The Scandinavian Woman in Viking Age

Viking grave site, Lindholm Høje, photo:GB

The Viking Age is often displayed as a violent time, dominated by  men who conquered countries and built kingdoms, but the image has changed during the latest 20 years. Archaeological finds from Scandinavia and the Continent bear witness  about the Viking women's daily activities, their power and status from slave to queen.





The daily Life of a Viking woman.

Hjerl Hede, photo:GB

Silkeborg Bymuseum, photo:GB

Most people in  Viking Age were farmers -  or they lived in farms. The management was maintained by a household: the family, some slaves, farm workers and servants, although the knowledge about a Viking household like this is limited today. The economy of the farm was (in Dk) based upon livestock, agriculture and production of textiles and other things for own use. All members of the house took probably part in the daily doings - the archaeological finds show that the production of textiles and metal objects and timber work were gender based for respectively women and men.

Textiles, Silkeborg Bymuseum, photo:GB

textiles, photo:GB

Women could work as craftsmen in the cities, often with the production of textiles for trade, and  they might also take part in doing the trade on behalf of the family. It seems that some women were specialized textile workers since the production- techniques were complicated. The production and trade of textiles were an important part of the economy.


The daily life in the city and on the farm was lived both inside and outside the house. Women took care of the children and of the elderly, they made food and conserved food, like dairy-products and other processing of raw products. The textile production included also processing of wool, spinning and weaving. Unfortunately the textiles from Viking Age are rarely preserved up till today, but some small fragments are found and they show a wide width in the techniques they used and in the quality of the textiles.

The gender roles via the burials of the Vikings tells something. Men and women were often buried in

Højstrup viking graves, photo: GB

their prettiest clothes with grave goods and eventually with sacrificed animals. During the 9th century and in the first half of the 10th century wealthy women wore a dress held together with two oval clamps on the shoulders and with more grave goods  like broches and pearl necklaces and spindle-things - often also with small chests containing textile equipment. Keys are also a common thing in women-graves - maybe marking the status of a house wife. But rich women-graves and rich men- graves were in general rather few. The rich graves seem reserved to the highest class in the social hierarchy. Common people were buried with one or two objects or nothing.

Silkeborg Bymuseum, photo:GB

The ideal Viking woman was a woman between 16-40 years of age. At 16 she was ready to marry and have children and she could take part in the physical hard life on the farm.She enjoyed to some extent more freedom than women in other parts of the medieval contemporary Europe. Written sources represent the Scandinavian woman of Viking age as independent and with rights. Runic inscriptions, especially from Mid Sweden, bear witness about the woman's right to dispose over her property and her rights to inherit. The married couple was jointly responsible for the household and had to trust the partner's willingness to cooperate. An apparently good relation was between a Swedish couple, Holmgaut and Odendisa, since Holmgaut let carve runes in a memorial after his wife "no better housewife will come to Hassmyra to look after the farm" This inscription describes the woman's role in the management of the farm, the organisation of the household and maybe the control of people, animals and ressources. If the husband was out on a Viking expedition the responsibility of everything at home fell to the woman.

                                                                                 

If a marriage did not work both husband and wife could get a divorce. The Spanish-Jewisch traveller At Tartushi visited Hedeby in the second part of the 10th century and was surprised by being told that women had a right to get divorced if they just wanted it themselves. The frequency of divorces in the Viking period is not known but the right to divorce and to inherit shows that the Viking woman had an independent social status.

Hägar, wikipedia

A permanent relation between a man and a woman could also happen outside the frame of marriage, since polygamy was a spread custom, at least in the higher levels of society. There are no informations about other groups. In Frankish sources are written about some Norman chiefs who had more than one woman in his household, which by the Franks was considered a special Danish and un-Christian custom.

Thyra Danebod, Lorenz Frølich, 1855,wikipedia

Some women achieved a special high status by family alliances or by their own skill. The best known might be queen Thyra, wife of Gorm the Old and mother of Harald Bluetooth. Her name is carved upon at least four runestones in Jutland, including two runestones from Jelling. Upon the small Jelling stone, raised by Gorm in the middle of 900s, Thyra is characterized as Danmarks pryd, while she upon the big Jelling stone, raised by her son Harald,  is mentioned as Gorm's wife and king Harald's mother. These inscriptions show her significance for the Danish kingdom.

Dejbjergvogn, National Museum

Fyrkat, Viking House, photo:GB

In the second part of the 900s aristocratic women had their own burial customs, where they were placed in a wagon. These graves correspond socially to the horseman's grave, where men of the elite were buried with weapons, equestrian equipment and in some cases also with a horse. One of the aristocratic  women was known from the burial place at the Viking site Fyrkat. She was nobly dressed in a robe with decorations of gold and silver, and she had exotic jewelry, seeds of hemlock which has expanding qualities of consciousness, and a chest with textile equipment etc. And a decorated iron staff among these grave goods  leads to the conclusion that this woman was a volve, a female ritual specialist.






                                                                       
                                                                             
 

 

Siege of Paris, painting Jean Pierre Franque/wikipedia

The Viking expeditions were not only a matter for men. The Anglosaxon Chronicle mentions for the 890s that Viking groups held both women and children, who stayed in a safe place during the men's attacks. A more doubtful source, a poem by Abbo from Saint Germain's kloster in Paris tells in 885-886  how Vikings during the Siege of Paris   were encouraged to go back fighting. Some cases are probably about getting slaves like in the Frankish annals, where it is informed for the year 837 that the Vikings captured women to sell them as slaves. Maybe some of these women were brought back to Scandinavia.

oval broches, wikipedia

Women were also with the Vikings when they settled permanently in the conquered areas in England and France. In Angers in France a group of Vikings arrived in 873 with women and children to settle down. It is not known if these women came from Scandinavia.

Oval broches, which were used by high status women in Scandinavia to hold their robe, were found in various parts of Europe, where the Vikings settled, like in England, Ireland, Russia and Iceland. This shows that Scandinavian women probably were a part of the Vikings' expansion -  and maybe some elements of the Scandinavian dress custom for women spread among the original inhabitants in these areas.

 The Viking age was a period where Scandinavia went from the before-Christian religion to Christianity. The new faith was in the beginning especially popular among women, which is seen from many runestones from Mid Sweden, where women raised stones. Some women had built bridges and the runestones were raised as a memory of a deceased, which was  considered a Christian benefaction. Women may have been attracted to the new religions because of  the wonderful paradise with place for everyone, peace and equality between men and women in the face of God, and the Christian prohibition of infanticide. There are also examples of  Viking women going on a pilgrimage.
(Left: one of Denmark's most important runestones (Sdr. Vissing church),  raised by Harald Bluetooth's wife, Tove Mistivojsdatter after her mother.

The new Christian social ideology had however in the long run a negative effect on women in society if they had part in the public cult in before-Christian time. The Christian practice with male priests made women passive spectators in the cult. Later in high Middle Ages Saxo expresses a clear disbelief in women whom he considers inconsistent, unreliable and a threat to the right scheme of the world. Women's dependence of men were thus promoted, and it is probable that women lost a part of the social freedom which they had earlier in the first couple of centuries of the new Millenium
after the introduction of Christianity in Scandinavia.

Bjørn Nørgaard, Gobelin: "Vikingetiden", Christiansborg.

