by Ring's command the -Danes placed Harold's ship upon it. When the fire destroyed the body, -the king commanded his followers to walk round the pyre and chant a -lament, making rich offerings of weapons, gold and treasure, so that -the fire might mount the higher in honour of the great king. So the -body was burned, the ashes were collected, laid in an urn and sent -to Leire, there to be buried with the horse and the weapons in royal -fashion. - -There are many curious coincidences of detail between these accounts -and that given by Ibn Fadhlan of the burial of a Rûs warrior, and -every detail of them has at one time or another been confirmed by -archaeological evidence. - -[Illustration: _PLATE III_ -The Jellinge stone] - -The dead were commemorated by the how itself, but _bautasteinar_, -i.e. memorial stones, were also erected, either on the how or, more -commonly, elsewhere. In course of time these monuments came to be -inscribed with runes. Usually the inscription is of the most formal -type, giving the name of the dead person, the name of the man who -raised the memorial, and sometimes also that of the man who carved the -runes. Occasionally there is some more human touch as in the wording -of the Dyrna runes (_v. supra_, p. 85), and in the latter part of the -Viking period we often find pictures and even scenes inscribed on -the stones. This is true of the Dyrna stone (_v. supra_, p. 86): the -Jellinge stone has a figure of Christ on it, while there is a famous -rock-inscription in Sweden representing scenes from the Sigurd-story -(Regin's smithy, hammer, tongs and bellows, Sigurd piercing Fafnir with -his sword, the birds whose speech Sigurd understood) encircled by a -serpent (Fafnir) bearing a long runic inscription. The runic alphabet -itself was the invention of an earlier age. It is based chiefly on the -old Roman alphabet with such modifications of form and symbol as were -necessitated by the different sounds in the Teutonic tongues and by the -use of such unyielding materials as wood and stone. Straight lines were -preferred to curved ones and sloping to horizontal. During the Viking -period it was simplified, and runic inscriptions are found from the -valley of the Dnieper on the east to Man in the west, and from Iceland -on the north to the Piraeus in the south. - - - - -CHAPTER IX -SCANDINAVIAN INFLUENCE IN THE ORKNEYS, SHETLANDS, THE WESTERN ISLANDS -AND MAN - - -Of all the countries visited by the Vikings it is undoubtedly the -British Isles which bear most definitely the marks of their presence. -The history and civilisation of Ireland, the Orkneys and Shetlands, the -Western Islands and Man, Scotland and England, were profoundly affected -by the Viking movement, and its influence is none the less interesting -because it varies greatly from place to place, in both character and -intensity. These variations are doubtless due in part to differences -of political and social organisation as between Norsemen and Danes, -or between men coming from scattered districts of the as yet loosely -co-ordinated kingdoms of Denmark and Norway, but their chief cause lies -in the wide divergences in the social and political conditions of the -lands in which they settled. - -The Orkneys and the Shetlands were settled by the Norsemen earlier than -any other part of the British Isles and they formed part of the Norse -kingdom till 1468. It is not surprising therefore that the great Norse -historian Munch describes them as _ligesaa norskt som Norge selv_, -'as Norse as Norway itself.' The old Norse speech was still spoken -there by a few people until the end of the 18th century, and we have a -version of the ballad of _King Orfeo_ taken down from recital at the -close of that century with the Norse refrain still preserved '_Scowan -ürla grün--Whar giorten han grün oarlac_,' i.e. probably _Skoven årle -grön--Hvor hjorten han går årlig_ = 'Early green's the wood--where the -hart goes yearly.' Place-nomenclature is almost entirely Norse and the -modern dialects are full of Norse words. Several runic inscriptions -have been found, the most famous being that at Maeshowe in Hrossey, -made by Norse crusaders when they wintered there in 1152-3 and amused -themselves by breaking open the how, probably to look for treasure, and -scoring their runes on the walls of the grave-chamber. In the system of -landholding the 'udallers' are an interesting survival of the old Norse -freeholders. 'The Udaller held his land without condition or limitation -in any feudal sense,' says Mr Gilbert Goudie, i.e. he held his _udal_ -on precisely the same free terms that the native Norseman did his -_óðal_. From the Shetlands and the Orkneys the Norsemen crossed to the -Scottish mainland. Sutherland (i.e. the land south of the Orkneys), -Caithness, Ross and Cromarty are full of Norse place-names, and Norse -influence may be traced even further south. - -The Hebrides were also largely influenced by the Norsemen. Together -with Man they formed a Norse kingdom down to the middle of the 13th -century. Many of the islands themselves and their chief physical -features bear Norse names, many personal names (e.g. MacAulay, son of -Aulay or Olaf) are of Norse origin, and there are many Norse words in -the Gaelic both of the islands, and the mainland. These words have -undergone extensive changes and much corruption in a language very -different in form and sounds from that of their original source, and -their recognition is a difficult problem. There is at present a danger -of exaggerating this Norse element, the existence of which was long -overlooked. Similarly, affinities have been traced between Scandinavian -and Gaelic popular tales and folk-lore, but the evidence is too vague -and uncertain to be of much value. - -It is however in Man that we get the most interesting traces of the -presence of the Norsemen. Here as elsewhere we have place-names and -personal names bearing witness to their presence, but we have much else -besides. Some 26 rune-inscribed crosses have been preserved to us. The -crosses are Celtic in form and to a large extent in ornament also, but -we find distinct traces of the Scandinavian animal-ornamentation. The -inscriptions are short and for the most part give only the name of the -memorial-raiser and the memorised. One bears the rune-writer's own -proud boast 'Gaut made this and all in Man.' More interesting than -the runes are the sculptured figures. On four of the crosses we have -representations of incidents from the Sigurd story--Sigurd slaying -Fafnir, Sigurd roasting Fafnir's heart and cooling his fingers in his -mouth after trying too soon if the heart was done, Loki slaying the -Otter. We also have pictures of Thor's adventure with the serpent of -Miðgarðr and of Odin's last fight with Fenrir's Wolf. These sculptured -stones are probably among the latest of those found in Man and have -their chief parallel in stones found in Sweden (_v. supra_, p. 111). -Possibly it was to settlers from Man also that we owe the famous -Gosforth cross in Cumberland with its picture of Thor's fishing for the -serpent. - -In addition to all this we have the Manx legal system as a standing -witness to Norse influence. The chief executive and legislative -authority in the island (after the Governor) is the Tynwald Court. -That court takes its name from the Old Norse _Þing-völlr_[13], the -plain where the _Þing_[14] or popular assembly meets, and the House of -Keys, which is the oldest division of the court, consisted originally -of 24 members, a number perhaps due to Scandinavian influence, being -a combination of two groups of 12 lawmen (_v. supra_, p. 103). These -men who have the 'keys of the law' in their bosom closely resemble -the 'lawmen' or speakers of the Icelandic assembly. All laws to be -valid must be promulgated from the Tynwald Hill which corresponds to -the _lögberg_ or law-hill of the Icelandic _althing_. When the court -is held the coroner 'fences' it against all disturbance or disorder, -just as in the old Norwegian Gulathing we hear of _vé-bönd_ or -sanctuary-ropes drawn around the assembly. - -It was possibly from Man that a good number of the Norse settlers in -Cumberland, Westmorland and North Lancashire came (_v. infra_, pp. -126-7), and others may have settled in Galloway. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[13] This word survives in another form in more than one Thingwall -among place-names. - -[14] The word is familiar to us in the form -_ting_ in _hus-ting_, -house assembly (originally _hús-Þing_), a council held by a king or -earl and attended by his immediate followers, in contrast to the -ordinary _Þing_ or general assembly of the people. - - - - -CHAPTER X -SCANDINAVIAN INFLUENCE IN IRELAND - - -At the time of the Viking invasion of Ireland the various provincial -kingdoms were held in loose confederation under the authority of the -_ardrí_ or high king, but these kingdoms stood in constantly shifting -relations of friendship and hostility towards one another, and were -themselves often split into factions under rival chieftains. There -was no national army like the English _fyrd_. Rather it consisted of -a number of tribes, each commanded by its own chief, and though the -chief owed allegiance to the king, the bond was a frail one. The tribe -was further divided into _septs_ and the army was utterly lacking in -any cohesive principle. It is no wonder that for many years the Irish -showed themselves quite unable to cope with the attacks of forces so -well organised as those of the Norse and Danish Vikings. - -In vivid contrast to the chaos in political and military organisation -stand the missionary enthusiasm of the Irish church and the high -level of education and culture which prevailed among her clergy and -_literati_. In the Orkneys and the Shetlands such names as Papa Westray -or Papa Stronsay bear witness to the presence of Irish priests or -_papae_ as the Norsemen called them. Irish anchorites had at one time -settled in the Faroes (_v. supra_, p. 6), and when the Norsemen first -settled in Iceland (c. 870) they found Irish monks already there. The -monastic schools of Ireland were centres of learning and religious -instruction for the whole of Western Europe, while Irish missionaries -had founded monasteries in Italy, Switzerland, Germany and France. - -Unfortunately religion and culture seem to have been almost entirely -without influence on the body politic, and as the Vikings had at least -in the early days no respect for the religion or the learning of the -Irish nation there was nothing to prevent them from devastating Irish -monasteries and carrying off the stores of treasured wealth which -they contained. No plunder was more easily won, and it was only when -they themselves had fallen under Christian influences and had come -to appreciate Irish literary and artistic skill that they showed -themselves more kindly disposed towards these homes of learning. - -One feature must at once strike the observer who compares the Viking -settlements in Ireland with those in England, viz. that Viking -influence in Ireland is definitely concentrated in the great coast -towns--Dublin, Wexford, Waterford, Cork and Limerick--and the districts -immediately around them. Irish place-nomenclature bears very definite -witness to this fact. _Ford_ in Strangford and Carlingford Loughs, -Waterford and Wexford is O.N. _fjorðr_, a fjord, -_low_ in Arklow and -Wicklow is O.N. _ló_, 'low-lying, flat-grassland, lying by the water's -edge.' The O.N. _ey_, an island, is found in Lambey, Dalkey, Dursey -Head, Ireland's Eye (for Ireland's Ey), Howth is O.N. _höfuð_, 'a -head,' Carnsore and Greenore Point contain O.N. _eyrr_, 'a sandy point -pushing out into the sea.' Smerwick contains the familiar O.N. _vík_ -a bay or creek, while the Copeland Islands off Belfast lough are the -O.N. _kaupmannaeyjar_, 'the merchants' islands.' All these are found on -or off the coast, while the number of Scandinavian names found inland -is extremely limited. The most interesting perhaps is Leixlip on the -Liffey, a name derived from O.N. _laxahlaup_, 'salmon-leap.' Donegal, -Fingall and Gaultiere are Celtic names, but they mark the presence -of the northern _Gall_ or foreigners, while the -_ster_ in Ulster, -Leinster and Munster is O.N. -_staðir_ (pl. of -_staðr_, place, abode) -suffixed to the old Gaelic names of these provinces. - -There was free intermarriage between Norse and Irish (_v. supra_, p. -56), but the strength of the clan-system kept the races distinct and -there was no such infiltration of the whole population as took place -in the English Danelagh. This system prevented any such settlement -of Norsemen upon their own farms as took place in England, and the -invaders lived almost entirely in the coast towns and the districts -in their immediate neighbourhood, busying themselves with trade and -shipping. - -Though the settlements were limited in their extent, we must not -underrate their influence on Irish history generally. They gave the -impetus there, as elsewhere, to the growth of town life, and from the -period of Viking rule dates the origin of the chief Irish towns. To -them also was due the great expansion, if not the birth, of Irish -trade. Mention has been made of the wealth of Limerick (_v. supra_, -p. 97), drawn chiefly from trade with France and Spain, and the other -towns were not behind Limerick. The naval power of Dublin stretched -from Waterford to Dundalk, the Irish channel swarmed with Viking -fleets, and many of the shipping terms in use in Gaelic are loan-words -from the Norse. - -It is probably to the trading activities of Vikings from the chiefs -ports of Ireland that we owe the sprinkling of names of Norse origin -which we find along the Welsh coast from the Dee to the Severn--Great -Orm's Head, Anglesey, Ramsey I, Skokholm Island, Flat Holme and Steep -Holme, and to them may be due the establishment of Swansea, earlier -_Sweinesea_, Haverfordwest and possibly Bideford, as Norse colonies in -the Bristol channel. We know in later times of several Norsemen who -were living in Cardiff, Bristol, Swansea and Haverfordwest. - -Norse influence in Ireland probably reached its climax in the 10th -century. The battle of Clontarf offered a serious check and though -there was still a succession of Norse kings and earls in Dublin they -had to acknowledge the authority of the _ardrí_. The line of Sigtryggr -of the Silken Beard came to an end by the middle of the 11th century, -and the rulership of Dublin fell into the hands of various Norse -families from other Irish settlements and from Man and the Isles. From -1078-94 it was under the rule of the great conqueror Godred Crovan -from Man, and its connexion with that kingdom was only severed finally -when Magnus Barefoot came on his great Western expedition in 1103, -and brought Man into direct allegiance to the kings of Norway. Celtic -influence must have been strong in the Norse families themselves. -Several of the kings bear Gaelic names, and it is probably from this -period that such familiar names as MacLamont or MacCalmont, MacIver, -and MacQuistan date, where the Gaelic patronymic prefix has been added -to the Norse names Lagmaðr, Ívarr and Eysteinn. While Norse power in -Dublin was on the decline as a political force it is curious to note -that the vigorous town-life and the active commerce instituted by -the Norse settlers made that city of ever-increasing importance as a -centre of Irish life and Irish interests generally, and there can be no -question that it was the Norsemen who really made Dublin the capital -city of Ireland. - -The Norse element remained absolutely distinct, not only in Dublin but -also in the other cities in which they had settled, right down to the -time of the English invasion in the 12th century. Frequent mention is -made of them in the records of the great towns, and they often both -claimed and received privileges quite different from those accorded to -the native Irish or to the English settlers. They were known to the -latter as 'Ostmen' or 'Easterlings,' a term which in this connexion -seems to have ousted the earlier _Norvagienses_ or _les Norreys_, _les -Norwicheis_. The term 'Ostman' doubtless represents O.N. _Austmaðr_, -a man dwelling to the east. Exactly how or where it first came to be -applied to Norsemen it is difficult to say. The word has left its mark -in Oxmanstown, earlier Ostmanstown, the district of the city of Dublin -assigned to the Ostmen by the English invaders. - -Learning and religion in Ireland suffered grievously from Norse attack -but not so sorely as in England. There was never a time when so dark a -picture could have been drawn of Irish learning as Alfred gives of the -state of English learning when he translated the _Pastoral Care_, and -when once the Vikings began to form settlements they were themselves -strongly affected by the wealth of literary and artistic skill with -which they found themselves brought into contact. The question of Irish -influence on Norse mythology and literature is a much vexed one. At -present we are suffering from a reaction against exaggerated claims -made on its behalf some thirty years ago, but while refusing to accept -the view that Norse legends, divine and heroic alike, are based on a -wholesale refashioning and recreating of stories from Celtic saga-lore, -it would be idle to deny that the contact between the two nations must -have been fertile of result and that Norse literature in form, style -and subject-matter alike, bears many marks of Gaelic influence. - - - - -CHAPTER XI -SCANDINAVIAN INFLUENCE IN ENGLAND - - -Of the districts occupied by Scandinavian settlers in England the ones -which show their presence most strongly are Cumberland, Westmorland, -North Lancashire and Yorkshire in the old kingdom of Northumbria and -the district of the Five Boroughs in the midlands. East Anglia was not -so deeply affected by the Danish occupation. - -Before dealing with one of the chief sources of our knowledge of the -presence of Norse and Danish settlers in various parts of England, -viz. the evidence derived from place-nomenclature, a few words must be -said as to the chief Scandinavian elements which can be recognised in -English place-names. - -Of elements other than personal names the commonest are as follows, -several of them being used as independent words to this day in English -dialects which have been affected by Scandinavian influence:-- - --BECK. O.N. _bekkr_, brook, small stream of water. - --BIGGIN(G). O.N. _bygging_, building. - --BY. O.N. _bør_, Dan. Swed. _by_, town or village. This word -indicates a Danish rather than a Norse settlement. - --CAR(R), -ker. O.N. _kjarr_, _kjörr_, brushwood, especially on -swampy ground. - --DALE. O.N. _dalr_, valley. Etymologically this word might be -of native English origin but its distribution points to Norse influence. - --FELL. O.N. _fjall_, mountain. - --FORCE. O.N. _fors_, waterfall. - --FORTH. O.N. _fjorðr_, fjord. English -ford and Scandinavian --forth often interchange in the old documents. - --GARTH. O.N. _garðr_, enclosure, the Scandinavian equivalent -of English 'yard.' - --GILL. O.N. _gil_, deep narrow glen with a stream at the -bottom. - --HOLM. O.N. _holmr_, small island especially in a bay, creek, -or river. In England its meaning was further developed and it often -means 'low-lying level ground on the borders of a river or stream.' Now -often concealed in the suffix -ham. - --KELD. O.N. _kelda_, well, spring. - --LUND, -lound. O.N. _lundr_, grove. Now often corrupted to --land in English place-names. - --MIRE. O.N. _myrr_, moor, bog, swamp. - --RAISE. O.N. _hreysi_, cairn. - --SCALE. O.N. _skali_, house. This word is Norse rather than -Danish. - --SCAR, -skear, -skerry. O.N. _sker_, isolated rock in the sea. - --SCOUT. O.N. _skúti_, cave formed by jutting rocks. - --SCOUGH, -scow. O.N. _skógr_, wood. - --SLACK. O.N. _slakki_, slope on a mountain edge. Often used in -English place-names of a hollow or boggy place[15]. - --TARN. O.N. _tjörn_, small lake. - --THORP(E). O.N. _þorp_, hamlet, village. This word is also -found in O.E. and in some place-names is undoubtedly of native origin, -but its general distribution points fairly conclusively to Norse -influence. - --THWAITE. O.N. _þveit_, parcel of land, paddock. - --TOFT. O.N. _topt_, piece of ground, messuage, homestead. - --WITH. O.N. _viðr_, a wood. - --WATH. O.N. _vað_, a ford. - -Place-names with the prefix _Norman_- mark the settlement not of -Normans but of Norsemen (or Northmen as the English called them), as -in Normanton and Normanby, while the settlement of Danes is marked by -the prefix _Dena_- or _Den_- as in Denaby and Denby. This latter prefix -however has other sources as well. - -Scandinavian personal names are very common in place-names but their -presence can as a rule only be detected with any degree of certainty -by reference to the forms found in early documents. Among the more -easily recognised are _Grímr_, as in Grimsargh (Lancs.) and Grimsby -(Lincs.), _Gunnarr_, as in Gunnerside (Yorks.), _Ketill_, as in -Kettlewell (Yorks.), _Klakkr_, as in Claxton (Norf.), _Ormr_, as in -Ormskirk (Lancs.). Others, to be found by reference to earlier forms, -are _Fráni_, as in Franesfeld (=Farnsfield, Notts.), _Gamall_, as -in Gamelestune (=Gamston, Notts.), _Gunnúlfr_, as in Gunnulveston -(=Gonalston, Notts.), _Knútr_, as in Cnutestone (=Knuston, Northants.), -_Leifr_, as in Levesbi (=Laceby, Lincs.), _Sumarliði_, as in -Sumarlidebi (=Somerby, Lincs.), _Skúli_, as in Sculetuna (=Scoulton, -Norf.), _Tóli_, as in Toleslund (=Toseland, Hunts.), _Víkingr_, as -in Wichingestone (=Wigston, Leic.), _Úlfr_, as in Ulvesbi (=Ulceby, -Lincs.). - -Examining the distribution of Scandinavian place-names determined by -the above tests and others which can be applied with great accuracy, if -we study not the modern but the old forms of the place-names, we find -that the place-nomenclature of Cumberland and Westmorland is almost -entirely either Scandinavian or Celtic. Indeed it would seem that the -Anglian settlement had hardly affected these districts at all, and it -was reserved for the Scandinavian settlers to Teutonise them. The -same is true of Furness and Lancashire, north of the Ribble, whose -old names Stercaland and Agmundernesse are of Norse origin, but south -of that river there is a great diminution of Norse place-names except -along the coast and a little way inland, where we have several -_bys_ -and -_dales_. In Cheshire the evidence of Scandinavian settlement is -confined almost entirely to the Wirral, but there the large number of --_bys_ and place-names like Thingwall (_v. supra_, p. 115, note 1) -point to a strong Viking colony, and the distribution of place-names -in South Lancashire and Cheshire bears witness to active intercourse -between the settlers in Ireland and England. - -On the other side of the Pennine chain, though Northumberland was -several times ravaged by the Norsemen and was probably well populated -at least in the fertile river-valleys, there is practically no evidence -of their presence to be found in place-names. There are several -Biggins, Carrs, and Holms, a few Tofts and Dales, but these are common -dialect words and usually found in uncompounded forms. They are -practically never found in names of towns or villages, and may well -have been introduced from districts further south. In the extreme west -and south-west of the county there are 'fells' and 'dales' but these -are on the borders of Cumberland, Westmorland and Durham. The small -streams are 'burns' and not 'becks,' the Wansbeck being a corruption -of an earlier _Wanespike_. - -When we cross into co. Durham the tributaries of the Wear vary between -'burn' and 'beck,' but by the time we reach the Tees these have all -become becks. Beechburn Beck, a tributary of the Wear, shows how a -Scandinavian term could be attached to an English name, when its own -meaning was neglected or forgotten. Other Scandinavian names are -common, but as in Northumberland they belong to the dialect generally -and are seldom found in names of towns or villages. Viking settlers -must have been few in numbers and widely scattered throughout these -two counties. One great exception must be named among the towns, viz. -Durham itself. The city was named _Dún-holmr_, 'the hill-island,' by -the Vikings, and its present name is only the Norman corruption of that -form. - -South of the Tees we find ourselves in a district whose place-names are -to a very large extent Scandinavian, and Norse settlements are thickly -and evenly distributed from the North Sea to the Pennine chain. - -Passing from Northumbria to the Danelagh, Lincolnshire is perhaps -more purely Scandinavian in its place-names than any other English -county. In Derbyshire Viking influence is not so strong but the -county was probably very thinly inhabited at least in the north and -west and did not offer attractive settling ground. Derby itself was -rechristened by the Northmen, its earlier name being 'Norðweorðig.' -The rich fields and pastures of Leicestershire attracted a great many -settlers and Nottinghamshire is also strongly Scandinavian. Rutland -and Northamptonshire are strongly Danish except that there is some -shading off towards the S.W. corner of the latter county. In the -country bordering the Danelagh on the south and west, Staffordshire has -a few Scandinavian place-names on its Derbyshire and Leicestershire -borders, while Warwickshire has several on its Leicestershire and -Northamptonshire borders. - -In East Anglia Danish settlements must have been numerous in the north -and east especially towards the coast, but their presence is less -strongly marked in the S.W. portion of the county. In Suffolk they are -confined still more definitely to the coast-districts and the Danes -do not seem to have settled in the south of the county at all. Three -Kirbys near the Essex coast mark settlements in that county. Of the -other border-counties Huntingdonshire, Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire -show only the slightest traces of Scandinavian influence in their -place-nomenclature, though we know from other evidence that there must -have been many Danish settlers in these counties. - -Closely allied to the evidence of place-names is that of dialect. A -very large number of words definitely of Scandinavian origin are found -in the dialects of N.E. and N.W. England, in the N. Midlands and East -Anglia, but they do not furnish so sensitive a test as do place-names -for the extent of the Scandinavian settlements and they need not be -discussed here. - -More interesting as evidence of the deep influence of the Viking -settlers on our language is the large number of Scandinavian loan-words -which have become part of our standard speech, many of them being words -essential to our every-day talk. To Scandinavian influence we owe the -pronouns _they_, _them_ and _their_, the adjectives _same_ and _both_, -the _fro_ in _to_ and _fro_ and possibly the auxiliary _are_ and the -preposition _till_. These last are found in the Northumbrian dialect of -Old English but their widespread use is probably due to Scandinavian -influence. In addition to these we may note the following: - -Verbs: _bait_, _bask_, _batten_, _call_, _cast_, _dawn_, _droop_, -_drown_, _gain_, _gabble_, _ransack_, _scare_, _scour_, _scrape_, -_skim_, _skip_, _squeal_, _stint_, _take_, - -Nouns: _anger_, _billow_, _boon_, _dusk_, _fellow_, _gait_, _grime_, -_haven_, _husband_, _husk_, _husting_, _scull_, _scurf_, _skill_, -_skin_, _skirt_, _sky_, _window_, - -Adjectives: _awkward_, _ill_, _odd_, _rotten_, _scant_, _sly_, _ugly_, -_weak_, and a good many words in which Scandinavian forms have -replaced the cognate English ones, e.g. _aloft_, _athwart_, _awe_, -_birth_, _egg_, _get_, _gift_, _give_, _guest_, _raid_, _sister_, -_swain_, _Thursday_. - -These words are for the most part of the very stuff and substance of -our language, giving vivid expression to clear-cut ideas, and though -numerically they are outnumbered by the loan-words from French, they -are in themselves more essential to our speech than the rich vocabulary -derived from that language. - -For the extent and character of the Viking settlements in England we -have however a far more delicate and accurate index than that to be -found in the evidence of place-names and dialects. When we study the -pages of Domesday, the great record of English social organisation in -the 11th century, we find that in the counties which came under Viking -influence there are many details of land-division, tenure, assessment -and social organisation generally wherein those counties differ from -the rest of England, and some of these differences can still be traced. - -The 'ridings' of Yorkshire and the Lindsey division of Lincolnshire -were originally 'thrithings' (O.N. _þriþjungr_, a third part), the -initial _th_ being later absorbed by the final consonant of the -preceding 'East,' 'West,' 'North' and 'South' (in Lincs.). - -The chief tests of Scandinavian influence, drawn from Domesday and -allied sources, are however as follows: - -(1) The use of the Danish 'wapentake' as the chief division of -the county in contrast to the English 'hundred.' This is found -in Lincolnshire, Derbyshire (with one exception on its southern -border), Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, and one district -of Northamptonshire, now included in Rutland. We have wapentakes in -Yorkshire, except in certain districts along the sea-coast, while in -Lancashire the term was applied to the court of the hundred or shire -long after the Conquest. There is some evidence also for the belief -that the use of the hundred (or wapentake) as an administrative unit -is in itself due to Scandinavian influence. The proportion of names of -hundreds (or wapentakes) which are definitely of Danish origin is very -high and, unless we assume wholesale renaming, this points to their -having been first named at a period subsequent to the Danish conquest. - -(2) The assessment by carucates in multiples and submultiples of 12 is -characteristic of the Danelagh, as opposed to that by hides, arranged -on a decimal system in the strictly English districts. This is found in -Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire, Leicestershire and Rutland, -with the exception of the above mentioned district. There are traces of -a duodecimal assessment in the two N.E. hundreds of Northamptonshire, -while in Lancashire a hidal assessment has been superimposed upon an -original carucal one. Carucal assessment is found also in Yorkshire, -Norfolk and Suffolk. - -(3) In Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and Yorkshire we have -traces of the use of the Danish 'long' hundred (= 120), e.g. the fine -for breaking the king's peace is £8, i.e. 120 ores[16] of 16 pence. - -Using the various tests we find that the Scandinavian kingdom of -Northumbria was considerably smaller than the earlier realm of that -name, Northumberland and Durham being but sparsely settled, while -South Lancashire and Cheshire were occupied chiefly along the coast. -The kingdom would seem to fall into two isolated halves, Cumberland -and Westmorland and North Lancashire in the north-west and Yorkshire -in the south-east. The district of the Five Boroughs covered -Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire (Lincoln and Stamford), -Leicestershire, and probably the whole of Rutland (Stamford). The case -of Northamptonshire is difficult. The carucal assessment fails except -in the extreme N.E. of the county, but Danish place-nomenclature is -strongly evident, though it shades off somewhat towards the S.W. It -resembles Danish East Anglia rather than the district of the Five -Boroughs and it is possible that the boundary of Guthrum's East Anglian -kingdom, which is only carried as far as Stony Stratford in the peace -of Alfred and Guthrum, really ran along Watling Street for a few miles, -giving two-thirds of that county to the East Anglian realm. - -Northumbria was governed by a succession of kings. The Five Boroughs -formed a loose confederation, and there can be no question that the -districts which 'obeyed' (_v. supra_, p. 31) the boroughs of Derby, -Leicester, Nottingham, Lincoln (and Stamford) and Northampton form the -modern counties named from these towns. It is also to Danish influence -direct or indirect that we owe the similar organisation of the counties -of Huntingdonshire, Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire in -the old East Anglian kingdom. Each of these counties had a _jarl_ or -earl, whose headquarters were at the 'borough.' He summoned the _here_, -whether for political or military purposes, and when these counties -passed once more under English rule he fulfilled the functions of the -older _ealdorman_. - -In East Anglia, apart from place-names (_v. supra_, p. 129) and carucal -assessment in Norfolk and Suffolk, we are left with the boundaries -of Guthrum's kingdom and with various miscellaneous evidence for -estimating the extent of Scandinavian influence. There is a curious -'hundredus Dacorum' (cf. _supra_, p. 10) in Hertfordshire, while the -_Historia Eliensis_ and other documents tend to show the presence of a -strong Danish element in the population and social organisation of the -districts around Cambridge. The kingship of East Anglia came to an end -early in the 10th century, and it is probable that its organisation was -then changed to one resembling that of the Five Boroughs, viz. a number -of districts grouped around central 'boroughs,' which afterwards became -counties, except in the older divisions of Norfolk and Suffolk. - -A careful study of Domesday and other authorities reveals many other -features of interest in our social system which were due to Viking -influence. Certain types of manorial structure are specially common -in the Danelagh. Manor and vill are by no means identical, indeed -several manors are included under one vill. Very frequent is the type -which consists in a central manor with sokeland appurtenant. In the -Danelagh there was a large number of small freeholders and the free -peasant class was much more numerous than in Anglo-Saxon England. These -districts stand in clear contrast to the strongly manorialised southern -counties and they were not feudalised to any appreciable extent before -the Norman conquest. When that system was imposed we often find single -knight's fees having to be taken over by entire communities of sokemen. -The 'holds' of Northumbria, who rank next after the earls, and the -'drengs' of Cumberland, Westmorland, Lancashire, Northumberland and -Durham, are also of Scandinavian origin. The 'dreng' was 'a free -servant of the king endowed with lands' and the name still survives in -the Yorkshire place-name Dringhouses. - -The legal instinct was strong in the Scandinavian mind and English -law bears deep marks of its influence. The very word 'law' itself is -of Scandinavian origin and has replaced the English 'doom.' The chief -judicial authority in Lincoln, Stamford, Cambridge, Chester and York -was in the hands of twelve _lagmen_ or _judices_. These 'lawmen' (_v. -supra_, p. 103) though they had judicial authority were not chosen -by the king or by popular election. Their position was hereditary. -Of special interest are the '12 senior thanes' of Aethelred's laws -for the Five Boroughs enacted at Wantage in 997. They have to come -forward in the court of every wapentake and to swear that they will -not accuse wrongly any innocent man or conceal any guilty one. The -exact force of this enactment has been a matter of dispute--whether the -thanes simply bore witness to the personal status of the accused, thus -enabling the court to determine the ordeal through which he should be -put, or whether we have an anticipation of the system of presentment -by jury. Whatever may be the exact truth there can be little doubt, -says Dr Vinogradoff, that such a custom prepared the way for the -indictment jury of the 12th century. The same author attributes to -Danish influence a new conception of crime. It is no longer merely a -breach of the peace or the result of a feud, to be settled by monetary -compensation, it is a breach of that conception of honour which binds -together military societies. The criminal is now branded as _nithing_, -a man unworthy of comradeship with his fellow-warriors. - -Unfortunately it is only within the last few years that the question -of Danish influence on our social, political and legal systems has -been treated at all seriously and much work still remains to be done, -but we can already see that the Danes affected English life far more -deeply than a superficial glance might suggest. Doubtless the Danish -invasions struck a heavy blow at learning and literature, a blow from -the effects of which not even the heroic activities of an Alfred could -save them, but there can be no question that in the development of town -life, in the promotion of trade, in the improvement of organisation and -administration, in the modification of legal procedure the invaders -conferred great benefits on the country as a whole. