Editing Orkney (section)

==Language, literature, and folklore==
[[File:Odin-Stone sketch.jpeg|thumb|upright|alt= A black and white line drawing of a tall standing stone that is wider at the top than the base. It has a long vertical crack on the right-hand side and there is a small hole that goes right through it near the ground. A lake and hill are in the background.|The Odin Stone]]
At the beginning of recorded history, the islands were inhabited by the [[Picts]], whose language was Brythonic.{{#tag:ref|There is convincing place-name evidence for the Picts' use of Brythonic or [[P-Celtic and Q-Celtic|P-Celtic]], although no written records survive. No certain knowledge of any pre-Pictish language exists anywhere in Scotland, but there may well have been times of significant overlap.<ref>Clarkson (2008) pp. 30–34.</ref> For example, the early Scottish Earls spoke Gaelic when the majority of their subjects spoke Norn, and both of these languages were then replaced by Insular Scots. It is therefore possible that the Pictish aristocracy spoke one language and the common folk an unknown precursor such as [[Proto-Celtic]].<ref>Lamb, Gregor "The Orkney Tongue" in Omand (2003) pp. 248–49.</ref>|group="Notes"}} The [[Ogham]] script on the [[Buckquoy spindle-whorl]] is cited as evidence for the pre-Norse existence of [[Old Irish]] in Orkney.<ref>{{Cite journal| author=[[Katherine Forsyth|Forsyth, Katherine]]| title=The ogham-inscribed spindle-whorl from Buckquoy: evidence for the Irish language in pre-Viking Orkney?| journal=[[Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland]]| volume=125| year=1995| pages=677–96| url=http://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archives/view/psas/volumes.cfm| access-date=12 May 2012| archive-date=22 May 2013| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130522025643/http://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archives/view/psas/volumes.cfm| url-status=live}}</ref>{{#tag:ref|Only two [[Goidelic languages|Q-Celtic]] words exist in the language of modern Orcadians – {{lang|sco|iper}} from {{lang|gd|eabhar}}, meaning a [[midden]] slurry, and {{lang|sco|keero}} from {{lang|gd|caora}} – used to describe a small sheep in the North Isles.<ref name="Lamb 2003 p. 250">Lamb, Gregor "The Orkney Tongue" in Omand (2003) p. 250.</ref>|group="Notes"}}

After the Norse occupation, the [[toponymy]] of Orkney became almost wholly [[West Norse]].<ref>Lamb, Gregor (1995) ''Testimony of the Orkneyingar: Place Names of Orkney''. Byrgisey. {{ISBN|0-9513443-4-X}}</ref> The Norse language changed into the local [[Norn language|Norn]], which lingered until the end of the 18th century, when it eventually died out.<ref name="Lamb 2003 p. 250"/> Norn was replaced by the [[Orcadian dialect]] of [[Insular Scots]]. This dialect is at a low ebb due to the pervasive influences of television, education, and the large number of incomers. However, attempts are being made by some writers and radio presenters to revitalise its use<ref>[http://www.orkneyjar.com/orkney/dialect/index.html "The Orcadian Dialect"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071107011653/http://www.orkneyjar.com/orkney/dialect/index.html |date=7 November 2007 }} Orkneyjar. Retrieved 4 October 2008.</ref> and the distinctive sing-song [[accent (dialect)|accent]] and many dialect words of Norse origin remain in use.{{#tag:ref|Lamb (2003) counted 60 words "with correlates in Old Norse only" and 500 Scots expressions in common use in the 1950s.<ref>Lamb, Gregor "The Orkney Tongue" in Omand (2003) pp. 250–53.</ref>|group="Notes"}} The Orcadian word most frequently encountered by visitors is {{lang|sco|peedie}}, meaning 'small', which may be derived from the French {{lang|fr|petit}}.<ref>Clackson, Stephen (25 November 2004) ''[[The Orcadian]]''. Kirkwall.</ref>{{#tag:ref|The word is of uncertain origin and has also been attested in the Lothians and Fife in the 19th century.<ref>Grant, W. and Murison, D.D. (1931–1976) ''[[Scottish National Dictionary]]''. Scottish National Dictionary Association. {{ISBN|0-08-034518-2}}.</ref>|group="Notes"}}

Orkney has a rich folklore, and many of the former tales concern [[trow (folklore)|trows]], an Orcadian form of [[troll]] that draws on the islands' Scandinavian connections.<ref>[http://www.orkneyjar.com/folklore/trows/ "The Trows"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126195034/http://www.orkneyjar.com/folklore/trows/ |date=26 January 2021 }}. Orkneyjar. Retrieved 19 September 2009.</ref> Local customs in the past included marriage ceremonies at the Odin Stone that formed part of the Stones of Stenness.<ref>Muir, Tom "Customs and Traditions" in Omand (2003) p. 270.</ref>

[[King Lot]] in certain versions of the [[Arthurian legend]] (e.g., [[Thomas Malory|Malory]]) is ruler of Orkney. His sons [[Gawaine]], [[Agravaine]], [[Gareth]], and [[Gaheris]] are major characters in the [[Matter of Britain]]. In earlier versions of Arthuriana such as [[Geoffrey of Monmouth]]'s [[History of the Kings of Britain]] the King of Orkney is named Gunfasius.

The best known literary figures from modern Orkney are the poet [[Edwin Muir]], the poet and novelist [[George Mackay Brown]], and the novelist [[Eric Linklater]].<ref>Drever, David "Orkney Literature" in Omand (2003) p. 257.</ref>