The Jelling Stone exposed to Vandalism Last Week....

King Harald's Jelling stone/photo:gb

The Jelling stone, - one of our national treasures and Denmark's "birth certificate"  is together with king Gorm's stone, the church and the two giant Jelling-grave hills a part of the Jelling-monuments which are at the Unesco World's Heritage list. The two rune stones reflect the transition from the heathen Viking period to the Christian Middle Ages.

The big Jelling stone, king Harald's stone was together with other things in the church area exposed to vandalism recently. It was painted over with graffiti , and it is not just an easy thing to remove the paint. First there was a fear if the paint had forced into the stone. Since the vandalism have Danish, Norwegian and Swedish experts worked together to find the most careful way to clean the stone. After some experiments at the National Museum have they found that the cleaning must be done as fast as possible, since the graffiti-paint is not yet fully hardened - it is actually a race against time. However - the stone-conservators are satisfied with the cold weather, since the frost has delayed the chemical processes in the paint.

The vandalism, photo: Politiken.DK

In the beginning were many theories about who was responsible for this.  It was a 15-year old local boy from Jelling who had painted the stones for fun. He has now found out that it was not funny at all.

Addition:
The boy in Jelling is autistic and suffers from Asperger's syndrom. His parents are very sad. The stones are considered sacred by the inhabitants of Jelling and are protected by the people in town. The boy's parents have told the authorities that the boy recently had changed his behaviours - he has actually painted the word Gelwane in other places of the town.

It's a sad story in every respect.


Source: Politiken, DK. 20. - 21. February 2011

Snowdrop and Sweet Violet in Mary-Legends

 
















Snowdrop/Vintergæk
Galanthus nivalis
Many flowers changed their names at the arrival of Christianity to the North. All aromatic flowers were in the Middle Ages called violets. Snowdrop was a white violet, and the white shade was a symbol of purity. In the Christian church it became the memory of the day, where Mary brought Christ to the temple. But before this much superstition was attached to this flower. Since it was the first flower breaking through the black soil, it was said to be magical, and people had to treat it carefully. If the flower was plucked and brought indoors, it might foresay death or other evils. Another legend said that when Adam and Eve were driven out from the Garden of Eden they came to a cold and dark place, and Eve was disconsolate, until an angel showed, caught a snowflake and blew on it, changing it into a white flower.





















Sweet violet/Martsviol
Viola odorata
The sweet violet is together with lily and rose among the three noblest flowers. It is a symbol of Mary's humility,  and although other flowers were named violets in the Middle Ages the sweet violet is the one, which is most valued for its scent and colour. The humble sweet violet has the colour of Mary's royal robe.  The violet was used in cosmetics and perfume.

A Christian legend says that when Virgin Mary recieved the message about the birth of Christ, the archangel Gabriel came with a lily in his hand - and behind Mary grew a rose bush, but just outside her window stood the little sweet violet, who heard that Mary said: "Look, I am the Lord's handmaid." The archangel blessed the flowers, before he disappeared - and the flowers then got their lovely scent. Another legend says that the flower bowed their heads, when the shadow of the cross fell upon them, and since then they have been standing with bowed heads.

Source: Anemette Olesen, Marias Planter, Himlen ned på Jorden, 2007.


photo 2008: grethe bachmann

Klostermølle in Winter

present buildings

channel by the mill

Benedictine monks established ab. 1050-110 a kloster, named Voer kloster, close to the big lake Mossø in the lake distrikt in the middle of Jutland. It was one of the first klosters in Denmark, and it was probably also the monks, who established the 1300 m long dam, which forces the waters of the Gudenå river into a channel. Here was a waterfall which was able to run a watermill, also named Klostermølle today. (meaning "mill at the kloster"). The kloster was abandoned after the reformation and there are now only rests of foundations under the yard between the present buildings.

Nature school and center.

the drying barn

new bridge

The drying barn is built in three storeys. Here was a paper factory. It is now a workshop, where the forest district dry wood and make wooden objects for the public. In the corner of the barn with a view to the delta and the river Gudenå is a bird-tower. In the present buildings is a nature school. Here is also nearby a camping for canoeing tourists from 16 June until 31. December. In the mill buildings are exhibitions.

