The earliest inscriptions in Old Norse are runic, from the 8th century (although there are 200 inscriptions in Proto-Norse going as far back as the 2nd century), and runes continued to be used for a thousand years. The main literary texts are in the Latin alphabet, the great sagas and eddas of medieval Iceland. As Proto-Norse evolved into Old Norse, in the 8th century, the effects of the umlauts varied geographically. The typical umlauts (for example fylla from *fullian) were stronger in the West whereas those resulting ...

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Old Norse language, Old Norse language - Geographical distribution, Old Norse language - Modern descendants, Old Norse language - Sounds, Old Norse language - Vowels, Old Norse language - Consonants, Old Norse language - Orthography, Old Norse language - Dialects and texts, Old Norse language - Old West Norse, Old Norse language - Old East Norse, Old Norse language - Old Gutnish

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Kalmar County was integrated with Kronoberg County until 1672. Blekinge was a part of Kalmar County between 1680 and 1683, due to the foundation of the naval base at Karlskrona. The seat of residence for the Governor or Landshövding is Kalmar. The Governor is the head of the County Administrative Board or Länsstyrelse. The County Administrative Board is nominally a Government Agency headed by a Governor. The current Governor is Sve ...

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Kalmar County, Kalmar County - Administration, Kalmar County - Municipalities, Kalmar County - Heraldry

Read more here: » Kalmar County: Encyclopedia II - Kalmar County - Administration

The (English) saga , (German) Sage originates from (Icelandic) saga, pl. sögur and refers to (1) "what is said, statement" or (2) "story, tale, history". Icelandic sagas are based on oral traditions and much research has focused on what is real and what is fiction within each tale. The accuracy of the sagas is often hotly disputed, being both overestimated and underestimated by various scholars. Most of the manuscripts in which the sagas were originally preserved were taken to Denmark and Sweden in the 17t ...

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Norse saga, Norse saga - Background, Norse saga - On the plots and writing style, Norse saga - The saga as a literary technique, Norse saga - Modern parallels, Norse saga - Classification of sagas, Norse saga - Kings' sagas, Norse saga - Icelandic saga Íslendingasögur, Norse saga - Short stories of the Norse Saga technique Íslendinga þættir, Norse saga - Legendary sagas, Norse saga - Other Norse sagas

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Danderyd 1/1 1946-31/12 1970 (became municipality) Djursholm 1/1 1901-31/12 1913 (received city privileges; today part of Danderyd Municipality) Hässelby Villacity 1/1 1926-1/1 1948 (merged into Stockholm City) Lidingö 1/1 1910-31/12 1925 (received city privileges) Nynäshamn 1/1 1911-31/12 1945 (received city privileges) Saltsjöbaden 1/1 1909-31/12 1970 (merged into Nacka Municipality) Sollentuna 1/1 1944-31/12 1970 (formed a municipality) Stocksund 1/1 1910-31/12 1966 (merged into Djursholms cit ...

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Köping, Köping - List of municipalities, Köping - Köping privileges issued 1862–1971, Köping - Uppsala County, Köping - Södermanland County, Köping - Östergötland County, Köping - Jönköping County, Köping - Kronoberg County:, Köping - Kalmar County, Köping - Gotland County:, Köping - Blekinge County:, Köping - Skåne County, Köping - Halland County, Köping - Västra Götaland County, Köping - Värmland County, Köping - Örebro County, Köping - Västmanland County, Köping - Dalarna County, Köping - Gävleborg County, Köping - Västernorrland County, Köping - Jämtland County, Köping - Västerbotten County, Köping - Norrbotten County

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In the pre-Christian clan-culture of Scandinavia the members of a clan were obliged to avenge injuries against their dead and mutilated relatives. A balancing structure was necessary to reduce tribal feuds and avoid social anarchy. We know from the North-Germanic cultures the balancing institution was the thing although similar assemblies are reported also from other Germanic peoples. The thing was the assembly of the free men of a country, province or a hundred (hundare/härad/herred). There were consequently, hierarchies of t ...

