1577 - Peace of Bergerac: Political rights for Huguenots 1836 - British parliament accepts registration of births, marriages and deaths 1894 - Phillies get 36 hits, Sam Thompson hits for the cycle, beating Louisville 29-4 1943 - US 8th Air Force loses 60 B-17s during attack on Schweinfurt and Regensburg 1980 - "Blackstone" closes at Majestic Theater NYC after 104 performances 1988 - NYC 1st case of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (9-year-old Bronx boy) 2008 - China wins its 33rd gold medal of the Beijing Olympics by beating Singapore in the table tennis women's team event; most successful Olympiad ever for China; wins all 10 singles and all 5 doubles matches 2008 - Jamaica dominates the 100m at the Beijing Olympics with Shelly-Ann Fraser taking the gold medal in 10.78; her teammates Sherone Simpson and Kerron Stewart dead-heat for silver in 10.98 2021 - Joel Embiid signs a four-year, $196 million NBA extension with the 76ers 2022 - Suicide explosion in Afghan mosque in Kabul kills 21 worshippers and injures 33 More Historical Events »

Historical Events 682 - Leo II begins his reign as Catholic Pope 1858 - 1st bank in Hawaii opens 1959 - 7.1 quake strikes Yellowstone National Park 1988 - US Republicans nominate George H. W. Bush for President 2008 - Jamaica dominates the 100m at the Beijing Olympics with Shelly-Ann Fraser taking the gold medal in 10.78; her teammates Sherone Simpson and Kerron Stewart dead-heat for silver in 10.98 2015 - Bomb blast in Bangkok at Erawan Shrine kills at least 19, injures over 100 More Historical Events » Famous Birthdays 1913 - Rudy York, American baseball player (Detroit Tigers), born in Ragland, Alabama (d. 1970) 1932 - V. S. Naipaul, Trinidadian-British writer (In a Free State, Middle Passage), born in Chaguanas, Trinidad and Tobago (d. 2018) 1938 - Abu Bakar Bashir, Indonesian Muslim cleric, born in Jombang, Dutch East Indies 1947 - Francine Hughes Wilson, American domestic abuse victim "The Burning Bed" who changed pubic perceptions, born in Stockbridge, Michigan (d. 2017) 1984 - Dee Brown, American basketball player (2005 Sporting News National Player of the Year), born in Jackson, Mississippi 2003 - The Kid Laroi [Charlton Howard], Australian singer-songwriter (Without You), born in Waterloo, Australia More Famous Birthdays » Famous Deaths 1153 - Eustace IV of Boulogne, son of Stephen of England (b. 1130) 1838 - Lorenzo Da Ponte [Emanuele Conegliano], Italian-American librettist (Don Giovanni; Cosi Fan Tutti), poet, and libertine priest, dies at 89 1976 - Murvyn Vye [Marvin], American actor (Road to Bali, Bob Cummings Show), dies of natural causes at 63 2004 - Gérard Souzay, French baritone, dies at 85 2007 - Bill Deedes, British journalist and politician (b. 1913) 2023 - Gary Young, American rock drummer (Pavement), dies at 70 More Famous Deaths »

A recent interpretation of the runic inscription on the Forsa Ring, an iron ring from 9th or 10th century that is the oldest extant legal text in Scandinavia, has revealed new information on Viking Age monetary systems. The reinterpretation changes only one word, but that change reveals a more flexible and practical approach to the payment of fines. For centuries the Forsa Ring hung on the door of the parish church in Forsa in central Sweden’s province of Hälsingland, but it is pre-Christian so that was not its original location. It is 17 inches in diameter and had an iron spike that was likely used to mount it through a hole in the door. It is engraved around the edge with approximately 250 runes that record the fines incurred by the violation of a sanctuary. The runes read: uksa tuiskilan auk aura tuo staf at fursta laki uksa tuo auk aura fiura at aþru laki in at þriþia laki uksa fiura auk aura ata staf The previous translation of them: One ox and two ounces of silver (in fine) to the staff for the restoration of a sanctuary in a valid state for the first time; two oxen and four ounces of silver (in fine) for the second time; but for the third time four oxen and eight ounces of silver (in fine). Researchers from the Department of Economic History and International Relations at Stockholm University proffer a different interpretation of the word “auk” that alters the entire fine structure. “The Forsaringen inscription “uksa … auk aura tua” was previously interpreted to mean that fines had to be paid with both an ox and two ore of silver. This would imply that the guilty party had to pay with two different types of goods, which would have been both impractical and time-consuming,“ says Rodney Edvinsson, Professor of Economic History at Stockholm University, who conducted the study. […] By changing the translation of the word “auk” from the previous interpretation “and” to the new interpretation “also,” the meaning changes so that fines could be paid either with an ox or with two ore of silver. An ore was equivalent to about 25 grams of silver. “This indicates a much more flexible system, where both oxen and silver could be used as units of payment. If a person had easier access to oxen than to silver, they could pay their fines with an ox. Conversely, if someone had silver but no oxen, they could pay with two ore of silver,“ says Rodney Edvinsson. In addition to being more practical and making it easier for people to pay the fines, this interpretation is more congruent with later Scandinavian laws and the valuation of oxen in silver also comparable to their values in other countries in Europe. If the researchers are correct, this makes the Fora Ring runes Scandinavia’s earliest extant price record. “The price level during the Viking Age in silver was much lower than in the early 14th century and late 16th century, but approximately at the same level as in the late 15th century and the 12th century, when there was a silver shortage,“ says Rodney Edvinsson. The study highlights the importance of using modern economic theories to interpret historical sources. By combining economic theory with archaeological and historical findings, new opportunities for interdisciplinary research and a deeper understanding of early economic systems are opened up. The study has been published in the Scandinavian Economic History Review and can be read in its entirety here.

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