The Project Gutenberg eBook of Scandinavian influence on Southern Lowland Scotch
Title: Scandinavian influence on Southern Lowland Scotch
Author: George T. Flom
Release date: January 5, 2005 [eBook #14604]
Most recently updated: October 28, 2024
Language: English
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SOUTHERN LOWLAND SCOTCH
a contribution to the
Study of the Linguistic Relations of English
and Scandinavian
BY
GEORGE TOBIAS FLOM, B.L., A.M.
sometime fellow in german, columbia university
AMS PRESS, INC.
NEW YORK
1966
Copyright 1900, Columbia University Press,
New York
Reprinted with the permission of the
Original Publisher, 1966
AMS PRESS, INC.
New York, N.Y. 10003
1966
Manufactured in the United States of America
Errata (Author's List with Transcriber's Additions)
Abbreviations: Reference Works
Abbreviations: Languages, Grammar
ERRATA.
P. vi, l. 10, for norrnøe, read norrøne.
P. viii, l. 5, for Wyntown, read Wyntoun and so elsewhere.
P. x, l. 11 from bottom, for Koolmann, read Koolman and so elsewhere.
P. xi, l. 1, for Paul, read Kluge; l. 2, for Hermann Paul, read Friedrich Kluge.
P. 5, l. 6 from bottom, for in York, read and York.
P. 13, last line, for or ǣ ę̄, read ǣ or ę̄.
P. 18, l. 3 from bottom, for Skaif, read Skæif.
P. 19, l. 13, for is to, read is to be.
P. 21, l. 10, for Fiad, read Faid.
P. 26, l. 2, aparasta should be aprasta.
P. 31, under Bront (See Skeat brunt) should be See Skeat brunt.
P. 32, under Byrd, for bōræ, read böræ.
P. 47, under Hansel, for Bruce, V, 120, Hansell used ironically means "defeat," read: Bruce, V, 120, hansell, etc.
P. 50, under Laike, for i-diphthong, read æi-diphthong.
P. 66, under Swarf, in the last line for O. Fr. read O. F.
P. 74, l. 19, for e to a, read e to æ.
[Transcriber's Note:
The above changes, listed in the printed
book, have been made in the e-text and marked with popups
like this.
In addition, all references to Paul's Grundriss, 2 Auflage,
I Band
have been regularized to P. G.2 I
to agree with the author's list of abbreviations, p. x.
The following apparent errors have not been changed but are noted here:
P. 5, last line, the form bỳr
?should be the form býr
P. 28 Bein, bene, bein: duplication.
P. 28 under Bing, Douglass
?should be Douglas.
P. 29 under Blout, blowt, Douglas, III, 76; II,
?should be Douglas, III, 76, 11.
P. 31 Brokit, Brukit: atypical capitalization.
P. 42 Frae, Frae: atypical capitalization.
P. 49 under Irking, Winyet, II, 76; I
?should be II, 76, 1.
P. 57 Roop and Stoop: atypical capitalization.
P. 69 under Skyle, Fer.
?should be Far.
P. 79 under ǣ, ǣ > e, e
?should be ǣ > a, e
End of Transcriber's Note.]
Prof. William H. Carpenter, Ph.D.
Prof. Calvin Thomas, A.M.
Prof. Thomas R. Price, LL.D.
of columbia university in the city of new york
IN GRATITUDE
PREFACE.
This work aims primarily at giving a list of Scandinavian loanwords found in Scottish literature. The publications of the Scottish Text Society and Scotch works published by the Early English Text Society have been examined. To these have been added a number of other works to which I had access, principally Middle Scotch. Some words have been taken from works more recent—"Mansie Wauch" by James Moir, "Johnnie Gibb" by William Alexander, Isaiah and The Psalms by P. Hately Waddell—partly to illustrate New Scotch forms, but also because they help to show the dialectal provenience of loanwords. Norse elements in the Northern dialects of Lowland Scotch, those of Caithness and Insular Scotland, are not represented in this work. My list of loanwords is probably far from complete. A few early Scottish texts I have not been able to examine. These as well as the large number of vernacular writings of the last 150 years will have to be examined before anything like completeness can be arrived at.
