But They Are Called In Their Language Trollwal.

Go not farther then your skil, Munster, for I take it you cannot skill of our tongue:

And therefore it may be a shame for a learned man to teach others that which he knoweth not himselfe: for such an attempt is subiect to manifold errours, as we will shew by this your example. For while you take in hand to schoole others, & to teach them by what name a Whale-fish is to be called in our tongue, leauing out through ignorance the letter H, which almost alone maketh vp the signification of the worde, you deliuer that which is not true: for val in our language signifieth not a Whale, but chusing or choise of the verbe Eg vel, that is to say, I chuse, or I make choise, from whence val is deriued, &c. But a Whale is called Hualur with vs, & therefore you ought to haue written Trollhualur. Neither doeth Troll signifie the deuill, as you interprete it, but certaine Giants that liue in mountaines. You see therefore (and no maruel) how you erre in the whole word. It is no great iniurie to our language being in one word onely: because (doubtlesse) you knew not more then one.

Others also do offend in the same fault, for it is not to be allowed that a certaine man being about to publish a Map of Island receiued from Islanders themselues, had rather marre the fashion of all, or in very deed of the most names of Capes, Baies, mountaines, springs, riuers, homocks, valleis, hils & townes (because that being ignorant of our language, he was not able to read those things aright, which he receiued from our countreymen) he had rather (I say) depraue & corrupt them all, then learne of the Islanders themselues, which at that time, namely in the yeere 1585, liued in the vniuersitie of Hafnia, or Copen Hagen, how euery thing ought to be read and written. And we esteeme him for this his wilfull marring of our natiue names and words, (where vpon it came to passe that we reading the same, could acknowledge very few to be oure owne) that he is no slight offender against our tongue, otherwise retaining the pure and the ancient propertie.

But now we haue after some sort examined most of the myracles of Island, which our writers haue mentioned. Notwithstanding before we enter into any further matter, we thinke it good in this section to touch that which the last forenamed man (in this Map of Island, that he caused to be put forth in the foresaid yeere vnder his own name) hath giuen out concerning two other fountains besides the former: whereof the one should die white wooll black, & the other blacke wooll white. [Sidenote: Who be the Islandish writers?] Which thing where he receiued it, or whence he had it, we can by nomeans imagine: for it is not to be found in our own writers, nor in the writers of other countries. But whence soeuer it be, it is but a tale, & hath not one iote of trueth in it. And although it be incredible That black wooll may be died of a white colour, seeing it is affirmed by Plinie, that blacke wooll (of all other) will receiue no colour: notwithstanding there is some such thing reported by Theophrastus: namely, that there is a riuer in Macedonia which maketh blacke sheepe white. [Sidenote: Speculum regale.] Also that Norway pamphlet called the Roiall looking-glasse, which I mentioned before, doth attribute these fountains to Ireland, which is also called Hybernia, and not to Island. Which peraduenture deceiued the Reader, reading in a strange language S in stead of R.

That likewise deserueth no better credite which another Author writeth: That there is a certaine great stone in Island which runneth vp and downe the crags and clifs of mountaines by no outward force, but by the owne proper and natural motion. Hee that will beleeue this, what will he not beleeue? For it is such a rare deuise that the Epicures themselues (who yet seemed to Lucian to haue fained many incredible things) I am sure neuer inuented the like: vnlesse perhaps the sayd Author doeth imagine (that a man who is called of the Islanders by the proper name of Stein) should compasse about, and clime vp certaine rockes: which although it be ridiculous to put into a story of wonders, namely, that a man should mooue or walke, yet is it so to bee supposed to saue the credite of the Author, that we may not more seuerely condemne that fable, which is so sencelesse of it selfe and not woorthy to be read.

[Sidenote: Vultures, beares and crows come vpon the drift Ice into Island.] They are gulltie of the same crime also who haue found out rauens, pies [Footnote: Magpies.], hares and vultures, all white in Island for it is wel knowen that vultures come very seldome together with the Ise of the sea, vnto vs, as beares also (but they seldomer then vultures) and a certaine kind of crowes called by the Islanders Isakrakur. But as for white pies, hares, and rauens Island neuer had any. [Footnote: All modern writers, however, ascribe white hares to Iceland.]

And these in a maner be the things which, in regard of our daily busines, we were able at this present to affoord, as touching the former part of our treatise, which were penned by me for this purpos (as in the beginning I did protest) that the errors of Authors concerning an vnknowen land, and the affected vanitie also of some men might be disclosed, for I am not desirous to diminish any mans good name: but because I consecrated these my labours to trueth and to my countrey, I could not chuse but shew, that those things which hitherto haue bene reported by many concerning our Island deserue very litle credite: and so to addresse my selfe vnto the matters folowing concerning the Inhabitants.

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