ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1577 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1577 ************************************ 8 Mar 1999 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked whether is a name that could have been used by a Norse man living between 900 and 1350, and whether the byname means "nasty, mean, marauder-type". This letter is a brief answer to your question. is a fine name for your period, as you know [1]. It owed its popularity, in large part, to Saint Magnus, king of Norway. The slash in the name represents an accent on the preceding letter. The accent indicates a long vowel. It was used irregularly in period writing, so you can omit it if you prefer. The byname or appears in the Saga of Magnus the Blind. It is given to , a bastard son of King Magnus Barefoot. According to the saga, he was named due to his "haughty ungovernable spirit" [2, 4]. The symbol {dh} represents the letter "edh" [3]. The same man, who lived in the mid-12th century, was also known as . That byname is recorded again c.1350 and 1407 [5]. was pronounced \SLEM-bee-dyah-kn\. The \y\ in the third syllable is a consonant, as in , and blends with the . There is a secondary stress on the third syllable and as little vowel as possible in the last syllable. is pronounced \SLEM-beer\. We think the meaning of is considerably more negative than you realize. It's constructed from words that mean "sham deacon", but our best guess at a comparable word in English is "scumbag". means "vile, bad", but not as strongly as "evil" [6]. Either of these words would be a perfectly authentic byname for your period. We hope this brief letter has been useful. Please write us again if you have any questions. I was assisted in researching and writing this letter by Talan Gwynek, Tangwystl verch Morgant Glasvryn, Hartmann Rogge, and Thora Sharptooth. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 8 Mar 1999 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Notes & References [1] Fleck, G. (aka Geirr Bassi Haraldsson), _The Old Norse Name_, Studia Marklandica (series) (Olney, Maryland: Yggsalr Press, 1977). [2] Snorri Sturluson, _Heimskringla_, three vols., ed. Bjarni Adalbjarnarson (Reykjavik: Hid Islenzka Fornritafelag, 1979), vol. 3, p.297. [3] edh is written like a backward '6' with a cross-bar through the upright. It is pronounced like the in . [4] Snorri Sturluson, _The Heimskringla, a history of the Norse kings_, three vols., trans. Samuel Laing (London, New York [etc.]: Norroena Society, 1906), vol. 3, p.929. [5] Lind, E.H., _Norsk-Isla:ndska Personbinamn fra*n Medeltiden_ (Uppsala: 1920-21). [6] Cleasby, R., G. Vigfusson, & W. Craigie, _An Icelandic-English Dictionary_ (Oxford: At the University Press, 1975), s.n. slembir.