Browse Items (28 total)

  • Tags: Street Signs

DSC01378 (1280x960).jpg
This sign refers to the early twelfth century Earl of Orkney, Magnus Erlendsson, who was martyred in 1115 according to Orkneyinga saga. Many streets in central Lerwick are named after Scandinavian Kings, Queens and Saints, particularly from the…

DSC01388 (1280x960).jpg
Many streets in central Lerwick are named after Scandinavian Kings, Queens and Saints, particularly from the medieval period. This sign probably refers to the thirteenth century Norwegian king Eiríkr Magnússon, who married princess Margaret of…

IMG_20160602_143529.jpg
Many place names in Iceland reference the earliest Norse settlers, such as this example of Ingólfshvoll (Ingólfr's Hill), referring to the first permanent settler, Ingólfr Arnarson whose name appears in several place names in the vicinity of…

IMG_20160607_171924.jpg
Tait is a common Scottish surname derived from the Old Norse 'teitr', meaning cheerful. Many surnames and place names in Shetland have a Norse origin.

IMG_20160607_174751.jpg
Twageos is a place name incorporating the common Norse place name element 'gjá', meaning 'ravine' and rendered in Shetland as 'geo' or 'gjo'. Twageos may refer to the 'two ravines'.

IMG_20160607_174416.jpg
Copeland is a common placename and surname deriving from Old Norse kaupa land, meaning 'bought land'. This example is from Lerwick in Shetland.

IMG_20160607_174905.jpg
Midgarth is a common Norse placename, and Anglicisation of Miðgarðr, meaning in this case 'Middle Enclosure / Farm' . Miðgarðr is also the 'Middle Realm', and home of mankind, in Norse Mythology.

2004-12-31 23.00.00-3.jpg
Photo of the street sign 'Olaf's Wynd' in Kirkwall, Orkney. Wynd is a placename element from the Norse verb venda, meaning 'to turn' or 'to wind'. St Olaf refers to the Norwegian king Ólafr Haraldsson, who reigned from 1015 to 1028 and was…
Output Formats

atom, dcmes-xml, json, omeka-json, omeka-xml, rss2