In Old Norse sources, such as sagas and runestones , Serkland (also Særkland , Srklant , Sirklant , Serklat , etc.) was the "land of the Serkir ", usually identified with the Saracens .

The exact etymology is disputed. Serk - may derive from "Saracen"; from sericum , Latin for "silk", implying a connection with the Silk Road ; from the Khazar fortress of Sarkel ; or from serkr , shirt or gown, i.e., "land of the gown-wearers". In all cases it refers to a land in the East. Originally, it referred to the land south of the Caspian Sea , but it gradually expanded to cover all Islamic lands, including parts of Africa (and possibly even Muslim Sicily ). ^{[1] [2]}

Notably one of the Ingvar runestones , the So 179 , raised circa 1040 at Gripsholm Castle , commemorates a Varangian loss during an ill-fated raid in Serkland. The other remaining runestones that talk of Serkland are So 131 , So 279 , So 281 , the Tillinge Runestone and probably the lost runestone U 439 . For a detailed account of such raids, see Caspian expeditions of the Rus' .

Several sagas mention Serkland: Ynglinga saga , Sorla saga sterka , Sorla þattr , Saga Sigurðar Jorsalafara , Jokulsþattur Buasonar ^[3] and Hjalmþes saga ok Olvis . It is also mentioned by the 11th century skald Þorgils Fiskimaðr , ^[4] and the 12th century skald Þorarinn Stuttfeldr . ^[5]

See also [ edit ]

• Garðariki
• Names of Istanbul § Old Norse
• Vinland

References [ edit ]

Literature [ edit ]

This article contains content from the Owl Edition of Nordisk familjebok , a Swedish encyclopedia published between 1904 and 1926, now in the public domain .

• Ture Johnsson Arne. Austr i Karusm och Sarklandsnamnet . In Fornvannen 42 , pp 290?305. Stockholm 1947.
• Sven B. F. Jansson. Runinskrifter i Sverige . Stockholm 1963.
• Carl L. Thunberg . Sarkland och dess kallmaterial . University of Gothenburg 2011.
• Carl L. Thunberg . Ingvarstaget och dess monument University of Gothenburg 2010.

External links [ edit ]

• The Ingvar Runestones on Google Maps (after Carl L. Thunberg 2010)

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