An Account of the Danes and Norwegians in England, Scotland, and IrelandWorsaae, Jens Jacob Asmussen
History
An Account of the Danes and Norwegians in England, Scotland, and Ireland
Worsaae, Jens Jacob Asmussen
Great Britain -- Civilization -- Scandinavian influences; Northmen -- Great Britain; Northmen -- Ireland
The few Scandinavian names of places in Ireland are, with the exception
of the previously-mentioned provinces, confined to the coasts, and there
particularly to the names of islands and fiords. On the west coast there
are only two rather doubtful ones; namely, Enniskerry, an island (the
first part of which is the Irish _Inis_, an island, whilst the latter
part seems to include the Scandinavian name “_Sker_,” or _Skjær_, a
reef); and the harbour, Smerwick. Several places on rivers are still
called _Laxweir_, as for example on the Shannon near Limerick and
Killaloe, where salmon are caught in a net stretched across the river.
The word “Lax” (salmon) is unknown in the Irish language, but appears,
as we have seen, in several Scandinavian names of places in Scotland. On
the south coast, besides Waterford, we can mention at most only the Isle
of Dursey (Þorsey?) with the small adjoining island of Calf. The
greatest number of Scandinavian names appears on the east coast. In some
names of places situated on the finest fiords we may trace the
Scandinavian ending “fjörðr;” as, for instance, to the south of Dublin
in Wexford (in Irish, Loch Garman), and to the north of Dublin, in
Strangford and Carlingford (in Irish, Cuan Cairlinne). But in general,
all the names of places of Scandinavian origin, or with Scandinavian
terminations, are collected round Dublin as the central point.
At the southern entrance of the bay of Dublin is the Island of “Dalkey”
(in Irish, “Delg Inis”), and at the northern entrance the high and
rounded cape Howth (in Irish, “Ceann Fuaid,” or “Beann Edair”), which in
ancient letters is also called Hofda, Houete, and Houeth. This is
clearly the Scandinavian “höfud,” or “Hoved” (head), a name particularly
suited to the place. In the immediate neighbourhood is also the old
Danish town Baldoyle, and the district of Finngall, colonized by the
Norwegians. Directly north of Howth rises “Ireland’s-eye” (in Irish,
“Inis Eirinn” and “Inis Meic Ness-áin”); and still farther to the north
the islands of “Lambay” (in Irish, “Rachrainn”) and “Skerries,” or the
Skjære (reefs). Close to the west side of Dublin is the little town of
Leixlip, where there is a famed salmon-leap in the river Liffey. In old
Latin epistles the name of Laxleip is translated by “saltus salmonis,”
which is plainly neither more nor less than the old Norsk “lax-hlaup”
(_Dan._, Laxlöb; _Eng._, salmon-leap): which name reminds us again of
the salmon fishery, so highly cherished by the ancient Norwegians. It is
doubtful whether the county of Wicklow, which adjoins that of Dublin,
derived its name from the Norwegians; though it is not improbable that
it did, as in Irish it is called Inbhear Dea, but in old documents
Wykynglo, Wygyngelo, and Wykinlo, which remind us of the Scandinavian
Vig (Eng., _bay_) or Viking.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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