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At the restaurant waiting for our orders. The lighting is quite interesting in there so I took out my M3 - not amusing to the others though! I thought by now, they have gotten used to my habits.
Leica M3 Wetzlar DS, Leica Summarit 5cm F1.5, Kodak Tmax400-2, 400TMY-2, Home development, Stand development, TMax 1/50th at 60 minutes, 6 minutes fix
Creator: R. Welch (Photographer)
Date: 1914
Original Format: Photographic Print
Description: Carding wool and spinning, Highlands, County Donegal
PRONI Ref: D1403_2~027~A
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66047 ‘Martime Intermodal Two’ waits the nod to set off with the 1022 6M86 Margam - Dee Marsh steel, with an assortment of wagons that will be deposited at Llanwern works enroute.
another of jans shots from the holiday ,i was told i had to post one of her kingfisher shots or else LOL
People are heading home to celebrate Eid Ul Fitr.Plenty of people sit on the roof of the train since there arent enough seats available(plus its free).
Members of the police force were instructing them to get down from the roof since it might end up in a fatal disaster on the way!
Railway station,Chittagong
The driver of 1964 gets his train orders from a member of the station staff at Canas Felgueira whilst working IR813 12.30 Lisboa Santa Apolonia to Guarda on Thursday 11th May 1995.
Townsend's Solitaire
Marion, MA
ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S20794491
I'M HAVING A SALE! (just in time for the holidays)
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Digital Art created from a selection of photographs and sections of photographs, for The Red House Museum Exhibition "Light, Time And Space".
Creator: H. Cooper (original photograph), Strabane & District Camera Club (modern image)
Date: c.1920 & September 2015
Original Format: Glass plate negative
Description: Street scene, Sion Mills.
PRONI Ref (of archival image): D1422/A/4/13/6
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The West Side Lumber Shay engine winds it's way out onto the High Bridge slowly; probably a good idea even though this duplicate of the original is substantial. More substantial that the Lobato testle on the CATS tourist line that sens the engime and helper across separately or the bridge on the DSP&PRR branch to Leavick, south of ForePlay in South Park. Neither the engineer or coalman would cross the bridge with the engine and resulted in some imaginative operations. Here the Shay engine displays its business side, vertical pistons and driven shaft.
The scenic Georgetown Loop Railroad, the GerBiL Line (GB&L), backed down to the lower terminal to drop passengers and swap the motive power to the front end. Don't ask why; there is no wye! This is the spot Eddie chose to climb to (even though the road goes beneath the bridge); you choose your own. A lot of pixels were flipped on this spot, I'd say! The golden color on the far mountain initially had me fooled until I realized it was not yellow aspen but tailings from old test bores. It looks like a good time is being had by all but that wide glide better watch out while viewing the camera display; she probably would not bounce off the asphalt below and I'd have to clean my camera and shirt. Here, the Eddie party just arrived down in Georgetown, Colorado and had a successful exercise of getting Eddie's Magic Underwear changed after the radical trek over Guano Pass with him driving while trying collectively to pop ear drums. Dang, and all along, I thought that underwear ought to have some kind of magic and here it really didn't! I think he ate too many gummy bears & M&Ms while driving! If only we all had the necessary talent required to wound his pride!
We were on a quest for the "High Bridge" at Georgetown, Colorado so it was, of course, up to me to point Eddie in the right direction. He can get lost on his own time and with Olivia calling him a "noodle," HE could lose all track of HIS attention. So much for a quiet afternoon discussion and train spotting. We spun around the parking area and found just the spot where we wanted to shoot the "High Bridge." Who'd of thunk it? Eddie originally thought it was impossible to get to it but (whoosh) here we are parked next to the road under the very bridge. What can I expect next for gooness sake?
Edward had his sights set on Como and then up Boreas Pass, expecting aspen. As usual, his mind wandered, well... most of what's there anyway. We ended up at the Como Cemetery and up Boreas Pass before he decide to investigate Guano Pass and Georgetown. Perhaps you are familiar with THIS Georgetown, Hotel de Paree? Another Colorado narrow gauge railroad and mining town of some importance. We got the best of the season packed onto our camera cards in one - "Flying Eddie Day."
Edwarski learned they will be running the Georgetown Loop train into November. It's beginning to look like the State Historical Society could finally make some money on something. Next our autumn focus will be on the prairie flats down below.
President Donald J. Trump is applauded as he displays his signature after signing Executive Orders on lowering drug prices Friday, July 24, 2020, in the South Court Auditorium in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building at the White House. (Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead)
Night begins to fall as we returned as we came back to the camp. Muck greeted me to sit down.
“We’ve got new orders. Command still thinks Dantoonie is a potential target, so we’ve been instructed to quarter in a small village a few clicks out from the capital, just in case the CIS decides to make a move. Check your datapad, your quarter has already been assigned. Get there, and try not to disturb your host.”
Me and Fury Squad are walking straight to the village, some of the locals looking at us with disdain. Unfortunately, our host is one of them.
The man groans as i introduce myself to him, and he directs me towards the barn behind his house.
“Keep out of the kriffing fields, I don’t need you vat-spawn trampling my damned crops.”
He makes his way back to his house, and i can see a small child peering out of the doorway as he slams the door shut. Me and Fury squad take up our lodging in the barn.
"All is done, now we only can wait and rest a bit." Pray says.
My comms crackle, and i can hear Jester speak.
“Everyone all settled? Good. No need to keep watch tonight, make sure you’re all well rested for more patrols tomorrow.”
I lean back against a bundle of grass, i didn't take of my Helmet, i fell asleep a few moments later.
I awaken to the sound of a crack from outside the barn. I quickly stand up, and goes quietly to the door. I slowly push the door to the barn open, and draw my weapon, the moonlight illuminating the yard. A little girl stands in front of me. She holds a finger up to her mouth, and points towards the field. She takes a few steps closer, and motions for me to kneel next to her.
“I saw a skeleton out in the field,” she whispers. “Papa says I’m just seeing things and that I need to go back to sleep, but I promise I saw one!”
The door to the house swings open, and the host comes storming out.
“Carmiya! Get away from that thing, or I swear I’ll-”
A blaster bolt rips out of the field and hits him square in the chest, sending his corpse sprawling across the ground.
I grab the girl and push her inside the barn, as battle droids pour out of the field like undead. Blaster fire begins to fill the village. I screamed into the Barn
"Boys, get up! We're been attacked!"
They quickly stand on their feets, equiped themselves with their blasters and take their Helmets on.
I ordered Lace to stay with the Girl, and the rest are following me to defend the Village.
We take out some Droids, we arrived on the Edge of the Field where the Droids are comming out.
"Dion check his Pulse, we give you cover fire."
"Copy that sir!"
After a few seconds Dion says.
"No Pulse, he's dead!"
"Alright we must hold this village at all cost, and keep an eye on the Villagers!"
Roof Design by thebrickfanatic
Convention hasn't happened yet but these are the ladies I needed from the Integrity Toys Reveal.
Top row left - right: Agnes, Annik, Natalia
Bottom left - right: Isha, Janay, Violaine, and Jade
The bikes turn at a bit of Sand Racing from the other week.
On a bike topic, a total shame to hear that BTSport have the rights to MotoGP 2014 onwards. Another sport inevitably lost from terrestrial TV.
Zanya's learning quick. The only people your loyal to is the Dreadnoks! Drogue has sent her on a hit of one of her old Chicago pals. She's not taking it well and he's noticed. Something Z will be interested in knowing.
Lehigh & New England G-1 class 2-8-2 Mikado steam locomotive 503 ((former PRR L1 class 1719), crosses two diamonds with block of coal hopper up front in the freight train as it is about to receive train orders in New York State, ca late 1940's. You can easily see the fireman in his cab window. Over the top of the hopper cars you can see a block signal that protects the diamonds.
This photo came from my Railroad photo collection, however; the photographers name was not available. Any credit for this photo must be provided to the original photographer.
Copyright Disclaimer under Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for the purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.
At the "No Aqua" water tank at "Delay Junction" at the Colorado Railroad Museum, the #40 oil burner locomotive sits on the rails waiting a water fillup. This run was after we got our free ride in the Rico, mahogany appointed business car. This is one of the antique narrow gauge engines at the Colorado Railroad Museum (an 1880s Baldwin Locomotive Works consolidation that was probably a std. gauge conversion) that recently spent time on the White Pass & Yukon and the Georgetown Loop. It is an oil burner and was loaded with oils early in the morning. Oil of any quality that would burn I assume. One of the volunteers reported it was from Central / South America as it had a "tropical" cab; ah, saves wear on #346. It has the Colorado Central painted on the tender but was probably never in their roster. Well, here it is with steam blasting from the the over-pressure release valve. They will need more water if it keeps blowing off steam. It would be a good idea to inject water into the boiler or quit feeding oil. The cylinder cocks are finally closed; I'd expect that everything is finally up to temp. According to the headlight and the dribble of steam behind the popoff valve. It looks like the CRRM has managed to get it operational.
Eddie and I spaced the Christmas Steamup this year but he found there was a "Black on Track" costume event upcoming. He really wanted to see this steam up. We are REALLY waiting for the RSG #20 to return for a steamup. Donate generously at the CRRM.That day will be shoulder to shoulder at the Colorado Railroad Museum; keep an eye on upcoming events on their web site. Outlanders could target Colorado trips with the expectations of hitting an event here in Golden. Someone will have already been here from your home town and/or country. These are the takes everyone is foaming at the mouth to see.
Outrageous light here for the bold early steam, IMHO. Steam is a winner in winter but the wind made it a blustery day. Are you ready for some steam? The first excursion was not quite full but is building on this blustery Saturday morning runby. The re-enactors are busy putting on a show now that we took our ride..
In a timeless scene, engineer Dave up in the cab of the NSSR 245 gets information from the conductor before departing Knife River, MN.
NSSR 245, An ex - NP GP9 of the same number, still has all the steam generator controls along the back panel, which was a detail pointed out to me which seemed pretty cool.
Finally... After three consecutive Bricklink orders of dark green pieces, it is finished.This is my B-25 from the United States Air Force of World War II. Considering I wanted to accompany minifigures and landing gear into the build (which I did so successfully), I think it's a good attempt at one of my first bombers. Sorry for the lack of postage by me lately, for I had to wait a considerable time for Bricklink orders to arrive in order to complete this beast. Im glad that it's finally off my chest, though. It was a lot of work, but I can say that its features/design I went for will suffice for my standards. I hope you all like it, comment on what I should do next!
Cavendish Mews is a smart set of flats in Mayfair where flapper and modern woman, the Honourable Lettice Chetwynd has set up home after coming of age and gaining her allowance. To supplement her already generous allowance, and to break away from dependence upon her family, Lettice has established herself as a society interior designer, so her flat is decorated with a mixture of elegant antique Georgian pieces and modern Art Deco furnishings, using it as a showroom for what she can offer to her well heeled clients.
Today however, we are just a short distance from Cavendish Mews, at Mr. Willison’s grocers’ shop. Willison’s Grocers in Mayfair is where Lettice has an account, and it is from here that Edith, Lettice\'s maid, orders her groceries for the Cavendish Mews flat, except on special occasions, when professional London caterers are used. Mr. Willison prides himself in having a genteel, upper-class clientele including the households of many titled aristocrats who have houses and flats in the neighbourhood, and he makes sure that his shop is always tidy, his shelves well stocked with anything the cook of a duke or duchess may want, and staff who are polite and mannerly to all his important customers. The latter is not too difficult, for aside from himself, Mrs. Willison does his books, his daughter Henrietta helps on Saturdays and sometimes after she has finished school, which means Mr. Willison technically only employs one member of staff: Frank Leadbetter his delivery boy who carries orders about Mayfair on the bicycle provided for him by Mr. Willison. He also collects payments for accounts which are not settled in his Binney Street shop whilst on his rounds. Lettice’s maid, Edith, is engaged to Frank, not that Lettice knows yet.
