A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 01 eBook

Robert Kerr (writer)
This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 770 pages of information about A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 01.

A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 01 eBook

Robert Kerr (writer)
This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 770 pages of information about A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 01.

[10] It would appear, from the vast number killed, that this successful
    fishing must refer to the morse or horse-whale, not to the ordinary
    large whale.—­E.

[11] In the original, the broad and comparatively fertile part of Norway
    is said to be in the east:  the correction adopted in the text
    is obvious and necessary.—­E.

[12] In former translations, this passage is:  “opposite to this land,
    to the south, is Sueoland.”  The alteration in the text removes
    the ambiguity—­E.

[13] Cwenland and the Cwenas appear to refer to Lapmark, and its
    inhabitants, the Finlanders.—­Forst.

[14] See Sect. iii. p. 12, in which this place is supposed by Mr J. R.
    Forster to have been where Stockholm now is.

[15] Iraland obviously here means Scotland, with the Faro, Shetland, and
    Orkney islands.—­E.

[16] This is plainly the isle of Gothland.—­E.

[17] Apparently the Baltic proper is here called the sea of Sillende, and
    may have been named from the isle of Zeeland.  Yet in this passage it
    seems to refer to the gulf of Bothnia, as running far up into the
    country.—­E.

[18] See Sect. iii. p. 14, in which Forster endeavours to fix this place at
    Aarhuus in Jutland.

SECTION III.

Remarks by J. M. Forster, respecting the situation of Sciringes-heal and Haethum[1].

The name of this place, Sciringes-heal, has given a great deal of trouble to former commentators on Alfred; viz.  Sir John Spelman, Bussaeus, Somner, John Philip Murray, and Langebeck, who have all chosen spots totally different, in which to place Sciringes-heal.  Spelman, and others, look for this place near Dantzic, where, in their opinion, the Scyres formerly resided.  But, first, the spot where the Scyres lived, is by no means satisfactorily determined; and, next, it is evident that Ohthere went continually along the coast from Halgoland to Sciringes-heal, and that this coast was on his left-hand during the whole course of his navigation.  The late Mr Murray placed Sciringes-heal at Skanor, in the southern extremity of Sweden; but I cannot think that this place could be five days sail from Haethum in Jutland, as it is expressly declared to have been by Ohthere.  Langebeck is for carrying Sciringes-heal to Konga-hella, on the Guatelf, near Marstrand; and insists, that the name, in Alfred’s account of the voyage, ought to have been written Cyninges-heal instead of Sciringes-heal.  If the word had only once occurred, I might have allowed Langebeck to be right; but we meet with it five times in the space of a few lines, and always without the slightest variation in orthography. 2dly, The voyage from Halgoland to Konga-hella is not of sufficient extent to have employed a month in the passage. 3dly, Konga-hella is too near Jutland to have required five days for the voyage between it and Haethum.

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