Norway's Oldest Book

[@darkhill556]

A cool, dimly lit room filled with old books. Sounds like heaven on earth! Excellent video!

[@mrjones2721]

Cold and dark-or as Norwegians say, romantic. (Note: not a Norwegian.)

[@ericsonhazeltine5064]

@@mrjones2721 sort of like Norway itself

[@ruckboger]

Agreed

[@Jack-wi5qr]

Yes,heavenly!

[@ladythalia227]

@@ericsonhazeltine5064 Norwegian summer midnight sun: “Cold and dark”: am I a joke to you 😂

[@McCostaMc]

As a Norwegian this is something I wish our teacher had mentioned as I find it really interesting. Unfortunately (at least in my school), we didn't really go that much into details about the viking age. The park next door to my primary school had several burial mounds, yet no plaque/information available. I live 200m from a small stone circle that do have an info plaque, but all it says is that it's from between 1500-500 bce. No mention of anything else.

[@Hvitserk67]

I think your experience is not unique. My experience as a Norwegian and from Oslo is the same. Nor did we learn much about the Viking Age beyond the most elementary. It was apparently not important in a modern context (this was in the early 80s). To put it bluntly, we learned more about the Sandinistas of Nicaragua than about runes and rune stones.

[@MarvMetal]

In northern Germany there are many burial mounds and carved stones of the Funnelbeaker culture (about 5000-6000 years old). Almost noone knows about those, only few are shown on maps or at the tourist info. I located a carved megalith off the path and there was forestation going on all around it, noone caring for this millenia old relic of our ancestors half buried under felled trees.

[@Vengedyr]

Your local stones are much much older than viking age - remember that the viking age lasts from ca. 800 AD to ca. 1050. (798 to 1066, if we use the fun measure). So your local mounds and stones are from the bronze age, more than a thousand years before the viking age, and also long before even the earlier runic writing was invented. They sound really cool! By the same token: This psalter is not from the viking age - its too young for that. After ca. 1050 (or 1066 if we count the fun way) it's technically medieval if it is from Norway. :)

[@noahriding5780]

These burial mounds are very very interesting. It would be interesting if people talked more about them. I think they also point to clues about norse origins.

[@Vengedyr]

@@noahriding5780 Have you looked into the extent of this kind of mound? The thing is, very often, there is hardly anything to be known about a specific mound - either because there hasn't been a reason to excavate or scan it yet, or because it has been pillaged by someone, or because the finds just don't give us much information that we know how to interpret at present. But we can say some general things about the culture that created them when we study many of them together. Such as: Who did they trade with? How far did they travel? What did they eat? Looking at it to find the roots of the Norse might be far less interesting than looking at it for what it is itself.

[@Vertikal1000]

It should also be mentioned that the place name Kvikne in the text relates to a small, small mountain village inland in Norway. Not a very prosperous place, which is why this psalter was being used for centuries, and thus survived while other more prosperous city churches got newer ones and didn’t care for the older ones anymore.

[@kellimbt]

This is really cool! I'm a historian who studies rare books; the boards are often made of oak, but are usually wrapped with leather. So interesting to see a wooden board left uncovered.

[@judyshoaf448]

Frivolity: That cover took me back to 1950s school desks, on which previous students had carved their initials and other knife-doodles. And, from what the librarian said, the unusual binding served like a "Trapper Keeper" (school ring-binder), facilitating the removal or addition of pages. It seems to me that, just as there is a sense of flexibility in the use of alphabets and languages, there is also a flexible conception of what a codex might be.

[@faramund9865]

Hahaha it's so funny to see the difference in social interaction between a Norwegian and an American. As a Dutch person I really recognize her attitude, very reserved and sober!

[@reverie_song]

Isn't the American very similar in demeanor in this case?

[@torbjrnlund903]

@@reverie_song I think so.

[@mercster]

HAHAHAHAHA YEAH no.

[@TOBAPNW_]

@@reverie_song he for sure is, but he strikes me as a little eccentric among Americans for his stoicism.

