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OUR ANCESTORS, The Viking Age, Uncategorized

CLAN CARRUTHERS : KING ROLLO THE VIKING

March 2, 2020January 7, 2022 ClanCarruthers

CLAN CARRUTHERS INT SOCIETY CCIS PROMPTUS ET FIDELIS

KING ROLLO THE VIKING

Robert I Rollo “The Viking” Prince of Norway & Duke of Normandy “Count of Rouen” Ragnvaldsson

BIRTH 14 OCT 846 • Maer, Jutland, Nord-Trondelag, Norway

DEATH 17 DEC 932 • Rouen, Seine, Maritime, Haute-Normandy, France

Married:

Poppa Lady Duchess of Normany De Senlis De Valois De Rennes De Bayeux

BIRTH 872 • Bayeux, Calvados, Basse-Normandie, France

DEATH 930 • Rouen, Seine-Maritime, Haute-Normandie, France

Rollo as a Warrior

History has many cunning passages”. – T. S. Eliot

“History . . . the portrayal of crimes and misfortunes.” – Voltaire.

Image result for Rollo as a warrior picture The Normans have evoked great interest from the Middle Ages to the present. Vikings who settled in Normandy, were later called Normans. A phrase, A furore normannorum, libera nos, domine (From the violence of the men from the north, O Lord, deliver us), sums up how historians of the early middle ages looked on the Vikings, for they threatened the progress of western civilization for quite some time (Logan 2003, 15).

The founder of Normandy, Rollo, was the chief of a small band of ravaging Vikings. He once had a dream where he seemed to behold himself placed on a mountain far higher than the highest, in a Frankish dwelling. And on the summit of this mountain he saw a spring of sweet-smelling water flowing, and himself washing in it, and by it made whole from the contagion of leprosy . . . and finally, while he was still staying on top of that mountain, he saw about the base of it many thousands of birds of different kinds and various colours, but with red wings extending in such numbers and so far and so wide that he could not catch sight of where they ended, however hard he looked. And they went one after the other in harmonious incoming flights and sought the spring on the mountain, and washed themselves, swimming together as they do when rain is coming; and when they had all been anointed by this miraculous dipping, they all ate together in a suitable place, without being separated into genera or species, and without any disagreement or dispute, as if they were friends sharing food. And they carried off twigs and worked rapidly to build nests; and willing[ly] yielded to his command in the vision. (From Hicks, 2016, Introduction).

In Dudo of Saint-Quentin’s History of the Normans, Rollo took heed of the omens in the dream and founded a territory that became the duchy of Normandy, uniting various groups under his lead. Later chroniclers recounted how Rollo’s descendants and those of his followers conquered and ruled kingdoms in England and Sicily and Antioch and further, and led armies on crusade. (Ibid.)

Norwegian-Icelandic sources too tell of a large Viking called Rolv Ganger (Rolv Walker), aka Rollo (English) or Rollon (French). Outlawed in Viking Norway for raiding where he was not allowed to by King Harld Fairhair, Rollo was banished from Norway. He was too big for small horses to carry him, a saga tells. Viking horses may have been quite small.

Rolv and his soldiers secured a permanent foothold on Frankish soil in the valley of the lower Seine, and Rolv became the first ruler of Normandy, France, after King Charles the Simple ceded lands to Rollo and his folks in a charter of 918. In exchange, Rollo agreed to end his brigandage and protect the Franks against future Viking raids along the Seine and around it. He also converted to Christianity in 912, and probably died between 928 and 932. Rollo’s descendants were dukes of Normandy until 1202, and his granson’s grandson’s son Guillaume (dead 1087) conquered England in 1066 (William the Conqueror). (Claus Krag, SNL/Norsk biografisk leksikon, “Rollo Gange-Rolv Ragnvaldsson”.

Two more grants followed; one in 924 and one in 933 – land between the Epte and the sea and parts of Brittany. Relatives of Rollo and his men as well as other Northmen followed, for the pastures were green and lush, there was fish in the sea and rivers, and the climate better than in the North. The formerly raided Normandy became protected and became the best part of France for centuries. Normans also took over England and Wales after a descendant of Rollo, known as William the Conqueror, took over England in 1066 fra 1066 and became king of England. Normans also conquered the southern, richest half of Italy, including Sicily, and several other areas bordering on the Mediterranean Sea. (WP, “Rollo”)

Rollo reigned over the duchy of Normandy until at least 928. He was succeeded by his son, William Longsword. The offspring of Rollo and his followers became known as Normans, “North-men”, men from the North.

After the Norman conquest of England in 1066 and their conquest of southern Italy and Sicily over the following two centuries, their descendants came to rule Norman England (the House of Normandy), the Kingdom of Sicily (the Kings of Sicily) as well as the Principality of Antioch from the 10th to 12th century. To enlarge on that: Bohemond I (ca. 1054–1111) of the Norman Hauteville family was the Prince of Taranto from 1089 to 1111 and the Prince of Antioch from 1098 to 1111. He was a leader of the First Crusade. The Norman monarchy he founded in Antioch outlasted those of England and of Sicily. (WP, “Bohemond I of Antioch”)

Two spouses are reported for Rollo:

(1) Poppa, said by chronicler Dudo of Saint-Quentin to have been a daughter of Count Berenger, captured during a raid at Bayeux. She was his concubine or wife. They had children: (a) William Longsword, born “overseas” (b) Gerloc, wife of William III, Duke of Aquitaine; Dudo fails to identify her mother, but the later chronicler William of Jumieges makes this explicit. (c) (perhaps) Kadlin, said by Ari the Historian to have been daughter of Ganger Hrolf, traditionally identified with Rollo. She married a Scottish King called Bjolan, and had at least a daughter called Midbjorg. She was taken captive by and married Helgi Ottarson.

(2) (traditionally) Gisela of France (d. 919), the daughter of Charles III of France – according to the Norman chronicler Dudo of St. Quentin. However, this marriage and Gisela herself are unknown to Frankish sources. Some details can be hard to verify.

ROLLO RULED WITH A VIKING CODE OF LAW BASED UPON THE CONCEPT OF PERSONAL HONOR & INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBILITY.

Was Rollo Other than Norwegian?

The Rollo story is largely historical – and that he and his men were Northmen is taken to men they were of Scandinavian origin. Norwegian-Icelandic sources have it that Rollo was Hrolf from Norway, one of the Viking raiders.

The oldest evidence is in the Latin Historia Norvegiae (ca. 1180). It was written in Norway. A quotation from it follows right below the array of Norse sources.
Fagrskinna‘s chapter 74 tells of William and his ancestor Rolf Ganger (Rollo). This work was written around 1220, estimatedly, and was an immediate source for the Heimskringla of Snorri Sturluson’s Heimskringla. Fagrskinna contains a vernacular history of Norway from the ninth to the twelfth centuries, and includes skaldic verses that in part have been preserved nowhere else. It has a heavy emphasis on battles. The book may have been written in Norway, either by an Icelander or a Norwegian. (Cf. Finlay 2004)
In the early 1200s, the Icelander Snorri Sturluson writes about this Hrolf, in Heimskringla, Book 3, section 24; Book 7, section 19, There are stories about the arsonist father and the brothers of Rolf Ganger, at one time rulers of the Orkneys and Moere in Norway. Their tales start somewhere during the reign of King Harald Fairhair (Chaps. 27, 30-32) and say it was he who settled in Normandy. Snorri also tells that Rolv Ganger – also known as Rollo – became one ancestor of the British royal house.
Other Icelandic sagas from medieval times tell of Hrolf too, as the Orkneyingers’ Saga, section 4.
From the Icelandic ◦Landnama Book (Ellwood 1898): “Rögnvald, Earl of Mæri, son of Eystein Glumra, the son of Ivar, an Earl of the Upplendings, the son of Halfdan the Old, had for wife Ragnhild, the daughter of Hrolf the Beaked; their son was Ivar, who fell in the Hebrides, fighting with King Harald Fairhair. Another son was Gaungu-Hrolf who conquered Normandy; from him are descended the Earls of Rouen and the Kings of England.” (Part 4, ch. 7)

From Historia Norvegiae, the oldest of the Norse works where Rollo is mentioned:

When Haraldr hárfagri ruled in Norway some vikings of the kin of a very mighty prince, Rognvaldr, crossed the Sólund Sea with a large fleet, drove the Papar [monks and the picts, called Peti here] from their long-established homes [the Orkney Islands], destroyed them utterly and subdued the islands under their own rule. With winter bases thus provided, they sallied forth all the more securely in summer and imposed their harsh sway now on the English, now on the Scots, and sometimes on the Irish, so that Northumbria in England, Caithness in Scotland, Dublin and other coastal towns in Ireland were brought under their rule. In this company was a certain Hrólfr, called Gongu-Hrólfr by his comrades because he always travelled on foot, his immense size making it impossible for him to ride. With a few men and by means of a marvellous stratagem he took Rouen, a city in Normandy. He came into a river with fifteen ships, where each crew member dug his part of a trench which was then covered by thin turves, simulating the appearance of firm ground. They then arrayed themselves on the landward side of the trenched ground and advanced prepared for battle. When the townsmen saw this, they met the enemy in head-on attack, but these feigned flight as if racing back to their ships. The mounted men, pursuing them faster than the rest, all fell in heaps into the hidden trenches, their armoured horses with them, where the Norwegians slaughtered them with deadly hand. So, with the flight of the townsmen, they freely entered the city and along with it gained the whole region, which has taken its name of Normandy from them. Having obtained rule over the realm, this same Hrólfr married the widow of the dead count, by whom he had William, called Longspear, the father of Richard, who also had a son with the same name as himself. The younger Richard was the father of William the Bastard, who conquered the English. He was the father of William Rufus and his brother Henry . . . When established as count of Normandy Hrólfr invaded the Frisians with a hostile force and won the victory, but soon afterwards he was treacherously killed in Holland by his stepson. (Phelpstead 2008, 8-9)

Dr Claus Krag (born 1943) is a Norwegian specialist in medieval Norwegian history, and at present (2018) professor emeritus at Telemark University College. Krag maintains that what Dudo writes of Rollo – Dudo tells he was a Viking from an alpine Dacia – is “totally unreliable”, and that Dudo’s historic and geographic information “is by no means right”. Dr Krag also notes that in French works younger than Dudo’s book, Rollo is presented as a Norwegian.

Based on the much unclear Dudo about an alps-surrounded “Dacia”, some Danes say Rollo was Danish. However, Denmark is flat. Attempts to settle the question by analysis of DNA profiles of likely Rollo descendants have failed so far. [◦”Skeletal shock for Norwegian researchers at Viking hunting”]

Folk Stories Around Rollo

Several Scandinavian folktales front similar basic “success recipes” as those of battling tribes in search of new areas – Saxons, Angles, Danes and other Vikings. It suggests that many folktale heroes walk in shoes quite like those of Rollo by degrees and through much similar stages where success often depends on combat and getting valuables. Those were the times.

In the course of centuries, stories and myths may grow for such as glorifying ends. Norman bards developed romances that venerated kings. However, having a king is not a great good, according to 1 Samuel 8; 10 in the Old Testament: the king is portrayed as a stealing enemy on top. Taxes continue a tradition . . . Also, immodest royalty may breed dependence and un-normal subservience with or without near-symbiotic and half-neurotic servility.

In 1 Samuel 8:11-18 we read how bad a Jewish king will be:

This is what the king who will reign over you will claim as his rights: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots. Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. Your male and female servants and the best of your cattle and donkeys he will take for his own use. He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, but the Lord will not answer you in that day.

But the people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We want a king over us.” [Highlighting added]

Rollo In Normandie

The historian Reginald Allen Brown (1924–89) has written extensively about Normans and the Norman conquest. He is rendered in the following:

“Normandy was created by the three consecutive grants of 911, 924 and 933″. (Brown 1985, 15) Normandy was massively colonised by Scandinavians. Rollo and his successors, as rulers of Normandy, obtained the title of count and valuable rights from before, along with widespread domains. (Cf. Brown 1985, 17-18)

Their buildings seem to document remarkable strength or solidity. The churches were much like bastions. But the duke of Rouen controlled the whole church and his bishops owed him military service for their lands – (Brown 1985, 26)

“From (their) Scandinavian inheritance the Normans derived their sea-faring, much of their trade and commercial prosperity which they shared with the Nordic world, their love of adventure, their wanderlust which led to the great period of Norman emigration in the eleventh century, their dynamic energy, and above all perhaps, their powers of assimilation, of adoption and adaptation.” (Brown 1985,18-19.)

(In AD 911) Charles the Simple, king of the west Franks, granted to a band of Vikings, operating in the Seine valley under Rollo their leader, territory corresponding to Upper or Easter Normandy. To this was subsequently added by two further grants, first the district of Bayeux, and the districts of Exmes and Seez in 924, and second the districts of Coutances and Avranches in 933 in the time of William Longsword, son and successor of Rollo. (Brown 1985, 15) (2)

And from the French Histoire de la Normandie (1862) we find, in the fourth chapter, how Rollo, son of the Norwegian Rognevald, was made an outlaw by the Norwegian king Harald Harfager. He arrived at Rouen with his companions. The inhabitants spontaneously submitted to the him and his men. King Charles at first wanted to fight the Viking, but dropped it. Instead they bargained – Rollo won, he got land and permanent welcome. (Barthelemy 1862, 80 ff)

Rollo of Normandy Statue

Brown puts the matter into relief: “Normans were pagans when they came (and they continued to come long after 911).” (Brown 1985, 24). But their leader, the Viking Rollo, agreed to getting ◦baptised, and many others followed. “The Seine Vikings became Christian Normans, the poachers turned gamekeepers. Revival, characteristically in this monastic age, came first to the monasteries. Jumieges was restored by William Longsword (927–43), son of Rollo, who is said to have wanted to become a monk there himself.” (Brown 1985, 21)

In short time the Normans got the back-up of their astute castles and strongholds, helped themselves to most of it – often they were served by ditches and stockades too. (Brown 1985, 37, 37n)

[It is thought that Rollo showed exceptional skills in navigation, warfare, leadership, and administration. He abdicated to his son Guillame (William) and died in a monastery in 933. Among his people he was for hundreds of years the personification of justice and good government under law. Others, who thought differently, found him cruel and arrogant.]

His son Guillame Longue-Epee (William Longsword) succeeded him. The third duke was Richard sans Peur (the Fearless), and there were many intrigues and hard fights. This Richard died and was succeeded by Richard 2 who massacred Saxons in England at war. The French king Robert became the ally of Richard 2. After his death, Richard 3 succeeded him and died prematurely. Robert le Diable succeeded him and, before he died in Terre-Sainte, became the father of Guillame le Conquerant: William the Conqueror. (Barthelemy 1862, 80 ff)

We find the family tree of William the Conqueror in the book of the historian R. Allen Brown. It looks like this:

Richard 1 (ruled: 942–96)
Richard 2 the Good (ruled: 996-1026)
Richard 3 (ruled: 1026–27)
Robert 1 the Magnificent /le Diable (ruled: 1027–35)
William the Bastard / the Conqueror (ruled: 1035–87).

Rollo’s great-granddaughter, Emma married two kings of England, Æhelred the Unready and Knut who was also king of Norway and Denmark. Her son, Edward the Confessor, from the first marriage, was King of England from 1042 to 1066.

A few more dukes of Normandy may be added for the sake of survey of that dynasty line that ruled over Normandy and its English (British) domain:

Robert 2 (ruled from 1087)
Henry 1 (ruled from 1106, King of the English (1100-35)
Henry II, 1135, King of the English (1135-)

“The origins of Normandy in the first decades of the tenth century also reveal the double inheritance of the Normans, from the Scandinavian world from whence they came and from the ancient province of Roman, Frankish and Carolingian Gaul which now they colonised.” (Brown 1985, 17)

“[I]n Normandy by the mid-eleventh century . . . they had adopted Frankish religion and law, Frankish social customs, political organisation and warfare, the new monasticism.” (Brown 1985, 19)

“The Norman monasteries were, by and large, distinguished . . . new . . . vibrant with . . . careless rapture of spiritual endeavour”. The (Normans) became great spirituals – intensely aristocratic. (Brown 1985, 23)

Normans restored and built on monasticism and left robust architectural monuments. Some are still there, more or less intact. The Tower of London was started by Normans, for example. King William had much of it built. “The tower at Rouen was built by Richard 1 (943Rw11;96) and is glimpsed from time to time in the reign of his successor and thereafter . . .. It may have been the prototype for the great Norman towers at Colchester and London. (Brown 1969, 37, 37n) (4)

Normans went on and built monastic churches at such places as Jumieges and many other places. “They added their cathedrals at Rouen, Bayeux [etc.] Many of these major works of Norman Romanesque architecture survive in whole or part”. (Brown 1985, 26)

“Some Normans (including Norman clergy) were patrons of the arts and scholarship . . . and almost all of them were mighty builders.” (Brown 1985, 25)

The French Version

Statue of Rollo of Normandy, Falaise

In 820 peasants . . .along the Seine saw in the distance ten or so curious war ships called—Drakkar because of the animal sculpted into the prow or the stern, which was actually a dragon—the men from the North didn’t travel with their women as they could easily find them on the spot!

Swearing by the names of Thor and Odin—Vikings plundered, pillaged, raped and slaughtered up until 911 when the famous treaty of Saint Clair sur Epte was signed between the Frank king Charles the Simple and Rollon or Rolf, chief of the men from the North.

On the whole our invaders calmed down, adopting a somewhat bourgeois attitude to life in this beautiful region which was to become Normandy.

