CoScan Magazine 2017/1
The Magazine for the Confederation of Scandinavian Societies Published twice yearly (June & December)
Contents: CoScan, News and Societies 1 Message from the President 2 Dane Sandi Toksvig – CoScan International Award 2017: M ark E lliot t 4 Greenwich 2017: M ark E lliot t 5 SKOL obituary 5 The Viking Society for Northern Research: D av id R e id 6 Letter from a reader: A nne C onnolly , NSA Language and culture 7 The rise and rise of Finnish maestros: E dw ard C lark 10 Scandinavia’s cultural ties with the UK City of Culture: N . J . E v ans 14 2017: the year the Vikings return: P e t e r A ddy m an 15 A Riverine Site Near York: A Viking camp of the 870s: G are t h W illiam s 18 Reading the runes: B rit a G re e n 21 Allied airmen’s WW2 memorials in southern Denmark: S A J B radle y 24 St Magnus of Orkney, 900th anniversary: B rit a G re e n and E v a R ob ards 25 From the bookshelf, with review of ‘The Seer’: L ou is e S ø re ns e n Travel award reports 28 CoScan Trust Fund 2017 report: B rit a G re e n 29 Prize-winning report 2016: Tracking wolves in Finland: B e t hany S m it h 31 Young Shetlanders in Hammerfest: G ordon S t ov e and W e ndy M ac kne y - M ills 34 Learning to pronounce Eyjafjallajökull: H annah W ard 36 Waterfalls and rainbows: K az im G hafoor Contact details 38 Member Societies 2017 39 Executive Committee 40 CoScan Trust Fund, Editorial Board Back inside cover: CoScan Patrons Front cover: Brúarfoss, Iceland. Photo: Kazim Ghafoor (see also back cover and report on page 36)
Message from the President Mark Elliott ac ie ed muc more certainty, by t e time t is issue of t e CoScan maga ine is ublis ed, about t e future status ere of non Euro ean nationals. T e terms of future trade between t e and its Euro ean artners will definitely not a e been settled, and t e long term iability of any based business enture will t erefore remain in doubt. T is is not t e lace to debate t e rig ts and wrongs of our referendum decision last une to uit t e Euro ean nion. t is still ossible t at our e entual state may be better t an t e ast, t at fundamental c ange of t e kind now ro osed will generate a new sense of commitment and energy in t is country. ut t e way towards t at goal is immensely com le , and meanw ile many of us in nort ern Euro e w ic ritain after all still is will suffer from t e uncertainty. Of one t ing remain certain. S eaking at t e nternational Award ceremony in arc , asserted t at our art of nort ern Euro e contains more sanity and good sense t an any ot er art of t e world . T at may be only a relati e udgement. ut e ents in t e iddle East, in ort Asia, in t e nited States and ussia, continue to alarm. ew uncertainties abound, but in terms of relati e social e uality and national a iness, t e ordic countries continue to come out on to . n our small way, let us all do w at we can to kee t e world sane.
It is my turn again to offer some re ections on t e state of CoScan and of t e world. ust at t e moment it is easier to be o timistic about t e former t an t e latter. T e ery ublic and well attended occasion for our resentation of t e 2 nternational Award to Sandi Toks ig, described elsew ere in t is issue, must a e broug t ublic awareness of CoScan s e istence and aims to a new le el. T is is largely due to t e energy of Tony ray, described as arketing in t e committee s list of res onsibilities. Tony as been building u our rofile wit great dedication and e ertise o er t e last cou le of years take a look at our website for e idence of is sense of style. Our 2 A , eld in t e reenwic area of London in early ay, is t e work of anot er relati ely new committee member endy Howell, w o also as s own great rofessionalism and attention to detail in t e re arations. At a time w en many members i organisations are suffering from decreasing interest and feeling t e financial inc , it is a leasure to re ort t at CoScan is olding its own and looking towards a brig t and acti e future. wis could say t e same about t e wider olitical scene. E en Scandina ians resident in t is country, normally among t e most comfortably based and secure of all, a e recently been s owing signs of dis uiet. doubt w et er we s all a e 1
News
Dane Sandi Toksvig – CoScan International Award 2017 by Mark Elliott
Sandi Toks vig with the CoScan International Award 2017. P res ident M ark E lliott and Chairman E va R ob ards , who pres ented the award, on each s ide of her. oto Alice oagey, Sout bank
eter rig t s ins ired creation of t e CoScan nternational Award as come a long way in a cou le of decades. On Sunday 2 arc we resented t is year s award to Sandi Toks ig before an audience of or so in t e oyal esti al Hall in London, w o res onded by gi ing er a standing o ation. S e a eared to relis er arri al on a list of reci ients w ic includes a city, a telesco e and a bridge. y Sandi w o is s e n iki edia, s e is described as a anis ritis
comedian, writer, actor, resenter and roducer on ritis radio and tele ision, and a olitical acti ist. orn in enmark to a anis fat er and ritis mot er, s e was at sc ool in England and was t en outstandingly successful bot academically and in t e lig t entertainment s ere at Cambridge. Among er ac ie ements since books, lays, a musical, news a er columns it is radio and tele ision w ic as er a s broug t er t e widest degree of ublic affection, most recently 2
News
for t e ews ui on C radio and t e tele ision s ow . Her O E in 2 was for ser ices to broadcasting . Humour is only one of Sandi s ualities. T e occasion of our resentation was Sout bank Centre s se ent O omen of t e orld esti al, w ic now e tends o er fi e continents and twenty ma or cities. Eac year Sandi as resided o er an e ening of music and comedy, irt Control, t is year subtitled ... oes ordic in tune wit Sout bank Centre s year long e loration of ordic arts and culture, ordic atters in 2 . T ere was lenty of Scandina ian ness a bit of hygge, some e traordinarily owerful Swedis cow calling like yodelling gone wild, lenty of A A wit singers including Anne Sofie on Otter. Sandi s Scandina ian roots matter to er, we felt. T e rinci al underlying cause of t e w ole festi al, t oug , is celebrating t e ac ie ements and cam aigns of women. ude elly C E, founder of O and Artistic irector of Sout bank Centre, writes in t e introduction to t e rogramme emale oices a e become immensely owerful as a force for ositi e c ange worldwide . en we met Sandi before t e s ow, s e told us at once t at t e orc estra and t e 2 strong c oir were entirely female. T e irt Control e ent, like t ose of re ious years, contained a section of obituary, celebrating t e ac ie ements of women in many walks of life w o a e died during t e last year. T ere
were references at arious oints during t e e ening to t e discrimination against women, and t reats to t eir basic rig ts, w ic remain wides read. Sandi did, after all, set u t e s omen s E uality arty at t e O festi al in 2 . t is t is com le and energetic ersonality w ic led us to t ink of Sandi as a ossible reci ient of t e CoScan nternational Award. Her fat er, Claus Toks ig, was a owerful and widely res ected anis figure bot in ritain and t e nited States ournalist, broadcaster and olitician. Certainly in t is generation t ere must be ery many in ritain for w om t e name of Sandi Toks ig would come first w en asked to identify a ane. T e CoScan nternational Award is, among ot er t ings, for t ose ...w o a e caused t e ritis to iew Scandina ia wit e en greater affection and res ect . T at Sandi Toks ig certainly as done and not ust because we lo e anybody w o s ares our sense of umour. Addressing t e oyal esti al Hall audience on 2 arc after our resentation, s e s oke of er anis grandmot er, a member of t e resistance in t e Second orld ar, w o risked er life and t ose of er c ildren to el facilitate t e esca e of t e anis ews to Sweden and said n t ese dark times w ere we must constantly battle against unkindness or indifference to t ose in trouble, dedicate t is to er and o e t at er s irit runs t roug me in e eryt ing try to do .
News
Greenwich 2017 by Mark Elliott
T is year s Annual eneral eeting, on ay, ga e re resentati es of nine CoScan member societies an o ortunity to isit reenwic in sout east London and en oy t e generous and ig ly efficient os itality of endy and C ris Howell. As as become t e attern for non o erseas tra el years, we assembled on t e riday e ening and met eac ot er again o er a drink and some am le solid refres ment cou led wit a lig t earted but com re ensi e briefing on t e local area s istory and sig ts. Saturday ga e most of us an o ortunity for some brisk walking in reenwic ark wit fre uent crossings of t e reenwic eridian and an
e ertly guided tour of t e Cutty Sark and some of t e fine ren buildings nearby, before dining in a local Turkis restaurant. T e A itself was eld on t e Sunday morning, and t e minutes a e been circulated to indi idual and society members of CoScan. T e meeting re iewed e ents of t e ast year, and looked forward to t e future more of t is in t e ne t issue, but it is wort mentioning ere t at our target for t e 2 Conference A is inland, almost certainly Helsinki, as in 2 but on t at occasion a large art of our stay was occu ied wit a day tri to Tallinn in Estonia. endy Howell, of t e E ecuti e Committee, as agreed to take on t e lanning for Helsinki 2 , to t e delig t of us all after t e resounding success of reenwic t is year.
Participants , at Cu tty Sark, in front of the larges t collection of merchant navy figureheads in the world. oto C ris Howell
Societies
Scandinavian Klubb of Lincolnshire (SKOL) ita ike, n e Hulgaard and wife of orman ike Treasurer of CoScan for many years , died on riday A ril. ita was a member of t e strong anis and S OL contingent always to be seen at CoScan conferences and meetings. es ite ill ealt in recent years s e continued to be a c eerful and friendly resence. S e will be greatly missed.
