Talk:Isle of Wight

"It is traditionally considered part of the county of Hampshire; since 1974 it has been administered as a separate county for local government purposes."

This seems POV. Is the writer of the above the ssame guy who's been arguing for 'historical counties' on the list of UK towns page? It was in one county, now it's in another. -- Tarquin 15:58, 12 Oct 2003 (UTC)

I'm not the same guy, no, but it seems NPOV to me; the 1974 reforms didn't change geographical county boundaries, just local government ones. Would "It has been historically considered part of.." be fairer? Psmith 16:24, 12 Oct 2003 (UTC)

The Isle of Wight did in fact become a seperate county in 1974, in fact the smallest in England before the revival of Rutland. Dainamo, March 22, 2004

Material from Overwritten Article "Wight"

Unless it's utter nonsense -- the stuff about "were" (as in werewolf) and "world" being related isn't! -- the 3rd paragraph of this might inspire an addition (role of IofW in ancient lore) to the article Isle of Wight:

A being or creature, often referring to the elves. It is kin to the past tense of to be — were — and to world.

The Isle of Wight lies off the coast of the South of England in the English Sound, sundered from the town of Portsmouth by The Solent. It is a favorite seaside destination of sallow-faced Londoners seeking respite.

The Isle of Wight was originally settled by the tribe of Ingvæones (see Tacitus) known as the Geats in England's national epic, Beowulf. Beowulf selflessly saved his nation of Geats from the wide-spread destruction of the humanoid sea-monster Grendel and his accursed mother, by a remarkable combination of courage, athletic breath-control, and magic in a fearful drama undersea. He then was elected king, by grace of God.

--Jerzy 03:25, 2004 Feb 7 (UTC)

Here's an exact quotation from the Oxford English Dictionary Online:

[Com. Teut. (wanting in Gothic): OE. weorold, worold, world str. f., rarely m., corresp. to OFris. wrald, ruald, warld (EFris. warld, WFris. wrôd), OS. werold (MLG. werlt, warlt, LG. werld, MDu. werelt, Du. wereld), OHG. weralt (MHG. werelt, werlt, welt, G. welt), ON. veröld (Sw. verld, Da. verden): a formation peculiar to Germanic, f. wer- man, WERE n.1 + al- age (cf. OLD a., ELD n.2), the etymological meaning being, therefore, ‘age’ or ‘life of man’.

--Wighson 00:12, 2004 Apr 2 (UTC)

Maybe the "sallow-faced" part should be added to London [wink], but i see now there's plenty on Beowulf already in Isle of Wight. And as to Beowulf, the last sentence and a half contradict that article, and may in fact be utter nonsense. --Jerzy 17:28, 2004 Feb 7 (UTC)

Jutes says Jutes settled IoW, not Geats. Morwen 17:30, Feb 7, 2004 (UTC)

Isle of Wight History Centre says "Around 1900 BC the Beaker people arrived - so called from their distinctive pottery. They called the Island Wiht (weight) meaning raised or what rises over the sea. Then the Romans arrived in 43 AD and translated Wiht into the name Vectis from the Latin veho meaning lifting. The Roman rule started under Vespasian and continued peacefully for over four hundred years. Then followed a period of strife starting with the Saxons under Cerdic and Cynric in 530 AD. Many of the natives were slaughtered and four years after Cerdic's death the government was divided between his two nephews Stuf and Wihtgar. In 544 Wihtgar died and was buried at Carisbrooke. In 661 AD, Wight changed hands again when it was taken by Wulfhure, King of the Mercians, but it was in 686 AD that the West Saxon King, Caedwalla, conquered it and brought Christianity to the Island."

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, Jutes are Geats! The difference is a matter of spelling and due to the fact that the Venerable Bede wrote in Latin (Jutes), and not in Old English (Geats). Here again is an exact quote from the OED:

[In pl. Jutes, a mod. rendering of Bæda's Jutæ and Juti, in OE. Eotas, Iótas, ?Iútan (gen. pl. Iútna), also Geátas; = Icel. Iótar people of Jutland on the mainland of Denmark.

--Wighson 00:12, 2004 Apr 2 (UTC)

I would not take OED's description for a fact. In my Scandinavian books on etymology, Jute has no connection to Geat.--Wiglaf 18:26, 9 Sep 2004 (UTC)

How does this fit with Geats or Jutes? Rmhermen 18:04, Feb 7, 2004 (UTC)

I think the article should certainly mention the Jutes - there was mention of this on a UK archaeology TV programme. I'll dig out the reference. Agendum 00:54, 8 Feb 2004 (UTC)

Yes, that's right! But this is rather general knowledge. Bede speaks of the Jutes (ie, Geats) settling the Island in his classic Ecclesiastical History of the English People (731 AD), q.v.