The country has been gripped by a General Strike* which has impacted the populace of London, causing disruption to transport, shipping and distribution, energy supply and even some of the most common staples found in pantries nationwide are suddenly becoming scarce, even in boroughs as affluent as Mayfair. A letter, handwritten by Mr. Willison himself was delivered to Edith at Cavendish Mews on the eve of the industrial action, advising her that deliveries from his shop will be suspended throughout the duration of the General Strike, but that orders may be placed and received by attending the grocers in person. And that is where we find Edith today.
As Edith nears the grocer’s shop, she notices the side delivery gate leading into the shop’s small bitumened rear courtyard is open and through the unnervingly quietened air of London with far less motorcar and omnibus traffic on its roads, she hears the cheerful sound of Frank’s happy whistle. Walking up to the gate, she peers through and sees Frank ticking off a delivery of fresh fruit and vegetables.
“Frank. Psst! Frank!” Edith hisses, before glancing anxiously up to the lace curtain festooned first storey windows of the shop, hoping that busybody and general causer of strife, Henrietta, is at her grammar school and not making the street’s business, her business. “Frank!”
Frank glances up. “Edith!” His face cracks into a happy grin.
“Is the… the cost clear?” Edith asks in a nervous whisper as she glances up to the curtained windows above again.
Frank follows her gaze and then chuckles, before replying at normal volume. “It’s alright, Edith. Miss Henrietta is at school. The teachers are not part of the General Strike,” He pauses and smiles cheekily. “At least not yet.”
“Thank goodness!” Edith sighs with relief, entering the small yard and walking up to her fiancée.
“What a joy it is to get to see my best girl today.” Frank says, slipping his black pencil and checklist onto the surface of a wooden crate next to where Edith has placed her green leather handbag before wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing his fiancée deeply.
“Oh Frank.” Edith sighs with pleasure, draping her own arms around his neck and leaning in to kiss him again.
“My best girl in the whole world.” Frank murmurs happily as he rubs his nose playfully against Edith’s.
“Your only girl, I hope, Frank Leadbetter.” Edith says with mock seriousness as she unclasps her arms from about Frank’s neck.
“I keep telling you, Edith Watsford,” he replies. “No-one can hold a candle** to you.”
“That’s just as well then.”
“And so,” Frank asks, allowing his hands to firmly hold Ediths hips, which he can feel beneath her black wool three-quarter length outdoors coat. “Do what do I owe the pleasure today, Miss Watsford?”
“Well, since you aren’t doing deliveries at present, I thought I had best come down and see if you have any tea for myself.”
“What?” Frank asks in overexaggerated faux disappointment. “Are you telling me that you haven’t just come down here as an excuse to see your own best boy?” He moves his hands and pulls Edith closer again.
“Well,” she murmurs, her lids lowering over her pretty blue eyes as she leans in for another gentle kiss. “There is that I suppose.”
Frank kisses her again, deeply and passionately, their connection sending jolts of pleasure through them both. Finally Edith breaks their kiss and steps back slightly.
“Well…” she huffs. “I can’t be muddle-puddling*** about with you all day.” She self-consciously smooths down the wrinkles in her coat left by Frank’s hands on her hips. “I have a busy day ahead, and we’re running low on tea at Cavendish Mews.”
“So, you are going then?” Frank asks with genuine disappointment as he leans back against the crate and folds his arms akimbo.
“Oh Frank, please.” Edith implores her fiancée. “We’ve been over this a hundred times in the last few weeks. You know perfectly well that even if I should want to, I can’t refuse Miss Lettice’s request to go and help support her in the volunteer kitchen**** being organised by Lady Mountbatten*****. It’s my duty******.”
“Duty!” Frank scoffs derisively, as he picks up the inventory list and his pencil again. “You’re a traitor. Your duty is to your fellow working man or woman, striking to get themselves a better deal, and set a precedent for all of us to be able to have a more fair and prosperous future.”
“Oh, now don’t be like that, Frank!” Edith entreats Frank as he busies himself a little too obviously, focussing on a small box of pears sitting atop the pile of boxed fruit and vegetables. “You know that as Miss Lettice’s employee, I can’t very well say no to her request. It’s not really a request. I’d be in trouble if I said no to it.”
“And that’s exactly my point!” Frank spins around again and faces Edith. “You’re just like millions of others, bound to your employer like a… a…” Frank struggles for words in his passion. “A serf*******, and not a human being.”
“A what?” Edith queries.
“A serf, Edith my dear, is a person who is bound to their employer, who has no choice.” Frank sighs. “And don’t you see? That’s why we should be supporting the transport workers, printers, metal workers, and utility staff. They’re standing up for their rights!”
Edith can see the passion in Frank’s face, in every bristling sinew of his body, radiating from him. She admires him for his principles, but she also knows that she has to be practical. “Very nice, Frank.” she opines with a heavy sigh. “But what good am I to myself, or to us, as we save money to get married if I lose my position? It pays well, and the conditions are the best I’ve ever had in my life. I have no beef******** with Miss Lettice. She’s a very kind and liberal mistress. So, if she needs the help to boil kettles and make finger sandwiches, why would I refuse?”
“On principle.”
“And what good are my principles when I have no position or money, Frank?” Edith defends her choices. “Will my principles feed me or warm my feet at night? Will yours?”
“That’s beside the point, Edith.” Frank responds.
“No, it isn’t, Frank. Besides, there are plenty of other people who are protesting and showing support for the striking workers. I’d make no difference, let’s be honest, Frank!” she adds hotly as a retort. “It isn’t as if I would be on the front of the picket lines around the Chelsea power station*********.”
“You could you know.” Frank replies quietly.
“Could what?”
“Could be on the picket lines. There are plenty of women that are**********. Or if you didn’t feel comfortable with that, you could always help by volunteering at a soup kitchen.”
“I am helping at a volunteer kitchen, Frank.” Edith says with defiance, folding her own arms akimbo and giving her fiancée a withering look. “I’m helping Miss Lettice at the Leicester Square canteen until the strike is over, and that’s that!”
Frank scoffs again, shakes his head and casts his eyes down to his list.
“I don’t exactly see you acting on your principles, since you are such a staunch supporter of the working man.” Edith lashes out, offended by Frank’s dismissal of the precarious position she finds herself in, torn between her employment obligations and solidarity with the strikers.
“Ahh…” he taps his nose knowingly and smiling like a Cheshire Cat***********. “That’s because you aren’t aware of what I’m doing.”
It is at that moment that Edith notices that Frank is wearing his worker’s flat cap************ in the courtyard, which he only does if is about to go out on a delivery, which she knows is not happening at present because of Mr. Willison’s handwritten note.
“Frank?” she queries. “Frank, why are you wearing your flat cap out here.”
“To protect my head of course, Edith.” Frank deflects her question breezily.
“You never wear your cap in the yard, unless you are going out, and since Mr. Willison has advised that there are no home deliveries during the crisis, and he’s having you stay on the premises to avoid getting caught up in any scuffles around the pickets in Chelsea,” She moves closer to Frank again and reaches out her hand towards his cap. “You can’t be about to do a delivery.” Her face crumples with puzzlement. “What have you been up to, Frank Leadbetter?”
Frank quickly steers away from her grasping hand. “Nothing Edith.” he chuckles lightly, but also with a certain amount of awkwardness, as he bends down, out of Edith’s reach to grab a basket of fresh green lettuces.
“Frank?” Edith says again, this time with more concern.
“I just said, nothing, Edith.” he blusters.
“Piffle*************! You’re not telling the truth.” Edith opines. “I’ve known you long enough Frank Leadbetter to be able to tell when you aren’t speaking the truth, and you’re not speaking it now.”
“Now you’re the one taking piffle, Edith.”
Undeterred by his continued deflection, Edith goes on, “Furthermore, whatever it is you are up to, your cap is involved in some way, or its covering something up.”
“Get away with you, Edith.” Franks swats at his fiancée as she advances with purpose, reaching out towards his tweed cap.
Edith manages to reach his head, in spire of his gesticulations and protestations and pulls off his cap. The sight she sees makes her gasp with a sharp intake of breath and drop Frank’s headgear. Just above his left temple, carefully hidden from view by his cap, Frank sports a large cut which is obviously recently acquired and has been bleeding judging by the clumps of rust brown and black dried blood in his sandy blonde hair. Whilst the wound has been cleaned, the skin around it is read and angry, and bruising is starting to balloon around the deep wound.
“What have you been up to, Frank?” Edith asks again, this time with concern and fear for him, as she raises both her hands to her mouth.
Snatching his cap off the black macadam************** surface of the courtyard’s floor, which is littered with withered leaves and other detritus from the recent grocery delivery. He quickly places it back over the wound again to cover it.
“It’s… it.. it.. it’s not what you, think, Edith.” Frank justifies in a stammer.
“You’ve been out on the pickets somewhere, haven’t you Frank?” Edith accuses her fiancée angrily.
“No!” Frank responds immediately. “No, I haven’t.”
“Oh yes you have, Frank Leadbetter.” Edith insists. “I have eyes! I can see!” She points her two fingers on her right hand to her eyes as her anger at Frank rises. “Of all the stupid things you could do to jeopardise your life,” She gasps. ‘You decide to do it on principle. I can’t believe you would do this to me… to us.” Tears well in her eyes. “Risk all we have been planning for.” The tears begin to spill down her quickly reddening cheeks. “And after you promised me that you wouldn’t do anything foolish” She starts hitting him with her gloved hand. “You stupid, stupid man!”
“Edith please. I really wasn’t involved in the picketing.” Frank cries, defending himself against the barrage of angry flapping blows from his fiancée. “I promise I wasn’t.”
“No?” Edith stops hitting Frank, looking at him with distain. “Then how else would you have sustained such injuries? Explain that to me, Frank!”
“I fell off my bicycle.” Frank manages to interject at last.
It is Edith’s turn to scoff.
“I did!” Frank insists. “I swear I cut my head on a paving stone, falling off my bicycle the night before last.”
Edith pauses in her fury and listens to her fiancée. Her eyes narrow. “What were you doing out on your bicycle at night? You told me just before the General Strike started, that Mr. Willison was insisting you stay at the shop with the family, so you could avoid the skirmishes on the street and help protect the shop if there were looting.”
“And I am staying here, Edith.”
“Then how.”
“Alright, Edith.” Frank splutters. “I don’t want to lie to you, but…” He lowers his voice to something barely above a whisper. “But I didn’t tell the truth to Mr. Willison.”
“What did you tell him?” Edith asks, lowering her own voice, her eyes widening with intrigue.
“Well, I said to him that I needed to check on Gran.”
“I thought you said that Mrs. Claxton from upstairs was keeping an eye on her whilst the General Strike is on, Frank.” Edith says. “At least that’s what you told me.” she adds sulkily.
“And she is. Mrs. Claxton is good at keeping an eye on Gran anyway. But I didn’t tell Mr. Willison that. I told him that I needed the shop bicycle to check up on her each night after tea. So he agreed.”
“So,” Edith asks, her arms now firmly folded akimbo over her chest again. “What were you really doing each night, Frank?”
“Well, you are right about me Edith. I do want to do my bit for the cause, on principle, but not through anything violent or stupid, like putting myself in harm’s way. In fact, the strike has been a rather civilised affair thus far with very little happening but a few stones being thrown***************.” He smiles tentatively. “I did make you a promise, Edith. I said I wouldn’t join any skirmishes and I haven’t.”
