Fróðskaparrit - 01.01.1999, Blaðsíða 135

On the Oldest Territorial Division
of the Faeroe Islands
139
Um elsta føroyska jarðarbýtið
Rolf Guttesen
Associate Professor Rolf Guttesen, Institute of Geography, University of Copenhagen
Oester Voldgade 10, DK-1350 Copenhagen K
Tel: +45 3532 2500, Fax: +45 3532 2501, e-mail: rg@geogr.ku.dk
Úrtak
Kanningar av ávísum staðanøvnum miðskeiðis á
Streymoynni, av tí gamla markatalinum, av gomlum
søguligum keldum o.ø. vísa, at tað er gjørligt at endur-
skapa markið millum tvey høvdingadømi, sum einaferð
hava verið, helst í tíðini áðrenn ár 1000. Staðanøvnini
benda á, at okkurt hov ella annað heilagt stað hevur ver-
ið har. Og møguliga hevur ting verið hildið júst á mark-
inum millum hesi upprunaligu høvdingadømi. Har er
funnin ein stórur flatur steinur, tingborð kanska, har rist
er við rómartølum IM.
Abstract
It is possible to reconstruct the border between the two
original chiefdoms (lens or høvdingadømi) in the Faeroe
Islands, based on place-names from central Streymoy,
one of the major, central islands, as well as the Faeroese
unit of land value measure (the markatal) and historical
and other sources. Furthermore, the place-names indi-
cate that there has been some kind of sacred place in the
area as well, as this could be the locale where the oldest
Thing or parliament was held. The discovery in this
area of a flat stone, with a carving of the Roman numer-
als IM, is discussed.
Introduction and
Methodological Considerations
Many years ago when I read The Journals
of the Stanley Expedition to the Faeroe Is-
lands and Iceland in 1789 edited by J.
West, I noticed that Baine, one of the expe-
dition’s members, reported their visit in
Kollafjørður and the climbing of the moun-
tain, Skælingsfjall. In this passage he spel-
led a certain place-name in a peculiar way.
Hundsarabotnur, as it is written in Faeroese
today, is a large, cirque valley (botnur)
north of the mountains Stallur and Skæl-
ingur, debouching into Kollfaradalur that
crosses the island of Streymoy. Baine
spelled this place-name as Handseleband,
Handselebund (twice) and Hundselebund
(37, 39, 51). Hundsarabotnur is not a
mountain, but, seemingly, Baine used this
name incorrectly for the mountain, Stallur.
From this location, he used a quadrant to
measure the height of the surrounding
mountains, which were Skillingsfieldt
Fróðskaparrit 47. bók 1999: 139-152