Where was Uppsala, for real?

Upsal - a high-rise building or settlement?

There are a lot of places that can be attributed to the word upsal. An explanation of the word or name may be that 'sala' means hall, a building resting in a high-lying or geographically north-facing location.

Perhaps Uppsala means "The rising sun's temple" because our ancestors celebrated the sun, perhaps with bloody midwinter blots as the sun rose straight in the southeast through or above a landmark.

In North Yorkshire, England a few miles northwest of the Viking York, there is a place called Upsall, which was written in 1086 as Upsale. This name, the English writes, comes from the prehistoric "higher dwelling (s)", up + salr, ie the settlement or settlement 'up there'.

Much of the Swedish history is based on some basic theses and perceptions. If it were to be true that they did not match, then some historical truths collapse and you have to reassemble everything again. Adam av Bremen wrote that the temple was in Uppsala, that it would be in the midst of the lands of the Sveon in a mountainous village south of Värmland and Finnedi - this will completely disqualify Uppland. He also wrote that the nearby town of Birka was 'the city of the streets'.

Uppland was not called Uppland until 1296. Uppland in the 9th century was called Tiundaland, Attundaland and Fjordundaland, it is not obvious that, for example, the legend of Ale the English refer to Uppland-Ale, defeated by Adils on Vänerns ice, after which his men rode home to his Upsalir. No notice was made of the problems of Tiveden and Västmanland. Upsalir is also a plural form and is considered to mean the 'halls up there'. Then Kinnekulle fits into the puzzle with its 'halls up there'. In the autumn of 1297, King Birger Magnusson wrote the three small countries north of  Mälaren as "tiundiam, attundiam & fiædrundiam", not "Uplandia".

Svealand was not called Svealand until the 1400s. If Svealand in the 9th century was called Nordanskog, it is not very likely that Mälardalen was the central city of the Svein. Procopius mentioned no riot in the 500s when he counted thirteen people in Thule - Scandinavia. The contemporary Jordan referred to 'suehans' in connection with skinners and 'suethidi' in connection with 'dances'. Fyrisån was not called Fyrisån until the 17th century. If Fyrisån was named Salaån in the 9th century, it is not obvious that it was on these beaches that Erik Segersäll fought with Styrbjörn Starke. And why was Sala not called Uppsalaån? If Uppsala was called Sala before changing its name to Upp-Sala, it would explain why Salaån was named just that.

Svear means Swedes and not exclusively the people in Mälardalen. Already in the 100's, Tacitus wrote that "Out in the ocean itself lies the communities of the swords" and continued the description that the sun on the other side of the swirls was seen shimmering into the ocean - thus realizing that this sea is in the west and should have been the North Sea or Norwegian Sea, not the Baltic Sea. If Old Uppsala was not the seat of the king, Björkö in Mälaren does not need to be the place for Ansgar's meeting with the Swedish king.

Ansgar was a French monk and missionary born in Picardy in 801 but had German parents. In the spring of 830 he joined the monk Vitmar to Birka in Sweden to meet King Björn. A second visit took place in 852 with Emmbert, the priest, who then stayed in the streets of Birka. However, no church has been found at Björkö in Mälaren. Birka is considered a trading venue. Köpingsvik on Öland was a more important trading venue than Mälar-Birka, built more than a 100 years earlier and owing to its size and age, it should have had a significantly stronger position. Even in Gotland there is a place that can clearly be Ansgars Birka, Rome. According to White Ansgarii, Birka was moved to Linköping after it was burnt. Messenius wrote that there was a Benedictine monastery at Roxen already 853 - Munkeboda! The monastery is mentioned in a letter of protection for Linköping's bishopric in 1178. Around Omberg stands the stone in Rök, from the early 9th century, where a man named Björn is mentioned ...

Then there was a Birka in Västergötland also - today Södra Björkö.

To be continued...