ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1520 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1520 ************************************ From: "Brian M. Scott" 7 Mar 1999 Greetings from the Academy of S. Gabriel! You asked about the suitability of as a Scandinavian man's name before 1050. You also mentioned that you understood to mean 'Bear of Thorr'. With minor changes this name is eminently suitable for your period. The given (first) name was common in both Norway and Iceland throughout the Middle Ages, but it wasn't spelled until long after your period. The standard scholarly form of the name, which is based on Old Icelandic spellings from the later 13th century, is <{TH}orbio,rn> or <{TH}orbjo,rn>. [1] (Here {TH} stands for the letter thorn, written like a superimposed and

sharing a single loop; it's pronounced like the in . The sequence stands for an with a backwards comma hanging from it; in your period was pronounced much like the English word .) The name wasn't particularly common in Norway in the Viking period, but it did occur in the royal lines, and there was a bishop by that name at Nidaros in the middle of the 11th century. [1] <{TH}orbjo,rn Ragnars son> or <{TH}orbjo,rn Ragnarsson> would be a fine Old Norse name for your period. You can write this name in several ways. The genuine Norse representation for your period is in runes. You can find four versions of the futhark, or runic alphabet, at the following site: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Olympus/1568/ Any of the last three versions, i.e., the younger futharks with sixteen runes each, would be appropriate. You'll notice, however, that there are no runes corresponding to some of the letters in the name, like the and the . Just as our letter represents different sounds in the words and , the Norse used one rune to represent more than one sound. The name <{TH}orbjo,rn Ragnars son> would actually have been written with the runes corresponding to the spellings <{th}urbiarn raknars sun> or <{th}urbiarn raknarsun>. You have to be a little careful here, however, because there are two a-runes and two r-runes in the younger futhark. The s in your name should be written with the 10th rune, and the should be written with the 5th rather than the 16th rune. (Note that this spelling is valid only when you write the name in runes; it should not be used with Latin letters.). You may want to write the name as <{TH}orbjo,rn Ragnars son> if you have to explain it to someone who doesn't read runes, since this is the standard scholarly form. When special characters are inconvenient you might write , the standard Anglicization of this name. The name <{TH}orbjo,rn> does derive from the god's name <{TH}o/rr> and an Old Norse word for 'bear', but it isn't really correct to say that it *means* 'bear of Thor'. What sets given (first) names apart from other words in a language is their lack of meaning: they are identifiers (labels), not descriptions. [2] Almost all names originally derived from a regular word (sometimes compound) in some language, but in becoming names they gained a usage separate from their normal meanings. Consider, for example, how often the meaning of the word is relevant to a modern woman named . Just as we recognize the connection between the name and the common noun , a Viking era Norseman would certainly have recognized the elements of the name <{TH}orbjo,rn>; but like as not, a man named <{TH}orbjo,rn> was simply named after someone. Lindorm Eriksson and Arval Benicoeur also contributed to this letter. We hope that it has been helpful; if you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to write again. For the Academy, Talan Gwynek 6 March 1999 ===== References and Notes: [1] Lind, E.H. Norsk-Isla"ndska Dopnamn ock Fingerade Namn fra*n Medeltiden (Uppsala & Leipzig: 1905-1915, suppl. Oslo, Uppsala and Copenhagen: 1931); s.nn. <{TH}orbio,rn>, . [The is an a-umlaut; the is an with a small circle directly above it.] [2] Epithets and nicknames are another matter: a nickname like 'the wise' may be intended ironically rather than literally, but it is bestowed because of its everyday meaning.