Show ( THE OGDEN STA ND ARD-E- SUNDAY MORNING JUNE 2 1929 AMINER X X : I I yr J 0 ' £ ' v" ' ' Wp 'CV'A ! m fV il MK Once a King Wooed a Peasant Girl to flP Win a Battle — Now Scientists Unearth the Viking Warriors Who "'N tJOW were battles fought in the romantic Middle Ages? For years scientists and historians have Now actual evidence lohged for s they have found it vivid and irrefutable in the skeletons of hundreds of Viking warriors in a mass grave on the Isle of Gotland off the coast of Sweden Six hundred years ago the armor-cla- d host defended the City of Visby fighting with terrible courage until they were cut down d Amazing details of fighting in medieval times and of the types of armor worn have been S it J nv Died 600 Years 'T u mm m Ai v U7t A :IS? hand-to-han- brought to light Behind the battle is the legend of King Valdemar of Denmark who loved and deceived a beautiful Gotland maiden to subdue her countrymen In the narrative below this legend is unfolded along with striking additional details of the archeological findings S' mr tkh x 4 IfIff pg- f - I- V £ JR J' £ 4f P'I3 111 m cv v - & 4- L$-- c mvr fit's v :vi V 'i ' - ?A 'S : K - -- 'fe av NM m xfc & m Wo ryi W 1 K £‘-- i C -- v" m Am lii - A rkm 1 I v f 1 s ? V JH :x sli fj f4 & Afx' ' f X:axi Pmm i tii ' ms ’V a nv5 V4 AP"f S ni1 ' w t0- Yi' Pllfo X Ss-- A: - ?I'h- fir a Kr- J VM w 1 r-c-- - £4V ii Si' hV tAf fAl R x :lir s' 05 x vv 'if flaxen-haire- d XfjS:'- yv m A m?: ‘Il M 1X4 X IV : $a gSIJ " 11 u i( IxVWWv blue-eye- d maid yielding yet half afraid” — THi Fame’s Painting by W L Taylor as Inptred by Longfellow’ Romantic Poem ‘The Skelton in Armor” W 1 sc the white castle of King ValIV of Denmark a strange IN demar scene took place early one fine The morning in the year 1361 handsome young King put aside his royal robes of gold and purple and ordered his servant to dress him in the costume of a humble merchant’s apprentice Unknown and unattended he set sail for the Isle of Gotland some distance east of the Swedish mainland This was no mere romantic adventure It was the beginning of a dark plot King Valdemar had conceived a plot that was destined to bring sorrow to a beautiful maiden’s peart and disaster to her people Today — aho six hundred years later— archeologists have discovered the supporting evidence of that adventure in its tragic aftermath of battle But to resume: As the ship neared the Isle of Got ' 5V '$ She girl him lovelier - ' ap- than any peared to maiden he had ever seen She was a goldsmith’s daughter It was not difficult for him to gain her father’s confidence and open the way to a friendship with the girl Soon the girl and the Viking King were keeping secret trysts Night after night as the moon hung high the two would meet in a secluded cove of one of 'the island’s beautiful fiords The waves washing over the Kicky crags droned a rhythmic accompaniment to the handsome Dane’s tender vows of eternal love The naive girl did not question her lover’s ardor nor his words From time to time the wily Impostor turned the talk to affairs of the town Bit by bit he drew from the girl the Then one secrets of her community leave must he that her told he night the Isle of Gotland for a time but swore that he would return to her During the months that followed the little goldsmith’s daughter dreamed happily of the day her lover would come back to her Little did she realize that she had unwittingly what the betrayed her country or return of her stalwart Dane would - i At dawn on July 27 1361 she awakened to a terrifying sound The erv “The Danes! The Danes!” reverberated through the city of Visby Under cover of night the great fleet of Denmark had slipped into the harbor and a horde of Danes was descending upon the city The magnificent armor of the invaders glittered and their’ strong spears flashed ominously in the morning sun The army was led by a handsome warrior King No Valdemar of Denmark himself one would have guessed that he was the same humble apprentice who had quietly entered the city a few months before Gotlanders quickly organized While one group of their defense warriors gathered outside courageous the city wall to give battle to the approaching Danes the burghers of Visby banded together determined to fight to the death for their loved isle These were the days that time has colored by tales of chivalry and imbued with romance but little has been said d fighting of the horrors of The hand-to-han- H swipe par x- wm 41 W'' w ' v Mi S6§l n 8 SSS&y Vr ?- bring land an observer might have detected an avaricious light in the Danish King’s eyes Since the earliest times this island had been called the “Gem of the Baltic” and had attracted seafarers of the North because of its splendid trading port and its enchanting beauty Perhaps k was of these advantages that the Danish ruler was thinking and of the forbidding picture presented by the island’s lone city Visby He knew of the tpany bit-te- r battles that had been fought by various nations coveting this isolated spot of earth and he knew that Sweden had strongly fortified Visby against possible invaders Assured that his disguise was perfect the young King stepped ashore Accompanied by the other pn?enger3 he passed through the city gates' ' For several days he wandered about the town noting the city’s fortresses their location and strength- He drank ale with the peasants and joined in their talk In this manner he gleaned valuable information