divided formerly the Dukedom of Holstein from the Kingdom of Denmark BEfore the invention of Guns and other terrible Engines of war now used by all the Europeans and the greatest part of the known world the only fortifications and ramparts were strong walls and ditches which the ancients fancied as indeed they were sufficient to defend them from the arrows and battle-axes the only weapons then in use of their barbarous neighbours Hence it was that the Chinois thought their Empire secured from the incursions of their bloody neighbours the Tartars when their famous King Tzinzow had hedged them in with a wall of some hundreds of miles in length Thus the best expedient the Romans could find of putting the borders of their Brittish dominions in a posture of defence against the daily revolt of the Natives whom they had driven into Scotland was the building of Picts Wall and Severus's rampire which reach'd from Sea to Sea For the same reasons the Kings of Denmark having their Territories continually infested by the daily inroads of the Germans thought it highly requisite to block up their passage by walling up that neck of Land which lies between Hollingsted and Gottorp It is hard to determine from the account given by Historians when this work was first begun Paulus Aemilius a curious French Historian says Gothofred King of Denmark whom the Danish writers call Gothric was the first that made use of this stratagem to exclude the Armies of the Emperor Charles the Great about the year 808. The same story is told us by Aimoinus and Christianus Cilicius But Saxo Grammaticus Crantzius and the whole Class of the Northern Historians tell us unanimously That Queen Thyra daughter of Ethelred King of England and wife to Gormo Gamle King of Denmark was the Authoress of this fortification and that thence she had the surname of Danebode i.e. the Mistress builder of the Danish Nation bestowed on her I can scarce allow the latter part of the story to to be truth since we find that this surname was given her long before she had done any thing either towards the building or repairing of the Danewirk as they call'd this Fort. For upon a monument erected by King Gormo Gamle in honour of his Queen Thyra we find the following Inscription Gurmr Kunugr gerdi kubl dusi eft Turui Kunu sina Tanmarkur-bat i.e. Gormo the King erected this Tomb for Thyra his Queen Danebode or repairer of the Kingdom of Denmark This inscription cannot be an Epitaph writ after Queen Thyra's death seeing all the Danish writers assert positively that she outliv'd her husband Gormo many years and after his death took the Danewirk in hand So that its more then probable the surname of Danebode was given her for the many good offices she had done the Nation in repairing several old decayed Castles and Forts and building a great many new ones King Eric the Eighth in his Danish Chronicle says Thyra built the Fort of wood Which Witfield understands of the fencing the rampire with Stakes as bulwarks are guarded in our modern fortifications Others make Harald Blaatand Queen Thyra's son the first Author of this work after he had driven the Emperor Otho out of Jutland Which Erasmus Laetus the Danish Virgil alludes to when speaking of this King Harald he says Hic ille est solido primns qui Cimbrica vallo Munijt arva solique ingens e corpore dorsum Eruit immani quod se curvamine longos Incitat in tractus mediumque perambulat Isthmum Et maris Eoi ripas cum littore jungit Hesperio ac tenuem Sleswici respicit urbem King Eric decides this controversy by telling us That Thyra built a wooden fortification and afterwards advised her son to strengthen the work by Trenches and Rampires of earth Notwithstanding all these relations of other Historians both Pontanus and Wormius agree that 't is most likely the rude draught of this Fort was first drawn by King Gothric and only repair'd and improv'd by Queen Thyra King Harald and other succeeding Princes Waldemar the first built a wall of brick seven foot broad and eighteen high to strengthen it After so many improvements the fort was reckon'd impregnable For soon after King Waldemar's reparation when Henry Duke of Saxony surnamed the Lion intended to have endeavoured a breach through this fort into the King of Denmark's dominions he was disswaded from the enterprise by his chief Counsellor Bernhard Razburg who represented the undertaking as a thing impossible to be effected assuring him Danewirkae custodium Danorum sexaginta millibus mandatum esse i.e. That Danewirk was defended by a Garrison of sixty thousand Danes Hence King Sueno finding himself unable to force his way through so strong and so well man'd a Rampire endeavour'd to work his passage by corrupting the Keeper of Wiglesdor the only Gate leading through this wall into Jutland At this day there remain but sleight marks of so great a work At Schubuge and Hesbuge two small Villages upon the ruins of the wall the Inhabitants find reliques of old furnaces and brick-kilns whence the Danish Antiquaries conclude that King Waldemar had his bricks burn'd here tho he was forced to fetch mortar as far as Gothland Joh. Cypraeus tells us at Dennenwirch an inconsiderable Village in these parts may still be seen the ruins of an old Castle where Queen Thyra lodged The same Author says Wiglesdor was antiently called Kaelgate because placed in an open and plain part of the Country where the Enemy could have no shelter nor be in any probability of suprizing the Defendants HOLSTEIN ANtiently the whole Territories of the Dukedom of Holstein contained at present in the Provinces of Holstein properly so called Ditmarss Wagerland and Stormar went under the general name of Nortablingia or the country beyond the Elb Northwards Adam Bremensis and Helmoldus are the first that mention Holsatia which the former derives from Holts-geseten i.e. seated in a wood or forrest DUCATUS HOLSATIAE DESCRIPTIO NOVISSIMA Excudebant Janssâ—â—io-Waesbergii et Moses Pitt The fruitfulness of the soil convenience of trading in the Baltic and Brittish seas and industry of the Inhabitants render Holstein the richest Country in the King of Denmarks dominions and make the incomes of some of the Nobility exceed the treasure of many Princes in Germany The chief Cities and great Towns in Holstein are 1. Kyel Chilonium seated on the Baltic shore in a corner of land shut in betwixt the mouths of two rivers Whence some have fetcht its name from the German word Kiel which signifies a wedge It is furnished with a large and commodious haven which is continually throng'd with Merchant-Ships from Germany Liefland Sweden and all the Isles on the Baltic Sea There is yearly in this Town a meeting of the greatest part of the Nobility of Holstein who come hither to consult about the affairs of the Dukedom especially the concerns of the mint and value of money The Castle which is seated on the
that they could not endure their clothes but wrought in their shirts The south part of Hudsons Bay he call'd Mare Novum that part towards Groneland Mare Christianum He arriv'd in 63 deg 20 min. where he winter'd and call'd it Muncks Winter-harbour and the country New Denmark it seems to be near Diggs Island In that long winter he there endured little of note happen'd but that in April it rained and then came thither vast quantities of fowls of divers sorts to breed in those quiet undisturbed places Of all his company which was forty-six in one Ship and sixteen in the Pinnace scarce so many were left alive as were able to bring the Pinnace thorow very horrid dangers to their own country In 1636 The Gronelandish Society at Copenhagen sent two Ships which arrived at Fretum Davis near to which the Pilot found a black sand which he conceived to contain considerable quantity of Gold wherewith he freighted his Ship neglecting further discovery Returning to Denmark and his Sand after examination being found to contain no Gold at all he was so severely blamed by the President of the Society and so ashamed to be mistaken that he dyed with grief And since that nothing more known of any adventures that way from Denmark If any one desire to know what became of the eight Gronelanders Gronelanders 〈◊〉 Denmark brought at several times into Denmark the account is this The King commanded great care should be taken of them appointed certain persons to attend them to give them liberty enough so as they prevented their escape No necessary or convenience was wanting their food such as they could eat milk butter cheese flesh and fish but raw They could eat no bread nor boil'd meat but nothing so much abhorr'd by them as wine or brandy Their pleasantest beuvrage was train-oyl But whatever was done to or for them could never take away that melancholy and chagrin which they continually lived in for the want of their beloved country They could never be brought to learn much of the Danish language or to apprehend any thing of Christian Religion Three of them were sent back towards their own country 1606 the most towardly and hopeful who might serve for interpreters and brokers to the Danes but two of them Oxo and Omeg died in the Ship and the third because the Danes durst not land or trade by reason of the great numbers of natives that appear'd in arms on the coast ready to revenge them that had been before carried away was brought back into Denmark to his former treatment An Ambassador arriving there from Spain the King was pleased to shew him those Savages and their dexterity in rowing which was by all the spectators admired The Ambassador sending them money one of them had the courage to buy him clothes after the Danish fashion got a feather in his cap boots and spurs and all things ala cavaliere he came also to the King and desired to serve him but this fervor was quickly decay'd and the poor man returned to his sadness and complaints Some of them endeavoured to get to Sea in their little boats but being retrieved dyed of melancholy Two lived divers years at Koldingen in Jutland where they were employed in diving for Pearl-Muscles in which their skill and dexterity was such that every one that saw them believed they had practised the same employment in their own country Such success they had that the Governor promised himself great profit thereby and that in a short time he should sell Pearls by the quart if they continued But his covetousness destroyed his gain for not content with what they fished in summer he also compelled them under the ice in winter time where one of them fell into such a disease from the cold so contracted that he dyed After whose death the other never enjoyed himself but finding an opportunity he got his little Boat and before he was overtaken got to the main Sea But being brought back they represented to him the impossibility of his ever getting home to Groneland but he sleighted their advice and told them that he intended to go northward so far and when he was there the stars would direct him into his own country The country is mostly all high-land and mountains cover'd with snow all the year The Soil c. but the southern parts more than the northern They have very little or no wood growing there except some few bushes and not many plants or herbs consequently not many beasts there nourished but their chief subsistence is upon fishing There are divers mountains which promise rich mines of mettal and some have been found to contain it actually others only to make a shew The inhabitants know neither sowing nor planting tho the soil seem'd to be fertil and pleasant especially between the mountains The northern parts by reason of the terrible ice and cold are wholly undiscovered the southern consist of many Islands different in shapes and bigness which seems to be the reason that in these Seas are many and various strong currents and as Ivor Boty saith very many dangerous whirlpools towards the west and north none of which however have been found by our Mariners The country seems much subject to earthquakes else very healthful only it was observed that those who went thither infected with any Venereal disease grew worse immediately and could not there be cured Which they attributed to the purity of the air perhaps they might have done it more rationally to the cold Ivor Boty speaks much also of their great numbers of Cows and Sheep Beasts but our men found no beasts there but Bears Foxes very many of which are black Rain-Deer and Dogs whereof are two sorts a bigger which they use to draw their Sleds and a lesser which they feed for their tables Our men observed this peculiarity both in their Foxes and Dogs that their pizzles were of bone Tho it is very likely that there are the same sorts which are in Lapland and Samoieda but our men have not searched any more than the shoars both because of their short stay and the treachery of the inhabitants Of Fishes there is great both plenty and variety Whales Fishes Seals Dog-fish but in these are caught the greatest quantity of Sea-Vnicorns whose horns are so much esteemed and kept as rarities in the Cabinets of Princes The natives here are so well stored with it that they have sufficient both for truck and their own use They make of them besides other utensils swords and heads for their darts and arrows which they work and grind with stones till they make them as sharp-piercing as ours This horn grows in the snout of the fish and is his weapon wherewith he fears not to fight the Whale and to assault and sometimes endanger a Ship The fish it self is as large as an Ox very strong swift and hard to be caught except left on the shore by the tide or entangled
Britannicum or Brittish Sea Mare Germanicum or German Sea c. and are therefore to be look'd upon by us as belonging to those Countries whence they derive their names We defer to speak of the Rives that are comprehended in one Country Rivers till we come to treat of that Country The most noted which run thro divers Countries are these First the Danubius or Danow which arising in the Alps runs thro Germany Hungary by Transylvania and Walachia into the Euxine Sea Next the Rhine which arising also in the Alps not far from the head of the Danow runs along by Germany and the Low Countries into the Brittish Ocean The next is Boristhenes or Nieper which has its rise in the Confines of Muscovy and runs thro Litvania Volinia c. into the Euxine Sea And lastly Don or Tanais arising likewise in Muscovy and running thro the lesser Tartary and other adjoining Countries falls into Palus Meotis We omit to speak of the Volga till we come to Asia to which it more properly belongs The dispositions of the Inhabitants cannot be easily reduc'd to one general character Dispositions varying according to the Religions the Governments the customary employments and the divers temperature of the air and soil in which they live The Arts peculiar to Arts. and most practis'd in Europe and there invented may be reckon'd Printing Painting Statuary divers particulars in the Art of War and Navigation and most especially in the learned and scholastic Sciences in which the Europeans have advanced to a much greater perfection than either the Asiatics or the Africans NOVISSIMA RUSSIAE TABULA Authore Isaaco Massa. Doctrina et humanitate praedito D. Isaaco Bernart rerum quae per Moscoviam maxime trahuntur mercatorâ—… peritissimo hanc Moscoviae tabula dedicat affinis finis Hen. Honâ—ius Wirst 〈…〉 〈◊〉 Germanica quorum 〈…〉 RVSSIAE vulgo MOSCOVIA dictae Partes Septentrionalis et Orientalis Auctore Isaaco Massa MUSCOVY OR RUSSIA MEsech or Mosoc 〈…〉 the son of Japhet is generally supposed to have peopled this Country the chief reason I conceive to be the similitude of the name We find also in Strabo frequent mention of the Moschi tho it be uncertain from him where their Country was Mela placeth them near the Caspian Sea Pliny near Iberia which is now called Georgia Lucan and since him Sidonius near the Sarmatae and it seems that Sarmatia was a name better known than Russia So that the Moschi seem to be some of those many Nations at this time under and that toward the south of the Muscovitish Empire But the Annals of the Country acknowledg no other name they had anciently then Russes tho some modern Latin-writers call them Roxalano's quasi Russo-Alanos but more Ruthenos and their Nation Rossia which signifies dispersion or scattering because they tho very great and populous yet lived dispersed without certain government in continual quarrels and dissentions one with another till Genareta Daniel or Ivan his son surnamed Caleta or Scrip because he always carried such an one at his girdle with money to relieve such as were in necessity gather'd and bound them together in one government and body And for their better union built amongst and almost in the middle of them the City Mosco upon a River of that name making it thenceforward the Metropolis of the Empire from whence they begun to be call'd Muscovites and by little and little have advanced themselves into a very great and famous Nation It is true 〈…〉 that the name of Russes was anciently further extended than now it ordinarily is for the Russes were said to inhabit from the Weisel to Volga and from the Black Sea to the Northern Ocean And even yet the Polonians call a part of the Kingdom of Poland Red Russia part also of the dominions belonging to Lithvania Black Russia and that under the Grand Tzaar White Russia as they say because that people ordinarily woar white garments but more universally white caps upon their heads Of these alone in this place we are to treat The dominion of the Grand Tzaar lies between 46 and 66 deg of Latitude that is from Astracan to Fretum Waygatz tho part of his Empire lies some more South and some more North which allowing 60 miles to a degree comes to 1260 English miles And in Longitude from Boristhenes about 55 deg to the Volga 80 deg after the same rate about 1500 of the same miles according to our best and newest Maps The borders toward the North are the Frozen Sea and some part of Lapland on the South are the Crimand Precop-Tartars on the East we may account the Volga and the Ob to be his borders and on the west the dominions of the King of Poland Sueden and some part of Lapland Tho these are not exactly set down yet they may serve for a general direction more preciseness must be expected in the description of the several parts But from this general notion every one perceives that there must necessarily be a vast difference as between the length of days some being not sixteen hours others six months long so to heat and cold betwixt the several parts of this countrey and consequently as great variety of seasons soils fruits and productions of the Earth likewise also of habits customs diet and even of the very dispositions and manners as well as the figures of the inhabitants upon which heat and cold have no small influence So that we shall omit these general descriptions and reserve what we find concerning the particulars to their proper places And of the Government and Empire in general it will be best treated of when we come to the Seat or Metropolitical City of the Empire Mean while we shall proceed to speak of the several Provinces as they lye in order beginning at the North-East part But we must bespeak the Readers first not to expect any exact description of the bounds and limits of each Province for besides that no Author hath so narrowly look'd into those things it should seem that the Emperor observes not always the same Commissions but enlarges or diminishes his Governments as himself pleaseth But for the same reason neither have we an exact enumeration of the Provinces some reckoning more some fewer Those who number them according to the titles of the Grand Tzaar cannot find their count for those places mentioned in his title are some of them small places and inconsiderable some again contain more Provinces then one and some such Governments as are not at this time under the Grand Tzaar but as they subdued any dominion they united all the titles to their former But of this only by the by In this we shall follow the tract of ground proceeding from North-East to North-West and make use of the best information we can find And before we enter upon Russia we shall take notice of a certain people that take up a great share of these northern parts not as inhabitants
Norwegian and Muscovitic Laps to be of the same original and extract are said to have descended from the race of the Finlanders and Samoieds The Inhabitants and their Original as may probably be gather'd from the likeness of their customs language and manner of worship and also from the very name of Laplanders i. e. banish'd men or Runnagado's for they are said to have been driven out of Finland once by the Tartars when they extended their dominions as far as the Lake Ladoga and afterwards by the Swedes And because such deserting of their Country was thought a disgrace to the whole Nation none of the Laplanders of any quality to this day will endure to be called by that name but give themselves some other compellation as Sabmienladti Sameednan c. And this opinion that they took their original from the Finlanders or rather were always of the same Nation with them seems to be confirm'd by those descriptions ancient Geographers give of Finland and the Finlandish people agreeing exactly to the modern Lapland and its inhabitants Saxo says that the Finlanders are the farthest people toward the North living in a Clime almost unhabitable good archers and hunters wanderers and of an uncertain habitation wheresoever they kill a beast making that their mansion and they slide upon the snow in broad wooden shoes all which holds true of the Laplanders as also do those descriptions of Finland set down by Tacitus and Jo. Magnus Besides all this the Norwegians and Danes call the Laplanders Finni or Finlanders in general and divide the whole Nation into Sioefinnar i. e. maritime Finlanders and Lappesinnar the same with the Laplanders The Russes also call them Kajienski as coming from Cajania a Province in Finland And as we may hence probably conclude the Laplanders at first to have come out of Finland so we may believe that the Finlanders more then once march'd out into Lapland which is evident from the several names of their Leaders whom some call Thinns-Rogre others Mieschogiesche The first and most ancient transmigration was that of the Biarmi whom some miscall Seridfinni so called from their going to dwell upon the mountains Varama signifying in their language a hilly country Which people was by Harald Harfager King of Norway almost all destroyed in battel and the Nation so scatter'd that for ever after both the name and credit of the Biarmi was quite abolished and forgot The second time of their deserting their Countrey was when the Russians enlarged their Empire as far as the Lake Ladoga which was about the sixth age after Christ For fearing the cruelty of these people they retired into Lapland and were called by the Russians Kajienski for the reason aforesaid To confirm what has been said give me leave to insert here a Testimony greater then all exceptions that is of the worthiest of all Princes Aelfred the Great who having himself represented Orosius or an antient Geographer and Historian in his own Saxon Language so as to add supplies where he is defective gives an account of these Northern Shores out of the Relation of a Norwegian Nobleman imployed by himself for the discovery of these Countreys The Testimony being more authentick then any one that hath written upon this subject so long ago we shall here set it down almost verbatim Otherus said to his Lord Aelfred that himself lived in the very Northerlyest part of Norway in the Country called Halgoland that Northwards of this Countrey was desert except some few places wherein a few Finns lived in Winter upon hunting and in Summer upon fishing that having sail'd Northward and Easterly with a good gale for seven days he arrived at a great River on the right hand whereof was the Country of the Ferfinni which was thinly inhabited by a few Fowlers Fishers and Hunters on the other side were the Biarmi a populous Nation so that he durst not land amongst them that they discours'd with him many things concerning their Countrey whether true or false he knew not but supposed that they speak the same language with the Finni That near this Countrey was the great fishing for Whales and Sea-horses which we call Morses whose teeth were then accounted of great value But there seems to have been another more general migration of these Finns into Lapland about the year 1150 and till this time we never find them called Lappi or Loppi and the occasion of this name seems to be about that time Ericus Sanctus King of Sweden subdu'd the Finlanders and brought them under the Swedish Government and also planted amongst them the Christian Religion whereupon they being subjected to Strangers and forc'd to be of a Religion different from that of their Ancestors many of them retired from their own Country and sought out a place where they might live more free and according to their own manner and those that stayed and submitted to the Swedes and embraced Christianity looked upon the departers as deserters of their Countrey whom fear of a good Government and better Religion had made Exiles especially when the King had put forth an Edict that all should be accounted banish'd that would not renounce Pagan superstition Being thus forc't out of their Native Countrey Their 〈◊〉 mannâ—â— of liviâ—â— at firâ— they liv'd for an age or more upon the Bothnic Coasts and in the Woods of Tavastia as a stragling and miserable people neither having Laws nor Governours till the year 1272 at which time they were made tributary to the Crown of Sweden under Magn. Ladulaos then King who to bring them under his subjection promised any one that could effect it the Government of them which the Birkarli i. e. those that lived in the allotment or division of Birkala undertook and having for a great while cunningly insinuated themselves into their conversation under a pretence of friendship at last set upon them unawares and quite subdued them and for their pains according to Ladulaos's promise they alone had the priviledge to traffique with them and receive Tribute from them which they constantly did till about Ann. 1554 when they were entirely united to the Crown of Sweden and in 1600 better discovered and more certainly known to the Swedes then formerly they had been and this was effected by the care of Charles the ninth then King who sent two famous Mathematicians M. Aron Forsius a Swedish professor and Hieron Birckholten a German with Instruments and all necessaries to make what discoveries they could of this Lapland This Countrey â—â—emâ—â— the 〈…〉 the 〈◊〉 lying under divers Climes has the Temperature of the Air and likewise the nature of the soyl very different In those parts that are most Northerly and within the Artick-circle the air is extream cold and the ground barren but without the Circle the heavens are somewhat more mild and benigne and the earth more liberal in her productions affording in those places near Bothnia some few sorts of Pot-herbs as Coleworts Rape-roots Parsnips
Iron-mines and indifferent good store of corn It has but one City in it call'd Gevalia commodiously situated upon the Bay of Bothnia half a days Journey from Kupferberg 2. Helsingia Helsingia which was anciently a general name for all the Northern Provinces from the North-sea to the River Vla and the Lake Vlatresk in the North of Cajania as appears from some records of a Parliament held at Telgis A. 1328 and a distinct Kingdom of it self govern'd by its own Kings till the time of Ingellus the second King of Vpsal so were the Kings of Sweden anciently styl'd who at his Coronation invited the King of Helsingia and several other Princes to the solemnity and after having made them drunk with strong liquors set fire on the Palace and so destroyed them all and seized their possessions which ever after were united to the Crown of Sweden The inhabitants of this Country had anciently a peculiar language of their own and also an Alphabet altogether distinct from the Runick as appears by several old monuments found amongst them They are recorded to have fought many famous battels with their neighbours of Finland Carelia and Cajania and after having driven some of their Enemies as far as the Sund in memory of their conquest and to eternize their name to have built the City Helsingburg From them are said to have come the Nylanders who border upon Carelia and use the same manner of speech to this day The Natives are generally very hospitable and courteous to strangers of a docile and ingenious disposition and above all things endeavouring to be neat and handsom within doors The whole Country of Helsingia is divided into four Provinces 1. Helsingia properly so call'd Helsingia heretofore known by the name of Sundhede which has in it three lesser divisions Alora thro which runs the river Liusna Sundhede in the midst whereof is the Lake Dil and Nordstigh not far from the wood Arskog The soil is indifferently fruitful for Corn but chiefly for Pasture the inhabitants mostly imploying themselves in feeding and managing their stock of Cattel Here is but one City in the whole Country call'd Hudingsvaldia remarkable for the great quantities of Corn Butter Hydes Pitch Rosin Masts of Ships and Deal-boards that are convey'd hence into other Countries 2. Medelpadia Medelpadia much of the same nature with Helsingia but only it is narrower and abounds more with woods and mountains in it are two rivers very full of fish Some say the Kings of Helsingia anciently resided here 3. Angermannia a fruitful and pleasant Angermannia yet in some places mountainous Country The soil is so good and certain that tho it bear Corn plentifully it needs not be manur'd above once in ten years It is divided in the middle into two parts the northern and southern by a great wood which runs all along from the ragged mountain Scula and thence takes its name water'd it is by only one river well stored with Salmon and other fish secur'd by one City nam'd Hernosandia yeilding the same commodities as Hudingsvaldia only it affords no Copper 4. Bothnia Bothnia not so full of mountains as Angermannia of a sandy and barren turf but well supplied with fish and other commodities It has in it several rivers of considerable bigness which empty themselves into the Bothnick-Bay Cities here are none but this defect is supplied by a frequency of Market-Towns which are almost as numerous as the Parishes The advantage of this Country is chiefly by the trade from the nearer parts of Lapland which is managed chiefly by the Birkarli and all comes to the Sea-side this way II. Sueonia or Sweden strictly so taken Sueonia which contains in it these five Provinces Vplandia Westmannia Dalecarlia Nericia and Sudermannia DALECARLIAE et WESTMANNIAE Nova et Accurata descriptio VIRO ILLVST mo D. no PETRO JULIO COYET Equite Aurato S. R. M. Sueciae Cosiliario Aulico Scretario Status et nunc ad Confoederatos Belgas extra ordinem Ablegato D. D. D. Joh. Janssonius VPLANDIA 2. 〈…〉 On the South or South-east of Dalecarlia lies West or Wester-mannia or Westmannerland bordering upon Vpland and Gestricia It is according to the several Dales or divisions that are in it divided into three parts viz. Oster Wester and Sun-Dalia The soil is very fruitful and the Mines very considerable affording Steel Iron Copper Lead and some veins of Sulphur in greater quantity then those of any other Province of the whole Country There is also a Silver Mine discover'd and made use of at Salberg The Cities here are three Arosia Arbogia and Koping the chief of these is Arosia or Westeras a Bishops seat where in the Cathedral Church are several great stones with Gothick inscriptions as there are likewise at Stregnesia In this City the agreement by which the State of the Kingdom was changed from an Elective to an Hereditary Monarchy was concluded ann 1540 in the time of Gustavus I. and thence call'd Pactum Arosiense The history was thus The Swedes not being able to endure the tyranny and oppression of Christiern II. then King both of Sweden and Denmark forsook their Allegiance to him and under the conduct of Prince Gustavus who had wonderfully escaped from his imprisonment in Denmark took up arms against him expell'd him their Country and at last gain'd their former liberty and priviledges whereupon to requite their General for this signal good he had done the publick they at the instance of one Canutus President of the Council and Johannes Gothus the Popes Legat ann 1523 unanimously elected him King and considering how much it might tend to the happiness of the Kingdom to have the Succession ascertain'd to his Issue they in the year 1540 wholly gave up their power of Electing their Kings for the future and by Oath and solemn Covenant setled the Crown upon him and his Heirs for ever which confidence of the people in their Prince was justified in the event for the new King was so far from abusing his Absolute power that in that very year he published many Laws for the benefit of the people 3. 〈◊〉 South of Westmannia lies Nericia a little but fruitful Province yeilding good store of Sulphur Allum and Vitriol Some Silver Mines there are but not labour'd Most of its inhabitants are Smiths who supply the whole Country especially those that work in the Mines with Iron instruments of all sorts Here is one City nam'd Orebrogia 4. 〈…〉 South or South-east of Nericia lies Sudermannia or Sudermanland having on the East the Baltick Sea Ostro-Gothia on the South and the Lake Meller on the North. It is famous for several Cities it contains the chief and most considerable of which is Nicopia the ancient seat of the Dukes of Sudermannia Here also is the place for building of Ships the workmen are good and materials cheap Next to this is Stregnesia a Bishops seat with Telga Torsilia and Trosa all commodious for
newe Werck built for the convenient harbouring of such Merchant-men as sail that way But the greatest Royalty the Citizens of Hamburg can pretend to without the limits of their own City is from the Custom-house at Tollenspicker not far from Winsen where all passengers pay a certain Toll for themselves and their carriages There are other places of less note that are equally subject to this City and Lubeck and pay an acknowledgment to both Corporations The moneys currant in Hamburg Money and the adjacent parts are the same as in the Empire those especially of the Emperor's coining and the Kingdom of Denmark Some small pieces are coin'd by the authority of the Burgo-masters and Radtsherrn of the City and the Coins of all trading Nations in Europe will pass here at a good value THE Dukedom and City OF BREMEN THE Dukedom of Bremen is bounded on the East with the Territories of the Duke of Lunenburg Bounds on the South with the Weser on the West with the German or British Ocean and on the North with the Elb. Which large plot of ground was anciently inhabited by the Cauci a valiant and warlike people and probably the ancestors of those who to this day inherit this part of Germany The whole Dukedom is subdivided into several lesser Provinces Division amongst which the chief is the Bishopric of Verhden on the borders of the Dukedom of Lunenburg The next in order and greatness is the Land of Bremen strictly so call'd containing a Circle of some miles round that large and famous City The third considerable Province is Wursterland on the Sea-coast from the Weser down to the mouth of the Elb. The inhabitants of this Province are reckon'd men of as good spirits and as brave Soldiers as any Subjects of the Empire whatever Their frequent rebellions under the Archbishops of Bremen first inur'd them to war and they have ever since delighted in following the Camp 'T is reported of them that in the height of their obstinacy for which they were often severely lash'd by many of the Archbishops they never built themselves any Cities or Forts of defence but relied wholly upon the strength and courage of their Companions which they fancied a sufficient bulwark against the sturdiest enemy that should dare to assault them And they have still this character given them That the Wursterlanders will fight and drink with the best men in Dutchland After these come the inhabitants of Hadelia or Hadeliria das landt Hadelen a proud and ignorant people so strangely enamour'd of gay-clothes that their neighbours alluding to this piece of vanity say proverbially of them There are no Pesants in Hadeland Some part of this Province upon the mouth of the Elb where stand the Forts of Ritzenbuttel and New-Werck was as we have said formerly in the hands of the Dukes of Saxon-Lawenburg and is now subject to the Citizens of Hamburg Another considerable portion of it in which is seated the Castle and Town of Atterndorff which commands the greatest part of the Province is still under the dominion of the said Dukes and no part of the Dukedom of Bremen to which no place of any consequence in Hadelland is subject except the Village and Castle of Nyen-huss on the mouth of the Oste Next after Hadel-land comes Kedingerland in which is seated the City of Stade and beyond that Alt-land or Old-land a pleasant and fruitful Country of about fourteen English miles in length He that shall travel the road betwixt Bremen and Stade Soil will be apt to have a very mean opinion of the whole Dukedom of Bremen meeting with nothing but barren Sands and Heaths a wast and uninhabited Country And yet elsewhere there is not any Country on the Northern parts of the German Empire fuller of pleasant Fields and Meadows fruitful Orchards and all other necessaries or delights Whence some witty Geographers have pleased themselves in fancying the Dukedom of Bremen to be mighty like a spred Cloak the two flaps of which containing the Countries along the banks of the Elb and Weser are lined with Velvet or Plush but the middle part which reaches from Vehrden up as far as the mouth of the Oste is nothing but course Canvas or Buckram Before the Westphalian Treaty in the year 1648 Bishops and Archbishops this Tract of Land went under the name of an Archbishopric and all the Princes under whose subjection it was were stiled Archbishops of Bremen Of whom with their three Bishops the account we have left us is in short as follows 1. Wilhad or as some of the German Historians call him Willibald an English Priest was at the request of Charles the Great sent over into Germany by Egbert Archbishop of York about the year 788 where he was employ'd in converting the Infidels of that Country to Christianity and for his meritorious performances at last advanc'd to the Bishopric of Bremen After he had spent several years in a vigilant execution of his Office he died in the year 790 and was buried in the Cathedral at Bremen where to this day they pretend to shew his Tomb. 2. Willeric another English man is said to have succeeded Wilhad tho many of their ancient Chronologers do not mention any such Bishop And indeed the whole account we have of him is only That having for some unknown time some upon what grounds I know not say till the year 840 enjoy'd this Jurisdiction he left his See to 3. Luderic a German The old Saxon Chronicle calls him Lenderic and tells us that for his intolerable pride and arrogance he was deposed by the Emperor Ludowic the Godly Charles the Great 's Son who chang'd the Bishopric of Bremen into an Archbishopric by setting up into this man's place 4. Ansgar of whom we have said something before the first Archbishop of Bremen and Hamburg who was remov'd to Bremen upon the sacking of Hamburg by the Vandals in the year 850 from which time till his death in the year 865 he kept both the Titles The Archbishop of Colen stoutly oppos'd this union alledging that the Bishops of Bremen had always been Suffragans to his See and that therefore 't was an encroachment upon his Jurisdiction to convert that place into an Archbishopric But the Emperor took no notice of these murmurings proceeding to confirm this newly conferr'd dignity to Ansgar and his Successors ordering as by his Diploma still extant does appear that within the Province of the Archbishop of Bremen and Hamburg should be reckon'd all the Bishops in Denmark Sweden Norway Groneland Halsingland Island and the rest of the Northern Countries 5. Rembert St. Ansgar's Scholar and adopted Son was immediately upon his predecessor's death advanc'd to the Archbishop's Seat which he kept tweny-three years and died in the year 888. Wilhad Ansgar and this Rembert are reckon'd the three great Apostles of the Saxons many of which Nation have taken the pains to write their lives But the stories they
of Ocean near Damgarten and emptying it self into the Baltic at Dars 2. The Barte which springs near Stralsund spreads into the sea at Bardt a City borrowing its name from this River and soon after is lost in the Baltic 3. The famous Oder which as soon as it hath pass'd Gartz and Grieffenhagen and is come into Pomeren divides it self into several branches or Arms embracing therein many large and fair Meadows whereof some are above two English miles in breadth After it has pass'd by Stetin it dilates it self first into the Dammish Sea or Lake then into the Damantzke and Pfaffenwasser as the Natives call it and at last having passed betwixt Zegenorth and Schwantevitz spreads it self into a vast fresh-water Ocean known to the Neighbourhood by the name of Das grosse Frische Haff extending it self above sixteen English miles in breadth and as many in length This huge Lake afterwards disembogues it self into the Baltic Sea in three Currents which make as many safe harbours the Divenow Swyne and Penemunde for Ships that pass this way to Stetin Betwixt the Peene and Swyne ly the Island of Vsedom and the Liberties of the City of Wollin lye enclosed by the Swyne and Divenow Besides these and an innumerable Company of other Rivers which are lost in the Baltic Sea on the Coasts of Pomeren this Dukedom affords a vast number of standing Lakes as at New Stetin Lukow Sukow Verschem Dersenten Penckun with many others From what has been said the Reader will easily conclude Fish that the Dukedom of Pomeren is in all probability a Countrey as rich in all sorts of fish as any Principality of an equal extent in Europe but yet the strange Stories which some of their Historians relate of the extravagant plenty in this kind will a little stagger his faith They tell us That within the compass of one year above five thousand Rixdollars which allowing four Shillings and six Pence English for each Rixdollar will I am afraid amount to a greater sum then the whole yearly revenue which the Elector of Brandenburg has out of Pomeren was brought into the Duke of Pomeren's Treasury out of a six penny Custom demanded upon all fish caught in the Great Haff below Stetin and a three penny one upon those taken in the Lake at Lassan They add That although yearly out of the Lakes last mentioned above thirty thousand Rixdollars worth of fish be taken and vended yet there is never found any sensible decay of their stock The most usual sorts of Fish taken in the Haff are Salmon and Lampreys of both which kinds are sometimes caught Fishes of an incredible bulk and weight In the spring the Inhabitants of Gripswald Bardt Rugen and Wollin drive a good Herring-Trade but in other parts of Pomeren this sort of fish is never or rarely caught In the Lake Madduje near Colbatz the fishermen catch a large and broad Fish call'd in their language Musenen which like Charrs in some Lakes in the North of England is peculiar to this water and not to be met with in any other Province of the German Empire The Soil of the Country is in most places exceeding sandy and barren Nature of the Soil insomuch that sometimes the little crops which the inhabitants have sown in the fields near Damme Golnow Vckermund and several other parts of the Dukedom are suddenly overwhelm'd and stifled by huge drifts of Sand from the shore Howbeit you may here and there meet with a fruitful field especially near the City Pyritz which is seated in a rich Valley which supplies the wants of the neighbourhood so plentifully that seldom any Corn is brought into Pomeren out of foreign Nations but on the contrary great quantities in some fruitful years are exported thence They have very few Mountains of any considerable height but a vast number of large Woods and Forests well stock'd with all manner of Game as Deer wild Boars Hares Foxes Wolves wild Horses Bulls and Bevers Besides the Lakes and Forests furnish the inhabitants with all sorts of Water and Land-Fowl the former of which are so numerous that they pretend to reckon up no less then twenty-two different kinds of wild Ducks Besides the conveniencies and pleasures already mention'd Commodities the inhabitants are provided for almost with all other necessaries within the compass of their own Territories that Nature requires and the Ships of Stetin Stralsund and other Towns of Trade bring in the delicacies of foreign Nations to satisfie the demands of Luxury No Province in Germany affords greater quanties nor more different sorts of Fruit then Pomeren The inhabitants of Pomeren do not at all apply themselves to the planting of Vineyards Beer and if they should their Wine would prove but very mean and contemptible such as the Marquisate of Brandenburg affords of which hereafter However this want is sufficiently supplied by those vast numbers of Merchant-Ships which come hither laden with the Wines of other Countries Besides should the inhabitants which can now hardly be hoped for grow so temperate as to put a stop to the importing the luxurious Liquors of foreign Countries and content themselves with the drinks of their own Land they would quickly experience as many of their neighbours have done the delicacies of the many sorts of Beer in Pomeren Such are the bitter Beer of Stetin the Mum of Gripswald the Buckhenger as they term it we may English it Knock-down of Wollin with many others which are by the Mariners transported into other Nations and therefore look'd upon as questionless they are preferable to most Wines They have no kind of Mettals in any of their Mountains Minerals except only some few Mines of Iron in the Upper Pomeren In some places the Sea casts up Amber but not in such quantities as in Prussia So that here any man has the privilege of picking up and selling as much Amber as he can find which the Nobility and Magistracy in Preussen will by no means permit NOVA ILLVSTRISSIMI DVCATVS POMERANIAE TABVLA antea à Viro Cl. D. D. Eilhardo Lubino edita nunc iterum correcta per Frid. Palbitzke Pomer L. L. Studiosum Sumptibus Janssonio-Waesbergiorum Mosis Pitt et Stephani Swart BVGISLAVS IVNIOR XIV POMERANIAE DVX Notarum explicatio Urbes Urbes cum arcibus Ducalibus Pagi◠Tho the ancient inhabitants of Pomeren the Rugii 〈◊〉 Reudigni Longididuni c. were for many Centuries govern'd by Princes of their own yet the ignorance of the times wherein they liv'd has left us in the dark as to any satisfactory register of their names and actions The first Prince of Pomeren whom we meet with upon good record is Barnimus one of the ancient and noble Family of the Gryphones often mention'd in their Annals and so call'd probably from the Gryphin their Arms to this day who is said to have govern'd in the year 933. His Grandson Suantiberus divided his principality betwixt his two Sons Bugislaus and
but the Elector's Palace which would be fit enough to entertain a Prince if it stood at Dresden or any such pleasant part of Misnia V. MERSEBURG Formerly a Bishop's See 〈◊〉 but now usually assign'd as a portion to some of the Elector's younger Brother 's and upon that account enjoy'd by Duke Christian youngest Brother to the late Elector of Saxony Some Antiquaries affirm that in this place stood formerly the famous Saxon Idol Irmensewl of which the Reader has already had an account which they take to be the same with Mars among the Romans and thence conclude the true etymology of the word to be Marsburg or the City of the God Mars The Town at present consists of a great number of old fashion'd and ruinous houses amongst which there is hardly any thing worth the taking notice of save the Cathedral Near this Church they have a Library wherein are a great company of venerable Manuscripts but very ill kept Amongst which I took notice of the Books of Sammuel and the Kings in Latin written in a fair and ancient Anglo-Saxonic character Torgau falsly plac'd by Mercator in the Upper Saxony Ilenburg Naumburg with some others are Towns of some note and traffick but not by much so considerable as those already described LUSATIA SUPERIOR Auth. Bartholomeo Sculteto Gorlitio Apud Janssonio-Waesbergios Mosem Pitt et Stephanum Swart Vrbs Oppidum munitum Oppidum Arx Monasterium Pagus cum Templo Pagus Mons notabilis Officina ferri THE MARQUISATE OF LUSATIA LVSATIA or Laussnitz as the Germanes call it is bounded on the South with the Kingdom of Bohemia on the West with Misnia and Saxony on the North with the Marquisate of Brandenburg and on the East with the Lower Silesia Not many years since this Province was part of the Kingdom of Bohemia and is usually describ'd as such by most Geographers But when in the year 1620 the Lusatians had joined themselves in an open Rebellion with other confederate Traytors of that Kingdom the Emperor issued out his Commission to John George Elector of Saxony to quell these Revolters and reduce them if possible to their ancient obedience This he did effectually and for his reward and encouragement to proceed in these good services had the whole Province pawn'd to him till further satisfaction should be made At last by the Treaty of Prague in the year 1635 the Emperor setled this Marquisate upon the Elector and his Heirs for ever in which State excepting only some few places in the Lower Lusatia which are subject to the Elector of Brandenburg it continues to this day This great Marquisate is usually divided into the Upper and Lower Laussnitz the former whereof is sometimes by Geographers named Hexapolis because it has in it six Cities Lobau Budissin Camentz Gorlitz Lauben and Zittau all confederate In the Lower Lusatia the Cities subject to the Elector of Saxouy are Lubben on the Spree Guben Lucken and Calow The rest as Cotbus Peytze Sommerfeld with some others of less note pay homage to the Marquise of Brandenburg We cannot much commend this Country for its fruitfulness the greatest part of it being a dry sandy and barren soil and the rest made up of Fens and Bogs However the inhabitants make a hard shift to grow so much Corn as is sufficient for their own relief tho they never have so great plenty as to be able to export any of it into foreign Countries They have no want of Wood. Venison nor Fish nay they have such plenty of these Commodities as is sufficient had they the convenience of trafficking with other Nations to enrich the Country and bring in all the Rarities of other places The two chief Rivers of the Country are the Spree and Neiâ—â—e Rivers both of them exceedingly well stock'd with all manner of fresh fish The EElster too springs in this Marquisate but is a rivulet of no consequence 'till it has pass'd thorough some parts of the neighbouring Provinces It appears Inhabitants from the mixture of an abundance of Wendish words with the High Dutch spoken in these parts that the ancient inhabitants of Lusatia were a branch of the Slovâ—nian Nation Hence in the Villages and most barbarous places of the Marquisate especially in the Lower Lusatia you meet with a strange kind of unintelligible gibbrish tho the Citizens every where speak good Dutch Some of these people Geographers say have their original from the Ilingi Elysii or Lygii others from the Semnâ—nes a third sort from the Scrabi and a fourth from the Lusici or Lutitii But from what Nation or Kindred the Polanders named this Marquisate Ditivonia as Cromer Newgebawer and others tell cannot yet learn The modern Lusatians are thought to be men of as apprehensive and quick natural parts as any of their neighbours but exceedingly addicted to covetousness and penury Their Country breeds neither Horses nor Horsemen but if we believe Joh. Boter in the account he has given us of the Military power of all the great Princes and Potentates of the world they are able upon a very short warning to raise twenty-thousand hardy foot Soldiers who will endure a shock better then twice that number of delicate and well-bred Western Warriours They are in all Cases Civil and Criminal strict observers of the Saxon Laws to the harsh tenure of which they pay a better obedience then ever they were known to do formerly to any Statutes of the Kings of Bohemia The Chief Cities in LVSATIA BAUTZEN Bautzen or Budissina Seated on the River Spree and first built by a Bohemian Duke of this name about the year 800. In the year 1634 this City was so warmly besieged by the the Elector of Saxony's forces that the Emperor's Soldiers who kept the Town were forc'd to fire the Suburbs for fear of sheltering the Enemy This fire was unhappily driven over by a strong wind into the City and in a few hours laid it in ashes In this miserable condition having nothing standing but the walls and Castle it was soon after surrender'd by the Imperialists But not long after even the small remainders of this large Town were demolish'd by some of the Swedish Generals Since which time it has not been able to recover its glory but is still something inferior to II. Gorlitz GORLITZ Which City seated on the Western banks of the River Neisse is said to have been built and fortified by Boleslaus III. Duke of Poland who died in the year 1139. Others say 't was founded by Duke Sobieslaus about the year 1131. However all agree in this that after its first foundation 't was burnt down to the ground and that thence it got the name of Gorlitz which in the Slavonian language as well as Brandstat in the High Dutch a name given it by most Germans signifies a burnt City For Gorlitz is a corruption of Tzschorlitz the ancient name of this Town and that of Ischorelik There are at present several neat Churches in the Town
which they say happens frequently in the great and sandy Desarts But these are very few and I suppose as easily blown asunder as brought together However these deserve here no particular consideration This rising of the Earth in large Continents is doubtless very great tho none either have or will ever be at the trouble and charge to measure it yet some estimation may be made by the length and swiftness of Rivers It is commonly said that a Ship is not able to sail against that stream whose declivity is one pace in an hundred yet some declivity there must be and as they say seldom is it less then one in five hundred Suppose then the Nile which runs in the greatest Continent Africk which we know in the world it disembogues into the Mediterranean Sea in 31 deg of Northerly Latitude and ariseth out of the Lake Zaire which is in 10 deg or as some say 14 of Southerly Latitude in all 41 deg which comes to about 2460 miles English if running streight but because of its bendings it may be well estimated 3000 miles which allowing two foot to a mile comes to six thousand feet if it move with as slow a motion as can be but considering that it is a swift River the mud not setling till it come to the Sea and hath in it divers great Cataracts the Lake of Zaire must needs be much higher then the mouth of Nilus But the height of mountains is more certainly and easily known and divers of them have been measured as one of the highest hills betwixt Yorkshire and Lancashire Pendle-hill if I be not mis-informed was not found to exceed half a mile in perpendicular height Olympus somewhat above a mile and some others as El Pico in the Isle of Teneriffe yet higher But the certainty we know not The manner of measuring and calculating is thus which is much easier in such a mountain as Teneriff or Pendle-hill being one peak or top standing in a plain then in those Juga or ledges of mountains which run thro and divide most of the great Continents of the world whereof the highest may be still higher then the other Let b c d represent a mountain whose height a c is thus found Take two stations in a straight line from it the first at b not far from the foot the other at e a considerable distance from it from each of these stations take the angles at the top b c a e c a then out of 90 subduct b c a the remainder is the angle c b a which also being subducted from 90 the remainder is the angle c b e. Therefore in the triangle c b e we have one side e b viz. the distance of the two stations which must be exactly measured and all the angles for c e b is the complement of the other two to 180 then say As the sine of the angle e c b is to the side e b So is the sine of the angle c e b to b c. Having then in the rectangular triangle b c a one side b c and all the angles for a b c is the complement of b c a to 90 say then As the Radius is to the sine of b c a So is b c to c a the height By the Quadrat Divide 10000 by the number of parts cut at each station then say As the difference of the Quotients is to the distance betwixt the statitions So is 100 to the height This great Globe is not only divided into Land and Water Divisions of the Earth but many other ways in respect to them As some are Continents which are great parts of Land without any Sea Islands are small parts encompassed by water Peninsula or Chersonesus is a part of Land which would be called an Island were it not for an Isthmus or neck of land which joins it to the Continent A Mountain or Rock jutting out into the Sea is called a Promontory Cape or Headland Again the Ancients divided all they knew of the Earth into three parts Europe Asia and Africa of each of these in their several places but another Hemisphere having been lately discovered there is commonly added to these America as the fourth part Others also name two more the Lands under the North and South Poles which indeed were not comprehended in the former division yet because we know not whether there be Land or only Sea as under the North Pole seems to be it is not expedient to account them distinct parts till better discovered Our Mariners that went with design to pass under or near the North Pole in their search of a passage to China and arrived as far as 82 deg of Latitude found nothing but some few Islands the rest as they could see being in the midst of Summer nothing but Ice Some do imagine that the three parts of the habitable world received their division from the three Sons of Noah and C ham indeed obtained Africa but Japhet dwelt in the Tents or habitations of Shem tho in process of time his posterity seems to have peopled the greatest part of Europe The reason of the names we despair of knowing they having been forgotten even in Herodotus's time there is no hopes now of retrieving them See the discourse concerning the Map of Europe Lastly the parts of the Land before-mentioned The particular observations in the descriptions are very opportune for the separating and distinguishing Countries Nations and Governments The knowledge and consideration whereof is the chiefest and most useful design of this whole Work and all others of the like nature For it little conduceth to know places unless we be also informed of what is contained what actions performed and what concerns our selves may have in them In those therefore we shall consider the names situation bounds of each Country as also what Cities Havens Towns Forts likewise what Mountains Valleys Caves Fountains and other such remarkable and to us and our Country unusual things as nature it self hath formed To which shall be added the condition and quality of the soil and its productions in order to the discovering what in every place abounds and what therein may be communicated to other Countries or what may probably be carried to them in order to trade In every Nation also account shall be given of their original Language Manners Religion Employments c. that if any art or science useful to society be there eminent it may be transferred into our own Country Much more considerable are their Governments Civil and Military their Magistrates Laws Assemblies Courts Rewards and Punishments and such like Neither must we omit the manner of educating their youth in arts liberal and mechanick taught in their Schools Universities Monasteries Shops also and the like Their manner of providing for their poor of all sorts either in Hospitals or Workhouses Lastly it will be expected that we give an account of the History or actions and successes of each
Nation of their Princes remarkable actions c. And these heads take in the sum of what is endeavoured as the principal intention in this Work Of the Artificial Division of the Earth and what 〈◊〉 depends hereupon THE Supreme Celestial Sphere tho it has really no lines at all described upon it yet 〈◊〉 the benefit of our conceptions and expressiâ—â—â— is supposed to be divided into several parts 〈◊〉 imaginary Circles which Artists have given â—â—â—gs and names unto The Planes of these â—â—â—cles being continued down to the inferior â—â—â—s and Earth are conceived to divide them 〈◊〉 into the like parts The chiefest of these 〈◊〉 eight four great ones which divide the â—â—â—vens and Earth into two equal parts and â—â—nany lesser which divide them unequally The â—â—at ones are the Horizon Meridian Equator and 〈◊〉 Zodiac The two former of which are vaâ—â—â—le differing according to places the two â—â—â—er are fixt and the same in all places The â—â—â—â—r ones are the two Tropics one of Cancer 〈◊〉 other of Capricorn with the two Polar â—â—â—les one the Arctic or Northern the other the â—â—â—rctic or Southern These and all Circles 〈◊〉 divided into 360 parts or Degrees each of which Degrees is again subdivided into 60 Minutes these again into 60 Seconds c. The Horizon so call'd because it terminates our sight is that great Circle in the Heavens Horizon which divides the superior and visible from the inferior and invisible Hemisphere as in the Scheme hh The two points every way 90 Degrees distant from it are its Poles Z. N. The superior of which being exactly over our heads is our Zenith or Vertical point the inferior which is diametrically opposite to it our Nadir So that our Horizon varieth tho not sensibly every step that we move The Circles drawn from one of its Poles to the other and cutting it at right angles are Azimuths Those lesser ones parallel to it are Almicanters It is usually distinguish'd into Rational which exactly divides the Heavens into two equal parts because its center is the same with that of the Earth and Sensible which divides them unequally because its center is at our eye But the Earth having no sensible magnitude in respect of the superior Orbs the distinction in respect of them is useless and impertinent â—his Line intersecting the Horizon at right â—â—â—es is the foundation of its partition into 〈◊〉 oasts call'd the Points of the Compass from â—â—â—nce the Winds receive their denomination For 〈◊〉 Line extended between the two intersections 〈◊〉 the Meridian Line points North and South 〈◊〉 her intersecting it at right angles points East 〈◊〉 West which four are the Cardinal Winds 〈◊〉 distance betwixt each of these being equally â—â—â—ded gives four more each of these 8 being â—â—â—n divided gives 16 these again so divided 〈◊〉 which are distant from one another 11 deg â—â—â—min and thus named North. North and by East North North East North East by North North East North East and by East East North East East and by North South South and by West South South West South West by South South West South West and by West West South West West and by South East East and by South East South East South East and by East South East South East by South South South East South and by East West West and by North West North West North West by West North West North West by North North North West North and by West Some have subdivided each of these into two parts and reckon'd 64 but that division is generally rejected as being too nice for use The Line extended betwixt each of these and its opposite is that which Mariners call a Rumb described by the Ship following the direction of the Needle so that if it sail towards any of the Cardinal points it describes an are of a circle if towards any other a spiral line The Equator is a great Circle Equator drawn at an equal distance from both Poles of the World EE It is so called because when the Sun enters into it as it doth about the tenth of March and thirteenth of September it makes the days and nights equal in all places of the world The Zodiac is a great Circle Zodiac which cutteth the Equator obliquely into two equal parts EcE its greatest declination or distance from it is about 23 deg 30 min. 'T is so call'd from the 12 Signs that are in it Aries Taurus c. each of which contains 30 deg because that is the twelfth part of 360. The beginning of Aries and Libra are the Equinoctial points and the Meridian drawn thro them is the Equinoctial Colure PEP as that thro the beginning of Cancer and Capricorn is the Solstitial PcP The Tropic of Cancer is a lesser Circle Tropics described by that point of the Zodiac which is most distant from the Equator bcb In this the Sun moveth when it it has obtain'd its utmost Northern declination which is about June 11. The Tropic of Capricorn is that answerable to it on the other side of the Equator wherein the Sun moveth when it has attain'd to its utmost Southern declination dd which is about Dec. 12. The Arctic and Antarctic Circles Polar Circles are those little ones so far distant from the Poles of the World as the Tropics are from the Equator aa and ee because they are described by the Poles of the Zodiac which are distant from those of the World 23 deg 30 min. Besides these four we may imagine innumerable other little Circles parallel to the Equator such as in Globes and Maps are drawn every 10 deg for the more ready observation of the Latitude of places as in the Scheme 10 10 20 20 c. These 4 less Circles divide the Earth into 5 parts Zones which are call'd Zones But this partition was of more note amongst the Ancients then now it is tho it could never be of any considerable use for to describe the situation of a Country only by saying that it was in such or such a Zone is too wide a direction to find it out The two Frigid ones comprehended within the Polar Circles they thought unhabitable by reason of their extreme cold and darkness as also they did the Torrid one betwixt the Tropics by reason of its excevssie heat So that the two Temperate ones betwixt the Polar Circles and the Tropics are only left to be inhabited But these mistakes have long since by the improvement of Navigation and Merchandizing been discovered for even in the midst of the Torrid Zone under the Equator are now well known to lye Ethiopia Sumatra and many Islands as populous and fruitful as any in the Temperate ones Nor are they so much hotter then we as they are nearer the Sun because the length of their nights being always about twelve hours the frequency of their rain and the briskness and constancy of their wind
there no small fish as Cods c. and few great ones nor any bones of Whales Morsses or the like found upon the shore nor any drift wood 3. Because in 65 deg 30 min. the ice lay all in rands which he believes to be produc'd as in the shoal'd Bays For had there been any Ocean beyond it it would have been broken to pieces as they found it coming thro the Strait into the Sea Eastward 4. Because the ice seeks its way out to the Eastward driving out at Hudsons Straits But if there be any passage it is very narrow and the voyoge very long nor can any large Vessels fit to merchandise be able to endure the ice and other incommodities as the long nights cold snows frosts c. P. 24. col 2. l. 36. till Vasile Ivanowitz about the year 1509. P. 36. col 2. l. 63. as 5509 â— 1679. ibid. l. 66 7188-5509 P. 36. col 1. l. 41. Hungary About the year 1188 Bela was King of Hungary perhaps the original of the Imperial Family of the Russes the time corresponding very well P. 39. col 2. l. 1. del whose name seems to have been Zac. Litspenow l. 67. He died in the forty-ninth year of his age and two and thirtieth of his reign in the year 1677 and left his son Feodor Alexowich a young Prince of about ninteen years of age who reigns this present year 1680. In the Description of Sweden The times of the Kings supply thus the 6th began his reign A. M. 2014 the 25th the times of the rest being uncertain began A. M. 2637 the 26th A. M. 2712 the 27th A. M. 2831 the 31th the intermediate being also uncertain A. M. 3031 the 32th A. M. 3060 the 33th A. M. 3125 the 34th A. M. 3174 the 35th 3252 the 36th A. M. 3551 the 46th A. D. 3916 the 47th Ericus III. A. M. 3929 in whose time according to Loccenius whose computation we have here follow'd conceives our Saviour to have been born A MAP of the NORTH-POLE and the PARTS ADIONING OXON At the THEATER MDCLXXX NOVA ZEMBLA In the Philosophicll Transactions of a o 1674 n 101 there is set down a Description of a Nova Zembla as it was sent to the Royall Society from a Russia Merchant and discovered by order of the Grand Czaar but there being not joyned to it either Longitude Latitude or other measure we though it better to follow the two newest Maps one printed at Amsterdam a o 1678 the other at Nuremberg 1679 and to place this by itselfe which shews it not an Iland but joyned with the Continent at the letter K. K. To the Right honble Charles Fitz Charles Earle of Plymouth Viscount Totnes and Baron Dartmouth This Map is Humbly Dedicated by M Pitt Letter C. stands for Cape I. Iland M. Mount P. Point R. River S. Sound OXON … UNIV DOMINUS ILLVMINATIO MEA GREENLAND GREENLAND â—â—e Siâ—â—ation of Greenland call'd by the Dutch Spitsbergen because of its sharp-pointed Rocks and Mountains lies from 76 Degrees of Northerly Latitude to 82 but how much farther as also whether Island or Continent is not yet discover'd for as much as no man hitherto is known to have passed beyond that Our Mariners generally conceive it an Island the Dutch only say that they believe the Land to reach more North because the Ice they found was not broken and floating as in the Sea but firm and stable as continued to the shoar The South part of it looks towards the Promontories of Finland and Lapland North-Cape North-Kin c. The next Land on the West is the large Country of Groenland and Nova Zembla on the East but these at so vast a distance that they cannot be reckon'd as its confines or neighbours The Dutch attribute the first discovery of it to three of their own Pilots The Discovery of Greenland and have given most of the names to the Creeks and Promontories according to their own fancy Which diligence had our men used from time to time as also been careful to make Charts as our industrious Neighbours oblige their Shipmasters to do divers discoveries had been asserted to this Nation which are now almost disputed from us L. 4. c. 17. The Dutch gave names saith Purchas upon this very occasion to places long before discovered by the English as if themselves had been the finders I shall instance only in these discoveries which strangers as you may see in Hackluit attribute to us Vol. 1. â— 512 513 c. But the Dutch tho following our steps endeavour to assert them to three of their own Pilots ann 1596 who searching for a passage to the East-Indies light upon Greenland these were Jacob Heemskerck William Barents and John Cornelis Ryp what these men effected will be best known by their own Journal recorded by Purchas June 7 1696 they were in 74 Degrees the water as green as grass by the way it were worth enquiry whether this be not the cause of the blue Ice which is by every one noted as peculiar to these Coasts June 9 they were upon Cherry or Bear-Island in 74 Degrees and 13 Minutes the variation of the needle was 13 Degrees June 13 they departed thence North and by East 16 Dutch miles June 14 15 they continued their course 20 miles June 16 17 18 they continued 30 miles June 19 they saw land at 80 Degrees and 11 Minutes and sailed Southward upon the Western Coast till 79 deg 30 m. where they found a good road but could not land because of Ice June 20 they kill'd a mighty Bear whose skin was 13 foot long they found also a very good Haven and good anchorage on the East were two Islands on the West a great Creek or a River where they found many Geese sitting upon their Eggs of a perfect red colour such as come once a year into some parts of Holland as it should seem from this place This land they supposed to be Greenland the Compass varied 16 deg June 23 they weighed Anchor but were forced back with Ice 25 They weighed Anchor again and sailed Southward coasting till they entred into a River whence they got not to Sea again till the 27th 28 They kept on their course Southward where there were so many Fowls that they flew against their Sails and Masts 30 They were in 75 deg July 1 they saw Cherry or Bear-Island This is all that I can find concerning their voyage To this I shall oppose two voyages the first of Sir Hugh Willoughby 1553 the other of Steven Burrows 1556. The Dutch do not allow Sir Hugh Willoughby to have passed Seynam Blaeu's Maps which is in 70 deg and that also in 1571. Yet in their Maps they call a small Island by the name of Willoughby's Land of which our men know nothing except it be the same with Hope Island a part of Greenland as it is most likely for the land he discover'd was a large Country by the
