I i. e. Courage, fidehtyavMomr, and' évefy thing :thafis praife-wor-
thy, all the world may': learn amongftthe Norwegian mountains.
' Valoiir, united with fidelity, has been, from the gfeateft antiquity,
the chara&eriftic of me Norwegians. . Sturlêflen and Tor-1
fieus ;;ha*W almoft -filled 7 the kftciëht chronicleg^Hylth accounts óf
the great exploits and heroic atchieveinefits of’ the Norwegian
kings and nóbility, and even of common men 5 Idfihetihies'Idling
other cóuntriès under contributions, and * lometimes ntibly
defending themfelves, ahd preferying their liberty from ulyrpafion,
tyranny, arid oppreflion ™ >
In general, the lidiahitants ^of'"tire fnotihtains have an advantage
in that relpeö:; for it feems as if the hard and rugged rocks,
which they filvé? continually befofë
a contempt of dangers and difficulties. The-great ifiüinbër of
beafts of prey feen in thofe païtS^^lige'thettl'td c&hfy^ sifhls betimes,
which they know how todiandle from their childhood!
They are inured to troublefome and fatiguing jóurntys, and ordinary
cofefc diet föfvcs them as '■ wëll as'üiè
The cónddnfed cold air towardsthepole,-* Braces up' the ‘ nbrcs,
clofes the pores, and are,'
“ Et gens dura .pari,. & fortiffima ftcrnerc dp^fa.^’.
Good fea- The fldll of the Norwegians in idarifiniba&ff#Is^ell-*khowri^
thfey chiefly excel atJ fëi£ to''which ’ they hiavê’ móftly applied'
themfelves, and where they hate "acquired the grèkteft gloty
Even in thefe later times, we hfefe had 'gfeat heroes at fed; and
Heinfon, Adelcr, and Fofdënïldóld arédeföèrided from thefe.
• They have a genhis for all warlike employments, and bodies
and eonftitution well adapted for the farrie, and are not eafily
Ea regio robuftiflimos educdtvjrOs, qui nulla frugqm Juxuria mollifi faepiiasim-!
pugriant alios, quam impugrientur. A| multis, retro feculis, partim'inopia adafti, par*
tim. freti viribus quse facile fadrjnt mortales iiifoleic’ere^ mate BHtahnicum din ieriïVêrè
infeftum." Nonnunquam foli, ajiquando Danis junflt, Britanniam & Gallias flint populate
hec quievêre donee de fuo nomine Normandium in littore Galliarum confti-
tuerent. Albert Crantzius in prologo JNorvegiae. Concerning the Danes and Norwegians
partaking of the honour o f the great exploits o f -thofe people, which i all. the
old annals call Normannos, fee Thormod. Torf. Hilt. N'orv. p.' i: 1. i. e-. viii. &"in
prsefat. where he fays,' “ Satis teftantur quanta jam-inde. a prima hommum‘:memói
ria, gèntis Norvegicse potentia, .quanta in ore omnium celebritas fuerit. U t non difE-
tear interdum Norvegis, five ut a -quibufdam feriptoribus dicuntur Norm'andis, ea
adferibi, quae a vicinis Danis fuêre praeclarè gefta, quem.admodum, vice veria, his a
nonnullis attribuuntur 'quaqab illis, extra patriam, edita.gloriofa facinora in vulgus'
innotuerunt.”
rerepU^
4^ bSfrwdJ fe‘pp0rf the honour-óf their nation, and undergo
the. greateft fatigpèSHwith ver^Uittle; reft or nourifttment. | Olaus
Magnps -v calls, the. ^Norwegia^is, “ ' durum & indomabile genus
|je]l^tofum, ofi ingefitem animi & corporis, ferocitatem, & animofi^
ter^^^c etiainicjpropf^tyriffima exérdtia, & c .__ Acre
gepus bo^unuin .nullis bellcyum diperitatibus cedens Hift. fep-
te^tri-jihfjllio *•- ’
What a_jjijy k :is.;that thismatural course and valour fhould Qja»dfea.
cleg^nqcatp,, in iqxn^ny pfoour,. people, ƒ0 a difpofition for fight- aeb' ■
ing.ajad,quaneling aippugtthepifclv^,; when the common enemy
^oes mojt1£^lo^ppm,them tq^exert it. The many parties aud fee-
tigis^iii anp^|,times, are gfetingunifepces of this unhappy dif •
p1ofiriQn|f ffThef&?rah hr hhg, hlood,from onti generation to another,
and brqught on inteftine wars which ruined their country. Such
lyaje, tl^, Bagl^r, jBiijhe-beener, i jl^eed-lktegger, . Varbelger,.- Slit—
unger, and Rijb-b,uarer ; their origin, .yievvs, and adtions, are
fq. be feen^atjlatge in" the jciyil^hiftory of this country. There wq
rqay J.earp,7, fh^-X had valour, Goqrage, and fidelity' to their
feyerejign,j.tyt: always difcqyerejl a-turbulent .and revengeful dife
pofitiom. y Even the Common pedants, would (land upon their
point, hqqour,; and ^fight it out with their knives i and before
they begap,^ they would.ty9k;;tiiemfelvesef.to^ by the belts,
then dmw their knives, and would not be parted till one or the
other, was mortally wounded,f. or killed. This brutifh cuftom
prevailed in Norway til] about the middle of the laft century, tq
(ucjh a degree, that they fay, when a peafant with his- family was
invited to a wedding, the wife generally took her hufband’s
fliroud with her } becaufc, on thefe occafions they feldom parted
before they were intoxicated with liquor, the confequence of
which was fighting, and thofe battles feldom ended without mur- '
der. Therefore the chancellor, Jens Bielke, ftrove to the utmoft
of his power, to crufli this quarrelfom fpirit, and made an order,
that every man fhould deliver up his knife to proper officers as
: food as' dinner was ‘, ov$r, and before they had drank to excels.
But ftill thefe were many fo wicked as to provide themfelves with-
two. knives. Very lately this abominable practice has appeared
again ip Lterdal, and fevety other places. , §ome of the peafants
* Tha Norwegian army,- at this prefent < conëfeióf '^ S o s -eflèaivé men,
befides 14 or 15000 failors, fuch as all Europe: can hardly match.
P art II. T t t who
I