Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1889-10-24


chronicles with what might happen to the
history of England In the course of time
Suppose that for some reason the previous
history of England were lost. with the
exception of fragment which spoke of
her enormous feet of to-day. Could 1t be
reasonably supposed that this great mari
time power was the creation of few
years? A few years after the time fixed
as that OF their first supposed appearance
we find these very Danes SwarmIng every
where, with their fleets and warriors. not
only III England. but In Gaul. In Brittany,
up the Seine, the Garonne. the Rhine. the
Elbe, on the coasts of Spain. and further
eastward in the Mediterranean.
The Sueones, or Swedes. reappear at
the close of the eighth and commencement
of the ninth century by the side of the
Danes, and both called themselves North
men. Surely the maritime power of the
Sueones, described by Tacitus. could not
have been destroyed Immediately after his
death only to reappear in the time of
Charlemagne. when 1t becomes prominent
IN the Frankish annals? A remarkable
fact not to be overlooked is that In the
time of Charlemagne the Franks and Sax
ons were not seafarlng people, though their
countries had an extensive coast, with deep
rivers. The Frankish annals never men
ton Frank or Saxon attacking the fleets
OF the NOrthman or preventing them from
ascending their streams, though Charlie
magne ordered ships to be built In order
to resist their incursions. While the
country of the SaXons was being conquered
by this Emperor we find that the Saxons
themselves had no vessels ON the Elbe or
Weser in which, if defeated they could re-
tire in safety, or by help of which thev
could prevent the army Of their enemies
from crossing their streams Such tactics
were constantly used by the Mortimer IN
their invasiOns of ancient Gaul, Britain.
Germania, Spain, etc. Thus we see that,
though hardly more than 800 years had
elapsed since the time when, according to
the Roman writer's, the fleets of the Franks
and Saxons swarmed over every sea of
Europe, not a vestige Of their former mari
time power had remained in the time Of
Charlemagne, and the SdXons were still oc-
| cupying the same country as In the days of
Ptolemy. Pondering over the above i'm
pOrtant facts, the question arises, were not
the Romans mistaken in giving the names
of Saxons and Franks to tie maritime
tribes, of whose origin, country and homes
they knew nothing. but who came to at
tack their shores? Were not these So
called SaXons and Franks in reality tribes
of Sueones, Swedes, Danes, Norwegians?
The Romans knew none of the countries of
these people. 1t seems strange, if not in
credible, to find two peoples, whose coun-
try had a vast sea coast and deep rivers,
totally abandoning the seafaring habits
possessed by their forefathers.
1--WE have seen that Franks and Saxons
are continually mentioned together, and it
is only in the North that we can find an
tiquities of most war-lilze and seafaring
people, who must have formed the great
and prepondera'ing bulk of the invading
host who conquered Britain Britain
after continuous immigi alton from the
north, which lasted several hundred years,
became the most powerful colony of the
northern tribes, several of whose chiefs
claimed great part of England, even II
the seventh century. Afterwards she as
serted her independence, though she did
not get it until after long and tedious
struggle with the north, the inhabitants
and kings of which continued to try to as
sert the ancient rights their fore-fathers
once possessed. The men of the north who
settled and conquered part of Gaul and
Britain, whose might the power of Rome
I
it could not prevent, were not savages; the
Romans did not dare to attack these men
at home with their feet or with their
armies. Nay, they had even allowed
! these Mortimer to settle peacefully in their
provinces of Gaul and Britain. No, the
people who were then spread over a great
part of the present Russia, who overran
Germania, who knew the art of writing,
who led their conquering hests to Spain,
into the Mediterranean, to Italy, Sicily,
Greece, the Black Sea, Palestine, Africa,
and even crossed the broad Atlantic to
America, who were undisputed masters
of the sea for more than twelve centuries,
were not barbarians. Let those who up
hold the contrary view produce evidence
from the archaeology Of an indigenous
British or Gallo civilization which sur
passes that of the north -
Mr.. H. H. Howorth, M. P, objected to
the title of viking of the paper The
word Viking was understood by authori-
ties by Prots. Storm and Stenstrop as
limited to the Morse pirates of the ninth
and succeeding centuries, and was never
applied to the early inhabitants of Scan
dinavia. The Viking art and Viking
literature, so far as they could make it
| out, was very largely of Western origin.
| The Viking swords had the names Of
Englismen upon them, and Vigfassen had
proved that the Sagas were inspired by
the contact of the Mortimer with the
Celtic races The archaeology of the
Saxons and the Angles was entirely differ
ent to that of the cotemporary Scandinavian
art and agreed completely with that of
the other TeutOnic invaders of the Roman
Empire from Italy to Yorkshire. If they
tested the problem by place names they
found that the Anglican and Saxon settle
ments corresponded in nomenclature to the
| country about the Elbe and Saxony, and
had nothing to do with that of Scandina-
via. On every ground, therefore, it SEEM
ed clear that it was a retrograde view to
identify the Saxons and Angles with the
population of Scandinavia IN the fourth
century. It might be that, like other
Teutonic tribes which invaded the Roman
Empire, the Angles and SaXons were led
by a sacred race which had its home In
Scandinavia, but to say this of the great
mass of the people we must revert to the
science OF forty years ago, which ought
now to be obsolete.
Dr. Hodgkin alluded to the words Els
wick and Eswicktin the dis trict of Nv
castle. which they had been taught marked
Danish settlements. There could be no
doubt that they were anxious to have
claim on the Scandinavians. As to why
the Saxons came over, his pet theory was
that it was the invasion Of Attila the Hun
that sent our Saxon forefathers over the
sea to seek a home in this 'Endland
of ours.
Prof. Dawkins said the point placed be-
fore them was whether there was sufficient
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