 

lots of ice at the mill today

along channel

a view from center to Mossø lake

in meadow, no geese today

but mother duck and father duck

marsh titmouse

a nice little nuthatch

Along the channel is a walking path, no disturbance from cyclists or skateboarders etc. Sands have been laid out on the moist ground. It's a good place to take a walk. Here in winter are not many people in the area, but in summer is it a lively place, both swarming with people and with birds. And there is a variety of plants along the river and in the area around the nature center - and many plant-relicts, like medical herbs, from the time while it was a kloster-center. Now on this icy cold day is not much life. A few birds high up in the trees. A nuthatch and some tits. 

Sorry, the woodpecker disappeared!

the delta seen from the bird tower.

Well, a winter's day - a very short day out. It is still very cold with an icy eastern wind. No need to stay out longer  than a couple of hours and the light will soon disappear. How wonderful it will be in just a month - I'm sure! More life - snowdrops and crocus and eranthis and anemones as some of the first flowers, all the birds singing, butterflies suddenly emerging in sunny sheltered places ...the humming of bees........... it is easy to dream, isn't it?

Black alder at the channel

the channel - here is the kingfisher - on occassions!

Rye church

The church in Rye lies on the top of a hill and is seen far away. Its old name is Sct. Sørens church, and Søren was a farmer's boy, who run away from working with the plough. He became a monk, and later a priest and died as bishop in Cologne in Germany ab. year 400. One thousand year later people "discovered " that a well in the forest at Rye was made sacred by Søren, and a pilgrimage began to the church and the well. So the Sct. Søren church in Rye thus was one of the centers of the spiritual life in medieval Denmark.

Various great events happened in this church. Here were also elections of the Danish king. Christian 3. was elected king by the Jutland nobility here on 4. July 1534. This election was the start of the fall of the Catholic church in Denmark.

the mystic farm

At last I took a photo of a farm which we often pass after the church. It always looks so desolate - as if no one lives there. However, there are signs of activities. Maybe the living house is built behind the stables close to and sheltered by the wood. And maybe they have a nice garden there!


photo Klostermølle 12. february 2011: grethe bachmann

The Vikings/Viking Art

 The Ringerike Style (ab. 980-1080 )

The Alstad stone

The vane

                                                                              

The Ringerike style grew naturally out of the Mammen style during the first half of the eleventh century. It came at a time when the stone monuments were spreading, and it is named after the carved slabs of a rich district of Norway north of Oslo, of which the Alstad stone is one. The heavy spirals at the base have their origins in the spiral hips of the Mammen style.

The graduate development of foliate pattern from the Mammen style became the principal feature of Ringerike. However - the great beast of Jelling was far from forgotten, seen in a gilt bronze vane from Søderala in Sweden. This vane once was placed on the prow of an eleventh century Viking ship. A great beast is mounted on the top to keep watch. The curves along the curved edge were for attachment of jangling chains or for streamers to act as wind indicators.

Vanes of this type are seen on a thirteenth century carving from Bergen.   Its subsequent use was as the ornament on a church spire, like two similar vanes from the same period from Norway and Gotland.

Harald's stone in Jelling

Stone at Sct.Pauls in London.

     














 


There  are three writhing  animals in the central openwork panel of the vane. They continue the tradition of a combat motif, which was first established in Scandinavia on Harald's stone at Jelling. Some similar ornaments are on a stone monument in Sct. Paul's churchyard in London. The Sct. Paul's stone is one of the finest monuments in the Scandinavian Ringerike style and shows how England under king Cnut was once again introduced to the mainstream of Viking art.

Source: MoesgårdArchaeological Museum, Århus    

Next: the Urness style, ab. 1050-1150.

photo Jelling: gb                                             

New Study - Ghosts or Fantasy?

If you want to see something then it is there.

          

                                                  



















Ghosts do not just belong to the past. A new study shows that 21 % of the Danes believe in ghosts, which bears witness about religiosity and that modern man has the same scheme of things as Stone Age man, claim the experts.

Scepsis or Intolerance?
I don't know what to think about this. I don't want to be intolerant, so I'll just say that  "there is more between heaven and earth, Horatio, than you can imagine........". I have never seen a ghost myself or know no one, who has - except I have read the stories about people, who have experienced paranormal situations. There have been TV-series about this subject, and some of the events can be proved to have a natural explanation, others are not easy to explain.

Images of the Past like Radio-Waves?
I like to read ghost stories myself, but if I ever met a grey lady or another strange figure, then I would probably drop dead - or at least faint. Right now I imagine that what people see - if they see those grey ladies or other shady figures - that they might be strong images from the past with such a power that they can stay or show forever - like when  radio-waves move out into the universe. But how and why?   

