At some time in the late 9th century, a Norwegian seafarer by the name of Ohthere [Oht-her-e] told the West Saxon king Alfred of his voyages along the coasts of Norway and Denmark. Ohthere's report made such an impression at the court of King Alfred that it was recorded and subsequently inserted into the Old English version of the late Roman world history by Orosius, accompanied by Wulfstan's account of a voyage across the Baltic Sea. Ohthere's account is the earliest known description of the North by a Scandinavian and gives a fascinating and highly trustworthy glimpse of the early Viking...

After the successful edition of the book on the voyages by the Norwegian Ohthere, Ohthere's Voyages, the Viking Ship Museum now presents the lesser-known travelogue which accompanies Ohthere's report in the Old English version of Orosius' world history. The narrative begins with these words: "Wulfstan said that he travelled from the Heaths, that he was in Truso in seven days and nights, that the boat was all the way running under sail"

Wulfstan's account covers a voyage from the root of Jutland to the Vistula Delta - connecting the trading centres of Hedeby and Truso - and provides a...