[@annec8127]

Her reserve is also related to her attitude of a historian, many of whom are careful not to make inferences, but rather to state clearly what is known and what is unknown.

[@mrjones2721]

Photos from other angles show how rough the psalter is. It’s dog-eared, the pages aren’t trimmed to the same size, some of the binding stitches aren’t as nice as the others. It’s a battered thing that’s been scratched and torn and used until it’s threadbare. It’s exactly the kind of thing the people of the day wouldn’t have wanted to represent them-they would have wanted us to know them by something clean and new and grand. But its very humbleness is what makes it touching and valuable.

[@erinmac4750]

That and the fact that the people actually touched, used, modified this book. And to think at that, when writing, language, and beliefs were transforming, someone had the forethought to make a wooden cover to protect this cherished work. It's a unique, fascinating binding. Loved this glimpse into the life of a medieval Norwegian.

[@DOF16]

Always a good day when Dr Crawford uploads a vid. Much appreciated, cheers

[@PeterJDeVault]

That was excellent. I've been to Oslo many times, and now I'm kicking myself for never finding the National Library. I hope I get to go again.

[@GinSoakedBoy]

Thanks for this, Jackson. I wasn't aware of the existence of this book until this very moment. Will make an effort to go and have a look next time I'm back in Oslo.

[@andeve3]

Speaking of Latin, the coolest runic inscription might be the one that switches from dróttkvætt to quoting Virgil at the end.

[@kwekwlos]

Wow I just looked that up, very interesting

[@jrsgarage7623]

Cool

[@TeaRex12]

Is the quote "love conquers all, let us yield to love"?

[@libellula3313]

Can I move into that room, dark cool and old Nordic history, my heaven.

[@emanracing95]

Wow! Very fascinating! This takes me back to my post-grad classes when we studied Primitive and Old Irish. The time period was consistent with the Roman Catholic introduction as the Cambrai Homily and the Book of Armagh showed, with texts in either Irish or Latin, or even a combination of the two. It's very fascinating to study these periods of change. Thank you again Dr. Crawford for your insight!

[@Hardrada_1066]

The large Rune on the cover had me thinking that the carver perhaps had perhaps been familiar with the traditional medieval Codex of the time wherein chapters would often start with an artistically enhanced initial letter. That Initial would also be written way bigger than the rest of the text. That would also explain the artistic design of the rune. Sadly I wasn't really able to make out the details of the writing there, so I'm not sure if the large rune fits at the start of the first word.

[@LittleRedToyota]

The inscription on the cover reads: "Kvikna Kyrkja á mik" which in modern English would mean "The Kvikne church owns me".

[@hollish196]

Absolutely fascinating. What a wonderful book! Bless historians.

[@ionfyr1781]

You should definitely do more episodes like this.

[@kbjerke]

What an amazing artifact - it survived so long! Thanks for sharing!

[@einarbolstad8150]

Excellent stuff, and velkommen til Norge!

[@delanebredvik]

Exciting to see these videos of your travels in Scandinavia!

[@alanvitullo]

So stoked to find this channel through Forgotten Weapons! Subbed 👍

[@robertl6196]

THAT is an amazing object. Can you imagine the stories it could tell? Apart from the ones written in it, of course.

[@kfl611]

I hope someone digitizes it for posterity and so many more people can view it in full.

[@P-Mouse]

I'm kinda half expecting to see a video of Jackson in the Norwegian mountains. Not a request, just a prediction.

[@ChristophersMum]

Perhaps he will meet up with Bjorn Andreas Bull-Hansen...they could have some awesome chats together...😁

[@jbkhan1135]

Really fascinating! Such a cool item!

[@MsCaleb79]

Psalm no 2 in the bible is one of my favourits.

[@margomaloney6016]

FASCINATING !! Thank you, Doc for this excellent video! :)

[@neilwilson5785]

Fascinating. So much history in one small page.