Source: Danmarkshistorie.dk, Aarhus Universitet

The Vikings in Ireland, Danelaw, Normandy and Russia

Colonization, Settlement and Trade.


The Viking- expeditions are a chapter in itself, and many have described the dramatic and brutal events from the first Viking attacks on Ireland and England. Scribbled in the margin of a manuscript, the words of a 9th century monk reveal some of the emotion: "The wind is fierce tonight. It tosses the sea's white hair. I fear no wild Vikings, sailing the quiet main." I have chosen to tell a little about the more peaceful time afterwards, where the Vikings established settlements and trade routes. The Norwegians in Ireland, the Danes  in Danelaw , the Danes and Norwegians in Normandy and the Swedes in Russia. The Vikings in the desolate islands in the North Atlantic accommodated their new life undisturbed after a homely model, but where the various Viking nations were settling among foreign cultures - among equal or superior people -  then it is interesting to know, if they succeeded in leaving their stamp on the foreign societies, if they made a historical contribution - or if it was just a transient superficial phaenomenon. 

 

















The Norwegians in Ireland 


"The Tower", a Viking's tale:
We had been at sea for days now. At least the weather had been kind to us on this voyage. On the last trip to these lands we found rich pickings of silver and gold. We were hoping for more this time. May Thor look kindly on us. The boat was coming to shore now, and all hands were needed to row and keep us off the rocks. Looking up, I saw that a surprise attack was going to be difficult. We could see a round tower in the distance. The last time we were here there was no tower.
As we came near the shore we heard the bell in the tower ring. "Hurry, hurry here goes the warning bell. They will be waiting for us. They will have their valuables in the tower" I shouted. We rowed the boat into a small bay. We got our weapons and headed for the monastery. Suddenly horses came from behind a big rock. We were caught by surprise and soon we had to retreat to our ship.
Some of our men had been captured and we decided to wait and see if we could negotiate with the Irish. The next morning we sent three men with no weapons to the monastery to talk. Soon we agreed to make peace. We promised not to attack the monastery any more and to teach the Irish how to make better weapons out of iron. The Irish promised to give back the captured Vikings and to let us camp by the bay for the winter.
By the springtime ourselves and the Irish were good friends. The Irish now had very good weapons. Some of the us Vikings sailed back to Norway to bring our wives and families to our new home by the little bay in Ireland. Soon it grew into a town.


 

















Meeting the Irish
The Norwegians met one of the small kingdoms of Ireland. The Irish kingdoms were a roughly made society, not able to organize any military opposition. The Vikings found a century old independent Christianity, independent of Rome, but with its own traditions and own spiritual power, committed to writings in several large klosters. And they met a population with a strange uncompromising temper, not at all disposed to live a peaceful common life with strangers. Since the Norwegians were some hard-bitten fellows themselves, who preferred violence to a long negotiation, there was no base for a fruitful colonization and a fusion of cultures. This seemed somehow to begin in the end of the Viking period, but in the late 1200s the Englishmen arrived (summoned by the Irish ) - and they began something else, namely their 800 year's supremacy of the island.

Although there wasn't a real Norwegian colonization with conquering and settlement of large territories inland, it is without doubt that the century-long presence of the Norwegian Vikings along the Irish coast had a significance in itself. Several fortificated harbours of East-, South- and West Ireland, places like Dublin, Wexford, Waterford, Cork and Limerick, became gradually flourishing commercial towns, surrounded by Norse hinterland. The Irish coast cities became Norwegian trade centers. Dublin was a rich city, but not the only one. In 968 the Irish found during the looting of Limerick large stores of gold, silver and woven fabrics in every colour; satin, silk and cloth. And the Irish learned about ship building and navigation from the Norwegians. From the small colonies by the sea ports was occassionally a friendly contact to the Irish population of the inland, but nothing more came out of it.

   
















The Danes and the Danelaw in England

Danelaw, the Danes and the English, an excerpts from the peace-document of king Alfred and king Guthrum: 
"This is the peace that King Alfred and King Guthrum, and the witan of all the English nation, and all the people that are in East Anglia, have all ordained and with oaths confirmed, for themselves and for their descendants, as well for born as for unborn, who reck of God's mercy of ours.
1. Concerning our land and boundaries: Up on the Thames, and then up on the Lea, and along the Lea unto its source, then straight to Bedford, then up on the Ouse unto Watling Street. " 
-  Alfred and Guthrum's peace, available at:

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/guthrum.html

 














The Viking Farmers 
Another picture than in Ireland was seen in the Danelaw (Danelagh),  marked by the distinctive traces after a constant farmer- colonization. First of all an administrative classification, partly in "hundreds", partly in "vaabenlag". A "hundred" must have been a district, representing something, maybe a hundred warriors or a hundred ploughs, while "vaabenlag" refers to the thing, where the decisions of the gathering were confirmed by "taking the weapon". The men were swinging or clanking their spear and sword and shield. A "vaabenlag" was later the district of a thing-assembly. Maybe the term "hundred" is old Anglo-Saxon (common Germanic), while "vaabenlag" is Danish.

As for practical law and institutions there are traces of Danish influence in several places, like about fines. The size of the fine varied in Danelaw according to the rank of the killed mand, while this in other places of England was graduated according  to the killed man's master. This first mentioned law was a Nordic view:"equal right of free men".  Something indicates that the sworn jury,which was unknown in the Anglo Saxon law, origins from the Danes in Danelagh. The legal provisions said that 12 leading personalities (thegns) in each "vaabenlag" had to solemnly swear an oath that they would not accuse any innocent or protect any guilty man. It was further said in these laws (Danelaws, preserved in the so-called Æthelred II codex) about these 12 thegns that a majority of 8 was enough to make a decision. A prominent English historian, Stenton, points out that this was the first time in England that the opinion of the majority was confirmed as decisive.

Historian examinations have made it probable that poor, but mostly independent free men, formed the essence of society in  Danelaw. These so-called "sokemen" belonged by duty to the big landowner of the district; they had to work for him and to give him money, but the land they had themselves was their land to own. These basic relations in the society-building of Danelaw was described as a peasant-aristocracy, which is seen clearly in William the Conqueror's Doomsday Book, where several Danish place names also are mentioned.

The Danish Viking came to England with his sword, but he came to stay, and he took over land and plough; he must partly have driven out the settled Anglo Saxon population, but there is no talk about any extermination. He brought his language, his way of life and his legal system, everything was wellknown and visible high up in the Middle Ages. His way of life and his old legal customs were basically different from the feudal system, which was on its way to England from Europe. The convergence and the assimiliation grew slowly during the Middle Ages.

The only thing the Nordic Viking gave up relatively quick -  in spite of a few testimonies of the opposite - was the religion from his homeland. Either his old religion was too weak or the foreign religion was too strong. This goes for both the Vikings in Ireland, England, France and Russia. They annected Christianity, probably for convenience or from political reasons. Rollo let himself be baptized already in 912.



















