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THE NORTHMEN 
 
 IN 
 
 CUMBERLAND & WESTMORELAND 
 
 BY ROBERT FERGUSON. 
 
 XiOlsrJDOlT: liO aiT O aye -A- IT -A.25TX) CO 
 CJ^TtXiXSTj^z It. & J. STEEL. 
 
 1866. 
 
•. }tia\ 
 
 h^i^^^ 
 
 prefacf;. 
 
 The present little work owes its origin to an attempt 
 to present, in the form of a popular lecture, such of the 
 leading facts contained in Mr. Worsaae's " Danes and 
 Norwegians in England " as might be supposed to be 
 more particularly interesting to a Cumberland audience. 
 
 The slight investigation consequent upon this under- 
 taking convinced the author that the mine was worth 
 working deeper, and an increasing interest in the sub- 
 ject led him on till the extent of his researches appeared 
 to him to be such as to warrant him in giving them to 
 the public. 
 
 He is fully aware that a work like the present, which 
 is to a great extent etymological, must of necessity 
 contain much that is more or less conjectural, and has 
 endeavoured, as far as possible, to avoid dogmatism, 
 and to qualify the expression of his opinion according 
 to the circumstances of the case. 
 
 At an early period of his enquiry he was led to form 
 the theory of an immigi'ation more particularly Nor- 
 wegian proceeding from the western side of the island, 
 and a part of his object has been to lay before the 
 
PRONUNCIATION OF OLD NORSE. 
 
 In order to enable the reader to understand the derivations 
 in the following: pages, it is indispensable for him to pay a little 
 attention to the pronunciation of Old Norse. I therefore pro- 
 pose, without entering into the niceties of the subject, to ^^ive 
 a few general rules for his guidance in this respect. 
 
 In the first place it is to be observed that the r final after a v^ 
 consonant in nouns is merely the sign of the nominative case, 
 and is not to be taken into account. Thus the proper names 
 Ulfr and Ormr are the same as the names Ulf and Or me. 
 a, has the sound of oa in broad, or a in small. 
 ce, is nearly the same as Eng. a. 
 au, is pronounced as ou in house. Thus gaukr a cuckoo, is 
 
 the same as our word gowk. 
 e, is nearly the same as Eng. a. 
 eiy same as above. Thus the proper name Geit is our 
 
 name Gate, 
 ey, Mr. Blackett observes, approaches the German eu, hav- 
 ing a sound somewhat between ai and oi. 
 i, as ee in peel. 
 jy as y in yard. 
 
 6, seems to have had a sound between o long and ow, and 
 in our derivatives has sometimes one sound and some- 
 times the other, but more commonly that of long o. 
 
CHAPTER L 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 It was upon the suggestion of a Danish antiquary that 
 Dr. Jamieson was induced to undertake that impor- 
 tant analysis of the Scottish language which may be 
 considered the first connected attempt to determine 
 the amount of the Scandinavian element in any part 
 of the British islands. It has been reserved for ano- 
 ther Danish antiquary to trace out upon a more com- 
 prehensive plan the extent and limits of the coloniza- 
 tion of the Northmen — to examine the peculiarities 
 which still point out the districts occupied by their 
 descendants — and to attempt some general estimate 
 of the extent to which England is indebted to the 
 Scandinavian admixture. Mr. Worsaae's object is 
 one not less honourable to him as a Dane than com- 
 plimentary to us as Britons — ^to claim for the North 
 its fair share in the glory of England. His aim has 
 been to show that while the Scandinavian immigra- 
 tion has been under-rated as to its extent, it has been 
 still more generally misrepresented as to its influence 
 and effects. We have been too ready to accept not 
 only the facts of the Saxon historians, but also the 
 medium through which they viewed them — forgetful 
 that ferocious pirates, unscrupulous plunderers as were 
 the Northmen, the Saxons before them had been much 
 the same, and bear even to this day the same name of 
 
 A 
 
^1 
 
 2 
 
 hatred among the more ancient people whom they 
 subdued. If, then, history presents them rather in 
 the more dignified character of successful invaders, it 
 is owing, at least in part, to the fact that the records 
 are written by themselves, and date chiefly from the 
 period of their permanent conquest. 
 
 The Monkish historians dwell with a natural and a 
 peculiar horror on the destruction of the monasteries, 
 the slaughter of the priests, and the desecration of the 
 holy symbols of religion by the pagan Danes. But 
 we, reading history in a calmer light, ought to remem- 
 ber that in times much nearer to our own the exter- 
 mination of an opposing faith was held, not only as a 
 justifiable act, but as a paramount obligation. The 
 English Saxons could scarcely have suffered more from 
 the pagan Northmen than their continental brethren 
 from Charlemagne, who, in his wars undertaken for 
 their conversion, slaughtered in cold blood 5,000 of 
 them in one day. Whatever estimate we may form 
 of the conduct of that mighty conqueror, we ought 
 not to judge the followers of Thor and Odin by a 
 severer scale. 
 
 Nevertheless, making all due allowance for the high 
 
 colouring of a picture drawn by those who suffered, 
 
 we are constrained to admit that as the Northmen 
 
 were more energetic, they were more ferocious — more 
 
 ruthless in their vengeance, more unsparing in their 
 
 inflictions, than any other of the tribes which sought 
 
 our shores. 
 
 f But still, in the midst of their most cruel visitations, 
 
 j it was a high purpose that was overruling all. The 
 
 \ fiery enterprise, the stern independence of those wild 
 
 i sea-rovers, were a necessary element in the greatness 
 
 / 
 
of England. Twice the languid Anglo-Saxon energy- 
 was stirred by the cross of Northern blood ; and, if 
 the later conquest was more imposing, it was not more 
 important, than the slow and hard-fought footing 
 gained by the more purely Scandinavian tribes. It 
 may, perhaps, not be going too far to say that the 
 dauntless seamanship of Britain — that " salt blood " 
 which makes her youth turn, as it were, with an in- 
 stinct to the sea, may be due, in no small measure, to 
 the daring spirit of the old sea-rovers. Mr. Worsaae 
 has remarked that our greatest admiral bears a Scan- 
 dinavian name, and was sprung from one of the coun- 
 ties peopled by the Danes. And the names, too, of 
 Blake and Bodney are to be found in the Blaka and 
 Hrodny of the Scandinavian vikings. 
 
 It might be cuiious to speculate further on the 
 northern origin of names. We might ask whether the 
 well-known Dick Turpin^ was not a genuine descend- 
 ant of one of the Yorkshire vikings — ^whether Thur- 
 tell,^ the treacherous murderer of his friend, did not 
 preserve the worst form of Scandinavian ferocity. 
 But though a characteristic trait seems sometimes to 
 start up like a family likeness after many generations 
 — Saxon and Dane have long been blended into one 
 people, and in many and varied spheres the descend- 
 ants of the Northmen have obtained renown. Arnold' 
 and Tait* have successively developed the intelligence 
 of the youth of England — Alderson* and Bolfe* main- 
 tain the dignity of the British bench — Brodie^ has 
 
 (1) Thorping. (2) TJtortiU. (3) Amalldr—" Old eagle ?" 
 (4) Teitr. (5) Haldorsen. (6) Hrdlfr, mighty. 
 (7) Broddi, perhaps from broddr, a spear, dart, goad, anj'thing 
 sharp, a lancet. 
 
taken off his limbs with a difference to humanity 
 — Urling^ is famed for lace — and Gunter^ presides 
 peaceably over wedding breakfasts. The descendants 
 of Northern Skalds seem to have found a congenial 
 occupation in bookselling, for among our most emi- 
 nent publishers five, viz., Cadell,' Colbom,* HaU,* 
 Orme,* and Tait, bear names of Scandinavian origin. 
 " At this moment," writes a noble lecturer on the sub- 
 ject,^ " some sturdy Haavard (Howard), the proprie- 
 tor of a sixty-acre farm, but sprung from that stock, 
 the nobility of whose blood is become proverbial, may 
 be successfully opposing some trifling tax at Drontheim, 
 while an illustrious kinsman of his house is the repre- 
 sentative of England's majesty at Dublin." Might we 
 even go on to ask — but here we tread on tender 
 ground — whether O'ConneU was more than half an 
 Irishman? Konall seems to have been a common 
 name among the Norsemen ; there are six of that 
 name mentioned in the Lcmdndmahok or list of the 
 original settlers in Iceland. One of these certainly 
 was from Ireland, but he appears to have been most 
 probably one of the Northmen who had settled th ere 
 as both his wife and son have Scandinavian names. 
 All the others seem, from the names of their parents, 
 to have been pure Norsemen. Moreover, the name 
 itself appears in form to be Scandinavian, and to have 
 a clear etymon in Old Norse — konr, a noble or illus- 
 
 (1) Erlingr, industrious. 
 
 (2) Gunther, from gunn, battle. (3) Kadall. 
 
 (4) Kolbiorn, kollr, helmeted, and barii, a child. 
 
 (5) Hallr — hallr, a flint ? — rather hair, " vir liber et liberalis." 
 
 (6) Ormr, a serpent — the Old Eng. worm. 
 
 (7) Lecture on " The Northmen," by Lord Dufferin. 
 
trious person, a king; and aUr^ all — "all-king," an 
 appropriate title enough for the " king of all Ireland." 
 The name Connell is by no means an uncommon one 
 in the north of England, where it might most naturally 
 be supposed to be derived from the Danes or North- 
 men. The respective prefixes, " O" and " Mc," in 
 Ireland and Scotland, might indicate a cross between 
 the natives and the Northern settlers. I do not, how- 
 ever, know of any instance of the Scandinavian form 
 of Connelson. Perhaps, upon the whole, this may be 
 merely one of those coincidences upon which theories 
 of more importance have so often been built. 
 
 Instead then, as some writers have been disposed to 
 do, of regarding the Scandinavian invasion as an evil, 
 of which the effects have been shaken off, we have to 
 learn that its results are not only beneficial but en- 
 during. For hence it was that the dash of enterprise y 
 was supplied which was wanted to qualify the inert 
 tendencies of the solid Anglo-Saxon character. 
 
 Yet the mixture seemed bitter when it was poured 
 into the cup, and it was not even the wise mind of an 
 Alfred that could see, amid the din of battle and the 
 smoke of the burning village, the great Disposer of 
 events standing by with the finest of scales, adjusting 
 the proportions which should one day make a free and 
 a mighty people. 
 
 The extent of the Scandinavian immigration has 
 been disguised by the close resemblance which it bears 
 to the Anglo-Saxon, and by the facility with which 
 the two kindred races amalgamated together. It would 
 appear, indeed, from various facts recorded in history, 
 that the difference between the two, as regards dialect, 
 waa never such as to prevent them from understanding ^ 
 
 / 
 
6 
 
 each other, and was probably not greater than at 
 present exists between certain districts respectively in 
 the North and South of England. Hence arises the 
 impossibility of establishing a rule which shall deter- 
 mine with any degree of preciseness the relative pro- 
 portion which is due to each in the standard language 
 of England. Though a great part of the words in the 
 language might be derived from either of the two, yet 
 as a minority, however respectable, is voiceless, so in 
 all such cases the Scandinavian has not been allowed 
 any share in the formation. The rule, as laid down 
 by Mr. Latham, is that it is not sufl5cient to prove a 
 woi-d to be Danish ; you must also prove that it is not 
 Anglo-Saxon. The result is then that the Scandina- 
 vian element has been represented only by its difference, 
 though it is obvious that m a great number of cases 
 the presence of a word in the language is due not only 
 to its use by the Anglo-Saxons, but to its concurrent 
 use by both the two races. Still, however, notwith- 
 standing the difficulty of discriminating, it follows as 
 a natural result from the increased importance which 
 is now assigned to the Scandinavian element, that a 
 greater share should be conceded to it in the formation 
 of the English language. And that this is the case we 
 learn from the authority above quoted, who, in the 
 last edition of his "Hand-book of the English language," 
 remarks, " A few years back the current opinion was 
 against the doctrine that there is much Danish in 
 England. At present, the tendency is rather the 
 other way." 
 
 The object of the present essay, however, is not to 
 enter upon any general speculations upon the subject, 
 but is confined to an attempt to estimate the extent 
 
of the immigration which took place into a particular 
 part of the kingdom — to investigate with more pre-* 
 ciseness its character, and to enquire into the probable 
 circumstances under which it occurred. 
 
 The gi-eat stream of Northern adventurers which 
 swept the Eastern shore of England appears to have 
 been composed principally of Danes ; their descents 
 were made chiefly on the Yorkshire coast, the estuary V- 
 of the Humber being one of their favourite landing- 
 places ; in the adjacent district were the strong-holds 
 of their power, and the number of names of places more 
 purely Danish in Lincolnshire and Yorkshire serves to 
 attest the preponderance of that rsEce over the others 
 in the colonization of this part of the kingdom. ^ 
 
 The first recorded invasion of Cumberland by the V 
 Danes from this quarter took place in 875, when an 
 army under the command of Halfdene entered Nor- 
 thumberland, and wintering near the Tyne took pos- 
 session of that district, upon which they seem to have 
 made permanent settlements. Swwaavthence they made 
 incursions into Cumberland, and even extended their 
 ravages as far as the British Kingdom of Strathclyde 
 in Galloway. In one of these incursions they destroyed 
 the city of Carlisle, which lay in ruins, as it is asserted, 
 till the time of E-ufus. Although the main object of 
 these expeditions was no doubt plunder, there is every 
 reason to suppose that many of the invaders settled at 
 that period in the district. 
 
 It will, however, be my object to shew that the 
 principal part of the Scandinavian colonization in 
 Cumberland and Westmoreland did not proceed from 
 this source — that it was more particularly Norwegian, 
 and must have occurred about a century later. 
 
8 
 
 In Lincolnshire and Yorkshire the names of places 
 are, as it has been observed, more particularly Danish. 
 But as we proceed northwards towards the confines of 
 Cumberland and Westmoreland, a marked change be- 
 gins to appear in the nomenclature of the district. 
 The names more purely Danish become less frequent, 
 and some of them, as we advance, altogether disappear. 
 On the other hand, Norwegian names become more 
 frequent as we proceed, till we arrive, among the 
 mountains of Cumberland and Westmoreland, at a 
 nomenclature which it will be my object to shew, is 
 more purely Norwegian. Here then is evidently 
 another and a distinct immigration, and it will in the 
 next place, be our object to investigate, as well as we 
 are able, the probable source from which this immigra- 
 tion proceeded. Not, as we have just seen, from 
 the district of the ancient Denelaga. Still more 
 evidently not across the border from Scotland, for as 
 Mr. Worsaae has observ^ed, the course of the stream 
 may be distinctly traced as running in the opposite 
 direction. Notwithstanding the strong Scandinavian 
 element to be found in the language of Scotland and 
 in the character of the Lowland Scots, the number of 
 Scandinavian names of places is comparatively small, 
 and of these the most strongly marked are to be found 
 along the Cumberland border, gradually diminishing 
 as we advance further into the interior. It is evident 
 then that whatever Scandinavian element exists in the 
 Lowlands of Scotland must have been imparted at an 
 anterior period, and under different circumstances — 
 that a fusion of races had already taken place, and that 
 the more purely Scandinavian colonists from Cumber- 
 land made some encroachments upon this territory 
 
9 
 
 which was already settled. The whole Scandinavian 
 tide-mark, so to speak, along the Scottish border, is 
 that of a more recent immigration proceeding from 
 Cumberland or from the shore of the Solway. 
 
 In the same manner it may be shewn that the Scan- 
 dinavian colonists of Cumberland could not have pro- 
 ceeded across the island from the opposite coast of 
 Northumberland. Like the Lowlands of Scotland, 
 this county shews strong Scandinavian traces in its 
 dialect, but contains a limited number of Scandinavian 
 names of places, and the boundary of the two counties 
 is scarcely more distinctly marked than the change in 
 their nomenclature. 
 
 Thus then the colonization of this district appears 
 to be shut in, as it were, on all sides except that of 
 its own coasts, and to the sea therefore we must look 
 for the source from which it has proceeded, and we 
 must now take into account the opposite, or Norwe- 
 gian stream, which, descending from the North of 
 Scotland, swept the western side of the island, and 
 fixed its head quarters in the Isle of Man. That the 
 occupation of an island such as that of Man would be 
 the final object of what was evidently a powerful 
 stream is hardly to be supposed, and we find accord- 
 ingly that they made energetic attempts, attended with 
 considerable success, to obtain a footing on the shore 
 of Ireland. We find that, evidently masters of the 
 sea, they took possession of most of the small islands 
 both along the Scottish and English coasts, and suc- 
 ceeded in some instances in making small settlements 
 upon the main-land. One of the principal of these 
 appears to have been in Pei»brokeshire, and chiefly 
 about Milford Haven, in the vicinity of that magni- 
 
10 
 
 ficent arm of the sea which runs up, like a Norwegian 
 Qord, into the land. We find here a number of Scan- 
 dinavian names of places, and moreover bearing, as it 
 seems to me, a considerable resemblance to those of 
 Cumberland. The name itself, Cumberland, twice 
 occurs, denoting probably the residence of the Kymbri, 
 or ancient British inhabitants. The names Milford 
 and Haverford I take to be from the Norwegian ^?'c?, 
 refei-ring to the arm of the sea upon which these places 
 are situated, and not from the Ang.-Sax. " ford," so 
 common in the names of places in the south of England. 
 Milfoi-d may probably be from the proper name of 
 Mioll, and Haverfoid from Old Norse hafrar, Dan. 
 Iiavre, oats — our word " haver" still in general use 
 throughout the north of England. We have also holrrij 
 an island, in Skokholm and Gateholm, the latter pro- 
 bably from the Scandinavian proper name of Geit. Oe, 
 an island, occurs in Caldy Island, and Ramsey Island — 
 vagr, a bay, in Lindsway Bay, derived from that name 
 which of all Scandinavian proper names is perhaps the 
 best known to Europe. Vik, a small bay, occurs in 
 Wathick and Little Wick, ness, a promontory, in 
 Newton Ness, 6p or hop, an estuary, in Lidsop, sker, a 
 rock, in Skerry Back, and stackr, a name frequently 
 given by the Northmen to large rocks in the sea, in the 
 Stack Rock. Inland, we have by, a village, in Tenby, 
 or Denby, the Danes village, thorp, a village or hamlet, 
 in Freystrop, from Freyja, one of the deities of the 
 Northmen, or in this case more probably the name of 
 a person. We have gardr, an inclosure, in Hasguard, 
 geil, a place situated in the hollow of a hill, in New- 
 gale, and hwmar, a rodk, in Hammer End. There 
 are, beside 3, a great number of other places in which 
 
11 
 
 Scandinavian proper names are found, to some of 
 which I shall have occasion to refer in another place. 
 
 We can scarcely suppose then that the nearest part 
 of England, the coast of Cumberland, would remain 
 long unattempted by a brave and adventurous people, 
 eager to obtain a settlement, and having a strong 
 entrepot within a short distance from its shores. It is 
 then from this quarter that I suppose the Noi-wegian 
 settlers of Cumberland and Westmoreland to have been 
 derived, and assuming their Norwegian character to be 
 satisfactorily established, it is only j&x)m this quarter 
 that they could have been derived. 
 
 And I refer to the traces of Scandinavian settle- \/ 
 ments in Pembrokeshire, because there seems to me to 
 be some ground for supposing that they were founded 
 about the same period, and possibly under the same 
 circumstances, as those in Cumberland, to which they 
 bear a considerable resemblance. But this does not 
 amount to anything more than a conjecture. 
 
 Our own historians make no mention of anything 
 bearing upon the subject, but Snorro Sturlessen, among 
 other countries visited by the Norwegian sea-rover 
 Olaf, mentions both Cumberland and Wales. As 
 Olaf was born about 970, and acceded to the throne 
 of Norway in 995, his descents must have taken place 
 somewhere about 990. This date corresponds with >V* 
 that to which I assign the Norwegian settlements in 
 Cumberland, and which, from circumstances to be 
 presently described, I should place between 945 and 
 1,000. 
 
 We have next to take into consideration the pro- 
 bable circumstances which enabled the Norwegians 
 to obtain so considerable a footing in this part of 
 
1^ 
 
 England ; and in order to do this we must turn our 
 attention for a short time to that remnant of the 
 Celtic race who maintained their ancient inheritance 
 in this comer of the island long after the rest of 
 England had submitted to the Saxons. It is from this 
 ancient British race that the name of the county seems 
 to be most satisfactorily derived — Cumberland, the 
 land of the Kymbri Its capital, Carlisle, retains its 
 ancient British name — Caer Luel, the fort or city of 
 Luel, so called, as we are informed by Geoffi-ey of 
 Monmouth, from the name of its founder. Some 
 antiquaries have presumed, from its Boman name of 
 Luguvallum, that it must have had another Celtic 
 name, probably LugvaL But Luguvallum may per- 
 haps be nothing more than the Latinized form of Caer 
 Luel — caer, originally a mound or hill, being used in 
 the sense of a fort or rampart, in which sense the Latin 
 vallum would be its equivalent — and referring not to 
 the vallum or great wall of Severus, which passed near, 
 but to the mound on which the ancient castle still 
 stands, and where I suppose to have stood the original 
 fortress from which the city has derived its name. 
 Many other Celtic names of places remain to attest the 
 prolonged sovereignty of the Britons in Cumberland, 
 and the number of stone circles in this county and 
 Westmoreland is greater than in any other part of 
 England. Mr. Turner* mentions as a remarkable 
 feature of these two counties that their uncultivated 
 hills and plains are scattered all over with Dniidical 
 remains, while in Northumberland and Durham 
 scarcely anything of the kind exists. This, however, 
 
 * History of the Anglo-Saxons. 
 
13 
 
 I conceive to be owing chiefly to the rocky character 
 of these two counties, which in some cases has fur- 
 nished stones of a size too large to be easily removed, 
 and in others placed them in situations where the ends 
 of agriculture did not render their removal of so much 
 importance. The number of those of smaller size 
 which have been destroyed in Cumberland and West- 
 moreland seems to point out pretty clearly the cause 
 of their disappearance in other places. It should, 
 however, be observed that it is by no means clear that 
 all these stone circles are to be attributed to the 
 ancient British inhabitants, as, both for legislative and 
 judicial, as well as for sepulchral purposes, the Northern 
 nations made use of similar structures. And in some 
 cases, for reasons which will be detailed in a succeeding 
 chapter, there is ground for believing them to be 
 Scandinavian. 
 
 The question now arises — what became of this 
 ancient race who defended themselves in Cumberland 
 so bravely and so long 1 We find no vestiges of a 
 Celtic origin in the characteristics, physical and moral, 
 of the present inhabitants of the district. Nor does 
 their dialect present any but the faintest traces of the 
 language of the ancient Britons. And though a more >/ 
 considerable number of Celtic names of places exists 
 than in most other parts of England, yet, taking the 
 district of the mountains, where ancient names usually 
 linger much longer than elsewhere, the number of such 
 names is, in point of fact, less than in some other 
 mountain districts of England, as, for instance, 
 Derbyshire. 
 
 The early records of this part of the kingdom are 
 meagre and confused — bo much so that some writers 
 
 v/ 
 
u 
 
 have even disputed the existence of Cumberland as a 
 separate British kingdom, confounding it with that of 
 Strathclyde in Galloway. The last record which history 
 affords us of the Cumberland Britons is that of their 
 subjugation in 945 by the Saxon Edmund, who gave 
 Cumberland to Malcolm, King of Scotland, to hold in 
 fealty. But for some time prior to their final extinc- 
 tion, it is reasonable to suppose this little tribe — ^as in- 
 deed the only condition of their existence — ^to have been 
 chiefly confined to the inaccessible mountains of Cum- 
 berland and Westmoreland, whence, like the Scottish 
 Highlanders, they poured down upon the surrounding 
 plain, revenging themselves by their inroads upon the 
 usurpers of their native soil, and when menaced by a 
 superior force, retreating again to the fastnesses of the 
 mountains. The rest of the district — ^the plain of 
 Cumberland and Westmoreland — ^was probably chiefly 
 occupied by a mixed Danish and Saxoa. population, for 
 the Danes from Northumberland had overrun it in 875, 
 and it is reasonable to suppose had left some settlers. 
 \ The Welsh writers assert that at this period many of 
 the Cumberland Britons, being disturbed by the con- 
 tinual incursions of the Danes, Saxons, and Scots, 
 migrated to join their countrymen in Wales. The rest 
 might probably retreat to the shelter of the mountains, 
 where they would subsist partly by the chase, and 
 partly by forays on the surrounding country. What- 
 ever population, however, there was in the plain, must 
 have been extremely thin and scattered, for amid the 
 continual incursions of Danes, Scots, and Celtic moun- 
 taineers, the unfortunate district could have had scarcely 
 any repose. We may judge of the scantiness of the 
 population, and the insecurity of the country, by the 
 
15 
 
 fact that the city of Carlisle, destroyed by the Danes in 
 875, lay in ruins till the time of Rufus. 
 
 The subjugation of this wild race of mountaineers v 
 became then a necessary step towards the pacification of 
 the kingdom, and accordingly we find that the Saxon 
 Edmund, in league with Leoline, King of South Wales, 
 whose part in the affair it is not easy to explain, marched 
 against the Cumberland Britons, who were commanded 
 by their native King Dunmail. He attacked them in 
 the heart of their native mountains, and tradition points 
 out the place where the decisive battle was fought, upon 
 the pass between Grasmere and Keswick, where it is 
 somewhat probable that the allied forces, penetrating 
 in two divisions, had succeeded in taking the unfortu- 
 nate mountaineers at once in front and in the rear. 
 The victory was most decisive. Dunmail himself was 
 among the slain, and his two sons were taken prisonei's. 
 A rude heap of stones upon the top of the pass marks 
 the grave of the last native king, and after this we hear 
 no more of the British kingdom of Cumberland. 
 Wordsworth, in his poem of " The Waggoner," has 
 truly characterised two of the principal circumstances 
 in the history of this event — that it was over the moun- 
 tain district of Cumberland that Dunmail held sway, 
 and that the result of the battle was fatal to the power 
 of the Britons : — 
 
 " They now have reached that pile of stones 
 Heaped over brave King Duninail's bones, 
 He who once held supreme command, 
 Last King of rocky Cumberland ; ^ 
 
 His bones, and those of all his power, 
 Slain here in a disastrous hour." 
 
 What became of the survivors of that disastrous 
 
 field we are not informed. It may be, as the Welsh 
 
16 
 
 liiutorians assert to have been the case at a former 
 period, and as Pinkerton* supposes probable also on this 
 occasion, that the whole, or part of them emigrated 
 into Wales — an arrangement which the presence of 
 the King of South Wales, as one of the allies, might 
 tend to facilitate. Or it may be that Edmund, having 
 effectually crushed his foes, and incapacitated their 
 young chiefe from ever going forth at the head of theii- 
 tribe again — a cruel precaution, but perhaps not an 
 act of wanton barbarity — allowed the miserable rem- 
 nant to remain in possession of their native valleys. 
 However it be, there can be no doubt that this moun- 
 tain district, always thinly peopled, and never culti- 
 vated, was now almost stripped of its inhabitants, and 
 left to the solitude of its deep valleys and shaggy forests. 
 Such, then, was the state of things when the Nor- 
 wegians arrived in Man, and from its shores beheld the 
 blue outlines of a land like their own land — a land of 
 mountains and of valleys — a land waiting for a people, 
 as they were for a settlement — nor would the shrewd 
 and enterprising Northmen be slow in finding out that 
 no strong man armed guarded those shores. 
 
 History affords little or no record of their conquest, 
 for the records of rude history are of wars, and this 
 might rather be a work of peace. We are perhaps too 
 much in the habit of looking upon the Northern 
 settlers as sea-kings and pirates all, though, as Mr. 
 Worsaae observes, it is probable that a part of their 
 / f colonization was of a more peaceful character. The 
 first invaders would naturally be the roving seajoien of 
 
 * An inqniry into the history of Scotland preceding the reign of 
 Malcohu the Third, or the year 1066. 
 
17 
 
 the Qords, but those who followed in their wake would \ ,/- 
 be the hardy shepherds of the fells. Not that we can ^ 
 suppose these Norwegian settlers to have marched into 
 Cumberland exactly as their countrymen are said to 
 have recently done into their new settlement across 
 the Atlantic, literally " fiddled in" by their gifted and 
 eccentric leader, Ole Bull. Even supposing that they 
 had not to make their way with the sword, they had a 
 wild and an untamed country to encounter, and it 
 would be with much toil and not a little endurance 
 that a subsistence would be won from the dense forests 
 and the rocky mountains of their new home. But 
 they came from a country wilder and poorer still, where 
 they had long been inured to both. The district of 
 the Tellemark, so magnificent and so desolate — the 
 mountains of the Hardanger, a name signifying, in the 
 expressive language of the Old Norse, " a place of 
 hunger and poverty" — were among the districts from 
 which I suppose these Northern emigrants to have 
 proceeded. And how these stout colonists cleared for 
 themselves homes amid the forest, and gathered tribute 
 from the mountain side, and how they protected the 
 fruit of their industry with fences and walls — ^the 
 "thwaites," and the "seats," and the "garths" of 
 Cumberland will tell. 
 
 Now all this may have happened as I have related ^ 
 it, or it may not — I am merely stating what appears to 
 me a probable manner of accounting for the Norwegian 
 population of this district. But setting this particular 
 theory aside, what can be more natural than that the 
 Norwegians from Man — a people in quest of a set- 
 tlement — should seek it on the shore of Cumberland — 
 at once the nearest point to the great rendezvous of 
 
 B 
 
18 
 
 their fleets, and in the vicinity of the districts already 
 fKXJupied by brother Northmen, from whom they would 
 receive encouragement and sup}x>rt. 
 y It might appear at first somewhat inconsistent with 
 Edmund's object in ceding Cumberland to the King of 
 Scotland, which appears to have been its protection 
 from the encroachments of the Northmen — that the 
 result of its surrender should be its more speedy occu- 
 pation by those very people. But as the King of Eng- 
 land had been unable, from its remote situation, and 
 the fact of the Danish districts lying between him and 
 it, to insure the safety of this district, so the King of 
 Scotland would find it a difficult undertaking to pro- 
 tect, from the combined inroads of the Norwegians 
 by sea and of the Danes by land, a district which pro- 
 bably had small means of defence within itself The 
 Norwegians were masters of the sea, and the mountains 
 approach in many places very near the coast : their 
 shelter once gained, it would be no easy task to dis- 
 lodge these warlike settlers. At all events, the result 
 was that in the year 1000, or about half a century 
 later, as we are informed by Henry of Huntingdon, 
 one of the principal abodes of the "Danes," under 
 which title the old writers comprehend all Northmen, 
 was in Cumberland. 
 V And that the King of England was highly dissatis- 
 
 fied with this result is a^paren^ from the expedition 
 which Ethelred undertook during this year into Cum- 
 berland, which he ravaged, as the Saxon chronicle 
 states, " well nigh alL" The chroniclers are not agreed 
 as to the cause of this expedition — most of them 
 attributing it to the non-fulfilment by the King of 
 Scotland of his contract to co-operate in the defence 
 
19 
 
 of the kingdom against the Danes, while Henry of V^ 
 Huntingdon states that it was directed against the 
 Danes themselves, who were very numerously settled 
 in this district. These two statements, however, appear 
 to me to be not altogether inconsistent with each other. 
 It is further stated in the Anglo-Saxon chronicle, that 
 Ethelred's fleet was directed to sail round and meet 
 him off the coast of Cumberland, but the wind being 
 unfavourable, they contented themselves with ravaging 
 the Isle of Man, a proceeding which seems to throw 
 further light upon the object of the expedition, as 
 directed against the encroachments of the Northmen 
 upon Cumberland. Yet, notwithstanding the expe- 
 ditions directed against them, the Northmen appear 
 to have maintained their footing, for it will be my 
 object to show in the course of this work that this part 
 of the country retained a distinct Scandinavian cha- 
 racter for some time after the conquest. 
 
 The district which I suppose to have been colonized 
 more particularly by the Norwegians comprises the 
 mountain country of Cumberland and Westmoreland, i 
 from which it is probable that they spread more or 
 less into the plain — parts of Scotland along the Sol way 
 Frith and the Cumberland border — and also certain 
 portions of the North of Lancashire, particularly that , 
 north of the sands, which is comprehended in the 
 district of the English lakes. This portion had already 
 at an earlier period been wrested from the Britons, 
 and on the division of the kingdom into shires, had 
 been made, as it stiQ remains, a part of Lancashire. 
 But even at this period the Noi-thmen had effected 
 considerable settlements, as the author of a paper on 
 " the Danes in Lancashire" read before the society of 
 
20 
 
 Rcwicrucians shews by the feet that three out of the j 
 five hundreds into which it was divided, bear Scandi- ' \/ 
 navian names. The same writer draws a distinction i 
 between the settlers of the North and/ the South of ^^ 
 Lancashire, deriving the former from the Norwegians 
 of the Western coast, and the latter from the Danes 
 of Northumberland, who, by the capture of Chester, 
 had established a chain of communication across the 
 island. 
 
 As to the period over which the Norwegian coloni- 
 zation extended — the work may have been rapidly 
 consummated, or it may have proceeded gradually and 
 at intervals. It may have been that the last settlers 
 were received when, as the Norwegian power declined 
 in Man, the Northmen deserted the soil which they 
 Could no longer hold in subjection for the shores where 
 their countrymen were in stronger force ; while, on the 
 other hand, the Britons, such of them as might still 
 be left, would naturally be disposed to emigrate to 
 Man. Thus an interchange of population would take 
 place till the Isle, once the stronghold of the Nor- 
 wegian power, would become, as it is at present, in 
 possession of a Celtic race, and the ancient British 
 kingdom of Cumberland become the exclusive temtory 
 of the Northmen. 
 
 The blank which history has left in the record of 
 these transactions, tradition has not done very much to 
 supply. Yet, as some of the traditions are not without 
 interest, and some bearing on the question, I shall 
 briefly cite them, premising that here, as elsewhere, 
 all Northmen are comprehended under the general 
 name of " Danes." One tradition derives the names 
 of three villages, called respectively Ousby or Ulfby, 
 
21 
 
 Melmerby, and Thorkillby, from Ulf, Melmor, and 
 Thorkil, three sons of one Halfdene, a Dane, by whom 
 these villages were respectively founded. But this 
 might be at the anterior period when Cumberland 
 was overrun by the Northumbrian Danes, and these 
 might be the sons of that Halfdene who is named as 
 the leader in that incursion. 
 
 Another tradition points out some ruins near the 
 foot of Devoke Water as the remains of a Danish city 
 called Barnscgj or Bardscar, the name of which is 
 purely Scandinavian in either case, derived from its pro- 
 bable founder, some Northman called Barna or Bardi. 
 The description of this place in Hutchinson's history 
 of Cumberland is as follows : — '* This place is about 
 300 yards long, from east to west, and 100 yards 
 broad, from north to south ; now walled round, save 
 at the east end, near three feet in height ; there 
 appears to have been a long street, with several cross 
 ones ; the remains of house-steads, within the walls, 
 are not very numerous, but on the outside of the walls 
 they are innumerable, especially on the south side and 
 west end ; the circumference of the city and suburbs is 
 near three computed miles ; the figure an oblong square ; 
 there is an ancient road through the city, leading from 
 Ulpha to Ravenglass." At present there is little more 
 to be seen than a number of small piles of unwrought 
 stones scattered along the foot of the lake, and upon 
 the hills bordering the north side; the stones com- 
 prising the foundations appearing to have been gathered 
 into heaps in order to clear the ground. About the 
 beginning of the last century a considerable treasure in 
 silver coin was found concealed in the foundation of 
 one of the houses, none of which, unfortunately, has 
 
22 
 
 been preserved, as, like the Cuerdale hoard, it might 
 probably have been found to consist of the varied 
 plunder swept from many lands by some roving viking. 
 
 Another tradition, explaining the meaning of a well- 
 known Cumberland saying, "Let us gang together 
 like lads of Drigg and lasses of Beckermet," has refer- 
 ence to the manner in which the above Danish city of 
 Barnscar is said to have been peopled. This was ac- 
 complished by taking the men of Drigg and marrying 
 them to the women of Beckermet, whose original help- 
 mates had been slain in battle — what had become of the 
 women of Drigg is a point upon which the legend is 
 silent. Beckermet, formerly Beckermot, is a pure 
 Scandinavian name, signifying " the meeting of the 
 becks" — ^the place being situated at the junction of 
 two brooks. Drigg, formerly Dregg, may possibly de- 
 rive its name firom the circumstance above related — 
 Old Norse dreg, from the verb draga, to draw or lead 
 away. Now — without accepting in too literal a man- 
 ner the facts of the above tradition — do we not seem 
 to have here some sort of record of the Northmen tak- 
 ing in hand, as might be expected under circumstances 
 such as I have before described, to reorganise the popu- 
 lation of a dispeopled district ? 
 
 Another tradition refers to the origin of the breed of 
 sheep called the Herdwick, which is peculiar to the 
 mountains of the lake district. The particular charac- 
 teristics of this breed are grey faces, absence of horns, 
 diminutive size, and remarkable powers of endurance. 
 The farmers of the district, having a common right of 
 mountain pasturage, are in the habit — perhaps anything 
 but a judicious one — of putting on each as many sheep 
 as ever he can get. The result of this arrangement is. 
 
23 
 
 that any breed less hardy than this would infallibly be 
 starved — hence the value attached in this part of the 
 country to the Herdwick sheep. I have, however, 
 been assured by formers of the district that, indepen- 
 dently of any such consideration, the Herdwick is the 
 breed which has been found, as the result of experi- 
 ment, to be the most generally adapted to the moun- 
 tain country of Cumberland and Westmoreland. The 
 tradition of the county asserts this breed to have been 
 originally introduced by means of a Danish vessel ship- 
 wrecked on the coast. Now we have here an evident 
 impression of the northern origin of these sheep, and 
 the story of the shipwrecked vessel, as a means of ac- 
 counting for its importation, would be a natural addi- 
 tion to the legend when the fact of an actual immigra- 
 tion from the North had been forgotten. If indeed 
 any of the Northern invaders brought property with 
 them into the coiintiy, it is certainly very different to 
 the idea generally -entertained t>f the old sea-kings. 
 But a breed like this, the merits of which were sum- 
 med up by the local Secretary to the Koyal Agricultu- 
 ral Society's exhibition held at Carlisle in the remark 
 that it would " stand starving better than any other 
 sort," might well be supposed to have come from " a 
 place of hunger and poverty." 
 
 I have stated the principal traditions bearing on the 
 subject — ^which, as collateral evidence, are not without 
 their value — but it is upon other and stronger grounds 
 that I must mainly rely for proof of the Scandinavian 
 character of the district. These are to be found in the 
 names of places — ^the characteristics, manners and cus- 
 toms, and the dialect of the inhabitants, to which may 
 be added a Runic inacription lately discovered in Car- 
 
24 
 
 lisle Cathedral Of these the etymological part is by 
 far the most important — it is in the names of places, 
 and in the local terms still in use, or else preserved in 
 these names — that we derive the clearest evidence of 
 the Scandinavian colonization. But it will not be 
 »ufficient to prove the general Scandinavian character 
 of the district — it will be for me to show that it is 
 more particularly Norwegian. And this I propose to 
 do by an actual comparison of the names with those of 
 Norway and Iceland. It will then be seen that the 
 coincidence is such as to leave a strong presumption of 
 their common origin. It is not merely that there is a 
 general similarity of terms, but in a number of cases 
 the settlers seem to have brought with them to their 
 new abodes the very names that were current in their 
 older homes. 
 / In one important particular the nomenclature of our 
 district bears more resemblance to that of Iceland than 
 that of Norway. In the latter country the names of 
 places are more commonly taken from some circum- 
 stance of locality, or from some feature of natural 
 scenery. But in colonizing a new country like Iceland 
 the Northmen more frequently called the places where 
 they settled after their own names. To such an extent 
 was this the case in Iceland that the list of persons 
 given in the Landnamabdk serves in no small degree 
 as a key to the names of places. The same feature 
 characterizes our own district, where a large propor- 
 tion of the names of places, as will be shewn in the course 
 of this work, are derived from Scandinavian settlers. 
 Moreover, the coincidence between these proper names 
 and those of Iceland is such as to form one of the evi- 
 dences in favour of their common origin. For, though 
 
25 
 
 it would not be right to take an individual name, and 
 pronounce it to be that of a Dane or a Norwegian, 
 yet as a comparison formed on an extended scale may 
 fairly be presumed to represent the difference between 
 the two, it becomes a reasonable ground of argument. 
 But this subject will be more fully treated in another 
 place. 
 
 That part of Norway which presents the strongest 
 features of resemblance is the district extending from 
 Bergen to the Southern ocean, but in a line consider- 
 ably west of Christiania — a district comprising the 
 wildest and poorest part of the south of Norway. 
 Some of the most characteristic names of our lake dis- 
 trict, and those of most frequent occurrence here, in 
 the north of Norway are altogether wanting, so that 
 I think we are not without some warrant in pointing 
 to this particular part as that from which our settlers 
 have probably been derived. 
 
 The Norwegian names are taken from the excellent 
 map of Professor Munch, which contains so complete 
 a list of those small and insignificant places which in ! 
 an etymological point of view are often of the most j ^ 
 importance. Indeed, the fault — if it be one — of this 
 map is that so numerous are the names, that they 
 sometimes form nebulae or clusters, scarcely distin- 
 guishable by the naked eye. 
 
 The marked Scandinavian character of the names 
 in our lake district could scarcely fail to attract the 
 notice of any etymologist who had given attention to 
 the subject, and I find accordingly that the author of 
 the concise but able glossary prefixed to Black's Guide 
 remarks — "We have had to support no favourite 
 theory or hypothesis as to the predominance of any 
 
 I 
 
2Q 
 
 one language in the district, though it is singular how 
 many traces of Scandinavian dialects we meet with." 
 It would rather appear from this, as if the author, 
 starting perfectly unbiassed and without any par- 
 ticular theory, felt strongly inclined to form one before 
 he had finished his investigations. I may, however, 
 be permitted to remark that the mistakes into which 
 he has fallen seem to me to arise from the want of a 
 more definite theory, otherwise so competeht an ety- 
 mologist would hardly have derived Rydal, " the rye 
 valley," from the Celtic Rhydhy " a passage place," 
 or Codale, " the cow valley," from the Celtic Codagh, 
 
 " a hm." 
 
 I may also refer to a valuable series of papers on the 
 local etymology of the district published in the K&adal 
 Mercury, the writer of which, though also in some cases 
 led astray, as it seems to me, by the false light of Celtic 
 resemblances, has contributed an important addition to 
 our stock of knowledge on the subject. 
 
 Most of the writers on our names of places, I may 
 here take the opportunity of observing, have fallen 
 into the error of mixing up Celtic and Teutonic words 
 in a manner which etymology does not warrant. Thus 
 Ullswater, for instance, has been derived by more than 
 one writer from the Celtic uUle an elbow, and the 
 Ang.-Sax. " water." But unless we can suppose the 
 inhabitants to have spoken a mixed Celtic and Teutonic 
 jargon, such a name could not be formed. The only 
 manner in which, except in some peculiar and excep- 
 tional case, hybrid names can be formed, arises from 
 one people not understanding a name given by another, 
 and adding a word of their own to complete it. Thus 
 a valley in Sutherland was called by the Northmen 
 
27 
 
 Helmsdale, to which the Gaelic inhabitants, not under- 
 standing its meaning, added their word strath, so that 
 it now bears the tautologous name of Strath Helms- 
 dale, " Helmsdale valley." But UUswater, as a mixed 
 Celtic and Ang.-Sax. word, could not be formed upon 
 such a principle, because uUle would only be part of a 
 name. Its origin is clear enough, as will be shewn in 
 the proper place. 
 
 It will, as a matter of course, be found to be the 
 case that a considerable proportion of these local 
 names, when taken individually, might be derived 
 equally well from the Anglo-Saxon. In such cases, I 
 give the name corresponding in that language, simply 
 desiring the reader to form his opinion from the 
 general results laid before him. 
 
 In some instances a word will be found to bear more 
 resemblance to the modern language of Norway and 
 Denmark than to the Icelandic or Old Norse, which 
 may be attributed either to the word having under- 
 gone a similar change in both countries, or to its 
 having been imported at a period when a change had 
 already taken place. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 TRACES OP THE PAGAN WORSHIP, AND OP THE LBGIBLATIVE AND 
 JUDICIAL INSTITUTIONS OP THE NORTHMEN — NAMES INDICAT- 
 ING SIMPLY POSSESSION OR LOCATION — BOUNDARIES OF PRO- 
 PERTY — NAMES OF TOWNS, VILLAGES, &C. 
 
 Among the terms applied to the various forms of 
 human habitation, we might naturally expect to find 
 many names referring to the religious observances, and 
 the legislative and judicial institutions of the North- 
 men. 
 
 As regards the Pagan worship — the Christianity 
 which superseded it would no doubt strive to oblite- 
 rate every trace of the faith which it had learnt to 
 abhor. Yet we are not without some interesting re- 
 cords, derived from etymology and tradition, of the 
 old heathen worship which formerly prevailed in this 
 district. 
 
 Everard, Abbot of Holme Cultram in the reign of 
 Henry 2nd, relates that at the village of Thursby, 
 near Carlisle, there formerly stood a temple contain- 
 ing an image of Thor, of which temple the supposed 
 foundations were dug up about the end of the last 
 century. Through the neighbouring districts runs the 
 Wiza, deriving its name probably from ve, a sacred 
 place, and dy a river — and falling into the Wampool 
 not far from Wigton — " holy town," from viga^ to 
 A consecrate. Though ton or tvm,, it may be observed, 
 ^ in its ordinary sense is a word more particularly of 
 
29 
 
 Anglo-Saxon use — the Scandinavian word tun signify- 
 ing rather an inclosed field — yet anciently it bore the 
 same meaning among the Northmen as among the 
 Anglo-Saxons ; thus we have Sigtun, the ancient seat 
 of the worship of Odin in Sweden. Not far from 
 Thursby is also Wiggonby, " the holy village," and 
 Wiggon Rigg, " the holy ridge," and from these vari- 
 ous facts we appear justified in the conclusion that 
 here was an important seat of the worship of the 
 Pagan Northmen. 
 
