Part of the Hildina Ballad; This song is from Foula known as ‘da Dansk’ meaning ‘the Dane’. It was was recorded in Foula in July 1774; here presented in a Norse Orthography – in the Norn language, one of the many offshoot languages within the Germanic whole that settled in Shetland.
The last native Norn speaker in Shetland is said to have been Walter Sutherland from Skaw (Skagi) in Unst, who died about 1850.
Linguist Jakob Jakobsen, notes: ‘…even rather late in the 18th century, Norn songs and ballads survived in the mouths of the common people.’
GEORGE LOW, FOULA 1774: George Low got this ballad from a man who “has the most knowledge of any I found”: William Henry, a farmer in Guttorm, in Foula. Low notes: “I cannot answer for the orthography. I wrote it, as (the) old man pronounced it; “ It was not possible for Low, too, to get a literal translation.
For the full Version of this Ballad, and more information about the story behind it and the Norn Language, visit: