[2] Ohthere here calls the inhabitants of the desert Fins, and it would
    appear that the Laplanders are actually Fins, or Finlanders; the name
    of Laps or Laplanders being of modern origin, and the Danes and
    Norwegians still call this country Finmark.—­Forst

[3] In former translations of Alfred, this passage is rendered as follows: 
    “He was within three days sail of being as far north as the
    whale-hunters ever go.”  This expression is vague and ambiguous, and
    rather means that the residence from whence he set out was within
    three days sail, &c.; whereas the next member of the same sentence
    distinctly indicates a preceding three days sail, as in the adopted
    translation.—­E.

[4] This is not quite accurate, as the coast of Norway, in the course of
    Ohthere, stretches N.N.E.  He was now arrived at the North Cape, whence
    the coast towards the White Sea trends E. and by N.—­E.

[5] This doubt, of whether the sea lies within the land or not, probably
    refers to the numerous inlets or fiords along the whole coast of
    Norway and Finmark, and may mean, that he did not examine whether the
    land might not be parcelled out into innumerable islands.—­E.

[6] The Beormas are the Biarmians or Permians of the northern writers; and
    Perm or Permia is still mentioned among the numerous titles of the
    emperors of Russia.—­Forat.

[7] The Terfennas are mentioned as different from the Scrite-fennas.  These
    were distinguished by Guido, the geographer of Ravenna, in the seventh
    century, into Rerefinni and Scritifinni.  The latter lived entirely
    by hunting, and wore snow-shoes in winter, called Schrit.  The former
    subsisted on their herds of rein-deer, and perhaps ought to have been
    therefore called Rene-finni.  The name in the text ought perhaps to
    have been Rhane-fenna, as he tells us they had rein-deer, and employed
    decoy deer to catch the wild.  Perhaps Fer-fenna, from their
    travelling in sledges; from farra, to travel in a carriage.—­Forst.

[8] It is highly probable, from this remark, in which Ohthere could not be
    mistaken, as it will appear in the sequel that he must have been
    perfectly well acquainted with the Fins, that the Biarmians were a
    branch of the great Finnish stock.  The principal difference seems to
    have been, that the Fins continued to be wandering hunters and
    herdsmen, while the Beormas or Biarmians had advanced to the state of
    fixed cultivators of the soil.  They had likewise an idol called
    Jomala, which is still the name of one of the deities of the
    Finlanders.—­Forst.

[9] The morse is here named horse-whale by king Alfred, with infinitely
    greater propriety than the appellation of sea-horse, which long
    prevailed in our language.  The tusks of this animal are still
    considered as excellent ivory, and are peculiarly valuable for the
    construction of false teeth; and leather made from the hide is still
    used in Russia for coach-harness, but stretches more when wet than any
    other leather.—­Forst.