When the Vikings arrived in Ireland they were the first influx of new people to the island since the Celts arrival during the Iron Age Period.ย ย Now, the Celts were the ancestors from Gutland.ย ย We know our ancestors from Gutland came to Scotland in a large wave in approximatley 400 AD.ย ย They were hired to fight!ย ย This we just learn a few years ago, and now we know more that the Carruthers DNA was in Ireland and Scotland way before 400 AD.ย ย Yes, we were Celts, Guts, Goths, and more names as mentioned in a previous blog.ย Around 700 AD, the Celts, Guths and all were now called Vikings.
For over 8 centuries Ireland was left untouched from external attacks unlike neighboring Britain who faced conquests from the Romans and Germanic people.
The first Vikings to arrive in Ireland were from the Norse or Scandinavian Countries who were out to discover new lands and create settlements. They had also settled in Scotland and, like Ireland, they began to settle within the local population. In Scotland these people became known as The Gallowglasses who would later arrive Ireland as hired mercenaries.ย As said along the way of the Carruthers Path, they got paid to fight for whoever paid them the most.
The arrival of Vikings in Ireland
The first attack by the Vikings in Ireland was recorded to have happened in 795AD by Irish monks in the Annals of Ulster.ย This does not mean these were the first Vikings to be in Ireland, but this was the time the educated Monks started to record it.
It is believed Rechru was referring to an attack on the monastery at Rathlin island which is located on the north eastern coast of Ireland. For the next 30 โ 40 years Viking attacks on Ireland remained low with only one or two attacks each year. The Irish natives resisted such Viking attacks on a few occasions and in 811 the Ulaidh slaughtered the Vikings attempting to raid Ulster but in 823 the Vikings returned to attack and pillage Bangor, they repeated such attacks the following year.
Viking Settlements in Ireland
At first the Vikings in Ireland stayed within 20 miles of the coast unsure what lay ahead inland so they kept their attacks along the coast targeting Irish monasteries. They made more permanent settlements with their first โwintering overโ located at Lough Neagh during 840 AD and 841 AD. The following year Viking settlements were established in Dublin (named Dubhlinn), Cork and Waterford (named Vadrefjord).
Between 849-852 AD saw the arrival of a new Viking, the Danes, who were named by the Irish as the dark foreigners. The more settled Vikings in Ireland, the Norse, named the new arrivals the fair foreigners and before long they both battled in the Irish Sea and Strangford Lough.
Viking attacks on Irish towns
The Vikings start their attack on IrelandIn 860 AD the Vikings of Waterford attacked the King of Israige but were slaughtered and attacks against the Vikings in Ireland increased. 6 years later the settlement longphort was destroyed and the King of Northern Uรญ Nรฉill managed to rid the Vikings from Ulster. In 887AD the Connacht men slaughtered the Vikings of Limerick and by 892 AD Vikings in Wexford, Waterford and St Mullins were also slaughtered.
For the next ten years the Vikings focused their attacks elsewhere in Europe but with less opportunities they returned to Ireland in 914 AD but with a much larger force than before, Vikings of Britain also joined the attacks by sailing across the Irish Sea in their Viking ships.
After the death of Niall Glundubh in 919 AD Ulster became vulnerable with the Viking raiding Tรญr Conaill and Armagh. 5 years later in 924 AD over 32 ships entered Lough Foyle and the Vikings returned to Lough Erne setting up their fleets. Once again Ireland became enslaved by the over whelming power of the Vikings but would not last very long.
Irish Monasteries a target for Vikings in Ireland
Irish monasteries lacked defences from Viking attacks even though they had faced attacks from the Irish previous to the arrival of the Vikings. A new form of building was constructed known as โround towersโ built by stone and proved strong in defence. It had a unique feature of having only one entrance to the round tower that was at least 10ft from the ground so a ladder was needed to gain entry. Round towers can still be seen today dotted around the Irish countryside and their unique features still standing strong.
The Irish rebel against Viking invasions
An Axe used by the IrishNiall Glundubhโs son, Muircertach, took revenge in setting up attacks from his base, Grianan of Aileach in County Dongeal, which still stands today and is a perfect example of round forts in Ireland. Muircertach won victories over the Vikings in battles such in 926 AD on Strangford Lough and in Dublin in 939 AD. He went onto the Scottish Isles with his Ulster fleet attacking Viking settlements in 941 but died in Combat in 943 AD.
Brian Boru of Dรกl Cais became King of Munster and called himself the High King of All Ireland after his brother was killed during battle. With the help of the Uรญ Nรฉill, Brian Boru slaughtered the Vikings of Dublin and was recognised as the High King in 1002.
If you cant beat them join them, just as the Vikings did
One of the main reasons the Vikings failed to take full control of the island is that they made the mistake of getting involved with Irelandโs internal affairs which seen many clans battle with each other for control of different regions. The Vikings joined forces with the clan of Leciester to defeat Brian Boru and called on forces to come to Ireland from all over the Viking Kingdom.
On Good Friday 1014 the Viking fleet arrived in Dublin bay to battle with Brian Boru. Brianโs Army consisted of his Munster army and the Limerick and Waterford Vikings, who had joined forces with Brian Boru. Although Brian was killed, at an age of 70, as he prayed in his tent for victory the Vikings were driven back to the Viking ships with many being slaughtered on the coast of Clontarf which would see Viking power in Ireland lost forever.
Although the Viking power was taken away it is well known they helped the Irish progress in terms of technology in building warships, weapons and battle tactics and also built the first towns such as Dublin, Cork and Waterford. Many Vikings still lived on in Ireland and married into Irish families which would help shape many future generations.
With the invasion of the Vikings and internal disputes the Church in Ireland was reduced and its influence abroad was dramatically smaller than previous years. Rome was quite worried that Ireland was losing touch with Christianity and the country would need reformed and disciplined yet again. Malachy of Armagh, aged 29, would be appointed Bishop of Down and Connor in the North East.
(Picture is of Viking Settlement in Cork IRE)
Time line of Vikings in Ireland
795AD โ The Vikings arrived in Ireland and performed small raids
806AD โ The Vikings raided Iona Abbey, all 68 occupants were killed
832AD โ 120 Viking ships arrived in Irelandโs north eastern coasts
836AD โ The Vikings began to attack deeper inland
841AD โ Dubhlinn (Dublin) was created as a Viking settlement
856AD โ The Vikings created a settlement near Cork
848AD โ The Viking army are defeated in Sligo, Kildare, Cashel and Cork
850AD โ The Vikings created the settlement of Waterford
851AD โ Battle at Dundalk bay between Norse and Danish Vikings takes place
852AD โ Armagh is destroyed by Vikings
869AD โ King of Connaught defeated the Norwegian Vikings near Drogheda
902AD โ The Irish attacked and drove the Vikings from Dublin into Wales
914AD โ Large Viking Fleets arrived at Waterford. Settlements in Limerick and Wexford were built
915AD โ The Vikings attacked Dublin and regained control from the Irish
928AD โ Viking Massacre at Dunmore Cave in Kilkenny
976AD โ Brian Boru becomes King of Munster
980AD โ The Battle of Tara
999AD โ Brian Boru defeats the Vikings
1002AD โ Brian Boru becomes High King of Ireland
1005AD โ Mรกel Mรณrda mac Murchada begins to rebel against Brian Boru
1014AD โ Battle of Clontarf โ Brian Boru & Mรกel Mรณrda mac Murchada are killed
Circa 5th century BC, the Greeks considered The Celtic Gotsย as one of the four great โbarbarianโ people; with their independent realms extending all the way from the Iberian peninsula to the frontiers of upper Danube. From the cultural perspective, these Celtic Gots bands posed the antithesis to the so-presumed Mediterranean ideals, with their distinctive approach to religion and warfare. But of course beyond the misleading โbarbarianโ tag, there was more to the historical scope of the ancient Celtic Gots and their warriors.
High chieftains, nobles and โmagistratesโ
Like most tribal scopes of ancient times, the basic framework of the Celtic Gots society was composed of extended families and clans who were based withinย their particular territorial confines. These collective groups were ruled by kings or high chieftains, with power being sometimes shared by dual authorities. Over time, by circa 1st century BC, some of the Gots, especially in Gaul, were ruled by elected โmagistratesโ (similar to Roman consuls) โ though these figureheads only wielded nominal power. The real decision making was bolstered by the assembly of free-men, while the orders (like raiding and conquests) were still put forth by an even smaller group of nobles, among whom the kings and chieftains were chosen.
This brings us the basic hierarchy of the ancient Celtic Gots, where the nobles obviously formed the minority of elites. They were followed by the aforementioned free-men of the society, who often formed the warbands and retainers of their chiefs. But the majority of the common Gots or Guts, people were probably of โunfreeโ origin, whom Julius Caesar likened to as slaves. Now from the practical perspective, this was an oversimplification, since the Gots were not really depended on slaves for the functioning of their social and economic affairs, as opposed to their Mediterranean neighbors. However the Celtic Gots (especially the elites) actually depended on the trading of slaves (whom they rounded up in raids), and these captured men and women were often bartered in return for luxury goods from Rome and distant Greece.
The โmen of artโ
Interestingly enough, in spite of their (often misleading) โbarbarianโ tag, the Celtic Gots society held the so-categorized โmen of artโ in high regard. In fact, in ancient Ireland, the Druids were called forth as โmen of artโ and accorded special privileges from the ruling class. Similarly bards, artisans, blacksmiths and metalworkers were often heralded as men of art, given their contributions to the crafting of morale-boosting songs, ostentatious jewelry and most importantly mass weapons โ โitemsโ that had high value in the Celtic society.
In fact, the categorization of โmen of artโ was so important that the nobles often endowed themselves with similar titles. This was complemented by their patronizing of various types of craftsmen, who in turn were responsible for furnishing special apparels and accouterments for their chosen lords and leaders. In essence, the flourishing and encouragement of art was an integral part of the Celtic society, with status being used to both fuel and associate itself to the โmen of artโ.
