persona development/viking/Norse
David Friedman
Rogers" <iro...@maknet.com> wrote:
> Hello everyone, I'm kind of new to the SCA and I'd like any help anyone
> can
> give me with persona development in general, Vikings/the Norse in
> particular. Specifically, how can I find some acceptable Norse names?
> preferably pre-christian, if there's a distinction.
I suggest reading some of the Icelandic sagas, such as Egilsaga or
Njalsaga. They are readily available in English translation, and provide
a readable and entertaining first hand picture of Norse society.
--
David/Cariadoc
http://www.best.com/~ddfr/Medieval/Medieval.html
Ian Rogers
give me with persona development in general, Vikings/the Norse in
particular. Specifically, how can I find some acceptable Norse names?
preferably pre-christian, if there's a distinction.
I thank anyone with the time and patience to reply.
--
~ Ian
David deG.
wrote:
You can find some interesting Viking/Norse info on these sites which
may help you:
http://www.vikingage.com/vac/svar.html
http://www.realtime.com/~gunnora/
http://www.powerup.com.au/~rhayes/vikingb/vikingsh.htm
And the Medieval Source Book: Look under Nordic on the link below:
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/sbook2.html#lit2
Hope this helps :)
(all links tested working as of today - 25 Jun 2000)
David
Stefan li Rous
I think there are a number of files in my Florilegium files that
will be of interest to you.
Check the NORSE section for some background info on the Norse.
Check these files in the CULTURE section:
Iceland-msg (20K) 6/ 7/00 History and culture of Iceland.
Iceland-bib (5K) 4/21/95 Bibliography on Iceland.
Norse-msg (103K) 9/23/99 Norse culture. Viking raids.
In the PERSONA section:
names-Norse-msg (35K) 4/10/00 Sources and comments on Norse names.
names-msg (89K) 3/23/00 Name sources, naming practices.
You might also want to look at some of the persona files in this section.
As you are new in the SCA, you might find some of the files in
the NEWCOMERS section useful such as:
4-newcomers-msg (27K) 12/29/99 Comments directed at SCA newcomers.
names-FAQ (14K) 5/ 8/96 Choosing and registering names in the SCA.
In article <%7c55.145814$uw6.2...@news20.bellglobal.com>, "Ian Rogers"
<iro...@maknet.com> wrote:
> Hello everyone, I'm kind of new to the SCA and I'd like any help anyone can
> give me with persona development in general, Vikings/the Norse in
> particular. Specifically, how can I find some acceptable Norse names?
> preferably pre-christian, if there's a distinction.
>
> I thank anyone with the time and patience to reply.
>
> --
> ~ Ian
--
Lord Stefan li Rous Mark S. Harris
Barony of Bryn Gwlad Austin, TX
Ansteorra ste...@texas.net
*** Check out Stefan's Florilegium files at:
http://www.florilegium.org ***
gun...@my-deja.com
> Hello everyone, I'm kind of new to the SCA and I'd like any help
> anyone can give me with persona development in general, Vikings/the
> Norse in particular. Specifically, how can I find some acceptable
> Norse names? preferably pre-christian, if there's a distinction.
Ian, I have a bunch of articles on my website that can help you at:
http://www.realtime.net/~gunnora
I also recommend Mistress Þóra Sharptooth's webpage for good info as
well, particularly on Viking clothing:
http://www.cs.vassar.edu/~capriest/vikresource.html
I have a lot of information about Norse names which I will send you
directly rather than to the list at large (it's a big long list).
The Viking Age is generally accepted to date from around 793 AD (the
date of the Viking attack on Lindisfarne) to 1066 AD (the Norman
Invasion).