 In the county of Westmoreland we have also a trace 
 of the worship of the same deity in the name of Kirby, 
 or Kirkby There, " the village of the temple of Thor." 
 The historians of the county have supposed There in 
 this case to be a corruption of thorp, but this is not 
 probable, as in the earliest records it appears in the 
 form of Thure. This is indeed the Anglo-Saxon form 
 of the word, but as both Mrk and by are more particu- 
 larly Scandinavian, and as in some other cases words 
 undoubtedly Scandinavian appear in subsequent re- 
 cords in an Anglo-Saxon form, there is no probability 
 that this was any other than a temple of the North- 
 men. In both this and the preceding case the deity 
 worshipped was Thor, the principal god of the Nor- 
 wegians, as Odin was of the Danes, and Freyja or 
 Frey of the Swedes. 
 
 In the same county of Westmoreland we have also 
 an interesting record of the heathen worship intro- 
 duced by the Northern settlera. Not far from 
 Appleby is a village called Hofi*, situated in the manor 
 of the same name, another place near it being called 
 Hoff Row, and the adjoining common, now inclosed, 
 being called Hoflf Common. This name is from Old 
 
 .v^ 
 
30 
 
 Norse Ao/J a temple, of which it has originally been 
 the site ; and an extensive wood, in which is situated 
 the residence of the proprietor, is still called Hoff Lund, 
 " the temple grove," from Old Norse lundr^ a grove. 
 When we read the following account, from Mallet's 
 Northern antiquities, of the proceedings of the Nor- 
 wegians on taking possession of Iceland, we cannot fail 
 to be struck with the manner in which, after the lapse 
 of so many centuries, this manor still retains the dis- 
 tinguishing marks bestowed by its original possessor : — 
 '* When a chieftain had taken possession of a district, 
 he allotted to each of the freemen who accompanied 
 him a certain portion of land, erected a temple (hof), 
 and became, as he had been in Norway, the chief, the 
 pontiff, and the judge of the herad. Such a chieftain 
 was called a Godi or Hofgodi, and all to whom he had 
 allotted land were bound to accompany him on his 
 journeys, and to pay a tax for the support of the 
 temple." Here then, in this manor of Hoff, we seem 
 to have the original district taken possession of by a 
 Northern settler, and in the midst of it, the sacred 
 grove, still called by its ancient name, in which stood 
 the temple he erected, and by its side the dwelling of 
 himself, the officiating priest, where still stands the 
 residence of the proprietor, " Hoff Lund House." 
 
 In the name of Woodriggs, the place where the 
 temple of Thor before referred to near Thursby is 
 supposed to have stood, we may perhaps also have a 
 record of the sacred grove in which it was situated. 
 
 We now come to the names which refer to the 
 legislative and judicial institutions of the Northmen. 
 Of the thing, their great council or popular assembly, 
 where their laws were passed and their chiefs elected, 
 
31 
 
 we find a trace in the name of Tyndwald, a parish in 
 Dumfriesshire, where was situated, no doubt, the place 
 of meeting of the Northmen who settled on the oppo- 
 site side of the border. In the name of Portingscale, 
 near Keswick, we may perhaps find a reference to the 
 thingskaalery or wooden booths erected for the conve- 
 nience of those attending the thing. From a similar 
 origin Mr, Worsaae supposes the name of Scalloway, 
 near Tingwall, in Shetland, to be derived. For this 
 council was held in the open air, and — probably to 
 prevent any undue local influence from predominating 
 — generally at a distance from any town or village. 
 As a great number of persons were gathered together 
 from all parts of the district, they took the opportunity 
 of transacting their private business at the same time, 
 and in fact the occasion served as a sort of fair in the 
 neighbourhood, merchants resorting thither sometimes 
 even from foreign countries. Consequently, accommo- 
 dation was required for the persons who flocked together 
 from all parts, as well as for the merchandise which 
 might be exposed for sale, and for this purpose these 
 wooden booths were provided. The prefix "port," 
 signifies in Old Norse the gate of a fortified place — 
 also, according to the late Mr. Just, of Bury, who thus 
 explains the meaning of Aldport and Stockport, " the 
 guarded passage over a ford." Portingscale is situated 
 near the bridge over the Derwent, which might poii- 
 sibly be guarded to prevent a surprise, for it was no 
 uncommon thing, as we learn from the Icelandic sagas, 
 for the assembly to be interrupted by the armed inter- 
 ference of some malcontent chief. This, however, is 
 altogether a mere etymological conjecture, and must be 
 taken for what it is wortL " Porting" may be no 
 
32 
 
 more than one of the proper names with which "scale" 
 is so often compounded. 
 
 The vale of Legberthwaite, in which lies the lake of 
 Thirlmere, might — judging from the etymology of its 
 name — have a stronger claim to be considered as the 
 place where the Northmen held their A Ithingy or gene- 
 ral legislative and judicial council. It appears evidently 
 to contain the Old Norse Idgherg^ law-mount — the name 
 given by the Northmen to the eminence upon which 
 the thing-stead was placed, and where the popular 
 assembly was held, "Thwaite" signifies ground cleared 
 in a forest, as will be further explained in a subsequent 
 part of this chapter. The situation would be a suitable 
 one for the purpose, being central to the surrounding 
 district ; but beyond that afforded by the name itself, 
 we have no other evidence to guide us. 
 
 As to the question whether any of the stone circles, 
 of which Cumberland contains so many, are to be con- 
 sidered as the sites of Scandinavian thing-steads, we 
 have little more than conjecture to offer. Those which 
 appear to be the most clearly Scandinavian are mostly 
 smaller ones, and appear to have been placed for sepul- 
 chral purposes. One or two of the others, as that 
 called " the Carles," near Keswick, which indeed is 
 situated at no great distance from Legberthwaite, 
 appear to have more claim to be considered British. 
 The one near Addingham, called " Long Meg and her 
 daughters," one of the finest monuments of the kind 
 in England, has been referred by various writers to a 
 Scandinavian origin, but at present seems generally to 
 be considered by antiquaries as Ancient BritisL It is 
 just possible that the name of Addingham or Alding- 
 ham, the place near which it is situated, may be 
 
33 
 
 derived from " Althing" and " ham," signifying " the 
 home near the Althing." But even if it could be shown 
 to have been used by the Northmen, it would not prove 
 that they erected it — or if it could be proved to be of 
 ancient British origin, would it show that they did not 
 make use of it ? For it would be as natural for the 
 Northmen, finding such a magnificent structure ready 
 made to their hand, to adopt it for their own purposes, 
 as for the Moslems to convert the Christian church of 
 St. Sophia into a Mohammedan mosque. 
 
 On the confines of the lake district are two hills 
 called respectively Moutay and Caer-Mote, which seem, 
 from their names, to have been used as moot-hills, or 
 minor judicial tribunals, though it is not easy to un- 
 derstand why they should be placed in such close 
 proximity to each other. Caer-Mote may be from Old 
 Norse kcera, to complain, accuse, or go to law — signi- 
 fying the tribunal of public justice. But it may be 
 merely the Celtic caer, retained from its former name, 
 and having the same sense as moty for the place may 
 have been used by the ancient Britons for the same 
 purpose as by the races who succeeded them. 
 
 It would seem probable that the proceedings held at 
 these places terminated with games or sports, of which 
 we may have a relic in the races still held, or till lately 
 held here — the course being from the bottom of one of 
 these two mote-hills to the top of the other. 
 
 We have a curious record of one of the judicial pro- 
 ceedings of the Northmen — and sufficiently coiTobora- 
 tive of the disorderly character which history accords 
 to it — in our word " durdem," or " durdom," common 
 also to some pai*t of Yorkshire, signifying a tumult or 
 uproar- I take this word to be from Old Norse 
 
 c 
 
34 
 
 dyraddmrj a " door-doom," thus explained by Mallet. 
 " In the early part of the (Icelandic) commonwealth, 
 when a man was suspected of theft, a kind of tribunal 
 composed of twelve pei'sons named by him, and twelve 
 by the person whose goods had been stolen, was insti- 
 tuted before the door of his dwelling, and hence called 
 a door-doom ; hvi as this manner of proceeding gene- 
 rally ended in bloodshed ^ it was abolished." Hence 
 the word might very naturally become synonimous 
 with the tumult and uproar which, it appears, generally 
 characterized these proceedings. 
 
 We now come to the dwellings and the settlements 
 of the Northmen themselves, and we will take in the 
 tirst place the names signifying simply possession or 
 location. Of these we have a, land^ earthy thwaite, 
 ridding, side, skew, ray. 
 
 A signifies a possession, and seems to be derived 
 from Old Norse a, "I have," the first person singular 
 of the verb eiga, to possess. The Ang.-Sax. has also 
 ah, " he has," third person singular of the verb agan. 
 Hence is probably derived the Old Eng. verb "awe," 
 to own, still retained in the North of England. It 
 occurs generally as an affix, as in Ulpha on the river 
 Duddon, the territory or possession of XJlf. We have 
 also another Ulpha near IVIilnthorpe, and Craika, 
 Breada, and Torver, (Torfa f), the possessions respec- 
 tively of Kraka, Breidr, and Torfi. Ulpha on the 
 Duddon is recorded in the history of the county as 
 being a grant made to one Ulf the son of Edred sub- 
 sequently to the conquest, so that in this, as in some 
 other cases, the name is not one derived from an 
 original Scandinavian colonist, many of the Northmen 
 resident in the district appearing to have received 
 
35 
 
 grants on the division of Cumberland by the followers 
 of Ranulph de Meschines. In Iceland this word ap- 
 pears to occur sometimes in an independent form, two 
 farms mentioned in the Landnamabok being called 
 simply A. 
 
 Land is in itself a term eq\ially Anglo-Saxon an d 
 Scandinavian. But in a great number of cases the 
 compounds in which it occurs show it to be Scandina- 
 vian, The following are instances of names the same 
 in our district as in Norway : — 
 
 ENGLISH LAKE DISTRICT. NORWAY. 
 
 Natland 
 
 Natland 
 
 Morland 
 
 Morland 
 
 Langlands 
 
 Langeland 
 
 Lylands 
 
 Lilleland 
 
 Byglands 
 
 Bygland 
 
 Rylands 
 
 Byland 
 
 Rusland 
 
 Rusland 
 
 Garlands 
 
 Gartland 
 
 Rylands and Byglands derive their names from the 
 produce of the land, rye and bigg^ the latter a provin- 
 cial term still in use for a sort of barley. Lylands is 
 so called from the provincial term tile, little, corres- 
 ponding with the Danish lUle. Garlands signifies land 
 protected by a fence. Old Norse gardr, a fence ; and 
 Natland is from Old Norse naut, Dan. nod^ horned 
 cattle. 
 
 Some of the compounds in which it occurs appear to 
 be rather Anglo-Saxon, as Threaplands — from Anglo- 
 Saxon threapmn, provincial threap, to dispute, contend, 
 referring to the quarrels or law-suits of which the pro- 
 perty has been the subject. 
 
 Earth, Old Norse jord, Anglo-Saxon earth, occurs 
 
36 
 
 sometimes in the sense of a farm or estate — a sense 
 more particularly Scandinavian. Thus we have Hawk's 
 Earth — the farm or property of a Northman named 
 Hauk. 
 
 Thwaite. Norwegian thveU, Dan. tved. This is one 
 of the most characteristic terms of our district, occur- 
 ring the most frequently in Cumberland, which has 
 about a hundred names in which it appears, being also 
 very common in Westmoreland, becoming scarce as we 
 advance into Yorkshire, and ceasing altogether when 
 we arrive at the more purely Danish district of Lin- 
 >^olnshire. This, however, we may attribute in part to 
 the meaning of the word, which signifies a piece of land 
 cleared in a forest. We may suppose the flat country 
 of Lincolnshire and Yorkshire to have been already 
 very much cleared of wood before the arrival of the 
 Northmen, while the mountain country of Cumberland 
 and Westmoreland was long afterwards covered with 
 dense forests. But still, if this were the sole cause, we 
 should scarcely expect to find the difierence so great as 
 it actually is, and I am therefore disposed to consider 
 this word as of Norwegian rather than of Danish 
 origin. It may be objected that in the purely Norwe- 
 gian districts of the North of Scotland it is almost 
 altogether wanting. But for this we must seek an 
 explanation in Noi'way itself, and we shall find that 
 there, as here, it is confined exclusively to a certain 
 district, viz., the south-west of the peninsula, where it 
 is exceedingly common, while in the south it is alto- 
 gether wanting. The former is that particular district 
 of Norway from which I have supposed our settlers to 
 have proceeded, while the latter may probably be that 
 from which those of the North of Scotland were more 
 f 0c^^p^ particularly derived. 
 
37 
 
 The name of the original settler or clearer is natu- 
 rally one of very frequent occurrence. We have Burn- 
 thwaite, Hallthwaite, Harrowthwaite, Linethwaite, 
 Ormathwaite, Lockthwaite, Stangerthwaite, Tulli- 
 thwaite, and Finsthwaite,'— rthfe^ last most appropriately 
 ]^ftC8d\in^tislaii(i. In these we trace the Scandina- 
 vian proper names, Bibm, Hallr, Harald, Lina, Ormr, 
 Loki, Stangar, Tuli, and Finni. In an ancient charter 
 of Shap Abbey we find Siggethwaite, from Sigge, a title 
 of Odin, " the victorious," whence Sigtun in Sweden, 
 but in this case more probably derived from the same 
 word as a proper name. 
 
 The nature of the crop produced has also in some 
 cases given the title to the place, as in Beanthwaite, 
 Haverthwaite, Brackenthwaite, and Applethwaite, 
 upon which last the author of one of the lake glossaries, 
 containing otherwise many judicious etymologies, has 
 wasted some ingenuity in deriving it from ea, Ang.- 
 Sax., "water," and p^ll, Celtic, "water." We have 
 also Apple-tree Thwaite, which on the above principle 
 would require to be eked out with the Cornish tre. 
 Rounthwaite is probably from the rowan or roan-tree, 
 the mountain ash, which, when the owner cleared the 
 ground, would be spared by reason of its sacred charac- u 
 ter, and as a protection to the dwelling. '* 
 
 Among the names corresponding in our district and 
 in Norway we have — 
 
 ENGLISH LAKE DISTRICT. NORWAY. 
 
 Birkthwaite Birkethvet 
 
 Micklethwaite Myklethvet 
 
 Braithwaite Braathveit 
 
 Seathwaite Sjothveit 
 
 Applethwaite Eplethvet 
 
38 
 
 ENGLISH LAKE DISTRICT. NORWAY. 
 
 Branthwaite Brandsthveit 
 
 Birthwaite Borthveit 
 
 Ruthwaite or 
 
 Rughthwaite Rugthveit 
 
 Ridding, Rudding, is from Old Norse rydia, Ang.- 
 Sax. riddaUy to rid or clear. In the sense of cutting 
 down trees, the word appears to be Scandinavian 
 rather than Anglo-Saxon. Ridding implies a more 
 general clearing than thwaite, which signifies simply a 
 piece of land cleared, for the purpose of habitation or 
 agriculture, in the midst of a forest. 
 
 Side, Old Norse sida, Ang.-Sax. side, appears to 
 be used in the sense of a settlement, or what the 
 Americans would call a " location." Hence it is in 
 most cases coupled with a proper name, as in Askel- 
 side, Amside, Kettleside, Ormside, Rampside, Swine- 
 side, Silverside, Wrenside, from the Scandinavian pro- 
 per names Askel, Arni, Ketil, Ormr, Rempi, Sveinn, 
 Solvor, and Hrani. We have also Yarlside, from Old 
 Norse jcirl, whence English " earl," and Ambleside, 
 formerly Hamelside, from Hamil, a Scandinavian pro- 
 per name. The place is still called locally Amelside, 
 Ravensworth in "Westmoreland, according to Nicholson 
 and Burns, is called by the " common people" Raven- 
 side, which is probably the true form — Rafii being a 
 Scandinavian proper name and " worth" a pure Anglo- 
 Saxon term of which scarcely an example is to be found 
 in the district. 
 
 Skew, Old Norse sk&, signifies a crooked or twisted 
 place, Dan. skicev, crooked. We have Scalesceugh from 
 skali, a booth or hut, or from Skal, a proper name ; 
 Bamskew, from the proper name of Barna j and 
 
39 
 
 Scalderskew, from skdUd, a poet, but in this case pro- 
 bably become a proper name. 
 
 Ray, reay, is from Old Norse rd, a comer. We have 
 Reay, a station on the Lancaster and Carlisle Railway 
 — Dockray, from Doka, a Scandinavian proper name 
 — EUeray, the late Professor Wilson's seat on Winder- 
 mere, signifying " the corner among the alders" (Old 
 Norse dl% an elder) — and many others. It occurs also 
 in the Norwegian districts of Scotland, as in Reay, on 
 the Pentland Frith. 
 
 Having gone through the terms implying simply 
 possession or location, we now come to treat of the 
 divisions or boundaries of property. These consisted 
 sometimes of a river or brook — sometimes of a hill 
 or rock — ^but most frequently of a "gill," or small 
 ravine. Hence the Rotha (formerly Rowtha) and the 
 Rampsbeck are probably derived respectively from 
 Raud and Rempi, names of Northmen, of whose pro- 
 perties the river and the beck might be the boundaries. 
 We have also Ravenbeck and Crumbeck (now cor- 
 rupted into Crummock), from the proper names Rafn 
 and Krumr, and many others. Gill, Old Norse gil, 
 occurs so very frequently in connection with proper 
 names as to show that it must have been a very 
 common mark of division. We have Outh Gill, Becan's 
 Gill, Buttergill, Coalgill, Garrigill, Gatesgill, Hawl 
 GiU, HaUy GiU, Horn's Gill, Hethersgill, Ormsgill, 
 Rampsgill, Sickergill, Stargill, Thursgill, Thortil Gill, 
 from the names Audr, Bekan, Butar, Koli', G^iri, Geit, 
 Hallr, Halli, Horn, Heidur, Ormr, Rempi, Sigar, 
 Starri, Thor, and ThortiL 
 
 When a natural boundary was wanting, a stone was 
 «et up for that purpose, and hence are derived the 
 
40 
 
 names of a great number of places in the district. But 
 as it is in most cases impossible to say whether a stone 
 has been erected as a boundary, or as a baiUa, or 
 memorial stone, I have referred to them in treating of 
 the funeral remains of the Northmen. Sometimes a 
 stone appears to have been placed in addition to the 
 natural boundary, as in Backstone gill, where Bakki's 
 property seems to have been designated both by a gill 
 and by a bouadary stone. 
 
 The terms implying boundary or division are grain, 
 band, and md, which are accordingly found frequently 
 coupled with the name of the object forming the 
 boundary. 
 
 Grain is from Ice. grein, a division, whence Brand- 
 stone grain, the stone forming the boundary of Brandos 
 property. It is a term still sometimes used in the 
 district, as when a valley is said to branch out into two 
 grains or divisions. The " Isle of Grain," at the mouth 
 of the Thames, next to the Isle of Sheppey, is probably 
 formed from this word, being separated by a small 
 stream from the main land. 
 
 Band, is probably from Old Norse and Ang.-Sax. 
 handy a band or fastening, used in the sense of a boun- 
 dary. Thus we have Taylor s gill band in Borrodale — 
 the " gill" which formed Taylor's boundary. So also 
 Millstone band, the stone which marked the boundaries 
 of Mioll ; and Banderson*s band rocks, refening to the 
 rocks which formed the boundary of Rariderson. 
 
 Mdy Suio-Goth rrwi, from the verb mala, to measure, 
 to mete out, enters into the composition of many 
 names. We have Melguards, a boundary fence — 
 Melbeck, a boundary brook — Mealy sike, a boundary 
 watercourse, &c. 
 
41 
 
 We now come to the dwellings of the Northmen 
 themselves, and proceed to examine the various terms ^ 
 applied to the towns, villages, and the isolated habita- 
 tions in the valleys and upon the mountains. 
 
 Tliroughout the plain of Cumberland and Westmore- v/' 
 . land we find the Sarxon ton and hami freely mingling 
 ^""with the Scandinavian hy. Neither ton nor hwm are, 
 however, purely Anglo-Saxon — ^the former being also a 
 Scandinavian term, though not in frequent use, while 
 the latter, in the form of hdm^ is by no means uncom- 
 mon in the Scandinavian north. Indeed some of the 
 names in our district seem more probably derived from 
 the Northmen, as Askham, " the home among the ash 
 trees," which corresponds with the name Askheim, of 
 two places in Norway. StiU, however, we cannot but 
 consider these two words as generally of Anglo-Saxon 
 origin. Of names more purely Saxon, such as worthy 
 fcyrdy &c., so common in the south of England, we 
 have scarcely an example. 
 
 Though ton is common in the plain of Cumberland V 
 and Westmoreland, in the mountain district it is a 
 word of rare occurrence. Nor can this be said to be 
 owing to the fact that we have there rather scattered 
 and isolated dwellings than towns or collections of 
 houses, for the word in Cumberland, particularly to- 
 wards the Scottish border, is applied, in its oiiginal 
 sense of an inclosure, even to a solitary farm house. 
 In the mountain district the word corresponding is 
 garth J which will be treated of in its place. / 
 
 The most common Scandinavian term for a village, ' 
 or collection of houses, taking the district generally, is — 
 
 By. Old Norse hyr, boer, Danish by, Norwegian bo, 
 and bo, from the verb bua, to dwell. This may be 
 
42 
 
 V eonsidered as one of the words which to a certain extent 
 marks the Danish settlements as distinguished from the 
 Norwegian. It is the term most common in Denmark, 
 and in the more purely Danish districts of England. 
 In the plain of Cumberland and Westmoreland it is 
 of frequent occurrence, and as this part of the dis- 
 district had at an earlier period been overrun by the 
 Northumbrian Danes, it might have been already 
 colonized by them to a certain extent at the time when 
 I have supposed the Norwegians to have come over 
 from the Isle of Man. This term, however, is by no 
 means uncommon in Norway, nor in some of the dis- 
 tricts colonized by the Northmen, as the Isle of Man, 
 while the absence or rare occurrence of some of the 
 other terms, more particularly Danish, especially in 
 Cumberland, seems to militate against the theory of 
 any considerable settlement of the Northumbrian 
 Danes at the period above-mentioned. 
 
 This term is frequently found coupled with a Scan- 
 dinavian proper name, as in Melmerby, Gramblesby, 
 Allonby, Lockerby, Hornsby, Harraby, Waitby, 
 Thornby ; sometimes with that of a settler of late date, 
 as E^berby, Rickerby or Richardby, and Botcherby, so 
 called according to Denton's MSS., from one Botchard, 
 a Fleming, who settled here in the time of Rufus. 
 We have also Sowerby, the same name as Saurbaer, so 
 often mentioned in the Icelandic chronicles ; derived, 
 perhaps, from Old Norse saur, dung of cattle, and 
 presenting a not very attractive picture of the original 
 state of our pleasant villages of Temple and Castle 
 Sowerby. Perhaps, however, more probably, both 
 here and in Iceland, from Saur, a Scandinavian proper 
 name. Ireby signifies, I apprehend, the Irishman's 
 
43 
 
 village. So the river Ira in Iceland took its name, 
 signifying the Irishman's river, from a man of that 
 nation who settled near it. 
 
 This word occurs sometimes, particularly in West- ^ 
 
 moreland, in the form of ber, more nearly resembling 
 the Old Norse beer, as in Whaitber, the village of 
 Hvati. 
 
 Thorp, Old Norse thorp, has much the same meaning 
 as by, viz., that of a village or small collection of 
 houses. It is a word which, as much as any other, 
 characterizes the Danish districts as distinguished from 
 the Norwegian. In Denmark it is extremely common, 
 though appearing in the corrupted form of drup, and 
 in the more purely Danish districts of England it is \^j^j„^..cju*J^ 
 also of very frequent occurrence. In Norway, on the ,^j^^ ^ tfcu« 
 other hand, and in the Norwegian settlements, it ?|5vw 
 
 occurs but very rarely. As in Cumberland, also, there 
 is not a single instance, and in Westmoreland but very 
 few ; the word seems to be one which marks by its 
 absence the Norwegian character of the district. 
 
 Of those in Westmoreland we have Hackthorpe, 
 Crackenthorpe, and Melkenthorpe, containing the 
 Scandinavian proper names Haki, Kraka, and Melker. 
 Or Crackenthorpe may perhaps rather be from krdka, 
 a crow — krdkin with the definite article affixed — the 
 crow thorpe. 
 
 Toft, Old Norse toft, topt, Suio-Goth tomt, Anglo- 
 Saxon toft, signifies the inclosure of a house, or of a 
 field adjoining a dwelling. The original form was 
 most probably t(ymJb, from torn,, empty. The con- 
 sonants^ p, and m are frequently interchanged in the 
 Scandinavian languages. Like the last, this word is 
 common in Denmark, and in the Danish districts of 
 
44 
 
 England ; scarce in Norway, scarce also in Westmore- 
 land, and unknown in Cumberland I take it then to 
 be another of the terms which mark the difference be- 
 tween the Danish and Norwegian settlements. 
 
 Garthf gua/rdSf Old Norse ga/rdry Anglo-Saxon ge(vrd. 
 This word, common to most of the Gothic dialects, has 
 for its primary meaning that of a fence or hedge, 
 whence is derived its secondary and usual meaning of a 
 place guarded or protected by a fence. As the Anglo- 
 Saxon form has been softened into yard, so the Scan- 
 dinavian of the north of England into garth, though in 
 many cases it still retains its original form of guard or 
 guards. There is perhaps no word that appears in so 
 great a variety of Scandinavian compounds as this. 
 We have Melguards, from Mdlga/rd/r, " a boundary 
 fence" — Staingarth, steinga/rdr, " a place surrounded by 
 a stone fence" — Skygarth, skidga/rdr, (in Norway sJdg- 
 aa/rd) " a place inclosed by wood palings" — also Garlands, 
 gardlamd, " land surrounded by a fence." We have 
 likewise Gasgarth, gcLsgardr, "an inclosure for geese" 
 — Deargarth, on the side of Helvellyn, dyrga/rdr, " a 
 deer park" — Applegarth, eptegardr, "an orchard" — 
 and Hogarth, Jwgardr, "an inclosure for hay." From 
 this last is derived the name of the celebrated painter 
 who was a native of this district. The term used by 
 the Icelandic writers for a garden is grasgardr, which, 
 in the form of Grassgarth, occurs in one or two 
 instances in Cumberland and Westmoreland. They 
 had also kulgardr, a vegetable garden, whence probably 
 the origin of Calgarth on Windermere. A word in 
 daily use is Kirkgarth, Old Norse hyrkiugardr, "a 
 church yard." And an old charter of Lanercost Priory 
 describes the coops or places for catching salmon in 
 
45 
 
 the Eden by the name of "fishgarths," Old Norse 
 Ji^kegardr. 
 
 In the sense of an intrenched camp we have it in 
 the names of two places in Cumberland, called Cunning 
 Garth or Conning Gurth — "The king's camp," Old 
 Norse konungr, Anglo-Saxon cyning^ a king. One of 
 these, near Wigton is a square entrenchment of about 
 40 yards each way, having in its vicinity several 
 ^ barrows — the graves, in all probability, of those who 
 fell in the attack upon the camp. 
 
 like the Saxon tun^ the Scandinavian gardr acquired 
 the meaning of a town, or place surrounded by walls 
 — ^thus Constantinople was called by the Northmen 
 Myklegardr, " the great city." 
 
 Bow is from Old Noi-se hol^ a dwelling. We have 
 
 Bows, Bowness, Bow Fell, Bowscale Tarn, &c. In some 
 
 cases the change of I into w \& oi comparatively recent 
 
 date, Bowness being called by Leland Bolness, and by 
 
 \ Camden Bulness. The word has also the meaning of 
 
 Via wild beast's den, in which sense it may possibly be 
 
 j used in some instances. 
 
 Scahj Old Norse skdl% signifies a wooden hut or 
 log house. In the lake district, where the trees on the 
 mountain sides naturally furnished the most convenient 
 material for building, the word is of very common 
 occui-rence. As might be expected, it is coupled in 
 many cases with the name of the person who erected 
 or occupied the dwelling. Thus we have Gudderscales, 
 Heggerscale, Thomyscale, and Linskell, from the 
 proper names Guddar, Heggr, Thorny, and Lina. We 
 have also Bonscale, from hondi, a peasant, and Hud- 
 scales, Old Norse hud, a hide, perhaps from the skins 
 of wild beasts laid over the roof as shelter, or nailed on 
 
46 
 
 the sides as trophies. The Old Norse skdl signifies a 
 bowl, which may be the meaning in some cases, as 
 Scaleforce, perhaps in reference to the basin formed by 
 the water. In some other cases, as Scaleby, Scal- 
 thwaite, Scalehill, the word may be derived from Skdl, 
 a Scandinavian proper name. In Northumberland 
 " scale" changes into "shield," or "shieL" 
 
 It may be noticed that 8c (in English generally 
 softened into sh) enters into the root of a great number 
 of Teutonic words of which the original sense is shelter 
 or covering. We have sky, skin, sconce, screen, shell, 
 sheath, shade, shut, shoe, shirt, shroud, shy, shun, 
 sculk, and many others. 
 
 Booth, Old Norse hudy is probably from the same 
 root as by. We have Boothby, the booth village, and 
 Bouderdale, corresponding to Budardal in Iceland, 
 from hudar, plural of hild. 
 
 Cot, cote, Icel. kot, Ang.-Sax. ct)te, signifies a hut. 
 Hesket in Inglewood Forest might probably be a place 
 where horses were kept for the chase — Hest-cot, from 
 Old Norse hestr, a horse. 
 
 Biggen (Old Norse hygging, a building,) is a common 
 word in Scotland and the North of England. We 
 have Newbiggen and Sunbiggen — ^the latter possibly 
 from sunnr, another form of svdr, south. 
 
 Stead, Old Norse stadr, stodd, Ang.-Sax. stede, 
 signifies the site of a building, from Old Norse stedia, 
 to place. It is applied either to an existing building 
 or to the ruined site of an ancient edifice. Thus the 
 place where the Temple of Thor is supposed to have 
 stood near Thursby is caUed Kirksteads. It is also 
 applied sometimes to the place of a grave, as in 
 Ormsted HiU, the grave of Orme, near Penrith. 
 
Honister Ci'ag may probably be a corruption of Hog- 
 nistadr, from the proper name of Hogni. This I sup- 
 pose from the frequency with which stadr has been 
 corrupted into ster in the Norwegian part of Scotland. 
 
 Dacre or daker may perhaps be derived from Old 
 Norse ddlkar, plural of ddlkr, of which the original 
 meaning is that of the back-bone of an animal, to 
 which the ribs are fastened. Hence the present mean- 
 ing, which I take to be that of the columns or posts 
 sustaining the frame-work of a log-house. We have 
 Dacre, Dakers, and Daker-stead — the first-named, 
 which is situated about five miles from Penrith, being 
 the place which has given the name to the family of 
 Dacre. The tradition that it was derived from the 
 exploits of one of the family at the siege of Acre, by 
 which he acquired the surname of d'Acre, seems to me 
 to be destitute of all probability. Like most of the 
 families of the district, the Dacres no doubt took their 
 name from the place, Dacre, where they were settled. 
 And the name of that place dates as far back as the 
 time of Athelstane, in whose reign a congress was held 
 here. Its present Norman spelling arises no doubt 
 from the manner in which it is entered in the Domes- 
 day book. 
 
 The above etymology of this word must be under- 
 stood as somewhat conjectural. 
 
 Seat is from the Old Norse setr^ signifying primarily 
 a seat or dwelling, but applied usually to an abode upon 
 the side of a mountain. The Norwegian seter is a 
 pasture upon a mountain side, to which, as it is often 
 at a considerable distance from the rest of the farm, is 
 usually attached a wooden hut, similar to the summer 
 chalets of Switzerland, for the temporary residence of 
 
48 
 
 the herdsmen. The more accessible character of our 
 mountains of course renders any such arrangement 
 unnecessary, and the " seat" is usually a farm house on 
 the lower slope of the mountain, with a right of pasture 
 above, and the rest of the farm around. 
 
 In many cases, both here and in Norway, it is coupled 
 with the name of the original owner, as in Seatallan, 
 Seat Robert in our district — Ellanseter, Thorset, and 
 Ulvset, in Norway. 
 
 In most instances, however, with us the name has 
 become that of the mountain itself, but a sufficient num- 
 ber remain to show the original meaning of the word. 
 Thus we have Seatoller, " the seat of Oiler," a small 
 hamlet near the black-lead mine in the upper part of 
 Borrodale. The mountain itself is called Seatollar 
 Fell, but there is another mountain called simply Sea- 
 tollar, which no doubt was also called originally Sea- 
 tollar Fell. 
 
 Sd. Old Norse and Ang.-Sax. sd. Suio-Goth sal. 
 
 This word, in the former of these two languages, has 
 
 much the same meaning as the foregoing, but in the 
 
 latter appears to have been used more in the general 
 
 sense of a " seat,*' or mansion. The few cases in which 
 
 it occurs in our district scarcely enables us to ascertain 
 
 the precise sense in which it was used, but some of the 
 
 words, such as Selside pike. Black Sail, and Sale Fell, 
 
 seem to imply rather the former or Scandinavian 
 
 meaning. 
 
 / Cove, I take to be from Old Norse^ kofi, another of 
 
 P:\l^ / the many terms for a shepherd's hut upon the moun- 
 
 fjU \ tains. Red Cove and Kepple Cove are both probably 
 
 \ derived from proper names. 
 
 Galef Old Norse geilf signifies a place situated in the 
 
49 
 
 liollow of a hill, or the comer of a ravine. It appears 
 to be allied to " gill," a ravine. We have Gale garth, 
 Gale hows. Gale barns, <fec., also Thomeygale, from 
 Thomey, a proper name. In Iceland we have Grettis- 
 geil, from Gretter, a proper name. 
 
 Laith, Ice. hlada^ a barn, from Old Norse hlada, to OtV^^ k o^j^- 
 store or heap up, occurs in the names of many places, ^ (J^j.'-* >'* 
 and is still in use in the district. 
 
 Gate, Old Noi*se gata, signifies a road, also the 
 street of a town. It is stHl retained in the Swedish gat 
 or gojta, but in Denmark and Norway has passed into 
 gade. In all the old towns of Scotland and the North 
 of England this word occurs very frequently in the 
 names of streets, but in some of those in Yorkshire the 
 word " street" has, lq defiance of etymology, been added 
 to it. Throughout Cumberland and Westmoreland it 
 also occurs very commonly in the sense of a road or 
 way ; and is not unfrequently joined with a proper 
 name, as Clappersgate, Mainsgate, and HoUowgate, 
 probably from the names Klappi, Mani, and Oiler. 
 So in Iceland we have Bardargata from Bardi, a proper 
 name. 
 
 Street f Old Norse strceti, Ang.-Sax. street j occurs in 
 the sense of a road or way. Thus the mountain High 
 Street takes its name from the Boman road carried 
 over its summit at the height of 2,700 feet above the 
 sea. Some discussion took place a few years ago in 
 Notes and Queries as to whether the name Finkle street, 
 so common in the towns in the North of England, is 
 derived from the Scandinavian vinkel, a corner, or from 
 fenkel, fennel, supposed to be grown in the gardens of 
 neighbouring cod vents. There are two reasons which 
 render probable the former of these suppositions ; a 
 
50 
 
 corner street in Christiania is called Vinkel gade, and 
 a road which passes by the corner of Derwentwater Ls 
 called Finkle street. 
 
 Fort, Ice. and Ang.-Sax. port, signifies the gate of a 
 town. This is the ordinary Scandinavian sense, but 
 not the usual Anglo-Saxon meaning, which is that of 
 a harbour. The gates of Copenhagan are called Norre- 
 port, Yest-port, " North-gate," " West-gate," <fec. And 
 an old postern gate of Carlisle was always called " The 
 Sally-port." The late Mr. Just, of Bury, also gives to 
 this word the meaning of a fortified passage over a 
 ford. 
 
 Skans, Ice. a fort, occurs in the name of Scandale, 
 near the old camp at the head of Windermere. This 
 is a derivation suggested by the author of the glossary 
 in Black's guide. 
 
 Stock, Old Norse stockr, Ang.-Sax. stoc, a stick, 
 signifies a place protected by a stockade. We have 
 Stockholme, Brunstock, Linstock, Greystock, &c. Lye 
 has stoc, Ang.-Sax., a place, but it may be a question 
 whether the above is not the original meaning of the 
 term both in the North and in the South of England. 
 
 Wark, is from Old Norse virki, a fortification. 
 Warcop, as suggested by the anonymous writer in the 
 '* Kendal Mercury," is probably derived from the above 
 and Old Norse op or hop, a place of refuge. Bum's 
 Wark is the name of a hill in Dumfriesshire, so called 
 from a Roman fort upon its summit, which, judging by 
 the name, seems to have been occupied subsequently 
 either by a Northman called Biom, or in still later 
 times by a Scotchman named Bums, a name derived, as 
 I take it, from the Scandinavian name of Biorn. 
 
 Before concluding this chapter it may not be out of 
 
51 
 
 place to refer to the holmegang or duel of the North- V 
 men, of which we may perhaps find a trace in some of 
 those ancient monuments still remaining in the district, 
 and of which the use has long been a puzzle to anti- 
 quaries. This species of single combat was, as its name 
 implies, originally held in a " holme" or island, but in 
 inland situations a place artificially enclosed was of 
 necessity substituted for the purpose. Hence is sup- 
 posed to have been the origin of some of the quad- 
 rangular inclosures found in Denmark and other Scan- 
 dinavian countries.* And it seems to me not impro- 
 bable that this may have been the purpose to which 
 the circular inclosure near Penrith, called "Arthur's 
 ^O^'Rm^" may have been applied. Among the various 
 uses suggested by antiquarians is that of a place for 
 holding tournaments, for which it is manifestly too 
 small, though well adapted for the purpose of the 
 holmegang. This, however, is of course nothing more 
 than conjecture. It is probable that the Norwegian 
 " duel of the girdle," practised up to the beginning of 
 the last century, and in which the combatants were 
 still more efiectually secured from running away by 
 being buckled together by a girdle round their waists, 
 and then left to fight it out with their knives, may 
 have been a relic of the ancient holmegang. But in 
 this case the ferocity of the old Sea-kings seems to 
 have sufiered anything but a mitigation. For, whereas 
 it was a law of the old holmegang that the swords of 
 the combatants should be of equal length, the regula- 
 tions of the " duel of the girdle" were such as to give 
 the longest blade to the strongest arm — each man, be- 
 
 * See " Griide to Northern Archaeology," by Lord Ellesmere. 
 
52 
 
 fore commencing, striking his knife with all his force 
 into a block of wood, and that part of the blade not 
 buried being then carefully bound round with leather 
 thongs. 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 8EPTTLCHEAL EEMAIN8 OP THE NORTHMEN. 
 
 We might naturally expect to find, not only in the 
 names of places, but also in the remains actually exist- 
 ing, many traces of the burial-places of the Northmen. 
 For the rude cairn, the simple mound, and the unhewn 
 memorial stone survive when the more artificial records 
 of man's occupation have long been swept away. And 
 this, too, is more particularly the case from the feeling 
 which prompted the Scandinavian Vikings to erect 
 their tombs upon high and conspicuous situations, in 
 order that all who passed by might be reminded of 
 their name and of their achievements. Hence they 
 have in many cases been placed in situations where 
 they have escaped, if not altogether, at least for a 
 longer period, the hand of agricultural improvement. 
 Mr. Worsaae has observed, that "to the ancient North- 
 man it was evidently an almost insufierable thought 
 to be buried in a confined or remote corner, where 
 nobody could see his grave, or be reminded of his 
 deeds. The greater chief a man was the more did he 
 desire that his * barrow' should be high and uninclosed, 
 so that it might be visible to all who travelled by land 
 and by sea. United with this desire to live in the 
 memory of posterity, the Viking certainly also indulged 
 the secret belief that his spirit or ghost would at times 
 arise from the barrow to look out upon that beloved 
 
54 
 
 sea, and to refresh itself, after the gloomy closeness of 
 the grave, with the cool breezes which play upon its 
 bosom." 
 
 Hence an appropriate spot would be the island close 
 to the main-land at the extremity of Fumess, which, 
 from its name, " Old Barrow Island," would seem to 
 have been a favourite resting-place of the Northmen. 
 But the island has been long under cultivation, and 
 few or no traces remain of the graves from which it has 
 derived its name. Fumess itself is called in the 
 Domesday survey " Hougun," probably from Old Norse 
 haugr, a grave mound. At the furthest point of Cum- 
 berland stands Hodbarrow, the grave of Oddi, in a 
 situation overlooking the estuary of the Duddon ; just 
 such a place as the Northmen loved. There are a few 
 other nameless barrows along the shore, one of which, 
 near Maryport, tradition still points out as the grave of 
 a king. Inland, hills already existing were generally 
 selected for the purpose, in most cases in conspicuous 
 situations, and frequently of considerable elevation. 
 >«• Not a few of these still hand down, after the lapse of 
 so many ages, the name of the old Yiking who sleeps 
 upon their summit. For it was in accordance with 
 the practice of the Northmen to give the name of the 
 departed chief not only to the mound in which he was 
 buried, but also in many cases to the valley or plain 
 in which it was situated. Upon many of the lower 
 heights which encircle our beautiful lakes the Viking 
 has reared his tomb — from the summit of Silver How 
 an old chieftain looks down upon the lowly grave of 
 "Wordsworth ; and the tourist, as he climbs upon 
 Butterlip How, a favourite site for a survey of the 
 lovely plain of Grasmere, treads over the ashes of a 
 
55 
 
 once nimble-footed Northman. We might almost 
 imagine, in the stillness of a summer eve, the ghosts 
 of those grim old warriors, seated each on his sepulchral 
 hill, looking down, as was their fond belief in life, 
 upon the peaceful scene below. Silver How is derived 
 from the proper name of Solvar, while in Butterlip How 
 we find the name Buthar Lipr, (pronounced, as nearly 
 as may be, Butterlip,) Buthar the nimble. There was 
 another Buthar, whose name is found in Butter eld 
 keld, in Eskdale, and who seems to have been called, for 
 distinction, Buthar Elldr, Buthar the old or the elder. 
 We might be disposed to conclude, from the many 
 instances in which we find them associated with a 
 Scandinavian proper name, that those mountains, many 
 of them of considerable height, in the lake district, 
 which bear the name of " barrow," are so called from 
 having been the barrows or graves of Northmen. We have 
 Anglebarrow, Backbarrow, Buckbarrow, Burnbarrow, 
 Battlebarrow, Gowbarrow, Lockerbarrow, Bainsbarrow, 
 Thombarrow, and Whitbarrow, which seem to be derived 
 from the Scandinavian proper names Angel, Bakki, 
 Bukkr, Biom, Beitill, G6, Loki or Loker, Hrani, 
 Thorny, and Hvti. One or two of them, as Buckbar- 
 row, Thombarrow, and Battlebarrow, might be other- 
 wise derived, the last from " battle," fertile, but most 
 of them are evidently from Scandinavian proper names. 
 It is probable that in some eases these have been graves 
 of Northmen, as upon Whitbarrow, for instance, was 
 formerly a circle of stones, now removed, such as it will 
 be shewn in a subsequent part of this chapter the 
 Northmen were accustomed to erect upon, or around 
 their graves. But in many cases there is no appearance 
 of any sepulchral remains, and as "barrow," (Old Norse 
 
 / 
 
56 
 
 ^ herg, Anglo-Sax. beorh,) signifies in its primary sense 
 simply a mountain or hill, the proper name may be 
 attached to it in the same sense as that in which some 
 of the " fells" also bear Scandinavian proper names. 
 
 With more certainty we trace the meaning of the 
 word "how" to be in many cases, if not invariably, 
 that of a sepulchral hilL The Old Norse haugr 
 appeal's not to have been confined exclusively to an 
 artificial mound, but the verb hauga, to heap up, from 
 which it is derived, seems to show that such was at all 
 events its primary meaning. Many of our " hows" are 
 coupled with a Scandinavian proper name, and in some 
 cases actual examination has shown them to be graves of 
 Northmen. We have Blackhow, Brownhow, Bull How, 
 Bought How, Broad How, Com How, Oropple How, 
 Flake How, Gunner's How, Hund How, Kemp How, 
 Kitt's How, Lowdenhow, formerly Lodenhow, Lamb 
 How, Ott's How, Redhow, Scoathow, Silver How (2), 
 Souty How, Scale How, Tanner How, Thorny How, 
 Toi'penhow, Whelphow, Whitehow, and Wad's How, 
 in which, with more or less certainty, we trace the 
 proper names Blaka, Bruni, Boll, Bot, Breid or Broddr, 
 Korni, Kroppi, Floki, Gunnar, Hundi, Kempi, Kott, 
 Lodinn, Lambi, Oddr,^ Bod, Sktita, Solvar, Soti, Skal, 
 Tanni, Thorny, Thorping, ffialp, Hviti, and Vadi. 
 Also Butterlip How, as before mentioned, from the 
 name of Buthar Lipr. We have likewise Yardliow, 
 probably from Old Norse jarda, to bury, and a place 
 called Jordans, perhaps from Old Norse ^arc^aw, burial. 
 In many cases instead of "how" we have "hill," 
 as in Grim's Hill, Holbom Hill (2), Beacon Hill, 
 
 (1) Or Otr, a name recently discovered on a runic inscription in the 
 Isle of Man. 
 
57 
 
 Buraey HiU, Butter HUl, Amber HiU, Airey HiU, 
 Grimer HiU, Hunger Hill, Mill Hill, Meldon HiU, 
 Roe HiU, and Silver HiU, from the names Grimr, 
 Halbiom, Bekan, Birna, Buthar, Ambar, Ari, Grimar, 
 Hunger, MioU, Meldun, Hroi, and Solvar. We have 
 also Rose HiU, which, as I take it, has nothing to do 
 with roses, but is properly Roe's Hill, the same as one 
 of the above, from the Old Norse name Hr6i, whence 
 Dan. Roe, as in Roeskilde, and Eng. Rowe and Roe. 
 Hr6i signifies a king, chief, warrior, being cognate 
 with " hero," and probably, as Haldersen suggests, the 
 origin of the French roi. But the EngUsh Roe is best 
 known as the hero of a very unromantic legal fiction. 
 These names do not necessarily show the places to have 
 been graves, as some of them may have been places of 
 residence, but in the case of two of the above, Beacon 
 HUl and MiU HUl, which were some time since ex- 
 plored, the result of the examination was such as to 
 prove them to be so. Holbom Hill is the same name 
 as that of one of the great thoroughfares of London — 
 could it have been the case that in the days when 
 infant London stiU clung close to the side of its mother 
 Thames, some old Scandinavian Yiking gathered up 
 the earth outside the town into a mound, Uttle thinking 
 what an eternal nuisance he was about to make, and 
 what a noisy grave he was to have ? 
 
