# An Etymological Dictionary of the Norn Language in Shetland/Fragments of Norn

FRAGMENTS OF NORN.
As Norn expired before it was ever scientifically examined and studied, the continuous specimens of it which have been hitherto recorded for us are very few — only the incomplete Foula-song, and the “Lord’s Prayer”, together with a few corrupt trifles recorded in B. Edmonston and Jessie M. Saxby’s “The Home of a Naturalist”. The memory of the Foula-song is now quite forgotten; on the other hand, a few persons in Foula still remember the existence of the old “Lords’s Prayer”.
The fragments of Norn phrases and sentences which have been preserved in the Shetlandic dialect are small fragments of verse, nursery rhymes, fairy rhymes, riddles, a few proverbs, and some fragments of conversation. They come chiefly from the Northern Isles and Foula, and are, with a few exceptions, greatly corrupted, especially the remnants of verse. The fragments of conversation and the proverbs were still intelligible to the people who could repeat them. Some of the nursery rhymes and riddles were still intelligible or partly so. On the other hand, the fragments of verse and some of the riddles had become unintelligible.
In nearly all the fragments, the grammatical endings have been obliterated or fossilized. In many of them, especially those which first become unintelligible, the words have been corrupted by those in juxtaposition having had an assimilating influence, the one upon the other, so that the form of one has been made to approximate to that of the other; and (what makes the interpretation more difficult) words, sometimes even whole lines, have been twisted about, and, in the worst mutilated fragments, have been inverted, while, at the same time, words and phrases have dropped out altogether. The variant forms are therefore often very different.
“The last lisp of a dying child” is the striking phrase applied by S. Bugge to those last remnants of Shetland Norn. Of the worst mutilated fragments it will hardly be possible to give any translation or adequate interpretation. To explain isolated words and phrases with more or less probability is all that can be contemplated. This is particularly the case with the remnants of verse from Unst$^n$ (the sea-song) and Foula (the eagle-song), which are only small, disjointed fragments.
Fragments of Conversation.
It will be seen that little words such as “til”, “at”, “mig”, “en” have been replaced by English equivalents, and in a few cases the suffixed def. art. has lost its significance, because “de” (the) has been prefixed to such words (de bjadn-i, de ᶄø̄r-(ə)n).
In Foula is still remembered the old greeting: Godən dāg (also quoted: Dogən dāg) with the return greeting: Godən (dogən) dāg til dōrā, good-day to you!
A couple of fragments of conversation have been preserved in a somewhat corrupted form:
a) From Foula a colloquy between two old men:
b)From Unst: Mɔrjan, ara du ɩᶇe? Jō! Sala slāg däin fø̄r ᶄø̄rən? Jo ꬶɛra so, ꬶɛra so: Marion, are you in there? Yes! Shall I “flit” your cows? Yes, do so.
​In B. Edmondston and Jessie M. Saxby’s, “The Home of a Naturalist”, this appears in the foll. form:
Morian arra doo enya? Yo! Skölaug dine cür füren? Yo gerrasso gerrasso!
The third line is evidently (in both versions) corrupted, and the words transposed: “fø̄r” must be O.N. fœra, and “ᶄø̄rən” O.N. kýrnar, the cows; “en” in “füren” has been borrowed from “ᶄø̄rən”.
Kwārna fārna? Fārna sikəna droka? Fārna radna sikəna droka?
Given to me with the foll. translation:
Where have you been? I have been to get something to drink (a drink). Have you been up in the roof to get something to drink?
The situation is said to be this:
A man is awakened in the night by the noise of his servant going up to the top of the house, in order to steal some meat hung up there to be smoked.
From Conningsburgh a few lines are preserved as a kind of address to the cat:
Up (ɔp) aboot de ᶅōra (for: *jōra), gȯit fərə mȯᶇa: Up around the ear (with the paw)! (that is) good for the mouth (which means: that promises us a lucky catch of fish).
Nursery-rhymes, Cradle-songs.
An old “gryle” (“bogey”) verse (Fo.):
Skɛkla koməna ri̇̄na tūna swa‘rta hæsta blæ$^i$ta brūna, fo‘mtəna (fjo‘mtan) hāla and fo‘mtəna (fjo‘mtan) bjadnis a kwāra hāla.
The foll. translation was given me by an old woman:
A bug-bear [*skekill] has come riding into the home-field (the tun) on a black horse having a white spot (blæ$^i$ta) on its brow (brūna), and fifteen tails, and with fifteen children on each tail.
Cf. the foll. passage in Sturlungasaga: þá er Loptr reið á túnit, kvað hann þetta: Hér ferr grýla í garð ofan ok hefir á sér hala fimmtán (Vigfusson’s edition, I. 246).
A Nursery-rhyme.
Boochsina schölina BjödaKlapa klapa sø̄da bokᶊɩna sᶄȯləna bjø̄da ———————
Recorded in “The Home of a Naturalist” as follows:
Clapa clapa süda Boochsina schölina Bjöda Bauta deema kjota schin Swala clovena vjenta in Roompan pöman söda.
Another Nursery-rhyme (same source):
Boochsina schölina BjödaBis bis byo Bulva reeka tyo Tak laigen Slogan veggin Bulva reeka tyo.
Variant form:Boochsina schölina BjödaBøn vɩl ɩkkə ti̇̄æ tak an læggən slōgan væggən bøn vɩl ɩkkə ti̇̄æ.
(J. I.)
Boochsina schölina BjödaSērə ᶊēre skôlma :|: Ek skal ᶊēra :|: trēv ɩ nēva an kasta band to.
(J. I.)(Kwarf) (J. I.)
A Cradle-song.
Vallilū ĕga sô$^ə$r o a sig··alɩn· leka tu sa frūa a mōrnɩn a gɩb··əlɩn·
(L. W. Fe.)
The introductory word “vallilu” is L.Sc. balow, hush-a-bye, in an extended form with a change of initial b to v. This must be a later addition, as the rhyme is of Norn origin, and has commenced with some Norn equivalent of balow. That Norn equivalent is probably seen in suro [so$^ə$ro], which doubtless is the same word as No. (south-west Norw.) “su-ru”, a word with which children are hushed asleep. After balow one might expect a pet name for a little child, ​and siggalin suggests such a word. It may be *søyglingr or soglingr (from No. suga, vb., to suck, søygja, vb., to give suck, sogbarn, suckling), formed in Shetl. with the ending “ling” in accordance with Eng. suckling, sb.
As the words in the first line have been disturbed by addition of “vallilu”, and as it is doubtful whether [ega] is in its proper place before suro, it would probably be vain to attempt an interpretation of this word, which has various meanings.
The second line is easier to interpret, and was prob. originally: *leikar þú svá frór (frár) um morguninn geiplandi, are you playing so blithe and gay in the morning, waving your arms about? (or possibly: making vigorous mouthing efforts to take the nipple).
The k-sound in leka (and also the foll. frūa) favour the probability of a derivation from leika, vb., to play, rather than from liggja, vb., to lie. frū(a) may be *frór, O.N. frár and frór, adj., hale; vigorous; lively, or a later imported *frór = Fær. fróur, Da. fro (Germ. froh), adj., gay. a mōrnin: Scoto-English form (“in the morning”).
gibbelin doubtless for *giblin, from a *gibl, vb., which is No. geipla, vb., to make wild gestures with the arms, esp. having an implement in the hand (= geipa, R.), etc. “geipla” can also mean: to make great lip-movements, but this meaning does not suit the rhyme so well, if leka is the verb leika, to play, because the child is fairly quiet when sucking. In view of the double meaning of the No.: geipla, the following interpretation is conceivable: Are you lying so joyously in the morning, mouthing for the nipple? But as leka agrees better phonetically with “leika” than with “liggja”, the former interpretation is more probable.
