|
Greetings,
This letter doesn't say much about the actual name you've chosen because we thought it would be more helpful to provide some background information that will help you and the rest of your household develop names and personas.
You said you were looking for a persona from before the Christianization of Iceland and after the end of regular travel to Britain. This isn't possible because Iceland was Christianized around 1000, and the last major Viking invasion of Britain took place in 1066 (the English defeated the invading Norwegians, but were left at a disadvantage when the Normans invaded a few weeks later). This invasion is often treated as the endpoint of the Viking era in Scandinavian history. However, it doesn't represent the end of substantial contact between Scandinavia and Britain--in fact, that contact has continued to the present day.
Since you're interested in Viking history, we recommend that you do some reading on the period--this will give you a much better feeling for the differences between various times and places, and a sampling of the kinds of names used at this time. One book which is accurate, interesting, and fairly short is "A History of the Vikings" by Gwyn Jones, which is available in many libraries and bookstores. It's important to understand that broad terms, such as "Nordic" and "Celtic," cover very wide differences in culture. A Norwegian who emigrated to Greenland and a Swede who settled in Russia had very little in common, but they could both be called "Vikings." It's necessary to get a more specific understanding of the time and place you're dealing with if you want to design a reasonably historical persona. If you're thinking of starting a household, you may want to be very specific about the time period you're from--for example, your household could be existing in the year 863.
One final note: an authentic name is at least as important to historical recreation as any other piece of your gear. You wouldn't make up an outfit and claim that it's "Viking clothing;" similarly, you can't make up a name and claim that it's a Viking name. When choosing a name, your primary goal should be to have a name that a person from your persona's culture would not be surprised to hear.
Lindorm Erikssen, Effric neyn Kenyeoch vc Ralte, Margaret Makafee, Pedro de Alcazar, Tangwystl verch Morgant Glasvryn, Zenobia Naphtali, and Arval d'Espas Nord all contributed to this letter.
We would very much like to continue working with you and your household as you develop personas and names. For the time being, we suggest that you do some historical research so that you have a basis for designing your names and personas. We would be more than happy to answer any questions you might have along the way.
In service,
Alan Fairfax
Academy of S. Gabriel