The Viking Society for Northern Research by David Reid T e iking Society for ort ern esearc was founded in London in 2. Originally a literary society, it began life as T e Orkney, S etland and ort ern Society , t en later c anged its name to T e iking Club. Society for ort ern esearc as its ublications, rinci ally t e Orkney and Shetland Miscellany and Saga-Book, became more learned. inally, by , t e name iking Society for ort ern esearc was acce ted and settled u on and so it as been called e er since. T e Society s ublication r le also e anded wit t e introduction of a te t, translation and monogra series inaugurated by t e ublication in 2 of The Life and Death of Cormac the Scald Kormáks saga Kolbrúnarskáld , translated by . . Collingwood and n Stef nsson. T e Society ad a somew at tem estuous e istence bot financially and socially o er muc of t e succeeding
century but still managed to assist in t e establis ment of t e e artment of Scandina ian Studies at t e ni ersity of London, in t e rocess donating its own library as t e seed collection for t e new de artmental library. And t en, furt ermore, finding t e a er and rinter to roduce a translation of Guðmundar saga Arasonar The Life of Gudmund the Good, translated by Tur ille etre and E. S. Ols ewska during t e eig t of orld ar Two in 2. ow, owe er, settled into a ealt y old age, t e Society continues to be one of t e leading ublis ers of medie al Scandina ian te ts and translations in t e world and ublis es ni ersity College s orot ea Coke emorial Lectures in its ournal, Saga-Book. T e Society also olds t ree meetings a year at w ic a lecture is resented. T e meetings follow t e academic year, Autumn and S ring terms at ni ersity College in London
Societies
Letter from a reader
and eac Summer term at a different ritis uni ersity. An Annual inner is eld at t e Autumn meeting and t e A in t e Summer term. Sc olarly su ort is also ro ided wit an annual student conference, disbursement of ri es to students at ritis uni ersities, a fund to offer researc grants to graduate students and inde endent sc olars and t e annual awarding of t e eter oote emorial ursary to ostgraduate students in ritain and reland to assist t em in undertaking study or researc abroad. Society members i is o en to all and no academic ualification is re uired or necessary alt oug an abiding interest in all t ings medie al and orse is recommended Subscri tion and a lication details can be found on t e Society s website, www. snr.org.
ike and and are members of t e orwegian Scottis Association SA in Edinburg and se eral years ago im Osler ga e t e Association a wonderfully di erse and interesting talk about is erc ant a y e erience on t e Arctic Con oy. ecause of is communications e ertise e was seconded to letc ley ark. He was in regular contact wit esistance fig ters in orway and was e entually onoured wit t e s ako medal. Anne Connolly
H.... E. R.– . O – – –
He saw the Spitfires bank, flame over the Forth, knew the urge to be a hero. So he grew a bit enlisted on the dot of sixteen and left by the Clyde, gliding out beyond the sheltered neck of water, stood to attention on the top deck bound for manhood and Archangel. Abandon ship! Filled to the gunnels with necessity, lifeblood of convoy PQ17. But not before the vital codes were scuppered, hauled over tilting sides in three great chests each one heavier than a sodden corpse. Intermittent taps staccato breaths refrigerated marrow dot-dash-splash pneu-mon-iaaaaaaaaaaaaa. a long slow haul to Bletchley Park. F rom Love in a Mist by Anne Connolly ed S uirrel ress, or et , 2
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Language & culture
The rise and rise of Finnish maestros by Edward Clark, President of United Kingdom Sibelius Society (UKSS) All roads lead to ome e er was a truer word said w en contem lating t e rise and rise of innis conducting maestros o er t e ast few decades. Sibelius began t is road building rogramme by becoming one of t e greatest and most famous com osers of is generation in t e world. inland, a country of ust o er fi e million eo le, s otted, nurtured and ultimately rewarded Sibelius as t e country s most famous son bot in and outside of inland.
a urely national conducting talent ool, con uering t e world in suc definiti e form in t e second alf of t e 2 t century. T e reason, surely, is t e ins iration of a ing Sibelius as a role model for many as iring innis musicians. T ere were earlier signs of international fame among innis conductors. obert a anus, w o became Sibelius s greatest contem orary c am ion, was bot a com oser t oug uickly dwarfed by Sibelius and conductor. His early s recordings made in London are fres ly minted in a su erb bo set of C s, entitled Jean Sibelius. Historical Recordings and Rarities 1928-1945 on
Je an Sib eliu s
T e only ot er contender inside inland was ield ars al, later resident, anner eim, a figure muc less well known in t e international arena. A localised usic nstitute in Helsinki was renamed t e Sibelius Academy long before t e great man died. T is refurbis ed learning centre was fed by generous go ernment funding wit in t e general arena of an enlig tened State education system. ut t is does not really e lain t e e traordinary rise of
R ob ert Kaj anu s
t e arner Classics label re iewed in t e SS anuary 2 ewsletter . Sibelius s brot er in law Armas rnefelt was anot er international maestro, as was eorg Sc n e oig t, w o ga e t e re ised Lemminkäinen Suite (Four Legends) remiere in ew ork in
Language & culture and w ose li e concert recordings of t e ourt Sym ony and Luonnotar from t e oyal Albert Hall, London, on a re war tour are now t e stuff of folk lore. ot conductors are re resented on t is new bo set. Among ot er notable inns w o conducted widely abroad, including t e SA, were Tauno Hannik inen, ils Eric ougstedt bot of w om erformed at Sibelius s funeral in , Simon armet and Sibelius s son in law ussi alas. ut t e ood gates really o ened wit ost war talent. T e aut or sc olar obert Layton wrote in t at Sibelius s re utation in t e ad reac ed its nadir, due to a backlas against is long establis ed music in fa our of t e newly romoted by t e C amongst ot ers modernist style of Stock ausen, ierre oule and many ot ers. Among t e new talent was t e conductor aa o erglund, w ose centenary concert sym onies and at t e oyal esti al Hall, London, wit t e ournemout Sym ony Orc estra still burns in my memory. His subse uent E recordings of t e sym ony cycle, Kullervo and many ot er works really did c ange t e re utation for t e better of Sibelius, and not only in t e . erglund was t e international trail bla er not only for Sibelius but also for a w ole generation of innis conductors. T e young Okko amu won t e first nternational Herbert on ara an Conducting Com etition in and is ri e was to record t e Second Sym ony for t e label. Leif Segerstam also emerged at t is time as a rat er s ectacular inter reter of
Sibelius, a re utation w ic continues to t is day. He is also t e com oser of o er 2 sym onies nterestingly all t ree began as iolinists. T ere is a wonderful recording on t e Swedis S C label of amu and Segerstam laying t e ac ouble iolin Concerto. A slig tly younger generation uickly establis ed international fame. Esa ekka Salonen, ukka ekka Saraste, Sakari Oramo, o n Storg rds and Osmo nsk are among t ose best known to international audiences, all of t em welcome regular isitors to t e . ndeed t ey a e or a e ad official a ointments wit arious ritis orc estras. All t e abo e mentioned, wit t e e ce tion of Salonen, a e recorded ig ly regarded Sibelius sym ony cycles. ut t ey are not limited in re ertoire Salonen roduced and conducted a Stra insky esti al in London last year Saraste is a fre uent isitor often erforming ruckner, and muc contem orary music Oramo leads t e C Sym ony Orc estra eac season as usic irector and Storg rds and nsk a e recently gi en ig ly acclaimed Sibelius sym ony cycles in anc ester and London res ecti ely. All conduct Englis music. nsk s eet o en sym ony cycle, wit is innesota Sym ony Orc estra, is ig ly regarded on t e S label. ew, younger talents continue to emerge wit t e names of Hannu Lintu, ikko ranck, ietari nkinen and Susanna lkki by no means t e only female rominent to international audiences.
Language & culture
One name must be mentioned as t e ins irer of many if not most of t ese maestros orma anula. He can be eard in is recording for t e a os label of Kullervo, but is re utation is founded on is conducting often master classes, at t e Sibelius Academy, for t e generations t at followed on from erglund. it out is diligence and aut ority it is doubtful if suc ra id rogress could a e been
ac ie ed by so many students under is care many of t e abo e mentioned for instance . To connoisseurs e is a legend in is life time. You can join the UKSS by contacting Edward Clark on ainola@blueyonder.co.uk. The latest biannual Newsletter has a memoir on the mid-20th century Finnish maestro, Nils-Erik Fougstedt written by his daughter Christina Arni (www.sibeliussociey.info).
