Ohthere farther says, that he sailed in five days from Sciringes-heal to
that port which is called Haethum [18], which lies between Winedum, Seaxun,
and Anglen, and makes part of Dene. When he sailed to this place from
Sciringes-heal, Dene, or Denmark, was on his left, and on his right was a
wide sea for three days; as were also on his right, two days before he came
to Haethum, Gotland, Sillende, and many other islands, which were inhabited
by the Angles before they came to Britain; and during these two days, the
islands belonging to Denmark were on his left hand.
[1] Anglo-Saxon Version of Orosius, by Alfred the Great, translated by
Daines Barrington, p. 9. - Langebeck, Script. Dan. II. 106-118. -
Forster, Voy. and Disc. in the North, p. 53.
[2] Ohthere here calls the inhabitants of the desert Fins, and it would
appear that the Laplanders are actually Fins, or Finlanders; the name
of Laps or Laplanders being of modern origin, and the Danes and
Norwegians still call this country Finmark. - Forst
[3] In former translations of Alfred, this passage is rendered as follows:
"He was within three days sail of being as far north as the
whale-hunters ever go." This expression is vague and ambiguous, and
rather means that the residence from whence he set out was within
three days sail, &c.; whereas the next member of the same sentence
distinctly indicates a preceding three days sail, as in the adopted
translation. - E.
[4] This is not quite accurate, as the coast of Norway, in the course of
Ohthere, stretches N.N.E. He was now arrived at the North Cape, whence
the coast towards the White Sea trends E. and by N. - E.
[5] This doubt, of whether the sea lies within the land or not, probably
refers to the numerous inlets or fiords along the whole coast of
Norway and Finmark, and may mean, that he did not examine whether the
land might not be parcelled out into innumerable islands. - E.
[6] The Beormas are the Biarmians or Permians of the northern writers; and
Perm or Permia is still mentioned among the numerous titles of the
emperors of Russia. - Forat.
[7] The Terfennas are mentioned as different from the Scrite-fennas. These
were distinguished by Guido, the geographer of Ravenna, in the seventh
century, into Rerefinni and Scritifinni. The latter lived entirely
by hunting, and wore snow-shoes in winter, called Schrit. The former
subsisted on their herds of rein-deer, and perhaps ought to have been
therefore called Rene-finni. The name in the text ought perhaps to
have been Rhane-fenna, as he tells us they had rein-deer, and employed
decoy deer to catch the wild. Perhaps Fer-fenna, from their
travelling in sledges; from farra, to travel in a carriage. - Forst.
[8] It is highly probable, from this remark, in which Ohthere could not be
mistaken, as it will appear in the sequel that he must have been
perfectly well acquainted with the Fins, that the Biarmians were a
branch of the great Finnish stock. The principal difference seems to
have been, that the Fins continued to be wandering hunters and
herdsmen, while the Beormas or Biarmians had advanced to the state of
fixed cultivators of the soil. They had likewise an idol called
Jomala, which is still the name of one of the deities of the
Finlanders. - Forst.
[9] The morse is here named horse-whale by king Alfred, with infinitely
greater propriety than the appellation of sea-horse, which long
prevailed in our language. The tusks of this animal are still
considered as excellent ivory, and are peculiarly valuable for the
construction of false teeth; and leather made from the hide is still
used in Russia for coach-harness, but stretches more when wet than any
other leather. - Forst.
[10] It would appear, from the vast number killed, that this successful
fishing must refer to the morse or horse-whale, not to the ordinary
large whale. - E.
[11] In the original, the broad and comparatively fertile part of Norway
is said to be in the east: the correction adopted in the text
is obvious and necessary. - E.
[12] In former translations, this passage is: "opposite to this land,
to the south, is Sueoland." The alteration in the text removes
the ambiguity - E.
[13] Cwenland and the Cwenas appear to refer to Lapmark, and its
inhabitants, the Finlanders. - Forst.
[14] See Sect. iii. p. 12, in which this place is supposed by Mr J. R.
Forster to have been where Stockholm now is.
[15] Iraland obviously here means Scotland, with the Faro, Shetland, and
Orkney islands. - E.
[16] This is plainly the isle of Gothland. - E.
[17] Apparently the Baltic proper is here called the sea of Sillende, and
may have been named from the isle of Zeeland. Yet in this passage it
seems to refer to the gulf of Bothnia, as running far up into the
country. - E.
[18] See Sect. iii. p. 14, in which Forster endeavours to fix this place at
Aarhuus in Jutland.
SECTION III.
Remarks by J. M. Forster, respecting the situation of Sciringes-heal and
Haethum[1].
The name of this place, Sciringes-heal, has given a great deal of trouble
to former commentators on Alfred; viz. Sir John Spelman, Bussaeus, Somner,
John Philip Murray, and Langebeck, who have all chosen spots totally
different, in which to place Sciringes-heal. Spelman, and others, look for
this place near Dantzic, where, in their opinion, the Scyres formerly
resided. But, first, the spot where the Scyres lived, is by no means
satisfactorily determined; and, next, it is evident that Ohthere went
continually along the coast from Halgoland to Sciringes-heal, and that this
coast was on his left-hand during the whole course of his navigation.
