Biarmland (or Bjarmaland) was a territory in Northern Europe, Northern Russia, mentioned by Norse sagas, where Finnic Biarmians lived or rather ruled. The Norse sagas or Viking sagas (Icelandic: sögur), are stories about ancient Scandinavian and Germanic history, about early Viking voyages, about migration to Iceland, and of feuds between Icelandic families. ... Finnic (Fennic, sometimes Baltic Finnic) may refer to Finnish-similar languages spoken close to the Gulf of Finland, i. ...

Identification

The name appears in old Scandinavian literature, possible for the area where Arkhangelsk is presently situated, and where it was preceded by a Biarmian merchant town. The first appearance of the name is in the Voyage of Ohthere, which was undertaken ca 890. According to the story, it was not the first Scandinavian voyage to the Biarmians, and it was explicitly undertaken to purchase walrus tusks from the Biarmians. Biarmland is also used later, maybe not the same Biarmland, both by the German historian Adam of Bremen (ca. 11th c.) and the Icelander Snorri Sturluson (1179-1241) in Herrauðs (Herraudhs) and Bosa saga, telling its rivers flowing out to Gandvik. Scandinavia, Fennoscandia, and the Kola Peninsula. ... A 19th-century view of Arkhangelsk port. ... Ottar from Hålogaland was a viking adventurer from Hålogaland. ... Events The sovereignty of prince Svatopluk I in Bohemia is confirmed. ... Binomial name Odobenus rosmarus (Linnaeus, 1758) Subspecies Walruses are large semi-aquatic mammals that live in the cold Arctic seas of the Northern Hemisphere. ... Adam of Bremen (also: Adam Bremensis) was one of the most important German medieval chroniclers. ... Snorri Sturluson (1178 â€“ September 23, 1241) was an Icelandic historian, poet and politician. ... B sa saga ok Herrauds (Old Norse B sa saga ok Herrau s) Saga of B si and Herraud is an Old Norse saga written around 1300 preserved in three 15th century manuscripts relating the fantastic adventures of the two companions Herraud (Old Norse Herrau ) and B si. ... 1. ...

Biarmian god Jomali or Jumala (meaning thunder) is Finnic but the description of him is more Siberian, especially the crown adorned with twelve stars in gold, characteristic to Siberian shaman caps. Olaus Magnus usually put Biarmland near the Perm region (Komi peoples), and Johannes Schefferus (1621 - 1679) argued it was equal to an ancient and larger Laponia. Later more modern researches argues it is presumably associated with Vepses or Karelians and that Tschudins mentioned in Russian chronicles is identical to Biarmians. Finnic (Fennic, sometimes Baltic Finnic) may refer to Finnish-similar languages spoken close to the Gulf of Finland, i. ... Olaus Magnus, or Magni (Magnus, Latin for the Swedish Stora -- great -- is the family name, and not a personal epithet), reported as born in October 1490 in Linköping, and died on August 1, 1557, was a Swedish ecclesiastic and writer, who did pioneering work for the interest of Nordic... Komi-Zyrians live in Komi Republic, Murmansk Oblast, Khantia-Mansia autonomous district, and Yamalia autonomous district of Russia. ... Johannes Schefferus (February 2, 1621 - March 26, 1679) was born in Strassburg, the present Strasbourg, in present-day France (at that time it was part of the Holy Roman Empire, and outside of France). ... Laponia, or Lappland, was a historical Province or landskap in the extreme north of Sweden. ... Vepses or vepsians are Finnic people that speak Veps language, which belongs to the Baltic-Finnic branch of Finno-ugric family. ... The Karelians is a name used, bit confusingly, of two different Finnic groups. ... The Chudes (Chuds, Chud) are people mentioned in Russian chronicles and folk-tales, assosiated with several peoples speaking Baltic Finnic languages, in particular with minority peoples speaking the Veps language in the Russian federation. ...

It has been considered whether the inhabitants in Biarmland was either displaced by the Russians or assimilated by them. It has been suggested that the Vepses, who remain not far from the hypothetical area are the descendants of the Biarmians, are the only remaining descendants of the Biarmians. Vepses or vepsians are Finnic people that speak Veps language, which belongs to the Baltic-Finnic branch of Finno-ugric family. ...

Bureus¹ also argued (Latin) biarmia to be derived from (Finnish) vaaramaa, "mountain ground" (bergstrakt).[¹ either the geographer Andreas Bureus (1571-1646) or linguist Johannes Bureus (1568-1652).]

Background

The Norwegian merchant Ottar (Ohthere) related for king Alfred the Great that he had passed the North Cape and after several days' voyage he arrived at a great river, the Dvina. At the estuary of the Dvina, dwelt the Beormas, who unlike the Sami peoples were sedentary, and their land was rich and populous. Ottar did not know their language but he said that it resembled the language of the Samis (Finno-ugric). The Biarmians told Ottar about their country and other countries that bordered it. Ottar from Hålogaland was a Viking adventurer from Hålogaland. ... Statue of Alfred the Great at Winchester Alfred (849? – 26 October 899) or Ælfred was king of the southern Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Wessex from 871 to 899. ... North Cape is the name of several capes: North Cape is a cape in Prince Edward Island, Canada North Cape is a cape in northern New Zealand North Cape is a cape in northern Norway, also known as Nordkapp The North Cape was a barge which ran aground in Rhode... Sami flag The Sami people (also Sámi, Saami, Lapps and Laplanders) are an indigenous people of northern Sweden, Norway, Finland and Russia, covering a total area in the Nordic countries corresponding to the size of Sweden. ... Geographical distribution of Finno-Ugric (Finno-Permic in blue, Ugric in green). ...