“So what have you been up to, Frank Leadbetter?”
“I’ve been using my brain for the cause instead.” Frank smiles more confidently now. “I’ve been bicycling over to the Fleet Street district to the offices of the Daily Herald**************** in Carmelite Street***************** each evening for a few hours.”
“But the Daily Herald isn’t publishing a newspaper at the moment.” Lettice remarks. “No-one is. The only thing we have is a daily bulletin****************** and Miss Lettice gets a copy of the British Gazette******************* because her fiancée, Sir Nettleford-Hughes, is writing for Mr. Churchill.”
“Well,” Frank smiles. “Thanks to my friends in the Trades Union, who have read my writing before, I have a small column in the British Worker********************, which is being published by the Trade Unions Congress in opposition to the British Gazette. I have to cycle my column over every night for publishing the next day, so I say that I’m bicycling over to Gran’s house to cover my tracks. I slipped over and hit my head on a paving stone on my way there the night before last.”
Edith’s irritation and anger towards her fiancée suddenly dissipate at the news Frank shares. “A column? Really Frank?” she exclaims, clasping her hands together in excitement.
“Now it’s only small,” Frank tempers. “And we don’t know how long the British Worker will run for, but it’s a start.”
“Oh Frank!” Edith exclaims, rushing up and embracing him. “That’s wonderful news!”
“Get off, Edith!” Frank hisses. “Like I said, it may not amount to much, but it’s a start. My writing abilities have finally been recognised.”
“What’s it called – your column I mean?”
“Observations of a Shopkeeper’s Boy.” Frank replies. “I know it’s not very inspired, but it is a true reflection of who I am. I get to keep the morale of the strikers up.”
Edith’s face clouds a little. “They… you… can’t be identified, can you, Frank.” she asks with worry tinging her voice.
“No, no, Edith!” Frank assures her. “I promise you’d never know it was me. It’s much more about sharing how proud I am of the strikers and they make me feel positive about my future as an up-and-coming worker, more than it is about me. I don’t say where I’m from, where I work or anything really.”
“Oh that’s a relief, Frank.” Edith sighs, pressing her hand to her heart beneath her coat.
“I scribble down some inspiring, morale boosting words and phrases during the day, piece it all together before tea, and then bicycle the finished piece off to Fleet Street after tea.”
“I’m so happy for you Frank,” She pauses and flicks the edge of his cap playfully. “In spite of it being the cause of your accident.”
“Well thank you, Edith.” Frank says with a sigh of relief. “I don’t want us to fall out over this you know.”
“Well, so long as you ride more carefully, Frank Leadbetter, and you climb down from your principled high horse about the General Strike and let me follow my better instincts, even if it’s not what you’d have me do, we won’t.”
“I promise that I’m riding more carefully, Edith.” Frank assures her. “I just got a bit too cocky with the streets being so empty at night at the moment, what with buses and train timetables reduced because of the strike, and people staying home rather than going out whilst it is happening.” He sighs as he allows a hand to once again wrap around his fiancée’s waist gently. “As for my principles, well… you know I am a slave to them, but I shall respect your wishes. After all, I want a wife who has her own independent thoughts, and we can’t always agree, can we?”
“Indeed we can’t, dear Frank.” Edith agrees. “Now, about that tea. I need to get back to Cavendish Mews so that Miss Lettice and I can go.”
“Well, tea is being rationed, Miss Watsford,” Frank says with formality and speaking in a rather posh and pompous tone in an effort to imitate Mr. Willison. “But since you are such a good customer. I think I can find you a bit from under the counter to see you through.”
“Why thank you, Mr, Leadbetter.” Edith replies with a gentle chuckle.
*The General Strike in Britain occurred between May the 3rd and May the 12th, 1926. It was a nine-day nationwide stoppage called by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) to support coal miners facing wage reductions and worsening conditions. Roughly one million, seven hundred thousand workers went on strike, primarily in transport and heavy industry.
**"Can\'t hold a candle to" means someone or something is distinctly inferior, less skilled, or not nearly as good as another person or thing. Usually used in the negative, it implies one person cannot even compare to the high standards or quality of another. It signifies a significant difference in ability or quality. The phrase originates from the Sixteenth Century, referring to the lowly job of an apprentice holding a candle for a skilled master. If an apprentice was too unskilled to even provide lighting, they were deemed inferior to the master, creating a metaphor for someone unable to measure up to a superior.
***Muddle-puddling is an old-fashioned term for dallying and taking your time.
****During the 1926 General Strike, the volunteer canteens — often staffed by "titled ladies" to feed volunteers maintaining essential services — were largely organized and supported by the upper classes, society women, and the government\'s emergency volunteer network. Women from high society and the aristocracy, including Lady Louis Mountbatten, Lady Quilter, Lady Mary Ashley Cooper, and Lady Carmichael-Anstruther, participated in and helped manage these canteens. Canteens, such as those overseen by a "Mrs. Loeffler" at Scotland House and similar efforts in Hyde Park, provided food and refreshments to the thousands of middle-class volunteers, such as special constables, who broke the strike. These canteens were part of a coordinated effort by the Conservative government to maintain essential services and counter the strike\'s effectiveness. The focus of these efforts was to support the volunteer workforce—such as the "special constables"—to keep services running, as opposed to the soup kitchens operated in mining communities by workers\' wives to support the miners.
*****Born Edwina Cynthia Annette Ashley, she was the granddaughter of the wealthy financier Sir Ernest Cassel, making her one of Britain\'s richest women when she married Louis Mountbatten in 1922, a ceremony dubbed "the wedding of the year". Before marrying him, she was a glamourous socialite and society beauty, but once married, used her new position of influence to draw attention to her humanitarian work. When the Second World War broke out, Lady Edwina devoted herself to the St John Ambulance Brigade and the British Red Cross, eventually acting as Superintendent-in-Chief of the St John Ambulance Brigade, earning her high honours. As the last Vicereine of India, she was crucial in navigating the transition to independence, maintaining a close working relationship and friendship with Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru. Initially known as a rebellious and glamorous socialite, she transitioned into a dedicated humanitarian worker. She was known for her immense energy and, at times, controversial personal life.
******Women — including working-class women and domestic staff — played a significant role in organising, cooking, and distributing food, often running soup kitchens to support strikers. While wealthy women often volunteered to maintain essential services, many working-class maids and cooks sympathised with the strike, assisting in feeding strikers rather than their employers. The strike saw broad participation in community support, with domestic staff often torn between their employment obligations and solidarity with their community.
*******A serf is a member of the lowest feudal class, specifically a farm worker in medieval Europe bound to the land owned by a lord. Serfs were not slaves, but were legally required to work the lord\'s land, providing labour in exchange for protection, justice, and the right to live on and cultivate their own small plots.
********"I have no beef with you" means I do not have a problem, complaint, or argument with you. It signifies that the speaker has no personal grudge, conflict, or animosity towards the person they are addressing, often used to clarify that there is no quarrel. Its derivations are believed to come from Nineteenth Century English cockney rhyming slang, where "hot beef" was misunderstood as "stop thief".
*********By 1920, London held the largest capacity of power for any region in Britain, with several stations operating along the Thames, including Greenwich, Deptford, and Barking. In 1926, the biggest and most significant power station in London was the Lots Road Power Station in Chelsea. While often associated with the tube network, it was a massive provider of electricity to London during that period. Following the Electricity (Supply) Act 1926, plans were finalised to consolidate smaller stations into new, larger ones, leading to the creation of the London Power Company, which planned Battersea Power Station shortly after in 1927. The iconic power station’s building did not commence until 1929, and it was 1935 by the time it was fully complete and operational.
**********Although perhaps a lesser-known fact, women actively participated in picketing and supported the 1926 General Strike across Britain, including in London. Women participated in mass picketing, with instances in Scotland and elsewhere of them throwing missiles at trams, stopping buses, and removing drivers, often acting alongside or in place of men. In many areas, women and men acted collectively to blockade streets, such as using prams to stop traffic in support of community goals. Women often "whiteshirted" miners who returned to work, a form of public shaming intended to undermine the masculinity of those breaking the strike. Women played a crucial role in maintaining morale by organising soup kitchens and fundraising delegations.
***********The phrase "grinning like a Cheshire Cat" was popularized by Lewis Carroll\'s 1865 book Alice\'s Adventures in Wonderland, featuring a cat that can disappear, leaving only its smile. Lewis Carroll, (who was born in Cheshire) solidified the phrase in popular culture through his character. However, the idiom existed earlier, likely originating from Cheshire. Early cheese moulds in Cheshire were sometimes shaped like a cat, and as the cheese was eaten from the tail toward the head, the last part remaining was the "grinning" head. Other theories suggest it referred to the arrogant grins of Cheshire county officials or paintings of lions on inns that looked more like smiling cats.
************A worker\'s flat cap is a traditional, rounded cap with a small, stiff brim in front, historically worn by working-class men in the UK, Ireland, and North America from the Fourteenth Century onwards. In 1571, the English government mandated that all males over six (except nobility) wear a wool cap on Sundays and holidays to boost the wool industry, solidifying the flat cap\'s status as a working-class staple. Over time, it became a symbol of working-class culture, often associated with the phrase "flat cap and whippet," before also being adopted for leisure activities like golf. It was designed to be practical for manual labour—worn by farmers, miners, and factory workers — providing weather protection. It is known for its simple, rounded shape, which can be pulled forward for extra protection against the wind. Made typically of wool, tweed, or cotton, it was favoured for its durability, affordability, and warmth.
*************Piffle is an informal term for trivial nonsense, foolish talk, or rubbish. It is used to describe insignificant or nonsensical ideas.
**************Macadam is a road construction method developed by John Loudon McAdam, around 1820 featuring layers of compacted, broken stones that mechanically interlock to form a firm, durable surface. It is an early form of asphalt.
***************Despite fears of a "British Revolution," the General Strike of 1926 remained disciplined and orderly. The nine-day strike was remarkably peaceful, often described as a "stay-at-home" strike rather than a violent revolution. While there were instances of vandalism, such as overturning vehicles and smashing tram windows with stones, widespread destruction of property did not occur. Minor violence, such as breaking windows, jeering, or clashes with police, occurred in places like Plymouth and London, particularly involving transport. Volunteers often ran buses and trains, and while some vehicles, such as London buses, were attacked and sometimes set on fire, the General Strike was largely a solidarity action to support coal miners, involving around 1.7 million workers, and ended without widespread violence or widespread destruction.
****************The Daily Herald was a British daily newspaper, published daily in London from 1912 to 1964 (although it was weekly during the First World War). It was published in the interest of the labour movement and supported the Labour Party. It underwent several changes of management before ceasing publication in 1964, when it was relaunched as The Sun, in its pre-Murdoch form.
*****************In 1926, the London address of the Daily Herald newspaper was 2 Carmelite Street, London, E.C.4. The newspaper, which was affiliated with the Trades Union Congress and Labour Party at that time, operated from this location in the Fleet Street newspaper district, briefly suspending publication in May 1926 during the General Strike.
******************Multiple daily bulletins and temporary newspapers were produced in London during the 1926 General Strike because the printer unions walked out, halting regular newspaper production. These bulletins were usually only two typed sheets with no proper letterhead and no photographs, covering the major events regarding the strike itself and negotiations between the warring parties.