Simon Parmet, Ju kka-Pekka Saras te O s mo Vän s kä Ju s s i Jal as Paavo B erglu nd Tau no H annikäi nen H annu L intu
M ikko Franck Joh n Storgår ds Jor ma Panu la Armas Jär nefelt ( s tamp) Georg Schné evoight
O kko Kamu E s a-Pekka Salonen Su s anna M äl kki
Sakari O ramo Nils -E rik Fou gs tedt L eif Segers tam Pietari Inkinen Collage by E a obards
Language & culture
Scandinavia’s cultural ties with the UK City of Culture by Dr Nicholas J. Evans As Aar us began to celebrate its year as t e2 Euro ean City of Culture, on anuary 2 , Hull marked t e beginning of its year as City of Culture wit a series of ig ly isual and effecti e multimedia ro ections to s owcase its own uni ue story. T emed ade in Hull , it told t e story of Hull during t e ast years. ell known t emes including Hull s ric maritime eritage were told alongside recent s orting and cultural successes, and t e ort s ties wit Euro e were also rominently dis layed. i en t at ercent of t e city s electorate ad so recently oted to e it t e Euro ean nion, it was sur rising ow muc Hull s ast connections wit Scandina ia were being used to launc t e city s ig rofile year. et w ilst t e o ulation of Hull may a e seemingly turned its back on t e Euro ean nion, relations wit enmark, Sweden, orway, celand and inland look set to occu y an increasingly central lace in t e way t e city frames its ast. Situated on t e con uence of t e ri ers Hull and Humber, Hull as a roud and ric maritime eritage bound u wit t e s ared fortunes of ordic Euro e. Aside from t e legacy of ancient iking settlement in t e icinity of Hull e laining w y so many of t e lace names in t e area end in by t e recent launc of t e England s mmigrants atabase by t e ni ersity of ork re ealed t at t e number of
alien merc ants from ordic Euro e, es ecially enmark and celand, li ing in Hull from t e s onwards, was more significant t an any ot er region of Euro e see www.englandsimmigrants. com . T e ort s istoric ties wit Holland a e been celebrated since t e lorious e olution of , w en t e townsfolk su orted t e utc Stadt older illiam in becoming ing of England, but its ties wit ordic Euro e a e also remained increasingly im ortant to Hull s commercial, cultural and maritime traditions. or e am le, at
Family migrating throu gh H u ll.
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. E ans
Language & culture
Sout am ton as been marked by a statue commemorating Scandina ian emigrants. A la ue to t e former lodging ouse managed by Harry La arus was un eiled in 2 . His second wife ina, born in enmark, layed a key role in accommodating Scandina ian clientele. And in 2 , t e former innis Ambassador to ritain, His E cellency ekka Hu taniemi, un eiled a la ue marking t e former location of t e Hull based offices of o n ood and Sons w o ro ided s i ing ser ices and ass orts for innis residents and emigrants during t e late nineteent and early twentiet centuries. ost recently, t is celebration of ordic ties as e anded to include Hull s regal ties wit orway in t e form of a new Lord ayor centenary la ue at t e former salon of
t e royal o ening of t e Albert ock in t e anis born rincess of ales and future ueen Ale andra was met by delegations of anis s eaking citi ens of t e town. n recent decades Hull as increasingly o ulated ci ic s aces wit statues and ot er forms of eritage markers to remind isitors and citi ens alike of as ects of t e ort city s ast, and t is ublic eritage as increasingly included ties to Scandina ia, t anks in art to work by t is aut or in researc ing Hull s migrant ast at t e ni ersity of Hull. Since t e millennium Hull s istoric role as a conduit for anis , Swedis , orwegian and innis transmigrants i.e. t ose Euro eans en route to t e SA, Canada and Latin America ia t e orts of Li er ool, lasgow, and
Proj ection on the Deep of migration throu gh H u ll.
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. E ans
Language & culture Hull based Couturier adame Emily Cla am. Cla am s most illustrious client was ueen aud of orway. E en t e Hull born a iator Amy o nson, marked in t e city of er birt by a statue since 2, as been a ro riated by an arts festi al. ilst t e anis origins of er grandfat er were long o ers adowed by t e fact s e was born in t e eart of Hull s self styled fis ing illage , er anis eritage as been discussed more widely in t e Amy o nson festi al eld between uly and Se tember 2 tt amy o nsonfesti al.co.uk .
Statu e of Amy Joh ns on.
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Hull s migrant story fitted in wit t e longer term economic regeneration of t e area Hull was to be romoted as a ioneering city, a gateway to Euro e. et of e ual im ortance is often w at is not told, rat er t an w at is, in ost industrial landsca es of cities suc as Hull. or a time, t e city con eniently airbrus ed its former role as a ma or fis ing ort, a osition decimated by t e Cod ars of t e s after w ic E fis ing rig ts re ented local trawlers ar esting celand s stocks of fis . n recent years suc cultural di lomacy as increased wit t e un eiling of t e k statue, by celandic oreign inister alger ur S errisd ttir in 2 . T e co erection of matc ing statues in Hull and k, s onsored by celandic and ritis com anies and su orted by t e ritis , celandic and local go ernments, em asised t e s ared fis ing eritage wit Scandina ia. i lomatically it reconciled an awkward art of t e recent ast by ro ecting a s ared ision of t e future, ignoring t e fact t at t e colla se of t e fis ing industry caused immeasurable damage to economic conditions in t e city during t e last two decades of t e twentiet century. Sur risingly t en, t e city celebrated t e beginning of t e City of Culture by marking t ree of t e aforementioned stories in a ma or isual art installation. ade in Hull , a series of nine installations across t e city curated by award winning Sean cAllister, de icted t e legacy of t e Cod ars wit celand, Amy o nson s ig ts to Australia and Hull s role as an emigrant ort from Scandina ia. oignantly t e
. E ans
2
Language & culture
latter ro ection called Arri als and e artures , ro ected onto Hull s a uarium T e ee , told t e story of Hull as a gateway from ordic Euro e t at included immigrants and transmigrants. Situated o osite t e istoric landing stage w ere medie al merc ants ad once arri ed from enmark and celand, and near to t e former ictoria ock w ere transmigrants and immigrants arri ed from inland, images of former essels belonging to Det Forenede Dampskibselskab S and Finska Ångfartygs Aktiebolaget A, w ic trans orted o er 2.2 million Scandina ian migrants, were s own to an estimated , eo le. T e centrality of t e mo ement of goods, eo le and ideas from Scandina ia to Hull s e ansion was finally celebrated, alongside s ecially com osed music and t e inclusion of key names and surnames of famous Scandina ians w o ad ties wit Hull s ast. ost recently lans for t e City s eritage a e included a full scale co y of Amy o nson s y sy ot lane and a fort coming e ibition at Hull aritime useum marking t e Cod ars from bot ritis and celandic ers ecti es. et er a s, as ekka Hu taniemi obser ed at t e un eiling of t e la ue to Hull s innis eritage in 2 , cultural di lomacy will continue to lay an increasingly im ortant role in t e future lans of ritis towns and cities like Hull as re it becomes a olitical reality. One t ing is certain, it is now im ossible to isit t e City of Culture and not be aware of t e ort s roud ties wit ordic Euro e. er a s
orway s status as being outside of t e E bodes well for future commercial ties. Eit er way t e effects of o er a t ousand years of migrant ties between t e nort eastern ort and Scandina ia remain as im ortant today as at any time in t e ast, and re resent a form of cultural connection central to Euro ean commercial ties in t e years a ead.
Dr Nicholas Evans is Lecturer in Diaspora History at the University of Hull. His forthcoming essay, ‘The Making of a Mosaic: Migration and the Port-city of Kingston upon Hull’ appears in a book marking the 2017 UK City of Culture entitled Hull — Culture, City, Place published by the University of Liverpool Press in April 2017. This paper draws upon two presentations he made to the York AngloScandinavian Society in 2016. Further papers by him concerning Scandinavian migration through Hull can be found on his University webpage: www2.hull.ac.uk/ fass/history/our-staff/nicholas-evans.aspx
T e aut or was academic ad iser to Arri als and e artures created by t e artist Simon ainwrig t. Aut orities re ort t at 2, isited t e ade in Hull installations during t e first week of 2 .
Language & culture
2017: the year the Vikings return by Peter Addyman
Children before (above) and after (right) flooding in 2015. rinted wit ermission of ork Arc aeological Trust
2 brings good news for all t ose interested in t e im act t at Scandina ians ad on ritain in t e iking Age. ork s world famous or ik iking Centre, w ic set out t e story of t e ikings nort ern Englis ca ital, was inundated in t e catastro ic oods t at it t e city on o ing ay 2 .T e oods destroyed t e dis lays, t oug a ily none of t e original artefacts, w ic were e acuated according to t e Centre s emergency lan as t e oods rose. T e dis lays a e since been com letely reconstructed and t e Centre
and its story re imagined bringing u to date our knowledge of iking ork. or ik iking Centre in its new form re o ened to t e ublic on A ril. Since t e Centre first o ened in o er million eo le a e assed t roug its ortals. T ere is e ery indication t at t e re imagined or ik, wit its new take on iking ork, will continue to introduce large numbers of isitors and new generations of c ildren to t e stirring story of t e im act Scandina ian settlers ad on t e origins of town life in England.