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Thing assembly, Thing assembly - Viking and medieval society, Thing assembly - National parliaments and current institutions

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Turf maze - Surviving English examples. As noted above, turf mazes are notoriously difficult to date, as they have to be recut periodically to keep the paths clear. Eight supposedly ancient turf mazes survive in England: Alkborough, North Lincolnshire "Julian's Bower", "Gillian's Bore" or "Gilling Bore" (mentioned by Abraham de la Pryme c. 1700) Breamore, Hampshire "Miz-Maze" or "Mizmaze" Dalby, North Yorkshire "Walls of Troy" Hilton, Cambridgeshire (cut in 1660) ...

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Turf maze, Turf maze - Origins of the turf maze, Turf maze - The purpose of turf mazes, Turf maze - Maze names, Turf maze - Historic turf mazes, Turf maze - Surviving English examples, Turf maze - Lost British turf mazes, Turf maze - Historic turf mazes in Europe, Turf maze - Some modern turf mazes

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History of Estonia - Creation of Estonian SSR. On June 16-17, 1940, the Soviet troops occupied the whole territory of Estonia and demanded a change to a new pro-Soviet puppet government. Similarly to the developments in neighboring Latvia and Lithuania, the occupation and change of government was then in the three countries followed by "parliamentary elections" where all but pro-Communist candidates were outlawed. The "parliament" so elected proclaimed Estonia a Socialist Republic on July 21, 1940 and unanimously ...

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History of Estonia, History of Estonia - Pre-history, History of Estonia - The Conquest, History of Estonia - The Middle Ages, History of Estonia - Swedish Period, History of Estonia - Part of Imperial Russia, History of Estonia - Independence, History of Estonia - Period of Soviet and German Occupation, History of Estonia - Creation of Estonian SSR, History of Estonia - German Occupation, History of Estonia - After World War II, History of Estonia - Regaining Independence, History of Estonia - Time line, History of Estonia - Prehistory, History of Estonia - Livonian Period, History of Estonia - Swedish period, History of Estonia - Russian Period, History of Estonia - Independent Estonia

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In The Parable of the Ten Virgins the story is told by Jesus of a party of virgins given the honour of attending a wedding. Each of the ten virgins is carrying a lamp as they await the coming of the bridegroom. Five are wise and bring an extra jar of oil. Five are foolish and do not. The bridegroom is late in coming; the foolish virgins ask the wise ones for spare oil, but they refuse, saying that they might then not have enough. While the foolish virgins are away buying more oil, the bridegroom arrives. The wise virgins are there to welcome him and the ...

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The Ten Virgins, The Ten Virgins - The parable, The Ten Virgins - The virgins in sculptures, The Ten Virgins - The virgins in paintings, The Ten Virgins - The parable in worship and music

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Minority languages of Sweden - Sami languages. The Sami languages are actually not one language, but – at the least – three languages. They are spoken in northern Sweden, and also in the northern parts of Norway and Finland, by the native population. The history of the Sami languages can be traced back at least 2,000 years. In total, they are spoken by 40,000 people. As a minority language, a Sami language may be used in government agencies, courts, preschools and nursing homes in the municipalities where it is most common: Arjeplo ...

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Minority languages of Sweden, Minority languages of Sweden - Criteria for inclusion, Minority languages of Sweden - Affected languages, Minority languages of Sweden - Sami languages, Minority languages of Sweden - Meänkieli, Minority languages of Sweden - Standard Finnish, Minority languages of Sweden - Romani, Minority languages of Sweden - Yiddish, Minority languages of Sweden - Reference

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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 stones, either indoors or outdoors. The blood was considered to contain special powers and it was sprinkled on the statues of the gods, on th ...