 Upon the top of the sepulchral mound, and covering 
 the place where the body was laid, it was sometimes 
 the practice of the Northmen, instead of a forced heap 
 of earth, to erect a cairn or pUe of stones, caUed in the 
 district a " raise," from the Old Norse reysa. Many 
 of the mountains of our district take their names from 
 such a cairn or pUe of stones, as High Raise, White 
 
 / 
 
 r 
 
/ 
 
 5S 
 
 Raise, (fee, but the pile of stones might not necessarily 
 in all cases be erected with a funereal intention. In 
 Nicholson and Burn's history of Cumberland we read 
 that "at a place called Spying How, in Troutbeck, 
 there was a heap of stones called ' the raise,' which the 
 inhabitants took away to make their fences withal, and 
 found therein a chest of four stones, one at each side, 
 and one at each end, full of dead men's bones.'* This 
 was probably one of the burial places of the Northmen, 
 though the terms "how" and "raise" do not in them- 
 selves conclusively prove the Scandinavian origin of 
 the grave. For the Northmen would naturally give 
 their own names to all sepulchral remains which they 
 might find already existing — thus the heap of stones 
 over the grave of the British king Dunmail is called 
 by the Scandinavian name of " raise," the Celtic term 
 for such a pile being " cairn." 
 
 But when we find — as in so many cases we do — the 
 sepulchre actually bearing the clearly ascertained name 
 of a Northern chief, we can no longer have any reason- 
 able doubt as to its origin. Such a case is that of the 
 one called Loden How, which was opened, as we learn 
 from Hutchinson, about a century ago, on which 
 occasion two urns were found covered with flat stones, 
 one of which contained burnt bones, and the other a 
 scull of enormous size ; in each urn was also enclosed 
 a small cup. Another of the mounds before-mentioned, 
 viz.. Mill Hill, which the owner totally removed, and 
 by so doing recovered 940 yards of valuable land, was 
 found to contain an urn similar to the above, in which 
 were enclosed two small vessels — one filled with black 
 earth. 
 
 Both these ^k«s»- graves, it appears, that of Lodinn 
 
59 
 
 and that of Mioll, belonged to what Northern anti- 
 quarians have entitled the " age of burning," and so 
 far as we can judge from the partial examination that 
 has been made, so do most of those in our district. 
 The name of Cinderbarrow, which is given to two or 
 three hills in the district, may possibly be derived from 
 Old Norse sindur, Ang.-Sax. sinder, dross, cinders, the 
 substance remaining after combustion, and bear allu- 
 sion to the practices of the " age of burning." But 
 more probably from the proper name Sindur, or Sindri, 
 found in the Scandinavian mythology. 
 
 The quantity of bones found on some of these occa- 
 sions may arise from the practice of the Pagan Vikings 
 to bury along with a departed chief, not only his war- 
 horse, in order that he might ride in state into the 
 hall of Odin, but also in some cases followers or friends, 
 who might either be killed in battle along with him, 
 or voluntarily sacrifice themselves to accompany their 
 lord. The bones of gigantic size may generally be 
 considered as those of the horse, but the scull found at 
 Loden How was evidently that of the chief Lodinn 
 himself. Other remains which have been found testify 
 to the enormous stature of some of these Northern 
 Vikings. 
 
 It would seem from the Icelandic sages to have been 
 a not uncommon thing for one of those daring sea- 
 rovers to be buried underneath the trusty ship which 
 had born him in safety so often across the waves, and 
 which waa placed, keel uppermost, above his grave. 
 One might almost be tempted to think, from some 
 names such as Boathow, Kilhow, and Kelbarrow, (Old 
 Norse kialy keel of a ship, and metaphorically the ship 
 itself,) that a similar practice had prevailed in this dis- 
 
 v^ 
 
60 
 
 trict. But as we learn from Olaus Wormius that the 
 Northmen were also in the habit of making their sepul- 
 chral mounds in the form of a ship turned keel upper- 
 most, or, as he expresses it, " ad magnitudinem et 
 figuram carinse maximse navis regiae," this may account 
 for the names in question, the last of which, moroever, 
 might also be derived from Kel or Keld, a fountain. 
 So also Boathow might be derived from the proper 
 name of B6t, which is probably the same name as in 
 another place called Boughthow. 
 
 Either in the vicinity of the sepuchral mound, or in 
 some other conspicuous situation, if not in some cases 
 upon the mound itself, the Northmen were accustomed 
 to erect a tall, upright stone in memory of the deceased. 
 This was called a bauta-stone, and the erection of such 
 memorials to those who had distinguished themselves 
 in battle was enjoined by Odin as a sacred duty. 
 
 As well as the bauta, or memorial stone, they also 
 frequently erected a circle, consisting of a single or a 
 double row of large stones, round the base or the sum- 
 mit of the sepulchral mound. Of this sort of grave 
 our district is not wanting in examples. We have 
 Ormsted hill on the banks of the Eamont, near Penrith 
 — a circular mound 60 feet in diameter, set round with 
 large grit stones. It is described in Hutchinson's his- 
 toiy of the county, but has, I think, been since re- 
 moved, as I have not been able to find it. This has 
 been, no doubt, the grave of a Northman named 
 Orme, "stead" or "steads" being a common Scan- 
 dinavian and Anglo-Saxon term applied to a grave. 
 In the Landnamabok of Iceland a barrow is some- 
 times called a stod steinn, " stone stead," and^in 
 Modern Danish a grave is called gravsted, while the 
 
61 
 
 name of Horeted, in Kent, is stated by Camden to be 
 derived from the s;mve of Horsa, who is supposed to 
 have been buried there. 
 
 There was a similar mound on Broadfield common, 
 called Souden hill, perhaps from the proper name of 
 Suda, but more probably from Old Norse saudr, a 
 sheep, a term further referred to among the names of 
 mountains. This was about 40 feet in diameter, and 
 having a circle of granite stones set round the top. It 
 was opened in 1788, when there appeared several st-one 
 chests, filled with human bones. / 
 
 The usual term for such a circle in the district is ^ 
 " kirock " or " currock," which Hutchinson suggests, 
 in which I am disposed to agree with him, may be the 
 Old Norse kyrkia, Ang.-Sax. cyricj a church or temple, 
 in the original and primitive sense in which the word 
 was used. In confirmation of this, we have some in- 
 stances in which the word has passed into its present 
 form of " kirk,'' as in " Sunken kirks," the name of one 
 of these circles near Milium, " Kirkstones," the name 
 of another near Gutterby, and Kirkbarrow, the name 
 of one or two hills which have probably had a circle of 
 stones around them. Carrock Fell, near Caldbeck, 
 takes its name in all probability from the circle of 
 stones heaped together, apparently with a religious 
 purpose, round its summit. And there is little doubt 
 that Kirkstone Fell, over which the road passes be- 
 tween Patterdale and Ambleside, derives its name, not 
 from any fancied resemblance which its rocks bear to a 
 church, but from a circle of stones now destroyed, re- 
 ferring in a more literal manner to the original meaning 
 of the word " kirk." Upon Mickle Fell, on the borders ^ 
 of Westmoreland and Yorkshire, is a place called 
 
62 
 
 " Currock-in-Bought," a name in which the circle of 
 stones and the single bauta seem to be brought into 
 connection. 
 
 As to the etymology of the word, it might be from 
 the Celtic ca/rregj (in Cornish carrac), a rock, whence 
 by contraction " craig ;" or from Celtic giracay to form 
 a circle. But the word does not appear to be in use 
 in this sense in the Celtic part of England. And it 
 has moreover a still more significant etymon in the 
 Teutonic languages — Old Norse kera to elect, and reckr, 
 a hero, leader, cognate with Lat. rex, whence rikij rule, 
 dominion. The Aug.- Sax. has also eyre, choice, elec- 
 tion, and rica, a ruler. This etymology, then, would 
 refer to another of the purposes for which these stone 
 circles were used by the Teutonic nations — that of the 
 election of their leaders or kings, and wo\ild appear to 
 stamp it as older than the religious or monumental use. 
 Moreover, the Norse kera, to elect, appears to be de- 
 rived from, or at any rate connected with kerra upp, 
 to lift up — referring to the practice of making the 
 newly-elected chief stand upon a high stone in the cen- 
 tre of the circle, to be seen by all around. 
 
 Presuming, then, the word Kirrock to be the origin 
 of kirk or church, it seems to me to cast more than 
 doubt upon the ordinary derivation of the word from 
 the Greek KvptaKi^. I quote the following account of 
 its introduction, according to the received theory, from 
 one of the most popular works of an elegant and accom- 
 plished writer.* " There can, I think, be no reason- 
 able doubt that * church ' is originally from the Greek, 
 and signifies ^ that which pertains to the Lord,' or * the 
 house which is the Lord's.' But here a difficulty meets 
 
 * Trench on the Study of Words. 
 
63 
 
 us. How explain the presence of a Greek word in the 
 vocabulary of our Anglo-Saxon forefathers? for that 
 we derive the word mediately from them, and not im- 
 mediately from the Greek, is certain. What contact, 
 direct or indirect, was there between the languages to 
 account for this ? The explanation is curious. While 
 the Anglo-Saxons and other tribes of the Teutonic 
 stock were almost universally converted through con- 
 tact with the Latin church in the western provinces of 
 the Roman empire, or by its missionaries, yet it came 
 to pass that before this some of the Goths on the Lower 
 Danube had been brought to the knowledge of Christ 
 by Greek missionaries from Constantinople ; and this 
 word KvpiaKrj, or 'church,' did, with certain others, 
 pass over from the Greek to the Gothic tongue ; and 
 these Goths, the first converted to the Christian faith, 
 the first therefore that had a Christian vocabulary, lent 
 the word in their turn to the other German tribes, 
 among others to our Anglo-Saxon forefathers ; thus it 
 has come round by the Goths from Constantinople to 
 us." 
 
 Now this theory, upon the face of it, I hold to be 
 impossible ; and that it has not appeared in this light 
 to so thoughtful a student as Mr. Trench I take to be 
 owing to his having assumed the fact, and considered 
 only the manner. That even the nearest pagan neigh- 
 bours of the converted Goths should, without adopting 
 any part of their Christianity, adopt their new word 
 for a church, would be most improbable. Why should 
 they ? All nations have words of their own to express 
 their holy places, and a christian term would naturally 
 be repugnant to a heathen. But that these christian 
 Goths should succeed in implanting it, not only upon 
 
64 
 
 their nearest Pagan neighbours, but upon universal 
 Teutonic heathendom — that this word should go forth, 
 gaining over tribe after tribe to its use — crossing the 
 seas, and penetrating even to the inaccessible corners 
 of Norway; and that all alone — no ray of christian 
 light accompanying it — would be a phenomenon un- 
 heard of in the history of languages. And it must be 
 observed that it would only be as heathens that the 
 Teutonic tribes could have adopted the word. When 
 the Anglo-Saxons, for instance, were converted by 
 missionaries of the Latin church, there were no cir- 
 cumstances which would have given them the word if 
 they had not already possessed it as heathens. 
 
 The truth is, I apprehend, that the Gothic word is, 
 in some form or other, as old as the Greek, and that 
 both are members of the same great family the brother- 
 hood of which philology is daily more strongly asserting. 
 Ihre, who has gone into the subject with his usual 
 ftdness, has given the conjectures of various writers 
 upon the subject. Schilter and Koerber derive kirwhe 
 from kiren to elect — the church being the assembly of 
 the chosen — ^this corresponds with the Greek eKKXya-Lo. 
 Diecman and Staden derive it from the Alemannic 
 richi a kingdom — the church being the kingdom of 
 Christ. The manner in which we find what I take to 
 be the Pagan use of the word in our district induces 
 me to combine these two derivations, and to make the 
 religious a secondary use of the word. 
 
 Yet still the word might be cognate with the Greek, 
 for KvpLos a lord (pronounced kyrios), may probably be 
 connected in its root with kera to elect, kerra to 
 elevate. 
 
 Olaus Magnus is of opinion that such circles denote 
 
65 
 
 the graves of a family, and this appears to derive some 
 confirmation from the number of separate chests found 
 on some occasions, as in one of the graves before de- 
 scribed. I should, however, be disposed to think, 
 looking at the apparent meaning of the word, that it 
 had a wider aim — that, while the object of the bauta- 
 stone was monumental, that of the kirock was religious 
 — implying, in fact, the consecration of the spot. 
 Thus, while we sometimes find a grave surrounded by 
 its own circle, in other cases, we find a single kirock 
 surrounded by a number of barrows, to all of which it 
 appears to have dispensed the odour of sanctity. We 
 sometimes find a kirock surrounded by barrows in the 
 vicinity of an entrenched camp, apparently the scene 
 of a battle, in which case it is more natural to suppose 
 the graves to be those of various chieftains who fell in 
 the conflict, than of any particular family. And in 
 some cases, as that of the celebrated Stones of Stennis, 
 in the Orkneys, graves, supposed to be those of North- 
 men, have been placed, no doubt from a belief in the 
 peculiar sanctity of the spot, around one of the stone 
 circles of the older inhabitants. The author of the 
 " Cumberland and Westmoreland Dialects" describes a 
 kirock as denoting not only a burial place, but as also 
 used for a boundary mark, and for a guide to travellei*s. 
 I apprehend, however, that though it might serve for 
 both the latter purposes, neither of them was present 
 in the intention of the pei'son who erected it. That 
 feeling among the Northmen to which I have before 
 alluded, would naturally lead them to erect their 
 tombs by the side of public ways where they would be 
 seen by all who passed, and consequently, though not 
 designedly, they would serve as marks to guide the 
 
 E 
 
66 
 
 traveller. And though it may ofteu be difficult to 
 decide whether a single stone has been placed as a 
 boundary, or as a memorial stone, I am not aware of 
 any grounds for supposing that a circle was ever erected 
 as a boundary, though, as presenting a permanent and 
 conspicuous mark, it has no doubt often been made 
 use of for that purpose. 
 
 A great number of places in the district fake their 
 names from the monumental stones of Northmen, and 
 still preserve the name of the person to whom they 
 were erected, though in most cases the stones them- 
 selves have long since disappeared. We have Raven- 
 stonedale, the valley of the memorial stone of Rafn, 
 also Alston, Dalston, XJlverston, Spurston, Thomey 
 Stone, Angle Stones, Hilderstone, Maires Stone, Stony- 
 Stone, Stanner's Stone, and Otter Stone, probably 
 containing the names Ali, Delia, Ulfar, Sporr, Thorny, 
 Angel, Hildur, Mar, Steini, Steinar, and Ottar. The 
 last-named place, which is by the side of Ullswater, 
 U has, in modern guide-books, been altered, from misap- 
 prehension of its meaning, into Altar Stone. We have 
 also Millstone How, referring to the monumental stone 
 upon the grave of Miollj Yardstone, probably from 
 Old Norse jar da, to bury,* and Sorrow Stones, ap- 
 parently expressing the sentiment which dictated a 
 memorial to one whose name has been forgotten. 
 
 In some of these instances it is probable, as I have 
 before mentioned, that the stone may have been 
 erected as a boundary of land, and not as a bauta or 
 memorial stone. 
 
 * Or from Jord a property or estate, of which the stone might be the 
 boundary. 
 
 / 
 
67 
 
 Some of the larger stone monuments appear also to 
 bear Scandinavian names. Of these one of the most 
 remarkable is that near Shap called Caii Lofts, but 
 neither the object of the structure, nor the meaning of 
 its name, can be very satisfactorily explained. It con- 
 sists of an avenue of about half a mile in length, formed 
 by two pai*allel lines of granite stones placed from sixty 
 to eighty feet apart, and terminating at the south end 
 in a circle eighteen feet in diameter, composed of similar 
 stones. The name of Carl Lofts might be derived from 
 Karl Loptr as a Norse proper name, but as we find the 
 circle near Keswick also called the Carls, the term 
 seems to be applied in a more general sense. Old 
 Norse karl appears to denote a man rather in the sense 
 of manly qualities, as shown in its compounds karlmadr^ 
 karlTnennij vir fortis, karlmenska, bravery. Lopt or 
 loft signifies anything raised or lifted up. Hence 
 Carl Lofts might be equivalent to "the warrior's 
 monument." Or, if we could suppose the name to be 
 properly " Car Lofts," (the only objection to which is 
 the name of "the Carls," near Keswick,) it might be 
 derived from kcera^ strife, litigation, and might signify 
 the tribunal of public justice. A similar origin has 
 been previously suggested for the name of Caer Mote, 
 near Cockermouth. This derivation, moreover, acquires 
 some probability from the name of an eminence near 
 the north end, called Skellaw Hill, in wllich we may 
 perhaps have a reference to the " law scales" or booths 
 erected for the convenience of those attending the pro- 
 ceedings held here. Upon the whole, though the 
 meaning of the name is involved in some obscurity, it 
 appears to be evidently Scandinavian, and the monu- 
 ment itself may, with some probability, be referred to 
 the Danes or Northmen. 
 
68 
 
 Another circle in the same neighbourhood, through 
 the midst of which the exigencies of engineering have 
 carried the Lancaster and Carlisle Railway, is without 
 a name, but the place where it is situated is called 
 Gunnerskeld Bottom, from ketd^ a fountain, and the 
 proper name of Gunnar. 
 
 A third, near Cumwhitton, is called "the grey 
 yawds," from the colour of its stones. This is evi- 
 dently a name of no great antiquity, but the common 
 upon which the circle stands is called " King Harry 
 Common." I think there is not much doubt that this 
 name is derived from the monument, and is from the 
 Old Norse harri or hari, a king, warrior, hero, mth 
 which last word it is probably cognate. Without pre- 
 suming the circle to be of Scandinavian origin, which 
 is somewhat doubtful, the name, along with others, 
 may perhaps be taken as an indication that the North- 
 men looked upon such structures as the memorial 
 monuments of warriors. 
 
 Before quitting this part of the subject it may not 
 be amiss to compare some of the names found in the 
 Scandinavian part of Pembrokeshire. Here we have 
 Butter Hill, Honey Hill, Silver Hill, Brother Hill, 
 Thurston, Thornston, Hubberston, Lambston, Back- 
 stone, Haroldstone, and Amblestone, from the names 
 Buthar, Hogni, Solvar, Brodor, Thor, Thorny, Hubba, 
 Lambi, BaW5:i, Harald, and Hamill, all of which are 
 found in our district. 
 
 There are not many instances on record in which 
 arms have been found in the graves of Cumberland and 
 Westmoreland. In one upon Sandford Moor, in the 
 latter county, which was opened in 1766 by desire of 
 the President of the Society of Antiquaries, were found 
 
69 
 
 — ^besides a small urn containing ashes, and inclosed, 
 as in the former cases, in a larger one — a two-edged 
 sword, rather more than two feet in length, with a 
 curiously carved hilt, the head of a halberd, and some 
 other things not described. About three feet below 
 these, under a large pile of stones, was a square 
 chamber containing a large quantity of burnt bones. 
 This barrow was the largest of four lying close together ; 
 beside them was a " kirock" or circle of stones, and in 
 the immediate vicinity was a square entrenchment. 
 These might probably be the graves of a chief and of 
 his followers, buried on the field of battle where they 
 fell. There is a probability, but no conclusive proof, 
 that they were Scandinavian graves. 
 
 The most important, and in all respects the most in- 
 teresting baiTOW that has been opened in this district, 
 is one at a place called Beacon Hill, near Aspatria, 
 which was explored in 1790 by its proprietor, Mr. 
 Rigg. From its name and its commanding situation 
 has arisen the very natural belief that this hill must 
 have been the site of a beacon. But there is no other 
 evidence of this fact, and as Bekan is a Scandinavian 
 proper name found also in other instances in the dis- 
 trict, and as this was evidently a Scandinavian grave, 
 while the commanding nature of the situation would be 
 a point equally desired in one case as in the other, there 
 can hardly be a doubt that the place takes its name 
 from the mighty chief whose grave it was. On level- 
 ling the artificial mound, which was about 90 feet in 
 circumference at the base, the workmen removed six 
 feet of earth before they came to the natural soil, three 
 feet below which they found a vault, formed with two 
 large round stones at each side, and one at each end. 
 
70 
 
 In this lay the skeleton of a man measuring seven feet 
 from the head to the ankle-bone. — the feet having 
 decayed away. By his side lay a straight two-edged 
 sword corresponding with the gigantic proportions of its 
 owner, being about five feet in length, and having a 
 guard elegantly ornamented with inlaid silver flowers. 
 The tomb also contained a dagger, the hilt of which 
 appeared to have been studded with silver, a two-edged 
 Danish battle-axe, part of a gold brooch of semi-circular 
 form, an ornament apparently of a belt, part of a spur, 
 and a bit shaped like a modem snaffle. Fragments of 
 a shield were also picked up, but in a state too much 
 decayed to admit of its shape being made out. Upon 
 the stones composing the sides of the vault were carved 
 some curious figures, which were probably magical 
 runes. This gigantic Northman, who must have stood 
 about eight feet high, was evidently, from his accoutre- 
 f ments, a person of considerable importance. We must 
 : not argue too closely, from the remains of an age in 
 i which bodily strength formed the principal qualification 
 ^of a chief, as to the general standard of the race, but 
 there can be no doubt, from the remains that have 
 been discovered, that the ancient Northmen were a 
 people of remarkable size and strength.* ^^?y ^^^ "tjT^.f 
 
 * See an interesting article in Frasers Magazine for July, 1853, 
 giving an account of a vast collection of human bones, most of tbem of 
 gigantic size, found in a vault beneath Kothwell Church, Northampton- 
 shire, and which the writer, with considerable plausibiUty, argues to be 
 the remains of Northmen, slain in battle with the Anglo-Saxons. 
 
1 
 
 CHAPTER lY. 
 
 KUNIC IN8CEIPTIOK8. 
 
 The bauta-stone was, as has been before mentioned, a 
 plain upright slab, without ornament or inscription. 
 But as art and civilization extended, and particularly 
 after the introduction of Christianity, these memorial 
 stones began to assume a different character. They 
 were covered with figures and ornamental devices — 
 sometimes surmounted by a cross — and not unfre- 
 quently contained an inscription appropriate to the 
 purpose for which they were erected — the most com- 
 mon form being that which recorded simply the name 
 of the person to whose memory, and that of the person 
 by whose orders they were set up. One of the most 
 important of those in the North of England is that at 
 Ruthwell, on the opposite or Scotch side of the Sol way. 
 It was long considered by antiquarians, both English 
 and Northern, to be Scandinavian, an opinion which 
 can no longer be sustained since it has been discovered 
 to contain a fragment of an Anglo-Saxon poem. There 
 is another at Bewcastle, in Cumberland, which is 
 covered with ornaments, figures, and Runic inscrip- 
 tions. This also is probably Anglo-Saxon ; part of the 
 inscription is unfortunately obliterated, but as I un- 
 derstand that Mr. Kemble is at present engaged upon 
 it, we may expect a reliable version of as much or as 
 little as can be deciphered. Cumberland contains 
 
72 
 
 several others which have simply scroUs, figures, and 
 ornaments interlaced similar to the monuments of 
 Norwegian origin in the Isle of Man. But the resem- 
 blance between the Scotch and Scandinavian monu- 
 ments is such as to prevent us, in the absence of any 
 inscription, from forming any decisive opinion as to their 
 origin. There are but two distinctly legible Runic in- 
 scriptions that have been found in Cumberland, and 
 unfortunately, owing to the peculiar combinations of 
 the runes, and the occurrence of unusual or unique 
 letters, one of them has not as yet been fully de- 
 ciphered, though the main purpose of the inscription 
 has probably been at least surmised. This is that 
 upon the well-known font at Bridekirk, which was 
 rendered by Bishop Nicholson, who supposed it to 
 refer to the conversion of a Danish chief, and the 
 consequent reception of Christianity by the Northmen 
 settled in this district, Er Eka/rd han Tnen egrocten, 
 and to dis men red wer Taner men hrogten. " Here 
 Ekard was converted, and to this man's example were 
 the Danes brought." " That this is complete nonsense," 
 observes Professor Munch, " every one acquainted with 
 Bunes and Teutonic languages perceives at the first 
 glance." Mr. Kemble, in the Archseologia, vol. 28, 
 supplies the following reading : — " Herigar thegn 
 gewrohte Utsel thegn Irmunricys gebrohte." " Herigar 
 the Thane wrought it, TJtel Eormanrics Thane brought 
 it." This interpretation," he adds, " I fairly confess 
 is anything but satisfactory to myself All that it can 
 claim for itself is that it is Anglo-Saxon, which no 
 other explanation hitherto published is." As Mr. 
 Kemble has proceeded on the supposition that the 
 inscription has not been correctly copied, and that the 
 
73 
 
 points ': are not the marks of intervals between words, 
 but the remnants of effaced letters — an opinion which 
 an inspection of the font itself would effectually dispel 
 — the reading of the inscription must still remain an 
 unsettled point. All that Professor Munch has been able 
 to make out of it, and even that subject to some doubts, 
 is, " . . . . me iwrogte, and to this .... me brogte," 
 thus making the font to record the name of the person 
 who wi-ought, and of the person who presented it to 
 the church — ^the name of the person in both cases being 
 undecipherable. The practice of making bells, books, 
 &c., thus tell their own story was anciently a very com- 
 mon one. Professor Munch further adds, "There 
 is certainly a mixture of Anglo-Saxon and Scandi- 
 navian runes, but here at least the Anglo-Sa^on is pre- 
 valent, and what I can make out of it is also rather 
 late Anglo-Saxon in Northumbrian dialect." 
 
 The other inscription — in some respects a very in- 
 teresting one — was discovered during the restoration 
 of Carlisle cathedral, and is scratched with a tool upon 
 a stone in the wall of the south transept. It is about 
 three feet above the floor, and had previously been 
 covered over with plaster and whitewash. Around it 
 are several marks made by the tools of the working 
 masons. I am indebted for a copy of the inscription 
 to Mr. Purday, the architect in charge of the works, 
 by whose quick eye it was discovered. 
 
 The south transept is a portion of the oldest or 
 Norman part of the cathedral which is attributed to 
 William Rufus. During the progress of the restora- 
 tion various other remains of a still more ancient date, 
 as well as this inscription, were discovered among the 
 foundations of the Norman building. Among these 
 
74 
 
 were some crosse^s, supposed by Mr. Purday to be 
 Anglo-Saxon, but which, taken in connection with this 
 inscription, which is unquestionably Scandinavian, 
 may, I think, more probably owe their origin to the 
 Northmen. It would appear probable, then, that the 
 work which Rufus undertook had already been com- 
 menced by other builders. Who those builders were, 
 the stone in question may perhaps assist to deter- 
 mine. 
 
 Dr. Charlton, of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, in a paper 
 read before the Society of Antiquaries at that place, 
 has supplied the following reading, " Tolf(o)hn (ab) 
 PAITA THEKSi RuNR A THisi STAIN," (the letters between 
 parentheses being doubtful.) Not being acquainted 
 with any proper name answering to the first word, or 
 to any part of it, he has suggested that some waggish 
 workman may have inscribed, in allusion to the masons 
 marks around the stone, " Tolf (twelve) ohnar, (idlers) 
 cut these marks on these stones." And though, he 
 remarks, in that case the last word ought to be stainer, 
 plural, and not stain, such violations of grammar are 
 not uncommon in runes. 
 
 The E-ev. J. Maughan, of Bewcastle, in a letter ad- 
 dressed to the Carlisle Patriot, has proposed the follow- 
 ing reading, which in my opinion correctly renders 
 the first word of the inscription, the name of the per- 
 son who erected the stone, though the remainder of 
 this version must be considered speculative. " Tolfin 
 SUNA sALU SARK THIS STAIN." " Tolfin in sorrow 
 (raised) this stone for the soul of his son." 
 
 Taking Dr. Charlton's reading as it stands, and 
 without making any alteration, (excepting one letter, 
 which he himself considers doubtful) I would propose 
 
75 
 
 a different combination of the two first words, as giving 
 a better sense to the inscription, and one in which I 
 think he himself would be disposed to concur. Instead 
 of " Tolf ohnar," I would read " Tolfihn Ar" as a 
 proper name. And for the following reasons. First — 
 such inscriptions ordinarily contain the name of the 
 person who erected the stone, and Dr. Charlton has 
 only proposed a different version in default of finding 
 such a name, which may be accounted for by the some- 
 what corrupted form in which it appears. Secondly — 
 I doubt much whether that old, earnest Northern 
 character was capable of so much waggery as is here 
 presumed ; and particularly, whether, in an age of 
 deep, and to some extent, superstitious religious feel- 
 ing, the wall of a Christian church would, if it existed, 
 be selected for its display. Thirdly — ^the alteration 
 which I suggest dispenses with the necessity of pre- 
 suming a violation of gi-ammar. Though such viola- 
 tion might not be unusual in runes, yet I think — ^with 
 deference to Dr. Charlton's better knowledge of the 
 subject — ^that the substitution of a singular for a plural 
 is one which enters too much into the sense of an in- 
 scription to be likely to occur. Lastly — Professor 
 Munch, of Christiania, one of the most experienced 
 and cautious judges of runes, to whom I submitted the 
 inscription, agreed in Mr. Maughan's reading of the 
 first word. But not being able to make any sense of 
 the intermediate part, he returned it with the remark 
 that it appeared to be incorrectly copied. This I found 
 to be the case, and I have not had time to receive his 
 report upon the inscription as amended. 
 
 The proper name Tolfin, or Dolfin, (for the runes d 
 and t are the same,) is properly Dolgfinnr, compounded, 
 
76 
 
 siays Professor Munch, of dolgr, a foe, and the proper 
 name of Finnr. It was a name by no means uncommon 
 among the Northmen settled in this dLstrict. We 
 find it in the names of places, as Dolfin sty, Dowfin 
 seat, in the lake district, and Dovenby, formerly Dol- 
 finby. And it is a name of frequent occurrence in our 
 early county history. Ar signifies a minister or servant 
 and it may occur here literally in that sense. Or it 
 might already have become a surname, being a frequent 
 one among the Northmen, but I think that the former 
 supposition is, under the circumstances, the more pro- 
 bable. The inscription would then run — " Dolfin the 
 Minister inscribed these runes upon this stone." 
 
 The question then arises — ^who was this Dolfinn, 
 whose name thus appears to be connected with the 
 building of a Christian church % We read in the Anglo- 
 Saxon chronicle that in the year 1092, William Rufus 
 " went northward to Carlisle with a large army, and 
 that he repaired the city and rebuilt the castle. And 
 he drove out Dolfinn, who had before governed that 
 country ; and having placed a garrison in the castle, he 
 returned into the south, and sent a great number of 
 rustic Englishmen thither, with their wives and cattle, 
 that they might settle there, and cultivate the land." 
 As to who this Dolfin was who is here referred to, 
 Ritson remarks,"* "There were several Dolfins, one the 
 son of Cospatric, and brother of Waltheof and Cospatric ; 
 another, the son of Torfin, {Historia de Ucthreda) ; a 
 third, the son of Alward (Monasticon Anglicanum) ; a 
 fourth, the son of Uthred, to whom in 1130, the prior 
 
 * Annals of the Caledonians, Picts, and Scots j and of Strathdyde, 
 Cumberland, Galloway, and Murray. 
 
77 
 
 and monks of Durham granted Staindrop {Leland'a 
 coll). The former seems to be the one here meant." 
 This, however, is rather uncertain, as the Dolfin in 
 question appears to have settled in a different part of 
 the county, viz., in Allerdale Ward, where he received 
 a grant of half of Dearham. Dolfin, the son of Alward, 
 also settled in the same part of the county, where he 
 founded Dovenby or Dolfinby, so called after his own 
 name. Whoever this Dolfin was, however, who 
 governed this part of the country at the time of Rufus' 
 expedition, there appears to be some probability in Mr. 
 Maughan's suggestion that he had already commenced 
 the restoration of Carlisle Cathedral at the period of 
 his expulsion by William the 2nd, and that in the 
 runic inscription in question is to be found a record of 
 this event. A weak point, however, in this theory is 
 that the inscription does not appear to have been exe- 
 cuted in the careful and permanent manner which an 
 event of so much importance would naturally demand, 
 and looks, in fact, more like the attempt of some 
 workman on his own account, to connect his name 
 with the sacred edifice at which he laboured — an act 
 which a man, ignorant and devout, might hold to be 
 not without its avail. In this case we might, with 
 stronger grounds of probability, take the word " Ar" 
 as signifying literally a servant. 
 
 At any rate we have strong grounds for the supposi- y 
 tion that at the time of Rufus' visit this part of the 
 country was in the possession of the Danes or North- 
 men, and that, now become Christianized and civilized, 
 they had already set about the work of repairing the 
 ravages caused by their heathen predecessors. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 \J (/ 
 
 SCAHDiyAVIAN KAMES OF MOUNTAIBTS, &C. 
 
 As I have supposed the more purely Norwegian settlers 
 to have entered chiefly by the west side of the island, 
 and to have in the first instance taken possession of 
 the mountain country, we might naturally expect to 
 find in the names of the mountains, valleys, &c., of the 
 lake district, some of the strongest traces of their occu- 
 pancy. And it will accordingly be my object to shew 
 that most of the principal terms in use in our district 
 have their counterpart among the mountains of 
 Norway and Iceland. We find, indeed, as a general 
 rule that, owing to what Miss Martineau has styled 
 the "conservative character" of mountains, ancient 
 British names linger there longer than elsewhere, and 
 that this is the case to so small an extent in our dis- 
 trict may be accounted for on the supposition which I 
 have before introduced of a considerable, if not a com- 
 plete deportation of the original inhabitants. Except 
 Blencathra, the British name of Saddleback, Glara- 
 mara, and the Pen, a mountain in the Duddon valley, 
 I am not aware of any clearly distinguishable Celtic 
 names. Blencathra is sometimes called Blencarthur, as 
 if derived from the name of the British Prince Arthur. 
 It has also been supposed, perhaps with more proba- 
 bility, to be a corruption of blen-y-cathern, the peak 
 of witches or demons. The term " man," applied to 
 
78 
 
 a large stone, or more generally to a pile of stones v^ ^ 
 erected upon the highest part of a mountain, has 
 been referred to the Celtic maen, a stone, which it 
 is supposed may have been retained by the Anglo- 
 Saxons or Northmen in their own sense of the word 
 "man." But this I do not think very probable, as the 
 proper Celtic term for such a pile would be a " cairn." 
 And, moreover, the ordinary sense of the word " man" 
 expresses a very natural idea, for every tourist must 
 have observed the resemblance which these piles bear 
 at a distance to a man standing on the top of the 
 mountain. In some cases, as that of Coniston Old Man, 
 the name seems to have been transferred to the moun- 
 tain itself, in the same manner as the word " Raise,'* 
 another term applied to a cairn or pile of stones, has 
 become the name of several mountains. 
 
 One of the most common terms among the names of v 
 mountains is " crag," which it is difficult to derive 
 otherwise than from the Celtic, though it is not easy 
 to account for the manner in which this one term has 
 been retained, and in such general use. The names in 
 which it occurs do not appear to be Celtic, if we except 
 Dow Crag, which in Black's glossary is derived from 
 Welsh du black, gloomy. But as it is found in connec- 
 tion with other Scandinavian terms as in Dow gill, Dow- 
 thwaite, Dow Beck, I think that even this is doubtful 
 In all other cases, as in Dove Crag, Raven Crag, Eagle 
 Crag, Helm Crag, Thrang Crag, Crinkle Crag, (Old 
 Eng. " crinkle," a wrinkle), the names are evidently 
 Teutonic. Bull Crag, Wallow Crag, and Gate Crag 
 seem to be from proper names, or the last from geiJt, 
 a goat. Growdar Crag may be from Old Norse goda^, 
 plur, ofgodif signifying primarily a god, and secondarily 
 a pontiff chieftain or magistrate. 
 

 80 
 
 Terms purely Anglo-Saxon are of equally rare oc- 
 currence among the mountains. " Dun," a hill, appears 
 to be found in the name of Dunmallet, a hill on the 
 outskirts of the Lake district. The name is further 
 referred to in a succeeding part of this same chapter. 
 Cwrr^ a rock, occurs in the Great and the Little CaiTs, 
 near Langdale. " Carr" and " scar" are probably dif- 
 ferent forms of the same word — 8 as a prefix being 
 frequently added or dropped. Den, a valley or glen, 
 occurs in Mickleden, and comhy a hollow, probably in 
 Gillercoom. 
 
 The principal term for a mountain, and also that 
 most characteristic of the Scandinavian district, is Fdl, 
 This retains the Old Norse form oi feU or Jiallj which 
 in the present dialect of Norway has, in accordance 
 with a prevailing tendency, been corrupted into Jjdd. 
 The only case in which a similar change can be sup- 
 posed to have taken place in our district is that of 
 Fairfield, the next neighbour to Helvellyn, which has 
 been derived from the Scandinavian faa/r, " sheep," 
 Fairfield signifying " the sheep mountain," in allusion 
 to the peculiar fertility of its pastures. This mountain 
 says De Quincey, " has large, smooth, pastoral savan- 
 nahs, to which the sheep resort when all its rocky or 
 barren neighbours are leffc desolate." I do not know 
 who is the author of this etymology, which has been 
 quoted by several writers, but it appeal's to me to be 
 open to considerable doubt — first, because we do not 
 find any other instance of a similar change into JJdd 
 OT field, or of any tendency towards it — and secondly, 
 because the summit of this mountain is such a pecu- 
 liarly green and level plain, that it might not inappro- 
 priately be called a "fair field." 
 
81 
 
 There is, however, another mountain in the district 
 which I think derives its name with more probability 
 from the fertility of its sheep pastures. This is Souter 
 Fell, which may be from Old Norse saudar, sheep, 
 and would therefore be the same name as Saudfjeld in 
 Norway, and SaudaFell in Iceland, those names being in 
 the singular number, and ours in the plural. This 
 etymology is confirmed by the character of the moun- 
 ta,in, which is peculiarly favourable for sheep pastures 
 The same word is found in some other names, as in 
 Soutergate, the sheep road, Souden Hill, the sheep hill. 
 The latter contains the Old Norse definite article hinn, 
 (in composition inn,) of which the Danish form is en. 
 This article, in the Scandinavian languages, is always 
 added as a post-fix. Hence saudr, a sheep, becomes 
 savdinn, or according to the Danish form, sauden, the 
 sheep. And Souden Hill is therefore the sheep hill. 
 
 Several others of our " fells" have the same names 
 as those of Norway, of which I give examples : — 
 
 ENGLISH LAKE DISTRICT. NORWAY. ^ 
 
 Blea Fell 
 
 Blee Fjeld. 
 Blaa Fjeld. 
 Dun Fell Dun Fjeld. 
 
 Hest Fell. Hesten Fjeld 
 
 Mell Fell Mel Fjeld. 
 
 Oxen Fell. Oxen Fjeld. 
 
 Sale FeR Salen FjelcL 
 
 Stake Fell. Staka Fjeld. 
 
 Roman FelL E-omun Fjeld. 
 
 This comparison serves to explain the meaning of 
 some names which have been hitherto misundei-stood. 
 Thus, Dun Fell has been derived from Ang.-Sax. dun^y^i^ 
 " a hill," and Mell Fell from Gael mod, a hill. These 
 
 F 
 
>H"^ 
 
 !,jt^ " 82 
 
 ;/ I Herivations are objectionable in themselves, as combin- 
 V| ing words of different languages ; but, when we find 
 J \ precisely the same names in Norsvay, it becomes toler- . 
 t ably -ftj^arent that they cannot be correct. Dun Fell ^ 
 may be derived from Old Norse dun, down orplumage)\ . 
 in reference to the feathers left by the birds frequenting)^ 
 the mountain. Or it might be from duna, thunder, but 
 I am not aware that storms are peculiarly apt to gather 
 upon this mountain. Upon the whole, it is perhaps most i 
 probably from " Dun," as a proper name. "We have, 
 however, one name — and I do not know of any other — 
 which seems to contain the Ang.-Sax. dun, a hill, 
 though in a Scandinavian garb. This is Dunmallet, 
 a low, conical hill, at the foot of Ullswater, which is to 
 all appearance from dun-mcU, parley-hill, with the 
 Danish neuter definite article et appended. — Dun- 
 mallei, signifying the parley-hill. Mell Fell may be 
 from Old Norse mdla, an evil spirit supposed by the 
 Northmen to inhabit the mountains ; or it may be from 
 mel, a boundary ; or from mceliy a place of meeting, 
 and this mountain, which is of a conical form, easy of 
 access, and standing alone, may have been used as a 
 place of popular assembly. This seems the most pro- 
 bable origin of the name of Mseli Fell, in Iceland. 
 Souter Fell I have already alluded to. Of other 
 mountains containing names of animals we have Oxen 
 Fell and Hest Fell, Old Norse hestr, a horse. Sale 
 Fell may be from Old Norse scell, happy, a term not 
 unfrequently made use of in the names of places, but 
 more probably, both in this and in other instances, as 
 in Black Sail Pass, from Suio-Goth sal, Old Norse sd, 
 a shepherd's hut, or place of shelter among the moun- 
 tains. Roman Fell might be supposed to derive its 
 
83 
 
 name from some Roman entrenchment, or other work 
 either upon it or in its neighbourhood ; but there is 
 neither any vestige nor any record of such a work, and 
 the historians of the county have supposed it to be a 
 corruption of Rutman Fell, which is not veiy probable. 
 In Norway we find Romun Fjeld, Romun Gaard, <fec., 
 which, as I am informed by Professor Munch, is a 
 corruption of the proper name of Romundr or 
 Hromundr, a name of frequent occurrence in the Ice- 
 landic sagas ; and it seems most probable that our 
 Roman Fell is derived from the same origin. So 
 Romanby in Yorkshire is called in the Domesday book 
 Romundebi. 
 
 There is a Blaze Fell near Hesket, in Cumberland, 
 and also another in Westmoreland, probably so called 
 from St. Blaze, upon whose festival it used to be the 
 custom, probably in allusion to his name, to light fires 
 upon the mountains. 
 
 Berg, Barrow, Barf- — Old Norse Berg, hiarg, Anglo- 
 Sax, heorh, heorg. This term, as before mentioned, 
 occurs very frequently in the form of " barrow," but 
 very rarely in the form of " berg." We have Brown- 
 berg Hill in Westmoreland ; the addition of the word ' . / 
 " hill" showing the term to be no longer understood. 
 Legberthwaite, by the side of Thirlemere, contains the 
 Old Norse logberg, a law-mount. In Waberthwaite, 
 formerly Wibergthwaite, we have the Old Norse viberg, 
 " holy mountain," but it is probably derived immedi- 
 ately from Wiberg as a proper name — that of an old 
 Cumberland family. 
 
 The word at present in use in the north of England 
 is " bargh," which is also found in some of the names 
 of places in Yorkshire ; these, in the Domesday book, 
 
84 
 
 generally appear as " berg." Kennett, MSS. Lamh. 
 renders " barge ' a hoi*seway up a steep hill. This is 
 also the meaning given by Ray to " bargh" as a 
 Yorkshire word, but it signifies properly not the road 
 up the hill, but the hill itself. Hence probably the 
 origin of " Barge-day," the name given to Ascension- 
 day in Newcastle — from the hill which our Lord 
 ascended with his disciples — or from the general sense 
 of ascending. Mr. Carr, in the Craven Glossary, gives 
 the three forms of "berg," "barg," and "barf," of which 
 last we have two or three instances in our district, as, 
 for instance, in the mountain called Barf, near Bas- 
 senthwaite. 
 
 Knot, Old Norse knottr, Anglo-Sax. cnott, Norwegian 
 hnut. This word is of frequent occurrence, both in our 
 lake district and in Norway. Its original signification, 
 like that of the next word, seems to be derived from 
 the round of the knuckles, to which the form of many 
 mountains bears a close resemblance. Hardknot, in 
 Westmoreland, corresponds with the mountain Harte- 
 nuten, " the hard knot," in Norway. In Westmoreland 
 we have also Scald Knot, which, if we could suppose the 
 Scandinavian bards to have been like-minded with those 
 of our lake district, may have been the residence of a 
 Scald or poet of the Northmen. In the same county 
 is also School Knot, probably derived from Skiile, a 
 Scandinavian proper name. 
 
 Knock, Old Norse hnukr, is a word of much the same 
 signification as the foregoing. We have Knock, Kjiock 
 Pike, <fec. 
 
 Knob, Old Norse Icnappr, Ang.-Sax. cncepp, Norwe- 
 gian knah, signifies a rocky projection. We have Knab, 
 the Knab, Knab Scar, <fec., corresponding to Knaben 
 
85 
 
 {the knab) and Napen Fjeld, in Norway. It also ap- 
 pears in the form ofneh, as in Skelly Neb, on Ullswater, 
 Skagsneb, in Norway ; and in one case in the form of 
 '* Snab," in the mountain of that name — Old Norse 
 sndpTy Dan. snabd, a point or beak. 
 
 Knipe, Old Norse hnipr, Suio-Goth Knip, signifies a 
 sharp or narrow ridge. We have Knipe Scar, in Cum- 
 berland, Knipen Borg, in Norway. Our words "nip" 
 and " knife " seem to be allied to this. 
 
 Scar J Old^Norse sker, Norwegian skar, is a general 
 term throughout the North of England for a steep or 
 precipitous rock, and is derived from Old Norse skera, 
 to cut. The derivatives from the Ang.-Sax. seer an take 
 the softened form of shear, shire, share, sheer — the last 
 applied to a precipice much in the same sense as " scar." 
 Thus we say, " the rock went sheer down," i.e. as if 
 cut down. We have in our district Ulsker, from the 
 proper name of Ulf, as in Iceland Einarsker and Svart- 
 sker, from the names Einar and Svartr. 
 
 Scarth, Old Norse shard, is a word of similar mean- 
 ing to the above, derived from Old Norse skarda, to 
 cut. The word " skard," signifying a piece cut ofi*any- 1 
 thing, is still in use in some parts of the north of Eng-j 
 land In Balder scarth. Gate scarth, and Ulscarth, in 
 our district, we have the proper names Balder, Geit, 
 and Ulf, as in Evarskard and Hakaskard, in Iceland, 
 the names Evar and Haki. 
 
 Scarf, Old Norse skarfr, Suio-Goth skcerf, from the 
 verb skarfwa, to cut, appears to have much of the same 
 meaning as "scar" and "scarth." The pass from 
 Buttermere to Ennerdale is called the Scarfgap? which 
 is Scandinavian in both words, signifying an opening 
 cut among the rocks. In Norway] we have Skarven 
 Fjeld (the Scarf Fell), Maastjern Skai-v, (fee. 
 
