THE PEACE OF THORSTEIN.
Terrible was the tale brought to Hougun about the storm of the Lawburg
and the death of Thorstein and his fellows. Though indeed not all of them
perished. Hopeless as it seemed, some of that band had cut their way
through the Saxon army and escaped into hiding among the rocks and woods
on Brackmere bank: and some that had been left for dead had been found by
their friends when the storm was over, and taken up and healed of their
wounds. But not Thorstein. He lay where he fell, within a step of the
spot where he had slain his brother. They gave him his peace, late as it
was: for it was not too late to let his children inherit the land he had
taken around Thurston water.
Hundi and Raud, Mani and the rest of their kinsmen and neighbours came
together and rebuilt the homestead at Blawith, freely giving their labour
as the custom was; and over and above their labour, each comer gave a
share toward the things that were needed to keep house and farm. So that
with what she had and what she got, Raineach lacked neither servants nor
stock, furniture within nor gear without.
They brought her from the island, and bade her dwell in peace on the
land that was hers and her children’s. Many a time came to her one and
another who would gladly have cast in his lot with them for her sake: but
she said nay to all. After a while she sent for a priest, and built him
a church at Blawith, that she might bring up her household in the right
faith and fear of God. And before Yule she was the mother of a third son
to Thorstein, whom she called Gartnaidh after her father, for he was
red-haired and long limbed.
“Thorstein of the Mere will not want for sons to avenge him,” said folk,
when they came to see her.
“Nay,” she said. “He has found his peace. Let us keep it.”
But a twelvemonth had not gone by after the battle, and mid-summer was
not yet come, when they heard tidings of the death of Eadmund in his own
hall at a feast, by the hands of an outlaw. The North-folk looked at one
another, as much as to say it was but his due; vengeance had come upon
him already for the strife he had stirred up, and especially for the
sackless and innocent men who had fallen with Thorstein Sweinson in the
war upon Cumberland.
But the Northmen continued in their homes by firth and fell, spite of
York earls and Scottish kings. For yet a hundred years and more they
kept their freedom. Their own laws they made at their Althing, now in one
spot, now in another: shifted westward, maybe, to Little Langdale after
Thored’s ravaging of Westmorland, and southward after Ethelred’s harrying
of Cumberland. Even when the Normans had brought all this border country
under the feudal yoke, still for many a hundred years the dalesmen,
children of the vikings, used to meet at the Steading-stone by Thirlmere
wath, and kept alive some smouldering memory of their birthright in the
country Penalties of Wythburn. And everywhere they still have their old
manners and their old speech, changing little of either, and that but
slowly.
The Blawith house endured. Its children lived long in the land. When
they increased so that Blawith was too small for them, across the Crake
they built a strong place, and called it the New Burg, and the ground
that it stood in, Newburthwaite. Neighbours by-named them the Redheads
of Nibthwaite; maybe because they took after their kinsmen of the fells.
There they dwelt, a great family, for many a generation, and thereabouts
they dwell even to this day. For in these dales the dream of Unna came
true, that saw love abiding and labour continuing, heedless of glory and
fearless of death.
SO ENDS THE STORY OF THORSTEIN.
REMARKS ON THE NORSE SETTLEMENT: TABLE OF THE CHRONOLOGY: INDEX TO THE
MAPS: & NOTES TO THE STORY.
THE NORSE SETTLEMENT.
Popular attention was called to this subject about forty years ago
by Mr. Robert Ferguson, M.P., F.S.A., in his lecture and book on the
Northmen in Cumberland and Westmorland. Following out the suggestion of
the great Worsaæ, he laid down the main lines of the ethnological map,
just as William Smith laid down the main lines of English geology. In
both cases the details had still to be more accurately surveyed; but, in
spite of much doubt and criticism, the hypothesis grew into a theory,
and the theory into an article of faith. Mr. Freeman accepted it in
his History of the Norman Conquest (vol. I. app. FF.), and Chancellor
Ferguson has adopted it in his already standard Histories of Cumberland
and Westmorland. Various local antiquaries have added to the subject,
especially in the Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland
Antiquarian and Archæological Society; among which may be named the
papers of the Rev. T. Ellwood, M.A., comparing the language and customs
of Lakeland and Iceland; and the identification by Mr. H. Swainson
Cowper, F.S.A., of the Norse Thingstead in Little Langdale. Mr. Ellwood’s
“Landnámabók, as illustrating the dialect, &c.,” is published separately
(T. Wilson, Kendal, 1894).
Our antiquaries, however, have found us no Lakeland Saga. The reason
is simple. By the time when the Sagas were written down, the Norman
Conquest and the feudal organisation of England had cut these Norse
colonists away from their kindred, and had begun to assimilate them to
the condition of the Saxon villeins; while the repeated inroads of the
Scots in the 12th Century made life insecure, and reduced civilisation
in the Fells to its lowest terms. Whatever songs and stories of Viking
ancestors were then current in the mouths of the people found no scribe
such as Ari the learned, or Hall Gizurson. One would have thought that in
the abbeys of the district some native monk might have noted them down,
as the Icelandic folklore was noted down at Flatey, and Helgafell. But
the great abbeys hereabouts were founded by aliens, and their mental
life had no room for local patriotism. Jocelyn of Furness, our greatest
literary figure in that era, was busy with his Celtic legends of St.
Patrick and St. Kentigern; at Calder and Holm Cultram it was work enough
to live, and old tales were nothing to the stir of passing events. The
saga-period went by; and in another couple of centuries, when the age of
Border ballads had set in, there were new themes in plenty to sing about.
The old legends were out of mind, except for isolated traditions and
surviving names.