West-side whereof he sailed some days together with a good wind and therefore could not be a small Island as they describe this which H. Hudson could not find when he sought for it see a discourse of this in Purchas's Pilgrim l. 3. c. 1 15. We have nothing of this voyage but those imperfect or short notes which were found lying upon his table after his death wherein it is contain'd that they parted from Seynam Aug. 2. Aug. 14 they were 160 leagues North and Easterly from Seynam they continued sailing till Sept. 14 when they landed on a country high rocky and uninhabited from whence the cold and Ice forced them to return more South which they did till they reach'd Arzina a River in Lapland where the next Spring they were all found frozen to death in their Ship A few years after this about 1556 we read of Steven Burrows who searching a passage by the North-East unto the Indies arrived in 112 deg 25 min. of Longitude and 76 of Latitude and so sailed to 80 deg 11 min. and thence to Nova Zembla Now this cannot be any known place but Greenland which is also confirm'd because the Land was desolate the Ice of a blew colour and great store of Fowls All signs of Greenland But from this time began a great and familiar trade from England to all those Northern Regions and many trials made to discover the North-East passage so that no question but that they landed many times upon Greenland but took no notice of it as neither did the Dutch till many years after when a gainful fishing was there found out Before which none either gave it a name took possession of it or pretended to the discovery This trade was managed for divers years by the Russia company of English Merchants as will appear by the story of it which is this In 1553 the King and Queen Philip and Mary gave a commission to certain Merchants to trade into Russia and made them a corporation who presently not only began a very brisk and profitable negotiation into those Northern Countries but employed divers Ships for finding out a passage that way into the Indies Particularly Arthur Pet and Charles Jackman about the year 1580 rambled over all those Seas and it is very probable they also were upon Greenland but there is nothing particularly known concerning them No nation but the English frequented those Northern Seas till 1578 that a Dutch Ship came to Cola and a year or two after another to St. Nicholas by the solicitation of an English man that set himself against the company Afterwards they crept in more and more and in 1594 they employed Barents and others to find out a passage to the Indies and in 1596 the three Dutch Pilots aforenamed upon the same design who first light upon Bear-Island and thence to Greenland Barents separating from his company sayled to the Northeast of Nova-Zembla where he lost his Ship and himself died In 1603 Steven Benet was employed who went no farther then Cherry-Island whence he brought some Lead Oar. In 1608 Henry Hudson was sent forth to discover the North-pole who went to 82 deg as did also Thomas Marmaduke of Hull 1612 but saw divers Islands beyond that and gave names to divers places upon Greenland formerly discovered as Whale-bay Hackluits-Headland c. The company having been informed of the great number of Sea-horses Morsses and Whales that frequented Cherry-Island and Greenland first applyed themselves with one or two Ships to the killing of Morsses which in a short time made Morsses grow scarce In the year therefore 1610 they set out the Ship Amity Jonas Pool commander for Whale-fishing who fell upon the land formerly discovered though not regarded and called it Greenland whether because of the green Moss wherewith it was covered or mistaking it for Groenland a Northern Countrey formerly discovered or for some other reason I know not He called it also King James New-land but that name is grown obsolete He also gave names to many of the most eminent places upon the west side of the Country as to Horn-Sound because there they found an Unicorns-horn Ice-Point Bell-Point Lowness-Island Black-Point Cape-cold Ice-Sound Knotty-Point Fowl-Sound Deer-Sound And in Cross-Road 79 deg 15 min. variation 18 deg 16 min. northwest he seized upon the Country to the use of his Masters by setting up a red Cross and fastning a writing to it There also he made some quantity of Oyl and brought an Unicorns-horn as they called it from thence And this was the first time that any benefit was made by the fishing of that place In 1611 the company hired six Basques expert Fishermen and sent them with two Ships to fish for Whales in Greenland where the first Whale they killed yielded them twelve tuns of Oyl Some of his company looking about the Harbours for Whales discovered in Sir Thomas Smiths Bay a great number of Morsses The Master of one of the Ships taking with him some of his men went thither and killed of them 500 and kept 1000 alive on Shoar which afterwards they let go In 1612 two Ships more were sent when they killed seventeen Whales and some Morsses and made 180 tuns of oyl This year the Hollanders came thither with one Ship conducted by Andrew Sallows an Englishman Another English Pilot brought thither also a Spanish Ship the English Ships met with and threatned them but notwithstanding they made a good voyage In 1613 the company sent thither seven Ships who had a Patent to prohibit all strangers except the Muscovia company from frequenting those coasts Yet they met with fifteen Sail of Dutch French Flemish and some interlopers of our own Nation To some the General gave liberty to fish with others he made composition to have half or part of what they caught others he drave away from the Country after he had taken out the English that were in their Ships though themselves also by that means were not so well laden as they might have been this year they discovered Hope-Island and other Islands to the West In 1614 they set out thirteen great Ships besides two Pinnaces well armed and the Dutch eighteen whereof four men of war who being stronger stayed and fished there as did our men also but both parties made a poor voyage This land they fully discovered to 80 deg by Tho. Sherwin and Will. Baffin and by others divers Islands toward the East They also took possession of several parts of the Country for the King setting up a Cross and the Kings Arms in Lead the Dutch afterwards did the like in the same places for the Prince of Orange In 1615 they set out two great Ships and two Pinaces which by reason of fourteen Sail sent by the Hollanders came home not fully laden This year the King of Denmark sent three Ships men of war with an English Pilot James Vaden to demand Custom of the Ships for fishing upon his Island as he pretended the
of which was at least six foot high As the Sun and day began to appear the Fowls and Foxes began to come abroad for which they set traps and springes Of Fowls they took a vast number and at several times they got about fifty Foxes which they roasted and found to be pleasant and wholesome food The Dutch relation of their men that wintred in Nova-Zembla saith that though they did not relish Bears flesh yet Foxes they liked well for by their Flesh they were much relieved in their Scurvies May the first it being somewhat warm they went abroad to seek provision where they light of great quantities of Willocks-eggs which was a great refreshment to them that day also came two English Ships into the Sound which sent forth to seek them and took them in and brought them safe and sound into England The effects of the cold upon them the like also being testified by those of William Barents company that wintred in Nova-Zembla are wonderful The wonderful cold as that it raised blisters on their flesh as if they had been burnt with fire if they touched Iron it stuck to their fingers whilst they sate by a great fire their stockings burnt yet their feet not sensible of heat and their backs were frozen Yet our men either had not such reason or will to complain as the Dutch in Nova-Zembla whose Shoos froze as hard as horn to their feet whose Sack was quite frozen as likewise a Barrel of Water became perfect Ice in one night that their Carpenter taking a nail out of his mouth the skin and flesh followed glued to it with Ice That they heated Stones at the fire to apply to their feet and other parts of their bodies in their Cabines to hinder them from freezing with many like miseries which I omit The last who hath brought us any news from this country is Frederick Martens an Hamburger Freder Martens Voyage who set out from the Elb April the fifth 1671. He hath printed a very large and accurate description both of the land and all things therein as Fowls Plants Beasts Mountains c. Which he did as may be supposed in great part to satisfy the curiosity of several Gentlemen of the Royal Society who intreated his diligence in answering such queries as they sent him We shall omit such things as we think not so useful and abridg the rest for fear of cloying the Reader He first arrived upon Charles-Isle of seventy Miles in length Harbours and Havens not above ten broad separated from Greenland by a narrow strait called Forelands-ford betwixt this Foreland and Muscle-haven are the highest mountains and though the greatest part of the mountains and rocks of Greenland are of a red soil and communicate that colour to the Snow upon them which makes them look like fire yet there are seven that are of a blew colour and betwixt them many sharp pointed rocks In South-haven they commonly repair their faulty Ships being a very large and commodious harbour wherein thirty and sometimes forty Ships have conveniently anchored at the same time Here also they take in fresh water which runs plentifully from the mountains upon the melting of the Ice and Snow for the Rivers at least as far as they can go are too brackish and there are not any Springs or Wells as yet discovered This Haven hath high Mountains on either side but especially on the left particularly one called the Bee-hive another the Devilshuck which is commonly covered with a thick mist and which when the wind drives it that way darkens the Haven Within this Haven also is the Island called of Dead-men whom they ordinarily bury here in Coffins heaping Stones upon them where the bodies if they escape the Bears are preserved entire a long time some say they have seen them so after having been dead thirty years Here are also several Islands called Fowl-Islands because of the vast number of Fowls that breed there Next follows a Bay called by the Dutch Mauritius-Bay where some have wintred the relation whereof because it contains nothing considerable besides what is before expressed I shall omit Near to this stand the only houses in the whole Countrey which are a few Cottages built by the Dutch for the making their Oyl with a great Gun to defend them and those they call Smearbourg and the Harlingish-Cookery All other nations burn their houses at their departure In the Northern-bay is an Island the Dutch call Vogel-sang for the great noise that the Fowls make when they take their flight Next is Monyers-Bay the furthest North of the Western part of Greenland then Roe-field so called for its abundance of Deer the Soil here seems to be all Slats set up edgwise Muscle-haven lieth at the mouth of the Way-gate North of which Martens sailed to 81 deg he saw seven Islands more farther North but the Ice permitted him not to approach them Walter Thymens Ford is by us called Alderman Freemans Inlet and is a large mouth of a River which is undiscovered The Soil Soil as much as has been discovered of Greenland is in most places nothing but Rocks or heaps of vast stones many of them so high that the upper half seems to be above the clouds and so steep that they seem as if they would tumble down as many times great pieces do break from the whole with a terrible noise The little valley between them is seldom any thing but broken stones and Ice heaped up from many generations About Roefield and Muscle-haven is the greatest quantity of low land yet is that also full of Rocks stony and for the most part cover'd with Snow and Ice which being melted as in some places it is in Summer discovers nothing but a barren ground producing heath moss and some very few plants These Mountains which are exposed to the warm air and Sun-beams are in some places clothed with the same and in these places and the holes of the Rocks nest infinite quantity of Fowls whose dung with the moss washed down by the melted Snow makes a mould in the valleys or rather clefts which if open to the Sun-beams when the Ice is dissolved produceth some few plants as a kind of Cabbage-Lettuce of a Cress-taste Scurvy-grass Sorrel Snakeweed Mousear Hearts-ease a kind of Strawberry divers sorts of Ranunculus and of Sempervives one like an Aloes another like our Prickmadam a third like our Wall-Pepper and some few others unknown to our Climate The Sea seems not so salt here as in other places The Sea It is generally so clear that one may see at least twelve fathoms under water and commonly of the colour of the air The course of it at Musclebay and some other places is observed to be Northward There hath been no particular notice taken of the Tydes and Martens thinks that it ebbeth and floweth not regularly according to the Moon for then it would drown the nests of the birds that build nigh the
added to the former because it was at twelve hours before noon his place at that instant was 2 deg 26 min. of Virgo whose declination is as before 10 deg 35 min. The Latitude of the place was 78 deg 47 min. whose complement was 11 deg 13 min. the declination being subducted from the complement of of the elevation of the Pole leaveth 38 min. four fifths of which is 12 min. being substracted from 38 leaveth 26 min. for the refraction which is more or less according to the thickness or thinness of the air But to return to Nova-Zembla Situation of Nova-Zembla There is lately a new Chart of Nova-Zembla put out in Holland which separates it from Samoiedia by the Streights of Nassau or Fretum Waygats but makes the North of it wherein Barents in 1595 wintered in the same parallel with part of Greenland and that Nova-Zembla is inhabited with people like in clothing stature and manner of life to the Samoieds that they are Idolaters as many of the others Barbarous c. Another Map joyned with the former also continues Groenland to Greenland on the South-west corner which also is contrary to all other Relations but the Map of Nova-Zembla is manifestly calculated out of the observations of them that wintered there with W. Barents and therefore I shall neither disparage nor approve it further trial may determine it A late Traveller a French-man Chyrurgeon in a Danish Ship saith That Nova-Zembla is a Continent joyned on the South to Samoiedia by a ledg of Mountains called by him the Pater-Noster-Mountains and on the North to Greenland which is contrary both to this new Chart and to the observations of all Marriners both English and Dutch He saith also that he with others went ashore upon Nova-Zembla and brought away some of the inhabitants into Denmark that they were more barbarous then any other nation he had ever seen A Groenland-Monk in the Chron. of Iseland saith that the Pigmies inhabited Nova-Zembla this Traveller indeed saith they were but short truss'd persons but not so little as to deserve the name of Pigmies nor indeed much lesser then his Countreymen the Gronelanders are described The Dutch who wintered there Beasts mention no other beasts then Bears Foxes and such other as live upon prey for that say they there is neither Leaves nor Grass for other Beasts to feed upon but Mr. Hudson saith that all the land they had seen of Nova-Zembla seemed pleasant much high-land and without Snow in some places also green and Deer feeding upon it nor were all the high hills covered with Snow But Mr. Hudson was there in Summer and it is probable that assoon as winter begins the Deer betake themselves to Samoieda or some other place Our Merchants that have lived in Russia say Fowls that upon Nova-Zembla is a great lake wherein a wonderful number of Swans and Geese do breed which moult their feathers about St. Peters day and at that time the Russes go thither to gather their feathers and to kill the Fowls which they dry and bring into their own Countrey for winter provision Both English and Dutch in their frequenting this coast have given names to several places And it is a remarkable inconvenience that the Dutch very rarely make use of a name given by another nation but had rather give new ones themselves that the world may take them to be the great discoverers and diligent observers In 73d was a land discovered by H. Hudson and called Hold-with-hope unknown as he conceived to any Christian till that time and as our late Navigators say to any since CHERRY and other ISLANDS OUr men conceive Greenland to be broken land Northern Islands or a great number of Islands at least very near to one another On the West-side they discovered as far as 82 deg the most Northerly point they called Point Purchas there they found very many Islands which they thought not worthy to give names to being careful only to take notice of those six or eight Harbours which were commodious for their fishing On the East-side they went no farther then 78 deg because the Dutch disturbed their trading on that side There are also many Islands some of which are named Hope-Island as Hope-Island discovered in 1613 which may be that the Dutch call Willoughbies-land or John Mayens-Island though indeed it corresponds well to neither but rather to the later It belongeth to Greenland and is but a small Island and lies North-east and South-west whereas the Countrey Sir H. Willoughby landed upon was a large Countrey in as much as he sayled many days by the side of it and lies North and South which must be Greenland Edges-Island was discovered 1616 Edges-Island Wyches-Island by Capt. T. Edge who had made that voyage ten times Wyches-Island so call'd from a Gentleman of that name was found out 1617 but there being nothing remarkable come to our knowledg concerning these we pass them over Only it is worth noting that both the Whale and Morss-fishing was known and practised 800 years ago as appears by the Relation which Octher the Norwegian made to his Lord Alfred King of England where he also saith that the Morsses were hunted for their teeth which were mightily esteemed Cherry-Island Cherry-Island when first discovered I know not but it received not its name nor was known to be of any profit till 1603 when a Ship set out at the charges of Sir Francis Cherry touched upon it and found there some Lead and a Morsses tooth but stayed not to fish because the year was too far spent However they called it in honour of Sir Francis Cherry for whose use they took possession of it Cherry-Island In 1604 Morss-fishing a Ship set sail Mr. Welden the Merchant and Steven Bennet the Master from London April 15 and arrived at Cola in Lapland May 1 they stayed in Lapland till July 1 and July 8 they came in sight of Cherry and they came to an Anchor on the South-south-east side but because of the stream could not land so that they sailed round about the Isle and at length anchored two miles from the Shore Going on land one of them with his Gun killed as many Fowl as almost laded their Boat July 9 they found on Shore nothing but store of Foxes that part of the Island was in 74 deg 45 min. July 10 they weighed Anchor and stood into another Bay and came to anchor in eight fathoms where they saw an incredible number of Morsses swimming in the Sea Coming to Shore they espied a vast company of them lying on the ground they shot at them with three Guns they carried with them but with all their weapons they could kill but fifteen of above 1000 that lay there like Hogs hudling together on heaps but they found as many teeth as filled an Hogshead Before the 13th they killed near 100 more making use only of their teeth In 1605 the
Island is not so much enclosed with Ice as that which lies in the North where it runs out into the Sea with a sharp point behind the Mountain of Bears for on this side all the year long the Ice never removes from the Shore above ten miles and in the Spring time so besieges it that there is no passage through it For which reason the Mariners who are bound for this Island use all the care they can to avoid the Eastern and to make directly to the Western Shore there to lie while the fishing season continues if by miscarriage they come upon the East-side they are then forced to fetch a compass about the North part of the Island whereby they are not only exposed to the terrible winds that blow off from Bears-Mountain but also to the dangers of the Floating Ice for here the Sea flows from South to North and ebbs from North to South At the Northern end of the Island appears the Bears-Mountain of a prodigious height and so perpendicularly steep that it is impossible to climb to the top of it This Mountain from the Bears there frequently seen called Beerenberg or the Bears-Mountain at the bottom takes up the whole space between the Eastern and the Western Shore on the North-side it leaves a little room for leveller ground to the Ocean and being of prodigious height may be descryed 30 miles off at Sea The Sea-coast lies thus 1 Noords-hoeck or the Northern Angle is the extream point shooting out to the North. 2 Oosthoeck is the most Eastern point Ysbergh mark'd 1. 2. 3. are three Mountains of Ice or rather vast heaps of congealed Snow which dissolved by the heat of the Sun falls from the top of Bears-Mountain but upon the Sun 's retiring freezes again 3 Zuydoost-hoeck is the Southeast Angle From this point the Shore extends it self from East to West to a little Island and then winds again to the West and South in some places not passable by reason of its steepness in others smooth enough 4 Cleyn Sand-bay or Little Sand-bay Eyerland or Eggland being certain Rocks full of Birds here about a Musket shot from the Shore the Sea is 60 fathom deep and a little farther the sounding line will not reach to the bottom 5 Groote Hoot-bay or great wood-bay by reason of the great pieces of rotten timber that are there found In this which is the narrowest part of the Island are certain Mountains not very steep from the top whereof any person calling them that stand upon either Shore may be heard by both 6 Cleyn Hoot-bay or Little Wood-bay 7 English Bay and several others to which the Dutch have given such names as they thought fit GRONELAND CAlled also Groenland Groinland The name and situation and more anciently Engroenland lies as the Islanders say like an Half-moon about the North of their Countrey at the distance of four days sailing But it seems not to lye so much East but rather on the North of America From Cape Farewell in 60 deg 30 min. on the South it is unknown to how many degrees in the North. The East and West are encompass'd by two great Oceans but at what degrees of Longitude is not yet discovered Only Mr. Fotherby found it near the Coast of Groneland in 71 deg and the South of Greenland to be above two hundred leagues It is said to have been discover'd first by a Norwegian Gentleman Ancient discoveries whose name was Eric Rotcop or Red Head who having committed a murther in Iseland to save his life resolved to adventure to another Country whereof he had heard some obscure flying reports He succeeded so well that he arrived in a safe Harbour called Sandstasm lying between two Mountainous Promontories the one upon an Island over against Groneland which he called Huidserken or White Shirt because of the Snow upon it the other on the Continent called Huarf Eric He winter'd in the Island but when the season suffer'd pass'd into the Continent which because of its greenness and flourishing he called Groneland Thence he sent his Son to Olaus Trugger King of Norway to get his pardon which was easily granted when he was inform'd by him of this new discovery Whereupon divers Gentlemen adventured to plant there who multiplying not long after divided the whole Country into the Eastern and Western and built two Cities Garde and Albe In Albe was a Bishops See and a Cathedral Church dedicated to St. Anthony The Seat also of the Vice-Roy sent thither from time to time by the Norwegian They write also of a great Monastery called of St. Thomas wherein was a Spring whose water was so hot that it dressed all their meat and being conveyed into the Cells and other Rooms in pipes heated all the Monastery as if it had been so many Stoves They say also that this Monastery is built all of Pumice-stones and that this hot water falling upon them mixeth with the outer parts and produces a sort of clammy matter which serves instead of Lime But what the Norwegians conquered By the Norwegians or possessed in this Country was an inconsiderable corner of that large Continent Themselves mention a Nation whom they call Skrelingers to have inhabited in the middle of the Land but what they were we know not But whether their paucity exposed them to the mercilesness of the Natives or whether it were an Epidemical disease which they called the black Plague which swept away not only most of that Nation in Groneland but also the Merchants and Mariners in Norway that maintained that traffique or whether it were some other reason which is now forgotten so it is that since 1349 little intelligence hath descended to us concerning Groneland till seeking the North-west passage to China occasioned more knowledg of it In 1389 they say that the King of Denmark sent a Fleet thither with intention to re-establish his dominion in those parts but that being cast away discouraged him from any further enterprise till now of late Christian IV renewed somewhat again of that navigation of which by and by In 1406 the Bishop of Drontheim sent a Priest called Andreas to succeed Henry Bishop of Garda if dead if alive to return and bring notice of the state of the Church there But Andreas never came back nor hath there been since any further care taken to supply Bishops or maintain Christianity there There is a relation in Purchas's Pilgrim part 3 of one Ivor Boty a Gronelander translated 1560 out of the Norweighish Language which gives a sufficiently particular account of all the places in that Country inhabited by Christians but nothing besides Afterwards another part of it is said to be discovered by Antonio Zani A. Zani the relation of whose adventures is at large in Hackluits third Volume I shall not insert them because not useful to our present purpose And tho there be grounds sufficient to make us doubt of some of these relations yet not to reject
them Gudbrandus Thorlacius an Islandish Bishop and discreet person saith that the Islandish Chronicles affirm that they used formerly to trade to Engroneland and that in the days of Popery that Country had Bishops Now our men in all the places where they have landed find none but Savages and those also Idolaters speaking a language different from all that ever they heard though the Natives in their customs most resemble the Laplanders of whom more in due place The occasion of our voyages to those Coasts Later discoveries by the English Sir Martin Frobisher was to find out a way to China c. by the Northwest which had been fruitlesly sought toward the North-east The first whom we read to have searched the North-west for a passage was Martyn Frobisher who in 1576 with two Barks coming to the height of 62 deg found a great Inlet called by him Frobishers Straits whereinto having sailed 60 leagues with main land on either side returned He found there a certain Oar which he conceived to be of Gold and the next year he made a second voyage to fetch a quantity of it but it proving to be nothing but black Lead answer'd not expectation yet they found a Silver Mine which lay so deep and fast in the Rocks that they could not dig it They melted Gold also but in very small quantities out of several stones they found there upon Smiths Isle They found also a dead fish of about twelve foot long not unlike in shape to a Porcpoise having an horn six foot long such as is commonly called Unicorns-horn growing out of his snout which is still kept at Windsor In 1578 he went out again upon a discovery wherein passing as far as he thought good he took possession of the Land in the name of Queen Elizabeth calling it Meta incognita In 1583 Sir Hum. Gilbert Sir Humphrey Gilbert upon the same design went to the great River of St. Laurence in Canada took possession of the Country and setled a fishing trade there This voyage I suppose was made upon suggestion of a Greek Mariner who assured some of our Nation that himself had passed a great Strait North of Virginia from the West or South Ocean and offer'd to be Pilot for the discovery but dyed before he came into England In 1585 Mr. Davis Mr. John Davis was employed with two Barks to the same search The first Land he came to he named the Land of Desolation and is one part of Groneland then he arrived in 64 deg 15 min. in Gilberts Sound where they found a great quantity of that Oar which Frobisher brought into England and also Lapis Specularis Thence they went to 66 deg 40 min. to Mount Raleigh Totness Sound c. where they saw some few low shrubs but nothing else worth noting In 1586 he made a second voyage to the same place where he found amongst the Natives Copper Oar as also black and red Copper Thence they searched many places Westward and returned with good hopes of discovering the desired passage In 1587 he made a third voyage to 72 deg 12 min. the compass varying to 82 deg Westward the Land they called London-Coast and there they found an open Sea and forty leagues between Land and Land thinking this to be the most likely place to find the passage and it was from him called Fretum Davis Thus from time to time proceeded the discovery of these Countries Mr. Hudson but now not upon hopes of a passage to the Indies but for the profit of trading till Mr. Hudson in 1610 after he was satisfied that there was no passage North-easterly was sent to make a trial here also He proceeded an hundred leagues further than any before had done and gave names to certain places as Desire-provokes Isles of Gods mercies Prince Henry's-Cape King James's Cape Queen Ann's-Cape and the like but the Ice hindred him from going further and the sedition of his men from returning home In 1612 James Hall returning into England James Hall and with him William Baffin who discovered Cockins Sound in the height of 65 deg 20 min. which differed in Longitude from London 60 deg 30 min. Westward They saw also the footing of a great Beast they supposed an Elk or the like James Hall was killed in the Boat by a Native pretending to trade with them They tried the Mine at Cunninghams River which the Danes had digged before and found it to be nothing worth There were Rocks of very pure stone finer and whiter than Alabaster and Angelica growing plentifully in many places which the Savages use to eat In 1615 Mr. Baffin was sent again Mr. Baffin he found Fair-Point to differ in Longitude from London 74 deg and 5 min. Westward But the chief thing they discover'd was that there was no passage in the North of Davis Straits it being no other than a great Bay but that profit might be made by fishing for Whales Morsses and Unicorns of which there are good store In 1616 Mr. Baffin went again In Sir Tho. Smiths Sound 78 deg Lat. their Compass varied 56 deg Westward the greatest variation that is any where known Despairing to discover their desired North-west passage they returned home and since that we hear of no more voyages made from England upon that design The King of Denmark also By the Danes partly to advance the trading of his own and partly to renew his ancient pretence to that country if any thing should be discovered worth the claiming whilst the English were busie in these discoveries set out two Ships and a Pinnace 1605 the Admiral was Capt. John Cunningham a Scot Godske Lindenaw a noble Dane was Vice-Admiral the chief Pilots were James Hall and John Knight English men Gotske arrived on some part of the country where he traffick'd some small matters with the natives took two of them and returned into Denmark The other two Ships arrived at Cape Farewell thence went to Frobishers Straits gave Danish names to divers places traded with the natives of whom they brought away three and found certain stones in a place call'd Cunninghams Ford out of an hundred pound of which were extracted twenty-six ounces of fine silver In 1606 He sent again four Ships and a Pinnace Godske Lindenaw Admiral and James Hall Pilot-General they brought away five of the natives In 1607 James Hall was sent again but the Seamen mutining as soon as he came to the coast brought the Ship back again into Denmark without any thing done The King of Denmark set out two Ships more under Christian Richardson an Holsteiner with Norwegian and Iselandish Mariners who returned before they saw shore More of their expeditions we know not till 1619 when he sent out John Munck with two Ships They arrived safe at Cape Farewell 60 deg 30 min. where their tackle was so frozen and full of isicles that they could not handle them the next day was so hot
by the weeds Fowls are here in great abundance and variety Fowls Our men have seen those they call Bassgeese or such as once a year come to breed in the Bass a famous rock or Island near Edinburgh The natives also have a very great art and dexterity in making and setting snares and springes to catch them which they do chiefly for their skins and feathers Two or three of our men with their guns killed in one day fifteen hundred and found them worse tasted but better clothed than those of the same kind in these countries they could not eat them till flayed their skins being very thick tough and more cover'd with feathers which also were not easily plucked off which is the reason that the natives dress their skins as they do those of beasts and Seals and make garments of them using them to all purposes like other furrs with the feathers outward in summer inward in winter which is also observed in all other cold countries as well as Groneland All persons Of the North-light that have been there give a wonderful and strange account of a certain northlight as they call it not easily conceived by them who have not seen it It appears usually about the time of the new Moon and tho only in the north yet doth it enlighten the whole country sometimes also Norway Iseland and even these regions of ours as Gassendus vita Piresk exercit In Doctorem Flud saith himself observed and at large describes Nor should I much doubt to affirm that it is that which is sometimes seen in England and especially in the northern parts call'd Streaming It is said to be like a great pillar or beam of fire yet darting out rays and streams every way moving also from place to place and leaving behind it a mist or cloud continuing also till the Sun-beams hide it The country seems to be inhabited by divers nations Division of the Country differing in habit manners and language Those whom James Hall found and brought with him differed much from those with whom Gotske Lindenaw had to do That part which the Norwegians are said to have anciently possessed was an inconsiderable part of that whole country and they found several nations there besides themselves govern'd by several Kings tho they write not that they had wars one with another but only against them Our late discoverers in 66 deg 50 min. found a country which the natives as they could understand them called Secanunga who also said that they had a great King carried upon mens shoulders and they called him Cachico But more particulars than these I find not The inhabitants are generally of a low stature Inhabitants black hair flat nos'd broad fac'd lips turned up and of a ripe Olive colour some of them also quite black Their women for their greater ornament doubtless stain their faces in blew and sometimes in black streaks which colour they let into the skin by pricking it with a sharp bone that it will never be taken nor worn out In all things they resemble the Samoieds and Laplanders They are very active and strong yet could some of our English run swifter and leap farther than any of them but they were hard enough for any of ours at wrastling They are also very couragious and sometimes desperate for rather than be taken by our men they would throw themselves down the rocks and mountains Extreamly thievish treacherous and revengeful they proved nor could any kindness or fair dealing win them but as true Barbarians never omitted any opportunity of fulfilling their desires they would steal when they saw the Mariners look upon them After they had been well used and treated at their tables they would shoot at sling stones wound and kill our men if they could Yet are they apprehensive enough and quickly conceive yours and express their own meaning If they had not seen what was asked them they winked or cover'd their eyes if they understood not stopt their ears and the like They delight exceedingly in musick to which they would keep time both with their voice hands and feet wonderful also affectionate one to another and to their country In one voyage there went a Danish Mariner with black hair flat nos'd and other tho not very exact resemblances of a Gronelander as soon as they saw him they came about him kissed him hung upon him and shewed to him all possible demonstrations of kindness and affection And those who were in Denmark never enjoy'd themselves nor had any content but continually pined away and languish'd with discontent for their condition and love of their country Their religion such as it is seems to be unto the Sun for when our people invited them to conversation bartering c. they held up their hands towards the Sun and cried Yotan nor would they come near us till our men had done the like But John Munck and divers others having gone farther into the country found images such as we make of Devils with horns beaks claws cloven feet c. very ill made Altars also and quantities of bones of beasts as of Deer Foxes Dogs and the like near unto them They seem also as all Idolaters given to inchantments and sorceries Our men have seen them lying flat upon the earth and muttering their prayers or charms into the ground worshipping the Devil whose proper habitation they conceive to be under them In some diseases they tye a stick to a great stone to which they pay their devotions and if they can lift it up easily and lightly they think their prayers are heard and recovery granted In winter they retire from the Sea-side unto the warmer valleys where they have their houses and towns which are commonly caves at the foot of an hill round like an oven close to one another and passages in the inner parts from one to another their doors which are low and round open to the south and they dig trenches also to draw away the water that falls or drains from the hill The entrance and some part of their house stands without the cave which they frame very handsomly and commodiously of the ribs of Whales join'd artificially at the top and cover'd with Seals-skins They raise also one part of their floor higher than another which they strow with moss to sleep upon But in their fishing time they have tents which they remove from place to place in their larger Boats They set up four poles and cover them with skins which serves very well in summer when fishing is done they return with them to their houses Their manner of bartering is to make two heaps one of such things as they desire the other of what they would part with and they cease not to take away from the one or other till the trade is ballanced The chiefest things of ours which they valued were knives needles little pieces of iron looking-glasses c. for these they would sell their bows and arrows
it may be easily collected that even in his time tho the names were universally receiv'd yet the reasons of them were not known It should seem however that the division was made by the Grecians or by some neighbours to those Seas because to them and as far as their knowledge reach'd it seems very proper and useful The bounds of Europe are conveniently stated as to them but in other respects the division seems not so rational for Asia is much bigger than both the other nor is Europe an equal balance for Africa but Europe being least known to them and seeming a vast territory perhaps they might think that the whole Earth was not large enough to contain more than three such proportions Besides the Regions within both the Polar Circles seem not to be comprehended under any of these parts and tho the limits betwixt Europe and Asia seem to be well determined as far as Palus Meotis yet are they beyond that which is the greater part not so distinctly constituted by any natural limits nor any other certainty However tho perhaps the division of the Astronomers into Zones Climates c. may seem more accurate yet is this to us especially who consider not the spaces of ground only but the differences of Nations also and habitations much more commodious and therefore we shall follow it in these discourses beginning first with Europe Europe Europe tho acknowledged the least of the four parts of the world yet in many respects is by learned men preferred before the rest Strabo and after him many other Geographers have recommended it for the mildness of the air the fertility of the soil the multitude of navigable rivers and the abundance of cattel and all other things necessary or convenient for humane life but more especially for the valour ingenuity and beauty of the inhabitants To which may be added the magnificence of their Governments the freedom of their Subjects the equality of their Laws the arts and industry of the people and above all the sanctity of their Religion which is accompanied with a greater proportion and variety of learning and knowledge than all the world besides could ever pretend to Yet I do not perceive one part to have much advantage over another except from the industry and skill of the inhabitants which in one place is greater in one kind in others more signal in another and is able to convert a natural inconvenience to a greater pleasure and profit All the advantages we know Europe to have above other parts of the world are from its embracing Christianity so generally as it doth For if we reflect upon the ancient Inhabitants before they were Christians they were as barbarous wild faithless bruitish as any the most inhumane Nations of America Tho it cannot be denied but that the civility of the Romans possessors of the greatest part of Europe was a great disposition to their receiving of Christianity and that the extream barbarousness of some as well as the voluptuousness of other Nations renders them less prepared to embrace it It is in vain for us to search into the origine of the Name either from ancient fables It s Name or modern conjectures our first Historian as we already touched ingenuously confesseth he could neither discover who was the first imposer of the name nor for what reason it was given Notwithstanding if it may be lawful to adventure a conjecture grounded upon an observation of that excellent and ancient Historian Thucydides in his first Book it may probably have had its name from a Province called Europa near the Bosphorus Thracius to which place was the shortest and most usual passage out of Asia and where new Colonies arriving thrust forward the ancient Inhabitants who from Europa peopling the rest of the Regions westward might perhaps carry with them the name of the Country they quitted to make room for new plantations First Inhabitants Howbeit we must not conceal that the learned are of divers judgments in this matter For all those who hold Europe to be peopled by the posterity of Japhet do as we now mention'd maintain that the first planters came by Sea out of Asia but those who rather imagine them the offspring of Shem conceive that they came by land betwixt the Caspian Sea and Palus Meotis thence thro Tartary and ancient Scythia into the Northern parts as far as Scandia where their inundation being stopt by the vast Ocean they overflow'd into the Southern parts as Britany France Germany Thrace c. And this opinion seems to be confirm'd by the tradition of the Northern Nations in their Edda as the other pretension seems to be grounded upon Scripture but as this makes not much use of any arguments but what are drawn from the similitude of names so that tradition of Edda seems to suppose those places inhabited before Thor or Wodens migration which indeed seem to be but of later times even after the Trojan war Tho we suppose two Wodens Princes of Colonies the later being about our Saviour Methinks it is not improbable that Scandia Sarmatia and thence as far as Thrace were peopled from the North the Getae being originally Goths and the Daci Danes the Sarmatae Scythians nor is there any memorial of Nations ancienter than these in those places Besides their languages betray their original But the same reasons seem not to hold concerning Greece Italy and all the South-part of Europe nor is it likely that they who lived in a continual prospect of Europe even so near that they could swim over without the help of bladders should so long forbear to seize upon a plentiful and rich Country till they were prevented by those who successively peopled the Countries of the North and round about the Euxine Sea Wherefore it appears more probable that the Southern Europe was first planted from the Maritime Coasts of Asia which seem also to be inhabited by the posterity of Japhet It is bounded on the north by the Frozen Sea Bounds on the west by the vast Western Ocean on the south from Afric by the Mediterranean and on the east from Asia by the Archipelago and so on by the Black Sea and Palus Meotis or the Sea of Zabache and thence by the River Tanais to the most eastern winding thereof at the City Tuja and thence by an imaginary line to the River Oby and by that to the Frozen Sea Europe Situation and exâ—ent as describ'd on the Globe lies toward the Artic Pole mostly in the northern temperate Zone under the fourth and the ninth Climats and between the seventh and seventeenth Parallels which fall about ten degrees on this side the Tropic of Cancer and three within the Polar Circle It is extended in length from Cape St. Vincent to the mouth of the River Oby 71 deg on the Equator which reckoning 60 miles to a degree come to 4260 English miles The breadth of Europe from Cape Matagan in the Morea to
the most northern Country at the Polar Circle contains about 44 deg on the Meridian which make about 2640 English miles Europe conteins in it several Kingdoms Division the greatest of which is the Empire of Muscovy or Russia on the north-east comprehending several Nations more to the north-east scarce known to us and on the east Cazan and other Countries by the River Volga and part of Lapland on the north-west Next to Muscovy on the west lies the Kingdom of Sweden containing great part of Finland on the east and all to the mountains of Norway on the west Again to the east of Europe by the Caspian Sea lies the Country of the Circassi and the Kingdom of the Lesser Tartary and some other lesser Provinces Thence south-west lies the Kingdom of Poland extending it self thro the midst of Europe from the Baltic to the Euxin Sea comprehending on the north Prussia Litvania Lifland on the east Volinia Podolia and southward Moldavia Walachia Northwest of Poland lies Germany under several Princes the Emperor being the chief North of Germany lies the Kingdom of Denmark to the west Flanders or the Low Countries under divers Governments and north-west of them the Kingdom of Great Brittain comprehending several Islands South-west of Germany lies the Kingdom of France more south the Kingdom of Spain full south Italy under several Princes South-east of Germany lies the greatest part of European Turky as Hungary Transylvania and more south Croatia Dalmatia and all Greece There are in Europe Empires c. three Empires that of Muscovy the Roman Empire and the Empire of the Turks Ten Kingdoms Sweden Denmark Poland Hungary Bohemia England France Spain Portugal and the Lesser Tartary Nine Common-wealths and about forty Principalities of which when we come to particular Countries â—riginal Languages The principal Languages spoken in the northern and western parts of Europe may be reckon'd these three the ancient Gothic the Anglo-Saxonic and the Francic which also seem to be near akin or to have great affinity one with another and the later to be made up of the two former From the Gothic which differs little from the old Greek are derived the ancient Cimbric and the modern languages now spoken in Sweden Denmark Norway Iseland The Anglo-Saxonic may seem to have given birth to the Belgic or Low Dutch especially the ancient Frisic and in great part to the English and Scotch The Francic is compounded of the other two and seems to be the same with the Alamannic or Theotisc whence the upper German language takes its original The ancient British which seems also to be the Celtish or Gaulish the dialects whereof are still spoken in some parts of Great Britain and in Britannia in France The Cantabric also or the language of the Biscainers in the northern mountains in Spain is not much different And likewise the Irish if not it self a dialect of the old Cimbric as it seems to be must be accounted an original language The Turkish language is generally spoken in European Turky and also Arabic is well understood by their learned men as being the language of the Alkoran and is spoken in some of the Mountains of Granada The Inhabitants of the Lesser Tartary that live between Tanais and the Neiper speak the Tartarian language as also the Cossacs with some small difference The Fins and Laplanders seem to have divers languages both from one another and from all the rest The Paisan-Liflanders likewise have a different language to themselves The Sclavonic language whether originally one or many is still continued in divers Regions of Europe as in the dominions of the Emperor of Russia divers countries subject to the King of Poland in some parts of Hungary but the Hungarian tongue properly so call'd is by the learned accounted an original language Bohemia and Sclavonia but with greater difference than dialects of the same language use to be The ancient Greek seems to have been the mother of the old Hetruscan Oscan Menapian and such others as were spoken anciently in Italy as may appear by those few remainders still extant of them and therefore also of the Latin in the opinion of many learned as the Latin is of the present Italian French Spanish Grison and some other languages The Greek it self tho with great alteration is still continued in the Continent and Islands of Greece and some places near thereunto The glory of Europe is its Religion Religion which in most parts of it is but one tho diversly professed Greece with its Islands in the Egean Sea and others as far as Corfu as also some parts of Croatia Dalmatia together with Muscovia Walachia Moldavia Podolia Volinia and some other parts of the dominions of Poland with other neighbouring Countries follow the Greek Church The Latin Church conteins 1 Those of the Reform'd Religion and 2 Those of the Roman 1. The Reformed Religion is embraced in Great Brittain and Ireland and the lesser Islands belonging to the Crown of England And with some diversity in Sweden Denmark Holland and the rest of the Vnited Provinces and several parts of Germany Transylvania and some parts of the Kingdom of Poland 2. The Roman Religion prevails in Italy Spain Portugal France Poland and the greatest part of the German Empire and other Countries Mahumetanism is professed in European Turky by the Great Turk and his Musselmen The great ledg of Mountains that has its beginning at the great Western Ocean Mountains first divides France and Spain by the name of the Pirenean Hills and is thence continued thro the south parts of France till it cover Italy and is there call'd the Alps a branch of which running thro the whole length of Italy has the name of the Apennine Mountains another branch is continued under divers names as the Rhetian-Hills thro the country now called of the Grisons Alpes Graiae Noricae Juliae c. all which have now divers names according to the several countries thro which they pass From Italy they continue thro Stiria Carinthia Hungary Transylvania Moldavia to the Black Sea and branch out into divers other countries of all which we shall treat more exactly in the particular descriptions The Mountains of the north are not much discover'd one ledg of them is continued from the Baltic to the northern Ocean dividing Norway from the neighbouring Nations Those in the utmost north anciently call'd Riphaei and Hyperborei have at this day lost those names consequently they are unknown except they be those which are by the inhabitants call'd Welikicamenopoias i. e. Cingulum mundi or the great Rocky Girdle of which as also of other Mountains not here mentioned in their proper and particular places The Seas that coast Europe Seas are the Northern and Western Ocean the Mediterranean Sea and the Euxin or Black Sea which also contein in them several lesser Seas Bays Streights c. and have different names from the different shoars they wash as Mare
nor as strangers but as a wandering people living upon hunting and prey wherever they can find it In this tract of ground we find the names but nothing else of divers Nations as Vgolici Hugritsci Voluhisci Calami and the like all whom the Russes who till of late had not any distinct knowledg of them called by the name of Samoieds or self-eaters and since that they have also called a great tract of land both of the West and East side of the River Ob Samoiedia I think erroneously the Samoieds as I said not being a nation But however it be We shall begin with these Samoieds Of the Samoieds tho not named amongst the Emperors Subjects except they be included in the title of Great Commander of Siberia or Obdoria neither of which is likely partly because the Muscovites retain their ancient form in their title partly because these people are only in part and by their own free submission under the Tzar Part continue still in their ancient fierceness barbarism and heathenishness Nor is their Country reduc'd into Towns and Governments as Russia is They seem to be a Nation altogether distinct from the Muscovites both in the make of their bodies manner of living language c. and to be rather akin to the Tartars as are also the rest of those most Northern Nations Laplanders Gronelanders c. because of their low stature fullchestedness broad and flat faces long black hair little hollow eyes short legs and knees bowing outward They inhabit the confines of Europe and Asia Their habitations and take up a considerable portion of the northern tract of both those parts They live on both sides of the River Ob Obba Oby the Russians call them Sam-ieda i. e. self-eaters which is not improbable both because at present they eat all manner of raw flesh even the very carion that lies in the ditch And those who live upon Waygates even till these times will not suffer the Russes to land upon their Country but if they catch will kill any of them and eat them Of those also who live beyond the Ob the Russians report that they in hard times do not make any difficulty to devour one another that if a Merchant come amongst them to trade they will to make him an high entertainment not stick to kill a child for his sake and that if any one dye amongst them they make the best of him and eat him But themselves give another reason even of the name Samoied as if it signified of themselves that they were ab origines and born in that place However as I said this is not a name of a Nation but an accidental difference from most other people yet such an one as hath quite obliterated the true name How far they extend beyond the Ob is not yet discovered On this side the River they reach as far as Petzora or at least the inhabitants of the Country betwixt those two Rivers seem to be of the same original with the Saimoieds Waygate and Nova Zembla in appearance are inhabited by the same Nation as are Siberia Borandia Jugoria and so was the greatest part of Northern Russia till civiliz'd The Reader must not expect any exact relation of their affairs and actions Their discovery They have not any thing of learning or records nor so much as oral tradition of what hath been done amongst them in the very last ages Nor do strangers mention any thing of them save that they frequented with their Furs and other commodities the free Fairs and publick Marts held in several Towns of Russia till their submission to the Muscovite And the first that gave any notice of them to this part of the world were our own Countrymen who endeavouring the discovery of a passage that way to Cathay and China happen'd upon their Country who notwithstanding could not give any exact relation of them because of their ignorance of the language and the extream shyness and jealousie they have of all strangers and their conversation The first that we find to have light upon them was Stephen Burroughs an English man 1556 in his voyage to discover the North-East passage Before him also I find not any of our Geographers to have mentioned Waygats which he saith are Islands lying North-East of Pechora and Nova Zembla his relation as also that of Rich. Johnson who went the same voyage are extant in Hackluit Afterwards 1596 Will. Barents gave some small account of them since that divers others What we can find concerning them Their language and manner of life we shall set down They have not all one language but how many or how differing and in what places which language we know not Their manner of living seems to be much according to nature They have no Cities but some of them have houses whither they sometimes when not convenient to travel retire which are as the Groenlanders in the foot of an hill with passages to one another the part that is not dug out of the ground is of wood meeting together at the top and cover'd with bark and turf with a hole in the top which serves them for a chimney to vent their smoak and door to creep out when the snow stops up their entrance But the greatest part of them travel from place to place where they can find best pasturage for their Rain-Deer and best game or prey for themselves and they would reckon it a curse to be confin'd to one place Those next the Sea side abide upon the Sea commonly a month together when it is seasonable fishing When they wander they carry wives children and all their wealth along with them pretending no propriety in any place They travel upon Sleds drawn by their Rain-Deer with so great speed that they are able to post two hundred Italian miles in one day They bait and rest where is best provision for their beasts and they travel commonly in company ten Sleds fasten'd one to another and to every of them one Rain-Deer at least in which they carry their stuff and wealth and call it Argish but when thus laden they make shorter days journeys and travel not above thirty miles in twelve hours At night they pitch their Tents which are the largest Skins and Furs set and extended upon short poles or stakes of which the Country is very plentifully stored so covering the whole frame except a hole at the top which lets out the smoak and they heap snow upon the outside the fire they make in the middle and round about it spread their Bears-skins and Furs whereupon they sleep It is the wives office to set up the Cabbans and guide the Argish or Convoy of Sleds whilst the men bring in firing and such provision as can be got for their Supper From this their continual changing places it comes that these Samoieds are the only guides for Merchants in winter time to all the great Towns near those Countries who
of his subjects and have persons sent to instruct and govern them according to those excellent rules which themselves there saw Which things were accordingly granted and Governors sent and Castles and Towns order'd to be built and the people to be instructed as they still continue to do MOSCOVIAE PARS AVSTRALIS Isaaco Massa The several Provinces of Russia THE first Province of Russia toward the North-East is Obdoria situate betwixt Ob and Pechora or Petzora Rivers 〈…〉 A large country but thinly inhabited which may be the reason that it is in our Maps call'd Samoiedia more frequently than Obdoria as if it were only the country of the Samoieds Concerning the great River Ob or Oby we have but little of certainty for I cannot find that any of our Merchants have been there An English Factor before ann 1600 employ'd one Englishman with others his servants to discover the way unto and the trade of it by land but they were imprison'd by order of the Russ-Governors who seem unwilling that any one should understand that profit but themselves Some conceive that these people are mention'd in Curtius and other ancient Authors by the name of Scythae Abii from the River Aby or Oby but it is uncertain The River it self is said to arise from a Lake call'd Cataisko as if the Catayans whom most men conceive to be the Chineses lived upon or near it It is said also that it receives many great Rivers whereof we know little besides the names that it is navigable two hundred leagues from the Sea that it disembogues into the Sea beyond the Straits of Waygats that the mouth is eighty Versts or Italian miles broad yet many shallows and flats in it and that it is plentifully stored with Fish The Samoieds seem to say that an English Ship did many years ago arrive there but being there wracked the men were all killed by the Samoieds Betwixt Oby and Petzora 〈◊〉 is a very large Country like a Promontory running very far into the North or Frozen Ocean in which as I said are the Provinces of Obdora and Condora how separated we know not nor any thing else of them more then that they receiv'd the faith of Christ in 1618 and they were not in the titles of the Grand Tzar before Ivan Vasilowich From Medemskoy Zavorot in the mouth of Pechora to Ob are sixteen days sailing with a good wind Six days to Breit-Vinnose in the Straits of Waygats leaving the Rock Sacolia Lowdia on the Starboard-side Waygats was at first mention'd by Steph. Burroughs but not known whether to be a distinct Island or part of Nova Zembla and in some of our late Maps it is quite omitted and instead of it is put Fretum Nassauvianum according to the fancy of our neighbours The inhabitants they say are Samoieds very barbarous men-eaters c. Over against these Straits a new Map printed at Nurenburgh this year 1679 in the Continent where we conceive Obdora and Condora hath plac'd by what authority and whether with the good liking of the Grand Tzar let them consider who are concern'd New Walckeren New Holland and New West-Frieseland besides divers other names of the Low Countries I suppose it proceeds only from an itch they have of attributing all discoveries to and giving names by themselves The Bay of Petzora is called Yongorsky-shar and there fall in divers great Rivers as Cara-reca or the black River Moetnaia-reca the muddy River Zolena-reca the green River betwixt it and Ob. Petzora also is named both in the Grand Tzars title and by Authors also as a Province Petzora which they say is bounded by the River of that name and the great mountains called Ziemni-poias or Cingulum mundi In 1611 a Ship was sent to settle a Factory at Pechora they found the Bar very shallow nine or ten foot water afterwards they came into the Suchoi-more or dry Sea because of the shallowness of the water The inhabitants say that Pechora flows into the Sea with seventy-two mouths others say six only the Channel that trendeth South-West is the deepest and best The Town is called Pustozera because on a Lake which the Russes call'd Osera and it lies in 68 deg 30 min. of Latitude In the Town are three Churches and the people poor speak a language of their own and are Christians ever since 1518 they live chiefly upon the Geese and other fowl which they catch in the Spring and Summer whose feathers they sell to Merchants and the flesh they powder and dry for Winter The River is plentifully stored with fish especially Salmons whereof in one year they took above fifteen thousand which they salt sell and convey to Mezen by land They live commonly upon fresh fish boil'd and dry'd Hither use to come every year two thousand Samoieds with their commodities The Pechora runs thro great Permia and the head of it is five weeks journey above Pustozera Divers great Rivers fall into it as Shapkina Nougorotka Habeaga and Ouse of which besides the names we know nothing East of the Pechora lies the Promontory of Borandey scarce mention'd in any Author the chief Town whereof is Vetzora the inhabitants are originally Samoieds but somewhat civiliz'd by the Muscovites Three days journey above Pustozera lies upon the same River Oust-zilma a Town of about threescore houses in 66 deg and 30 min. where they have Ry and Barley growing very good and where is a very good trade for Furs Siberia call'd by the Russes Sibior Siberia is much of the same nature tho more South then Obdoria and Petzora from which it is divided by those high and terrible mountains called Ziemni-poias which by reason of the cold winds to which they are exposed and continual snow are very barren and hardly passable in many places Here and there are trees some say Cedars and about them the blackest Sables and the best white Falcons Herberstein reports that there were some persons that after seventeen days travel to go over them return'd back as thinking them unpassable They were heretofore all Samoieds and in Bar. Herbersteins time had neither Castle nor City situated upon the River Cama out out of it ariseth the Jaycks a large River that passing thro the plains of Tartary enters into the Caspian Sea The Country was then also full of Woods and Lakes and almost desart till they submitted to the Muscovite together with the other Samoieds The Country is so call'd from Sibier or Sibior the first built City amongst them tho Tobolsca be the chiefest which is a City of great trade to which the Teseeks Boughars and Tartars bring very rich commodities from Persia of all sorts Papinougorod also is a good trading Town so call'd from the Nation of the Papini amongst whom it is built who were a sort of Samoieds and had a peculiar language But Siberia is now for nothing more famous then that it is the place of banishment for such either offenders as
deserve that punishment or as have by any way faln under the Tzars displeasure for these also he sends thither with their wives and children and sometimes gives them there some small government To poor people it is now not terrible to be sent into Siberia as formerly it was because they find tolerable livelihood there but to the rich and noble it is look'd upon as sending to the Galleys in France and other places only they are obliged to bring in a certain number of Sables upon pain of severe bodily chastisement nor is it an easie matter for any of them to escape One thing more is to be observed that many learned men and amongst them Olearius confounds this Siberia with another Province near that name under the Grand Tzars dominion in the South bordering upon the dominions of Poland which is almost as great an error as that of those who think Samoiedia and Samogitia to be the same This Country is said to have yeilded in 1589 a tribute of four hundred sixty-six timber of Sables every timber containing forty skins five timber of Martrons an hundred and eighty cases of black Fox every case containing also forty skins besides other commodities To Tobolsca which is almost in the midst of Siberia are brought all the tributes and thence sent by convoy to Mosko but the chief Governor of all these northern Countries resides at Vergateria Permia situate upon the River Vischora or Vistorna which is ten miles from Weliki Perme or great Permia the chief City of this Province Permia and falls into the River Cama Permski upon the East borders upon Tumen which is under the Tartars where is a great trade from Boghar and Persia From Tumen to Tobolsca they travel in fourteen days from Tobolsca to Beresova another great trading Town upon the Ob in nine days from Beresova into the River Ouse and down that into the Petzora and so to Pustozera in three weeks The Permians pretend to be an ancient Nation I suppose because they have a peculiar language and characters Yet till they submitted to the Muscovites they lived no otherwise than the Samoieds neither as yet have they much use or knowledg of bread nor do they plant or sow but live upon hunting and have their Sleds drawn with Deer or great Dogs which they bring up for that purpose and when the snow is hard frozen they have their Nartes which the Laps and Fins call Saksit other Nations Artach or long Skeits made of thin wood or bark wherewith they glide over the snow with incredible swiftness but these are used in all northern Countries where they are accustom'd to much snow They were very zealous Idolaters insomuch that the first Bishop who was sent to convert them they flay'd alive yet did not this discourage his successor Stephen who happily setled Christianity and civility in a great part amongst them he also invented characters for their peculiar language and is reckon'd amongst the Saints in the Russ-Calendar Yet amongst them as amongst the Siberians Samoieds and most of these northern Countries are secretly still many Idolaters who frequent not their Cities but live in Woods and amongst the Marshes They seem to be a rich people for when Ivan Vasilowich sought for an aveny or pretence to fleece them he sent to them for so much Cedar to build him a Palace they returning answer that they had no such thing in their Country nor did they know what it was he punish'd their obstinacy at twelve thousand and sixty Rubbles or Marks Whence we may gather that they were united to the dominion of the Muscovite before that time and some say under Vasilie his father This demand of the Emperors might either take its reason from the report of Cedars upon the mountains of Siberia or that report from this message Jugoria Jugria Hugria Juhar Juhria Juharia Jugâ—â— Jugra where it is situated I know not for some place it on the East others on the West-side of Ob. H. Smith who lived in Petzora 1580 saith that it lies over against Waygatz If it be true which the Baron of Herberstein saith that this was the Country whence Attila with his Huns over-run so much of Europe and afterwards setled in Pannonia which from the name of their own Country Jugaria they called Hungaria they should seem to be West of Ob for Dubravius who writes the story saith that they were a very barbarous and deformed Nation living amongst great Lakes and Forrests which agrees well enough to the Jugorsky and that some of them hunting a Stag the beast took thro the Marshes and by that means shewed them a way into a better Country then their own which knowing no other till then contented them very well But the hunters returning and declaring the pleasures and riches they had discover'd perswaded them to leave that uncomfortable place and by their valor seek better habitations which they presently put in execution The difficulties in this opinion are that the present Juhria is not stored with horses that the inhabitants are a very poor miserable and but few people much undisposed for such high and generous thoughts of conquering their neighbours Yet is not the argument which the diligent and learned Baron useth to be despised which is that both the remainder of the ancient Hungarians who live between the Danow and Tibiscus and these Jugarians use the same language which is not known to be any where else spoken But reserving this dispute to a properer place we have nothing more to say of them but that they live much-what after the manner of the Samoieds the same diet clothing tribute c. DWINAE FLUVII nova descriptio Sumptibus Janssanio-Waesbergiorum et Mosis Pitt To this of Dwina Vstiug we will subjoin Vstiug Ostium Jugh Fl. that gives name to a Provice tho but a poor one The natives formerly had a language proper to themselves as well as divers other Provinces before mention'd but the care of the Emperor is such that he abolishes them by degrees and introduceth the Muscovitish which the people willingly do finding it much better for their commerce Here and in Dwina Sables are not of so great reputation but they have the best black Foxes Here are also very great and famous Fairs and Marts West of Dwina is Corella Carelia Carelen Corella and betwixt them both the Island Solowski famous for the Abby of St. Nicolas whereinto they permit not any woman to enter It is in 63 deg 50 min. The banks of the Sea hereabouts are white and shining with Alabaster In this Province is much Salt boiled The people live much-what like the Laplanders tho not altogether so barbarous for they have some Towns as Corelnburg Nordenburg upon the mouth of a Lake which by the River Warfuga emptieth it self into the Bay of St. Nicolas Kexholm in the hands of the Suedes and the greatest part of all this Province pays tribute both to the Russes and
