Show SWEDES IN switzerland alfrom from the french for the mawe by bv phelippe Phllip pe denba in visiting the old upsal and her antique monuments I 1 asked myself where are now the defendants of those who a thousand years ago were gathering athen ll 11 i ng heri here in great numbers to sacrifice e to odin do you remember an old tradition saying that a migration of swedes came and established themselves in the middle of switzerland in the valley of the hash the more modern swiss historic fistori ans deny the fact but the swedish main tain it a young learned swede recently dead has published in 1868 at calmar a conscientious and valuable wark upon that subject chiw thesis now very scarce is found in the stockholm library As soon as 1828 geijer the celebrated historian of S sweden aen has sustained the truth of the tradition in a latin thesis de colonia in Helve tiam degrassa Eg rassa later in 1851 holmberg a savant well learned in Scan scandinavian scandinavia dinavi an antiquities but whose critic is less reliable pub ab dished in swedish a work upon the same the valley of the hash anda and a short tour in switzerland some will ask a the outset and before looking into the matter what motive has caused that migration and its establishment into our country alas famine probably that was so often desolating scandinavia bringing sedition in its train and in order to appease the gods horrible human sacrifices when even kings blood was shed it is after one of those terrible scourges urges that the vikings the hardy pirates or of the north had seized the coasts of friesland and holland in says an old chronicle they advanced until they reached the river meusa deusa and established a fortified camp at halloo now elsloo near maastricht Maes tricht in the following year they repulsed an army ot of franks advanced to the rhine and southward to worms according to the saga of olof trygg vason the sons of ragnar were in that expedition and the saga of rg riar nar relates that advancing always southward they arrived at now 0 wenches the owen ticum bicum of the roman to which they laid siege sie e and burned but hearing that charlea charles the great was advancing against them with a strong army they retreated with the exception of a few who sought refuge in the fastnesses fast nesses of the alps they are here lost sight ot of until the irth Cent uary when they reappear un ier der the name ol of suites or full ol of the independent spirit ot of their ancestors they formed among themselves a federative alli alliance ande alter after the manner of 0 the scandinavians in 1414 the they are made mention of on a matter ot of a baw faw suit in order to ascertain the truth of that tradition holmberg came to switzerland in in 1849 and there observed the customs habits morals and physiognomy of the inhabitants of the hash that he might establish with as much exactitude as possible the analogies he spent some time at Mein nger and Gut ob serving asking questions and taking notes and on his return he published with all the enthusiasm of conviction a multitude of facts which confirmed his opinion he was struck by the resemblance of dress of the peasant women of hash with that of the women of short waist long petticoat and kerchief tied behind the head he noticed that the alpine chalets chafets of the hasli basli are guilt ailt precisely like the ancient swedish cottages with logs superposed we find he says in boch countries habits and superstitions that are exactly alike As for the language the people of the hasli basli speak their own german but they pronounce the vowel u exactly as in sweden with a sharp sound very peculiar several words designing objects proper to the country are purely swedish such is hags hag kiJ skid which is the name for enclosure of meadows or timber land a fence whose construction is the same in both countries I 1 according to the same author the swedes have given to the hasli basli several of their national melodies which bear no resemblance with those of if switzerland he has heard in the a valley near the hash a shepherd song of Dale dalecarlia carlia dybeck another swede has also recognized zed in the kanedes jacheo of the swiss valleys the names that the swedes and norwegians Norwegia ns give to their cows aari rari i lindi brandi shaggy correspond exactly with their signification to the scandinavian i words rama or kamla a cow striped with black linda a cow of the codur of the linden or lime tree brandi or the branded of the nor we gians a cow reddish brown ikka in swedish a small cow irregularly spotted the legends also are testifying of striking similarities simi laries between both people thus thu the legend of hasli basli known under the name ot of corn com posed of historical elements mixed with the marvelous has many traits of re semblance with the sagas of the north and the saga of ragnar in particular prove by the mention of biffl Aven cheo that the remembrance mem brance ot or the scandinavian expedition in switzerland has been preserved in sweden at Gu Gut itanen again says cohnberg Hohn berg they told me that two centuries ago the country having been devastated by avalanches and inundations thirty families resolved to return to sweden their ancient father land the learned Wimm enstedt after proving that the destinies of the hash should not be separated from those of the waldstetten Wald stetten the original switzerland set off the