And yet, even at this day, enough of these remain to give us glimpses
of the past. We can picture the life of the Norse settlers from almost
contemporary accounts of Orkney and Iceland, checked and verified, in
details innumerable, by the dialect and customs of the district. Their
arts, wood-carving and iron-work chiefly, we see in the old interwoven
panel-patterns and spiral smith-wares, that seem to show a permanence,
through several centuries, of the ancestral habit of mind. Their public
institutions we can infer from a comparison of the remaining Lawburgs
here, with those elsewhere of which there are records in the literature
of the North. Their attitude towards neighbouring peoples can be surmised
from general history, which now and then throws a light into the
darkness. Even the very names of the colonists we can read in the map, at
the places they seized and settled.
And so to write this story of Thorstein of the Mere—the _eponymus_ of
our Thurston-water (Coniston Lake)—is only as it were to string afresh
a handful of broken beads from an opened cairn. There was a Thorstein’s
saga, no doubt, once upon a time; or at least ballads of the giants on
the fell, and the invasion of Eadmund. “Thus sung, or would, or could,
or should have sung” the local skald. And there were old folk of the
last generation who would sit in the chimney-corner telling tales of the
past, fragmentary sagas, that had come down from they knew not where,
but fixed in form, and delivered with animation and with all the richness
of the rolling dialect. They were belated sagamen. They had forgotten
the Norse stories, but they kept the Norse style. To put a Thorstein’s
saga into the mouth of an old “Statesman” would strain truth but little,
imagination not at all.
The belated Sagaman, however, needs a little editing. As usual with his
tribe, he assumes that you take his allusions without explanation and
his statements without reference; while with a laudable curiosity some
readers ask for more than he gives. To satisfy them, and to justify him,
the following pages are added.
CHRONOLOGY.
876. Danes from York under Halfdan take Carlisle (see pp. 21, 55.)
880, or thereabouts, the first Norse settlements on Solway and
Morecambe after Harold’s invasion of the Irish Sea (pp. 33, 34.)
913. Ragnwald attacks the Isle of Man (p. 2.) _Swein comes to
Greenodd_ (p. 3.)
916-918. Ragnwald king in Waterford (pp. 2, 25.)
920. Sigtrygg, driven from Dublin, invades Deira (p. 21.)
923. Ragnwald takes York (p. 25.) Eadward takes Manchester (p.
24.) _Thorstein born_ (p. 3.)
924. Eadward fortifies Bakewell (p. 26.) The commendation of
Scotland and Strathclyde (p. 27.)
925. Eadward dies (p. 30.) Succeeded by Athelstan, who marries
his sister to Sigtrygg (p. 37.)
926. Great aurora about Easter time (p. 38.) Sigtrygg dies
(p. 39.) Athelstan takes York; Sigtrygg’s sons escape (p.
40.) Peace of Dacre, July 12 (p. 56.) Eadulf expelled from
Bamborough (p. 55.)
927. Guthferth and Olaf Cuaran take York, and are expelled by
Athelstan (p. 72.)
929 or 930. Althing established in Iceland (p. 76.)
930. Athelstan grants Amounderness to York (p. 73.)
931. About this time or later Olaf Cuaran marries Constantine’s
daughter (p. 74.)
932. _Althing at Legburthwaite_ (p. 78.)
933. Constantine and Owain revolt; Athelstan ravages Scotland
(p. 79.)
934. _Thorstein finds Thurston-water, and is taken by the
Fell-folk_ (pp. 80-104.)
937. Great revolt of the North (pp. 113, 118.) Battle of Brunanburh
(pp. 134, 138, 147, 155.) Athelstan founds St. Leonard’s at York
(p. 252.) _Thorstein’s escape and return to Greenodd_ (pp.
134-167.)
938. _Thorstein goes to sea_ (pp. 177, 180.) Thorstein Codbiter
drowned in Iceland (p. 184.) About this time Eric Bloodaxe
expelled from Norway by Hakon (p. 186,) and set over York by
Athelstan (p. 192.)
939. _Thorstein visits Iceland and Norway_ (pp. 184-192), _and
winters in London_ (pp. 193-195.)
940. _Thorstein comes home in autumn_ (p. 196.) Athelstan dies
October 25, succeeded by Eadmund (p. 203.)
941. Revolt in the North; Eric expelled from York (p. 214.)
_Thorstein marries Asdis_, June (p. 213.) Olaf takes York
(pp. 214-215.) _Slaying of Orm and Doordoom at Blawith_ (pp.
223-233.) _Thorstein at Cartmel during the winter_ (pp.
239-244.)
942. _Thorstein at York_ (pp. 245-255.) Olaf Guthferson killed
(pp. 247, 255.) _Thorstein marries Raineach and settles on Peel
Island, autumn_ (pp. 255-264.)
943. _Swein Thorsteinson born, August_ (p. 268.)
944. _Thorstein Thorsteinson born, Christmas_ (p. 270.)
945. _Attack on Peel Island, February_ (pp. 274-280.) Eadmund
ravages Galloway and Cumbria, expels Domhnaill, and grants the
land to Malcolm (pp. 284, 295.) _Death of Thorstein, June_ (p.
294).
946. Eadmund killed May 26 (p. 303.)
960. Thored ravages Westmorland (p. 304.)
975. Domhnaill dies at Rome.
1000. Ethelred ravages Cumberland (pp. 37, 304.)
THE MAPS (pp. 32 and 50) are in the last degree tentative, and offered
only as graphic suggestions of the state of the country in the tenth and
eleventh centuries, rather later than the actual period of the story.
The Roman roads must have been more or less practicable, and though in
disrepair, like the ruined roads of China, the only available lines of
march for an army or of travel for trade. In drawing them, Chancellor
Ferguson (Histories of Cumberland and Westmorland, and sketch map in the
Archæological Survey, Archæologia, Vol. LIII.) has been followed, with
one or two expressions of uncertainty. Near Thirlmere the old road on the
western bank has been traditionally considered as the original track,
_via_ the Steading Stone, and the ford with the so-called Celtic bridge;
all of which is now destroyed. Some path thence to Threlkeld along the
vale of St. John seems reasonable. The road from Satterthwaite to Dalton
is doubtful; I have given alternative routes, after consultation with Mr.