86 
 
 Scor^ Old Norse sMr, a fissure, a word also allied to 
 " scar " and " scarth," occurs perhaps in the name of 
 Scordale in Westmoreland, cori'esponding to Skordal 
 in Norway, and Scordal in Iceland. But it is more 
 probable that all three are derived from Skorri, a 
 Scandinavian proper name. "Scor" is probably the 
 word from which Scawfell derives its name. 
 
 Scree. Every visitor to Wastwater must have been 
 struck with a remarkable range of rocks called " the 
 Screes," bordering one side of the lake, and which 
 appear to be undergoing a gradual process of decom- 
 position. The description of them in Ford's Guide to 
 the Lakes is as follows : — " On the opposite side are 
 the Screes, which seem going to decay, their founda- 
 tions in the water, and their surface and soil being 
 gone, while immense debris and torrents of rocks and 
 stones cover their sides." There are also rocks of a 
 similar character on the Kirkstone pass, and several 
 others bearing the same name in the district. Now it 
 is evident that we have here a term descriptive of a 
 marked and distinctive feature, nor does an explanation 
 such as that of " scars, precipices," given in the 
 glossary attached to " The Cumberland and West- 
 moreland Dialects," lately published, throw any light 
 upon the meaning of the word. All screes are not 
 scars, and the distinction is clearly made in one of 
 those upon the borders of Yorkshire, a particular part 
 of which is called " Scree Scar." The word " scree" 
 occurs in the provincial dialect of the North as a 
 contraction of screen, which is a machine for cleansing 
 malt, wheat, &c. ; also for separating coarse gravel 
 from fine. This at first I conceived might be the 
 origin of the present word — the rocks in question be- 
 
87 
 
 iug so called from the streams of stones running down 
 their sides like gravel from a screen. A very brief 
 consideration, however, convinced me that the idea 
 was altogether too modern, and the North-country 
 word " screed" then occurred to me, signifying a piece 
 torn or rent off anything, as a " scard" signifies a piece 
 cut from anything. " Screed" is derived from the Old 
 Norse skrida, of which the original meaning is "a 
 fall, as of stones, or of snow, from a mountain." Here 
 then we have a complete and significant explanation of 
 the term, and when we find the word in the form of 
 sJcred, skrede, skredaa, common in the same sense in 
 Norway, we can no longer have any doubt as to its 
 origin. It occurs in that country also in various com- 
 pounds, as Refskrid, from Old Norse ri^a, Northern- 
 Eng. rive, " to tear" — and Skridshol, referring to the 
 cavity left by the fall in the mountain. In Iceland 
 we have Skardskrid, the same word as Scree Scar be- 
 fore alluded to. 
 
 Sty is a word the meaning of which has sometimes 
 been rather curiously misunderstood. The author of 
 the well-written description of the lake district in 
 "The land we live in" says, quoting Nicholson and 
 Bums' History of Cumberland, that the " Sty-head," 
 which is the summit of the pass between Borrowdale 
 and Wastdale head, takes its name from the swine 
 which used to feed there in the summer and fall back 
 in the autumn in Borrowdale. 
 
 This will never do — old writers are not generally to 
 be trusted for etymologies. Siy, Old Norse and Ang.- 
 Sax. stifff Dan. sti, signifies primarily a rough path or 
 track ; secondarily, a climbing or ascending path, and 
 is from Old Norse stiga, Ang.-Sax. atigauj signifying 
 
x<> 
 
 88 
 
 primaiily *' to go" — secondarily to ascend, in both of 
 which senses the word in question is used in the dis- 
 trict. The " Sty-head" signifies then simply " the top 
 of the path — the summit level." 
 A I In many instances we find the word associated with 
 the name of the person to whose dwelling the f)ath 
 
 I conducted. Thus we have Bi-ansty, Manesty, Dolphin- 
 sty, Bresty, and Torfing's Sty, from the proper names 
 Bi-andr, Mani, Dolgfinnr, Bresi, and Thorfing. By the 
 side of Ullswater is Swansty Thwaite, the path which 
 led from the water's edge to the place which Swan had 
 cleared for his dwelling in the forest. 
 
 The name of the mountain Cachedecam, forming a 
 part of the range of Helvellyn, might well puzzle the 
 etymologist, nor would the name Casticand, given by 
 Camden, give him any assistance. But let him enquire 
 its name from the ^dweller at its foot, and he will tell 
 him it is Catst'ycam. Its meaning is explained at 
 once — " The summit of the track of the wild cat." 
 
 In Norway this word appears in its original form, 
 as in Styg Fjeld. Also in Iceland, as in Ketilstig, the 
 name of the mountain path which led to the abode of 
 Ketil. 
 
 StUe. From the preceding word stig, is formed stigd, 
 softened in English into stile. It is used in the same 
 two senses as the former word — ^thus we have the 
 
 I mountains. Stile, High Stile, Long Stile, &c., while in 
 
 ( the sense of a road or path it is not yet obsolete in the 
 
 i district. 
 
 ^ Allied to the above, if not another form of the same 
 word, is steel, Suio-Goth My steep. We have Steel 
 Fell, Steel Bank, &c. 
 
 In Norway this word, like the last, appears in its 
 
 / 
 
89 
 
 original form. Thus we have a mountain called Styggel, 
 corresponding to ours called Stile. 
 
 Stack, Old Norse stacTcr, is a term used in the Nor- 
 wegian district of Scotland to denote a columnar rock. 
 The mountain in Westmoreland called Haystacks, 
 though at first it may have a modern look, is probably 
 an original Scandinavian name, Old Norse heystackr. 
 
 Stake, Old Norse stiaki, Ang.-Sax. stdca. " Tlie 
 Stake" is a mountain on the borders of Cumberland 
 and Westmoreland, and the name Staka Fjeld occurs 
 two or three times in Norway. 
 
 Sticks, Old Norse stiki, Ang.-Sax. sticca. " Sticks," 
 sometimes, but less correctly spelt Styx, is another 
 mountain on the Cumberland and Westmoreland border. 
 
 Stickle, Old Norse stikill, Ang.-Sax. sticd, signifies 
 a sharp point or peak. The two Langdale pikes are 
 called respectively Harrison Stickle, and Pike o' Stickle 
 
 These last three terms are all allied to each other, t^ 
 and have somewhat of the same meaning. ■ ^ 
 
 Pike, Dan. pige, a point, from Old Norse piaka, to 
 pierce, is the most common term for a peaked or pointed 
 hill. Dolly Waggon Pike is probably from the Scan- 
 dinavian proper name Doli Wagen — the surname Doli 
 signifying a servant. 
 
 Ca/ni, Dan. kdm, signifies a crest or summit. We 
 have CatstycaDij Cam Fell, and Black Comb, an isolated /^tmtwSC 
 mountain near Bootle. 
 
 Bigg, Old Norse hryggr, Ang.-Sax. hricg, Dan. ryg, 
 signifies an oblong hill, the original meaning being 
 derived from the form of the back. We have Long- 
 rigg, Latrigg, and others. It is also universally used 
 in the district to signify a ridge. 
 
 Hammer, Old Norse hammr, signifies a steep and 
 
90 
 
 broken rock. Examples — Hammer Scar, Grasmere ; 
 Hammer Fjeld, Norway. In the latter country, as 
 also in Iceland, it is of frequent occurrence, but in our 
 district is only rarely found. 
 
 Lad, Old Norse Mad, a pile or heap, occurs only in 
 composition, as in Ladhouse, Lathell (hill ?), Lad Crag, 
 Latrigg ; in the case of the last perhaps referring to 
 the grave-mounds of which there were formerly several 
 upon the sides of this mountain. 
 
 Break, Old Norse brecka, signifies the slope or 
 acclivity of a mountain, and like tbe last word, occurs 
 only with us in composition. We have Melbreak and 
 Calbreak in Cumberland j in Norway, Lovbrekke ; in 
 Iceland, Sandbrekke and Skardsbrekke, Jamieson 
 explains the Scotch word "break" as the hoUow in a 
 hilL 
 
 Ha/ws, Old Norse and Anglo- Sax. hids, signifies a 
 neck ; also, according to Haldorsen, an oblong moun- 
 tain. It is most generally applied in our district to the 
 depression between two mountains, and hence the name 
 has been given to many of the passes, as Esk Haws, 
 Buttermere Haws, &c. In Iceland it still appears in 
 its original form, but in Norway seems to be sometimes 
 changed into aas, which, as pronounced aws, is nearly 
 the same word as ours ; we find Aas Fjeld and Aas 
 Vand, the latter the same name as our Hawswater. It 
 still appears, however, in some cases in its original 
 form, as in Hals Fjord, which, like Aas Yand and 
 Hawswater, takes its name from a promontory which 
 contracts it, forming a sort of neck. 
 
 Edge, Old Norse e^^, Ang.-Sax. ecg, signifies the sharp 
 ridge of a mountain. Haldorsen says " sum mum 
 jugum montis," but as regards our district the " edge" 
 
91 
 
 is not generally the highest part of the mountain, but 
 is a connecting ridge between the summit and a lower 
 elevation. In the above sense, as applied to a moun- 
 tain, the word seems to be Scandinavian rather than 
 Anglo-Saxon, and is of very frequent occurrence in 
 Norway. 
 
 Every tourist who has made the ascent of Helvellyn 
 fi*om Patterdale is aware that, before coming to the 
 highest point, he arrives at a deep circular basin, in 
 which lie the waters of Red Tarn. Round this basin 
 there are two paths to the summit — one narrow and 
 difficult, (" appalling and perilous," with praiseworthy 
 caution says Black's Guide,) called Striding Edge — the 
 other easier but more circuitous, called Swirrel Edge. 
 In Hodgson's large map of Westmoreland the former is 
 described as " Strathon Edge," called locally " Striding 
 Edge." But, excepting the local pronunciation, I do 
 not see what authority there can be for such a name 
 as this. Striding Edge might be from Old Norse stritay 
 Suio-Goth streta, to toil, to strive. Ihre explains it 
 difficylter progrediy and the example he quotes refers to 
 struggling up an ascent. In this sense the noun strita 
 a summit, seemed to be formed from it. The Anglo- 
 Sax, has also strithj a footpath and strithan, to mount. 
 But perhaps the most natural derivation is from Suio- 
 Goth strida, Ang.-Sax. stridan, to stride — not, how- 
 ever, I think in the sense in which the term is some- 
 times applied to narrow places, as to a chasm called 
 " the Stride," in Yorkshire, but rather in the sense of | y 
 struggling, scrambling, or as the vulgar phrase is, 
 " putting the best foot foremost," which there is every 
 need to do in crossing Striding Edge. 
 
 Swirrel Edge is no doubt from North. -Eng. " swirl," 
 
92 
 
 to revolve, to go round, which Jamieson derives from 
 Old Norse svirra. " Swirl" and " whirl" are different 
 forms of the same word — the Scandinavian languages 
 being partial to the prefix of s, as in Dan. smelte, Eng. 
 melt, Dan. slikkey Eng. lick, &c. Swirrel Edge then, I 
 take to signify the circuitous edge, in contradistinction 
 to Striding Edge, which is the direct path. 
 
 Gap, Old Norse gap^ signifies an opening between, 
 or among mountains. We have Scarf Grap, Raise Gap, 
 Whinlatter Gap, &c. 
 
 Calf was a term frequently given by the Northmen 
 to a smaller object in its relation to a larger one ; it 
 was often applied to an island, thus the small island 
 close to Man is called, from an obvious comparison, 
 " The Calf of Man." It was also applied, as Haldor- 
 sen observes, to a smaller mountain adjoining a larger. 
 Thus we have Calva, a summit in the range of Skid- 
 daw, and Calf, one of the Middleton fells ; while in 
 Norway we find Kalva Berg, and in Iceland Kalfa Fell. 
 Latrigg, another mountain in the chain of Skiddaw, is 
 sometimes called, in the same sense, " Skiddaw Cub." 
 There is, however, one case which seems to be an ex- 
 ception, viz., that of the Calf, a mountain on the 
 borders of Westmoreland and Yorkshire, which rises 
 to the height of 2,188 feet, and was a station in the 
 Ordnance survey. In this case the name of the smaller 
 mountain has probably been transferred to the larger 
 one. 
 
 Dodd signifies a mountain with a blunt summit, and 
 generally attached to a larger mountain. It is a name 
 of very frequent occurrence ; we have Dodd Fell, 
 Skiddaw Dodd, Hartsop Dodd, Great Dodd, Glen- 
 ridding Dodd, &c. The word "dodded," signifying 
 
93 
 
 without horns, is in use in the Craven dialect, and is 
 supposed by Mr. Carr to be a corruption of "doe- 
 headed." The derivation given in Black's Guide, from 
 Old Norse toddiy a limb or member of anything, seems, 
 however, preferable in this case. 
 
 Yoke is explained in Black's glossary as a hill in a 
 chain. This, however, seems rather too general a 
 definition, as it would apply to almost all hills. The 
 word from which I take it to be derived is Old Norse 
 Ok, which is simply rendered by Haldorsen clivulus, 
 convexitas. But as it is no doubt derived from oka, to 
 join, to yoke, it may probably have something of the 
 same meaning as the preceding word — that of a smaller 
 hill joined or yoked to a larger one. 
 
 Tongue, Old Norse tunga, Ang.-Sax. tunga, is a term 
 applied to a mountain denoting its particular shape. 
 We have Tongue, Middle Tongue, and Tong Fell, cor- 
 responding to Tang Fjeld in Norway, and Tungu Fell 
 in Iceland. 
 
 Helm, Old Norse hialmr, Anglo-Sax. helTti, refers to 
 the particular shape of the rock or mountain so called. 
 We have Helm Crag near Grasmere, and the Helm 
 near Kendal, corresponding to Hjaelm and Hjselmen 
 (the Helm) in Norway. The helmet and the shield, 
 names which several mountains in that country bear, 
 were natural comparisons for a warlike people. 
 
 House. There are two mountains in Cumberland 
 called respectively Herdhouse and Ladhouse. This 
 might be from Old Norse hoAis, head or summit ; but 
 as we find Husafell (House Fell) in Norway, it is pro- 
 bable that this may be used in the same sense. 
 
 Gavel or Gable, Old Norse yafl, gabl, is a term ap- 
 plied to a mountain in reference to its resemblance to 
 
1 
 
 94 
 
 the end of a house. We have Gravel Fell, and Great 
 Gable or Gavel. 
 
 HaUin is another term applied to a mountain in re- 
 ference to its supposed resemblance to a particular part 
 of a house. "We have Hallin Fell on XJllswater, while 
 in Norway we find Hallin, Hallingskeid, &c. 
 
 Some of the most common names for a hill or moun- 
 tain, as Barrow and How, are referred to more particu- 
 larly in treating of the faneral remains of the North- 
 men. Also Raise, derived from the cairn or pile of 
 stones erected over a grave, and which has, in several 
 instances, become the name of the mountain itself So 
 also Seat, a very common name given to a mountain, 
 and derived from the dwelling situated upon its side. 
 
 There are some names not comprehended under any 
 of the above heads, and yet including some of the 
 principal mountains of the district. Such is Skiddaw, 
 which has been derived by Dr. Stukely from the Kel- 
 tic yscyd, in reference to some real or supposed resem- 
 blance which it bears in shape to a horse-shoe. I think 
 we shall be able, however, to trace in the language of 
 the Northmen a much more simple and significant 
 origin for his name. The particular characteristic of 
 this mountain is that by which he has been immor- 
 talised by Wordsworth : — 
 
 " Our British hill is nobler far ; he shrouds 
 His double front amid Atlantic clouds, 
 And pours forth streams more sweet than Castaly." 
 
 His characteristic feature, then, is his " double front," 
 and from this it seems to me probable that he has 
 derived his name. Old Norse skidr signifying a sepa- 
 ration or division, and the name being equivalent to 
 " the divided" or " the two-fold" mountain. It might, 
 
95 
 
 indeed, like Skidadal, in Iceland, be derived from Skidi, 
 a proper name, and a, a possession, Skida signifying 
 the territory or possession of Skidi, but the former 
 derivation possesses the more significance. / 
 
 There i^ a class of names common in the district, and ^ 
 which are interesting, as probably referring, indirectly, 
 if not directly, to that great Assyrian Deity, Baal, 
 Bel, or Veli, whose worship, in various forms, extended 
 over almost the whole of the East. We have Hill 
 Bell, Bells, and Green Bells, in Westmoreland ; Bell- 
 hill, near Drigg, and Cat Bells, bordering the side of 
 Derwentwater, in Cumberland. Mr. Carr also men- 
 tions, in his Glossary of the Craven Dialect, similar 
 hills upon the Yorkshire Moors, where fires have once 
 been lighted, as he supposes, in honour of this deity, 
 and which are still called Baal Hills. 
 
 It may be a question, however, whether these names 
 are derived so directly from this source. It was, in- 
 deed, no doubt the case, as Sir E. B. Lytton observes, 
 in his romance of " Harold," that the worship of this 
 deity, though celebrated more especially by the Celtic 
 races, was known also to the Anglo-Saxons and the 
 Northmen. It may, indeed, have been adopted by 
 them from the Celts, but it is more probable that 
 both races brought it with them from their ancient 
 Eastern home. For we can scarcely suppose that the 
 worship of Baal, or the Sun, would be unfamiliar to 
 any nation proceeding from the East, though it might 
 naturally assume the mere secondary place which it 
 occupied in the Teutonic mythology during their long 
 wanderings in the gloomy forests of Germany. A r 
 trace of this worship even yet, as I shall have occasion 
 to remai'k, lingers among the mountains of our lake 
 
 ■'i 
 
9e 
 
 district. But in this case there is somewhat more 
 reason to suppose that it is a relic of that practised 
 by the ancient Britons or older inhabitants. 
 ^ The word from which the names in question are, 
 however, more immediately derived is probably the 
 Old Norse hali^ a hill, and this again is probably 
 derived from, or connected with, Old Norse and Ang.- 
 Sax. hal^ a sacrificial fire, in reference to the fires which 
 used to be lighted upon these hills. None of the 
 names in question shew evidence of a Celtic origin, 
 utiless it be CatbeUs, which might indeed be derived 
 from the Celtic cad or cat, a grove — Catbells signifying 
 " the groves of Baal" — but which is more probably so 
 called, in common with other names in the district, as 
 Catstycam, from the wild cats with which it was 
 infested — CatbeUs signifying simply "the cat hills." 
 
 The name of Helvellyn, the second mountain in 
 England, may perhaps be derived from a similar origin. 
 "We find in Norway the names of Belling Fjeld and 
 Bellingen Fjeld, and the substitution of " hill," (a word 
 both Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian) for " fell," would 
 bring us at once very near the name, the letters h and 
 V being convertible. Or if we take the name of Hill 
 Bell, by adding the definite article we should get Hill- 
 bellin, which by a natural euphonic change would make 
 i Helvellyn. While in the language of the Celts, we 
 have dy a height, according to Bullet — El-Velin sig- 
 nifying "the hill of Baal or Veil" Without then 
 pronouncing upon the exact etymology of the name, 
 there seems a probability that it refers, directly or re- 
 motely, to the wide-prevailing worsliip of this deity. 
 
 It was unquestionably among the Celtic inhabitants 
 of our island that this worship was celebrated with the 
 
97 
 
 greatest importance and solemnity. Whether it was 
 preserved among them simply by the force of their old 
 traditions, or whether its revival in greater pomp was 
 a result of the Phoenician intercourse, we cannot now 
 determine. But it is curious to find in the names, 
 both of the great Carthaginian leader, and of the valiant 
 British chief who each so bravely withstood the Roman 
 arms, the name of this god assumed as a title of 
 honourable distinction. We have it in the Punic 
 names Hannibal and Asdrubal, and the Ancient 
 British Cassibelin and Cunobelin. We have it in 
 Baalam, in the Assyrian Belshazzar, and in Jezebel, 
 the great protector of idolatry in Israel, who so faith- 
 fully fulfilled the promise of her name. Far away 
 among tile hills of the Antilibanus lie the glorious 
 ruins of Baalbec, the temple of the sun, and here, too, 
 his altars were erected, and perhaps his name bestowed, 
 on many a beautiful English hill. 
 
 The worship of this deity was usually celebrated on 
 the tops of mountains, whence the first beams of the 
 rising sun could be perceived. It was attended with 
 similar ceremonies in the various countries in which 
 it was practised. Thus we are told that the Jews, who 
 were unable to resist the contagion of this prevailing 
 idolatry, sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto 
 devils ; and in Britain, too, human sacrifices formed a 
 part of the worship that was paid him. They made 
 their children " pass through the fire unto Baal ;" and 
 so, too, the Britons were accustomed once a year to 
 drive their flocks and their herds through the fire, to 
 preserve them from evil during the remainder of the 
 year. The one had their druids — the other their 
 *' prophets of the groves." And in Britain, as in 
 
 G 
 
 r 
 
 V 
 
98 
 
 * 
 
 Assyria, the name of the god used to be assumed as 
 the title of highest honour. 
 
 But it is not only in the names of places that we 
 ^ have a trace of the ancient worship of Baal ; the stone 
 
 circles are still remaining in many places where the 
 bloody sacrifices to his honour were performed. One of 
 the most important of these is near Keswick, and in 
 the immediate vicinity, says a writer on the subject, 
 *' is a gloomy valley, Glenderaterra, the name of which 
 is sufficiently indicative of the purpose for which, like 
 Tophet of old, it was ordained " — Glyn-dera taran 
 signifying in Celtic, " the valley of the angel, or 
 demon of execution." Near Cumwhitton, in the same 
 county, is a similar druidical circle, and it is a curious 
 fact, that, till within the last few^ years, a trace of the 
 ancient woi-sliip still lingered around these two temples 
 where it was once performed. Both at Keswick and 
 at Cumwhitton the festival of the Beltein, or the fire 
 of Baal, was till lately celebrated on the first of May. 
 Indeed, in some of the mountain valleys, it is still the 
 custom, as Miss Martineau informs us in her guide to 
 the lakes, when any of the cows are seized with dis- 
 temper, to light the need fire and drive the cattle 
 through the flame. And she relates a story of one 
 considerate farmer, who, holding his wife to be as 
 valuable as his ox or his ass, after all the rest of his 
 stock had undergone the ceremony, made her bring up 
 the rear, passing through the fire unto Baal. It is 
 interesting to see how men cling to the performance of 
 ancient religious rites, when the significance of the 
 / n ceremony has been long forgotten. And what a hold 
 i / . must that worship ^ have had over the minds of men, 
 which Thor and Odin have not supplanted, nor the 
 Christianity of a thousand years. 
 
99 
 
 Among the names of mountains we meet with a few v 
 traces of those superstitions of which the Northmen, in 
 common with all the other tribes of Teutonic origin, 
 had an unfailing fund. They peopled the mountains, 
 the forests, and the rivers with a race of supernatural 
 beings, some of them friendly, and others obnoxious to 
 mankind. Of all these the most formidable were the 
 giants who dwelt upon the mountain tops, for whom 
 they had a variety of names, and who are still the sub- 
 ject of many a fearful tale in the Scandinavian North. 
 The name of Rissen Scar in Westmoreland may pro- 
 bably be derived from Old Norse risi, one of the names 
 given to those dreaded beings — risen^ with the defi- 
 nite article appended, the giant's scar. Mell Fell, as 
 before mentioned, may perhaps be from mella, another 
 of these names. But a more certain etymology is that 
 of Scratch Meal Scar — Old Norse shratti, a giant or 
 demon, whence our name Old Scratch, for the devil, 
 and mella^ a similar being but of the feminine gender 
 — these two dwelling together, we may suppose, in 
 unhaUowed partnership upon this dark and rugged 
 rock. 
 
 Passing on to the other terms descriptive of the 
 natural features of the country, one of the most im- 
 portant is Dale, Old Norse dalr, a valley, from the 
 verb dcda, to depress. We have Codale, the cow valley, 
 Grisdale, the swine valley, and Gasdale, the goose 
 valley. Also Mardale, Bamsdale, Baldersdale, Uldale, 
 Hawksdale, and Silverdale, from the proper names 
 Mar, Bama, Balder, Ulf, Haukr, and Solvar. 
 
 This word does not appear to have any connection Y 
 with Old Norse deUa^ Ang.-Sax. dcelan^ to divide, in 
 reference to the divisions formed by the valleys among 
 
100 
 
 the mountains. But the term "dale," a division or 
 portion of land not fenced off from the rest of the field, 
 though belonging to a different owner, appears to be 
 from the above. The word "dalesman," applied to 
 the inhabitants of the mountain country, has also been 
 derived from the same origin, in reference to the ori- 
 ginal division or distribution of the land. 
 
 Slack y Old Norse slakvy Aug.- Sax. slcec, signifies a 
 hollow or depression, but of a more insignificant 
 character than a dale. It is a word still in general use 
 throughout the district. 
 
 Ing, Old Norse engi, Ang.-Sax, eng^ signifies a mea- 
 dow. Mr. Carr explains it as a " marshy meadow," 
 but I do not think that this sense is necessarily in- 
 volved. Mr. Halliwell says "a meadow generally 
 lying low near a river." 
 
 ScoWf shaw, Old Norse skogr, signifies a wood. The 
 word, as still in use, has been softened into shaw, but 
 in many names of places it appears in the form of sco, 
 or scoWy resembling the present Danish form of skov. 
 We have Brisco, Wescow, Flascow, and Scowgarth. 
 
 Withj Old Norse vidr, signifies a wood, and is no 
 doubt cognate with the English word. 
 
 Lund, Old Norse lundr, signifies a grove. "We have 
 Hoff Lund and Hanging Lund in Westmoreland. The 
 former has been previously referred to as having been 
 in all probability the sacred grove attached to a hea- 
 then temple. The earliest mention of it is in a grant 
 of the time of Elizabeth, but the manor of Hoff, in 
 which it is situated, is traced up to the time of Henry 
 3rd. 
 
 Holt, Old Norse and Ang.-Sax. holt, is another com- 
 mon term for a wood, and is stiU in use. It is no 
 doubt coornate with German hdlz. 
 
101 
 
 Hope^ Old Norse hop, is a recess or place of shelter. 
 Hence Hartsop and Harrop may be presumed to derive 
 their names respectively from the animals, the hart and 
 the hare, to which they afforded a retreat. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 /: 
 
 NAMES OF LAKES, EIVEE8, ETC. 
 
 Among the names of lakes, rivers, and other terms 
 connected with water, first in order, following the 
 Northmen in their course towards our shores, comes 
 the Solway Frith. 
 
 The Solway, called in Leland's Itinera the Sulway, 
 appears to contain the Old Norse vagr, a bay. That 
 part of it which runs up into the land, forming the 
 estuary of the Eden and Esk, is called the Solway 
 Frith, from Norse Jwrdr, an arm of the sea. The 
 prefix " Sul" might possibly be derived from svla^ a 
 column, illustrating a common practice of the North- 
 men in settling in a strange country. When steering 
 towards the shore, and uncertain where to land, they 
 had frequent recourse to a species of augury by throw- 
 ing overboard the sacred columns of their temple, and 
 on whatever part of the shore these might happen to 
 be cast up, accepting the omen as a command to select 
 that spot for their habitation. But this must have 
 applied rather to an uninhabited country like Iceland, 
 than to a shore where they might have to make good 
 their footing by force of arms ; in this latter case they 
 must, I apprehend, have been guided by less ambigu- 
 ous principles. 
 
 Another derivation might be suggested from Norse 
 svlla, to mingle, in reference perhaps to the six rivers 
 
103 
 
 which join their waters in this phice. Or it may be 
 rather to the sand brought down by these rivers, 
 which renders the watei-s of the Solway generally 
 somewhat turbid, for this seems to be rather the 
 sense of N. sutla, which is probably cognate with Eng, 
 "sully." 
 
 I remember a servant from the opposite or North- 
 umbrian coast, where the water is comparatively clear, 
 being asked, while staying with a family at a w^atering- 
 place on the Solway, if he bathed, to which he replied 
 rather indignantly that " he wasn't going to bathe in 
 their clarty sea." And to any one accustomed to the 
 clear waters of the Isle of Man, the difference would 
 be as striking as it was to this saucy Northumbrian. 
 
 Silloth Bay, upon the Solway Frith, now the ter- 
 minus of a railway, and destined perhaps to be a place 
 of commercial importance, appears to derive its name 
 from sil or sild, a herring or similar small fish, and 
 lod, a bundle of fishing lines. 
 
 The names of lakes are more uniformly Scandinavian 
 than those of rivers, among which we find several 
 which appear to be Celtic, and a few which are pro- 
 bably Anglo-Saxon. 
 
 The two principal terms for a lake of the larger size 
 are "water" and " mere.'' The latter more resembles 
 the Ang.-Sax. mere than the Noi'se mar, but the com- 
 pounds in which it occurs, and which are mostly 
 formed from proper names, appear to stamp it as of 
 Scandinavian origin. Buttermere is no doubt from 
 the proper name of Buthar, before referred to in some 
 names of places. Windermere I take to be from the 
 Danish name of Windar, found also in Winder Wath 
 and Winder Gill — ^an old family name in the district. 
 
1 \ 
 
 104 
 
 and still by no means uncommon. Rydal lake was 
 formerly called Routhmere, and the Rotha, the river 
 which forms it, the Routha, probably from the proper 
 name of Raud, whence Routh, an old name in the dis- 
 trict. Thirlmere might be from Ang.-Sax. thirlian. 
 Old Eng. thirl, to drill or bore, in allusion to its long cvc 
 and shaip form. But it would be more in accordance \ 
 with the etymology of the district to derive it from a 
 proper name, and as Thurlston in Yorkshire appears 
 from the Domesday book to have been originally 
 Thorolfston, so Thirlmere may be a corruption of 
 Thorolfsmere. Grasmere was formerly called Gres- i' 
 mere or Grismere, as is supposed from the " grise" or 
 wild swine which used to frequent its shores. But as 
 Gris was also a Scandinavian proper name, I think it 
 is more probable that this lake, like most of the others, 
 takes its name from some Northman who dwelt upon 
 its shores. 
 
 The other term for a larger lake is " water," which I 
 think there is considerable ground for supposing to have 
 been originally the Old Norse vatn, and to have been 
 superseded by the Anglo-Saxon word of the same 
 meaning, which has established itself in general use 
 throughout the kingdom. In Denmark and Norway 
 vatn has been corrupted into vairidj which is the most 
 common term for a lake in the latter country j in 
 Sweden it is still retained in its original form. In the 
 Norwegian districts of Scotland it is sometimes cor- 
 rupted into " vat," as in OUevat, " OUer's water," a 
 lake in the Hebrides — sometimes, as with us, changed 
 into " water," as in Helgawater, a lake in Shetland. 
 Now, assuming the above suggestion to be well-founded 
 it would be but reasonable to suppose that in all cases 
 
105 
 
 where the meaning of the word was undei-stood, vatn 
 
 would be changed into " water," which has become the 
 
 word in universal use. But we might stiQ expect to 
 
 find some traces of it in compound words, wherein, from 
 
 its meaning not being so apparent, it had escaped the rfc.^»v, ^'« 
 
 ordinary change. And this we shall find to be the 
 
 case. As in Norway, where in general use it has been 
 
 corrupted into vand, we still find the original word 
 
 preserved in some of the names of places, as in Vatn- 
 
 dale, " the water vaUey ;" so in Cumberland we have 
 
 it in Watendlath, or as it is pronounced locally, Waten- 
 
 lath. This is a hamlet upon a small lake above Borro- 
 
 dale, and is to all appearance derived from the Norse 
 
 vatn-Mada, " the bam by the water" — lath or laith for 
 
 a bam being a word stiU in use in the district. 
 
 like the former word, this is most frequently con- 
 nected with a proper name. In Ullswater, Gates 
 Water, Skeggles Water, Elter Water, and Thurstan/s 
 Water, the last an old name of Coniston Lake, we have 
 the names Ulf, Geit, Skogul or Skeggkall, Eldir, and 
 Thurstan. Ullswater is stated by tradition to derive 
 its name from Ulf, the first baron of Greystock. 
 According to Hutchinson, it was sometimes called 
 Wolf's water, in allusion, as he supposes, to the wolves 
 which used to frequent its shores. Wulf, however, 
 is merely the Anglo-Saxon form of Ulf, and has 
 nothing to do with wolves, further than that it is 
 derived, probably characteristically enough, from the 
 wolf-like ferocity of the first owner of the name. The 
 Norman form of the same name was I'Ulf, the wolf, 
 whence the name of Lyulph's tower, a shooting box 
 built by the late Duke of Norfolk upc>n the site of ^ 
 old castle on the Greystoke property bordering the lake. 
 
106 
 
 It was probably from this property that the lake has 
 derived its name, and here may have been a residence 
 of that first Baron of Greystoke who was variously 
 called by the Scandinavian, Anglo-Saxon, and Norman 
 * residents of the district, Ulf, Wulf, or I'Ulf. It is 
 not necessary to assume, as some of the historians of 
 the county have done, that he was the proprietor of 
 ( the whole of the lake. 
 
 In the same manner Gateswater is also sometimes 
 called Goats Water. In this case also I take it to be 
 derived, not from any goats which used to feed in its 
 neighbourhood, but from the proper name Geit, which 
 signifies in Old Norse a goat. Names taken from ani- |^ 
 mals were common among the Northmen, thus we have ' 
 Ormr, a worm or serpent, from the serpent-like wisdom 
 or subtilty of its owner, Hafr, a goat, Om, an eagle, "^J* 
 and many others. 
 
 The name of Brothers Water has been supposed to be 
 derived from the circumstance of two brothers having a^' 
 been drowned in it. But it is probably merely the 
 coincidence between the circumstance and the name 
 which has given rise to this supposition, for in old 
 maps we find it called Broad Water, and Broader ' 
 Water, and it is most probably derived from the Scan- 
 dinavian proper name of Brodor. 
 
 Crummock Water is a corruption of Crumbeck Water, 
 from the Crumbeck, the stream which supplies it, now 
 also corrupted into the Crummock. It is in all proba- 
 bility derived from Krumr, a Scandinavian proper 
 name, that of Crum, still common in Scotland, or 
 Crumb, occurring, though more rarely, in our district. 
 
 Tarn is the general name throughout the district for 
 a lake of smaller size, and is derived from Norse twm, 
 
 V 
 
107 
 
 verb tdraz, to tickle, to slied teai-s. Flat Tarn corres- 
 ponds to Flad' Soe, a lake in Norway. Floutem, in- 
 correctly called Floutern Tarn, is from Norse J16% a 
 marsh or bog, and Sprinkling Tarn, as suggested by 
 the author of Black's glossaiy, may be the Danish 
 springkllde, a source or fountain. Angle Tarn has been 
 generally supposed to be so called from the good fishing 
 to be found in it. But as we have also Anglestones 
 and Anglebarrow, which obviously cannot be derived 
 from such origin, I think there is every reason to con- 
 clude that all three are derived from the Scandinavian 
 proper name of Angel. Beacon Tarn is from the pro- 
 per name of Becan, and in Talkin Tarn, we may pro- 
 bably have Talkni, another Scandinavian proper name. 
 
 Dvh signifies a pool or piece of water still smaller 
 than a tarn, and is from Norse diup^ dypi, depth, 
 Danish dyh, deep, such pieces of water being often of a 
 depth much more than proportionate to their extent, i 
 The word is sometimes applied to the sea, as in the 
 phrase, " owert' dub," " over the sea." One might be 
 disposed to think that the comparison between the 
 mighty ocean and the smallest piece of water is made 
 ironically, but it is in fact the original sense of the 
 word, just as we say, " over the deep." There are 
 many places on the lakes and flords of Norway in 
 which this word is found, and it is, I apprehend, the ] 
 origin of the name of Dieppe in Normandy, which is 
 probably the same as Diupa in Iceland. As in general 
 use in our district, the meaning of the word appears 
 to have undergone some change, the idea of depth being 
 no longer associated with it. 
 
 From the ^oixls and lakes we naturally pass to the 
 names of places on their shores, the bays, promontories. 
 
 / 
 
 ■Hi^^^i-***^^ 
 
 v^ 
 
 y 
 
 t*i( 
 
 /a\ycii 
 
108 
 
 islands, &c. Wick or tm/ke, Norse vik, Anglo-Saxon uric, 
 signifies a cove or small bay. Keswick, upon Derwent- 
 water, which is probably the same name as Kjelsvik, 
 in Norway, may perhaps be derived from keld or kel, a 
 fountain ; or, it may be from kial^ a keel or boat, Kes- 
 wick signifying "the bay of boats." Blowick, upon 
 Ullswater, is from Ud-vik, " the blue cove." There is 
 a place on the bay of Dublin called Bullock, a corrup- 
 tion of the same name. 
 
 iVess, Old Norse nes, Ang.-Sax. nceSy signifies a pro- 
 montory or projecting piece of land. Upon the Solway 
 Frith we have Bowness, formerly Bolness, from hoi, a 
 dwelling, and Skinburness, from Skinnabiom, a Scan- 
 dinavian proper name. There is also a Bowness upon 
 Windermere, another upon Ennerdale Water, and a 
 third upon Bassenthwaite Water. Upon the last- 
 named lake we have also Scarness, from Norse ska/m, 
 Ang.-Sax. scoern, dung of cattle, a word still in use 
 in the district. Levens near Milnthorpe is a corrup- 
 tion, as we find from Domesday Book, of Leveness. 
 
 Furness, the furthest point of Lancashire north of 
 the sands, I take to be derived, like the place of the 
 same name in Norway, from/wr or fyr, a fire, light, 
 beacon — a watch-tower having formerly stood here, to 
 give alarm in case of any invasion of the coast. From 
 the manner in which it is latinised in the foundation 
 charter of the Abbey, Furness has been supposed to 
 have been formerly Fudemess, and to have signified 
 " the further promontory." But we Moderns are apt 
 to look at ancient names sometimes in rather too geo- 
 graphical a light. It is easy for us, with the map of 
 England before us, to perceive the sense in which this 
 might be called the further promontory, but the ancient 
 
109 
 
 inhabitants of the place would look at it more per se, i y 
 and not so much in relation to the rest of England. { 
 Fudemess, I take it, would have just the same meaning 
 as Fumess, being derived from Norse yWr<», to flame 
 or blaze. Beyond the point of Furness is a small island 
 called Peel Island, on which are the ruins of a castle 
 called the " Pile of Foudry." From this it is evident 
 that the island formerly bore the name of Foudry, or 
 Fuderey, " the flame island," from fudra, to flame, and 
 " ey," an island. And it is probable that upon this 
 castle was an advance beacon to give the alarm to the 
 lookers-out on the watch-tower at Fumess. 
 
 Airey. The Old Norse eyri signifies a sandy promon- 
 tory, and may be the word from which Airey force on 
 Ullswater is derived. This is a waterfall situated upon 
 a projecting part of the lake, and the bridge which 
 crosses the stream just before it enters the lake is also 
 called Airey bridge. The place corresponds with the 
 name, for the shore in that place is unusually sandy. 
 However, the derivation is attended with some uncer- 
 tainty; it might be from the proper name of Ary, 
 whence Airay, or Airey, an old name, and still com- 
 mon in the district. It scarcely could, as Airy Crag 
 most probably is, be derived from an eyrie or eagle's 
 nest. /^ 
 
 Holme J Old Norse holmi, Ang.-Sax. Iiolm. The *' 
 oldest sense of this word appears to be the Ang.-Sax., 
 "water, the sea," whence has come the secondary 
 meaning of an island, or place surrounded by water, 
 and lastly, that of alluvial land by a river side. The 
 second meaning is that in which it occurs in Norway 
 and other Scandinavian countries, and the last is that 
 in which alone it is still retained in use in our district. 
 
no 
 
 We find it, however, in the second sense in the names 
 of many of the small islands upon our lakes, as in 
 Lingholme, " heather island," upon Windermere, and 
 Rampsholme upon Ullswater, corresponding to Lyng- 
 holm and E-amsholm, small islands off the Norwegian 
 coast. On Windermere we have also Silverholme, 
 probably from the proper name of Solvar. 
 
 The Scandinavian holmgangy a duel fought, originally, 
 upon a small island, and subsequently in some cases 
 within an area artificially inclosed, has been already 
 y referred to. The Battle-holme found in some places 
 in the North of England, as for instance, a holme so 
 called close to Carlisle, has no connection with the 
 above, but it is from Old English hattU or hetle "fertile," 
 allied to Old Norse heit, a pasture, and Suio-Goth beta, 
 to feed. Our word " bait," to feed, applied to horses, 
 and the Cumberland " batten," to thrive, applied 
 generally to children — also "beatment," a ration of 
 provisions, and the Oxford term to " battle," to take 
 up commons at a college, are all connected with the 
 above. 
 
 Ey^ Old Norse oe, also signifies an island. We have 
 Walney, Foulney, and Whanney (whin island ?), at 
 the point of Fumess. Also Foudry or Fuderey, re- 
 ferred to in a former page. 
 
 Strandy Old Norse strond, Norwegian and Ang.-Sax. 
 strandy is a name given to many places situated on the 
 lakes and fjords of Norway. We have also several 
 instances of it in our district, the principal of which is 
 the village of Strands, situated at the foot of Wastwater. 
 Not far from this is a place called Holborn Hill, and it 
 is rather curious thus to find in a remote part of Cum- 
 berland the names of the two great thoroughfares of 
 
Ill 
 
 London — names which perhaps may in both cases have 
 been given by the Northmen. 
 
 When we come to the names of rivers we certainly 
 find several which we have reason to believe are Celtic, 
 but the remark has been made of England generally 
 that even in districts where the names of places are the 
 most exclusively Anglo-Saxon, very many of the rivers 
 retain their Celtic appellations. Several of those in 
 our district might be derived either from the Celtic or 
 the Gothic, and have been claimed accordingly for each 
 by the advocates of contending theories. Thus the 
 Eden has been derived both from the Celtic eddain, a 
 running stream, and from the Anglo-Saxon ea-den^ the 
 river in the valley, and the Tyne, both from the Celtic 
 tyn, double, in allusion to the two branches which 
 form it, and from the Old Norse Una, to collect, in 
 allusion to the many streams which unite together to 
 form its source.* In some cases it is possible that the 
 name may be said in a certain sense to be derived from 
 both — that is, that the Anglo-Saxons or Northmen, 
 finding a name already existing which had also a sig- 
 nificance in their own language, might retain it under 
 their own meaning. 
 
 So long, however, as we confine ourselves to the ex- ^ 
 amination of individual words, we proceed upon an 
 uncertain principle ; but when we begin to classify the 
 names in a district, we arrive at a more definite basis 
 
 * Mr. Blackwell, in the glossary appended to Bohn's edition of 
 Mallet's Northern Antiquities, explaining the derivation of Thyn, a 
 river in Valhalla, from thynia or dynja, to thunder or make a thunder- 
 ing noise, suggests the same origin for our river Tyne. This, I think, 
 is the most probable derivation — names taken from the sound of their ^ ,y/^ 
 waters being very common among rivers. J 
 
 ^ 
 
112 
 
 of investigation. Starting then upon this principle, we 
 immediately perceive four various terms which enter 
 largely into the names of rivers in the district, viz., ea 
 or e, a, er, and en. Of these various terms, which all 
 signify " water, a river," e or ea is the Anglo-Saxon, 
 and a the Scandinavian form. We have the Eden, 
 Ehen, Eamont, and the Ea, a provincial name given to 
 the Leven. Ehen signifies, perhaps, "the waterfowl 
 river," — " hen" being a word often used to denote fowl 
 in general. Or it may be an Anglo-Saxon form of the 
 Old Norse din, the river, the definite article in being 
 appended, as usual in the Scandinavian languages. 
 
 The Eden also may be more naturally derived from 
 the Norse than either from the Celtic or Anglo-Saxon 
 — see the termination en. 
 
 The Eamont is a corruption of Eamot, signifying in 
 Anglo-Saxon " the meeting of waters." This corrup- 
 tion is as old as the time of Leland, who describes it as 
 the "Emot, alias CEmont." But the original form of 
 the name, as we find it generally in the earliest records, 
 as for instance, an ancient charter, conveying certain 
 lands near Penrith to the Abbey of Holme Cultram, 
 and a proclamation of Langley, Bishop of Durham, 
 about the year 1425, granting an indulgence of forty 
 days to all who should contribute to build a bridge 
 over this river, appears to have been " Amot," which 
 is the Scandinavian form of the word. It is the name 
 of a river in Norway, and also of several places situated 
 at the confluence of two streams. This is one of the 
 instances in which the Scandinavian form seems to 
 have passed into the Anglo-Saxon. In the same 
 county of Cumberland we find Beckermet, formerly 
 Beckermot, signifying '^ the meeting of the brooks." 
 
113 
 
 The Scandinavian form of d occurs more generally 
 as a termination, and entei-s into the names of a great 
 number of the rivers of the district. We have the 
 Rotha, Greta, Liza or Lissa, Wiza or Wisa, Betha or 
 Bela, Bratha, Rathay, and Calda or Cawda. The 
 Rotha, anciently Routha, is probably derived from 
 Raud, a Scandinavian proper name, and is the same 
 name as the Rauda in Iceland. The Bratha also may 
 be from the proper name of Brath or Brat ; or from 
 braUVf headlong, impetuous, the probable origin of the 
 proper name. The Lissa or Liza may be from lissa^ 
 torpor or weariness — this river forming along its course 
 a great number of pools among the rocks, in which its 
 waters seem to repose. Rathay is probably from reidvy 
 which, as applied to a river, signifies in Old Norse 
 ** fordable on horseback." The Greta derives its name 
 from Old Norse grdta^ North Eng. " greet," to weep 
 or mourn, in allusion to the wailing sound made by its 
 waters. There is another river of the same name 
 which falls into the Lune ; also a Greta Beck in York- 
 shire. And the Bela may be from Norse helia, North 
 Eng. " beel," to roar or beUow. The Wiza or Wisa is 
 the same name as the Visa, in Norway, and signifies 
 probably "the holy river," from ve or ^;^, sacred, the 
 origin of which name is further referred to in another 
 place. The Calda is always spelt Caldew, but is uni- 
 versally called in the district Cawda, " cawd " being a 
 provincial form of cold. Though we find it in most of 
 the oldest documents as Caldew, by some early writers, 
 as Camden, it is spelt Cawda, as it is pronounced. So 
 also in Denton's MSS., written about A.D. 1600. 
 This, I apprehend, is the true word, Cawda signifying 
 simply " the cold river " — one of the two streams 
 
 H 
 
114 
 
 which form it being called, previously to their junc- 
 tion Caldbeck or Cawdbeck, "the cold brook." Kalda 
 and Kaldbakr are also the names respectively of a river 
 and of a brook in Iceland, and the name of Caudebec 
 occurs likewise in Normandy. 
 