I have adopted certain tests of form, meaning, and distribution. With regard to the test of the form of a word great care must be exercised. Old Norse and Old Northumbrian have a great many characteristics in common, and some of these are the very ones in which Old Northumbrian differs from West Saxon. It has, consequently, in not a few cases, been difficult to decide whether a word is a loanword or not. Tests that apply in the South prove nothing for the North. Brate rightly regarded leȝȝkenn in the Ormulum as a Scandinavian loanword, but in Middle Scotch laiken or laken would be the form of the word whether Norse or genuine English. Certain well-known tests of form, however, first formulated by Brate, such as ou for O. E. ea, or the assimilation of certain consonants apply as well to Scotch as to Early Middle English. The distribution of a word in English dialects frequently helps to ascertain its real history, and may become a final test where those of form and meaning leave us in doubt. In the study of Norse or Scandinavian influence on Lowland Scotch the question of Gaelic influence cannot be overlooked. The extent of Norse influence on Celtic in Caithness, Sutherland and the Western Highlands, has never been ascertained, nor the influence of Celtic on Lowland Scotch. A large number of Scandinavian loanwords are common to Gaelic, Irish, and Lowland Scotch. It is possible that some of these have come into Scotch through Gaelic and not directly from Norse. Perhaps faid, "a company of hunters," is such a word.
There are no works bearing directly on the subject of Scandinavian elements in Lowland Scotch proper. J. Jakobsen's work, "Det norrøne Sprog på Shetland," has sometimes given me valuable hints. From Brate's well-known work on the Ormulum I have derived a great deal of help. Steenstrup's "Danelag" has been of assistance to me, as also Kluge's "Geschichte der englischen Sprache" in Paul's Grundriss, the latter especially with regard to characteristics of Northern English. Wall's work on "Scandinavian Elements in English Dialects" has been especially helpful because of the excellent list of loanwords given. In many cases, however, my own investigations have led me to different conclusions, principally with regard to certain tests and the dialectal provenience of loanwords. Finally, the excellent editions of Scottish texts published by the S.T.S. and the E.E.T.S. have made the work less difficult than it otherwise would have been. I may mention particularly "The Bruce," Dunbar, and Montgomery, where Scandinavian elements are very prominent.
Abbreviations Referring to Texts Included in this Investigation..1.
K.Q. = The "Kingis Quair" of James I., ed. W.W. Skeat. S.T.S. 1.
Dunbar = Bishop Dunbar's Works, ed. by John Small, R.J.G. Mackay and W. Gregor. S.T.S. 2, 4, 16, 21, 29.
Rolland = "The Court of Venus" by John Rolland, ed. W. Gregor. S.T.S. 3.
Dalr. = Leslie's History of Scotland, translated by Dalrymple, ed. E.G. Cody. S.T.S. 5, 14, 19, 34.
Wallace = Henry the Minstrel's "Wallace," ed. James Moir. S.T.S. 6, 7, 17.
Montg. = Alexander Montgomery's Poems, ed. James Cranstoun. S.T.S. 9, 10, 11.
Gau = "Richt way to the hevinlie Kingdom," by John Gau, ed. A.F. Mitchell. S.T.S. 12.
Winyet = "Certain Tractates," by Ninian Winyet, ed. J.K. Hewison. S.T.S. 15, 52.
Sat. P. = Satirical Poems of the Time of the Reformation, ed. J. Cranstoun. S.T.S. 20, 24, 28, 30.
Buchanan = Vernacular Writings of George Buchanan, ed. P.H. Brown. S.T.S. 26.
Bruce = Barbour's "Bruce," ed. W.W. Skeat. E.E.T.S. Extra Series II, 21, 29.
