Fróðskaparrit - 01.01.1981, Page 72
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Korkadalur
fyrsta kornslagið var havri (Avena), síðan bygg (Hordeum) — og
seinni góvust teir at velta har. Teir fyrstu, sum veltu í Lamba, vóru
ikki norrønir menn, heldur J.J., og hann vísir á rit Dicuils frá 825,
DE MENSURIS ORBIS TERRAE.
Sverri Dahl hevur ieingi grunað, at veltingin í Lamba var ikki
norrøn, men eldri enn norrøn búseting í Mykinesi, og aftan á kann-
ingar Jóhannesar halda vit, at hann hevur fingið vissu fyri, at so
er. Nú bíða vit eftir pollen-kanningum í Korkadali. Meira fær mál-
og navnfrøðingur ikki sagt um hetta.
SUMMARY
On a purely formal basis the name of the valley of Korkadalur on the Faroese
island of Mykines can easily be interpreted as deriving from the Faroese word
korki m., which in its turn comes from the Gaelic corcur (from Latin purpura).
Korki (cf. Norwegian korke) is the name for the lichen used to produce a reddish
colour in dying wool. This lichen grows on almost all boulders in the Faroe
Islands, and is found in close proximity to all Faroese houses. It is therefore
inconceivable that the residents of Mykines should have fetched their korki for
dying wool from such an outlying place as Korkadalur. It is suggested here that
the first component of the place name derives from another word korki m.
which is common to the Celtic languages. This Celtic word, Scottish Gaelic corc,
Irish coirce, Cornish ceirch, Breton kerc’h, means »oats« (Avena). Korki meaning
»oats« is not otherwise known in the Faroe Islands, but it can have existed at
one time, as it is found in a list of poetical names in Snorre’s Edda (MS. from c.
1400), while on an 18th century manuscript from the Shetland island of Foula
we find the expression Corca coust, which is interpreted as meaning »oat bread«.