ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1008 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1008 ************************************ From: 26 Jul 1998 Greetings, Here's the information we found on "Malcolm the Warg," which you wanted to use for a "Celtic/Norse" persona from an unspecified period. First of all, we should explain that "Celtic" doesn't represent an ethnic group or language in period. Rather, "Celtic" is used to identify a widespread group of languages and cultures that are distantly related. In period, no one thought of themselves as a Celt or would have said that they spoke a "Celtic language;" the common elements in Celtic cultures and languages are clearer now than they were in the Middle Ages. The Norse had contact with many different Celtic groups, but they came into contact most often with speakers of Gaelic. Gaelic originated in Ireland and was introduced into Scotland by Irish immigrants in the 5th century; it was spoken in Ireland and in parts of Scotland into the modern era. Today Scots Gaelic and Irish Gaelic are considered separate languages, but in period they were two dialects. We concentrated on Gaelic because there was a significant amount of contact between Gaelic-speaking and Norse-speaking people, and also because derives from a Gaelic name. The spelling is an English form of the name. The common Gaelic spelling of the name from before 1200 is . (1) We assumed that you were looking for because it is derived from , the Old Norse word for "wolf." We found several spellings of the name in Norse: (2) * Vargr ca. 1100, 1240 * Vargh 1308 * Vargher (no date) * Wargh 1489 * Varg 1509 So we didn't find the spelling , but we found several similar names. Gaelic and Norse are totally different languages with different spelling and pronunciation conventions, so a name like , which combines Gaelic and Norse names, would not be historically accurate. However, we did find a Norse form of , namely , in Iceland. (3) The represents an with an accent. The Norse name (pronounced \MELL-KOALMr VAHRGr\) would be an appropriate name for a Norseman roughly from the period between 900 and 1100. If you want a early-period Gaelic name that means "Malcolm the Wolf", you could use , which would be pronounced something like \MELL KHOAL-um in FELL\. This spelling and pronunciation are appropriate until about 1200. (4) Arval Benicoeur, Talan Gwynek, Lindorm Eriksson, Effric neyn Kenyeoch vc Ralte, Charles O'Connor, Tangwystl verch Morgant Glasvryn, and Margaret MacDuibhsidhe contributed to this letter. We hope this has been helpful, and that we can continue to assist you. In service, Alan Fairfax Academy of S. Gabriel (1) O/ Corra/in, Donnchadh and Fidelma Maguire, _Irish Names_ (Dublin: The Lilliput Press, 1990). (2) Lind, E.H., _Norsk-Isla:ndska Dopnamn ock Fingerade Namn fra*n Medeltiden_ (Uppsala & Leipzig: 1905-1915, sup. Oslo, Uppsala and Kobenahavn: 1931), s.n. Vargr. (3) Fleck, G. (aka Geirr Bassi Haraldsson), _The Old Norse Name_, Studia Marklandica (series) (Olney, Maryland: Yggsalr Press, 1977). (4) Royal Irish Academy, _Dictionary of the Irish Language: based mainly on Old and Middle Irish materials_ (Dublin : Royal Irish Academy, 1983).