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Ohthere and Wulfstan - Old English Aerobics\nOne of the major Old English works produced during the reign of King Alfred (d. 899) was a translation of a history of the world written by Paulus Orosius (d. 420) as a defence against the charge that the adoption of Christianity and the neglect of the old gods had brought catastrophe upon the Roman Empire. Orosius’s work is more polemic than history—a dreary recital of the many calamities that had befallen the earth while Rome worshipped pagan gods. Nevertheless, it was enthusiastically read in the Middle Ages, which regarded it as an authoritative history of the world. The Old English translation was formerly ascribed to King Alfred, but is now thought to be the work of a contemporary writing at the king’s direction or urging.\nOrosius’s History begins with an account of the geography and peoples of the ancient world. The Old English translator greatly expanded this with a survey of the Germanic nations and other matter; embedded in this survey are the narratives of two travellers, Ohthere and Wulfstan. Ohthere was a Norwegian (the Old Norse form of his name would have been Óttarr) who lived by hunting, whaling and trading; we are told that he “sought” the court of King Alfred, presumably as a market for his goods. He had travelled over the top of present-day Norway, above the Arctic Circle, then around the Kola Peninsula and into the White Sea, where he had encountered the Bjarmians. He had been to the Norse ports of Skiringssal and Hedeby. Less is known about Wulfstan: we are not told his nationality or anything about his business. But we are told that he sailed from Hedeby east into the Baltic Sea, where he visited the city of Truso near the coast of present-day Poland and the Ests (the ancient Aestii) in the region beyond the Vistula. Someone at Alfred’s court—perhaps the king himself—was impressed enough by these travellers that he engaged a scribe or scribes to take down their narratives. The scribe responsible for Wulfstan’s narrative seems, in places at least, to have taken down his very words.\nIt is difficult to verify much of what is in these accounts, which seem to have been inserted into the translation of Orosius’s History with little or no editing. The trickiness of memory, the frequent inaccuracy of secondhand reporting, and, in the case of Ohthere at least, the difficulty of communication between Englishman and Norseman, cause us to question some details. But the narratives of Ohthere and Wulfstan are plainly different from many of the travellers’ tales that circulated in the Middle Ages, which were long on the fantastic and short on fact. Despite our questions about the details, there is little reason to doubt that we have here a rare and valuable glimpse of life outside the royal courts and monasteries of viking-age Europe.