Lyndsay = Sir David Lyndsay's Works, containing "The Monarchie," "Squire Meldrum," "The Dream," and "Ane Satire of the Three Estates," ed. F. Hall. E.E.T.S. 11, 19, 35, 37.
C.S.= "The Complaynt of Scotland," ed. J.A.H. Murray. E.E.T.S. 17.
L.L.= "Lancelot of the Laik," ed. W.W. Skeat. E.E.T.S. 6.
R.R. = "Ratis Raving" and other Moral and Religious Pieces in Prose and Verse, ed. J. Rawson Lumby. E.E.T.S. 43.
Douglas = The Poetical Works of Gawain Douglas in 4 vols., ed. John Small. Edinburgh. 1874.
Wyntoun = "The Orygynale Cronykil of Scotland," by Andrew of Wyntoun, ed. David McPherson. 2 vols. London. 1795.
R. and L. = "Roswell and Lillian," ed. O. Lengert. Englische Studien 16.
Gol. and Gaw. = "Golagros and Gawain," ed. Moritz Trautmann. Anglia II.
Scott = The Poems of Alexander Scott, ed. Andrew Laing. Edinburgh. 1821.
Philotus = "Philotus, A Comedy imprinted at Edinburgh by Robert Charters, 1603." Published by the Bannatyne Club. Edinburgh. 1835.
Anc. Pro. = Collection of Ancient Scottish Prophecies in Alliterative Verse, 1603. Published by the Bannatyne Club. 1833.
Poet. Rem. = The Poetical Remains of Some of the Scottish Kings, containing "Peblis to the Play," "Christ's Kirk on the Green," "The Gaberlunzie Man," and "Ane Ballad of Good Council," ed. George Chalmers. London. 1824.
Sco. Poems = Scottish Poems in 3 vols. containing "The Tales of the Priests of Peblis," "Ballads" (1508), Holland's "Howlate," "The Bloody Sark" of Robert Henrison, and "Sir Gawain and Sir Galaron" of Galloway. London. 1792.
A.P.B.S. = Ancient Popular Ballads and Songs, ed. Robert Jamieson. Edinburgh. 1806.
Fergusson = The Works of Robert Fergusson, ed. David Irving. Greenock. 1810.
Irving = History of Scottish Poetry, containing a number of extracts, ed. David Irving. Edinburgh. 1874.
Scotticisms = Scotticisms Corrected. London. 1855.
Ramsay = The Poems of Allan Ramsay, in 2 vols. Printed by A. Strahan for T. Cadwell and W. Davies. London. 1800.
Burns = The Works of Robert Burns, ed. Dr. Adolphus Wagner. Leipzig. 1835.
Isaiah = Isaiah, frae Hebrew intil Scottis, by P. Hately Waddell. Edinburgh and Glasgow. 1879.
Psalms = The Psalms, frae Hebrew intil Scottis, by P. Hately Waddell. Edinburgh and Glasgow. 1891.
M.W. = "Mansie Wauch," by D.M. Moir. Edinburgh. 1898. Centenary Edition.
J.G. = "Johnnie Gibb of Gushetneuk," by William Alexander (1871). Edinburgh. 1897.
Abbreviations Referring to Grammars, Glossaries, Dictionaries, and the Like
Aasen = Norsk Ordbog, af Ivar Aasen. Christiania. 1873. Generally referred to as Norse.
B-T. = The Bosworth-Toller Anglo-Saxon Dictionary. Referred to generally as Old English.
B-S. = Bradley's Stratmann's Middle English Dictionary. References to Middle English forms are to B-S., unless otherwise specified.
Brate = "Nordische Lehnwörter im Ormulum." Paul und Braunes Beiträge, X. 1885.
Brem. W. = Bremisch-Niedersächsisches Wörterbuch. Bremen. 1767.
Bouterwek = Die vier Evangelien in alt-nordhumbrischer Sprache. Karl Bouterwek. Gütersloh. 1857.
Cl. and V. = Cleasby and Vigfusson's Icelandic-English Dictionary. Oxford. 1874. Old Norse words have been taken largely from Cl. and V.