A century later Canute the Great, son of  the Danish king Sweyn Forkbeard, is king in England and the famous scene on the seashore describes how Christianity had got a firm hold of the Viking warrior:

Canute the Great talks:
"Let all men know how empty and worthless is the power of kings. For there is none worthy of the name but God, whom heaven, earth and sea obey".
So spoke King Canute the Great, the legend says, seated on his throne on the seashore, waves lapping round his feet. Canute had learned that his flattering courtiers claimed he was "So great, he could command the tides of the sea to go back". Now Canute was not only a religious man, but also a clever politician. He knew his limitations - even if his courtiers did not - so he had his throne carried to the seashore and sat on it as the tide came in, commanding the waves to advance no further. When they didn't, he had made his point that, though the deeds of kings might appear 'great' in the minds of men, they were as nothing in the face of God's power.


 
















The Danes and Norwegians in Normandy


The proud and arrogant Rollo:
So he sent a message to Rollo and proposed that they should have a talk about peace. Rollo agreed and accordingly they met. The king and his troops stood on one side of a little river and Rollo with his Vikings stood on the other. Messages passed between them. The king asked Rollo what he wanted.
"Let me and my people live in the land of the Franks, let us make ourselves home here, and I and my Vikings will become your vassals," answered Rollo. He asked for Rouen and the neighboring land. So the king gave him that part of Francia, and ever since it has been called Normandy, the land of the Northmen. 
When it was decided that the Vikings should settle in Francia and be subjects of the Frankish king, Rollo was told that he must kiss the foot of Charles in token that he would be the king's vassal. The haughty Viking refused. "Never," said he, "will I bend my knee before any man, and no man's foot will I kiss." After some persuasion, however, he ordered one of his men to perform the act of homage for him. The king was on horseback, and the Norseman, standing by the side of the horse, suddenly seized the king's foot and drew it up to his lips. This almost made the king fall from his horse, to the great amusement of the Norsemen.  

Another State System and the dominant Rollo: 
After the transfer to Rollo, the leader of a Nordic army, Normandy was through the following 2-3 centuries a mixed Nordic Frankish duchy, and it was very different from England's Danelaw.  

Normandy was a neigbour to the Frankish German empires in the West and Middle Europe. Here was the growing system of vasals, the feudalism. The Nordic Vikings came close to a state system quite different from their own, and it seems that they had to bow to the inevitable. From the beginning Rollo is the strong sole ruler in his new country, and his power as a duke remains the predominant feature in the future. In his and his successor's time nothing is heard about free popular assemblies at the thing - or much about a Nordic legal system. "Hundred" like in Danelaw was not known in Normandy. The duke and his magnates had all the power, which was inexorably centralized and militarized.


It's characteristic for the condition how the peasants in Normandy about year 1000 sent delegates to a common assembly, which they had summoned themselves. They wanted to rise a demand of free access to use the lakes,water streams and forests of the country. All the delegates were by Rollo's uncle, count Rodulf, captured and mutilated by cutting off one hand and one foot - then they could go home and tell, who had the rights of the woods and the waters! There is no information, if these peasants were the old Frankish inhabitants of the duchy, but it's possible that some Norse peasants were also learning ,who was in power.

Administrative assemblies did exist in Normandy, but they were only "herredage" = the assemblies of secular and clerical magnates around the duke's closest family. The feudalism was possibly not fully developed in Normandy in the 10th and 11th century, but it was no doubt in a very good start, and there was now a certain distance to the old Viking-saying: We are all equal! 

The Viking in Normandy left memories about their presence like the Vikings in Danelaw - and place names too . The endings - bec, - bu, -digue and -toot are Nordic  features (Danish: bæk, by, dige, tofte) like several others. The Nordic place names in Normandy are according to a filological decision mostly Danish. Rollo was either a Dane or a Norwegian, no one knows for sure. Late Norrøne sources say Norwegian, while earlier Frankish  - like Dudo in 960 -  says Danish.  The Norman historian and cleric Dudo lived for a long time in Normandy by duke Richard 1's court  Richards grandfather was Rollo, and his father William sent his young son to Bayeux to learn Danish. Rollo's famous great-great-great-great-grandson was William the Conqueror. The name William is still used in the royal English house.



 

















The Swedes in Russia 

Rurick settles in Russia:
In answer to this petition the Viking Rurick, with his two brothers, came to settle in what is now Russia. These Northmen were often called Varangians or Varingars. No one is sure how they got this name, but it is believed to be Arabian in origin. The Arabians, at least, called all the northern peoples Varangians, whether they invented the name or not. But the people who lived in Finland called them the Rousses, and soon the Slav subjects of Rurick came to be called Russians and their country Russia. Rous in Finnish today means a Swede. So it seems probable that the name of the greatest Slavonic people is of Finnish and not of Slavonic origin. 
Rurick made his capital at Novgorod, and two years after his settlement there his brothers died, and he became sole ruler of the province. We know very little of his government or whether the people lived to regret having called a foreigner to rule over them. But it is said that after a time two Viking warriors, one named Askold and one named Dir, became discontented with his rule. So, taking several companions with them, they left Novgorod and set out to seek their fortunes at Constantinople. On their way they came upon a castle on the banks of Dnieper with a small town round it. "Whose castle is this?" they asked of the inhabitants.  "It was built by three brothers," replied they, "but they are long since dead. We are their descendants and pay tribute to the Khazars." Hearing that Askold and Dir took possession of the town, which was called Kief. 
They were soon joined by other Northmen, and thus a second Viking settlement was made in Russia. This second settlement soon increased, and then, with true Viking audacity and love of adventure, they made up their minds to attack Constantinople. Dwelling far inland although they now were, these Northmen had not forgotten their skill as sailors. Soon twohundred dragonheaded boats went sailing down the Dnieper and out into the Black Sea, and ere long the terrified inhabitants of Constantinople saw, for the first time, the gay sails and long narrow boats of the dreaded Northmen.  The Greeks were paralyzed with fear. Nothing but a miracle, it seemed, could save them from destruction. The miracle happened, for a sudden storm arose which shattered the Viking ships, only a miserable remainder of which, like wounded birds, crept slowly back to Kief.

 
















The Trade in a large Continent:
How did the Swedish Vikings behave in the East? These Viking expeditions had a special character. The main purpose was the trade. The Swedish Russia expeditions were not like the Danish in England based on the acquisition of large settlement areas, but based on a retention of long important trade routes. They can somewhat be compared to the Norwegian expeditions in Ireland, where the wish was to have supporting trade points with connected small colony areas.

To the Swedes Russia was a large continent with rivers. Both Novgorod, Smolensk and Kiev were Slavic cities with Swedish military power and garrison crew once, and a large burial site at Guezdovo near Smolensk indicates the presence of a Swedish military and trade-colony. There were no signs of farming societies like in Danelaw and Normandy; the trade lines were long and had to be taken care of -  this left no time for farming, and the lands the Swedes had to pacify were enormous. The assimiliation and the fusion with the local population were difficult like in Ireland. All the people of those large land districts were of a foreign tribe, and they all talked a different language, some spoke a Celtic language, others a Slavic - it was easier in England, where the population was of a related German tribe.

In the end of the Viking period the assumption is that the long Swedish trade lines from the mother country to the Byzantic world had to be abandoned. The Kiev kingdom and the West Russian cities became more and more Slavic, and the Swedish activities in these far districts of Russia were soon only history. But in the northern Russia (Ladoga country), in Finland and in the northern Baltic the Swedish expeditions and colony work continued through the 12th and 13th centuries.

