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To William Howells Praise not the day until evening has come; a woman until she is burnt; a sword until it is tried; a maiden until she is married; ice until it has been crossed; beer until it has been drunk. VIKING P !V" # "vil is o$ old date. % %# P !V" # INTRODUCTION &'" I#N (%)*%N +%N,-. IP& "P "-"N&- &'" earliest known eyewitness account o$ Viking li$e and society. It is an e/traordinary document0 describing in vivid detail events which occurred more than a thousand years ago. &he manuscri1t has not0 o$ course0 survived intact over that enormous s1an o$ time. It has a 1eculiar history o$ its own0 and one no less remarkable than the te/t itsel$. PROVENANCE OF THE MANUSCRIPT In 2une0 %.). 3450 the .ali1h o$ #agdad sent a member o$ his court0 %hmad Ibn (adlan0 as ambassador to the King o$ the #ulgars. Ibn (adlan was gone three years on his 6ourney and never actually accom1lished his mission0 $or along the way he encountered a com1any o$ Norsemen and had many adventures among them. 7hen he $inally returned to #agdad0 Ibn (adlan recorded his e/1eriences in the $orm o$ an o$$icial re1ort to the court. &hat original manuscri1t has long since disa11eared0 and to reconstruct it we must rely on 1artial $ragments 1reserved in later sources. &he best8known o$ these is an %rabic geogra1hical le/icon written by 9akut ibn8 %bdallah sometime in the thirteenth century. 9akut includes a do:en verbatim 1assages $rom Ibn (adlan;s account0 which was then three hundred years old. !ne must 1resume 9akut worked $rom a co1y o$ the original. Nevertheless these $ew 1aragra1hs have been endlessly translated and retranslated by later scholars. %nother $ragment was discovered in ussia in 5<5= and was 1ublished in German by the -t. Petersburg %cademy in 5<4>. &his material includes certain 1assages 1reviously 1ublished by 2. *. asmussen in 5<5?. asmussen worked $rom a manuscri1t he $ound in .o1enhagen0 since lost0 and o$ dubious origins. &here were also -wedish0 (rench0 and "nglish translations at this time0 but they are all notoriously inaccurate and a11arently do not include any new material. In 5<=<0 two new manuscri1ts were discovered in the 1rivate anti@uities collection o$ -ir 2ohn "merson0 the #ritish %mbassador in .onstantino1le. -ir 2ohn was a11arently one o$ those avid collectors whose :eal $or ac@uisition e/ceeded his interest in the 1articular item ac@uired. &he manuscri1ts were $ound a$ter his death; no one knows where he obtained them0 or when. !ne is a geogra1hy in %rabic by %hmad &usi0 reliably dated at %.). 5A?=. &his makes
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the &usi manuscri1t chronologically closer than any other to the original o$ Ibn (adlan0 which was 1resumably written around %.). 34?834B. 9et scholars regard the &usi manuscri1t as the least trustworthy o$ all the sources; the te/t is $ull o$ obvious errors and internal inconsistencies0 and although it @uotes at length $rom one Ibn (a@ih who visited the North country0 many authorities hesitate to acce1t this material. &he second manuscri1t is that o$ %min a:i0 dating roughly $rom %.). 5C<C85C3C. It is written in *atin and according to its author is translated directly $rom the %rabic te/t o$ Ibn (adlan. &he a:i manuscri1t contains some material about the !gu: &urks0 and several 1assages concerning battles with the mist monsters0 not $ound in other sources. In 53>?0 a $inal te/t in +edieval *atin was $ound in the monastery o$ Dymos0 near &hessalonika in northeastern Greece. &he Dymos manuscri1t contains $urther commentary on Ibn (adlan;s relations with the .ali1h0 and his e/1eriences with the creatures o$ the North country. &he author and date o$ the Dymos manuscri1t are both uncertain. &he task o$ collating these many versions and translations0 ranging over more than a thousand years0 a11earing in %rabic0 *atin0 German0 (rench0 )anish0 -wedish0 and "nglish0 is an undertaking o$ $ormidable 1ro1ortions. !nly a 1erson o$ great erudition and energy would attem1t it0 and in 53C5 such a 1erson did. Per (raus8)olos0 Pro$essor emeritus o$ .om1arative literature at the ,niversity o$ !slo0 Norway0 com1iled all the known sources and began the massive task o$ translation which occu1ied him until his death in 53C=. Portions o$ his new translation were 1ublished in the Proceedings of the National Museum of Oslo: 1959-196 0 but they did not arouse much scholarly interest0 1erha1s because the 6ournal has a limited circulation. &he (raus8)olos translation was absolutely literal; in his own introduction to the material0 (raus8)olos remarked that it is in the nature o$ languages that a 1retty translation is not accurate0 and an accurate translation $inds its own beauty without hel1. In 1re1aring this $ull and annotated version o$ the (raus8)olos translation0 I have made $ew alterations. I deleted some re1etitive 1assages; these are indicated in the te/t. I changed 1aragra1h structure0 starting each directly @uoted s1eaker with a new 1aragra1h0 according to modern convention. I have omitted the diacritical marks on %rabic names. (inally0 I have occasionally altered the original synta/0 usually by trans1osing subordinate clauses so that the meaning is more readily gras1ed. THE VIKINGS Ibn (adlan;s 1ortrait o$ the Vikings di$$ers markedly $rom the traditional "uro1ean view o$ these 1eo1le. &he $irst "uro1ean descri1tions o$ the Vikings were recorded by the clergy; they were the only observers o$ the time who could write0 and they viewed the 1agan Northmen with s1ecial horror. 'ere is a ty1ically hy1erbolic 1assage0 cited by ). +. 7ilson0 $rom a twel$th8century Irish writerE !n a word" although there were an hundred hard-steeled iron heads on one nec#" and an hundred shar$" read%" cool" ne&er rusting" 'ra(en tongues in each head" and an hundred garrulous" loud" unceasing &oices from each tongue" the% could not recount or narrate" enumerate or tell" what all the !rish suffered in common" 'oth men and women" lait% and clerg%" old and %oung" no'le and igno'le" of the hardshi$s and of in)uring and of o$$ression" in e&er% house" from those &aliant" wrathful" $urel% $agan $eo$le*
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+odern scholars recogni:e that such bloodcurdling accounts o$ Viking raids are vastly e/aggerated. 9et "uro1ean writers still tend to dismiss the -candinavians as bloody barbarians0 irrelevant to the main $low o$ 7estern culture and ideas. !$ten this has been done at the e/1ense o$ a certain logic. (or e/am1le0 )avid &albot ice writesE +rom the eighth to the ele&enth centuries indeed the role of the ,i#ings was $erha$s more influential than that of an% other single ethnic grou$ in Western -uro$e* *** The ,i#ings were thus great tra&ellers and the% $erformed outstanding feats of na&igation. their cities were great centres of trade. their art was original" creati&e and influential. the% 'oasted a fine literature and a de&elo$ed culture* Was it trul% a ci&ili(ation/ !t must" ! thin#" 'e admitted that it was not* *** The touch of humanism which is the hallmar# of ci&ili(ation was a'sent* &his same attitude is re$lected in the o1inion o$ *ord .larkE When one considers the !celandic sagas" which are among the great 'oo#s of the world" one must admit that the Norsemen $roduced a culture* 0ut was it ci&ili(ation/ *** 1i&ili(ation means something more than energ% and will and creati&e $ower: something the earl% Norsemen hadn2t got" 'ut which" e&en in their time" was 'eginning to rea$$ear in Western -uro$e* How can ! define it*/ Well" &er% shortl%" a sense of $ermanence* The wanderers and in&aders were in a continual state of flu3* The% didn2t feel the need to loo# forward 'e%ond the ne3t March or the ne3t &o%age or the ne3t 'attle* 4nd for that reason it didn2t occur to them to 'uild stone houses" or to write 'oo#s* &he more care$ully one reads these views0 the more illogical they a11ear. Indeed0 one must wonder why highly educated and intelligent "uro1ean scholars $eel so $ree to dismiss the Vikings with no more than a 1assing nod. %nd why the 1reoccu1ation with the semantic @uestion o$ whether the Vikings had a civili:ationF &he situation is e/1licable only i$ one recogni:es a long8standing "uro1ean bias0 s1ringing $rom traditional views o$ "uro1ean 1rehistory. "very 7estern schoolchild is duti$ully taught that the Near "ast is the cradle o$ civili:ation0 and that the $irst civili:ations arose in "gy1t and +eso1otamia0 nourished by the Nile and the &igris8"u1hrates river basins. (rom here civili:ation s1read to .rete and Greece0 and then to ome0 and eventually to the barbarians o$ northern "uro1e. 7hat these barbarians were doing while they waited $or the arrival o$ civili:ation was not known; nor was the @uestion o$ten raised. &he em1hasis lay on the 1rocess o$ dissemination0 which the late Gordon .hilde summari:ed as the irradiation o$ "uro1ean barbarism by !riental civili:ation. +odern scholars held this view0 as did oman and Greek scholars be$ore them. Geo$$rey #ibby saysE &he history o$ northern and eastern "uro1e is viewed $rom the 7est and -outh0 with all the 1reconce1tions o$ men who considered themselves civili:ed looking u1on men whom they considered barbarians. (rom this stand1oint0 the -candinavians are obviously the $arthest $rom the source o$ civili:ation0 and logically the last to ac@uire it; and there$ore they are 1ro1erly regarded as the last o$ the barbarians0 a nagging thorn in the side o$ those other "uro1ean areas trying to absorb the wisdom and civili:ation o$ the "ast.
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&he trouble is that this traditional view o$ "uro1ean 1rehistory has been largely destroyed in the last $i$teen years. &he develo1ment o$ accurate carbon8dating techni@ues has made a mess o$ the old chronology0 which su11orted the old views o$ di$$usion. It now a11ears indis1utable that "uro1eans were erecting huge megalithic tombs be$ore the "gy1tians built the 1yramids; -tonehenge is older than the civili:ation o$ +ycenaean Greece; metallurgy in "uro1e may well 1recede the develo1ment o$ metalworking skills in Greece and &roy. &he meaning o$ these discoveries has not yet been sorted out0 but it is certainly now im1ossible to regard the 1rehistoric "uro1eans as savages idly awaiting the blessings o$ "astern civili:ation. !n the contrary0 the "uro1eans seem to have had organi:ational skills considerable enough to work massive stones0 and they seem also to have had im1ressive astronomical knowledge to build -tonehenge0 the $irst observatory in the world. &hus0 the "uro1ean bias toward the civili:ed "ast must be called into @uestion0 and indeed the very conce1t o$ "uro1ean barbarism re@uires a $resh look. 7ith this in mind0 those barbaric remnants0 the Vikings0 take on a new signi$icance0 and we can ree/amine what is known o$ the -candinavians o$ the tenth century. (irst we should recogni:e that the Vikings were never a clearly uni$ied grou1. 7hat the "uro1eans saw were scattered and individual 1arties o$ sea$arers who came $rom a vast geogra1hical areaG-candinavia is larger than Portugal0 -1ain0 and (rance combinedGand who sailed $rom their individual $eudal states $or the 1ur1ose o$ trade or 1iracy or both; the Vikings made little distinction. #ut that is a tendency shared by many sea$arers $rom the Greeks to the "li:abethans. In $act0 $or a 1eo1le who lacked civili:ation0 who didn;t $eel the need to look ... beyond the ne/t battle0 the Vikings demonstrate remarkably sustained and 1ur1ose$ul behavior. %s 1roo$ o$ wides1read trading0 %rabic coins a11ear in -candinavia as early as %.). B34. )uring the ne/t $our hundred years0 the Viking trader81irates e/1anded as $ar west as New$oundland0 as $ar south as -icily and Greece Hwhere they le$t carvings on the lions o$ )elosI0 and as $ar east as the ,ral +ountains o$ ussia0 where their traders linked u1 with caravans arriving $rom the silk route to .hina. &he Vikings were not em1ire builders0 and it is 1o1ular to say that their in$luence across this vast area was im1ermanent. 9et it was su$$iciently 1ermanent to lend 1lacenames to many localities in "ngland0 while to ussia they gave the very name o$ the nation itsel$0 $rom the Norse tribe us. %s $or the more subtle in$luence o$ their 1agan vigor0 relentless energy0 and system o$ values0 the manuscri1t o$ Ibn (adlan shows us how many ty1ically Norse attitudes have been retained . to the 1resent day. Indeed0 there is something strikingly $amiliar to the modern sensibility about the Viking way o$ li$e0 and something 1ro$oundly a11ealing. ABOUT THE AUTHOR % word should be said about Ibn (adlan0 the man who s1eaks to us with such a distinctive voice des1ite the 1assage o$ more than a thousand years and the $ilter o$ transcribers and translators $rom a do:en linguistic and cultural traditions. 7e know almost nothing o$ him 1ersonally. %11arently he was educated and0 $rom his e/1loits0 he could not have been very old. 'e states e/1licitly that he was a $amiliar o$ the .ali1h0 whom he did not 1articularly admire. HIn this he was not alone0 $or the .ali1h al8 +u@tadir was twice de1osed and $inally slain by one o$ his own o$$icers.I
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!$ his society0 we know more. In the tenth century0 #agdad0 the .ity o$ Peace0 was the most civili:ed city on earth. +ore than a million inhabitants lived within its $amous circular walls. #agdad was the $ocus o$ intellectual and commercial e/citement0 within an environment o$ e/traordinary grace0 elegance0 and s1lendor. &here were 1er$umed gardens0 cool shady arbors0 and the accumulated riches o$ a vast em1ire. &he %rabs o$ #agdad were +uslim and $iercely dedicated to that religion. #ut they were also e/1osed to 1eo1les who looked0 acted0 and believed di$$erently $rom them. &he %rabs were0 in $act0 the least 1rovincial 1eo1le in the world o$ that time0 and this made them su1erb observers o$ $oreign cultures. Ibn (adlan himsel$ is clearly an intelligent and observant man. 'e is interested in both the everyday details o$ li$e and the belie$s o$ the 1eo1le he meets. +uch that he witnessed struck him as vulgar0 obscene0 and barbaric0 but he wastes little time in indignation; once he e/1resses his disa11roval0 he goes right back to his unblinking observations. %nd he re1orts what he sees with remarkably little condescension. 'is manner o$ re1orting may seem eccentric to 7estern sensibilities; he does not tell a story as we are accustomed to hearing one. 7e tend to $orget that our own sense o$ drama originates in an oral traditionGa live 1er$ormance by a bard be$ore an audience that must o$ten have been restless and im1atient0 or else slee1y a$ter a heavy meal. !ur oldest stories0 the !liad0 0eowulf0 the 5ong of 6oland0 were all intended to be sung by singers whose chie$ $unction and $irst obligation was entertainment. #ut Ibn (adlan was a writer0 and his 1rinci1al aim was not entertainment. Nor was it to glori$y some listening 1atron0 or to rein$orce the myths o$ the society in which he lived. !n the contrary0 he was an ambassador delivering a re1ort; his tone is that o$ a ta/ auditor0 not a bard; an anthro1ologist0 not a dramatist. Indeed0 he o$ten slights the most e/citing elements o$ his narrative rather than let them inter$ere with his clear and level8headed account. %t times this dis1assion is so irritating we $ail to recogni:e how e/traordinary a s1ectator he really is. (or hundreds o$ years a$ter Ibn (adlan0 the tradition among travelers was to write wildly s1eculative0 $anci$ul chronicles o$ $oreign marvelsGtalking animals0 $eathered men who $lew0 encounters with behemoths and unicorns. %s recently as two hundred years ago0 otherwise sober "uro1eans were $illing their 6ournals with nonsense about %$rican baboons that waged war with $armers0 and so on. Ibn (adlan never s1eculates. "very word rings true; and whenever he re1orts by hearsay0 he is care$ul to say so. 'e is e@ually care$ul to s1eci$y when he is an eyewitnessE that is why he uses the 1hrase I saw with my own eyes over and over. In the end0 it is this @uality o$ absolute truth$ulness which makes his tale so horri$ying. (or his encounter with the monsters o$ the mist0 the eaters o$ the dead0 is told with the same attention to detail0 the same care$ul ske1ticism0 that marks the other 1ortions o$ the manuscri1t. In any case0 the reader may 6udge $or himsel$. THE DEPARTURE FROM THE CITY OF PEACE P %I-" #" &! G!)0 &'" +" .I(,*0 &'" com1assionate0 the *ord o$ the &wo 7orlds0 and blessing and 1eace u1on the Prince o$ Pro1hets0 our *ord and +aster +uhammad0 whom God bless and 1reserve with abiding and continuing 1eace and
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blessings until the )ay o$ the (aithJ &his is the book o$ %hmad ibn8(adlan0 ibnal8%bbas0 ibn8 asid0 ibn8'ammad0 a client o$ +uhammad ibn8-ulayman0 the ambassador $rom al8+u@tadir to the King o$ the -a@aliba0 in which he recounts what he saw in the land o$ the &urks0 the 'a:ars0 the -a@aliba0 the #askirs0 the us0 and the Northmen0 o$ the histories o$ their kings and the way they act in many a$$airs o$ their li$e. &he letter o$ the 9iltawar0 King o$ the -a@aliba0 reached the .ommander o$ the (aith$ul0 al8+u@tadir. 'e asked him therein to send someone who would instruct him in religion and make him ac@uainted with the laws o$ Islam; who would build $or him a mos@ue and erect $or him a 1ul1it $rom which might be carried out the mission o$ converting his 1eo1le in all the districts o$ his kingdom; and also $or advice in the construction o$ $orti$ications and de$ense works. %nd he 1rayed the .ali1h to do these things. &he intermediary in this matter was )adir al8'urami. &he .ommander o$ the (aith$ul0 al8+u@tadir0 as many know0 was not a strong and 6ust cali1h0 but drawn to 1leasures and the $lattering s1eeches o$ his o$$icers0 who 1layed him the $ool and 6ested mightily behind his back. I was not o$ this com1any0 or es1ecially beloved o$ the .ali1h0 $or the reason that $ollows. In the .ity o$ Peace lived an elderly merchant o$ the name ibn8Karin0 rich in all things but lacking a generous heart and a love o$ man. 'e hoarded his gold and likewise his young wi$e0 whom none had ever seen but all bes1oke as beauti$ul beyond imagining. !n a certain day0 the .ali1h sent me to deliver to ibn8Karin a message0 and I 1resented mysel$ to the house o$ the merchant and sought entrance therein with my letter and seal. ,ntil today0 I do not know the im1ort o$ the letter0 but it does not matter. &he merchant was not at home0 being abroad on some business; I e/1lained to the door servant that I must await his return0 since the .ali1h had instructed I must deliver the message into his hands $rom mine only. &hus the door servant admitted me into the house0 which 1rocedure took some 1assing o$ time0 $or the door to the house had many bolts0 locks0 bars0 and $asteners0 as is common in the dwellings o$ misers. %t length I was admitted and I waited all day0 growing hungry and thirsty0 but was o$$ered no re$reshments by the servants o$ the niggardly merchant. In the heat o$ the a$ternoon0 when all about me the house was still and the servants sle1t0 I0 too0 $elt drowsy. &hen be$ore me I saw an a11arition in white0 a woman young and beauti$ul0 whom I took to be the very wi$e no man had ever seen. -he did not s1eak0 but with gestures led me to another room0 and there locked the door. I en6oyed her u1on the s1ot0 in which matter she re@uired no encouragement0 $or her husband was old and no doubt neglect$ul. &hus did the a$ternoon 1ass @uickly0 until we heard the master o$ the house making his return. Immediately the wi$e arose and de1arted0 having never uttered a word in my 1resence0 and I was le$t to arrange my garments in some haste. Now I should have been a11rehended $or certain were it not $or these same many locks and bolts which im1eded the miser;s entry into his own home. "ven so0 the merchant ibn8 Karin $ound me in the ad6oining room0 and he viewed me with sus1icion0 asking why I should be there and not in the courtyard0 where it was 1ro1er $or a messenger to wait. I re1lied that I was $amished and $aint0 and had searched $or $ood and shade. &his was a 1oor lie and he did not believe it; he com1lained to the .ali1h0 who I know was amused in 1rivate and yet com1elled to ado1t a stern $ace to the 1ublic. &hus when the ruler o$ the -a@aliba asked $or a mission $rom the .ali1h0 this same s1ite$ul ibn8Karin urged I be sent0 and so I was.
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In our com1any there was the ambassador o$ the King o$ -a@aliba who was called %bdallah ibn8#astu al8'a:ari0 a tedious and windy man who talked overmuch. &here was also &akin al8&urki0 #ars al8-a@labi0 both guides on the 6ourney0 and I0 too. 7e bore gi$ts $or the ruler0 $or his wi$e0 his children0 and his generals. %lso we brought certain drugs0 which were given over to the care o$ -ausan al8 asi. &his was our 1arry. -o we started on &hursday0 the 55th o$ -a$ar o$ the year >A3 L2une 450 345M0 $rom the .ity o$ Peace L#agdadM. 7e sto11ed a day in Nahrawan0 and $rom there went swi$tly until we reached al8)askara0 where we sto11ed $or three days. &hen we traveled straight onward without any detours until we reached 'ulwan. &here we stayed two days. (rom there we went to Kirmisin0 where we remained two days. &hen we started and traveled until we reached 'amadan0 where we remained three days. &hen we went $arther to -awa0 where we remained two days. (rom there we came to ay0 where we remained eleven days waiting $or %hmad ibn8%li0 the brother o$ al8 asi0 because he was in 'uwar al8 ay. &hen we went to 'uwar al8 ay and remained there three days. This $assage gi&es the fla&or of !'n +adlan2s descri$tions of tra&el* Perha$s a 7uarter of the entire manuscri$t is written in this fashion" sim$l% listing the names of settlements and the num'er of da%s s$ent at each* Most of this material has 'een deleted* 4$$arentl%" !'n +adlan2s $art% is tra&eling northward" and e&entuall% the% are re7uired to halt for winter* !ur stay in Gurganiya was lengthy; we stayed there some days o$ the month o$ agab LNovemberM and during the whole o$ -aban0 amadan0 and -awwal. !ur long stay was brought about by the cold and its bitterness. Verily0 they told me that two men took camels into the $orests to get wood. &hey $orgot0 however0 to take $lint and tinder with them0 and hence sle1t in the night without a $ire. 7hen they got u1 the ne/t morning0 they $ound the camels had been $ro:en sti$$ $rom the cold. Verily0 I beheld the market1lace and streets o$ Gurganiya com1letely deserted because o$ the cold. !ne could stroll the streets without meeting anyone. !nce as I came out o$ my bath0 I entered my house and looked at my beard0 which was a lum1 o$ ice. I had to thaw it out be$ore the $ire. I lived night and day in a house that was inside another house0 in which a &urkish $elt tent was 1itched0 and I mysel$ was wra11ed u1 in many clothes and $ur rugs. #ut in s1ite o$ all this0 my cheeks o$ten stuck to the 1illow at night. In this e/tremity o$ cold0 I saw that the earth sometimes $orms great cracks0 and a large and ancient tree may s1lit into two halves $rom this. %bout the middle o$ -awwal o$ the year >A3 L(ebruary0 344M0 the weather began to change0 the river thawed0 and we got ourselves the necessary things $or the 6ourney. 7e bought &urkish camels and skin boats made out o$ camel hides0 in 1re1aration $or the rivers we would have to cross in the land o$ &urks. 7e laid in a su11ly o$ bread0 millet0 and salted meat $or three months. !ur ac@uaintances in the town directed us in laying in garments0 as much as was needed. &hey de1icted the coming hardshi1s in $ear$ul terms0 and we believed they e/aggerated the story0 yet when we underwent this0 it was $ar greater than what had been told to us. "ach o$ us 1ut on a 6acket0 over that a coat0 over that a tulu10 over that a burka0 and a helmet o$ $elt out o$ which only the two eyes could look. 7e also had a sim1le 1air o$ underdrawers with trousers over them0 and house shoes and over these another 1air o$
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boots. 7hen one o$ us got on a camel0 he could not move because o$ his clothes. &he doctor o$ the law and the teacher and the 1ages who traveled with us $rom #agdad de1arted $rom us now0 $earing to enter this new country0 so 50 the ambassador0 his brother8 in8law and two 1ages0 &akin and #ars0 1roceeded.5 &he caravan was ready to start. 7e took into our service a guide $rom the inhabitants o$ the town whose name was Klawus. &hen0 trusting in the all81ower$ul and e/alted God0 we started on +onday0 the third o$ )ul@ada o$ the year >A3 L+arch >0 344M $rom the town Gurganiya. &hat same day0 we sto11ed at the burg called NamganE that is0 the gateway to the &urks. &he ne/t morning early0 we 1roceeded to Git. &here so much snow $ell that the camels 1lunged in it u1 to their knees; hence we halted two days. &hen we s1ed straight into the land o$ the &urks without meeting anyone on the barren and even ste11e. 7e rode ten days in bitter cold and unbroken snowstorms0 in com1arison with which the cold in .hware:m seemed like a summer day0 so that we $orgot all our 1revious discom$orts and were about at the 1oint o$ giving u1. !ne day when we underwent the most savage cold weather0 &akin the 1age was riding ne/t to me0 and along with him one o$ the &urks0 who was talking to him in &urkish. &akin laughed and said to me0 &his &urk says0 O7hat will our *ord have o$ usF 'e is killing us with cold. I$ we knew what he wanted0 we would let him have it.; %nd then I said0 &ell him 'e only wishes that you say0 O&here is no God save %llah.; &he &urk laughed and answered0 I$ I knew it0 I would say it. &hen we came to a $orest where there was a large @uantity o$ dry wood and we halted. &he caravan lit $ires0 we warmed ourselves0 took o$$ our clothes0 and s1read them out to dry. 4$$arentl%" !'n +adlan2s $art% was entering a warmer region" 'ecause he ma#es no further reference to e3treme cold* 7e set out again and rode every day $rom midnight until the time o$ the a$ternoon 1rayer Ghastening more $rom midday onGand then we halted. 7hen we had ridden $i$teen nights in this manner0 we arrived at a large mountain with many great rocks. &here are s1rings there0 that 6et out $rom the rocks and the water stays in 1ools. (rom this 1lace0 we crossed on until we reached a &urkish tribe0 which is called the !gu:. THE WAYS OF THE OGUZ TURKS &'" !G,N % " N!+%)- %N) '%V" '!,-"- !( $elt. &hey stay $or a time in one 1lace and then travel on. &heir dwellings are 1laced here and there according to nomadic custom. %lthough they lead a hard e/istence0 they are like asses gone astray. &hey have no religious bonds with God. &hey never 1ray0 but instead call their headmen *ords. 7hen
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NOT-: The un$rinta'le 4ra'ic scri$t found in the footnotes of the original $a$er &ersion has 'een rendered as 89:;< in this e-te3t &ersion* =6ussell &hroughout the manuscri1t0 Ibn (adlan is ine/act about the si:e and com1osition o$ his 1arty. 7hether this a11arent carelessness re$lects his assum1tion that the reader knows the com1osition o$ the caravan0 or whether it is a conse@uence o$ lost 1assages o$ the te/t0 one cannot be sure. -ocial conventions may also be a $actor0 $or Ibn (adlan never states that his 1arty is greater than a $ew individuals0 when in $act it 1robably numbered a hundred 1eo1le or more0 and twice as many horses and camels. #ut Ibn (adlan does not countGliterallyGslaves0 servants0 and lesser members o$ the caravan.

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one o$ them takes counsel with his chie$ about something0 he says0 ! *ord0 what shall I do in this or that matterF &heir undertakings are based u1on counsel solely among themselves. I have heard them say0 &here is no God but %llah and +uhammad is the 1ro1het o$ %llah0 but they s1eak thus so as to get close to any +uslims0 and not because they believe it. &he ruler o$ the !gu: &urks is called 9abgu. &hat is the name o$ the ruler and everyone who rules over this tribe bears the name. 'is subordinate is always called Kudarkin and so each subordinate to a chie$tain is called Kudarkin. &he !gu: do not wash themselves a$ter either de$ecation or urination0 nor do they bathe a$ter e6aculation0 or on other occasions. &hey have nothing whatever to do with water0 es1ecially in winter. No merchants or other +uhammadans may 1er$orm ablution in their 1resence e/ce1t in the night when the &urks do not see it0 $or they get angry and say0 &his man wishes to 1ut a s1ell on us0 $or he is immersing himsel$ in water0 and they com1el him to 1ay a $ine. None o$ the +uhammadans can enter &urkish country until one o$ the !gu: agrees to become his host0 with whom he stays and $or whom he brings garments $rom the land o$ Islam0 and $or his wi$e some 1e11er0 millet0 raisins0 and nuts. 7hen the +uslim comes to his host0 the latter 1itches a tent $or him and brings him shee10 so that the +uslim may himsel$ slaughter the shee1. &he &urks never slaughter; they beat the shee1 on the head until it is dead. !gu: women never veil themselves in the 1resence o$ their own men or others. Nor does the woman cover any o$ her bodily 1arts in the 1resence o$ any 1erson. !ne day we sto11ed o$$ with a &urk and were seated in his tent. &he man;s wi$e was 1resent. %s we conversed0 the woman uncovered her 1udendum and scratched it0 and we saw her doing so. 7e veiled our $aces and said0 I beg God;s 1ardon. %t this her husband laughed and said to the inter1reter0 &ell them we uncover it in your 1resence so that you may see it and be abashed0 but it is not to be attained. &his is better than when you cover it u1 and yet it is attainable. %dultery is unknown among them. 7homsoever they $ind to be an adulterer0 they tear him in two. &his comes about soE they bring together the branches o$ two trees0 tie him to the branches0 and then let both trees go so the man who was tied to the trees is torn in two. &he custom o$ 1ederasty is counted by the &urks a terrible sin. &here once came a merchant to stay with the clan o$ the Kudarkin. &his merchant stayed with his host $or a time to buy shee1. Now0 the host had a beardless son0 and the guest sought unceasingly to lead him astray until he got the boy to consent to his will. In the meantime0 the &urkish host entered and caught them in flagrante delicto. &he &urks wished to kill the merchant and also the son $or this o$$ense. #ut a$ter much 1leading the merchant was 1ermitted to ransom himsel$. 'e 1aid his host with $our hundred shee1 $or what he had done to his son0 and then the merchant hastily de1arted $rom the land o$ the &urks. %ll the &urks 1luck their beards with the e/ce1tion o$ their mustaches. &heir marriage customs are as $ollowsE one o$ them asks $or the hand o$ a $emale member o$ another;s $amily0 against such and such a marriage 1rice. &he marriage 1rice o$ten consists o$ camels0 1ack animals0 and other things. No one can take a wi$e until he has $ul$illed the obligation0 on which he has come to an understanding with the men o$ the $amily. I$0 however0 he has met it0 then he comes without any ado0 enters the abode where she is0 takes her in the 1resence o$ her $ather0 mother0 and brothers0 and they do not
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1revent him. I$ a man dies who has a wi$e and children0 then the eldest o$ his sons takes her to wi$e i$ she is not his mother. I$ one o$ the &urks becomes sick and has slaves0 they look a$ter him and no one o$ his $amily comes near him. % tent is 1itched $or him a1art $rom the houses and he does not de1art $rom it until he dies or gets well. I$0 however0 he is a slave or a 1oor man0 they leave him in the desert and go on their way. 7hen one o$ their 1rominent men dies0 they dig $or him a great 1it in the $orm o$ a house and they go to him0 dress him in a 7urta7 with his belt and bow0 and 1ut a drinking cu1 o$ wood with into/icating drink in his hand. &hey take his entire 1ossessions and 1ut them in this house. &hen they set him down in it also. &hen they build another house over him and make a kind o$ cu1ola out o$ mud. &hen they kill his horses. &hey kill one or two hundred0 as many as he has0 at the site o$ the grave. &hen they eat the $lesh down to the head0 the hooves0 the hide0 and the tail0 $or they hang these u1 on wooden 1oles and say0 &hese are his steeds on which he rides to Paradise. I$ he has been a hero and slain enemies0 they carve wooden statues in the number o$ those whom he has slain0 1lace them u1on his grave0 and say0 &hese are his 1ages who serve him in Paradise. -ometimes they delay killing the horses $or a day or two0 and then an old man $rom among their elderly ones stirs them u1 by saying0 I have seen the dead man in my slee1 and he said to meE O'ere thou seest me. +y comrades have overtaken me and my $eet were too weak to $ollow them. I cannot overtake them and so have remained alone.; In this case0 the 1eo1le slaughter his steeds and hang them u1 on his grave. %$ter a day or two0 the same elder comes to them and says0 I have seen the dead man in a dream and he saidE OIn$orm my $amily that I have recovered $rom my 1light.; In this way the old man 1reserves the ways o$ the !gu:0 $or there might otherwise be a desire $or the living to retain the horses o$ the dead. 4 %t length we traveled on in the &urkish kingdom. !ne morning one o$ the &urks met us. 'e was ugly in $igure0 dirty in a11earance0 des1icable in manner0 and base in nature. 'e saidE 'alt. &he whole caravan halted in obedience to his command. &hen he said0 No single one o$ you may 1roceed. 7e said to him0 7e are $riends o$ the Kudarkin. 'e began to laugh and said0 7ho is the KudarkinF I de$ecate on his beard. No man among us knew what to do at these words0 but then the &urk said0 0e#end; that is0 bread in the language o$ .hware:m. I gave him a $ew sheets o$ bread. 'e took them and said0 9ou may go $urther. I take 1ity u1on you. 7e came to the district o$ the army commander whose name was "trek ibn8al8Katagan. 'e 1itched &urkish tents $or us and had us stay in them. 'e himsel$ had a large establishment0 servants and large dwellings. 'e drove in shee1 $or us that we might slaughter them0 and 1ut horses at our dis1osal $or riding. &he &urks s1eak o$ him as their best horseman0 and in truth I saw one day0 when he raced with us on his horse and as a goose $lew over us0 he strung his bow and then0 guiding his horse under it0 shot at the goose and brought it down.
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(ar:an0 an unabashed admirer o$ Ibn (adlan0 believes that this 1aragra1h reveals the sensibility o$ a modern anthro1ologist0 recording not only the customs o$ a 1eo1le0 but the mechanisms which act to en$orce those customs. &he economic meaning o$ killing a nomad leader;s horses is the a11ro/imate e@uivalent o$ modern death8ta/es; that is0 it tends to retard the accumulation o$ inherited wealth in a $amily. %lthough demanded by religion0 this could not have been a 1o1ular 1ractice0 any more than it is during the 1resent day. Ibn (adlan most astutely demonstrates the way it is im1osed u1on the reluctant.

