A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Vol.I

The vessel was entirely lost, but the crew got safe on shore, and part of the cargo was saved. Zeno and his people were soon attacked by the natives, attracted by the hopes of a rich plunder, against whom they were hardly able, in their weary and weather-beaten state, to defend themselves; but, fortunately for them, Zichmni, or Sinclair, the reigning prince or lord of Porlanda601, who happened to be then in Frislanda, and heard of their shipwreck, came in all haste to their relief, of which they stood in great need. After discoursing with them for some time in Latin, he took them under his protection; and finding Nicolo Zeno very expert, both in naval and military affairs, he gave him, after some time, the post of admiral of his fleet, which Nicolo for some time refused, but at length accepted.

Not long afterwards, Nicola wrote an account of these circumstances to his brother Antonio, inviting him to come to Frislanda; who accordingly soon arrived there, and lived four years along with Nicolo in that country; and remained ten years in the service of Zichmni, or Sinclair, the prince of that country, after the death of his brother Nicolo.

Nicolo Zeno having been shipwrecked in 13SO, on the island of Frislanda, and saved by prince Zichmni from the rude attacks of the natives, put himself and all his people under the protection of this prince, who was lord of certain islands lying to the south of Frislanda, which were called Porlanda, and were the most fertile and most populous of all the islands in those parts. Zichmni, or Sinclair, was besides this duke of Sorany602, a place which lies on one side of Scotland. Of these northern parts, I, Antonio Zeno, have constructed a map, which hangs up in my house; and which, though it be much decayed by time, may serve to give some information to the curious.

Zichmni the lord of all these countries, was a man of great courages and famous for his skill in navigation. The year before the arrival of Nicolo Zeno, he had defeated the king of Norway in a pitched battle, and was now come with his forces to conquer Frislandia, which is much larger than Iceland. On account of the knowledge of Nicolo Zeno in maritime affairs, the prince took him and all his crew on board his fleet, and gave orders to his admiral to treat him with the highest respect, and to take his advice in every affair of importance.

Zichmni had a fleet consisting of thirteen vessels, two of which only were galleys, the rest being small barks, and only one of the whole was a ship603. With all these they sailed to the westward, and without much difficulty made themselves masters of Ledovo and Ilofe604, and several other smaller islands and turning into a bay called Sudero, in the haven of the town of Sanestol605 they took several small barks laden with fish606; and here they found Zichmni who came by land with his army, conquering all the country as he went. They stayed here but a short time, and then shaped their course to the westwards, till they came to the other cape of the gulf or bay, and here turning again, they found certain islands and broken lands, all of which they brought under subjection to Zichmni, or Sinclair. These seas were all full of shoals and rocks, insomuch that if Nicolo Zeno and the Venetian mariners had not acted as pilots, the whole feet, in the opinion of all who were in it, must have been lost; so small was the skill of their people in comparison with ours, who had been trained up in the art and practice of navigation from their childhood. After the proceedings already mentioned, the admiral, by the advice of Nicolo Zeno, determined to make for the shore, at a town called Bondendon607, with a view to get intelligence of the success which Zichmni had met with in the prosecution of the war on land. They here learned, to their great satisfaction, that he had fought a great battle, in which he had put the army of the enemy to flight; and in consequence of this intelligence, the inhabitants sent ambassadors from all parts of the island, agreeing to yield the country to his pleasure, and took down their flags and ensigns in every town and castle. It was therefore thought advisable to remain at Bondendan for his arrival, as they had received reports that he would certainly be there in a short time. On his arrival there were great congratulations and rejoicings, as well for the victory obtained by land as for the success of the naval expedition; and the Venetians were much honoured and extolled for their skill, every tongue being loud in their praises, and Nicolo Zeno was much applauded for his prowess. The prince caused Nicolo to be brought into his presence, and bestowed high commendations for the skill he had exerted in saving the fleet, and for the great valour he had displayed in the taking of many towns, where indeed there was no great difficulty or opposition; in reward for which he bestowed upon him the honour of knighthood, and distributed rich and liberal presents among his followers. Departing from Bondendon, the fleet returned in triumph to Frislanda, the chief city of which is situated on the south-east side of the island within a gulf, of which there are many in that island. In this gulf or bay, there are such vast quantities of fish taken, that many ships are yearly laden thence to supply Flanders, Britannia608, England, Scotland, Norway, and Denmark; and the produce of this fishing brings great riches into the country.

