Chapter 19

[64]Generally exaggerated to 5700 English feet.[65]Popularly reckoned at 5900 English feet.[66]This is about the forest limit of Scandinavia (2500 feet). The spruce fir first disappears, the Scotch fir rises a few hundred feet higher, and the highest is the birch, common and dwarf (Betula albaandnana).[67]Sprengisandur; from “sprengja,” to burst, to split (in an active sense); “að sprengja hest,” to burst a horse, to ride it till it bursts. This is the reason of the name: the Sprengisandur has so few halting places, that there is a danger of working the horse to death before coming to a station. It is generally and erroneously translated “springing,”i.e., wind-blown, sands. The Ruba’ el Kháli (“empty fourth,” or quarter) is the great Arabian Desert.[68]Drangr, = a lonely, upstanding rock; in popular lore, rocks thought to be giants turned into stones.[69]The total number of recorded eruptions betweenA.D.894 and 1862 is given by Baring-Gould, Introduction, xxi.-xxiii. There have been eighty-six from twenty-seven (reckoned in round numbers to be thirty) different spots, and the intervals of repose have varied in Hekla from six to seventy-six years; in Kötlu-gjá from six to three hundred and eleven. Such is the statement generally made. The fact is, however, that the exact number of the eruptions is not known, as the annals are more or less confused. The number of volcanic foci in Iceland is popularly and roughly laid down at twenty, and of these three are called active—Hekla, Katla or Kötlu-gjá, and the Vatnajökull volcano. It is a large proportion out of the total assigned to the world; the latter varies between the extremes of 167 and 300, showing the uncertainty of our present knowledge. Popular books speak of 2000 eruptions per century, or an average of twenty per annum.[70]Smoke also appeared in the sea off Reykjanes, and pumice was thrown upon the shore during February 1834. This phenomenon was followed by an earthquake at Reykjavik, August 15-20, 1835.[71]The formation of these four items will be explained in a subsequent page; they are very improperly massed together.[72]The year after the author’s departure witnessed an eruption of the Skaptárjökull, in the north-west corner of the Vatnajökull, but it lasted only four to five days. The following account appeared in the papers; nothing more has subsequently been learned about it. But how can this outbreak “witness against Captain Burton’s assertion in theLondon Standard”—the same assertion which is here repeated in the text, and which was made in 1872?“An Icelandic gentleman has kindly forwarded to us the following account of the eruption of the Skaptárjökull (announced by telegraph from Lerwick yesterday), as witnessed by him from Reykjavik, about 100 miles distant:“‘Reykjavik, March 23, 1873.“‘On Thursday, the 9th of January, about three o’clockA.M., we observed from Reykjavik a grand fire in east-north-east direction, and all agreed that it was “some neighbouring farm burning,” with haystacks. The fire shot up like lightning, displaying beautiful evolutions in combination with the electricity above. Indeed, it was exactly like a fine display of rockets and wheels, and so bright was it, that during the dark morning hours we all thought it must be very close to Reykjavik. But when daylight dawned, and we could discern the mountains, we observed a thick and heavy column of vapour or steam far in the background, beyond all mountains visible, so it was clear that it was far off, and, according to the direction, it seemed most likely to be in Skaptárjökull, the west part of Vatnajökull—the great waste of glaciers in the east and south of the island. Morning and night this grand display was visible during the 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th, and during the day the column of steam and smoke stood high in the sky.“‘When similar news came from east, north, and west, all came to the same conclusion, that it must be in Skaptárjökull—witnessing against Captain Burton’s assertion in theLondon Standard—and according to the different points of observation, and the statement of our newspaper at Reykjavik, the position of the crater ought to be between 64° 7´ and 64° 18´ north lat., and 30° 45´ and 30° 55´ west long. from the meridian of Copenhagen.“‘In the east, near Berufjörð, as stated in the northern paper, some shocks were felt, and fire was seen from many farms. Ashes, too, had fallen over the north-east coast, so that pasture fields were covered so far that the farmers had to take their sheep into the huts and feed them. But the paper says: “In the south no earthquakes were felt, or noises heard in the earth, far or near, as far as Markarfljót (near Eyjafjallajökull). Nowhere has been observed any fall of ashes or dust, but all over a bad smell was felt, and also here in Reykjavik in the forenoon of the 10th. The people of Landeyjar (opposite Westmann Islands) assert the same to have been the case there on the first day of the eruption, but here, at Reykjavik, it was not observed that day, but we felt the air very close, particularly on the 9th, from three to five o’clock in the afternoon, with some smell of sulphur and powder, very like the smell from a lately discharged gunbarrel.”“‘No change was observed in the sun, moon, etc. The sky was clear all these days. The direction of the wind was from N.W.—W.S.W., and the weather fine. At Laudeyjum the wind had been E.N.E. on the 10th, with a strong breeze, and the column of steam got very high, and mist hid all the eastern horizon, but no fall of ashes took place.“‘This eruption lasted only four or five days, and is not likely to have done any damage to inhabited parts or pasture grounds, except in so far as the fall of ashes might hurt the sheep.“‘The weather has been very changeable during the whole winter, but very little snow has fallen in the southern part of the country. The cod-fishing has been very favourable when the boats have been able to go out. During the stormy weather some fishermen were lost. On the 1st of March we had a very heavy fall of snow, but since then the weather has been mild but rather stormy.’”[73]It was reported that there were a hundred wrecks, the “Abydos” alone being able to ride out the storm.[74]I have given an account of this event in “Ocean Highways,” February 1874.[75]The late Professor Forbes was the first to show that Iceland, the Færoes, the Hebrides, Ireland, and Iberia, are connected by a “continuous tract of land, ranging from the Azores along the line of that belt of gulf-weed which exists between N. lat. 15° and 45°.”[76]This eruption is reported to have discharged a mass of lava greater in bulk than Mount Etna. According to Henderson (i.274-289, who borrows from the account of Chief-Justice Stephensen), it destroyed 9336 human beings, 28,000 horses, 11,461 head of cattle, and 190,488 sheep. This mortality resulted either directly from the ejection of molten lava and stone showers, débâcles and aqueous lavas; or from pestilence, the effect of sulphureous and other noxious vapours; or from famine, the fish leaving the coast, and the pasturage being destroyed by erupted sand and ashes.[77]Fjörðr,plur.Firðir.[78]Út-ver in Icel. is an outlying place for fishing, etc.; hardly corresponding with the continental “udver.”[79]See Journal, chap. 5.[80]Surtr,i.e., the Black, an Eddic name of a fire-giant.[81]Englishmen would call them “old men.”[82]Henderson (i. 127) translates “Höfdabrecka” by “Breakneck.” Hálsavegr is from “háls,” Scotticè “halse.”[83]Á (fem.) at the end of a word means a water, as Temsá = Thames River: so the German Don-au is the Iceland Dóná, the Danube. The root may be traced through the SanskritAp, the Persian[Farsi character image not available.], and the LatinAquato almost all families of European speech. Uncomposed, the Icelandic “Vatn” means water or lake.[84]In old vellums spelt invariably Vatz, Vaz, or Vazt, and Vass is the modern pronunciation. Only in two instances not dating earlier than the twelfth century, we find Vatr, with thercommon to all Teutonic peoples, and showing its connection with Wasser and Water (Cleasby).[85]Paijkull translates the word “to ascend violently.” It is derived fromað gjósa, to gush. Max Müller (Science of Language, Longmans, 1862) derives it from the root which gives ghost, geist, gust, yeast, gas, etc.[86]The dictionary gives only Náma or Námi, a mine or pit, for this word of general use.[87]Lyell’s Principles of Geology, vol. i., p. 241, 11th edition. A fuller notice of this isotherm (32° F.) is given in Baring-Gould’s Introduction, pp. xxx., xxxi.[88]The question is of vast practical importance. Upon it hinges the decision whether future Polar voyages, so necessary to the advanced study of electrical phenomena, to mention no other, shall take the route by Smith’s Sound or by Spitzbergen. For the battle of the Gulf Stream and Polar current between the Færoes and Iceland, see the Mittheilungen, xvi. (Nos. vi. and vii. of 1870), where the Gulf Stream is made to show 36°·5 F. as far as Novaya Zemlja, and to enter the Polar basin with diminution of temperature. The two distinct strata, the warm (40°-80° F.), and the heavier and more saline cold (about 35° F.) in the channel of the Færoes towards Scotland, have been described by Drs Carpenter and Wyville Thomson, the last time at the British Association, Sect. E, August 22, 1874.[89]The author and his late friend F. F. Steinhaeuser, were never satisfied with Admiral Maury’s “Ocean River,” even though this ῥοὴ ὠκεανοῖο flowed more rapidly and was a thousand times larger than the Mississippi—larger, indeed, than “all the rivers of the globe put together.” Like the Pacific Kurosiwo or Black Stream, off Japan, it always suggested the idea of being only the main artery, the most important and noticeable part of a great whole.