b o o k mafte r ; and two or three colleges, ¡choice, or affiftants: the
«— v-1j fmalleft have only a re£tor. The falaries of the mailers vary
from jT6o to ¿ 10 0 a year.
Each pariili alfo is provided with two or three fchools for
the Danifh tongue; where children are inftrudted in reading;
writing, and arithmetick. Thefe country fchoolmafters have
in general a falary of about £ 1 1 per annum, a houfe, and a
few other advantages.
I muft alfo mention two fchools at Copenhagen for the
children o f the nobility and gentry, who are unable to bear
the expence o f a proper education. One is for boys, and the
other for females. That for boys is under the dire&ion o f
profelfor Trefchow, chaplain o f thegarrifon-church at Copenhagen,
a gentleman o f confiderable erudition, who, confider-
ing it as an a<£l o f charity, receives no recompence for his
trouble. An infpedtor haSj£6o per annum. The day-fcho-
lars pay only ¿ 6 a year, and the boarders ¿0.0 : they learn
hiftory, geography, and arithmetick ; are inftrudted in the
articles o f their religion; and have mailers for the German,
French, and Engliih languages.
In general the Danifh literati have particularly turned their
refearches upon the hiftory and antiquities o f the North; on
which fubjedts many curious works have been already
printed, and more are ftill preparing for publick infpedtion.
Among thofe who have greatly diftinguiihed themfelves in
this branch o f learning, muft be mentioued the names o f
Meurfius, Holberg, Olaus Wormius, Pontopidan; and lately
thofe o f Langebek, Schoening *, and Suhm.
* L a n g eb e k , w h o , among oth er learned
pu blica tion s , has pu t for th “ Scriptores
“ R e rum Danicarum M edii iE v i ; ” p rin ted
at th e k ing’ s exp en c e , was a native o f J u t lan
d , and born in 1 7 1 0 ; and , a fte r a life
Among
de voted to th e pu rfu its o f le a rn in g , died
ab ou t 1 7 7 6 .
Schoening, th e learned ed itor o f Snorro
Sturlenfia Hiftoria, and many o th e r inte-
reftin g w o rk s , was born at Schatnaes in
N o rw a y ,
Among the performances lately put forth on thefe topickSj
thofe in the Icelandick tongue deferve particular notice ; as
they tend to throw confiderable light upon the antiquities,
hiftory, and mythology of the northern nations; Iceland being
in the remote ages, while Sweden, Denmark, and Norway,
were in a ftate o f perpetual warfare, the foie refuge ancF
repofitory o f Northern literature. Upon obferving fuch ar
number o f Icelandick manufcripts as are contained in the
Danifh libraries, I was greatly aftoniihed to find that Iceland,
which was confidered by the antients as the Ultima I"hule,
or the extremity o f the world, and by us as fcarcely habitable,
abounded in learning and fcience, at a time when Europe
was involved in darknefs. I was anxious to make fome
inquiries upon this fubjedl, and the refult o f them is here
•communicated to the reader.-
It does not appear from hiftory at what time Iceland was-
firft peopled ; when it was occupied by a colony o f Norwe--
gians in the latter end o f the 9th century, it contained but'
few inhabitants, who were fuppofed to have originally arrived
there from England or Ireland, but whofe number'
was inadequate to refill the invaders. Afterwards occafional’
emigrants landed at different parts from Norway, Sweden,,
and Denmark ; and the original inhabitants were foon loft,
amid the fwarm o f the new fettlers, who introduced the
worfhip o f Thor and Odin, and all the rites and cuftoms
which at that time prevailed among the nations of the neighbouring
continent. Their language was the old Gothick or
Teutonick, the vernacular tongue o f the Swedes, Danes, and .
N o rw a y , in. 1722, and died in 177.8. T h e face s to th e 4th and 5-th v o lum e s o f th e
cu r iou s reader, who is defirous o f fu r th e r Scriptores R e rum D an icarum , which pub tain
forma tion 00 this fubjedt, w ill find an am- cation is c o n t in u e d b y M r .'S u hm , with the
p ie de ta il o f the lives and writin g s o f thefe fame dilig en ce and a c cu ra cy th at diitin-
iw o in d efa tig ab le antiquaries in the Pxe- guiflied th e ju dic iou s L a n g eb e k .
Norwegians* >