Vingulmark
Encyclopedia
Vingulmark is the old name for the area in Norway which today makes up the counties of Østfold
, western parts of Akershus
(excluding Romerike
), and eastern parts of Buskerud
(Hurum
and Røyken
municipalities), and includes the site of Norway's capital, Oslo
. During the Middle Ages, Vingulmark was an administrative unit limited to Oslo
, Bærum
and Asker
.
, it was a Viking Age
petty kingdom
. Vingulmark was one of the four counties under the Court of Law, which together constituted the ancient landscape of Viken. Archaeologists have made finds of richly endowed burials in the area around the estuary of the river Glomma
, at Onsøy
, Rolvsøy
and Tune
, where the remains of a ship, the Tune ship
, was found. This indicates that there was an important center of power in this area.
There are indications that at least the southern part of this area was under Danish rule in the late 9th century. In the account of Ottar, which was written down at the court of the English king Alfred the Great
, Ottar says that when he sailed south from Skiringssal
, he had Denmark on the port side for three days. This would include parts of Vingulmark.
Snorri Sturluson writes in Heimskringla
and Fagrskinna
, that King Harald Fairhair inherited part of Vingulmark from his father Halfdan the Black
. King Harald defeated King Gandalf
, who had previously held half of Vingulmark. Snorri Sturluson
relates in Heimskringla
that the area was also claimed by the Swedish King Erik Emundsson. The Norwegians invaded Götaland
to defend their claim.
(Vingull). The name Vingull could be derived from a word vingr 'swing, turn' (see > Vinger
): The inner part of Oslofjord is shaped like a hook
.
Last element of the name, mark or mork (mǫrk), is also from Old Norse period. It is interpreted to mean woodland, borderland or threshold, signifying the border area between villages. Presumably, such a designation separated the two parts of the landscape that is today called Østfold.
Østfold
is a county in southeastern Norway, bordering Akershus and southwestern Sweden , while Buskerud and Vestfold is on the other side of the bay. The seat of the county administration is Sarpsborg, and Fredrikstad is the largest city.Many manufacturing facilities are situated here. Moss and...
, western parts of Akershus
Akershus
- Geography :The county is conventionally divided into the traditional districts Follo and Romerike, which fill the vast part of the county, as well as the small exclave west of Oslo that consists of Asker and Bærum...
(excluding Romerike
Romerike
Romerike is a traditional district located north-east of Oslo, in what is today south-eastern Norway. It consists of the Akershus municipalities Fet, Lørenskog, Nittedal, Rælingen, Skedsmo, Sørum and Aurskog-Høland in the southern end , and Ullensaker, Gjerdrum, Nannestad, Nes, Eidsvoll and Hurdal...
), and eastern parts of Buskerud
Buskerud
is a county in Norway, bordering Akershus, Oslo, Oppland, Sogn og Fjordane, Hordaland, Telemark, and Vestfold. The county administration is located in Drammen.-Geography:...
(Hurum
Hurum
Hurum is a municipality in Buskerud county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village Klokkarstua. The municipality of Hurum was established on 1 January 1838 . The small village of Holmsbu was granted town status in 1847, but it did not become a municipality of its own...
and Røyken
Røyken
Røyken is a village and municipality in Buskerud county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Midtbygda. The parish of Røken was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 ....
municipalities), and includes the site of Norway's capital, Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
. During the Middle Ages, Vingulmark was an administrative unit limited to Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
, Bærum
Bærum
is a municipality in Akershus county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Sandvika. Bærum was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838. A suburb of Oslo, Bærum is located on the west coast of the city....
and Asker
Asker
Asker is a municipality in Akershus county, Norway. It is part of the Viken traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Asker. The municipality is a suburb of Oslo, the national capital...
.
History
According to medieval kings' sagasKings' sagas
The kings' sagas are Norse sagas which tell of the lives of Scandinavian kings. They were composed in the 12th to 14th centuries in Iceland and Norway....
, it was a Viking Age
Viking Age
Viking Age is the term for the period in European history, especially Northern European and Scandinavian history, spanning the late 8th to 11th centuries. Scandinavian Vikings explored Europe by its oceans and rivers through trade and warfare. The Vikings also reached Iceland, Greenland,...
petty kingdom
Petty kingdom
A petty kingdom is one of a number of small kingdoms, described as minor or "petty" by contrast to an empire or unified kingdom that either preceded or succeeded it...
. Vingulmark was one of the four counties under the Court of Law, which together constituted the ancient landscape of Viken. Archaeologists have made finds of richly endowed burials in the area around the estuary of the river Glomma
Glomma
The Glomma or Glåma is the longest and largest river in Norway. The long river has a drainage basin that covers a full 13% of Norway's area, all in the southern part of Norway.-Geography:...
, at Onsøy
Onsøy
Onsøy is a peninsula and a former municipality in Østfold county, Norway. The administrative centre was Gressvik.-History:The parish of Onsø was established as a municipality January 1, 1838...
, Rolvsøy
Rolvsøy
Rolvsøy is an island and a former municipality in Østfold county, Norway.It was created by a split from Tune on 1 January 1911. At that time Rolvsøy had a population of 2,381. On 1 January 1994 Rolvsøy was incorporated into the municipality of Fredrikstad, the neighboring municipality to the south...
and Tune
Tune, Norway
Tune is a former municipality in Østfold county, Norway. The former municipality originally covered the current Sarpsborg municipality with the exception of Skjeberg and with the addition of Rolvsøy.-History:...
, where the remains of a ship, the Tune ship
Tune ship
The Tune ship is a Viking era ship exhibited in the Viking Ship Museum in Bygdøy, Oslo.The "karv" type ship was found at Haugen farm on Rolvsøy in Tune, Østfold, Norway. The ship was built around AD 900, and is made of clinkered oak planks. It was found in a boat burial mound...
