Viking Magazine - January 2013 - 5

Your Letters
Sons of Norway Headquarters
1455 W. Lake St.
Minneapolis, MN 55408-2666
612-827-3611 or 800-945-8851
sonsofnorway.com
International Offi cers
PRESIDENT MARIT KRISTIANSEN .......................................... 907-562-5172
marit@gci.net
VICE PRESIDENT RALPH PETERSON ......................................757-318-9414
nodakralph@aol.com
SECRETARY JON TEHVEN ..........................................................319-352-6094
tehven@msn.com
TREASURER WILLIAM E. FOSMOE .........................................206-782-5175
gps005@aol.com
International Directors
MARCI LARSON .........................................................................904-260-4064
mlarson@northfl oridatpo.com
ERNST GRANLY ......................................................................+47-63-95-10-66
ernst@egprodukter.no
JANIE KELLY ................................................................................. 408-559-6563
janiekelly6@aol.com
RAY KNUTSON .............................................................................815-393-4926
rayknutson@loves-park.il.us
ELAINE NELSON .........................................................................701-364-0834
enelcna@cableone.net
ERLENE STEVENSON ..................................................................425-712-9788
roberlstevenson@comcast.net
RON STUBBINGS ........................................................................ 604-941-0760
norway@telus.net
BOB HOOVER...............................................................................218-847-6345
rrdmhoov@gmail.com
Headquarters Staff
EIVIND J. HEIBERG ...................................................... Chief Executive Offi cer
eheiberg@sofn.com
LEN CARLSON ................................................................. Director of Agencies
lcarlson@sofn.com
LEE GORANSON ................................................................................ Controller
leeg@sofn.com
RACHELE HOCKERT ........................................Director of Information Technology
rachele@sofn.com
LINDA PEDERSON ................................................................Fraternal Director
lpederson@sofn.com
LINDA NELSON ...............................................................................Webmaster
lnelson@sofn.com
CINDY OLSON................................................................. Foundation Director
colson@sofn.com
DEAN P. STILLER .....................................................................................Actuary
dstiller@sofn.com
MIKE WNEK....................................................................Director of Insurance Services
mwnek@sofn.com
Tubfrim Chairperson
GENE BRANDVOLD ......................................................................952-831-4361
genegbrand@aol.com
Viking Staff
AMY BOXRUD ............................................................................................Editor
aboxrud@mspcustomcontent.com
ANYA BRITZIUS ....................................................................... Associate Editor
JILL ADLER ...........................................................................................................Art Director
MARY MANGAN .....................................................................................Project Manager
JOSH ALLEN ................................................................... Production Manager
KELLY CARVER.......................................................................Advertising Sales
kcarver@mspcustomcontent.com
PAUL MARIHART ..................................................................Advertising Artist
ROBB MITCHELL ................................................. Digital Imaging Technician
Viking magazine for the members of Sons
of Norway (USPS 611-600, ISSN 0038-1462),
which reaches the largest ScandinavianAmerican
audience in North America, is published monthly for
Sons of Norway, 1455 W. Lake St., Minneapolis, MN 55408, by
MSP Communications, U.S. Bank Plaza, 220 S. 6th St., Suite 500,
Minneapolis, MN 55402-4507. MSP's phone number is 612-339-7571.
Periodicals postage paid at St. Paul, MN, and at additional offices.
Viking has a circulation of 51,000. Of the annual membership dues, $6
is allocated to Viking magazine subscription. Canada Post International
Publications Mail Product (Canadian Distribution) Sales Agreement No.
40015655. Station A, P.O. Box 54, Windsor, Ontario N9A 6J5. No part of
this publication may be reproduced without permission. Advertising
solicitations are accepted at Sons of Norway. Send address-change
information, seasonal and permanent, to the Sons of Norway Viking
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Please send address changes to the Sons of Norway Viking magazine,
1455 W. Lake St., Minneapolis, MN 55408. © 2013, Sons of Norway. All
rights reserved. Printed in USA.
The legendary SCOTTISH
MARCH OF 1612 and the conflict
that followed is remembered
as Norway's first organized
RESISTANCE MOVEMENT.
BY ANN PEDERSEN
A
single track through a steep river gorge, a
band of Scottish mercenaries on the march to