Soon it was the time for William the Conqueror who, on October 14th, 1066 won the battle of Hastings along with a kingdom—William’s heirs were known as the Plantagenets, and they reigned over Normandy and England. In 1189, Richard the Lionheart divided the double crown.

Rollo and Dudo

Rollo was the son of Earl Ragnvald of More, Norse sagas tell. Two of his brothers were Ivar and Tore. Three more were Hallad, Einar and Rollaug. Hallad and Einar in due time became earls of the Orkneys, each in his turn. [eg, Harald Fairhair’s Saga]

After being made an outcast by the tyrant king Harald Harfager, Rolf voyaged to the western isles. Obviously he could count on support from relatives. The earl of the Orkneys was his paternal uncle, succeeded by that uncle’s son, that is, Rollo’s cousin, and later again by his own brothers Hallad and Einar.

The old sources hold that Rolv took his residence in certain tracts of what today is the domain of Scotland. The Landnamaboka mentions Rolv got a daughter, Kathleen:

Helgi . . . harried Scotland, and took thence captives, Midbjorg, the daughter of Bjolan the King, and Kadlin, the daughter of Gaungu Hrolf or Rolf the Ganger; he married her. (Part 2, ch. 11).

Before Helgi had harried and married, Rolv of the Sagas had travelled from Scotland and the isles near it, to Valland, near the English Channel. The Vikings’ Valland consisted of the southern Netherlands, Belgium and parts of Normandy, roughly said. He took over Normandy in three steps. The Sagas identify him with the Rollo that the Frank king Charles the Simple bestowed it on.

Rollo in Alesund, Norway

Rolv Ganger converted and settled in Rouen. Next he granted many of his Viking companions ample landed property. It was feasible to go north and fetch one’s women and children and kin to the new land, for the soil was fit, there was much fish, and as members of the ruling class they were much safer or freer than those who submitted to the tyranny of Harald Fairhair and his family in Norway and its colonies in several western islands (cf. Simonnaes 1994, 43).

Normans built fortresses on strategic places, and many rustic castles were to come along with them in a short time. All able men had to serve in the Norman military forces. The formerly ruined, marauded region was turned into one of the foremost in France, and Rouen became the second largest city in France, while Hrolf became the originator of the Norman duchy. [Simonnaes 1994 39, 45-46]

Dudos’ Work

Dudo was a visiting French scholar who wrote in verse and prose about the first three rulers of Normandy and their origins. His poetry is different from that of skalds, the Norse bards. It is not complex, as theirs, and he does not glorify war so much either. He is moralistic like earlier Christian eulogists and writers of biographies of saints (Christiansen 1998, xviii). “It was hagiography that moulded his work,” Eric Christiansen aptly sums up (ibid, xxi), and, “there is no sign that Old Norse poetry was ever composed or appreciated in Normandy (1998, xvii; cf. Ross 2005).”

Dudo’s eulogising chronicle (ibid. xxv) is about one family’s rise from defeat and exile in the world of Vikings to an honoured place among the great territorial rulers of France. Dudo recounts two campaigns in England by the founder, Rollo, and a series of stirring events otherwise, including the murder of Rollo’s son William, and the kidnapping, escape and precarious early career of Dudo’s first patron, Count Richard I.

Historians on the whole have doubted much in Dudo’s book, for its historical details are inaccurate. Yet it it is virtually the only source for very early Norman history. Recently, some scholars maintain that Dudo had better be seen as a propagandist.

Dudo’s work has the nature of a romance, and has been regarded as untrustworthy on this ground by such critics as Ernst Dümmler and Georg Waitz. Further, Leah Shopkow has more recently argued that Carolingian writing, particularly two saints’ lives, the ninth-century Vita S. Germani by Heiric of Auxerre and the early tenth-century Vita S. Lamberti by Stephen of Liége, provided models for Dudo’s work. (WP, “Dudo of Saint-Quentin”)

Rollo Grave at the Cathederal of Rouen

New editions of central Norman chronicles have surfaced over the last thirty years. The History of the Normans in Eric Christiansen’s English translation (1998) is said to be “fairly true to Dudo’s often pompous, bloated style” while at the same time being readable, and accompanied by copious, explanatory notes. Christiansen recognises that Dudo is unreliable as a historical source, and he acknowledges the Scandinavian side of the early Normans. Histories of Normans have a potentially broad appeal. On the Internet there has been a version edited by Felice Lifshitz (1996).

Dudo’s content: A few observations

O thou the magnanimous, pious, and moderate!
O thou the extraordinary God-fearing man!
O thou the mangificent, upright and kindly!
O thou miraculous, goodly just man!
O thou peace-maker and offspring of God!
O thou the munificent, holy and moderate!
O thou the incarnadine merciful Richard!
O thou the the long-suffering, Richard the prudent!
O thou most famous one, Richard the comely!
O thou justiciar, Richard the mild!
– All manner of nations duly declare.
Mild one, remember what you see in the book,
Nourish your heart and your soul on these things
That you may be joined to the matter you read.

– Verses to Richard, son of the great Richard (in Christiansen 1998, 8)

A clergy view shines through.

The commisioned chronicler of the Norman dukes, Dudo, tells in Latin (ca. 1015–20) that Rollo was the son of an uncertain king in “Dacia”. ◦Gesta Normannorum:

Spread over the plentiful space from the Danube to the neighborhood of the Scythian Black Sea, do there inhabit fierce and barbarous nations, which are said to have burst forth in manifold variety like a swarm of bees from a honeycomb or a sword from a sheath, as is the barbarian custom, from the island of Scania, surrounded in different directions by the ocean. For indeed there is there a tract for the very many people of Alania, and the extremely well-supplied region of Dacia, and the very extensive passage of Greece. Dacia is the middle-most of these. Protected by very high alps in the manner of a crown and after the fashion of a city. – [From chapter 2, second paragraph in Gesta Normannorum by the chronicler Dudo ca. 1015]

Extracts from Dudo of St. Quintin’s

One thing that stand out from Dudo’s obscure and glorifying marvel is this: If what is called Dacia is surrounded by very high alps, it isn’t Denmark. His Dacia stands out as some very fertile, southern Alp tract (Balcanlike). (Steenstrup 1876, 30, 31)

Against a claim by the Danish Johannes Steenstrup in 1876, there is not one mention of Rollo in classical Danish sources. DNA analyses of Norman descendants of Rollo could have helped in finding out about his origin, but so far no fit DNA has been detected.

The Danish historian Saxo Grammaticus from about 1200, has no mention of any Danish Rollo in ◦The Danish History.

In Normandy, Rollo is celebrated as a real Viking from More on the west coast of Norway [Cf. Simonnaes 1994 35]

Rollo in Fargo, North Dakota

In 1911, during the Norman Millennium celebrations, the city of Rouen in Normandy decided to create two copies of its Rollo statue. One replica was sent as a gift to Ålesund, Norway. The earls of Moere were headquartered somewhere nearby Ålesund, it is suggested.

The other replica went to Fargo in North Dakota. The two bronze statues were copied from an original stone statue sculpted in 1863 by Arsene Letellier, erected in Rouen in 1865.

In Fargo, the dedication ceremony in 1912 included a speaker from the French embassy in Washington. A proclamation by the mayor of Rouen, bound in leather with gold seal of the city, gold leaf and other ornamentation, read in part,

“Since these ancient times, these fierce warriors have populated and have become a hard-working people whose importance is shown by the powerful association of the Sons of Norway which has preserved the cult of memory, and which participated last year in the celebrations in the ancient Duchy of Normandy.”

The celebrations were concluded with a parade down Broadway. The Rollo statue was relocated in the 1980s and now stands in a little park. [Simonnaes 1994 39, 48, 40]

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Gutland / Gotland, The Viking Age, Uncategorized

CLAN CARRUTHERS-COULD THE CARRUTHERS TARTAN BE FROM GOTLAND?

February 12, 2020October 2, 2020 ClanCarruthers

Clan Carruthers Int Society CCIS PROMPTUS ET FIDELIS

Could the Carruthers Tartan be from Gotland? Possibly!

I was raised in rural Quebec and I have more real-life beard growing, axe throwing, bear hunting lumberjacks in my family than I have fingers on my hands (I still have all ten of my fingers, by the way… I can’t say as much for some of the lumberjacks in my family…). But lately as I’ve scoured the malls for a plaid blanket scarf, I found myself calling certain patterns plaids, and others tartans. And I couldn’t help but (internally) cry, “Someone please enlighten me!” But no one did, so I did it myself!

