, 1889-09-12
IN THE NORTH.
George Alfred Townsend Makes
Some Remarkable and Inter
esting Discoveries.
Odd Morsels from the History of
Sweden, Norway and
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[copcnhhgcn corrcspondcnoo.l

teen years before he discovered Amirica.
The Scandinavians also established a
Russian empire in s62, and the Russians
who visited Constantinoplo are claimed
to have been all Northmcn.
Canute, who died in the year 1880, was
possibly the most powerful king In Eu-
rope in his day, ruling Denmark, En-
gland Norway and part of Scotland.
He still goes by the name of "Canute,
the Great" and was vain creature, who
compelled the bards to puff him. His
son, Harold, ruled England and his son,
Hardicanute, ruled Denmark. At his
death the English elected Edward, the
confcssor, their king, and the Danes
withdrew their dynasty from Britain.
In the year 1006 the Normans conquer
ed the Saxon king, Harold H., and their
dynasty Is still upon the British throne.
| Before Harold was slain at Hastings he
had whipped the Danes in the North of
England.
The Danes, having been pirates
against every body, were for 100 yers per.
secuted by the people between Denmark
and what is now Russia, called the
Venders. Canute Picus, later king,
| took some part in the crusades. The
| life guard of the Greek emperor at the
time of the crusades was composed
mainly of Daues.
| Upon the introduction ofcelibaoy into
the Danish priesthood about the year
| 1923, concubinage is said 20 have been
common matter with the clergy. Many
Germuns, especially mechanics, were in
yited into Lower Denmark by Canute
Layord, celebrated prince who was
slain in battle. His son Waldemar also
called ''The Great" came TO the throne
in 1857, and was friend of the German,
omperor, Frederick Barbaro5sa. He
| subdued the Vendors and laid the foun-
dation OF the city of Dant2ic, i'm Prussia.
He also founded Copenhagen and other
cities in Denmark. Copenhagen was or
iginally founded to
oVEEAWE PIRATES
and give the Danish merchantmen a
harbOr of safety. The mobility now set
their foot upon Denmark and secured
great landed estates aud became hered-
itary. About the year 100 Denmark in
Cmded MeCklCnburg, part of Prussia, all
OF Pommerania and much of the main
land of the Germans. The Danish King
however, was captured by the Germans
and kept three years, and during his abb
sence Hamberg and Lubbock fell away
and became free cities and founded the
Hanseatic League. This conqieror
whose name was Wademar had one
wife named Dagmar q Bohemian,
whence the name OF the present Empress
of Russia, who was Danish girl.
About this time the poets or the Mime
singers cut figure in the North; and so
many Danish students went to Paris to
be educated that special college was
opened there for them. Through these
scholars the priest Sanxo Grammaticas
was led to compose a history of Scandin-
avia in Latin, from an abstract of which
Shakespeare derives his story of Hamlet.
Toward the year 1900 the Hanseatc
League of commercial cities became SO
powerful that it could muster 500 men
of-war. This league was dominated by
the Germans, who did the business
for the Danes, and the latter,
therefore, Were unable to promote
the growth of large cities or of any
high commercial class. Denmark was
on THE POINT or PERIsnINa
about the year 1340, as the Germans and
Swedes and Norwegians fell upon it from
different sides, and civil wars were com
mon III Jutland. By the king of Norway
marrying Margarethe the daughter of
Danish King, Norway and Denmark
were finally united. Marguerite is
known in history as tho semiramis of
the North. She was courageous and sa-
gGcious, and had an inpostor broken on
the wheel and publicly burnt. 1t is also
said that she was too intimate with II
monk A king of Sweden who insulted
her was captured with his son and kept
her prisoners for seven years. She mar
ried her successor to the daughter of
Henry V. of England, and she, at the
city of Colman, had fundamental law
taI Drl "a
Sweden, all to have but one king, sue
cessively, chosen by each of the three
kingdoms, and the sovereign was to
divide his time equally in the said king
doms. each of which was to retain its
own laws, customs and privileges. One
result was the war in the course of time,
which lasted n century between Sweden
and Denmark. Marguerite, the aforc-
said
sEMIRAMIs
died on shipboard in the year 1il2 at
the age of 80, having reigned thirty seven
years, and she was buried in the Cathed-
raj of Rosckilde. Her successor went to
Palestine on pilgrimage, but was beat
en- by the Hanseatic league, and Sweden
rovolted, and he was dethroned every
where.
Printing was now invented in 1i36, by
Gutenberg, and afterward improved by
Faust, . ieweler and Schoeiier, a priest
book was printed in Latin, the Psalms
of David, Of which there are said to be
five copies extant in the world one in
Goettingen, and Others in Vienna, Mainz,
Paris and Copenhagen.
lii 1i4S the crown of Denmark was Of
fered to Christian l., Count of Olden-
burg He was elected also King of Swe-
den, and there established viceroy
named Stcno Sture, who governed Swc-
den for twenty-siX years, and founded
the University of Copenhagen in 1919
thirteen years before America was dis
covered. He founded the Order of the
Elephant on the occasion OF his mar
riage to princess OF Saxony, which or
der is still in high repute. His daughter
Marguerite married King James III. of
Scotland and mortSaged the Orkney and
Shetland islands foS her dowry, and as
Denmark was never able to redeem them
Scotland still possesses these interesting z
islands.
At this time the Baltic became the
MAIN ROUTE TO INDIA,
and the Hanseatic confederacy began to
decline, having established manufactures
and the laws of commerce in the
North. The grandson of Christian of
Oldenburg Is known as Christian the
Tyrnnt in Sweden, Il man of genius.
ability and judgment only inferior to his
cruelty. He was born Just before the
birth of Martin Luther, and he lived
with tavern keepers daughter, though
4, tl atI 80 l,t..