is T were situate on the River Twertza which falls into the Volga near this Town This is a large Town and hath in it about sixty Churches the chiefest that of our Saviour Upon the same River is placed Torsoch Tersack or Torsiock a large Town also The Province is rich both in Corn and Merchandise very populous also being ready to furnish their Prince with forty thousand good Horse and twice as many foot Here is also a Mint and a Bishops See Near to these is Plescow 〈…〉 which the Russes call Pscow the chief City hath a strong Castle situate upon a Rock whence springs the River Pskow which after six leagues dischargeth it self into the Lake of Peipis which Herberstein calls Czuezko or Czudzin It was govern'd by its own Princes till Ivan Vasilowitz 1509 united it to his Crown The Citizens till then were famous for their valour civility and honest dealing in their trade but the Grand Duke transported them and put Muscovites in their stead It is one of the strongest wall'd Cities in all Russia 't is of so great extent that when besieged by Stephen King of Poland there were said to be in it seventy thousand foot and seven thousand horse besides the inhabitants in garison Were it not for one ledg of Rocks the Navigation from hence to the Baltic Sea would be very convenient and easie There were in this Province divers places of strength which gave the Grand Tzar Vasilie great trouble to reduce them to his command South and by West of this Province of Novogorod that we dispatch all these Territories that ly together lies the great City of Smolensko Smolensko belonging anciently to Litvania recover'd to that Province by Vitold their Duke in 1413. Basilius the Grand Tzar made several attempts to recover it but in vain till his beloved General Michael Glinski a valiant Polish General that ran over to the Russes recover'd it more easily with his money then he could with his arms The Poles have endeavour'd several times to recover this City and in one battel near unto it slew eighty thousand Russes but could not reduce the City till Sigismund King of Poland took it in 1611 and in 1633 Michael Federowitz besieged it in vain yet his son Alexie Michaelowitz had it surrendred to him by composition in 1654 and the Russes still keep it The River Nieper commonly thought to be Boristhenes tho Beresine comes nearer that name runs thro it The City is very well fortified both with good walls well palisado'd and as they say above ten yards high and also with a very strong Castle upon the bank of the River To this jurisdiction belong Drohobus Wyesma and Mozaizko where the Emperor commonly once a year diverts himself and the Ambassadors in hunting This Mozaisko hath many times a Governour of its own and a Territory belonging to it The Town was taken from Alexander King of Poland by the Grand Tzar Ivan predecessor of Vasilie and the Grand Duke often repairs thither in devotion to St. Nicolas the great Saint of the Russes who is said to be buried in the Chappel of the Castle There remains one Province or Dukedom 〈…〉 which anciently belonged to Litvania the South-West border of Muscovy called Sewera Severia Siberia Which hath given occasion to some to confound it with that Province which the Russes call Sibior upon the River Ob. This is a large and fruitful Principality reaching from the Dnieper to the Castle of Mscenek which is now demolished This Country had at first Dukes of its own afterwards it acknowledg'd the superiority of the Dukes of Litvania together with which Jagello becoming Christian it submitted to the Kings of Poland afterwards they fell from Casimire unto the Grand Tzar at length in the Reign of Vasilie father of Ivan Vasilowich the Duke was accused of treason and lost his Principality which was united to the Crown of Muscovy The chief City Novogrod Siviersky and sometimes residence of the Dukes is called Novogrod Siviersky a City and Castle well fortified after the manner of Russia from whence to the City Moskow is an hundred and fifty leagues the way lies thro Bransko Serensko Worotin a small Principality the City Worotin is upon the River Occa and Coluga a Town also upon the Occa and dependant upon the Abbey of Troitza Other great Towns in this Province are Starodub Posiwol Czernigow Kilski Krom Arol and Osippow They that from hence travel towards Tartary pass the Rivers Sna Samara Ariel Koinschwada and Molosca They pass the Rivers on branches of trees fasten'd together instead of Boats This Country by reason of its neighbourhood to the Tartars upon whom it borders toward the East is much of it Desert and Forrest for want of culture but those few inhabitants there are are very warlike being kept in continual exercise by the Tartars Thus much for the Western parts of this Empire let us proceed to those that ly in the in-land Country 〈…〉 South of Vologda North of Jeroslaw lies the Town and Castle of Castrom upon a River of the same name which looses it self in the Volga And East of Castrom is the little Town of Galitz near the Lake Galitz here the Grand Tzar hath a manufacture of Salt Jaroslaw Jaroslaw fifty leagues North of Moskow a Province rich in Corn Cattel and Honey The City lies upon the Volga containing about forty thousand inhabitants strongly fortified and of a great trade as having a very easie passage to Archangel They make here much Linnen Cloth This used formerly to be the Title and subsistence of the younger Sons of the Emperors family till Ivan Vasilowich took it from them to himself 1565. Yet he permitted some of them to keep the Title being till of late called Knest Jaroslawski Of the same condition and propriety is Rostow 〈◊〉 the City is twelve leagues South of Jeroslaw upon a Lake of the same name Ivan Vasilowich put to death the last Heir to this Province of the family of the Grand Tzar 〈◊〉 In this Province is Vglitz a Town famous for its bread Chlopigrod was a great Mart for all the Northern Nations yet more bartering than buying and selling 〈◊〉 because of the River Mologa by which it communicateth with Weliki Novogrod It is now ruined The name signifies the Castle of Slaves for they say that when their Masters had subdued their Slaves with their Whips the Slaves retired hither Susdal is between Rostow and Wolodomir Susdal The City is famous for a stately Monastery of Nuns whither Ivan Vasilowitz confined his Wife and it was formerly the Metropolis of Russia This Province also belonged to the younger Sons of the Emperor and since ruin'd by the Tartars ann it hath never recover'd it self Castrom and Galitz belonged formerly to this Government Pereaslaw belonged formerly to Rostow Pereaslaw famous now for its salt Lake and fruitful Soil At the end of harvest the Grand Tzar
commonly retires thither to hunt In the Town are reckon'd near thirty thousand inhabitants East of this is the City and Principality of Wolodomir Wolodomir which was anciently the Metropolis of all the Russes till Ivan or Danislow built Moskow and translated the seat of the Empire thither more out of danger of the invasion of the Tartars The soil so fruitful that it renders frequently thirty for one The City is the second in the Empire for greatness and was built by Wolodomir one of the chief Founders of the Empire in 928. Some say that he married Helena the daughter of Niceph. Phocas but the Chronology will hardly permit it East of Wolodomir is the City and Province of Nisi-Novogrod in Dutch Nisen Nieugarten or little Novogrod Nisi-Novogrod some call it Novogrod the lower or in the low Countries a Country very fruitful and pleasant This Province also is the utmost limits of Christianity for tho the Grand Tzar have some dominions East of it even as far as the River and Castle Sura yet are most of the inhabitants there Czremiss and Mordwitz Tartars and follow Mahomet The City is in 56 deg 28 min. it is situated at the confluence of the Rivers Occa and Volga which being join'd make a River of four hundred Geometrical feet broad It is inhabited by Russes and Germans who had here the exercise of the Reformed Religion There is also a famous Church built above six hundred years ago in imitation of that of St. Sophia in Constantinople All provisions are exceedingly cheap Here is a very strong Castle cut out of the main Rock with very great charge and trouble by the Grand Tzar Vasilie Ivanowich Near to this is Vasiligrod Vasiligrod at 55 deg 51 min. where the Sura falls into the Volga between Novogrod and Cazan Bezvodna Kadniza Rubotka Tzetschina Targinits Jurkin Masa Kremonki Parmino besides others are large Villages in this Province Spessabelka Stoba Welikopat Tsimonskoy and Dioploy are considerable Islands in the Rivers The Principality of Casinow is also near to this Casinow The inhabitants speak the Tartar language All their women go with their heads uncover'd and dy the nails of their fingers black Wiatka or Viathka a Province City Wiatka and River of the same name lies North of Nisi-Novogrod it is a barren marish Country Vasilie took it from the Tartars and annexed it to his Crown and Titles yet the Tartars still lurk and steal what they can about and amongst the Russes In this Province are the Towns of Chilinova Orlo Cotenicz and Sloboda Amongst those Countries live the Czremisses and Mordwa-Tartars Czremisses and Mordwa-Tartars Their Customs are not much different save that the Mordwitz have some few more houses Those on the right hand of the Wolga they call Nagorni Mountainiers those on the other Lugowi or inhabitants of the plain and grassy Countries There are amongst them some Mahumetans but the greatest part are Heathen who believe that there is one eternal God and evil Angels also which they endeavour to pacifie lest they should do them harm and this is a great part of their Religion Not far from Casan is a River called Nemda to which they go in pilgrimage where as also in a Brook hard by the Nemda called Schokshem they think the Devil dwells This Brook hath not above four foot water but never freezeth whence they conceive such fancies that they dare not approach at too near a distance and then also with presents lest the Devil should be angry with and kill them tho they see the Russes have not the least apprehensions of any such danger When they sacrifice they kill an Horse Cow or Sheep and hang the skin upon a pole between two trees they rost or boil the flesh part of which they take in one hand and Mead or some other beverage in the other and throw it into the fire before the skin praying the skin to take care of presenting their prayers and requests to God which are only for conveniencies of this life They worship also the Sun and Moon and what they dream of in the night but have neither Temple Priest nor Service Their language is peculiar to themselves tho being under the Grand Tzar many of them now speak the Russ If a rich man dy they kill his best Horse to serve him in the next world but his nearest friends eat him Polygamy is frequent amongst them but if a wife be without children three years they dismiss her and take another and often the sister of a former wife Their women are wrapp'd rather then habited in white Cloth which leaves nothing of them seen but their faces those who are betrothed have on their heads a Coif with a point half an ell long whereat hangs a bell The men shave their heads All of them men and women are very swift and excellent Archers The Mordwitz have a kind of a Governor or Captain of their own but they are all subject to the Grand Tzar whom they are obliged to assist in all his wars but pay him no tribute except what presents they voluntarily send him Resan is situated betwixt Occa and Don Resan or Tanais which riseth in this Country near to it is the City of Colunna Columna or Colon but the chiefest City of Resan is also called Resan upon the Occa near the Isle of Strub which heretofore was a Government of it self This Province is the most fruitful in all Russia if not in the world if they romance not too much who say that one grain produceth many stalks each stalk many ears that it grows so thick and strong that an Horse can very difficultly pass thro it or a Quail fly out of it they till every year but never manure their land The fruits also here are very good the people also very couragious civil and liberal towards strangers The Province is able to send fifteen thousand Cavaliers to the wars and forty thousand foot In this Province are great Towns Corsira or Cassier formerly head of a Province of its own name Tulla on the edge of the great Desart it hath a strong stone Castle built by the Grand Tzar Basilius who took it by force from the Prince that had the right and dominion of it Odoiow where Tulla and Vppa flow into the Occa. Near to this was Msczeneck a strong Fort but now ruined Thereabouts live a few poor people in their Huts who refuge themselves in the great Marshes which take up all that Country upon the invasion of the Tartars Colluga famous for its wooden Ware Czirpac near to which are Iron-Mines the only sort of Mines in all Muscovy And Worotin a small Province all upon the Occa as also the Towns of Cazigorod and Murina This River breeds the best fish and watereth the richest meadows in all Russia We have not yet spoken of Leucomoria Loppia and some other Countries upon the Ob and the North Sea because part of
what is said of them is certainly fabulous and all the rest uncertain we shall however respit them till we come to Asia Nor of Casan and Astracan but we shall defer them also till we come to speak of Volga and the Tartars their Countries and affairs being mingled together There remains therefore only Moscua Moscua the Metropolis of this great Empire which we purposely reserved to this place that what we have to say concerning the Empire it self and the whole Nation might be more easily apprehended The Province and City of Mosko are almost in the center of all the Grand Tzars dominions but nearer the West and South for which reasons as also because the soil is none of the fruitfullest it was very prudently chose for the Seat of the Empire For toward the West and South is the greatest danger of invasion and the fiercest enemies and the barrenness of the soil makes the air so very good and healthful that it is accounted a wonderful thing to hear of a plague or any epidemical disease in that Province tho they are sometimes afflicted with a violent burning Feaver which they call Ognyo whereof few recover yet I do not hear that it is malignant Nor is the sterility any inconvenience in any part of Muscovy because the Country is generally very fruitful and carriage from place to place very easie and cheap in Summer time because of the great number of navigable Rivers and in Winter by reason of the convenience of their Sleds whether drawn by Deer whose nourishment costs nothing a little moss which useth not to be very scarce in bogs and woods sufficing them or Horses which are very hardy and used to travel forty or fifty of our miles without baiting so that a Country-man will for four Crowns conduct you eleven or twelve hundred miles Besides the inland trade amongst themselves is very great for having very many fasting days they must be supplied with fish from the Sea The North sends them Furs and Skins for their clothing the South sends Corn Cloth Linnen and Woollen and almost all manufactures Besides the frequent passings and repassings of so many Governors both renders travelling very commodious and frequently cheap also and makes a great circulation of trade and commodities in the whole Nation The City of Moskow is in 55 deg 36 min. Latitude and about 66 deg Longitude Of the vastness of it before its great desolation by fire 1571 strange things are related as that it was more than double as large as it was afterwards that there was in it many hundred thousand inhabitants and that there were slain burnt drowned and troden to death above eighty thousand persons Possevinus who was there Ambassador 1582 saith that in his time it was not above five Italian miles in compass and not more then thirty thousand inhabitants But I am afraid that Author doth much depress the power and number of inhabitants everywhere in Russia In 1611 forty-one thousand and five hundred houses were again reduced to ashes by the Poles and two hundred thousand persons slain Olearius saith that in his time its circumference was about three leagues Our relators in 1662 allow it four leagues sixteen miles in compass and the figure round and is said to contain above forty thousand houses It consisteth of four parts or quarters The first is Cataigorod or mid-City divided from the rest by a brick-wall the River Moskwa runs on the South-side as the Neglina doth on the North of it In this part is the Castle fortified with three strong walls and a good ditch wherein are two Palaces of the Grand Dukes one of stone another of timber In this Castle are two Steeples in one of which is a bell weighing 33600 pound The Exchequer and Magazine of powder are also in the Castle Two fair Monasteries five Churches and Chappels all of stone and in St. Michaels Church the Sepulchers of the Grand Tzars At the Castle-gate is the Church called Jerusalem which Ivan Vasilowitz thought so magnificent that he put out the Architects eyes that he might never make the like And before the Castle is the great Market place where every trade hath a station by it self The second quarter is Tzar-gorod encompassing the other like a semicircle walled about with stone wherein is the Arsenal and the workmen in mettal as Bell-founders Casters of Cannon c. The third is Skoradom on the North-West side of the other the River Jagusa passes thro it and here is the market for houses timber c. The fourth is Strelitza Slavoda being the quarters of the Strelitz or Guard of the Grand Duke fortified with wooden Ramparts and built for strangers and mercenary Soldiers There are in this City above two thousand Churches and Chappels built saith Possevin more for ornament to the City then use but this Author as I observed before seems to be partial against the Muscovites The Houses in Moskow and generally in all Muscovia are after the same fashion made of Fir-timber squared and dove-tail'd one into another not with mortise and tenant at the end two or at the most three stories high their windows short and narrow the chinks between the timber calk'd as I may say or stop'd up with moss stairs on the outside instead of chimnies stoves the covering or tiling of bark and upon that sometimes turfs of earth Nor is their houshold-stuff much richer no beds chairs wainscot hangings or the like unnecessary implements The walls cover'd with mats benches to sleep and sit upon a pot or two as many wooden dishes a spoon to hang at the girdle If a fire happen in the City as it doth very frequently they go not about to quench it with water but only to stop the course of the flame by pulling down the neighbouring-houses to which purpose the Soldiers that keep their night-guards carry each of them an hatchet to cut down an house presently Nor are the people very much concern'd for their small and cheap furniture But the Merchants and persons of quality have for their magazines Vaults of stone with little windows and those also have shutters as well as their doors of white iron There dwell in the City a great number of Greeks Persians but especially Tartars yet the Greeks are most welcom as most sympathizing with the Russes in their Religion The Lutherans also and Reform'd are well received and have liberty publickly to exercise their Religion which they of the Roman Communion cannot No Jews are admitted amongst them Moskow being near the center of the whole Empire it is very convenient to take our measures by it of the rest of the Country allowing proportionably for the nearness to or remoteness from it As first for the temper of the air The cold is here sometimes so excessive that water will freeze as it is falling that the earth will chop as with us in the violent drought of Summer even to above twenty fathoms long and a foot broad and
people are found dead in their Sleds The cold also endures a long time the frost ordinarily begins with November but breaks not up till April i.e. till the Sun hath been some considerable time above their Horizon whence it comes to pass that all their plants and whatsoever is under-ground in winter is ready to thrust it self into the air as soon as it hath liberty their Rye for this reason they sow in the beginning of winter that as soon as the snow and ice is melted it may spring and have time to ripen but all their other corn which requires not so much maturation they sow not till May. And it is by strangers much taken notice of that even almost as soon as the snow is gone the fields are all green and plants spring much faster then in another place where their natural force and vigor hath not been so much restrained and kept back by the cold and the snow so that what they sow in May and June they reap in July and August and indeed the shortness of their summer allows them not much time for tillage It is also observed that their Rye is in its kind their best grain And for their fruits tho they have of most sorts as Apples Pears Plums Cherries c. yet they are not so good nor do not ripen so kindly nor can be so long preserved as in those places where they grow and ripen slower But those things which are of hasty and speedy growth are very good as all sorts of Berries Herbs Gourds and Melons which are here both exceedingly great some weighing forty pound and very well tasted but they breed them in hot beds as we do here and never remove them All Authors almost speak of a certain Melon or Gourd called Boranetz or a Lamb that grows upon a stalk and when it hath eaten all the grass within its reach it dies It is possible that there may be a fruit which with the help of imagination may somewhat resemble a Lamb and it may also be downy and woolly also it may be either of so hot a temper or so great a depredator of moisture that it may cause the neighbouring-plants to wither and dy but that there is any animal growing upon a root and eating c. they that have seen it must believe it but other persons may have their liberty It is not long ago since they began to cultivate garden-herbs but they prosper very well as Asparagus for the purpose grows as thick as a mans thumb And edible roots must needs become both large and pleasant From this multitude of melted snow it comes to pass that the ground is very soft and mellow which tho it be an inconvenience in their high ways insomuch that even the streets of Moskow would be unpassable were it not that they pave them with round Fir-trees laid close to one another yet in their tilling their ground it is very useful for neither do they use any manuring even in the barrenest places nor is their ground difficult to belaboured no small convenience to a lazy people that even stirring it with a stick is in some places sufficient for their Corn. Nor is their Corn being so short a time betwixt the sowing and harvest subject to so many accidents droughts rains blastings c. as ours is whence it is noted that it is exceeding rare to hear of a dearth in Muscovy except by the wickedness of them that buy up the Corn to sell it dearer tho they sow little more than for their own spending But sowing for plenty they have much to spare as the Dutch know very well who bring thence great quantities to supply their own necessities It is also observed in their weather that the Summers are violently hot both because their days are so long and the soil for the most part sandy which easily receives and retains strongly the heat of the Sun so long upon it This heat coming upon proportionable moisture produces prodigious quantities of Gnats and other Insects which tho not so dangerous as Toads and Vipers yet are much more troublesom and a much greater annoyance Indeed an extraordinary heat is requisite to force up such a quantity of materials as must serve to make so much snow that it covers the ground some yards thick But it is hard to believe what some Authors say that it sometimes sets on fire their Corn-fields and their woods But this heat is augmented or conserved as was said before by the nature of the soil for in Livonia in the same degrees of Latitude yea divided only from Russia by the River Narva their Corn seldom comes to be so ripe and hard that they can thresh or grind it but they are forced to help themselves with stoves built in their Barns for drying their Corn which tho it be easier to thresh yet it neither yeilds so much flower nor is so good to sow as that which ripens by the heat of the Sun as it always doth in Muscovy The Country is generally overgrown with Woods and their Forrests consist most of Firs and Birch which loveth a light sandy soil and Lakes both I believe from the same cause want of tillage For the Natives husband not much more then they are sure will serve themselves for should they have greater plenty they could not find markets for it and they are not careful of encreasing their stock of men Albertus Campensis tells very great stories whom in some things we have followed of the great abundance of people in Russia Possevine again as much disparages them But our own Authors affirm that it is not so well peopled as it might be partly because of their wars which devour always great quantities of them and partly because they are lazy and take more care themselves to live in ease and plenty then to multiply their Nation or employ more hands then of needs they must These Forrests must needs be very well stored with Beasts and Fowls Their Beasts are Elks which the Germans call Elans and Olans and the Russes Lozzi not much unlike to the Rain-Deer Wild Bulls which seem to be the Bisontes of the Ancients Boars Bears of a prodigious magnitude strength and cruelty both white and black Wolves also too many for in an hard winter both the Bears who sleep not when hunger pinches them and Wolves are very pernicious to their cattle and their persons also when they meet them unarmed There are also Horses plenty small but strong couragious and very serviceable Cows Goats and Sheep Fallow Deer also and Roe-Bucks in great plenty Besides these are many others who are hunted only for their Furs as the Wolverine or Wood-Dog Beavor Once Lysern Sable Martron black dun red and white Foxes the Gurnstal the Laset or Minever Hares which in winter change their colour into white as the Squirrel doth into gray whereof comes the Fur they call Calaber There is one sort of Squirrel that hath upon the point of its
shoulder a tuft of hair much like unto feathers with a broad tail with which they aid themselves so much in their leaping that they seem to fly The Furs of these are the great riches of this Country and the greatest traffick since they sell to strangers besides what is paid to the Grand Tzar for tribute for a million of Rubbles per ann the chief are black Foxes Sables Beavors white Bears Ermins or Gurnstals and Squirrels Wolverin also and white Fox are much esteemed as also that of a Water-Rat which smelleth like Musk. There is so great abundance of Fowls and Birds that they will not take the pains to catch the smaller sorts as Thrushes Fieldfares and the like Birds of prey here are very excellent of divers sorts Gerfalcons are accounted the best and divers of them white which are for their rarity of great price and presents for Princes Of their Fish we shall speak when come to their Lakes The other products of the earth are Mines and of these we have but a very slender account It is reported that not long ago there hath been discover'd near Tula upon the frontiers of Tartary a Silver Mine which is wrought by German work-men sent thither by the Duke of Saxony at the entreaty of the Grand Tzar A league and a half from this Mine in a delightful Valley between two high Mountains is an Iron-work upon a small but convenient River This was and I believe still is govern'd by a Commissary from the King of Denmark who is obliged to furnish into the Grand Dukes Arsenal yearly a considerable quantity of bars of Iron of Canons and fifty thousand poods or twenty thousand quintals of ball by a contract made with the Emperor Peter Marcelis the first that set up this Work grew to be very considerable at the Court and obtained the priviledge to trade alone in Iron Corn and Fish-oyl as also to make Gold and Silver-wire which is a very great profit considering the great use of Embroideries in Muscovy There are in several other places especially toward the North-West parts Iron-mines also but not so good as this last mentioned However in all of them the Iron is observed to be brittle yet is it very serviceable for many uses to which they understand very well how to apply it The commodities of the Country which draw Merchants thither are 1. Their Furs 2. Wax whereof they have shipped in one year heretofore fifty thousand pood every pood being forty pound but now not above ten thousand pood 3. Honey whereof they spend great quantities in their own country in their drinks yet is much also transported 4. Tallow heretofore much more now about thirty thousand pood yearly sent out of the Country the reason of the plenty of it is because the great men generally burn Wax-lights the ordinary people slivers of Fir or Birch dip'd in Fish-oyl 5. Hides of Losh Lozzi and Buff of which are bought by forreign Merchants about thirty thousand per ann besides Goats and other skins 6. Train-oyl of Seals 7. Caviare the greatest part of it is made at Astracan of the Roes of Sturgeon and Belluga This is a large fish twelve or fifteen foot long without scales else not unlike a Sturgeon Of these fishes they take great quantities for the roes which they salt and press and put up into casks That which is made of the Sturgeon is black small grain'd and waxy that of the Belluga is darkish gray and the grain as large as a Pepper-corn In one fish they find sometimes an hundred and fifty or two hundred weight of spawn This fish is said to ly in the bottom of the River and to swallow many large pebbles of an incredible weight to ballast him against the violence of the River encreased by the melted snow and when the waters are asswaged he disgorgeth himself This spawn they cleanse from its strings salt it drain away the oyly part by laying it on shelving boards then put it into casks and press it till it become hard Isinglass ichthyocolla is made of the sounds of this fish This trade is reserved to the Emperor himself 8. Hemp and Flax which is a great trade with the French who carry thither Brandy and bring back Hemp and Flax which they work up in Normandy 9. Salt likewise is a great profit to them 10. So is Tar also Many other commodities of lesser value and quantity are hence carried away as Morsses-teeth into Turky and Persia Slude it is a soft rock in Corellia which they cut out into lumps and afterwards tear it into small pieces we call it Muscovy-glass it is the lapis specularis and is used for Lanthorns Windows c. Salt-peter Pot-ashes Corn Isinglass and Iron are likewise hence transported They have also divers manufactures as Utensils of wood Clothes Saddles and Harness for Horses Arms and the like which they vend to several neighbouring countries which want such conveniencies To which the ignorance and unskilfulfulness of the Tartars and lazy slothfulness of the Gentleman-like Polanders give them no small opportunity Of the Government and Manners of the Russes THus much of the Soil their Forrests and their Commodities concerning their Lakes we shall discourse when we come to their Rivers It follows we should next treat of their Government and the manners of the people which depend upon it The chief axiom in their politicks is 〈…〉 That above all things they should agree one with another and join together against all the world For the Empire being very large and exposed on three sides to very dangerous enemies Tartars Turks Polonians and Swedes their country also not being well peopled the fortified places at great distances they have no security but a strict union amongst themselves Which causeth them all to concenter in absolute Monarchy as the greatest conjunction of interests or rather but one interest in the whole The Prince therefore for his part complies with them as much as he can marries rarely with any stranger suffers not strangers to advance to any considerable honours fills all the places of trust profit and honour with his Russes the greatest preferment a foreigner can expect is to be Colonel of a Regiment or to command a Fort or Army and this but seldom and for one expedition only He labours to breed in his people an admiration of themselves and that their own customs laws and manners are better and more rational then in any other country whatsoever wherefore he hinders his people from travelling abroad tho for merchandise from conversing with strangers even Ambassadors and from entertaining any forreigner except for trade Neither will he suffer them to build any large Ships to transport merchandise in quantities to other countries But they want not small vessels for fishing or carrying goods from one of their own ports to another Nor is he willing that any forreigner who hath lived long in Russia should leave them and return to his own Nation Nor
his crown very bare unction and the like They vow perpetual chastity and abstinence from flesh Nor hath he that is once enter'd ever any hopes to get out again The Monastery of Troitza is said to have had near an hundred thousand Rubbles per ann in revenue It is built like a Castle having walls of stone regularly fortified and stored with Cannon and the ordinary number of Religious besides their officers and servants were about seven hundred They have also Nunneries of several orders Some admit only noble widows and maids others promiscuously but this is universally observed that none that are once enter'd do ever return to their secular condition The Emperor having continued with his wife twenty years without having issue by her thrust her into a Nunnery where after two months she was brought-a-bed but could not for all that go out of the Nunnery The History of the Princes of Russia THE Russes have the same vanity that the Romans and most other Nations have had to deduce their original either from Gods or the most famous of men Whereby how much honour soever themselves think to have obtained so much do other Nations think they have lost of truth Some Authors derive them from Augustus Cesar Ivan Vasilowich the learnedst of all the Russes and who had reason to be best informed told an English Goldsmith smiling because the Emperor had said that all Russes were theeves that he was not a Russ but a German and that their family came from Beala a famous King of Hungary More particulars of this we know not as neither who when or upon what occasion they came nor who were their successors But it is certain the Imperial Family was commonly called the House of Beala Others say that the first Governors were three brethren Rurich Sinaux and Truvor of the Varegi But who those Varegi were or what Country they inhabited 't is uncertain as is also the time of their coming which some say was ann 752 others 861. And of these Rurich setled at Novogrod Truvor at Plescow and Sinaux at Bielioser these two last dying without issue Rurich succeeded and left the whole dominion to his son Igor Igor married Olga and fighting with the Drewlians was taken by them and beheaded Olga afterwards defeated and destroyed these Drewlians went to Constantinople was baptized and took the name of Helena about the year 876 brought Christianity into Russia and died with the opinion of sanctity and her anniversary day is July 11. Suetoslaw when he came to age succeeded his father and Jeropolick him Next after him was Wolodomir concerning whom we have something of certainty Zonaras saith that in the time of Basilius the Emperor there was a Bishop sent from Constantinople to convert the Russes I think his name was Leo The Russes would not believe except they saw a miracle whereupon the Bishop threw the book of the Gospels into the fire and after a long time took it out unblemish'd and this was the beginning of the conversion of the Russes but their solemn receiving it was not till 988 when their Prince Wolodomir marrying Anna Sister of Basilius and Constantine was converted baptized and changed his name into Basilius He is by them look'd upon as their Apostle and they celebrate his Festival July 15. he died in 1015. This man removed the Metropolis of the Nation from Kiow to Wolodomir He had many children who fought and slew one another two Borissus and Chlebus are for their holy lives and unjust deaths accounted holy Martyrs and their day is July 24. Sewoldus Coras some call him Jeroslaws after many wars subdued his brethren and obtained the government He was follow'd by his son Wolodomir surnamed Monomachus but others say he was called Jeroslaw or fair bank because he built that City Saxo Grammaticus saith that he married the daughter of Harold King of England He was a potent Prince and kept very good correspondence with the Emperors of Constantinople But it is to be noted that the actions of this are confounded with those of the other Wolodomir They say he died ann 1146 which is not probable if he was the husband of that Lady who followed and is not set down till 1237 when reigned George by some called Gregory call'd by some Szeveloditz others make Wszevolod to be the father and George his son George was ann 1237 slain by Batus a Tartarian Prince who subjected the whole country to the Tartars ordering that the Tartars should from time to time chuse the Princes of Moskow that when they sent their Ambassador the Prince should go to meet and wait upon him on foot offering a platter of Mares-milk that if the Tartar let any of it fall upon the main of his horse the Prince should lick it up and that he should bare-headed and on foot give the Tartars horse his provender out of his cap but the most grievous was that the Tartar had a house and a guard in the Castle of Moskow Michael succeeded his brother and was also slain by the same Tartar Next was Alexander his son and then his son Danielou or Daniel surnamed Caleta He transferred the Imperial Seat to Moskow and called himself Great Duke of Muscovia c. some say by the authority of Inocent IV about ann 1246. Some place after him George Danielowitz Caleta who they say was slain by Demetri Michaelowitz who was kill'd by the Tartars Other place next to Daniel his son Ivan chosen by Zanabeck the Crim-Tartar who favoured him so much that he abated some part of the slavery imposed upon the Tzars His son Ivan Ivanowitz succeeded and was wholly subject to the Tartars Demetri Ivanowitz was his son who refused to pay tribute to the Tartars making a fierce war upon Mamai Kan and gained a very bloody victory the earth for thirteen miles together being cover'd with carcases But Tachtanisk Kan in another battel slew Demetri and renewed the power of the Tartars over the Russes Vasili Demetriwitz follow'd ann 1357 who chased the Tartars out of Russia and conquer'd Bulgaria beyond the Wolga Being jealous of his wife Anastasia he disinherited his son Vasili and gave the Empire to his brother George who at his death restor'd it from his own sons to the right heir But those sons making war upon Vasili took him prisoner and put out his eyes therefore was he call'd Vasili Ciemnox or dark But the Boiars being faithful to him he reigned peaceably till his death and left the Empire to his son Ivan Vasilowich surnamed Grotzdyn who was the first that gave lustre and fame to the obscure name of the Russes For taking away the Dukedoms and Governments from his Uncles who accounted themselves absolute in their dominions he united the whole Nation in his own person and call'd himself Tzaar or as they pronounce it Tzar that is King He married Mary daughter to Michael Duke of Tweria some say Severia or Severski and presently after chaced him out of his
standing as they were before wherein were their wives children c. but all the men of war he took with him and placed himself and them in ambush who rising up at the approach of Vng-Chan slew him and all his followers and presently seizing upon the Kingdom caused himself to be called Gingis-Chan and from the very beginning of his reign either incited or encouraged as all Authors agree and himself always pretended by some divine or at least supernatural apparition he designed wars upon all his neighbours and the enlargement of the dominion and name of Tatars He also set up a new Religion if it was not the same which was begun by Sagomorbar-Chan who was taken for a great Prophet of whom we know very little but wherein it consisted I find not any satisfactory account He believed a Providence and set up Mesquitas to comply with Mahometanism but as an Arabick Author saith it was like a branch broken off the great tree of the Musselmans law and is extremely detested by them He compelled none to his Law and gave greater indulgence then they to the Christians and some of his successors either Manga or Kublai were actually baptized with his whole family and many of his chief Officers who obtained great victories against the Saracens but afterwards they returned to their former impiety which is continued by them to this day The first thing Gingis-Chan did His Victories was subjecting to himself all the neighbouring Scythians which he easily did partly by force partly promise and subdued to the Tatar Government all Cathay eastward to the great Ocean and as far as the Volga or Edil westward He also extended his dominion very far into India and Persia Yet lived he not many years but at his death divided his conquests amongst his sons and after he had shewed them by a bundle of arrows which as long as bound fast together none of them could break but the youngest broke them all when severed exhorting them to unity amongst themselves and obedience to his eldest son he gave him the ancient kingdom and of his conquests as far as Bactria or Chowaresme and made him supreme over all His successor was Ogtai His Successors or as we call him Hoccota-Chan whose life also was short besides him he had many sons particularly one called Tuschai whom some call Ken others Cuine the Father of Batuu or Baydo of whom more by and by Hoccota had also Cuina-Chan who succeeded him The next Emperor to Gina or China-Chan was Mango-Chan who conquered China To him succeeded Cobila or Kublai Chan of whom M. Paulus Venetus Haytho and others write largely he is said to have been baptized and embraced Christianity by the perswasions of a King of Armenia The eleventh or as some say the thirteenth of this race not in order of succession to the Chan but to one of the brothers was Timurlangh whom we commonly call Tamerlan who attributed all his victories to his observance of the Religion of Gingis-Chan Of Tamerlan for which he was by the Mahometan-Doctors declared an Infidel and by their writers call'd Devil Plague Calamity Traitor and Aldighall which we corruptly call Degnal i.e. Antichrist to the Turks and indeed he persecuted them with very great violence and mightily encouraged the Sect of Gingis-Chan Concerning these Of Batuu account must be given in due place it is necessary for our purpose to speak only of Batuu or Baatu or Bayto whom our authors call Batus son of Hoccota He enjoyed the country upon the eastern banks of Volga or Edil and to give a specimen of his disposition when Ban either his brother or brothers son complained that he saw no reason why Baatu should enjoy the fruitful pastures upon Edil and himself as near akin to Gingis-Chan should be driven into the dry and sandy wilderness Batu sent for him and tho the words were spoken in his drunkenness which the Tartars are used to pardon he cut off his head This Batu therefore his son Sartach also possesing northwards all betwixt Don and Volga fell upon the Nations called Comani His Wars Alani and Gazani living between the Euxin and Caspian Sea and wholly wasted their country destroying all except some few who fled into Hungary and there got for awhile secure habitations Afterwards he fell upon the Polowczi seated upon the Tanais and all along upon the north of Palus Maeotis They are commonly said to have been Gothic Nations but Polotwski are called by the Russes such as live without houses in waggons wandring from place to place as they can find pasture for their cattel Whatever they were they sent Ambassadors to the Russes their ancient enemies for assistance against the Tatars as did also the Tatars to advise them to be quiet But the Russes put to death the Tatar messengers and joined with the Polowczi Some say that Cottian their Prince had married his daughter to Miecislaus Duke of Kiow and that this Miecislaus Romanowitz Miecislaus Mscislawitz with the Militia of Halicks the Dukes of Czirnovia Smolensko and most of the Russes joined all their forces to the Polowczi and having march'd twelve days together arrived at the river Kalcza A. C. 1224 July 17 the Tatars who were there encamped perceiving them wearied with so long a march immediately gave them battel and made a very great slaughter many of the Russians were slain and taken and the rest flying homewards were murder'd by the Polowczi whom they came to assist The Tatars pursuing their victory absolutely destroyed the Polowczi and seized upon their country which is that which we call Tartaria Precopensis About thirteen years after A.C. 1238 they fell upon Russia part of which they absolutely wasted as all the country about Kiow part of it being full of woods and lakes and not fit for the Tatars pasturage they conquer'd but gave them conditions whereof we have given before a short account p. 37. thinking it more advantagious to have tribute and dominion over the country then to lay it waste Not long after Batu divided his army himself with one part fell upon Hungary the other he gave to one Peta to march into Poland c. who the first year destroyed all as far as Sendomiria The next year he entred again and forced Boleslaus the Chast Duke of Poland out of the country who retired to the Monastery of Willehrad in Moravia Peta then also burn'd Cracovia all except St. Andrews Church which was fortified and well defended against them Thence they came to Breslaw in Silesia which they found burnt to their hands by the soldiers and inhabitants despairing to keep it Thence they came to Lignitz where Henry Duke of Silesia had got together a considerable army besides those brought to him from Poland Prussia and many other places and gave battel to the Tatars who there obtained a very great victory Henry the Grand Master of the Dutch Knights and many other persons of quality were slain and
so many in all as the Tatars to shew the greatness of the slaughter filled nine great sacks with their right ears and the Arabian authors say they amounted to 270000 which is manifestly false if spoke of this battel if of all the war may have some probability This battel was fought V. Id. Apr. 1241 at a place thence called Walstad a mile from Lignitz The Tatars also were so weakened that they stirred not out of their camp for fifteen days space to cure their men and to deliberate whither they should march next and they resolved upon Moravia to be nearer to their General The King of Bohemia raising what men he could sent them under the command of a very valiant and expert soldier Jaroslaus a Sternberg to defend such places as were most considerable He with much labour and difficulty got into Olmutz when the scouts of the Tatars appear'd before the Town Trusting to the strength of his works he forbore to fight the enemies so long that they conceiving him a coward began to despise him and to keep their own guards more negligently which Jaroslaus perceiving after they had recommended their cause to God by fasting and prayer chusing a dark night march'd out of a postern and with great silence fell into the Tatars camp of whom they slew a great number Peta was slain by Jaroslaus himself the rest drew off and marched to Batu into Hungary Batu had ravaged for two years together not only Hungary but Slavonia Bosnia Rascia Bulgaria and the countries on both sides the Danube Some say that after this making an attempt upon Austria and endeavouring to swim a great river he was drowned others that going against the Greek Emperor he was overthrown however it was it is agreed that his army returned back and seizing upon all the country between the Boristhenes and Volga and the Taurica Chersonesus which before they very much wasted there setled unto this day being called Crim-Tartars from the chief City of the Chersonesus called Crim and Precopenses from Precop which in their language signifies a ditch such a one being drawn cross the Isthmus to cut of that Peninsula from the continent The Tartars at first were Lords yet not absolute for they acknowledged the superiority of the Great Cham the chief heir of Gingis-Chan till Lochtan-Chan one of the descendants from Batu refused obedience to him and took upon himself the absolute dominion over all those places except some few cities in Taurica which notwithstanding their conquests remained in the hands of the Genoueses their inhabitants till about the year 1574 when Mahomet II. Emperor of the Turks took them A little before that they had forsaken their old religion of Gingis-Chan by the practices of Hedegh and Sida-hameth-Chan their Emperors and embraced the Mahometan yet the common people are not very zealous in it to this day but make use of their little puppet-idols of felt c. and continue many other pagan customs of their former religion Mahomet the Great fearing they should grow too powerful for him under colour of taking in the City of Caffa possessed by the Genoueses made himself Master of the best part of the Chersonesus and of the City of Azoph or Azek a strong place at the mouth of Tanais Afterwards the Crim-Tartar aided Selimus I. who married his daughter with an army of 150000 men against his father and then the two Nations made a league that the Tartars should assist the Turk when required with 50000 horse that they should not make war except against the Muscovite without leave of the Turk that they should yearly pay to the Turk a tribute of three hundred Christians some furs butter and such other things And the Turk should pay them 5500 ducats and the Cham should succeed to the Turkish Empire if the males of the Ottoman line should fail But this lasted not long for Amurath III. in the year 1584 quarelling Mahomet the Crim-Tartar as if he designed to intercept Osman Basha in his return from Persia to Constantinople authorized Osman to invade him who taking him and his two sons strangled them and set up Islan the brother of Mahomet under such conditions as the Grand Signior pleased The Tartars did enjoy also all the country of Budziak which lies between the Niester and Boristhenes as we shall shew hereafter but the Turk hath seized upon that so that now their dominion reacheth only between Dnieper or Boristhenes and the Don or Tanais and of this that Peninsula called Taurica Chersonesus is the chiefest part That Peninsula 〈…〉 or Chersonesus was called Taurica becaused inhabited by a sort of Scythians called Tauri and Tauro-Scythae Afterwards the Greeks mingled amongst them and brought the country into great beauty and fame But their names and actions belongs to the ancient Geography The Genoueses taking advantage of the great feuds of the Greeks amongst themselves in the year 1266 or about the time of the Holy-war took Caffa and planted a considerable interest in the country the Tartars either permiting them because of the gain they made by their traffick principally of slaves which they furnished to a great part of the world but especially to Egypt who generally had all their Mamalukes as long as that government lasted from this place or not being skilled in besieging of Towns especially such as could be perpetually relieved And indeed it was very convenient for the Genoueses for having besides this a great plantation at Pera near Constantinople they thereby enjoyed the whole trade of the Black-Sea till as we said they were ruin'd by the Turks since which time I cannot find that it hath suffer'd any considerable alterations We shall therefore describe it being by Christians an unfrequented country out of Mart. Broniovius who was sent Ambassador twice thither from Stephanes Battori King of Poland from which such little informations as we meet with since do not considerably differ This Chersonesus then is about fifty leagues long and thirty where broadest The first Town at the entrance upon the east is Przecop called by the Tartars Or situate upon the Dyke in the narrowest part of the Isthmus where it is not above a mile wide anciently called Eupatoria Pompeiopolis besides other names 'T is now a small Town of about four hundred fires it hath a stone Castle but not strong wherein the Cham hath continually his Beg or Palatine who commands the guard upon the rivers of Boristhenes and Tanais as also the Tartars in the plains betwixt he also examines all strangers suffering none to pass without the Chams letters Sachingeri the Great Cham here overthrew the Nagay-Tartars and raised seventeen forts upon the Dyke some of them of the skuls and bones of the slain Coslow situate near unto the Black Sea is a Town of traffick having near two thousand houses and is in the power of the Cham. Ingermen is now only a Castle but hath been a great Town as appears by the ruines amongst which
are many caves cut out of the rock wells and old buildings of the Greeks witnessed by their inscriptions there very frequent it is now an inconsiderable place inhabited by a few Turks Sari-germen by the Turks by the Tartars Topetarkan anciently Chersonesus and Corsuna the noblest and most ancient City of all the Peninsula is still compassed with a strong stone-wall and divers aquaeducts and other noble buildings entire but without inhabitants the Turks every day fetch away the marble and stones for other buildings Volodomir the Grand Tzar took this Town from Joannes Zimisces and amongst other rich plunder carried away two large royal brazen gates to Kiow from whence Boleslaus II. King of Poland transferred them to Gnesna where they still remain They say also that Volodomir was here baptized Balachey or Balaclawa by the Genoueses called Jamboli or the tower of fishes the Sea there being very well stored situate under the mountain Baba The Genoueses took it without any loss from the Greeks and made it a very commodious beautiful and strong haven The Turks at this day build here their gallyes and ships tho it be but a poor Town at most but of an hundred and twenty fires the inhabitants Turks Jews and Greeks Mangut or Mancus was a very magnificent City tho not by the Sea-shore but first by the Turks and afterwards by a great fire it was so wasted that nothing now remains of it except one high tower and a strong stone-house whereinto the Cham thrusts the Russ-Ambassador as often as he hath a mind to quarrel his master There are some few Turks Jews and Greeks that inhabit there in all about sixty fires There remains still upon the ruines of the walls of some of the Churches the pictures of divers of the Greek Emperors and other famous men Cercessigermen is a small Turkish Fort not far from Mancop The Palaces of the Cham are situated in the middle of the country Baciasaray Baccasaray is a Town of about two thousand houses wherein is a Meschite and divers sepulchers of the Chams very magnificent as is their Palace built with great charges by their former Princes besides that it is seated in a country very proper for hunting and fowling and is nobly adorned with gardens orchards bathes c. Almasaray is another house whither he sometimes retires in a Town of about seventy fires There are also divers little Castles where his own brethren children and their wives are kept Sortasse is a Town where the Ambassadors of foreign Princes have many times liberty to divert themselves At Creme or Crim anciently Taphros and Taphrae from whence they are called Crim-Tartars is his Mint and a very strong Castle in possession of the Tartars but the Town is most inhabited by Turks in all about an hundred houses Sidagios or Sudacum was a very noble and strong City situated in the mountains taken by the Genoueses from the Greeks so set one family against another that they would not come to the same Church the Turks by a long and difficult siege took it from the Genoueses 't is famous for the wine growing thereabouts Caffa or Theodosia still the chief City of the Peninsula hath betwixt five and six thousand houses inhabited most part by Christians who have about forty-five Churches Greeks Armenians and remainders of the Italians some Turks and few Tartars all under a Turkish Sangiac Slaves they reckon there about thirty thousand a Town of great traffick about two days sailing from Constantinople yet is it nothing to what it was under the Genoueses Kerky is a little Town of the Tartars of about an hundred families upon the Strait called anciently Bosphoras Cimmerius which is here about three leagues broad This Town is open for the Grand Signior will not allow the Tartars to have any fortified Town besides Przecop Over against this is Taman a Town and Castle upon the continent in the country called anciently Colchis now the Circassians or Petigor-Tartars Karasu belongs to the Cham and hath above a thousand houses Tusla is amongst the Salt-works and hath about eighty houses Arabet or Orbotec is a double Castle near to which the Cham keeps his Stud or breed of horses which are reckon'd to be about seventy thousand The country towards the south is mountainous and consequently well water'd the rest plain and good pastures but wants water for that near at hand is brackish and their good water is drawn out of very deep wells of which there is no want dug by the former inhabitants Thus much of the Chersonesus The country of Przecop without this the Crim-Tartars enjoy all betwixt Boristhenes Nieper and Tanais Don which from Ossove upon the Don to the Nieper in a strait line is accounted about four hundred English miles but the Nieper fetching a great compass eastward in some places it is not so much This is for the most part plain and even ground and rich pasturage without any Town or constant habitation or propriety Only it seems that the Cham by his officers appoints what parts shall be tilled and in February proclamation is made amongst all the Tartars that if any have a mind to till any ground they should get all their matters ready by such a day when they will go to such a place commodious for that purpose and accordingly some do go and the rest attend upon them that they be not disturbed Betwixt this plain and Russia lies waste a great country as they say requiring twenty days to cross it full of woods and lakes and sometimes under-water which is the greatest security of the rest of that Empire The government is wholly in the hands of the Cham. The Government of the Crim-Tartars The Cadi's determine lesser causes but capital and matters of greater importance are judged by the Cham himself with his Council He is of easie access and reasonably just He always chuseth a Galga who is next to him alive and succeeds after death this is commonly his son or brother according to merit If any one have better pretensions he flies to the Grand Signior who judges the cause His younger sons are Soldans and are brought up by such as have the custody of their wives with whom they are educated till of sufficient strength and according to their fitness they are furnished with commands either in his own country or are recommended to the neighbouring Tartars who willingly receive them Part also are hostages with the Turks When the family of Gingis-Chan was numerous and potent they chused always the Chan but Sachibgerei and Deuletigerei Chans made away with most of them and setled the dominion in their own posterity The Chan hath many Officers and Counsellors Hamiat are those who take care of the affairs of foreign Princes Captains also Coracei Vlans and the best of the Murses are called to Council The Vlans are those of an ancient family of Chans but were deprived of it by the Giereys the name of the
were called Quartani These forces had such effect against the Tartars that the country beyond Breclaw Bar and Kiow began to be peopled Towns and Fortresses to be builded and colonies brought from the neighbouring places But as their establishment and union was very proper to make head against the Tartars so in short time it proved of great danger to Poland it self for the Cosacks knowing their own strength and of what importance they were began to set up for themselves they would not obey the orders of their superiors nor acknowledg the power of the Polonians over them Their first rebellion was in the year 1587 under John Podkowa their General who was foiled taken and his head struck off In the year 1596 Sigismund III. upon the complaints and threats of the Grand Seignior forbad them to pillage any more upon the Black Sea from which they indeed for awhile abstained but it was that they might fall upon Russia and Lithvania under the conduct of Nalevaiko their General The Polanders to secure their country were forced to raise an army against them commanded by Zolkiewski whom the Cosacks fought at Bialacerkiew and worsted but he returning and forcing them into places of disadvantage compelled them to give up their General who in like manner lost his head In the year 1637 certain Polish Noblemen having obtained the lands upon these frontiers in the places appointed for the quarters of the Cosacks began to force these their new subjects to the same services as in other parts of the Kingdom which are to work three days of the week man and horse for their Lord to pay also according to their Farms so much corn poultry fowl c. at Easter Whitsontide and Christmas to cart home his Lords wood besides other duties as paying so much money the tenth of their cattel honey fruits and every third year the third oxe and these ordinarily besides what the Lord pleaseth to impose upon them for indeed the Lords are absolute nor are they punished if they kill their paysants who are little better then their slaves These Noblemen also applied themselves to the King and Senators shewing them that the Cosacks only could frustrate their plantations for the paysants when they found themselves to be oppress'd listed themselves amongst the Cosacks that they were a thievish libertine sort of people and hinder'd both by example and protection the obedience of their Farmers It was therefore resolved to build a Fort at Kudac a place near their Porouhi and therefore very convenient to bridle the Cosacks who well understanding to what this tended first cut in pieces two hundred men that were set to guard the building of it afterwards when it was finished resolving to take it they fell into jealousie of their General Sawakonowicz and having murder'd him chused one Paulucus a man of little conduct and experience and before they were got into their Tabor being met by the General Potoski they were routed at Korsun and forced to deliver up their General and four more of their chief Officers who were put to death at Warsaw notwithstanding that the General had promised them their lives Presently followed the loss of their priviledges and their Town Trethymirow and the suppression of their Militia which was new modelled into a more obedient form This more irritated the Cosacks who again tried their fortune with Potoski but were worsted and then fortified themselves upon the river Starcza beyond Boristhenes After this the Polonians having lost so many in trying to suppress them were forced to compound and promise that their Militia of six thousand should be re-established under a General appointed by the King But these articles were not observed for the Cosacks as they returned every man to his house were killed or plunder'd by the Polish soldiers and another Militia set up excluding the ancient and true Cosacks But the Tartars a little after ruining a great part of the Vkrain shewed the necessity of the former establishment For Vladislaus IV. pretending to make war upon the Tartars was very careful to set them up again giving them for their General Bogdan or Theodore Chmielniski son of a Polish Gentleman enrolled young into the Militia of the Cosacks and by the degrees of Captain Commissary c. brought to be General This man was the spark that kindled that terrible war which endangered all Poland Chmielniski in the year 1647 having received some injuries from a Polish Officer whereof he could get no redress began to complain to his Cosacks who unanimously resolved to stand by him as did also a vast number of the Rusticks oppressed by their Landlords who had farm'd out much of their lands to the Jews who had also monopolized all the advantages of the country as brewing of Beer distilling Aqua-vitae nay even the keys of the Church-doors insomuch that a native could not be married or Christen a child without paying so much to a Jew which so irritated the Rusticks that they came in to Chmielniski and made him an army of two hundred thousand The King who pretended to fight the Tartars and endeavour the conquest of Crim underhand favoured them but the Commonwealth growing jealous as if he intended to make himself absolute because he had got together a considerable army of foreigners caused him to disband that army and disown the Cosacks And sent against them an army part of which turned to the Cosacks the rest was wholly destroyed Upon which divers overtures of peace unsuccessfully proposed Chmielniski called in the Crim-Tartar with an hundred thousand horse and march'd into Poland but were there so valiantly resisted by the Polanders both at Zbaras and Zborow where the new King John Casimire was in person with an army that the Tartar weary of the war was very willing to hearken to a peace as Chmielniski also pretended and accepted of moderate propositions this was in the year 1649. But Chmielniski fearing that the Poles would not faithfully observe that treaty began more and more to fortifie himself by leaguing with the Grand Seignior and forcing the Prince of Moldavia to a conjunction and alliance with him And at a Diet proposing such terms as intimated that he intended to make himself an absolute Prince under the patronage of the Turks by the Poles a new war was generally agreed upon which broke out very fiercely in the year 1651 when was fought a very cruel and decisive battel wherein the Cosacks and Tartars were overthrown yet not so but that Chmielniski found means to raise another army and to make peace upon articles to him not very disadvantageous What became of him and his Cosacks since that we have little account only that part of them have submitted themselves to the Muscovite part also under Dorosensko their General called in the Turks and Tartars against the Polanders and that by the agreement in the year 1677 betwixt the Grand Seignior and the King of Poland Vkrain and the Cosacks were to be under the Turk
Thus much of their Militia by Land 't is fit to give some small account of their exploits by Sea Having assembled commonly about six thousand upon the Islands of Skarbniza Waskowa the first thing they do is to chuse their General for that expedition and to make their Boats which they call Colna which are about sixty foot long twelve deep and as many wide built very slight pinning one plank upon the edge of the lower and so widening as it heightens they have at each end a stern and about twelve or fifteen oars of a side they have no deck but that it may not sink tho full of water they encompass it round about with a rowl of reeds as big as a barrel tyed together and to their Boat with ropes They have a sorry mast and sail but seldom use them except in fair weather Their provision is a tun of biscuit which they take out of the bung as they use it a barrel of boil'd millet and another of paste made with water which they eat with their millet and serves them instead of beverage Every Boat carries about sixty persons every man having two guns with powder and ball necessary and in each Boat five or six falconets They wait for a dark night about the beginning of June so that they may return about the first of August that they may pass undiscover'd by the Turks galleys which ly at Oczacow to intercept them With these Boats they course over all the Black Sea and the coasts upon it even to the very suburbs of Constantinople pillaging and spoiling where-ever they come If they spy a galley they keep at a distance till night and observing well the course of the vessel when it is dark they immediately row up to it and all together board it and commonly carry it they take out all the money cannon and merchandise that they please and sink it not having the skill or opportunity to use it If a galley spy them in the day-time they avoid fighting by rowing swifter then they or retiring to shallows or amongst reeds where the galleys cannot follow them As long as they used this trade they abstained from using violence against their Lords living upon what they got from the Turks till the Grand Seignior threatned Sigismund to make war upon him except he redress'd the robberies and pyracies of the Cosacks and then wanting subsistence they turned their arms against their own country The permitting them to chuse their General and Officers was taking the bridle out of their mouths for he having no power but precarious and being many times displaced or murder'd without any reason is forced to comply with all their violences He is chose either by clamor or throwing their caps at him He hath four Counsellors whom they call Assaul a Lieutenant General of the Ordonance and all the same Officers that other Christian armies have They are arm'd with guns which they manage very dextrously besides they have many sythes set long-ways upon poles with which they fight both fiercely and skilfully Being all of them Farmers they understand all trades necessary for humane life and are very capable to learn or perform any employment But their greatest excellency is in preparing Salt-peter and making Gun-powder which they do in great perfection Their Religion is the very same with the Russ Religion they also call themselves Russes their country being nam'd sometimes Black sometimes Red Russia and delight to imitate them in manner of living They have their Metropolitan of Kiow who is consecrated by the Patriarch of Costantinople and is subject to him immediately Their chief observances consist in fasts and holidays But the Nobility of which there are some few amongst them imitate the Polanders and are most of them Roman-Catholicks Their manners are like those of soldiers Manners not careful of what 's to come spending freely what they have at present amongst their companions and permitting the future to shift for it self very inconstant mutinous and following their present advantage rather then their faith or promise Potent drinkers yet having by reason of their labour and hardship so great health that Physitians are not esteem'd amongst them The chiefest thing wherein the inhabitants differ from the Polonians is their marriages Marriages That the maids in this country frequently woo the men for if a virgin have an affection to a young man she is not asham'd to go to the house where he lives with his parents declaring her affection to him and promising all love and obedience if he pleaseth to accept of her in marriage If she be rejected by the young man as being too young not disposed to marry or the like she tells them that she is resolved never to part out of the house till he consent and there she takes up her quarters To force her out of the house would be to provoke all her kinred nor would the Church suffer them to use any violence unto her without inflicting heavy penances and noting the house of infamy so that after two or three weeks the parents or the young man himself moved with the constancy of the woman accommodate matters as well as they can and make up a marriage Thus much for the Cosacks Of the Vkrain let us now return to the place of their habitation the Vkrain The word signifies a frontier-place which lying beyond Volhinia and Podolia containeth part of the Palatinates of Chiow and Braclaw between 48 and 51 deg of Latitude A country water'd with so many rivers that it must needs be fruitful both for corn pasturage as also for fish honey timber c. Being a frontier all the Towns and habitations are fortified either with a ditch or have some thick wood where they make recesses with their goods in time of an invasion by the Tartars The inhabitants glory much to be called Cosacks and indeed many of them in these late insurrections by the tyranny of their Landlords have been compelled to join with and take arms amongst them It is terminated on the East with the great river Nieper or Boristhenes of the greatest part whereof so much as concern'd the Cosacks we have already given an account Below Kaczawanicze is Kuczkosow where is the best passage of the Tartars the river not being more then an hundred and fifty paces broad the banks easie and the country all about plain so that they fear not the ambushes of the Cosacks Below that is the cape of Chortizca an Island very proper to inhabit and easily fortified against the Tartars Next to that is Wielsky Ostro and below that Tomahowka an Island easily fortified which Chmielniski chose for a retreat and where the Cosacks first rendezvous'd when they began their insurrection in the year 1648. Kair and Wieleskiwoda Nosokowka are three Islands very commodious for the Tartars passage into the Vkrain the stream next Tartary they call Kosmaka and there the Cosacks disguise themselves when they go into the
Black Sea for fear of the guard which is always kept by the Turks in the ancient ruines which they call Aslan-Korodick Tawan is the greatest and easiest passage of the Tartars the river not being above five hundred paces broad being all in one channel The last pass and at the mouth of the Nieper is Oczacow where the river is three miles broad yet both the Tartars and others pass it frequently in this manner they furnish themselves with flat-bottom'd boats at the stern whereof they fasten across poles of a good length upon which they tye the heads of their horses as many on the one side as the other to balance them they put their baggage in the boat and row it over and with it the horses The Turks pass'd over in this manner forty thousand horse when the Grand Seignior sent to besiege Azak or Azow at the mouth of Don in the year 1643 which the Donski Cosacks had taken from him the year before Oucze Sauram or Nowe Koniecpolsky is the lowest habitation the Polacks have towards Oczacow which was begun to be built in the year 1634. Oczacow call'd by the Turks Dziancrimenda is the place where the Turkish galleys lye to keep the entrance into the Black Sea there is no port but good anchorage the Castle is well fortified the Town not so well there are in it about two thousand inhabitants Below that is a platform with good ordnance to guard the mouth of the river About three miles below Oczacow is an haven called Berezan upon a river called Anczakrick it is sufficiently deep for galleys Southward of that are two Lakes Jesero Teligol and Kuialik both of them so abundant in fish that the water having no exit stinks of them yet they come above an hundred and fifty miles to fish there Bielogrod is about three miles from the Sea upon the river Niester anciently called Tyras by the Turks Kierman This Town is under the Turk as is also Killa well fortified with a counterscarp the Castle is above the Town upon the Danow opposite to it on the other bank of the Danow is Kiha where are seen divers ancient ruines Betwixt Bielogrod and Killa are the plains of Budziack where the rebel or banditi Tartars refuge themselves who acknowledg no superior either Turk or Cham they are always watching upon the confines of Poland to catch what Christians they can and sell them to the Turks of these we have spoken before There are also many Turkish villages along the south-bank of the Niester but all the country betwixt that and the Danow as also betwixt that and the Nieper are desarts and are inhabitated by those Tartars who there pasture their flocks of whom we have spoken already Such also was the Vkrain till of late that the industry of the late Kings of Poland and the valour of the Cosacks has render'd it as fruitful as it was before desart We may judg of it by what Monsieur Beauplan saith that in seventeen years that he lived in that country himself laid the foundations of above fifty colonies which in a few year sprouted into above a thousand villages But being so lately planted the Reader cannot expect we should have much to inform him Yet it is not amiss to give some account of animals which are almost proper to this country They have a beast which they call Bobac Anim. not much unlike a Guiny-pig they make holes in the earth whereinto they enter in October and come not abroad till April within they have many little apartments disposing severally their provision their dead their lodging c. eight or nine families live together as in a City each having his particular habitation They are easily tamed and are very gamesome in an house When they go to make their provision they set a sentinel who as soon as he spies any one gives a signal by making a noise and they all haste to their caves many more things are spoken of these little creatures as that they have slaves and punishments c. Sounaky a kind of goat is desired for his beautiful sattin-like fur and white shining smooth delicate horns He hath no bone in his nose and cannot feed except he go backward Thy have many wild horses but of no value only for their flesh which they sell in the markets and think it better then Beef or Veal When these horses come to be old their hoofs so straiten their feet being never pared that they can hardly go as if that beast was so made for mans use that without his care he was unprofitable NOVISSIMA POLONIAE REGNI Descriptio Nobiliss tam dignitate â—…ueris quan Meritis ac Patriam Honoratiis Viro D. no NICOLAO PAHL in celeberrimo Maris Balthici emporio Vrbe GEDANENSI Praeconsuli vicepraesidi bonarum artium Patrono ac fautori observantiae ergò D. D. D. IOANNES IANSSONIVS POLAND POLONIA or Poland call'd by the Natives Polska takes its name as some conjecture from Pole which in the Slavonian language here commonly spoken signifies a plain and champain Country such as this Kingdom for the most part consists of Others suppose that the inhabitants from their first Captain Lechus or Lachus being called Po-lachi that is the posterity of Lachus and by corruption Polani and Poloni imparted their name to their country And in favour of this opinion it may be urged that they call themselves Polacci the Italians Polacchi the Russians Greeks and Tartars call them Lachi and Lechitae the Hungarians Lengel probably for Lechel the same with Po-lachi But Hartknoch finding the Bulanes placed by Ptolomy among the ancient inhabitants of Sarmatia and observing the Poloni to be call'd Bolani and Bolanii by the German writers thinks he hath made the fairest discovery of the original of the word Nevertheless Cromerus affirms that the present name either of the country or people hath not been in use above nine hundred years Certainly in the time of Alfred King of England about the year 880 this Country was called Weonodland and before that by the Romans generally Sarmatia as being the best known part of that great Country Only that branch of Poland which lies on the west-side of the Weissel belonged to old Germany and as Ptolomy acquaints us was inhabited by the Aelvaeones the Luti Omanni Longi Diduni and Luti Buri with other German Colonies By some writers the same is assigned to Vandalia and the Vistula called Vandalus having been for a time in the possession of the Vandals The people of Poland are the undoubted off-spring of the Slavi Slavini or Slavonians seated in Justinians time as Jornandes relates on the north-side of the Carpathian mountains from the fountain of the Weisel to the Niester and thence extending themselves westward to the Danube and eastward to the Euxin Sea from which parts they then made innundations into the Roman Empire In their first expeditions they were joined with the Antae and Vinidae or Venedi or rather in