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[15] In Scotland it is used of a hollow pass in a ridge. - -[16] The _ore_ as a unit of weight for silver is of Scandinavian -origin. In some districts it was of the value of 16 pence, in others of -20 pence, and eight _ores_ went to the _mark_. - - - - -CHAPTER XII -SCANDINAVIAN INFLUENCE IN THE EMPIRE AND ICELAND - - -Considering the long and devastating campaign of the Vikings within -the Frankish empire and more especially within its western portion, it -is surprising that they only formed permanent settlements in one small -area, leaving practically no marks of their presence elsewhere. Great -portions of the Low Countries were in almost continuous occupation by -them during the 9th century, but the opportunity was lost, and beyond -an important share in the development of the trade of Duurstede, the -Vikings hardly left a sign of their influence behind them. - -The case of Normandy is different. Here we have a definite district -assigned to the invaders, just as the Danelagh was given to them in -England, and the whole of that territory is deeply impregnated with -their influence. Many of the Norman towns in -_ville_ contain as the -first element in their name a Norse personal name, e.g. Catteville, -Cauverville, Colleville, Fouqueville, Hacqueville containing the names -_Káte_, _Kálfr_, _Kolr_, _Fólki_, _Hákon_, while the suffixes -_bec_, --_beuf_, -_dale_, -_ey_, -_gard_, -_londe_, -_torp_, -_tot_, -_tuit_, --_vic_ as in Bolbec, Elbeuf, Saussedalle, Jersey, Eppegard, Mandelonde, -Torgistorp, Abbetot, Bracquetuit, Barvic go back to O.N. _bekkr_, _búð_ -(booth), _dalr_, _ey_ (island), _garðr_, _lundr_, _þorp_, _topt_, -_þveit_, _vík_ (_v. supra_, pp. 124-5). The dialect of Normandy to this -day contains a good number of Scandinavian words, and others have been -introduced into the standard language. Some of these have also found -their way into English through our Norman conquerors, e.g. _abet_, -_baggage_, _elope_, _equip_, _jolly_, _rubbish_, _scoop_, _strife_ -just as the _Bulbeck_ in Swaffham Bulbeck (Cambs.) and Bulbeck Common -above Blanchland in Northumberland is from the great Norman barony of -Bulbeck, so named after Bolbec in Normandy, of which they once formed -part. Norman law and customs also show many traces of Scandinavian -influence and so does Norman folk-lore. - -The Normans still looked to Denmark as their home-land down to the end -of the 10th century, and at least twice during the reign of Harold -Bluetooth their Dukes received help from that country. The nobles soon -ceased to speak their old northern language, but it is probable that it -remained current on the lips of the people for some considerable time -longer. - -The Vikings always showed themselves keenly sensitive to the influence -of a civilisation higher or more developed than their own, and this is -nowhere more apparent than in Normandy. Heathenism found a champion -as late as 943 when, on the death of William Longsword, a rising of -heathen Normans was crushed with the aid of the Frankish king, but -for the most part the Normans soon showed themselves devout sons of -the Church and were destined in the 11th century to be numbered among -the most ardent supporters of the Crusades. With the adoption of -Christianity they learned to respect and honour those homes of learning -which they had once devastated for their wealth of hoarded treasure, -and the famous school at Bec, whence came Lanfranc and Anselm, was only -one among many which they richly endowed and supported. - -Their religious and artistic feeling found expression in that -development of Romanesque architecture which we know as Norman and -which has given so many famous buildings not only to Normandy but to -England, to Sicily and to Southern Italy generally. In literature the -Norman-French _trouvères_ did much towards popularising the romances -of war and adventure which play so important a part in medieval -literature, and when they settled in England it was largely due to -Anglo-Norman poets that 'the matter of Britain' became one of the great -subjects of romance for all time. - -In its social organisation Normandy seems speedily to have been -feudalised. Rollo divided the land among a comparatively small number -of large landholders and the system of land tenure was quite different -from that in the English Danelagh with its large number of small -freeholders. On the other hand it was probably due to Norse traditions -of personal freedom that serfdom disappeared earlier in Normandy than -in any other of the French provinces. - -Trade and commerce were fostered here as everywhere by the Vikings. -It was the Normans who first taught the French to become a power at -sea, many French naval terms are of Norman origin and from the Norman -province have come some of France's greatest sea-captains. - -The Vikings like the Franks before them threw off their old speech -and submitted to the all-embracing power of Latin civilisation, and -the result was a race endowed with vigorous personality, untiring -activity, and the instinct for ruling men. The Normans may have become -largely French but they lost none of their old enterprise and spirit of -adventure. In the 11th century they conquered England and founded great -kingdoms for themselves in Sicily and South Italy. No Viking stock was -more vigorous than that which resulted from the grafting of Gallo-Latin -culture on the ruder civilisation of the Teutonic north. - -Their influence on France as a whole is not nearly as great as the -influence of their kinsmen in England, probably because English -government was centralised (under Norman rule) much sooner than French -government, and their influence was thus able to make itself felt -outside the actual districts in which they settled. The settlement of -Normandy helped however towards the consolidation of power in the hands -of Charles the Bald and his successors, much as the settlement of the -Danelagh helped in establishing the final supremacy of Wessex. - -It remains to speak of one great home of Viking civilisation to -which more than one reference has been made in previous chapters, -viz. Iceland. The story of its settlement is a very simple one. It -commenced about 870, when many great Norwegian noblemen sought there -for themselves and their followers a freer life than they could obtain -under the growing power of Harold Fairhair. It was greatly strengthened -by settlers both from Norway and from Ireland and the Western Islands -when that power was firmly established by the battle of Hafrsfjord, -and by the year 930 the settlement was practically complete. Iceland -was more purely Scandinavian than any other settlement made during the -Viking age. Here we have not the case of one civilisation grafted on -another and earlier one as in England, Ireland or the Frankish empire, -but the transference of the best and finest elements in a nation to -new and virgin soil where, for good or ill, they were free to develop -their civilisation on almost entirely independent lines. Settlers from -the Western Islands and from Ireland may have brought Celtic elements, -and Christianity was not without influence, when it was introduced -from Norway at the close of the 10th century, but on the whole we see -in Iceland just what Viking civilisation was capable of when left to -itself. - -At first the settlers lived in almost complete isolation, political -and religious, from one another, but they soon found that some -form of organisation was necessary and groups of settlers began by -choosing from among their number a _goði_, or chieftain, half-priest, -half-leader, who was the speaker at their moot and their representative -in negotiation with neighbouring groups. Then, continued disputes and -the lack of a common law led to the establishment of a central moot -or _alþing_, with a speaker to speak one single law for all. But the -Norsemen were much better at making constitutions and enacting laws -than they were at observing them when instituted, and the condition of -Iceland has been vividly if roughly summarised as one of 'all law and -no government.' The local _þings_ or the national _alþing_ might enact -perfect laws, but there was no compelling force, except public opinion, -to make them be obeyed. Even the introduction of Christianity made no -difference: the Icelanders quarrelled as bitterly over questions of -ecclesiastical as of civil law and the authorities of the medieval -Church were scandalised by their anarchic love of freedom. In the words -of Professor Ker 'the settlers made a commonwealth of their own, which -was in contradiction to all the prejudices of the middle ages and of -all ancient and modern political philosophy; a commonwealth which was -not a state, which had no government, no sovereignty.' 'It was anarchy -without a police-constable.' The result was that the rich men grew -richer, the poor became poorer, the smaller gentry died out and the -large estates fell into fewer and fewer hands. The great men quarrelled -among themselves, intrigued against one another and played into the -hands of the Norwegian kings who were only waiting their opportunity. -It came in the days of Hákon the Old. 'Land and thanes' were sworn into -subjection to that king at the Althing in 1262, and in 1271 the old -Icelandic common law was superseded by a new Norse code. - -The failure of the Icelandic commonwealth is amply compensated for -by the rich intellectual development of Icelandic literature, which -owed many of its most characteristic features to the fact that it was -written in a land almost completely isolated and detached from the -main currents of Western medieval thought and the general trend of -European history, but in itself that failure is full of deepest import -for a right understanding of the part played by Viking civilisation in -Europe. Powerful and highly developed as that civilisation was in many -ways, it only reached its highest and best expression when brought into -fruitful contact with other and older civilisations. There it found -the corrective for certain inherent weaknesses, more especially for -certain tendencies of too strongly individualistic character leading -to political and intellectual anarchy, while at the same time by its -own energy and vigour it quickened the life of the older civilisations -where they were tending to become effete or outworn. The Germanic -peoples had done much for the development of European civilisation in -the time of the wanderings of the nations, but by the end of the 8th -century they had lost much of their pristine vigour through contact -with the richer and more luxurious civilisation of the Roman world. It -was reserved for the North Germanic peoples, or the Northmen as we can -more fitly describe them, in the 9th and 10th centuries to give a yet -more powerful stimulus to European life, if not to European thought, -a stimulus which perhaps found its highest expression in the great -creations of the Norman race in the world of politics, the world of -commerce, the world of architecture and the world of letters. - - - - -BIBLIOGRAPHY - - -[The appended bibliography does not attempt to deal with primary -authorities, with the large mass of valuable periodical literature -which has been published within the last thirty years, or with books -only incidentally concerned with the movement. It is much to be -regretted that so few of the important Scandinavian books on the -subject have been translated into English.] - - BJÖRKMAN, E. Scandinavian Loan-words in Middle English. - Halle. 1906. - - BUGGE, A. Vikingerne. 2 series. Christiania. 1904-6. - (German trans. of 1st series. Leipzig. 1896.) - - ---- Vesterlandenes Inflydelse paa Nordboernes i Vikingetiden. - Christiania. 1905. - - ---- Norges Historie. Vol. I, Pt. II. - Christiania. 1910. - - COLLINGWOOD, W. G. Scandinavian Britain. London. 1908. - - CRAIGIE, W. A. The Religion of Ancient Scandinavia. - London. 1906. - - DIETRICHSON, L. and MEYER, S. Monumenta Orcadica. - Christiania. 1906. (Abridged English edition.) - - DU CHAILLU, P. B. The Viking Age. 2 vols. London. 1889. - - GUSTAFSON, G. Norges Oldtid. Christiania. 1906. - - HENDERSON, G. The Norse Influence on Celtic Scotland. - Glasgow. 1910. - - KEARY, C. F. The Vikings in Western Christendom. London. - 1891. - - KERMODE, P. M. C. Manx Crosses. London. 1907. - - MAURER, K. Die Bekehrung des Norwegischen Stammes. 2 vols. - Munich. 1855-9. - - MONTELIUS, O. Sveriges Historia. Vol. I. - Stockholm. 1903. (German tr. Kulturgeschichte Schwedens. Leipzig. - 1906.) - - MÜLLER, S. Vor Oldtid. Copenhagen. 1897. (German tr. - Nordische Altertümskunde. 2 vols. Strasburg. 1897-8.) - - OLRIK, A. Nordisk Aaandsliv i Vikingetid. Copenhagen. - 1907. (German tr. Nordisches Geistesleben. Heidelberg. 1908.) - - STEENSTRUP, J. C. H. R. Normannerne. 4 vols. Copenhagen. - 1876-82. - - ---- Danmarks Riges Historie. Vol. I. Copenhagen. 1876-82. - - THOMSEN, V. The Relations between Ancient Russia and - Scandinavia. Oxford. 1877. - - VOGEL, W. Die Normannen und das Fränkische Reich. - Heidelberg. 1906. - - VOGT, L. J. Dublin som Norsk By. Christiania. 1906. - -The Publications of the Viking Club (Saga-Book and Year Book) include -papers on various aspects of the movement and notices of the literature -of the subject as well as descriptions of various archaeological -discoveries. - - - - -INDEX - - - Aethelflæd of Mercia, 29, 32, 57 - - Aethelstan, 35-6 - - Alfred the Great, 25-8 - - Altar-ring, 26, 89 - - _Althing_, 116 - - Anlaf Godfreyson, 35; - Sihtricsson (Cuaran), 34, 36, 56, 60-1, 90 - - Arabic historians, references in, 20, 76, 109 - - Auðr the deep-thoughted, 20, 66, 68, 85, 89 - - - _bautasteinar_, 110 - - Björkö, 86, 96, 98 - - Björn Ironside, 22, 44, 46 - - Black Foreigners, 10 - - Brian Borumha, 56, 62-4 - - Brunanburh, 35, 61, 64 - - Burial ceremonies, 99-100, 108-10 - - - _carucates_, 132-3 - - Christianity, 16, 37, 41, 83, 86-93 - - Clontarf, 63-4, 67, 98, 120 - - Cnut, 41-2, 87, 101 - - - _Daci_, 10, 134 - - Danegeld, 38-9, 48 - - Danelagh boundaries, 27, 128-9; - reconquest, 29-32 - - Danes, _passim_ - - Denmark, 5, 16, 22-3, 44, 86-7 - - _drengs_ 135-6 - - _Dubh-gaill_, 10 - - Dublin, 15, 23, 33-4, 55, 59-60, 64, 89, 103, 120-2 - - - East Anglia, 11, 14, 27-8, 32, 134-5 - - Eddaic poems, 2, 93-4 - - Edmund Ironside, 40-1 - - Edward the Elder, 29, 31 - - England, invasion of, 12, 22-43; - influence in, 123-37 - - Eric Blood-axe, 36-7 - - Ethelred the Unready, 37-40 - - - Faroes, 6, 98 - - _Fin-gaill_, 10 - - Five Boroughs, 11, 30, 36, 134-6 - - Frisia, 15-8, 49 - - France, invasions of, 17-21, 43-53; - influence in, 138-42 - - Frisians, 8 - - - _Gaill-Gaedhil_, 56, 65, 67 - - Galloway, 65, 116 - - Gokstad ship, 99 - - Greenland, 99 - - Guthrum of East Anglia, 26-7 - - - Hásteinn (Hastingus), 28, 44, 46, 50 - - Hafrsfjord, 7, 56 - - Hákon Aðalsteinsfóstri, 35-6, 88 - - Halfdanr, 22, 25, 33, 58 - - Harold Bluetooth, 37, 70-2, 87 - - Harold Fairhair, 7, 35, 58, 67, 142 - - Harold Hardrada, 42, 81, 99 - - Harold of Mainz, 16, 18-9, 86 - - Heathenism, 83, 86-93 - - Hebrides, 5, 60, 65, 67-8, 114 - - _Hiruath_, 11 - - _holds_, 135 - - Hörðaland, Hörðai, 5, 11 - - _hows_, 108 - - - Iceland, 83, 85, 117, 142-4 - - Ireland, attacks on, 12-13, 15, 54-64; - Danes and Norsemen in, 54-8; - influence in, 116-23 - - Ívarr the boneless, 22, 24-5, 57-8 - - - _jarls_, 103, 134 - - Jellinge stone, 111 - - Jómsborg, Jómsvikings, 70-2, 98, 102 - - jury, presentation by, 136 - - - Ketill Finn, 67 - - Ketill Flatnose, 56, 67 - - - _lawmen_, 103, 116, 136 - - Limerick, 59, 62, 98, 120 - - _Lochlann_, 10 - - _Ludwigslied_, 47 - - - _Madjus_, 20 - - Maeshowe, 23, 113 - - Maldon, battle of, 38 - - Man, Isle of, 12, 39, 63, 65-8, 114-5 - - - _nithing_, 137 - - Noirmoutier, 17, 19, 21 - - Norsemen, Norwegians, _passim_ - - Northumbria, 11, 24-5, 28, 83-4, 37, 41, 60, 63, 126-8 - - Normandy, 52-3, 138-42 - - Norway, 7, 16; - Christianity in, 88-9 - - - Odin, 88, 95, 115 - - Ohthere, Óttarr, 96, 99 - - Olaf Tryggvason, 4, 38, 87, 89, 101 - - Olaf the White, 20, 57-8, 66, 68 - - _ore_, 133 - - Orkneys, 23, 63, 65, 112-3, 117 - - Ornamentation, style of, 79, 106-7 - - Ornaments, 104-6 - - Oseberg ship, 99-100 - - _Ostmen_, 122 - - _Oðal_, 67, 113 - - - Paris, 21, 49-50 - - Place-names, influence on Scottish, 114; - Irish, 118-9; - English, 123-9 - - _prime-signing_, 91 - - - Ragnarr Loðbrók, 21-4, 44, 57, 102 - - Rhôs, 19, 47, 73-4 - - _ridings_, 131 - - Rollo, 9, 53, 103 - - Runic inscriptions, 23, 81, 85-6, 110-1, 113-5 - - Rus, 73-9 - - Russia, founding of, 73-80 - - - St Anskar, 70, 86 - - St Edmund, 25 - - St Olaf, 41, 89 - - _Scaldingi_, 11 - - Scandinavian loan-words in English, 130-1 - - Sculptured stones, 91, 111, 114-5 - - Seven Boroughs, 40 - - Shetlands, 5, 6, 65, 112-3, 117 - - Ship-burials, 99-100 - - Ships, 29, 98-100 - - Shires, origin of, 31 _n_., 134 - - Sigurd of the Orkneys, 63, 66-7 - - Slesvík, 15, 87, 96 - - Sodor and Man, 65 - - Stamford Bridge, 42 - - _Suðreyjar_, 65 - - Svein Forkbeard, 37, 39, 40, 87 - - Sweden, 7, 96 - - Swedes, 9, 19, 72-9 - - - _thing_, 103, 115-6 - - Thor, 89, 95, 115 - - Trade, character of, 96-8; - Oriental, 71, 79-80; - Russian, 75-80; - Irish, 120 - - Turf-Einar, 67 - - Turges, 13, 20 - - Tynwald Court, 115 - - - _udal_ and _udaller_, 113 - - - Varangians, Variags, 73, 77-9 - - Vestfold, 11, 16 - - Viking, the term, 1 - - Viking movement, causes of, 4-11 - - Vinland, 99 - - - _Wapentake_, 132 - - Weapons, 101-2 - - Wedmore, peace of, 27 - - _Westfaldingi_, 11 - - White Foreigners, 10 - - Women, position of, 54-6, 94 - - - York, 24, 31, 33 - - -CAMBRIDGE: PRINTED BY JOHN CLAY, M.A. AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS. - - - - -THE -CAMBRIDGE MANUALS -OF SCIENCE AND LITERATURE - -Published by the Cambridge University Press - -GENERAL EDITORS -P. 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You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - -Title: The Vikings - -Author: Allen Mawer - -Release Date: September 21, 2016 [EBook #53106] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE VIKINGS *** - - - - -Produced by Chris Curnow, Moti Ben-Ari and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - -</pre> - - -<div class="center"> -<img id="coverpage" src="images/cover.jpg" width="632" height="900" alt="Book cover" /> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="center"> -The Cambridge Manuals of Science and<br /> -Literature<br /> -<br /> -<br /> -THE VIKINGS -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="center"> -CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS<br /> -London: FETTER LANE, E.C.<br /> -C. F. CLAY, <span class="smcap">Manager</span><br /> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 327px;"> -<img src="images/emblem.jpg" width="327" height="343" alt="Emblem" /> -</div> - -<div class="center"> -Edinburgh: 100, PRINCES STREET<br /> -Berlin: A. ASHER AND CO.<br /> -Leipzig: F. A. BROCKHAUS<br /> -New York: G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS<br /> -Bombay and Calcutta: MACMILLAN AND CO., <span class="smcap">Ltd.</span><br /> -<br /> -<br /> -<i>All rights reserved</i><br /> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 1200px;"> -<a name="frontispiece" id="frontispiece"> -<img src="images/frontis.jpg" width="1200" height="851" alt="" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>The Gokstad ship</p></div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 787px;"> -<img src="images/title.jpg" width="787" height="1200" alt="Illustrated title page" /> -</div> - -<h1>THE VIKINGS</h1> - -<p class="center spaced space-above"> -BY<br /> -ALLEN MAWER, M.A.<br /> -Professor of English Language and<br /> -Literature in Armstrong College,<br /> -University of Durham: late Fellow<br /> -of Gonville and Caius College,<br /> -Cambridge<br /> -</p> - -<p class="center spaced space-above"> -Cambridge:<br /> -at the University Press<br /> -1913<br /> -</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="center"> -Cambridge:<br /> -PRINTED BY JOHN CLAY, M.A.<br /> -AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS<br /> -</div> - -<blockquote> -<p><i>With the exception of the coat of arms at -the foot, the design on the title page is a -reproduction of one used by the earliest known -Cambridge printer, John Siberch, 1521</i></p> -</blockquote> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2>CONTENTS</h2> - -<div class="center"> -<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary=""> -<tr><td align="right"> </td><td align="left"> </td><td align="right">PAGE</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right"> </td><td align="left">Introduction</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_1">1</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">CHAP.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">I.</td><td align="left">Causes of the Viking movement</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_4">4</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">II.</td><td align="left">The Viking movement down to the middle of the</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right"> </td><td align="left">9th century</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_12">12</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">III.</td><td align="left">The Vikings in England to the death of Harthacnut</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_22">22</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">IV.</td><td align="left">The Vikings in the Frankish Empire to the</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right"> </td><td align="left">founding of Normandy (911)</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_43">43</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">V.</td><td align="left">The Vikings in Ireland to the battle of Clontarf (1014)</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_54">54</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">VI.</td><td align="left">The Vikings in the Orkneys, Scotland, the Western</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right"> </td><td align="left">Islands and Man</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_65">65</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">VII.</td><td align="left">The Vikings in Baltic lands and Russia</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_69">69</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">VIII.</td><td align="left">Viking civilisation</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_82">82</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">IX.</td><td align="left">Scandinavian influence in the Orkneys, Shetlands,</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right"> </td><td align="left">the Western Islands and Man</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_112">112</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">X.</td><td align="left">Scandinavian influence in Ireland</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_116">116</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">XI.</td><td align="left">Scandinavian influence in England</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_123">123</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">XII.</td><td align="left">Scandinavian influence in the Empire and Iceland</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_138">138</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="right"> </td><td align="left">Bibliography</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_146">146</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="right"> </td><td align="left">Index</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_148">148</a></td></tr> -</table></div> -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2>LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS</h2> - - -<div class="center"> -<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary=""> -<tr><td align="right"> </td><td align="left">The Gokstad ship</td><td align="right"><a href="#frontispiece"><i>Frontispiece</i></a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">PLATE</td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">I.</td><td align="left">Viking ship from the Bayeux tapestry </td><td align="right"><i>facing page</i> <a href="#Page_100">100</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">II.</td><td align="left">Ornaments of the Viking period</td><td align="right">" " <a href="#Page_104">104</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="right">III.</td><td align="left">The Jellinge stone</td><td align="right">" " <a href="#Page_111">111</a></td></tr> -</table></div> - -<blockquote> -<p>The frontispiece is reproduced by kind permission of the -photographer, Mr O. Væring, of Christiania; plates II and III -are taken from Sophus Müller's <i>Nordische Altertümskunde</i>.</p> -</blockquote> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[1]</a></span></p> - -<h2>INTRODUCTION</h2> - -<p>The term 'Viking' is derived from the Old Norse -<i>vík</i>, a bay, and means 'one who haunts a bay, creek -or fjord<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a>.' In the 9th and 10th centuries it came to -be used more especially of those warriors who left -their homes in Scandinavia and made raids on the -chief European countries. This is the narrow, and -technically the only correct use of the term 'Viking,' -but in such expressions as 'Viking civilisation,' 'the -Viking age,' 'the Viking movement,' 'Viking influence,' -the word has come to have a wider significance -and is used as a concise and convenient term for -describing the whole of the civilisation, activity and -influence of the Scandinavian peoples, at a particular -period in their history, and to apply the term 'Viking' -in its narrower sense to these movements would -be as misleading as to write an account of the age of -Elizabeth and label it 'The Buccaneers.'</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[2]</a></span></p> - -<p>It is in the broader sense that the term is -employed in the present manual. Plundering and -harrying form but one aspect of Viking activity and -it is mainly a matter of accident that this aspect is -the one that looms largest in our minds. Our knowledge -of the Viking movement was, until the last -half-century, drawn almost entirely from the works of -medieval Latin chroniclers, writing in monasteries -and other kindred schools of learning which had only -too often felt the devastating hand of Viking raiders. -They naturally regarded them as little better than -pirates and they never tired of expatiating upon -their cruelty and their violence. It is only during -the last fifty years or so that we have been able to -revise our ideas of Viking civilisation and to form a -juster conception of the part which it played in the -history of Europe.</p> - -<p>The change has come about chiefly in two ways. -In the first place the literature of Scandinavia is no -longer a sealed book to us. For our period there -are three chief groups of native authorities: (1) the -prose sagas and the <i>Historia Danica</i> of Saxo Grammaticus, -(2) the eddaic poems, (3) the skaldic poems. -The prose sagas and Saxo belong to a date considerably -later than the Viking age, but they include much -valuable material referring to that period. The chief -poems of the older Edda date from the Viking period -itself and are invaluable for the information they<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[3]</a></span> -give us as to the religion and mythology of the -Scandinavian peoples at this time, the heroic stories -current amongst them, and their general outlook on -life. The skaldic poems are however in some ways -the most valuable historical authority for the period. -The <i>skalds</i> or court-poets were attached to the courts -of kings and jarls, shared their adventures, praised -their victories, and made songs of lament on their -death, and their work is largely contemporary with -the events they describe.</p> - -<p>Secondly, and yet more important in its results -perhaps, archaeological science has, within the last -half-century, made rapid advance, and the work -of archaeologists on the rich finds brought to light -during the last hundred years has given us a vast body -of concrete fact, with the aid of which we have been -able to reconstruct the material civilisation of the -Viking period far more satisfactorily than we could -from the scattered and fragmentary notices found in -the sagas and elsewhere. The resultant picture calls -for description later, but it is well to remember -from the outset that it is a very different one from -that commonly associated with the term 'Viking.'</p> - -<p>With this word of explanation and note of warning -we may proceed to our main subject.</p> - -<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTE:</h3> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> The word is older than the actual Viking age: it is found in -Anglo-Saxon in the form <i>wicing</i>. Some writers have said that it -means 'people from the district of the <i>Vík</i>' in South Norway, so-called -from the long fjord-like opening which is found there, but the -early Anglo-Saxon use of the term forbids this derivation.</p></div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[4]</a></span></p> - -<h2>CHAPTER I<br /> - -CAUSES OF THE VIKING MOVEMENT</h2> - - -<p>The period of Scandinavian history to which the -term Viking is applied extends roughly from the middle -of the 8th to the end of the 10th or the first half of -the 11th century. Its commencement was marked by -the raids of Scandinavian freebooters upon the coasts -of England, Western Scotland and Ireland and upon -Frankish territory. Its climax was reached when in -the course of the 9th and 10th centuries Scandinavian -rule was established in Ireland, Man and the Western -Islands, the northern and midland districts of England, -Normandy, and a great part of Russia. Its close was -marked by the consolidation of the Scandinavian -kingdoms in the late 10th and early 11th centuries -under such mighty sovereigns as Olaf Tryggvason -and Olaf the Holy in Norway, Olaf Skötkonung in -Sweden, and greatest of all, king Knut in Denmark, -who for a brief time united the whole of Scandinavia -and a great part of the British Isles in one vast -confederacy.</p> - -<p>The extent and importance of the movement is -indicated from the first by the almost simultaneous -appearance of trouble in England, on the coast of -France, and on the Eider boundary between Denmark -and the Frankish empire.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[5]</a></span></p> - -<p>In the reign of Beorhtric, king of Wessex (786-802), -three ships of the Northmen coming from Hörðaland -(around Hardanger Fjord) landed near Dorchester, -in June 793 Lindisfarne was sacked, in March 800 -Charlemagne found himself compelled to equip a -fleet and establish a stronger coastguard to defend -the Frankish coast against the attacks of the Northmen, -and from 777 onwards, when the Saxon patriot -Widukind took refuge with the Danish king Sigefridus -(O.N. Sigröðr), there was almost constant friction -along the land-boundary between Denmark and the -Frankish empire.</p> - -<p>This outburst of hostile activity had been preceded -by considerable intercourse of a varied character -between Scandinavia and the countries of Western -Europe. Early in the 6th century the Danes or, -according to another authority, the Götar from Götaland -in south Sweden, invaded Frisia under their -king Chocilaicus. Reference is made to this raid in -the story of Hygelac, king of the Geatas, in <i>Beowulf</i>. -Professor Zimmer suggested that the attacks of unknown -pirates on the island of Eigg in the Hebrides -and on Tory Island off Donegal, described in certain -Irish annals of the 7th century, were really the work -of Scandinavian raiders. The evidence of Irish legend -and saga goes to prove that in the same century -Irish anchorites settled in the Shetlands but were -later compelled by the arrival of Scandinavian settlers<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[6]</a></span> -to move on to the lonely Faroes. Here they were -not to be left in peace, for the Irish geographer -Dicuil, writing in 825, tells us that the Faroes had -then been deserted by the monks for some thirty -years owing to the raids of Northmen pirates. -Dr Jakobsen has shown that the forms of place-names -in the Shetlands point very definitely to a -settlement from Scandinavia in pre-Viking days—before -700—while the sculptured stones of Gothland -show already at the end of the 7th century clear -evidence of Celtic art influence. Possibly also merchants -of Scandinavian origin were already settled in -the Frankish empire and it is certain that there was -considerable trade between Scandinavia and the West.</p> - -<p>Most of the intercourse thus demonstrated was -slow in development, peaceful and civilising in character. -How came it that in the later years of the -8th century this intercourse was suddenly strengthened -and intensified, while at the same time it underwent -a great change both in methods and character?</p> - -<p>The traditional explanation is that given by Dudo -and by William of Jumièges in their histories of the -settlement of Normandy and by Saxo in his account -of Danish settlements in Baltic lands in the -10th century, viz. that the population of Scandinavia -had outgrown its means of support and that enforced -emigration was the result. There may be a certain -element of truth in the tradition but when it says<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[7]</a></span> -that this excess of population was due to polygamy -we have every reason to doubt it. Polygamy does -not lead to an over-rapid growth of population as a -whole, and it is fairly certain that it was practised -only by the ruling classes in Scandinavia. It is quite -possible, however, that the large number of sons in -the ruling families made it necessary for the younger -ones to go forth and gain for themselves fresh -territories in new lands.</p> - -<p>A clearer light is perhaps thrown on the matter if -we examine the political condition of the Scandinavian -countries at this time. In Norway we find that the -concentration of kingly authority in the hands of -Harold Fairhair after the middle of the 9th century -led many of the more independent spirits to leave -Norway and adopt a Viking life in the West or to -settle in new homes in Iceland. So strong was the -spirit of independence that when Harold Fairhair -received the submission of the Vikings of the West -after the battle of Hafrsfjord, many of them rather -than endure even a shadowy overlordship abandoned -their Viking life and settled down to peaceful independence -in Iceland. It is quite possible that -earlier attempts at consolidation on the part of -previous petty Norwegian kings may have had similar -results.</p> - -<p>Of the condition of Sweden we know practically -nothing but we have sufficient information about the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[8]</a></span> -course of events in Denmark at this time to see that -it probably tended to hasten the development of -the Viking movement. Throughout the first half -of the 9th century there were repeated dynastic -struggles accompanied probably by the exile, voluntary -or forced, of many members of the rival -factions.</p> - -<p>External causes also were certainly not without -influence. From the 6th century down to the middle of -the 8th, the Frisians were the great naval and trading -power of North-West Europe. They had probably -taken some part in the conquest of England and, during -the 7th and 8th centuries, the whole of the coast of -the Netherlands from the Scheldt to the Weser was -in their hands. Their trade was extensive, their -chief city being Duurstede a few miles south-east of -Utrecht. The northward expansion of the Franks -brought them into collision with the Frisians in the -7th century. The struggle was long and fierce but in -the end the Frisians were defeated by Charles Martel -in 734 and finally subjugated by Charlemagne in 785. -The crushing of Frisian naval power and the crippling -of their trade probably played no unimportant part -in facilitating the Scandinavian advance, and it is -curious to note that while there is considerable -archaeological evidence for peaceful intercourse between -the west coast of Norway and Frisian lands in -the 8th century, that evidence seems to come to an<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[9]</a></span> -end about the year 800, just when Frisian power -finally declined. There can be no doubt also that -the conquest of the Saxons by Charlemagne at the -close of the 8th century, bringing Franks and Danes -face to face along the Eider boundary, made the latter -uneasy.</p> - -<p>There has been much arguing to and fro of the -question as to the respective shares taken by Danes -and Norwegians in the Viking movement. That of -the Swedes can fortunately be determined with a -good deal more certainty. The Swedes were for the -most part interested only in Eastern Europe and -there by way of trade rather than of battle: we learn -from runic inscriptions and other sources that some -Swedes did visit England and the West, but these -visits were due to individual rather than national -activity. The question as between Dane and Norwegian -has been to some extent made more difficult -of settlement through the national prejudices of -Scandinavian scholars; e.g. Danes for the most part -decide in favour of the Danish origin of Rollo of -Normandy, while Norwegians decide in favour of his -Norwegian birth. Such differences of opinion are -unfortunately only too often possible owing to the -scantiness of the material upon which we have to -base our conclusions. Medieval chroniclers were for -the most part unable or unwilling to distinguish -between Danes and Norwegians; they were all alike<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[10]</a></span> -'Nordmanni' to them and the term 'Dani' is practically -interchangeable with it. The vagueness of their -ethnographical knowledge is manifest when we find -the Norman Dudo at the beginning of the 11th century -tracing back the Dani (or Daci) to an original home -in Dacia. The Irish annalists did, however, draw a -very definite distinction between Norwegians and -Danes—Finn-gaill and Dubh-gaill as they called them, -i.e. White and Black Foreigners respectively<a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a>. They -seem never to confuse them, but exactly on what -grounds they gave them their distinguishing epithets -it is now impossible to determine. They do not -correspond to any known ethnographical differences, -and the only other reasonable suggestion which has -been offered is that the terms are used to describe -some difference of armour or equipment as yet unknown -to us. The Irish annals also distinguish -between Daunites or Danes and Lochlanns or men -from Lochlann, i.e. Norway; but again the origin of the -term Lochlann as applied to Norway is obscure. -The writers of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle seem to -use the term <i>Norðmenn</i> very definitely of Norwegians, -just as Alfred does in his translation of Orosius, but -the term <i>Dene</i> came to be used more vaguely and -uncertainly. It is only very rarely that the chroniclers<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[11]</a></span> -vouchsafe us precise information as to the home of -any particular group of Viking raiders. We have -already mentioned the presence of Norwegians from -Hörðaland in England at the very opening of the -movement<a name="FNanchor_3_3" id="FNanchor_3_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a>: once we hear of 'Westfaldingi,' i.e. men -from Vestfold in South Norway, in an account of -attacks on Aquitaine, and in one passage the Vikings -are called 'Scaldingi,' but it is disputed whether this -means Vikings who had been quartering themselves -in the valley of the Scheldt, or is a term applied to -the Danes from the name of their royal family, viz. -the Skjöldungar<a name="FNanchor_4_4" id="FNanchor_4_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a>. Speaking roughly we may however -assert that Ireland, Scotland and the Western Islands -were almost entirely in the hands of Norwegian -settlers (Danish attacks on Ireland failed for the -most part). Northumbria was Norwegian, but East -Anglia and the Five Boroughs were Danish. The -attacks on France and the Netherlands were due -both to Norwegians and Danes, probably with a -preponderance of the latter, while Danes and Swedes -alone settled in Baltic lands.