As for when names are "Christian vs. Pagan" there really isn't much of
a distinction, since the process of conversion really happens through
so much of the Viking Age. The offical conversions began in the mid-
900's: the Danes were nominally Christianized in the reign of King
Harald Bluetooth, ca. 965-986. Norway was in theory Christian by the
death of King Olaf Tryggvasson in 1000, and became actually
Christianized in 1035 after the death of St. Olaf. The Swedish king
Olaf Skautkonung accepted Christianity in 1008, but the heathen temple
at Uppsala remained an active center of pagan worship until a hundred
years afterwards. Thorgirr Lawspeaker made his decision that
Iceland would be officially Christian in 1000, although pagan worship
was tolerated in private long afterwards.
There are some names which are specifically Christian -- usually
derived from Biblical names or imported from the Continent. But even
Christians bore (and continue to bear even today) such "pagan" names as
Þórr (Thor), Þórkel, Þórvald, etc.
It is important to recall that Viking Age people didn't think about the
meaning of a name -- any given name-word was a word used commonly for
names and they didn't worry much about the meaning. Naming a
son "Þórvald" didn't indicate that the child was a dedicated worshipper
of Thor any more than naming a child "Christine" today is taken to mean
that the child is a dedicated worshipper of Christ.
The basic Old Norse name was composed of two name elements (some had
only one).
A good example of single-element names would be: (male) Eirik, Bjorn,
Olaf, Ulf and (female) Signy, Aud, Bera, Emma, Una.
Two-element names are combinations of single-elements: (male)
Adalbert (adal+beorht), Arnkell (Arn + keldr), Bjornolfr (Bjorn +
Ulfr), Gudbrandr (Gudr + brandr) or (female) Arnbjorg (Arn + bjorg),
Alfdis (Alf + dis), Brynhildr (Bryn + Hilda); etc.
In general, parents named their children after a deceased relative or
hero. In some way the child was believed to inherit with the name the
gifts or personality of their namesake: this belief almost seems to
have been one of reincarnation of the named relative in the new child
once the name was bestowed. Usually families gave names that kept one
element the same: for instance, all the boys might be Arn-something:
Arnkel, Arnulf, Arnbjorn, Arnleif, etc. This worked with both name
elements: for example Kveldulf, Geirolf, Arnolf, Hjalmolf, etc.
The Vikings did not use surnames as we understand them. They followed
the system of using patronymics (or rarely matronymics) and this system
is still in use in Iceland today. A patronymic is simply a name that
means "Son-of-{father's name}" or "Daughter-of-{father's name}". In
Old Norse, we see names like: Skallagrimson (son of Skallagrim),
Hakonardottir (daughter of Hakon).
While people did occasionally bear matronymics (Mother's-name's-son) it
was extremely uncommon. I can document only a handful of men with
matronymics. There were a total of only 34 women in Iceland whose sons
are shown by the historical records to have borne their mother's name
as a matronymic, and most of these women lived in the northern and
western districts of Iceland. Some of these men with matronymics were
court skalds: Eilif Guðrunarson, Hrafn Guðrunarson, Stein Herdísarson,
Bersi Skald-Tórfuson, and Kormak Dolluson. Another was Ofeig
Jarngerðsson of Skarð. Some of the mothers whose names were used in
matronymics were Dalla, Droplaug, Fjorleif, Guðrun, Herdís, Jarngerð,
Mardoll, and Tórfa. (see Barthi Guthmundsson's The Origin of the
Icelanders. trans. Lee M. Hollander. Lincoln: Univ of Nebraska Press.
1967. Library of Congress Catalog Card # 66-19265. pp. 26-31.)
In addition, people were sometimes called by nicknames or heiti. These
nicknames were rarely, if ever, used by the person themselves, and
almost never used to the person's face. You were tagged by your
friends (or enemies) with a nickname. This becomes painfully obvious
when you look at the historical nicknames we have recorded. they are
invariably descriptive, and mostly derogatory in some way, though a few
denote desireable traits the person was known for.
This, and the info I'll mail you off-list, should get you started.
::GUNNORA::
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.
gun...@my-deja.com
>> I'd like any help anyone can give me with persona development in
>> general, Vikings/the Norse in particular. Specifically, how can I
>> find some acceptable Norse names? preferably pre-christian, if
>> there's a distinction.
