ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1420 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1420 ************************************ 25 Jan 1999 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked for help choosing a 7th century Norse name to replace the name you had been using, . Here is what we have found. The 7th century is a difficult period of Scandinavian history for re-creating names. Little evidence exists of names from that period. What evidence we have shows us that names were quite different from those of the Viking-period (roughly 800-1050). For example, the name is recorded on a 7th century runestone in Denmark [1]. By the Viking period, this name evolved into something like . As you can see, Viking-period names are not a good guide to 7th century proto-Scandinavian names. We have collected a short list of proto-Scandinavian masculine names, which we have appended below. These names appear on runestones dated from the 2nd to the 7th century and found in Sweden and Denmark. Pronunciation and grammar for names of this period is not obvious; if you find a name here that interests you, write us again and we may be able to help you with the details. We can also offer you a collection of Viking names, and we might be able to construct a 7th century precursor for a name on that list. Viking Names found in the Landnamabok http://www.wctc.net/~randomsf/landnamabok.htm is a byname (descriptive epithet) from the Viking period, which appears in Eiriks saga raudha "Erik the Red's Saga". Thorfinnr Karlsefni was a companion of Eirikr Raudha [2, 3]. The word means "man's material", i.e. "the makings of a man", hence "a promising lad". It would be a fine byname in a Viking name, but we can't guess if the same word existed in 7th century Norse and how it might have been spelled. We 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 Lindorm Eriksson, Talan Gwynek, and Hartmann Rogge. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 25 Jan 1999 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] Jacobsen, L. & E. Moltke, _Danmarks Runeindskrifter_, 3 vols. (Kobenhavn 1941-42). [2] "Eiriks saga Raudha" (WWW) http://www.snerpa.is/net/isl/eirik.htm [3] "Eirik the Red's Saga" (WWW: National Library of Canada, 1996) http://www.nlc-bnc.ca/north/nor-i/thule/017-5e.htm - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Pre-Viking Names from Runestones This list is a partial compilation of pre-Viking names in Rundata, a database of runic inscriptions: Uppsala University Department for Scandinavian Languages, _Rundata_, software pre-release version 8.84 (test) (Uppsala, Sweden: Uppsala universitet, 1990). In the table that follows, each name is given in its normalized proto-Scandinavian spelling, followed by the date of the runestone on which it was recorded (if known). A slash in a name indicates an accent on the preceding letter. A/sugi/slas 350-550 Aithalataz 300-350 Alavin 400-650 Alla 250-300 Fakaz 400-650 Finno/ Frawaradaz ca 500 Froila 400-650 Funiz 210-260 Gauthz 210-260 Hagiradaz Hariso beg. 4th c. Hariuha 400-650 HariwulfR post migration-period Harja 150-200 HathuwulfR post migration-period Heldaz 400-650 Hlewagastiz 400-450 Hrabnaz beg. 6th c. Laguthewa 210-260 Lamo 210-260 Lethro ca 400 LeugaR Lju/fr beg. 6th c. Nithijo 210-260 Niujila 400-650 SaligastiR Sigmarr ca 500 Sikijaz 300-350 Stainawarijaz Swarta 210-260 Unwodz Vadhi Wagagastiz 300-350 Wajnio 210-260 Warafnisa Widuhundaz Wulthuthewaz 200-250