Bjorn Vernhardsson

This is a research paper on a bronze brooch from ninth or the tenth century. It is 4.73 cm or almost 2 inches long and 1.46 cm wide where it is the widest. It weighs about 8 grams.
The brooch is design more like signs of heavenly bodies were drawn in ancient text. The supposed coast is streamlined but not shown in its diversity. Similarly, can be seen on the earliest maps by Parisi, but that is what the similarities between the brooch and the earliest paper maps can be counted for.
There are many elements missing that can be seen in later made maps. There is no text or no sign indicating that this is a map like the compass sign or any marking like coats of Arms or any other sign of authenticity .
Before people could take the advantage of the compass, they used geographical position and supplemented with the observation of the position of celestial bodies. This can be for instance seen in the Völuspá poem, that people relied on the Sun and the moon as well as other celestial bodies to navigate the land.
There have been found Roman brooches that are similar to the fish brooch. One thing is in common is that the Roman brooches are all except one found on sites on the map or close to it. Indicating that these early Roman brooches might have been used to navigate the southern part of England from the river Tamar to the river Thames and all the way to the east coast.
If the image of the brooch is laid over the South of England it becomes evident how well the design of the fish does relate to the land from Plymouth in the southwest and to Dorchester in Anglia. This becomes more evident when the brooch and the hills in question are compared.
The lines and dots in the brooch are in a relative regular pattern, but at the same time the pattern changes and evolves into new design depending on where it is on the fish. The design is either in strong lines or dots that are aligned, which indicates that the brooch was used as a navigational piece. Due to its complicated design that brooch was also of a map of an area, and therefore more complicated design rather than the simple carving in the bone.
Here the most important sites have been plotted into the design.

Oldest maps of England are presented here. The oldest map is on the Bewcastle Stone Cross, then there is the carvings on the Great Urswick Stone and on the Gainsford Stone. These carvings are evidently displaying a map of Northumbria and Cumbria.
This mapping is explained with maps and pictures.

It is clear that these complicated and well carved pictures had some meaning and were useful in some way.

The authors expect to be able at later date present maps of York, Northumberland and the Borderlands as well.

The authors would be obliged to get some critics and some information regarding such design elsewhere.

This is not just a book about a battle; it is a book about the biggest battle before Hastings 1066.
This is a battle most people have probably never heard of, but it is a battle where five Scottish and Viking kings and seven earls died, somewhere in the kingdom of Northumbria in late 937. As well as royalty, the bones of tens of thousands of ordinary men from Northern England, Scotland and the Viking territories lie buried in a place which, according to the chroniclers, is no longer known.
This book is about that battle and the search to find the long-lost site. Thousands of pages have been written about the Battle of Brunnenburh, but this book is unique. It is written by descendants of a legendary Viking Egill Skallagrimsson. Thousands of pages have been written about Brunnenburh but all of them are written from the perspective of the victor, King Athelstan of Wessex and Mercia. This book is the closest anyone is likely to get to a Northern Viking account.
Even if you have no real interest in the site of the Battle of Brunnenburh this is worth the effort you will put into it this book to understand it. Take a deep dive into the world and beliefs and times of the competing factions in 10 th century England and beyond, and the battle that first unified the United Kingdom.

In this text we want to show how the Viking merchant ship Knarr was displayed as a symbol of hope, freedom and independence as well as a transporter of the dead on their last trip to the other world. This can be seen in old Icelandic and English poems. We focus on three known poems that display knarr in that relation, that is the Brunanburh poem and  the Old Icelandic poem Völuspá and a poem in Egil’s saga. The Völuspá is thought of as the oldest and then the poem in Egil‘s saga as he allegedly made it when he was seven years old. The poems are older than the written text of the saga and are thought to be the work of Egill Skallagrímsson himself. The latest of these poems is the Brunanburh poem which is thought to have been composed in the year 937. All in all, these poems might well have been made within a timeframe of ca. 50 years apart.

In this text we want to focus attention to the possible sites for the Battle of Brunanburh by paying extra attention to the two primary sources known for the battle.
We focus on two known poems that describe the events in detail; that is the Brunanburh poem and the poems in Egil’s saga.
The Brunanburh poem is thought to be close to the primary source of the events and we refer to the Parker manuscript in Cambridge . The poems in the Egil’s saga are contemporary with the events as well, even though the saga was written in the 13th century, the poems are older and are thought to be the work of Egill Skallagrímsson himself. We also use other references that conform to elements in other known sources like the issue of silver in this time.