</p> - -<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> The name <i>Finn-gaill</i> survives in Fingall, the name of a district -to the north of Dublin, while <i>Dubh-gaill</i> is the second element in the -proper names MacDougall and MacDowell.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_3_3" id="Footnote_3_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> The name <i>Hiruath</i> given by Celtic writers to Norway probably -points also to a tradition that many of the Viking invaders of Ireland -were Hörðar from Norway.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_4_4" id="Footnote_4_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_4"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> A third explanation has recently been suggested by Dr Björkman, -viz. that it is a Low German word meaning 'shipmen' which came -to be used specially of the Vikings.</p></div></div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[12]</a></span></p> - -<h2>CHAPTER II<br /> - -THE VIKING MOVEMENT DOWN TO THE MIDDLE<br /> -OF THE 9TH CENTURY</h2> - - -<p>England was possibly the scene of the earliest -Viking raids, but after the Dorchester raid, the sack -of Lindisfarne in 793 (<i>v. supra</i>, p. <a href="#Page_5">5</a>), and the devastation -of the monastery of St Paul at Jarrow in 794 we -hear nothing more of Vikings in England until 835. -The fate of Ireland was different. Attacks began -almost at the same time as in England and continued -without intermission. Vikings sailed round the west -coast of Scotland. Skye and then Lambay Island off -Dublin were invaded in 795, Glamorganshire was -ravaged in the same year and the Isle of Man was -attacked in 798. Iona was plundered in 802 and again -in 806. In 807 invaders appeared off the coast of -Sligo and made their way inland as far as Roscommon, -and in 811 Munster was plundered. In 821 the -Howth peninsula near Dublin and two small islands -in Wexford Haven were ravaged. The Vikings had -completely encircled Ireland with their fleets and -by the year 834 they had made their way well into -the interior of the island so that none were safe from -their attacks. They no longer contented themselves -with isolated raids: large fleets began to visit -Ireland and to anchor in the numerous loughs and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[13]</a></span> -harbours with which the coast abounds. Thence -they made lengthy raids on the surrounding country -and often strengthened their base by building forts -on the shores of the loughs or harbours in which -they had established themselves. It was in this way -that Dublin, Waterford and Limerick first rose to -importance.</p> - -<p>Of the leaders of the Vikings at this time there is -only one whose figure stands out at all clearly, and -that is Turges (O.N. Ðorgestr) who first appeared in -832 at the sack of Armagh. He had come to Ireland -with a great and royal fleet and 'assumed the -sovereignty over the foreigners in Erin.' He had -fleets on Lough Neagh, at Louth, and on Lough Ree, -and raided the country as far south as the Meath -district. Turges was not the only invader at this -time: indeed so numerous were the invading hosts -that the chronicles tell us 'after this there came -great sea-cast floods of foreigners into Erin, so that -there was not a point thereof without a fleet.' The -power of Turges culminated in 841, when he drove -the abbot of Armagh into exile, usurped the abbacy, -and exercised the sovereignty of North Ireland. At -the same time his wife Ota (O.N. Auðr) profaned -the monastery of Clonmacnoise and gave audience, -probably as a <i>völva</i> or prophetess, upon the high -altar. Three years later Turges was captured by the -Irish and drowned in Lough Owel (co. West Meath).</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[14]</a></span></p> - -<p>The early attacks on England and the first invasion -of Ireland were alike due to Norsemen rather than -Danes. This is evident from their general course, -from the explicit statement of the Anglo-Saxon -chronicle, and from the fact that the first arrival of -Danes in Ireland is definitely recorded in the year -849. The attack on Dorchester (c. 786-802), lying as -it does near the centre of the south coast of England, -is somewhat strange if it is assigned to the traditional -date, viz. 787, but there is no authority for this, and -if it is placed at any date nearer to 802 (before which -it must have taken place), it is probable that the -attack may be explained as an extension of Viking -raids down St George's Channel and round the S.W. -corner of England.</p> - -<p>In 835 the attacks on England were renewed after -an interval of 40 years, but as they now stand in -close connexion with contemporary invasions of -Frankish territory there is every reason to believe -that they were of Danish rather than of Norse origin. -The attacks began in the south and west but they -soon spread to East Anglia and Lindsey. In 842 the -same army ravaged London, Étaples and Rochester. -In 851 Aethelstan of Kent defeated the Danes at sea -in one of the rare battles fought with them on -their own element, and in the same year they remained -for the winter in Thanet, probably owing to the loss -of their ships. The size and importance of these<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[15]</a></span> -attacks may be gauged from the fact that in this -year a fleet of some 350 Danish ships sailed up -the Thames. It was probably that same fleet, with -slightly diminished numbers, which in 852 ravaged -Frisia and then sailed round the British Isles, came -to Ireland, and captured Dublin. In 855 the Danes -wintered for the first time in Sheppey and we reach -the same point in the development of their attacks -on England to which they had already attained in -Ireland. We pass away from the period of raiding. -The Danes now came prepared to stay for several -years at a time and to carry on their attacks with -unceasing persistency.</p> - -<p>The course of events in the Frankish empire ran -on much the same lines as in England and Ireland -during these years except that here trouble arose on -the land boundary between Denmark and the Franks -as well as on the sea-coast.</p> - -<p>Alarmed by the conquest of the Saxons the -Danish king Guðröðr collected a fleet at Slesvík and -in 808 he crossed the Eider and attacked the -Abodriti (in Mecklenburg-Schwerin), a Slavonic tribe -in alliance with the Franks. He also sent a fleet of -some 200 vessels to ravage the coast of Frisia, laid -claim to that district and to Saxony, north of the -Elbe, and threatened to attack Charlemagne in his -own capital. The emperor was preparing to resist -him when news arrived (810) of the death of Guðröðr<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[16]</a></span> -at the hands of one of his followers and the consequent -dispersal of the Danish fleet.</p> - -<p>Soon after disputes over the succession arose -between the family of Guðröðr and that of an earlier -king Harold. Ultimately the contest resolved itself -into one between the sons of Guðröðr, especially one -Horic (O.N. Hárekr) and a certain Harold. It -lasted for several years, the sons of Guðröðr for the -most part maintaining their hold on Denmark. At -one time during the struggle Harold and his brother -Ragnfröðr went to Vestfold in Norway, 'the extreme -district of their realm, whose chiefs and peoples were -refusing to be made subject to them, and gained -their submission,' showing clearly that at this time -Denmark and Southern Norway were under one rule -and rendering probable the identification of Guðröðr -with Guðröðr the Yngling who about this time was -slain by a retainer in Stifla Sound on the south coast -of Norway. This king ruled over Vestfold, half -Vingulmörk and perhaps Agðir. Both parties were -anxious to secure the support of the emperor Lewis -and in the end Harold gained his help by accepting -baptism at Mainz in 826. He promised to promote -the cause of Christianity in Denmark, while Lewis in -return granted him the district of Riustringen in -Frisia as a place of retreat in case of necessity. The -Danes thereby gained their first foothold within the -empire.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[17]</a></span></p> - -<p>Sufficient has been said of the relation between -Denmark and the empire on its land boundary: we -must now say something of the attacks made by sea.</p> - -<p>The first were made in 799 on the coast of -Aquitaine and they were probably due to raiders -from Ireland who followed a well-known trade route -from South Ireland to the ports of Southern France. -In 800 Charlemagne inspected the coast from the -Somme to the Seine and gave orders for the equipment -of a fleet and the strengthening of the coastguard -against Northmen pirates. When Guðröðr's fleet -plundered the islands off the Frisian coast in 810, -Charlemagne gave orders for his fleet to be strengthened -once more, but the results were meagre in the -extreme. The passage of the Channel was no longer -safe, and year after year, from some time before 819, -Vikings harried the island of Noirmoutier at the -mouth of the Loire, commanding the port of Nantes -and the extensive salt-trade of the district. The -Island of Rhé opposite La Rochelle, was raided in -similar fashion.</p> - -<p>The Frankish empire was free from attack -between the years 814 and 833. During the same -time the English coast was also unvisited, and it is -probable that the struggles for the succession in -Denmark had for the time being reduced that kingdom -to inactivity. About the year 830 the Danish -king Hárekr seems to have established himself<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[18]</a></span> -firmly on the throne, while on the other hand the -emperor Lewis was troubled by the ambition of his -sons Lewis, Pippin and Lothair. It is probably no -chance coincidence that these events synchronised -with the renewal of Viking attacks on Frisia. -Throughout their history the Vikings showed themselves -well informed of the changing political conditions -of the countries which they visited and ready -to make the utmost use of the opportunities which -these might give for successful invasion.</p> - -<p>Frisia was the main point of attack during the -next few years. Four times was the rich trading -town of Duurstede ravaged; fleets sailed up the -Veldt, the Maas, and the Scheldt; Antwerp was -burned and the Island of Walcheren plundered, so -that by the year 840 the greater part of Frisia south -of the Vlie, was in Danish hands and so it remained -till the end of the century. The Danish king Hárekr -repeatedly denied all complicity in these raids and -even promised to punish the raiders, but it is impossible -to tell how far his denials were genuine. -Equally difficult is it to say how far Harold in his -Frisian home was responsible for these attacks. -The annalists charge him with complicity, but Lewis -seems to have thought it best to bind him by fresh -gifts and (probably about 839) granted the district -around Duurstede itself to him and his brother Roric -(O.N. Hrœrekr) on condition that they helped to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[19]</a></span> -ward off Viking attacks. All the efforts of the -emperor to equip a fleet or to defend the coast were -to no purpose, and there was even a suspicion that -the Frisian populace were in sympathy with the -Vikings. So great was the terror of attack that -when in 839 a Byzantine mission, including some -Rhôs or Swedes from Russia, visited the emperor at -Ingelheim, the Swedes were for a time detained -under suspicion, as spies.</p> - -<p>On the death of Lewis the Pious in 840 things -went from bad to worse. The division of the empire -in 843 gave the coast from the Eider to the Weser to -Lewis, from the Weser to the Scheldt to Lothair, and -the rest to Charles, removing all possibility of a united -and organised defence, and soon these princes entered -on the fatal policy of calling in the Vikings to assist -them in their quarrels. Thus Lothair in 841 endeavoured -to bind Harold to his cause by a grant of -the Island of Walcheren and Harold is found in the -following year with Lothair's army on the Moselle.</p> - -<p>The Viking expeditions to England and France -stand now in close connexion. In 841 the valley of -the Seine was ravaged as far as Rouen, in 842 -Étaples in Picardy was destroyed by a fleet from -England, while in 843 Nantes fell a prey to their -attacks. From their permanent quarters at Noirmoutier -the Vikings sailed up the Garonne and penetrated -inland as far as Toulouse. In 844 we hear from<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[20]</a></span> -Arab historians of their vessels swarming on the -coasts of Spain like 'dark red sea-birds,' but while -they effected landings at Lisbon and Cadiz and at -Arzilla in Morocco, and captured Seville, with the -exception of its citadel, the Mussulman resistance -was too stout for them to effect much.</p> - -<p>As a result of this expedition the Emir of Cordova, -Abd-ar-Rahman II sent an embassy to the king of -the <i>Madjus</i> (i.e. the magi or the heathen, one of -the commonest Arab names for the Vikings). The -ambassador found the king living in an island three -days' journey from the mainland, but we are told that -the heathen occupied many other neighbouring isles -and the mainland also. He was courteously received -by the king and became an especial favourite with -the queen Noud (? O.N. Auðr). His companions were -alarmed at the intimacy and as a result the ambassador -paid less frequent visits to court. The queen -asked him why, and when he told her the reason she -said that, owing to perfect freedom of divorce, there -was no jealousy among the Madjus. The details of -the story are too vague to admit of certainty, but it -would seem as if the embassy had visited the court -of the great Turges and his equally remarkable wife -Auðr in Ireland, or perhaps that of Olaf the White -and his wife Auðr (<i>v. infra</i>, p. <a href="#Page_66">66</a>).</p> - -<p>In 845 Hárekr of Denmark sailed up the Elbe -and destroyed Hamburg, while in the same year the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[21]</a></span> -dreaded Ragnarr Loðbrók, most famous of all Vikings, -sailed up the Seine as far as Paris. While on its -retreat from Paris, after the usual devastation, -a strange and deadly disease, possibly some form of -dysentery due to scantiness of food resulting from -a hard winter, broke out in the Danish army. -Various legends arose in connexion with this event, -and it finds a curious echo in the story told by Saxo -Grammaticus of an expedition made by Ragnarr -among the Biarmians (in Northern Russia) when -that people by their prayers called down a plague of -dysentery upon the Danes in which large numbers -perished. In the end the historical plague was -stayed when Hárekr commanded the Vikings on their -return to Denmark to refrain from flesh and meat -for fourteen days. Whether as a result of the plague -or from some other cause Hárekr now showed himself -ready to come to terms with Lewis, and for the -next eighty years there was complete peace along the -Eider boundary. The whole of the coast was still -open to attack however; Frisia was hardly ever free -from invaders; Brittany was obliged to buy off -Danish attacks in 847, while Noirmoutier continued -to form a basis of attack against Southern France -in the Gironde district. The Viking invasions in -France had attained much the same stage as that to -which we have already traced them in England and -Ireland.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[22]</a></span></p> - -<h2>CHAPTER III<br /> - -THE VIKINGS IN ENGLAND TO THE DEATH<br /> -OF HARTHACNUT</h2> - - -<p>The great development of Viking activity which -took place after 855 was certainly not unconnected -with the course of events in Denmark itself. Hárekr -was attacked by his two nephews in 850 and compelled -to share the kingdom with them. In 854 large -bands of Vikings returned to their fatherland after -twenty years' ravaging in Frankish territory. Trouble -now arose between Hárekr and his nephew Godurm -(O.N. Guðormr), one of the returned leaders. Civil -war broke out and ultimately, after a great fight, the -kingship fell to a younger Hárekr, a relative of the -late king. A severe dynastic struggle of this kind -must have been accompanied by much unsettlement -and perhaps by an actual proscription. It would -certainly seem that there was some definite connexion -between these events and the coincident -appearance of the sons of Ragnarr Loðbrók as -leaders of a more extended Viking movement both -in England and in France. Three of his sons—Halfdanr, -Ubbi and Ívarr—took part in the first -wintering in Sheppey in 855, while in the same year -another son Björn Ironside appeared on the Seine.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[23]</a></span></p> - -<p>The figure of Ragnarr Loðbrók himself belongs to -an earlier generation, and great as was his after-fame -we unfortunately know very little of his actual career. -He would seem to have been of Norwegian birth, -closely connected with the south of Norway and the -house of Guðröðr, but like that prince having extensive -interests in Denmark. He probably visited -Ireland in 831, for we read in Saxo of an expedition -made by Ragnarr to Ireland when he slew king -Melbricus and ravaged Dublin, an event which is -pretty certainly to be identified with an attack made -on the Conaille district (co. Louth) by foreigners in -831 when the king Maelbrighde was taken prisoner. -He led the disastrous Seine expedition in 845 (<i>v. supra</i>, -p. <a href="#Page_21">21</a>). The next glimpse of him which we have -is probably that found in certain Irish annals where -he is represented as exiled from his Norwegian -patrimony and living with some of his sons in the -Orkneys while others were absent on expeditions to -the British Isles, Spain and Africa, and a runic -inscription has been found at Maeshowe in the -Orkneys confirming the connexion of the sons of -Loðbrók and possibly of Loðbrók himself with those -islands. The expeditions would be those mentioned -above and the yet more famous one made to Spain, -Africa and Italy by Björn Ironside in the years 859-62 -(<i>v. infra</i>, pp. <a href="#Page_46">46</a>-<a href="#Page_47">7</a>). Ragnarr Loðbrók's later history -is uncertain. According to the Irish annals quoted<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[24]</a></span> -above, his sons while on their expedition dreamed -that their father had died in a land not his own -and on their return found it to be true. This agrees -with Scandinavian tradition according to which -Ragnarr met his death at the hands of Aelle, king of -Northumbria, by whom he was thrown into a snake-pit, -while the capture of York by Ívarr the Boneless -in 866-7 (<i>v. infra</i>) is represented as part of a great -expedition of vengeance undertaken by the sons of -Ragnarr. This tradition (apart from certain details) -is probably historical, but we have no definite -confirmatory evidence.</p> - -<p>With this note on the history of Denmark at this -time and on the career of the most shadowy, if at the -same time the most famous of the Viking leaders, -we may turn once more to the history of events in -England.</p> - -<p>For ten years after the wintering in Sheppey, -England was left in a state of comparative peace. -The change came in 866 when a large Danish force -which had been bribed to leave the Seine by Charles -the Bald sailed to England and took up its quarters -in East Anglia. In 867 they crossed the Humber -and captured York, their task being made easier by -the quarrels of Aelle and Osberht as to the kingship -of Northumbria. Next year the rivals patched up -their differences, but failed to recapture York from -the Danes under Ívarr and Ubbi. Setting up a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[25]</a></span> -puppet king Ecgberht in Northumbria north of the -Tyne, the Danes next received the submission of -Mercia and returned to York in 869. In 870 they -marched through Mercia into East Anglia, as far as -Thetford, engaged the forces of Edmund, king of -East Anglia, defeated and slew him, whether in -actual battle or in later martyrdom, as popular -tradition would have it, is uncertain. The death of -St Edmund, king and martyr, soon became an event -of European fame and no Viking leader was more -widely execrated than the cruel Ívarr, who was -deemed responsible.</p> - -<p>The turn of Wessex came next. The fortunes of -battle fluctuated but the accounts usually terminate -with the ominous words 'the Danes held possession -of the battle field.' In 871, Alfred commenced his -heroic struggle with the Danes and in the first -year of his reign some nine pitched battles were -fought, beside numerous small engagements. So -keen was the West Saxon resistance that a truce was -made in 871 and the Danes turned their attention to -Mercia once more. London was forced to ransom -itself at a heavy price and a coin of Halfdanr, -probably minted in London at the time, has been -found. After a hurried visit to Northumbria the -<i>here</i> settled down for the winter of 872-3 at Torksey -in the Lindsey district, whence they moved in 873 to -Repton in Derbyshire. They overthrew Burhred of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[26]</a></span> -Mercia and set up a foolish thegn of his as puppet -ruler of that realm. In the winter of 874-5 the <i>here</i> -divided forces: one part went under Halfdanr to -the Tyne valley, the other under Guthrum (O.N. -Guðormr) to Cambridge.</p> - -<p>In 876 Halfdanr divided up the lands of Northumbria -among his followers who soon ploughed and -cultivated them. At the same time they did not forget -their old occupations. Raids were made against the -Picts and the Strathclyde Welsh, while Halfdanr -soon became involved in the great struggle going on -in Ireland at that time between Norsemen and Danes. -This ultimately led to his death in 877 (<i>v. infra</i>, -p. <a href="#Page_58">58</a>).</p> - -<p>In the meantime the struggle continued in Wessex. -In 875 Alfred captured seven Danish ships. In 876 -the southern division of the <i>here</i> slipped past the -West Saxon <i>fyrd</i> and reached Wareham in Dorsetshire, -but came to terms with Alfred. Though the -peace was sworn with all solemnity on their -sacred altar-ring, the mounted portion of the <i>here</i> -slipped off once more and established themselves -in Exeter. Their land forces were supported by -a parallel movement of the fleet. At Exeter Alfred -made peace with them and the <i>here</i> returned to -Mercia. There half the land was divided up among -the Danes while the southern half was left in the -hands of Ceolwulf.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[27]</a></span></p> - -<p>Alfred reached the nadir of his fortunes when -the <i>here</i> returned to Wessex in the winter of 877-8, -drove many of the inhabitants into exile across the -sea, and received the submission of the rest with the -exception of King Alfred and a few followers who -took refuge in the Island of Athelney amid the -Somersetshire marshes. Alfred soon gathered round -him a force with which he was able to issue from his -stronghold and ultimately to inflict a great defeat on -the Danes at Edington near Westbury. They now -made terms with Alfred by the peace of Wedmore, -and agreed to leave Alfred's kingdom while their king -Guthrum received Christian baptism. They withdrew -first to Cirencester and then to East Anglia. Here -they settled, portioning out the land as they had done -in Northumbria and Northern Mercia. A peace was -drawn up between Alfred and Guthrum of East Anglia -defining the boundary between their realms. It was -to run along the Thames estuary to the mouth of the -Lea (a few miles east of London), then up the Lea to -its source near Leighton Buzzard, then due north to -Bedford, then eastwards up the Ouse to Watling St. -somewhere near Fenny or Stony Stratford. From -this point the boundary is left undefined, probably -because the kingdoms of Alfred and Guthrum ceased -to be conterminous here.</p> - -<p>England now had peace for some twelve years. -Alfred made good use of the interval in reorganising<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[28]</a></span> -his army and strengthening the kingdom generally, so -that when attacks were renewed in 892 he was much -better prepared to meet them. In the autumn of -that year two fleets coming from France arrived in -England: one landed on the Limen (between Hythe -and Romney Marsh), the other under the leadership -of Hæsten (O.N. Hásteinn) at Milton in North Kent. -Alfred's difficulties were increased by the fact that -during the next four years the Danish settlers in -Northumbria and East Anglia played a more or less -actively hostile part, both by land and sea. The Danes -showed all their old mobility and in a series of raids -crossed England more than once—first to Buttington -on the Severn (co. Montgomery), then to Chester, -and on a third occasion to Bridgenorth in Shropshire. -They met with a uniformly stout and well organised -resistance under the leadership of Alfred, his son -Edward the Elder, and his brother-in-law Aethelred -of Mercia, and in the end they had to retire with no -fresh acquisition of territory. For the most part -they distributed themselves among the East Anglian -and Northumbrian Danes, but those who had no -cattle wherewith to stock their land took ship and -sailed back to the Seine. There were no further -attacks from abroad during Alfred's reign, but -piratical raids made by the East Anglian and Northumbrian -Danes caused him a good deal of trouble, -and in order to meet them he definitely addressed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[29]</a></span> -himself to the long delayed task of equipping a fleet. -The vessels were carefully designed according to -Alfred's own ideas: they were larger, swifter and -steadier than the Danish vessels and they soon -showed their worth when more than 20 vessels with -their crews were lost by the Danes in one year. It -is interesting to note that these vessels were manned -in part by Frisian sailors, probably because of the -low ebb to which English seamanship had sunk.</p> - -<p>When once Edward the Elder's claim to the throne -was firmly established in the battle fought at 'the -Holm,' somewhere in South Cambridgeshire, he commenced, -with the active co-operation of his brother-in-law -Aethelred, ealdorman of Mercia, the great work -of strengthening the hold of the English on Southern -Mercia preparatory to an attempt to reconquer the -Danelagh. Chester was rebuilt in 907. In 910 a -fort was built at 'Bremesbyrig,' possibly Bromesberrow -in Gloucestershire. Aethelred died in the -next year, but his wife Aethelflæd, the 'Lady of the -Mercians,' continued his work, and forts were built -at 'Scergeat,' perhaps Shrewsbury, at Bridgenorth -on the Severn, at Tamworth, and at Stafford in 912. -In 914 Warwick was fortified, while in 915 forts were -built at Chirbury in Shropshire and Runcorn in -Cheshire.</p> - -<p>On the death of Aethelred, Edward took London -and Oxford and the parts of Mercia adhering to them<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[30]</a></span> -into his own hands. Two forts were built on the -north and south sides of the Lea at Hertford in -911-12, and another at Witham on the Blackwater in -Essex. Edward's work soon bore fruit, for we read -that in the same year a large number of those who -had been under Danish rule now made submission to -the king. The Danes in the Five Boroughs became -restless under the continued advance of the English, -and twice in the year 913 they made raids from -Leicester and Northampton as far as Hook Norton -in Oxfordshire and Leighton Buzzard, while in the -next year Edward, for the first time in his reign, was -troubled by raiders from abroad. Coming from -Brittany they sailed up the Severn, ravaged South -Wales and the Archenfield district of Herefordshire, -but could do nothing against the garrison of -Gloucester, Hereford and other neighbouring towns, -which seem already to have been fortified. They -were forced to leave the district and so careful -a watch did Edward keep over the coast of Somerset, -Devon and Cornwall that they could make no effective -landing, though they tried twice, at Porlock and at -Watchet. Ultimately they took up their quarters -in the islands of Flatholme and Steepholme in the -Bristol Channel, but lack of food soon drove them -away to Ireland in a starving condition. In the same -year Edward built two forts at Buckingham, one on -each side of the Ouse, and his policy again found<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[31]</a></span> -speedy justification when Earl Thurcytel (O.N. -Ðorkell) and all the chief men who 'obeyed<a name="FNanchor_5_5" id="FNanchor_5_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_5_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a>' -Bedford, together with many of those who 'obeyed' -Northampton submitted to him.</p> - -<p>Everything was now ready for the great advance -against the Danes. Derby fell in 917, while in the -next year Leicester yielded without a struggle. Their -fall was accompanied by the submission of the men -of Derbyshire and Leicestershire. At the same time -the inhabitants of York declared themselves ready -to enter the service of Mercia. Edward fortified -Bedford in 915, Maldon and Towcester in South -Northamptonshire in 916. Again the Danes from -Northampton and Leicester tried to break through -the steadily narrowing ring of forts and they managed -to get as far south as Aylesbury, while others from -Huntingdon and East Anglia built a fort at Tempsford -in Bedfordshire near the junction of the Ivel and -the Ouse. They besieged a fort at 'Wigingamere' -(unidentified) but were forced to withdraw. Edward -gathered an army from the nearest garrison towns, -besieged, captured, and destroyed Tempsford (915). -In the autumn he captured Colchester and a Danish<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[32]</a></span> -attempt on Maldon failed. Edward now strengthened -Towcester and received the submission of Earl -Thurfrith (O.N. Ðorröðr) and all the Danes in -Northamptonshire as far north as the Welland. -Huntingdon was occupied about the same time and -the ring of forts around East Anglia brought about -the submission of the whole of that district, -Cambridgeshire making a separate compact on its -own account. In 918 Edward built a fort just south -of Stamford and soon received the submission of the -Danes of South Lincolnshire, and in the same year -occupied Nottingham, building a fort and garrisoning -it with a mixed English and Danish force. He was -now ruler of the whole of Mercia owing to the death -of his sister Aethelflæd, and in 919 he fortified -Thelwall in Cheshire, on the Mersey, and rebuilt -the old Roman fort at Manchester. In 920 he built -a second fort at Nottingham and one at Bakewell in -Derbyshire. The reconquest of the Danelagh was -complete and Edward now received the submission -of the Scots, the Strathclyde Welsh, of Regnold (O.N. -Rögnvaldr) of Northumbria, and of English, Danes -and Norsemen alike. The Danish settlers accepted -the sovereignty of the West Saxon king and henceforward -formed part of an expanded Wessex which -had consolidated its power over all England south -of a line drawn roughly from the Humber to the -Dee.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[33]</a></span></p> -<p>The submission of Rögnvaldr, king of Northumbria -and the mention of Norsemen need some -comment. On the death of Halfdanr in 877 an -interregnum of seven years ensued and then, in accordance -with instructions given by St Cuthbert in -a vision to abbot Eadred of Carlisle, the Northumbrians -chose a certain Guthred (O.N. Guðröðr) as -their king. He was possibly a nephew of the late -king, ruled till 894, and was also known as Cnut -(O.N. Knútr). We have coins bearing the inscription -'Elfred rex' on the obverse and 'Cnut rex' -on the reverse, indicating apparently some overlordship -of king Alfred. Together with these we -have some coins with 'Cnut rex' on the obverse and -'Siefredus' or (Sievert) on the reverse, and others, -minted at 'Ebroice civitas' (i.e. York), with the sole -inscription 'Siefredus rex.' This latter king would -seem to have been first a subordinate partner and -then, on Guðröðr's death, sole ruler of Northumbria. -Other coins belonging to about the same period and -found in the great Cuerdale hoard near Preston, bear -the inscription 'Sitric Comes,' and there is good -reason to believe that Siefredus (O.N. Sigröðr) and -Sitric (O.N. Sigtryggr) are to be identified with -Sichfrith and Sitriucc who just at this time are -mentioned in the Irish annals as rival leaders of the -Norsemen in Dublin. The identification is important -as it shows us that Northumbria was now being<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[34]</a></span> -brought into definite connexion with the Norse -kingdom of Dublin and that the Norse element was -asserting itself at the expense of the Danish in -Northern England.</p> - -<p>The rule of Sigröðr and Sigtryggr alike had come -to an end by 911 and we know nothing more until -the year 918 when a fresh invasion from Ireland took -place under a certain Rögnvaldr. He gained a -victory at Corbridge-on-Tyne and captured York in -919 or 920. He divided the lands of St Cuthbert -among his followers but died in 921, the year of -his submission to the overlordship of Edward. The -Irish annals speak of him as king of White and Black -foreigners alike, thus emphasising the composite -settlement of Northumbria.</p> - -<p>Another leader from Ireland, one Sigtryggr, -succeeded Rögnvaldr as king of Northumbria. He -was on friendly terms with Aethelstan and married -his sister in 925. He died in 926 or 927 and then -Aethelstan took Northumbria under his own control. -Sigtryggr's brother Guðröðr submitted to Aethelstan -but after four days at the court of king Aethelstan -'he returned to piracy as a fish to the sea.' Both -Sigtryggr and Guðröðr left sons bearing the name -Anlaf (O.N. Ólafr) and with them Aethelstan and his -successors had much trouble. Anlaf Sihtricsson lived -in exile in Scotland and gradually organised against -Aethelstan a great confederacy of Scots, Strathclyde<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[35]</a></span> -Welsh and Vikings, both Danish and Norwegian, -Anlaf Godfreyson brought help from Ireland and -the great struggle began. The course of the campaign -is uncertain but if the site of its main battle, -'Brunanburh,' is to be identified with Birrenswark -Hill in S.E. Dumfriesshire, it would seem that -Aethelstan carried the war into the enemy's country. -The result of the battle was a complete victory for -the forces of Aethelstan and his brother Edmund. -Constantine's son, five kings and seven jarls were -among the slain. We have in the Anglo-Saxon -Chronicle a poem<a name="FNanchor_6_6" id="FNanchor_6_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_6_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a> celebrating the victory, and it -describes in vivid language the hurried return home -of Constantine, lamenting the death of his son, and -the headlong flight of Anlaf Godfreyson to Dublin. -England had been freed from its greatest danger -since the days of king Alfred and his struggle with -Guthrum.</p> - -<p>Aethelstan had no more trouble with the Norsemen -and we have evidence from other sources that -at some time during his reign, probably at an earlier -date, he exchanged embassies with Harold Fairhair, -king of Norway. The latter sent him a present of -a ship with golden prow and purple sails and the -usual bulwark of shields along the gunwale, while -Harold's favourite son Hákon was brought up at -Aethelstan's court. There he was baptised and -educated and is known in Norse history as Hákon -Aðalsteinsfóstri.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[36]</a></span></p> - -<p>After the death of Aethelstan, Anlaf Sihtricsson, -nicknamed Cuaran (i.e. with the sock or brogue of -leather, so called from his Irish dress) came to -England and captured York. From there he made -an attempt to conquer the Danish district of the -Five Boroughs. He seems to have got a good part -of Mercia into his hands but in the end Edmund -freed the Danes from Norse oppression and took -once more into his hands all Mercia south of a line -from Dore (near Sheffield) to Whitwell (Derbyshire) -and thence to the Humber. Edmund and Anlaf came -to terms, but Anlaf was driven out by the Northumbrians -in 943, and in the next year that province fell -into the hands of Edmund. In 947 Eric Blood-axe, -son of Harold Fairhair, was accepted as king by the -Northumbrians. In Scandinavian tradition we learn -how he was expelled from Norway in 934 by the -supporters of Hákon, went on Viking raids in the -west, was appointed ruler of Northumbria by Aethelstan -on condition of his defending it against attack, -but was not on good terms with Edmund, who -favoured one Ólaf. Probably Eric retired after -Aethelstan's death and only returned to England in -947. In 948 Edmund forced the Northumbrians to -abandon his cause and about the same time Anlaf<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[37]</a></span> -returned from Ireland and ruled till about 950 when -he was replaced by Eric, whose short rule came to -an end in 954. In that year he was expelled by -the Northumbrians and killed at Stainmoor in Westmorland. -The attempt to establish a Norse kingdom -of Northumbria had failed and henceforward that -district was directly under the rule of the English -king. English authority was supreme once more even -in those districts which were largely peopled with -Scandinavian settlers.