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Geography of the Known World, in the Ninth Century as described by King Alfred[1].

[1] Anglo-Saxon version from Orosius, by AElfred the Great, with an English translation, by Daines Barrington, 8vo. London, 1773. Discoveries in the North, 54.

INTRODUCTION.

Though not strictly conformable to our plan, as being neither a journey or voyage, it yet seemed incumbent to present our readers with this curious British production of the great Alfred King of England, which gives a singular record of the geographical knowledge of the world in the ninth century. It was originally written by Orosius, a Spanish Christian, who flourished in the end of the fourth and beginning of the fifth century, and who published a kind of History of the World, down to AD 416, which remained in good repute among the learned till about an hundred years ago, but is now much neglected. Near a thousand years ago, the work of Orosius was translated into Anglo-Saxon, by Alfred King of England, but, with great freedom and much licence, often using his author merely as a foundation for a paraphrase; omitting most of the introductory chapters to each book, sometimes leaving out considerable passages, and often inserting new matter. This is peculiarly the case with the first chapter of the first book, containing the whole of the geography, and which is all that has any reference to the nature of our work.

The Honourable Daines Barrington, who published the Anglo-Saxon version, with an English translation, informs us that the original MS. is in the Cotton Library, Tiberius I., and is supposed to have been written in the ninth or tenth century; but that, in making his translation, he used a transcript, made by Mr. Elstob, occasionally collated with the Cotton MS. and with some other transcripts. But, before publishing a work of such curiosity and interest, he ought to have made sure of possessing a perfect copy, by the most scrupulous comparison of his transcript with the original MS.

In the following republication of the geographical chapter, much care has been taken to correct errors, chiefly in regard to direction, as east, west, north, and south, are often used interchangeably in the translation by Mr. Barrington. Most of the notes are from that edition, or from J.R. Forster, who reprinted so much of this chapter as referred to northern geography, and who appears to have studied that part of the subject with great care.

As a specimen of the Anglo-Saxon, or the language of England near a thousand years ago, we have given the first sentence of this geographical chapter in the ordinary Roman letters, with a literal translation.

Anglo-Saxon.

Ure yldran calne thysne ymbhwyrft thyses middangeardes, cwaeth Orosius, swa swa Oceanus ymbligeth utan, wone man garsecg hatath, on threo todaeldon.

Literal Translation

Our elders have divided all of this middle-earth, quoth Orosius, which Oceanus surrounds, which men calleth garsecg into three deals.

Geography of Alfred.

§ 1. According to Orosius, our ancestors divided the whole world which is surrounded by the ocean, which we call garsecg[2], into three parts, and they named these divisions Asia, Europe, and Africa; though some authors only admit of two parts, Asia and Europe. Asia is bounded to the southward, northward, and eastward by the ocean, and thus divides all our part of this earth from that which is to the east. On the north, Europe and Asia are separated by the Tanais or Don; and in the south, after passing the Mediterranean[3] sea, Asia and Africa join to the westward of Alexandria[4].

[2] This word is always employed by Alfred to denote the ocean, while smaller portions are uniformly called sae in the singular, saes in the plural.--Barr

[3] Called Wenadel sea in the Anglo-Saxon original; probably because it had been crossed by the Vandals or Wends, in going from Spain to the conquest of Africa.--E.

[4] In the translation by Barrington, this sentence is quite unintelligible. "All to the northward is Asia, and to the southward Europe and Asia are separated by the Tanais; then south of this same river (along the Mediterranean, and west of Alexandria) Europe and Asia join."--E.

§ 2. Europe begins, as I have said before, at the Tanais, which has its source in the northern parts of the Riphean mountains[5], which are near the Sarmatic[6] ocean; and this river then runs directly south, on the west side of Alexander's temples, to the nation of the Russians[7], where it runs into the fen called Maeotis, and thence it issues eastwards with a great stream, near the town called Theodosia, into the Euxine. Then becoming narrow for a considerable track, it passes by Constantinople, and thence into the Wendel sea, or Mediterranean. The south-west end of Europe is in Ispania or Spain, where it is bounded by the ocean; but the Mediterranean almost closes at the islands called Gades, where stand the pillars of Hercules. To the westward of this same Mediterranean is Scotland[8].