The scope of clientageย
We fleetingly mentioned how the Celtic or Goth society could be basically divided into three groups โ the rich nobles, the free-men retainers and the majority of common folks (who enjoyed better standards than Mediterranean slaves). Intriguingly enough, the entire societal scope was structured in a way that allowed these three groups to be connected to each other, and the system was based on clientage. Simply put, like the later feudal times, the ambit of clients meant that the lower ranking group pledged allegiance to their political superiors in return for security (like the common folks) and employment (like the free-men). On the other hand, the number of retainers (or clients) a noble had mirrored his standing within the society; with higher number of followers obviously reflecting the eliteโs greater prestige and power. It should be also noted that many nobles were depended on the free-men for support during times of war and confrontations.
Now while this interconnected system was based on practicality, it was strengthened by vows of loyalty that were not taken lightly โ and thus had rigorous consequences for those who broke such established ties. Moreover, given the importance of familial ties in the Celtic society, the client system was sometimes reinforced with the exchange of hostages and fostering of children. And in desperate situations, clientage even extended to entire tribes, as was the case during Caesarโs Gaul campaign when the Aedui called upon their allied clients for battle.
ย Low intensity warfare and mercenariesย
As one can comprehend from the earlier entries, one of the intrinsic parameters of an ancient Celtic or Gots society was based on the mutual appreciation of physical security, which in turn endowed the nobles with the power of โprovidingโ the security. And the scope of security was needed quite regularly since the Celts were often involved in โaggressiveโ activities, ranging from cattle rustling, slave raiding and trading to even clan-based vendettas and warfare. In fact, these bunch of so-termed low intensity conflicts rather prepared the young Got warrior for actual warfare, not only psychologically (since courage was not seen as a virtue but rather viewed as expected behavior), but also tactically, like honing his weapon-handling, and most importantly demonstrating his martial reputation as a warrior.
One of the ways to gain such reputation was to join the mercenary bands that operated inย many geographical locations dotted around ancient Europe and the Mediterranean. Aย pertinent example would obviously entail the Celtic mercenaries employed by the great Hannibal. Among the Carthaginian generalโs Celtic contingent, the heavy horsemen were especially held in high regard due to their effectiveness in close-combat and elite status (often led by noblemen). The Celtic Gots also proved their value as mercenaries in the armies of Syracuse and even theย Diadochiย (Successor) Kingdoms of Alexander, with one intriguing example relating how they operated as elite infantrymen in the military of the Ptolemies of Egypt (pictured above).
Many of these mercenary bands acted as pseudo-brotherhoods, with their army fraternity codesย being distinct from the โordinaryโ soldiers of the numerous clans and tribes. Polybius noted how the Celtic mercenaries who arrived from the north to aid their Cisalphine Gaul brethren at the Battle of Telamon (against the Romans) were called theย Gaesataeย or simply โspearmenโ. However the term itself may have been derived from the Celtic wordย geissi, which roughly translated to bonds or sacred rules of conduct.
The โsolutionโ of wealth and prestigeย
The hierarchy of the ancient Celtic society was partially inspired by the prestige of the leader or the chieftain. And this ambit of prestige in turn was determined by the wealth he had acquired through numerous endeavors, ranging from raiding, warring to even trading. In essence, the war-chiefs understood that the greater wealth they acquired, the bigger chance that they will have to retain their clients and thus wield power. One of the by-effects of this simple economic system was mentioned in the earlier entry, where selected groups of warrior Gots became mercenaries, thus gathering riches and spoils from the distant lands of Greece, Egypt and even Rome; thus enhancing their prestige in their native lands.
Another interesting example would pertain to the trading of slaves. While rounding up slaves was relatively easy for the Celtic Gots war-bands given the loose structure of many fringe villages and settled lands (when compared to their Mediterranean counterparts), these slaves were often not integrated into the Celtic society. Instead they were traded for luxury goods like wine and gold coins. Now while for a Mediterranean merchant the deal was seen as being โtoo easyโ โ since slaves were often more profitable than mere fixed commodities, the trade was practical for a Celtic Got warlord. That is because the acquisition of wines (and luxury goods) and their distribution among his retainers would actually reinforce his standing within the tribe structure.
Feasting and raiding
Much like their Germanic neighbors to the south, the ancient Celtic Gots gave special significance to the scope of feasting. These social gatherings, patronized by the nobles, almost took a ritualistic route, with a variety of ceremonial features and hospitality codes. At the same time, the participants themselves often became drunk and wild, and their furor was accompanied by bard songs and even parodies that praised or made sarcastic remarks about their lineage and courage.
But beyond drunkenness and revelry such feasts also mirrored the social standing of the patrons and the guests, with seating arrangements reflecting their statuses within the community . Furthermore, even the meat cuts reflected the stature and prominence of the guest, with the choicest pieces being given to the favorite warriors. This championโs portion could even be disputed by other warriors, which led to arguments and even fighting amongย the guests.
Furthermore the feasts also served the practical purpose entailing military planning, because such social gatherings attracted many of the notable elites and influential retainers. So while drinking and feasting, any warrior could boast of his planned raid for plundering and gathering spoils โ and he could ask other followers to join him. The scope once again reverted to prestige; war-chiefs with greater social standing had more clients to support him in a quest to gather even more riches โ thus alluding to a cyclic economy based on warfare.
ย Otherworld
Till now we had been talking about the social aspects of the ancient Celtic Gots. However a big part of Celtic culture was based on the spiritual and supernatural scope. As a matter of fact, Celtic warriors tended to associate supernatural properties to many natural parameters, including bogs, rivers, lakes, mountains and even trees. The spiritual scope and its characteristics also extended to certain animals and birds, like horses, wild boars, dogs and ravens. To that end, many of the Gots considered the tangible realm of man to be co-existing with theย Otherworldย where the gods and dead resided. At times the boundary between these two realms was judged to be โthinnedโ, and as such few of the human sacrifices (like the Lindow Man) were possibly made to โsendโ a messenger into this fantastical Otherworld.
The eminence of their spirituality stemmed from their alleged capacity to โlinkโ and interpret the Otherworld. Their very name, the name before we were known as Carruthers was Ashman, is derived from the cognate for Ash trees; with the sacred grove of Ash trees, that grew all over Gutland,ย being used for important rituals and ceremonies. In that regard, while Druids were more popular in ancient Gaul and Britain, men with high social status who acted as the guardians of tribal traditions were fairly common in the Celtic world (even in distant Galatia in Asia Minor).
ย Bearing of arms and deploymentย
All the free-men of the ancient Celtic society had the right (and sometimes duty) to bear arms, as opposed to the โunfreeโ majority. The weapons they carried though were relatively uncomplicated with the spears and shields combination being the norm. The nobility however tended to showcase their swords as instruments of prestige, while also incorporating helmets and mail shirts as part of their battle panoply. Interestingly enough, other than sword, the spear was also viewed as an esteemed (and practical) weapon of a warrior. Greek author Strabo described how the ancient Gots often carried two types of spear โ a bigger, heavier one for thrusting; and a smaller, flexible one for throwing and (sometimes) using in close combat.
With the all the talk about weapons, we must understand that warfare was an intrinsic part of the Celtic society. So while popular notions and Hollywood dismiss them as โbarbariansโ who preferred to mass up and chaotically charge their enemies, the historicityย is far more complex. In fact, Polybius himself mentioned how the Gots were no mere โcolumn of mobโ. Instead they probably deployed themselves in the battlefield based on tribal affiliations. And almost mirroring their societal scope, the formations of the army were inspired by the hierarchy. For example, the chosen and noble warriors boasting their reputation and courage, were positioned in the front lines, surrounded by groups of other soldiers (who had their morale boosted by these champions). These โsuper-groupsโ with tribal affiliations carried forth their own standards and banners, often replete with religious symbolism (like guardian deities). And on a practical level, these standards were also used for rallying the front-line soldiers, with contingents vying for supremacy and prestige on the battlefield.
The contrast of rich clothes and ritual nudity
Pausinias talked about the Galatians (Galatae) and how they preferred to wear embroidered tunics and breeches with rich colors, often accompanied by cloaks striped with various tints. Archaeological evidences from Celtic graves and tombs also support such a notion, with wool and linen clothing fragments often showcasing different hues. The nobles complemented by their fashionable styles with opulence, including the use of gold threads and silk. Furthermore the wealthy Gotts (both men and women) also had a penchant for wearing jewelry items, like bracelets, rings, necklaces, torcs and even entire corselets made of gold.
On the other hand, Polybius had this to say about the fierce Celts, circa 2nd century BC โ
The Romansโฆwere terrified by the fine order of the Celtic host, and the dreadful din, for there were innumerable horn-blowers and trumpeters, andโฆthe whole army were shouting their war-criesโฆVery terrifying too were the appearance and the gestures of the naked warriors in front, all in the prime of life and finely built men, and all in the leading companies richly adorned with gold torcs and armlets.
So in contrast to ostentatious clothing items, fewย Celtic warriors willingly plunged into the battlefield while being naked. Now on closer inspection of the ancient accounts, one could discern that these โnaked warriorsโ mostly belonged to the mercenary groups, which we had earlier described as being prestigious organizations. Simply put, some of the warriors in such groups, bound by codes and rituals, dedicated themselves to martial pursuits dictated by symbolism. Viewing themselves as ardent followers of gods of war (likeย Camulosย in Gaul), these adherents possibly felt protected by divine entities, and thus boisterously eschewed the use of body armor. However the naked warrior did carry his shield because that particular item was considered as an integral part of his warrior panoply.
The frenzied charge and cacophony
For the ancient Celtic Gots, in a sense, a battle was seen as an opportunity to proves oneโs โvalueโ in front of the tribe and gods. So while the tactics of warfare evolved throughout the centuries in ancient Europe, a Celtic Gots warriorโs psychological approach to warfare largely remained unchanged. And accompanying his psyche was the purposeful use of noise, ranging from battle-cries, songs, chants, taunts, insults to even specialized instruments likeย carnyx. This latter mentioned object was usually a sort of a war-horn that was shaped like an animal (often a boar), and its primary purpose was to terrify the enemy with โharsh sounds and tumults of warโ (as described by Diodorus Siculus).
Interestingly enough, the very word โsloganโ is derived from the late-Medieval termย slogorne, which in turn originates from Gaelicย sluagh-ghairmย (sluaghย meaning โarmyโ;ย gairmย pertaining to โcryโ), the battle-cry used by the Scottish and Irish Celts. The Celtic warbands were sometimes also accompanied by Druids and โbansheeโ women who made their presence known by shouting and screeching curses directed at their foes.