[90]The most extensive are those of M. Victor Lottier (Physique, etc.), printed in the Gaimard work, and containing three parts: I. Observations of magnetism—declination, inclination, diurnal variation and intensity. II. Meteorology—barometer and thermometer; force of winds, Aurora Borealis, etc. III. Miscellaneous observations; astronomical phenomena; tides; remarks on maps and stations of the expedition. The Smithsonian Institute has published many studies of the Icelandic climate: in Scotland, also, as will presently appear, much has been done.[91]The author has been unable to find at Trieste, the publications of the “Smithsonian Institute.”[92]Old writers declared that the mercury habitually rose higher in Norway and Iceland than in England and France; moreover, that the air particles being more compressed and heavier, diminished the weight of objects. Thus, we are assured, 1000 lbs. of copper at Rouen = 1010 at Throndhjem.[93]The author did not see a thunderstorm during his stay in Iceland. As regards reverberation, he remarked on the Camerones Mountain, when above the electrical discharges, and when free from the echo of earth, that the lightning was followed only by a short, sharp report, without any “rolling.”[94]Ozone is utterly absent during the Sharki or Scirocco of Syria, and the trying effects of the east wind upon the constitution are well known to every resident. This is the more curious as it exists in the adjoining desert, when in the Nile valley and in the oases it is comparatively deficient. It has lately been proved to be everywhere more abundant in winter than in summer.[95]It is there called Soel-far Vind (sun-faring wind); hence Sól-gangs veðr means weather of the sun’s course. The normal continental winds are (1.) the Land-south (south-east), warm, and therefore called Korn-moen, or the mother of corn; (2.) the north-east, termed Hambakka because it melts snow from the hill-tops; (3.) the Haf-gul (sea cooler), the west wind or sea breeze of the tropics, blowing from noon till midnight; and (4.) the Land-gul (land cooler), the east or land breeze, lasting from 2A.M.to 10A.M.[96]Mr J. A. Hjaltalín remarks, “Thoka is equivalent to the English fog, and Sjólæða (sea creeper) is the mist which lies on the surface of the water, leaving the hill-tops clear. These are the only Icelandic names known to me.”[97]The term is also applied to lightning, and to meteors generally. Hooker corrupts it to “Laptelltur,” and he has been copied into many a popular book.[98]The word is written Nikuðr and Nikuðs, Hnikar and Nikarr: originally a title of Odin, it has survived in the Icel. Nykr, a nick or water-goblin in the shape of a grey sea-horse, with inverted hoofs; and in the German Nix, a nymph or water-fairy.[99]Or a “carrion lowe” (Cleasby).[100]Even at Trieste, which is the heart of the temperates, with the parallel of 45° passing near it, there is an autumn, but no spring, the weather changing at once from cold to heat.[101]Svasuðr, the name of a giant, the father of Summer. See the Edda.[102]The way of counting amongst the old Scandinavians and Teutons was complex and curious, as they had no indeclinable numeral adjectives from twenty to a hundred (i.e., 120): the word “tigr,” a ten or decade, was a noun like Hundrað and Thúsund. Thus 41 was called 4 tens and 1, or “1 of the fifth decade;” 45 was “half the fifth tenth;” and 48 was “4 tens and 8;” or going back (like the Lat. un-de-viginti and duo-de-triginta) “5 tens short of 2.” In the fourteenth century “tigr” began to lose its character as a substantive (Cleasby).[103]Mr Dasent says the Thursday between April 9 and 15 (O. S.).[104]Modern, Góa.[105]“Gaukmánuðr,” according to Guðbrandr Vigfusson, from the middle of April to the middle of May. Gaukr is the Scotch gowk, the cuckoo. Hrossa-gaukr, “horse cuckoo,” is the green sandpiper, from its peculiar cry (Cleasby). In Sect. 7 the word will be found to have another meaning.[106]According to the old Icelandic computation of time, as given in the Almanak, Heyanuir was the first month, and began the 25th of July; II. Tvímánuðr; III. Haustmánuðr; IV. Gormánuðr; V. Frermánuðr; VI. Mörsugr; VII. Thorri; VIII. Gói; IX. Einmánuðr; X. Harpa; XI. Skerpla; XII. Sólmánuðr, ending on the 20th of July. From July 21st to 24th are called Aukanætur. The names of the months VII. to IX. are still popularly known. For the rest, the Icelanders count by winter weeks and summer weeks, when they do not use the common names of the months. The terms given by Finnur Magnússon in Specimen Calendarii,e.g., Miðvetrarmánuðr, Föstuinngangsmánuðr, are never used, and it cannot be seen that they ever were known to the people.[107]See the Icel. treatise called “Fingra-rím;” rím = computation, calendar: A. S. rîm, and ge-rîm.[108]Dagsmark, “day-mark,” means both the space of three hours (trihorium) and the mark by which this period is fixed.[109]Others derive it from vika, a week.[110]Dillon reduces it at Reykjavik to three, and he found the sunlight during Christmas little lighter than our twilights; but the winter was worse than usual.[111]Synopsis of dates:A.D.860(861, Uno Von Troil). Iceland touched at by Naddodd. About this time (862), the Scandinavians, according to Nestor, founded the Russian empire.”864.Garðar Svafarson built the first house in “Garðarshólm.””874.First official colonisation of Iceland by Ingólfr Arnarson.”877.Gunnbjörn discovered the Gunnbjörnarsker and coast of Greenland.”929.Althing or Diet founded by Ulfljót.”930-1300.Augustan age of literature under the aristocratic Republic.”981-1000.Official discovery of the New World by the Northmen.”982.Greenland visited by Eirikr Rauði (Eric the Red), father of Leifr the Lucky.”986.First colony in Greenland established by the same. In 1124 the Bishop’s See was placed at Garðar.”1262-1264.Iceland incorporated with Norway.”1380.”””Denmark.”1477.Iceland visited by Columbus.”1540-1551.Lutheranism prevailed over Catholic Christianity.”1800.Althing abolished.”1843.”re-established.”1845.”first met at Reykjavik.”1874.First Constitution granted to the island on the date of its Millenary after Ingólf’s settlement.[112]i.e., Land-nim-(Germ. nehmen, “Corporal Nym,” and modern slang, “to nim”) book.[113]Cointius Annal. Benedict, tom. viii., et Bollandus die 3 febr. in Comment. prævio ad vitam S. Anscharii, § xvii., Copenhagen, 1857.[114]“The Apostle of the North,” a monk from the monastery of New Corvey, in Westphalia, who introduced Christianity to Denmark aboutA.D.827.[115]The words in italics are those quoted with variants by Pontanus, who, however, has added nothing to nor has he taken aught from the sense.[116]Data est hæc bulla post annum 834, quamvis ab aliquibus et præsertim a Pontano in rebus Danicis eo anno adscribatur.[117]Here, again, the question is simply, “Has the Bull been tampered with or not?” It would evidently be desirable to consult the earliest copies still extant, but unfortunately the author has no power of so doing at present. The Bull of Pope Nicholas V. (A.D.1448) should also be carefully inspected. See p. 84.[118]In p. 432 (loc. cit.) we are told thatAngrim Jonasis “erroneously call’dArngrimby some”—it need hardly be said that the real name is Arngrímr Jónsson.[119]Popular history, it has been seen, attributes the exploration to Eirikr Rauð (Eric the Red) inA.D.982, some five centuries before the days of Columbus. Captain Graah, of whom more presently, speaks of a papal Bull by Nicholas V., who inA.D.1448 declares Christianity in Greenland to date from 600 years back, thus removing the colonisation toA.D.848. We have ample materials for determining the exact limits of the Northmen’s explorations by their precising the length of the day. For instance, at Vínland the sun at the winter solstice was above the horizon from Dagmál (7.30A.M.) to Eykt (4.30P.M.), which gives nine hours = N. lat. 41°.[120]The Dictionary (iii. 780) gives forty-nine Keltic names in the Landnámabók only, neglecting the Orkneyinga, or Iarla, Saga, and the Njála.[121]Mr Jón A. Hjaltalín remarks: “The large number of Irish settlers in Iceland after Ingólf do not prove anything concerning a previous settlement. No one denies that Iceland was visited by the Irish previous to the Norwegian discovery. No proofs, however, have been as yet brought forward to show that a settlement was made more extensive than that spoken of in Landnámabók, and by Ari Fródi. The great bulk of the settlers were Norwegians; the rest were Danes, Swedes, and Irishmen.” (See Landnámabók; Lambert, Ἀρχαιονομία, fol. 137, p. 2; and Encyclopedie des Gens du Monde, vol. ii., p. 60.)[122]Some foreigners erroneously write for Althingi, “Allthing,” which would be pronounced Atl-or Adl-thing.Al-is fromallr, all, the highest possible degree,e.g., Al-máttigr, Almighty.All-is right or very,e.g., All-vitr, right clever (Cleasby). The following is a synopsis of the most important events in the history of this famous Diet:A.D.965.Reform (bill) carried by Thord Gellir, who organised the courts and settled the political divisions of Iceland.”1004.Institution of the Fifth Court (of Appeal).”1024.Repudiation of the King of Norway’s attempt to annex Iceland.”1096.Tíund or tithes introduced.”1117-18.The laws codified, written down, and adopted by the Althing. This code was afterwards called Grágás.”1262-64.Submission to the King of Norway.”1272.Second written code (Járn-siða) introduced.”1280(?). Third written code (Jóns-bók) introduced.[123]Traces of some two hundred Things remain in the “Standing Stones” of Great Britain. Mr Dasent, from whose study of the Iceland republic (Introduction, etc., Burnt Njal, pp. li.-lxvii.) these lines are abridged, shows ourmeetingto be “Mót-Thing,” a public gathering of the district freeholders: asHustingis “House-Thing,” an assembly of householders. In Norway the Things were founded by Hákon, son of Harold Fair-hair, and the conquest over the Jarls was at once followed by the constitution.