Cannabaceae

Njarar or Njars were an ancient Germanic people of Närke, Sweden,[citation needed] that appears in the Scandinavian version of the Lay of Weyland the smith. In the early part of the lay, King Níðuðr is introduced as a king in Sweden:

Níðuðr hét konungr í Svíþjóð.
Nidud was the name of a king in Sweden.

Later he is specified as the lord of the Njars:

Þat spyrr Níðuðr,
Níára dróttinn,
at einn Völundr
sat í Ulfdölum;
nóttum fóru seggir,
neklðar váru brynjur,
skildir bliku þeira
við inn skarða mána. (Source Archived 2004-11-07 at Bibliotheca Alexandrina)
When the Lord of the Njars, Nidud, heard
That Völund sat in Wolfdale alone,
He sent warriors forth: white their shield-bosses
In the waning moon, and their mail glittered. (Translated by W. H. Auden and P. B. Taylor)

The Njars probably lost their independence early to the Swedish king at Uppsala, and they are not mentioned by Jordanes in his thorough listing of tribes in Scandza, in the sixth century. There are few mentions of the Njarar/Nerikjar in Old Norse sources, but for exceptions see King of Nerike.

Linguistic notes[edit]

At first glance, the name is hard to recognize, because the people of Nerike are otherwise called the Nerikjar in Old Norse sources. However, njar is a breaking of an older ner. The same sound change happened with eka and hertõ which resulted in jag (I) and hjarta (heart). However, in the case of Njar, the sound change never became established, and the older form ner continued to be used for the province and its population.

Ner is, in its turn, an umlaut from an older nar[citation needed] which is cognate to English narrow. The name referred to the narrow inlets that characterized the geography. The north-eastern (Kvismaren-Hjälmaren) has disappeared artificially, but the southern part of the province still has a large fjord.

See also[edit]

One thought on “Cannabaceae

  1. Well, that’s interesting to know that Psilotum nudum are known as whisk ferns. Psilotum nudum is the commoner species of the two. While the P. flaccidum is a rare species and is found in the tropical islands. Both the species are usually epiphytic in habit and grow upon tree ferns. These species may also be terrestrial and grow in humus or in the crevices of the rocks.
    View the detailed Guide of Psilotum nudum: Detailed Study Of Psilotum Nudum (Whisk Fern), Classification, Anatomy, Reproduction

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