ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2872 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2872 ************************************ 13 Jun 2004 From: Aryanhwy merch Catmael Greetings from the Academy of S. Gabriel! You wanted to know if is an appropriate name for a man living near Birka, Sweden between 1050 and 1300. You also wanted to know if the byname <{th}unnskeggr> 'thin-beard' is appropriate for this time and place as well. (In this letter, we are using {th} to represent the letter thorn, which looks like a and a

superimposed over each other.) Here is the information we have found. The name was common in Iceland from the 10th century on, but the first example that we have of it in Norway is only from ca. 1270, and it was less common there for a long time. [1,2] In Sweden, we find two people in the 12th century named , as well as a man named , possibly from 1273. This last example is, however, either of a Norwegian man or from a Norwegian document, so it is not good evidence for the name in Sweden. In the 13th century, we also found a man recorded in Latin with the byname in 1269, and another Latin record from 1283 has one . [3] is the dative case of . Based on this, is a fine name for the end of your period. appears in Norway as early as the first half of the 9th century. The name was never common in the Middle Ages; the earliest citation we have from Iceland is of a man who died in 1392. [1,2] In Sweden, we find a place recorded as 'Braghe's berg' or 'Braghe's hill' in 1410, and a man named in 1420; these are the earliest examples we found from Sweden. [3] (Here the {ae} represents the a-e ligature, which looks like an and an squashed together.) Thus, this name is not the best choice for a patronymic byname from your period, as we have not found any examples of it in Sweden until after your desired time. You are right that in formal circumstances you would have been identified with a patronymic byname. However, it's certainly appropriate to also use a descriptive nickname in informal circumstances. We found one in Iceland; he was the son of one of the settlers of Iceland, and so from no later than the end of the 10th century. [4] We believe that <{th}unnskeggr> is reasonable for Old Swedish; modern Swedish has 'thin' from <{th}unnr> and 'beard' from (where represent an a-umlaut). Swedish continued using the thorn until around ca. 1300, and so <{th}unnskeggr> is probably at least one possible spelling for your period. [5] 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 Gunnvor Silfraharr, Talan Gwynek, and Juliana de Luna. For the Academy, -Aryanhwy merch Catmael, 13Jun2004 -- References: [1] Lind, E.H., _Norsk-Isla:ndska Dopnamn ock Fingerade Namn fra*n Medeltiden_ (Uppsala & Leipzig: 1905-1915, sup. Oslo, Uppsala and Kobenhavn: 1931). s.nn. Bragi, Brandr [2] Kruken, Kristoffer, ed. _Norsk personnamnleksikon_, 2nd ed. (Oslo: Det Norske Samlaget, 1995). s.nn. Brage, Brand [3] _Sveriges Medeltida Personnamn_, Vol. 1- (Uppsala: 1967-. bd. 1, h. 3: isbn: 91-7192-123-8; bd. 1, h. 4: isbn: 91-7192-223-7; bd. 1, h. 5: isbn: 91-7402-044-7; bd. 2, h. 6: isbn: 91-7402-104-4; bd. 2, h. 7: isbn: 91-7402-136-2, h. 8: isbn: 91-7402-115-x; bd. 2, h. 9: isbn: 91-88096-00-9; bd. 2, h. 10: isbn: 91-88096-01-7; Bloms Boktryckeri AB: Lund 1983 bd. 2). s.nn. Braghe, Brand [4] Lind, E.H., _Norsk-Isla:ndska Personbinamn fra*n Medeltiden_ (Uppsala: 1920-21). s.n. {TH}unnskeggr [5] Gordon, E.V., _An Introduction to Old Norse_ (Oxford: At the University Press, 1971).