--Wighson 00:12, 2004 Apr 2 (UTC)

As I understand it, this is general article rather than a work of history. The arrival of the Jutes in the Island (from Jutland, Denmark) is nothing more than a footnote in English history in that part of the country, any more than you might mention the arrival of the Saxons in other parts of the south.

What is more interesting, and might deserve a mention (if you want to cover early history in what is only a general article on the IOW), is the discovery of artefacts and finds from many different periods going right back to the Bronze Age, Iron Age, Roman, Medieval, etc - proving evidence of continuity of inhabitation on the Island over thousands of years. Agendum 09:30, 4 Apr 2004 (UTC)

This is the original author of the paragraph. I think you might be right; it may not be strictly relevant. Perhaps an expanded section (as per comments above) could be added with more of the archæological and historical information and tourist sites. The Beowulf info. could be put in there. For now, I suggest an abbreviated paragraph, which can serve as an interesting lead-in and introduction if others feel that too much detail is currently included. This is an example of a briefer version:

According to the Venerable Bede, the Isle of Wight was mostly settled by the Geats. The Geats were an Anglo-Saxon tribe made famous in Beowulf. Today, the Isle of Wight is rich in historical and archæological sites dating from ancient times.

Current version: The Isle of Wight is unique among the British Isles in that it is a region which was, along with the adjoining Hampshire and Kent, claimed and settled in the early Middle Ages by the ancient tribe of "Jutes" or "Geats". The Geats are best known as the people whom Beowulf saved from the man-eating sea-monsters -- Grendel and his mother -- by a remarkable combination of courage, athletic breath-control, and magic in a fearful drama undersea. He then was elected Geatish king. The Geats kept their connection with the sea when they settled the island. Today, the Isle of Wight is rich in historical and archæological sites dating from ancient times.

--Wighson 03:29, 2004 Apr 6 (UTC)

I really feel that the second paragraph- about the Jutes ("Geats" or whatever) has no place here and has got to go. Out of deference to the original author I haven't yet deleted it, but please consider that this is not a historical work but an introduction to the Isle of Wight for the general reader of an encyclopedia. There may be some justfication for a brief outline of its history or archaeology later in the article, but not as virtually the first thing you read. Agendum 23:23, 3 May 2004 (UTC)[reply]

I disagree with the premise that the article on a place cannot be expanded to include notes on the history of an area. Indeed this is the style of most encyclopaedias with reference to countries or places. The more infomration the better. If you consider the entry on the Jutes to be in the wrong place conisder editing it by placing under a section in the same article titled "History". I don't think the article needs this unless it gets longer though. Dainamo 14, June 2004

Removal of Image:wight9265.png

This is a terribly innacurate map and I have removed it from the Isle of Wight article until such time as a better one can be found. The river Medina ends at about Whippingham, with Newport starting at about the same place, Ryde appears to have been plonked somewhere to the east of Seaview and other towns including Southampton appear to have been placed at someone's rough guess. Total crap. Don't use it. Dainamo 21:09, 10 May 2004 (UTC)[reply]

Rivers Yar

Concernings the following before editing:

The River Medina flows north into the Solent, whilst the other main river, the Eastern Yar flows roughly north-east, emerging at Bembridge Harbour on the eastern end of the Island. Confusingly, there is another entirely separate river called the Western Yar which flows from Freshwater Bay to Yarmouth. The south coast adjoins the English Channel.

There is nothing confusing if one is the "Western Yar" and the other the "Eastern Yar", The confusion is that both are called "The River Yar" and the desigantion of either as eastern or western is only used in a context where disambiguation becomes necessary. Dainamo 00:15, 3 Oct 2004 (UTC)

Yes, you are right. Feel free to make that point clear - and indeed, you're also right that they are not properly called either 'Eastern' or 'Western'. Naturenet 15:02, 5 Oct 2004 (UTC)

Concerning Vectians

I'm not sure I agree with the prominence of the term 'Vectians'. I moved to the Island in 1970 and I've never heard the word until I saw it in the recent edit. In fact, I thought it was entirely fictional until I checked - so apologies for doubting the author. Google does show up one unqualified use of the word in the wild, although there are a few archaic usages. But I really can't see that it is anything other than a minor point, of far less prominence than Caulkheads or Islanders, for example (as I put it in my previous edit), as its a very uncommon term indeed. But, of course, I am open to being convinced, and would be pleased to see any other examples of the word in use. Naturenet 12:09, 6 Oct 2004 (UTC)