along the sea route to Bristol, and reflect Norse domination of the seaways and their
movements around the coast. This first group includes the common elements -holmr
‘islet’, ‘island’ as in Priestholm, Grassholm, Skokholm, Gateholm, Burry Holms and in the
Bristol Channel, Flat Holm and Steep Holm; -wick ‘bay’ and -ford ‘fjord’ as in Milford
Haven. Flat Holm, known to the Saxons as Bradan Relice ‘broad burial-place’, became a
place of refuge in 1068 for Countess Gytha, mother of Harold; in 914 a Viking fleet
under earls Hróald and Óttar eventually fled to neighbouring Steep Holm (Steapan Relice
‘steep burial-place’ to the Saxons), where many perished of hunger. Other Scandinavian
names include Fishguard, the Skerries (sker ‘isolated rock’), Emsger, Tusker, the Stacks (stakkr
‘pillar-shaped rock’), Stackpole, Midland (meðal ‘middle’ and -holmr) and Ormes Head (ormr
‘snake’). Islands were viewed as targets (if endowed with churches or monasteries)
or places of refuge, and the element -ey ‘island’ appears a number of times, as in Anglesey
(< O ̨nguls-ey), Bardsey, Caldy, Skomer (skálm ‘side of a cleft’ and -ey), Ramsey, Lundy and
possibly Swansea (Fellows-Jensen 1992 : 34 ). In the case of Anglesey, it has been
suggested that either the repeated attacks resulted in some limited period of Viking
domination, or that the sustained contacts of Gruffudd ap Cynan and others somehow
influenced the description of the island by outsiders.
Warning against attributing too much weight to the lack of explicit references to
Scandinavian settlement in the annals and other literary sources, Wendy Davies has
argued for significant Viking success in two areas of north Wales – Anglesey and Arfon
in the north-west (on either side of the Menai Straits), and Tegeingl (north-east Wales
west of the River Dee) in north-east Wales (in the Scandinavian settlement zone of
the Wirral and Chester) (Davies 1990 : 52 ). Such assessments have relied largely on
documentary sources, the annals and Anglo-Norman histories, coupled with place-name
studies and rare archaeological finds. For example, a probable Viking burial at Talacre
and Viking-inspired ornament on crosses in the same area suggest the existence of an
offshoot of settlement in the Wirral and west Cheshire.
The second group of place names comprises Scandinavian-style settlement names
combined with personal names. Typical examples in England are -bý, but Tenby comes
from the Welsh din-bych, not the Scandinavian, while Womanby (hundamannabý ‘settle-
ment of the dogkeepers’) in Cardiff, Homri (Horn(e)by, possibly personal name Horni) and
Lamby (lang ‘long’) in Monmouthshire are all late in date, and, as with such names in
the central lowlands of Scotland, may represent settlement from the Danelaw after
Norman conquests in Wales (Fellows-Jensen 1992 : 34 ; Pierce 1984 ). In Pembrokeshire,
a few names consist of a Scandinavian personal name, followed by the English/Anglo-
Saxon element -tun such as Furzton, Haroldston, Yerbeston, but these probably reflect
settlement after the Norman conquest by settlers from the areas of England where
Danish names were common. In Flintshire, there is a small cluster of names such as
Kelston, Axton and possibly Linacre, which may represent an infiltration from north-west
England. Scandinavian elements are also evident in the Pembrokeshire names Goultrop,
Hasguard, Wolf’s Castle and Scollock. It is significant that Welsh vocabulary was scarcely
affected, and Scandinavian place names only occur in coastal regions. While these place
names entered the English language, some have little linguistic relationship with the
corresponding Welsh names: Bardsey remains Ynys Enlli, Anglesey remains Môn, Orme’s
Head remains Penygogarth, which suggests limited contact with the native population.
–– Mark Redknap––