Magnus the Lawmender
It was pleasant to wander around Bryggen today, as it was much quieter on a Sunday. I walked again through the alleyways behind the harbor-front buildings, visiting courtyards and taking more pictures.
I walked farther along the street, including the original area of Dutch settlement -- which is now, on a Sunday, rather sketchy with addicts sleeping in doorways. However, no one bothered me.
Then I went to the Bryggen Museum, which is next to the hotel. It has a permanent exhibition about the excavation of Bryggen that started in the 1950s. I misspoke earlier when I said that a rune was found that saved Bryggen from destruction. Many runes were found, hundreds of them, and that was just the beginning of the excavation of Norse settlement in the area.
They currently have an exhibition on the law reforms of King Magnus, in the 13th century. It was very good, and I was amused to realize how much of the Norwegian descriptions I understood. I was also reminded of how even in English there are specialized words that I know from studying medieval history. Example: allodial. And I recognized a Norwegian word from its similarity to the Anglo-Saxon 'wapentake.'
The museum has a nice little café so I had lunch there, a vegetarian sandwich with very nice crusty bread. I had that after I went to the permanent exhibition, so I was full of energy for visiting the Law of the Land exhibit. 😊
I'm slightly embarrassed to admit that I… bought a mug. I hadn't intended to buy any more mugs!
-
I walked farther along the street, including the original area of Dutch settlement -- which is now, on a Sunday, rather sketchy with addicts sleeping in doorways. However, no one bothered me.
Then I went to the Bryggen Museum, which is next to the hotel. It has a permanent exhibition about the excavation of Bryggen that started in the 1950s. I misspoke earlier when I said that a rune was found that saved Bryggen from destruction. Many runes were found, hundreds of them, and that was just the beginning of the excavation of Norse settlement in the area.
They currently have an exhibition on the law reforms of King Magnus, in the 13th century. It was very good, and I was amused to realize how much of the Norwegian descriptions I understood. I was also reminded of how even in English there are specialized words that I know from studying medieval history. Example: allodial. And I recognized a Norwegian word from its similarity to the Anglo-Saxon 'wapentake.'
The museum has a nice little café so I had lunch there, a vegetarian sandwich with very nice crusty bread. I had that after I went to the permanent exhibition, so I was full of energy for visiting the Law of the Land exhibit. 😊
I'm slightly embarrassed to admit that I… bought a mug. I hadn't intended to buy any more mugs!
-