but there re x- V mained much that he wished to know One day he saw a beautiful "V5 wooed the ': Vfv Striking Picture of the Ghost Brigade Unearthed by Archeologists on the Isle of Gotland Near the Swedish Mainland Over 300 Skeleton Were Found in This One Mas Grave Alone The Armor Found in the Grave Indicates That the Burial Took Place Just After die Battle of Visby in 1361 The Feeling of Terrific Struggle Was Present After Nearly Six Centuries I V j tA' x1? A rit Bare Tind — The Skull of an Ancient Viking Warrior in the Ringed Mail Helmet He Wore on the Field of Battle Where He Met Death Many of Jthe Skeleton Recently Discovered in the Mass Grave of Visby onthe Isle of Gotland Were Enclosed in Armor Which Dates Back 600 Years A S0$PW'4 Civ 3& :1 iAV-- 1 r 1 -- 1 The 4 c: Open Verse of Longfellot Famous Poem “The Skeletcjn in Armor” Written Many year Before Swedish Archeologists! Dis covered the Viking Warrior “Still in rude armor dresl” "'4 i in the RjUddle Ages This battle was one of the fiercest and cruelest in history Almost miraculously the details of its frightfulfiess finally have been revealed The Gdtic warriors vastly outnumbered refused to give way The combatants were arrayed in armor forged by the finest armorsmiths of the north but linkedj mail helnjiets iron cuirasses arm and leg shields and gauntlets Were ineffectual protection in this slaughter Heavy maces wielded by the giait Danes drove mercilessly through the Gotic suits of ring mail jAbove the din of clashing steel came the death cry of whrriors The burgheVs who formed the rear guard flunked the city wall to make a Unable to break through last stand thre gates the King ordered huge timbers brought from his ships The wall was rammed at its weakest point and the Danish host entered Still the Gotlanders refused to admit defeat poys old men and even women put on feuits of armor and battled through the streets The mtat around the city ran red with bjood The sweetheart of the goldsmith’s daughter had returned but he had forgotten his vow of eternal love At sunset of that frightful day the battle was won King 'Valdemar and his veteran warriors had defeated the burghers of Visby Then the victorious King of Denmark ordered that the dead be buried Eighteefi hundred victims Were thrown into mass graves Later a beautiful cross wasj raised to This cross designate the cemetery was to bring the grim tragedy tp light after six! centuries had rolled by King yaldemar IV had conquered the “Gen) of the Baltic” £pis yictory meant the loss of Gotland to the Swedes fbr nearly three centuries It also meaht the definite end of the old and Gotit peasant ftp -- highly-develop- ed culture It is thought that Longfellow may have found inspiration In this tale for Feature Serrlce 1I f v a-- A ' fz A I--- X - Nmt-v z ' r S yV W J V J j J t'j-i J 'Xdf'X r-- r p of Bone in the Mass Grave of the Ancient Visby Cemetery The Arrow Point to a Warrior Leg Rone Which Were Completely Severed Presumably by One Mighty Blow Close-u- his famous poem “The Skeleton in Armor” published in 1S42 Recently the “Gem of the Baltic” gave up her dead A veritable ghost brigade of “Skeletons in Armor” was found Ringmail hoods still enclosed the skulls of the dead warriors cuirasses shielded the hollow breasts of were covered others and bony-fingewith iron gauntlets Skeletons of women in armor were found to prove further the veracity of the tale of the heroic Gotic people’s united but futile inyader struggle with the overpowering In 1905 Dr C V Wennersteh an archeologist and resident of Visby became interested in the old graveyard He designated by the ancient cross was rewarded and began excavating by exhuming several well preserved but very old skeletons and some parts of rare armor In 1912 he discovered another grave and sent the findings of it to the Museum of Natural History in Stockholm But it was not until a few months the leadago that an expedition under a Thordeman Dr of TJengt ership scientist of Stockholm unearthed evidence that completely told the story of 1 rs the terrific battle ' dis- The archeologist unexpectedly covered a huge mass grave in which skeletons of young and old had been laid side by side Digging deeper into the pit an even more formidable picture was presented Skeletons of warriors still clothed in their armor had been thrown into the grave topsyvturvy fashion and discovered resting in fantastic positions Pictures of the graves shown on this page were taken The feeling of by the archeologists struggle was present after almost six hundred years One skeleton wai found with both feet severed above the ankles as if by one mighty blow cf a mace swung by a Danish warrior " Those parts of armor which went down with the warriors into their graves and which have an exact datin ing—a rather unique circumstance archeological discovery — constitute the most important finding in the history of armory before the middle of we the fourteenth century Furthermore the skeletons are from an anthropological point of view especially valu- able as research material They also give interesting information relative to the battle conditions in general of that time and throw light on the manner in which the Battle of Visby was waged So after six centuries the story of King Valdemar’s victory and his romance with the Nordic peasant maiden long shrouded in mystery has teeft reinforced by documents Science has torn awijy the veil of the year - fS3T$fe :i t |