*******************The British Gazette was a temporary newspaper published by the British government during the 1926 General Strike to counter news from striking workers and combat the strikers\' media, such as the British Worker, and promote the government\'s perspective. Edited by Chancellor of the Exchequer Winston Churchill, it ran for only eight days in May 1926, from May the 5th to May the 13th as the official voice of the state during the industrial dispute. The paper was published using the facilities of the Morning Post and was heavily criticised by political opposition members for being a "propagandist" tool rather than an objective news source. Due to its official backing, it achieved a high circulation, reaching over 2 million copies, despite printing challenges.
********************The British Worker was a daily newspaper produced by the General Council of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) as their official mouthpiece during the 1926 General Strike. Its primary objectives were to circulate essential strike information, maintain the morale of workers, and counter government propaganda issued in the British Gazette. It ran for 11 issues between 5 May and 17 May 1926. Publication began two days after the strike started and continued slightly past its official end on 12 May. Managed by a Publicity Committee, the paper focused strictly on the strike. It excluded general news to ensure readers weren\'t distracted from the industrial action. While the Gazette branded the strike as a "revolutionary" threat, the British Worker maintained that it was a legal "defensive strike" to protect miners\' wages and living standards. The newspaper encouraged strikers to remain calm and orderly, famously using slogans like "All\'s Well" and features such as "Do\'s for Difficult Days". It also reported on the effectiveness of the strike, including instances where "scab labour" (volunteer workers) caused accidents due to incompetence.
This cluttered, yet cheerful Edwardian shop rear courtyard is not all it seems to be at first glance, for it is made up of part of my 1:12 size dollhouse miniatures collection.
Fun things to look for in this tableau include:
Frank’s black pencil comes from Melody Jane’s Dollhouse Suppliers in the United Kingdom. It is only one millimetre wide and two centimetres long! The ledger he is marking off was made by Little Things Dollhouse Miniatures in Lancashire with careful attention paid to its accuracy. Edith’s green leather handbag leaning against the box of potatoes I acquired as part of a larger collection of 1:12 artistan miniature hats, bags and accessories I bought from an American miniature collector Marilyn Bickel. Edith’s small wicker basket comes from Beautifully Handmade Miniatures in Kettering.
The onions, potatoes, garlic and oranges on the larger crate all come from Beautifully Handmade Miniatures in Kettering, and are just some of the dizzying and ever growing array of realistic looking fruit and vegetables in 1:12 scale that they supply to collectors. The boxes they are in also come from Beautifully Handmade Miniatures. Also on the larger wooden crate is a box of red apples which are all very realistic looking. Made of polymer clay they are made by a 1:12 miniature specialist in Germany. The romaine lettuce and other leafy greens in the wicker basket on the ground I acquired from an auction house some years ago as part of a lot of hand made artisan miniatures.
The pears in the box on the top of the pile are very special miniatures. They have been made by hand out of polymer clay, fired and then painted by my very dear Flickr friend and artist Kim Hagar BKHagar *Kim*. She surprised me with these amazing pieces as a Christmas gift, with the intention that I use them in my miniatures photos. She also surprised me the Christmas before with my very own “Wall” which you can see in the background. Each brick has been individually cut and then worn to give texture before being stuck to the backing board and then painted. She has created several floors in the same way for some of her own miniature projects which you can see in her “In Miniature” album here: You can see her own miniature projects featuring pieces of her own work in her “In Miniature” album here: www.flickr.com/photos/bkhagar_gallery/albums/721777203007....
The advertisements along the wall of the shop are all 1:12 size posters made by the British miniature artisan Ken Blythe. Ken also made the boxes of Sunlight, Nubolic and Royal Primrose Soap. Ken is known mostly for the 1;12 miniature books he created. I have quite a large representation of Ken Blythe’s work in my collection, but he also produced other items, including posters. All of these are genuine copies of real Edwardian posters. To create something so authentic to the original in such detail and so clearly, really does make these items miniature artisan pieces. Ken Blythe’s work is highly sought after by miniaturists around the world today and command high prices at auction for such tiny pieces, particularly now that he is no longer alive. I was fortunate enough to acquire pieces from Ken Blythe prior to his death about four years ago, as well as through his estate via his daughter and son-in-law. His legacy will live on with me and in my photography which I hope will please his daughter.
John Knight\'s Royal Primrose Soap was a famous 19th-century British soap brand manufactured at the Royal Primrose Soap Works in Silvertown, London. Originally launched as Primrose Soap in 1844, it became a flagship product for the family-run company John Knight & Sons. The product achieved such prestige that it was officially renamed The Royal Primrose Soap in 1903 after the company was awarded a Royal Warrant as "Soap Makers to the King" (Edward VII).
Nubolic was a prominent brand of carbolic (disinfectant) soap manufactured in Britain during the early 20th century. It was primarily produced by two major industrial soap makers based in the North of England. One of those was Joseph Watson & Sons Ltd: This Leeds-based company, owned by Joseph Watson, 1st Baron Manton, produced Nubolic as one of its core disinfectant brands. Their Whitehall Soap Works in Leeds was one of the largest in the country. Nubolic was often cross-promoted with their famous "Matchless Cleanser" laundry soap. An example of this exact same packaging from the 1920s is able to be seen in the Hull Museums Collection today.
Sunlight Soap was first introduced in 1884. It was produced at Port Sunlight in Wirrel, Merseyside, a model village built by Lever Brothers for the workers of their factories which produced the popular soap brands Lux, Lifebuoy and Sunlight.
A co-operative wholesale society, or CWS, is a form of co-operative federation (that is, a co-operative in which all the members are co-operatives), in this case, the members are usually consumer cooperatives. The best historical examples of this are the English CWS and the Scottish CWS, which are the predecessors of the 21st century Co-operative Group. Indeed, in Britain, the terms Co-operative Wholesale Society and CWS are used to refer to this specific organisation rather than the organisational form. They sold things like tea and cocoa. The English and Scottish Co-operative Wholesale Society opened its own new Luton cocoa factory in 1902. The factory was demolished in 1970.
Pelaw Metal Polish was a staple household product in 20th-century Britain, manufactured by the Co-operative Wholesale Society (CWS) at their massive industrial complex in Pelaw, Gateshead. Originally produced at the Pelaw Drug Factory (also known as the "Drysaltery"), which opened in 1902, the polish was part of a broader range of "Pelaw Polishes" that included the world-famous shoe polish, floor polish, and liquid grate polish.
The Crossley Chevrolet Armoured Car
In 1915 the British Army started to use armoured cars in India, particularly on the North West Frontier, to relieve troops needed elsewhere. They proved so successful that this soon became standard policy. Shortly after the war the Indian Government purchased 16 Rolls-Royce cars to a new design but these proved so expensive that subsequent orders were placed with Crossley Motors in Manchester who made a tough but cheap 50hp IAG1 chassis. Substantial numbers of these cars were supplied between 1923 and 1925.
Bovington Tank Museum,Dorset
~0451
Lysekloster , in the Middle Ages called Coenobium Vallis Lucidae in Latin , is a former monastery located by the Lysefjorden at the foot of Lysehornet 27 km south of Bergen city center in Bjørnafjorden municipality. The monastery was founded in 1146 by monks from Fountains Abbey in England and was in operation until 1536 . The monastery was run by Cistercian monks 1146 – 1536 . The ruins of the buildings were excavated in 1822 and 1838 and restored around 1930. In 2019, Lysekloster is a large farm of around 8,000 acres, an area that is a smaller part of the original monastery estate.
About the monastery
Klostergården
The ruins of the monastery complex are so well preserved that they can give an idea of how the church and two of the wings were designed. The church is single-nave with two side chapels on each side of the choir. Inside, it measures approx. 40×90 m. It has had several portals that tell about the monastery's various functions: one that leads from the nave out into the open in the west, one that went out to the cloister corridor , one that may have connected to the west wing there the lay brothers had access, one that went from the choir to the cemetery via the north chapel , and finally one that led to the south chapel and further up the night stairs to the monks' dormitory in the upper floor of the east wing.
Following the traditional pattern, the chapter hall was located in the east wing, closest to the church. Two portals from the cloister led into the richly designed room, which at the time was vaulted. Further on came the narrow parlor, before the passage out of the monastery yard to whatever buildings there were outside the complex itself. From the hallway there was access to the large room at the end of the east wing. This may have been the day room; the monks' study.
The southern wing is not so easy to interpret, because remnants of several conversions have been preserved. It could be a reasonable explanation that there was a staircase up to the upper floor closest to the living room, and that the monastery's prison was located under the stairs. Next came the large refectory , and then the kitchen. On the other side of the kitchen was usually the lay brothers' dining room, but here we have no sure clues.
What a possible west wing might have looked like, we do not know today.
Kleberstein made up much of the building material. Just north of the monastery is an old soapstone quarry , and some soapstone may have been taken from the two old quarries in the innermost part of Vargavågen near Halhjem
Klostergården
The monastery garden is almost 20 square meters. It has been surrounded by a rich series of arcades with round-arched openings and double-headed columns standing on a low wall. This dates from the latter half of the 12th century . Both the general design and the function of the rooms seem to follow the traditional pattern of a Cistercian monastery . This also applies to the iconography in the chapters that have been preserved.
The demolition
With the Reformation in 1536 , the Danish king Christian III took over the monastery. A few years later he gave orders to demolish the monastery. In 1578, the stone from the monastery walls was taken to Denmark and used in Kronborg Castle .
The White Lady
Several sources tell of a "white lady" who wanders around the monastery in the evening and at night. She suffered a terrible accident with a tractor in 1960, when she was cycling along the road and a tractor ran over her. It is uncertain whether it was an accident as it was her neighbor who was driving the tractor. Since then, there have been many reports of a lady dressed in white wandering restlessly near the monastery. It is rumored that The White Lady was originally Icelandic, and descended directly from the earliest Icelandic settlements. That is why it is also probably The White Lady who also reappears at Myrdalssandur .
Lysefjorden is a village in Bjørnafjorden municipality in Vestland . The village is located by the Lysefjorden , and borders Bergen municipality in the north, Søfteland in the northeast and Askvik and Os Nord in the south. To the west lies the Korsfjord, and many cabins are located in the beautiful landscape of Drange, in what is considered to be one of the most exclusive cabin areas in Western Norway. The village has its own primary school, but few workplaces, as the inhabitants mostly commute to Bergen or Os center during the day. Most of the inhabitants live in the town of Søvik .
Lysefjorden is perhaps best known for the two cultural monuments Lysøen and Lyse Kloster . Many of the boat builders who built the Oselver boat type also lived in Lysefjorden, and the village still has a strong environment that takes care of this boat building culture.
The well-known local politician Terje Søviknes comes from the village.
The Cistercian Order is a Roman Catholic monastic order founded in 1098 , named after the mother monastery in Cîteaux ( lat . Cistercium ).
In Norway, the order founded Lyse Kloster in the municipality of Os, outside Bergen in 1146 , Sancta Mariae Kloster on Hovedøya near Oslo in 1147 and Tautra Kloster in 1207. Today it has the Fjordenes Dronning monastery in Storfjord , as well as the Tautra Mariakloster nunnery (step sisters) in the Trondheimsfjord and a Trappist community on Hovin .
In 2007, Abbot Oliver Quenardel decided in the main house of the Abbaye Notre-Dame de Cîteaux that a new Cistercian monastery should be established at Munkeby . Two French priests came as pioneer monks in the spring of 2007, Père Joël Regnard and Père Jean-Claude. The monastery will be built on a hill 1.5 kilometers from the medieval ruins. In autumn 2009, the guest house was finished and four brothers moved in. According to the plans, a chapel and the monastery itself remain for a total of 12-15 monks. It is the first new monastery opened by the Cistercians from Citeaux in 500 years.
The order has both a male and a female branch.