</p> - -<p>England had no further trouble with Norse or -Danish invaders until the days of Ethelred the -Unready, but no sooner did that weak and ill-advised -king come to the throne than, with that ready and -intimate knowledge of local conditions which they -always displayed, we find Danes making an attack -on Southampton and Norsemen one on Chester. The -renewed attacks were not however due solely to -the weakness of England, they were also the result -of changed conditions in Scandinavia itself. In -Denmark the reign of Harold Bluetooth was drawing -to a close, and the younger generation, conscious of -a strong and well-organised nation behind them, were -ambitious of new and larger conquests, while at the -same time many of them were in revolt against the -definitely Christian policy of Harold in his old age. -They turned with hope towards his young son Svein, -and found in him a ready and willing leader. In<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[38]</a></span> -Norway, Earl Hákon had broken away from the -suzerainty of Harold Bluetooth, but the Norwegians -could not forget that he owed his throne to a foreign -power, and his personal harshness and licentiousness -as well as his zealous cult of the old heathen rites -were a cause of much discontent. The hopes of the -younger generation were fixed on Olaf Tryggvason, -a man filled with the spirit of the old Vikings. -Captured by pirates from Esthonia when still a child, -he was discovered, ransomed, and taken to Novgorod, -where he entered the service of the Grand Duke -Vladimir. Furnished by him with a ship he went -'viking' in the Baltic and then ten years later we -find him prominent among the Norsemen who -attacked England in the days of king Ethelred. In -991 a Norse fleet under Olaf visited Ipswich and -Maldon. Here they met with a stout resistance -headed by the brave Byrhtnoth, earl of Essex, and -in the fragmentary lay of the fight at Maldon<a name="FNanchor_7_7" id="FNanchor_7_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_7_7" class="fnanchor">[7]</a>, -which has been preserved to us, we see that there -was still much of the spirit of the heroic age left -in the English nation even in the days of Ethelred II. -It was to buy off this attack that a payment of -Danegeld to the extent of some ten thousand pounds -was made. From Maldon Olaf went to Wales and -Anglesey and it was somewhere in the west that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[39]</a></span> -he received knowledge of the Christian faith from -an anchorite and was baptised. He did not however -renounce his Viking-life, but joined forces with his -great Danish contemporary Svein Forkbeard. Bamborough -was sacked in 993, and both were present -at the siege of London in 994, when they sailed up -the Thames with 490 ships. The attack was a failure -and Olaf came to terms with Ethelred agreeing to -desist from further attack in return for a payment of -sixteen thousand pounds of Danegeld. Olaf was the -more ready to make this promise as he was now -addressing himself to the task of gaining the sovereignty -of Norway itself. Many of the Norsemen -returned with Olaf but the attacks on the coast -continued and the invaders, chiefly Danes now, -ravaged the country in all directions. Treachery -was rife in the English forces and again and again -the ealdormen failed in the hour of need. Danegeld -after Danegeld was paid in the vain hope of buying -off further attacks, and the almost incredible sum of -158,000 pounds of silver (i.e. some half million -sterling) was paid as Danegeld during a period of -little more than 20 years. Once or twice Ethelred -showed signs of energy; once in 1000 when a fleet -was sent to Chester, which ravaged the Isle of Man -while an army devastated Cumberland, and again in -1004 when a great fleet was made ready but ultimately -proved of no use. Ethelred's worst stroke<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[40]</a></span> -of policy was the order given in 1002 for the massacre -on St Brice's Day of all Danes settled in England. -His orders were carried out only too faithfully and -among the slain was Svein's sister Gunnhild, the wife -of a Danish jarl in the king's service. Svein's vengeance -was relentless, and during the next ten years -the land had no peace until in 1013 Ethelred was -driven from the throne, and Svein himself became -king of England. Svein died in 1014 and his son -Cnut succeeded to his claim. Ethelred was invited -by the <i>witan</i> to return, and ultimately Wessex fell -to Cnut, while the district of the Seven Boroughs -(the old five together with York and Chester) and -Northumbria passed into the hands of Ethelred, or -rather of his energetic son Edmund. This division -of the country placing the district once settled by -Danes and Norsemen under an English king while -the heart of England itself was in the possession of -a Scandinavian king shows how completely the settlers -in those districts had come to identify themselves -with English interests as a whole. Mercia was -nominally in Ethelred's power, but its ealdorman, -Eadric Streona, was the most treacherous of all the -English earls. On Ethelred's death in 1016 the <i>witan</i> -chose Edmund Ironside as king and a series of battles -took place culminating in that at Ashingdon in Essex -where the English were completely defeated through -the treachery of Eadric. A division of the kingdom<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[41]</a></span> -was now made whereby Wessex fell to Edmund, -Mercia and Northumbria to Cnut—thus easily was -the allegiance of the various districts transferred from -one sovereign to another. Edmund only lived a few -months and Cnut then became king of all England. -For twenty years the land enjoyed peace and prosperity. -In 1018 the greater part of the Danish army -and fleet returned to Denmark, some forty ships and -their crews sufficing Cnut for the defence of his -kingdom. During the next four years he received -the submission of the king of Scotland and made -a memorable pilgrimage to Rome. The most important -event of his later years was however his -struggle with Olaf the Stout, the great St Olaf of -Norway.</p> - -<p>Norway was now entirely independent of Danish -sovereignty and when Cnut sent an embassy voicing -the old claims of the Danish kings he received a -proudly independent answer from St Olaf. For the -time being Cnut had to be satisfied, but in 1025 he -sailed with a fleet to Norway, only to suffer defeat -at the Battle of the Helge-aa (i.e. Holy River) in -Skaane, at the hands of the united forces of Norway -and Sweden. Three years later the attack was -renewed. Olaf's strenuous and often cruel advocacy -of the cause of Christianity had alienated many of -his subjects and the Swedes had deserted their ally. -The result was that Olaf fled to Russia and Cnut was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[42]</a></span> -declared king of Norway. Two years later the exile -returned and fell fighting against his own countrymen. -Cnut was now the mightiest of all Scandinavian kings, -but on his death in 1035 his empire fell apart; Norway -went to his son Svein, Denmark to Harthacnut and -England to Harold Harefoot. Harold was succeeded -by Harthacnut in 1040, but neither king was of the -same stamp as Cnut and they were both overshadowed -by the great Godwine, earl of Wessex. When Harthacnut -died in 1042 the male line in descent from Cnut -was extinct, and though some of the Danes were in -favour of choosing Cnut's sister's son Svein, Godwine -secured the election of Edward the Confessor. With -the accession of Edward Danish rule in England was -at an end and, except for the ambitious expedition of -Harold Hardrada, foiled at Stamford Bridge in 1066, -there was no further serious question of a Scandinavian -kingship either in or over England.</p> - -<p>The sufferings of England during the second -period of invasion (980-1016) were probably quite -as severe as in the worst days of Alfred—the well-known -<i>Sermo Lupi ad Anglos</i>, written by Archbishop -Wulfstan of York in 1014, draws a terrible picture of -the chaos and anarchy then prevailing—but we must -remember that neither these years nor the ensuing -five and thirty years of Danish kingship left as deep -a mark on England as the earlier wars and the -settlements resulting from them. There was no<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[43]</a></span> -further permanent occupation or division of territory -and though some of the earldoms and the great -estates passed into the hands of the king's Danish -followers, there was no transformation of the whole -social life of the people such as had taken place in -the old Danelagh districts.</p> - -<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_5_5" id="Footnote_5_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5_5"><span class="label">[5]</span></a> This phrase is used repeatedly in the Chronicle in connexion -with such towns as Bedford, Cambridge, Derby, Leicester and -Northampton, and there can be no question that these groups -represent the shires which now take their names from these towns. -For purposes of convenience we shall henceforward speak of such -groups as 'shires.'</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_6_6" id="Footnote_6_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_6_6"><span class="label">[6]</span></a> See Tennyson's translation.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_7_7" id="Footnote_7_7"></a><a href="#FNanchor_7_7"><span class="label">[7]</span></a> See Freeman's <i>Old English History for Children</i> for a translation -of this poem.</p></div></div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2>CHAPTER IV<br /> - -THE VIKINGS IN THE FRANKISH EMPIRE TO THE<br /> -FOUNDING OF NORMANDY (911)</h2> - - -<p>The years from 850-865 were perhaps the most -unhappy in the whole history of the sufferings of the -Frankish empire under Viking attack. The Danes -now took up more or less permanent quarters, often -strongly fortified, on the Scheldt, the Somme, the -Seine, the Loire and the Garonne, while Utrecht, -Ghent, Amiens, Paris, Chartres, Tours, Blois, Orléans, -Poitiers, Limoges, Bordeaux and many other towns -and cities were sacked, often more than once. When -Hrœrekr obtained from the young Hárekr of Denmark -a concession of certain districts between the Eider -and the sea, he gave trouble in that direction and -sailed up the Elbe and the Weser alike. His nephew -Guðröðr was in occupation of Flanders and the lower -valley of the Scheldt.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[44]</a></span></p> - -<p>Besides these Viking leaders, who were active in -the Low Countries, we have the names of several -others who were busy in France itself. The most -famous of these were the sons of Ragnarr Loðbrók. -Berno, who first appeared on the Seine in 855, was -Björn Ironside, while it is quite possible that the -Sidroc who accompanied him was Sigurd Snake-eye, -another son of that famous leader. With Björn, at -least according to Norman tradition, came Hastingus -(O.N. Hásteinn), his foster-father. Hásteinn was -destined to a long and active career. We first hear -of him in the annals in 866 when he appeared on the -Loire, and it was he who was one of the chief leaders -in the great Danish invasion of England in 892-4. -The sudden appearance of these leaders was undoubtedly -due, as suggested in the previous chapter, to the -turn of events in Denmark at this time. During the -year of the revolution—854—no attacks were made -on France at all and then immediately after came -a flood of invaders. The Seine was never free from -855-62 and the Loire district was little better off. -The troubled and desolate condition of the country -may be judged from the numerous royal decrees -commending those who had been driven from their -land to the protection of those with whom they had -taken refuge and exempting them from payment of -the usual taxes. Many even deserted their Christian -faith and became worshippers of the gods of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[45]</a></span> -heathen. The difficulties of Charles the Bald were -greatly increased by succession troubles both in -Brittany and Aquitaine. Now one, now another -claimant allied himself with the Northmen, and -Charles himself was often an offender in this respect. -He initiated the disastrous policy of buying off attack -by the payment of large sums of what in England -would have been called Danegeld. In 859 occurred -an incident which throws a curious light on the -condition of the country. The peasants between the -Seine and the Loire rose of their own accord and -attacked the Danes in the Seine valley. It is not -quite clear what followed, but the rising was a failure, -and possibly it was crushed by the Frankish nobles -themselves who feared anything in the nature of -a popular rising made without reference to their own -authority. In any case the incident bears witness to -a lack of proper leadership by the nobles.</p> - -<p>After the year 865 the tide of invasion set from -France towards England. These were the years of -Alfred's great struggle, and Danish efforts were -concentrated on the attempt to reduce that monarch -to submission. The Franks themselves had begun -to realise the necessity of more carefully organised -resistance. They began building fortified bridges -across the rivers at certain points in order to stop -the passage of Viking ships, and they also fortified -several of their towns and cities, thus giving perhaps<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[46]</a></span> -a hint for the policy later adopted in England by -Edward the Elder. Probably the Franks were not -above taking lessons from their enemies in the matter -of fortification, for the latter had already shown -themselves approved masters of the art in such -fortified camps as that at Jeufosse on the Seine. In -another way also had the Danes showed themselves -ready to adapt themselves to new fighting conditions. -Not only did they build forts, but we hear of them -as mounted, and henceforward horses played an important -part in their equipment both in France and -England.</p> - -<p>During these years the Vikings made one notable -expedition far beyond the ordinary range of their -activity. Starting from the Seine in 859 under the -leadership of Björn and Hásteinn, they sailed round -the Iberian Peninsula through the Straits of -Gibraltar. They landed in Morocco and carried off -prisoners many of the Moors or 'Blue-men' as they -called them. Some of these found their way to -Ireland and are mentioned in certain Irish annals of -the period. After fresh attacks on Spain they sailed -to the Balearic Isles, and Roussillon, which they -penetrated as far as Arles-sur-Tech. They wintered -in the island of Camargue in the Rhone delta and -then raided the old Roman cities of Provence and -sailed up the Rhone itself as far as Valence. In the -spring of the next year they sailed to Italy. They<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[47]</a></span> -captured Pisa and Luna (at the mouth of the Magra), -the latter being taken by a clever stratagem. -Hásteinn feigned himself sick unto death and was -baptised by the bishop of Luna during a truce. -Then news came that Hásteinn was dead and the -Vikings asked Christian burial for him. Permission -was given and a mock funeral procession entered the -city. It was in reality a band of armed men in -disguise and the city was soon captured. The real -aim of the Vikings in this campaign was the capture -of Rome with its mighty treasures, but, for some -reason unknown, they made no advance further south. -Scandinavian tradition said it was because they -mistook Luna for Rome and thought their work -already done! Sailing back through the Straits of -Gibraltar they returned to Brittany in 862. The -Vikings had now almost encircled Europe with their -attacks, for it was in the year 865 that the Swedish -Rhôs (Russians) laid siege to Constantinople.</p> - -<p>When Alfred secured a definite peace with the -Danes in 878, those who were averse to settling -permanently returned to their old roving life. They -made their way up the Somme and the Scheldt and -their progress was not stopped by a brilliant victory -gained by the young Lewis III in June 881 at -Saucourt, near the Somme, a victory which is -celebrated in the famous <i>Ludwigslied</i>. During the -same years, another Viking host invaded Saxony<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[48]</a></span> -winning a decisive victory over Duke Bruno on the -Lüneburg Heath. After their defeat at Saucourt -the main body of the Danes made their way to -Elsloo on the Meuse whence they ravaged the -Meuse, Rhine and Moselle districts plundering -Cologne, Bonn, Coblentz, Aachen, Trèves and Metz. -So alarmed was the emperor Charles the Fat that he -entered into negotiations with the Danish king Guðröðr -who was with the forces at Elsloo. He secured -Guðröðr's acceptance of Christianity and the promise -of security from further attack at the price of a large -payment of Danegeld and the concession to Guðröðr -of the province once held by Hrœrekr, with large -additions. The exact extent of the grant is uncertain, -but it included the district of Kinnem (round -Alkmaar and Haarlem) and probably covered the -greater part of Modern Holland from the Vlie to the -Scheldt. Here Guðröðr lived in semi-independence -and might perhaps have established another Normandy -within the empire had he not been ruined by -too great ambition. He entirely failed to defend his -province from attacks, indeed he probably gave them -covert support; he intrigued with Hugo, the bastard -son of Lothair II, against the emperor, married his -sister Gisla, and then asked for additional territories -on the Rhine and the Moselle, on the plea that his -own province included no vine-growing districts. -Guðröðr had now overstepped all reasonable limits:<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[49]</a></span> -the emperor entered into negotiations with him but -secured his death by treachery when a meeting was -arranged near Cleves. With the fall of Guðröðr -Danish rule in Frisia came to an end, and though we -hear of isolated attacks even during the early years -of the 10th century, there was no more serious trouble -in that district.</p> - -<p>In the autumn of 882, encouraged doubtless by -the news of the death of Lewis III, the Danes returned -from the Meuse to Flanders and during the next -three years ravaged Flanders, Brabant and Picardy, -establishing themselves strongly at Louvain. In 885 -they abandoned these districts and sailed up the -Seine, after a nine years' absence. In November they -reached Paris with a fighting force of some 30,000 -men and a fleet of 700 vessels. The passage up -the river was stopped by fortified bridges and the -besiegers were fortunate in having as leaders two -men of great ability and courage, first Gauzlin, Abbot -of St Germain's, and, later, Count Odo of Paris. -The position of Paris was at times desperate. The -Danes were exasperated by the stout defence and -in their eagerness to plunder further up the river -dragged many of their ships some two miles overland -past Paris, and so reached the upper waters of the -Seine. Later, as the result of peaceful negotiations, -they obtained permission to pass the bridges on -condition that they only ravaged Burgundy, leaving<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[50]</a></span> -the Seine and Marne districts untouched; thus had -the provinces of the Frankish empire lost all sense of -corporate union. The Danes soon made their way -as far west as Verdun. Here however they were -disastrously defeated by Odo, now king of the West -Franks (June 888), and in the next year they finally -abandoned the siege of Paris making their way to -Brittany.</p> - -<p>In Brittany they found another army already -busy. The Bretons had won a great victory in the -autumn of 888 when only 400 out of some 15,000 -Danes made their way back to their fleet. The great -<i>here</i> from the Seine now joined forces with the remnants -of this army, but proved powerless against Duke -Alan, and some returned to Flanders in 890, while -Hásteinn with the rest sailed to the Somme. The -Danes in Flanders were defeated by Arnulf (afterwards -emperor) on the Dyle, near Louvain, in 891, -but it had no great effect for soon after we find them -again as far east as Bonn. A bad harvest in the -summer of 892 brought famine in its train and this -was more effective in ridding the land of invaders. -In the autumn of the year the whole army, horses -and all, crossed in one passage in some 250 ships -from Boulogne to the mouth of the Limen in Kent -and, shortly after, Hásteinn with a fleet of 80 ships -left the Somme and sailed to Milton in North Kent. -The story of the campaigns there has already been<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[51]</a></span> -told. For the first time since 840 the Frankish -empire was free from invaders. Grievous as were -the losses of the Franks, it is well to remember that -those of the Danes had been great also. Their fleet -had been reduced from 700 to 250 ships, and as the -whole army could still go to England in one crossing, -that must also have been reduced from thirty to ten -or fifteen thousand men.</p> - -<p>When the English invasion had failed, those who -could not settle in England returned to their French -haunts once more. A small force of eight ships -and some 200 men sailed up the Seine under one -'Huncdeus' and gradually their numbers were increased -by fresh arrivals from abroad. They made -their way north to the Meuse, south to the Loire, and -east to Burgundy, but their head quarters were on -the lower waters of the Seine. In 903 other invaders -appeared on the Loire under leaders named Baret -(O.N. Bárðr) and Heric (O.N. Eiríkr). The name -of Bárðr is mentioned more than once in the contemporary -history of the Norsemen in Ireland, and as -the Norsemen were driven from Dublin in 902 it is -probable that these invaders came from there. The -expedition was not a success and the Vikings soon -sailed away again. Of the history of the settlers on -the Seine after 900 we unfortunately know practically -nothing. The Norman historian Dudo attempted in -the 11th century to give a connected account but his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[52]</a></span> -narrative is confused and unreliable. Odo was dead -and Charles the Simple was more interested in -conquering Lorraine than defending Neustria. The -clergy were weary of the ceaseless spoiling of the -monasteries and anxious for the conversion of the -heathen, while the nobles were, as usual, selfish and -careless of the interests of the country at large. -The Northmen made no great expeditions between -900 and 910, but maintained a steady hold on the -Lower Seine and the districts of Bessin and Cotentin. -They could not extend their territories and the Franks -could not drive them from the Seine. At length, largely -through the intervention of the clergy, a meeting was -arranged between Charles and the Viking leader Rollo -at St Clair-sur-Epte, before the end of 911. Here the -province later known as Normandy (including the -counties of Rouen, Lisieux, Evreux and the district -between the rivers Bresle and Epte and the sea) -was given to Rollo and his followers as a <i>beneficium</i>, -on condition that he defended the kingdom against -attack, and himself accepted Christianity. The Danes -now formed a definite part of the Frankish kingdom -and occupied a position analogous to that of their -countrymen in East Anglia, Northumbria and Mercia -in England, except that the latter after a period -of freedom had in course of time to pass definitely -under English rule.</p> - -<p>The story of the foundation of Normandy is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[53]</a></span> -obscure: still more obscure is the origin and history -of the leader of the Northmen at this time. Norse -tradition, as given by Snorri Sturluson, makes Rollo -to be one Hrólfr, son of Rögnvaldr earl of Möre, who -was exiled by Harold Fairhair and led a Viking life -in the west. Norman tradition, as found in Dudo, -made him out the son of a great noble in Denmark, -who was expelled by the king and later went to -England, Frisia and Northern France. Dudo's account -of the founding of Normandy is so full of errors -clearly proven that little reliance can be placed on -his story of the origin of Rollo. The <i>Heimskringla</i> -tradition was recorded much later, but is probably -more trustworthy, and it would be no strange thing -to find a man of Norse birth leading a Danish host. -Ragnarr Loðbrók and his sons were Norsemen by -family but they appear for the most part as leaders -of Danes. How Rollo came to be the leader of the -Danes in France and what his previous career had -been must remain an unsolved mystery. His name -is not mentioned apart from the settlement of -Normandy.</p> - -<p>The Normans continued to ravage Brittany without -any interruption and they were soon granted -the further districts of Bayeux, Seez, Avranches and -Coutances, which made Brittany and Normandy -conterminous.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[54]</a></span></p> - -<h2>CHAPTER V<br /> - -THE VIKINGS IN IRELAND TO THE BATTLE<br /> -OF CLONTARF (1014)</h2> - - -<p>In the history of the Vikings in Ireland we have -seen how the attempt made by Turges to bring all -Ireland under one ruler came to nought by his death -in 845. At first this seems to have thrown the -Norsemen into confusion and we hear of a series of -defeats. Then, in 849, the invasions developed a new -phase. Hitherto while the Irish had been weakened -by much internecine warfare, their enemies had -worked with one mind and heart. Now we read of -'a naval expedition of seven score of the Foreigners -coming to exercise power over the Foreigners who -were before them, so that they disturbed all Ireland -afterwards.' This means that the Danes were now -taking an active part in the invasions of Ireland, and -we soon find them disputing the supremacy with the -earlier Norse settlers. A full and picturesque account -of the struggle is preserved for us in the second of -the <i>Three Fragments of Irish Annals</i> copied by -Dugald MacFirbis. Unfortunately the chronology -of these annals is in a highly confused state and it is -often difficult to trace the exact sequence of events.</p> - -<p>When the Norsemen first saw the approaching<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[55]</a></span> -fleet they were much alarmed. Some said it was -reinforcements from Norway, but others, with keener -insight, said they were Danes who were coming to -harry and plunder. A swift vessel was dispatched -to find out who they were, and when the steersman -called out to them inquiring from what land they -came and whether as friend or foe, the only answer -was a shower of arrows. A fierce battle ensued, in -which the Danes killed thrice their own number and -carried off the women-folk and property of the -Norsemen. In 851 they plundered the Norse settlements -at Dublin and Dundalk, but in the next -year the Norsemen attacked them in Carlingford -Lough. At first the Danes were defeated, but then -their leader cunningly exhorted his men to secure -by their prayers and alms the patronage of St -Patrick, who was incensed against the Norsemen -because of the many evil deeds they had wrought in -Erin. The battle was renewed and the Danes were -victorious. After the battle they made rich gifts to -St Patrick for 'the Danes were a people with a kind -of piety: they could for a time refrain from meat -and from women.' After the fight we learn that the -Danes cooked their meat in cauldrons supported on -the bodies of their dead foes. The Danes now helped -Cerbhal, king of Ossory, against the Norsemen who -were harrying Munster, and henceforward we hear -again and again how the various Irish factions made<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[56]</a></span> -use of the dissensions among the invaders to further -their own ends.</p> - -<p>Matters were further complicated by the fact that -many of the Irish forsook their Christian baptism -and joined the Norsemen in their plundering. These -recreant Irish were known as the Gaill-Gaedhil (i.e. -the foreign Irish), and played an important part in -the wars of the next few years. The Gaill-Gaedhil -were undoubtedly a race of mixed Norse and Gaelic -stock and we must not imagine that they sprung -suddenly into existence at this time. Long before -this the Norsemen and the Gaels must have had -considerable peaceful intercourse with one another -in their various settlements, and in accordance with -well-established Scandinavian custom it would seem -that many of the Irish were brought up as foster-children -in Norse households and must soon have -learned to accept their religion and customs. There -was also extensive intermarriage between Norsemen -and Irish. The annals speak of several such unions, -the most famous being the marriage of Gormflaith, -afterwards wife of Brian Borumha, to Anlaf Sihtricsson, -while in the genealogies of the Norse settlers in -Iceland at the end of this century, Gaelic names are -of frequent occurrence. One of the most famous of -the leaders of these 'foreign Irish' was Ketill Finn -(i.e. the White), a Norseman with an Irish nickname. -These foreign Irish fought either by the side of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[57]</a></span> -foreigners or on their own account and we have an -interesting story telling how, when Vikings from -Ireland made an invasion of Cheshire (c. 912), -Aethelflæd, the lady of the Mercians, sent ambassadors -to those Irish who were fighting on the side of the -invaders, calling upon them to forsake the pagans -and remember the old kindness shown in England to -Irish soldiers and clergy.</p> - -<p>The troubles between Norsemen and Danes -were probably responsible for the arrival in Ireland -in 853 of Amhlaeibh, son of the king of Norway, -to receive the submission of the foreigners. This -Amhlaeibh is Olaf the White of Norse tradition. Olaf -is represented as ruling together with his brother -Imhar (O.N. Ívarr). The annals are not very good -authority for the relationship of the Norse leaders -to one another, and it is quite possible that Ívarr is -really Ívarr the Boneless, son to Ragnarr Loðbrók. -Under the strong rule of Olaf and Ívarr Dublin became -the chief centre of Scandinavian rule in Ireland, -and the Danes and Norsemen were to some extent -reconciled to one another. The Irish suffered great -losses but some brave leaders were found to face the -Norsemen. Cennedigh, king of Leix (Queen's County), -came upon a party of them laden with booty; they -abandoned the spoil and rushed upon Cennedigh -with angry barbarous shouts, blowing their trumpets -and many of them crying <i>nui, nui</i> (i.e. probably, in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[58]</a></span> -the old Norse speech, <i>knúi, knúi</i>, 'hasten on, hasten -on'). Many darts and spears were thrown and at -last they took to their heavy powerful swords. All -was however of no avail and Cennedigh won a great -victory. Less fortunate was Maelciarain, 'champion -of the east of Ireland and a hero-plunderer of the -foreigners.' He was expelled from his kingdom by -the Leinstermen, who envied him in consequence of -his many victories over the Norsemen!</p> - -<p>The activities of Olaf and Ívarr were not confined -to Ireland. In 866 Olaf paid a visit to Scotland, while -in 870 both Olaf and Ívarr were present at the siege -of Dumbarton. If Ívarr is Ívarr the Boneless, he must -then have gone to England and taken part in the -martyrdom of St Edmund. In the next year both -leaders returned to Dublin with a large number of -prisoners—English, Britons and Picts. In 873 Ívarr, -'king of the Norsemen of all Ireland and Britain' -died, and about the same time Olaf returned to -Norway, possibly to take part in the great fight -against Harold Fairhair at Hafrsfjord. The Danes -seem to have taken advantage of the removal of Olaf -to attempt to throw off the Norse yoke. Fresh -fighting took place and the Danes under Albdann, i.e. -Halfdanr, king of Northumbria, were defeated on -Strangford Lough in 877 with the loss of their leader.</p> - -<p>After 877 the <i>War of the Gaedhil with the Gaill</i> -notes a period of rest for Ireland, lasting some forty<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[59]</a></span> -years. This is true to the extent that no large fleets -of fresh invaders seem to have come to Ireland during -this time—the Vikings were too busy elsewhere, both -in England and the Frankish empire—but there were -occasional raids from Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Waterford -and other towns into various districts of Ireland, -and the Norsemen were often at variance amongst -themselves. Dissensions in Dublin were particularly -violent and so much did they weaken Norse rule -there that in 902 Dublin fell into the hands of the -Irish. The Vikings were driven abroad, some going -to Scotland and others to England, where they -besieged Chester (<i>v. supra</i>, p. <a href="#Page_57">57</a>). In the year 914 -all the old troubles were renewed. Rögnvaldr, a -grandson of Ívarr, fresh from a great victory off the -Isle of Man, captured Waterford, and two years later -Sigtryggr, another grandson of Ívarr regained Dublin. -The Irish attempted resistance under the <i>ardrí</i> Niall -Glundubh, but he fell with twelve other kings in a -fight at Kilmashogue near Dublin in 919. During -the next fifty years Ireland was a prey to ceaseless -attacks by Norwegians and Danes alike. Towards -the close of the 9th century Limerick had become -a stronghold of the Norsemen in the west, and from -there they made their way up the Shannon into the -heart of the country. Cork was settled in the early -years of the 10th century, chiefly by Danes, and from -there all Munster was open to attack. Waterford<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[60]</a></span> -and Wexford, which stood as a rule in close connexion -with Dublin, served as centres of attack -against Leinster. The Irish made a stout resistance -under able leaders and Dublin was 'destroyed' more -than once. First among these leaders stands -Muirchertach 'of the leather cloaks,' son of Niall -Glundubh, a hero who came forward about the -year 926. His activities were unceasing. He repeatedly -attacked Dublin, took a fleet to the -Hebrides where he defeated the Vikings, gaining -much spoil, and finally in 941 made a circuit of -Ireland, from which he brought back as hostages -many provincial kings, including the Norse ruler of -Dublin. More famous still in Irish song and story -was Cellachan of Cashel. He made war against the -Vikings in Munster and for a time had the Norse -kingdom of Waterford under his control. Similarly -he conquered Limerick, and we find him fighting -side by side with Norsemen from both these towns. -During these fifty years the Norse kingdom in Dublin -stood in close relation with the Scandinavian kingdom -of Northumbria. Rögnvaldr, who died in 912, ruled -there and so did his brothers Sigtryggr (d. 927) and -Guðröðr (or Godfrey) (d. 934). The brothers left sons -known respectively as Anlaf Sihtricsson and Anlaf -Godfreyson. The latter took part in the great fight at -Brunanburh and died in 939. Anlaf Sihtricsson was -destined to a longer career. He would seem to have<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[61]</a></span> -spent his early years in Scotland where he married -king Constantine's daughter. It is uncertain whether -he fought at Brunanburh, but he came to Northumbria -in 941 and captured York. He was expelled from -Northumbria in 944 or 945 and retired to Dublin, -and the rest of his life was chiefly spent in fighting in -Ireland. He was in close alliance with the Norsemen -in Man and the Western Islands, and was, for some -thirty years, the most powerful Norse ruler in Ireland. -Then came the first great blow to Norse rule in -Ireland. In 980 Maelsechlainn II, the <i>ardrí</i>, won -a great victory at Tara over the foreigners of Dublin -and the Islands in which Anlaf's son was slain. The -power of the kingdom of Dublin was effectually -broken. The Norsemen were compelled to liberate -all the hostages in their custody, to pay a fine of -2000 oxen and to remit the tribute which they had -imposed on all Ireland from the Shannon eastwards -to the sea. Anlaf abandoned his authority and -retired on a pilgrimage to Iona, where he died in the -same year an inmate of its monastery.</p> - -<p>In the meantime events, fraught with important -consequences for Norse rule in that country, were -gradually developing in a distant quarter of Ireland. In -the province of Munster the Dalcassian line of princes -first comes into prominence about the middle of the -10th century, and the two most famous of these -princes were the brothers Mathgamhain and Brian,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[62]</a></span> -commonly known as Brian Borumha. Together the -brothers conquered Munster in spite of the support -given to the Irish by the Viking settlers, and when -their success aroused Ívarr, the ruler of Limerick, -they attacked him and won a great victory at -Sulcoit near Tipperary (968). Limerick was captured, -Mathgamhain died in 976 and Brian was soon -acknowledged king of all Munster. He next became -master of Leinster, but his rapid advance brought -him into conflict with the <i>ardrí</i> and by a compact -made in 998, Maelsechlainn practically surrendered -the southern half of Ireland to Brian. The ruler -of Dublin at this time was Sigtryggr of the Silken -Beard, son of Anlaf and Gormflaith, sister of -Maelmordha, king of Leinster. In 1000 Leinster -with the support of the Norsemen in Dublin revolted, -but Brian defeated them and captured Dublin, giving -his daughter in marriage to Sigtryggr and himself -marrying Gormflaith. In 1002 Maelsechlainn submitted -to Brian and the latter became <i>ardrí</i>. There -followed twelve years of peace, but Brian's marriage -with Gormflaith was his undoing. Quarrelling with -her husband, she stirred up Maelmordha of Leinster -against him. An alliance was formed between -Maelmordha and Sigtryggr, and Gormflaith dispatched -embassies to all the Viking settlements in the West, -summoning them to the aid of Sigtryggr in a great -fight against Brian. Sigtryggr secured the help<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[63]</a></span> -of Earl Sigurd of the Orkneys and North Scotland -by promise of the kingship of Dublin. Ships came -from all parts of the Viking world, from Northumbria, -from Man and the Western Islands, from Scotland -and the Orkneys, and even from Iceland. Dublin -was fixed as the trysting-place and Palm Sunday -1014 was to be the time of meeting. Brian mustered -all the forces of Munster and Connaught and was -joined in half-hearted fashion by Maelsechlainn, who -was really waiting to see which way the fortunes -of war would turn. Brian advanced into the plain -of Fingall, north of Dublin, and the two armies -faced one another at Clontarf all Passion week. -The Norsemen had learned by magic incantations -that if the fight took place before Good Friday their -chiefs would perish and their forces be routed, while -if the fight took place on Good Friday Brian himself -would perish but the Irish would win the day. So -they waited until the Friday and then made their -attack. The fight was long and the slaughter was -terrible. Brian and Sigurd were themselves numbered -among the slain. In the end the Norsemen were -defeated and Maelsechlainn completed their discomfiture -when he cut down the fugitives as they -tried to cross the bridge leading to Dublin and so -reach their ships. No fight was more famous in -Irish history and it seems to have appealed with -equally strong force to Scandinavian imagination.