 The termination er, properly dr, is the plural form 
 of &, signifying water. It occurs in Germany and 
 Switzerland in the form of ar, as in the Aar, the Isar 
 " Ice river," and the Neckar, which is no doubt the 
 plural form of the Nekaa in Norway, deriving its 
 name from the water-spirit called the Neck. We have 
 the Waver, Cocker, Winster, Lowther, and Calder, 
 the last of which has been derived from the Celtic 
 ^^l^:fi':Ai/,kd-dwry "the wooded water," but may be more pro- 
 L»j»- ^lU^ bably from the same origin as the Calda. The Lowther 
 
 also (in Leland Loder) has been derived from the 
 ^,'^,^ ^-f'i, Celtic loyw-dwr, "clear water," but may be from 
 i^^-.^-V'- Norse hlibda, to sound, cognate with Eng. "loud" — 
 the name being derived, like many others, from the 
 sound of its waters. The Winster I take also to be 
 the same name as the Yinstra in Norway, while the 
 Rother in Yorkshire may be the same as, or rather the 
 plural form of, the Rotha in Westmoreland. Among 
 other names in Yorkshire we have the Air, same name, 
 I take it, as the Aar, and the Humber, " humming 
 river," Norse hwmma, — ^whence Eng. " hum," which is 
 not found in Anglo-Saxon. 
 
 Another common form of termination is en or cm, of 
 which we have the Duddon, Marron, Leven, Ellen, <fcc. 
 This is a common form in Norway, where we have the 
 Namsen, Glommen, Alten, Ulen, Susen, &c. It is, 
 I apprehend, the demonstrative form of the word — 
 ^ Ay a river, becoming, in Old Norse, dirty the river ; the 
 
 definite article m, Dan. ew, being added as an affix. 
 
115 
 
 The Marron, Leven, Gowan, and Ellen might be 
 derived from the proper names Mar, Leif, Levi or 
 Lefy, Go, and EUi. Or the last from dli, an alder — 
 " the alder river." The Duddon is probably from Ice. 
 dudr, another form of dunr, thunder or a thundering 
 noise, and has the same meaning as the Dun in York- 
 shire. The Eden, as before mentioned, has been derived 
 variously from the Celtic eddain, a running stream, 
 and the Ang.-Sax. ea-den, " valley river." I think, 
 however, that the Old Norse yda, to flow together, 
 furnishes the most appropriate etymology for this 
 river, which receives the greater part of the streams of 
 the eastern water shed in both these two counties. 
 Hence its name, like that of the Eamot or Amot, 
 would be equivalent to " the confluence of waters." 
 
 A curious name is that of the Lyvennet, if, as 
 appears rather probably the case, it be the same as 
 that of Leven, with the definite article et appended. 
 In that case it must be a more recent corruption, as it 
 would contain a double definite article, both the mascu- 
 line and the neuter. This may appear rather impro- 
 bable, but there seem to be some traces, as will be 
 noticed in the next chapter, of a tendency in the dis- 
 trict towards the exclusive use of the neuter article. 
 And if we could suppose the other articles to have 
 become obsolete, such a word as the one in question 
 might not unnaturally be formed. But this is a nice 
 etymological point to which I do not wish to do more 
 than call attention. 
 
 Of names not comprehended under the above we\ 
 have the Wampool, a corruption of Wathpool, from 
 wath, a ford, and which may be either Anglo-Saxon or 
 Scandinavian. The Crake, which flows out of Coniston 
 
116 
 
 lake, is probably derived from kreUcaf to go sluggishly, 
 a term applicable to this river, which runs through 
 a peat moss. The Nith in Dumfriesshire is no doubt 
 the same name as the Nid in Yorkshire, and the Nid 
 in Norway, derived from nidr, murmur, as of a 
 running stream — the change of d into th being in 
 accordance with a usual process. The Scandinavian 
 character of the terms made use of by the fishermen of 
 the Nith has been remarked by several writers. 
 
 Of other rivers deriving their names from the sound 
 of their waters are the Gelt and the Esk, of which lat- 
 ter there are two, one joining the Eden at its embow- 
 chure in the Solway Frith, and the other falling into 
 the sea at Ravenglass. The former name is probably 
 from gelt, barking or howling, and the latter from, oakr, 
 a roaring. 
 
 There are one or two names which appear to be from 
 the Old Norse os, mouth or opening of a river or a 
 lake. Thus the bridge over the Derwent, just after it 
 flows out of Bassenthwaite water, is called Ouse Bridge. 
 Leland, in a rather obscure passage of the Itinera, ap- 
 pears to give this name to the lake itself. " The ryver 
 of Dargwent, after that he cummeth to a strayte curse, 
 casteth out an arme of his abundant water that maketh 
 a poole or lough called Use, and afterward strayteth, 
 and at the last cummeth ynto Dargwent (Derwent- 
 water), and so maketh an isle." I apprehend that he 
 must have fallen into the mistake of giving to the whole 
 lake a name belonging only to a certain part, viz., the 
 place whence the river Derwent issues at its foot. A 
 mistake of a similar kind he appears to make with re- 
 spect to Windermere, which he calls " Wynermere- 
 wath " — a name which — " wath " signifying a ford — 
 
117 
 
 could not be given to the lake itself, but might belong 
 to some particular part, or to some place on its shores. 
 From the same writer it appears that the stream which 
 flows out of Hawswater was also called the Ouse. 
 And there is a place called Eusemere, at the foot of 
 Ullswater, where the Eamont flows out of the lake ; 
 this name appears to be derived from the " lake mouth" 
 near which it is situated. Ouse is also a name common 
 to several rivers, as the Ous in Norway, and the Ouse 
 in Yorkshire. The Isis also was formerly called the 
 Ouse, and Oxford Ouseford. . 
 
 One of the rivers of Westmoreland bears the curious V 
 name of " St. Sunday river," of the meaning of which 
 I am unable to ofier any explanation. The same name 
 is found in St. Sunday's crag »p<wa Helvellyn. <^'7^^-« * 'X / 
 
 There still remain a fair proportion of names which 
 may probably be attributed to the Celtic, as the Der- 
 went, Bleng, Irt, &c. Of this last, Bullet, who never 
 sticks at trifles, gives an etymology worth " making a 
 note of." Pearls, he says, have been found in it, 
 whence its name, signifying " marvellous, prodigious." 
 We might indeed say with Dominie Sampson — 
 pro-di-gi-ous ! ^ 
 
 It will be seen then, that while among the rivers of '/ 
 the district there are, as we find everywhere to be the 
 case, some which retain their ancient British names, 
 and also one or two which we have reason to consider 
 Anglo-Saxon, not only does the Scandinavian character 
 appear to predominate upon the whole ; but in several 
 instances, to which I have alluded, we find the same 
 names as in Norway and Iceland. . 
 
 Becky Old Norse bekr^ is the general name for a y 
 brook throughout the Danish districts of England, 
 
118 
 
 sJ 
 
 IJ 
 
 except Northumberland, where, as in Scotland, it 
 changes generally into hum — the boundaries of Cum- 
 ^ berland being almost the exact line of division. Becc 
 also occurs as an Anglo-Saxon word in Lye, but there 
 is some doubt whether it is properly so classed. The 
 Editor of Boucher's glossary is of opinion that he has 
 fallen into a mistake from finding it in some old charter 
 which he believed to be Sa,xon. At all events it is 
 only found in districts colonised by the Northmen — as 
 Iceland, Normandy, and the Danish districts of Eng- 
 land. Hickes (Gram. Franc-Theot.) remarks that this 
 word came from the Normans to the French, and from 
 the Danes to the Northern inhabitants of England. 
 Coupland Beck is a corruption of Coupman Beck, from 
 kompTncmn, a merchant, probably here a proper name. - 
 Sike, Old Norse siki, Anglo- Sax. sic, is the name 
 given in Scotland and the North of England to a 
 water-course usually dry in summer. This is the dis- 
 tinctive peculiarity of the term, which may be from 
 the Norse s'dckva, or siga, Ang.-Sax. sigan, to sink, to 
 fail, to be dry. The names " Sink Beck" and " Sike 
 Beck," found in the district, appear to show the origin 
 of the word. There is a brook caUed Sokkvabekkr, 
 "sinking brook," mentioned in Scandinavian mytho- 
 logy, but it is not clear whether it has the same sense 
 as the above. 
 
 Wath, wad, Old Norse vad, Ang.-Sax. wad, is the 
 general term throughout the North of England for a 
 ford, vide Skinner, " vox septentionali Anglise propria." 
 It is from Norse vad a, Ang.-Sax. wadan, of which the 
 primary meaning is, like the Latin vado, to go, whence 
 the diminutive " waddle." The secondary meaning is 
 to wade or go through water, whence is derived the 
 word wath, corresponding to the Latin vadum, a ford. 
 
/ 
 
 119 
 
 We have also the word wad in Cumberland in the 
 primary sense of a district or beat, as when two places 
 are said to lie *'in the same wad." 
 
 Gillj Old Norse gil, signifies a ravine or fissure of a 
 mountain. Ray, quoting it as a Sussex word, explains 
 it " a rivulet, a beck." In our district, though a gill 
 very commonly has a stream of water running along 
 its bottom, yet it is by no means necessarily the case, 
 nor does it enter into the meaning of the word, which 
 is from Norse giliaj to open out, to tear asunder. Yet 
 even in Old Norse the meaning of " water" appears 
 sometimes to have been attached to it. In the glos- 
 sary of the Kristni Saga it is explained " a stream 
 issuing out of the fissure of a rock — properly the fissure 
 itself" In some of the names of our district, as Ease 
 Gill, and Aygill, which are probably respectively from 
 eaSf Aug.-Sax. "watercourses," and d Norse "water," 
 the correct distinction is made. As before mentioned, i 
 ,j, giU appears to have been a very common division of v' 
 land, and hence is very frequently found coupled with ^ 
 a proper name. 
 
 Kdd, kel, Old Norse kelda, Ang.-Sax. keld, Suio- 
 Ooth kcdla, Danish kilde, signifies a fountain. Old 
 Norse kelda^ also denotes a wet and marshy place 
 such as is generally found around the springs upon the 
 mountains. We have Gunnars keld and Butter eld 
 keld, which latter I suppose to be from Buthar elldr, 
 Buthar the old, or the elder. Springkel, on the other 
 side of the border, may be the Danish apringkildey a ^ 
 fountain. The name Buckle, which occurs both in our " 
 district and in Norway, seems to be compounded of 
 M "cattle," and kel^ "a fountain," and to signify a 
 place for watering cattle. The word " keld " is also 
 
 v/ 
 
120 
 
 f applied to tlie still parts of a lake or river which have, 
 an oily smoothness while the rest of the water is 
 I ruffled. Brockett mentions having heard this word 
 used on the Tyne, and the same expression is also 
 applied to the still places on Ullswater and other lakes. 
 The writer in the Kendal Mercury observes : — " The 
 keld of UUswater which is described as having the 
 appearance of oil poured on the lake, is to be accounted 
 for from Old Norse helda, a marsh, on the pools of 
 which a greasy matter is very commonly to be seen 
 floating." 
 
 MirSj Old Norse myrij signifies a bog or fen, and is 
 a very common term in our district as in Norway and 
 Iceland. We have Grismire, " the swine bog ;" 
 Wragmire, probably from Old Norse rakj " wet ;" and 
 Sourmire, from Old Norse scww, dung of cattle, the 
 name being descriptive of a quagmire of that sort often 
 seen before the summer chalets of Switzerland. In 
 Norway we find Rossemyre ; in Iceland Skalamyre, <kc. 
 
 Flow, Old Norse Jloi, also signifies a morass or bog. 
 We have Wedliolme flow, Flow moss, near Shap, and 
 Solway flow, better known by the name of Solway 
 moss. It also occurs in composition in Floutem. In 
 Iceland we find Biarneyfloi, from Biamey, a proper 
 name. 
 
 Force y Old Norse ybrs, Norwegian ^055, is the general 
 name throughout the district for a waterfall, and is 
 derived from Old Norse forsa, " to rush furiously." 
 
 Spouty Old Norse spyta, Suio-Goth. sputa, is another 
 word used, but less frequently for a waterfall. We 
 have Cautley spout and Galeforth spout in Westmore- 
 land, while in Norway we find a lake called Spyten 
 vand, " the spout water." 
 
121 
 
 Patj Old Norse pottr, is applied to the deep circular 
 holes which a river forms in the rocks which compose 
 its bed. Also more generally to any bason-shaped 
 hoUow or cavity. The mountain called Lade Pot 
 probably derives its name from a cavity of this sort 
 upon its summit. The word is notable chiefly on 
 account of the frequency with which it is joined to a 
 Scandinavian proper name, and the oddly-sounding 
 words which in some cases are the result. We have 
 Bull pot, Spear pots. Help pot, from the names Boll, 
 Sporr, Hialp. And Kettle pot, Butterpot, Honeypot, 
 from the names Ketil, Buthar, and Hogni. 
 
 y 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 GENERAL REMARKS ON THE KAME3 OP PLACES. 
 
 "We have now gone through a list of about eighty 
 terms, which, with more or less certainty, we may 
 presume to be Scandinavian. There are one or two 
 others, which have been overlooked in their place, as 
 hidd, probably from hyliy a dwelling. We have Dodd 
 Bield, Scale-house Bield, and Nan Bield — ^the last being 
 the name given to the pass between Kentmere and 
 Mardale, In Black's glossary " Nan" is derived from 
 Welsh narit, a hollow formed by water, a ravine. I 
 think, however, that it is merely the name of the per- 
 son who occupied the dwelling ; it may be from Nanna, 
 a fejnale name in Scandinavian mythology ; or it may 
 be euphonic for An, Annar, or Ani, a name found, 
 as I take it, in several instances in the district, as in 
 Ann's hill, Anna side. 
 A On the other hand there is one term to which I 
 V have evidently assigned a wrong meaning. This is 
 " cove," which I supposed to be from kojiy a shepherd's 
 hut or mountain cottage. My reason for so doing was 
 that it is generally coupled with a proper name. And 
 though a "cove" is in fact a hollow in a mountain, 
 yet such sheltered places would naturally be selected 
 for the site of a hut or dwelling. But some of the 
 names in Yorkshire, in which it is found joined with 
 another word signif^Tug a dwelling, show that the 
 
123 
 
 ordinary meaning of a recess or hollow is the correct 
 one. 
 
 We have two or three places called " Storth," pro- 
 bably from Norse stord, one of the meanings of which 
 is " a battle," of which the places in question may 
 have been the site. But a name more clearly com- 
 memorative of a field of battle is " Orrest," Old Norse 
 orrusta, Ang.-Sax. orrest. There are four places near 
 the railway terminus at Windermere called respectively 
 Orrest, High Orrest, Near Orrest, and Orrest-head — 
 names probably marking, either the various positions, 
 or the shifting stages, of some important battle. 
 
 Among the epithets which enter most commonly 
 into the names of places are lang, mickle, lile, mirk, 
 and cawd or cold, the last in particular a very com- 
 mon term both here and in Norway, expressive of the 
 situation of many places in both countries exposed to 
 the blasts upon the mountains, or hidden from the sun 
 in the deep shade of the valleys. There are other 
 terms now obsolete, as "cringle" in Cringle Gill, 
 Cringle Dike. This is probably from Norse kringltty a 
 circle, but the meaning here must probably be under- 
 stood rather as curving or bending in the manner of a 
 circle. " Hell" enters into the composition of several 
 names, as Helton, Hell Gill, Hell Beck. The last, like 
 Hel Foss in Norway, may be from hdla, to pour ; the 
 others may probably, like Helstad and Helvig in Nor- 
 way, be derived from a proper name, perhaps Hela, the 
 goddess of death in Scandinavian mythology, or the 
 proper name of HelgL 
 
 Scandinavian names of animals enter very frequently 
 into the names of places. We have hestr, a horse, in 
 Hest Bank, Hest Fell, and Hest Holme. Hross, a horse, 
 
 s/ 
 
124 
 
 originally a mare, occurs in Rosley, the seat of the prin- 
 cipal horse-fair in Cumberland, the antiquity of which 
 appears to be thus attested by the name. The termination 
 " ley" is probably from Norse log, Ang.-Sax. leg, leak, a 
 district, a place. In other instances, as in Rossthwaite, 
 Ross Gill, the word has probably become a proper name — 
 that of Ross, not unfrequent in the district. Saudr, a 
 sheep, occurs perhaps in Souter Fell, Soutergate, and 
 Souden Hill. Faar, sheep, in Fairfield, seems to me 
 doubtful. Kanin, a rabbit, may not improbably be the 
 origin of Cannonby, a village situated near the rabbit- 
 warren between Maryport and Allonby. G&s, a goose, 
 (or goes, plural, geese) occurs in Gasgarth, Gaskeld, 
 Gasdale. Padda, a frog, may perhaps be found in 
 Paddy gill — more certainly in Paddon Beck, the frog 
 brook. Grisy a wild swine, gives the name to many 
 places in the district, as Grisdale, Mungrisdale (or 
 Monk Grisdale, formerly a possession of the Monks) 
 Grismire (swine bog), &c. Even the beautiful lake of 
 Graamere is said to derive its name, (originally Gris- 
 mere) — not from the luxuriant verdure which sur- 
 rounds it — but, less poetically, from the wild swine 
 which used to frequent its shores. I think, however, 
 that in this last case, if not in some of the others, 
 " Gris" is a proper name ; it is still found as such in 
 the district. So also Bordale, Burton, (formerly Borton), 
 and Borrodale, I should take to be from Bor and 
 r/^Borrhy as proper names. Indeed, others of the above 
 names, as hestr, a horse, and gas, a goose, were also 
 borne by the Northmen as proper names, so that it is 
 often impossible to say in what sense the derivations 
 are to be understood. In the name of Goose How the 
 word is without much doubt a proper name. 
 
125 
 
 Among the names of trees we have the roan or 
 rowan tree, Dan. ronnetre, the mountain ash — a word 
 still* in use. The Old Norse form of the word is 
 reynir^ which I take to be the origin of the place in Cum- 
 berland called Raynors — "the mountain ashes." Ell 
 or elliy the alder, occurs in the place called Ellers, " the 
 alders," in which name the English plural seems to 
 have been added to the Scandinavian. In some other 
 cases, as Elleray, the word may be derived from the 
 proper name of EllL We have also " ask," N. askr, 
 Ang.-Sax. cesCj the ash, and " birk," N. hidrhy birki, 
 Ang.-Sax. bi/rce, the birch. Askham I have previously 
 supposed to signify "the home among the ashes." But 
 as Askr was also a Scandinavian proper name — ^the 
 first, man being supposed in Northern mythology to 
 have been created out of the ash tree — ^it is as probable, 
 perhaps more so, that this is the origin of the name. 
 In some words, as Birker Fell, and Birker Force, we 
 have the plural form of birki, a birch, and in the place 
 called " Birkett" we appear to have it with the defi- 
 nite article et — " the birch." I have before referred to 
 an apparent tendency in the district towards the irre- 
 gular use of the neuter definite article in place of the 
 masculine and feminine. It appears to be found in 
 some of the names of trees, as in Asket dub, Aiket 
 pike, which seem to be " the ash dub," " the oak pike" 
 — aa well as in some other words. Old Norse vidirj 
 Dan. vidie, Ang.-Sax. withie, a willow, occurs in se- 
 veral names, at Withy sike, Wither slack, &c. 
 
 Among the names of plants we have " ling," N. ling, 
 heather — " sieve," Dan. siv, a rush — " smere," N. smar, 
 clover, which is probably the origin of Smardale — 
 " bigg/' N- ^1/99} barley — " haver," N. hafrar, oats — 
 
126 
 
 " bleaberry," N. bldboerj the whortle berry — " hind- 
 berry," Norw. hindbosr, the raspbeiTy. These are all 
 in ordinary use, excepting " smere," which is nearly 
 obsolete. Red and white currants are called with us 
 " wineberries," as in Norway vinhodr. This also obtains 
 in Craven, according to Mr. Carr. Our word "whin," 
 furze, may perhaps be from the Old Norse hvann, 
 though the shrub of that name found in Norway and 
 Iceland is not the same as ours, which cannot stand 
 the cold of those climates. But from the old name of 
 one of the small islands at the point of Fumess, 
 Whanney, which I take to be " whin island," it seems 
 rather probable that our word is derived from the 
 Northmen. 
 
 In some cases we find the original names of places 
 curiously twisted to a modem sound. Thus we have 
 Silly Wreay, Heedless Gill, Cunning Garth, Mealy 
 Sike, and Candy Slack, which we may explain as " the 
 happy or pleasant nook," (the Old Eng. " sely") — "the 
 king's camp or enclosure" — "the boundary water- 
 course " — and " the bowl-shaped hollow." While 
 Heedless Gill is probably from the proper name Hood- 
 less, the Old Norse Hudlaiis. 
 
 A peculiar manner of combining a number of words 
 together may be remarked upon as prevalent both in 
 this district and in Norway. Thus in Scalthwaiterigg 
 Gate in Westmoreland we have a string of four words 
 signifying " the road to the log-house in the cleared 
 ground upon the ridge." So in Norway Vikneshobner, 
 " the islands in the bay beside the promontory," 
 Myrkkaddal, " the dark and cold valley," &c. The 
 same peculiarity is still to be found in the dialect of 
 Cumberland and Westmoreland. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 SCANDIWAVIAIf PEOPEE TTAMES POUND IW THE WAMES OP 
 PLACES— SCANDINAVIAN FAMILY NAMES STILL EXISTING IN 
 THE DISTRICT. 
 
 By far the most common prefix in our names of places \J 
 consists, as has been already observed, of a Scandina- 
 vian proper name, which in many cases may be that of 
 an original Northern settler. Not in all cases, how- 
 ever, as several of these names, as Ulf, Orme, Ketil, 
 were common for some centuries after the conquest, 
 while others remain to the present time, and the origin 
 of some of our names of places may be traced to these 
 later founders. 
 
 Many of these names have already been referred to, 
 but as there can be no more conclusive proof of the 
 extent to which this part of the kingdom was colonized 
 by the Northmen, I think it may not be out of place 
 to give a summary of them, amounting to upwards of 
 150 names, many of which are of frequent occurrence. 
 The terms with which they are most frequently com- \/ 
 bined denote a possession or place of residence, a grave 
 or a memorial stone, a mountain or lake near which 
 the settler lived, or some object forming the boundary 
 of his property — no word being more generally com- 
 bined with a proper name than " gill," a small ravine, 
 which seems, particularly in the mountain district, to 
 have been the most common mark of division. 
 
128 
 
 I'iJu-: 
 
 In some few instances places are called simply by a 
 proper name without any other word attached to it. 
 Thus we have places called Rowell, Goat, Winder, 
 Rutter, Stanger, Norman, Docker, Burrells. It is 
 probable that all these were, like the last, originally 
 used eUiptically in the possessive case. 
 / The derivations in the subjoined list are not in all 
 / cases self^ippare^— some of them may be disputed, 
 and some may be controverted, but I think that sub- 
 stantially there will not be found to be any very great 
 difference of opinion among those who may take the 
 trouble to investigate them. * 
 
 SCANDINAVIAN PROPEK NAMES OP PLACES IN WHICH 
 
 NAMES. 
 
 FOUND. 
 
 Audr 
 
 OuthgiU 
 
 A 1st en 
 
 Alstonby W 
 Allithwaite, Alston ^ 
 
 Ali, or Atli 
 
 Ambar 
 
 Amber HiU 
 
 Arn, Arin 
 
 Arnside, Amaby 
 
 Angel 
 
 Anglebarrow, Anglestones, 
 
 
 Angletarn 
 
 Askell 
 
 Askelside ^ 
 
 Amkell 
 
 Arcleby 
 
 Ary 
 
 Airey Hill, perhaps Airey 
 
 
 Force 
 
 Blaka 
 
 Blakethwaite, Blake Fell, 
 
 
 Blackhow 
 
 BaUdr 
 
 BaUd Mire 
 
 Balder 
 
 Balderscai*th, Baldersdale 
 
 Banner 
 
 Bannerdale, Bannerrigg 
 
 Bama 
 
 Bamsdale, Barnscar 
 
 Brandr 
 
 Bransty, Branthwaite, 
 
 
 Bransted 
 
129 
 
 SCANDINAVIAN 
 
 PROPER NAMES OF PLACES IN WHICH 
 
 NAMES. 
 
 FOUND. 
 
 Bekkr 
 
 Beck Cote 
 
 Bekan , 
 
 Beaconhill, Beacontam, 
 
 * 
 Bor , 
 
 Bekansgill 
 Bordale, Burton, formerly 
 Borton 
 
 Borrhy 
 
 Bram 
 
 Barekr 
 
 Borradale 
 Brampton 
 Barrock Fell 
 
 Blesi 
 
 Blease FeU 
 
 Bukkr 
 
 Buckbarrow 
 
 Bakki 
 
 Backbarrow, Backstonegill, 
 Backside 
 
 Breidr 
 
 Broadhow, Broadstones 
 
 Brodor* 
 
 Brotherswater, formerly 
 Broaderwater 
 
 Biorn 
 
 Bumbarrow, Burnthwaite 
 
 Brun 
 
 Brownhow, Brunstock, Brun- 
 
 Beitill 
 
 sceugh 
 Battlebarrow 
 
 Bea 
 
 Beathwaite 
 
 B6t 
 
 Boathow 
 
 Bardif 
 
 Bardsea 
 
 WWW 
 
 Bresty 
 Barneyhouse 
 Butt how 
 
 Buthar, Butar, 
 
 Buttermere, Butterhill, But- 
 
 Buthar lipr 
 Buthar elldr 
 
 tergill 
 Butterlip-how 
 Butter-eld-keld 
 
 Boka 
 
 Dockergarth, Dockray 
 
SCANDINAVIAN PROPER 
 NAMES. 
 
 Dufan 
 Durinn 
 Dromi 
 Dylla Kar 
 Dolgfinnr 
 
 Dalla 
 
 130 
 
 NAMES OF PLACES IN WHICH 
 FOUND. 
 
 Daffenside, Dovengill 
 Durran hill 
 Droomers-style 
 Dillicar knot 
 Dolphin-sty, Dolphin-seat 
 Dolphinby, or Dovenby 
 Dalton, Dalston 
 
 Doli, (or Toll), Wagen Dolly Waggon pike 
 Dufr Dufton 
 
 Einar 
 
 Embla 
 
 Eigil 
 
 Eldir 
 
 EUi 
 
 Ennerdale 
 Embleton 
 Eaglesfield 
 
 Elderbeck, Elterwater 
 EUgill 
 
 Finnr 
 
 F16ki 
 
 Frosti 
 
 Finsthwaite 
 Flakehow 
 Froswick, Frostham 
 
 G^ 
 
 Goose how 
 
 Ga,nial 
 Geiri, Gari 
 GoU 
 
 Gamblesby a 
 
 Garrigill 
 
 Gellstone, Gellber 
 
 Geller 
 
 Gillerthwaite 
 
 Geit 
 
 Gratesgill, Gatesgarth, Grates- 
 earth, Gateswater,Gate crag, 
 Gate scale 
 
 G& 
 
 Gowban-ow, Guwthwaite 
 
 
 Gotree 
 
 Grimr 
 
 Grimeshill, Griniesmoor 
 
 Grimar 
 
 Grimerhill 
 
131 
 
 SCANDINAVIAN PROPER 
 
 NAMES OF PLACES IN WHICH 
 
 NAMES. 
 
 FOUND. 
 
 Guddar 
 
 Guddarscale 
 
 Gudlaug 
 
 Goodley hill 
 
 Gunnar 
 
 Gunnershow, Giinnerskeld 
 
 Gothar 
 
 Gutterby 
 
 HaUr 
 
 Hallthwaite, Hallside, Hallgill 
 
 Hamall 
 
 A mbleside 
 
 HaVI 
 
 Hackthorpe, Hackett (cot) 
 
 Hseringr 
 
 Harrington 
 
 Harald 
 
 Harraby, Harrowthwaite, 
 
 
 Harold's hill 
 
 HaUi 
 
 HaUygill 
 
 Hallbiom 
 
 Holborn-hill 
 
 Haukr 
 
 Hawkshead, Hawkadale, 
 
 
 Hawkrigg, Hawksearth 
 
 Har 
 
 Harehow, Harwith 
 
 Heidur, Hodur 
 
 Hethersgill 
 
 Hemmingr 
 
 Hemming's hill 
 
 Hildir 
 
 Hilderstone 
 
 Hialp 
 
 Whelpside, Whelphow, Help- 
 
 
 pot 
 
 Hiarn 
 
 Yearn gill 
 
 Hiallti 
 
 Whelter 
 
 Hnockan 
 
 Knocking tofts 
 
 Horn 
 
 Homsby, Homsgill 
 
 Hogni 
 
 Honistar-crag 
 
 Hrani, Hreinn 
 
 Ransdale, Rainsbarrow, Wren- 
 
 
 side 
 
 Hr6i 
 
 Roehill, Rose hill 
 
 Hubba 
 
 Hubbersty 
 
 Hunger 
 
 Hunger hill 
 
132 
 
 SCANDINAVIAN PROPER 
 
 NAMES OF PLACES IN WHICH 
 
 NAMES. 
 
 FOUND. 
 
 Hundi 
 
 Hund hows 
 
 Hundingr 
 
 Hunting how 
 
 Hviti 
 
 Whitbarrow, Whitehows 
 
 Hvati 
 
 Waitby 
 
 Hr6mundr 
 
 Roman fell 
 
 Idun 
 
 Itonfield 
 
 Ivar, or Evar 
 
 Heversha,ni 
 
 Korni 
 
 Corn how, Comey fell 
 
 Kijttr 
 
 Ketside, Kitts how 
 
 Kr^ka 
 
 Crackenthorpe, Craika 
 
 Klapa 
 
 Clappersgate 
 
 Koli 
 
 Colby, Coal giU 
 
 Ketil • 
 
 Kettleside, Kettlewell, Kelton 
 
 
 or Kettleton 
 
 Karl 
 
 Carlton 
 
 Loki, Loker 
 
 Lockthwaite, Lockholm, 
 
 
 Lockerby, Lockerbarrow 
 
 Lambi 
 
 Lamb how 
 
 Lina 
 
 Linethwaite, Linskill, Tiinstock 
 
 Lodinn 
 
 Lowdenhow or Lodenhow 
 
 Logi 
 
 Lodge gill 
 
 Mar 
 
 Mardale, Maires stone 
 
 M^ni 
 
 Manesty, Mainsgate 
 
 Meldun 
 
 Meldon hill 
 
 Melmor 
 
 Melmerby 
 
 Melker 
 
 Melkenthorpe 
 
 MikeU 
 
 Mickleham, Mickle FeE 
 
133 
 
 SCANDINAVIAN PROPER NAMES OF PLACES IN WHICH 
 
 NAMES. FOUND. 
 
 Mioll Milium, Mill how, Mill stone 
 
 how 
 
 Mudr 
 
 Mud gill 
 
 Ottar 
 
 Otterstone 
 
 Ormr 
 
 Ormside, Ormathwaite, Orms- 
 
 
 gill, Ormstead hill 
 
 Oddr, or Otr 
 
 Otts how 
 
 Oddi 
 
 Oddy house, Hodbarrow 
 
 Odin 
 
 Oddendale 
 
 Oiler 
 
 Seatoller, Hollow stones, 
 
 
 Hollowgate 
 
 Rafn 
 
 Ravensworth or Ravenside 
 
 
 Ravenbeck, Ravenstonedale 
 
 Regin 
 
 Riggindale 
 
 Ragnar 
 
 Rannerdale 
 
 Raud, Rodd 
 
 Redhow, Rotha, or Routha 
 
 Rempi \ 
 
 Rampsbeck, Rampshow, 
 
 Rampi > 
 Rami ) 
 
 Rampsgill, Rra,nipside 
 
 Rotinn 
 
 Rotington 
 
 Skorri 
 
 Scordale 
 
 Sadr 
 
 SadgiU 
 
 Saur 
 
 Sowerby 
 
 Sigar 
 
 Siggethwaite, Sickergill 
 
 Sindur, or Sindri 
 
 Cinderbarrow 
 
 Steini 
 
 Stanisceugh, Staingill 
 
 Steinar 
 
 Stanners-stone 
 
 Sten 
 
 Stenkeld 
 
 Spbrr 
 
 Spearpots, Spurston 
 
134 
 
 SCANDINAVIAN PROPER 
 
 NAMES OP PLACES IN WHICH 
 
 NAMES. 
 
 FOUND. 
 
 Svanr 
 
 Swanstythwaite 
 
 Svein 
 
 Swineside, Swindale, Swine- 
 
 
 stone 
 
 Skule 
 
 Schoolknot 
 
 Solvar 
 
 Silverhow,Silverhill,Silverside, 
 
 
 Silverdale, Silverholme 
 
 S61 
 
 Soulby 
 
 Stangar 
 
 Stangerthwaite 
 
 Starri 
 
 Starmire, Stargill 
 
 Soti 
 
 Soutyhow 
 
 Skinnabiorn 
 
 Skinbumess 
 
 Skali 
 
 Scale how, Scalegill 
 
 Skiita, Skota 
 
 Scouthow, Scoutscar 
 
 Skalld 
 
 Scaldknot, Skalderskew 
 
 Skogul 
 
 Skeggles water 
 
 Sumar 
 
 Summerhow, Summerhill 
 
 Thor 
 
 Thursby, ThursgiU 
 
 Thurstan 
 
 Thurstanswater, Thurstonfield 
 
 Thortn 
 
 ThortillgiU 
 
 Tindr 
 
 Tindale 
 
 Thorfinnr ) 
 Thorpinnr / 
 
 Torpenhow, Thorfina-sty 
 
 Thorny 
 
 Thornby, Thomythwaite, 
 
 
 Thornyscale, Thomeystone, 
 
 
 Thombarrow 
 
 Tanni 
 
 Tanners how 
 
 Talkni 
 
 Talkin tarn 
 
 Torfi 
 
 Torver 
 
 TuU 
 
 Tullithwaite 
 
135 
 
 SCANDINAVIAN PROPER NAMES OF PLACES IN WHICH 
 
 NAMES. FOUND. 
 
 Uni Woundale 
 
 Ulfr Ulpha, Ulsker, Uldale, Ulls- 
 
 water, Ullcoats, Ullthwaite 
 Ulfar Ulverston 
 
 \ 
 Vestar Westerdale 
 
 Vickar Wickerslack, Vicars island 
 
 Vali Wallowbarrow 
 
 Vadi Wads how 
 
 Vedur Weatherhill 
 
 "Windar Windermere, Winderwath, 
 
 Wlndergill 
 
 The names in the foregoing list are those which I 
 have actually found to have been borne by Northmen. 
 Yet there are several others which are almost as cer- 
 tainly Scandinavian proper names. Thus Farmanby 
 is no doubt from " Farm an," a traveller or faring man, 
 used as a surname, and Hunsonby from " Hunsen," a 
 proper name, from hurij a bear's cub. So Armthwaite, 
 Armboth, Armside, are evidently from the surname 
 ** Armr," which may mean either poor or lazy j and 
 Skirsgill, Skirwith, from " Skir," which may be either 
 wise or innocent — the name Scurr being still found in 
 that part of the county. 
 
 I have before referred to the character of these 
 proper names as affording a corroborative proof of an 
 immigration more particularly Norwegian. Thus, ot 
 the names in the above list nearly two-thirds are to be 
 found in the Landnamabok, or list of Norwegian set- 
 tlers in Iceland, alone. There are some, however, 
 which are no doubt Danish, as Banner, first assumed. 
 
/ 
 
 136 
 
 according to Saxo Grammaticus, by a Dane named 
 Tymmo, after a battle between Canute and Edwaud of VV*« 
 England. Hence, he adds, " origo nobillissimae apnd 
 Danos stirpis Bannerorum." There are several other 
 names which are probably Danish, and it is possible 
 that the number of them might be relatively aug- 
 mented by those which I have not yet been able to 
 assign. StiU, however, there would, I apprehend, be 
 in any case a preponderance of Norwegian names. 
 But this is a nice point upon which it would be more 
 within the province of a Northern antiquary to 
 decide. 
 
 We now come to treat of the Scandinavian family 
 names still in use in the district. And here we have 
 no longer the same imposing list to produce. Various 
 causes, which will be hereafter referred to, have 
 tended to decrease the number of these names. Yet 
 as every district ' in England presents, in greater or 
 less degree, something of a distinctive character in its 
 family names, it will be right for us to inquire to what 
 extent the peculiarity of these in our district is owing 
 to the Scandinavian colonization. It is, generally 
 speaking, neither among the highest nor yet the lowest 
 class that we should expect to find the strongest traces 
 of this colonization, for, owing to opposite causes, both 
 these classes have been subject to greater fluctuations. 
 It is chiefly among the tradesmen in the country towns, 
 and among the farmers and " statesmen," or small pro- 
 prietors, who have lived from generation to generation 
 upon the land, that these names are to be found. 
 Thickly around Windermere cluster the dwellings of 
 gentry gathered from various parts of England, but in 
 obscurity live on the men who bear the name of him 
 after whom the lake was called eight hundred years ago. 
 
137 
 
 Many of tlie names in the following list will at once 
 be recognized as regular Cumberland and Westmoreland 
 names. Others of them are not of frequent occurrence, 
 but I have not inserted any name which does not, to 
 the best of my knowledge, properly belong to these 
 counties. 
 
 CUMBERLAND AND 
 
 
 WESTMORELAIO) FAMILY 
 
 SCANDINAVIAN PROPER NAMES. 
 
 NAMES. 
 
 
 Airy 
 
 Ari (a servant) {" 
 
 Barnes 
 
 Bama (child, son) 
 
 Beck 
 
 Bekkr 
 
 Bell 
 
 Bollr 
 
 Bewly 
 
 Bi61a 
 
 Bimey 
 
 Birna (a bear) 
 
 BirreU 
 
 BirvH 
 
 Blaylock 
 
 BoUok 
 
 Blake 
 
 Blaka (pale) 
 
 Boak 
 
 Boek (a Norwegian name, 
 
 
 perhaps the Old Norse name 
 
 
 Balki) 
 
 Bragg 
 
 Bragi (the god of poetry) 
 
 Bum, Bums 
 
 Bibm (a bear) 
 
 Carrick 
 
 Koeruk 
 
 Comey 
 
 Komi 
 
 Corrie 
 
 K6ri 
 
 Connell 
 
 Konall (Konr, a king, and atlr^ 
 
 
 all) 
 
 Cmmb 
 
 Krumr 
 
 Docker 
 
 Doka 
 
138 
 
 CUMBERLAND AND 
 WESTMORELAND FAMILY 
 
 NAMES. 
 
 Fawcett 
 
 Frear 
 
 Gambles 
 
 Gate 
 
 Graham 
 
 Grime 
 
 Grice 
 
 SCANDINAVIAN PROPER NAMES. 
 
 Forseti (the judge, literally the 
 fore-seated, one of the Scan- 
 dinavian deities) 
 
 Freyr (the name of the deitj 
 symbolizing the sun) 
 
 Gamal (old) 
 
 Geit (a goat) 
 
 Gramr ("wroth" — ^poetically a 
 king) 
 
 Grimr ("helmeted," a title of 
 Odin) 
 
 Gris (a wild swine) 
 
 Haldon, Haddon 
 
 Halfd^n 
 
 Hastings 
 
 Hastin 
 
 Haugh 
 
 Hafr (a goat) 
 
 Henny 
 
 Hogni (tom-cat) 
 
 Herd 
 
 Herdr (hard) 
 
 Horn 
 
 Horn (a title of Freyja) 
 
 Huggin 
 
 Huginn (the name of one of 
 
 
 Odin's ravens, probably from 
 
 
 huga, to cogitate) 
 
 Ireland 
 
 Erlendr (foreigner) 
 
 Livick 
 
 Livick 
 
 Lowden 
 
 Lodinn (perhaps from lodinn, 
 
 
 a sheep) 
 
 Main, Mann 
 
 Mani (the moon, which is 
 
 
 masculine in Scandinavian 
 
 
 m3rthology) 
 
139 
 
 CUMBERLAND AND 
 WESTMORELAND FAMILY SCANDINAVIAN PROPER NAMES. 
 NAMES. 
 
 Mair, Marr, Marrs Mar 
 
 Meales Mibl (fresh snow) 
 
 Norman 
 
 Nordmann 
 
 Osbum 
 
 Asbiorn (the divine bear) 
 
 Raven 
 
 Rafn 
 
 Relph 
 
 Hrolfr (mighty) 
 
 Rennie 
 
 Hrani (probably from ran^ 
 
 
 rapine) 
 
 I^igg 
 
 Hryggr (sad) 
 
 Roe, Roy 
 
 Hroi (King, hero) 
 
 RoweU 
 
 Hroalldr 
 
 Scaife 
 
 Skeifr (timid, fearful) 
 
 Sibbald 
 
 Sivald 
 
 Spiers 
 
 Sporr 
 
 Stanger 
 
 Stangar 
 
 Swan 
 
 Svanr 
 
 Simmonds 
 
 Sigmundr 
 
 Swa.in 
 
 Sveinn (a youth, servant) 
 
 Swinbum 
 
 Sveinbiom 
 
 Tate, Tait 
 
 Teitr (either from teitr^ a foal, 
 
 
 or tdtVy joyful) 
 
 Tiffin 
 
 Tirfingr 
 
 Toppin 
 
 Thorfinnr, Thorpinnr 
 
 Vickers 
 
 Vikar (probably from vik, a 
 > bay, and of same meaning 
 as ** Viking") 
 
V 
 
 140 
 
 CUMBERLAND AND 
 WESTMORELAND FAMILY SCANDINAVIAN PROPER NAMES. 
 NAMES. 
 
 Waite, Watt Hvati (alert, active) 
 
 Wilkins Yilkinr . y.. » . 
 
 Winder Windar 
 
 Wren, Raine Hreinn (reindeer) 
 
 There are also, as in the former case, a few names 
 which, though I have not met with them in any list 
 as borne by Northmen, are evidently Scandinavian. 
 Such is Tordiff— " Thor the subduer," jfrom Thor, and 
 di/aj to subdue. 
 
 There is not much doubt that the termination 
 " son," so common in our proper names, is Scandinavian 
 in its origin. Verstegan* refers to it as a matter of 
 popular tradition. " It remayneth, as it were by tradi- 
 tion among some of our country people that those 
 whose surnames end in * son,' as Johnson, Thomson, 
 Nicolson, Davison, Saunderson, and the like, are de- 
 scended of Danish race." He goes on to dispute this 
 on the ground that many of the names in which it 
 occurs cannot be supposed to be Danish. In this he 
 is so far right as the tradition overstates the truth. 
 There is no warrant for supposing aU the persons whose 
 names end in " son" to be of Danish origin, though the 
 termination itself may be Danish. It is admitted on 
 all hands that the termination by in the names of 
 places is Scandinavian, yet Roberby and Richardby 
 contain names which clearly are not Scandinavian. 
 Yet we should unquestionably have a right to expect 
 
 * Restitution of Decayed Intelligence. 
 
141 
 
 that a considerable proportion of the names ending in V 
 " son" should be altogether Scandinavian. And this 
 can be shown to be the case — ^take the following names 
 belonging to our own district. Allison, AUinson, 
 Alderson, Anderson, Amison, Carson, Corson, Danson, 
 Ellison, Gunson, Hanson, Nanson, Nelson, Pearson, 
 Rawson, Randerson, Rennison, Sanderson, Simson, 
 Swainson, Tolson, Wabson, Wadeson. All these names 
 are, without much doubt, Scandinavian, and some of 
 them are common in Denmark at the present day. Others 
 also of the names common in England, as Thomson, 
 Mathison, Stephenson, and Johnson are of frequent 
 occurrence in the Scandinavian north — the last in par- 
 ticular being the most common name in Iceland. 
 
 Upon the whole, Scandinavian family names can 
 scarcely be said to be more common in our district than 
 in the other Northern counties, and are, I think, 
 rather less so than in Scotland. 
 
 Among the causes which have conduced to their 
 diminution the most obvious is the interchange of 
 population which is continually going on throughout 
 the kingdom, and which, however trifling in any 
 particular district, cannot fail to make itself felt in 
 the course of seven or eight centuries. 
 
 Another, and a more potent cause, has been, no 
 doubt, the practise of baptizing the converts to Chris- 
 tianity under new names. Men who bore the names 
 of heathen gods, such as Thor and Odin, could not 
 more emphatically signalize their conversion than by 
 abjuring the titles which were so strongly identified 
 with their old pagan worship ; and the missionaries of 
 Christianity showed some knowledge of human nature 
 in requiring this proof of their sincerity. For to many 
 
142 
 
 \[ a man it might seem a lighter thing to go through the 
 ceremony of baptism than to cast off the name of the 
 warrior-god in whom he had exulted. And the very- 
 mention of his name furnished for ever afterwards a 
 standing protest among his neighbours against idolatry. 
 
 But perhaps the most important cause by which these 
 old names have been superseded is one we can trace 
 even now in a measure going on before us. 
 
 In Cumberland, as in Scotland, it is a very common 
 V practice to give men names taken from the places which 
 they inhabit. This has originated, no doubt, in the 
 necessity of distinguishing between persons of the same 
 name, where the range of christian names is limited. 
 Thus we have John o' the gate, Dick o' the fell, Tom 
 o' the how, &c., and the manner in which John o' the 
 gate would become John Gate, Dick o' the feU E-ichard 
 FeU, and Tom o' the how Thomas Howe, it is not diffi- 
 cult to understand. 
 
 Some curious examples of a similar practice are given 
 in the notes to Mark Lonsdale's poem of the " Upshot,** 
 in the " Cumberland and Westmoreland dialects." The 
 writer observes, " In several towns there are found so 
 many of the same surname that they are obliged to use 
 either combinations of the family christian names, or to 
 adopt some bye-title appropriate to the person spoken 
 of" Among the instances given are " Laird o' Foald 
 (Laird Hodgson), a person of landed property, whose 
 house stood within a foald or farm-yard." " Bill o' 
 Foald (William Hodgson), son to the preceding." 
 "Paddigal William (William Hodgson), from the 
 family having formerly lived at a place called Park 
 gill, corrupted in pronunciation into Paddigal." " Dub 
 WuLLY (William Hodgson), from a dub or small piece 
 of water near his house." 
 
