Guide to Northern archaeology / By the Royal society of northern antiquaries of Copenhagen, edited for the use of English readers by ... the Earl of Ellesmere.

  • Royal Nordic Society of Antiquaries
Date:
1848
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Guide to Northern archaeology / By the Royal society of northern antiquaries of Copenhagen, edited for the use of English readers by ... the Earl of Ellesmere. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    or a Norwegian, from the realms of the three kings where our language is {er vår tunga er), the kinsmen of such foreigner aforesaid, if lie have any in the country, may institute an action; but if his language be any other than Danish (en of ollurn tungum ad rum en of danskri tungii), the, circumstance of consanguinity shall not confer a right to prosecute for homi¬ cide, except in the case of a father, or son, or brother, and to such only in case they arc previously known here.7 Odd the monk relates that Olaf Tryggvason christianized Norway, Hialtland (Shetland), the Orkneys, the Feroe Isles, Iceland and Greenland, in which undertaking, however, there were difficulties to be overcome, notably in consequence of the want of teachers, and their inability to express themselves in the Danish language. But it is not merely for the Scandinavian North properly so called, that the language and literature possess a national significance, which, throughout a certain period, extends to Rus¬ sia , as also to Germany and to France (where Norman his¬ torians, of a date anterior to the Icelandic sagas, expressly call the language of Normandy, Danish, dacisca), but doubtless in a still greater degree to the British Islands, where the language was anciently the same in a great measure with that of Scandinavia, in proof of which we may quote the following passage (which, however, must be understood with some limitation} from the saga of Gunnlaug Ormstunga and Rafn the Bard : , lvingEthelrcd Jatgeirsson ruled then in England; he resided that winter (1006) in Lon¬ don ; the language in England was at that time the same as in Denmark and Norway {ein var f)å tunga i Englandi sem i Danmorku ok Noregi); but when William the Bastard took possession of the country, the language underwent a change, and from that time the Roman {valsIn) was introduced.” Gunn- laug went and paid his duty to the king, who enquired of him whence he came. This he told the king, adding that he was come thither because he had composed a poem about the king, which he was desirous that king Ethelred should hear. Ilis re¬ quest was granted; upon which Gunnlaug recited his poem.