The Icelandic Canadian - 01.06.1982, Side 18

16
THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
SUMMER, 1982
the top. Can praise go any higher? And in
the light of this praise, consider the fact.
When the Sagas were being composed the
population of Iceland was somewhere be-
tween 50,000 and 80,000. The first census
was taken in Iceland in 1703. It showed the
population of the country to be 50,330.
There had been a falling off in population
since the thirteenth century — but by what
amount is conjecture.
An English poet, a later-day Viking, W.
E. Henley claimed to be the master of his
fate and the captain of his soul. The early
Viking never made such a claim. He was
the captain of his soul but he never pre-
sumed to be the master of his fate. As he
saw it, he was the blind fool of fate, the
slave of circumstance. He lived under
sealed orders. It was his destiny to obey
these orders to the letter. His life was a
broad highway, stretching its length before
him, and whether it led uphill or downhill,
through pleasant meadows or treacherous
swamps, he had to follow it to the very
end. What was in his complete control was
his attitude to whatever fate had in store for
him. He took the best, or the worst, that
fate had to offer with equal grace. Good
conduct, conduct which enabled him to
keep his self-respect, was his constant aim.
He never expected a reward for his good
conduct, in this life, or a future life. He did
good, as he saw it, for good was good to
do. For want of a better phrase, he had a
sense of style, which was reflected in his
attitude to death; death, which passes no
one by, the final fatal blow that fate can
strike. He accepted life as a prelude to
death. “Death it is true,” says Professor
Gwyn Jones, “was not to be sought, but it
was not to be avoided either, if by avoid-
ance a man lessened his own stature.”
Professor Jones offers an example, of what
I have called the Vikings’ ‘sense of style’.
In the saga of Erik the Red, brief mention is
made of Bjami Grimolfsson’s calm accept-
ance of the destiny that fate had designed
for him. He was a sea captain. His ship ran
VIKING FIND OF THE
CENTURY
This century’s most important find of
Viking Age gold and silver jewelry, was
the description applied by the head of the
University Museum of Antiquities in Oslo,
Arne Skjolsvold, to the recent discovery in
south Norway of about 2.5 kg of jewelry
believed to date from approximately to year
800.
The objects, which were discovered by a
man working on the site for his new house,
included twisted silver necklaces, rings and
pendants, large bracelets of twisted gold,
beautifully worked filigree brooches and
gold rings.
In times of unrest, it was customary for
the Vikings to bury their valuable objects in
expectation of more peaceful conditions,
and this discovery confirms that this prac-
tice was normal in Norway as early as the
year 800.
Another interesting feature of these
objects is that they are inscribed with runic
lettering, three names being clearly identi-
fiable.
The Viking treasure has now been safely
deposited in the vault of the University
Museum of Antiques in Oslo. It will short-
ly be thoroughly examined by experts and,
hopefully, put on public exhibition in the
not too distant future.
—Courtesy of Scandinavian News