[124]Sir Thomas Hungerford in 1377 was the first Speaker, and Sir John Busby in 1394 was the first Speaker formally presented for royal approval. These officials were the mouth-piece of the House, and by no means so called on thelucus-a-non-lucendoprinciple.[125]The word is liable to misapprehension. It is used of the place as well as of the body sitting there; of the Sacred Circle (Vé-bönd) as well as of the lawmen who occupied it. Moreover, under the Commonwealth, it was the legislative session that met on the Lög-berg; and after the union with Norway it was the public court of law at the Althing considerably modified. The term is also variously derived from Rètt, a fence, a sheep-fold; or from Að rètta lög, to right (or make right) the law (Cleasby). Moreover, the Lög-berg (Hill of Laws) of the Althing was called Thing-brekka (Parliament brink, or high place) at the local assemblies.[126]Lög (i.e., “laws,” used only in the plural; from “lag,” a lay, layer, stratum) also signified the legal community or State.[127]The Anglo-Saxon Leode, probably akin to June (ærra Liða) and July (æftera Liða); the Irish Fo-leith, and our modern “leet,” properly the law-court of the hundred. In the Saga times (tenth century) the Leið was a kind of county assembly; during the rule of the Grágás (twelfth and thirteenth centuries), the Leið was held where the Vár-Thing used to sit, in common with all the three Goðar of the Quarter (Sam-leið).[128]The Northlanders, by a provincial arrangement which the central authority hardly recognised, claimed four instead of three judicial circles (Thing-sóknir). The reason was, that the heads of houses east of the Eyjafjörð and west of the Skagafjörð, whose Quadrant-Things lay in the middle of the Tetrad, refused to ride so far.[129]Nat.A.D.930; converted to Christianity, 998, and murdered, 1014. Cleasby derives “Fimtar” from “Fimt,” the heathen week, a pentad or five days; whilst the Swedish “Femt,” a court before which one has to appear a “fimt” from the citation, seems to have floated before the minds of the founders.[130]Fat and ferocious Ólafr Helgi (Olaf II., or the Saint), when succeeding to the throne of Norway, doomed to death and slavery, to exile and confiscation, all who opposed the new faith. The blood of martyred pagans was not the seed of their Church; and persecution, vigorously carried out, took, as usual, wide effect. After his death at the battle of Stikklestad, he became the tutelar saint of Norway, the “Lamb” of the calendar. His remains ranked as relics in the ancient cathedral at Throndhjem, till Protestantism, or rather Lutheranism, under Gustavus Vasa (A.D.1527), and Christian II. (1536), replaced Romanism in the Scandinavian peninsula. The Royal Order of Norway, founded in 1847 by the late king, Oscar I., bears his name. London has boasted of four “St Olaves;” and Tooley Street of the Tailors, according to Mr Peter Cunningham, notes the site of the first church. To retain due reverence for such a “Saint,” we must believe with Pliny (Epist., viii. 24): “Reverere gloriam veterem, et hanc ipsam senectutem, quæ in homine venerabilis, in urbibus sacra. Sit apud te honor antiquitati, sit ingentibus factis,sit fabulis quoque.”[131]It was a classical dream which made Odin or Sigge (whence Sigtuna), and his followers the Æsir (minor gods), fly from Pompey in the days of Mithridates. It was a philological dream of Finn Magnússon’s which identified Bragi with Bramhá, and the ferocious and sanguinary Odin with the moral and holy Buddha, the prototype of the Christian exemplar. The casual resemblance to the Etruscan Tina has not been more fortunate. Some one well remarks that “a man born aboutA.D.333, and dying seventy-eight years old (A.D.411), would, in respect to time, perfectly represent the personage whom the Scandinavians and the Anglo-Saxons call Odin and Woden, and who are the roots of their royal dynasties.”[132]This fact was not unknown to Bishop Warburton and to Lord Herbert of Cherbury. In the Egyptian hymn to Phthah we read: “Praised be thy countenance, Ruler of the World!” Ausonius thus explains the multitude of synonyms:“Ogygia ME Bacchum vocat;Osirin Ægyptus putat;Mystæ Phanacen nominant;Dionyson Indi existimant;Romana sacra Liberum;Arabica gens Adoneum;Lucianus Pantheum.”Those who see in ancient myths the eternal contest of sunlight and darkness; of summer and winter, and, in the moral world, of intelligence and ignorance, will find strong confirmation in Eddaic poetry and prose.[133]Properly written Thórr, a congener of the Mæso-Gothic Thunrs, the Thunder-god who named our Thursday. Whilst his golden-haired wife, Sif, who represented mother earth, with her sheaves of ripe grain, and the sanctity of wedlock and the family, is wholly forgotten, this terrigenous deity still lives, as we shall see, in modern Icelandic names. It is usually said that Iceland, following Norway, preferred Thórr, whilst the Danes paid the highest honours to Odin, and the Swedes to Freya (Venus), or rather to Freyr, her brother, the sun-god, who presided over the seasons and bestowed peace, fertility, and riches.[134]The reader may remember, in the late Rev. Frederick Robertson’s Lectures to Working Men, a fine passage upon the same subject.[135]Væringi (plur.-jar)Warings, or the name of the Scandinavian and Anglo-Saxon warriors serving as bodyguards to the Emperors of Constantinople.[136]Of the monks proper (Icel. Múnkr, = μονὸς, monachus), only Benedictines were found in Iceland. They were accompanied by the regular canons of St Augustine. There were no “brothers” (fratres) or religious mendicants, as Dominicans and Franciscans; nor “regular clerks,” as Jesuits, Theatines, etc., who date since the sixteenth century; nor secular priests united in congregations like Oratorians and Lazarists.[137]As will be seen, modern law recognises, or rather compels, an official arbitration before causes can be brought into court.[138]The author would by no means make the invidious assertion that the Danish treatment of colonies was worse than that of other contemporary nations. On the contrary, in Africa, India, and the West Indian Islands, it has been a favourable contrast to most of the rest. But Europe in the fourteenth century, and in the ages which followed it, presents a melancholy contrast with the refined and civilised usage of her settlements by Republican and Imperial Rome.[139]Of this process there were two forms, which began to be passed (circa)A.D.1180. Bann, or Meira Bann was E. Major; Minna Bann was E. Minor, whilst the interdict was called For-boð, the German Verbot.[140]This prudential reservation is the more necessary as most of our information comes from the enemy. Bishop Jón Ögmundsson had two wives, not at the same time, but one after another.[141]“In the sixteenth century the Reformation was forced upon the people by the united kingdoms of Denmark and Norway; its progress was everywhere marked by blood, and even the Lutheran historian, Finn Jónsson, is unable to veil completely the atrocities which were committed. The venerable bishop of Hólar, Jón Arnason (sic, doubtless a clerical error), the last Catholic prelate, received the crown of martyrdom along with his two sons, uttering with his dying breath, ‘Lord, into Thy hands I commend my spirit!’”Thus writes Baring-Gould (Introduction, xl.). Mr Jón A. Hjaltalín hereupon observes: “I must call attention to this quotation from Mr Baring-Gould regarding the introduction of the Reformation into Iceland. I cannot protest too strongly against it.It is utterly false from beginning to end.Every one who has the slightest acquaintance with the history of Iceland during the sixteenth century knows that Lutheranism wasnotforced upon the Icelanders. The Reformation movement was only encouraged by the king of Denmark. Old men, Bishop Jón Arason among others, were permitted to retain their former faith if they were willing to leave others equally undisturbed in the exercises of their religion. This fact is corroborated by the bishop’s immediate descendants, who in everything glorified their ancestor as a martyr. Further, it cannot be shown that a single person lost his life in Iceland in connection with the introduction of the Reformation. The quarrel which led to the death of the bishop and his two sons arose from a dispute about the sale and occupation of a farm in the west. Bishop Jón Arason was an exact counterpart of the chiefs of the Sturlunga times; he delighted to ride about the island with hundreds of followers, and to engage in fights and broils with every one who had any property to lose. That it was not religious zeal that devoured him or his sons may be seen from the fact, that in a letter to the chancellor of the king of Denmark (dated 10th August 1550) they say that ‘their father the bishop, as well as themselves, are ready to keep the holy Evangelium, as His Majesty has ordered it to be preached everywhere in Iceland.’ There is all probability that they would have come to an untimely end even if there had been no Reformation. The king had indeed ordered their arrest as disturbers of the public peace. He did not, however, order their execution. The responsibility for that act must rest upon the Icelanders who seized them, and mistrusted their ability to keep them in safe custody until they could be brought before the proper tribunal. So far from anybody losing his life through the introduction of the Reformation, no one was even deprived of his liberty for a single hour except by Bishop Arason and his sons. I hope it was through crass ignorance only that Mr Baring-Gould penned such an extraordinary statement as the one quoted. Or is he able to name the people who suffered during the introduction of the Reformation, and to show trustworthy documents that they did thus suffer?”

