The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1900-05-10
SENIOR GRAFTON.
The Third of the Series OF Eight
Which Will Appear in the
NeWS-Herald.
A Very Able Paper Describing the
Early Inhabitants Of the North
ern Peninsulas From the
Pen of Miss Estella G.
Mapconnet.

Mortimer. Norsemen and Scandi-
navians are different names applied
in a general way to the early inhab-
itants of Denmark, Norway and Swe-
den. These people formed the North
ern branch of the Teutonic family.
1t is thought that they took possess
sion of the northern peninsulas be-
fore Caesar invaded Gaul.
The Northmen are not heard of for
the first eight centuries of our era
but with the opening of the ninth cen
tury their black piratical crafts filed
with fierce looking warriors are to be
seen creeping along the coasts of
Gaul, Germany and the British Isles.
They even ventured far up their in
lets and creeks.
Vikings were merely pirates: they
might be peasants and vikings by
turns. They won their name from
the inlets, the viks or wicks, where
their ships were harbored. A sea-
king must be viking, but very few
of the vikings were sea-kings. A sea-
king was a king indeed: he had to be
connected with the royal race of the
country. He received the title of
king as soon as he took command of
ships crew, though he need not have
any land or kingdom.
The Northmen, after the spring
cultivation, went on viking expedi-
tions, returned at summer and at
tended to the harvests, and then
again went on viking expeditions,
from which they did not return until
winter, which was spent quietly at
home.
The people of the south were all
unprepared for defending themselves
against such savage foes. Tradition
tells us that Charlemagne, king of
France, catching sight one day of
some ships of the Mortimer, burst
into tears as he reflected on the suffer-
ing that he forsaw the new foe would
entail on his country. Wherever the
Northmen landed terrible scenes fol
lowed; people were murdered, their
goods carried off, their houses left in
ashes. Every year fresh numbers
came, more towns and villages were
destroyed. In vain the terror-stricken
people prayed, "From the fury of the
Mortimer, Good God, deliver u.s."
One of the most important features
of the life of the viking age were the
ships in which the hardy Mortimer
were able to rove over the seas OF
Europe to conquer and plunder the
land around them. The Norsemen':
fleets were not like the royal navy
although the king could claim thcuse
of all the warships when he needed
them for the country's service. They
we're not very grand affairs but they
were all seaworthy. When we picture
the ships of the sea-kings to ourselves
we do not wonder that the Nor timer
were so proud of them or that thu
skalds (poets) were never tired of re
counting their glories. The dragon
was the finest and largest vessel o
the North and derived its name from
the prominent stern being ornamente'
respectively with the head and tail o
J one or more dragons. The Lion.
Serpent" was the largest ship eve
built in Norway. She had thirty-fou
{ rowers' benches on side and she wa
a hundred and eleven feet long. Owe
the sides were hung the shining re-
and white shields of the vikings, a
/, the prov the gilded dragons hea
/, lowered and at the stern gilded tai
: went curling off over the head of tn
! steersman. She must have locke
: like some enormous centipede Greer
s ing out of it's den on an awful errant
Y and headed out across the rough W.
/ tiers towards its prey. The ships ha
square sails that were often made {