H. Swainson Cowper, the district secretary of the Society of Antiquaries
and co-editor of the Survey. From the Thingstead at Fellfoot some path
must have been practicable southward, and a study of the ground has
suggested the straight course to Coniston. Thence the mines’ produce went
to Ambleside, West says; but the name Greetagate indicates a road from
Duddon Sands to Broughton, and towards Coniston, ancient, if not Roman.
As I have filled the maps with names I suppose I must explain
them. Those in capitals I take to be Celtic; a few such as Dacor,
Penningtun, Stank, are Anglian and pre-Norse. In Vídhborran, Glæsartún,
Kilvestravegr, Berrhöfudsegg, may be Celtic loan-words which I have
elsewhere discussed (“Some Manx Names in Cumbria,” Trans. C. & W. Ant.
Soc.) and rendered as Wide-ruin, Brook-town, Cell of the west road, and
Road-head’s edge. Alinskálar, formerly Alinschales, now Elliscales, and
Alinthveit, formerly Allinthwaite, now Allithwaite, may be connected with
“Helen,”—the chapel of St. Helen being near the former, the latter near
a Holy-well, and both on the Roman road; thus pointing to the patroness
of roads and wells in Yorkshire and Wales (see Elton, “Origins,” p. 322).
The rest are simply old Norse equivalents of the oldest known forms. In
reading them the old pronunciation must be given as far as possible.
Vigfusson and Powell (Icelandic Reader, p. 467,) give _á_ as in _father_
(though _Báss_ becomes “bowse,” and ásmundarljá becomes Osmotherley). Y
short is like the French _u_; ý long like the German _ü_. The diphthongs
_au_, _ei_, _ey_, have the force of the component vowels. V is our _w_;
_j_ our _y_; þ is sharp _th_ (_thing_;) ð is flat _th_ (_the_) or _dh_.
The terminal _r_ of the nominative was dropped in pronunciation. So
read, many names are identical with modern local forms; and few can be
explained at all except as survivals from the Norse.
_Old Norse._ _Mediæval._ _Modern._ _Meaning._
Alpt Alps Swan
Angra-tún Angertun Angerton Bay-town
Armingja-vadh (_cf._ Ermyngthweit) Armboth Poor-folk’s-wath
Arna-sídha Arneside Arnside Arni’s hillside
Aska-heim Askhome Askam Ash-home
Asmundar-ljá Asmunderlawe Osmotherley Asmund’s lea
Aur-gröf Ourgrave Orgrave Clay-pit
Baæsinga-brunnr Bassingburne Baisbrown Outlaw’s well
Bakka-borg Backbarrow Bank-burg
Barr-ey Barray Barrow Barley-isle
Bás-fold Bousfield Byre-field
Beyka-stadhr Bowkerstead Cooper’s stead
Birk-hryggr Birkrigg Birch ridge
Blár vidhr Blawyth Blawith Blue wood
Blá tjörn Blea tarn Blue tarn
Blátt vatn (or vatr) Blea water Blue water
Blá vík Blowick Blue Bay
Bleikr holmr Blake holm Yellow holm
Borgar-dalr Borcheredale Borrowdale Burg-dale
Borgar-tún Borch Broughton Burg-town
Brautar-kjarr Bottocar Bethecar Road-copse
Brautar-vatn Broaderwater Brothers-water Road-water
Brekku-myrr Brackmere Thirlmere Motehill-mere
Brim-fell (from its form) Brim fell Breaking-wave fell
Brott-haugr Brotto Road-howe
Búdh Bowth Bouth Booth
Bygg-land Bigland Barley-land
Dal-tún Daltún Dalton Dale-town
Djúpr dalr Depedale Deepdale Deep dale
Dökkrá Docwra Dockwray Dark nook
Drjúg-mýrr Droomer Dreigh-mire
Dunna-dalr(?) Dundersdale Dunnerdale Wild-duck’s dale
Dunna-holmr Dunerholme Dunnerholm Wild-duck’s holm
Elra-thveit Ellerthwaite Elder-thwaite
Eng (Hall-)inge Ings Meadow
Epla-thveit Aplethwate Applethwaite Apple-thwaite
Esju-dalr (_cf._ Eschedale Easedale Clay-dale
_I.o.M._)
Fagrt fold Fairfield Fair-field
Fins-thveit Finnesthwait Finsthwaite Fin’s thwaite
Fjor-greina-gil Farragrain-gill Four-branches-gill
Flat-skógr (_cf._ Flascoo, _Holm_) Flaska Flat wood
Flokka-borg Flokeberew Flookburgh Host-burg
Folks-fold (_cf._ Foxdale _I.o.M._) Foxfield People’s field
Forn-sídha Fornside Fornside Ancient seat
Froska-vegr (? the road that jumps) Froswick Frog’s path
Gafl (_cf._ Gaflfell Gavel Gable
_Iceland_)
Gardha-gröf (_cf._ Grauff _I.o.M._) Gargreave Garth-trench
Gardhar Guards Garths
Gardh-skógr Garthscoh Gascow Garth wood
Geirlods-vardha Gerleuuorde ?Ireleth Geirlod’s beacon
Godha-bjarg Goadsbarrow Priest’s barrow
Godha-thveit Goathwaite Priest’s thwaite
Gras-mýrr Gresmer Grasmere Grass-mere
Grettis-thveit Graythwait Graythwaite Gretti’s thwaite
Grísa-dalr Grisedale Grisdale Pigs’ dale
Græn hóp Greenup Green inlet
Grænn kambr Greencomb Green crest
Grænn oddr (or oddi) Greenodd Green point
Grænn skógr Greenscow Green wood
Gunnars-haugr Gummershow Gunnar’s howe
Grýtá, Grjotá Greata Greta Stony river
Grýta-gata Greetygate Stony path
Hafra-thveit Haverthwaite Haverthwaite Oats-thwaite
Hákonar-setr Haukenshead Hawkshead Hakon’s seat
Hall-stadhr Hallstead Rock-stead
Hamal’s setr Hamelsate Ambleside Hamal’s seat
Hát kot Hawcott Hawcoat High cott
Hauks-völlr Hawkswell Hawk’s field
Heidha-thveit Heathwaite Heath-thwaite
Hjalmr High Haume _and_ Helm Crag Helmet
Hjörts-hóp Harteshopp Hartsop Hart’s inlet
Hlad-steinar Ladstones Pile-stones