Rigmaroles.
The Troll’s Message.
A fairy-verse connected with an old legend about a man riding past a mound, who hears some words shouted to him from the interior:
Foula versions.
A.sēana dɩvla dø$^ə$na vɩvlaHørədu hørədu ri̇̄a ri̇̄a ri̇̄a ræn(na) sina dɩvla døna vɩvla kɔpəra jadla hɔᶇdəna bradna.
Variant form:
B.——————sēana dɩvla dø$^ə$na vɩvla kɔpərə kētəl hɔᶇdə bredən.
Høyr þú, høyr þú ríðari, ríð, ríð, renn!
(Hark you, horseman, ride, ride, run! i.e.: ride quickly!)
ria in line 1 is prob. *ríðari, No. ridar, m., horseman. The twice repeated ria in line 2 must, on the other hand, be imp. (2. pers. sing.), “ríð”! of the verb ríða, to ride. sina divla, etc., tell her, Divla (Tivla, see the foll. variants), that Vivla (Fivla) — — — —, something has been dropped here. The contents of the latter part of the verse is said to be: the dog has upset the copper-kettle into the fire, and the child (Vivla, Fivla) has burnt itself. It is of this accident that the horseman is asked to carry tidings to Divla (Tivla). But there are only three detached words left: 1) ketel [kētəl], which is O.N. ketill, kettle, with parallel form (in version a) jadla, meaning kjadla = kjatla with “breaking” of e to ja in the stem; koppereketel and kopperajadla, copper-kettle. 2) “hundena, hunde [hɔᶇdəna, hɔᶇdə]” = the dog. 3) bradna and bredn [bredən] from O.N. brenna, vb., to burn, with the change nn > dn, characteristic of Foula. This change does not, however, always appear; note e.g. renn, and not redn, in line 2 of this verse.
Fetlar versions.
A. From Fetlar come some variants of this fairy-verse in a mixture, chiefly L.Scottish with scraps of Norn preserved in between. The Fetlar version, most similar to the Foula form, is the following: Geng hame to Fivla [fɩvla], and tell Divla [dɩvla] at de honnins [hȯᶇɩns] wis lopen [lopən] in a “tuilly” [tøli] and brunt de bonnins [bȯᶇɩns]; go home to Fivla, and tell Divla (Tivla) that the dogs were fighting and had "burnt the bairns", i.e., had knocked over the children into the fire.
Here, as in the Foula versions, the dogs have caused the mischief.
B. A second Fetlar version is as follows:
Tri̇̄ra rāra gɔŋga, tell du tɩvla, at fɩvla is fa’en i’ de fire and is brunt [burnt] her.
The first line is corrupt Norn. The only intelligible word is gonga, to go, O.N. ganga.
C. A third Fetlar version is:
Du at rides de rød and rins de grey, tell tūna [tuəna] tɩvla at nūna nɩvla is väᶅna väƫna [= fallinn í vatnit].
the place of the fire.
Nivla as a troll-name, name of a troll-child, may, if not formed simply to rhyme with Tivla, be set alongside No. nyvel, m., a small, insignificant person (Aa.), a good-for-nothing (R.).
D. A fourth Fetlar version runs as follows:
Du at rides de red and rins de grey, tell Tivla ta$^i$tta (Ta$^i$tta) at Vārna va$^i$tta (Va$^i$tta) is fa’en i’ de fire and brunt her.
Va$^i$tta, troll-name, is certainly identical with the troll-name “Vatte”, which appears in Danish myths and especially in the myth here treated of the troll who sends a message.
Ta$^i$tta, Tatta, troll-name, a further designation of the troll Tivla. Possibly derived from *tatti, No. tatte, m., nipple, unless the word has been coined for the purpose of rhyming with Vatta. Cf. vatta in the following line from U$^m$.: Di rua vatta mega sustri, given me with no other explanation than that it was just what the troll said (Andrew Anderson, Baltasound).
Vārna Vatta: Vatta, daughter of Varni or Varna? Connected with the giant’s name Vǫrnir or the mythical man’s name Varinn?
The troll-child in the horn. (U$^s$., orig. Fe.?)
A troll-wife sat milking her cow in a stall when she heard the following warning cry: Hə‘mpi hōrni hɔi mɩnni kɔ̆m kar$^ə$l mi mɔ̆gg. Whereupon she cried: “O døl and hwæ̆n! dat is my bairn at is fa’en i’ de fire and is brunt her”, whereupon she quickly went out of the byre, leaving the milk-pail behind.
No doubt, here is a mingling of two different troll myths, because the milker’s answer properly belongs to the story of “The Troll’s Message”, while the lines Himpi, etc., belong to the tale of “The troll-child in the horn”, being a dialogue between a troll-wife and her child.
A man found a horn, took it home and hung it on the wall. Then a voice was heard outside saying: “Himpi hōrni häi”, or “humpi hōrni hɔu”, whereupon the troll-child in the horn cried: “My midder kaller o’ me” [- - käᶅ··ərəmi·, käᶅ·ərəmi̇̄·], my mother calls me, *(mín móðir) kaller á mik. A variant form is: “Dat is my midder kallin [käᶅɩn] on me”. Both these versions were noted down in Fetlar. It seems as if “kar$^ə$l mi mŏg” is another and more corrupt Shetlandic form of “kallar á mik” — kallar by metathesis of ll and r becoming [kar$^ə$l]. mog is a Shetl.-Norn form of “mik”, me, which is found again in the Hildina ballad (“moch”) and in the rhyme of “The Crow and the Crab” (“mog”). “mi mog”, doubtless with added English “me” as mog was no longer understood.
​Himpi or Humpi, the introductory word, with which the troll-mother calls to her child, is probably the child’s name, and may be the Norwegian word “hympe”, n., clumsy figure; foolish, odd person Tel. (R.), prop. piece of meat (Aa.), from “hump”. Cf. Sw. dial. hympel, m., a boy, not full-grown, from hump, piece. “Hympe” in the horn, hoi! (hou!).
A troll legend. (Fe.)
Katta mŏga de li̇̄de lō.
A man found a fiddle-case out of doors and hung it up on the wall of his house. But his wife, who thought it was troll-gear, made him put it back again. Then a voice was heard calling out the above words. The voice was thought to be that of the old troll or troll-wife calling to the child in the fiddle.
The line is no longer intelligible. katta moga may, however, be a *kattar mǫgr in sense of troll’s son, as O.N. ketta, f., cat, tabby, also denotes a troll-wife. O.N. mǫgr, son, is found again in the Shetlandic trollamog, prop. troll’s son; see Dictionary. “kǫttr” and “kattar sonr” are given in Lex. Poet. (F.J.) as names for a giant: “kattar sonr”, prop. giant’s son.
The Cow-call Verse.
The following is a verse or formula used in calling the cows together:
Kɔmə kɔmə hastə kɔmə so sal du ek skam (skäm) fal·aldəral·də kjø̄ra nepərt nāni læŋsprāli stɩl kɔm ɔu(ə)r mi ʂålma fal·aldəral·də kjø̄ra.
Come, come quickly and you will not get a scolding (shame)! Here follow a couple of cow-names “nipperd Nani” (see Dictionary), and Lengsprali. still kom ower mi Sjålma. “still” is doubtless the English adv., still. kom ower, come over here. mi Sjålma, my white-headed cow, *Hjálma.
