Ohthere: Encyclopedia II - Ohthere - Comments

Ohthere - Comments

Swedish scholars doubt the Icelandic and Norwegian localisation of Ottar's death to Denmark. According to the classic Swedish encyclopedia Nordisk familjebok, vendelcrow was a name given to any resident of the parish and the ancient royal estate of Vendel until the present time. Consequently, Snorri Sturluson's version could be considered to be a later addition explaining a cognomen, the meaning of which he did not know.

Moreover, the Old Norse expression corresponding to putting someone on a mound has two meanings, one of which is putting him on top of the mound, while the other one is to bury someone in a mound. Consequently it is thought that the tradition of Ohthere's burial in Vendel was misinterpreted as his being put on top of a mound in the more well-known Vendsyssel.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Comments", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki