Norse Byname Question

Halfdan · Post by **Halfdan** » Mon Mar 03, 2003 9:28 pm

Is this byname in proper Norse form: Hrafnson ? [Son of Hrafn (Raven)]. Or would "Hrafnsson" be correct?

I'm not as interested in it matching a very specific time/place (I like early the early part of the viking period, fyi), as much as it conforming to what is modernly considered to be the proper construction of Old Norse bynames. I just think it's a cool byname for SCA purposes, especially since it alliterates with my persona's given name.
(I don't think the "H" is silent, does Old Norse have silent initial H's like modern British English?)

Halfdan

Wulfgar Davinsson · Post by **Wulfgar Davinsson** » Mon Mar 03, 2003 10:06 pm

Hmmm....

The only place I have found "-son" (with one "s" is when the name ends in a vowel.

Whenever the name ends with a consonant, it gets two "s"s.

That help?

Dmitriy · Post by **Dmitriy** » Tue Mar 04, 2003 12:22 am

I have this gut instinct that tells me it's Hrafnasson (note the a).. but I haven't done this properly, as in, with books, in a while.

Egfroth · Post by **Egfroth** » Tue Mar 04, 2003 12:28 am

Keeping in mind that the great majority of Vikings were illiterate, and that spelling was a matter of choice till maybe the 18th century - right up to now, in some cases - gaol/jail etc etc. But I tend to agree with the last suggestion.

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Egfroth

"I can hear the word money from a distance of fifty miles, if the wind's in the right direction"

Major Dennis Bloodnok, Queen's Forty-Third Deserters (retd.)

see my webpage at www.geocities.com/egfrothos

Josh W · Post by **Josh W** » Tue Mar 04, 2003 12:38 am

If you're only half Dan, what about the rest of you?

Konstantin the Red · Post by **Konstantin the Red** » Tue Mar 04, 2003 4:52 pm

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by Joaquin:
If you're only half Dan, what about the rest of you?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

To be sure, the rest o' him is Fred... but alas, neither Dan nor Fred are Norse names...

Halfdan · Post by **Halfdan** » Tue Mar 04, 2003 5:11 pm

The other half is pure sweet lovin'.

Thanks to all.

Wulfgar Davinsson · Post by **Wulfgar Davinsson** » Tue Mar 04, 2003 11:07 pm

"Hrafnason" would result if the original name was "Hrafni", not Hrafn.

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Wulfgar Davinsson inn Gerpir af Ey-vist
Squired to Duke Davin Steingrimmson 

[This message has been edited by Wulfgar Davinsson (edited 03-04-2003).]

Ulfgar137 · Post by **Ulfgar137** » Thu Mar 06, 2003 6:30 pm

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by Egfroth:
Keeping in mind that the great majority of Vikings were illiterate, <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Illiterate people don't write all over everything, "Bjorn was here" graphitti on marble columns in italy ect. there are runes all over. norse artifacts quite often are marked with runic writing. I doubt a great majority were illiterate, runic writing is simply to common

as to the spelling, it depends on the last letter of the name and I don't remember for sure what is right with n but I think early period the right way would be Hrafnsson, although I think Hrafnrson sounds cool, and yes I believe the H is pronounced.

http://www.irminsul.org/arc/012ht.html#h

Ulfgarr

[This message has been edited by Ulfgar137 (edited 03-06-2003).]

Igor of Maguar · Post by **Igor of Maguar** » Fri Mar 07, 2003 7:26 pm

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by Konstantin the Red:

To be sure, the rest o' him is Fred... but alas, neither Dan nor Fred are Norse names...<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Well... Dan is actually the name of the mythic king who gave Denmark it's name - hence the danes. Fred ("peace") is a common prefix or suffix as in Fredegod, Godfred, Sigfred

[This message has been edited by Igor of Maguar (edited 03-07-2003).]

Egfroth · Post by **Egfroth** » Sat Mar 08, 2003 12:12 am

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Ulfgar137:
Illiterate people don't write all over everything,

I was wondering if I'd get a bite . . .

but seriously, the amount of pseudo-"runes" on artefacts that are just gibberish argues for a fairly high proportion who couldn't read. I'm willing to concede, however, that there was certainly an educated class in the Viking period. How large it was is another matter. The sagas were handed down orally until the 12th century - why weren't they written down earlier?

And as for spelling, the runes are singularly unhelpful - the alphabet misses many of the letters we take for granted, so interpretation of what a runic inscription says can involve a fair bit of guesswork and uncertainty.
------------------
Egfroth

"I can hear the word money from a distance of fifty miles, if the wind's in the right direction"

Major Dennis Bloodnok, Queen's Forty-Third Deserters (retd.)

see my webpage at www.geocities.com/egfrothos

[This message has been edited by Egfroth (edited 03-07-2003).]