Ohthere of Hålogaland facts for kids
Ohthere of Hålogaland (Norwegian: Ottar fra Hålogaland) was a brave Viking Age sailor from Norway. We know about him because he told his amazing travel stories to King Alfred of Wessex around the year 890 AD.
King Alfred was a very smart king who wanted to learn about the world. He added Ohthere's stories to an old history book. This book, originally in Latin, was translated into Old English. Ohthere's account is the first time we see the names "Denmark" and maybe even "Norway" written down!
Ohthere said he lived in "Halgoland," which is now called Hålogaland in northern Norway. He was the northernmost Norwegian! He traveled far north to the White Sea and south to Denmark. He also spoke about the Sami people (who he called Finnas), and other groups like the Cwenas and Beormas. Ohthere was also involved in trading valuable furs.
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Who Was Ohthere?
Ohthere told King Alfred that he lived further north than any other Norwegian. His home was in "Halgoland," right by the sea. Today, we call this area Hålogaland, which is in northern Norway. Experts think his home might have been near Tromsø.
Ohthere said he was an important man in his homeland, maybe even a leader. He was wealthy! He owned 600 tame reindeer. Six of these were special "decoys" used to help catch wild reindeer. He also had some cattle, sheep, and pigs.
His main wealth came from taxes paid by the Finnas, or Sami people. The Sami paid him in valuable goods like marten and reindeer skins, bear skins, feathers, and even ropes made from whale or seal skin. These ropes were 60 ells long, which is about 30 meters!
Ohthere's Hunting and Trade
Ohthere also became rich by hunting walrus and whales. He said his land was the best place for whale hunting. He mentioned walruses up to 7 ells long (about 3.5 meters) and whales usually 50 ells long (about 25 meters). He even claimed that he and five men once killed sixty walruses in two days! Walrus teeth had "very noble bones," which were valuable. He brought some of these walrus bones to King Alfred.
Ohthere was mainly a merchant, meaning he traded goods. He traveled to important trading towns like "Sciringes heal" and Hedeby. His trip north was mostly to hunt walrus. His journey south was likely for trading. We don't know exactly why Ohthere visited King Alfred in England, but it was a very important meeting!
Ohthere's Norway
Ohthere's stories are the first time we see the word "Norway" (norðweg) written down. This was even before the word appeared on famous runic stones in Scandinavia!
He described Norway as a very long and narrow country. He said it was about 60 miles (about 96 km) wide in the east, 30 miles (about 48 km) wide in the middle, and only 3 miles (about 5 km) wide in the north. He was talking about the land between the sea and the mountains.
Ohthere also described Norway's neighbors. To the east, beyond the mountains, was a wild land where the Finnas (Sami people) lived. Further south and continuing north was Sweoland, the land of the Swedes. North of the Swedes was Cwenaland, and north of the Norwegians was just empty land.
Journeys to Far-Off Lands
Ohthere told King Alfred about two big journeys he made. One was north, around the Kola Peninsula and into the White Sea. The other was south, to a Danish trading town called Hedeby. He described his trips by talking about the lands and people he saw, and how many days it took to sail.
Sailing North
Ohthere said that north of his home, the land was mostly empty, except for a few places where the finnas (Sami people) lived. They hunted in winter and fished in summer. He wanted to find out how far the land went north and if anyone lived there.
He sailed north along the coast for three days. This was as far as most whale hunters would go. He kept sailing north for three more days. Then the land turned east (near North Cape). He had to wait for a west wind and then sailed east along the coast for four days. After that, he waited for a north wind because the land turned south. He then sailed south along the coast for five more days.
He found a large river that went far inland. He sailed up this river because he didn't dare go further along the coast. The land on the other side of the river was "well cultivated" and settled by people called Beormas. Ohthere had not seen any settled land since leaving his home. All the land on his right side was empty, except for fishermen, bird hunters, and animal hunters, who were all finnas. The open sea was always on his left side.
Ohthere said the Beormas told him a lot about their land and their neighbors. But he wasn't sure if it was true because he didn't see it himself. The Beormas spoke a language very similar to the Sami language.
Traveling South to Hedeby
Ohthere also described a journey south to Hedeby, a busy trading town in Denmark. He mentioned a place in southern Norway called Sciringes heal. He said it would take more than a month to sail there from his home if you stopped at night and had a good wind every day. This shows how long the Norwegian coast is!
When sailing along the Norwegian coast, a sailor would first see "Iraland" on their right side. This might mean Ireland or Iceland. Then they would see islands between "Iraland" and Britain, and finally Britain itself, before reaching Sciringes heal.
Sciringes heal was likely a "port" or a safe harbor. It might have been a trading place, similar to Hedeby. When Ohthere sailed from Sciringes heal, he had Denmark on his left side and a wide sea on his right for three days. Then, for two days, he had Danish islands on his left and Jutland on his right. Finally, he arrived at Hedeby, which was at the end of an inlet called the Schlei. This is where the first mention of "Denmark" (dena mearc) appears in the old text!
We don't know exactly why Ohthere visited King Alfred, or where they met. But his stories give us a wonderful look into the Viking world!
Ohthere in Modern Times
Ohthere's meeting with King Alfred has inspired many stories!
- The famous poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote a poem about Ohthere called "The Discoverer of the North Cape."
- Ohthere and his journey also appear in the 1957 book The Lost Dragon of Wessex by Gwendolyn Bowers.
- In the TV show Vikings, Ohthere is played by actor Ray Stevenson.
See also
In Spanish: Ohthere de Hålogaland para niños