143 
 
 But the moat curious form, illustrating at once the 
 
 mode of distinguishing individuals — the power which 
 
 the dialect has of forming unlimited compounds — and \ 
 
 its neglect of the possessive case — is found in the fol- / ^/^ 
 
 lowing, from the " Upshot" : — 
 
 " Oal Peat wife laikt wi Nan-Rob-Jack, 
 Because she was his goddy." 
 
 Nan-Rob-Jack denotes John Hodgson, the son of 
 Robert, the son of Ann. Nor is the power of com- 
 bination exhausted even in this, for we have Nan-Rob- 
 Robin-Robin, "vdz., Robert Hodgson, the son of Robert, 
 the son of Robert, the son of Ann. 
 
 To such an extent has the practice of taking names %/ 
 from the family residence prevailed in the district, 
 that out of a list given by Lysons of fifty-five Cum- 
 berland families extinct before 1500, no fewer than 
 thirty-nine take their names from the places where 
 they were settled, as Allonby of Allonby, Bassen- 
 thwaite of Bassenthwaite, &c., and of the rest a con- 
 siderable proportion appear to have migrated from 
 other counties. 
 
 Thus then a very great number of the family names y 
 of the district are in fact Scandinavian, taken from the 
 names of places. The names Fell, Howe, Gate, Gill, 
 Rigg, Slack, Thwaite, Garth, Bowes, Beck, Dale, 
 Gale, Ray, Hope, Mire, By, or their compounds, as 
 Homsby, Crosby, Blamire, Crosthwaite, Satterthwaite, 
 Dockray, &c., are amongst the most common names of 
 the district The names Gate, Rigg, and Beck may, 
 however — at least in some cases — be derived, not from 
 a locality, but from Geit, Hryggr, and Bekkr, original 
 names of Northmen, as before referred to. 
 
CHAPTER IX.. 
 
 CHAEA.CTEEISTIC8, MANNERS, AND CUSTOMS OF THE 
 INHABITANTS. 
 
 We now come to trace the marks of Norwegian descent 
 as they are to be found in the characteristics, physical 
 and moral, and in the manners and customs of the 
 inhabitants of the district. This is a branch of the 
 subject upon which it is not my intention to dwell 
 otherwise than in a cursory manner, for we have no 
 longer the same distinct grounds on which to found an 
 argument as those which were afforded us in the pre- 
 ceding chapters. Yet there are features of resemblance 
 which are not to be disregarded, and which are indeed 
 necessary to make the evidence complete. For it would 
 be a weak point in the theory if the inhabitants of the 
 district — one too more particularly secluded from the 
 rest of England — did not, so far as they exhibit any 
 distinctive characteristics, present some features in 
 accordance with the theory which I have suggested for 
 their origin. 
 
 I have before remarked on the evidence afforded by 
 the examination of Scandinavian graves as to the 
 gigantic stature of some of the Northern vikings. And 
 the records of the district afford many instances of men 
 not unworthy to be their descendants. But we are 
 concerned not so much with those exceptional cases, 
 which are indeed confined to no particular district, as 
 with the general standard of the race. The men of 
 Cumberland and Westmoreland, and more particularly 
 
U5 
 
 the natives of the mountain country — ^the "Fell-siders," 
 as they are called by the other inhabitants — are 
 decidedly a taller race than the rest of England. " In 
 England to this day," observes Sir E. B. Lytton in his 
 romance of Harold, " the descendants of the ••Ajiglo- 
 Danes in Cumberland and Yorkshire are taller and 
 bonier than those of the Anglo-Saxons as in Surrey 
 and Sussex." But there is some difference between 
 the natives of Cumberland and those of Yorkshire — 
 the former, though equally firmly knit, being of a less 
 buriy build than the inhabitants of the more purely 
 Danish district, and in that respect more nearly re- 
 sembling the Norwegians. As the people of Norway 
 are remarkable for the lightness of the hair, particularly 
 in childhood, so I think that any one who has travelled 
 much in Cumberland could scarcely fail to be struck 
 with the groups of 'white-headed children which every- 
 where meet him in the villages, particularly among 
 the mountains. Upon the whole, though the general 
 resemblance of the Teutonic race does not render any of 
 the minuter shades of difference so readily perceptible, 
 it seems to me, so far as I am qualified to judge, that 
 there is a certain distinguishable resemblance between 
 the peasantry of Norway and that of our mountain 
 district. 
 
 Sir E. B. Lytton, to whom is due the credit of being 
 one of the first to awaken the English mind to a juster 
 sense of the Scandinavian immigration, has pointed 
 out some of the characteristics which still distinguish 
 the people of the districts settled by the Northmen. 
 Of these the principal are a strong feeling of indepen- 
 dence, and a large share of liatui-al shrewdness, or what 
 is commonly called " mother wit*' " It is remarkable," 
 
 K 
 
 31^ tz. ^aJ^ , 4^ ^^ d l^ck. 
 
U6 
 
 writes Sir Edward, "that the modem inhabitants of 
 those portions of the kingdom originally peopled by 
 the Danes, are, irrespectively of mere party divisions, 
 noted for their intolerance of all oppression, and their 
 resolute independence of character, to wit, Yorkshire, 
 Norfolk, Cumberland, and large districts in the Scottish 
 lowlands." 
 
 There can be no doubt that it is to the existence of a 
 very numerous class of small freeholders, called, locally, 
 " statesmen," that this spirit of independence is mainly 
 indebted. Whether the original Northern settlers 
 were generally freeholders in the present sense of the 
 term may be a question, but there is every reason to 
 believe that the colonization of this country was of a 
 less aristocratic character than that of Iceland. For, 
 as Mallet observes, "expeditions to Iceland were 
 attended with considerable expense, for the emigrants 
 had to take everything with them — ^provisions, winter 
 stores, live stock, and even the timber for the con- 
 struction of their dwellings. They were therefore 
 generally fitted out by the pontiff chieftains." That 
 some of the settlers in this district were of this class 
 of pontiff chieftains or Godar, who took possession of 
 a district, and divided it among their followers, I have 
 had occasion in a previous chapter to point out. But 
 it is probable that the majority of the settlers were of 
 a smaller class of free proprietors, corresponding to the 
 Odalsmen of Norway. This word is defined by Hal- 
 dorsen as meaning strictly an original proprietor. It ' 
 is possible that the term " dalesmen" still in use in the 
 mountain district may be derived from, or connected iv 
 with, this word. It has, however, been derived from 
 Old Norse deila, Ang.-Sax. dcdan, "to divide," a sense 
 indeed akin to that given by Haldorsen. * 
 
/ 
 
 147 
 
 The present state of Norway, where the greater 
 part of the soil is in the hands of smaU proprietors, 
 owning farms of 200 to 300 acres, resembles very much 
 that of Cumberland, both in regard to the distribution 
 of the land and to the independent spirit which it en- 
 genders. In Cumberland, as in Norway, this is offcen 
 combined with a coldness and reserve of manner, which, 
 by those accustomed to the peasantry of the south, is 
 apt to be mistaken for churlishness. 
 
 Another quality which is an unmistakeable charac- 
 teristic of the inhabitants of the Scandinavian part of 
 England is caution and shrewdness. The Scotchman 
 gives himself his own character in the expression 
 " canny Scot." This word " canny" is a most elastic 
 one : Jamieson gives no fewer that eighteen different 
 meanings to it, aU of course implying something favour- 
 able. In Cumberland, too, it is used in a variety of 
 senses, from "a canny lass" to "a canny wet day." 
 But the original signification of the word, which he 
 derives from the Old Norse Maen, appears to be 
 " astute, knowing," and its application by the Scotch 
 to denote all sorts of other good qualities, shows the 
 value they set upon this, just as the use of the term 
 " brave," by the French, to denote a good fellow, proves 
 the estimation in which they hold that quality. The 
 Yorkshireman, too, gives himself his own character, 
 when, in answer to any attempt to circumvent him, 
 he replies, with a knowing shake of the head, " I'se 
 Yorkshire too." And so too in Cumberland, " We're 
 too far north for that," expresses the consciousness of 
 the possession of a larger share of shrewdness than our a^ jJfA 
 countryraen of the south. ' -^ 
 
 There are some other qualities which the men of 
 
 ?iih^ 
 
148 
 
 Cumberland and Westmoreland share to a certain 
 ^ extent with their neighbours across the border. The 
 
 Scotch are remarkable for combining with an intense 
 love for their native land a very gi-eat readiness to get 
 away from it. In every part of the world you find a 
 Scotchman, and wherever you find him he is a Scotch- 
 man still — he never loses his nationality. A strong 
 feeling of patriotism is a characteristic of all the Scan- 
 dinavian countries. Gamle Norge (Old Norway) is 
 the burden of the national song of the Norwegians. 
 " After all," replies the Icelander, when he listens to 
 the stories of other more favoured countries, " After 
 all, Iceland is the best land that the sun shines upon." 
 And so, the bard of Cumberland, after enumerating 
 the attraxjtions of other countries, winds up with the 
 patriotic sentiment — 
 
 " But canny old Cumberland caps them a' still." 
 The migratory principle is perhaps not so strong in 
 the North of England as it is in Scotland ; but, taking 
 into account their remote situation, probably a greater 
 number of the natives of Cumberland and Westmore- 
 land have sought — and found — ^their fortunes in London 
 and the other great centres of commerce than the 
 average of other counties. 
 
 Another characteristic of the Scandinavian character 
 is litigiousness — a softened form in which the spirit of 
 the old Yikings still makes itself apparent. This is a 
 conspicuous feature in the present inhabitants of Nor- 
 mandy, who give more employment to the lawyers 
 than the people of any other part of France. And in 
 greater or less degree the same remark holds good of 
 the other countries peopled by the Northmen. 
 J Most of the above are, however, it will be seen, 
 
 / 
 
149 
 
 general traits of character which distinguish the dis- 
 tricts settled as well by the Danes as the Norwegians. 
 
 In respect of diet and manner of life the people of 
 Cumberland and Westmoreland share with the Scotch 
 some features of resemblance to the inhabitants of 
 Norway, though in this respect the extended commu- 
 nication of modern times is effecting a considerable 
 change. 
 
 Until of late years the use of wheaten bread was 
 almost unknown in a great part of the district, par- 
 ticularly among the mountains — ^barley, rye, and oat- 
 meal being the staple articles of consumption. Cakes 
 made of barley, and called flat-bread, similar to the 
 flad hrod of Norway, are still in general use. They 
 are also known by the name of " scons," a word which 
 may probably be derived from Old Norse skdn, a crust. 
 The mountain cheese, called " whillimer," so uninviting 
 that its name has been facetiously derived from the 
 query *' wha'll hae mair T and so tough that the Cum- 
 berland rustics are said sometimes to shoe their clogs 
 with its rind instead of iron, is another instance of that 
 hard fare in which our district approached the still 
 sterner mountain diet of Norway. As in the latter 
 country and in Iceland, oatmeal porridge is still an 
 article of very general consumption, and this, though 
 it has been irreverently compared by Mr. Dickens in 
 appearance to " diluted pincushions without the 
 covers," and in use to the earth with which the savage 
 distends his stomach, " lest he should be inconveniently 
 hungry when there is nothing to eat," is both whole- 
 some and nourishing for all that. The editor of 
 Murray's Hand-book refers to the " careful prepara- 
 tion" of the Norwegian grody and so, too, the con- 
 
 v/ 
 
150 
 
 coction of porridge is esteemed an art not lightly to be 
 attained by a Southern cook, and a true Cumberland 
 housewife would scorn the undirected attempts of a 
 Soyer. 
 ^ In respect to their amusements, the men of Cinnber- 
 land and Westmoreland bear some resemblance to the 
 old Icelanders — their favourite diversion being wrest- 
 ling, in which they bear away the palm from the rest 
 of England. The word, as they pronounce it, " russle,'* 
 comes nearest to the Old Norse rusla, the Ang.-Sax. 
 being wroestlian. A relic of the old sword-dance is still 
 to be found at some of their meny-makings, and used 
 to be more particularly common at the season of 
 Christmas. Among the sports of children is one which 
 deserves mention, as being of ancient, and, perhaps, 
 from the terms made use of in it, of Scandinavian 
 origin. It commences by a single boy, who, starting 
 from an appointed place, called his " den," pursues his 
 playfellows with clasped hands until he has succeeded 
 in touching or " tigging" one of them. The two again 
 retreat to their den, whence, having given due warning, 
 / ' H'\^\^ ^^ *hey again start with joined hands till they succeed in 
 ^ i ' catching another, who joins them in like manner. 
 
 Thus the chain becomes gradually longer, whilje the 
 number of those at Kberty is continually diminishing. 
 But as the chain becomes more extended it becomes also 
 more unwieldy, and the tactics of the pursued are now 
 not only to escape from it by flight, but, as opportunity 
 offers, to rush in upon and break through it, in which 
 case all those composing it are compelled to make a 
 precipitate retreat to their den, pursued by the others, 
 who lay upon them with knotted handkerchiefs. This 
 game appears, in its origin, to be one of mimic war, 
 
151 
 
 closely resembling a body of regular troops pursuing '-^ 
 through their retreats a band of flying robbers, or 
 patriots, as the case may be. Some of the terms made 
 use of in it appear to be of Scandinavian origin, thus 
 the chain is called the " widdy," which appears to be 
 the CMd Norse vidia, a chain, and the act of touching 
 a boy to make him prisoner is called " tigging," Old 
 Norse tegia, to touch lightly. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 MAXECT OP CTJMBEBLAKD AUD WBSTMOEKLAlfD. 
 
 It might be expected that the dialect of all those 
 counties which formed the ancient Denelaga would 
 preserve a marked resemblance to each other, and would 
 all retain considerable traces of the language of their 
 original settlers. The difference between the northern 
 and southern dialects is remarked by Higden,* who, 
 writing about 1350, observes — "The whole speech of 
 the Northumbrians, especially in Yorkshire, is so harsh 
 and rude that we Southern men can scarcely under- 
 stand it." And Wallingford, who wrote some time 
 before, observes, in reference to Yorkshire, that " there 
 is, and long has been, a great admixture of people of 
 Danish race in that province, and a great similarity of 
 language." Mr. Halliwell, in his dictionary of archaic 
 and provincial words, remarks, " there seem to be few 
 ti'aces of Danish in the modem Yorkshire dialect." An 
 examination, however, of some of the provincial glos- 
 saries of the county, and in particular that by Mr. 
 Carr, of the dialect of Graven, which is one of those 4 
 parts of Yorkshire where the language is ret^ned in 
 its greatest purity, shows not only considerable traces \ 
 of Scandinavian dialects, but also a much closer resem- 
 blance to the dialect of Cumberland and Westmoi-eland, 
 as also to the language of the Lowland Scotch, than is 
 
 * Polychronicon. 
 
153 
 
 to be fonnd in the Yorkshire dialect generally. I^or- 
 thumberland also, though differing widely in its pro- 
 nunciation, which is distinguished by a strong and 
 very peculiar burr, cwncides very closely in its 
 vocabulary with the counties above-mentioned. The 
 same peculiar burr is found in some part of the north 
 of Durham ; the local term for it is to " crab ;" a word 
 connected apparently with the German hraheti^ to 
 scratch with the nails, and sufficiently expressive of the 
 guttural and grating sound which marks the Northum- 
 brian speech- This peculiarity of pronunciation, 
 however, it should be observed, is not universal 
 throughout Northumberland. 
 
 It would appear then probable that the dialect of all 
 these northern counties has been originally, if not 
 identical, yet much more uniform than it is at present, 
 and that the counties situated further to the south 
 have changed more than the others in proportion to 
 the greater influence brought to bear upon them. The 
 strong resemblance between the Craven dialect and the 
 language of the Lowland Scotch has induced Mr. Carr 
 to found on it a theory that the Scottish language is 
 nothing more than " a corruption of that which is now 
 spoken in Craven and in the northern counties oi 
 England," and is in fact a dialectic branch of the 
 ancient English language. It will, however, be nearer 
 the mark to consider the resemblance between the 
 language of Scotland and the dialects of the North of 
 England to be owing in no small degree to the Scandi- 
 navian element which is common to them all. It is 
 no doubt the case that many words which are now 
 peculiar to the North were once a part of the general 
 language of England, yet the testimony of the writers 
 
154 
 
 before quoted, and others, seems to prove that the 
 difference between the northern and southern dialects 
 of England was always strongly marked. It must be 
 observed, however, that though the greater part of 
 northern English words are also Scotch, the converse 
 4^ does not hold good to the same extent, the Scottish 
 language having retained many words from the Celtic, 
 and adopted many from the French, which are not to 
 be found in the dialects of the North of England. 
 
 A The pronunciation of Westmoreland is marked by 
 a degree of uniformity which is not to be found in 
 Cumberland, where it is subject to considerable varia- 
 tions. Among the mountains, in the towns, along the 
 sea coast, and the Scottish border, various shades of 
 difference exist. Mr. Boucher observes " that in the 
 mountain district it is remarkable for a peculiar quick- 
 ness and sharpness, and the conversation of the people 
 seems to be carried on with such an air of eagerness, 
 and the long a pronounced in a manner so particularly 
 liquid and thin, that were Caxton still living, he might 
 still say of their dialect, that it was " harrying, ^rys- 
 byting, sharpe, slyttinge, frotynge, and unschape." 
 
 One of the features of resemblance which the dialect 
 of Cumberland and Westmoreland bears to the language 
 of the Scandinavian North consists in a tendency to 
 harden the sounds. Thus ih is changed into d, as 
 "fadder" for "father," "smiddy" for "smithy"— <7A 
 and sh into ^, as " kurn " for " churn," " skiffc " for 
 *' shift," « kirk" for " church." " Mask," for " mash," 
 to infaae, applied to tea, is a word frequently heard 
 from persons who cannot be said properly to speak the 
 
 / Cumberland dialect. The same peculiarity Mr. Boucher 
 observes of the present inhabitants of Normandy, who 
 
155 
 
 pronounce " chien," for instance, as if it were written 
 " kien." Another change is that of v into 6, as White- 
 hebben for Whitehaven, and / into ^, as " Jwosep" for 
 " Joseph." So in Old Norse lopt for " loft^' an upper 
 room ; opt^ Mod. Danish ofte, often. 
 
 Another peculiarity of Scandinavian origin consists 
 in such words as " timmer," Suio-Goth. timmevy Ang.- 
 Sax. timber, — " drucken," Old Norse druckinn, -^ng.- 
 Sax. druncen. The r^ in a numerous class of words 
 such as drink, think, thank, may perhaps be euphonic, 
 and not radical, as it is not found in the corresponding 
 words in Old Norse. 
 
 There are two other phonetic peculiarities of the 
 Cumberland and Westmoreland dialect, the one of 
 which consists in a broad and lengthened pronuncia- 
 tion of the medial vowel, so as in some cases almost to 
 make a monosyllable into a dissyllable. Thus gy-ate 
 for gate, ny-ame for name. " Lig that in a se-af ple- 
 ace," a Cumberland man would say. This peculiarity 
 is both Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian, and as regards 
 the latter resembles in particular, as Mr. Worsaae in- 
 forms us, the dialect of the present inhabitants of Jut- 
 land. The other consists in a fondness for w, as in 
 "cwom" for com, "worchit" for orchard. This 
 peculiarity is more especially Anglo-Saxon, and forms 
 the difference between Odin and Wodin, Ulf and 
 Wulf, Orme and Worm — ^the sound of w being un- 
 known generally among the Scandinavian nations. 
 The inhabitants of Jutland are, however, an exception, 
 as they experience, according to Mr. Worsaae, none of 
 the difficulty found by the rest of the Danes in the pro- 
 duction of this sound. The contrary also obtains to a 
 certain extent, as in "col" for wool (Old Noi-se vll) 
 
156 
 
 but this is, I think, exceptional, as far as regards Cnm- 
 berland and Westmoreland, being more properly a 
 Yorkshire peculiarity. 
 ^' The use of "thou*' and "thee** instead of "you," 
 prevails generally throughout Cumberland and West- 
 moreland, and obtains also in Craven, according to Mr. 
 Carr. It is considered by Mr. Worsaae, who remarks 
 the same peculiarity in the Orkneys, as a mark of 
 Norwegian descent. 
 
 ^ Notwithstanding the prolonged sovereignty of the 
 Britons in Cumberland, there are, as it seems to me, 
 but few traces of Celtic in its dialect, fewer indeed 
 than are observed by Mr. Gaskell in his able and in- 
 teresting essay on the dialect of Lancashire. Some of 
 the terms on which he remarks as Celtic are exchanged 
 
 I with us for others more particularly Scandinavian. 
 Thus for the Lancashire term " craddies," trials of 
 strength and skill which boys are accustomed to set one 
 another, and which he derives from the Celtic crad, 
 " heat, vigour, strength," we have the word " caps,'* 
 " Awl set thee thy caps.'* This is probably fix)m Old 
 Norse kappy fervour, emulation, contention, whence 
 kappiy a daring and valiant person. Another Lancashire 
 term which he quotes is to " tackle,** to set right, to 
 put in order, and which he derives from the Welsh 
 taclu. The word corresponding with us is " fettle," 
 derived probably from Suio-Goth. fett, handy, skilful — 
 Old Norse fitla, to move the fingers lightly, the term 
 being applied generally to operations requiring a little 
 manual dexterity. In the Northumberland dialect we 
 have "feat," neat, dexterous. The Lancashire term 
 itself, however, might, as it seems to me, be equally 
 well derived fi'om the Grothic as from the Celtic — ^thus 
 we have the Danish tackle^ to rig a ship. 
 
157 
 
 There are several other words which our dialect has 
 in common with that of Lancashire, and which he 
 ascribes to a Celtic origin, but which, it seems to me, 
 might be derived from the Scandinavian. Thus 
 *' gam," " cam," or " cammed," wry, crooked, he refers, 
 in default of finding any equivalent in the Gothic lan- 
 guage, to the Welsh gamy cam^ crooked, from camUf to 
 bend. But the Norse has also gdma, to bend, cognate 
 no doubt with the Celtic, and from which I should be 
 more inclined to derive our word. (In the Scandina- 
 vian, as well as in the Celtic languages, g and k are 
 frequently interchanged.) Again, " sad," heavy, thick, 
 not sufficiently fluid — applied generally to a pudding 
 or a paste — he derives from Welsh sad, firm. But 
 the Norse has also seyddr, overdone, from seyda, to 
 cook long or too much ; of which the result is of 
 course to make a thing too stiff by evaporating the 
 fluid. " Girdle " or " griddle," a flat iron on which 
 cakes are baked, is derived from Welsh greidyl, a 
 bake-stone, graidian, to heat. But the Suio-Goth. 
 has also graedda, to bake, whence Jamieson and Todd 
 concur in deriving our word " grid-iron." Another 
 word is " oss," to offer to do, to attempt. In Mrs. 
 Wheeler's Westmoreland dialogues a young woman 
 who has commenced collecting a few articles of furni- 
 ture in anticipation of being married describes herself 
 as " ossing towards housekeeping." Here it seems to 
 have the sense of preparing for or looking forward to. 
 Mr. Gaskell refers it to Welsh osi, to attempt ; but 
 though there be a less apparent resemblance, I think it 
 may be from Norse oaka, to wish. 
 
 Generally, it may be observed that the principle ot 
 referring to the Celtic even for a word which cannot 
 
158 
 
 be found in the Gothic dialects is one which ought to 
 be adopted with some resei-ve. For it often happens 
 that a word is not to be found only because we do not 
 know where to look for it. This applies in greater or 
 less degree, according as the word in question may 
 seem to partake of the general idiom of the dialect. 
 A Celtic term would more naturally be retained as 
 designating an external object than as conveying an 
 abstract idea. Hence a word, which should take its 
 place as a verb, forming its corresponding nouns, 
 adjectives, or adverbs, in accordance with the niles of 
 the dialect, would not, I think, in any case be likely to 
 be derived from the Celtic. Other circumstances, 
 moreover, should be taken into account, as for instance 
 the extent to which the word is common to the north- 
 ern counties, whose relations with the ancient inhabit- 
 ants, and consequent opportunities of adopting their 
 words, were aU more or less different. 
 
 Of words derived from the French we have but very 
 few. " Deray," the mirthful confusion of a banquet — 
 in Old Eng. sometimes witten " dysray" — appears to be 
 from the Fr. desroy. This word may have come to us 
 from the Scotch, as it does not appear to belong to the 
 northern dialects generally. " Fash," to trouble, to 
 weary, seems to be from the Fr. fascher, and " fashions" 
 from facheuXy facheuse. Jamieson observes, " It ap- 
 pears that we have borrowed this word immediately 
 from the Fr., and there is no evidence, as far as I 
 have observed, that it is more ancient than the reign 
 of Mary." It is difficult to conceive how a word in 
 such general use throughout the northern district 
 should be so introduced, and yet it does not appear 
 capable of any other derivation. 
 
159 
 
 Upon the whole, the dialect of Cumberland and 
 Westmoreland seems to be essentially of Dano-Saxon 
 origin — there being many words derived from the 
 Danish, many from the Anglo-Saxon, and a great 
 number which are common to both. Like the Scotch, 
 we use "fra" and "tiU" for "from" and "to," which 
 may be either Anglo-Saxon or Scandinavian, but more 
 probably the latter, as the former had also " from" and 
 "to." "At" for "that," as in "Its time at he were 
 here," Mr. Boucher and Mr. Gaskell concur in sup- 
 posing to be the Danish conjunction at, which is used 
 in the same sense. The former observes that its 
 present use does not extend south of the Humber, and 
 that most of the ancient MSS. in which it is found are 
 confessedly the productions of Northern authors. It 
 was also anciently used in the Old Norse sense of " to," 
 as the sign of the infinitive mood. " I have noghte at 
 do with thee." — MMS. Lincoln. In this se^ise I have 
 never met with it in our district. " Mun" for " must," 
 common to the Scotch and all the Northern dialects 
 Jamieson thinks may be the N. auxiliary verb mun. 
 It is used, however, as he observes, in a more forcible 
 sense than in Old Norse — " The latter respects the 
 certainty of something future ; our sense denotes not 
 only its fiiturition, but its necessity. 
 
 The number of words we have signifying to beat is 
 rather curious, and perhaps — as many of them are 
 evidently Scandinavian — characteristic. We have 
 "baist," N. 6e?/5«a— " bang," N. fta^i^o— "dang," N. 
 dengia — " kaik," N. kiaka — " lam," N. lemia — " nail," 
 N. hnalla — " pake," N. piaka — "yark," N. hiacka or 
 jacka, (pronounced yacka.) " Slaister," to beat vio- 
 lently, may be from N. slasa, to kill — " cluff," from N. 
 
160 
 
 Idauff tlie closed hand — and " peg," to beat with the 
 sharp knuckles, from Dan. pig^ a point, of which the 
 origin is N. piaka as above. " Clink," a blow, seems 
 to be from Suio-Goth. klinka to sound, and to denote a 
 ringing slap — " bat," a stroke or blow, from Ang.-Sax. 
 hat a club, or from N. hidt a violent movement — and 
 " dub" a blow, from N. dubhay Ang.-Sax. dvhhan to 
 beat, " Pean" may be either from N. piria or Ang.- 
 Sax. pinan, to punish — " break" from N. brdka, or 
 Ang.-Sax. bracan, to subdue, to crush, a sense common 
 in early English. " Leather," a term common to se- 
 veral dialects, (in Cumberland more commonly " led- 
 der,") may be from Ang.-Sax. lether, Dan. loedder the 
 skin — the expressive meaning being to flay — an hyper- 
 bole of anger, most of these terms being used as threats. 
 Or it may be derived merely from the leathern strap 
 with which punishment is sometimes inflicted. This 
 instrument, well known to schoolboys, is called in 
 the North "the taws," Ang.-Sax. tawian to beat. 
 " Hide " and " dust ' are two other terms common 
 to several dialects. The former seems to have the same 
 meaning as " leather," and the latter to be used in the 
 metaphorical sense of beating the dust out of a thing. 
 Yet both these terms are probably Scandinavian, for 
 we find in Old Norse the two verbs hyda and diista — 
 both, in addition to their primary meaning, having the 
 signification of beating, so that the secondary meaning 
 is not of modern growth. The origin of " bensil" is 
 not very clear, and all the derivations I have met with 
 are very unsatisfactory. As a verb it means to strike 
 or beat, and as a noun it both means a blow and also 
 a sudden bang. Brockett derives it from Teut. 
 henghden, to beat ; and Stevenson, one of the editoi-s 
 
161 
 
 of Boucher, thinks that it may be a corruption of 
 bent-aaU, expressing originally, " rapidity of motion 
 towards an object." It might possibly be from N. 
 bein, S. G. ben, a bone, and sUa, to plough or cut into 
 — " to cut to the bone," referring to the ferocious 
 practice of the Northmen of carving the blood-eagle 
 upon the back. But I think the manner of its use 
 scarcely warrants such a derivation. Halliwell gives 
 ^* hansel" as a Staffordshire word, and this suggests the 
 A. S. bdnsele, the bone-hall or dwelling, the body, of 
 which " bensil" would be rather a Scandinavian form. 
 This appears upon the whole to be the most probable 
 derivation — ^bensil being used in the same sense as to 
 " brain" signifies to dash out the brains. " Molly- 
 crush," to beat severely, seems to be from N. Tnola, to 
 break into pieces. Hence, probably, also "maul" 
 another word signifying to beat severely, but this is 
 common to several dialects. " Peel" appears to have 
 the same meaning as " maul" — A. S. pilan, to bray, 
 to pound. "Cob" Mr. Gaskell derives from Welsh 
 cohiawy to beat, which, however, I am inclined to con- 
 sider as only cognate. In the phrase " that cobs aw" — 
 " that beats everything," it seems to me to be from the 
 A. S., coppf the head, the top, and to be equivalent to 
 " that tops all," or the Cumberland, " that caps aw." 
 StiU more evidently in the Craven " cob," a chief, 
 conqueror, " He's cob o' them aw" — " he's head of them 
 all." I take, then, the original meaning of "cob," as 
 a verb, to beat another in a fight. Hence is formed 
 "cobby," stout, hearty, common to most of the 
 northern counties. Altogether, the word, which is 
 found as a noun, adjective, and verb, seems to me to 
 be too idiomatic to be of Celtic origin. 
 
 L 
 
162 
 
 Many of the above terms signifying to beat are, it 
 will be observed, common to several dialects, and some 
 others, evidently of Scandinavian origin, are to be 
 found in other dialects. Thus Exmoor has "bank," 
 Dan. hanke, to beat, and the Eastern counties " bask- 
 ing" a sound thrashing, Dan. haske to beat. It may be 
 a question also whether " belabour " is not derived 
 from N. luberia to beat. The Northmen appear to 
 have had a copious vocabulary of such words, and in 
 the number which we still retain may perhaps be found 
 a characteristic record of those fierce invaders. 
 
 From them too we seem to have derived a number 
 of words referring merely to verbal altercation, and of 
 which the true origin appears to have been overlooked 
 by all our lexicographers. Thus " carp," to cavil, has 
 been referred to an indirect sense of the Lat. carpere^ 
 but is much more naturally derived from the N. karpa, 
 which had precisely the same meaning. "Scoff** is 
 referred to the Gr. o-KWTrTO) — Richardson remarking 
 that no analogous word is found in any of the Teutonic 
 languages. The N. supplies the link that is wanting, 
 skop, scoffing, skopaz at, to scoff at, which is no doubt 
 the origin of our word. " Chaff," to banter, has been 
 supposed to be an oblique sense of " chafe" to warm. 
 But the N. has kd/a, ludicre insultare, Mf, insultus 
 ludicrus, kdfaz uppd, jocose irritare — our expression 
 " to chaff up." " Brass," impudence, has been uni- 
 versally supposed to be a metaphorical sense derived 
 from the metal. Yet in N. we find the very word 
 brass, impudence, from the verb hrasta, to live in a 
 dissolute manner. "Bully" is a word much in want 
 of an etymon. Todd and Richardson derive it from 
 the Pope's bull — Webster, with more judgment, from 
 
1G3 
 
 A. S. hytlgian, to bellow. The last-named also adduces 
 Swed. Indhrj a tumult — a clue which, if he had fol- 
 lowed it up, would have led him to what I conceive 
 to be the origin. The N. hutdra signifies to roar, 
 brawl, rage, whence Dan. huldrer, a bully, and Swed. 
 huLlery a tumult — the former derivative retaining the 
 sense, and the latter more of the form of our word. 
 
 From them also we have, as might naturally be 
 expected, derived several terms relating to warfare, to 
 two only of which I shall refer, as not having been 
 properly explained by our lexicographers. The blade 
 of a sword has been supposed to be so called from its 
 resemblance in form to a blade of grass. But the Old 
 Norse has hlad in the sense in question, and we can 
 scarcely have a more satisfactory etymon for it than 
 the verb hlmday to shed blood. " Buckler" has been 
 derived from the Fr. botcclier, but it seems to me that 
 both the English and French words have come from 
 the N. hvMari. And the etymon in this case also 
 seems to be clear — hukr, the trunk or middle part of 
 the body, that protected by the buckler — ^and hlyri, the 
 top of a ship's prow, which consisted of a triangular 
 piece of wood like a shield, the purpose of which it was 
 most probably intended to serve, in warding off the 
 darts of the enemy. 
 
 The importance of a subject such as that of the 
 derivation of the English language must be my excuse 
 in pursuing a little fui-ther an enquiry not directly 
 within the scope of my present undertaking — my object \^ 
 being to shew that, generally, the Scandinavian element 
 in our language has not been properly represented. 
 Does it not seem a gi-eat anomaly to refer to dialects 
 
164 
 
 y which are merely cognate, as the German and the 
 Dutch, and to ignore the language of a people who 
 actually colonized a considerable portion of England, 
 and for many a century wrestled with the Saxon for 
 
 I the dominion of the whole 1 Yet this is what has been 
 
 done to a considerable extent by some even of the best 
 of our lexicographers. Todd's edition of Johnson is 
 certainly the least open to this reproach, yet even this 
 "^4^3 — learned and valuable work does by no means complete 
 justice to the Scandinavian element in our language. 
 To enter into the subject generally would form a 
 separate undertaking, and I will therefore merely draw 
 attention to one or two examples from a particular 
 class — ^that of words ordinarily derived from the French, 
 but which in my opinion have been received by both 
 the two nations from their Scandinavian invaders. 
 " Peruke" has been derived by Johnson from the Fr. 
 ferruque^ and this etymology has not been superseded, 
 nor I think questioned. But as we find in Old Norse 
 parruk, a wig, and as it appears to have a very clear 
 etymon in the same language — para, to join, to put 
 together, and reik, human hair — it may fairly be pre- 
 sumed to be the origin of both. Yet Richardson, 
 after observing that no sufficient et3rmon from the 
 Latin has been suggested, adds, " The attempts to 
 trace it to a Northern origin are equally unsatisfactory." 
 In the Landnamabok a Northman is mentioned, named 
 Hndir Parak, deriving his surname very probably from 
 the false hair which he wore. 
 
 " Brush," used in two senses, as brush for the hair, 
 and " brush," small trees or shmbs, has been referred 
 to the Fr. brosse, which has also the two senses of a 
 
165 
 
 brush and a bush. But the N. has hrHskry another 
 form of buskr, both words having the two senses in 
 question. From hUskr comes no doubt our word " bush," 
 and probably the Sco. "busk" — (see "buss," in follow- 
 ing list). From bruskr comes our word " brush," and 
 probably, though in this case not so certainly, the Fr. 
 brosse. So that, instead of our word being derived 
 from the French, it preserves more closely its original 
 form. Our word " brisk," the Fr. brusque, and the 
 Old Eng. "brusk," (same meaning as the Fr.) all seem 
 to be derived in a sort of metaphorical sense, from 
 bruskr, a brush. Several other words implying liveli- 
 ness or smai*tness have their origin in brushing, curling, 
 or combing the hair, (see " crouse," in following list.) 
 
 I will conclude with a single example from a differ- 
 ent class, and one which is in striking contrast with 
 most of the terms to which I have referred as borrowed 
 from the Northmen. Who would think that when 
 the fierce strangers leaped from their long ships upoit 
 our shores, they brought such a drawing-room word as 
 " sofa" along with them 1 How much more naturally 
 would it seem, as indeed all our dictionaries agree in 
 making it, to be derived from the languid Oriental ! 
 Yet Richardson perceives its possible connection with 
 the Swed. sofwa, to sleep. If, instead of a modem 
 dialect, he had, more correctly, referred to the ancient 
 language of the North, he would have found the N. 
 sofa, a sleeping place, from the verb sofa, to sleep, 
 which seems, pretty certainly, to be the origin of our 
 word. The Persian sofat is no doubt cognate — the 
 ancient language of Persia might probably furnish the 
 roots of both. But even the latest editions of our best 
 
165 
 
 dictionaries take no note of the great discoveries of wrr 
 own time, and thei-e is none which represents — or at- 
 tempts to represent — ^the present state of Enropean 
 philology. 
 
 Returning to the dialect of Cumberland and West^ 
 moreland, I propose, as it is a very important branch 
 of the enquiry to ascertain what remains of Northern 
 languages are to be found in the living tongue of the 
 people, to give a list, first of words which I conceive to 
 be of Scandinavian origin; and secondly, of words 
 which may be either Anglo-Saxon or Scandinavian. 
 Neither of these lists can be considered as anything 
 but very imperfect, no complete glossary of the Cum- 
 berland and Westmoreland dialect having as yet been 
 compiled. The greatest number of words, both of 
 these two counties and of Northumberland, is to be 
 found in Mr. Halliweirs " dictionary of archaic and 
 provincial ^vords," in which he has laid all previous 
 glossaries under contribution, and supplied many words 
 from private sources. But a number of words which 
 are common to all three counties, are here given as 
 only Northumbrian. From this valuable work are 
 taken all the words marked as Westmoreland in the 
 following lists, many of which are among the more 
 uncommon words of the dialect. Most of them are, 
 however, no doubt common to Cumberland. 
 
 In order to show the connection between the dialects 
 of the North, I note the woi-ds which are also to be 
 found in the Northumberland, the Ci*aven, and the 
 Scotch. The last are of course taken from the great 
 work of Dr. Jamison — a work the value of which 
 those only who have had occasion to go over the same 
 ground can be able fully to estimate. 
 
167 
 
 CUMBEBLAND AND WESTMORELAND WOEDS OF 
 SCANDINAVIAN OEIGIN. 
 (N. Old Norse. D. Banish. S.-G. Suio-Oothic. A. S. Anglo-Saxon.) 
 Aandorn or Orndorn. An afternoon repast. Also 
 simply the afternoon. T>. onden, dinner, used 
 in Jutland and Fiinen. The D. anden, second, 
 may perhaps give the origin of it — the second 
 meal in the day, or the second part of the day, 
 i. e.f the afternoon. 
 AcK. To heed, regard. N". akta, to make account of. 
 Generally used in the imperative — " never ack," 
 never mind. 
 
 " Neer ack — there's nae hard laws in England 
 Except this bit thing about game." 
 
 Miss Blamire. 
 May not this be the prefix in " acknowledge T 
 The hybrid derivation from Lat. agnosco, and Eng. 
 " knowledge" can only be suggested by Mr. Todd 
 for want of a better. 
 
 Iv'orth. 
 
 A.CKER. To curl or ripple, as water in a breeze. N. 
 aka, to agitate. 
 
 Crav. acker, a ripple. 
 
 Amell. Between. N. djnUli, D. imellem. The 
 " mell-door" or " amell-door" in a Cumberland 
 farm-house is the space or passage between the 
 inner and outer doors. As before mentioned, 
 " mell," in the senBe of a boundary, enters very 
 frequently into the names of places. 
 
 North, 
 
 . Abd, Aibd. Dry, parched, arid, applied to the quality 
 
 '^ of a soil. Mr. Boucher derives it from Celt, ardh^ 
 
 high, of which he makes it a secondary sense — 
 
 such lands being dry and parched because they lie 
 
168 
 
 CUMBERLAND AND WESTMORELAND W0RD8 OF 
 SCANDINAVIAN ORIGIN. 
 
 high. But I think it may be from N. oreyddrj 
 empty, exhausted. In the sense of " high" I do 
 not find it in our dialect, or in our names of 
 places. In the instances which he quotes where 
 " aird" is used substantively in names of places as 
 in Aird- Patrick, it may be more probably from 
 jordy a property or estate. 
 
 Arles-penny or Earles-penny. Earnest money for 
 work to be performed ; the money advanced to 
 farm-servants when they are hired. Jamieson 
 has given a learned dissertation upon this word, 
 but seems to have missed the most natural deri- 
 vation of it, N. erlaj to work continuously or un- 
 interruptedly. Hence " earles-penny" would be 
 earnest money for continuous work or a regular 
 engagement — the term of hiring in Cumberland 
 and Westmoreland being six months. This seems 
 to be the meaning with us — Jamieson gives it the 
 wider sense of " an earnest, of whatever kind." — 
 
 North. Crav. Sco. 
 
 Arr. The mark of a wound, a scar. D. or. 
 
 North. Crav. 
 y Arvel. a funeral. Its literal meaning seems to be 
 ^ the ale distributed at a funeral, as that of " bridal" 
 
 is the ale distributed at a wedding. Arvel-bread 
 is a sort of cake given at the funerals of the poor 
 in the North of England. D. Arveol, a feast 
 held in honour of a deceased chief, at which the 
 succession was declared — from N. arji, an heir, 
 and ol, ale. 
 
 JNor^ Crav. J^co. 
 
169 
 
 CVMBEBLAND AND WESTMORELAND WORDS OF 
 SCANDINAVIAN ORIGIN. 
 
 Awns. In the south of Cumberland and in "West- 
 moreland pronounced Angs — the beards of wheat 
 or barley. N. ogn (plural agnir), D. avn, 
 S.-G. agn. " Angs" is not, as Mr. HaUiwell 
 seems to think, a corruption of "awns," but is 
 rather, in fact, the older word — ^both the Cumber- 
 land " awn" and Dan. avn being softened forms 
 of the original. 
 
 North. Crav. Sco. 
 Axle-Tooth. A grinder. N. jaoda. 
 
 North. Crav. 
 Bain. Near, direct, convenient, applied generally to 
 a road — " a bainer way" — a more direct road. 
 N. beinn, direct, Dan. bane, a beaten path, ba/ne, 
 V. to make passable, to pave the way. In Scot- 
 land this word has the more general sense of 
 "ready, prepared, alert, active." 
 
 North. Crav. 
 Barked. Incrusted with dirt, applied generally to 
 the skin. N. barka, cutem induere. 
 
 North. Cra/v. 
 Bask. Sharp, acid. N. beiskr. 
 
 Batten. To thrive, applied generally to children. 
 N. batna. 
 
 North. 
 Beaker. A flagon or drinking-cup. N. hikar. In 
 the following passage it seems to be used as a 
 verb : — 
 
 " Wi' merry lilts the fiddles chaug, 
 The lads and lasses bicker, 
 The drink o' acid tastes sae Strang, 
 'Twad mek an auld naig nicker." 
 
 Boaley Fair, by Stagg. 
 
170 
 
 CUMBERLAND AND WE8TM0EELAND WOBDS OF 
 SCANDINAVIAN ORIGIN. 
 
 Although it is evidently used here in a sense 
 quite the rei'^erse of quarrelling, yet it strikes me 
 as not improbable that it may be the origin of 
 our word "bicker," from the petty squabbles 
 continually occurring among men over their cups. 
 
 North. 
 Beel. To beUow. N. hdia. 
 
 North. Crav. 
 
 Berry. To thrash corn. N. beria, to beat. 
 
 North. 
 Birr, Burr A rapid, whirling motion, as that of a 
 bird through the air. Any quick and sudden 
 movement, as a spring or leap. Probably from 
 N. Mr, a breeze. 
 
 North. Sco. 
 
 Blained. Half dry, generally applied to linen hung 
 out to dry. D. hlegne, to whiten. Both North. 
 and Crav. have "blain" in its original sense, to 
 " whiten ;" the latter also in the same sense as 
 ours, which is no doubt a corrupted one. 
 
 Blanker. A spark of fire. N. hlanka^ to sparkle, 
 whence hlanhr, white, the probable origin of our 
 word "blank." 
 
 Blate. Bashful. N. hlaudr^ timid, effeminate, hleydi, 
 timidity. 
 
 North. Sco. 
 
 Blather, Bladder. To prate. S.-G. hladdra. 
 
 North. Sco. 
 Bolder. A loud report. D. hvlder, noise, brawl, 
 tumult. 
 
 Sco. " buller," a loud i-oar. 
 
171 
 
 CUMBEBLAND AND WESTMORELAND WOEDS OP 
 SCANDINAVIAN OEIGIN. 
 
 BoLK The trunk of a tree. N. hdr.^ S.-G. hd. 
 
 North. Crav. 
 Boulders, Booders, or Boulder-stones. Large stones 
 rounded by the action of water or other cause. 
 D. hold, a ball, holder, balls. 
 
 North. Crav. 
 
 Brandling. A sort of small trout. N. bi'anday trutta 
 
 minima. 
 Brandly. Fiercely. Ttdlies Siege of Carlide. N. 
 
 hrana, audacter mere. 
 
 Bblaid. To resemble — generally applied to persons, 
 and used to denote similarity of disposition. 
 Jamieson traces it to N. hregda, " denoting the 
 resemblance of children in disposition to their 
 progenitors." Ihre gives Bregdur ha/rni til aettar 
 — " children take after their parents." Or, as we 
 should say, in language nearer the original, "Bairns 
 braid o' their fore-elders." 
 
 North, Crav. Sco. 
 
 'Brant. Steep. N. hrattr, S.-G. hrani. 
 
 North. Crav. 
 Bumble-bee or Bummle-bee. The humble bee. N. 
 
 humlaj to buzz. In Old Eng. " bumble" signified 
 
 to drone or hum. 
 
 " And as a bitore 
 
 Chaucer, W., of Bath. 
 
 North, Gram, (Sco. *< bum-bee,") 
 
 Bun, Boun. E«ady, prepared, addressed to, bound 
 
 for. N. buinn, ready, prepared. 
 
 North, Crav. Sco, 
 
 lumbleth in the mere.'* y 
 
172 
 
 CUMBERLAND AND WESTMORELAND WORDS OF 
 SCANDINAVIAN ORIGIN. 
 
 BuRE. I do not find this word in any glossary. It 
 occurs in Stagg's Rosley Fair in the sense of a 
 country woman. 
 
 — " a hure, her name was Meg, 
 A winsome, weel-fared body." 
 
 It is, I apprehend, the same as our word " boor," 
 and is from N. hurif a rustic — from 6w, the 
 country. 
 
