ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 3332 http://www.s-gabriel.org/3332 ************************************ 19 Nov 2007 From: Aryanhwy merch Catmael Greetings from the Academy of S. Gabriel! You asked for help developing an authentic Norse feminine name with a given name that references the god (you suggested ) and a byname that references bears. Here is what we have found. Before we start, we'd like to apologize for how long it has taken us to respond. We hope that this information is still useful. Unfortunately, we cannot recommend your choice of given name as good re-creation. We found no Norse name, masculine or feminine, which incorporates the element and which was used by real people in our period. (Here, we're using the / to represent an acute accent over the previous letter). [1] We can, however, suggest a given name which is similar to , though it is not etymologically related to the name of the god Ty/r. In 10th century runic inscriptions, there is a reference to the wife of the Danish king Gorm. [2,3,6] In normalized Old Norse, the inscription reads: Gormr konungr ger{dh}i kuml {th}essi ept {TH}yrve/, konu si/na, Danmarkar bo/t. (Here, <{dh}> represents the letter 'edh', which looks like a backwards <6> with a cross-bar; <{th}> represents a lower-case letter 'thorn', which looks like a

superimposed over a , and <{TH}> represents the upper-case version of this letter.) In a literal translation, preserving word order, this reads: Gormr king made monument this after {TH}yrve/, wife his, Denmark's salvation. Another runic inscription, erected by their son, also contains a reference to the name. This queen appears to be the earliest known bearer of the name. There appears to be quite a bit of variation in how the name was spelled. Other reasonable forms include , , and . [7,8] In Latin records, the queen's name is spelled , , , , , and . [8] Only the last seems to have been significantly Latinized; the others can probably be taken as indicative of contemporary Danish spellings. In the 13th century, we find the name spelled , , and , and in the 14th century the spellings and are the most common. (Here, <{ae}> represents the a-e ligature.) The choice of spelling thus depends on the period that you desire to re-create. Before the 13th century, we recommend as the most typical spelling. The Norse word for bear is , there the represents an with a reverse comma hook. This word was also used as a given name--indeed, was exceedingly common from the earliest times in both Iceland and Norway [4,5], and in Denmark we have a number of examples of the name, in the spelling , from the 11th century on. [7] If your father's name was , then you could use the byname 'daughter of Biorn'. (The change from to is a result of putting into the possessive case, much like the change from to in English.) In conclusion, is a fine name for an 11th century Danish woman; after the 11th century, we recommend the form as more typical. 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 Mari neyn Brian, Talan Gwynek, Eleyne de Comnocke, Ursula Georges, and Maridonna Benvenuti. For the Academy, -Aryanhwy merch Catmael, 19 November 2007 -- References: [1] All names with or <-ty/r> in Lind, E.H., _Norsk-Isla"ndska Dopnamn ock Fingerade Namn fra*n Medeltiden_, (Uppsala & Leipzig: 1905-1915, sup. Oslo, Uppsala and Kobenhavn: 1931) are mythological or fictional. [2] ibid., col. 1229. [3] Elliott, R.W.V., _Runes_ (New York: 1959), p. 31. [4] Lind, op. cit., s.n. Bio,rn. [5] Fellows-Jensen, Gillian, _Scandinavian Personal Names in Lincolnshire and Yorkshire_, (Copenhagen: Akademisk Forlag, 1968), s.n. Bjo"rn. [6] Uppsala University Department for Scandinavian Languages, "Samnordisk runtextdatabas" (WWW: Uppsala universitet, 29 Oct 1997) http://www.nordiska.uu.se/forskn/samnord.htm [7] Knudsen Gunnar, Marius Kristiansen, & Rikard Hornby, _Danmarks Gamle Personnavne_, Vol. I: Fornavne (Copenhagen: 1936-48), s.nn. Biorn, Thyrwi. [8] Insley, John, _Scandinavian personal names in Norfolk: a survey based on medieval records and place-names_ (Uppsala: Royal Gustavus Adolphus Academy; Stockholm: Distributor, Almqvist & Wiksell International, 1994), s.n. {TH}orve/.