Religion and Communication
The belief in the supernatural is obvious alive in Denmark. In an investigation by the paper metroXpress say 21 % Danes that they believe in ghosts. One of 17 has seen a ghost themself, while every fourth know one who has. At the same time believe 28 % that it is possible to communicate with the diseased. This belief  is also a religious aspect. The belief that the diseased have got an influence at the present is spread among many religions.

Are we travelling Fossils?
A professor at Århus University (Religious Science) confirms that the belief in ghosts are one of the oldest imaginations man has ever had. It is difficult to say, how religion was in Stone Age, he continues, but the belief in ghosts serves two superior purposes, partly as a good entertainment, and partly using the diseased in order to understand why something happens - or in order to try to make something happen.  The professor says that in this point is there not much difference between Stone Age man and the modern man. "We are in many ways travelling fossils, the body has not changed fundamentally, and the same goes for our imagination. Like Stone Age man we want to communicate with our forefathers". says the professor.

A haunted place in Copenhagen.
There is an empty place in Copenhagen behind a tall boarding. A few years ago was here a disco called Absalon. This place had a reputation of being the most haunted place in the country, says a writer of ghost-stories. The disco was placed above the oldest church  and grave-yard in Copenhagen from the time of archbishop Absalon. The writer has interviewed some of the earlier employed from the disco, and even the most sceptical people were after a short time convinced that there were ghosts at disco Absalon. Several clairvoyants and ghost-hunters have examined the place and have noted strange and agressive energies. Before a new building has to be raised, archaeologists started digging down in history. They found more than 500 skeletons, placed in many layers, half were children skeletons. 

Many castles and manors have their ghosts, and the stories about these various ghosts are very exciting read.  Here in this blog are a few ghost-stories from some Danish castles and manors. If you choose the label ghost story, you'll get them all.

Some well-known Danes have told about their experiences, an actor lived in his childhood in a house, where the piano started to play by itself, and it showed that a piano-player had lived there, who had committed suicide. When the boy came home from school and knew he would be alone in the house, he was so afraid that he stayed outside for hours. He simply dared not go inside.

This is what happens today about the ghost- research. You'll of course decide for yourself what you believe or not believe in, dependent on what you or your family and friends might have experienced yourselves.

Source: metroXpress, Friday 11. February 2011, journalist Klaus Lange, Anne Fiil and writer Steen Langstrup. 

Famous writers of ghost-stories 


 photo: meadow at Vilhelmsborg manor: grethe bachmann

A Day in February in the Windy Kolindsund, Djursland.....

A Day in February with a milder temperature, but with an ice-cold wind. Still two more months before the"real" spring is arriving. What I especially like about this time of the year is that I can enjoy the black silhouettes of the trees upon the clear blue sky without thinking that this will last six months before the trees will burst into leaves again. Yes, the winter is too long here. I miss the birds and the butterflies. How do they survive? But no matter how hard the winter has been the birds begin to sing at the first little sight of spring, and the butterflies and bees come out like little miracles in the springtime. So who am I to complain?  

  It showed that we had chosen one of the coldest places in the country, a sound which was a sea thousands of years ago, but still lies like a large land with no shelter. A flock of swans had found a place in the corner of a small lake, which was filled with brash ice.

In the distance was a little village and a medieval parish church in Tøstrup from the 1100th. So many years it has been  there as a witness of so much, which we do not know much about today.

"When I live in such a desolate place it doesn't matter that I am a little messy!" he might think! But I have noticed that there are some villages, where so many farms and houses are surrounded by a mess of old things, old cars, tractors, stone-heaps, decayed outhouses, neglected gardens, while other villages are neat and well-kept, the outhouses are fine and painted and the gardens are lovely to look at. Maybe it is catching? Just a thought.

Here they are again, one of my many weaknesses,
this time a windblown hedgerow, which is a vigorous growth in summer, but it is also picturesque now. It is simple, brings quietness to your mind, if that's what you want - and this is what I want today.




 
I have always room for a horse or more than one, but this white horse seemed to be alone, grazing in a landscape with a wide view all the way to the northern part of Djursland. Why should  a horse care
about such a useless  waste of time? Is he just enjoying life? If he is a she the name might be Blondie.

This was the little yellow house on the corner. I almost missed it in the move. I like yellow houses.
Well,. this one is almost white, but it is a neat little
house. No garden? Again some silhouettes, this time
some crippled birch trees, which are pretty in summer.