[5] Riffing, in the Anglo-Saxon.--E.

[6] Sermondisc in the Anglo-Saxon, Sarmaticus in Orosius.--E.

[7] Rochouasco in Anglo-Saxon, Roxolani in Orosius.--E.

[8] Certainly here put for Ireland.--E.

§ 3. Asia and Africa are divided by Alexandria, a city of Egypt; and that country is bounded on the west by the river Nile, and then by Ethiopia to the south, which reaches quite to the southern ocean. The northern boundary of Africa is the Mediterranean sea all the way westwards, to where it is divided from the ocean by the pillars of Hercules; and the true western boundaries of Africa are the mountains called Atlas and the Fortunate Islands. Having thus shortly mentioned the three divisions of this earth, I shall now state how those are bounded by land and water.

§ 4. Opposite to the middle of the eastern part of Asia, the river Ganges empties itself into the sea, whilst the Indian ocean is to the southwards, in which is the port of Caligardamana. To the south-east of that port is the island of Deprobane[9]. To the north of the mouths of the Ganges, where mount Caucasus ends, is the port of Samera; and to the north of this port are the mouths of the river called Corogorre, in the ocean called Sericus. Now, these are the boundaries of India: Mount Caucasus is to the north, the river Indus to the west, the Red Sea[10] to the south, and the ocean to the east. In this land of India there are forty-four nations, besides the island of Taprobana or Ceylon, in which there are ten boroughs; and also many others which are situated on the banks of the Indus, and lie all to the westward of India. Betwixt this river Indus, and another to the west called Tigris, both of which empty themselves into the Red Sea[11], are the countries of Orocassia, Parthia, Asilia, Pasitha, and Media, though some writers call the whole of this land Media or Assyria[12]. The fields are much parched by the sun[13], and the roads are very hard and stony. The northern boundary of this land is Mount Caucasus, and the southern is the Red Sea. In this land there are two great rivers, the Hystaspes and Arbis, and twenty-two nations, though the whole has the general name of Parthia. To the westwards, Babilonia, Chaldea, and Mesopotamia are between the rivers Tigris and Euphrates. Within this country there are twenty-eight nations, the northern boundary being Mount Caucasus, and the Red Sea to the south. Along the Red Sea, and at its northern angle, are Arabia, Sabaea, and Eudomane, or Idumea. Beyond the river Euphrates, quite westward to the Mediterranean, and northward to Mount Taurus, even into Armenia, and southward to near Egypt, are many countries, namely Comagene, Phenicia, Damascena, Coelle, Moab, Ammon, Idumea, Judea, Palestine, and Sarracene, all of which are comprehended under the general name of Syria. To the north of Syria are the hills called Taurus, and to the north of these are Capadocia and Armenia, the former being to the westward of the latter; and to the westward of Capadocia is the country called the lesser Asia. To the north of Capadocia is the plain called Temisere, and betwixt Capadocia and lesser Asia are Cilicia and Isauria. Lesser Asia is entirely surrounded by salt water, except to the eastward; having the Euxine on the north, the Propontis and Hellespont on the west, and the Mediterranean on the south. In it is the high mountain of Olympus.

[9] Taprobana, Serendib, or Ceylon.--E.

[10] By the Red Sea must be here meant that which extends between the peninsula of India and Africa, called the Erithrean Sea in the Periplus of Nearchus.--E.

[11] The Persian gulf is here assumed as a part of the Red Sea.--E.

[12] He is here obviously enumerating the divisions of the latter Persian empire. Orocassia is certainly the Arachosia of the ancients; Asilia and Pasitha may be Assyria and proper Persia.--E.

[13] The Saxon word is beorhta or bright, which I have ventured to translate parched by the sun, as this signification agrees well with the context.--Barr.

