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CAPITALS OF THE NORTHLANDS

THREE DEGREES FROM THE ARCTIC CIRCLE
TRONDHJEM CATHEDRAL

[Frontispiece

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CAPITALS OF
THE NORTHLANDS

TALES OF TEN CITIES

BY

IAN C. HANNAH, M.A.

AUTHOR OF "EASTERN ASIA: A HISTORY," "THE SUSSEX COAST,""THE BERWICK AND LOTHIAN COASTS," ETC.

ILLUSTRATED BY EDITH BRAND HANNAH

HEATH CRANTON & OUSELEY, LTD.

FLEET LANE, LONDON, E.C.

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TO
THE LOVED MEMORY
OF THE BEST OF MOTHERS
WITH WHOM I ONCE MADE A PILGRIMAGE
TO THE SHRINE OF ST. OLAF

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PREFACE

Many excellent things have been written about thecities of the South, but little, comparatively speaking,about the cities of the North. True, indeed, they havenot moulded kingdoms and shaped the culture of acontinent, but England, like Scandinavia, is not acountry city-built; she was formed by the dwellerson the land. Yet the less prominent part that theyhave played does not make our cities less noteworthythan those of the South.

Few and peculiarly interesting are the cities of theNorth. And, with the exception, perhaps, of St.Petersburg, those spoken of in this book have all thecharm that comes because they were built by country-lovingfolk, to whom deep woods and open fields werelovelier than monumental streets and squares.

I shall not have written in vain if the perusal of thissmall book leads any one to study larger works on theNorthlands, and particularly the matchless sagas,many of them so skilfully Englished by the jointlabour of an Englishman and an Icelander, WilliamMorris and Eirîkr Magnússon. In them we may readof all these ten towns, save that Copenhagen and[6]St. Petersburg have risen in Saga Lands after thesagas were penned.

After accuracy I have striven hard, but if anyreader should detect any error I should be grateful tohave it pointed out for correction in a later edition.

I. C. H.

Fernroyd,

Forest Row.