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I 1resented to him a suit $rom +erv0 a 1air o$ boots o$ red leather0 a coat o$ brocade0 and $ive coats o$ silk. 'e acce1ted these with glowing words o$ 1raise. 'e removed the brocade coat that he wore in order to don the garments o$ honor I had 6ust given him. &hen I saw that the 7urta7 which he had underneath was $raying a1art and $ilthy0 but it is their custom that no one shall remove the garment that he wears ne/t to his body until it disintegrates. Verily also he 1lucked out his entire beard and even his mustache0 so that he looked like a eunuch. %nd yet0 as I have observed0 he was their best horseman. I believed that these $ine gi$ts should win his $riendshi1 to us0 but such was not to be. 'e was a treacherous man. !ne day he sent $or the leaders close to him; that is0 &arhan0 9anal0 and Gly:. &arhan was the most in$luential among them; he was cri11led and blind and had a maimed hand. &hen he said to themE &hese are the messengers o$ the King o$ the %rabs to the chie$ o$ the #ulgars0 and I should not let them 1ass without taking counsel with you. &hen &arhan s1okeE &his is a matter that we have never yet seen. Never has the ambassador o$ the -ultan traveled through our country since we and our ancestors have been here. +y $eeling is that the -ultan is 1laying us a trick. &hese men he really sent to the 'a:ars to stir them u1 against us. &he best is to hew these ambassadors in twain and we shall take all they have. %nother counselor saidE No0 we should rather take what they have and leave them naked so that they may return thither whence they came. %nd another saidE No0 we have ca1tives with the King o$ the 'a:ars0 so we ought to send these men to ransom them. &hey ke1t discussing these matters among themselves $or seven days0 while we were in a situation similar to death0 until they agreed to o1en the road and let us 1ass. 7e gave to &arhan as a garment o$ honor two ca$tans $rom +erv and also 1e11er0 millet0 and some sheets o$ bread. %nd we traveled $orth until we came to the river #agindi. &here we took our skin boats which had been made $rom camel hides0 s1read them out0 and loaded the goods $rom the &urkish camels. 7hen each boat was $ull0 a grou1 o$ $ive0 si/0 or $our men sat in them. &hey took birchwood branches in their hands and used them like oars and ke1t on rowing while the water carried the boat down and s1un it around. (inally we got across. 7ith regard to the horses and camels0 they came swimming across. It is absolutely necessary when crossing a river that $irst o$ all a grou1 o$ warriors with wea1ons should be trans1orted across be$ore any o$ the caravan0 in order that a vanguard be established to 1revent attack by #askirs while the main body is crossing the river. &hus we crossed the river #agindi0 and then the river called Gam0 in the same way. &hen the !dil0 then the %drn0 then the 7ars0 then the %hti0 then the 7bna. %ll these are big rivers. &hen we arrived at the Pecenegs. &hese had encam1ed by a still lake like the sea. &hey are dark brown0 1ower$ul 1eo1le and the men shave their beards. &hey are 1oor in contrast to the !gu:0 $or I saw men among the !gu: who 1ossessed 5A0AAA horses and 5AA0AAA shee1. #ut the Pecenegs are 1oor0 and we remained only a day with them. &hen we started out and came to the river Gayih. &his is the largest0 widest0 swi$test that we saw. Verily I saw how a skin boat overturned in it0 and those on it were drowned. +any o$ the com1any 1erished and a number o$ the camels and horses were drowned. 7e crossed the river with di$$iculty. &hen we went a $ew days $arther on and crossed the river Gaha0 then the river %:hn0 then the #agag0 then the -mur0 then the Knal0 then the -ub0 and
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then the river Kiglu. %t length we arrived in the land o$ the #askirs. The >a#ut manuscri$t contains a short descri$tion of !'n +adlan2s sta% among the 0as#irs. man% scholars 7uestion the authenticit% of these $assages* The actual descri$tions are unusuall% &ague and tedious" consisting chiefl% of lists of the chiefs and no'les encountered* !'n +adlan himself suggests the 0as#irs are not worth 'othering with" an uncharacteristic statement from this relentlessl% curious tra&eler* %t length we le$t the land o$ the #askirs0 and crossed the river Germsan0 the river ,rn0 the river ,rm0 then the river 7tig0 the river Nbasnh0 then the river Gawsin. #etween the rivers that we mention0 the distance is a 6ourney o$ two0 three0 or $our days in each case. &hen we came to the land o$ the #ulgars0 which begins at the shore o$ the river Volga. FIRST CONTACT WITH THE NORTHMEN I -%7 7I&' +9 !7N "9"- '!7 &'" N! &'+"N > '%) arrived with their wares0 and 1itched their cam1 along the Volga. Never did I see a 1eo1le so giganticE they are tall as 1alm trees0 and $lorid and ruddy in com1le/ion. &hey wear neither camisoles nor ca$tans0 but the men among them wear a garment o$ rough cloth0 which is thrown over one side0 so that one hand remains $ree. "very Northman carries an a/e0 a dagger0 and a sword0 and without these wea1ons they are never seen. &heir swords are broad0 with wavy lines0 and o$ (rankish make. (rom the ti1 o$ the $ingernails to the neck0 each man o$ them is tattooed with 1ictures o$ trees0 living beings0 and other things. &he women carry0 $astened to their breast0 a little case o$ iron0 co11er0 silver0 or gold0 according to the wealth and resources o$ their husbands. (astened to the case they wear a ring0 and u1on that a dagger0 all attached to their breast. %bout their necks they wear gold and silver chains. &hey are the $ilthiest race that God ever created. &hey do not wi1e themselves a$ter going to stool0 or wash themselves a$ter a nocturnal 1ollution0 any more than i$ they were wild asses. &hey come $rom their own country0 anchor their shi1s in the Volga0 which is a great river0 and build large wooden houses on its banks. In every such house there live ten or twenty0 more or $ewer. "ach man has a couch0 where he sits with the beauti$ul girls he has $or sale. 'e is as likely as not to en6oy one o$ them while a $riend looks on. %t times several o$ them will be thus engaged at the same moment0 each in $ull view o$ the others. Now and again0 a merchant will resort to a house to 1urchase a girl0 and $ind her master thus embracing her0 and not giving over until he has $ully had his will; in this there is thought nothing remarkable. "very morning a slave girl comes and brings a tub o$ water and 1laces it be$ore her master. 'e 1roceeds to wash his $ace and hands0 and then his hair0 combing it over the vessel. &hereu1on he blows his nose0 and s1its into the tub0 and0 leaving no dirt behind0 conveys it all into this water. 7hen he has $inished0 the girl carries the tub to the man ne/t
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%ctually0 Ibn (adlan;s word $or them here was us0 the name o$ this 1articular tribe o$ Northmen. In the te/t0 he sometimes calls the -candinavians by their 1articular tribal name0 and sometimes he calls them Varangians as a generic term. 'istorians now reserve the term Varangian $or the -candinavian mercenaries em1loyed by the #y:antine "m1ire. &o avoid con$usion0 in this translation the terms Northmen and Norsemen are everywhere em1loyed.

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to him0 who does the same. &hus she continues carrying the tub $rom one to another0 till each o$ those who are in the house has blown his nose and s1it into the tub0 and washed his $ace and hair. &his is the normal way o$ things among the Northmen0 as I have seen with my own eyes. 9et at the 1eriod o$ our arrival among them0 there was some discontent among the giant 1eo1le0 the nature o$ which was thusE &heir 1rinci1al chie$tain0 a man o$ the name 7ygli$0 had $allen ill0 and was set u1 in a sick8tent at a distance $rom the cam10 with bread and water. No one a11roached or s1oke to him0 or visited him the whole time. No slaves nurtured him0 $or the Northmen believe that a man must recover $rom any sickness according to his own strength. +any among them believed that 7ygli$ would never return to 6oin them in the cam10 but instead would die. Now0 one o$ their number0 a young noble called #uliwy$0 was chosen to be their new leader0 but he was not acce1ted while the sick chie$tain still lived. &his was the cause o$ uneasiness0 at the time o$ our arrival. 9et also there was no as1ect o$ sorrow or wee1ing among the 1eo1le encam1ed on the Volga. &he Northmen 1lace great im1ortance on the duty o$ the host. &hey greet every visitor with warmth and hos1itality0 much $ood and clothing0 and the earls and nobles com1ete $or the honor o$ the greatest hos1itality. &he 1arty o$ our caravan was brought be$ore #uliwy$ and a great $east was given us. !ver this #uliwy$ himsel$ 1resided0 and I saw him to be a tall man0 and strong0 with skin and hair and beard o$ 1ure white. 'e had the bearing o$ a leader. ecogni:ing the honor o$ the $east0 our 1arty made a show o$ eating0 yet the $ood was vile and the manner o$ the $east contained much throwing o$ $ood and drink0 and great laughing and merriment. It was common in the middle o$ this rude ban@uet $or an earl to dis1ort with a slave girl in $ull view o$ his $ellows. -eeing this0 I turned away and said0 I beg God;s 1ardon0 and the Northmen laughed much at my discom$iture. !ne o$ their number translated $or me that they believe God looks $avorably u1on such o1en 1leasures. 'e said to me0 9ou %rabs are like old women0 you tremble at the sight o$ li$e. I said in answer0 I am a guest among you0 and %llah shall lead me to righteousness. &his was reason $or $urther laughter0 but I do not know $or what cause they should $ind a 6oke. &he custom o$ the Northmen reveres the li$e o$ war. Verily0 these huge men $ight continually; they are never at 1eace0 neither among themselves nor among di$$erent tribes o$ their kind. &hey sing songs o$ their war$are and bravery0 and believe that the death o$ a warrior is the highest honor. %t the ban@uet o$ #uliwy$0 a member o$ their kind sang a song o$ bravery and battle that was much en6oyed0 though little attended. &he strong drink o$ the Northmen soon renders them as animals and stray asses; in the midst o$ the song there was e6aculation and also mortal combat over some into/icated @uarrel o$ two warriors. &he bard did not cease his song through all these events; verily I saw $lying blood s1atter his $ace0 and yet he wi1ed it away without a 1ause in his singing. &his im1ressed me greatly. Now it ha11ened that this #uliwy$0 who was drunk as the rest0 commanded that I should sing a song $or them. 'e was most insistent. Not wishing to anger him0 I recited $rom the Koran0 with the translator re1eating my words in their Norse tongue. I was received no
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better than their own minstrel0 and a$terward I asked the $orgiveness o$ %llah $or the treatment o$ 'is holy words0 and also $or the translation0? which I sensed to be thoughtless0 $or in truth the translator was himsel$ drunk. 7e had stayed two days among the Northmen0 and on the morning we 1lanned to leave0 we were told by the translator that the chie$tain 7ygli$ had died. I sought to witness what then be$ell. (irst0 they laid him in his grave0 over which a roo$ was erected0 $or the s1ace o$ ten days0C until they had com1leted the cutting and sewing o$ his clothes. &hey also brought together his goods0 and divided them into three 1arts. &he $irst o$ these is $or his $amily; the second is e/1ended $or the garments they make; and with the third they 1urchase strong drink0 against the day when a girl resigns hersel$ to death0 and is burned with her master. &o the use o$ wine they abandon themselves in mad $ashion0 drinking it day and night0 as I have already said. Not seldom does one die with a cu1 in his hand. &he $amily o$ 7ygli$ asked o$ all his girls and 1ages0 7hich o$ you will die with himF &hen one o$ them answered0 I. (rom the time she uttered that word0 she was no longer $ree; should she wish to draw back0 she is not 1ermitted. &he girl who so s1oke was then committed to two other girls0 who were to kee1 watch over her0 accom1any her wherever she went0 and even0 on occasion0 wash her $eet. &he 1eo1le occu1ied themselves with the dead manGcutting out the clothes $or him0 and 1re1aring whatever else was need$ul. )uring the whole o$ this 1eriod0 the girl gave hersel$ over to drinking and singing0 and was cheer$ul and gay. )uring this time0 #uliwy$0 the noble who would ne/t be king or chie$tain0 $ound a rival whose name was &horkel. 'im I did not know0 but he was ugly and $oul0 a dark man among this ruddy $air race. 'e 1lotted to be chie$tain himsel$. %ll this I learned $rom the translator0 $or there was no outward sign in the $uneral 1re1arations that anything was not according to custom. #uliwy$ himsel$ did not direct the 1re1arations0 $or he was not o$ the $amily o$ 7ygli$0 and it is the rule that the $amily 1re1ares $or the $uneral. #uliwy$ 6oined the general merriment and celebration0 and acted no 1art o$ kingly conduct0 e/ce1t during the ban@uets o$ the night0 when he sat in the high seat that was reserved to the king. &his was the manner o$ his sittingE when a Northman is truly king0 he sits at the head o$ the table in a large stone chair with stone arms. -uch was the chair o$ 7ygli$0 but #uliwy$ did not sit in it as a normal man would sit. Instead he sat u1on one arm0 a 1osition $rom which he $ell when he drank overmuch0 or laughed with great e/cess. It was the custom that he could not sit in the chair until 7ygli$ was buried. %ll this time0 &horkel 1lotted and con$erred among the other earls. I came to know that I was sus1ected as some sorcerer or witch0 which distressed me much. &he translator0 who did not believe these tales0 told me that &horkel said I had caused 7ygli$ to die0 and had
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%rabs have always been uneasy about translating the Koran. &he earliest sheiks held that the holy book could not be translated0 an in6unction a11arently based on religious considerations. #ut everyone who has attem1ted a translation agrees $or the most secular reasonsE %rabic is by nature a succinct language0 and the Koran is com1osed as 1oetry and there$ore even more concentrated. &he di$$iculties o$ conveying literal meaningGto say nothing o$ the grace and elegance o$ the original %rabicGhave led translators to 1re$ace their work with 1rolonged and ab6ect a1ologies. %t the same time0 Islam is an active0 e/1ansive way o$ thought0 and the tenth century was one o$ its 1eak 1eriods o$ dissemination. &his e/1ansion inevitably necessitated translations $or the use o$ new converts0 and translations were made0 but never ha11ily $rom the stand1oint o$ the %rabs. C &his alone was startling to an %rab observer $rom a warm climate. +uslim 1ractice called $or @uick burial0 o$ten the same day as the death0 a$ter a short ceremony o$ ritual washing and 1rayer.

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caused #uliwy$ to be the ne/t chie$0 yet verily I had no 1art in any o$ this. %$ter some days0 I sought to leave with my 1arty o$ ibn8#astu and &akin and #ars0 and yet the Northmen would not 1ermit us to leave0 saying that we must stay to the $uneral0 and threatening us with their daggers0 which they always carried. &hus we stayed. 7hen the day was come that 7ygli$ and the girl were to be committed to the $lames0 his shi1 was drawn ashore on the banks o$ the river. (our corner blocks o$ birch and other woods had been 1ositioned around it; also large wooden $igures in the semblance o$ human beings. In the meantime the 1eo1le began to walk to and $ro0 uttering words that I did not understand. &he language o$ the Northmen is ugly to the ear and di$$icult to com1rehend. &he dead chie$0 meanwhile0 lay at a distance in his grave0 $rom which they had not yet removed him. Ne/t they brought a couch0 1laced it in the shi10 and covered it with Greek cloth o$ gold0 and 1illows o$ the same material. &here then came an old crone0 whom they call the angel o$ death0 and she s1read the 1ersonal articles on the couch. It was she who attended to the sewing o$ the garments0 and to all the e@ui1ment. It was she0 also0 who was to slay the girl. I saw the crone with my own eyes. -he was dark0 thickset0 with a lowering countenance. 7hen they came to the grave0 they removed the roo$ and drew out the dead man. &hen I saw that he had turned @uite black0 by reason o$ the coldness o$ that country. Near him in the grave they had 1laced strong drink0 $ruits0 and a lute; and these they now took out. "/ce1t $or his color0 the dead man 7ygli$ had not changed. Now I saw #uliwy$ and &horkel standing side by side0 making a great show o$ $riendshi1 during the burial ceremony0 and yet it was a11arent that there was no truth to their a11earances. &he dead king 7ygli$ was now clothed in drawers0 leggings0 boots0 and a ca$tan o$ gold cloth0 and on his head was 1laced a ca1 made o$ gold cloth0 trimmed in sable. &hen he was carried to a tent in the shi1; they seated him on a @uilted couch0 su11orted him with 1illows0 and brought strong drink0 $ruits0 and basil0 which they 1laced alongside him. &hen they brought a dog0 which they cut in two0 and threw into the shi1. &hey laid all his wea1ons beside him0 and led u1 two horses0 which they chased until they were dri11ing with sweat0 whereu1on #uliwy$ killed one with his sword and &horkel killed the second0 cutting them into 1ieces with their swords and $linging the 1ieces $orth into the shi1. #uliwy$ killed his horse less swi$tly0 which seemed to have some im1ort to those who watched0 but I did not know the meaning. &wo o/en were then brought $orward0 cut into 1ieces0 and $lung into the shi1. (inally they brought a cock and a hen0 killed them0 and threw them in also. &he girl who had devoted hersel$ to death meanwhile walked to and $ro0 entering one a$ter another o$ the tents that they had there. &he occu1ant o$ each tent lay with her0 saying0 &ell your master I did this only $or love o$ him. Now it was late in the a$ternoon. &hey led the girl to an ob6ect they had constructed0 which looked like the $rame o$ a door. -he 1laced her $eet on the e/tended hands o$ the men0 who raised her above the $ramework. -he uttered something in her language0 whereu1on they let her down. &hen again they raised her0 and she did as be$ore. !nce more they let her down0 and then li$ted her a third time. &hen they handed her a hen0 whose head she cut o$$ and threw away. I in@uired o$ the inter1reter what it was she had done. 'e re1liedE &he $irst time she said0 O*o0 I see here my $ather and mother;; the second time0 O*o0 now I see all my
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deceased relatives sitting;; the third time0 O*o0 there is my master0 who is sitting in Paradise. Paradise is so beauti$ul0 so green. 7ith him are his men and boys. 'e calls me0 so bring me to him.; &hen they led her away to the shi1. 'ere she took o$$ her two bracelets and gave them to the old woman who was called the angel o$ death0 and she was to murder her. -he also drew o$$ her two anklets0 and 1assed them to the two serving maids0 who were the daughters o$ the angel o$ death. &hen they li$ted her into the shi10 but did not yet admit her to the tent. Now men came u1 with shields and staves0 and handed her a cu1 o$ strong drink. &his she took0 sang over it0 and em1tied it. &he inter1reter told me she said0 7ith this0 I take leave o$ those who are dear to me. &hen another cu1 was handed to her0 which she also took0 and began a lengthy song. &he crone admonished her to drain the cu1 without lingering0 and to enter the tent where her master lay. #y this time0 it seemed to me the girl had become da:ed. B -he made as though she would enter the tent0 when suddenly the hag sei:ed her by the head and dragged her in. %t this moment the men began to beat u1on their shields with the staves0 in order to drown the noise o$ her outcries0 which might have terri$ied the other girls and deterred them $rom seeking death with their masters in the $uture. -i/ men $ollowed her into the tent0 and each and every one o$ them had carnal com1anionshi1 with her. &hen they laid her down by her master;s side0 while two o$ the men sei:ed her $eet0 and two the hands. &he old woman known as the angel o$ death now knotted a ro1e around her neck0 and handed the ends to two o$ the men to 1ull. &hen0 with a broad8bladed dagger0 she smote her between the ribs0 and drew the blade $orth0 while the two men strangled her with the ro1e till she died. &he kin o$ the dead 7ygli$ now drew near and0 taking a 1iece o$ lighted wood0 walked backward naked toward the shi1 and ignited the shi1 without ever looking at it. &he $uneral 1yre was soon a$lame0 and the shi10 the tent0 the man and the girl0 and everything else blew u1 in a bla:ing storm o$ $ire. %t my side0 one o$ the Northmen made some comment to the inter1reter. I asked the inter1reter what was said0 and received this answer. 9ou %rabs0 he said0 must be a stu1id lot. 9ou take your most beloved and revered man and cast him into the ground to be devoured by cree1ing things and worms. 7e0 on the other hand0 burn him in a twinkling0 so that instantly0 without a moment;s delay0 he enters into Paradise. %nd in truth0 be$ore an hour had 1assed0 shi10 wood0 and girl had0 with the man0 turned to ashes. THE AFTERMATH OF THE NORTHMENS FUNERAL &'"-" -.%N)IN%VI%N- (IN) N! .%,-" (! G I"( IN any man;s death. % 1oor man or a slave is a matter o$ indi$$erence to them0 and even a chie$tain will 1rovoke no sadness or tears. !n the same evening o$ the $uneral o$ the chie$ called 7ygli$0 there was a great $easting in the halls o$ the Northmen encam1ment. 9et I 1erceived that all was not $itting among these barbarians. I sought counsel with my inter1reter. 'e res1onded thuslyE It is the 1lan o$ &horkel to see you die0 and then to banish #uliwy$. &horkel has gathered the su11ort o$ some earls to himsel$0 but there is
B

!r0 1ossibly0 cra:ed. &he *atin manuscri1ts read cerritus0 but the %rabic o$ 9akut says HPI0 da:ed or da::led.

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dis1ute in every house and every @uarter. +uch distressed0 I said0 I have no 1art in this a$$air. 'ow shall I actF &he inter1reter said I should $lee i$ I could0 but i$ I were caught0 this would be 1roo$ o$ my guilt and I would be treated as a thie$. % thie$ is treated in this $ashionE the Northmen lead him to a thick tree0 $asten a strong ro1e about him0 string him u10 and let him hang until he rots to 1ieces by the action o$ the wind and the rain. emembering also that I had barely esca1ed death at the hands o$ ibn8al8Katagan0 I chose to act as I had be$ore; that is0 I remained among the Northmen until I should be given $ree 1assage to continue on my 6ourney. I in@uired o$ the inter1reter whether I should bear gi$ts to #uliwy$0 and also to &horkel0 to $avor my de1arture. 'e said that I could not bear gi$ts to both0 and that the matter was undecided who would be the new chie$tain. &hen he said it would be clear in one day and night0 and no longer. (or it is true among these Northmen that they have no established way o$ choosing a new chie$ when the old leader dies. -trength o$ arms counts high0 but also allegiances o$ the warriors and the earls and noblemen. In some cases there is no clear successor to the rule0 and this was one o$ such eventualities. +y inter1reter said that I should bide my time0 and also 1ray. &his I did. &hen there came a great storm on the banks o$ the river Volga0 a storm that 1ersisted two days0 with driving rain and $orce$ul winds0 and a$ter this storm a cold mist lay on the ground. It was thick and white0 and a man could not see 1ast a do:en 1aces. Now0 these same giant Northmen warriors0 who by virtue o$ their enormity and strength o$ arms and cruel dis1osition0 have nothing to $ear in all the world0 yet these men $ear the mist or $og that comes with storms. &he men o$ their race are at some 1ains to conceal their $ear0 even one $rom another; the warriors laugh and 6oke overmuch0 and make unreasonable dis1lay o$ care$ree emotion. &hus do they 1rove the reverse; and in truth0 their attem1t to disguise is childish0 so 1lainly do they 1retend not to see the truth0 yet verily0 each and all o$ them0 throughout their encam1ment0 are making 1rayers and sacri$ices o$ hens and cocks0 and i$ a man is asked the reason o$ the sacri$ice0 he will say0 I make sacri$ice $or the sa$ety o$ my $araway $amily; or he will say0 I make sacri$ice $or the success o$ my trading; or he will say0 I make sacri$ice in honor o$ such or another deceased member o$ my $amily; or he will say many another reason0 and then he will add0 %nd also $or the li$ting o$ the mist. Now0 I accounted it strange $or such strong and warlike 1eo1le to be so $ear$ul o$ anything as to 1retend a lack o$ $ear; and o$ all the sensible reasons $or $ear0 mist or $og seemed to my way o$ thinking very greatly ine/1licable. I said to my inter1reter that a man could $ear wind0 or blasting storms o$ sand0 or water $loods0 or heaving o$ the ground0 or thunder and lightning within the sky0 $or all o$ these could in6ure a man0 or kill him0 or ruin his dwelling. 9et I said that $og0 or mist0 contained no threat o$ harm; in truth it was the least o$ any $orm o$ changing elements. &he inter1reter answered to me that I was lacking the belie$s o$ a sailor. 'e said that many %rab sailors agreed with the Northmen0 in the matter o$ uneasiness = within the wra11ing o$ mist; so0 also0 he said all sea$arers are made an/ious o$ any mist or $og0 because such a condition increases the 1eril o$ travel u1on the waters. I said this was sensible0 but that when the mist lay u1on the land and not the water0 I did
=

Interestingly0 in both %rabic and *atin0 literally disease.

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not understand the reason $or any $ear. &o this the inter1reter re1lied0 &he $og is always $eared0 whenever it comes. %nd he said that it made no di$$erence0 on land or water0 according to the Northman view. %nd then he said to me the Northmen did not0 truly0 much $ear the mist. %lso the inter1reter said that he0 as a man0 did not $ear the mist. 'e said that it was only a minor matter0 o$ slight conse@uence. 'e said0 It is as a minor ache inside a limb 6oint0 which may come with $og0 but no more im1ortant. #y this I saw that my inter1reter0 among the others0 denied all manner o$ concern $or the $og0 and $eigned indi$$erence. Now it ha11ened that the mist did not li$t0 although it abated and became thin in the a$ter81art o$ the day; the sun a11eared as a circle in the sky0 but also it was so weak that I could look directly to its light. In this same day there arrived a Northman boat0 containing a noble o$ their own race. 'e was a young man with a thin beard0 and he traveled with only a small 1arty o$ 1ages and slaves0 and no women among them. &hus I believed he was no trader0 $or in this area the Northmen 1rinci1ally sell women. &his same visitor beached his boat0 and remained standing with it until night$all0 and no man came near to him0 or greeted him0 although he was a stranger and in 1lain sight to all. +y inter1reter saidE 'e is a kin o$ #uliwy$0 and will be received at the night ban@uet. I said0 7hy does he stay at his shi1F #ecause o$ the mist0 answered the inter1reter. It is the custom he must stand in view $or many hours0 so all can see him and know he is no enemy coming $rom the mist. &his the inter1reter said to me with much hesitation. %t the night ban@uet0 I saw the young man come into the hall. 'ere was he warmly greeted and with much dis1lay o$ sur1rise; and in this most es1ecially by #uliwy$0 who acted as i$ the young man had 6ust arrived0 and had not been standing by his shi1 many hours. %$ter the several greetings0 the youth s1oke a 1assionate s1eech0 which #uliwy$ attended with unusual interestE he did not drink and dally with the slave girls0 but instead in silence heard the youth0 who s1oke in a high and cracking voice. %t the $inish o$ the tale0 the youth seemed about to have tears0 and was given a cu1 o$ drink. I in@uired o$ my inter1reter what was said. 'ere was the re1lyE 'e is 7ul$gar0 and he is the son o$ othgar0 a great king in the North. 'e is kin o$ #uliwy$ and seeks his aid and su11ort on a hero;s mission. 7ul$gar says the $ar country su$$ers a dread and nameless terror0 which all the 1eo1les are 1owerless to o11ose0 and he asks #uliwy$ to make haste to return to the $ar country and save his 1eo1le and the kingdom o$ his $ather0 othgar. I in@uired o$ the inter1reter the nature o$ this terror. 'e said to me0 It has no name which I can tell.< &he inter1reter seemed much disturbed by 7ul$gar;s words0 and so also were many o$ the other Northmen. I saw on the countenance o$ #uliwy$ a dark and gloomy e/1ression. I in@uired o$ the inter1reter details o$ the menace. &he inter1reter said to meE &he name cannot be said0 $or it is $orbidden to s1eak it0 lest the utterance o$ the name call $orth the demons. %nd as he s1oke I saw that he was $ear$ul
<

&he 1erils o$ translation are demonstrated in this sentence. &he original %rabic o$ 9akut reads HPI and means literally &here is no name I can s1eak. &he Dymos manuscri1t em1loys the *atin verb dare0 with the meaning I cannot give it a name0 im1lying that the inter1reter does not know the correct word in a non8Norse tongue. &he a:i manuscri1t0 which also contains the inter1reter;s s1eeches in $uller detail0 uses the word edere0 with the meaning &here is no name that I can make known Lto youM. &his is the more correct translation. &he Northman is literally a$raid to say the word0 lest it call u1 demons. In *atin0 edere has the sense o$ giving birth to and calling u10 as well as its literal meaning0 to 1ut $orth. *ater 1aragra1hs con$irm this sense o$ the meaning.

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6ust to think u1on these matters0 and his 1allor was marked0 and so I ended my in@uiry. #uliwy$0 sitting at the high stone throne0 was silent. Verily the assembled earls and vassals and all the slaves and servants were silent0 also. No man in the hall s1oke. &he messenger 7ul$gar stood be$ore the com1any with his head bowed. Never had I seen the merry and rambunctious North 1eo1le so subdued. &hen into the hall entered the old crone called the angel o$ death0 and she sat beside #uliwy$. (rom a hide bag she withdrew some bonesGwhether human or animal I do not knowGand these bones she cast u1on the ground0 s1eaking low utterances0 and she 1assed her hand over them. &he bones were gathered u10 and cast again0 and the 1rocess re1eated with more incantations. Now again was the casting done0 and $inally she s1oke to #uliwy$. I asked the inter1reter the meaning o$ her s1eech0 but he did not attend me. &hen #uliwy$ stood and raised his cu1 o$ strong drink0 and called to the assembled earls and warriors0 making a s1eech o$ some good length. !ne by one0 several warriors stood at their 1laces to $ace him. Not all stood; I counted eleven0 and #uliwy$ 1ronounced himsel$ satis$ied with this. Now also I saw that &horkel a11eared much 1leased by the 1roceedings and assumed a more kingly bearing0 while #uliwy$ 1aid him no heed0 or showed any hatred o$ him0 or even any interest0 although they were $ormerly enemies a $ew minutes 1ast. &hen the angel o$ death0 this same crone0 1ointed to me and made some utterance0 and then she de1arted the hall. Now at last my inter1reter s1oke0 and he saidE #uliwy$ is called by the gods to leave this 1lace and swi$tly0 1utting behind him all his cares and concerns0 to act as a hero to re1el the menace o$ the North. &his is $itting0 and he must also take eleven warriors with him. %nd so0 also0 must he take you. I said that I was on a mission to the #ulgars0 and must $ollow the instructions o$ my .ali1h0 with no delay. &he angel o$ death has s1oken0 my inter1reter said. &he 1arty o$ #uliwy$ must be thirteen0 and o$ these one must be no Northman0 and so you shall be the thirteenth. I 1rotested I was not a warrior. Verily I made all the e/cuses and 1leadings that I could imagine might have e$$ect u1on this rude com1any o$ beings. I demanded that the inter1reter convey my words to #uliwy$0 and yet he turned away and le$t the hall0 saying this last s1eechE Pre1are yoursel$ as you think best. 9ou shall leave on the morning light. THE JOURNEY TO THE FAR COUNTRY IN &'I- +%NN" 7%- I P "V"N&") ( !+ .!N&IN,ING my travels to the kingdom o$ the 9iltawar0 King o$ the -a@aliba0 and thus was I unable to discharge the trust o$ al8+u@tadir0 .ommander o$ the (aith$ul and .ali1h o$ the .ity o$ Peace. I gave such instructions as I could to )adir al8'urami0 and also to the ambassador0 %bdallah ibn8#astu al8'a:ari0 and also to the 1ages &akin and #ars. &hen I took my leave o$ them0 and how they $ared $urther I never knew. (or mysel$0 I counted my condition no di$$erent $rom a dead man. I was on board one o$ the Northman vessels0 and sailing u1 the Volga iver0 northward0 with twelve o$ their com1any. &he others were named thusE #uliwy$0 the chie$0 his lieutenant or ca1tain0 "cthgow; his earls and nobles0 'iglak0
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-keld0 7eath0 oneth0 'alga; his warriors and brave $ighters0 'el$dane0 "dgtho0 ethel0 'alta$0 and 'erger.3 %nd also I was among them0 unable to s1eak their language or to understand their ways0 $or my inter1reter had been le$t behind. It was only ha11enstance and the grace o$ %llah that one o$ their warriors0 'erger0 should be a man o$ 1arts and knowing some o$ the *atin tongue. &hus I could understand $rom 'erger what meant the events that trans1ired. 'erger was a young warrior0 and very merry; he seemed to $ind 6est in everything0 and es1ecially in my own gloom at the de1arture. &hese Northmen are by their own accounting the best sailors in the world0 and I saw much love o$ the oceans and waters in their demeanor. !$ the shi1 there is thisE it was as long as twenty8$ive 1aces0 and as broad as eight and a little more than that0 and o$ e/cellent construction0 o$ oak wood. Its color was black at every 1lace. It was $itted with a s@uare sail o$ cloth and trimmed with sealskin ro1es. 5A &he helmsman stood u1on a small 1lat$orm near the stern and worked a rudder attached to the side o$ the vessel in the oman $ashion. &he shi1 was $itted with benches $or oars0 but never were the oars em1loyed; rather we 1rogressed by sailing alone. %t the head o$ the shi1 was the wooden carving o$ a $ierce sea monster0 such as a11ears on some Northman vessels; also there was a tail at the stern. In water this shi1 was stable and @uite 1leasant $or traveling0 and the con$idence o$ the warriors elevated my s1irits. Near the helmsman was a bed o$ skins arranged u1on a network o$ ro1es0 with a skin covering. &his was the bed o$ #uliwy$0 the other warriors sle1t u1on the deck here and there0 wra11ing skins about them0 and I did as much also. 7e traveled u1on the river $or three days0 1assing many small settlements at the edge o$ the water. %t none o$ these did we sto1. &hen we came u1on a large encam1ment in a bend in the river Volga. 'ere were many hundreds o$ 1eo1les0 and a town o$ good si:e0 and in the center o$ the town a kremlin0 or $ortress0 with earthen walls and all o$ im1ressive dimensions. I asked 'erger what was this 1lace. 'erger said to me0 &his is the city o$ #ulgar0 o$ the kingdom o$ the -a@aliba. &hat is the kremlin o$ the 9iltawar0 King o$ the -a@aliba. I re1lied0 &his is the very King I was sent to see as emissary $rom my .ali1h0 and with many entreaties I re@uested to be 1ut u1on the shore to do the mission o$ my .ali1h; also I demanded0 and made a show o$ anger0 to the e/tent that I dared. Verily the Northmen 1aid me no heed. 'erger would not re1ly to my re@uests and demands0 and $inally he laughed into my $ace0 and turned his attention to the sailing o$ the shi1. &hus the Northmen;s vessels sailed 1ast the city o$ #ulgar0 so close u1on the shore that I heard the shouts o$ merchants and the bleating o$ shee10 and yet I was hel1less and could do nothing0 save witness the sight with my eyes. %$ter the 1assing o$ an hour even this was re$used me0 $or the #ulgar city is at the bend o$ the river0 as I have said0 and soon absent $rom my view. &hus did I enter and leave #ulgaria. The reader ma% now 'e ho$elessl% confused a'out the geogra$h%* Modern 0ulgaria is one of the 0al#an states. it is 'ordered '% ?reece" >ugosla&ia" 6umania" and Tur#e%* 0ut from the ninth to the fifteenth centuries there was another 0ulgaria" on the 'an#s of
3

7ul$gar was le$t behind. 2ensen states the Northmen commonly held a messenger as hostage0 and this is why a11ro1riate messengers were the sons o$ kings0 or high nobles0 or other 1ersons who had some value to their own community0 thus making them $itting hostages. !la$ 2orgensen argues that 7ul$gar remained behind because he was a$raid to go back. 5A -ome early authors a11arently thought this meant that the sail was hemmed in ro1e; there are eighteenth8century drawings that show the Viking sails with ro1e borderings. &here is no evidence that this was the case; Ibn (adlan meant that the sails were trimmed in the nautical sense; i.e.0 angled to best catch the wind0 by the use o$ sealskin ro1es as halyards.

