Linguistic patterns in the place-names of Norway and the Northern Isles By Berit Sandnes Northern Lights, Northern Words. Selected Papers from the FRLSU Conference, Kirkwall 2009, edited by Robert McColl Millar (2010) Introduction: Considering the Vikings’ massive cultural influence on the Northern Isles, the material evidence for Old Norse culture is surprisingly scarce. The buildings […]
From Dál Riata to the Gall-Ghàidheil
December 14, 2010 By
From Dál Riata to the Gall-Ghàidheil By Andrew Jennings and Arne Kruse Viking and Medieval Scandinavia, Vol. 5 (2009) Introduction: The distinctive pattern of Norse settlement names in western Scotland, together with two seemingly unrelated historical events, the disappearance of Dál Riata from contemporary records and the mysterious appearance of a new ethnic group, the […]
Names of Jews in Medieval Navarre (13th–14th centuries)
December 2, 2010 By
Names of Jews in Medieval Navarre (13th–14th centuries) By Lidia Becker Names in Multi-Lingual, Multi-Cultural and Multi-Ethnic Contact: Proceedings of the 23rd International Congress of Onomastic Sciences, August 17-22, 2008, York University, Toronto, Canada (2009) Abstract: This paper analyses names of Jews in the rich diplomatic collection “Navarra Judaica. Documentos para la Historia de los judíos del […]
Bernician narratives : place-names, archaeology and history
November 8, 2010 By
Bernician narratives : place-names, archaeology and history By Mark Steven Wood PhD Dissertation, Newcastle University, 2007 Abstract: This thesis concerns Bernicia and the transition from a Roman-dominated frontier zone at the beginning of the 5th century to an Anglian kingdom by the early 7th century. This is a period of great change and complexity where […]
The Impact of Diasporas on the Making of Britain: Evidence, Memories, Inventions
September 2, 2010 By
What constitutes ‘Britishness’ is turning out to be more complicated than many people previously believed. An innovative multidisciplinary research programme led by the University of Leicester is set to investigate its many dimensions and components. The University is to receive a £1.37 million Research Programme Award granted by the Leverhulme Trust, over five years, to […]
The Domesday Book castle LVVRE
August 10, 2010 By
The Domesday Book castle LVVRE By Keith Briggs Journal of the English Place-Name Society, Vol.40 (2008) Introduction: The Domesday Book records a castle in the manor of Maesbury, the current Oswestry in Shropshire, called LVVRE, usually taken to represent Luvre. This is interpreted by Gelling as “presumably French l’oeuvre ‘the work’”; and she notes that […]
The Muslim Colony of Luceria Sarracenorum (Lucera)
July 4, 2010 By
The life and dispersion of Lucerine Muslims in Apulia (c.1220–1300) are examined from the onomastic point of view
Dialect in medieval Irish? Evidence from placenames
August 17, 2009 By
The question of dialect in medieval Irish (incorporating Old and Middle Irish; c. 600–1200 AD) has received much passing attention but very little direct study.
Philological Inquiries 1: Method and Merovingians
June 12, 2009 By
Philological Inquiries 1: Method and Merovingians Drout, Michael D.C., The Heroic Age, Issue 12 (May 2009) Abstract This is the first of a series of columns on philology. Philology is the foundation of humane letters, and we demonstrate the utility of the approach by discussing Tom Shippey’s examination of the word “Merovingian” in Beowulf. The […]
Uses and Values of the Term Kurd in Arabic Medieval Literary Sources
April 25, 2009 By
Uses and Values of the Term Kurd in Arabic Medieval Literary Sources By Boris James Paper presented at the American University of Beirut, Center for Arab and Middle Eastern Studies (2006) Abstract: In the study of the Kurdish group in Arabic medieval sources one is easily confused in considering the use made of the word “Kurd” […]
The Identification of Persons in the Middle Ages: Results From the First “Freiburger Bürgerbuch” (1341-1416)
January 2, 2009 By
This source contains 2200 inscriptions with 7000 names. Each inscription includes the name of the “Bürger” his occupation, social position, place of origin and kinship relations.
Obscene Onomastics in Medieval Trickster Tales
November 30, 2008 By
Obscene Onomastics in Medieval Trickster Tales By Louise O. Vasvári Destiempos: Revista de curiosidad cultural, no.15 (2008) Introduction: Names or nicknames of tricksters, who often appear in both oral culture and in literature in the guise of servants or fools, are infused with what Bakhtin called the grotesque debasement of language to the bodily lower stratum. This […]
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