Jomsborg
Encyclopedia
Jomsborg was a semi-legendary Viking
stronghold at the southern coast of the Baltic Sea
(medieval Wendland
, modern Pomerania
), that existed between the 960s and 1043. Its inhabitants are known as Jomsvikings
. Jomsborg's exact location has not yet been established, though it is maintained that Jomsborg was somewhere on the islands of the Oder
estuary. Lauritz Weibull
dismissed it as a legend.
(also Wollin) on the southeastern tip of the isle of Wolin
, probably located at Silberberg hill north of the town. In the Early Middle Ages
, modern Wolin was the site of a multi-ethnic emporium
(then known as Jumne or Julin). The Nordic sagas use "Jomsborg" exclusively, while medieval German histories use "Jumne" or "Julin", with the spelling variants "vimne", "uimne", "Jumneta", "Juminem", "Julinum", "uineta", "Vineta
" and "Vinneta". In 1931/32, Pomeranian historian Adolf Hofmeister was the first to establish - by comparing the events reported by the different chronicles - that all these terms describe the same place, which is at or near the modern town of Wolin.
Other theories see Jomsborg in the northwest of nearby Usedom
island, on lands now submerged. The small islands in this area are remnants of a long stretch of land between Usedom
and Rügen
, which fell victim to storm floods in the early 14th century. Suspected locations in this area are the Veritas grounds between the petty islands of Ruden
and Greifswalder Oie
, and the Peenemünde
shoals. While Viking Age
jewelry has been found at the side, archaeological evaluation of these theories has not yet been possible.
, Jomsborg was built by the Danish king Harold Bluetooth (910-985/86) in the 960s. The Jomsvikinga Saga
mentions Danish-Welsh
Viking Palnatoki as its founder.
In medieval records, Jomsborg is described as a fortress with a harbour. The harbour was overseen by a stone tower mounted with catapults, built on an arch spanning over the harbour entrance which could be closed by an iron gate. According to the oldest records, the harbour had space for three ships, later records give a capacity of up to 360 ships.
Jomsborg was destroyed in 1043 by Norwegian king Magnus the Good. The fortress was burned down, and many of the inhabitants were killed.
of then Danish
Scania
. Sigvald died some time before 1010. The Jomsborg Vikings (Jomsvikings
) were composed of selected warriors, adhered to a special codex, and were loyal only to their leader. In 1009, many Jomsvikings
left Jomsborg and followed Sigvald's brothers Herring and Thorkell the Tall to England
, where they became the nucleus of Cnut the Great's Thingmen or Huscarls.
Viking
The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...
stronghold at the southern coast of the Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
(medieval Wendland
Wends
Wends is a historic name for West Slavs living near Germanic settlement areas. It does not refer to a homogeneous people, but to various peoples, tribes or groups depending on where and when it is used...
, modern Pomerania
Pomerania
Pomerania is a historical region on the south shore of the Baltic Sea. Divided between Germany and Poland, it stretches roughly from the Recknitz River near Stralsund in the West, via the Oder River delta near Szczecin, to the mouth of the Vistula River near Gdańsk in the East...
), that existed between the 960s and 1043. Its inhabitants are known as Jomsvikings
Jomsvikings
The Jomsvikings were a possibly-legendary company of Viking mercenaries or brigands of the 10th century and 14th century AD, dedicated to the worship of such deities as Odin and Thor. They were staunchly pagan, but they reputedly would fight for any lord able to pay their substantial fees, and...
. Jomsborg's exact location has not yet been established, though it is maintained that Jomsborg was somewhere on the islands of the Oder
Oder
The Oder is a river in Central Europe. It rises in the Czech Republic and flows through western Poland, later forming of the border between Poland and Germany, part of the Oder-Neisse line...
estuary. Lauritz Weibull
Lauritz Weibull
Lauritz Ulrik Absalon Weibull was a Swedish historian.He was born in Lund, son of history professor Martin Weibull and the brother of Curt Weibull and Carl Gustaf Weibull, enrolled at the University of Lund in 1892, completed his B.A. 1892, his licentiate degree in 1899 and defended his...
dismissed it as a legend.
Location
Jomsborg is thought to be identical with the present-day town of WolinWolin (town)
Wolin is a town situated on the southern tip of the Wolin island off the Baltic coast of Poland. The island lies at the edge of the strait of Dziwna in Kamień Pomorski County in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship....
(also Wollin) on the southeastern tip of the isle of Wolin
Wolin
Wolin is the name both of an island in the Baltic Sea, just off the Polish coast, and a town on that island. It is separated from the island of Usedom by the Świna river, and from mainland Pomerania by the Dziwna river...
