The Rev. Hans P.S. Krag was a pastor who served several Norwegian congregations in the Gudbrandsdalen valley, withVågå as center. When he came there in 1830 he met with an old rural community that was rich with traditions, filled with legends and myths about times past. Of special interest to him was the history of Norway, and in Vågå he found the numerous stories told about a Colonel Sinclair and hundreds of Scottish troops who had arrived in Romsdalen in August 1612. The Scots had landed there, invaded Norway and begun a march clear across the country. The stories told how the Scottish soldiers ravaged and burned the land until they reached Kringen in Gudbrandsdal. There the invaders were finally stopped by an ambuscade and all but eighteen of the Scots were massacred.
The name Kringen (or Kringlen) has remained central in Norwegian history, since it recalls this ugly but important event that in more than one way manifested Norway’s independence and will to defend itself. In reality it had been nothing but a desperate defensive action against a thieving and terrifying group of mercenaries. The Scottish Expeditionary Corps, consisting of four hundred enlisted men, had been en route to fight for Sweden against the Danish-Norwegian king. If the Scottish troops had battled the Norwegian farmers in open terrain, there is no doubt that the outcome would have been different.
Researchers have concluded that the Scottish expeditionary corps was not actually under the command of the mentioned Colonel Sinclair; apparently he was just one of several officers. Perhaps he was the one who commanded the troops in day-to-day operations. During the 400 years since the Scottish incursion in 1612, many names of people and places have been corrupted or new ones substituted. Thus, the name of Colonel George Sinclair has been referred to variously as ‘Sinkler’, ‘Sinclar’, and ‘von Zinclar’. We have adopted the English spelling, Sinclair. Pastor Krag referred to the battle scene as ‘Kringlen’, even though he at length explained that the name originates with the Norwegian word ‘kringum’ (roundabout), which was used by the local farmers. We have chosen the spelling ‘Kringen’ in all references.
The name of the girl who signaled the arrival of the Scottish troops, Prillar-Guri, has often and extensively been referred to as Pilleguri or Pillarguri. The reasons for this are disputed. In medieval Norwegian the verb to ‘prille’ means blowing on a billy-goat or a cattle horn with several holes. In the large Norwegian collections at the Maihaugen Museum several such prillehorns are exhibited. The verb ‘pille’ on the other hand, in the local dialect means to have a sexual intercourse. True, the legends do tell us that Prillar-Guri was a wanton woman and did give birth to a child outside marriage and this may explain some of the confusion. In this e-Book we have called her Prillar-Guri.
The horn that Prillar-Guri played her melody on has also mistakenly said to be a ‘lur’, the Norwegian version of the so-called ‘alpenhorn’. Pastor Krag carefully explains that she played an instrument made with several fingering-holes carefully positioned and drilled, a so-called ‘prillehorn’. With such a horn she could play melodies within a full scale tonal range, without the limitations of only four or five natural tones obtainable on a lur or alpenhorn. It is thus somewhat sad that this mix-up has been introduced, between the words ‘prille’ and ‘pille’, in both local names and in numerous books and broadsides printed and published recently.
Old documents like Enwold Kruse’s ‘Report of the Invasion’ and the king’s three Royal Letters-Patents have also been stated in a modern form. Without this the old documents might be hard to understand for the average reader. Finally, we have included the music (arranged for the piano) that Pastor Krag obtained from local musicians, of the tune that Prillar-Guri played on her horn., as well as the short march that the
The name Kringen (or Kringlen) has remained central in Norwegian history, since it recalls this ugly but important event that in more than one way manifested Norway’s independence and will to defend itself. In reality it had been nothing but a desperate defensive action against a thieving and terrifying group of mercenaries. The Scottish Expeditionary Corps, consisting of four hundred enlisted men, had been en route to fight for Sweden against the Danish-Norwegian king. If the Scottish troops had battled the Norwegian farmers in open terrain, there is no doubt that the outcome would have been different.
Researchers have concluded that the Scottish expeditionary corps was not actually under the command of the mentioned Colonel Sinclair; apparently he was just one of several officers. Perhaps he was the one who commanded the troops in day-to-day operations. During the 400 years since the Scottish incursion in 1612, many names of people and places have been corrupted or new ones substituted. Thus, the name of Colonel George Sinclair has been referred to variously as ‘Sinkler’, ‘Sinclar’, and ‘von Zinclar’. We have adopted the English spelling, Sinclair. Pastor Krag referred to the battle scene as ‘Kringlen’, even though he at length explained that the name originates with the Norwegian word ‘kringum’ (roundabout), which was used by the local farmers. We have chosen the spelling ‘Kringen’ in all references.
The name of the girl who signaled the arrival of the Scottish troops, Prillar-Guri, has often and extensively been referred to as Pilleguri or Pillarguri. The reasons for this are disputed. In medieval Norwegian the verb to ‘prille’ means blowing on a billy-goat or a cattle horn with several holes. In the large Norwegian collections at the Maihaugen Museum several such prillehorns are exhibited. The verb ‘pille’ on the other hand, in the local dialect means to have a sexual intercourse. True, the legends do tell us that Prillar-Guri was a wanton woman and did give birth to a child outside marriage and this may explain some of the confusion. In this e-Book we have called her Prillar-Guri.
The horn that Prillar-Guri played her melody on has also mistakenly said to be a ‘lur’, the Norwegian version of the so-called ‘alpenhorn’. Pastor Krag carefully explains that she played an instrument made with several fingering-holes carefully positioned and drilled, a so-called ‘prillehorn’. With such a horn she could play melodies within a full scale tonal range, without the limitations of only four or five natural tones obtainable on a lur or alpenhorn. It is thus somewhat sad that this mix-up has been introduced, between the words ‘prille’ and ‘pille’, in both local names and in numerous books and broadsides printed and published recently.
Old documents like Enwold Kruse’s ‘Report of the Invasion’ and the king’s three Royal Letters-Patents have also been stated in a modern form. Without this the old documents might be hard to understand for the average reader. Finally, we have included the music (arranged for the piano) that Pastor Krag obtained from local musicians, of the tune that Prillar-Guri played on her horn., as well as the short march that the