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[64]</a></span> -Clontarf and Brunanburh are the two great Viking -battles which find record in Scandinavian saga, and -in the story of Burnt Njal<a name="FNanchor_8_8" id="FNanchor_8_8"></a><a href="#Footnote_8_8" class="fnanchor">[8]</a> we have a vivid account -both of the actual battle and of the events leading -up to it. Yet more interesting perhaps is the old -lay preserved to us, the <i>Song of the Valkyries</i>, who -that same day were seen in Caithness riding twelve -together to a bower where they set up a loom of -which men's heads were the weights, men's entrails -the warp and woof, while a sword was the shuttle -and the reels were arrows. They wove the web -of war and foretold the fate of king Sigtryggr and -Earl Sigurd as well as the sharp sorrow which -would befall the Irish<a name="FNanchor_9_9" id="FNanchor_9_9"></a><a href="#Footnote_9_9" class="fnanchor">[9]</a>. The Norse world was full -of this and like portents and there can be no question -that the Vikings were themselves conscious that the -battle of Clontarf marked a very definite epoch in -the history of the Vikings in the West and in Ireland -more particularly. The Norsemen remained in -possession of their cities, Sigtryggr continued as -king of Dublin, but gradually the fortunes of the -Norse settlers tended to become merged in the history -of the nation as a whole and there was no further -question of Scandinavian supremacy in Ireland.</p> - -<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_8_8" id="Footnote_8_8"></a><a href="#FNanchor_8_8"><span class="label">[8]</span></a> English version by Sir G. W. Dasent.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_9_9" id="Footnote_9_9"></a><a href="#FNanchor_9_9"><span class="label">[9]</span></a> This song was probably composed soon after the events with -which it is concerned and was first rendered into English by the poet -Gray under the title <i>The Fatal Sisters</i>.</p></div></div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[65]</a></span></p> - -<h2>CHAPTER VI<br /> - -THE VIKINGS IN THE ORKNEYS, SCOTLAND,<br /> -THE WESTERN ISLANDS AND MAN</h2> - - -<p>When the Vikings sailed to England and Ireland -in the late 8th and early 9th centuries their most -natural path was by the Orkneys and Shetlands and -round the Western Islands of Scotland. We have -seen how early they formed settlements in the -Shetlands, and they soon reached the Orkneys and -the Hebrides. From the Orkneys they crossed to -the mainland, to Sutherland and Caithness—the very -names bear witness to Scandinavian occupation—while -Galloway (i.e. the land of the Gaill-Gaedhil, -<i>v. supra</i>, p. <a href="#Page_56">56</a>) was settled from the Isle of Man. -Already in the 9th century the Norse element in -the Hebrides was so strong that the Irish called -the islands <i>Innsi-Gall</i> (i.e. the islands of the -foreigners), and their inhabitants were known as -Gaill-Gaedhil. The Norsemen called the islands -<i>Suðreyjar</i> (i.e. Southern Islands) in contrast to -the Orkneys and Shetlands, which were known as -<i>Norðreyjar</i>, and the name survives in the composite -bishopric of 'Sodor' and Man, which once formed part -of the archdiocese of Trondhjem in Norway. The -Isle of Man was plundered almost as early as any -of the islands of the West (<i>v. supra</i>, p. <a href="#Page_12">12</a>), and it<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[66]</a></span> -was probably from Man that the Norse settlements -in Cumberland and Westmorland were established. -Olaf the White and Ívarr made more than one -expedition from Ireland to the lowlands of Scotland, -and the former was married to Auðr the daughter of -Ketill Flatnose who had made himself the greatest -chieftain in the Western Islands. After the battle of -Hafrsfjord, when Harold Fairhair had finally crushed -his rivals in Norway itself, so powerful were the Norse -settlements in the West that he felt his position -would be insecure until he had received their submission. -Accordingly he made a great expedition -to the Shetlands, Orkneys and the west coast -of Scotland, fulfilled this purpose and entrusted the -Northern Islands to Sigurd, brother of Rögnvaldr, -earl of Möre, as his vassal.</p> - -<p>The history of the Norse settlements in the -Orkneys is well and fully told in the <i>Orkneyingasaga</i><a name="FNanchor_10_10" id="FNanchor_10_10"></a><a href="#Footnote_10_10" class="fnanchor">[10]</a>. -The first Orkney-earl was the above-named Sigurd. -He entered into an alliance with Thorstein the Red, -son to Olaf the White, and together they conquered -Caithness and Sutherland, as far south as the river -Oikel on the borders of Ross and Cromarty. Sigurd's -son Einar, known as Turf-Einar because he first -taught the islanders to cut peat for fuel, founded -a long line of earls of the Orkneys. He had a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[67]</a></span> -quarrel with Harold Fairhair and when that king -imposed a fine on the islanders for the murder of his -son and the farmers could not pay it, Einar paid it -himself on condition that the peasants surrendered -their <i>óðal</i> rights, i.e. their rights of possession in -the lands they cultivated. Turf-Einar's son Sigurd the -Stout was the most famous of all the Orkney-earls, -renowned both as warrior and poet. He conquered -Sutherland, Caithness, Ross, Moray, Argyle, the -Hebrides and Man, securing the support of the men -of Orkney by giving them back their <i>óðal</i>. He -married a daughter of Malcolm king of Scotland, -and met his end, as we have already seen, fighting -on the side of the heathen Norsemen in the battle -of Clontarf in 1014. After this the power of the -Orkney-earls declined. The Norse line of earls was -replaced by one of Scottish descent in 1231, but the -islands did not pass definitely to the Scottish crown -until the 15th century<a name="FNanchor_11_11" id="FNanchor_11_11"></a><a href="#Footnote_11_11" class="fnanchor">[11]</a>.</p> - -<p>Of the Norse settlements in the Hebrides we -have no such definite or continuous record. Mention -is made in Irish annals of the middle of the -9th century of a king in the Hebrides—one Guðröðr -son of Fergus—whose very name shows him to have -been one of the Gaill-Gaedhil. Ketill Finn (<i>v. supra</i>,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[68]</a></span> -p. <a href="#Page_56">56</a>) was another such. In the latter half of the -9th century Ketill Flatnose was the chief Norse -leader in the Hebrides until his power was destroyed -by Harold Fairhair. Many of the settlers then -betook themselves to Iceland, the most famous of -them being Auðr the deep-thoughted, widow of -Olaf the White and daughter of Ketill. Norse rule -was all powerful during the 10th and 11th centuries. -There was a line of kings but we find ruling side by -side with them certain officers known as 'lawmen' -(<i>v. infra</i>, p. <a href="#Page_103">103</a>), while in the late 10th and for -the greater part of the 11th century, the Hebrides -were under the sovereignty of the Orkney-earls. -Norse rule in the Hebrides did not finally come to -an end until 1266 when Magnus Hákonsson, king -of Norway, renounced all claims to the islands.</p> - -<p>The early history of the settlements in Man is -equally obscure. At first the island suffered from -repeated raids, then about the middle of the -9th century it passed under the authority of the -kings of Dublin and remained so until, with the -Hebrides and Western Scotland generally, it was -conquered by Sigurd the Orkney-earl. From the -Orkney-earls it passed to the great conqueror -Godred Crovan—the King Gorry or Orry of Manx -tradition—who came from the Hebrides, and his successors -down to the cession of the islands in 1266 -were known as kings of Man and the Isles.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[69]</a></span></p> - -<p>Of the details of the settlement of the Scottish -mainland, of Caithness, Sutherland, and Galloway, -of the occupation of Cumberland and Westmorland -we know almost nothing, but when we speak -later of Norse influence in these districts we shall -realise how strong was their hold on them. Our -knowledge of the Norse occupation of Man and -the Islands is somewhat scanty in detail, but there -can be no question that their settlements in lands -often closely resembling in physical features their -own home-country were of the highest importance.</p> - -<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_10_10" id="Footnote_10_10"></a><a href="#FNanchor_10_10"><span class="label">[10]</span></a> English translation by Sir G. W. Dasent.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_11_11" id="Footnote_11_11"></a><a href="#FNanchor_11_11"><span class="label">[11]</span></a> They were pledged by Christian I of Denmark and Norway for -the payment of the dowry of his daughter Margaret to James III in -1460 and the pledge was never redeemed.</p></div> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2>CHAPTER VII<br /> - -THE VIKINGS IN BALTIC LANDS AND RUSSIA</h2> - - -<p>The activities of the Northmen during the Viking -age were not confined to the lands west and south -of their original homes: the Baltic was as familiar -to them as the North Sea, to go 'east-viking' was -almost as common as to go 'west-viking' and -Scandinavian settlements were founded on the shores -of the Baltic and far inland along the great waterways -leading into the heart of Russia. As was to be -expected from their geographical position it was -Danes and Swedes rather than Norwegians who were -active in Baltic lands, the Danes settling chiefly on<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[70]</a></span> -the Pomeranian coast among the Wends, while the -Swedes occupied lands further east and founded the -Scandinavian kingdom of Russia.</p> - -<p>Already in the early years of the 9th century we -find the Danish king Guðröðr now making war -against his Slavonic neighbours in Mecklenburg-Schwerin, -now intriguing with them against the -emperor. Mention is made of more than one -town on the southern coast of the Baltic bearing -an essentially Scandinavian name, pointing to the -existence of extensive settlements. Interesting -evidence of this eastward movement is also to be -found in the <i>Life of St Anskar</i>. There we learn -how, soon after 830, a Danish fleet captured a city -in the land of the Slavs, with great riches, and we -hear in 853 how the Swedes were endeavouring to -reconquer Kurland which had been under their rule, -but had now thrown off the yoke and fallen a prey -to a fleet of Danish Vikings—possibly the one -just mentioned. St Anskar himself undertook the -education of many Wendish youths who had been -entrusted to him.</p> - -<p>This and other evidence prepare us for the -establishment, in the tenth century, of the most -characteristic of all Viking settlements, that of -Jómsborg on the Island of Wollin at the mouth -of the Oder. According to tradition King Gorm -the Old conquered a great kingdom in Wendland,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[71]</a></span> -but it was to his son Harold Bluetooth that the -definite foundation of Jómsborg was ascribed. For -many years there had been an important trading -centre at Julin on the Island of Wollin, where -traders from Scandinavia, Saxony, Russia and many -other lands met together to take part in the rich -trade between north and south, east and west, which -passed through Julin, standing as it did on one -of the great waterways of central Europe. Large -finds of Byzantine and Arabic coins bear witness -to the extensive trade with Greece and the Orient -which passed through Julin, while the Silberberg, -on which Jómsborg once stood, is so called from -the number of silver coins from Frisia, Lorraine, -Bavaria and England which have been found there. -It was no doubt in the hope of securing some fuller -share in this trade that Harold established the great -fortress of Jómsborg and entrusted its defence to a -warrior-community on whom he imposed the strictest -rules of organisation. The story of the founding -of Jómsborg is told in the late and untrustworthy -<i>Jómsvikingasaga</i>, but, while we must reject many -of the details there set forth, it is probable that the -rules of the settlement as given there are based on a -genuine tradition, and they give us a vivid picture -of life in a Viking warrior-community. No one -under eighteen or over fifty years of age was -admitted to their fellowship, and neither birth nor<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[72]</a></span> -friendship, only personal bravery, could qualify a -man for admission. No one was allowed to continue -a member who uttered words of fear, or who fled -before one who was his equal in arms and strength. -Every member was bound to avenge a fallen -companion as if he were his brother. No women -were allowed within the community, and no one was -to be absent for more than three days without -permission. All news was to be told in the first -instance to their leader and all plunder was to be -shared at a common stake. The harbour of Jómsborg -could shelter a fleet of 300 vessels and was protected -by a mole with twelve iron gates.</p> - -<p>The Jómsvikings played an important if stormy -part in the affairs of the three Scandinavian kingdoms -in the later years of the 10th and the early 11th -century. Many of them came to England in the -train of king Svein, while Jarl Thorkell was for a -time in the service of Ethelred the Unready. The -decline of Jómsborg as a Viking stronghold dates -from its devastation by Magnus the Good in 1043, -but the importance of Julin as a trading centre -continued unimpaired for many years to come.</p> - -<p>From Jómsborg Harold Bluetooth's son Hákon -made an attack on Samland in the extreme east -of Prussia, but the real exploitation of the Eastern -Baltic fell as was natural to the Swedes rather than -to the Danes. We have already mentioned their<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[73]</a></span> -presence in Kurland on the Gulf of Riga, and we -learn from Swedish runic inscriptions of expeditions -to Samland, to the Semgalli (in Kurland) and to the -river Duna. The important fortified port of Seeburg -was probably near to Riga, while the chief trade -route from the island of Gothland lay round cape -Domesnæes (note the Scandinavian name) to the -mouth of the Duna.</p> - -<p>The chief work of the Swedes was however to be -done in lands yet further south, in the heart of the -modern empire of Russia in Europe.</p> - -<p>The story of the founding of the Russian kingdom -is preserved to us in the late 10th century chronicle -of the monk Nestor, who tells us that in the year 859 -'Varangians' came over the sea and took tribute -from various Finnish, Tatar and Slavonic peoples -inhabiting the forest regions round Lake Ilmen, -between Lake Ladoga and the upper waters of the -Dnieper. Again he tells us that in 862 the Varangians -were driven over seas and tribute was refused, but -soon the tribes quarrelled among themselves and -some suggested that they should find a prince who -might rule over them and keep the peace. So they -sent across the sea to the Varangians, to the 'Rus,' -for such is the name of these Varangians, just as -others are called Swedes, Northmen, Anglians, Goths, -saying that their land was great and powerful but -there was no order within it and asking them to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[74]</a></span> -come and rule over them. Three brothers with -their followers were chosen: the eldest, Rurik -(O.N. Hrœrekr), settled in Novgorod, the second in -Bieloözero, the third in Truvor in Izborsk. Three -years later two of the brothers died and Rurik took -control of the whole of the settlements, dividing -the land among his men. In the same year two of -Rurik's followers, Askold (O.N. Höskuldr) and Dir -(O.N. Dýri), setting out for Constantinople, halted at -Kiev and there founded a kingdom, which in 882 -was conquered by Rurik's successor Oleg (O.N. Helgi) -and, as the mother of all Russian cities, became the -capital of the Russian kingdom.</p> - -<p>There is a certain <i>naiveté</i> about this story which -is characteristic of the monkish chronicler generally, -and it is clear that, after the usual manner of the -annalist who is compiling his record long after the -events described, Nestor has grouped together -under one or two dates events which were spread -over several years, but the substantial truth of the -narrative cannot be impugned and receives abundant -confirmation from various sources.</p> - -<p>The earliest evidence for the presence of these -'Rus' in Eastern Europe is found in the story of the -Byzantine embassy to the emperor Lewis the Pious in -839 (<i>v. supra</i>, p. <a href="#Page_19">19</a>), when certain people called 'Rhôs,' -who had been on a visit to Constantinople, came in -the train of the embassy and asked leave to return<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[75]</a></span> -home through the empire. Enquiries were made -and it was found that these 'Rhôs' were Swedes. -This would point to the presence of 'Rus' in Russia -at a date earlier than that given by Nestor, and -indeed the rapid extension of their influence indicates -a period of activity considerably longer than that -allowed by him. These 'Rus' or 'Rhôs' soon came -into relations, both of trade and war, with the -Byzantine empire. We have preserved to us from -the years 911 and 944 commercial treaties made -between the 'Rus' and the Greeks showing that -they brought all kinds of furs and also slaves to -Constantinople, receiving in exchange various articles -of luxury including gold and silver ornaments, silks -and other rich stuffs. The names of the signatories -to these treaties are, on the side of the 'Rus,' almost -entirely of Scandinavian origin and may to some -extent be shown to be of definitely Swedish -provenance. About the year 950, the emperor -Constantine Porphyrogenitus, writing a tractate on -the administration of the empire, describes how -traders from various parts of Russia assemble at -Kiev and sail down the Dnieper on their way to -Constantinople. Their course down the Dnieper was -impeded by a series of rapids, and Constantine gives -their names both in 'Russian' and in Slavonic form, -and though the names are extremely corrupt in -their Greek transcription there is no mistaking that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[76]</a></span> -the 'Russian' names are really forms belonging to -some Scandinavian dialect.</p> - -<p>The Rus were also well known as warriors and -raiders. In 865 they sailed down the Dnieper, -across the Black Sea and made their way into the -Sea of Marmora. Their fleet was dispersed by a -storm, but they were more successful in 907 when -Oleg with some 2000 ships harried the environs -of Constantinople and was bought off by a heavy -tribute. These attacks were continued at intervals -during the next century.</p> - -<p>We also find a good deal of interesting information -about these 'Rûs,' as they are called, in various Arab -historians. We hear how they sailed their vessels -down the chief waterways and had such a firm hold -on the Black Sea that by the year 900 it was already -known as the Russian Sea. Often they dragged their -vessels overland from one stream to another, and -thus they made their way from the upper waters -of the Don down the Volga to the Caspian Sea. -But not only do we have a description of their -journeyings we also learn a good deal of their -customs and habits, and, though at times the information -given is open to suspicion, archaeological research -tends to confirm the statements of these historians -and to show that the civilisation of the 'Rûs' closely -resembled that of the Scandinavian peoples generally -in the Viking age.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[77]</a></span></p> - -<p>The identification of the ancient 'Rus' with the -Swedes was long and hotly contested by Slavonic -patriots but there is now a general consensus of -opinion that the evidence for it is too strong to be -overthrown. Not only have we the evidence given -above but also the very names 'Rus' and 'Varangian' -can be satisfactorily explained only on this theory. -The name 'Rus' is the Slavonic, 'Rhôs' the Greek, -and 'Rûs' the Arabic form of the Finnish name for -Sweden, viz. Ruotsi. This name was originally derived -from <i>Roþr</i> or <i>Roþin</i>, the name of certain districts -of Upland and Östergötland, whose inhabitants were -known as <i>Rods-karlar</i> or <i>Rods-mæn</i>. The Finns -had early come into relation with the Swedes and -they used the name of those people with whom they -were in earliest and most intimate contact for the -whole Swedish nationality. When these Swedes -settled in Russia the Finns applied the same term -to the new colonists and the term came to be -adopted later into the various Slavonic dialects.</p> - -<p>We are most familiar with the term 'Varangian' -or 'Variag,' to use the Slavonic form, as applied to -the famous guard of the Byzantine emperors, which -seems to have been formed in the latter half of the -10th century and was largely composed of Norwegian, -Icelandic and Swedish recruits. In Russian and -Arabic historians on the other hand the term is -used rather in an ethnographic or geographic sense.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[78]</a></span> -We have seen that it was thus used by Nestor, and -similarly we find the Baltic commonly spoken of as -the 'Varangian' Sea both in Russian and in Arabic -records. All the evidence tends to show that this was -the earlier sense of the term and we find it gradually -displacing the term 'Rhôs' even in Byzantine -historians. The word itself is of Scandinavian origin -and means 'those who are bound together by a -pledge.' The theory which best explains its various -uses is that put forward by Dr Vilhelm Thomsen, viz. -that it originated among the Northmen who settled -in Russia, i.e. among the ancient Russ, and that -under that term they denoted those peoples west -of the Baltic who were related to them by nationality.</p> - -<p>From the Russ the word passed into the Slavonic -language as <i>variag</i><a name="FNanchor_12_12" id="FNanchor_12_12"></a><a href="#Footnote_12_12" class="fnanchor">[12]</a>, into the Greek as <i>barangoi</i>—where -it was often used in the restricted sense -of members of the imperial guard largely recruited -from this nation,—and into the Arabic as <i>varank</i>. -Dr Thomsen adduces two happy parallels for the -somewhat remarkable history of the terms 'Russian' -and 'Varangian.' The term 'Russian' came to be -used as their own name by the Slavonic peoples, -who were once ruled over by the Russ, in much the -same way that the term 'Frankish' or 'French' was -adopted by the Gaulish population of France from<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[79]</a></span> -its Germanic conquerors. The term 'Varangian,' -ultimately the name for a nation or group of nations, -came to be used of a military force once largely -recruited from those nations, much in the same way -as the term 'Swiss' was applied to the Papal guard -long after that guard had ceased to be recruited from -the Swiss nation exclusively.</p> - -<p>The belief in the Scandinavian origin of the Russ -is amply supported by archaeological evidence. The -large number of Arabic coins found in Sweden (more -especially in Gothland) and in Russia itself points -to an extensive trade with the Orient whose route -lay chiefly to the east of the Caspian Sea and then -along the valley of the Volga. The dates of the -coins point to the years between 850 and 1000 as -those of most active intercourse with the East. -Equally interesting is the large number of western -coins, more especially Anglo-Saxon pennies and -sceatts, which have been found in Russia. They -probably represent portions of our Danegeld which -had come into the hands of the Swedes either in trade -or war. Viking brooches of the characteristic oval -shape with the familiar zoomorphic ornamentation -have been found in Western Russia, and one stone -with a runic inscription, belonging to the 11th -century and showing evidence of connexion with -Gothland, has been found in a burial mound in -Berezan, an island at the mouth of the Dnieper.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[80]</a></span> -Professor Braun says that no others have been found -because of the rarity of suitable stone.</p> - -<p>How long the Russ maintained their distinctively -Scandinavian nationality it is difficult to determine. -Oleg's grandson Svjatoslav bore a distinctively Slavonic -name, and henceforward the names of the -members of the royal house are uniformly Slavonic, -but the connexion with Sweden was by no means forgotten. -Svjatoslav's son Vladimir the Great secured -himself in the rulership of Novgorod in 980 by the aid -of <i>variags</i> from over the sea and established a band -of variag warriors in his chief city of Kiev. But the -Viking age was drawing to a close. Variag auxiliaries -are mentioned for the last time in 1043 and it is -probable that by the middle of the 11th century -the Scandinavian settlers had been almost completely -Slavonicised. Of their permanent influence on the -Russian people and on Russian institutions it is, in -the present state of our knowledge, almost impossible -to speak. Attempts have been made to distinguish -Scandinavian elements in the old Russian law and -language but with no very definite results, and we -must content ourselves with the knowledge that the -Vikings were all powerful in Western and Southern -Russia during the greater part of two centuries, -carrying on an extensive trade with the East, -establishing Novgorod, 'the new town,' on the Volga -under the name <i>Holmgarðr</i> and founding a dynasty<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[81]</a></span> -which ruled in Kiev and became a considerable -power in eastern Europe negotiating on terms of -equality with the Byzantine emperors.</p> - -<p>Mention has already been made more than once -of the way in which the Northmen entered the service -of the emperors at Constantinople or <i>Miklagarðr</i>, -'the great city,' as they called it. From here they -visited all parts of the Mediterranean. When Harold -Hardrada was in the service of the emperor he sailed -through the Grecian archipelago to Sicily and Africa. -There he stayed several years, conquering some -eighty cities for his master and gaining rich treasures -for himself. One interesting memorial of these -journeys still remains to us. At the entrance to -the arsenal in Venice stands a marble lion brought -from Athens in 1687. Formerly it stood at the -harbour of the Piraeus, known thence as the -Porto Leone. On the sides of the lion are carved -two long runic inscriptions arranged in snake-like -bands. The runes are too much worn to be deciphered -but they are unquestionably of Scandinavian origin -and the snake-bands closely resemble those that may -be seen on certain runic stones in Sweden. The -carving was probably done by Swedes from Uppland -about the middle of the 10th century. One can -hardly imagine a more striking illustration of the -extent and importance of the Viking movement in -Europe.</p> - -<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTE:</h3> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_12_12" id="Footnote_12_12"></a><a href="#FNanchor_12_12"><span class="label">[12]</span></a> The word variag in Modern Russian means a pedlar and bears -witness to the strong commercial instincts of the Viking.</p></div></div> - -<hr class="chap" /> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[82]</a></span></p> - - -<h2>CHAPTER VIII<br /> - -VIKING CIVILISATION</h2> - - -<p>The activities of the Vikings were all-embracing, -and before any attempt can be made to estimate -their influence in the various countries which came -permanently under their rule, or were brought more -or less closely into touch with them, some account, -however slight, must be given of Scandinavian -civilisation at this time, both on its spiritual and on -its material sides. For the former aspect we must -turn chiefly to the poems and sagas of old Norse -literature, for the latter to the results of modern -archaeological research. So far as the poems and -sagas are concerned it is well to remember that they -were to a large extent composed in Iceland and -reflect the somewhat peculiar type of civilisation -developed there at a period just subsequent to the -Viking age itself. This civilisation differs necessarily -from that developed in Scandinavia or in the other -Scandinavian settlements, in that it was free from -Western influence, but this is to some extent -compensated for by the fact that we get in Iceland -a better picture of the inherent possibilities of -Viking civilisation when developed on independent -lines.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[83]</a></span></p> - -<p>At the beginning of the Viking age the Scandinavian -peoples were in a transitional stage of -development; on the one hand there was still much, -both in their theory and in their practice of life, that -savoured of primitive barbarism, while on the other, -in the development of certain phases of human -activity, more especially in those of war, trade, and -social organisation, they were considerably ahead -of many of their European neighbours. More than -one writer has commented upon the strange blending -of barbarism and culture which constitutes Viking -civilisation: it is evident when we study their -daily life, and it is emphasised in the story of -their slow and halting passage from heathenism to -Christianity.</p> - -<p>We need not travel far to find examples of their -barbarism. Their cruelty in warfare is a commonplace -among the historians of the period. When the -Irish found the Danes cooking their food on spits -stuck in the bodies of their fallen foes (<i>v. supra</i>, -p. <a href="#Page_55">55</a>) and asked why they did anything so hateful, -the answer came 'Why not? If the other side had -been victorious they would have done the same with -us.' The custom of cutting the blood-eagle (i.e. -cutting the ribs in the shape of an eagle and pulling -the lungs through the opening) was a well-known -form of vengeance taken on the slayer of one's father -if captured in battle, and is illustrated in the story<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[84]</a></span> -of the sons of Ragnarr Loðbrók himself. Another -survival of primitive life was the famous Berserk -fury, when men in the heat of battle were seized -with sudden madness and, according to the popular -belief, received a double portion of strength, and lost -all sense of bodily pain, a custom for which Dr Bugge -finds an apt parallel in the 'running amok' of the -races of the Malay peninsula. Children were tossed -on the point of the spear and the Viking leader who -discouraged the custom was nicknamed <i>barnakarl</i>, -i.e. children's friend.</p> - -<p>In contrast to these methods of warfare stands -their skill in fortification, in which they taught many -lessons both to their English and to their Frankish -adversaries, their readiness in adapting themselves -to new conditions of warfare (<i>v. supra</i>, p. <a href="#Page_46">46</a>), and -their clever strategy, whereby they again and again -outwitted their opponents.</p> - -<p>The same contrast meets us when we consider the -position of women among them. The chroniclers -make many references to their lust after women. -We hear in an English chronicler how they combed -their hair, indulged in sabbath baths, often changed -their clothes and in various ways cultivated bodily -beauty 'in order that they might the more readily -overcome the chastity of the matrons, and make -concubines even of the daughters of the nobility.' -Wandering from country to country they often had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[85]</a></span> -wives in each, and polygamy would seem to have -been the rule, at least among the leaders. In Ireland -we hear of what seem to have been veritable harems, -while in Russia we are told of the great grandson -of Rurik, the founder of the Russian kingdom, that -he had more than 800 concubines, though we may -perhaps suspect the influence of Oriental custom in -this case. Yet, side by side with all this, the legitimate -wife was esteemed and honoured, and attained a -position and took a part in national life which was -quite unusual in those days. In the account of an -Arabic embassy to the Vikings of the west (<i>v. supra</i>, -p. <a href="#Page_20">20</a>) we have a vivid picture of the freedom of -their married life. Auðr, the widow of Olaf the -White, after the fall of her son Thorstein, took -charge of the fortunes of her family and is one -of the figures that stand out most clearly in the -early settlement of Iceland. We have only to turn -to the Icelandic sagas to see before us a whole -gallery of portraits, dark and fair alike, of women -cast in heroic mould, while the stone at Dyrna in -Hadeland, bearing the runic inscription, 'Gunvor, -daughter of Thirek, built a bridge to commemorate -her daughter Astrid, she was the most gracious -maiden in Hadeland,' gives us one of the most attractive -pictures of womanhood left to us from the Viking -age. It must be added however that beside the -runic inscription, the stone bears carvings of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[86]</a></span> -Christ-child, the star in the east and the three kings, -and this may serve to remind us that the age was -one in which the peoples of the North passed from -heathenism to Christianity, though the passage was -a slow one and by no means complete even at the -close of the period.</p> - -<p>It is probable that the first real knowledge of -'the white Christ' came, as is so often the case, -with the extension of trade—Frisians trading with -Scandinavia, and Danes and Swedes settling in Frisia -and elsewhere for the same purpose. St Willibrord -at the beginning of the 8th century and Archbishop -Ebbo of Rheims in 823, as papal legate among the -northern peoples, undertook missions to Denmark, -but it was in 826, when king Harold was baptised -at Mainz, that the first real opportunity came for the -preaching of Christianity in Denmark. Harold was -accompanied on his return by St Anskar, a monk -from Corvey and a man filled with religious zeal. -After two years' mission in Denmark St Anskar -sailed to Sweden, where he was graciously received -at Björkö by king Björn. He made many converts -and on his return home in 831 was made archbishop -of Hamburg and given, jointly with Ebbo, jurisdiction -over the whole of the northern realms. Hamburg -was devastated in 845 and St Anskar was then -appointed to the bishopric of Bremen, afterwards -united to a restored archbishopric of Hamburg. He<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[87]</a></span> -laboured in Denmark once more and established -churches at Slesvík and Ribe. He conducted a -second mission to Sweden and his missionary zeal -remained unabated until his death in 865; his work -was carried on by his successor and biographer -St Rimbert and by many others. Their preaching -was however confined to Jutland and South Sweden -and there is no evidence of any popular movement -towards Christianity. Gorm the Old was a steadfast -pagan but Gorm's son Harold Bluetooth was -a zealous promoter of Christianity. His enthusiasm -may have been exaggerated by monastic chroniclers -in contrast to the heathenism of his son Svein, but -with the accession of Cnut all fears of a reversion -to heathendom were at an end. Cnut was a devout -son of the Church.</p> - -<p>The first Danish settlers in England were entirely -heathen in sentiment, but they were soon brought -into close contact with Christianity, and the terms -of the peace of Edward and Guthrum in the early -years of the 10th century show that already -Christianity was making its way in the Danelagh. -In the course of this century both archbishoprics -were held by men of Danish descent and the excesses -of the early 11th century were due, not to the -Danish settlers, but to the heathen followers of -Olaf Tryggvason and Svein Forkbeard. Similarly -the Danish settlers in Normandy were within a few<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[88]</a></span> -years numbered among the Church's most enthusiastic -supporters, and Rollo's own son and successor William -was anxious to become a monk.</p> - -<p>The story of the preaching of Christianity in -Norway is a chequered one. The first attempt to -establish the Christian faith was made by Hákon -Aðalsteinsfóstri (<i>v. supra</i>, p. <a href="#Page_36">36</a>). Baptised and -educated in England, he began warily, inducing those -who were best beloved by him to become Christians, -but he soon came into conflict with the more ardent -followers of paganism. At the great autumn festival -at Lade when the cups of memory were drunk, -Earl Sigurd signed a cup to Odin, but the king -made the sign of the cross over his cup. Earl Sigurd -pacified popular clamour by saying that the king -had made the sign of the hammer and consecrated -the cup to Thor. The next day the king would not -eat the horse-flesh used in their offerings nor drink -the blood from it: the people were angry and the -king compromised by inhaling the steam from the -offering through a linen cloth placed over the sacrificial -kettle, but no one was satisfied and at the -next winter-feast the king had to eat some bits -of horse-liver and to drink crossless all the cups -of memory. Hákon died a Christian but Eyvindr -Skaldaspillir in <i>Hákonarmál</i> describes how he was -welcomed by Odin to Valhalla.</p> - -<p>Earl Hákon Sigurdson, nicknamed <i>blót-jarl</i>, i.e.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[89]</a></span> -sacrifice-earl, was a zealous heathen, but Olaf Tryggvason -after his succession in 995 promoted the -cause of Christianity by every means in his power, -and it was largely to this that he owed his ultimate -overthrow. Then, after a brief interval, the crown -passed to St Olaf, greatest of all Christian champions -in Norway, and during his reign that country became -definitely Christian, though his rough and ready -methods of conversion were hardly likely to secure -anything but a purely formal and outward adhesion -to the new faith.