ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2856 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2856 ************************************ 2 Apr 2004 From: Josh Mittleman Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked whether or is an appropriate name for a Viking man. Here is what we've found. The name was in occasional use in Norway and Iceland in the 14th and 15th centuries [1]. The name may have been used earlier: The modern place name appeared in the Domesday Book as , and one scholar derives it from [2]. In your period, it would have been pronounced \HEHR-ghayr\. \gh\ here represents a sound we don't use in English: It is the voiced version of the raspy sound in the Scottish word or in German . \ay\ is pronounced as in . The individual elements of the name were used in a fair number of other combinations: An early Icelandic source has several examples of , as well as , , , , and other compounds of . Examples of <-geirr> include <{TH}orgeirr>, , , and [3]. The slash in some of these names represents an acute accent mark over the preceding letter. This range of examples suggests that would have been considered a plausible combination in Viking-era Iceland. However, given the lack of solid evidence of the name in your period, we can't recommend it as the best re-creation. In your period, the Vikings wrote in the runic alphabet. If you would like a runic spelling of your name, we'll be happy to provide it. We hope this letter has been useful. Please write us again if you have any questions. I was assisted in researching and writing this letter by Aryanhwy merch Catmael, Talan Gwynek, Kolozsvari Arpadne Julia, and Jillian Saint Andre. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 2 Apr 2004 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 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.n. Hergeirr. The name is attested in Norwegian patronymics in 1334 and 1487; and in Iceland the name was recorded in 1390. [2] Fellows Jensen, Gillian, _Scandinavian Personal Names in Lincolnshire and Yorkshire_ (Copenhagen: 1968), s.n. Hergeirr. [3] Friedemann, Sara L. (aka Aryanhwy merch Catmael), "Viking Names found in the Landna/mabo/k" (WWW: privately published, 1998). http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/landnamabok.html