Source: 
Johannes Brøndsted: Vikingerne, Vikingen ude - Vest og Øst. Gyldendal 1960.Politikens Danmarkshistorie, Da Danmark blev Danmark, Peter Sawyer, Gyldendal og Politiken, 1993; Barrie Markham Rhodes, From Viking warrior to English King, Viking network, 2004,

And Now to Something Quite Else.....................

I've never heard Zorba's Dance being played like this? I wanna dance!

A young classical violinist, David Garrett, already legendary, plays all kinds of music, and he's on tours with both rock-music and classical music. He's a reason why young people come back to the classical violin concertos.  He's brilliant and he's good looking!




If you've got the time -  it only takes a few minutes!




Zorbas Dance

The Brain is a Monstrous, Beautiful Mess - .

 - said William F. Allman 

Asger Jorn: Im Anfang war das Bild.

It's growing darker and darker each afternoon. How do you feel about winter? I like winter with cosy evenings and  December and Christmas time, but if winter stretches beyond January and February, then I lose my patience and long for spring like everyone else. Most people here are much younger than me, and they are probably filled with all the energy of the world all through the winter season. I feel already now that I need to gather some energy for the winter period -  although the days after winter solstice in December are moving towards spring, then the winter might be long. So I tried to find some good advice from some wise people......

I looked in a magazine from Monday and found something. This was really sensational. "How to be healthy and happy when you get a hundred years old"! I would love that, wouldn't you? Even if you are a young kid who will live forever! 6 experts have delivered good advice. 6 very young experts: A personal trainer, (yes, I know I'm training too little!), a physician ( that's our TV-doctor, he's nice and charming), a food expert (yes, I know I've got a sweet tooth!), a brain-expert (well....maybe a good idea), a beauty-expert (that's really too late) and a physioterapist ( oh yes, my poor back....).

I chose the brain-expert first. I want to be the happy owner of a good brain, when I reach one hundred years.

5 tips:

1. Bring the nerve-impulses into action with brain-food. Especially the essential sebacic acids, like fish-oil, linseed-oil, sunflower-oil. They are important to the myelin of the brain - a substance, which helps to circulate electric impulses in the brain. Myelin damage affects fx the concentration and the memory.

2. Preserve cellular tissue by eating lots of antioxidants, fruit like cranberry and vegetables like broccoli and chili. The more cellular tissue we have, the more brain cells we have left  for our old age.

3. Bring the memory in action by jogging. Don't walk, don't run, but jog. This kind of physical activity releases hormones, which help the mood and the brain and makes it easier to remember.

4. Expand the brain's network. Read a book in a foreign language, listen to music, join a course. When you read a book in your own language, you use your left cerebral hemisphere. If you read a book in a foreign language, the right cerebral hemisphere begins to work, and this happens every time you force yourself to do something, which is unfamiliar and challenging. Playing music requires a coordination of your both cerebral hemispheres, which affects your average IQ.

5. Take a "brain-time out". Try to stop thinking about all the things you have to do and remember,or think of something quite else than the daily routines. Women, especially, try constantly to make the brain multitask, and the result is multi-distraction and stress.


This sounds quite simple and easy to follow - and most people know most of it in advance, but the question is, if we remember all this in our daily routine. I don't. Well, sometimes. Not always. Too busy with lots of other things. Maybe she's right about multi-tasking and stress! But the conclusion - if I listen to all those 6 young  beautiful people:  "Being healthy and happy when you are a hundred years old". Is there a guarantee?

Source:
Ann-Elisabet Knudsen, brain scientist, Magazine "Alt for Damerne" 43/2011.  

Winter Evenings - Time for Nuts and Candy! Take the Nuts!

Now is the time of nuts. Winter evenings and bowls with candy and nuts on the candle-lit coffee table - what do you like? Candy? Nuts? This is a difficult choice! Take the nuts. ( More nuts than candy anyway!) Nuts are healthy, they are filling, they give you new energy and the important healthy fat. Nuts have lots of positive effects on our health and the ability of our immune defence to protect us against diseases.

Nuts were used as food and oil for centuries as early as 200 years B.C.,  and the Romans used sugar glazed almonds at special occassions.

Walnuts

The walnut tree grows wild in the forests and thickets of the Danish woods, but it is als a common garden tree. Since Denmark is the northernest country of the walnut tree's existence, the fruits are many in some years and almost none in others. The walnut origins from Asia minor, where it still grows wild. From here it has spread to southern Europe and further to the USA. In Asia it has spread via Iran to China - and today China, USA and Turkey are the largest producers of walnuts. Walnut is mostly plant as a fruit-tree, but the wood is very sought-after for furniture and rifle butts. Both Italy, England and France work with a very fast growing walnut. The cultivation-purpose is timber production.

Walnuts remind about a small brain. The colour of the walnut-shell reveals the quality, a light shell is high quality.The taste of the nut is sweet and mild, if not, it is too old. Unfortunately nuts sold in shops are often too old, and their taste is strong and rancid. Put fresh, cracked nuts into the freezer. Durability ab. 8 months. Walnuts are ripe when they fall out of the green capsule. Unripe walnuts are plucked in summer, about 20. July.

walnut tree, photo: grethe bachmann

The garden walnuts can be dried in a boiler room or in a warm cellar, but they can also be eaten fresh. They have like most other nuts a short validity before they go mouldy or rancid because of the high fat content. It is a good idea to keep them in a freezer. Walnuts are proclaimed the healthiest among nuts -  they contain more antioxidants and more of the healthy fat which is good for the heart than other nuts. Eat about 7 walnuts a day in order to obtain the benefits.


Walnuts are especially known from walnut-bread and as a decoration on cakes and in cheese arrangements - and in pies and salads (like Waldorf-Salad -  hello, Basil Fawlty!). But they are also - like most nuts and like almonds - a part of the salt-kitchen, like used in vegetarian dishes, patés or in a sauté with plums and walnuts in Balsamico as an accompaniment for game and roasts.  Walnut produces also a well-tasting and very expensive oil. The green fruits are very popular in spice snaps.

Pickled green walnuts 
1 kilo unripe walnuts
750 gram sugar 4 dl water
½ bottle brown rum
Newly plucked walnuts pricked with a rough needle.  Put into cold water for 12-14 days. Water must be changed each day. The last day boil them under lid until they are tender, drip off and put into a glass. Cook a pickle of sugar and water, pour it over the nuts and stir it daily for a week. Sieve out the pickle and cook it about 15 minutes with a piece of cinnamon or a vanilla pod. Add half a bottle of brown rum and pour the warm pickle over the nuts.


Hazelnuts

hazelnuts, stig bachmann nielsen naturplan foto

Hazel is common in Denmark along hedges and in the edge of woods, and it grows in many gardens and parks. It's possible to pluck hazelnuts en masse. They taste extremely well. If hazelnuts have to be preserved, they must be ripe when they are plucked, or else their taste is not good and they mould easily. The nuts are ripe, when the shell is nut-brown and fall out of the hulls by themselves. Hazelnuts are rich in folat, which is a B-vitamin, and rich in vitamin E, in calcium, magnesium and potassium. They are very energy-rich and with a high fat-content, more than half is fat and the rest is hydrocarbonate and protein. Hazelnuts were basic
food since Stone Age.

