Historical origins of Shetland

[Guest Anonymous]

Are we Nordic by origin or Scots...discus. Or...are we Picts? Or, a mixture of all.

[JAStewart]

Aren't we Nordic?

 

I thought so anyway.

[McFly]

a mixture of all.

 

That one.

 

And probably a few more besides the ones you mentioned.

[Njugle]

Aren't we Nordic?

 

I thought so anyway.

 

No reference to vikings here i hope. People have been on Shetland for over 4000+ years. The vikings came much later.

 

Picts, Vikings, Celts, general north atlantic travellers, spaniards (in skerries& whalsa) dutchies (courtesy of the whore houses of Lerwick ), Shetland is like a historical melting pot, and all that, and more, within recorded history! Who knows what went on before that? Cripes even the Romans/phoenicians (?) had a skoit up around here. It was a small world even 2000+years ago.

[turrifield]

we are nodic like most of the rest of northern and eastern britain it's just the feeling is stronger and more recent for us in Shetland even more so than in Orkney. We owe most of our cultural heritage to north sea trading routes which obviously encompass scandinavia to a large extent.

[deardron]

What about Algerian-Turkish pyrates? There's some hypothesis that they must have leave some spermatozoa in Iceland&the Faroes where they committed robberies in 17th century. Did they stop in Shetland?

[BigMick]

Genetic analysis actually show only approx 30% of us have nordic blood in our veins. Very surprising actually, and it suggests to me that the Norsemen didi not wipe out the picts/indiginous people, but instead lived alongside them and indeed interbred with them.

 

I would wax lyrical about this for hours, but I've got to go out to work. I may post again later.

 

--

BigMick

[Njugle]

Please do!

 

My family have been in the genetic testing survey, and although you can trace the origins of our family name back to the eighth century here and it is a norn/norse word, we are not of the norse origin used in the survey. But then where did the norsemen who came here come from? It's all abig melting pot!

[deardron]

In the blood of Icelanders there's a considerable persentage of Celtic blood. I don't remember the figures, but it seems that genetically they're more Celts than Scandinavians. So let alone you, Shetlanders.

[BobbarityShommarity]

the Norsemen didi

The Norsemen didi?Would they have any connection with the KenDoddmen diddy?When did the sword evolve into the feather duster?Please let me know.

[BigMick]

Norsemen Didi (not to be confused with the more recent oompa loompas):

 

A small secretive people, which is generally found in groups of four or five, normally playing music. Loudly. Tend to have long hair and beards. Well known for their prowess at chess and an uncanny ability to "sleep slowly".

 

Possibly an offshoot of the trows - certainly there are physical similarities.

[BobbarityShommarity]

They sound pretty awesome to me.Let me know if you ever find any.

[teenie]

Something to make the blood stir people, this was recorded by a roman scribe just before they battled a hooer of a lot of Picts in the North of Scotland (dunna ask me for a year - but it was a long fookin time ago). The chief was called Calagus, and i think it kinda sums up life upon wir blissed rock -

 

"We, the most distant dwellers upon the earth, the last of the free, have been shielded...by our remoteness and by the obscurity which has shrouded our name...beyond us lies no nation, nothing but waves and rock".

 

I was doon at the Scatness Dig the last time i was hame and they said that Shetland is relatively unique in that the local Picts lived alongside the Vikings, for what appears to have been mony a year, they said they have found evidence of a settlement supporting up to 150 people - both the pictish roundhouse dwellings and the Viking long houses. Hooer of an interesting, i did also hear that there is some connection to American Indians using us as a trading post as well, but havena been able to verify that one...any takers folk???

 

The only other place i have seen with such an amount of reasonable preserved Pictish stuff is Angus, which alledgedly was the last Pictish stronghold in Scotland, very good standing stones etc. Anyhoo, maybe doesna clear up any of the mystery of what we fully are, but i like to think of us as the old Heinz 57 variety, bit of everything in there and bloody strong roots going back through time...marvellous. Pip pip

teenie

[Marvin]

In the blood of Icelanders there's a considerable persentage of Celtic blood. I don't remember the figures, but it seems that genetically they're more Celts than Scandinavians. So let alone you, Shetlanders.

 

I'm not 100% sure of my facts, but in Iceland there are a percentage of people with red hair - they explain it by the number of women their ancestors pinched from Scotland and Ireland. They sent longships down and rounded up a pile of west coast women and transported then back to Iceland for breeding purposes (or so and Icelander told me the last time I was there)....

[Ghostrider]

i did also hear that there is some connection to American Indians using us as a trading post as well, but havena been able to verify that one...any takers folk???

 

I don't know about trade links, but the opinion that north east/eastern(?) Native Americans and those in eastern Canada, are descended from the same blood line as north west Europeans, has a certain amount of support.

 

"Expert" opinion in the field of DNA seems to be divided though, while some seem to believe the evidence is conclusive, others argue that that liklihood of mutations on both continents over time, makes it no more than a good suggestion worthy of further consideration, and to believe it to be more than that is wishful thinking generated by supporting folklore.