re Reference on Numbers of Saxons

[David L. White]

> And on the language following the mother, is there not mtDNA evidence of the
> settlers of Iceland taking Irish/Scottish women with them, yet the language
> is still north Germanic, and very conservatively so?

        Not that I know of, though it is generally acknowledged, I believe,
that the Icelandic population has a "considerable" (whatever that means)
Irish element.  For now I note only that the modern Icelandic progressive,
which last I heard had never been explained, seems to be a calque on
progressives of the Irish type.  And there are things like supernatural
animals with white bodies and red ears (which scream Celtic to a Celticist)
in Icelandic sagas, I vaguely recall.
        Speaking of Celtic influences in supposedly pristine purely Germanic
societies, there is a book "Celtic Influence in Beowulf" by one Martin
Puhvel that members might want to check out.

                                                           Dr. Daivd . White