[64]Generally exaggerated to 5700 English feet.

[65]Popularly reckoned at 5900 English feet.

[66]This is about the forest limit of Scandinavia (2500 feet). The spruce fir first disappears, the Scotch fir rises a few hundred feet higher, and the highest is the birch, common and dwarf (Betula albaandnana).

[67]Sprengisandur; from “sprengja,” to burst, to split (in an active sense); “að sprengja hest,” to burst a horse, to ride it till it bursts. This is the reason of the name: the Sprengisandur has so few halting places, that there is a danger of working the horse to death before coming to a station. It is generally and erroneously translated “springing,”i.e., wind-blown, sands. The Ruba’ el Kháli (“empty fourth,” or quarter) is the great Arabian Desert.

[68]Drangr, = a lonely, upstanding rock; in popular lore, rocks thought to be giants turned into stones.

[69]The total number of recorded eruptions betweenA.D.894 and 1862 is given by Baring-Gould, Introduction, xxi.-xxiii. There have been eighty-six from twenty-seven (reckoned in round numbers to be thirty) different spots, and the intervals of repose have varied in Hekla from six to seventy-six years; in Kötlu-gjá from six to three hundred and eleven. Such is the statement generally made. The fact is, however, that the exact number of the eruptions is not known, as the annals are more or less confused. The number of volcanic foci in Iceland is popularly and roughly laid down at twenty, and of these three are called active—Hekla, Katla or Kötlu-gjá, and the Vatnajökull volcano. It is a large proportion out of the total assigned to the world; the latter varies between the extremes of 167 and 300, showing the uncertainty of our present knowledge. Popular books speak of 2000 eruptions per century, or an average of twenty per annum.

[70]Smoke also appeared in the sea off Reykjanes, and pumice was thrown upon the shore during February 1834. This phenomenon was followed by an earthquake at Reykjavik, August 15-20, 1835.