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the ,olga" roughl% 6 miles east of modern Moscow" and this is where !'n +adlan was heading* 0ulgaria on the ,olga was a loose-#nit #ingdom of some im$ortance" and its ca$ital cit%" 0ulgar" was famous and rich when the Mongols occu$ied it in 4*@* 1ABC* !t is generall% 'elie&ed that ,olga 0ulgaria and 0al#an 0ulgaria were $o$ulated '% related grou$s of immigrants mo&ing out from the region around the 0lac# 5ea during the $eriod 4*@* D -6 " 'ut little of su'stance is #nown* The old cit% of 0ulgar is in the region of modern Ea(an* &hen 1assed eight more days u1on the vessel0 still traveling the Volga iver0 and the land was more mountainous about the valley o$ the river. Now we came to another branching o$ the river0 where it is called by the Northmen the !ker iver0 and here we took the le$tmost branch and continued on $or ten days $arther. &he air was chill and the wind strong0 and much snow lay still u1on the ground. &hey have many great $orests also in this region0 which the Northmen call Vada. &hen we came to a cam1 o$ North 1eo1le which was +assborg. &his was hardly a town but a cam1 o$ a $ew wooden houses0 built large in the North $ashion; and this town lives by sale o$ $oodstu$$ to traders who come back and $orth along this route. %t +assborg we le$t our vessel0 and traveled overland by horse $or eighteen days. &his was a di$$icult mountain region0 and e/ceedingly cold0 and I was much e/hausted by the rigors o$ the 6ourney. &hese North 1eo1le never travel at night. Nor do they o$ten sail at night0 but 1re$er every evening to beach their shi1 and await the light o$ dawn be$ore continuing $arther. 9et this was the occurrenceE during our travels0 the 1eriod o$ the night became so short you could not cook a 1ot o$ meat in the time o$ it. Verily it seemed that as soon as I lay down to slee1 I was awakened by the Northmen who said0 .ome0 it is day0 we must continue the 6ourney. Nor was the slee1 re$reshing in these cold 1laces. %lso0 'erger e/1lained to me that in this North country the day is long in the summer0 and the night is long in the winter0 and rarely are they e@ual. &hen he said to me I should watch in the night $or the sky curtain; and u1on one evening I did0 and I saw in the sky shimmering 1ale lights0 o$ green and yellow and sometimes blue0 which hung as a curtain in the high air. I was much ama:ed by the sight o$ this sky curtain but the Northmen count it nothing strange. Now we traveled $or $ive days down $rom the mountains0 into a region o$ $orests. &he $orests o$ the Northlands are cold and dense with gigantic trees. It is a wet and chilling land0 in some locations so green that the eyes ache $rom the brightness o$ the color; yet in other locations it is black and dark and menacing. Now we traveled seven days $arther0 through the $orests0 and we e/1erienced much rain. !$ten it is the nature o$ this rain that it $alls with such thickness as to be o11ressive; u1on one time or another I thought I might drown0 so much was the very air $illed with water. %t other 1eriods0 when the wind blew the rain0 it was as a sandstorm0 stinging the $lesh and burning the eyes0 and blinding the vision. 1oming from a desert region" !'n +adlan would naturall% 'e im$ressed '% the lush green colors" and the a'undant rainfall* &hese Northmen $eared no robbers in the $orests0 and whether $rom their own great strength or the lack o$ any bandits0 in truth we saw no one in the $orests. &he North
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country has $ew 1eo1le o$ any sort0 or so it a11eared during my so6ourn there. 7e o$ten traveled seven days0 or ten0 without viewing any settlement or $arm or dwelling. &he manner o$ our 6ourney was thisE in the morning we arose0 and lacking any ablutions0 mounted u1on our horses and rode until the middle o$ the day. &hen one or another o$ the warriors would hunt some game0 a small animal or a bird. I$ it was raining0 this $ood would be consumed without cooking. It rained many days0 and in the $irst instance I chose not to eat the raw $lesh0 which also was not da'ah Lritually slaughteredM0 but a$ter a 1eriod I also ate0 saying @uietly in the name o$ God under my breath0 and trusting to God that my 1redicament should be understood. I$ it was not raining0 a $ire was lit with a small ember that was carried with the 1arty0 and the $ood cooked. %lso we ate berries and grasses0 the names o$ which I do not know. &hen we traveled $or the a$ter81art o$ each day0 which was considerable0 until the coming o$ night0 when again we rested0 and ate. +any times at night it rained0 and we sought shelter beneath large trees0 yet we arose drenched0 and our slee1ing skins drenched likewise. &he Northmen did not grumble at this0 $or they are cheer$ul at all times; I alone grumbled0 and mightily. &hey 1aid me no attention. (inally I said to 'erger0 &he rain is cold. &o this he laughed. 'ow can the rain be coldF he said. 9ou are cold and you are unha11y. &he rain is not cold or unha11y. I saw that he believed this $oolishness0 and truly thought me $oolish to think otherwise0 and yet I did. Now it ha11ened that one night0 while we ate0 I said over my $ood in the name o$ God0 and #uliwy$ in@uired o$ 'erger what it was I said. I told to 'erger that I believed $ood must be consecrated0 and so I did this according to my belie$s. #uliwy$ said to me0 &his is the way o$ the %rabsF 'erger was the translator. I made this re1lyE No0 $or in truth he who kills the $ood must make the consecration. I s1eak the words so as to be not $orget$ul.55 &his the Northmen $ound a reason $or humor. &hey laughed heartily. &hen #uliwy$ said to me0 .an you draw soundsF I did not com1rehend his meaning0 and in@uired o$ 'erger0 and there was some talking back and $orth0 and $inally I understood he meant writing. &he Northmen call the s1eech o$ %rabs noise or sound. I re1lied to #uliwy$ that I could write0 and also read. 'e said that I should write $or him u1on the ground. In the light o$ the evening $ire0 I took a stick and wrote0 Praise be to God. %ll the Northmen looked at the writing. I was commanded to s1eak what it said0 and this I did. Now #uliwy$ stared at the writing $or a long 1eriod0 his head sunk u1on his chest. 'erger said to me0 7hich God do you 1raiseF I answered that I 1raised the one God whose name was %llah. 'erger said0 !ne God cannot be enough. Now we traveled another day0 and 1assed another night0 and then another day. %nd on the ne/t evening0 #uliwy$ took a stick and drew in the earth what I had $ormerly drawn0 and commanded me to read. I s1oke aloud the wordsE Praise be to God. %t this0 #uliwy$ was satis$ied0 and I saw that he had contrived a test o$ me0 1lacing in his memory the symbols I had drawn0 to
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&his is a ty1ically +uslim sentiment. ,nlike .hristianity0 a religion which in many ways it resembles0 Islam does not em1hasi:e a conce1t o$ original sin arising $rom the $all o$ man. -in $or a +uslim is $orget$ulness in carrying out the 1rescribed daily rituals o$ the religion. %s a corollary0 it is a more serious o$$ense to $orget the ritual entirely than to remember the ritual and yet $ail to carry it out either through e/tenuating circumstances or 1ersonal inade@uacy. &hus Ibn (adlan is saying0 in e$$ect0 that he is mind$ul o$ 1ro1er conduct even though he is not acting according to it; this is better than nothing.

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show them to me again. Now "cthgow0 the lieutenant or ca1tain o$ #uliwy$0 and a warrior less merry than the others0 a stern man0 s1oke to me through the inter1reter0 'erger. 'erger said0 "cthgow wishes to know i$ you can draw the sound o$ his name. I said that I could0 and I took u1 the stick0 and began to draw in the dirt. %t once "cthgow lea1t u10 $lung away the stick0 and stam1ed out my writing. 'e s1oke angry words. 'erger said to me; "cthgow does not wish you to draw his name at any time0 and this you must 1romise. 'ere I was 1er1le/ed0 and I saw that "cthgow was angry with me in the e/treme. -o also were the others staring at me with concern and anger. I 1romised to 'erger that I would not draw the name o$ "cthgow0 or o$ any o$ the others. %t this they were all relieved. %$ter this0 no more was my writing discussed0 but #uliwy$ gave certain instructions0 and whenever it rained I was always directed to the largest tree0 and I was given more $ood than be$ore. Not always did we slee1 in the $orests0 nor did we always ride through the $orests. %t the border o$ some $orests0 #uliwy$ and his warriors would 1lunge $orward0 riding at a gallo1 through the dense trees0 without a care or a thought o$ $ear. %nd then again0 at other $orests he would draw u1 and 1ause0 and the warriors would dismount and burn a $ire and make some o$$ering o$ $ood or a $ew sheets o$ hard bread0 or a kerchie$ o$ cloth0 be$ore continuing $arther. %nd then they would ride around the edge o$ the $orest0 never entering its de1ths. I in@uired o$ 'erger why this should be. 'e said that some $orests were sa$e and some were not0 but did not e/1lain $urther. I asked him0 7hat is not sa$e in the $orests that are 6udged soF 'e made this re1lyE &here are things that no man can con@uer0 and no sword can kill0 and no $ire can burn0 and such things are in the $orests. I said0 'ow is this known to beF %t this he laughed and said0 9ou %rabs always wish to have reasons $or everything. 9our hearts are a great bursting bag o$ reasons. I said0 %nd you do not care $or reasonsF It avails you nothing. 7e sayE % man should be moderately wise0 but not overwise0 lest he know his $ate in advance. &he man whose mind is most $ree o$ care does not know his $ate in advance. Now0 I saw that I must be content with his answer. (or it was true that u1on one occasion or another0 I would make some manner o$ in@uiry0 and 'erger would re1ly0 and i$ I did not com1rehend his answer0 I would ask $urther0 and he would re1ly $urther. 9et again0 when I made o$ him an in@uiry0 he would re1ly in short $ashion0 as i$ the in@uiry were o$ no substance. %nd then I would have nothing $urther $rom him0 save a shaking o$ his head. Now we continued on. Verily0 I can say that some o$ the $orests in the wild North country do 1rovoke a $eeling o$ $ear0 $or which I cannot account. %t night0 sitting about the $ire0 the Northmen told stories o$ dragons and $ierce beasts0 and also o$ their ancestors who had slain these creatures. &hese0 they said0 were the source o$ my $ear. #ut they told the stories with no show o$ $ear0 and o$ such beasts0 I saw nothing with my own eyes. !ne night I heard a grumbling that I took to be thunder0 but they said it was the growl o$ a dragon in the $orest. I do not know what is the truth0 and re1ort now only what was said to me.
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&he North country is cold and wet and the sun is seldom seen0 $or the sky is gray with thick clouds all the day. &he 1eo1le o$ this region are 1ale as linen0 and their hair is very $air. %$ter so many days o$ travel0 I saw no dark 1eo1le at all0 and indeed I was marveled at by the inhabitants o$ that region on account o$ my skin and dark hair. +any times a $armer or his wi$e or daughter would come $orth to touch me with a stroking motion; 'erger laughed and said they were trying to brush away the color0 thinking it to be 1ainted u1on my $lesh. &hey are ignorant 1eo1le with no knowledge o$ the wideness o$ the world. +any times they $eared me0 and would not a11roach me close. %t one 1lace0 I do not know the name0 a child cried out in0 terror and ran to cling to his mother when he saw me. %t this0 the warriors o$ #uliwy$ laughed with great merriment. #ut now I observed this thingE with the 1assing o$ the days0 the warriors o$ #uliwy$ ceased to laugh0 and $ell into an ill humor0 more each day. 'erger said to me they were thinking o$ drink0 o$ which we had been de1rived $or many days. %t each $arm or dwelling0 #uliwy$ and his warriors asked $or drink0 but in these 1oor 1laces there was o$ten no li@uor0 and they were sorely disa11ointed0 until at last there was no trace o$ cheer$ulness about them. %t length we arrived at a village0 and there the warriors $ound drink0 and all o$ the Northmen became into/icated in a moment0 drinking in raucous $ashion0 heedless that the li@uor 1oured over their chins and clothing in their haste. In truth0 one o$ the com1any0 the solemn warrior "cthgow0 was so demented $rom li@uor that he was drunk while still u1on his horse0 and $ell attem1ting to dismount. Now the horse kicked him in the head0 and I $eared $or his sa$ety0 but "cthgow laughed and kicked the horse back. 7e remained in this village the s1ace o$ two days. I was much ama:ed0 $or 1reviously the warriors had shown great haste and 1ur1ose in their 6ourney0 yet all was now abandoned to drink and stu1orous slumber. &hen u1on the third day0 #uliwy$ directed that we should continue0 and the warriors 1roceeded0 I among them0 and they accounted the loss o$ two days nothing strange. 'ow many days $urther we traveled I am not certain. I know that $ive times we changed horses $or $resh mounts0 1aying $or these in the villages with gold and with the little green shells that the Northmen value more highly than any other ob6ects in the world. %nd at length we came to a village o$ the name *enneborg0 situated by the sea. &he sea was gray0 and likewise the sky0 and the air was cold and bitter. 'ere we took another vessel. &his shi1 was in a11earance similar to the one 1revious0 but larger. It was called by the Northmen Hos'o#un0 which means sea goat0 $or the reason that the shi1 bucks the waves as a goat bucks. %nd also $or the reason that the vessel was swi$t0 $or among these 1eo1le the goat is the animal that means swi$tness to them. I was a$raid to go u1on this sea0 $or the water was rough and very cold; a man;s hand 1lunged into that sea would lack all $eeling in an instant0 it was so dire cold. %nd yet the Northmen were cheer$ul0 and 6oked and drank $or an evening in this sea village o$ *enneborg0 and dis1orted themselves with many o$ the women and slave girls. &his0 I was told0 is the Northmen;s custom be$ore a sea voyage0 $or no man knows i$ he shall survive the 6ourney0 and thus he de1arts with e/cessive revelry. In every 1lace we were greeted with great hos1itality0 $or that is considered a virtue by these 1eo1le. &he 1oorest $armer would set all he had be$ore us0 and this without $ear that we would kill or rob him0 but only out o$ goodness and grace. &he Northmen0 I learned0 do not countenance robbers or killers o$ their own race0 and treat such men harshly. &hese belie$s they hold des1ite the truth o$ the matter0 which is that they are always drunk and
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brawling like unreasoning animals0 and killing each other in hot duels. 9et they do not see this as murder0 and any man who murders will be himsel$ killed. In the same way0 they treat their slaves with much kindness0 which was a wonder to me.54 I$ a slave turns ill0 or dies in some misha10 it is not counted any great loss; and women who are slaves must be ready at any time $or the ministrations o$ any man0 in 1ublic or in 1rivate0 day or night. &here is no a$$ection $or the slaves0 and yet there is no brutality $or them0 either0 and they are always $ed and clothed by their masters. (urther I learned thisE that any man may en6oy a slave0 but that the wi$e o$ the lowest $armer is res1ected by the chie$s and earls o$ the Northmen0 as they res1ect the wives o$ each other. &o $orce attention on a $reeborn woman who is not a slave is a crime0 and I was told that a man would be hanged $or it0 although I never saw this. .hastity among women is said to be a great virtue0 but seldom did I see it 1racticed0 $or adultery is not accounted as any great matter0 and i$ the wi$e o$ any man0 low or high0 is lusty0 the outcome is not thought remarkable. &hese 1eo1le are very $ree in such matters0 and the men o$ the North say that women are devious and cannot be trusted; to this they a11ear resigned0 and s1eak o$ it with their usual cheer$ul demeanor. I in@uired o$ 'erger i$ he was married0 and he said that he had a wi$e. I in@uired with all discretion i$ she were chaste0 and he laughed in my $ace and said to meE I sail u1on the seas0 and I may never return0 or I may be absent many years. +y wi$e is not dead. (rom this0 I took the meaning that she was un$aith$ul to him0 and he did not care. &he Northmen do not consider any o$$s1ring a bastard i$ the mother be a wi$e. &he children o$ slaves are slaves sometimes0 and $ree sometimes; how this is decided I do not know. In some regions0 slaves are marked by a cro1 o$ the ear. In other regions0 slaves wear a neckband o$ iron to signi$y their 1lace. In other regions0 slaves have no markings0 $or that is the local custom. Pederasty is not known among the Northmen0 although they say that other 1eo1les 1ractice it; they themselves claim no interest in the matter0 and since it does not occur among them0 they have no 1unishment $or it. %ll this and more I learned $rom my talking with 'erger0 and $rom witnessing the travels o$ our 1arty. (urther I saw that in each 1lace where we rested0 the 1eo1le in@uired o$ #uliwy$ what @uest he had undertaken0 and when they were in$ormed o$ its natureGthat which I did not yet com1rehendGhe and his warriors0 and I among them0 were accorded the highest res1ect0 receiving their 1rayers and sacri$ices and tokens o$ good wishes. %t sea0 as I have said0 the Northmen become ha11y and 6ubilant0 although the ocean was rough and $orbidding to my way o$ thinking0 and also to my stomach0 which $elt most delicate and unsettled. Indeed I 1urged mysel$0 and then asked 'erger why his com1anions were so ha11y. 'erger said0 It is because we shall soon be at the home o$ #uliwy$0 the 1lace known as 9atlam0 where live his $ather and his mother and all his relatives0 and he has not seen them $or many long years. &o this I said0 %re we not going to 7ul$gar;s landF 'erger re1lied0 9es0 but it is $itting that #uliwy$ must 1ay homage to his $ather and also to his mother.
54

!ther eyewitness accounts disagree with Ibn (adlan;s descri1tion o$ the treatment o$ slaves and adultery0 and there$ore some authorities @uestion his reliability as a social observer. In $act there was 1robably substantial local variation0 $rom tribe to tribe0 in the acce1ted treatment o$ slaves and un$aith$ul wives.

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I saw by their $aces that all the other earls0 nobles0 and warriors were ha11y as #uliwy$ himsel$. I asked 'erger why this was so. #uliwy$ is our chie$0 and we are ha11y $or him0 and $or the 1ower that he will soon have. I in@uired what was this 1ower o$ which he s1oke. &he 1ower o$ unding0 'erger answered me. 7hat 1ower is thatF I in@uired0 to which he made this re1lyE &he 1ower o$ the ancients0 the 1ower o$ the giants. &he Northmen believe that in ages 1ast the world was 1o1ulated by a race o$ giant men0 who have since vanished. &he Northmen do not count themselves the descendants o$ these giants0 but they have received some o$ the 1owers o$ these ancient giants0 in such ways as I do not understand well. &hese heathens also believe in many gods0 who are also themselves giants0 and who also have 1ower. #ut the giants o$ which 'erger s1oke were giant men0 and not gods0 or so it seemed to me. &hat night we breached u1on a rocky shore0 made o$ stones the si:e o$ a man;s $ist0 and there #uliwy$ encam1ed with his men0 and long into the night they drank and sang around the $ire. 'erger 6oined in the celebration and had no 1atience to e/1lain to me the meanings o$ the songs0 and so I do not know what they sang0 but they were ha11y. !n the morrow they would come to the home o$ #uliwy$0 the land called 9atlam. 7e le$t be$ore the $irst $ight o$ dawn0 and it was so cold my bones ached0 and my body was sore $rom the rocky beach0 and we set out u1on the raging sea and the blasting wind. (or all the morning we sailed0 and during this 1eriod the e/citement o$ the men increased $urther until they became like children or women. It was a wonder to me to see these huge strong warriors giggle and laugh like the .ali1h;s harem0 and yet they saw nothing unmanly in this. &here was a 1oint o$ land0 a high rocky outcro1 o$ gray stone above the gray sea0 and beyond this 1oint0 'erger told me0 would be the town o$ 9atlam. I strained to see this $abled home o$ #uliwy$ as the Northmen;s vessel came around the cli$$. &he warriors laughed and cheered more loudly0 and I gathered there were many rude 6okes and 1lans $or s1ort with women when they landed. %nd then there was the smell o$ smoke on the sea0 and we saw smoke0 and all the men $ell silent. %s we came around the 1oint0 I saw with my own eyes that the town there was in smoldering $lames and billowing black smoke. &here was no sign o$ li$e. #uliwy$ and his warriors landed and walked the town o$ 9atlam. &here were dead bodies o$ men and women and children0 some consumed by $lames0 some hacked by swordsGa multitude o$ cor1ses. #uliwy$ and the warriors did not s1eak and yet even here there was no grie$0 no crying and sadness. Never have I seen a race that acce1ts death as the Northmen do. I mysel$ was sick many times at the sights0 and they were never so. %t last I said to 'erger0 7ho has done thisF 'erger 1ointed in to the land0 to the $orests and the hills set back $rom the gray ocean. &here were mists over the $orests. 'e 1ointed and did not s1eak. I said to him0 Is it the mistsF 'e said to me0 )o not ask more. 9ou will know sooner than you wish. Now this ha11enedE #uliwy$ entered one smoking ruined house and returned to our com1any bearing a sword. &his sword was very large and heavy0 and so heated by the $ire that he carried it with a cloth wra11ed around the handle. Verily I say it was the largest sword I have ever seen. It was as long as my own body and the blade was $lat and broad as the 1alms o$ two men;s hands set side by side. It was so large and heavy that even #uliwy$ grunted at the carrying o$ it. I asked 'erger what was the sword0 and he said0 &hat is unding0 and then #uliwy$ ordered all his 1arty to the boat0 and we set out to sea again.
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None o$ the warriors looked back at the burning town o$ 9atlam; I alone did this0 and I saw the smoking ruin0 and the mists in the hills beyond. THE ENCAMPMENT AT TRELBURG (! &'" -P%." !( &7! )%9- 7" -%I*") %*!NG % (*%& coast among many islands that are called the land o$ )ans0 coming $inally to a region o$ marsh with a crisscross o$ narrow rivers that 1our onto the sea. &hese rivers have no names themselves but are each one called wyk0 and the 1eo1les o$ the narrow rivers are called wykings0 which means the Northmen warriors who sail their shi1s u1 the rivers and attack settlements in such $ashion.5> Now in this marshy region we sto11ed at a 1lace they called &relburg0 which was a wonder to me. 'ere is no town0 but rather a military cam10 and its 1eo1le are warriors0 with $ew women or children among them. &he de$enses o$ this cam1 o$ &relburg are constructed with great care and skill o$ workmanshi1 in the oman $ashion. &relburg lies at the 6oining 1oint o$ two wyks0 which then run to the sea. &he main 1art o$ the town is encircled by a round earthwork wall0 as tall as $ive men standing one ato1 the other. %bove this earthen ring there stands a wooden $ence $or greater 1rotection. !utside the earthen ring there is a ditch $illed with water0 the de1th I do not know. &hese earthworks are e/cellently made0 o$ a symmetry and @uality to rival anything we know. %nd there is this $urtherE on the landward side o$ the town0 a second semicircle o$ high wall0 and a second ditch beyond. &he town itsel$ lies within the inner ring0 which is broken by $our gates0 $acing the $our corners o$ the earth. "ach gate is barred by strong oaken doors with heavy $ittings o$ iron0 and many guards. +any guards also walk the ram1arts0 kee1ing watch day and night. Inside the town stand si/teen wooden dwellings0 all the sameE they are long houses0 $or so the Northmen call them0 with walls that curve so that they resemble overturned boats with the ends cut $lat $ront and back. In length they are thirty 1aces0 and wider in the middle 1ortion than either end. &hey are arranged thusE $our long houses 1recisely set0 so as to $orm a s@uare. (our s@uares are arranged to make si/teen houses in all.5? "very long house has but one entrance0 and no house has its entrance within sight o$ another. I in@uired why this was so0 and 'erger said thusE I$ the cam1 is attacked0 the men. must run to de$ense0 and the doorways are such that the men can hasten without mingling and con$usion0 but on the contrary each man can 1roceed $reely to the task o$ de$ense. &hus it is within the s@uare that one house has a north door0 the ne/t house an east door0 the ne/t house a south door0 the ne/t house a west door; so also each o$ the $our s@uares. &hen also I saw that while the Northmen are gigantic0 these doorways were so low that even I must bend in two to enter one o$ the houses. I in@uired o$ 'erger0 who saidE I$ we are attacked0 a single warrior may remain inside the house0 and with his sword cut o$$ the heads o$ all who enter. &he door is low so that heads will be bent $or cutting. Verily0 I saw that in all res1ects the &relburg town was constructed $or war$are and $or
5>

&here is some dis1ute among modern scholars about the origin o$ the term Viking0 but most agree with Ibn (adlan0 that it derives $rom vik0 meaning a creek or narrow river. 5? &he accuracy o$ Ibn (adlan;s re1orting is con$irmed here by direct archaeological evidence. In 53?< the military site o$ &relleborg0 in western Nealand in )enmark0 was e/cavated. &he site corres1onds e/actly to Ibn (adlan;s descri1tion o$ the si:e0 nature0 and structure o$ the settlement.

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de$ense. No trading is conducted here at all0 as I have said. Inside the long houses0 there are three sections or rooms0 each with a door. &he center room is the largest0 and it also has a 1it $or rubbish. Now I saw that the &relburg 1eo1le were not as the Northmen along the Volga. &hese were clean 1eo1le $or their race. &hey washed in the river0 and relieved their waste out o$ doors0 and were in all ways much su1erior to what I had known. 9et they are not truly clean0 e/ce1t in com1arison. &he society o$ &relburg is mostly men0 and the women are all slaves. &here are no wives among the women0 and all women are taken $reely as the men desire. &he 1eo1le o$ &relburg live on $ish0 and some little bread; they do no agriculture or $arming0 although the marshlands surrounding the town contain areas suitable $or growing. I asked o$ 'erger why there was no agriculture0 and he said to me0 &hese are warriors. &hey do not till the soil. #uliwy$ and his com1any were graciously received by the chie$s o$ &relburg0 who are several0 $oremost among them one who is called -agard. -agard is a strong and $ierce man0 almost as huge as #uliwy$ himsel$. )uring the night ban@uet0 -agard in@uired o$ #uliwy$ his mission and the reasons $or his travels0 and #uliwy$ re1orted o$ the su11lication o$ 7ul$gar. 'erger translated all $or me0 although in truth I had s1ent su$$icient time among these heathens to learn a word or two in their tongue. 'ere is the meaning o$ the conversation o$ -agard and #uliwy$. -agard s1oke thusE It is sensible $or 7ul$gar to carry out the errand o$ a messenger0 though he is the son o$ the King othgar0 $or the several sons o$ othgar have set u1on one another. #uliwy$ said that he did not know o$ this0 or words to that meaning. #ut I 1erceived that he was not greatly sur1rised. 9et it is true that #uliwy$ was seldom sur1rised by any thing. -uch was his role as leader o$ the warriors and hero to them. -agard s1oke againE Indeed0 othgar had $ive sons0 and three are dead at the hand o$ one o$ them0 7igli$0 a cunning man05C whose cons1irator in this a$$air is the herald o$ the old King. !nly 7ul$gar remains $aith$ul0 and he has de1arted. #uliwy$ said to -agard that he was glad to know o$ this news0 and would hold it in his mind0 and there the conversation ended. Never did #uliwy$ or any o$ his warriors show sur1rise at the words o$ -agard0 and $rom this I took that it is ordinary $or the sons o$ a king to dis1ose o$ one another to gain the throne. %lso it is true that $rom time to time a son may murder his $ather the king to gain the throne0 and this is likewise counted nothing remarkable0 $or the Northmen see it the same as any drunken brawl among warriors. &he Northmen have a 1roverb which is *ook to your back0 and they believe that a man must always be 1re1ared to de$end himsel$0 even a $ather against his own son. ,1on our de1arture0 I in@uired o$ 'erger why there should be another $orti$ication on the landward side o$ &relburg0 and yet no such additional $orti$ication on the seaward side. &hese Northmen are sea$aring men who attack $rom the sea0 and yet 'erger said0 It is the land that is dangerous. I asked o$ him0 7hy is the land dangerousF %nd he re1lied0 #ecause o$ the mists.
5C

*iterally0 a two8handed man. %s will be clear later0 the Northmen were ambide/trous in $ighting0 and to shi$t wea1ons $rom one hand to another was considered an admirable trick. &hus a two8handed man is cunning. % related meaning was once attached to the word shi$ty0 which now means deceit$ul and evasive0 but $ormerly had a more 1ositive sense o$ resource$ul0 $ull o$ maneuvers.

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,1on our de1arture $rom &relburg0 the warriors assembled there beat their staves u1on their shields0 raising a loud noise $or our shi1 which set sail. &his0 I was told0 was to draw the attention o$ !din0 one o$ the number o$ their gods0 so that this !din would look with $avor u1on the 6ourney o$ #uliwy$ and his twelve men. %lso0 this I learnedE that the number thirteen is signi$icant to the Norsemen0 because the moon grows and dies thirteen times in the 1assage o$ one year0 by their reckoning. (or this reason0 all im1ortant accountings must include the number thirteen. &hus 'erger said to me that the number o$ dwellings in &relburg was thirteen and also three more0 instead o$ si/teen0 as I have e/1ressed it. (urther0 I learned that these Northmen have some notion that the year does not $it with e/actitude into thirteen 1assages o$ the moon0 and thus the number thirteen is not stable and $i/ed in their minds. &he thirteenth 1assage is called magical and $oreign0 and 'erger says0 &hus $or the thirteenth man you were chosen as $oreign. Verily these Northmen are su1erstitious0 with no recourse to sense or reason or law. &hey seemed to my eyes to be $ierce children0 and yet I was among them0 and so held my tongue. -oon enough I was glad $or my discretion0 $or these events $ollowedE 7e were sailing some time $rom &relburg when I recalled that never 1reviously had the inhabitants o$ a town made a de1arture ceremony with beating o$ shields to call u1 !din. I s1oke as much to 'erger. It is true0 he res1onded. &here is a s1ecial reason $or the call to !din0 $or we are now u1on the sea o$ monsters. &his seemed to me 1roo$ o$ their su1erstition. I in@uired i$ any o$ the warriors had ever seen such monsters. Indeed0 we have all seen them0 'erger said. 7hy else should we know o$ themF #y the tone o$ his voice0 I could recogni:e that he thought me a $ool $or my disbelie$. -ome $urther time 1assed0 when there was a shout0 and all the warriors o$ #uliwy$ stood 1ointing to the sea0 watching0 shouting amongst themselves. I asked 'erger what had ha11ened. 7e are among the monsters now0 he said0 1ointing. Now the ocean in this region is most turbulent. &he wind blows with $ierce $orce0 turning the curls o$ the sea white with $oam0 s1itting water into the $ace o$ a sailor0 and 1laying tricks with his sight. I watched the sea $or many minutes and had no view o$ this sea monster0 and I had no reason to believe what they said. &hen one o$ their number shouted to !din0 a scream o$ 1rayer0 re1eating the name many times in su11lication0 and then I also saw with my own eyes the sea monster. It was in the sha1e o$ a giant snake that never raised its head above the sur$ace0 yet I saw its body curl and twist over0 and it was very long0 and wider than the Northmen;s boat0 and black in color. &he sea monster s1at water into the air0 like a $ountain0 and then 1lunged down0 raising a tail that was cle$t in two0 like the $orked tongue o$ a snake. 9et it was enormous0 each section o$ the tail being broader than the largest 1alm $rond. Now I saw another monster0 and another0 and another a$ter that; there a11eared to be $our and 1erha1s si/ or seven. "ach behaved as his $ellows0 curving through the water0 s1itting Q $ountain0 and raising a giant tail s1lit in two. %t the sight0 the Northmen shouted to !din $or aid0 and not a $ew o$ their number $ell to their knees on the deck trembling. Verily I saw with my own eyes the sea monsters all about us in the ocean0 and then0 a$ter some time had 1assed0 they were gone and we did not see them again. &he warriors o$ #uliwy$ resumed their sailing e$$orts0 and no man s1oke o$ the monsters0 but I was much a$raid long a$terward0 and 'erger told me that my $ace was white as the $ace o$ a North
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1erson0 and he laughed. 7hat does %llah say to thisF he asked o$ me0 and to that I had no answer.5B In the evening0 we beached and made a $ire0 and I in@uired o$ 'erger i$ the sea monsters ever attacked a shi1 on the sea0 and i$ so0 what was the manner o$ it0 $or I had seen the heads o$ none o$ these monsters. 'erger answered by calling "cthgow0 one o$ the nobles and the lieutenant o$ #uliwy$. "cthgow was a solemn warrior who was not merry e/ce1t when drunk. 'erger said that he had been on a shi1 that was attacked. "cthgow said this to meE that the sea monsters are larger than anything on the sur$ace o$ the land0 and larger than any shi1 on the sea0 and when they attack they ride under a shi1 and li$t it in the air0 and toss it aside like a bit o$ wood0 and crush it with their $orked tongue. "cthgow said that there had been thirty men on his shi10 and only he and two others beside had survived0 by the graciousness o$ the gods. "cthgow s1oke in an ordinary manner o$ talking0 which $or him was very serious0 and I believed him to be s1eaking the truth. %lso "cthgow told me that the Northmen know that the monsters attack shi1s because they desire to mate with the shi10 mistaking it $or one o$ their own. (or this reason0 the Northmen do not build their shi1s over8large. 'erger said to me that "cthgow is a great warrior renowned in battle0 and that he is to be believed in all things. (or the ne/t two days0 we sailed among the islands o$ the )an country0 and then on the third day we crossed a 1assage o$ o1en water. 'ere I was a$raid to see more o$ the sea monsters0 but we did not0 and eventually arrived at the territory called Venden. &hese lands o$ Venden are mountainous and $orbidding0 and the men o$ #uliwy$ in his boat a11roached with some tre1idation and the killing o$ a hen0 which was thrown into the ocean thusE the head was thrown $rom the bow o$ the shi10 and the body o$ the hen was thrown $rom the stern0 near the helmsman. 7e did not beach directly on this new land o$ Venden0 but sailed along the coast0 coming at last to the kingdom o$ othgar. I $irst saw it thus. 'igh u1on a cli$$0 commanding a view o$ the raging gray sea0 was a huge great hall o$ wood0 strong and im1osing. I said to 'erger it was a magni$icent sight0 but 'erger and all his com1any0 led by #uliwy$0 were groaning and shaking their heads. I in@uired o$ 'erger why this was so. 'e said0 othgar is called othgar the Vain0 and his great hall is the mark o$ a vain man. I said0 7hy do you s1eak thusF #ecause o$ its si:e and s1lendorF (or verily0 as we came closer0 I saw that the hall was richly ornamented with carvings and silver chasing0 which s1arkled $rom a distance. No0 said 'erger. I say that othgar is vain because o$ the way he has 1laced his settlement. 'e dares the gods to strike him down0 and he 1retends he is more than a man0 and so he is 1unished. Never have I seen a more im1regnable great hall0 and I said to 'erger0 &his hall cannot be attacked; how can othgar be struck downF 'erger laughed at me0 and said thusE 9ou %rabs are stu1id beyond counting0 and know nothing o$ the ways o$ the world. othgar deserves the mis$ortune that has come to him0 and it is only we who shall save him0 and 1erha1s not even so.
5B

&his account o$ what is obviously a sighting o$ whales is dis1uted by many scholars. It a11ears in the manuscri1t o$ a:i as it is here0 but in -6ogren;s translation it is much brie$er0 and in it the Northmen are shown as 1laying an elaborate 6oke u1on the %rab. &he Northmen knew about whales and distinguished them $rom sea monsters0 according to -6ogren. !ther scholars0 including 'assan0 doubt that Ibn (adlan could be unaware o$ the e/istence o$ whales0 as he a11ears to be here.

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&hese words 1u::led me $urther. I looked at "cthgow0 the lieutenant o$ #uliwy$0 and saw that he stood in the boat and made a brave $ace0 and yet his knees trembled0 and it was not the sti$$ness o$ the wind that made them tremble so. 'e was a$raid; they were all a$raid; and I did not know why. THE KINGDOM OF ROTHGAR IN THE LAND OF VENDEN &'" -'IP 7%- #"%.'") %& &'" &I+" !( &'" a$ternoon 1rayer0 and I begged the $orgiveness o$ %llah $or not making su11lication. 9et I had not been able to do so in the 1resence o$ the Northmen0 who thought my 1rayers to be a curse u1on them0 and threatened to kill me i$ I 1rayed in their sight. "ach warrior in the boat dressed in the garments o$ battle0 which were thusE $irst0 boots and leggings o$ rough wool0 and over this a coat o$ heavy $ur0 which reached to the knees. !ver this they 1laced coats o$ mail0 which all had save me. &hen each man took his sword and clas1ed it to his belt; each man took u1 his white shield o$ hide0 and his s1ear; each man 1laced a helmet o$ metal or leather u1on his head; 5= in this all the men were the same e/ce1t $or #uliwy$0 who alone carried his sword in his hand0 so large was it. &he warriors looked u1 to the great hall o$ othgar0 and marveled at its gleaming roo$ and skilled workmanshi10 and agreed that there was none like it in the world0 with its lo$ty gables and rich carving. 9et there was no res1ect in their s1eech. %t length we decam1ed $rom the shi10 and traveled a road 1aved in stone u1 to the great hall. &he clanking o$ swords and the clatter o$ mail raised a goodly noise. %$ter we had gone some short distance0 we saw by the roadway the severed head o$ an o/0 set u1on a stick. &his animal was $reshly killed. %ll the Northmen sighed and made sad $aces at this 1ortent0 though it had no meaning to me. I was by now ad6usted to their custom o$ killing some beast at the slightest nervousness or 1rovocation. 9et this o/head had es1ecial signi$icance. #uliwy$ looked away0 across the $ields o$ the lands o$ othgar0 and saw there an isolated $arming house0 o$ the sort that is common in othgar lands. &he walls o$ this house were o$ wood0 and sealed with a 1aste o$ mud and straw0 which must be re1lenished a$ter the $re@uent rains. &he roo$ is thatched material and wood also. Inside the houses there is only an earthen $loor and a hearth0 and the dung o$ animals0 $or the $arm 1eo1le slee1 with their animals indoors $or the warmth a$$orded by their bodies0 and then they burn the dung $or $ires. #uliwy$ gave an order that we should go to this $armhouse0 and so we set out across the $ields0 which were verdant but soggy with dam1ness under$oot. !nce or twice the com1any halted to e/amine the ground be$ore continuing on0 but they never saw anything that mattered to them. I mysel$ saw nothing. 9et again #uliwy$ halted his com1any0 and 1ointed to the dark earth. Verily0 I saw with my own eyes the bare im1rint o$ a $ootGindeed0 o$ many $eet. &hey were $lat and uglier than anything known to creation. %t each toe0 there was the shar1 digging mark o$ a horned nail or claw; thus the sha1e a11eared human0 but yet not human. &his I saw with my own eyes0 and could scarcely believe the witness o$ my sight. #uliwy$ and his warriors shook their heads at the sight0 and I heard them re1eat one word over and overE wendol or wendlon0 or some such. &he meaning o$ the name was not
5=

Po1ular re1resentations o$ the -candinavians always show them wearing helmets with horns. &his is an anachronism; at the time o$ Ibn (adlan;s visit0 such helmets had not been worn $or more than a thousand years0 since the "arly #ron:e %ge.

