From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Names that speakers of Old Norse assigned to foreign places and peoples.
The world known to the Norse.
The
Norse people traveled abroad as
Vikings and
Varangians .
As such, they often named the locations and peoples they visited with
Old Norse
words unrelated to the local
endonyms .
Some of these names have been acquired from
sagas ,
runestones or Byzantine chronicles.
List
The 1590
Skálholt Map showing Latinized Norse placenames in North America:
[1] • Land of the
Risi (a
mythical location ) •
Greenland •
Helluland (
Baffin Island ) •
Markland (the
Labrador Peninsula ) • Land of the
Skræling (location undetermined) • Promontory of
Vinland (the
Great Northern Peninsula )
A
Apardion
Aberdeen .
[2]
Álaborg
A Varangian fort near Aldeigjuborg .
Aldeigjuborg
Staraya Ladoga in Russia. The hypothetical original Finnic name is *Alode-joki ("lowland river").
Aoraisge
"water nymph island", "Erik's island".
Eriska , Scotland.
Árheimar
"River home". A capital of the Goths, according to the
Hervarar saga .
Austrsker
"East
skerry ".
Auskerry , Orkney
Austrvegr
"East way". The
Baltic lands .
[3]
B
Bern
Verona .
Bertangaland
Brittany . Mentioned in the
Þiðreks saga .
Bjarmaland
The southern shores of the
White Sea and the basin of the
Northern Dvina . Many historians assume the terms beorm and bjarm to derive from the
Uralic word
perm , which refers to "travelling merchants" and represents the
Old Permic culture.
[4]
Bjarneyjar
"Bear islands". Possibly
Disko Island off Greenland.
[5]
blakumen or blökumenn
Romanians (
Vlachs ) or
Cumans . Blokumannaland may be the lands south of the
Lower Danube .
Bót
Isle of Bute , Scotland.
Βουσεγραδε
Vyshhorod
bretar
Welsh people
D
Danparstaþir
A river near Árheimar, according to the
Hervarar saga . Identified by some as the
Dnieper river.
[6]
*Dolgrveginn
"Giant-lifted". Proposed etymology for
Dollywaggon Pike , England.
[7]
Dómisnes
Cape Kolka in Latvia
Dunheith
The plains of the
Danube .
E
Eiriksey
"Eric's Isle".
Eriskay , Scotland.
*
Elfeng , *
Elfangr or *
Elfing
"River flowing through boggy meadows".
Elbląg river in Northwest Poland.
F
Fetlafjørðr
Betanzos Estuary
finnar
Sami people
frakkar ,
Frakkland
Related to frakka ("spear"). The
Franks and the
Frankish kingdom .
Furðustrandir
"Wonderstrands". An uncertain stretch of coastline in North America.
G
Gandvik
A dangerous sea, the
Baltic Sea , the
Gulf of Bothnia or the
White Sea .
Garðaríki ,
Garðaveldi
"the kingdom of cities".
Kievan Rus
gryting
"greut-" may mean "gravel, grit, earth". The
Ostrogoths , according to the
Hervarar saga .
Gutagard
The trading post of the merchants from
Visby (in
Gotland ) in Veliky Novgorod.
[8]
H
Haddingjar
Related to
Old Icelandic haddr meaning "woman's hair". The
Hasdingi
Vandals .
Harvaða fjöllum
The
Carpathians .
*
Heiðabýr ,
ᚼᛅᛁᚦᛅ᛭ᛒᚢ
"Heath-settlement".
Hedeby , a Danish trading settlement in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany.
Helluland
"Land of Flat Rocks" or "Land of Flat Stones". The first of the three lands the Greenland Norse found in North America. According to a footnote in
Arthur Middleton Reeves 's The Norse Discovery of America (1906), "the whole of the northern coast of America, west of Greenland, was called by the ancient Icelandic geographers Helluland it Mikla , or "Great Helluland"; and the island of Newfoundland simply Helluland, or Litla Helluland ."
[9] Most scholars agree that Helluland corresponds to
Baffin Island in the present-day
Canadian territory of
Nunavut .
[10]
Herrey , Hersey
Isle of Arran .
Hjaltland
"
hilt land".
Shetland
[11]
[12]
Hlymrekr
Limerick
Hólmgarðr , Holmgarðir
"Island enclosure", the fortress of
Rurikovo Gorodische near
Veliky Novgorod .
Hóp
A location in Vinland.
Hreiðmarar
An uncertain sea mentioned in the
Rök runestone . Since it is liked to
Theodoric the Great , it should be the
Mediterranean Sea .
Hunaland
A legendary location, inspired by the
Frankish kingdom (
Hugones in Latin) and the
Huns .
Hundings
"Son of a dog". The
Longobards .
Hvítramannaland
"White Men's Land". A land near Vinland. Also called Great Ireland.
I
Íngulssund
"Strait by
Anglesey ",
Menai Strait
Írland hið mikla ,
Írland it mikla
"
Great Ireland ". A land near Vinland. Also called Hvítramannaland.
J
Jakobsland
"Land of
James ". The land around
Santiago de Compostela .
Jómsborg
Fortress of the
Jomsvikings in an uncertain location in Pomerania.
Jórsalahaf
"sea of Jerusalem". The
Mediterranean . It is given as the location of Narbon ("
Narbonne ").
[13]
Jórsalir
Jerusalem . It exhibits a re-interpretation of the second element as -
salir , denoting a hall or temple, common in Old Norse toponyms.
Jórvík
York
K
Karlsá
Cádiz
Kaup
"Purchase". A hill near
Mokhovoye, Kaliningrad Oblast in Russia.
Kaupmanneyjar
"islands of the merchants".
Copeland Islands , Northern Ireland.
[14]
Kænugarðr ,
Kœnugarðr
"Boatyard".
Kyiv .
Kjalarnes
"Keel point". A location in Vinland.
Kænland ,
Kvenland
A territory in Northern Finland or Northern Sweden.
Konungsborgr
"King's castle".
Cunningsburgh , Shetland.
Krossbør
"Cross farm or cross roads, market place".
Crosby, Isle of Man .
kumrskar þjóðir
"Cumbrian people", the
Strathclyde Britons .
kylfingar
A people of uncertain origin active in Northern Europe.
L
Langbarðaland
A Byzantine province in
Southern Italy , formerly ruled by the
Longobards . The Varangian troops deployed there were remembered in the
Italy runestones .
Leifsbuðir
"
Leif 's temporary shelters". A settlement in Vinland.
Ljóðhús
"song house"?
[15]
Isle of Lewis in the United Kingdom.
M
Madksjo
"Sea of worms". Sea near Vinland.
Markland
"Forest Land". A land south of Helluland in North America.
Meginzuborg
Mainz
Melansborg ,
Meilangsborg
Milan
Miklagarðr
"Big stronghold".
Constantinople .
*
Miliniska ,
Μιλινισκα
Smolensk
Myrkviðr
"Dark wood"
[16] or "black forest".
[17] The name of several European forests.
N
Namsborg ,
Nancsaborg
Nantes
Niflungaland
Related to mist. The land of the
Nibelungs , the
kingdom of the Burgundians .
Njorvasund
-narrow straight ; The
Strait of Gibraltar
Norðreyjar
"Northern islands",
Orkney and
Shetland .
*
Nýgarðr
"New enclosure", a proposed etymology for
Veliky Novgorod .
O
Orkneyjar
"Seal islands".
Orkney .
[18]
Öxnafurða
"Oxen's ford".
Oxford
papar
Irish monks found by the Norsemen in Iceland and Faroe.
P
Palteskja
After the
Polota river.
Polotsk in Belarus.
The oldest regions labelled Reidgotaland (in red and orange). The purple area is the
Roman Empire and the pink area is
Gotland
Peituborg
Poitiers .
R
Ráðstofa
Rostov
Reidgotaland ,
Reidgothland ,
Reidgotland ,
Hreidgotaland or
Hreiðgotaland
Hreiðr can mean "bird's nest", but hreið- is also a name-prefix meaning "beautiful", "eager", "great", "famous", "noble". Another possibility is that it was originally reið "ride, journey". The same tribal name was used for the
Gutes of
Gotland . The identification of the territory varies between the sources: the island of
Gotland ,
Götaland , the land of the
Goths , i.e.
Gothiscandza ,
Denmark and
Sweden ,
Jutland . The Hreidgoths (hraiðgutum ) may also be the
Ostrogoths in south-eastern Europe.
[19]
Rothemadum
Rothomagum ,
Rouen in the
Haakon Haakonssøns saga .
[20]
Rothesay
"
Roth 's island", "Rother's Isle" or a corruption of the Gaelic rath meaning "fort".
[21]
[22]
[23]
Isle of Bute , Scotland.
Rúðuborg ,
Rúða
Rouen
S
Sandey
Iona
saxar
Related to Proto-Germanic *sahsą ("knife, dagger"). The
Saxons .
Saxelfr
"Saxon Elbe". The
river Elbe .
Saxland
"Land of the Saxons". Germany.
[24]
Skarðaborg
"Fortified place of
Thorgils Skarthi " or "gap hill".
Scarborough, North Yorkshire .
[25]
Seeburg
Grobiņa in Latvia.
Seljupollar
A Guarda
Serkland ,
Særkland ,
Srklant ,
Sirklant ,
Serklat
"Land of the
Saracens ". The
Middle East , sometimes
Georgia . Mentioned in the
Serkland Runestones .
Signa
Seine
Skíð ,
[26]
Skuy ,
[27] *Skýey , or Skuyö
[28]
"Misty isle",
[27] "cloud isle".
[28]
Skye , Scotland.
Skræling
From
skrækja , meaning "bawl, shout, or yell"
[29] or from
skrá , meaning "dried skin", in reference to the animal pelts worn by the Inuit.
[29] The name the
Norse Greenlanders gave the previous
inhabitants of North America and
Greenland .
Skuggifjord
Hudson Strait
Straumfjörð
"Current-fjord", "Stream-fjord" or "Tide-fjord". A fjord in Vinland. Straumsey ("Current-isle") lies at the mouth of Straumfjörð.
Suðreyjar
"Southern islands".
Hebrides .
Suðrvegr
"South way",
Germany .
[3]
Susat
Soest, Germany
Súrsdalar
Suzdal
T
Tarlungaland
Probably a corruption of Karlungaland , i.e., the land of the
Carolingians .
[30]
Τελιουτζα
Liubech
Túskaland
Touraine
Tyrfing
The
Thervingi Goths.
Tyrvist
Tiree
Τζερνιγωγα
Chernihiv
V
Valland
"Land of the *
*Walhaz ". Land of the
Celtic- and
Romance -speaking peoples.
Vendland
"Land of the
Wends ". Slavic areas East from
Lübeck .
Vernisa
Worms, Germany .
vestmenn
"Westmen", the
Gaels of Ireland and Britain.
Vikinglow ,
Wykynlo
Wicklow
Vindau
Ventspils in Latvia. Named after the
Venta River .
Vineta
A mythical city in the Baltic of disputed location.
Vínland
"Wine land", "pasture land". The area of coastal North America explored by Norse Vikings.
Vitaholmr
"demarcation islet",
Vytachiv
See also
References
^
http://www.myoldmaps.com/renaissance-maps-1490-1800/4316-skalholt-map/4316-skalholt-map.pdf [
bare URL PDF ]
^ Anderson, Joseph (Ed.) (1893) Orkneyinga Saga . Translated by Jón A. Hjaltalin & Gilbert Goudie. Edinburgh. James Thin and Mercat Press (1990 reprint).
ISBN
0-901824-25-9
^
a
b
"Norway" . Etymonline . Retrieved 2020-04-25 .
^
Steinsland, Gro ; Meulengracht Sørensen, P (1998). Människor och makter i vikingarnas värld . Ordfront. p. 162.
ISBN
91-7324-591-7 .
^
The old viking name of Disko Island is indeed Bear Island (Bjørn Øya) Arctic Research in Disko Bay
^
Bellows, Henry Adams , ed. (1936). "Atlakvitha En Grönlenzka".
The Poetic Edda . p. 484. Danp: this name was early applied to a mythical Danish king (cf. Rigsthula, 49 and note) but it may have been fabricated by error out of the word "Danparstaþir" (the phrase here used is "staþi Danpar"), used in the Hervararsaga of a field of battle between the Goths and the Huns, and quite possibly referring to the region of the Dnieper.
^
A. Harry Griffin .
The Guardian ,
Country Diary . (4 July 1994).
^
"The Cronicle of the Hanseatic League" . european-heritage.org. Retrieved September 10, 2015 .
^
"The Norse Discovery of America: Book II. Icelandic Records: Saga of Thorfinn Karlsefne" .
^
Jónas Kristjánsson et al. (2012) "Falling into Vínland",
Acta Archaeologica 83, pp. 145-177
^
"shetland | Origin and meaning of shetland by Online Etymology Dictionary" . www.etymonline.com . Retrieved 7 May 2020 .
^
Hjaltland – Shetland – ‘yet, land!” – 1871
Archived 27 December 2014 at the
Wayback Machine , Jakobsen, Jakob, fetlaraerial.com. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
^
"Early Norse Poetry - Translations of the Breton Lays" . The Dublin Review . London : W. Spooner: 87. September 1850. Retrieved 7 May 2020 .
^ Hughes, AJ; Hannan, RJ (1992). Place-Names of Northern Ireland . Vol. Two, County Down II, The Ards. Belfast: The Queen's University of Belfast.
ISBN
085389-450-7 .
^ Mac an Tàilleir (2003) p. 80
^ Simek (2007:224)
^ Gentry (2002:101—102)
^
"orkney | Origin and meaning of the name orkney by Online Etymology Dictionary" . www.etymonline.com . Retrieved 7 May 2020 .
^
"Reidgotaland" ,
Nordisk Familjebok , 1915
^
Bugge, Alexander , ed. (1914).
Haakon Haakonssòns saga (in Swedish). Kristiania: I.M. Stenersens Forlag. Retrieved 7 May 2020 . (850) D. e. Rouen i Normandie, som paa latin heter Rothomagum, og neppe, som andre mener, valfartsstedet Rocamadour nord for Cahors i Sydfrankrike; denne by ligger for langt vest, til at kongsdatteren har kunnet komme forbi den.
^ Johnston, James B (1892)
“Place-Names Of Scotland” . Edinburgh: David Douglas. Archive.org. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
^ Mac an Tàilleir, Iain (2003)
Ainmean-àite/Placenames . (pdf)
Pàrlamaid na h-Alba . Retrieved 26 August 2012.
^ Coventry, Martin (2008) Castles of the Clans . Musselburgh. Goblinshead.
ISBN
9781899874361 p. 545
^
XML version of Zoega's Old Icelandic dictionary, saxland . Retrieved 7 May 2020 .
^
"scarborough | Origin and meaning of the name scarborough by Online Etymology Dictionary" . www.etymonline.com . Retrieved 7 May 2020 .
^
"Haakon Haakonsøns Saga" Norwegian translation by
Peter Andreas Munch . saganet.is. Retrieved 3 June 2008.
^
a
b Haswell-Smith, Hamish (2004).
The Scottish Islands . Edinburgh: Canongate. pp. 173–79.
ISBN
978-1-84195-454-7 .
^
a
b Murray (1966) The Hebrides . p. 146.
^
a
b Ernst Hakon Jahr; Ingvild Broch (1 January 1996).
Language Contact in the Arctic: Northern Pidgins and Contact Languages . Walter de Gruyter. p. 233.
ISBN
978-3-11-081330-2 .
^ Haymes, Edward R. (trans.) (1988). The Saga of Thidrek of Bern . New York: Garland. p. 100.
ISBN
0-8240-8489-6 .
External links