Hol-bekkr Holebeck Hollow-beck
Hóla-kjarr Holker Knoll-copse
Hóll-thveit Hoathwaite Knoll-thwaite
Hörgs-hlídh (_Same in Arklid Holy-place
Iceland_) fellside
Hramns-ey (_cf._ Ramsey, _I.o.M._) Ramsey Raven’s isle
Hramns-sídha Rammesheved Rampside Raven’s seat
Hreins-bjarg Rainsbarrow Reindeer’s crag
Hreysa-thveit Raisethwaite Cairn-thwaite
Hrossa-thveit (_cf._ Rozefell, Rosethwaite Horse-thwaite
_I.o.M._)
Hunda-haugr Hundhow Hound’s howe
Hválla-thveit Wallthwaite Wallthwaite Hill-thwaite
Hválla-tún Walletun Walton Hill-town
Hvelps-sídha Quelpsat Whelpside Whelp’s seat
Ikorna-thveit Yccornethewayt Ickenthwaite Squirrels’-thwaite
Illt bál Ill Bell Evil beacon
Jarls-sídha Yerlisyde Yarlside Earl’s seat
Jatgars-hlidh Eadgarslithe Adgarley Edgar’s fellside
Kalfa-gardhr Calvgarth Calgarth Calves’ garth
Kaup-rönd (_cf._ Cowper, _Cumb._) Cowprond Traders’ shore
Keldu-rá Keldray Well-nook
Ketels-veggr (_cf._ Ketelton, Kelton) Keswick Ketel’s wall
Kirkju-bær Cherchebi Kirkby Church-farm
Klapparnes-gata Clappersgate Jutting-rock road
Kleif Clayf Claife Cliff
Klifa-tún Clivertune Cleverton Cliff-town
Kolla-tún Colton Colton Town on a peak
Kolla-vidhr Colwith Wood on a peak
Kollr Caw Peak
Konungs-á Consey Cunsey King’s river
Konungs-hæd Cunningsheved Conishead King’s headland
Konungs-tún Connyngeston Coniston King’s town
Kötts-stiga-kambr (Casticand, Catstycam Cat’s-path-crest
_Camden_)
Langidalr Langedene Langdale Long dale
Látra-bjarg (_same in Latterbarrow Lair-crag
Iceland_)
Laudha-fors (_cf._ Lowther) Lodore Foam-force
Laufa-veggr Laufwic Lowick Leaf-wall
Laun-skáli Lonscale Lone-shed
Lá-vatn Low water Shallow water
Leyni-brekka Lenibrick Covert-brink
Lin-dalr Lindale Lindal Flax-dale
Lög-hryggr Lochrigg Loughrigg Lake-ridge
Lög-berg Legbarrow Law-burg
Lög-borgar-thveit Legburthwaite Law-burg-thwaite
Lundr Lund Grove
Lyng-mór Lyngemouthe Lingmoor Ling-moor
Mana-hryggr (_cf._ Mansergh) Mansriggs Moon’s-ridge
Mela-fell Mellfell Bent-grass fell
Mósi-dalr Mosedale Moss-dale
Mæri-höll Merry hall Border-hall
Mær-tún Meretun Marton Border-town
Nauta-dalr Naddale Neats’-dale
Ný-borgar-thveit Newburthwait Nibthwaite New-burg-thwaite
Ný-bygging Newbigging Newbiggin New settlement
Ný-tun Neutun Newton New town
Orma-thveit Ormathwaite Ormathwaite Snakes’ thwaite
Orms-gil Ormsgill Orm’s gill
Orröstu-hæd Orrest head Battle headland
Ösp Esps Aspen
Öxna-fell Oxynfelde Oxenfell Oxen-fell
Polla-vík Poolwyke Pool-bay
Rá Wray Nook
Raudhr völlr Rathvale Red-field
Rauds-ey Roudsey Raud’s isle
Raudh skrídha Red Screes Red scree
Reyd-á Routha Rotha Trout-river
Reynis-hals Wreneshals Wrynose Pass of the rowan
Rolfs-land Rolesland Rusland Rolf’s land
Rolfs-setr Rosset Rolf’s seat
Ruga-dalr Rydale Rydal Rye-dale
Runna-hæd Ronhed Roanhead Grove-headland
Sæta-haugr Satterhow Chalet-howe
Sæta-thveit Saterthwait Satterthwaite Chalet-thwaite
Sand-gate Sandgate Path over sands
Sand-skáli Sandescale Sandscale Sand-shed
Saudha-gata Soutergate Soutergate Sheep-path
Saudha-stadhr Southerstead Sheep-stead
Saur-bær Sourebi Sowerby Mud-farm
Seta-hóll Seatle Seat-hill
Skála-gil Scalegill Shed-gill
Skálar Scales Scales Sheds, halls
Skála-vidhr Skelwith Skelwith Shed-wood
Skardha-thveit Skafthwait Scathwaite Gap-thwaite
Skrídha-thveit Scrithwaite Scree-thwaite
Stafa-hlídh (_cf._ Stavenerge) Staveley Staff-hillside
Steina-hlídh Staynerleth Stennerley Stony hillside
Stein-tún Steintun Stainton Stone-town
Stein-vegr Stanwick Stenock Stone-way
Stikill Stickle Peak
Sumar-hóll Summerhill Pasture-hill
Svartr mór Swartmore Swarthmoor Swart moor
Svina-brekka Swenebrec Sunbrick Swine-brink
Sydhri-borgar-thveit Subberthwaite South-burg-thwaite
Tangi Tongue Tongue
Thröng Thrang Narrow pass
Thröng-kelda _fons de_ Trinkeld Narrow well
Trankeld
Thorolfs-kelda Thirilkelde Threlkeld Thorolf’s well
Thyrni-thveit Thornthwaite Thorn-thwaite
Tjald-borgar-thveit Tilderburghthwait Tilberthwaite Tent-burg-thwaite
Trödha-bekkr Truttebeck Troutbeck Pasture-beck
Ulfa-á Ulfay Ulpha Wolves’-water
Ulfa-dalr Ulldale Yewdale Wolves’-dale
Ulfa-knútr Woolknot Wolves’-rock
Ulfa-skardh Ullscarf Wolves’-gap
Ulfars-tún Ulvrestune Ulverston Ulfar’s town
Ulfs-vatn Ullswater Ulf’s lake
Urdha-veggr Ursewic Urswick Stone-walls
Vala-bjarg Wallabarrow Hawks’-crag
Vanga-thveit Wanthwaite Garden-thwaite
Vatns-hladha Wattenland Watendlath Barn by the water
Vedhra-hjalmr (_clouded before Wetherlam Weather-helmet
rain_)
Veit-heim Waitham Ditch-howe
Vé-skógr (_near “Druid Wescow Temple-wood
circle.”_)
Vidha-haugr Wythow Wood-howe
Vík-hús Wykehouse Bay-house
Many of these names deserve further explanation and illustration, and
some may be thought doubtful. The confusion between _vegr_, road, and
_veggr_, wall; _hlídh_, fellside, and _hlidh_, gate; and that between
_setr_, seat, _sætr_, chalet, _sídha_, country-side, and _hæd_, head,
must be allowed for.