[@vickilindberg6336]

It reminds me of a recipe collection I received from my Norwegian grandmother who came in the late 1800's. She used rectangular pieces of wood, originally perhaps tied together but by the time I received it, replaced with metal rings. Recipes were written down n paper inside.

[@gbro8822]

Very cool, thank you. Both of my Grandparents come over the pond from Norway. I hope one day I can see this amazing country.

[@jonathanansleymusic4992]

My childhood poetry notebook is gonna be on display in a museum in about 1,000 years lol

[@vegardyrnes1793]

Thank you, this is so interesting.

[@ivariuz]

Nice to see my 21st great grandfathers work there in the background :)

[@user-hk8yp7cw1v]

😂😂😂

[@ivariuz]

@@user-hk8yp7cw1v what’s so funny tʀ tnfhrn hinn unginn, or should i say… guy who doesn’t know how runes work?😂

[@ivariuz]

amáæyhræxinnumyinn 🤣

[@ThePykeSpy]

@@ivariuz Uh, you are aware that Medieval Runes exist, right? Their name spells Tydagera Hinn Unginn... Mr. Elder Futhark A

[@ivariuz]

@@ThePykeSpy like the Icelandic runes that where invented in the 1900? 🤣

[@delciagarcia8287]

Fascinating to any book and history lover. What an invaluable treasure. Thank you for posting. 🙏

[@TukikoTroy]

Reminds me of my school desk in elementary school. One of those old-fashioned things, two-seater bench, steel frame, very old with lots of carved names and initials on the desk. Anyway, seems that my dad and I went to the same school, we also have the same name... but it was ME that got punished for HIM carving his name into the desk something like 40 years previously.

[@thelostone6981]

To think and ponder that this book was AFTER King Haakon Haakonsson and his journey thanks to the Birkebeiner is mind blowing. The religious and political power struggle of this time!!! We may never truly know but it is fun to speculate.

[@newleader5982]

Great video Dr Crawford, appreciate the videos lately.

[@northwoodskindred]

We know from the references of drawing lots that each person had their own Sigel or mark. Probably a fair assumption that some of them are based on existing runes from the age. Therefore the Uruz with a tail could just be the mark of the owner. Much like a modern craftsman has a makers mark. That is what I thought immediately when I looked at it.

[@erinmac4750]

That sounds very plausible.

[@patriciajrs46]

That's great that it was in Latin, and that some part was written in runic. Thank you for telling us what this manuscript said: it was a psalms book. Great.

[@dreamfulman7796]

Why does it look like my school table 😭

[@inkoftheworld]

I couldn't stop thinking it looked like a desk from school too, lol. Even through time, humans are the same sort of creature and the material we interact with behave in similar ways

[@noahriding5780]

Very cool Dr. Crawford. This is a real find. And wonderful for you to share about it.

[@timothycivis8757]

That was very neat to see. Thank you for posting !

[@fjallaxd7355]

Great video, as per usual.

[@SviraSvi]

How cool! I wonder if Jackson's tour of Scandinavia takes him to Denmark as well, my country :D How cool that he's so close to home!

[@rebekahshantz3565]

He might as well cover Woodhenge as well then. It couldn't be too far away.

[@Giannis_Sarafis]

This is a really beautiful and interesting artifact. I would like to add that I'm pretty sure there are a few Greek letters there. In the middle and to the right I can read "λα" (la) and possibly there are other too in front of them. Great video!

[@seanwelch71]

Excellent! I think the patina of know age gives that psalter so much beauty. My two cents on the large U. It seemed to me the U was stylized to resemble a pointing finger and thumb tip.

[@TrondBørgeKrokli]

Thank you for sharing your encounter with this enigmatic piece of history. I wonder if the coexistence of both latin and runes on the cover was something done out of necessity at the time, that it made an ample description for scholars and laymen alike, so that most literate people would know what the contents of this "book" binding was, and to leave it undisturbed unless needed for reading the pages. Come to think of it, it is also quite interesting how this binding technique was a precursor to modern binders, where we often open the binder to add or remove pages. Thank you for this opportunity to think about the questions this item can bring us. Quite a piece of history. Makes me proud to know more of our ancient history.