Podolia from Moldavia and in the Province of Bessarabia empties it self into the Euxine Sea 5. Bug or Bugus rising in Red Russia near the Town Olesco at Stroczacz enters the Narva nor is it long after that ere the Narva it self rowls into the Weissel This Narva is said to have this peculiar quality that no venemous creature will live in its streams insomuch that Serpents sticking to the sides of the Boats that come out of the Bug as soon as they enter Narva will give a hiss and scud away with all the speed they can 6. San rising out of the Sarmatian mountains and falling into the Weissel near Sandomiria 7. Niemen call'd by the Germans Memel by the ancients Chronos it rises in the Dutchy of Sluczko in Black Russia runs also thro Litvania and Prussia at length flows into the lake Kurisch-Haff and so into the Baltick call'd perhaps from hence the Chronian Sea 8. The Dzwina or Dwina named of old Rubon and since by the Latins Duna which springs in the Muscovian Russia and after a course of an hundred and thirty leagues thro Russia Litvania and Livonia throws it self into the same Sea two leagues from Riga the Metropolis of Livonia Besides these we may reckon the river Bog or Boh the Hypanis of the Greeks which takes its origine from a Lake in the confines of Podolia and falls into the Nieper The bigger Poland Cujavia Laker and the territory of Lublin have several great and remarkable Lakes abounding with fresh fish of all sorts The chief of them are Goplo five miles in length and half a mile in breadth and Briale or the white Lake so call'd by an Antiphrasis because that in the months of April and May it dyes the skins of those that wash in it of a swarthy colour The Woods in Poland are well stored in most places with Hares Conies Squirrels Beast Dear and Foxes and in many parts with Bears Wolves and Bores Of amphibious beasts they have Castors Otters and as some of that countrey affirm a sort of white Bears which live very frequently in the water The Masovian Forests are stored with Elks Wild Asses Vri which Dr. Charleton interprets Owres and the Bisontes Jubati by some rendred Buffs These Bisontes according to Aldrovandus in their shape and horns resemble an Ox but have mains like a horse beards on their lower jaws tongues rough like a File and very hard a bunch upon their backs and their hair smells like musk They are of incredible strength some affirm that they will toss a man and horse into the air The Polish Nobility hunt them and esteem their flesh powdred a great dainty The Vrus or Owre called by the Polanders Thur is a kind of wild Ox much bigger swifter and stronger then the tame hath a short black beard a bush of hair upon his forehead and horns excessive large and wide of which Pliny saith the Romans made Lanthorns Girdles of his skin are said to be helpful to women in travail The Elk called by the Poles Loss by the Germans Ellend that is miserable because of the falling-sickness with which it is troubled is about the bigness of a large Horse bodied like a Stag but broader its legs longer feet large and cloven the hoofs whereof are accounted a great medicine against the falling-sickness In the deserts near Boristhenes Sig. Herberstein saith there is a wild Sheep called by the Polanders Solhac shaped like a Goat but with shorter legs and horns growing streight up It is exceeding swift and leaps very high They have also a sort of wild Horses in the Vkrain called by them Dzikie-Konie which the Nobles eat for a great rarity In Lithvania and Muscovy is a voracious unserviceable beast not seen in any other Countrey as Mat. a Michovia tells us called Rossomaka which hath the body and tail of a Wolf the face of a Cat and feeds on dead carcasses When it hath found one it never leaves eating till its belly is swelled to the utmost stretch then seeks out some narrow passage between two trees and by squeezing its body thro forces out the load of its stomach afterwards returns to its prey devouring and disgorging successively till all is consumed The Hart-like-Wolf or European Lynx call'd by the Latins Lupus Cervarius and by the Natives Ris with spots on its belly and legs affords the best Furs in Poland tho the country be well stock'd with Martrons They have neither Camels tame Asses nor Mules which beasts thrive not in cold countries but are compensated with great plenty of excellent Horses which are very fair and large pace almost naturally and surpass the German Horses in swiftness tho they come short of the Turkish Those of Lithvania are inferior to the Polish in bigness strength and beauty Fowl both tame and wild is no-where more plentiful then in this Kingdom 'T were needless to reckon up their several kinds since I find none peculiar to this Nation save only the Quails of Podolia which have green legs whose flesh is very unwholsome and if immoderately eaten breeds the cramp The Polanders are generally of a good complexion flaxen-hair'd 〈◊〉 and tall of stature The men for the most part corpulent and personable The women slender and beautiful disdaining the help of art and fucus's to set them off They are naturally open-hearted and candid more apt to be deceived then to deceive not so easily provoked as appeas'd neither arrogant nor obstinate but very tractable if they be gently and prudently managed They are chiefly led by example are dutiful to their Princes and Magistrates and very much inclined to civility and hospitality especially to strangers whose customs and manners they are forward to imitate The Gentlemen who are all noble take delight in keeping great sore of Horses and Arms. They entertain a multitude of servants many of which are only obliged to follow them but disdain any mean office and sit with their Masters at Table The principal Senators march whether on foot or horseback in the middle of their retinue putting the best clad before them The Daughters always walk before their Mothers as in Italy and the unmarried Sisters before the married The education of their youth is more loose and negligent then in other their neighbouring countries but for the most part good nature and vertuous inclination supplies that defect Tho they hate the Greek tongue and will not suffer their children to learn it lest they should imbibe also the Religion of the Greeks yet they covet nothing more then to have them well instructed in the Latine so that in no part of Italy not in Rome it self shall a man meet with so many that are able to converse in Latin as here Even the Daughters of the Nobility and wealthy Citizens at home or in Monasteries are taught to write and read as well the Latine as their Native Language When they grow to years of maturity and not before they are put to learn
of Poland and its Dukes may be distinguish'd into four Classes or Orders of Succession The first contains a Catalogue of the Dukes of Poland as follows A. D. 700 Lechus the First Who built the City Gnesna in the place where he found an Eagles Nest and therefore gave it this name from Gniazdo which in the Polish language signifies a Nest hence also the Arms of Poland are an Eagle Their own Historians are not agreed about his extraction whether he was a Native or Croatian nor about the time in which he reigned some affirming that it was about the year of our Lord 550 others almost an hundred years later and both parties speaking only by conjecture Nor lastly are they agreed about the children he left behind him but they generally acknowledg that upon the faileur of his off-spring the people made choice of twelve Palatines for their Rulers calling them Woiewodes i. e. Captains of War and the Country being divided into twelve parts each had his peculiar Province But when they began to cherish private feuds to the embroilment of the Commonwealth and thereby also invited their ill-affected neighbours to fall upon them the people were constrained to seek their peace and safety in a Monarchy And with much solicitation perswaded Cracus a person of great fortune and interest amongst them to take upon him the entire Government which he managed with singular prudence and success He or his Subjects after his decease in remembrance of his vertues built a new City upon the side of the Weissel which from his name was called Cracow or Cracovia and made the Metropolis of the Kingdom His younger son Lechus II succeeded him having first slain his elder brother to make way for himself but the murther being detected he was deposed and banish'd 750 After him reigned his sister Wenda who chose rather to rule alone then to be wife to a King After she had repulsed Ridigerus a German Prince who not being able either by intreaty or force to obtain her in marriage killed himself for shame and grief lest any adverse chance should sully her honour she leapt from the bridge at Cracow into the Weissel Twelve Palatines again 760 Premislaus or Lescus the First He was a Goldsmith and created King because he had by an unusual stratagem overthrown the Hungarians and Moravians he died without issue 804 Lescus II. The Polish Nobility having agreed to ride a Race for the Government one of the Competitors strowed galltraps tribulos in the way and thereby so disabled all the horses save his own which he had shod for the purpose that he won the prize The cheat being discover'd he was torn in pieces by them and this Lescus a poor obscure man who out-ran the rest on foot from being the scorn of the multitude was by the popular applause saluted Prince He always after kept by him the course clothes he had formerly worn to mind him of his original 810 Lescus III. 815 Popielus I. 830 Popielus II. He is reported to have been eaten up by Mice thro Gods judgment as is conceiv'd for the murders committed by him For he is said to have poyson'd all his kindred that he might unite the Slavonian Principalities to his own Dukedom The second Classis of which there is much more certainty then of the former contains the following Princes 843 Piastus Rusticus a Citizen of Cruswic of noted hospitality and charity 861 Ziemovitus 892 Lescus IV. 913 Ziemomyslus 964 Mieceslaus The first Christian King He was born blind and in the seventh year of his age when at a publick banquet his name was to be given him received his sight He founded the two Archbishopricks of Gnesna and Cracovia with divers Bishopricks and gave the tythes of the whole Kingdom by a perpetual Edict to the Clergy 999 Boleslaus I. He received the Title of King from Otho III. Emperor of Germany his predecessors being no more than Dukes of Poland 1025 Mieceslaus II. Casimirus I. Driven out of Poland in his minority by factions occasioned from his mothers ill government He travel'd thro Hungary Germany Italy and at last in France was made Religious and Deacon in the Benedictine Convent at Cluny was invited thence to the Crown by the Poles who to procure the Popes dispensation for his Vow condscended to a perpetual tribute of an obolus per head upon all the Commonalty for the maintaining Lamps to burn in St. Peters Church at Rome called hence Peter-pence 1059 Boleslaus II. surnamed the Bold he murther'd Stanislaus Archbishop of Cracow as he was officiating at the Altar for which he was excommunicated and deposed by Pope Gregory VII His successors too were deprived of the Title of King the Bishops being forbid to anoint any of them which continued for 213 years till the time of Premislaus 1082 Vladislaus I. 1103 Boleslaus Krzywousci or the wry-mouthed He is recorded to have been a victor in forty Battels but being forced to retreat out of the field at his last battel against the Russians he dyed for grief 1140 Vladislaus II. 1146 Boleslaus IV. surnamed the Curld 1174 Miecislaus the Old So called for his prudence tho but a young man He was deposed by reason of his evil Counsellors and twice by his cunning regain'd the Kingdom 1178 Casimirus II. This Prince having receiv'd a box on the ear from one of his Pages whose money he had won at play acquitted the boy saying That the Lad was transported with the loss of his money and that he himself had been justly punished for prostituting his Dignity 1195 Lescus the White 1199 Miecislaus the Old again Lescus the White again 1202 Mieceslaus the Old a third time 1203 Vadislaus Lasconogus or small-shank'd 1206 Lescus the White a third time In his reign the Teutonick Knights or Knights of the Cross took footing in Prussia being call'd in by his brother Conradus Duke of Masovia and Cujavia to assist him against the Prussians 1226 Boleslaus IV. surnamed the Chast because he never knew his wife all the while he was married to her In his time the Polanders received so great an overthrow from the Tartars that the right ears only of the slain fill'd nine large sacks 1279 Lescus the Black During his reign the Tartars made another inundation into Poland and carried away so many captives that 't is said above 21000 virgins were counted amongst them at the division of their booty the men they generally murder'd and poisoning their hearts cast them into the waters from whence sundry new diseases were occasioned amongst others some say the Plica Polonica 1295 Premislaus He reigned seven months and in that time re-assumed the title of King being crown'd by the Archbishop of Gnesna 1296 Vladislaus Lochius So called from the shortness of his stature Lokiek signifying an Ell. 1300 Wenceslaus the Bohemian 1305 Vladislaus Lochius again 1333 Casimirus surnamed the Great and the last of the family of Piasti to whom Poland owes all its beauty grandeur and
The Town is governed by a Court of Schipins or Aldermen who themselves are subject to a Burgo-master chosen yearly as a Mayor in our Cities out of them who during his government has the title of General of Great Poland conferred on him The Bishop and Clergy are in the Province of the Archbishop of Gnesna Seven miles from this city you have Gnesna called by the Dutch Gnisen formerly the Metropolis of Poland Gnesna built by Lechus the first Duke of Poland by whom it had its name given from the Polish word Gniasao which signifies a nest because in this place Lechus found an Eagles nest Whence to this day the Princes of Poland bear a spread Eagle for their Arms. This is the seat of the chief Metropolitan Archbishop in the whole Kingdome of whose state and grandeur we have given you a relation before In the Cathedrall is kept an inestimable treasure of Gold Silver and curious enamel'd vessels left by several Princes of Poland and Archbishops of this See which was much encreased by the legacies of Henry Firley late Archbishop who besides many vessels and vestments of great worth gave them his own mitre valued at 24000 Polish guilders which being reduced to our English money will amount to about 2300 pounds sterling The gates leading into the Cathedral are of Corinthian brass and rarely wrought These at first were taken out of the Monastery of Corsuna in the Tauric Chersonese whence they were removed to Kiow and from thence brought hither by Boleslaus the second In the year 1613 this city was miserably laid wast by fire and does yet daily loose something of its antient glory The rest of the Towns of Posnania are meanly built and without any considerable fortifications Their buildings excepting onely the Churches Monasteries and other religious houses are most commonly of wood The County of Calissia has its name from the chief City in it Calissia by the Polanders called Kalisk seated on Przoen and fortifyed with a strong brick wall Stanislaus Karncow Archbishop of Gnesna founded here a stately Colledge of Jesuits and endowed it with a considerable revenue The countrey round this City is generally like the rest of the greater Poland pleasant fruitfull and very well cultivated and inhabited every where abounding with great Towns and villages Among which Borek and Goluchow are the most considerable the former for a famous picture of the Virgin Mary resorted to with a great opinion of devotion by most of the zealous Romanists in these parts the latter for an extraordinary peice of modern Architecture in the Palace of the Counts of Lesno The City of Sirad Sirad which gives name to the Palatinate of Siradia is seated on the south of Calissia upon the river Warta 'T is fortifyed with a strong brick wall Most of the houses are of wood and very mean and low This City and the territories about it made formerly a Dukedome usually given to the second son of the Polish King Seven German Petricow or twenty nine English miles from Sirad lyes Petricow a neat and well built City where sits yearly the Parliament of Poland Vielun Vielun or Wielun is somewhat differing in beauty from the rest of the Cities of these parts most of its houses being brick Rava is as populous a City as Vielun Rava but short of it in the splendor of its buildings which are commonly wood except the castle which is brick In this is reposited a fourth part of the revenues of the Crown and all captives if persons of any considerable quality are here kept prisoners Instances whereof we have in the natural son of Charles King of Sweden who with other officers of the Swedish army was taken prisoner in the Lifland wars and Baldise General of Gustaphus Adolphus's forces who with Streffe Taiste and other Colonels was taken in the wars of Prussia Five German Lowicz or twenty English miles from Rava lies Lowicz the residence of the Archbishop of Gnesna 'T is a place much more populous then Rava and yearly in the Fair-time throng'd with great numbers of merchants who flock thither from all quarters The Archbishop's Palace is seated in a low and marshy ground nevertheless its fabrick is magnificent and well becoming the state of so great a Prince Lancicia or Lanschet giving denomination to a Palatinate of the same name Lancicia is situate in a low and fenny ground encompassed with a ditch and brick wall Not far from the City is a Monastery which might easily if as well provided for by art as nature be made impregnable There is besides little in the City worth taking notice of except the great fairs kept once a year and the sessions of the Deputies of this Palatinate which are here holden Cujavia is bounded on the East with Masovia and the Palatinate of Rava Cujavia on the south with the Palatinates of Lanschet and Calissia on the north with Prussia It contains in it two Baronies Breste which lies to the east and south and Juniuladislavia This Countrey is rich in corn and cattel and well stored with Fish In the Palatinate of Bresty lies the City of Vladislaw Bresty the seat of the Bishop of Cujavia and Pomeren The Cathedral here is a pitiful old-fashioned peice of building but well furnished with plate and rich ornaments and reliques within The houses are generally of brick Matthias Golanciew who was forty two years Bishop of this See beautifyed this City very much by building that stately Palace which is seen at this day in Vladislaw instead of an old ruinous castle and founding the Church of St. Vital the Martyr The next considerable place is Bresty built of brick and wood interlayd The other Towns of note are Nisaw a wall'd Town Rasienski guarded with a fair Castle Radschow seated on the lake Goplo and Kowale upon the Vistula Cruswick belongs properly to the Palatinate of Bresty though situated upon the confines of Inouladislavia Cruswick In the suburbs of this City stands a Church dedicated to St. Peter built of square stone with a Colledge of twenty four Canons In the adjoyning Island stands a Brick Castle built by Popielus the elder who chose this place to live in rather then Cracow or Gnesna whither he had once removed his Court as being of too timorous a nature to trust himself in the confines of the Russians or Hungarians Here as the Polonian Chronicles report Papielus son of Papielus the elder was devoured by mice heaven by this punishment revenging the blood of several of his relations whom his greedy ambition of swaying the scepter had prompted him to poyson at a banquet Cromer advances the story by telling us That his father in his ordinary revels used to wish himself and his children this kind of death and That the mice were miraculously generated out of the carcases of his poyson'd kindred PRUSSIA ACCURATE INSCRIPTA a Gasparo Henneberg Erlichensi Nobiliss o tam prosapia
generis quam Meritis in Patriam Honoratiss o Viro D. o NICOLAO VON BODECK Consuli et Primario Iudici in celeberrion totius Maris Baltici Emporio Vrbe Gedanensi artium literarumque â—autori benevolentiss o D. D. D. Ioannes Ianssonius MASOVIA Masovia called by the Polanders Mazowsze by the Germans Die Masaw lies in the very middle of Poland bounded on the north with Prussia on the east with Lithuania and Polessia on the west with some part of the lesser Poland on the south with the Palatinate of Rava 'T is usually divided into these four parts The Palatinates of Podlachia Plockzo Masovia strictly so called and the territories of Dobrin which last ought rather to be reckoned a part of the Palatinate of Plockzo There are different conjectures touching the original of its name The most commonly received is That upon the death of Mieceslaus the second the Nobility of Poland not enduring the impotent and effeminate government of his surviving Queen Rixo layd hands upon what every man could catch Among these Masos or as others call him Maslaus formerly Cup-bearer to the deceased King siezed upon that large tract of land which he after his own name called Masovia This Masos was afterwards overcome by Casimir the first by whom he was taken and put to death By this means it was again restor'd to the Crown of Poland though it still retained the name of Masovia But Stanislaus Serictius rejecting in part this story derives more probably the Massovii from the Massagetes I know saith he what our Historians have written touching the original of the Massovians But it seems incredible to me that so famous and couragious a people should stoop to borrow their denomination from so mean a person In the year 1220 Lescus the white in the Parliament of Sandomir granted the Dukedomes of Masovia Cujavia and Dobrinia to his brother Conrade from which time it was governed by Dukes of its own doing homage however to the Kings of Poland till the the year 1495 but then the race of the Dukes of Masovia began to fail For that year John Duke of Masovia dyed a Batchelour upon which John Albert reunited Plockzo to the Crown leaving the rest of Masovia to his brother Conrade Which after his decease in the year 1503 was granted to his children upon condition that for default of male issue it should return to the Crown which was effected in the reign of Sigismund the first In the same manner the Palatinate of Podlachia formerly belonging to Masovia and joyned by Casimir Jagellon to Lithuania return'd to the Kingdom of Poland in the year 1567. There are no peculiar Bishops in Masovia but the whole Province is divided under the jurisdiction of Posnan Plockzo and Luceoria The Metropolis of Masovia is Warsaw by the Polanders called Warfrawa seated in the very centre of the Polish dominions upon the Vistula encompassed with a double wall and deep ditch distant 40 German or 160 English miles from Posen and Cracow Here the King of Poland keeps his Court in a large four squared Palace built by Sigismund the third but much beautifyed by his successours Over against this on the other side of the river which is passable by a stately wooden bridge sits the great Parliament of Poland in another of the Kings Palaces called Viasdow seated in the midst of many and delicate Groves and Gardens In the City are publique buildings of good note the most remarkable of which is St. John Baptists Church where divine service is performed by secular Canons Not far from Viasdow in the suburbs called Cracow stands as a trophie of the victory obtained by the Poles over the Moscovite a small Chappel built by the Kings command for the burial of Demetrius Suiscius great Duke of Moscovie who dyed a captive in the Castle of Gostenin The Nobility of Masovia which are more numerous then in any other part of Poland being reckoned to amount to near forty thousand whereof fifteen thousand appear'd in a body at the Coronation of Sigismund the third are all Roman-Catholicks never suffering any of other religions or opinions to reside among them Out of these are sent yearly to the general Assembly of the Estates one Palatine and six Castellanes The Palatinate of Plockzo lyes eastward from Masovia between the Vistula and Prussia Plockzo 'T is divided into the territories of Plockzo Zavera Mlava and Srensco and sends out to the great Parliament four Senators that is The Bishop The Palatine and Castellanes of Plockzo Radzyagas and Sieprez It has its name from Plockzo its chief City seated on a high bank of the Vistula whence you have a fair prospect of a pleasant and fruitful Countrey The City is an Episcopal See and very populous There are in it several religious houses and Churches besides the Cathedral very well endowed especially the Abby of Benedictines in the suburbs where among other reliques is kept the head of St. Sigismund to whom the Church is dedicated enchased in gold given by Sigismund the third The territory of Dobrizin is properly a part of the Palatinate of Plockzo though Mr. Blaeu Dobrzin and some others have made it a distinct part of Masovia It has its name from the City Dobrzin situate between Cujavia and Plockzo on a rock near the banks of the Vistula The houses in it are generally of wood and the whole City is environed with wooden fortifications The Countrey affords great store of fruit and fish PRVSSIA Whence Prussia or Borussia called by the Germans Preussen should fetch its name Prussia is not easily determined Certain it is That it is not to be met with amongst antient authors Cluverius thinks Helmoldus who flourished in the twelfth Century is the oldest writer that gives any account of the Countrey under this name But both Dithmarus who lived in the beginning of the eleventh Century in the days of the Emperour Henry the second and before him an Anonymous writer of the life of St. Adalbert the Apostle of the Prussians about the year 990 mentions it Marianus Scotus will have the word derided from Aprutis a City saith he in these parts where St. Adalbert suffered martyrdome in the year 995. But this conjecture is vain and precarious for where any City of this name formerly stood or its ruins can at this day be found only he himself can tell us Johannes Annius Viterbiensis tells us the Prussians were at first called Pruti and that from one Prutus a Scythian King grandchild to Noah That this nation is an offspring of the antient Scythians is indeed allowable but to the rest of the story we can say no more then That 't is well known how nimble this author and his feign'd Berosus are at counterfeiting of names in the Etymologies of Countries Others of the same authority with Viterbiensis bring the Prussians out of Asia under the command of Prussia a King of Bithynia Some will have the word Prussi or Prutheni corrupted
from Bructeri an antient people of Germany who say they conquered and peopled these parts The most probable opinion is that the Prussians are the same with the Borusci a people formerly inhabiting some parts of Russia about the Raphaean mountains whence they were driven out by excessive snows and cold For to omit the affinity there is among the three words Borusci Borussi and Prussi the antient language of the Prussians is onely a dialect of the Russian as we shall have occasion to shew by and by Who were the first inhabitants of Prussia is harder to find out then the etymology of the word Many as well ancient as modern Geographers think Eridanus and the Insulae Electrides so famous for the Electrum or Amber carryed all Greece and Italy over were in this country But who in those days peopled the land they dare not determine The most likely story is that the Venedi or Venedae a large branch of the Slavonian Nation were here seated This seems plain from the words of Ptolomy who tells us the Venedi upon the Vistula had on the South the Phinni and Gythones And Cluverius confirms the assertion from several places in Liefland which to this day retain the names of Wenden Windaw Vschewende c. Hence came the mistake of the Latin Poets who having read that Electrum was brought from the Venedi confounded these people with the Venetians of Italy and fancied Padus was the ancient Eridanus Besides the Venedi the Galindae and Sudini are here placed by Ptolomy and Hartknoch proves from the idolatrous worship used formerly in Prussia that the Goths were sometime masters of the country The Aelii and Aelvaeones reckon'd by some writers as the ancient inhabitants of Prussia were Goths At this day the Prussians are a kind of heterogeneous people made up of Swedes Polanders Germans and others of the neighbouring Nations The whole country is bounded on the North with the Baltick Sea for fifty German or two hundred English miles together on the East with Lithvania and Podlachia on the South with Masovia on the West with the Vistula which separates it from Cassubia and part of Pomeren The chief Rivers in it are the Vistula Nemeni Cronon called by the Natives at this day Mimel and near the mouth of it Russ Nogat Elbing Vuser Passar Alla Pregol Ossa Vrebnicz Lice and Lave By the help of these and the convenient havens which are every-where found upon the Baltick shore all the commodities of the country are easily exported and foreign wares brought in The inhabitants are generally strong-body'd and long liv'd Adam Brememsis in his description of Denmark and the Northern parts of Europe tells us the Prussians were grey-ey'd and yellow-hair'd The same opinion the ancients had of all the Northern Nations whence Sidonius Apollinaris speaking of the Heruli who doubtless came out of this country saith Hic glaucis Herulus genis vagatur Imos Oceani colens recessus Algoso prope concolor profundo And Ausonius speaking of Bissula a Swabish Virgin taken captive by the Romans says of her Sic Latiis mutata bonis Germana maneret Vt facies oculos caerula flava comis But since the Prussians have mix'd themselves with other Nations and admitted of the modish luxury of the rest of the European countries they are neither so healthy nor of the same complexion as formerly The apparel of the Prussian-Gentry is not much different from tho not altogether so gaudy as that of the more Southern Nations The Rusticks wear after the fashion of their forefathers long and strait coats of course wool or leather 'T is reckon'd an argument of more then ordinary riches if a Yeoman be able to purchase an holiday Suit of course English cloth Tho the Venedi as Tacitus witnesses were the first of the Scythian race that forsook their waggons which their ancestors were wont to live in and begun to build houses yet their successors are not yet arrived at any great curiosity in Architecture Near the Vistula indeed which is the ancient seat of the Venedi the houses are magnificent in comparison of the wooden huts which you meet with towards the wild confines of Lithvania Tacitus tells us the Phenni who dwelt in these parts had no other shelter from the injuries of the weather and wild beasts then the boughs of trees twisted together And to this day the invention is not much improved for the rude commonalty have yet no other habitation then hovels made of stakes interwoven with rods and cover'd with earth at best a little fern The many incursions which have been made into this country upon the several late quarrels of the Dukes of Brandenburgh with the Polander and Swede have forced them to raise some Castles and Fortifications of stone but otherwise a stone-house is as rare as a coat of English Freeze Nor is there any greater advancement made in their lodgings for the ancient Prussians lay on the ground or sometimes on the skins of beasts and these sleep on straw They are naturally content with spare diet and more given to sloth then gluttony or drunkenness The most ordinary food they have is fish their land abounding with great store of Rivers and Lakes to the number as they have been formerly reckon'd by some of their Monks of two thousand thirty and seven They never used to eat herbs or any manner of roots before the Teutonick order came among them So that it seems not so natural to man if we may judge of mans nature by the actions of these men who had never yet studyed luxury in variety of meat and drink to feed upon the fruits of the earth as Aristotle in his Oeconomicks would perswade us The drinks used heretofore in Prussia as well as the neighbouring Countries were water Mares-milk mixed sometimes with blood and Mead. This last is still much in use among them and made in such quantities that they can afford to send it into other Nations From the Germans they have learned the art of brewing beer They have been alwaies and are still both men and women much given to drunkenness seldome or never keeping holiday without a fit of it and judging they have not made a friend welcome enough except the whole family be drunk in the entertainment TRACTUUM BORUSSIA circum Gedanum et Elbingam ab incolis WERDER appellati cum adiuncta NERINGIA nova et elaboratissima delineatio Authore Olao Ioannis Gotho 〈…〉 To the â—orp WILLIAM PEACHEY Esq of New Grovâ— in SUssex This Mapp is Hum bly Dedicated The Prussians as we have said had little or no knowledge of the use of mony before the arrival of the Teutonick order among them in the year 1230. These men coming out of Germany brought with them the coin of their Country Among the rest of their peices of mony the broad Bohemian Gross was long currant both in Prussia and Poland But not judging that small stock they had brought with them sufficient to furnish the Country with
finished Herman de Salza Master of the Teutonic Order gave Laws and Constitutions Die Kulmsche Handveste for its government a specimen of which antient Canons is given by Lambecius out of an old Dutch Manuscript in the Emperor's Library at Vienna The City at present looks old and ruinous but is still a Bishop's Sec. The Lutherans were permitted the exercise of their religion in private houses by a publick edict signed and published in this City by John Malachowski Bishop of the Diocess the thirteenth of March 1678. 4. Thoorn built at the same time with Culm by the Knights of the Teutonic Order for a post against the Heathen Prussians but not in the place where it now stands Old Thoorn was seated a mile West-ward from the new where to this day are found the ruins of an old Castle and City By whom and when new Thoorn was first founded is not easily determined for when in the year 1454 this part of Prussia delivered it self up into the hands of the King of Poland the old and new Thoorn joyned interests and made up one entire Corporation betwixt them Whence it hapned that the records of the new City were neglected and lost Thoorn seems to have had its name from the German word Thor a gate because built by the Teutonic Order as a gate to let in such forces into Prussia as they should have occasion for Hence the arms of Thoorn are a Castle and Gate half open At present this City is the neatest and best built in Regal Prussia The streets are much broader and the houses statelier then at Dantzig It owes much of its beauty to Henry Stroband Burgo-master of the Town who died in the year 1609. He built the Gymnasium here and endowed it with a considerable revenue for the maintenance of several Lecturers and poor scholars He founded also the Hospital and public Library and built a-new the Town-hall which were it not of late out-done by the Stadthuis at Amsterdam might be reckoned the stateliest in Europe of its kind The rest of this Country comprchended under the general name of Ducal Prussia is subject to the Elector of Brandenburgh and therefore as a part of the Empire shall be treated of in the description of Germany The Great Dukedom of Lithvania WHence this large and noble Country should have its name is utterly unknown Lithvania 'T is ridiculous to bring the word from the Latine Lituus a hunting-horn because forsooth the inhabitants are much addicted to hunting Erasmus Stella an Historian of good credit tells us some Prussians under the command of Litwo one of their Kings sons came into these parts about the year 573 and called the land after their Captains name Litwania or Litvania The Polish Historians agree generally in this story That Palaemon flying the fury of Attyla left Rome and came with several Italians into this Country who gave it the name of La Italia which was afterwards corrupted into Lithvania The Lithvanians themselves glory in this derivation of the name of their Country and prove this story of Palaemon true by the Roman names of their Nobles Vrsin Column Julian c. But this etymology seems too far fetch'd Stella aims fairest tho he miss the mark a little For 't is certain the Prussians did conquer this land and seat themselves in it tho the additional story of Prince Litwo seems feign'd More likely it is that the Prussians not satisfied with their change call'd the Country Lithvania from Litwo which in the ancient Prussian language signifies a vagabond or wanderer The ancient inhabitants are thought to have been the Alani Antient inhabitants since the Lithvanians do still retain some footsteps of the name of these people in their Lithalani and Roxalani But he that shall compare the account which Ammianus Marcellinus gives of the manners of the ancient Alani with what the best Authors say of the old Lithvanians will easily perceive that they are not both one Nation Their language sufficiently proves them to be of the same original with the Prussians and what that is we told you before About the year 1235 Ringeld son of Gimbut Alteration of Government of the posterity of Palaemon is said to have first taken upon him the title of Great Duke of Lithvania In the year 1319 Gedimin who first built Vilna refused to pay homage to the Russian and entring Novogrod with an army took Volodimir and made all Volhinia swear fealty to the Magistracy of Lithvania How large the Dukedom is may appear from the vast territories he left to each of his seven sons at his death To Montvid he gave Kiernova and Slomin To Narimund Pinsko Mozyr and part of the Province of Volodimir To Olgierd Creve and the Country beyond as far as Beresine To Kieystut Samogitia and the territories of Troce Lida Vpide and Subsylvania To Coriat Novogrod and Volkowiski To Lubart Volodomir and Volhinia To his youngest son Javnut Vilna Osmia and Braslaw designing him for Great Duke But soon after when the Tartars begun to infest Volhinia and Kiow Javnut was deposed and his brother Olgierd made Great Duke in his place He in the year 1331 falls upon the Tartars and in a short time makes himself Master of Podolia which they had kept for some years About the same time Demetrius Duke of Moscovy sent an Ambassador into Lithuania to demand a restitution of all those Provinces which formerly belong'd to the Dukedom of Russia The Great Duke immediately upon his arrival commits him to close custody and marching forthwith in the head of his army towards Moscovy surprised the Duke in his Palace and forced him to accept of a peace upon this condition That for the future the bounds of Lithuania should reach as far as Mosco and the river Vgra When Vladislaus Jagello was chosen King of Poland in the year 1386 he promised that from thence forward the Great Dukedom of Lithuania should be annexed to that Crown At the same time the Lithvanian and Russian Nobility took an oath of allegiance to the King and Queen of Poland which was repeated in the years 1401 and 1414. But this obligation they afterwards shook off For when the Polanders desired to joyn Volhinia Podolia and some other Provinces of Russia to their own Kingdom the Lithuanians loath to part with so fair possessions opposed them with that vehemence That for several years there was nothing but continuall skirmishes between the two Nations At last in the year 1566 differences begun to be composed which were finally determined A. D. 1569 by articles drawn up and subscribed to by both parties in the presence of several Ambassadors of other Nations The principle Articles agreed upon were these That the Lithuanians should for the future disclaim all right and title to the Provinces of Podlachia and Volhinia and the Palatinate of Kiow That they should never by themselves elect a Great Duke but upon a vacancy repair to the place whither they
should be summon'd by the Archbishop of Gnesna as Interrex of Poland That in every such election the Lithuanian and Polish Nobility should have equal power in giving of voices That whoever by a majority of voices of both Nations should be elected King of Poland should at the same time be pronounced Great Duke of Lithuania That the election should always be had in some place near the confines of both Countries That the Parliament should sit in Poland and Lithuania by turns c. In the year 1654 the Moscovite made many and terrible incursions into Lithuania which were carried on with that success that A. D. 1655 he took Vilna This hold he kept till the King of Poland having made peace with the Swede who oppressed him on the other hand drave him out and made him retreat as far as the confines of Moscovy However the war ceased not till in January 1667 a truce for thirteen years was agreed on upon these conditions That Polockz Vitepski Duneburg and the hither Liefland should return to the Polander Provided that Nevel Vieliss and Sebisch be excepted from the Palatinates of Polockz and Vitepski That the Moscovite should retain Smolensko Sevir and all the Vkrain beyond Boristhenes That Kiow after two years should be restored to the Crown of Poland c. The Country is full of woods and Lakes Soil which yeild good store of Venison and fish The Forrests also afford them great quantities of honey and pitch The land is tolerably fruitful but the extreme cold too often spoils their harvest The greatest trade of Lithvania lies in Pitch Commodities Tar and Timber which is transported into Holland and other foreign Nations For these they receive in salt and Wines For all other necessaries they are well enough provided being well stockt with great herds of Cattel though they are not so large as in Germany and other their neighbouring Countries and considerable flocks of sheep Besides the woods furnish them with Ermins Sables and all manner of furs to defend them from the otherwise intolerable sharpness of the air The Lithvanians seem to have natures proportionate to their quality Temperâ—â— the peopâ—â— for the Nobles are as proud and domineering and the Commonalty as sneaking and mean spirited here as in any part of Europe The reason of such inequality of tempers proceeds from the unreasonable slavery that Landlords force their Tenants to undergo If you have but a good train of attendance you may uncontrolably plunder any peasant's house in the Land and if you please give him a kicking into the bargain He dares not open his mouth except to give you thanks for giving over when you are weary They are bound to serve the Lord of the Mannor five or six days in the week and if he spares them as is usually munday they must work on sunday for themselves If any ask them a reason why they labour that day they will readily reply Ought we not to eat on Sundays as well as other days In their wars with Poland they gave a sad testimony of their barbarous cruelty the usual attendant of a low spirit by denying quarter to all Captives ripping up women with child murdering of infants c. They are perfidious to their Prince and regardless of oaths and promises NOVA TOTIVS LIVONIAE accurata Descriptio Apud Janssonio-Waesbergios et Mosem Pitt The Rusticks eat bread made of the ears of wheat not winnowed nor thresh'd This they call Duonos a gift for the same reason that the Polanders call bread Bozydar and the Germans Gottes-gab the gift of God and no proverb is more ordinary in the mouthes of the Lithvanians then Dieva dave dantes Dosi duonos i. e. God that gave teeth will give bread The rest of their diet is flesh herbs and roots of which they have plenty The most general drink of the Country is a kind of Brandy made of Corn. Besides this they have some beer and a sort of mead boyl'd with Hops which is kept sometimes an hundred years together in Noblemen's houses Of late there has been brought hither great quantities of Spanish and French wines from Konigsberg and other places near the Baltick Sea The Lithvanians generally as well in Cities as Villages speak the Russian language and write all pleadings and proceedings of Courts-judicature in that tongue However there is a great mixture of Latin words in their talk which seems to confirm the story of Palaemon So for Ignis they say ugnis unda wanda aer oras sol saule mensis menuo dies diena ros rasa Deus Diewas vir viras c. Besides they have many Polish words though these two languages are not originally the same The Latin tongue is as common here as in Poland and you shall not meet a Lithvanian from a Duke to a plowman that cannot give you an answer in that language 'T is probable the Greeks first taught them how to write for they call letters Goomata 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 unless perhaps they had them more immediately from the Russians who use the same word No Nation in Europe has been more besotted with Idolatry then Lithvania Among the rest of their false Gods they as well as the antient Egyptians Greeks Romans and Indians were great worshippers of serpents and many of them continued so till within these few years Of which Signismund Baron of Herberstein in Comment rer Muscovit P. 84 tells us this memorable story Returning says he lately from Masovia at Troki a small Town about eight English miles from Vilna mine host acquainted me that that year he had chanced to buy a hive of bees of one of these serpent-worshippers whom he with much ado had perswaded to betake himself to the worship of the true God and to kill his adder Within a while after coming that way he found the poor fellow miserably tortur'd and deformed his face wrinkled his mouth awry c. demanding the cause of his misery he received this answer from him That this judgment was inflicted on him for killing his God and that he was like to suffer heavier torments if he did not return to his former worship Nay to this day here are too great footsteps of this Idolatry for in many Villages both in Lithvania and Prussia you shall meet with poor Bores that keep Adders in their houses to which they though professed Christians pay a more then ordinary superstitious respect and fancy some great misfortune will befall them if these Laria take any harm Besides the antient Lithvanians had an Idol called by them Percune to whom they kept a continual fire burning with as much caution and diligence as ever the Vestal fire was kept at Rome For if the Waidelot or Priest that was to attend the Altar should happen to let the fire out he was sure to dy for 't The like ceremonies were performed in remembrance of Kiern one of their Princes on the top of a high hill near Dziewaltow These
and many other superstitions they seem to have borrowed from the Romans who came into this country under the conduct of Palaemon Hence they used to burn their dead expecting saith Cajalowicz part I. Hist Lithv lib. 5. p. 140. a resurrection out of the ashes at the coming of a strange God to judge the whole earth from the top of one of their mountains From these Idolatrous practises they were first converted to Christianity by Vladislaus Jagello their Great Duke who A. D. 1386 upon his marriage with Hedvig Queen of Poland turned Christian and was baptized at Cracow by John Bishop of that See He is said to have been a very pious and zealous Prince and exceeding diligent in bringing over the whole Dukedom of Lithvania to the Christian religion At the first he met with no small opposition but when the King had cut down their tall trees the Temples of their Heathenish Gods and no mischief befell him the people begun to think their Idols would never take this affront if able to revenge themselves and therefore they were resolved to listen to their Princes advice Whereupon the King immediately built a Cathedral and founded a Bishoprick at Vilna and the Queen furnished seven parish Churches in the neighbourhood with Chalices vestments and all other necessaries for divine service The Russians at that time as most of them are still were members of the Greek Church so that the King thought good to forbid marriage with a Russ that would not conform to the Church of Rome At this day many Lithvanians are of the Greek Church tho more of the Roman In Vilna and several other great Towns vast numbers of the Inhabitants are Lutherans The whole Dukedom is divided into ten Palatinates the Metropolis and chief of which is Vilna The next is the Palatinate of Troki 3. Minsko 4. Novogrod 5. Breste 6. Volhinia 7. Kiow 8. Miecislaw 9. Vitebsk 10. Poloxko Vilna called by the Inhabitants Vilensski by the Germans die Wilde has its name from the river upon which 't is seated The houses are generally low and mean all of wood excepting only in some streets where Merchants of other nations that resort hither for trade have built themselves more then ordinary gentile ones of stone Most of the Churches are of stone some of wood The suburbs are not built here as at other Cities in Europe but round the walls in a confused and disorderly manner every man placing his house which is nothing else but a wooden booth where he pleases The citizens are exceeding poor and idle slaves to their Nobles and their belly They are taken notice of for great lovers of onions and garlick which kind of diet help'd by their smoaky houses blinds half of them before they arrive at any considerable age Their excessive intemperance in drinking breeds continual quarrels among them If a stranger be kill'd in any such broil the murderer pays only sixteen dollars as a mulct If a Lithvanian be slain and the murderer fly 't is usual to preserve the dead corps embalmed till they can apprehend the fugitive whom they cannot condemn without shewing him the carcase of him he slew There is not one public hospital in the whole City though it stands in more need of such a provision then any place in Europe if we might judge by the swarms of beggars every street affords The only peice of neat building is the Monastery of Bernardine Monks all of hewn stone The Moscovian company of Merchants have also a considerably handsome structure built for a repository of Furrs Ermines and other rich merchandise brought from Mosco The great Dukes Palace has nothing of note in it but the armory which is admirably furnished with all sorts of arms and armour considering that Lithvania it self affords no mines of brass or iron About two English miles from Vilna the great Duke has another Palace called from its situation Wersupa that is near the water built by Sigismund King of Poland all of wood and beautifyed with a Park and pleasant orchards and gardens The rest of the Cities of Lithvania have little in them observable save that they give titles to Palatines and Dukes What numbers there are of these last may be easily guess'd by what is reported of Vitoldus once Great Duke That he had no less then fifty Dukes at once in his army Samogitia THis country has its name from its situation which is low and wet Samogitz in the language of the inhabitants signifying a marshy ground Whence the Moscovite calls it Samotzkasemla It is bounded on the North with Liefland on the East and South with the great Dukedom of Lithvania on the West with the Baltic sea and some parts of Prussia A great part of the country is continually overflown with rivers and Lakes unpassable but in a frost The rest of it is full of woods which afford good store of hony purer and better then any in Lithvania or Liefland The inhabitants differ little from the Lithvanians either in manners habit or language They are sottishly ignorant grosly superstitious and easy to be imposed upon They use no plough in tilling their ground but dig it up with spades or sticks as it is usual in some parts of Moscovy When one of their governours having observed how far his countrymen were outdone in their husbandry by other nations endeavoured to teach them the art of plowing it chanced that for two years after their crop was not so rich as formerly it had been whereupon the people attributing the miscarriage to the new device grew so enraged that the governour was glad to decry the experiment for fear of an insurrection When Vladislaus Jagello had converted the greatest part of Lithvania he endeavoured to bring the Samogitians to the Christian faith In pursuance of this resolution he goes himself into this country and burning up their hallowed groves and destroying the serpents and other creatures they worshipped with threats and promises made them vow to abandon their former Idolatry and worship the true God And for fear that when his back was turn'd they might relapse into their former heathenism he founded a Bishoprick at Mzdniki endowing it with a revenue sufficient for the maintenance of a Bishop and twelve Prebends who were to officiate at so many parish Churches in and about the City Howbeit the good King was not so successful in his undertaking nor his successours so vigilant in the prosecution of his designs but that to this day many poor ignorant Idolaters may be found in the desart parts of this country These like the Lithvanians spoken of before worship a four footed serpent about three hands long called in their tongue Givosit Without one of these houshold gods you shall scarce find a family If any mischief befalls them they think 't is because the little deity has not been well attended Another piece of heathenish superstition is still retain'd by the Rusticks in the following manner About the latter end of
of Lechus the first Others think it the same with Ptolomey's Carodunum corrupted into Cracow This City as 't is the largest so it is the best built of any one in Poland Cromer sets it in competition with the best built Cities of Germany or Italy but we must allow him to stretch a little more then ordinary in commendation of his own Country The houses are for the most part of free-stone and four or five stories high but covered with boards instead of slat There are in it a considerable company of Italian and German Merchants who bring in such foreign wares as the Country stands in need of It consists like London and Paris of three parts 1. Cracow properly so called or the antient City 2. Cazimiria joyned to the rest by a wooden bridge cross the Vistula 3. Stradomia which lyes between Cracow and the bridge The King's Palace is seated on the top of an high hill whence it overlooks both City and Country 'T was rebuilt in the magnificent posture it now stands by Sigismund the Elder who added the gallery on the north side from whence you have one of the best prospects in Europe The University of Cracow was first begun by Casimir the Great finished by Vladislaus Jagello in performance of the last will and testament of his Queen Hedwig and had its priviledges confirmed to it by Pope Vrban In the year 1549 the scholars of Cracow by a general consent left the University upon an affront put on them by the Magistrates of the City who refused to execute justice upon the servants of Andrew Czarnkowski when in a quarrel they had slain a great number of students and dispersed themselves into several parts of Germany whence returning Lutherans they spread the reform'd opinions all Poland over and got great numbers of proselytes Upon the first planting of Christianity in this Kingdom Miecislaus the first who begun his reign in the year 964 Cracow was made an Archbishoprick But within a hundred years after Lampert Zula refusing to receive his Pall from the Pope of Rome as his predecessors had done before him it degenerated into a Bishoprick Afterwards in the reign of Boleslaus the chast which begun A.D. 1226 a contest arising between Jvo Bishop of this Diocess and the Bishop of Vratislaw about precedency the Bishop of Cracow upon his submissive appeal to the See of Rome was again restored to the dignity of an Archbishop which only lasted during his life At this day the Bishops of Cracow wear an Archbishop's Pall set richly with jewels which is the only relique they have of their antient honour The next Palatinate of the Lesser Poland Sendomir is that of Sendomir The City is seated on the bank of the Vistula and fortifyed with walls and a Castle both built by Casimir the Great who afterwards dyed of a surfet by eating too freely of the fruits of this Country which are reckoned the fairest and best in Poland Here is nothing else worth the taking notice of save the Monastery of Dominican Friars founded by Jvo Archbishop of Cracow The Palatinate of Lublin was taken out of that of Sendomir as being too big for the jurisdiction of one Palatine by Casimir Jagellonides Lublin The City is not very large but well built and much frequented especially in the Fairs kept three times a year by Christian Jewish and Turkish Merchants 'T is much better fortifved by the marshes which environ it then its walls and more beholden to nature for its defence then either Casimir the Great who walled it round or the Russians who built the adjoyning Castle The great Church in it was built by Lescus the black upon a great conquest obtain'd against the Lithvanians near this City and dedicated to St. Michael who in a vision the night before the battel had promised him good success St. Bridgets Monastery among many other magnificent ones was founded by Vladislaus Jagello One of the two chief Courts of Judicature from which no appeal lies save to the Parliament of Poland is kept at Lublin Hither for judgment in controversies of any great moment repair the Palatinates of Cracow Sendomir Russia Podolia Lublin Belze Podlassia Volhinia Braclaw Kiow and Czernichow or at least so many of them as are still subject to the Crown of Poland Of other Countries and Provinces to which the Kings of Poland have formerly pretended a title by conquest contract or otherwise BEsides the places mentioned and at present subject to the Crown of Poland the Kings of that Nation have from time to time lay'd claim to many and large Territories now in the hands of other Princes Omitting Bohemia Moravia Wagria Misnia and the Dukedomes of Rugen Mecklenburg and Lunenburg which whatever some of the Polish writers assert and endeavour to make good were very little or not at all subject to Boleslaus Chrobri who was the only King that ever could plausibly pretend a title to any part of them we shall confine our discourse to those Countries to which the Polonian Princes may seem to have had a more just and legal title That all or most of Silesia was part of the Dukedome of Poland Silesia in the days of Lechus the first and several of his successours is highly probable from the writings of Adam Bremensis and Helmoldus who both of them make the river Oder the bounds of Poland Besides the German Chronologers tell us that Charles the Great Ludovicus Pius and other Emperors conquer'd the Silesians and made them tributary to the Empire But the Polish Historians upon what grounds I know not are generally positive in asserting That Silesia was always without any such intermission or conquest as the Germans strive to make out a part of the Polish dominions Only Vincentius Kadlubko agrees with the Germans affirming That Boleslaus Chrobri amongst his many other conquests regain'd Selucia as he calls it and left it annexed to the Crown of Poland After his time we find that Casimir the first translated the Bishoprick of Bicine to Vratislaw whence 't is manifest that in his days Silesia was part of the Realm of Poland Not long after Henry the IV Emperour of Germany in the Diet at Munster A.D. 1086 made over Silesia Lusatia and indeed all Poland to Vratislaus King of Bohemia though as Cromer says he had no right to a foot of land in any of them Whereupon ensued a bloody war betwixt the Bohemians and Poles wherein it is to be conjectured the latter had the better since all Historians agree that Silesia was under the King of Polands goverment during the whole reign of Boleslaus the third His son Vladislaus the second being deposed by his brethren who were left Co-heirs with him in the Kingdom fled first to the Emperor Frederick the first who brought Boleslaus Crispus Duke of Poland and brother to Vladislaus to such straits that he was forced to resign all Silesia into the hands of his brother's children but upon condition they should
Edward the Confessor As to the tribute paid by Lewis XI of France to the King of England I shall say no more then That 't is well known upon what grounds our Kings especially Henry V. and Henry VI the latter of which was Crowned King of France in Paris pretended a title to the Crown of France before his days and what reason they had to demand a tribute So that Hartknoch's argument drawn from these two examples amounts to no more than this That the Emperors of Germany had never any more title to the Crown of Poland then the Danish Kings have had to the Throne of England or the English to the Scepter of France And what kind of pretensions those were Historians can inform us SVECIAE NORVEGIAE ET DANIAE Nova Tabula SWEDEN SCANDIA or Scandinavia probably so nam'd from the ancient Inhabitants who call'd themselves Schaanau or Shane tho Junius thinks it may be very well so called from the ancient word Schans signifying a Fortification the situation of the Country being well fenced by the Greeks Baltia or Basilia â—â—anâ—â—d its â—â—tion is a large Peninsula lying betwixt 55 and 72 degrees of Northerly Latitude and about 25 and 65 of Longitude It is bounded on the West and North by the vast Ocean on the East by part of Muscovy and the Sinus Finnicus and on the South by the Baltick Sea which Peninsula was inhabited by divers Nations as the Suiones or Sueci Queni Northmanni c. and was accounted the store-house of men and original of thirty potent Nations dispers'd into most parts of the habitable world But we shall now at this time speak only of the principallest part of it situated toward the most Easterly point wherein is the seat of a great and powerful Empire which has of late spread it self very largely out of this Peninsula commanded by the King of Sweden His dominion comprehends all from the Frozen Sea on the North the Dofrine Hills or Scars on the West the Lakes Ladoga and Onega and part of Russia on the East and the Sund or Oresund and the Baltick Sea on the South Omitting for the present the new Accessions in Livonia c. of which in due place That we may speak distinctly of this great Empire â—â—pâ—â—nd â—â—viâ—â— we will begin first of all with the North which is inhabited by a sort of people call'd Laps or Laplanders All which notwithstanding are not subjects of the Swede the Easterly parts being under the Muscovite and the Westerly under the Dane however we shall speak of them indistinctly their manners language and customs being the same in all 1. Muscovitick Lapland Muscovitick Lapland called by the ancient Geographers Biarmia at present by the Swedes Trennis by the Russes Tarchanavoloch and by the Natives Pyhinienni takes in all the maritime tract of ground which lies from about Kola to the White Sea It is divided into three parts or Provinces 1. Mourmanskoy or maritime Leporie 2. Tersa or Terskoy Leporie And 3. Bellamoreskoy Leporie The exact description whereof is not accurately known to us 2. Norwegian Lapland Norwegian Lapland formerly called Scrickfinnia by Jornandes Scretfennia now Finmark or the Province of Wardhuus runs all along the Norwegian shore from the Lake Tornetresk near the Dofrine Hills to the Castle of Wardhuus but how much more Easterly is not exactly discover'd to us All this Province or Lieutenancy belongs to the Crown of Denmark 3. Swedish Lapland or as the Swedes call it Swedish Lapland Lapmark It contains all that most Southern and inland part of Lappia from the Province of Hel-Singia in Sweden to the Lieutenancy of Wardhuus or quite to the North Sea It is counted by some to be of equal extent with almost all Sweden properly so called Andr. Buraeus says it contains in length above four hundred English miles and in breadth three hundred and sixty This Lapland is divided into six lesser parts or Provinces called Markar i. e. Lands all which have their names from the most remarkable Rivers that run thro each of them 1. The first and most Northerly of all is Tornelapmark The Provinces of Swedish Lapland extending it self from the furthest corner of the Bay of Bothnia all along or near to the North Sea call'd by our Sea-men North-Cape 2. Next to this lies Kimilapmark winding from the North toward the East and bounded on one side by the Eastern Bothnia on another by that part of Lapland which belongs to Russia and on a third side by Cajania and Carelia 3. West of Tornelapmark lies Lulalapmark which has on the West-side the Dofrine Hills and also on the South 4. Pithalapmark a Province very mountanous and barren 5. Next to this Vmalapmark bounding as the former upon the West Bothnia and the Dofrine Hills 6. South of which lies Angermandlandslapmark bordering upon Angermannia and Temptia tho Angermandlandslapmark and Vmalapmark are by many Authors reckon'd for one because they are both govern'd by one Lieutenant yet are they distinct Provinces Each of these Provinces are according to the ancient manner of the Country subdivided into lesser parts call'd by the Swedes Byar Their lesser Divisions and are equivalent to our Shires and the Pagi 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of the Ancients which were not Villages or Country Towns but large parts of a Country There are several of these Shires or Pagi in each Province except Angermandlandslapmark which makes but one Pagus vulgarly called Aosahla Vmalapmark hath four Vma Lais or Raanby Granby and Vapsteen Pithalapmark hath seven Graotreskby Arfwejerfsby Lochteby Arrieplogsby Wisierfby Norvesterby Westerby Lulalapmark hath five Jochmoch Sochjoch Torpinjaur Zerkislocht and Rautomjaur Tornelapmark hath nine Tingewaara Siggewaara Sondewara Ronolaby Pellejerf Kiedkajerf Mansialka Saodankyla and Kithilaby So that all the territories are divided into thirty-three Byars In each of these there are several Clans or Families which the Swedes call Rakar In the Byar called Aosahla there are about thirty in others more or less according as they are in bigness and fertility distinguish'd by several names each of which have a certain alotment of ground assigned them for the maintenance of themselves and their Cattel not in the nature of a country Farm but of a very great length and breadth so as sometimes to contain Rivers Lakes Woods and the like which all belong to one Clan or Family who enjoy it all in common without appropriating it to several persons And thus much for the division of Lapland not lately made except that under Charles IX some Clans had certain allotments assigned them but derived from very ancient time as appears from hence that neither the Laplanders have known nor the Swedes given them any other since the country has been under their subjection and it may not seem improbable that this manner of possessing was begun immediately after the Flood propriety being the effect of populousness The inhabitants of this Lapland supposing the
c. so that in those parts only they make Gardens and till their ground Through the whole Countrey the air though very cold and piercing yet is not inferiour to any of other Regions in healthfulness and pureness either because the vapours coagulated and so made heavier by the cold fall down or from the frequent winds which sometimes are so strong that they hinder all passengers from travelling and likewise root up all trees and Bushes that stand in their way so that on several of the Laplandish as well as Dofrine mountains there are no trees or shrubs to be met with therefore the Inhabitants make use of fish-bones for fuel but most terrible are those Tempests and Whirlewinds says J. Magn. which arise from the North sometimes taking away the waters of the Sea from under the Ships and carrying the Ships up into the air let them fall down again at far distant places sometimes also sweeping away with them both Stones and living Creatures and now and then meeting with great quantities of fish which the Inhabitants use to dry in the cold they hoise them up into the air and let them fall which the poor people gather as a gift sent from God In those parts nearest the Pole the Sun for some months never sets and on the contrary for so long time never rises and although in Summer it never sets and goes below the Earth yet neither does it rise more above it but as it were glides along the edg of the Horison for the most part and likewise in winter when lowest it is not much beneath it which is the reason that though they have one continued night for some months yet the Sun comes so near that it makes a kind of twilight Snows are frequent which last all the year long upon the mountains and many months upon the plains by the brightness whereof they travel with greater security and speed then otherwise they could do Springs and Rivers are so numerous in this Country 〈…〉 that together with the melted Snows and Frosts they make the ground all summer time generally loose and boggy The most noted Rivers are those whence the particular Marches and Regions have their names as Vmeao Pitheao Luhleao Torneao and Kimeao these all spring from the Dofrine mountains and being increas'd by several lesser rivers do at last unburthen themselves into the Bothnick sea In their course they run through many hilly and uneven parts of the Countrey and are stopt by several dams and weares and so violently forceing their way over precipices are not navigable Such are the sluces Muscaumokke Sao and Niometsaski i. e. Hares-leap so called because the River Lughla runs between two mountains so near that a Hare may leap over Besides these Lakes and other less remarkable rivers there are abundance of Pools or Lakes as Lulafraesk Lugga Sabbaig c. well stored with Salmons and such like Fish one there is named Stoorafvan in which there are as many little Islands as there are days in the year but the most remarkable is Enaresraesk near Kimus wherein the hills and islands are by some said to be innumerable and Torneus affirms that never any Inhabitant lived long enough to survey them all Some of these are small but fishy they call them Suino i. e. Holy and account it a sin to foul them Some of them have two Channels and when the Fish forsake the upper they account it an ill omen and use ridiculous sacrifices to the Demon of that March Here are Mountains most of them small and inconsiderable Mountains some also very high and almost unpassable especially towards Norway which the Swedes call Fiael or as the Northern English Fells and the Laplanders Tudderi they arise about Zemptland whence with continued ascent toward the North they reach a 100 miles in length till they come to Titus-fiord which is a bay of the frozen Sea Till of late no Mines of any Mettal were known to be in the Country Mines but in the reign of Queen Christina in the year 1643 there were veines found both of Silver and Lead by the Inhabitants of Pithalappia amongst Rocks so hard that they were forced to tear them in pieces with Gunpowder but in the wars 'twixt Sweden and Denmark in the year 1656 one Van Anen a Danish Governour so spoiled them that it is not thought worth the charge to open them again and since that also in the year 1668 another Silver mine but mingled with Iron was discover'd by a Native There are also known to be some Iron and Copper mines in Torne and Lulalapmark but not digged Scheffer mentions a report of the discovery of a Golden Mine in the year 1671 but nothing of certainty concerning it comes to our hands what further concerns them will fall more properly under the discourse of Sweden The Stones of this Country generally are extreamly hard of an ash colour and unworkable Stones some there are found on the shores which represent the shape of some animals which the Inhabitants esteem much and adore for Gods under the name of Storjunkare Some Authors speak of considerable quantities of Diamonds Amethysts and Topaz the Diamonds which are reported to be of an incredible bigness seem to be nothing but either Chrystals or Fluores and Scheffer gives the same sentence of the other Here are found in some few Rivers a sort of Pearl but neither so oriental nor so well shap'd as those that come out of the Indies In the whole Country there are none of those we call either Fruit or Timber-Trees Trees but store of Pine Firr Birch Willows and Alder. Plants most frequent among them are divers sorts of Berries Angelica highly valued by them for diet and medicine Sorrel c. Proper to the Country are Calceolus Lapponicus so call'd from the shape of its flower a beautiful plant but of no use great varieties also of Mosses the food of their Rain-deer This Country by reason of the many Lakes Fish and Fowl Rivers and Woods abounds much with Fish and Fowl of all sorts there is one sort of Bird called Loom or Lame because their feet are so short and plac'd so far behind that they cannot go upon land but always either swim or flie very numerous in and peculiar to this Country but no Bird abounds more than the White Partridge not only in the Woods but on the high Mountains even when cover'd with the deepest Snows they have a kind of hair instead of feathers which in the winter is white but when the spring comes they turn to their proper color which seems to be usual in all cold Countries they have hares feet whence they are call'd by some Lagopodes Fish are here in great abundance not only sufficient to supply the Inhabitants but frequently transported into other Nations although their constant victuals be nothing but dryed Fish such as abound most are Salmon and Pikes whereof some are found eight foot long Of