Later several expeditions were undertaken from Norway. In 920, Eirik Bloodaxe made a viking expedition, as well as Harald II of Norway and Haakon Magnusson of Norway, in 1090. Eric I (Norw. ... Harald II (-976), surnamed Gråfell (Norwegian) / Graafeld (Danish) / Greyhide (English), was the son of Eric Bloodaxe and a grandson of Harald Finehair. ... Haakon Magnusson, king of Norway from 1093 until 1094. ...

The most well-known expedition was that of Tore Hund (Tore Dog) who together with some friends, arrived in Biarmland, in 1026. They started to trade with the inhabitants and bought a great many pelts, whereupon they pretended to leave. Later, they made shore in secret, and plundered the burial site, where the Biarmians had erected an idol of their god Jomali (Ibmel, cf. (Finnish) Jumala, 'thunder god', see Thor). This god had a bowl containing silver on his knees, and a valuable chain around his neck. Tore and his men managed to escape from the pursuing Biarmians with their rich booty. Tore Hund (Tore the Dog), ca. ... Events Archbishop Ariberto crowns Conrad II King of Italy in Milan. ... Jumala, Jumal, Jumali or Ibmel is thought to have been a sky god of the ancient Finnic-speaking peoples. ... Thor carries his hammer and wears his belt of strength in this illustration from an 18th century Icelandic manuscript. ...

The wealth of the Biarmians was due to their profitable trade along the Dvina, the Kama River and the Volga to Bolghar and other trading settlements in the south. Along this route, silver coins and other merchandise was exchanged for pelts and walrus tusks brought by the Biarmians. Further north, the Biarmians traded with the Saami who are said to have been tributaries to the Biarmians. Kama (Russian: ; Tatar: Çulman) is a river in Russia, the longest left tributary of the Volga. ... Bolghar (or Bolğar) is a ruined capital (8th-15th century) of Volga Bulgaria in Tatarstan, Spas Rayon (Spassky District). ...

It seems that also the Scandinavians made use of this trade route, in addition to those that were already travelled by the Varangians. In 1217, two Norwegian traders arrived in Biarmland to buy pelts, and one of the traders continued further south to pass through Russia, in order to arrive in the Holy Land, where he intended to take part in the Crusades. The second trader, who remained, was however, killed by the Biarmians. This caused Norwegian officials to perform a retribution campaign into Biarmland which they pillaged and which gave them rich plunder, in 1222. Events April 9 - Peter of Courtenay crowned emperor of the Latin Empire of Constantinople at Rome, by Pope Honorius III May 20 - First Barons War, royalist victory at Lincoln. ... The phrase The Holy Land (Arabic الأرض المقدسة al-Arḍ ul-Muqaddasah; Hebrew ארץ הקודש;, Standard Hebrew Éreẓ haQodeš, Tiberian Hebrew ʾÉreṣ haqQāḏēš; Latin Terra Sancta) generally refers to Palestine or the Land of Israel. ... This article is about historical Crusades . ... Centuries: 12th century - 13th century - 14th century Decades: 1170s 1180s 1190s 1200s 1210s - 1220s - 1230s 1240s 1250s 1260s 1270s Years: 1217 1218 1219 1220 1221 1222 1223 1224 1225 1226 1227 See also: 1222 state leaders Events Foundation of the University of Padua Completion of the Cistercian convent in Alcobaca...

This time seems to be the decline of the Biarmians. The arrival of the Mongols to the Russia, undoubtedly contributed to the decline. Even if Biarmland was very distant from the lands plundered by the Mongols, many Biarmians sought refuge in Norway, where they were given land in Malangen, by Haakon IV of Norway, in 1240. More important for the decline was probably that the trade routes had found a more westerly orientation and that the Scandinavians had started to trade with Novgorod instead. The Mongols are an ethnic group that originated in what is now Mongolia, Russia, and China, particularly Inner Mongolia. ... Malangen is a fjord, landscape and former municipality in the county of Troms, Norway. ... Håkon IV (1204–December 15, 1263), also called Haakon the Old, was declared to be the son of Håkon III of Norway, the leader of the Birkebeiner, who had seized control over large parts of Norway in 1202. ... Events Batu Khan and the Golden Horde sack the Ruthenian city of Kyiv Births Pope Benedict XI Deaths April 11 - Llywelyn ap Iorwerth, also known as Llywelyn The Great Prince of Gwynedd Monarchs/Presidents Aragon - James I King of Aragon and count of Barcelona (reigned from 1213 to 1276) Castile... Velikiy Novgorod (Но́вгород) is the foremost historic city of North-Western Russia, situated on the highway (and railway) connecting Moscow and St Petersburg. ...

When the Novgorodians founded Velikiy Ustiug, in the beginning of the 13th century, the Biarmians had a serious competitor for the trade. More and more Novgorodian Slavs arrived in the area during the 14th and 15th centuries, which lead to the final submission and assimilation of the Biarmians. (12th century - 13th century - 14th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 13th century was that century which lasted from 1201 to 1300. ... The Slavic peoples are the most numerous ethnic and linguistic body of peoples in Europe. ...

This article contains content from the Owl Edition of Nordisk familjebok, a Swedish encyclopedia published between 1904-1926 now in Public Domain. From Nordisk Familjebok, resized and a little cut This image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired in the United States and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years or more. ... The Owl Edition Nordisk familjebok is a Swedish encyclopedia, published between 1876 and 1957. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ...

See also

• Mythical place