The foregoing circumstances were contained in a letter sent by Nicolo Zeno to his brother Antonio, in which he invited him to come to Frislanda; and accordingly the latter set sail for this purpose, and, having surmounted many dangers, safely joined his brother in that far distant country. Antonio remained fourteen years in Frisland or Orkney; four years of that time along with his brother, and ten years alone after the death of Nicolo. The elder Zeno ingratiated himself so much into the favour of the prince, that he was appointed admiral of a fleet which was sent out upon an expedition against Estland609, which lies between Frisland and Norway. The invaders committed great ravages in that country, but hearing that the king of Norway was coming against them with a considerable fleet, they departed in haste; and being assailed by a violent tempest, they were driven on certain shoals where a part of their ships were lost, and the remainder were saved upon Grisland610, a large but uninhabited island. The fleet of the king of Norway was overtaken by the same storm and mostly perished; of which Zichmni, who was personally engaged in this expedition, was apprized in consequence of one of the enemy's ships having likewise been forced to take refuge in Grisland. Finding himself driven so far to the north, and having repaired his ships, Zichmni now resolved to make an attack upon the island of Iceland, which was under the dominion of the king of Norway; but finding it too well fortified and defended for his small force, and reflecting that his diminished fleet was now in bad repair, he deemed it prudent to retire. In his way homewards, however, he made an attack upon the islands of Estland, of which there are seven in number. These are Tolas, Yeal or Zel; Broas, Brassa sound; Iscant, Unst or Vust; Trans, Trondra; Mimant, Mainland; Danbert611; and Bres, or Bressa; all of which he plundered, and built a fort in Bres, where he left Nicolo Zeno in the command, with a sufficient garrison and a few small barks, while he returned himself to Frisland. In the ensuing spring, Nicolo Zeno resolved to go out upon discoveries; and, having fitted out three small vessels, he set sail in July, shaping his course to the northwards, and arrived in Engroveland612, where he found a monastery of predicant friars, and a church dedicated to St Thomas, hard by a mountain that threw out fire like Etna or Vesuvius.

601

Mr Forster is not happy in his explanation of this word, Porlanda or Porland, which he endeavours to derive from Fara-land; precisely the same with Fris-land from Faras-land, only dropping the genitive s. Porland seems used as a general name of the earldom, perhaps connected with the strange name Pomona, still used for mainland, the largest of the Orkney islands. Frisland the particular Fara islands, or one of them. –E.

602

Sorany or Sorani, of which Sinclair is said to have been duke or lord, Mr Forster considers to have been the Sodor-oe, or southern islands of the Norwegians, or those now called the Western Islands; and traces the corruption from the Norwegian plural Suder-oer contracted Soroer, varied Soroen and transmuted to Sorani. All this may be possible; but it does not appear in Scots history that the Sinclairs ever held the Western Islands, and certainly not at this period: Sorani ought therefore to be looked for in Caithness; or it may possibly refer to Roslin near Edinburgh, which belonged to the family of Sinclair. –E.

603

By this latter distinction, Zeno probably means a decked vessel. –E.

604

It is hardly possible to mention all the little islands, and the places situated on the largest of the Orcadian Islands, which by the ancients was called Pomona, and on account of its size, is likewise called Mainland, also Hross-ey, i.e. Gross-ey, or large island. The town was called Kirkiu-og or the harbour near the church, now called by the Scots, Kirkwall. –Forst.

In this note Mr Forster wanders from the subject in hand, and his observations have no reference to the present expedition. Ledovo is probably the Island of Lewis, and Ilofe may possibly be Hay, though that conjecture would lead them too far to the south. –E.

605

Sudero, or Suder-oe, might mean the Western Islands so called by the Norwegians; but certainly here means some bay of Sutherland, as they here met the troops of Sinclair, who had marched by land. The town of Sanestol is quite inexplicable. Though Mr Forster supposes it to have been the cluster of islands called Schant, or Shanti-oer, which he thinks is here corrupted into Sanestoclass="underline" But, if correct in our opinion, that they must have been on the main land of Scotland, his conjecture must be erroneous. These conquests could be nothing more than predatory, incursions, strangely exaggerated. –E.

606

This is a very early mention of salted fish, yet within the lifetime of William Beukels, the supposed inventor of the art of pickling herrings who died in 1397. Professor Sprengel has shewn that herrings were caught at Gernemue, or Yarmouth, so early as 1283. In Leland's Collectanea we meet with a proof that pickled herrings were sold in 1273; and there are German records which speak of them so early as 1236. Vide Gerken, Cod. Diplom. Brandenb. I. 45. and II. 45l. –Forst.

607

This is certainly a place in the isle of Sky called Pondontown. –Forst.

608

Britannia in this place is assuredly put for Britany in France. –E.

609

Estland is probably meant for Shetland, formerly called Yaltaland or Hitland, and afterwards changed into Zet-land and Shetland. This will appear more distinctly in the sequel, when the names given by Zeno to the particular islands of the group, come to be compared with, the modern names. –Forst.

610

Grisland seems to be the island which lies to the eastward of Iceland, called Enkhuyzen; perhaps the island of Grims-ey to the north, of Iceland. –Forst.

611

Probably Hamer, a place on the north of Mainland. –Forst.

612

Engrgroneland, Groenland, or Greenland. –Forst.