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
The Scots then advanced from Sel. It was on the 26th August 1612,[92]
a day which has remained so memorable in the history of Gudbrandsdal.
It was a Wednesday. To the strains of martial music the whole of the
Scottish force marched southwards. Some of them hearing the cries of
children on the mountains, to which the mothers had fled, are said to
have called out in derision, "Hear the witch-cats how they screech;
when we come again we shall visit them." But soon their mockery was
to be silenced, and their music to sound for the last time; and
the young blood now flowing in their veins was in a few moments to
stain the rocky sides of Kringlen and the gray waters of the Laagen.
Step by step they approached the spot where this expedition was to
end so quickly and sadly. The Bönder at Kringlen were waiting for
them. Here, on convenient places above the road, they had raised
huge breastworks, and a kind of trap of stones and timber. The
trap was laid on logs held together by means of rope, and propped
up with supports in such a manner that when the ropes were cut and
the props removed, the logs and stones would roll down the whole
hill-slope.[93] The object was to let the mass fall down as soon as
the enemy got below it, and thereupon to attack the survivors with
weapons in hand. The whole of the construction of stones and logs,
as well as the Bönder, who stationed themselves behind that awful
barricade, were concealed by leafy branches of trees and by fir
trees, so as to give the appearance of a small wood. A small body of
Bönder concealed themselves a little to the north, and on hearing
the noise of the conflict were to have descended into the road, to
prevent the enemy from running back. The Bönder also cut down large
trees, and made _chevaux-de-frise_ out of them, to be rolled in the
front and in the rear of the enemy along the narrow road, in order to
shut him in and prevent him from going either forwards or backwards.
In a ballad older than Edvard Storm's poem, undoubtedly composed by a
Gudbrandsdal man, and of which there are a few imperfect copies, the
position of the Bönder is thus described:--
"There is a cliff in Gudbrandsdal,
Which is called Kringlen;
There lay the men of the valley,
In all near five hundred.
Intrenching there, they built a wall,
And raised up stones many.
They lay in wait as doth a cat
That wants to catch a mouse."
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