NOTES TO THE STORY.
_Frontispiece and Title._ The two pages together give the view from
Lake-bank at the foot of Coniston Water, to illustrate pp. 67, 68. Over
Thorstein’s head is the Old Man; in the middle of the lake is Peel
Island (p. 261,) above it, Fairfield, with Helvellyn (pp. 119, 288,)
to the left. Under Helvellyn is Yewdale crag, with the White Lady (p.
117). Between Helvellyn and Fairfield is Grizedale Hause (p. 300). Under
Fairfield is Nab Scar (p. 51). The lower points are easy to recognise.
The frames of the views are imitated from Norse doorways; the design over
the title illustrates p. 142.
P. 1. _Bardi Ottarson_: slain 913 according to the Ulster Annals
(Johnstone, Antiq. Celto-Normannicæ, p. 66) or 914, Sir J. Ware’s
Antiq. Hibernicæ (op. cit. p. 77). Skene (Celtic Scotland, I. p. 347)
reads Barid mac n-Octir, and explains “son of Ottir.” I suppose Barid
(Johnstone’s Barred) is Irish for Bardi; and that the headquarters of
this viking were near the scene of the action, _i.e._, in Man, which had
been deserted some 30 years before, in the time of Harald’s invasion
(Heimskringla, Harald, c. 22).
_Ketil Flatnose_ is named as one of the settlers in Iceland who had been
christened (Landnámabók). By other accounts he died in the South-isles
(Eyrb. Saga, c. 5). He is, however, by no means an easy subject for a
biographer; compare Skene (Celt. Scot. I. p. 312,) with Eyrb. Saga, c. I.
P. 2. _Unna_, Una, Unn. Aud, Ketel’s daughter, is so called by Dasent
(Burnt Njál, II. p. 240). Another Unn was her grand-daughter (Eyrb. c.
7). Another Una is mentioned in Grettis Saga, c. 3, as having a cousin
Konal; which connects the name with Ireland and suggests Fin McCoul’s
Oonagh and Spenser’s Una.
P. 2. _Ragnwald_, variously spelt and corresponding to Ranald, Ronald and
Reginald, was one of the grand-sons of Ivar, who play so great a part in
the period that it is perhaps worth giving a pedigree of the chief names,
for reference throughout the story. Ragnwald himself is important because
discrepancies in various accounts of his death have been used by partisan
writers to throw doubt on the Commendation of Scotland to Eadward. His
biography is, however, no more confused than any other for which we have
to gather materials from widely divergent sources.
RAGNAR LODBROK
845 at Paris.
|
+--------+-----------+---+--------------+
| | | |
IVAR HALFDAN GUTHORM HUBBA and others.
867 York 876 Carlisle. 876 baptised
873 d. as Æthelstan.
|
daughter (Skene, I. p. 353) =? GUTHFERTH, k. of York 883-894
| (Lapp. II. p. 60.)
+--+----------+---------------+---------------------+
| | | |
IVAR RAGNWALD SIGTRYGG GUTHFERTH
903 Dunkeld 913 Man to 919 k. of Dublin 920 k. of Dublin
904 d. 918 Waterford succ. Ragnwald 933 d.
923 York as k. of York |
925 d. |
| |
+--------------+---------+ +-------------+------+
| | | | |
OLAF CUARAN GUTHFERTH HARALD OLAF RAGNWALD
952-980 king 950 k. of | 933 k. of Dublin 944 at York
of Dublin Dublin. | 937 at Brunanburh with O.
d. at Iona. | 942 d. Tyningham. Cuaran.
| |
+---+-----------+ +-+----------+
| | | |
RAGNWALD SIGTRYGG MAGNUS GUTHFERTH
980 d. Tara. SILKBEARD (Maccus) 977 k. of Man
1008 k. k. of Man 986 d.
in Ireland. 977 d.
