Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - II. The Conversion of Sweden (830—1130 A.D.)
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
Below is the raw OCR text
from the above scanned image.
Do you see an error? Proofread the page now!
Här nedan syns maskintolkade texten från faksimilbilden ovan.
Ser du något fel? Korrekturläs sidan nu!
This page has never been proofread. / Denna sida har aldrig korrekturlästs.
7- SKOTKONUNG, SIGFRID AND UNWAN. 73
It may be mentioned that William of Malmesbury (P.
L., Vol. 179, p. 1722) gives the obit of
"
Sigefrid, Bishop
of Norway, monk of Glastonbury," as the 5th of April,
whereas the legend of St. Sigfrid makes it i5th of February.
But this legend was only written in 1205 A.D. (see S. R. S.,
Vol. ii., pt. i., p. 345) This introduces another element of
uncertainty, though it confirms the name Sigfrid as that of
an English missionary to the north.
It is unfortunate that we know so little of this bishop.
His legendary life appears to be of little value. It repre
sents him as an Archbishop of York and as a volunteer
sent out by an English king, Mildred. Now, we do not
know of any king called Mildred, though the name occurs
in the Durham Liber Viicc, as that of a Northumbrian
king or duke. There was certainly no Sigfrid Arch
bishop of York, though there was a Bishop of Lindsey of
that name, circa 1000 A.D. The description of him as
wearing a mitre is also a mistake, as mitres were not worn
so early. The story of his three martyred nephews, Una-
man, Sunaman and Winaman, and their speaking heads is
a puerile extravagance. The fact, however, that Adam of
Bremen clearly knew only of one Sigfrid, and that a famous
man, makes it probable that there was one man bearing
the Ziyxot/ f Ptolemy v. 9, 18 (who places them in Sarmatia
Asiatica), and Pliny s
"
Zingi," and 4&lt;
Zigse," AT. H., vi. 7,
and Strabo s Zvyoi, Zuyoi or Zuytot (books ii. and xi.). These
people are described by ancient geographers as dwelling near
the north-east shore of the Black Sea, south of the River
Hypanis, and about halfway between the Cimmerian Bosporus
and the mouth of the River Phasis. In later Christian
times their country was called Zecchia or Zichia. Their bishop
attended a council at Constantinople in 536 A.D. (Labb. :
Cone.,
v. 259). They are mentioned also several times by Procopius.
Their existence as a people in the same district in the tenth cen
tury is proved by a number of references in Constantine
Porphyro-genitus (imp. 911 A.D. 959 A.D.), de administrando
imperio, cc. 6, 42, 53. In the last passage he speaks of their
country as producing mineral oil. The names seem sufficiently
near for the Dean s purpose, but I do not know how far
"
ultra
mare "
can be naturally interpreted in Bruno s case of the Black
Sea. Dr. Soderblom inclines to think that it mav.
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