Language & culture
T ere is a second reason for t ose interested in iking culture to isit ork in 2 . T e orks ire useum, w ic olds England s second largest collection of iking age artefacts, as de elo ed a collaboration wit t e ritis useum, t at olds t e nation s largest collection. Toget er t ey a e designed a s ecial e ibition SCO E THE LE E w ic will run at t e orks ire useum in ork from ay until o ember 2 , bringing toget er some of t e finest treasures from bot collections. at did it mean to be a iking at did a iking look like How a e recent finds, including mar ellous metal detectorists finds like t e ale of ork Hoard and t e edale
Hoard, c anged our iew of t e iking world T ese are some of t e t emes in t e new e ibition. SCO E THE LE E will tour t e country after it closes in ork in o ember. Y ork, orks ire useum ay o ember Nottingham, anogly allery, ni ersity of otting am 2 o ember 2 arc 2 Sou thport, T e Atkinson arc 2 une 2 Ab erdeen, Aberdeen Art allery 2 une 2 o ember 2 Norwich, orwic Castle useum ebruary 2 Se tember 2
A Riverine Site Near York: A Viking camp of the 870s by Gareth Williams T e site known today as A i erine Site ear ork A S was disco ered in t e s by metal detectorists, w o worked on t e site for a number of years, wit t e ermission of t e landowner and tenants. n late 2 t ey disco ered a concentration of Anglo Sa on coins and artefacts, in close ro imity to a number of clenc nails. elie ing t at t e first grou constituted a oard, and t erefore robably Treasure, t ey re orted t is. T e clenc nails also ga e rise to t e initial inter retation t at t e find could be art of a iking boat burial, alt oug
t is was uickly discounted. T e finders also anded o er for recording a number of iron ob ects disco ered on t e site, and later a larger grou of coins and weig ts, alt oug many of t e earlier finds from t e site ad already been dis ersed. T e landowner agreed to t e in estigation of t e site, on t e condition t at its location remained anonymous ence t e A S nickname in lace of a ro er name . t was decided t at t e ork Arc aeological Trust would carry out an e amination of t e site in collaboration wit Englis
Language & culture medie al date. T is encloses an area of c. ectares. T e original eig t and widt of t e bank and ditc is not com letely certain, as t e ground as been ea ily disturbed by agriculture, and er a s for t e same reason no traces of any structures wit in t e enclosure could be identified. Howe er, a large number of finds were recorded. T ese include e idence of oman acti ity on t e site, but ery little unambiguous e idence of re iking Anglo Sa on occu ation. ragments of ottery and numerous e am les of t e t century ort umbrian co er alloy coins known as stycas may represent re iking occu ation, or may a e been broug t t ere by t e ikings t emsel es. T ere is also a small amount of e idence for continued use but not e tensi e
Heritage and t e ritis useum. T is included limited e ca ations, toget er wit to ogra ic, geo ysical and geoarc aeological sur eys, t e analysis of aerial otogra s, airborne laser altimetry Lidar and Airborne T ematic a er AT data, and an assessment of ot er arc aeological and istorical data. T e finds disco ered in t e e ca ations were also considered toget er wit t ose re iously made by t e metal detectorists, and a re ort on t e site is s ortly to go to ress. T e site is located on ig ground abo e t e ood lain of a ri er w ic would a e been na igable in t e iking Age. On one side of t e site t e ground dro s away abru tly towards t e ri er, but on t e ot er sides it was enclosed by a bank and ditc of robable early
H illes gĂĽr den, Sweden ( advertis ement)
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occu ation of t e site in t e ost iking eriod, but t e bulk of t e finds relate to iking acti ity in t e late t century. T ese include wea ons, but also a ariety of ob ects relating to e c ange, including Anglo Sa on and slamic coins, weig ts and balance arts, ack sil er and ack gold, all of w ic are ty ical of t e mi ed bullion economy of t e ikings around t e time of t e iking settlement of ort umbria in . T ere are also metal dro lets and ot er waste relating to metal working, and a number of decorati e stra ends for belts, some of w ic a ear not to a e been finis ed, suggesting manufacture on site. Ot er finds include loom weig ts and fis ing weig ts, indicating a ariety of e eryday acti ities, including te tile working w ic would normally be done by women. ost of t e coins are of ty es current during t e eriod of t e iking con uests of t e s and s, but t e latest in t e grou is of a ty e issued from in t e kingdom of ercia between t e T ames and t e Humber . T e ot er finds are not so closely dateable, but are consistent wit t is date. T e date is interesting, because we know from istorical sources t at t e great army w ic ad arri ed in England in and successi ely con uered ort umbria, East Anglia and art of ercia, di ided in , wit one art mo ing nort to ort umbria, and settling ermanently in . T e finds also s ow strong similarities wit t ose from Torkey in Lincolns ire, istorically documented as t e winter cam of t e great army in 2 , and also in estigated t roug
Dr Gareth Williams is Curator of Early Medieval Coins at the British Museum in London and has published a number of books on money and medals. He was interviewed in the CoScan Magazine 2014/1 (pp 20 – 22) about the Viking exhibition at the British Museum.
a combination of metal detecting and arc aeology. A similar smaller site as also been in estigated at oodstown, near aterford in reland, alt oug t e oodstown site is robably a few years earlier. at is interesting about t ese sites is bot t e si e and t e range of acti ities. T e ikings came from a largely rural background, but t eir settlements in England and reland are marked by t e de elo ment of towns suc as ork, ublin and Lincoln. Cam s like A S and Torksey, w ic are muc larger t an any contem orary settlement in Scandina ia, seem to be t e missing link t at made t e de elo ment of suc towns ossible.
Language & culture
Reading the runes by Brita Green ere er you dri e around t e countryside in t e sout ern alf of Sweden you are ne er far from a rune stone. e a e o er t ree t ousand runic inscri tions in Sweden. T ey are also found in t e ot er ermanic, es ecially
Nu mb er of Viking-age ru nes tones / s q u are mile per mu nicipality in Sweden. S eriges ationalatlas, . , ublic omain
Scandina ian, countries, t oug not in suc large numbers. en runes first began to be used, t ey were regarded as a gift from t e gods, ossessing magical owers. T e word rune as retained somet ing of t at meaning to t is day, but t eir main use was as letters for writing messages. T e oldest runic inscri tions a e been dated to t e rd century A , and it is belie ed t at it was around t at time t at ermanic tribes began to use t is writing system based on Sout Euro ean al abets. T e ast ma ority of t e Swedis inscri tions stem from 2 A , t e iking age. ost use t e c aracter ounger FuĂžark al abet named after t e first si runes and are mostly memorial stones to eo le w o a e died or done somet ing notewort y like building a bridge or a road. nscri tions of t e al abet itself can be found in se eral laces, always wit t e runes in t e same order and di ided into t ree grou s see abo e . T e rune stone wit t e longest inscri tion is t e one in k in sterg tland. T e w ole stone 2 m tall abo e ground is co ered wit runes, using bot and 2 rune FuĂžarks, some of t em encry ted t us adding to t e mystery. T e large crosses at t e to are not actual runes but coded messages t e s ort lines attac ed to t e longer crossed lines indicate a certain osition in t e al abet, e.g. t e second rune in t e
Language & culture
t ird grou reading rig t to left . Code breakers a e inter reted one se uence to mean At t e age of , Sibbe from i begat a son, most robably . E erts used to claim t at t e k stone ga e accounts of long forgotten acts of eroism, but according to a recent inter retation by rofessor er Holmberg, ot enburg 2 , t e message consists of riddles concerning writing itself
The R Ăśk Stone, 9t h centu ry
and ow it makes it ossible for us to commemorate t ose w o a e died. ot sur risingly, most of t e inscri tions t at a e sur i ed are on stones, e en t oug t e angular s a e of t e runes indicate t at t ey were also,
robably mostly, car ed on wood. n fact, in t e s about se en undred inscri tions on ieces of wood were found in ergen in orway. T ey are from t e t century and are ery clear e idence t at t e runes, like any al abet, were used for ractical e eryday ur oses. any are ust nametags etc., but t ere are also some interesting ersonal notes T ere is no beer ere, and no fis eit er... Send me some glo es , and a assionate confession lo e t at man s woman so muc t at fire seems cold to me . To read a rune inscri tion you need a knowledge of t e al abet and its con entions for e am le, a rune was sometimes not re eated if two ad oining words ended and began wit t e same sound. T e FuĂžark also ad its limitations t ere were not enoug runes for all t e sounds of t e language, so t e T rune, for e am le, stood for bot T and and t e rune for or E or . ou also of course need to know somet ing about t e language, its ocabulary and grammatical forms. Howe er, e en wit no knowledge at all of Old Swedis , it is not difficult to learn to recognise some standard rases in t e inscri tions and get t e gist of a message. any of t e commonly used words are ery similar to Englis . T e usual formula is raised t e stone in memory of , is er t eir daug ter mot er sister, fat er brot er son . And once C ristianity ad begun to be establis ed, a common conclusion to an inscri tion was od el is soul . So, let us look at a transliterated and normalised inscri tion Husby S u undra, land
Language & culture DiarfR ok O rök ia ok Vigi ok Iogæ iR R ok Gæ iR hialmR , þ æ iR b röðr alliR letu ræ is a s tæ in þ enna æ ftir Svæ in, b roþ u r s inn. SaR varð dau ðr a Iu tlandi; hann s ku ldi fara til Inglands . Gu ð hialpi hans and ok s alu ok Gu ð s moði R b æ tr þ an hann gæ rði til t is easy to locate let raise stone ad t e stone raised , and w at comes before t at rase must be t e name of t e erson w o raised t e stone. n t is case it is no fewer t an fi e brot ers, all named and oined by ok and . T e re osition after is often used to mean in memory of , so we see t at t ey a e ut t e stone u for t eir brot er S en. n t e second sentence, w ere utland and England can be recognised, we learn t at S en became dead in utland w en e was on is way to England. T e inscri tion is t en rounded off wit ay od el is s irit and soul, and od s mot er wit t e modest or sarcastic addition better t an e deser ed . Alongside t e Latin al abet t at came wit t e s read of C ristianity, runes continued to be used by t e common eo le, for e am le for utting owner s or maker s names on wooden ob ects. T ey were articularly long li ed in Sweden. T e er etual rune calendars too were in use well into t e t century w en t e introduction of t e regorian calendar in and t e a ailability of rinted calendars e entually made t em obsolete.
