"I don't know what storms have driven me out onto this deep ocean of antiquities;
I see no harbor; the dice are cast, whatever destiny in turn may bring." [Ole Worm]
Ole Worm (Olaus Wormius)
(1588-1655) was a Danish polymath who travelled widely in his youth, studying at a range of European universities. In Denmark, Germany, France, Switzerland and Italy Worm completed courses in Arts, medicine, surgery, botany, theology and geology.
Like many of the great intellectuals of the Early Modern era, Worm's primary occupation was physician. His studies in embryology led to the discovery of Wormian bones, small accessory plates found along the cranial sutures in the skull. He lived most of his life in Copenhagen, where he admirably remained treating victims during an outbreak of bubonic plague. His intellectual and noble traits no doubt figured in his appointment as court doctor to King Christian IV of Denmark.
Royal privilege allowed Worm to pursue interests beyond his regular vocation and he drew inspiration from the renowned
cabinet of Ferrante
Imperato (which Worm visited) and he modelled himself after the great sixteenth century Italian naturalist, Ulisse Aldrovandi. Worm's own large and elaborate cabinet of curiosities was famous throughout Europe, recorded for posterity in
'Museum Wormianum' - one of the most famous of the catalogues from the era of great collections - released posthumously in 1655.
Worm's fascination for antiquarian subjects developed during his extensive travels and he was particularly taken with early Scandinavian and runic literature and the history and meaning of runestones. These typically upright boulders, found throughout Scandinavia, were carved with runic inscriptions and set in place from about the fourth
(I guess the tools in the sixth image from the top are viking in origin) to the twelfth centuries. In most cases, they are burial headstones, presumably for heroes and warriors.
Worm published works on the runic calendar, translations of runic texts and explications of folklore associated with the runestone histories. But by far his most extensive and important work -
'Danicorum Monumentorum' - was the first serious attempt to scientifically analyse and record all one hundred and forty four known (at the time) runestone sites in (the then) Denmark. With the King's blessing and support, Worm contacted bishops all over the country who were instructed to provide details and drawings of the barrows, stone circles and carved inscriptions in their regions.
It's ironic that some of the rock monuments recorded in his book have since disappeared, partly as a result of Worm agitating to have all the stones brought to Copenhagen,
(perhaps as additions to his burgeoning kunstkammer) and the few relics that were actually delivered ended up being destroyed in a fire in the capital later on. So, in one sense the book contains valuable data about missing sites in Scandinavian archaeology, but, as Worm didn't visit all of the runestone sites himself anyway and, as his engraver (who hadn't visited
any of the sites) worked from variable quality sketches, the accuracy of the book illustrations themselves are also suspect.
'Danicorum Monumentorum' certainly had lasting influence in the systematic methodology applied to archaeological surveys, however the quality of the linguistic interpretations render the book an interesting historical document without lasting academic importance.
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