Part 1

● Transcriber’s Note: ○ This book contains a very large number of Norse letters, special characters and some Runes that may not be viewable on every ebook reader. ○ There are additional Transcriber’s notes at the end of the book.

AN ACCOUNT

OF THE

DANES AND NORWEGIANS

IN

ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, AND IRELAND.

AN ACCOUNT

OF THE

DANES AND NORWEGIANS

IN

ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, AND IRELAND.

BY J. J. A. WORSAAE, FOR. F.S.A. LONDON:

A ROYAL COMMISSIONER FOR THE PRESERVATION OF THE NATIONAL MONUMENTS OF DENMARK; AUTHOR OF “PRIMÆVAL ANTIQUITIES OF DENMARK,” &C., &C.

WITH NUMEROUS WOODCUTS.

LONDON: JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET. 1852.

LONDON: GEORGE WOODFALL AND SON, ANGEL COURT, SKINNER STREET.

PREFACE.

Mr. Worsaae informs us in his Introduction that the following pages were not written solely for the learned. They were designed as a popular contribution to a branch of historical and antiquarian knowledge, which, though highly interesting both to Scandinavians and Englishmen, has been hitherto very imperfectly investigated. The English reader will find in Mr. Worsaae’s work not only many facts concerning the early history of this country that are either entirely new to him, or placed at least in a wholly novel light, but he will also meet with many _names_ whose form may appear foreign and unfamiliar. It may, therefore, be desirable that on the English reader’s introduction to a more intimate acquaintance with that Scandinavian race which has more claims than he had, perhaps, imagined, not only to be regarded as the founders of some of his native customs and institutions, but even to be reckoned among his forefathers, he should be enabled to pronounce their principal names correctly. With this view the following brief remarks are subjoined;—

The double _a_ (_aa_), frequently occurring in proper names, must be sounded like the English diphthong _aw_, as in Blaatand, Haarfager.

The _ö_, or _oe_, is pronounced like the French diphthong _eu_.

The _u_, as in German and Italian, is equivalent to _oo_ in the English words _cool_, _troop_, &c.; as in Ulf, Huskarl, &c.

_C_ has invariably the sound of _k_ (with which, indeed, it is frequently interchanged). The names of Cetel, Oscytel, &c., are to be pronounced Ketel, Oskytel. Where _c_ or _k_ precedes another consonant, it retains, as in German, its distinct and proper power. In order to represent this power, Latin and English writers have sometimes substituted the syllable _ca_ for the initial _c_ or _k_; as, for instance, in the name of Canute (_Dan._, Cnut or Knud). This has led to the very common error of pronouncing the name as if it consisted of two syllables, with an accent upon the first; as Cán-ute, instead of Cănúte.

_J_ has the sound of the English _y_; as in Jarl (_Yarl_, earl), Jorvik (_Yor-vik_, York).

The consonants _th_ (the Icelandic Þ[1]) are pronounced like a single _t_. The word _Thing_ (assizes, &c.), which the reader will so frequently meet, is sounded like _Ting_. The proper pronunciation is preserved in the word _Hus-ting_, but by altering the spelling. Thus, Thor, Thorkil, &c., must be pronounced _Tor_, _Torkil_.

Footnote 1:

The letter ð has the power of _dh_, or _dth_.

Lastly, the Vikings (_Isl._, Vikingr, a sea-rover, pirate), who played so great a part during the Danish conquests, were not Ví-kings, but Vik-ings (Veék-ings); so called either from the Icelandic _Vik_ (_Dan._, Vig), a bay of the sea, or from _Vig_, battle, slaughter.

London, Dec. 15th, 1851.

AUTHOR’S PREFACE.

In the spring of 1846, his late Majesty Christian VIII. of Denmark determined that an inquiry should be made respecting the monuments and memorials of the Danes and Norwegians which might be still extant in Scotland and the British Islands. His Majesty was the more confirmed in this design as two distinguished British noblemen, his Grace the Duke of Sutherland, and his brother Lord Francis Egerton (now Earl of Ellesmere), had repeatedly stated in their letters to the Royal Society of Northern Antiquaries that, if a Danish archæologist visited Scotland, he should receive all possible assistance, especially in Sutherland, a district so rich in Scandinavian antiquities.