Apart from psychologically afflicting the enemy, the โauditory accompanimentโ significantly drummed up the courage and furor of the Celtic warriors. By this time (in the beginning phase of the battle), the challenge was issued where their champions emerged forth to duel with their opponents. And once the single combats were performed, the Celts were driven into their battle-frenzy โ and thus they charged at the enemy lines with fury. As Julius Caesar described one of the frenzied charges made by the Nervii at the Battle of the Sambre (inย Gallic Warย Book II)-
โฆthey suddenly dashed out in full force and charged our cavalry, easily driving them back and throwing them into confusion. They then ran down to the river with such incredible speed that it seemed to us as if they were at the edge of the wood, in the river, and on top of us almost all in the same moment. Then with the same speed they swarmed up the opposite hill towards our camp and attacked the men who were busy fortifying it……
Lime-washed hair
Diodorus Siculus, along with other ancient authors, also mentions how the Celts used to artificially โwhitenโ their hair with lime-water. This practice probably alluded to a ritual where the warrior adopted the horse as his totem, and thus aspired for the blessings and protection ofย Eponia, the horse goddess. Interestingly enough, the lime-washing possibly even hardened the hair to some degree (though overuse caused the hair to fall out), which could have offered slight protection against the fluky slashes directed towards the head.
CLAN CARRUTHERS INT SOCIETY CCISย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย PROMPTUS ET FIDELIS
ย
TARTANS AND GUTLAND OR GOTLAND
History of the Tartan
2020 YEAR OF THE TARTAN
According to the textile historian E. J. W. Barber, the Hallstatt culture of Central Europe, which is linked with ancient Celtic populations and flourished between the 8th and 6th centuries BC, produced tartan-like textiles. Some of them were discovered in 2004, remarkably preserved, in the Hallstatt salt mines near Salzburg, Austria. Textile analysis of fabric from the Tarim mummies in Xinjiang, northwestern China has also shown it to be similar to that of the Iron Age Hallstatt culture. Tartan-like leggings were found on the “Chechen Man”, a 3,000-year-old mummy found in the Taklamakan Desert. Similar finds have been made in central Europe and Scandinavia. The earliest documented tartan in Britain, known as the “Falkirk” tartan, dates from the 3rd century AD. It was uncovered at Falkirk in Stirlingshire, Scotland, about 400 meters north-west of the Antonine Wall. The fragment was stuffed into the mouth of an earthenware pot containing almost 2,000 Roman coins. The Falkirk tartan has a simple check design, of natural light and dark wool. Early forms of tartan like this are thought to have been invented in pre-Roman times, and would have been popular among the inhabitants of the northern Roman provinces as well as in other parts of Northern Europe such as Gutland, where the same pattern was prevalent.ย There is evidence of weaving looms in Gutland that date back to the 4th century.ย Many of the Vikings from Gotland were buried with a piece of tartan in their mouth.
If someone says that tartans were not around until the 1400โs or 1600โs, you know this is wrong. They are most likely reading off of a merchandisers website, who wants to sell you something.
Ourย Gutland ancestors wore tartans as early as 8BC.
Wearing A Tartan
As each century passed, and the development of clothing evolved you will see a continuing change in the checks and designs of each tartan.ย Martin Martin, in A Description of the Western Islands of Scotland, published in 1703, wrote that Scottish tartans could be used to distinguish the inhabitants of different regions. He expressly wrote that the inhabitants of various islands and the mainland of the Highlands were not necessarily all dressed alike, but that the setts and colors of the various tartans did varied from isle to isle.
For many centuries, the patterns were loosely associated with the weavers of a particular area This might have been the start of families wearing the same cloth. A 1587 charter granted to Hector Maclean of Duart requires feu duty on land paid as 60 ells of cloth of white, black and green colours. A witness of the 1689 Battle of Killiecrankie describes “McDonnell’s men in their triple stripes.
Many setts were given fancy names for their tartans, such as the Robin Hood tartan, but did not use their name to describe a tartan.ย ย ย ย Regimental or Military tartans started 1730.
There was always a distinction to each color and pattern of a tartan, depending on where you lived, what sett you were in, and even what regimental tartan you agreed on adopting.
Color of Your Tartan.
Most of what is recorded about tartans, has to do with battles, and the tartan that was worn for a particular battle.ย Men wore tartans as a regiment, a distinguishable sign of your โteamโ.ย Similar to wearing the same t-shirts for competitions today.
As we know from the last blog, our ancestors liked to fight in the buff!ย ย Scary thought.
Pic:ย Clan Carruthers Ancient Tartan, made with dyes from the earth.ย This is one of the more traditional tartans for the Carruthers Clan.ย There is also a version called the Carruthers modern, where the colors are more red and yellow.ย ย USA Kilts is a wonderful company to work with.
When our group of ancestors went off to battle, approximately 1080, during the times of the crusades, William the Conqueror was the King, and he gave the colors of red and yellow to our ancestors.ย There is also evidence that King David also gave or reinforced the colors of red and gold for use of the Carruthers Clan.ย They would use these colors on their clothing, amour, flags and such.ย Some interpret the color red was used as โbattle tartansโ, designed so they would not show blood. ย The yellow color might be that of gold, a sign of royalty, since it is said that William the Lion and King David both gave us those colors to wear proudly. Some will say that various colors associated with families is a modern idea, but I do not agree.
Many people could not read or write, but they could tell a clan by their colors and their symbols.ย All those who fought with King William of Scotland used the Royal Rampart as their symbol.ย He was not known as King William “The Lion” until after his death.
The colors of red (natural rust) and yellow (gold), have been carried through centuries associated with the Carruthers Family.
Popularity Of The Bruce Clan
At one time it was proposed that Robert de Brus, fought with our ancestors.
There is no evidence to support a claim that a member of the family, Robert de Brus, this we can find no justification for, except that both families fought side by side, with King William and as a Knight Templar.
We now know, through DNA, that David Etherington, Robert de Brus, father and his grandson Robert de Brus, carries the Carruthers CTSDNA genome.ย There has not been any testing done on any of Davids children, including Robert.ย ย We do know that both Roberts married Carruthers women.ย ย So the Carruthers, again with various names were here on this planet prior to Robert de Brus.
This is a picture of William Wallace Tartan and it was very common for that time.ย Notice the mutted colors of hand dyed material, where the dyes came from Mother Nature. The more mutted the colors the older the clan.
Today you can get a tartan in various dyes.
The shades of color in tartan can be altered to produce variations of the same tartan. The resulting variations are termed: modern, ancient, and muted. These terms refer to color only.
ย Modern represents a tartan that is colored using chemical dye, as opposed to natural dye. In the mid-19th century natural dyes began to be replaced by chemical dyes which were easier to use and were more economic for the booming tartan industry. Chemical dyes tended to produce a very strong, dark color compared to the natural dyes. In modern colors, setts made up of blue, black and green tend to be obscured.
Ancient refers to a lighter shade of tartan. These shades are meant to represent the colors that would result from fabric aging over time.
Muted refers to tartan which is shade between modern and ancient. This type of tartan is very modern, dating only from the early 1970s. This shade is said to be the closest match to the shades attained by natural dyes used before the mid-19th century.
Merchandizers
ย
In 2003, many of the oldest records were destroyed in a fire in Scotland.ย The Tartan Museum in Franklin, North Carolina USA, holds more records than anyone right now. Because of this fire, I do believe that merchandisers feel they can and will say whatever they need to, in order to sell their product.ย In reality, you can wear whatever you wish. Military and Regimental tartans.ย Sections of Scotland have territorial tartans.ย ย Some parts of Canada have adopted territorial tartans.
Anyone can go and have a tartan designed and call it what they want.ย They can list it, and register it (similar to a patent) and collect money from it.ย Tartans can be marketed in any way they wish, to get you to buy it.
I would recommend if you are considering a tartan that you talk to other family members and agree on one.
You come from an ancient and honorable family and possibly the traditional red and yellow is right for you. You should be proud to use the oldest tartan of the Carruthers Clan, as were all that went before us.
CARRUTHERS – GOTLAND TO SCOTLAND- FROM ASHMEN OR AACHENMAN
Carruthers โ Gotland – Ashman
In the last two blogs, 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.ย The same DNA takes us to 500 BC on the island of Gotland.
Gotland was in a perfect position to be a destination that people traveling would stop at. Its position in the middle of the Baltic Sea made the island a natural hub for contact between West and East. However, being an island also meant developing along different paths, creating special traditions and legends.
An island off the southwestern coast of what is now Sweden.
Traces of around 60 coastal settlements have been found on Gotland, says Dan Carlsson. Most were small fishing hamlets with jetties apportioned among nearby farms. Frรถjel, which was active ย up until 1150, was one of about 10 settlements that grew into small towns, and Carlsson believes that it became a key player in a far-reaching trade network. โGotlanders were middlemen,โ he says, โand they benefited greatly from the exchange of goods from the West to the East, and the other way around.โ
There is no doubt that Gotland served as a central meeting point in the Baltic Sea. Commerce took place among people from widespread areas, both near and far. Objects found in excavations include artefacts from Continental Europe and the Arabian caliphate. Since they found artifacts from the Arabian countries, does that mean we raped and pillaged our way down there. ย OH, you bet we did! ย And we were damn good at it too!
Most astounding of all are the great silver treasures, which have become well-known throughout the world. The huge number ofโ silver hordesโ finds bears witness to wealth found nowhere else at our latitude. They have found in excess of 180,000 coins on Gotland, in comparison to 80,000 coins in all of Sweden and Norway.ย The coins show the extent of Gotlandโs contact with the outside world and the trade that helped make the island so rich. Ornamental metalwork is often found in burials but also comes from hoards and bog finds. Our ancestors were great โmetal spinnersโ.ย Findinsg in iron, copper, and silver are numerous. Besides the coins, the gold is found in the form of thin, disk-shaped pendants stamped on one side (known as bracteates), sword pommels, scabbard mounts, and large, extravagantly decorated collars with applied decoration.
ย ย ย
Fishing and hunting of wild animals, including moose, bear, and reindeer as well as small mammals and birds, remained important throughout the Late Iron Age, along with agriculture based on raising cattle, hogs, sheep, and goats and growing barley, rye, oats, and flax on arable land as the climate allowed.ย Gotland was the most agriculturally rich areas. In the far north, there were reindeer herders . The hunters, fisherman and farmers were the upper class on Gotland, during the iron age.