O ne s ide of the H u s b y-Sj u hu ndra s tone, c. 1000 AD
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English soldiers’ burial grounds in Scandinavia 1 :
Tak for din hjÌlp Allied airmen’s WW2 memorials in southern Denmark by S. A. J. Bradley Als, but is aircraft o ers ot and lunged into t e winter cold sea a cou le of undred metres offs ore. T ere it sank. T e erman military aut orities were of course ealous in getting to cras ed aircraft as ra idly as ossible, a ead of local sym at isers, to sal age information of any kind from t e aircraft, its e ui ment and its documentation, to arrest sur i ors and to take c arge of any dead. ut it would sometimes a en t at local eo le got to t e stricken aircraft first for sometimes sur i ors could be smuggled into iding and secret information remo ed or destroyed.
A ma or target for Allied bombers at t e latter end of t e Second orld ar was t e nort erman city of ostock wit its aircraft manufacturing facilities and its altic s i yard. T e route to ostock from Allied bomber stations in nort east England took t e A s Lancaster and Halifa bombers laden wit mines to be dro ed in t e s i ing lanes su lying ostock o er t e island of Als and islands of t e Sout yn arc i elago. lying low in t e o e of a oiding erman radar, t ese bombers ne ert eless a arded being interce ted by erman nig t fig ters and broug t down well before t ey reac ed t eir targets. T us, tragically, Als became one of enmark s cras sites and in many cases t e final resting lace of some of t e airmen w o ew from Englis airfields on fatal missions against ermany. On 2 A ril , at 2 . rs, a Halifa bomber LL 2 wit its crew of se en took off from El ington airfield, outside ork, on a nig t mission to lay mines off ostock. Two and a alf ours later, now abo e Sout utland, it was detected by erman radar and attacked by a erman essersc mitt fig ter lane. T e Halifa caug t fire, and t e ilot e idently attem ted a cras landing in fields near arlsminde on t e island of 2
Language & culture A local fis erman saw t e lane come down and at once went out in is boat to look for sur i ors. n t e darkness e eard one oice s outing for el and managed to locate and drag from t e water t e rear gunner, Sergeant ouglas Harris. Tragically, t e rest of t e crew eris ed. Local men set out to take t e sur i or to t e os ital in S nderborg, some 2 km distant, but t ey were sto ed on t e road by erman soldiers w o arrested Harris as a risoner of war and subse uently sent im to a rison cam . He did, owe er, sur i e t e war and return to England. One source website www.airmen.dk records t at on 2 ay t e ilot s body was found in t e water at t e cras site and on ay t e mid u er gunner s body was found on nearby Himmark Strand, Als. ot were buried in t e cemetery in Aabenraa, utland. n une, t e body of t e na igator and t at of t e wireless o erator, a ing drifted to different oints on t e coast of yn, were retrie ed and taken for burial to Assens and aaborg, res ecti ely. T e body of t e ig t engineer was ne er found. eit er, officially, was t at of t e bomb aimer owe er, t ere were indications t at an unidentified body w ic drifted as ore near Ha nb erg on t e utland coast nort of Als was is. T e body was taken to Aabenraa and buried t ere as an unidentified airman. His name a ears, as does t at of is ig t engineer, on t e great memorial at unnymede w ic records t e names of airmen w ose burial laces are unknown. t is a umane instinct w ic sees to it t at t ese many gra es and memorials
on and about Als are maintained and onoured by local eo le. en, in 2 , a local istory society ro osed wit t e aid of t e local s ort di ing club to e lore and document t e remains of t e bomber LL 2 , suc rotest arose concerning t e disturbance of a war gra e, albeit an underwater gra e, t at t e lan was abandoned.
Avernakø c hu rchyard: ‘ Tak for din hjælp’ .
n une in lo ely summer weat er, said t e local news a er t e arents of airmen w o, in ay , died in anot er A bomber t e Lancaster bomber LL from Els am olds in Lincolns ire w ic cras ed in ames into t e sea some km east of Als isited t eir sons gra es in t e se eral c urc yards nearest to w ere bodies were was ed as ore. n one of t ese c urc yards, on t e tiny island of A ernak in t e Sout yn arc i elago, 22
Language & culture
a art from t e official A stone marking a war gra e, t ere is a small granite boulder inscribed wit t e airman s name and t e words Tak for din hjÌlp and Avernakø sogn satte dette minde T ank you for your el t e aris of A ernak laced t is memorial . n is address t ere on t at occasion, t e anis astor said T e arents ere today gat er as re resentati es of all t ose near and dear to t e boys in t e cras ed aircraft. T ey a e now seen t eir boys resting laces in t ese beautiful gra es w ic will be cared for by t e eo le because we regard t ese boys as t e liberators of our land. e folk ere on t is island feel we a e a s are in your grief.
T e mot er of t e dead airman re lied t ank you wit my w ole eart for w at you a e done for my son. e a e met wit sincerity and sym at y, and am roud to be t e mot er of a boy w o was art of t e struggle for t e liberty of t is beautiful land. And will return ome to England a y because know t at e rests wit you. otos of 2 memorials gratefully retrie ed from www.airmen.dk an outstandingly well documented website co ering t e 2 air war o er enmark . T anks to o n Larder, esearc Officer, orks ire Air useum, El ington, ork, for generous assistance.
Karls minde memorial s tone with trib u tes laid at a commemoration ceremony 2010.
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St Magnus of Orkney – 900th anniversary – and an art project by Brita Green and Eva Robards According to t e sagas, agnus Erlendsson was a 2t century Earl of Orkney, w o was e ecuted after a feud wit is cousin, Earl Haakon. T ere were re orts of miraculous ealings and e ents near is burial lace, and e was canonised. His relics are now in irkwall Cat edral, w ic bears is name. agnus was born sometime between and and died sometime between and , soon after Easter. Orkney as c osen to celebrate is t anni ersary t is year w en Easter Sunday coincides wit agnus feast day . T e rogramme started during t e Easter weekend, w en t e first leg of St agnus ay was o ened, t e second leg at t e end of ay. T en follows an nternational esti al in une, and St agnus arat on and t e iocese of Aberdeen ilgrimage in uly. St agnus as been t e ins iration for se eral modern works of art, e.g. t e Orcadian writer eorge ackay rown s no el, Magnus , w ic itself became t e basis for eter a well a ies one act o era, The Martyrdom of St Magnus first erformed in . n connection wit t e anni ersary, a s ecial ro ect is being undertaken by artist and stone mason eatrice Searle. ns ired by a stone wit car ed out foot rints sometimes known as St agnus oat , s e is car ing er own foot rint stone, T e Orkney oat , a
The ‘ L adykirk Stone’ or ‘ St M agnu s ’ B oat’ .
iece of t e same red sandstone t at forms t e Old an of Hoy . On une s e will be setting off from Orkney and taking t e stone by boat on a ilgrimage ia S etland to orway, w ere s e will ull it on a onowalker Wa n d e r a n h ä n g e r , attac ed to er waist, on a km walk from Oslo to idaros Cat edral in Trond eim. eo le cam aigners, oliticians and t e general ublic will be in ited to walk wit er and to stand, barefoot, on t e stone, making statements if t ey wis . S e will t en return t e stone to Orkney, w ere it will be installed in St agnus Cat edral. e are o ing to be able to rint eatrice s story of er ilgrimage in t e ne t issue. 2
Statu e of St M agnu s in Nidaros Cathedral, Trondheim.