</p> - -<p>Sweden was the most reluctant of the three -northern realms to accept Christianity, and the -country remained almost entirely heathen until the -close of the Viking period.</p> - -<p>The story of the Norse settlers in Ireland and -the Western Islands in their relation to Christianity -was very much that of the Danes in England. Celtic -Christianity had a firm hold in these countries, and -from the earliest period of the settlements many -of the Vikings adopted the Christian faith. Among -the settlers in Iceland who came from the West were -many Christians, and Auðr herself gave orders at her -death that she should be buried on the sea-shore -below the tide-mark, rather than lie in unhallowed -ground. Most of the settlers undoubtedly remained -heathen—in 996 a ring sacred to Thor was taken -from a temple in Dublin and in 1000 king Brian<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[90]</a></span> -destroyed a grove sacred to the same god just north -of the city. But side by side with incidents of this -kind must be placed others like that of the sparing -of the churches, hospitals and almshouses when -Armagh was sacked in 921, or the retirement -of Anlaf Cuaran to the monastery at Iona in 981. -In Ireland as elsewhere there seems to have been a -recrudescence of heathenism in the early years of -the 11th century and the great fight at Clontarf -was regarded as a struggle between pagan and -Christian.</p> - -<p>Outwardly the Scandinavian world had largely -declared its adhesion to Christianity by the close -of the Viking period, but we must remember that -the medieval Church was satisfied if her converts -passed through the ceremony of baptism and observed -her rites, though their sentiments often remained -heathen. Except in purely formal fashion it is -impossible to draw a definite line of demarcation -between Christian and heathen, and the acceptance -of Christianity is of importance not so much from -any change of outlook which it produced in individuals, -as because it brought the peoples of the -North into closer touch with the general life and -culture of medieval Europe. Leaders freely accepted -baptism—often more than once—and even confirmation -as part of a diplomatic bargain, while their -profession of Christianity made no difference to their<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[91]</a></span> -Viking way of life. Even on formal lines the Church -had to admit of compromise, as for example in the -practice of <i>prime-signing</i>, whereby when Vikings -visited Christian lands as traders, or entered the -service of Christian kings for payment, they often -allowed themselves to be signed with the cross, -which secured their admission to intercourse with -Christian communities, but left them free to hold -the faith which pleased them best.</p> - -<p>Strange forms and mixtures of belief arose in the -passage from one faith to the other. Helgi the Lean -was a Christian, but called on Thor in the hour -of need. The Christian saints with their wonder-working -powers were readily adopted into the -Norse Pantheon, and Vikings by their prayers and -offerings secured the help of St Patrick in Ireland -and of St Germanus in France in times of defeat -and pestilence, while we hear of a family of settlers -in Iceland who gave up all faith except a belief -in the power of St Columba. On sculptured stones -in the west may be found pictures of Ragnarök, -of Balder and of Loki together with the sign of the -cross. Some of the heathen myths themselves show -Christian influence; the Balder story with its echoes -of the lamentations for the suffering Christ belongs -to the last stage of Norse heathendom, while a -heathen skald makes Christ sit by the Fountain -of Fate as the mighty destroyer of the giants. When<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[92]</a></span> -the virtue had gone out of their old beliefs many -fell a prey to the grossest superstition, worshipping -the rocks and groves and rivers once thought to be -the dwelling place of the gods. Others renounced -faith in Christian and heathen gods alike, and the -nickname 'godless' is by no means rare among the -settlers in Iceland. Of such it is often said that -they believed in themselves, or had no faith in aught -except their own strength and power, while in the -saga of Friþjof we hear how the hero paid little -heed to the sanctity of the temple of Balder and -that the love of Ingibjorg meant more to him than -the wrath of the gods. For a parallel to such -audacious scepticism as that of Friþjof we must -turn to southern lands and later times with Aucassin's -'In Paradise what have I to win? Therein I seek not -to enter, but only to have my Nicolete, my sweet -lady that I love so well.' For some the way of -escape came not by superstition or by scepticism, -but in mystic speculation, in pure worship of the -powers of nature. Thus we hear of the Icelander -Thorkell Mani, whom all praised for the excellence -of his way of life, that in his last illness he was -carried out into the sunshine, so that he might -commend himself into the hands of the god who -made the sun, or of the <i>goði</i> Askell who, even in the -hour of famine, deemed it was more fitting to honour -the creator by caring for the aged and the children,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[93]</a></span> -than to relieve distress by putting these helpless ones -to death.</p> - -<p>One other illustration of the declining force -of heathenism must be mentioned. It is to the -Viking age that we owe the poems of the older Edda, -that storehouse of Norse mythology and cosmogony. -They are almost purely heathen in sentiment, and -yet one feels that it could only be in an age when -belief in the old gods was passing away that the -authors of these poems could have struck those -notes of detachment, irony, and even of burlesque, -which characterise so many of them.</p> - -<p>The condition of faith and belief in the Viking -age was, then, chaotic, but, fortunately for purposes -of clear statement, there was, to the Norse mind -at least, no necessary connexion between beliefs and -morality, between faith and conduct, and the ideas -on which they based their philosophy and practice -of life are fairly distinct.</p> - -<p>The central ideas which dominate the Norse view -of life are an ever-present sense of the passingness -of all things and a deep consciousness of the -over-ruling power of Fate. All earthly things are -transitory and the one thing which lasts is good -fame. 'Wealth dies, kinsmen die, man himself must -die, but the fame which a man wins rightly for -himself never dies; one thing I know that never -dies, the judgment passed on every man that dies,'<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[94]</a></span> -says the poet of the <i>Hávamál</i>, the great storehouse -of the gnomic wisdom of the Norsemen. 'All things -are unstable and transitory, let no man therefore -be arrogant or over-confident. The wise man will -never praise the day before it is evening.' Prudence -and foresight are ever necessary. All things are -determined by a fate which is irrevocable and cannot -be avoided. Every man must die the death that is -appointed for him, and the man whose final day has -not yet come may face unmoved the greatest danger. -This sense of an inevitable fate must lead to no -weakening of character or weariness of life. Death -must be faced with cheerful stoicism and our -judgment of the worth of any man must depend -on the way in which he awaits the decree of fate. -Place no great trust in others whether friend or foe, -least of all place trust in women. 'Wommennes -conseils been ful ofte colde,' says Chaucer in the -<i>Nun's Priest's Tale</i>, using an old Scandinavian -proverb. 'Be friendly to your friends and a foeman -to your foes. Practice hospitality and hate lying -and untruthfulness.' With their enemies the Vikings -had an evil reputation for cunning and deceit, but -when we study the incidents on which this charge -was based—as for example the story of the capture -of Luna (<i>v. supra</i>, p. <a href="#Page_47">47</a>) or the oft-repeated trick -of feigning flight, only to lure the enemy away from -safe ground—one must confess that they show an<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[95]</a></span> -enemy outwitted rather than deceived. This aspect -of Viking character perhaps finds its best illustration -in the figure of Odin. His common epithets are -'the wise,' 'the prudent,' 'the sagacious'; he is a -god of witchcraft and knows all the secret powers -of nature and stands in contrast to the simple-minded -Thor, endowed with mighty strength, but less polished -and refined. The development of the worship of -Odin in Norway belongs specially to the later -Iron Age, and it is worthy of note that his worship -seems to have prevailed chiefly in military circles, -among princes and their retainers.</p> - -<p>The Vikings were guilty of two besetting sins—immoderate -love of wine and of women. Of their -relations to women enough has been said already. -Their drunken revelry is best illustrated by the story -of the orgie which led up to the death of St Alphege -in London in 1012, when, after drinking their fill -of the wine they had brought from abroad, they -pelted the bishop with bones from the feast, and -finally pierced his skull with the spike on the back -of an axe. Of sin in the Christian sense the Vikings -had no conception. An Irish chronicler tells us -indeed that the Danes have a certain piety in that -they can refrain from flesh and from women for a -time, but a truer description is probably that given -by Adam of Bremen when he says that the Danes -can weep neither for their sins nor for their dead.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[96]</a></span></p> - -<p>The chief occupations of the Vikings were trade -and war, but we must beware of drawing a too rigid -distinction between adventurers and peaceful stay-at-homes. -The Vikings when they settled in England -and elsewhere showed that their previous roving life -did not hinder them in the least from settling down -as peaceful traders, farmers, or peasant-labourers, -while the figure of Ohthere or Óttarr, to give him his -Norse name, who entered the service of king Alfred, -may serve to remind us that many a landed gentleman -was not above carrying on a good trade with the -Finns or undertaking voyages of exploration in the -White Sea.</p> - -<p>Trading in those days was a matter of great -difficulty and many risks. The line of division -between merchant and Viking was a very thin one, -and more than once we read how, when merchants -went on a trading expedition, they arranged a truce -until their business was concluded and then treated -each other as enemies. Trade in Scandinavia was -carried on either in fixed centres or in periodical -markets held in convenient places. The chief trading -centres were the twin towns of Slesvík-Hedeby in -Denmark, Skiringssalr in S.W. Norway, and Björkö, -Sigtuna and the island of Gothland in Sweden, while -an important market was held periodically at Bohuslän -on the Götaelv, at a place were the boundaries of -the three northern kingdoms met. A characteristic<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[97]</a></span> -incident which happened at this market illustrates -the international character of the trade done there. -On a certain occasion a wealthy merchant named -Gille (the name is Celtic), surnamed the Russian -because of his many journeys to that country, set -up his booth in the market and received a visit from -the Icelander Höskuldr who was anxious to buy -a female slave. Gille drew back a curtain dividing -off the inner part of the tent and showed Höskuldr -twelve female slaves. Höskuldr bought one and -she proved to be an Irish king's daughter who had -been made captive by Viking raiders.</p> - -<p>The chief exports were furs, horses, wool, and fish -while the imports consisted chiefly in articles of -luxury, whether for clothing or ornament. There -was an extensive trade with the Orient in all such -luxuries and the Vikings seem eagerly to have -accumulated wealth of this kind. When Limerick -was re-captured by the Irish in 968, they carried -off from the Vikings 'their jewels and their best -property, and their saddles beautiful and foreign -(probably of Spanish workmanship), their gold and -their silver: their beautifully woven cloth of all -colours and all kinds: their satins and silken cloths, -pleasing and variegated, both scarlet and green, and -all sorts of cloth in like manner.' They captured -too 'their soft, youthful, bright, matchless girls: -their blooming silk-clad young women: and their<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[98]</a></span> -active, large, and well formed boys.' Such captives -whether made by Irish from Norsemen or Norsemen -from Irish would certainly be sold as slaves, for one -of the chief branches of trade in those days was the -sale as slaves of those made prisoner in war.</p> - -<p>The expansion of Scandinavian trade took place -side by side with, rather than as a result of, Viking -activity in war. There is evidence of the presence -of traders in the Low Country early in the 9th century, -and already in the days of St Anskar we hear of a -Swedish widow of Björkö who left money for her -daughter to distribute among the poor of Duurstede. -Jómsborg was established to protect and increase -Scandinavian trade at Julin, and there were other -similar trading centres on the southern and eastern -shores of the Baltic.</p> - -<p>The Viking might busy himself either with war -or trade, but whatever his occupation, living as he -did in insular or peninsular lands, good ships and -good seamanship were essential to his livelihood. -Seamen now often abandoned that timid hugging -of the coast, sailing only by day time and in fair -weather, which characterised the old Phoenician -traders, and boldly sailed across the uncharted main -with no help save that of the sun and stars by which -to steer their course. It was this boldness of spirit -alone which enabled them to reach the lonely Faroes, -the distant Shetlands and Orkneys, and the yet more<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[99]</a></span> -remote Iceland. Irish monks and anchorites had -shown similar fearlessness, but their bravery was -often that of the fanatic and the mystic rather than -the enterprise of the seaman. Boldness of seamanship -led to boldness in exploration. From Iceland -the Vikings sailed to Greenland, and by the year -1000 had discovered Vinland, the N.E. part of -North America. Ottarr rounded the North Cape -and sailed the White Sea in the 9th century, while -Harold Hardrada in the 11th century made a voyage -of Polar exploration.</p> - -<p>Of their ships we know a good deal both from the -sagas and from the remains of actual ships preserved -to us. The custom of ship-burial, i.e. burial in a ship -over which a grave chamber, covered with a how or -mound, was erected, was common in the Viking age, -and several such ships have been discovered. The -two most famous are those of Gokstad and Oseberg, -both found on the shores of Christiania Fjord. -The Gokstad vessel is of oak, clinker-built, with seats -for sixteen pairs of rowers, and is 28 ft. long and 16 ft. -broad amidships. It dates from about 900, and in -form and workmanship is not surpassed by modern -vessels of a similar kind. There is a mast for a -single sail, and the rudder, as always in those days, -is on the starboard side. The gunwale was decorated -with a series of shields painted alternately black -and gold. The appearance of the vessel when fully<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[100]</a></span> -equipped can perhaps best be judged from the -pictures of Viking ships to be seen in the Bayeux -tapestry. There we may note the parti-coloured sail -with its variegated stripes, and the rich carving -of stem and stern. These magnificent sails were a -source of much pride to their possessors, and the -story is told of Sigurd Jerusalem-farer that on his -way home from Jerusalem to Constantinople he lay -for half-a-month off Cape Malea, waiting for a side -wind, so that his sails might be set lengthwise along -the ship and so be better seen by those standing on -shore as he sailed up to Constantinople. The stem -often ended in a dragon's head done over with gold, -whilst the stern was frequently shaped like a dragon's -tail, so that the vessel itself was often called a dragon.</p> - -<p>The Oseberg ship is of a different type. The -gunwale is lower and the whole vessel is flatter and -broader. It is used as the grave-chamber of a woman, -and the whole appearance of the vessel, including its -richly carved stem, indicates that it was used in calm -waters for peaceful purposes.</p> - -<p>The story of the escape of Hárek of Thjotta -through Copenhagen Sound after the battle of -Helgeäa in 1018 illustrates the difference between -a trading-ship and a ship of war. Hárek struck sail -and mast, took down the vane, stretched a grey -tent-cloth over the ship's sides, and left only a few -rowers fore and aft. The rest of the crew were -bidden lie flat so that they might not be seen, with -the result that the Danes mistook Hárek's war-galley -for a trading-vessel laden with herrings or salt and -let it pass unchallenged.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 1200px;"> -<img src="images/i100.jpg" width="1200" height="777" alt="" /> -<div class="caption"><p><i>PLATE I</i><br /> -Viking ship from the Bayeux Tapestry</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[101]</a></span></p> - -<p>In the last years of the Viking period ships -increased greatly both in size and number. Olaf -Tryggvason's vessel, the <i>Long Serpent</i>, in which he -fought his last fight at Svoldr, had thirty benches of -oars, while Cnut the Great had one with sixty pairs -of oars. This same king went with a fleet of some -fourteen hundred vessels to the conquest of Norway.</p> - -<p>In battle the weapons of defence were helmet, -corselet and shield. The shields were of wood with -a heavy iron boss in the centre. The corselets were -made of iron rings, leather, or thick cloth. The -weapons of offence were mainly sword, spear and -battle-axe. The sword was of the two-edged type -and usually had a shallow depression along the -middle of the blade, known as the blood-channel. -Above, the blade terminated in a narrow tang, -bounded at either end by the hilts. Round the tang -and between the hilts was the handle of wood, horn, -or some similar material, often covered with leather, -or occasionally with metal. Above the upper hilt -was a knob, which gave the sword the necessary -balance for a good steady blow. Generally the knob -and the hilts were inlaid with silver, bronze, or -copper-work. The battle-axe, the most characteristic<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[102]</a></span> -of Viking weapons, was of the heavy broad-bladed -type.</p> - -<p>Next to warfare and trade, the chief occupation -of the Viking was farming, while his chief -amusement was the chase. At home the Viking leader -lived the life of an active country gentleman. His -favourite sport was hawking, and one of the legendary -lives of St Edmund tells how Ragnarr Loðbrók himself -was driven by stress of storm to land on the -East Anglian coast, receiving a hospitable welcome -from the king, but ultimately meeting death at the -hands of the king's huntsman who was jealous of his -prowess as a fowler.</p> - -<p>Of the social organisation of the Vikings it is -impossible to form a very definite or precise picture. -We have in the laws of the Jómsborg settlement -(<i>v. supra</i>, p. <a href="#Page_71">71</a>) the rule of life of a warrior-community, -but it would be a mistake to imagine that -these laws prevailed in all settlements alike. The -general structure of their society was aristocratic -rather than democratic, but within the aristocracy, -which was primarily a military one, the principle -of equality prevailed. When asked who was their -lord, Rollo's men answered 'We have no lord, we are -all equal.' But while they admitted no lord, the -Vikings were essentially practical; they realised the -importance of organised leadership, and we have a -succession of able leaders mentioned in the annals<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[103]</a></span> -of the time, to some of whom the title king was -given. These kings however are too numerous, and -too many of them are mentioned together, for it to -be possible to give the term king in this connexion -anything like its usual connotation. It would seem -rather to have been used for any prince of the royal -house, and it was only when the Vikings had formed -fixed settlements and come definitely under Western -influence that we hear of kings in the ordinary -territorial sense—kings of Northumbria, Dublin, Man -and the Isles, or East Anglia. We hear also of <i>jarls</i> -or earls, either as Viking leaders or as definite -territorial rulers, as for example the Orkney-earls -and more than one earl who is mentioned as ruling -in Dublin, but these earls usually held their lands -under the authority of a king. By the side of kings -and earls mention is made both in the Danelagh -and also in the Western Islands of <i>lawmen</i>. It is -difficult exactly to define their position and function. -Originally these men were simply experts in the law -who expounded it in the popular <i>thing</i> or assembly, -and were the spokesmen of the people as against -the king and the court, but sometimes they assumed -judicial functions, acting for example in Sweden as -assessors to the king, who was supreme judge.</p> - -<p>In their home life we find the same strange -mixture of civilisation and barbarism which marks -them elsewhere. Their houses were built of timber,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[104]</a></span> -covered with clay. There was no proper hearth and -the smoke from the fire made its way out as best -it could through the turf-covered roof. The chief -furniture of the room consisted in beds, benches, -long tables and chests, and in the houses of the rich -these would at the close of our period often be -carved with stories from the old heroic or mythologic -legends, while the walls might be covered with -tapestry. Prominent in the chieftain's hall stood the -carved pillars which supported his high-seat and -were considered sacred. When some of the settlers -first sailed to Iceland they threw overboard their -high-seat pillars which they had brought with them, -and chose as the site of their new abode the place -where these pillars were cast ashore.</p> - -<p>In clothing and adornment there can be no -question that our Viking forefathers had attained -a high standard of luxury. Any visitor to the great -national museums at Copenhagen, Stockholm or -Christiania must be impressed by the wealth of -personal ornaments displayed before him: magnificent -brooches of silver and bronze, arm-rings and neck-rings -of gold and silver, large beads of silver, glass, -rock-crystal, amber and cornelian. At one time it -was commonly assumed that these ornaments, often -displaying the highest artistic skill, were simply -plunder taken by the Vikings from nations more -cultured and artistic than themselves, but patient -investigation has shown that the majority of them -were wrought in Scandinavia itself.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 773px;"> -<img src="images/i104.jpg" width="773" height="1200" alt="" /> -<div class="caption"><p><i>PLATE II</i><br /> -Ornaments of the Viking period</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[105]</a></span></p> - -<p>The most characteristic of Viking ornaments is -undoubtedly the brooch. It was usually oval in -shape and the concave surface was covered with a -framework of knobs and connecting bands, which -divided it into a series of 'fields' (to use a heraldic -term), which could themselves be decorated with -the characteristic ornamentation of the period. The -commonest form of oval brooch was that with nine -knobs on a single plate, but in the later examples -the plate is often doubled. The brooches themselves -were of bronze, the knobs usually of silver with silver -wire along the edge of the brooch. These knobs -have now often disappeared and the bronze has -become dull with verdigris, so that it is difficult -to form an idea of their original magnificence. The -oval brooches were used to fasten the outer mantle -and were usually worn in pairs, either on the breast -or on the shoulders, and examples of them have -been found from Russia in the East to Ireland on -the West. Other types of brooch are also found—straight-armed, -trilobed and round. Such brooches -were often worn in the middle of the bosom a little -below the oval ones. Other ornaments beside -brooches are common—arm-rings, neck-rings, pendants. -One of the most interesting of the pendants -is a ring with a series of small silver Thor's hammers<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[106]</a></span> -which was probably used as a charm against ill-luck. -All these ornaments alike are in silver rather than -gold, and it has been said that if the post-Roman -period of Scandinavian archaeology be called the age -of Gold, the Viking period should be named the age -of Silver.</p> - -<p>The style of ornamentation used in these articles -of personal adornment as well as in objects of more -general use, such as horse-trappings, is that commonly -known to German archaeologists as <i>tier-ornamentik</i>, -i.e. animal or zoomorphic ornamentation. This last -translation may sound pedantic but it is the most -accurate description of the style, for we have no -attempt to represent the full form of any animal that -ever had actual existence; rather we find the various -limbs of animals—heads, legs, tails—woven into one -another in fantastic design in order to cover a -certain surface-area which requires decoration. 'The -animals are ornaments and treated as such. They -are stretched and curved, lengthened and shortened, -refashioned, and remodelled just as the space which -they must fill requires.' This style was once called -the 'dragon-style,' but the term is misleading as there -is no example belonging to the Viking period proper -of any attempt to represent a dragon, i.e. some -fantastic animal with wings. Such creatures belong -to a later period.</p> - -<p>The zoomorphic style did not have its origin<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[107]</a></span> -during the Viking period. It is based on that -of a preceding period in the culture of the North -German peoples, but it received certain characteristic -developments at this time, more especially under the -influence of Irish and Frankish art. Irish art had -begun to influence that of Scandinavia even before -the Viking period began, and the development -of intercourse between North and West greatly -strengthened that influence. To Frankish influence -were due not only certain developments of <i>tier-ornamentik</i> -but also the use of figures from the -plant-world for decorative purposes. One of the -finest brooches preserved to us from this period is -of Frankish workmanship—a magnificent trilobed -brooch of gold with acanthus-leaf ornamentation. -This leaf-work was often imitated by Scandinavian -craftsmen but the imitation is usually rude and -unconvincing. Traces are also to be found of Oriental -and more especially of Arabic influence in certain -forms of silver-ornamentation, but finds of articles -of actual Eastern manufacture are more common -than finds of articles of Scandinavian origin showing -Eastern influences in their workmanship.</p> - -<p>Buried treasure from the Viking period is very -common. It was a popular belief, sanctioned by the -express statement of Odin, that a man would enjoy -in Valhalla whatsoever he had himself buried in -the earth. Another common motive in the burial of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[108]</a></span> -treasure was doubtless the desire to find a place -of security against robbery and plunder. Treasure -thus secreted would often be lost sight of at the -owner's death. To the burial-customs of the Viking -period also we owe much of our knowledge of their -weapons, clothing, ornaments and even of their -domestic utensils.</p> - -<p>The dead were as a rule cremated, at least during -the earlier part of the Viking period. The body -burned or unburned was either buried in a mound -of earth, forming a 'how,' or was laid under the -surface of the ground, and the grave marked by -stones arranged in a circle, square, triangle or oval, -sometimes even imitating the outlines of a ship. -The 'hows' were often of huge size. The largest -of the three 'King's hows' at Old Upsala is 30 ft. -high and 200 ft. broad. A large how was very -necessary in the well-known ship-burial when the -dead man (or woman) was placed in a grave-chamber -on board his ship and the ship was drawn on land -and buried within a how. Men and women alike -were buried in full dress, and the men usually have -all their weapons with them. In the latter case -weapons tend to take the place of articles of domestic -use such as are found in the graves of an earlier -period, and the change points to a new conception -of the future life. It is now a life in which warriors -feast with Odin in Valhalla on benches that are<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[109]</a></span> -covered with corselets. A careful examination of -Norwegian graves has proved fairly definitely the -existence of the custom of 'suttee' during the Viking -period, and the evidence of the Arab historian -Ibn Fadhlan seems to show that the same custom -prevailed among the Rûs. Horses, dogs, hawks and -other animals were often buried with their masters, -and the remains of such, burned or unburned, have -frequently been found.</p> - -<p>The varying customs attending burial are happily -illustrated in the two accounts preserved to us -of the burial of king Harold Hyldetan, who died -c. 750. The accounts were written down long after -the actual event, but they probably give us a good -picture of familiar incidents in burial ceremonies -of the Viking period.</p> - -<p>One account (in a late saga) tells how, on the -morrow of the great fight at Bravalla, king Ring -caused search to be made for the body of his kinsman -Harold. When the body was found, it was washed -and placed in the chariot which Harold used in the -fight. A large mound was raised and the chariot -was drawn into the mound by Harold's own horse. -The horse was now killed and Ring gave his own -saddle to Harold, telling him that he might ride or -drive to Valhalla just as it pleased him best. A -great memorial feast was held, and Ring bade his -warriors and nobles throw into the mound large<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[110]</a></span> -rings of gold and silver and good weapons before -it was finally closed.</p> - -<p>The other account (in Saxo) tells how Ring -harnessed his own horse to Harold's chariot and -bade him drive quickly to Valhalla as the best in -battle, and when he came to Odin to prepare goodly -quarters for friend and foe alike. The pyre was then -kindled and by Ring's command the Danes placed -Harold's ship upon it. When the fire destroyed -the body, the king commanded his followers to walk -round the pyre and chant a lament, making rich -offerings of weapons, gold and treasure, so that the -fire might mount the higher in honour of the great -king. So the body was burned, the ashes were -collected, laid in an urn and sent to Leire, there to -be buried with the horse and the weapons in royal -fashion.</p> - -<p>There are many curious coincidences of detail -between these accounts and that given by Ibn -Fadhlan of the burial of a Rûs warrior, and every -detail of them has at one time or another been -confirmed by archaeological evidence.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 1200px;"> -<img src="images/i111.jpg" width="1200" height="776" alt="" /> -<div class="caption"><p><i>PLATE III</i><br /> -The Jellinge stone</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[111]</a></span></p> - -<p>The dead were commemorated by the how itself, -but <i>bautasteinar</i>, i.e. memorial stones, were also -erected, either on the how or, more commonly, -elsewhere. In course of time these monuments came -to be inscribed with runes. Usually the inscription -is of the most formal type, giving the name of the -dead person, the name of the man who raised the -memorial, and sometimes also that of the man who -carved the runes. Occasionally there is some more -human touch as in the wording of the Dyrna runes -(<i>v. supra</i>, p. <a href="#Page_85">85</a>), and in the latter part of the Viking -period we often find pictures and even scenes -inscribed on the stones. This is true of the Dyrna -stone (<i>v. supra</i>, p. <a href="#Page_86">86</a>): the Jellinge stone has a -figure of Christ on it, while there is a famous rock-inscription -in Sweden representing scenes from the -Sigurd-story (Regin's smithy, hammer, tongs and -bellows, Sigurd piercing Fafnir with his sword, the -birds whose speech Sigurd understood) encircled by -a serpent (Fafnir) bearing a long runic inscription. -The runic alphabet itself was the invention of an -earlier age. It is based chiefly on the old Roman -alphabet with such modifications of form and symbol -as were necessitated by the different sounds in the -Teutonic tongues and by the use of such unyielding -materials as wood and stone. Straight lines were -preferred to curved ones and sloping to horizontal. -During the Viking period it was simplified, and runic -inscriptions are found from the valley of the Dnieper -on the east to Man in the west, and from Iceland on -the north to the Piraeus in the south.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[112]</a></span></p> - -<h2>CHAPTER IX<br /> - -SCANDINAVIAN INFLUENCE IN THE ORKNEYS,<br /> -SHETLANDS, THE WESTERN ISLANDS<br /> -AND MAN</h2> - - -<p>Of all the countries visited by the Vikings it is -undoubtedly the British Isles which bear most -definitely the marks of their presence. The history -and civilisation of Ireland, the Orkneys and Shetlands, -the Western Islands and Man, Scotland and England, -were profoundly affected by the Viking movement, -and its influence is none the less interesting because -it varies greatly from place to place, in both character -and intensity. These variations are doubtless due in -part to differences of political and social organisation -as between Norsemen and Danes, or between men -coming from scattered districts of the as yet loosely -co-ordinated kingdoms of Denmark and Norway, but -their chief cause lies in the wide divergences in the -social and political conditions of the lands in which -they settled.</p> - -<p>The Orkneys and the Shetlands were settled by -the Norsemen earlier than any other part of the -British Isles and they formed part of the Norse -kingdom till 1468. It is not surprising therefore that -the great Norse historian Munch describes them as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[113]</a></span> -<i>ligesaa norskt som Norge selv</i>, 'as Norse as Norway -itself.' The old Norse speech was still spoken there -by a few people until the end of the 18th century, -and we have a version of the ballad of <i>King Orfeo</i> -taken down from recital at the close of that century -with the Norse refrain still preserved '<i>Scowan ürla -grün—Whar giorten han grün oarlac</i>,' i.e. probably -<i>Skoven årle grön—Hvor hjorten han går årlig</i> = -'Early green's the wood—where the hart goes -yearly.' Place-nomenclature is almost entirely Norse -and the modern dialects are full of Norse words. -Several runic inscriptions have been found, the most -famous being that at Maeshowe in Hrossey, made by -Norse crusaders when they wintered there in 1152-3 -and amused themselves by breaking open the how, -probably to look for treasure, and scoring their runes -on the walls of the grave-chamber. In the system of -landholding the 'udallers' are an interesting survival -of the old Norse freeholders. 'The Udaller held his -land without condition or limitation in any feudal -sense,' says Mr Gilbert Goudie, i.e. he held his <i>udal</i> -on precisely the same free terms that the native -Norseman did his <i>óðal</i>. From the Shetlands and -the Orkneys the Norsemen crossed to the Scottish -mainland. Sutherland (i.e. the land south of the -Orkneys), Caithness, Ross and Cromarty are full of -Norse place-names, and Norse influence may be traced -even further south.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[114]</a></span></p> - -<p>The Hebrides were also largely influenced by the -Norsemen. Together with Man they formed a -Norse kingdom down to the middle of the 13th -century. Many of the islands themselves and their -chief physical features bear Norse names, many -personal names (e.g. MacAulay, son of Aulay or Olaf) -are of Norse origin, and there are many Norse words -in the Gaelic both of the islands, and the mainland. -These words have undergone extensive changes and -much corruption in a language very different in form -and sounds from that of their original source, and -their recognition is a difficult problem. There is at -present a danger of exaggerating this Norse element, -the existence of which was long overlooked. -Similarly, affinities have been traced between -Scandinavian and Gaelic popular tales and folk-lore, -but the evidence is too vague and uncertain to be of -much value.</p> - -<p>It is however in Man that we get the most -interesting traces of the presence of the Norsemen. -Here as elsewhere we have place-names and personal -names bearing witness to their presence, but we have -much else besides. Some 26 rune-inscribed crosses -have been preserved to us. The crosses are Celtic in -form and to a large extent in ornament also, but -we find distinct traces of the Scandinavian animal-ornamentation. -The inscriptions are short and for the -most part give only the name of the memorial-raiser<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[115]</a></span> -and the memorised. One bears the rune-writer's own -proud boast 'Gaut made this and all in Man.' More -interesting than the runes are the sculptured figures. -On four of the crosses we have representations of -incidents from the Sigurd story—Sigurd slaying -Fafnir, Sigurd roasting Fafnir's heart and cooling his -fingers in his mouth after trying too soon if the heart -was done, Loki slaying the Otter. We also have -pictures of Thor's adventure with the serpent of -Miðgarðr and of Odin's last fight with Fenrir's -Wolf. These sculptured stones are probably among -the latest of those found in Man and have their -chief parallel in stones found in Sweden (<i>v. supra</i>, -p. <a href="#Page_111">111</a>). Possibly it was to settlers from Man also -that we owe the famous Gosforth cross in Cumberland -with its picture of Thor's fishing for the serpent.