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"The Biarmians," he says, "told him many stories both about their own land and about the countries which were around them, but he knew not what was true, because he did not see it himself." Wulfstan was perhaps a Jutlander, and his voyage was confined to the Baltic.
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. 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 Biarmians, indeed, had well cultivated their land; though Ohthere and his crew durst not enter upon it; but the land of the Torne-Finnas was all waste, and it was only occasionally inhabited by hunters, and fishermen, and fowlers.
"The Biarmians told him many stories, both about their own land and about the other countries around them; but Ohthere knew not how much truth there was in them, because he had not an opportunity of seeing with his own eyes. It seemed, however, to him, that the Finlanders and the Biarmians spoke nearly the same language.
Perhaps Fer-fenna, from their travelling in sledges; from farra, to travel in a carriage. Forst. 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.
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