Characteristic house types were long rectangular houses like those known at Vallhagar near the west coast of Gotland, dating to the sixth century, apparently similar to later Viking Age halls of indigenous longhouse type that are described in saga literature.
Earlier than that in the Iron Age, ย hillforts dot the landscape of the west coast of Gotland.ย ย In coastal areas, they seem to provide refuge from sea attacks and protect waterways. Stone forts were built on the Baltic Islands, including Torsburgen on Gotlands.
The huge number ofโ silver hordesโ finds bears witness to wealth found nowhere else at our latitude. They have found in excess of 180,000 coins on Gotland, in comparison to 80,000 coins in all of Sweden and Norway.ย The coins show the extent of Gotlandโs contact with the outside world and the trade that helped make the island so rich.Hoards of Roman solidi (gold coins) deposited on the Baltic Islands from the late fifth century through the mid-sixth century also reflect unrest in this period.
Because of the fact that our ancestors were such master of metal spinning, the helmets they made were of course the best. ย They had the only metal helmet made with a protector for their nose. ย Roman had helmets, but they did not know how to have any protecting over their face. ย
Burials include both inhumation and cremation during the Late Iron Age, with single mounds gradually replacing mound groups yet with great variation in grave types. At 500 AD ornamental gold and bronze fragments were discovered and shown to be damaged by a cremation fire. ย The ancestors were quite ritualistic. ย They held elaborate funerals.
Many families had their own graveyard, and they would build the outline of a ship around were all their immediate family was buried. ย These were called barrow graves.
Our Ancestors were fierce shipbuilders. Because of their metal spinning craftsmanship, they could create the tools needed. ย 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. ย When people from other regions saw the boats, they would put their order in, and thus it was quite profitable for the Ancestors.ย This is where they made the most of their money.ย ย Boats and ships were a major importance in everyday life and they were a symbol of wealth and power.ย Our ancestors were advanced in wood carpentry and it is mentioned often that these ships were lighter, slimmer, stronger and faster.
Because of the importance and sacredness of the Ash Tree, used for personal rituals and ย for making these excellent ships, we were referred to as Ashman.ย That was our name on Gotland, before coming to Scotland.ย 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 Ashman.
Before we were Carruthers, we were Ashman, AACHENMEN !
Immediately I want to thank Dr. Tim Frasier and Dan Carlson RPA for all their work they have done, and are continuing to do.ย Dr. Tim Frasier, from Brisbane Australia, has been my direct link and when I talked to him about sharing this information with the Carruthers line of people he asked me to wait until after St. Patricks Day, and so I did.
People do not like to read 15 page detailed manuscripts, for we are in a world of short and quick.ย So each blog I will try to remember that, and keep things short and quick.ย If I went over something a little too quickly just ask for more and I will be happy to write more on that point.
Let us begin with DNA.ย Deoxyribonucleic acid.ย You may be familiar with swabbing the inside of someoneโs cheek for a paternity test.ย Times are advancing, and that is still done, but not current.ย For more than 10 years they use digital DNA testing, all you need is a breath, a relic, soil samples now and you can test DNA.
Dr Tim Frasier worked on an archeological dig as a student almost 15 years ago, and has been involved in the continuous findings since.ย He was able to match them up to findings from a dig in 1840 from Lancaster, England.ย Then the Lancaster England project was matched up to a dig in Fjale farmstead project.ย This went on and on with matching up DNA markers from various sites.
DNA markers are guides, similar to finger prints, that usually do not match up.ย But these did.ย In fact, they were finding 37 DNA markers that were matching up all the time.ย No one expected this at all.
These DNA markings ended around 100 A.D.
What do they do with this information?ย They want to find a match.ย Dr. Tim Frasier, needed a sampling of DNA to match up with his findings.ย Samples had to be living samples.ย After many years, and I am taking the liberty to make this short, he found over 6800 samples, and all 37 DNA markers matched the Carruthers.
There are very few families were each member has 37 markers that match.ย Some even more, which helps determination of geography too.ย ย ย They tested various artifacts from museums, and letters written by Carruthers. Edward 1723 was tested, John Carothers 1725, Crothers 1834, Bobby Cruthirds, Christopher 1822, Nathaniel 1760, Robert 1668, James 1791, David 1749, James 1695, John 1725 and many more.ย Every one tested were all related, all the same DNA markers.
It does not matter where you live, where your ancestors lived, every one of the Carruthers tested and being tested have 37 markers.ย Not all DNA testing that you can get publicly does all 37 markers.
We are all related! The family is tested back to 500 BC.
We all originated in one spot.ย One tiny island.
This means that every one of the โCarruthersโ on this planet are all from Gotlund, and lived there until 400 AD.
The Carruthers Clan Int Society is for all Carruthers, all 200 plus variations in the spelling. We are governed by a Chief and Chieftains, along with a Board of Directors. We have taken the extra steps to become a registered corporation, updated the Crest and the Coat of Arms so it can be proudly used by all members.
Carruthers Clan Chief :ย Pat E Carrothers
Carruthers Clan Chieftains : Keith Carrothers, Canada Harold J Carruthers, Canada Jeff Carrothers, United States Chris Carruthers, Canada
HAPLOGROUP l1 : CARRUTHERS DNA PATH CTS11603 – CTS6364
Proof that the Carruthers are from Gutland/Gotland
Distribution of Haplogroup I1 in Europe
Haplogroup I1 is the most common I subclade in northern Europe. It is found mostly in Scandinavia and Finland, where it typically represent over 35% of the male Y-chromosomes. Associated with the Norse ethnicity, I1 is found in all places
invaded by ancient Germanic tribes and the Vikings. Other parts of Europe speaking Germanic languages come next in frequency. Germany, Austria, the Low Countries, England and the Scottish Lowlands all have between 10% and 20% of I1
lineages
ORIGINS AND HISTORY
Haplogroup I is the oldest major haplogroup in Europe and in all probability the only one that originated there (apart from very minor haplogroups like C6 and deep subclades of other haplogroups). It is thought to have arrived from the Middle East as haplogroup IJ sometime between 45,000 and 50,000 years ago, and developed into haplogroup I approximately 40,000 years ago. It has now been confirmed by ancient DNA test that Cro-Magnons, the first Homo sapiens to colonize Europe 45,000 years ago, belonged to haplogroups BT, CT, C, F, IJ and I.
The I1 branch is estimated to have split away from the rest of haplogroup I some 27,000 years ago. I1 is defined by over 300 unique mutations, which indicates that this lineage experienced a serious population bottleneck. Most of the Late Glacial and Mesolithic remains tested to date belonged to haplogroup I* or I2. It is not yet clear in which part of Europe I1 originated. It has been speculated that I1 evolved in isolation in Scandinavia during the late Upper Paleolithic and Mesolithic periods, when hunter-gatherers from southern Europe recolonised the northern half of the continent from their LGM refugia. The oldest attested evidence of postglacial resettlement of Scandinavia dates from 11,000 BCE with the appearance of the Ahrensburg culture . However, five Y-DNA samples from Mesolithic Sweden, dating from c. 5800 to 5000 BCE and tested by Lazaridis et al. 2013 and Haak et al. 2015 all turned out to belong to haplogroup I2.
The earliest sign of haplogroup I1 emerged from the testing of Early Neolithic Y-DNA from western Hungary (SzรฉcsรฉnyiNagy et al. 2014 ). A single I1 sample was identified alongside a G2a2b sample, both from the early Linear Pottery (LBK)
culture , which would later diffuse the new agricultural lifestyle to most of Poland, Germany and the Low Countries. This means that haplogroup I1 was present in central Europe at the time of the Neolithic expansion.
I
t is therefore possible that I1 lineages were among the Mesolithic European hunter-gatherers assimilated by the wave of East Mediterranean Neolithic farmers (represented chiefly by Y-haplogroup G2a). There is also evidence from the Neolithic samples of the Early Neolithic Starฤevo and Cardium Pottery cultures that haplogroup I2a lived alongside G2a farmers
both in south-east and south-west Europe.
The most likely hypothesis at present is that I1 and I2 lineages were dispersed around Europe during the Mesolithic, and that some branches prospered more than others thanks to an early adoption of agriculture upon contact with the Near Eastern
farmers who were slowly making their way across the Balkans and the Mediterranean shores. The small group of farmers from the early LBK culture from Hungary might have formed a blend of I1 and G2a men. Yet distinct families would have
spread in different directions and met varying successes in their expansion. It would appear that a founder effect in the northern LBK population led to a sudden explosion of I1 lineages, perhaps in part thanks to their better knowledge of the Central European terrain and fauna (since hunting was typically practised side by side to agriculture to complement the farmers’ diet). I1 would later have spread to Scandinavia from northern Germany.
This data is consistent with a Neolithic dispersal of I1 from Hungary with the LBK culture and the subsequent Funnelbeaker culture (4000-2700 BCE) in northern Germany and southern Scandinavia. One Swedish sample from the late Mesolithic
Pitted Ware culture (3200-2300 BCE) also turned out to belong to I2a1 and not I1.
PIC: FUNNELBEAKER CULTURE
Both the Funnelbeaker and Pitted Ware cultures represent a merger between the Neolithic (farming) and Mesolithic (huntergatherer) lifestyles. Neolithic farmers from Germany penetrated late into Scandinavia and in small numbers. There is archeological evidence that Neolithic farmers settled in southern Scandinavia and lived side by side with hunter-gatherers for several centuries during the Funnelbeaker culture.
Skoglund et al. 2012 tested and compared the DNA of one Neolithic farmer and three hunter-gatherers from Sweden ( GOTLAND ) dating from 5,000 years ago. It turned out that the farmer was much closer genetically to modern Mediterranean people, especially the Sardinians, who are generally considered the best proxy population to Neolithic European farmers. The hunter-gatherers’s DNA resembled that of modern Northeast Europeans, and perhaps even more that of the Finns and Samis than Scandinavians.
Scandinavian hunter-gatherers would have adopted the new Neolithic lifestyle little by little, using pottery and keeping domesticated animals (sheep, cattle, pigs and goats) to complement their traditional diet of fishing and game hunting. The
cultivation of wheat, barley and legumes was fairly limited due to the cold climate. The cold climate was actually a barrier to the expansion of farmers from the continent. This is why Scandinavians retained a greater percentage of Mesolithic ancestry
than virtually all other Europeans, apart from the Samis, Finns, Balts and Russians.