all the Beasts of Lapland the Bear is chief Beasts stil'd by the Inhabitants the King of the woods next to the Bear the Elk is remarkable call'd by the Swedes Aelg or Aelgar and by the Germans Ellend It differs much from the Rain-deer both in height being as high as any horse and in the make of it horns they being shorter then those of the Rain-deer above two handfuls in breadth upon the Palm shooting out not many lesser branches see a discription of this Creature among the beasts of Poland There is no great breed of them in Lapland but they have them from other places especially Lithvania and Russia whence twice a year they swim in great herds over the river Niva in the spring to go into Carelia and those parts and in Autumn to return into Russia Here are likewise besides these and the Rain-deer great plenty of Stags Wolves Gluttons Beavers and more sorts of Furs As for the Stags there are but few and little such as are call'd Damicervi or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which since they have nothing peculiar from those of other Nations let it suffice that they are named Wolves are here in great number distinguished from those of other Countries only by their colour which is commonly white a great enemy to the Rain-deer but are observ'd never to assault them if bound to a stake the Wolf being a jealous Creature and suspects every rope he sees to be a snare to catch him The next are the Gluttons so named from their rapaciousness an amphilbious Creature with a round head strong and sharp teeth like a Wolf a plump body and feet shorter then the Otters their skin is of a very dark colour some of them resemble Sables only they have a softer and finer hair Beavers also are very numerous here and generally by reason of the quietness of the waters which are never or seldomer troubled with Ships and Boats then the Rhine and Danow are all creatures that live in Rivers and feed upon Fish abound in this Country Beasts also that live wholly upon Land are in great number and variety as Foxes of several sorts and colours as the black brown ash-colour'd white and those that are mark'd with a cross all along the back and down the shoulders call'd Crucigerae Martrons or Martins a little beast not unlike a Ferret feeding upon Mice Birds and such like Ermins which are white Weesels with black tails feeding also upon Mice and the like little Animals Sables a kind of Martron the white are very rare and of extraordinary price of the rest the black are the better with some others whose skins are highly priz'd and reckon'd the chief commodity of Lapland There are also on the mountains of Lapland vast numbers of Mice which because they appear commonly after rain have I suppose given occasion to some Authors to think them generated in the Clouds and so rain'd down of these Mice are reported several incredible things as their waging war and drawing themseves in bodies like armies their oeconomy also and such like stories they are meat for their Foxes Rain-deer and their Dogs which eat only the fore part of them Cattel common to other Nations as Horses Oxen Sheep c. are not to be met with in Lapland the beasts proper to this and the Northern Countries are the Rain-deer an ancient name call'd by King Aelfred in his Saxon Periplus Hynas and the Latine name Rangifer seems to be derived from it they differ much from the Tarandus of Pliny and also from our common Stags they have three horns two branching out backward like our Stags horns sometimes five cubits in length and adorn'd with five and twenty branches the third spouting down their forehead by which they defend themselves against wild beasts The Doe has but two horns somewhat shorter one whereof is fix'd in her forehead Their feet are thick like Bulls feet of an ash-colour except under their belly and haunches which is white resembling more an Ass then a Stag. This beast when it walks or runs makes a noise with its joints like the clashing of Flints which is peculiar to these creatures Though their hoofs be cleft they do not chew the cud they are naturally wild but not difficultly tamed and made serviceable to men The males they imploy in drawing their Sleds and the Does they keep for their milk of which they make Cheese but not any Butter for they have none in the whole Country but make use of a kind of Tallow instead of it The Inhabitants both in figure and manners are not unlike the Samoieds of Muscovy The â—â—tureâ—â— inhabitants and the Description there given of that people may in several respects be said to agree to them They are generally short of stature and for the most part very lean and perhaps both by reason of the extream coldness of the Country They are observ'd to be very light of body which some perhaps not without reason attribute to their not eating any salt They have great heads prominent foreheads hollow and blear eyes short flat noses and wide mouths their hair is generally flaggy their breast broad slender wastes and though their legs be small yet are they nimble strong and swift of foot their usual exercises being running races and climbing high Rocks and Trees Though they are thus nimble and strong yet they never go upright but stooping which habit they get by frequent sitting in their Cottages on the ground or by bending their bodies as they slide along the snow in their scaits By reason of their living in woods among wild beasts and want of correspondence as well among themselves as with other Nations they are very superstitious fearful and mean spirited and above all things dreading war so that the Swedes seldom or never imploy any of them in their armies though it be falsly reported that Gustavus Adolphus made use of both them and their magick in his expeditions upon Germany but of late they begin to be more couragious and considerable and we are inform'd that this present King Charles the XIth in his wars with the King of Denmark had some Regiments of Lapps in his Army who for the good service they did him has given them better Lodgings then they had before and caus'd them to change quarters with some of the Inhabitants of Schonen who by reason of their treacherousness were not so deserving as they If they chance to be removed out of their own into a more Southern Country they frequently fall into deseases and dye being less able to endure a milder air and to feed upon Salt Bread and boil'd meat then other Nations are to live upon their raw Flesh and dryed Fish Formerly they were accounted plain-dealers and in bartering very honest but having been deceiv'd by strangers they took up cheating and cousening as well as others and are so far from being behind hand with them in it that they are notorious and infamous for deceiving
and over-reaching one another in bargaining They especially the women are jealous of all strangers whatsoever and being conscious how much their simplicity exposes them to the craft of others they are revengeful and desperate endeavouring to prevent any mischief that may seem to threaten them by the destruction of the person that caused the suspition And this they do frequently by the assistance of Magick and the help of the Devil as is said of one who attempting often to mischieve his Enemy who was secur'd by his Countercharms after long lying in wait for him at last watched his opportunity and finding him asleep under a great Rock by his Spel split it upon him and so buried him under it They are also noted to be of a censorious and detracting humour covetous and yet lazy withal so that where the soyl might be improv'd they often through idleness let it lye barren and uncultivated They seldom take pains so much as to hunt or fish till pinch'd by want and necessity Consequent to these qualities they are stubborn undutiful to Parents when old lustful all except the married people lying promiscuously together in one Hut without any difference of age sex or condition and subject to whatever vices attend an idle and unthinking life Yet in the midst of these enormities and depravations of manners some good qualities are to be found amongst them as their great veneration and respect for marriage which they seldom or never violate their abhorrence of theft which is remarkable in that they do keep their hands from pilfering having so good opportunity to the contrary there being no secured Magazines nor Locks and Keys in the whole Country but Merchants leave their goods oftentimes in the open fields defended by some covering from the weather not at all from the treachery of any dispos'd to be theevish Their hospitality to Strangers and those in distress is very remarkable they receiving them into their Huts liberally affording them the best chear they have and often charitably supplying them with stock to traffick lending money gratis without any usury and such like good deeds which seem to be happy fruits sprung up in some of them since the plantation of our holy Religion amongst them the ignorance and gross superstition among the natives very much disappearing since the light of the Gospel was known to them Concerning the Religion of the Laplanders we may observe what progress they have made in Christianity since it was planted amongst them as also what was the antient manner of worship proper to these Northern Nations for the reliques of heathenish superstition amongst some of them to this day seem to be only rak'd up under the embers ready to flame out were it not for the strict Government of the Swedes They worshiped they knew not what but they call'd him Jumala or Jomala a word which they use now for the true God as they did before for the supream Entity Another God also they worship'd under the name of Turrisas or Turris-As the prince of the Ases or Asiaticks whence it does appear that they conserved some knowledg of their migration together with the rest of the Scandians out of Asia under Woden Several other distinct Gods they had on different occasions as to preside over Ry Barley Oates and all sorts of fruits whom they worshiped in Finland but had not any occasion for after their banishment one also for Tempests one to protect their Cattel another to command Wolves Squirrels and such like ridiculous Deities Jumala was represented under the image of a man sitting upon an Altar with a Crown upon his head adorn'd with twelve Gems and a golden Chain about his neck to which was fastned a large Jewel called from its figure Mens or Mene i. e. a Moon upon his knees stood a large golden dish into which they cast their offerings and this dish they are supposed to have brought out of Finland for when they lost it they could never procure another His Temple was in the woods not built with any roof but only a piece of ground fenc'd as the old Roman Temples were this God being in time found useless was at last casheard and the Deities in greatest reputation amongst them at this day are those things from which they think they receive the greatest benefits as the sun fire and such like of which more by and by All the Heathenish Religion the Laplanders retain to this day may be reduc'd to two heads Their Heathenish Gods Magical and Paganish or Superstitious and Diabolical Those superstitions they intermix with Christianity we shall speak of under Religion as 't is Christian Of their Gods some are publick and common to the whole Country other private and belonging only to a Division neighbourhood or some one particular Family all which have their several names Those of Lapponia Pithensis and Luhlensis have their greater and lesser Gods the greater to whom they pay especial worship are Thor Storejunkare the Sun and some add Fire which may seem not a distinct Deity but only an emblem of the Sun The lesser common also to the Tornenses are worshipp'd under one name except only that which they call Wira Accha signifying a Livonian old woman which at first was only an old stump of a tree but now its Godship is quite rotten and moulder'd away They worship also the Ghosts of men their friends especially departed and think some Divinity to be in them as the Romans fancied to be in their Manes Spectres also and Demons are ador'd by them which they say wander amongst Rocks Woods Rivers and Lakes as the Roman Fauni Sylvani and Tritones are said to have done The Genii also good and bad which they suppose to fly in the air about Christmas and they call them Juhly from Juhl a word still in use among the Northern English denoting at present Christmas but formerly the New-year Some Gods also there are common to the whole Country the chief of which is Thor or as the Swedes call him Thordoen and the Lapps themselves sometimes Tiermes i. e. Thunderer or noise-maker His proper place is thought to be in the clouds and winds rain thunder good as well as bad weather to be at his disposal The Romans could not have greater thoughts of their Jupiter then the Laplanders have of their Thor whereupon they give him many great and honourable titles as Aijeke great-grand-father c. To him belongs the arbitrement of life and death health and sickness he can also restrain whatsoever is injurious and give whatever is beneficial or advantageous to men So as the thred of mans life was supposed by the Ancients to be tyed to Jove's chair they fancy it to be in the power of this God to lengthen and shorten it as he pleases that they cannot dye except he give leave nor could have had a being but by his permission that 't is he that drives away those Daemons from the rocks and mountains that are enemies
into one and then into the other and if it be strong enough to endure so sudden a change of heat and cold they think it will make a hardy Fellow and fit for their business whereupon they endeavour to have it baptiz'd as soon as they can possibly wrapping it in moss and so carrying it to Church though at a very great distance either upon their backs or in a Pannier upon their Rain-deer as they anciently us'd to do to their publick Fairs whither Priests were sent twice a year out of Sweden While their Children are young they use them to bow and arrows by which they are to get their future livelihood and to make them the more expert always place their victuals upon a post as their mark to shoot at which they hit down or fast The Manner of the Laplanders Liuing in Summer The Manner of the Laplanders Liuing in Winter F. H. Van. Houe Sculp R. t honble ANTONY EARLE of SHAFTSBVRY If any one be dangerously sick they either send for the Priest if near to prepare him for death or to the Magician to resolve them by his Drum if he shall recover parting their respects 'twixt Gods Ministers and the Devils Servants If he dye they imagine that his Soul is not at rest till the body be in the grave and for that reason use all haste possible to convey it to some Burying-place which is frequently the nearest Cave or Wood Church-yards by reason of their remoteness they seldom make use of The dead body they carry upon a sledd and when they come to the Cave cast it in and the sledd after it or else cover it with great Logs of Wood to secure it from wild Beasts always laying besides it a Flint and steel and sometimes a Hatchet which they suppose may be serviceable to them in the other world At their return they provide a Funeral Banquet or rather a sacrifice to the Ghost of the deceased person which is thus They take those Rain-deer that dragg'd the dead body to the grave and offer them in sacrifice to the Manes feasting upon their flesh and making merry with Brandy and Tobacco and the best chear they have at last they drink a health round to the person departed this done they carefully gather the bones of the Rain-deer put them into a box with a rude image of their friend and so bury them together These Ceremonies observ'd also in their Heathenism shew'd that even then as it were by the dictates of Nature they conceived themselves to consist of an Immortal part also and that they expected another life after this wherein they imagine every one to follow their former imployments and consequently to be again united to their bodies The Lives and Manners of the Laplanders as it is express'd in the Plate here annex'd The upper-part is their Summer-living The under-part their way of living in Winter In the Vpper-part you have 1 A Church for those who are converted to the Lutheran Religion At the entrance of which in lieu of a 2 Bason of Holy-water there stands one full of Brandy-wine with a spoon in it of which every one who comes to Church takes a sup to encourage and warm his zeal The first man you see represents the 3 Priest the next the best 4 man of the Parish Then follows a 5 Bride attended upon by two 6 Bride-maids after whom comes the 7 Bridegroom and other friends 8 Their manner of making Baskets which is their greatest trade 9 Their way of carrying and of rocking their children 10 The manner how the young children grown up suck the Rain-Deer 11 The man and wife's way of lying in bed 12 Their Houses for keeping their provisions themselves in the coldest part of Winter lying in Tents 13 Their manner of eating 14 The Priests way of Baptizing and the Clarks bringing water 15 Their way of Wire-drawing which is much used amongst them for adorning of their Boots and Coats 16 Amongst those who are not yet converted to the Christian Religion you have their way of sacrificing 17 Their three Gods standing uppermost and under each of them upon the Altars lye three pieces of the sacrificed Rain-deer 18 Their way of praying to them 19 Their way of Burial 20 Their way of praying to Death that it would be pleased to spare them awhile In the Vnder-part you have 1 Their manner of bringing their Taxes consisting of several sorts of Skins and dry'd Fish to the Kings Commissioners which being paid each one takes a large spoonful of Brandy-wine which stands at the end of the Table and so away Above which you see the 2 Commissioners Tent. 3 Their way of travelling in Sledds drawn by Rain-Deer which by the by do agree so well with those barren Countries that if you do but bring them into Sweden which yet is none of the most fertile they dye in a short time 4 Their way of carrying their goods 5 Their manner of ruling their Rain-Deer with a whip or line 6 Their way of shooting them 7 Their taking Tobacco which they prize above meat 8 Their speaking in the ear of the Rain-Deer telling them what they should do or whither they should go which as I am credibly inform'd they will observe exactly 9 Their manner of gelding them 10 Their way of laying their heads under a Drum which the Devil beats and from thence the man learns what success he shall have in his affairs 11 His giving the man the Hammer and letting him beat OF THE Provinces of Sweden Properly so taken NExt to be spoken to is Suecia or Sweden strictly so call'd of which because it has been honour'd always by the Residence of their Kings and been the chief Scene of Swedish Affairs we shall in the first place treat and afterwards speak of Gothia or Gothland with all its Provinces rather as an Accession to the Crown of Sweden then a distinct Kingdom from it though anciently Gothia and Suecia had their distinct successions of Kings Of Finland Ingria and Aesthonia with the late Conquests in Livonia Pomeren c. we shall in the last place discourse reserving the Laws and Government as also the manner and customs of the People till we come to Stockholm the present Metropolis of this great Empire Suecia then Suecia or Suetia call'd by the English Sweden or Swedland is bounded on the North with Lapland on the West with the Dofrine Hills on the East with the Bothnick and Finnick Bays and on the south with Gothland and Sconen A fruitful but in some parts mountainous and woody Country abounding with several rich Mines and affording very great conveniencies of water and fuel for working them It is divided into two General parts viz. Suecia strictly so taken and the Northlands or Northlandish Provinces I. The Northlands contain in them two distinct Countries or Provinces Helsingia and Gestricia parted one from the other by the great wood Oedemord 1. Gestricia Gestricia which affords some
trade 5. 〈◊〉 North or North-east of Sudermannia lies the Province of Vpland so call'd from its situation in the Country or as some say from King Vbbon who reigned here It is bounded on the East side by the Baltick Sea on the South by the Lake Meller on the West and North by the Rivers Sawe and Dalecarle This Country affords great plenty of Corn with which it supplies the neighbouring Provinces Some few Mines it has of Lead and Iron especially some also of Silver tho not digg'd It is divided into three Lands or as the Swedes call them Folk-lands 1. Tihundria which lies most Northerly of any and takes its name from ten Prefectures or Hundreds into which it is shar'd out 2. Athundria lying betwixt Vpsal and Stockholm so call'd because it contains eight Prefectures 3. Fiedrundria which takes its name from four Prefectures into which it is divided in it is the City Enkoping four leagues from Vpsal and seven from Stockholm And here it may be observed as peculiar to this Province that it as the Counties in England is shared out into several Prefectures or Hundreds as Erling-hundrat c. Each of them containing at first one hundred families all two thousand two hundred which is not observed in other Provinces but their divisions are called Harodh Har signifying an Army and Odh a possession all which at first were supplyed with Inhabitants from this Province of Vpland for when families increased above their hundreds some after the manner of an army were singled out and listed to go and people or rather subdue other parts of the Country wherefore these men setling in other Provinces called the place where they first sate down The possession of such a Colony or Army as Daga-Harodh Lystugn-Harodh c. In this Province are five Cityes 1. Encoping where was formerly a Monastery of Minorites 2. Sigtunia so called from Siggo King of Sweden who founded it Here was anciently a Monastery of Dominicans the burying place of some of their Archbishops 3. Oregrundia or Oregrund a rich populous City abounding with corn several sorts of Merchandise because of the commodiousness of the Port. 4. Vpsal the most Antient and most famous Vpsal City in the whole Kingdom It takes its name says Johannes Magnus from Vbbon King of Sweden who founded it about the year after the Flood 240 but as others from its situation upon the River Sala Here was formerly the chief seat of the Swedish Kings for which reason as well as for the dignity of the City one of their Titles was Vpsala-Konung i.e. King of Vpsal Here were also the supream Courts of Judicature Civil and Ecclesiastical and the seat of their only Archbishop continued to it to this day Fortified it is by one onely Castle built after the modern not antient Gothick fashion upon a high hill some small distance from the City overlooking and commanding the whole Town begun by Ericus continued by King John and perfected by Charles Gustavus the first in this City is the Metropolitan Church of the whole Kingdom covered upon the roof as are most of the chief buildings with Copper adorned with an Artificial Clock and honoured with the Monuments of several of their Kings Ericus the Saint is said to lye buried here in a golden Coffin Gustavus Adolphus also has his Tomb in this Church upon which the whole History of his life is inscribed in large golden Characters Here is also the only University they have in the whole Kingdom begun at first say some Ann. 1248 under Ericus Balbus XI by a College of only four Professors or as Loccenius will have it about the year 1306 under one Andreas President of the said College who kept a free Table for Choristers and poor Scholars to assist in the Quire but now by the care of some of their later Kings advanc't into a famous University An. 1476 in the Reign of Steno Sture Senior Pope Sixtus IV. gave it the same priviledges with Bononia An. 1595 Charles then King endowed it with several Immunities and Revenues by his Royal Patent which says Messenius was in the year 1608 upon some differences 'twixt the Calvinists and Lutherans fraudulently got from it which if so yet probably that Prince who favoured the Reformers so much did restore it to the University of this See Loccenius Hist Suec Lib. 8. Pag. 474. An. 1624 in the time of Gustavus Adolphus it was most considerably augmented that King settling upon the University 306 Mannors 8 Granaries of Tythes 4 Mills and 30 Demesnes out of his own Crown Revenues free from all Taxes and Impositions towards the maintenance of more Professors and poor Scholars commanding that the chief Rector should be elected by the Professors that one of these should read a publick Lecture throughout the whole year continued at present only in the Winter-time that the Scholars should live peaceably soberly and minding their own affairs not meddle with state matters that none of them should as they had formerly done wear swords or carry arms This University in the time of King John III 1592 was removed hence to Stockholm but that place being found for several reasons inconvenient it was in a short time remanded to Vpsal A Library they have well stored with books a considerable part of which was given by Gustavus Adolphus An. 1631 which he in his expeditions against Germany took out of the Library of Wurtzburg and other places To this City there anciently did belong several Lands and Revenues by the title of Vpsala Oedom or the Patrimony of Vpsal given by Freius surnamed Pacificus one of their ancient Kings out of his own hereditary Lands as a publick stock which Patrimony being embezel'd by those men that had the managery of it and for many years no account given An. 1282 in the Reign of Magnus I. surnamed Ladulaus it was order'd in Council That these publick Lands should be sought after and reunited to the Crown or some other way found to maintain the Grandeur of the Court The Lands by reason of long alienation could not be regain'd wherefore it was enacted that in lieu of them all the Revenues of fishing in the Finnick and Bothnick Bays the Lake Meller and all other Lakes and Rivers within the Kings Dominions as also of all Mines of what Metal soever should over and above the Land-taxes wholly and entirely belong to the Crown This City was anciently the chief Place of their Heathenish Their ancient manner of Worship as it is at present of their Christian worship wherefore it may not be amiss here to treat as well of their ancient superstitions as of their present true Religion The Heathenish Deities to which they pay'd their devotion were Thor Oden and Freia who are said to have come out of Asia into this Country and were though under divers names worshiped by most of the Scandians Thor so call'd from the Assyrian word Thur or Thurra i.e. powerful had a Temple
Gustavus X. ann 1655 and by this present King Charles XI in 1663 publickly ratified and subscrib'd to and ever since by him maintain'd so that Lutheranism may seem to have taken deepest root in this Kingdom The Clergy of Sweden is had in great honour and reputation 〈◊〉 And tho the revenues belonging to the Church are since the Reformation very much impaired Gustavus I. annexing as 't is said to the Crown at one time 7500 Farms and Ecclesiastical Livings yet the respect due to their Ministers does not seem to be much abated Their Archbishop always performs the Religious Solemnities at the Kings Coronation and with as many Bishops as the King pleases to chuse is admitted Privy-Counsellor to his Majesty He is reckon'd the chief person in the Kingdom next to the King himself and accordingly takes place of all Temporal Lords and anciently when it was granted to a Knight or Lay-Privy-Counsellor to have only twelve and a Senator eight it was order'd that he might have forty and a Bishop thirty Horses in their Retinue He has under him seven Suffragans viz. the Bishops of Lyncopen Scare Stergnes Westeras Wexio Aboa and Riga And divers Superintendents who have Episcopal Jurisdiction viz. of Calmare Gottenburgh Marienstadt Revel c. All which make up an Ecclesiastical College call'd the supreme Consistory of the Kingdom wherein the Archbishop always presides The Clergy of this Nation says Loccenius according to the manner of the Eastern Churches us'd to marry till Pope Innocent IV. by a Council held at Sceningia a City of Ostro-Gothia ann 1248 forbad marriage to Priests and caus'd those that had wives to put them away What concerns their Religion or their Church-Government being the same with that of the Lutherans must be elsewhere more largely treated of The King is the absolute Soveraign in Ecclesiastical matters which he determines not without the advice of his Archbishop and Bishops He names all the Bishops and by his power are summon'd all Ecclesiastical Assemblies Authors make a difference betwixt their Bishops and Superintendents but it is not considerable both equally depending upon the Archbishop but the Superintendents have not in all things equal power with the Bishops 5. The fifth and last City of Vpland is Stockholm Stockholme lying in 42 degrees of Longitude and of Latitude 58 ten minutes A Town of great Trade the present seat of the Kings of Sweden and the Metropolis of the whole Kingdom Situate it is in an Island on the side of the Lake Meller encompassed on all sides especially that toward the sea with high rugged Rocks called Scheren which hinder the prospect of the City but very much secure the Haven which is very large and of dangerous entrance though these Rocks are a defence to the Town yet by reason of them it is sometime set upon by an enemy unawares as it was by Sigismund King of Poland Anno 1594. It is said to have been founded by King Birgerus Anno 1261 and from the great quantity of wood used in the building of it called Stockholme Stock signifying wood and Holme an Island But Anno 1552 a fire happening in the City and by reason of the wooden buildings burning down a great part of it it was by publick command rebuilt part of stone part of brick part also upon Piles so that the sea flowes under the houses In it are several large well-built bridges only two gates opening to the South and North. Publick Inns or Lodging-houses here are none but strangers take up their quarters with some of the Burghers entertainment handsome and charges not great An. 1407 it was consumed by Lightning and some thousands of people destroyed by the fire In 1529 King Gustavus the first called several principal Burghers and Merchants out of other Cities to inhabit this most of the inhabitants being driven hence by the tyranny of Christiern II. King of Denmark There are in it eight Churches in all one of which is supplied by a Finlandish another by a German Minister who constantly preach in their own language In the Cittadel is the Kings Palace handsomely built some part eight or nine stories high yet of great strength and security within it is a large and magnificent Church built by King John erected upon Marble pillars and rooft with Copper with a private Chappel for the King very large also having forty windows on each side where at the high Altar is said to be a massy Silver Image of our Saviour crucified in full proportion This City has been very often besieg'd ann 1434 by the people of Sweden who rebelled upon account of Foreign Officers employed in the affairs of the Kingdom contrary to the Laws of the Land ' By King John 1481 1522 by Gustavus I. and at other times the enemy always taking advantage of a hill called Bruncaberge so near that from it they can batter the Cittadel The Arms of this City are the Head of Saint Ericus Crown'd Or taken by the agreement of the States in remembrance of that Kings Virtue and Piety and those of the Kingdom are three Crowns Or in a Field Azure given for the same reason This being the Metropolis and lying so conveniently is the greatest place of trade in the whole Nation from whence are exported Copper Iron Steel Lead Deal-board and very many Manufactures made of those materials Copper especially whereof this Kingdom supplies the necessities almost of the whole world This City is govern'd by four chief Magistrates or Consuls who are elected out of the Burghers and enjoy the dignity for their life Their Office is to give Laws and decide controversies arising 'twixt one Citizen and another if of lesser concern but if of great moment they always have the assistance of the Lieutenant of the Castle who is President of the Court for that time and either puts an end to the case or transmits it to the Kings Council They perform this office by turns two having precedence and supplying it one and the other two the next year When any extraordinary affairs happen they may have the assistance of some of the principal Citizens who take upon them particular businesses as the care of Buildings the decision of some private action promulgation of Laws c. Besides these there are twelve Senators or Aldermen chosen out of the Body of the City who have the office likewise for their lives Out of these four are elected to be Assessors to the Consuls and in all cases and differences arising to assist them In this City commonly reside a great number of Foreigners Germans and Finlanders especially who as all others of the Lutheran perswasion are allow'd free exercise of their Religion which is not granted to any of the Roman Communion The soil of the Country hereabouts Soil as in most parts of Sweden is generally fruitful affording store of Corn as Wheat Rye Barley Oats c. and pasturage and in some places no small quantity of Wood. In the
Mittens one pair of Woollen Stockings and one pair of Shoes towards the maintenance of Souldiers By these and such-like means great additions are made to the Kings Exchequer the ordinary income of which is said to have been in the year 1578 six or seven Tun of Gold of 100000 Dollers apiece all charges of the Crown being first deducted though in that year as also in several following there were spent in maintaining Wiburg and Revalia Cities upon the Borders of Muscovy 100000 Dollers extraordinary The Sueci or Swedes by some Writers mistaken for the Suevi or Schwabs a people of Germany 〈◊〉 seem to be the same Nation with the Sueones or Suiones of Tacitus by that description of them which he sets down An ancient and warlike people united under distinct Laws if Swedish Authors may in this case be credited not many years after the Flood by one Suenno or Sueno eldest son to Magog and great grand-child to Noah and from him called Suenons or Sueons though others will have them so named from Suedia or Suidia i.e. to burn Wood or Forrests that are cut down they being forc't at their first arrival into this Country to fell and burn the Woods in order to Tillage but these opinions as well as that of Grotius who derives their name from the Swedish and English word Swet because the Swedes were always a laborious people are conjectures scarce worth naming That this Nation was not only before but the Parent of the Gothi or Getae is asserted by many Authors and says Loccenius apparent from several Runick Monuments and ancient Swedish Laws which testify that thence proceeded the Gothish people diffusing themselves into other Countrys as Thrace Spain Italy c. One of these Laws is said to have been made about the time of Alexander the Great for calling them back into their own Country Scandia every one being commanded presently to return or forfeit all Title to any Inheritance there which they or their Ancestors had formerly possess'd That they were not so well known to the world as these Goths or Getes which we take to be the same People is on the contrary altogether as certain but the reason of this may be that there were several Emigrations of the latter when the former remained in their own Country either not known by strangers as a distinct People from the Goths or passing under the same name with them The Norwegian Chronicles reckon five and twenty Kings of Sweden before Haldanus Hwithen the first Founder of their Kingdom which was afterward by Harald Harfagher the third King from him very much enlarg'd and made an absolute Monarchy That out of this Country a vast number of men went to people Schonen and the Cimbrick Islands in the Reign of Ericus the first Swedish King according to Loccenius his account is attested by Johannes Magnus and other Authors and about the year of Christ 870 one Otherus in his account of the Northern Regions which he made to King Aelfred makes mention of Swedland or the Land of the Swedes and the Isles of Gotland and Jutland giving them much-what the same Limits they have at present And in all ages so famous have been the warlike Exploits and victorious Arms of this Nation that one Nicolaus Ragvaldi Archbishop of Vpsal making an Oration extant in Johannes Magnus in the Council of Basil A. D. 1440 concerning the noble atchievments of the Sweo-Gothish People prevailed so far with the Holy Fathers there present that it was moved in Council that the King of Swedland should have precedency of all other Christian Kings The men of Sweden as to their persons are generally of a proper and big body Their Manners a comely presence and gentile carriage in their younger years bred up to learning travelling and especially languages of which 't is ordinary for a Swedish Gentleman to be able to speak five or six in perfection and in their riper accustomed to affairs of State and War Honest free and plain-dealers they are noted for insomuch that the Granaries in the whole Country had anciently neither Lock nor Key but only a Hatch judged sufficient security amongst honest and trusty neighbours and to steal Corn out of the common fields was a crime so horrid that it was punishable by death The women are also of a tall stature and very personable generally chast adultery which is severely prohibited by their Laws being seldom committed by them modest virtuous and endowed with those qualities which are commonly the consequents of wholsom Laws and Government They the Citizens especially love to go neat and provide themselves generally with good clothes and fair houses counting that ill spent which is superfluously bestowed upon their worst part their belly When Marriage Christenings Burials c. are to be solemnized they spare no expences to seem noble and magnificent sometimes rather then want a splendid Funeral for their Relations keeping the dead corps for several years and in the interim labouring to gather up as much money as will maintain the pomp of it's burial Anciently they burnt their bodies a custom as they say brought in by Wooden however they make it one of their Epocha's and call that time Aetas Cremationis afterwards they buried them on the tops or some eminent places of hills and this is call'd by their Writers Aetas Collium but Christianity hath reduc'd to the same customs that are used by the rest of that Religion Frugal and laborious they are inured as well by their exercises as the Clime of their Country to all extremity of hardship it being ordinary for a common Souldier to watch upon the Guard at Stockholme a whole winter-night full eighteen hours long without being relieved To be a Gentleman and well descended is highly esteemed amongst them tho frequently their titles of honour out-swell their estates for when any one of a competent estate dyes one half of it is allowed to the surviving widow and the other half divided among the children the son having two parts and a daughter the third the widows part upon her decease is shared amongst them after the same proportion so that one great estate is cut out into many little parcels by many children which being again subdivided by these childrens children the family is commonly reduced to a low condition all inheriting equally the Titles and Priviledges of the Nobility The hospitality of this Nation is amongst the rest of their good qualities Their Hospitality the most remarkable they anciently using to entertain those that were strangers with the like civility as they would treat their friends affording them victuals and what necessaries they stood in need of gratis and furnishing them with horses to the place whither they intended to go The contrary to this viz. churlishness and inhospitality was thought so great a crime and so unworthy the genius of any Swedish inhabitant that in the time of Charles the second who is said to have reigned sometime before
our Saviours birth if any one denied lodging three times to Strangers that King sent to set fire on the houses of such Offenders and burn them down to the ground This freedom of entertainment sometimes causing dammages and inconveniences to private Persons A. D. 1285 Magnus Ladulaus then King put forth a Decree that no one should think himself obliged as they perhaps by some natural dictate did think themselves to be to afford Lodging Victuals and Horses to Strangers but might demand Money for what they afforded them which some of the more Southern People more accustomed to Strangers at this day do exact though among the more Northern the ancient custom does still prevail Their Cloths anciently as those of the Laplanders at present Their Habit. were as may be gathered out of Claudian and Jornandes ordinarily made of Skins of Wild-beasts and called Mudd the black being in most request and used by the better sort At present not only the Gentry but the Common People use Habits equal to those of other Countries but strive to outgo one another in fineness and costliness In the time of Gustavus the first there was such irregularity of Habits among the people the Courtiers especially that the Dalecarli petition'd him that all forreign Modes and Fashions might be left off in his Court and forbid to be used in his Kingdom but that King perhaps seeing as great advantage by it in respect of Trade as disadvantage any other way put the Petitioners off with a complement The Common People have their Apparel made of course woollen-cloth the Nobility and Gentry have diversity of Garbes according as they are A-la-mode in France Their Drinks Their Drinks before the use of Wine amongst them were water mixt with Honey called Miod or Mead and Ale or Beer which latter was only drunk at their publick Feasts thence called Ol i. e. Feasts where they had the liberty to drink Ale The Cups which they used to drink in were anciently made of the Horn of a beast called Vrus but at present are of Copper Brass and among the richer sort of the Commonalty ordinarily of Silver Healths to their King their Friends c. they for the greater Honour always drink standing and count it a great disrespect if the whole Company will not pledg them insomuch that one complained to Gustavus the Great of his Companion who would not drink the Kings Health in as many Cups as he had done who instead of being rewarded as he supposed he should have been was severely reproved by that King As an Attendant to their drinking Tobacco is very much in use amongst them which within these fifty years was altogether unknown to this Country In their Diet they are sparing and abstemious Their Diet. the better sort have their bread made of Corn which though there be sufficient in the Country to serve all the Inhabitants yet the poorer sort very frequently and in time of scarcity always make use of a kind of Bread made of the bark of Firr or Pine Tree mingled with Chaff and made up with pure water which is the chief reason why the Swedish Souldiers can endure a Seige or any Extremities of war much better then any of other Nations Anciently at their Banquets they had Poets Laureat maintained by the King who sung before the Guests some Poems composed in honour of their Kings as they did also in their Camps and Garrisons amongst the Souldiers thereby to animate and incourage them to an imitation of their Ancestours but at present their customs in these matters are very little different from those common to other Nations After their Victuals and manner of treating their Guests follow their Exercises Exercises which were commonly such as might fit them for Warlike Exploits and hazardous Enterprises Olaus Magnus reports that the ancient Goths used to dip their Children as soon as born in cold water and as they grew up to riper years to inure them like as in a house of correction to constant and severe lashing and such like severities Tilts also and Turnaments were in use amongst them in which and such like Sports Totila one of the Kings of the Goths was says Procopius very early and carefully instructed The ordinary sort of People use to make Fortifications Bastions c. of the Snow or Ice and after the manner of Souldiers engage one another to Climb Rocks also and like the rest of the Scandians to slide upon the Snow in Scaits Chess-play also perhaps to teach them or to advantage their conduct in War was very much in use amongst them their Kings and chief men delighting in it and thereby says Olaus Magnus prognosticating future events as of Victories Marriages and such like this people being very much addicted to Magick and prying into secret occurrences Marriage as it anciently was Marriage so at present is esteemed very sacred and chastly observed A Maid without the consent of her Parents or Tutors is not permitted to marry nor can a Guardian betroath his Pupil or Orphan to any one but in the presence of four Witnesses at least two in behalf of one party and two of the other If after a Virgin is thus contracted to any one her Guardian do not stand to the Proposals agreed on but endeavour to hinder the Marriage the Husband may demand his Bride break any Lock to come to her and if any resist he may without being questioned for it kill him and if he happen to lose his life in the Quest he that kills him shall be deem'd a Murtherer If any Husband leave his own and contract and cohabit with another mans wife he shall upon sufficient proof lose his head and the Woman be stoned to death Learning which thrives best in a peaceable and quiet Country 〈◊〉 has sometimes been under so general a disrepute in this Kingdom that 't is said the eldest son of Amalaswentha who was Heir to the Crown was not suffer'd to be brought up in the knowledg of any Liberal Arts. But such disregard never lasted long Learning being always when the heat of war was over recalled from her banishment and when men had leasure to think upon their better part constantly embrac'd and follow'd by them and that even in their Kings Palaces they always maintaining Philosophers to instruct them in the secrets of nature and Poets which they call'd Scald from Scal i. e. sound because they repeated their verses aloud to inform them of the worth of their predecessors these not only remain'd in their Garrisons as was said but some one always accompanied the King in all great expeditions that they might be eye-witnesses of those actions of which they were to give an account in publick One of these is reported to have had so good Lungs that being commanded by the King to repeat some verses he spoke them so loud that he was heard throughout the whole Army The letters which they made use of were call'd
Runick from Ryn signifying a furrow for the same reason that the Latins use versus exarare c. because that anciently when they had writ from the left hand to the right they turn'd back again from the right to the left By whom at first invented is uncertain some say by Odinus or Wooden one of their chief Gods That they came into Sweden about the year of Christ 380 or 400 is affirmed by many altho the superstitious use of them generally practis'd by the inhabitants seems to prove that they were much sooner known to them With these the common people used to carve certain sticks or staves still in use among some of them setting upon them the names of their Gods their Months their Holy-days c. which served them for an Almanack and some Idolatrous purposes These characters in the reign of Olaus Scotkonung at the desire of Pope Sylvester II. and Sigfrid Archbishop of York who was sent thence to preach Christianity in Sweden were quite abolished and sometime after by the whole Council at Toledo says Wormius utterly condemn'd it being by them thought almost impossible ever to have extirpated Paganism unless they had first rooted out these letters in which so much of their idolatry tho perhaps something of good learning and antiquity was writ The Swedish language differs only from the Danish and High-Dutch in dialect Their Language being rougher and less capable of improvement then either of the other two whence the Swedes rarely write any thing in their own tongue Some of their Authors endeavour to bring the language from another fountain telling us That the old Runick fragments of which may be seen in the Danish monuments published by Wormius is the mother tongue of Denmark and the Gothick of Sweden But these differ only in character not words as may be easily perceiv'd by comparing Vlphila's Gothick Version of the Gospels not long since published by the learned Franciscus Junius with Wormius's Collection of the old Runick monuments The Colledge of Antiquaries at Vpsal have lately taken great pains in publishing a new Edition of the Codex Argenteus with the modern Swedish thereby to demonstrate their tongue a dialect of the ancient Gothick Of this see more in Denmark The Swedish year was anciently divided only into Summer and Winter but afterwards Their Year according to the custom of other Nations measured by Months and Nights this Nation rather using to count by nights then days as also rather by Winters then Summers both because they were longer and chiefly because that was the mode of all Northern Nations perhaps from the beginning of the world Their Months are called Monat from Mona signifying the Moon the particular names yet in use amongst them were given in remembrance of some of their Heathenish Gods as 1. January they call Thors-monat from their chief God Thor. 2. February Goia-monat from Goia or Freia daughter to Thor or Jupiter 3. March Thur-monat from Thur which seems to be the same with Othen or Oden an Asiatick Deity the same with Mars and so of the rest Their Trading as of all other Nations Their Trading was anciently bartering but at present Money is very plentiful among them as of Gold Silver and Copper and these last as well supplied out of their own Mines as imported by Merchants OF GOTHIA AND IT'S PROVINCES GOthia or Gothland Gothia and its Provinces i. e. the Land of the Goths is parted from Suecia by the Woods Kolmord and Tydhweth A large and fruitful Country situate betwixt two potent Nations and frequently at war one with another the Swedes and Danes for which reason it became anciently the ordinary seat of their wars till the inhabitants observing the Swedes to be their nearest and more dangerous as being upon the same Continent and very often victorious neighbours they join'd and incorporated with the Swedes and their Country has ever since been reckon'd as a chief part of the Swedish dominions It is bounded on the East with the Baltick Sea on the West with the Mountains called Lyma Fiell and the Sinus Codanus on the North with the Provinces of Nericia and Sudermannia and on the South with the Sund or Oresund and part of the Baltick It is divided in general into East and West-Gothia 1. West or Westro or Wiso-Gothia Westro-Gothia and its Provinces which has in it these three Provinces 1. Westro-Gothia properly so taken 2. Dalia 3. Vermlandia to which may be added Hallandia 1. Westrogothia Westro-Gothia a plain and fruitful Province somewhat inferiour indeed in fertility to Vpland and Sudermannia but exceeding both of them in abundance of Cattel and convenience of pasturage in which the great wealth of this Country does consist In this Province are several great Rivers as Tida Lida Nos c. which falling into the Lake Vener are sent out by two passages at Elffzburg and Kongelff and at last unburthen'd into the Sinus Codanus with some others as Eda and Visk which fall not into the Lake but empty themselves into the same Bay Here are several Cities of good note viz. 1. Gothburg or Gottenburg a considerable Mart-Town lying upon the mouth of a small River which runs out of the Sinus Codanus between the Towns of Elsberg and Goldberg frequented very much by Hollanders and other strangers and of late endowed by the Swedish Kings with many notable priviledges The unsuccessful efforts of a great Danish Fleet against it ann 1644 shews it to be a place of great strength and consideration 2. Scare anciently the residence of the Gothish Kings and at present a Bishops seat so called from Scarinus a potent King of the Goths who built it it was in the time of Adam Bremensis the Metropolis of Westgothia but now a ruined and fenceless Town 3. Mariaestadt and 4. Lidecopia less considerable then the former Towns of most note are 1. Falecopia 2. Skedvi 3. Hio 4. Bogesund 5. Bretta 6. Old Ludosia taken and fortifyed by Christianus the I King of Denmark but soon after in the same year regained by the Swedes This Town seems to be the same with Losa mentioned by Meursius in his Danick History 2. Dalia Dalia lying betwixt the Lake Vener and some part of Norway a Province for the most part mountanous and consequently barren It is watered with several Lakes and Rivers well stor'd with Fish of all sorts Here the pasturage is good and their Cattel larger then those in any other part of the Country there is one Town of note called Daleburg 3. Vermlandia last inhabited as Authors report Vermlandia amongst all the Gothick Provinces one Olavus Tretelia being said first of all to have brought Colonies hither It is a Country Mountanous and Woody having some Mines of Iron and one vein of Copper indifferently rich Lakes and Rivers it has many though but one only City called Charlestat from Charles the IX King of Sweden who built it in the place of an ancient
Government Friderick the second ordered one superintendant to preside here and subjected all the Churches and Parishes about an hundred in all to his jurisdiction which authority was shortly after lost and by Christian the fourth again restored Upon the decaying of Wineta and Julinum Mart-Towns in Pomerania this City became famous for Trade and may be reckoned among the chief of the whole North. In this City Hydrographical Tables and Sea-mens Cards are said to have been first printed and perfected and rules for Navigation and Commerce for the whole Ocean as far as the Scythian Sea and Hercules his Pillars here prescribed and by Sea-men observed In it were anciently ten Churches and four Monasteries at present only seven Churches in all Near this place are several large Rocks with Gothic Epitaphs and Inscriptions of which see Pontanus This City was formerly under the command of the Teutonick Order in which time it was beseiged by Ericus King of Swedland Denmark and Norway and after much loss both of men and money on both sides the difference was referred to the Emperor who ordered that the Teutonick Order should yeild up to the King their Title both to the City and the Island and he in consideration of it to pay them in hand a 1000 English Nobles After King Ericus's death it was sometimes in the possession of the Swedes sometimes of the Danes See more amongst the Swedish Islands That this Country was first of all inhabited by the Goths and from them receiv'd its name is agreed on by most Authors but whence they came hither under whose conduct or in what age of the world is very much controverted That they came out of Scythia Europa over the Venedic Bay under Magog and from him were call'd Magogae Gothi or Getae is the opinion of Jo. Magnus and Olaus Magnus his Brother and successor in the Archbishoprick of Vpsal Tho they seem to have no motive for it other then the affinity of names not being able at such great distance of time to have any certain authority of Historians Other Authors and those of very good account affirm the Goths or Getes at first to have been a Colony of the Messagetae who inhabited Scythia Europaea in those parts near the Palus Maeotis or the Caspian Sea and thence to have come into Scandia there to have setled and sent out Colonies into Germany Italy and other parts both of Europe and Asia and from the Messagetae to have been called by an abbreviation Getae or Gothi being as most are of opinion the same Nation These Getae as soon as come over the Baltick Sea erected a Government among themselvs administred justice by their own Laws and in a short time Northern Nations being observ'd to be most prolific encrea'd to a numerous and potent Nation and the bounds of the Kingdom not being able to contain and the Provisions not sufficient to satisfy so great a number they were forc'd to seek out for themselves other more large and more convenient habitations which they chose to do in the neighbouring parts beyond the Venedic Bay and in other more Southern Countries where they became to the Roman and Greek Empires more known and more considerable then any other enemies with which they had to deal At what time their first emigration out of Gothia was Their Emigration out of Gothia Crantius and Jornandes are very positive It was say they A. M. 3790 the whole Colony was imbarqued in three Vessels too small a number to contain the seeds of so potent a Nation had not several other people as the Vandali Suevi Heruli c. joyned with them and made them in a short time very potent the first place they touch'd at was the Isle of Gothland not improbably so called from them thence they came to Rugen and so on to Pomeren where two of their Ships arriving before their fellows those that came first to harbour called the other when they came up to them by way of reproach Gepantae or Gepidae i.e. slow or slothful whom as not fit for their company and designs they left in those parts and joyning themselves with other Nations advanc'd on by land as far as Poland and the Palus Maeotis where they divided themselves into two Companies 1. Those that went toward the East called by the Romans the Oriental 2. Those that march'd into Transilvania and places near Germany Spain c. call'd the Occidental Goths which branch about the year of Christ 450 possess'd almost all the Kingdom of France This division to be made first of all after their emigration out of their own Country Loccenius with some other Swedish Writers cannot allow but say that their Country was divided into Ostro and Westro-Gothia before ever they parted from it that being the most certain constant and first distinction as may be gathered from the ancient Swedish Laws which in the very beginning says the same Loccenius testify the same thing Those that went into Spain are said to have driven out the Inhabitants planted themselves in their room about the year 369 or 407 and retain'd that Kingdom till an 710 the chief families of Spain counting it an honour to have their pedigree deduced from the ancient Goths By those that went towards Italy under the conduct of Alaricus or Allreich who Anno Christi 409 sack'd Rome it self and the Government of it retain'd by Theodoricus Veronensis Dietrick vonberne who died An. 526 and after the Government was for seventy years by them maintain'd they were quite overcome and utterly expell'd that Country by Narses of which see the Catalogue of their Kings They that travell'd as far as Thracia and Maesia and the parts of Macedonia were by Claudius the Roman General almost all overcome in Battle he at one time killing 320000 of them as he himself in a Letter to the Senate declares for which signal victory a golden Statue was erected for him in the Capitol At several other times and in several other places they made head against the Roman Empire as in the time of Constantine and Theodosius who overcame 20000 of them which to mention in this place is not so pertinent as in that where the Seat of the war was wherefore at present we shall relate no more of those famous exploits which were performed by the Goths after their departure out of Scandia but leave them to be taken notice of in other more convenient places Besides this emigration which is said to have been under the conduct of Berico or Berig Authors make mention of another egression of the Gothish or Getish people as should seem much ancienter in the reign of Ericus one of their first Kings about the time of Sarug or Saruch great Grandfather to Abraham when as was said were peopled Denmark Jutland Fionia and the neighbouring Islands then called Wetalaheedha i.e. marshy and waterish places This opinion tho as to the time of the transmigration it may seem somewhat improbable the earth then not being
advised by the Popes Legat and some Jesuits that an Oath taken by him with Heretics was not obligatory or if he scrupled that that a Dispensation for the breach of it was easily attainable from the Pope at last solemnly took it and promising the States faithfully to observe all the conditions of it he left Sweden and return'd into Poland During his absence all affairs of the Kingdom were managed by Duke Charles his Uncle who for some small time executed the Office of Vice-Roy very quietly and to the great satisfaction of the Kings subjects but some differences arising about Religion the Papists Jesuits especially to whom free exercise of their Worship had been granted growing powerful and thereupon behaving themselves insolently towards the Lutherans the businesses of State became troubled and the determination of controversies and removal of jealousies out of the peoples hearts a very difficult matter Hereupon Sigismund is sent for out of Poland but both delaying to come into Sweden and to send Orders to his Uncle An. Ch. that Popish Delinquents as they were represented to him should according to Law be proceeded against as enemies to the State and that other such-like grievances should be redress'd he so lost his interest with his Swedish Subjects that when at last he came amongst them they opposed him as a public enemy made war against him and overcame him in Battel After he was defeated he return'd to Poland and his Crown of Sweden was by the States set upon the head of his Uncle 135. Charles IX Duke of Sudermannia and brother to John III. He maintain'd the Augustan Confession during his whole Reign carryed on a bloody war against his Nephew Sigismund and Christianus IV. King of Denmark whom he challeng'd to a Duel and after he had reigned eleven years dyed at Nycopia in his return from opposing the Danes The Government after his death according to the right of Inheritance descended upon his eldest son 136. Gustavus Adolphus II. surnamed the Great This King in the beginning of his Reign prosecuted the war with Denmark which his father was engaged in at his death but intending to turn the whole forces of his Kingdom against his Cousin Sigismund K. of Poland he within a short time concluded a peace both with the Dane and Muscovite this done he invaded Livonia took several places of great importance in that and other Provinces which belong'd to the Pole and at last making a Truce with his Cousin for six years he return'd into Sweden During the war with Poland Ferdinand II. Emperor of Germany had done him as he alledged very many injuries as his sending assistance to the Pole into Borussia under the command of Arnhemius his not admitting the Swedish Delegates to a Treaty of Peace at Lubeck but charging them to depart the Empire c. whereupon he invaded the Imperial dominions took several strong Cities and after he had over-run a great part of the Empire was kill'd in battel near Leipsick He was succeeded by 137. Christina his only daughter who being then but seven years old the affairs of the Kingdom were order'd by her Guardians till she came to the eighteenth year of her age at which time she took the Government upon her self made a Peace with the Emperor and the King of Denmark and at last either weary of ruling so potent a Kingdom or thinking the care of it too great a burthen for her to undergo voluntarily laid down the Crown and commended it to 138. Charles Gustavus X. A Noble and Victorious Prince He maintain'd war against the Pole the Muscovite and the Dane As he was returning from Gottenburg upon the confines of Denmark to Stockholm he dyed of a Feaver and his Kingdom according to right of succession descended upon 139. Charles XI his son then four years of age During his Minority the Kingdom was govern'd by his Guardians but coming to full age he took upon himself the management of all publick affairs and is now reigning A. D. 1680. Aged twenty-four years A warlike and virtuous Prince Of the Great PRINCIPALITY OF FINLAND BEyond the Bothnic Bay lies the Great Principality of Finland Finland call'd by the Natives Somi or Soma from the great number of Lakes that are in it Soma signifying a Lake but by the Swedes first and after them by all strangers call'd Finland q. Fine-land from the pleasantness of the Country or as others say q. Fiende-land i.e. the Land of Fiends or Enemies the Finlanders using for a long time before they were under the Swedish power to make frequent incursions into that Kingdom and very much injure and molest its inhabitants It is bounded on the East with the Sinus Finnicus and the Lake Ladoga on the West with the Bothnic Bay on the North with part of Lapland and on the South with part of the Finnic and Baltic Seas It is divided into these seven Provinces Its Provinces 1. Southern-Finland 2. Northern-Finland 3. Cajania 4. Savolaxia 5. Tavastia 6. Nylandia And 7. Carelia 1. Southern Finland Southern Finland parted from the Northern by the River Aujaroki which waters the Episcopal City Abo. It extends it self all along the Finnic Bay Eastward having on the North and North-East the Provinces of Tavastia and Nylandia In it are besides several little Towns two remarkable Forts viz. Gusto in the Western and Raseberg to which belongs a Dynasty or Principality in the Eastern part of it 2. Northern Finland Northern Finland running along the East-side of the Bothnic Bay towards the North. It is indifferently large in circumference taking in both the Satagunda's with Viemo and Masco Water'd it is by one only River call'd Cumo-elff famous for its abundance of Salmon and other sorts of Fish which falls into the Sea near the City Biorneborgh Towns of note here are Raumo Nystadh and Nadhendal to these Sanson adds Castelholm in the Island Alandia 3. Cajania Cajania or Ost-Bothnia as some call it in opposition to West-Bothnia which lyes over against it on the West side of the Bothnic Bay In it are many large Rivers the chief of which are Kimi-elff which emptieth it self into the Bothnic Bay at the most Northern Cape of it and parts this Province from West-Bothnia Iio-elff and Vla-elff Cities here are 1. Vlam or Vlo 2. Vasa or Wassam Cal to which may be added the Forts Cajaneburg and Vlaburg 4. Savolaxia Savolaxia which is bounded on the East with the Lake Ladoga on the West with a a ridge of Mountains which part it from Carelia on the North with part of Muscovitic Lapland and on the South with Tavastia and Carelia This Province abounds much with Lakes and Rivers most of which disburthen themselves into the Lake Ladoga The Rivers afford Fish Pike especially in great abundance and the Lakes besides the great quantity of Fish they breed supply the inhabitants with Sea-Calfs not met with in any other Scandian Lakes Here is one remarkable Fort
call'd Nystort or St. Olaus's Fort built in the year 1475 by one Ericus Axelson Governor of Aboa in the reign of Carolus Canuti VIII 5. Tavastia an in-land Province Tavastia having on the West North Finland on the North Cajania on the East Savolaxia and Carelia and on the South Nylandia and the Principality of Raseborg In it there is one Fort call'd the Fort of Tavastia or Tavasthus built by Berjerus Jerl A. D. 1250 to keep the Tavastians in awe whom he at that time had brought over to the Swedish Government and forc'd to profess the Christian Religion Here is one Lake of a considerable bigness nam'd Jende or Pejende and towards the Northern parts of the Province several others call'd Kautilambi i.e. Iron Lakes not so large as the former but no less remarkable by reason of the great quantity of Iron which the inhabitants find in them and as is said daily hook out for their private use 6. Nylandia or Neuland so call'd New-land Nylandia because its ancient inhabitants the Finni and Carelii being driven out new Colonies were sent out of Helsingia and Suecia to go people or rather defend this Country Here are two Cities Borgo and Hesingfors 7. Carelia Carelia lying upon the East-side of the great Peninsula Scandia or Scandinavia parted from Russia by the Rivers Pinsyoki which runs toward the North Sea and Povevetz which falls into the Lake Onega by the near approaching of these two Rivers toward each other Scandia is almost made as the Ancients suppos'd it to be a perfect Island the nick of land call'd Maanselke not being above three German miles in length in that part where the Rivers come nearest together This Province anciently contain'd all that large tract of ground which lies between the River Kymi on the North the Lakes Pejende on the West and Onega on the East and the Rivers Sueci which falls into the Lake Ladoga and Nieva which empties it self into the Finnic Bay on the South and South-East but at present its bounds are much narrower taking in only the more Southern part of that large Country which formerly it did wholly contain It affords good store of pasturage and breeds Cattel as Oxen Horses c. in great abundance whence it has its name Carelia Caria in the Finlandish tongue signifying Herds or Droves of Cattel MAGNATUS DUCATUS FINLANDIAE Nova et accurata delineatio Caiania Finl Metz. Finland … Finl Sept. Savolexia Tavastia Nylandia Caretia Literis et morum elegantiâ probatissime Juveni Magnorum Parentum Filio D. no JACOBO SCHÜTZ Suece tunc pro tempore vitae excolendae gratiâ per varias terras peregrinanti tabula haec Geographica submisse offertur The chief Cities in Finlandish Carelia Cities are 1. Wiburg a noted Mart-Town well fortified with Trenches Forts and a strong Castle against which the Muscovites very often have made unsuccessful attempts with no less then an hundred thousand men 2. Kexholm or as the Swedes call it Kekisalmi i.e. the Frith of Gurnardi from keki signifying a kind of Fish call'd a Car or Gurnardi which abounds in the River Woxen upon which this City stands and Salmi a Frith or Bay The Russes call it Carelogorod i. e. the Fort of Carelia gorod in their language denoting a Fort. In this Province the soil is exceeding rich 〈◊〉 in those places especially which lye near the Lake Ladoga for fifteen or twenty miles Northward from it the ground is so overflown with Lakes and Rivers that it bears Corn only on the higher and more mountainous parts whereupon the inhabitants live mostly upon hunting and fishing taking more pains for their subsistance where the earth is less bountiful The largest and most remarkable amongst the Lakes of this Country and as some are of opinion of all Europe is the Lake Ladoga of which four parts in five belongs to the King of Sweden It has its name from a kind of Fish about the bigness of a Herring call'd in the Russian tongue Lagdog which is peculiar to this Lake and with which it very much abounds The figure of it is oval about an hundred leagues in length and sixty in breadth In it are many small Islands and upon its banks several Towns of very good note Near a place call'd Kidila in this Province are dug out of the ground a sort of precious stones which go under the name of Kexholmian Rubies the Russes call them Kidelsco Camen The ancient inhabitants of Finland were says Jornandes the most hospitable and least barbarous of any of the Scandians The Inhabitants of Finland but at present they are of all the Laps only excepted the most fierce and unciviliz'd Their language which they make use of Their Language and which is proper to themselves is of a harsh and uneven dialect difficultly attainable by any stranger as having in it some proprieties not common to any Europaean tongue as in the whole language they have no F nor any word that begins with B D or G or two consonants so that they pronounce v. g. for the he for grant rant for both poth for good cood c. Thro the whole tongue they observe no Genders and have but one Article se to denote both sexes their Prepositions they place after the words to which they belong Their Rythms in Verse they count not from the like ending but the like beginning of the last words and many such-like differences The Government of Finland Their Government was anciently administer'd by Kings of its own who exercis'd their power without controul and were no ways tributary to or dependent on a foreign jurisdiction till about the year of Christ 1150 Ericus IX surnamed the Saint King of Sweden brought the whole Country into subjection to his Laws and at the same time compell'd them to embrace the Christian Religion After his days Tavastia was conquer'd by Berjerus Jerl and Carelia by Turgillus Kuntesonius who built Viburg to defend it against the Russes A. D. 1193. At present the whole Principality belongs to the King of Sweden and is reckon'd as a very considerable part of his dominions Of Ingria or Ingermanland INgria Ingermanland Of Ingria or as the Muscovites call it Isera is a fruitful and pleasant Province having on the East and South part of Muscovy on the West Esthonia and part of the Finnic Bay on the North the Lake Ladoga and the River which joins it with the Finnic Bay It affords beasts both wild and tame of several species in great plenty That which abounds most is the Aelg Elk or as the Germans call it Ellent which as we mentioned in Lapland in the spring-time swims over the River Nieva in numerous herds into Carelia and towards the end of Autumn returns by the same way into Russia and the more Southern parts of this Province and also into Esthonia Livonia c. here are several Cities of great importance and strength which were formerly the