He attacks Barid at the Isle of Man 913 or 914: seizes Waterford 916
(Ulster Annals,) and is driven out by the Irish 918. He is, perhaps,
the Hroald (Ronald) who comes with Ohtor (Ottar jarl) from Brittany to
attack Wales, 918 (A.-S. chron.) or 915 (Florence of Worcester). Beaten
off, he goes home to Ireland, and hence with Ottar and Osulf Cracabam or
Cracaban, (“Kraki’s bane”?) he attacks Scotland:—Symeon of Durham (_Ed._
Hodgson Hinde, p. 63,) says he ravaged “Dunbline” in 912; the anonymous
history of St. Cuthbert (_op. cit._ p. 147,) makes him conquer the Scots
at “Corebricge”; the Ulster Annals give him an important victory, in
917 (_Ed._ Johnstone,) or 918 (_Ed._ Skene, “Chronicles of the Picts
and Scots”;) the Pictish Chronicle (same vol. p. 9,) makes the battle
at “Tinemore,” and Ragnwald beaten; the “wars of the Gaedhil and Gaill”
kill him off, along with Ottar; others let him escape. Skene tries to
reconcile these accounts (Celtic Scotland, I. pp. 347, 348,) but refuses
to make a similar attempt for the rest of the story.
Leaving Scotland he invades Bernicia and then Deira; and takes York, 923
(A.-S. Chron.) or 919 (Symeon, corrected and confirmed by Hodgson Hinde,
preface p. lii). The Saxon Chronicle says he was one of the kings who
commended themselves to Eadward, 924; but the Ulster Annals make him die
in 920 (Johnstone,) or 921 (Skene). Skene suggests (Celt. Scot. I. p.
350,) that Florence ante-dates the Commendation to get Ragnwald in; Canon
Raine (York, p. 37,) adopts the Saxon Chronicle date, but identifies this
Ragnwald with Olaf Cuaran’s ally 20 years later (R. Guthferthson, see
pedigree,) and accounts for his absence by an invasion of France (on the
suggestion of Lappenberg, following Frodoard).
In all this, real events seem to be reported by totally independent
chroniclers, each with his own partisan bias, and different system of
chronology. But one does not invalidate the other. Ragnwald may well have
won York, attended the Commendation, left York to his brother Sigtrygg,
invaded France and died within a short time; though whether this was
919-921 or 923-925 may be left an open question.
P. 4. _Norse house_, see Dasent’s preface to Burnt Njál. It may be said
here that the dress, manners, &c., of the story are based on sagas or
archæological evidence, compared with Lake District characteristics,
which it would be tedious to point out in every instance: as for example—
P. 5. _Chats_, twigs. Long logs: there is a story told of Coniston Hall,
and elsewhere, that when such a log had been three days burning, whoop!
out flew an owl.
P. 11. _Toy boats_ of chip. “Harald (afterwards Hardradi) was sailing
chips on the water. Olaf asked him what they were; he said they were his
war-ships.” (St. Olaf’s saga).
P. 13. _White linen sark._ Anderson (Scotland in Pagan times: Iron Age,
p. 30) shows linen smoothers of glass, used in getting up vikings’ shirts.
P. 18. _Howe_; Eyrb. 38, and Magnússon’s Note, p. 277. The path is
through the wood over the railway station.
P. 20. _Arnold’s-by_, Arnolby (_temp._ Ed. I.) Arnaby.
P. 21. _Sigurd’s hörg_ Sigarith-erge (_temp._ Ric. I.) Sizergh.
_Donal_: Duvenaldus filius Ede rex eligitur (Pictish Chronicle) _i.e._,
Domhnaill or Donal mac Aedh, brother of Constantine; reigned over
Strathclyde and Cumbria about 908-925.
_Cartmel_, given by Ecgfrith to St. Cuthbert 677, “with the Britons on
it.”
_Halfdan._ A coin of “HALFDAN REX” found at Castlehead, Grange, suggests
that his conquest was widespread.
P. 22. _Ketel_, supposed founder of Kelswick on the Solway.
_Dundraw_ (_cf._ Dunderrow, Ireland,) “hill of oaks.”
P. 23. _Sigtrygg_; see pedigree. In the English form Sihtric. “919.
Sigtrygg m’ Ivar by the Divine power was forced to leave Dublin” (Ulster
Annals); he came to Deira, and succeeded Ragnwald at York.
P. 24. _Manchester_ taken by Eadward 923 (A.-S. Chron.)
P. 25. _Bakewell._ Eadward “went into Peakland to Bakecanwell and
commanded a town to be built nigh thereunto, and manned. And then chose
him to father and to lord the Scots king and all the Scots’ people,
and Rægnald, and Eadulf’s son, and all those who dwell in Northumbria
as well English as Danes, _and Northmen_, and others, and eke the
Strathclyde Welshmen’s king and all the Strathclyde Welsh” (A.-S. Chron.
924; Florence, 921). As Freeman (Norman Conquest, I. p. 578) points out,
it is not said that the Commendation took place at Bakewell; but the
text suggests it, enough at least for the purpose of a story. Sigtrygg
is not named, but implied among the Danes. The mention of _Northmen_,
as distinguished from Danes, indicates that Norse vikings were already
settled in what is now the North of England, and such a settlement could
hardly have been any other than ours on Solway and Morecambe Bay.
P. 30. _Death of Eadward_, 924 or 925 (A.-S. Chron., &c.)
P. 31. _Pennington_: the Castle hill is described by Mr. H. Swainson
Cowper (Ancient Settlements, &c., of Furness, Archæologia, Vol. LIII.)
The name shows it to be Anglian, the settlement of the family of Pæninga,
Penning, Penny, and therefore pre-Norse. Swarthmoor is so named before
Martin Schwartz, though the origin of the name is only a guess.
P. 37. _Eathgita_, Roger of Wendover, 925.
P. 41. _Athelstan._ William of Malmesbury describes him (II. 6). In
this “saga” the Norse form is used instead of Æthelstan, as Sigtrygg
for Sihtric, &c. Eadward, however, and Eadmund correspond to the Norse
Jatvard, Jatmund.
P. 52. _Donal_, Donevaldus, d. 908, was the last king of Strathclyde
claiming Roman descent (Skene, Celtic Scotland, I. p. 346.)
P. 53. _City of Helvellyn_, Wythburn. The cyclopean wall of this
“wide-borran” is now partly submerged. One section of it is taken to
be the remains of a circle by the Rev. S. Barber, “Beneath Helvellyn’s
Shade.”