\nThe standard edition of the Old English Orosius is by Bately 1980, who cites many useful studies of the places and peoples mentioned here. In this text, sentences 1–18 are from a manuscript nearly contemporary with King Alfred. This early manuscript is unfortunately defective, so the remainder is from an eleventh-century copy: see the Textual Note for details.\n Ōhthere sǣde his hlāforde, Ælfrede cyninge, þæt hē ealra Norðmonna norþmest būde.  Hē cwæð þæt hē būde on þǣm lande norþweardum wiþ þā Westsǣ.  Hē sǣde þēah þæt þæt land sīe swīþe lang norþ þonan, ac hit is eal wēste, būton on fēawum stōwum styċċemǣlum wīciað Finnas on huntoðe on wintra and on sumera on fiscaþe be þǣre sǣ.\n Hē sǣde þæt hē æt sumum ċirre wolde fandian hū longe þæt land norþryhte lǣġe, oþþe hwæðer ǣniġ mon benorðan þǣm wēstenne būde.  Þā fōr hē norþryhte be þǣm lande.  Lēt him ealne weġ þæt wēste land on ðæt stēorbord and þā wīdsǣ on ðæt bæcbord þrīe dagas; þā wæs hē swā feor norþ swā þā hwælhuntan firrest faraþ.  Þā fōr hē þā ġīet norþryhte swā feor swā hē meahte on þǣm ōþrum þrim dagum ġesiġlan.  Þā bēag þæt land þǣr ēastryhte, oþþe sēo sǣ in on ðæt lond, hē nysse hwæðer, būton hē wisse ðæt hē ðǣr bād westanwindes and hwōn norþan and siġlde ðā ēast be lande swā swā hē meahte on fēower dagum ġesiġlan.  Þā sceolde hē ðǣr bīdan ryhtnorþanwindes, for ðǣm þæt land bēag þǣr sūþryhte, oþþe sēo sǣ in on ðæt land, hē nysse hwæþer.  Þā siġlde hē þonan sūðryhte be lande swā swā hē mehte on fīf dagum ġesiġlan.  Ðā læġ þǣr ān miċel ēa ūp in on þæt land.  Þā ċirdon hīe ūp in on ðā ēa, for þǣm hīe ne dorston forþ bi þǣre ēa siġlan for unfriþe, for þǣm ðæt land wæs eall ġebūn on ōþre healfe þǣre ēas.  Ne mētte hē ǣr nān ġebūn land siþþan hē from his āgnum hām fōr, ac him wæs ealne weġ wēste land on þæt stēorbord, būtan fiscerum and fugelerum and huntum, and þæt wǣron eall Finnas, and him wæs ā wīdsǣ on ðæt bæcbord.\n Þā Beormas hæfdon swīþe wel ġebūd hira land, ac hīe ne dorston þǣron cuman.  Ac þāra Terfinna land wæs eal wēste, būton ðǣr huntan ġewīcodon oþþe fisceras oþþe fugeleras.  Fela spella him sǣdon þā Beormas ǣġþer ġe of hiera āgnum lande ġe of þǣm landum þe ymb hīe ūtan wǣron, ac hē nyste hwæt þæs sōþes wæs, for þǣm hē hit self ne ġeseah.  Þā Finnas, him þūhte, and þā Beormas sprǣcon nēah ān ġeþēode.  Swīþost hē fōr ðider, tōēacan þæs landes scēawunge, for þǣm horshwælum, for ðǣm hīe habbað swīþe æþele bān on hiora tōþum (þā tēð hīe brōhton sume þǣm cyninge), and hiora hȳd bið swīðe gōd tō sciprāpum.  Se hwæl bið miċle lǣssa þonne ōðre hwalas: ne bið hē lenġra ðonne syfan elna lang.  Ac on his āgnum lande is se betsta hwælhuntað: þā bēoð eahta and fēowertiġes elna lange, and þā mǣstan fīftiġes elna lange.  Þāra hē sǣde þæt hē syxa sum ofslōge syxtiġ on twām dagum.\n Hē wæs swȳðe spēdiġ man on þǣm ǣhtum þe heora spēda on bēoð, þæt is on wildrum.  Hē hæfde þā ġȳt, ðā hē þone cyningc sōhte, tamra dēora unbebohtra syx hund.  Þā dēor hī hātað hrānas; þāra wǣron syx stælhrānas, ðā bēoð swȳðe dȳre mid Finnum, for ðǣm hȳ fōð þā wildan hrānas mid.  