Hazel was introduced by man very early, and the long thin stems were used for fishing-traps, hedges etc. Hazel was a popular winter food since before the time of agriculture; the nuts were found as grave gifts in very early graves, and scientists are of the opinion that the hunter-gather people deliberately did sowe hazel overall where they came. Hazel is cultivated in most of Europe and in countries like China, Australia and USA. Hazelnuts are an ingrediense in Nutella. The biggest problem of nuts bought in shops is that they are often too old and rancid or mould. So it is a good idea to look for the production-date. Most dried nuts come from Turkey. The dried hazelnuts from shops should be kept in the freezer, where they last for a year.

Hazelnuts are good both in cooking and baking. Coarsely chopped or crushed hazelnuts can be stirred into a paté or be a part of a breading of meat or fish. Hazelnuts are a delicious part of a salad. They can be roasted in the oven or in the pan which brings out the fine taste. If the nuts have turned dull and dry they can be saved if they are put into water for a few hours.

Not all nuts are nuts but we call them nuts:

Almonds are rich in vitamin E, folic acid and blood pressure-submerging minerals like magnesium, potassium, calcium, phospor and iron. 28 gram contains as much calcium as 1/4 cup of milch and is one of the best foods of vitamin E in the form of alpha-tocopherol, which is a cancer-preventive antioxidant. Almond is the kernel in green fruits from the almond tree. The tree supposedly origins from Asia, but is cultivated today overall , like in the Mediterraneans, Central Asia and Africa. Almonds are especially used in making marzipan for desserts, cakes and burnt almonds, but it is also a part of the salt kitchen. Almonds have a high fat content of the healthy fats, and their durability is short, so they are best kept in the freezer. Besides common almonds are bitter almonds, which even in small amounts bring out the characteristic almond taste in marzipan and Italian Amaretto liqueur. The bitter almonds contain small amounts of the poisonous substance amygdalin, which chemically is a precursor of prussic acid. It is not dangerous in small amounts.  

Cashew-nuts  are an excellent source of copper and a good source of magnesium, iron, zinc and biotin, which is a water-soluble  B-vitamin, which among other things can regulate the sugar transformation. They come from India, East Africa and South America. A cashew-nut is an "excrescence" under the fruit of the cashew tree. The nuts are always sold without shell, since the shell has a corroding oil, which irritates the skin. Cashew nuts are sold as they are or salted and roasted; they are mostly sold as snacks, but are also a part of many Thai dishes and other Asian dishes.

Pecan nuts are a good source of both vitamin A, vitamin E, folic acid, copper, magnesium, phosphor, potassium, manganese, zinc and B 3. The pecan nut reminds about a large walnut, which family it belongs to. Pecan nuts origin from USA, which has the biggest export of pecan nuts in the world. It is one of the crops, which is connected to the original food of the Native Americans. They are sold dried and roasted and salted and they are used in USA for the famous Pecan Pie and as a filling in cookies and ice cream. They have a fine, mild and special taste, which distinguishes them from other nuts. The pecan nuts can be used like most other nuts. They have got the highest fat content of all nuts, about 80 % ,which make them very nutrient rich. The main part is the healthy fat.



Macadamia nuts are rich in protein, fibres, potassium, magnesium and the healthy fats.They are used in snacks and cakes. They were first discovered in Australia. Hawaii is today the leading producer of the Macadamia-nuts. 

Peanuts are actually a legume and  contain mostly proteins. Peanuts and peanut butter contain furthermore much vitamin E, folat, potassium and zinc. Peanuts origin from South America, and they are the seeds from a tropical leguminous plant. They are used for snacks and cooking and production of oil.

 
The large Brazil nuts are rich in protein, copper, magnesium,  fibres, vitamin E and niacin, which are important for the energy transformation and the transformation of glucose, amino acids and fat. The Brazil nuts also contain a good part of selenium, which is famous for being an immune-enhancing mineral, which among other things protect against cancer. Two medium size Brazil nuts contain 200 microgram selenium.
Brazil nuts can widely be used like hazelnuts. They contain like all nuts much fat, about 60 %, mostly the healthy fats. They have a sweet taste. Like other nuts they should be kept in the freezer. The Brazil nuts are from a South American tree in the tropical rain forests of Brazil. They have coconut-like fruits with seeds, and they are actually not nuts in spite of their name. The nut is in Brazilian named "chestnut from Para", which is a town by the Amazone river. The Brazil nuts are especially exposed to contain aflatoxines, a poisonous substance, which comes from mould inside the nut.

The Pistachios are rich in minerals, especially potassium and phosphor. They are also a good source of carotenoids which is a strong antioxidant. The pistachio is a small light green nut with a dark red membrane. The pistachios origin from the Middle East ,where they were known since ancient times, and they are today a common snack in the Mediterranean, especially in Turkey and Greece. They taste mild and finely perfumed -  they have a content of 40-45 %  fat, primarily the healthy fats. They are found in two products,  as whole nuts with shell, salty and used as snacks and as the dried kernel without shell. The pistachios are in many ways a part of cakes and desserts. 

Pine nuts are small white fruits from the pines, the tall dark green conifers, which grow overall in southern Europe. They are called pignolia nuts or pinons in Spanish. The seeds are surrounded by an almost black, hard shell, which is difficult to remove - that's why the kilo price is high. They taste both sweet and sharp,  a little of resin. The pine nuts come especially from South Europe and Turkey and they are used in many contexts in salads, pasta, cakes and as snacks etc. They have like other nuts got a high fat content, about 40 % , but this is primarily healthy fat. The oil in the pine nut gets easily rancid, so they should be kept in the freeezer.

Although nuts ar healthy, the roasted and sugar glazed nuts are not!

Source: Anette Eckmann, Køkkendagbogen, 2004 ; VOM Viden om Mad; I Form Magasin 2011, Camilla Plum Mors Mad. 2002.

Mysteries - Agri Church

The Nightmare of a Norwegian Family.

Agri church is an idyllic little church in Mols Bjerge. It looks like the motif of a postcard, and it is difficult to imagine that it might be the home of mysterious and uncanning events. A Norwegian family of four experienced on a late evening in June in 1996 that something terrible happened at the church in Agri.

The family was on a summer holiday in Denmark; they came from Bergen and had been driving through Jutland and paid a short visit to Århus. It was a fine weather and they decided to drive through Mols Bjerge before they went to their destination in Ebeltoft. The family father was an engineer of 53, his wife a psychologist of 51, and their two twin-daughters of 26 were respective school-teacher and technical designer. None of them have forgotten what happened that night, when a short stay by the church in Agri developed into a true nightmare.

"The weather was lovely, and it was such a cosy trip along small, winding roads and with the scent of flowers," the family father told later, "but the girls complained that they were getting "seasick".  We had just arrived to the village Agri, and I drove up to a parking place by the church.  We went out to get some fresh air, before we continued to Ebeltoft. We were tired, but we were looking forward to the next part of the tour, and none of us had been drinking anything stronger than sodawater."