and set up a Government for himself in this Province and Helsingia which lyes Northward in Suecia properly so call'd having on the East part of the Province of Medelpadia on the West the Dofrine Mountains on the North Angermannia and on the South part of Helsingia and Medelpadia This Province did anciently belong to the Kings of Norway though in the reign of Olaus Scotkonung it is said to have revolted from Olaus Crassus then King of Norway and become Tributary to the Crowns of Sweden In the year 1613 by a peace concluded between the Northern Crown it was by Gustavus Adolphus yielded up to the King of Denmark but A. 1642 repossess'd by the Swedes Pontanus in his Map of Scandia reckons up some places of note in it viz. Alsne Ron Aus Lidh Hamer-dal Vndersaker Oviken c. In the time of Olaus Magnus this Province was under the jurisdiction of the Arch-Bishop of Vpsal Near a small Village in this Country there are says Messenius several large stones with Gothick Inscriptions which are a prophesy of what for the future would befall the Scandians 5. Herrndalia Herrndalia call'd by Pontanus Herdalia and by most Authors reckon'd as a part of Helsingia contains the Territories of Nomedal Hellegeland Frostena Indera Heroa with some others all which belong to the Dioeceses of the Bishop of Nidrosia and are in the possession of the King of Sweden Of the Baltic Sea the Finnic and Bothnic Bays and the Swedish Islands contain'd in them THe Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea so called says Pontanus from the Saxon and English word Belt because it encompasseth the Kingdom of Sweden after the manner of a belt or girdle or as Jornandes would have it from Baltia or Basilia i. e. Queen of Islands the ancient Greek name of Scandia or Scandinavia or as Adam Bremensis is of opinion from the Wiso-Goths who inhabited upon the Coasts of it usually call'd Balts i. e. a stout and valiant people is the largest of any Sea in Europe except the Mediterranean containing in it five and thirty Islands of considerable bigness besides an infinite number of lesser note The whole Bay as some are of opinion is call'd by Mela Sinus Codanus q. Gothanus or Gothicus from Gothia that borders upon it or Caudanus from Cauda because it comes from the main Ocean after the manner of a tail of a beast by Strabo the Venedic Bay from the Venedae a people of Germany who liv'd upon the Coast of it and by the Danes and Swedes the Oost-Zee because as may be gather'd out of the History of Eric Eigod King of Denmark the Danes who went pilgrimage to the Holy Land used to pass into Russia and the Eastern parts by this Sea It beginneth at the narrow place call'd the Sund and interlacing the Countries of Denmark Sweden Germany and some part of Poland extendeth it self to Livonia and Lithvania It either by reason of the narrowness of the passage by which the Ocean flows into it or because of its Northerly situation whereby the Celestial influences have less power over it never ebbs nor flows From the several Countries and places that it washes it has diverse names given it and is distinguished into different Bays the most remarkable are 1. The Bothnic Bay The Bothnic Bay counted from the Island Alandia Northward to the River Kimi which falls into it at the very furthest Cape It has its name from Both signifying in the Swedish Language a Fenny Country or a Land overflown with water 2. The Finnic Bay The Finnic Bay so call'd from the Principality of Finland which it waters Some will have the Sinus Venedicus of Strabo and the Mare Amalchium of Pliny particularly to denote this Bay The Swedish Islands in this Sea concerning those that are under the Danish Power see Denmark to begin with the most Southerly first are 1. Rugen upon the Coasts of Pomeren given to the Swedes by the great Treaty of peace at Munster and Osnaburg A. D. 1649. Of which consult the Volume of Germany 2. Bornholm is situate more Northward then Rugen and lyes opposite to Blekingia it has one City in it nam'd Santwyk and thirty-two small Villages This Island was by a Ratification of Peace held at Copenhagen A. D. 1660 given up to the Danes under certain conditions of which mention is made in Denmark 3. Huena or Hueen a very small Island in the Oresundic Bay famous for the City Vraniburg built by that excellent Mathematician Tycho Brahe where the Pole is elevated 55 deg 54 min. This Isle was yielded up to the Swedes by vertue of the foremention'd Peace concluded betwixt the two Northern Crowns A. D. 1660. 4. Vtklippa 5. Vtlengia both lying over against Blekingia 6. Oelandia a fruitful and pleasant Island in which are said to be the best breed of Horses that are in all the Swedish Dominions This Island A. D. 1526 was taken by Christiern King of Denmark and shortly after regain'd by Gustavus I. King of Sweden A. D. 1613 it was put into the hands of Gustavus Adolphus and ever since retain'd by the Swedes See more concerning it amongst the Provinces of Gothia 7. Gotland lying over against Ostro-Gothia in length seventy-two miles and in breadth twenty For a long time almost torn in pieces by the continual Arms of Denmark and Sweden till 1648 by a Treaty of Peace betwixt Christina Queen of Swedeland and Christiern IV. of Denmark it with the City Wisbuy of which see amongst the Gothic Provinces was wholly yielded up into the hands of the Swedes to be held by them as a perpetual possession 8. Oselia call'd by Pliny Oserica opposite to Liefland and reckon'd by some as a District of Esthonia fifty-six miles in length and twenty-eight in breadth In it is the City Arnsburg fortifyed with a strong Castle 9. Daghoe Dachden or Dagheroort parted from Oselia by a very narrow Bay 10. Alandia lying in the middle Sea betwixt it and Vpland reckon'd by some as a part of Finland in it is the Fort Castleholm 11. Hogland in the Finnic Bay with severalothers of less note and importance REGNI DANIAE Accuratissima delineato Nobilissimo Amplissimo Consultissimoque Viro D. GERARDO SCHAEP I. V. D. Inclyti et Celeberrimi Ansterodamensium Emporii Consuli ac Senatori et ad Serenissimos SVECIAE DANIAque Reges Legato Dignissimo Fidelissimo D. D. D. Ioannes Ianssonius DENMARK SAxo Grammaticus deduces the name of Denmark Danmark or Dania from Dan 〈◊〉 the son of Humblus a Prince of these parts many years before the coming of our Saviour This opinion seems to have been an ancient tradition amongst the Danes and is confirmed by one of the old Chronicles of their Kings published by Wormius out of a manuscript copy of the Scanian Laws writ in Runick characters in the beginning of which we read Dan heet den forste cunung i Danmurk der var fore Christus borth Af hannom call is Danmurk i. e. The first
King of Denmark was called Dan who reigned before the birth of Christ From him Denmark had its name But the stories they tell us of this King like all their ancient histories are so incoherent and incredible that little trust can be given to this etymology Others ridiculously derive the names of Danes and Danemark from Dan the son of Jacob. Some from the Graecian Danai Hadrianus Junius a learned Historian but not too happy in etymologies would have the Danes so called from the abundance of Fir-trees which grow in their Country not considering that a Fir-tree has not the same name Dannen or Tannen-baum in Denmark as in Germany for the Danes as well as the English call it a Firtre or Firtrae Pontanus sleghting all the conjectures of other Authors thinks he gives us a sufficient account of the original of the words Dani and Dania when he tells us That these people are the Danciones or Dansciones as the learned Mr. Cambden reads the word instead of Dausiones in the vulgar Copies mentioned by Ptolomey But this determination is not at all satisfactory for the question is not how long but whence the Danes have had their name For my own part I dare not assent to any of the derivations yet given but had rather guess that the Danes or Dansche took their name from the great opinion they had of their own uprightness and integrity For Danneman is a word ordinarily used among them to this day to denote an honest and good man Thus the Germans use the phrase ein Teutschhertziger mensch to signifie a true Dutch hearted fellow And we may observe that it was the constant custom of all the Northern Nations to give themselves names from their piety as well as prowess Thus the people who stiled themselves Germans War-men in the field were Teutschen or Godly at home and the Cimbri or Camp-fighters in time of war were Gottisch pious and religious as soon as they laid down their weapons The ancient inhabitants of Denmark were the Cimbri and Getae Ancient Inhabitants of both which we shall discourse at large in the description of Jutland Concerning the Goths something hath been said in the description of Sweden and more may be expected in the treatise of the Cimbric Islands The Kingdom consists of 1. Jutland Division and Situation which is a Peninsula washed on either side by the German and Baltic Seas and bounded on the South with some parts of the nether Saxony 2. Zeeland Funen with some more Islands of less note To these may be added 3. Schonen and Halland which formerly did belong to this Kingdom but in the year 1658 by a Ratification of Peace concluded at Roschild between Frederic III. King of Denmark and Charles X. King of Sweden were wholly annex'd to the Crown of Swedeland and by another Ratification held at Copenhagen 1660 confirm'd to it The Air is not so cold as in some places of Germany which ly much more to the South Air. nor so hot in Summer This temperature proceeds chiefly from the adjoining Sea which as in England fans the inhabitants in Summer and keeps them warm in Winter Sometimes indeed the Baltic Sea is frozen up as it happ'ned in the year 1659 when the King of Sweden march'd his army out of Jutland into Zeeland over the Ice and then Charcoal and Turf which is their only fuel stand their friends The Land naturally barren Soil and abounding with little but Woods and Mountains is by the late care and industry of the inhabitants made very fruitful Funen furnishes many foreign parts with Barley and Zeeland's greatest trade lyes in transporting of Corn and Hay Schonen is full of pleasant Meadows whence some Authors think it had its name for Schone signifies fair The rich pastures in Denmark afford such multitudes of Kine Cattel that according to Oldenburgh's relation some years forty thousand others an hundred thousand Cows and Oxen are hence transported into the Low Countries which must needs exceedingly enrich the Kingdom They have also good breeds of Horses but not in such numbers that they can afford to send any into other Nations Helmoldus tells us Fish that in his time the great riches of the Danes consisted in Fish And Saxo Grammaticus says the Sea-coasts round Zeeland and other parts of the Danish Kingdom are so stock'd with shoals of Herrings and other Fish that you may not only take them up with your hand without the help of any Net Line or Hook but that they hinder the passage of Ships and Boats Certain it is however strange and incredible Saxo's story may appear Herrings swim usually in infinite numbers and no part of the Seas were anciently better stock'd with this kind of Fish then the coasts of Denmark But of late years the Herring-trade has fail'd strangely here and those they do catch come far short of the English and Dutch Herrings in bulk and goodness I am unwilling to think with Oldenburgh this decay of the Fishing-trade in Denmark a judgment inflicted on the inhabitants since our Fishermen will tell us that some years the Herrings haunt the English shore sometimes the Dutch or French However tho the Herrings have forsaken them they have still plenty of other sorts of Fish as Plaise Whiting Cod c. which they dry and send abroad Pontanus to shew how well they are provided in this kind tells us this memorable story It happened not many years before the writing of his History of Denmark that several Ambassadors from most of the greatest Princes in Europe being met together at the Emperor of Germany's Court had some disputes about precedency Some of them asserted the dignity and power of their Masters from the riches of their Country in Gold and Silver others brag'd of the plenty of Corn Fruits c. when all had done the Danish Ambassador told them That should the richest Prince in Europe sell his Kingdom and with the price buy nothing else but wooden Platters the King his Master was able to fill them all with three sorts of fresh Fish Whereupon they unanimously declared the King of Denmark the happiest Prince in Christendom and placed his Ambassador next the King of France's who sat on the Emperors right hand Their Forrests are full of all sorts of Venison Forrests insomuch that every hunting season which commonly is in August there are above sixteen hundred Bucks brought in to the Kings Palaces besides an infinite number of Hares Conies Boars c. However the ancient Romans vilified and contemned all the Northern Nations Manners esteeming them a sort of barbarous dull and unactive people yet 't is manifest from the relations given by Lucius Florus and other Roman Historians who never cared for speaking too well of their enemies how stoutly the Cimbrians encounter'd the Roman Forces And 't is more then probable that the Galli Senones came out of this Country who forced their Infantry to take sanctuary or
rather imprison themselves in the Capitol Besides most of the Northern Nations have at some time or other stoop'd to the Danish Arms. For if we consult the best of their Historians we shall find that Ireland was eight several times conquer'd by the Danes The English were ten times beaten by them and for many years subject to the Kings of Denmark Scotland was for awhile tributary to this Crown whence some fancy it had its name Scotland in the Danish tongue signifying a Country that pays tribute to a foreign Potentate hence we still retain the word Scot-free i. e. one exempt from all payments dues and duties Saxony paid homage to Frotho Siward and other Danish Kings And the Swedes oftner then once swore fealty to the Danes but revolted as soon as they found themselves able to rebel The Kingdom of Norway annex'd to the Crown of Denmark in a sufficient testimony of the Danish valour Nay Saxo Grammaticus gives us many instances of the courage and conduct of several Danish Viragines whose exploits if he say true may be set in competition with the bravest performances of the Hectors of other Nations Tacitus speaking of the ancient Germans says They were a little too much addicted to Gluttony and Drunkenness but withal so obliging to strangers that they looked upon it as the height of barbarism and rudeness to turn any such out of doors or deny them lodging Both these characters may still be applyed to the Danes For since they grew so modish as to drink wine they have exceedingly Ape'd their neighbours the Germans in large draughts and long meals Again they are wonderfully complaisant to all Foreigners which perhaps may in some part be attributed to their immoderate desire of learning the languages of other countries But notwithstanding the civil entertainment usually met with in this Kingdom it behoves every stranger to carry himself so circumspectly that he seem neither by his words nor actions to sleight any thing he meets with For the Danes are naturally proud and self-conceited and quarrelsome upon the least apprehension of an affront The old Romans commonly too peremptory in their censures looked upon the Cimbrians as a dull phlegmatick people And we know the general vogue still gives the Italians French and Spaniards a larger share of brains then they allow to any of the Norther Nations However this Kingdom has never wanted men remarkable for their wit and learning who as we shall have occasion to shew hereafter have in spight of the disadvantages of a cold Country given evident proof that men do not like waters take a tincture from the earth and soil out of which they spring 'T was Julius Caesar's observation of the Gauls Staâ—â—â— and 〈◊〉 of 〈◊〉 that they look'd down with a scornful eye upon the low stature of the Romans And anciently the Northern people except only the inhabitants of Iseland and Groneland if known to the ancients whom excessive colds had pinched into as small dimensions as the Spaniards and other Southern Nations were heated into were generally a sort of Gyants The Danes in a more peculiar manner from their large size say some had the name of Geats corrupted afterwards into Getae Jutae c. At this day the a-la-mode luxury of the times has so prevailed in Denmark as to contract the pristine bulk of its inhabitants who nevertheless seem still to be more vigorous and long-liv'd then most of their neighbours Aristotle long since could tell us that the Northern people were most commonly yellow-hair'd And Lucan speaking of the inhabitants on the banks of the Elb says Fundit ab extremo flavos Aquilone Suevos Albis Indeed most of the Danes those especially that live beyond the Baltic are to this day either white or reddish hair'd Hence it is that in England we usually say of a red hair'd man He is a Dane And from the old grudge between this Nation and Denmark I fancy arose that ill conceit that most English have of red hair'd people What the ordinary food is may be easily known from the abundance of Corn Fish Dieâ—â— and all manner of tame and wild Beasts fit for food wherewith as we have told you this Kingdom is stock'd Among the many other sorts of Fowl no Nation in Europe has so many Woodcocks call'd by Martial Perdices Rusticas by Pliny Rusticulas and accounted by the ancient Romans a great rarity as Denmark It was long before Vines spread themselves so far Northward as to reach beyond the Rhine In Julius Caesars days the Belgic Nervii knew no such drink as wine or at least as he says would not suffer any such lewd liquor to come amongst them But as soon as the Germans tasted the juice of the grape they quickly commended the Glass to their neighbours the Danes who in a short time grew as intemperate as their teachers The ancient drink of the Country was Oel Ale or Beer made of Malt and Water which is still in ordinary use among them Though in England we make a distinction between Ale and Beer yet the Danes know no such difference what the Germans call Bier is Oel in Denmark This is that famous drink which animated the Western Nations against the Romans which Tacitus calls humorem ex hordeo aut frumento in quandam similitudinem vini corruptum i. e. a liquor made of Corn which rivals Wine It is undoubtely true what Rodericus Toletanus many years ago observed that the High Dutch Danish Swedish Norwegian Flandrian and English Languages are only so many distinct Dialects of one and the same Mother-tongue Which may soon be discerned by any man that shall take the pains to compare the Lords Prayer or any other piece of Scripture in all these tongues The Gibb'rish indeed spoken in Lapland Finland and some other Countries to the North-East of Sweden and Denmark is quite another thing and as unintelligible to the civilized Danes and Swedes as Hebrew or Arabic But the ordinary Danish whatever some of their own Writers say to the contrary is no more then corrupted Dutch I know Pontanus has taken the pains to collect a great many words out of the Danish tongue which he calls vocabula Danis propria tho all of them are not so that are not to be found perhaps in any German Dictionary What then No man shall with this argument perswade me that the Dutch and Danish tongues are fundamentally distinct and not two branches of the same stock For you shall find thousands of words in Willeramus Otfrid and other ancient German writers which are at this day wholly out of use and scarce a County in England but has some peculiar words not understood in the rest which nevertheless speak perfect English Neither will it avail any thing to say the ancient Danish tongue was brought hither out of Asia and call'd formerly Asamal i. e. the Language of the Asians for the Edda Islandorum which probably is the oldest piece which mentions the
the Center of these four Cantons and the middle of the great Cross hangs a Scutcheon bearing Azure a Horseman in compleat armour Argent holding a Sword in his right hand of the same with the hilt Or his Horse covered with a Cloth of the second which are the Arms of Dithmarse The lower part of the Arms contains four more Coats Whereof the first is Gules three Pinks some call them nails of our Saviour's passion and three leaves of Nettles which are intermixed and meet in Angles at the heart of the Coat which is charged with a small Scutcheon Argent for Holstein The second which is the Coat of Stormaria is Azure a Swan Argent with a Coronet round her neck Or. The third belonging to the Earldom of Delmenhorst is Or two Barres Gules The fourth and last Coat which belongs to Jutland is Azure a Cross Patty at the bottom fetchet Or. Below the Arms is usually hung in a chain Or the Scutcheon of the Order of the Elephant The Helmet Or embroidered and damasked the sights covered and wanting barrs above which a Crown Or encircled with four Circles and adorned with precious Stones on the top of this a Globe Or and above all a Cross patty Argent The Crest is a Leopard passant over the Crown Or eight Streamers Azure a plain Cross Argent four spears bending to the Dexter side and as many to the Sinister Or. Supported by two Savages crowned and girt with Ivy proper armed with two pointed Clubs The Mantle Or sown with hearts Gules and Lions Azure doubled Ermine JUTLAND THO many of our modern Authors make a scoff at the relations the Danish Historians give of the Gyants anciently bred under the Northern Climates Cimbrians whence so called yet 't is certain both from the testimony of the most credible Roman writers and the inscriptions of ancient Graves and other monuments that there were formerly in these parts some people of larger sizes then are anywhere to be met with at this day either in this or any other Nation And what else can be meant of that Law of King Frotho mention'd by Saxo Grammaticus wherein 't was order'd that no ordinary Rustic should be bound to have any quarrel with one of these over-grown Kempers determined by Duel which was then the usual way of deciding all manner of controversies except the Warriour had fewer and lighter weapons then the Plebeian Those that endeavour to prove the ancient Danes men of greater dimensions then the modern from the bulk of their Grave-stones and Tombs do not consider that it was the custom of the Danish Pagans to burn the dead bodies of their deceased friends and bury only the ashes and that the ancients used to worship at the monuments of their Princes and great men which for this reason were usually considerable heaps of stones and earth cast up by the high-way side However to omit these kind of idle conjectures the Northern people had doubtless in their Armies good store of Kempers men of vast bodies and strength upon whose broad shoulders lay the heavyest and hottest service in every engagement From these Kempers the whole Nation were by the Romans called Cimbri by the Greeks Cimmerii and their Country Chersonesus Cimbrica which name was given to the whole tract of land beyond the Elb tho later Historians confine it to that part only which now goes under the name of Jutland Whence the Juti and Jutia which without all doubt is the same with the more modern word Jutlandia should come Jutland whence so called is harder to determine then to trace the original of Cimbria Venerable Bede speaking of those Nations who came to aid the Britains against the oppression of the Romans mentions the Vites as well as the Angles and Saxons Cambden and some others would have us read Jutes instead of Vites as saith that famous Antiquary one Manuscript Copy hath the word But the Learned Sir Henry Spelman observing in most Copies Vitae more then once and never Jutae will not admit of this alteration Ethelwerd who writ about the year 950 calls Bede's Vitas Giotos telling us that the Angles were a people that dwelt inter Saxones Giotos Tacitus places the Huithones so Pontanus reads the word and not as 't is usually printed Nuithones next to the Angli In other Authors we meet with the Vitungi Juthungi Guthungi Guthas Juthones c. which without question are all of one and the same original only variously corrupted either by the inadvertency of transcribers or unskilfulness of foreign writers in the idiom of the tongue of that Country which they described Arngrim Jonas an Islandian Author well skill'd in the Antiquities and Language of his own Country says Jaet in the Islandian and Norwegian dialect signifies a Giant Adding further that there is still a place in Norway call'd Risalandt i. e. the Land of Giants near which is Jaetumhaimar or The Giants dwelling Lastly he tells us Jutland is nothing but a corruption of Jaetumland So that Jutia has the same signification with Cimbria and the Guti Gothi Gotti Getae call'd in the English-Saxon monuments Geatun Vitae Jutae c. are the same men with the Cimbrians Jutland reaches no further then Sleswic 〈…〉 So that Holstein and the rest of the Provinces which lay between the Eidor and the Elb tho formerly a part of the Cimbrian Chersonese are not now reckon'd as any portion of this Country Northern Jutland THE Northern Jutland is much larger and better peopled then the Southern It is divided into nine some reckon fifteen great Lordships which says Lyscander being severed one from another by so many arms of the Sinus Limmericus Lymfiord gave occasion to that part of the King of Denmark's Arms which bears a Lion and nine Hearts in a field Or. There are in it four Bishopricks Ripen Arhusen Alburg and Wiburg In the further corner of the North Jutland lyes Wensyssel which has the names of Venulia 〈◊〉 and Vandalia in Latin Authors and is thought by some to have been the seat of the ancient Vandals Its inhabitants are the lustiest and hardiest of any of the King of Denmark's subjects The chief Town in this Tract is Wensyssel so call'd from the Province Schaghen seated on the Promontory between the Norwegian and Baltic Seas is much more frequented by Merchants from all parts of Europe then any other Town in Jutland and would have a far greater trade then now it has were it not for the dangerous coast it stands on Totius IVTIAE GENERALIS Accurata delineatio Apud Janssonis-Waesbergios et Mosem Pitt JUTIA SEPTENTRIONALIS in qua Dioeceses ALBURGENSIS et VIBURGENSIS JUTIA AUSTRALIS in qua Dioeceses RIPENSIS et ARHUSIENSIS DUCATUS SLESWICENSIS Nova Descriptio DUCATUS SLESVICENSIS Pars SEPTENTRIONALIS DUCATUS SLESVICENSIS AUSTRALIS PARS The Diocess of Wiburg lies in the very middle of North Jutland Lyscander calls Wiberg the Metropolis of Jutland It is indeed a place
of the greatest concourse of people who flock hither for justice in all causes Civil and Criminal It was formerly called Cimmersbeg as being the chief City of the ancient Cimbrians Tacitus calls it Civitatem parvam but withall that it had been a glorious and strong hold and the Metropolis of a terrible and warlike Nation Whence and when it got the name Wiberg is not easily determined Some tell us that after the many petty Principalities of the Cimbrians were united into one Monarchy by Wiglet this City lost its ancient name and was called after the Prince Wigburg corrupted by degrees into Wiberg Elnot in the life of St. Canutus says it had its new name from Wig an Idol worshipp'd in this place I rather think it the seat of the Danish Pyrats called formerly Wigs or Wikenger For it was the custom in the Northern Countries where the inhabitants were more then the fruits of the Land could sustain for young Noblemen to live of what they could catch abroad As the Lacedemonians thought Robbery so these fancied Pyracy lawful and glorious Whence Princes of the blood would often turn Pyrats and take upon them the title of Kings tho they had not the least dominion at land as the Norwegian History reports of St. Olaus The most notorious Pyrats mention'd by the Northern Historians are the Jomswikinger who dwelt in the City Wollin called anciently Jomsberg where they had established certain Laws and were subject to Magistrates and Governors chosen out of the Royal Family Cambden tells us that the Danes are usually understood by the name Viccingi in the Latin writers of our English History because says he they were professed Pyrats In our Learned King Aelfred's translation of Bede's Ecclesiastical History Pyrats are called Wicengas and Wicings and Mr. Cambden guesses probably that the inhabitants of Glocestershire Worcestershire c. were formerly called Wiccii from the Sea-robberies committed daily by them upon the mouth of the Severn The English-Saxons named a stout warriour Wiga skill in war Wig-chaept a fort Wighus c. In the old Francic History of the life of St. Anno Arch-Bishop of Cologne we read Ninus hiz der eristi mann De dir ie volc Wigis began i. e. Ninus is the first that ever made war And in Willeramus's Paraphrase upon the Canticles Wighuis is a Castle Wiigfimme the art of Combat c. Nial's Runic History says Gunnar var alra manna best Viigur deira sem de voru a Islande i.e. Gunnar was the best Champion that lived in Island in his days From what has been said it seems very probable that Wiberg signifies no more then Wigton the name of several great Towns in England and Scotland and the Scots still retain so much of the old Saxon word Wig as to call souldiers and pillagers of the Country Wigs or Wiganeers There has been for some years a quarrel between the Bishops of Alburg and Wiburg about precedency each pretending his Bishopric the more ancient 'T is very hard if not impossible to decide the controversie except we date the first institution of the Bishoprick of Alburg from the removal of the Bishops Palace to that City For the Bishopricks of Wiburg and Borlum were both founded in one year by Sueno Esthrith who made Heribert Bishop of Wiburg the same time that he gave Borlum to Magnus Witfield gives Wiburg the precedency but Alburg is reckon'd the better and more honourable preferment by other Danish writers From the high Court of Judicature holden at Wiburg the Jutlanders can make no appeal save to the King himself The most memorable Bays in this Diocess are Sallingsundt Virckesundt Hualpsundt Sebersundt and Othesundt The last of which had its name from the Emperor Otho the first who making an incursion into Jutland about the year 948 came as far as this Bay into which he is said to have cast his Spear and given it the name it retains to this day The most considerable and fruitful part of this Diocess is Salling a Peninsula in the Limfiord whence are brought the best Horses that are to be met with in the King of Denmark's Dominions The name of this Province seems to point out the seat of the old Sabalingi whom Ptolomey makes a people inhabiting some part of the Cimbrian Chersonese but more Southerly then Salling The chief River in the Bishoprick of Wiburg is Gudius Gutalus or Guddenus called by the Natives Gudden Aa and stored with plenty of Fish Arhuse is a neat and pleasant Sea-port Town on the coast of the Baltic Sea Arhusen whence Etymologists derive its name from Aar-hus i. e. the house of Oars Which is a much more probable conjecture then is brought by Pontanus who fetches the word Arhusen from Ptolomy's Harudes The greatest part of the Danish Historians are of opinion that it was first made a Bishops See about the year 1014. Tho if it be true that Poppo was made Bishop of this Diocess its original must be fetcht as high as the year 992. The Cathedral at Arhuse is a neat piece of Architecture adorned with several rich monuments of Bishops Noblemen c. The Bishops Palace has lain many years in its ruins which still retain marks of its antient splendour and grandeur It is seated in the heart of Jutland and furnished with all manner of necessaries that the Country affords at a very reasonable rate and what forreign Commodities either the need or luxury of its Citizens call for are brought daily in by the Mariners In this Diocess there are thirty one Judicatures Seven Cities three hundred and four Parishes and five Forts the strongest of which is Schanderborch or Schonderborch i.e. the neat Castle seated on the Gudden The rest of the Cities of note in the Bishopprick of Arhusen are 1. Horsen on the South of Arhusen 2. Randruse a place famous for the best Salmon in Jutland 3. Ebeltod on the Baltic Coast a Town of considerable trade The Bishoprick of Ripen Ripen bordering on the Southern Jutland contains in it seven Cities two hundred eighty two Parishes ten Castles and an hundred Noblemens houses It is seated upon the clear and sweet river Nipsaa which parting it self into three streams divides the Town into as many parts and gave occasion to the City's Arms which are three Lions Here abouts Ptolomy seems to place his Cimbros phundusios That this City should have its name from the Latin word Ripa upon its being situate on the banks of the river is no great wonder if we consider that whilst the Natives of these parts busied themselves chiefly in fortifying and peopling their great Ciities 't was ordinary for the Germans Romans and other Foreigners to give names to small Villages upon the Sea-Coasts which after a revolution of some years by the advantage of a brisk Sea-Trade grew bulky and were often advanced into large Corporations The Cathedral is a stately Fabrick of hewen stone beautified with a Tower of an incredible height which
endeavours to prove that Xen. Lampsacenus mentions the Baltic Sea and thence concludes that this name is much more ancient then most of the modern Geographers fancy who make Adam Bremensis and Helmoldus the first Authors that call this Bay Mare Balthicum But he that shall take the pains to examine Pliny's words upon this occasion will find that no mention is there made of the Baltic Sea but of an Island only in these parts called Baltia which is now named Schonen but is not as the Ancients imagined an Isle From this Baltia some think this Sea was called Baltic as the Adriatic Sea had its name from the Island Adria Others more happily derive the word from the Danish and English word Belt because Seeland and the greatest part of the King of Denmark's dominions are girt round with this Bay And to this day the inhabitants of Seeland and Funen call that small arm of the Sea which part these two Islands die Belt Pomponius Mela who is followed by many late writers of good note calls the Baltic Sea Sinus Codanus which signifies no more then the Danish Bay For Codanus Godanus or Gedanus is the same with Danus and Gedanum and Dantiscum signifie the same thing And indeed when we consider what a large portion of the Danish Kingdom is encircled with the Sea we shall find reason enough notwithstanding the late surrender of several Islands to the Swedes to let it still retain this its ancient name The most considerable Islands in the Baltic which at this day are subject to the Crown of Denmark are these that follow FIONIA FIonia or Funen is parted from Jutland by a streight of the Baltic called by the inhabitants Medelfarsund about one German mile in breadth and separated from Seeland by the Beltis-sund or Baltic Bay The length of it from East to West is about ten German miles and the breadth eight Saxo Grammaticus Lyscander and most of the Danish writers make this the pleasantest piece of ground in the King of Denmark's dominions Whence they have fancied the Island had its name from fine which has the same signification in Funen as in England Tho Adam Bremensis may seem to favour this conceit in calling the inhabitants of this Island Finni and their Country Finningia and Pontanus allows the etymology yet methinks Stephanius guesses better at the derivation of the word when he fetches it from Fion which in the old Runic monuments signifies a neck of land rent from the continent and such any man will suppose Funen to be who shall have the opportunity of viewing that slender Frith which at this day separates that Island from Jutland The Island abounds with all manner of Corn especially Wheat and Rye which is hence yearly transported in great quantities into other Nations Besides the Natives have generally great Herds of Cattle and very good Breeds of Horses The Woods which overspread almost the whole Island are exceedingly well stored with Deer Hares and Foxes The chief City in this Island is Ottensee which some will have to take its name from Woden the great God of the ancient Danes whom some of their Historians call Othin or Odin Others more probably say 't was built by the Emperor Otho the first who overrun a great part of the Danish Kingdom and left his name in more places then one This opinion seems to be confirmed by a Letter written by the Emperor Otho the third about the year 987 in which this City is named Vrbs Othonesvigensis Pontanus thinks 't was first built by King Harald who to testifie his gratitude to the forementioned Emperor Otho the first by whose procurement he was converted to Christianity called it Ottonia or Ottensche and his son Suenotto This City is seated in the very center of the Island and therefore in a fit place for the Sessions of the Nobility and Magistracy which are yearly held in this place As were likewise the General Assemblies of the Kingdom of Denmark before the year 1660. The buildings in this Town are generally well built and the streets uniform Besides other public buildings there are in it two fair Churches whereof one is dedicate to St. Cnute the other to St. Francis Not far from the former of these stands a stately Town-Hall upon a very spacious Market-place where King Frideric II. renew'd the ancient League between the Crown of Denmark and the Dukes of Holstein and Sleswic in the year 1575. When the Quire of St. Cnute's Church was repair'd in the year 1582 the workmen found in a Vault a Copper Coffin gilded and adorn'd with precious stones upon which was writ the following inscription in old Latin-Gothic characters Jam coelo tutus summo cum rege Canutus Martyr in aurata rex atque reconditur arca Et pro Justitiae factis Occisus inque Vt Christum vita sic morte fatetur in ipsa Traditur a proprio sicut Deus ipse ministro A.D. MLXXXVI Other Towns of note in Funen are 1. Bowens a Port-Town of good trade seated on the West-side of the Island at the North-end of Medelfarsund 2. Middlefar seated on the common passage from this Island to Kolding in Jutland On the thirtieth of January in the year 1658. Carolus Gustavus King of Sweden led his Army over the ice to this place and having routed the Danish Forces that opposed him made himself absolute master of the whole Isle of Funen 3. Ascens not far from the mountains of Ossenburgh where John de Hoy Nicholas Fechlenburgh and Gustavus Troll Bishop of Vpsal were slain and their Army commanded by Christopher Earl of Oldenburgh totally routed by John Rantzaw King Christian the third's General who level'd this City to the ground 4. Foborg upon the Southern coast of the Island It was once burnt by the unruly soldiers of Christian the third whilst Odensee adhering to the captive Prince Christian the second who at that time was kept close prisoner at Sunderburg redeem'd it self from the like fate by a large sum of money 5. Swynborg over against the Island of Langland From this place Carolus Gustavus King of Sweden led his Army over the ice into Seeland in the year 1658. 6. Nyborg the usual passage from Funen into Seeland This City was first fortified with a Moat and Bulwarks by King Christian the third It is very memorable for the battel fought by the Confederates of the Empire Brandenburgh Poland and the Low Countries in the year 1659 against the Swedes who in that engagement were overthrown and utterly routed out of Funen Besides the great Towns mentioned there are in Funen a great number of fair Villages among which they reckon up no less then 264 Parish Churches SEELAND SEeland the largest fairest and most fruitful Island in the Baltic Sea lies to the East of Funen from which 't is separated as we have said before by the Belt On the other side it is parted from Schonen by a small Frith call'd by the inhabitants Oresundt thro which
this City are expressed by Westhow a Danish Poet in three Distichs thus Fluctibus Arctoi sat bella Coagia ponti Alluor hinc campus subjacet inde nemus Quae silvae utilitas agri emolumenta fretique Commoda sunt meus haec omnia civis habet Dat glandes ligna nemus dat pascua campus Piscibus variis mercibus unda beat LALAND LAland or Lawland so called from its low situation is an Island about 32 English miles in length and 20 in breadth It is divided from Seeland by the narrow bay Gronesond or as some Maps call it Goldersond and from Falster by a bay much narrower then the former It is a very fruitful Country and affords great quantities of Corn and good store of rich pasturage Lyscander says of this Dukedome That there are in it four several Gentes I suppose he means Herrits or Lordships and as many Cities The great Towns or Cities he speaks of are 1. Naschaw or Nachscouw which together with the adjoyning Monastery was stormed taken and burnt by the Lubeckers in the year 1510. 2. Sascoping 3. Newstadt once famous for a noble Monastery built here A. D. 1286. 4. Lavinscoping Besides these the Nunnery of Mariaebo spoken of before in the Description of Sor was as considerable and remarkable a place as any in the whole Island Other Islands less considerable in the Baltic Sea WHat Islands have been of late delivered up by the Danes into the hands of the Swedes upon the Ratification of Treaties and Leagues may be seen in the description of Swedeland Of those that remain still in the hands of the King of Denmark these we have mentioned are of most note and 't were irrational to expect a particular account of those millions of diminutive Islands that lay scattered along the Coasts of Seeland Schonen Jutland c. Among them these following are all that are worth the taking notice of 1. Falster Falster a considerable Island adjoyning to Laland It is not above 16 English miles in length but so fruitful that it furnishes not only its own Inhabitants but a great part of the Dukedom of Mecklenburg and several other parts of Germany with Corn. Great Towns of note in this Island are 1. Nycoping which Dr. Heylin for I cannot find that he borrowed the expression from any other writer calls the Naples of Denmark from the pleasantness of its situation and uniformity in building 2. Stabecoping a place of some Trade upon the account of Passengers who come daily this way betwixt Seeland and Germany 2. Mona or Meun Mona A chalky Island to the Northeast of Falster which serves for a good Landmark to the German Vessels that trade in these Seas Lyscander tells us 't was formerly annex'd to the stipend of the Danish Admiral as a place the fittest of any in the King of Denmark's Dominions for such an Officer to reside in The only Town of consequence in it is Stege which bravely withstood the Lubeckers in the year 1510 and forced them at last to retreat 3. Langeland Langeland A narrow Island betwixt Funen and Laland about 28 English miles in length and only 8 in breadth whence it has its name There are in it 16 Parish Churches and a great number of Noblemens houses besides the impregnable Castle of Traneker which is admirably well provided with all manner of Military ammunition Rutcoping may pass for what the Danish writers will needs have it to be a City but 't is a miserably poor one and in no great probability of being advanced by Traffic 4. Alsen Alsen A small Isle over against the Bay of Flensburg in the Dukedom of Sleswic of which it is a part and therefore only subject to the Kings of Denmark as Dukes of Sleswic The learned and Noble Danish Antiquary Rantzow thinks the Elysii Arii and Manimi mentioned by Tacitus were the antient Inhabitants of this Island Ar and Meun and that these three Isles have the same names at this day saving only a small alteration such as may easily happen in the revolution of a few years which they had when that learned Roman writ his Annals This Isle is every where either exceeding fruitful or very pleasant and so populous that several thousands of stout fighting men have been raised in a very short time out of its four Towns and thirteen Parishes Sunderburg heretofore the usual seat of the Dukes of Sleswic and to this day one of the strongest holds which the King of Denmark has is the chief Town in the Island LALANDIAE et FALSTRIAE Accurata Descriptio Apud Janssonio-Waesbergios et Mosem Pitt On the coasts of Jutland between the Promontory of Schaghen and the Isle Funen there are several little inconsiderable Islands as Anholt Lasso Niding Helm Tune Kitholm Jordholm Samsoe c. Among these the three first are notorious for the dangerous Sands which lye round them whence 't is an ordinary proverb used by the inhabitants here Lassoe Niding und Anholt Maecken dat menich stuerman niet werdt oldt i. e. Lassoe Niding and Anholt Hinder shipmen to grow old Of the ancient Inhabitants of the Isles in the Baltic Sea THat the Dani Insulares as Saxo calls the inhabitants of these Isles are all of one extraction will be found a question very disputable after a diligent enquiry into the different customs and languages used in several of the Baltic Islands Ptolomy we know and most of the ancient Geographers make Scandinavia or Schonen an Island but of so large a bulk that Alter Terrarum Orbis is one of the most usual names they give it This Pliny tells us was by some of the Greek writers call'd Baltia which by Pytheas is corrupted into Basilia Now if we grant that this Continent which the ancients mistook for an Island were named Baltia 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 because the noblest Isle in this Sea which seems the most probable conjecture then it will not by any means be irrational to conclude that in all probability the inhabitants of all these petit Islands were only so many small branches of the old warlike Nation of the Goths whom the most learned Historians place in Schonen But then 't will still be doubted whether these Goths were not a Nation wholly distinct from the Getes mention'd in Jutland and consequently whether those that inhabit the Isles upon the coasts of Schonen be not descended of another stock then they that live near Jutland can reasonably pretend to Pontanus is exceeding angry at Jornandes Orosius and others for affirming that the Getes and Goths are one and the same people but as I conceive without any great reason For if as is prov'd in the description of Jutland the Getes gave name to a great part of the Cimbrian Chersonese these two Nations are easilier brought together then he is aware of And could we once perswade Pontanus's admirers to grant that the Getae Gutae Vitae or Witae were the ancient inhabitants of Jutland as
seems plain from the arguments and authorities of learned men before alledged 't will be no difficult matter to evince the truth of this assertion That the Getes and Goths together with all the inhabitants of the Danish Isles in the Baltic Sea are originally one and the same Nation 'T is true in some small Islands in and near the Finnic Gulph the people use a language altogether unintelligible to a true Dane or Swede but further westward the languages spoken in all the Baltic Islands are so many dialects of the Gothic tongue And the old Runic monuments daily found in most Provinces of the Danish and Swedish dominions prove manifestly the same words and characters to have been used in Schonen Jutland and the intermediate Islands From the difference of manners customs habits c. in these Isles no more can be conclucluded then that some wanting the convenience of traffick and correspondence with other Nations are forced to content themselves with the rude and ungentile ways of living taught them by their homebred Ancestors whilst others who lay more in the road of Merchant-ships must needs insensibly admit of a daily alteration both in manners and language NORWAY WHat the Edda Name and other Mythological writers tell us of Nor son of their God Thor Grandchild to Woden the first grand Captain of the Norwegians from whom that people and their Country fetch say these men their names merits just as much credit as the Danish stories of their King Dan. The truth is Norway or Norweg as the Germans write it whence the Latin word Norwegia is only via seu tractus septentrionalis i. e. a country situated towards the North. Hence in the Danish Swedish Norvegian tongues 't is to this day called Norrike or the Northern Kingdom Pliny's Nerigon is only a corruption of this word and we find that anciently all the Cimbrian Kingdoms were named Regna Norica By Helmoldus the Norwegians are called Nordliudi which word is not as Dr. Heylin guesses derived from the Dutch word Nordt and the French lieu for Nordliod or Nordtleut in the Northern languages is no more then the people of the North. In the Preface to our King Aelfred's Anglo-Saxonic Version of Orosius this Kingdom is stiled Norðh manna land the Country of the Normans Adam Bremensis calls it Normannia And we know Rollo brought his Normans out of these parts This Kingdom is bounded on the South with the Baltic Straits Bounds which separate it from Jutland on the North and West with the Northern Ocean on the East with Sweden and Lapland The whole length of it from the Baltic Sea as far as Finmark is reckoned to be about 210 German miles The Eastern part of Norway is very thin peopled Soil being a Country of nothing but inaccessible and craggy mountains Towards the South there is greater store of inhabitants who dwell in pleasant valleys encircled with barren and rocky hills The rest of the Country is overspread with woods which furnish the greatest part of Europe with Deal-boards and Masts for Ships The long ridge of high mountains which divide this Kingdom from Sweden where Pliny places his Sevo are continually covered with snow whence intolerable sharp winds are sent down into the valleys beneath which by this means become desolate and unfruitful But more Southerly and all along the Western coasts the air is much more temperate and would be healthful enough if not corrupted by the putrefaction and stench of a certain kind of Rats called by the inhabitants Lemmer which infect the whole Country with the Epidemical disease of the Jaundice and a giddiness in the head which is most especially apt to seize on strangers unacquainted with the danger and unarm'd against the distemper In the valleys there are good breeds of Cattel Commodities insomuch that the inhabitants export yearly great quantities of Butter Tallow Hides and Cheese Their chief Grain is Barley The woods afford Timber Pitch Tar rich Furs and great store of Filberds Besides these commodities they have a good trade from their Stock-fish and Train-Oyl which is vended all Europe over Christian IV. King of Denmark employ'd several Artists in the search of some Silver and Gold Mines in the year 1623. And 't is said some lumps of the Oar of both those mettals were here found and presented to the King But this discovery never turned to any considerable account For the Natives were utterly ignorant of the art of refining any kind of Minerals themselves and altogether unwilling to admit into their Country any foreigners skill'd in that way The inhabitants are much of the same complexion and humour with the Danes 〈…〉 They are generally effeminate and lazy not so much thro any fault of nature as the want of employment For the King of Denmark seldom or never makes use of this Nation in his wars as being loth to trust them with arms The ancient Norwegians as well as their neighbours are every where reported to have been notorious Pyrats but at this day the Seas are scarce in any place in Europe so secure from robbery as on the coasts of Norway The cause of this alteration can scarce be attributed to the modern honesty of this Kingdom so far excelling that of former days but rather to the general poverty and mean spiritedness of the inhabitants into which the Danish rigor has forc'd them For they have little or no Shipping allow'd them and are too low kept to pretend to hector and domineer Their diet is what they furnish other Countries with Stockfish 〈◊〉 and a coarse kind of Butter and Cheese Their usual drink Rostock Ale In this they commonly drink three draughts one in remembrance of God the second to the Kings health and the third to the Queens As Norway is still reckon'd a distinct Kingdom from Denmark 〈◊〉 so it had formerly its own independent Kings who sometimes Lorded it over the Monarchs of Sweden and Denmark Nevertheless the account we have of these Princes from the Chronica Norvagica published by Johannes Slangerupensis in the year 1594 and Olaus Wormius in the year 1633 and the relations of other Historians is so imperfect and incredible that 't would but waste paper to give the Reader a catalogue of them The last King that sway'd the Scepter in Norway was Haquin who in the year 1363 married Margaret eldest daughter of Waldemar III. King of Denmark thereupon uniting the two Kingdoms Now tho King Haquin had only one son by Queen Margaret Olaus for some while King of Denmark who dyed without issue yet the Danes having once got footing in this Kingdom were resolved to keep their station and therefore to secure themselves from all future insurrection and rebellion they immediately put strong Garrisons into all the Cities and Forts of consequence in the Nation Since it is manifest from the language manners c. of the inhabitants that the Norwegians and Islanders are both one
people what the Reader misses in the general description of Norway may possibly be met with in the following one of Island The Prefecture of Masterland THis Prefecture takes its name from the chief City in it seated on a rocky Peninsula and famous for its great trade in Herrings and other Sea-fish This City with two more of less note Congel and Oddawald and the adjoining Country are commanded by the strong Castle of Bahus now in the hands of the King of Sweden It was first built by Haquin IV. King of Norway about the year 1309 upon a steep rock on the bank of the river Trollet and was then look'd upon as the best Fort that King had in his dominions and a sufficient Bulwark against the daily assaults and incursions of the Swedes and Westro-Goths The Bishopricks of Anslo and Staffenger with the Province of Aggerhuse ANslo called by the inhabitants Opslo and by some Latin writers Asloa was first built by King Harold cotemporary with Sueno Esthritius King of Denmark who frequently kept his residence in this City Here is held the chief Court of Judicature for all Norway wherein all causes and suits at Law are heard and determined before the Governor who acts as Vice-Roy of the Kingdom The Cathedral is dedicated to St. Alward who took great pains in preaching the Gospel to the Norwegian Heathens In this Church is to be shew'n the Sword of Haquin one of their ancientest Kings a signal testimony if the stories they tell of it be true of the strength and admirable art of some Norwegians of former ages The hilt of it is made of Crystal curiously wrought and polished whence Olaus Magnus will needs conclude that the use of Crystal was anciently much more ordinary in Norway then it is at this day in any part of Europe Not far from Opslo on the other side of the Bay stands the Castle of Aggerhusen memorable for the brave resistance it made the Swedish Army in the year 1567 which besieg'd it hotly eighteen weeks together but was at last beat off and forced shamefully to retire About twenty German miles Northward of Opslo lies the City Hammar formerly a Bishops See but at present under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Opslo Near this Town is the Island Moos where if we believe Olaus Magnus a huge and monstrous Serpent appears constantly before any grand alteration in the State or Government of the Kingdom of Norway In this Province besides the places already mentioned stand the Cities of Tonsberg Fridericstadt Saltsburgh and Scheen which have all a considerable trade from the Copper and Iron Mines which hereabouts are in greater numbers then in any other part of the Kingdom 'T was in this Province that the Silver Mines mention'd before were first discover'd at the expence of Christian IV. King of Denmark and some of the adjoining hills are by the neighbourhood to this day called Silver-bergen or the mountains of Silver To these Mines and the lofty woods of Pines and Fir-trees with which this part of the Country is overspread the Kingdom of Norway owes the greatest part of if not all its trade The City of Staffenger lies in 59 degrees some reckon 60 and a great many odd minutes of Latitude It is seated in a Peninsuia upon a great Bay of the Northern Ocean full of small Islands and guarded by the strong Castle of Doeswick which lies about two English miles from the Town In Civil affairs this City is under the jurisdiction of the Governor of Bergenhusen tho it has its own peculiar Bishop constantly residing in the Town The whole Bishopric is divided into the several Districts of Stavangersteen Dalarne Jaren Listerleen Mandalsleen Nedenesleen and Abygdelag Thomas Conrad Hvegner Bishop of this Diocess in the year 1641 took the pains to collect a great number of Runic inscriptions which lay scatter'd up and down his Diocess some of which are published by Wormius who further informs us that this Conrad's predecessor whose name he omits writ a Topographical description of this City and Bishoprick Beyond the Bay appears the Island Schutenes three German miles in length but scarce half an one in breadth Between this Island which has in it several considerable Villages and the Continent runs up a narrow Frith to Bergen which is called by the Dutch Merchants T' Liedt van Berghen To the Bishopric of Staffenger belongs the Province of Tillemarch or Thylemarch which gave Procopius the first grounds for that assertion of his which he defends with so great vehemency viz. that Scandinavia taken in its largest extent of which Thylemarch is a very inconsiderable part is the ancient Thule The Parish of Hollen in this Province is very remarkable for a Church-yard or burying place on the top of a Church dedicated to St. Michael which is cut out of a great high rock call'd by the Vicenage Vear upon the Lake Nordsee half a mile distant from Scheen Wormius thinks 't was formerly an Heathenish Temple but converted to Christian uses upon the first planting of the Gospel in this Kingdom The Prefecture and Bishoprick of Berghen THis Bishoprick the most fruitful and pleasantest part of all Norway lies to the North of Aggerhusen in the middle or heart of the Kingdom It derives its name from the fair and noble Emporium or Mart-Town of Berghen or else from the strong Castle of Berghenhusen the usual seat of the Vice-Roy of Norway at a small distance from Berghen Northward Berghen an ancient and famous Sea-Port Town mentioned by Pomponius Mela and Pliny is the Granary and Magazine of the whole Kingdom of Norway It lies distant from Bahusen about an hundred German miles by Sea and sixty by land from Truntheim as many from Schagen the outmost Promontory of Jutland almost eighty Some have fetcht its name from the Norwegian verb Bergen which signifies to hide or conceal because the Haven being surrounded with hills seems to be a kind of sculking-place for Ships where Vesfels of two hundred Tun and upwards ride in a spatious and most secure Harbour free from all danger of wind and weather But we need not trouble our selves any further for the derivation of the name then to consider that Berghen in the Norwegian language signifies mountains and Berghen-husen a company of houses among the hills The buildings in this City till within these few years were exceeding mean and contemptible most of them of wood cover'd with green turf and therefore frequently burnt down But of late the Hamburghers Lubeckers Hollanders and others that trade this way have beautified the Town with an Exchange and a great many private houses of credit The most peculiar trade of this City lies in a kind of Stock-fish catcht upon these coasts and thence called usually by the Norway Merchants Berghenvisch This the Fishermen take in winter commonly in January for the conveniency of drying it in the cold and sharp air Besides hither Furs of all sorts and vast quantities of dry'd
minutes and then the Parallel betwixt Ptolomy's Thule and this Island will fail The manners of the inhabitants nature of the soil temperature of the air c. are the same in this Isle as in Iseland ISELAND ISeland is an Isle in the Deucalidonian Seas Situation situate 13 deg and 30 min. of Longitude and 65 deg and 44 min. of Latitude reckoning the situation of the whole Isle from Skalholt the chief City in it It is bounded on the East with the Northern Ocean on the South with the Deucalidonian Sea on the North and West with the frozen Sea of Groenland The Isle was first discovered by one Naddoc Discovery who sailing near the coasts of the Fero Islands was by an unexpected tempest driven upon the Northern parts of Iseland which from the great quantities of snow that then overspread the country he call'd Sneeland After him a Swedish Mariner nam'd Gardar made a second discovery of this Isle and after his own name call'd it Gardarsholm This hapned in the year 864. Not long after this one Flocco a Norwegian Pyrate made a third discovery of it not casually as the other two had done but by design He had heard some faint stories of the two former discoverers and questioned not but if he could meet with this Newfound Land to be better paid for his pains then his predecessors had been Whereupon he resolves on the adventure and instead of the Mariners Compass which at that time was never dream'd of made use of the following expedient to direct him in his Voyage he took with him out of Schetland three Crows and having sail'd Northwards for some days he let one of them fly which he perceiv'd return'd to Schetland Soon after he threw a second out of the Ship which finding no land to set her foot on return'd weary into the Vessel Within awhile after he sent out the third Crow which flew to this Isle Flocco following this leader landed safe in the Northern parts of the Isle and there winter'd Finding this country all the while he staid there oppress'd with intolerable frosts and snow he call'd the whole land Iseland or Iceland which name it retains to this day The next winter he spent in the Southern parts But meeting there with as cold entertainment as he had found in the North he hoised up sail the spring following and return'd to Norway where he was ever after call'd Rafnafloke or Flocco the Crow The first inhabitants of Iseland came into the Isle in the yeat 874 First Inhabitants brought hither by one Ingulf a Norwegian Baron who with Hiorlief his brother in-law fled or was banish'd his own Country for murdering another Nobleman The Islandic Chronicle which makes the said year its Epoch tells us that this Ingulf found the Isle wholly desolate and destitute of all manner of inhabitants Nor is there in this work any mention of any former discovery whatsoever made either by the English or Irish tho some of our Historians have asserted that Iseland was well known to both these Nations long before Ingulf brought in his Norwegians The Irish Annals go further and assure us that the ancient Iselanders call'd the Irish Papas and the Western part of their Isle as most frequented by Irish Merchants Papey Arngrim Jonas follows the Chronicle of his Country and is very passionate in asserting that before Ingulf no manner of inhabitants were heard of in this Island And in his specimen Islandicum he is extremely enraged at Pontanus and the Authors he follows for offering to assert that Iseland is the ultima Thule of the ancients For says he if our Isle be that Thule which Virgil and other Roman writes mention it must needs have been inhabited in the days of Augustus the Emperor and then what credit I pray can be given to our Iselandic Chronicle which tells us in plain terms that this Isle was never inhabited before Ingulf 's days But if that learned Author would give us leave to argue the case 't is possible he may not find any reason at last to be in so great a rage For in the work quoted he himself allows the story of the Irish being first call'd Papas by the ancient Iselanders If we enquire what those ancient inhabitants were that gave the Irish this name 'T will questionless be answer'd they were Heathens This Arngrim takes for granted and thinks the answer satisfactory enough And it is plain that the first inhabitants of Iseland were Heathenish Idolaters from one passage in the Iselandic Chronicle where we are told that in the West of Iseland there is a large piece of ground encircled with a ditch in the midst of which stands a great stone made use of formerly for an Altar whereon they used in the days of Idolatry and Paganism to sacrifice men to their God Woden But then if we consult the ancient monuments of the Northern Kingdoms we shall find the greatest part of Denmark and Norway converted to Christianity before Ingulf's time so that it will be found upon examination highly probable that there were inhabitants in Iseland before Ingulf brought over his Norwegians and those perhaps known to the English and Irish The Isle is for the most part mountainous and rocky Soi◠tho some valleys afford good store of Corn and pasturage Nothwithstanding there are so many and so vast mountains in this Isle there is no manner of mines either of mettals or minerals in the whole land except Sulphur Novissima ISLANDIAE TABULA Sumptibus Janssonio-Waesbergiorum Mosis Pitt et Stephani Swart DIOECESIS TRUNDHEMIENSIS PARS AUSTRALIS Ex Officina Janssonio-Waesbergiona et Moses Pitt Blefkenius speaks of a strange Lake and Arngrim says he has heard as much of a Fountain near Skalholt which immediately petrifies whatever is thrown into it Insomuch that if you take a long pole and stick part of it into the bottom of the Lake that part of the staff which sticks in the earth will in a short time be turned into iron the middle into stone and the uppermost part which never came into the water remain wood He further adds that the part of the staff which resembles iron will burn like a coal Another Lake he mentions which like the Grecian Aornon spoke of by Virgil sends out such pestiferous exhalations as poyson the birds which fly that way Several other strange stories he tells which because rejected by Anrgrim we omit In most places of the Isle you may meet with hot Baths and scalding Fountains the water of which if set to cool throws off a sulphureous scum Of all the affronts which Blefkenius 〈◊〉 in his scurrilous description of Iseland has put upon that Country none is highlier resented by Arngrim then the sleight and false account he gives of the Laws Manners and Religion of the inhabitants of that Isle Whoredom Theft Idolatry Witchcraft Sorcery c. are vices he accuses the whole Nation of We may rationally imagine
convenience of money was invented Money the most natural method of buying and selling was by exchange of one commodity for another This in the nonage of traffick was the only expedient made use of in all Nations of the world but continued I think longer in Iseland then in any of the known Western Countries One great reason of a later then ordinary use of money among the Iselanders was the want of mettals in their Country Some Silver they had brought in from foreign Countries which if they chanced to make use of in commerce they weighed it in a balance but never coined or stamped any of it Of late Danish money has been brought into this Isle tho in very small quantities The chief comodities of the Country Commodities are Brimstone dry'd fish and Whale-bone Of this last they have so great plenty that according to Blefkenius's relation some of them make houses of it and the only great Bridge in the Isle is made of the same matter It seems formerly great quantities of Beef Mutton Butter c. were exported hence into other Countries For Arngrim Jonas concludes his Satyrical answer to Blefkenius's abusive description of Iseland with these words Hoccine impune fierisinitis O Senatus Populusque Hamburgensis Hanccine statuistis gratiam deberi Islandiae quae c. i. e. Can the Burgomasters and Raedtsherrn of Hamburg wink at such faults as these Are these the thanks ye give our Isle for feeding your City these many years with Beef Mutton Butter and Fish England Holland Denmark Bremen and Lubec have all tasted the sweets of our Land but never any returned their thanks in such a scurrilous Pasquil as your Libeller c. Wormius tells us that the old Danish tongue Lang used in ancient inscriptions and other monuments of Runic learning has been no where so clean and pure kept to this day as in Iseland And the reasons he assigns are 1. The inhabitants of this Isle have not maintained so great commerce with other Nations as the rest of the Northern people by which means they have exceedingly avoided the introducing of strange and uncouth words into their language 2. The Iselanders from the first peopling of their Isle have been wonderfully accurate and curious in committing all transactions of moment to writing and thereby transmitting at once the glory of their actions and purity of their tongue to posterity Saxo Grammaticus confesses he ow'd a great part of his Danish History to the writings of the Iselanders whom he commends above all other Northern Nations for their curiosity in registring the famous deeds of their ancestors No question Saxo met with many rarities in that language which have since perished Stephanius reckons up above twenty several tracts that he himself had seen most of which I suppose are to be met with in the publick or private Libraries of Denmark and some may e're long be published by the learned Resenius Wormius collected his Runic Dictionary as well out of the Knitling-Saga and other Iselandic manuscripts as the old Runic inscriptions of his own Country In the year 1651. Runolph Jonas an Iselander published a Grammer teaching the rudiments and syntax of this tongue and there is now in the hands of our Learned Dr. Marshall Rector of Lincoln Colledge in Oxford a manuscript Copy of an Iselandic Dictionary never yet printed The Edda Islandorum published first by Magnus Olai Edda and afterwards by J. Peter Resenius is a piece of the greatest note of any old Iselandic monument extant It contains a collection of mythological stories about their ancient Heathenish Gods out of which fables the old Iselandian Rythmers borrowed the subjects of their Ballads It has always annexed to it as an inseparable companion the Skalda or Iselandic Prosodia which teaches the art of their ancient Poetry and gives rules for the composure of their several kinds of Verse Out of these two Saxo Grammaticus took all those monstrous stories of the first founders of the Danish Kingdom which have so far scandalized some Readers as to make them upon the sole account of these Romances reject his whole History as fabulous and incredible From several passages in Saxo's work it is evident that this Historian had read a much perfecter Copy of the Edda then the publishers of the printed Editions have followed and there is at this day in the rich Library of the learned and pious Prince Rodulph Augustus Duke of Brunswick and Lunenburg at Wulfenbuttel a more perfect manuscript Copy then either Magnus or Resenius ever saw Anciently Iseland was divided into four Provinces Government named from the four quarters of the world East West North and South Iseland Each of these contained three lesser Districts excepting North Iseland being larger then any of the other three was subdivided into four of these Districts Every District had in it three publick Courts of Judicature and ten or more Hreppar or Constable-Wards The Government of the Isle was Aristocratical till the year 1261 when it was subdued and made tributary to the King of Norway Afterwards when the Kingdoms of Denmark and Norway were linked together by Queen Margaret Iseland was also annexed to the Danish Crown Since that time it has been governed by a Vice-Roy who when he is in the Isle for he is not obliged to be always resident keeps his Court at the Castle of Besestat near the Western shore His office is to collect taxes for the King of Denmark as Butter Sheep Wool c. for the provision of the Navy Royal. What kind of Gods the idolatrous Iselanders worshipped before they were converted to Christianity 〈◊〉 will appear from a survey of the Edda which as we have said is nothing else but a register of those mock-Deities The chief Gods mentioned in this and other ancient Northern monuments are 1. Thor whom the Edda makes the son of Woden He is said to have come out of Asia with his father and for that reason is sometimes call'd Asathor or Thor the Asian Arngrim Jonas makes this God answerable to Jupiter among the Romans And in an old Anglo-Saxonic Homily in the publick Library at Cambridge which treats of the Gods of the Gentiles we meet with these words Se Iovis is arðh orðh ost ealraðhaera Goda ðh e ðh a Haeþenan haefdon on heora geddylde he hatte Ãor betÆ¿ux summum ðh eodum þon ðh a Ãeniscan leoda lufiaþ sÆ¿iðh ost i.e. This Jove is the most honourable of all the Gods mentioned in their verses Some Nations call him Thor whom the Danes reverence above all others Hence the day which the Latins call'd dies Jovis is in Iseland named Thorsdagh and in England Thursday the Germans call it Donnersdag dies Tonantis i.e. the Thunderers day which signifies the same thing 2. Woden or Oden the Captain of the Asians that first peopled these Northern Countries He is sometimes call'd 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 As the Asian So in the ancient form of