 Buss. To dress, to make ready ; also to kiss. I take 
 this word to be the same as the Sco. "bxisk," 
 to dress, to adorn, of which Jamieson has rather 
 unaccountably overlooked what seems to me the 
 most natural etymon — N. buska, to brush. We 
 use the expression " brush up " in a similar sense 
 — ^that of making tidy or smart. And " busk," 
 " buss," seems to be generally applied to dressing 
 up for a particular occasion. " Buss," to kiss, 
 may perhaps be from the same origin. For 
 though " brushing " seems a low sense of " kiss- 
 ing," yet in the hirsute days of old it might be 
 sufficiently expressive. 
 
 I^orth. 
 
 Cade-lamb. A pet lamb. The writer in the Kendal 
 Mercury derives this from D. kaad, sportive, 
 wanton. But perhaps N. Md, an animal newly 
 bom, is the more appropriate. 
 
 North. Crav. 
 
 Caleever. To make a riot. As a noun, it means 
 obstreperous conduct. N. gidli/i, light-headed- 
 ness, dissoluteness ; gidlfra, to make a riot. 
 Halliwell gives "gilliver," a wanton wench, as 
 
173 
 
 CUMBERLAND AND WESTMORELAND WORDS OF 
 SCANDINAVIAN ORIGIN. 
 
 North. This shows the origin of the word more 
 clearly than ours. 
 
 Chaft. The jaw. N. kiaftr. 
 
 North. Cra/v. Soo. 
 
 Clam, To starve. N. Memma, to pinch, to squeeze. 
 
 North. Crav. 
 
 Clart. To daub, besmear. Clarty, dirty, miry. 
 Jamieson derives this word from S.-G. lort, filth. 
 I think, however, that the root both of this and 
 some other north-country words of the same 
 meaning, as " lair," " glair," " slairy," is to be 
 found in N. leir, mud, mire, to which have 
 accrued the various particles g, k, and s. 
 " Clarty " always implies the idea of " wet dii-t." 
 
 North. Crav. Sco. 
 
 Clat. Cow-dung. N. klatr, rejectanea. 
 
 Clayer. To climb. D. klavre. 
 
 Cluye. a hoof. N. Mauff J). Eov. 
 
 North. 
 
 Sco. 
 
 CoLLOPS. Lumps or slices of meat. Also used in the 
 singular for meat in general. A Cumberland 
 farmer, dining with his landlord, replied, on being 
 invited by the lady of the house to take some 
 pudding, " Na, na — aw'd titter ha' collop than 
 pudding any day — mess wad aw ! " that is — " I 
 would rather have meat than pudding any day — 
 truly (by the mass) would I." S.-G. koUopSy 
 
 lumps of meat. 
 
 North. Crav. 
 
174 
 
 CUMBERLAND AND WESTMORELAND WORDS OF 
 SCANDINAVIAN ORIGIN. 
 
 Coup. To exclianga N, kaupa^ to traffic. 
 
 North. Crav. 
 Crar a mixture of cheese, vinegar, and mustard. — \ \J 
 
 N. krahha, to mix. 
 
 Cream. To squeeze or press. — Westm. Crim. A 
 small portion of anything. — Westm. N. kremia, 
 to squeeze, to break, whence krom, pressure, and 
 kremmingry a handful. 
 
 Creel. A basket of wicker work. N. krila, to plait, 
 to weave together. 
 
 North. Crav. Sco. 
 
 Crouse, Cruse. Forward, confident — or better ex- 
 pressed by Mr. Halliwell as " bumptious." Jamie- 
 son suggests D. kruus, crisp, curled, which seems 
 a probable derivation — many words of similar 
 meaning appearing to have a like origin. Thus 
 from A. S. cirpian, to curl, to crisp, may be de- 
 rived " chirp," to be lively and in good spirits. 
 While from N. bruskr, a brush, comes probably 
 "brisk," Old Eng. "brusk," and Fr. brusque. 
 We have also another dialectic word which seems 
 to be of similar origin. See Swap. 
 
 North. Crav. Sco. 
 
 Cutter. To converse in a low tone, to whisper to- 
 gether apart. 
 
 " I' th' pantry tlie sweethearters cnttered sae soft." 
 
 Bleckell Murry-neet. 
 
 N. Kytraj to lie hid in a corner. Or, S.-G. hutra^ 
 to chatter. 
 
 North. Crav. 
 
175 
 
 CXTMBEBLAND AND WESTMOBELAND WORDS OP 
 SCANDINAVIAN OEIGIN. 
 
 Daft. Crazy, foolish. N. daufr. 
 
 North. Crav. Sco. 
 
 Dakrick, Daark. a day's labour. This word has 
 been generally supposed to be a contraction of 
 " day's- work," but the writer in the Kendal Mer- 
 cury suggests that it may be from D. dyrke, to till. 
 This, however, seems rather doubtful. Such con- 
 tractions are not uncommon in the dialect, and 
 moreover, "darrick" is used in a very general 
 sense. " Thou's meade a bonny darrick" is ap- 
 plied in the " Upshot" to a bungling player at 
 cards. Yet " darker " or " darricker," a day- 
 labourer, might seem to be naturally referred to 
 D. dyrker, a cultivator of the soil. 
 
 " The laird and darker, cheek hy chowl. 
 Wad sit and crack, of auld lang syne." 
 
 Foems hy John Stagg. 
 
 ("Of is here used for "in" — ^the allusion being 
 
 to a supposed happy time when the " laird," or 
 
 man of landed property, and the day-labourer met 
 
 together as equals.) Upon the whole, it is not 
 
 very clear to me which of the two derivations is 
 
 the one to be adopted. 
 
 Dakter. Active, powerful. It is also used as a noun. 
 Perhaps from N. dart, quick, vehement. 
 
 Deave. To deafen. N. deyfa. 
 
 North. Sco. 
 
 Deg. To sprinkle. Daggy, drizzly. N. deigr, wet, 
 dogg, rain, from ddgia, to moisten. 
 
 North. Crav. {Sco. "dag," to rain gently.) 
 
17^ 
 
 CtJMBEBLAND AND WE8TM0BEIAND WOBDS OF 
 SCANDINAVIAN OBIGIN. 
 
 s^ Des. a pile or heap. N. des. 
 
 North. Crav, 
 Dill. To soothe. N. dUla. 
 
 North. Crav. Sco. 
 
 DouK or DooK. To bathe, to immerse in water. D. 
 dukke, to dip. 
 
 North. Crav. Sco. 
 
 DowLY. Sorrowful, melancholy. N. ddlegr, moumfuL 
 
 North. Crav. 
 
 DozEND. Spiritless, feeble. N. dos, languor, dosadr, 
 languid, weary, D. doesende, sleepy. 
 
 North. Crav. (Sco. " daze," to stupify.) 
 
 Draff. Brewers' grains. N. draf, swines' food. 
 Halliwell also gives Draffit, a tub for hog's 
 wash. 
 
 North. Cra/v. Sco. 
 
 Drakes. A slop or mess. — Westm. N. dreckia, to 
 plunge into water, to duck. Hence I presume 
 the origin of " drake," which has not been ex- 
 plained by our lexicographers. The duck and 
 the drake both seem to derive their names from 
 plunging or ducking under water. 
 
 North. " drack," to saturate with water. 
 
 Drile. To waste time. — Westm. N. drila, to delay. 
 
 DuRGAN. A dwarf — Westm. IS", dyrgia, a dwarf 
 
 Dust. A tumult or uproar. S.-G. dustj a tumult. 
 
 North. Crav. Sco. 
 
 Feek. Toiadget, l^.Jlka. 
 
 North. 
 
177 
 
 CtTMBEBLAND AND WESTMORELAND WOBDS OF 
 SCANDINAVIAN ORIGIN. 
 
 Fest. To bind as an apprentica Festing-Penny, 
 
 earnest-money paid to a servant on hiring. N. 
 festa, to bind, to make fast. Icel. festi-peningry 
 earnest-money. 
 
 North. Crav. Sco. 
 Feal. To hide or cover. N. fela. 
 
 North. Crav. 
 Fleer. To laugh mockingly, or, according to Brockett, 
 " to have a countenance expressive of laughter, 
 without laughing out." N. Jlyra, to smile. The 
 Norse does not appear to have any sense of 
 mocking or taunting, but rather of wheedling or 
 coaxing, and it is most probably the origin of 
 Eng. " flirt." Our sense then is an altered one, 
 and the Sco. " fleyr," to distort the countenance, 
 to make wry faces, still more so. 
 
 North. Sco. 
 
 Flipe. The rim of a hat. D. Jlip, tip, point, 
 extremity. 
 
 Crav. 
 
 Flit. To remove from one house to another. S.-G. 
 flytta^ D. flytter. The noun flet^ a house or 
 dwelling, common to the Ang.-Sax. and Scand. 
 languages, seems to be the origin of the verb. 
 
 North. Crav. Sco. 
 FouT. Foolish. Also, aa a noun, a spoilt child. N. 
 fautiy a simpleton. 
 
 North. Gram. 
 
 Galt, Gaut. a boar pig. N. gaUi. 
 
 North. Cra/o. Sco. 
 
 Gar. To cause, force, compel. N. giora. A certain 
 
 M 
 
178 
 
 CUMBEBLAND AND WE8TM0EELAND W0BD8 OF 
 SCANDINAVIAN OBIGIN. 
 
 Earl of Lonsdale, as the story goes, having laid a 
 wager with a friend as to which of them should 
 compose the best specimen of Cumberland, pro- 
 duced the following, and won his wager. " What 
 ga/r'd the gawrment gang into't garth, and jarble 
 a' hissel ?" " "What made the fool go into the 
 field and^bemire all himself?" 
 
 North. Crav.'Sco. 
 
 Garrick- An awkward person. N. gdra, to make 
 game of. An odd derivation for the name of the 
 great actor ! 
 Gawm. Attention. Gawmin. Ignorant, thoughtless. 
 N. gauntry attention — gefa gaum at, to pay atten- 
 tion to. We have just the same phrase — to " give 
 gawm to." " Gawmin" seems to be formed from 
 gawm, and N. Tninnr, less ; hence it is the same 
 as Crav. gaumless. From " gawm" is also pro- 
 bably formed gumption, or gamm-tion, under- 
 standing, judgment — common to several dialects. 
 
 North. Crav. 
 ^y" Ged. a pike or jack. N. gedda. 
 
 
 North. Sco. 
 
 Gilder. A snare. N. gildra. 
 
 NoHh. 
 
 GiMMER. A ewe. Gimmer-Lamb. A ewe lamb. N. 
 
 gimbra, a ewe. J), gimmer-lam, a ewe lamb. 
 
 North. Cra/v. Sco. 
 Glair. Mire. Probably formed from N. leir, mire, 
 
 by the addition of g. So the N. has glikr and 
 
 likry like. S, g, and k are all common prefixes. 
 
 See clarty. 
 
iro 
 
 CUMBERLAND AND WESTMOEELAND WORDS OF 
 SCANDINAVIAN ORIGIN. 
 
 >^ Glat. a gap in a hedge. — Westm. N. glatTf damage, 
 dilapidation. 
 
 Glender. To stare. N. glenna, distendere, in the 
 sense of stretching the eyes. 
 
 Gloar, Glower. To stare intently. N. glora, to 
 shine. Haldorsen gives glorir i kattar augun, 
 " the cat's eyes shine," which seems to have some- 
 thing of the sense of our word. I apprehend that 
 its origin is to be found in the fierce and glowing 
 look of hostility. 
 
 North. Crav. Sco. 
 
 Gloppen. To be astonished, startled, or frightened. 
 N. glupna, to despond, to lose courage. In early 
 writers, Mr. HaUiwell observes, " gloppen" some- 
 times means to lament or mourn. 
 
 North. Crav. Sco. 
 ^ Gob. The mouth. N, gopi^ D. gah, an opening, 
 Hence Gope, to talk vulgarly and loud. — Cumh. 
 
 North. Crav. Sco. 
 y^ GowK. The cuckoo; also a simpleton. N. gauhr, 
 used in both the above senses. 
 
 North. Crav. Sco. 
 
 GowL. To weep or sob. N. gamlay to roar or beUow. 
 " Gowl" signifies more properly a noisy lamenta- 
 tion — " greet," a " quiet cry." 
 
 North. Sco. 
 
 Gowpen. a handful. N. gcmpn, the hollow of the 
 hand. 
 
 North. CroAj. Sco. 
 
 Gripe, Grape. A dung-fork. S.-G. grepe. 
 
 North. Crav. 
 
180 
 
 CUMBEBLAND AND WESTMORELAND WORDS OF 
 SCANDINAVIAN ORIGIN. 
 
 Gruby. Dirty. N. gruhb, dregs. 
 ^x^ Gryke. a chink, a crevice. N. krykif a comer, recess. 
 
 North. 
 Guff. A fool. N. gu/a, a vapour, whence metaph. 
 a light and empty person. 
 
 Sco. 
 
 GuLDER. To talk loudly, and with a dissonant voice. 
 
 N. gi/M, OS inflatum. 
 Hack. A pick-axe. Dan. hakke. 
 
 North. Crav. Sco. 
 
 Hack. To win everything. Perhaps allied to N. 
 
 haki, end, extremity of a thing. 
 Ham-sam. Promiscuously. The former syllable may 
 be from N. heimr, an assembly or gathering ; the 
 latter is evidently the Gothic particle sa/niy de- 
 noting concourse or conjunction, and forming a 
 variety of compounds, particularly in the Scandi- 
 navian languages. 
 
 " But weddit fwoke rare laughin bed 
 
 r th' bower wd' yen anither, 
 For five or six gat into t' bed, 
 And sat ham-sam togitber." 
 
 Upshot, by Mark Lonsdale, 
 
 y Hank. To fasten. N. hanka. 
 
 North. Crav. Sco. 
 
 Harns. Brains. N. hiarni. 
 
 North. Crav. Sco. 
 
 Harp. To harp on a thing is to revert to it again and 
 
 again ; it is generally applied to some unpleasant 
 
 subject which ought to be allowed to drop. N. 
 
 harpa at, redarguere. 
 
 North. 
 
181 
 
 CUMBEBLAND AND WE8TM0BELAND WORDS OF 
 SCANDINAVIAN ORIGIN. 
 
 Haver. To babble, to prate. N. MvoTy garrulous. 
 
 North. 
 y^ Heck. A hay-rack. D. fiekke. 
 
 North. Crav. Sco. 
 
 L^ Helle. To pour rapidly. N. heUa. 
 
 Crav. Sco. 
 
 HoAST. The curd for cheese before it is taken from 
 the whey. N. ostr, cheese. Our word appears to 
 show more clearly the origin of the Norse — hossa, 
 to shake ; hoss, a gentle shaking. 
 
 How. An exclamation used in driving cattle. It is 
 also sometimes used as a verb, applied to urging 
 cattle by voice and gesture into a field or other 
 place. The N. has h6j a cry of the shepherds, 
 and hoa, conclamare greges, which may possibly 
 be the origin of our word. 
 
 Howdy. A midwife. This unfortunate word has been 
 made the subject of etymological vagaries, among 
 which that quoted by Mr. Halliwell from " Jesus 
 hodie natus est de virgine " is certainly entitled to 
 the pre-eminence which he claims for it. Not 
 very many degrees better is that from " How do 
 ye ? " a presumed salutation from the nurae to the 
 sick woman, and which Brockett, with less than 
 his usual judgment, defends from the sarcasm of 
 Brande. Mr. Brande, however, has not been very 
 successful in suggesting a better ; his derivation is 
 from the " how," a membrane on the head, with 
 which some children are bom, and which is 
 esteemed highly lucky among the vulgar. Jamie- 
 son's derivation from N. iod, childbirth, is no 
 
182 
 
 CUMBEELIND AND WESTMORELAND W0BD8 OF 
 SCANDINAVIAN OEIGIN. 
 
 doubt the correct one. The Sco. has the verb to 
 " howd," from which the noun is formed. 
 
 North. Crav. Sco. 
 ^^ HowK. To excavate, scoop out. S.-G. holka. 
 
 North. 
 III. Used as an adjective. 
 
 " The ladle she brake o'er ill Bell." 
 
 Codbeck Wedding. 
 N, Ulr, wicked. 
 
 ^ Ingle or Engle. Generally explained as "fire, 
 flame," but in Cumberland usually applied to a 
 faggot or bundle of fire- wood. I rather incline to 
 think that this is the original meaning, and that 
 the ingle is properly not the fire itself, but the 
 fuel. It may be from N. engia, to press together, 
 as sticks in a bundle. 
 
 North. Sco. 
 
 Kale. Cabbage, whence broth, in which greens are 
 the principal ingredient. N. kal, D. kaal. 
 
 North. Crav. Sco. 
 
 Keave. To plunge, to struggle. N. heyfa, to strug- 
 gle against a snow-storm. 
 
 Keek. To peep. S.-G. Kika^ D. Tdge. 
 
 North. Sco. 
 
 Kerf. A layer of hay or turf — Westm. N. herfiy a 
 little bundle. 
 
 Kett. Rubbish. N. Tikt, dead flesh. In Crav. and 
 Sco. " kett " means carrion. In North, it is ex- 
 plained " carrion — any sort of filth." The succes- 
 sive steps are evident by which the word has been 
 degraded. 
 
183 
 
 CFMBEBLAND AND WESTMORELAND WOEDS OF 
 SCANDINAVIAN ORIGIN. 
 
 Kick. The top of the fashion. The origin of this 
 word has escaped all our etymologists. Brockett 
 suggests N. kcekr, gestus indecorus, which I hope 
 he does not mean to say is the fashion in the 
 North. Even Jamieson has nothing better to 
 offer than N. kiackr^ audax. It is evidently de- 
 rived from N. skickf D. skik, custom, fashion — S.- 
 G. skickj elegantia morum. I have already ob- 
 served on the frequency with which the prefix s is 
 asumed in Norse, or dropped in English. Hence 
 probably the origin of kickshaw, the derivation of 
 which from Fr. qudque chose, is, to say the least, 
 unmeaning, and that from " kick shoes " absurd. 
 The latter syllable might be N. skd, optima pars 
 reL 
 
 North. Grav. Sco. 
 
 Kink. To laugh loudly. N. kianka. 
 
 Sco. 
 Kite. The beUy. N. kmdr. 
 
 North. Sco. 
 Kjtap. To speak mincingly, to clip the words. N. 
 kvmppr, D. knap, close, tight, constrained. 
 
 Keull, Crewel. Embroidery. The word is now 
 generally confined to a hand-ball covered with 
 worsted-work. It is evidently derived from N. 
 kndla, signifying both to blend, to mix, and also 
 to curL 
 
 North. 
 
 y^ Lag. To crack or split — Westm. N. lag, stroke of a 
 sword or other weapon. 
 
184 
 
 CUMBERLAND AND WESTMOEELAND W0BD8 OF 
 SCANDINAVIAN ORIGIN. 
 
 Lane. To conceaL N. leyna, to hide. This appears 
 to be the origin of Eng. " lane.** Also of our 
 word " lonnin," q.v. 
 
 Crwv. 
 
 Lapstone. The stone on which a cobbler beats his 
 leather, generally supposed to be so called from 
 being placed in his lap. But I think that it is 
 more probably from N. lappa, to patch, to cobble. 
 
 North. Crav. 
 Lee. a scythe. D. lee. 
 
 " Lee stones for new leeses." 
 
 Rosley Fair. 
 
 Leeze. To clean wool — Westm. N. les, anything 
 made of wool. 
 
 Let on. To tell out. N. laeta, to shew. 
 
 North. Sco. 
 
 Leister. A three-pronged fork for striking fish. 
 S.-G. IjusteVf a similar instrument, and used in a 
 similar manner along with a light to strike fish at 
 night. Its origin is no doubt Ijus, light. 
 
 North. Crav. Sco. 
 
 Lids. Maimer, fashion. N. lidr, T>. lede, A. S. lUh, 
 a limb, member, joint. In the maimer of its use 
 our word corresponds with the Danish. Ander- 
 ledes and ligeledes, " in other manner,*' and " in 
 like manner," are just the same phrase as our 
 "other Hds," and "like Hds.** From the N. 
 lidl&ngr may perhaps be derived the English 
 " livelong" — lidldnga nottina, the live-long night. 
 This gives great expressiveness to the phrase — ^it 
 is the night, not as a whole, but as divided into 
 
185 
 
 CT7MBEBLAND AND WESTMORELAND W0BD8 OF 
 SCANDINAVIAN ORIGIN. 
 
 all its separate parts — the night hour by hour and 
 minute by minute. 
 LiMMERS. Shafts of a cart. N. lijnar, branches, from 
 which such shafts were originally roughly con- 
 structed. 
 
 North. Grav. Sco. 
 
 LiSK. The groin. N. lidski, D. lyske. 
 
 North. Sco. 
 
 LiSH. Smart, active, sprightly. Probably a conse- 
 sequential sense derived from lisk — the groin 
 being the part of the body wherein activity might 
 be supposed to reside. 
 
 " Yence Marget was as lish a lass 
 As e'er in summer trod the grass, 
 Butfearfu' changes come to pass 
 
 In this weary, weary warld." 
 
 Anderson. 
 North. Crav. Sco. 
 LoFF. To offer. N. lo/a, to promise. N. lofa also 
 signified to praise, which is the sense of Sco. 
 " loif." A. S. Iqfian appears to have been used 
 only in this sense. 
 Loft. An upper room. N. lofir. 
 
 North. Crav. Sco. 
 
 . LoNNiN. A country lane. Both "lane" and "lonnin" 
 appear to be from the root of N. leyna, to conceal, 
 in the sense of shelter or seclusion. From leyna 
 is formed leyniy a private or secluded place, whence 
 leynidyry the back door, in which the sense seems 
 to approach that of Engl. " lane." Launling^ a 
 hiding-place, from lauuy secretly, presents a form 
 nearer to that of " lonnin." From this root are 
 
186 
 
 CUMBERLAND AND WESTMORELAND WORDS OP 
 SCANDINAVIAN ORIGIN. 
 
 probably derived Engl, "lone" and "lonely." The 
 N. has the phrase, cA Idta Ion, which seems the 
 origin of our phrase, " to let alone." 
 
 North. Crav. Sco. 
 LouND, LouN. A calm. N. hldna, to become mild, 
 logn, serenity of the atmosphere. 
 
 North. Sco. 
 . Loup. To leap. Land-louper. A vagabond. N. 
 Y htaupa, to run, land-Jdauparij a vagrant. 
 
 North. Crav. Sco. 
 Low. To blaze. N. loga, D. lue, to blaze, N. hZua, 
 to warm. 
 
 North. Crav. Sco. 
 LuRDANK A sluggard. This word has been derived 
 from the haughty and imperious manner in which 
 the Danes " lorded" it over the people whom they 
 had subdued. 
 
 " In every house Lord Dane did them rule all ; 
 Whence layzie lozels lurdanes now we caU." 
 
 Mirror for Magistrates. 
 But this derivation, though bearing the prestige 
 of antiquity, is, like most of its class, one which 
 cannot find favour among etymologists. By what- 
 ever name of hatred the insolent conquerors might 
 be called, " sluggard" would be the last to apply 
 to the character of the Northmen. And even if 
 we could suppose such an epithet to have passed 
 current in districts where the Danes had once 
 been masters, and had been expelled, it would 
 scarcely be found, as it is, to be a word more par- 
 ticularly characteristic of the districts where they 
 mustered in strongest force, and longest maintained 
 
187 
 
 CX7MBEBLAND AND WESTMORELAND WOEDS OF 
 SCANDINAVIAN OEIGIN. 
 
 their separate nationality. Besides, even if such 
 a derivation would explain thefcrigin of "lurdane," 
 it would not account for that of North. " lurdy," 
 nor Crav. " lurgy," both same meaning as lurdane, 
 nor of Cumb. " lurry," to loiter. In all these the 
 root is evidently "lur," corresponding with N. 
 IHTj laziness, lura, to be indolent. Mr. Todd more 
 rationally derives lurdane from Old Fr. lourdin, 
 clownish. But in my opinion both " lurdane*' 
 and Icmrdin, as well as the Mod. Fr. lowrde, are 
 derived from the Old Norse. The past part, of 
 lura, to be lazy, would be luradr, which would 
 give us lourde ; an adjective formed in a regular 
 manner from the part, would be lurdinriy which 
 would give us lourdin and " lurdane." I do not 
 find such an adjective, but I think that it may 
 probably have existed. 
 
 Instead then of this word being one expressive 
 of the indolence of the Northmen, it is one of the 
 many terms, both English and provincial, in which 
 they have transmitted to us their contempt for 
 this very quality. For the Eng. " lazy" seems to 
 be most nearly connected with N. lissa, torpor, 
 hlessa, wearied ; " loll" is evidently derived from 
 N. lolla ; " loiter," most probably from N. I'dtra, 
 lente et segniter ingredi, and "looby," and "lubber" 
 from N. Ivhhi, servus ignavus. Of the provincial 
 terms the Crav. " lurgy," before referred to, is no 
 doubt from N. lurgr, defectus virium. 
 LuBRY. This is explained in the glossaries " to puU." 
 But it occurs also in the Codheck Wedding in a 
 
188 
 
 CUMBEELAND AND WESTMORELAND WOBDS OF 
 SCANDINAVIAN OBIGIN. 
 
 sense which I cannot make to be any other than 
 that of loitering. 
 
 " The younger-mak lurried ahint them, 
 Till efter them Bell made a breck." 
 The meaning of this seems to be — ^the younger 
 part of the company loitered behind the others in 
 the marriage procession (perhaps doing business 
 on their own account,) till one of them made a 
 " breck" — a rush forward. N. lUra to be lazy, or 
 lura, to weary. Haldorsen gives these as two 
 separate verbs. 
 Lythe. To listen. S.-G. lyde, D. lytte. 
 
 " We'll see them cheat, and lythe them lie, 
 O'er many a gallows bargain." 
 
 Bosley Fair. 
 
 Maff, Maflin. a simpleton. Miff-maff, nonsense. 
 Probably from N. Tnafr, a gull. 
 North. (Crav. " maffle," to stammer, to be puzzled.) 
 Man. a Cumberland wife calls her husband her 
 " man." The D. mcmd is also used in the same 
 sense. 
 Mawk. a maggot. N. madk. 
 
 North. Crav. Sco. 
 
 Mazelin. a simpleton. Probably from N. wcw, 
 ineptiae, masa, nugari. 
 
 North. Crav. 
 
 MowDY-WARP. A mole. N. moldva/rpa. The word 
 might also be formed from A. S. mold, earth, and 
 weorpaUy to cast up, but I do not find that the 
 Anglo-Saxons had such a word. 
 
 North. Crwo. 
 
 Muck. Manure. N. myld. 
 
 North. Crav. Sco. 
 
189 
 
 CUMBEBIAND AND WESTMORELAND WOEDS OP 
 SCANDINAVIAN ORIGIN. 
 
 Muggy. Damp, foggy. N. mugga, a mist. 
 
 Mump. To munch. N. mumpaj to eat voraciously. 
 Brockett has " mump," to slap upon the mouth. 
 The Sco, meaning seems to be that of complaining, 
 begging with a face of distress, or as we say in 
 Cumberland, " making a poor mouth." Macau- 
 lay uses it in this sense in the third volume of his 
 history, for which he has been taken to task by 
 the critics. 
 
 MuN. The mouth. N. munnr. This word has se- 
 '^ veral derivatives in English, as "mumble," N. 
 
 mumla, of which our provincial "mummle" re- 
 tains the original form ; " muzzle," N. muslay 
 contracted from munsla, to take in the mouth. 
 
 Nar To seize unexpectedly. S.-G. nappa. D. 
 nappe. 
 
 North. Crav. (Sco. " nab," to strike.) 
 
 Naggy. Cross, contentious. N. nagga, to quarrel, to 
 dispute, connected probably with naga, to gnaw. 
 
 North. Crav. 
 
 Natty. Neat, tidy, well-made, active. N. natinn^ 
 signifies sharp, handy, industrious, but seems to 
 relate more to mental qualities, while " natty" is 
 applied rather to personal appearance. It may 
 therefore be referred rather to S.-G. naettj Eng. 
 " neat." 
 ^ Neif. The fist. N. kmfi. 
 
 ^\ 
 
 
 
 North. Crav. 
 
 N0LT,^N0UT. 
 
 \ 
 
 Homed cattle. 
 
 N. naiMy an ox. 
 
 North. Sco. 
 
190 
 
 CUMBERLAND AND WESTMORELAND WORDS OF 
 SCANDINAVIAN ORIGIN. 
 
 Owned. Fated, destined. The writer in the Kendal 
 Mercury suggests, with considerable probability, 
 that this may be related to D. aand, the spirit. 
 ^^ Paddock-rud. The spawn of frogs. N. ruda, re- 
 
 jectaneum. 
 ^^. Pate. A badger. This word, like " brock," seems to 
 be derived from the clumsy gait of the animal. 
 N. fatf delay. See hrock^ next list. Also -paut, 
 infra. 
 
 Pattick. a fool, simpleton, one who talks nonsense 
 — Westm. Perhaps from N. patti^ a young boy, 
 applied as the word "child" in English to one 
 who conducts himself beneath his years. Or from 
 N. patiy an uncertain rumour. 
 
 Paut. To walk heavily. N. pat, delay. 
 
 Poke. A sack. This is the North of England word, 
 and is probably from N. poJd. The Sco. " pock" 
 more probably from A.S. pocca. 
 
 North. Crav. 
 
 Pent. To paint. Penter. A painter. N. penta, 
 to paint, pervta/rij a painter. 
 
 Sco. 
 
 Prent. To print. IceL prenta. Our dialect shows 
 the original form both of this word and the last. 
 They are both probably of Scandinavian origin. 
 
 Sco. 
 
 Quandary. A state of perplexity. This is another 
 word which has been made the subject of etymo- 
 logical vagaries. Some have derived it from the 
 Lat. " quando ara T " When will the altar be 
 ready T — the exclamation of a heathen anxious 
 
191 
 
 CUMBEBLAND AND WESTMORELAND WOEDS OF 
 SCANDINAVIAN ORIGIN. 
 
 to have his doubts solved for him by the Augur, 
 " When will the halter be ready T would almost 
 be a fitting retort, on Mr. Disraeli's principle, for 
 the author of such a derivation. Skinner has 
 derived it from the Fr. " qu' en dirai T which, 
 though an etymology adopted by Mr. Todd, is 
 one of a sort generally to be viewed with great 
 suspicion. I apprehend that it is derived from 
 N. qucmtadry uncertain, irresolute, an idea which 
 has suggested itself to Haldorsen. It will at once 
 be seen that " quantadry," as a noun formed from 
 the above would require only a slight euphonic 
 change to make it our word. " Quandary" is 
 common to the northern counties, but cannot be 
 called a dialectic word. 
 Quit. Free. N. quUtr. A Cumberland servant, 
 when he has left his situation, says that he is 
 " quit," in which he is often erroneously supposed 
 to make an ungrammatical use of the verb. It 
 was formerly in general use. 
 
 ** The owner of the ox shall be quit." 
 lExod. 
 
 Racken. To reckon. N. rakna. The A. S. is recnan, 
 corresponding with the English word. 
 
 Rackle. Rude, unmanageable. In this sense it 
 might be, as Jamieson suggests, a diminutive from 
 N. rackry brave, powerftd. But it seems to have 
 sometimes a stronger sense, and more approaching 
 to "raacaUy." The N. has rcekcdly contracted 
 from rcegikall, calumniator, diabolus, which seems, 
 however, rather too strong a sense. It has also 
 
192 
 
 CUMBERLAND AND WE8TMORBLAND W0ED8 OF 
 SCANDINAVIAN ORIGIN. 
 
 Toikr and hraklegTy worthless, from Ivrak, refuse, 
 which may be nearer the mark. Some of the 
 other compounds of the same word show more of 
 the sense in question, as hrakvidri, boisterous 
 weather, hrakyrdi, violent language. " Eackle ** 
 is probably the same word as the Old Eng. " rakel" 
 used by Chaucer, and altered by later writers, 
 from a perversion of its meaning, into " rakehell." 
 The Fr. racaiUe, dregs, off-scum of society, may 
 be from the same origin. 
 Rake. A journey, excursion. N. reik. It is also 
 applied to the scene of an excursion ; hence the 
 name of the " Lady's rake," a hollow in the sum- 
 mit of WaUow Crag, through which the Countess 
 of Der went water is traditionally said to have 
 effected her escape when her husband was arrested. 
 The editor of Black's glossary remarks, " In the 
 language of the Northern dalesmen, the sheep are 
 said to rake when they extend themselves into a 
 long file." But this, I apprehend, has no refer- 
 ence to the act of spreading themselves into a 
 file, further than that this is the invariable mode 
 in which, among the mountains, they set out to 
 seek for a fresh pasture. The sense is properly 
 the same as that of Craven " to stray as cattle in 
 search of food," — N. reika, to wander. In the 
 lowlands of Cumberland the word is most gene- 
 rally applied to a journey to and fro with a horse 
 and cart. Thus a man leading coals to any place 
 would say that he could make so many <' rakes*' 
 
193 
 
 CTJMBEEIJLND AND WESTMORELAND WOIDS OF 
 SCANDINAVIAN ORIGIN. 
 
 in a day. This sense seems more akin to K. 
 reiksa^ to travel backwards and forwards. 
 
 North. Grav. Sco. 
 
 Rangle. To range about in an irregular manner — 
 Westm. N. r&ngla, oblique vagari. 
 
 Rappis. a scamp. N. hrappr, wild, 'violent, or N. 
 rdpa, rdfa, to wander, in the sense of a vagabond. 
 Hence is probably formed riff-raff^ D. rips-raps, 
 an alliterative combination of the two verbs rifa 
 and rdfa, to rob and to roam. 
 
 " Pell-siders and Sowerby riff-raff 
 That deil a bum-bealie dar seize." 
 
 Codheck Wedding. 
 We have also " raffling," disorderly, prob. a dimi- 
 nutive of rdfa, to roam about. 
 
 Reap-up. To rip up — to revert to old grievances or 
 disputes. The N. rippa upp appears to have had 
 the same meaning, except that it was not neces- 
 sarily employed in the offensive sense which our 
 phrase always has, with reference to disagreeable 
 subjects which ought to be allowed to drop. 
 
 North. Crav. {Sco. " ripe," to investigate). 
 
 Ribald, more commonly corrupted into Rebel. A 
 riotous and dissolute person. N. ribhaldiy a violent 
 and quarrelsome person. Hence probably Eng. 
 " ribald ;" perhaps Fr. ribanid, formerly rihavld, 
 
 RiFK Ready, quick to learn. Prob. from N. rifia, 
 animo versare. 
 
 Rive. To teai*. N. rifa, D. rive. 
 
 NortK Crav. Sco, 
 
 Rock. A distafil N. rockr, D. rok, 
 
 N 
 
194 
 
 CUMBERLAND AND WESTMOEELAND WOEDS OF 
 SCANDINAVIAN OEIGIN. 
 
 Rotten- MAD. Quite mad. Prob. from N. rot, rotan, 
 imbecility of mind. Hence perhaps the phrase 
 " great rot," great nonsense, common in the North. 
 
 RowTH. Abundance. N. rdd, force, power, wealth. 
 " Here's baby-lakings, rowth o' speyce — 
 
 BosUff Fair. 
 E-OYSTER. To indulge in boisterous mirth. Prob. 
 
 from N. rostttf a. tumult or uproar. 
 E-ULE. To sit in strange postures — Westm. S.-G. 
 
 riUla, D. ridle, to roll, turn about. 
 Rule, Reul. A noisy, disorderly person. N. rugla, 
 
 to disturb, disquiet — rugl, confusion, uproar. 
 Rum. Queer. This is usually considered a cant word, 
 though I rather doubt whether it is properly so 
 classed. It may be from N. rwmr, vir immanis, 
 gigas, upon the same principle that " droll" has 
 been derived by some etymologists from D, droly 
 S.-G. trolly an evil spirit. It is a regular Cum- 
 berland word. 
 y Scale. To disperse, separate. D. skille, 
 
 North, Crwv. Sco, 
 
 \^ 
 
 Sconce. A large screen dividing a room into two 
 parts. N. sJcans, munimentum. 
 
 Crav, 
 
 Scowder, Bustle. Perhaps from N. shondra, ititare. 
 
 Scraffle. To scramble, struggle. Applied also 
 metaphorically to struggling for a livelihood. The 
 explanation, " to be industrious," quoted by Todd, 
 does not fully express this sense. " It's hard 
 scraffling for a bit o' breed." We have it also in 
 the sense of wrangling or squabbling- I take the 
 
195 
 
 CUMBEBLAND AND WESTMORELAND WORDS OF 
 SCANDINAVIAN ORIGIN. 
 
 two meanings to be of diflferent origin — the former 
 is probably from N. skreflaz, to keep with diffi- 
 culty upon the feet — ^the latter seems to be a 
 diminutive of skrafa, to talk, whence skrajmn, 
 garrulous, shraffi, a babbler, and skrcefa, a vain 
 boaster. The S. G. has also skrajta, which as well 
 as the N. skraffi and stroefa, was used as a term of 
 reproach, much as we use " scraffles" in Cumber- 
 land, 
 
 " Peer scraffles ! thy land grows nae gurse." 
 
 Codbeck Wedding. 
 
 Snig. a young eel. N. snoggr, smoothe, slippery, 
 D. snige, to creep. From the same root are pro- 
 bably D. snog, A.-S. snaca, Eng. " snake," and N. 
 snigUl, A.-S. snegd, Eng. "snaiL" 
 
 North. Crav. 
 
 Snirp. To pine, wither, contract. D. snirpe. 
 
 Snirrells. The nostrils. This appears to be imme- 
 diately derived from some Scand. word which has 
 not come down to us, but of which the origin is 
 N. STierla, to drill or bore holes. The sense, then, 
 is the same as that of '* nostrils," (formerly " nos- 
 thrils,") the apertures in the nose, from A.S. 
 ihirlia/n, to drill or bore. Mr. Blackwell observes 
 that " a number of verbs beginning with sn de- 
 note a nasal function, or are in some way indica- 
 tive of the nose, as to snuff, sneeze, snore, snoi-t, 
 snarl, snuffle, snivel, snub, sneer, (fee." It is evi- 
 dent, then, that we have here a very ancient word, 
 for it is at the bottom, not only of many of these 
 words, but of the older forms from which they are 
 derived. " Snore," for instance, ho observes, is 
 
196 
 
 CUMBERLAND AND WESTMORELAND WORDS OF 
 SCANDINAVIAN ORIGIN. 
 
 cognate with N. snorla. But N. snorla is evi- 
 dently derived from some lost word corresponding 
 to "snirrells," for the latter contains the sense 
 which is at the root of alL 
 
 ^ Snodd. Smoothe. N. snodinn. 
 r^o rx^ r.^. < , : ,^'c%/^^ ? North. Crav. Sco. 
 
 Sops. Lumps of black lead. N. aoppry a ball, a sphere. 
 
 SoTTER To boil slowly. Probably a diminutive from 
 N. sioda, to boil. 
 
 Span-new. Splinter-new. Quite new. ^ . spd/nr-nyr, 
 D. splinter ny. The former of these is common to 
 several dialects ; the latter I have not met with 
 but in Cumberland. 
 
 " Gogs splinter-new, bass- bottomed chairs." 
 
 Mosley Fair. 
 Various interpretations have been given of " span- 
 new," to which it is not necessary for me to refer 
 here, further than to say that the derivation sug- 
 gested by Ihre, and approved by Jamieson, from 
 N. spdnn, a chip, is, in my mind, the correct one. 
 Hence the meaning of " span-new" would be the 
 same as that of " splinter-new. The S.-G. sping- 
 spangende ny contains a reduplication of the same 
 idea — spinga, a chip, and spdnga, a chip. And 
 so probably does our " spick-and-span" — " spick" 
 being from " spilk" or " spelk," a splinter. The 
 same idea seems to be contained in the Germ. 
 splitter-neUy and the Sco. " split-new." We find 
 also various changes rung upon the same idea in 
 the different Teutonic dialects. The S.-G. has 
 splitter-nxikenj stark-naked, and spLit-gal&n, quite 
 
197 
 
 CUMBERLAND AND WESTMORELAND WORDS OP 
 SCANDINAVIAN ORIGIN. 
 
 mad. The D. has also splitter-nogen, and the 
 Crerm. splitter-nackend, stark-naked. 
 
 It is worthy of note that Cumberland has both 
 
 the Old Norse phrase and the modern Danish. 
 
 Sprack. Quick, lively. — Westm. N. sprcekr^ fortis, 
 
 strenuus. 
 
 ^ ^CRUNTY. Meagre, stunted. D. skrante, to be weakly, 
 
 shrantingf a weakling. S.-G. skruten, shrivelled. 
 
 North. Crav. 
 ^ ScuGG. Lurking or lying hid in a comer. N. skugg% 
 shade or shelter. 
 
 North, and Crav. " scugg," a place of shelter. 
 Sco. " scugg," to hide, take shelter. 
 ■Seggy. Hard, callous, applied to the skin. N. dggy 
 
 thick and hard skin. 
 Seune. Seven. N. siound. But we use more com- 
 monly "sebben," A.-S. sihun. 
 y Shive. a slice. N. skvfa^ D. skive. 
 
 North. Crav. 
 
 SizLE. To saunter. N. sisa, difficilia lente moliri, 
 aysla, to be engaged in business. The latter ap- 
 pears in form to be a diminutive of the former, 
 but in sense is an augmentative. Our word is 
 properly a diminutive. 
 ^ Skaif. WUd, fearful. N. skidlfa, to tremble. 
 ^y^ Skelled. Twisted out of shape. N. skcddr^ distorted. 
 Skill. Knowledge. N. skUia, intelligere. 
 
 North. Crav. 
 ^KRIKE. To shriek. N. skrikia. 
 
 North. Crav. Sco. 
 
 Slat. To spill. N. sktta, spargere. 
 
 North. Crav. 
 
198 
 
 CUMBEBLAND AND WESTMOEELAND W0ED8 OP 
 SCANDINAVIAN OEIGIN. 
 
 Slairy. Nasty. N. leir, mud. See cla/rty. 
 
 North. " slair," mud. 
 Slinge. To go about in a creeping or sKnking man- 
 ner. N. slinniy a sluggard, slongviry a snake. 
 i^r- Slape. Slippery. N. sleipr. This is our most com- 
 mon word, but we have also " slippy," A. S. slipeg, 
 characterized by Johnson as " a barbarous provin- 
 cial term," whereat Mr. Brockett is justly indig- 
 nant. The Eng. "slippery" seems to be from 
 
 S.-G. slipprig. 
 
 North. Cra/v. 
 
 Slaveb, To let the saliva escape from the mouth. 
 N. slavra. 
 
 Slokken. To quench, slake. S.-G. slokim, to extin- 
 guish. 
 
 North. Sco. 
 
 Smelteb. " Smelt" is a Scand. form of " melt" — in 
 Eng. applied only to metals. Stagg uses it in th« 
 sense of a capacity for liquids. 
 
 " Each was at a slwote a smelter." 
 
 Snaffle. To saunter. A diminutive of N. sndfa^ to 
 wander — literally to follow scent like a hound. 
 
 Snap. A round gingerbread cake. N. snap^ esculenta 
 emedicata. The N. had also snoijckr, of the same 
 meaning, whence prob. "snack," a slight and 
 hasty repast, used in some parts of England. The 
 D. has snapSy a dram, which with the words cor- 
 responding in German and Dutch, is no doubt 
 from the same origin as the above — all these words 
 signifying something " snapped" or " snatched" in 
 
 an impromptu maimer. 
 
 NoHh. 
 
199 
 
 CUMBERLAND AND WB8TM0BELAND WORDS OF 
 SCANDINAVIAN OEIGIN. 
 
 Snape. To snub. N. sneipa, to put to shame. 
 
 Cra/v. 
 
 Snifter. To snivel. S.-G. sny^ta. 
 
 North. Crav. Sco, 
 Stang. To sting. N. stcmga. 
 
 Crav. Sco. 
 Stank. To groan. N. stianka. 
 
 Crav. Sco. 
 Stew. Dust. Also a state of trouble and perplexity- 
 arising from a difficult task. A man rather over- 
 mastered by his work would say, " Aw*s in a sad 
 stew." I am inclined to consider these two 
 meanings as of different origin. The former is no 
 doubt the same as D. stov, dust — ^the latter may 
 probably be from N. slid, difficult or troublesome 
 work. 
 
 North. Crav, Sco, 
 Storken. To stiffen. N. storkna. 
 
 North. CroA), 
 Stour. a stake. N. staur. 
 
 North. Cra/v. Sco, 
 
 Strammer. Great, thumping, as a " strammer lie." 
 D. 8tra/mme, to stretch. Hence a "strammer 
 lie" is akin to the expression of " a stretcher." 
 
 Strike. To make a straight line by means of a string. 
 N. strUca^ lineam ducere. 
 
 Sump. A puddle, a miry pond. D. sumpy a swamp. 
 
 North, Gram, 
 
 SwA ! Fie ! desist ! N. «vei, fie ! 
 
 SwAYMOUS. Shy. Perhaps from N. sveiTna, to hover 
 about. This may not improbably be the same 
 word as Engl, " squeamish." 
 
 North, "swamish." 
 
200 
 
 CVMBEBLAND AND WESTMORELAND WORDS OF 
 SCANDINAVIAN ORIGIN. 
 
 Swap. Clean, quickly, smartly. — Westm, Probably 
 from N. sveipr, curled, derived on a similar prin- 
 ciple to " cruse" — q v. 
 SwEY. To swing. N. sveigia. D. sioeje, 
 
 JVorth. (Crav. to weigh, to lean upon.) 
 Swingle-tree. The splinter-bar. N. svingla, to vi- 
 brate. 
 
 North Crav, 
 
 Taggy-bell. The curfew. So called in the neigh- 
 bourhood of Penrith, where the custom of ringing 
 the bell is still kept up. I am indebted for this 
 word to the writer in the Kendal Mercury/, who 
 derives it, and I think correctly, from N. tegia, D. 
 toekke, to cover. Thus the meaning is the same 
 as that of the Norman couvre-feu, or " curfew." 
 
 Tammy. Glutinous. N. talma, to impede, adhere. 
 
 Tangle. Sea-weed. D. tang. 
 
 North, and Sco, " tang." 
 
 Tave. To wade through mire. Also to work up 
 plaster or anything adhesive. N". tefta, to stick. 
 Hence perhaps the origin of " tafl^," a sweetmeat 
 made from treacle, well known throughout the 
 north. 
 
 Crav, " tave," to stick, as in mud. 
 
 Team. To empty, to pour out. N. tcema. 
 