[71]The formation of these four items will be explained in a subsequent page; they are very improperly massed together.

[72]The year after the author’s departure witnessed an eruption of the Skaptárjökull, in the north-west corner of the Vatnajökull, but it lasted only four to five days. The following account appeared in the papers; nothing more has subsequently been learned about it. But how can this outbreak “witness against Captain Burton’s assertion in theLondon Standard”—the same assertion which is here repeated in the text, and which was made in 1872?“An Icelandic gentleman has kindly forwarded to us the following account of the eruption of the Skaptárjökull (announced by telegraph from Lerwick yesterday), as witnessed by him from Reykjavik, about 100 miles distant:“‘Reykjavik, March 23, 1873.“‘On Thursday, the 9th of January, about three o’clockA.M., we observed from Reykjavik a grand fire in east-north-east direction, and all agreed that it was “some neighbouring farm burning,” with haystacks. The fire shot up like lightning, displaying beautiful evolutions in combination with the electricity above. Indeed, it was exactly like a fine display of rockets and wheels, and so bright was it, that during the dark morning hours we all thought it must be very close to Reykjavik. But when daylight dawned, and we could discern the mountains, we observed a thick and heavy column of vapour or steam far in the background, beyond all mountains visible, so it was clear that it was far off, and, according to the direction, it seemed most likely to be in Skaptárjökull, the west part of Vatnajökull—the great waste of glaciers in the east and south of the island. Morning and night this grand display was visible during the 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th, and during the day the column of steam and smoke stood high in the sky.“‘When similar news came from east, north, and west, all came to the same conclusion, that it must be in Skaptárjökull—witnessing against Captain Burton’s assertion in theLondon Standard—and according to the different points of observation, and the statement of our newspaper at Reykjavik, the position of the crater ought to be between 64° 7´ and 64° 18´ north lat., and 30° 45´ and 30° 55´ west long. from the meridian of Copenhagen.“‘In the east, near Berufjörð, as stated in the northern paper, some shocks were felt, and fire was seen from many farms. Ashes, too, had fallen over the north-east coast, so that pasture fields were covered so far that the farmers had to take their sheep into the huts and feed them. But the paper says: “In the south no earthquakes were felt, or noises heard in the earth, far or near, as far as Markarfljót (near Eyjafjallajökull). Nowhere has been observed any fall of ashes or dust, but all over a bad smell was felt, and also here in Reykjavik in the forenoon of the 10th. The people of Landeyjar (opposite Westmann Islands) assert the same to have been the case there on the first day of the eruption, but here, at Reykjavik, it was not observed that day, but we felt the air very close, particularly on the 9th, from three to five o’clock in the afternoon, with some smell of sulphur and powder, very like the smell from a lately discharged gunbarrel.”“‘No change was observed in the sun, moon, etc. The sky was clear all these days. The direction of the wind was from N.W.—W.S.W., and the weather fine. At Laudeyjum the wind had been E.N.E. on the 10th, with a strong breeze, and the column of steam got very high, and mist hid all the eastern horizon, but no fall of ashes took place.“‘This eruption lasted only four or five days, and is not likely to have done any damage to inhabited parts or pasture grounds, except in so far as the fall of ashes might hurt the sheep.“‘The weather has been very changeable during the whole winter, but very little snow has fallen in the southern part of the country. The cod-fishing has been very favourable when the boats have been able to go out. During the stormy weather some fishermen were lost. On the 1st of March we had a very heavy fall of snow, but since then the weather has been mild but rather stormy.’”

“An Icelandic gentleman has kindly forwarded to us the following account of the eruption of the Skaptárjökull (announced by telegraph from Lerwick yesterday), as witnessed by him from Reykjavik, about 100 miles distant:

“‘Reykjavik, March 23, 1873.

“‘On Thursday, the 9th of January, about three o’clockA.M., we observed from Reykjavik a grand fire in east-north-east direction, and all agreed that it was “some neighbouring farm burning,” with haystacks. The fire shot up like lightning, displaying beautiful evolutions in combination with the electricity above. Indeed, it was exactly like a fine display of rockets and wheels, and so bright was it, that during the dark morning hours we all thought it must be very close to Reykjavik. But when daylight dawned, and we could discern the mountains, we observed a thick and heavy column of vapour or steam far in the background, beyond all mountains visible, so it was clear that it was far off, and, according to the direction, it seemed most likely to be in Skaptárjökull, the west part of Vatnajökull—the great waste of glaciers in the east and south of the island. Morning and night this grand display was visible during the 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th, and during the day the column of steam and smoke stood high in the sky.

“‘When similar news came from east, north, and west, all came to the same conclusion, that it must be in Skaptárjökull—witnessing against Captain Burton’s assertion in theLondon Standard—and according to the different points of observation, and the statement of our newspaper at Reykjavik, the position of the crater ought to be between 64° 7´ and 64° 18´ north lat., and 30° 45´ and 30° 55´ west long. from the meridian of Copenhagen.

“‘In the east, near Berufjörð, as stated in the northern paper, some shocks were felt, and fire was seen from many farms. Ashes, too, had fallen over the north-east coast, so that pasture fields were covered so far that the farmers had to take their sheep into the huts and feed them. But the paper says: “In the south no earthquakes were felt, or noises heard in the earth, far or near, as far as Markarfljót (near Eyjafjallajökull). Nowhere has been observed any fall of ashes or dust, but all over a bad smell was felt, and also here in Reykjavik in the forenoon of the 10th. The people of Landeyjar (opposite Westmann Islands) assert the same to have been the case there on the first day of the eruption, but here, at Reykjavik, it was not observed that day, but we felt the air very close, particularly on the 9th, from three to five o’clock in the afternoon, with some smell of sulphur and powder, very like the smell from a lately discharged gunbarrel.”

“‘No change was observed in the sun, moon, etc. The sky was clear all these days. The direction of the wind was from N.W.—W.S.W., and the weather fine. At Laudeyjum the wind had been E.N.E. on the 10th, with a strong breeze, and the column of steam got very high, and mist hid all the eastern horizon, but no fall of ashes took place.

“‘This eruption lasted only four or five days, and is not likely to have done any damage to inhabited parts or pasture grounds, except in so far as the fall of ashes might hurt the sheep.

“‘The weather has been very changeable during the whole winter, but very little snow has fallen in the southern part of the country. The cod-fishing has been very favourable when the boats have been able to go out. During the stormy weather some fishermen were lost. On the 1st of March we had a very heavy fall of snow, but since then the weather has been mild but rather stormy.’”

[73]It was reported that there were a hundred wrecks, the “Abydos” alone being able to ride out the storm.

[74]I have given an account of this event in “Ocean Highways,” February 1874.

[75]The late Professor Forbes was the first to show that Iceland, the Færoes, the Hebrides, Ireland, and Iberia, are connected by a “continuous tract of land, ranging from the Azores along the line of that belt of gulf-weed which exists between N. lat. 15° and 45°.”

[76]This eruption is reported to have discharged a mass of lava greater in bulk than Mount Etna. According to Henderson (i.274-289, who borrows from the account of Chief-Justice Stephensen), it destroyed 9336 human beings, 28,000 horses, 11,461 head of cattle, and 190,488 sheep. This mortality resulted either directly from the ejection of molten lava and stone showers, débâcles and aqueous lavas; or from pestilence, the effect of sulphureous and other noxious vapours; or from famine, the fish leaving the coast, and the pasturage being destroyed by erupted sand and ashes.