Language & culture
F rom the bookshelf
t e trilogy The O Manuscript. A film by t e same name, based on u l s footage ca tured during time s ent wit t e seer, was released in 2 . sing a non linear narrati e, u l switc es between a c ronological account of is ourneys to t e seer in rance and Andalucia and as backs to significant e ents in is life. T ese e ents el t e reader understand u l s state of mind and w y e is now going t roug t is life c anging rocess. e get t e im ression t at until e met t e seer, u l was ne er uite resent in t e now, and e talks about anot er reality w ic , since c ild ood, as made im feel disconnected from t e world. He writes, rom my tent to my twelft year, eac e ening before fell aslee , ad some unfamiliar and ainful kundalini e eriences, wit t e result t at ardly sle t at all during t is eriod. Since wasn t able to s are t ese e eriences wit anyone became more and more intro erted and unable to function . He adds t at e t oug t t e intensity of life as a musician would cut im off from t is unwelcome reality and end t e loneliness, but it ne er uite a ened. T e book starts wit u l falling seriously ill. es ite seeing a number of doctors, no one seems able to diagnose t is mystery illness w ic sa s all is energy and lea es im in constant ain. He describes it as t e year fell into t e dark nig t of t e soul , inting t at t is was a condition t at affected im bot ysically and syc ologically. T e attacks meant t at t e back of my neck urt like ell, felt nauseated, lost all energy and ad to stay in bed for
Review by Louise Sø rensen Lars u l, The Seer 2 2 irst ublis ed in anis , Seeren fra Andalusien, 2 2 . ublis ed by atkins edia, ec 2 a erback S 2 2 , Lars u l was born in in Aar us, enmark. He was a successful musician and songwriter for years, en oying recognition bot at ome and abroad. n e fell seriously ill and four years later called time on is music career. Since ste ing away from t e limelig t, e as studied Taoist and udd ist writings, mystics, occult sc ools and Aramaic, t e language t at es ua esus is su osed to a e s oken. Today u l writes books on mysticism, runs works o s on ealing and organises tri s to t e yrenees w ere e first met t e seer. The Seer is a book about u ls transition from musician to mysticist and is t e first of t ree books t at make u
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days on end. t was like being caug t in a no man s land between t e conscious and unconscious, between being awake and aslee , t e feeling of iron . After t ree years suffering, u l as almost reac ed t e oint w ere e does not want to go on, but a c ance encounter uts im in touc wit t e seer. T e seer is a mysterious figure w o almost seems to ossess su ernatural owers. uring is morning tele one consultations e s eaks to eo le all o er t e world w o need is el , and t is is also ow u l finally reac es im. After t is brief con ersation, u l already starts to feel better, and soon e is on is way to t e sout of rance to meet t e seer in erson. After a long train ourney, u l reac es t e mountain of onsegur. n t e iddle Ages, t e religious grou known as t e Cat ars, crucially belie ed to a e ossessed t e Holy rail, resided in t is region before t ey surrendered to t e n uisition of t e Cat olic C urc . According to u l t e reawakening e e eriences during is time wit t e seer is like finding t e rail. He e lains, T e rail is neit er a secret, worldly treasure in t e s a e of a cu or a s ecific mortal woman, nor a idden, c osen family somew ere in t e world. T e rail is a state of eart and mind t is a multidimensional consciousness accessible to all w o are to let go of time s cosy little crime mysteries to get u from t e soft couc of comfort to find t e courage to set out on t e uest for t e rail and to take t e uantum lea most eo le only dare dream about . art of u l s uest is to ser e an a rentices i
wit t e seer in rance and S ain, and during t eir time toget er u l comes to terms wit t e demons of is ast and t e new direction is life is going in.
Lone lmann and Tine Harden, Ports of Call. ublis ed by Strandberg ublis ing, o 2 . S 2 2
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ournalist and aut or Lone lmann and award winning otogra er Tine Harden a e isited t e anis seamen s c urc es near some of t e busiest arbours in t e world. T eir ourney as resulted in a book of e ocati e ictures and i id stories from t e nine cities w ere t e seamen s c urc es are still re resented. any a e redicted t e demise of t e seamen s c urc es since s i ing is increasingly effecti e and s i s only dock for s ort eriods of time, but orts of Call s ows t at t e c urc es are still ali e and well, and still erform an im ortant function for anes abroad.
Language & culture
ils at isrud, Air Transport Between Britain and Sweden During WWII. ublis ed by ooks, ec 2 S 2 T e erman assault on enmark and orway in A ril effecti ely cut off all surface communications between neutral Sweden and t e estern Allies. i lomats and s still needed to tra el to and from Sweden and e orts and im orts of ig ly aluable goods needed to be maintained. To gain su ort for t e war against an all con uering ermany, it was also im ortant to gi e t e Swedis ublic t e o ortunity to read ritis news a ers and maga ines. T e only realistic way to maintain t ese links between Sweden and ritain was by air, and a ci ilian ser ice was immediately establis ed by ritis O erseas Airways Cor oration OAC . T is book co ers t e istory of t e ig ts and t e aircraft used. t also as details of t e markings and colour sc emes t roug out t e war, illustrated wit many rare wartime otos and colour rofiles by t e aut or of all t e aircraft ty es.
igdis H ort , A House in Norway Translated by C arlotte arslund ublis ed by or ik ress, eb 2 S A House in orway tells t e story of Alma, a di orced te tile artist w o makes a li ing from wea ing banners for trade unions and marc ing bands. S e li es alone in an old illa, and rents out an a artment in er ouse to su lement er income. S e is o er oyed to be gi en a more creati e assignment, to design a ta estry for an e ibition to celebrate t e centenary of women s suffrage in orway, but soon finds t at it is a muc more daunting task t an s e ad antici ated. igdis H ort born is a orwegian no elist w ose work as been recognised wit many ri es. S e writes about t e dilemmas of li ing in modern society er c aracters struggle to come to terms wit a ra idly c anging world and to find a meaningful way to integrate wit ot ers and realise t eir own otential. 2
Travel award
CoScan T rust F und
CoScan E ecuti e Committee, for t eir generous contributions. T ere were twel e a lications t is year, ele en of w om will recei e awards. T ree eo le are lanning tri s to orway, one erson is going to eit er orway or Sweden, two definitely to Sweden, t ree to enmark and two to celand. Acti ities are aried t is year four are going for medical or nursing electi es, two are attending conferences on arc aeology and turbulence , two are taking art in researc ro ects on midges and glacial dynamics , one erson is going as an intern to t e HO office in Co en agen, one is sailing a long s i , and one is undertaking an e citing art ro ect of er own. After re ecting one a lication w ic amounted to no more t an an en uiry , we s lit t e a ailable money among ele en a licants, gi ing eig t eo le eac and t ree eac . f all offers are taken u , it will lea e us ust under , in line wit our usual olicy. T at will gi e us a start for ne t year s awards but only a start. As usual, we a eal to you to el us build u our kitty for ne t year. T e more we recei e, t e more generous we can be.
2017 report by Brita Green T e Trust und sub committee Tony ray, o n C ristmas and myself met in ork on A ril. Alf ild ellborne ad told us t at s e wanted to ste down, and we t ank er for er work o er t e years. e decided t at t e t ree of us are a y to carry on doing t e ob, wit Tony now bearing t e brunt of t e work, w ic is muc a reciated. ou can see some of t e 2 re orts, including t e ri e winning one, in t is issue of t e maga ine, along wit se eral otos. T e co er icture was taken by t is year s oto ri e winner. Ot er re orts and ictures from last year will follow in t e winter issue. e ad almost 2 in t e kitty. e are most grateful to all our donors, societies as well as indi iduals and s ecial mention must be made of our regular mont ly contributor, r Smit . t is good to find t at some societies are also becoming regular donors, and we t ank ork Anglo Scandina ian Society, orwegian Scottis Association, Ham s ire Anglo Scandina ian Society, S OL and t e Anglo Scandina ian Society of ewcastle, as well as t e
f you would like to make a donation, you can download a form from our website, tt www.coscan.org.uk tra el award. Alternati ely, ust dro Tony ray a line tony.bray@coscan.org.uk and e will send you a form to fill in. Or send a c e ue made out to CoScan Trust und , directly to t e Trust und treasurer o n C ristmas, Sutton arm, Langton oad, orton, O . lease do OT send donations to t e CoScan treasurer. 2
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CoScan Trust Fund PR IZ E- W IN N IN G R EPO R T 2 0 1 6
Tracking wolves in Finland by Bethany Smith
sauna. was retty mortified at first but you uickly get used to it t was soon onday and was e tremely e cited to be starting work. ork meant dri ing or walking set loo s in t e study area looking for animal tracks. t erefore ad uickly to learn ow to identify t e rints of different animals wolf large, elongated rints wit claw marks lyn circular rints wit or wit out claw marks and wol erine large rints wit fi e toes . e found rints of ot er animals too, suc as moose, reindeer, mountain are, fo and ine marten, but it was t e rints of t e large redators t at we were interested in. Once tracks were found we set about following t em in bot directions, recording our location wit and eld S de ices, a rocess called snow tracking. s ent many days tracking a mot er lyn wit er two kittens and found se eral mountain are remains along t e way. also found a lace w ere a wol erine ad dug u one of is buried kills. rom t e si e of t e aw bone and t e number of teet , we concluded t at t e remains belonged to a small mustelid, robably a stoat. One day, we sto ed tracking a wol erine to resume t e ne t day, only to work out from t e tracks t at ad we continued anot er m t e day before, we would a e come across t e
s ould robably start by e laining w y e been c asing to redators t roug t e innis wilderness in t e middle of winter. or as long as can remember e been fascinated by animals, articularly large, carni orous animals like wol es and bears, and m com letely set on a career in animal conser ation. To gain some ractical e erience in t is field, s ent o ember and ecember 2 in inland, olunteering as a researc intern on a large carni ore ro ect wit t e organisation ee arelia. got off to a rocky start, initially missing my ig t, but after negotiating wit t e airline manager, a slee less nig t in Helsinki and a si our train ourney, finally arri ed at Lieksa train station. To my relief, ladimir ologo and Laetitia ecker, t e founders of t e organisation, were waiting for me on t e latform. After anot er minute dri e, during w ic it started to snow a retty e citing sig t for a rit , arri ed at my final destination a large, yellow sc ool ouse in t e forest. was introduced to my co abiters t ree ot er interns, a cat w o could ass for an agent, e was so stealt y in is attacks, and a ugosla ian mountain dog t e si e of a bear but wit t e tem erament of a teddy bear. was t en informed t at d be able to s ower twice a week from a bucket once t e water ad been eated by t e 2
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wol erine slee ing T e animals did manage to see were retty ama ing a red s uirrel, lenty of ca ercaillie rare in t e , a beautiful mountain are w o was sneakily following in our tracks, and t e last animal e ected to find a baby adder T e ig lig t of my wildlife watc ing, t oug , as to be s otting eagles and wol es from a oto ide. A few weeks into my interns i it was my birt day and couldn t t ink of a better way to enter my 2 rd year t an in a ide in t e middle of t e wilderness. T e ide consisted of a bunk bed, fro en barrel of water, cam ing sto e, eater, dry toilet and a fantastic iew o er a mars w ere ig carcasses were laced as bait. en woke in t e morning was greeted by t e sig t of se eral golden and w ite tailed eagles, and s ortly afterwards t ree
wol es materialised out of t e dusk a e and began to feed on a carcass only m away from t e ide. cannot ut into words ow ama ing t is e erience was en wasn t tracking large redators or looking for wildlife, s ent my time being attacked by t e bosses energetic c ildren, a oiding being attacked by t e cat, looking out for t e aurora borealis wit no luck and rocessing e crements t at ad collected. rocessing e crements does indeed mean icking t roug wolf lyn oo to find bones, fur and lant matter, w ic is as gross as it sounds but also e tremely interesting. was filmed by a innis re orter one day, and s ent time at nearby uunaa ational ark, w ic is incredibly beautiful. was really im ressed to see laces e ery few kilometres w ere wood and fire its were ro ided. T e fire its
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e en ad grills installed so t oug t it only rig t to make a grilled c eese sandwic see c eesy oto to t e left . o e it s clear t at ad an ama ing time, but d like to finis on a few lessons learned t at feel t e need to ass on f you lea e a motion sensiti e camera in t e forest, you will record one ideo of a wolf and t e rest will be un attering, close u s ots of your face.