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway , is a Nordic , European country and an independent state in the west of the Scandinavian Peninsula . Geographically speaking, the country is long and narrow, and on the elongated coast towards the North Atlantic are Norway's well-known fjords . The Kingdom of Norway includes the main country (the mainland with adjacent islands within the baseline ), Jan Mayen and Svalbard . With these two Arctic areas, Norway covers a land area of 385,000 km² and has a population of approximately 5.5 million (2023). Mainland Norway borders Sweden in the east , Finland and Russia in the northeast .
Norway is a parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy , where Harald V has been king and head of state since 1991 , and Jonas Gahr Støre ( Ap ) has been prime minister since 2021 . Norway is a unitary state , with two administrative levels below the state: counties and municipalities . The Sami part of the population has, through the Sami Parliament and the Finnmark Act , to a certain extent self-government and influence over traditionally Sami areas. Although Norway has rejected membership of the European Union through two referendums , through the EEA Agreement Norway has close ties with the Union, and through NATO with the United States . Norway is a significant contributor to the United Nations (UN), and has participated with soldiers in several foreign operations mandated by the UN. Norway is among the states that have participated from the founding of the UN , NATO , the Council of Europe , the OSCE and the Nordic Council , and in addition to these is a member of the EEA , the World Trade Organization , the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development and is part of the Schengen area .
Norway is rich in many natural resources such as oil , gas , minerals , timber , seafood , fresh water and hydropower . Since the beginning of the 20th century, these natural conditions have given the country the opportunity for an increase in wealth that few other countries can now enjoy, and Norwegians have the second highest average income in the world, measured in GDP per capita, as of 2022. The petroleum industry accounts for around 14% of Norway's gross domestic product as of 2018. Norway is the world's largest producer of oil and gas per capita outside the Middle East. However, the number of employees linked to this industry fell from approx. 232,000 in 2013 to 207,000 in 2015.
In Norway, these natural resources have been managed for socially beneficial purposes. The country maintains a welfare model in line with the other Nordic countries. Important service areas such as health and higher education are state-funded, and the country has an extensive welfare system for its citizens. Public expenditure in 2018 is approx. 50% of GDP, and the majority of these expenses are related to education, healthcare, social security and welfare. Since 2001 and until 2021, when the country took second place, the UN has ranked Norway as the world's best country to live in . From 2010, Norway is also ranked at the top of the EIU's democracy index . Norway ranks third on the UN's World Happiness Report for the years 2016–2018, behind Finland and Denmark , a report published in March 2019.
The majority of the population is Nordic. In the last couple of years, immigration has accounted for more than half of population growth. The five largest minority groups are Norwegian-Poles , Lithuanians , Norwegian-Swedes , Norwegian-Syrians including Syrian Kurds and Norwegian-Pakistani .
Norway's national day is 17 May, on this day in 1814 the Norwegian Constitution was dated and signed by the presidency of the National Assembly at Eidsvoll . It is stipulated in the law of 26 April 1947 that 17 May are national public holidays. The Sami national day is 6 February. "Yes, we love this country" is Norway's national anthem, the song was written in 1859 by Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson (1832–1910).
Norway's history of human settlement goes back at least 10,000 years, to the Late Paleolithic , the first period of the Stone Age . Archaeological finds of settlements along the entire Norwegian coast have so far been dated back to 10,400 before present (BP), the oldest find is today considered to be a settlement at Pauler in Brunlanes , Vestfold .
For a period these settlements were considered to be the remains of settlers from Doggerland , an area which today lies beneath the North Sea , but which was once a land bridge connecting today's British Isles with Danish Jutland . But the archaeologists who study the initial phase of the settlement in what is today Norway reckon that the first people who came here followed the coast along what is today Bohuslân. That they arrived in some form of boat is absolutely certain, and there is much evidence that they could easily move over large distances.
Since the last Ice Age, there has been continuous settlement in Norway. It cannot be ruled out that people lived in Norway during the interglacial period , but no trace of such a population or settlement has been found.
The Stone Age lasted a long time; half of the time that our country has been populated. There are no written accounts of what life was like back then. The knowledge we have has been painstakingly collected through investigations of places where people have stayed and left behind objects that we can understand have been processed by human hands. This field of knowledge is called archaeology . The archaeologists interpret their findings and the history of the surrounding landscape. In our country, the uplift after the Ice Age is fundamental. The history of the settlements at Pauler is no more than fifteen years old.
The Fosna culture settled parts of Norway sometime between 10,000–8,000 BC. (see Stone Age in Norway ). The dating of rock carvings is set to Neolithic times (in Norway between 4000 BC to 1700 BC) and show activities typical of hunters and gatherers .
Agriculture with livestock and arable farming was introduced in the Neolithic. Swad farming where the farmers move when the field does not produce the expected yield.
More permanent and persistent farm settlements developed in the Bronze Age (1700 BC to 500 BC) and the Iron Age . The earliest runes have been found on an arrowhead dated to around 200 BC. Many more inscriptions are dated to around 800, and a number of petty kingdoms developed during these centuries. In prehistoric times, there were no fixed national borders in the Nordic countries and Norway did not exist as a state. The population in Norway probably fell to year 0.
Events in this time period, the centuries before the year 1000, are glimpsed in written sources. Although the sagas were written down in the 13th century, many hundreds of years later, they provide a glimpse into what was already a distant past. The story of the fimbul winter gives us a historical picture of something that happened and which in our time, with the help of dendrochronology , can be interpreted as a natural disaster in the year 536, created by a volcanic eruption in El Salvador .
In the period between 800 and 1066 there was a significant expansion and it is referred to as the Viking Age . During this period, Norwegians, as Swedes and Danes also did, traveled abroad in longships with sails as explorers, traders, settlers and as Vikings (raiders and pirates ). By the middle of the 11th century, the Norwegian kingship had been firmly established, building its right as descendants of Harald Hårfagre and then as heirs of Olav the Holy . The Norwegian kings, and their subjects, now professed Christianity . In the time around Håkon Håkonsson , in the time after the civil war , there was a small renaissance in Norway with extensive literary activity and diplomatic activity with Europe. The black dew came to Norway in 1349 and killed around half of the population. The entire state apparatus and Norway then entered a period of decline.
Between 1396 and 1536, Norway was part of the Kalmar Union , and from 1536 until 1814 Norway had been reduced to a tributary part of Denmark , named as the Personal Union of Denmark-Norway . This staff union entered into an alliance with Napoléon Bonaparte with a war that brought bad times and famine in 1812 . In 1814, Denmark-Norway lost the Anglophone Wars , part of the Napoleonic Wars , and the Danish king was forced to cede Norway to the king of Sweden in the Treaty of Kiel on 14 January of that year. After a Norwegian attempt at independence, Norway was forced into a loose union with Sweden, but where Norway was allowed to create its own constitution, the Constitution of 1814 . In this period, Norwegian, romantic national feeling flourished, and the Norwegians tried to develop and establish their own national self-worth. The union with Sweden was broken in 1905 after it had been threatened with war, and Norway became an independent kingdom with its own monarch, Haakon VII .
Norway remained neutral during the First World War , and at the outbreak of the Second World War, Norway again declared itself neutral, but was invaded by National Socialist Germany on 9 April 1940 .
Norway became a member of the Western defense alliance NATO in 1949 . Two attempts to join the EU were voted down in referendums by small margins in 1972 and 1994 . Norway has been a close ally of the United States in the post-war period. Large discoveries of oil and natural gas in the North Sea at the end of the 1960s led to tremendous economic growth in the country, which is still ongoing. Traditional industries such as fishing are also part of Norway's economy.
Stone Age (before 1700 BC)
When most of the ice disappeared, vegetation spread over the landscape and due to a warm climate around 2000-3000 BC. the forest grew much taller than in modern times. Land uplift after the ice age led to a number of fjords becoming lakes and dry land. The first people probably came from the south along the coast of the Kattegat and overland into Finnmark from the east. The first people probably lived by gathering, hunting and trapping. A good number of Stone Age settlements have been found which show that such hunting and trapping people stayed for a long time in the same place or returned to the same place regularly. Large amounts of gnawed bones show that they lived on, among other things, reindeer, elk, small game and fish.
Flintstone was imported from Denmark and apart from small natural deposits along the southern coast, all flintstone in Norway is transported by people. At Espevær, greenstone was quarried for tools in the Stone Age, and greenstone tools from Espevær have been found over large parts of Western Norway. Around 2000-3000 BC the usual farm animals such as cows and sheep were introduced to Norway. Livestock probably meant a fundamental change in society in that part of the people had to be permanent residents or live a semi-nomadic life. Livestock farming may also have led to conflict with hunters.
The oldest traces of people in what is today Norway have been found at Pauler , a farm in Brunlanes in Larvik municipality in Vestfold . In 2007 and 2008, the farm has given its name to a number of Stone Age settlements that have been excavated and examined by archaeologists from the Cultural History Museum at UiO. The investigations have been carried out in connection with the new route for the E18 motorway west of Farris. The oldest settlement, located more than 127 m above sea level, is dated to be about 10,400 years old (uncalibrated, more than 11,000 years in real calendar years). From here, the ice sheet was perhaps visible when people settled here. This locality has been named Pauler I, and is today considered to be the oldest confirmed human traces in Norway to date. The place is in the mountains above the Pauler tunnel on the E18 between Larvik and Porsgrunn . The pioneer settlement is a term archaeologists have adopted for the oldest settlement. The archaeologists have speculated about where they came from, the first people in what is today Norway. It has been suggested that they could come by boat or perhaps across the ice from Doggerland or the North Sea, but there is now a large consensus that they came north along what is today the Bohuslän coast. The Fosna culture , the Komsa culture and the Nøstvet culture are the traditional terms for hunting cultures from the Stone Age. One thing is certain - getting to the water was something they mastered, the first people in our country. Therefore, within a short time they were able to use our entire long coast.
In the New Stone Age (4000 BC–1700 BC) there is a theory that a new people immigrated to the country, the so-called Stone Ax People . Rock carvings from this period show motifs from hunting and fishing , which were still important industries. From this period, a megalithic tomb has been found in Østfold .
It is uncertain whether there were organized societies or state-like associations in the Stone Age in Norway. Findings from settlements indicate that many lived together and that this was probably more than one family so that it was a slightly larger, organized herd.
Finnmark
In prehistoric times, animal husbandry and agriculture were of little economic importance in Finnmark. Livelihoods in Finnmark were mainly based on fish, gathering, hunting and trapping, and eventually domestic reindeer herding became widespread in the Middle Ages. Archaeological finds from the Stone Age have been referred to as the Komsa culture and comprise around 5,000 years of settlement. Finnmark probably got its first settlement around 8000 BC. It is believed that the coastal areas became ice-free 11,000 years BC and the fjord areas around 9,000 years BC. after which willows, grass, heather, birch and pine came into being. Finnmarksvidda was covered by pine forest around 6000 BC. After the Ice Age, the land rose around 80 meters in the inner fjord areas (Alta, Tana, Varanger). Due to ice melting in the polar region, the sea rose in the period 6400–3800 BC. and in areas with little land elevation, some settlements from the first part of the Stone Age were flooded. On Sørøya, the net sea level rise was 12 to 14 meters and many residential areas were flooded.
According to Bjørnar Olsen , there are many indications of a connection between the oldest settlement in Western Norway (the " Fosnakulturen ") and that in Finnmark, but it is uncertain in which direction the settlement took place. In the earliest part of the Stone Age, settlement in Finnmark was probably concentrated in the coastal areas, and these only reflected a lifestyle with great mobility and no permanent dwellings. The inner regions, such as Pasvik, were probably used seasonally. The archaeologically proven settlements from the Stone Age in inner Finnmark and Troms are linked to lakes and large watercourses. The oldest petroglyphs in Alta are usually dated to 4200 BC, that is, the Neolithic . Bjørnar Olsen believes that the oldest can be up to 2,000 years older than this.