[77]Fjörðr,plur.Firðir.

[78]Út-ver in Icel. is an outlying place for fishing, etc.; hardly corresponding with the continental “udver.”

[79]See Journal, chap. 5.

[80]Surtr,i.e., the Black, an Eddic name of a fire-giant.

[81]Englishmen would call them “old men.”

[82]Henderson (i. 127) translates “Höfdabrecka” by “Breakneck.” Hálsavegr is from “háls,” Scotticè “halse.”

[83]Á (fem.) at the end of a word means a water, as Temsá = Thames River: so the German Don-au is the Iceland Dóná, the Danube. The root may be traced through the SanskritAp, the Persian[Farsi character image not available.], and the LatinAquato almost all families of European speech. Uncomposed, the Icelandic “Vatn” means water or lake.

[84]In old vellums spelt invariably Vatz, Vaz, or Vazt, and Vass is the modern pronunciation. Only in two instances not dating earlier than the twelfth century, we find Vatr, with thercommon to all Teutonic peoples, and showing its connection with Wasser and Water (Cleasby).

[85]Paijkull translates the word “to ascend violently.” It is derived fromað gjósa, to gush. Max Müller (Science of Language, Longmans, 1862) derives it from the root which gives ghost, geist, gust, yeast, gas, etc.

[86]The dictionary gives only Náma or Námi, a mine or pit, for this word of general use.

[87]Lyell’s Principles of Geology, vol. i., p. 241, 11th edition. A fuller notice of this isotherm (32° F.) is given in Baring-Gould’s Introduction, pp. xxx., xxxi.

[88]The question is of vast practical importance. Upon it hinges the decision whether future Polar voyages, so necessary to the advanced study of electrical phenomena, to mention no other, shall take the route by Smith’s Sound or by Spitzbergen. For the battle of the Gulf Stream and Polar current between the Færoes and Iceland, see the Mittheilungen, xvi. (Nos. vi. and vii. of 1870), where the Gulf Stream is made to show 36°·5 F. as far as Novaya Zemlja, and to enter the Polar basin with diminution of temperature. The two distinct strata, the warm (40°-80° F.), and the heavier and more saline cold (about 35° F.) in the channel of the Færoes towards Scotland, have been described by Drs Carpenter and Wyville Thomson, the last time at the British Association, Sect. E, August 22, 1874.

[89]The author and his late friend F. F. Steinhaeuser, were never satisfied with Admiral Maury’s “Ocean River,” even though this ῥοὴ ὠκεανοῖο flowed more rapidly and was a thousand times larger than the Mississippi—larger, indeed, than “all the rivers of the globe put together.” Like the Pacific Kurosiwo or Black Stream, off Japan, it always suggested the idea of being only the main artery, the most important and noticeable part of a great whole.

[90]The most extensive are those of M. Victor Lottier (Physique, etc.), printed in the Gaimard work, and containing three parts: I. Observations of magnetism—declination, inclination, diurnal variation and intensity. II. Meteorology—barometer and thermometer; force of winds, Aurora Borealis, etc. III. Miscellaneous observations; astronomical phenomena; tides; remarks on maps and stations of the expedition. The Smithsonian Institute has published many studies of the Icelandic climate: in Scotland, also, as will presently appear, much has been done.

[91]The author has been unable to find at Trieste, the publications of the “Smithsonian Institute.”

[92]Old writers declared that the mercury habitually rose higher in Norway and Iceland than in England and France; moreover, that the air particles being more compressed and heavier, diminished the weight of objects. Thus, we are assured, 1000 lbs. of copper at Rouen = 1010 at Throndhjem.

[93]The author did not see a thunderstorm during his stay in Iceland. As regards reverberation, he remarked on the Camerones Mountain, when above the electrical discharges, and when free from the echo of earth, that the lightning was followed only by a short, sharp report, without any “rolling.”

[94]Ozone is utterly absent during the Sharki or Scirocco of Syria, and the trying effects of the east wind upon the constitution are well known to every resident. This is the more curious as it exists in the adjoining desert, when in the Nile valley and in the oases it is comparatively deficient. It has lately been proved to be everywhere more abundant in winter than in summer.

[95]It is there called Soel-far Vind (sun-faring wind); hence Sól-gangs veðr means weather of the sun’s course. The normal continental winds are (1.) the Land-south (south-east), warm, and therefore called Korn-moen, or the mother of corn; (2.) the north-east, termed Hambakka because it melts snow from the hill-tops; (3.) the Haf-gul (sea cooler), the west wind or sea breeze of the tropics, blowing from noon till midnight; and (4.) the Land-gul (land cooler), the east or land breeze, lasting from 2A.M.to 10A.M.

[96]Mr J. A. Hjaltalín remarks, “Thoka is equivalent to the English fog, and Sjólæða (sea creeper) is the mist which lies on the surface of the water, leaving the hill-tops clear. These are the only Icelandic names known to me.”

[97]The term is also applied to lightning, and to meteors generally. Hooker corrupts it to “Laptelltur,” and he has been copied into many a popular book.

[98]The word is written Nikuðr and Nikuðs, Hnikar and Nikarr: originally a title of Odin, it has survived in the Icel. Nykr, a nick or water-goblin in the shape of a grey sea-horse, with inverted hoofs; and in the German Nix, a nymph or water-fairy.

[99]Or a “carrion lowe” (Cleasby).

[100]Even at Trieste, which is the heart of the temperates, with the parallel of 45° passing near it, there is an autumn, but no spring, the weather changing at once from cold to heat.

[101]Svasuðr, the name of a giant, the father of Summer. See the Edda.

[102]The way of counting amongst the old Scandinavians and Teutons was complex and curious, as they had no indeclinable numeral adjectives from twenty to a hundred (i.e., 120): the word “tigr,” a ten or decade, was a noun like Hundrað and Thúsund. Thus 41 was called 4 tens and 1, or “1 of the fifth decade;” 45 was “half the fifth tenth;” and 48 was “4 tens and 8;” or going back (like the Lat. un-de-viginti and duo-de-triginta) “5 tens short of 2.” In the fourteenth century “tigr” began to lose its character as a substantive (Cleasby).

[103]Mr Dasent says the Thursday between April 9 and 15 (O. S.).

[104]Modern, Góa.

[105]“Gaukmánuðr,” according to Guðbrandr Vigfusson, from the middle of April to the middle of May. Gaukr is the Scotch gowk, the cuckoo. Hrossa-gaukr, “horse cuckoo,” is the green sandpiper, from its peculiar cry (Cleasby). In Sect. 7 the word will be found to have another meaning.

[106]According to the old Icelandic computation of time, as given in the Almanak, Heyanuir was the first month, and began the 25th of July; II. Tvímánuðr; III. Haustmánuðr; IV. Gormánuðr; V. Frermánuðr; VI. Mörsugr; VII. Thorri; VIII. Gói; IX. Einmánuðr; X. Harpa; XI. Skerpla; XII. Sólmánuðr, ending on the 20th of July. From July 21st to 24th are called Aukanætur. The names of the months VII. to IX. are still popularly known. For the rest, the Icelanders count by winter weeks and summer weeks, when they do not use the common names of the months. The terms given by Finnur Magnússon in Specimen Calendarii,e.g., Miðvetrarmánuðr, Föstuinngangsmánuðr, are never used, and it cannot be seen that they ever were known to the people.