2 on t disable your mobile one if it s km back to ouse and you only a e our and minutes before it s itc black. f it s C your snot will free e, if it s between C and C your air and eyelas es will free e, and if it s 2 C, don t go outside to look at t e moon wit out a coat on
Young Shetlanders in Hammerfest by Gordon Stove and Wendy Mackney-Mills e write to t ank CoScan on be alf of rae Hig Sc ool, and es ecially t e se en u ils and two staff w o took art in t e E AS S funded e c ange to orway s innmark region in ay. our su ort el ed us greatly wit additional costs. Our t ird ig t on riday ay took us to t e nort ern city of Alta. e landed about midnig t, and of course we ad been warned it was not going to get dark, but it was still sur rising to see ust ow muc lig t t ere was on our two our ourney nort in t e cars of t e ost families. eindeer s otting was a no elty t at soon wore off ot only ad t e ost families undertaken a four our return ourney to ick u t eir young guests, t eir commitment to ensuring t at t eir isitors ad a ositi e e erience and total immersion all week was outstanding. Our artner sc ool was t e Hammerfest VideregĂĽende Skole, an u er secondary sc ool of some students more t an double our si e in rae. T ey ad lanned a rogramme of acti ities, but
bot before and after, our u ils were able to s end some great time wit t eir ost families. A few of t em ad a c ance to attend family e ents associated wit Confirmation, and e en dress u in national costume. uring t e first afternoon, eac grou of e c ange students from different countries resented information to mins , w ic ga e t e ot ers background about t e traditions and transitions associated wit growing u in t eir articular culture. ri ing and ot er legal ages for consents, e am timings, cultural e ents and t e differing em asis laced by our eri eral neig bours on celebrations associated wit sc ooling milestones were uite re ealing, and uite similar. etting t e key to t e door was noted as a big t ing in Sardinia, t e year all in Lat ia, and t e Russetid or Russ in orway was described as t e end of term arty to end all arties A series of icebreakers and an orienteering e edition rounded off t e ery successful day.
Travel award reports comed us. t is called t e econstruction useum because t e focus is on t e de elo ment of t e area after t e a is torc ed it in , su osedly to re ent it falling into t e ands of t e ad ancing ussians. A ery sobering resentation of t e e ents was well recei ed. u ils disco ered t at many of t eir osts older relati es ad ad to take refuge in coastal ca es and remote islands o er t e eriod. An unforgettable day s ent at ordka took u one w ole day. e sto ed off en route at a traditional Sami ouse. e were in ited by Statoil to t e gas lant situated on an island accessible only by subsea tunnel. T is isit in ol ed muc more t an finding out about oil and gas roduction. or e am le, t e grou s were taken t roug a scenario in w ic
T ere were interesting acti ities e ery day. T e Cerma salmon rocessing lant ga e u ils t e e erience of seeing o er , salmon being rocessed from slaug ter to gutting to cleaning to icing to acking and distribution. E treme biosecurity recautions for t e u ils were ery e citing full olyt ene boiler suits, glo es, airnets and double bagged boots were donned. Energihuset is a ur ose built educational centre built onto t e ydro electric ower lant for t e town. t is well e ui ed to cater for educational acti ities. T ere was a ractical session on oil e traction, one on friction reduction in cars, and a resentation on Hydro Electricity and energy sources in our res ecti e countries. T e Hammerfest museum also wel
In the Sami hou s e Mikelgamen, H ammerfes t
2
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t e lant suffered a gas leak and were s own t e met ods em loyed to s ut t e lant down. A grou from t e gaming com any CS w ic is art based in Hammerfest engaged t e grou wit a talk about t e de elo ment of t eir new interacti e is ing t e arents Sea game, w ic is in t e final stages of de elo ment. T e closing ceremony for t e w ole ro ect at sc ool in ol ed music and s ort contributions from t e mayor and ead teac er as well as students. T e ost arents attended and t e catering de artment ulled out e en more sto s to ro ide a well recei ed finger buffet. any of t e ost students added to t e e cellent atmos ere in t e sc ool by donning traditional dress for t e e ening. Our last day of lanned acti ities took us to orway s fourt largest island of
Fis h-cu ring at Akkerfj ord
S r ya. T e su erfast catamaran ferry left Hammerfest at ust after am. t acts like a assenger s uttle o er on t e S r ya coast sto ing at arious oints w ere t ere are small amlets and settlements to dro assengers and freig t. T ere are roads, but t ey only go from t e iers at t e settlements to a few strung out ouses or oliday omes. Traditional fis drying rigs made for an interesting smell along t e early art of t e walk to t e beac some km o er t e ot er side of t e isle. e also encountered orway s only camels and a sc ool of nine u ils aged All in all, t is was a great day to round off a brilliant week. Songs were sung at t e grille and games layed on t e sand, t oug only t e S etlanders bra ed a addle in t e sea C.
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Learning to pronounce Eyjafjallajรถkull by Hannah Ward T anks to t e el and su ort of CoScan, ad t e o ortunity to s end my si week medical electi e in eyk a k, celand, as a fantastic end to many years studying at medical sc ool. y decision for c oosing celand is based mainly on family ties wit t e country, alongside earlier ersonal e eriences ere. celand is a beautiful country, wit e eryt ing you could ossibly want, all in one tiny country. was based in one of t e medical sc ool buildings on t e ni ersity of celand cam us, located wit mountains to one side, t e ort Atlantic to t e ot er and t e main centre of eyk a k ust a few minutes walk away. ilst s ent t e week working in t e os ital genetics de artment, learning about t e different ealt care en ironment in celand, and el ing wit researc into w y certain women get re eclam sia, ad weekends and er a s a few afternoons off to e lore t e beautiful country ad t e leasure to call my ome for si weeks. n articular was able to climb t e nearby mountain known as ount Es a. Alt oug only m ig and considered a ill by most ot er celanders, t e ca ital residents are ery defensi e of t eir mountain, and it was great to a e t e c ance to climb it on a sunny day. t was my first real day out, and managed to negotiate t e city buses to get to t e foot of t e mountain. ad left ery early, so t e only ot er eo le around were a
few runners, w o ad some ow managed to run u and down t e mountain before am and ga e me a few ti s on getting to t e to . celand is getting more and more o ular wit tourists but Es a is one of t e few laces still only entured u by celanders, at least in t e early ours. T ere are no gates or fences, not ing to really s ow you t e way, and definitely no ro es to el negotiate t e trickier, ice co ered slo es t was celand at its best, and for t e last minutes onestly ad no idea if was eading to t e to or ust round to a different mountain T e iews t emsel es were breat taking and well wort t e two our climb. was t e only erson u t ere, surrounded by snow and ust t e wind and it was ery windy for noise. a e climbed a few mountains in t e w ere t ere is always some sound, ot er eo le, birds, animals, but ere t ere was not ing and it was incredible. did do some touristy t ings. took a w ale watc ing tour w ere saw t e uge, magnificent animals t at sadly are still unted in celand. went to eysir and ullfoss w ic , t anks to my celandic lessons now know are ronounced com letely differently and saw t e rift between t e two continents. T ose tri s s owed me ow muc celand is c anging. So many eo le know of it now t at more tourists t an e er are coming. celanders t at s oke to ad different o inions on t is, but o e celand remains t e beautiful, untouc ed
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country it is at t e moment and ne er becomes a tourist tra of massi e otels, ro ed off areas and decked out iewing latforms. And for me, coming to celand wit not muc money meant didn t follow t e coac loads of tourists. took t e local buses, itc iked my way ome wit out feeling at all worried, and got lifts wit t e locals to laces w ere t e buses and coac es didn t go. was s own t e local ig lig ts, t e naturally carbonated s ring, t e waterfall you could climb u and t roug using a metal c ain and a broken bridge, t e olcanoes t at you
H ors es walking throu gh the canyon near Thรณr s mรถr k.