P. 55. _Picts of Galloway_, read “Gaels of Scotland,” if the view be
taken that all Picts were Ivernian.
P. 55-60. _Dacor_, Dacre, so spelt (Bede, Ecc. Hist. IV. 32,) to
disconnect the name from the false etymology D’Acre. The Rev. Canon
Mathews and the Rev. W. S. Calverley, F.S.A., (Trans. C. & W. Antiq.
Soc., Vol. XI. Art. 18,) are followed as to the origin of the Dacre
stone. The place of meeting, Emont, is a well-known _crux_. The initial
is from an original sketch, with the plait down the edge of the stone
turned into the curve of the D. Prof. George Stephens (Northern
Mythology, S. 13,) considers that the Hart symbolizes Christ. The
dedication of the church points to Wilfrith as founder.
P. 59. _Peaceful settlement of Northmen_, see the Rev. T. Ellwood
(Landnámabók, pp. iii, iv). The law of Athelstan is given in Wilkin’s
Leges A.-S., quoted by Baines (Lancashire, I. p. 52).
P. 64. _Signy and Sigmund_, Völsunga Saga, 7.
P. 69. _Anglo-cymric Score_, Rev. T. Ellwood (Trans. Cumb. Assoc. VIII.
p. 97.)
P. 72. _Thingstead at Fellfoot_, Thingvöllr on map, p. 50; described by
Mr. H. S. Cowper (Trans. C. & W. Antiq. Soc., XI. p. 1).
_Guthferth’s invasion_: A.-S. Chron. and Wendover, 927; Skene, Celtic
Scotland, I. p. 251. William of Malmesbury, II. 6, makes him G.
Sigtryggson, but Guthferth O’Ivar was then king of Dublin (Ulster Annals).
P. 74. _Olaf Cuaran’s marriage_, Florence, 938. It may have been brought
about by the invasion of Scotland mentioned under 931 in a fragment of
Irish annals (Chron. P. & S. p. 407).
P. 76. _Iceland Althing_ founded 929 or 930 (Landn.)
P. 79. _Ravaging of Scotland_, A.-S. Chron. and Wendover, 933; Florence,
934.
P. 92. _Heathwaite Settlement_, described by Mr. H. S. Cowper (Ancient
Settlements, &c., of Furness). He does not, however, accept the beehive
hut, which I think I see in one of the cairns: nor is he responsible
for the notion that the place was inhabited in the 10th century.
The legend—though legends are not evidence—suggests that it was
inhabited down to times of which local memory takes notice, _i.e._,
to the colonization of the neighbourhood by the ancestors of present
inhabitants. And the fell-folk of Heathwaite could not have been kin to
their neighbours in the dales, or they would not have been looked on as
giants. The Rev. F. Evans, of Ulverston, found calcined bones in the
“Giant’s Grave,” from which Dr. Barber (Furness and Cartmel Notes, p.
35,) thinks that it was a Viking interment. And yet there must have been
Gaels, as well as Cymry, in the district, especially in the wilder parts,
as shewn by a few Gaelic names; and these Caledonian Gaels seem to have
been distinguished by their tallness and their red hair, like Ironhook in
Kingsley’s “Hereward.”
P. 112. _The Brough_, Borch, Borg, at Broughton, possibly an early
fortress.
P. 113. _Confederation_ of Dublin Danes, Scots and Cumbrians, 937,
leading up to Brunanburh.
P. 119. _Armboth Settlement_ has been previously mentioned by Mr. W.
Wilson (Trans. Cumb. and West. Assoc., IX. p. 62). These rectangular
buildings, similar to others in the district, generally near Roman roads,
connected with cairns, and in this case with a British fort; certainly
not sheep-folds nor peat-sheds, seem to be post-Roman, and may have been
inhabited at this time by “poor-folk,” Armings; whence perhaps the name
Armboth.
P. 126. _Domhnaill_, so spelt to distinguish him from previous Donals, is
called by Roger of Wendover Dummail, and in local tradition Dunmail. The
legend is that he loved a “fairy” in the Thirlmere valley; exchanged his
torque for her ring; deserted her for a beautiful captive; and was led
to destruction by her vengeance. He was, historically, king from about
937 to 945 or 946, when Eadmund defeated him and put out his sons’ eyes
(Wendover, 946). He seems to have regained some portion of his power,
perhaps as sub-king to Malcolm or leader of Gall-gaedhil in Demetia
(Pembrokeshire.) He may be the Donvald, father of Andarch in 971 (Skene,
Celt. Scot. I. p. 367) and the Dufnall of Florence (corruptly Dusual in
Wendover) who was one of the Celtic kings at Chester in 973. St. Cadroe
visited him before his fall (Vita St. C. in Chron. Picts and Scots, p.
116,) and he died on pilgrimage to Rome 975 (Ulster Annals, and Annals of
Tighernac).
P. 127. _Mineralogy_ of Cockrigg gill. Of the Armboth and Helvellyn dyke,
Mr. Clifton Ward (Geol. of the Northern Lakes, p. 34) says: “In a dull
red felspathic base are numerous crystals of pink felspar and quartz,
together with sparsely scattered green mica, and some of the same soft,
steatitic-looking mineral as in the St. John’s quartz felsite.” He
mentions (p. 103) how this dyke creates “doors” or chasms.
P. 131. _The mysterious fire_, immense and yet unconsuming, is one of the
forms of the well-known Dalehead “Boggle”; like other such appearances, a
piece of widespread folklore, localized at this point, which is rich in
ghosts.
P. 141. _Birches._ Where heather is, birches grew, and the roots are
visible. The rolling forms of Kirkfell etc., are remarkable from
Ullscarf, as are the monstrous shapes of boulders and hummocks near
Bleatarn. But the blue railings of the Manchester Corporation boundary
discount the romance, unless you get very tired and hungry, and meet a
thunderstorm.