His Majesty did me the honour to intrust this task to me: and the President of the Royal Society of Northern Antiquaries, and of the Royal Committee for the preservation of the national monuments—our present most gracious sovereign Frederick VII.—having, with a lively zeal for the promotion of the inquiry, furnished me with several letters of introduction, I travelled during a twelvemonth (1846-1847) in Scotland, Ireland, and England; where, partly through the personal kindness of the Duke of Sutherland and of the Earl of Ellesmere, and partly by means of their influential names, I invariably met with the best reception and the most valuable assistance in my researches.

The present work contains part of the results of that journey. My aim in it has been to convey a juster and less prejudiced notion than prevails at present respecting the Danish and Norwegian conquests; which, though of such special importance to England, Scotland, and Ireland, have hitherto been constantly viewed in an utterly false and partial light. Whilst writing the work in Denmark, I have but too frequently felt the want of constant access to the well-stored libraries of England; although those literary gentlemen in Great Britain to whom I have written for information, have received my applications with their usual readiness and friendship[2].

Footnote 2:

Amongst the many gentlemen to whom I owe my thanks, I must particularly name: Sir H. Dryden, Bart., of Canons Ashby; C. Roach Smith, Esq., F.S.A., London; E. Hawkins, Esq., British Museum; J. M. Kemble, Esq.; Professor Cosmo Innes, Edinburgh; Dr. Traill, _ibid._; C. Neaves, Esq., _ibid._; R. Chalmers, Esq., of Auldbar Castle; Rev. J. H. Todd, D.D., Trinity College, Dublin; Professor C. Graves; and Dr. G. Petrie, likewise of Dublin.

However, as my work contains the first fully detailed examination of the subject _from the Danish side_, I hope that, notwithstanding all its deficiencies and faults, it may prove of some interest in England, and serve to excite further investigation, which would doubtless throw a clearer light upon a very remote, but not on that account less remarkable, period in the history of England and the North.

J. J. A. WORSAAE.

Copenhagen, April, 1851.

CONTENTS.

INTRODUCTION.

SECTION I.

Scandinavia’s greatest Memorials.—Those of Denmark and Norway at Sea.—Of Sweden on Land.—The Influence of Climate

SECTION II.

The Great Memorials of Sweden in their Relation to those of Denmark and Norway.—Danish-Norwegian Memorials in the British Isles

THE DANES IN ENGLAND.

SECTION I.

Nature of the Country.—Earlier Inhabitants: Britons, Romans, and Anglo-Saxons

SECTION II.

The Danish Expeditions.—The Danish Conquest

SECTION III.

The Thames.—London

SECTION IV.

Watlinga-Stræt.—South England.—Legends about the Danes.—The Graves of Canute the Great and Hardicanute

SECTION V.

The Wash.—The Five Burghs.—The Humber.—York.—Northumberland.—Stamford Bridge

SECTION VI.

Danish-Norwegian Memorials in the North of England.—Coins.—The Raven.—The Danish Flag

SECTION VII.

Danish-Norwegian Names of Places

SECTION VIII.

Resemblance of the People to the Danes and Norwegians.—Proper Names.—Popular Language.—Songs and Legends

SECTION IX.

The Outrages of the Danes.—The Danes and Normans.—Influence of the Danes in England

SECTION X.

Commerce and Navigation

SECTION XI.

Art and Literature

SECTION XII.

Ecclesiastical and Secular Aristocracy

SECTION XIII.

The Danelag.—Holmgang, or Duel.—Jury.—The Feeling of Freedom

SECTION XIV.

General View.—Anglo-Saxon and Danish-Norman England.—Sympathies for Denmark.—The Dane in England

THE NORWEGIANS IN SCOTLAND.

SECTION I.

Nature of Scotland.—The Highlands and Lowlands.—Population.—Original Inhabitants

SECTION II.

The Anglo-Saxons.—The Danes and Norwegians.—Effects of their Expeditions

SECTION III.

The Lowlands.—Population.—Language.—Norwegian-Danish Names of Places

SECTION IV.

Traditions concerning “the Danes.”—The Southern and Northern Lowlands.—Danish Memorials.—Burghead

SECTION V.

