The Vikings in Africa

[Imperial Dave]

https://www.heritagedaily.com/2022/12/the-vikings-in-africa/145505?amp

Hopefully of interest

[Swampster]

Interesting.

The blue men could perhaps have been Tuaregs, though it seems that dark complexion was described as 'blár' which includes blue and black. Seems the same word was used for e.g. ravens.

[Andreas Johansson]

The blue men could perhaps have been Tuaregs, though it seems that dark complexion was described as 'blár' which includes blue and black. Seems the same word was used for e.g. ravens.

In modern Icelandic the word means black people. I don't think there's any reason to think it meant anything else in the Viking Age.

[Mick Hession]

The blue men could perhaps have been Tuaregs, though it seems that dark complexion was described as 'blár' which includes blue and black. Seems the same word was used for e.g. ravens.

In modern Icelandic the word means black people. I don't think there's any reason to think it meant anything else in the Viking Age.

Also in Irish (medieval as well as modern).

[Anton]

An fir gorm, as Mick said.   I hadn't known about blar.  Interesting stuff.

[Swampster]

I gather that using 'svatr' for people tended to refer to hair colour. Again, I think Irish may be the same.

[Anton]

Yes, dubh would be the word.

[DougM]

Yes, dubh would be the word.

Same in Scots Gaelic- Dubh being dark or black.

[RichT]

Hence Dubh Loch (or indeed Loch Dubh) in Scotland, for north-facing or shaded lakes. No relevance to current discussion, just happy memories of this year's holiday...

[Imperial Dave]

ddu or du in Welsh

[DBS]

I do remember a colleague, who had a diplomatic posting to Morocco, but was also accredited to Mauritania, telling me that the Mauritanians tended to be rather racist towards their Senegalese neighbours to the south, and used an epithet for black which was equivalent in English to the N word.  He observed that if all racism is irrational, then this particular manifestation was especially so, as many of the Mauritanians were in fact of a rather darker hue than their sub-Saharan neighbours...

[Nick Harbud]

Historically, the cognomen 'black' can often refer simply to a swarthy demeanour, hair colour or someone whose character exudes a generally pessimistic view of humanity.  For example, Thomas Butler, 10^th Earl of Ormand (Irish: Tomás Dubh de Buitléir), known as 'Black Thomas'.  Judge from his portrait how accurate this might be.

Portrait

[DougM]

The Black Douglas is probably the best known example. Ironically the Black, Black Stream/Water.