No ancient Y-DNA from the Funnelbeaker culture in Scandinavia has been tested to date, but it is likely that I1 really started gathering momentum toward the end of the Funnelbeaker period. It might also have been among the Funnelbeaker lineages
that were most successfully assimilated by Proto-Indo-European invaders during the Corded Ware culture (aka Battle-Axe culture in Scandinavia). Most I1 individuals today share a common ancestor around the time of the transition between the
Funnelbeaker and Corded Ware periods.
CARRUTHERS DNA PATH
ย If youย have been following any of the Carruthers Genome paths, then you will remember that one of our first sub clave groups was : L22+ (aka S142+) which is the main Nordic subclade. It is also very common in Britain and Scotland, especially on the east coast where the Vikings settled most heavily, in the Low Countries and Normandy (also doubtlessly the heritage of the Danish Viking), as well as in Poland and Russia (Swedish Vikings).
We do have DNA matchings at this point to a landing at winchester/cinchester around 400 AD, and one on the eastern coast around 800 AD.
2.ย Another Carruthers sub clave group was :ย P109+ A mostly southern Scandinavian subclade, with a presence in all the regions settled by the Danish Vikings. It has been found sporadically in many parts of Europe, such as western Iberia, northern Italy, the Balkans, Lithuania and Russia.
3.ย M253 came through as another Carruthers genome marker, is also know as L1 Haplogroup.ย The haplogroup L1 reaches its peak frequencies in Swedenย (52 percent of males inย Vรคstra Gรถtaland County) and westernย Finland (more than 50 percent inย Satakuntaย province).ย ย In terms of national averages, I-M253 is found in 35โ38 per cent ofย Swedish males,ย ย 32.8% ofย Danish males,ย ย about 31.5% ofย Norwegian males,ย ย and about 28% ofย Finnish males.
4.ย With the last Carruthers DNA CTS research project, we were able to pinpoint the Carruthers individual genome marker as CTS11603.ย Every Carruthers would have this genome in their DNA to date.
5.ย Our Z2337 genome shows that we are of a Northern Nordic Cluster, east of Sweden, a 52% finding of GOTLAND.ย We also do not have DNA that supports the Swedish or Norwegian findings.
6.ย Continuing this project we are able to link CTS11603 to our nordic forensic genome of CTS6364.ย We were not called Carruthers in this time frame, we were Ashmen, Aachenmen, and today we share this Nordic genome with people with the name Ashman, which is more prevalent in eastern Europe.ย ย In theory we knew about this in 2017, but we were asked not to report this until further studies were done.
These results show 30 generational markers past R1b, which puts us beyond 75,000 years in DNA studies.
There are two other Scottish Clans, that we have been helping, find their results for their family members.ย We wish everyone the best on continuing their family history.
OFFICIAL AND REGISTEREDL CLAN CARRUTHERS CCIS SINCE 1983-CLAN OF OUR ANCESTORS
CLAN CARRUTHERS INT SOCIETY CCIS PROMPTUS ET FIDELIS
THE VIKING ISLAND – GOTLAND
We have many Clan Carruthers members wishing to see and understand their ancestors who came from Gutland/Gotland. Our genetic genealogist were able to tell us that there is DNA proof that the Carruthers were from Gotland and landed in Scotland in a wave about 450 AD. Further DNA shows individuals coming to Scotland prior to that, but not in a large grouping.
For all the people interested in what they will see and why in Gotland today, we hope you enjoy.
The Baltic isle of Gotland, forty-five kilometres from Stockholm, is indeed almost another little country. It is an unspoiled island with pine and spruce forests, hay meadows full of wildflowers, wide deserted beaches, old farmsteads, a profusion of country churches and a capital city, Visby, with charming medieval houses and one of the best preserved ring walls in Europe.
What makes it special, however, is that it offers an unparalleled way to experience a sense of history while still benefiting from the twenty-first centuryโs conveniences and comforts. Here on Gotland, for example, the same beer is brewed as was drunk all over Europe in the Middle Ages while at the same time you can find locally produced art and craft items of modern, cutting-edge design.
Tofta Church, one of the island’s many iconic, well-preserved medieval churches.
A brief overview of the islandโs history explains why you can feel as though you have stepped back in time. That it is a very ancient land as is evidenced by discovery of fossils, some over 400 million years old. There are traces of the Tjelvar, or Palaeolithic, people who arrived 7,000 years ago. From the Bronze Age there are almost 400 cairns and 350 stone ship-settings (boulders set out in the shape of a ship symbolizing death as a voyage to the unknown) together with large numbers of prehistoric grave fields, house foundations, hill forts and rune stones โ an incredible total of 3,100 registered sites make this the richest archaeological region in Sweden.
The island was powerful during the early Viking age. Archaeological research revealed that not only Visby but around forty other harbours and trading centres existed at this time. The island was effectively an independent republic of seafaring farmers and its situation at the meeting point of east and west made it one of the centres of world trade. In the eighth and ninth centuries the Mediterranean had come under Muslim domination and a new trade route through the Baltic linking northern Europe with the Orient via rivers became an alternative to the Mediterranean route.
The early Hanseatic League developed around the Baltic Sea and the Gotlanders, who had already explored along the Russian rivers and established a trading station at Novgorod, bought furs, wax, tar and timber, some of which they sold to the English kings. Wealth continued to accumulate: huge hoards of silver have been and are still being found all over the island.
With the advent of Christianity came a spate of church building โ the presence of ninety-two magnificent parish churches in such a small island (120 km long and 56 km wide) are further evidence of its wealth. Gradually however, power had moved from the seafaring farmers to the burghers of Visby. The Germans, mainly from Lรผbeck, arrived in the 1150s and built their own church, St Maryโs, which was used both for religious and commercial purposes. It was here that the chest containing the Hanseatic trading agreements was kept, the annual opening of which marked the start of the trading year. In the thirteenth century the small wooden houses of the city were rebuilt as the beautiful large stone buildings we see today. Some thirteen new churches were erected and the streets were paved with limestone. Visby was then the most modern town in northern Europe and it remains one of the most perfect examples of Hanseatic architecture.
St Maryโs Church is still in use (it is now the cathedral) and picturesque ivy-covered ruins of eleven other medieval churches remain โ some used in summer for open-air concerts and plays. There are over 200 medieval houses in the city: on Strandgatan, previously occupied by the wealthiest merchants, there are some wonderful old stone warehouses, including the Galma Apotek with its hoist beams tucked under corbie-stepped gables through which the merchandize was hauled up to different storeys. The city wall built around 1280, is 3.5 km long and 11m high; it has a parapet walk, three gates and over fifty towers, all in good condition.
During the last years of the thirteenth century however, Gotland lost its importance. In 1259 the Germans had established their own Hanseatic Kontor in Novgorod and so no longer needed the Gotlanders. Meanwhile Denmark, which had also seen a diminution of strength at the hands of the Germans, was seeking, under its newly crowned king Valdemar Atterdag, to increase its power. In 1361 Valdemar invaded and conquered Gotland.
This marked the end of Gotlandโs glory days. What had been the foundation of the islandโs prosperity, the sea, became a drawback. Having been sacked and occupied first by pirates, then by The Order of Teutonic Knights, Visby gradually became a backwater and by the sixteenth century all the churches except St Maryโs were abandoned and the settlement was in decay.
In 1645 Gotland became Swedish but its isolation meant that industrialization came late to the island โ but its poverty did ensure that the old medieval buildings were not torn down and replaced with newer more fashionable edifices. This, however, together with the fact that it retained its agricultural, building and craft traditions โ and even its distinctive folk-speech โ make it the unique place we can enjoy today. Visby became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995.
Museums outside Visby include a limeworks museum at Blรคse, and an open-air ยญmuseum at Bunge with farm buildings from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries.
There are also unusual out-of-museum experiences for the history-lover. In Visby you can stay in a medieval house, the Medieval Hotel, furnished and decorated with an interior inspired by the fourteenth century; swim between medieval columns in the pool below the Wisby Hotel or attend the Medieval Week which takes place every August. Strangatan is crowded with market stalls and you encounter costumed smiths, cobblers, barbers and traders selling newly plucked hens, eggs, herbs and spices. Musicians play flutes and fiddles, jesters play the fool and merchants stroll around decked in their finery. Carts, ยญhorses, sheep and hens jostle the crowds. Three camps attended by people from all over the world prepare for the tournaments by fashioning swords and armour. During the week hundreds of events take place: mystery plays, masses, tournaments, concerts, displays, archery competitions as well as lectures and guided walks. The culmination occurs when, after dark, a re-enactment of the invasion of Valdemar Atterdag, is staged. The King rides into town to plunder the wealth of the townspeople. The ยญmaiden who betrayed the town is then led in procession to be walled into the tower by the sea. Gotlanders see no irony in thus celebrating a defeat/
Gotlandโs Medieval Week however, is no tasteless mish-mash: the past is researched in a scholarly fashion, and in winter the local people attend evening classes given by historians to learn about every aspect of fourteenth-century life and then set about making their costumes in, as nearly as possible, the old way. There is even a class for making medieval shoes.
At other times of year at the Chapter House in Visby, you can still see herbs and vegetables growing as they used to and try your hand at medieval handicrafts. You can play the ancient Gotlandish game club kayles, fire a catapult machine known as a trebuchet or sample food prepared according to old manuscripts.
Historical activities are not confined to Visby, there are numerous ancient sites to visit throughout the island. There are old or reconstructed farms in Burgsvik, Gothem and Sjonhem, Fjรคle. There is a reconstructed Viking Village at Tofta which evokes farming life in the ninth century. You can see rune stones still standing on their original site (most have been removed to museums) at Ange in Butte. Then there is the Bulkverket, a strange and unique wooden platform-like construction sunk in the middle of Lake Tingstรคde, the purpose of which is not yet fully understood. Those interested in field archaeology will want to know about the Viking Discovery Programme, whose first phase, the excavation of the west-coast port at Frojel, was completed in 2005. In the summer of 2007 the second phase, scheduled to last three years, will begin, excavating a number of Viking-age farms. The project will consists of two or three-week courses with lectures and fieldwork and is open to students and volunteers.
