ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1283 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1283 ************************************ 6 Oct 1998 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked for information about as a Old Norse name, and said you'd found as the name of a companion of Eric the Red. Here is what we have found. Before I start, I'd like to clarify the service that the Academy offers. We try to help Societyfolk in choosing and using names that fit the historical cultures they are trying to re-create. Our research can sometimes be used to support submissions to the College of Arms, but that it not our goal and our results are often incompatible with the College's needs. If your main goal is to register a particular name, then we may not be able to help you. There is no name anything like in "Eirik the Red's Saga" [1, 2]. There are several Norse names which use the elements and <-gestr>, and while we have never seen the combination , it is a plausible invention [3]. The slash in the name represents an accent on the preceding letter, and the notation {dh} represents the letter "edh", written as a backward 6 with a bar across the upright and pronounced like the in . The whole name is pronounced roughly \RAHDH-gest\, with the final nearly silent. The descriptive is a fine choice for an Old Norse name. Of course, in period it would have been in Old Norse rather than English. The Old Norse equivalent, is recorded before the year 1000 [4]. Putting the pieces together, is a plausible Old Norse name. In Norse culture, a man was formally known as his father's son, so you might want to choose a name for your father. If you'd like assistance choosing that name and adding it into your name properly, we'll be happy to help. Tolkien probably got (as he spells the name) from some Slavic language. or is the name of a pre-Christian deity in Slavonic and Czech [5, 6]. is used as a given name at least occasionally in modern Czech (where it is also the name of a popular beer) [7]. There is a Russian name recorded as 1120 and 13th century [8]. If you want more information about period Russian names, we recommend reference [8], a comprehensive article on the subject. I hope this letter has been useful. Please write us again if any part of it has been unclear or if you have other questions. I was assisted in researching and writing this letter by Talan Gwynek, Walraven van Nijmegen, Rouland Carre, Alan Fairfax, Catrin Gwynystlum, Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn, Evan da Collaureo, and Lindorm Eriksson. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 7 Oct 1998 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] "Eirik the Red's Saga", excerpt from Gwyn Jones, _The Norse Atlantic Saga: Being the Norse Voyages of Discovery and Settlement to Iceland, Greenland, and America_ (London: Oxford, 1964). Posted on the WWW by the National Library of Canada, 24 Sept 1996, accessed 30 Sept 1998. http://www.nlc-bnc.ca/north/nor-i/thule/017e.htm [2] "Eiri/ks Saga Rau{dh}a", the original Icelandic text. Posted Apr 1997, accessed 30 Sept 1998. http://www.snerpa.is/net/isl/eirik.htm [3] Lind, E.H., _Norsk-Isla:ndska Dopnamn ock Fingerade Namn fra*n Medeltiden_ (Uppsala & Leipzig: 1905-1915, sup. Oslo, Uppsala and Kobenhavn: 1931). [4] Lind, E.H., _Norsk-Isla:ndska Personbinamn fra*n Medeltiden_ (Uppsala: 1920-21). [5] Noel, Ruth S., _The Languages of Tolkien's Middle-earth_ (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1980), p.33. [6] Mistress Catrin Gwynystlum, private communication. [7] Alta Vista search for "Radegast". [8] Paul Wickenden of Thanet, "A Dictionary of Period Russian Names" (WWW: SCA, Inc., 1996). http://www.sca.org/heraldry/paul/