P. 162. _Fox and Geese._ I have taken some liberty with the pieces in the
picture. The “fox-game” was played with 12 lambs and a fox (Magnússon’s
Note to Grettis Saga, 70). The pieces were, however, carved as animals:
see figures in Du Chaillu’s Viking Age, II. p. 354, and elsewhere.
P. 183. _Orkney dynasty_: Orkneyinga Saga. I.
P. 184. _Thora’s connections_: Combining the above with Eyrb.
(Magnússon’s Genealogy,) we get the pedigree opposite.
P. 186. _Hakon the good._ For his life and character see Heimskringla,
Hakon, 6, 11, 15-18, 32.
P. 191. _Bishop Aelfheah_ or Elphege the Bald, a relative of Dunstan,
bishop of Winchester 935-951 (Florence). Roger of Wendover gives
legendary details.
KETEL FLATNOSE.
|
AUD = OLAF the White.
|
THORSTEIN the Red.
|
+---------+--+---------+
| | |
= THOROLF = UNN OLAF FEILAN GROA = DUNCAN TURF EINAR
| MOSTBEARD | | | |
| | +-+-----+ | +----+----+
| | | | | | |
HALLSTEIN THORSTEIN = THORA THORD GRELAUG = THORFIN ARNKEL
| CODBITER | GELLIR and
THORSTEIN THORGRIM ERLEND
SWART |
SNORRI the Priest.
P. 192. _Eric at York_ has been thought unhistorical; but mention of
the fact is given by such independent witnesses as A.-S. Chron. 948;
Florence, 949; Symeon of Durham, Hist. Reg. 948; and Hist. Cont. sub.
ann. 1072; Roger of Wendover, 950; Heimskringla, Hakon, 3; Egils Saga,
72; Life of St. Cadroe (Chron. P. and S. p. 116).
P. 214. _Eadmund and Eric_: Hakon, 4. Invasion of Olaf, A.-S. Chron.
and Florence 941; and Symeon 940; from whose accounts it is clear that
Wendover is wrong in making the leader on this occasion to be Olaf
Cuaran. For the road by which the invasion was made see Skene, Celt.
Scot. I. p. 361.
P. 216. _Athacliath_, the Celtic name, which Domhnaill would use, for
Dublin.
P. 225. _Doordoom_, hence the dialect _durdom_, uproar. The regulations
mentioned are given by Magnússon. Note to Eredweller’s Story, p. 275.
_Whittlegate_, “knife-road,” free play to one’s knife; and (p. 243)
_addle w._ “to earn board,” from ödhlaz, to earn. _Hold up_, to clear;
_cf._ “das Wetter hellt sich auf.”
P. 230. _Hundred of silver_, _i.e._, 120 ells of cloth paid in silver;
about £4 10s. in our money, but worth much more where coin was scarce
(Dasent, Burnt Njál, Appendix).
P. 244. _Abbot of York._ The dignitary now called “Dean” was styled Abbas
(Raine, York, p. 166).
P. 247. _Death of Olaf_, Symeon and Wendover, 941.
P. 249. _Marriage of Olaf_, Wendover, 940.
P. 252. _St. Peter’s_, Raine, York, p. 187.
P. 253. _Aelberht’s minster_, built 8th century after a fire; restored
after the capture by the Danes (Raine, York, p. 148).
P. 260. _Peel Island._ The traces of building marked on the map have
been partly excavated by the present writer, but it would be premature
to offer any definite opinion on their age. The place seems to have been
fortified.
P. 288. _The Host of Weird._ A spectre army, as described in the story,
was seen on Helvellyn on the eve of the Battle of Marston Moor. On
Midsummer Eve, 1735, and again on Midsummer Eve, 1737 and 1745, similar
effects were seen on Souter Fell, to the immediate north of the Helvellyn
range. In the last case some of the rebel forces were exercising on
the Scotch coast, and it was explained by the _Lonsdale Magazine_ that
the movements of the troops had been reflected “by some transparent
vapour similar to the _fata morgana_,” (Survey of the Lake District,
Miss Harriet Martineau, in Whellan’s Cumberland and Westmorland). In
our story, Eadmund’s advance on Threlkeld sufficiently accounts for the
mirage.
P. 291. _Eadmund_, “with the aid of Leoling, king of South Wales, ravaged
the whole of Cumberland and put out the eyes of the two sons of Dummail,
king of that province. He then granted that kingdom to Malcolm, king of
the Scots, to hold of himself, with a view to defend the northern parts
of England from hostile invasions by sea and land,” Wendover, 946: the
A.-S. chron. and Florence make it 945: Welsh annals give 944 and 946. All
suggest that the whole business was a punitive expedition to clear the
north-western coast of Viking settlers, and to provide against attack
from that quarter in future. That it was unsuccessful is seen from
the fact that a similar invasion was made 55 years later. In 924 the
_Northmen_ swore to Eadward; in 945 their settlements were the object of
Eadmund’s attack; in 1000 they were again attacked by Ethelred. These
are the points at which the Norse settlement of the Lake district comes
into contact with general English history, and is corroborated by it. The
third point is accepted by Mr. Freeman and others; the first two I think
worth consideration.
P. 303. _Eadmund’s death_, St. Augustine’s Day, May 26, 946, at the hands
of Leof the robber. In a saga, the hero must be avenged before the story
comes to a close.
P. 304. _Penalties of Wythburn_, the bye-laws of an ancient parish
parliament held at the Steading Stone: penalties for turning out too many
sheep on the fell, allowing horses and cattle to stray, defiling the
beck, &c. “A copy of this document is at present (1883) in the possession
of Mr. Graves, ex-Mayor of Manchester,” (Mr. W. Wilson, Trans. C. & W.
Assoc. IX. p. 64).
_The Redheads._ Throughout the Middle Ages the villages of High Furness
were inhabited by clans, as in Scotland. Records show that in Henry
VIII.’s time at Nibthwaite all were Redheads (West, Antiq. of Furness,
Ed. 1822, p. 32).