 

 And then it became dark afternoon on our way home..............

photo Kolindsund 5. February 2011: grethe bachmann

The Cat

  




There is a reason why I talk about the cat now. It's about this time in late February that the cat had a really terrible fate all around the medieval Europe. They were killed in thousands, and the history about these cat-killings is gruesome. In Denmark we put the cat in a barrel, and the village guys beat he barrel, until the cat was dead. In articles about Fastelavn/Shrove Tide in this blog are descriptions about various customs.

Today children beat the cat out of the barrel, and a cat-king and a cat-queen are the winners, but inside the barrel is now candy and the picture or drawing of a cat. The children won' t even put their beloved toy-cat in a barrel. We are friendlier to animals today. They have become members of the family, and there is an immense grief in the family when they lose their beloved cat or dog. 

Cornish Rex

History in Short
The domestic cat, felis domestica, was introduced to Europe probably in Iron Age, but outside Europe it was known long before. The ancient Egyptians had cats already 3.000 years B.C.  They considered the cat a sacred animal,  and balmed cats were found from that period. The Egyptians had a goddess, Bats, with a cat's head and always accompanied by cats. In the ancient Egypt it was a mortal sin to kill a cat. If the favorite cat of the house died, the owner would shave off his eybrows as a sign of grief.

Cats from a flock living in a fishing harbour.

In the classic era of the Mediterranean the moon goddess Artemis (in Rome Diana) was the protector of cats. She was always followed by cats, and people believed she could transform into a cat.. Artemis was closely connected to another demon of the dark, Hekate, who like Artemis was worshipped as a moon goddess. She was also able to transform into a cat, and she also had cats in her entourage, when she was out on her wild hunts in moonlit nights, and the ancient witches and magicians worshipped Hekate as their goddess. Hekate was a magician and a witch herself, and they prayed to her when they were not sure, if their witchcraft was strong enough.

Tricolore-cat

In the ancient Greece and Rome the cat was considered an animal in collusion with all kinds of evil and magic. According to sources from the early Middle Ages the cats of the ancient north were connected to the love goddess Freja. They were pulling her wagon, while she was out driving. So - the cat was in pre-Christian times partly a sacred animal in Scandinavia and Egypt - and partly an animal belonging to the powers of the dark in Greece and Rome.

During the Middle Ages, when the cat became common in Europe, an idea spread that some cats - especially the black cats - were transformed witches, or they were controlled by witches. This belief that the cat was an animal of the witches is seen in European witch-processes and in the stories about witches, which were told from mouth to mouth since the Middle Ages and up to our time.

You're not black. Please cross the road.

Is Superstition still Alive?
We are still a little superstitious today. Or  not? Some of us? If a cat crosses the road in front of you it brings bad luck - especially if it's a black cat. There is actually some evidence that traffic accidents were caused by a superstitious driver, who suddenly put the brakes on when he saw a black cat crossing the road. In a report in the Danish morning-paper B.T. from 28. February 1963 is read:
"a black cat wanted to cross the road in front of N.N, Ølstrup at Holstebro. He put on the brakes violently, and the car hit a lamp standard, which broke. The car then drove into a house, where the outer wall tumbled into the living room. Neither cat nor people were injured." 

A white cat is a rare sight.

The black cat is a bad omen in most of Europe and also in the U.S. Some Americans say however that it brings good luck, if a black cat crosses your road from the right to the left. A white cat brings luck no matter where it comes from. In England it means good luck if a black cat crosses your road, but it means bad luck to meet a white cat. In connection to an English wedding ceremony it is important that a black cat crosses the road in front of the bride and groom. This brings good luck to their marriage. It is said that this is often arranged. (Don't kill the messenger!)

So - when it came to superstition - the black cat was as popular in England as it was unpopular in many other places in Europe - but only if you met it in the road! You can break the bad omen, if you spit three times where the cat came running. Or cross your fingers!

So you think you're hiding?

If you bring a cat into a new home, the good luck is secured for this house. People imagined that the cat would be some kind of magnet and suck up the evil into itself and let it be there. If you steal a cat you steal the happiness of the home. People also had the idea that it was good to have the cat in the bed at night - the cat would suck up diseases, especially rheumatism.

The Dangerous Hunter

No matter if you are superstitious or not, the cat is a lovely family member, a beautiful gracious creature with the same sharp senses as the big wild cats. Out little sweet cat, who sits there so peacefully in the sun at the terasse is no less than a mini-tiger with the brilliant physical and mental skills of a tiger. But the cat is however - in spite of the close relationship to the big predators - the most charming and friendly little animal, who comes up to us trusting, rubbing itself against our leg and spinning in delight.