Cariadoc <dd...@best.com> suggested:
> I suggest reading some of the Icelandic sagas, such as Egilsaga or
> Njalsaga. They are readily available in English translation, and
> provide a readable and entertaining first hand picture of Norse
> society.
I agree entirely with Duke Cariadoc's suggestion. The sagas, though
written after the close of the Viking Age itself, come as close to
giving us a true feel for Viking Age life and society as any source
may. It is vital however to realize that the sagas are a form of
fiction -- in this case historical fiction -- so don't take as "gospel
truth" any details in them until you verify using other resources, such
as contemporary Arabic accounts, archaeology, etc.
I'll list a bunch of resources for the sagas below, as well as other
helpful books which can give you a good look at Viking society.
I would tend to be cautious of the sagas as your sole source for
finding Viking names, however, just because English translations of Old
Norse texts usually normalize the names. This means that the accents
and terminal "r" and other name features that might confuse an English-
speaking reader have been removed. So instead of "Leifr Eiriksson" you
get "Leif Ericsson" for example. I list a bunch of helpful sources for
Viking Age names below as well.
::GUNNORA::
VIKING AGE CULTURE AND SOCIETY
==============================
* Almgren, Bertil, et. al. The Viking. New York: Crescent. 1975.
[This is often referred to as "the ugly Viking book" due to its line
drawings depicting some of the ugliest, most wrinkled Vikings you'll
ever see. Note as well, that the pictures of Norse costume are not very
good at all. But there are some very helpful line drawings of tools and
artifacts.]
* Byock, Jesse. Medieval Iceland: Society, Sagas and Power. Berkeley:
University of California Press. 1988.
[A discussion of Icelandic social structure, acquisition/loss of wealth
and power, and the complex interrelationships of Icelandic politics and
law. An excellent source, which really helps make the sagas more
understandable.]
* Conquergood, Dwight. "Boasting in Anglo-Saxon England: Performance
and the Heroic Ethos." Literature in Performance. 1 (1991): 24-35.
[Essential to the persona of any Germanic warrior is the ability to
boast. Until Christianity was adopted, with its ideas about pride being
a sin, it was considered not just acceptable, but even desirable to
advertise one's abilities and make known what heroic deeds one would
soon attempt. This article discusses the form of the boast, and gives
excellent examples from period literature.]
* Ellis-Davidson, Hilda Roderick. "Insults and Riddles in the Edda
Poems." Edda: A Collection of Essays. eds. Robert J. Glendinning and
Haraldur Bessason. Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press. 1983. 25-46.
[An excellent article that can help you add real Viking character to
your persona conversations.]
* Foote, Peter and David M. Wilson. The Viking Achievement. London:
Sidgewick and Jackson. 1970.
[An authoritative and readable work on the culture of the Vikings,
drawn from the best historical and archaeological source materials. The
last I heard, this book was out of print, but so far it has been
present in every university library that I've visited. One of the best
books for the "just starting out" Viking (or any other Viking) to read.]
* Hastrup, Kirsten. Culture and History in Medieval Iceland: An
Anthropological Analysis of Structure and Change. Oxford: Clarendon.
1985.
[This is a fantastic source for personna development, as it really
covers the Viking world-view in depth, discussing conceptions of time,
space, kin groups, social/political structure, and the social vs the
wild.]
* Mauss, Marcel. The Gift: Forms and Functions of Exchange in Archaic
Societies. New York: W.W. Norton. 1967.
[Includes a chapter on "Pledge and Gift in Germanic Societies" - a very
useful look at the Germanic customs of hospitality and generosity.]
* Roesdahl, Else. The Vikings. Harmondsworth: Penguin. 1987.
[Written by a Danish archaeologist, traces the activities of the
Vikings in Europe and assesses the significance of those traces. Also
provides excellent discussion of the sources and their relative merits.]
* Simpson, Jacqueline. Everyday Life in the Viking Age. New York:
Dorset. 1967.