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known to me0 and I sensed that 'erger should not be asked at this moment0 $or he was as a11rehensive as all the rest. 7e 1ressed on to the $armhouse0 now and again seeing more o$ these horned $oot1rints in the earth. #uliwy$ and his warriors walked slowly0 but it was not caution; no man drew his wea1on; rather it was some dread that I did not com1rehend and yet $elt with them. %t length we came to the $arming dwelling and entered it. In the $armhouse I saw0 with my own eyes0 this sightE there was a man0 o$ young age and grace$ul 1ro1ortion0 whose body had been torn limb $rom limb. &he torso was here0 an arm there0 a leg there. #lood lay in thick 1ools u1on the $loor0 and on the walls0 on the roo$0 on every sur$ace in such 1ro$usion that the house seemed to have been 1ainted in red blood. %lso there was a woman0 in like $ashion rended limb $rom limb. %lso a male child0 an in$ant o$ two years or less0 whose head was wrenched $rom the shoulders0 leaving the body a bleeding stum1. %ll this I saw with my own eyes0 and it was the most $earsome sight I ever witnessed. I 1urged mysel$ and was $aint $or an hour0 1urging mysel$ yet again. Never will I com1rehend the manner o$ the Northmen0 $or even as I was sick0 so they became calm and dis1assionate at the as1ect o$ this horror; they viewed all they saw in @uiet $ashion; they discussed the claw marks u1on the limbs0 and the manner o$ tearing o$ $lesh. +uch attention was given to the $act that all the heads were missing; also0 they remarked the most devilish as1ect o$ all0 which even now I recall with tre1idation. &he body o$ the male child had been chewed by some $iendish teeth0 u1on the so$t $lesh o$ the back o$ the thigh. -o also had been chewed the area o$ the shoulder. &his very horror I saw with my own eyes. &he warriors o$ #uliwy$ were grim8countenanced and glowering as they de1arted the $armhouse. &hey continued to 1ay much heed to the so$t earth about the house0 noting that there were no hoo$marks o$ horses; this was a matter o$ signi$icance to them. I did not understand why. Nor was I much attentive0 still $eeling $aint o$ heart and sick o$ body. %s we crossed the $ields0 "cthgow made a discovery which was o$ this natureE it was a small bit o$ stone0 smaller than a child;s $ist0 and it was 1olished and carved in crude $ashion. %ll the warriors crowded around to e/amine it0 I among them. I saw it to be the torso o$ a 1regnant $emale. &here was no head0 no arms0 and no legs; only the torso with a greatly swollen belly and0 above that0 two 1endulous swollen breasts.5< I accounted this creation e/ceedingly crude and ugly0 but nothing more. 9et the Northmen were suddenly overcome and 1ale and tremulous; their hands shook to touch it0 and $inally #uliwy$ $lung it to the ground and shattered it with the handle o$ his sword0 until it lay in s1lintered stone $ragments. %nd then were several o$ the warriors sick0 and 1urged themselves u1on the ground. %nd the general horror was very great0 to my mysti$ication. Now they set o$$ $or the great hall o$ King othgar. No man s1oke during our travel0 which was the better 1art o$ an hour; every one o$ the Northmen seemed to be wra11ed in bitter and consuming thought0 and yet they showed no $ear anymore. %t length0 a herald u1on a horse met us and barred our 1ath. 'e noted the arms we carried and the bearing o$ the com1any and o$ #uliwy$0 and shouted a warning. 'erger said to me0 'e craves to know our names0 and curtly0 too. #uliwy$ made some answer to the herald0 and $rom his tone I knew that #uliwy$ was in no mood $or courtly 1leasantries. 'erger said to meE #uliwy$ tells him we are sub6ects o$
5<

&he described $igurine corres1onds closely to several carvings discovered by archaeologists in (rance and %ustria.

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King 'iglac0 o$ the kingdom o$ 9atlam0 and we are on an errand to the King othgar0 and would s1eak to him. %nd 'erger added0 #uliwy$ says that othgar is a most worthy king0 but the tone o$ 'erger conveyed the o11osite sense o$ the matter. &his herald bade us continue to the great hall and wait outside while he told the King o$ our arrival. &his we did0 although #uliwy$ and his 1arty were not 1leased at such treatment; there was grumbling and muttering0 $or it is the Northman;s way to be hos1itable and this did not seem gracious0 to be ke1t outside. 9et they waited0 and also removed their wea1ons0 their swords and s1ears0 but not their armor0 and they le$t the wea1ons outside the doors to the hall. Now the hall was surrounded on all sides by several dwellings in the $ashion o$ the North 1eo1le. &hese were long with curved sides0 as at &relburg; but they di$$ered in the arrangement0 $or there were no s@uares here. Nor were there $orti$ications or earthworks to be seen. ather0 $rom the great hall and the long houses about it0 the ground slo1ed to a long $lat green 1lain0 here and there a $armhouse0 and then0 beyond0 the hills and the edge o$ a $orest. I in@uired o$ 'erger whose long houses were these0 and he said to me0 -ome belong to the King0 and others are $or his royal $amily0 and others $or his nobles0 and also $or the servants and lower members o$ his court. 'e said also that it was a di$$icult 1lace0 though I did not com1rehend his meaning in this. &hen we were allowed entry into the great hall o$ King othgar0 which verily I say is to be counted one o$ the marvels o$ all the world0 and all the more $or its 1resence in the crude North country. &his hall is called0 among the othgar 1eo1les0 by the name o$ 'urot0 $or the Northmen give the names o$ 1eo1le to the things o$ their li$e0 to the buildings and boats and es1ecially to the wea1ons. Now I sayE this 'urot0 the great hall o$ othgar0 was as large as the .ali1h;s main 1alace0 and richly inlaid with silver and even some gold0 which is most rare in the North. !n all sides were designs and ornaments o$ the greatest s1lendor and richness o$ artistry. It was truly a monument to the 1ower and ma6esty o$ King othgar. &his King othgar sat at the distant end o$ 'urot 'all0 a s1ace so vast that he was so $ar we could hardly discern him. -tanding behind his right shoulder was the same herald who had halted us. &he herald made a s1eech0 which 'erger told me was thusE 'ere0 ! King0 is a band o$ warriors $rom the kingdom o$ 9atlam. &hey are newly arrived $rom the sea0 and their leader is a man o$ the name #uliwy$. &hey beg leave to tell you o$ their errand0 ! King. )o not $orbid them entry; they have the manner o$ earls0 and $rom his bearing their chie$tain is a mighty warrior. Greet them as earls0 ! King othgar. &hus we were bid a11roach the King othgar. King othgar a11eared a man near death. 'e was not young0 his hair was white0 his skin was very 1ale0 and his $ace was grooved with0 sorrow and $ear. 'e regarded us with sus1icion0 wrinkling his eyes0 or 1erha1s he was near blind0 I do not know. (inally he broke into s1eech0 which 'erger says was thusE I know o$ this man0 $or I have sent $or him on a hero;s mission. 'e is #uliwy$0 and I knew him as a child0 when I traveled across the waters to the kingdom o$ 9atlam. 'e is the son o$ 'iglac0 who was my gracious host0 and now this son comes to me in my time o$ need and sorrow. othgar then called $or the warriors to be summoned to the great hall0 and gi$ts brought0 and celebrations made. #uliwy$ then s1oke0 a long s1eech that 'erger did not translate $or me0 since to s1eak when #uliwy$ s1oke would be a disres1ect. 'owever0 the meaning was thisE that #uliwy$
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had heard o$ the troubles o$ othgar0 that he was sorry $or these troubles0 and that his own $ather;s kingdom had been destroyed by these same troubles0 and that he had come to save the kingdom o$ othgar $rom the evils that had beset them. -till0 I did not know what the Northmen called these evils0 or how they thought o$ them0 though I had viewed the handiwork o$ the beasts that tore men to 1ieces. King othgar s1oke again0 in some haste. I took $rom the manner o$ his s1eaking that he wished to say some words be$ore all his warriors and earls arrived. 'e said thus H$rom 'ergerIE ! #uliwy$0 I knew your $ather when I was mysel$ a young man0 new to my throne. Now I am old and heartsick. +y head bows. +y eyes wee1 with shame to acknowledge my weakness. %s you see0 my throne is almost a barren s1ot. +y lands are becoming a wild 1lace. 7hat the $iends have wrought to my kingdom I cannot say. !$ten at night0 my warriors0 brave with drink0 swear to to11le the $iends. %nd then when the bleak light o$ dawn cree1s over the misty $ields0 we see bloody bodies everywhere. &hus is the sorrow o$ my li$e0 and I shall s1eak no more o$ it. Now a bench was brought out and a meal set be$ore us0 and I in@uired o$ 'erger what was the meaning o$ the $iends o$ which the King s1oke. 'erger was angry0 and said I was never to ask again. &hat evening there was a great celebration0 and King othgar and his Kueen 7eilew0 in a garment dri11ing gemstones and gold0 1resided over the nobles and warriors and earls o$ the kingdom o$ othgar. &hese nobles were a 1altry lot; they were old men and drank overmuch and many were cri11led or wounded. In the eyes o$ all o$ them was the hollow stare o$ $ear0 and there was hollowness in their merriment0 too. %lso there was the son named 7igli$0 o$ whom I have earlier s1oken0 the son o$ othgar who murdered three o$ his brothers. &his man was young and slender with a blond beard and with eyes that never settled on anything0 but moved about here and there constantly; also he never met the ga:e o$ another. 'erger saw him and said0 'e is a $o/. #y this he meant that he was a sli11ery and changeable 1erson o$ $alse demeanor0 $or the North 1eo1le believe the $o/ is an animal that can assume any $orm it 1leases. Now0 in the middle 1ortion o$ the $estivities0 othgar sent his herald to the doors o$ 'urot 'all0 and this herald re1orted that the mist would not descend that night. &here was much ha11iness and celebration over this announcement that the night was clear; all were 1leased save 7igli$. %t a 1articular time0 the son 7igli$ rose to his $eet and said0 I drink honor to our guests0 and es1ecially #uliwy$0 a brave and true warrior who has come to aid us in our 1lightG although it may 1rove too great an obstacle $or him to overcome. 'erger whis1ered these words to me0 and I caught that it was 1raise and insult in one breath. %ll eyes turned to #uliwy$ $or his res1onse. #uliwy$ stood0 and looked to 7igli$0 and then said0 I have no $ear o$ anything0 even the callow $iend that cree1s at night to murder men in their slee1. &his I took to re$er to the wendol0 but 7igli$ turned 1ale and gri11ed the chair in which he sat. )o you s1eak o$ meF 7igli$ said0 in a trembling tongue. #uliwy$ made this res1onseE No0 but I do not $ear you any more than the monsters o$ the mist. &he young man 7igli$ 1ersisted0 although othgar the King called $or him to be seated. 7igli$ said to all the assembled noblesE &his #uliwy$0 arrived $rom $oreign shores0 has by a11earance great 1ride and great strength. 9et have I arranged to test his mettle0 $or 1ride may cover any man;s eyes.
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Now I saw this thing ha11enE a strong warrior0 seated at a table near the door0 behind #uliwy$0 rose with s1eed0 1lucked u1 a s1ear0 and charged at the back o$ #uliwy$. %ll this ha11ened in less time than it takes a man to suck in his breath. 53 9et also #uliwy$ turned0 1lucked u1 a s1ear0 and with this he caught the warrior $ull into the chest0 and li$ted him by the sha$t o$ the s1ear high over his head and $lung him against a wall. &hus was this warrior skewered on the s1ear0 his $eet dangling above the $loor0 kicking; the sha$t o$ the s1ear was buried into the wall o$ the hall o$ 'urot. &he warrior died with a sound. Now there came much commotion0 and #uliwy$ turned to $ace 7igli$0 and said0 -o shall I dis1atch any menace0 and then with great immediacy 'erger s1oke0 in an overloud voice0 and made many gestures toward my 1erson. I was much con$used by these events0 and in truth my eyes were stuck u1on this dead warrior 1inned to the wall. &hen 'erger turned to me0 and said in *atin0 9ou shall sing a song $or the court o$ King othgar. %ll desire it. I asked o$ him0 7hat shall I singF I know no song. 'e made this re1lyE 9ou will sing something that entertains the heart. %nd he added0 )o not s1eak o$ your one God. No one cares $or such nonsense. In truth0 I did not know what to sing0 $or I am no minstrel. % time 1assed while all stared toward me0 and there was silence in the hall. &hen 'erger said to me0 -ing a song o$ kings and valor in battle. I said that I knew no such songs0 but that I could tell them a $able0 which in my country was accounted $unny and entertaining. &o this he said that I had made a wise choice. &hen I told themGKing othgar0 his Kueen 7eilew0 his son 7igli$0 and all the assembled earls and warriorsGthe story o$ %bu Kassim;s sli11ers0 which all know. I s1oke lightly0 and smiled all the while0 and in the $irst instance the Northmen were 1leased0 and laughed and sla11ed their bellies. #ut now this strange event occurred. %s I continued in my telling0 the Northmen ceased to laugh0 and turned gloomy by degrees0 ever more so0 and when I had $inished the tale0 there was no laughter0 but dire silence. 'erger said to me0 9ou could not know0 but that is no tale $or laughter0 and now I must make amends0 and thereu1on he said some s1eech that I took to be a 6oke at my own e/1ense0 and there was general laughter0 and at length the celebration recommenced. The stor% of 4'u Eassim2s sli$$ers is ancient in 4ra'ic culture" and was well #nown to !'n +adlan and his fellow 0agdad citi(ens* The stor% e3ists in man% &ersions" and can 'e told 'riefl% or ela'oratel%" de$ending u$on the enthusiasm of the teller* 0riefl%" 4'u Eassim is a rich merchant and a miser who wishes to hide the fact of his wealth" in order to stri#e 'etter 'argains in his trade* To gi&e the a$$earance of $o&ert%" he wears a $air of $articularl% tawdr%" misera'le sli$$ers" ho$ing that $eo$le will 'e fooled" 'ut no'od% is* !nstead" the $eo$le around him thin# he is sill% and $re$osterous* One da%" 4'u Eassim stri#es a $articularl% fa&ora'le 'argain in glassware" and decides to cele'rate" not in the acce$ted manner of treating his friends to a feast" 'ut '% treating himself to the small selfish lu3ur% of a &isit to the $u'lic 'aths* He lea&es his clothes and shoes in the anteroom" and a friend 'erates him for his worn and ina$$ro$riate shoes* 4'u Eassim re$lies that the% are still ser&icea'le" and he enters
53

@ucere s$irituE literally0 to inhale.

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the 'ath with his friend* Fater" a $owerful )udge also comes to the 'aths" and disro'es" lea&ing 'ehind an elegant $air of sli$$ers* Meanwhile" 4'u Eassim de$arts from the 'ath and cannot find his old sli$$ers. in their $lace he finds a new and 'eautiful $air of shoes" and" $resuming these to 'e a $resent from his friend" he $uts them on and lea&es* When the )udge lea&es" his own sli$$ers are missing" and all he can find are a misera'le" tawdr% $air of sli$$ers" which e&er%one #nows 'elong to the miser 4'u Eassim* The )udge is angr%. ser&ants are dis$atched to retrie&e the missing sli$$ers. and the% are soon found u$on the &er% feet of the thief" who is hauled into court 'efore the magistrate and se&erel% fined* 4'u Eassim curses his 'ad luc#" and once home flings the unluc#% sli$$ers out of his window" where the% fall into the mudd% Tigris 6i&er* 5ome da%s later" a grou$ of fishermen haul in their catch" and find along with some fish the sli$$ers of 4'u Eassim. the ho'nails of these sli$$ers ha&e torn their nets* -nraged" the% throw the sogg% sli$$ers through an o$en window* The window ha$$ens to 'e that of 4'u Eassim. the sli$$ers fall u$on the newl% $urchased glassware and smash it all* 4'u Eassim is heart'ro#en" and grie&es as onl% a sting% miser can* He &ows the wretched sli$$ers shall do him no further harm and" to 'e certain" goes to his garden with a sho&el and 'uries them* 4s it ha$$ens" his ne3t-door neigh'or sees 4'u Eassim digging" a menial tas# fit onl% for a ser&ant* The neigh'or assumes that if the master of the house is doing this chore himself" it must 'e in order to 'ur% treasure* Thus the neigh'or goes to the 1ali$h and informs on 4'u Eassim" for according to the laws of the land" an% treasure found in the ground is the $ro$ert% of the 1ali$h* 4'u Eassim is called 'efore the 1ali$h" and when he re$orts that he 'uried onl% a $air of old sli$$ers" the court laughs u$roariousl% at the o'&iousness of the merchant2s attem$t to conceal his true" and illegal" $ur$ose* The 1ali$h is angr% to 'e thought such a fool as to 'e gi&en this sill% lie" and increases the magnitude of his fine accordingl%* 4'u Eassim is thunderstruc# when sentence is $assed" and %et he is o'liged to $a%* 4'u Eassim is now determined to 'e rid of his sli$$ers once and for all* To 'e certain of no further trou'le" he ma#es a $ilgrimage far from town and dro$s the sli$$ers into a distant $ond" watching them sin# to the 'ottom with satisfaction* 0ut the $ond feeds the cit%2s water su$$l%" and e&entuall% the sli$$ers clog the $i$e guards dis$atched to release the stricture find the sli$$ers and recogni(e them" for e&er%one #nows the sli$$ers of this notorious miser* 4'u Eassim is again 'rought 'efore the 1ali$h" on a charge of 'efouling the water of the town" and his fine is much greater than 'efore* The sli$$ers are returned to him* Now 4'u Eassim determines to 'urn the sli$$ers" 'ut the% are still wet" so he sets them on the 'alcon% to dr%* 4 dog sees them and $la%s with them. one of the sli$$ers falls from his )aws and dro$s to the street far 'elow" where it stri#es a woman $assing '%* The woman is $regnant" and the force of the 'low causes a miscarriage* Her hus'and runs to the court to see# damages" which are awarded $lentifull%" and 4'u Eassim" now a 'ro#en and im$o&erished man" is o'liged to $a%* The sl%l% literal 4ra'ic moral states that this stor% illustrates what e&ils can 'efall a man who does not change his sli$$ers often enough* 0ut undou'tedl% the undercurrent to the tale" the idea of a man who cannot sha#e off some 'urden" was what distur'ed the Northmen* Now the night 1assed with $urther celebrations0 and all the warriors o$ #uliwy$ dis1orted
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in a care$ree $ashion. I saw the son 7igli$ glaring at #uliwy$ be$ore leaving the hall0 but #uliwy$ 1aid no attention0 1re$erring the ministrations o$ slave girls and $reeborn women. %$ter a time I sle1t. In the morning0 I awoke to the sounds o$ hammering and0 venturing $rom the great hall o$ 'urot0 I $ound all the 1eo1les o$ the kingdom o$ othgar at work on de$enses. &hese were being laid out in 1reliminary $ashionE horses drew u1 @uantities o$ $ence 1osts0 which warriors shar1ened to 1oints; #uliwy$ himsel$ directed the 1lacement o$ de$ense works0 by marking scratches in the ground with the ti1 o$ his sword. (or this he did not use his great sword unding0 but rather some other sword; I do not know i$ there was a reason $or this. ,1on the middle 1ortion o$ the day0 the woman who was called the angel o$ death 4A came and cast bones on the ground0 and made incantations over them0 and announced that the mist would come that night. ,1on hearing this0 #uliwy$ called $or all work to cease0 and a great ban@uet to be 1re1ared. In this matter0 all the 1eo1le concurred0 and ceased their e$$orts. I in@uired o$ 'erger why there should be a ban@uet0 but he re1lied to me that I had too many @uestions. It is also true that I had timed my in@uiry badly0 $or he was 1osturing be$ore a blond slave girl who smiled warmly in his direction. Now0 in the later 1art o$ the day0 #uliwy$ called together all his warriors and said to them0 Pre1are $or battle0 and they agreed0 and wished luck one to another0 while all about us the ban@uet was being made ready. &he night ban@uet was much as the 1revious one0 although there were $ewer o$ othgar;s nobles and earls. Indeed0 I learned that many nobles would not attend at all0 $or $ear o$ what would ha11en in the 'urot 'all that night0 $or it seemed that this 1lace was the center o$ the $iend;s interest in the area; that he coveted 'urot 'all0 or some similar thingGI could not be sure o$ the meaning. &his ban@uet was not en6oyable to me0 $or reason o$ my a11rehension o$ coming events. 'owever0 this event occurredE one o$ the elderly nobles s1oke some *atin0 and also some o$ the Iberian dialects0 $or he had traveled to the region o$ the cali1hate o$ .ordova as a younger man0 and I engaged him in conversation. In this circumstance0 I $eigned knowledge that I did not have0 as you shall see. 'e s1oke to me thusE -o you are the $oreigner who shall be the number thirteenF %nd I said that I was such. 9ou must be e/ceedingly brave0 the old man said0 and $or your bravery I salute you. &o this I made some tri$ling 1olite res1onse0 o$ the sense that I was a coward com1ared to the others o$ #uliwy$;s com1any; which indeed was more than true. No matter0 said the old man0 who was dee1 in his cu1s0 having drunk the li@uor o$ the regionGa vile substance they call mead0 yet it is 1otentGyou are still a brave man to $ace the wendol. Now I sensed that I might $inally learn some matters o$ substance. I re1eated to this old man a saying o$ the Northmen0 which 'erger had once said to me. I said0 %nimals die0 $riends die0 and I shall die0 but one thing never dies0 and that is the re1utation we leave behind at our death. &he old man cackled toothlessly at this; he was 1leased I knew a Northman 1roverb. 'e said0 &hat is so0 but the wendol have a re1utation0 too. %nd I re1lied0 with the utmost indi$$erenceE &rulyF I am not aware o$ it. %t this the old man said that I was a $oreigner0 and he would consent to enlighten me0 and he told me thisE the name o$ wendol0 or windon0 is a very ancient name0 as old as
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&his is not the same angel o$ death who was with the Northmen on the banks o$ the Volga. %11arently each tribe had an old woman who 1er$ormed shamanistic $unctions and was re$erred to as the angel o$ death. It is thus a generic term.

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any o$ the 1eo1les o$ the North country0 and it means the black mist. &o the Northmen0 this means a mist that brings0 under cover o$ night0 black $iends who murder and kill and eat the $lesh o$ human beings. 45 &he $iends are hairy and loathsome to touch and smell; they are $ierce and cunning; they s1eak no language o$ any man and yet converse among themselves; they come with the night $og0 and disa11ear by day8to where0 no man durst $ollow. &he old man said to me thusE 9ou can know the regions where dwell the $iends o$ the black mist by many ways. (rom time to time0 warriors on horse may hunt a stag with dogs0 chasing the stag over hill and dale $or many miles o$ $orest and o1en land. %nd then the stag comes to some marshy tarn or brackish swam10 and here it will halt0 1re$erring to be torn to bits by the hounds rather than enter that loathsome region. &hus we know o$ the areas where the wendol live0 and we know that even the animals will not enter thence. I e/1ressed over8great wonderment at his tale0 in order to draw $urther words $rom the old man. 'erger saw me then0 gave me a menacing look0 but I 1aid him no heed. &he old man continued thusE In olden days0 the black mist was $eared by all the Northmen o$ every region. -ince my $ather and his $ather and his $ather be$ore0 no Northman has seen the black mist0 and some o$ the young warriors counted us old $ools to remember the ancient tales o$ their horror and de1redations. 9et the chie$s o$ the Northmen in all the kingdoms0 even in Norway0 have always been 1re1ared $or the return o$ the black mist. %ll o$ our towns and our $ortresses are 1rotected and de$ended $rom the land. -ince the time o$ the $ather o$ my $ather;s $ather0 our 1eo1les have thus acted0 and never have we seen the black mist. Now it has returned. I in@uired why the black mist had returned0 and he lowered his voice to s1eak this re1lyE &he black mist has come $rom the vanity and weakness o$ othgar0 who has o$$ended the gods with his $oolish s1lendor and tem1ted the $iends with the siting o$ his great hall0 which has no 1rotection $rom the land. othgar is old and he knows he will not be remembered $or battles $ought and won0 and so he built this s1lendid hall0 which is the talk o$ all the world0 and 1leases his vanity. othgar acts as a god0 yet he is a man0 and the gods have sent the black mist to strike him down and show him humility. I said to this old man that 1erha1s othgar was resented in the kingdom. 'e re1lied thusE No man is so good as to be $ree $rom all evil0 nor so bad as to be worth nothing. othgar is a 6ust king and his 1eo1le 1ros1ered all o$ his li$e. &he wisdom and richness o$ his rule are here0 in 'urot 'all0 and they are s1lendid. 'is only $ault is this0 that he $orgot de$ense0 $or we have a saying among usE O% man should never move a ste1 $rom his wea1ons.; othgar has no wea1ons; he is toothless and weak; and the black mist see1s $reely over the
45

&he -candinavians were a11arently more im1ressed by the stealth and viciousness o$ the creatures than the $act o$ their cannibalism. 2ensen suggests that cannibalism might be abhorrent to the Norsemen because it made entry into Valhalla more di$$icult; there is no evidence $or this view. 'owever0 $or Ibn (adlan0 with his e/tensive erudition0 the notion o$ cannibalism may have im1lied some di$$iculties in the a$terli$e. &he "ater o$ the )ead is a well8known creature o$ "gy1tian mythology0 a $earsome beast with the head o$ a crocodile0 the trunk o$ a lion0 and the back o$ a hi11o1otamus. &his "ater o$ the )ead devours the wicked a$ter their 2udgment. It is worth remembering that $or most o$ man;s history0 ritual cannibalism0 in one $orm or another0 $or one reason or another0 was neither rare nor remarkable. Peking man and Neanderthal man were both a11arently cannibals; so were0 at various times0 the -cythians0 the .hinese0 the Irish0 the Peruvians0 the +ayoruna0 the 2agas0 the "gy1tians0 the %ustralian aborigines0 the +aoris0 the Greeks0 the 'urons0 the Iro@uois0 the Pawnees0 and the %shanti. )uring the time Ibn (adlan was in -candinavia0 other %rab traders were in .hina0 where they recorded that human $leshG re$erred to as two8legged muttonGwas o1enly and legally sold in markets. +artinson suggests that the Northmen $ound the wendol cannibalism re1ellent because they believed that the $lesh o$ warriors was $ed to women0 1articularly the mother o$ the wendol. &here is no evidence $or this view0 either0 but it would certainly make a Norse warrior;s death more shame$ul.