If you look up the word plaid in a dictionary, you’ll find a few definitions [1]:

A rectangular length of tartan worn over the left shoulder as part of the scottish national costume
a) A twilled woolen fabric with a tartan pattern
b) A fabric with a pattern of tartan or an imitation of tartan
a) Tartan
b) A pattern of unevenly spaced repeated stripes crossing at right angles

But a quick search for the origin of the word plaid reveals that the word is related to the gaelic word plaide meaning blanket or mantle [2]. So what we call the kilt, actually first appeared in what was called a “belted plaid”, literally like a belted blanket [3]. It looked like this (fun fact it doubled as a blanket for the night… much like our modern trend of blanket scarves). It was the predecessor to the kilt, today modern kilts are still worn with plaids (long length of fabric), but over the shoulder (separate piece of fabric, like this) [3]. Somewhere along the way, notably as the tartan wearers immigrated to America, the actual pattern was mistakenly called plaid.

So the correct word for the actual pattern is tartan. But then… where does the word tartan come from? Where does the pattern come from?

The fact is those who hold the answers to those questions have long, long been buried. The oldest tartan fabric we know of comes to us from the Tarim mummies.The Tarim mummies, named after the Tarim Basin in Xinjiang, China (the most north-west region of China) where they were found, were found with pieces of preserved cloth, exhibiting tartan patterns. Contrary to intuition, these mummies don’t exhibit asiatic features, rather, they seem to be “from the west” [4]. The name for the culture that the Tarim mummies belonged to was the Tokharians whose language is most similar to that of the Celts [5]. See those interesting paths starting to form?

Unfortunately, we seem to know much more than that. How tartan became so strongly associated with the Scottish is a mystery, we can only assume that they saw it, liked it, and wanted to wear it!

Oh and one more thing, clan-tartans are modern inventions. In the origins of Scottish tartans the colours were determined by plant availability and to some degree personal taste [3]. When I say modern, I mean like, victorian-era, so today the tradition of clan tartans have been going long enough to not be ridiculous, but in the base of it it was all arbitrary: you retroactively picked a tartan for your clan, on the basis that you thought it was pretty.

From the Huldremose findings tartan now in the National Museum of Denmark

Tartans are quite appropriate for a Viking re-enactment, since we can rightfully say that the Gutlanders, and the Danes both wore tartans in the early 3rd and 4th century. This style of dress did not stop, but continued through the Viking Age.

The Viking age, however, does not seem to show the same love for vibrant, large scale patterning as you see today in Scotland or Ireland. The technology was certainly there to craft large plaids or stripes, but the evidence that they were used is lacking.

It was a burial tradition of the Guts, Gots, Celts, when one of their own, their Clan, their family died, to take a piece of tartan and place it in their mouth. Many of the swatches they are finding in various archeological digs are found in this manner. Sometime a whole mass grave will be unearth and every person in the grave will have the same tartan in their mouths.

Pictured to the left here are many of the samplings of various designs and weaves that have been found in Gotland, and tested to be from the 5th century. At this time all weavers dyed their wool, and other materials, using only the dyes of the earth. In Scotland and Ireland today, the oldest clans have the most natural muted colors in their Kilts.

*** The Carruthers Tartan is very muted in colors, and if you own some you will see why the Carruthers tartan is ancient. The colors are quite similar to those they found in Gotland. The Carruthers ancestors who came from Gutland , brought their tartans with as did others from that area. They came to fight, and when they advanced they tore off their cloth and fought naked. ***

One of the Tartan or Kilt Makers that Clan Carruthers supports is:

USA Kilts (800) 368-8633 sales@usakilts.com

Carruthers 13 – 16 Ounce LOCH

Preserving Our Past, Recording Our Present, Informing Our Future

Ancient and Honorable Clan Carruthes Int Society CCIS LLc

carruthersclan1@gmail.com carrothersclan@gmail.com

Karen Swanson, Croatia and Findland

CLAN CARRUTHERS INT SOCIETY CCIS HISTORIAN AND GENEALOGIST

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Gutland / Gotland, Uncategorized

CLAN CARRUTHERS: ANCIENT GOTLAND

February 12, 2020April 8, 2020 ClanCarruthers

Clan Carruthers Int Society CCIS Promptus et Fidelis

ANCIENT GOTLAND

It stopped snowing. Suddenly, the sun broke through the clouds. Pale rays of light streamed through the forest and hit the snow-covered pre-Viking burial mounds of Trullhalsar gravefield; an engulfing mist began to rise. The air was heavy with the spirits of old warriors.

It seemed a magical place, the perfect setting for a Wagnerian opera, and I half expected the Valkyries to come riding out of the mist.

Trullhalsar is one of many archeological sites on Gotland, the largest island in the Baltic Sea. This Swedish island is an important historic area-but it is also one of the country`s most popular holiday resorts.

Film director Ingmar Bergman vacationed here. So did the late Prime Minister Olof Palme. Recently, the dramatic landscape of Faro, just north of Gotland, was the setting for the late Soviet director Andrei Tarkovsky`s film, ”The Sacrifice.”

Image result for visby gotland ferry Most visitors come by car ferry to Visby, Gotland`s provincial capital, on the west coast. This beautiful walled city is a mixture of medieval ramparts and towers, skeleton-like ruins of once great cathedrals, and red-roofed cottages lining cobblestone streets. The climate is mild compared with the rest of Sweden, so roses bloom in December in the gardens of Visby`s picturesque homes. ”The city of ruins and roses” is what Swedes call Visby. Off-season, this town of 20,000 is a sleeping beauty. Having arrived at dawn one day in April while it was still slumbering, my husband and I decided to have coffee in a shop at the harbor while waiting for the town to wake.

Image result for visby gotland coffeeshop Other early risers crowded the casual coffee shop. A blond waitress, wearing a red polka-dot apron, was ladling hearty portions of oatmeal porridge as dock workers waited in line. Two policemen sat talking, bent over steaming coffee, their radios buzzing on the table. A loudspeaker above our heads was bellowing out the morning news. As a Stockholmer, I had a hard time following the announcer`s melodious Gotland accent.

The Gotland dialect of Swedish is the remnant of a once unique language. Even before Roman times, Gotland, strategically located in the middle of the Baltic, was an important trade center. Medieval Gotland merchants developed and controlled the trade routes between Russia and Europe. In the 12th Century, with the arrival of German merchants, Visby became one of the most important trade centers in northern Europe.

Reminiscent of medieval German cities, Visby has a 13th Century wall more than two miles long, one of the longest and best preserved in Europe. From its towers in the year 1361, residents watched the troops of Danish King Valdemar Atterdag defeat thousands of armed peasants and kill defenseless children.

That famous battle marked the beginning of decline for Visby and the prosperous republic of Gotland. Frequent attacks by pirates and foreign powers-and the eventual changing of trade routes-further diminished Visby`s power, and in 1645, Gotland became a Swedish province.

Image result for visby gotland wall Today, Gotland is subject to a new, more peaceful invasion. Only six hours from Stockholm by boat, the island hosts more than 200,000 visitors every year, quadrupling its population. Visitors are attracted by Sweden`s sunniest weather, sandy beaches and a unique landscape.

Signe Pettersson resides in the modern part of Visby outside the wall. She rents visitors rooms in her apartment. Showing us a bedroom with flowery wallpaper and lace curtains, Mrs. Pettersson`s daughter explained that her mother was in Stockholm, visiting her son.

Furnished with an antique kitchen settee, crochet curtains and well-tended geraniums, the large kitchen reminded me of a grandmother`s kitchen.

Sculpture-like graves

Visby is not the only historic attraction. Gotland has been inhabited for more than 7,000 years and as a result it is Sweden`s richest province when it comes to archeological findings. The island`s 1,200 square miles are dotted with Viking tombs, rune stones and foundations of Viking settlements. More than 200 Bronze Age cairns have been found. These stone formations, up to 90 feet long, are called ”boat graves” for their ship-like shape.

There are no fewer than 92 medieval churches on the island. Built after Gotland was christened in the 11th Century, they are mostly in Gothic style.

We drove east from Visby, passing soft fields, fir forests and red barns. At Ekeby, a little village in the interior, we decided to look more closely at the church. The door was locked. The only sign of life around came from a gas station, where a man was bending over the hood of a 1960s Volvo model PV. When asked how we could get inside the church, he looked up indifferently and pointed an oily index finger toward a white house across the field. ”That`s the vicarage,” he said. ”They`ll give you the key.”

The vicar`s wife gave me a rusty iron key, as big as my arm. Handing me a flashlight, she said: ”You will need this to find the light switch. It`s in a cabinet to your left as you enter. And don`t forget to switch it off when you leave.”

Frescos on walls

Inside, the walls were covered with frescos of biblical motifs. Behind the altar, the entire wall was painted to resemble a theater curtain. A beautifully carved and painted pulpit stood in the center. Spying a narrow, winding stone staircase, we decided to climb the bell tower. The last portion was a dizzying climb on creaking wooden stairs which lacked a railing and faced an open pit.

We reached the rotunda, where two large cast iron bells hung in the center. A flock of pigeons, disturbed in their sleep, flapped their wings and disappeared through one of the small windows. Brown fields, plowed and awaiting spring sowing, spread in all directions. From my vantage point, I counted nine church towers nearby.