[A very readable work on the culture of the Vikings, provided with many
nice line-drawn illustrations. Provides a good general introduction to
life in the Viking Age. Lacks footnotes and consistent identification
of its sources.]
* Williams, Mary Wilhelmine. Social Scandinavia in the Viking Age.
1920. New York: Kraus Reprint Co. 1971.
[A comprehensive work on the culture of the Vikings, however much of
the data is drawn from the sagas, as this work was written at a time
when historians assumed that the sagas were in fact accurate sources of
historical information. Excellent as an overview of Viking practices
and customs, so long as the reader keeps in mind the fact that all
information should be cross-verified with another source, such as The
Viking Achievement, above.]
* Wilson, David M., ed. The Northern World. New York: Harry N. Abrams.
1980. [A collection of essays by various scholars, covering
Scandinavian mythology, the continental Germanic tribes, the Anglo-
Saxons in England, the Celts, the Scandinavians at home, Viking raids,
the Northern Slavs, and Romanticism and Revival in the modern day.]
History and Archaeology
-----------------------
* Bronstead, Johannes. The Vikings. Harmondsworth: Penguin. 1960.
[Written by a noted art historian and archaeologist, discusses the
history and archaeology of the Vikings.]
* Farrell, R.T., ed. The Vikings. London: Philmore. 1982.
[A collection of scholarly articles, ranging from history, art history
and archaeology to literature to the Vikings in North America. Pretty
dry reading. ]
* Gelsinger, Bruce E. Icelandic Enterprise: Commerce and Economy in the
Middle Ages. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press. 1981.
[A thorough discussion of Iceland's economy, resources, trade and
trading partners. Covers many related topics, such as ships and
navigation, as well. Excellent source.]
* Graham-Campbell, James. The Viking World. New York: Ticknor & Fields.
1980.
[A study of the history and archaeology of the Vikings by a noted
specialist in Celtic and Viking archaeology. Contains wonderful
photographs of artifacts, plus copious diagrams and illustrations.]
* Hall, Richard. The Viking Dig: the Excavations at York. London: The
Bodley Head. 1984.
[The chronicle of the archaeological excavation of the Viking remains
at York. Provides insight into the process of discovering and
reconstructing the history and culture of the Vikings.]
* Jones, Gwyn. A History of the Vikings. Oxford: Oxford University
Press. 1968.
[A very readable history of the Scandinavian peoples. This is the best
of the histories, containing a lot of useful but highly easy to read
information.]
* La Fay, Howard. The Vikings. Washington D.C.:National Geographic
Society. 1972.
[Much like an extended National Geographic magazine article, this book
focuses not only on the history of the Vikings, but also on their
modern day descendants. Particularly notable for its many photographs
of the landscapes of Scandinavia.]
* Magnusson, Magnus. Viking Expansion Westwards. London: The Bodley
Head. 1973.
[Explores the Viking colonization of England, Scotland, Man, Ireland,
the Faroes, Iceland, Greenland and Vinland. Includes discussion of the
reasons for this outward migration of Scandinavian peoples.]
* Magnusson, Magnus. Vikings! New York: E. P. Dutton. 1980.
[An overview/introduction to Viking history, meant as a companion to
Magnusson's PBS-TV series of the same name. Very worth while.]
* Sawyer, P. H. Kings and Vikings: Scandinavia and Europe, A.D. 700-
1100. New York: Methuen. 1982.
[Discusses the Viking expansion westwards, including raids and piracy
affecting Western Europe, with an assessment of the consequences, good
and bad, that this activity had on both the Vikings and their victims.
A very dry historical work.]
* Wilson, David M. The Vikings and their Origins. London: Thames and
Hudson. 1970.
[Written by the Director of the British Museum, this book is mainly a
work of archaeology. There is some discussion of history, but the best
and greatest part of this book are its photographs and color plates
showing some of the most beautiful of the extant Viking artifacts. ]
SAGA INFORMATION
================
Aids to Locating and Understanding Old Norse Literature
--------------------------------------------------------
* Byock, Jesse. Feud in the Icelandic Saga. Berkeley: University of
California Press. 1982.