 North, Crav^ 
 
 Thick. Intimate, friendly. This word, which is com- 
 mon to several dialects, has been generally sup- 
 posed to be merely an oblique sense of the Eng. 
 word. I take it, however, to be from N. theckia, 
 to know, to be acquainted with, whence theckr, 
 welcome, agreeable. 
 
201 
 
 CUSLBEELAND AND WESTMOEELAND WORDS OF 
 SCANDINAVIAN OEIGIN. 
 
 Thur. These. N. theyr. 
 
 Tike. A dog. N. tik, a bitch. 
 
 North. Cra/o. Sco. 
 
 Tile. To set a trap, to place anything so that it may 
 easily fall. — Westm. N. tilla, to set up in a fast 
 and loose manner. Probably allied to " tilt." 
 
 Tome. A fishing-line made of hair. N. faumr, J). 
 tomrrvej a fishing-line. Jamieson observes that 
 " tome" is applied to the whole length of the line ; 
 a single length from knot to knot is called *' a 
 snood,*' S.-G. STiod, a small cord. 
 
 North. Sco. 
 
 Traily. Slovenly. N. treglegr, lazy, indolent. 
 Tramp. To travel on foot. N. trampa. 
 
 North. Crav. Sco. 
 Trave. To stride along as if through long grass. N. 
 trejm, to impede. Mr. Carr observes, " Our word 
 invariably includes the idea of having the feet 
 fettered in grass. 
 
 North. Crav. 
 
 Trig. Tight, compact, trim ; also well in health. N. 
 tryggr, true, faithful, also safe. North, neat, 
 trim ; also true, faithful. Sco. neat, trim. 
 
 TwiLY, Hestless, wearisome. — Westm. N. tvjla^ to 
 doubt, to vacillate. 
 
 Tyke. A coarse, vulgar person. D. tyk, gross, cor- 
 pulent. 
 
 North. Crav. 
 
 Wale, Choice. N. vol. 
 
 North. 
 
202 
 
 CUMBEELiND AND WESTMORELAND WORDS OP 
 SCANDINAVIAN ORIGIN. 
 
 Wanely. Carefully, gently. N. vandlega, carefully. 
 
 " * Come, luive !' quo' I, * aw'l wanely take thee down' — 
 " * Stand off ! thou gowk,' she answered with a frown." 
 
 Simon and Sammy, a Pastoral, by Etoan Clark. 
 
 "Wap. a truss of straw. N. vap, involucrum. 
 
 War-days. All other days except Sunday. S.-G. 
 
 hwardag, an ordinary, or working-day. 
 Weeky. Wet. N. vokviy moisture, vokva, to wet. 
 1^.- W HEAM. The gullet N. hvoma. 
 
 Whidder. To tremble. N. hvidra, to be easily 
 
 moved. 
 Whiddersful. Energetic, striving. Probably from 
 
 N. hvida, fervida actio. 
 Yammer. To scold, to bawl. N. jdlTna, strepere. 
 
 I now proceed to give a list of words which might 
 be derived either from the Anglo-Saxon or Scandina- 
 vian, some of which may with more probability be re- 
 ferred to the one and some to the other, but not with 
 so much certainty as to be definitely classed with 
 either. 
 
 CUMBERLAIO) and WESTMORELAND WORDS OF ANGLO- 
 SAXON OR SCANDINAVIAN ORIGIN. 
 
 Ang-nail, Nagnail, Nangnail. a com upon the 
 foot, but more commonly applied in Cumberland, 
 and also more correctly, to the painful in-gathering 
 of the nails of the feet. N. dngr, A. S. ang, pain, 
 trouble. The Anglo-Saxons had ang-ncegl, a whit- 
 low. A ng, in composition, was commonly used by 
 them to express a complaint — ^thus ang-breost, the 
 asthma. Nangnail is probably merely a euphonic 
 
203 
 
 CUMBEBLAND AND WESTMORELAND WORDS OF ANGLO-SAXON 
 OB SCANDINAVIAN OHIGIN. 
 
 form of either of the two others. Nagnail, the 
 writer in the Kendal Mercury derives from D. 
 nage^ A, S. gnagan, to gnaw, fret, annoy, which, 
 if it be a separate word, and not a mere transposi- 
 tion of " ang-nail," is a probable derivation. 
 
 Grav. " nang-nail,*' a com. 
 Angry. Painftd, inflamed, applied to a sore. A. S. 
 ang, N. dngrj pain ; N. iingra, to afflict, torment. 
 The last seems to be the word from which it is 
 immediately derived. 
 >^ Arden. Fallow quarter. N. ardr, a plough, arinn, 
 ploughed. A. S. ared, ered, ploughed. 
 
 North, "arder." 
 Ark. a chest. N. ork, A. S. a/rc, 
 
 North. Crav. 
 
 Attercop. a spider's web, but properly the spider 
 itself. A. S. attercoppa, D. eddercop. The meaning 
 is either " poison-cup," or " poison-head." Westm. 
 has " attery," irascible — (literally venomous) — 
 and North, "attermite," an ill-natured pei-son. 
 The latter is one of the severest terms in the whole 
 vocabulary of vituperation — " venom-mite" — com- 
 bining at once the extremes of insignificance and 
 malignity. 
 
 North. Crav. Sco. 
 
 Aw. " Whose aw this ?" is a common Cumberland 
 phrase signifying " whose is this ?" It seems to 
 be a relic of the Old Eng. verb " awe," to own, to 
 possess. This I take to be derived from N. d, 
 first person singular of the verb eiga, or A. S. ah, 
 third person singular of the verb agan^ to 
 
204 
 
 CUMBEELAND AND WESTMOEELAND W0ED8 OF ANGLC-SAXOW 
 OE SCANDINAVIAN OEIGIN. 
 
 — "I have," "he has." In this case "whose aw 
 this ?" might be a perversion of " who awes this T 
 It seems also to have been used by the Northmen, 
 particularly in composition, as a noun. Hence 
 the names of places in the county, as Ulpha, before 
 referred to. In this case " whose aw this ?" might 
 be " whose possession is this ?" But the former 
 seems more probable. 
 
 Bagging. Food. " A coarse term used in Cumber- 
 land," says the editor of the " Westmoreland and 
 Cumberland dialects." But the writer in the Ken- 
 dal Mercury suggests that it may not be so coarse 
 after all, signifying simply a " baking," from D. 
 hage, to bake. I am afraid, however, that in this 
 case Cumberland cannot be redeemed, for the 
 word is too obviously derived from A. S. and 
 D. hadg, the belly. "Bag" in this sense is an 
 Old Eng. word, and "baggie" is still used in 
 North. Hence, observes Halliwell, " eating is 
 bagging, or filling the stomach." Similar phrases 
 are found in various dialects, so that at any rate 
 Cumberland is not singular in its vulgarity. 
 
 Bairn, Barn. A child. N. ham, A. S. hea/m. 
 
 North. Gram. Sco. 
 
 Bass. Dried rushes ; also the inner bark of a tree. 
 «^ N. hast, A. S. hcest, the inner bark of a tree. 
 
 North, "bass," "bast," matting, Crav. mat- 
 ting made of the inner bark of birch, Sco. a 
 mat. 
 
 Balk, Bawk. A cross beam, of any size, fix)m the 
 beam of a house to the perch of a bird cage. N. 
 hiMki, A. S. balca. North. Crav. Sco. 
 
20.5 
 
 CUMBERLAND AND WESTMORELAND WORDS OF ANGLO-SAXON 
 OR SCANDINAVIAN ORIGIN. 
 
 Bank To afflict with a sore disease — Westm. N. hana, 
 to kill, A. S. hanay death. 
 
 Bid. To invite. 'N.bidia, bioda, A.B.bidda/n; The 
 two N. verbs have rather different meanings — 
 bidia, which seems to correspond with the A. S. 
 biddan, having more the sense of intreating — 
 bidda, of inviting — Bidia KonUy to ask a lady's 
 hand — bidda til brullups, to ask your friends to 
 the wedding. (The sense of bidding or command- 
 ing is common to them all). 
 
 A " bidden- wedding" in Cumberland is a mar- 
 riage, generally among rustics in humble circum- 
 stances, to which the whole of the neighbourhood 
 is invited, and at which a collection is made to 
 start the young couple in life. It is generally 
 with reference to a wedding or a funeral that the 
 word is applied, and those who go round to give 
 the invitations, and in the latter case to distribute 
 the mourning, are called " bidders." So in 
 Danish bedemcmd signifies " an undertaker, one 
 who invites to a funeral or a wedding." The 
 sense in question was a common one in Old Eng. 
 " As many as ye shall find, hid to the marriage." — Matt, xxii., 9. 
 
 North. Crav. 
 
 BiELER. The master of the revels at a Cumberland 
 feast, whose duty it is to see that the guests have 
 plenty to drink — and that they drink it. N. 
 hirlaj A.S. byrdiom, to give to drink, whence A.S. 
 hirle^ a butler. 
 
 Crav. 
 
 BiZEN. To become a shame and a bizen — to acquire a 
 
^/ 
 
 206 
 
 CUMBERLAND AND WE8TM0EELAND WORDS OF ANGLO-SAXON 
 OR SCANDINAVIAN ORIGIN. 
 
 disgraceful notoriety. Generally supposed to be 
 a corruption of " bye-saying," but clearly from 
 N. hysn, A.S. hisen^ a warning, example. 
 
 North. Sco. 
 Blink. A spark of fire. Blickent. Bright, shining 
 — Westm. N. hliJcay A.S. bliccm, to shine. 
 
 Sco. 
 BoRD-CLAiTH. A table cloth. N. hordMcedi. The 
 word might also be formed from A. S. hord, a 
 table, and d6th, cloth. 
 
 Sco. 
 BouKS. The divisions or boundaries of a field. N. 
 hdkr, a fence or division, A. S. halca^ a ridge. 
 " Bouk " is sometimes used in the general sense 
 of a space or distance, as in the following lines 
 from Stagg, descriptive of a husband mnning 
 away from his incensed wife. 
 " Tib, leyke a fury, cursan efter, 
 And he, though swift, had nae houk left her, 
 For baith gat nearly hame togither." 
 North. Crav. Sco. a ridge of land leffc unploughed. 
 
 Bower, Boor. A bed-chamber, an inner room. Or 
 rather, tlie inner room in a cottage consisting of 
 two rooms. A. S. bury J), huv/r. 
 
 North. Sco. 
 Bouse, Boose. A stall for oxen, or stable for horses. 
 N. Ids, A. S. h6s. 
 
 North. Crwo. 
 Brit. To break or bruise. Brot-ground, (Westm.) 
 land newly broken up. N. britia, A. S. breotan, 
 to break — N. brotinn, A. S. bi'oten, broken. 
 
 Sco. ^^ brittyn," to break down. 
 
207 
 
 CUMBEELAND AND WESTMOEELAND W0ED8 OF ANGLO-SAXON 
 OE SCANDINAVIAN OEIGIN. 
 
 y Brock. A badger. D. hroh^ A. S. hroc. The origin 
 appears to be N. hrocka, to go heavily, as a badger 
 does. Brockr in Old Norse signified a clumsy and 
 heavy going horse, and this was also one of the 
 Anglo-Saxon meanings. In the same manner it 
 is applied in North., says Brockett, " to a cow or 
 husbandry horse." Our other word for a badger 
 seems to be of similar origin. — See pate, former 
 list. 
 
 North. Crav. Sco. 
 
 Gael. A country man. N. karl, A. S. carl, ceorl, 
 whence Eng. " churl." 
 
 North. Crav. Sco. 
 
 Carlings. Grey peas steeped in water, and fried with 
 butter. The annivei-sary of this dish, general 
 throughout the north, is the second Sunday 
 before Easter, or Mid Lent Sunday. It was 
 formerly called Care Sunday — according to some^^ 
 from being a season of religious care and anxiety 
 — according to others from N. kmra, to accuse, in <?i^^t/^.'v^ 
 reference to the accusations brought against our 
 Lord at this time. The termination "ling" is 
 A. S., and may denote an image, example, me- 
 morial — "carlings" being memorials of Christ's 
 suflPerings, or of the accusations brought against 
 him. In Cumberland the peas are more com- 
 monly eaten without any preparation, and the 
 young people are also in the habit of filling their 
 pockets with them, sallying forth into the street, 
 and, in fashion of less sombre carnival, saluting 
 the passers by, particularly their own friends, with 
 
208 
 
 CUMBERLAND AND WESTMOEELAND WORDS OF ANGLO-SAXON 
 OE SCANDINAVIAN ORIGIN. 
 
 a handful. This custom has no doubt had its 
 origin in a religious observance, and even the last- 
 named practice is probably not without its sig- 
 nificance. As the Russian on Easter Sunday 
 presents his friend with an eggj saying, " Christ 
 is risen to-day^' — so when the Cumbrian dashes 
 a handful of peas at his friend — the original and 
 solemn meaning was most probably " Take this ! 
 in remembrance that Christ suffered, as at this 
 time, for you and me." 
 
 Calkers, Cawkers. The irons with which the clogs 
 of the Cumberland peasantry are shod. A. S. 
 calcy a shoe, S.-G. Mack, calcaneum calcei. 
 
 North. {Crav. " calkins," the hind part of ahorse- 
 shoe turned upwards.) 
 
 Clag. To stick, to adhere. D. klceg, glutinous, A. S. 
 
 dcBg, clay. 
 
 North. Crav. 
 
 Clout. A rag, a small piece of cloth, N. Jdutr, A. S. 
 
 clut. 
 
 North. Crav. 
 
 Crink. a very small child — Westm. N. hrmkiaz, to 
 be weak or sickly, A. S. crane, sick, weak. 
 
 Croup. To crouch. N. kriilpa, to fall on the knees, 
 A. S. cre6pa/n, to crawl. 
 
 Crowd Y. A mess of oatmeal. I take this word, Eng. 
 
 " gruel," and Norwegian grod, to be all from the 
 
 same root — N. kru, alias grily a multitude, A. S. 
 
 cread, a crowd. 
 
 North. Cram. 
 
 Dike. A ditch — also a hedge. N. dxki, A. S. dy^. 
 
 North, Crav^ 
 
209 
 
 CUMBERLAND AND WESTMORELAND WORDS OF ANGLO-SAXON 
 OR SCANDINAVIAN ORIGIN. 
 
 DiT. To stop up. N. diU(jif A. S. dittan. 
 
 Crav. 
 
 Dow. Good, useful. Donnet. A good-for-nothing 
 person — also the devlL N. duga, D. due, A. S. 
 diigarif to be of value or use. 
 
 " For dancin he was nought-at-dow, 
 But a prime han for a drinker." 
 
 Upshot. 
 
 **Donnet," a good-for-nothing person, Brockett 
 derives from do-naught. But in Cumberland 
 " donnet" also means the devil, and do-naught 
 would be a very inappropriate title for the ever- 
 busy author of evil. It is evidently dow-noty not 
 good — corresponding to " evil one." 
 Drepe. To speak slowly. N. dreypa, A. S. dripauy 
 to drop. 
 
 Cra/o. 
 Dwine. To pine, to wither. N. A. dvina, S. dunnan. 
 
 North. Crav. Sco. 
 Egg. To urge on, incite. N. eggiay A.S. eggian, to 
 give an edge, sharpen, stimulate ; common to 
 most of the northern dialects. 
 . Elden. Fuel. N. eUdr, fire, ellda, to kindle. A. S. 
 cdd, fire, odariy to kindle. 
 
 North. Crav. 
 
 / Elvers. Young eels — Westm, Possibly from N. eZ/wr, 
 
 a river. But more probably from A, S. (dfe, S.-G. 
 
 ael^fy an elf Hence the Old Eng. verb " elfe" to 
 
 twist into knots, from the popular belief that 
 
 matted or twisted locks were the work of fairies. 
 
 ** Elfe all my hairs in knots." 
 
 King Lear. 
 
210 
 
 CUMBEBLAND AND WESTMORELAND W0BD8 OF ANGLO-BAXOW 
 OE SCANDINAVIAN OEIGIN. 
 
 From this verb the word in question seems to be 
 immediately derived — " elvers," signifying simply 
 "twisters." There is a passage in Henry 4th, in 
 which FalstafF compares Prince Hal to an " elf- 
 skin," in allusion to his lank person. This has 
 been supposed by some commentators to be a mis- 
 print for " eel-skin." But it is probable that it 
 is no misprint, for " elT' may have been an old 
 word for an eel, as " elver," a young eel, is the 
 diminutive still in use. 
 
 Fain. Glad, fond, '^.feginn, A. ^.fcegan. 
 
 North. Cr(w. Sco. 
 
 Fare. To go, proceed, travel. N. fara, A. S. fceran, 
 This word, in different forms and with various 
 derivatives, prevails extensively throughout the 
 north. We have Farlies, strange sights, won- 
 derful events — such as travellers are supposed to 
 witness — Farantly, orderly, respectably, (N./ar- 
 andi, a traveller,) after the fashion of those who 
 have seen the world — Farelooper, an interloper, 
 and many others. 
 
 Feg. Dead grass — Westm. A. S. foege, dying. N. 
 feigia, to rot. 
 / Feckless. Helpless, inefficient. Mr. Todd thinks 
 " perhaps a corruption of effectless." But might 
 it not be from S.-G. fecJda, Sco. " fecht," to fight 
 — a feckless person signifying originally one who 
 was unfit for fighting, and who, in the days when 
 war was the chief business of man, would be con- 
 sidered a useless member of society enough. 
 
 Nm^th. Sco. 
 
211 
 
 CUMBEBLAND AND WESTMOBELAND WOEDS OF ANGLO-SAXON 
 OB SCANDINAVIAN OEIGIN. 
 
 Fend. To make a shift, to struggle for a living. 
 
 Fendy. Thrifty, frugal. The N. has fenidingr, 
 niggardly, avaricious, from fe, property, and 
 nidingr, greedy — a stronger sense of fendy. It 
 might be formed more naturally from N. fe, pro- 
 perty, and neyta, D. nyde, to make use of, to get 
 the benefit of, which gives us very much of the 
 sense of fend. The A. S. has also^eo^, property, 
 and nyttiauy to enjoy, make use of Sir J. 
 Sinclair explains fendy as "ingenious in finding 
 out expedients," and connects it with "find." 
 But ingenuity does not seem to enter so much into 
 the sense as care and finigality. 
 
 North. Crav. Sco. 
 
 Fettle. A cord used to a pannier. N. fetUl, A. S. 
 fetd, a band, fastening. 
 
 Fore-elders. Ancestors. N. forelldrer, A. S. fore- 
 oHdia/n. 
 
 North. Crav. Sco. 
 
 Foosen. Liberal. N. and A. S. fus, ready, prompt, 
 
 willing. 
 Formel. To bespeak. N. formdlif a preface, A. S. 
 foTTrnd, a bargain. 
 
 Crav. 
 Fbemmed. Strange, D. fremmede, A. S. fremed. 
 
 North. Cra/o. Sco. 
 y Frosk. a frog. N. froskOf A. S. /rose. 
 
 Frow. a worthless woman. N. fru, A. S. freoj 
 mistress of a family. 
 
 North, a slattern, a lusty woman. Crav. a 
 dirty woman. Sco. a lusty woman. 
 
212 
 
 CUMBERLAND AND WESTMORELAND WORDS OF ANGLO SAXON 
 OR SCANDINAVIAN ORIGIN. 
 
 Gain. Near, ready, convenient. In this sense it is 
 applied in Cumb. to a road or way — "a gainer 
 way," a more direct road. This corresponds ex- 
 actly with the D. gisrirveif a short cut, a near road 
 In North, it is generally attached to another word 
 to denote a degree of comparison, as " gain brave," 
 " gain quiet." So also sometimes in Cumb., but I 
 think in a stronger sense than that of " tolerably " 
 given by Brockett. It is, I apprehend, the A. S. 
 gin, used in composition to increase the sense ; as 
 fmst, fast, ginfcesty very fast. 
 
 North. Cravy Sco. 
 
 'Gan, GANa. To go. N. gdnga, A. S. gdn, gangcm. 
 " Gan^' seems to be A. S. — " gang" may be either 
 A. S. or Scand. 
 North. " gan," " gang," Crav. and Sco. " gang." 
 
 Gavelock. An iron bar used as a lever. N. gaflok. 
 
 A. S. gafeloc. 
 
 North. Crav. Sco. 
 
 Ginger, Gingerly. Softly, cautiously. 
 
 " Then forth to't door ole Brammery went 
 Right goddartly and ginger." 
 
 Upshot. 
 
 The adjective is here used for the adverb, for local 
 
 poets must conform to the exigencies of verse as 
 
 well as their betters. Presuming the original 
 
 sense to be that in which it is commonly used, of 
 
 walking softly or careftJly, it might, as Serenius 
 
 suggests, be formed as a diminutive from " gang." 
 
 But on the whole it is perhaps more probably from 
 
 A S. ging, young, tender. In the south of Eng- 
 
213 
 
 CUMBERLAND AND WESTMORELAND WORDS OF ANGLO-SAXON 
 OR SCANDINAVIAN ORIGIN. 
 
 land, according to Mr. Halliwell, "ginger" 
 signifies brittle, tender, delicate, which is a sense 
 more closely that of the A. S. 
 y Glad. Smoothe, sHppeiy. N. gledia, to polish, A. S. 
 gled, slippery. 
 
 North. CroAJ. 
 
 Gradely. Honestly, respectably. Also as an adjec- 
 tive — honest, respectable. Brockett and others 
 derive it from A. S. grad, a degree, step. Or it 
 might be from N. greidi, hospitality ; or from 
 greida, to pay — one who pays his way. Or from 
 grceda — to prosper, to do well in the world — 
 respectability in the sense of " keeping a gig." 
 (This definition, by the way, though it has been 
 so much laughed at, seems to me to express what 
 was intended, the position of the man in life, as 
 aptly as " keeping a carriage" does a still higher 
 sphere. I believe the ridicule is partly owing to 
 a mistake of Mr. Carlyle in making the witness 
 apply it to the murderer, ThurteU, instead of to 
 the murdered man.) In addition to the above we 
 have N. greidlegr, ready, prepared, in order, which 
 is in form the word itself. 
 
 North. Crav. 
 
 'Grank. To groan. N. hrdnhr^ A. S. crane, sick. 
 Grave. To dig. N. grafa, A. S. grafan. 
 
 North. Crav. 
 Greet. To weep. N. grdta, A. S. grcetan. 
 
 North. Crav. Sco. 
 Grip. To seize. N. gripa, A. S. gri^an. 
 
 North. Sco. 
 
214 
 
 CUMBEBLA-ND AND WE8TM0BELAND WORDS OF ANGLO-SAXOW 
 OE SCANDINAVIAN OEIGIN. 
 
 Handsel. The first money received at a market — the 
 first use of anything. N. ha/ndsol, the closing of 
 a bargain by striking hands. S.-G. hcmdsod, the 
 first receipts for sales. A, S. hamdsylen^ a hand- 
 ing over. 
 
 North. Cra/D. Sco. 
 
 Harry, Herry. To rob — now generally confined to 
 birds' nests. N. Iieria, A. S. herian, to invade, 
 ravage, plunder — from N. fier, A. S. Iiere, an 
 army. 
 
 North. Sco. 
 Herret. a pitiful little wretch — Westm. This is 
 evidently the diminutive of N. heri, A. S. hara, a 
 hare, as " leveret" is of the Fr. lievre, " Her- 
 ret" was probably the ancient word for a young 
 hare, before the Normans introduced " leveret." 
 Kemp. To strive, to contend. As a noun, a bold and 
 resolute person. 'N. kempa, A. S. cempa, a com- 
 batant. It is now generally applied to peaceful 
 rivalry. 
 
 *' See bow the kemping shearers bum, 
 And rive, and bind, and stook their com." 
 
 Stagg. 
 
 Two lines in which the sound rings well with the 
 sense, and happily expresses the bustle of emula- 
 tion. Brockett, perhaps having this passage in 
 view, explains the meaning of kemp " to strive 
 against each other in reaping corn." It has by 
 no means such a restricted sense — at least in Cum- 
 berland, 
 
 " Auld Nick and Scott yence kempt, they say, 
 Whea best a reape fra saun cud tweyne." 
 
215 
 
 CUMBERLAND AND WESTMORELAND WORDS OF ANGLO-SAXON 
 OR SCANDINAVIAN ORIGIN. 
 
 (" Scott" is Michael Scott the wizard, who seems 
 to be considered in Cumberland fully a match for 
 the devil.) 
 Ken. To know. N. kenna, A. S. cennan. 
 
 North. Crav. Sco. 
 Kep. To catch — as a ball. N. kippa, A. S. cepan. 
 KiST. A chest. N. Idsta^ A. S. cist. 
 
 North. Crav. 
 
 Kittle. To tickle. N. kitla, A. S. citelan. 
 
 North. Crav. 
 
 Lake. To play. Laker. One engaged in sport. 
 Laking. a toy or plaything. N. leika, A. S. 
 Idcan, to play, N. leikariy a player. The fre- 
 quency with which "Cocklakes" occurs in the 
 names of places in Cumberland and Westmoreland 
 shews, as Mr. Williamson observes, how common 
 used to be the barbarous diversion of cock-fighting.* 
 In Scotland " lake" is used only in a limited sense, 
 to denote a stake at play. 
 
 North. Crav. 
 
 Late. To seek, to invite. N. leita, A. S. lathian. 
 Both this word and the last are more probably 
 Scandinavian. 
 
 North. Crav, 
 
 Lave. The rest. In North, also " laver." N. leifary 
 A. S. Idfy remainder, from N. lei/ay A. S. Imfariy 
 to leave. 
 
 North. Sco. 
 
 LiG. To lie. N, liggia. A. S. liggan. "He wears 
 a watch, and ligs by hissel" — a Lancashire defini- 
 tion of a gentleman — as a pendant to which I have 
 
 * Local £tymol(^. 
 
21:6 
 
 CUMBEBLAND AKD WE8TM0BELAND WOBDS OP ANGLO-SAXON 
 OB SCANDINAVIAN OBIGIN. 
 
 just heard a Monmouthshire definition of a lady 
 — " She can't make bread, and goes in at the front 
 door/' 
 
 North. CroAj. Sco. 
 
 Lop. a flea. D. loppe, A. S. loppe. 
 
 Mense. Politeness, propriety of conduct. Menseful. 
 Mannerly, considerate. Menseless. Graceless, 
 unmannerly. N. menskr, A. S. mennisej belonging 
 or pertaining to man. The Old Eng. " menske" 
 preserves the original form. These words have 
 no exact equivalent in the Eng.Hanguage — ^their 
 origin being in that natural feeling of politeness 
 and propriety which makes a man do the thing 
 that is right. In Cumberland, when a man out 
 of civility gives an invitation which is not ac- 
 cepted, he is said to " save both his meat and his 
 mense." We have it also as a verb — 
 
 " To mence this merry day," 
 is applied in the " Bridewain" to doing proper 
 honour to a wedding. In the foUowing lines fi'om 
 Anderson, which, by the way, are not without 
 simple feeling, the word expresses a mingl^-sense 
 of ornament, fitness, and utility. 
 
 " The sattle neist was thrown asides- 
 It might ha sarred me and mine — 
 My mudder thought it mensed a house, 
 But we think shem of auld lang-syne." 
 
 Altogether, this is one of the good old words which 
 is a loss to the language. How hollow is " polite- 
 ness," and how shallow is "civility," compared 
 with the word which has its origin in the innate 
 proprieties of man ! 
 
217 
 
 CUMBBBLAKD AND WE8TM0BELAND WORDS OF ANGLO-SAXON 
 OE SCANDINAVIAN OBIGIN. 
 
 Mess. Truly. Probably, as Mr. Halliwell suggests, 
 from N. Tnesstty A.S. messe, the mass — ^the old 
 oath, " by the mess !" 
 MiCKLE, Mair, Maist. Much, more, most. N. 
 mikilly meiriy mestr, A.S. micel, mdra, mcest. 
 
 North. Crav. Sco. 
 ^ Midden. A dunghill. D. moddingy A.S. midding. tm^^^ 
 
 North. Crav. Sco. 
 Mind. To remember. D. mindes, AS. inynan. 
 
 Noith. Sco. 
 l^y^ Mirk. Dark. N. myrkr, A.S. mire. 
 
 North. Crav. Sco. 
 ^■' Mull. To break into small pieces. As a noun — dust 
 — as of peats, <fec. N. mylia, to bruise, to grind, 
 A. S. mylj dust, powder. 
 
 North. Crav. Sco. 
 
 Nag. To gnaw. N. naga, AS. gnagan. 
 
 NoHh. (Crav. "naggle".) 
 Nappy. Strong — applied to ale. Also, according to 
 Brockett, to the state produced by strong ^ ale. 
 N. nahh% A. S. nah^ the head — " nappy" signify- 
 ing " heady." In Cumb. " napper" is sometimes 
 used for the head. 
 ^ Neb. Nose, point, beak. N. nehhiy A. S. neh. 
 
 North. Crav. Sco. 
 Nicker. To neigh. N. gnaka, A. S. hncegan. In 
 the " Nick" or " Neck," N. nikr, of the Scand. 
 and other Teut. nations, a water-sj)iiit in the form 
 of 'a horse (whence our word " Old Nick"), we 
 find a word allied to the above. 
 
218 
 
 CUMBERLAND AND WESTMORELAND WORDS OF ANGLO-SAXON 
 OR SCANDINAVIAN ORIGIN. 
 
 Nous. Judgment, sense, discernment — "Pure Greek" 
 — says Mr. Carr. But how could 'our Cumber- 
 land rustics get hold of a pure Greek word ? 
 Brockett connects it with Lat. noscere. Both the 
 Lat. and the Gr. may not improbably be cognate, 
 but the word from which " nous" is immediately 
 derived I take to be N. hnysa, A. S. neosian, to 
 
 examine, consider, investigate. 
 
 North, Crav. 
 
 ^^-■^ Parrak. a small field or inclosure near a house. N. 
 parrak. A. S. parruc. The original meaning 
 both of the N. and the A. S. seems to be that of 
 place where an animal is confined or tied up. In 
 Old Eng. "parrick" was sometimes applied to a 
 cattle-stall. And the verb " parroken" was also 
 in use, signifying to inclose or confine. The Eng. 
 words "paddock" and "park," the one a corrup- 
 tion and the other a contraction of "parrak," 
 both retain more or less of this sense. 
 Pace-eggs or Pasche-eggs. Eggs boiled hard and 
 dyed various colours, — given to children at Easter. 
 N. pitska, A. S. pasche, Easter. D. paskcegg, an 
 Easter egg. This custom prevails more or less 
 throughout almost all Christian countries, but in 
 England is now confined to the north. In Russia 
 and the East such eggs are generally dyed red, in 
 memory of the passion of our Lord, but with us 
 are ornamented in any way that fancy may sug- 
 gest, being frequently stained by boiling in party- 
 coloured ribbons. At Carlisle it is the custom 
 for the children to appear in new clothes on this 
 
219 
 
 CUMBBBLAND AND WESTMOBELAND W0BD8 OF ANGLO-SAXON 
 OB SCANDINAVIAN OBIGIN. 
 
 occasion, and the little boy would feel degraded 
 among his fellows who could not sport new cor- 
 duroys at Easter. This custom may probably 
 have its origin in the ancient practice of baptizing 
 the converts to Christianity only twice a year — 
 viz., at Christmas and at Easter, on which occa- 
 sions they were arrayed, in emblem of the purity 
 of their profession, in white garments. Within 
 my own recollection the girls used to appear more 
 particularly in white frocks, but whether as a 
 fashion of the time, or as a reHc of the ancient 
 custom, I am not sufficiently versed in the mys- 
 teries of female attire to decide. 
 Pell. A rattling shower of rain or hail. Perhaps 
 from N. pila, A, S. pU, a dart or arrow. For 
 among the mountains of Cumberland and West- 
 moreland the rain sometimes comes down in a 
 maimer for which even the expression of " cats 
 and dogs" is inadequate. 
 
 North, Grav. 
 
 E-ADLiNGS. Bribery money at an election — Westm, 
 
 N. rod, A. S. reed the senate. Judging from the 
 
 word, I am afraid the practice must be an ancient 
 
 one. 
 Rash. Quick, brisk. D. rasky A. S. rcesc. This is 
 
 the original meaning of Eng. " rash " now only 
 
 used in the sense of imprudence. 
 Ratch. To rove about, as a dog does, over hedges, 
 
 ditches, &c. — ^generally applied to children. N. 
 
 rax;ki, A. S. rceccy a hound or sporting dog, whence 
 
 Old Eng. "rach." 
 
220 
 
 CUMBEBLAND AND WESTMORELAND WORDS OF ANGLO-SAXON 
 OR SCANDINAVIAN ORIGIN. 
 
 Rawn. To eat greedily — Westm. Prob. from N. rdn, 
 A. S. ran, rapine — the sense being that of snatch- 
 ing. 
 ,^ Keek. Smoke. N. rsT/kr, A. S. rec. 
 
 North. Crav. Sco. 
 Reeve. To rob. Keever. A robber. N. rifaf 
 riufa, A. S. refcm, to plunder, N. reyfari, a 
 robber. 
 J Rise. Branches of trees — a word chiefly used in re- 
 ference to hedging and weiring. N. ArC«, A S. 
 hris. 
 
 North. Gram. Sco. 
 
 Sackless. Innocent, simple. N. saklaus, A. S. 
 sacleas. 
 
 North. Cra/v. 
 
 Sark. a shirt. N. serkr, D. soerk, A. S. si/rce. 
 
 North. Crav. Sco. 
 Sattle, Settle. A long seat with a high back. D. 
 sattel, A. S. setl. 
 
 North. Crav. 
 
 ScAMMELL, Skemmell. A stool or small bench. N. 
 skemmiU, A. S. scamel. 
 
 Sco. 
 
 Scathe. Loss, damage, hurt. N. shadi, A S. scathe. 
 
 North. 
 Shill. To shell (as peas, &c.) N. skilia, A S. scylauy 
 to divide, separate. 
 
 North. Crav. 
 
 C) ^ Skep. a basket made of rushes. Ice! skeppaj A. S. 
 8cep. 
 
 North. Sco. 
 
221 
 
 CUMBERLAND A.ND WESTMOEELAND WORDS OF ANGLO-SAXON 
 OE SCANDINAVIAN OEIGIN. 
 
 Skibl. To scream. N. skrcdlay to shriek, A. S. 
 scroti a scream. 
 
 Forth. Sco. 
 
 Smuly. Smoothe, demure. D. smidt, A. S. smylt. 
 Snaar. Greedy. N. snar, A. S. snear, quick, hasty. 
 Sco. " snarre" Jamieson explains as " tart, 
 severe." 
 Snarrel. a hard knot. N. snara, to twist, A. S. 
 
 snedre, a noose. 
 SoNN. To think deeply. N. sirma, A. S. sinncm, 
 Spain. To wean. N. speni, A. S. spana, a teat. 
 
 North. Crav. Sco. 
 Speer. To ask. N. spyria^ A. S. spirian. 
 
 North. Crav. Sco. 
 Spelk. a splinter. N. speLkr^ A. S. apdc. 
 
 North. Crew. Sco. 
 Staffle. To walk unsteadily. N. stapa, A.S. stapan^ 
 to step. The dimin. is "stapple," softened into 
 " staffle." 
 
 North. 
 
 Stag. A young horse. N. steggr, A. S. steig, a male 
 animal, vid. " steg." 
 
 Crav. Sco. 
 Stano. a pole, D. and A. S. 8ta>ng. 
 
 North. Crav. Sco. 
 Steek. To shut, to close. N. stiki, A. S. staca, a 
 stake, referring to the primitive mode of securing 
 a door. 
 
 North. Crav. 
 Steg. A gander. See " stag." 
 
 Nortli. Crav. 
 
'I'h'l 
 
 CUMBERLAND AND WESTMORELAND WORDS OF ANGLO-SAXON 
 OR SCANDINAVIAN ORIGIN. 
 
 Steven. An assembly, or gathering. N. stefna, a 
 public assembly for hearing complaints, and de- 
 ciding causes. Also an assembly in general. The 
 A. S. has stefeUy a voice, sound, also agreement, 
 concert. The word, however, seems more pro- 
 bably Scand. We have the phrase, " to set the 
 Steven," to fix a meeting. The N. has at stcmda 
 stefnUy to " stand the steven" — to answer to a 
 complaint. 
 
 North. (Crav. Sco. " stewen," a voice, a loud 
 noise — also an appointment.) 
 Stound. Stoun. a sudden fit of pain. N. styniay 
 A. S. styncm^ to groan. 
 
 North. Sco. 
 
 Stoup. a pot, a flagon. N. staup, A. S. steap. 
 
 Sco. 
 
 SuL. A plough — Westm. N. sila, to plough, A. S. 
 syl, sut, a plough. 
 
 Stour, Stoor. Dust — ^but properly, as Jamieson ob- 
 serves, dust in motion. Also tumult, stir, con- 
 fusion. N. styr, war, strife — A. S. styrian, to 
 stir, excite, trouble. 
 
 " Yet, God be thanked, this awful stoor 
 Suin ceased, wi' a' its feary frays." 
 
 North. Crav. Sco. 
 SwELT. To faint with heat, to wither from want of 
 moisture. N. svelta, to starve, svdti, a place par- 
 ched and unproductive, A. S. swdtian, to die 
 perish. 
 
 North. Crav, Sco. 
 
223 
 
 CTJMBEELAND AND WESTMOEELAND WOEDS OF ANGLO-SAXON 
 OE SCANDINAVIAN OBIGIN. 
 
 Swipe. To drink off hastily. N. svipa, A. S. swifan, 
 to hasten, to move quickly. We also use " whip" 
 in the same sense — ^to " whip up," to eat or drink 
 anything quickly. This is the same word as 
 "swipe," s as before observed, being frequently 
 dropped. 
 
 North. Crav. 
 
 Tharm. Gut. D. tarm, A. S. tliearm. 
 y Theak, Thack. To thatch. N. tliekiaj A. S. thaccan, 
 thecccm. 
 
 North. Crav. 
 
 Thirl. To drill or bore. N. thirla, A. S. thirlicm. 
 
 North. Crav. Sco. 
 Thrave, Threave. Twenty-four sheaves of corn. D. 
 trave, A. S. threaf. 
 
 North. Crav. Sco. 
 
 TiTE, Titter. Soon, sooner. Also used in the ob- 
 lique sense, to imply willingness or readiness. 
 N. and A. S. tid, time. The N. has also tidr^ 
 quick, soon. " Tide," as in Easter-tide, is pro- 
 bably from N. tidir, a feast, and not from tid, 
 time. " Tidings," news, the events of the time, 
 seems also to be from N. tidindi. 
 
 North. Crav. Sco, 
 
 Titty. Smter—Cumb. Tid. Cliildish — Westm. K 
 tidr, familiar, tita (feminine) a little bird. A. S. 
 tidder, tender, frail. Hence we have " tit " ap- 
 plied as a familiar diminutive to many small 
 birds, as the titmouse, tit-lark, <fec. The N. has 
 tUlingry the hedge-sparrow, a small bird attendant 
 upon the cuckoo. The same name, " titling," is 
 
224 
 
 CUMBERLAND AND WESTMORELAND WORDS OF ANGLO-SAXON 
 OR SCANDINAVIAN ORIGIN. 
 
 given to it in Northumberland and in Scotland. 
 In West, any little pet animal is caUed a " tidling." 
 In Crav., says Mr. Carr, " tit," with its adjunct, 
 " puss," is frequently used in calling a cat. All 
 these terms seem to be from the same root, and to 
 be used in the same sense as familiar diminutives. 
 
 Trod. A foot-path. N. trodd, A. S. trod. 
 
 North. Cram. 
 
 Waffle. To hesitate, to fluctuate. N. veifla, to 
 vibrate, a frequentative of veifa. A. S. waficm, 
 to be astonished, wafuty hesitating. 
 
 North. (Sco. " waff.") 
 
 Wang-tooth. A grinder. N. vdngi^ S.-G. and A S. 
 wang, the cheek, jaw. See " whang." 
 
 North. Crofv. 
 
 Wankle. Weak, unsteady. S.-G. wanlda, to fluctu- 
 ate, A. S. wan^colj unstable. 
 
 Wark, Pain, aching. N. verkr^ S.-G. wderk, A. S. 
 
 ware. 
 
 North. Crav. Sco. 
 
 Waur. Worse. N. verr, S.-G. waerra^ A S. warra. 
 
 North. Crcuv. Sco. 
 Wax. To grow. N. vaxa^ A. S. weaxan. 
 
 North. Crav. 
 Welt. To lean on one side, to upset. N. vdlta, 
 A. S. wealtian. 
 
 North. Crav. Sco. 
 
 Whang. A large slice of anything eatable, particu- 
 larly bread or cheese. Probably from "wang," 
 the cheek, jaw. See " wang." 
 
 North. Sco. 
 
225 
 
 CXTMBEELAND AND WESTMOEELAND WOEDS OF ANGLO-SAXON 
 
 OE SCANDINAVIAN OEIGIN. 
 
 While. WMcli. D. hvUke, A. S. htmlc. 
 
 North. Sco. 
 /WiGGiN. The mountain ash — Westm. N. ingia^ to 
 ^ consecrate, A. S. wig, holy. The name is derived 
 
 from the power of repelling witches superstitiously 
 ascribed to this tree. Or rather, perhaps, from 
 the origin of that power, in the sacred character 
 of the tree. Hence " wiggin'* seems to have the 
 same meaning as " roan" or " rowan*' — N. ragna, 
 to consecrate. 
 
 Grav. 
 
 "WizzENED. Withered, shrivelled. N. visna, A. S. 
 loisnicm, to wither, to dry up. 
 
 North. Crav. Sco. 
 
 YuLK Christmas, N. jol, A. S. jul. May not this 
 be the origin of our word "jolly" ? It has been 
 generally referred to the Fr. joli, but I think that 
 both the Fr. and Eng. words may be derived — 
 and both characteristically — from the same origin. 
 The difference between the ideas of the two 
 nations as to the mode of keeping a holiday could 
 scarcely be more aptly expressed than by their 
 respective words ^o^t and "jolly." 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 v 
 
 CONCLUSION. ^ 
 
 The reader who has gone with me through the 
 traces of the Northmen in these two counties can 
 scarcely fail to be struck with the scantiness of any 
 matepal vestiges, and with the contrast which is in 
 this respect afforded by the remains of another gi"eat 
 people who held this land before them. The mighty 
 barrier which the Romans erected from sea to sea — 
 the chain of military posts, all parts of a complete and 
 beautiful system, by which they kept this wild dis- 
 trict in check, are still distinctly to be traced. The 
 roads which they have made are roads upon which we 
 walk — the stones which they have squared are in many 
 a fence and many a farm-house. Their altars, their 
 inscriptions, their ornaments, their arms would furnish 
 a museum — their coins are thickly sown throughout 
 the soil, and the faces of their emperors are better 
 f known to us than those of our own kings . But take 
 away these material vestiges, and history alone would 
 tell us that a great people had been here. No name 
 of Roman origin marks our soil — no stamp of Roman 
 thought is on our race — no breath of the Southern 
 tongue softens the tough Teutonic of our speech. It 
 may be that more particularly in the North the Roman 
 occupation was that of military colonists in the midst 
 of a hostile country, but at any rate, whatever impress 
 
227 
 
 they may have made was made upon a race which 
 seems, like them, to have been clean swept away. 
 
 How different are the remains of our early Northern 
 founders ! — a rude stone set up on its end — a mound 
 which only the practised eye can distinguish from the 
 swelling hill — a solitary inscription which tells us — 
 
 niggardly of letters — that " set up this stone." 
 
 The coins that they have left are not their own — and 
 of themselves would be a mystery. For among the 
 mountains of Cumberland have been found Cufic coins 
 of early date,* proving that among our Northern settlers 
 were bold sea-rovers who had harried the East. For any 
 material records then the story of the Northmen would 
 be a blank, but etymology comes in and fills up the 
 picture. The land is dotted over with little individual 
 histories — rude and simple it is true — ^yet such as was 
 their life. Here eight centuries ago an Ulf or an 
 Orme shouldered his axe and strode into the forest to 
 hew himself a home — nor deemed that his sturdy arm 
 was marking the map of England. Here a wandering 
 settler saw the blue lake gleaming through the trees — 
 thought of his native land — and said " this shall be my 
 home." Here in the name of some mountain dwelling 
 we have the story of him who first, in his Tetrtofiic 
 self-reliance, planted himself as an out-post in the soli- 
 tude. Here he settled, and toiled, and lived, and died 
 — it is all there is to tell. Here a Northman, faithful 
 to Odin's command, set up the rude bauta to his de- 
 parted friend. The stone is gone, and there is a busy 
 town, but the memorial has borne his name far into 
 an age that has outlived his life. 
 
 *MarsdeD's Numismata Orientalia. 
 
228 
 
 We perceive then what important services etymo- 
 logy renders us throughout this enquiry. We see how 
 it enables us almost to construct a list, like the book of 
 the Icelandic colonists, of the Northern settlers from 
 whom our sturdy peasantry are to so great an extent 
 derived. Mr. Kemble, I believe, has called attention 
 to the frequency with which the names of places 
 throughout England generally are formed from proper 
 names ; and it may perhaps be the case that a close 
 etymological investigation may be of service in throw- 
 ing light upon the ethnology of other districts as well 
 as ours. 
 
 Finally — may I express a hope that the closer rela- 
 tionship which has of late years been proved between 
 ourselves and the people of the North may strengthen 
 our sympathies with those simple and kindly races, to 
 whom we owe so much of our nationality, and by 
 whom those ancient ties have never been forgotten. 
 For whether on the fire-scorched rocks of Iceland — 
 amid the great pine forests of Sweden — or beneath the 
 "midnight sun" of Norway, our wandering country- 
 men find ever warm hearts and open hands. And 
 even in the capital of Denmark no harsh memories are 
 allowed to interfere with the welcome of an English- 
 man. 
 
 m 
 
ERRATA. 
 
 P. 40, 1. 29— For "mal" read "mael"— for "mala" read ./' 
 
 " maela." 
 P. 51, 1. 13.— For "Arthur's ring" read "Arthur's round W^ 
 
 table." 
 P. 136, 1. 2.— For " tickle" read "trickle." 
 P. 136, 1. 2.— For « Edward " read " Edmund." ^ 
 P. 171, 1. 25— For "humbleth" read "bumbleth." 
 
Caklislb: Pi{Imx£I> at iHK JouKNAL Ofhck, 3, Emglish 
 
 StBBBT, by R. & J. SXBBL. 
 
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