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land. I desired to know more0 but the old man was tired0 and turned away $rom me0 and soon was aslee1. Verily0 the $ood and drink o$ othgar;s hos1itality were much0 and many o$ the number o$ earls and nobles were drowsy. !$ the table o$ othgar I shall say thisE that every man had a tablecloth and 1late0 and s1oon and kni$e; that the meal was boiled 1ork and goat0 and some $ish0 too0 $or the Northmen much 1re$er boiled meat to roasted. &hen there were cabbages and onions in abundance0 and a11les and ha:elnuts. % sweetish $leshy meat was given me that I had not tasted be$ore; this0 I was told0 was elk0 or rain8deer. &he dread$ul $oul drink called mead is made $rom honey0 then $ermented. It is the sourest0 blackest0 vilest stu$$ ever invented by any man0 and yet it is 1otent beyond all knowing; a $ew drinks0 and the world s1ins. #ut I did not drink0 1raise %llah. Now I noticed that #uliwy$ and all his com1any did not drink that night0 or only s1aringly0 and othgar took this as no insult0 but rather acknowledged it as the natural course o$ things. &here was no wind that night; the candles and $lames o$ 'urot 'all did not $licker0 and yet it was dam10 and chill. I saw with my own eyes that out o$ doors the mist was rolling in $rom the hills0 blocking the silvered light o$ the moon0 cloaking all in blackness. %s the night continued0 King othgar and his Kueen de1arted $or slee10 and the massive doors o$ 'urot 'all were locked and barred0 and the nobles and earls remaining there $ell into a drunken stu1or and snored loudly. &hen #uliwy$ and his men0 still wearing their armor0 went about the room0 dousing the candles and seeing to the $ires0 that they should burn low and weak. I asked 'erger the meaning o$ this0 and he told me to 1ray $or my li$e0 and to $eign slee1. I was given a wea1on0 a short sword0 but it was little com$ort to me; I was not a warrior and knew it $ull well. Verily0 all the men $eigned slee1. #uliwy$ and his men 6oined the slumbering bodies o$ the King othgar;s earls0 who were truly snoring. 'ow long we waited I do not know0 $or I think I sle1t awhile mysel$. &hen all at once I was awake0 in a manner o$ unnatural shar1 alertness; I was not drowsy but instantly tense and alert0 still lying on a bearskin cloth on the $loor o$ the great hall. It was dark night; the candles in the hall burned low0 and a $aint bree:e whis1ered through the hall and $luttered the yellow $lames. %nd then I heard a low grunting sound0 like the rooting o$ a 1ig0 carried to me by the bree:e0 and I smelled a rank odor like the rot o$ a carcass a$ter a month0 and I $eared greatly. &his rooting sound0 $or I can call it none else0 this grumbling0 grunting0 snorting sound0 grew louder and more e/cited. It came $rom outdoors0 at one side o$ the hall. &hen I heard it $rom another side0 and then another0 and another. Verily the hall was surrounded. I sat u1 on one elbow0 my heart 1ounding0 and I looked about the hall. No man among the slee1ing warriors moved0 and yet there was 'erger0 lying with his eyes wide o1en. %nd there0 too0 #uliwy$0 breathing in a snore0 with his eyes also wide o1en. (rom this I gathered that all the warriors o$ #uliwy$ were waiting to do battle with the wendol0 whose sounds now $illed the air. #y %llah0 there is no $ear greater than that o$ a man when he does not know the cause. 'ow long I lay u1on the bearskin0 hearing the grunting o$ the wendol and smelling their $oul odorsJ 'ow long I waited $or I knew not what0 the start o$ some battle more $earsome in the 1ros1ect than it could be in the $ightingJ I remembered thisE that the Northmen have a saying o$ 1raise that they carve u1on the tombstones o$ noble warriors0 which is thisE
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'e did not $lee battle. None o$ the com1any o$ #uliwy$ $led that night0 though the sounds and the stink were all around them0 now louder0 now $ainter0 now $rom one direction0 now another. %nd yet they waited. &hen came the most $earsome moment. %ll sounds ceased. &here was utter silence0 e/ce1t $or the snoring o$ the men and the low crackle o$ the $ire. -till none o$ the warriors o$ #uliwy$ stirred. %nd then there was a mighty crash u1on the solid doors o$ the hall o$ 'urot0 and these doors burst o1en0 and a rush o$ reeking air gutted all the lights0 and the black mist entered the room. I did not count their numberE verily it seemed thousands o$ black grunting sha1es0 and yet it might have been no more than $ive or si/0 huge black sha1es hardly in the manner o$ men0 and yet also manlike. &he air stank o$ blood and death; I was cold beyond reason0 and shivered. 9et still no warrior moved. &hen0 with a curdling scream to wake the dead0 #uliwy$ lea1t u10 and in his arms he swung the giant sword unding0 which sang like a si::ling $lame as it cut the air. %nd his warriors lea1t u1 with him0 and all 6oined the battle. &he shouts o$ the men mingled with the 1ig8grunts and the odors o$ the black mist0 and there was terror and con$usion and great wracking and rending o$ the 'urot 'all. I mysel$ had no stomach $or battle0 and yet I was set u1on by one o$ these mist monsters0 who came close to me0 and I saw gleaming red eyesGverily I saw eyes that shone like $ire0 and I smelled the reek0 and I was li$ted bodily and $lung across the room as a child $lings a 1ebble. I struck the wall and $ell to the ground0 and was greatly da:ed $or the ne/t 1eriod0 so all around me was more con$used than true. I remember0 most distinctly0 the touch o$ these monsters u1on me0 es1ecially the $urry as1ect o$ the bodies0 $or these mist monsters have hair as long as a hairy dog0 and as thick0 on all 1arts o$ their bodies. %nd I remember the $etid smell o$ the breath o$ the monster who $lung me. &he battle raged $or how long I cannot know0 but it concluded most suddenly o$ a moment. %nd then the black mist was gone0 slunk away0 grunting and 1anting and stinking0 leaving behind destruction and death that we could not know until we had lighted $resh ta1ers. 'ere is how the battle waged. !$ the com1any o$ #uliwy$0 three were dead0 oneth and 'alga0 both earls0 and "dgtho0 a warrior. &he $irst had his chest torn o1en. &he second had his s1ine broken. &he third had his head torn o$$ in the manner I had already witnessed. %ll these warriors were dead. 7ounded were two others0 'alta$ and ethel. 'alta$ had lost an ear0 and ethel two $ingers o$ his right hand. #oth men were not mortally in6ured0 and made no com1laint0 $or it is the Northman way to bear the wounds o$ battle cheer$ully0 and to 1raise above all the retaining o$ li$e. %s $or #uliwy$ and 'erger and all the others0 they were soaked in blood as i$ they had bathed in it. Now I shall say what many will not believe0 and yet it was soE our com1any had killed not one o$ the mist monsters. "ach had slunk away0 some 1erha1s mortally wounded0 and yet they had esca1ed. 'erger said thusE I saw two o$ their number carrying a third0 who was dead. Perha1s this was so0 $or all generally agreed u1on it. I learned that the mist monsters never leave one o$ their kind to the society o$ men0 but rather will risk great dangers to retrieve him $rom human 1urview. -o also will they go to e/treme lengths to kee1 a victim;s head0 and we could not $ind the head o$ "dgtho in any 1lace; the monsters had carried it o$$ with
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them. &hen #uliwy$ s1oke0 and 'erger told me his words thusE *ook0 I have retained a tro1hy o$ the night;s bloody deeds. -ee0 here is an arm o$ one o$ the $iends. %nd0 true to his word0 #uliwy$ held the arm o$ one o$ the mist monsters0 cut o$$ at the shoulder by the great sword unding. %ll the warriors crowded around to e/amine it. I 1erceived it thuslyE it a11eared to be small0 with a hand o$ abnormally large si:e. #ut the $orearm and u11er arm were not large to match it0 although the muscles were 1ower$ul. &here was long black matted hair on all 1arts o$ the arm e/ce1t the 1alm o$ the hand. (inally it is to say that the arm stank as the whole beast stank0 with the $etid smell o$ the black mist. Now all the warriors cheered #uliwy$0 and his sword unding. &he $iend;s arm was hung $rom the ra$ters o$ the great hall o$ 'urot0 and marveled at by all the 1eo1le o$ the kingdom o$ othgar. &hus ended the $irst battle with the wendol. THE EVENTS THAT FOLLOWED THE FIRST BATTLE V" I*90 &'" P"!P*" !( &'" N! &' .!,N& 9 N"V" act as human beings o$ reason and sense. %$ter the attack o$ the mist monsters0 and their beating back by #uliwy$ and his com1any0 with me amongst them0 the men o$ the kingdom o$ othgar did nothing. &here was no celebration0 no $easting0 no 6ubilation or dis1lay o$ ha11iness. (rom $ar and wide0 the 1eo1le o$ the kingdom came to view the dangling arm o$ the $iend0 which hung in the great hall0 and this they greeted with much ama:ement and astonishment. #ut othgar himsel$0 the hal$8blind old man0 e/1ressed no 1leasure0 and 1resented #uliwy$ and his com1any with no gi$ts0 1lanned no $easts0 gave him no slaves0 no silver0 no 1recious garments0 or any other sign o$ honor. .ontrary to any e/1ression o$ 1leasure0 King othgar made a long $ace and was solemn0 and seemed more $ear$ul than he had been be$ore. I mysel$0 though I did not s1eak it aloud0 sus1ected that othgar 1re$erred his earlier condition0 be$ore the black mist was beaten. Nor was #uliwy$ di$$erent in manner. 'e called $or no ceremonies0 no $easting0 no drinking or eating o$ $ood. &he nobles who had died valiantly in the battle o$ the night were @uickly 1laced in 1its with a wooden roo$ over the to10 and le$t there $or the assigned ten days. &here was haste in this matter. 9et it was only in the laying out o$ the dead warriors that #uliwy$ and his comrades showed ha11iness0 or allowed themselves any smiles. %$ter $urther time among the Northmen0 I learned that they smile u1on any death in battle0 $or this is 1leasure taken on behal$ o$ the dead 1erson0 and not the living. &hey are 1leased when any man dies a warrior;s death. %lso the o11osite is held true by them; they show distress when a man dies in his slee10 or in a bed. &hey say o$ such a man0 'e died as a cow in the straw. &his is no insult0 but it is a reason $or mourning the death. &he Northmen believe that how a man dies determines his condition in the a$terli$e0 and they value the death o$ a warrior in battle above all. % straw death is shame$ul. %ny man who dies in his slee1 is said by them to be strangled by the maran0 or mare o$ the night. &his creature is a woman0 which makes such a death shame$ul0 $or to die at the hands o$ a woman is degrading above all things. %lso they say to die without your wea1ons is degrading0 and a Northman warrior will
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always slee1 with his wea1ons0 so that i$ the maran comes at night0 he will have his wea1ons at hand. -eldom does a warrior die o$ some illness0 or o$ the en$eeblement o$ age. I heard o$ one king0 o$ the name %ne0 who lived to such an age that he became as an in$ant0 toothless and e/isting u1on the $ood o$ an in$ant0 and he s1ent all his days in his bed drinking milk $rom a horn. #ut this was told to me as most uncommon in the North country. 7ith my own eyes I saw $ew men grown very old0 by which I mean grown old to the time when the beard is not only white but $alling out $rom the chin and $ace. -everal o$ their women live to great age0 es1ecially such as the old crone they call the angel o$ death; these old women are counted as having magical 1owers in healing o$ wounds0 casting o$ s1ells0 banishing evil in$luences0 and $oretelling the $uture o$ events. &he women o$ the North 1eo1le do not $ight among themselves0 and o$ten did I see them intercede in a growing brawl or duel o$ two men0 to @uench the rising anger. &his they will do es1ecially i$ the warriors are thickened and slow with drink. &his is o$ten the circumstance. Now0 the Northmen0 who drink much li@uor0 and at all hours o$ the day and night0 drink nothing on the day a$ter the battle. -eldom did the 1eo1le o$ othgar o$$er them a cu10 and when it ha11ened0 the cu1 was re$used. &his I $ound most 1u::ling0 and s1oke o$ it $inally to 'erger. 'erger shook his shoulders in the Northmen;s gesture o$ unconcern0 or indi$$erence. "veryone is a$raid0 he said. I in@uired why there should still be a reason to $ear. 'e s1oke thusE It is because they know that the black mist will return. Now I admit that I was 1u$$ed with the arrogance o$ a $ighting man0 though in truth I knew I did not deserve such a 1osture. "ven so0 I $elt e/hilaration at my survival0 and the 1eo1le o$ othgar treated me as one o$ a com1any o$ mighty warriors. I said boldly0 7ho cares $or thatF I$ they come again0 we shall beat them a second time. Indeed0 I was vain as a young cock0 and I am abashed now to think u1on my strutting. 'erger res1ondedE &he kingdom o$ othgar has no $ighting warriors or earls; they are all long since dead0 and we alone must de$end the kingdom. 9esterday we were thirteen. &oday we are ten0 and o$ that ten two are wounded and cannot $ight as $ull men. &he black mist is angered0 and it will take a terrible vengeance. I said to 'erger0 who had su$$ered some minor wounds in the $rayGbut nothing so $ierce as the claw marks u1on my own $ace0 which I bore 1roudlyGthat I $eared nothing the demons would do. 'e answered curtly that I was an %rab and understood nothing o$ the ways o$ the North country0 and he told me that the vengeance o$ the black mist would be terrible and 1ro$ound. 'e said0 &hey will return as Korgon. I did not know the sense o$ the word. 7hat is KorgonF 'e said to me0 &he glowworm dragon0 which swoo1s down through the air. Now this seemed $anci$ul0 but I had already seen the sea monsters 6ust as they said that such beasts truly lived0 and also I saw 'erger;s strained and tired countenance0 and I 1erceived that he believed in the glowworm dragon. I said0 7hen will Korgon comeF Perha1s tonight0 'erger said. Verily0 even as he s1oke0 I saw that #uliwy$0 though he had sle1t not at all during the night and his eyes were red and heavy with $atigue0 was directing anew the building o$ de$enses around the hall o$ 'urot. %ll the 1eo1le o$ the kingdom worked0 the children and the women and the old men0 and the slaves as well0 under the direction o$ #uliwy$ and his
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lieutenant "cthgow. &his is what they didE about the 1erimeter o$ 'urot and the ad6acent buildings0 those being the dwellings o$ the King othgar and some o$ his nobles0 and the rude huts o$ the slaves o$ these $amilies0 and one or another o$ the $armers who lived closest to the sea0 all around this area #uliwy$ erected a kind o$ $ence o$ crossed lances and 1oles with shar1ened 1oints. &his $ence was not higher than a man;s shoulders0 and although the 1oints were shar1 and menacing0 I could not see the value o$ this de$ense0 $or men could scale it easily. I s1oke o$ this to 'erger0 who called me a stu1id %rab. 'erger was in an ill tem1er. Now a $urther de$ense was constructed0 a ditch outside the 1ole $ence0 one and a hal$ 1aces beyond. &his ditch was most 1eculiar. It was not dee10 never more than a man;s knees0 and o$ten less. It was unevenly dug0 so that in 1laces it was shallow0 and in other 1laces dee1er0 with small 1its. %nd in 1laces short lances were sunk into the earth0 1oints u1ward. I understood the value o$ this 1altry ditch no better than the $ence0 but I did not in@uire o$ 'erger0 already knowing his mood. Instead I aided in the work as best I could0 1ausing only once to have my way with a slavewoman in the Northman;s $ashion0 $or in the e/citement o$ the night;s battle and the day;s 1re1arations I was most energetic. Now0 during my 6ourney with #uliwy$ and his warriors u1 the Volga0 'erger had told me that unknown women0 es1ecially i$ attractive or seductive0 were to be mistrusted. 'erger said to me that within the $orests and wild 1laces o$ the North country there live women who are called woodwomen. &hese woodwomen entice men by their beauty and so$t words0 yet when a man a11roaches them0 he $inds that they are hollow at the back 1art0 and are a11aritions. &hen the woodwomen cast a s1ell u1on the seduced man and he becomes their ca1tive. Now0 'erger had thus warned me0 and verily it is true that I a11roached this slavewoman with tre1idation0 because I did not know her. %nd I $elt her back with my hand0 and she laughed; $or she knew the reason o$ the touch0 to assure mysel$ that she was no wood s1irit. I $elt a $ool at that time0 and cursed mysel$ $or 1lacing $aith in a heathen su1erstition. 9et I have discovered that i$ all those around you believe some 1articular thing0 you will soon be tem1ted to share in that belie$0 and so it was with me. &he women o$ the North 1eo1le are 1ale as the men0 and e@ually as tall in stature; the greater number o$ them looked down u1on my head. &he women have blue eyes and wear their hair very long0 but the hair is $ine and easily snarled. &here$ore they bundle it u1 about their necks and u1on their heads; to aid in this0 they have $ashioned $or themselves all manner o$ clas1s and 1ins o$ ornamented silver or wood. &his constitutes their 1rinci1al adornment. %lso the wi$e o$ a rich man wears neck chains o$ gold and silver0 as I have earlier said; so0 too0 do the women $avor bracelets o$ silver0 $ormed in the sha1e o$ dragons and snakes0 and these they wear u1on the arm between the elbow and shoulder. &he designs o$ the North 1eo1le are intricate and interlaced0 as i$ to 1ortray the weaving o$ tree branches or ser1ents; these designs are most beauti$ul.44 &he North 1eo1le account themselves keen 6udges o$ beauty in women. #ut in truth0 all their women seemed to my eyes to be emaciated0 their bodies all angles and lum1y with bones; their $aces0 too0 are bony and the cheeks set high. &hese @ualities the Northmen
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%n %rab would be es1ecially inclined to think so0 $or Islamic religious art tends to be nonre1resentational0 and in @uality similar to much -candinavian art0 which o$ten seems to $avor 1ure design. 'owever0 the Norsemen had no in6unction against re1resenting gods0 and o$ten did so.

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value and 1raise0 although such a woman would not attract a glance in the .ity o$ Peace but would be accounted no better than a hal$8starved dog with 1rotruding ribs. &he Northwomen have ribs that 1rotrude in 6ust such a $ashion. I do not know why the women are so thin0 $or they eat lustily0 and as much as the men0 yet gain no $lesh u1on their bodies. %lso the women show no de$erence0 or any demure behavior; they are never veiled0 and they relieve themselves in 1ublic 1laces0 as suits their urge. -imilarly they will make bold advances to any man who catches their $ancy0 as i$ they were men themselves; and the warriors never chide them $or this. -uch is the case even i$ the woman be a slave0 $or as I have said0 the Northmen are most kind and $orbearing to their slaves0 es1ecially the women slaves. 7ith the 1rogression o$ the day0 I saw clearly that the de$enses o$ #uliwy$ would not be com1leted by night$all0 neither the 1ole $ence nor the shallow ditch. #uliwy$ saw it also0 and called to King othgar0 who summoned the old crone. &his old crone0 who was withered and had the beard o$ a man0 killed a shee1 and s1read the entrails4> on the ground. &hen she made a variety o$ chanting song0 which lasted a lengthy time0 and much su11lication to the sky. I still did not ask 'erger o$ this0 because o$ his mood. Instead I watched the other warriors o$ #uliwy$0 who looked to the sea. &he ocean was gray and rough0 the sky leaden0 but a strong bree:e blew toward the land. &his satis$ied the warriors0 and I guessed the reasonE that an ocean bree:e toward the land would 1revent the mist $rom descending $rom the hills. &his was true. ,1on night$all0 work was halted on the de$enses0 and to my 1er1le/ity othgar held another ban@uet o$ s1lendid 1ro1ortions; and this evening while I watched0 #uliwy$0 and 'erger0 and all the other warriors drank much mead and reveled as i$ they lacked any worldly cares0 and had their way with the slavewomen0 and then all sank into a stu1orous droning slee1. Now this also I learnedE that each o$ the warriors o$ #uliwy$ had chosen $rom among the slavewomen one whom in 1articular they $avored0 although not to the e/clusion o$ others. In into/ication0 'erger said to me o$ the woman he had $avored0 -he shall die with me0 i$ need be. (rom this I took as the meaning that each o$ the warriors o$ #uliwy$ had selected some woman who would die $or him u1on the $uneral 1yre0 and this woman they treated with more courtesy and attention than the others; $or they were visitors to this country0 and had no slavewomen o$ their own who could be ordered by kin to do their bidding. Now0 in the early 1eriod o$ my time among the Venden0 the Northwomen would not a11roach me0 on account o$ my darkness o$ skin and hair0 but there was much whis1ering and glancing in my direction0 and giggles one to another. I saw that these unveiled women would nonetheless make a veil with their hands $rom time to time0 and es1ecially when they were laughing. &hen I had asked o$ 'ergerE 7hy do they do this thingF $or I wished not to behave in a manner contrary to the North custom. 'erger made this re1lyE &he women believe that the %rabs are as stallions0 $or so they
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HPI E literally0 veins. &he %rabic 1hrase has led to some scholarly errors; ". ). Graham has written0 $or e/am1le0 that the Vikings $oretold the $uture by a ritual o$ cutting the veins o$ animals and s1reading them on the ground. &his is almost certainty wrong; the %rabic 1hrase $or cleaning an animal is cutting the veins0 and Ibn (adlan was here re$erring to the wides1read 1ractice o$ divination by e/amination o$ entrails. *inguists0 who deal with such vernacular 1hrases all the time0 are $ond o$ discre1ancies in meaning; a $avorite e/am1le o$ 'alstead;s is the "nglish warning *ook outJ which usually means that one should do e/actly the o11osite and dive $or cover.

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have heard as a rumor. Nor was this any ama:ement to me0 $or this reasonE in all the lands I have traveled0 and so also within the round walls o$ the .ity o$ Peace0 verily in every location where men gather and make $or themselves a society0 I have learned these things to be truths. (irst0 that the 1eo1les o$ a 1articular land believe their customs to be $itting and 1ro1er and better than any other. -econd0 that any stranger0 a man or also a woman0 is accounted in$erior in all ways save in the matter o$ generation. &hus the &urks believe the Persians gi$ted lovers; the Persians stand in awe o$ the black8skinned 1eo1les; and they in turn o$ some others0 severally; and so it continues0 sometimes by reason given o$ 1ro1ortion o$ genitalia0 sometimes by reason given o$ endurance in the act0 sometimes by reason given o$ es1ecial skill or 1osturing. I cannot say whether the Northwomen truly believe as 'erger s1oke0 but verily I discovered that they were much ama:ed at me by virtue o$ my surgery0 4? which 1ractice is unknown among them0 as they are dirty heathens. !$ the manner o$ thrusting0 these women are noisy and energetic0 and o$ such odor that I was obliged to sto1 my breath $or the duration; also they are given to bucking and twisting0 scratching and biting0 so that a man may be thrown $rom his mount0 as the Northmen s1eak o$ it. (or mysel$ I accounted the whole business more 1ain than 1leasure. &he Northmen say o$ the act0 I did battle with such a woman or another0 and 1roudly show their blue marks and abrasions to their comrades0 as i$ these were true wounds o$ war$are. 'owever0 the men never did in6ury to any woman that I could see. Now this night0 while all the warriors o$ #uliwy$ sle1t0 I was too a$raid to drink or laugh; I $eared the return o$ the wendol. 9et they did not return0 and I also eventually sle1t0 but $it$ully. Now in the $ollowing day there was no wind0 and all the 1eo1le o$ the kingdom o$ othgar worked with dedication and $ear; there was talk everywhere o$ the Korgon0 and the certainty that it would attack u1on the night. &he clawmark wounds on my $ace now 1ained me0 $or they 1inched as they healed0 and ached whenever I moved my mouth to eat or s1eak. %lso it is true that my warrior;s $ever had le$t me. I was a$raid once more0 and I worked in silence alongside the women and old men. &oward the middle time o$ the day0 I was visited by the old and toothless noble whom I had s1oken to in the ban@uet hall. &his old noble sought me out0 and said thus in *atin0 I will have words with you. 'e led me to ste1 a $ew 1aces a1art $rom the workers at the de$enses. Now he made a great show o$ e/amining my wounds0 which in truth were not serious0 and while he e/amined these cuts he said to me0 I have a warning $or your com1any. &here is unrest in the heart o$ othgar. &his he s1oke in *atin. 7hat is the causeF I said. It is the herald0 and also the son 7igli$0 who stands at the ear o$ the King0 the old nobleman said. %nd also the $riend o$ 7igli$. 7igli$ s1eaks to othgar that #uliwy$ and his com1any 1lan to kill the King and rule the kingdom. &hat is not the truth0 I said0 although I did not know this. In honest $act0 I had thought u1on this matter $rom time to time; #uliwy$ was young and vital0 and othgar old and weak0 and while it is true that the ways o$ the Northmen are strange0 it is also true that all men are the same. &he herald and 7igli$ are envious o$ #uliwy$0 the old noble s1oke to me. &hey 1oison the air in the ear o$ the King. %ll this I tell to you so that you may tell the others to
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.ircumcision.

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be wary0 $or this is a matter $it $or a basilisk. %nd then he 1ronounced my wounds to be minor0 and turned away. &hen the noble came back once more. 'e said0 &he $riend o$ 7igli$ is agnar0 and he went away a second time0 not looking back u1on me $urther. In great consternation0 I dug and worked at the de$enses until I $ound mysel$ near to 'erger. &he mood o$ 'erger was still as grim as it had been u1on the day 1revious. 'e greeted me with these wordsE I do not want to hear the @uestions o$ a $ool. I said to him that I had no @uestions0 and I re1orted to him what the old noble had s1oken to me; also I told him it was a matter $it $or a basilisk.4C %t my s1eech0 'erger $rowned and swore oaths and stam1ed his $oot0 and bid me accom1any him to #uliwy$. #uliwy$ directed work on the ditch at the other side o$ the encam1ment; 'erger drew him aside0 and s1oke ra1idly in the Norse tongue0 with gestures to my 1erson. #uliwy$ $rowned0 and swore oaths and stam1ed his $oot much as 'erger0 and then asked a @uestion. 'erger said to me0 #uliwy$ asks who is the $riend o$ 7igli$F )id the old man tell you who is the $riend o$ 7igli$F I res1onded that he had0 and the $riend was o$ the name agnar. %t this re1ort0 'erger and #uliwy$ s1oke $urther among themselves0 and dis1uted brie$ly0 and then #uliwy$ turned away and le$t me with 'erger. It is decided0 'erger said. 7hat is decidedF I in@uired. Kee1 your teeth together0 'erger said0 which is a North e/1ression meaning do not talk. &hus I returned to my labors0 understanding no more than I had at the beginning o$ the matter. !nce again I thought these Northmen to be the most 1eculiar and contrary men on the $ace o$ the earth0 $or in no matter do they behave as one would e/1ect sensible beings to behave. 9et I worked u1on their silly $ence0 and their shallow ditch; and I watched0 and waited. %t the time o$ the a$ternoon 1rayer0 I observed that 'erger had taken u1 a work 1osition near to a stra11ing0 giant youth. 'erger and this youth toiled side by side in the ditch $or some time0 and it a11eared to my way o$ seeing that 'erger took some 1ains to $ling dirt into the $ace o$ the youth0 who was in truth a head taller than 'erger0 and younger0 too. &he youth 1rotested0 and 'erger a1ologi:ed; but soon was $linging dirt again. %gain0 'erger a1ologi:ed; now the youth was angry and his $ace was red. No more than a short time 1assed be$ore 'erger was again $linging dirt0 and the youth s1uttered and s1at it and was angry in the e/treme. 'e shouted at 'erger0 who later told me the words o$ their conversation0 although the meaning was evident enough at the time. &he youth s1okeE 9ou dig as a dog. 'erger s1oke in answerE )o you call me a dogF &o this0 the youth saidE No0 I said that you dig as a dog0 $linging 4B earth carelessly0 as an
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Ibn (adlan does not describe a basilisk0 a11arently assuming that his readers are $amiliar with the mythological creature0 which a11ears in the early belie$s o$ nearly all 7estern cultures. %lso known as a cockatrice0 the basilisk is generally a variety o$ cock with a ser1ent;s tail and eight legs0 and sometimes bearing scales instead o$ $eathers. 7hat is always true o$ the basilisk is that his stare is deadly0 like the stare o$ a Gorgon; and the venom o$ the basilisk is 1articularly lethal. %ccording to some accounts0 a 1erson who stabs a basilisk will watch the venom travel u1 the sword and onto his hand. &he man will then be obliged to cut o$$ his own hand to save his body. It is 1robably this sense o$ the danger o$ the basilisk that 1rom1ts its mention here. &he old noble is telling Ibn (adlan that a direct con$rontation with the troublemakers will not solve the 1roblem. Interestingly0 one way to dis1atch a basilisk was to let it see its re$lected image in a mirror; it would then be killed by its own stare. 4B HPI in %rabic0 and in the *atin te/ts0 &er'era. #oth words meaning $logging or whi11ing0 and not $linging0 as this 1assage is ordinarily translated. It is usually assumed that Ibn (adlan used the meta1hor o$ whi11ing with dirt to em1hasi:e the $erocity o$ the insult0 which is clear enough in any case. 'owever0 he may have consciously or unconsciously transmitted a

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animal. 'erger s1okeE )o you then call me an animalF &he youth re1liedE 9ou mistake my words. Now 'erger said0 Indeed0 $or your words are twisted and timid as a $eeble old woman. &his old woman shall see you taste death0 the youth said0 and drew $orth his sword. &hen 'erger drew his0 $or the youth was the same agnar0 the $riend o$ 7igli$0 and thus I saw mani$ested the intention o$ #uliwy$ in the matter. &hese Northmen are most sensitive and touchy about their honor. %mong their com1any0 duels occur as $re@uently as micturition0 and a battle to the death is counted ordinary. It may occur on the s1ot o$ the insult0 or i$ it is to be $ormally conducted0 the combatants meet at the 6oining 1lace o$ three roads. It was thus that agnar challenged 'erger to $ight him. Now this is the Northman customE at the a11ointed time0 the $riends and kin o$ the duelers assemble at the 1lace o$ battle and stretch a hide u1on the ground. &his they $i/ with $our laurel 1oles. &he battle must be $ought u1on the hide0 each man kee1ing a $oot0 or both0 on the skin all the while; in this $ashion they remain close one to another. &he two combatants each arrive with one sword and three shields. I$ a man;s three shields all break0 he must $ight on without 1rotection0 and the battle is to the death. -uch were the rules0 chanted by the old crone0 the angel o$ death0 at the 1osition o$ the stretched hide0 with all the 1eo1le o$ #uliwy$ and the 1eo1le o$ the kingdom o$ othgar gathered around. I was mysel$ there0 not so close to the $ront0 and I marveled that these 1eo1le should $orget the threat o$ the Korgon which had so terri$ied them earlier; no one cared anything $or aught but the duel. &his was the manner o$ the duel between agnar and 'erger. 'erger struck the $irst blow0 since he had been challenged0 and his sword rang mightily on the shield o$ agnar. I mysel$ had $ear $or 'erger0 since this youth was so much larger and stronger than he0 and indeed agnar;s $irst blow smote 'erger;s shield $rom its handgri10 and 'erger called $or his second shield. &hen the battle was 6oined0 and $iercely. I looked once to #uliwy$0 whose $ace was without e/1ression; and to 7igli$ and the herald0 on the o11osite side0 who o$ten looked to
distinctly -candinavian attitude toward insults. %nother %rab re1orter0 al8&artushi0 visited the town o$ 'edeby in %.). 3CA0 and said this about the -candinaviansE &hey are most 1eculiar in the matter o$ 1unishment. &hey have only three 1enalties $or wrongdoing. &he $irst o$ these and the most $eared is banishment $rom the tribe. &he second is to be sold into slavery and the third is death. 7omen who do wrong are sold as slaves. +en always 1re$er death. (logging is unknown to the Northmen. &his view is not 1recisely shared by %dam o$ #remen0 a German ecclesiastical historian0 who wrote in 5A=CE I$ women have been $ound unchaste0 they are sold o$$ at once0 but i$ men are $ound guilty o$ treason or any other crime0 they 1re$er to be beheaded than $logged. No $orm o$ 1unishment other than the a/e or slavery is known to them. &he historian -6ogren 1laces great im1ortance on %dam;s statement that men would 1re$er to be beheaded rather than $logged. &his would seem to suggest that $logging was known among the Northmen; and he argues $urther that it was most likely a 1unishment $or slaves. -laves are 1ro1erty0 and it is economically unwise to kill them $or minor o$$enses; surely whi11ing was an acce1ted $orm o$ 1unishment to a slave. &hus it may be that warriors viewed whi11ing as a degraded 1enalty because it was reserved $or slaves. -6ogren also argues that all we know o$ Viking li$e 1oints to a society $ounded u1on the idea o$ shame0 not guilt0 as the negative behavioral 1ole. Vikings never $elt guilt about anything0 but they de$ended their honor $iercely0 and would avoid a shame$ul act at any cost. Passively submitting to the whi1 must have been ad6udged shame$ul in the e/treme0 and $ar worse than death itsel$. &hese s1eculations carry us back to Ibn (adlan;s manuscri1t0 and his choice o$ the words whi11ing with dirt. -ince the %rab is so $astidious0 one might wonder whether his words re$lect an Islamic attitude. In this regard0 we should remember that while Ibn (adlan;s world was certainly divided into clean and dirty things and acts0 soil itsel$ was not necessarily dirty. !n the contrary0 ta%ammum0 ablution with dust or sand0 is carried out whenever ablution with water is not 1ossible. &hus Ibn (adlan had no 1articular abhorrence o$ soil on one;s 1erson; he would have been much more u1set i$ he were asked to drink $rom a gold cu10 which was strictly $orbidden.

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#uliwy$ while the battle raged. 'erger;s second shield was likewise broken0 and he called $or his third and $inal shield. 'erger was much $atigued0 and his $ace dam1 and red with e/ertion; the youth agnar a11eared easy as he battled0 with little e/ertion. &hen the third shield was broken0 and 'erger;s 1light was most des1erate0 or so it seemed $or a $leeting moment. 'erger stood with both $eet solid on the ground0 bent and gas1ing $or his air0 and most direly $atigued. agnar chose this time to $all u1on him. &hen 'erger side8ste11ed like the $lick o$ a bird;s wings0 and the youth agnar 1lunged his sword through em1ty air. &hen0 'erger threw his own sword $rom one hand to the other0 $or these Northmen can $ight as well with either hand0 and e@ually strong. %nd @uickly 'erger turned and cut o$$ agnar;s head $rom behind with a single blow o$ his sword. Verily I saw the blood s1urt $rom the neck o$ agnar and the head $lew across the air into the crowd0 and I saw with my own eyes that the head struck the ground be$ore the body also struck the ground. Now 'erger ste11ed aside0 and then I 1erceived that the battle had been a sham0 $or 'erger no longer 1u$$ed and 1anted0 but stood with no sign o$ $atigue and no heaving o$ his chest0 and he held his sword lightly0 and he looked as i$ he could kill a do:en such men. %nd he looked at 7igli$ and said0 'onor your $riend0 meaning to see to the burial. 'erger said to me0 as we de1arted the dueling 1lace0 that he had acted a sham so that 7igli$ should know the men o$ #uliwy$ were not merely strong and brave warriors0 but cunning as well. &his will give him more $ear0 'erger said0 and he will not dare to s1eak against us. I doubted his 1lan would have this e$$ect0 but it is true that the Northmen 1ri:e deceit more than the most deceit$ul 'a:ar0 indeed more than the most lying #ahrain trader0 $or whom deceit is a $orm o$ art. .leverness in battle and manly things is accounted a greater virtue than 1ure strength in warriorshi1. 9et 'erger was not ha11y0 and I 1erceived that #uliwy$ was not ha11y0 either. %s the evening a11roached0 the beginnings o$ the mist $ormed in the high inland hills. I believed that they were thinking o$ the dead agnar0 who was young and strong and brave0 and who would be use$ul in the coming battle. 'erger said as much to meE % dead man is o$ no use to anyone. THE ATTACK OF THE GLOWWORM DRAGON KORGON N!7 7I&' &'" (%** !( )% KN"--0 &'" +I-& cre1t down $rom the hills0 slinking as $ingers around the trees0 see1ing over the green $ields toward the hall o$ 'urot and the waiting warriors o$ #uliwy$. 'ere there was a res1ite in work; $rom a $resh s1ring0 water was diverted to $ill the shallow ditch0 and then I understood the sense o$ the 1lan0 $or the water concealed the stakes and dee1er holes0 and thus the moat was treacherous to any invader. (urther still0 the women o$ othgar carried goatskin sacks o$ water $rom the well0 and doused the $ence0 and the dwelling0 and all the sur$ace o$ the hall o$ 'urot with water. -o0 also0 the warriors o$ #uliwy$ drenched themselves in their armor with water $rom the s1ring. &he night was dam1 cold and0 thinking this some heathen ritual0 I begged e/cuses0 but to no endE 'erger doused me head to $oot like the rest. I stood dri11ing and shiveringE in truth I cried aloud at the shock o$ the cold water0 and demanded to know the reason.
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&he glowworm dragon breathes $ire0 'erger said to me. &hen he o$$ered me a cu1 o$ mead to ease the chill0 and I drank this cu1 o$ mead without a 1ause0 and was glad $or it. Now the night was $ully black0 and the warriors o$ #uliwy$ awaited the coming o$ the dragon Korgon. %ll eyes were turned toward the hills0 now lost in the mist o$ night. #uliwy$ himsel$ strode the length o$ the $orti$ications0 carrying his great sword unding0 s1eaking low words o$ encouragement to his warriors. %ll waited @uietly0 save one0 the lieutenant "cthgow. &his "cthgow is a master o$ the hand a/e; he had set u1 a sturdy 1ost o$ wood some distance $rom him0 and he 1racticed the throw o$ his hand a/e to this wooden 1ost0 over and again. Indeed0 many hand a/es had been given him; I counted $ive or si/ cli11ed to his broad belt0 and others in his hands0 and scattered on the ground about him. In like manner was 'erger stringing and testing with his bow and arrow0 and also -keld0 $or these were the most skilled in marksmanshi1 o$ the Northmen warriors. &he Northmen arrows have iron 1oints and are most e/cellently constructed0 with sha$ts straight as a taut line. &hey have within each village or cam1 a man who is o$ten cri11led or lame0 and he is known as the almsmann; he $ashions the arrows0 and also the bows0 $or the warriors o$ the region0 and $or these alms is 1aid with gold or shells or0 as have mysel$ seen0 with $ood and meat.4= &he bows o$ the Northmen are near the length o$ their own bodies0 and made o$ birch. &he $ashion o$ shooting is thisE the arrow sha$t is drawn back to the ear0 not to the eye0 and thence let $ly; and the 1ower is such that the sha$t may 1ass cleanly through the body o$ a man0 and not lodge therein; so also may the sha$t 1enetrate a sheet o$ wood o$ the thickness o$ a man;s $ist. Verily I have seen such 1ower with an arrow with my own eyes0 and I mysel$ tried to wield one o$ their bows0 but discovered it ungainly; $or it was too large and resistant to me. &hese Northmen are skilled in all the manners o$ war$are and killing with the several wea1ons that they 1ri:e. &hey s1eak o$ the lines o$ war$are0 which has no sense o$ arrangements o$ soldiers; $or all to them is the combat o$ one man to another who is his enemy. &he two lines o$ war$are di$$er as to the wea1on. (or the broadsword0 which is always swung in an arc and never em1loyed in stabbing0 they sayE &he sword seeks the breath line0 which means to them the neck0 and thereby the cutting o$$ o$ the head $rom the body. (or the s1ear0 the arrow0 the hand a/e0 the dagger0 and the other tools o$ stabbing0 they sayE &hese wea1ons seek the $at line.4< #y these words they intend to
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&his 1assage is a11arently the source o$ the 5<B3 comment by the scholarly ev. Noel 'arleigh that among the barbaric Vikings0 morality was so 1erversely inverted that their sense o$ alms was the dues 1aid to wea1ons8makers. 'arleigh;s Victorian assurance e/ceeded his linguistic knowledge. &he Norse word alm means elm0 the resilient wood $rom which the -candinavians made bows and arrows. It is only by chance that this word also has an "nglish meaning. H&he "nglish alms meaning charitable donations is usually thought to derive $rom the Greek eleos0 to 1ity.I 4< Finea ade$sE literally0 $at line. %lthough the anatomical wisdom o$ the 1assage has never been @uestioned by soldiers in the thousand years sinceG$or the midline o$ the body is where the most vital nerves and vessels are all $oundGthe 1recise derivation o$ the term has been mysterious. In this regard0 it is interesting to note that one o$ the Icelandic sagas mentions a wounded warrior in 5A>A who 1ulls an arrow $rom his chest and sees bits o$ $lesh attached to the 1oint; he then says that he still has $at around his heart. +ost scholars agree that this is an ironic comment $rom a warrior who knows that he has been mortally wounded0 and this makes good anatomical sense. In 5<?=0 the %merican historian obert +iller re$erred to this 1assage o$ Ibn (adlan when he said0 %lthough $erocious warriors0 the Vikings had a 1oor knowledge o$ 1hysiognomy. &heir men were instructed to seek out the vertical midline o$ the o11onent;s body0 but in doing so0 o$ course0 they would miss the heart0 1ositioned as it is in the le$t chest. &he 1oor knowledge must be attributed to +iller0 and not the Vikings. (or the last several hundred years0 ordinary 7estern men had believed the heart to be located in the le$t chest; %mericans 1ut their hands over their hearts when they 1ledge allegiance to the $lag; we have a strong $olk tradition o$ soldiers being saved $rom death by a #ible carried in the breast 1ocket

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center 1art o$ the body $rom head to groin; a wound in this center line means to them certain death to their o11onent. %lso they believe it is $oremost to strike the belly $or its so$tness than to strike the chest or head 1ortion. Verily0 #uliwy$ and all his com1any ke1t watch$ul vigil that night0 and I among them. I e/1erienced much $atigue in this alertness0 and soon enough was tired as i$ I had $ought a battle0 yet none had occurred. &he Northmen were not $atigued0 but ready at any moment. It is true that they are the most vigilant 1ersons on the $ace o$ all the world0 ever 1re1ared $or any battle or danger; and they $ind nothing tiresome in this 1osture0 which $or them is ordinary $rom birth. %t all times are they 1rudent and watch$ul. %$ter a time I sle1t0 and 'erger woke me thus and brus@uelyE I $elt a great thum1ing and a whistle o$ air near my head0 and u1on the o1ening o$ my eyes saw an arrow shivering in the wood at the breadth o$ a hair $rom my nose. &his arrow 'erger had shot0 and he and all the others laughed mightily at my discom$iture. &o me he said0 I$ you slee10 you will miss the battle. I said in res1onse that that would be no hardshi1 according to my own way o$ thinking. Now 'erger retrieved his arrow and0 observing that I was o$$ended with his 1rank0 sat alongside me and s1oke in a manner o$ $riendliness. 'erger this night was in a 1ronounced mood o$ 6oking and $un. 'e shared with me a cu1 o$ mead0 and s1oke thusE -keld is bewitched. %t this he laughed. -keld was not $ar o$$0 and 'erger s1oke loudly0 so I recogni:ed that -keld was to overhear us; yet 'erger s1oke in *atin0 unintelligible to -keld; so 1erha1s there was some other reason I do not know. -keld in this time shar1ened the 1oints o$ his arrows and awaited the battle. &o 'erger I saidE 'ow is he bewitchedF In re1ly 'erger saidE I$ he is not bewitched0 he may be turning %rab0 $or he washes his undergarments and also his body each day. 'ave you not observed this $or yoursel$F I answered that I had not. 'erger0 laughing much0 said0 -keld does this $or such and such a $reeborn woman0 who has ca1tured his $ancy. (or her he washes each day0 and acts a delicate timid $ool. 'ave you not observed thisF %gain I answered that I had not. &o this 'erger s1okeE 7hat do you see insteadF and laughed much at his own wit0 which I did not share0 or even 1retend0 $or I was not o$ a mood to laugh. Now 'erger says0 9ou %rabs are too dour. 9ou grumble all the while. Nothing is laughable to your eyes. 'ere I said that he s1oke wrongly. 'e challenged me to s1eak a humorous story0 and I told him o$ the sermon o$ the $amous 1reacher. 9ou know this well. % $amous 1reacher stands in the 1ul1it o$ the mos@ue0 and $rom all around men and women have gathered to hear his noble words. % man0 'amid0 1uts on a robe and veil and sits among the women. &he $amous 1reacher saysE %ccording to Islam0 it is desirable that one should not let his or her 1ubic hair grow too long. % 1erson asksE 'ow long is too long0 ! 1reacherF %ll know this story; it is a rude 6oke0 indeed. &he 1reacher re1liesE It should not be longer than a barley. Now 'amid asks the woman ne/t to himE -ister0 1lease check to tell me i$ my 1ubic hair is longer than a barley. &he woman reaches under 'amid;s robes to $eel the 1ubic hair0 whereu1on her hand touches his organ. In her sur1rise she utters a cry. &he 1reacher hears this and is much 1leased. &o the audience he saysE 9ou should all learn the art o$ attending a sermon0 as this lady does0 $or you can see how it touched her heart. %nd the woman0 still shocked0 makes this re1lyE It didn;t touch my heart0 ! 1reacher; it
that sto1s the $atal bullet0 and so on. In $act0 the heart is a midline structure that e/tends to varying degrees into the le$t chest; but a midline wound in the chest will always 1ierce the heart.

