Scandinavian influence on Southern Lowland Scotch Part 1

Scandinavian influence on Southern Lowland Scotch.

by George Tobias Flom.

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, princ.i.p.ally 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 ill.u.s.trate 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 _le??kenn_ 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 a.s.similation 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 norrne Sprog p 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 a.s.sistance 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, princ.i.p.ally 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.

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 c.u.mberland 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 Yorks.h.i.+re, Lincolns.h.i.+re, or c.u.mberland--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 Nors.e.m.e.n 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 Nors.e.m.e.n. 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.

c.u.mberland and Westmoreland, together covering an area equal to about two-thirds that of Yorks.h.i.+re, have 300 Scandinavian place- names. Yorks.h.i.+re has 407 according to Worsaae's table. The character of these names in c.u.mberland and Westmoreland is different from that of those in the rest of England. It seems that these counties were settled predominantly by Nors.e.m.e.n and also perhaps at a later date than that which we accept for the settlements in York and Lincolns.h.i.+re. 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 Nors.e.m.e.n, partly from the Isles. After 870 Iceland was settled by Nors.e.m.e.n 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 sh.o.r.e. It seems probable that Northwestern England was settled chiefly by Nors.e.m.e.n 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 a.s.sert 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, Dumfriess.h.i.+re, 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, Th.o.r.n.ythwaite, t.w.a.thwaite, Robiethwaite, Murraythwaite, Lockerby, Alby, Denbie, Middlebie, Dunnabie, Wysebie, Perceby, Newby, Milby, Warmanbie, Sorbie, Can.o.by, 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 c.u.mberland and Westmoreland also located in Scotland. It is probable, as Worsaae believed, that it is a second migration, chiefly from c.u.mberland.

Dumfriess.h.i.+re, 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 c.u.mberland 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. _ingvollr_) 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 Nors.e.m.e.n 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, c.u.mberland, Westmoreland and Lancas.h.i.+re _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_, _tjorn_) 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 Lincolns.h.i.+re there are 212 _by's_, in Leicesters.h.i.+re 66, in Northampton 26; _thwaite_ does not occur at all. In Yorks.h.i.+re there are 167 names in _by_ and only 8 in _thwaite_, and 6 of these are in West Riding. It is only in c.u.mberland 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 Lincolns.h.i.+re, for instance, _thwaite_ might be Danish if it occurred, for monophthongation of _aei_ 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 c.u.mberland as against 3 in the rest of England south of Yorks.h.i.+re. _Garth_ (O.N. _garr_, O. Dan.

_gardh_, later _gaard_), occurs very often in c.u.mberland. _With_, _ness_, _holm_, _land_, and _how_, do not occur very often. _How_ reminds one of the Jutish _how_ in Modern Danish dialect. The rest of these may be either Danish or Norse. In Yorks.h.i.+re we find a mixed condition of affairs. East Riding, as we should expect, has predominantly Danish names. _Thorpe_, which occurs 63 times in Lincolns.h.i.+re, 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 Nors.e.m.e.n 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 c.u.mberland. 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 Yorks.h.i.+re, c.u.mberland and Westmoreland, as it is of too infrequent occurrence. _Fell_ occurs 22 times in York, as against 57 in c.u.mberland 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 c.u.mberland 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. _bor_ would have given _bo_. The O. Dan.

form _br_ becomes _by_. (2) _By_ is peculiar to Denmark, rare in Norway. (3) _Bo_ or _bo_ is the form found in Insular Scotland, in the Faroes and other Norse settlements. First, the form _b?r_ is not exclusively O. Dan. It occurs several times in Old Norse sagas in the form _br_ and _b_--in "Flateyarbok," III., 290, in "f.a.grskinna" 41, several times in the "Heimskringla," as well as elsewhere. Again, J. Vibe (see Nordisk Tidskrift, 1884, 535, and Norsk Historisk Tidskrift, 2 Raekke, 5 Bind), has shown that _by_ is not peculiar to Denmark and rare in Norway. It occurs 600-700 times in Denmark and Skne, 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: Ess.e.x, Bedford, Buckingham, Suffolk, Norfolk, Northampton, Leicester, Rutland, Lincoln, Nottingham, Derby, East Riding. Mixed Norse and Danish settlements: North Riding, West Riding, Durham, part of Ches.h.i.+re, and Southern Lancas.h.i.+re. Norse settlements: c.u.mberland, Westmoreland, North Lancas.h.i.+re, part of Ches.h.i.+re, 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 DIFFERENTIATION.

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):

About 800, older _hr_ > _r_ in Denmark.

Soon after 800, older diphthongs became simplified in Denmark, e.g.,

_au_ > _u_ cp. O. Ic. _au_, O.Gutnic _aun_ = O. Dan. _usi_ p.r.o.nounced _si_.

_ai_, _ei_ > _i_ cp. O. Ic. _stein_, O.N. _staein_, O.Gtnc.

_stain_ = O. Dan. _stin_.

_io_, _iau_ > _u_ cp. O.N., O. Ic. _briote_, O.Gtnc.

_briauti_ = O. Dan. _biruti_.

Before 1000, _e_ > _ae_ cp. O.N., O. Ic. _ser_ = O. Dan. _saer_ (written _sar_).

About 1,000, appears in O. Sw.--O. Dan. an excrescent _d_ between _nn_ and _r_, e.g., _mantr_, p.r.o.nounced _mandr_ (see Noreen, p. 526).

7. OLD NORSE AND OLD DANISH.

Not until the year 1,000, or the beginning of the 11th Century, do dialectal differentiations seem to be fully developed. O.N., which in general preserves best the characteristics of the old Northern speech, undergoes at this time a few changes that differentiate Dan.

and Norse still more. O. Sw. remains throughout closer to O. Dan. The two together are therefore called East Scandinavian. Old Icelandic, that is, Norse on Icelandic soil, develops its own forms, remaining, however, in the main very similar to O.N. These two are then called West Scandinavian. The following are some of the chief differences between West and East Scandinavian at the time (from Noreen, P.G.(2)I, 527):

1. _I_--(_R_) and _U_--_Umlaut_ in W.S. Absence of it in E.S., e.g.,

W.S. _haeldr_ E.S. _halder_.

3 sg. pres. of _halda_, "to hold."

W.S. _i gaer_, "yesterday," E.S. _i gar_.

W.S. _lond_, pl. "land," E.S. _land_.

2. Development of _i_, _e_, _y_ into a consonantal _i_ in diphthongs in W. S., not so in E. S., e.g.,

W.S. _sia_, "to see," E.S. _sea_.

W.S. _fiande_, "enemy," E.S. _fiande_.

W.S. _biar_, "of a village," E.S. _bar_.

3. a.s.similation of _mp_, _nk_, _nt_, respectively, to _pp_, _kk_, _tt_ in W.S., retention of them in E.S., e.g.,

W.S. _kroppen_, "crippled," E.S. _krumpin_.

W.S. _aekkia_, "widow," E.S. _ankia_.

W.S. _batt_, "bound," E.S. _binda_.

pret. of _binda_,

4. The Medio-pa.s.sive: