Scandinavian-Britain

26 SCANDINAVIAN BRITAINfood, and handicraft the Scandinavian differed littlefrom his cousin the Englishman, who had precededhim in his western exodus. Only in cultivation ofland, and possibly of cattle, was the Scandinavianof the northern peninsula behind-hand. The Englishmanhad succeeded to the system of agriculture setup by the Romans in Britain, whereas the -Scandinavianstillpossessed the more primitive cultivationof the early Teutons, and dwelt in a land that wasstill but half reclaimed from the forest. In art theScandinavian had already developed a peculiar typeof ornament, of which the bronze collections atCopenhagen, Stockholm, and Christiania preserveample specimens, 1 a type which, while it runs parallelto the Celtic metal work, has markworthy characteristicsof its own.Though writing was not used for books or letters,yet the art of writing was known, and weapons, gravestones,and ornaments have inscriptions on them.The peculiar letters known as runes are of the oldergeneral North and West Teutonic type, derived fromsome classic alphabet (that of an Hellenic Black Seacolony possibly, as Canon Taylor thinks the North;Etruscan alphabet, as Professor Bugge believes; oras Dr. Wimmer with less probability affirms, from theLatin alphabet).The letters were arranged in an order, the reasonfor which is as yet unknown,as follows :1The illustrated catalogues of these museums are cheap andgood, and will give the English student fair means of studyingthe finds in Scandinavia in connexion with those of Britain.