[@haramanggapuja]

Jeg kan håpe en dag å ha sjansen for en besøk og kanskje se denne boka. Takk!

[@sarahstrong7174]

Thankyou for sharing. Thoughtful & interesting video.

[@Dobbin1010]

Great interview.

[@Nekotaku_TV]

Wow, that's really awesome. What about the inside?!

[@austinmetro6317]

I live near the site where the Fadden Mor Psalter was found. It dates from the 8 th century. It is not far from the River Shannon, here in Ireland. The psalter was also written in Latin and bound in Papyrus from Egypt.

[@Knightonagreyhorse]

It looks a bit like the random scribble on my book covers in school. Maybe there is not too much to interpret but it is fascinating that it looks so worn down, obviosly been carried around.

[@阳明子]

Dr. Ostad was great!! Thanks for this

[@TotallyFictional]

Wonderful. I live not far from Oslo and will make a point of visiting this soon.

[@seanwelch71]

The book cover resembles a graffitied desktop, though beautifully done. The object is incredible.

[@RobMutch]

Fascinating! Nice interview.

[@michaelsargeaunt]

I would guess that the cover of this book might be European ash, fraxinus excelsior. That tends to have a strong broad straightish grain with speckling within it, like this example. Oak tends to have two grains, the main grain and a secondary or radial grain. Oak can be light like this example when young, but nearly all very old examples from the mediaeval age tend to have darkened, often to a black. In England there are two oaks, Quercus robur in the south and Quercus petraea or the sessile oak in the north which is a slighter tree. It would be interesting to know how the tree distributes in Norway: logically you might assume the sessile oak would dominate. Oak is an acidic wood, so you might not want it too close to vellum or paper for a long period of time. In England and Scandinavia, the oak is a holy tree so that might favour its choice here. But Yddrasil was an ash wasn't it?

[@Tommy1977777]

Love your channel!

[@MrTangolizard]

When she said how old it was I was expecting something older if I’m honest it shows how far behind the vikings were from the rest of Europe

[@jandmath]

In fairness, this is a book in use by 'common people'. The rest of Europe might have older books, but perhaps mostly in use by the clergy and nobility. This is a pattern you will find up to almost modern times.

[@nomansland5113]

While I see your point, it's worth noting that we have a rather linear way of assessing "progress", while the reality is that different cultures and civilizations will take different routes to development, responding to different needs in different settings. The Vikings were rather dominant during their heyday, while appearing "barbaric" to "civilized" Europe.

[@AhJodie]

Cool information, thank you!

[@dondavi5798]

More curious about the lightly etched in star.

[@britpoppansy]

I think I see a large pentagram on there too in the middle of the cover.

[@Andrew.A.]

So I take it that the U is not being considered as a phallic symbol

[@DeepDarkSamurai]

I really wonder why education doesn't stretch far back towards the Viking age and the bronze age before it especially in northern Europe. Feels like they're missing out on extremely significant historical periods that have pact even today

[@surfercr3339]

Great video!!

[@yerdasellsavon9232]

It took five minutes for me to realise that they're standing next to it.

[@anitakeeler9698]

I think the part of the letters that are not carved as deep, are from the reader or user holding the book so it is worn down....

[@dprout3392]

Among the markings, there seem to be a triangular latin type sail. Does that make some sense, bearing in mind that Norwegians travelled a lot, discovering the latin sail allowing ships to sail against the wind. This with the latin lettering might mean something in connection with the geographical origins of Christianity? Food for thoughts.

[@emuseu2235]

It looks like to me that the owner's name is at the bottom? Halfrde.....? Laflein??

[@Matt_The_Hugenot]

I want to know a lot more about the binding, that would be a fascinating object to reproduce..

[@hglundahl]

1:45 And note, please, the Psalms were divided after the LXX, and not after Masoretic or KJV ...

[@bartv8207]

Fascinating stuff!

[@mikes5637]

When's it out in paperback?