In this text we want to give attention to the names related to Vine in the reference to the Battle of Brunanburh. There are references in Egil’s saga to Vínheith and Vínu. Symeon of Durham refers to the name Weondune. There is an interesting place on the Roman Road in the centre of County Durham that bears the name Vinovia, later known as Binchester. The field in Hunwick is a likely to have been the most prominent site in this are as it closely fits to the description given to the Yggdrasil Ash in the Old Icelandic poems like Völuspá and Grímnismál in the Snorra Edda. The depiction given to the Ash and the meaning of it in these poems bear likeness of how Jesus is depicted in the Gospel of St John as a Vine and the people as it branches.

The perception process for depth has been shown to be based on our anatomical ability to perceive the light waves and to distinguish between the variance in the light wave signals. It has been showed that it gives meaning to relate our capability for distinguish between frequencies in the light wave can be meaningful for depth perception as well as it is in perception of color. This assumption has been validated in experimental study and the main assumption was supported, which was that depth perception is a visual acuity at different distances, and the visual acuity increases intact with closer distance ranges.

In this paper I want to show possible relation between the poem of Brunanburh and the poems in Egil’s saga. I also want to show possible relation to the poem “The Ruin” and to the field in Hunwick. The Brunanburh poem was in manuscripts and chronicles that were written contemporary to events of the battle of Brunanburh in the year 937. Egil’s saga was written in Iceland early in the twelfth century but the poems in the saga are accounted for to be older and possibly contemporary  to the battle. The part of the Icelandic poem Íslendingadrápa from twelfth century which describes the fate of the brothers in England is translated in this paper. There are many poems in Egil’s saga and there is a quite descriptive account given for the battle of Brunanburh and these poems are believed made by Egil himself . The poem Ruin  is made by unknown poet in similar time frame as the other poems. It is published in the 10th century in the Exeter Book. The description given in the poem fits closely to the site of the Vinovia fort. The style of the poem is similar to the Brunanburh poem. To give the reader some insight to the Old English poetry from this time I compare these poems to the poem “The Recapture of the Five Boroughs” which is made in the year 942. That poem is made only five years later than the poem “Brunanburh” and now all passion is missing and there is a dry account given of the events. That begs the question of possible relation of the former poems and possible Egil’s saga and if that can be established whether the poems do relate well to the situation in Hunwick and at the Vinovia fort.

In this text we want to give attention to the possible sites for the Battle of Brunanburh by giving extra attention to the two primary sources known of the battle. We focus on two known poems that describe the events in detail that is the Brunanburh poem and the poems in Egil’s saga. The Brunanburh poem is thought to be close to the primary source of the events and we do refer to the Parker manuscript in Cambridge . The poems in the Egil’s saga are contemporary to the events as well, even though the saga is written in the 13th century, the poems are older and are thought to be the work of Egill Skallagrímsson himself. We use also other references that do confirm to other known sources like the issue of silver in this time.

In this text is researched the relation between the Brunanburh poem that appears in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles under the year 937 and Völuspá the Icelandic poem of the Prophecy. The Brunanburh poem describes the Battle of Brunanburh between an English army and their allies and a combined army of Scots, Vikings and Britons. The poem celebrates the English victory. The poem is known for traditional elements and its authenticity. Völuspá  is the first and best known poem of the Poetic Edda. The poem tells the story of the creation of a society and its coming end. The poem is preserved whole in the Codex Regius and Hauksbók manuscripts while parts of it are quoted in the Prose Edda. The first mention of the poem is in the year 960 but the poem is assumed to be an older and is most likely older poem than the Brunanburh poem and most likely it is from the years between 880 to 890  when people are moving to Iceland searching for freedom from Royalty and Christianity.

In this text we want to find out how the prophecy in Völuspá refers to Pre-Christian and Early-Christian North East. It will be reviewed how this ancient society was organized and established in place names and in religious sites. We will trace information to be found in the North East such as churches, castles and other sites that fit to the description given in Völuspá and other old poems from Iceland such as Grímnismál in Snorra Edda. There are references in these old poems that do relate often to the North East, we want to see how well it can be shown throughout the information given in Völuspá. This text only covers 18 stanzas of 64 in the poem but most of the text that refers to places and sites.

In this text the author wants to explain the possible meaning of what Sutton means as a place name in England. I will trace all the Suttons I could find and find out how these places possible relates to prominent sites in the tribal settlements in Pre - Roman Conquest England. Most prominent site is like Oxford is for Oxfordshire as the centre site where from all the distances in the shire are measured from. It is the believe of the author that the Suttons might relate to the “Suttungs” as the men living in and working in Sutton. There are references to Suttungs in Hávamál that indicate that the meaning of the word is related to men with power and substance. Sutton is not to be found in Scandinavia and Northern Europe unless one place in Ireland which is covered in this text.

