Jump to content

Shetland: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
rv
rv
Line 18: Line 18:
|MSPs= <ul><li>[[Tavish Scott]]</ul>
|MSPs= <ul><li>[[Tavish Scott]]</ul>
}}
}}
'''Shetland''' (formerly spelled ''Zetland'', from ''{{latinx|Ȝ}}etland'') [[geographical renaming|formerly called]] '''''Hjaltland''''', is one of 32 [[council areas]] of [[Scotland]]. It is an [[archipelago]] between [[Orkney]] and the [[Faroe Islands]], north of mainland Scotland, with a total area of approximately [[1 E9 m²|1466 km²]]. It forms part of the division between the [[Atlantic Ocean]] to the west and the [[North Sea]] to the east. The administrative centre and only [[burgh]] is [[Lerwick]].
'''Shetland''' (formerly spelled ''Zetland'', from ''{{latinx|Ȝ}}etland'') [[geographical renaming|formerly called]] '''''Hjaltland''''', is one of 32 [[council areas]] of [[Scotland]]. It is an [[archipelago]] between [[Orkney]] and [[Norway]], north of mainland Scotland, with a total area of approximately [[1 E9 m²|1466 km²]]. It forms part of the division between the [[Atlantic Ocean]] to the west and the [[North Sea]] to the east. The administrative centre and only [[burgh]] is [[Lerwick]].


The largest island, known as the [[Shetland Mainland|Mainland]], is the third largest Scottish island and also the third largest island surrounding Great Britain. It has an area of 374 square miles.
The largest island, known as the [[Shetland Mainland|Mainland]], is the third largest Scottish island and also the third largest island surrounding Great Britain. It has an area of 374 square miles.

Revision as of 17:10, 17 October 2006

For other uses, see Shetland (disambiguation).

Template:Infobox Scotland council area Shetland (formerly spelled Zetland, from Template:Latinxetland) formerly called Hjaltland, is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It is an archipelago between Orkney and Norway, north of mainland Scotland, with a total area of approximately 1466 km². It forms part of the division between the Atlantic Ocean to the west and the North Sea to the east. The administrative centre and only burgh is Lerwick.

The largest island, known as the Mainland, is the third largest Scottish island and also the third largest island surrounding Great Britain. It has an area of 374 square miles.

Shetland is also a lieutenancy area, comprises the Shetland constituency of the Scottish Parliament, and was formerly a county.

Composition

Out of the approximately 100 islands, only fifteen are inhabited. The main island of the group is known as Mainland.

The other inhabited islands are: Bressay, Burra, Fetlar, Foula, Muckle Roe, Papa Stour, Trondra, Vaila, Unst, Whalsay, Yell in the main Shetland group, plus Fair Isle to the south, and Housay and Bruray in the Out Skerries to the east (see below).

Other , uninhabited, islands include:

Fair Isle lies approximately halfway between Shetland and Orkney, but it is administered as part of Shetland and is often counted as part of the island group. The Out Skerries lie east of the main group. Due to the islands' latitude, on clear winter nights the aurora borealis or 'northern lights' can sometimes be seen in the sky, while in summer there is almost perpetual daylight, a state of affairs known locally as the 'simmer dim'. Indeed, when standing at the highest point in the Isles, Ronas Hill (height 450m latitude 60° 32' 04"), the sun does not set at mid summer. In midwinter, by contrast, the sun does not fully rise.

Template:Infobox Scotland traditional county

Shetland flag
Shetland flag
Coat of Arms
Coat of Arms
(In Detail) (Coat of Arms)
Motto Með lögum skal land byggja
(Old Norse: With laws land shall be built)
Shetland islands relative to Scotland

History

The old Gaelic name for Shetland (Innse Cat, "Islands of the Cat People") suggests that the original inhabitants were the same tribal group who inhabited Caithness ("Cat People's Headland") and Sutherland (Cataibh, "Cat People's Land"). Missionaries arrived around the 7th century and began converting the population to Christianity. Sometime in the 9th century, Shetland was invaded by the Norse and became a Norwegian colony for approximately 500 years, but ownership of Shetland, along with Orkney, defaulted to the crown of Scotland on 20 February 1472 following non-payment of the marriage dowry of Margaret of Denmark, queen of James III of Scotland. Subsequent attempts to make good on the debt and reclaim Shetland have been ignored, including the last bid in the early years of the twentieth century.[citation needed]

During World War II, boats from the Shetland Islands provided a relief service to occupied Norway, known as the "Shetland bus".