[Byock carefully explains the system and patterns of feuds in the
sagas. One Icelandic scholar has explained the sagas as stories
of "farmers at fisticuffs", which Byock proves to be more than apt.
Really aids in understanding the sagas.]
* Fry, Donald K. Norse Sagas Translated into English: A Bibliography.
New York: AMS Press. 1980.
[An indispensible guide to the student of Viking Scandinavia who cannot
read Old Norse. Fry lists all translations of each saga that has been
translated into English as of 1980, and comments on the translation in
some instances. ]
* Gordon, E. V. An Introduction to Old Norse. 2nd. ed. Oxford:
Clarendon. 1986.
[Listed for the bold at heart who wish to learn to read the sagas in
the original. Gordon gives a short discussion of the prose and poetry
of the North, a short grammar, and selections from Old Norse
literature, arranged in order of difficulty. Also includes a glossary
of words used in the readings.]
* Zoega, Geir T. A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic. Oxford:
Clarendon. 1910.
[For the bold at heart, but also for those who want to know what a
precise term means. This particular dictionary does not include an
English-into-Icelandic section, so it is of limited use only in
constructing names, etc. The Cleasby-Vigfusson dictionary of Old
Icelandic is the "next step up" and is the Old Icelandic equivalent of
the Webster's Unabridged, and one may have to locate a library that has
it in order to do more than simple translations as afforded by Zoega's
dictionary.]
Literature, Laws and Chronicles in Translation
----------------------------------------------
* Dennis, Andrew, Peter Foote and Richard Perkins, trans. Laws of Early
Iceland: Gragas. Vol. I. Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press. 1980.
[Until this translation was made available, the only was to get any
idea of Icelandic law was by gleaning short, individual passages quoted
in various works. This volume contains the Christian Laws, Assembly
Procedures, Treatment of Homicide, Weregild Ring List, the Lawspeaker's
Section and the Law Council Section. Very useful, contains notes and
explanations as well as an excellent translation.]
* Dennis, Andrew, Peter Foote and Richard Perkins, trans. Laws of Early
Iceland: Gragas. Vol. II. Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press. 2000.
ISBN: 0887551580.
[Volume II (not yet available -- due out August 2000) will include
Truce and Peace Speeches, Inheritance, Incapable Person's Section,
Betrothal and General Family Law, Land-claims, General Commercial Law,
Stolen Goods and Theft, Duties of Communes, and Miscellaneous
Provisions regarding poetry, biting dogs, bulls and tame bears, value
of silver, prices, relations with Norway, legal procedure etc.]
* Fell, Christine, trans. Egil's Saga. London: J.M. Dent & Sons. 1975.
[The story of the most memorable character in Viking literature, the
farmer/rune-magician/warrior/skald, Egil Skallagrimsson. Fell's
translation is superior to the Penguin edition listed below, but is not
as generally available. Contains outstandingly excellent notes, and
particularly accurate translations of Egil's poetry, with explanation
of the kennings.]
* Hollander, Lee M., trans. The Sagas of Kormak and the Sworn Brothers.
Princeton: Princeton Univ. Press. 1949. pp. 83-189.
* Hollander, Lee M., trans. The Poetic Edda. Austin: University of
Texas Press. 1962.
[A good introduction to the Elder or Poetic Edda. The translation
sometimes suffers in its accuracy due to Hollander's effort to maintain
the poetic qualities of the original. The Poetic Edda is the basis for
much of our surviving knowledge of Norse myth and legend.]
* Hollander, Lee M. trans. The Skalds: A Selection of their Poems with
Introduction and Notes. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. 1945.
[Translation of a selection of the surviving skaldic poetry with
discussions of style and language, as well as some bibliographical data
on the various poets.]
* Johnston, George, trans. Faereyinga Saga (The Faroe Islanders' Saga).