In this text the authors want to explain the relation between the field in Hunwick as a possible site for the Battle of Brunanburh and four sites closely to the field that are likely to be burial sites for the lost ones in the battle. There is possibly an ancient burial site close to the proposed field and there are three different sites that might relate to three different segments of the invading force. There was a local chapel one mile from the proposed field, there is possibly a Scottish site half a mile from there and another site only half a mile therefrom that could relate to the Danish Vikings from Dublin.  In this paper we look at these sites as well as other possible sites further afield.

In this text I want to find out what Billing means in names of places in England. I will trace these names I could find and relate these places to possible central sites in the tribal settlements in Pre - Roman Conquest England. It is thought that these sites relate to “Bill” as sword and hence Billing as a swordsmen or warriors. There are references to Billing in Hávamál and Völuspá that indicate that the meaning of the word is related to men with power and substance. Other places in Scandinavia and Northern Europe are also mentioned without research further the relation to other sites.

This paper will cover the possible relationship between the 6th Pharaoh of the oldest dynasty with England. Picture on the Palermo stone is put in relation to a map of England and other indications such as DNA studies, metallurgical studies on tin are introduced as indications for possible relation between England and Egypt already in the years around 3000 BCE or five thousand years ago.

It is unclear how these the earliest English maps were constructed but these charts are quite sophisticated and have been designed and constructed on  their accuracy is much higher than what would have been expected for medieval maps. It can be therefore assumed that there existed a system of navigational artifacts that people relied on in these early times and was later transformed into maps. These maps could not have been made without something it imitated in its making.
Things like stones and crosses by the road as can be seen in many Celtic and Anglo-Saxon towns and by the roadside, might have been local information to the traveler, and might therefore been seen as early medieval navigational assistance marks. Smaller artifacts as well as detailed jewelry and bronze brooches that will be the focus of this text, might also have been navigational assistance tools that the travelers could take with them on their journeys.
There are examples from Roman time that might give an indication of how such navigational pieces might be simple and at the same time giving a strong perspective over a rather large area of land and then there are later examples from the Early Medieval times aligned with the earliest known maps and modern maps as well.

This text is following the book: “The oldest Maps in England; Carved Stones in the North” . The roads north as they are represented on the earliest maps of Britain done by Matthew Paris are researched.
Our theory is that the Celtic Knots and design in carvings in Stone Crosses and other artifacts that show this repetitive pattern of running knots, squares, circular panels, triquetras and curvatures are showing the roads. Sometimes this pattern is shown in one or up to three complicated crosses and sometimes the repetitive pattern is repeated in long sequences, but then usually in simpler design.
Our theory is that many of these carvings showing the road system and should be regarded as maps, rather than just appreciated as an artistic feature. Each knot or square might represent one quarter of a shire and a one-day journey and a one large image might display a whole shire and a couple of days’ journey within a shire. And each shire is organized with a central site as the most prominent thing-site in the shire .
We compare the carving in the stone cross that stands in the graveyard of the Church in Whalley in Lancashire to part of the earliest maps By Matthew Paris.
We compare the image of a carving on a bone in the British Museum found in York thought to be from the ninth century with the images on the maps by Paris and the images on the stone cross in Whalley.
Finally, we compare the carvings in the bone with the images on the Guildford Stone Cross which has been theorized to show the roads in Northumbria.
We want to show how the pattern of these old carvings found in the stone crosses and artefacts like the bone were later represented in the earliest paper maps, like the one made by Matthew Paris.
It is evident that each of the counties in Britain were centred and from such centre-site all other sites were organized according to sunsets and sunrises on solstices and equinoxes . This gave the county the same time zones and at the same time it organized all travelling in the county with best available navigation possible at the time as well from one county to another.
Footpaths and roads radiate around the centre and at the same time roads leading out to the county were laid in the manner according to these important sites marked to their setting from the centre and the most prominent site, which are shown in the maps.
It is important to remember that the carvings lack the aerial perspective and must be assessed more as a map of the underground tube, as such maps have a limited arial perspective to them the same does of course apply for the Matthew’s maps.
It is possible that the plain design of these carvings makes these more useful and important to people as it was possible that people carved these into wood objects or did sow them into their clothing to make it easy to carry around.
It is also worth remembering that these carved stones might have been painted and they might as well have been decorated with stone inserted. But we must assess the stone as it stands weathered for a millennium.
It is important to be open and do our utmost to understand these carvings as people did hardly in those times carve all these crosses and stones  with such precision just for the fun of it and put these stones and crosses all over Britain for the sake of the beauty of it.
The carvings were not spatial representations but rather stylized conceptualization of the land, of the roads and the important sites in question.
It is evident that the carvings explain the social structures as well as the borders between counties in question, which is important to understand.
It can be expected that such map stones are either by the border of a county or at crossroads as well as at administration centres, but in this instance the stone in Whalley is in Lancashire, which is far away from St. Alban where Matthew worked for the main part of his working life. It is also likely that such map stones are alongside the main roads in the county.
The design of these knots does therefore represent the viewpoint of the concept that was terrestrial rather than arial and the approximation was made for the limited transport available at the time that was mainly horses, possibly oxen drawn carriages, but mainly on foot rather than on horses.
Therefore, an exact geographical match was not necessary for the user at the time, and the carvings do give a good approximation to the actual sites and the roads in question.
It is therefore hoped that these carvings can contribute to future research of these carved stones and crosses and the areas in question.