In a few moments something strange happened. It was ten in the evening and it had grown darker, but they were close enough to see two people emerging by the foot of the church tower. They were dressed in dark clothes, like monk robes, and it looked like they were talking to each other in a low voice. A moment later they stopped their talk and went around the corner on the other side of the tower, as if they wanted to hide. At short moment later another person came walking from the other side of the church; he passed the tower closely, and the two other persons jumped out, threwing themselves on him. The Norwegian family was paralysed and watched terrified ,while the newly arrived was beaten with two heavy sticks. While he  was laying quietly on the ground, his two attackers bent over him and removed something he had been carrying. The family could not see what it was, but the daughter Sissel was of the opinion that it was a little bag of some kind.   

Not until then the family discovered that the attack had taken place without a sound - in spite of the quiet evening and in spite of that they stood less than 100 meter from the dramatic scenery. They now saw that the two attackers stood up and left their victim and almost melted together with the darkness on the other side of the church. The family finally came out of their paralysis - and they all run up to the victim on the ground. There was no trace of anything at all  - no victim, no blood, nothing.  "We just run to the car an drove all we could to our hotel in Ebeltoft", the mother said. "we almost did not talk about it, and the next days we kept a nervous eye on newspapers and TV-news, but we never saw or heard anything about a robbery at Agri church. We don't like to talk about it. I think we are all trying to forget it."       

In spite of several attempts no one have succeeded in finding out, if an attack like this has taken place by Agri church .


Source: Lars Thomas , Det mystiske Danmark - en rejseguide til spøgelser, uhyrer og andre mærkværdigheder. Lars Thomas og Aschehoug Dansk Forlag, 2007.

photo Agri, Mols,  2011: grethe bachmann

Notification of Claim

Car Insurance





What People Write.........
 






   I took a glance at my mother-in-law who was sitting in the backseat,  and then I drove directly out over the slope.

I actually told the police that I was not injured, but when I later took off my hat, I discovered that I had a brain concussion. 
 
I really believe the accident would have been worse if I had lost my head.

The walker obviously did not know where to go, so I run him down. 

Three ladies were talking together, and when they stepped back, there was really nothing to do. 

You do not expect to meet another car on the biking path. 

It was the opponent's fault. He discovered too late that I was driving in the wrong side of the road.

I  saw a stunned elderly gentleman slowly sliding down my hood.

I was so absorbed by the traffic that I did not see the other car.

Please send me 5-6 notifications for later use.

My car had to take a sharper turn than necessary because of an invisible truck. 

The accident happened when I waved at the man I hit last week. 

A pedestrian hit me and disappeared under the car.

A cow was strolling into my car. I was later told that it was half-witted.

My car hit the walker, but he came up, so I hit him again.


I told that idiot who he was and went on.

I thought that the side window had been rolled down, but it wasn't, which I discovered when I stuck my head out of it.

I drove a car for 40 years,  and then I suddenly fell asleep.

Source: Translated from a Danish website.

The Baldishol Tapestry

Norway

I'm grateful to Lene on her blog "The Essence of the Good Life", where I saw a picture of the beautiful Baldishol-tapestry the other day. It is such a fantastic story. Thank you Lene. The picture of the tapestry is in a perfect image on her blog.


The Baldishol is a woven tapestry, and it has been C-14 dated to the period between 1040-1190. The tapestry is 203 cm in lenght and 118 cm in height.The material is wool from the Norwegian sheep spellsau, flax is used in a few places. It is unique of its kind. It is not possible to say where it was made, but it is probably inspired by art from the continental Europe. Stylistically there is a sign of that it might be woven in northern France or in England, but it might also be woven in Norway. The tapestry has motif and stylistic parallels in European and especially French and English art, but there are also similarities to Norwegian medieval art. It might have been woven in a lesser central European workshop, but some provinsial details support the theory that it was woven in Norway. 

Helgøya, Norway

The Baldishol-tapestry from Norway is one of few preserved Romanesque tapestries in Europe and the only of its kind in the world.  It is a fragment of a long frieze, which supposedly represents the twelve months of a year. The preserved part represents April and May. It is made in gobelin(tapestry)- technique by plant-dyed wool in clear red, yellow, green, darkblue and lighter blue. April is represented by a bearded man in a long robe; he stands beside a tree with birds, symbolizing that the birds have arrived. May is represented by a horseman in armour, symbolizing that he can still ride in the field.

detail, the horseman

The name comes from Baldishol old church from the 1600s in Hedemark in Norway, which was demolished in the first half of the 1880s. The tapestry was one of many objects among the materials and furniture which was sold at auction from the old church. A family Kildal from a neighbouring farm bought several of the church objects and kept them at the farm. A relative, Louise Kildal, who visited the family some years later, found among the objects from the church a dirty old rag filled with clay, which had been a footstool for the organ player. He used it  as a protection against draft. Louise took care of the rag, she washed it - and out of this dirty rag came a woven rag in fine colours. She mended it and hang it on the wall in her living room. A museum's director Grosch discovered it and saw to that the tapestry was transferred to the National Museum. The original is now in the National Museum (Kunstindustrimuseum) in Oslo, where it is one of their finest treasures. It has been restored several times, the last time in connection to an exhibition in 2004.

The Baldishol-tapestry is one of the most important and interesting pieces in Nordic, and also in European textile art. It shows a big identity to the Bayeux-tapestry in the motif-processing, but the Bayeux is an embroidery, while the Baldishol is woven. The origin of the tapestry is not known. How it came to the Baldishol church will probably never be cleared up, but all the signs point to that the tapestry followed other church furniture from a church at Hovin on the island Helgøya in 1612. Here was once a king's residence, which more often than any other place had visitors like the Norwegian king and other persons of high descent and great riches.

Baldishol-copy in the White House, Washington.

Baldishol in the White House: 
5000 North American women wanted to give the White House a memory of the Norse-American 100 year's celebration in 1925. They were of the opinion that the Norse-American men had been too dominating in deciding how and what should be celebrated, so they established Norse Centennial Daughters Club. They decided to buy the copy of the Baldishol-tapestry, which had been on an exhibition in Norway in 1925. The exact copy was woven by the Norwegian textile artist Kristi Sekse Meland (1886-1965). She had spun the yarn and dyed it herself with plant dyes. The Norse-American  women paid 1500 dollar for it, and a delegation presented it to president Calvin Coolidge's wife on 8. June 1926. What has happened to this exact copy of the Baldishol-tapestry in the White House is not known.



Source:
Store Norske Leksikon, Kunsthistorie; Baldishol in the White House. Blog: The Essence of the Good Life

From Russia with Sneeze...........

A good friend of mine sat in an Aeroflot-plane over Russia, when the lady beside him sneezed. "Gesundheit", he said. She said: " Thank God! Finally someone who speaks English!"
 
Peter  Spencer

Herbal Snaps

Five good snaps

Some  are collectors of stamps, others of coins or books or tin  soldiers, and some are collectors of herbal snaps. They have a whole regiment of bottles with fine etiquettes, telling which herb is in the snaps - and when it was added to it. They are often members of a snaps-guild,  (Brændevinslaug) - and they take their hobby very seriously. The gathering of herbs, the knowledge about the plants in nature and how to make a fine herbal snaps is important.  And the drink must not be swilled down - no, a glass of herbal snaps has to be enjoyed at a special occassion, it is not a means of intoxication. They take care of their bottle regiment!

The snaps, known in Denmark as Brændevin, was once the simple drink of the peasants. It has to be taken into consideration that drinking water was rather bad at that time. Brændevin means Burnt Wine or Burning Wine. It was also used as a  medicine, both internal and external. Just 50 years ago were in some Danish farms a bottle with a bitter snaps in the house. It was used in occurring diseases. This snaps, called a Bitter, was made by the oldest members of the family, who Sunday morning sneaked out to gather herbs on the church dike. They had to do it in secret.

Strange things were added to the drink. Tales about snaps with wall-flower, crisp rusks, oak fern, dead man's bones, peony, feet of a bittern, spleen from a fole, red oak shots, white vitriol, great mullein, moose-hooves, capon-water, tobacco, swallow stones, agate, unicorn. This must be the so-called unicorn powder.  In ancient folk medicine it was sold by wise women - and pharmacies, probably something they crushed from common animal bones.


The name Aqua vitae is mentioned already in writings by the Moorish alchymists.  The snaps was common in Sweden in 1500, and in the last half of the 1600s in all of Scandinavia among peasants, commoners and nobility. Aqua vitae, or the akvavit, was considered an eminent medicine because of its stimulating effects.

Asger Jorn: Dead drunk Danes

The snaps spread fast caused by its wonderful qualities, and people drank too much. They took a snaps or two in the morning and before meals , and king Frederik II had to issue an open royal letter in 1593 to the Danish Thing that the meetings had to begin early in the morning before people were dead drunk. Christian IV had an Aqua vitae regia with 23 various plant drugs and pulverized pearls. It was recommended for use on the morning after a booze. He had also a recipe from the astronomer Tycho Brahe's sister on Elixyr Thycons, a bitter akvavit, which among other things contained aloe, root of angelica and juniper oil. This snaps was effective against plague and epidemics. So they said.

In the 1840s there was a  strange custom among men in some places in the country. After a funeral  they gathered at the death-house for a guild, called ligdrikkeri (body-drinking). The men played cards and smoke tobacco and drank snaps. At such an evening they smoke about 1 pound of tobacco and drank 10 jars of snaps. 

Up till present the snaps was given to the cow and the wife when they had respectively calved and given birth. The cow even got bread and salt herring too.



Today the snaps is enjoyed cold, but once people used to heat it on the stove.

How to gather herbs:

Flyndersø, Sweet gale in spring

Gather roots in the autumn or early spring, while they still hold the reserves. Throw away the rotten parts and cut off the fine roots. Wash the roots or brush them clean with a dry, stiff brush. The large roots has to be split before drying. Gather stalks, leaves and flowers in clear, dry weather, best in the morning, when the dew has left the grass. Some have to be plucked as soon as the leaves have sprung, before the flowers arrive - others as soon as the flowers have opened (Wormwood and Sct. John's Wort). The plants must be free of dust, when they are gathered, since it is impossible to cleanse them later. Take the seed, when it is ripe and before it begins to dry - before it falls off by itself. The wild plants are better and more spicy than the culitvated plants, except for angelica and possibly wormwood.

How to dry the herbs:
Drying the herbs has to be in a shadowy, airy place - in the summer fx on a warm loft. Spread the plants on paper, like old newspapers. If the weather is moist or the plants are difficult to dry, they can be put in the oven at last to prevent them from going mouldy.  The drying has to be done as quickly as possible and finished as quickly as possible. Comminute the dried plants, (the drugs): cut into pieces, if they are tough, or pound in a pestle; keep them in bottles or boxes, but best not for more than a year. They must be looked after for mould and insect attacks, which often reveals itself by cobwebs in the drugs.

How to draw the herbs:
The effective flavourings are drawn from comminuted plant-parts by the help of neutral snaps or Vodka. The drawing time for herbs is usually 8 days in bottles, 3/4 filled, shake a couple of times a day. Filter the herbs, keep the tincture in a cold, dark place. It has to be clear with the smell and scent of the herbs and contain all the effective substances.



Five good herbal snaps:
Wormwood (Danish: Malurt)
Sweet Gale, Bog Myrtle (Danish: Porse)
Sct. John's Wort (Danish: Perikon)
Yarrow (Danish: Røllike)
Walnut (Danish:Valnød)

Kaløvig

The Wormwood Snaps: 
Malurt snaps
The Sea Wormwood grows along beaches and in beach meadows and is easy to gather. Some call a wormwood snaps "the king of snaps", but if it draws too long then it gives a bitter substance. Drawing time 10-12 hours. Store for a year, but it is probably consumed before that since it is so good. Dry the herb about a week before drawing, but it can also be used fresh.Take the first light green shots in spring. Avoid the flowers, they might give a bitter taste, although some use both leaves and flowers. Flowers in August-September.  This snaps is first light green then dark green and at last brown. When you thin the essence it changes colour.

Kalø, Sea Wormwood

History and Legend:
Wormwood was used already more than 3.000 years ago in Egypt and Greece. Since the Middle Ages it was used as a spice in beer, since people thought it was able to prevent intoxication. It was also recommended for seasickness and much more. According to a legend wormwood was the favourite flower of the godddes Artemis, who chose it when she was mourning her husband's death. Absinthium means abstaining from, referring to Artemis who was the goddess of chastity. Another legend says that wormwood grew up in the traces of the snake, when it was leaving the Garden of Eden.


Folklore:
People hang branches of wormwood upon walls and doors of their house to keep away all evil, although the practical use was not forgotten. Wormwood was used against moths. The moth larvaes were partly almost extinct when small branches of wormwood were placed among the woolen clothes.



Today:
It is a brilliant herb for snaps, but it is also used extracted in water to help the kitchen herbs against insect attacks, and the branches can be put under the cabbage, when it has grown big. The scent of the herb keeps away unwanted insects. Branches keep fleas away from the basket of the dog and cat. The dried stalks among clothes and linen keep away the moths. The bitter taste of the snaps keeps the stomach in order. Wormwood has a lot of good qualities like many other herbs.


NB:
It is not advisable to drink too much wormwood snaps. The substance absinthin can cause nerve- damages, which shows itself by dizzyness and cramps.  The bitter substance is used as a flavouring of vermouth and absinth. It is prohibited today to sell absinth in its original strenght of 68 %.


The Sweet Gale, Myrica Gale, Bog Myrtle Snaps
Porse Snaps

Moor by Aqua Silkeborg

Sweet gale, Aqua by Silkeborg

The Sweet gale/Myrica gale/Bog myrtle  has a strong aromatic scent;  flowers in April-May, grows in heaths and moors. It is common in Jutland where it is called porse, but rare in other places of Denmark. A couple of branches, (both fresh and dried can be used), are enough for a bottle of neutral snaps; drawing time 5-8 days, then filter and store for 3-5 months. Thin the essence with neutral snaps. You can use both the flowers or ratkins for making the snaps.The first leaves of spring gives a fine lightgreen snaps. 


The wax coating on the fruit of several porse species, known as Bayberry wax, was used traditionally to make candles. It was used for that purpose in the novel The Swiss Family Robinson. The foliage of Myrica gale is a traditional insect repellent used by campers to keep biting insects out of tents. Several species are also grown as an ornamental plant in the garden. The fruit of Myrica gale are an economically important crop in China. It is also a traditional ingrediense in Royal Wedding bouquets and in various perfumes and as a condiment.

Sweet gale in spring

The Vikings used Sweet gale/Myrica gale as a spice in beer. In northwestern Europe it was much used in a mixture called gruit as a flavouring for beer from the Middle Ages to the 16th century, but it fell into disuse after hops had become widely available. In modern times, some brewers have revisited this historic technique. Danish brewery Thisted Bryghus produces Porse Guld, a strong beer flavoured with the plant. A brewing company in Canada produces 'Bog Water', a seasonal strong ale made with sweet gale. In Denmark and Sweden, the plant is commonly used to prepare home-flavoured snaps. This special flavouring is also produced commercially. (Porse Snaps).

It is a favorite food of beavers, and low beaver dams can be found where sweet gale is present. The ponds thus formed are often completely submerged at high tide but retain water at low tide and provide deep enough water to provide a refuge for fish, including juvenile salmon where the water is too deep for predation by wading birds. Thus the presence of Sweet Gale can enhance salmon recruitment.

NB: Myrica gale is listed as an abortifacient and, therefore, should not be consumed by women who are, or might be, pregnant. 

Sct. John's Wort Snaps 
Perikon snaps 

The Sct John's Wort is a common plant in Denmark, it flowers in July-August. For snaps use the fresh flower buds, drawing time 3-4 days, then filter. It gives a ruby red snaps with a spicy taste, good for the lunch table.
It is one of those snaps which get better when thinned. It can be used at once or stored.

The Sct John's Wort has got many names: Man's Blood, Man's Power, Christ's Blood, Sharon's Rose, Aron's Beard etc. -  and Snaps Wort.  It has an old Danish byname jordhumle (= earth-hop), which refers to that the plant was used as a spice in beer. 

The Latin Hypericum comes from Greek hyper = on and erike = heather. Perforatum refers to the oilglands, which look like the leaves were perforated with small needles. Because of the red colour in the leaves people considered the plant to be blood-cleansing . It was used in oilments and oils. The oil was used to rub on body in rheumatisn and fever. Today the pericum-medicine is used to treat light depressions.

Folklore:
If a weapon was rubbed with Sct John's Wort, you couldnt get hit, and if you had lumbago the plant would help healing it. The Devil was irritated over the healing powers of the plant, and he pierced it without killing it. Sct.John's Wort has to be plucked or digged up on Midnight's Eve. According to legend the plant came from John the Baptist's severed head, where the blood hit the ground. Sct Johns Wort grew up there. In the ancient North it was dedicated to the god Balder. People used it in witchcraft and to awake passionate love. The herb was considered to work against impotence.

NB: Too much intake of Sct. John's Wort makes the skin sensitive to sunlight.  (photo-sensitivity)

The Yarrow Snaps
Røllikesnaps

Flower field by the sea with yarrow,  Mols

A common plant in fields, meadows and along roads.  Flowers in July-September. Use the newly sprung flowers , 1 dl for a bottle of neutral snaps,  drawing time a few days,  then filter. Store 2-3 months. The essence has to be thinned with snaps. Yarrow snaps is a fine red snaps, good for herring.

Legendary names:
The name Achillea is after the hero Acchilleus, who used the plant to heal the wounds of his soldiers. He was invulnerable except for his Achilles-sinews. Other names: common yarrow, gordaldo, nosebleed plant, old man's pepper, devil's nettle, sanguinary, milfoil, soldier's woundwort, thousand-leaf (as its binomial name affirms), and thousand-seal. The English name yarrow conmes from the Saxon (Old English) word gearwe which is related to both the Dutch word gerw and the old High German word garawa.

History:
Yarrow was one herb identified at Shanidar IV, a Neanderthal flower burial of northern Iraq, dated c.60,000BCE along with a number of other medicinal herbs.Stories about yarrow feature in traditional Chinese culture. For example, it is said that it grows around the grave of Confucius.Yarrow also featured in British folk customs and beliefs. Yarrow was one of the herbs put in Saxon amulets. These amulets were for protection from everything from blindness to barking dogs. In the Middle Ages, yarrow was part of a herbal mixture known as gruit used in the flavouring of beer prior to the use of hop. (like sweet gale). The yarrow was used against fever, stomach ulcer and other inflammation diseases - and to wash hair in order to prevent hair loss. In the 1700s it was used in the kitchen -  and in cosmetics to smooth out wrinkles

pink yarrow

Today:
Yarrow is used in herbal tea and as a spice on snaps. The styptic effect of the plant is documented. Yarrow is also used in cleansing lotions for greased skin and in dandruff-shampoos. The juice can prevent cracked skin and is used in face masks.  The flowers and leaves are used in making some liquors and bitters. Several cavity-nesting birds, like the common starling use yarrow to line their nests. In the manga and anime series Bleach, the insignia for the Eleventh Division is the Yarrow; the meaning behind it is Fight.

NB: In rare cases, yarrow can cause severe allergic skin rashes; prolonged use can increase the skin's photosensitivity. This can be triggered initially when wet skin comes into contact with cut grass and yarrow together. Pregnant women should avoid intake of yarrow.




The Walnut Snaps
Valnøddesnaps

Walnut tree, Mindeparken

Last but not least. The Walnut snaps. When it is good it is much like a brandy. It is perfect for a Christmas snaps. Use the green fruits. Cut them in quarters and cover them in neutral snaps. Drawing time at least 3 months, or 1/2 year. Soon after having covered the fruits the essence will be absolutely black, but don't despair, the snaps will be a beautiful dark brown, a golden walnut brown at last. After filter thin x 6. A walnut snaps gets better when stored,  it can be kept in store for 7 years or more. This is a noble snaps!

green walnuts

There are several opinions about how long this snaps has to be stored. Some say that the snaps can be enjoyed at Christmas Eve for a late cup of coffee, others that it is a real sacrilege to drink the noble drops before they have been stored at least one year; the extremes are of the opinion that it is not a walnut snaps until it is 7 years old. Tastes differ!


History:
The name derives from German wal and Old English wealnuth, literally meaning foreign nut. The walnut was introduced to west and north Europe very early in Roman times or earlier. It is cultivated extensively in some countries for its high quality nuts, eaten both fresh and pressed for their richly flavoured oil. The walnut oil is used in special oil colours and in fine soaps. The wood is used for furniture and rifle butts.


The Walnut was so valued by the Romans, both as yielding a furniture wood and as a fruit-bearing tree, that they probably introduced it both into Germany and into Britain; but it is not a native of Italy. Its original home seems to have been the north of Persia. In Skopelos, a Greek island in the Aegaean Sea, a local legend says that who plants a walnut tree will die when the tree can see the sea. In Flandern a proverb says that when the tree is big the planter will be dead.

Walnut tree, Mindeparken

There is much medicinal information about the walnut on the net, but I'll only mention one thing: Compared to certain unnamed nuts, walnuts (especially in their raw form) contain the highest total level of  antioxidants, including both free antioxidants and antioxidants bound to fiber. An essence of the leaves is used to protect horses and cattle against mosquitos and stable flies.  

NB: Horses should not eat walnut leaves, they can give them a hoof disease. 


Sources: 
Holger M. Rasmussen og Johannes Larsen, Brændevinsgrisen,  2002; M.T. Hortulanus 131 kryddersnapse efter gamle opskrifter, 1985.


All photos: grethe bachmann
except photocopies of Asger Jorn painting, Unicorn, green walnuts, glass, jar, snaps collection .