The Folklore of Orkney and Shetland

The Folklore of Orkney and Shetland PDF Author: Ernest Marwick
Publisher: Birlinn Ltd
ISBN: 1788852729
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 170

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Book Description
The two island groups of Orkney and Shetland have much in common. In each the grey stone houses and treeless landscapes are scoured in winter by stinging gales, and in summer lie under the endless days of the 'simmer din'. Originally Norwegian, they have been part of Scotland for five hundred years, but their many and varied legends, folk tales and customs are still saturated with Norse influences. While this book tells tales and discusses beliefs that are known throughout the northern isles, it also outlines those elements which are unique to each island group. The Folklore of Orkney and Shetland is the standard account of what to this day is one of the richest repositories of lore and custom in Britain. Ernest Marwick not only recounts countless tales which have been transmitted aurally and by writing, but also places these tales within geographical and historical contexts, thus enabling a deeper appreciation of this wonderful material. A bibliography is also included, together with an index of tale types and motifs.

The Folklore of Orkney and Shetland

The Folklore of Orkney and Shetland PDF Author: Ernest Marwick
Publisher: Birlinn Ltd
ISBN: 1788852729
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 170

Get Book Here

Book Description
The two island groups of Orkney and Shetland have much in common. In each the grey stone houses and treeless landscapes are scoured in winter by stinging gales, and in summer lie under the endless days of the 'simmer din'. Originally Norwegian, they have been part of Scotland for five hundred years, but their many and varied legends, folk tales and customs are still saturated with Norse influences. While this book tells tales and discusses beliefs that are known throughout the northern isles, it also outlines those elements which are unique to each island group. The Folklore of Orkney and Shetland is the standard account of what to this day is one of the richest repositories of lore and custom in Britain. Ernest Marwick not only recounts countless tales which have been transmitted aurally and by writing, but also places these tales within geographical and historical contexts, thus enabling a deeper appreciation of this wonderful material. A bibliography is also included, together with an index of tale types and motifs.

Old-lore Miscellany of Orkney, Shetland, Caithness, and Sutherland

Old-lore Miscellany of Orkney, Shetland, Caithness, and Sutherland PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Caithness (Scotland)
Languages : en
Pages : 292

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Book Description


Old-lore Miscellany of Orkney, Shetland, Caithness and Sutherland ...

Old-lore Miscellany of Orkney, Shetland, Caithness and Sutherland ... PDF Author: Alfred Wintle Johnston
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Caithness (Scotland)
Languages : en
Pages : 506

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Book Description


The Other British Isles

The Other British Isles PDF Author: David W. Moore
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 0786489243
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 288

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Book Description
Their names bespeak a rich past. From the Norse Hjaltland comes the modern Shetland: islands nominally Scottish, steeped in Nordic culture, closer to the Arctic Circle than to London. Important Neolithic sites are at Skara Brae and Maes Howe in the Orkneys. Holy Iona, island center of Celtic Christianity, the Isle of Man, former seat of rule over the Irish Sea, and Anglesey and Islay, homes of medieval courts at Aberffraw and Loch Finlaggan, are just a few of the more than 6,000 islands that form the archipelago known as the British Isles. The offshore isles are home to half a million people. Focusing on the eight islands or chains that have long supported substantial populations, this history tells the stories of Shetland, Orkney, the Hebrides, Anglesey, the Channel Islands, the Scilly Isles, and the Isles of Man and Wight, from their Neolithic settlement, to Roman, Norse and Norman occupation, to the struggle to maintain their uniqueness in today's world. Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.

The Norn Language of Orkney and Shetland

The Norn Language of Orkney and Shetland PDF Author: Michael P. Barnes
Publisher: Virago Press
ISBN:
Category : Foreign Language Study
Languages : en
Pages : 84

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Book Description
For some 950 years a Scandinavian language was spoken in Orkney and Shetland. It was introduced into the islands by Viking settlers and became the dominant form of speech there. Norroena, or Norn as it was later called, remained the chief medium of oral and written communication in the Northern Isles throughout the Viking Age for much of the Middle Ages. This book traces the history of Norn, describes its principal features and provides a selection of Scandinavian-language texts from the Northern Isles accompanied by English translation and commentary.

