Names that speakers of Old Norse assigned to foreign places and peoples
The world known to the Norse. TheNorse people traveled abroad asVikings andVarangians .As such, they often named the locations and peoples they visited withOld Norse words unrelated to the localendonyms .Some of these names have been acquired fromsagas ,runestones or Byzantine chronicles.
TheSkálholt Map showing Latinized Norse placenames in the North Atlantic:[ 1] Apardion Aberdeen .[ 2] Álaborg A Varangian fort nearAldeigjuborg 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 theHervarar saga . Austrsker "Eastskerry ".Auskerry , Orkney Austrvegr "East way". TheBaltic lands .[ 3] Bern Verona .Bertangaland Brittany . Mentioned in theÞiðreks saga .Bjarmaland The southern shores of theWhite Sea and the basin of theNorthern Dvina . Many historians assume the termsbeorm bjarm Uralic wordperm Old Permic culture.[ 4] Bjarneyjar "Bear islands". PossiblyDisko Island off Greenland.[ 5] blakumen or blökumennRomanians (Vlachs ) orCumans .Blokumannaland may be the lands south of theLower Danube .Bót Isle of Bute , Scotland.Βουσεγραδε Vyshhorod bretar Welsh people Danparstaþir A river near Árheimar, according to theHervarar saga . Identified by some as theDnieper river.[ 6] *Dolgrveginn "Giant-lifted". Proposed etymology forDollywaggon Pike , England.[ 7] Dómisnes Cape Kolka in LatviaDunheith The plains of theDanube . Eiriksey "Eric's Isle".Eriskay , Scotland. *Elfeng , *Elfangr or *Elfing "River flowing through boggy meadows".Elbląg river in Northwest Poland. Fetlafjørðr Betanzos Estuary finnar Sami people frakkar Frakkland Related tofrakka Franks and theFrankish kingdom . Furðustrandir "Wonderstrands". An uncertain stretch of coastline in North America. Gandvik A dangerous sea, theBaltic Sea , theGulf of Bothnia or theWhite Sea . Garðaríki ,Garðaveldi "the kingdom of cities".Kievan Rus gryting "greut-" may mean "gravel, grit, earth". TheOstrogoths , according to theHervarar saga . Gutagard The trading post of the merchants fromVisby (inGotland ) in Veliky Novgorod.[ 8] Haddingjar Related toOld Icelandic haddr meaning "woman's hair". TheHasdingi Vandals . Harvaða fjöllum TheCarpathians . *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 inArthur Middleton Reeves 'sThe Norse Discovery of America (1906), "the whole of the northern coast of America, west of Greenland, was called by the ancient Icelandic geographersHelluland it Mikla , or "Great Helluland"; and the island of Newfoundland simply Helluland, orLitla Helluland ."[ 9] Baffin Island in the present-dayCanadian territory ofNunavut .[ 10] Herrey Hersey Isle of Arran .Hjaltland "hilt land".Shetland [ 11] [ 12] Hlymrekr Limerick Hólmgarðr , Holmgarðir"Island enclosure", the fortress ofRurikovo Gorodische nearVeliky Novgorod . Hóp A location in Vinland. Hreiðmarar An uncertain sea mentioned in theRök runestone . Since it is liked toTheodoric the Great , it should be theMediterranean Sea . Hunaland A legendary location, inspired by theFrankish kingdom (Hugones Huns . Hundings "Son of a dog". TheLongobards . Hvítramannaland "White Men's Land". A land near Vinland. Also called Great Ireland. Íngulssund "Strait byAnglesey ",Menai Strait Írland hið mikla ,Írland it mikla "Great Ireland ". A land near Vinland. Also called Hvítramannaland. Jakobsland "Land ofJames ". The land aroundSantiago de Compostela . Jómsborg Fortress of theJomsvikings in an uncertain location in Pomerania. Jórsalahaf "sea of Jerusalem". TheMediterranean . It is given as the location ofNarbon 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 Karlsá Cádiz Kaup "Purchase". A hill nearMokhovoye, 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", theStrathclyde Britons . kylfingar A people of uncertain origin active in Northern Europe. Langbarðaland A Byzantine province inSouthern Italy , formerly ruled by theLongobards . The Varangian troops deployed there were remembered in theItaly runestones . Leifsbuðir "Leif 's temporary shelters". A settlement in Vinland. Ljóðhús "song house"?[ 15] Isle of Lewis in the United Kingdom. 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] [ 17] Namsborg ,Nancsaborg Nantes Niflungaland Related to mist. The land of theNibelungs , thekingdom of the Burgundians . Njorvasund -narrow straight ; TheStrait of Gibraltar Norðreyjar "Northern islands",Orkney andShetland . *Nýgarðr "New enclosure", a proposed etymology forVeliky Novgorod . Orkneyjar "Seal islands".Orkney .