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180
Craigie: The Norse-Irish Question.
some were quite accidental vikings. It is thus only about
V9 of the total number, which can be proved to have come
in contact with the western lands before settling in Iceland**
Next, as to the prevalence of Gaelic names among this small
Company, Dr. Bugge has actually given them all in bis
list, except Kjallakr, porgeirr meldun and porkell pjälfi *).
It will be observed that only four (Bekan} Kaiman, Kýlan
and Kjállákr) have purely Gaelic names; in the case of the
others only the ’to-name’ is of Gaelic origin. Prom all this
it is obvious that Dr. Bugge’s many must not be taken too
seriously. It is true that several of these colonists figure
largely in Landnámabók7 but that has nothing to do with
their number. Some of them belonged to families who were
prominent in Norway itself, and their experiences in the
western lands would naturally make them superior in several
ways to others who had come straight from their native
country.
There are various other points in Dr. Bugge’s article
which I might dwell upon, but it is not my purpose here
to discuss the subject as a whole. In the foregoing I trust
that I have made my own position somewhat clearer, and
that I have shown reasons why scholars should not accept
all Dr Bugge’s conclusions without examining for themselves
the evidence on which they are based. That during the
viking period Northmen and Irish were often brought into close
contact with each other cannot for a moment be denied;
but whether this contact really had any serious influence on
the legends, mythology, poetry, etc, of Scandinavia, is a
question that must be settled on its own merits. Irish
influence was undoubtedly possible, but what is wanted i&
evidence that this possibility was ever realised.
*) Even this is doubtful, as there is a variant bjálfi.
W. A. Craigie.
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