Fróðskaparrit - 01.01.1964, Page 165

Nom in Shetland
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to those in Norway, carried out as they were after his
field work, look very much like special pleading. His Celtic
names most certainly are. He had the impression, quite
cotnmon in his day, that a people speaking a language
akin to Welsh had built the brochs (“Pictish towers”), and
that a Gaelicíspeaking race with their priests had met the
Norse. He cites some 45 placemames from these languages
as evidence. It is quite true that many Norse words found
their way into Gaelic, and also that a few Gaelic words,
erg, for example and others connected with agriculture,
were adopted by the Norse, but these are common to
Norway, Faroe, and Iceland as well. A word like “pund”
came to Shetland in the 17th Century through Scots, as did
"toor (tur)". Kalef is Kaldakleif, Ken is kenni, Dublin is
dopel, Birrier is berg=jaðarr, Mamaskerry is form malmr.
In fact, except for a few words common to all, the whole
Shetland Celtic names may be written off.
It is to Norway we must look for old names. There is
nothing archaeological, historical, or otherwise to suggest
that Shetland was settled before 800. The first viking
voyages were south via the North Sea and English Channel
to Wales and Ireland, those from 820 were evidently north
about Britain. Orkney may have suffered before Shetland,
and according to Dicuil the vikings were in Faroe by 825.
Flóki sailed to Iceland via Shetland; his daughter Geirhild’s
farm is to=day Girlsta. The first stream of emigrants came
from Norway by way of Orkney and the Western Isles,
later we have a double stream from Ireland, the Scottish
Isles, Orkney and Norway converging on Iceland by way
of Shetland and Faroe.
In Shetland we have no farm names with =vin as ending,
and the only three heim names are Sulem, Kaldheim, and
Digeren, all common in Norway. Most of the Shetland
farm names follow the Norwegian and Icelandic pattern,
and in the same frequency. Bólstaðr does not occur in
Faroe, but is more common in Shetland, Orkney and the