Seven churches later, after stopping several times to take photographs, we arrived in Roma, a village in the island`s center. The church was impressive, built on the foundations of an older church. Following the learned routine, I went to the vicarage to ask for the key. This time the vicar himself answered the door. I was startled by his appearance. The tall, blond, boyish-looking man was dressed in a long black gown and a starched white collar.

Noticing my surprise at his formal attire, he smiled and explained he had just returned from a funeral service. Unlike their early ancestors in their yards and yards of finley woven plaids, dye with the treasures of Mother Nature.

As he strode across the cemetery toward the church, coat-tails flapping in the wind, the young man looked like a 19th Century Lutheran vicar.

Sound of Bach

Image result for curch with wooden bell The sunlight poured through the stained glass rose windows, creating patterns on the nave`s floor. Notes of Bach`s St. Matthew Passion floated in the air. The organist was practicing for an Easter concert. The vicar, new to the parish, began to explain details of his church. He also told how Sunday services alternate between different churches since each parish is too small to fill their church.

By the wooden bell tower next to Roma church, an old woman was planting flowers on a grave. Looking up, she smiled and said: ”Spring came early this year. Let`s see if these flowers will survive.”

Looking at our cameras, she said: ”You are from Stockholm.”

I explained that though I was a Stockholmer, my husband and I had just arrived from Chicago. Surprised and pleased that we had come so far to visit her island, she began telling us about the village.

We talked about Gotland`s economic dependence on agriculture. Lacking necessary resources to mechanize for increased productivity, many small-scale farms have closed, diminishing job opportunities. Many, including her children, have moved away from the island.

We drove south, past meadows where the tiny but sturdy indigenous ponys, Russ, roamed. The Scandinavian dusk, which would last another hour, turned the sky crimson. In this glowing light, the windmills and the typical cottages with pitched, thatched roofs took on magical forms.

We arrived at Bjorklunda pension tired and hungry. The innkeeper told us that though business was slow at present, the pension was fully booked throughout the summer. After settling in a comfortable two-room cottage, we walked the 100 yards to the main building for dinner. Other guests were helping themselves to a generous salad bar. We ordered lamb stew, a local specialty, and beer.

The morning was cool and brisk, the air pristine and the horizon clearly visible. It was a day for using the bicycles we had brought with us. The flat landscape and a coastline with unspoiled beaches has made Gotland immensly popular with cyclists. There are numerous bicycle tracks and roads, all marked on cycling maps, and many shops on the island rent and service bicycles.

Sailboats are rigged

Image result for visby sailboats We stopped in Ljugarn, a town on the east coast, to buy provisions. Ljugarn harbor was once an important fishing center. Now it is quiet because big trawlers have gone elsewhere. But every spring, the smell of turpentine and the sound of hammers banging come from the red boat houses as sailboats are rigged for the season.

Bundles of the morning paper had just been delivered to the kiosk on the main square. Old men lined up, discussing the day`s headlines. A woman came out of the store, struggling with shopping bags and two young children. Schoolboys zigzagged on skateboards, well aware they were being watched by two giggling girls, sitting on a bench. A fisherman climbed off his bicycle to mail a letter. He paused in front of the bulletin board, filled with church notices, the schedule for the local soccer team and sale signs for boat engines and cars.

After buying crisp bread, ham and the famous sweet and spicy Gotland mustard, we headed for the beach.

North of Ljugarn, the landscape changed dramatically. Sandy dunes and trees, twisted and tormented by the wind, led to the sea. Fantastic sculptured rock formations, resembling petrified giants, were scattered along the shore. The limestone columns, called raukar, are carved by the sea, and are one of Gotland`s most famous geological wonders.

Beyond the rauk field was the cold, blue Baltic, where the Vikings once took off on arduous trade routes. Fearing plundering by their enemies, they often buried their treasures, sometimes so cleverly they never found them. To this day, the plows of Gotland farmers unearth coins from Ancient Rome and the Byzantine Empire. Some discoveries are on display at the Fornsal Museum in Visby.

In the summer, Visby hosts historic plays, music festivals and Viking sports tournaments. The romantic streets, so quiet and void in winter, are now packed with tourists. Artists and ceramists sell their wares and take new orders to keep them busy through the winter. Restaurants, cafes and discotheques open their doors. Sailboats line up in the marina. The ferry arrives, spewing its contents of cyclists and families in Volvos, heading for cottages or campsites by the sea. By midsummer, this sleeping beauty is awake, regaining some of the vitality of its heyday seven centuries ago. –

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Ancient and Honorable Clan Carruthes Int Society CCIS LLc

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Crest on Light Bluers

Maria Nillsson, Chicago IL USA

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Gutland / Gotland, The Viking Age, Uncategorized

CLAN CARRUTEHRS – PAVIKEN GOTLAND CARRUTHERSLAND

February 9, 2020April 8, 2020 ClanCarruthers

Clan Carruthers Int Society CCIS

Paviken Gotland, Carruthersland

The Paviken Research Project

It was mentioned that all the Carruthers ancestors, no matter how it is spelled, have the same 32-36 DNA markers, and our earliest location is Gotland. The same DNA takes us to 500 BC on the island of Gotland.”

This statement was made prior to the two year forensic Carruthers DNA Project.

“Our Ancestors were fierce shipbuilders. Because of their metal spinning craftsmanship, they could create the tools needed. They made ships mainly out of Ash Trees, which became a very sacred tree to them. When a new life was created or one had left this world they always planted an ash tree. When people from other regions saw the boats, they would put their order in, and thus it was quite profitable for the Ancestors. This is where they made the most of their money. Boats and ships were a major importance in everyday life and they were a symbol of wealth and power. Our ancestors were advanced in wood carpentry and it is mentioned often that these ships were lighter, slimmer, stronger and faster.

Carruthers ancestors were given land, by the pope, which is just south of Gutland which would be today Northern France and Germany. Papal lands were considered sacred and protected by such. This area was referred to as Aachen. Aachen is ahah in German meaning ” water”. In Latin it translates to Aqua or “water”. These were the men who come from the water. Similar to the beginning of Carruthers, which was at one time Carr was Cair, meaning, large fair men who walked on water.

Because of the importance and sacredness of the Ash Tree, used for personal rituals and for making these excellent ships, we were referred to as Ashman or Aachmen. That was our name on Gotland, before coming to Scotland. You will still see that name, mainly in Europe and what is interesting to me that many of the people who write books about ships, shipping, and in the shipping business are named Ashman.

We have basic live cell DNA matching up with people named Ashmen throughout northern Europe, Finland , Poland and Russia.

After the Carruthers DNA Project of 2018, the genetic genealogist and the Genetic Historia both were able to match a lot of the forensic DNA found on the hoards of jewelry, coins, and even wood jewelry to the Carruthers DNA genome. Many Carruthers researchers knew this ahead of 2018 through other methods, but this was the confirmation they were all looking for.

The Paviken Research Project

Harbours and trading in the Baltic Sea during the Viking Age – an introduction
In our interpretation of prehistory we are highly influenced by the material we see in the landscape or by
coincidences found during archaeological surveys, and we forget or neglect to take into account the hidden
cultural landscape. This is particularly true when it comes to prehistory in Sweden.

As we completely lack written sources before the 12th century (with the exception of runic inscriptions) we have to rely on archaeological field material. An example of this problem is the question of Viking Age trade and its associated port activities. Extensive Viking material from Gotland suggests that the island had a lively exchange with the surrounding regions at that time in its history. This is reflected in the existence of numerous silver hoards; no area in northern Europe has such a concentration of silver from the Viking Age as Gotland. There are clear signs of an extensive and lively trade and exchange (or piracy, as some would argue), which in turn required docking points, ports and commercial centres. Despite a relatively large amount of good source material from the Viking Age, our knowledge of ports and trading centres as well as of the
scope of Viking trade and organisation remains limited to the well known Viking ports in the Baltic region; these include Birka in midSweden, Hedeby in northern Germany, Grobina in Latvia, Wolin in Poland and Paviken on Gotland.
Most of these significant Viking ports and trading centres are
mentioned in written sources and have largely informed our interpretation of the scope of trade and its organisation during the Viking Age; one thus easily gets the
impression that Viking Age trade around the Baltic Sea was essentially built around a small number of trading centres

.
The nature of the Swedish coastline suggests that this traditional interpretation of Viking Age ports and trading centres cannot be correct. In all likelihood, there were several ports and trading centres along the coast, ranging from small farm-related fishing villages, through bigger fishing ports consisting of several farms or villages, to central and more or less permanently inhabited sites. Here, ships were built and repaired, jewellery manufactured and trade activities carried out. Previously, only one Viking Age harbour was known on Gotland (Paviken).
Gotlandic ports and trading places during the period 600 -1100 AD
We have many indications that in the Viking Age there were more ports along the Swedish coast than we are currently aware of. The difficulty of identifying them makes our interpretation of Viking Age trade, its development and any changes that occurred over time potentially highly inaccurate. Current knowledge is based on the few known port facilities that were discovered more or less by accident or mentioned in written
sources. Presumably, the situation was similar around most of the Baltic Sea; during the period in question there was by all accounts a strong network of contacts between the countries around the Baltic Sea.

