Talk:Shetland
Shetlopedia - The Shetland Encyclopaedia
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Origin of the spelling Zetland
(quoted)... The Shetland Islands, also called Shetland (archaically spelled Zetland) formerly called Hjaltland ...(end)
"archaically" might be a bit overstressed. There are indications that the spelling Zetland derived from mistakes made in official documents of the 17th/18th century. The spelling Hjaltland changed over the time to Yaltland and the capital "Y" changed in handwritten (court and other official) documents to a kind that could be missread as "Z".
Nevertheless todays spelling "Shetland" is much older than many people may believe. It dates back to Thorvaldum de Shetland (mid 15th century???) one of the Lords of Norroway residing on ... Papa Stour I think it was. Islandhopper 00:04, 9 July 2006 (BST)
Notable Shetlanders
Eddie Irvine, Dawn O'Donnell from Mossbank
Who are they?
I was wondering this too JAStewart 05:37, 21 March 2007 (MDT)
I suspect it's just a couple of schoolkids from Mossbank. I think they posted it on Wikipedia and it was included here as well.
GaryWiki 06:06, 21 March 2007 (MDT)
Shetland or Shetland Isles ???
We have a redirect from Shetland to Shetland Isles,, But since it's only non-Shetlanders, such as Royal Mail, and most businesses that actually use the terms "Shetland Isles" and "Shetland Islands", and all Shetland residents and businesses use "Shetland", wouldn't it be best to have the redirect the other way around?????
I know it's nit-picking, but I am a Shetlander from "Shetland", not a Shetlandisler from the Shetland Isles ;-).... I must read the thread on Shetlink about this :-)
Robbie 06:45, 18 May 2007 (MDT)
I would agree with you Robbie. It should be Shetland, with redirects the other way around.
Cheers GaryWiki 07:07, 18 May 2007 (MDT)
I'd likely balls it up if I tried to change it, so one of you cleverer guys had better do it ;-)
Robbie 07:21, 18 May 2007 (MDT)
- g* ... I was wondering all the time about that redirect but left it to you ... ;-) think we must delete the existing shetland site first to avoid a double redirect ???Islandhopper 07:26, 18 May 2007 (MDT)
Last changes by user:86.146.55.192
Sorry, just checked an corrected one §. I thought we did agree on not quoting from the en:wiki. Islandhopper 11:39, 9 December 2007 (MST)
I haven't had time to check these changes against Wikipedia. If it is a copy, then we must rollback, as I for one am not prepared to have text here which is copied from Wikipedia, God knows we're working hard enough to eliminate the Wiki material that is already here, because of the generally unreliable, and often inaccurate nature of their content relating to Shetland.
The content of this page was fairly well checked against reliable sources when written, so I'm not sure why changes were made.
Robbie 11:48, 9 December 2007 (MST)
Not a copy of anything. Just a first attempt at correcting a large number of errors :-) Still needs a lot of work on the 19th and 20th centuries - at present the suggestion is given that nothing changed here between 1700-1886 ...
- I checked, and that paragraph was too much like a wiki copy for my liking.
Yes there may be a large number of errors, that is always possible, but as the information was taken from reliable sources, and cross checked against other reliable sources. This, to my mind, gives the information we had more weight than changes from an unknown contributor, from an unknown source.
That may sound rude, sorry if it does, but to date a massive percentage of changes made by non registered users has been vandalism, and misinformation.
Robbie 12:38, 9 December 2007 (MST)
- @user:86.146.55.192
- You are right, when you say that the article needs a lot of check up and corrections as do many other articles ;-). The problem simply is that your changes (in the one § I'm refering to) need more corrections than the somewhat vage speach of lerooklass does need ;-)
- In the light of the results of the West Voe oyster midden your say is wrong that "...the earliest inhabitants, [were] Neolithic farmers,..." According to Antiquity Vol 78 No 299 March 2004 the results demonstrate that the oyster midden was accumulated during the Late Mesolithic and that the cockle midden dates to the Late Mesolithic/Early Neolithic period with an OSL date given as of 4830 ± 430 BC confirmed by radiocarbon dates of 4320-4030 cal. BC and 3750-3520 cal. BC. Sorry, that's Mesolithic not Neolithic.