[107]See the Icel. treatise called “Fingra-rím;” rím = computation, calendar: A. S. rîm, and ge-rîm.

[108]Dagsmark, “day-mark,” means both the space of three hours (trihorium) and the mark by which this period is fixed.

[109]Others derive it from vika, a week.

[110]Dillon reduces it at Reykjavik to three, and he found the sunlight during Christmas little lighter than our twilights; but the winter was worse than usual.

[111]Synopsis of dates:A.D.860(861, Uno Von Troil). Iceland touched at by Naddodd. About this time (862), the Scandinavians, according to Nestor, founded the Russian empire.”864.Garðar Svafarson built the first house in “Garðarshólm.””874.First official colonisation of Iceland by Ingólfr Arnarson.”877.Gunnbjörn discovered the Gunnbjörnarsker and coast of Greenland.”929.Althing or Diet founded by Ulfljót.”930-1300.Augustan age of literature under the aristocratic Republic.”981-1000.Official discovery of the New World by the Northmen.”982.Greenland visited by Eirikr Rauði (Eric the Red), father of Leifr the Lucky.”986.First colony in Greenland established by the same. In 1124 the Bishop’s See was placed at Garðar.”1262-1264.Iceland incorporated with Norway.”1380.”””Denmark.”1477.Iceland visited by Columbus.”1540-1551.Lutheranism prevailed over Catholic Christianity.”1800.Althing abolished.”1843.”re-established.”1845.”first met at Reykjavik.”1874.First Constitution granted to the island on the date of its Millenary after Ingólf’s settlement.

[111]

Synopsis of dates:

[112]i.e., Land-nim-(Germ. nehmen, “Corporal Nym,” and modern slang, “to nim”) book.

[113]Cointius Annal. Benedict, tom. viii., et Bollandus die 3 febr. in Comment. prævio ad vitam S. Anscharii, § xvii., Copenhagen, 1857.

[114]“The Apostle of the North,” a monk from the monastery of New Corvey, in Westphalia, who introduced Christianity to Denmark aboutA.D.827.

[115]The words in italics are those quoted with variants by Pontanus, who, however, has added nothing to nor has he taken aught from the sense.

[116]Data est hæc bulla post annum 834, quamvis ab aliquibus et præsertim a Pontano in rebus Danicis eo anno adscribatur.

[117]Here, again, the question is simply, “Has the Bull been tampered with or not?” It would evidently be desirable to consult the earliest copies still extant, but unfortunately the author has no power of so doing at present. The Bull of Pope Nicholas V. (A.D.1448) should also be carefully inspected. See p. 84.

[118]In p. 432 (loc. cit.) we are told thatAngrim Jonasis “erroneously call’dArngrimby some”—it need hardly be said that the real name is Arngrímr Jónsson.

[119]Popular history, it has been seen, attributes the exploration to Eirikr Rauð (Eric the Red) inA.D.982, some five centuries before the days of Columbus. Captain Graah, of whom more presently, speaks of a papal Bull by Nicholas V., who inA.D.1448 declares Christianity in Greenland to date from 600 years back, thus removing the colonisation toA.D.848. We have ample materials for determining the exact limits of the Northmen’s explorations by their precising the length of the day. For instance, at Vínland the sun at the winter solstice was above the horizon from Dagmál (7.30A.M.) to Eykt (4.30P.M.), which gives nine hours = N. lat. 41°.

[120]The Dictionary (iii. 780) gives forty-nine Keltic names in the Landnámabók only, neglecting the Orkneyinga, or Iarla, Saga, and the Njála.

[121]Mr Jón A. Hjaltalín remarks: “The large number of Irish settlers in Iceland after Ingólf do not prove anything concerning a previous settlement. No one denies that Iceland was visited by the Irish previous to the Norwegian discovery. No proofs, however, have been as yet brought forward to show that a settlement was made more extensive than that spoken of in Landnámabók, and by Ari Fródi. The great bulk of the settlers were Norwegians; the rest were Danes, Swedes, and Irishmen.” (See Landnámabók; Lambert, Ἀρχαιονομία, fol. 137, p. 2; and Encyclopedie des Gens du Monde, vol. ii., p. 60.)

[122]Some foreigners erroneously write for Althingi, “Allthing,” which would be pronounced Atl-or Adl-thing.Al-is fromallr, all, the highest possible degree,e.g., Al-máttigr, Almighty.All-is right or very,e.g., All-vitr, right clever (Cleasby). The following is a synopsis of the most important events in the history of this famous Diet:A.D.965.Reform (bill) carried by Thord Gellir, who organised the courts and settled the political divisions of Iceland.”1004.Institution of the Fifth Court (of Appeal).”1024.Repudiation of the King of Norway’s attempt to annex Iceland.”1096.Tíund or tithes introduced.”1117-18.The laws codified, written down, and adopted by the Althing. This code was afterwards called Grágás.”1262-64.Submission to the King of Norway.”1272.Second written code (Járn-siða) introduced.”1280(?). Third written code (Jóns-bók) introduced.

[123]Traces of some two hundred Things remain in the “Standing Stones” of Great Britain. Mr Dasent, from whose study of the Iceland republic (Introduction, etc., Burnt Njal, pp. li.-lxvii.) these lines are abridged, shows ourmeetingto be “Mót-Thing,” a public gathering of the district freeholders: asHustingis “House-Thing,” an assembly of householders. In Norway the Things were founded by Hákon, son of Harold Fair-hair, and the conquest over the Jarls was at once followed by the constitution.

[124]Sir Thomas Hungerford in 1377 was the first Speaker, and Sir John Busby in 1394 was the first Speaker formally presented for royal approval. These officials were the mouth-piece of the House, and by no means so called on thelucus-a-non-lucendoprinciple.

[125]The word is liable to misapprehension. It is used of the place as well as of the body sitting there; of the Sacred Circle (Vé-bönd) as well as of the lawmen who occupied it. Moreover, under the Commonwealth, it was the legislative session that met on the Lög-berg; and after the union with Norway it was the public court of law at the Althing considerably modified. The term is also variously derived from Rètt, a fence, a sheep-fold; or from Að rètta lög, to right (or make right) the law (Cleasby). Moreover, the Lög-berg (Hill of Laws) of the Althing was called Thing-brekka (Parliament brink, or high place) at the local assemblies.

[126]Lög (i.e., “laws,” used only in the plural; from “lag,” a lay, layer, stratum) also signified the legal community or State.

[127]The Anglo-Saxon Leode, probably akin to June (ærra Liða) and July (æftera Liða); the Irish Fo-leith, and our modern “leet,” properly the law-court of the hundred. In the Saga times (tenth century) the Leið was a kind of county assembly; during the rule of the Grágás (twelfth and thirteenth centuries), the Leið was held where the Vár-Thing used to sit, in common with all the three Goðar of the Quarter (Sam-leið).

[128]The Northlanders, by a provincial arrangement which the central authority hardly recognised, claimed four instead of three judicial circles (Thing-sóknir). The reason was, that the heads of houses east of the Eyjafjörð and west of the Skagafjörð, whose Quadrant-Things lay in the middle of the Tetrad, refused to ride so far.

[129]Nat.A.D.930; converted to Christianity, 998, and murdered, 1014. Cleasby derives “Fimtar” from “Fimt,” the heathen week, a pentad or five days; whilst the Swedish “Femt,” a court before which one has to appear a “fimt” from the citation, seems to have floated before the minds of the founders.