History aside, modern Gotland has much to offer; good hotels, a chain of gourmet restaurants, anยญtique shops, modern trendy designer boutiques and little cafes in which you can sit and reflect on the passing of the centuries while enjoying a coffee and the local delicacy safranspannaka served with cream and Gotlandโs own salmberry jam.
Delicious!
The Goths were a number of Germanic tribes in the Migration Period, which appeared in written history in the third century in the areas north of the Black Sea between the rivers Danube and Don. Except for frequent raids, they invaded the Roman Empire first time in 268 AD, and later in 376 AD. The Western Goths settled a few years in the Garonne valley in France until they conquered a kingdom, which included Spain and the South of France. In France, they were displaced by the Franks after a few years, and Spain was in 711 AD conquered by Muslim invaders – but the Goths descendants took the country back in the Middle Ages. The Eastern Goths established a thriving kingdom in Italy, but after only 67 years, they were defeated by armies sent by the emperor in Constantinople.
A map of Europe showing the Germanic kingdoms that were established after the downfall of the Western Roman Empire. After numerous battles and long migrations, the Western Goths managed to settle in Spain and the Eastern Goths to take possession of Italy. However, it did not last forever. From ancientweb.org.
An artistic reconstruction of the Western Goths in battle with Attila’s Huns at Chalons. From ancientweb.org.
When the first Goths arrived at the northern coast of the Black Sea about 170 AD, the climate was still influenced by the Roman Warm Period, which, however, ended about 400 AD. The Vandals crossed the frozen Rhine new year’s eve 406 AD, thus commencing the Migration time and heralding the downfall of the Western Roman Empire. The fact that the Rhine was frozen, testifies to a rather cold climate. I do not recall the Rhine has been frozen in modern times. From then on, until the disaster at Guadalete in Spain in 711 AD, when the Western Goths were defeated by invading Muslims, the climate was cold with snowy winters in northern and central Europe.
GOTHS ARE FROM GOTLAND
JUTLAND WAS GOTLAND
Goths can be traced further back in history to today’s northern Poland, and even in the distant past to their origins in Scandinavia and the Baltic area.
Thus Jutland through thousand years was called Gotland.
Paul the Deacon tells about how the Langobards migrated from their original island in the ocean:ย “Now when the people living there had multiplied to such a number that they could no longer live together, they divided, it is told, their whole people into three parts and decided by casting lots, which of those, who were to leave the homeland and seek new places of residence.”ย Dudo confirmed many years later that it was a traditional way of solving problems of overpopulation in Scandinavia.
Also, the Gotland Gute Saga says that some of the people were taken for emigration by casting lot:ย “After a long time, the people have so increased that the country was not able to feed them all. So the land was distributed, on which every third tilled, each of these was allowed to keep and bring and take away everything, which he in his life had acquired.”
Pliny the Elder (23-79 AD) wrote:ย “Pytheas says that the Gutones, ( plural for Goths ) a people of Germania, inhabits the shores of an estuary of the Ocean called Mentonomon, their territory extending a distance of six thousand stadia; that, at one day’s sail from this territory, is the Isle of Abalus, upon the shores of which, amber is thrown up by the waves in spring, it being an excretion of the sea in a concrete form; as, also, that the inhabitants use this amber by way of fuel, and sell it to their neighbours, the Teutones.”
***ย THROUGH ALL THE DNA AND GENEALOGY WE DO NOT FIND ANY EVIDENCE THAT THE GOTHS WERE GERMANIC.ย THE LIGHTER GREEN COLOR IS GOTLAND NO EARLIER THAN 200 AD.ย YOU CAN SEE HOW IT WAS JUST A SMALL TRIBUTARY THAT THEY NAVIGATED THROUGH. THE RED LINE WITH ARROW SHOWS THE NORTHERN BORDER OF GOTLAND.ย ***
Plinius wrote:ย “Pytheas says that the Gutones, a people of Germany, inhabit the shores of an estuary of the Ocean called Mentonomon, their territory extending a distance of six thousand stadia.”ย Other ancient writers also believed that the Baltic Sea and inner Danish waters was a major estuary.
Procopius wrote about the returning Heruls:ย “After these, they passed by the nations of the Dani, without suffering violence at the hands of the barbarians there. Coming thence to the ocean, they took to the sea, and putting in at Thule, remained there on the island.” – “And one of their most numerous nations is the Gauti, and it was opposite (next to?) them that the incoming Eruli settled at the time in question.”ย We must believe that Procopius shared the ancient authors believe that the Danish waters and the Baltic Sea was a large estuary, in which case itย “opposite the Goths”ย can be understood: on the opposite side of the estuary. Alternatively, it should be translatedย “next to the Goths.” However, in both cases, suggesting that the Heruls were not Goths.
**ย WE KNOW THAT THE HERULS WERE RELATED TO THE GOTHS, THEY WERE THE ANCIENT PREDESSESORS TO THE GOTHS.ย ย WE DO HAVE THE CARRUTHERS GENEALOGY TRACED BACK TO THE HERULS THROUGH BOTH DNA AND GENEALOGY. **
There is some uncertainty about how long a stadium was, the proposals vary between 160 and 192 m. That means that the coastline, which was inhabited by Gutones, was between 960 and 1.152 km. long. That gives a range from Skagen to the Vistula estuary at Gdansk.
It suits very well with that the Jutland peninsula before the Viking Age was called Gotland, as it is the case in Ottar’s travelogue, added in Alfred the Great’s translation of Orosius’ Roman history from about 850 AC:ย “When he sailed there from Skรญringssal (at Oslo), Denmark was on the port side and to starboard for three days was the open sea. And then, two days before he came to Hedeby, Gotland was to starboard (him wรฆs on รพรฆt steorbord Gotland), and Sillende and many islands. The Angles dwelt in that area before they came here to this land.”
Since the area was inhabited by Gutones in time before Christ – according to Pytheas – and as part of it still was called Gotland 800-900 AD, it is reasonable to assume that at least the coast along Kattegat and the Baltic Sea were the Goth’s original homeland.
***ย DNA SHOWS THAT THERE WERE TWO LARGE ARRIVALS TO SCOTLANDS SOIL IN APPROXIMATELY 400 AD AND 850 AD.ย NOW THAT YOU CAN SEE THAT JUTLAND WAS GOTLAND, YOU CAN SEE HOW EASY IT WAS FOR THEM TO GO TO SCOTLAND.ย THEY PROBABLY WENT MANY MORE TIMES THAT JUST THE TWO.ย ***
Ottar’s and Wulfstan’s travels according to additions in Alfred the Great’s translation of Orosius’ Roman history. Both Jutland and the island in the Baltic Sea are called Gotland. (The island of Gotland is not shown on this map).
That will indicate that Cimbri, Teutons, Angles and all other tribes, who lived along this coastline, and whose names we are not sure about, all originally have thought of themselves as kinds of Goths speaking the same language, namely Gothic.
Some believe that the Gutones on the densely populated Jutland east coast very early crossed the Kattegat and gradually populated West and East Gรธta Land – and from there the island of Gotland in the Baltic Sea, which is what we see today.
In Alfred the Great’s translation of Orosius’ Roman history is also added Wulfstan’s travel report from a voyage from Hedeby to Truso in Vistula’s delta from about 850 AC, which reads:ย “Wulfstan said that he traveled from Hedeby, and that he was in Truso in seven days and nights, and that the ship all the way went under sail. Wendland was on his starboard side and to port, he had Langeland, Lolland, Falster and Scania. These countries all belong to Denmark. So we had Bornholm to port, and they have their own king. So after Bornholm we had the countries named first Blekinge, More, Oland and Gotland to port (and Gotland on bรฆcbord), and these countries belong to the Swedes. And we had Wendland to starboard all the way to the Vistula river mouth.”ย By Gotland is here obviously meant the island of Gotland or maybe the coast of Eastern Gรธtaland.
Gothic cross found in Spain perhaps from 700’s.
Ptolemy placed the people Goutai on the island of Skandia and the Gudones by the Vistula river.
The Roman historian Cornelius Tacitus described the location of the Gotones as:ย “Beyond the Lugii is the monarchy of the Gotones: The hand upon the reins closes somewhat tighter here than among the other tribes of Germans, but not so tight yet as to destroy freedom. Then immediately following them and on the ocean are the Rugii and Lemovii. The distinguishing features of all these tribes are round shields, short swords, and a submissive bearing before their kings.”ย This means that Gotones, who was ruled by powerful kings, lived north or northeast of the Lugii and further inland than the Rugii and Lemovii, which he explicitly stated as residing at the sea. Perhaps Gotones lived at the Vistula river.
Jordanes located the peoples Ostro-Goths, Ewa-Greutingis and Gaiti-Goths on the island of Scandia. Gauti-Goths wereย “a race of men bold and quick to fight”,ย he wrote, and further,ย “But still another race dwells there, the Sweans, who like the Thuringos, having splendid horses.”ย With the termย “another race”ย he must have meant that they were not Goths.ย “All these nation surpassed the Germans in size and spirit, and fought with the cruelty of wild beasts”, he concluded the description of the peoples on the Scandinavian peninsula.
Right and left side of a lance head with runic inscription found near Kovel in the Northwest corner of Ukraine. The runic inscription to be read from right to leftย “Tilarids”. It has been identified as likely East Germanic, most likely Gothic because of the nominative s-suffix. It is from the beginning of the third century. From Wikipedia.
He mentions different tribes of Goths, who lived on the island of Skandia, including Greutingis and Ostro-Goths, which names we later recognize for Gothic peoples on the Danube and in Italy. This makes it likely that it is true that the Goths, who attacked the Roman Empire, originally came from Scandinavia and the coasts of the Baltic Sea. Furthermore, there are several areas of southern Scandinavia, which have been called, or still are named as Gotland with different spellings, which also support the theory that this region was the original homeland of the Goths. In his report on the Gothic war in Italy, Procopius mentions the Rugi, as part of the Goths in Italy; they are also referred to by Jordanes as one of Skandia’s indigenous tribes. They are also mentioned in other ancient sources.
Pollen analysis from Abkjรฆr Mose at Vojens. It appears that forest, especially beech and ash, increases sharply and herbs typical of open land, grass and heather decrease immediately after the migration time around 500 AD indicating that the forest returned to areas that previously were pastures for cattle. Similar studies in other parts of the country show the same pattern. It is reasonable to interpret that this could be due to emigration.
