Scandinavian influence on Southern Lowland Scotch | Page 5

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