Walking in the Scottish Borders

Walking in the Scottish Borders PDF Author: Ronald Turnbull
Publisher: Cicerone Press Limited
ISBN: 1783628367
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 320

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Book Description
This guidebook provides 45 day walks in the Scottish Borders. Separated into six sections, these walks are divided between the north and south Cheviots, Tweed, Ettrick, Moffat and Manor hills and feature main centres including Wooler, Kelso, Melrose, Peebles and Moffat. The guide's seventh section outlines long distance routes, including a walk along the Border from Gretna to Berwick-on-Tweed. The Scottish Borders are rich in both history and geology. These walks explore many historical sites, from Iron Age forts on hillsides to bastles and towers dating from the Border Reivers era. The stunning and varied scenery is a result of complex geological processes; a visit to Dobb's Linn showcases preserved fossils, while the coastline at St Abbs Head features iconic folded rock formations which are home to a myriad of birds including guillemots. Each walk features 1:50,000 OS mapping, comprehensive route description and plenty of information about points of interest along the route. The walks are graded and can be easily customised with alternative start points, route variants and shortcuts. The guide's introduction offers plenty of practical information about how to get there and where to stay, while the appendices list useful contacts and tourist information centres.

The Northern Isles

The Northern Isles PDF Author: Alexander Fenton
Publisher: Dundurn
ISBN: 9781862320581
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 750

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Book Description
The Northern Isles stand at a crossroads of North Atlantic Europe, subject to the competing influences of Scandinavia and Scotland. Sandy Fenton's detailed study of the material culture of Orkney and Shetland is combined with thorough linguistic analysis and is based on years of study and sifting of a mass of detail. Much of the material is new, based on extensive research by the author, on manuscript and other written sources and on knowledge freely imparted by many local inhabitants. It illuminates the complexity of numerous interlocking factors, draws a picture of a fascinating and varied existence and reveals the past not as a static tableau but a process of continuous change. This book recreates the physical environment in which the people lived, their crops and livestock, the harvest of the sea, their houses, the food they ate. These things dominated their lives and form the background which is the key to understanding the character of these fascinating islands. This major work has earned its place as a key contribution to European ethnology and won the Dag Stromback Award of the Royal Gustav Academy, Sweden.

List of Books and Pamphlets Relating to Orkney and Shetland, with Notes of Those by Local Authors

List of Books and Pamphlets Relating to Orkney and Shetland, with Notes of Those by Local Authors PDF Author: James Walls Cursiter
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Orkney (Scotland)
Languages : en
Pages : 166

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Book Description


Orkney Folk Tales

Orkney Folk Tales PDF Author: Tom Muir
Publisher: The History Press
ISBN: 0750955333
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 226

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Book Description
The Orkney Islands are a place of mystery and magic, where the past and the present meet, ancient standing stones walk and burial mounds are the home of the trows. Orkney Folk Tales walks the reader across invisible islands that are home to fin folk and mermaids, and seals that are often far more than they appear to be. Here Orkney witches raise storms and predict the outcome of battles, ghosts seek revenge and the Devil sits in the rafters of St Magnus Cathedral, taking notes! Using ancient tales told by the firesides of the Picts and Vikings, storyteller Tom Muir takes the reader on a magical journey where he reveals how the islands were created from the teeth of a monster, how a giant built lochs and hills in his greed for fertile land, and how the waves are controlled by the hand of a goddess.

The Biggings, Papa Stour, Shetland

The Biggings, Papa Stour, Shetland PDF Author: Barbara E. Crawford
Publisher: Society Antiquaries Scotland
ISBN: 0903903156
Category : Archaeology, Medieval
Languages : en
Pages : 257

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Book Description
This study of a royal Norwegian farm on the Shetland island of Papa Stour was inspired by a document of 1299 recording the meeting between a Norwegian royal official and a woman who had accused him of treachery to his royal master.