"Gamle Norge": Rambles and Scrambles in Norway

by R. T. Pritchett

The Bronze Period.—It is interesting to associate this period with two systems of burial, namely, Inhumation and Cineration.

Inhumation.—Wooden coffin—a tree scooped out; at the bottom was placed a bullock’s skin, on which the hero was laid in his garments, and with his arms by his side. An instance occurred in which the following items were preserved quite perfectly:—A vadmel; a kind of Phrygian cap; a wool plaid and petticoat, or rather kilt, to the knee; a small box; a comb; and a bronze sword and knife. These, with a belt for the waist, convey a vivid idea of the costume of the period.

Knife-stone on Bronze Belt: Bergen Museum.

Cineration.—Flint stones seem to have been the base of the grave, which was about seven feet long. Remains of cinders prove that the skin of some animal was first laid down, then the body with extra garments, in the cinders of which the bones were found, accompanied by a bronze sword, with sheath; two knives of bronze; and a cube of wood, not burnt. The bronze implements are so generally known that it is not necessary to illustrate them.

Hard Schist implements: North Cape.

The Iron Period.—During this period the tumuli were consumed on elevated positions within view of the sea; the bones discovered are burnt, the ashes being in urns. The objects burnt with them were generally small ornaments of bronze or iron, the workmanship of which betrays no Roman influence. Sometimes, also, glass vessels were consumed, as globules of melted glass have been occasionally found. In other cases the ashes are in bronze vases, showing a transition state. Should there, however, be any swords, they are bent and twisted, and are undoubtedly attributable to Roman influence, as some of the bronze vases bear Roman inscriptions. The next stage covered a large space, and was characterized sometimes by cineration, and sometimes by inhumation. In the latter case the objects are placed with great care after the old Roman manner, and consist of urns of burnt clay, bronze, and glass; ornaments, arms, &c. Here we have not only actual Roman work, but Norwegian imitations, such as bracteates, which have been found with Byzantine moneys struck about a.d. 450 or 500. This brings us to an important epoch in Scandinavian history, which is very ably described by Dexter Hawkins, Esq., in a pamphlet on the Anglo-Saxon Race, being an address read by him before the Syracuse University, June 21, 1875:—

“The Anglo-Saxon Race.

“A providential event, not originating from themselves, but from a Roman emperor who intended no such results, occurred at the close of the third century, which, by directing the attention of the Saxons to maritime exploits on a larger scale, with greater prospects, and to more distant countries than before, exerted an important influence upon their own destiny and that of Europe, and finally of America.

Sword: Bergen Museum.

Bracelet: Bergen Museum.

Rowlock Knot of Birch-stones. Viking Rowlock.

“The Emperor Probus, harassed by the annual incursions of the barbarous hordes around the Euxine, now the Black Sea, transplanted a large body of various tribes, including Saxons from the vicinity of the Elbe, to that region to serve as a protection against future inroads. But the attachment of mankind to the scenes of their childhood, and their ardent longing when in foreign lands for the country their relatives inhabit, where their most pleasing associations have been formed, where their individual characters have been acquired, and customs like to their own exist, are feelings so natural to every bosom, and so common to every age, that it is not surprising that these exiles longed to return to their native wilds. Impelled by this desire, they seized the earliest opportunity of abandoning their foreign settlements and possessing themselves of the ships lying in the adjacent harbours; they formed the daring plan of sailing back to the Rhine, though they were more than two thousand miles distant by sea, with no charts, compass, or pilots, and ignorant of the many islands, and shoals, and currents of the Black and Mediterranean Seas. Compelled to land wherever they could for supplies, safety, and information, they ravaged the coasts of Asia and Greece. Arriving at Sicily, they attacked and plundered its capital with great slaughter. Beaten about by the winds, often ignorant where they were, seeking subsistence, pillaging to obtain it, and excited to new plunder by the successful depredations they had already committed, they carried their hostilities to several districts of Africa. They were driven off that continent by a force sent for that purpose from Carthage. Turning towards Europe, they passed the pillars of Hercules, sailed out into the Atlantic Ocean, rounded the Iberian peninsula, crossed the stormy Bay of Biscay, passed through the British Channel, and finally terminated their remarkable voyage by reaching their fatherland at the mouth of the Elbe.

Sword Handle: Bergen Museum.

Arrow Heads and Sword Handle: Bergen Museum.

“This wonderful expedition discovered to these adventurers and to their neighbours, to all, in short, who heard, and had the courage to imitate, that from the Roman colonies a rich harvest of spoil might be gathered if sought for by sea. It removed the veil of terror that hung over distant oceans and foreign expeditions; for these exiles had desolated every province almost with impunity. They had plunder to exhibit sufficient to fire the avarice of every spectator. They had acquired skill which those who joined them might soon inherit. On land the Roman tactics and discipline were generally invincible; but at sea they were comparatively unskilled and weak. The Saxons perceived this, and immediately turned their whole attention to naval warfare. Like their American descendants, they were cunning and apt at whatever they undertook. Their navy became so effective in a few years that every country in Europe bordering on the sea had contributed to their wealth, and they annoyed the Roman commerce to such a degree that large fleets were fitted out against them, and an officer appointed by the Romans as early as the beginning of the fifth century styled ‘The Superintendent of the Saxon Shore.’ These exploits had filled their island with wealth.”

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