Page:Archaeological Journal, Volume 9.djvu/392

 Notices of ^rtl^aeological ^ubltcntions. TOUR IN SWEDEN. By Samuel Laing, Esq. 8vo. London, 1839. LoxG as tlie above-named volume lias been before the public, it may not be altogether superfluous to direct attention to it, for the sake of noticing a portion of the contents which may prove interesting, more especially to the readers of the Archaeological Journal. The tour appears to have been undertaken neither for the mere purpose of employing time, which other- wise would have hung heavy on the author's hands, nor for the gratifica- tion of an idle curiosity. On the contrary, the general character of the work must be commended for the industry with which Mr. Laing has striven to inform himself of the actual condition of the country wherein he was travelling : and the reflections with which he sums up the results of his observations are frequently of a nature to excite very serious consideration, however the reader may or may not coincide with the writer's conclusions. The particular passage now in view, as of antiquarian value, is the account of a visit to the island of Gothland, which lies off the eastern coast of the mainland of Sweden, in the northern arm of the Baltic sea. Wisby, the chief town of this island, was the commercial emporium of the north of Europe long before Christianity was introduced into that region, and 200 years before the institution of the Hanseatic League, a.d. 1241. The mercantile laws of Wisby " were regarded as the most perfect, and they were transferred to France by St. Louis, whose code of the Isle of Oleron was copied from the constitutions of ^Yisby ; and these contain the prin- ciples of maritime, mercantile, and international law as now adopted in all civilised countries. Wisby had a population of 12,000 burgesses, besides labourers, tradesmen, women, and children, in the Xlllth centurv. The foreigners in the Xlth century were so numerous, that each nation had its own church and house of assembly." The following are extracts, occasionally condensed, from Mr. Laing 's descriptions of the architectural vestiges still visible among the skeleton- like remains of the decayed town : — " Ancient streets, well paved, cross each other in all directions ; two or three bands, or stripes, of larger paving-stones run lengthwise through the streets. I have seen such paving about some cathedral in England."' The wall, with 45 towers, " square, octagonal, and round, as they stood in the Xlllth century, and with very little demolition." is entire, mostly above 30 feet high. The place is reported to have contained 18 churches ; ruins of twelve now exist. " Holy Ghost's Church," built a.d. 1046, " is a very curious small structure ; it is an octagonal prism, about 100 feet high, and 52 feet in length within the walls, divided into two stories." In the lower " four massive octagonal pillars, about 14 feet high, support the vault, which is in twelve compartments." In the middle of this vault is a large octagonal opening, edged with " carved " stone. Two newel stairs in the thickness of the wall meet at the top in a wide entrance to the upper story. Here also four (round) pillars, over those below, support another vault partially fallen in. The choir is common (open ?) to both churches. This