, probably located at Silberberg hill north of the town. In the Early Middle Ages
Pomerania during the Early Middle Ages
The southward movement of Germanic tribes during the migration period had left Pomerania largely depopulated by the 7th century. Between 650 and 850 AD, West Slavic tribes settled in Pomerania. The tribes between the Oder and the Vistula were collectively known as Pomeranians, and those west of the...
, modern Wolin was the site of a multi-ethnic emporium
Marketplace
A marketplace is the space, actual, virtual or metaphorical, in which a market operates. The term is also used in a trademark law context to denote the actual consumer environment, ie. the 'real world' in which products and services are provided and consumed.-Marketplaces and street markets:A...
(then known as Jumne or Julin). The Nordic sagas use "Jomsborg" exclusively, while medieval German histories use "Jumne" or "Julin", with the spelling variants "vimne", "uimne", "Jumneta", "Juminem", "Julinum", "uineta", "Vineta
Vineta
Vineta or Wineta was a possibly legendary ancient town believed to have been on the coast of the Baltic Sea. It was commonly said to be on the present site of Wolin in Poland or of Zinnowitz on Usedom island in Germany. Today it is said to have been near Barth in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern...
" and "Vinneta". In 1931/32, Pomeranian historian Adolf Hofmeister was the first to establish - by comparing the events reported by the different chronicles - that all these terms describe the same place, which is at or near the modern town of Wolin.
Other theories see Jomsborg in the northwest of nearby Usedom
Usedom
Usedom is a Baltic Sea island on the border between Germany and Poland. It is situated north of the Szczecin Lagoon estuary of the River Oder in Pomerania...
island, on lands now submerged. The small islands in this area are remnants of a long stretch of land between Usedom
Usedom
Usedom is a Baltic Sea island on the border between Germany and Poland. It is situated north of the Szczecin Lagoon estuary of the River Oder in Pomerania...
and Rügen
Rügen
Rügen is Germany's largest island. Located in the Baltic Sea, it is part of the Vorpommern-Rügen district of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.- Geography :Rügen is located off the north-eastern coast of Germany in the Baltic Sea...
, which fell victim to storm floods in the early 14th century. Suspected locations in this area are the Veritas grounds between the petty islands of Ruden
Ruden
Ruden is a small island in the Baltic Sea, located between Rügen and Usedom off the German coast. The Ruden belongs to the municipality Kröslin, in the German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Before the storm tide of All Saints day 1304, Ruden was probably part of a land bridge between...
and Greifswalder Oie
Greifswalder Oie
Greifswalder Oie is a small island in the Baltic Sea, located east of Rügen on the German coast. The island covers an area of about 54 hectares.-History:...
, and the Peenemünde
Peenemünde
The Peenemünde Army Research Center was founded in 1937 as one of five military proving grounds under the Army Weapons Office ....
shoals. While Viking Age
Viking Age
Viking Age is the term for the period in European history, especially Northern European and Scandinavian history, spanning the late 8th to 11th centuries. Scandinavian Vikings explored Europe by its oceans and rivers through trade and warfare. The Vikings also reached Iceland, Greenland,...
jewelry has been found at the side, archaeological evaluation of these theories has not yet been possible.
The fortress
According to the Knytlingasaga and FagrskinnaFagrskinna
Fagrskinna is one of the kings' sagas, written around 1220. It takes its name from one of the manuscripts in which it was preserved, Fagrskinna meaning 'Fair Leather', i.e., 'Fair Parchment'. Fagrskinna proper was destroyed by fire, but copies of it and another vellum have been preserved...
, Jomsborg was built by the Danish king Harold Bluetooth (910-985/86) in the 960s. The Jomsvikinga Saga
Jómsvíkinga saga
The Jómsvíkinga saga relates of the founding of Jomsborg by Palnatoke, and of the famous Viking brotherhood of the Jomsvikings....
mentions Danish-Welsh
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
Viking Palnatoki as its founder.
In medieval records, Jomsborg is described as a fortress with a harbour. The harbour was overseen by a stone tower mounted with catapults, built on an arch spanning over the harbour entrance which could be closed by an iron gate. According to the oldest records, the harbour had space for three ships, later records give a capacity of up to 360 ships.
Jomsborg was destroyed in 1043 by Norwegian king Magnus the Good. The fortress was burned down, and many of the inhabitants were killed.
Jomsvikings
Most records name the jarl of Jomsborg Sigvald(i), son of petty king Strut-HaraldStrut-Harald
Strut-Harald was a semi-legendary jarl or petty king who ruled over the Danish territory of Scania during the late 10th century CE...
of then Danish
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
Scania
Scania
Scania is the southernmost of the 25 traditional non-administrative provinces of Sweden, constituting a peninsula on the southern tip of the Scandinavian peninsula, and some adjacent islands. The modern administrative subdivision Skåne County is almost, but not totally, congruent with the...