Cook = A Glossary of the Old Northumbrian Gospels. A.S. Cook. Halle. 1894.
Craigie = Oldnordiske Ord i de gæliske Sprog. W.A. Craigie, in Arkiv for nordisk Filologie X. pp. 149ff.
Curtis = An Investigation of the Rimes and Phonology of the Middle Scotch Romance "Clariodus," by F.J. Curtis, in Anglia XVI and XVII.
Dickinson = A Glossary of the Words and Phrases of Cumberland. William Dickinson. Whitehaven and London. 1859.
D.S.C.S. = The Dialect of the Southern Counties of Scotland, by J.A.H. Murray. London. 1873.
Egge = Norse words in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. Albert Egge. Pullman, Washington. 1898.
E.D.D. = The English Dialect Dictionary, A to C, ed. Joseph Wright. Oxford. 1898.
Ellis = On Early English Pronunciation. Vol. 5, by Alexander J. Ellis. Early English Text Society, Extra Series 56.
Fritzner = Ordbog over det gamle norske Sprog. Johan Fritzner. Christiania. 1886-1896.
Gibson = The Folkspeech of Cumberland, by A.C. Gibson. London. 1873.
Haldorson = Lexicon Islandico-Latino-Danicum, Biornonis Haldorsonii. Havniae. 1814.
Jakobsen = Det norrøne Sprog på Shetland, by J. Jakobsen. Köbenhavn. 1897. Shetland dialect forms are generally taken from this work.
Jamieson = Jamieson's Dictionary of the Scottish Language.
Jellinghaus = Angelsächsisch-Neuenglische Wörter, die nicht niederdeutsch sind, by H. Jellinghaus, in Anglia XX. Pp. 46-466.
Kalkar = Ordbog til det ældre danske Sprog. Otto Kalkar. Köbenhavn. 1881-1892.
Lindelöf = Glossar zur altnordhumbrischen Evanglienübersetzung in der Rushworth-Handschrift (in Acta Societatis Scientiarum Fennicae Tome XXII., No. 5), von Uno Lindelöf. Helsingfors. 1897.
Kluge P. G.2 I. = Kluge's "Geschichte der englischen Sprache," in Paul's Grundriss, 2 Auflage, I Band.
Kluge and Lutz = English Etymology, by F. Kluge and F. Lutz. Strassburg. 1898.
Koolman = Wörterbuch der ostfriesischen Sprache. J. ten Doornkaat Koolman. Norden. 1879-1884. Sometimes cited as Low German.
Luik = Untersuchungen zur englischen Lautgeschichte. Strassburg. 1896.
Molbech = Dansk Ordbog. C. Molbech. Kjöbenhavn. 1859. Referred to generally as Danish.
N.E.D. = The New English Dictionary, A to Frankish, ed. J.A.H. Murray.
Noreen P. G.2 I. = Noreen's "Geschichte der nordischen Sprachen," in Paul's Grundriss, 2 Auflage, 1 Band.
Kluge = Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache. Friedrich Kluge. Strassburg. 1894.
Richthofen (or O. F.) = Altfriesisches Wörterbuch, von Karl Freiherrn von Richthofen. Göttingen. 1840.
Rietz (or Sw. dial.) = Svenskt Dialekt-Lexikon. J.E. Rietz. Malmö. 1867.
Ross = Norsk Ordbog. Tillæg til Ivar Aasen's Ordbog. Hans Ross. Christiania. 1895.
Schiller und Lübben = Mittelniederdeutsches Wörterbuch. Bremen. 1875-1880. Cited as M.L.G.
Schlyter = Glossarium til Skånelagen (Sveriges Gamle Lagar IX.). C.J. Schlyter. Lund. 1859.
O.S. = Old Saxon. Schmellers Glossarium Saxonicum e Poemate Heliand. Tübingae. 1840.
Sievers = Altenglische Grammatik. Eduard Sievers. 3 Auflage. 1898.