The Orkneys and Shetland Isles.—Natural Features.—Population.—Oppression

SECTION VI.

Shetland.—The People.—Songs.—Sword-Dance.—Language.—Names of Places.—Tingwall.—Burg of Mousa.—Tumuli.—Bauta Stones

SECTION VII.

The Orkneys.—“Þingavöllr.”—Monuments of the Olden Time.—Kirkwall.—St. Magnus Church

SECTION VIII.

Pentland Firth.—The Highlands.—Caithness.—Sutherland.—Dingwall.—Fear of the Danes

SECTION IX.

The Hebrides.—The Northern Isles.—Lewis and Harris (Næs).—Skye.—Ossian’s Songs.—Iona

SECTION X.

The Sudreyjar, or Southern Isles.—Cantire.—Islay.—Man.—Names of Places.—Runic Stones.—Kings.—Battle of Largs.—“Lords of the Isles.”—Tynwald in Man

THE NORWEGIANS IN IRELAND.

SECTION I.

Nature and Population of Ireland.—The “Danish” Conquests.—Traditions about the “Danes.”—Political Movements

SECTION II.

Irish and Scandinavian Records.—Finn Lochlannoch.—Dubh-Lochlannoch.—The Names of the Provinces

SECTION III.

Norwegian Kings.—Limerick.—Cork.—Waterford.—Reginald’s Tower.—Dublin.—Thengmotha.—Oxmantown

SECTION IV.

Norwegian Names of Places.—Near Dublin.—Norwegian Burial—Places.—Norwegian Weapons and Ornaments

SECTION V.

Ancient Irish Christianity and Civilization.—Trade.—No Irish, but Norwegian Coins.—Sigtryg Silkeskjæg.—Norwegian Coiners

SECTION VI.

The Battle of Clontarf.—Power of the Ostmen after the Battle.—Their Churches and Bishops.—Their Land and Sea Forces.—The English Conquest.—Remains of the Ostmen.—Their Importance for Ireland

SECTION VII.

Conclusion.—Warlike and Peaceful Colonizations Resemblances and Differences.—Before and Now

APPENDIX I. Document of Edward I.

APPENDIX II. Coinage of the Norwegians in Dublin

INTRODUCTION.

SECTION I.

Scandinavia’s greatest Memorials.—Those of Denmark and Norway at Sea.—Of Sweden on Land.—The Influence of Climate.

The greatest, and for general history the most important, memorials of the Scandinavian people are connected, as is well known, with the expeditions of the Normans, and with the Thirty Years’ War.

In the Norman expeditions the North, mighty in its heathenism, poured forth towards the east, the west, and the south, its numerous warriors and shrewd men, who subverted old kingdoms, and founded new and powerful ones in their place. It was by Danish and Norwegian fleets that Normandy and England were then conquered, and kingdoms won in Scotland, Ireland, and North Holland; whilst Norwegians settled on the Faroe Islands (_Dan._, Faröerne), and discovered and colonized Iceland. Hence their descendants, having afterwards passed over to Greenland, discovered America, and were in the habit of navigating the Atlantic Ocean centuries before other European nations.

In all these voyages proportionally few Swedes took part. Inscriptions on runic stones in Sweden sometimes speak, indeed, of men who had settled or met their death in the west over in England (Anklant or Inklant). But on the whole the views of the Swedes were at that time, as well as at a later period, mostly directed towards the east. Swedish Vikings, or pirates, harried and established themselves upon the coasts of Finland and of the countries now belonging to Russia; and a tribe of them, the Varæger, even made themselves there the reigning people. Partly in consequence of this, Sweden—and particularly the Island of Gothland, or Gulland—became the centre of the active trade which in ancient times (that is, from the eighth to the twelfth century,) was carried on, through Russia, between Scandinavia and the countries around the Black and Caspian Seas, as well as Arabia.

The Swedes, however, do not appear very prominently either in ancient times or in the early part of the middle ages. They were prevented from playing any considerable part in the distant lands towards the West by the sanguinary intestine disputes which took place between them and the Goths; and it was not till the fifteenth century, and after these disputes were adjusted, that they could appear upon the theatre of the world as a nation. The Swedish Charleses and Gustavuses, by means of the sword, subsequently caused the Swedish name to be feared and honoured; not, however, at sea, but on land, on the plains of Russia, Poland, and Germany. Gustavus Adolphus, in the Thirty Years’ War, after the disaster of the Danish-Norwegian king Christian IV., powerfully contributed to uphold Lutheranism, and by that means to establish liberty of conscience for Germany and the rest of Europe.

_It was, then, principally at sea that the Danes and Norwegians formerly won a name in the history of the world, whilst the Swedes obtained theirs on land._ Indeed, the peculiar nature and situation of the different Scandinavian countries must have necessarily caused the strength and courage which were the common attributes of the Scandinavian race, to be exerted from the first in different directions. Sweden, which towards the west is separated from Denmark only by the Sound and Cattegat, is in like manner towards the east separated from the vast plains of northern Europe by a confined and narrow sea. When, therefore, the thirst of glory and conquest urged the Swedish warriors from their homes, it was only necessary for them to cross over to the opposite shores, or at most to sail along the coasts of the Baltic. In Sweden, forests, valleys, and rivers, are the most prominent natural features, whilst the sea is but a subordinate one. It is scarcely to be expected that such a country should produce good seamen. But in Denmark and Norway the case is altogether different.

Denmark is surrounded on all sides by the sea, which has indented the land with numberless bays and firths, and cut it up into small portions. Nor is it washed only by a confined sea like the Baltic, but also by the more open German Ocean. From the earliest times, therefore, necessity obliged the Dane to put to sea in order to keep up his connections with his friends on the surrounding coasts and islands. Subsequently—when commerce, and more especially when military honour, required it—he was compelled to learn how to navigate the open sea, to struggle with the foaming waves and rapid currents, and to defy the surf—which is still the constant terror of seamen—on the coasts of north and west Jutland.

Thus the Dane early became a bold and daring Viking, and the Norwegian distinguished himself in the same manner. Norway turns her broad and rocky bosom towards the ocean. Her wild and broken coasts, split into deep fiords, or gulfs, bear witness to the never-ceasing and violent attacks of the Atlantic. Towards the east, Norway is separated from Sweden by rocks, forests, and large desert plains. The interior of the country is partly filled with mountains and immense forests, which anciently were still more extensive. The valleys alone, along the banks of rivers, are productive, and capable of cultivation. The greater part of the inhabitants settled therefore originally on the fiords, or in the neighbourhood of the sea, where the pasture land was neither so over grown with wood, nor so sequestered as in the interior, and where also the sea air rendered the climate considerably milder. The weather, however, was variable enough, and the products of the earth being, partly on that account, but scanty, fishing and the chase became important sources of maintenance for the continually-increasing population. The forests supplied them with abundance of timber, the soil was rich in iron; nor were the people wanting in a daring and enterprising spirit. Ships were soon built, capable not only of navigating the fiords, but of venturing beyond their mouths. The first voyages were coasting ones, but subsequently they were extended from the southern part of Norway to the Danish and Swedish shores.

The Norwegian, who had now become skilled in navigating his ship through the mountain waves of the Atlantic and the far more dangerous surfs on the rocks of Norway, no longer dreaded the open sea. When the population had increased to such an extent that the Norwegian rocks could barely afford it a sufficient maintenance; when the reports concerning the rich lands beyond the sea, and their defenceless condition, promised at once renown and booty; and when, lastly, Harald Haarfager’s conquests threatened the Norwegians with the loss of their freedom—then thousands of vessels shot out from the fiords of Norway, and steered dauntlessly for the neighbouring western islands. A northern life, and the severe winter’s cold, had not only braced the body of the Viking to endure all kinds of hardships, and given him strength to wield the sword with effect; it had also steeled his courage, and taught him fearlessly to face all manner of danger. The clear starry firmament of the North enabled him to observe the course and relative situation of the stars, which were then the only compass by which he steered his ship towards foreign and unknown shores.

