- Forst. [52] That Is, Both Inhabiting North Jutland And The Islands Of Funen, Zeeland, Langland, Laland, And Falster.

- Forst.

[53] Formerly called Apdrede, and explained to be the Obotrites. - E.

[54] Alluding, doubtless, to the country from whence the Saxons who inhabited England had come of old. - E.

[55] This is the same nation called Estum in the voyage of Wulfstan, who lived east of the mouth of the Wisle or Vistula, along the Baltic, and who are mentioned by Tacitus under the name of Estii. When the Hanseatic league existed, they were called Osterlings or Easterlings, or Ost-men, and their country Est-land, Ostland, or Eastland, which still adheres to the northernmost part of Livonia, now called Est-land. - Forst.

[56] The Burgendas certainly inhabited the island of Born-holm, called from them Borgenda-holm, or island of the Borgendas, gradually corrupted to Borgend-holm, Bergen-holm, Born-holm. In the voyage of Wulfstan they are plainly described as occupying this situation. - Forst.

[57] Called formerly AEfelden, a nation who lived on the Havel, and were, therefore, named Hevelli or Haeveldi, and were a Wendick or Vandal tribe. - Forst.

[58] These are the Sviones of Tacitus. Jornandes calls them Swethans, and they are certainly the ancestors of the Swedes. - Forst.

[59] This short passage in the original Anglo-Saxon is entirely omitted by Barrington. Though Forster has inserted these Surfe in his map, somewhere about the duchy of Magdeburg, he gives no explanation or illustration of them in his numerous and learned notes on our royal geographer. - E.

[60] Already explained to be Finland on the White sea. - E.

[61] This is the same nation with the Finnas or Laplanders, mentioned in the voyage of Ohthere, so named because using scriden, schreiten, or snowshoes. The Finnas or Laplanders were distinguished by the geographer of Ravenna into Scerde-fenos, and Rede-fenos, the Scride-finnas, and Ter-finnas of Alfred. So late as 1556, Richard Johnson, Hakluyt, ed. 1809. I. 316. mentions the Scrick-finnes as a wild people near Wardhus. - E.

[62] The North-men or Normans, are the Norwegians or inhabitants of Nor-land, Nord-land, or North-mana-land. - E.

[63] At this place Alfred introduces the voyages of Ohthere and Wulfstan, already given separately, in Sect. ii. and iii, of this chapter. - E.

[64] Either the original or the translation is here erroneous; it ought to run thus: "The Propontis is westward of Constantinople; to the north-east of that city, the arm of the sea issues from the Euxine, and flows south-west; to the north the mouths of the Danube empty themselves into the north-west parts of the Euxine." - E.

[65] Carinthia. The desert has been formerly mentioned as occasioned by the almost utter extirpation of the Avari by Charlemain, and was afterwards occupied by the Madschiari or Magiars, the ancestors of the present Hungarians. - Forst.

[66] Very considerable freedoms have been taken with this sentence; as in Barrington's translation it is quite unintelligible. - E.

[67] Profent and Profent sea, from the Provincia Gallica, now Provence. - Forst.

[68] Probably in relation to Rome, the residence of Orosius. - E.

[69] Gascony, called Wascan in the Teutonic or Saxon orthography and pronunciation. Thus the Saxons changed Gauls to Wales, and the Gauls changed War-men into Guer-men, hence our modern English, Germans. - Forst.

[70] Scotland is here assuredly used to denote Ireland. - E.

[71] Probably in relation to Rome, the residence of Orosius. - E.

[72] Alfred includes the whole island, now called Great Britain, under one denomination of Brittannia, taking no notice whatever of any of its divisions. Orcadus is unquestionably Orcades, or the islands of Orkney and Shetland. - E.

[73] The Thila or Thule of Alfred, from its direction in respect of Ireland, and its great distance, is obviously Iceland. - E.

[74] This seems to have some obscure reference to an idea, that the sea had disjoined Europe and Africa. But the sense is extremely perplexed and even unintelligible. - E.

[75] It must be noticed, that Alfred was unacquainted with any more of Africa than its northern coast, along the Mediterranean, which explains this erroneous idea of its size being inferior to Europe. - E.

[76] Syrenaica. - E.

[77] The Red Sea, or Ethiopic Gulf. In this part of the geography of Alfred, his translator has left the sense often obscure or contradictory, especially in the directions, which, in this version, have been attempted to be corrected. This may have been owing to errors in the Anglo-Saxon MS. which Barrington professes to have translated literally, and he disclaims any responsibility for the errors of his author. - E.

[78] Probably some corruption of Syrtes Majores, or of Syrenaica. - E.

[79] Tripolitana, now Tripoli. - E.

[80] I can make nothing of this salt lake of the Arzuges, unless it be the lake of Lawdeah, between Tunis and Tripoli. The Getulians and Garamantes are well known ancient inhabitants of the interior of northern Africa; the Natabres are unknown. - E.

[81] The Garamantes are a well known people of the interior of Africa, in ancient geography; of the Natabres I can make nothing; the Geothulas are evidently the Getulians. - E.

[82] Probably the same called just before the Malvarius, and now the Malul. But the geographical description of Africa by Alfred, is so desultory and unarranged as to defy criticism. - E.

[83] Alfred may possibly have heard of the Monselmines who inhabit the north-western extremity of the Sahara, or great African desert, and extend to the Atlantic. - E

[84] Faro.

[85] Lillibeum.

[86] The name of this sea is omitted in the MS. - Barr.

[87] These measures are incorrigibly erroneous, or must have been transposed from some other place, having no possible reference to Corsica. - E.

* * * * *

Note. - The subsequent sections of this chapter, although not of much importance in themselves, and some of them possessing rather doubtful authenticity, are inserted in this place on the authority of Hakluyt. In an English general collection of voyages and travels, it would have been improper to have omitted these early specimens, some of which are considerably interesting and curious.

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