ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2681 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2681 ************************************ 20 May 2003 From: Sara L Friedemann Greetings from the Academy of S. Gabriel! You wanted to know if 'Angantyr the helm-smith' would be an appropriate name for a Norseman living between 800 and 1050. If this was not appropriate, you wanted to know if would work. Here is the information we have found. While is a modern surname [7], the only places that we've seen it in an Old Norse context are in a mythic poem from the Saga of Herv{o,}r and King Hei{dh}rekr, called "The Waking of Angantyr" and other literary examples. [1,2] (Here, {o,} represents an with a reverse comma hook and {dh} represents the letter edh, which looks like a backwards '6' with a crossbar). Although there are some exceptions, the names of mythic figures generally were not given to real people in the Viking period. Many such names were adopted as given names in the modern period as part of the revival of interest in Viking culture; but we haven't found any evidence that this name was used for real people even in modern times. We therefore cannot recommend that you use this as your given name. Rather, we can recommend a good source for choosing an alternative. The following article has names from an Icelandic settlement book that was written in the 11th century or so, but covers events from between 870 and 930: "Viking Names found in the Landnamabok" http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/landnamabok.html While both 'helm' and 'smith' are found as descriptive nicknames in your period, we have not found evidence for a compound byname meaning 'helm-smith'. [3,4] (The slash in represents an acute accent over the previous letter). If such a compound byname had existed, the grammatically correct form is . However, because we do not have evidence for this byname, we recommend that you use just or just , and not the two together. We would like to note, though, that it would be perfectly appropriate to sometimes use the byname and sometimes , depending on the context. was pronounced \HYAHLM(r)\ and was pronounced \SMIDH(r)\, where \DH\ is voiced \th\, the sound of in but not in , and \(r)\ represents an unvoiced trilled \r\; this sound is not found in English. You'll note that these are quite different from modern Icelandic pronunciation, as Icelandic pronunciation has changed considerably since your period. Your other choice of byname, , is English, and not Old Norse; therefore, this particular byname is not appropriate in an Old Norse name. However, an Old Norse place name meaning 'Broadmeadow' is certainly reasonable; we expect it would be spelled . While we have not found this exact place name, it is reasonable based upon other constructions that are found in your period. Place names found in the Landnamabok include 'broad river'; 'broad homestead or farm'; 'broad fjord'; 'broad moor or swamp'; 'broad-river sands'; 'broad ford'; 'broad bay'; 'broad valley'. [5] While we did not find any Icelandic examples of places with the element 'meadow', it was quite common in Norway. [6] A byname meaning 'of Broadmeadow' would be . This is a fine choice, and would have been pronounced \ahv BRAY-dhah-VIN\, with primary stress on \BRAY-\, and secondary stress on \-VIN\. We hope that this letter has been useful to you and that you won't hesitate to write us again if any part was unclear or if you have further questions. Research and commentary on this letter was provided by Adelaidis de Bellomont, Talan Gwynek, Arval Benicoeur, Thietmarus de Serviodurum, and Tanguuistel filia Morganti. For the Academy, Arianuia filia Catmaili, 20May2003 -- References: [1] Gordon, E.V., _An Introduction to Old Norse_ (Oxford: At the University Press, 1971). p. 142 [2] Lind, E.H., _Norsk-Isla:ndska Dopnamn ock Fingerade Namn fra*n Medeltiden_ (Uppsala & Leipzig: 1905-1915, sup. Oslo, Uppsala and Kobenhavn: 1931). s.n. Anganty/r [3] Fleck, G. (aka Geirr Bassi Haraldsson), _The Old Norse Name_, Studia Marklandica (series) (Olney, Maryland: Yggsalr Press, 1977). [4] Lind, E.H., _Norsk-Isla:ndska Personbinamn fra*n Medeltiden_ (Uppsala: 1920-21). s.vv. Hia/lmr, Smi{dh}r [5] Arno/rsson, Einar, ed. _Landna/mabo/k I/slands_ (Reykjavi/k: Helgafell, 1948). p. 374 [6] Sandnes, J{o|}rn, and Ola Stemshaug, _Norsk Stadnamnleksikon_, 4th ed. (Oslo: Det Norske Samlaget, Oslo). s.v. vin [7] Personal website of Anders Angantyr http://www.cad.luth.se/people.asp?ID=63