Canada. Oberon Press. 1975.
* Johnston, George, trans. Gisla saga Surssonar (The Saga of Gisli).
Toronto: University of Toronto Press. 1959.
* Jones, Gwyn, trans. The Norse Atlantic Saga. 2cnd ed. New York:
Oxford University Press. 1986.
[Contains a history of the Norse colonization and exploration of
Greenland and Vinland, with translations of The Book of the Icelanders
(Islendigabok), The Book of Settlements (Landnamabok), The
Greenlanders' Saga (Groenlendingasaga), the Saga of Eirik the Red
(Eiriks saga rauda), Karlsefni's Voyage to Vinland (from Hauksbok), and
the Story of Einar Sokkason (Groenlindingathattur).]
* Jones, Gwyn, trans. The Vatnsdaler's Saga. New York:Princeton
University Press. 1944.
[The story of the men of Waterdale. Written by a Christian ca. 1270,
this saga is much concerned with witchcraft and magic, and with the old
pagan religion. Very entertaining reading.]
* Laing, Samuel, trans. The Olaf Sagas. London: Dent. 1930.
* Magnusson, Magnus and Hermann Palsson, trans. Laxdaela Saga.
Harmondsworth: Penguin. 1969.
[Like all the Penguin editions of the sagas currently in print, this
translation is rendered by two outstanding experts in the field of Old
Norse literature. Contains useful introduction, notes, glossary of
names, and genealogies.]
* Magnusson, Magnus and Hermann Palsson, trans. Njal's Saga.
Harmondsworth: Penguin. 1960.
[The Saga of Burnt Njal has long been considered to be the greatest
work of Icelandic literature, and with good justification, one of the
greatest literary works in the world.]
* Magnusson, Magnus and Hermann Palsson, trans. The Vinland Sagas: The
Norse Discovery of America. Harmondsworth: Penguin. 1965.
[Contains Groenlindingasaga and Eiriks saga rauda: the stories of Eirik
the Red and his son, Leif the Lucky. ]
* McGrew, Julia H. and R. George Thomas, trans. Sturlunga Saga. 2 vols.
New York: Twayne. 1970 and 1974.
[Sturlunga Saga is a collection of tales written during the decade
immediately following the events described in its pages, making this
the only saga which is a reliable source for historical information.
Useful for insights into Icelandic culture and history in the early
Christian period. ]
* Morris, William and Eirikr Magnusson, trans. The Story of the
Volsungs and Niblungs. 1870; Totowa, NJ: Cooper Square. 1980.
[A reprint of a Victorian translation. There are more current
translations of Volsungasaga available.]
* Palsson, Hermann, trans. The Confederates and Hen-Thorir. Edinburgh:
Southside. 1975.
* Palsson, Hermann, trans. Hrafnkel's Saga and Other Icelandic Stories.
New York: Penguin. 1983.
* Palsson, Hermann and Paul Edwards, trans. Landnamabok: The Book of
Settlements. Univ. of Manitoba press. 1972.
[Thought to have been written by Ari the Wise, chronicles the
Settlement of Iceland and early Icelandic history.]
* Palsson, Hermann and Paul Edwards, trans. Egil's Saga. Harmondsworth:
Penguin. 1976.
[The story of the most memorable character in Viking literature, the
farmer/rune-magician/warrior/skald, Egil Skallagrimsson.]
* Palsson, Hermann and Paul Edwards, trans. Gautrek's Saga and Other
Medieval Tales. New York: New York University Press. 1968.
* Palsson, Hermann and Paul Edwards, trans. Eyrbyggja Saga. Buffalo:
University of Toronto Press. 1973.
[Eyrbyggja saga contains the most supernatural/mythological elements of
any existing saga. This makes it a fun saga to read: there are ghoulies
and ghosties and long-leggedy beasties aplenty.]
* Magnusson, Magnus and Hermann Palsson, trans. Laxdaela Saga. New
York: Penguin. 1981.
