History of the Scottish expedition to Norway in 1612Michell, Thomas
History
History of the Scottish expedition to Norway in 1612
Michell, Thomas
Norway -- History -- Scottish Expedition, 1612
But an inspection of Kringelen, or a study of the accompanying plan
prepared for this work from actual survey by Lieutenant Arneberg of
the Norwegian army, renders impossible the acceptance of such an
explanation. The present road, on which stands the stone pillar that
marks the vicinity of the spot where the fighting occurred, dates
from the beginning of this century. It is about forty feet below the
old road, where it sinks into the "Sinclair Dokka" or hollow, in
which the Scots are popularly believed to have been overwhelmed by
huge masses of rock, and where human bones, supposed to be those of
the Scots, have been dug up.
In an account[54] of a journey from Christiania to Trondhjem in
1733 by King Christian VI. and Queen Sophia the road through
Gudbrandsdalen is described as follows:--"Froen Præstegaard
(vicarage). About here the road begins to show the difficulties
travellers in Norway have to encounter." After passing Zell "is
a road called Kringelen, on the side of a fjeld, and so narrow
that every precaution is necessary on the part of travellers and
drivers." Dr. Yngvar Nielsen states in his interesting work on the
"Development of Roads in Norway,"[55] that "in 1766 Kringelen was
the worst bit of road in Gudbrandsdalen, as it was so narrow that a
carriole could scarcely pass." In fact, it was only a bridle-path on
the edge of a precipice fifty to one hundred feet above the Laugen
river. This track, which was all that the condition of the country
required when produce was transported chiefly in winter on sledges,
was quite open and exposed; while above it the almost precipitous
cliffs, averaging seven hundred feet in height, left at their base a
sloping ledge of about one hundred and fifty feet in breadth. It was
neither a pass nor a ravine, and has sometimes been described as a
"defile," probably because not more than two men could have walked
abreast along it, and certainly only a single file of men could have
used it with convenience.
[Illustration: KRINGELEN.
_A_ Old bridle-path along which Scots marched.
_B_ Present road.
_C_ Logs and stones partly concealed by wood.
_D_ Stone monument marking site of combat.
_Page 59._]
The Bönder concealed themselves on the sloping ledge between the
precipitous cliff and the path. The ledge was somewhat thickly
covered with wood, which is said to have been washed away by
a memorable rainstorm in 1789. At the same time there must have
been a clear space in front both of the "tömmervælte" and of the
intrenchments which tradition says the Bönder erected there, although
Envold Kruse makes no mention of them.
The military officer who carefully surveyed the ground in the autumn
of 1884 has shown on the plan the probable position of the celebrated
"tömmervælte." It is supposed to have been an accumulation of rocks
piled on round beams or trunks of trees, arranged in such a manner as
to roll down in a mass as soon as the ropes which held the structure
in position were cut.
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