The Gutasaga relates of the blóts on the island of Gotland in the Baltic Sea: Firi þan tima oc lengi eptir siþan. Troþu menn a hult. oc a hauga. wi. oc. stafgarþa. oc a haiþin guþ. blotaþu þair synnum oc dydrum sinum Oc fileþi. miþ matj oc mundgati. þet gierþu þair eptir wantro sinnj. land alt. hafþi sir hoystu blotan miþ fulki. ellar hafþi huer þriþiungr. sir. En smeri þing hafþu mindri blotan meþ fileþi. matj. Oc mungati. sum haita suþnautar. þi et þ ...

See also:

Blót, Blót - Rites and beliefs, Blót - Dates for the blóts, Blót - Locations, Blót - Uppsala Sweden, Blót - Gotland, Blót - Lejre Denmark, Blót - Mære Norway, Blót - Elven blót, Blót - The Völse blót, Blót - Later times, Blót - Sources

Read more here: » Blót: Encyclopedia II - Blót - Gotland

Early on Gotland became a commercial center and the town of Visby was the most important Hanseatic city in the Baltic Sea. The island had in late medieval time twenty things, each represented at the island-ting, called landsting, by its elected judge. New laws were decided at the landsting, which also took other decisions regarding the island as a whole. The city of Visby and rest of the island was governed separately and a civil war caused by conflicts between the German merchants in Visby and the trading peasants on the countryside ...

See also:

Gotland, Gotland - Geography, Gotland - History, Gotland - Heraldry, Gotland - Culture, Gotland - Notable natives, Gotland - Dukes of Gotlandia

Read more here: » Gotland: Encyclopedia II - Gotland - History

Rügen was first populated about 4000 BC. The migrants were probably members of the Funnelbeaker culture, which exploited the island's flint deposits. It was later settled by migrants from Scandinavia, a Germanic tribe called Rugians who gave their name to the island. In the 7th century Slavic peoples came and settled there. They were called the Rojane. Many traces of their life can be found today. Rügen became a Slavic principality with the political and religious centre in the fortified temple of Świętowit at Cape Arkona, ...

See also:

Rügen, Rügen - Geography, Rügen - History

Read more here: » Rügen: Encyclopedia II - Rügen - History

In Norse mythology, the giants were a mythological race with superhuman strength, described as standing in opposition to the gods, although they frequently mingled with or were even married to these, both Æsir and Vanir. Their stronghold is known as Utgard, and is situated in Jötunheimr, one of the nine worlds of Norse cosmology, separated from Midgard, the world of men, by high mountains and dense forests. When living in other worlds than their own ...

Including:

• Jotun - Norse giants
• Jotun - Origins
• Jotun - Character of the giants
• Jotun - Ragnarök and the fire giants
• Jotun - Giants in Scandinavian folklore
• Jotun - List of giants and giantesses in Norse mythology

Read more here: » Jotun: Encyclopedia - Jotun

Öland ▶ (help·info) is an island in the Baltic Sea, located off the coast of Småland. At 1,342 km² it is the second largest Swedish island, after Gotland. Administratively it nowadays is counted as a part of Kalmar County, (Kalmar län). Historically however, Öland (or Latin Oelandia) formed one of the Provinces of Sweden ( ...

Including:

• Öland - County
• Öland - History
• Öland - Geography
• Öland - City
• Öland - Hundreds
• Öland - Facts
• Öland - Culture
• Öland - Heraldry

Read more here: » Öland: Encyclopedia - Öland

The Elder Futhark (or Older Futhark, Old Futhark) are the oldest form of the runic alphabet, used by Germanic tribes for Proto-Norse and other Migration period Germanic dialects of the 2nd to 8th centuries for inscriptions on artefacts (jewellery, amulets, tools, weapons) and rune stones. In Scandinavia, the script was replaced by the Younger Futhark from the late 8th century, while the Anglo-Saxons replaced it with the Futhorc from the time of the invasion of England. Elder Futhark - Origins. Including:

• Elder Futhark - Origins
• Elder Futhark - The alphabet
• Elder Futhark - Names
• Elder Futhark - Inscription corpus
• Elder Futhark - Scandinavian inscriptions
• Elder Futhark - Continental inscriptions
• Elder Futhark - Distribution

Read more here: » Elder Futhark: Encyclopedia - Elder Futhark

The valknut (Old Norse valr, slain warriors + knut, knot) is a symbol consisting of three interlocked triangles. It is also called: heart of the slain heart of Vala Hrungnir's heart Odin's knot It appears on Scandinavian image stones in connection with Odin, e.g. on the 7th century Tängelgarda stone from Gotland. According to H. R. Ellis Davidson (p. 146), the valknut — is thought to symbolize the power of the god [Odin] to b ...

Including:

• Valknut - Neopaganism

Read more here: » Valknut: Encyclopedia - Valknut

The Ardre image stones are a collection of ten 8th century rune and image stones. They were used as paving under the wooden floors of the local church in the Ardre parish of Gotland, and were re-discovered when the church was restored around 1900. They are now preserved in the National Museum of Antiquities, Stockholm. The largest, and most famous of the stones depicts scenes from Norse mythology. The image-stone's longboat motif with mariners somewhat resemble th ...

Read more here: » Ardre image stone: Encyclopedia - Ardre image stone

The Viking Age is the name of the period between 793 and 1066 AD in Scandinavia and Britain, following the Germanic Iron Age (and the Vendel Age in Sweden). During this period, the Vikings, Scandinavian warriors, leidangs and traders, raided and explored most parts of Europe, south-western Asia, northern Africa and north-eastern North America. Apart from exploring Europe by way of its oceans and rivers with the aid of their advanced navigational skills and extending their trading routes across vast parts of the continent, they also en ...

Including:

• Viking Age - Timeline
• Viking Age - Geography
• Viking Age - British Isles
• Viking Age - Iceland
• Viking Age - Greenland
• Viking Age - Southern and Eastern Europe
• Viking Age - America
• Viking Age - Technology
• Viking Age - Religion and Archaelogy
• Viking Age - Trading Cities
• Viking Age - Place names

Read more here: » Viking Age: Encyclopedia - Viking Age

The Runic alphabets are a set of related alphabets using letters known as runes, formerly used to write Germanic languages, mainly in Scandinavia and the British Isles. In all their varieties they may be considered an ancient writing system of Northern Europe. The Scandinavian version is known as Futhark (derived from its first six letters: 'F', 'U' 'Th', 'A', 'R', and 'K'), and the Anglo-Saxon version as Futhorc (also so named after its first letters). The earliest runic inscriptions date from ca. 150, and the al ...

Including:

• Runic alphabet - Background
• Runic alphabet - Origins
• Runic alphabet - Magic and Divination
• Runic alphabet - Common use
• Runic alphabet - Gothic runes
• Runic alphabet - Elder Fuþark
• Runic alphabet - Names
• Runic alphabet - Frisian and Anglo-Saxon Fuþorc
• Runic alphabet - Intermediary Inscriptions
• Runic alphabet - Younger Fuþark
• Runic alphabet - Long-branch runes
• Runic alphabet - Short-twig runes
• Runic alphabet - Hälsinge Runes staveless runes
• Runic alphabet - Dalecarlian Runic script
• Runic alphabet - Modern use
• Runic alphabet - Third Reich
• Runic alphabet - Neopaganism
• Runic alphabet - Popular culture
• Runic alphabet - Unicode
• Runic alphabet - Distribution
• Runic alphabet - Runiform scripts
• Runic alphabet - Special characters