A very affectionate little cat

Karel Appel: Cat, Herning Museum

The cat was always a favorite and very used model for painters and writers. Kipling and Eliot described the cat's character perfectly. Mark Twain, who loved cats, once said that the cat is the only creature, who will not accept to be chained as a slave.





Source: Iørn Pio, Håndbog om hverdagens magi, Politikens forlag 1973. 
Arne Eklund og Maj-Britt Ericson: Fakta om katten
photo cats: grethe bachmann

Danish & Italian Ginger/Dansk & Italiensk Ingefær

Arum maculatum/Arum italicum
Arum maculatum = Arum cylandraceum 

 



Arum maculatum is a common woodland plant species of the Aracae family. It is widespread across temperate northern Europe and origins from Europe and the western Asia. It is known by common names including Wild arum, Lords and Ladies, Jack in the Pulpit, Devils and Angels, Cows and Bulls, Cuckoo-Pint, Adam and Eve, Bobbins, Naked Boys, Starch-Root and Wake Robin. Danish names include Aron's Staff, Deer berries, Calf Foot, the Devil's Berries and Wild Kalla. In Scandinavia the plant only grows in Denmark, except in North and West Jutland.

Maculatum means spottet and refers to the irregular brownish or violet spots on the green leaves of the Danish ginger. The Italicum originally comes from Italy. The Italian ginger has green leaves with white veins. The name ginger is due to that it gives a burning taste in the mouth if you taste a root or a leaf, like if you bite in the fresh spice ginger. The Danish name arum origins according to old sources from Aron, who might be the high-priest, mentioned in the fourth Pentateuch, the Numbers.

Folk Medicine
The plant was known from ancient times, where it was used as an expectorant means and as a laxative. In the Middle Ages it was used against the plague and abscesses and also against diseases in lungs and intestines. In the old herbal books is this ginger recommended for rheumatic illness and for treating wounds or bites from poisonous animals.

Superstition
According to Plinius the bear eats the root after his winter-sleep to wake up the crumpled bowels.

Description
Arum has a bulb-like rhizome, from which come long-stalked , arrow-shaped leaves. The leaves are vigorous and develop best in the shadow under trees. The leaves might be uniform green, covered in brown spots or white stripes. The flower-stalk is a 30-50 cm high shaft, which ends in a spadix, where the flower inflorescence is hidden in a large cone-shaped case-leave. After blooming the red, shining berries are developed.

Garden:
If cultivated in a garden ginger thrives best in the "forest floor" of the garden, evt. among Bishop's Hat, Golden Death Nettle, Sweet Grass etc. Recommended sorts: Arum maculatum ssp. danicum (Danish ginger); Arum italicum (Italian ginger) and Arum pictum (Corsican ginger).


Other Informations:
The shining red berries were once used as a rouge, but they can give blisters.
NB: The ginger mentioned here has nothing in common with the exotic spice of the same name. The dried root is eatable since the poisonous substances disappear in the drying process. The root is rich in starch and was among other things used as a face powder. The plant is cultivated in gardens for the decorative value of the fine red berries. Warning: The red berries are tempting to children, but they are very poisonous.

General warning: Although it is said that the dried root is eatable, then there are warnings against the plant in other sources saying: No  parts of the plant can be used as a replacement for the spice ginger, since they are very poisonous. But the roots might have a scent like the ginger spice.

Last news about the plant:
There are various informations about the plant and a new scientific name.  But as said before the plant with the name Danish ginger has nothing in common with the spice ginger, except the confusing name-community. The official Danish name is now Danish arum, and the scientific name is Arum cylindraceum. It was earlier known as Arum alpinum ssp. danicum. Danish ginger is poisonous, and the pretty berries might be tempting for small children, but this plant smells a little like urine, which might be not so tempting. Danish ginger is much alike Italian ginger Arum italicum, which is known on the light stripes on the leaves. This plant is also poisonous.


Allergy and Rodents:
All parts of the plant can produce allergic reactions in many people and the plant should be handled with care. Many small rodents appear to find the spadix particularly attractive and it is common to find examples of the plant with much of the spadix eaten away. The spadix produces heat and probably scent as the flowers mature and it may be this that attracts the rodents.


Arum maculatum is also known as the cuckoo print in the British Isles and is named thus in Nicholas Culpepers' famous 16th Century herbal. This is a name it shares with  Arum italicum (Italian Lords-and-Ladies) - the other native British Arum.


Source: Anemette Olesen, Danske Klosterurter, 2001

photo: august 2006 & 2010: grethe bachmann