- Since Mykura pointed to the fact in 1976 - in between confirmed by a lot of follow up publications and more recent fieldwork from Orkney - it is simply nonesense to copy from the en:WP that Bronze Age folks "...moved to the coast...". It is by far more likely that the Holocene sea level rise would have submerged evidence of Mesolithic coastal occupation of the archipelago - said simply: Former coastal settlements disappeared due to errosion, former inland settlements are now in a more coastal position. ;-)
- So: When we do think that something needs a correction, we all should do so - but then we should do a bit of googling or risk a look at nice little brochures Val Turner's Ancient Shetland to be half way up to date ... instead of adding new errors ... ;-) Islandhopper 16:03, 9 December 2007 (MST)
Recent Page Update
I have now finished the first draft of what might be a serviceable main page on Shetland. There ared lots of things that could be added of course. But I hope that people are comfortable with the present outline. Brian 06:31, 15 March 2008 (MDT)
OK, maybe someone could insert the links. I'm no good at it. Brian 13:41, 17 March 2008 (MDT)
- Very, very good written, interesting reading, 1000 years in a "nutshell", and best of all, no copy from Wikipedia, ;-)!! Hopefully you will look over more pages, ;-), there are many that needs improving....Thanks for the good job, and we'll fix the links ;-)
Cheers, --Oddrun 14:18, 17 March 2008 (MDT)
Brian,
Many thanks for that, at last it makes good reading. Oddie has fixed most of the links for now, and we're going to dig out a few extra pictures to add, which are in keeping with the text.
Robbie 15:43, 17 March 2008 (MDT)
You're kind. Brian 04:46, 18 March 2008 (MDT)
'Practised' has an 's'. Brian 00:56, 19 April 2008 (MDT)
Where ????, please Brian, fix it!! Cheers, --Oddrun 01:58, 19 April 2008 (MDT)
Late 1800's
Could anyone point me to any sources for information about the post- Crofters' Act era up through WWI. I was hoping that there would be a 2nd Local News. I know herring boomed, rents were halved, Russians traded. I am particularly interested in how things changed on the crofts. Have read testimony given by crofters who wanted their scattald rights returned. Did they ever get it? Was the land split into discreet, compact holdings or did that generally occur later? Thanks - Rula Morula 02:44, 16 July 2008 (MDT)
Dear R The first thing to look at is Hance Smith's book Shetland Life and Trade, published in 1984 (but still brilliant ;-)). I would also take a look at Susan Knox, The Making of the Shetlanmd Landscape (1985). I owe you an email. I am sorry! I have been meaning to speak to someone about getting permission for you to use that map, but keep getting sidetracked. I will do it right now!! Brian 03:13, 16 July 2008 (MDT)
Thanks for the recommendations. I have Knox. Smith's book is out of print but I will definitely search for it. BTW - it is amazing what kind of prices the Shetland Times publications are commanding on the used book markets - up to over $500 on this one. Rula Morula 10:53, 16 July 2008 (MDT)
- @Morula,
- If you're looking to buy OOP Shetland books its worth keeping an eye on what ebay have listed. If you're not in the U.K. but know anyone who is who could receive the order on your behalf and ship it on to you, then ebay.co.uk listings which will only ship to the U.K. can often turn up some bargains.
- Granted, I don't recall having seen "Life & Trade" on there anytime recently, but thats not to say one might not be listed tomorrow, such is the nature of ebay.
- Ghostrider 11:03, 16 July 2008 (MDT)
Some copies of Shetland Life and Trade available on amazon.co.uk. Brian 08:47, 17 July 2008 (MDT)