§ 5. To the northward of hither Egypt is Palestine, to the eastwards the land of the Sarracens, to the west is Libia, and to the south the mountain called Climax. The head of the Nile is near the cliffs of the Red Sea, though some say it is in the western part of Africa, near Mount Atlas, whence it flows over a large track of land, till it sinks; after which, it proceeds in its course, till it becomes a great sea, or wide river[14]. The spot where the river takes its rise is called by some Nuchal, and by others Dara. Hence, for some distance from the wider part, before[l5] it rises from the sand, it runs westward to Ethiopia, where it is called Jon, till it reaches the eastern part, where it becomes a wide river[16], and then it sinks again into the earth; after which it appears again opposite to the cliffs of the Red Sea, as I mentioned before, and from this place it is called the Nile. Then running from thence westwards, it divides its stream round an island called Meroe[17]; then running to the northward, it empties itself into the Mediterranean. There, in the winter season, the current at its mouth is opposed by the north winds, so that the river is spread all over the land of Egypt;[l8] and by the rich earth which it deposits, it fertilizes the whole country. The farther Egypt lies along the southern part of the Red Sea, and to the east is the ocean. To the west is the hither Egypt, and in the two Egypts there are twenty-four nations.

[14] The true Niger, running from the westwards till it loses itself in the sands of Wangara, seems here alluded to; and the Bahr el Abiad, or Western Nile, is supposed to be its continuation, rising again out of the sand.--E.

[15] This ought certainly to be after, and seems to allude to the Bahr el Abiad.--E.

[16] Literally a great sea.--Barr.

[17] This is a mistake, as it only takes a wide turn to the west in Dongola, around what has been falsely called the Isle of Meroe. The cliffs of the Red Sea seem to imply the mountains of Nubia, and the wide sea may be the lake of Dembea.--E.

[18] A strange attempt to account for the regular overflow of the Nile.--E.

§ 6. Having before given an account of the north part of Asia, I shall now speak of its southern parts. I have before mentioned that Mount Caucasus is to the north of India, beginning eastwards on the ocean, and running due west, till it join the Armenian mountains, which the inhabitants call Parcoatrae, from which the Euphrates takes its rise; and from the Parcoatrian mountains mount Taurus runs due west, quite to Cilicia. To the north of these mountains, quite to the ocean which environs the north east end of the earth, where the river Bore empties itself into the ocean, and from thence westwards to the Caspian sea, which extends to Mount Caucasus, all the land is called Old Scythia, or Hircania. In this country there are forty-three nations, all situate at great distances from each other, on account of the barrenness of the soil[19]. Then to the westward of the Caspian unto the Tanais or Don, and the Palus Maeotis, thence south to Mount Taurus[20], and north to the ocean, is all Scythia, and is divided among thirty-two nations. The country on the east side of the Tanais is inhabited by a nation called the Alboari in the Latin tongue, which we now call Liobene. Thus have I shortly stated the boundaries of Asia, and shall now state those of Europe, as far as we are informed concerning them.

[19] This account of the boundaries of Old Scythia is extremely vague. It seems to imply an eastern boundary by an imaginary river Bore, that the Caspian is the western, the northern ocean on the north, and Mount Caucasus on the south.--E.

[20] In the translation by Barrington, this portion of Scythia is strangely said to extend south to the Mediterranean; the interpolation surely of some ignorant transcriber, who perhaps changed the Euxine or Caspian sea into the Mediterranean.--E.

§ 7. From the Tanais westwards to the Rhine, which takes its rise in the Alps, and runs northward, till it falls into that branch of the ocean which surrounds Bryttannia, and southward from the Tanais to the Donua or Danube, whose source is near that of the Rhine, and which runs to the northward of Greece, till it empties itself into the Euxine[21], and north even to that part of the ocean which is called the Cwen sea[22], there are many nations; and the whole of this extensive country is called Germany. Hence to the north of the source of the Danube, and to the east of the Rhine are the people called eastern Franks[23]. To the south of them are the Swaepas[24]. On the opposite banks of the Danube, and to the south and east, are the people called Baegth-ware[25], in that part which is called Regnes-burh[26]. Due east from them are the Beme[27]. To the north-east the Thyringas[28]. To the north of these are the Old Seaxan[29]. To the north-west of these are the Frysan[30]; and to the west of Old Saxony is the mouth of the Aelfe or Elbe, as also Frysan or Friesland. Prom hence to the north-west is that land which is called Angle, with Sellinde, and some other parts of Dene[31]. To the north is Apdrede[32], and to the north-east the Wolds[33], which are called AEfeldan[34]. From hence eastwards is Wineda-land[35], otherwise called Sysyle[36]. To the south-west, at some distance, is the Macroaro[37], and these have to the west the Thyringas and Behemas, as also part of the Baegthware, all of whom have been already mentioned. And to the south, on the other side of the Donua or Danube, is the country called Carendrae[38].

