ilip Murray, and Langebeck, who have all chosen spots totally
different, in which to place Sciringes-heal. Spelman, and others, look for
this place near Dantzic, where, in their opinion, the Scyres formerly
resided. But, first, the spot where the Scyres lived, is by no means
satisfactorily determined; and, next, it is evident that Ohthere went
continually along the coast from Halgoland to Sciringes-heal, and that this
coast was on his left-hand during the whole course of his navigation. The
late Mr Murray placed Sciringes-heal at Skanor, in the southern extremity
of Sweden; but I cannot think that this place could be five days sail from
Haethum in Jutland, as it is expressly declared to have been by Ohthere.
Langebeck is for carrying Sciringes-heal to Konga-hella, on the Guatelf,
near Marstrand; and insists, that the name, in Alfred's account of the
voyage, ought to have been written Cyninges-heal instead of Sciringes-heal.
If the word had only once occurred, I might have allowed Langebeck to be
right; but we meet with it five times in the space of a few lines, and
always without the slightest variation in orthography. 2dly, The voyage
from Halgoland to Konga-hella is not of sufficient extent to have employed
a month in the passage. 3dly, Konga-hella is too near Jutland to have
required five days for the voyage between it and Haethum.
Having demonstrated the insufficiency of these conjectures, we shall now
endeavour to point out where Sciringes-heal was really situated. Paul
Warenfried, in his Historia Longobardorum, Lib. i, cap. 7. and 10. makes
mention of a district, named Scorunga, in which the Winili, or Lombards
resided, for some time before they removed to Mairinga and from thence,
farther on to Gotland, Anthabet, Bethaib, and Purgendaid. This Scorunga was
not far from Gotland, and consequently in Sweden; and seems to have been
the district in which Sciringes-heal was situated. Add to this, that
Ohthere, after having described Sueoland, or Sweden, as being to the
southwards of his habitation, immediately says, "there is a port in this
southern land which is called Sciringes-heal." By this, he seems plainly to
indicate, that this place certainly was in Sweden; and all this will
appear, still more evidently, if we carefully follow the course of the
voyage which he describes. First of all, he has Scotland, called Iraland,
evidently by mistake, and the Orkney and Shetland islands, which lie
between Scotland and Halgola
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