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touched my hand. 'erger listened to all my words with a $lat countenance. Never did he laugh nor even smile. %t my conclusion he said0 7hat is a 1reacherF &o this I said he was a stu1id Northman who knew nothing o$ the wideness o$ the world. %nd to this he laughed0 whereas he did not laugh at the $able. Now -keld gave a shout0 and all the warriors o$ #uliwy$0 mysel$ among them0 turned to look at the hills0 behind the blanket o$ mist. 'ere is what I sawE high in the air0 a glowing $iery 1oint o$ light0 like a bla:ing star0 and a distance o$$. %ll the warriors saw it0 and there was murmuring and e/clamation among them. -oon a11eared a second 1oint o$ light0 and yet another0 and then another. I counted 1ast a do:en and then ceased to count $urther. &hese glowing $ire81oints a11eared in a line0 which undulated like a snake0 or verily like the undulating body o$ a dragon. #e ready now0 'erger said to me0 and also the Northmen;s sayingE *uck in battle. &his wish I re1eated back to him in the same words0 and he moved away. &he glowing $ire81oints were still distant0 yet they came closer. Now I heard a sound which I took as thunder. &his was a dee1 distant rumbling that swelled in the misty air0 as all sounds do in mist. (or verily it is true that in mist a man;s whis1er can be heard a hundred 1aces distant0 clear as i$ he whis1ered in your own ear. Now I watched0 and listened0 and all the warriors o$ #uliwy$ gri11ed their wea1ons and watched and listened likewise0 and the glowworm dragon o$ Korgon bore down u1on us in thunder and $lame. "ach bla:ing 1oint grew larger0 and bale$ul red0 $lickering and licking; the body o$ the dragon was long and shimmering0 a vision most $ierce o$ as1ect0 and yet I was not a$raid0 $or I determined now that these were horsemen with torches0 and this 1roved true. -oon0 then0 $rom out o$ the mist the horsemen emerged0 black sha1es with raised torches0 black steeds hissing and charging0 and the battle was 6oined. Immediately the night air $illed with dread$ul screams and cries o$ agony0 $or the $irst charge o$ horsemen had struck the trench0 and many mounts tumbled and $ell0 s1illing their riders0 and the torches s1uttered in the water. !ther horses tried to lea1 the $ence0 to be im1aled on the shar1 stakes. % section o$ the $ence caught $ire. 7arriors ran in all directions. Now I saw one o$ the horsemen ride through the burning section o$ $ence0 and I could see this wendol clearly $or the $irst time0 and verily I saw thisE on a black steed rode a human $igure in black0 but his head was the head o$ a bear. I was startled with a time o$ most horrible $right0 and I $eared I should die $rom $ear alone0 $or never had I witnessed such a nightmare vision; yet at the same moment the hand a/e o$ "cthgow was buried dee1 into the back o$ the rider0 who to11led and $ell0 and the bear;s head rolled $rom his body0 and I saw that he had beneath the head o$ a man. Kuick as a lightning bolt0 "cthgow lea1t u1on the $allen creature0 stabbed dee1 into the chest0 turned the cor1se and withdrew his hand a/e $rom the back0 and ran to 6oin the battle. I also 6oined the battle0 $or I was knocked s1inning $rom my $eet by the blow o$ a lance. +any riders were now within the $ence0 their torches bla:ing; some had the heads o$ bears and some did not; they circled and tried to set the buildings and the hall o$ 'urot a$ire. %gainst this0 #uliwy$ and his men battled valiantly. I came to my $eet 6ust as one o$ the mist monsters bore down u1on me with charging steed. Verily I did thisE I stood $irm my ground and held my lance u1ward0 and the im1act I thought would rend me. 9et the lance 1assed through the body o$ the rider0 and he screamed most horribly0 but he did not $all $rom his mount0 and rode on. I $ell gas1ing with 1ain in my stomach0 but I was not truly in6ured save $or the moment.
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)uring the time o$ this battle0 'erger and -keld loosed their many arrows0 and the air was $illed with their whistles0 and they reached many marks. I saw the arrow o$ -keld 1ass through the neck o$ one rider0 and lodge there; yet again I saw -keld and 'erger both 1ierce a rider in the chest0 and so @uickly did they unsheathe and draw again that this same rider soon bore $our sha$ts buried in his body0 and his screaming was most dread$ul as he rode. 9et I learned this deed was accounted 1oor $ighting by 'erger and -keld0 $or the Northmen believe that there is nothing sacred in animals; so to them the 1ro1er use o$ arrows is the killing o$ horses0 to dislodge the rider. &hey say o$ thisE % man o$$ his horse is hal$ a man0 and twice killable. &hus they 1roceed with no hesitations.43 Now I also saw thisE a rider swe1t into the com1ound0 bent low on his gallo1ing black horse0 and he caught u1 the body o$ the monster "cthgow had slain0 swung it over his horse;s neck0 and rode o$$0 $or as I have said0 these mist monsters leave no dead to be $ound in the morning light. &he battle raged on a goodly 1eriod o$ time by the light o$ the bla:ing $ire through the mist. I saw 'erger in mortal combat with one o$ the demons; taking u1 a $resh lance0 I drove it dee1 into the creature;s back. 'erger0 dri11ing blood0 raised an arm in thanks and 1lunged back into the combat. 'ere I $elt great 1ride. Now I tried to withdraw my lance0 and whilst so doing0 was knocked aside by some 1assing horseman0 and $rom that time in truth I remember little. I saw that one o$ the dwellings o$ the nobles o$ othgar was burning in licking s1itting $lame0 but that the doused hall o$ 'urot was still untouched0 and I was glad as i$ I were mysel$ a Northman0 and such were my $inal thoughts. ,1on the dawn0 I was roused by some manner o$ bathing u1on the $lesh o$ my $ace0 and was 1leased $or the gentle touch. -oon then0 I saw that I received the ministrations o$ a licking dog0 and $elt much the drunken $ool0 and was morti$ied0 as may be imagined.>A Now I saw that I lay in the ditch0 where the water was red as blood itsel$0 I arose and walked through the smoking com1ound0 1ast all manner o$ death and destruction. I saw that the earth was soaked in blood0 as $rom a rain0 with many 1uddles. I saw the bodies o$ slain nobles0 and dead women and children likewise. -o0 also0 I saw three or $our whose bodies were charred and crusted $rom $ire. %ll these bodies lay everywhere u1on the ground and I was obliged to cast my eyes downward lest I ste1 u1on them0 so thickly were
43

%ccording to divine law0 +uslims believe that the +essenger o$ God has $orbidden cruelty to animals. &his e/tends to such mundane details as the commandment to unload 1ack animals 1rom1tly0 so that they will not be unnecessarily burdened. (urthermore0 the %rabs have always taken a s1ecial delight in breeding and training horses. &he -candinavians had no s1ecial $eeling toward animals; nearly all %rab observers commented on their lack o$ a$$ection $or horses. >A +ost early translators o$ Ibn (adlan;s manuscri1t were .hristians with no knowledge o$ %rabic culture0 and their inter1retation o$ this 1assage re$lects that ignorance. In a very $ree translation0 the Italian *acalla H5<?=I saysE In the morning I arose $rom my drunken stu1or like a common dog0 and was much ashamed $or my condition. %nd -kovmand0 in his 5353 commentary0 brus@uely concludes that one cannot 1lace credence in Ibn (adlan;s stories0 $or he was drunk during the battles0 and admits as much. +ore charitably0 )u .hatellier0 a con$irmed Vikingo1hile0 said in 53A<E &he %rab soon ac@uired the into/ication o$ the battle that is the very essence o$ the Norse heroic s1irit. I am indebted to +assud (ar:an0 the -u$i scholar0 $or e/1laining the allusion that Ibn (adlan is making here. %ctually0 he is com1aring himsel$ to a character in a very old %rabic 6okeE % drunken man $alls into a 1uddle o$ his own vomit by the roadside. % dog comes along and begins licking his $ace. &he drunk assumes a kind 1erson is cleaning his $ace0 and says grate$ully0 +ay %llah make your children obedient. &hen the dog raises his leg and urinates on the drunkard0 who res1onds0 %nd may God bless you0 brother0 $or having brought warm water to wash my $ace. In %rabic0 the 6oke carries the usual in6unction against drunkenness0 and the subtle reminder that li@uor is #hmer0 or $ilth0 as is urine. Ibn (adlan 1robably e/1ected his reader to think0 not that he was ever drunk0 but rather that he luckily avoided being urinated u1on by the dog0 as he earlier esca1ed death in battleE it is a re$erence0 in other words0 to another near miss.

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they s1read. !$ the de$ense works0 much o$ the 1ole $ence had been burned away. ,1on other sections0 horses lay im1aled and cold. &orches were scattered here and there. I saw none o$ the warriors o$ #uliwy$. No cries or mourning came $rom the kingdom o$ othgar0 $or the North 1eo1le do not lament any death0 but on the contrary there was unusual stillness in the air. I heard the crowing o$ a cock0 and the bark o$ a dog0 but no human voices in the daylight. &hen I entered the great hall o$ 'urot0 and here $ound two bodies laid u1on the rushes0 with their helmets u1on their chests. &here was -keld0 an earl o$ #uliwy$; there was 'el$dane0 earlier in6ured and now cold and 1ale. #oth were dead. %lso there was ethel0 youngest o$ the warriors0 who sat u1right in a corner and was attended by slavewomen. ethel had been wounded 1reviously but he had a $resh in6ury in his stomach0 and there was much blood; surely it 1ained him greatly0 and yet he showed only cheer0 and he smiled and teased the slavewomen by the 1ractice o$ 1inching their breasts and buttocks0 and o$ten they chided him $or causing their distraction as they attem1ted to bind his wounds. 'ere is the manner o$ the treatment o$ wounds0 according to their nature. I$ a warrior be wounded in the e/tremity0 either the arm or the leg0 a ligature is tied about the e/tremity0 and cloths boiled in water 1laced over the wound to cover it. %lso0 I was told that s1ider webs or bits o$ lamb;s wool may be 1laced into the wound to thicken the blood and sto1 its $low; this I never observed. I$ a warrior be wounded in the head or the neck0 his in6ury is bathed clean and e/amined by the slavewomen. I$ the skin is rent but the white bones whole0 then they say o$ such a wound0 It is no matter. #ut i$ the bones are cracked0 or broken o1en in some $ashion0 then they say0 'is li$e issues out and soon esca1es. I$ a warrior be wounded in the chest0 they $eel his hands and $eet0 and i$ these are warm0 they say o$ such a wound0 It is no matter. 9et i$ this warrior coughs or vomits blood0 they say0 'e s1eaks in blood0 and count this most serious. % man may die o$ the blood8 s1eaking illness0 or he may not0 as is his $ate. I$ a warrior is wounded in the abdomen0 they $eed him a sou1 o$ onions and herbs; then the women smell about his wounds0 and i$ they smell onions0 they say0 'e has the sou1 illness0 and they know he shall die. I saw with my own eyes the women 1re1are a sou1 o$ onion $or ethel0 who drank a @uantity o$ this; and the slavewoman smelled at his wound0 and they smelled the odor o$ onion. %t this0 ethel laughed and made some manner o$ hearty 6oke0 and called $or mead0 which was brought him0 and he showed no trace o$ any care. Now #uliwy$0 the leader0 and all his warriors con$erred in another 1lace in the great hall. I 6oined their com1any0 but was accorded no greeting. 'erger0 whose li$e I had saved0 made no notice o$ me0 $or the warriors were dee1 in solemn conversation. I had learned some o$ the Norse s1eech0 but not su$$icient to $ollow their low and @uickly s1oken words0 and so I walked to another 1lace and drank some mead0 and $elt the aches o$ my body. &hen a slavewoman came to bathe my wounds. &hese were a cut in the cal$ and another on my chest. &hese in6uries I had been insensible to until the time she made o$$er o$ her ministrations. &he Northmen bathe wounds with ocean seawater0 believing this water to 1ossess more curative 1owers than s1ring water. -uch bathing with seawater is not agreeable to the wound. In truth I groaned and at this0 ethel laughed and s1oke to a slavewomanE 'e is
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still an %rab. 'ere I was ashamed. %lso the Northmen will bathe wounds in the heated urine o$ cows. &his I re$used0 when it was o$$ered me. &he North 1eo1le think cow urine an admirable substance0 and store it u1 in wooden containers. In the ordinary way o$ things0 they boil it until it is dense and stinging to the nostrils0 and then em1loy this vile li@uid $or washing0 es1ecially o$ coarse white garments.>5 %lso I was told that0 u1on one time or another0 the North 1eo1le may be engaged in a long sea voyage and have at hand no su11lies o$ $resh water0 and there$ore each man drinks his own urine0 and in this way they can survive until they reach shore. &his I was told but never saw0 by the grace o$ %llah. Now 'erger came to me0 $or the con$erence o$ the warriors was at an end. &he slavewoman attending me had made my wounds burn most distractingly; yet I was determined to maintain a Northman show o$ great cheer. I said to 'erger0 7hat tri$ling matter shall we undertake ne/tF 'erger looked to my wounds0 and said to me0 9ou can ride well enough. I in@uired where I would be riding0 and in truth at once lost all my good cheer0 $or I had great weariness0 and no strength $or aught but resting. 'erger saidE &onight0 the glowworm dragon will attack again. #ut we are now too weak0 and our numbers too $ew. !ur de$enses are burned and destroyed. &he glowworm dragon will kill us all. &hese words he s1oke calmly. I saw this0 and said to 'ergerE 7here0 then0 do we rideF I had in mind that by reason o$ their heavy losses0 #uliwy$ and his com1any might be abandoning the kingdom o$ othgar. In this I was not o11osed. 'erger said to meE % wol$ that lies in its lair never gets meat0 or a slee1ing man victory. &his is a Northman 1roverb0 and $rom it I took a di$$erent 1lanE that we were going to attack on horseback the mist monsters where they lay0 in the mountains or the hills. 7ith no great heart I in@uired o$ 'erger when this should be0 and 'erger told me in the middle 1art o$ the day. Now I saw also that a child entered the hall0 and carried in his hands some ob6ect o$ stone. &his was e/amined by 'erger0 and it was another o$ the headless stone carvings o$ a 1regnant woman0 bloated and ugly. 'erger shouted an oath0 and dro11ed the stone $rom his trembling hands. 'e called u1on the slavewoman0 who took the stone and 1laced it in the $ire0 where the heat o$ the $lames caused it to crack and s1linter into $ragments. &hese $ragments were then thrown into the sea0 or so I was in$ormed by 'erger. I in@uired what was the meaning o$ the carved stone0 and he said to me0 &hat is the image o$ the mother o$ the eaters o$ the dead0 she who 1resides over them0 and directs them in the eating. Now I saw that #uliwy$0 who stood in the center o$ the great hall0 was looking u1 at the arm o$ one o$ the $iends0 which still hung $rom the ra$ters. &hen he looked down at the two bodies o$ his slain com1anions0 and at the waning ethel0 and his shoulders $ell0 and his chin sank to his chest. %nd then he walked 1ast them and out o$ the door0 and I saw him 1ut on his armor0 and take u1 his sword0 and 1re1are $or battle anew. THE DESERT OF DREAD

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,rine is a source o$ ammonia0 an e/cellent cleaning com1ound.

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#,*I79( .%**") (! -"V"N -&, )9 '! -"-0 %N) IN the early 1art o$ the day we rode $rom the great hall o$ othgar out into the $lat 1lain0 and thence toward the hills beyond. 7ith us also were $our hounds o$ 1ure white color0 great animals which I should count nearer to wolves than dogs0 so $ierce was their demeanor. &his made the totality o$ our attacking $orces0 and I believed it a weak gesture against so $ormidable an o11onent0 yet the Northmen 1lace great $aith u1on sur1rise and a sly attack. %lso0 by their own reckoning they are each man the e@ual o$ three or $our o$ any other. I was not dis1osed to embark u1on another venture o$ war$are0 and was much ama:ed that the Northmen did not re$lect such a view0 s1ringing as it did $rom the $atigue o$ my body. 'erger said o$ thisE It is always thus0 now and in Valhalla0 which is their idea o$ heaven. In this heaven0 which is to them a great hall0 warriors battle $rom dawn to dusk; then those who are dead are revived0 and all share a $east in the night0 with endless $ood and drink; and then u1on the day they battle again; and those who die are revived0 and there is a $east; and this is the nature o$ their heaven through all eternity. >4 &hus they never count it strange to do battle day u1on day while on the earth. !ur direction o$ travel was determined by the trail o$ blood the retreating horsemen had le$t $rom the night. &he hounds led0 racing along this red dri11ing trail. 7e 1aused but once u1on the $lat 1lain0 to retrieve a wea1on dro11ed by the de1arting demons. 'ere is the nature o$ the wea1onE it was a hand a/e with a ha$t o$ some wood0 and a blade o$ chi11ed stone bound to the ha$t with hide thongs. &he edge o$ this a/e was e/ceedingly shar10 and the blade $ashioned with skill0 as much as i$ this stone were some gemstone to be chiseled to delight a rich lady;s vanity. -uch was the degree o$ workmanshi10 and the wea1on was $ormidable $or the shar1ness o$ its edge. Never have I seen such an ob6ect be$ore on the $ace o$ all the earth. 'erger told me that the wendol made all their tools and wea1ons o$ this stone0 or so the Northmen believe. 9et we traveled onward with good s1eed0 led by the barking dogs0 and their barking cheered me. %t length we came to the hills. 7e rode into the hills without hesitation or ceremony0 each o$ the warriors o$ #uliwy$ intent u1on his 1ur1ose0 a silent and grim8$aced com1any o$ men. &hey held the marks o$ $ear u1on their $aces0 and yet no man 1aused or $altered0 but 1ressed onward. Now it was cold in the hills0 in the $orests o$ dark green trees0 and a chill wind blew at our clothing0 and we saw the hissing breath o$ the steeds0 and white 1lumes o$ breath $rom the running dogs0 and we 1ressed onward still. %$ter some travel until the middle 1eriod o$ the day0 we arrived at a new landsca1e. 'ere was a brackish tarn0 no moor0 or heathGa desolate land0 most resembling a desert0 yet not sandy and dry0 but dam1 and soggy0 and over this land lay the $aintest wis1s o$ mist. &he Northmen call this 1lace the desert o$ dread.>> Now I saw with my own eyes that this mist lay u1on the land in small 1ockets or clusterings0 like tiny clouds seated u1on the earth. In one area0 the air is clear; then in another 1lace there are small mists that hang near the ground0 rising to the height o$ a
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-ome authorities on mythology argue that the -candinavians did not originate this idea o$ an eternal battle0 but rather that this is a .eltic conce1t. 7hatever the truth0 it is 1er$ectly reasonable that Ibn (adlan;s com1anions should have ado1ted the conce1t0 $or the -candinavians had been in contact with .elts $or over a hundred and $i$ty years at this time. >> HPI literally0 desert o$ dread. In a 1a1er in 534=0 2. G. &omlinson 1ointed out that 1recisely the same 1hrase a11ears in the ,olsunga 5aga0 and there$ore argued at length that it re1resented a generic term $or taboo lands. &omlinson was a11arently unaware that the ,olsunga 5aga says nothing o$ the sort; the nineteenth8century translation o$ 7illiam +orris indeed contains the line &here is a desert o$ dread in the uttermost 1art o$ the world0 but this line was +orris;s own invention0 a11earing in one o$ the many 1assages where he e/1anded u1on the original Germanic saga.

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horse;s knees0 and in such a 1lace we would lose sight o$ the dogs0 who were envelo1ed in these mists. &hen0 a moment later0 the mist would clear0 and we would be in another o1en s1ace again. -uch was the landsca1e o$ the heath. I $ound this sight remarkable0 but the Northmen took it to be nothing s1ecial; they said the land in this region has many brackish 1ools and bubbling hot s1rings0 which rise $rom rents in the ground; in these 1laces0 a small $og collects0 and remains there all the day and night. &hey call this the 1lace o$ steaming lakes. &he land is di$$icult $or horses0 and we made slower 1rogress. &he dogs also ventured more slowly0 and I noted that they barked less vigorously. -oon our com1any had changed whollyE $rom a gallo10 with yel1ing dogs in the $ore$ront0 to a slow walk0 with silent dogs hardly willing to lead the way0 and instead $alling back until they were under$oot the horses0 thus causing some occasional di$$iculty. It was still very cold0 indeed colder than be$ore0 and I saw here and there a small 1atch o$ snow u1on the ground0 though this was0 by my best reckoning0 the summer 1eriod. %t a slow 1ace0 we 1roceeded $or a goodly distance0 and I had wonder that we should be lost0 and never $ind our way back through this heath. Now at a 1lace the dogs halted. &here was no di$$erence in the terrain0 or any mark or ob6ect u1on the ground; yet the dogs sto11ed as i$ they had arrived u1on some $ence or 1al1able obstruction. !ur 1arty halted at this 1lace0 and looked about in this direction and that. &here was no wind0 and no sounds were here; not the sound o$ birds or o$ any living animal0 but only silence. #uliwy$ said0 'ere begins the land o$ the wendol0 and the warriors 1atted their steeds u1on the necks to com$ort them0 $or the horses were skittish and nervous in this region. -o also were the riders. #uliwy$ ke1t his li1s tight; "cthgow;s hands trembled as he held the reins o$ his horse; 'erger was gone @uite 1ale0 and his eyes darted to this way and that; so also the others in their way. &he Northmen say0 (ear has a white mouth0 and now I saw that this is true0 $or they were all 1ale around the li1s and mouth. No man s1oke o$ his $ear. Now we le$t the dogs behind0 and rode onward into more snow0 which was thin and crunching under$oot0 and into thicker mists. No man s1oke0 save to the horses. %t each ste1 these beasts were more di$$icult to 1rod onward; the warriors were obliged to urge them with so$t words and shar1 kicks. -oon we saw shadowy $orms in the mist ahead o$ us0 which we a11roached with caution. Now I saw with my own eyes thisE on either side o$ the 1ath0 mounted high on stout 1oles0 were the skulls o$ enormous beasts0 their 6aws o1ened in a 1osture o$ attack. 7e continued0 and I saw these were the skulls o$ giant bears0 which the wendol worshi1. 'erger said to me that the bear skulls 1rotect the borders o$ the land o$ the wendol. Now we sighted another obstacle0 gray and distant and large. 'ere was a giant rock0 as high as a horse;s saddle0 and it was carved in the sha1e o$ a 1regnant woman0 with bulging belly and breasts0 and no head or arms or legs. &his rock was s1attered with the blood o$ some sacri$ices; verily it dri11ed with streaks o$ red0 and was gruesome to look u1on. No man s1oke o$ what was observed. 7e rode on a1ace. &he warriors drew out their swords and held them in readiness. Now here is a @uality to the NorthmenE that 1reviously they showed $ear0 but having entered into the land o$ the wendol0 close to the source o$ the $ear0 their own a11rehensions disa11eared. &hus do they seem to do all things backward0 and in 1er1le/ing manner0 $or verily they now a11eared at ease. It was only the horses that were ever more di$$icult to 1rod onward. I smelled0 now0 the rotting8carcass odor that I had smelled be$ore in the great hall o$
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othgar; and as it reached my nostrils anew0 I was $aint o$ heart. 'erger rode alongside me and said in a so$t voice0 'ow do you $areF Not being ca1able o$ concealing my emotions0 I said to him0 I am a$raid. 'erger re1lied to meE &hat is because you think u1on what is to come0 and imagine $earsome things that would sto1 the blood o$ any man. )o not think ahead0 and be cheer$ul by knowing that no man lives $orever. I saw the truth o$ his words. In my society0 I said0 we have a saying which isE O&hank %llah0 $or in his wisdom he 1ut death at the end o$ li$e0 and not at the beginning.; 'erger smiled at this0 and laughed brie$ly. In $ear0 even %rabs s1eak the truth0 he said0 and then rode $orward to tell my words to #uliwy$0 who also laughed. &he warriors o$ #uliwy$ were glad $or a 6oke at that time. Now we came to a hill and0 reaching the crest0 1aused and looked down u1on the encam1ment o$ the wendol. 'ere is how it lay be$ore us0 as I saw with my own eyesE there was a valley0 and in the valley a circle o$ rude huts o$ mud and straw0 o$ 1oor construction as a child might erect; and in the center o$ the circle a large $ire0 now smoldering. 9et there were no horses0 no animals0 no movement0 no sign o$ li$e o$ any kind; and this we saw through the shi$ting gau:e o$ the mist. #uliwy$ dismounted his steed0 and the warriors did likewise0 mysel$ among them. In truth0 my heart 1ounded and I was short o$ breath as I looked down at the savage encam1ment o$ the demons. 7e s1oke in whis1ers. 7hy is there no activityF I in@uired. &he wendol are creatures o$ the night even as owls or bats0 'erger re1lied0 and they slee1 during the hours o$ the day. -o are they slee1ing now0 and we shall descend into their com1any0 and $all u1on them0 and slay them in their dreams. 7e are so $ew0 I said0 $or there were many huts below which I 1erceived. 7e are enough0 'erger said0 and then he gave me a draught o$ mead0 which I drank grate$ully0 with 1raise to %llah that it is not $orbidden0 or even disa11roved o$. >? In truth0 I was $inding my tongue hos1itable to this very substance I once thought vile; thus do strange things cease to be strange u1on re1etition. In like $ashion0 I no longer attended the hideous stench o$ the wendol0 $or I had been smelling it a goodly time and I no longer was aware o$ the odor. &he North 1eo1le are most 1eculiar in the matter o$ smelling. &hey are not clean0 as I have said; and they eat all manner o$ evil $ood and drink; and yet it is true that they value the nose above all 1arts o$ the body. In battle0 the loss o$ an ear is no great matter; the loss o$ a $inger or toe or a hand little more; and such scars and in6uries they bear indi$$erently. #ut the loss o$ a nose they count e@ual to death itsel$0 and this even to the loss o$ a 1iece o$ the $leshy ti10 which other 1eo1le would say is a most minor in6ury. &he breaking o$ the bones o$ the nose0 through battle and blows0 is no matter; many o$ them have crooked noses $or that cause. I do not know the reason $or this $ear o$ cutting the nose.>C
>?

&he Islamic in6unction against alcohol is literally an in6unction against the $ermented $ruit o$ the gra1e; i.e.0 wine. (ermented drinks o$ honey are s1eci$ically 1ermitted to +uslims. >C &he usual 1sychiatric e/1lanation $or such $ears o$ loss o$ body 1arts is that they re1resent castration an/iety. In a 53>= review0 @eformations of 0od% !mage in Primiti&e 5ocieties 0 "ngelhardt observes that many cultures are e/1licit about this belie$. (or e/am1le0 the Nanamani o$ #ra:il 1unish se/ual o$$enders by cutting o$$ the le$t ear; this is thought to reduce se/ual 1otency. !ther societies attach signi$icance to the loss o$ $ingers0 toes0 or0 in the case o$ the Northmen0 the nose. It is a common su1erstition in many societies that the si:e o$ a man;s nose re$lects the si:e o$ his 1enis. "merson argues that the im1ortance accorded the nose by 1rimitive societies re$lects a vestigial attitude $rom the days when men were hunters and relied heavily u1on a sense o$ smell to $ind game and avoid enemies; in such a li$e0 the loss o$ smell was a serious in6ury indeed.

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(orti$ied0 the warriors o$ #uliwy$ and I among them le$t our steeds u1on the hill0 but these animals could not go unattended0 so a$$righted were they. !ne o$ our 1arty was to remain with them0 and I had ho1es to be selected to this task; yet it was 'alta$0 he being already in6ured and o$ least use. &hus we others warily descended the hill among the sickly scrub and dying bushes down the slo1e to the encam1ment o$ the wendol. 7e moved in stealth0 and no alarm was raised0 and soon we were in the very heart o$ the village o$ the demons. #uliwy$ never s1oke0 but gave all directions and orders with his hands. %nd $rom him I took the meaning that we were to go in grou1s o$ two warriors0 each 1air in a di$$erent direction. 'erger and I were to attack the nearest o$ the mud huts0 and the others were to attack others. %ll waited until the grou1s were stationed outside the huts0 and then0 with a howl0 #uliwy$ raised his great sword unding and led the attack. I dashed with 'erger into one o$ the huts0 blood 1ounding in my head0 my sword light as a $eather in my hands. Verily I was ready $or the mightiest battle o$ my li$e. I saw nothing inside; the but was deserted and barren as well0 save $or rude beds o$ straw0 so clumsy in their a11earance they seemed more to resemble nests o$ some animal. 7e dashed outside0 and attacked the ne/t o$ these mud huts. %gain we $ound it em1ty. Verily0 all the huts were em1ty0 and the warriors o$ #uliwy$ were sorely ve/ed and stared one to the ne/t with e/1ression o$ sur1rise and astonishment. &hen "cthgow called to us0 and we gathered at one o$ these huts0 larger than any o$ the others. %nd here I saw that it was deserted as they were all deserted0 but the interior was not barren. ather0 the $loor o$ the hut was littered with $ragile bones0 which crunched under$oot like the bones o$ birds0 delicate and $rail. I was much sur1rised at this0 and stoo1ed to see the nature o$ these bones. 7ith a shock0 I saw the curved line o$ an eye socket here0 and a $ew teeth there. Verily we stood u1on a car1et o$ the bones o$ human $aces0 and $or $urther 1roo$s o$ this ghastly truth0 1iled high u1on one wall o$ the hut were the head 1ortions o$ the human skulls0 stacked inverted like so many 1ottery bowls0 but glistening white. I was sick0 and de1arted the hut to 1urge mysel$. 'erger said to me that the wendol eat the brains o$ their victims0 as a human 1erson might eat eggs or cheese. &his is their custom; vile as it is to contem1late such a matter0 yet it is true. Now another o$ the warriors called to us0 and we entered another hut. 'ere I saw thisE the but was bare0 e/ce1t $or a large throne8like chair0 carved o$ a single 1iece o$ enormous wood. &his chair had a high $anning back0 carved into the sha1e o$ snakes and demons. %t the $oot o$ the chair were littered bones o$ skulls0 and u1on the arms o$ the chair0 where its owner might rest his hands there was blood and remnants o$ whitish cheesy substance0 which was human brain material. &he odor o$ this room was ghastly. Placed all around this chair there were small 1regnant stone carvings0 such as I have described be$ore; these carvings $ormed a circle or 1erimeter about the chair. 'erger said0 &his is where she rules0 and his voice was low and awed. I was not able to com1rehend his meaning0 and was sick in heart and stomach. I em1tied my stomach u1on the soil. 'erger and #uliwy$ and the others were also distressed0 though no man 1urged himsel$0 but rather they took glowing embers $rom the $ire and set the huts a$lame. &hey burned slowly0 $or they were dam1. %nd thus we climbed u1 the hill0 mounted our horses0 and le$t the region o$ the wendol0 and de1arted the desert o$ dread. %nd all the warriors o$ #uliwy$ were now sad o$ as1ect0 $or the wendol had sur1assed them in cunning and cleverness0 abandoning their lair in antici1ation o$ the attack0 and they would count the burning o$ their dwellings no great
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loss. THE COUNSEL OF THE DWARF 7" "&, N") %- 7" '%) .!+"0 #,& !)" 7I&' greater s1eed0 $or the horses now were eager0 and eventually came down $rom the hills and saw the $lat 1lain and0 in the distance0 at the ocean;s edge0 the settlement and the great hall o$ othgar. Now #uliwy$ veered away and led us in another direction0 toward high rocky crags swe1t by the ocean winds. I rode alongside 'erger and in@uired the reason $or this0 and he said we were to seek out the dwarves o$ the region. %t this I was much sur1rised0 $or the men o$ the North have no dwarves among their society; they are never seen in the streets0 nor do any sit at the $eet o$ kings0 nor are any to be $ound counting money or kee1ing records or any o$ the things that we know o$ dwarves.>B Never had any Northman mentioned dwarves to me0 and I had 1resumed that so giant a 1eo1le>= would never 1roduce dwarves. Now we came to a region o$ caves0 hollowed and windswe1t0 and #uliwy$ dismounted $rom his horse0 and all the warriors o$ #uliwy$ did likewise0 and 1roceeded by $oot. I heard a hissing sound0 and verily I saw 1u$$s o$ steam issue $rom one and another o$ these several caves. 7e entered one cave and there $ound dwarves. &hey were in a11earance thusE o$ the ordinary si:e o$ dwar$0 but distinguished by hands o$ great si:e0 and bearing $eatures that a11eared e/ceedingly aged. &here were both male and $emale dwarves and all had the a11earance o$ great age. &he males were bearded and solemn; the women also had some hair u1on the $ace0 so they a11eared manlike. "ach dwar$ wore a garment o$ $ur or sable; each also wore a thin belt o$ hide decorated with bits o$ hammered gold. &he dwarves greeted our arrival 1olitely0 with no sign o$ $ear. 'erger said these creatures have magic 1owers and need $ear no man on earth; however0 they are a11rehensive o$ horses0 and $or this reason we had le$t the mounts behind us. 'erger said also that the 1owers o$ a dwar$ reside in his thin belt0 and that a dwar$ will do anything to retrieve his belt i$ it is lost. 'erger said this alsoE that the a11earance o$ great age among the dwarves was a true thing0 and that a dwar$ lived beyond the s1an o$ any ordinary man. %lso he said to me that these dwarves are virile $rom their earliest youth; that even as in$ants they have hair at the groin0 and members o$ uncommon si:e. Indeed0 it is in this way that the 1arents $irst come to know that their in$ant child is a dwar$0 and a creature o$ magic0 who must be taken to the hills to live with others o$ his kind. &his done0 the 1arents give thanks to the gods and sacri$ice some animal or other0 $or to give birth to a dwar$ is accounted high good $ortune. &his is the belie$ o$ the North 1eo1le0 as 'erger s1oke it0 and I do not know the truth o$ the matter0 and re1ort only what was told to me. Now I saw that the hissing and steam issued $rom great cauldrons0 into which hammered8 steel blades were 1lunged to tem1er the metal0 $or the dwarves make wea1ons that are highly 1ri:ed by the Northmen. Indeed0 I saw the warriors o$ #uliwy$ looking about the caves eagerly0 as any woman in a ba:aar sho1 selling 1recious silks.
>B

In the +editerranean0 $rom "gy1tian times0 dwarves were thought es1ecially intelligent and trustworthy0 and tasks o$ bookkee1ing and money8handling were reserved to them. >= !$ a11ro/imately ninety skeletons that can be con$idently ascribed to the Viking 1eriod in -candinavia0 the average height a11ears to be about 5=A centimeters HC;=I.