In 1987, a project was started with the aim of locating Viking Age /early mediaeval ports by means of a survey of the Gotland coastline. The project was called “Gotlandic harbours and trading centres between 600 and 1100 AD”. After some initial studies of old maps, archive material and literature, direct fieldwork was carried out between 1987 and 1995 as well as from 1998 to 2005.
The main hypothesis underpinning the project was that in the Viking Age Gotland had many more ports than are known to us today. It was assumed that Gotland had at least one harbour site in each coastal parish during the late Iron Age. The aim of the project was to highlight the location of ports and coastal trade centres, their distribution, numbers, structure, organisation and development over time during the period
from circa 600 to 1100 AD. For the purpose of the project, the term port was given the following definition: a place where boats land, regardless of the port’s scope, focus or construction or the size of ships.

Finding ports

The Gotland coast is about 800 km long in total. Field walking the entire length of the coast would be impractical, all the more so as due to natural conditions it is doubtful whether all stretches of the coast were used during the Viking Age It is probably more helpful to make assumptions regarding Viking Age ports on the basis of current
knowledge about ports, their general location and spatial organisation as well as certain features that are common to well-known Viking Age ports.
Birka, Hedeby and Wolin could be good starting points; all of them are located adjacent to creeks or bays or situated on main rivers. Graves are often found near these sites, and in some cases early mediaeval churches were built near the sea rather than in the centre of the parish. Conceptual results of the project during the first phase of the project, about sixty sites with indications of Viking activity were found along the coast .

Obviously, these places have different characteristics and range from small fishing villages to larger centres. However they are all possibly ports or trading centres.
Some places will not have had anything to do with Viking maritime facilities at all, while on the other hand a number of places were probably overlooked due to the method chosen. For example, it seems remarkable that no large port was found on the eastern coast; this is probably partly attributable to the difficulty in identifying sites. The east coast of Gotland is shallower than the western side of the island, making it much more difficult to find the exact location of any port. Excavations of some of the sites have confirmed Viking Age activities An overall evaluation of the project’s results suggests that a number of sites may have been major ports, and this assumption is backed up by the rich and varied find material from those sites. Among these ports/harbours is Paviken in
Västergarn.

Paviken – a port/trading centre

Nerman and Floderus were the first to raise, in a more serious
way, the issue of a Viking harbour at Paviken in 1934, but it
was Hans Hansson who in the 1960s began more direct field
studies. His aim was to trace port locations, not just at
Paviken but around the entire island. In his search for areas
with Viking activities, he relied heavily on phosphate
mapping as a method of finding harbour sites3. I In total,
Hansson took some 700 samples from 28 locations. In his
report he notes that he initially obtained low values, which
was due to having taken samples from low-lying areas.
Eventually he obtained relatively high values (50-100 degrees)
in nine locations.
One of the areas that Hansson came to be interested in was
Västergarn and Paviken where he obtained high values,especially in two areas, which
were named Paviken I and II. Hansson dug small trial trenches in both areas and
found cultural layers with an abundance of iron rivets etc. In particular, he noted a cultural layer at Paviken I (close to the small river Idån) that he found remarkable: “The site is located in wooded pastures in a narrow trench, samples containing remarkable numbers of rivets belonging to clinker built vessels were collected. The three datable objects (a silver arm ring, a bronze pendant, a Thor’s hammer) date from the later Viking period of 900-1000” (translation by the author).
Other findings suggest the existence of house foundations and workshops; Hansson notes that “in any case, these occupation layers from the Viking period belong to a ship building facility and a landing place at the natural harbour of Paviken”.

Regarding Paviken I, Hansson concluded that a closer examination of the area would be desirable.
Following on from Hansson, Per Lundström and Jan Peder Lamm arrived at
Paviken in the 1960s to carry out further investigation of Paviken I (so far, no
further investigation of Paviken II has taken place). Lundström and Lamm
performed condensed phosphate mapping in order to better define the settlement.

Between 1967-73, they came to
investigate an area of about 1,000 m2 of an
estimated total of 15,000 m2 of settlement. “In
this part, more than 10,000 objects were
registered. These finds illustrate what people were doing in this location a thousand years ago. Three main areas can be identified: ship building, trade and crafts (translated by the author).
Since these studies at Paviken were carried
out, more recent studies have dealt with
several other harbour sites on the Gotland
coast, giving a more complex picture of trade and manufacturing practices. The
investigations at Fröjel harbour site between
1987 and 1990 as well as from 1998 to 2005
have contributed largely to the totally new
picture we have today of activities at these
sites.

A significant conclusion was that manufacturing was of utmost importance and concerned not only the
domestic market, but clearly produced objects for a wider market. Items previously thought to have been
imported were in reality manufactured at Fröjel, e.g. rock crystal beads and lenses made from rock crystal.
There is clear evidence that smelting and the refining of silver took place at the site, including the manufacturing of arm rings, so common in Viking Age silver hoards from Gotland.

More recent research that has followed on from the earlier Paviken investigations suggests that there are many more harbour sites along the coast, forming a rather complicated network of ports. It is not yet fully understood when and how this network was established and how it changed over time.
Some of the sites were established early and disappeared towards the end of the Viking Age while others, such as Visby, have a continuous history from the Viking Age to the present. On the west coast of Gotland, south of Visby, there are several sites dating back to the same era. A fundamental question is how the three main sites, i.e. Visby, Paviken/Västergarn and Fröjel, balanced each other in terms of trade and manufacture
over time.
There is a real need to understand this process in more detail, as it has a bearing on the general settlement pattern, the distribution of silver hoards and, not least, the manufacturing of objects. Visby and Klintehamn are both busy commercial ports today, making further investigations difficult. Present day Fröjel is used mostly for agricultural purposes, and ploughing has turned over the cultural layer.
Paviken, on the other hand, has been untouched since the site was abandoned around 1000 AD. Earlier investigations at the site give a very good starting point for a new research project dealing with trade and manufacture in Viking Age Gotland

The Paviken Project 2013-2016

It is clear that the harbour and manufacturing site at Paviken was crucial in the older history of Västergarn. However, the full and exact nature of the role that Paviken
played in history remains unclear. Gotland Archaeological Field School will carry out complimentary investigations at Paviken during a three-year field project between 2013
and 2015, followed by results analysis and interpretation in 2016. The aim of
the project is to better understand the function and development of the site
and how it fitted into the surrounding landscape, not least the site’s connection to what later became Västergarn.

Arial photograph showing the northern part of the Paviken area, which
is bordered to the north by the small river Idån and to the west by Paviken bay.
Close to Idån is the main harbour and trading site, Paviken I, north and south of
which lie two small cemeteries and some single graves (marked as red dots and R).
Further south there are some unidentified house foundations (Husgrund), one of
which has been excavated earlier and dated to the middle of the Viking Age (10th
century). The black dots show stone piles or stone walls recorded on older maps of
the area.

It is necessary to understand the functional correlation between the different settlement areas as well as the different groups of graves on the eastern shore of Paviken, spread out over an area of approximately 400 x 1,000 metres. A further aim is to understand the
earliest as well as the latest occupation at the site and thus to understand the time frame and connection to archaeological evidence in Västergarn and the Västergarn waterway.
In addition to these issues of time and space, we also need to understand the role Paviken played in terms of manufacture and long distance trade. Points to be investigated Follow-up excavations from earlier investigations at Paviken I in order to fully examine the constructions, i.e. postholes, hearths etc., to get a better understanding of the earliest phase of the site in relation to the settlement structure.
• Follow-up excavations of a house foundation further south (close to another building dating from the Viking Age that was excavated in 1990). There are indications of other anomalies in the landscape, suggesting further possible structures that require investigation as far as functionality, dating, andpossible connections with Paviken I are concerned.
• Paviken II has cultural layers from which Hansson recovered bones and rivets; this area needs followup investigations to confirm the role and dating of activities and any connection to Paviken I.

• New grave sites that have been located in the surrounding landscape need to be investigated to
compare the dating with known graves at the site and to obtain a better understanding of historical and
spatial context.