This book is based on our translation from two mediaeval sources. Part of Egil’s saga telling the story of Thorolf Kveldúlfsson and his fate in Norway, and him sending a trading ship to England at the time when King Alfred the Great was in power in England.
The second source is King Alfred’s Anglo-Saxon version of The Compendious History of the World by Orosius, which includes the account given by Ohthere and Wulfstan to King Alfred the Great around the year 890 in England. We have also translated the text here as the concepts in these accounts are hopefully enhanced from previous publications.
This book is a sequel to the book; „Brunanburh Located Through Egil‘s Saga“ , which dealt with the part of Egil’s saga when the brothers Egill and Thorolf stayed with King Athelstan and fought beside him in the battle of Brunanburh.

In this text the author focuses his attention to how well the old poem Völuspá is shown in the carvings in the Gosforth Stone Cross. In my former book Völuspá; The Holy Land in the North-East I conclude that the poem is telling the story of the old society in the North-East of Britain, known as Northumbria. The illustration in the poem refers mainly to the county south of the River Tyne and north of the River Swale. The poem tells how the society was organized, how it developed and how the people in the end lost their sovereignty to the King in the south and the Catholic church. It can be assumed that the former liberal church of St Cuthbert was not Catholic enough. The poem gave a good description of how well religious sites, established place names and other monuments relate to its centre site or the Mithgard in Hunwick in County Durham.
The likeness of the poem and the Gosforth Stone cross is striking and that makes our understanding of the poem that much deeper as it gives an unique chance to understand many of the signs used at the time. To have access to the carvings in this context opens up new ways to interpret the myth from the time of the Vikings and the Anglo-Saxons from this time in the ninth century and prior to that.
There are so many similarities to Northumbria south of the River Tyne to the description given in the poem. Some of the places referred to come close to the poem that the relation can hardly be refuted and in other places deduction is needed to get the relation cleared.
This paper is philosophical in nature and the question is asked if this possible references to Northumbria can be verified in historical or archaeological research as that might shed some light on this old society and on this Anglo-Icelandic relationship. And as this paper is philosophical in nature, then there are many ideas presented here, there is no former paper indicating any of this relation of the poem to Northumberland, only the fact that some of the sites in the county do fit exceptional well to the description given in the poem and other sites and place names can also be assumed to fit to the picture given of the place and its history.
All references to the Anglo-Saxon Dictionary in this text indicate that there are new interpretations and different from earlier interpretations. It would complicate the text to go lengths to explain this difference and hopefully that will be done at a later date to compare all these translations. In this text there is interpretation of the meaning of the sites and places drawn from possibilities given by the poem.
The information that can be concluded from the Gosforth Stone Cross adds a lot to the information in Völuspá poem and hopefully it will be verified with other artifacts and finds from this time.
This calculation of sunsets and sunrises as can be expected is the message in Völuspá might relate to other areas in Britain or other places in the world and are possibly calculated and replicated from one area to another in Pre-Christian era. These references might possibly relate to other shires in Britain, calling for further research as it would give enhanced understanding of the old world and the names of places. Such work might enhance the understanding of the names of places in Britain which today seems to be difficult to gather and the meaning of these names are unclear and based on vague assumptions that are more often than not verified with local knowledge.

The question is how well the prophecy in Völuspá relates to the Pre-Christian and Early-Christian society in the North East of England. The Völuspá poem reveals how the North-East was organized and how it developed. This paper is in part philosophical and socio-psychological in exploring how the society might have evolved. It also pays attention to how well the description given in the poem can be established in place names and other monuments that have been discovered or might be expected to be found at later dates. The author will trace information to found in the North-East such as churches, castles and other sites that fit to the description given in Völuspá and other old poems from Iceland such as Grímnismál in Snorri’s Edda.