Skeat = Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. Oxford. 1882; and Concise Etymological Dictionary. Oxford. 1897.
Skeat's list = A List of English Words, the Etymology of which is illustrated by Comparison with Icelandic. W.W. Skeat. Oxford. 1876.
Steenstrup = Danelag (Vol. IV. of "Normannerne"). J.C.H.R. Steenstrup. Kjöbenhavn. 1882.
Sweet = Student's Anglo-Saxon Dictionary. Henry Sweet. Oxford. 1897.
Söderwall = Ordbok öfver svenska Medeltids Språket, A to L. K.F. Söderwall. Lund. 1884-1890.
Thorkelson = Supplement til islandske Ordböger. Jon Thorkelson. Reykjavik. 1876-1897.
Wall = "Scandinavian Elements in the English Dialects," by Arnold Wall. Anglia XX.
Worsaae = Minder om de Danske og Normændene i England, Skotland, og Irland, af J.J.A. Worsaae. Kjöbenhavn. 1851.
Abbreviations Referring to Languages, Grammatical Terms, Etc.
adj. = adjective.
adv. = adverb.
cp. = compare.
conj. = conjunction.
Cu. = Cumbrian, Cumberland.
Dan. = New or Modern Danish.
dem. pr. = demonstrative pronoun.
deriv. = derivative.
dial. = dialect, dialectal.
diall. = dialects.
E. Norse = East Norse.
Eng. = English, standard speech.
Far. = Faroese.
Fr. = French.
Gael. = Gaelic.
Germ. = German.
Gmc. = Germanic.
Goth. = Gothic.
id. = the same.
inf. = infinitive.
Ir. = Irish.
L. G. = Low German.
M. Dan. = Middle Danish.
M. Du. = Middle Dutch.
M. E. = Middle English.
M. H. G. = Middle High German.
M. L. G. = Middle Low German.
M. Sco. = Middle Scotch.
M. Sw. = Middle Swedish.
Norse = New or Modern Norse.
N. Sco. = Modern Scotch dialects.
O. Dan. = Old Danish.
O. E. = Old English.
O. F. = Old Frisian.
O. Fr. = Old French.
O. Ic. = Old Icelandic.
O. N. = Old Norse.
O. Nh. = Old Northern.
O. Nhb. = Old Northumbrian.
O. S. = Old Saxon.
O. Sw. = Old Swedish.
p. = page; pp. = pages.
p. p. = past participle.
pr. p. = present participle.
pret. = preterite.
pron. = pronounced.
prep. = preposition.
pl. = plural.
q.v. = quod vide.
Scand. = Scandinavian.
Sco. = Scotch.
S. S. = Southern Scotland.
sb. = substantive.
Sw. = Swedish.
vb. = verb.
W. Norse = West Norse.
W. Scand. = West Scandinavian.
W. S. = West Saxon.
> = developed into.
< = derived from.
E.D.S. = English Dialect Society.
E.E.T.S. = Early English Text Society.
S.T.S. = Scottish Text Society.
There has been considerable confusion in the use of the terms Norse and Danish. Either has been used to include the other, or, again, in a still wider sense, as synonymous with Scandinavian; as, for instance, when we speak of the Danish kingdoms in Dublin, or Norse elements in Anglo-Saxon. Danish is the language of Denmark, Norse the language of Norway. When I use the term Old Danish I mean that dialect of Old Scandinavian, or Old Northern, that developed on Danish soil. By Old Norse I mean the old language of Norway. The one is East Scandinavian, the other West Scandinavian. The term Scandinavian, being rather political than linguistic, is not a good one, but it has the advantage of being clear, and I have used it where the better one, Northern, might lead to confusion with Northern Scotch.
CONTENTS.
PART I. INTRODUCTION.
PART II.
A List of Scandinavian Loanwords taken chiefly from "The Bruce," "The Wallace," Wyntoun's Chronicle, Dunbar, Douglas, Lyndsay, Alexander Scott, Montgomery, Ramsay and Burns.
PART III.
PART I.
INTRODUCTION.
1. General Remarks.
Worsaae's list of 1400 place-names in England gives us an idea of the extent, as well as the distribution of Scandinavian settlements in the 9th and 10th centuries. How long Scandinavian was spoken in England we do not know, but it is probable that it began to merge into English at an early date. The result was a language largely mixed with Norse and Danish elements. These are especially prominent in the M. E. works "Ormulum," "Cursor Mundi," and "Havelok." We have historical records of the Danes in Central and Eastern England. We have no such records of Scandinavian settlements in Northwestern England, but that they took place on an extensive scale 300 place-names in Cumberland and Westmoreland prove. In Southern Scotland, there are only about 100 Scandinavian place-names, which would indicate that such settlements here were on a far smaller scale than in Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, or Cumberland—which inference, however, the large number of Scandinavian elements in Early Scotch seems to disprove. I have attempted to ascertain how extensive these elements are in the literature of Scotland. It is possible that the settlements were more numerous than place-names indicate, that they took place at a later date, for instance, than those in Central England. Brate showed that the general character of Scandinavian loanwords in the Ormulum is East Scandinavian. Wall concludes that it is not possible to determine the exact source of the loanwords in modern English dialects because "the dialect spoken by the Norsemen and the Danes at the time of settlement had not become sufficiently differentiated to leave any distinctive trace in the loanwords borrowed from them, or (that) neither race preponderated in any district so far as to leave any distinctive mark upon the dialect of the English peasantry." It is true that the general character of the language of the two races was at the time very much the same, but some very definite dialectal differentiations had already taken place, and I believe the dialectal provenience of a very large number of the loanwords can be determined. Furthermore, the distribution of certain place-names indicates that certain parts were settled more especially by Danes, others by Norsemen. The larger number of loanwords in Wall's "List A" seem to me to be Danish. My own list of loanwords bears a distinctively Norse stamp, as I shall show in Part III. of this work. This we should also expect, judging from the general character of Scandinavian place-names in Southern Scotland.
2. Place-Names and Settlements in Northwestern England.
Cumberland and Westmoreland, together covering an area equal to about two-thirds that of Yorkshire, have 300 Scandinavian place-names. Yorkshire has 407 according to Worsaae's table. The character of these names in Cumberland and Westmoreland is different from that of those in the rest of England. It seems that these counties were settled predominantly by Norsemen and also perhaps at a later date than that which we accept for the settlements in York and Lincolnshire. We know that as early as 795 Norse vikings began their visits to Ireland; that they settled and occupied the Western Isles about that time; that in 825 the Faroes were first colonized by Norsemen, partly from the Isles. After 870 Iceland was settled by Norsemen from Norway, but in part also from the Western Isles and Ireland. The 'Austmen' in Ireland, especially Dublin, seem frequently to have visited the opposite shore. It seems probable that Northwestern England was settled chiefly by Norsemen from Ireland, Man, and the Isles on the west. It is not likely that any settlements took place before 900. It seems more probable that they belong rather to the second quarter of the 10th Century or even later, when the Irish began successfully to assert themselves against the Norse kings in Dublin and Waterford. Perhaps some may have taken place even as late as the end of the 10th Century.