[ 18] Öxnafurða "Oxen's ford".Oxford Papar Irish monks found by the Norsemen in Iceland and Faroe. Palteskja After thePolota river.Polotsk in Belarus. The oldest regions labelled Reidgotaland (in red and orange). The purple area is theRoman Empire and the pink area isGotland Peituborg Poitiers .Ráðstofa Rostov Reidgotaland ,Reidgothland ,Reidgotland ,Hreidgotaland orHreiðgotaland Hreiðr can mean "bird's nest", buthreið- is also a name-prefix meaning "beautiful", "eager", "great", "famous", "noble". Another possibility is that it was originallyreið "ride, journey". The same tribal name was used for theGutes ofGotland . The identification of the territory varies between the sources: the island ofGotland ,Götaland , the land of theGoths , i.e.Gothiscandza ,Denmark andSweden ,Jutland . TheHreidgoths (hraiðgutum ) may also be theOstrogoths in south-eastern Europe.[ 19] Rothemadum Rothomagum ,Rouen in theHaakon Haakonssøns saga .[ 20] Rothesay "Roth 's island", "Rother's Isle" or a corruption of the Gaelicrath [ 21] [ 22] [ 23] Isle of Bute , Scotland. Rúðuborg ,Rúða Rouen Sandey Iona saxar Related to Proto-Germanic *sahsą ("knife, dagger"). TheSaxons . Saxelfr "Saxon Elbe". Theriver Elbe . Saxland "Land of the Saxons". Germany.[ 24] Skarðaborg "Fortified place ofThorgils Skarthi " or "gap hill".Scarborough, North Yorkshire .[ 25] Seeburg Grobiņa in Latvia.Seljupollar A Guarda Serkland ,Særkland ,Srklant ,Sirklant ,Serklat "Land of theSaracens ". TheMiddle East , sometimesGeorgia . Mentioned in theSerkland Runestones . Signa Seine Skíð [ 26] Skuy [ 27] *Skýey , orSkuyö [ 28] "Misty isle",[ 27] [ 28] Skye , Scotland. Skræling Fromskrækja , meaning "bawl, shout, or yell"[ 29] skrá [ 29] Norse Greenlanders gave the previousinhabitants of North America andGreenland . 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 Tarlungaland Probably a corruption ofKarlungaland , i.e., the land of theCarolingians .[ 30] Τελιουτζα Liubech Túskaland Touraine Tyrfing TheThervingi Goths. Tyrvist Tiree Τζερνιγωγα Chernihiv Valland "Land of the **Walhaz ". Land of theCeltic- andRomance -speaking peoples. Vendland "Land of theWends ". Slavic areas East fromLübeck . Vernisa Worms, Germany .vestmenn "Westmen", theGaels of Ireland and Britain. Vikinglow ,Wykynlo Wicklow Vindau Ventspils in Latvia. Named after theVenta 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 ^ Campbell, Gordon (25 March 2021).Norse America: The Story of a Founding Myth ISBN 978-0-19-260598-6 ^ 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 . Retrieved2020-04-25 .^ 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 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 ^ "The Cronicle of the Hanseatic League" . european-heritage.org. Archived fromthe original on March 7, 2012. RetrievedSeptember 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 ^ "shetland | Origin and meaning of shetland by Online Etymology Dictionary" .www.etymonline.com . Retrieved7 May 2020 .^ Hjaltland – Shetland – ‘yet, land!” – 1871 Archived 27 December 2014 at theWayback 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. Retrieved7 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 ^ Simek (2007:224) ^ Gentry (2002:101—102) ^ "orkney | Origin and meaning of the name orkney by Online Etymology Dictionary" .www.etymonline.com . Retrieved7 May 2020 .^ "Reidgotaland" ,Nordisk Familjebok ^ Bugge, Alexander , ed. (1914).Haakon Haakonssòns saga . Retrieved7 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)Goireasan Cànain / Language Resources - Tadhail is Ionnsaich : Pàrlamaid na h-Alba Pàrlamaid na h-Alba . Retrieved 26 October 2025. ^ Coventry, Martin (2008)Castles of the Clans . Musselburgh. Goblinshead.ISBN 9781899874361 ^ XML version of Zoega's Old Icelandic dictionary, saxland . Retrieved7 May 2020 .^ "scarborough | Origin and meaning of the name scarborough by Online Etymology Dictionary" .www.etymonline.com . Retrieved7 May 2020 .^ "Haakon Haakonsøns Saga" Norwegian translation byPeter Andreas Munch . saganet.is. Retrieved 3 June 2008.^a b Haswell-Smith, Hamish (2004).The Scottish Islands 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 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
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