made use of at such a solemnity was a wreath of white Scarffs wherewith they bound the heads of their Kings The Elector of Colen for a long time perform'd the Ceremony of Coronation but because the Archbishops of that See have not been Priests for many years the Archbishop of Mentz has executed the office for this last Century At the Coronation of the Emperor Ferdinand III. there arose a grand dispute betwixt the Elector of Colen who at that time was a Priest and the Archbishop of Mentz the former demanding a restitution of the Honour which did formerly belong to his See and the later asserting his right from the example of his Predecessors who had long enjoy'd it However the Archbishop of Colen was overthrown and the Archbishop of Mentz perform'd the office and in so doing some say only preserv'd a right which many ages before had belong'd to his predecessors At the Coronation the King of Bohemia carries the Crown the Elector of Bavaria bears the Globe the Duke of Saxony the Sword and the Marquess of Brandenburgh the Scepter Of the King of the ROMANS THat there may be a King of the Romans chosen while the Emperor is living is a matter of fact which none can be ignorant of who are conversant in the writings of the modern German Historians Thus Charles IV. Wenceslaus Maximilian I. II. Rodolph II. Ferdinand III. IV. were all elected in the life-time of their Predecessors However many of their Civilians question the lawfulness of the Election fancying that by this means the Electors may disturb the peace of the Empire by setting up two Princes at once who by Election have a just Title to the Imperial Crown The consequence indeed may be dangerous but there is no disputing the Authority of those who doubtless have as great power in appointing the Emperor a Successor when they please as they have in deposing him 'T is ordinary in some of the High Dutch writers to mean the Emperor when they speak of the King of the Romans and till of late years there was no difference between them But now there are many marks of distinction As 1. The King of the Romans bears for his Arms the Eagle with one head the Emperor with two 2. The former is only stiled Augustus but the later Semper Augustus 3. The Emperor in his Letters Patents directed to the King of the Romans begins his Compellation with Vnsern Liebten i. e. To our Beloved c. but the King in his Answers complements the Emperor with the Title of Ihre Majestaet i. e. Tour Majesty Lastly the King of the Romans always acknowledges the Emperor his Superior and has no authority of his own during the Emperors life When the Emperor is absent or employed in other affairs he usually takes upon him the administration of the Empire and after the Emperors death succeeds without any further Election The first occasion of Electing a King of the Romans proceeded from a politic contrivance of the Emperors who by this means got the Imperial Crown secured to their own Family For making use of their power and authority while themselves sat in the Throne they could easily obtain the favour of the Electors to chuse a Son Nephew or other Relation to be King of the Romans which at last being grown customary prov'd almost as considerable kindness to the House of Austria as if they had entail'd the Empire upon that Family For das Heilige Romische Reich or the Holy Roman Kingdom signifies the same thing in the German Tongue as the Sacred Empire and 't is all one to chuse any Prince King of the Romans as to Elect him Emperor Of Dukes Counts and other Orders of Nobility in the GERMAN Empire THo the ancient Germans had litle or no Magistracy amongst them in time of peace Dukes yet both Julius Cesar and Tacitus agree in this that whenever they were engag'd in war they had one supreme Governor who ruled the Armies and gave laws to the multitude This superintendant of their forces they call'd Heertog or Heerzog a name which their Dukes to this day retain which signifies as much as the Latin word Dux or our Duke i. e. A Leader or Commander of an Army He was usually chosen in a general Assembly of the whole Country by a majority of voices and as soon as he was elected they set him upon a Banner and bore him upon their shoulders Which ceremony as Cluverius proves was afterwards observ'd by later Germans in the Election of their Kings and by the Roman Soldiers at the Coronation of their Emperors Julius Cesar tells us that these Dukes had power of life and death but Tacitus who was better acquainted with the state of Germany assures us they had no such authority They could indeed give counsel and orders to the Soldiers but had no power to punish offenders or correct the obstinate For in all probability there was not any manner of Judges in the Land that had the power of sentencing any offender to death When any controversie arose amongst the Commonalty Counts or Graven they were wont to chuse a Judg out of the Nobility of the Village where the quarrel begun These kind of Judges they call'd Grafen or Graven and their office was to determine all trifling disputes in their neighbourhood Meibomius in his learned Tract of Irmensul tells us that all Germany was anciently divided into Villages call'd by the inhabitants Gouwen and that each of these had their peculiar Judges thence nam'd Gowgraven Ein Graff says the Author of the Glossary upon the Saxon Spiegel bedeut nach altem Sachsischen Deutschen ein Richter i. e. Graf signifies a Judg in the old Saxon language Die Graven signifies properly the grey headed or elders of the people whence our King Edward the Confessor in the thirty-fifth Chapter of his Laws afterwards confirm'd by William the Conqueror tells us that the Low Dutch Greve is in effect the same with the English Eoldenmen now Aldermen This was the ancient state of the Dukes and Earls in Germany before the Romans overran some parts of that Land but whatever came into their hands was immediately divided into Provinces and govern'd as they themselves pleased Whence Duces and Comites were created by them in several places but such as had another kind of power committed to them then the aforesaid Hertzogen and Graven could pretend to In Roman Historians we meet with a great many of this sort such as Dux Germaniae primae Dux Moguntiacensis Dux Sequanicae Dux Rhetiae primae secundae Dux Belgicae secundae c. And Ammianus Marcellinus speaks of one Carietto whom he calls Comes per utramque Germaniam These had authority to raise Taxes and were invested with many other priviledges in the administration of justice which the others wanted But the Romans having never got any considerable footing on the East-side of the Rhine could not fix any of their fashions of Government in the Northern
Brunswic belong Magdeburg Gosslar Einbeck Gottingen Hildesheim Hannover Vlsen Buxtehude Staden Bremen Hammel and Minden In the Circle of Dantzig are reckon'd Konigsberg Colmar Torn Elbingen Brunsberg Riga Derpt Revel c. In each of the four chief Cities was held an High Court of Judicature where all cases were pleaded that concern'd any of the particular members of that Circle Lubeck was reckon'd the Head and Metropolis of all the Hans-Towns Metropolis as lying the most convenient for Trade and being best fortified and most populous amongst them Hence all the rest of the Cities mentioned made use of the Seal of Lubeck in all their public Letters and that City kept an Advocate in the Imperial Chamber at Spire to plead all manner of Causes in which any of the Hans-Towns in matters of Trade were concern'd This City had also the sole power of calling by her Letters Patents an Assembly of the Estates of the whole Society in case of any extraordinary exigence that concern'd their whole Body in general These kind of Assemblies were commonly held at Lubeck but if the Radts-herrn of that City thought fit they might and sometimes did appoint such another place of meeting as lay more conveniently for the generality of the members concern'd This Society in short time became so considerable as to obtain large priviledges in most places of Trade in Europe Priviledges and Grandeur nay they were sometime grown so formidable as to be able to wage war with the most potent Monarchs in Christendom and to come off honourably The chief Mart-Towns they resorted to in foreign Nations in each of which they had extraordinary priviledges and immunities granted to them and kept their Storehouses and Exchanges were these four London here in England where their Store-house was call'd Stael-hof because the greatest commodity they traded in with the English was Steel Novogrod and afterwards Narva in Russia Bergen in Norway and Bruges in Flanders whence after some time they removed to Antwerp in Brabant But after the year 1500 Dissolution their Trade began to fail daily and the Society to dwindle into nothing insomuch that in the year 1570 there was scarce a City to be found that would offer to challenge the ancient priviledges formerly allow'd to Hans-Towns Afterwards there were some who appear'd very zealous in endeavouring to renew the decay'd Confederacy but all their endeavours prov'd successless and vain For many of the lesser Cities found themselves impoverish'd rather then enrich'd by continuing the League since they were obliged to contribute to all public charges of the Society tho they gain'd little or nothing by the bargain Besides within a while the great current of Trade was turn'd from Germany into England and Holland and the Hans-Towns render'd thereby unable to maintain so great a Fleet as formerly So that by degrees the Society fell in pieces and there nothing remains of it at present but the bare name in the memory of the Germans and their neighbours THE Territories Name Manners c. OF THE ANCIENT SAXONS ALtho at this day the Upper and Lower Saxony take up but a very small share of the German Empire yet 't is manifest from the writings of the best Antiquaries that formerly the better part of the inhabitants of that Nation were known by the general name of Saxons Gens Saxonum saith Ethelwerd an ancient English-Saxon Historian who flourish'd about the year of Christ 950 in toto erat maritima a Rheno flumine usque ad Doniam urbem quae nunc vulgo Dan-marc nuncupatur Since Mr. Cambden could not find out what City this Author and the men of his time call'd Donia or Dan-marck I shall not pretend to enquire But we may from hence safely conclude that all the ancient inhabitants of Jutland Sleswic Holstein the Bishopric of Bremen County of Oldenburg both Frislands and a great part of Holland were comprehended under the common name of Saxons This assertion is confirm'd by a notable passage in the old Belgic Chronicle written in rythm near four hundred years ago wherein the Author tells us Oude bocken hoor ick gewagen Dat al't land beneden Nyemagen Willen neder Sassen hiet Alsoo al 's die stroom vershiet Van der Maze ende van den Rhyn Die Schelt was dat west ende Syn. I hear says he that old Books report that all the Country below Nimmeguen was formerly call'd Nether Saxony which was bounded on the west with the Skelt a River on the coasts of Flanders that issues out of the Maes and Rhyne The German Antiquaries give Westphalia the name of Old Saxony and out of this Country 't is probable some of our English-Saxons came as we shall shew anon Mr. Sheringham in his learned Treatise De Anglorum Gentis origine makes Alsace a part of the ancient Saxon Territories telling us that the name which to this day it retains was borrow'd from its Saxon inhabitants For these men call'd their own Country Sassen as well as themselves Die Sassen and thence named this part of their Dominions which was the pleasantest and richest piece they were Masters of Edel-Sassen or Noble Saxony Which name was easily turn'd by changing the High Dutch termination into a Latin one into Edelsassia and at last contracted into Elsatia or Alsatia 'T is a difficult task to pick up a true and rational account of the name of Saxon out of the frivolous conjectures of ignorant Monks Name or the equal impertinencies of illiterate Etymologists Isidore Hispalensis will needs have the Saxons to fetch their name from the Latin word Saxum and he gives this reason for his fancy quod sit durum validissimum genus hominum praestans caeteris piraticis i. e. because they were always a strong and hardy people and archer pyrats than any of their neighbours But why should the Saxons be beholden to the Romans for their name since they inhabited the same Country whereof their own offspring are still Masters long before Rome was built Besides we do not find that the Romans gave any new names to the Nations they conquer'd any otherwise then by giving them a Latin instead of their barbarous termination Crantzius tells us of some and himself seems not altogether to dislike their opinion who derived the word Saxon from Askenas the great Leader of the Asians who first peopled Germany But why these people should any more retain the name of that grand General of the Asian Army then the Goths Franks or any other branch of the ancient Dutch Nation he cannot inform us Goropius who is follow'd by Cisner Cambden and several other learned men brings the Saxons from Sacae a Scythian people from whom they were first call'd Sacasons or the Sons of the Sacae and by contraction Saxons These Scythians he tells us and alledges the Authority of Strabo to confirm his story leaving their ancient Seats conquer'd Bactriana and a good part of Armenia thence they pass'd into Capadocia and
rest of Irmenseul the great Idol of Saxony yet a more accurate description of that Image so long worshipp'd by our Saxon Ancestors and peculiar to that branch of the German Nation was purposely reserved for this place Mr. Verstegan writes the word Ermensewl and will needs have the Idol so named q. d. Die seul deren armen i. e. the pillar or support of the poor Others tell us that Hermes or Mercury was worshipp'd under one and the same name both in Germany and Greece and thence conclude that Ermensewl is only a corruption of Ermes-sewl Some again observing how the Image according to the relation of Historians represented the God Mars rather then Mercury reject this Etymology and derive Ermensewl from Arms-sewl and that from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sewl the Pillar of Mars the God of War But such Etymologists as these take too great pains to make the ancient Germans speak Greek The learned Schedius with a great deal of reason and probability on his side guesses it was the Image of Harminius Captain of the Cherusci a Saxon Nation in the days of Augustus Cesar who having by strategem overthrown the forces of Quintilius Varus got the Title of Deliverer of Germany conferr'd on him by the Roman Historians who all confess that from him the Roman Empire tho then in its full strength receiv'd such a blow as made its foundations tremble And indeed the Image might well seem to be the pourtraicture of so noble and brave an Hero For it represented an armed man in his full proportion carrying in his right hand a Banner display'd and in his left a pair of Scales On his head was engraven the effigies of a Cock on his breast a Bear and upon his Scutcheon a Lion And let the Reader judg how exactly this Idol answers the character which Tacitus gives of Harminius in these words In single engagements his success was various in war he was invincible and is still worshipp'd by the Barbarous Nations From which last words of the Historian we may rationally conclude that Irmenseul is only a corruption of Harmins-seul which is further confirm'd by Schedius's story that the Saxons used in a kind of Martial Dance arm'd Cap-a-pee with the spoils of their enemies to surround the pillar and at every turn falling on their knees to kiss and adore it Dithmar says that this Statue was in his days tho now nothing remains of the monument but the pillar at Hildesheim to be seen at Mersburg with this Inscription DUX EGO GENTIS SAXONUM VICTORIAM CERTAM POLLICEOR ME VENERANTIBUS From the Latin words in this Inscription some have concluded that the Saxons in the days of Heathenism had a great acquaintance with the Romans and were perfect Masters of their language I am much apter to fancy that the whole Inscription is fictitious and contriv'd only by some Monk at Mersburg Since we do not read that the Saxons e're maintain'd any tolerable friendship and correspondence betwixt themselves and the Romans at least not so much as to turn such admirers of their tongue as to use it in an Inscription which ought to have been understood by all the worshippers of this Idol and consequently the whole Saxon Nation Whereas on the contrary the best Historians will inform us that before the coming of Charles the Great into these parts the Saxons were a very rude and illiterate people wholly ignorant of all manner of Learning and Letters excepting only a few barbarous Runic scrawls and those too but very rarely used in this Country Some of the less considerable Saxon Idols are mention'd before in the account we have already given of the Religion practis'd amongst the ancient Germans and Danes and for the rest we refer the Reader to Schedius's learned Treatise De Diis Germanicis The Anglo-Saxonic version of Bede's Ecclesiastical History Saxons first coming into England and a Manuscript Saxon Chronicle in our public Library a great part of which seems to be an Epitome of the said History tell us that the Saxons were first brought over into Britain in the year 449 under the command of Hengist and Horsa two Brothers the great Grandchildren of Woden from whom most of the Northern Princes endeavour to fetch their pedigree And they further add that these Saxon Ancestors of ours were a people made of three of the stoutest Nations in all Germany viz. from the Saxons Angles and Jutes From Jutland came the inhabitants of Kent and the Isle of Wight From Saxony I mean says Bede that Country which we now call Old-Saxony which is the same as shall be shew'n hereafter with Westphalia came the East South and West Saxons From the Angles who they tell us were a people that inhabited the Country betwixt Saxony and Jutland were descended the East Angles Middle Angles Mercians and North-humbrians Where by the way we may take notice that all the manuscript Copies of the Saxon Chronicle which are to be met with tell us that the inhabitants of Kent and the Isle of Wight came of iotum instead of which Bede's Interpreter writes of geatum And the best manuscript Latin Copies of the same History have De Jutarum origine and not Vitarum as most printed Copies and amongst others the Colen Edition read the word So that it appears those Antiquaries have but little grounds for their opinion who upon Venerable Bede's authority have had the confidence to assert that there was anciently a people in Saxony call'd Vitae from whom the Isle of Wight had its name Whereas Mr. Cambden assures us that the old Britains nam'd this Island Guith which in the British tongue signifies a separation or divorce for the same reason that the Romans gave Sicily its name quod ab Italia esset Secta i.e. because it had been formerly cut off from the Continent of Italy As some ingenious men have fancied that Kent and Picardy were heretofore join'd by a narrow Isthmus which in time was wash'd asunder by the waves of that rough Sea which at this day runs through the Channel betwixt Dover and Calais or else cut at the charge of some of the British Kings The main of this story seems credible enough Hengist and Horsa and is back'd with the authority of most of the famous English and German Historians But that the names of the two first Saxon Commanders were Hengist and Horsa I see very little reason to believe tho I find this part of the narrative pass uncontradicted in all Authors that have given us an account of the first landing of the Saxons in this Island And in the Elector of Saxony's Gallery at Dresden among other pourtraictures of that Princes Ancestors are shew'n the pictures of these two famous Champions 'T is strange that such grand Warriors whom we have reason to believe descended from one of the best Families in Saxony should have names peculiar to themselves and such as were not known to be given to any men either before
tell us of them contain as many incredible things as the most Romantic Popish Legends However the Saxon Commonalty have still their memories and names in great veneration and would as soon part with Christmas-day as St. Ansgar's which is the eighth of February out of their Almanacks St. Wilhad's day is kept on the eighth of November and St. Rembert's on the fourth of February 6. Rembert was succeeded by one Adelgar a Monk of Corbey of whom nothing is recorded worth the taking notice of 7. Hoyer who was elected into the Archbishop's See in the year 909 and dyed the year following The Bremen Chronicle reports that about an hundred and twenty years after his death his Grave was open'd where nothing was found but a Pillow which had been laid under his head and a Cross both fresh and uncorrupted Whereupon the Monks of Bremen concluded that his body was immediately after his death snatch'd up into Heaven 8. Reginward 9. Vnni who going to convert the Infidels in Sweden died at Birca in Gothland 10. Adaldag 11. Libentius an Italian 12. Vnwan call'd by some Wimar 13. Libentius II. 14. Hermannus 15. Bezeline 16. Albert Son of one of the Dukes of Bavaria 17. Liemar or Leimar a Bavarian Nobleman the fourteenth and last Arch-Bishop of Hamburg For when at the request of Eric King of Denmark the Pope had erected an Archbishops See at Lunden in Schonen the Bishops of Denmark Sweden and Norway were subjected to the Archbishop of Lunden and only Lubec Schwerin Lebus and Ratzenburg remain'd Suffragans to the Archbishop of Bremen who thereupon for ever quitted the Title of Archbishop of Hamburg 18. Humbert the first that ever stiled himself barely Archbishop of Bremen 19. Frideric 20. Adalbar 21. Hartwic 22. Baldwin whose successor some have made one Barthold but without any good authority 23. Sifrid Son to Albrecht Marquise of Brandenburg 24. Hartwic II. 25. Woldemar Duke and Bishop of Sleswic 26. Gerhard formerly Bishop of Osnabrug 27. Gerhard II. Earl of Lippe 28. Hildebold or Hildebrand Earl of Broch-hausen 29. Giselbert 30. Henry I. 31. Florentius de Brunchorst against whom appear'd Bernherd Earl of Wolpe whom some Historians make Archbishop instead of Florentius â—at lost the day 32. John Bishop of Lunden and Provost of Roschild in Denmark 33. Burchard 34. Otto Earl of Oldenburg and Delmenhorst 35. Gotfrid Earl of Arnsberg He had great quarrels with Maurice Earl of Oldenburg for the See which when he could not peaceably enjoy he resign'd to 36. Albrecht Duke of Brunswic chosen Archbishop in the life-time of his predecessor in the year 1359. 37. Otto II. 38. John II. 39. Nicolas Earl of Delmenhorst 40. Baldwin 41. Gerhard III. Earl of Hoga 42. Henry III. Earl of Schwartzburg 43. John III. 44. Christopher Duke of Brunswic and Lunenburg 45. Henry IV. Duke of Saxony Engeren Westphalia c. 46. John Adolph Duke of Holstein c. who after the death of his Father was Regent Duke of Holstein and thereupon quitted the See of Bremen in the year 1596 leaving the place to his Brother 47. John Frideric who was at the same time Bishop of Lubec and having enjoy'd the Archbishopric of Bremen for the space of thirty-eight years died in the Monastery near Buxtehude in the year 1634 and was buried in the Cathedral at Sleswic 48. The last Archbishop of Bremen was Frideric Duke of Holstein Son to Christian IV. King of Denmark and Father to the present Danish King Christian V. But before this Frideric came to the Crown of Denmark he had nothing left but the bare Title of an Archbishop For in the year 1644 the prevailing Forces of the Swedish King overran the Archbishopric of Bremen and Bishopric of Vehrden as they had before many other Provinces of the German Empire Afterwards in the Treaty of Munster it was agreed upon that ut satis fieret Serenissimae Reginae Sueciae pro locorum hoc bello captorum restitutione Pacique Publicae in Imperio restanrandae condignè prospiceretur as 't is worded in the Tenth Article of that Treaty amongst other places there mention'd the Archbishopric of Bremen and Bishopric of Vehrden should be for ever subject to the Kings of Sweden and annex'd to their own Territories and Dominions sub solitis quidem Insigniis sed titulo Ducatus And thus the Archbishopric was turn'd into a Dukedom which Title it still retains Whence the City of Bremen which gives name to the whole Dukedom is so call'd City of Bremen there are several different opinions amongst the Germans Writers some of which for the Reader 's diversion I shall hear repeat leaving it to himself to embrace any one or reject all as he shall see cause One tells us there was formerly a Ferry cross the Weser in the place where the great Bridg at Bremen now stands and therefore will have the City so call'd from the flat bottom'd Boats in the tongue of the Neder-Saxons nam'd Pramen wherewith they us'd to ferry over passengers Another fancies Bremen may be fetch'd from the abundance of Broom in their tongue Brame which grows in this Country M. Martinius a man of no contemptible parts and learning guesses that because the Land of Bremen is the outmost bounds of the German Empire towards the Ocean therefore the City was call'd ein Brame which word signifies properly the outmost seam or selvidge of a Garment To omit the impertinences of other Etymologists all agree in this that Ptolomy's 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 whence ever that word had its original is the same with Bremen Cluverius allowing of this opinion adds further Nec nomen omnino abhorret nam dempta priore syllaba reliquum BIRANVM satis aperta vestigia gerit vocabuli BREMEN Et quid scio annon apud Ptolomaeum M corruptum sit in N integrumque vocabulum fuerit FABIRAMVM Amongst the old rubbish of ancient German writers Antiquity and the small fragments of Antiquity which are at this day to be met with in that Country 't will be a difficult task to find out the first original of this City 'T is certain one great part of it which is known by the name of S. Stephani Statt is of a later foundation then the main body of the Town and another grand accession call'd Die New Statt or the New City has been added within these hundred years What time this City was first fortified we have no other account then in the general that the Cities of Saxony and in all probability Bremen amongst the rest were first wall'd round by the orders of Henry Duke of Saxony surnam'd Auceps or the Fowler about the year 1000. For this Prince had found by experience that his naked Towns were not able to withstand the fury and outrages of the Vandals who in those days miserably infested the Northern parts of the Empire All the modern Historians will inform us that the Suburbs of St. Nicolas which at this day make up a considerable part of the
have this City look'd upon as a place of the greatest antiquity of any in Saxony esteeming it the same with Ptolomy's 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Tho I think the Longitude and Latitude which Ptolomy assigns to that old Town being 29 deg of Long. and 51 deg 20 min. of Lat. will scarce come near this City This large and ancient City was formerly subject to Earls and Marquises of its own and thence we find the inhabitants in and about the City named by the Latin Historians Stadenses Stadingi or Stedingii as a people distinct of themselves and independant upon any of the neighbouring Princes Of these Earls and Marc-Graves the Reader may meet with a Catalogue in Crantzius or Angelius a Werdenhagen In the year 1234 the Stadenses were the occasion of a bloody and terrible war in the Archbishopric of Bremen which happening in the very infancy of Christianity in these parts had like to have stifled Religion in its Cradle This bloodshed was occasion'd by a revolt of the Citizens of Stade from their obedience to the See of Bremen Whereupon the Clergy of that City being resolv'd to keep by a strong arm what their enemies had endeavour'd to wrest from them took up arms and engaged several of their neighbours in the broil But this expedient did not meet with the expected success having after a long quarrel only weaken'd both parties and in no wise vindicated the Archbishop's Title At last a volley of curses and excommunications from the Bishop of Rome frighted the Citizens of Stade into submission and obliged them to yield obedience as formerly to the Archbishop's of Bremen Hereupon Philip Duke of Schwaben and Earl of Stade annex'd the whole County to the Archbishopric reserving only to himself the City with its ancient priviledges and immunities In which state it continued till in the Civil wars of Germany it fell into the hands of the Swedes and was confirm'd to that Crown as a part of the Dukedom of Bremen by the Treaty of Munster And possibly we may have some reason to call this the Metropolis of the whole Country which is now subject to the King of Sweden as Duke of Bremen since the City of Bremen it self was exemted from the Homage payable to that Monarch from the Archbishopric by vertue of that Treaty and is to this day a free Imperial City immediately subject to the Emperor and to him only Notwithstanding the vast Rampires and Bulwarks wherewith this City is fortified and the natural strength of the place it was besieg'd and taken in one day April 13 1645 by the Swedish General Count Coningsmark who having at the first assault taken the Fortress on the mouth of the Zwinge betwixt the City and the Elb press'd forward with his whole Army to the Gates of Stade and forc'd his way into the City Whereupon the Burgers were glad to surrender up the Castle and other strong Forts upon any conditions the Conqueror was pleas'd to propose The Town is at present in a flourishing condition being seated in a wholesom Air and a pleasant rich Country The Burgers who have the character of the most civil and courteous people in this part of the Empire have commonly Orchards and Gardens of pleasure without the walls of the City well stockt with all manner of Fruits and Flowers Their Haven is large and commodious and Ships of larger carriage and burthen come up to Stade then are able to reach Hamburg The Market-place Rahthauss or Town-Hall Exchange and several of their Churches are Buildings worthy a Traveller's sight Many and great have been the priviledges by several Emperors granted to this City It was always reckon'd a Sanctuary for fugitives insomuch that all manner of malefactors whether Germans or Foreigners that could reach Stade before vengeance overtook them were sure to find shelter here and be secure from the hand of justice Besides the priviledg of coining money authority to hunt in the neighbouring Forests and the like prerogatives challeng'd by all Imperial Cities they have power to demand a certain Toll or Custom of every Merchant-man that passes up the Elb to Hamburg every such Vessel being oblig'd to strike anchor at the mouth of the Zwinge and there to tarry till dismiss'd by the Masters of the Custom-House These pretensions occasion'd not many years ago a quarrel between the Citizens of Stade and the Hamburgers the later pretending that 't was an infringement of their prerogative who were absolute Masters of the Elb below their own City for Stade to lay claim to any such priviledg But the controversie soon after was amicably compos'd and each City has since peaceably enjoy'd its own peculiar Regality This ancient Hans-Town being one of the first that was enroll'd into that noble society was once reduc'd to a mean and beggarly condition by the overgrown trade and riches of the Hamburgers insomuch that it was forc'd to sell almost for bread the public stock not amounting to ninety pounds sterling a year to these upstart thriving Merchants its ancient priviledges and put it self under the protection of the Archbishops of Bremen But in this low condition it did not long continue before the English Merchants upon some affront the Hamburgers had offer'd them remov'd their commerce to Stade By which means this City in a short time recover'd its former grandeur and grew on a sudden rich and populous VI. BREMER-VERDEN A wall'd Town Bremer-Verden on the road betwixt Bremen and Stade distant from the later about twelve English miles and from the former near twenty-eight It was first built by Luder Duke of Saxony and afterwards made a Palace for the Archbishops of Bremen who had here their usual residence In the Castle which commands a great part of the adjacent plain the Swedes have commonly a strong Garrison The Town would otherwise be of little note not having the convenience of any trade except what is brought by the resort of passengers that travel this way to Bremen or Stade THE DUKEDOM OF LUNENBURG THE Dukedom of Luneburg Bounds or Lunenburg is bounded on the South with the Dukedom of Brunswic on the South-East with Magdeburg on the East with Brandenburg on the North with Lauwenburg and Holstein on the North-West with Bremen and on the West with some part of Westphalia The Metropolis which gives name to the whole Dukedom is thought by some to have had its name from the Moon Lunus or Luna worshipp'd by the ancient Idolatrous Inhabitants of this Land Others derive the word from the name of the River Elmena or Ilmenow on which the City of Luneburg is seated which they tell us was formerly call'd Luno from Isis the Egyptian Goddess who coming into Germany to visit her Kinsman Gambrivius who was in those days Lord of that part of the Country where Hamburg now stands was here Deified and worshipp'd under the Image of an Half-Moon Several of the Saxon Chronologers report that this Idol was first brought hither by
can be brought up to the Walls of the Town III. GRIPSWALD Gripswald Which was questionless a large and populous Town before it was wall'd round in the year 1233 and turn'd into a strong City After which time it was daily enlarged and enriched by the great resort of Hollanders and other foreign Merchants who had here the convenience of lading their Ships with as good Salt as any that Lunenburg or the other famous Salt-Markets of Germany will at this day afford But upon the decay of wood the small Forests near Gripswald being quickly burnt up in supplying their furnaces with fewel this trade vanished and the Town has much ado to keep up to the riches and splendour it hath long since attained The only commendation of the Town at present is that it is a regularly and well fortified place and considerable for an University which has bred up and continues so to do many brave men singularly eminent for their parts and learning In the Fields and Meadows near Gripswald there grows a kind of wild Garlick which the Neighbourhood call Ramess in such quantities that each year for near a month about Whitsontide when the herb flowers it smells so intolerable strong that a stranger would hardly be able to struggle with the offensive stench of a walk for a quarter of a mile without the Gates of the City All the Butter sold in the Town savours strong of this nauseous herb and the very flesh of Cattel that graze in these pastures tasts as if it were stuff'd with Garlick There are besides these Cities mention'd Other 〈…〉 many other great Towns of note in Pomeren though not so considerable as to merit a particular Description in this place Such are 1. Damgarten and 2. Tribsees both situate on the Coasts of the Dukedom of Mecklenburg and remarkable for a Toll or Impost exacted upon Travellers by the Swedish Officers The Dukes of Mecklenburg lay claim to all Rights and Priviledges in these two Towns but the Memorials exhibited to that purpose to the Mediators in the late Treaty at Nimeguen did not meet with the expected success 3. Loytz 4. Lassen 5. Treptow with several others RVGIA INSVLA DVCATVS accuratissime descripta ab E. Lubino Arces nobilium pleraeque hoc signo notātur Apud Janssonio-Waesburgios Mosem Pitt et Stephanum Swart THE ISLE OF RUGEN RUGEN is one of the chief Islands in the Baltic Sea and famous for the courage of its ancient inhabitants mention'd in most Historians of note by the name of Rugi or Rugii Sidonius gives them the constant Epithet of pugnaces and none mention their names without some grand Elogium or other Their chief Forts were Arcona and Camerentz both which they fancied impregnable till Waldemar King of Denmark shew'd them the vanity of that conceit by storming those two Bulwarks of their Country and taking the whole Island in the year 1368. And indeed Arcona if we believe the stories which some German Historians tell of it was a place sufficiently fortified by Nature against all the batteries which the Martial men of former ages were able to invent For 't was seated on the top of a vast rock by the Sea-shore which was so high that no arrow shot from the strongest Bow could possibly reach the Castle so that the Fort was certainly tenable so long as the besieged were provided with victuals and ammunition The Isle was formerly of a much larger extent then 't is at this day 〈◊〉 reaching out to the South-East as far as Ruden which is now an Island of it self distant about three Leagues from Rugen whereof 't was anciently a part This separation was occasion'd by a great tempest in the year 1303 some say 1309 at which time the Sea breaking its banks drown'd a great part of Rugen and made by this breach so deep a Channel call'd by the Shipmen Das new Tieff oder Schiffart i. e. the new Channel that the greatest Ships that sail on the Baltic can pass this way to Stralsund a great advancement to the trade of that City Whereas before this accident there was no passage this way excepting only a narrow Road for Hulks or small Hoys call'd by the Mariners Dan Bellen which the Danish Merchantment had almost stopt up with continual throwing into it the ballast of their Ships At the present whole Isle is about thirty English miles in bredth and as much in length so that the whole circumference amounts to ninety miles were it exactly round or thereabouts But Rugen has so many Creeks Promontories Peninsuls windings and turnings that he who goes about to take an exact survey of its whole circumference will find it much larger For 't is observable that so many branches of the Sea break into the Island that no part of the land is above two or three English miles from the shore And yet every small Province in the Isle as the Peninsuls Wittaw and Jasmunt the Country of Bergen the Isle of Vmmantz Viddensee Zuder c. is so well secured by Nature from the most tempestuous rage of the waters that the inhabitants need not fear a deluge Rugen is so rich a Corn-Country Commodities that it is usually call'd the Barn of Stralsund as Sicily was of Rome Besides 't is well stock'd with good breeds of Horses Kine Sheep c. and especially with Geese which are the largest in Europe It was anciently commended for a Country where neither Wolf nor Rat was to be seen but now the Rugians have as great store of these Vermine as their neighbours Jasmunt furnishes the whole Island with Wood for Timber and Fewel out of a Forest call'd in their tongue de Stubbunitza which exactly answers to our English word Copses The Sea and multitude of small Lakes afford them plenty of Fish enough to supply the wants of themselves and their neighbours Amongst other Lakes in the Isle there is one not far from Burchwall the ruins of an old Fort in Jasmunt which the neighbourhood upon the authority of Tradition superstitiously believe to be of that Nature that it will not bear a Boat nor suffer a Net to catch a Fish of the many shoals they daily see in it Near this Lake is a Promontory of a wonderful height which hangs over the Sea Stubbenkamer and was anciently a notable shelter for Pirats who used to cruise upon these Coasts This Den is call'd by the Natives de Stubbenkamer or Bedchamber There are no Mart-Towns of any consequence in the Island Strength nor have the Inhabitants the oppertunity of trading with any Merchants save their Neighbours of Stralsund who buy up all the Corn and other Commodities in the Country So that we cannot expect to meet with such multitudes of people here as in the other Isles of the Baltic However Rugen is everywhere so populous that t is able upon a very small warning to bring seven thousand stout fighting men into the field which if resolute and
Werdenhagen an Author of good credit to whom the world is indebted for the most accurate descriptions of the Hans-Towns hitherto published tells us this small City had its name as well as Bernau Beerwald Bernstein with some other places in the Marquisate of Brandenburg from its first Founder Marquise Albert surnamed Vrsus or der Beer It is seated on a pleasant plot of ground upon the bank of the River Spree which Prickheimer Dresser Willichius Maginus Bertius with some other noted Geographers have mistaken for Ptolomy's Svevus Whereas that great man makes his Svevus to empty it self into the Baltic Sea and 't is well known that the Spree joins it self with the Havel at Spandau with which it is swallow'd up by the Elb near Werben which carries it into the German Ocean On the other side of the River stands Coln on the Spree as 't is nam'd for distinction sake famous for the Palace and usual residence of the Marquises of Brandenburg The Castle here was built by Marquise Joachim the second but much enlarged and beautified by his Successors Things most worth the seeing here are the Armory Chambers of Rarities Galleries in some of which among multitudes of other rare Pictures there are a great many pieces of the famous Luke Kranach's work Gardens Waterworks c. In the year 1628 the Citizens of Berlin and Coln were strangely alarm'd with the sight of an Apparition or Spirit which many of them pretended to have seen in the shape of a woman and to have heard it pronounce these words VenI IVDICA VIVos MortVos Now because the curious men about the Court had observed the said year 1628 mystically pointed at in the numeral Letters of those words they presently concluded that the Day of Judgment was not far off III. Francfurt FRANCFURT upon the Oder which is said to have been built about the year of Christ 146 by Sunno a Prince of the Franks who pursuing the Vandals to this place with an Army of eighteen some say twenty-eight thousand of his Countrymen placed here a Colony of his Soldiers calling the Town he had built for them Trajectum Francorum or Francfurt Afterwards in the year 1253 John I. Marquise of Brandenburg with his Brother Otho rebuilt the decayed Town and enlarged it above a third part In the year 1379 Marquise Sigismund granted many and great priviledges to the Citizens upon their entring into the Society of the Hans-Towns Lastly the University of Francfurt was founded by Marquise Joachim I. and his Brother Albert afterwards Archbishop of Mentz and Magdeburg in the year 1506 at which time the Schools here were stock'd with Professors from Leipsic Professors of best note in this University of late years and probably some of them may be still alive were Raetius Strickius Becman and Schultz who have pleased their Countrymen with the Edition of some few disputations and small pamphlets of good credit The Streets are generally large and well built the Market-place spatious and stately in which are yearly kept three great Fairs Without the Gates of the City are to be seen the ruins of an ancient Carthusian Monastery of which Johannes ab Indagine who as Dresser reports was Author of above three hundred Treatises upon different Subjects was sometimes Prior. To these may be added some few more of less note as 1. Spandau a strong Town on the mouth of the Spree but mean and inconsiderable for its buildings 2. Oranienburg called formerly Botzaw about sixteen or twenty English miles distant from Berlin a Village and Palace that affords the greatest variety of pleasures of any in the Marquise of Brandenburg's Dominions encompass'd on every side with most delicate and pleasant Parks and Forests well stock'd with all manner of Game Bisental Angermund Liebenwald Kremme Nieustadt c. have nothing remarkable in them Prenslow a Town well furnish'd with Fish from the adjoining Vcker See Strasburg and Templin are three well fortified Towns and the only three worth the mentioning in the Vcker-Marck III. NEW-MARCK NEW-MARCK lies betwixt the River Warta and Pomeren being separated from the Middle-Marck by the Oder containing in circuit about an hundred English miles It belong'd anciently to the Knights of the Teutonic Order who in the year 290 sold it to Otho Marquise of Brandenburg Sigismund pawn'd it to the King of Poland but redeem'd it again as soon as he was advanc'd to the Imperial Throne The Country is every-where sufficiently fruitful Soil and abounds with Corn-fields and Pasture-grounds more then any other parts of the Marquisate Upon the banks of the Oder the inhabitants plant Vineyards which sometimes tho rarely turn to good account In some places the Bores find now and then considerable quantities of red Coral and several sorts of precious Stones which as Mr. Cambden speaks of the like Treasures in Cumberland Gemmarii minimo ab egenis emunt maximo revendunt The only Town in the New-Marck which merits a particular Description in this place is Custrin seated upon the Oder And this too Custrin not many ages ago was only a poor despicable Village inhabited by a few beggarly Fishermen until John Marquise of Brandenburg returning from his following the wars under Charles V. fortified the place with Rampires and Bulwarks of Earth about the year 1537. But finding that whatever security he might promise himself from these Fortresses against the invasion of a foreign enemy such banks as he had cast up were easily wash'd away with a Flood he soon after wall'd it round with stone and 't is now become the Key of the New-Marck The invincible King of Sweden Gustavus Adolphus was baffled at this Town in the year 1631 being forced to raise his designed siege and withdraw his Army which before that time knew not how to leave a Town unplunder'd So that this City may possibly deserve that high character which Angelius a Werdenhagen or his Author has given of it in the three following Distichs Ipsa licet cunctas adducat Thracia vires Germanis certam saepe minata necem Ipsa licet cunctas ducat terra Itala vires Teutonibus magnum saepe minata malum Nec tamen humana poteris delerier arte Nec vi nec vigili fraude dolove capi The Burgers have generally neat and well furnish'd Houses and the Market-place excells any in the whole Marquisate Sternberg is memorable for nothing but its giving name to a small Territory adjoining And Dam Konigsberg Morin Banen Soldin Landsberg with some others may be reckon'd without any great injury done them amongst the Villages rather then Cities of the Marquisate The places subject to the Elector of Brandenburg in Crossen and some other parts of Silesia and Lusatia shall be described hereafter when we come to give an account of the Countries to which they more immediately belong THE DUKEDOME OF MAGDEBURG MAGDEBURG is acknowledged by all Historians to be a City of as great Antiquity as most in Germany 〈◊〉 Some are of
in this Church forty-nine Altars whereof the High Altar in the Quire is of one piece of stone curiously wrought and of various colours It is nine Hamburg Ells each of which makes one foot and ten inches in length four in bredth and one in thickness and valued at above two Tun of Gold Magdeburg had once the supreme Jurisdiction in Civil Cases as well as Ecclesiastical over all the other Cities in Saxony Judicature and the Archbishop of this Diocess was like our Bishops of Durham a Count Palatine who had the sole power of determining all Causes brought before him But that grand Authority was lost by degrees and now the Citizens of Magdeburg have no other Courts of Judicature then such as are kept by the Burgomasters and Raedtsherrn of other Cities as well as this That part of this Dukedom which lies on the Western banks of the Elb is exceedingly fruitful in Corn but wants Wood and other fuel and on the contrary that part of it which lies beyond the River has plenty of Wood but wants Corn. There are contain'd in the whole Circle twenty-eight Towns which anciently paid homage to the Archbishops of Magdeburg and are now subject to the Elector of Brandenburg as their Duke ANHALT BEtwixt the Sala and the Elb lies the greatest part of this Principality the whole being environ'd by the County of Mansfeldt the Upper Saxony the Bishopric of Halle the Dukedom of Magdeburg and the Bishopric of Halberstadt MARCHIA NOVA Vulgo NEW MARK in March Brandenburg PRINCIPATUS ANHALDINUS ET MAGDEBURGENSIS Archiepiscopatus Apud Janssonio-Waesbergios Mosem Pitt et Stephanum Swart 'T will not in this place be amiss to inform the the Reader that Prince Lewis beforemention'd to the great credit of himself and Family was the first Founder of the Frucht-Barende Geselschaft as the Germans call it or Fructifying Society The story of which is as follows This Prince having travell'd over all Europe and observed the great advantages which the Nobility in France Italy and other Nations had in being furnish'd with store of excellent Books in their own Languages was resolved to try whether he could perswade any of his own Countrymen to set upon the Translation of the best Latin and Greek Authors into a more easie and intelligible stile then was ordinarily used among them In pursuance of this design he instituted the Society aforesaid whereof himself was the first President and succeeded so well herein that in a very short time after there were above twenty Princes and at least six hundred Lords and Noblemen who enter'd and enroll'd themselves in this College of Wits And how much the German Nation is beholden to the endeavours of these Virtuosi there is no intelligent man but what is abundantly sensible For besides the opportunity which every man has of reading the writings of foreign Authors in his own Language the Germans are able to spell their own tongue aright which before the Institution of this Society so few of them could do that Duesius tells us one main design of his publishing a German Grammar was to teach the Nobility of that Nation to put their words into writing The most considerable Towns in this small Principality are 1. Zerbst Seated on a small River about an English mile distant from the banks of the Elb. Dresserus fancies this a Town of great Antiquity Zerbst and had its name from the Servetii or Cervetii as he reads it an old Wendish people But Werdenhagen a better Antiquary rejects this frivolous assertion and proves that Zerbst in the Wendish Dialect signifies a strong Fort. 'T is at this day remarkable for nothing but a sort of strong heady Beer which the Citizens brew in Summer and send abroad into all the neighbouring Towns and Provinces 2. Bernburg Bernburg Another Residence of the Princes of Anhalt separated from the Palace by the River Sala On the eleventh of March in the year 1636 this Town was taken by the Elector of Saxony's Forces who put the whole Garrison that defended it with all the inhabitants excepting only those few that belong'd to the Prince's Court to the Sword and plunder'd the City 3. Dessau A well fortified Town on the Elb Dessau seated in a pleasant and fruitful part of the Country It had its name given as most of the German Etymologists imagine by the Jews who in their mungrel Dutch-Jewish Dialect call a fat soil such as this Town stands on Desse The Prince's Palace in Dessau was first built as appears by an old Inscription over one of the Gates by Albert and Waldemar two Brothers Princes of Anhalt in the year 1341. In one of the Chappels of this Town is to be seen the Tomb of Jeckel Rehebock whom some German Historians name Meniken von Belitz an old Miller who having for some time attended Waldemar Marquise of Brandenburg in the Wars took upon him to counterfeit his slain Master and carried on the design so cunningly that a great many believ'd him to be the very Marquise and follow'd him with as great respect as they had done his Master before He dyed in the year 1350. 4. Aschersleben or Ascania Ascania whence the Princes of Anhalt got the name of Principes Ascanii 'T is an old Town on the confines of the Bishopric of Halberstadt and for that reason seized on by Canons of that Church upon the death of Prince Otho's Widow in the year 1315. Since which time the Princes of Anhalt have often complain'd of the injustice of this action and hoped for a redress at the Treaty of Munster but in vain for the Bishopric of Halberstadt was by that Treaty granted to the Elector of Brandenburg who is too potent a Prince to be frighted into a resignation of any of the dependances upon that Diocess THE DUKEDOME OF BRUNSWIC THE Dukedom of Brunswic strictly so call'd comprehends only the Territories subject to the Dukes of Brunswic and Hannover or Calenberg The Principality of Grubenhagen with the Counties of Blanckenburg and Reinstein are indeed usually comprised under the same name because subject to the Dukes of Zell and Wolfenbuttel who are both entituled Dukes of Brunswic as well Luneburg but are however in themselves distinct Dominions and shall accordingly be separately described The Dukedoms of Brunswic and Hannever are exceeding populous and fruitful Soil The Wheat and Rye in this Country grows sometimes to that prodigious height that their ordinary Ears of Corn are higher then the tallest man on Horseback But yet we must not expect to meet with such pleasant and profitable Cornfields as these in every part of the Country A great share of the Hercynean Forest ran thro this Land tho that be now parcell'd out into smaller Woods and Parks In these the Inhabitants have besides the provision of Timber and Fuel great store of Deer wild Swine Hares c. with Fowl of all sorts Not to mention their rich Mines of Iron Salt and Coal-pits of which in
their due place The chief Rivers are the Weser by which all manner of Merchandise are convey'd from Bremen up as far as Brunswic Rivers Leina Innerste Ocker with some more of less note which supply the neighbourhood with Fish It is observable Forts that every-where in the Dukedom of Brunswic as well as in the County of Blackenburg you may meet with the Ruins of old Forts and Castles on the tops of high Hills and ragged Mountains which by most Antiquaries are conjectur'd to be the Reliques and Rudera of so many Roman Fortifications and an evident argument that the Seat of the war betwixt the Romans and the Germans was for some time at least in this part of the Empire I had rather think them the work of some Saxon Commanders when engaged in the defence of their Country and Paganism against the Assaults of Charles the Great or perhaps built by that mighty Emperor to secure his Conquests However thus much we may venture to conclude from these venerable Tents of Mars 〈◊〉 of the 〈◊〉 that the Lower Saxons those especially that inhabited these parts were anciently a stout and warlike people men that were hardly conquer'd and afterwards with more difficulty kept in subjection And such their progeny are still reckon'd They are men of a larger size then most others of the German Nation and withall inur'd to a coarse fare and cold lodging Their ordinary diet is dry'd Swine's flesh and Sawsedges which they digest with as much ease as any of their neighbour Nations do their choicest delicacies From their great greediness in devouring this sort of diet they are usually call'd by the Hollanders and other Germans Speckmuffen or Bacon-guts With these meats they eat a black and harsh tasted bread made of the coarsest Wheat or Rye-meal This in their barbarous and rustic dialect they call Pumpernickell a compound that has no manner of affinity with any primitive in the High Dutch tongue Some of their learned men give this account of the word that a French Gentleman travelling this Country and being ask'd what he thought of this kind of bread made answer that it was bon pour cheval i. e. good diet for a Horse which words being not rightly proportion'd to the mouths of the Brunswic Bores that heard him were by them miserably corrupted into the word before-mention'd Their Land affords no Wine but they think that defect abundantly recompensed by the great quantities of Beer brew'd in most places of note The Brunswickers are not 't is true so complaisant in their behaviour and carriage as some other Germans which a Traveller may meet with but their unfeign'd humanity and hospitality will sufficiently atone for their want of Courtship They know how to be civil to a stranger without flattery and in in their entertainment of Travellers their performances are commonly as large as a French man's promise We have already in the description of the Dukedom of Luneburg acquainted the Reader that the whole Dukedom of the Lower Saxony which was afterwards subdivided into those of Brunswic and Luneburg was formerly subject to one Prince and we have there also given him an account of the first original of this Dominion with the continuance of it under several Princes during the union of its members The first division of these Territories hapned in the year 1264 at which time Duke Otho's two Sons Albert and John not liking to be copartners in the Government of the Lower Saxony divided the Land assigning to the former the City and Dukedom of Brunswic and to the later the other of Luneburg However upon the death of William Duke of Luneburg Grandchild to the foremention'd Duke John without issue male in the year 1368 the two Dukedoms were again jointly subject to Duke Magnus surnam'd Torquatus But in this they could not long continue for Torquatus's Sons as ambitious of independant and absolute Government as their predecessors again separated Courts Bernbard the elder Brother claiming this Dukedom to himself and assigning Luneburg to Henry his younger Brother After whose death his Son William surnam'd Victoriosus for his valorous exploits fell upon his Uncle Bernhard whom he reduc'd to those straits at last that he made him and his two Sons change Dukedoms with him From that time the Dukedom of Brunswic was enjoy'd by William and his Successors until the extirpation of that Line in Frideric Vlrich who died without issue A. D. 1634. In the year 1491 this Dukedom was divided by Henry the elder and his Brother Eric into two equal shares whereof all the Country betwixt the Rivers Deister and Leina together with the Territories of Gottingen and known by the name of the Dukedom of Brunswic-Wolfenbuttel remained in the possession of Henry But soon after Eric's Line upon the death of his Son Eric II. in Italy A. D. 1584. was extinct and these two Dukedoms again united in the House of Wolfenbuttel In which condition they remain'd till the death of Frideric Vlric before-mention'd After which the Dukedoms of Wolfenbuttel and Calenberg descended upon some younger Brothers of the House of Luneburg The famous and learned Prince Augustus was advanc'd to Wolfenbuttel where he is now succeeded by his Son Rodulphus Augustus Of these two Dukes the Reader may expect a larger character in the following description of the Palace at Wolfenbuttel 'T will not be impertinent in this place to relate for the Reader 's diversion the Romantic History of the first original of the ancient Guelphian Family 〈…〉 which formerly afforded Dukes at the same time of Bavaria and Saxony and of which the Dukes of Brunswic and Luneburg are now the sole Relicts The story goes thus Jermintrudis Countess of Altorf in Schwaben having accused a poor woman of Adultery and caused several severe punishments to be inflicted on her for having had twelve children at a birth was within a while after delivered of the same number her self and all of them Sons Her Husband Count Isenberd being absent at the time of her delivery she commanded the Midwife to kill eleven of them fearing possibly she her self might undergo the same punishment or scandal at least which the poor beggar woman had done upon her instigation The Midwife going to execute her Ladies barbarous commands was met by the Count returning home who enquiring what she carried in her Apron was answer'd Woelpen i. e. Whelps But suspecting the truth of what she said upon her refusal to shew them examining farther into the matter forc'd her to confess the whole story Upon which enjoining the old womans secresie and concealing the knowledg of the fact from his Countess he put out all the children to Nurse taking care their education should be answerable to their quality At the end of six years the Count invited to a great feast most of his own and his Lady's Relations to whom in the midst of their jollity he presented his eleven Sons all attired alike to their Mother who
of residence of the Counts Regent is Eisleben which has its name as well as Eysenach Eissfeld Eysenberg and other neighbouring Towns from the abundance of Iron-Ore which the Natives call Eysen found in these parts and not from the Egyptian Goddess Isis who as some Legendary Historians tell us upon the death of her Husband Osiris being in a melancholy humour wander'd into this Country and gave her own name to several of the Towns in which she sojourn'd The most notable thing which the German Historians have recorded of this City is that their Megalander Martin Luther was born in this Town in the year 1483 and here ended his days in the year 1564. Over the door of the House wherein he was born the Citizens took care to set up his picture in stone with this inscription Hostis eram Papae Sociorum pestis hujus Vox mea cum scriptis nil nisi Christus erat John Forster a Professor of Divinity at Wittenberg and Superintendant of the Church at Eisleben tells us that there hapned a great fire in this City in the year 1601 wherein the Counts Palace and 250 Citizens-Houses perish'd but yet 't was observed that the Church wherein this blessed Saint Luther as he calls him was Christned the house wherein he was born and another in which he dyed were sav'd from the flames tho all about them were laid in ashes But however this great man's sanctity tho able it seems to protect whole Houses from the rage and violence of the flames was not sufficient to secure his monument from the fury of the Imperialists who in the late Civil wars of Germany broke down his Image and defaced the Inscription above mention'd The old and ruinous City of Mansfeld which gives name to the County lies about five English miles from Eisleben 〈◊〉 It is defended by a strong Castle on the top of an high hill which for many years had laid desolate but was repair'd and fortified in the year 1547. Wippra Arnstein Quernfurt with some others are remarkable for nothing else but giving names to so many petty Counties into which the the whole County of Mansfeld to provide Titles for its many Earls is usually divided SAXONIA SVPERIOR Apud Janssonio-Waesbergios Mosem Pitt et Stephanum Swart THE UPPER OF SAXONY ALTHO 't is usual with every Historian that treats of the affairs of Germany to make frequent mention of the Saxons yet in such different senses is that word used by them that we shall scarce meet with two of them that mean the same thing by Saxony Now the the reason of this disagreement is to be ascribed to the uncertain bounds and limits of the Dominions of that ancient and warlike people and the division of their Land into so many petty Tribes and Provinces who were all ambitious of appropriating the name of Saxons to themselves Albinus says the ancient Limits of Saxony were on the East the Elb on the West the Embs on the South Bohemia and Franconia and on the South Bohemia and Franconia and on the North Denmark but Ptolomey confines that Nation within much narrower bounds Henry the Lion's Territories reach'd from the Elb to the Rhine and from the Baltic down as far as the utmost bounds of the Hercynian Wood. This whole Tract was more immediately divided into the Lower and Upper Saxony of the former whereof we have already given the Reader an account Under the name of the later are sometimes comprehended besides the Dukedom of Saxony or Chur-Sachsen as the Germans call it the Marquisate of Misnia Voitlandia Thuringen the whole Hercynian Forest the Principality of Anhalt with some more of the neighbouring Provinces But in this place we only understand the Upper Saxony strictly so call'd or that small Province which gives the Elector the Title of Duke of Saxony Which is bounded on the East with the Lower Lusatia and some part of the Marquisate of Brandenburg on the North with the Principality of Anhalt on the West with the County of Mansfeld and Landgraviate of Thuringen and on the South with the Marquisate of Misnia This small Province came to retain the name of Saxony upon this occasion When the overgrown power of Henry the Lion was grown so formidable as to oblige the Emperor to depose him and to divide his Territories amongst the neighbouring Princes many of whom by their good services had deserved large recompenses at his hands the Dukedoms of Brunswic and Luneburg were the only Dominions continued to the posterity of the deposed Prince The lower parts of Westphalia were seized on by the Archbishop of Coln and another part of it above the Weser fell into the hands of the Bishop of Paderbourn and a third was given to Herman Landgrave of Thuringen The Princes of Anhalt and Counts of Mansfeld were made Masters of another portion of this large Dukedom and several of the Hans-Towns were made Imperial and subjected to a Government of their own By this means there was nothing left to be setled upon Bernhard Prince of Anhalt whom the Emperor Frideric Barbarossa had created Duke Elector in the room of Henry the Lion but the Territories betwixt the Sala and the Elb and some of that too as the City of Wittenberg was before assign'd him by the Emperor Conrad the third However 't was order'd that these narrow Dominions should have the name of Ober-Sax or the Upper Saxony given them and that Wittenberg should from thence forward be the Electoral City The County is tolerably well provided for with all manner of grain Soil but comes far short of its neighbouring Provinces Misnia and Thuringen Tho the Hills here afford some Mines of Silver and other kind of Metals yet the Country will scarce yeild so much Wood as is sufficient to cleanse and purifie it The inhabitants of this Country are still strict observers of the ancient Municipal Laws of their Heathen Ancestors Laws which were look'd upon by the Emperor Charles the Great as so agreeable to the dictates of right reason that he saw no necessity of abrogating these upon his introducing of Christianity and the observation of Gospel precepts The choicest of these old Statutes are collected into two Bodies or Digests whereof the one is call'd Der Sachsen-Spiegel or Speculum Saxonicum the other which is only an abstract of the former das Sachsische Weichbild The Sachsen-Spiegel was at first like Justinian's Institutes collected by a German Nobleman Ecke von Repkau out of a great many old Records and Laws publish'd in the days of Superstition and Idolatry It contains in it three Books whereof the first consists of 71 Articles the second of 72 and the third of 91. This with a Glossary annex'd explaining all the difficult and antiquated Law-terms in it was first publish'd by one Burchard Lord of Mangelfeld but a more accurate Edition was afterwards set out in Print by C. Zobelius at Leipsick in the year 1569. Das Weichbild or Wickbild signifies properly
the Cities Image or Statute and how applicable this name is to a draught or model of State-Government such as is contain'd in this Book let the Reader judg There are several Editions of this Code which contains only 137 choice Articles out of the Sachsen-Spiegel with some notable observations thereupon Wittenberg Wittenberg as we have said was once an Electoral City and is still reckon'd the Metropolis of the Upper Saxony Some Etymologists fetch its name from King Wittekind whom they make the first Founder of this City others will have it signifie no more then a white Rock such as may be ordinarily met with in the Vicenage and upon which they imagine the Town to be built And from this later conceit the Students in this City usually write its name in Latin Leucoris The University was founded after a long deliberation of several Electors from the year 1399 by Duke Frideric surnamed the White in the year 1502. There are in it at present three Colleges whereof the eldest is appointed for disputations in Physicks and other Arts the new one for Divines and the third for Lawyers Wittenberg has no great reason to brag of any eminent Scholars which of late it has produced Abraham Calovius has indeed scribled over a great deal of paper but to little purpose Another of their Professors Teutschmannus has taken vast pains to run down the Calvinists and establish the Doctrines of Luther but both his answers and arguments are so contemptibly weak and silly that the reading over his Book may probably confirm his Adversary but is in no danger of confuting him The Town is only one long street and has little or nothing in it observable so that the account which one gave waggishly of it may possibly be pertient enough viz. Leucorin intranti tibi quae sunt obvia quaeris Sus Miles Meretrix aut studiosus erit Halle tho a dependant on the Archbishopric or Dukedom of Magdeburg Halle and for that reason now subject to the Elector of Brandenburg may justly be referr'd to this place as being situated on the banks of the Sala within the precincts of those Territories which were comprised at first under the general name of the Upper Saxony It is thought to borrow its name from the Greek word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Salt from the abundance of Salt-pits in this place But this is only Goropius Becanus's fancy and therefore I shall not press it too hard upon the Reader These Pits were first discover'd by the Hermunduri a branch of the Suevian Nation some years before the coming of our Saviour and by them valued at as high a rate as if they had been so many Mines of Gold Of what value they are now a days may easily be computed from the weekly toll paid out of them to the Administrator of Magdeburg which ordinarily amounts to five or six hundred Crowns The Town is neatly built on the side of a pleasant hill cover'd with Vines The inhabitants are a gentile sort of people and by some fancied to be greater masters of the High Dutch tongue then the Citizens of Leipsick This City is usually call'd Halla Saxonum to distinguish it from some others of the same name in Schwaben Brabant c. and not as Bertius and Mercator would have it because 't is the Metropolis of the Lower Saxony For tho as Albinus rightly observes the ancient Geographers have been accustom'd to reckon her among the Cities of the Lower Saxony yet her situation together with the language and manners of her inhabitants declare her rather Misnian or High Saxon. To these we may add Quedlinburg Quedlinburg a small City betwixt Halberstad and Ermesleben For altho this Town be indeed situated within the Circle of the Lower Saxony yet of late years the German Geographers have been pleased to reckon it a part of the Upper as being subject to the Elector 'T was formerly guarded by a Castle on the top of an adjoining hill which is now demolish'd From this Castle the Town got the name of Quedlinburg which is a word of the same importance as Scarborough in English For Quaddelen in the Dialect of the Lower Saxons signifies marks or scars got by blows or slashes on the face or other parts of the body At this day 't is remarkable for nothing but a Lutheran Nunnery the Abbess whereof who is always either a Princess of the blood of Saxony or a Countess at least is Lady Paramount of the whole City and the Territories thereto belonging It was once a Hans-Town but upon a rebellion of the Citizens against their Abbess in the year 1475 that privilege was lost and the City enslaved rather then subjected to the Elector of Saxony For a Catalogue of the Electors of Saxony we refer the Reader to the following Description of Dresden in Misnia where their usual Residence is now kept Marchionatus MISNIAE una cum VOITLANDIA Authore Olao Ioannis Gotho S. R. M. Sueciae Geographo Excudebant Janssonio-Waesbergiâ—â— Moses Pitt et Stephanus Swart To IAMES FRASER Esqr this Map is humbly dedicated THE MARQUISATE OF MISNIA MEISSEN or Misnia which is so called from a City of the same name formerly a Bishop's See and the Metropolis of this Country but now dwindled into a Town of little note is bounded on the East with Lusatia or Laussnitz on the South with Bohemia on the West with Thuringen and on the North with the Upper Saxony The whole Marquisate which is a vastly large Country is usually divided into four parts 1. Misnia strictly so call'd or Osterland containing Dresden Konigstein Pirna the old Fort of Sonnenstein c. 2. Der Ertzgebergische Creyss a Mountainous Countrey wherein are comprehended the Mine-Towns of Friberg Alteberg on the Moglitz Augustus-burg Annenberg Marienberg with some others 3. The Circle of Leipsick which besides the depenances on that rich City comprises the Counties of Rochlitz Waldheim and Geringswald with some other places of note 4. Voitlandia which was formerly reckon'd a distinct Principality of it self but is now accounted by all a part of Misnia Besides these Provinces there are in this Marquisate three Bishopricks 1. Meissen 2. Naumburg 3. Mersburg To each of these there are several Lands and Territories annex'd some part of the Revenues whereof are disposed of towards the maintenance of a certain number of Canons in every Cathedral but the greatest share is employed in raising Portions and Estates for the Elector's younger Children The Plains of Misnia are wonderfully fruitful in all manner of grain and the Hills as well stored with the richest Metals In some places especially on the banks of the Elb near Dresden and Meissen you may meet with large Vineyards but their Wine is none of the best At Libenau Possern Teuditz and some other places in the Bishoprick of Mersburg there have been formerly Salt-pits but these were so infinitely out-done by those at Halle before mention'd that the Salters