</p> - -<p>In addition to all this we have the Manx legal -system as a standing witness to Norse influence. The -chief executive and legislative authority in the island -(after the Governor) is the Tynwald Court. That -court takes its name from the Old Norse <i>Þing-völlr</i><a name="FNanchor_13_13" id="FNanchor_13_13"></a><a href="#Footnote_13_13" class="fnanchor">[13]</a>, -the plain where the <i>Þing</i><a name="FNanchor_14_14" id="FNanchor_14_14"></a><a href="#Footnote_14_14" class="fnanchor">[14]</a> or popular assembly meets, -and the House of Keys, which is the oldest division -of the court, consisted originally of 24 members, -a number perhaps due to Scandinavian influence, -being a combination of two groups of 12 lawmen -(<i>v. supra</i>, p. <a href="#Page_103">103</a>). These men who have the 'keys of -the law' in their bosom closely resemble the 'lawmen' -or speakers of the Icelandic assembly. All laws to -be valid must be promulgated from the Tynwald Hill -which corresponds to the <i>lögberg</i> or law-hill of the -Icelandic <i>althing</i>. When the court is held the -coroner 'fences' it against all disturbance or disorder, -just as in the old Norwegian Gulathing we hear -of <i>vé-bönd</i> or sanctuary-ropes drawn around the -assembly.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[116]</a></span></p> - -<p>It was possibly from Man that a good number of -the Norse settlers in Cumberland, Westmorland and -North Lancashire came (<i>v. infra</i>, pp. <a href="#Page_126">126</a>-<a href="#Page_127">7</a>), and -others may have settled in Galloway.</p> - -<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_13_13" id="Footnote_13_13"></a><a href="#FNanchor_13_13"><span class="label">[13]</span></a> This word survives in another form in more than one Thingwall -among place-names.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_14_14" id="Footnote_14_14"></a><a href="#FNanchor_14_14"><span class="label">[14]</span></a> The word is familiar to us in the form -<i>ting</i> in <i>hus-ting</i>, house -assembly (originally <i>hús-Þing</i>), a council held by a king or earl -and attended by his immediate followers, in contrast to the ordinary -<i>Þing</i> or general assembly of the people.</p></div></div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<h2>CHAPTER X<br /> - -SCANDINAVIAN INFLUENCE IN IRELAND</h2> - - -<p>At the time of the Viking invasion of Ireland -the various provincial kingdoms were held in loose -confederation under the authority of the <i>ardrí</i> or -high king, but these kingdoms stood in constantly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[117]</a></span> -shifting relations of friendship and hostility towards -one another, and were themselves often split into -factions under rival chieftains. There was no -national army like the English <i>fyrd</i>. Rather it -consisted of a number of tribes, each commanded by -its own chief, and though the chief owed allegiance -to the king, the bond was a frail one. The tribe was -further divided into <i>septs</i> and the army was utterly -lacking in any cohesive principle. It is no wonder -that for many years the Irish showed themselves -quite unable to cope with the attacks of forces so -well organised as those of the Norse and Danish -Vikings.</p> - -<p>In vivid contrast to the chaos in political and -military organisation stand the missionary enthusiasm -of the Irish church and the high level of education -and culture which prevailed among her clergy and -<i>literati</i>. In the Orkneys and the Shetlands such -names as Papa Westray or Papa Stronsay bear witness -to the presence of Irish priests or <i>papae</i> as the -Norsemen called them. Irish anchorites had at one -time settled in the Faroes (<i>v. supra</i>, p. <a href="#Page_6">6</a>), and -when the Norsemen first settled in Iceland (c. 870) -they found Irish monks already there. The monastic -schools of Ireland were centres of learning and -religious instruction for the whole of Western Europe, -while Irish missionaries had founded monasteries in -Italy, Switzerland, Germany and France.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[118]</a></span></p> - -<p>Unfortunately religion and culture seem to have -been almost entirely without influence on the body -politic, and as the Vikings had at least in the early -days no respect for the religion or the learning of -the Irish nation there was nothing to prevent them -from devastating Irish monasteries and carrying off -the stores of treasured wealth which they contained. -No plunder was more easily won, and it was only -when they themselves had fallen under Christian -influences and had come to appreciate Irish literary -and artistic skill that they showed themselves -more kindly disposed towards these homes of -learning.</p> - -<p>One feature must at once strike the observer who -compares the Viking settlements in Ireland with -those in England, viz. that Viking influence in -Ireland is definitely concentrated in the great coast -towns—Dublin, Wexford, Waterford, Cork and -Limerick—and the districts immediately around -them. Irish place-nomenclature bears very definite -witness to this fact. <i>Ford</i> in Strangford and -Carlingford Loughs, Waterford and Wexford is O.N. -<i>fjǫrðr</i>, a fjord, -<i>low</i> in Arklow and Wicklow is O.N. -<i>ló</i>, 'low-lying, flat-grassland, lying by the water's -edge.' The O.N. <i>ey</i>, an island, is found in Lambey, -Dalkey, Dursey Head, Ireland's Eye (for Ireland's Ey), -Howth is O.N. <i>höfuð</i>, 'a head,' Carnsore and Greenore -Point contain O.N. <i>eyrr</i>, 'a sandy point pushing out<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[119]</a></span> -into the sea.' Smerwick contains the familiar O.N. -<i>vík</i> a bay or creek, while the Copeland Islands off -Belfast lough are the O.N. <i>kaupmannaeyjar</i>, 'the -merchants' islands.' All these are found on or off -the coast, while the number of Scandinavian names -found inland is extremely limited. The most interesting -perhaps is Leixlip on the Liffey, a name derived -from O.N. <i>laxahlaup</i>, 'salmon-leap.' Donegal, Fingall -and Gaultiere are Celtic names, but they mark -the presence of the northern <i>Gall</i> or foreigners, -while the -<i>ster</i> in Ulster, Leinster and Munster is -O.N. -<i>staðir</i> (pl. of -<i>staðr</i>, place, abode) suffixed to -the old Gaelic names of these provinces.</p> - -<p>There was free intermarriage between Norse and -Irish (<i>v. supra</i>, p. <a href="#Page_56">56</a>), but the strength of the clan-system -kept the races distinct and there was no such -infiltration of the whole population as took place in -the English Danelagh. This system prevented any -such settlement of Norsemen upon their own farms -as took place in England, and the invaders lived -almost entirely in the coast towns and the districts -in their immediate neighbourhood, busying themselves -with trade and shipping.</p> - -<p>Though the settlements were limited in their -extent, we must not underrate their influence on -Irish history generally. They gave the impetus there, -as elsewhere, to the growth of town life, and from -the period of Viking rule dates the origin of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[120]</a></span> -chief Irish towns. To them also was due the great -expansion, if not the birth, of Irish trade. Mention -has been made of the wealth of Limerick (<i>v. supra</i>, -p. <a href="#Page_97">97</a>), drawn chiefly from trade with France and -Spain, and the other towns were not behind -Limerick. The naval power of Dublin stretched from -Waterford to Dundalk, the Irish channel swarmed -with Viking fleets, and many of the shipping terms in -use in Gaelic are loan-words from the Norse.</p> - -<p>It is probably to the trading activities of Vikings -from the chiefs ports of Ireland that we owe the -sprinkling of names of Norse origin which we find -along the Welsh coast from the Dee to the Severn—Great -Orm's Head, Anglesey, Ramsey I, Skokholm -Island, Flat Holme and Steep Holme, and to them -may be due the establishment of Swansea, earlier -<i>Sweinesea</i>, Haverfordwest and possibly Bideford, as -Norse colonies in the Bristol channel. We know in -later times of several Norsemen who were living in -Cardiff, Bristol, Swansea and Haverfordwest.</p> - -<p>Norse influence in Ireland probably reached its -climax in the 10th century. The battle of Clontarf -offered a serious check and though there was still a -succession of Norse kings and earls in Dublin they -had to acknowledge the authority of the <i>ardrí</i>. The -line of Sigtryggr of the Silken Beard came to an end -by the middle of the 11th century, and the rulership -of Dublin fell into the hands of various Norse families<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[121]</a></span> -from other Irish settlements and from Man and the -Isles. From 1078-94 it was under the rule of the -great conqueror Godred Crovan from Man, and its -connexion with that kingdom was only severed finally -when Magnus Barefoot came on his great Western -expedition in 1103, and brought Man into direct -allegiance to the kings of Norway. Celtic influence -must have been strong in the Norse families themselves. -Several of the kings bear Gaelic names, and -it is probably from this period that such familiar -names as MacLamont or MacCalmont, MacIver, and -MacQuistan date, where the Gaelic patronymic prefix -has been added to the Norse names Lagmaðr, Ívarr -and Eysteinn. While Norse power in Dublin was on -the decline as a political force it is curious to note -that the vigorous town-life and the active commerce -instituted by the Norse settlers made that city of -ever-increasing importance as a centre of Irish life -and Irish interests generally, and there can be no -question that it was the Norsemen who really made -Dublin the capital city of Ireland.</p> - -<p>The Norse element remained absolutely distinct, -not only in Dublin but also in the other cities in -which they had settled, right down to the time of -the English invasion in the 12th century. Frequent -mention is made of them in the records of the great -towns, and they often both claimed and received -privileges quite different from those accorded to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[122]</a></span> -native Irish or to the English settlers. They were -known to the latter as 'Ostmen' or 'Easterlings,' a -term which in this connexion seems to have ousted -the earlier <i>Norvagienses</i> or <i>les Norreys</i>, <i>les Norwicheis</i>. -The term 'Ostman' doubtless represents -O.N. <i>Austmaðr</i>, a man dwelling to the east. Exactly -how or where it first came to be applied to Norsemen -it is difficult to say. The word has left its mark in -Oxmanstown, earlier Ostmanstown, the district of the -city of Dublin assigned to the Ostmen by the English -invaders.</p> - -<p>Learning and religion in Ireland suffered grievously -from Norse attack but not so sorely as in -England. There was never a time when so dark a -picture could have been drawn of Irish learning as -Alfred gives of the state of English learning when he -translated the <i>Pastoral Care</i>, and when once the -Vikings began to form settlements they were themselves -strongly affected by the wealth of literary and -artistic skill with which they found themselves brought -into contact. The question of Irish influence on -Norse mythology and literature is a much vexed one. -At present we are suffering from a reaction against -exaggerated claims made on its behalf some thirty -years ago, but while refusing to accept the view that -Norse legends, divine and heroic alike, are based on -a wholesale refashioning and recreating of stories -from Celtic saga-lore, it would be idle to deny that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[123]</a></span> -the contact between the two nations must have been -fertile of result and that Norse literature in form, -style and subject-matter alike, bears many marks of -Gaelic influence.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2>CHAPTER XI<br /> - -SCANDINAVIAN INFLUENCE IN ENGLAND</h2> - - -<p>Of the districts occupied by Scandinavian settlers -in England the ones which show their presence most -strongly are Cumberland, Westmorland, North Lancashire -and Yorkshire in the old kingdom of Northumbria -and the district of the Five Boroughs in the -midlands. East Anglia was not so deeply affected -by the Danish occupation.</p> - -<p>Before dealing with one of the chief sources of -our knowledge of the presence of Norse and Danish -settlers in various parts of England, viz. the evidence -derived from place-nomenclature, a few words must -be said as to the chief Scandinavian elements which -can be recognised in English place-names.</p> - -<p>Of elements other than personal names the -commonest are as follows, several of them being -used as independent words to this day in English -dialects which have been affected by Scandinavian -influence:—</p> - -<p>-<span class="smcap">BECK.</span> O.N. <i>bekkr</i>, brook, small stream of -water.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[124]</a></span></p> - -<p>-<span class="smcap">BIGGIN(G).</span> O.N. <i>bygging</i>, building.</p> - -<p>-<span class="smcap">BY.</span> O.N. <i>bør</i>, Dan. Swed. <i>by</i>, town or village. -This word indicates a Danish rather than a Norse -settlement.</p> - -<p>-<span class="smcap">CAR(R)</span>, -ker. O.N. <i>kjarr</i>, <i>kjörr</i>, brushwood, -especially on swampy ground.</p> - -<p>-<span class="smcap">DALE.</span> O.N. <i>dalr</i>, valley. Etymologically this -word might be of native English origin but its -distribution points to Norse influence.</p> - -<p>-<span class="smcap">FELL.</span> O.N. <i>fjall</i>, mountain.</p> - -<p>-<span class="smcap">FORCE.</span> O.N. <i>fors</i>, waterfall.</p> - -<p>-<span class="smcap">FORTH.</span> O.N. <i>fjǫrðr</i>, fjord. English -ford and -Scandinavian -forth often interchange in the old -documents.</p> - -<p>-<span class="smcap">GARTH.</span> O.N. <i>garðr</i>, enclosure, the Scandinavian -equivalent of English 'yard.'</p> - -<p>-<span class="smcap">GILL.</span> O.N. <i>gil</i>, deep narrow glen with a stream -at the bottom.</p> - -<p>-<span class="smcap">HOLM.</span> O.N. <i>holmr</i>, small island especially in a -bay, creek, or river. In England its meaning was -further developed and it often means 'low-lying level -ground on the borders of a river or stream.' Now -often concealed in the suffix -ham.</p> - -<p>-<span class="smcap">KELD.</span> O.N. <i>kelda</i>, well, spring.</p> - -<p>-<span class="smcap">LUND</span>, -lound. O.N. <i>lundr</i>, grove. Now often -corrupted to -land in English place-names.</p> - -<p>-<span class="smcap">MIRE.</span> O.N. <i>myrr</i>, moor, bog, swamp.</p> - -<p>-<span class="smcap">RAISE.</span> O.N. <i>hreysi</i>, cairn.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[125]</a></span></p> - -<p>-<span class="smcap">SCALE.</span> O.N. <i>skali</i>, house. This word is Norse -rather than Danish.</p> - -<p>-<span class="smcap">SCAR</span>, -skear, -skerry. O.N. <i>sker</i>, isolated rock in -the sea.</p> - -<p>-<span class="smcap">SCOUT.</span> O.N. <i>skúti</i>, cave formed by jutting rocks.</p> - -<p>-<span class="smcap">SCOUGH</span>, -scow. O.N. <i>skógr</i>, wood.</p> - -<p>-<span class="smcap">SLACK.</span> O.N. <i>slakki</i>, slope on a mountain edge. -Often used in English place-names of a hollow or -boggy place<a name="FNanchor_15_15" id="FNanchor_15_15"></a><a href="#Footnote_15_15" class="fnanchor">[15]</a>.</p> - -<p>-<span class="smcap">TARN.</span> O.N. <i>tjörn</i>, small lake.</p> - -<p>-<span class="smcap">THORP(E).</span> O.N. <i>þorp</i>, hamlet, village. This -word is also found in O.E. and in some place-names -is undoubtedly of native origin, but its general -distribution points fairly conclusively to Norse -influence.</p> - -<p>-<span class="smcap">THWAITE.</span> O.N. <i>þveit</i>, parcel of land, paddock.</p> - -<p>-<span class="smcap">TOFT.</span> O.N. <i>topt</i>, piece of ground, messuage, -homestead.</p> - -<p>-<span class="smcap">WITH.</span> O.N. <i>viðr</i>, a wood.</p> - -<p>-<span class="smcap">WATH.</span> O.N. <i>vað</i>, a ford.</p> - -<p>Place-names with the prefix <i>Norman</i>- mark the -settlement not of Normans but of Norsemen (or -Northmen as the English called them), as in Normanton -and Normanby, while the settlement of -Danes is marked by the prefix <i>Dena</i>- or <i>Den</i>- as in -Denaby and Denby. This latter prefix however has -other sources as well.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[126]</a></span></p> -<p>Scandinavian personal names are very common in -place-names but their presence can as a rule only be -detected with any degree of certainty by reference -to the forms found in early documents. Among the -more easily recognised are <i>Grímr</i>, as in Grimsargh -(Lancs.) and Grimsby (Lincs.), <i>Gunnarr</i>, as in Gunnerside -(Yorks.), <i>Ketill</i>, as in Kettlewell (Yorks.), -<i>Klakkr</i>, as in Claxton (Norf.), <i>Ormr</i>, as in Ormskirk -(Lancs.). Others, to be found by reference to earlier -forms, are <i>Fráni</i>, as in Franesfeld (=Farnsfield, -Notts.), <i>Gamall</i>, as in Gamelestune (=Gamston, -Notts.), <i>Gunnúlfr</i>, as in Gunnulveston (=Gonalston, -Notts.), <i>Knútr</i>, as in Cnutestone (=Knuston, -Northants.), <i>Leifr</i>, as in Levesbi (=Laceby, Lincs.), -<i>Sumarliði</i>, as in Sumarlidebi (=Somerby, Lincs.), -<i>Skúli</i>, as in Sculetuna (=Scoulton, Norf.), <i>Tóli</i>, as -in Toleslund (=Toseland, Hunts.), <i>Víkingr</i>, as in -Wichingestone (=Wigston, Leic.), <i>Úlfr</i>, as in Ulvesbi -(=Ulceby, Lincs.).</p> - -<p>Examining the distribution of Scandinavian place-names -determined by the above tests and others -which can be applied with great accuracy, if we -study not the modern but the old forms of the place-names, -we find that the place-nomenclature of -Cumberland and Westmorland is almost entirely -either Scandinavian or Celtic. Indeed it would -seem that the Anglian settlement had hardly affected -these districts at all, and it was reserved for the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[127]</a></span> -Scandinavian settlers to Teutonise them. The same -is true of Furness and Lancashire, north of the -Ribble, whose old names Stercaland and Agmundernesse -are of Norse origin, but south of that river -there is a great diminution of Norse place-names -except along the coast and a little way inland, where -we have several -<i>bys</i> and -<i>dales</i>. In Cheshire the -evidence of Scandinavian settlement is confined -almost entirely to the Wirral, but there the large -number of -<i>bys</i> and place-names like Thingwall -(<i>v. supra</i>, p. <a href="#Page_115">115</a>, note 1) point to a strong Viking -colony, and the distribution of place-names in South -Lancashire and Cheshire bears witness to active intercourse -between the settlers in Ireland and England.</p> - -<p>On the other side of the Pennine chain, though -Northumberland was several times ravaged by the -Norsemen and was probably well populated at least -in the fertile river-valleys, there is practically no -evidence of their presence to be found in place-names. -There are several Biggins, Carrs, and Holms, -a few Tofts and Dales, but these are common dialect -words and usually found in uncompounded forms. -They are practically never found in names of towns -or villages, and may well have been introduced from -districts further south. In the extreme west and -south-west of the county there are 'fells' and 'dales' -but these are on the borders of Cumberland, Westmorland -and Durham. The small streams are<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[128]</a></span> -'burns' and not 'becks,' the Wansbeck being a -corruption of an earlier <i>Wanespike</i>.</p> - -<p>When we cross into co. Durham the tributaries of -the Wear vary between 'burn' and 'beck,' but by -the time we reach the Tees these have all become -becks. Beechburn Beck, a tributary of the Wear, -shows how a Scandinavian term could be attached to -an English name, when its own meaning was neglected -or forgotten. Other Scandinavian names are common, -but as in Northumberland they belong to the dialect -generally and are seldom found in names of towns -or villages. Viking settlers must have been few in -numbers and widely scattered throughout these two -counties. One great exception must be named -among the towns, viz. Durham itself. The city was -named <i>Dún-holmr</i>, 'the hill-island,' by the Vikings, -and its present name is only the Norman corruption -of that form.</p> - -<p>South of the Tees we find ourselves in a district -whose place-names are to a very large extent -Scandinavian, and Norse settlements are thickly and -evenly distributed from the North Sea to the Pennine -chain.</p> - -<p>Passing from Northumbria to the Danelagh, -Lincolnshire is perhaps more purely Scandinavian in -its place-names than any other English county. In -Derbyshire Viking influence is not so strong but -the county was probably very thinly inhabited at least<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[129]</a></span> -in the north and west and did not offer attractive -settling ground. Derby itself was rechristened by -the Northmen, its earlier name being 'Norðweorðig.' -The rich fields and pastures of Leicestershire attracted -a great many settlers and Nottinghamshire is also -strongly Scandinavian. Rutland and Northamptonshire -are strongly Danish except that there is some -shading off towards the S.W. corner of the latter -county. In the country bordering the Danelagh on -the south and west, Staffordshire has a few Scandinavian -place-names on its Derbyshire and Leicestershire -borders, while Warwickshire has several on its -Leicestershire and Northamptonshire borders.</p> - -<p>In East Anglia Danish settlements must have -been numerous in the north and east especially -towards the coast, but their presence is less strongly -marked in the S.W. portion of the county. In -Suffolk they are confined still more definitely to the -coast-districts and the Danes do not seem to have -settled in the south of the county at all. Three -Kirbys near the Essex coast mark settlements in that -county. Of the other border-counties Huntingdonshire, -Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire show only -the slightest traces of Scandinavian influence in their -place-nomenclature, though we know from other -evidence that there must have been many Danish -settlers in these counties.</p> - -<p>Closely allied to the evidence of place-names is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[130]</a></span> -that of dialect. A very large number of words -definitely of Scandinavian origin are found in the -dialects of N.E. and N.W. England, in the N. Midlands -and East Anglia, but they do not furnish so sensitive -a test as do place-names for the extent of the -Scandinavian settlements and they need not be discussed -here.</p> - -<p>More interesting as evidence of the deep influence -of the Viking settlers on our language is the large -number of Scandinavian loan-words which have -become part of our standard speech, many of them -being words essential to our every-day talk. To -Scandinavian influence we owe the pronouns <i>they</i>, -<i>them</i> and <i>their</i>, the adjectives <i>same</i> and <i>both</i>, the <i>fro</i> -in <i>to</i> and <i>fro</i> and possibly the auxiliary <i>are</i> and -the preposition <i>till</i>. These last are found in the -Northumbrian dialect of Old English but their -widespread use is probably due to Scandinavian -influence. In addition to these we may note the -following:</p> - -<p>Verbs: <i>bait</i>, <i>bask</i>, <i>batten</i>, <i>call</i>, <i>cast</i>, <i>dawn</i>, <i>droop</i>, -<i>drown</i>, <i>gain</i>, <i>gabble</i>, <i>ransack</i>, <i>scare</i>, <i>scour</i>, <i>scrape</i>, -<i>skim</i>, <i>skip</i>, <i>squeal</i>, <i>stint</i>, <i>take</i>,</p> - -<p>Nouns: <i>anger</i>, <i>billow</i>, <i>boon</i>, <i>dusk</i>, <i>fellow</i>, <i>gait</i>, -<i>grime</i>, <i>haven</i>, <i>husband</i>, <i>husk</i>, <i>husting</i>, <i>scull</i>, <i>scurf</i>, -<i>skill</i>, <i>skin</i>, <i>skirt</i>, <i>sky</i>, <i>window</i>,</p> - -<p>Adjectives: <i>awkward</i>, <i>ill</i>, <i>odd</i>, <i>rotten</i>, <i>scant</i>, <i>sly</i>, -<i>ugly</i>, <i>weak</i>,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[131]</a></span> -and a good many words in which Scandinavian forms -have replaced the cognate English ones, e.g. <i>aloft</i>, -<i>athwart</i>, <i>awe</i>, <i>birth</i>, <i>egg</i>, <i>get</i>, <i>gift</i>, <i>give</i>, <i>guest</i>, <i>raid</i>, -<i>sister</i>, <i>swain</i>, <i>Thursday</i>.</p> - -<p>These words are for the most part of the very -stuff and substance of our language, giving vivid -expression to clear-cut ideas, and though numerically -they are outnumbered by the loan-words from -French, they are in themselves more essential to our -speech than the rich vocabulary derived from that -language.</p> - -<p>For the extent and character of the Viking -settlements in England we have however a far more -delicate and accurate index than that to be found in -the evidence of place-names and dialects. When we -study the pages of Domesday, the great record of -English social organisation in the 11th century, we -find that in the counties which came under Viking -influence there are many details of land-division, -tenure, assessment and social organisation generally -wherein those counties differ from the rest of England, -and some of these differences can still be traced.</p> - -<p>The 'ridings' of Yorkshire and the Lindsey division -of Lincolnshire were originally 'thrithings' (O.N. -<i>þriþjungr</i>, a third part), the initial <i>th</i> being later -absorbed by the final consonant of the preceding -'East,' 'West,' 'North' and 'South' (in Lincs.).</p> - -<p>The chief tests of Scandinavian influence, drawn<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[132]</a></span> -from Domesday and allied sources, are however as -follows:</p> - -<p>(1) The use of the Danish 'wapentake' as the -chief division of the county in contrast to the English -'hundred.' This is found in Lincolnshire, Derbyshire -(with one exception on its southern border), Nottinghamshire, -Leicestershire, Rutland, and one district -of Northamptonshire, now included in Rutland. We -have wapentakes in Yorkshire, except in certain -districts along the sea-coast, while in Lancashire -the term was applied to the court of the hundred or -shire long after the Conquest. There is some evidence -also for the belief that the use of the hundred (or -wapentake) as an administrative unit is in itself due -to Scandinavian influence. The proportion of names -of hundreds (or wapentakes) which are definitely -of Danish origin is very high and, unless we assume -wholesale renaming, this points to their having been -first named at a period subsequent to the Danish -conquest.</p> - -<p>(2) The assessment by carucates in multiples -and submultiples of 12 is characteristic of the Danelagh, -as opposed to that by hides, arranged on a -decimal system in the strictly English districts. This -is found in Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire, -Leicestershire and Rutland, with the exception of -the above mentioned district. There are traces of a -duodecimal assessment in the two N.E. hundreds of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[133]</a></span> -Northamptonshire, while in Lancashire a hidal assessment -has been superimposed upon an original carucal -one. Carucal assessment is found also in Yorkshire, -Norfolk and Suffolk.</p> - -<p>(3) In Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire -and Yorkshire we have traces of the use of the Danish -'long' hundred (= 120), e.g. the fine for breaking the -king's peace is £8, i.e. 120 ores<a name="FNanchor_16_16" id="FNanchor_16_16"></a><a href="#Footnote_16_16" class="fnanchor">[16]</a> of 16 pence.</p> - -<p>Using the various tests we find that the Scandinavian -kingdom of Northumbria was considerably -smaller than the earlier realm of that name, Northumberland -and Durham being but sparsely settled, -while South Lancashire and Cheshire were occupied -chiefly along the coast. The kingdom would seem to -fall into two isolated halves, Cumberland and Westmorland -and North Lancashire in the north-west -and Yorkshire in the south-east. The district of the -Five Boroughs covered Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, -Lincolnshire (Lincoln and Stamford), Leicestershire, -and probably the whole of Rutland (Stamford). The -case of Northamptonshire is difficult. The carucal -assessment fails except in the extreme N.E. of the -county, but Danish place-nomenclature is strongly -evident, though it shades off somewhat towards the -S.W. It resembles Danish East Anglia rather than -the district of the Five Boroughs and it is possible -that the boundary of Guthrum's East Anglian kingdom, -which is only carried as far as Stony Stratford in -the peace of Alfred and Guthrum, really ran along -Watling Street for a few miles, giving two-thirds of -that county to the East Anglian realm.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[134]</a></span></p> - -<p>Northumbria was governed by a succession of -kings. The Five Boroughs formed a loose confederation, -and there can be no question that the districts -which 'obeyed' (<i>v. supra</i>, p. <a href="#Page_31">31</a>) the boroughs of Derby, -Leicester, Nottingham, Lincoln (and Stamford) and -Northampton form the modern counties named from -these towns. It is also to Danish influence direct or -indirect that we owe the similar organisation of the -counties of Huntingdonshire, Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire -and Hertfordshire in the old East Anglian -kingdom. Each of these counties had a <i>jarl</i> or earl, -whose headquarters were at the 'borough.' He summoned -the <i>here</i>, whether for political or military -purposes, and when these counties passed once more -under English rule he fulfilled the functions of the -older <i>ealdorman</i>.</p> - -<p>In East Anglia, apart from place-names (<i>v. supra</i>, -p. <a href="#Page_129">129</a>) and carucal assessment in Norfolk and Suffolk, -we are left with the boundaries of Guthrum's kingdom -and with various miscellaneous evidence for estimating -the extent of Scandinavian influence. There is a -curious 'hundredus Dacorum' (cf. <i>supra</i>, p. 10) in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[135]</a></span> -Hertfordshire, while the <i>Historia Eliensis</i> and other -documents tend to show the presence of a strong -Danish element in the population and social organisation -of the districts around Cambridge. The kingship -of East Anglia came to an end early in the 10th -century, and it is probable that its organisation was -then changed to one resembling that of the Five -Boroughs, viz. a number of districts grouped around -central 'boroughs,' which afterwards became counties, -except in the older divisions of Norfolk and Suffolk.</p> - -<p>A careful study of Domesday and other authorities -reveals many other features of interest in our social -system which were due to Viking influence. Certain -types of manorial structure are specially common -in the Danelagh. Manor and vill are by no means -identical, indeed several manors are included under -one vill. Very frequent is the type which consists -in a central manor with sokeland appurtenant. In -the Danelagh there was a large number of small -freeholders and the free peasant class was much -more numerous than in Anglo-Saxon England. These -districts stand in clear contrast to the strongly -manorialised southern counties and they were not -feudalised to any appreciable extent before the -Norman conquest. When that system was imposed -we often find single knight's fees having to be taken -over by entire communities of sokemen. The 'holds' -of Northumbria, who rank next after the earls,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[136]</a></span> -and the 'drengs' of Cumberland, Westmorland, -Lancashire, Northumberland and Durham, are also -of Scandinavian origin. The 'dreng' was 'a free -servant of the king endowed with lands' and the -name still survives in the Yorkshire place-name -Dringhouses.</p> - -<p>The legal instinct was strong in the Scandinavian -mind and English law bears deep marks of its influence. -The very word 'law' itself is of Scandinavian origin -and has replaced the English 'doom.' The chief -judicial authority in Lincoln, Stamford, Cambridge, -Chester and York was in the hands of twelve -<i>lagmen</i> or <i>judices</i>. These 'lawmen' (<i>v. supra</i>, p. <a href="#Page_103">103</a>) -though they had judicial authority were not chosen -by the king or by popular election. Their position -was hereditary. Of special interest are the '12 senior -thanes' of Aethelred's laws for the Five Boroughs -enacted at Wantage in 997. They have to come -forward in the court of every wapentake and to -swear that they will not accuse wrongly any innocent -man or conceal any guilty one. The exact force of -this enactment has been a matter of dispute—whether -the thanes simply bore witness to the personal status -of the accused, thus enabling the court to determine -the ordeal through which he should be put, or whether -we have an anticipation of the system of presentment -by jury. Whatever may be the exact truth there -can be little doubt, says Dr Vinogradoff, that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[137]</a></span> -such a custom prepared the way for the indictment -jury of the 12th century. The same author attributes -to Danish influence a new conception of -crime. It is no longer merely a breach of the peace -or the result of a feud, to be settled by monetary -compensation, it is a breach of that conception of -honour which binds together military societies. The -criminal is now branded as <i>nithing</i>, a man unworthy -of comradeship with his fellow-warriors.</p> - -<p>Unfortunately it is only within the last few years -that the question of Danish influence on our social, -political and legal systems has been treated at all -seriously and much work still remains to be done, but -we can already see that the Danes affected English -life far more deeply than a superficial glance might -suggest. Doubtless the Danish invasions struck a -heavy blow at learning and literature, a blow from -the effects of which not even the heroic activities of -an Alfred could save them, but there can be no -question that in the development of town life, in the -promotion of trade, in the improvement of organisation -and administration, in the modification of legal -procedure the invaders conferred great benefits on -the country as a whole.</p> - -<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_15_15" id="Footnote_15_15"></a><a href="#FNanchor_15_15"><span class="label">[15]</span></a> In Scotland it is used of a hollow pass in a ridge.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_16_16" id="Footnote_16_16"></a><a href="#FNanchor_16_16"><span class="label">[16]</span></a> The <i>ore</i> as a unit of weight for silver is of Scandinavian origin. -In some districts it was of the value of 16 pence, in others of 20 pence, -and eight <i>ores</i> went to the <i>mark</i>.</p></div></div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[138]</a></span></p> - - -<h2>CHAPTER XII<br /> - -SCANDINAVIAN INFLUENCE IN THE EMPIRE<br /> -AND ICELAND</h2> - - -<p>Considering the long and devastating campaign -of the Vikings within the Frankish empire and more -especially within its western portion, it is surprising -that they only formed permanent settlements in one -small area, leaving practically no marks of their -presence elsewhere. Great portions of the Low -Countries were in almost continuous occupation by -them during the 9th century, but the opportunity -was lost, and beyond an important share in the -development of the trade of Duurstede, the Vikings -hardly left a sign of their influence behind them.</p> - -<p>The case of Normandy is different. Here we -have a definite district assigned to the invaders, just -as the Danelagh was given to them in England, and -the whole of that territory is deeply impregnated with -their influence. Many of the Norman towns in -<i>ville</i> -contain as the first element in their name a Norse -personal name, e.g. Catteville, Cauverville, Colleville, -Fouqueville, Hacqueville containing the names -<i>Káte</i>, <i>Kálfr</i>, <i>Kolr</i>, <i>Fólki</i>, <i>Hákon</i>, while the suffixes --<i>bec</i>, -<i>beuf</i>, -<i>dale</i>, -<i>ey</i>, -<i>gard</i>, -<i>londe</i>, -<i>torp</i>, --<i>tot</i>, -<i>tuit</i>,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[139]</a></span> --<i>vic</i> as in Bolbec, Elbeuf, Saussedalle, Jersey, Eppegard, -Mandelonde, Torgistorp, Abbetot, Bracquetuit, -Barvic go back to O.N. <i>bekkr</i>, <i>búð</i> (booth), <i>dalr</i>, <i>ey</i> -(island), <i>garðr</i>, <i>lundr</i>, <i>þorp</i>, <i>topt</i>, <i>þveit</i>, <i>vík</i> (<i>v. supra</i>, -pp. <a href="#Page_124">124</a>-<a href="#Page_125">5</a>). The dialect of Normandy to this day -contains a good number of Scandinavian words, -and others have been introduced into the standard -language. Some of these have also found their way -into English through our Norman conquerors, e.g. -<i>abet</i>, <i>baggage</i>, <i>elope</i>, <i>equip</i>, <i>jolly</i>, <i>rubbish</i>, <i>scoop</i>, -<i>strife</i> just as the <i>Bulbeck</i> in Swaffham Bulbeck -(Cambs.) and Bulbeck Common above Blanchland in -Northumberland is from the great Norman barony -of Bulbeck, so named after Bolbec in Normandy, of -which they once formed part. Norman law and -customs also show many traces of Scandinavian -influence and so does Norman folk-lore.</p> - -<p>The Normans still looked to Denmark as their -home-land down to the end of the 10th century, and at -least twice during the reign of Harold Bluetooth their -Dukes received help from that country. The nobles -soon ceased to speak their old northern language, but -it is probable that it remained current on the lips of -the people for some considerable time longer.