Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...

sources, such as

saga is a series of science fantasy role-playing video games by Square Enix. The series originated on the Game Boy in 1989 as the creation of Akitoshi Kawazu at Square (video game company), Square. It has since continued across multiple platforms, ...

s and

runestone A runestone is typically a raised stone with a runic inscription, but the term can also be applied to inscriptions on boulders and on bedrock. The tradition began in the 4th century and lasted into the 12th century, but most of the runestones d ...

s, Serkland (also ''Særkland'', ''Srklant'', ''Sirklant'', ''Serklat'', etc.) was the "land of the ''Serkir''", usually identified with the

Saracens file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century Germany in the Middle Ages, German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings, to refer ...

. The exact etymology is disputed. ''Serk''- may derive from "Saracen"; from ''sericum'', Latin for "silk", implying a connection with the

Silk Road The Silk Road () was a network of Eurasian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. Spanning over 6,400 kilometers (4,000 miles), it played a central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and reli ...

; from the Khazar fortress of

Sarkel Sarkel (or Šarkel, literally ''white house'' in the Khazar language was a large limestone-and-brick fortress in the present-day Rostov Oblast of Russia, on the left bank of the lower Don River. It was built by the Khazars with Byzantine ass ...

; or from ''serkr'', shirt or gown, i.e., "land of the gown-wearers". In all cases it refers to a land in the East. Originally, it referred to the land south of the

Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia; east of the Caucasus, west of the broad steppe of Central Asia ...

, but it gradually expanded to cover all Islamic lands, including parts of

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

(and possibly even Muslim Sicily). Notably one of the

Ingvar runestones The Ingvar Runestones ( sv, Ingvarstenarna) is the name of around 26 Varangian Runestones that were raised in commemoration of those who died in the Swedish Viking expedition to the Caspian Sea of Ingvar the Far-Travelled. The Ingvar expedition ...

, the Sö 179, raised circa 1040 at

Gripsholm Castle Gripsholm Castle ( sv, Gripsholms slott) is a castle in Mariefred, Södermanland, Sweden. It is located by lake Mälaren in south central Sweden, in the municipality of Strängnäs, about 60 km west of Stockholm. Since Gustav Vasa, Gripsho ...

, commemorates a

Varangian The Varangians (; non, Væringjar; gkm, Βάραγγοι, ''Várangoi'';Varangian
" Online Etymo ...

loss during an ill-fated raid in Serkland. The other remaining runestones that talk of Serkland are Sö 131, Sö 279, Sö 281, the

Tillinge Runestone The Tillinge Runestone, designated as U 785 under Rundata, is a Viking Age memorial runestone that was found at the church of Tillinge in Uppland, Sweden. Description The Tillinge Runestone inscription consists of a runic text within a serpent. ...

and probably the lost runestone U 439. For a detailed account of such raids, see

Caspian expeditions of the Rus' Caspian can refer to: *The Caspian Sea *The Caspian Depression, surrounding the northern part of the Caspian Sea *The Caspians, the ancient people living near the Caspian Sea *Caspian languages, collection of languages and dialects of Caspian peopl ...

. Several sagas mention Serkland: ''

Ynglinga saga ''Ynglinga saga'' ( ) is a Kings' saga, originally written in Old Norse by the Icelandic poet and historian Snorri Sturluson about 1225. It is the first section of his ''Heimskringla''. It was first translated into English and published in 1844 ...

'', ''

Sörla saga sterka ''Sörla saga sterka'' is a legendary saga which was written in the 14th or 15th century. It is a sequel to ''Hálfdanar saga Brönufóstra'' and like its prequel one of its locales is England, which is a vassal to Sweden. Sörli the Strong is a ...

'', '' Sörla þáttr'', ''

Saga Sigurðar Jórsalafara ''Heimskringla'' () is the best known of the Old Norse kings' sagas. It was written in Old Norse in Iceland by the poet and historian Snorre Sturlason (1178/79–1241) 1230. The name ''Heimskringla'' was first used in the 17th century, derived ...

'', '' Jökulsþáttur Búasonar'' and ''

Hjálmþés saga ok Ölvis ''Hjálmþés saga ok Ölvis'' is a late legendary saga without an apparent historic basis. It is about two children of a jarl, and one of them is Hjálmþér whose evil stepmother commands him to work as a thrall until he has performed an impossib ...

''. It is also mentioned by the 11th century skald Þórgils Fiskimaðr, and the 12th century skald Þórarinn Stuttfeldr.Þórarinn stuttfeldr, Islandsk skjald, 12. årh. (AI, 489-92, BI, 461-4).
/ref> __NOTOC__

References

Literature

* Ture Johnsson Arne. ''Austr i Karusm och Särklandsnamnet''. In ''Fornvännen 42'', pp 290–305. Stockholm 1947. * Sven B. F. Jansson. ''Runinskrifter i Sverige''. Stockholm 1963. * Carl L. Thunberg
''Särkland och dess källmaterial''
University of Gothenburg 2011. * Carl L. Thunberg
''Ingvarståget och dess monument''
University of Gothenburg 2010.

External links

The Ingvar Runestones on Google Maps (after Carl L. Thunberg 2010)
Saga locations Viking Age populated places Exonyms Medieval history of the Middle East Medieval Africa History of North Africa Old Norse {{Africa-hist-stub

See also

References

Literature

External links