* Magnusson, Magnus and Hermann Palsson, trans. Njal's Saga. New York:
Penguin. 1966.
* Palsson, Hermann and Paul Edwards, trans. Seven Viking Romances.
Harmondsworth: Penguin. 1985.
[A collection of fourtheenth-century stories of heroic adventure set in
the legendary world of the Viking Age, composed for the purpose of
entertainment, and patterned after tales from classical myth, French
Romance. etc.]
* Scach, Paul and Lee M. Hollander, trans. Eyrbyggja Saga (The Ere-
Dweller's Saga). Lincoln: Unbiversity of Nebraska Press. 1959, reprint
1977.
* Sturluson, Snorri. Heimskringla: Or the Lives of the Norse Kings.
1932; New York: Dover. 1990.
[Snorri's history of the Norwegian kings, beginning with the Odin,
ancestor of Norwegian kings in Ynglingasaga through the rule of Magnus
Erlingson, ending in 1184.]
* Sturluson, Snorri. The Prose Edda. trans. Jean I. Young. Berkeley:
University of California Press. 1954.
[A survey of early northern mythology intended as a guide for poets,
written by the thirteenth-century chieftain and scholar, Snorri
Sturluson. This translation does not contain the greater part of
Snorri's text, which was devoted to the skaldic meters. A later
translation by Anthony Faulkes contains a translation of the complete
work.]
OLD NORSE NAME SOURCES
======================
The best inexpensive source of information on Old Norse names is _The
Old Norse Name_, by Geirr Bassi Haraldsson. It's available from CELTIC
TRADITIONS, 3366 Laurel Grove South, Jacksonville FL 32223, (904) 886-
0326; they currently list the book at $5.00.
Woolf, Henry Bosley. The Old Germanic Principles of Name-
Giving.Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press. 1939.
Hale, Christopher J. "Modern Icelandic Personal Bynames."
ScandinavianStudies 53 (1981): 397-404.
ANGLO-NORSE NAME SOURCES (VIKING NAMES FROM THE DANELAW)
Gillian Fellows-Jensen. Scandinavian Personal Names in Lincolnshire
and Yorkshire. Copenhagen. Akademisk Forlag. 1968.
DANISH VIKING NAME SOURCES
Lis Jacobsen and Erik Moltke, with Anders Baeksted and Karl Martin
Nielsen, eds., Danmarks Runeindskrifter. Copenhagen. 1941-1942.
Danmarks Gamle Personnavne, I Fornavne, II Tilnavne. ed Gunnar
Knudsen, Marius Kristensen and Rikard Hornby. Copenhagen. 1936-1964.
Danmarks Stednavne I ff. Copenhagen: Stednavneudvalget (Institut for
Navneforskning). 1922
SWEDISH VIKING NAME SOURCES
Aeskil (M. Lundgren and E. Brate. Svenska Personnamn Fran Medeltiden.
Uppsala 1892-1915.
MANX VIKING NAME SOURCES
Gelling, Margaret. "Norse and Gaelic in Medieval Man: the Place Name
Evidence." in The Vikings: Proceedings of the Symposium of the Faculty
of Arts of Uppsala University, June 6-9, 1977. eds. Thorsten Andersson
and Karl Sandred. Stockholm: Almqvist and Wiskell. 1978. ISBN 91-554-
0706-4. pp. 107-118
Megaw, Basil and Eleanor. "The Norse Heritage in the Isle of Man."
In: The Early Cultures of North-West Europe. H.M. Chadwick Memorial
Studies. eds Sir Cyril Fox and Bruce Dickins. Cambridge. 1950. pp.
143-170.
Olsen, Magnus. "Runic Inscriptions in Great Britain, Ireland, and the
Isle of Man," In: Viking Antiquities in Great Britain and Ireland.
Part 6 ed Haakon Shetelig. Oslo: 1954. pp. 151-233.
Vigfusson, Gudbrand, "Northerners in the Isle of Man." English
Historical Review 3 (1888): pp. 498-501.