Paviken Viking Age settlement and the surrounding landscape

In addition to the above-mentioned four points, some areas in the landscape surrounding Paviken should be investigated in order to get a clearer picture of Paviken in a wider context. Just northwest of Paviken Viking settlement, there is a small cemetery consisting of a few graves that form part of a larger cemetery that has been destroyed over time by ploughing. Using metal detectors across the fields should help determine the extent of the cemetery and also if there was any kind of settlement directly connected with the cemetery. It is also important to gain a better understanding of activities along the banks of the Västergarn river, which was the link between Paviken bay and the open sea. Earlier excavations here have yielded evidence of Viking Age jetties along the western bank of the river. There are some indications of activities along the eastern bank of the river, but to date these have not been investigated.
As Paviken was an important trading and manufacturing site, there might still be wooden constructions or Viking ship remains in the waters of the bay. No investigations have been carried out to pursue this further, although local legend claims that remains of ships have been found in the bay. Ground penetration radar or similar equipment could be used to detect any anomalies under water.
Compiling earlier excavation reports and materials – an important mission
A very important step linked to the new Paviken harbour site research project is the analysis and incorporation of earlier excavations at the site of Paviken I. This will be done in collaboration with students and lecturers from Uppsala University and participants from the field courses.
The first year of field research will mainly be devoted to complementing earlier excavations at the site and
investigating the newly discovered graves north of Paviken I.
After each field season and as part of the field course, a basic excavation report will be compiled and linked, as far as possible, to earlier excavation results.
As already stated, the project will be running over three excavation seasons; the fourth year will be devoted to analysis and interpretation of the results that will be combined into a monograph, to be published the following year.

t stopped snowing. Suddenly, the sun broke through the clouds. Pale rays of light streamed through the forest and hit the snow-covered pre-Viking burial mounds of Trullhalsar gravefield; an engulfing mist began to rise. The air was heavy with the spirits of old warriors.

It seemed a magical place, the perfect setting for a Wagnerian opera, and I half expected the Valkyries to come riding out of the mist.

Most visitors come by car ferry to Visby, Gotland`s provincial capital, on the west coast. This beautiful walled city is a mixture of medieval ramparts and towers, skeleton-like ruins of once great cathedrals, and red-roofed cottages lining cobblestone streets. The climate is mild compared with the rest of Sweden, so roses bloom in December in the gardens of Visby`s picturesque homes. ”The city of ruins and roses” is what Swedes call Visby. Off-season, this town of 20,000 is a sleeping beauty. Having arrived at dawn one day in April while it was still slumbering, my husband and I decided to have coffee in a shop at the harbor while waiting for the town to wake.

Other early risers crowded the casual coffee shop. A blond waitress, wearing a red polka-dot apron, was ladling hearty portions of oatmeal porridge as dock workers waited in line. Two policemen sat talking, bent over steaming coffee, their radios buzzing on the table. A loudspeaker above our heads was bellowing out the morning news. As a Stockholmer, I had a hard time following the announcer`s melodious Gotland accent.

Today, Gotland is subject to a new, more peaceful invasion. Only six hours from Stockholm by boat, the island hosts more than 200,000 visitors every year, quadrupling its population. Visitors are attracted by Sweden`s sunniest weather, sandy beaches and a unique landscape.

Furnished with an antique kitchen settee, crochet curtains and well-tended geraniums, the large kitchen reminded me of a grandmother`s kitchen.

Sculpture-like graves

There are no fewer than 92 medieval churches on the island. Built after Gotland was christened in the 11th Century, they are mostly in Gothic style.

Frescos on walls

Noticing my surprise at his formal attire, he smiled and explained he had just returned from a funeral service. As he strode across the cemetery toward the church, coat-tails flapping in the wind, the young man looked like a 19th Century Lutheran vicar.

Sound of Bach

The sunlight poured through the stained glass rose windows, creating patterns on the nave`s floor. Notes of Bach`s St. Matthew Passion floated in the air. The organist was practicing for an Easter concert. The vicar, new to the parish, began to explain details of his church. He also told how Sunday services alternate between different churches since each parish is too small to fill their church.

Looking at our cameras, she said: ”You are from Stockholm.”

I explained that though I was a Stockholmer, my husband and I had just arrived from Chicago. Surprised and pleased that we had come so far to visit her island, she began telling us about the village.

Sailboats are rigged

We stopped in Ljugarn, a town on the east coast, to buy provisions. Ljugarn harbor was once an important fishing center. Now it is quiet because big trawlers have gone elsewhere. But every spring, the smell of turpentine and the sound of hammers banging come from the red boat houses as sailboats are rigged for the season.

After buying crisp bread, ham and the famous sweet and spicy Gotland mustard, we headed for the beach.

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CLAN CARRUTHERS: VIKINGS IN DUMFRIES AND GALLOWAY

CLAN CARRUTHERS INT SOCIETY CCIS PROMPTUS ET FIDELIS

The Impressive Gaulcross Hoard: 100 Roman-Era Silver Pieces Unearthed in Scotland

Archaeologists discovered a hoard of 100 silver items, including coins and jewelry, which come from the 4th and 5th centuries AD. The treasure belongs to the period of the Roman Empire’s domination in Scotland, or perhaps later.

Almost 200 years ago, a team of Scottish laborers cleared a rocky field with dynamite. They discovered three magnificent silver artifacts : a chain, a spiral bangle, and a hand pin. However, they didn’t search any deeper to check if there were any more treasures. They turned the field into a farmland and excavations were forgotten.

Now, archaeologists have returned to the site and discovered a hoard (a group of valuable objects that is sometimes purposely buried underground) of 100 silver items. According to Live Science , the treasure is called the Gaulcross hoard. The artifacts belonged to the Pict people who lived in Scotland before, during, and after the Roman era.

Silver plaque from the Norrie’s Law hoard (7th-century Pictish silver hoard), Fife, with double disc and Z-rod symbol.

The artifacts were found by a team led by Gordon Noble, head of archaeology at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland. When they started work in the field, they didn’t think to search for more artifacts, but were trying to learn more about the context of the discovery made nearly two centuries ago. The researchers claim that the field also contained two man-made stone circles – one dating to the Neolithic period and the other the Bronze Age (1670 – 1500 BC).

The three previously discovered pieces were given to Banff Museum in Aberdeenshire, and are now on loan and display at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh.

The surviving objects from the nineteenth-century Gaulcross hoard find. ( National Museums Scotland )

In 2013, two groups of researchers studied the field in northeastern Scotland with the help of metal detectors. It was the first time when researchers explored the field after such a long time. During the second day of work, they uncovered three Late-Roman-era silver “siliquae,” or coins, that dated to the 4th or 5th century AD.

They also found a part of a silver bracelet, silver strap-end, and several pieces of folded hacksilver (pieces of cut or bent silver). They examined the field over the next 18 months, and as a result, they unearthed 100 pieces of silver all together.

The silver was not mined in Scotland during the Roman period, and instead came from somewhere else in the Roman world. During the ” Late Roman period, silver was recycled and recast into high-status objects that underpinned the development of elite society in the post-Roman period”. The researchers believe that some of these silver pieces, such as the chunks of silver called ingots, may have served as currency, much as a gold bar did in more modern times.

The recent discoveries help shed light on the date of the Gaulcross hoard. It seems that some of the objects were connected with the elites. The silver hand pins and bracelets are very rare finds, so the researchers concluded that the objects would have belonged to some of the most powerful members of the post-Roman society.

Some of the finds from Gaulcross: A) the lunate/crescent-shaped pendant with two double-loops; B) silver hemispheres; C) a small, zoomorphic penannular brooch; D) one of the bracelet fragments with a Late Roman siliquae pinched inside ( National Museums Scotland )

Another important hoard has previously been uncovered in Scotland. Actually, on October 13, 2014, April Holloway of Ancient Origins reported on the discovery of one of the most significant Viking hoards found there to date. She wrote:

”An amateur treasure hunter equipped with a metal detector has unearthed a massive hoard of Viking artifacts in Dumfries and Galloway, in what has been described as one of the most significant archaeological finds in Scottish history. According to the Herald Scotland , more than 100 Viking relics were found, including silver ingots, armbands, brooches, and gold objects.”

The findings also included “an early Christian cross from the 9th or 10 century AD made from solid silver, described as having unique and unusual decorations. There was also a rare Carolingian vessel, believed to be the largest Carolingian pot ever discovered.”

Detail of the Carolingian vessel of the famous Viking hoard. ( Historic Environment Scotland )

Holloway wrote that the Vikings “conducted numerous raids on Carolingian lands between 8th and 10th century AD” and explained that in a “few records, the Vikings are thought to have led their first raids in Scotland on the island of Iona in 794.”

The Vikings attacks led to the downfall of the Picts. As Holloway reported:

“In 839, a large Norse fleet invaded via the River Tay and River Earn, both of which were highly navigable, and reached into the heart of the Pictish kingdom of Fortriu. They defeated the king of the Picts, and the king of the Scots of Dál Riata, along with many members of the Pictish aristocracy in battle. The sophisticated kingdom that had been built fell apart, as did the Pictish leadership.”

The Aberlemno Serpent Stone, Class I Pictish stone with Pictish symbols, showing (top to bottom) the serpent, the double disc and Z-rod and the mirror and comb.