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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

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In medieval times, when a king had more than one son, the younger sons were sometimes given a duchy to rule over as a fief. Feuds between the king and his ducal brothers were common, and sometimes ended in cold-hearted murder. Just before his death in 1560, King Gustav I continued this tradition by making his sons John, Magnus and Charles powerful dukes, together ruling as much of the country as their older brother King Eric XIV. The geography of these duchies was somewhat unclear as they were not generally identical to one or more pr ...

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Dukes of Swedish provinces, Dukes of Swedish provinces - History, Dukes of Swedish provinces - List of dukes since 1772 by province

Read more here: » Dukes of Swedish provinces: Encyclopedia II - Dukes of Swedish provinces - History

Like other regions of the world, the usage and meaning of the term 'Scandinavia' can vary depending on defining criteria. Some or all of the following geopolitical entities may variously be considered peripherally Scandinavian, since they traditionally have had strong political, social, economic, linguistic and/or geographical ties with the three kingdoms: Finland (a sovereign republic sinc ...

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Scandinavia, Scandinavia - Greater Scandinavia Norden, Scandinavia - Etymology, Scandinavia - History, Scandinavia - Languages, Scandinavia - Politics, Scandinavia - Historical political structure

Read more here: » Scandinavia: Encyclopedia II - Scandinavia - Greater Scandinavia Norden

At the funeral of King Gustav Vasa (Gustav I) in 1560 the coats of arms for the provinces were displayed together for the first time, many having been granted for that particular occasion. After the separation of Sweden and Finland the traditions for respective provincial arms diverged, most noticeably following an order by the Privy Council on January 18, 1884. This established that that all Swedish provinces carry ducal crowns, while the Finnish provincial arms still distinguished between ducal and county dignity. A complicat ...

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Provinces of Sweden, Provinces of Sweden - Provinces, Provinces of Sweden - History, Provinces of Sweden - History provinces according to lands, Provinces of Sweden - Heraldry, Provinces of Sweden - Götaland, Provinces of Sweden - Svealand, Provinces of Sweden - Norrland, Provinces of Sweden - Österlanden

Read more here: » Provinces of Sweden: Encyclopedia II - Provinces of Sweden - Heraldry

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 ...

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

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

The table below shows the Swedish consonant phonemes and the range of their realizations in spoken Standard Swedish. The range of realizations of the /r/-phoneme are shown shaded. Swedish phonology - Plosives. Initial /p, t, k/ are aspirated in most varieties, but unaspirated when preceded by /s/. Hence [kʰuː] ("cow"), but [skuː] ("shoe"). The combination of /r/ with /t, d, n, l/ results in retroflex consonants, which are not limited by word boundaries. Example: <vi går nu> ("we're ...

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Swedish phonology, Swedish phonology - Standard pronunciation, Swedish phonology - Vowels, Swedish phonology - Long vowels, Swedish phonology - Short vowels, Swedish phonology - Consonants, Swedish phonology - Plosives, Swedish phonology - Fricatives, Swedish phonology - /r/-realizations, Swedish phonology - Laterals, Swedish phonology - Nasals, Swedish phonology - Phonotactics, Swedish phonology - Sample, Swedish phonology - Broad transcription, Swedish phonology - Narrow transcription, Swedish phonology - Orthographic version

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The Older Futhark (named after the initial phoneme of the first six rune names) consist of twenty-four runes, often arranged in three rows of eight. The earliest known full sequential listing of the alphabet dates to ca. 400 and is found on the Kylver Stone in Gotland. Another early inscription was found on the Vadstena bracteate. The 24 letters are divided in three groups or aett of eight each: ᚠ ᚢ ᚦ ᚨ ᚱ ᚲ ᚷ ᚹ ᚺ ᚾ ᛁ ᛃ ᛇ ᛈ ᛉ ᛊ See also:

Elder Futhark, 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 II - Elder Futhark - The alphabet

In the Old Icelandic sources, its name is Burgundarholm, and Alfred the Great uses the form Burgenda land. Some scholars believe that the Burgundians are named after Bornholm; the Burgundians were a Germanic tribe which moved west when the western Roman Empire collapsed, and occupied and named Burgundy in France. Bornholm, as a part of Denmark, was captured by Germany relatively early in the Second World War, and served as a lookout post and listening station during the war. The island's perfect central position in the B ...

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

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

Swedish Armed Forces - Branches. Swedish Army (Armén) Royal Swedish Navy (Marinen) Swedish Air Force (Flygvapnet) Swedish Armed Forces - Military Districts. The Military Districts were decommissioned the 31 of december 2005. The former ones were: Gotland Military District (MD G) Central Military District (MD M) Northern Military District (MD N) Southern Military District (MD S) ...

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Swedish Armed Forces, Swedish Armed Forces - Possible enemies, Swedish Armed Forces - Current deployments, Swedish Armed Forces - Training, Swedish Armed Forces - Military Ranks, Swedish Armed Forces - Organization, Swedish Armed Forces - Branches, Swedish Armed Forces - Military Districts, Swedish Armed Forces - Schools, Swedish Armed Forces - Centres, Swedish Armed Forces - Government agencies reporting to the Ministry of Defence, Swedish Armed Forces - Voluntary Defence Organizations

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Skåneland - Early history. The Latin name terra Scaniæ was used in the Middle Ages as a denomination for the easternmost parts of Denmark. At that time, dense forests and boggy ground blocked the northern provinces of Sweden from Skåneland, in comparison to the relative ease of travel by sea. It was therefore natural to draw the national borders on land. This is documented by Adam of Bremen in the 11th century when he visited Scania and Scandinavia and called it the richest and most important part of De ...

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Skåneland, Skåneland - Official status, Skåneland - Origin of name, Skåneland - History, Skåneland - Early history, Skåneland - From the Kalmar Union to Denmark's Loss of Skåne Blekinge and Halland, Skåneland - Assimilation with Sweden, Skåneland - Recent history, Skåneland - Swedish Governors-General, Skåneland - Modern usage

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Main article County Councils of Sweden When Gotland was made into a single municipality in the 1970s, the county council was abolished and its responsibilities transferred to the municipality, making it a unitary authority. During a trial period some of the authority normally held by the Gotland County Administrative Board, an agency of the national government, has also been devolved to the Gotland Municipality, as well as to two mainland councils. The municipality of Gotland is there for in this respect also a region. It has responsibility for the ...

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Gotland Municipality, Gotland Municipality - Towns, Gotland Municipality - Politics, Gotland Municipality - Region

Read more here: » Gotland Municipality: Encyclopedia II - Gotland Municipality - Region

In Finnish linguistic usage and mindset, Finnish people (Finnish: suomalaiset) are a nation with two languages, Finnish (Finland: ca. 92% of the population) and Swedish (Finland: ca. 5.5% of the population). The term for the Finnish Swedophones is suomenruotsalaiset in Finnish. The self-designation of Finland's Swedish-speakers in Swedish is finlandssvenskar. In English, the terms Swedish-speaking Fin ...

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Finnish people, Finnish people - Language usage, Finnish people - Etymology, Finnish people - Past, Finnish people - Developments, Finnish people - Finns Finland-Swedes Sweden-Finns and Swedes

Read more here: » Finnish people: Encyclopedia II - Finnish people - Language usage

The runes were introduced to, or invented by, the Germanic peoples in the 1st or 2nd century (The oldest known runic inscription dates to ca. the 160s and is found on a comb discovered in the bog of Vimose, Funen. The inscription reads harja). While at this time the Germanic language was certainly not at the Proto-Germanic stage any longer, it may still have been a continuum of dialects not yet clearly separated into the three branches of later centuries, viz. North Germanic, West Germanic and East Germanic. Most of the early runes fr ...

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Runic alphabet, Runic alphabet - Overview, 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 - Younger Fuþark, Runic alphabet - Names, Runic alphabet - Evolution, 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 - Literature, Runic alphabet - Unicode, Runic alphabet - Distribution, Runic alphabet - Runiform scripts, Runic alphabet - Special characters

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