[21] Called by mistake, or erroneous transcription, Wendel sea, or Mediterranean in the text and translation.--E.

[22] The Cwen sea is the White sea, or sea of Archangel. The Kwen or Cwen nation, was that now called Finlanders, from whom that sea received this ancient appellation.--Forst.

[23] East Francan in the original. The eastern Franks dwelt in that part of Germany between the Rhine and the Sala, in the north reaching to the Ruhre and Cassel, and in the south, almost to the Necker; according to Eginhard, inhabiting from Saxony to the Danube. They were called east Franks to distinguish them from that other part of the nation which inhabited ancient Gaul, and Franconia continues to preserve their name.--Forst.

[24] Swaepas, or Suevae, who formed part of the Allemanic confederacy, and afterwards gave their name of Swabes to an extensive nation, in whose bounds modern Swabia is still situated.--Forst.

[25] The Bavarians, who were the remnant of the Boii or Baeghten, who escaped from the exterminating sword of the Suevi.--Forst.

[26] This may have been the province in which Regens-bergh or Ratisbon is still situated.--Forst.

[27] These were undoubtedly the Bohemians, called afterwards Behemas by our royal geographer. They had their appellation from Boier-heim, or the dwelling place of the Boii, who were exterminated by the Suevi. --Forst.

[28] The Thuringians, at one time so powerful, that their king was able to engage in war against the king of the Franks. Thuringia is still a well known district in Germany.--Forst.

[29] The Old Saxons inhabited the country still called Old Sassen, or Old Saxony, Halsatia in Latin, which has degenerated into Holstein. --Forst.

[30] These Frysae were afterwards confined by Charlemain to the country between the Weser and Elbe, to which they gave the name of Friesland. --Forst.

[31] That is to the north-east of Old Saxony, where the Angles, confederates of the Saxon conquerors of Britain, and who gave their name to the English nation, and England or Angle-land, formerly resided. But they likewise appear to have occupied some of the islands in the Baltic. Sillend is certainly the Danish island of Zeeland. Dene is Denmark in its most limited sense.--Forst.

[32] These are the Obotrites, a Venedic nation, settled in Mecklenburgh, who are called, a little farther on, the Afdrede. They were not, however, to the north-east of Old Saxony, but rather to the eastwards. Perhaps the copyist inserted north instead of east, or rather we ought to read thus: "To the north-east is Apdrede, and to the north the Wolds."--Forst.

[33] The word here translated Wolds on the authority of Daines Barrington, is in the original, Wylte; but whether it refers to the wild or barren state of the country, or the name of a people, it is difficult to say. There were a people named Wilzi in those parts, but J. R. Forster is disposed to believe, that Alfred refers here to the Wends or Vandals, who lived on the Havel, and were called Hevelli. But if they are meant, we must correct the text from north-east to south-east, for such is the situation of Havel-land, with respect to Old Saxony.--Forst.

[34] AEfeldan are, as King Alfred calls them, Wolds or Wilds; as there still are in the middle of Jutland, large high moors, covered only with heath.--Forst.

[35] Wineda-land, the land of the Wends, Vandals, or Wendian Scalvi in Mecklenburg and Pomerania; so called from Wanda or Woda, signifying the sea or water. They were likewise called Pomeranians for the same reason, from po moriu, or the people by the sea side. --Forst.

[36] In this Alfred seems to have committed a mistake, or to have made too great a leap. There is a Syssel, however, in the country of the Wends, on the Baltic, which connects them with the Moravians, or rather with the Delamensan, of whom mention is made afterwards.--Forst.