The Aberlemno Serpent Stone, Class I Pictish stone with Pictish symbols, showing (top to bottom) the serpent, the double disc and Z-rod and the mirror and comb. (Catfish Jim and the soapdish)

Top Image: The Gaulcross silver hoard, including a silver ingot, Hacksilber and folded bracelets. Source: National Museums Scotland

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Ancient and Honorable Clan Carruthes Int Society CCIS LLc

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Natalie Klimsczak

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CLAN CARRUTHERS “A VIKING SWORD FROM LESJA “

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“A Viking sword from Lesja”

A sword from the Viking Age was stumbled upon by reindeer hunters during the fall of 2017. This sword has now arrived for conservation at the Museum of Cultural History. Is it a sword from Kjolen, Norway, or from a battle with another group from the 9th century.

Elevated and exposed

The sword was found high in the mountains at an altitude of 1640 meters above sea level, probably the highest elevation a Viking sword has ever been found. Mountain graves from the Viking period are well known. In a grave, however, a sword would be accompanied by other grave-goods. Because of this the finders and archaeologists, as well as a metal detectorist went back into the mountain at Kjølen to see if there were additional objects at the site. However, no more objects were found, which could imply that the sword was lost by someone hiking through the mountains. It is even possible the owner perished there.

The sword was covered by snow during winter, but must have been exposed for periods also as spots of lichen had developed on the surface of the blade. The species seems to be map lichen (Rhizocarpon geographicum and by applying lichenometri , which is dating the lichen by its growth, the spots seem to have formed within a few decades rather than hundreds of years (pers. com. Professor Atle Nesje , Department of Earth Science, University of Bergen).

Something is however a bit puzzling here. At the scree where the sword was found the snow would have melted for a short period each summer. But if the sword was exposed for a few months every year for a millennium, why is it not covered by more lichen? Could the iron surface of the sword be less accommodating for lichen than the surrounding stones? During the long winters, a subzero temperature would have kept all water frozen and thus inaccessible to corrosion processes. But what about the thousand summers, albeit short summers, when the water would become liquefied and thus promote corrosion? Why is the iron not more deteriorated by corrosion? Our best explanation for now is that the sword must have had optimal ventilation in its location between the large stones of the scree and was thus kept relatively dry. There is also hardly any salts promoting corrosion high in the mountains and the sword has not been in contact with the soil. Attributes related to the alloy of the iron could also be a contributing factor.

Still sharp and functional

The sword was found with the tip poking up between large rocks in a scree. Exposed to the elements like this the iron has seen some surface corrosion, but the preservation is remarkable with the edge still remaining sharp! Fitted with a new grip the sword would still be fully functional today. X-rays seem to reveal a relatively simple blade construction. Some uneven wavy lines along the blade may hint at a steel edge having been welded on, but it could also imply the merging of iron bars in an early stage of the forging process. The blade is not pattern welded nor has it any iron inlays.

Hilt elements from disparate generations

Simple iron parts without any precious metal decoration make up the hilt of the sword. It is a pragmatic sword, probably worn with pride, but not by the highest strata of society. Such simple and unpretentious swords seem to be the norm in mountain graves, and they were probably made or at least hilted in Norway. Aside from being exceptionally well preserved, the sword from Lesja has an interesting trait. The hilt of the sword is actually composed of parts from two different types of hilts, where one part might be 50 years younger than the other. The guard, the part closest to the blade, is of Jan Petersen type C dated to the years 800-850 AD. The pommel is a few generations younger, and of Jan Petersen type M dated to the years 850-950 AD. The first impression was that the sword could perhaps have been an heirloom, but upon closer inspection through x-ray, the guard has cavities or recesses where the blade should have been fitted. The current blade, however, is far wider than the recesses and the guard must originally have belonged to a much narrower blade, probably a slim single-edged blade. This suggests that the guard itself is the oldest part of the sword from Lesja.

We can only speculate what befell the owner of the sword and how it ended up where it was found. Like the people who rediscovered the sword, perhaps also the owner himself was a reindeer hunter who tragically got caught in a blizzard? He lost his sword, perhaps an heirloom, on a mountainside at Kjølen. It would take 1100 years to be rediscovered – still in close to pristine condition.

We know through DNA testing that the Carruthers ancestors traveled from Gutland to Scotland in both the 4th century and the 8th and 9th century. Their arrivals match various large battles, in Scotlands time period. Some believed they were paid to fight, not captured or on explorations. Either way they were there!

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CLAN CARRUTHERS- VIKING TREASURES FOUND IN SCOTLAND

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Viking treasure hoard 1,000 years old discovered in Scotland

Objects found in Galloway, Carruthersland, field include a silver brooch from Ireland and silk from around modern-day Istanbul

The first images have been released of Viking treasure buried in a Scottish field for more than 1,000 years.

The objects were found inside a pot unearthed in Galloway and include rare items such as a silver brooch from Ireland and silk from around modern-day Istanbul as well as gold and crystal.

The items date from the ninth and 10th centuries, and are part of a wider hoard of about 100 pieces, which experts say is the most important Viking discovery in Scotland for more than a century.

The findings were part of a wider hoard of around 100 pieces

Richard Welander, of Historic Environment Scotland, said: “Before removing the objects we took the rather unusual measure of having the pot CT-scanned, in order that we could get a rough idea of what was in there and best-plan the delicate extraction process. That exercise offered us a tantalising glimpse but didn’t prepare me for what was to come.

“These stunning objects provide us with an unparalleled insight to what was going on in the minds of the Vikings in Galloway all those years ago.

The Treasure Trove unit will now assess the value of the items

“They tell us about the sensibilities of the time, reveal displays of regal rivalries and some of the objects even betray an underlying sense of humour, which the Vikings aren’t always renowned for.”

The items, found by metal detectorist Derek McClennan in September 2014, are now with the Treasure Trove Unit, which is responsible for assessing the value of the hoard on behalf of the Office of Queen’s and Lord Treasurer’s Remembrancer.

*Experts say the hoard is the most important Viking discovery in Scotland for a century*

The hoard will then be offered for allocation to Scottish museums, with Mr McClennan eligible for the market value of the find – a cost that will be met by the successful museum. The hoard will then be offered for allocation to Scottish museums, with Mr McClennan eligible for the market value of the find – a cost that will be met by the successful museum.

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CLAN CARRUTHERS – DUBLINIA

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Dublinia

EXPERIENCE VIKING AND MEDIEVAL DUBLIN

Dublinia is a historical recreation (or living history) museum and visitor attraction in Dublin, Ireland, focusing on the Viking and Medieval history of the city. Dublinia is located in a part of Dublin’s Christ Church Cathedral, known as the Synod hall.

Dublinia features historical reenactment, with actors playing the roles of Vikings and Medieval Dubliners (in full costume) and encourages visitors to join in. It has recreations of Viking and Medieval era buildings (houses, etc) and street scenes.

The exhibition was opened in 1993, and was redeveloped in 2010 at a cost of €2 million. The museum attracts over 125,000 visitors per annum.

Dublinia, located at the crossroads of the medieval city at Christchurch, is where Viking and Medieval history is brought to life.

There are four exciting exhibitions at Dublinia:

Viking Dublin

In the Viking Dublin exhibition, take a trip back to Viking times. What was life really like on board a Viking warship? See the weaponry and the skills of being a Viking warrior. Try on Viking clothes, become a slave and stroll down a noisy street. Visit a smokey and cramped Viking house. Learn of the myths and the mysteries surrounding the Vikings and their legacy. Also, new to Dublinia, find out what really happened during the Battle for Clontarf and the eventual decline of Viking power in Dublin.

Medieval Dublin

Visit the Medieval Dublin exhibition and witness the sights, sounds and smells of this busy city. Learn about crime and punishment, death and disease and even toothache remedies of 700 years ago. Enjoy the spicy aromas and so much more in the medieval fair – learn to play medieval games, visit a rich merchant’s kitchen and walk along a bustling medieval street.

History Hunters

See how archaeologists dig deep to uncover Dublin’s past in the History Hunters exhibition. Find out how archaeology works with history and other sciences to piece together the jigsaws of the Dubliners’ ancestors’ lives. See Viking and medieval artefacts including a medieval skeleton (courtesy of the National Museum of Ireland). Visit the lab and learn how bugs and dirt can be the history hunter’s gold. See how the past has influenced who you are today. Finally, see how people are influenced by the Viking and medieval era in today’s books, movies, fashion and architecture.

St Michael’s Tower

Lastly, visit St Michael’s Tower – an original medieval tower with a 96-step climb to the top, where you can see spectacular views of the city. Learn all about the history of the tower and the surrounding parish in the new exhibition at the Tower base.

At Dublinia, see Dublin from a new perspective and come away knowing more about its citizens throughout the ages!

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St Michael’s Hill, Christchurch, Dublin 8, Ireland

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