Wilson, David M. "Manx Memorial Stones of the Viking Period." Saga
Book of the Viking Society for Northern Research 18 (1970-1971) pp. 1-
18.
Wilson, David M. The Viking Age in the Isle of Man - the
Archaeological Evidence. C.C. Rafn Lecture No. 3. Odense. 1974.
NORMAN VIKING NAME SOURCES:
Jean Adigard des Gautries. Les Noms de Personnes Scandinaves en
Normandie de 911 a 1066. Lund. 1954.
F.M. Stenton. The Scandinavian Colonies in England and Normandy.
Transactions of the Royal Historical Society, 4th series. Vol 27.
1945.
R.E. Zachrisson. A Contribution of the Study of Anglo-Norman Influence
on English Placenames. Lunds UniversitetsArsskrift. 1909.
R.E. Zachrisson. The French Element: Introduction to the Survey of
English Place-Names. EPNS Vol. 1 part 1. 1924.
Jules Lair, ed. Dudonis Sancti Quentini. De moribus sue actis
primorum Normanniae ducum. Memoires de la Societe des Antiquaires de
Normandie. 23. Caen: Le Blanc-Hardel. 1865.
Raymonde Forevill, ed. Guillaume de Poitiers. Historie de Guillaume
le Conquerant. Paris: Les Belles Lettres. 1952.
L. Musset. "Scandinavian Influence in Norman Literature." In: Anglo-
Norman Studies: Proceedings of the Battle Conference 6. 1983. ed. R.
Allen Brown. Woodbridge: Boydell and Brewer. 1984 pp. 107-121.
David Friedman
> It is vital however to realize that the sagas are a form of
> fiction -- in this case historical fiction -- so don't take as "gospel
> truth" any details in them until you verify using other resources, such
> as contemporary Arabic accounts, archaeology, etc.
A small point of disagreement... .
Many of the sagas are historical fiction. Some, such as _Heimskringla_
and (I think) the Sturlungasagas, are intended as history. Consider, for
example, Snorri Sturluson's introduction to _Heimskringla, where he
discusses the problem of how we can know what happened in the past.
Of course, the fact that someone is writing history doesn't necessarily
mean that his history is accurate--Norse historians, like modern
historians, are sometimes wrong. But it is worth distinguishing works
that are deliberately fictional in a historic setting from works that
are attempts to report what actually happened.
--
David/Cariadoc
http://www.best.com/~ddfr/Medieval/Medieval.html
Kathy Hutchins
it yet, as he's been hogging it. But it includes some of the lesser known
sagas which haven't been as reading available.
http://search.borders.com/fcgi-bin/db2www/search/search.d2w/Details?&mediaTy
pe=Book&prodID=51545572
--
-----------------------------------------------------------
Kathy Hutchins, M.A. Technical Advisor/ResDAC
hutc...@tc.umn.edu School of Public Health
(612) 624-1411 (voice) University of Minnesota
(612) 378-4866 (fax) http://www.resdac.umn.edu
A355 Mayo, Box 97, 420 Delaware St SE, Minneapolis MN 55455
-----------------------------------------------------------
"David Friedman" <dd...@best.com> wrote in message
news:ddfr-81571B.2...@nuq-read.news.verio.net...
> In article <%7c55.145814$uw6.2...@news20.bellglobal.com>, "Ian
> Rogers" <iro...@maknet.com> wrote:
>
> > Hello everyone, I'm kind of new to the SCA and I'd like any help anyone
> > can
> > give me with persona development in general, Vikings/the Norse in
> > particular. Specifically, how can I find some acceptable Norse names?
> > preferably pre-christian, if there's a distinction.
>
> I suggest reading some of the Icelandic sagas, such as Egilsaga or
> Njalsaga. They are readily available in English translation, and provide
> a readable and entertaining first hand picture of Norse society.
> --
> David/Cariadoc
> http://www.best.com/~ddfr/Medieval/Medieval.html