Shetland Folk-Lore
Much valuable information regarding the significance and derivation of these and other old words used in Shetland may be found in Jakobsen's “Shetland Dialect and Place-Names.”
The whale or fjaedin, or bregdie (as some of these aquatic monsters were called), was very much dreaded by the old fishermen, especially when one was seen alone. But they had means for protecting themselves against these dark denizens of the deep. This was simply an old copper coin. As soon as a whale was seen in close proximity to a boat, the copper penny was held in the water and scraped with a steel knife. It was believed that no whale would approach a boat so protected, and the fishermen soon had the pleasure of seeing their uncanny visitor give them a wide berth.
It was generally believed that steel instruments and silver coins possessed wonderful virtue in counteracting the
malevolence of witches and trows. Το
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