A collection of descriptions and references to sounds drawn mainly from primary sources such as autobiographies, diaries and statutes, as well as novels written around the times they depict.
| Sub-category | 1st to 10th |
11th to 15th |
16th to 17th |
18th | Early 19th |
Late 19th |
Early 20th |
Late 20th |
| General sounds of street and town | 7 | 1 | 3 | 12 | 12 | 6 | ||
| Open-air markets | 1 | 2 | 2 | |||||
| Road traffic | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||||
| Communal living and confinement | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | ||||
| River traffic and related sounds | 5 | 2 | 3 | |||||
| Plague, war and disaster | 1 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 4 | |||
| Sound qualities of buildings | 1 | |||||||
| Sounds of crowds | 1 | 1 |
Period referred to: Early 11th century
Sound category: Ambient > Plague, war and disaster
Title of work: The Saga of Olaf Haraldson
Type of publication: Saga/Epic poem
Author: Snorri Sturluson
Year of publication: 1225
Page/volume number: n/a
King Olaf destroys London Bridge c. 1014
London Bridge is broken down.
Gold is won, and bright renown.
Shields resounding,
War-horns sounding,
Hild is shouting in the din!
Arrows singing,
Mail-coats ringing –
Odin makes our Olaf win!
[Here Sturluson quotes the 11th century skald Ottar Svarte.]