Norse names

The old Norse names of the principal islands were:

  • Hjaltland (Mainland)
  • Jell (Yell) - believed to be pre-Norse
  • Unst - believed to be pre-Norse
  • Fetlar - believed to be pre-Norse
  • Kvalsøy (Whalsay)
  • Brusøy (Bressay) - most likely named after a Norse nobleman Bruse
  • Fugløy (Foula) - literally bird's island
  • Frjóey (Fair Isle) - Fertile island (Froøy/Fræøy in modern Norwegian)

Culture

The culture of Shetland is similar to that of Scandinavia. However, it also combines elements of Scottish culture as well.[citation needed]

Notable places

Economy

Traditionally, the economic activities of Shetland were primarily agricultural, especially the raising of Shetland sheep, known for their unusually fine wool, along with the Shetland Sheepdog as well as the Shetland pony. Crops raised include oats and barley; however, the cold, windswept islands make for a harsh environment for most plants. Crofting, the farming of small plots of land on a legally restricted tenancy basis, is still practiced and viewed as a key Shetland tradition as well as important source of income.

More recently, oil reserves discovered in the 20th century out to sea have provided a much needed alternative source of income for the islands. The East Shetland Basin is becoming one of Europe's largest oil fields. Oil produced there is landed at the Sullom Voe terminal in Shetland.

Language

The Pictish language was replaced by Old Norse, which evolved into Norn, which was replaced by an insular dialect of Scots also known as Shetlandic, which in turn is being replaced by Scottish English. However, the legacy of Norn remains in the grammar and a number of words, making the Shetland dialect a distinctive form of Scots.

As Norn was gradually replaced by Scots, the original Scandinavian name of the islands, Hjaltland (hjalt in Old Norse meaning the hilt or pommel of a sword) became Template:Latinxetland (the initial letter being the Middle Scots letter, yogh (which can also be found in the forename Menzies, e.g. Menzies Campbell.) This sounded almost identical to the original Norn sound, /hj/). When the letter yogh was discontinued, it was often replaced by the similar-looking letter 'z', hence Zetland, the mispronounced form used to describe the pre-1975 county council.

Media

Shetland is served by a weekly local newspaper, The Shetland Times, published every Friday and one of the first UK newspapers to publish on the internet in 1996. Radio Shetland, the local opt-out of BBC Radio Scotland, and SIBC, a commercial radio station, broadcast daily.

Other sources include

  • The Shetland News an online daily newspaper. A landmark legal case was brought by the Shetland Times against the Shetland News for deep linking to their content. It was settled out of court. [1]
  • Shetlink a community centric portal "Connecting Shetland" where people can express opinions on Shetland and related issues.
  • Shetlopedia.com The online Shetland Encyclopedia.

Transport

Transport between islands is mainly done by ferry.

Lerwick has an international ferry connection operated by Smyril Line to


Schools

Anderson High School


Notable Shetlanders

Shetland Islands on film

Michael Powell made The Edge of the World in 1937. This film is a dramatisation based on the true story of the evacuation of the last thirty-six inhabitants of the remote island of St Kilda on 29 August 1930. St Kilda lies in the Atlantic Ocean, 64 kilometres west-northwest of North Uist in the Outer Hebrides; the inhabitants spoke Gaelic. Powell was unable to get permission to film on St. Kilda. Undaunted, he made the film over four months during the summer of 1936 on the island of Foula, in the Shetland Isles. Despite the fact that the Foula islanders speak the Norse-tinged dialect of Shetland, the film loses none of its power.

Council political composition

Shetland NHS

The Shetland NHS is the local Scottish health service in the Shetland Islands.

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Category:Shetland.
The Shetland to English Dictionary
The English to Shetland Dictionary

Template:Scotland traditional counties

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Shetland&oldid=82026412"