Orkney and Norway

I had heard, and mentioned it here, that Orkney still felt some ties to Norway, which it was part of from about 1000-1500 AD. Perhaps because it had previously been little-known to me, I regarded it as mostly a nostalgic curiosity, not really serious. Isn't it quaint that Norway sends Prince Haakon and Princess Mette-Marit over every year to lay flowers on graves and have a state dinner? It seems rather like Greek-American or France-Quebec celebrations.

I was surprised at how strong the attachment still is.  For openers, there's this, the Orkney flag

 Which looks a lot like this, the Norwegian flag

Orkney celebrates Syttenede Mai, Norwegian Constitution Day, and St Lucy's day in December, one of the few places outside of Norway to do so. The cathedral in Kirkwall, though it is now Church of Scotland, was dedicated to St. Magnus in 1137 and still carries that name. 

Place names in Britain have a Scandinavian influence, stronger the further north one goes, but in Orkney it is overwhelming. Orkney itself comes from the Viking name for the place, Orkneyjar. The -ay suffix means "island," which Orkney has in abundance; -holm is "little island," and they've got plenty of those as well. -ness is a headland, sticking out into a bay; -bister means farm or dwelling place, and -by means settlement, all from Old Norse.  If you look at the map you'll see that pretty much covers the territory. The runic inscriptions are not always affectations for tourists - some of the stones in use for centuries still have them. It's all Norski names jumping out at you, everywhere you go.

Boys are still named Magnus, Thorfinn, and Erland; girls are named Thora, Freya, and Ingrid.  

Even thought the Orcadians drink scotch and have their own local brands, as everywhere in Scotland does, the names are Norse: Fara, Scapa, A.D. Rattray.  Even Deer Sound comes from the Deerness region, originally Old Norse Dyrnes, not from the British version. Highland Park scotch, alas, the gem of the islands and a cult favorite, does have an obviously English name.