King Alfred's Orosius continues its description of Europe, after the digressions of Ohthere and Wulfstan by decribing "classical" Europe known to the Romans and of course to Paulus Orosius, which is to say Greece, Italy, Spain, Gaul and the British Isles. It is a classical description and fairly bland. The amount devoted to Spain may reflect the Paulus Orosius, who was from Hispania.
Britain and Ireland are briefly mentionend, presumably reflecting Paulus Orosius. King Alfred might easily have expanded the section and brought it up to date, but no purpose of his was served in describing his own lands in a work which he intended to expand the horizons of his subjects.
The final land mentioned in this section is Thila: Iceland ("which few men know"); this then seems to have been written before the Norwegians rediscovered the land for themselves. We might suspect that the the seeming indifference to Iceland is just a blind translation of the line in the original, but the English text says westannorðan Ibernia ("northwest of Ireland") where Paulus Orosius has his Thila north of Britain; Alfred's emendation suggests a knowledge of where Iceland is and an identification of it with classical Thila; in the original text we do not know if the writer meant Shetland, the Faroe Islands, Iceland or (which is most probable) just a formulaic recitation of Ultima Thule as some unknown land beyond Britannia.
Europe be suðan Donua and þa westerne landEdit
Nu wille we secgan be suðan Donua þære ea ymbe Creca land, hu hit liþ. Wyð eastan Constantinopolim Creca byrig is se sæ Proponditis, & be norðan Constantinopolim Creca byrig scyt se sæearm up of þæm sæ westrihte þe man hæt Euxinus, & be westannorðan þære byrig Donua muða þære ea scyt suðeast ut on ðone sæ Euxinus - & on suðhealfe & on westhealfe þæs muðan sindon Mæsi, Creca leode - & be westan þære byrig sindon Traci, & be eastan þære byrig Macedonie, & be suþan þære byrig, on suðhealfe þæs sæs earmes þe man hæt Egeum, sindon Athena & Corintus þa land; & be westsuðan Corinton is Achie þæt land æt þæm Wendelsæ. Þas land syndon Creca leode. & be westan Achie andlang þæs Wendelsæs is Dalmantia þæt land on norðhealfe þæs sæs, & be norðan Dalmatia sindon Pulgare & Istria, & be suðan Istria is se Wendelsæ þe man hæt Atriaticum, & be westan þa beorgas þe man hæt Alpis, & be norðan þæt westen þæt is betwux Carendan & Pulgarum.
Þonne is Italia land westnorðlang & eastnorðlang, & hit belið Wendelsæ ymbe eall utan buton westannorðan. Æt þæm ende hit belicgað ða beorgas þe man hæt Alpis; þa onginnað westane fram þæm Wendelsæ in Narbonense þære ðeode & endiað eft east in Dalmatia þæm lande æt þæm sæ.
Þa land þe man hæt Gallia Bellica,be eastan þæm is sio ea þe man hæt Rin, & be suðan þa beorgas þe man hæt Alpis, & be westansuðan se garsecg þe man hæt Brittanisca, & be norðan on oðre healfe þæs garsegges earme is Brittannia þæt land. Be westan Ligore is Aequitania land, & be suþan Æquitania is þæs landes sumdæl Narbonense, & be westansuðan Ispania land, & be westan garsecgc. Be suðan Narbonense is Wendelsæ, þær þær Rodan seo ea utscyt, & be eastan him Profentsæ, & be westan him ofer ða westenu seo us nearre Ispania, & be westan him & norðan Equitania, & Wascan be norðan. Profentse hæfð be norðan hyre þa beorgas þe man Alpis hæt, & be suðan hyre is Wendelsæ, & be norðan hyre & eastan synd Burgende, & Wascan be westan.
Ispania land is þryscyte & eall mid fleote utan ymbhæfd, ge eac binnan ymbhæfd ofer ða land ægþer ge of þæm garsecge ge of ðam Wendelsæ, An ðære garena lið suðwest ongean þæt igland þe Gaðes hatte, & oþer east ongean þæt land Narbonense, & se ðridda norðwest ongean Brigantia Gallia burh & ongean Scotland ofer ðone sæs earm, on geryhte ongean þæne muðan þe mon hæt Scene. Seo us fyrre Ispania, hyre is be westan garsecg & be norðan, Wendelsæ be suðan, & be eastan seo us nearre Ispania; be norðan þære synt Equitania, & be norðaneastan is se weald Pireni, & be eastan Narbonense, & be suðan Wendelsæ.
Brittannia þæt igland, hit is norðeastlang, & hit is eahta hund mila lang & twa hund mila brad. Þonne is be suðan him on oðre healfe þæs sæs earmes Gallia Bellica, & on westhealfe on oþre healfe þæs sæs earmes is Ibærnia þæt igland, & on norðhealfe Orcades þæt igland. Igbernia, þæt we Scotland hatað, hit is on ælce healfe ymbfangen mid garsecge, & for ðon þe sio sunne þær gæð near on setl þonne on oðrum lande, þær syndon lyðran wedera þonne on Brettannia. Þonne be westannorðan Ibernia is þæt ytemeste land þæt man hæt Thila, & him is feawum mannum cuð for ðære oferfyrre.