From around 4000 BC a slow deforestation of Finnmark began and around 1800 BC the vegetation distribution was roughly the same as in modern times. The change in vegetation may have increased the distance between the reindeer's summer and winter grazing. The uplift continued slowly from around 4000 BC. at the same time as sea level rise stopped.
According to Gutorm Gjessing, the settlement in Finnmark and large parts of northern Norway in the Neolithic was semi-nomadic with movement between four seasonal settlements (following the pattern of life in Sami siida in historical times): On the outer coast in summer (fishing and seal catching) and inland in winter (hunting for reindeer, elk and bear). Povl Simonsen believed instead that the winter residence was in the inner fjord area in a village-like sod house settlement. Bjørnar Olsen believes that at the end of the Stone Age there was a relatively settled population along the coast, while inland there was less settlement and a more mobile lifestyle.
Bronze Age (1700 BC–500 BC)
Bronze was used for tools in Norway from around 1500 BC. Bronze is a mixture of tin and copper , and these metals were introduced because they were not mined in the country at the time. Bronze is believed to have been a relatively expensive material. The Bronze Age in Norway can be divided into two phases:
Early Bronze Age (1700–1100 BC)
Younger Bronze Age (1100–500 BC)
For the prehistoric (unwritten) era, there is limited knowledge about social conditions and possible state formations. From the Bronze Age, there are large burial mounds of stone piles along the coast of Vestfold and Agder, among others. It is likely that only chieftains or other great men could erect such grave monuments and there was probably some form of organized society linked to these. In the Bronze Age, society was more organized and stratified than in the Stone Age. Then a rich class of chieftains emerged who had close connections with southern Scandinavia. The settlements became more permanent and people adopted horses and ard . They acquired bronze status symbols, lived in longhouses and people were buried in large burial mounds . Petroglyphs from the Bronze Age indicate that humans practiced solar cultivation.
Finnmark
In the last millennium BC the climate became cooler and the pine forest disappears from the coast; pine forests, for example, were only found in the innermost part of the Altafjord, while the outer coast was almost treeless. Around the year 0, the limit for birch forest was south of Kirkenes. Animals with forest habitats (elk, bear and beaver) disappeared and the reindeer probably established their annual migration routes sometime at that time. In the period 1800–900 BC there were significantly more settlements in and utilization of the hinterland was particularly noticeable on Finnmarksvidda. From around 1800 BC until year 0 there was a significant increase in contact between Finnmark and areas in the east including Karelia (where metals were produced including copper) and central and eastern Russia. The youngest petroglyphs in Alta show far more boats than the earlier phases and the boats are reminiscent of types depicted in petroglyphs in southern Scandinavia. It is unclear what influence southern Scandinavian societies had as far north as Alta before the year 0. Many of the cultural features that are considered typical Sami in modern times were created or consolidated in the last millennium BC, this applies, among other things, to the custom of burying in brick chambers in stone urns. The Mortensnes burial ground may have been used for 2000 years until around 1600 AD.
Iron Age (c. 500 BC–c. 1050 AD)
The Einangsteinen is one of the oldest Norwegian runestones; it is from the 4th century
Simultaneous production of Vikings
Around 500 years BC the researchers reckon that the Bronze Age will be replaced by the Iron Age as iron takes over as the most important material for weapons and tools. Bronze, wood and stone were still used. Iron was cheaper than bronze, easier to work than flint , and could be used for many purposes; iron probably became common property. Iron could, among other things, be used to make solid and sharp axes which made it much easier to fell trees. In the Iron Age, gold and silver were also used partly for decoration and partly as means of payment. It is unknown which language was used in Norway before our era. From around the year 0 until around the year 800, everyone in Scandinavia (except the Sami) spoke Old Norse , a North Germanic language. Subsequently, several different languages developed in this area that were only partially mutually intelligible. The Iron Age is divided into several periods:
Early Iron Age
Pre-Roman Iron Age (c. 500 BC–c. 0)
Roman Iron Age (c. 0–c. AD 400)
Migration period (approx. 400–600). In the migration period (approx. 400–600), new peoples came to Norway, and ruins of fortress buildings etc. are interpreted as signs that there has been talk of a violent invasion.
Younger Iron Age
Merovingian period (500–800)
The Viking Age (793–1066)
Norwegian Vikings go on plundering expeditions and trade voyages around the coastal countries of Western Europe . Large groups of Norwegians emigrate to the British Isles , Iceland and Greenland . Harald Hårfagre starts a unification process of Norway late in the 8th century , which was completed by Harald Hardråde in the 1060s . The country was Christianized under the kings Olav Tryggvason , fell in the battle of Svolder ( 1000 ) and Olav Haraldsson (the saint), fell in the battle of Stiklestad in 1030 .
Sources of prehistoric times
Shrinking glaciers in the high mountains, including in Jotunheimen and Breheimen , have from around the year 2000 uncovered objects from the Viking Age and earlier. These are objects of organic material that have been preserved by the ice and that elsewhere in nature are broken down in a few months. The finds are getting older as the melting makes the archaeologists go deeper into the ice. About half of all archaeological discoveries on glaciers in the world are made in Oppland . In 2013, a 3,400-year-old shoe and a robe from the year 300 were found. Finds at Lomseggen in Lom published in 2020 revealed, among other things, well-preserved horseshoes used on a mountain pass. Many hundreds of items include preserved clothing, knives, whisks, mittens, leather shoes, wooden chests and horse equipment. A piece of cloth dated to the year 1000 has preserved its original colour. In 2014, a wooden ski from around the year 700 was found in Reinheimen . The ski is 172 cm long and 14 cm wide, with preserved binding of leather and wicker.
Pytheas from Massalia is the oldest known account of what was probably the coast of Norway, perhaps somewhere on the coast of Møre. Pytheas visited Britannia around 325 BC. and traveled further north to a country by the "Ice Sea". Pytheas described the short summer night and the midnight sun farther north. He wrote, among other things, that people there made a drink from grain and honey. Caesar wrote in his work about the Gallic campaign about the Germanic tribe Haruders. Other Roman sources around the year 0 mention the land of the Cimbri (Jutland) and the Cimbri headlands ( Skagen ) and that the sources stated that Cimbri and Charyds lived in this area. Some of these peoples may have immigrated to Norway and there become known as hordes (as in Hordaland). Sources from the Mediterranean area referred to the islands of Scandia, Scandinavia and Thule ("the outermost of all islands"). The Roman historian Tacitus wrote around the year 100 a work about Germania and mentioned the people of Scandia, the Sviones. Ptolemy wrote around the year 150 that the Kharudes (Hordes) lived further north than all the Cimbri, in the north lived the Finnoi (Finns or Sami) and in the south the Gutai (Goths). The Nordic countries and Norway were outside the Roman Empire , which dominated Europe at the time. The Gothic-born historian Jordanes wrote in the 5th century about 13 tribes or people groups in Norway, including raumaricii (probably Romerike ), ragnaricii ( Ranrike ) and finni or skretefinni (skrid finner or ski finner, i.e. Sami) as well as a number of unclear groups. Prokopios wrote at the same time about Thule north of the land of the Danes and Slavs, Thule was ten times as big as Britannia and the largest of all the islands. In Thule, the sun was up 40 days straight in the summer. After the migration period , southern Europeans' accounts of northern Europe became fuller and more reliable.
Settlement in prehistoric times
Norway has around 50,000 farms with their own names. Farm names have persisted for a long time, over 1000 years, perhaps as much as 2000 years. The name researchers have arranged different types of farm names chronologically, which provides a basis for determining when the place was used by people or received a permanent settlement. Uncompounded landscape names such as Haug, Eid, Vik and Berg are believed to be the oldest. Archaeological traces indicate that some areas have been inhabited earlier than assumed from the farm name. Burial mounds also indicate permanent settlement. For example, the burial ground at Svartelva in Løten was used from around the year 0 to the year 1000 when Christianity took over. The first farmers probably used large areas for inland and outland, and new farms were probably established based on some "mother farms". Names such as By (or Bø) show that it is an old place of residence. From the older Iron Age, names with -heim (a common Germanic word meaning place of residence) and -stad tell of settlement, while -vin and -land tell of the use of the place. Farm names in -heim are often found as -um , -eim or -em as in Lerum and Seim, there are often large farms in the center of the village. New farm names with -city and -country were also established in the Viking Age . The first farmers probably used the best areas. The largest burial grounds, the oldest archaeological finds and the oldest farm names are found where the arable land is richest and most spacious.
It is unclear whether the settlement expansion in Roman times, migrations and the Iron Age is due to immigration or internal development and population growth. Among other things, it is difficult to demonstrate where in Europe the immigrants have come from. The permanent residents had both fields (where grain was grown) and livestock that grazed in the open fields, but it is uncertain which of these was more important. Population growth from around the year 200 led to more utilization of open land, for example in the form of settlements in the mountains. During the migration period, it also seems that in parts of the country it became common to have cluster gardens or a form of village settlement.
Norwegian expansion northwards
From around the year 200, there was a certain migration by sea from Rogaland and Hordaland to Nordland and Sør-Troms. Those who moved settled down as a settled Iron Age population and became dominant over the original population which may have been Sami . The immigrant Norwegians, Bumen , farmed with livestock that were fed inside in the winter as well as some grain cultivation and fishing. The northern border of the Norwegians' settlement was originally at the Toppsundet near Harstad and around the year 500 there was a Norwegian settlement to Malangsgapet. That was as far north as it was possible to grow grain at the time. Malangen was considered the border between Hålogaland and Finnmork until around 1400 . Further into the Viking Age and the Middle Ages, there was immigration and settlement of Norwegian speakers along the coast north of Malangen. Around the year 800, Norwegians lived along the entire outer coast to Vannøy . The Norwegians partly copied Sami livelihoods such as whaling, fur hunting and reindeer husbandry. It was probably this area between Malangen and Vannøy that was Ottar from the Hålogaland area. In the Viking Age, there were also some Norwegian settlements further north and east. East of the North Cape are the scattered archaeological finds of Norwegian settlement in the Viking Age. There are Norwegian names for fjords and islands from the Viking Age, including fjord names with "-anger". Around the year 1050, there were Norwegian settlements on the outer coast of Western Finnmark. Traders and tax collectors traveled even further.
North of Malangen there were Norse farming settlements in the Iron Age. Malangen was considered Finnmark's western border until 1300. There are some archaeological traces of Norse activity around the coast from Tromsø to Kirkenes in the Viking Age. Around Tromsø, the research indicates a Norse/Sami mixed culture on the coast.
From the year 1100 and the next 200–300 years, there are no traces of Norwegian settlement north and east of Tromsø. It is uncertain whether this is due to depopulation, whether it is because the Norwegians further north were not Christianized or because there were no churches north of Lenvik or Tromsø . Norwegian settlement in the far north appears from sources from the 14th century. In the Hanseatic period , the settlement was developed into large areas specialized in commercial fishing, while earlier (in the Viking Age) there had been farms with a combination of fishing and agriculture. In 1307 , a fortress and the first church east of Tromsø were built in Vardø . Vardø became a small Norwegian town, while Vadsø remained Sami. Norwegian settlements and churches appeared along the outermost coast in the Middle Ages. After the Reformation, perhaps as a result of a decline in fish stocks or fish prices, there were Norwegian settlements in the inner fjord areas such as Lebesby in Laksefjord. Some fishing villages at the far end of the coast were abandoned for good. In the interior of Finnmark, there was no national border for a long time and Kautokeino and Karasjok were joint Norwegian-Swedish areas with strong Swedish influence. The border with Finland was established in 1751 and with Russia in 1826.
