dear friends,
today i have a question referring to a paper i am going to write in one of
my classes at university. the class was a general introduction to
scandinavian culture studies, with a focus on questions of definition,
identity and perception. my paper is going to be titled "islands in the
outer ocean" and deals with the history or development of some northern
european geographical names in antiquity and medieval times, looking at
antique (mythic) geography, celtic / scandinavian culture contact,
perception from the outside versus self-identity, and some modern folk
etymologies.
while i naturally found heaps of sources for the antique writers (like
plinius, pytheas, mela, etc.) and also for a scandinavian view on the
islands in the west, i am still rather clueless if there might be something
to find about a celtic view on scandinavia. i would also very much
appreciate any material concerning the origin of the name "hebrides"
(hebudae, aebudae, havbredey???) and if you have any other recommendation
for really good sources on any part of the topic, that's also welcome. i can
read materials in english, german, irish and scottish gaelic, basic
norwegian / swedish / icelandic, some italian, basic french.
as i am sending this request to several people and lists i appreciate, i
suppose it is best if you get back to me privately - or, if you think it is
a topic for the list, well, i don't mind.
thanks a lot in advance,
mona