“Fallalderalde kjøra”, as a kind of refrain, ending the rhyme, is also found in the middle of the verse, as if to divide it into two parts.
As the Færoese and Icelandic cow-rhymes, corresponding to the Shetlandic verse, end in the words: all the cows are counted (Icel.: “þá eru taldar kýr kalls allar”. Fær.: “komnar” or “taldar eru kýr okkrar allar”), it is reasonable to assume that the Shetlandic verse has ended similarly, and that “fallalderalde kjøra” is a corruption of an original “taldar eru allar kýrnar”, all the cows are counted. “Taldar allar”, not being understood, would easily become corrupted ​to “falderalde” and later extended to “fallalderalde” by confusion with the common English and Scottish refrain: Fol-de-rol-de-ri-do, or Fal-al-de-ral-de-ri-do. This assumption is supported by a line which occurs in a fragment of the same verse that comes from Sandsting:
“komin ower de Sjolma telda ralda rira”.
That this is a fragment of the cow-call verse is clearly evident from the words: “komin ower de Sjolma (the white-headed cow)”; and linked with this line are the words “telda ralda rira”, which appear to be meaningless, but can hardly be other than “taldar allar eru”, they are all counted (viz.: the cows). telda(r) for *talda(r), because the past tense and past participle of tell, vb., a) to count, b) now: to tell, in Shetl. is “telled” [tɛld and tæld].
A couple of lullaby fragments, sent to me by W$^m$ Ratter, also contain lines of the cow-call verse.
a) Bā wā bȯᶇa (bɔina) di̇̄ manna wakna starna strɛtᶊa li̇̄ra lɔŋspöᶇa (-spɔina) (aa) kɔmin hɛm an ᶊɔlmu (N.Roe).
b) a variant from N.Roe, Nm$^n$., containing a small fragment of the same verse in which only a few names of cows appear.
(aa) kɔmin hɛm an ᶊɔlmu (N.Roe).— — — — — Flekka Ferna Strippa Sterna comin’ doon? and Langspina.
Starna in variant (a), and Sterna in variant (b), are *Stjarna, a cow with a spot (star) on the forehead. The form Starna has been influenced by L.Scottish starn, sb., star. Flekka, (the) spotted cow. Ferna for *Frena, piebald, spotted cow, originally *Fræna. See Ferna and Frona in Dictionary.
Langspina, a cow with long teats. O.N. speni, Fær. spini, m., teat.
Lengsprali has certainly the same meaning as Langspina; but sprali in Lengsprali is a different word from spina. Strekkja, probably means one who strays far and wide, to be classed with No. strekkja, vb., to stray far and wide, of cattle (R.).
Lira, possibly *Hlýra, a cow with a spot on the cheek, from O.N. hlýr, n., cheek, corresponding to Kinna, the name of a cow (see Dictionary), the one with the spotted cheek, O.N. kinn, f., cheek. Other derivatives are possible, but not probable, such as from No. lira, vb., to wriggle, sneak (R.), or No. lyra, vb., to walk slowly, drag oneself along (R.), Sw. dial. lira, vb., to move lightly and quickly, but quietly (Ri.).
​In the Færoese folk-rhyme, “langspina” is linked with the name Kinna, and has been accepted as an adjectival designation of this name. It should be remarked that “Langspina” in the Shetlandic rhyme is placed directly after Lira which concludes a line. Shetl. Langspina has possibly originally been an adjectival attribute of Lira. The Færoese combination, mentioned above, supports the acceptance of Lira as an ancient *Hlýra.
Strippa as a name for a cow, may be either a) No. (south-west Norw.) stripla, f., Da. dial. strippe, goldstrippe, f., a cow giving but little milk, or b) the striped one. As the immediately preceding and immediately following names have been given by reason of colour, Strippa has probably been accepted here in sense b, but is, in that case, a more recent form (formed from L.Sc. strippit, adj., striped).
Häᶇ strȯk ɔp and häᶇ strȯk nērə amɩᶅ·əna gɛ‘msɩna frūa bət ø̄dəlȯg ə də ø̄ra hwat gød rāmən ljø̄a ā mi keᶅaka mōlhus mən sø̄da mōlhus fæ mä‘ᶅkfād mä‘ᶅkfād fæ drāv gād drāv gād fæ glø̄ən vi̇̄ glø̄ən vi̇̄ fæ k‘nɩknan k‘nak an(d) a pɩknən stak an(d) ā njū an väᶅdət.
Variant forms:
a) Häᶇ strȯk ɔp and häᶇ strȯk nērəHäᶇ skrē ɔp o hän skrē nērə amɩᶅ·ana gɛ‘msəna frūa maina log (lɔg) ə də hȯira hand hwat gɛts rāmən ljø̄a. — — — — — — — — — —
b) Häᶇ skrē, etc. mɩᶇa loga frūa stak fɛ‘ᶅta grōa hwat gets de ramən ljø̄a.
c) Häᶇ, etc. mɩᶅana gæ‘msa frūa stat fɛᶅdin grō fūdən gūa.
Line 1 and 2. The older form of these has been: Hann strauk upp ok hann strauk niðr ámillum gemsanda frúa.
i.e. he stroked up, and he stroked down among the gibing (scoffing, frolicsome) ladies.
strok = O.N. strauk, past tense of strjúka, vb., to stroke. Some ​versions have skre instead of strok. skre is O.N. skreið, the past tense of skriða, vb., to creep; slide; glide, etc. Here the meaning is — (he) let his hand glide, i.e. stroked.
In line 2, gɛ‘msma is gemsanda, pres. part. gen. pl. of O.N. gemsa, vb., to gibe; scoff; behave wantonly.
Line 3 shows how one and the same line can appear very different in the different versions, thus: a) bit ødelog i de øra and b) maina log i de hoira hand.
Line 5: a’ mi keljaka is an older “allr mínn kærleiki”, or (in accus.) “allan mínn kærleika”, i.e. all my love.
Line 6: molhus. O.N. málhús, literally — “speech-house,” — a periphrasis for “mouth”. min søda: “my sweet!” (In this verse several parts of the body are referred to by periphrasis.)
Line 7: “fae” is L.Scottish f(r)ae = from. milk-fad is O.N. mjólkfat, milk-vat.
Line 8: dravgad possibly denotes the stick with which malt is stirred in mashing. O.N. draf, n., draff, and O.N. gaddr, m., goad; spike, etc. L.Scottish gaud = gad, sb., a goad, pointed stick.
Line 9: gløen vi (O.N. glóandi viðr), “glowing wood” (firewood).
Line 10: kniknan knak: is possibly “crushed (or broken) krak” (a three-legged stool); No. knakk, id.
The rest is unintelligible, though in the variant versions a few words and phrases may be explained; variant b, line 3: stakk, here probably = O.N. stakkr, m., skirt and bodice in one. feldin (felta) gro (groa): the grey fur overcoat (cape), O.N. feldinn grá (accus.).
fuden gua: the good foot, O.N. fótinn góða (accus.).
A corresponding rigmarole “þula”, is found in Icelandic, beginning:
Hann tók upp og hann tók niðr, og svo tók hann á frúinni.
In this rigmarole, as in the Shetland fragment, occurs “málhús” as a periphrasis for mouth.
The following folk-verse, originating from Conn. and dictated by R. Cogle, is supposed to be a charm with which to drive away lung-disease from cattle.
Æŋgə båŋgə lô̄ra bæl skola rina bæl skola bēti ândru wɩstras güd to bid to bræ̆ti gitᶊə gitᶊə gåŋgi bitᶊə bitᶊə bēti.
Here several different things seem to have run together.
The last line is probably part of a lullaby. Bitse, bitse can be explained as No. biss(a), biss(a) = hush-a-bye, and accordingly the same ​word as “bis”, in the line “bis bis bio”, in the cradle-song from Unst. (ts is a frequent development of ss in Norn words in Shetlandic.) bēti, following bitse, may almost be accepted as denoting a child, as in “Hushie baw bēti”, hush-a-bye my little child?, the introductory line in a lullaby from Conn. in which L.Sc. “hushie baw” corresponds to an older Norn “biss biss”. bēti might correspond to the Da. and Sw. dial. word batting, a child.
The first line also appears to have belonged to a lullaby, as enge bonge can be explained as “eignar barnit”, my own dear child, from O.N. eign, f., possession, with metathesis of gn to ng in Shetl. Cf. enk (ink, jenk, jink), sb., from O.N. eign, in Dictionary. The compound “eignabarn” is found in No. (lovable child: R.). Another word is “einkabarn (onka-)”, in Fær. (a dearly loved child). bonge for *bonne, the child, is easily explained through alliteration to the preceding enge. Such alliterations are fairly common in Norn folk-verses, especially in cases where all sense of the original meaning of the word has been lost, and the term appears to be simply gibberish. If enge bonge is “eignarbarnit”, lura must mean sleep! from *lúra, No. lura, vb., to sleep lightly, to have a little nap.
The remaining lines probably show traces of an actual charm-formula. The two lines: “bæl skola rina, bæl skola beti” are probably the remnants of such; in any case, they can be best explained as a charm to drive out sickness: *bǫli skulum renna, *bǫli skulum beita? the evil (the hurt) shall leak (stream) out, or we shall make the evil leak out? (cf. the foll.), we shall chase or subdue the evil.
bæl may be O.N. bǫl, n., hurt; evil; disaster. skola is the verb, O.N. skulu, to be obliged to. The twice repeated skola, to be obliged, must, indicates a spell.
O.N. beita, vb., prop. to cause to bite, thereafter (inter alia), to chase; subdue; kill.
The following two lines are not connected with the preceding ones, “andru” is doubtless the name of a man “Andrew”; “güd to bid”, went to invite; “bræti”: place-name?
gitse gitse gongi. gongi is O.N. ganga, vb., to go. If this should have any connection with the two preceding lines, gitse may be a metathesis of giste, O.N. gista, vb., to visit; call, through influence of the following bitse.
Valafjel.
fram såkəto (sɔkəto) dafa vɔgədə nȯitVâlafjel wəz tȯ‘rt (trȯt) o brȯƫa hagəda wəzo hâla vogədə nȯit (nȯt, nət), segə me das (and) rūdə krɩŋədə âla.
Variant forms:
a) Vâlafjel wəz tȯ‘rt o brota hâfatu wɩzo hâla fram såkəto (sɔkəto) dafa vɔgədə nȯit æn rūdə krɩŋədə âla.
b) fram såkəto (sɔkəto) dafa vɔgədə nȯitVālafiel wɩz tȯrt u bruta hāfatu wɩz o hâla fræm såkkətu dafa våggədu nöit æn rude krɩŋ de jāla.
(acc. to J. I.)
This rhyme comes from Fetlar, but the contents point back to its northern neighbour, Unst. All conception of the meaning has been lost. Valafjel is a hill-ridge in Unst, running north and south, and steep on its western slope; it is about half-way between the north and the south ends of the isle, but nearer to the west side than to the east.
Line 1. Valafjel was tort (trott) o brotta, Valafjel (Valla-Field) was laborious and steep. As O.N. “tor-” is found only as a prefix attached to adjectives signifying difficult, it is doubtless unreasonable to explain Shetlandic tort from that source. trott, on the other hand, from which tort may have arisen by dissimilation (through influence of the following brotta), is more easily explained from O.N. tranten, adj., laborious, difficult.
Line 2. Hageda was o hala or hafatu was o hala. The variants differ widely with respect to the first word in the line. Hageda might, if necessary, be thought to be the place-name “Hagdale”, preserved in the combination Hagdaleness in Westing, west of Valafjel. But o hala must then be left unexplained. “Hafatu was o hala”, on the other hand, can be explained as a *haftó vor áharða, there the damp sea-wind was violent. No. havto, f., moist weather with wind from the sea (Aa.), and No. aahard, adj., of wind: very strong; violent. The connective vowel in hafatu, and the change r (rd) > l in ohala (*ohara) would be in full conformity with Shetland-Norn phonology.
Line 3. Vogede noit (nott), sege me das, or Fram sokketu dafa, vogede noit.
Voge noit can be explained as to be awake, to watch by night, O.N. vaka nátt. sege me das, is by way of contrast to this: to search by day, an older: sœkja med (við) dag, sœkja dags. In variant b the order is inverted, sokketu must be the past tense (3. pers. pl.): *soktu, (they) searched, older “sóktu”, O.N. (þeir) sóttu. dafa is doubtless a corruption of *daga, day. In accordance with sokketu, vogede is doubtless also past tense: vǫktu from vaka, vb., to be awake, watchful. But it does not appear from the connection what it is that is searched for, or why it is necessary to be awake or watchful. It might be reasonable, with reference to sege me das (fram sokketu dafa), to think of searching for cattle in the hill-pasture, but this would not explain why “to watch by night” is placed side by side with “to search by day”. Probably the reference is rather to rowing (out at the fishing), the seeking for a fishing-ground out at the “haaf”. fram, in “fram sokketu”, is best explained by: out at the haaf — far out from land, because the word is always found in this sense in Mod. Shetlandic handed ​down from Norn (with the exception of the irrelevant sense here: forward in the boat).
The verb vog, properly to be awake, be watchful, means in Mod. Shetl. (U.) to remain at rest, or remain lying at the same fishing-ground. Both these words give countenance to the idea that the third line refers to deep-sea fishing: seeking out the fishing-ground at the haaf by day, and remaining there at rest by night. It was formerly the custom among Shetland fishermen, going out to the haaf-fishing, to take cooking utensils with them and stay away for several days and nights.
Line 4. (and) rude kringede ala (jala). This has been interpreted as meaning "to pluck the wool off the home-reared lambs, bound together in couples": (to ru, to pluck the wool off sheep, to kring, to tie two lambs together by the necks. ali-lamb, a little lamb reared at home). That has, however, not the least connection with the foregoing, if the third line is to be accepted in the sense suggested above.
Most of the versions have ala as the last word in the line, but one version (also from Fetlar, acc. to J. Irvine) has jala. If we take this version as the basis for the last line, there is a clear connection with the preceding three lines. rude can then be accepted as rowed, past tense of *ru, vb., to row (a boat), O.N. róa; kringe (de) as: “í kring um”, about, around; and the last word then becomes the old name for the isle of Yell, viz.: Jala, which lies to the west and south-west of Unst and Fetlar respectively.
Jala is found recorded among the island-names in the list of names in Snorre’s Edda, but is now quite obsolete, the more recent form of the name “Yell [jɛl]” having taken its place. The now unintelligible Jala could have become ala by association of the sound with the familiar word ali in “ali-lamb”. Accordingly the line might be translated thus: they rowed round (the north point of) Yell. The Unst fishermen, especially those from Westing, and some also from Fetlar, have, like the Yell inhabitants, carried on haaf-fishing to the north and west of Yell, and on these expeditions the high Valafjel on Unst was a particularly prominent landmark to be taken in finding the fishing-grounds.
The mention of Valafjel in the first line of the verse thus becomes quite natural, and in clear association with that which follows.
A Fable of animals.
The crow and the crab. (Fetlar.)
“No, certainly not!" said the crab,Krabə krabə kɔmə läᶇdə ǣvə rɩg ri̇̄və mɔg skäᶅəna ri̇̄və dȯk nā trɔt sø̄. — — — — — — — Krabə jå‘nsa tråƫalȯs.
Variant (a): “No, certainly not!" said the crab,Krabə krabə kɔmə lānd āvə rɩg ri̇̄və mɔg skäᶅəna ri̇̄və dɩg nā tråtᶊə krabə jå‘nᶊa tråtᶊəlȯs or tråƫəlȯs.
Variant (b): From Unst comes: Crab, crab, come ashore! Nāgə trȯita, nāgə trȯita — I’m feared, du “rɩgraivs” me.
The original form was probably:
The crow:“Krabbi, krabbi, kom at landi!” “Crab, crab, come to the land (ashore)!"
The crab’s answer: “(Ek) efa(sk), at þú hrygghrífir mik.” “I am afraid that you will tear my back."
The crow: “Ek skal eigi hrífa þik.” “I will not tear you." “Nei, þrátt!” sagði krabbi, “(Hon er) svá trygðalaus.” “No, certainly not!" said the crab, “(she is) so faithless."
The form läᶇdə in the first line implies the dative form “landi”. kome lande must therefore be “kom at landi”.
æve in line 2, is O.N. efa, vb., commonly used in sense of to doubt. It has also been used in sense of to hesitate, or to have suspicion about something (efask, ifask), and in this sense æve must here be explained: to have a suspicion, to be afraid.
mog [mɔg], me. In variant (a) mog has been inserted, through misunderstanding, as the first word of the third line.
In line 3 the English (Scottish) “no” = not has replaced “eigi”. skaᶅəna = skal eg no, I shall not. dok and dig, you.
In line 4 Lowland Scottish na, no, has replaced the older “nei” = no. trott, O.N. þrátt, expresses a strengthening of the negative; see *trott in the Dictionary.
Whilst the first three lines are ordinary dialogue, the words jonsa trottjelos in the fifth line do not appear to be the direct answer of the crab to the crow.
Jonsa may be a corrupted form of “‘jon’ (hon?) er svá”, she is so. “hon”, she, may have changed to jon in Shetlandic in the same way as *hæns, a hen, has changed to jonsa in Foula. But one might almost suppose jon here to be L.Sc. and English dialect yon.
trottjelos (trotsjelos) can hardly be No. trottlaus, unsteady, *þróttlauss, because the root-meaning of this latter word is wanting in perseverance (force), which does not suit in this connection. It might be taken to be a “traustlauss” in the same sense as the O.N. útraustr, unreliable, but “traustlauss” in O.N. has a different ​meaning, viz.: “lacking confidence, without anyone or anything to rely upon." Nor does “tråƫəlȯs” agree well phonetically with “traustlauss”. Notwithstanding phonetic difficulties, the most reasonable explanation seems to be “*trygðalauss”, faithless, unreliable, from O.N. trygðar, trygðir, f. pl., safe conditions. This definition suits logically, and is the expression to be expected. “*trygðalauss” would normally have become *trødelos, *trødjelos, in Shetland Norn, but the preceding line gives the combination trott se [tråt ᶊə], which may quite probably have influenced the sound of a following *trød(j)elos, changing the word by assimilation to trott(j)elos and trots(j)elos. Moreover, a development ð > d > t is not without parallel in Shetland Norn.
Having regard to this definition, Jonsa trottelos may be a “‘yon’ (hon?) er svá trygðalaus”, she (she there) is so faithless, in which case, the words contain the crab’s opinion of the crow, and constitute the reason for her refusing the invitation.
Riddles.
A riddle from Unst, noted down by John Irvine in Lerwick, dictated by an Unst-man. Comparatively well preserved.
einn eptir drallar ok optast óhreinn.Førə hoŋgə, førə gɔŋgə, førə stad əpo skø̄, twa vɩstrə vegəbi and en comes atə drɩᶅandɩ.
The original form is probably:
einn eptir drallar ok optast óhreinn.Fjórir hanga, fjórir ganga, fjórir standa upp á ský, (tveir) vísa veg í bý (ok) einn (kemr) aptan drallandi.
(Solution: the cow — four teats, four legs; ears and horns: four; two eyes, one tail.)
Cf. Gest the Blind’s riddle about the cow (in Hervarar Saga):
Fjórir ganga, fjórir hanga, tveir veg vísa, tveir hundum verja, einn eptir drallar ok optast óhreinn.
From Fetlar comes a corrupted variant of the above-mentioned riddle from Unst.
einn eptir drallar ok optast óhreinn.Twa standən opa skø̄, twa vegəbi, four hɔŋga, four gɔŋga, etom ȯita drȯita.
hwi̇̄ lɩgərə hwi̇̄, white lies in white (an egg, lying in meal).
A very mutilated riddle from North Yell. It exists in three versions:
a) (hann) settisk á garðinn beinlauss,Flɔkəra flūra fedderless, ut kɔm mȯdərə hä‘ᶇtaless, häᶇæ beᶇæ gōraless. — — — — — — —
b) Flɔkera flūa fedderless, sȯƫᶊa bena gōraless, ut kɔm mȯdəra häᶇaless and drave awa fl. fl. f.
c) White fool fedderless, ut kɔm mȯdəra hä‘ᶇtarless, sȯƫᶊa gōa bɛndərless and plucked awa wh. f. f.
(= flakes of snow being melted in the sun.)
Original form:
(Fuglinn flaug) fjaðralauss, (hann) settisk á garðinn beinlauss, út kom maðr handlauss.
In a) and c) lines 2 and 3 are transposed; in a) and b) likewise the words beᶇæ or bena (bein) and gōra (garðinn in c, with dropped r: gōa) are placed in inverted order. The form bɛndərless has arisen by assimilation to the preceding hä‘ᶇtarless. By mistake the very word to be guessed — flɔkəra, = Shetl. term for a snowflake — has been placed at the beginning of the riddle. According to rule, it should not have been mentioned, as that was the word to be guessed.
(hann) settisk á garðinn beinlauss,Bȯᶇa sɩtə po tap(a) tɩrl (tirəl) käᶅɩna (kä$^i$li in a) bam·bɩrl· (-bɩrəl) luta koᶊa hɛ‘ltər sᶄɛ‘ltər ondər a kåŋ·gəlū·.
Said to be a riddle about a man sitting on the roof of a house, or on a hay-stack (acc. to others: a cat on a hay-stack). A mouse appears from under the hay-stack, and runs in under a heather-bush.
In “The Home of a Naturalist” the following variant is given:
(hann) settisk á garðinn beinlauss,Bunye sits uppo tappa tirl calye inta bamba birl Ba hilkie toonie; Ladyco hilka tilta, Roonin oondie conggaloo. Ba hilkie toonie.
a. Bȯᶇᶇa sat upo happəna tərlBonna sat paa tap də tərl kallɩn aa bam bər$^ə$l luta kuᶊᶊa hə‘ltər skɩə‘ltər ondər a kåŋgalū.
(about a man sitting upon the top of a house, and seeing a mouse running in under a heather-bush).
b. Bȯᶇᶇa sat upo happəna tərlBȯᶇᶇa sɩt upo tap tirr$^ə$l ka$^i$lɩ in a bambɩrrəl he$^i$‘ltər te$^i$‘ltər lēdi kȯᶊᶊən ondər kɔŋgalū.
