An Account of the Danes and Norwegians in England, Scotland, and IrelandWorsaae, Jens Jacob Asmussen
History
An Account of the Danes and Norwegians in England, Scotland, and Ireland
Worsaae, Jens Jacob Asmussen
Great Britain -- Civilization -- Scandinavian influences; Northmen -- Great Britain; Northmen -- Ireland
Here also the Norwegian saint, “St. Olave,” has been zealously
worshipped, both in the country and in the towns. In Norfolk (East
Anglia) there is a bridge called “St. Olave’s Bridge.” In itself it is a
remarkable monument of a time when bridges over rivers were regarded as
such considerable and important structures that, like churches, they
were named after, or dedicated to saints; in ancient Scandinavia they
even built bridges, as several runic stones testify, “for their souls’
salvation.” In the city of Chester, on the northern frontier of Wales,
there is to be found in the southern outskirts, opposite the old castle
and close to the river Dee, a church and parish which still bear the
name of St. Olave. By the church runs a street called “St. Olave’s
Lane.” In the north-west part of York there is likewise a St. Olave’s
church, said to be the remains of a monastery founded by the powerful
Danish Jarl Siward, who was himself buried there in the year 1055. There
can be no doubt that similar churches dedicated to St. Olave were
scattered about in other towns of north England, where further
researches might possibly yet discover at least some of them.
These traces of the importance formerly conferred on St. Olave in the
towns of north England lead one to conjecture that, even after the
Danish ascendancy in England was annihilated, a great number of Northmen
must have continued to reside there, as was the case in London. This is
so much the more natural, as, long before the Norman Conquest, the
Northmen preponderated in many, perhaps in most, mercantile towns of the
north of England, and particularly in the fortified towns occupied by
the Danes. At the time of the Conquest, the population in some of the
largest and most important cities towards the east coast, such as
Lincoln and York, is said to have been almost exclusively of
Scandinavian extraction; hence it was that Lincoln and York, at least,
preserved their original Scandinavian “husting” throughout the middle
ages, and even later.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account