Daughters of Norway

Prillar Guri Sculpture by Norwegian sculptor Arne Maeland, Otta, Norway. Unveiled in 1992.

Prillar Guri (Prillar-Guri) is a heroine of oral traditions and later stories and lyrics about events that happened hundreds of years ago. However, in all official reports that were filed about the event, her name never was listed.

The story of Prillar Guri is one of war. Sweden and Denmark-Norway were rival powers in Northern Europe in the 16^th and 17^th centuries. In August 1612, Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Ramsay was in overall command of a company of Scots, along with two other companies commanded by George Hay and George Sinclair. The force totaled about 350. They were on their way to Sweden to enlist as mercenaries in the Swedish service of King Gustav Adolf. They had chosen the land route across Norway to Sweden because the port at Kalmar, Sweden, was blockaded by the Danes.

But the Norwegians were angry. Earlier the capture of the fortress in Älvsborg Län, Sweden, had cut the Swedes off from the Kattegat (the strait between Sweden and Denmark), so the Swedes massacred 300 Danish conscripts from Gudbrandsdalen, Oppland, Norway, at Ny Lödöse, northeast of Göteborg, Sweden.

The Scots landed first on August 2, 1612 on Ramsdalfjorden, and took a pilot on board. He landed them at Klungnes, the roughest terrain along the north shore of Isfjorden, opposite modern Andalsnes. It took time to work around the eastern end of Isfjorden. By August 19^th or 20^th, 1612, the Scots headed inland.

A Norwegian force of about 400 farmers from Lesja, Dovre, Vågå, Sel, Fron and Ringebu kommuner (counties) in Oppland Fylke, assembled at Kringen (the bend in the Lågen River between modern Otta and Kvam in Oppland). Finally, the Scots left Dovre and headed south toward Kringen still along the Lågen (Laagen/Laugen — which eventually flows into the north end of Lake Mjøsa at Lillehammer).

The Scots reached Kringen on August 26, 1612, where they were ambushed by the Norwegian militia at the narrowest part of Gubrandsdalen valley. In Kringen the route was so narrow that the Scots could barely pass single file. The Scottish column may have been spread out about 500 meters long. Recent research has shown that the farmers' militia had blocked the way at the south end and had another block inside the passage. The battle was fought for one and a half hours. All the Scots had been shot, drowned or beaten with exception of 134 men, of whom 116 were executed in Kvam the next day. Three officers and 15 soldiers were sent as prisoners to Oslo, Copenhagen or Varberg, Halland, Sweden. The Norwegian loss was only six men.

The warning to the waiting Norwegian militia was said to have been provided by Prillar Guri, a young woman from Sel Kommune, who rode parallel to the Scots force on the other side of the valley. A prillarhorn is a buck horn with tongue and finger holes, which she supposedly used to signal the militia when the Scots were in position. The ensuing battle where the Norwegians soundly defeated the Scots was the Battle of Kringen.

It wasn't until 1832 that one hears about Prillar Guri having the horn. Since then, whole songs have been written about this event and new traditions were added long after the battle. Many images of Prillar-Guri exist today, including the one above. These may not based on the stories. The instrument we see her playing in the above picture and others, appears to be a lur not a Prillarhorn. Another source mentioned it wasn't a prillarhorn that she had played, but a cornett (cornetto, cornet à bouquin). One version of this instrument does look a similar in shape to the lur and this may account for the use of that image in the pictures.

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