, was found. This indicates that there was an important center of power in this area.
There are indications that at least the southern part of this area was under Danish rule in the late 9th century. In the account of Ottar, which was written down at the court of the English king Alfred the Great
Alfred the Great
Alfred the Great was King of Wessex from 871 to 899.Alfred is noted for his defence of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of southern England against the Vikings, becoming the only English monarch still to be accorded the epithet "the Great". Alfred was the first King of the West Saxons to style himself...
, Ottar says that when he sailed south from Skiringssal
Skiringssal
Skiringssal is the name of an area situated in the Norwegian municipalities of Larvik and Sandefjord, in the southern region of the county of Vestfold...
, he had Denmark on the port side for three days. This would include parts of Vingulmark.
Snorri Sturluson writes in Heimskringla
Heimskringla
Heimskringla is the best known of the Old Norse kings' sagas. It was written in Old Norse in Iceland by the poet and historian Snorri Sturluson ca. 1230...
and Fagrskinna
Fagrskinna
Fagrskinna is one of the kings' sagas, written around 1220. It takes its name from one of the manuscripts in which it was preserved, Fagrskinna meaning 'Fair Leather', i.e., 'Fair Parchment'. Fagrskinna proper was destroyed by fire, but copies of it and another vellum have been preserved...
, that King Harald Fairhair inherited part of Vingulmark from his father Halfdan the Black
Halfdan the Black
Halfdan the Black was a ninth-century king of Vestfold. He belonged to the House of Yngling and was the father of Harald Fairhair, the first king of Norway.-Biography:...
. King Harald defeated King Gandalf
Gandalf
Gandalf is a character in J. R. R. Tolkien's novels The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. In these stories, Gandalf appears as a wizard, member and later the head of the order known as the Istari, as well as leader of the Fellowship of the Ring and the army of the West...
, who had previously held half of Vingulmark. Snorri Sturluson
Snorri Sturluson
Snorri Sturluson was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was twice elected lawspeaker at the Icelandic parliament, the Althing...
relates in Heimskringla
Heimskringla
Heimskringla is the best known of the Old Norse kings' sagas. It was written in Old Norse in Iceland by the poet and historian Snorri Sturluson ca. 1230...
that the area was also claimed by the Swedish King Erik Emundsson. The Norwegians invaded Götaland
Götaland
Götaland , Gothia, Gothland, Gothenland, Gautland or Geatland is one of three lands of Sweden and comprises provinces...
to defend their claim.
Legendary rulers
The sagas name several more or less legendary kings as rulers of Vingulmark:- Gudrød the HunterGudrød the HunterGudrød the Hunter was a semi-legendary king in Vingulmark in south-east Norway, during the early Viking Age from 804 until 810...
, half of Vingulmark - Alfgeir (Old Norse: Álfgeir)
- Gandalf AlfgeirssonGandalf AlfgeirssonGandalf Alfgeirsson was a legendary king of the petty kingdom Vingulmark, in south-eastern Norway. He appears as a character in Snorri Sturluson's saga Heimskringla....
- Halfdan the BlackHalfdan the BlackHalfdan the Black was a ninth-century king of Vestfold. He belonged to the House of Yngling and was the father of Harald Fairhair, the first king of Norway.-Biography:...
- Olaf HaraldssonOlaf Haraldsson GeirstadalfOlaf Haraldsson , was a reputed son of King Harald Fairhair of Norway with Svanhild Øysteinsdotter, daughter of Øystein Jarl.The saga Heimskringla, written in Iceland in the thirteenth century by the poet and historian Snorri Sturluson, gives the ninth century Norwegian founder king Harald Fairhair...
- Tryggve OlafssonTryggve OlafssonTryggve Olafsson was king of Viken, Norway ....
- Harald Gudrødsson Grenske, 976976Year 976 was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar.- Byzantine Empire :* January 10 – Basil II becomes Eastern Roman Emperor .- Europe :...
-987987Year 987 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar.-Africa:* The Zirids fail to reconquer the western part of the Maghrib which they have recently lost to the Umayyads....
The name
The Norse form of the name was Vingulmǫrk. The first part of the name, Vingul, is somewhat uncertain. The first element is assumed to be the old name of the inner part of OslofjordOslofjord
The Oslofjord is a bay in the south-east of Norway, stretching from an imaginary line between the Torbjørnskjær and Færder lighthouses and down to Langesund in the south to Oslo in the north....
(Vingull). The name Vingull could be derived from a word vingr 'swing, turn' (see > Vinger
Vinger
Vinger is a traditional district and a parish as well as being a former municipality in Kongsvinger in Hedmark, Norway.The parish of Vinger was established as a municipality January 1, 1838 ....
): The inner part of Oslofjord is shaped like a hook
Fish hook
A fish hook is a device for catching fish either by impaling them in the mouth or, more rarely, by snagging the body of the fish. Fish hooks have been employed for centuries by fishermen to catch fresh and saltwater fish. In 2005, the fish hook was chosen by Forbes as one of the top twenty tools...
.
Last element of the name, mark or mork (mǫrk), is also from Old Norse period. It is interpreted to mean woodland, borderland or threshold, signifying the border area between villages. Presumably, such a designation separated the two parts of the landscape that is today called Østfold.
Other sources
- Sandnes, Jørn ; Stemshaug, Ola Norsk stadnamnleksikon (Oslo : Det norske samlaget, 1980) ISBN 82-52-109993
- Sturlasson, Snorre Snorres kongesagaer (Heimskringla) (Oslo 1979) ISBN 82-05-31464-0