</p> - -<p>The Vikings always showed themselves keenly -sensitive to the influence of a civilisation higher or -more developed than their own, and this is nowhere -more apparent than in Normandy. Heathenism<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[140]</a></span> -found a champion as late as 943 when, on the death -of William Longsword, a rising of heathen Normans -was crushed with the aid of the Frankish king, but -for the most part the Normans soon showed themselves -devout sons of the Church and were destined -in the 11th century to be numbered among the -most ardent supporters of the Crusades. With the -adoption of Christianity they learned to respect and -honour those homes of learning which they had once -devastated for their wealth of hoarded treasure, and -the famous school at Bec, whence came Lanfranc and -Anselm, was only one among many which they richly -endowed and supported.</p> - -<p>Their religious and artistic feeling found expression -in that development of Romanesque architecture -which we know as Norman and which has -given so many famous buildings not only to Normandy -but to England, to Sicily and to Southern Italy -generally. In literature the Norman-French <i>trouvères</i> -did much towards popularising the romances of war -and adventure which play so important a part in -medieval literature, and when they settled in England -it was largely due to Anglo-Norman poets that 'the -matter of Britain' became one of the great subjects -of romance for all time.</p> - -<p>In its social organisation Normandy seems speedily -to have been feudalised. Rollo divided the land -among a comparatively small number of large<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[141]</a></span> -landholders and the system of land tenure was quite -different from that in the English Danelagh with its -large number of small freeholders. On the other -hand it was probably due to Norse traditions of -personal freedom that serfdom disappeared earlier in -Normandy than in any other of the French provinces.</p> - -<p>Trade and commerce were fostered here as everywhere -by the Vikings. It was the Normans who -first taught the French to become a power at sea, -many French naval terms are of Norman origin and -from the Norman province have come some of -France's greatest sea-captains.</p> - -<p>The Vikings like the Franks before them threw off -their old speech and submitted to the all-embracing -power of Latin civilisation, and the result was a race -endowed with vigorous personality, untiring activity, -and the instinct for ruling men. The Normans may -have become largely French but they lost none of -their old enterprise and spirit of adventure. In the -11th century they conquered England and founded -great kingdoms for themselves in Sicily and South -Italy. No Viking stock was more vigorous than that -which resulted from the grafting of Gallo-Latin -culture on the ruder civilisation of the Teutonic -north.</p> - -<p>Their influence on France as a whole is not nearly -as great as the influence of their kinsmen in England, -probably because English government was centralised<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[142]</a></span> -(under Norman rule) much sooner than French -government, and their influence was thus able to -make itself felt outside the actual districts in which -they settled. The settlement of Normandy helped -however towards the consolidation of power in the -hands of Charles the Bald and his successors, much -as the settlement of the Danelagh helped in establishing -the final supremacy of Wessex.</p> - -<p>It remains to speak of one great home of Viking -civilisation to which more than one reference has -been made in previous chapters, viz. Iceland. The -story of its settlement is a very simple one. It -commenced about 870, when many great Norwegian -noblemen sought there for themselves and their -followers a freer life than they could obtain under -the growing power of Harold Fairhair. It was -greatly strengthened by settlers both from Norway -and from Ireland and the Western Islands when that -power was firmly established by the battle of Hafrsfjord, -and by the year 930 the settlement was -practically complete. Iceland was more purely -Scandinavian than any other settlement made during -the Viking age. Here we have not the case of one -civilisation grafted on another and earlier one as in -England, Ireland or the Frankish empire, but the -transference of the best and finest elements in a -nation to new and virgin soil where, for good or ill, -they were free to develop their civilisation on almost<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[143]</a></span> -entirely independent lines. Settlers from the Western -Islands and from Ireland may have brought Celtic -elements, and Christianity was not without influence, -when it was introduced from Norway at the close of -the 10th century, but on the whole we see in Iceland -just what Viking civilisation was capable of when -left to itself.</p> - -<p>At first the settlers lived in almost complete -isolation, political and religious, from one another, -but they soon found that some form of organisation -was necessary and groups of settlers began by choosing -from among their number a <i>goði</i>, or chieftain, -half-priest, half-leader, who was the speaker at their -moot and their representative in negotiation with -neighbouring groups. Then, continued disputes and -the lack of a common law led to the establishment -of a central moot or <i>alþing</i>, with a speaker to -speak one single law for all. But the Norsemen -were much better at making constitutions and -enacting laws than they were at observing them -when instituted, and the condition of Iceland has -been vividly if roughly summarised as one of 'all -law and no government.' The local <i>þings</i> or the -national <i>alþing</i> might enact perfect laws, but there -was no compelling force, except public opinion, to -make them be obeyed. Even the introduction of -Christianity made no difference: the Icelanders -quarrelled as bitterly over questions of ecclesiastical<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[144]</a></span> -as of civil law and the authorities of the medieval -Church were scandalised by their anarchic love of -freedom. In the words of Professor Ker 'the settlers -made a commonwealth of their own, which was in -contradiction to all the prejudices of the middle ages -and of all ancient and modern political philosophy; -a commonwealth which was not a state, which had -no government, no sovereignty.' 'It was anarchy -without a police-constable.' The result was that the -rich men grew richer, the poor became poorer, the -smaller gentry died out and the large estates fell -into fewer and fewer hands. The great men quarrelled -among themselves, intrigued against one another and -played into the hands of the Norwegian kings who -were only waiting their opportunity. It came in the -days of Hákon the Old. 'Land and thanes' were -sworn into subjection to that king at the Althing in -1262, and in 1271 the old Icelandic common law was -superseded by a new Norse code.</p> - -<p>The failure of the Icelandic commonwealth is -amply compensated for by the rich intellectual development -of Icelandic literature, which owed many -of its most characteristic features to the fact that it -was written in a land almost completely isolated -and detached from the main currents of Western -medieval thought and the general trend of European -history, but in itself that failure is full of deepest -import for a right understanding of the part played<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[145]</a></span> -by Viking civilisation in Europe. Powerful and -highly developed as that civilisation was in many -ways, it only reached its highest and best expression -when brought into fruitful contact with other and -older civilisations. There it found the corrective -for certain inherent weaknesses, more especially for -certain tendencies of too strongly individualistic -character leading to political and intellectual anarchy, -while at the same time by its own energy and vigour -it quickened the life of the older civilisations where -they were tending to become effete or outworn. The -Germanic peoples had done much for the development -of European civilisation in the time of the wanderings -of the nations, but by the end of the 8th century -they had lost much of their pristine vigour through -contact with the richer and more luxurious civilisation -of the Roman world. It was reserved for the -North Germanic peoples, or the Northmen as we can -more fitly describe them, in the 9th and 10th centuries -to give a yet more powerful stimulus to European -life, if not to European thought, a stimulus which -perhaps found its highest expression in the great -creations of the Norman race in the world of politics, -the world of commerce, the world of architecture -and the world of letters.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[146]</a></span></p> - - -<h2>BIBLIOGRAPHY</h2> - - -<p>[The appended bibliography does not attempt to deal with -primary authorities, with the large mass of valuable periodical -literature which has been published within the last thirty years, -or with books only incidentally concerned with the movement. -It is much to be regretted that so few of the important Scandinavian -books on the subject have been translated into English.]</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p><span class="smcap">Björkman, E.</span> Scandinavian Loan-words in Middle English. -Halle. 1906.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Bugge, A.</span> Vikingerne. 2 series. Christiania. 1904-6. (German -trans. of 1st series. Leipzig. 1896.)</p> - -<p>—— Vesterlandenes Inflydelse paa Nordboernes i Vikingetiden. -Christiania. 1905.</p> - -<p>—— Norges Historie. Vol. <span class="smcap">I</span>, Pt. <span class="smcap">II</span>. Christiania. 1910.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Collingwood, W. G.</span> Scandinavian Britain. London. 1908.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Craigie, W. A.</span> The Religion of Ancient Scandinavia. London. -1906.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Dietrichson, L.</span> and <span class="smcap">Meyer, S.</span> Monumenta Orcadica. Christiania. -1906. (Abridged English edition.)</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Du Chaillu, P. B.</span> The Viking Age. 2 vols. London. 1889.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Gustafson, G.</span> Norges Oldtid. Christiania. 1906.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Henderson, G.</span> The Norse Influence on Celtic Scotland. Glasgow. -1910.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Keary, C. F.</span> The Vikings in Western Christendom. London. -1891.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Kermode, P. M. C.</span> Manx Crosses. London. 1907.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[147]</a></span></p> -<p><span class="smcap">Maurer, K.</span> Die Bekehrung des Norwegischen Stammes. 2 vols. -Munich. 1855-9.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Montelius, O.</span> Sveriges Historia. Vol. <span class="smcap">I</span>. Stockholm. 1903. -(German tr. Kulturgeschichte Schwedens. Leipzig. 1906.)</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Müller, S.</span> Vor Oldtid. Copenhagen. 1897. (German tr. -Nordische Altertümskunde. 2 vols. Strasburg. 1897-8.)</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Olrik, A.</span> Nordisk Aaandsliv i Vikingetid. Copenhagen. 1907. -(German tr. Nordisches Geistesleben. Heidelberg. 1908.)</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Steenstrup, J. C. H. R.</span> Normannerne. 4 vols. Copenhagen. -1876-82.</p> - -<p>—— Danmarks Riges Historie. Vol. <span class="smcap">I</span>. Copenhagen. 1876-82.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Thomsen, V.</span> The Relations between Ancient Russia and Scandinavia. -Oxford. 1877.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Vogel, W.</span> Die Normannen und das Fränkische Reich. Heidelberg. -1906.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Vogt, L. J.</span> Dublin som Norsk By. Christiania. 1906.</p></blockquote> - -<p>The Publications of the Viking Club (Saga-Book and Year -Book) include papers on various aspects of the movement and -notices of the literature of the subject as well as descriptions of -various archaeological discoveries.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[148]</a></span></p> - -<h2>INDEX</h2> - - -<p> -Aethelflæd of Mercia, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>, <a href="#Page_57">57</a><br /> -<br /> -Aethelstan, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>-<a href="#Page_36">6</a><br /> -<br /> -Alfred the Great, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>-<a href="#Page_8">8</a><br /> -<br /> -Altar-ring, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>, <a href="#Page_89">89</a><br /> -<br /> -<i>Althing</i>, <a href="#Page_116">116</a><br /> -<br /> -Anlaf Godfreyson, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Sihtricsson (Cuaran), <a href="#Page_34">34</a>, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>-<a href="#Page_61">1</a>, <a href="#Page_90">90</a></span><br /> -<br /> -Arabic historians, references in, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>, <a href="#Page_109">109</a><br /> -<br /> -Auðr the deep-thoughted, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>, <a href="#Page_89">89</a><br /> -<br /> -<br /> -<i>bautasteinar</i>, <a href="#Page_110">110</a><br /> -<br /> -Björkö, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>, <a href="#Page_98">98</a><br /> -<br /> -Björn Ironside, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_44">44</a>, <a href="#Page_46">46</a><br /> -<br /> -Black Foreigners, <a href="#Page_10">10</a><br /> -<br /> -Brian Borumha, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>-<a href="#Page_64">4</a><br /> -<br /> -Brunanburh, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>, <a href="#Page_64">64</a><br /> -<br /> -Burial ceremonies, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>-<a href="#Page_100">100</a>, <a href="#Page_108">108</a>-<a href="#Page_10">10</a><br /> -<br /> -<br /> -<i>carucates</i>, <a href="#Page_132">132</a>-<a href="#Page_133">3</a><br /> -<br /> -Christianity, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>-<a href="#Page_93">93</a><br /> -<br /> -Clontarf, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>-<a href="#Page_4">4</a>, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>, <a href="#Page_120">120</a><br /> -<br /> -Cnut, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>-<a href="#Page_42">2</a>, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>, <a href="#Page_101">101</a><br /> -<br /> -<br /> -<i>Daci</i>, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>, <a href="#Page_134">134</a><br /> -<br /> -Danegeld, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>-<a href="#Page_39">9</a>, <a href="#Page_48">48</a><br /> -<br /> -Danelagh boundaries, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>, <a href="#Page_128">128</a>-<a href="#Page_129">9</a>;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">reconquest, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>-<a href="#Page_32">32</a></span><br /> -<br /> -Danes, <i>passim</i><br /> -<br /> -Denmark, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>-<a href="#Page_23">3</a>, <a href="#Page_44">44</a>, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>-<a href="#Page_87">7</a><br /> -<br /> -<i>drengs</i>, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>-<a href="#Page_136">6</a><br /> -<br /> -<i>Dubh-gaill</i>, <a href="#Page_10">10</a><br /> -<br /> -Dublin, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>-<a href="#Page_34">4</a>, -<a href="#Page_55">55</a>, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>-<a href="#Page_60">60</a>, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>, <a href="#Page_89">89</a>, -<a href="#Page_103">103</a>, <a href="#Page_120">120</a>-<a href="#Page_122">2</a><br /> -<br /> -<br /> -East Anglia, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>-<a href="#Page_28">8</a>, -<a href="#Page_32">32</a>, <a href="#Page_134">134</a>-<a href="#Page_135">5</a><br /> -<br /> -Eddaic poems, <a href="#Page_2">2</a>, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>-<a href="#Page_94">4</a><br /> -<br /> -Edmund Ironside, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>-<a href="#Page_41">1</a><br /> -<br /> -Edward the Elder, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a><br /> -<br /> -England, invasion of, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>-<a href="#Page_43">43</a>;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">influence in, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>-<a href="#Page_137">37</a></span><br /> -<br /> -Eric Blood-axe, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>-<a href="#Page_37">7</a><br /> -<br /> -Ethelred the Unready, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>-<a href="#Page_40">40</a><br /> -<br /> -<br /> -Faroes, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a href="#Page_98">98</a><br /> -<br /> -<i>Fin-gaill</i>, <a href="#Page_10">10</a><br /> -<br /> -Five Boroughs, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>, <a href="#Page_134">134</a>-<a href="#Page_136">6</a><br /> -<br /> -Frisia, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>-<a href="#Page_18">8</a>, <a href="#Page_49">49</a><br /> -<br /> -France, invasions of, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>-<a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>-<a href="#Page_53">53</a>;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">influence in, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>-<a href="#Page_142">42</a></span><br /> -<br /> -Frisians, <a href="#Page_8">8</a><br /> -<br /> -<br /> -<i>Gaill-Gaedhil</i>, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>, <a href="#Page_67">67</a><br /> -<br /> -Galloway, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>, <a href="#Page_116">116</a><br /> -<br /> -Gokstad ship, <a href="#Page_99">99</a><br /> -<br /> -Greenland, <a href="#Page_99">99</a><br /> -<br /> -Guthrum of East Anglia, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>-<a href="#Page_27">7</a><br /> -<br /> -<br /> -Hásteinn (Hastingus), <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_44">44</a>, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>, <a href="#Page_50">50</a><br /> -<br /> -Hafrsfjord, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_56">56</a><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[149]</a></span><br /> -<br /> -Hákon Aðalsteinsfóstri, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>-<a href="#Page_36">6</a>, <a href="#Page_88">88</a><br /> -<br /> -Halfdanr, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>, <a href="#Page_58">58</a><br /> -<br /> -Harold Bluetooth, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>, <a href="#Page_70">70</a>-<a href="#Page_72">2</a>, <a href="#Page_87">87</a><br /> -<br /> -Harold Fairhair, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>, <a href="#Page_142">142</a><br /> -<br /> -Harold Hardrada, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>, <a href="#Page_99">99</a><br /> -<br /> -Harold of Mainz, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>-<a href="#Page_19">9</a>, <a href="#Page_86">86</a><br /> -<br /> -Heathenism, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>-<a href="#Page_93">93</a><br /> -<br /> -Hebrides, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>-<a href="#Page_68">8</a>, <a href="#Page_114">114</a><br /> -<br /> -<i>Hiruath</i>, <a href="#Page_11">11</a><br /> -<br /> -<i>holds</i>, <a href="#Page_135">135</a><br /> -<br /> -Hörðaland, Hörðai, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>, <a href="#Page_11">11</a><br /> -<br /> -<i>hows</i>, <a href="#Page_108">108</a><br /> -<br /> -<br /> -Iceland, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>, <a href="#Page_117">117</a>, <a href="#Page_142">142</a>-<a href="#Page_144">4</a><br /> -<br /> -Ireland, attacks on, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>-<a href="#Page_13">13</a>, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>-<a href="#Page_64">64</a>;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Danes and Norsemen in, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>-<a href="#Page_58">8</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">influence in, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>-<a href="#Page_123">23</a></span><br /> -<br /> -Ívarr the boneless, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>-<a href="#Page_25">5</a>, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>-<a href="#Page_58">8</a><br /> -<br /> -<br /> -<i>jarls</i>, <a href="#Page_103">103</a>, <a href="#Page_134">134</a><br /> -<br /> -Jellinge stone, <a href="#Page_111">111</a><br /> -<br /> -Jómsborg, Jómsvikings, <a href="#Page_70">70</a>-<a href="#Page_72">2</a>, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>, <a href="#Page_102">102</a><br /> -<br /> -jury, presentation by, <a href="#Page_136">136</a><br /> -<br /> -<br /> -Ketill Finn, <a href="#Page_67">67</a><br /> -<br /> -Ketill Flatnose, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>, <a href="#Page_67">67</a><br /> -<br /> -<br /> -<i>lawmen</i>, <a href="#Page_103">103</a>, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>, <a href="#Page_136">136</a><br /> -<br /> -Limerick, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>, <a href="#Page_120">120</a><br /> -<br /> -<i>Lochlann</i>, <a href="#Page_10">10</a><br /> -<br /> -<i>Ludwigslied</i>, <a href="#Page_47">47</a><br /> -<br /> -<br /> -<i>Madjus</i>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a><br /> -<br /> -Maeshowe, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="#Page_113">113</a><br /> -<br /> -Maldon, battle of, <a href="#Page_38">38</a><br /> -<br /> -Man, Isle of, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>-<a href="#Page_68">8</a>, -<a href="#Page_114">114</a>-<a href="#Page_115">5</a><br /> -<br /> -<br /> -<i>nithing</i>, <a href="#Page_137">137</a><br /> -<br /> -Noirmoutier, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a><br /> -<br /> -Norsemen, Norwegians, <i>passim</i><br /> -<br /> -Northumbria, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>-<a href="#Page_25">5</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, -<a href="#Page_83">83</a>-<a href="#Page_84">4</a>, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>, -<a href="#Page_63">63</a>, <a href="#Page_126">126</a>-<a href="#Page_128">8</a><br /> -<br /> -Normandy, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>-<a href="#Page_53">3</a>, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>-<a href="#Page_142">42</a><br /> -<br /> -Norway, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Christianity in, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>-<a href="#Page_89">9</a></span><br /> -<br /> -<br /> -Odin, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>, <a href="#Page_95">95</a>, <a href="#Page_115">115</a><br /> -<br /> -Ohthere, Óttarr, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>, <a href="#Page_99">99</a><br /> -<br /> -Olaf Tryggvason, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>, <a href="#Page_89">89</a>, <a href="#Page_101">101</a><br /> -<br /> -Olaf the White, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>-<a href="#Page_58">8</a>, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>, <a href="#Page_68">68</a><br /> -<br /> -<i>ore</i>, <a href="#Page_133">133</a><br /> -<br /> -Orkneys, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>-<a href="#Page_113">3</a>, <a href="#Page_117">117</a><br /> -<br /> -Ornamentation, style of, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>-<a href="#Page_107">7</a><br /> -<br /> -Ornaments, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>-<a href="#Page_106">6</a><br /> -<br /> -Oseberg ship, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>-<a href="#Page_100">100</a><br /> -<br /> -<i>Ostmen</i>, <a href="#Page_122">122</a><br /> -<br /> -<i>Oðal</i>, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>, <a href="#Page_113">113</a><br /> -<br /> -<br /> -Paris, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>-<a href="#Page_50">50</a><br /> -<br /> -Place-names, influence on Scottish, <a href="#Page_114">114</a>;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Irish, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>-<a href="#Page_119">9</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">English, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>-<a href="#Page_129">9</a></span><br /> -<br /> -<i>prime-signing</i>, <a href="#Page_91">91</a><br /> -<br /> -<br /> -Ragnarr Loðbrók, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>-<a href="#Page_24">4</a>, <a href="#Page_44">44</a>, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>, <a href="#Page_102">102</a><br /> -<br /> -Rhôs, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>-<a href="#Page_74">4</a><br /> -<br /> -<i>ridings</i>, <a href="#Page_131">131</a><br /> -<br /> -Rollo, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>, <a href="#Page_103">103</a><br /> -<br /> -Runic inscriptions, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>-<a href="#Page_86">6</a>, -<a href="#Page_110">110</a>-<a href="#Page_111">1</a>, <a href="#Page_113">113</a>-<a href="#Page_115">5</a><br /> -<br /> -Rus, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>-<a href="#Page_79">9</a><br /> -<br /> -Russia, founding of, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>-<a href="#Page_80">80</a><br /> -<br /> -<br /> -St Anskar, <a href="#Page_70">70</a>, <a href="#Page_86">86</a><br /> -<br /> -St Edmund, <a href="#Page_25">25</a><br /> -<br /> -St Olaf, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>, <a href="#Page_89">89</a><br /> -<br /> -<i>Scaldingi</i>, <a href="#Page_11">11</a><br /> -<br /> -Scandinavian loan-words in English, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>-<a href="#Page_131">1</a><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[150]</a></span><br /> -<br /> -Sculptured stones, <a href="#Page_91">91</a>, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>, <a href="#Page_114">114</a>-<a href="#Page_115">5</a><br /> -<br /> -Seven Boroughs, <a href="#Page_40">40</a><br /> -<br /> -Shetlands, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>-<a href="#Page_113">3</a>, <a href="#Page_117">117</a><br /> -<br /> -Ship-burials, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>-<a href="#Page_100">100</a><br /> -<br /> -Ships, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>-<a href="#Page_100">100</a><br /> -<br /> -Shires, origin of, <a href="#Page_31">31</a> <i>n</i>., <a href="#Page_134">134</a><br /> -<br /> -Sigurd of the Orkneys, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>-<a href="#Page_67">7</a><br /> -<br /> -Slesvík, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>, <a href="#Page_96">96</a><br /> -<br /> -Sodor and Man, <a href="#Page_65">65</a><br /> -<br /> -Stamford Bridge, <a href="#Page_42">42</a><br /> -<br /> -<i>Suðreyjar</i>, <a href="#Page_65">65</a><br /> -<br /> -Svein Forkbeard, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>, <a href="#Page_87">87</a><br /> -<br /> -Sweden, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_96">96</a><br /> -<br /> -Swedes, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_72">72</a>-<a href="#Page_79">9</a><br /> -<br /> -<br /> -<i>thing</i>, <a href="#Page_103">103</a>, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>-<a href="#Page_116">6</a><br /> -<br /> -Thor, <a href="#Page_89">89</a>, <a href="#Page_95">95</a>, <a href="#Page_115">115</a><br /> -<br /> -Trade, character of, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>-<a href="#Page_98">8</a>;<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Oriental, <a href="#Page_71">71</a>, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>-<a href="#Page_80">80</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Russian, <a href="#Page_75">75</a>-<a href="#Page_80">80</a>;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Irish, <a href="#Page_120">120</a></span><br /> -<br /> -Turf-Einar, <a href="#Page_67">67</a><br /> -<br /> -Turges, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a><br /> -<br /> -Tynwald Court, <a href="#Page_115">115</a><br /> -<br /> -<br /> -<i>udal</i> and <i>udaller</i>, <a href="#Page_113">113</a><br /> -<br /> -<br /> -Varangians, Variags, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>-<a href="#Page_79">9</a><br /> -<br /> -Vestfold, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_16">16</a><br /> -<br /> -Viking, the term, <a href="#Page_1">1</a><br /> -<br /> -Viking movement, causes of, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>-<a href="#Page_11">11</a><br /> -<br /> -Vinland, <a href="#Page_99">99</a><br /> -<br /> -<br /> -<i>Wapentake</i>, <a href="#Page_132">132</a><br /> -<br /> -Weapons, <a href="#Page_101">101</a>-<a href="#Page_102">2</a><br /> -<br /> -Wedmore, peace of, <a href="#Page_27">27</a><br /> -<br /> -<i>Westfaldingi</i>, <a href="#Page_11">11</a><br /> -<br /> -White Foreigners, <a href="#Page_10">10</a><br /> -<br /> -Women, position of, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>-<a href="#Page_56">6</a>, <a href="#Page_94">94</a><br /> -<br /> -<br /> -York, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_33">33</a><br /> -</p> - - -<p class="center space-above">CAMBRIDGE: PRINTED BY JOHN CLAY, M.A. AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="center"> -THE<br /> -CAMBRIDGE MANUALS<br /> -OF SCIENCE AND LITERATURE<br /> -Published by the Cambridge University Press<br /> -<br /> -GENERAL EDITORS<br /> -P. GILES, Litt.D.<br /> -Master of Emmanuel College<br /> -and<br /> -A. C. SEWARD, M.A., F.R.S.<br /> -Professor of Botany in the University of Cambridge<br /> -<br /> -SIXTY VOLUMES NOW READY<br /> -</div> - - -<p><i>HISTORY AND ARCHAEOLOGY</i></p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>Ancient Assyria. By Rev. C. H. W. Johns, Litt.D.</p> - -<p>Ancient Babylonia. By Rev. C. H. W. Johns, Litt.D.</p> - -<p>A History of Civilization in Palestine. By Prof. R. A. S. -Macalister, M.A., F.S.A.</p> - -<p>China and the Manchus. By Prof. H. A. Giles, LL.D.</p> - -<p>The Civilization of Ancient Mexico. By Lewis Spence.</p> - -<p>The Vikings. By Prof. Allen Mawer, M.A.</p> - -<p>New Zealand. By the Hon. Sir Robert Stout, K.C.M.G., LL.D., -and J. Logan Stout, LL.B. (N.Z.).</p> - -<p>The Ground Plan of the English Parish Church. By A. -Hamilton Thompson, M.A., F.S.A.</p> - -<p>The Historical Growth of the English Parish Church. By A. -Hamilton Thompson, M.A., F.S.A.</p> - -<p>Brasses. By J. S. M. Ward, B.A., F.R.Hist.S.</p> - -<p>Ancient Stained and Painted Glass. By F. S. Eden.</p></blockquote> - - -<p><i>LITERARY HISTORY</i></p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>The Early Religious Poetry of the Hebrews. By the Rev. -E. G. King, D.D.</p> - -<p>The Early Religious Poetry of Persia. By the Rev. Prof. J. -Hope Moulton, D.D., D.Theol. (Berlin).</p> - -<p>The History of the English Bible. By the Rev. John Brown, -D.D.</p> - -<p>English Dialects from the Eighth Century to the Present Day. -By W. W. Skeat, Litt.D., D.C.L., F.B.A.</p> - -<p>King Arthur in History and Legend. By Prof. W. Lewis -Jones, M.A.</p> - -<p>The Icelandic Sagas. By W. A. Craigie, LL.D.</p> - -<p>Greek Tragedy. By J. T. Sheppard, M.A.</p> - -<p>The Ballad in Literature. By T. F. Henderson.</p> - -<p>Goethe and the Twentieth Century. By Prof. J. G. Robertson, -M.A., Ph.D.</p> - -<p>The Troubadours. By the Rev. H. J. Chaytor, M.A.</p></blockquote> - - -<p><i>PHILOSOPHY AND RELIGION</i></p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>The Idea of God in Early Religions. By Dr F. B. Jevons.</p> - -<p>Comparative Religion. By Dr F. B. Jevons.</p> - -<p>The Moral Life and Moral Worth. By Prof. Sorley, Litt.D.</p> - -<p>The English Puritans. By the Rev. John Brown, D.D.</p> - -<p>An Historical Account of the Rise and Development of Presbyterianism -in Scotland. By the Rt Hon. the Lord Balfour -of Burleigh, K.T., G.C.M.G.</p> - -<p>Methodism. By Rev. H. B. Workman, D.Lit.</p></blockquote> - - -<p><i>EDUCATION</i></p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>Life in the Medieval University. By R. S. Rait, M.A.</p></blockquote> - - -<p><i>ECONOMICS</i></p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>Cash and Credit. By D. A. Barker, I.C.S.</p></blockquote> - - -<p><i>LAW</i></p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>The Administration of Justice in Criminal Matters (in England -and Wales). By G. Glover Alexander, M.A., LL.M.</p></blockquote> - - -<p><i>BIOLOGY</i></p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>The Coming of Evolution. By Prof. J. W. Judd, C.B., F.R.S.</p> - -<p>Heredity in the Light of Recent Research. By L. Doncaster, -M.A.</p> - -<p>Primitive Animals. By Geoffrey Smith, M.A.</p> - -<p>The Individual in the Animal Kingdom. By J. S. Huxley, B.A.</p> - -<p>Life in the Sea. By James Johnstone, B.Sc.</p> - -<p>The Migration of Birds. By T. A. Coward.</p> - -<p>Spiders. By C. Warburton, M.A.</p> - -<p>House Flies. By C. G. Hewitt, D.Sc.</p> - -<p>Earthworms and their Allies. By F. E. Beddard, F.R.S.</p></blockquote> - - -<p><i>ANTHROPOLOGY</i></p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>The Wanderings of Peoples. By Dr A. C. Haddon, F.R.S.</p> - -<p>Prehistoric Man. By Dr W. L. H. Duckworth.</p></blockquote> - - -<p><i>GEOLOGY</i></p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>Rocks and their Origins. By Prof. Grenville A. J. Cole.</p> - -<p>The Work of Rain and Rivers. By T. G. Bonney, Sc.D.</p> - -<p>The Natural History of Coal. By Dr E. A. Newell Arber.</p> - -<p>The Natural History of Clay. By Alfred B. Searle.</p> - -<p>The Origin of Earthquakes. By C. Davison, Sc.D., F.G.S.</p></blockquote> - - -<p><i>BOTANY</i></p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>Plant-Animals: a Study in Symbiosis. By Prof. F. W. Keeble.</p> - -<p>Plant-Life on Land. By Prof. F. O. Bower, Sc.D., F.R.S.</p> - -<p>Links with the Past in the Plant-World. By Prof. A. C. Seward.</p></blockquote> - - -<p><i>PHYSICS</i></p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>The Earth. By Prof. J. H. Poynting, F.R.S.</p> - -<p>The Atmosphere. By A. J. Berry, M.A.</p> - -<p>The Physical Basis of Music. By A. Wood, M.A.</p></blockquote> - - -<p><i>PSYCHOLOGY</i></p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>An Introduction to Experimental Psychology. By Dr C. S. -Myers.</p> - -<p>The Psychology of Insanity. By Bernard Hart, M.D.</p></blockquote> - - -<p><i>INDUSTRIAL AND MECHANICAL SCIENCE</i></p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>The Modern Locomotive. By C. Edgar Allen, A.M.I.Mech.E.</p> - -<p>The Modern Warship. By E. L. Attwood.</p> - -<p>Aerial Locomotion. By E. H. Harper, M.A., and Allan E. -Ferguson, B.Sc.</p> - -<p>Electricity in Locomotion. By A. G. Whyte, B.Sc.</p> - -<p>The Story of a Loaf of Bread. By Prof. T. B. Wood, M.A.</p> - -<p>Brewing. By A. Chaston Chapman, F.I.C.</p></blockquote> - - -<div class="center"><br />SOME VOLUMES IN PREPARATION</div> - - -<p><i>HISTORY AND ARCHAEOLOGY</i></p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>The Aryans. By Prof. M. Winternitz.</p> - -<p>The Peoples of India. By J. D. Anderson.</p> - -<p>Prehistoric Britain. By L. McL. Mann.</p> - -<p>The Balkan Peoples. By J. D. Bourchier.</p> - -<p>The Evolution of Japan. By Prof. J. H. Longford.</p> - -<p>The West Indies. By Sir Daniel Morris, K.C.M.G.</p> - -<p>The Royal Navy. By John Leyland.</p> - -<p>Gypsies. By John Sampson.</p> - -<p>English Monasteries. By A. H. Thompson, M.A.</p> - -<p>A Grammar of Heraldry. By W. H. St John Hope, Litt.D.</p> - -<p>Celtic Art. By Joseph Anderson, LL.D.</p></blockquote> - - -<p><i>LITERARY HISTORY</i></p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>The Book. By H. G. Aldis, M.A.</p> - -<p>Pantomime. By D. L. Murray.</p> - -<p>Folk Song and Dance. By Miss Neal and F. Kitson.</p></blockquote> - - -<p><i>PHILOSOPHY AND RELIGION</i></p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>The Moral and Political Ideas of Plato. By Mrs A. M. Adam.</p> - -<p>The Beautiful. By Vernon Lee.</p></blockquote> - - -<p><i>ECONOMICS</i></p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>The Theory of Money. By D. A. Barker.</p> - -<p>Women's Work. By Miss Constance Smith.</p></blockquote> - - -<p><i>EDUCATION</i></p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>German School Education. By Prof. K. H. Breul, Litt.D.</p> - -<p>The Old Grammar Schools. By Prof. Foster Watson.</p></blockquote> - - -<p><i>PHYSICS</i></p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>Beyond the Atom. By Prof. J. Cox.</p> - -<p>The Sun. By Prof. R. A. Sampson.</p> - -<p>Wireless Telegraphy. By C. L. Fortescue, M.A.</p> - -<p>Röntgen Rays. By Prof. W. H. Bragg, F.R.S.</p></blockquote> - - -<p><i>BIOLOGY</i></p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>Bees and Wasps. By O. H. Latter, M.A.</p> - -<p>The Life-story of Insects. By Prof. G. H. Carpenter.</p> - -<p>The Wanderings of Animals. By H. F. Gadow, M.A., F.R.S.</p></blockquote> - - -<p><i>GEOLOGY</i></p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>Submerged Forests. By Clement Reid, F.R.S.</p> - -<p>Coast Erosion. By Prof. T. J. Jehu.</p></blockquote> - - -<p><i>INDUSTRIAL AND MECHANICAL SCIENCE</i></p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>Coal Mining. By T. C. Cantrill.</p> - -<p>Leather. By Prof. H. R. Procter.</p></blockquote> - - -<div class="center"><br /> -Cambridge University Press<br /> -C. F. Clay, Manager<br /> -London: Fetter Lane, E.C.<br /> -Edinburgh: 100, Princes Street<br /> -</div> - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="transnote"> -<h2>Transcriber's Notes</h2> - -<p>Obvious errors of punctuation and diacritics repaired.</p> - -<p>Inconsistent hyphenation fixed.</p> - -<p>P. 67: Murray -> Moray.</p> - -<p>P. 147: Nordisk Aaandsliv -> Nordisk Aandsliv.</p> - -<p>P. 148: Cnut, 42-2 -> Cnut, 41-2.</p> -</div> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Vikings, by Allen Mawer - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE VIKINGS *** - -***** This file should be named 53106-h.htm or 53106-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/3/1/0/53106/ - -Produced by Chris Curnow, Moti Ben-Ari and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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