[37] The Moravians, so called from the river Morava, at that time a powerful kingdom, governed by Swatopluk, and of much greater extent than modern Moravia.--Forst.

[38] Carendre must be Carinthia, or the country of the Carenders or Centani, which then included Austria and Styria.--Forst.

§ 8. Southwards, towards and along the mountains which are called the Alps, are the boundaries of the Baegthware and of the Swaefas already mentioned; and then to the eastwards of the Carendrae country, and beyond the Waste[39], is Pulgara-land or Bulgaria[40]. To the east is Greca-land[41] or Greece; and to the east of the Moroaro or Moravians, is Wisle-land[42]; and to the east of that is Datia, though it formerly belonged to the Gottan[43] or Goths. To the north-east of the Moroara or Moravians, are the Delamensen[44]. East of the Delamensen are the Horithi[45]; and north of the Delamensen are the Surpe[46]; to the west also are the Syssele[47]. To the north of the Horithi is Maegtha-land[48], and north of Maegtha-land is Sermende[49], quite to the Riffin[50], or the Riphean mountains.

[39] Barrington has erroneously translated this, "to the eastward of Carendre country, and beyond the west part is Bulgaria." But in the original Anglo-Saxon, it is beyond the wastes, or desert, which had been occasioned by the devastations of Charlemain in the country of the Avari.--Forst.

[40] This is the extensive kingdom of Bulgaria of these times, comprising modern Bulgaria and Wallachia, with part of Moldavia and Bessarabia. The Bulgarians were probably a Turkish tribe, dwelling beyond the Wolga, in the country now called Casan, deriving their name from Bolgar, their capital.--Forst.

Forster ought to have added, that the latter country was long called greater Bulgaria, and the former, or the Pulgara-land of the text, lesser Bulgaria.--E.

[41] The Greek empire of Constantinople.--E.

[42] The country on the Wisle or Vistula, being great and little Poland. --Forst.

[43] These for some time inhabited Dacia, and, being famous in history, Alfred was willing at least to mention one of their residences. --Forst.

[44] The Delamensen, or Daleminzen of the middle age writers, sometimes called Dalmatians by mistake, or to shew their erudition, were situated near Lommatsch, or around Meissen or Misnia, on both sides of the Elbe.--Forst.

[45] These must have been a Scalvonian people or tribe, now unknown, and perhaps inhabited near Gorlitz, or near Quarlitz, not far from great Glogau--Forst.

[46] The Sorbi, Sirbi, and Serbii, of old writers, are the Sorbian Sclavons; and the modern Wends or Vandals of Lusatia, still call themselves Sserbs or Ssorbs.--Forst.

[47] These must have been another tribe of Sclavons about Seuselig, to the westward of the Sorbs of lower Lusatia.--Forst.

[48] Perhaps the duchy of Mazovia, called Magaw or Mazaw-land in ancient writers. Or perhaps it is wrong spelt for Wastaland or the Waste.--Forst.

[49] Sermende is the mutilated and disguised name of Sarmatia, which did not exist under that name in the time of Alfred, but which he inserted on the authority of his original author Orosius.--Forst.

[50] A mere corruption of the montes Riphaei or Riphean mountains of Orosius; and Alfred seems here to have got beyond his knowledge, copying merely from Orosius.--Forst.

§ 9. To the south-west of Dene or Denmark, formerly mentioned, is that arm of the ocean which surrounds Brittania, and to the north is that arm which is called the Ostsea[51] or East sea; to the east and north are the north Dene[52], or North Danes, both on the continent and on the islands. To the east are the Afdrede[53]. To the south is the mouth of the AElfe or Elbe, and some part of Old Seaxna[54] or Old Saxony. The North Dene have to the north that arm of the sea which is called the East sea, and to the east is the nation of the Osti[55], and the Afdrede, or Obotrites, to the south. The Osti have to the north of them that same arm of the sea, or the Baltic, and so have the Winedas and the Burgendas[56]. Still more to the south is Haefeldan[57]. The Burgendas have this same arm of the sea to the west, and the Sweon[58] to the north. To the east are the Sermende, to the south the Surfe[59]. The Sweons have to the south the arm of the sea called Ost, and to the north, over the wastes, is Cwenland[60], to the north-west are the Scride-finnas[61], and the North-men[62] are to the west[63].