Sweden, a few hundred determined peasants
and a pretty girl: these are the intriguing details of a
well-known battle being commemorated on its 400th
anniversary this summer in Otta in Gudbrandsdalen.
A coordinated effort of local resistance mounted
against the backdrop of the Kalmar War, the Battle
of Kringen shaped Norway's national identity in the
centuries that followed and eventually contributed
to a restored balance of power between the three
Scandinavian countries.
Kalmar Union,
Kalmar War
Detail of " Battle of
Kringen, " a 19th-century
national romantic
depiction of the battle by
Georg Nielsen Strømdal.
Signed in 1397 when Queen
Margrethe I joined her kingdom
of Denmark with the
kingdoms of her deceased
husband, the Norse King
Haakon VI, the Kalmar
Union brought Norway,
Denmark and Sweden
under the rule of a single
monarch, still leaving those
countries some nominal
independence. The union
dissolved and re-established
itself three times in the next
century; by 1521 it dissolved
for the last time, with Norway
under Denmark's rule
and Sweden ruled by King
Karl IX. Trying to establish
trade routes in northern
Norway to avoid paying
Denmark's tariffs, Karl IX
forcibly annexed Finnmark
and began levying tariffs of
his own. In response, King
Christian IV of Denmark
later declared war on Sweden
in April 1611.
Like most European countries
in the 17th century,
Denmark and Sweden maintained
only small standing
armies of their own and
relied on foreign mercenary
soldiers for larger conflicts.
Sweden's successor
to the throne after King
Karl's death, 17-year-old
King Gustavus Adolphus,
requisitioned 3,000 soldiers
from Scotland, but England's
King James, protecting
the interests of his
brother-in-law the Danish
king, denied their departure;
only 350 Scottish soldiers
managed to embark for
Sweden. Under the command
of Lt. Col. Alexander
Ramsay and Captains
George Sinclair and George
Hay, two ships sailed from
Caithness and Dundee on
Aug. 2, 1612. Knowing that
Denmark's navy controlled
the Kattegat, the broad
channel connecting Sweden
to the English Channel and
the North Sea, the Scots
had no choice but to land
on Norway's west coast and
cross overland to Sweden.
The March
According to Henrik August
Angell's 1912 account
" Skottetoget: Et 300 Års
Minde 1612-1912, " the
sonsofnorway.com VIKING AUGUST 2012 11
Kringen Celebration
My husband and I saw the information
about the tour for the Battle of Kringen
celebration [August 2012]. We called
to make a reservation but they had sold
out so we went on our own to connect
with my Kringen family roots. What
a celebration! The Crown Princess of
Norway stayed at our hotel in Otta and
presented the Prillar Guri award. All the
the Scots with their kilts and bagpipes
stayed out our hotel, so we had lots of
music! Some relatives I had never met
came to visit with us. What a special
treat. Thank you for letting us know
about the 400th anniversary. Keep up
the good, informative news.
Sally Kringen Sprogue
Jensen Beach, Fla.
Familiar Poster
I was surprised to see the article about
the poster, with the Norwegian Lord's
Prayer and the Ten Commandments,
in the December 2012 issue of
Viking. I have a framed copy
of that lithograph hanging in
my bedroom.
My mother's father immigrated
from an area near Oslo.
My father's father immigrated
from the Barlindhaug farm
near Orskog. I visited the farm
several years ago.
I can't begin to tell how
much I enjoy Viking. I'm very
proud of my Norwegian heritage and
I'm always eager to learn more about
Norway and it's customs and people.
he place name " Kringen "
has something in common
an old Norwegian word for
" around " or " turn " that refers
to the way the road follows
the mountain through the
Lågen river valley, on the map,
and the twisted shape of the
beloved pastries, on your plate.
Beverly Barlindhaug McGill
Lenexa, Kan.
Grandfather's Great Snow Winter
Your Nordic Life article in the October
2012 issue quotes my grandfather, the
Rev. Anders J. Nervig, from an article
he wrote for Decorah Posten on Dec.
22, 1936. My grandfather emigrated
from Orkanger on May 12, 1880, at the
young age of 13 years. He was sent to
Kerkoven, Swift County, Minn., to the
farm of his aunt Karen to be a herdsboy.
On Oct. 14, the Great Snow Winter of
1880 struck the farm where Anders lived.
Fifty-six years later he wrote a fi rst-hand
account of the storm. It was a great surprise
to see his name in Viking.
Luther Nervig
Wadena, Minn.
CORRECTIONS
December 2012: Per Breiehagen's book, " The Christmas Wish, " will be released in Fall 2013.
November 2012: The money quote on our letters page should have been attributed to
Norwegian writer Arne Garborg, not Henrik Ibsen.
DID YOU
KNOW?
T
with Scandinavian pastries. Their
names both derive from kringla,
Send your opinions and questions to Viking, Letters to the Editor, 1455 W. Lake St.,
Minneapolis, MN 55408 or vikingeditor@mspcustomcontent.com. Letters may
be edited for clarity and length.
sonsofnorway.com VIKING JANUARY 2013 5

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Viking Magazine - January 2013

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