On a Swedish map from 1626, Norway's border is indicated at Malangen, while Sweden with this map showed a desire to control the Sami area which had been a common area.
The term Northern Norway only came into use at the end of the 19th century and administratively the area was referred to as Tromsø Diocese when Tromsø became a bishopric in 1840. There had been different designations previously: Hålogaland originally included only Helgeland and when Norse settlement spread north in the Viking Age and the Middle Ages, Hålogaland was used for the area north approximately to Malangen , while Finnmark or "Finnmarken", "the land of the Sami", lay outside. The term Northern Norway was coined at a cafe table in Kristiania in 1884 by members of the Nordlændingernes Forening and was first commonly used in the interwar period as it eventually supplanted "Hålogaland".
State formation
The battle in Hafrsfjord in the year 872 has long been regarded as the day when Norway became a kingdom. The year of the battle is uncertain (may have been 10-20 years later). The whole of Norway was not united in that battle: the process had begun earlier and continued a couple of hundred years later. This means that the geographical area became subject to a political authority and became a political unit. The geographical area was perceived as an area as it is known, among other things, from Ottar from Hålogaland's account for King Alfred of Wessex around the year 880. Ottar described "the land of the Norwegians" as very long and narrow, and it was narrowest in the far north. East of the wasteland in the south lay Sveoland and in the north lay Kvenaland in the east. When Ottar sailed south along the land from his home ( Malangen ) to Skiringssal, he always had Norway ("Nordveg") on his port side and the British Isles on his starboard side. The journey took a good month. Ottar perceived "Nordveg" as a geographical unit, but did not imply that it was a political unit. Ottar separated Norwegians from Swedes and Danes. It is unclear why Ottar perceived the population spread over such a large area as a whole. It is unclear whether Norway as a geographical term or Norwegians as the name of a ethnic group is the oldest. The Norwegians had a common language which in the centuries before Ottar did not differ much from the language of Denmark and Sweden.
According to Sverre Steen, it is unlikely that Harald Hårfagre was able to control this entire area as one kingdom. The saga of Harald was written 300 years later and at his death Norway was several smaller kingdoms. Harald probably controlled a larger area than anyone before him and at most Harald's kingdom probably included the coast from Trøndelag to Agder and Vestfold as well as parts of Viken . There were probably several smaller kingdoms of varying extent before Harald and some of these are reflected in traditional landscape names such as Ranrike and Ringerike . Landscape names of "-land" (Rogaland) and "-mark" (Hedmark) as well as names such as Agder and Sogn may have been political units before Harald.
According to Sverre Steen, the national assembly was completed at the earliest at the battle of Stiklestad in 1030 and the introduction of Christianity was probably a significant factor in the establishment of Norway as a state. Håkon I the good Adalsteinsfostre introduced the leasehold system where the "coastal land" (as far as the salmon went up the rivers) was divided into ship raiders who were to provide a longship with soldiers and supplies. The leidange was probably introduced as a defense against the Danes. The border with the Danes was traditionally at the Göta älv and several times before and after Harald Hårfagre the Danes had control over central parts of Norway.
Christianity was known and existed in Norway before Olav Haraldson's time. The spread occurred both from the south (today's Denmark and northern Germany) and from the west (England and Ireland). Ansgar of Bremen , called the "Apostle of the North", worked in Sweden, but he was never in Norway and probably had little influence in the country. Viking expeditions brought the Norwegians of that time into contact with Christian countries and some were baptized in England, Ireland and northern France. Olav Tryggvason and Olav Haraldson were Vikings who returned home. The first Christians in Norway were also linked to pre-Christian local religion, among other things, by mixing Christian symbols with symbols of Odin and other figures from Norse religion.
According to Sverre Steen, the introduction of Christianity in Norway should not be perceived as a nationwide revival. At Mostratinget, Christian law was introduced as law in the country and later incorporated into the laws of the individual jurisdictions. Christianity primarily involved new forms in social life, among other things exposure and images of gods were prohibited, it was forbidden to "put out" unwanted infants (to let them die), and it was forbidden to have multiple wives. The church became a nationwide institution with a special group of officials tasked with protecting the church and consolidating the new religion. According to Sverre Steen, Christianity and the church in the Middle Ages should therefore be considered together, and these became a new unifying factor in the country. The church and Christianity linked Norway to Roman Catholic Europe with Church Latin as the common language, the same time reckoning as the rest of Europe and the church in Norway was arranged much like the churches in Denmark, Sweden and England. Norway received papal approval in 1070 and became its own church province in 1152 with Archbishop Nidaros .
With Christianity, the country got three social powers: the peasants (organized through the things), the king with his officials and the church with the clergy. The things are the oldest institution: At allthings all armed men had the right to attend (in part an obligation to attend) and at lagthings met emissaries from an area (that is, the lagthings were representative assemblies). The Thing both ruled in conflicts and established laws. The laws were memorized by the participants and written down around the year 1000 or later in the Gulationsloven , Frostatingsloven , Eidsivatingsloven and Borgartingsloven . The person who had been successful at the hearing had to see to the implementation of the judgment themselves.
Early Middle Ages (1050s–1184)
The early Middle Ages is considered in Norwegian history to be the period between the end of the Viking Age around 1050 and the coronation of King Sverre in 1184 . The beginning of the period can be dated differently, from around the year 1000 when the Christianization of the country took place and up to 1100 when the Viking Age was over from an archaeological point of view. From 1035 to 1130 it was a time of (relative) internal peace in Norway, even several of the kings attempted campaigns abroad, including in 1066 and 1103 .
During this period, the church's organization was built up. This led to a gradual change in religious customs. Religion went from being a domestic matter to being regulated by common European Christian law and the royal power gained increased power and influence. Slavery (" servitude ") was gradually abolished. The population grew rapidly during this period, as the thousands of farm names ending in -rud show.
The urbanization of Norway is a historical process that has slowly but surely changed Norway from the early Viking Age to today, from a country based on agriculture and sea salvage, to increasingly trade and industry. As early as the ninth century, the country got its first urban community, and in the eleventh century we got the first permanent cities.
In the 1130s, civil war broke out . This was due to a power struggle and that anyone who claimed to be the king's son could claim the right to the throne. The disputes escalated into extensive year-round warfare when Sverre Sigurdsson started a rebellion against the church's and the landmen's candidate for the throne , Magnus Erlingsson .
Emergence of cities
The oldest Norwegian cities probably emerged from the end of the 9th century. Oslo, Bergen and Nidaros became episcopal seats, which stimulated urban development there, and the king built churches in Borg , Konghelle and Tønsberg. Hamar and Stavanger became new episcopal seats and are referred to in the late 12th century as towns together with the trading places Veøy in Romsdal and Kaupanger in Sogn. In the late Middle Ages, Borgund (on Sunnmøre), Veøy (in Romsdalsfjorden) and Vågan (in Lofoten) were referred to as small trading places. Urbanization in Norway occurred in few places compared to the neighboring countries, only 14 places appear as cities before 1350. Stavanger became a bishopric around 1120–1130, but it is unclear whether the place was already a city then. The fertile Jæren and outer Ryfylke were probably relatively densely populated at that time. A particularly large concentration of Irish artefacts from the Viking Age has been found in Stavanger and Nord-Jæren.
It has been difficult to estimate the population in the Norwegian medieval cities, but it is considered certain that the cities grew rapidly in the Middle Ages. Oscar Albert Johnsen estimated the city's population before the Black Death at 20,000, of which 7,000 in Bergen, 3,000 in Nidaros, 2,000 in Oslo and 1,500 in Tunsberg. Based on archaeological research, Lunden estimates that Oslo had around 1,500 inhabitants in 250 households in the year 1300. Bergen was built up more densely and, with the concentration of exports there, became Norway's largest city in a special position for several hundred years. Knut Helle suggests a city population of 20,000 at most in the High Middle Ages, of which almost half in Bergen.
The Bjarkøyretten regulated the conditions in cities (especially Bergen and Nidaros) and in trading places, and for Nidaros had many of the same provisions as the Frostating Act . Magnus Lagabøte's city law replaced the bjarkøretten and from 1276 regulated the settlement in Bergen and with corresponding laws also drawn up for Oslo, Nidaros and Tunsberg. The city law applied within the city's roof area . The City Act determined that the city's public streets consisted of wide commons (perpendicular to the shoreline) and ran parallel to the shoreline, similarly in Nidaros and Oslo. The roads were small streets of up to 3 cubits (1.4 metres) and linked to the individual property. From the Middle Ages, the Norwegian cities were usually surrounded by wooden fences. The urban development largely consisted of low wooden houses which stood in contrast to the relatively numerous and dominant churches and monasteries built in stone.
The City Act and supplementary provisions often determined where in the city different goods could be traded, in Bergen, for example, cattle and sheep could only be traded on the Square, and fish only on the Square or directly from the boats at the quayside. In Nidaros, the blacksmiths were required to stay away from the densely populated areas due to the risk of fire, while the tanners had to stay away from the settlements due to the strong smell. The City Act also attempted to regulate the influx of people into the city (among other things to prevent begging in the streets) and had provisions on fire protection. In Oslo, from the 13th century or earlier, it was common to have apartment buildings consisting of single buildings on a couple of floors around a courtyard with access from the street through a gate room. Oslo's medieval apartment buildings were home to one to four households. In the urban farms, livestock could be kept, including pigs and cows, while pastures and fields were found in the city's rooftops . In the apartment buildings there could be several outbuildings such as warehouses, barns and stables. Archaeological excavations show that much of the buildings in medieval Oslo, Trondheim and Tønsberg resembled the oblong farms that have been preserved at Bryggen in Bergen . The land boundaries in Oslo appear to have persisted for many hundreds of years, in Bergen right from the Middle Ages to modern times.
High Middle Ages (1184–1319)
After civil wars in the 12th century, the country had a relative heyday in the 13th century. Iceland and Greenland came under the royal authority in 1262 , and the Norwegian Empire reached its greatest extent under Håkon IV Håkonsson . The last king of Haraldsätten, Håkon V Magnusson , died sonless in 1319 . Until the 17th century, Norway stretched all the way down to the mouth of Göta älv , which was then Norway's border with Sweden and Denmark.
Just before the Black Death around 1350, there were between 65,000 and 85,000 farms in the country, and there had been a strong growth in the number of farms from 1050, especially in Eastern Norway. In the High Middle Ages, the church or ecclesiastical institutions controlled 40% of the land in Norway, while the aristocracy owned around 20% and the king owned 7%. The church and monasteries received land through gifts from the king and nobles, or through inheritance and gifts from ordinary farmers.
Settlement and demography in the Middle Ages
Before the Black Death, there were more and more farms in Norway due to farm division and clearing. The settlement spread to more marginal agricultural areas higher inland and further north. Eastern Norway had the largest areas to take off and had the most population growth towards the High Middle Ages. Along the coast north of Stad, settlement probably increased in line with the extent of fishing. The Icelandic Rimbegla tells around the year 1200 that the border between Finnmark (the land of the Sami) and resident Norwegians in the interior was at Malangen , while the border all the way out on the coast was at Kvaløya . From the end of the High Middle Ages, there were more Norwegians along the coast of Finnmark and Nord-Troms. In the inner forest and mountain tracts along the current border between Norway and Sweden, the Sami exploited the resources all the way down to Hedmark.