[51] The Ost sea of Alfred comprehends what are now called the Scaggerrack, Catte-gatt, the Sound, the two Belts, and the Baltic, which our mariners still call the East Sea.--Forst.

[52] That is, both inhabiting North Jutland and the islands of Funen, Zeeland, Langland, Laland, and Falster.--Forst.

[53] Formerly called Apdrede, and explained to be the Obotrites.--E.

[54] Alluding, doubtless, to the country from whence the Saxons who inhabited England had come of old.--E.

[55] This is the same nation called Estum in the voyage of Wulfstan, who lived east of the mouth of the Wisle or Vistula, along the Baltic, and who are mentioned by Tacitus under the name of Estii. When the Hanseatic league existed, they were called Osterlings or Easterlings, or Ost-men, and their country Est-land, Ostland, or Eastland, which still adheres to the northernmost part of Livonia, now called Est-land.--Forst.

[56] The Burgendas certainly inhabited the island of Born-holm, called from them Borgenda-holm, or island of the Borgendas, gradually corrupted to Borgend-holm, Bergen-holm, Born-holm. In the voyage of Wulfstan they are plainly described as occupying this situation.--Forst.

[57] Called formerly AEfelden, a nation who lived on the Havel, and were, therefore, named Hevelli or Haeveldi, and were a Wendick or Vandal tribe.--Forst.

[58] These are the Sviones of Tacitus. Jornandes calls them Swethans, and they are certainly the ancestors of the Swedes.--Forst.

[59] This short passage in the original Anglo-Saxon is entirely omitted by Barrington. Though Forster has inserted these Surfe in his map, somewhere about the duchy of Magdeburg, he gives no explanation or illustration of them in his numerous and learned notes on our royal geographer.--E.

[60] Already explained to be Finland on the White sea.--E.

[61] This is the same nation with the Finnas or Laplanders, mentioned in the voyage of Ohthere, so named because using scriden, schreiten, or snowshoes. The Finnas or Laplanders were distinguished by the geographer of Ravenna into Scerde-fenos, and Rede-fenos, the Scride-finnas, and Ter-finnas of Alfred. So late as 1556, Richard Johnson, Hakluyt, ed. 1809. I. 316. mentions the Scrick-finnes as a wild people near Wardhus.--E.

[62] The North-men or Normans, are the Norwegians or inhabitants of Nor-land, Nord-land, or North-mana-land.--E.

[63] At this place Alfred introduces the voyages of Ohthere and Wulfstan, already given separately, in Sect. ii. and iii, of this chapter.--E.

§ 10. We shall now speak of Greca-land or Greece, which lies south of the Danube. The Proponditis, or sea called Propontis, is eastward of Constantinople; to the north of that city, an arm of the sea issues from the Euxine, and flows westwards; to the north-west the mouths of the Danube empty themselves into the south-east part of the Euxine[64]. To the south and west of these mouths are the Maesi, a Greek nation; to the west are the Traci or Thracians, and to the east the Macedonians. To the south, on the southern arm of the Egean sea, are Athens and Corinth, and to the south-west of Corinth is Achaia, near the Mediterranean. All these countries are inhabited by the Greeks. To the west of Achaia is Dalmatia, along the Mediterranean; and on the north side of that sea, to the north of Dalmatia, is Bulgaria and Istria. To the south of Istria is the Adriatic, to the west the Alps, and to the north, that desert which is between Carendan[65] and Bulgaria.

[64] Either the original or the translation is here erroneous; it ought to run thus: "The Propontis is westward of Constantinople; to the north-east of that city, the arm of the sea issues from the Euxine, and flows south-west; to the north the mouths of the Danube empty themselves into the north-west parts of the Euxine."--E.

[65] Carinthia. The desert has been formerly mentioned as occasioned by the almost utter extirpation of the Avari by Charlemain, and was afterwards occupied by the Madschiari or Magiars, the ancestors of the present Hungarians.--Forst.