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#uliwy$ made in@uiries o$ these creatures0 and was directed to the to1most o$ the caves0 wherein sat a single dwar$0 older than all the others0 with a beard and hair o$ 1urest white0 and a creased and wrinkled $ace. &his dwar$ was called tengol0 which means a 6udge o$ good and evil0 and also a soothsayer. &his tengol must have had the magical 1owers that all said he did0 $or he immediately greeted #uliwy$ by his name0 and bade him sit with him. #uliwy$ sat0 and we gathered a short distance away0 standing. Now #uliwy$ did not 1resent the tengol with gi$ts; the Northmen make no obeisance to the little 1eo1le; they believe that the $avors o$ the dwarves must be $reely given0 and it is wrong to encourage the $avors o$ a dwar$ with gi$ts. &hus #uliwy$ sat0 and the tengol looked at him0 and then closed his eyes and began to s1eak0 rocking back and $orth as he sat. &he tengol s1oke in a high voice as a child0 and 'erger told me the meaning was thusE ! #uliwy$0 you are a great warrior but you have met your match in the monsters o$ the mist0 the eaters o$ the dead. &his shall be a struggle to the death0 and you shall need all your strength and wisdom to overcome the challenge. %nd he went on in this manner $or some good time0 rocking back and $orth. &he im1ort was that #uliwy$ $aced a di$$icult adversary0 which I already knew well enough and so did #uliwy$ himsel$. 9et #uliwy$ was 1atient. %lso I saw that #uliwy$ took no o$$ense when the dwar$ laughed at him0 which $re@uently he did. &he dwar$ s1okeE 9ou have come to me because you attacked the monsters in the brackish marsh and tarn0 and this availed you nothing. &here$ore you come to me $or advice and admonishment0 as a child to his $ather0 saying what shall I do now0 $or all my 1lans have $ailed me. &he tengol laughed long at this s1eech. &hen his old $ace turned solemn. ! #uliwy$0 he said0 I see the $uture0 but I can tell you no more than you already know. 9ou and all your brave warriors gathered your skill and your courage to make an attack u1on the monsters in the desert o$ dread. In this you cheated yoursel$0 $or such was not a true hero;s enter1rise. I heard these words with astonishment0 $or it had seemed heroic work enough $or me. No0 no0 noble #uliwy$0 the tengol said. 9ou set out u1on a $alse mission0 and dee1 in your hero;s heart you knew it was unworthy. -o0 too0 was your battle against the glowworm dragon Korgon unworthy0 and it cost you many $ine warriors. &o what end are all your 1lansF -till #uliwy$ did not answer. 'e sat with the dwar$ and waited. % hero;s great challenge0 the dwar$ said0 is in the heart0 and not in the adversary. 7hat matter i$ you had come u1on the wendol in their lair and had killed many o$ their number as they sle1tF 9ou could kill many0 yet this would not end the struggle0 any more than cutting o$$ the $ingers will kill the man. &o kill the man0 you must 1ierce the head or the heart0 and thus it is with the wendol. %ll this you know0 and need not my counsel to know it. &hus the dwar$0 rocking back and $orth0 chastised #uliwy$. %nd thus #uliwy$ acce1ted his rebuke0 $or he did not re1ly0 but only lowered his head. 9ou have done the work o$ a mere man0 the tengol continued0 and not a 1ro1er hero. % hero does what no man dares to undertake. &o kill the wendol0 you must strike at the head and the heartE you must overcome their very mother0 in the thunder caves. I did not understand the meaning o$ these words. 9ou know o$ this0 $or it has always been true0 through all the ages o$ man. -hall your
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brave warriors die0 one by oneF !r shall you strike at the mother in the cavesF 'ere is no 1ro1hecy0 only the choice o$ a man or a hero. Now #uliwy$ made some res1onse0 but it was low0 and lost to me in the howl o$ the wind that raked the entrance to the cave. 7hatever the words0 the dwar$ s1oke $urtherE &hat is the hero;s answer0 #uliwy$0 and I would e/1ect none other $rom you. &hus shall I hel1 your @uest. &hen a number o$ his kind came $orward into the light $rom the dark recesses o$ the cave. %nd they bore many ob6ects. 'ere0 said the tengol0 are lengths o$ ro1e0 made $rom the skins o$ seals caught at the $irst melting o$ the ice. &hese ro1es will hel1 you to attain the ocean entrance to the thunder caves. I thank you0 #uliwy$ said. %nd here also0 the tengol said0 are seven daggers0 $orged with steam and magic0 $or you and your warriors. Great swords will be o$ no avail in the thunder caves. .arry these new wea1ons bravely0 and you shall accom1lish all you desire. #uliwy$ took the daggers0 and thanked the dwar$. 'e stood. 7hen shall we do this thingF he asked. 9esterday is better than today0 the tengol re1lied0 and tomorrow is better than the day which $ollows that. -o make haste0 and carry out your intentions with a $irm heart and a strong arm. %nd what $ollows i$ we succeedF #uliwy$ asked. &hen the wendol shall be mortally wounded0 and thrash in its death throes a $inal time0 and a$ter this last agony the land shall have 1eace and sunlight $orevermore. %nd your name shall be sung glorious in all the halls o$ the Northlands0 $orevermore. &he deeds o$ dead men are so sung0 #uliwy$ said. &hat is true0 the dwar$ said0 and laughed again0 the giggle o$ a child or a young girl. %nd also the deeds o$ heroes who live0 but never are sung the deeds o$ ordinary men. %ll this you know. Now #uliwy$ de1arted $rom the cave0 and gave to each o$ us the dagger o$ the dwarves0 and we descended $rom the rocky windswe1t crags0 and returned to the kingdom and the great hall o$ othgar as night was $alling. %ll these things took 1lace0 and I saw them with my own eyes. THE EVENTS OF THE NIGHT BEFORE THE ATTACK N! +I-& .%+" &'%& NIG'&; &'" (!G )"-."N)") $rom the hills but hung back among the trees0 and did not cree1 out onto the 1lain. In the great hall o$ othgar0 a mighty $east was held0 and #uliwy$ and all his warriors 6oined in great celebration. &wo great horned shee1>< were slaughtered and consumed; each man drank vast @uantities o$ mead; #uliwy$ himsel$ ravished hal$ a do:en slave girls0 and 1erha1s more; but des1ite merrymaking neither he nor his warriors were truly cheer$ul. (rom one time to another0 I saw them glance at the ro1es o$ sealskin and the dwar$ daggers0 which had been set a1art to one side. Now I 6oined in the general revelry0 $or I $elt as one o$ them0 having s1ent much time in their com1any0 or so it seemed. Indeed0 that night I $elt I had been born a Northman. 'erger0 much into/icated0 told me $reely o$ the mother o$ the wendol. 'e said thisE &he
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)ahlmann H534?I writes that $or ceremonial occasions the ram was eaten to increase 1otency0 since the horned male animal was 6udged su1erior to the $emale. In $act0 during this 1eriod both rams and ewes had horns.

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mother o$ the wendol is very old and she lives in the caves o$ thunder. &hese thunder caves lie in the rock o$ cli$$s0 not $ar $rom here. &he caves have two o1enings0 one $rom the land and another $rom the sea. #ut the entrance $rom the land is guarded by the wendol0 who 1rotect their old mother; so it is that we cannot attack $rom the side o$ the land0 $or in this way we would all be killed. &here$ore we shall attack $rom the sea. I in@uired o$ himE 7hat is the nature o$ this mother o$ the wendolF 'erger said that no Northman knew this thing0 but that it was said among them that she was old0 older than the old crone they call the angel o$ death; and also that she was $right$ul to look u1on; and also that she wore snakes u1on her head as a wreath; and also0 too0 that she was strong beyond all accounting. %nd he said at the last that the wendol called u1on her to direct them in all their a$$airs o$ li$e. >3 &hen 'erger turned $rom me and sle1t. Now this event occurredE in the de1ths o$ the night0 as the celebrations were drawing to a close and the warriors were dri$ting into slee10 #uliwy$ sought me out. 'e sat beside me and drank mead $rom a horned cu1. 'e was not into/icated0 I saw0 and he s1oke slowly in the North tongue0 so that I should understand his meaning. 'e said $irst to meE )id you com1rehend the words o$ the dwar$ tengolF I re1lied that I did0 with the hel1 o$ 'erger0 who now snored near to us. #uliwy$ said to meE &hen you know I shall die. 'e s1oke thus0 with his eyes clear and his ga:e $irm. I did not know any re1ly0 or res1onse to make0 but $inally said to him in the North $ashion0 #elieve no 1ro1hecy until it bears $ruit.?A #uliwy$ saidE 9ou have seen much o$ our ways. &ell me what is true. )o you draw soundsF I answered that I did. &hen look to your sa$ety0 and do not be overbrave. 9ou dress and now you s1eak as a Northman0 and not a $oreign man. -ee that you live. I 1laced my hand u1on his shoulder0 as I had seen his $ellow warriors do to him in greeting. 'e smiled then. I $ear no thing0 he said0 and need no com$ort. I tell you to look to your own sa$ety0 $or your own account. Now it is wisest to slee1. -o s1eaking0 he turned away $rom me0 and devoted his attention to a slave girl0 whom he 1leasured not a do:en 1aces $rom where I sat0 and I turned away hearing the moans and
>3

2ose1h .antrell observes that there is a strain in Germanic and Norse mythology which holds that women have s1ecial 1owers0 @ualities o$ magic0 and should be $eared and mistrusted by men. &he 1rinci1al gods are all men0 but the Valkyries0 which means literally Ochoosers o$ the slain0; are women who trans1ort dead warriors to Paradise. It was believed that there were three Valkyries0 as there were three Norns0 or (ates0 which were 1resent at the birth o$ every man0 and determined the outcome o$ his li$e. &he Norns were named ,rth0 the 1ast; Verthandi0 the 1resent; and -kuld0 the $uture. &he Norns Owove; a man;s $ate0 and weaving was a woman;s work; in 1o1ular re1resentations they were shown as young maidens. 7yrd0 an %nglo8-a/on deity which ruled $ate0 was also a goddess. Presumably the association o$ women with man;s $ate was a 1ermutation o$ earlier conce1ts o$ women as $ertility symbols; the goddesses o$ $ertility controlled the growing and $lowering o$ cro1s and living things on the earth. .antrell also notes that in 1ractice0 we know that divination0 s1ellcasting0 and other shamanistic $unctions were reserved to elderly women in Norse society. (urthermore0 1o1ular ideas o$ women contained a heavy element o$ sus1icion. %ccording to the Har&amal0 ONo one should trust the words o$ a girl or a married woman0 $or their hearts have been sha1ed on a turning wheel and they are inconstant by nature.; #endi/on says0 %mong the early -candinavians there was a kind o$ division o$ 1ower according to se/. +en ruled 1hysical a$$airs; women0 1sychological matters. ?A &his is a 1ara1hrase o$ a sentiment among the Northmen0 e/1ressed $ully asE Praise not the day until evening has come; a woman until she is burnt; a sword until it is tried; a maiden until she is married; ice until it has been crossed; beer until it has been drunk. &his 1rudent0 realistic0 and somewhat cynical view o$ human nature and the world was something the -candinavians and the %rabs shared. %nd like the -candinavians0 the %rabs o$ten e/1ress it in mundane or satiric terms. &here is a -u$i story about a man who asked a sageE -u11ose I am traveling in the countryside and must make ablutions in the stream. 7hich direction do I $ace while 1er$orming the ritualF &o this the sage re1liesE In the direction o$ your clothes0 so they won;t be stolen.

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laughter o$ this woman. %nd at length I $ell into a slee1. THE THUNDER CAVES #"(! " &'" (I -& PINK -& "%K- !( )%7N *IG'&") the sky0 #uliwy$ and his warriors0 mysel$ among them0 rode out $rom the kingdom o$ othgar and $ollowed the cli$$ edge above the sea. !n this day I did not $eel $it0 $or my head ached; also was my stomach sour $rom the celebration o$ the 1revious night. -urely all the warriors o$ #uliwy$ were in like condition0 yet no man gave signal o$ these discom$orts. 7e rode briskly0 skirting the border o$ the cli$$s which on all this coast are high and $orbidding0 and sheer; in a sheet o$ gray stone they dro1 to the $oaming and turbulent sea below. In some 1laces along this coastline there are rocky beaches0 but o$ten the land and the sea meet directly0 and the waves crash like thunder u1on the rocks; and this was the circumstance $or the most 1art. I saw 'erger0 who carried u1on his horse the sealskin ro1es o$ the dwarves0 and I rode u1 to travel alongside him. I in@uired what was our 1ur1ose on this day. In truth0 I did not care greatly0 so badly did my head ache and my stomach burn. 'erger said to me0 !n this morning0 we attack the mother o$ the wendol in the thunder caves. &his we shall do by attacking $rom the sea0 as I have told you yesterday. 7hile I rode0 I looked $rom my horse down at the sea0 which smashed u1on the rock cli$$s. )o we attack by boatF I in@uired o$ 'erger. No0 'erger said0 and sla11ed his hand u1on the sealskin ro1es. &hen I took his meaning to be that we should climb down the cli$$s on the ro1es0 and thereby in some $ashion make an entrance into the caves. I was much $rightened at this 1ros1ect0 $or never have I liked to be e/1osed u1on high 1laces; even high buildings in the .ity o$ Peace have I avoided. I said as much. 'erger said to me0 #e thank$ul0 $or you are $ortunate. I in@uired the source o$ my $ortune. 'erger said in re1ly0 I$ you have the $ear o$ high 1laces0 then this day you shall overcome it; and so you shall have $aced a great challenge; and so you shall be ad6udged a hero. I said to him0 I do not want to be a hero. %t this he laughed and said that I e/1ressed such an o1inion only because I was an %rab. &hen also he said that I had a sti$$ head0 by which the Northmen mean the a$termath o$ drinking. &his was true0 as I have already told. %lso it is true that I was much aggrieved at the 1ros1ect o$ climbing down the cli$$. Verily I $elt in this mannerE that I should rather do any action u1on the $ace o$ the earth0 whether to lie with a woman in menses0 to drink $rom a gold cu10 to eat the e/crement o$ a 1ig0 to 1ut out my eyes0 even to die itsel$Gany or all o$ these things should I 1re$er to the climbing o$ that accursed cli$$. %lso I was in ill tem1er. &o 'erger I said0 9ou and #uliwy$ and all your com1any may be heroes as suits your tem1er0 but I have no 1art in this a$$air0 and shall not number as one o$ you. %t this s1eech0 'erger laughed. &hen he called to #uliwy$0 and s1oke a ra1id s1eech; #uliwy$ answered him back0 over his shoulder. &hen 'erger s1oke to meE #uliwy$ says that you will do as we do. In truth0 now I sank into des1airing0 and said to 'erger0 I cannot do this thing. I$ you $orce me to do it0 I shall surely die.
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'erger said0 'ow shall you dieF I said to him0 I shall lose my gri1 $rom the ro1es. &his answer made 'erger laugh heartily yet again0 and he re1eated my words to all the Northmen0 and they all laughed at what I had said. &hen #uliwy$ s1oke a $ew words. 'erger said to meE #uliwy$ says that you shall lose your gri1 only i$ you release the ro1es $rom your hands0 and only a $ool would do such a thing. #uliwy$ says you are an %rab0 but no $ool. Now0 here is a true as1ect o$ the nature o$ menE that in his $ashion #uliwy$ said that I could climb the ro1es; and that $or his s1eech0 I believed it as much as he0 and was cheered in my heart to a slight degree. &his 'erger saw0 and he s1oke these wordsE "ach 1erson bears a $ear which is s1ecial to him. !ne man $ears a close s1ace and another man $ears drowning; each laughs at the other and calls him stu1id. &hus $ear is only a 1re$erence0 to be counted the same as the 1re$erence $or one woman or another0 or mutton $or 1ig0 or cabbage $or onion. 7e say0 $ear is $ear. I was not in a mood $or his 1hiloso1hies; this I e/1ressed to him0 $or in truth I was growing closer to anger than to $ear. Now 'erger laughed at my $ace and s1oke these wordsE Praise %llah0 $or he 1ut death at the end o$ li$e0 and not at the beginning. .urtly0 I said in re1ly that I saw no bene$it in hastening the end. Indeed0 no man does0 'erger res1onded to me0 and then he said0 *ook to #uliwy$. -ee how he sits straight. -ee how he rides $orward0 though he knows he shall soon die. I answered0 I do not know he shall die. 9es0 'erger said0 but #uliwy$ knows. &hen 'erger s1oke nothing $urther to me0 and we rode onward $or a goodly 1eriod o$ time0 until the sun was high and bright in the sky. &hen at last #uliwy$ gave the signal to halt0 and all the horsemen dismounted0 and 1re1ared to enter the thunder caves. Now0 well I knew that these Northmen are brave to a $ault0 but as I looked at the 1reci1ice o$ the cli$$ below us0 my heart twisted over inside my chest0 and I thought I should be 1urging mysel$ at any instant. Verily0 the cli$$ was absolutely sheer0 lacking the least gri1 $or hand or $eet0 and it descended $or the distance o$ 1erha1s $our hundred 1aces. Verily0 the crashing waves were so $ar beneath us that they a11eared as miniature waves0 tiny as the most delicate drawing o$ an artist. 9et I knew them to be large as any waves on earth0 once one descended to that level $ar below. &o me0 the climbing down o$ these cli$$s was madness beyond the madness o$ a $oaming dog. #ut the Northmen 1roceeded in normal $ashion. #uliwy$ directed the 1ounding o$ stout wooden stakes into the earth; around these the sealskin ro1es were bound0 and the trailing ends $lung over the sides o$ the cli$$s. Verily0 the ro1es were not long enough $or so distant a descent0 and thus had to be hauled u1 again0 and two ro1es $astened together to make a single length to reach the waves at the bottom. In due time0 we had two such ro1es that reached down the side o$ the cli$$ $ace. &hen #uliwy$ s1oke to his gatheringE (irst I shall 1roceed0 so that when I reach the bottom all shall know that the ro1es are stout and the 6ourney can be accom1lished. I await you at the bottom0 on the narrow ledge you see below. I looked to this narrow ledge. &o call it narrow is to call a camel kind. It was0 in truth0 the barest stri1 o$ $lat rock0 continually washed and 1ounded by the sur$. 7hen all have reached the bottom0 #uliwy$ said0 we can attack the mother o$ the wendol in the thunder caves. &hus he s1oke0 in a voice as ordinary as that which he
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would command a slave in the 1re1aration o$ some ordinary stew or any other household chore. %nd without $urther s1eech0 he went over the side o$ the cli$$. Now0 here is the manner o$ his descent0 which I $ound remarkable0 but the Northmen account it no 1articular thing. 'erger told me they use this method $or gathering o$ sea8 bird eggs at certain times o$ the year0 when the sea birds build their nests on the cli$$ $ace. It is done in this $ashionE a sling is 1laced around the waist o$ the descending man0 and all the $ellows strain to lower him down the cli$$. +eanwhile0 this same man gri1s0 $or su11ort0 on to the second ro1e0 which dangles on the cli$$ $ace. (urther0 the descending man carries a stout sta$$ o$ oaken wood0 $itted at one end with a leather thong0 or stra10 about his wrist; this sta$$ he em1loys $or a 1rod to 1ush himsel$ hither and yon as he moves down the rocky sur$ace.?5 %s #uliwy$ went down0 becoming ever smaller to my eyes0 I saw that he maneuvered with the sling0 the ro1e0 and the stick very agilely; but I was not deceived into thinking this some trivial matter0 $or I saw it to be di$$icult and re@uiring 1ractice. %t length0 he sa$ely reached the bottom and stood on the narrow ledge with the sur$ crashing over him. In truth0 he was so diminished we could hardly see him wave his hand0 in signal that he was sa$e. Now the sling was hauled u1; and also with it0 the oaken sta$$. 'erger turned tome0 s1eakingE 9ou shall go ne/t. I said that I was $eeling 1oorly. %lso I said I wished to see another man descend0 in order better to study the manner o$ the descent. 'erger said0 it is more di$$icult with each descent0 because there are $ewer here above to lower a man down. &he last man must descend without the sling at all0 and that shall be "cthgow0 $or his arms are iron. It is a mark o$ our $avor which allows you to be the second man to descend. Go now. I saw in his eyes that there was no ho1e o$ delay0 and so I was mysel$ $itted into the sling0 and I gri11ed the stout sta$$ in my hands0 which were sli11ery with sweat; and my whole body likewise was sli11ery with sweat; and I shivered in the wind as I went over the side o$ the cli$$0 and $or the last time saw the $ive Northmen straining at the ro1e0 and then they were lost $rom view. I made my descent. I had in my mind to make many 1rayers to %llah0 and also to record in the eye o$ my mind0 in the memory o$ my soul0 the many e/1eriences that a man must undergo as he dangles $rom ro1es down such a wind8torn rocky cli$$. !nce out o$ sight o$ my Northmen $riends above0 I $orgot all my intentions0 and whis1ered0 %llah be 1raised0 over and over0 like a mindless 1erson0 or one so old his brain no longer $unctions0 or a child0 or a $ool. In truth0 I remember little $rom all that trans1ired. !nly thisE that the wind blows a 1erson back and $orth across the rock at such s1eed the eye cannot $ocus on the sur$ace0 which is a gray blur; and that many times I struck the rock0 6arring my bones0 s1litting my skin; and once I banged my head and saw brilliant white s1ots like stars be$ore my eyes0 and I thought I would be $aint0 but I was not. %nd in due time0 which in truth seemed as the whole duration o$ my li$e0 and more0 I reached the bottom0 and #uliwy$ cla11ed me on the shoulder and said I had done well. Now the sling was raised u1; and the waves crashed over me and over #uliwy$ at my side. Now I $ought to hold my balance u1on this sli11ery ledge0 and this so occu1ied my attention I did not watch the others coming down the cli$$. +y only desire was thisE to kee1 $rom being swe1t away into the sea. Verily I saw with my own eyes that the waves
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In the (aeroe Islands o$ )enmark0 a similar method o$ scaling cli$$s is still 1racticed to gather bird eggs0 an im1ortant source o$ $ood to the islanders.

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were taller than three men standing one ato1 another0 and when each wave struck0 I was $or a moment senseless in a swirl o$ chilled water and s1inning $orce. +any times was I knocked $rom my $eet by these waves; I was drenched over my whole body0 and shivering so badly that my teeth clattered like a gallo1ing horse. I could not s1eak words $or the clacking o$ my teeth. Now all the warriors o$ #uliwy$ made their descent; and all were sa$e0 "cthgow being the last to come down0 by brute $orce o$ his arms0 and when at last he stood0 his legs @uivered without control as a man shudders with a death throe; we waited some moments until he was himsel$ again. &hen #uliwy$ s1okeE 7e shall descend into the water and swim into the cave. I shall be $irst. .arry your dagger in your teeth0 so your arms shall be $ree to battle the currents. &hese words o$ new madness came u1on me at a time when I could endure nothing $urther. &o my eyes0 the 1lan o$ #uliwy$ was $olly beyond $olly. I saw the waves crash in0 bursting u1on the 6agged rocks; I saw the waves 1ull away again with the tug o$ a giant;s strength0 only to recover their 1ower and crash $orward anew. Verily0 I watched and I believed that no man could swim in that water0 but rather he would be dashed to bony s1linters in an instant. #ut I made no 1rotest0 $or I was 1ast any com1rehension. &o my way o$ thinking0 I was close enough to death that it did not matter i$ I came closer still. &hus I took my dagger0 which I 6ammed into my belt0 $or my teeth rattled too severely to gri1 it in my mouth. !$ the other Northmen0 they gave no sign o$ coldness or $atigue0 but rather greeted each wave as a $resh invigoration; also they smiled with the ha11y antici1ation o$ the coming battle0 and $or this last I hated them. #uliwy$ watched the movement o$ the waves0 choosing his time0 and then he lea1t into the sur$. I hesitated0 and someoneGI have always believed it to be 'ergerG1ushed me. I $ell dee1 in the swirling sea o$ numbing coldness; verily I was s1un head over $eet and sideward also; I could see nothing but green water. &hen I 1erceived #uliwy$ kicking down in the de1ths o$ the sea; and I $ollowed a$ter him0 and he swam into a kind o$ 1assage in the rocks. In all things0 I did as he. &his was the $ashionE ,1on one moment0 the sur$ would tug a$ter him0 trying to 1luck him into the wide ocean0 and me also. %t these moments0 #uliwy$ gri11ed onto a rock with his hands to hold against the current; this also I did. +ightily I held to the rocks0 with my lungs bursting. &hen in an instant the surge ran o11osite0 and I was 1ro1elled with $right$ul s1eed $orward0 bouncing o$$ rocks and obstructions. %nd then again0 the surge changed0 and tugged backward as it had done 1reviously; and I was obliged to $ollow the e/am1le o$ #uliwy$ and cling to rocks. Now it is true that my lungs burned as i$ a$ire0 and I knew in my heart that I could not continue much longer in this icy sea. &hen the surge ran $orward0 and I was $lung headlong0 knocked here and there0 and then suddenly I was u1 and breathing air. Verily0 this trans1ired with such swi$tness that I was so sur1rised I did not think to $eel relie$0 which was a 1ro1er $eeling; nor did I think to 1raise %llah $or my good $ortune in surviving. I gas1ed air0 and all about me the warriors o$ #uliwy$ set their heads above the sur$ace and gas1ed likewise. Now0 here is what I sawE we were in a kind o$ 1ond or lake0 inside a cave with a smooth rocky dome and a seaward entrance through which we had 6ust traversed. )irectly ahead was a $lat rocky s1ace. I saw three or $our dark sha1es s@uatted about a $ire; these creatures chanted in high voices. Now also I understood why this was called the cave o$ thunder0 $or with each crash o$ the sur$ the sound in the cave reverberated with such 1ower
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that the ears ached and the very air seemed to shake and 1ress. In this 1lace0 this cave0 #uliwy$ and his warriors made their attack0 and I 6oined in with them0 and with our short daggers we killed the $our demons in the cave. I saw them clearly $or the $irst time0 in the $lickering light o$ the $ire0 whose $lames lea1t madly with each 1ounding o$ the thundering sur$. &he as1ect o$ these demons was thusE they a11eared to be manlike in every res1ect0 but not as any man u1on the $ace o$ the earth. &hey were short creatures0 and broad and s@uat0 and hairy on all 1arts o$ their bodies save their 1alms0 the soles o$ their $eet0 and their $aces. &heir $aces were very large0 with mouth and 6aws large and 1rominent0 and o$ an ugly as1ect; also their heads were larger. than the heads o$ normal men. &heir eyes were sunk dee1 in their heads; the brows were large0 and not by virtue o$ hairy brows0 but o$ bone; also their teeth were large and shar10 although it is true the teeth o$ many were ground down and $lattened. In other res1ects o$ their bodily $eatures and as to the organs o$ se/ and the several ori$ices0 they were also as men.?4 !ne o$ the creatures was slow to die0 and with its tongue $ormed some sounds0 which had to my ear a @uality o$ s1eech; but I cannot know i$ this was so0 and I tell it again with no conviction o$ the matter. Now #uliwy$ surveyed these $our dead creatures0 with their thick matted $ur; then we heard a ghostly0 echoing chant0 a sound rising and $alling in time to the thunder 1ounding o$ the sur$0 and this sound came $rom the recesses o$ the cave. #uliwy$ led us into the de1ths. &here we came u1on three o$ the creatures0 1rostrate u1on the ground0 $aces 1ressed to the earth and their hands raised in su11lication to an old creature lurking in the shadows. &hese su11liants were chanting0 and did not 1erceive our arrival. #ut the creature saw us0 and screamed hideously at our a11roach. &his creature I took to be the mother o$ the wendol0 but i$ she was $emale0 I saw no sign0 $or she was old to the 1oint o$ being se/less. #uliwy$ alone $ell u1on the su11liants and killed them all0 while the mother8creature moved back into the shadows and screamed horribly. I could not see her well0 but this much is trueE that she was surrounded by ser1ents0 which coiled at her $eet0 and u1on her hands0 and around her neck. &hese ser1ents hissed and $licked their tongues; and as they were all about her0 u1on her body and also on the ground0 none o$ the warriors o$ #uliwy$ dared make an a11roach. &hen #uliwy$ attacked her0 and she gave a $ear$ul scream as he 1lunged his dagger dee1 into her breast0 $or he was heedless o$ the snakes. +any times he struck the mother o$ the wendol with his dagger. Never did this woman colla1se0 but always did she stand0 though the blood 1oured $rom her as i$ $rom a $ountain0 and $rom the several wounds #uliwy$ in$licted u1on her. %nd all the time she screamed a most $right$ul sound. &hen at the last she to11led0 and lay dead0 and #uliwy$ turned to $ace his warriors. Now we saw that this woman0 the mother o$ the eaters o$ the dead0 had wounded him. % silver 1in0 such as a 1in $or hair0 was buried in his stomach; this same 1in trembled with each heartbeat. #uliwy$ 1lucked it $orth0 and there was a gush o$ blood. 9et he did not sink to his knees mortally wounded0 but rather he stood and gave the order to leave the cave. &his we did0 by the second and landward entrance; this entrance had been guarded0 but all the wendol guards had $led be$ore the screams o$ their dying mother. 7e de1arted without harassment. #uliwy$ led us $rom the caves0 and back to our horses0 and then did he colla1se u1on the ground.
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&his descri1tion o$ the 1hysical $eatures o$ the wendol has s1arked a 1redictable debate. 5ee 4$$endi3.

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"cthgow0 with a $ace o$ sadness most uncommon among the Northmen0 directed the $ashioning o$ a stretcher?> and with this we carried #uliwy$ back across the $ields to the kingdom o$ othgar. %nd all the while #uliwy$ was o$ good cheer0 and merry; many o$ the things he s1oke I did not com1rehend0 but one time I heard him sayE othgar will not be ha11y to see us0 $or he must set out yet another ban@uet0 and by now he is a most de1leted host. &he warriors laughed at this and other words o$ #uliwy$. I saw their laughter was honest. Now we came to the kingdom o$ othgar0 where we were greeted with cheers and ha11iness0 and no sadness0 although #uliwy$ was direly in6ured0 and his $lesh turned gray0 and his body shook0 and his eyes were lit by the gleam o$ a sick and $evered soul. &hese signs did I know $ull well0 and so0 too0 did the North 1eo1le. % bowl o$ onion broth was brought $or him0 and he re$used it0 saying0 I have the sou1 illness; do not trouble yourselves on my account. &hen he called $or a celebration0 and insisted that he 1reside over it0 sitting 1ro11ed u1 on a stone couch at the side o$ King othgar0 and he drank mead and he was merry. I was near to him when he said to King othgar0 in the midst o$ the $estivities0 I have no slaves. %ll o$ my slaves are your slaves0 othgar said. &hen #uliwy$ said0 I have no horses. %ll o$ my horses are yours0 othgar answered. &hink no more on these matters. %nd #uliwy$0 his wounds bound0 was ha11y0 and he smiled0 and the color returned to his cheeks that evening0 and indeed he seemed to grow stronger with each 1assing minute o$ the night. %nd although I would not have thought it 1ossible0 he ravished a slave girl0 and a$terward he said to me0 as a 6oke0 % dead man is no use to anyone. %nd then #uliwy$ $ell into a slee10 and his color became more 1ale and his breathing more shallow; I $eared he should never awake $rom this slee1. 'e may also have thought this0 $or as he sle1t he held his sword gri11ed tight in his hand. THE DEATH THROES OF THE WENDOL -! %*-! I ("** IN&! % -*""P. '" G" %7%K"N") +" with these wordsE 9ou are to come @uickly. Now I heard the sound o$ distant thunder. I looked to the bladder window?? and it was not yet dawn0 but I grabbed u1 my sword; in truth I had $allen aslee1 in my armor0 not caring to remove it. &hen I hastened outside. It was the hour be$ore dawn0 and the air was misty and thick0 and $illed with the thunder o$ distant hoo$beats. 'erger said to me0 &he wendol come. &hey know o$ the mortal wounds o$ #uliwy$0 and they seek a $inal revenge $or the killing o$ their mother. "ach o$ the warriors o$ #uliwy$0 mysel$ among them0 took a 1lace at the 1erimeter o$ the $orti$ications that we had drawn u1 against the wendol. &hese de$enses were 1oor0 yet we had none else. 7e 1eered into the mists to glim1se the horsemen gallo1ing down u1on us. I e/1ected great $ear0 but I did not $eel this0 $or I had seen the as1ect o$ the wendol and I knew them to be creatures0 i$ not men0 then like enough to men as monkeys are also like men; but I knew them to be mortal0 and they could die. &hus I had no $ear0 save the e/1ectation o$ this $inal battle. In this manner was I alone0
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Fectulus. +enestra $orcusE literally0 1ig window. &he Norsemen used stretched membranes instead o$ glass to cover narrow windows; these membranes were translucent. !ne could not see much through them0 but light would be admitted into houses.

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$or I saw that the warriors o$ #uliwy$ dis1layed much $ear; and this des1ite their 1ains to conceal it. Verily0 as we had killed the mother o$ the wendol0 who was their leader0 so also had we lost #uliwy$0 who was our own leader0 and there was no cheer$ulness while we waited and heard the thunder a11roach. %nd then I heard a commotion behind me0 and u1on my turning0 I saw thisE #uliwy$0 1ale as the mist itsel$0 garbed in white and bound in his wounds0 stood erect u1on the land o$ the kingdom o$ othgar. %nd on his shoulders sat two black ravens0 one to each side; and at this sight the Northmen screamed o$ his coming0 and they raised their wea1ons into the air and howled $or the battle.?C Now #uliwy$ never s1oke0 nor did he look to one side or another; nor did he give sign o$ recognition to any man; but he walked with measured 1ace $orward0 beyond the line o$ the $orti$ications0 and there he awaited the onslaught o$ the wendol. &he ravens $lew o$$0 and he gri11ed his sword unding and met the attack. No words can describe the $inal attack o$ the wendol in the dawn o$ the mist. No words will say what blood was s1illed0 what screams $illed the thick air0 what horses and horsemen died in hideous agony. 7ith my own eyes I saw "cthgow0 with his arms o$ steelE verily his head was lo11ed o$$ by a wendol sword and the head bounced u1on the ground as a bauble0 the tongue still $licking in the mouth. %lso I saw 7eath take a s1ear through his chest; in this way was he 1inned to the ground0 and there writhed like a $ish taken $rom the sea. I saw a girl child tram1led by the hooves o$ a horse and her body crushed $lat and blood 1ouring $rom her ear. %lso I saw a woman0 a slave o$ King othgarE her body was cut in twain cleanly while she ran $rom a 1ursuing horseman. I saw many children likewise killed. I saw horses rear and 1lunge0 their riders dismounted0 to be $allen u1on by old men and women0 who slew the creatures as they lay stunned on their backs. %lso I saw 7igli$0 the son o$ othgar0 run $rom the $ray and conceal himsel$ in cowardly sa$ety. &he herald I did not see that day. I mysel$ killed three o$ the wendol0 and su$$ered a s1ear in the shoulder0 which 1ain was like a 1lunge into $ire; my blood boiled the length o$ my arm and also inside my chest; I thought I should colla1se0 and yet I $ought on. Now the sun burst through the mist0 and the dawn was $ull u1on us0 and the mist sli11ed away0 and the horsemen disa11eared. In the broad light o$ day0 I saw bodies everywhere0 including many bodies o$ the wendol0 $or they had not collected their dead. &his truly was the sign o$ their end0 $or they were in disarray and could not again attack othgar0 and all the 1eo1le o$ the kingdom o$ othgar knew this meaning and re6oiced. 'erger bathed my wound0 and was elated0 until they carried the body o$ #uliwy$ into the great hall o$ othgar. #uliwy$ was dead a score overE his body was hacked by the blades o$ a do:en adversaries; his visage and $orm were soaked in his own still8warm blood. 'erger saw this sight and burst into tears0 and hid his $ace $rom me0 but there was no need0 $or I mysel$ $elt tears that misted my sight.
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&his section o$ the manuscri1t is 1ieced together $rom the manuscri1t o$ a:i0 whose chie$ interest was military techni@ues. 7hether or not Ibn (adlan knew0 or recorded0 the signi$icance o$ #uliwy$;s rea11earance is unknown. .ertainly a:i did not include it0 although the signi$icance is obvious enough. In Norse mythology0 !din is 1o1ularly re1resented as bearing a raven on each shoulder. &hese birds bring him all the news o$ the world. !din was the 1rinci1al deity o$ the Norse 1antheon and was considered the ,niversal (ather. 'e ruled es1ecially in matters o$ war$are; it was believed that $rom time to time he would a11ear among men0 although rarely in his godlike $orm0 1re$erring to assume the a11earance o$ a sim1le traveler. It was said that an enemy would be scared away sim1ly by his 1resence. Interestingly0 there is a story about !din in which he is killed and resurrected a$ter nine days; most authorities believe this idea antedates any .hristian in$luence. In any case0 the resurrected !din was still mortal0 and it was believed that he would someday $inally die.