[@reviewsfromasocialjusticel8558]

Did I miss it? Did she say what kind of paper it was? Is it parchment or tree paper? Just curious.

[@kimfleury]

Or velum, perhaps?

[@Vengedyr]

It's parchment. Google it and look at the shape of the pages - they are obviously from skins. Also, paper was not used to make books this early in northern Europe.

[@jmgmarcus808]

Christianity: we have a Bible. Nordic peoples: we have Stornbreaker.

[@ghostmanscores1666]

"dear, diary Thor smiled at me today in school"...

[@narutodayo]

Fascinating!

[@sveinoleaase759]

Thank you! Enjoy my country. Ig you go around, you will in the placenames, fond much you will recognize:)

[@brianphillips1864]

And it's a psalter. So many amazing books wind up being psalters. Sweet.

[@lukaskubinec9608]

@Jackson Crawford I wonder....is it possible to date the oldest Norwegian runestone ? That would make for nice video. Aren't all runestones dated only in estimation as cca 7-10th century or so ? I think it would definitely make for nice content.

[@lilyhempt515]

So cool, thank you!!!

[@MB5rider81]

Reading it without getting a splinter is the oldest trick in the book.

[@kimfleury]

Beautiful.

[@ianwilkinson5069]

I can see at least 4 different lines of runes/ Latin letters not including the single large rune. They need to scan that to be able to read all the lines but cmon I can see theres more on that with my naked eye.

[@Ggdivhjkjl]

Those 3 dots contrast with the Anglo usage of just 1.

[@arghapirate2427]

@jackson Crawford What is your opinion on the Oera Linda book?

[@andriesscheper2022]

A total hoax!

[@АндрейЕфимов-в8ю]

Are there any pre-Christian books in Scandinavia?

[@ingersundeid7948]

No

[@jamesstevenson7725]

@@ingersundeid7948 Perhaps none known, or popularly known. I am sure some existed

[@Vyk1345]

Still looks better than my attempts at carving wood. 😆

[@andriesscheper2022]

The binding looks like spruce to me...

[@susanneohmes1044]

The book is one thing...his voice is another! He should record scripture! Heavenly!

[@trex70]

Looks like my old school table

[@schoolingdiana9086]

I concur with the book. I prefer gray skies and around 48F.

[@honorladone8682]

It does pay off to speak Latin. Philadelphia USA

[@fybromon1409]

Am I the only one confused why they have the book under a spot light after she says they don't like light?

[@kimfleury]

It's a special light. I'm not an expert, but have heard a lecture by a conservator who talked about the different kinds of light, different colors, different wavelengths, and a bunch of other technical stuff.

[@fybromon1409]

@@kimfleury cheers for that. My head just couldn't work it out, so appreciate your answer

[@nomansland5113]

It's very faint light, designed not to damage this precious items. I think she was referring to the room itself, being very dark in contrast with most museums, allowing for this faint lighting to illuminate the book.

[@leannerolling3098]

Hmm, who’s being interviewed, her or him?

[@tgunderwood8399]

Jackson…where is your hat!

[@MikaelFlyer]

Fascinating! Also interesting how the book is Christian in theme unlike their Viking ancestors who only a few centuries earlier were pagan. It’s also interesting how they adapted Christian values to their Norse traditions of saga writing.

[@RustyPancake53]

Why do we say inanimate objects "don't like it" when they encounter something that will make them tarnished over time? (Obviously a book doesn't like anything it's a book)

[@robinj6997]

Could the snorri shaped bind rune mean Snorri?

[@LittleRedToyota]

The inscription on the cover reads: "Kvikna Kyrkja á mik" which in modern English would mean "The Kvikne church owns me".

[@robinj6997]

@@LittleRedToyota oh it was a joke. Snorri (first name of Snorre Sturlusson) means p*nis in modern Swedish. So it would be funny if his bindrune was shaped like a ph*llus

[@bearragebarbell8745]

Dr. Crawford. Is KZbin blocking your videos in anyway? Usually takes a day or so after posting that the video will play finally. -Griz