The cat (bȯᶇᶇa) was sitting on the top of the corn-stack; the mouse came out of the corn-stack and ran in under a heather-bush; the man was laying down sheaves.
(Klebergswick, Haroldswick, U$^n$.) Mrs. Peter Anderson, Klebergswick.
c. Bȯᶇᶇa sat upo happəna tərl cryin’ oot for båmba bərl kom and see häi‘lki rɩnnɩn æftər skäi‘lki raamētəna skūi.
Unst (acc. to Mrs. Robertson, Walls.)
d. Bȯᶇᶇa sat upo happəna tərlBȯnni sɩts upo tappa tɩrl kalla ɩnn a bamba bɩrl baa hɩ‘lka tūni lēdi ko hɩ‘lka tɩ‘lka runnɩn undɩ kåŋgalū.
(Naani Bruce, Burrafirth, U$^n$.)
A man, sitting on the top of a corn-stack, is calling in to his wife, that he saw a mouse running in under a heather-bush.
Bonna (bonja) site po tappatirl.
“The farmer sits on the top of a high heap.”
Bonna (bonja) is doubtless O.N. bóndi, farmer. “bóndi” elsewhere is found in the forms bund and bonder in Shetland, but with reference to the definition given: “man or cat on a hay-stack”, bonna, bonja cannot here, as elsewhere, be the word child. It may have been developed from “bóndi” in the same way as *honnin, -en (*honnens) has been developed from O.N. hundinn (accus.), the dog, by assimilation of nd to nn which has then been liquified.
As the verse is supposed to be a riddle in which figures a man or a cat, together with a mouse, and as that which has to be guessed must not be mentioned by its proper name, the farmer here can scarcely be an actual farmer or head of a family. The expression then may stand as a designation for the cat.
tappatirl, high, pointed pile, evidently the same word as Lowland Scottish tappie-tourie (-toorie), sb., “any thing raised very high to a point” (Jam.), and quite suitable as a periphrasis for “hay-stack”.
​The meaning in the second line is obscure. The old man (*kall, man) in great excitement? bambirr and bambirl (U$^n$.) means hurry-scurry or excitement. “käᶅɩ” might also be accepted as O.N. kalla, vb., to call, cry; but if this definition should point back to the cat, the latter has, at any rate, not seen the mouse. The two first lines must go together, considering the rhyming of tirl and birl.
luta kussa, ledi kossen and “Ladyco” may denote the mouse. The verbs hilter tilter and hilka doubtless mean to trip, walk lightly and quickly (No. hultra, hykla and høkla, vb., to trip, Shetl. tilt, vb., No. tylta, vb., to walk lightly), and must then denote the movements of the mouse. “hilkie toonie”, tripping in the farm-yard or in the home-field, near the house. kussa, kossen may be the same word as Sw. dial. kuse, m., sometimes bug-bear (= No. kuse), master, sometimes name for various kinds of beings both large and small: vermin; beetles; worms; bears; wolves (Rietz). In Shetlandic this word would easily be merged in kussi (calf), young cow, which might possibly explain “co” in “ladyco”.
luta and ledi, “lady”, stand as a closer definition of kussa, kossen, “co”. It can hardly be a question of Eng. lady, as luta and ledi preferably must be explained from one and the same primary form. ledi may have arisen from O.N. hlaða, f., barn, hay- or corn-barn, with anglicising of a [ā] to e [ē]; cf. N.Eng. dial. lade, sb., barn. luta then might be a *luda, *ludu, developed from O.N. hlǫðu, gen. of “hlaða” (cf. Norw. forms, such as “loda, ludu”, besides “løda”, a barn, by assimilation of vowel). The periphrasis "barn-animal", animal living in a barn, would be a suitable periphrasis for “mouse”.
under a kongalu, under a heather-bush, “roonin oondie conggaloo”, has run under a heather-bush, O.N. runninn undir *konglu. kongalu, in this verse, is handed down in sense of heather-bush, but is doubtless a periphrasis.
bā hɩ‘lki tuni probably means the cat sneaking about in the field (the tun) near the farm-yard. bā may be an abbreviated form of Lowland Scottish badrans (baudrons, bathrons), sb., cat, also used in Shetland, where it is pronounced [bādrəns]. hilki, in that case, is here doubtless a verb denoting the cat’s gait, corresponding to the above-mentioned häilki as a periphrasis for cat. häilki, Sw. halka, vb., to slide, haalk (dial.), vb., “smyga sig in, fram” (Ri.), to sneak in.
ledi may be Icel. lœða, Fær. løða [lø̄a], f., tabby, orig. *lœða.
luta in lutakussa (variant a) must be the same word as ledi in ledikossen (variant b). It may stand for *luda and be developed from a form *lóða without i-mutation = lœða.
As häilki, in variant c, acc. to the connection must denote the cat, and as hilka, hilki in the other versions, as a substantive or verb, must correspond to this häilki, and moreover as tilta (Mod. Shetl. tilt), to walk on tiptoe, connected with hilka in the main version, corresponds better to the cat’s gait than to that of the mouse, lediko, in the combination lediko hilka tilta, and ledikossen, in the ​combination hilter tilter ledikossen (variant b), must be accepted as the name for “cat” rather than for “mouse.” luta kussa (variant a) is the same as lediko, ledikossen.
râ̅metəna skūi, the beast of prey eating the vermin (the cat eats the mouse).
rām in Shetlandic indicates a cat’s paw (a paw with claws). From this comes rāmi, a name (tabu-name, used by fishermen) for cat (S.Sh.). O.N. “hrammr” denotes the paw of a beast of prey, especially that of a bear, and thereafter applied as a name for the bear itself. In a similar sense Shetlandic rām, from denoting a cat’s paw, may have become the name of the cat itself.
ētəna, doubtless from et, vb., to eat. The form may be pres. part., “etandi”. If the definitions of ram and etena are correct, skui must be a periphrasis for the mouse.
The supposition may be explained in two different ways; 1) from an old “skóð” in sense of vermin, with which cf. No. skot (skoot), n., small animals, mice or birds, that damage by eating corn in the field, (O.N. skóð, n., harmful thing or tool, esp. in poetry, F. J. Lex. Poet.), 2) from No. skoe, m., = skobeist, skodyr, n., voracious, bold, thievish animal (R.), from skoa (sko), vb., to grab greedily; eat greedily.
But then one or more lines must have been dropped before the words “runnin undi kongalu” or “under a kongalu”, run in under a heather-bush, for these words in the definition given, are applied to the mouse.
Fragments of Song, Verse and lines of Verse.
I have malt (mālət, mæ‘lt) mældra mɩn (mældrən), I have sūpət ūsən (pōpət pōsən), ɛndə sēvə de sədə lin (or: a‘ntə lɩgə de sødə min or lin), and dēnə(-a) komənə(-a) lūsa (ljūs).
The original form was probably:
ɛndə sēvə de sədə lin (or: a‘ntə lɩgə de sødə min or lin),Ek hef malit meldra mínn (or meldrann), ek hef sópat húsin; ennþá sefr (søfr) (liggr) þat sœta lín (hin sœta mínn), ok dagrinn er kominn í ljós.
The following translation has been given me by an old Foula man:
I have ground my morning-meal (breakfast-meal), I have swept the floor; still the old wife sleeps, and the daylight is in the “lum” (= “ljoren”: roof-opening for the smoke to escape).
“hwi̇̄gən swɩglən swə‘rtən trō” (Y$^h$.) = hvítum seglum svörtum þræði, (with) white sails (sewn with) black thread (acc. to translation given me).
​In hwi̇̄gən swɩglən a double assimilation appears (ví and e > wɩ, t and g > ꬶ). (Possibly a line of a song).
Häᶇa dâga fri̇̄sa frɔ̄ga I wish it may be very gōȯit and verə sɩ mōga (Y$^h$.)
Given to me with following translation:
The day is breaking; I wish it may be very good and sober.
A Refrain.
Two lines of an old ballad-refrain handed down in Yell$^n$.
Skɔuan ø̄rla grø̄n(a) — — — — — — Hwâr jå‘rtən (får ꬶä‘rtən) hangrū grø̄ngrēn ōrla (-lək) or: Hwâr„ jå‘rtən„ (får„ ꬶä‘rtən)„ han grø̄n ōrla„ (-lək)„
After the decay of the Shetland-Norn ballads, this became attached to the Scottish ballad about King Orfeo.
The first and the last words in line 1 of the refrain are easily intelligible: the forest (is) green, O.N. skógrinn grœnn.
ørla might be O.N. “árla” = árliga, yearly (“the forest becomes green every year”), corresponding to the orla in the second part of the refrain, which is a normal, phonetic development from “árla”.
ørla, however, may quite reasonably be explained in a different way, viz.: as Icel. harðla, adv., much, because this very word appears in a line of the Icel. refrain (hon býr undir) skógrinn (-inum) harðla grœnn(a), the forest (is) very green, which evidently is to be classed with the above-mentioned line of the Shetlandic refrain.
“harðla” here might easily be changed to ørla in Shetlandic, because ø in the following word grøn, green, would act in an assimilating manner on the “a” in the root word.
The second part: Hwar jorten, etc., prob. means: Where the plant, “urt” (she, “hon”) becomes green every year. An explanation of jort as “the hart” would not tally with the latter half of the line; but jort from O.N. urt f., plant, is a characteristic, phonetical development in Shetland Norn, where a prefixed j is common before all vowels.
gru gren, grows green (O.N. gróa, vb., to grow). han seems to replace hon, she, as O.N. “urt”, is feminine.
grøn, gren can hardly be any other word than the adj. green.
orla here must rather be interpreted as yearly, every year, than in sense of early; when associated with “the plant becomes green", yearly has a more general relevance than early.
Fragments of the Eagle-song. (Foula.)
a‘nti gavəra (gafəra) skri̇̄kər ōlaA‘nti padua sat ən skūa padua sat ən grūa A‘ntən gēr skri̇̄kər ōla sætər ōla fēstin pærla mōra hæ‘ᶇᶊra boga ᶊɩdərɩ jāla nɛstin.
Variant fragments:
A‘nti padua ᶊåt ən grōa sætər ōla fēsa tærla mōra hæ‘ᶇᶊra boga ᶊɩdərɩ āla nēsə.
A‘nti pakəta såkəta sū ɔpa jɔn skɔtən grō by came de ɛdnin an ᶊi ta a‘nti bō a‘nti gavəra (gafəra) skri̇̄kər ōla sætər ōla fesa pærla mūra hæ‘nᶊɩstər bōgra ᶊadəra jala nesa.
Skrikəna hjōla dogəna fjōla mɩdəra harda a‘ntu atə nå‘rtɩ jalani.
Ä‘ᶅka lāma bɩt hæ‘nsə bokra pærla mōra ᶊɛdərɩ jalə neso meni mē mɩta gāma.
Jodnar ᶊud tra ɩ‘lka bɩt an moni meta gāma at ᶊal ā bɩ edna hōga.
Jodnar: a hog. tra: eating of it. ɩ‘lka: the raven. moni: hog’s flesh. hōga: Christmas-day.
The import of the eagle’s song is said to be this: an eagle is carrying off a child, which has been playing outside the house. At the cry of the child’s brother, the mother comes hurrying out and makes a knot, called “de ern’s knot”, on a string, by means of which magical knot she hopes to get the eagle to let go the child.
Fisher-verse. (Burrafirth, U.)
I lay and I hanvāgət and I rēs and I klābo‘ŋkət I looked fort and de seven starns wis come upo Nedərs and de glōm i’ de sudwast I kom in and I took de pernisipes and stird i’ de fâ̅kum and I hang on my waksɩpan and when I wis klaa(i)n ut my waksɩpan I took mi bærəl upo mi back and I güd to Stâ̅ba and when I kom to Stâ̅ba, it was nothing but a ūrū and a miᶊâ̅ and de could no a boat gæng aff o’ a linn.
I lay and I hanvāgət and I rēs and I klābo‘ŋkst and I took de pernɩ̄sɩmȯs and I stirred op i’ de fâ̅kom and den I kljū ɩ de waksɩpan and den de āliklø̄vɩns wis giaan aboot de hūs and de kri̇̄els dey were begun to lō$^ə$d I pat my bødi upo my shooder and I güd to Stâ̅ba and when I cam’ to Stâ̅ba dan der’ wer’ nothing dere but a åndərhwɩ̄g and a “mɩsəri”.
A Sea-song from Unst.
sta‘rka bȯrna fɩskali (sta‘rka vȯrna væstali)Dɛlən ståitən ståŋga râra ōba mȯᶇa hwat sē$^i$s dū tə bȯ‘ᶇᶊka vɛᶅa latna me$^i$ bɩ drɩŋga sēna pōba vâra latna me$^i$ bɩ driŋga sta‘rka bȯrna væsta ᶊagdə kåᶅ, ᶊ. k., sændə børa væsta ᶊagdə kåᶅa gamla hwɛn də wɛrna tɔpᶊäg, ᶊagdə kåᶅ, ᶊ. k., hwɛn də wɛrna tɔpᶊäg, ᶊagdə kåᶅa gamla.
Variant:
sta‘rka bȯrna fɩskali (sta‘rka vȯrna væstali)Dâla ståita ståŋga rø̄r (rēla) bȯ‘ᶇᶊka væᶅa mȯᶇa
sta‘rka bȯrna fɩskali (sta‘rka vȯrna væstali) ᶊa$^i$də kåᶅə gambli — Lēdra bō bi äᶇdi.
In the “Home of a Naturalist” the following variant form of this song is given:
Saina poba wer-a Leetra mavi, leetra mavi, Saina poba wer-a, Leetra mavi drengie.
Daala stuyta stonga rara Oh badeea, oh badeea, Daala stuyta stonga rara, Oh badeea moynie.
Wher der isno topshag, topshag, topshag, Wher der isno topshag, Shakda cole o Gamblie.
Adages and Proverbs.
Adage:
Dēa lɛŋdi (lɛŋgi), mogi swɛŋdi (swɛŋgi); probably an older: dagar lengðir, magar svengðir.
Cf. No.: dagarne lengjast, magarne svengjast, (as) the days lengthen the stomachs grow hungrier.
In Weisdale on Mainland this old proverb is preserved:
Gȯ$^i$t a taka gamla mana rō (James Angus.); O.N.: gott at taka gamla manna ráð, It is wise to take old men’s advice.
A Proverb from de Herra:
“Ma‘rta di gå‘ns tekə di (də) vɛps”, given to me with following explanation: much can be used for woof that is useless for warp. Ma‘rta: O.N. margt, much; di gå‘ns: O.N. til garns, for yarn; tekə di vɛps: O.N. tekit(?) til vepts (veptr = woof). Before di gå‘ns something must have been dropped (e.g. “that is worthless" or something similar).
A proverbial Phrase.
Dɛa dombvɩdla vōga dɛa vɩdla vōga pēsa (or passion) vōga. Given with following explanation: Easter-Sunday weather will last all the week. More correct probably: the weather of Passion-week will be the weather of Easter-week.
The Conningsburgh phrase (acc. to Low): “Myrk in e Liora, Luce in e Liunga, Tim in e Guest in e geungna” (It’s dark in the Chimney, but it’s light thro’ the Heath, it’s still time for the stranger to be gone).
In Yell (in “de Herra”) this phrase is still preserved in the following form:
Mə‘rka lōra, lestra lɩŋga, tämra gɛstra gɔŋgəra [myrkt er í ljóra, ljóst er í lyngi, tími er, at gestr(inn) gengr]. With regard to the form gɔŋgəra, cf. Fær. gongur.
Our Lord’s Prayer from Foula (reported by Low in his “Tour thro’ Orkney and Shetland”, reprinted by Barry and in “Annaler for nordisk oldkyndighed”, 1860):
Fy vor o er i Chimeri. Halaght vara nam det. La Konungdum din cumma. La vill din vera guerde i vrildin sinda eri Chimeri. Gav vus dagh u dagloght brau. Forgive sindor wasa (wara?) sin vi forgiva gem ao sinda gainst wus. Lia wus eke o vera tempa, but delivra wus fro adlu idlu, for do i ir Konungdum, u puri, u glori. Amen.
An Incantation.
This is found, in the tale: “Da Tief i’ de Neean” (Shetland Times 1879).
The tale itself, as well as the language used in it, doubtless originates from Ai. (Wests.).
The formula, which is mainly in Scoto-English, has Norn words sprinkled throughout, some of which show old grammatical endings, that have lost their significance. It runs as follows:
Da stuhl es scarp an fien, Da sacheles emer a snean, Da vird es sicer en pura, A glimer i’ mirk-as-dim hura, La stuhl an vird ay gyrda An prof er an skyla, an svirda.
​The author of the tale gives a free, poetical translation, as follows:
The steel is sharp, the edge is fine, It’s severed many a tough design, The word is sure, the word is pure, A light e’en in the midnight hour, Let steel and word for ever gird And be to her a shield and sword.
Literally the formula has to be translated thus (with one or two doubtful words): The steel is sharp and fine, the sickle is always sharp; the word is certain and pure, a glimpse of light in the darkest hour. Let the steel and the sword always guard her and appear to her as a protection (a shield?), a sword.
u in “stuhl”, from O.N. stál, n., steel, denotes, in this case, a close o-sound [ô]. a in “sachel” probably expresses an e-sound, open pronunciation of English sickle, sb. “emer” is possibly Germ. immer. “snean” is sni̇̄en, cutting, from sni, vb., to chip, cut; O.N. sníða. v for w in “vird”, L.Scottish wird, word, is probably due to consciousness of the fact that initial w in Eng. corresponds to v in the old Norn. “sicer” means sicker, i.e. certain.
“mirk-as-dim”, accepted as a compound of three words, must be “mirkastim”, dat. masc. sing. of the indef. superlative form of mirk, O.N. myrkr, adj., dark. “hura”, Eng. hour, replaces an older (Norn) word of the masc. gender, which the form “mirkastim” shows.
The first part has doubtless run: *i mirkastim tima, O.N. í myrkastum tíma, in the darkest hour.
gyrda is older girða = gerða, vb., to guard, protect, which meaning suits better than to gird with, O.N. gyrða.
skyla is rather O.N. skýli, n., protection (= skäil$^2$, sb., skøl, vb., in Dictionary) than the word shield (O.N. skjǫldr), though the author has “shield” in his poetical translation. svirda is O.N. sverð and L.Scottish swird, a sword.
Considering the fossilized Norn forms in it, the formula was probably first composed in that language.
A burial Formula.
An ancient burial formula, used at St. Olav’s church at Ness in North Yell even into the 18th century, is noted down by Thomas Irvine of Midbrekk (N. Yell) in the MS. “Zetlandic Memoranda”, preserved in the Museum of Antiquities in Edinburgh.
It is specially interesting to note that this formula is in the Danish language and not in the usual Norn of the Isles, as is seen from some words in it. Th. Irvine has recorded the formula as follows:
Yurden du art fur af yurden du vis skav’d Oktoa yurden nu ven dœd. Op fra yurden skal du Opstaa, naar Herren laar syne bastnan blaa.
Th. Irvine’s translation:
“Earth thou art, for of earth thou wast made, — to earth thou returns now when dead. From the earth thou shalt arise when the Lord shall blow the last trumpet”.
Th. Irvine writes at the end of line 2: “ven dœd” and appears to understand these words in the translation as “when dead”. It is, however, probably “vende at (ad)”, i.e.: “vende atter (tilbage)” (to return), which words are in accordance with the (original) formula, and would be missed if the translation reads “when dead”. In this case, there would be no verb in the sentence (Irvine inserts “return” in his translation: to earth thou returns now when dead); moreover, English “when” can hardly have been pronounced “ven” in Shetlandic.
Words and forms showing Danish characteristics in the formula, are: “opstaa” for “upstand or opstand”, to arise; “naar” in sense of when (conj.), and the contracted from “laar”, let, arising from “lather, laðer” with d aspirate, a pronunciation also occurring in Mod. Danish: lar.
It may be assumed that the formula dates back to the close of the 14th or the beginning of the 15th century.
* ↑ In a letter written to me after my return from my first Shetland trip in 1895, upon his receipt of the copy of most of my Norn records from the Isles. J.J.
* ↑ n may have been dropped in “oba” on account of ᶇ in the foll. dȯᶇa. But a form “opa” (without n) occurs in Fær. in sense of: to open (cut up) sheep, in slaughtering.
* ↑ “de Kaim” (older: Kɔmba): name of a hill in Foula, near the coast.
* ↑ All the old grammatical endings in this verse have been levelled to -a except in bjadnis, which has got the Eng. plural ending s.
* ↑ No. klov, n., (cleft) fork. No. svola, f., a) a swallow, b) acute-angled notch.
* ↑ “Bulva reeka” is evidently a corruption of: Boᶇ(ə) vɩl ɩkə, = the child will not (be quiet). Cf. a Færoese rigmarole (Antikvarisk tidsskrift, 1851, p.322), beginning: “Rura, rura barnið” — and containing the lines: “vil ikki barnið tiga, so tak um legg og slá í vegg — so skal barnið tiga”: If the bairn will not be quiet, take it by the leg, and hit it against the wall — that will make it be quiet.
* ↑ O.N. koma í ljós, to come to light, to appear.
* ↑ hanvāg, to lie awake at night.
* ↑ klabo‘ŋk, to heap on thick clothing.
* ↑ the moon.
* ↑ porridge pan.
* ↑ a creel.
* ↑ agitated state of the sea.
* ↑ a runner.
* ↑ sheep reared at home.
* ↑ the cocks.
* ↑ to crow.
* ↑ a creel.
* ↑ commotion in the sea.
* ↑ These words are frequently repeated: “ᶊagdə kåᶅ (kɔᶅ)” [: sagði kall] and “ᶊagdə kåᶅə (kåᶅa, kɔᶅə) gambli or gam(b)la” [: sagði kallinn gamli].
* ↑ This line is said to be the refrain.
* ↑ A man still living in Unst was formerly able, according to his own and other’s statements, to recite Our Lord’s Prayer in Norn, or at any rate, the greater part of it. Some time ago, however, he had an illness which gradually enfeebled his memory, and when I looked him up, he could only remember the following corrupted fragments; — — halagət wa‘rtə name (hallowed be Thy name) — — sae hɩmblɩns (as in Heaven).
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