Read more here: » Runic alphabet: Encyclopedia - Runic alphabet

The Visby lenses are ten lens-shaped rock crystals found in a viking grave in Gotland dating from the 10th century. Some of them are mounted in silver and may have been carried as a pendant, but others appear not to have been used as jewelry. The lenses are almost perfectly elliptical and very similar to modern lenses. They may have been used for magnification, to start fire or in a telescope. Other related archivesGotland, lens, pendant, rock crystals, silver, telescope, viking

Read more here: » Visby lenses: Encyclopedia - Visby lenses

1398 - Events. Glendalough monastery, Wicklow Ireland destroyed. Construction of the Stecknitz Canal as one of the oldest artificial waterways of the world. Timur arrived on the bank of the Indus River, and proceeded to sack Delhi. The Teutonic Order occupies the island of Gotland. 1398 - Births. February 25 - Xuande Emperor of China (died 1435) August 19 - Marqués de Santillana, Spanish poet (died 1458) Spytek z ...

Including:

• 1398 - Events
• 1398 - Births
• 1398 - Deaths

Read more here: » 1398: Encyclopedia - 1398

The Baltic Sea is located in Northern Europe, from 53 deg. to 66 deg. north latitude and from 20 deg. to 26 deg. east longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainlands of Northern Europe, Eastern Europe, Central Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Öresund, the Great Belt and the Little Belt. Kattegat then continues in the Skagerrak into the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The Baltic Sea is linked to the White Sea by the White Sea Canal and directly to the North Sea by the Ki ...

Including:

• Baltic Sea - Name
• Baltic Sea - Etymology
• Baltic Sea - The name in other languages
• Baltic Sea - Geophysical data
• Baltic Sea - Dimensions
• Baltic Sea - Icing in winter
• Baltic Sea - Hydrography
• Baltic Sea - Salinity
• Baltic Sea - Regional emergence
• Baltic Sea - Geographic data
• Baltic Sea - Subdivisions
• Baltic Sea - Land use
• Baltic Sea - Demographics
• Baltic Sea - Geologic history
• Baltic Sea - Prehistory
• Baltic Sea - History
• Baltic Sea - Biology
• Baltic Sea - Economy
• Baltic Sea - Countries
• Baltic Sea - Islands and Archipelagoes
• Baltic Sea - Cities

Read more here: » Baltic Sea: Encyclopedia - Baltic Sea

Eystein Bele (Old Norse:Eysteinn inn illráði, Swedish: Östen Illråda (ill-ruler) or Östen Beli) was son of Harald Hildetand according to Hervarar Saga. The previous ruler, Ragnar Lodbrok made him the viceroy of Sweden towards the end of the 8th century. He is said to have been very wise, but also very evil. He had a daughter, Borghild, and was succeded by Björn Ironside, one of Ragnar Lodbrok's sons. According to Krá ...

Including:

• Eystein Bele - Ragnarssona þáttr

Read more here: » Eystein Bele: Encyclopedia - Eystein Bele

Christopher Polhammar, known after his ennoblement as Christopher Polhem ▶ (help·info), the name which he is more commonly referred to (December 18, 1661 - August 30, 1751) was a Swedish scientist, inventor and industrialist, born in Visby on the island of Gotland. Made significant contributions to the economical and industrial development of Sweden, perticularly mining. Christopher Polhem - Other fields. Polhem was not only ...

Including:

• Christopher Polhem - Other fields

Read more here: » Christopher Polhem: Encyclopedia - Christopher Polhem

Bornholm is a Danish island in the Baltic Sea. It also refers to Bornholm Regional Municipality, the municipality (Danish, kommune) which covers the entire island, and has county privileges. The island is located to the east of Denmark, the south of Sweden, and the north of Poland (on the map of Denmark to the right, it is not shown in its true location; see the map at the bottom of the article). The main industries on the island include fishing, pottery using locally worked clay, clockmaking and dairy farming. Tourism is important during the summer. The small islands Ertholmene a ...

Including:

• Bornholm - Municipality
• Bornholm - History
• Bornholm - Other islands in the Baltic Sea
• Bornholm - External link

Read more here: » Bornholm: Encyclopedia - Bornholm

The Blót was the pagan Germanic sacrifice to Norse gods and Elves. The word is related to the English word bless and they are derived from blood, an important component in the rites. Blót - Rites and beliefs. The verb blóta meant to "strengthen" and the intention was to strengthen the powers (gods and Elves). The most powerful means was the sacrificed object or being. It was usually animals and in particular pigs and horses. The meat was boiled in large cooking pits with heated stone ...

Including:

• Blót - Rites and beliefs
• Blót - Dates for the blóts
• Blót - Locations
• Blót - Uppsala Sweden
• Blót - Gotland
• Blót - Lejre Denmark
• Blót - Mære Norway
• Blót - Elven blót
• Blót - The Völse blót
• Blót - Later times
• Blót - Sources

Read more here: » Blót: Encyclopedia - Blót

A burning-glass is a large convex lens, which can focus the sun's rays on a small area and so ignite materials. Used in 18th century chemical studies for burning materials in closed glass vessels where the products of combustion could be trapped for analysis, the burning-glass was a useful contrivance in the days before electrical ignition was easily achieved. The technology of the burning glass has been known since antiquity. Aristophanes mentions the burning-lens in his play The Clouds (424 BC), and Archimedes, the ren ...

Read more here: » Burning-glass: Encyclopedia - Burning-glass

There is debate as to the temporal and geographic extent of Khazar polities following Sviatoslav's sack of Atil in 967/9, or even whether any such states existed. The Khazars may have retained control over some areas in the Caucasus for another two centuries, but sparse historical records make this difficult to confirm. The evidence of later Khazar polities includes the fact that Sviatoslav did not occupy the Volga basin after he destroyed Atil, and departed relatively quickly to embark on his campaign in Bulgaria. The permanent conquest of the Volga basin seems to have bee ...

See also:

Khazars, Khazars - Origins and prehistory, Khazars - Tribes, Khazars - Rise, Khazars - Formation of the Khazar state, Khazars - Khazars and Byzantium, Khazars - Second Khazar-Arab war, Khazars - Khazar religion, Khazars - Turkic shamanism, Khazars - Conversion to Judaism and relations with world Jewry, Khazars - Other religions, Khazars - Government, Khazars - Khazar Kingship, Khazars - Army, Khazars - Other officials, Khazars - Judiciary, Khazars - Economic position, Khazars - Trade, Khazars - Khazar coinage, Khazars - Extent of influence, Khazars - Khazar towns, Khazars - Tributary and subject nations, Khazars - Decline and fall, Khazars - Rise of Rus, Khazars - Kabar rebellion and the departure of the Magyars, Khazars - Rus and Byzantine hostility, Khazars - Khazars outside of Khazaria, Khazars - Late references to the Khazars, Khazars - Jewish sources, Khazars - Muslim sources, Khazars - Kievan Rus sources, Khazars - Byzantine Georgian and Armenian sources, Khazars - Western sources, Khazars - Debate, Khazars - Date and extent of the conversion, Khazars - Khazar ancestry of Ashkenazim, Khazars - In Fiction, Khazars - Resources, Khazars - Books written before 1915

Read more here: » Khazars: Encyclopedia II - Khazars - Late references to the Khazars

Ramius, a Lithuanian by birth, who has risen to high levels of trust in the Soviet Navy, intends to defect to the United States with his officers and the experimental nuclear submarine Red October. The Red October is equipped with a revolutionary stealth propulsion system (in the movie, a magnetohydrodynamic drive), making it extremely difficult to detect with regular methods. Ramius' defection is spurred by several factors, including the death of his wife (which he blames on the Soviet medical establishment's incompetence), th ...

See also:

The Hunt for Red October, The Hunt for Red October - Plot synopsis, The Hunt for Red October - Trivia

Read more here: » The Hunt for Red October: Encyclopedia II - The Hunt for Red October - Plot synopsis