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#uliwy$ was laid be$ore King othgar0 whose duty it was to make a s1eech. #ut the old man was not able to do such a thing. 'e said only thisE 'ere is a warrior and a hero $it $or the gods. #ury him as a great king0 and then he le$t the hall. I believe he was ashamed0 $or he himsel$ had not 6oined in the battle. %lso his son 7igli$ had run like a coward0 and many had seen this0 and called it a womanly act; this also may have abashed the $ather. !r there may be some reason which I do not know. In truth0 he was a very old man. Now it ha11ened that in a low voice 7igli$ s1oke to the heraldE &his #uliwy$ has done us much service0 all the greater $or his death at the concluding o$ it. &hus he s1oke when his $ather the King had de1arted the hall. 'erger heard these words0 and I also did0 and I was the $irst to draw my sword. 'erger said to me0 )o not battle this man0 $or he is a $o/0 and you have wounds. I said to him0 7ho cares $or thatF and I challenged the son 7igli$0 and u1on the s1ot. 7igli$ drew his sword. Now 'erger delivered me a mighty kick or manner o$ blow $rom behind0 and as I was un1re1ared $or this I $ell s1rawling; then 'erger 6oined battle with the son 7igli$. %lso the herald took u1 arms0 and moved slyly0 in the desire to stand behind 'erger and slay him at the back. &his herald I mysel$ killed by 1lunging my sword dee1 into his belly0 and the herald screamed at the instant o$ his im1alement. &he son 7igli$ heard this0 and although he had battled $earlessly be$ore0 now he showed much $ear in his contest with 'erger. &hen it ha11ened that King othgar heard o$ the clashing; he came once more to the great hall and begged $or a ceasing o$ the matter. In this0 his e$$orts were to no avail. 'erger was $irm in his 1ur1ose. Verily I saw him stand astride the body o$ #uliwy$ and swing his sword at 7igli$0 and 'erger slew 7igli$0 who $ell down u1on the table o$ othgar0 and gri11ed the cu1 o$ the King0 and drew it toward his li1s. #ut it is true that he died without drinking0 and so the matter was $inished. Now o$ the 1arty o$ #uliwy$0 once o$ the number thirteen0 only $our remained. I among them0 we set out #uliwy$ beneath a wooden roo$0 and le$t his body with a cu1 o$ mead in his hands. &hen 'erger said to the assembled 1eo1le0 7ho shall die with this noble manF and a woman0 a slave o$ King othgar0 said that she would die with #uliwy$. &he usual 1re1arations o$ the Northmen were then made. 4lthough !'n +adlan does not s$ecif% an% $assage of time" se&eral da%s $ro'a'l% ela$sed 'efore the funeral ceremon%* Now a shi1 was $itted out u1on the shore below the hall o$ othgar0 and treasures o$ gold and silver were laid u1on it0 and the carcasses o$ two horses also. %nd a tent was erected0 and #uliwy$0 now sti$$ in death0 1laced inside. 'is body was the black color o$ death in this cold climate. &hen the slave girl was taken to each o$ the warriors o$ #uliwy$0 and to me also0 and I had carnal knowledge o$ her0 and she said to me0 +y master thanks you. 'er countenance and manner were most 6oy$ul0 o$ a variety in e/cess o$ the general good cheer these 1eo1le show. 7hilst she dressed again in her garments0 these garments including many s1lendid ornaments o$ gold and silver0 I said to her that she was 6oy$ul. I had in my mind that she was a $air maiden0 and youth$ul0 and yet soon to die0 which she knew0 as did I. -he said to me0 I am 6oy$ul because I shall soon see my master. %s yet she had drunk no mead0 and she s1oke the truth o$ her heart. 'er countenance shone as does a ha11y child0 or certain women when they are with child; this was the nature o$ the thing.
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-o0 then0 I said thisE &ell your master when you see him that I have lived to write. &hese words I do not know i$ she com1rehended. I said to her0 It was the wish o$ your master. &hen I will tell him0 she said0 and most cheer$ully 1roceeded to the ne/t warrior o$ #uliwy$. I do not know i$ she understood my meaning0 $or the only sense o$ writing these North 1eo1le know is the carving o$ wood or stone0 which they do but seldom. %lso0 my s1eech in the North tongue was not clear. 9et she was cheer$ul and went on. Now in the evening0 as the sun was making its descent into the sea0 the shi1 o$ #uliwy$ was 1re1ared u1on the beach0 and the maiden was taken into the tent o$ the shi10 and the old crone who is called the angel o$ death 1laced the dagger between her ribs0 and I and 'erger held the cord that strangled her0 and we seated her alongside #uliwy$0 and then we de1arted. %ll o$ this day I had taken no $ood or drink0 $or I knew I must 1artici1ate in these a$$airs0 and I had no wish to su$$er the embarrassment o$ 1urging mysel$. #ut I $elt no revulsion at any o$ the deeds o$ that day0 nor was I $aint0 or light o$ head. (or this I was 1roud in secret. %lso it is true that at the moment o$ her death the maiden smiled0 and this e/1ression a$terward remained0 so that she sat ne/t to her master with this same smile u1on her 1ale $ace. &he $ace o$ #uliwy$ was black and his eyes were closed0 but his e/1ression was calm. &hus did I last view these two North 1eo1le. Now the shi1 o$ #uliwy$ was set a$lame0 and 1ushed out into the sea0 and the Northmen stood u1on the rocky shore and made many invocations to their gods. 7ith my own eyes0 I saw the shi1 carried by the currents as a burning 1yre0 and then it was lost to vision0 and the darkness o$ night descended u1on the Northlands. THE RETURN FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY N!7 I P%--") -!+" (, &'" 7""K- IN &'" com1any o$ the warriors and nobles o$ the kingdom o$ othgar. &his was a 1leasant time0 $or the 1eo1le were gracious and hos1itable0 and most attentive to my wounds0 which healed well0 1raise %llah. #ut it ha11ened soon enough that I desired to return to my own land. &o King othgar I made known I was the emissary o$ the .ali1h o$ #agdad0 and that I must com1lete the business he had sent me u1on0 or incur his wrath. None o$ this mattered to othgar0 who said I was a noble warrior0 that he desired I should remain in his lands0 to live the li$e o$ such an honored warrior. 'e said I was his $riend $orevermore0 and that I should have whatever I desired within his means to give me. 9et he was reluctant to let me de1art0 and contrived all manner o$ e/cuses and delays. othgar said I must look to my wounds0 although these in6uries were 1lainly healed; also he said I must recover my strength0 although my strength was evidently restored. (inally he said I must await the out$itting o$ a shi10 which was no mean undertaking; and when I in@uired a$ter the time such a shi1 might be out$itted0 the King made a vague re1ly0 as i$ this did not matter to him overmuch. %nd u1on those times when I 1ressed him to de1art0 he turned cross and asked i$ I was dissatis$ied with his hos1itality; to this I was obliged to res1ond with 1raise $or his graciousness and all variety o$ e/1ressions o$ contentment. -oon enough I thought the old King less a $ool than I had 1reviously. Now I went to 'erger0 s1eaking o$ my 1light and I said to himE &his King is not such a $ool as I have taken him to be.
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In re1ly0 'erger saidE 9ou are wrong0 $or he is a $ool0 and does not act with sense. %nd 'erger said he would arrange $or my de1arture with the King. 'ere was the manner o$ it. 'erger sought the audience o$ King othgar in 1rivate0 and said to the King that he was a great and wise ruler whose 1eo1le loved and res1ected him0 by virtue o$ the way he looked a$ter the a$$airs o$ the kingdom and the wel$are o$ his 1eo1le. &his $lattery so$tened the old man. Now 'erger said to him that o$ the $ive sons o$ the King0 only one survived0 and he was 7ul$gar0 who had gone to #uliwy$ as messenger0 and now remained $ar o$$. 'erger said that 7ul$gar should be summoned home0 and that a 1arry $or this 1ur1ose be arranged0 $or there was no other heir save 7ul$gar. &hese things he told the King. %lso0 I believe he s1oke some words in 1rivate to the Kueen 7eilew0 who had much in$luence over her husband. &hen it ha11ened at an evening ban@uet that othgar called $or the $itting out o$ a shi1 and a crew0 $or a voyage to return 7ul$gar to his kingdom. I re@uested to 6oin the crew0 and this the old King could not deny me. &he 1re1aration o$ the shi1 took the s1ace o$ several days. I s1ent much time with 'erger in this interval. 'erger had chosen to remain behind. !ne day we stood u1on the cli$$s0 overlooking the shi1 on the beach0 as it was 1re1ared $or the voyage and $itted with 1rovisions. 'erger said to meE 9ou are starting u1on a long 6ourney. 7e shall make 1rayers $or your sa$e8kee1ing. I in@uired whom he would 1ray to0 and he res1onded0 &o !din0 and (rey0 and &hor0 and 7yrd0 and to the several other gods who may in$luence your sa$e 6ourney. &hese are the names o$ the Northmen gods. I re1lied0 I believe in one God0 who is %llah0 the %ll8+erci$ul and .om1assionate. I know this0 'erger said. Perha1s in your lands0 one god is enough0 but not here; here there are many gods and each has his im1ortance0 so we shall 1ray to all o$ them on your behal$. I thanked him then0 $or the 1rayers o$ a nonbeliever are as good as they are sincere0 and I did not doubt the sincerity o$ 'erger. Now0 'erger had long known that I believed di$$erently $rom him0 but as the time o$ my de1arture drew close0 he in@uired many times again o$ my belie$s0 and at unusual moments0 thinking to catch me o$$ my guard and learn the truth. I took his many @uestions as a $orm o$ test0 as #uliwy$ once tested my knowledge o$ writing. %lways I answered him in the same way0 thus increasing his 1er1le/ity. !ne day he said to me0 with no show that he had ever in@uired 1reviouslyE 7hat is the nature o$ your god %llahF I said to him0 %llah is the one God0 who rules all things0 sees all things0 knows all things0 and dis1oses all things. &hese words I had s1oken be$ore. %$ter a time0 'erger said to me0 )o you never anger this %llahF I saidE I do0 but 'e is all8$orgiving and merci$ul. 'erger saidE 7hen it suits his 1ur1osesF I said that this was so0 and 'erger considered my answer. (inally he said this0 with a shaking headE &he risk is too great. % man cannot 1lace too much $aith in any one thing0 neither a woman0 nor a horse0 nor a wea1on0 nor any single thing. 9et I do0 I said. %s you see best0 'erger re1lied0 but there is too much that man does not know. %nd what man does not know0 that is the 1rovince o$ the gods. In this way I saw that he would never be 1ersuaded to my belie$s0 nor I to his0 and so we 1arted. In truth0 it was a sad leave8taking0 and I was heavy8hearted to de1art $rom 'erger
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and the remainder o$ the warriors. 'erger $elt this also. I gri11ed his shoulder0 and he mine0 and then I set out u1on the black shi10 which carried me to the land o$ the )ans. %s this shi1 with her stout crew sli11ed away $rom the shores o$ Venden0 I had view o$ the gleaming roo$to1s o$ the great hall o$ 'urot0 and0 turning away0 o$ the gray and vast ocean be$ore us. Now it ha11ened The manuscri$t ends a'ru$tl% at this $oint" the end of a transcri'ed $age" with the final terse words 8nunc $it"< and although there is clearl% more to the manuscri$t" further $assages ha&e not 'een disco&ered* This is" of course" the $urest historical accident" 'ut e&er% translator has commented u$on the odd a$$ro$riateness of this a'ru$t ending" which suggests the start of some new ad&enture" some new strange sight" that for the most ar'itrar% reasons of the $ast thousand %ears will 'e denied us* APPENDIX: THE MIST MONSTERS %- 7I**I%+ '!7"**- '%- "+P'%-IN")0 I& I- % rather rare event that causes any living animal to die in such a way that he will be 1reserved as a $ossil $or centuries to come. &his is es1ecially true o$ a small0 $ragile0 ground8living animal such as man0 and the $ossil record o$ early men is remarkably scanty. &e/tbook diagrams o$ the tree o$ man im1ly a certainty o$ knowledge that is misleading; the tree is 1runed and revised every $ew years. !ne o$ the most controversial and troublesome branches o$ that tree is the one usually labeled Neanderthal +an. 'e takes his name $rom the valley in Germany where the $irst remains o$ his ty1e were discovered in 5<CB0 three years be$ore the 1ublication o$ )arwin;s Origin of 5$ecies. &he Victorian world was dis1leased with the skeletal remains0 and em1hasi:ed the crude and brutish as1ects o$ Neanderthal man; until now the very word is0 in the 1o1ular imagination0 synonymous with all that is dumb and bestial in human nature. It was with a kind o$ relie$ that early scholars decided that Neanderthal man had disa11eared about >C0AAA years ago0 to be re1laced by .ro8+agnon man0 whose skeletal remains were 1resumed to show as much delicacy0 sensitivity0 and intelligence as the Neanderthal skull showed monstrous brutishness. &he general 1resum1tion was that the su1erior0 modern .ro8+agnon man killed o$$ the Neanderthals. Now the truth o$ the matter is that we have very $ew good e/am1les o$ Neanderthal man in our skeletal materialGo$ more than eighty known $ragments0 only about a do:en are com1lete enough0 or dated care$ully enough0 to warrant serious study. 7e cannot really say with any certainty how wides1read a $orm he was0 or what ha11ened to him. %nd recent e/amination o$ the skeletal evidence has dis1uted the Victorian belie$ in his monstrous0 semihuman a11earance. In their 53C= review0 -traus and .ave wroteE I$ he could be reincarnated and 1laced in a New 9ork subwayG1rovided he were bathed0 shaved0 and dressed in modern clothingGit is doubt$ul whether he would attract any more attention than some o$ its other deni:ens. %nother anthro1ologist has 1ut it more 1lainlyE 9ou might think he was tough8looking0 but you wouldn;t ob6ect to your sister marrying him. (rom here0 it is only a short ste1 to what some anthro1ologists already believeE that Neanderthal man0 as an anatomical variant o$ modern man0 has never disa11eared at all0 but is still with us.
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% reinter1retation o$ the cultural remains associated with Neanderthal man also su11orts a benign view o$ the $ellow. Past anthro1ologists were highly im1ressed with the beauty and 1ro$usion o$ the cave drawings that $irst a11ear with the arrival o$ .ro8+agnon man; as much as any skeletal evidence0 these drawings tended to rein$orce the notion o$ a wonder$ul new sensibility re1lacing the @uintessence o$ brute benightedness. #ut Neanderthal man was remarkable in his own right. 'is culture0 called +ousterianG again0 a$ter a site0 *e +oustier in (ranceGis characteri:ed by stoneworking o$ @uite a high order0 much su1erior to any earlier cultural level. %nd it is now recogni:ed that Neanderthal man had bone tools as well. +ost im1ressive o$ all0 Neanderthal man was the $irst o$ our ancestors to bury his dead ritually. %t *e +oustier0 a teenage boy was 1laced in a trench0 in a slee1ing 1osition; he was 1rovided with a su11ly o$ $lint tools0 a stone a/e0 and roasted meat. &hat these materials were $or the use o$ the deceased in some a$terli$e is undis1uted by most anthro1ologists. &here is other evidence o$ religious $eelingE in -wit:erland there is a shrine to the cave bear0 a creature worshi1ed0 res1ected0 and also eaten. %nd at -hanidar .ave in Ira@0 a Neanderthal was buried with $lowers in the grave. %ll this 1oints to an attitude toward li$e and death0 a sel$8conscious view o$ the world0 which lies at the core o$ what we believe distinguishes thinking man $rom the rest o$ the animal world. !n e/isting evidence0 we must conclude this attitude was $irst dis1layed by Neanderthal man. &he general reassessment o$ Neanderthal man coincides with the rediscovery o$ Ibn (adlan;s contact with the mist monsters; his descri1tion o$ these creatures is suggestive o$ Neanderthal anatomy0 and raises the @uestion o$ whether the Neanderthal $orm did0 in $act0 disa11ear $rom the earth thousands o$ years ago0 or whether these early men 1ersisted into historic times. %rguments based on analogies cut both ways. &here are historical e/am1les o$ a hand$ul o$ 1eo1le with technologically su1erior culture wi1ing out a more 1rimitive society in a matter o$ years; that is largely the story o$ the "uro1ean contact with the New 7orld. #ut there are also e/am1les o$ 1rimitive societies e/isting in isolated areas0 unknown to more advanced0 civili:ed 1eo1les nearby. -uch a tribe was recently discovered in the Phili11ines. &he academic debate on Ibn (adlan;s creatures can be neatly summari:ed by the view1oints o$ Geo$$rey 7rightwood0 o$ !/$ord ,niversity0 and ". ). Goodrich0 o$ the ,niversity o$ Philadel1hia. 7rightwood says L53=5ME &he account o$ Ibn (adlan 1rovides us with a 1er$ectly serviceable descri1tion o$ Neanderthal men0 coinciding with the $ossil record and our su11ositions about the cultural level o$ these early men. 7e should acce1t it immediately0 had we not already decided these men vanished without a trace some >A8 ?A0AAA years 1reviously. 7e should remember that we only believe this disa11earance because we have $ound no $ossils o$ a later date0 and the absence o$ such $ossils does not mean that they do not0 in $act0 e/ist. !b6ectively0 there is no a $riori reason to deny that a grou1 o$ Neanderthals might have survived very late in an isolated region o$ -candinavia. In any case this assum1tion best $its the descri1tion o$ the %rabic te/t. Goodrich0 a 1aleontologist well known $or his ske1ticism0 takes the contrasting view L53=4ME &he general accuracy o$ Ibn (adlan;s re1orting may tem1t us to overlook certain
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e/cesses in his manuscri1t. &hese are several0 and they arise either $rom cultural 1reconditioning0 or $rom a storyteller;s desire to im1ress. 'e calls the Vikings giants when they most certainly were not; he em1hasi:es the dirty0 drunken as1ects o$ his hosts0 which less $astidious observers did not $ind striking. In his re1ort o$ the so8called Owendol0; he 1laces great im1ortance on their hairiness and brutish a11earance when0 in $act0 they may not have been so hairy0 or so brutish. &hey may sim1ly have been a tribe o$ Homo sa$iens0 living in isolation and without the level o$ cultural attainment mani$ested by the -candinavians. &here is internal evidence0 within the body o$ the Ibn (adlan manuscri1t0 to su11ort the notion that the Owendol; are actually Homo sa$iens. &he 1regnant $emale $igurines described by the %rab are highly suggestive o$ the 1rehistoric carvings and $igurines to be $ound at the %urignacian industry sites in (rance and o$ the Gravettian $inds in 7illendor$0 %ustria0 *evel 3. #oth %urignacian and Gravettian cultural levels are associated with essentially modern man0 and not Neanderthal +an. 7e must never $orget that to untrained observers0 cultural di$$erences are o$ten inter1reted as $h%sical di$$erences0 and one need not be 1articularly naive to make this mistake. &hus0 as late as the 5<<As it was 1ossible $or educated "uro1eans to wonder aloud whether Negroes in 1rimitive %$rican societies could be considered human beings a$ter all0 or whether they re1resented some bi:arre mating o$ men and a1es. Nor should we overlook the degree to which societies with vastly di$$ering degrees o$ cultural attainment may e/ist side by sideE such contrasts a11ear today0 $or e/am1le0 in %ustralia0 where the stone age and the 6et age can be $ound in close 1ro/imity. &hus in inter1reting the descri1tions o$ Ibn (adlan we need not 1ostulate a Neanderthal remnant0 unless we are $anci$ully inclined to do so. In the end0 the arguments stumble over a well8known limitation to the scienti$ic method itsel$. &he 1hysicist Gerhard obbins observes that strictly s1eaking0 no hy1othesis or theory can ever be 1roven. It can only be dis1roven. 7hen we say we believe a theory0 what we really mean is that we are unable to show that the theory is wrongGnot that we are able to show0 beyond doubt0 that the theory is right. % scienti$ic theory may stand $or years0 even centuries0 and it may accumulate hundreds o$ bits o$ corroborating evidence to su11ort it. 9et a theory is always vulnerable0 and a single con$licting $inding is all that is re@uired to throw the hy1othesis into disarray0 and call $or a new theory. !ne can never know when such con$licting evidence will arise. Perha1s it will ha11en tomorrow0 1erha1s never. #ut the history o$ science is strewn with the ruins o$ mighty edi$ices to11led by an accident0 or a triviality. &his is what Geo$$rey 7rightwood meant when he said at the -eventh International -ym1osium on 'uman Paleontology in Geneva in 53=4E %ll I need is one skull0 or a $ragment o$ a skull0 or a bit o$ 6aw. In $act0 all I need is one good tooth0 and the debate is concluded. ,ntil that skeletal evidence is $ound0 s1eculation will continue0 and one may ado1t whatever stance satis$ies an inner sense o$ the $itness o$ things. SOURCES I. PRIMARY SOURCE 9akut ibn8%bdallah +-0 a geogra1hical le/icon0 F%.). 5?AA. Nos. 5?A>%85C<3%0 %rchives ,niversity *ibrary0 !slo0 Norway.
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&ransE #lake0 obert0 and (rye0 ichard; in 0%(antinaGMeta'%(antina: 4 Hournal of 0%(antine and Modern ?ree# 5tudies0 New 9ork0 53?=. .ook0 %lbert -.; New 9ork0 53?=. (raus8)olus0 Per; !slo0 53C3853BA. 2orgensen0 !la$0 53=50 un1ublished Nasir0 -eyed 'ossein; 53=50 un1ublished. -t. Petersburg +-0 a local history0 1ublished by the %cademy o$ -t. Petersburg0 5<4>. Nos. 4>>+84=<+0 %rchives ,niversity *ibrary0 !slo0 Norway. &ransE (raus8)olus0 Per; !slo0 53C3853BA. -tenuit0 oger; 53=50 un1ublished. -oletsky0 V. K.; 53=50 un1ublished. %hmad &usi +-0 a geogra1hy0 %.). 5A?=0 1a1ers o$ 2. '. "merson. Nos. *V A5855?0 %rchives ,niversity *ibrary0 !slo0 Norway. &ransE (raus8)olus0 Per; !slo0 53C3853BA. Nasir0 -eyed 'ossein; 53=50 un1ublished. 'itti0 %. +.; 53=50 un1ublished. %min a:i +-0 a history o$ war$are0 %.). 5C<C85C3C0 1a1ers o$ 2. '. "merson. Nos. *V 4A=84??0 %rchives ,niversity *ibrary0 !slo0 Norway. &ransE (raus8)olus0 Per; !slo0 53C3853BA. #endi/on0 obert; 53=50 un1ublished. Porteus0 "leanor; 53=50 un1ublished. Dymos +-0 a $ragmentary geogra1hy0 F date0 be@uest estate %. G. Gavras. Nos. 4>A<&8 4>?<&0 %rchives ,niversity *ibrary0 !slo0 Norway. &ransE (raus8)olus0 Per; !slo0 53C3853BA. #endi/on0 obert; 53=50 un1ublished. Porteus0 "leanor; 53=50 un1ublished. II. SECONDARY SOURCES #erndt0 ".0 and #erndt0 . '. %n %nnotated #ibliogra1hy o$ e$erences to the +anuscri1t o$ Ibn (adlan $rom 5=3? to 53=A0 4cta 4rchaeologica0 VIE >>?8><30 53=5. &his remarkable com1ilation will re$er the interested reader to all secondary sources concerning the manuscri1t0 which have a11eared in "nglish0 Norwegian0 -wedish0 )anish0 ussian0 (rench0 -1anish0 and %rabic $or the dates cited. &he total number o$ sources listed is 50A?4. III. GENERAL REFERENCE WORKS
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&he $ollowing are suitable $or the general reader with no 1articular archaeological or historical background. !nly works in "nglish are cited. 7ilson0 ). +. The ,i#ings0 *ondon0 53=A. #rondsted0 2. The ,i#ings0 *ondon0 53BA0 53BC. %rbman0 '. The ,i#ings0 *ondon0 53B5. 2ones0 G. 4 Histor% of the ,i#ings0 !/$ord0 53B<. -awyer0 P. The 4ge of the ,i#ings0 *ondon0 53B4. (oote0 P. G.0 and 7ilson0 ). +. The ,i#ing 4chie&ement0 *ondon0 53=A. Kendrick0 &. ). 4 Histor% of the ,i#ings0 *ondon0 53>A. %:hared0 %bdul. Necronomicon Led. '. P. *ovecra$tM0 Providence0 hode Island0 53>?. A FACTUAL NOTE ON EATERS OF THE DEAD -4T-65 O+ TH- @-4@ 7%- .!N."IV") !N % )% ". IN 53=?0 my $riend Kurt Villadsen 1ro1osed to teach a college course he called &he Great #ores. &he course would include all the te/ts that were su11osed to be crucial to 7estern civili:ation but which were0 in truth0 no longer read willingly by anyone0 because they were so tedious. Kurt said that the $irst o$ the great bores he would address was the e1ic 1oem 0eowulf. I disagreed. I argued that 0eowulf was a dramatic0 e/citing storyGand that I could 1rove it. I went home and immediately began making notes $or this novel. I started $rom the scholarly tradition that e/amined e1ic 1oetry and mythology as i$ it might have some underlying basis in $act. 'einrich -chliemann assumed the !liad was true0 and $ound what he claimed was &roy and +ycenae; %rthur "vans believed there was something to the myth o$ the +inotaur0 and uncovered the Palace o$ Knossos on .rete; ?B +. I. (inley and others had traced the route o$ ,lysses in the Od%sse%;?= *ionel .asson had written about the real 6ourneys that might underlie the myth o$ 2ason and the %rgonauts. ?< &hus it seemed reasonable0 within this tradition0 to imagine that 0eowulf0 too0 had originally been based on an actual event. &hat event had been embellished over centuries o$ oral retelling0 1roducing the $antastic narrative we read today. #ut I thought it might be 1ossible to reverse the 1rocess0 1eeling away the 1oetic invention0 and returning to a kernel o$ genuine human e/1erienceG something that had actually ha11ened. &his idea o$ uncovering the $actual core o$ the narrative was a11ealing but im1ractical. +odern scholarshi1 o$$ered no ob6ective 1rocedure to se1arate 1oetic invention $rom underlying $act. "ven to try would mean making innumerable sub6ective decisions0 large and small0 on every 1ageGin the end0 so many decisions that the result must inevitably be still another inventionE a modern 1seudo8historical $antasy about what the original events might have been. &he insoluble 1roblem 1revented me $rom 1roceeding. !$ course0 in writing a novel0 I intended to create a $antasy o$ my own. #ut $antasies demand strict logic0 and I was
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&he classic 1o1ular account o$ "vans and -chliemann is .. 7. .eram HKurt 7. +arekI0 ?ods" ?ra&es" and 5cholars0 %l$red %. Kno1$0 New 9ork0 53B=. ?= +. I. (inley0 The World of Od%sseus0 Viking Press0 New 9ork0 53BC. ?< *ionel .asson0 The 4ncient Mariners" 5ea +arers and 5ea +ighters of the Mediterranean in 4ncient Times 0 +acmillan0 New 9ork0 53C3.

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troubled by the logic behind what I wanted to write. -ince a real scholar could not do what I intended to do0 I $ound I could not 1retend0 in writing0 that I had done so. &his was not a $ailure o$ imagination or nerve. It was a 1urely 1ractical 1roblem. *ike the scholar0 I had no basis $or deciding which elements o$ the 0eowulf narrative to kee10 and which to discard. %lthough the idea o$ working backward seemed untenable0 I remained intrigued. I asked a di$$erent @uestionE su11ose0 $or a moment0 that the 1ractical 1roblems that troubled me did not e/ist0 and the 1rocess could indeed be carried out. 7hat would the resulting narrative look likeF I imagined it would 1robably be a rather mundane recounting o$ some battles that occurred more than a thousand years ago. In $act0 I sus1ected it would 1robably resemble most eyewitness accounts o$ $amous events0 as written by 1eo1le who are unaware o$ the signi$icance o$ the events they are seeing. &his line o$ thinking eventually led to the solution to my 1roblem. .learly0 I wanted an eyewitness account. I could not e/tract it $rom the e/isting 0eowulf narrative0 and I did not want to invent it. &hat was my im1asse. #ut at some 1oint0 I reali:ed I did not have to invent itGI could disco&er it instead. -u11ose0 I thought0 a contem1orary observer had been 1resent at these battles0 and had written an account o$ the events that were later trans$ormed into a 1oem. -u11ose0 too0 that this account alread% e3isted0 but had never been recogni:ed $or what it was. i$ this were so0 then no invention on my 1art would be necessary. I could merely re1roduce the eyewitness narrative0 and annotate it $or the reader. &he conce1t o$ a 1ree/isting manuscri1t by1assed the logical 1roblems which had earlier im1eded me0 because a $ound manuscri1t would not be my creationGeven though I would create it. !$ course such thinking is absurd0 but it ha11ens all the time. !$ten actors cannot act without a 1ro10 or a $alse moustache0 or some other arti$ice to se1arate themselves $rom the character they are 1ortraying. I was engaged in a similar 1rocess. 7hat sort o$ narrative would be most desirableF I concluded the most use$ul account would be written by an outsiderGsomeone not 1art o$ the culture0 who could re1ort ob6ectively on the events as they occurred. #ut who would this outside observer have beenF 7here would he have come $romF !n re$lection0 I reali:ed I already knew o$ such a 1erson. In the tenth century0 an %rab named Ibn (adlan had traveled north $rom #aghdad into what is now ussia0 where he came in contact with the Vikings. 'is manuscri1t0 well8known to scholars0 1rovides one o$ the earliest eyewitness accounts o$ Viking li$e and culture.?3 %s a college undergraduate0 I had read 1ortions o$ the manuscri1t. Ibn (adlan had a distinct voice and style. 'e was imitable. 'e was believable. 'e was une/1ected. %nd a$ter a thousand years0 I $elt that Ibn (adlan would not mind being revived in a new role0 as a witness to the events that led to the e1ic 1oem o$ 0eowulf. %lthough the $ull manuscri1t o$ Ibn (adlan has been translated into ussian0 German0 (rench and many other languages0 only 1ortions had been translated into "nglish. I obtained the e/isting manuscri1t $ragments and combined them0 with only slight modi$ications0 into the $irst three cha1ters o$ -aters of the @ead.CA I then wrote the rest o$
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%mong the many discussions o$ Viking society $or the general reader0 seeE ). +. 7ilson0 The ,i#ings0 *ondon0 53=A; 2. #rondsted0 The ,i#ings0 *ondon0 53BC; P. -awyer0 The 4ge of the ,i#ings0 *ondon0 53B4; P. G. (oote and ). +. 7ilson0 The ,i#ing 4chie&ement0 *ondon0 53=A. -ome o$ these re$erences @uote 1assages $rom Ibn (adlan;s manuscri1t. CA &o my knowledge there are still only two 1rinci1al sources in "nglish. &he $irst is the te/t $ragments I read as an undergraduateE obert #lake and ichard (rye0 &he Vikings %broad and at 'ome0 in .arleton -. .oon0 4 6eader in ?eneral 4nthro$olog%0 'enry 'olt and .o.0 New 9ork0 53C40 11. ?5A8?5B. &he second source is obert P. #lake and ichard

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the novel in the style o$ the manuscri1t to carry Ibn (adlan on the rest o$ his now8$ictional 6ourney. I also added commentary and some e/tremely 1edantic $ootnotes. I was aware that Ibn (adlan;s actual 6ourney in %.). 345 had 1robably occurred too late in history to serve as the basis $or 0eowulf0 which many authorities believe was com1osed a hundred and $i$ty years earlier. #ut the dating o$ the 1oem is uncertain0 and at some 1oint a novelist will insist on his right to take liberties with the $acts. %nd -aters contains many overt anachronisms0 1articularly when Ibn (adlan meets u1 with a grou1 o$ remnant Neanderthals. H!ne o$ the oddities o$ this book is that the intervening decades has seen a scholarly reevaluation o$ Neanderthal man; and the notion that there might have been a $ew still around a thousand years ago in a remote location does not seem @uite so 1re1osterous now as it did then.I #ut certainly0 the game that the book 1lays with its $actual bases becomes increasingly com1le/ as it goes along0 until the te/t $inally seems @uite di$$icult to evaluate. I have a long8standing interest in verisimilitude0 and in the cues which make us take something as real or understand it as $iction. #ut I $inally concluded that in -aters of the @ead0 I had 1layed the game too hard. 7hile I was writing0 I $elt that I was drawing the line between $act and $iction clearly; $or e/am1le0 one cited translator0 Per (raus8)olus0 means in literal *atin by trickery8deceit. #ut within a $ew years0 I could no longer be certain which 1assages were real0 and which were made u1; at one 1oint I $ound mysel$ in a research library trying to locate certain re$erences in my bibliogra1hy0 and $inally concluding0 a$ter hours o$ $rustrating e$$ort0 that however convincing they a11eared0 they must be $ictitious. I was $urious to have wasted my time0 but I had only mysel$ to blame. I mention this because the tendency to blur the boundaries o$ $act and $iction has become wides1read in modern society. (iction is now seamlessly inserted in everything $rom scholarly histories to television news. !$ course0 television is understood to be venal0 its transgressions shrugged o$$ by most o$ us. #ut the attitude o$ 1ost8modern scholars re1resents a more $undamental challenge. -ome in academic li$e now argue seriously there is no di$$erence between $act and $iction0 that all ways o$ reading te/t are arbitrary and 1ersonal0 and that there$ore 1ure invention is as valid as hard research. %t best0 this attitude evades traditional scholarly disci1line; at worst0 it is nasty and dangerous. C5 #ut such academic views were not 1revalent twenty years ago0 when I sat down to write this novel in the guise o$ a scholarly monogra1h0 and academic $ashions may change againG 1articularly i$ scholars $ind themselves chasing down imaginary $ootnotes0 as I have done. ,nder the circumstances0 I should 1erha1s say e/1licitly that the re$erences in this a$terword are genuine. &he rest o$ the novel0 including its introduction0 te/t0 $ootnotes0 and bibliogra1hy0 should 1ro1erly be viewed as $iction. 7hen -aters of the @ead was $irst 1ublished0 this 1lay$ul version o$ 0eowulf received a rather irritable rece1tion $rom reviewers0 as i$ I had desecrated a monument. #ut 0eowulf scholars all seem to en6oy it0 and many have written to say so. M*1* )"."+#" 5334

N. (rye0 Notes on the isala o$ Ibn8(adlan0 0%(antina Meta'%(antina0 53?30 v.5 1art 40 New 9ork0 11. =8>=. I am grate$ul to Pro$essor (rye $or his assistance during the $irst 1ublication o$ this book0 and this recent revision. C5 (or trends in 1ost8modern academic thought0 see0 $or e/am1le0 Pauline +arie osenau0 Post-Modernism and the 5ocial 5ciences: !nsights" !nroads" and !ntrusions 0 Princeton0 New 2ersey0 5334; and '. %ram Veser0 ed.0 The New Historicism0 outledge0 New 9ork0 53<3.

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