Also, Procopius reports on the returning Heruls suggests that Scandinavia was quite thinly populated. For how could they justย “settle down”, as if they came to an untouched prairie? If not the country had been relatively sparsely populated.
However, when large parts of the original population had turned their back to good pastures, it may not only have been hunger and misery that drove them to emigrate.
It is known that for several hundred years of the late Imperial time the Roman legions were mostly populated with various Germanic soldiers since the Roman Empire’s own citizens did not seem to have been suitable. You could say that every Roman legion was a sort of Foreign Legion, in which also many young men from the South Scandinavian region must have served. Therefore the tribes around the Baltic Sea may have concluded that they were the best and the bravest – and therefore deserved to rule. Such attitudes among the Germanic tribes were most likely critical to the doom of the Western Roman Empire.
All these ancient authors wrote before official correct spelling was invented; they wrote in different languages with different alphabets and over a period of several hundred years. They reproduced words for Goths that often for them were in an unfamiliar language, besides most likely Gothic by this time had already developed in several dialects. It is quite understandable that they spelled it in so many different ways, and we do not have to connect any deeper meaning in the different spellings.
Like other Germanic peoples the Goths lived spread out over farmland in small villages with each may be about 8-10 houses and farms.
In Book III of Justinian’s wars, Procopius wrote about the Goths’ early history:ย “Now while Honorius was holding the imperial power in the West, barbarians took possession of his land; and I shall tell, who they were and in what manner, they did so. There were many Gothic nations in earlier times, just as also at the present, but the greatest and most important of all are the Goths, Vandals, Visigoths, and Gepaedes. In ancient times, however, they were named Sauromatae and Melanchlaeni; and there were some too, who called these nations Getic. All these, while they are distinguished from one another by their names, as has been said, do not differ in anything else at all. For they all have white bodies and fair hair and are tall and handsome to look upon, and they use the same laws and practice a common religion. For they are all of the Arian faith (Christians ) , and have one language called Gothic; and, as it seems to me, they all came originally from one tribe, and were distinguished later by the names of those who led each group.”
Procopius is undoubtedly correct that most Germanic migrations peoples were a kind of Goths; they resembled each other and spoke largely the same language. But then they must originally have come from the same tribe, as he wrote. That is, we must believe that they all came more or less directly from the original Gothic area along the Baltic Sea, the Danish waters and from the southern part of the Scandinavian Peninsula. Procopius believed that also the Vandals and Gepids were kinds of Goths, although they were not generally named as such.
Moreover, in Denmark are clear indications of a big drop in population density in Germanic Iron Age relative to the Roman Iron Age, which indicates a considerable migration.
*** TORE GANNAHORN HAS DONE SOME EXTENSIVE RESEARCH INTO GOTLAND.ย ONE BASIC ITEM HE FOUND OUT FOR US WAS THE GOTHS THAT TRAVELED TO THE EAST OF GOTLAND, TRAVELED DOWN THE RIVERS TO WHAT IS TODAY UKRAINE, THROUGH ROMANIA AND SUCH.ย MANY ARE FINDING A DNA LINK TO ROMANIA, AND THIS IS WHY.ย THE GOTHS THAT TRAVELED WEST, WERE THE ONES WHO WENT TO IRELAND , SCOTLAND, WALES AND BRITTAN.ย ***
Preserving the Past, Recording the Present, Informing the Future
Ancient and Honorable Carruthers Clan Int Societyย
Warrior women appear frequently in Scandinavian folklore, whether as pirates, fighters, leaders of armies or avengers. In sagas and poetry, women who chose to live as warriors were called โwarrior womenโ. These were women who had chosen to stand outside the traditional gender role, and they seem to have been an accepted part of Old Norse society. In many of the stories and the poems they are referred to a โshield maidensโ, meaning young women who had chosen to work as warriors. This expression is often used in the texts without further explanation, which suggests that the readers and listeners were well acquainted with the phenomenon The shield maidens must not be confused with the Valkyries, who were divine beings associated with the battlefield.
The question is whether warrior women are literary fantasies, myths, or a historical reality. Warrior women are not mentioned in any contemporary Nordic rune inscriptions, but that is perhaps not so surprising if they comprised only a small part of the Scandinavian warrior groups. Also, we know that rune stones often functioned as documentary records of inheritance and were usually raised by widows or mothers of fallen husbands and sons. Nor are warrior women named in French and Anglo-Saxon annals and chronicles.13 They are not mentioned either in the Irish chronicles in connection with the Vikings, but the phenomenon was not unfamiliar to the Irish themselves. The most famous were the protagonists Scรกthach and Aรญfe, who probably had Scottish-Celtic origins and lived in the 5th or 6th century.
Several older sources claim that warrior women were found in northern Europe and Scandinavia around the time of Christโs birth. Historians such as Strabo and Plutarch (1st century BC), Dio Cassius (49 AD) and Tacitus (100 AD) all say that there were warrior women among the tribes in northern and eastern Europe. In the 1st century AD, Saxon men and women were regarded by the Romans as of equal value. According to Tacitus, when a man married he gave to the woman oxen and a horse with its bridle, together with shield, spear and sword. She gave him the weapons back. Such reports, probably based on witness observation, surely contributed to reinforcing the Romansโ view of Germanic women as warlike. Such a ritual does not automatically imply that all women fought in war, or that all women bore weapons, but it can mean that Saxon men and women had shared responsibility for defending their nearest and dearest if necessary, and that fighting was part of life.
Two particular features recur in all Roman descriptions of the Germans: their appearance, with powerful bodies and reddish-blond hair and beard; and their women. According to the sources, the women supported their men in war and sometimes took part in the battles themselves.
Roman war reports regularly told of warrior women being found among the enemyโs dead. This can mean that some of the women fought in war, especially if the reports are from conflicts where the Romans were attacked, but it can also mean that women defended themselves with weapons when the tribe was attacked, just as Saxon women apparently did. As we do not know what types of conflict were being described, it is difficult to distinguish if these were warrior women who attacked the Romans, or whether they were taking part in a defence, or if they did both.
At the end of the 3rd century AD, 30 captured โGothic warrior womenโ were paraded in front of the populace when Emperor Aurelian (emperor 270โ275 AD) held a triumphal procession in Rome. It is quite possible that these women really were warrior women, but the Roman triumphal processions were theatre and these โGothic warrior womenโ may also have just been the result of the Romans wishing that such women did exist. The Romans, with their severe and puritanical view of women and their double moral standards regarding sex, must have been terrified and aroused at the same time by the thought that they could be attacked by women. Such emotions certainly led to many stories and fantasies being played out in the gladiatorial arenas and the triumphal processions.
Eastern Roman historians also mention warrior women among their European enemies. In Procopiusโ account of the war against the Goths (535โ552) there is a story about an English princess who led an invasion of Jutland and captured the young king, Radigis, because he had deceived her. This story is characteristic of Saga material, and it can hardly be used as a reliable source to prove the existence of the warrior woman. On the other hand, another Byzantine historian, Johannes Skylitzes, tells in his historical writing from the 12th century that warrior women took part in the fighting when Prince Svjatoslav of Kiev lost a battle against the Byzantines in Bulgaria in 971. He says that the Byzantines were amazed when they found armed women among the fallen warriors.
Even though Skylitzes was writing 200 years after the events, it is possible that he had access to contemporary archives. Just like the West Romans, the East Romans were prolific writers of reports. In this context, we must also consider the social structures among the rus. Svjatoslav and his warriors were almost nomadic. They could be absent from Kiev for years, and therefore would have their women, female slaves and children with them when they went raiding. It may have been these women who were killed in the battles, as they tried to defend themselves and their families.
Nearly all the descriptions of warrior women are in texts from the Middle Ages. They were written several centuries after the events they describe. Some of these reports are of events said to have taken place in the time of tribal migrations, which was even more remote.
The Fornalder sagas (โSagas of Earlier Timesโ) comprise a collection of legendary sagas which were gathered together at the end of the 14th century. Among others, they include Hervorโs and Hedrekโs Saga, which is about the magic sword, Tyrfing, with the action taking place in the 5th century. Hervor, Angantyrโs daughter, dressed like a man and learned to use weapons in her youth, and went on plundering raids in search of valuables.
In Rolf Gautreksons Saga, which was written down in the 13th century, we find Torbjรธrg the shield-maiden. She was daughter of a King Erik in Uppsala and preferred to spend her days in fighting and athletic activities than in womanly activities. She even had her own guard troops. In oral tradition she was known as โKing Torbergโ.
A number of women warriors also appear in Saxoโs 13th-century Gesta Danorum (โChronicle of the Danesโ). It is important to note that all the warrior women in the Fornalder sagas and in Saxoโs writings are upper-class women. In fact, this makes the stories appear more authentic. Even if they had wanted to do so, women from other layers of society would not have had the same opportunity to distinguish themselves in masculine arenas. In theory, upper-class women had the time and the authority to be able to assert themselves outside the wholly traditional role model.
According to Saxo, the warrior women were so numerous that he needed to explain to the reader why this was so. In Book Seven, which mainly deals with events at the end of the 8th century and beginning of the 9th, he says that he will explain how some women behaved in older times:
In olden days there were among the Danes, women who dressed like men and used nearly every moment of their time in battle-training so as not to run the risk that the sickness of luxurious life would drain away their courage. They hated luxury, preferring to harden both body and soul with toil and endurance (โฆ) they forced their womanly nature to act with manly ruthlessness. And they absorbed the art of warfare with such zeal that one would not believe they were women any longer. It was especially those with a strong personality or a tall, handsome body who chose such a life.
After his introduction, Saxo turns back to the story itself, which is an account of the line of Danish kings. Warrior women appear again in Book Eight. In the battle of Brรคvall, between the Danish King Harald Hildetann and the Swedish King Ring, there are among the leaders of the Danish army two woman warriors, Hede and Visna, โto whom nature has given manly courage in womenโs bodiesโ. These two women led a force from Slesvig in the battle. Visna carried the unitโs banner and is described by Saxo as โa tough woman with good knowledge of the arts of warfareโ. Hede led Haraldโs right flank.