Norway must naturally be better calculated to form hardy persevering sailors than Denmark. With the exception of the west coast of Jutland, where there is not a good harbour to be found, and where, consequently, navigation must, in ancient times, have been very limited, Denmark is washed by an enclosed sea with flat coasts. The ocean, on the contrary, washes almost the whole of Norway’s rocky shores; where the numerous and deeply-indented fiords resemble so many harbours. There are sufficient indications that anciently the Danes were accustomed to visit only the comparatively neighbouring countries of England, Holland, and France; whilst the Norwegians sailed also towards the north on the wide Atlantic, whose storms and dangers did not prevent them from constantly visiting the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Greenland, and even America. The discovery and first colonization of these countries are, with just reason, the pride of the Norwegians and of their descendants the Icelanders.

A comparison with other European nations will more clearly show how great an influence the climate of the North, and especially the Northern Sea, must have had on the development of navigation among the Danes and Norwegians, and on their whole maritime life. With the exception of England, which, in a still higher degree than Scandinavia, swims in the open sea, and of Holland, which lies as it were half under water, no country in Europe has produced a seafaring people which can be at all compared to the Northmen; and this notwithstanding that Germany, France, and the Spanish Peninsula, have all a very considerable extent of coast. The reason undoubtedly is, that the coasts of those countries are washed by enclosed seas, which naturally cannot be compared with the ocean; whilst the countries themselves, especially Germany and France—and the latter even in spite of its extent of coast towards the Atlantic—have an unmistakeable continental character. It is clear, moreover, that the ocean, as well as the smaller and enclosed seas, have, according to the difference of latitude, an entirely different influence on the people who inhabit their shores. The Mediterranean, surrounded by rich and fruitful, but enervating, countries, has not shown itself capable of producing such seamen as the Baltic, where the climate is more severe, and the gifts of Nature incomparably more sparing. Spain and Portugal, it is true, have a great extent of coast towards the Atlantic, which may almost be compared with the west coast of Norway. But both those countries possess a fruitful soil and a glorious southern climate. Their inhabitants were not, like the Northmen of old, forced to visit foreign shores in order to procure subsistence, and to struggle continually with a raw and severe climate. They preferred to stay at home and enjoy the blessings of their own country; and thus the calm energy and the proud self-reliance which are engendered by a ceaseless struggle with an ungrateful soil and climate, and which are indispensable to a hardy seaman, were not developed in them as in the Norwegians and other inhabitants of the North. This may have been one of the causes why the Spaniards and Portuguese were unable to retain, in later times, their mastery over the new world. They were displaced by the English, a northern seafaring people, who were more at home on the sea.

It was the same quiet energy which, even amid the excitement of passion, so strongly distinguished the northern from the southern races. The inhabitant of the South was more governed, as he now is, by his passions. A torrent of words, an animated play of the features, or even perhaps a violent assault, betrayed the fire that raged within him. The northern man, on the contrary, was of few words. His anger was under the dominion of his cooler reason, and he was capable of concealing the emotions of his soul. But he had a good memory. Years would pass before he revenged himself; and he felt a sort of pleasure in making his preparations, and waiting for the proper opportunity. The revenge of blood, therefore, took place in the cold North, as well as in the fiery South: but in the totally different manner in which it manifested itself we can hardly fail to recognise the influence of Nature.

It must, however, be borne in mind that in every nation, except those situated at the Poles or under the Line, where Nature exerts an almost irresistible and overwhelming force, this influence manifests itself very differently, according to their different degrees of development. In the infancy of a people, and so long as their immediate wants render them entirely dependent on Nature, whose unexplained phenomena appear to them as those of some foreign and unknown power, her influence on their life is naturally strongest. The effect is the same as that which education and the companions with whom he associates produce on an individual. But as nations gradually become more enlightened and refined, they obtain a mastery over Nature, whose influence thus grows weaker and weaker, and at last almost vanishes. It is, indeed, one of the most marked steps in the progress of human development, when man becomes Nature’s master, and makes her obedient to his power. Thus when Englishmen, Frenchmen, and others who belong to a people of defined character and perfectly-developed nationality, settle in foreign parts, the influence of Nature, even at the Poles, or under the Line, is scarcely strong enough to produce any great change in their character. And upon the whole, to whatever degree civilization may be carried, most nations will never entirely lose that character which Nature has impressed upon them in the lands which gave them birth.