ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2820 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2820 ************************************ 12 Apr 2004 From: Ursula Whitcher Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked whether the names , , , and were appropriate for an Ostrogoth; you said you had constructed these names based on "Gothic Names" by Tim O'Neill. [1, 2] The following discussion is rather technical: since we don't have many sources for Ostrogothic names, we need to reconstruct them based on specialized linguistic knowledge and information about names in other Gothic and Germanic languages. We'll begin with a bit of background information, and then discuss each name separately. As you know, most Gothic names were constructed by combining a first element or prototheme with a second element or deuterotheme. The deuterotheme <-wulfs> is a fine choice; it was popular in all branches of Germanic, and appeared in the name of several royal Ostrogoths. [3, 4, 5] The protothemes are more complicated. The two parts of the name cannot just be stuck together: the prototheme is a combining form, which differs according to the type of word on which the prototheme is based. Determining the correct form of the prototheme requires specialized knowledge, so we'll look at each of the protothemes you asked about and give you a brief explanation of why we believe the forms we recommend are appropriate. In particular, our reconstruction of the composition vowel, which joins the prototheme and deuterotheme, differs from O'Neill's in many of the following cases. We've ordered our discussion of the protothemes from most to least likely. Each section begins with O'Neill's etymology for the prototheme, followed by our recommendation and then a detailed analysis. 'battle'. We recommend or . (Here {th} represents the letter thorn, which looks like a lower-case p overlapping a lower-case b, so that they share a single loop.) The theoretical Gothic form of this theme is . Hispano-Gothic names derived from this prototheme tend to use <-i-> and <-e-> as the composition vowel. (Hispano-Gothic names are names of Visigothic origin found in the Iberian peninsula, the region which is modern Spain and Portugal.) [6] Moreover, is the reconstructed normalized, Latinized form of the Gothic name which led to , which appears in a document written in Latin in 858. [7] Thus, we believe that is the appropriate form for an Ostrogothic name combining the elements and . Therefore, either or is a fine choice for an Ostrogothic name. 'mighty' We recommend . We believe protothemes based on the Gothic 'might, power' used 'i' as the composition vowel. Thus, is an appropriate Ostrogothic name using this prototheme and the deuterotheme <-wulfs>. We found the Hispano-Gothic form in 962. [10] The compound also appears in less closely related Germanic languages: we found in 730-39. [9] Though names based on seem to be less common than names based on , we believe is a fine choice for an Ostrogothic name. 'terrible' We recommend . We were not able to find a Gothic word like that meant 'terrible'. We did find a rare Germanic prototheme , or more commonly , related to the Old High German word 'heed, regard, consideration'. This prototheme even combined with the 'wolf' theme in branches of Germanic other than Gothic: we found in 826, and the undated form . [11] However, we were not able to find any evidence that was used in Gothic words; furthermore, we found no evidence of this theme in Gothic, Ostrogothic, Visigothic, or Hispano-Gothic names. We did find a prototheme which could derive from Proto-Germanic words meaning either 'fright, fear, terror' or '(sharp) edge'. This prototheme appears frequently in Continental West Germanic and Gothic: for example, we found in 601, the fifth century Goth , and in 954. [12, 13] We believe would be a fine Ostrogothic name. However, we can't recommend a Gothic name that begins with . 'spirit, courage' We believe is the most plausible choice for a similar-sounding name. We found the Hispano-Gothic in 878, and the similar Germanic names in 827 and in 893. However, all of these names could derive either from the Gothic 'end' or from the unattested 'spirit, soul'. [14, 15, 16] The 'end' root would produce a prototheme ; on the other hand, we believe a prototheme based on the 'spirit, soul' root would be either or . Since we don't know what the etymology is of the Germanic names we found, we can't be certain that is an appropriate Ostrogothic name, but we believe it would be a reasonable choice; however, this name is based on the theme meaning 'end,' not a theme meaning 'spirit'. An Ostrogothic name combining themes meaning 'spirit' and 'wolf' could be either or ; without more information about the root, we can't recommend either one. I hope this letter has been useful. Please write to us again if any part of it has been unclear, or if you have other questions. I was assisted in researching and writing this letter by Aryanhwy merch Catmael, Blaise de Cormeilles, Arval Benicoeur, Kolozsvari Arpadne Julia, Adelaide de Beaumont, and Talan Gwynek. For the Academy, Ursula Georges 12 April 2004 References: [1] Tim O'Neill, "Gothic Names" (WWW: privately published), http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Salon/2385/gothnames.html [2] Academy of Saint Gabriel Report 2392 (WWW: Academy of Saint Gabriel, 2001) http://www.panix.com/~gabriel/public-bin/showfinal.cgi/2392.txt [3] Gunter Mu"ller, _Studien zu den Theriophoren Personennamen der Germanen_ (Ko"ln: Bo"hlau Verlag, 1970) (p. 5ff) [4] Henry Bosley Woolf, _The Old Germanic Principles of Name-Giving_ (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press. 1939) p. 205. The Ostrogothic royal line includes or , his brother , and his sons and . [5] Joseph Wright, _Grammar of the Gothic Language_ (Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1975), glossary. [6] Joseph M. Piel and Dieter Kremer, _Hispano-gotisches Namenbuch_ (Heidelberg: Carl Winter Universita:tsverlag, 1976), Sect. 145 passim. [7] Piel and Kremer, Sect. 145.43a. [9] Morlet, I:166b. [10] Piel and Kremer, Sect. 183.4. [11] Morlet, I:26a. [12] Morlet, I:20b-22b. [13] Piel and Kremer, Sect. 5. [14] Piel and Kremer, Sect. 14.10. [15] Morlet, I:35b prefers the 'end' etymology. [16] Morlet, I:36a.