antiquity of the aradi tion as well in switzerland as in sweden in switzerland of gave in 1414 a Chro bica miscella unhappily i destroyed in the burning ot 0 alt abort ort but partly preserved by suase i quent authors especially by fassbind ot of this author expressly says bays that mentions an invasion friso swedish into switzerland and that he places it about the year after johann frind of in his work upon the origin of the swiss published in 1440 and known by the critic craic made of it by in his gallia camata says that the country of the waldstetten Wald stetten was first peopled by 6 swede and 1200 1200 friesland emigrants atterlin Et whose cb chronicle ronicle has been printed in 1507 says that these emigrants were bound for rome but by a sort of miracle they were detained in the canton of near the actual country which reminded them of sweden it was then avast a vast forest full of wild animals they settled in it to clear and cultivate it though admitting a friedo swedish invasion caused by famine mistakes it with that of the cimbres cimbrec who vanquished by the roman marius manus probably took refuge in the country oi of the hash and part of unterwald As to the swedish authors the most ancient ericus glai 1486 mention the swedish emigration in switzerland even he derives the name of furi furich Twe rii from that of Swe Swede denin nm modern modem language everige in old swede johannes magnus born in 1488 describes but probably after another historian the emigration of the scandinavian goths goehs divided in three corpt corps one of whom stopped in switzerland and he added when I 1 was in that country I 1 found there strong sympathies towards sweden it is known that gustave wasa and gustave odolph made an appeal to the relationship uniting the he swedes and the swiss thus in both countries the fact seems don confirmed firmed bythe by the most ancient I 1 cal monuments at the end ac fifteenth and the beginning of I 1 centuries it is exciting of enthusiasm it is written in the of 1531 that all wert were banded to repeat at the eleven 0 01 dinner five pater five ave and 0 1 christian confession ot of faun faith i in r rei brance of their ancestors of sw who had charged them never to another master but god burhardt Hur hardt has attempted to reft ref historical foundation ot of that tr tra by saying that before the four century the hasli basli very little koput seemed more of a desert and coo coat very few churches but that arg aou would ld prove only the impossibility tf very ancient and considerable it and if so we cannot believe in the thew swedes and 1200 fr fir escand frimd nor in the numerous coh cohort ll cimmers Ci of churches W scarce it is true and no wonder the close of the ninth century the habitants ot of the hasli basli were stilt pa and as to the population we shou should forget that the ancient docu docimo mention particularly the nobility and clergy nobody paid much attention atten U iol tl the shepherds wandering through w valleys and the forests y besides the more recent resea researches swiss hist historians orjans confirm the fact at swedish immigration in their co chufi rather than they invalidate it but t at willimay wil will lisay say how bow is it that a Scan dial oai people has strayed in the desert I 1 M bains of switzerland we know that famine drove away from their country but again why did they coo co switzerland the vic bickings kings p pro followed the roman military roa road ing from the rhine to italy they ed through Aven beo portion went eastward folio followed river reuss until they reached the I 1 of the four cantons and settled ahn favored by the solitude ot of the and the disorders then prevailing N switzerland and germany j I low ilow shall we explain the presence presen ciol free emigrants in a country subject subjects tk the rigors of feudality in the va roman german empire the emperoti empe rotS were glad to receive new settlers in w domains to cultivate them so that they granted to them their freedom freedo nr ehst were free peasants tree free shepherds GUW a it is precisely among these people the waldstetten Wald stetten and that tha 6 tradition has been preserved where communities were the rule in erwald luterwald Ut besides feudality thelie were iree communities and free bindl vi duals in the haala hasli a sort ot of deader de aier cracy was the rule the peasants for s most part free had at their head ir bornman the communities composed QC OF these free peasants boasted of atoeff swedish origin that is the co conclusion nc lusion of the labor sf who like jike G glijer ajer place bAt M the close of the ninth century tile admi eab gration of the swedes into Switzer switzerland he also thinks that it is with S geoff f reason that a scandinavian origin faaea been attached to the legend of f i tell which is found in the EC several sagas in norway in H 0 in carelia where probably the made it known when bt eric enc a d successors were laboring for toe the cott of the Finla Fin landers inders in the twelfth centuries wt itts article I 1 have endeavored to wot as faithfully laith fully as possible the re athe of the swedish and swiss awa upon the question of issue teb which possess a real interest I 1 do not conclusion but only state the te leaving the reader to bring his wo judgment upon their value AUGUSTE LEMAITRE ater to the princess of sweden r aught of the order of wasa ive de la suisse r comande Ro mande |