There are no censuses or other records of population and settlement in the Middle Ages. At the time of the Reformation, the population was below 200,000 and only in 1650 was the population at the same level as before the Black Death. When Christianity was introduced after the year 1000, the population was around 200,000. After the Black Death, many farms and settlements were abandoned and deserted, in the most marginal agricultural areas up to 80% of the farms were abandoned. Places such as Skien, Veøy and Borgund (Ålesund) went out of use as trading towns. By the year 1300, the population was somewhere between 300,000 and 560,000 depending on the calculation method. Common methods start from detailed information about farms in each village and compare this with the situation in 1660 when there are good headcounts. From 1300 to 1660, there was a change in the economic base so that the coastal villages received a larger share of the population. The inland areas of Eastern Norway had a relatively larger population in the High Middle Ages than after the Reformation. Kåre Lunden concludes that the population in the year 1300 was close to 500,000, of which 15,000 lived in cities. Lunden believes that the population in 1660 was still slightly lower than the peak before the Black Death and points out that farm settlement in 1660 did not reach the same extent as in the High Middle Ages. In 1660, the population in Troms and Finnmark was 6,000 and 3,000 respectively (2% of the total population), in 1300 these areas had an even smaller share of the country's population and in Finnmark there were hardly any Norwegian-speaking inhabitants. In the High Middle Ages, the climate was more favorable for grain cultivation in the north. Based on the number of farms, the population increased 162% from 1000 to 1300, in Northern and Western Europe as a whole the growth was 200% in the same period.
Late Middle Ages (1319–1537)
Due to repeated plague epidemics, the population was roughly halved and the least productive of the country's farms were laid waste. It took several hundred years before the population again reached the level before 1349 . However, those who survived the epidemics gained more financial resources by sharing. Tax revenues for the state almost collapsed, and a large part of the noble families died out or sank into peasant status due to the fall in national debt . The Hanseatic League took over trade and shipping and dominated fish exports. The Archbishop of Nidaros was the country's most powerful man economically and politically, as the royal dynasty married into the Swedish in 1319 and died out in 1387 . Eventually, Copenhagen became the political center of the kingdom and Bergen the commercial center, while Trondheim remained the religious center.
From Reformation to Autocracy (1537–1660)
In 1537 , the Reformation was carried out in Norway. With that, almost half of the country's property was confiscated by the royal power at the stroke of a pen. The large seizure increased the king's income and was able, among other things, to expand his military power and consolidated his power in the kingdom. From roughly the time of the Reformation and in the following centuries, the state increased its power and importance in people's lives. Until around 1620, the state administration was fairly simple and unspecialised: in Copenhagen, the central administration mainly consisted of a chancellery and an interest chamber ; and sheriffs ruled the civil (including bailiffs and sheriffs) and the military in their district, the sheriffs collected taxes and oversaw business. The accounts were not clear and without summaries. The clergy, which had great power as a separate organization, was appointed by the state church after the Reformation, administered from Copenhagen. In this period, Norway was ruled by (mainly) Danish noble sheriffs, who acted as intermediaries between the peasants and the Oldenborg king in the field of justice, tax and customs collection.
From 1620, the state apparatus went through major changes where specialization of functions was a main issue. The sheriff's tasks were divided between several, more specialized officials - the sheriffs retained the formal authority over these, who in practice were under the national administration in Copenhagen. Among other things, a separate military officer corps was established, a separate customs office was established and separate treasurers for taxes and fees were appointed. The Overbergamtet, the central governing body for overseeing mining operations in Norway, was established in 1654 with an office in Christiania and this agency was to oversee the mining chiefs in the Nordenfjeld and Sønnenfjeld areas (the mines at Kongsberg and Røros were established in the previous decades). The formal transition from county government to official government with fixed-paid county officials took place after 1660, but the real changes had taken place from around 1620. The increased specialization and transition to official government meant that experts, not amateurs, were in charge of each area, and this civil service meant, according to Sverre Steen that the dictatorship was not a personal dictatorship.
From 1570 until 1721, the Oldenborg dynasty was in repeated wars with the Vasa dynasty in Sweden. The financing of these wars led to a severe increase in taxation which caused great distress.
Politically-geographically, the Oldenborg kings had to cede to Sweden the Norwegian provinces of Jemtland , Herjedalen , Idre and Särna , as well as Båhuslen . As part of the financing of the wars, the state apparatus was expanded. Royal power began to assert itself to a greater extent in the administration of justice. Until this period, cases of violence and defamation had been treated as civil cases between citizens. The level of punishment was greatly increased. During this period, at least 307 people were also executed for witchcraft in Norway. Culturally, the country was marked by the fact that the written language became Danish because of the Bible translation and the University of Copenhagen's educational monopoly.
From the 16th century, business became more marked by production for sale and not just own consumption. In the past, it was particularly the fisheries that had produced such a large surplus of goods that it was sold to markets far away, the dried fish trade via Bergen is known from around the year 1100. In the 16th century, the yield from the fisheries multiplied, especially due to the introduction of herring in Western Norway and in Trøndelag and because new tools made fishing for herring and skre more efficient. Line fishing and cod nets that were introduced in the 17th century were controversial because the small fishermen believed it favored citizens in the cities.
Forestry and the timber trade became an important business, particularly because of the boom saw which made it possible to saw all kinds of tables and planks for sale abroad. The demand for timber increased at the same time in Europe, Norway had plenty of forests and in the 17th century timber became the country's most important export product. There were hundreds of sawmills in the country and the largest had the feel of factories . In 1680, the king regulated the timber trade by allowing exports only from privileged sawmills and in a certain quantity.
From the 1520s, some silver was mined in Telemark. When the peasants chased the German miners whereupon the king executed five peasants and demanded compensation from the other rebellious peasants. The background for the harsh treatment was that the king wanted to assert his authority over the extraction of precious metals. The search for metals led to the silver works at Kongsberg after 1624, copper in the mountain villages between Trøndelag and Eastern Norway, and iron, among other things, in Agder and lower Telemark. The financial gain of the quarries at that time is unclear because there are no reliable accounts. Kongsberg made Denmark-Norway self-sufficient in silver and the copper works produced a good deal more than the domestic demand and became an important export commodity. Kongsberg and Røros were the only Norwegian towns established because of the quarries.
In addition to the sawmills, in the 17th century, industrial production ( manufactures ) was established in, among other things, wool weaving, soap production, tea boiling , nail production and the manufacture of gunpowder .
The monopoly until the Peace of Kiel (1660–1814)
Until 1660, the king had been elected by the Danish Riksråd, while he inherited the kingdom of Norway, which was a tradition in Norway. After a series of military defeats, the king committed a coup d'état and deposed the Riksdag. King Frederik III introduced absolute power, which meant that there were hardly any legal restrictions on the king's power. This reinforced the expansion of the state apparatus that had been going on for a few decades, and the civil administration was controlled to a greater extent from the central administration in Copenhagen. According to Sverre Steen, the more specialized and expanded civil service meant that the period of autocracy was not essentially a personal dictatorship: The changing monarchs had the formal last word on important matters, but higher officials set the conditions. According to Steen, the autocracy was not tyrannical where the citizens were treated arbitrarily by the king and officials: the laws were strict and the punishments harsh, but there was legal certainty. The king rarely used his right to punish outside the judiciary and often used his right to commute sentences or pardons. It almost never happened that the king intervened in a court case before a verdict had been passed.
In 1662, the sheriff system (in which the nobility played an important role) was abolished and replaced with amt . Norway was divided into four main counties (Akershus, Kristiansands, Bergenhus and Trondhjems) which were later called stiftamt led by stiftamtmen with a number of county marshals and bailiffs (futer) under them. The county administrator in Akershus also had other roles such as governor. The former sheriffs were almost absolute within their fiefs, while the new stifamtmen and amtmen had more limited authority; among other things, they did not have military equipment like the sheriffs. The county officials had no control over state income and could not enrich themselves privately as the sheriffs could, taxes and fees were instead handled by their own officials. County officials were employed by the king and, unlike the sheriffs, had a fixed salary. Officials appointed by the king were responsible for local government. Before 1662, the sheriffs themselves appointed low officials such as bailiffs, mayors and councillors. A church commissioner was given responsibility for overseeing the churchwardens' accounts. In 1664, two general road masters were appointed for Norway, one for Sonnafjelske (Eastland and Sørlandet) and one for Nordafjelske (Westlandet and Trøndelag; Northern Norway had no roads).
Both Denmark and Norway got new law books. The wretched state finances led to an extensive sale of crown property, first to the state's creditors. Further sales meant that many farmers became self-owned at the end of the 18th century. Industrial exploitation of Norwegian natural resources began, and trade and shipping and especially increasing timber exports led to economic growth in the latter part of the 1700s.
From 1500 to 1814, Norway did not have its own foreign policy. After the dissolution of the Kalmar Union in 1523, Denmark remained the leading power in the Nordic region and dominated the Baltic Sea, while Sweden sought to expand geographically in all directions and strengthened its position. From 1625 to 1660, Denmark lost its dominance: Christian IV lost to the emperor in the Thirty Years' War and ceded Skåne, Blekinge, Halland, Båhuslen , Jemtland and Herjedalen as well as all the islands in the inner part of the Baltic Sea. With this, Norway got its modern borders, which have remained in place ever since. Sweden was no longer confined by Norway and Denmark, and Sweden became the great power in the Nordic region. At the same time, Norway remained far from Denmark (until 1660 there was an almost continuous land connection between Norway and Denmark). During the Great Nordic War, Danish forces moved towards Scania and ended with Charles the 12th falling at Fredriksten . From 1720 to 1807 there was peace except for the short Cranberry War in 1788. In August 1807, the British navy surrounded Denmark and demanded that the Danish fleet be handed over. After bombing 2-7. On September 1807, the Danes capitulated and handed over the fleet (known as the "fleet robbery") and the arsenal. Two weeks later, Denmark entered into an alliance with Napoleon and Great Britain declared war on Denmark in November 1807. The Danish leadership had originally envisioned an alliance with Great Britain. Anger at the fleet robbery and fear of French occupation of Denmark itself (and thus breaking the connection with Norway) were probably the motive for the alliance with France. According to Sverre Steen, the period 1807-1814 was the most significant in Norway's history (before the Second World War). Foreign trade was paralyzed and hundreds of Norwegian ships were seized by the British. British ships, both warships and privateers , blocked the sea route between Norway and Denmark as described in " Terje Vigen " by Henrik Ibsen . During the Napoleonic Wars , there was a food shortage and famine in Norway, between 20 and 30 thousand people out of a population of around 900 thousand died from sheer lack of food or diseases related to malnutrition.
From the late summer of 1807, Norway was governed by a government commission led by the governor and commander-in-chief, Prince Christian August . Christian August was considered an honorable and capable leader. In 1808, a joint Russian and Danish/Norwegian attack on Sweden was planned; the campaign fails completely and Christian August concludes a truce with the Swedes. The Swedish king was deposed, the country got a new constitution with a limited monarchy and in the summer of 1808, Christian August was elected heir to the throne in Sweden. Christian August died a few months after he moved to Sweden and the French general Jean Baptiste Bernadotte became the new heir to the throne with the name "Karl Johan". After Napoleon was defeated at Leipzig in 1813, Bernadotte entered Holstein with Swedish forces and forced the Danish king to the Peace of Kiel .
Happy friday everyone!! :D It's a glorious 10 degrees here right now! ICK!! Soo I've been toying with an idea and I think that I'm goign to be making up skinny hair frogs to be able to make up-do's like this one... Oh! And I'm going to BLYTHE CON this October!!! :D Excited, but scared, no idea who I'll be rooming with at this point though! lol...
Skinny is named Turquoise Tantrum... :)