I just read a Viking galdralag poem called Havamal:
Byr’i betri
berrat ma’r brautu at
en s’ mannvit mikit;
vegnest verra
vegra hann velli at
en s’ ofdrykkja ols.
Interesting how the meter works. The ThinkQuest site provides the above text, and then this version in English:
Burden better
bears none abroad with him
than a cool discretion;
with worser food
will fare you never
than a big load of beer.
Something seems lost in translation.
Speaking of lost, have you heard about the treasure chest discovered in Old York? A father and son with metal detection equipment unearthed a well-preserved cache of silver and such.
The ancient objects come from as far afield as Afghanistan in the East and Ireland in the West, as well as Russia, Scandinavia and continental Europe.
The hoard contains 617 silver coins and 65 other objects, including a gold arm-ring and a gilt silver vessel.
[…]
It was probably buried for safety by a wealthy Viking leader during the unrest following the conquest of the Viking kingdom of Northumbria in AD927.
I wonder about the “leader” concept suggested in the article. Not a King? Regia Anglorum gives some stirring details of the conflict in the area:
England was being ruled at that time by King Athelstan, grandson of Alfred the Great, who took the throne in 925 at the age of thirty. Athelstan was not a soft king: he was a warrior in the tradition of his grandfather, father and aunt, and was determined to have an English kingdom that reached to the borders of Strathclyde. His ambitions worried the northern kings, but, when he met Sihtric at York, Athelstan gave away his sister in marriage to the king of York, in return for the Scandinavian becoming Christian. It seemed as though the Clan Ivarr was secure in its throne.
That security lasted until 927, when Sihtric died and Guthfrith took over. Athelstan invaded Northumbria and expelled Guthfrith and Olaf, Sihtric’s son. He entered York, demolished the Scandinavian fortifications, and distributed the loot he found there to his army.
Impressive how long the leader’s lead container was able to preserve the goods. Good thing Athelstan’s men did not find all the loot in their day.
While we may want to celebrate the discovery of precious metallic goods from ancient times, beer recipes or even ingredient farming methods may be the real treasure still waiting to be recovered.