Hē wæs mid þǣm fyrstum mannum on þǣm lande; næfde hē þēah mā ðonne twentiġ hrȳðera and twentiġ scēapa and twentiġ swȳna, and þæt lȳtle þæt hē erede hē erede mid horsan.  Ac hyra ār is mǣst on þǣm gafole þe ðā Finnas him ġyldað.  Þæt gafol bið on dēora fellum and on fugela feðerum and hwales bāne and on þǣm sciprāpum þe bēoð of hwæles hȳde ġeworht and of sēoles.  Ǣġhwilċ ġylt be hys ġebyrdum.  Se byrdesta sceall ġyldan fīftȳne mearðes fell and fīf hrānes and ān beran fel and tȳn ambra feðra and berenne kyrtel oððe yterenne and twēġen sciprāpas; ǣġþer sȳ syxtiġ elna lang: ōþer sȳ of hwæles hȳde ġeworht, ōþer of sīoles.\n Hē sǣde ðæt Norðmanna land wǣre swȳþe lang and swȳðe smæl.  Eal þæt his man āþer oððe ettan oððe erian mæġ, þæt līð wið ðā sǣ; and þæt is þēah on sumum stōwum swȳðe clūdiġ.  And licgað wilde mōras wiðēastan and wiðuppon, emnlange þǣm bȳnum lande; on þǣm mōrum eardiað Finnas.  And þæt bȳne land is ēasteweard brādost and symle swā norðor swā smælre.  Ēastewerd hit mæġ bīon syxtiġ mīla brād oþþe hwēne brǣdre; and middeweard þrītiġ oððe brādre.  And norðeweard, hē cwæð, þǣr hit smalost wǣre, þæt hit mihte bēon þrēora mīla brād tō þǣm mōre, and se mōr syðþan on sumum stōwum swā brād swā man mæġ on twām wucum oferfēran, and on sumum stōwum swā brād swā man mæġ on syx dagum oferfēran.  Þonne is tōemnes þǣm lande sūðeweardum, on ōðre healfe þæs mōres, Swēoland, oþ þæt land norðeweard; and tōemnes þǣm lande norðeweardum Cwēna land.  Þā Cwēnas hergiað hwīlum on ðā Norðmen ofer ðone mōr, hwīlum þā Norðmen on hȳ.  And þǣr sint swīðe miċle meras fersce ġeond þā mōras, and berað þā Cwēnas hyra scypu ofer land on ðā meras and þanon hergiað on ðā Norðmen; hȳ habbað swȳðe lȳtle scypa and swȳðe lēohte.\n Ōhthere sǣde þæt sīo scīr hātte Hālgoland þe hē on būde.  Hē cwæð þæt nān man ne būde benorðan him.  Þonne is ān port on sūðeweardum þǣm lande þone man hǣt Scīringesheal.  Þyder hē cwæð þæt man ne mihte ġeseġlian on ānum mōnðe ġyf man on niht wīcode and ǣlċe dæġe hæfde ambyrne wind.  And ealle ðā hwīle hē sceal seġlian be lande.  And on þæt stēorbord him bið ǣrest Īraland and þonne ðā īġland þe synd betux Īralande and þissum lande.  Þonne is þis land on þæt stēorbord oð hē cymð tō Scīringesheale, and ealne weġ on þæt bæcbord Norðweġ.\n Wiðsūðan þone Scīringesheal līð swȳðe myċel sǣ ūp in on ðæt lond; sēo is brādre þonne ǣniġ man ofersēon mæġe, and is Gotland on ōðre healfe onġēan and siððan Sillende.  Sēo sǣ līð mæniġ hund mīla ūp in on þæt land.  And of Scīringesheale hē cwæð þæt hē seġlode on fīf dagan tō þǣm porte þe mon hǣt æt Hæþum; se stent betuh Winedum, and Seaxum, and Angle, and hȳrð in on Dene.  Ðā hē þiderweard seġlode fram Scīringesheale, þā wæs him on þæt bæcbord Denamearc, and on þæt stēorbord wīdsǣ þrȳ dagas; and þā, twēġen dagas ǣr hē tō Hæþum cōme, him wæs on þæt stēorbord Gotland, and Sillende, and īġlanda fela.  On þǣm landum eardodon Engle, ǣr hī hider on land cōman.  