can t get to wit out someone w o knows w at t ey are doing, and t e ice ca es t at only t e locals know about. ut abo e all, felt like a true celander. went swimming e ery day after work for about , swam in t e ort Atlantic and s ent si ours a week attem ting to learn celandic. So not only a e seen laces ad ne er dreamed about, but now know enoug to s eak to t e cas ier in t e s o s in celandic, understand slig tly w at celanders are saying to eac ot er, and can finally ronounce Ey af alla kull
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Waterfalls and rainbows by Kazim Ghafoor On August, embarked on a fi e week ad enture to celand. ad organised a medical lacement at LandspĂtali Hos ital, eyk a k, w ere would be working in t e aematology de artment for a mont as art of my medical electi e. was beyond e cited to be s ending suc a significant eriod of time in celand. As a landsca e otogra y ent usiast, celand ad been on my bucket list for many years. t felt surreal to finally a e t e o ortunity to tick it off t at list. Ha ing studied medicine in London for t e ast fi e years, was looking forward to o erating wit in a different ealt care system, w ere d be able to re ect on t e similarities and differences to t e ational Healt Ser ice in t e nited ingdom. y time at LandspĂtali Hos ital in ol ed me attending ward rounds on t e aematology ward, multi disci linary meetings to discuss treatment o tions for atients and in estigating t e latest researc in order to aid t e management of some of t e more com licated aematological cases. uring my mont , was able to see atients wit a wide range of illnesses including lym omas, leukaemias and myelomas. T ere were se eral c allenges faced during my time. ad no gras of t e celandic language and almost e ery interaction in t e os ital was in celandic as o osed to Englis , meaning ad to use ot er staff members as translators. Additionally, as was based in aematology, many of our atients ad
been diagnosed wit different forms of cancer. t was difficult emotionally to see se eral of our atients lose t eir battles wit cancer. es ite t e c allenges, ad an ama ing e erience at LandspĂtali, and t ere were many more u beat stories of atients reco ering remarkably well from t e rigorous treatments. Additionally, t e os ital was kitted out wit t e latest e ui ment and tec nology, w ilst t e wards were large and s acious. t was great to obser e eac atient recei ing ig uality care from t e ealt care team. Outside of t e os ital week, my weekends were s ent e loring t e stunning landsca es t at celand ad to offer. witnessed more waterfalls and rainbows during my celandic stay t an in my re ious 2 years on t is lanet articular ig lig ts included dri ing fi e ours solely to see one waterfall called yn andi it was definitely wort it , as well as e loring t e de t s of Landmannalaugar in t e celandic ig lands. e er a e e erienced t at scale of mountains s lattered wit t e most intense colours. E ery iew felt like a ainting. uring my celandic ourney, was fortunate to make some great friends along t e way and be able to s are my e eriences and ad entures wit t em. uring my last week in celand, decided, rat er s ontaneously, to isit t e aroe slands. Situated only an our s ig t away, felt t at it d be great to
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make t e most of my final week before returning to London, by e loring t e aroes. Alt oug so close to celand, t e islands ad a distincti ely different feel but were e ually stunning.
Saks u n, Faroe Is lands
d like to t ank CoScan for my tra el grant. T eir generosity was greatly a reciated and was a uge el in ensuring made t e most of t is incredible ad enture.
Member Societies 2017 Anglo-Danis h Society info@anglo danis society.org.uk www.anglo danis society.org.uk Anglo-Finnis h Society aulus.t omson@btinternet.com www.anglofinnis society.org.uk Anglo-Nors e Society secretariat@anglo norse.org.uk. www.anglo norse.org.uk Anglo-Nors e Society in O s lo mail.anglonorse@gmail.com www.anglonorseoslo.com Anglo-Scandinavian Society of Newcas tle ingelise 2uk@ntlworld.com www.newcastleangloscan.org Anglo-Swedis h Society info@angloswedis society.org.uk www.angloswedis society.org.uk Danis h Chu rch in L ondon kirke@danskekirke.org www.danskekirke.org Danis h Seamen’ s Chu rch in H u ll ull@dsuk.dk www.danis c urc ull.co.uk Danis h Y WCA, L ondon alle@kfuk.co.uk www.kfuk.co.uk Devon & Somers et Anglo Scandinavian Society dawnwattsdk@ya oo.co.uk www.angloscan.org.uk Finn-Gu ild mail@finn guild.org www.finn guild.org Finnis h Chu rch in L ondon lontoo@merimieskirkko.fi www.finnis c urc .org.uk Grieg Society U K griegsocietygb@gmail.com www.griegsociety.co.uk H amps hire Anglo-Scandinavian Society ( H ASS) ibeke.s @btinternet.com www. ass.org.uk H ertfords hire Anglo-Scandinavian Society info@ ertsscandina ian.co.uk www. ertsscandina ian.co.uk M anches ter Swedis h L angu age M eetu p Grou p tony@t ebrays.org.uk www.meetu .com anc ester Swedis Language eetu rou Nordic H orizons nordic ori ons@ otmail.co.uk www.nordic ori ons.org Nordic Studies Centre, University of Sheffield nordic studies@s effield.ac.uk www.s effield.ac.uk nordic studies Northants Anglo-Scandinavian Society man aronne@btinternet.com www.facebook.com ort ants Anglo Scandina ian Society 2 2 Norwegian Chu rch in L ondon london@s omannskirken.no www.s omannskirken.no london Norwegian Scottis h As s ociation secretary@norwegian scottis .com www.norwegian scottis .org.uk O rkney Norway Friends hip As s ociation ames@balaycot. lus.com www.orkneycommunities.co.uk onfa Scandinavian Klu b b of L incolns hire ( SKO L ) derekmisse@my ostoffice
Scottis h Norwegian Society ( Glas gow) anny.carc rie@ntlworld.com www.norwegiansocietyglasgow.co.uk Swedis h Chu rch in L ondon london@s enskakyrkan.se www.s enskakyrkan.se london U K Sib eliu s Society ainola@blueyonder.co.uk www.sibeliussociety.info Viking Society for Northern R es earch snr@ucl.ac.uk www. snr.org Wels h-Norwegian Society alanb @btinternet.com www.wels norwegian.org Y ork Anglo-Scandinavian Society ( Y ASS) yasssecretary@gmail.com www.yorkangloscan.org.uk
CoScan Executive Committee Pres ident: ark Elliott, C , eelwrig t Cottage, Hig Lorton, Cockermout , Cumbria CA , resident@coscan.org.uk Vice Pres ident: eter rig t, O E, , Sc, SA, T e Heig ts, Carline oad, Lincoln L , ice resident@coscan.org.uk Chairman: r E a obards, S rubbery Cottage, un onkton, ork O2 E , c airman@coscan.org.uk Treas u rer: an a nne, aker Street, ayton, ort ants. E , treasurer@coscan.org.uk Secretary: Lise Hodgson, a Herbert ro e, Sout end on Sea, Esse SS 2AT, secretary@coscan.org.uk M emb ers hip Secretaries : an a nne and Lise Hodgson, members i @coscan.org.uk M arketing: Tony ray, idge A enue, ar le, C es ire S H, marketing@coscan.org.uk Committee memb ers : • endy Howell, E eter ay, London, SE LL, wendy. owell@coscan.org.uk • Ale ander almaeus, Lebanon ardens, London S , ale ander.malmaeus@coscan.org.uk • ari oss rig t, T e Heig ts, Carline oad, Lincoln L , kari.mosswrig t@coscan.org.uk • orman ike, CA, arna House, C urc Lane, radley, rimsby OAE, norman. ike@coscan.org.uk
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Scandinavian Embassies in the UK – press, culture and information Denmark: Lone Britt Christensen, Cultural Attaché, 55 Sloane Street, London SW1X 9SR, Tel: +44(0)20 7333 0200, lonamb@um.dk, www.denmark.org.uk Finland: Pirjo Pellinen, Special Adviser, Culture and Public Diplomacy, 38 Chesham Place, London SW1X 8HW, Tel: +44(0)20 7838 6200, sanomat.lon@formin.fi, www.finemb.org.uk Iceland: Eyrún Hafsteinsdottir, Cultural and Trade Officer, 2A Hans Street, London SW1X 0JE, Tel: +44(0)20 7259 3999, eyrun.hafsteinsdottir@utn.stjr.is (or eyrun@mfa.is), www.iceland.is/uk Norway: Sigrid Anna Oddsen, Counsellor, Political and Economic Section and Head of Culture and Communication, 25 Belgrave Square, London SW1X 8QD, Tel: +44(0)20 7591 5500, emb.london@mfa.no, www.norway.org.uk Sweden: Ellen Wettmark, Counsellor Cultural Affairs, 11 Montagu Place, London W1H 2AL, Tel: +44(0)20 7917 6400, ambassaden.london@gov.se, www.swedenabroad.com/london
VĂk, Iceland
CoScan Travel Award - Prize Winning Photographer 2016:
Kazim Ghafoor
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