Kven Sea - Kven Sea in Orosius

Kven Sea in Orosius

Included in Orosius, there is a short description of Kvenland by a Norwegian viking Ottar. It seems probable that information about Kven Sea was originally also from him. Kven Sea by that name is unknown outside Orosius.

Borders of the ancient Germany were described in Orosius as follows::

"From the Tanais (River Don) westwards to the Rhine, which takes its rise in the Alps, and runs northward, till it falls into that branch of the ocean which surrounds Bryttannia, and southward from the Tanais to the Donua or Danube, whose source is near that of the Rhine, and which runs to the northward of Greece, till it empties itself into the Euxine, and north even to that part of the ocean which is called the Kven Sea (Cwen sea), there are many nations; and the whole of this extensive country is called Germany."

It seems that the text refers to the Arctic Ocean (or its southern part Barents Sea, or even the White Sea), but gives it a name "Kven Sea". The name is however not found anywhere else. The text does not cite Ottar as its source, but it seems reasonable to assume so. Ottar's story elsewhere in Orosius contained a lengthy description how he sailed along the coast of Arctic Ocean far to the east, presumably even deep into the White Sea. He listed different people he met along the way, but he didn't mention Kvens to have any presence on that area. Thus it would not be expected that he had named that sea as the "Kven Sea" if there were no Kvens around at all.

Scribes working on Orosius had other problems with the northern seas:

"The Swedes (Sweons) have to the south the arm of the sea called Ost --"

which refers to the Baltic Sea, including Kattegat and Skagerrak. However, Baltic Sea extends to the east of Sweden as well and further deep to the north. As it seems that the scribes had lost most of the Baltic Sea from their notes, that gives room to the idea that it had been combined together with the Arctic Ocean. This approach would move the "Kven Sea" on the Baltic Sea. Gulf of Bothnia, the northernmost section of the Baltic Sea, has been speculated to be the same as the Kven Sea. An equal possibility is Gulf of Finland. This might even be more likely, since Vikings' eastern routes along the Russian rivers to the Black Sea, Constantinople and Greece started from the Gulf of Finland and having Gulf of Finland as the northern border for the ancient Germany is more suitable than Gulf of Bothnia.