[antir-heralds] metronymics in Old Norse

[Ursula Whitcher]

> I am very new, as I think I've said before, and I want to make sure I
> have this right. My understanding is that metronymics were uncommon
> but not unheard-of in Old Norse, and that they are registrable. My
> persona is from somewhere around AD 800, right around the middle of
> what is modern Sweden. I have chosen {AE}sa as a given name
> (documented in Geirr Bassi Haraldsson's The Old Norse Name on p.17). I
> would prefer to choose a metronymic (despite its implication of an
> unknown father). Does RfS II.2 mean that I can choose any (documented)
> female ON name and (by putting it in genitive case) turn it into a
> metronymic?

Yes.  There's some information on metronymic bynames in Old Norse and 
early Swedish in this Academy of Saint Gabriel report:

http://www.s-gabriel.org/3041

> Also, if I wish to be authentic, would it be better to choose a
> patronymic (I can already hear you saying yes)? And if so (I know, I
> know, yes), does II.2 mean that I can choose any (again, documented)
> male ON name and turn it into a patronymic?

Yes, and yes.  Of course, there are degrees of authenticity: not every 
given name used in Old Norse was used in the middle of what is now 
Sweden around AD 800, so finding the perfect name for your persona might 
require more research.  But you have correctly described the 
requirements for registration.

Ursula Georges.