Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - Scandinavian Britain - III. The Norse Settlements - 6. The Earldom of Orkney
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
Below is the raw OCR text
from the above scanned image.
Do you see an error? Proofread the page now!
Här nedan syns maskintolkade texten från faksimilbilden ovan.
Ser du något fel? Korrekturläs sidan nu!
This page has been proofread at least once.
(diff)
(history)
Denna sida har korrekturlästs minst en gång.
(skillnad)
(historik)
Maddadh, had married his sister. Harald, the son
of Maddadh, became jarl of Orkney, sharing the power
with Ragnvald.
In the winter of 1152-53 Ragnvald and a party of
Norse under Erling Skakki came to the Orkney mainland
on their way to the East. Some of these crusaders
broke open the Maeshowe, as one of the runic
inscriptions declares (see Dietrichson and Meyer’s
Monumenta Orcadica, pp. 30 and 110-115). Most of
these scribbles merely give the name of the visitor ;
some add that of his lady-love ; a few have special
interest. Nos. 19 and 20 tell us what the vikings
thought of this prehistoric chambered mound :–
"This mound was raised before Lodbrok’s ; his sons,
they were clever ; there were scarcely any other such
men as they were. The Jorsalfarers (crusaders) broke
open the Orkahaug (i.e. Maeshowe, which appears to
be a later name).... It was long ago that much
treasure was hidden here.... Happy is he who can
find the great treasure." Nos. 16 and 18 are written
in "twig-runes" which have been explained by Magnus
Olsen as forming a verse :–
These runes the man wrote
Who is most rune-skilled west over sea,
With that axe which Gauk owned,–
Trandil’s son from the south country.
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