and a great many stately dwelling houses The chief trade of the Citizens is in Beer-brewing and making colouring and dressing several sorts of Linnen and some Woollen Cloth ZITTAU Zittau or Sittau which some will have to signifie as much as Susse aw and to have had its name from the fresh and sweet waters on which 't is seated But we need enquire no further after the etymology of the word if what Dresser reports be true that on a Grave-stone in this City was to be seen in his time the following Inscription Anno Christi 1021 Idibus Julii obiit pia illustris Foemina Zittavia Christianissimo Principi Manfredo nupta fundatrix dotatrix hujus oppidi de ejusdem nomine dicti There is hardly any thing at present remarkable in the Town except the old Franciscan Monastery which since the Reformation has been converted into an Hospital IV. LEIBA 〈…〉 Lobau Liben Loben or Lubben for all these names I find given it by Mercator and other noted Geographers is look'd upon as one of the oldest Towns in these parts And for that reason the other five confederate Cities of Lusatia used always to send their Deputies to consult at this place in time of any common calamity or danger It is seated on the bank of a small Rivulet about an equal distance betwixt Bautzen and Gorlitz girt round with a delicate plain and pleasant meadows We may judg of the riches of this little Town by the vast plunder which the Swedish Army confess'd they got out of it in the year 1639 which amounted to a sum of seventy thousand Ricxdollars in ready Cash besides other rich booties V. LUBEN on the Spree 〈…〉 the chief Town in the Lower Lusatia In this place the Elector of Saxony has a Palace in which sometimes in a progress for pleasure he keeps his residence for some short while What alterations were here in the late Civil wars of Germany may perhaps be remembred by some of the ancient Burgers of the Town but is not I think recorded by any Historian of note VI. GUBEN 〈…〉 A well fortified little Town in the Lower Lusatia seated on the River Neisse which contributes very much to its strength and security In the year 1631 immediately after the great battel of Leipsick the Imperialists fell in upon this City and took it but towards the later end of October were driven out again by Marquise Hamilton at that time a Commander in the Swedish Army who coming suddenly upon them put the greatest part of them to the Sword and routed the rest But the poor Citizens were harder put to it in the year 1642 when the Swedish General Stallhanss lay before it for three weeks together and the poor besieged Saxons lay block'd up and destitute of all manner of provisions and amunition being at last forc'd to surrender themselves upon what terms their merciless enemies would propose to them Camentz Lucken Calow with many others may pass for fair Villages but will hardly deserve the name of Cities THE Great Dukedome OF SILESIA MANY and various are the opinions of Geographers touching the original of the word Silesia or Schlesien to speak in the German language It is the opinion of some that it is deriv'd from Schless a small River which falls into the Oder but others are content to fetch it from the Elysii the ancient inhabitants of this Country not troubling themselves to dive any further into the original of that name Within the compass of that vast Tract of Land which now is comprehended under the common name of Silesia were contain'd anciently a great number of people of different names and government 〈◊〉 Pirckheimer tells us that the Country about Bresslaw was inhabited by the Lutiburi the Principality of Sagan by the Batini the Dukedom of Oppelen by the Sidones and that of Teschen by the Cogni To these Simon Grisbecius adds several others in the following distich Elysiam veteres Ligii Quadique Manimi Marsigni clari quam tenuere Luij And to these the learned Cluverius will have us to add the Semnones Osi Burii c. which I suppose are no more then so many distinct names taken from the different Villages these men inhabited or it may be from the names of the Rivers as was the peculiar fancy of these German people Now these names of places Rivers c. were as Cureus in his Chronicle of Silesia assures us quite lost and forgotten upon the admission of the Polish language into this Country Lignitz Libus and some few places more retain their primitive names but all the rest are as appears from their termination of a Polish extraction Pliny calls the Oder the chief River of this Country Guttalus and others think that River which has now the name of the Spree was by the ancients named Suevus From whence some Geographers not improbably have concluded that first the Goths and afterwards the Suevi or Swabes were formerly inhabitants of these parts That Silesia was a part of the Polish Dominions in the days of their first Prince Lechus or at least a good large share of it Ancient Government down as far as the banks of the River Oder seems probable enough from the testimonies of Adam Bremensis and Helmoldus the former whereof begins the Polish Nation from the Eastern banks of that River which the later makes the utmost bounds Eastward of his Slavi However 't is as manifest that the ancient Princes of Germany often invaded this Land and probable enough that 't was sometimes tributary to them Before Charles the Great 's days we have but little of History concerning these parts of the world which we may rely on But Cureus proves to us that this Emperor amongst many other his noble exploits subjected Silesia to himself And Eginhard means the same thing when he tells us that Charles the Great overran the whole Country betwixt the Rhine and the Vistula where by the Vistula 't is evident he understands the first original source or head of that River After Charles the Great 's days we have yet clearer testimonies of the Silesians paying homage to the Germans Adam Bremensis an Historian of unquestionable authority speaking of the Emperor Ludowic the Godly says Ipse Boemanos Sarabos Susos where by the way we are to take notice that instead of Silesii some of the ancient writers have Slesii others Sliusii many Sileucii and not a few Susi caeteros Slavorum populos ita perdomuit ut tributarios efficeret Whence it appears that they quickly threw of Charles the Great 's yoke as they did not long afterwards his Son 's too For Helmoldus tells us post mortem Ludovici Regis Bohemi Sorabi SVSI Slavi quos ipse tributis subjecerat tunc servitutis jugum excusserunt Another Rebellion the Annales Fuldenses mention in the year 874 Slavi qui vocantur Linones Sliusi eorumque vicini defectionem molientes solitum dare censum renuunt Quos
East of the Dukedom dividing it from the Kingdoms of Hungary and Poland mention'd usually in Latin writers by the name of Montes Carpatii or Hungarici but by the Natives of this Country call'd commonly Jablunka Amongst these Hills the Silesians find the chief treasure of their Great Dukedom having here a great many Mines of Silver and Lead The Miners that inhabit these parts are call'd by their neighbours Die Walachen and are a sort of people much more rough and rustical then the rest of the Silesians A vast company of these Bores in the year 1643 revolted from the Imperialists and fled to the Swedish Army but were not long after reclaim'd The other row of mountains are on the South and divide the Dukedom of Teschen from the Marquisate of Moravia These Hills the Natives call Gesencke but Latin Authors make them a part of the Sudetes and name them Montes Moravici These latter do not afford that plenty of Ore which is found in the former but are tolerably well stock'd with Minerals and some Metals and supply what they fall short of the other in this kind with huge flocks of Sheep which are here pastur'd Other Towns of note in the Dukedom of Teschen are Bielitz Freystattlein Friedick Jablunke which has its name from the Eastern row of mountains abovemention'd Nistkow Strummen Skotschau and Schwartzwasser Some add Lassla with whom agrees J. Scultetus's Map of Silesia but this Town ought rather to be referr'd to the Dukedom of Troppau X. The County and City of GLATZ AMongst the Montes Sudetes lies the County of Glatz County being bounded on the South with Moravia on the West with Bohemia and on the East and North with the Great Dukedom of Silesia For which reason modern Geographers have been at a stand to determine which of the three Nations they should refer it to some of them making it a part of the Kingdom of Bohehemia others esteeming it a petty Province of the Marquisate of Moravia and a third sort who seem to have most probability on their side call it a Silesian County It s ancient inhabitants are thought to have been the Marsigni in whose days the City of Glatz was call'd Luca. After them the Hungarians got possession of this and the neighbouring Provinces and kept it till the Emperor Henry I. routed them and hang'd up their chief Commander in one of the Forests of this County From this great Hungarian Warriour whose name is said to have been Glozar the City of Glatz or Glotz was first named tho other Etymologists think its ancient name to be Klotz which signifies properly the root and trunk of a Tree but is sometimes taken for a large Forest or Copse of Shrubs such as they tell us once grew in the place where Glatz now stands The Nobility of this County have a tradition amongst them that before their Land was conquer'd by Henry the First and made Christian this County was immediately subject to the Emperors of Germany by whom 't was afterwards bestow'd on the Kings of Bohemia M. George Aelurius in his Chronicle of the City and County of Glatz printed in the year 1625 says that 't was as his Countrymen affirm subject at first to the Emperors but afterwards won and enjoy'd for some time by the Princes of Poland from whom the Bohemians took it and as appears from the Records of that Kingdom were Masters of it in the years 1074 and 1114. After this the Dukes of Silesia made themselves Lords of the County of Glatz which within a while return'd to the Kings of Bohemia and then back again to the foresaid Dukes In this state it continued till the days of the Emperor Charles the Fourth in whose reign it was once more subjected to the King of Bohemia And thus it continued till King George about the year 1460 bestow'd the Cities of Glatz Munsterberg and Franckenstein upon his own Sons who thereupon had the Titles of Dukes of Munsterberg and Earls of Glatz conferr'd on them by the Emperor Frideric IV. In the year 1500 the Dukes of Munsterberg sold this Country to Vlric Earl of Hardegg whose successors within less then forty years after sold it again to the Emperor Ferdinand I. who bestow'd it on the Lords of Bernstein From them it descended A. D. 1549 upon Ernest Duke of Bavaria after whose death it return'd again to the Kings of Bohemia in whose possession it continues to this day The Commodities of this Country are Iron Coal Silver-Ore Timber all sorts of Venison and tame Cattel Butter Cheese c. How rich the Country is may hence easily be gather'd that not many years ago the King of Bohemia's Stewards and Rent-gatherers have been known to bring into their Master's Coffers near forty thousand Ricxdollars yearly out of this one County The City of Glatz is a neat and compact Town 〈◊〉 seated in a pleasant plain on the banks of the Neisse but fortified with a strong Castle on the top of a neighbouring Hill which overlooks and commands the Town The great Church is said to have been formerly the Temple of an Idol worshipp'd by the ancient inhabitants of these parts in which as Aelurius tells us the young maids of the Country used to nail up their hair against the walls as was the custom amongst the ancient Romans and that not many years ago several of these kind of Tabulae Votivae were still to be seen The Charter of their City permits their Magistrates to coin money in their own names but they seldom make use of the priviledg any further then to give abroad a kind of small coin little better then the farthings and half-pence lately currant by the authority of no better man then an ordinary Grocer or Chandler in most of our Market-Towns in England Besides Glatz there are the following nine great Towns in this County Havelswerd Neurode Winschelburg Mitselwald Reinertz Lewin Landeck Beurath and Wilhelmsthal or Neustatl besides an hundred fair Villages and upwards MARCHIONATVS MORAVIAE Auct I. Comenio Excudebat Janssonio-Waesbergä Moses Pitt et Stephanus Swart Notularum explicatio Vrbs muris cincla Oppidum Pagus turritus Arx Zamek Castellum â—â—â—z Pagi innominati Monasterium Vinetorum colles Thermae seu aquae medicale Officinae â—â—â—â—aria Auri et Argenti fodinae Ferri fodinae THE MARQUISATE OF MORAVIA MORAVIA is commonly in the Bohemian writers preferr'd before Silesia altho this later be a Dukedom and the other no more then a Marquisate The reason of which preeminence must be ascrib'd either to this Marquisate's having been anciently a Kingdom or else to its being made subject to the Kings of Bohemia before ever the Silesians embraced their yoke The Germans call this Country Mahren and some of their writers would have it nam'd Mehrhenland or Equarum Regio imagining the true Etymology of the word to come from the multitude of Horses or Mares bred in this Marquisate But certainly the word Moravia which is undoubtedly of the same offspring with the
Regem honorasse dicuntur From all which it apears that there is something extraordinary in this Myrrh or call it what else you please which well merits the view and study of a curious Physiologist The Country Rusticks believe there is this strange vertue in this Mineral for so I think I may venture to name it that it puts to flight all manner of Serpents and amongst the rest that old Serpent the Devil Aeneas Sylvius who for having penn'd so many true stories was at last judg'd fit to sit in St. Peter's Chair 〈◊〉 of 〈◊〉 and become an infallible Pope calls the Moravians Gentem ferocem rapinarum avidam ut quae tum iter non nisi armato potentiorique praebeat And most Travellors brand their barbarous inhumanity or at least incivility to strangers The Hanaks especially or Bores that live along the banks of the River Hana are said to be notoriously guilty of this crime but these are by the gentiler sort of Moravians themselves contemn'd and scouted as a pack of barbarous and ill bred Lowts The true character of the Moravians in general is that they are men of exemplary obedience and fidelity to their Governors free and open in conversation and therefore apter to be deceiv'd then to impose upon they are not easily provok'd to be angry but when once enraged hardly appeas'd not guilty of too much wit in discourse but rational enough hardy in the Camp and valiant in fight faithful observers of their promises and compacts and abhorrers of baseness and meanness of spirit They are indeed too apt to give credit to old Prophesies a folly observ'd in the inhabitants of our own Island and a little given to drinking and carousing but are not so superstitious nor so great drunkards as they are represented to be by the satyrical pens of some Geographers Their language I mean that which is ordinarily spoken by the Country-Rusticks Langâ—â—â—â— for the Nobility and Citizens speak generally High Dutch is a Dialect of Slavonian and little different from the Bohemian of which more anon The Moravians are said to have been first converted to Christianity by St. Cyril and Meludius Religâ—â—â—â— assisted by some other pious Doctors and Fathers of the Church Soon after the Reformation had been set on foot in Bohemia by John Huss a good part of Moravia began to throw off the Pope's yoke and to profess the purer and undefiled Religion of the primitive Christians and Apostles But John de Praga at that time Bishop of Olmitz and afterwards Cardinal of the Church of Rome so vigorously oppos'd the endeavours of all that labour'd to carry on the Reformation in this Marquisate that during his time it never got any deep rooting Afterwards during the Reigns of George Vladislaus and Ludowic Kings of Bohemia Popish Idolatry and Superstition was wholly extirpated and the Reform'd Religion unanimously profess'd in all the Cities and great Towns of Moravia But to see the unhappy consequents of Toleration and Liberty of Conscience as soon as the Synod at S. Brinn which met in the year 1608 to settle the affairs of Religion had made this Edict Vt liceret omnibus credere prout cuique Deus dat cognoscere i.e. That every man should have power and license to regulate his Faith according to the measure of knowledg which God had given him each Cobler set up for a Preacher of the Word and an Expounder of Scriptures Whereupon the Church was immediately confounded and broken into an irreconcilable medly and hotchpotch of Sects and Schismaticks Hussites Picards Anabaptists Arrians Flaccians Trinitarians Photinians Lutherans Calvinists Dulcians Lugentians c. So that no less then fourteen several Conventicles had assembled themselves in one City each of them asserting peculiar Doctrines and Tenets of their own and denying all manner of Communion in Church-Ordinances with the other thirteen Now what could be expected from this Anarchy in the Reformation but the reestablishment of Popery which accordingly hapned For soon after Frideric the King of Bohemia's Forces were overthrown by the Emperor Ferdinand II. at Prague in the year 1620 Francis Cardinal of Districhstein and Bishop of Olmitz found it a very easie matter to root out the divided and mutinous members of the Reform'd Church and to replant his own Doctrines and Church-Discipline After which some scatter'd parcels of the Reformed party lay skulking amongst the Rocks and Mountains on the borders of Silesia for some years but durst never appear in publick and within a while after dwindled into nothing The Kings of Moravia for 't was anciently a Kingdom were once the greatest Potentates in this part of Europe having for some time under their subjection the Kingdoms of Bohemia and Poland About the year of Christ 700 Zuantacop King of Moravia being at the same time Lord of the Dukedoms of Bohemia Poland and Silesia refused to pay Tribute or Homage to the Emperor of Rome who falling in upon his Country to demand satisfaction for this insolence was forced to make a dishonourable retreat But resolving not to endure this disgrace he rallies up his scatter'd forces and calls in to his assistance the Hungarians an infidel people who before that time were aw'd by the Moravians and kept from committing any outrages upon the christian-Christian-Countries By the help of these Heathens the Emperor routed Zuantacop's Army forcing him to fly for shelter into the neighbouring Woods where he associated himself to an Hermite with whom he spent the residue of his days By this means Bohemia Moravia and Silesia came to be disunited and parcell'd into four different Dukedoms which were reckon'd so many Provinces of the Roman or German Empire Some ages after the Dukedom of Moravia degenerated into a Marquisate which name it still retains altho a great part of it be at this day immediately fubject to the Crown of Bohemia and the rest broken into a few petty Baronies and Lordships The chief Cities and great Towns in MORAVIA OLMITZ 〈◊〉 or Olomutium which Ortelius with whom agree Stephanus and Bertius fancies to be the same place with Ptolomy's Eburum is the Metropolis of Moravia and the only Bishop's See in the Marquisate 'T is not very large but neatly and well built and seated in a convenient place on the banks of the River Morawa to maintain a Trade with the Merchants of Bohemia Hungary Poland Silesia and Austria The Antiquaries of this Country are of opinion that Olmitz or Olmutz is nothing but a corruption of Juliomontium and thence conclude that the Town was first built and so it was as sure as either the Tower at London or Castle at Leyden by Julius Cesar But how then came it to be call'd Velgrad as Boregius proves 't was when King Suatopluck built himself a Palace here St. Cyril the great Apostle of this Country who liv'd about the year 880 was the first Bishop of this Diocess He was the Author as Aventinus affirms of the old Wendish or Crcation
Brunsberg which drawing together some considerable numbers of people obliged him soon after to wall the place round and turn it into a City 6. EWANCZITZ 〈◊〉 seated at the confluence of the two Rivers Iglaw and Oslaw both which here lose their names and are afterwards call'd Schwartza This City was once notorious for harbouring more different Sects in Religion then almost any other Town in Europe The Parish Church was divided by the two prevailing parties of Hussites and Lutherans both of which had here the exercise of their inconsistent forms of Divine Worship at the same time One of their streets was wholly inhabited by Jews who had erected in it a Synagogue and School for themselves and children Without the Gates of the City the Calvinists had two Churches the one for the Bohemians the other for the Germans and these shar'd with the Hussites and Lutherans in the Magistracy and Government of the City Another part of the Suburbs was taken up by the Holy Brethren of Switzerland a pack of nominal Christians who never were baptized thought it a damnable sin to wear a Sword and celebrated the Lord's Supper only at Whitsuntide The Photinians Atheists and Quakers for such kind of creatures I take the Schwenckfelder to have been who denied the resurrection of the dead met at their devotions on the banks of a Fountain in the field At a small Village nam'd Olekowitz about half an English mile out of the Town dwelt the Anabaptists who were about four hundred in number But this ridiculous toleration and distraction in Religion came to this issue at last that now all those various parties of people who all of them pretended to be true Protestants are cashier'd and none permitted the free exercise of their Religion but Jews and Papists To these we might add a great many more Cities if what Caspar Laudisman in his Directions for the speedy understanding of foreign Languages affirms it be true that there are in this Marquisate 100 Cities 410 Towns 500 Castles and 30360 Villages Which prodigious number of buildings would go near to cover almost all the habitable part of this Country But I think there are few more then we have already mention'd which deserve to be taken notice of any further then to give them room for their names in the Map BOHEMIA Notarum Explicatio Caritas Regia libera Oppidum Regis Bohemia Oppida â—â—â—inum et Nobil … Pagus Arx Castellum Monasterium Oppidum cum Arce Fodine Auri Fodine argenti Fodine Stanni Fodine ferri Therme Officina Vitriaria Nomina quae habent tri … in … nt Bohemica THE KINGDOME OF BOHEMIA BOHEMIA is bounded on the East with Moravia and Silesia on the West with Voitland the Upper Palatinate and the Dukedom of Bavaria on the South with the Arch-Dukedom of Austria and on the North with the Marquisates of Misnia and Lusatia Whence the learned Godalstus in that excellent Treatise of his entituled Commentarii de Bohemiae Regni incorporatarumque Provinciarum Juribus ac Privilegiis c. well argues that this Kingdom must needs have been anciently a branch of the German Nation and ought still to be so accounted since all the people that encompass it speak the High Dutch language The whole Kingdom is encompass'd round with Mountains the chief of which are the Montes Riphaei or Hills of Giants which part this Land from Silesia Out of these spring the great River Elb issuing out of two of them famous heretofore for the enchantments and apparitions of evil Spirits that used to haunt them One of these two is now adays named by the Silesian Germans that live near it Schneekippe from the continual Snow on the top of it and the other Knieholtz from the short shrubs or brush wood that grows there The other Rivers of note are the Eger Muldau Satzawa Orliecze Lusinitz Gyzera and Mise all which spring within the Kingdom and are at last emptied into the Elb at Dietzin Most of these run in a clear Channel and afford great plenty of fish In some of them the Natives find a sort of shell-fish much like a Horse-Muscle with a Pearl in it of good value such as those are which Mr. Cambden tells us ly gaping at the mouth of the River Irt in Cumberland In several parts of Bohemia especially at Teplitz and Wary both which have their names from the hot Baths there found spring Mineral and Medicinal waters which exceedingly refresh the body and cure many distempers The acid waters at Oegran and Comorzan are accounted mighty soveraign against many diseases and there was not many years ago a Fountain of as great credit at Stechowicz near Prague The like is still to be met with at Benessow near Caplicze which for the cures it has perform'd has got the name of Dobra Woda or good water There are no Lakes in the Kingdom Ponds excepting only one or two near the Towns of Mosta and Tepla of little or no moment But the Fish-ponds in many places seem to equal the Lakes in foreign Countries Witness those petty fresh water Seas at Pardubicz Clumecz Trzebon Rozdialowicz and Copydlan where the Ponds abounding with Perch Jack Carp and other fish bring their Masters in as large Revenues as so many good Lordships The Soil of the Country is generally fat and arable in few places barren or sandy Commodities You have here also fine Woods and Forests intermix'd but none so large as to render any considerable part of the Kingdom uninhabitable The Orchards and Gardens are so well stock'd with fruit that yearly great quantities of Apples Pears c. are hence exported into Misnia and other neighbouring Countries The inhabitants have Wine enough if the luxury of the present age did not want greater supplies then nature in their own Vineyards which is reckon'd a better bodied liquor then Moravian Wine and equals the Austrian in taste but is not capable of being kept to so good an age The Fields and Meadows are richly stock'd with all manner of Cattel especially Horses of more then ordinary courage and bulk Their Hop-gardens afford them a better and more plentiful crop then is usual in other Countries For which reason their Beer whereof they have two sorts white and brown is highly valued and exported into the neighbouring parts of Germany There have been some Salt-pits discover'd in Bohemia but so inconsiderable that they found the profit would not answer the cost of digging And therefore the Bohemians have their Salt out of Misnia and other Provinces of Germany But this want is sufficiently recompens'd by their rich Mines of Silver Copper Tin Iron Lead Sulphur Niter c. as also by their Glass and Allum made here in great quantities They pretend to have Carbuncles Ametheists and other precious stones in their Land which they say are often found in the Mines and amongst the Rocks of the Hill Countries Anselm Boetius Boodt whom we had occasion to mention in the description of
Moravia has written a particular Treatise entituled Historia Lapidum Gemmarum Bohemiae to which we refer the Reader for a further account of these Rarities Jaspers and Saphires they tell us are found near the source of the Elb in the mountains before mention'd call'd by the Bohemians Krakonosse Goldastus thinks the Hermiones were the ancient inhabitants of this Country Ancient Inhabitants a branch whereof he makes the Hermunduri who at first dwelt among the Riphaean mountains but afterwards descended lower These people were driven out of the Land by the Boii who made an inroad into this Country under the command of their General Sigovesus Nephew to Ambigatus an ancient King of the Celts Micraelius a learned Pomeranish Historiographer believes these men were not a branch of the Galli Senones as most modern Antiquaries imagine but rather of the Semnones the old inhabitants of Pomeren This people whensoever they came having about the year 600 setled themselves in these parts extirpated the Nation of the Hermiones so far as to call the Land after their own names Boien heimat or the dwelling-place of the Boii which was in time corrupted into the modern German name Boheim or Boheimb About the birth of our Saviour the Marcomanni or ancient Moravians rush'd in upon the Boii and so far over-power'd them as to make them quit their quarters and seek out a new habitation which they nam'd Boioaria and is now call'd Bavaria However they were not so totally routed but that a great many of them kept their old station and mix'd themselves with their Conquerors as no question vast numbers of the Hermiones and Hermunduri had done with them before The modern Bohemians call their Country Czechowe and themselves Czechowsky and these words the Hungarians and new Greeks make use of being utter strangers to the German names of Boheimb and Bohmische Those amongst them that do allow of this latter name derive it from Boy signifying in their language War or Buch that is God and Muz i. e. Man Intimating that they are a valiant and pious people See the like fancy in the derivations of the words Teutcsch and German p. 5 and 6. Answerable to this Etymology of their name are the manners of the present inhabitants of this Kingdom Manners if we may give credit to their own Historians and some late Travellers who have for some time convers'd with them and had the opportunity of observing their humours They are represented to be men of great Hospitality and Courage faithful observers of their promises and contracts They are exceedingly given to ape the manners and fashions of Foreigners according to the true character long since given of them Eosdem habet cum simia Mores ferox Bohemia Quae facta viderit facit Cultusque priscos abjicit And therefore 't was an ingenuous fancy of the Painter who having drawn the inhabitants of most Countries in Europe in their proper Habits pictur'd a Bohemian naked with a web of Cloth at his feet and all other requisites for the making up of a Suit Intimating that he could not tell what certain fashion to make his Clothes on but left it to himself to make them after the next new mode he should fancy That small handful of men that Zechus the Slavonian Commander brought into Bohemia 〈◊〉 some time for Authors cannot agree upon the year nor age in the fourth fifth or sixth Century from whom the modern Bohemians love to derive their pedigree were a company of poor and honest people folk that had nothing themselves and wanted the knavery to rob those that had Now as long as they continued in this state of innocence they had no need of Magistrates nor Laws but liv'd 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in a sociable community and had their little All equally distributed among them In this condition they remain'd for some years after Zechus's death till the Moravians and Pannonians disturbed their quiet and taught them the first rudiments of Villany As soon as they were once initiated in wickedness they were forc'd to take new measures and to think of constituting some chief Magistrate to punish offenders Whereupon they pitch'd upon one Crocus an old Gentleman of a something longer head as 't was fancied then the rest of his neighbours to be their Governor They had not yet any written Laws amongst them but their Judg for so Crocus and some of his Successors are stiled by the Bohemian writers was to determine all controversies by the known Customs of the Land In extraordinary cases which would not easily be decided by this sort of Common Law there sat on the Bench with the Judg for fear of arbitrary and illegal proceedings if one man should be invested with the sole power of pronouncing sentence a certain number of Senators or Aldermen who had definitive Votes as well as himself With this kind of Pretorian Authority 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Justice was administred by Crocus his Son of the same name and his Grand-daughter Libussa until Primislaus whom Libussa had married took upon him a more absolute command and got the Title of Duke or Commander in chief This man was as Florus says of Lucins Quinctius Dictator ab arato a poor Country-Farmer whom Libussa advanced out of the dirt to her own bed and therefore like the foremention'd Roman General knew better how to keep the headstrong Bohemians like so many Oxen under the yoke Thus was the Land govern'd by the children and successors of Primislaus and Libussa about four hundred and fifty years until the Emperor Henry IV. having call'd a General Diet of the Estates of the Empire at Mentz created Wratislaus Duke of Bohemia King of the same Nation by settling with the Pope's permission a Crown of Gold upon his head This was done in the year 1082 tho some will have it 1072. From that time forward the Emperors of Germany always lay claim to the Right of Investing the Kings of Bohemia as their Vassals and made it their business to perswade the poor people of that Kingdom to rebel against any Monarch tho never so duly Elected into the Throne who had not receiv'd the Regalia as they call them or Badges of Majesty at the Emperor's hands So that Frideric V. Grandfather to the present Elector Palatine of the Rhine and Father to our Prince Rupert was never like quietly to enjoy the Crown of Bohemia however just his pretensions to it might be so long as the Emperor Ferdinand his Competitor refus'd to confirm him Most of the Catalogues of the Kings of Bohemia are so contradictory one to another 〈◊〉 that 't will be a difficult task to pick out of them a true Register of the names of these Princes The best account I know of which has been given of them is the ingenious Paul Stransky's in his Respublica Bojema printed at Leyden 1643. The present King is Leopold I. Emperor of Germany whose character must be reserv'd for another place The
part are to be seen the ruins of the ancient Palace of the Dukes and Kings of Bohemia There is still standing a great part of the walls round this Palace the cement whereof is so good that hardly any Engine can be invented which will pull them down The Jesuits of late years have built here a new College for themselves which goes beyond the other they had before in the Old Town 3. The Little Town or Kleine Seiten as they sometimes call it lies on the West side of the Muldau over which you pass by a stately Stone-bridg of sixteen Arches In this place stands Winceslaus's Palace wherein the Emperor when he comes to Prague keeps his Court. Some have ventur'd to affirm that as good High Dutch is spoken in this Palace and by the neighbouring Burgers as in any City of Germany But he that shall curiously and critically enquire into the truth of this assertion will find that the Language here spoken falls as far short of the pure Misnian Dialect as this Palace does of the Elector's Court at Dresden Not far from hence is the Cathedral of this Archbishopric dedicated to St. Vite from the top of which you have the best prospect of the City of Prague At Weissenberg or the white Hill near Prague was fought the fatal battel between the Duke of Bavaria and Count Bucquoy Lieutenant of the Emperor Ferdinand the Second's Forces and Frideric Count Palatine of the Rhine and elected King of Bohemia in which the new King was conquer'd his Forces totally routed his Ordnance seized on and himself and his Queen our King Charles the Martyr's Sister forced to fly into Silesia Prague was forced to resign it self up immediately into the hands of the Emperor who soon after rooted out all maintainers of the Protestant Religion throughout the Kingdom Some Historians have taken notice that of the Gospel appointed to be read on the day whereon was fought this Battel which was the twenty-third Sunday after Trinity A. D. 1620 this Text Render to Cesar the things that are Cesars is a part Which is as observable as the Church of England's appointing the 27th Chapter of Matthew to be read the second Lesson on the thirtieth of January whereon our late King suffer'd Martyrdom II. EGRA Egra◠a great City on the borders of the Palatinate is call'd by the Bohemians Chebbe but by the Germans that inhabit it Egra from the River upon which 't is seated It was made an Imperial City by the Emperor Frideric I. in the year 1179 in remembrance of the fidelity of the Burgers to that Emperor in opposing Henry Duke of Bavaria who had overrun the greatest part of this Country It is walld with a double sometimes with a tripple wall and defended by an almost impregnable Castle The Market-place is surrounded with very fair buildings and some of their Churches make a good show Bertius and Ens speak of strange cures perform'd by the waters issuing out of a Fountain in the Suburbs of this City The Well they mention is not in the Suburbs but about two English miles from the Town Its waters are something salt and brinish but very cool and clear They are said to cure all infirmities in the Eyes Ears or other parts of the head and many other cures are wrought by their purging and cleansing the body Jac. Theodorus Tabernaemontanus gives us an account of some strange feats wrought by them in his Book entituled Wasser-Schatz printed at Frantfurt A. D. 1584. And Paul Macasius publish'd a whole Treatise about the nature and vertues of these Egrish waters in the year 1616. Some Antiquaries pretend to prove that the old name of this City was Sourstad from these bitter waters But we can expect no great faithfulness in the account of its Antiquities since the City with all its Records perish'd in the flames A. D. 1270. Other Cities of note are 1. Budweiss a fair and large Town not far from the borders of Austria 2. Kuttenberg a Mine-Town on the Elb. Elnbogen a strong Town on the borders of Misnia call'd usually the Bohemian Key to the German Empire 4. Thabor in the way betwixt Prague and Budweiss whence the Picarts got the name of Thaborites Leimiritz Augst Bern Bruck Gretz Maut Hoff Jaromir Pilsen c. are no better then ordinary Market-Towns FRANCONIAE Nova Descriptio Sumptibus Jansonio-Waesbergiorum Mosis Pitt et Stephani Swart Reverendissim o Illustrission Principi ac Domino Dnō FRANCISCO Episcopo Bambergensi Wirceburgensi Franciae Orientalis Duci Domino suo clementissimo humillime offert Nicolaus Rittershusius U. I. D. THE Great Circle OF FRANCONIA FRANCONIA is the chief of the Ten great Circles or Districts into which the German Empire is usually divided This District sends to the Diets the Bishops of Wurtsburg Eichstadt and Bamberg the Counts of Henneberg Wertheim c. with several other Princes Spiritual and Temporal besides the Deputies of the Imperial Cities of Noremberg Rottenburg Winsheim and Schwinfurt 'T is bounded on the South with Schwaben and Bavaria on the West with the Rhine and the Lower Palatinate on the North with the Landgraviate of Thuringen and on the East with the Kingdom of Bohemia The Country has undoubtedly its name from the Franks its ancient inhabitants whom some Historians make a remnant of the old Trojans who at first being expell'd their own Country by the Grecians seated themselves upon the Sea-shore near the mouth of the Danubius These Sicambri for so they were then call'd being beaten from their hold by the Goths were forc'd to seek out new habitations and at last about 430 years before Christ fix'd themselves under the command of their General Marcomir on the banks of the Rhine in Westphalia Frisland and Gelderland all which Countries were afterwards compris'd under the General name of Sicambria About four hundred years after they named themselves Franci after the name of their great Commander Francus who led them beyond the Rhine and subdued for them the greatest part of Gallia which they nam'd Franckric the Germans call it still Franckreich or the Kingdom of the Franks Others say that the Franks were not one particular people but that the Vbii Mattiaci Juhones Sicambri Tencteri Vsipetes Marsi Marsaci Tubantes Bructeri Chamavi Angrivarii Dulgibini Chassuarii Ansibarii Frisii Chanci Cherusci Gambrivii and some other branches of the German Nation united themselves into one Body by a solemn League and Covenant as the only means to secure themselves against the growing power of the Roman Emperors Having thus link'd themselves together they took as the Almans had done before them one common name calling themselves Francken which in their language signified as Freyen in the modern High Dutch a free people as we find in our ancient Law-books Francisia for freedom Franciscare to set at liberty and Franchises is a word still commonly used for liberties About three hundred and sixteen years after Christ there was great contest between the Thuringians and Schwabes
which the former thought to put an end to by calling in the King of the Francks to their assistance and desiring him to plant a Colony of his Soldiers betwixt them and their enemies These proposals Clodomir then King of France readily assented to and immediately dispatch'd his Brother Genebald with a great Army to take possession of their promised Dominions Accordingly Genebald and his men fix'd themselves in Maingow the ancient name of the Territories round Wartsburg and in a short time made themselves masters of all that Country which from them retains to this day the name of Franconia The two chief Rivers of this Land are the Mayn and the Sala Rivers whereof the former springs out of two Fountains amongst the Hills on the borders of Bohemia and passing by Bamberg Hassfurt Schweinfurt Kitzingen Wurtzburg Wertheim and Francfurt is swallow'd by the Rhine at Mentz The German Geographers give this account of these Rivers Maenus Pater dicitur quia rubrum album Maenum generat Maritus Salae baec autem Vxor dicitur Maeni Mater quoniam octo liberos habet fluvios minores This Country is encompass'd with Woods and Mountains Soil but has not in it any Hills of extraordinary height There are in it several Forests and Parks well stockt with Deer wild Boares and other sorts of Game Most of the Hills especially along the banks of the Rivers Mayn and Tauber are cover'd with Vines which yeild as delicate and rich a Wine as the best Vineyards upon the Rhine The fields about Bamberg are wonderfully fruitful in all manner of grain besides their great plenty of Grapes Apples and other fruit Licorise grows so plentifully hereabouts that 't is ordinarily carried off the field in Waggon-loads The Bambergers have also great store of Saffron and Melons and hardly want any thing that 's pleasant or necessary The Circle of Franconia is usually divided into six lesser Principalities Division whereof four are subject to Spiritual and two to Temporal Princes The four Spiritual Princes are the Bishops of Bamberg Wurtzburg and Eeichstad and the Master of the Teutonic Order The first of these hath the preeminence and challenges a kind of Archiepiscopal Jurisdiction over the rest The Bishop of Wurtzburg is a more potent Prince then any of the rest tho inferior in place to Bamberg The Bishop of Eichstad has no large Dominions in Franconia the most of his Territories lying within the bounds of Bavaria and Schwaben The great Master of the Teutonic Order has now little left but the bare Title to a few Bailiwicks which seldom or never take notice of him for their Governour The two Temporal Princes are the Burggraves of Noremberg who are two Princes of the House of Brandenburg Besides these there are some more petty Counties and Lordships subject to other Princes of the Empire As Hennenberg is under the Government of the Elector of Saxony and the Duke of Weimar and several others places swear fealty to the Elector of Mentz The old Francick Dialect Language or Lingua Theotisca is the true mother of the modern High Dutch the word Theotisca being nothing else then a corruption of Die hogh Deutsch in opposition to Die nieder Deutsch spoken in Westphalia and the Lower Saxony M. Goldastus has taken care to preserve several fragments of Records Diplomata c. written many ages ago in this tongue and Martin Opitz the Virgil of Germany as he is usually stil'd publish'd the life of Anno Archbishop of Coln in the same Dialect A. D. 1639. Otfrid's Historia Evangelica written in old Francic near 900 years ago was published at Basil in the year 1571 and Willeramus the Abbot of Mersburg's Paraphrase upon the Canticles at Leyden A. D. 1598. Upon which the learn'd Fr. Junius F. F. published his incomparable notes at Amsterdam 1655. Since which time Mr. Lambecius the Emperor's Library-keeper at Vienna has made public several scraps in his curious History of some Rarities in the Imperial Library And Mr. Junius before mention'd has lately bequeath'd a noble Collection of the like monuments of Antiquity to our public Library at Oxford Amongst which the choicest is Tatian's Harmonia Evangelica illustrated with Mr. Junius's Notes and design'd for the Press WURTZBURG call'd by Bede Wirceburg Wurtzburg by Sigebert Wirtiburgum and Wirtziburgum by Trithemius Paepolis and Marcopolis but by most of the modern Latin Historians and Geographers Herbipolis is the Metropolis of Franconia and has its name as most imagine from the variety of all manner of Herbs Wurtzen growing in this place Conradus Celtes the first Poet Laureat in Germany calls this City Erebipolis which word some derive from a certain Pagan God named Erebus never heard of by any Francic Antiquary I rather think that Poet's Works corrupted and Erebipolis carelesly written for Herbipolis I cannot but here take notice of Champerius's mistake who tho a learned man tells us in his Treatise de Mirabilibus Mundi that there are two Bishoprics in Germany subject to the Archbishop of Mentz to wit Wirceburgensis and Herbipogenensis Which is something akin to the blunder of a late Geographer who made two distinct Cities of Strasburg and Argentina 'T is by some fancy'd that the Palace at Wurtzburg was built long before the City because in the life of St Burchard the Palace is call'd Old Wurtzburg and the Town New Wurtzburg Andrew Goldmayer a whimsical Astrologer in this Town has given us this punctual account of its age Wurtzburg says he was built A. M. 3782 three years before the birth of our Saviour in the two and fortieth year of the reign of the Emperor Augustus in the twenty-sixth year of the reign of King Francus on the twenty-seventh of February about thirty-three minutes past eleven a clock in the forenoon But men less skill'd in calculation tho of better understanding then this Gentleman say 't was built by Genebald about the year of Christ 236. Bede calls it Pagus but by that word questionless intends to render the German word Gow which signifies a Province or County as well as a Village The Bishop has supreme Jurisdiction over the whole Town in Temporals as well as Spirituals and sits at his pleasure Judg in all Causes Civil and Criminal When he appears in public there is a Sword carried before him with this inscription Herbipolis sola judicat Ense Stola And when he says Mass there lies before him on the Altar a drawn Sword to put him in mind that to him belongs the execution of Justice throughout the whole Principality of Franconia The most remarkable sights in the Town next to the Bishop's Palace a stately structure on the top of an high hill beyond the River the Hospital and great College in the Gymnasium both of which are mighty regular and uniform buildings and equal most of our new built Colleges in Oxford BAMBERG is said to have been at first nam'd Babenberg Bâ—â— from Baba the Emperor
return'd promoters of Puritanism and rebellious Principles They arriv'd at Francfurt in June A. D. 1554 where by the favour of John Glauberge an Alderman of the City they were permitted the free exercise of their Religion in a Church formerly assign'd to the French Protestants Their chief Ring-leaders were Whittingham Williams Goodman Wood and Sutton who before they began to instruct their flocks took upon them to reform the Liturgy and Discipline of the Church of England The Surplice and Litany were cashier'd as rags of the Whore of Babylon and the Responsals laid aside as formal pieces of canting which disturb'd the due course of Divine Worship In short the whole Liturgy except the Lessons and Psalms was rejected as savouring too much of Rome and Antichrist Instead of the Magnificat Nunc dimittis c. they sung so many Stanza's of Sternhold's Rithms After Sermon they had a prayer for all states and conditions of men more particularly for the Church of England meaning their own Tribe in imitation of our prayer for the Church Militant and then concluded with The Peace of God c. The noise of this upstart Church wherewith Dr. Scory Bishop of Chichester now Superintendent at Embden Grindal Sandys and Haddon at Strasburg and Horn Chambers and Parkhurst at Zurick had refused to have communion drew Knox the Scotch Incendiary from Geneva in hopes of making a better market here then he could do in Switzerland Here he arriv'd about the latter end of September and immediately took upon him the Superintendency of the Church Whittingham and the other Divines submitting themselves to his Apostleship and Government This was highly resented by the Divines of Strasburg and Zurick who were well acquainted with Knox's principles and knew of what dangerous consequence the promotion of such a Hotspur was like to prove Whereupon Gryndal and Chambers were sent to Francfurt to endeavour a composure of differences and a reunion of all the English Protestants But their endeavours prov'd successless and vain tho they proposed that the substance of the English Liturgy being retain'd there might be by a general consent an omission of some ceremonies and offices in it allow'd of For Knox and Whittingham were as zealously bent against the substance as circumstantials of the Book In the midst of these confusions Dr. Cox Dean of Westminster and a principal composer of the Liturgy in King Edward the Sixth's days comes to Francfurt attended with a great many more English Exiles Upon his first arrival he causes one of his company to read the Litany in the Pulpit and not long after got Knox expell'd the Town for publishing some treasonable expressions against the Emperor Having thus worsted his adversary he was resolv'd to follow the blow which he did so effectually as to procure an Order from the Common Council of the City requiring all the English Protestants to be conformable to the Discipline of their Church as contain'd in the Book of Common Prayer But Cox tho at present Master of the Field was not able to appease the dissatisfied Brethren who follow'd Knox to Geneva and there set up the profession of their former Schismatical Tenents In short these scandalous ruptures first begun at Francfurt and afterwards carried on at Geneva occasion'd the irrecoverable discredit of our Church beyond Seas and were the first seeds of those lamentable animosities which to this day threaten our destruction The Territory of Francfurt which is under the subjection of the Citizens and Magistrates of the Town is bounded on the East with the County of Hanaw Territory on the South with the Landgraviate of Darmstat on the West with the Archbishopric of Mentz and on the North with the County of Wetteraw The soil is generally cover'd with Woods or Vineyards and there is little of arable or pasture ground in it The inhabitants of this Country are a laborious sort of people Inhabitants applying themselves chiefly to the planting of Vineyards and making Wine The poor people sell off their Wine and drink water having seldom the happiness to taste a draught of Beer It was indeed anciently a proverb in Germany Sachs Bayr Schwab und Franck Die lieben all den Tranck i. e. The Saxons Bavarians Swabes and Francks Are all inclin'd to excessive drinking But now adays that piece of debauchery is laid aside in Franconia and you shall seldomer meet with a drunkard here then in any other part of Germany The ancient Francks were men exceedingly plain and careless in their habit whence the Germans to this day say of any thing that 's plain and ordinary 't is gut Alt Franckisch but the case is alter'd and the modern Francfurters are rather foppish then slovenly in their Apparel In this they are still imitators of their Ancestors that they are a stout and hardy people which is enough to keep up that honour and repute which their Ancestors have got in foreign Nations The Asians call all the Europeans Francks and the Mahometans give the Western Christians the same name The Abyssines in Africa as Vagetius witnesses call the other part of the Christian World Alfrangues and the Country they inhabit i.e. Europe and some parts of Asia Francia The Principality of HENNEBERG HENNEBERG was formerly no more then a bare County the Earls whereof were first advanced to the honour of Princes of the Empire by the Emperor Henry VII in a public Convention or Diet of all the Estates of the Empire in the year 1310. The first of these Princes was Berthold surnam'd the Wise who was succeeded by Henry This Prince married his Daughter to Frideric Marquise of Misnia bestowing on her for a Dowry the County of Coburg The last Prince of this Line was George Ernest after whose death which hapned in the year 1583 the County of Coburg with the whole Principality of Henneberg fell into the hands of the Elector of Saxony 'T is a populous and fruitful Country 〈◊〉 bounded on the East with the Forests and Mountains of Thuringen on the South with the Bishopric of Bamberg on the West with the Diocess of Wurtzburg and on the North with the Territories annex'd to the Abbey of Fulda The Castle or Palace of Henneberg whence the Principality has its name is seated on the top of a Hill not far from the City Meiningen but has nothing in it remarkable SCHLEUSINGEN 〈◊〉 which has its name from the River Schleuss on which 't is seated is accounted the chief City in the County tho perhaps not in the Principality of Henneberg 'T is famous for a Gymnasium built here by the last Prince of Henneberg George Ernest A. D. 1577. 'T was for some time the chief Residence of the Earls and Princes of this Country many of whose monuments are still to be seen in the great Church Besides this the Towns of Romhilt Meinungen and Koningshoven challenge the name of Cities but very ill deserve that character We have already given a description of
Schweinfurt which some Geographers bring within the bounds of this Principality Schmalcad was once a part of this Principality but is not esteem'd so now PRINCIPATUS HENNENBERGENSIS COMITATVS WERTHEIMICI FINITIMARVMQVE REGIONVM NOVA ET EXACTA DESCRIPTIO Apud Janssonio-Waesbergios Mosem Pitt et Stephanum Swart The City and County of WERTHEIM IN the mouth of the Tauber on the banks of the Mayn is seated the City of Wertheim in a fruitful soil and good air The Citizens whose chief trade is in making Wine liv'd formerly in good credit till upon some disagreement between them and their Earls who endeavour'd to reestablish Popery in the Town they were brought to so great poverty and straits for the defence of their Religion that they have scarce been able to recruit themselves to this day However they still stick close to the Augsburg Confession and are zealous assertors of the honour of their Saint Luther The County of Wertheim which is a part of the old Francia Orientalis as lying on the South side of the River Mayn is bounded on the East with the Bishoprick of Wurtzburg on the South with the County of Hohenloe and the Palatinate on the West with the Silva Ottonica and on the North with the large Forest of Speshart This Province affords much more plenty of Corn then the Territories about Francfurt nor is it any way inferior to those for the goodness of its Wine The inhabitants have here good store of Meadows and Pasture-ground for Cattel which bring in yearly as great revenues as their best Vineyards They have no want of wild Fowl and are cloy'd with Venison Among the several Villages that have dependance upon the City of Wertheim Niclashausen the most remarkable is Niclashausen famous for the birth and education of one John Behaim who was burnt for an Heretick at Wurtzburg A. D. 1476. The occasion whereof was this The poor Bore being melancholy and crack-brain'd fancied daily that he saw in his melancholy and dumpish fits strange and terrible apparitions One time the Virgin Mary forsooth amongst his other spiritual guests gave him a visit and grew so familiar as to communicate to him several deep intrigues and secrets The choicest whereof was that there lay no obligation at all upon the Burgers of Wertheim to shew any manner of respect to their Earls or inferior Magistrates but that they were all as free and boundless as the Rivers that water'd their Country This was a plausible Doctrine in the ears of the Commonalty and needed but little Divine Revelation to authorize it so that Behaim had presently more proselytes then all the Preachers in the Country and would in a short time have perverted the greatest part of the County had he not early been overpower'd and prevented by the Bishop's forces Erpach Norimberg Hanaw c. are purposely omitted in this place tho parts of Franconia as being reserv'd for the second Volume of Germany THE County Palatinate OF THE RHINE DIE Pfaltz which is the ordinary German word for this County signifies no more then Palatium Name whereof Palatinus is only an Adjective Possessive Now how Palatium should be a name given to a County or Palatinus to an Earl we have already acquainted the Reader treating of the High Dutch Nobility in the General Description of Germany There are only at this day two Counties in the German Empire which are usually known by the name of Counties Palatinate whereof one the Upper Palatinate is part of the Dukedom of Bavaria and shall be treated of elsewhere About four or five hundred years ago Bounds very little of the Country about Huydelberg was reckon'd a part of the Lower Palatinate but most of the Cities in this neighbourhood were either Imperial or subject to some other Prince then the Counts Palatine who are now by Marriage Conquest or Purchase Masters of the Land Before the Bohemian Wars betwixt the Emperor and Frideric Count Palatine and the Civil Wars of Germany the Territories and Revenues of this Prince were large enough to make him more formidable then any of the other Electors But such were his misfortunes in those bloody Engagements that he lost both the Kingdom of Bohemia which he contended for and also all his own hereditary Dignities and Estates The Upper Palatinate was seized on by the Duke of Bavaria and the Lower conquer'd and subdued by the King of Spain By the Treaty of Munster the late Count Charles-Ludowic Son to the unfortunate King of Bohemia was restored to some part of his Father's Dominions in the Lower Palatinate but these are of no great extent and are still like to be lessen'd by the daily encroachments of the French King This Country is much the pleasantest part of the German Empire Soil and therefore 't is no great wonder that the neighbouring Princes have in all ages watcht an opportunity of getting it into their clutches The Hills are cover'd with Vines which yeild that rich Liquor known all Europe over by the name of Rhenish Wine The Plains and Valleys afford plenty of all manner of Grain and Fruit and the Forests are plentifully stock'd with Deer and other Game The Rhine passing thro the midst of the County gives a fair advantage of exporting the commodities of this and importing those of foreign Nations The Rivers Rhine and Neccar have store of Fish and the Hills want neither Mettals nor Minerals That part of the Lower Palatinate which lies on the Western banks of the Rhine 〈◊〉 was first conquer'd by the Romans and afterwards by the French of whose Kingdom it was a part but more immediately subject to the Earls of the Moselle Afterwards when the Kingdom of Lorrain came to be divided betwixt the Emperors of Germany and the Kings of France this Territory became a share of the German Empire but was still possess'd by the Prince of Moselle as before Upon the failure of that Family it fell under the more immediate power of the Emperors who for many good offices done them were pleased to bestow it on the Elector's Palatine By the same means they became Masters of the other part of this Country on the Eastern banks of the River upon extirpation of the House of Schwaben The present Elector Palatine is Count Charles 〈…〉 who was born on the last day of May in the year 1651 and was advanc'd to the Electorate upon the late death of his Father Charles-Ludowic A. D. 1680. He is a pious and learned Prince and treads much in the steps of his Father who possibly was considering the troubles he had undergone as learned a Prince as Europe afforded in his time The Revenues of this Elector's Ancestors are said to have amounted to 100000 pounds sterling yearly Nor can we well imagine them to have been less when only the Silver Mines about Amberg in the Upper Palatinate yeilded 60000 Crowns a year and the passage over one Bridg cross the Rhine brought in 20000 more To which if
we add the Revenue of all the Demesns immediately subject to these Princes and the Church-lands which after the Reformation were annex'd to the Electoral Estate we may probably find the sum arise much higher But now adays the case is alter'd and the greatest share of the Riches as well as Honours anciciently appropriated to this House is enjoy'd by the Duke of Bavaria The state of Religion 〈◊〉 both in the Upper and Lower Palatinate has been exceedingly chang'd and varied since the first introducing of the Augsburg Confession by Count Frideric II. For Frideric III. set up the Doctrine and Discipline of John Calvin which soon after his death was thrown out by Ludowic V. a restorer of Lutheranism His Son Frideric IV. brought the Calvinists once more in play for the satisfaction chiefly of his beggarly Courtiers who knew no readier way of raising their Fortunes then by invading the Tythes and Glebe with the other poor remainders of the Church's Patrimony By which means the Clergy being reduc'd says Dr. Heylin to miserable short stipends under the name of a Competency became so contemptible and neglected by all sorts of men that at last the Church of the Palatinate was in the same condition with the Church of Israel under the reign of Jeroboam when Priests were made out of the meanest of the people But a Church reduc'd to these straits was not like to be of any durable continuance but to end ere long in misery Accordingly the Bavarians and Spaniards soon after this havock made of the Church fell upon them and took away their ill-gotten Estates and starv'd Religion leaving in the place of the latter the Idolatry and Superstition of the Church of Rome which is to this day openly profess'd in most parts of the Elector Palatine's Dominions notwithstanding his own firm adherence to the Doctrines of the Calvinists The Chief Cities in the Lower PALATINATE HEYDELBERG is the Metropolis of the Lower Palatinate and as some would have it of all Swaben 'T is seated on the Neccar which parts Swaben and Franconia It has its name from a little sort of shrub resembling Myrtle the fruit whereof growing plentifully on the Hills round this City the Germans call Heidelbeeren whence Latin Authors write the name of this Town Myrtillorum mons and Myrtilletum 'T is compass'd round with Hills cover'd with Vines except only towards the West which way you have a good prospect over a large and pleasant plain The Town is neither large nor very populous its chief beauty consisting in one fair street set off with an uniform Market place The Elector's Palace on the ascent of the hill Konigstul which overlooks the whole Town is a stately Fabrick beautified with a great many delicate Gardens Grottoes c. Not far distant from which stands a strong Tower which for its fortifications and heighth is hardly to be parallel'd in the German Empire 'T was formerly call'd Trutzkayser or Defiance to the Emperor but since the restauration of the late Elector that disobliging name has been abolish'd and 't is now call'd from some new Works made round it in form of a Star Stern-schantz or Star-fort But the most remarkable thing in this Palace and indeed in Heydelberg is the great Wine-fat Great Tun mention'd by all that travel this Country under the name of the Tun at Heydelberg That which is now to be seen in an outer building near the Palace was built by the order of the last Elector Charles-Ludowic and far exceeds any of the former It contains above 204 Fudder of Wine which amounts to about 200 Tun of our English measure Instead of Hoops it is built with large Trees of knee Timber like the ribs of a Ship which have several Inscriptions painted and carv'd upon them and are supported by carv'd pedestals Upon one side of the Vessel you have a handsom Stair-case leading to the top where you meet with a Gallery set round with Ballisters three and forty steps from the ground Before the year 1664 in which year this was built the old Tun tho one of the wonders of the German Nation was not comparable to this 'T was encircled with great Hoops of Iron each of which are said to have weigh'd 12200 pound It contain'd only 132 Fudder of Wine and there were no more then seventeen steps to the stop The University was founded by Count Rupert in the year 1387 Vniversity tho some will needs have it ten years older and others near forty It is still much frequented and has given education to many eminent men in former days Witness R. Agricola Munster H. Buschius Xylander Paul Cisner Pacius Franciscus Junius P F. Smetius Freherus and Janus Gruterus In the great Church Library dedicate to the Holy Ghost was formerly kept the Elector's Library of which the learned Scaliger in one of his Epistles to Janus Gruterus gives this account Indicem Bibliothecae vestrae sedulo legi Locupletior est meliorum Librorum quam Vaticana One great part of this Collection was the Library of the Monastery of Sponheim to which says Trithemius in a Letter to Damius Curtensis A.D. 1507 no Library in the German Empire is worthy to be compar'd either for the rarity or multitude of Books especially its Manuscripts in the Hebrew Greek Latin Chaldaean Arabic Indian Russian Tartarian Italian French German and Bohemian languages But this Treasure of Learning was siezed on and plunder'd by the Spanish forces who took Heydelberg in the year 1620. At which time a considerable number of choice Books were trodden to dirt and the rest carried over the Alps to the Vatican where they may still be seen in a long Gallery over against the Duke of Vrbin's Library 2. WORMES Wormes tho more immediately subject to the Bishop of that place is reckon'd the second Town in the Lower Palatinate Freher a man admirably skill'd in the Antiquities of this Country says that 't was anciently the Metropolis of the Vangiones the old inhabitants of these parts and that within these few years was to be seen this Inscription in Capital Letters over the Peacock-Gate SPECULA VANGIONUM But Cluverius tells us it s old name was Bormitomagus or Borbetomagus corrupted afterwards into Vorvetomagus Vorvemagus Vormagia Guarmacia and at last Wormacia The Imperial Chamber was formerly kept here and in those days Worms was one of the most considerable Towns in the Empire Munster says that in his time 200 Cities Great Towns and Villages lay so near this City that their inhabitants could daily bring into Worms such provision as their Country afforded and return home at night to their respective dwellings But the many calamities which this place and the neighbourhood underwent in the Civil Wars of Germany and by the late incursions of the French forces not to mention the miseries they have suffer'd by the often rebellion of the Citizens against their Bishop have mightily alter'd the case and there is now nothing of
place sprung out of Hills of Allum Brimstone and Niter but their Waters are not so hot here as at Baden Drunk inwardly they have been known to cure Asthmaes and all manner of stoppage and shortness of breath as also old and inveterate Agues and Feavers By washing and bathing they cure the Itch Scab and Leprosie and are an excellent remedy against old sores and bruises Rotel Sponheim Susenburg and Mahlberg Badenweiler are places which have been formerly of some note by reason of the Castles or Palaces of some ancient Princes of the Empire who have borrow'd their Titles from the ancient Seat of their Family And hence the names of these old Towns are still registred in the Titles of the Marquises of Baden but otherwise they have nothing worthy of a description THE LANDGRAVIATES OF ALSACE ALSATIA or Elsass has its name in all probability from the River Ell or Ill which runs thorow it Whence Elsassen as the Germans call the inhabitants of this Country signifies no more then die an der Elle Sassen oder wohnen i.e. the people that dwell on the banks of the Elle Some I know would have the ancient name of the Country to be Edel-Sassen intimating a delicate and Noble Seat our Countryman Mr. Sheringham as we have elsewhere observed makes this a part of the Territories of the ancient Saxons and by them call'd Edel-Sassen or Noble as a piece of the richest and pleasantest ground they were masters of The Country is certainly as these later Etymologists would make it as rich and noble a Province as any in the German Empire and as plentifully stock'd with all manner of necessaries especially Corn and Wine The Hills are commonly cover'd with Chesnut-Groves and Leberthal with some other Valleys afford good store of Copper Lead and other Mettals In some places you meet with rich Meadows and fat Pasture-grounds which furnish the inhabitants with good Butter and a sort of Cheese equal if not preferable to the best in Holland 'T is bounded on the East with Schwaben and the Dukedom of Wirtenberg on the South with Switzerland on the West with the Dukedom of Lorrain and on the North with the County Palatinate of the Rhine The length of it is reckon'd at about twenty German miles tho the bredth scarce any where exceeds four This whole Land was formerly subject to the Kings of the Francks and by their King Hilderic bestow'd under the name of a Dukedom on his Favorite Etico in the year 684. Etico was succeeded by his Son Adelprecht who left his two Sons Linfrid and Eberhard Coheirs of the Dukedom After this the Dukes of this Country were driven out of their Dominions by Charles Martel Hofmeister or Lord Chamberlain of the Houshold to the King of France But in the days of the Emperor Otho I. the Counts of Kiburg the Emperor's Kinsmen got possession of Alsatia and as some will have it were made the first Landgraves of this Country Others say that 't was first divided into two Landgraviates in the reign of the Emperor Otto III. In whose time the Upper Alsace came first into the hands of the Counts of Hapsburg who from thenceforward were Lords of that part of the Country The Lower Alsace was afterwards by the Earls of Ottingen who got the possession of it after the decease of Henry its Landgrave without issue sold to the Bishop of Strasburg who is like to continue Master of it so long as the French King will give him leave Alsatia is usually divided into the Upper and Lower Alsace besides the lesser Territories of Ortenaw Brisgow Hagenaw Sungaw c. But most of these petty Provinces may be referr'd to the Upper Alsace and coming within the bounds of the Upper Landgraviate and the rest to the Lower The chief Cities and great Towns in the Lower ALSACE NEXT to Strasburg of which anon the chief Town in the Lower Alsace is Zabern Zabern or Elsasszabern as 't is sometimes call'd to distinguish it from the other two Cities of the same name one in the Palatinate and the other in Bergen 'T is thought to be the Tabernae mention'd by Antonine and Marcellinus one of the old Roman Garrisons demolish'd by the ancient Germans but rebuilt by Julian the Apostate The City is defended by a strong Castle on the top of a high Rock up to which you are led by a narrow and rugged way cut out of the hard craggy Mountain by William III. Bishop of Strasburg This Prelate and his successors have usually kept their Residence at Zabern where they had also erected a Court of Judicature for the decision of all Controversies arising within the Precincts of their Diocess but 't is thought that the French King who pretends to be Master of the place will employ the Castle otherwise hereafter 2. Weissenburg WEISSENBURG is an Imperial City but reckon'd a part of the Lower Alsace as being incorporated into the Province of Hagenaw Beatus Rhenanus says that 't was the Seat of the ancient Sebusii and therefore 't is call'd by Latin Authors Sebusium Dagobert King of France presented this City with a Crown of Silver gilt with Gold and adorn'd with a great many Turrets and other flourishes of Art whose diameter was four and twenty foot In remembrance of which noble present the Citizens had a Crown of Copper of the same bigness hung up in their great Church which continued there till in the late Civil Wars of Germany 't was broken in pieces by the Soldiery who siezed on it for good plunder The same King granted the Citizens of Weissenburg priviledg to hunt and fish within the compass of a certain circle which in some places reaches two German miles from the Town in others no more then one This Circle is in their Charter stiled Emunitas which the modern inhabitants of the place have corrupted into Mundat The Emperor Charles IV. made the Abbot of this place as well as of the Monasteries at Fulda Kempten and Murbach a Prelate of the Empire bestowing on him the Title of a Prince and allowing him to sit at his feet in all Diets and other public Assemblies of the States General of the Empire 3. Brisach The Imperial City Hagenaw is seated between the two Rivers Motter and Sorna about four German miles from Strasburg 'T is encompassed round with a sandy Soil and thick Woods but at some distance from the Town there are large and pleasant Corn-fields with good store of Vineyards It has anciently been reckon'd one of the four chief Villages of the German Empire and indeed it may now as properly as ever be term'd a Village since 't was burnt to the ground by the French Forces A. D. 1677 but had in it even in those days the supreme Court of Judicature for both the Upper and Lower Alsace Afterwards the Emperor Frideric I. wall'd it round beautifying it with a fair Palace wherein himself for some time kept his Residence and making it