3. Scandinavian Settlements in Southern Scotland.
In Southern Scotland, Dumfriesshire, Eastern Kircudbright and Western Roxburgh seem to have formed the center of Scandinavian settlements; so, at any rate, the larger number of place-names would indicate. The dialect spoken here is in many respects very similar to that of Northwestern England, D. 31 in Ellis, and the general character of the place-names is the same. These are, however, far fewer than in Northwestern England. Worsaae gives a list of about 30. This list is not exhaustive. From additional sources, rather incomplete, I have been able to add about 80 more Scandinavian place-names that occur in Southern Scotland, most of them of the same general character as those in Northwestern England. Among them: Applegarth, Cogarth, Auldgirth, Hartsgarth, Dalsgairth, Tundergarth, Stonegarthside, Helbeck, Thornythwaite, Twathwaite, Robiethwaite, Murraythwaite, Lockerby, Alby, Denbie, Middlebie, Dunnabie, Wysebie, Perceby, Newby, Milby, Warmanbie, Sorbie, Canoby, Begbie, Sterby, Crosby, Bushby, Magby, Pockby, Humbie, Begbie, Dinlaybyre, Maybole, Carnbo, Gateside, Glenholm, Broomholm, Twynholm, Yetholm, Smailholm, Langholm, Cogar, Prestwick, Fenwick, Howgate, Bowland, Arbigland, Berwick, Southwick, Corstorphine, Rowantree, Eggerness, Southerness, Boness, etc. There are in all about 110 such place-names, with a number of others that may be either English or Scandinavian. The number of Scandinavian elements in Southern Scotch is, however, very great and indicates larger settlements than can be inferred from place-names alone. In the case of early settlements these will generally represent fairly well the extent of settlement. But where they have taken place comparatively late, or where they have been of a more peaceful nature, the number of new names of places that result from them may not at all indicate their extent. The Scandinavians that settled in Southern Scotland probably at no time exceeded in number the native population. The place-names would then for the most part remain unchanged. The loanwords found in Southern Scotch and the names of places resemble those of Northwestern England. The same Northern race that located in Cumberland and Westmoreland also located in Scotland. It is probable, as Worsaae believed, that it is a second migration, chiefly from Cumberland. Dumfriesshire, at any rate, may have been settled in this way. The settlers of Kircudbright and Wigtown were probably largely from the Isles on the west. Other independent settlements were made in Lothian and the region about the Forth. That these are all later than those of Cumberland and Westmoreland is probable. According to what has been said above, the settlements in Dumfries, which seem to have been the earliest, could not have taken place before about the second quarter of the 10th Century, and probably were made later. The other settlements in Southern Scotland may extend even into the 11th Century. The name Dingwall (O. N. Ðingvöllr) in Dumfries, the place where the laws were announced annually, indicates a rather extensive settlement in Dumfries, and the dialect of Dumfries is also characterized by a larger number of Scandinavian elements than the rest of the Southern counties.
4. Settlements in England, Norse or Danish? The Place-Name Test.
That the Danes were more numerous than the Norsemen in Central and Eastern England from Northumberland down to the Thames there can be no doubt. The distinctive Norse names fell, tarn and force do not occur at all, while thorpe and toft, which are as distinctively Danish, are confined almost exclusively to this section. In Northumberland, Durham, Cumberland, Westmoreland and Lancashire thorpe is comparatively rare, while toft is not found at all. On the other hand, fell, dale, force, haugh, and tarn (O. N. fjall, dalr, foss and fors, haugr, tjörn) occur in large numbers in Northwestern England. Beck may be either Danish or Norse, occurs, however, chiefly in the North. Thwaite Worsaae regarded as Danish "because it occurs generally along with the Danish by." We find, however, that this is not exactly the case. In Lincolnshire there are 212 by's, in Leicestershire 66, in Northampton 26; thwaite does not occur at all. In Yorkshire there are 167 names in by and only 8 in thwaite, and 6 of these are in West Riding. It is only in Cumberland and Westmoreland that the proportions are nearly the same, but on by see below § 5. Tveit is far more common in Norway than tved in Denmark. The form of the word in place-names in England is, furthermore, more Norse than Danish. In the earliest Scandinavian settlements