IN NORTHERN MISTS 



Catapults, which are also mentioned in the " King's Mirror," had a long 

 beam or lever-arm, at the outer end of which was a bowl or sling, wherein was 

 laid a heavy round stone, or more rarely a barrel of combustible material or 

 the like [cf. O. Blom, 1867, pp. 103 £.]. In the "King's Mirror" it is also 

 stated that mineral coal (" jarSkol ") and sulphur were thrown; the stones for 

 casting were also made of baked clay with pebbles in it. When these clay 

 balls were slung out and fell, they burst in pieces, so that the enemy had noth- 

 ing to throw back. The great black ball, which is compared to a sheep's 

 paunch, and which made such an ugly sound (report?) when it fell that it 

 frightened the Greenlanders, also reminds one strongly of the " herbrestr " 

 (war-crash, report) which Laurentius Kalfsson's saga [cap. 8 in " Biskupa 

 Sogur," i. 1858, p. 798] relates that Prandr Fisiler,i from Flanders, produced at 

 the court of Eric Magnusson in Bergen, at Christmas, 1294. It " gives such a 

 loud report that few men can bear to hear it; women who are with child and 

 hear the crash are prematurely delivered, and men fall from their seats on to 

 the floor, or have various fits. Thrand told Laurentius to put his fingers in his 

 ears when the crash came. . . . Thrand showed Laurentius what was neces- 

 sary to produce the crash, and there are four things: fire, brimstone, parch- 

 ment and tow.- Men often have recourse in battle to such a war-crash, so 

 that those who do not know it may take to flight." Laurentius was a priest, 

 afterwards bishop (1323-30) in Iceland; the saga was probably written about 

 1350 by his friend and confidant, the priest Einar HafliSason. It seems as 

 though we have here precisely the same notions as appear in the description of 

 the fight with the Skraslings. It is true that this visit of Thrand to Bergen 

 would be later than the Saga of Eric the Red is generally assumed to have 

 been written; but this may have been about 1300. Besides there is no reason 

 why the story of the " herbrestr " should not have found its way to Iceland 

 earlier.3 In any case this part of the tale of the Wineland voyages has quite a 

 European air. 



The resemblance between such a weapon with a shaft for throwing and the 

 Skraelings' black ball is distant; but it is not impossible that ancient reports 

 of something of the sort may have formed the nucleus upon which the " mod- 

 ernized" description of the saga has crystallized; although the whole thing is 

 uncertain. This Algonkin tradition has a certain similarity with some Green- 

 land Eskimo fairy-tales [cf. Rink, 1866, p. 139]. 



1 As arquebuses or guns had not yet been invented at that time, this strange 

 name may, as proposed by Moltke Moe, come from " fusillus " or " fugillus " 

 (an implement for striking fire) and mean " he who makes fire," " the fire- 

 striker." 



- Evidently saltpeter has been forgotten here, and so we have gunpowder, 

 which thus must have been already employed in war at that time, and per- 

 haps long before. 



3 Moltke Moe has found a curious resemblance to the description of the 

 "herbrestr" given above in the Welsh tale of Kulhwch and Olwen [Heyman: 

 Mabinogion, p. 78], where there is a description of a war-cry so loud that "all 



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