[130]Fat and ferocious Ólafr Helgi (Olaf II., or the Saint), when succeeding to the throne of Norway, doomed to death and slavery, to exile and confiscation, all who opposed the new faith. The blood of martyred pagans was not the seed of their Church; and persecution, vigorously carried out, took, as usual, wide effect. After his death at the battle of Stikklestad, he became the tutelar saint of Norway, the “Lamb” of the calendar. His remains ranked as relics in the ancient cathedral at Throndhjem, till Protestantism, or rather Lutheranism, under Gustavus Vasa (A.D.1527), and Christian II. (1536), replaced Romanism in the Scandinavian peninsula. The Royal Order of Norway, founded in 1847 by the late king, Oscar I., bears his name. London has boasted of four “St Olaves;” and Tooley Street of the Tailors, according to Mr Peter Cunningham, notes the site of the first church. To retain due reverence for such a “Saint,” we must believe with Pliny (Epist., viii. 24): “Reverere gloriam veterem, et hanc ipsam senectutem, quæ in homine venerabilis, in urbibus sacra. Sit apud te honor antiquitati, sit ingentibus factis,sit fabulis quoque.”

[131]It was a classical dream which made Odin or Sigge (whence Sigtuna), and his followers the Æsir (minor gods), fly from Pompey in the days of Mithridates. It was a philological dream of Finn Magnússon’s which identified Bragi with Bramhá, and the ferocious and sanguinary Odin with the moral and holy Buddha, the prototype of the Christian exemplar. The casual resemblance to the Etruscan Tina has not been more fortunate. Some one well remarks that “a man born aboutA.D.333, and dying seventy-eight years old (A.D.411), would, in respect to time, perfectly represent the personage whom the Scandinavians and the Anglo-Saxons call Odin and Woden, and who are the roots of their royal dynasties.”

[132]This fact was not unknown to Bishop Warburton and to Lord Herbert of Cherbury. In the Egyptian hymn to Phthah we read: “Praised be thy countenance, Ruler of the World!” Ausonius thus explains the multitude of synonyms:“Ogygia ME Bacchum vocat;Osirin Ægyptus putat;Mystæ Phanacen nominant;Dionyson Indi existimant;Romana sacra Liberum;Arabica gens Adoneum;Lucianus Pantheum.”Those who see in ancient myths the eternal contest of sunlight and darkness; of summer and winter, and, in the moral world, of intelligence and ignorance, will find strong confirmation in Eddaic poetry and prose.

“Ogygia ME Bacchum vocat;Osirin Ægyptus putat;Mystæ Phanacen nominant;Dionyson Indi existimant;Romana sacra Liberum;Arabica gens Adoneum;Lucianus Pantheum.”

Those who see in ancient myths the eternal contest of sunlight and darkness; of summer and winter, and, in the moral world, of intelligence and ignorance, will find strong confirmation in Eddaic poetry and prose.

[133]Properly written Thórr, a congener of the Mæso-Gothic Thunrs, the Thunder-god who named our Thursday. Whilst his golden-haired wife, Sif, who represented mother earth, with her sheaves of ripe grain, and the sanctity of wedlock and the family, is wholly forgotten, this terrigenous deity still lives, as we shall see, in modern Icelandic names. It is usually said that Iceland, following Norway, preferred Thórr, whilst the Danes paid the highest honours to Odin, and the Swedes to Freya (Venus), or rather to Freyr, her brother, the sun-god, who presided over the seasons and bestowed peace, fertility, and riches.

[134]The reader may remember, in the late Rev. Frederick Robertson’s Lectures to Working Men, a fine passage upon the same subject.

[135]Væringi (plur.-jar)Warings, or the name of the Scandinavian and Anglo-Saxon warriors serving as bodyguards to the Emperors of Constantinople.

[136]Of the monks proper (Icel. Múnkr, = μονὸς, monachus), only Benedictines were found in Iceland. They were accompanied by the regular canons of St Augustine. There were no “brothers” (fratres) or religious mendicants, as Dominicans and Franciscans; nor “regular clerks,” as Jesuits, Theatines, etc., who date since the sixteenth century; nor secular priests united in congregations like Oratorians and Lazarists.

[137]As will be seen, modern law recognises, or rather compels, an official arbitration before causes can be brought into court.

[138]The author would by no means make the invidious assertion that the Danish treatment of colonies was worse than that of other contemporary nations. On the contrary, in Africa, India, and the West Indian Islands, it has been a favourable contrast to most of the rest. But Europe in the fourteenth century, and in the ages which followed it, presents a melancholy contrast with the refined and civilised usage of her settlements by Republican and Imperial Rome.

[139]Of this process there were two forms, which began to be passed (circa)A.D.1180. Bann, or Meira Bann was E. Major; Minna Bann was E. Minor, whilst the interdict was called For-boð, the German Verbot.

[140]This prudential reservation is the more necessary as most of our information comes from the enemy. Bishop Jón Ögmundsson had two wives, not at the same time, but one after another.

[141]“In the sixteenth century the Reformation was forced upon the people by the united kingdoms of Denmark and Norway; its progress was everywhere marked by blood, and even the Lutheran historian, Finn Jónsson, is unable to veil completely the atrocities which were committed. The venerable bishop of Hólar, Jón Arnason (sic, doubtless a clerical error), the last Catholic prelate, received the crown of martyrdom along with his two sons, uttering with his dying breath, ‘Lord, into Thy hands I commend my spirit!’”Thus writes Baring-Gould (Introduction, xl.). Mr Jón A. Hjaltalín hereupon observes: “I must call attention to this quotation from Mr Baring-Gould regarding the introduction of the Reformation into Iceland. I cannot protest too strongly against it.It is utterly false from beginning to end.Every one who has the slightest acquaintance with the history of Iceland during the sixteenth century knows that Lutheranism wasnotforced upon the Icelanders. The Reformation movement was only encouraged by the king of Denmark. Old men, Bishop Jón Arason among others, were permitted to retain their former faith if they were willing to leave others equally undisturbed in the exercises of their religion. This fact is corroborated by the bishop’s immediate descendants, who in everything glorified their ancestor as a martyr. Further, it cannot be shown that a single person lost his life in Iceland in connection with the introduction of the Reformation. The quarrel which led to the death of the bishop and his two sons arose from a dispute about the sale and occupation of a farm in the west. Bishop Jón Arason was an exact counterpart of the chiefs of the Sturlunga times; he delighted to ride about the island with hundreds of followers, and to engage in fights and broils with every one who had any property to lose. That it was not religious zeal that devoured him or his sons may be seen from the fact, that in a letter to the chancellor of the king of Denmark (dated 10th August 1550) they say that ‘their father the bishop, as well as themselves, are ready to keep the holy Evangelium, as His Majesty has ordered it to be preached everywhere in Iceland.’ There is all probability that they would have come to an untimely end even if there had been no Reformation. The king had indeed ordered their arrest as disturbers of the public peace. He did not, however, order their execution. The responsibility for that act must rest upon the Icelanders who seized them, and mistrusted their ability to keep them in safe custody until they could be brought before the proper tribunal. So far from anybody losing his life through the introduction of the Reformation, no one was even deprived of his liberty for a single hour except by Bishop Arason and his sons. I hope it was through crass ignorance only that Mr Baring-Gould penned such an extraordinary statement as the one quoted. Or is he able to name the people who suffered during the introduction of the Reformation, and to show trustworthy documents that they did thus suffer?”

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