Vebjรธrg was another woman warrior who took part on the Danish side. She led a group of โbattlethirsty menโ and was herself a feared warrior. She felled a giant called Sote during the battle, but when she began to challenge further warriors to individual combat she was killed by a well-aimed arrow. The other women were all killed in the battle too. Among other wounds, Visna had her hand chopped off. On King Ringโs side, it is mentioned briefly among other things that Gerd den glade (โGerd the Happyโ) fought for him together with a group of warriors from Vรคrmland.
There is nothing in the reports to indicate that a warrior woman lost her femininity in the eyes of men. In the written sources it appears that the warrior women were desired by men and that they married and had children.
Saxoโs histories are exciting reading and good entertainment, but most people agree that his presentation of historic facts cannot be relied upon as accurate. He wrote in ponderous Latin and was inspired by classical texts, and many of his female characters have classic precedents, such as the Amazons and Camilla in The Aeneid. However, Saxoโs warrior women are not just classic models transferred to a Scandinavian scene. Saxo based his material on Scandinavian sources, mainly Icelandic. He himself says that he had copied much of this material in his presentation, especially from the heroic poetry. Many of Saxoโs stories about the warrior women have literary parallels in the heroic poems in The Older Edda and elsewhere. The events in these lays are mostly supposed to have taken place in the time of the tribal migrations, and they are preserved in Icelandic parchment manuscripts from the 13th and 14th centuries.
A good example of such parallel stories is Saxoโs account of Hagbart, who in his struggle to win Signe pretended to be a woman warrior, and the story of Helge in Det andre kvadet om Helge Hundingsbane (โThe second poem about Helge Hundingsbaneโ). In Saxoโs account, Hagbart is asked why he is so masculine. โSheโ replies that it is not usual for warrior women to concern themselves with feminine arts. In The Older Edda, Helge is asked the same question when he pretends to be a slave girl. His patron explains that the slave girl is so masculine because she was previously a warrior woman from a noble family:
The grinding-stone groans
On the grinding-bench
When a princeโs daughter
Turns the quern.
Once she rode
Above the clouds;
Ventured to fight
Like a Viking;
Until Helge
Captured her;
Sister is she
To Sigar and Hognes;
Quick and sharp-eyed,
Our quern-girl.
We donโt know who wrote these poems, but they are thought to be survivals from an oral folk tradition that existed for hundreds of years before the Viking Age. We know them from early written sources including excavations at Bryggen in Bergen where a number of runic inscriptions from the 12th century have been found, containing verses from the Edda poems. They are also found in fragments of the German Hildebrandslied (โSong of Hildebrandโ) from the 9th century.
Do the Roman and Norse stories reflect an actual reality, namely that warrior women existed in Germanic tribal culture in northern Europe and Scandinavia until well into the Viking Age? Alternatively, are the stories of warrior women just based on misunderstanding, or are they pure literary fantasy?
Women also feature outside their established roles in the Old Norse sagas about events in Iceland; not directly as warrior women, but as women who take up arms. Here, however, they are often punished for this, or have to tolerate social criticism. In the Laksdรธla Saga we hear about Aud, who attacked her husband, Tord, with a sword. She was called Broka-Aud (โTrousered Audโ) because she preferred to wear menโs clothes rather than skirts. This led to Tord divorcing her, because her lack of femininity offended his manly honour. She herself didnโt think there was anything noteworthy or dishonourable in wearing trousers. When Tord found himself a new woman, Aud took the sword and wounded him as an act of revenge. In Gisle Sursonโs Saga, Tordis took upon herself the role of avenger when her family was offended. She wielded a sword against รyolv and injured him to avenge the killing of her brother.
ย FROYDIS AND ELORFIN
ย
In The Greenland Saga and Eirik Raudeโs Saga we meet Frรธydis, who was Eirik Raudeโs daughter. She was a very determined woman who didnโt hesitate to take up a weapon. She killed five women with an axe after first having their men killed. In Vinland she grasped a sword and displayed her breasts and pregnant abdomen to show the Indian warriors that she was a woman. She hit herself on the breasts with the flat of a sword when they attacked the new settlements. Frรธydisโs aim in doing this was probably not to fight with the Indians, but first and foremost to demonstrate that she was a woman and pregnant, and that she was prepared to defend herself and her child.
Neither Aud, Tordis nor Frรธydis were warrior women, but as participants in these dramas they were in a theatre where it was considered legitimate for women to handle weapons. These women were also to a certain extent upper-class women. They were married to independent farmers. In Iceland, where there was no king, the free farmers constituted the upper class and the landless, the tenant farmers, the freed serfs and the slaves made up the lower classes. It is possible that the Icelandic family sagas are pure fiction and should really be regarded as intended to combine the telling of good stories with imparting to the readers the kind of behaviour that was accepted in Icelandic society in the Middle Ages.
Gender roles in Viking times were clearly defined and separated. Men and women each related to their symbolic world of rights, values and attributes. A free man had weapons as his symbol, with which to defend himself and his family. The woman held the keys to the rooms and storage chests on the farm. Another symbolic distinction of both sex and status was clothing and appearance. One Icelandic legal decision specified that women who wore menโs clothing, cut their hair or carried weapons could be condemned as outlaws, and the same applied to men who wore womenโs clothes. The distinction was most acute in the social milieu of the warriors, which promoted a purely masculine culture.
In the daily toil on the farm, by contrast, many of the areas of responsibility overlapped. The gender distinctions were manifested instead in cultural practices and symbolism.
Marriage between a man and a woman was one of the most important social institutions of the Viking Age. Getting married was a symbolically important decision which affected the whole extended family, and a man had to consult his friends and relatives before he could choose a bride. In theory the woman had no say in the matter but in practice it was probably usual for both bride and groom to give their consent. Women in the aristocratic classes, though, differed from farming-class women in being largely pawns in the game of politics.
A description of a marriage ceremony tells us that the man gave the family sword to the woman as a wedding present, to be passed on thereafter to a male heir. She also received and gave to the man gifts of weapons, as the Germanic women had done in Tacitusโs time.
Weaponry in female burials
Remains of weapons have been found in many sites of female burial from Roman, Germanic migration and Viking times. In some instances, where there is evidence of more than one weapon, this could be interpreted as indicating that the weapons were actually used by the women. There are several female burials in northern Germany which contain evidence of military gear, shields, spears and swords. Two of these are dated between 450 and 650 AD. More usually, however, the graves contain a single weapon rather than the whole equipment. Moreover, it is often difficult to be certain that the surviving artefacts really are the remains of a weapon.
In 1867 a Scandinavian female burial from the Viking Age was found in Norfolk, England. In addition to a pair of oval brooches this contained an object resembling a sword. This obviously made headlines, but it is equally likely that it was a weaving shuttle.
Weapons have been found with greater certainty in other burials from Viking times. In 1981, during an excavation in the neighbourhood of the village of Gerdrup in Denmark, a female skeleton was found buried with a needle-case, an iron knife and a spear. This grave dates from the beginning of the 9th century. It has been suggested that she was either a warrior woman or a woman with โman-statusโ, serving as head of a household which lacked a man to fulfil this role. In such circumstances it was legitimate for a woman to be buried with symbols of manhood. But this does not tell us anything about whether she actually fought with the spear.
In Sountaka (Hรคmne) in Finland a decorated sword has been found associated with a female burial dated to the 10th century. Perhaps here too we have a woman carrying out a manly role? However, later investigations seem to connect the sword to a secondary grave and not the female burial. Weapons have also been found in two female burials from Kaupang in Norway. In a boat burial from the last quarter of the 9th century, an axe, eight knives, a quiver for holding arrows and a whetstone were found in addition to a pair of oval brooches and other feminine accessories. In addition to these two, nearly 20 burials have been found in Norway containing both womenโs and menโs equipment. Many of these were excavated during the 19th and early 20th centuries and are therefore not so well documented as the Gerdrup and Kaupang graves. As documentation is scantly or entirely lacking, we cannot be sure whether there was more than one skeleton in each of these graves. So they cannot be used as a source.
In the light of corresponding finds, it is not unthinkable that many of these Norwegian โundocumentedโ burials were single female burials with a weapon. The finds are obviously not evidence that these women were warrior women, but they are evidence that women and weaponry were not incompatible in the Viking Age.
Was it possible for women in the Viking Age to appear as warriors in the battle line alongside men? Even though the Edda poems and many sagas should perhaps be interpreted as allegories conveying moral values in the form of parables rather than as factual accounts, and the warrior women should be seen as fictitious, there are many archaeological finds which associate women with weapons. As we have seen, such finds of weapons can be explained other than as weapons for use by women in battle. We have also seen that the gender roles in Viking society were normally kept strictly separate, and that it was associated with shame and dishonour to break those boundaries, though it was still possible for men and woman to break out of such bonds if the conditions were right.
It is however difficult to say anything about why some women in Viking society wanted to appear as warriors and about how some of them seem to have acquired the right to do so. There is much research still to be done in this area, but the preliminary conclusion is that women warriors would probably have represented too big a deviation from the gender roles of the Viking Age.
OFFICIAL AND REGISTERED CLAN CARRUTHERSย CCIS -1983-CLAN OF OUR ANCESTORS SCOTTISH CLAN, IRISH CLAN,ย NORSE CLAN
Circa 5th century BC, the Greeks considered The Celtic Gotsย as one of the four great โbarbarianโ people; with their independent realms extending all the way from the Iberian peninsula to the frontiers of upper Danube. From the cultural perspective, these Celtic Gots bands posed the antithesis to the so-presumed Mediterranean ideals, with their distinctive approach to religion and warfare. But of course beyond the misleading โbarbarianโ tag, there was more to the historical scope of the ancient Celtic Gots and their warriors.
Most of what is recorded about tartans, has to do with battles, and the tartan that was worn for a particular battle.ย Men wore tartans as a regiment, a distinguishable sign of your โteamโ.ย Similar to wearing the same t-shirts for competitions today.
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A map of Europe showing the Germanic kingdoms that were established after the downfall of the Western Roman Empire. After numerous battles and long migrations, the Western Goths managed to settle in Spain and the Eastern Goths to take possession of Italy. However, it did not last forever. From ancientweb.org.
An artistic reconstruction of the Western Goths in battle with Attila’s Huns at Chalons. From ancientweb.org.
CLAN CARRUTHERS - OUR NORSE ANCESTORS 