in England, those of Lincolnshire, for instance, thwaite might be Danish if it occurred, for monophthongation of æi to e did not take place in Danish before about the end of the 9th Century; by about 900 this was complete (see § 6). The Scandinavian settlements in Northwestern England, however, did not take place so early, consequently if these names were Danish and not Norse we should expect to find thwet, or thweet (tweet), in place of thwaite. It is then to be regarded as Norse and not Danish. Thwaite occurs almost exclusively in Northwestern England—43 times in Cumberland as against 3 in the rest of England south of Yorkshire. Garth (O. N. garðr, O. Dan. gardh, later gaard), occurs very often in Cumberland. With, ness, holm, land, and how, do not occur very often. How reminds one of the Jutish höw in Modern Danish dialect. The rest of these may be either Danish or Norse. In Yorkshire we find a mixed condition of affairs. East Riding, as we should expect, has predominantly Danish names. Thorpe, which occurs 63 times in Lincolnshire, is found 48 times in East Riding. Fell, tarn and haugh do not occur. Force is found twice, and thwaite once. Dale, however, occurs 12 times. West Riding was probably settled by Danes from the East and by Norsemen from the West. Thorpe occurs 29 times, with 8, toft 2, beck 4, fell 15, thwaite 6, dale 12, and tarn 2. In North Riding thorpe occurs 18 times. Force, fell, and tarn together 12. The large number of names in dale in North Riding is rather striking (40 in all), as compared with 52 for Westmoreland and Cumberland. While dale is predominantly Norse, it may perfectly well be Danish, and it is not rare in Denmark. Furthermore, the greater number of dales in Norway as compared with Denmark is largely accounted for by the nature of the country. No conclusions can be drawn from names in force in Yorkshire, Cumberland and Westmoreland, as it is of too infrequent occurrence. Fell occurs 22 times in York, as against 57 in Cumberland and Westmoreland (42 in Westmoreland alone), but in York occurs predominantly in West Riding, where everything points to a mixed settlement. The distribution of tarn is interesting. Tarn is as distinctively Norse as thorpe is Danish. It occurs 24 times in Cumberland and Westmoreland, 3 in North Riding, and is not found at all south of Westmoreland and York.
5. By in Place-Names. Conclusions as to this Test.
By has been regarded as a sign of Danish settlement for the following reasons: (1) O. N. bör would have given bo. The O. Dan. form býr becomes by. (2) By is peculiar to Denmark, rare in Norway. (3) Bö or bo is the form found in Insular Scotland, in the Faroes and other Norse settlements. First, the form bỳr is not exclusively O. Dan. It occurs several times in Old Norse sagas in the form býr and bý—in "Flateyarbók," III., 290, in "Fagrskinna" 41, several times in the "Heimskringla," as well as elsewhere. Again, J. Vibe (see Nordisk Tidskrift, 1884, 535, and Norsk Historisk Tidskrift, 2 Række, 5 Bind), has shown that by is not peculiar to Denmark and rare in Norway. It occurs 600-700 times in Denmark and Skåne, and 450 times in Norway. Finally, by is often found in Norse settlements in Scotland and elsewhere—in Iceland, Shetland, Orkney, Man, and in the Western Isles. In fact, by seems to be the more common form outside of Iceland. All we can say then is that by is more Danish than Norse, but may also be Norse. Where names in by are numerous it indicates that the settlements are rather Danish, but they may also be Norse. We have, then, the following results: Predominantly Danish settlements: Essex, Bedford, Buckingham, Suffolk, Norfolk, Northampton, Leicester, Rutland, Lincoln, Nottingham, Derby, East Riding. Mixed Norse and Danish settlements: North Riding, West Riding, Durham, part of Cheshire, and Southern Lancashire. Norse settlements: Cumberland, Westmoreland, North Lancashire, part of Cheshire, and parts of Northumberland. The number of Scandinavian place-names in Northumberland is not large, only 22 in Worsaae's list. North of the Cheviot Hills the names are again predominantly Norse.
6. Characteristics of Old Northern, or Old Scandinavian. Early Dialectal Differentiations.
On the characteristics of primitive Northern and the changes that had taken place in the language before the Viking period, see Noreen, P. G.2 I, 521-526. On pp. 523-526 are summarized the characteristics of General Northern. Until 800 the Northern tongue was unitary throughout the Scandinavian North. In the Viking age dialectal differentiations began to appear, especially in O. Dan. These are as follows (from Noreen):