There are two placenames here in Shetland, a former Norse colony as you will
know , from the 800s to the 15th century. I'm interested in the derivation
of two, the first is my village here, long called Cunningsburgh (in old
documents it is referred to as Konungsburg) I know the word means 'King's
fort or broch', but I've always been puzzled as I understood the term
'King'
was not a word the Vikings used. They had 'Jarls' did they not? Was there a
Pictish overlord of some sort based here in Cunningsburgh when the Vikings
rolled ashore when they first arrived. (There ARE three broch sites in
Cburgh,- about 100 identifiable remains in the whole of Shetland) and the
famous Mousa broch is only three miles south on the island of Mousa) Any
thoughts?
And a further related question - a huge one!! As far as we can tell all the
old placenames in Shetland are Norse in origin, is this clear and decisive
evidence that the Vikings wiped out the previous Pictish inhabitants? It's
the old 'War or Peace' debate - did the Norse settler integrate with the
natives, or did they exterminate them?
The second word is 'Papil', which most people have assumed had something to
do with the possible presence of Christian priests or 'papar, but what about
the suffix 'il'. And would the pagan Vikings have killed these Papars?
Any thoughts?