[gothic-l] Digest Number 448

[Ingemar Nordgren]

  From: "einarbirg" <einarbirg at yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: Heruls and rchaeology-Etymologi-Connection:Heruli-Skaldship
Einar wrote:
--- In gothic-l at y..., "Bertil Haggman" <mvk575b at t...> wrote:

 > Einar,
 >
 > Well, in that case, I have no objection.
 >
 > Concerning the Gautrek Saga it is a Westgoeta saga
 > and was published in 1664 by Olof Verelius, a Swedish historian.
 > Gautrek was a Vaestergoetland king, father of the hero
 > Rolf Gautreksson. There must in my opinion also be
 > a connection between Gautrek - Gaut - Gautland.
 > The Hrolfssaga Gautrekssonar is an Icelandic continuation
 > from the 14th century, so the Gautrek Saga must be older
 > than the 14th century, but I couldn't say how old.


Einar, Hæ Bertil.   Thanks for your very interesting info. I will
later try to find out when this word ´ætternisstapi´ turned up in
Ice.literature.


 >
 > But in my opinion aettestupa has its origin in Gautrek's
 > saga and the word might have entered Icelandic from
 > the Vaestgoeta language.

Hi Einar and Bertil,

I think Einar is right  fundamentally about the etymology of
´ætternisstapi´. It is not specificially from Västergötland but a
common ON word   from old Scandinavia and from Landnám-time also on
Iceland. Still the sense of 'stapi' and 'stupa' may be the same. If
'stapi'can mean a mountain or a hill and  'stupa' is a steep  down from
  a mountain or hill  it leads to the ätte-mountain - kins-mountain -
where a family/a kin ruled or lived. If  they choose, like in Gautreks
saga, to jump down a steep from there to die like heroes and go to Óðinn
- so what? It is still the same mountain. The translation 'stupa'
however must be  a wrongunderstanding of 'stapi' but probably with kept
sense. I think it also in Eyarbyggarsaga is mentioned a special hill in
which the dead of the local family dwelled and that was  very revered by
the farmer.

About 'ätt' Einar states that is not family. Agreed. Originally  in
Scandinavia we had the same way as the continental Germanics. The
Germans differ between Familie- the local person with wife and kids  and
grandparents, Sippe - the closer circle of relatives outside the family
- and Stamme or Geschlecht meaning something like Celtic clan. With us
we had 'familj', ätt and kind. Familj and ätt are still different. I
live at the foot of Kinnekulle meaning the Kind-mountain -
Kins-mountain. Accordingly an ´ætternisstapi´!?

Better now to continue on Germanic-L maybe.

Kindly
Ingemar




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