. Sigvald died some time before 1010. The Jomsborg Vikings (Jomsvikings
Jomsvikings
The Jomsvikings were a possibly-legendary company of Viking mercenaries or brigands of the 10th century and 14th century AD, dedicated to the worship of such deities as Odin and Thor. They were staunchly pagan, but they reputedly would fight for any lord able to pay their substantial fees, and...
) were composed of selected warriors, adhered to a special codex, and were loyal only to their leader. In 1009, many Jomsvikings
Jomsvikings
The Jomsvikings were a possibly-legendary company of Viking mercenaries or brigands of the 10th century and 14th century AD, dedicated to the worship of such deities as Odin and Thor. They were staunchly pagan, but they reputedly would fight for any lord able to pay their substantial fees, and...
left Jomsborg and followed Sigvald's brothers Herring and Thorkell the Tall to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, where they became the nucleus of Cnut the Great's Thingmen or Huscarls.
Historical events involving Jomsborg
Harold Bluetooth died at Jomsborg in 985/86. Jomsborg was also the base for several expeditions:- Styrbjörn the StrongStyrbjörn the StrongStyrbjörn the Strong was, according to late Norse sagas, the son of the Swedish king Olof, and the nephew of Olof's co-ruler and successor Eric the Victorious, who defeated and killed Styrbjörn at the Battle of Fyrisvellir...
and a force of JomsvikingsJomsvikingsThe Jomsvikings were a possibly-legendary company of Viking mercenaries or brigands of the 10th century and 14th century AD, dedicated to the worship of such deities as Odin and Thor. They were staunchly pagan, but they reputedly would fight for any lord able to pay their substantial fees, and...
departed from Jomsborg to reclaim the Swedish throne from Eric the Victorious, yet were defeated in FyrisvellirFyrisvellirFyrisvellir, Fyris Wolds or Fyrisvallarna was the marshy plain south of Gamla Uppsala where travellers had to leave the ships and walk to the Temple at Uppsala and the hall of the Swedish king....
near Gamla UppsalaGamla UppsalaGamla Uppsala is a parish and a village outside Uppsala in Sweden. It had 16,231 inhabitants in 1991.As early as the 3rd century AD and the 4th century AD and onwards, it was an important religious, economic and political centre...
in the late 980s. - Sweyn Forkbeard and a force of JomsvikingsJomsvikingsThe Jomsvikings were a possibly-legendary company of Viking mercenaries or brigands of the 10th century and 14th century AD, dedicated to the worship of such deities as Odin and Thor. They were staunchly pagan, but they reputedly would fight for any lord able to pay their substantial fees, and...
departed from Jomsborg to eliminate jarl Haakon SigurdssonHaakon SigurdssonHaakon Sigurdarsson was the de facto ruler of Norway from about 975 to 995.-Background:Haakon was the son of Sigurd Haakonsson, Jarl of Lade and ruler of Trøndelag and Hålogaland. His mother was Bergljot Toresdatter, daughter of Tore Ragnvaldsson, Earl of Møre...
of NorwayNorwayNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, but were defeated in the Battle of HjörungavágrBattle of HjörungavágrThe Battle of Hjörungavágr is a semi-legendary naval battle that took place in the late 10th century between the Jarls of Lade and a Danish invasion fleet led by the fabled Jomsvikings...
(~990). - Olaf I of NorwayOlaf I of NorwayOlaf Tryggvason was King of Norway from 995 to 1000. He was the son of Tryggvi Olafsson, king of Viken , and, according to later sagas, the great-grandson of Harald Fairhair, first King of Norway.Olaf played an important part in the often forcible, on pain of torture or death, conversion of the...
and a Jomsviking contingent departed from Jomsborg for the Battle of SvolderBattle of SvolderThe Battle of Svolder was a naval battle fought in September 999 or 1000 in the western Baltic Sea between King Olaf Tryggvason of Norway and an alliance of his enemies...
in 999 or 1000 AD.
See also
- Pomerania during the Early Middle AgesPomerania during the Early Middle AgesThe southward movement of Germanic tribes during the migration period had left Pomerania largely depopulated by the 7th century. Between 650 and 850 AD, West Slavic tribes settled in Pomerania. The tribes between the Oder and the Vistula were collectively known as Pomeranians, and those west of the...
- Early Swedish HistoryEarly Swedish historySwedish pre-history ends around 800 CE, when the Viking Age begins and written sources are available. The Viking Age lasted until the mid-11th century, when the Christianization of Scandinavia was largely completed. The period 1050 to 1350 — when the Black Death struck Europe — is considered the...
- JomsvikingsJomsvikingsThe Jomsvikings were a possibly-legendary company of Viking mercenaries or brigands of the 10th century and 14th century AD, dedicated to the worship of such deities as Odin and Thor. They were staunchly pagan, but they reputedly would fight for any lord able to pay their substantial fees, and...