And hym wæs ðā twēġen dagas on ðæt bæcbord þā īġland þe in Denemearce hȳrað.\n Wulfstān sǣde þæt hē ġefōre of Hæðum, þæt hē wǣre on Truso on syfan dagum and nihtum, þæt þæt scip wæs ealne weġ yrnende under seġle.  Weonoðland him wæs on stēorbord, and on bæcbord him wæs Langaland and Lǣland and Falster and Scōneġ; and þās land eall hȳrað tō Denemearcan.  And þonne Burgenda land wæs ūs on bæcbord, and þā habbað him sylf cyning.  Þonne æfter Burgenda lande wǣron ūs þās land þā synd hātene ǣrest Blecinga ēġ, and Meore and Eowland and Gotland on bæcbord; and þās land hȳrað tō Swēon.  And Weonodland wæs ūs ealne weġ on stēorbord oð Wislemūðan.\n Þæt Ēstland is swȳðe myċel, and þǣr bið swȳðe maniġ burh, and on ǣlċere byriġ bið cynincg.  And þǣr bið swȳðe myċel huniġ and fiscað; and se cyning and þā rīcostan men drincað myran meolc, and þā unspēdigan and þā þēowan drincað medo.  Þǣr bið swȳðe myċel ġewinn betwēonan him.  And ne bið ðǣr nǣniġ ealo ġebrowen mid Ēstum, ac þǣr bið medo ġenōh.\n And þǣr is mid Ēstum ðēaw, þonne þǣr bið man dēad, þæt hē līð inne unforbærned mid his māgum and frēondum mōnað, ġe hwīlum twēġen; and þā kyningas and þā ōðre hēahðungene men swā miċle lencg swā hī māran spēda habbað, hwīlum healf ġēar þæt hī bēoð unforbærned; and licgað bufan eorðan on hyra hūsum.  And ealle þā hwīle þe þæt līċ bið inne, þǣr sceal bēon ġedrync and plega, oð ðone dæġ þe hī hine forbærnað.  Þonne þȳ ylcan dæġe þe hī hine tō þǣm āde beran wyllað, þonne tōdǣlað hī his feoh þæt þǣr tō lāfe bið æfter þǣm ġedrynce and þǣm plegan on fīf oððe syx, hwȳlum on mā, swā swā þæs fēos andefn bið.  Ālecgað hit ðonne forhwæga on ānre mīle þone mǣstan dǣl fram þǣm tūne, þonne ōðerne, ðonne þæne þriddan, oþ þæt hyt eall ālēd bið on þǣre ānre mīle; and sceall bēon se lǣsta dǣl nȳhst þǣm tūne ðe se dēada man on līð.\n Ðonne sceolon bēon ġesamnode ealle ðā menn ðe swyftoste hors habbað on þǣm lande, forhwæga on fīf mīlum oððe on syx mīlum fram þǣm fēo.  Þonne ærnað hȳ ealle tōweard þǣm fēo; ðonne cymeð se man se þæt swiftoste hors hafað tō þǣm ǣrestan dǣle and tō þǣm mǣstan, and swā ǣlċ æfter ōðrum, oþ hit bið eall ġenumen; and se nimð þone lǣstan dǣl se nȳhst þǣm tūne þæt feoh ġeærneð.  And þonne rīdeð ǣlċ hys weġes mid ðān fēo, and hyt mōtan habban eall; and for ðȳ þǣr bēoð þā swiftan hors ungefōge dȳre.  And þonne hys ġestrēon bēoð þus eall āspended, þonne byrð man hine ūt and forbærneð mid his wǣpnum and hræġle.  And swīðost ealle hys spēda hȳ forspendað mid þān langan leġere þæs dēadan mannes inne, and þæs þe hȳ be þǣm wegum ālecgað, þe ðā fremdan tō ærnað and nimað.\n And þæt is mid Ēstum þēaw þæt þǣr sceal ǣlċes ġeðēodes man bēon forbærned; and ġyf þār man ān bān findeð unforbærned, hī hit sceolan miċlum ġebētan.  And þǣr is mid Ēstum ān mǣġð þæt hī magon ċyle ġewyrċan; and þȳ þǣr licgað þā dēadan men swā lange and ne fūliað, þæt hȳ wyrċað þone ċyle hine on.  And þēah man āsette twēġen fǣtelsas full ealað oððe wæteres, hȳ ġedōð þæt ōþer bið oferfroren, sam hit sȳ sumor sam winter.