The Orkney Finnmen Legends: From Early Modern Science to Modern Myth
At the end of the 17th century there appeared the first noting of a mysterious kayak-paddling “Finnman” seen in Orkney waters. Jonathan Westaway explores the subsequent explanations and how early modern science's fascination with unfamiliar objects, and the “out-of-place” in general, helped con...
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| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
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The Public Domain Review
2020
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| Online Access: | http://clok.uclan.ac.uk/35503/ http://clok.uclan.ac.uk/35503/1/the-orkney-finnmen-legends/index.html https://publicdomainreview.org/essay/the-orkney-finnmen-legends |
| Summary: | At the end of the 17th century there appeared the first noting of a mysterious kayak-paddling “Finnman” seen in Orkney waters. Jonathan Westaway explores the subsequent explanations and how early modern science's fascination with unfamiliar objects, and the “out-of-place” in general, helped conjure the idea of an Inuit presence in the region and, in turn, a new chapter of Scottish folklore. |
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